Thread: EMERGENCY: Research and Analysis needed on Greek Riots

ALIPACers,

Ok, we need your help to research, compile info, and analyze the situation in Greece.

I am confused. For days, I have been reading articles like this one

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081209/D94VFMU80.html

These articles says leftists, socialists, college students, anarchists, and "youths" are doing the brutal rioting and burning in Greece.

But now Im being shown article like this one that say the riots started with immigrant asylum seekers?

See
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpres ... uUJhBQ_ZXA


What is going on here?

Right now, there are recent riots in France, Italy, and Spain involving unassimilated immigrants and illegal aliens. I asked if the Greek riots were the exception and now I'm looking at contradictory information.

The question is, are immigrants (which knowing the liberal media probably means illegal aliens) rioting tonight in Greece?

If so, how many press sources are excluding the immigration factor?



W

December 8, 2008
Youth Riots in Greece Enter a Second Day
By ANTHEE CARASSAVA
ATHENS — Youths angry over the killing of a teenager by the police took to the streets in Athens and other Greek cities for a second day on Sunday, burning shops, cars and businesses in the worst rioting in recent years.

The violence continued despite swift action by the government, which charged a police officer with premeditated manslaughter in the shooting death of the 15-year-old on Saturday night. The country’s prime minister — whose government is already unpopular because of a series of corruption scandals — also wrote a letter of apology to the boy’s parents.

The riots began hours after the boy was shot during a confrontation between the police and youths in the Exarchia neighborhood of central Athens, a district of bars, bookshops and restaurants where young leftists live and socialize.

The youths regularly clash with the police, whom they view as symbols of the establishment. In most cases, the confrontations are relatively contained and end at the gates of universities with the young people holding off the police with gasoline bombs, rocks and slingshots.

But the speed with which the riots spread over the weekend — and the ferocity of the protests — seemed to take the government by surprise. The police nationwide were not put on alert until Sunday night — only after fires had destroyed dozens of businesses, including a high-end department store in central Athens.

Throughout the clashes, rioters used texting and Web sites to organize and communicate their responses against the police and other security forces.

Nationwide, at least one bystander was hurt, as were six protesters and 16 police officers, according to the semi-official Athens News Agency. The details of the clash that led to the death of the 15-year-old, whose name was not released by the police, remained unclear.

According to the police, two police officers had been patrolling Exarchia when their car was stopped by some 30 young men, many of them hurling stones, around 9 p.m. on Saturday. The officers left their car to confront the mob, “firing three shots that resulted in the death of the minor,â€

Still searching, but I found this interesting article from Canada. In August a similar situtation happened. Several pictures on link below.


Montreal mayor, police chief call for calm after riot

6 people arrested after street violence erupts in neighbourhood where police shot teenager


Last Updated: Monday, August 11, 2008 | 7:51 PM ET Comments329Recommend154CBC News


Montreal butcher Carmene Ruzzo stands outside his vandalized store after weekend rioting in the city's north end. (Peter McCabe/Canadian Press)
Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay vowed to improve strained relations between police and residents in a northern neighbourhood where rioters attacked authorities, torched cars and looted stores Sunday night following a weekend shooting by police that left a teenager dead.

"I feel very bad. I feel really upset, and I'm not going to tolerate what has happened on the weekend," Tremblay said, about 12 hours after an overnight riot rocked Montreal North. "Let's make sure it doesn't happen again.

"It's not only a question of saying that we're a secure city, we got to make sure that the perception is there also, and we will not tolerate incidents of violence in Montreal," he added.

Tremblay urged restraint in the wake of the riot that broke out late Sunday night that injured four public security workers, including a police officer who was shot in the leg.

'We have to work very hard to convince everyone that we're there to help them.'
— Yvan Delorme, Montreal police chiefRoving packs of people took to the streets, plundered stores, pelted firefighters with beer bottles and set several fires after local residents gathered to protest the death of Fredy Villanueva, 18, who was shot dead by police on Saturday night.

Efforts have been made over the years to build bridges in the community but "maybe we can improve what we're doing," Tremblay said.

His overture echoed Montreal police Chief Yvan Delorme, who called for calm as investigators piece together the events that led to Sunday's riot.

"They want to send society a message, and I received that message," Delorme said at a news conference Monday morning.

Police are ready to do whatever is needed to bolster their standing in the largely immigrant and working-class community, even though Delorme said he's not convinced that the tension is as widespread as reports suggest.

Montreal police Chief Yvan Delorme (left) and Montreal North community leader Pierreson Vaval speak at a news conference on Monday. (Graham Hugues/Canadian Press)"I don't think it's a general feeling from all the citizens," he said. "But we have to work very hard to convince everyone that we're there to help them, and work with them to protect people."

Community groups say police have a long road ahead to restore confidence among residents who generally don't trust authorities.

Police "have a certain way of doing their [outreach] work, and they think they're doing it well, but it has a negative impact on the community," said Pierreson Vaval, who heads a community youth group in the area.

The shooting and subsequent riot was caused by a "miscommunication problem" that has bred mistrust toward police, Vaval said.

"When you have a force that has by law the right to arrest you and kill you, you have to have confidence. If you don't have confidence, this force is an enemy for people at risk in that community. We have to create another dynamic."

Vaval suggested the weekend events reflect racial tension plaguing Quebec society.

"If we didn't find racial profiling in society, then we wouldn't find it in the police force. If we don't orient them to what we think is the relevant intervention — I think they're seeing today that [people] have a limit, and the limit is this."

MP Denis Coderre admits there is frustration in his riding, but said the neighbourhood is generally peaceful.

"We have to be careful not to mix the fact you have some people who light fires, with the [police] situation on Saturday," he told CBC News. "We have to make sure we keep the communication lines open, and it doesn't degenerate."

Peaceful protest turns sour
Rioters lobbed propane tank fireballs and Molotov cocktails, and fired guns in the neighbourhood after Sunday's peaceful community demonstration turned ugly.

Montreal police officers search for evidence in the debris left by weekend rioting in the city's north end. (Peter McCabe/Canadian Press)The clash was sparked by protesters who doused and ignited eight parked cars near a fire station. Rioters then lit dozens of garbage-can fires, filling the streets with thick, acrid smoke.

They threw beer bottles at fire trucks and firefighters, while others rushed a nearby commercial strip, and looted more than 20 businesses, including a pawn shop, convenience store and butcher shop.

Men and women of all ages were seen running down the street hugging television sets, cartons of cigarettes and raw meat.

Three-metre-high fireballs from burning propane tanks illuminated the looters as they stormed the streets.

Canadian Press reported seeing an elderly woman carrying a stereo and laughing with her friend as they made their escape. Other looters were seen sipping beer grabbed from a nearby convenience store,

More than 500 officers in full riot gear descended on the district early Monday morning, and eventually restored calm.

Three police officers were injured during the clashes, including the police woman who's recovering from a gunshot wound.

An ambulance technician was injured when a Molotov cocktail hit him in the head.

Police arrested six people for breaking and entering, drug possession and other undisclosed charges.

Neighbourhood on edge
Villanueva's death Saturday night was the catalyst for Sunday's riot. The teen died from gunshot wounds in hospital after facing off with police in a park.

Cars and garbage bags were set ablaze on several streets during the rioting. (CBC)Montreal police say the officers were trying to arrest an individual during a routine intervention in Henri-Bourassa Park when they were surrounded by a group of about 20 young people.

A few people allegedly broke away from the group and rushed the officers, Delorme said.

According to police, one of the officers then opened fire and three people were shot, including Villanueva, 18.

Two other victims, an 18- and a 20-year-old, are in hospital in stable condition.

No police were injured in the incident. Provincial police have taken over the investigation because the shooting involved officers and civilians.


http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story ... n0811.html

One problem in researching is the word asylum.

There are asylum seekers/immigrants and students in Greece have asylum from government if they stay within the school grounds.

Looks like things have calmed down.

Clashes, looting abating in Greek cities
10th December 2008, 9:50 WST

Street violence has largely abated early after masked youths and looters pillaged Greek cities for four days, in an explosion of rage triggered by the police shooting of a teenager.

The riots, which have seen police stations nationwide come under attack by rock- and Molotov cocktail-throwing youths, are the country's most violent in a quarter of a century.

The nightly scenes of burning street barricades, looted stores and overturned cars have dealt a major blow to the country's increasingly unpopular conservative government, which faces mounting calls for Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis to resign.

Police spokesman Panayiotis Stathis said the situation in Athens was mostly quiet, with groups of youths holed up in a university building where officers have no access due to a tradition of university asylum.

But police were bracing for new disturbances on Wednesday, when labour unions are planning rallies during a nationwide general strike against government economic policies.

Police fired tear gas at protesters on Tuesday following the funeral of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos, who was laid to rest in an Athens burial attended by about 6,000 people.

A police statement said four people were arrested on Tuesday for attacking police, and 12 for looting.

A further 25 immigrants were arrested for alleged possession of goods looted from damaged stores.

Seven officers were injured in Tuesday's clashes. No figures were available on civilian injuries.

The rioting - which has engulfed cities from Thessaloniki in the north to the holiday islands of Corfu and Crete in the south - threatens the 52-year-old Karamanlis, who already faced growing dissatisfaction over financial and social reforms at a time of deep anxiety over growing economic gloom.

Opposition Socialist leader George Papandreou called for early elections, charging the conservatives were incapable of defending the public from rioters.

"The government cannot handle this crisis and has lost the trust of the Greek people," Papandreou said.

"The best thing it can do is resign and let the people find a solution... We will protect the public."

The call was echoed by protesters, who, though they have not voiced any particular policy goals, say they want Karamanlis out.

"It's very simple - we want the government to fall. This boy's death was the last straw for us," Petros Constantinou, an organiser with the Socialist Workers Party, said in Athens.

"This government wants the poor to pay for all the country's problems - never the rich - and they keep those who protest in line using police oppression."

Karamanlis, whose New Democracy party narrowly won re-election a year ago, has ignored the calls.

The government is already facing public discontent over the state of the economy, the poor job prospects of students and a series of financial scandals that have badly rattled public confidence.

Karamanlis trails the Socialists in recent opinion polls and would struggle to win a general ballot now. His government clings to a single seat majority in the 300-member Parliament and could be brought down by a single defection, though it is unlikely any deputy would risk his political career to topple a government at a time of civil unrest.

A senior Socialist party official, Christos Protopappas, blamed underlying social inequalities for the violence, saying the government's policies exacerbated the gap between rich and poor.

"If there is no change in policies, I fear that what will happen in six months or one year will be much worse," he said.

On Tuesday, police fired tear gas to dispel dozens of youths throwing stones and sticks and setting rubbish bins on fire near the funeral for Grigoropoulos, whose death on Saturday sparked the rioting.

Dozens of local residents gathered on the streets, shouting at police to stop firing gas in the residential area.

Athens Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis said "the winds of destruction are blowing through our city."

Schools and universities across Greece were closed for the funeral and hundreds of teachers, university lecturers and students rallied in central Athens, where hundreds of teenagers threw rocks and scuffled with officers.

Still, the clashes were less severe than the rioting over the past three nights.

Amnesty International accused Greek police of heavy-handed tactics against protesters, saying police "engaged in punitive violence against peaceful demonstrators" instead of focusing on rioters.

Authorities are investigating reports officers used their pistols to fire warning shots in the air during Tuesday's riots.

AP
The West Australian
http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx ... ame=536420

So this story, which the NY Times says began on Dec 6 or 7 in Athens is not related to this story from Dec 6????


Asylum seekers riot in Athens

3 days ago

Hundreds of migrants waiting to submit asylum applications rioted in central Athens, setting fire to rubbish bins and attacking passing cars.

Protesters said the riot began when one man fell into a nearby canal after authorities told the crowd that no more applications could be submitted. Only a small number of applications can be submitted each week.

It was not immediately clear how the man fell into the canal. Police said he was injured and was taken by ambulance to a hospital. They said they were investigating the incident.

Outraged asylum-seekers began setting fire to rubbish bins and throwing them into the street, and ripped branches off trees to set them alight. A smaller group threw rocks at passing cars, stopping some vehicles and banging on them with their hands. There were no reports of any passers-by being injured.

The riot lasted for about an hour, and riot police who were on standby nearby did not intervene. A fire truck extinguished the blazes.

In October, a human rights group said a Pakistani man was fatally injured when he fell into the same canal.

The group, Stop the War Coalition, said that the man had been trying to escape police after immigrants queuing to submit applications clashed with authorities. Police rejected claims they had any involvement in the man's death and said they had tried to repulse an attempt by a large group of migrants to jump the queue.

Rights groups have often criticised Greece's treatment of illegal immigrants and the living conditions in detention centres.

Greece approved only 140 of the 20,692 asylum applications made in 2007, according to the UN refugee agency. Tens of thousands of illegal migrants enter Greece each year. Many attempt dangerous sea crossings from nearby Turkey or brave minefields to make their way in.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpres ... uUJhBQ_ZXA

This seems to be an ongoing problem. Riots Broke out in 2007 over a Immigrant from Nigeria being killed.

http://www.wombles.org.uk/article2007081199.php

This is a good article. Alot of pictures from Greece riots and funeral too.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldne ... icers.html

So we have confirmation of a mini riot that started about the same time as these major riots involving "immigrants"

And we have prior major disturbances and riots in Greece involving "immigrants"

And we have now confirmed that "A further 25 immigrants were arrested for alleged possession of goods looted from damaged stores. " is these recent major riots.

The reason I'm putting "immigrants" into quotes is that they are most likely illegal aliens or people that started off as illegals that were normalized.

Legal immigrants have a much lower chance of engaging in crimes and such criminality. I mean, you would have to be stupid to legally immigrate somewhere and go through all of those hurdles only to risk it and throw it all away looting.

It does not take a brain scientist to know what kind of mentality takes to the streets and loots like that with the anarchists and socialists.

We have seen the same formation here in America, crowds of socialists, anarchists, separatists, communists, and illegal alien groups all run together during many US demonstrations.

W

The rioting - which has engulfed cities from Thessaloniki in the north to the holiday islands of Corfu and Crete in the south

Might be hard for us to figure it out because of all the events and little US press coverage.

Dixie

Page last updated at 12:53 GMT, Saturday, 6 December 2008
Refugee tensions in Greek capital

Greek police have clashed with hundreds of migrants waiting to submit asylum applications in Athens.

It is the latest example of tensions in the Greek capital - which community leaders say is at risk of becoming a racial battleground.

This year, Greece has attracted a record 80,000 illegal immigrants, but has been criticised by Europe for failing to help asylum seekers.

From Athens, Malcolm Brabant reports.

[video within link]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7769071.stm