TENS of thousands of school and university students demonstrated last Friday in Athens and in all Greek major cities against the oppression and violence campaign carried out by the riot-police of the right-wing government.
The marches were held in commemoration of 16-year-old school students Alexis Grigoropoulos who was killed 11 years ago by a special forces policeman.
There were two marches in Athens last Friday. In the morning, about 2,000 school and university students marched to the Vouli (Greek parliament) demanding an end to the terror launched by armed riot-police squads against youth. Students shouted ‘police murderers’ to the riot police that lined up in front of the Vouli.
In the evening, a most powerful militant march was staged in Athens by school and university students and workers. Some 15,000 people took part in a mood of resistance and determination that was clearly seen at last month’s huge Athens Polytechnic Uprising commemoration march.
Greek young people and students are absolutely furious at the armed riot police actions which carry out pogroms against whole areas in the Greek capital to terrorise people.
Riot police stop people at random, beat them up, take their clothes off while shouting unspeakable swearwords and abuse at them.
At last Friday’s Athens evening march, armed-riot police had retreated to side streets. But after the march, as people were laying flowers at the place where the young Alexis Grigoropoulos was murdered, armed riot-police unleashed their terror first with very toxic tear gas and smoke-and-lightning bombs, then attacking people with truncheons and shields. Police said they arrested 10 people and charged them with criminal offences. Youth fought back by throwing stones and fruit at them.
There was an outcry against the riot squads’ actions as Greek social media and television showed appalling violent scenes. But the chief of the Greek police cynically stated that whoever has a ‘complaint’, as he put it, against police actions should go the Ombudsman.
Greek youth are fighting back against the EU-imposed barbaric austerity of mass unemployment, poverty, health and education cuts and the terror campaigns of the armed riot police. They are at the forefront of the Greek people’s fight against the continuous austerity of successive Greek capitalist governments who are obeying the orders of the EU.
They are in the same fight along with the youth and workers in France and throughout Europe, as well as with the masses in the Middle East who have risen against austerity imposed by the stooges of imperialism.
