Unrest in greek universities
Jan 24 2007 08:41
my english skills are limited.. - will add more later
Since January 10th, and after the 1 month unrest during last summer, university faculties are occupied again by the students' assemblies (right now 280 are occupied in a total of around 500 faculties). The trigger behind this unrest is a reform of higher education in a neoliberal direction: creation of private universities, various changes in the legislation and the regulation of the universities that will lead to a strict, to say the least, educational model.(credits/ICTS, end of free course books)
So far every week massive demos are taking place, some w/ violent and antagonistic characteristics.
Although many students that never partook in any kind of political action do participate in the movement, communists/stalinists, and leftists/leninists try to control and manipulate it - (i'm writing from an autonomist perspective). anarchists and autonomes try to intervene, or in cases, jolt in, but our presence is limited.
a more detailed description of the situation in greek education can be found here (written june/2006)
http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=516134
Jan 24 2007 10:14
#2
photos and vids from the 17/01 demo (plus some vids on ytube)
text is in greek, photos are international:)
http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=636689
ps. x357997, i don't really think that a presentation of the greek anarchists belongs here, let alone that i'm not up to the task. And honestly, what happens with the students' movement right now is a lot more important, in my opinion.
ps2. the sole exception would be that of the 2 prisoners who went on hunger strike, i will see what i can do later.
Jan 24 2007 10:30
#3
Sotev wrote:
ps. x357997, i don't really think that a presentation of the greek anarchists belongs here, let alone that i'm not up to the task. And honestly, what happens with the students' movement right now is a lot more important, in my opinion.
ps2. the sole exception would be that of the 2 prisoners who went on hunger strike, i will see what i can do later.
Both the prisoners and students are more important than my inquiries, true. I have no problem waiting. Any and all help is welcome. I regularly do vist Athens I.M.C. for photos. It would be great if you could recomend a book on greek anarchist history or ones just on specific events that anarchists had an influential role in. What I'm most curious about is what are the differant factions represented in the top picture - of the the page you just sent me - and their relations towards each other.
Is there anything I could do from my end of the world to support the Students and/or Prisoners?
Jan 24 2007 13:45
#4
We have some information on libcom about this movement:
- A brief outline of the student movement in Greece, June 2006
- Occupation, not democracy! Greek student leaflet, 2006
x357 - Sotev is correct that this probably isn't the best place to be asking about the greek anarchist movement. you can start a new thread about that if you like
Jan 24 2007 17:52
#5
a couple of stuff first:
1) all photos by "red anti-reporters" except noted
2) the dogs (not the policemen, dogs) that reappear in demos, especially the cinnamon one, for some reason i dont know of, actually participate in demos, even violent ones.
3) most urls require broadband since the pix are many
4) one can assume safely that most kitch elements are KKE/PAME/KNE members (greek CP orgs.)
5) the fall demos are mostly high-schools students and teachers. more on that later.
6) summer and winter later, comments, info etc, again, later.
x357.., the people in that picture are not anarchists. they are uni-students, those w/ red flags are mostly leftists. ofcourse among them there are here and there anarchists
John, yeah, i'm aware of these...i will try to gather stuff like that. hopefully others from greece will help.
FALL
9/9/2006 Demo at the opening of HELEXPO (photos by some leftist group)
http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=568459
20/9/2006 demo under rain
http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=572615
27/9/2006
http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=575187
5/10/2006
http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=579421
11/10/2006
http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=583263
25/10/2006
http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=590922
3/11/2006
http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=597398
9/11/2006
http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=600594
17/11/2006 (17 November) the police attacked without cause
http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=605723
Jan 26 2007 10:14
#8
Out of interest, are you a student in Greece yourself Sotev? (your english seems very good by the way)
(I tried to split the off-topic bollocks to the old rocket attack thread but looks like it disappeared, sorry. And wasted 15 minutes of my time. Could people please try to keep discussion on-topic)
Feb 2 2007 00:53
#9
Seems like an interesting time for Greece right now: i hear there is a growing struggle amongst war resisters to break the draft, and also last week saw traditional Greek pagans worshiping for the first time in several centuries, much to the fury of the ORthodox church... Would you say there is something in the air in Greece right now Sotev?
Feb 2 2007 04:37
#10
kiwi hirsuta wrote:
and also last week saw traditional Greek pagans worshiping for the first time in several centuries, much to the fury of the ORthodox church
say what now?
Greek neo-pagan groups have been around for fucking ages mate....
what's happened that's new?
Feb 2 2007 11:14
#11
john., yes i'm a university student in greece.
i don't know nor care about neo-pagans; many of these people are nationalists/nazis anyways.
sorry i can only keep updating this thread in an irregural way since assemblies etc etc are too time -and energy- consuming.
Feb 6 2007 00:17
#12
“Bologna: Everybody is eaten in the same sauce”
Press release by the Federation of French Speaking Students, Belgium
All around Europe, the voices of student protest are heard against the attacks on free access to higher education
In Greece, a project of constitutional reform envisages the change of the article guaranteeing the public and free character of the higher education. If the Constitution is modified, it will authorize the creation of private universities and will undermine public responsibility and the free aspect of the higher studies. Thousands of students and citizens have been mobilized in order to oppose themselves to this reform which attacks the equality of access all the Greeks to knowledge.
In Austria, the new chancellor Gusenbauer promised to suppress tuition fees if he were to win the election. This promise was not respect and it was substituted by the possibility for students to carry out 60 hours of public work for remuneration! Thousands of students invaded the streets in order to denounce the irresponsibility of their newly elected official and to claim the suppression of any costs for studying.
In France, the CPE crisis revealed how much an education reform was necessary. Public spending is constantly being reduced and students’ situation is increasingly precarious.
As regards the French Community of Belgium, the situation is not better. The Parliament voted last summer a decree allowing the increase of inscription fees requested in complement of the legal tuition fees in all non university teaching.
And the list of European countries concerned by the decrease of public spending in education is far from being exhaustive. Admittedly all countries are not the same however the situation is the same for all: governments assume less and less their educational responsibilities to the benefit of private institutions and to the detriment of private individuals, families and students. Once questioned, they answer that the Bologna Process is to be blamed! If processes launched by the European Union - signed by the member states put pressure on national authorities, the latter are still captains of their ship. They blame Europe because they lack political courage to go against the neo-liberal drifts which, at the end of the day, they approve.
In such a context, the Federation of Frech-Speaking Students cannot but support student organizations all around European that struggle for democratic, quality, accessible and free for all education and invites European governments to take their responsibilities concerning education.
For further information
The President
Aurian Bourguignon
0032 0473 93 45 85
If you have solid info on the greek anarchist movement I'll take anything you can share...even what kind of paper you make your fliers with...I'm madly interested in how you folks conduct things over there.