К жителям Амфиссы

TO THE RESIDENTS OF AMFISSA

The 20th of January will see the trial of the police officer that executed the 15 year old Alexandros Grigoropoulos in Exarcheia take place in your city. No matter where one sees this from, even for those who insist to “have confidence in the Greek justice system” this trial is a trial of expediency: they chose a small and quiet town, with the all problems of the greek countryside, and chose to bring to it a main political incident that shocked the whole of Greece and caused the first revolt following the fall of the junta. The objectives of the state are obvious. They want to cut off, they want to keep afar those who want to have a saying against this juridical laundering-operation. The distance [from Athens] and the isolation of Amfissa are for the state its hope to guarantee its much-wanted isolation, not in the name of “delivery of justice” but in an effort to close the chapter of a murder and a revolt in a way that will, communication-wise, bring it “on top”. The police occupation, fear, all this hubbub is part of a scene being set up in your city that the state will use to produce some television propaganda for the entire country.

A 15-year old boy was executed in the most heavily policed neighbourhood of Athens for the last 30 years. If the incident had happened elsewhere, perhaps it would had gone mostly unnoticed. In Exarcheia however, the presence of many anarchists, leftists but also un-grouped people with conscience left no time for the regime to impose any blackout. The first explosion of rage that was expressed in the area created a chain reaction across the entire capital, across the whole country.

For nearly a month, tens of thousands took to the streets, shouted, protested, hit and got hit. It is certain that the death of Alexandros was only the occasion. It is what we live every day that came to find a spontaneous expression in those days. And how could something like this have happened peacefully?

Destruction of properties did take place. And beside the justified ones (who really feels sorry for a burnt bank?) many were random. How can a spontaneous and multi-colour revolt be “self-controlled”? A uninstructed revolt and for this reason, a genuine one. If we shared the logic of the political forces of power, we would without second thought claim “as ours” such a situation. We would name “anarchists” all those who took part and we would claim the responsibility for everything. After all, we would not make any more enemies than we already have, nor are we dependent on the law-abiding rules of elections and parliament.