Europeans are storming the streets in unprecedented numbers to protest NATO’s proxy war in Ukraine and their own declining living standards. The Grayzone has covered demonstrations and interviewed protest leaders in several countries since the war erupted.
by Stavroula Pabst and Max Blumenthal
Part 5 - The view from Greece: “Americans are the killers of the people”
As the conservative Mitsotakis government bends over backwards to please Washington, average Greek citizens struggle with impossibly high living expenses and energy bills. Protesters I spoke with in Athens on February reflexively linked their government’s support for NATO’s proxy war with their own eroding living conditions. Their anger is widespread throughout a country where anti-NATO and anti-EU sentiment remains relatively high.
Banners at the February 21 protest denounced US Secretary of State Blinken, while slogans like “Solidarity is the peoples’ gun!”, and “They killed Lambrakis and Beloyiannis — Americans are the killers of the people!” reverberated through the crowd. (Grigoris Lambrakis and Nikos Beloyiannis were prominent twentieth century Greek leftists killed by right-wing extremists and executed by the Greek government respectively.).
Banners at the February 21 protest denounced US Secretary of State Blinken, while slogans like “Solidarity is the peoples’ gun!”, and “They killed Lambrakis and Beloyiannis — Americans are the killers of the people!” reverberated through the crowd. (Grigoris Lambrakis and Nikos Beloyiannis were prominent twentieth century Greek leftists killed by right-wing extremists and executed by the Greek government respectively.).
The February 21 demonstration concluded at the American Embassy, despite warnings of repression by heavily militarized police. Later in the evening, clashes between police and those still protesting erupted in Athens’ Exarchia neighborhood, as is common after major demonstrations in the country’s capital.
The sentiments expressed in late February echoed those at earlier protests in the Greek capital.
Each November 17th, Greeks take the streets to commemorate the historic 1973 Polytechnio uprising against the country’s former military junta, where anti-imperialist and antiwar student organizations were crushed and, in many cases, disappeared by the US-backed dictatorship.
Like the 1973 uprising, the annual Polytechnio demonstrations convey a distinct antiwar character, and usually result in face-offs between police guarding Athens’ US Embassy and protesters – with many drafted and uniformed military personnel fighting on the demonstrators’ side.
Each November 17th, Greeks take the streets to commemorate the historic 1973 Polytechnio uprising against the country’s former military junta, where anti-imperialist and antiwar student organizations were crushed and, in many cases, disappeared by the US-backed dictatorship.
Like the 1973 uprising, the annual Polytechnio demonstrations convey a distinct antiwar character, and usually result in face-offs between police guarding Athens’ US Embassy and protesters – with many drafted and uniformed military personnel fighting on the demonstrators’ side.
This year, Greece’s November 17th tradition took on a new conflict: the NATO proxy war in Ukraine, which European leaders appear set on extending for at least another year.
When the Polytechnio anniversary arrived in 2022, protesters aimed their action directly at the US-dominated military alliance, with participants waving signs reading “Ή με το ΝΑΤΟ ή με την ειρήνη” (Either with NATO or with peace) while passing by the US Embassy in Athens.
When the Polytechnio anniversary arrived in 2022, protesters aimed their action directly at the US-dominated military alliance, with participants waving signs reading “Ή με το ΝΑΤΟ ή με την ειρήνη” (Either with NATO or with peace) while passing by the US Embassy in Athens.
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