THE CHEESE AND THE MOUSETRAP
On the occasion of the announcement by the Municipality of Petroupoli of a contest for contractors for “ERECTION OF NEW TOWN HALL BUILDINGS WITHIN THE OUTLINE OF THE FORMER BOTANICAL GARDEN”, we have to say the following:
The cheese is the City Hall in the Botanical Garden and the mousetrap is the fall of the grove of Ag. Dimitriou, its declassification and then its shredding.
When the decision to build a Town Hall on the site of the Botanical Garden was made public, we knew that this decision was purely IDEOLOGICAL. The exclusive goal was and is the seizure of the Botanical Garden. The bearer of this decision is the party executive of New Democracy and permanent candidate of the right wing in the Municipality of Petroupoli, Th. Skalistiras. This guy has been speculating for years to push every free public and social space in Petroupoli to the vice of profiteering and privatisation. In other words, to cut it into pieces and deliver a dead, right-wing city. Of course, he wouldn’t be able to achieve his goals by addressing society itself but he would have to rely on the force of the state and repression. He finally found the opportunities he was seeking to reach his antisocial goals. The first opportunity was the municipality elections and his collaboration with the political opportunist Vlachos during which the right-wing party took for the first time command of the municipality. The second is the rise to power of New democracy, the party of repression, wire tapping and corruption. Through the mechanism of the party and the cooperation with the environmental hazard Hatzidakis, they managed to pass in the Parliament, within the framework of the environmental bill (Article 132), a decision for a construction of the Town Hall in the Botanical Garden.
They had tried to pass several laws in order to legitimize this environmental crime and since the Botanical Garden is characterised as a forest they enacted continuous declassifications of forest areas to reach the forest (grove) of the squat. So as long as these people who adore authority and hate the environment are in power, the next declassification will concern the grove itself which undoubtedly, sooner or later, will be offered to speculators and greedy investors.
The occupied BOTANICAL GARDEN in its 13th year of existence continues to address society, managing that way to produce political, cultural and social work very visible and acknowledged, through self-organization, solidarity and dignity and away from the gray zones of parties or financial interests.
The enemies of the public space and the commons, are preparing to attack Botanical Garden. They want a society dissolved and individualized in the mire of mediocrity and resignation so they can float by controlling and imposing through authority and commands.
We appeal to every thinking person, to everyone who wants to take life into their own hands, to join us in preventing the destruction of nature and society.
– Hands off the Botanical Garden. Hands off the squats
– Let’s fight with all means for a free and social public space
– Resistance now
– EKX Botanical garden of Petroupoli
