Clashes at university over its closure
Two riot squad officers and several students were injured and three people were detained Monday during clashes between police and dozens of radical left-wing protesters outside the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB).
The protest march by around 200 students was organized in response to the university senate’s decision on Sunday to close its doors until November 17, which marks the 46th anniversary of a student uprising against the ruling dictatorship of the time.
The protest also followed a police investigation at the AUEB premises on Sunday which led to the discovery of full face masks, helmets and rocks.
The anniversary is usually marred by clashes between police and anarchists – the latter of whom have in the past exploited the recently abolished so-called university asylum law by hiding from the former on campuses.
Dozens of students managed to enter the university grounds Monday and an intense standoff ensued with riot police for around an hour. They left the premises after police threatened to arrest them all.
In the wake of the clashes, government spokesman Stelios Petsas dismissed fierce criticism leveled by opposition SYRIZA and denounced its “silence” over the discovery of the anarchist cache found at the university.
