Preparations in place for 50th anniversary of Greece’s student uprising

By Magda Panoutsopoulou

ATHENS (AA) - Greek police deployed more than 5,000 officers Thursday around Athens ahead of the 50th anniversary Friday of the Athens Polytechnic student uprising.

Crowds gathered Thursday and laid wreaths and carnations at the Athens Polytechnic site in memory of students killed during a revolt against the dictatorship.

Earlier, PASOK-Movement for Change opposition leader Nikos Androulakis laid a wreath at the Polytechnic monument.

"The uprising of Athens Polytechnic students on Nov. 17, 1973, was one of the most glorious moments of Greek modern political history. We honor all those who died, struggled and had the courage to face the military dictatorship," he said.

Eleni Bellou, representing the communist party of Greece, laid a wreath and said: “The bloody repression of the Polytechnic was not lost, it was not defeated, because it literally ruined the political structures of the dictatorship and put it on a path of destabilization ... the anti –NATO slogans will dominate the march tomorrow.”

“We demand the disengagement of Greece from the imperialist wars, like the massacre of the Palestinians by the murderous state of Israel,” she added.

Traffic regulations have been in effect since Wednesday, while extra measures are being taken by police outside the US Embassy where an annual march ends.

All surrounding streets from the US Embassy are heavily barricaded and special measures are in place to protect the Israeli Embassy as well as other possible "targets" due to the war in the Gaza Strip.

Helicopters and drones will be hovering from the air and will transmit images to the police operation center, according to police.

Each year, the Polytechnic anniversary is celebrated with a march toward the US Embassy which many Greeks accuse of supporting the military junta. The match usually ends with clashes between police and anarchist groups.

Nov. 17 marks the Athens Polytechnic Uprising when students held a massive demonstration against the ruling Greek military junta.

The uprising began Nov. 14, 1973, and escalated to an open revolt against the military junta, which had been ruling the country since 1967.

It ended in bloodshed early Nov. 17 after a series of events that started with a tank crashing through the gates of the Polytechnic campus.

At least 24 civilians were killed.