Hero’s Funeral For Student

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30811, 24 July 1965, Page 15

Hero’s Funeral For Student

(N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) ATHENS, July 23. Chanting demonstrators massed in the streets of Athens today to give a hero’s funeral to a youth killed in the rioting. The dismissed Premier, Mr George Papandreou, announced he would attend the funeral. Police and soldiers in the Athens area were on the alert in case of widespread rioting. Heavily armed police units, in full riot dress, ringed the Parliament building blocks away from the cathedral where the funeral cortege was to start. Deputies of the pro-Com-munist United Democratic

Left received formal permission from Mr George Athanassiadis Novas’s new Government for a funeral service to be held at the cathedral. The Government publicly proclaimed a full military alert in the Athens area as a warning that the Army would put down major disorders. The funeral demonstration began with 2000 youths—many of them members of the Left-wing Lambrakis Youth Movement—marching to the. cathedral from the city’s main square. They chanted slogans against the new Government, screamed “AthanassiadisNovas murderer” and wore on their breasts small pictures of the dead youth, 25-year-old Sotirios Petroulias. He was killed and 150 persons were injured in rioting

that tore through Athens on Wednesday night when police clashed with Papandreou supporters. Other demonstrators began lining the streets to Athens cemetery. Mr Novas said the Government had given permission for the funeral to be held as a purely religious occasion. He said he hoped political opponents would treat it as such. Last night Mr Novas also ignored a call from Mr Papandreou to quit. He is confident his week-old Government can remain in power. Mr Papandreou resigned last week after a dispute with King Constantine which touched off a constitutional crisis involving the authority of the Crown and Parliament. About 1000 youths gathered

in an Athens square last night. Some shouted slogans in favour of Mr Papandreou, but there were no disorders. Meetings will be held in several towns today in support of Mr Papandreou. Five people were gaoled for terms of from three to seven months last nsght for inciting disorders in Athens on July 16, when 108 people were injured. They have been released pending appeal. Another four were acquitted. The Defence Ministry announced that eight officers, accused at belonging to the Ijeft-wing Aspida organisation, had been cashiered after a military council of inquiry. They have also appealed. An alleged connexion between Mr Papandreou’s son and Aspida is one of the issues behind the crisis.