Greece braces for demonstrations
2009-12-06 14:29
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Greece
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Athens - Greece on Sunday braced for demonstrations to mark the anniversary of a teenager's killing by a policeman, with authorities on the alert to avert a repeat of riots that tore through several cities last year.
Over 6 000 police will be on duty in Athens alone as thousands set to join protest marches in the capital and other cities commemorating 15-year-old Alexis Grigoropoulos' fatal shooting exactly a year ago.
Greece's recently-elected socialist government, mindful that the 2008 riots that caused millions of euros in damages badly discredited its conservative predecessors, has warned protesters against resorting to violence.
"We will not tolerate a repeat scenario of violence and terror in the centre of Athens," Citizen's Protection Minister Michalis Chrysohoidis said this week.
"We will not allow anyone to usurp the peaceful events and demonstrations in Alexis Grigoropoulos' memory," said Chrysohoidis, who oversees the police.
On Saturday, police carried out a series of raids in Athens and detained more than 130 people after two cars were set fire to in the central district of Exarchia, where Grigoropoulos was gunned down last year.
Twelve people, including five Italians and three Albanians, were arrested over the torching of the cars and another 41 people were arrested in the western district of Keratsini after briefly occupying the local town hall.
In a separate raid in the same area, police arrested a further 22 people in what they said was an anarchist hideout. Officers found two petrol cannisters, sledgehammers and 13 gas masks on the premises, police said.
"The search confirmed prior information that this location was used to create explosives and launch attacks," a police statement said.
Around 500 people took part in protest marches in the northern city of Thessaloniki on Saturday night, local police said. Ten people, including an Albanian and a Bulgarian, were arrested after the demonstration.
A series of demonstrations were planned on Sunday by trade unions and leftwing organisations in Athens, Thessaloniki and other cities after a religious service at Grigoropoulos's grave in the suburb of Palio Faliro.
Another demonstration by students and school pupils will be held on Monday.