Update on our Political/ Legal situations
from
http://Cyprus.IndyMedia.org/
------------

Hi,

Many thanks to all of you who have been asking about developments with
our case - this is in reference to the legal/ political entanglement
that was initiated in the Spring of 2004, triggered by a collaboration
between elements within the Governments of the US and the Republic of
Cyprus against the Cyprus IndyMedia organization and Petros Evdokas in
particular, following written instructions from the US Embassy.

The associated events included illegal actions by the Criminal
Investigation Division of the Cyprus Police against us and our family
members. Also, a scandalous involvement in the case by the mainstream
media and politicians of the establishment in Cyprus, plus covert
participation by US officials.

You might remember that there was a public admission of the essential
facts of the case by the highest levels of Government in Cyprus:
Cyprus IndyMedia had published an article by Petros Evdokas in which it
was requested that a US intelligence agent in Cyprus who was actively
involved in subverting peace and the political process on the island, be
deported by the Cyprus authorities. Instead, an illegal investigation
was launched against the author naming him as "a threat to US interests".

If you would like to refresh your memory on those events, please see the
following link.
"Some of the basic materials of 'The Case', collected":
http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-cyprus/2005-August/0831-ni.html

This writing is an effort to bring you up to date with recent developments.
Contents:
- The document
- Continued illegal harassment against us
- The shape of the conflict - the big picture
- The most recent developments
~~~~~~~~~~

* The document

We recently completed and delivered a 10 page document related to our
case addressed to the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Cyprus,
with a copy to the Attorney General/ Prosecutor of the Republic
(For those more familiar with US terminology, the Minister is the Cyprus
counterpart of the US Secretary of the Dept. of Justice.)

Our document is a essentially a political position paper, structured
within the context of a formal complaint to the authorities about their
responsibilities in the case. It addresses :
- the continued cover- up and protection of those who were responsible,
and the lack of closure;
- the collaboration of the Police Headquarters in the cover up;
- the total absence of any motions by the authorities to name, prosecute
and punish the corrupt Police officials who were involved in the crimes
against us, our families, and our colleagues in the politicized community;
- the total absense of even an apology by the Government and no offer to
compensate or to restore damages to our reputation and personal lives;
- the fact that we still have no guarantees for our safety, nor
protection from renewed illegal actions against us by the Police at the
request of the US Embassy.

Our document underlines the fact that even though the Minister of
Justice had ordered the Police last year to stay off the case and
declared it to be "outside of Police business", members of the Police
have continued a systematic harassment of our members and of people in
our political circles. Especially, there's been selective harrassment of
people within the tiny radical and alternative community and within some
of the anti-imperialist sections of the BiCommunal Peace movement. Our
information - confirmed and verified - is that the US Embassy is
implicated in these continued illegal activities of the Police.

Our document takes the point of departure that these are political
crimes. And that just like any crime, in order to be understood and
combatted, the context and circumstances of the crime need to explored
along with the factors and elements shaping the conditions and methods
of the crime.

So, in the document we explore some of the main themes of political life
in Cyprus as a neocolony ruled by a Government which is dependent on and
allied with the imperialist powers, namely the US and UK.

The imperialist powers own, control, and operate military bases on the
island which were used recently to invade our neighbours in Afghanistan
and Iraq, and are still being used to occupy those countries. The
military operations against our neighbours took place with the
collaboration of the regime now ruling the Republic of Cyprus, which
gave access to the Imperial forces to use the airspace, seaports,
airports, highways and other facilities for their operations. Also, food
and fuel supplies were provided for their military craft and soldiers.
Given that this is the political orientation of the current Government
towards the Empire, is it any wonder that its Police officials jump at
the command of the US Government to harass and persecute us, even if it
is totally illegal for them to do so?

Our document also touches on the great issues surrounding the struggle
for Socialism, since the current Government of Cyprus is a ruling
coalition of mostly "Socialist" parties. We invited those in power to
re-examine their commitment to Socialism and to return to that cause,
since it is the reason that the people voted them to power. That is,
they were elected to office in order to create Socialism, not to become
appendages of Imperialism and extensions of global and local Capital.

The document also covers issues of national security and sovereignty,
examining the crimes against us as crimes of treason - what else is it
when the security forces of a country violate their mission, the law,
and the Constitution to follow the commands of a foreign power?

We emphasized that when the State itself becomes a source of systematic
illegal actions and disrespect for law and order, then citizens are
forced to become the enforcers by generating new social processes which
by- pass the structures of the State and are created to be specifically
immune to its power.

We also emphasized that when the State is unable - or unwilling - to
protect its citizens from the actions of a foreign power, then society
is forced to mobilize and to organize itself despite the State to remove
the influences of imperialist domination from within the country The
people collectively end up shouldering the effort to restore the
country's sovereignty themselves.

It closes by restating our legal demands to the authorities for :
- restoration of justice by punishing and purging the corrupt officials
from the security forces of Cyprus;
- restoration of our sense of security and protection for all citizens
from the illegal reach of the long arms of the US Government into the
operations and areas of the Republic of Cyprus, as it is supposed to be
with every sovereign country;
- restoration of and respect to our rights to publish without harassment;
- compensation.


* Continued illegal harassment against us

Since the authorities have refused to name or to punish those who were
responsible for the crimes against us, the corrupt Police officials have
continued the campaign of illegal harassment into the new year of 2005.

Police have visited our lawyer and the neighbours of Petros Evdokas,
pretending that they are investigating "whether he runs a brothel".

Other members of the BiCommunal Peace movement, and associates from our
extended political circles have been investigated for "passing by the US
Embassy too often".

Even in this week, during the political trial of peaceful demonstrators
who had been beaten and arrested without provocation by Cyprus Police at
the US Embassy protests two years ago (at the start of the invasion of
Iraq), there was a Police raid on the home of an activist couple. The
two comrades have been involved in the legal defense team. We're
involved in the trial as well, and we know first hand that it is not
going very well for the authorities who are risking their reputation in
Court just to defend US policy and abuses by corrupt Police members.


* The shape of the conflict

The authorities are bound by law to respond to our document. The may
ignore it, too. In either case, they open themselves up for legal action
by us against them, and also for various other procedures such as
investigations and hearings, in addition to exposure to the wrath of the
mainstream media again.

There were already some efforts by members of Parliament to discuss our
case in Parliament (more on that in another article coming up in the
near future). We have received cautious interest even from sections of
the establishment who are embarrassed by this behaviour of the State
against its people.

But our primary concern is to help our community regain its sense of
political independence, and to build its tools for autonomous radical
self- organization and to relearn how to mobilize in order to prevent
*any* collaboration between the global Empire and our local masters,
whether they are dressed in the flag of Socialism or not.

We've prepared for the long haul - the legal aspects of this case might
go all the way up to the European Court of Human Rights, while the
possibilities for community organizing that are potentially built into
the case, are limitless.

Our aim is that this effort should continue to be one more field of
conflict within which freedom- loving allies, internationalists and
patriots, feminists and greens, socialists, communists, anarchists, and
autonomists can build better unity and sense of co-operation among us,
both locally and glocally.

* The most recent developments

We have just received a copy of a letter from the Attorney General
addressed to the Minister of Justice instructing the Minister to act in
a timely fashion in order to avoid Court procedures by us. We consider
this a tactful and indirect recognition by the Opposition that they see
the legal potential of our case weighing against them.


It's all open. There's a place - and a need! - for all forms of your
participation, support, and solidarity Every step you take in that
direction will help not only us, but also the wider network of
independent and autonomous organizers, activists, and all sorts of
people involved in all sections of the global liberation struggle.

Please share this update with anyone who you think should see it.

Thank you,
Solon Antartis
solon_antartis@...
and
Petros Evdokas
petros@...

founding members of the
Cyprus IndyMedia Collective
imc-cyprus@...
------------------------------------