During the past few weeks police violence against migrants and activists in
Greece is becoming more and more intense. After the election of the new
government, police has been given orders to intensify security checks all
over Athens while areas like Exarcheia and Nikaia have been blocked in order
to facilitate the "work" of the police. Arrests, body search and
imprisonment of activists and migrants without justification have become
commonplace.

Following the death of Mohamed Kamran Atif, who has been
tortured in detention at the police station of Nikaia, there was a mass
demonstration. The police reacted violently, with tear gas, beatings and
several arrests. During the weekend, Dimitris Parsanoglou, an anti-racist
activist, has been arrested and detained without a legal representative for
three days because he protested against the arrest and beating by the police
of a migrant in a central spot of Athens.

These tactics employed by the new government are part of an overall plan to
"protect the citizen" by openly demonstrating the ability of the state to
control those who participated in the December revolt. The rise of the
extreme right wing group LAOS and the xenophobic reports of the mainstream
Media have played a vital role in this direction, emphasizing the need to
secure Greece against foreigners and uncontrollable citizens. The Minister
for the "protection of the citizen" ( the new name of the Minister of Public
order) in a show of force anounced proudly in a press conference that more
deportations will be enforced, while he also added (in a sensitive
humanitarian tone) that deportations of minors will be stopped. Although
police violence is a tradition in Greece, I think that there is something
new here. Instead of trying to cover up police violence, the tactic is to
publicize it "showing off" the ability of the state to be in control as a
protective father taking care of all those "concerned citizens".
Constructing migrants and activists as de facto threats makes police
violence an "asset" in parliamentary politics, some kind of democratic
achievement that seemingly draws more and more voters towards the party that
can be more effective in its enforcement.