Smith reports: "Violence erupted in the heart of Athens as mass protests against further austerity measures in crisis-hit Greece escalated on Wednesday."
Demonstrators protest outside the Greek parliament in Athens. (photo: Aris Messinis/AFP)
Athens Descends Into Violence as 200,000 March Against Austerity
26 September 12
Police respond with tear gas to firebombs thrown from sidelines of demo against €12bn cuts
iolence erupted in the heart of Athens as mass protests against further austerity measures in crisis-hit Greece escalated on Wednesday.
Police fired tear gas at crowds throwing rocks and petrol bombs. The exchange disrupted an otherwise peaceful march through the capital by up to 200,000 demonstrators participating in a general strike, the first big confrontation with Greece's three-month-old coalition government.
Industrial action, hailed as a triumph by unions, brought the country almost to a standstill, grounding flights, disrupting transport and shutting public services including tourist sites.
The governing coalition, under immense pressure to pass yet more cuts by international creditors keeping the moribund Greek economy afloat, had ordered bulletproof barriers to be erected around the parliament but had hoped the protests would end peacefully.
As smoke rose over parts of the city and protesters donned gas masks, it was clear those hopes had been dashed. About 3,000 officers - twice the number usually deployed - had been standing guard in central Athens as authorities braced for rioting.
"This is a warning to the government not to pass the measures," said Ilias Iliopoulos at the ADEDY, the union of civil servants, insisting that about 350,000 Greeks took part in protest marches. "Today was a huge success as witnessed by all those in the armed forces and police who also participated because they, too, will be affected by these cuts. The government must know that if wants to push us further into a corner, we will react."
Prime minister Antonis Samaras's conservative-led alliance is expected to decide on Thursday on budget cuts totalling €11.9bn (£9.46bn) - more than 5% of the country's GDP. Once endorsed, the controversial austerity package will be sent to parliament for ratification. "Once the Greek people learn exactly what the measures are, there will be uproar," Iliopoulos said. "There will be mass protests."
Ships stayed docked, shops pulled down shutters, and museums and monuments - including the Acropolis - closed to visitors. Air traffic controllers walked off the job for three hours and hospitals were operating with emergency staffing levels only.
Much of the union anger is directed at the additional spending cuts over the next two years that Greece has promised its "troika" of lenders - the European Central Bank, the European commission and the International Monetary Fund - in order to secure its next tranche of aid. The bulk of the cuts are expected from slashing wages, pensions and welfare benefits - heaping new misery on Greeks, who say repeated rounds of austerity have pushed them to the brink yet failed to transform the country for the better.
A poll by the MRB agency last week showed that more than 90% of Greeks believe the planned cuts are unfair and a burden on the poor, with the vast majority expecting more austerity in coming years.
With the country in its fifth year of recession, analysts said a strong public backlash could tear apart the weak coalition.
"What people want to tell Samaras is that they are hurt - and Samaras could use this to demand concessions from the troika," said MRB's polling director, Dimitris Mavros.
"The people are willing to give the government time, but on certain conditions like cracking down on tax evasion and securing a bailout extension. If the government succeeds in that, its life will also be extended."
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Comments
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What we are seeing is the most massive transfer of wealth from the middle class and poor to the richest people on earth. the banks have gained control of governments in most western nations and they are using governments to extort wealth out of whole nations. There never was any Greek financial crisis, except for the one engineered by Goldman Sachs. Greek government revenues went down because of the 2008 global economic collapse. But it could have re-structured its debt and it could have defaulted on some. It was the ECB which required Greece to borrow huge additional sums of money that were sent directly to private banks. And the people are left paying the huge additional debt.
What is happening to Greece and other nations in Europe is just what the IMF did to developing nations all over Afraica, S. America, and Asia from the 60s to 90s. These nations were looted. Now the banks are turning on Europe. The US will be next.
I agree with you about Greece but would add that i think it's also key that they gave up sovereign control of their currency when they joined the euro and this makes it much more difficult for them (or any country) to get out of its economic difficulties... control of currency and the ability of the country to "print" what it needs is essential.
Iraq started selling oil in EUROs and we invaded to stop it. Now the Chinese and the Indians are selling goods in their currency and Iran is selling oil to India in Indiana currency, If this trend continues, expect a major war, because if we are forced to balance our budget, we will implode.
As for Iraq, my understanding is that Saddam talked about (as others have been doing) switching from dollars to euros to sell oil but we invaded and overthrew him first. I agree though that if the world producers stop using the dollar and switch to the euro for the oil market we are in serious trouble (not much chance anytime soon though given europe's economic woes and the effect on the euro.
But, we never have to balance our budget so i disagree that this will be an issue.
666, while i agree with the sentiment this was pretty much what what the German Communist Party said in 1933 (and why they did not form a coalition with the socialists to oppose Hitler and the Nazis). The idea that capitalism must collapse under its own weight or from its own internal contradictions is simply not true. Crisis yes but crisis is precisely the way capital works through it contradictions (at least in the short run) and since we are clearly in no way, shape or form, out of this crisis i think that either the system will try and muddle along yet not overcome its profitability problems or there is still much destruction of value/capital still to come (as in the Great Depression) which does not mean the system is collapsing or that it will ultimatley lead to "revolution" or a new society...what it does ensure though is alot more pain and suffering for the 99% which is never something we should be cavalier about and say "bring it on."
The Foxconn model works so well in China for those whose own it all, we will be pushed into something similar while being told the government is broke (of course it is, these never ending wars cost huge amounts of money) and so we the people will have to shoulder the burden of those excesses.
After learning those two historical facts then rethink your statement about the government going broke.
There is a fundamental difference between a national currency based on "precious metals" (i.e., the gold and or silver standard) and a "fiat" currency system in which the national gov't can create its own money debt free. This is one of the main points made by the Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) economists. Being a student of history I know the history of Lincoln and the "greenbacks" as well as about Jackson and the bankers but neither example speaks to the question of the difference between a currency based on metal reserves and the current "fiat" system.
Mandating the loss of weight, "healthy" food, and all things related is the perfect example of how stealthy change can be. It sneaks up on the populace.
Oh, and The Hunger Games appealed to many more than just the young for the very reason you cited. There have been other books concerning a possible future that illustrate the same tragedies dumped on the population. Folks haven't paid enough attention to science, science fiction, and predictions.
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