Greek workers and youth staged a general strike in opposition to the so-called bailout scheme engineered by the leading capitalist countries in Europe, the United States and world financial institutions.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
ATHENS (Dow Jones)--Greece's bank workers union, OTOE, said it will stage a 24-hour strike Thursday in memory of three bank employees who were killed during a violent protest over recent government austerity measures.
"The tragic events that ended the lives of three colleagues is a sad consequence of the anti-popular measures which led to an uprising of popular rage and the protest of hundreds of thousands of workers," OTOE said in a statement late Wednesday.
The statement blamed both the government for underestimating the popular opposition to the measures, and the management of Greece's banks who frown on their employees taking part in strikes.
On Sunday, the Greek government announced some EUR30 billion in austerity measures in exchange for an EUR110 billion loan from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
Union website: http://www.otoe.gr
-By Alkman Granitsas, Dow Jones Newswires; +30 210 331 2881; alkman.granitsas@dowjones.com
Three killed in Greece protests
At least three people have been killed in the Greek capital as protesters set fire to a bank during a general strike over planned austerity measures.
The bodies were found inside the Marfin Bank in Athens. The Greek prime minister said it was a "murderous act".
The protest became violent, with petrol bombs thrown at police who responded with pepper spray and tear gas.
Protesters are angered by spending cuts and tax rises planned in return for a 110bn euro (£95bn) bail-out for Greece.
A police spokesman said the three victims - two women and a man - were among 20 people working in the Marfin bank branch on Stadiou Avenue in central Athens when the petrol bomb was thrown.
Most of the employees managed to escape the fumes as the flames took hold, but the three found their way blocked as they tried to escape to the roof and they suffocated.
"We took 15 minutes to get to the site because it was very difficult to get there," fire brigade spokesman Panayiotis Falaras.
He said another five people were rescued from the building's balcony.
This demonstration however, looks better organised too, with clear "military" objectives.
But the deaths are going to make the protesters pause. And there is going to be a backlash against the anarchists who are going to be the main suspects in this.
It is very difficult to predict which way the situation is going. This is a very volatile country. But the protesters have managed to send a message to the international community that social unrest is a serious problem and that is going to undermine trust in the Greek government.
Parliament is to vote on the measures by the end of the week. They include wage freezes, pension cuts and tax rises. They aim to achieve fresh budget cuts of 30bn euros over three years, with the goal of cutting Greece's public deficit to less than 3% of GDP by 2014. It currently stands at 13.6%.
As the demonstration gained momentum, a group of protesters rushed up a flight of steps at the parliament building in Syntagma Square, taunting MPs to come out and calling them "thieves".
Riot police forced them back, but right next to parliament, other groups set buildings on fire - including a department of the finance ministry in charge of the the austerity programme as well as an office of the Athens prefecture.
Prime Minister George Papandreou told MPs in parliament: "Nobody has the right to violence and particularly violence that leads to murder. Violence breeds violence."
But one of the protesters told the BBC it had been the fault of the police, whose "brutality" had led to the escalation.
"It's something tragic but I think that the responsibility in the last instance lies with the government because the government unleashed a tremendous amount of police violence against a huge demonstration," Panayotis Sotiris said.
The Greek protesters' ire is aimed against symbols of capitalism, says the BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Athens.
Our correspondent says it is not clear whether shock over the deaths will have the effect of diminishing the protests - but the fear is that the campaign to defeat the government will escalate.
World concern
The general strike is the third to hit Greece in as many months.
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GREEK AUSTERITY MEASURES
Public sector pay frozen till 2014
Public sector salary bonuses - equivalent to two months' extra pay - scrapped for higher earners and capped for others
Public sector allowances cut by 20%
State pensions frozen or cut; contribution period up from 37 to 40 years
Average retirement age up from 61 to 63; early retirement restricted
VAT increased from 19% to 23%
Taxes on fuel, alcohol and tobacco up 10%
One-off tax on profits, plus new gambling, property and green taxes
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Flights in and out of Greece stopped at midnight, and trains and ferries were not running. Schools, hospitals, and many offices are shut.
The government has appealed to demoralised staff in the military, police, schools and hospitals not to retire, fearing the surge in demand for benefits could further drain treasury resources.
Meanwhile, the German parliament has begun considering the bail-out plan for Greece.Chancellor Angela Merkel urged MPs to back the emergency loan package agreed by European finance ministers at the weekend.
It requires Germany to pay the largest proportion of the loans.
"Quite simply, Europe's future is at stake," she said.
The EU has agreed to provide 80bn euros (£69bn) in funding - of which around 22bn euros would come from Germany - while the rest will come from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
European Council President Herman van Rompuy said the European Union was watching events in Greece.
"We are all concerned by the Greek economic and budgetary situation but at this moment our thoughts are with the human victims in Athens," Mr van Rompuy said
"A major programme has just been finalised. This programme is ambitious and credible in efforts that it represents towards the budgetary plan and competitiveness."
The bail-out deal is designed to prevent Greece from defaulting on its massive debt.
However, it must first be approved by some parliaments in the 15 other eurozone countries.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/8661385.stm
Published: 2010/05/05 16:18:06 GMT
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
22:35 Mecca time, 19:35 GMT
Greek demonstrations turn deadly
Police fired tear gas at protesters hurling petrol bombs, rocks and sticks at officers
Three people have been killed in a petrol bomb attack on a bank in central Athens, as protests in the capital over the government's spending cuts turned violent.
Athens police were put on a "general state of alert" as firemen evacuated around 20 people from the wreckage of a Marfin Bank branch, where two men and a pregnant woman died of asphyxiation.
The building was set on fire after protesters smashed its windows and hurled petrol bombs inside.
George Papandreaou, the Greek prime minister, branded the deaths as "murders", but defended the austerity measures people were protesting.
"We are deeply shocked by the unjust death of these three people, our fellow citizens, who were victims of a murderous act," he said.
But he added: "We took these decisions [spending cuts] to save the country. The alternative would be bankruptcy."
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets on Wednesday to protest against the government's so-called austerity measures, which are aimed at curbing the nation's crippling debt crisis.
But demonstrations turned ugly, Barnaby Phillips, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Athens said, with a small minority "causing a lot of trouble and hijacking the agenda".
"It looked like a pitched battle for quite a while. An awful lot of tear gas used by the police, they would say no doubt to protect the parliament building and perhaps the people in it.
"An awful lot of rocks and debris thrown by the crowd, bins have been set on fire," he said.
'Heated' atmosphere
Groups of protesters pelted police with rocks, chunks of marble and bottles, while officers responded with tear gas and water cannon, clouding the city streets.
Estimates of the number of demonstrators varied from 27,000 to 100,000, making it the biggest protest since Greece was first hit by economic disaster late last year.
Workers, led by members of a communist trade union, beat drums and chanted "don't mess with us" as they marched through the city on Wednesday.
Others chanted "thieves, thieves" as they attempted to storm parliament.
Phillips said the atmosphere was "heated".
"Over the last few days, I've felt that anger is growing in many sectors of Greek society," he said.
Protest leaders have said that although the austerity measures were needed to secure $143bn in loans from the EU and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), poorer Greeks will suffer disproportionately.
"There are other things the [government] can do, before taking money from a retiree who earns 500 euros [$660] a month," Spyros Papaspyros, leader of the ADEDY civil servants' union, said.
The action came amid a 24-hour nationwide strike, that brought transport and public services, including schools, hospitals and tax offices to a standstill.
Aircraft have been grounded, ferries have remained in docks and public transport has been halted.
Economy fears
The general strike is the third to paralyse the country in as many months.
It comes a day before the Greek government plans to push through it austerity measures, imposed as a condition of bail out by the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
Barnaby Phillips said the government was likely to continue with its programme, despite Wednesday's violence.
"It's highly unusual within the Greek political context where violence is often quite ritualistic. Clearly things crossed the line at some stage today, and deaths like these are highly unusual.
"But I don't think the Socialist government feels that it has any choice ... it feels that Greece's debt crisis is such that it cannot back down," he said.
Earlier on Wednesday the European Commission said that Greece's economy is set to contract by three per cent in 2010, in a far gloomier estimate than they delivered in November.
The commission also forecast the country's deficit would be 9.3 per cent of GDP in 2010 and 9.9 per cent in 2011.
Greek stocks dropped over three per cent in early trades on Wednesday amid concerns over whether the government will be able to push through the unpopular austerity drive.
The cuts, some of which have already been implemented, will significantly affect civil servants' and pensioners' incomes.
Among the major measures announced on Sunday were a cut in bonus pay for civil servants and retirees; three years more for pension contributions; and the raising of the retirement age for women to 65, the same level as men.
Fears that the crisis could spread caused a fall in Asian markets on Wednesday, as well as European and US markets on Tuesday.
The euro also fell to a one-year low against the dollar during Asian trading.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
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