LIVE BLOG on anti-austerity protests: Feb 10-11 & 12

By @inflammatory_ 

FEB 12 TIMELINE

01:00 Recap of the day's main events 

"Greece en rage", might be an accurate description of what happened today.

• Several preventive detentions in Athens took place before even the demo starts. 
• Massive turnout as expected.The crowd was dispersed very early though, around 17:30-18:00 when tensions aroused on the front side of the demo and riot police officers started hurling teargas to repel demonstrators on the lower side of the square.
• The demo was split, but protesters remained en masse in the nearby roads, to avoid clouds of tear gas filling the air...which was literally unbearable. With sheer determination they attempted to get back on the spot but riot squad tactics were aimed at halting the demo. This cat-and-mouse chase kept for 3,5 hours.
• There were reports by journalists of policemen attacking on random people, protesting peacefully.
• Paul Mason, the BBC correspondent was attacked by a bunch of far right protesters as they thought he was German. The worst was prevented thanks to other people's intervention.
• Clashes spread across the city, with banks and retail outlets set on fire. Estimated number of arsoned buildings at 10  45.
• 100 people suffered injuries, while 74 have been arrested and 92 detained.
• In Thessaloniki 28.000 people demonstrated (including PAME members) and clashes broke out between protesters and riot police as well.



Feb 12, 2012 Demonstrators flooding the streets outside the parliament before clashes pic @Jaquou Utopie

Weekly Round-Up #rbnews Nov 27 - Dec 2 2011

By @IrateGreek

Τhe week began with a worrying complaint regarding the existence of “pro-junta elements” in the Cadet Academy. According to an article published in the Sunday edition of To Vima Newspaper, the leader of the Cadets stood on the rostrum after the end of the commemoration of the Polytechnic University uprising[1], requested that the doors be closed and started “analysing” for his colleagues how “the 21 April Revolution[2] has been perverted”. He and another 5 cadets then sang the 21 April anthem. The publication caused considerable turmoil at the Ministry of Defense as well as among the military, whose leadership announced that there would be “strict disciplinary action”.

Greek electricity company's building occupied for 4 days

By @inflammatory_

pic by @galaxyarchis

(Wed Nov 23) It's the fourth day in a raw since Sunday when Public Power Corporation's premises were occupied by the company's workers' union (GENOP). The union members have shut down the company's computer system, in an attempt to halt issuance of electricity cut notice, for those households that fail to pay the controversial property tax, which is collected through power bills. 

PPC administration and the minister of Environment asked for prosecutor's intervention who gave yesterday evening, a 3hours deadline to vacate the site. GENOP union's president N.Fotopoulos when speaking with the press though, stressed out that the union would not back off. On top of that, there 've been two unsuccesful attempts to put the system back into operation, when the company's management* accompanied with electricians, dropped by the building to discuss with union reps. 

Lefties, representatives of local government, people from communities' assemblies and political disobedience movement "I am not paying", as well as students, and trade union reps, have showed up outside the occupied premises in solidarity with GENOP. Yesterday, leaders of left-wing parties,  A.Papariga and A.Tsipras, appeared on the spot, expressing their opposition to the property tax when interviewed by journalists.

While typing these lines, a bin is set alight to keep people warm as they plan to stay overnight, safeguarding the site from possible police intervention.

*once by the site's manager and another from the General Manager of distribution division, N.Aravantinos along with the HR Director G.Triantafillides - source: newsit.gr