Secretary of State Colin Powell cancelled his visit to Athens today, after a virulent anti-American demonstration by Greek Communists who sympathize with Islamist murderers.

On Friday, riot police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of demonstrators who took part in a protest against the Powell visit. About 1,500 people who took part in the march were prevented from reaching the US Embassy to protest Powell’s trip.

“It is an enormous victory of the anti-war movement that managed to cancel the visit of the arch-killer Powell,” protest organizer Yiannis Sifahakis told The Associated Press. Just hours before Powell was to arrive, Greece’s Communist Party displayed a large banner at the site of the ancient Acropolis to protest his trip.

“Powell killer go home. Don’t forget that civilians are being slaughtered in Najaf and a wall is being built in Palestine,” read the banner, which was raised on one of the sides of the Acropolis Hill.

Communist Party member Aristotelis Gontikas said Powell’s cancelation was a “victory” for those opposed to American policies and was not targeted at Americans.

“I believe that the reaction of the Greek people still counts. It is not by chance that Greeks measure in polls as the most anti-American,” Gontikas told the AP at the Acropolis.

The party said a protest rally that was to begin in front of the old campus of Athens University in central Athens and end at the US Embassy would still be held.

“The protest will now be transformed into a festival,” Gontikas said.