Members of the PAME Communist-affiliated union protest outside the Greek parliament during a 24-hour nationwide general strike in Athens
Clashes briefly broke out yesterday between riot police and youths in central Athens during the first general strike since the country’s left-led government initially came to power in January.
Youths broke away from a protest march by thousands as it passed outside parliament and threw Molotov cocktails at police who responded with tear gas and stun grenades.
Nearly 25,000 people had been participating in three separate demonstrations in central Athens, according to police figures, protesting a new round of bailout-related tax hikes and spending cuts.
The 24-hour general strike has caused widespread disruption across Greece, with numerous public services shutting down.
Public transport was severely disrupted. The Athens metro and suburban railway shut down while bus and trolley routes were reduced and ferries remained tied up in port, severing connections between islands and the mainland. More than a dozen domestic flights were also cancelled.
A march in Athens by a Communist-backed union gathered around 15,000 people, while 4,000 or so participated in a labor union demonstration and another 5,000 joined in a protest organized by anti-establishment and anarchist groups.
The clashes prompted demonstrators to scatter but calm soon returned after a few running scuffles through central avenues in the capital. So far, they are a far cry from the more violent and extensive clashes that broke out in the recent past during general strikes and other protests in Athens.
Another 10,000 marched through the country’s second largest city of Thessaloniki.
The main party in the governing coalition — Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ left-wing Syriza — has shown sympathy for the strike. The party’s department that deals with labor policy called for mass participation in the walk-out to protest “the neoliberal policies and the blackmail from financial and political centers within and outside Greece.” Elena Becatoros, Athens, AP
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