The Police have conducted an extensive operation to disperse crowds of protestors on the day of commemorating the Athens Polytechnic uprising of November 17, 1973.
The protests in the center of Athens became heated while negotiations between the Secretary General of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), Dimitris Koutsoumbas, and the Greek police were still ongoing.
Koutsoumbas complained to OPEN TV that there was an unprovoked attack by the police who used tear gas.
The protesters, who were commemorating the anniversary of the Polytechnic uprising, were walking towards Omonia when being dispersed by police via not only tear gas, but also water cannons.
The protesters were taken to the areas of "September 3rd" and "Agios Konstantinos," while Koutsoubas told OPEN TV that two members of the party who participated in the march were injured and taken to hospital.
The incidences took place around 2:00 pm local time in the center of Athens.
On Panepistimiou Street, where members of the KKE were holding a rally in Propylaia in the presence of MPs and Koutsoumbas, there were at least six arrests.
Koutsoumbas denounced the provocation against members of the KKE and MP Thanasis Pafilis.
"Specific protesters were attacked," he said.
According to Koutsoubas, the police attacked the protesters without observing any means of COVID-19 protection.
November 17 commemorates the Athens Polytechnic Uprising in 1973, which was a massive demonstration of popular rejection of the Greek military junta of 1967–1974.
The uprising actually began on November 14, 1973, and escalated to an open anti-junta revolt and ended in bloodshed in the early morning of November 17, after a series of events starting with a tank crashing through the gates of the Polytechnic.
Greece is currently in a strict lockdown because of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Large gatherings of people are forbidden because of these restrictions.