General Strike Shuts Down Greece

[Watchman]

General Strike Shuts Down Greece
Opposing Austerity
General Strike Shuts Down Greece

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,679988,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,679988,00.html

As the Greek government imposes tough austerity measures at the behest of the European Union, unions called a 24-hour strike to protest the cuts on Wednesday. Transportation came to a standstill, ministries and schools were shut and there were clashes between police and some demonstrators.

Greece saw a return to street violence on Wednesday as private and public sector labor unions staged a 24-hour strike. Police fired tear gas and clashed with demonstrators in Athens after a peaceful march by some 50,000 people. The march was organized to coincide with the industrial action and occured as teams of international experts are in the country to assess its ability to deal with its severe financial crisis.

Protesters shout slogans as they march to the parliament during an anti-government rally in Athens. Greece ground to a halt on Wednesday as unions staged a one-day general strike and thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to protest austerity measures designed to tame the country's public debt crisis.

African migrants participate in the massive protest march marking the general strike Wednesday. The nationwide strike paralysed Greece as more than 3 million public and private sector workers embarked on a 24-hour walkout.

Riot police officers clashed with demonstrators in central Athens after a peaceful march by some 50,000 people.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,679988,00.html

 

[Watchman]

The general strike shut down airports and closed schools and ministries on Wednesday as unions protested the government's EU-backed austerity measures. Many shops were shuttered, traffic was quieter than usual and Greeks faced a news blackout as the country's journalists also held a 24-hour strike.


The violence on Wednesday lasted for about 30 minutes as the march to the parliament in Athens was finishing up. The clash began after a group of around 50 young demonstrators were seen trying to approach some luxury hotels. As police fired tear gas on them, another 250 people broke free of the main body of demonstrators and threw stones at the police.

Police said at least two people were detained, while several storefronts were vandalized. The city was covered in posters and flyers calling for Greeks to strike, with the slogan "People and their needs above markets!" There were also protests in Thessaloniki and other major Greek cities.

The strike has been a crucial test of support for the unions, with opinion polls showing that around 60 percent of Greeks support the government's austerity measures. However, the unions say the plans will only burden the poor and push up unemployment. The largest private sector union GSEE said that participation in the strike had been "close to 100 percent in many areas."

A snack stand gets between the two sides.

A demonstrator protects his face as police fire tear gas at the demonstrators.

A protestor tries to shield himself as riot police swing at him with their batons.

The clashes began after a group of around 50 young demonstrators were seen trying to approach some luxury hotels.

 

[Watchman]

'Massive Recession'

Greece is under mounting pressure from markets and EU policymakers to cut its public debt. Athens is hoping to persuade Brussels that the public-sector pay freeze, tax increases and raising of the retirement age will be enough to cut the budget shortfall by 4 percentage points to 8.7 percent of gross domestic product.

The GSEE union says these measures will cause unemployment, which hit a five-year high of 10.6 percent in November, to skyrocket. "Our country will enter a massive recession and unemployment will reach a Europe-wide record," GSEE spokesman Stathis Anestis told the Associated Press, adding that this would provoke "social unrest."

A man stands in front of a closed subway station in Athens. Schools, government offices and courthouses remained closed Wednesday, while public transport, banks, hospitals and state-owned companies suffered major disruptions on the day of the protest.

A demonstrator walks past riot police. Police said at least two people were detained, while several storefronts were vandalized.

The violence on Wednesday lasted for about 30 minutes as the march to the parliament in Athens was finishing up.

Revelations that the country's deficit was three times higher than originally forecast has plunged Greece into a debt crisis and undermined confidence in the European common currency, the euro. The crisis has in turn hiked the country's borrowing costs.

Adding to the country's woes, the ratings agency Fitch on Tuesday reduced its credit rating on Greece's top banks. It was the last thing Athens needed as experts from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund arrived to assess whether it is on track to cut its double-digit deficit ahead of an EU-imposed March 16 deadline.

The European Commission also announced on Wednesday that it was taking Athens to court for its failure to recover money granted to hundreds of companies in the form of illegal tax exemptions. "The recovery of illegal aid is about restoring a level playing field in the single market," said EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia in a statement, according to Reuters.

 

[Watchman]

A general strike in Greece on Wednesday, called to protests against massive government spending cuts, brought the capital to a standstill. Here, a sign at the entrance to an Athens subway station tells passengers that trains will not be running on Wednesday.

Protests in Athens have come at regular intervals throughout the winter, like this one in November. Most Greeks agree that the government needs to save money, but unions in the country have called a general strike for Wednesday.

 

[Watchman]

The Greek Communist Party attempted to prevent trading on the Greek stock market on Tuesday by blockading the building. The country is facing tough austerity measures as a result of a ballooning budget deficit.

A woman walks by a shop window in central Athens on Feb. 19, 2010. The EU has demanded that Greece sharply reduce public spending to shore up confidence in the European common currency, the euro.

 

[Watchman]

The EU has placed Greek finances under strict observation. The country hopes to reduce its budget deficit from its 2009 level of 12.7 percent of GDP to under 9 percent in just one year. Angger at the EU is widespread in the country, although a majority support the government's austerity plan.

Demonstrators preparing to burn an EU flag in Athens two weeks ago

 

[Watchman]

The problems in Greece have not only negatively affected the national stock market, but they have also put massive pressure on the euro, which has dropped substantially against the dollar in recent weeks.

Greek Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou told SPIEGEL that he wants "to restore faith in politics by putting our house in order."

 

[Watchman]

Public sector workers have been hit hard by the austerity measures introduced by Athens. Here, a firefighter waves a flare during protests at the end of January.

Protests broke out in Greece last September. Now, many fear that the government's austerity package could result in higher unemployment in the country and even more social unrest.

 

[Watchman]

Greek Finance Minister Giorgos Papakonstantinou told SPIEGEL that his country had "suffered a complete loss of credibility.

Greek anger has focused particularly on Germany. On Tuesday, a tabloid published a mock-up of the Victory Column in Berlin holding a swastika. The broadside came in response to the recent cover of German newsmagazine Focus which depicted the Venus di Milo giving the finger (pictured in the upper right-hand corner). The headline reads "Swindlers in the European Family."


'Dangerous Misconceptions'

There are increasing tensions between Greece and fellow euro zone members, who are reluctant to pledge financial help. Germany, the EU's biggest economy, has been particularly vociferous in its reluctance to come to Greece's aid.

There is growing consternation in Greece at the perceived disrespectful tone in the German media. On Tuesday, parliamentary speaker Filippos Petsalnikos summoned the German ambassador to complain about press reports, particularly about the cover of newsmagazine Focus, which showed an ancient Greek statue making an obscene gesture, under the headline "Swindlers in the Euro Family."

"It is dangerous to create misconceptions that Greeks are nothing but thieves, crooks and layabouts living off German taxpayers' money," he told the NET radio station on Tuesday. "This is simply not true."

On Wednesday the media war of images escalated, with the Greek newspaper Eleftheros Typos publishing an image of the Victory Column in Berlin with the figure of the goddess Victoria holding aloft a swastika.

smd -- with wire reports

 

[Watchman]

Multiple strikes over new tax 'cripple' Athens
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:02:56 GMT

Strikes over government-proposed taxes to help rein in Greece's burgeoning public debt have taken on new dimensions as more workers join the walkouts.

Taxi drivers and gas station workers are the latest groups to join strikes in Athens after doctors' strike yesterday in protest against the government's payments and benefits cuts and new taxes.

The drivers are protesting against new tax proposals, due to become law imminently, which will require them to issue receipts and pay tax on their income, while gas station workers say higher taxes are driving their customers into neighboring Bulgaria for cheaper gas, local media reported.

A strike by doctors is also reportedly spreading to other parts of the country, with “many” hospitals in the capital operating with emergencies staffs only.

Power cuts have also been reported as employees of the country's power sector went on strike over salary cuts and freezes on employment, the United Press International (UPI) reported.

Radio technicians are also reportedly planning a day-long walkout today.

The Greek government says the so-called austerity measures to curb the financial crisis are being enforced in an attempt to reduce the budget deficit from 12.7 to 8.7 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

GHN/ZAP/DT