Galery

4

3

2

1

Anastasia Balezdrova

Over 2000 pupils from secondary schools and students gathered today on Omonia Square to express their disagreement with the Western military operations in Libya.

To the sounds of outdated proletarian songs, rap with modern and fighting lyrics, the Balkan rhythms of Kalashnikov by Goran Bregovic and the notorious Latin American ballad "Commandante Che Guevara" the young people - members of the pupil and student organizations of the Communist Party blocked the traffic around the central Athens square.

Some handed out leaflets with anti-military slogans, while others offered to passers-by to buy the latest "special" edition of the party newspaper Rizospastis /Radical/ or its youth magazine Odigitis /Leader/.

The manifestos, which the chairmen of the pupil organization and the student union read, condemned the military action against the regime in Libya as a "war of the imperialists, whose sole purpose is to get to the oil wells." The young people strongly opposed the participation of Greece in the attack against the forces of Muammar Qaddafi, comparing them with the NATO bombings in Yugoslavia and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They called for "the US and NATO bases in Souda and Aktio to be closed, and for the withdrawal of the Greek ships and planes from Libya."

"Those, who claim that the opponents of the military actions are Qaddafi’s supports, are trying to deceive us. We are against the war and against Qaddafi," said the president of the student union. In his opinion, Libyan people must decide alone how to deal with their problems.  

The people crossing the square at times stopped to understand the reason for the protest and then passed by shaking their heads in discontent. Many tourists stopped to watch and take pictures of the young people, who did not stop shouting slogans against the war and the two main parliamentary parties PASOK and New Democracy. "They provide the military bases in the country with the same ease with which their predecessors had signed the contracts for providing them to NATO."
 
A group of pupils from the USA and two of their teachers also watched their Greek peers with interest. Once their teacher Jennifer understood the reasons for the rally, she told GRReporter that if the protest is against war and for peace in the world, there is nothing wrong with it. Then the US group headed to a restaurant of the most famous fast food chain in the world, just behind the improvised rostrum of the protesters, who shouted anti-American slogans.

After the speeches, the procession moved along Stadiou Avenue, reached Omonia Square and got in front of the Greek Parliament, where dozens of policemen had been deployed.

The procession stopped there and a young man stretched the flag of the European Union on the road. Four other lit fire missiles and set fire to the flag with them. Then, the procession passed over the flag and the participants dispersed.

Meanwhile, the Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias said that his government and all parties of the Cypriot Greeks are against the use of the British bases on the island for operations against Libya.

"We called on Great Britain that we do not want the bases to be used, as we are against this," said the Cyprus President, while making it clear, however, that the bases are sovereign and Great Britain could use them, being only obliged to inform the Cypriot authorities.

In response to whether the island country will provide services in case of a European Union’s request, Dimitris Christofias said that there is still no unified position by the EU Council.

"Cyprus is far away from Libya. We are neither Malta, nor Italy, so I do not think something similar would be necessary," added the President of Cyprus.