Thousands attend antifascist protest
Unions, parties and other groups called for mass rally against Golden Dawn. ’Pavlos lives! Crush the nazis!’ was the main slogan chanted at the demonstration, which got underway on Syntagma Square at 6pm. Metro stations in central Athens are closed because of the rally.
Thousands have heeded the call of unions, parties and antifascist groups to attend an anitfascist rally on Syntagma Square, called one week after the murder by a Golden Dawn member of rapper Pavlos Fyssas.
A massive crowd assembled on Syntagma Square from 6pm, where a concert took place.
At around 7pm, a large section of demonstrators left Syntagma and moved in the direction of Golden Dawn’s headquarters, on Mesogeion Avenue. But in order to prevent protesters reaching the Golden Dawn building, police used coaches and riot police to blocked off access to the entrance ot Mesogeion Ave at Ambelokipi.
Shortly after 8pm, police fired tear gas and flash grenades around Mesogeion Ave and Fidippidou street (see map below) in response to protesters throwing stones and petrol bombs.
To escape from the choking effects of the tear gas, demonstrators made their way down Alexandras Ave, which police had left open.
By 8.45pm, eyewitnesses said that the demonstration had largely dispersed in different directions.
There are reports of police taking protesters into so-called preventative detention, before and during the demonstration.
Trade unions, poltical parties, antifascist organisations and other groups issued the call for the rally.
“All together we must reassert our abhorrence at the murder of antifascist fighter Pavlos Fyssas and to condemn the Nazi and criminal acts of Golden Dawn and demand now laws, as well as educational and social initiatives, to address neonazi violence and crime,” said public sector workers union Adedy, one of the groups supporting the demonstration, in a statement.
The demonstration has received the backing of Syriza and Democratic Left as well as government coalition partner Pasok.
In a statement, Syriza said that the demonstration should be “a large peaceful rally in defence of democracy, dignity and culture”.
“Mass participation will be the most vociferous condemnation of the Golden Dawnite killers of Pavlos Fyssas.” the statement continued.
Pasok stated that it was calling “on all democratic citizens, all institutional and social actors, to mobilise and act together against the fascistisation of society”.
The Communist Party (KKE) held its own demonstration on Syntagma earlier on Wednesday afternoon.
On the orders of the police, a number of metro stations in central Athens shut ahead of the demonstration. Trains will operate as normal but will not stop at the closed stations. Syntagma station closed at noon and Panepistimio and Evangelismos will close later in the afternoon, before the rally.
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