Last week there were clashes against the police, involving tear gas and with over twenty thousand people took to the streets. All this due to the Athens Polytechnic uprising of 1973. These events also resulted in the university being shut for the week. As Erasmus students, we had no idea about this national academic holiday until it prevented us from going into school, and as we asked around, we received a mixture of advice from friends and fellow Greek students. In general, the city seemed like it was preparing for war. Our friend’s landlord even told them to get out of Athens for the weekend; “Your building is really located in the middle of the war so: 2 options: you go somewhere far or you lock yourself in with possibilities of suffocation [due to tear gas]!” The day of the protest:Waking on the morning of the 17th, I was excited and nervous or the day's events, having already decided to go to the protest and try and see the predicted riots in person. Walking to Exachia, where the violence was predicted to peak, it was like walking into a ghost town, all the roads were cleared of cars and empty of people other than a few people darting from place to place. The square which is in the centre of Exachia was clear of police. Although, every road leading to there was blocked by police. Making our way towards the Polytechnic we went through lines of police, who searched every other person. One man was apprehended and made to delete the photo’s on his camera by two fully armed and armoured policemen. This was a town under siege. Gangs of police on motorcycles drove up and down the empty roads. These policemen putting on a show of force. None of them looking worried but more eager and excited for the day's events, almost as if they were looking forward to the conflict with the angry anarchist later in the day. We joined the protest at the very start where there was only around five hundred people with motorbike helmets and clubs with red flags hanging off them. At this point, it seemed there were more journalists and cameramen than actual protesters, but it was pretty early in the day. Deciding we were hungry we went home for some lunch. When we joined the march three hours later at Syntagma (their parliament) there were thousands of people surrounded by riot police in gas masks. By this time the protest had swelled to over twenty thousand people including the previous leftist prime minister and the students of 1973. I followed the protest all the way to the American embassy, and there wasn’t any sign of the riots I had been warned about. Although the sheer number of people on the streets was overwhelming. Once at the embassy, I could see the police helicopter patrolling over the rooftops of an area I knew to be Exachia. So, of course, I headed in that direction, following the beam of the searchlight provided by the helicopter. It was almost like a satire of the Christmas story, however, instead of following the star to find the baby Jesus, I was following the spotlight to see the conflict. When I arrived at Exachia, it was full of riot police and press. The police surrounding the square and the media were surrounding an old woman, who was clearly giving an interview about the goings-on in the square. There was a few skirmished with the police that night, but in general, there was nowhere near the same amount of widespread rioting and violence that Athens was expecting. The police took credit for the containment of the violence as they deployed over five thousand into the area and arrested twenty-eight people. By using tactics such as drones and helicopter they were also able to prevent attacks from the rooftops that did a lot of damage last year as the rioters rained down Molotov's and rocks from above. The government also took some of the credit for the overall success of the events as the raid on the university took away some rioting supplies. Plus the punishment for the use of Molotov was raised from four years to ten. Overall it seems that with the new laws in place and the current conservative government, the era of largescale rioting and lawless attacks by young ‘anarchists’ are coming to an end in Athens. The politics:As the day of the protest approached, I did a little more research into the history behind this academic holiday: the Polytechnic uprising started on the 14th of November 1973 as the students of Athens and other Greek cities protested the military dictatorship (The Junta) that was in control of Greece at the time. This military government was being supported by the Americans at the time, I will come back to this importance later. These protests soon developed into riots and then into a full-blown revolt. Resulting in a tank crashing through the gates of the Polytechnic. Even though no one was killed in the tank incident a total of twenty-four civilians were killed in the uprising. Though, these events did lead to the downfall of The Juta. The reason the protest starts at the Polytechnic and ends at the American Embassy is to show that the students haven’t forgotten America's involvement in the seven years of dictatorship supported by the Americans, who were petrified of the rise of communism in Greece during the Cold War. Last week was has not been the first time the universities have been closed due to student protests. As a government with more conservative ideals was voted in this year it has caused a lot of resistance from the left-wing students. This government has also fulfilled its promises by bringing in many laws that the students feel is a direct attack on their freedom and rights. The first order introduced revoked the law that prevented police being allowed to enter university campuses. For the first time since the law was repealed, last week, police entered and seized a range of gear that they said would have been used to riot. Such as motorbike helmets and fire extinguishers. Many people are happy with this change as they felt university campuses had become safe havens for criminals and drug users. Another law introduced by the new government was to put a limit on the amount of time one can spend at university, unlike in England university, here it is free and classes are not compulsory this means that students can retake as much as they like and can do as many degrees as they want free of charge. The new government has put an end to this by putting in tighter regulations and a limit on the amount of time you can be at university. Along with these laws, the new government has also been cracking down on areas such as Exachia in Athens which until a few months ago were no-go police areas. And a stronghold for extreme anarchists and illegal immigrant squats. Again, the police have now started clearing these squats and making arrests in Exachia. However, this isn’t without retaliation with Molotov’s and rocks. Article written and edited by Alex Hood (@alexjohnhood).
1 Comment
Tim Wharton
3/12/2019 12:32:56 pm
Great article Alex.
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The Academics:We are three Brighton University students who have been given the opportunity to study at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. This blog will be our way of sharing our experiences of living and studying in Greece, plus will include tips and advice for those also looking to study abroad or even just visit Athens. Who we are:
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