Greeks have good reasons to protest

Declan Hill, The Ottawa Citizen

Published: Sunday, December 18, 2011

Athens

‘Almost everything that you thought you knew about current-day Greece is wrong.»

That thought went through my head as I stood among a mass of demonstrators in Syntagma Square during the recent general strike. There was a festive air: souvlaki sellers amid grandmothers, students singing and lots of street theatre performances. It was unlike any of the images that I had seen; there was no stone throwing, no tear-gas or water cannon attacks. I may have been lucky but there was a wide spectrum of ordinary people marching in the demonstration. The usual suspects were there, of course: the anarchists, the Communists and the general drop-a-hat-see-me-protest lot. But there was also a broad range of others: nurses, farmers, doctors, actors and teachers.

 After the demonstration was over, I walked past the rows of gas-masked policemen (generally far nicer

The Battle for Athens. The day after.

 

When I got back from Athens the first thing I did was take a shower to wash away the stench of tear gas, Maalox and fear that had hung around me since the morning. Although I have seen my fair share of violent clashes here in Greece, including the uprising in December 2008, nothing had prepared me for the sheer level of savagery shown by the Athens riot police. http://teacherdudebbq.blogspot.com

More than once I saw them act like wild animals, pouncing upon anyone foolish enough to stop to plead or remonstrate with them

TEAR GAS FIRED AS GREEK POLICE CLASH WITH ATHENS PROTESTERS

29 June 2011

Greek riot police must not use excessive force in their handling of violence during protests in Athens, Amnesty International said today amid reports protesters were hospitalized as police fired massive amounts of tear gas.

The clashes came amid two days of protest in Syntagma square against an unpopular austerity bill, approved by the Greek Parliament today.

“The largely peaceful demonstrations of the past two days have been marred again by a minority of rioters clashing with the police,” said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Europe and Central Asia.

Indignants gather in Syntagma Square

Another Intignants’ gathering took place for the fourth consecutive Sunday in Athens’ main Syntagma Square, the 26th day in the row that protesters have assembled in the square. According to The Athens News reporter on site, there were more than 50,000 indignants gathered at Syntagma Square this Sunday.

Biggest anti-memorandum protest in Syntagma square

Biggest anti-memorandum protest in Syntagma square

«Thieves – hustlers – bankers,» read one banner as tens of thousands of people packed the main Syntagma square outside parliament to vent their frustration over rising joblessness as austerity bites, blaming the crisis on political corruption and government incompetence.

Turnout was the biggest so far in a series of 12 nightly protest gatherings in the square inspired by Spain’s protest movement. Amidst a sea of splayed hands waved at the parliament building –an offensive Greek hand gesture–, one demonstrator raised a placard reading «Bravo Yemen», whose president underwent

Greek opposition sets demands as EU/IMF verdict nears

By Harry Papachristou and Renee Maltezou

ATHENS | Mon May 30, 2011 7:55am EDT

(Reuters) – Greece’s conservative opposition demanded tax cuts on Monday as the price for a consensus deal with the Socialist government on imposing yet more austerity, a major condition for getting further aid from the EU and IMF.

Conservative leader Antonis Samaras called for a flat 15 percent corporate tax and rejected government plans for hiking taxes to tackle Greece’s budget deficit and please fiscal inspectors mulling the next, key tranche of a 110 billion euro bailout.

Athens’s Mayor Sabotages Demonstrations?

iReport —

For the second day in a row, Greece takes to the streets, setting up shop in central squares nationwide. Yet again, these peaceful demonstrations were surprisingly not impeded by riot police, yet the government’s displeasure was evident once more.

Reports had already appeared by eye-witnesses on various Greek blogs the day before concerning wifi and cell phone reception blackouts in Athens’s central square in front of Parliament where protesters had assembled. Complaints about not being able to call or send pictures from cell phones were heard from day one but many surmised that it was natural for providers to crash with over 50,000 demonstrators present at Syntagma Square.