Emergency for IMC in Athens and Patras (Greece)

international | rights, freedoms and repression | press release Sunday July 12, 2009 23:27 by IMC of Athens and Patras - IMC of Athens and Patras

For all these reasons we ask you if you can host the Internet sites of the IMC of Athens and Patras on your server. We must preserve them, especially when they are closed or are near to be closed, and to react against censorship and promote freedom of information.

Emergency for IMC in Athens and Patras (Greece)

A period of State widespread repression and brutality followed after December 2008 Rebellion. During and after the rebellion, the political party of extreme right wing LAOS (Popular Orthodox Party Alert) and the Greek state decided to press the IMC of Athens and Patras, on the grounds that they were used as centers for the coordination of Rebellion (no rebellions may, of course, be conducted via the Internet), deliberately ignoring the contribution of CMI to the counter-information.

Members of fascist parties of the right and the extreme right of the parliament have launched attacks against the IMC of Athens. The fascists tried to foist their propaganda about the government right through their blogs, and they are trying to block access to the site by attacks made by hackers. The statements of politicians at parliament and on television make the IMC as a major enemy of the state.

The most dangerous movement was the appeal sent to the Minister of Education by K. Velopoulos, a member of LAOS. He asked the Minister of Education if the IMC of Athens and Patras were housed in the Athens Polytechnic University (UPA) and demanded immediate action to stop these "dangerous" sites from "supporting terrorism" and so on.

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The Secretary of Education, S. Taliadouros, readily agreed to Velopoulos that "these sites claim to be a threat to democracy" and asked the director of the UPA to close it. Ignoring the status of autonomy of Greek universities, all sorts of political and judicial pressures were put into practice on the university authorities to remove our IP address. We are aware that even if the university is up against the decisions of the ministry there are other ways in which they can close it.

A member of the extreme right party, LAOS, launched a new attack against the IMC of Athens. He asked a question in parliament saying that the Polytechnic University of Athens provides access to Independent Media Athens and that has nothing to do with research and education.

The former National Hellenic Telecommunications Organization sent a legal document for the National Network of Research and Technology, requesting the interruption of access of the Athens IMC in optic fiber network in five days. The Organization said it will use all legal means against the National Network of Research and Technology if it does not stop giving access to IMC of Athens.

The status of social freedoms of all Greek universities prohibits the entry and police intervention in the university to prevent the application of State authority and censorship in academic activities and policies as well as in the ideas that flourish in universities. The status was claimed and defended for years by the vast majority of people and the blood of many.

The only law that can be used by the State to break the civil liberties of the university and close the IMC of Athens is the anti-terrorism legislation (passed in 2001). Given the fact that young companions (some of them under age) were accused by the law during the Rebellion of December 2008 in Larissa (the first time it was applied to the demonstrators), shows this as a likely scenario.

For all these reasons we ask you if you can host the Internet sites of the IMC of Athens and Patras on your server. We must preserve them, especially when they are closed or are near to be closed, and to react against censorship and promote freedom of information.

The IMC of Athens and Patras (along with other European and IMC revolutionary Internet sites that are hosted on the same server) face a serious threat of prosecution. It is the responsibility of the whole movement and of all of our partners to get support of the world and protect our voice. We call all the companions of the world to be prepared because the next period is critical to the existence of the IMC in Greece.

With our warmest greetings of companionship!

IMC of Athens and Patras