HUNDREDS OF PARTICIPANTS IN THESSALONIKI FOR A PANTHEON OF TALKS, WORKSHOPS, DEMONSTRATIONS AND CULTURAL EVENTS ~ from infolibre ~  The 17th Balkan Anarchist Bookfair was held in Thessaloniki between 15 and 18 May, with great success: both in terms of the many participations of collectives from all Balkan and European regions and the whole of Greece, and in terms of the discussions, the contacts made, and the elaboration of positions and actions. More than 300 participations came from outside of Greece for a total of 500 registered, and many more came to the events and actions. They showed the will to find each other, to get to know each other and to realise self-organisation, overcoming differences. And even in an era of death-politics, resignation and pessimism, we showed how feasible self-organisation is. The event began at the Free Social Space School, after the end of the march in solidarity with the Palestinian people, against the genocide being committed by Israel in Gaza, on the occasion of the 77th anniversary of the Nakba, in which many people who came to Thessaloniki for the festival participated at the invitation of the organising committee of BAB 2025. The state-capitalist crimes in Tempi, Novi Sad and Kotsani were at the centre of the first event of the Bookfair, discussing the cracks they cause to the systemic narratives of domination, as well as the social-movement actions and processes that followed and continue. The second day began early with the panel on “Anarchism and dictatorship in Belarus in 2025” by ABC Belarus, which gave us a clear picture of the situation in Belarusian society, the modernised repressive policies of the state and the violent silencing experienced by social movements in the country. Then Tierra Comida Collective presented the Autonomous Cooking Council as a new self-organised model of sharing and food production against the capitalist food industry. Along with the events, self-defence arts and first aid workshops were held by the anarchist first aid team.  After a vegan lunch, the afternoon events included discussions of “Anarchism and Decolonialism” by Ashique M. from Tirana; of the oppression experienced by the LGBTQ community in Hungary by Feminsta Akció; of gender-based violence in our spaces and the conditions of social re-integration by La Cinetika occupied social centre; of the Budapest case and repression of anti-fascists, and finally a presentation of the magazine Eutopia and the “Iranian Corridors” project. From 6pm to 10pm, two debates on the climate crisis and gender oppression took place with mass participation. The first was led by representatives of the assembly of Megali Panagia, the assembly for the defense of the mountains from Athens, and the Zadruga Urbana from Slovenia. The key-topics of the discussion were the green development that is spreading in the Balkans and the exchange of experiences and struggles against it, and the need to link ecological struggles with self-organised food production. The discussion on gender oppression began with a presentation of the feminist group Calvaluna. Subsequently, the feminist group “Tsupressa” criticised the wider feminist movement and transferred their approach to the phenomenon of femicide. This was followed by the anarcho-queer group vrrrrrrene from Croatia presenting the marches they are carrying out against anti-pride rallies and the digital repression they receive from the government. Finally, the WISH collective presented the situation at the refugee camps on Lesbos. The curtain fell on the second day with the experimental musical event “Filmsy Weapons” by Cosminas M. and a concert by Niki Dimitriadis and Richard Hronsky. Intense anti-capitalist and anti-war slogans coloured the mass afternoon march called by the BAB in the centre of Thessaloniki on May 18th and the events that framed it. “No border divides us, no nation unites us” was among the slogans, as well as ones opposing the genocide in Gaza. The march started from the ECSC School, crossed the city centre and ended up in Fabrica Yfanet where the events continued. The capstone of the day was the discussion on “State, capitalism and wars”. What was emphasised in particular was the necessity of building a solidarity movement with the main characteristics of the anti-capitalist and anti-war struggle. Above the walls of nationalism and war, solidarity with deserters was one of the most central positions. Statements emphasised the constant slaughter of the Palestinian people by the Israeli state and the necessity of a struggle to prevent genocide. One of the interesting morning events that took place at the Yfanet site, was the one for self-organised media and self-managed digital platforms of the movement. In this event, there were presentations of self-organised digital and media platforms for information and culture from various Balkan countries and Greece such as 1431 AM, Athens Indymedia, Cybrigade, Crna Luknja, Electric Requiem, Info Libre, KPaX Radio, and Kinimatorama. Alongside the presentations, fertile ground was created for discussion around mainstream social networking, censorship policies, unreliable and scandalous management of personal data from corporations such as Facebook, spy capitalism and the need to build self-organised ventures and digital communities. From digital forums dominated by horizontality among users, to self-organised radio stations and music and art free-sharing platforms, this event presented interesting issues and alternative networking projects outside digital capitalism and its speculative policies against users. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Edited machine translation The post Balkan Anarchist Bookfair: “No resignation—Self-organisation!” appeared first on Freedom News.

SHIELDING THE SPACE WITH SECURITY ROLLING SHUTTERS WILL HELP KEEP IT A SAFE AND FUNCTIONAL HUB FOR RESISTANCE, SOLIDARITY, AND SELF-ORGANISATION ~ Giannis Voliatis ~ The Ovradera social centre in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece was created around 4 years ago. It is the home of various anarchist, libertarian and feminist political groups and individuals. It also hosts the libertarian publishing house Koursal, the counter-information portal Alerta.gr, the Gizmo_Lab—a group that deals with information technologies and how they can be used to help the movement—and many other temporary or permanent initiatives. In Greece, state repression has intensified in recent years, targeting the anarchist and libertarian movements through widespread evictions of squats and increased restrictions on public spaces like squares and university campuses for hosting activities and assemblies. Aiming to expand the anarchist movement’s reach and engagement with society, Ovradera is a space that operates in a non-hierarchical, horizontal way and has a firm stance against racism, fascism and sexism. Although an integral part of the local anarchist/libertarian movement, it is a social centre open to any initiative that aligns with its basic principles and the collective way all decisions are made. During its existence thus far, it has hosted various meetings and events (political and cultural), book presentations, exhibitions and solidarity campaigns (e.g. in support for Palestine, of people that were harmed by the floods and wildfires of the recent years in Greece, in support of political prisoners). In line with Ovradera’s ideals and mode of operation of , all the financial costs of the space are covered by its members or via financial benefit events. Some months ago, Ovradera had to move to a different space, really close to the previous one. This move brought with it some heavy financial costs, mainly aimed to the protection and fortification of the new centre with metal shields, due to possible attacks from the state and fascists. In order to cover part of these costs, the comrades of Ovradera decided to start a firefund campaign and are currently appealing for financial aid, however large or small. Comrades are also invited to spread the word—and of course to come visit whenever they happen to find themselves in Thessaloniki. The post Thessaloniki: Ovradera social centre update and appeal appeared first on Freedom News.

THE SERIES OF RAIDS, WHICH TOOK PLACE OVER THE COURSE OF A SINGLE WEEK, HAVE BEEN LABELLED A DESPERATE RESPONSE AS STATE FORCES STRUGGLE TO CONTAIN PUBLIC ANGER OVER PERCIEVED CORRUPTION AND INCOMPETENCE. ~Kit Dimou~ On the morning of April 22nd, the historic Evangelismos squat in Heraklion, Crete, was evicted once again having been reoccupied on 1 December 2023. The brief announcement of the squat stated: “AS IT HAPPENED THEN, SO IT HAPPENS NOW, NOTHING WITHOUT A FIGHT. NOT ONE STEP BACK”. Six people who were inside the building have been held on charges of breaching the peace and possession of weapons (flags and makeshift shields), while the police refused them communication with their lawyers. Evangelismos was an abandoned hospital when leftists and anarchists first took the initiative to open it for the community in Heraklion in 2002. Since then, it has been at the forefront of anti-authoritarian struggle in Crete, particularly in recent solidarity actions with the Palestinian people.  On the same morning, April 22nd, police in Thessaloniki evicted a space at the Physics School of Aristotle University which had been squatted by students for a year, the ‘Steki Fysikou’. Upon the completion of the operation, university management provocatively announced that this space was “liberated from a group of anti-authoritarians and delivered to the university community for the use of the sensitive group of people with special needs”. Local comrades have denounced the hypocrisy and disableist language of this statement, especially given the general inaccessibility of the Aristotle University: “in the university, education, liberated spaces and accessibility only come through struggle”. Finally, on the morning of April 15th, cops raided and evicted the newly-founded ‘Rasprava’ squat in the centre of Exarcheia. Despite the hopes of the state, there were zero comrades inside, while the only ‘evidence’ found was some rubble and anarchist graffiti. ‘Rasprava’ was an abandoned orphanage, squatted by anarchists on March 28th following a public event about revolutionary memory where imprisoned anarchist Marianna M. spoke via the phone. The ‘Rasprava’ squat explicitly intended to promote a culture of revolutionary and insurrectionary direct action in Exarcheia: ‘to turn words into action, to move from defense to attack’ in the struggle to protect the collective memory of the neighbourhood from touristification and integration.  The squatters argued that the eviction was a desperate response of the State to the recent bombing attack on Hellenic Train, as well as clashes with the police at a Palestine solidarity concert in Exarcheia on Saturday 12 April. The collective noted:  “The governing circus […] incorrectly believes that the ideas and practices that Rasprava represents are limited to the walls of a building, and that with its eviction, they will disappear as if by magic. A tear runs down one cheek, but one of laughter. The revolutionary culture we promote and want to return to its predominance in the anarchist space, direct action, will haunt your dreams, as well as your subordinated reality.“ The post Three squat evictions in a week as Greek state ramps up attack on anarchist movement appeared first on Freedom News.