Today we are celebrating the:

Athens Polytechnic uprising

The Athens Polytechnic uprising in 1973 was a massive demonstration of popular rejection of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974. The uprising began on November 14, 1973, 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.

The events

A tank in the streets of Athens on 17 November 1973.

On November 14, 1973 students at the Athens Polytechnic (Polytechneion) went on strike and started protesting against the military regime (Regime of the Colonels). As the authorities stood by, the students, calling themselves the "Free Besieged" (Greek: Ελεύθεροι Πολιορκημένοι, a reference to a poem by Greek national poet Dionysios Solomos inspired by the Ottoman siege of Mesolonghi), barricaded themselves in and constructed a radio station (using laboratory equipment) that repeatedly broadcast across Athens: "Here is Polytechneion! People of Greece, the Polytechneion is the flag bearer of our struggle and your struggle, our common struggle against the dictatorship and for democracy!"^[1]

^{Watch some relevant videos from YouTube}

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIxr5scfXAQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwKB6FFR90E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW4_u_1Lzm0

It is a really moving day for us, because students unarmed fought the military regime and we have democracy now. We can breathe due to them. They were students from 18 to 22 years old.