Greece: the deeper source of anti-authoritarian terrorism

It’s night in a central Athens’ bar. I’m having a conversation with two women – students in their 20s – members of anti-authoritarian anarchist groups of Exarhia.

Our discussion leads to the issue of Terrorism in Greece; the aftermath of the 2008 riots, the emergence of new urban guerrilla groups, the death of anarchist Lambros Fountas in a gunfight.

“The state and the batsoi (police) get what they deserve” said one of the women while the other added, “This State kills you every day, condemning people to unemployment and poverty. When they take your dignity you have to react!”

When I reminded them that this kind of reaction may include innocent victims, like Thanos Axarlian in 1992, their response astonished; “Well, in every war there are always collateral damages. This is a war.”

I was thinking about their response while watching the news coverage of the tragic death of 15-year-old Hammidulah Najafi in Patissia, who lost his life when a bomb exploded outside a public building.

Why do some young and educated people refuse to condemn anti-state terrorist attacks? What’s the source of this deep-rooted enmity against the state, the police and authority in general?

After the dissolution of November 17 and ELA terrorist groups, a new kind of urban guerrilla terrorist group has emerged.

Its ideological motives, contrary to their predecessors, are nebulous but they seem determined to vent their vendetta against the state.

Since 2007 a police guard has been murdered, two officers have been seriously wounded, at least five police departments have been attacked while numerous buildings including public services, banks or companies – in the capital have been targets of explosive devices.

Hundreds of articles and essays have been written about terrorism in Greece. However, we are still searching for the roots of this evil.

This new generation of terrorists is clearly angry and ruthless. They are products of modern Greek society; they weren’t born terrorists, they became that.

But apart from ideologies, the reason they take up arms is rooted in an ongoing social political and institutional crisis faced by Greece.

Since restoration of Democracy in 1974, the Greek State has become a caricature of a modern welfare state despite periodic attempts at reform.

The continuous corruption and scandals within the political system along with the exasperating inefficiencies in public services’ has led to the diminution of faith in the state as a whole.

Young people read and hear about financial scandals involving ministers, but in the end nobody with power and influence goes to jail. That partly explains why young people detest the state and its mechanisms; an enmity which in times of economic crisis may be expressed through violence and antisocial behaviour.

The 2008 riots provide evidence of how fragile relations really are between society and the state. What’s the point? It is of utmost importance to find the roots of terrorism and violence and to locate the source which feeds them.

For those who don’t want to turn a blind eye to reality, the absence of a truly modern welfare state and the lack of a proper educational system are responsible for the disaffection felt by young people.

The passage of draconian laws on terrorism or the placement of CCTV or police forces in all over the streets won’t solve the problem.