AYS Special from Greece: Militarisation — A tendency in 2020
By: Are You Syrious
Tags: Refugees, Militarization, Special, Police Brutality, Greece

Policing the city

This growing militarisation has been both visible and significant during 2020 in the attack on squats and solidarity groups, in the aggressive policing of protests and policing in general, in the handling of the refugee and migrant situation on the islands, Chios and Lesvos in particular, and finally in the area of border control, both in the Aegean Sea and at the land border with Turkey on the Evros river. The issue of border control has been the subject of several AYS Specials and will not be included here (Frontex Specials 1, 2 and 3)

2020 has seen extensive police presence and activity in the Exarcheia area of Athens, traditionally a stronghold for both anarchist and squat activity as well as for widespread social solidarity initiatives. The increased level of policing has been called a “cleaning operation” in the Greek mainstream and government-affiliated media, and is rooted in the historically hostile relationship between the new mayor of Athens Kostas Bakogiannis (a nephew of the prime minister Mitsotakis) and the anarchist community in Exarcheia. Another agenda behind the militarisation of the area and of Athens in general is the wish to gentrify the area with more Airbnb units, raised property prices and rent, making the neighbourhood inaccessible to most of the present inhabitants and tenants.

People on the move have been significantly impacted by the numerous evictions of squats and solidarity initiatives, many of which acted as living spaces where people could co-exist with locals and create their own networks and structures of self-support.

Despite having operated for several years, on the 19th November 2019, an ultimatum to leave all squats was issued by the government. On the same day, it was announced that plans had been made for setting up five closed centres for asylum seekers on the Aegean Islands.

During this time, the process of decongestion of the overpopulated camps on the North Aegean islands, Moria on Lesvos in particular, was also getting started, with the aim of relocating a large number of refugees to the Greek mainland.

A substantial number of these refugees ended up on the streets of Athens where they were often homeless and without support.

Many individuals and families, including children and babies, were seen at what became a temporary camp in Viktoria Square in the centre of Athens. For people arriving from the islands, the squats and solidarities had previously served as a refuge and as a stepping stone for getting on with their lives. In June alone, more than 2,000 refugees were transferred just from Lesvos.

Since the beginning of June, this policy of forcing refugees to leave accommodation structures to seek housing opportunities on their own without any suitable options for integration has created more critical situations, in which police have launched raids and operations in an attempt to remove refugees from Viktoria. After one such transfer operation, in which some 150 recognised refugees were transferred from Viktoria to reception facilities in Skaramangas and Schisto in western Attica, the minister of migration Notis Mitarachis boasted that:

“All refugees have left Viktoria Square for temporary accommodation, thanks to the actions of the migration ministry’s first reception service and Greek police,” adding that solidarity activists “have come to the square to exploit human suffering in order to create certain impressions,” underlining the confrontational line of this government.

June, 2020 — Refugees met with police in Viktoria Square. (Photo by ypopto_mousi)

The Evictions

During last winter, up until February, the police made several attempts to attack the Notara26 Refugee/Migrant Housing squat in a former tax office building close to Exarcheia where many refugees had found shelter.

In May, an abandoned building on Themistokleous Street in Athens, a squat that has hosted migrants and refugees since 2016, was evicted by a strong police force at 6am.

May 18, 2020 — Evacuation of the Themistokleous squat in Exarcheia (Photo by: Marios Lolos)

52 people, mainly from Syria and Congo, including 12 children, were taken to the Police Aliens’ Department to have their papers checked. They were then transferred to accommodation facilities, and those not eligible for asylum were held in detention before being deported.

In June, the police evicted and sealed the Dervenion 56 squat in Exarcheia. The squat was founded in September 2015, providing solidarity structures, medical care, food and education for refugees and migrants together with many anti-fascist, feminist, ecological and, of course, anarchist activities. Riot police built a concrete wall in front of the squat’s door. Protests marked by a heavy police presence continued for several days.

More raids followed during the summer. The 16-year old squat Terra Incognita and the Libertatia Squat in Thessaloniki were evicted in August, and on the 5th of September, police raided the legendary Rosa Nera Squat in Chania on Crete. They made 16 arrests and injured a journalist with a flashbang during the raid. Large demonstrations with the participation of a large proportion of Chania’s residents followed together with a strong police presence.

September 5, 2020 — Evacuation of the Rosa Nera Squat, Chania, Crete (Photo by Sofia Theodoraki)

Policing Migration

The year began with local protests on the islands of Lesvos and Chios against the construction of new closed detention centres. Special forces, transferred during the night on ferries from the mainland, deployed teargas, water cannons and sound flares against locals throwing stones and some Molotov cocktails in response. The local mayor and a priest were treated at the local hospitals after having inhaled teargas.

“Why, Mr. Mitsotakis?” — February 25, 2020 — Karava, Lesvos (Photo by Michael Bakas)

On the 9th of September, Moria camp on Lesvos, was destroyed by a major fire. During the chaotic aftermath of the fire, people were trying to escape into security and to find shelter and food. Once more, the response from the government in Athens was to deploy a large contingent of riot police to the island, to block roads and prevent people from leaving the area. A new tent camp was quickly erected in the Kara Tepe area close to Moria. Local islanders again attempted to block the access to the new camp area and were again met with a heavy police presence.

The situation escalated quickly, and refugees protesting against the transfer to a prison-like camp were met by police in combat gear and large doses of teargas. Several children were present in the teargas attacks.

The appalling conditions which they now have to contend with in the new camp have been well documented, but lesser known is the fact that a permanent police force of over 300 officers is planned to be stationed there, allocated from other directorates.