On January 26, over 100,000 people took to the streets of Athens (with many more in other cities) to protest the government’s handling of the Tempi railway disaster that claimed 57 lives, mostly young people who were travelling by train.
This mass protest forced the Greek Prime Minister to give an interview and publicly acknowledge (after two years) for the first time that things might not have been as initially presented. That suspicions about what the trains were carrying warrant investigation and cannot be downplayed.
During the same period, massive pro-democracy demonstrations took place in all major German cities including Munich, Hanover, Bremen, Leipzig and elsewhere. In Munich alone, turnout exceeded 200,000.
The protests were triggered by apparent cooperation between mainstream democratic parties and the far-right AfD on initial immigration legislation.
“Democratic parties must help maintain the ‘firewall’ and not cooperate with AfD in the February 23 elections”, protesters warned politicians.
Meanwhile, in Serbia, following a railway accident that killed 15 people, tens of thousands of people, mainly students, have been protesting daily for about three months.
During this period, the transport minister resigned, pro-government media were forced to break their silence and cover the events, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, while speaking of foreign interference, has called for dialogue with protesters.
In Cyprus, a few hundred people protested the death of 24-year-old Shoaib Khan, who was killed by police gunfire. The demonstration was peaceful, but shortly before it ended, three people were arrested for chanting slogans and using phones to record police officers in action.
Three weeks later, protest participants are still being summoned to police stations and charged with violations of protest etiquette. These summons are selective, targeting individuals particularly active in matters of public interest.
One of them is Orestis Matsas, who was the first to post about the late-night demolition of the Tryfonos residence a few days ago. Matsas himself publicised the belated charges against him, denouncing police authoritarianism.
Both the arrests at this event (either on-site or three weeks later) and the arrest of Oz Karahan and George Tattis demonstrate an attempt to create an atmosphere of intimidation to suppress dissent and reaction.
However, such moves achieve the opposite effect. In democratic countries, it is both a guaranteed right of citizens (and our duty) to speak up and react.