Kanellos : l’esprit de l’émeute ?

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FTaVgqSiIk]

Kanellos the Greek riot dog inspires protesters

examiner.com

May 8 2010

Greeks protesting looming austerity cuts have an unlikely mascot – a dog known as Kanellos who seems to enjoy being at the center of the action.

Kanellos – or a dog very much like Kanellos – has allegedly shown up at every major protest since 2008. The dog appears to be on the side of the protestors and barks at riot police and dodges tear gas. Rumor has it that the dog is a stray but the blue collar it sometimes wears may indicate that it has a home and perhaps an owner that gives it a long – ahem – leash.

Dogs in battle have a long and storied history and the ancient Greeks used them as well. A dog took part in the Battle of Marathon as the Greeks took up arms against the invading Persians. That dog, who history leaves unnamed, was even memorialized in the famous Stoa Poikile, a mural painted on the north side of the Ancient Agora of Athens in the 5th century BC.

Though it is doubtful that Kanellos is the modern riot dog’s real name, whoever dubbed the canine had a strong sense of history – Kanellos Deligiannis was a hero of the Greek War of Independence.

Un chien participe à toutes les manifestations en Grèce.

matin.branchez-vous.com

dimanche 9 mai 2010

Un mystérieux pitou participe depuis deux ans à toutes les manifestations en Grèce.

The Guardian lui consacre même un portfolio en ligne. Ce chien semble toujours du côté des manifestants, avance le quotidien britannique.

Plusieurs noms circulent sur la Toile. Kanellos, Louk, Theodorus, le mystère est entier. Le chien est presque devenu un héros national.

Un groupe Facebook intitulé riot dog lui rend même hommage. Dimanche, il y avait 14 200 membres.

Selon Libération, il y aurait deux chiens. Kanellos I serait mort en décembre 2008 et Kanellos II lui aurait alors succédé.

Plusieurs photos ont été prises par différents journalistes lors des manifestations en Grèce.

Mystery Dog Becomes Greek Riot Mascot

myfoxdfw.com

Sunday, 09 May 2010,

(NewsCore) – Protesters in riot-hit Greece have a mascot, the New York Post reported Saturday.

A mystery mutt turned up at every major demonstration in Athens for the past two years and earned iconic status.

He was shadowed by photographers, inspired bloggers, earned fame in YouTube videos and boasts his own Facebook page (as « Riot-dog »).

« I’ve seen him many times on TV, » wrote one admiring blogger. « He doesn’t seem to get scared of tear gas, explosions, petrol bombs and people screaming all over. He actually seems to enjoy himself a lot! »

In recent photos, the dog was seen showing solidarity with hooded rock-throwers and barking at cops in riot gear during anti-austerity protests.

He wore a blue collar, indicating he was a stray who was vaccinated.

Some Athens-based bloggers claimed his name was Kanellos, which is Greek for « cinnamon. » But others said that dog died in 2008 and that this one was called Louk, after the sausage that he loves to eat.

Others said his name was Theodorus and that he lived in Syntagma Square, the central Athens showcase that became ground zero for violent protests.

« What brings him to the riots? Does he believe in the overthrow of private ownership? » an fan asked on Facebook.

« Does he see the rioters as his pack? Does he just hope that the police are going to start throwing those big sticks for him to fetch? »

Other bloggers speculated that the dog showed up at riots because he belonged to a photographer or a cop.

But most agreed he was on the side of the underdogs.

An enthusiastic history of Greek protest dogs

newsweek

9 05 2010

By Katie Paul

Though there are many weapons available to the street protester, there is perhaps only one for which there is no defense: A really cute friggin’ dog. After Kanellos the Greek protest dog shot to fame when the Guardian published a photographic profile piece dedicated exclusively to him, careful observers started to notice that, hey! There are a lot of dogs hanging with these Greek protesters and, they really seem to want to stick it to the man. True, the dogs’ presence may be due less to any burning desire to fight the power and more to the fact that, well, there are a whole lot of stray dogs in Athens. They can be easily mistaken for one another since they all wear the same collars, blue for boys and red for girls, which are provided by the city with tracking tags when the dogs are vaccinated and spayed or neutered. Here’s where they’ve been spotted in the past.