Manolis Berahas is among those whose houses were raided these past few days in relation to the “Revolutionary Struggle” organization. According to “leaks” more search and arrest warrant are on the way. At the same time, 4 new names were announced an hour ago on the news, although no arrest warrants have been issued. It seems like the media have taken on the role of investigators and judges with great zeal…
In his letter to the police and the media, Manolis Berahas gives a firm reply to those that have targeted him and his family (one of the 6 arrestees is a relative of his):
“I am the “intellectual”, the “chief”, the “resident in the prefecture of Magnisia” who “travels often to Athens and the island of Ikaria”, “who has an organizational role in antiauthoritarian rallies”. I wonder, is there an end to your list?
Do I fit, by any chance, the “profile” you know how to design oh-so-well when you create “terrorist organizations”?
Is there a piece missing in your puzzle and you find me fitting?
* So yes, I am 60 years old (although in the movement I belong there are no chiefs, let alone middle-aged men!).
* And yes, I live in the house you searched on Sunday 11 April 2010 in Kipseli (21 Sporadon St.), where you obviously found nothing.
* Yes, I am the father of K.G.’s wife [trans.note: he is one of the 6 arrestees], in other words he is my son-in-law!
* Yes, I am the grandfather of their two 16-month-old children, and finely
* Yes, I am an antiauthoritarian.
I admit to have taken part, since the 70s, in the social/class struggles that the oppressed wage against state and capital. And because the list is long, I will only mention recent ventures. I actively participate in the “Coordinative in solidarity to refugees and migrants”, in solidarity rallies to the revolted Zapatistas in Mexico and to the imprisoned, in the “Solidarity to K. Kouneva Assembly”, in the “Popular Assembly of Petralona, Thisseio and Koukaki (Neighborhoods’) Residents” and in the “PIKPA squat” (in Petralona).
And in order to facilitate your investigations, I announce that these past few days (i.e. ever since you began your terrible arrests and investigations), I stand by my daughter, at her home, which you also searched on Sunday 11 April 2010. As it seems, the Hollywood super-spectacle of the breaking up of the “Revolutionary Struggle” was the best remedy to disorientate society on the enacting of your antisocial, anti-labour measures, as well as Greece’s monitoring by the IMF.
Indisputably, solidarity to the persons that are prosecuted as alleged members of the “Revolutionary Struggle” is guaranteed and will be massive. I am one of those who stand in solidarity to them and will do so until they are released.
Criminalizing family ties and bonds of friendship is a well-known tactic of yours against those who resist, and I consciously oppose it.”
Athens, Tuesday 13 April 2010
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