Several thousand banner-waving protesters staged rallies in Athens yesterday to protest budget cuts as eurozone ministers prepare to approve a new €130-billion bailout for the debt-crippled nation.
Poverty and hunger have no nationality
Hundreds of police shadowed the latest demonstrations, held a week after Parliament passed new austerity measures that sparked protests in which gangs of rioters torched dozens of buildings in the Greek capital.
“Poverty and Hunger Have No Nationality”, read one banner carried by demonstrators on Syntagma square outside Parliament. “We Are Greeks, Merkel and Sarkozy Are Freaks” said another, referring to the German and French leaders.
As the demonstrators chanted, Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos left for Brussels for talks with officials ahead of today’s crucial Eurogroup meeting of eurozone ministers.
About 1,500 people joined a rally called by Greece’s private and public sector unions, while about 2,000 gathered for a second protest sponsored by left-wing radical parties to call for an “uprising” against the government.
“We will come every day if need be,” said Xenia Amaricoulou, a drugstore vendor in her forties.
“They up there (pointing to the Parliament) should be aware we are not accepting any measures that would take us further down. Why should we be punished for something that we haven’t done? I earn my salary, believe me, I don’t know whether our politicians earn a single cent”.
A similar protest took place in Greece’s second city Thessaloniki.
Despite the harsh austerity measures demanded by Greece’s international creditors to stave off bankrupcty, an opinion poll found that 76 per cent of Greeks backed the nation’s European outlook and did not want to leave the euro.
But it also found that almost 82 per cent of Greeks blamed their governments for the country’s deep economic woes.
The latest government measures include a 22-per cent cut in the minimum wage, while pensions of more than €1,300 a month will be slashed by 12 per cent, further adding to the economic hardship of ordinary Greeks.
Unions reject what they brand “unacceptable demands” set by the EU and the International Monetary Fund, saying they violate workers’ rights and collective agreements. But EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said Greece should focus on getting itself out of its economic mess.