Mar. 13, 2021
Α number of leftist and organizations for the defense human rights have issued an appeal to the “militant Dimitris Koufontinas to save his life” by interrupting his hunger strike. Those organizations have strongly supported Koufontinas during his hunger strikes. Their text in Greek can be found here https://thepressproject.gr/
Dimitris Koufontinas, 63 years old, in now between life and death, in an intensive care unit in Lamia Hospital, as a result of the hunger strike he begun in the beginning of January. He is asking for the application of the law which is stipulating, in an unequivocal way, for his transfer to the Korydallos prison. Four out of the six political parties represented in the Greek Parliament, the Association of Greek Judges and Prosecutors and many organizations and personalities have asked for the satisfaction of his demand. But the government is refusing to satisfy his demand. PM Mitsotakis has gone as far as to accuse him of threatening and “blackmailing” his government, from his bed in the intensive care unit of the Lamia Hospital.
According to his doctors “his condition is very critical due to many and complex accumulated disorders of organic systems, with an obvious risk of permanent damage and deficiencies but also a constant potential risk of sudden death”. (https://www.capital.gr/
This case and the wider cases of extreme police brutality has provoked a series of everyday demonstrations. About ten such demonstrations mainly with slogans against authoritarianism, but also for the satisfaction of Koufontinas’ demands have happened on Saturday 13th of March in about ten different districts of Athens, going largely unreported by the Media. According to some information we are unable to verify and we write with great reserve, there is a collapse of the government popularity in the polls it is itself making, with huge movements of ND voters (9%) to the far right and, even more important (12%) to “indecided”, given the credibility problem of the left since 2015.
The appeal to Koufontinas to stop the hunger strike may be probably, but no one can be certain, the beginning of a “de-escalation” of the crisis around the hunger striker. If this will be the case Greece will make the economy of a serious crisis, probably preplanned by extremist international forces for reasons having to do with European affairs, Geopolitics and the “civil war” inside the Western establishment.
But even if that happens, the factors which provoked and made possible this crisis will not disappear.
DK
