Sunday, December 07, 2008

Rioting in Greece

Teenage rioters went on a rampage in Thessaloniki and Athens last night, and the violence has resumed today. The trouble was sparked by the fatal shooting by police of a 15-year-old (16 in some versions) in Athens. The “youths” doing the rioting appear to be leftists and anarchists — that is, Antifa-types, and not immigrants or Muslims.

According to the International Herald Tribune:

Militant youths mounted new attacks against the Greek police on Sunday, marring at least two marches by demonstrators angered over the killing of a teenager in a police shooting and destroying scores of shops, cars and businesses across the country.

The violence rattled Athens and Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece, where youths hurled gasoline bombs, rocks and clubs at the police, sending hundreds of bystanders and peaceful protesters scrambling.

In Athens, riot police officers retaliated, firing several rounds of tear gas that cloaked the Greek capital in acrid gray smoke.

At least one apartment block was evacuated after masked youths set fire to a car dealership on the lower level and the ensuing flames licked up to residents’ balconies, the private television station Alpha reported.

Stylianos Volirakos, a spokesman for the Athens police department, said “dozens” of officers had been hurt in their efforts to seal off streets around the Polytechnic Institute, where rioters erected makeshift barricades with burning trash bins.
- - - - - - - - -
[…]

About 3,000 peaceful protesters managed to peel away from the Sunday riots, rallying outside the National Museum near the area where the 15-year-old was shot.

The riots started late Saturday after a small group of youths attacked a police car in central Athens. They escalated into a spree of violence that ripped through the country.

“We’ve never seen anything like this,” said a senior police official who requested anonymity. “The tension is so thick you can almost cut it with a knife.”

The circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting remained unclear.

A police statement issued early Sunday said the shooting had taken place when two officers in a patrol car were targeted by about 30 youths — many of them throwing stones — while driving through the central district of Exarchia.

The police officers left their car to confront the stone throwers, “firing three shots that resulted in the death of the minor,” the statement said.

Some Greek news media and a Web site popular among leftist youths, www.indymedia.org, said the teenager had been shot in the chest and died on his way to a hospital.

The police said that Exarchia, a bohemian haunt favored by intellectuals and artists, has long troubled Greece’s security apparatus because it sometimes draws large crowds of youths, including anarchists and extremists, who object to any police presence.

And here’s the part of this news story that troubles me:

Both officers involved in the shooting Saturday have been suspended, the police department said, and senior officials vowed “exemplary punishment” for anyone found to have done anything wrong.

“It is inconceivable for there not to be punishment when a person, let alone a minor, loses their life,” Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos said at a news conference Sunday. “The loss of life is something that is inconceivable in a democracy.”

There’s nothing objectionable about punishing an officer who uses force inappropriately or causes unnecessary death. That’s as it should be.

This is the alarming sentence: “The loss of life is something that is inconceivable in a democracy.”

When the absolute safety of everyone at all times is guaranteed, and loss of life is “inconceivable”, then a society becomes vulnerable to extortion by thugs for whom life is worthless. Remember the exultant battle cry of the mujahideen: “You love life, but we love death!”

The lovers of death have the upper hand when they encounter those for whom the loss of life is inconceivable. The tendency for the fainthearted is to bargain away everything else in order to save one’s own skin.

It looks like things are getting pretty nasty in Athens:

Hundreds of militant youths stormed into the streets of Athens within hours of the shooting, hurling firebombs, rocks and slabs of concrete at police officers who retaliated with tear gas.

Private television networks broke into scheduled programming, broadcasting violent images of the worst street fighting in recent years.

Youths were seen smashing storefronts, targeting banks, and setting fire to dozens of garbage containers and cars along the meandering streets of the main commercial district.

Similar protests rattled Thessaloniki and a string of other Greek cities, including Chania on the island of Crete.


Additional news stories about the riots:

33 comments:

Profitsbeard said...

How self-styled anarchists ever group together is a mystery, since it is against their essential ideology.

Like a hermit's convention or solipcists society.

Which must mean they are simply chaos and terrorism-loving scum using any excuse to riot and cause mayhem.

Tolerating it is the Greeks' mistake.

heroyalwhyness said...

Having just read the previous thread "Harmonize This!", it is of note that Ataturk was born in Selânik currently designated Thessaloniki, Greece.

Czechmade said...

Compare this:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/02/europe/greece.php

Armance said...

Very interesting link, Czechmade. I've believed that Greece is pretty safe regarding illegal immigrants, but it seems the country will soon share the same fate as the Western European ones. All the southern borders of Europe, from Spain to Greece, are besieged by African illegals.

Now imagine a brotherhood of Greek antifa-type anarchists and Sudanese gangs!

Ypp said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Eleni Phufas-Jousma said...

Not a coincidence that this "happening" happened just after the "immigrants" rioted yesterday. Greece is being flooded by jihadis from everywhere (thanks to Turkey pushing them into the Aegean) and along with the homegrown ones - hell could erupt any time.

Yorkshireminer said...

The press association gave a different spin on thing yesterday. I leave it up to you what to believe.

Asylum seekers riot in Athens

1 day ago

Hundreds of migrants waiting to submit asylum applications rioted in central Athens, setting fire to rubbish bins and attacking passing cars.

Protesters said the riot began when one man fell into a nearby canal after authorities told the crowd that no more applications could be submitted. Only a small number of applications can be submitted each week.

It was not immediately clear how the man fell into the canal. Police said he was injured and was taken by ambulance to a hospital. They said they were investigating the incident.

Outraged asylum-seekers began setting fire to rubbish bins and throwing them into the street, and ripped branches off trees to set them alight. A smaller group threw rocks at passing cars, stopping some vehicles and banging on them with their hands. There were no reports of any passers-by being injured.

The riot lasted for about an hour, and riot police who were on standby nearby did not intervene. A fire truck extinguished the blazes.

In October, a human rights group said a Pakistani man was fatally injured when he fell into the same canal.

The group, Stop the War Coalition, said that the man had been trying to escape police after immigrants queuing to submit applications clashed with authorities. Police rejected claims they had any involvement in the man's death and said they had tried to repulse an attempt by a large group of migrants to jump the queue.

Rights groups have often criticised Greece's treatment of illegal immigrants and the living conditions in detention centres.

Greece approved only 140 of the 20,692 asylum applications made in 2007, according to the UN refugee agency. Tens of thousands of illegal migrants enter Greece each year. Many attempt dangerous sea crossings from nearby Turkey or brave minefields to make their way in.

Ypp said...

Violent riots occur in the West, but not in Muslim countries. It seems that violent riots, whoever produce them and like it or not, are rather the property of the West. Since this site is devoted to counter-jihad and not to general improvement of the mankind, by criticizing violent riots it misses the point. IMHO, its better to concentrate on the inhumanity of the Sharia law instead.

Hesperado said...

Yorkshireminer's post indicates it was Muslims after all, at least in Athens.

Ypp, are you kidding? Violent riots go on at the drop of a turban in Muslim countries! Remember the cartoon riots? The teddy bear riots? The Miss Universe riots? Etc. etc. etc...

Eleni Phufas-Jousma said...

Huge riots/demonstrations going on in Tehran as we speak...power to these students.

My Title

Henrik R Clausen said...

Well, GoV is dedicated to the defense of Western civilization regardless of the enemies it faces. If those enemies (for a change) are radical Antifa blackhoods, well, it's certainly on topic.

It might well be that there's an immigrant aspect to this. But a friend of mine in Athens says it's a protest against police and against the government.

This ain't healthy... Democratic ways of dealing with bad police and/or bad government really is much better.

Czechmade said...

The German commentators complained about my link given above not having any counterpart in the German media (Think of the reason!). Then a link given to spiegel.de revealed that a teenaged "demonstrator" was killed. It seems that when I see a police car and throw a stone or more I become miraculously a "demonstrator".
The next idea coming was that der Spiegel (the most influncial weekly together with even more retarded Stern) is no more leftist, but simply "a state media". Interesting.

To ponder deeply on the irony...let me remember that under the communist regime the few priviliged or lucky ones returning home were routinely asked on the CZ side of the border "any Speigel"? as if this weekly were one of the main enemies of the bolshevik state "camp of peace".

In reality the leftists are in love with the police and blame them for not being tough enough. That is the root of their obsession/"fighting the police".

Policing, policing, policing - the leftist refrain.

Jack Reylan said...

Greece needs a neutralizing junta like during Crimea to prevent soviet access to the straits. Then they can scurry about in denial blaming Armenians, Jews or Albanians as these perfidious Trojan Horse people are wont to do.

Czechmade said...

Eleni,

it is beyond the brain capacity of the Western democratic rednecks and the rest to develop an idea longer than two waves of human and strategic importance to support Iranians in their most logical struggle.

Afonso Henriques said...

"similar protests rattled Thessaloniki and a string of other Greek cities, including Chania on the island of Crete."

Even in Crete! How the hell does something like this propagate all the way towards Crete? And why not in recently Red Cyprus as well? Hmm... strange...

And by the way, my general comment to these events is: WHERE THE HELL IS OUR WHITE ARMY!??? We see that across all Europe there is a Red Army that is always ready to "fight". Therefore, where is our White Army?

-------------------------------------

"And here’s the part of this news story that troubles me:

Both officers involved in the shooting Saturday have been suspended, the police department said, and senior officials vowed “exemplary punishment” for anyone found to have done anything wrong."

Ha, ha! (yes, not ah, ah) American boy!

Well, I know that here we are a little more to the left than the rest of (Western) Europe, I also think that we are not as infected with Political Correctness as the rest of (Western) Europe but here a policemen who fires a gun, even if under fire, will have to explain in detail what happened in court.
And beware! Once in court, the policeman who has fired a gun, or is simply accused by someone of something always, I repeat, always, faces an "agravante" which is a kind of penality meaning that the policemen must be an exemplar citizen and by doing acts like those he is betraying the other citizens. The judge will take that into account to "agravate" the policeman's sentence (And in Roman Law there is no jury, only a judge). Due to this and other factors (no one respects the police, their uniformes must be impecable and the policeman has to pay for it with his own money (something like a quarter or a third of his monthly salary), etecetera) it is not surprising that the police in Portugal is one of the jobs with higher taxes of suicides.

But the GOE, the Especial Police, those are not subjected to such stupid laws and refrainments...
And this is what happens when Brazilians come here to rob banks and the GOE is called. This is not a "favela". Yet...

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I don't know how this movie did not won the Oscar to best foreign movie. But it won a Golden Lion in Cannes or something...
Anyway, the movie is called Tropa de Elite - Elite Squad and it really is a must see. Of course, it is based on veridic events, very few of imagination going on there.
Rio de Janeiro was once known in Europe as the Wonderfull City, so think about it.

Afonso Henriques said...

To you all:

Yeah, Greece is a Western Country and it is a member of the European Union for more than 20 years so you can fugure out how Greece is multicultural. Of course, they are better prepared than "other" Western Europeans: They fought the Turks in the early XX century, they only got independent from them in 1830s they are Orthodox, etc.

But I believe that all South Eastern Europe is pretty messy as well.

Also, thank you Yorkhireminer for the information:

"Outraged asylum-seekers"

What a paradox. I thought asylum seekers had no right to be outraged. If they get outraged they can go asylum-seeker to other parishes...

@Ypp: "Since this site is devoted to counter-jihad and not to general improvement of the mankind, by criticizing violent riots it misses the point."

So Ypp, you do not get THE point of this riots??

@Czechmade, about Iran, shoule we do that with all the problems we're facing? Whay do you suggest, a war against the mullahs? I simply on't see the light and as such I am in favor of letting that regime fall by itself.

Czechmade said...

Hmm, your "favela" is well known here.

The Greek gov. promised to pay for all business losses and dommages. One more tacit aknowledhement of the socialist idea from the other side plus guiltiness of the state plus the right cause of the leftist clowns.

Compare the aknowledgement of islam by elites....

Always all in harmony.

Czechmade said...

Afonso I said nothing about war.

If there are some people around with a similar agenda like ours
1) note that they exist
2) report about them, know them
3) do not support those who oppress them
4) expose those who make good business by promoting oppression of our clones elsewhere indirectly
5) think of coordinating support of those in similar situation like you now/in the future/in the past. One day they can support you...

War is a lazy solution, almost socialist - someone will throw bombs "for you", there is much to be done - starting more or less from zero.

Afonso Henriques said...

Czechmade,

Don't get mad but I can't see any proposals to deal with the "Iranian question", only principles. I don't think those "measures" differ much from mine "live and let them live".

Another principle: You said "think of coordinating support of those in similar situation like you now/in the future/in the past. One day they can support you..." I would rather say: "act without expecting others to retribute" and "do to others, what you would like others would do to you".

Another thing, in your first comment your logic is good. However, I think the government should pay the "innocent Greek victims" for the government failures. Come on, it's not Socialism! If it is, it is good Socialism...

Czechmade said...

German antifaFAs occupy Greek consulate in Berlin...very islamic behaviour...

Afonso Henriques said...

Really Czechmade?

I am now seeing the Prime Time News and they only reported about extremists in Athens demanding justice for a boy killed by the State Police.

But that only reinforced my idea: where's our white army?

Meanwhile, locally, today multucultural news is just one poor African girl (15 years old) who was violently stabbed by three (former?) African friends in front of everybody, at day light in a bus stop. The motive, the stabbed girl had changed one or two SMS's with one of the (former?) friends's boyfriend.
Man, the stabbed girl looked so naive... regreting so much had betrayed her friends trust and not knowing why she was stabbed that it is really sickening. By the way, anybody knows the three girls but no one does a thing. THIS IS MULTICULTURALISM, Czechmade.

Can you imagine a brotherhood of Antifas occupying all the Greek embssies/consulates in Europe? It would be pretty...

Henrik R Clausen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Henrik R Clausen said...

It belongs to the Greek story that, according to my Greek sources, the 15-year youth who was shot was part of a 30-so mob who assaulted a police patrol car. The officer shot in self-defense.

Anyone first in line in an assault on the police creates a very real risk of being hit by a bullet. Being only 15 makes little difference.

Czechmade said...

They were masked, armed with metal sticks, molotov cocktails, retreated for a while then returned.

One policeman used blending granade, the other one shot three warning shots two in the air one in the ground - which rebounded.

The teenager was a son from a superrich family of a jeweller.

A future Fidel Castro dead (also from a superrich family) ?

Now the police disarmed they show effectively how easy it is to take over the power...

On the other hand the Greeks start arming themselves.

There some Swedish guy named Thomas Hammarberg responsible for refugees who kept mentoring the Greeks how to take all "from war torn countries".

Now Greece is effectively "war torn", let us take some refugees...

And bring Hammarberg with them...

Henrik R Clausen said...

This looks like the thing that happens if you try to appease the Antifa.

I'm expecting businesses to bail out from Greece, fast.

Henrik R Clausen said...

Latest news from Greece appears to be that the policeman did not fire in self-defense, but in anger.

Crap...

DMartyr said...

The two police officers have been charged - One with murder and the second as an accomplice.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hBFlGGEp5P_Xn83Bw3PLwJ020A-QD94V47R01

The press is reporting that the shooting sparked the riots. But if that's so, why was the now dead youth throwing molotov cocktails?

The riot was already in progress.

Henrik R Clausen said...

It's beyond doubt that the youth who was shot was assaulting the police.

That, however, does not seem to be considered a crime of significance in Greece today.

Perhaps the police should just go on strike...

X said...

There's a perfect model for this. Student riots, paris, 68. We're seeing a potential revolution.

Homophobic Horse said...

"There's a perfect model for this. Student riots, paris, 68. We're seeing a potential revolution."

The wrong kind of revolution. One where popular anger get's directed into politically safe lefty causes and not against the EU and transnational bureaucratic government.

Did I really say "politically safe lefty causes"?

Yes I did.

Antifa is a bourgeois and upper class organisation. It is made of undead people locked in permanent narcissistic rebellion against their parents.

Conservative Swede said...

The Baron wrote:

This is the alarming sentence: “The loss of life is something that is inconceivable in a democracy.”

When the absolute safety of everyone at all times is guaranteed, and loss of life is “inconceivable”, then a society becomes vulnerable to extortion by thugs for whom life is worthless. Remember the exultant battle cry of the mujahideen: “You love life, but we love death!”

The lovers of death have the upper hand when they encounter those for whom the loss of life is inconceivable. The tendency for the fainthearted is to bargain away everything else in order to save one’s own skin.


Excellent analysis! True to the essence!

Czechmade said...

The problem with those who always eliminate the "risks of life" is that they get easily manipulated by little nasty xy-devils.

The Greek gov. found itself in no win situation - shooting at the looters would make them "equal to the military junta". Which is a leftist non-sense. The guilty ones are all those who stick to such ideas in the Greek society: they allowed such a broad brush to be applied.

The principle of guilt by association will be applied anyhow - all will pay for the dammages - regardless of their convinctions. Call it gov, it means tax-payers.
Karamanlis gov will bow this way to the socialist principles...

Eleni Phufas-Jousma said...

The Athenians I spoke with are fit to be tied in frustration with police inaction and the govt's inabilty to take these thugs off the street. They are handllng a brutish situation with "kid gloves" when it should be handled profesisonally---by rounding these rioters up and holding them somewhere secure until their mummies and daddies bail them out or expelling them back to North Africa and the middle East...and protecting the innocent!~

Shopowners/residents in several cities have taken up their own weapons to protect their property since the emasculated state apparatus cannot. It's about time.

The Athens Center has been turned into a bordello war zone - the Anarchists and Muslims have allied to destroy Hellenism.