Greece: Anarchists in Athens welcome Condolee
@ - 28.04.2006 03:46
Welcome Condoleezza – A detailed photographic chronicle and videos from the riots in Athens and the quick demo before that which was prohibited by the police.
 http://athens.indymedia.org/display.php?articleId=10287
Several thousands of demonstrators from the anarchist-antiauthoritarian movement and the left wing demonstrated in Athens streets, as a reaction to the visit of Condoleeza Rice in Greece to discuss, amongst other, the matter of invading Iran and ask for the political and military support of the Greek government. Even from the previous day, in fear of the student’s opposition and possible taking over of the university near the hotel where Rice was going to stay, the riot police blocked Pandeion University, while the streets were full of police patrols and undercover policemen since the early hours of Tuesday.
While the "top-level personalities" played on diplomacy and impressions during "high-level" meetings, heavy police forces (more than 5,000 policemen according the authorities) blocked main streets and imposed a prohibition of demonstrations in the very center of Athens city. When the demonstrators tried to go through the police blockages and demonstrate, tons of tear-gas was sprayed against them.
While the leftists begun to run and dispersed to recover from the tear gas, to the surprise of the police, hooded anarchists suddenly appeared out of the crowd (before that they had mingled into the crowd so as not to be spotted), quickly setting up roadblocks, in order to delay the riot cops attacking the crowd again. Indeed, stones and molotov cocktails kept them for some time at distance from the main mass of the demonstrators, while the leftists managed to regroup and recover a little further down the road.
During the clashes which immediately errupted, 9 people were brought before the police headquarters and 2 demonstrators were injured.
More info can be found at http://athens.indymedia.org/display.php?articleId=10290
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