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Thessaloniki, September 6/7 2002 |
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The opening of the 67th Thessaloniki International Expo and the speech of the prime minister who announces there every year the economic policy in front of the country's elite, have triggered off a series of demonstrations from various social and political spaces. Students, workers, farmers, residents of Aravissos (who struggle for years against the exploitation of their village sources), even PAOK fans... The city was full of cops and the area around the expo surrounded by 7000, among them riot police squads from Athens. Friday 6, there were clashes when the police blocked a demonstration of 200 students and workers close to the Summit Center. Demonstrators had fights with the cops who threw gas and made two arrests. There were small riots in smaller streets around. 300 leftists and anarchists made a march in solidarity with the arrested and concentration in front of the police headquarters. The arrested had been charged and then released late at night. Next day, Saturday 7, there were two different demonstrations. The first one with 250 leftists and 200 anarchists / anti-authoritarians, and the second one 1000 people from the European Social Forum, left groups, Aravissos villagers and an anarchist bloc. The two demos met outside the Expo, where members of the communist party workers front and farmers had already gathered. The general atmosphere was quite nerveless, but the anarchist bloc was dynamic, shouting slogans like: "There's police in every corner - Turkey is not the only Junta", "Cops, judges, bosses, collaborators, you are all going to pay for the blood of Giuliani", "The state is the only terrorist", "Repression, money, reformation will no pass - Hands off Lelas Karayanni squat!" and others in memory of anarchists and revolutionaries who have been murdered by the state as terrorists, Marinos, Tsoutsouvis and Prekas...". When the concentration was coming to an end, anarchists and other demonstrators started moving towards the Expo with the slogan "Cops, Pigs, Assassins" and throwing stones and sticks against the police forces who were guarding the entrance. They also attacked few TV journalists that were close to the people and smashed some TV cameras. |