On 22.02.16. members of Anarchist Group Rouvikonas disrupted the evening news broadcast of state ERT TV after forcing their way past a security guard and entering the live studio. The group demanded that they be allowed to read a prepared statement on air. During the negotiations TV producers switched to archive footage. The news anchorman offered to read the text however the group found this to be unacceptable and left the studio after a brief scuffle with news staff which allegedly left one cameraman injured. Outside the studio 22 of the comrades were arrested and detained by police. Below is an English translation of the text Anarchist Group Rouvikonas planned to read out on air.
Insurance Policy reforms – economy
On 25th January 2015, SYRIZA won the electoral competition, by creating the hope that all the bills/deals that have been signed and approved the last couple of years will be left at the past. They have promised that they will “tear apart the Memorandum” and that a new era will begin for the Greek people that have been oppressed by the polices of the former governments. As the time passed, all these hopes proved to be a fraud and so, after the referendum at June 2015, the Syriza-Independent Greeks government signed a new, more burdensome deal with the “institutions”. That’s how the international loan sharks named themselves, chronicling for another time the historical role of Social Democracy, which is nothing more than the operation of the system to the benefit of capitalists, by projecting a fake populist face with the purpose of attenuation of reaction of the oppressed and poor people.
This new deal includes significantly harsh reforms, that give the deathblow to all rights and achievements that the oppressed people have. A social group that has been crashed especially from the policies of memorandum and the “bail-out bills” are this of the pensioners. In the past few years, the state has institutionalized reductions in pensions with the pretext of reducing the public expenses, which in reality it was money that was given to the oligarchs of banks. And now, for another time, the pensions constitute the field where the government will again cut with their knife. We would just like to state that EKAS (Pensioners Social Solidarity Benefit) will be cancelled, which will only make the low pensioners suffer. Let alone for the farmers, it is called for that no insurance levies will be paid from 2018. Some promises from the proponents of the bill about the rise of the pensions in the future are cancelled due to the economic state of the country.
In all this, the cherry on top brought by the government, is the raise of limits of pensionable people, as well the abolition of cases going for an early retirement through special reforms. It’s not a coincidence that the only social partner that agrees with the policies of the government is the SEV (Hellenic Federation of Enterprises).
Another unique case is NAT (Seamen’s Pension Fund), where reservedly they were given loans, which where nonrefundable to the shipowners. The purpose of the state, whoever is the administrator of the power, is the abolition of vested (earned with struggle and sacrifices) social insurance and the replacement of it with the private insurance.
Something that will bring new benefits to the capitalists, worsening the position of the workers, who in order to have a good pension, they will have to pay the private insurances. And so, a decent pension is an unreachable dream.
The government of SYRIZA-INDEPENDENT GREEKS, despite their populist profile that they’re promoting through their political marketing, they’re only serving the special interests of the rich.
Thus, meanwhile with their interference with the pensions, they implement other barbaric reform policies, such as the foreclosure of main residency, the constant bled dry of the poor through prompt taxes such as EMFIA, or the roundabout taxation through the continuation of high taxation percentages. The social wealth is being debased for a chunk of bread, while the work relations are already similar to those many decades ago. All these, for one more time, confirm the fact that, the state constitutes a mechanism that always serves the benefits of the powerful. However they name themselves the administrators of the state authority, wherever they come from, the only thing that they want is the smooth operation and perseverance of the existing system.
State oppression – criminalization of the disruptive political action
We acknowledge the intensity of oppression (both judicial and from police) from the side of the fake left government of SYRIZA, as an effort to give proof of conformity to the local and international bosses, but also as a wink towards the conservative part of their voters.
Just a few main points:
Blackmailing of imprisoned fighters to sign recantations in order to get their exit permits that they deserve.
Attempts of violent collection of DNA samples from respondent or persecuted fighters for political actions.
Prosecution/ custody of relatives of political prisoners, in order to make them dull their stance and their cause.
Reconstitution of the notorious team Delta, who are responsible for dozens of injuries and torments of civilians, with their green(this time) uniforms and their new code name team O.
Direct threats from district attorneys to members of the anarchist group Rouvikonas. They stated that if they continue their actions they will be facing charges for taking part in a criminal organization.·
The immigrants and the “refugee issue”
According to how we see things, the refugee issue is not absolute. The millions of refugees from Syria in the past 5 years have been added to the other millions of refugees from all over the world and especially from poor countries, is a consequence of the choices that have been made in the capitalist chessboard. The more intense problem is the wars, civil or foreign, which create constant waves of refugees. In the same manner, another problem is the systematic exploitation of areas and people that live there from the international capitalism, a fact that has been contributing for years to the preservation of an almost stable inflow of economic refugees-immigrants to the so called “west” world..
We generally acknowledge that no human who prospers and lives peacefully in his own country, wants to leave by going towards the unknown, except if they have been pushed by either bombs or poverty. For us the only reasonable segregation is between those who exploit and those who are being exploited, and we clearly support the latter, since we put ourselves in their shoes. The ruling class of Europe knows very well these games, since the days of colonization are not that old. The games of influence and authority of Europeans, Americans, Russians and Turkish are the games that support and preserve the war- or at least the war atmosphere- for decades, from Diyarbakir of Turkey to the mountains of Afghanistan and back, to Palestine.
The “efforts” of the Greek government, along with the vultures of Europe in order to control the inflow of refugees, could be called ridiculous, if they didn’t have to do with human lives. The greek state will in the end play the role of the border guard, while frontex and NATO will be closely watching. For us, the stakes are what the greek society will do, what we will all collectively do, in order to handle the refugee crisis, which is another problem caused by the capitalistic crisis. To the point where things are, there’s no easy solution. The first solution, which we prefix, is to incorporate and acknowledge refugees and immigrants as organic parts of our society, and together build a polymorphous movement against capitalism, capital and the state authority. The other solution is to support the nationalists in their “border guarding” and their fake “protection of the country”, basically succumbing to fascism and bigotry, until we or our children become as well “foreign” and “others” to some far off country, hunted by our own choices.
We respond:
The only terrorists and thieves are the capitalists and judges.
Uncompromising struggle against the state terrorism.
NOT A STEP BACK
Anarchist Group Rouvikonas
Anarchist Collegiality of Nea Filadelfia
http://insurrectionnewsworldwide.com/2016/02/26/greece-anarchist-group-rouvikonas-disrupt-state-tv-broadcast/