Athens, clashes between police and protesters
attacked the former Transport Minister

ATHENS – Clashes between demonstrators and police in Athens on the day of the general strike against the debt relief measures that paralyzed the whole country: a deputy was also victim. The protesters attacked and wounded the former Conservative Transport Minister, MP Kostis Hatzidakis, in front of the Parliament. The protesters attacked him shouting “Thieves! Shame on you!”, Throwing stones at him and hitting him with sticks until Hatzidakis was brought to safety inside the building.

Near the Parliament, law enforcement officers used tear gas, while protesters threw cobblestones. Some cars and some scooters were set on fire. According to the police, six law enforcement vehicles were set on fire. The entry of the Central Bank in the capital was smeared with red paint as well as the wooden panels placed by the merchants to protect their shops.

The streets of Athens were crossed by two major demonstrations, one called by the unions by the Communist Party. Groups of students, anarchists, militant members of the social centers and the radical left also joined the latter, and it was from this parade that groups of young people attacked the headquarters of some banks with burning bombs.

Today’s strike, the seventh called this year, took place in the aftermath of the approval in Parliament of the 5% cut in salaries in the civil service. The country has stopped: blocked for 24 hours by air, ferries to the islands and trains, closed schools, banks, pharmacies, while hospitals have worked in narrow gauge. Judges, journalists and engineers also abstained from work.

In Athens, the transport strike created huge traffic jams, a situation aggravated by the fact that some taxi drivers joined the strike. The unions have organized various demonstrations.

Yesterday Prime Minister George Papandreou had assembled the cabinet of government to talk about privatization. “More difficult decisions await us,” he said.

(December 15, 2010)