The annual protest march marking the 1973 Polytechnic students’ uprising concluded on Monday evening on a peaceful note, with the police estimating the marchers this year at roughly 23,000, while organizers said the participation was closer to 25,000. The annual march, which begins at the Polytechnic’s downtown campus and winds up outside the US embassy concluded with the last marchers at around 8 p.m.
Police vehicles and riot officers were on hand to prevent the march from extending a few kilometers north to the Israeli embassy, although a portion of the protestors continued on.
Authorities announced that 48 people had been briefly detained during the march, of which 13 arrests arose, mostly for illegal possession of weapons – not firearms – and controlled substances.
The commemorations mark the 52nd anniversary of a students’ uprising at the Athens Polytechnic (National Metsovion Polytechnic) against a military junta then ruling Greece, and which culminated on the evening of Nov. 17 when military units and police stormed the campus.
