Chaos
in Athens: Greek police use water cannons, tear gas against
protesters
Demonstrators
and police clashed in Athens Wednesday, with tens of thousands
gathering to protest in front of the Greek parliament. Demonstrators
threw Molotov cocktails, while police used water cannons, tear gas
and batons to disperse the crowd.
RT,
7
November, 2012
A
bus stop and kiosk were set on fire, according to RT correspondent
Peter Oliver, who was at the scene. A deluge of water was used to
douse the flames.
At
least 100,000 protesters are estimated to be gathered in front of the
Parliament building.
“Protesters
are fighting a running battle… It’s an Athens urban warzone… I
can barely see,” Oliver
said.
"There
are huge flash bangs near Syntagma Square. Protesters are chanting
for bread and freedom – they're accusing Greece of being a
dictatorship," he
continued.
Police
tried to move demonstrators away from banks near the square.
A protestor kicks away a gas canister during clashes with riot police during a 48-hour strike by the two major Greek workers unions in central Athens.(Reuters / Stringer)
The
clashes came ahead of a Parliament vote on new austerity measures
demanded by the EU in exchange for further bailout funds.
Opposition
MPs forced a voting delay on the matter Wednesday.
The
demonstration was the latest in a string of weeklong nationwide
protests that shut down most public transport, schools, banks and
government offices.
The
new measures would amount to some €13.5 billion in cuts to Greece's
national budget by 2016.
Once
the vote takes place, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is expected to
narrowly win the support required to pass the new austerity package.
Samaras’ 176-member conservative-liberal coalition needs to gather
151 votes out of 300 in Parliament for passage.
The
second day of the nationwide strike, which is expected to last for
the rest of the week, has seen most of the country brought to a
standstill. Hospitals are working with skeleton crews, while media
broadcasts and publications were halted until further notice after
journalists joined the strikers.
Brussels
demands a new draft of budget cuts in order for Greece to qualify for
another loan – totaling more than €31 billion ($39.63 billion) –
from the ‘Troika,' which consists of the European Commission, the
European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
The
new bailout was put on hold after Greece failed to reach earlier
fiscal commitments. The Greek Parliament remains divided over the
issue, with the Democratic Left Party, which comprises one third of
the governing coalition refusing to back the measures, pledging to
vote ‘present’ instead of ‘no.’
The
measures stipulate a two-year increase in the Greek retirement age to
67, and several tax hikes. The new package also includes provisions
making it easier to fire civil servants, which has provoked the ire
of public workers amid a current unemployment rate of over 25 per
cent.
The
vote represents a crucial test for Samaras’ government, as a ‘yes’
vote would ensure more cash for Athens to pay off its debts later
this month, despite the multibillion-euro new debt taken on. A ‘no’
vote could shatter Samaras’ fragile coalition.
A protestor throws a molotov cocktail at riot police during a 48-hour strike by the two major Greek workers unions in central Athens.(Reuters / Stringer)
More cuts, more protests
Anti-austerity
demonstrations in Greece have frequently turned violent, leading to
clashes between police and disgruntled youths.
On
Tuesday, crowds numbered as high as 35,000 in Athens as Greeks
marched to condemn the government for sparing the nation’s wealthy
while saddling the poor with austerity.
Earlier,
Samaras said that this round of budget cuts would be the last to
affect wages and pensions. However, Panagiotis Sotiris, a lecturer at
the University of the Aegean, thinks there's more budgetary pain
ahead.
“Every
austerity package in the last two and a half years was supposed to be
the last one. So it won’t be the last one this time. We are going
to see more of this,” Sotiris
told RT. “In
just two days of discussion, the Parliament is going to pass a huge
law. We are very far from democratic procedure. This is a set of
measures, which are actually dictated by the Troika.”
The
government also needs to clear another hurdle on Sunday: The passage
of the 2013 budget, which will require gaining the support of the
Democratic Left.
Protestors gesture in front of a riot police water cannon during a 48-hour strike by the two major Greek workers unions in central Athens.(Reuters / Stringer)
A protestor throws a molotov cocktail at riot police during a 48-hour strike by the two major Greek workers unions in central Athens.(Reuters / Stringer)
A protestor throws a molotov cocktail at riot police during a 48-hour strike by the two major Greek workers unions in central Athens.(Reuters / John Kolesidis)
A protestor kicks away a gas canister during clashes with riot police during a 48-hour strike by the two major Greek workers unions in central Athens.(Reuters / John Kolesidis)
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