THOUSANDS of Greek school and university students took part in militant anti-government and anti-police marches in all the major cities last Friday to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the killing in Athens of 15-year-old school student Alexis Grigoropoulos by police, which led to a youth uprising that lasted over a month.
THOUSANDS of Greek school and university students took part in militant anti-government and anti-police marches in all the major cities last Friday to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the killing in Athens of 15-year-old school student Alexis Grigoropoulos by police, which led to a youth uprising that lasted over a month.
In Athens, over 3,000 school and university students marched through the city centre constantly shouting slogans against the government and police.
The most popular slogans were: ‘The government gives cash to the banks – but bullets to youth!’ and ‘We are going to have the last word – these are Alexis’ days!’ There were also many chants against the fascists of the Golden Dawn party and the riot police.
Delegations of striking university and ERT (Greek state TV and radio corporation) workers took part in the march.
About 800 riot police escorted both flanks of the march. At the end of the march, the armed riot police, on the pretext of being showered with fruit and some red coloured fireworks, unleashed a tear-gas attack on the youth and trapped a few hundred of them at the steps of the main Athens University administrative building. About 15 school students were arrested by riot police as they ran away from the tear-gas.
The students’ contingents refused to move on until the riot police freed the trapped students. Following negotiations, the riot police released all school students after searching them.
In the evening, about 4,000 workers and university students took part in a second march throughout Athens again shouting anti-government and anti-police slogans as well as demanding the overthrow of the government and an ‘indefinite strike’.
After the march, as thousands went to pay their respects to the location where Alexis was shot dead, riot police carried out a pogrom of violence, attacking with truncheons and tear gas as police cars, vans and buses sealed off the area. Police made over 150 arrests, the vast majority 15 to 17-year-old school students.
School and university students’ marches took place in several Greek cities including the industrial ports of Volos, Salonica and Patras. As in Athens, armed riot police attacked them with tear gas.
Meanwhile, inside the Vouli (Greek parliament) 153 deputies voted for next year’s Budget by a slim majority of just three for the coalition government.
The Budget envisages the closure of over 1,600 schools in 2014 on top of the 2,000 plus schools shut in the last three years, and includes the decimation of public health, hospitals and social services.