Greece: Attica citizens clash wildly with police over landfill site

From Act for Freedom Now ! (see also here):

"The residents of the Attican district of Keratea (around 41 km south-east of Athens) have gathered since early Saturday morning at Ovriokastro in opposing against the State’s decision to build up a garbage storage area on the certain spot. The State has decided to build up the garbage storage area of the whole Attica’s waste on Ovriokastro, despite the fact that the certain spot is officially an archeological site (decision of the Central Archeological Council). In the mobilization of the citizens participate also members of the major council who also provided citizens with the town-hall’s vehicles. Earlier on Saturday, around 5:00, police forces arrived at Ovriokastro in order to guard the area, so bulldozers could started construction. Hundreds of people started directing on the spot trying to block the construction.

The police reacted in their usual neo-fascistic methods by throwing tear-gas, sound-shine grenades and beating up children, youths, men and women, people in their third age.

The citizens responded with stones, Molotov cocktails, flaming barricades and woods they could find around in order to protect themselves and nature. After the straight reactionof the citizens the pigs stated that they would leave the spot, accepting that their presencethere is illegal. Instead, more police started gathering (around 400 of special police) but also more citizens started directing to Ovriokastro. During the clashes, a small fire raised up “accidentally” in the forest because of a tear-gas canister.

Later the three water canon cop-vehicles started directing also on the spot, while a cop-helicopterwas continuously flying above the mountain. The police remained in the area forthe whole night.

The companies who are involved in the certain construction:

ΜΕΣΟΓΕΙΟΣΑ.Ε. - ΠΡΟΕΤΑ.Ε. - ENDRACO Α.Τ.Ε.

On Sunday mourning around 2000 people started directing towards the spot.

The police started the war for one more time and the citizens kept on defending with any weapon they could find around. The clashes kept on during the whole afternoon with the cops beating up even children and women but also having a water-canon with them – important to mention that this is the first time of its use after the fall of the military junta.

Mr. Marinos Aliferis, a journalist, was injured by the pigs’ violence and had to go to Evaggelismos Hospital. Civil cops have also switched off for several minutes the live-streaming camera of zougla.gr.

Meanwhile, flaming barricades are set up on Lavriou Avenue and some citizens have also sabotaged the electricity supply. Also shots from a gun have been heard in afternoon, possibly from citizens who shot on the air to make the police think twice about their actions.The guerrilla keeps on until the time that this article is being written with barricades on several roads, attacks with stones and Molotov cocktails and body to body fights.The citizens have made it to keep the police stepping back anytime they were trying to attack. Tones of tear-gas have been thrown but the people still resist. Residents from other areas have started directing to the spot driving also four bulldozers with them in order to protect themselves from police violence. The people have announced that they will remain there for the whole night."

See on the problem of garbage management in Greece:

http://landfillsgrece.blogspot.com/