Clashes erupt between Greek protesters and riot police during annual student demo

Clashes erupt between Greek protesters and riot police during annual student demo

2011-11-18 13:43:26 GMT+7 (ICT)

ATHENS (BNO NEWS) -- Clashes erupted on Thursday between anti-austerity protesters and riot police outside Greece's parliament and the U.S. embassy in central Athens during an annual rally to commemorate a bloody uprising against the 1970s dictatorship.

According to reports, riot police used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse protesters after masked youths hurled homemade petrol bombs and chunks of marble. No injuries were reported, but police said at least 60 people were arrested.

Officials said some 28,000 people took part in the march, while reports put the numbers as high as 45,000. More than 7,000 riot police guarding the U.S. embassy and parliament fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the crowd, the dpa news agency reported.

The annual march to the U.S. embassy marked the 38th anniversary of the bloody Polytechnic uprising against the country's seven-year military dictatorship. Hundreds were killed as tanks rolled into the campus to crush the student rebellion.

This year's anniversary coincided with the implementation of a series of harsh austerity measures designed to reduce the country's massive public debt.

Last month, the Greek government announced that it would miss 2011 deficit targets set as conditions of a bailout aimed at staving off bankruptcy, despite the austerity measures. It also announced that it will be cutting the jobs of up to 27,000 civil servant employees by the end of the year as part of its cost-cutting measures.

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