Globalist Fueled Revolution in Greece

Greek Police Clash with Anti-austerity Protesters

Anti-austerity protests sweep Europe

December 15, 2010

Reuters – Greek protesters clashed with police and set fire to cars and a hotel in central Athens on Wednesday as tens of thousands marched against austerity measures aimed at pulling the country out of a debt crisis.

Riot police responded with dozens of rounds of teargas in clashes that lasted more than an hour in the biggest and most violent march since three people died in protests in May. Police chased hooded youths who threw sticks and stones.

Hours earlier, parliament approved reforms and spending cuts that are a condition of a 110-billion-euro ($150-billion) EU/IMF bailout granted in May in exchange for austerity measures.

Striking public and private sector workers grounded flights, shut down schools and paralyzed public transport and about 50,000 marched through the capital. Some shouted: "Revolt! Overturn government measures!"

As the march reached parliament, about 200 leftists attacked former conservative minister Kostis Hatzidakis with their fists, stones and sticks, shouting: "Thieves! Shame on you!" His face was covered in blood as he took shelter in a building, Reuters witnesses said. Police said nine people were arrested and another 11 temporarily detained, while three were injured.

Three cars on Syntagma Square were in flames, while one luxury hotel balcony was on fire after petrol bombs were thrown. Smoke and teargas covered the square and bystanders scrambled frantically to safety.

The 300-seat house voted into law measures that cut wages in state-owned bus and railway companies and weakened the power of collective bargaining to permit company-level deals.

"People have had enough. The anger is so great that nobody can stop it," said Ilias Iliopoulos, general secretary at the civil servants' union ADEDY, adding that the march was bigger than one in May, when 50,000 participated.

"Today is a warning for what will follow after the holidays," he added.

Ships remained docked at ports, hospitals were working on skeleton staff, and ministries shut down as civil servants and private sector workers stayed away. With public transport crippled, major roads to the center of Athens were jammed as motorists struggled to get to work. There was no news on TV or radio as journalists were on strike.

"With public anger mounting, the support of trade unions waning, and backing from the political opposition absent, the government is bracing for some difficult months ahead," IHS Global Insight consultancy said in a note. "But the government's resolve to remain on a reformist path remains intact."

Prime Minister George Papandreou expelled a deputy from his parliamentary caucus for failing to back the government in the vote. But his Socialist party still commands a comfortable 156 votes ahead of more belt-tightening in the 2011 budget next week. With a parliamentary majority and future bailout installments at stake, the ruling socialists are unlikely to change course although their popularity is waning amid a deepening recession.

"I can't sit on the sofa and watch my country go down. I'm here to shout and struggle. I'm a school teacher and many of my students' parents are jobless," said Anastasia Antonopoulou, 50, who travelled from the Ionian island of Zakynthos for the march.

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Greek Police and Rioters Clash

December 15, 2010

Reuters - Greek police fired teargas at rioters shouting "burn parliament" in Athens on Tuesday but fewer ordinary Greeks turned out for rallies in a sign of weariness with anti-austerity protests. About 12,000 people joined marches in Athens during a 24-hour strike called by major unions against drastic pension reforms -- down from 50,000 in the biggest protest on May 5 and 25,000 in the latest similar demonstration on May 20.

Police used teargas against about 150 hooded protesters yelling "Burn parliament!" who threw sticks, stones, bottles and petrol bombs outside the building, where a committee of lawmakers later began debate about the pension reforms.

Parliament is expected to vote on them in coming weeks, and the socialist government is likely to be able to push them through.

Seven police officers were hurt and six demonstrators were arrested in scattered clashes. Some shop windows were smashed.

Analysts said factors such as summer heat, resignation after a spate of strikes and fears of violence may have kept many away from rallies against cuts imposed to win a 110 billion euro ($134.2 billion) bailout from the European Union and the IMF.

"People are getting a little tired, there's a feeling of fatalism that things are going through as the government has no other choice and the opposition has no other proposals," said Theodore Couloumbis, deputy head of Greek think tank ELIAMEP.

Some were discouraged by fears of violence after three people died in the May 5 rally, when a bank was fire-bombed.

Ilias Vrettakos, a vice president of the main public sector union ADEDY, acknowledged weariness in the fifth strike this year by major public and private sector unions.

"Participation...was satisfying, despite the weather conditions, the heat, and the fact that it was the fifth joint strike this year," he said.

Analysts say protests might flare up again in the autumn when cutbacks and tax hikes are felt more strongly, together with a projected rise in unemployment and deepening recession.

Tuesday's strike shut many public offices, banks and local media, while hospitals operated with emergency staff. About 50 domestic flights were canceled but international flights were unaffected. Some ferries to Greek islands were canceled. The Acropolis in Athens was open for visitors.

The unions said they would call another strike against the pension bill in July. The socialist government controls 157 of 300 seats in parliament and is likely to be able to vote through the pension reform despite misgivings from within the party. The bill will raise women's retirement age from 60 to match men on 65 and demand more years at work to qualify for a pension. The ruling socialists said that the existing system would mean more debt, already at 133 percent of GDP in 2010.

"It was not a just system, it was not a viable system ...it was not an effective system," Ilias Mossialos, a Socialist lawmaker, said of the existing system during the pension debate.

The repeated strikes and a rise in small bomb attacks since riots in 2008 have hurt tourism, which accounts for nearly a fifth of Greece's 240 billion euro ($297 billion) economy. A senior official was killed last week by a booby-trapped bomb.

In the main port at Piraeus, some tourists were exasperated at being stranded.

"I am supposed to get married in Santorini, my family is coming and I can't get through," U.S. tourist Kristin Shakavic said.