Copyleft - Information for direct action - Published weekly in Brighton since 1994

Home | Friday 25th June 2010 | Issue 728

Back to the Full Issue

UP SHIT GREEK

The tide of strikes and general disorder continues across Greece (see SchNEWS 720) as austerity measures begin to bite.

The Ministry of Public Order was shown exactly how orderly the Greek public currently are when a bomb went off on its 7th floor yesterday (24th), killing a senior ministerial aide. Previous bombings have targeted prisons and courthouses.

In the past week alone there’s been several smaller public sector strikes, most impressive of which was the Piraeus dockworker’s strike. Organised mainly by PAME (middle of the road Communists), the dockworkers prescribed a 24hr blockade on the country’s main port last Monday (14th).

In retaliation the courts declared the action illegal, leading to PAME blocking all entrances to the port again on Wednesday (23rd). All tourist boats had to cancel their trips to the islands. Asked by the tourist cartel why the dockworkers were not treated “as the law requires”, the Ministry of Public Order claimed that “such problems are not solved by means of repression”. Elsewhere industrial action against the austerity measures has included a 24hr strike by journos which saw all TV, Radio and internet news unplugged for the day and a complete public transport strike in Athens.

Another general strike looms. In preparation, this week began with the abstention of markers from the final exams. On Wednesday (23rd) a law attacking social insurance was due to be voted in parliament. Grassroots trade unions alongside GSEE and ADEDY (garden variety trade unions) held demonstrations in Athens with hundreds in attendance. The voting has now been postponed for Monday. As seems to be the fad, hospital doctors went on a 24hr strike across the country. At the same time railway workers will be engaging in rolling two-hour stoppages throughout the week that are predicted to periodically interrupt all major train journeys in the country.

Meanwhile the government is hesitating to bring its new anti-labour laws before Parliament for a vote as the PM is fearful of his rule collapsing. You don’t say...



 
 

The following comments have been left on this story by other SchNEWS readers...

Added on 28th June 2010 at 13:28 by ReCheck

The financial crisis is by design by the big banks they have used derivatives to do it. Iceland had balls and said NO. This is what there after plus more Greek Islands http://www.infowars.com/greece-ready-to-sell-rhodes-mykonos-to-investors/ ..
well the violence and riots http://www.infowars.com/greek-cops-caught-on-video-posing-as-anarchists/ ..
the bomb might of even been a false flag do not know have not looked into it.. helps them bring in more laws tho.. just like the terrorism bill in the UK that is used against non-terrorists(as if there was any, watch the 7 7 ripple effect and http://officialconfusion.com/77/) just people that the police do not like..


THE POSTING OF COMMENTS ON THIS STORY HAS BEEN PROHIBITED BY A MODERATOR

Subscribe to SchNEWS: Send 1st Class stamps (e.g. 10 for next 9 issues) or donations (payable to Justice?). Or £15 for a year's subscription, or the SchNEWS supporter's rate, £1 a week. Ask for "originals" if you plan to copy and distribute. SchNEWS is post-free to prisoners.

A brief history of the Dragon Festival and Cigarrones travellers site, southern Spain.
The Cigarrones travellers’ site is one of several communities which have sprung up near Orgiva in Andalucía, Spain, in recent decades. Coming to the southern tip of Europe to escape the repression against travellers in Britain and elsewhere, they have carved out a life of avin’ it autonomous anarchy – despite increasing attention from tinpot local authorities who act like Franco is still in. Since 1997 the site has held the annual Dragon Festival - now arguably one of the most significant free festivals in Europe – but this is also under attack. Here is a brief history written by a resident of Cigarrones:
SchNEWS interviews Canadian journalist and military historian Gwynne Dyer about the dire warnings for a post-climate change world in his book 'The Climate Wars'
Report from US-Mexico border about the narco wars whose connections go right up to the president
One year after the military coup in Honduras which ousted the leader and installed a neo-liberal cabal, grassroots groups across the country are aligning to create a popular movement.
SchNEWS interviews Richard Stallman – hacker, founder of the Free Software movement and activist for digital-software-information freedom...
From Kemp Town to Kabul, as SchNEWS interviews Al Jazeera journalist Medyan Dairieh about his take on the war...
An eyewitness account from Phnom Penh, as Cambodia faces its largest forced displacements since the time of the Khmer Rouge.
The future of Titnore Woods is threatened as Tesco and Worthing Council gang up to build upon the ancient woodland...
Who are the far-right English Defence League, and what are their strategies?
With the murder of Russian human rights activist Natalia Estemirova in Chechnya, we look at the Russian-backed despotic regime in Chechnya.
At the last minute the Big Green Gathering festival in Somerset was pulled due to legal pressure - SchNEWS looks at the events and factors that led to this.
The president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, is removed and sent into exile after a military coup d'etat.
This year marks the 24th anniversary of the infamous police attack on travellers on their way to Stonehenge in an incident now known as the Battle Of The Beanfield.
SchNEWS looks how deep the financial problems are for the banks and the British Govt, and how they won't learn from their errors.
Given a more optimistic environment after Obama's announcement that he's going to close the Guantanamo prison camp, SchNEWS interviews ex-detainee, Omar Deghayes, to gauge his reaction.
Eyewitness accounts from British activists on the ground during the wanton attack on Gaza by Israel in January 2009.
Somali pirates roaming the Gulf Of Aden, hijacking - amongst other ships - a Saudi oil supertanker. How is it possible? What geo-political context is giving rise to these latter-day pirates?