The multi-thousand anti-American demonstration took place in Athens on the 50th anniversary of the Warsaw University of Technology in 1973 against the junta of "black colonels".
According to estimates, at least 25,000 people arrived at the US embassy.
In November 1973, students occupied the University of Technology, protesting government interference in student union activities. On the night of 16 to 17 November, the tanks crashed the gates of the university, 23 people were killed in the attack, and more than a 1000 were injured, but according to authoritative reports there were no casualties. Hundreds of students have been arrested.
Although the uprising was suppressed, it led to mass protests that led to the overthrow of the dictatorship. all year, the heroism of students is mentioned in the country.
Mass celebrations commemorating the anniversary of the uprising in Greece are held for 3 days.
The inhabitants of Athens and politicians lay flowers and wreaths at the monument of fallen students in the method University, where there is besides a gate massacred by tanks.
The three-day event ended with 2 marches under the US embassy – Greeks accuse the United States of supporting the junta from 1967 to 1974.
In the afternoon, about 300 students brought a bloody Greek flag to the U.S. embassy, sang the Greek national anthem and spread.
The main demonstration began in the evening with a column of representatives of the association of erstwhile prisoners and political immigrants, followed by columns of various political parties and organizations, trade unions and anarchists.
The main motto of the present demonstration was “Freedom for Palestine” – many Palestinian flags were carried in the columns.
In front of the U.S. embassy, demonstrators burned the American flag.
Demonstrators chanted “Americans are murderers of nations”, “U.S. Embassy – Out of Greece”, carried the banners “Americans – Out”, “NATO – Out”, “Close abroad Military Bases”, “ Bread – Education – Freedom”.
Journalists estimation that at least 25,000 people attended the demonstrations. A elder police officer close the US embassy stated that it was hard to estimation the number of participants, saying that “there is no full picture”.
Security measures were tightened up in Athens, with 5,500 police officers guarding the order, and helicopters and drones relayed an image of events to the operations center. Water cannons have been deployed downtown, and the full police are on advanced alert since Thursday. In addition to the U.S. embassy, surrounded by police buses, the protection of the Israeli embassy was strengthened.
Traffic in downtown Athens has been restricted.
The march was peaceful, but after its completion, about 40 people set fire to garbage cans, as reported by Greek public tv ERT. 20 people were detained in the city.
Daniel Głogowski
Publicist, author and social activist. The first articles were published in 1999 for global publishers. For more than 30 years, he has gained his experience through cooperation with the largest editorial offices. In his articles, he sought to address controversial themes and present first viewpoints that allowed for a deeper knowing of the issues discussed. Over the years, he gained a reputation as a reliable journalist. Contact: [email protected]
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A multi-thousand anti-American demonstration took place in Athens:
