No repeat of last year’s chaos
All the signs indicate that certain extremist elements from within the ranks of self-styled anarchists are preparing to instigate the same kind of unrest this year that ended in widespread riots in response to the death of a teenage boy from police fire last December. Citizens’ Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis has very correctly announced a policy of zero tolerance should such phenomena be repeated this weekend on the anniversary of the shooting. However, beyond the state apparatus and the government, it is also the responsibility of citizens, students, academics, labor groups and political parties to do their best to protect the country from the chaos that shook it last year. Responsibility lies with everyone because those incidents took a heavy toll on Greece as a whole. If we prove incapable of protecting our legitimate democratic institutions from the brutish behavior of a small minority, then we will deserve what they dish out. There is no excuse for covering up for these troublemakers nor for helping them, either implicitly or explicitly.
