16 year old boy died by a bullet shot by a policeman in the center of Athens after a clash between a patrolling car and anarchists. According to information given by the police, aroung 25 people attacked the patrolling car and started throwing stones and wooden bats, then at a moment of self defense the policeman shot the deadly bullet. According to information by the anarchists though, there were bad backchats between them and the police when the policeman lost control and shot. The boy was put in an ambulance right away and taken to “Evangelismos” hospital but he died on the way.

After the news about the dead of the anarchist boy became known, chaos took over the center of Athens. Leftist groups, anarchists and hooligans got an excuse for burning cars, for breaking store windows and other vandalism. Police forces closed off the whole center of the Greek capitol in order to manage the riots and so they provoked traffic jams in Athens. Police evacuated restaurants, cinemas, and bars in order to limit the possibility of innocent people getting hurt. As if there was a signal, anarchists in Thessaloniki, Patra and other cities started rioting as well.

This morning Athens looked as if it were bombed – burnt cars and stores, broken bus stops, store windows, news-stands and street barricades. In order to manage the rioting hooligans the police used tear and poisonous gas. Police still cannot say how much the exact damage was but believes it is great.

Today all university buildings are occupied as a sign of protest against the “police arbitrariness,” as the anarchists say. Around the central hospital “Evangelismos,” where the boy died, there is a police chain and around it there are protesters. A protest is set for today around noon in the center of the city.

Minister of Internal Affairs Prokopis Pavlopoulos and his deputy Panayotis Hinofotis resigned but the resignation was not accepted by the prime-minister Kostas Karamanlis. “Ostentatious punishment for the guilty” promised in front of the TV cameras minister Pavlopoulos. The two policemen who were in the patrolling car attacked by the anarchists are arrested and under investigation. The chief of the local police department is released.

Here is a picture of last night’s Athens provided by Associated Press:

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/12/06/greece.riots.ap/index.htm...