No more military armaments, no more hand grenades Press release on the hand grenade attack against the Migrants’ House
Demonstration in the centre of Athens, the day after the grenade attack.  Banner reads: NO to FASCISM, NATIONALISM, MILITARISM, Greek Association of Conscientious Objectors.

No more military armaments, no more hand grenades
Athens, 25 February 2009

 

Yesterday night, Tuesday 24 February, at around 10 pm, and while there was in full progress an open meeting against the new armaments plan, hosted by the Greek Association of Conscientious Objectors, an unknown person threw a hand grenade at the building that the meeting was taking place - the Migrants’ House at 13A Tsamadou Street in Exarchia - and then run away.

 

Those of us that were inside at the time heard a loud knock at the window and then a strong explosion. The perpetrator tried to throw a hand grenade inside the meeting hall through the window. Fortunately, there was double-glazing and only the outside glass broke, bouncing off the hand grenade into the pavement, just outside the building. From the explosion, some glass windows in the surrounding buildings were broken and damage was caused in the pavement. But thankfully, and only due to sheer luck, no one was harmed, against, apparently, the clear intention of the perpetrator to kill.

 

The building known as the Migrants’ House, apart from the Greek Association of Conscientious Objectors, houses a number of left, feminist, homosexual and immigrant groups. A short time before the attack, Greek language courses for non-native speakers were taking place, as every day, attended by tens of immigrants.

 

The revival of extreme-right or para-state terrorism, which we seem to be witnessing, can frighten only those who are already frightened, therefore not us. As it is obvious and as it happens in such cases, the Greek Association of Conscientious Objectors will continue and intensify its action, especially now that we realize how much this action annoys them. We did not need a hand grenade exploding outside our building to realize how murderous nationalism and militarism are and how determined we are to oppose them. The militaristic attitude that we experienced yesterday is incompatible with the liberation movement while antimilitarism is one of its basic components. We stand determined against those who invest in the terror of the setup military tension in the Aegean Sea seeking to justify a new armaments race, against those who invest in terrorism, racism and xenophobia, nationalism and militarism.

 

Today, after the December events, a low volume war is taking place against everyone opposing the distortions of the current society, against everyone fighting (see the characteristic case of the recent murder attempt against trade unionist Konstantina Kouneva). It’s time to take our stand. Today. Before the intensification of the economic crisis and before the social tensions that it will bring, before a new Crystal night and a new “Ordine Nuovo” that marked similar periods in the past.