Down with the government of blood and violence!

Athens, 8 December 2008

The Greek people are burning with rage as the security forces of the state committed another despicable crime. This time the victim was an innocent 15-year old schoolboy, Alexis Grigoropoulos, who was shot in cold blood by a police officer in Exarchia district, in the centre of Athens. The tragic event took place on Saturday evening, 6th of December, around 9 pm when two police officers patrolling in the region engaged in altercation with the group of youths. Following their arrest, the policemen claimed that they were attacked and had to fire warning shots as a means of self-defense. However, according to many eye witnesses, there was no violent episode before the moment when the two police men approached the children and started swearing very crudely at them. Then, one of the officers pulled out his gun and fired against the group. The bullet struck Alexis, directly on the chest, killing him instantly. The government of the monarchist-fascist party of Nea Demokratia is directly and fully responsible for the murder of the innocent child. It is the reactionary Karamanlis government that has authorized the police to make indiscriminate use of force against immigrants, demonstrating students, teachers, workers and even unsuspected civilians. The news of Alexis’ murder caused a burst of outrage throughout the country. On Sunday and Monday thousands of people passionately protested in Athens, Thessaloniki, Patra, Heraklion and other cities against the government of blood and violence. In many cases, the demonstrators clashed with the police and in Athens the riots continued until late on Sunday evening.
The seriousness of the riots is indicative by the following. The Fire Brigade, in a bulletin issued on Monday morning, announced that the damage caused in the rioting, up until midnight Sunday, included: in Athens, the burning of 24 banks, 35 shops, 22 cars, 12 homes, 63 trash receptacles, 7 bus stops and a ruling New Democracy local organisation office; in Patras, a bank, a police patrol car, four cars, a vehicle belonging to the Achaia prefectural authority, 14 dumpsters and a police parking log; in Thessaloniki, 9 banks, the Macedonia-Thrace ministry's press office, 7 cars, 40 dumpsters, the Aristotelion University's canteen, an Nea Demokratia local organisation office, and three Metro construction sites; in Heraklion, Crete, two banks and four trash bins; in Chania, a prefectural car and 8 dumpsters; in Kavala, an ND local office, a trash receptacle and the passport office at the police directorate; and in Chryssoupolis, a border guard post. The Fire Brigade clarified that the above damages were incurred chiefly by molotov cocktails, and the damage listed did not include destruction caused by rocks, wood, marble and other items thrown at targets during the riots.

Movement for the Reorganisation of the Communist Party of Greece 1918-55