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On the 17th of November 1999, the Greek government announced its decision that during US President Bill Clinton's long- awaited 24-hour visit in Athens, all protest rallies and street marches would be banned.
Several main boulevards and roads leading from the airport to the center of the city will be closed at certain sections during Mr. Clinton's arrival and departure, and traffic will be rerouted, police say.
According to police, the ban on demonstrations was being enforced 'for reasons of public safety'. The truth is that such a decision was indicated by the FBI agents who came to Athens two weeks ago in order to 'organize US President Clinton's visit'.
The government defended its decision to ban protests during Mr. Clinton's visit to Athens and as a related development, the government ban on rallies and protest marches has drawn sharp criticism from the Communist Party of Greece (CPG), which was the first opposition party that expressed its antithesis to Mr. Clinton's visit and defended the people's right to hold protests against American Imperialism.
The Coalition of the Left (Synaspismos), and the Democratic Social Movement (DIKKI) made statements against Mr. Clinton's visit as well.
Furthermore, well-known personalities, artists, lawyers and dozens of mass organizations expressed their opposition to the 'Greek government's American-inspired choice' with regard to prohibiting peaceful demonstrations.
The authoritarian government prohibitions, the ban on peaceful demonstrations and even the movement of pedestrians and vehicles even in places and at times that are totally unrelated to Mr. Clinton's program and movements, are clearly undemocratic, and deeply anti-popular decisions with a political goal.
They violate the constitution of our country, as they are based on the regulations of the 7-year dictatorship (1967-1974).
The above opposition parties claimed that the 'reasons of public safety' cited for imposition of the ban were 'a pretext' and that the 'PASOK government does not want the march to the US Embassy to take place because it does not want the protest that symbolizes the people's unceasing anti-imperialist struggle and the struggle against the New World Order to be expressed'.
The Greek Committee for the International D�tente and Peace (EEDYE), the All Workers Militant Front (PAME), the Communist Party of Greece (CPG), the Coalition of the Left (Synaspismos), the Democratic Social Movement (DIKKI) and dozens of mass organizations called all the Greek people to participate in the mass mobilization which is being held today,19th November 1999 in 'Syntagma' the largest square in down town Athens and they point out that, disregarding the ban decision of the Greek government and the Americans, that they are going to march to the US Embassy.
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