The police will close four metro stations for several hours in downtown Athens on Thursday due to the march protest expected today in context of the commemoration of the Polytechnic Student’s Uprising in 1973. Metro station <Panepistimiou> will close at 12 pm, <Syntagma> at 1 pm, <Evangelismos> and <Megaron> at 3 pm. This measure is understood as ‘preventive’ because metro stations in the centre of the city often turn into ‘battle field’ between protesters and riot police that often fires tear gas in the enclosed metro stations. An act that has drawn mass criticism and outrage.
7,000 policemen are said to safeguard that no protesters come dangerously close to the Greek Parliament. Greek police is allowed to proceed to prevantive detentions of those ‘moving suspiciously’.
Traffic police has special arrangements and the downtown Athens will be a vehicle-free zone – I’m sure, you know that by now-. Also public transport like buses, trolleys will be diverted away from the city centre.
The protest march will start at around 3 pm from Polytechnic University next to National Museum and end at the American Embassy near Megaron.
