Man dies in Greek austerity violence

A man injured in Greek anti-austerity protests died yesterday, media reports said, as hundreds of Communist unionists battled anarchists throwing firebombs for control of a key Athens square.

At least 16 people were hurt in the violence in Syntagma Square outside the parliament building, most of them suffering head injuries from stones, firebombs and other missiles, the health ministry said.

As tens of thousands joined anti-austerity demonstrations on the second day of a general strike, Skai television broadcast images of a captured Communist being beaten by dozens of assailants in the square.

“The ambulance service has been notified to pick up a wounded person who needs to be hospitalised,” a health ministry source said. Greek media said later a middle-aged man had died of head injuries in hospital.

Masked youths attacked with firebombs hundreds of Communist unionists tasked with maintaining order during the Athens demonstration, which capped a 48-hour general strike called by unions against the government’s economic policies.

The communists counter-charged and pushed the attackers back, and the two sides began throwing stones at each other with the police initially keeping back.

Squads of riot police, who did not immediately step in, later advanced to reclaim the square firing stun grenades and tear gas.

Thousands of protesters re-mained in front of parliament after the clash.

“We are staying until the vote is held and then Athens can burn,” a unionist manning the Communist security cordon said prior to the incident.

“We are not going to allow the demonstration to be hijacked by a few hundred hoodies,” he said.

Several hundred communist demonstrators chanted “the people, the people, you can, you can, don’t give in”.

The communist Pame union said in a statement “forces opposed to the people’s and workers’ movement tried to provoke the huge rally outside parliament”.

“Pame, the (other) unions and the workers reacted decisively to this provocation. They must know that the people’s and workers’ movement has the strength and experience to cut their hands off,” Pame said in a statement.