Patras (Greece): “Parartima was and will remain liberated land”

By: fawda - January 12th, 2013  Filed under: Communique, News

Statement released on January 11th 2013
A few words on the targeting of the “Parartima”* occupation in Patras

Since yesterday, those miserable provincial journalists of our little town have kept reproducing a ready-made story, of the kind that the police distribute – and that refers to the two occupations of the city of Patras: Parartima and Maragkopouleio.

It appears that they are unable to abstain from the crescendo of authoritarianism and narking by which you can tell every loyal servant of the memorandum-led authority. But then, from that point to the erasure of 40 years’ history of social struggles, there is much of a distance to cover…
We’ll repeat the story, in the off-chance that they remember it.

It is already 40 years now that Parartima serves as a point of reference for the local community of Patras. It belongs to no-one. [Read More]

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Greece : Communique by the squat Lelas Karagianni 37 about the reoccupation of Villa Amalias

By: Rosa - January 11th, 2013  Filed under: Communique

Repression can’t bend the militants

We are experiencing historical moments. Let’s act accordingly. A swarm of political lackeys of the local and international capital, consisted of fascists, thieves and impostors of all sorts, from the extreme right to the so-called democratic left – assisted by the controlled mass media and the parastate gangs -, has been shamelessly looting, oppressing and terrorizing the people. In order for their plans to succeed without a hitch they have imposed a state of emergency which is nothing but a political dictatorship camouflaged with a parliamentary cloak. The bankrupt political-economic system, in order to perpetuate its miserable existence or at least to buy itself time before its upcoming decomposition, wants to force the silence and submission of the plebian social layers by means of either manipulation and compulsion by the media propaganda or brute force and terrorism used on resisting people by state repression and parastate gangs.

[Read More]

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Solidarity with Villa Amalias Squat / Αλληλεγγύη στην Κατάληψη Βίλα Αμαλίας

By: Rosa - January 11th, 2013  Filed under: Petition

Solidarity with Villa Amalias Squat – Let us Resist the Social Cannibalism

All of us signing this declaration of solidarity with Villa Amalias Squat are aware of the fierce attack unleashed by the Greek state on free spaces and every other expression of social/political resistance.

Villa Amalias is one of the oldest and most historical squats in Athens/Greece, well known for its multilevel presence within the radical movement, a place of creative fermentations, anti-commercial cultural activities and reference point for the building of relationships based on equality, solidarity and anti-authority.

[Read More]

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Greece: Police leak plan “to evict 40 squats across the country”

By: fawda - January 10th, 2013  Filed under: News

Mainstream media report:

The police are putting into action a plan to evict about 40 buildings that have been occupied by various groups across the country. After the intervention in the squats of Villa Amalias and Skaramanga, the ministry of public order is planning to take more action in the following days.

According to the newspaper The News, the intervention in the squat Skaramanga took place only a few hours after the attempted re-occupation of Villa Amalias on Wednesday, whilst – according to information [meaning: by the police — trans ] – it was planned to take place after a few days. However, it was decided that it should take place immediately instead, in order to send a direct message that “situations of lawlessness will no longer be tolerated”. [Read More]

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Athens (Greece): Villa Amalias, Statement by the 93 arrested from inside the police HQ

By: fawda - January 10th, 2013  Filed under: News

“We will do it again, as many times as it takes” 

Nothing less than our non-negotiable position for social spaces that we support and they support us in return. Nothing other than what we say and what we do all these years in squats, in self-organised spaces, in demonstrations, at strikes and in the streets.

For this reason, the authorities that placed armed guards outside Villa Amalias could never cause us to be disappointed, to break our morale, to make us stop, to give up.

Today, January 9th, us comrades re-occupied the building of Villa Amalias under the nose of the repressive forces that were guarding it. A building linked with the history of the subversive movement for the past 22 years, but also with the ideals that it signifies for us. [Read More]

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Athens (Greece): Police raid in Skaramanga squat

By: fawda - January 9th, 2013  Filed under: News

Following the eviction and arrests in Villa Amalias squat during the morning of January 9th, a police raid in the Patission 61 & Skaramaga squat is underway. At about 15.00pm, anti-riot squadrons smashed the door and stormed in the building.

Short announcement by the collective of Skaramaga squat about the raid:

15.56pm: A police raid took place today (9/1) at 15.00pm in the Patission 61 & Skaramaga squat. Seven comrades are inside the building (currently witnessing the police search in the squat). The repressive operation came vindictively few hours after the re-occupation of Villa Amalias and the occupation of DIMAR headquarters, which resulted in their eviction as well as the arrest and detention of approximately 150 comrades.

The tripartite government, the police and the ΝΑΤ (Merchant Seamen’s Pension Fund that claims ownership of the building) are mainly responsible for this attack. They will find us against them.

Hands off the squats! Immediate release of all arrestees/detainees! [Read More]

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Greece: Villa Amalias re-squatted and re-evicted – biggest number of anarchists detained in 15 years

By: fawda - January 9th, 2013  Filed under: News

At approximately 07:30 on January 9, dozens of people re-squatted Villa Amalias this morning, hanging a banner writing: “Squat for Ever – Villa Amalias”. Almost immediately, riot police that encircled the building threw tear gas inside. At approximately 09:20, the police’s special forces (EKAM) smashed the building’s windows and raided it anew, detaining 101 people who was inside.
Meanwhile – at approximately the same time – around 40 anarchists in solidarity occupied the HQ of DIMAR (Democratic Left Party),  which participates in the governmental coalition. Police raided this building as well, detaining the occupiers.

UPDATE, 04.00 am “We will do it again, as many times as it takes”: statement by the 93 arrested from inside the police HQ

UPDATE, 00.45 am It has just been confirmed that the charges for all 92 anarchists inside Villa Amalias have been raised to felonies (instead of misdemeanors) as they now include the so-called “hoodlum law” enhancement. All of today’s detainees will appear before a prosecutor in the afternoon – from 1pm and throughout the day. A solidarity gathering has been called at the Euelpidon courthouse from 1pm onward.

UPDATE, 19.45 pm Another three anarchists have been detained at the corner of Patision and Alexandras ave, bringing today’s total up to 152. [Read More]

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Greece, Australia & India: Solidarity actions with Villa Amalias

By: xxx - January 2nd, 2013  Filed under: News

Solidarity actions with Villa Amalias recently happened in different Greek cities, and in Goa (India) and Sydney (Australia):

– Athens: Paint bomb attack against the old city hall, in solidarity with Villa Amalias squat

On the night of December 24th, comrades wanted to add a bit of colour to the miserable Christmas decoration that the mayor of Athens, Giorgos Kaminis, had reserved for the city. We wanted to show him that the lousy political dealings on the repression against Villa Amalias squat will not be left unanswered. He will pay the corresponding price for his choice to cover the back of the prime minister, Antonis Samaras, who wanted to prove that he is equally fascist to the far-right part of his voting audience, which slips off to the Golden Dawn party by now. [Read More]

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Athens (Greece): Statement by the Villa Amalias squatters held in the police HQ in Athens

By: fawda - December 23rd, 2012  Filed under: Communique, News

The Villa Amalias squat has been an open political, cultural and social space, as well as a housing collective, for the past 23 years. In all these years there have been plenty of active groups in the squat including groups on theatre, concerts, musical studio, stained glass, kids’ space, dancing, foreign languages, computing, printing press, screenings, lending library, vinyl exchange – while the squat has also hosted plenty of political and cultural events by other groups. Apart from these activities inside its building, Villa Amalias has also contributed to the resolution of neighbourhood issues by participating in the residents’ assembly of Victoria square and by organising open, outward looking activities in the area – including open mic interventions, free markets, collective kitchens and kids’ events at the square. [Read More]

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Athens (Greece): Villa Amalias, “We are, and we shall remain here”

By: fawda - December 21st, 2012  Filed under: Communique, News

Statement released on Friday, December 21, 2012

Today, on December 20th, 2012, the police raided Villa Amalias. Under the pretext of a complaint for drug dealing, they searched the building in the presence of a district attorney. Their findings are ludicrous. Nevertheless, according to Dendias [translators’ note: the minister of public order] these prove that Villa was an “epicentre for lawlessness” for 22 years and that the law, thanks to the “brave political will of [PM] Samaras” was finally restored.

What logical leap may brand empty beer bottles as “materials for the construction of molotovs?” Is it strange to have a large number of empty beer bottles in a place that hosts a concert [gig] space and a café? [Read More]

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Athens (Greece): Anarchist squat Villa Amalias raided by riot police today

By: dolph-l - December 20th, 2012  Filed under: News

via eagainst.com (texts in En | It | Tr | De | Fr):

Once again, the State is trying to terrorise by means of sudden raids against occupied self-organized spaces.

Villa Amalias squat is housed in the building of Heyden and Acharnon street for 22 years. Within the squat hundreds of political and cultural events have been held (concerts, theatrical performances, screenings etc), while the anti-commercial culture that opposes the culture of sale and profit, power and property has found its place. It is clear now, after so many daily attacks against the antiauthoritarian/anarchist movement, that the antisocial forces of economic and political authoritarianism aim at silencing the movement, at limiting the public discussion in the agenda that is determined solely by the mainstream media and the Nazis, at prohibiting self-organized actions that start from below and outside political parties.

According to info published on Athens Indymedia, 8 comrades from the occupation were detained, and a search is being conducted in the building by the forces of state repression. Already, 200 have gothered in solidarity at Acharnon Street opposite the occupation.

We express our solidarity to Villa Amalias and to the comrades who struggle in this free social space.

PS: We understand the joy of the faithful servants of the system of power, as we observe the far-right blogs, as well as the mainstream news sites joining forces, slandering and cheering for the “success” of the suppressive State. We promise that the delight of the enemies of society will not last forever. [Read More]

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Athens (Greece): Solidarity with squats and self-organized spaces

By: fawda - December 4th, 2012  Filed under: Communique, News

KEEP YOUR HANDS AWAY FROM THE SQUATS
SOLIDARITY TO SQUATS AND SELF-ORGANIZED SOCIAL CENTRES

In a legality that is plundering our lives, we remain clusters of illegality.

WE CREATE

Squats and self-organized social centres are parts of the liberated timespace. They are utopian cracks in the midst of a process of social desolation that the dominators are trying to impose. They are social bulwarks against fascism. Within them they harbor the seed of subversion. In these spaces we experiment with the structures that we dream about. We try to promote the anti-commercial and self-organized expression through gigs and theatre performances. We create zones of counter-information through radio stations and internet projects. We develop the collective self-education with open-for-all lessons. We develop social solidarity with infirmaries and collective kitchens. In this way we are slowly trying, in every city and neighbourhood, to create and promote the kind of relationships and ideas that will overthrow this reign of slavery that has been imposed upon us. [Read More]

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