Dozens of people were arrested following scuffles at an anti-war march as protesters labelled as "butchers" the pro-war leaders of Britain, Italy and Spain who are in the Greek capital for an EU summit.
With the war in Iraq winding down, young communists and anti-globalisation activists massed in the city centre, partly cordoned off by a 10,000-strong police force, to denounce what they called the US occupation of Iraq. Police estimated the turnout at 3,000 people, Greek media at double that figure - a far cry from the mass anti-war rallies of recent months which drew several hundred thousand into the streets of Athens.
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About 100 hooded and masked youths on the protest sidelines hurled Molotov cocktails and other objects at the British, French, Italian and US embassies and several banks.
Police fired tear gas into the air to scatter the troublemakers, and made dozens of arrests, before the demonstrators marched on, coughing and rubbing their eyes, towards the US embassy.
A white banner splashed with red, and scrawled with the words "Butchers: Aznar, Blair and Berlusconi" stood out from a sea of red and white flags, as the demonstrators filed past the embassies.
The march was called to protest the "undesirable" presence of British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Spanish and Italian counterparts Jose Maria Aznar and Silvio Berlusconi, Washington's three main EU allies over the war in Iraq, organisers said.
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A protester hurls a molotov cocktail at police during an anti-war rally in Athens today.
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The three were in Athens for a summit of EU leaders, the first since the fall of the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein, and a signing ceremony that will enable 10 new members to join the European Union next year.
"EU, NATO: unions of war" read one banner, while others denounced "the occupation of Iraq".
Communist miltants torched the stars and stripes in front of the US embassy, also setting several European flags ablaze.
After some discussion, an delegation from the Social Forum, grouping together anti-globalisation militants, was allowed into the summit area itself, the Zappeion palace, cordoned off by police.
"We do not want any fighting but we claim the right to move in closer to the summit to make our voices heard," said Maria Bolari from the Social Forum. Acknowledging the turnout to be disappointing, union leader Christos Polyzogopoulos, attributed it to a "change of climate", as the war appeared to be drawing to an end in Iraq.
He also said that tight security measures surrounding the summit, with many roads and public transport closed, had kept people away from the city centre. Earlier, around 100 militant communists occupied the offices of British Airways in Athens in a protest against Blair's presence in the Greek capital, police said.
AFP