Shooting brings renown to bohemian Athens district

ATHENS (Reuters) - Athens' bohemian district of Exarchia, stomping ground of artists, anarchists and addicts, drew a global spotlight this weekend after police shot dead a 15-year-old boy visiting one of its popular cafes.

One of the city's most charming neighborhoods is also one of its most violent and is favored by anyone who likes to challenge authority -- a Greek tradition many say stems from the opposition to the 1967-1974 military junta.

Bordering on the upmarket Kolonaki district, Exarchia is anything but.

About two years ago, a public order minister acknowledged it was too dangerous to send officers into the area, which has defied decades of both socialist and conservative government attempts to bring this hotbed of unrest under control.

The local police station has been fire-bombed repeatedly. Scores of special forces in full riot gear stand on street corners, many guarding the headquarters of the opposition socialist PASOK party.

Two of these special guards were involved in the shooting, which sparked a wave of violence difficult to fathom in other European countries.

Touching a raw spot for thousands of disaffected Greek youths who say they see no future in a country lacking meritocracy and blighted by decades of scandals, the rage spread across the country.

Even the most blase Exarchia residents were shocked by the intensity of the backlash. Tear gas choked the area, seeping through window cracks and making it difficult to breathe indoors. Garbage cans were on fire, cars were destroyed and barricades were erected.

"It's never been this bad," shouted one resident from his balcony on Sunday. "I've never seen anything like it."

One policeman was charged with murder and his partner with abetting him in what eyewitnesses said was an aim and shoot incident after a verbal altercation with a group of youths. The policeman said he fired in the air.

"In a typical Exarchia incident, someone shot a 15-year-old over a verbal vendetta," said the bollywood-greece blog bollywood-greece.blogspot.com/, which started a Facebook profile for the dead boy. "The state has broken down and some 'sheriffs' are imposing their own law."

After the boy's death, a former socialist public order minister, Stelios Papathemelis, said, "This tragic incident and its repercussions bring up again the question -- When will the state finally put an end to the notorious "State of Exarchia?"