Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

Motorcycle demonstration to support Kurdish hungerstriker Bahoz in Greece

ab | 26.05.2005 13:33 | Anti-racism | Migration | Repression | World

On Tuesday, the 24th of May, a motorcycle demonstration took place in Thessaloniki, Greece, to support the anarchist hungerstriker Bahoz in his fight for political asylum.
Political asylum is nearly unknown in Greece as from 2000 to 3000 applications each year only 2-3 individual’s applications get approved.





The motorcycle demonstration celebrated not only the start of the resistance camp for the hunger striker in a public space in the city centre, but also proceeded through immigrants quarters at the outskirts in the east of Thessaloniki to publicise the idea of political asylum and make people aware of the rsistance to the government’s current immigration policy.

Motorcycles are very popular in Greece, as cars are quite expensive, and motorcycles are a very good and quick means of transport in the city centre and used to cover the necessary long distances, such as the demonstration covered a distance of about 20 km in about 2 hours time. At the start of the demonstration was a huge banner stretched between two motorcycles and many red and black flags were carried on the motorcycles in the demonstration, and leaflets handed out.

The last days were very hot and sunny – at least for visitors from Northern Europe it appeared to be , and the motorcycle demonstrations with about 40 motorcycles and 5 to 6 bicycles was an inspiring and successful event for the participants.

The buses, which were free of charge until some years ago, are now owned by a public and private company. Although the ticket price and the costs of living still seem affordable for tourists and travelers from Northern Europe, the fact that Greece has neither any social security, neither housing nor unemployment benefits, nor public healthcare, and high unemployment make the costs of living relatively expensive for the people.
Now, in the process of neoliberalism, many factories close and move the production to even cheaper countries abroad, often trying to maximize the profits by avoiding to pay the workers and declare bankrupcy.

Then, a level of militancy and confrontation is seen appropriate to ensure survival, and often, when the alternatives are either boot-licking or fighting, may it be the struggle against bosses, government politics or the police employed to ensure the bosses interests, fighting and militant confrontation has proved to be the only successful alternative for social movements to ensure justice, dignity and fairness.

After the motorcycle demonstration the camp was set up, including two tents, information table and loudspeaker with music and explanations and speeches, and is now guarded all day by different and various groups to protect it against any police attack.



Bahoz states in his political declaration, that his hungerstrike is not an act of desperation or weakness, but a means of political fight.

¨For numerous years, in every attempt I did to get the political asylum, witch according to the evidence I have brought to the Ministry of Public Order (and witch are still filed there) it results that I am entitled to receive the political asylum as well as the Greek citizenship, nevertheless the present as well as all the previous ministers didn’t accept to sign. Violating, as they always do, the same laws they have passed.
To select the hunger strike is not an action of weakness or desperation. It is a way of struggle that will bring important results to the mass of immigrants, and also to all those that will stand up for me. "


For more information, please visit
 http://scotland.indymedia.org/newswire/display/1636/index.php

ab
- Homepage: http://scotland.indymedia.org/newswire/display/1636/index.php

Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech