Foto de Tilemahos EfthimiadisOne year ago, on December 6 2008, 15 years old Alexis Grigoropoulos was murdered in cold blood by the bullets of a policeman’s gun. What followed was beyond any prediction.A huge wave of protests and fury was immediately expressed all over Greece sweeping away the general climate of resignation and political apathy the greek youth seemed to be living in. And it brought to a dead end the established political system which had decided to defend to the end the version of an unfortunate “isolated incident’It is obvious that this irrational, insane and brutal murder was the spark. The flammable material that fed the fire were the accumulated dead ends faced by the young people. These dead ends are known and acknowledged: the huge crisis of the educational system, the insecure employment future which deprives the young people of the prospect of independence and individual freedom, the serious economic crisis and the labour and financial precarity.In brief, the certainty that this generation will have a worse life than all the previous generations. These problems were filling the cup that spilled over with Grigoropoulos’ murder. This is what caused this unprecedented rage that exploded in the streets, in the squares and in front of police stations. But it did not stop there. While the main exponents of the established political system and the big mass media were trying to present this outbreak just as blind violence and shop windows breaking, tens of thousands of young people were demonstrating for days in a massive, dynamic but peaceful way. And almost at the same time, the working people took to the streets of Greek cities, in demonstrations that were among the most massive and better organized protests of the last decade.Ler Mais...SYRIZA was the only political force that defended the rights and the causes of this uprising, without calculating the cost. And it paid the price. Very quickly the public debate stopped focusing on the flammable materials and focused on the ashes. Those of us who dared to focus on the real issues were accused of being moral perpetrators to the shop burnings and lootings.We did not regret our stand and did not step back. Our defence of the young people was a principled stand. We defended them from the organized slanders and the misinformation. And we steadfastly brought to the fore the dead ends that cause their anger. At the same time we tabled proposals that could have opened a way out. Proposals that had to do with the restriction of repression and police arbitrariness, the defence of the public and social character of education, the abolition of social inequalities, the measures to face unemployment and work precarity.We are still unrepentant for December; for the hard battle of principles we waged against the whole political and mediatic establishment. We have no regrets for what we did mainly because we believe that these demands are still valid in the conscience of society and emerge more lively, clearer and more mature in the coming social struggles.One year later we know more. We know that the spark of doubt exists in the hearts of the young people.We know that the ruling political and economic strategy, which is leading society towards a deep crisis in order to allow the few to accumulate gains, is without the support or the consent it needs to continue.We know that stating you belong to the left and waving the hammer and sickle does not necessarily set you against the established power system.But the most important thing we know is that the power system, in spite of its totalapparent mastery of the situation, has grave weaknesses and is afraid.It is not afraid of the wrathful outbreaks of violence because those it can handle and turn to its own advantage. It is afraid of the people who contest their unalienable rights in the streets, in universities, schools, at the working place.The power system is afraid of the coming December when the outbreak will be more conscious, with its political and social demands expressed more coherently: resistance, solidarity, dignity.Article by Alexis Tsipras, President of SYNASPISMOS on the 2008 December events (4/12/2009)
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Foto de Tilemahos EfthimiadisOne year ago, on December 6 2008, 15 years old Alexis Grigoropoulos was murdered in cold blood by the bullets of a policeman’s gun. What followed was beyond any prediction.A huge wave of protests and fury was immediately expressed all over Greece sweeping away the general climate of resignation and political apathy the greek youth seemed to be living in. And it brought to a dead end the established political system which had decided to defend to the end the version of an unfortunate “isolated incident’It is obvious that this irrational, insane and brutal murder was the spark. The flammable material that fed the fire were the accumulated dead ends faced by the young people. These dead ends are known and acknowledged: the huge crisis of the educational system, the insecure employment future which deprives the young people of the prospect of independence and individual freedom, the serious economic crisis and the labour and financial precarity.In brief, the certainty that this generation will have a worse life than all the previous generations. These problems were filling the cup that spilled over with Grigoropoulos’ murder. This is what caused this unprecedented rage that exploded in the streets, in the squares and in front of police stations. But it did not stop there. While the main exponents of the established political system and the big mass media were trying to present this outbreak just as blind violence and shop windows breaking, tens of thousands of young people were demonstrating for days in a massive, dynamic but peaceful way. And almost at the same time, the working people took to the streets of Greek cities, in demonstrations that were among the most massive and better organized protests of the last decade.Ler Mais...SYRIZA was the only political force that defended the rights and the causes of this uprising, without calculating the cost. And it paid the price. Very quickly the public debate stopped focusing on the flammable materials and focused on the ashes. Those of us who dared to focus on the real issues were accused of being moral perpetrators to the shop burnings and lootings.We did not regret our stand and did not step back. Our defence of the young people was a principled stand. We defended them from the organized slanders and the misinformation. And we steadfastly brought to the fore the dead ends that cause their anger. At the same time we tabled proposals that could have opened a way out. Proposals that had to do with the restriction of repression and police arbitrariness, the defence of the public and social character of education, the abolition of social inequalities, the measures to face unemployment and work precarity.We are still unrepentant for December; for the hard battle of principles we waged against the whole political and mediatic establishment. We have no regrets for what we did mainly because we believe that these demands are still valid in the conscience of society and emerge more lively, clearer and more mature in the coming social struggles.One year later we know more. We know that the spark of doubt exists in the hearts of the young people.We know that the ruling political and economic strategy, which is leading society towards a deep crisis in order to allow the few to accumulate gains, is without the support or the consent it needs to continue.We know that stating you belong to the left and waving the hammer and sickle does not necessarily set you against the established power system.But the most important thing we know is that the power system, in spite of its totalapparent mastery of the situation, has grave weaknesses and is afraid.It is not afraid of the wrathful outbreaks of violence because those it can handle and turn to its own advantage. It is afraid of the people who contest their unalienable rights in the streets, in universities, schools, at the working place.The power system is afraid of the coming December when the outbreak will be more conscious, with its political and social demands expressed more coherently: resistance, solidarity, dignity.Article by Alexis Tsipras, President of SYNASPISMOS on the 2008 December events (4/12/2009)