On Wednesday at noon, a crowd gathered from all sides in the center of Athens – it was the first such mass demonstration For Tempe tragedy.

Ministry of Civil Protection circles report that they participated in the EL.AS assessment mobilization. above 40,000 people. The march was mostly peaceful.

The gathering ended abruptly when they flared up Hooded squad episodeswho attacked the police with Molotov cocktails and caused property damage in many places in the center of the capital. Members of this group committed an act of vandalism, destroyed a memorial to Marfin’s victims, and set fire to a parked van.

EL.AS started 26 dating And 15 arrests.

Noon took place new mobilizationwithout, however, with the same great participation.

Big demo

Soon after 13:00Both Stadiumand university they were suffocatingly packed – a motley crowd: many students And students – their banners, posters and slogans expressed anger at those who died in the Tempe tragedy, especially at the younger ones, with whom they identified themselves.

There were also trade unionistsas well as older people members of leftist organizationshis side extra-parliamentary left And anarchists.

The initial meeting points were Klatmonos Square And Propylaea Universitywhile already at 12:30 the people in Syntagma Square.

At noon mass rally ADEDY, trade unions, student associations and leftist organizations in context 24-hour nationwide strike of civil servants which is announced today.

With the central slogan “March 8, International Women’s Day. Our lives matter. Put an end to the privatization policy,” the demonstrators listened to speeches and then held path to constitution.

The slogans were talking about justification of the dead or avenge them, and some spoke out against the privatization of the OGE.

The slogans targeted the prime minister, the government, the police and the media. The slogans in question were offensive and aggressive.

Mass meeting in the center of Athens in connection with the tragedy in Tempe. Constitution 14:30 pic.twitter.com/HYDdqJEcOD

— Lukas Velidakis (@UrbanRat7) March 8, 2023

The protesters were, for the most part, peaceful, and things were running smoothly by evening.

The movement of blocks in front of the parliament was non-stop, and a group of students wrote the word “murderers” in red paint a few meters from the monument to the Unknown Soldier.

Remarkable was the image of a group of Arab tourists who at that time were enjoying a pleasant walk in front of the parliament building.

In connection with mobilizations in a large radius around Syntagma, traffic was stopped.

Incidents and vandalism

IN 15:30 the first explosion was heard at the point where Ermou Street begins, on the side of Syntagma Square.

A group of people in hoods began an attack on men from the Armed Forces of Ukraine who were near the building of the Ministry of Finance – at that moment a large and completely peaceful demonstration of many thousands ended, but it was captured by several dozen people in hoods. .

A few minutes later the same group attacked Molotov cocktails and stones men from EL.AS outside the parliament building.

Episodes of the great demonstration of the Tempe tragedy. A group of hooded men attacked UAF forces in parliament with Molotov cocktails. pic.twitter.com/NrU5O4yUBa

— Lukas Velidakis (@UrbanRat7) March 8, 2023

The confrontation lasted less than 15 minutes, but most of the protesters had already dispersed. A few hundred remained at the height of the tram stop, who shouted insulting slogans at the police and the Prime Minister during the clashes.

IN 16:00, the image was strange, almost surreal. In front of the parliament building, the VHT men were wearing suffocation masks, a small section of hooded youths verbally challenged them, the few remaining protesters tried in vain to regroup in front of the parliament building, and on Syntagma Square, the municipality’s cleaning crews had already started to work.

They mainly collected broken balloons and leaflets – both of which indicate what happened before. Around the square, life flowed with a strange calmness, and from the side of the Stadium there was a strong smell of burning.

A fire broke out near the old parliament van. At the intersection of Stadiou and Omiro, something metallic melted on the road surface – firefighters were trying to remove the remains so that the road could be opened.

Unidentified people set fire to a van near the old parliament pic.twitter.com/jTIUGCusAJ

— Lukas Velidakis (@UrbanRat7) March 8, 2023

Marfin’s monument to the dead

After a few meters, the image brought back unpleasant memories. As a result of the riots, the monument to the deceased Marfin was literally dismantled, material damage was caused to the bookstore across the road and the aluminum fence that covered the skeleton of the long-abandoned Attikon and Apollo was demolished. , which burned down on February 12, 2012.