The Athens Polytechnic Uprising is typically commemorated with scuffles. The day commemorates Greek students’ resistance against the military dictatorship. It marks the day that Greek tanks broke down the main gate of the Athens Polytechnic, killing students and marking the start of the end of the seven-year dictatorship that had begun on April 21, 1967. Indignation against the dictatorship were forcefully expressed from early 1973 with student sit-ins at the Athens Law School.
Central metro stations will be closed and access to the center will be restricted for much of the day ahead of an annual march to the US Embassy in the afternoon.
Since then, the day – a school holiday – has been typically marked with a general state of anarchy and resistance.
For this reason, 7,000 police officers have been deployed for duty across the capital. Authorities are bracing themselves for general unrest on the anniversary of the 1973 uprising against the junta from within the Athens Polytechnic so the City of Athens has beefed up security around public buildings such as embassies and other potential targets.
Calls a few days ago by prisoner Nikos Romanos and a fellow inmate calling for a black December to mark the anniversary of the death of Alexis Grigoropoulos could trigger action.
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