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12/07/2009

 

Rioting youths threw firebombs and stones at police in Athens on Sunday in violent clashes during a march by students and anarchists to mark the first anniversary of the death of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos. His death last year sparked two weeks of heavy rioting in Greek cities in December 2008.

Two police officers will go on trial for the killing on January 20 on charges of murder and attempted murder.

Police on Sunday fired tear gas to disperse the demonstrators. More than 3,000 people marched to parliament chanting "Policemen. Pigs. Murderers." People smashed the windows of more than 20 bank branches and store fronts, destroyed several cars and set rubbish bins on fire.

Masked protestors broke into Athens University and replaced the Greek flag with a black-and-red anarchist banner. The dean of the university was injured when the youths broke into the building and was taken to the hospital, where he was put in intensive care, authorities said.

Smaller than Last Year

Greece's new socialist government deployed more than 6,000 police officers and announced a "zero tolerance strategy" towards dealing with protestors. "Vandals and hooligans have nothing to do with democracy," said Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chryssochoidis. At least 30 people were injured in Sunday's riots. More than 300 people were arrested, police said. However, the scale of the rioting was much smaller than last year.

A new demonstration has been called for Monday afternoon by secondary schoolchildren and university students.

Commentators say the rioting stems in part from widespread dissatisfaction among Greece's youth about a lack of prospects. The unemployment rate in the 15-24 age group jumped to 24.2 percent in August from 19.2 percent in the same period last year, according to the most recent figures available.

Attack on German Police Stations

The violence appears to have spilled over into Germany. In Hamburg, a group calling itself Koukoulofori -- Greek for "the hood-wearers" or the "masked ones" -- claimed responsibility for an attack on a police station in the German port city on Thursday night, saying it was in revenge for the killing of the Greek teenager.

Some 10 masked people broke windows of the Hamburg police station in the bohemian Schanzenviertel district, which is known for left-wing street festivals and violent protests. They also set fire to one police car and smashed the windows of another. There have been no arrests so far.

On Thursday night unknown attackers also hurled a firebomb and bags of paint at an office of the Federal Criminal Police Office in the eastern Berlin district of Treptow.