Renewed Street Riots in Greece

Sofia News Agency
21 December 2008, Sunday

Renewed clashes between youth protesters and police forces broke out late Saturday night around the National Technical University of Athens, also known as the Athens Polytechnic.

The riot happened after a meeting organized by the students, who have occupied the school, on the spot where the 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos was killed by a police bullet on December 6.

After the vigil, the youngsters started hurling rocks and Molotov cocktails at the police forces, and set trash bins on fire.The riot police, who are constantly present in the quarter with a long history of anarchist activity, responded with tear gas, and the students escaped to the campus of the Polytechnic, where police forces are not allowed to enter without the special permission of the university President's Office.

According to the Greece Antenna TV, the Greek anarchists have been joined by like-minded people from all over Europe who have recently arrived to Greece in order to take part in the protests.

Later Saturday night the anarchists set two cars on fire in the Kolonaki Quarter in downtown Athens, and managed to start a fire in the building of the Teresias company, which keeps the credit data of the Greek Ministry of Finance and Greek banks. The offices of the company were destroyed together with data about credit debtors.

Earlier on Saturday, the Athens police detained three anarchists who tried to set on fire the Christmas tree before the Greek Parliament. Greece's second largest city Thesaloniki also saw violent protests Saturday night as protesting anarchists managed briefly to take over four radio stations and the building of the central movie theater Olimpion.

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