Something good is happening in Syntagma Square

What is happening in the Square? We are wondering aloud, every Athenian has been there at least once, everyone wants to be part of the history being written in Syntagma Square.

Syntagma means Constitution in Greek and this particular Square is the place where the first (foreign mind you) king of Greece was forced to accept and grant a Constitution. Syntagma Square, just in front of the Parliament Building has been since then the center of all mass actions, popular uprisings and so on with the exception of the military junta whose end was marked by a student uprising in the Polytechnic school of Athens.

For the last 8 days and going strong the Syntagma General Assembly is trying to realize what is called “Direct democracy”. I suppose that they are inspired by the Athenian democracy of ancient times. Such a process is not easy to materialize in a megalopolis of roughly 4 million people so the new suggestion is “take the assemblies to the neighbourhoods”. We shall find out whether it is working or not.
I have made a rough translation of the latest resolution they issued:

Resolution voted by the people’s Assembly of Syntagma Square

It has been a long time that decisions are made for us without us.
We are working people, unemployed, pensionners, youth who have come to Syntagma to struggle for our lives and our future.
We are here because we know that the solutions to our problems can only come from us.
We call all Athenians, working people, unemployed and youth to come to Syntagma and the whole society to fill up the squares and take life in its hands.
It is in the squares that we shall formulate, all together, our demands and the targets we are struggling to achieve.
We call all the working people who are going on strike over the next period to end their marches in Syntagma Square and stay there.
We are not leaving from the Squares until the people who have led us here have left: governments, troika, banks, mnemonium and all those who take advantage of us. We tell them that this debt is not ours.
Direct democracy now!
Equality – Justice – dignity
http://real-democracy.gr : visit to see more and watch live

Wake up call for the Greeks at a wake outside the Greek Parliament

Yesterday, Wednesday, 25 May 2011, disappointed and disillusioned, the working people of Greece decided to voice their protest in a new way. Inspired by the Spanish mass rallies, a spontaneous response was organized by the Greek citizens: a protest beyond parties, unions and/or organizations.
The majority of the over 20.000 people who gathered in Syntagma Square, in front of the Parliament Building in Athens alone were below thirty, many young couples with their kids, unemployed and self-employed, small shop-keepers and so on. The slogans were against the whole system with the chant of “Thieves” being repeated every now and then.
Similar protests were held in Thessaloniki, Patra, Volos and other smaller Greek cities.
There is a call for a new rally today – we are waiting to see how the rainy weather will influence people’s attendance. The protesters are making jokes on the social media: “Yesterday it was the people’s rage – today it is God’s rage – we should have better coordination!” referring to a well known greek saying: People’s fury means God’s fury. For the Greek readers “οργή λαού οργή θεού”.
The police presence was much more discreet than usual so there was no violence.
There was no reaction from the Greek government other than an announcement by the President of the Republic that he is trying to organize a meeting of the political leadership of the country under his aegis.
All the photographs are taken from Indy media Athens.