ATHENS, Aug 27 (AFP) - Nearly 700 demonstrators rallied late on Friday in central Athens to protest at the arrival of US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who is due to attend the Olympic Games' closing ceremony at the weekend.
The protesters, who were holding banners saying "Powell Out" and "US out of Iraq", were surrounded by large numbers of police.
The demonstration followed a plea by the government for protestors not to marr the hitherto peaceful Olympic Games by violent incidents.
"We have offered an environment of celebration and joy, security and respect of human rights," Public Order Minister Yiorgos Voulgarakis told a news conference.
"I want to believe that the demonstrators on Friday and Saturday will respect this climate," he added.
Powell will be in Athens from Saturday to Monday and will attend Sunday's Olympic closing ceremonies. He will also hold talks with Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis.
The demonstrators had planned to march from central Athens to the US embassy but had their path blocked by police who fired tear gas.
Some of the protestors also threw stones at foreign television crews covering the demonstration, but there were no injuries.
Their planned route had included roads reserved for accredited vehicles for the Games, as well as the Hilton hotel, where the International Olympic Committee has set up its Athens headquarters.
Greece has deployed more than 100,000 police, soldiers, coast guards and firefighters to ensure security during the Games.
"We want a peaceful demonstration without incidents," Yiannis Sifakakis, a spokesman for the organisers, anti-globalisation movement "Genoa 2001", said earlier.
Another anti-Powell rally was scheduled to take place in the northern city of Salonika late on Friday, shortly before the start of the Olympic football game between Iraq and Italy at a local stadium.
The KKE Communist Party has called for another demonstration on Saturday morning.