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BEHIND THE BLACK SCREEN

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I was sure, from the start of that black Tuesday, that when the government spokesman would make his speech

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he would announce that ERT is shutting down

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So, I was expecting it.

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We were aware of the news about the ERT closure from the previous days.

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But at that time we knew it was going to happen.

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We interrupted the normal programme and brought a special news bulletin about the ongoing developments regarding ERT.

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The first phone call I got while we were still broadcasting the developments about our lay offs was from my child

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She was panicked, she learned about this from the TV. Crying, she asked me "Were you fired?" etc

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What could I tell her? She has exams these days, as you know, I was very angry.

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My colleagues here supported me. I put down the phone, because I couldn't answer her question.

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When I calmed down, I called her back.

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The newscast was released normally, with all the information we had until that time.

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We were ready to broadcast when the government spokesman Mr. Kedikoglou would make his announcement.

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The government has decided to shut down ERT, within the current legal framework and with a decision by all the ministers,

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all ERT broadcasts are to stop after the end of the programme this evening.

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In the beginning, we couldn't believe our ears.

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There was a big panic, we looked at each other. "What's going on? I can't believe it. What's going to happen next?"

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During that day and before the announcement was made, many of us here were crying

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but at the same time we were thinking of how we could react to this coup.

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The only way we had and still have is our voice, keeping ERT open.

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We ended the newcast by calling the people, telling them:

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"Stay with us. The public radio and television belong to you. Protect it."

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The first thing we did was to secure the storage rooms, the equipment is sensitive and expensive.

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We locked the storage rooms and gave the keys to the foreman.

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DOWN WITH THE JUNTA [br]ERT IS NOT SHUTTING DOWN

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After the initial shock was over, after the initial indignation, after all those why's...

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we said "no, we stay here and keep working"

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We were in constant communication with the Ymittos broadcast station and the office supervisor

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to see what we could do to keep the programme running.

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We were doing our shift at the Ymittos broadcast station and at some point around 10.30 pm

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a riot police platoon showed up

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They cut down the fence and showed up at the building gates.

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After some time, I can't recall how much time passed exactly, must have been around 10 pm

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we saw the riot police vehicles approaching the central entrance of the Katehaki building and they wanted to enter

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The guard asked them for a warrant from the public prosecutor, as it is normally done in cases like this

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but they said they didn't have one and stayed outside waiting, supposedly, for the warrant to arrive.

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The warrant never arrived, at least until we left.

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At gunpoint, we let the technician they had with them disconnect the transmitters

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We collected our personal belongings, all this at gunpoint.

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And then two police cars escorted us off the mountain.

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Knowing how all this happened, with the cutting down of the fences and the guns

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we realised we had to prepare ourselves and see how we should act.

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We discussed it among us and took the decision to hide at a spot nearby and not leave the broadcast station.

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so that they wouldn't arrest us in this area and get the same treatment as the people at the Ymittos broadcast station.

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But soon we learned that our signal was cut anyway, possibly some sort of interference,

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by some van, we don't know from where exactly

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and we waited to see what will happen

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We were anxious, all the colleagues here,

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we kept informing the studio of any developments

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we told them how our transmitters, one by one, our signal collapsed

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From the moment the signal was down and the screens went black

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we tried to organise, put something on people's screens

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we kept switching to alternative solutions

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Either through satellite or ERT World we kept broadcasting from our stations

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We learned that the Parnitha station went down and the Ymittos station also went down with the riot police going in.

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Then we tried to organise the stations away from urban centres, so that some people could watch the programme

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Then I received another phone call, another blow.

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I come from a small island near the border, Leros.

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I had given the mayor there an emergency number, in case of an important event going on

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then we could relay his messages, since it's a remote island, as ERT must do.

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He tells me, "Mihalis, the ERT signal is gone and in their place we only see Turkish channels"

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Our first move, us radio directors, was to meet and decide collectively that the Greek radio will not go silent.

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Since we were charged with central control, we strived to keep the programme feeds of all the channels on the air, by any means.

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At some point, when we were at the Katehaki building, we were asked to find two radio transmitters. We did so and carefully sent them to Agia Paraskevi

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so we could connect directly with the transmitters and keep broadcasting our programme.

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So we managed, with resourcefulness and thanks to the specialised knowledge of our technicians

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we are still on air and informing the Greek public even now

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all that is going on with the public broadcasting company

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During the same time that our signal kept going down

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friends and supporters of public broadcasting started re-broadcasting our programme

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The University of Athens, we are very thankful to them, was with us from the get go.

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That same night, they set up our programme to be broadcast via the Internet.

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Radio stations of Attica and the rest of Greece, also abroad, united with us so the signal would not stop

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The police came to the Katehaki building to guard it and the police sergeant announced that we should leave.

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They broke down the door, they cut it down, I don't even know how,

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they went to the 7th, 8th, 9th floor where the transmitters are

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they destroyed the locks, so they could replace them with locks of their own

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We reach the gate, the sergeant told me that we should leave and that the building is now under their responsibility

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The next day at around 4 pm I decided to return to my home

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I rode my motor bike and tried to leave the premises.

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The police that stopped me were quizzical

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"Where did you come from?" they asked.

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I told them "I was in my office and working"

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They replied "And how come you were there, how is it possible you were working? when did you come here?"

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I told them I was there since the day before.

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"And where did you sleep?"; "But I didn't sleep, I had work to do"

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After the shock was over, the process of self-managing all this building, the workers, the equipment, the studios

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We needed, above all, to protect them and also for the shop to keep running.

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We are not police or the army, we are simple citizens, who for all these years we were working as sound technicians, electricians, camera operators

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and suddenly, because of this government, we were called to play the role of the police or the army

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we made up shifts for guard duty and divided between us colleagues

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Generally, we had to do all this self-management,

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and apart from all our pains and worries from being laid off, this gave us a lot of strength

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and I would like to add that our relationships became much closer

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This is the first floor, where the public broadcaster music groups and the Radio Third Programme are.

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It is the floor of culture.

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This is something we would like to take advantage of

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We don't want it to stop

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We wanted to start up this great engine that we have at our disposal

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I hope the authorities will reconsider

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It's not bad to admit to one's mistakes.

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Even those who have the best intentions can make mistakes.

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It's not bad to apologise when a blunder is made

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For some people, not only the workers of ERT, our work is our life.

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We have chosen to do the work that we like and makes us happy and we are paid like all other workers.

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Our wages are like all other workers. We'd like people to come and ask us.

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So they can get to know us, to see we are not monsters, we are not out of this world. So they can see our payslip.

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I know I must work for the jobless, for all these people outside.

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The ERT programme must go on, flawless, and delivered to the Greek viewer.

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This is the first time ERT became so open to the public.

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People come and visit, they look around, they're curious about the offices, the studios.

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They want to get to know us closely.

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The response from the public was immediate. People started coming to the ERT building.

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Crowds had gathered outside the Mesogeion building in just two hours.

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Either through the internet or the regional stations, we achieved the impossible.

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The signal was broadcast, the people could listen to the radio

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and we could inform them continuously for anything that was happening at ERT

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As for the black screens, since many people already talk about it,

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I personally have not seen it at all. I was here at the control room, we kept broadcasting,

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I never saw any black screens and I never switched on the TV at home since.

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ERT is about an idea. It's not about Dimitris, it's about the idea. ERT is all of Greece.

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Isn't it possible to fix the mistakes of all these years

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put our house in order with ERT remaining open?

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Isn't it possible to put our house in order with ERT open?

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We insist to remain working for the public broadcast operator.

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We insist that we still want the signal to be broadcast

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and we will not lay our weapons down

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We keep fighting, not for keeping our jobs, promises or threats

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We insist that the fight is still on, we're still in the game

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We try, with our own strength and the support of the public,

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of all people who are rational and believe that what is going on is unfair

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They can't censor the truth, they can't censor democracy.