WELCOME TO CYPRUS!

Before you begin your holiday basking on the beaches of this beautiful island, we invite you to read the following:
The Cypriot State, while calling itself democratic, tries in every way to obstruct and prevent each and every kind of social struggle and the very act of doubting the State itself.
At this moment anarchist comrade George Karakasian has been a hostage in the hands of this State since 27/08/02. The only ‘crime’ our comrade has committed is that he contested not only the existence of the State but also it’s logic of passivity, wage slavery, or ‘enclosure’ within the artificial needs required for the preservance and survival not only of the Cypriot State but of every other State and authority in general.
Last April, a period characterised by the massive and continuous massacre of the Palestinian people by the Zionist murderers, George Karakasian could not remain passive. Ignoring the lifestyle that wants people to stay closed within a personal deadlock characterised by the logic of survival (school, army, work, retirement, death), he chose daily struggle as a way of life and as an attitude of personal dignity.
The invitation of the Israeli ambassador, convinced that while massacres of children were taking place there was no problem in celebrating the anniversary of the establishment of his bloodthirsty State, fortunately did not remain unanswered. This time the people’s rage could not be contained by the forces of order and the inevitable riot police.
All the guard dogs of capital were present, ready as always to protect the bosses, exploiters and everyone who lives on the backs of the workers who are trying to survive in harder and harder living conditions.
The imprisoned comrade George Karakasian was presented in court with eight heavy accusations, three of which are considered to be the most serious. We will dwell on this subject for a moment, not because we want to ‘justify’ anything – anyway social struggles cannot in any way be ‘judged’ by so-called ‘bourgeois legality’ – but because we want to show the dirt, hypocrysy and everything else that the word ‘justice’, the candy they hold in their mouths every day, stands for. So in order to to destroy the illusions which the law serves to foster:
Charge (1): ‘Causing serious physical injury to a police officer’: If the symbolic grasp (showing up the hateful the role of the police present) of the hat of a cop who later talked in front of the cameras can be called ‘serious physical injury’, then what can we call the capturing of the comrade by these cops, his being dragged inside the home of the Israeli ambassador and continually beaten all over his body by five of them shouting at him ‘fuck your anarchy’. They also injured his ear by pulling his earring. The extent of his injuries was such that he was taken to hospital. The democratic procedure did not stop there. When George Karakasian returned to the hospital next day to take his case card this had accidentally disappeared…
Charge 2: ‘Causing criminal damage to windscreen of a car belonging to a one of the guests invited to the celebration’. The ‘gentleman’ in question, who happens to be the manager of a multinational company and was naturally invited to the celebration of slaughter, although having been warned warned by the comrade Karakasian to turn back, tried to drive through the demonstrators with his car!!! As if that were possible. Anyway, in our opinion, the reason he managed to escape is that anarchists are not killers or conspirators like the guests!!! Here the phrase fits: ‘they talk about damage to property while we are talking about the loss of human lives’.
Charge 3: ‘Being in possession of a explosive device’. This is the ridiculous accusation of possessing an old bullet which was found when his home was raided. This does not deserve comment and only shows clearly the revenge of a ‘civilised’ and progressive State such as Cyprus when it is about to judge social fighters and people with dignity. We have already clarified that we did are not presenting the charges in order to justify them. The dignified attitude our comrade held in the court (something seen for the first time in Cyprus) and the fact that he did not ask for it to show him any clemency, shows exactly what are the feelings of anarchists for so-called ‘bourgeois justice’ are.
We as comrades of anarchist George Karakasian feel sorrow of course for the fact that he is imprisoned by the detestable Cyprus State, but at the same time we have the joy of knowing that our comrade remains strong and knows the impact his acts will have in the future in the revolutionary movement of the island and in future struggles generally.
Our solidarity until the day of the sentence (4/09/02 but which will also continue later) will take those dimensions it has to, in order that all those who express the misery of power understand that the attack they have started against anarchists and all those in struggle will not remain unanswered, that they will pay for the evil they do.
For a free life, a life in which everyone will be able to enjoy everything through equality and solidarity.

FREEDOM TO ANARCHIST COMRADE GEORGE KARAKASIAN.
SOLIDARITY TO ANARCHIST SOTIRI MARANGO WHO WILL BE JUDGED FOR THE SAME CASE 19/09/02

ANARCHIST GROUP OF CYPRUS
For communication: exegersi2002@yahoo.com