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Anti-Empire
Human Rights in IrelandIndymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.
Lockdown Skeptics
Voltaire NetworkVoltaire, international edition
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Masses of Greeks march on US Embassy national |
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news report
 Thursday March 20, 2003 14:57 by fianna fail scumbag
 Greeks protest against the US agressors and killers of kids More than 100,000 people, many of them high school and university students, have marched on the US Embassy in Athens. Mass demonstrations are being held throughout Greece to protest the war against Iraq, and more are planned for Friday and the weekend. Chanting "No to the war" and "Americans killers of people," the protesters in Athens gathered for the first of two demonstrations organised by student and teachers' unions. Teachers' unions across Greece gave students the day off to take part in the demonstrations. The American Community School in Athens was closed for security reasons until March 24. More than 50 children from the US embassy attend the school. Police said a suburban branch of America's Citibank was slightly damaged by a firebomb. There was no claim of responsibility. Police have beefed up security at American businesses around Greece. In other demonstrations, more than 11,000 people took part in a march to the US Consulate in the northern port city of Thessaloniki, while about 10,000 rallied outside the British Consulate in the western port of Patras. Police said a few demonstrators in Patras hurled eggs and petrol bombs at the consulate, but the molotov cocktails missed their target and were quickly extinguished. Thousands of people had earlier held candlelit vigils in Athens and Thessaloniki. Greeks overwhelmingly oppose the war and many newspapers and television stations have been highly critical of the US-led action, many urging Greeks to demonstrate. "Desert nightmare has begun," wrote the Athens daily Ethnos, while the headline in the daily Ta Nea read "Millions are defenseless at the mercy of super weapons." The government, which holds the EU presidency, also opposes the war but has cited international and bilateral agreements to allow the US to use its airspace and a US Navy base in Souda Bay, Crete. The base hosts refueling and spy planes. Government spokesman, Tilemahos Hitiris, said: "Greece is against the war and Greece is not participating in the war. The Greek government expresses its disappointment because a war that could have been averted has been underway since the early morning hours."
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Jump To Comment: 1thank you for your report on the Athens antiwar march. I am a Greek who used to work in Ireland a few years ago and feel as irish as greek. would like to inform you that the 100000 people that took part at the march took the streets by free will without any organisation beforehand. The march was not really planned. we just felt so and did it. I would like to urge all citizens of this world to do the same thing. it is time that we, the people, decide about our present and future, not the warlords. It is time after years to demonstrate our strength. We had enough. Heard that the irish government allowed refuelling at Shannon. Demonstrate. Do not allow them to kill people. we can all do it.
with regards