“Clouds of war in our neighborhood, we stand up for our children and ourselves” was the message of the big rally in Athens. A message against the slaughter of peoples in the Middle East and Greece's involvement in the war.

On Monday, October 7, thousands took to the streets of Athens and other major cities to express their solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese people. The demonstrators marched to the US and Israeli embassies after the rally.

The demonstration was also directed against the policies of the Greek government, the US, NATO and the EU, which support the genocide. The demonstration was led by Palestinians living in Athens with a large Palestinian flag. The demonstration was full of Palestinian flags and banners.

People of all ages, workers, students, young men and women, pupils and teachers who did not go to school joined the demonstration.

The short speeches demanded:

• “Here and now, the Greek frigate as part of EU Operation Aspides must leave the Red Sea and our sons must return to their parents immediately.”

• “We will not allow our sons to become cannon fodder for the shipowners.”

• “Withdrawal of all support from the Greek government for the murderous state of Israel and withdrawal of our country from the imperialist wars. Closure of the US-NATO bases and infrastructure.”

The presence of young soldiers resisting participation and deployments outside the borders touched everyone. The young soldiers were greeted with applause and the slogan “Soldiers are the people's children, they have no business outside the borders”.

Just before the start of the march to the US and Israeli embassies, a soldier in uniform saluted and several Greek soldiers marched behind the Palestinian families. Behind the Palestinian block and the Greek soldiers, all the trade union and student associations lined up. Many representatives of leftist, communist and Marxist-Leninist organizations were also present.

PENEN, the seamen's union, mobilized and also took part in the demonstration. They lined up behind the Palestinian bloc. The president of PENEN emphasized: “From the first day of the war until today, we are fighting to end the genocidal war of the murderous state of Israel against the Palestinian people, the withdrawal of occupation forces from all Palestinian territories and the resistance against the US-NATO-EU government alliance that supports Israel.”

The police presence was heavy from the start, with many armored platoons. The mass of the demonstration was so large that the police were unable to disperse the demonstration and force it onto the parallel streets. At the end of the demonstration, the police beat the demonstrators in a very brutal way and arrested 18 demonstrators. They even used chemicals.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)