Greece: Anarchists occupy the headquarters of Attica Bank in Athens

On Thursday 13 October 2016 anarchists from Anarchist Collective Rouvikonas and the Anarchist Collective of New Philadelphia occupied the corporate headquarters of Attica Bank in Kolonaki, Athens. While for the last 7 years since the outbreak of the capitalist crisis millions of people in Greece can’t meet basic needs, more than 40% of Greeks still live under the poverty line, 45% of pensioners that have worked all their lives get pensions under 665 euros (ie. under the poverty line), 52% of households survive on the pension of somebody in the family, whilst 23,2% of the population is unemployed, Greece receives huge loans from creditors, that instead of being invested into people or the deteriorated health system, vast sums of money are constantly being given to banks so that they will be able to provide loans. Meaning that the Greek people have paid for the capitalist crisis with their blood (and will keep on paying for the decades to come), so that banks will keep on having profits.

The fact that banks constitute a structural part of the capitalist system is understood by everyone. The fact that banks are merely another instrument in the arsenal of the economic and political system which uses them to squeeze the lower classes dry, does not come as a surprise to anyone.

We will never be surprised as to how many ways they can find to serve their own interests. With an economy in crisis that’s been closely monitored for years, the oxymoron term ”non-systemic bank” was invented to assist the upper class and the political system to continue their business as usual  while the rest of society is financially asphyxiated. The bank is growing and funding certain people and although it was created and used by the previous governments, when Syriza took over, it quickly realized it’s potential  in creating its very own economic and political status quo. If Syriza disagrees with the aforementioned analysis, then let’s hear how, when and why:

* It prompted the Insurance Fund of Engineers to invest millions of euro in Attica Bank despite the investment having lost over 95% of its value today. Obviously the minister of infrastructures who is closely connected to the IFE does not know nor has he heard anything.

*What was the role of Dragasakis in Attica bank for 3 years (2010-2012) , if not to pave the way for what followed?

*Who urged all state-owned companies to invest their reserved funds to Attica Bank?

*How were loans given to businessmen without any guarantees, knowingly that those loans would never be paid off?

*Why did the government try to save Attica Bank in every possible way, by having even forced the company behind the International Airport to invest in it?

*How were the 1.5 billion damages in the first trimester of 2015, reduced to 300 million by the second semester of the same year?

And since these are well known issues, the government must answer this:  based on what logic and for what purpose did the board of directors of Attica Bank loan money to certain businessmen in order to buy the banks’ shares?

We provide a list comprised of company names that received loans in order to increase the equity funds of the bank (behind those companies there are names such as Kokkalis, Bobolas and other ”reputable capitalists”)

Intracom: received 1.252 mllion euro and invested 2.252 million euro in AMK
Intrasoft: received 1 million euro and invested the exact amount
J&P Avax: received 12 million euro and invested the same amount
Silaver Investments Ltd: received 8 million and invested the same amount
PAP Energy Wild Energy Parks S.A. : received 6 million euro and invested the same amount
Anatoli S.A. : received 4.2 million euro and invested the same amount
Ionis Development SA : received 4 million euro and invested the exact amount
Aktes Kritis SA: received 1.8 million and invested the same amount
Hellenic Plastic SA: received 2 million euro and invested the same amount
Mouchalis SA : received 2 million euro and invested the exact same amount
Themeli construction company: received 2 million euro and invested 1.5 million
Personal care: received 1 million euro and invested the same amount
Perseus SA: received 3 million euro and invested the same amount
FG Europe: received 7.9 million euro and invested the same amount
Staff SA : received 900 thousand euro and invested the same amount
Ergodynamiki Patron Technical SA :  received 300 thousand euro and invested the same amount

The cycle is obvious and unending, memorandums are followed by loans which are either used to pay off previous debt or given to bankers under the pretense of bail outs. In tracing the flow of capital we see a new faucet being opened by the government for obvious reasons. At the same time when people’s income gets once again reduced, those in power are faced by no dilemma and  shamelessly and scandalously support their own bank.

But we have no dilemma with systemic or non-systemic banks since those institutions constitute the pillars of capitalism and exist for the financial support of the capitalist system, exploitation and ploys. As Bertolt Brecht said ‘What is the robbing of a bank compared to the founding of a bank?’

NOT A STEP BACK!

Anarchist Collective Rouvikonas
Anarchist Collective New Philadelphia

(via Athens Indymedia, translated by BlackCat)