Blaze in Greece exposes two-tier response to disaster
Greek anarchists have accused police of forcing firefighting teams to concentrate on saving the villas of the wealthy around the outskirts of Athens at the expense of working class zones and huge swathes of forest.
Activist volunteers working to help firefighters said that not only was aid and equipment thin on the ground, but police had intervened on several occasions to order extra work to be put towards saving expensive homes.
Reporters on the Athens Indymedia website noted: “The cops were doing everything in their power in order to prevent any attempt to rescue the forest.
“The Penteli has been abandoned to the flames for the sake of the favourite areas of our economic and political leadership. If it’s not coordinated to protect the villa of a big name, there is absolute chaos. The rich have fled their homes and left them in the hands of migrant domestic workers who are waiting in the yards for someone to take them and lead them in a safe place.”
“Meanwhile orders from their firefighters’ headquarters have moved forced to protect the houses of specific people.”
“Firefighters, seasonal and volunteer firefighters are now openly expressing their anger at the attitude and behaviour of the cops.”
Anarchist groups have also warned that the state may be gearing up to use the catastrophe to try and demonise their organisations, after unconfirmed reports filtered through of police apparently encouraging the blaze in some areas.
The timing of the fires has been particularly difficult for the Greek anarchist movement, which is currently stretched thin working on an ongoing campaign to support migrant workers and maintain momentum after the conflicts of last year.
An international day of solidarity called for Greek political prisoner Thodoris Iliopoulos on 24th August was to be followed up on the 25th with a week-long camp to fight for similar freedoms for migrants in the country. However the fires meant that both the solidarity campaign for Thodoris and the No Borders camp failed to make their intended impact.
The failure could be a serious setback for Thodoris, who has been on hunger strike since 10th July saying that his incarceration in unjust. His situation is now critical.
The anarchist was one of hundreds arrested during the riots which shook Greece last year and is the only remaining prisoner from that time.
He is charged with three felonies and two misdemeanours and has now spent seven months in jail, a process which supporters say is designed primarily to make an example of him and to scare potential supporters off the streets.
