Watching Oppression Burn: Across Greece, Across Europe
The BBC’s Malcolm Brabant looks at why student anger has erupted across Greece over Saturday’s fatal police shooting of a teenage boy.
 Young people have been clashing with police in cities across Greece |
The riots that have swept Greece for the past two days and look set to continue for the foreseeable future underline why the most important day in the national calendar is "Oxi" or "No" day.
"Oxi" day commemorates 28 October 1940, when Greek leader Ioannis Metaxas used that single word to reply to Mussolini’s ultimatum to allow Italy to invade Greece, propelling his nation into World War II.
Is Greece having a 1968?
Young people in the streets. The government forced into an early election and saying that it can’t control the country. Years of simmering discontent apparently coalescing into serious civil unrest. Perhaps things look worse than they are because of the police tactic of avoiding direct confrontations with rioters where possible: sacrifice property to safe life. But is there any other European country this close to boiling point?
MAIN FOCUS: Violence in Greece | 08/12/2008
A policeman in Athens shot a 15-year-old rioter who allegedly hurled stones at a police car. The incident has sparked riots in numerous Greek cities. The European press analyses the causes of the violence and the consequences for the Greek government.
Explosión social en Grecia
Police killing sparks riots in Greece
Greek youths rioted across central Athens and the northern city of Thessaloniki yesterday in protest at the killing of a teenager by police. They set cars alight and…
[Comment] Athens burns and with it a history of democracy
Europe Nervous as Greek Riots Continue
The deep fault lines within Greek society have exploded this week, with huge riots erupting across the country. The causes for the violence are myriad, but considering that part of the cause is the global economic stress, anyone in Europe watching the images on TV right now must be feeling at least a pang of dread. With so much uncertainly looming, there are plenty of people who fear scenes like this could be coming with more frequency across the continent.
Greece youth: violence in the name of education
9 December. As the funeral takes place of a young boy, whose death led to days of continuous rioting in Greek cities three days earlier, a look at where the rebellion is coming from. Voice from Athens
Greece in turmoil: riots and politics, Kostas G
The current situation in Greece, where days of riots followed the shooting on 6 December 2008 by a policeman of a young student, is messy and confusing. A general strike on 10 December in protest at the government’s economic policies – even though the turnout of demonstrators was far less than organisers hoped – reinforces the sense of social division and dysfunctional governance. The riots belong to a larger historical and political pattern, which can help to explain or at least clarify them.
The shooting of the teenager by the policeman was the culmination of a series of incidents. Amnesty International and the Greek Helsinki Monitor are among the organisations that have consistently reported blatant human-rights abuses by the Greek police. Unlike other incidents, however, the shooting received both extensive reporting in and near-universal condemnation by the media. This can be explained by the fact that the victim was not a rowdy and perhaps hairy university student who might have been depicted as "asking for it", nor an immigrant for whom no one seems to care.
Vandals hit French Muslim graves
The graves of 500 French Muslim war veterans are vandalised in an attack condemned by President Sarkozy.
The Irish send out good vibrations on Lisbon
by Hugo Brady
Ireland’s parliament – the Oireachtas – recently published a lengthy report on where the country’s relationship with the EU stands after the country’s rejection of the Lisbon treaty by referendum. Initially, I feared the study might be heavy on clichéd pieties about Ireland’s relationship with the EU without really dealing with the difficult political situation created by voting down the treaty or suggesting concrete ways out of the mess. In fact – while it fails to completely avoid the clichés (“Ireland’s position at the heart of Europe” etc) – the analysis, compiled by the parliament’s EU committee, is impressively clear, thoughtful and, in places, prescriptive.
Vilnius unveils 2009 cultural programme
Next year’s capital of culture celebrations in the Baltic city of Vilnius will see residents and visitors alike take part in cultural projects under the motto ‘Culture Live’, it emerged yesterday (9 December) at a ceremony marking the launch of the event in the European Parliament.
DOSSIER : Decntralization< /a>
1 – The Regional Fact and French style Decentralization – How is it perceived by our European partners?
The EU vs the national interest
The Telegraph’s Brussels correspondent Bruno Waterfield has made an interesting contribution to a pamphlet by the Manifesto Club, No Means No! Essays on the Eve of the European Council Meeting.
Ignore the populist eurosceptic rhetoric of the title, there’s actually a lot of interest here. (Seriously, sensible eurosceptic chaps – I know you’ve got to try and attract attention and so some sensationalism is necessary to liven up what is a very dull subject, but if you’re going to win over undecideds rather than just preach to the converted, a little more subtlety is necessary. If it wasn’t for the fact that Waterfield asked nicely and sometimes joins in the comment-box discussions here, I probably wouldn’t have bothered reading past the title, and would have missed a lot of good stuff.)
The basic argument is as follows:
Henning Meyer and Karl-Heinz Speigel introduce a Cif series on the role of the state
Henning Meyer and Karl-Heinz Spiegel: The state, your business: If laissez-faire politics is dead, how big a role should the state have?
MAIN FOCUS: Pork scandal in Ireland | 09/12/2008
Dioxins in pig feed have contaminated Irish pork products. In Ireland pigs are being slaughtered in an emergency action, while many countries are recalling Irish pork.The European press discusses what further measures are necessary.
Barroso urges common front with Obama
The European Union should join forces with the incoming administration of Barack Obama, the US president-elect, and forge a common response to the world economic downturn, José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, said
Energy and climate change shape EU security strategy
Discover more from Erkan's Field Diary
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Its so crazy what happens in greece with students actually !