ATHENS (Reuters) - Thousands of demonstrators marched in Athens and other Greek cities on Sunday to mark the first anniversary of the police killing of a teenager, which unleashed the country's worst riots in decades last year.
Sporadic scuffles between stone-throwing protesters and riot police broke out around the Athens march. Police in full riot gear fired tear gas to disperse small groups of hooded youths.
About 3,000 mostly students, anarchists and leftists began a march to parliament on Sunday and more protests were expected on Monday. An evening memorial service was planned in the Exarchia district, where the 15-year-old was shot dead.
Protesters in central Athens unfolded a banner reading "Remember, remember, the 6th of December." Some dressed in black chanted "Policemen, Pigs, Murderers."
Greece's new socialist government has deployed more than 6,000 policemen onto Athens streets to avert a repeat of last year's unrest that hit the capital and major cities causing millions of euros of damages.
"It's been a year since police murdered the boy and the government which caused the murder has collapsed but nothing has changed in terms of police brutality," said Panos Garganas, 63, a university employee. "We want more jobs, more education and no more police."
Thousands of people took to the streets and clashed with police hours after the killing of the 15-year-old last year, destroying shops, attacking public buildings and burning cars, in rampages that went on for weeks.
Greek police said about 150 foreign anarchists had arrived this weekend from Italy, France and other European countries.
Police arrested 75 youths on Saturday ahead of the march, including 5 Italians and 1 Spaniard, for carrying wooden sticks or throwing stones at police.
(Reporting by Renee Maltezou and Ingrid Melander)
