It is well known that the main opposition party SYRIZA is undergoing a transformation and trying to tip more to the center, or at least this is where its leader Alexis Tsipras wants his party to be. Until now, it was just rhetoric -and common sense to all those who knew- that the SYRIZA party was fully supported by anarchists and hooligans, but it looks like the party has to now sit down and really address the outbursts from its members since they not only confirm this belief but provocatively support it.
This new clash began on Wednesday after 100 people were detained by the police (and from what we find out 92 arrests were made on Thursday) from illegally occupying two public owned buildings in downtown Athens. The raids were at the illegally occupied buildings of Villa Amalia and Villa Maria Callas, while there was also a brief sit-in at the Athens offices of the Democratic Left in central Athens. At the two first squats, police confiscated dozens of empty bottles, gas masks, helmets and chunks of marble resembling those hurled by hooded youths at police during protest rallies.
Following the events, the SYRIZA party became infuriated as did some of its members. Commenting on the government's decision to crack down on lawlessness, one such member said that the issue of Villa Amalia and the Maria Callas home will become the springboard that will eventually bring down the government. The outburst of SYRIZA MP Vangelis Diamantopoulos in Parliament did not only infuriate anyone who was watching the news at the moment, it also began to show another dark side of the leftist party which was well hidden.
But then things got worse, on Thursday morning the fans of Alpha radio Alpha 9.89 were shocked and horrified when Diamantopoulos expanded a bit more on the subject. He more or less said that both villas have been abandoned by the state for years, and today the government "wants to sanction any pockets of resistance".
And then came the WHOPPER... "I define myself" as a supporter of the "anarchist" movement. "I do not see anyone ready to resist today, while in 2008 we had a RIOT."
Yes you heard correctly, he admitted on air that he supports (and obviously supported) the extremely violent and devastating riots of 2008 which burned down half of Athens and totally looted and destroyed the historic capital of Greece.
Anyone who was listening to the interview at that moment and with half a mind probably dropped their jaw. How shameful is it to hear a government MP -from a party that wants to rule Greece- openly admit his support to anarchy.
And what is even more sick and twisted is that he then tried to convince listeners that anarchy and lawlessness are a good thing. "What is an anarchist? He is a democrat", he noted.
(Editor scratching head - Since when did lawlessness and going against order become "democratic" and a good thing?)
Burning down half of Athens, looting and destroying public and private property and forcing merchants to begin from scratch because of a chaotic ideology, which does not respect law and order, is definitely not democracy in our book. It is something that is worse than fascism and is simply downright dangerous. In 2008 they destroyed Athens, and they set back tens of hundreds of families that worked in the Greek capital by literally wiping away their whole lives' work. Tens of hundreds of teens used the tragic Grigoropoulos murder as a reason to destroy the city center, completely loot it and as we found out later through various reports, eventually use the event to bring down the government of Costas Karamanlis and bring George Papandreou to power.
SYRIZA has to clean up shop because its deputies are terrorizing citizens with the statements they are making.
Luckily, the government is not going to bite and is determined to press ahead with this massive clean-up. Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias said on Wednesday that the government is not going to “back down on the issue of squats" and we applaud him on this initiative. No one has a right to illegally occupy a building, and law and order has to be respected. He also said that the government "will not allow the forces of anarchy and chaos to upset the country's course to recovery."
On his part, government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou accused SYRIZA of “supporting acts of violence and lawlessness” and challenged the party to clarify its position on the squatters.
As expected, SYRIZA -which is showing its true colors everyday- responded by accusing the government of trying to deflect public attention from a burgeoning scandal -regarding the so-called Lagarde list of Greeks with deposits at a Swiss bank-. Playing the diplomats, the statement condemned the DIMAR offices occupation, but charged that the government was attempting to disorientate citizens attention from other major issues.
Not wanting and refusing to address the issue, and certainly not wanting to talk about what some of their parliamentarians have been quoted as saying over the last few days, SYRIZA changed the agenda all together and began talking about anything but the specific subject. "At a time that households do not have to pay for heating and dozens of businesses are shutting down and millions of jobless are crashed in society's margins," it is ridiculous for the government to use the Villa Amalia, abandoned for the past 22 years, "as a number one issue," the statement said.
Commenting on SYRIZA's announcement, government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou said it was inconceivable for the main opposition party to offer support to acts of violence and anarchy. "SYRIZA should clarify whether the party covers up the so-called 'koukouloforoi' (masked anarchists). A hypocritical condemnation of the DIMAR offices occupation is just not enough, as violence is never symbolic," the spokesman stressed.
The New Democracy party press office later in the afternoon issued an announcement in which it said that "it is now clear that SYRIZA uses all its energy to establish its position in one of two extremes, either by supporting of and participating in illegal acts by its political comrades. SYRIZA's people and its leader Alexis Tsipras should realise that the days they could burn down Athens and citizens' properties are over," ND added.
In response, SYRIZA said in a separate statement that the "row of lies" continues. "The struggles to defend democracy will win over fear," it stressed.
Editor's Note - Oh... and burning down all of Athens in 2008, and placing an end to illegally occupied buildings full of materials to create a "resistance" move as Mr. Diamantopoulos explained, is not fear... No... Don't be silly it's democracy according to SYRIZA.
Tha trelathoume telios!
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