Violence mars student revolt anniversary rally in Athens

By Magda Panoutsopoulou

ATHENS

Police in Athens have clashed with participants of a rally to mark the 42nd anniversary of the 1973 student uprising against military rule in Greece.

The clashes between riot police and some 500 rally participants started at around 8 p.m., local time (1800GMT) Tuesday on the central streets of the Greek capital and continued in Athens' Exarchia district after the end of a march.

A bloc of anti-establishment youth had attacked a riot police squad using petrol bombs, stones and sticks; they also overturned and set ablaze dumpsters, cars and public property, and looted supermarkets in the center of Athens.

Police responded with the use of stun grenades at intervals to push the bloc back. Five people were also arrested.

The march had started peacefully Tuesday afternoon, which according to police estimates, saw the participation of more than 15,000 people.

PAME, a trade union affiliated with the Communist Party of Greece, took part in the rally that started from the Athens Polytechnic towards the U.S. embassy.

After arriving at the embassy where the annual march ended, participants sang the Greek national anthem while holding the Greek flag. Some people held banners with slogans against fascism and the Greek government’s recent austerity measures.

"Syriza has failed us," an unemployed 32-year-old Maria Hatzisavva said. Panos, a medical student, said: "This is not a day of celebration, we are here to commemorate this day 42 years ago."

The U.S. embassy remained under heavy guard as well as other foreign embassies during the march, especially since the recent attacks in Paris. Earlier, the march paused for a few minutes outside the French embassy in central Athens to pay their respects to the victims of the Paris attacks.