Fighting ‘terror’ with terror?

A report in today’s Greek conservative newspaper, Kathimerini, calls on the Greek government to enlist the help of foreign police and intelligence agencies to help combat the growing threat to the established capitalist system posed by a resurgence of armed resistance movements, such as Revolutionary Struggle.

The report calls for the conservative Greek government to take “swift action to prevent any further damage”, and for the curtailment of safe guards, which it calls “the altar of red tape”, to allow so-called ‘anti-terrorism officials’ to be more effective.

If adopted, the move would mark a dangerous further lurch to the right by the Greek government. The move would likely result in a massive groundswell of support for urban guerrilla movements, which have seen a resurgence over the past several years.

US and British intelligence agencies would be likely candidates for Greece to call on, both countries have recently placed pressure on Greek authorities for their lack of progress in apprehending members of Revolutionary Struggle.

Both the CIA and MI6 have well-documented histories of interference in the internal affairs of other nations. Any move by the Greek government to enlist the help of these agencies is likely to result in disastrous consequences for Greek citizens.

Read Kathimerini commentary

Gaps exposed in police ‘terror’ probe

The Greek conservative daily newspaper, Kathimerini, has reported that serious oversights were made by the police in their investigation of the left-wing guerrilla movement Revolutionary Struggles’ December 23, 2008 shooting of a police riot bus in Goudi, Athens.

It is reported that investigators failed to reveal that one of the guns used in the attack was a semi-automatic weapon that had been used by the group in a previous incident, a fact only revealed by the urban guerrillas in their proclamation last week.

Officially, the police have stated that none of the evidence gathered at the scene of the December 23 shooting indicated that one of the weapons used was an MP5 submachine gun that had been stolen from a police guard in 2007, and was used in a Revolutionary Struggle attack on a police station in Nea Ionia just a few days later.

Kathimerini is reporting that police sources have stated that the discovery of a spent 9mm cartridge at the scene should have led officers to conclude that the attack was linked to the 2007 assault of a Nea Ionia police station. It has been suggested that investigators thought the casing indicated a handgun had been used.

The oversight has raised serious questions about the thoroughness and competence of Greece’s anti-terrorist squad. Kathimerini is reporting that both the British and US embassies in Athens have expressed concern about the lack of progress in apprehending the members of Revolutionary Struggle, which has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks across Greece since 2003.

Police sources are alleged to have said that progress was made in 2007 to close in on potential guerrilla suspects, but that the replacing of public order minister Vyron Polydoras in September 2007 caused progress to stall.

Following the recent proclamation by the group, which made many references to migrant rights, police are also raising the possibility that non-Greeks may have joined Revolutionary Struggle. Although it is also possible that these references could just be an indication of the widespread feelings amongst many Greeks regarding immigration.

Read Kathimerini Report

Overview – Revolutionary Struggle

Revolutionary Struggle is a left-wing Greek guerilla movement that has conducted a series of attacks against the Greek government and the American embassy in Athens. The group has been described as a terrorist organization by the Greek government and the EU, as well as many mainstream media outlets.

The group first emerged in 2003 after the bombing of an Athens courthouse that injured one police officer. This was followed up by further attacks in 2004 against the Greek Labour Ministry and police buses.

A further attack was launched against the Greek Finance Ministry building in Athens on 12th December 2005. In the groups manifesto, published 10 days later, it was stated that this attack was conducted as the Ministry is “the centre from which flow the political directions and methods of adapting the Greek economy to the international reality, deciding on the way to apply to Greece the strategic directions decided informally by a supra-national elite and imposed by Europe through economic and political institutions (European Central Bank, EU Commission etc…)”.

On 22nd December 2005, the group published a manifesto in the Greek satirical magazine, To Pontiki, in which the group outlined its concerns about international capitalism and European Union mandated budget cutbacks, which have resulted in massive reductions on welfare spending in the areas of health care, education and pensions.

EU economic policy is said to “converge on the same target, the drastic reduction of state spending on the economically weaker and on social spending more generally, squeezing downwards the cost of production, the perpetual attack on labour”, the manifesto declares. Government measures to combat tax evasion are described as being exclusively focused on the poorer classes who owe taxes – “whose salaries and pensions will be confiscated” – rather than the rich.

The group outlines its concerns about wealth distribution and poverty, pointing out that 2.3 million Greek families live on only 576 euros a month. Calling for the complete overthrow of the system by revolutionary means, the group states “We will achieve the eradication of these ills only with the overthrow of the existing system in its entirety”.

The manifesto, noting the French riots of October 2005, states that “the return of the revolutionary vision to the forefront of history is the urgent precondition for the definitive exit from the vicious cycle of injustice and social disaster promised by the system of globalised capitalism and parliamentary ‘democracy'”.

The US led so-called ‘war on terror’ is also strongly denounced as a ploy to establish a global police state to control the working classes of the world, stating “It is a war without borders or territorial or national divisions, in which spies can operate unhindered and kidnap whomever they believe suspect for the security of the system”. The group notes the alleged CIA abduction of members of the Pakistani community in Greece as an example of “Greece’s obedience to the dictates of the US”.

An assassination attempt on George Voulgarakis, the Greek Culture Minister and former Public Order Minister, was also attempted by the group on May 30, 2006. Over 2 pounds of explosives were strapped to a bicycle stationed near Voulgarakis’ residence and then detonated by remote control. No injuries resulted from the explosion, but four parked cars and a school building were damaged in the attack. Revolutionary Struggle later claimed responsibility for the attack citing Greek involvement in the ‘war on terror’ and Voulgarakis’ suspected role in the illegal interrogation of Pakistani residents as justification for the bombing.

The groups most audacious attack came on January 12, 2007, when an anti-tank missile was launched at the United States embassy in Athens. The Russian made rocket, believed to have been fired from more than 300 yards away across a busy boulevard, hit the heavily guarded building on top of the U.S. seal on the embassy façade, wrecking facilities near the U.S. ambassador’s office on the third floor. Greece’s public order minister at the time, Vyron Polydoras, told Greek television that the Revolutionary Struggle group claimed responsibility for the attack in an anonymous telephone call made to a local security company.

A further two attacks were claimed by the group in a statement sent to the Greek weekly Pontiki newspaper. The statement claimed responsibility for a December 23, 2008 shooting of a riot police bus and a January 5, 2009 shooting in which one police officer was seriously wounded.

The attacks followed Greece’s worst civil unrest in decades, which was sparked off on December 6, 2008 by the fatal police shooting of an unarmed teenager in the district of Exarhia, in central Athens.

Revolutionary Struggle has warned it “could literally crush the police security, leaving unguarded the political and economic powers that be”. “The cop’s bullet fuelled a social combustion long in the making and presages far broader outbursts,” the group said.

It is widely believed that the Revolutionary Struggle group emerged from the ashes of the left-wing resistance movement 17 November, which was dealt a serious blow when key members of the organization were arrested after a failed bombing attempt on the Flying Dolphin ferry group on June 29, 2002.

Revolutionary Struggle has vowed to continue its attacks, and has called on others to form militant cells to bring about an end to the oppressive capitalist system.

Following the recent unrest in Greece, it is reasonable to believe that many groups may heed this call. Militant attacks by anarchists in Greece are quite common, in a recent case a 26-year-old man was arrested, accused of carrying out an arson attack on a municipal police station in northern Greece.

Greek authorities will face increasing pressure over the coming years to try to control its population as the global financial crisis is expected to exacerbate already deep-rooted social problems such as unemployment and poverty.

Further Reading:

Athens News – Robin Hood Terrorists
Wikipedia – Revolutionary Struggle
START – Revolutionary Struggle

Greek tycoon kidnapping unrelated to Revolutionary Struggle

The kidnapping of a Greek shipping tycoon is unrelated to the guerrilla resistance movement Revolutionary Struggle, police have said.

Pericles Panagopoulos, founder of Greek ferry operator Superfast Ferries, was snatched by three armed men in broad daylight on Monday in Greece’s third high-profile kidnapping since June 2008.

Read Reuters report

“Proclamation – Manifesto of promise for new blood” from Topontiki.gr

The following article is an unedited Babelfish translation taken from the Greek Satirical weekly To Pontiki.

Proclamation – Manifesto of promise for new blood

“The revolutionary Fight undertakes the responsibility for the armed attack on 5 January against police officers SUBDUE that guarded the ministry of culture in Exarchia, as answer in the [anandri] murder of Alexandros [Grigoropoyloy]. Also, it undertakes the responsibility for the attack on 23 December against the prison-van SUBDUE in [Goydi]”.

With this preface the Revolutionary Fight undertakes the responsibility for the two attacks that all these days all were certain that the particular organisation indeed has realised. Besides in the unique postscript of his [entekaselidis] [pyknogrammenis] proclamation, which you will read entire in pages 23 – 25 and 40 – 43, undertakes “the responsibility for the placement of explosive mechanism in the offices of multinational petrolic Shell in the P. Faliron in the 24 passed October”. This proclamation differs considerably from oldest in a line points, which reveal certain new sides comparatively with that we knew for the organisation so much from the previous attacks what – mainly – from her proclamations. Is [alloste] common admission that each her appearance it adds something new so much as for the methods what as for style of writing.

Attack in the police

1 Firstly contains multiple “warnings” to the Hellenic Police and the police officers, something however which we have also seen in her previous texts, specifically in what [synodeyse] the attack in the department of Abundant. Consequently here it does not exist… “news”.

2 After a long list of “victims of government owned terrorism” and police officers that were not condemned, we read a straight line threat: “The murderer [Korkoneas] cannot constitute exception and we are certain that finally they will be small time duration his eve in the prison. We wait for him at an early date near us…”.

3 Becomes extensive report in the “innumerable murders of Greeks and foreigners socially [apokliron]”, “tortures of immigrants” etc. from police, harbour and [synorofylakes].

4 From equal extensive is the report, first time with so much details, in the attack outside from the ministry of Culture, but also first time with so much [apaxiotikoys] characterizations (“armed “hens””, “[ripsaspides] that run are hidden”, “[anandroi] and coward”) for the police officers SUBDUE, while the organisation supports that the police officers that it opposite had her [antapedosan] fires while they could!

5 It rejects the all scripts counterterrorist [peri] located “basic suspect” and ringer for the members of [E].[A] characterizing him means of dulling… American women!

6 It causes the police to give in the publicity the prison-van that was struck in [Goydi] claiming that it has accepted 10 balls.

7 It explains why it selected it strikes in Exarchia.

“Piece of revolutionary movement”

If the all [parapano] elements are rather object of police reportage, the proclamation has a line other “qualitative” elements which do not pass unnoticed and are revealing the final objectives of Revolutionary Fight.

1 Firstly it attempts straightly “it colors” from his viewpoint the social conflicts that [diablepei] that it is exceptionally likely they are marked the next period. It speaks for “inevitable social explosions” and it prompts in a “armed confrontation with the arrangement and [tsirakia]”, which “is not only desirable, but also feasible”…

2 It considers that “the armed fight is basic component between the other of revolutionary movement”, in a obvious effort claim, first time, a [kinimatiki] and political legalisation, without in deed [antidiastellei] the social movements with the armed conflict. On the contrary “it sees” armed thing as department of “revolutionary movement”.

3 In this frame it attacks in its entirety the political parties ascribing to them “fear front in the size of social rage”. The more intense attack in any case it starts at the Communist Party of Greece, while from his arrows does not escape nor the Against power Movement, from her cause of statement, the content of which are published in the page of 8 leaf that circulates.

4 It uses the hypothetical script of extensive popular revolt and the creation of one Athenian “[kommoynas]” so that it places with “military” terms the “necessity of” “armed violence”.

[Elladokentriki] approach

In previous proclamations was reported to him the Revolutionary Fight in the first place in the international economic situation and crisis in order to it will include in her this Greek dimension. Now, on the occasion the mobilisations of December, it differentiates perceptibly his reports dedicating more space in the domestic setting and the hellenic side of crisis.

Is almost characteristic the extensive report in the Greek economy and society with terms of “journalistic” topicality wanting it approaches wider audience.

It would not be, we believe, exaggeration if we said that, after a five-year circle of action with phases climaxing and recession, this organisation, having substitutes almost completely dislocated or withdrawn from the limelight organisations, attempts a step more beyond: conquer the acceptance that, some period, recorded the polls for the 17[N].

With raw material modern “[Dekembriana]” and the proven weakness of state and political institutions and organisations to check what were played in the streets of Greek cities, with climax the conflicts and the destructions in the streets of Athens, the Revolutionary Fight obviously consider that it should it takes his own share.

It is [alloste] characteristic the phrase that “our choice to act with the particular way ([s].[s].: attack in SUBDUE) was in the first place political”.

Last one – but no insignificant – element is the lack of report, beyond the expected threats at the police, in the future of organisation and, mainly, in her future objectives. Even if more already we have pointed out a objective: this proclamation constitutes… “invitation interesting” with horizon the next social conflicts. This from only his is already a enormous question…

And, for those who they have the fury they connect the [E].[A] with the 17[N], what we can realise they are that their common element it is henceforth the invitation for integration in armed. We in deed risk to say, with a obvious dose of… risk, that, as the 17[N], the [E].[A] encourages the creation of also other similar organisations wanting it constitutes a type of “armed avant-garde”, claiming rather the hegemony, but no essentially and the exclusivity in the space of organisations of this type.

From [oy] and the enormous extent of proclamation, but also her form, which refers in… “manifesto”!

In no case however we cannot light the heart, as enough they imply, say that 17[N] and Revolutionary Fight emanate from the same ideological uterus. The ideological chaos that separates him is visible via naked eye…

Rather however it will need we come back, after this history has still a lot of bread…

Original Article

Revolutionary Struggle claims attacks on police

The Greek resistance movement Revolutionary Struggle has claimed responsibility for an attack against the police in Athens, authorities said Wednesday.

Revolutionary Struggle has vowed to continue such attacks, renewing the possibility that Greece may once again be gripped by militant resistance of the kind that has put fear into the hearts of the ruling class for decades.

Read AP report

About this blog

The aim of this blog is to monitor the Greek resistance movement “Revolutionary Struggle”, and to provide links to recent news reports, as well as occasional opinion pieces, regarding this groups activities to the English speaking inhabitants of the world.