Anti-racism rally held in Athens

ATHENS, Greece, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Police in Athens Sunday fired tear gas at protesters who tried to put garbage bags under a Christmas tree in a public square.

The Athens News Agency reported the riot team officers who had ringed the tree in Syntagma Square to ward off the protesters remained at the scene to guard it. The original Christmas tree had been burned during rioting in Athens last week after the shooting death of a 15-year-old teen by police.

The incident occurred after a separate group of protesters blocked a street in front of the Parliament building for a silent demonstration.

Yet another protest Sunday, organized by the Committee Against the European Union's Immigration and Asylum Pact, was aimed at pressuring officials to demand asylum for refugees.

The protesters also called for an end to "racist murderous attacks."

Those demonstrators marched to Parliament and back to the Propylae and dispersed peacefully.