More than 10,000 demonstrators gathered on 9 July in Athens near the Greek parliament to protest: Against a new law, which was passed to criminalize the justified protest of the people. The Greek rulers, the puppets of the imperialists, reacted with strong police repression.
During the night of 9 July, the demonstrators started to gather, thousands of them protested against the new law, which massively restricts their right to political activity. They demanded not to silence the workers and the people and to withdraw the new law!
The law provides that organizers of demonstrations and rallies will be held responsible if damage is caused by their actions. In addition, it should give the authorities more leeway to ban demonstrations in advance.
One hour after the start of the protest in Syntagma Square in front of the Greek Parliament, the demonstrators were attacked with tear gas and stun grenades, to which the masses responded with fire bombs, stones and Molotov cocktails. According to the police, 9 demonstrators were arrested and another 15 were taken for interrogation, with at least one demonstrator injured in the head. In addition, 6 police officers were injured.
But even through the strong repression, the masses remained ready to struggle and continued their protest!
Besides Athens, there were actions against the new law in 40 other cities on the same day. The day before, several posters were displayed in Athens with the words "Take your hands off our demonstrations" and "The right to strike and protest is not negotiable!" The unions also participated and announced work stoppages in the state of Attica.
Combative protests and strikes are not uncommon in Greece. Already the crisis of 2008/09 caused misery to the Greek popular masses and the ever deeper plundering and oppression by the imperialists. Especially in the following years, a multitude of anti-working-class and anti-people measures were imposed, imposed by the imperialists of the EU and the International Monetary Fund and then further implemented by the reformists and revisionists of the SYRIZA government!
For years, there have been great protests, militant clashes and strikes, in which the Greek popular masses have justifiably brought their anger on the Greek lackeys and the imperialists on the streets!
