Greek protesters banging pots and pans during anti-government rally - Thessaloniki, Greece

Greek protesters banging pots and pans during anti-government rally - Thessaloniki, Greece, a photo by Teacher Dude's BBQ on Flickr.

Defying torrential rain and the siren call of the country's beaches thousands of indignant Greeks massed once more for the third Sunday in a row to show their anger over the latest austerity mesures which the ruling PASOK government aims to get through parliament this week.

With the imposition of poll tax on those earning 8,000 euros and more combined with yet further increases in VAT (sales tax) and extra indirect taxation via power bills prime minister Giorgos Papandreou is attempting to staunch Greece's hemorraghing public finances and satisfy demands for action by the troika of creditors made up of the IMF, EU and European Central Bank.

On the other side of the equation stands a sizeable chunk of Greek public opinion, with according to some polls 90% of the electorate opposed to further measures. In the latest poll carried out by the Greek public opinion research company Public Issue found that over two million Greeks have taken part in some form of anti-government protest. Even within the ruling PASOK party 16 MPs have broken ranks and called upon their leader to allow more debate on the latest legislation which threatens to unleash further social unrest.



For the 19th day running protesters gathered in streets and square nationwide with calls for the government to leave power and the country to stop all payments on debt owed. In the northern port city of Thessaloniki around 5,000 marched through the city despite repeated downpours.

More mass demonstrations have been called for Wednesday to coincided with the national strike called by public and private sector trade unions with plans to encircle parliament and other government buildings across the country.

http://www.demotix.com/news/724140/greeks-defy-rain-and-government-protest-third-week-running

Greek composer, Mikis Theodorakis defies speaking ban to address anti-government rally

Greek composer, Mikis Theordorakis defies speaking ban to address anti-government rally, a photo by Teacher Dude's BBQ on Flickr.

H aνεξάρτητη δημοσιογραφία βλάπτει σοβαρά την κομματική υγεία -Independent journalism can seriously damage the health of the Party

H aνεξάρτητη δημοσιογραφία βλάπτει σοβαρά την κομματική υγεία -Independent journalism can seriously damage the health of the Party, a photo by Teacher Dude's BBQ on Flickr.

Greek general strike - Thessaloniki, Greece 20th May 2010

Greek general strike - Thessaloniki, Greece 20th May 2010, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

About 10,000 people took part in two protest marches today in Thessaloniki. The demonstrations passed off peacefully and the police kept a discrete distance so managed to avoid inflaming a tense situation. Though the demo was smaller than the one on 5th May it was still reasonably well-attended. For more pictures check out my Demotix story.

Austerity package details bring Greeks out on the streets again tonight

Austerity package details bring Greeks out on the streets again tonight, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Just hours after Athens revealed the final details of the country's $140 billion dollar rescue package about 1,000 people took to the streets of Greece's second city in protest over cuts in jobs and wages which accompany the deal. Closely followed by platoons of riot police marchers went through the city centre calling for the overthrow of the government and for Greeks to refuse to pay back debts. Despite some tense scenes the march passed off without incident.

More pictures on demotix.com.

May Day tomorrow - A prediction

May Day tomorrow , originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

The Greek government is the process of negotiating an austerity package with the EU and the IMF. The details of which will be announced on Sunday. The choice of day is not a random detail but rather reflects the likely effect of the cuts in public services, wages and jobs on public opinion that are almost certainly part of the deal.

As tomorrow is first of May the country will be holding a series of marches to mark the event. Usually it is marked peacefully and more with a sense of ceremony that any burning revolutionary drive, a secular holiday, especially for those on the Left.

However, tomorrow promises to be different as popular anger over the massive cuts in income and living standards that are likely to be seen in the next few years is looking for an outlet,

Trade unions, public sector workers, members of oppoisition parties plus any number of ordinary citizens will be in the streets on Saturday outraged by the fact that the present political system has brought the country to this impasse

As well as sense of palable rage the government has also added to this explosive mix by giving free rein to the security forces in maintaining of public order. Acutely aware of the fact that the eyes of the financial world are focused on Greece at the moment they are going to try everything in their power to prevent a repeat of the events of December 2008 when the killing of a 15 year old by a police officer sparked off a wave of riots and protests that engulfed Athens and other Greek cities for a month.

On the other hand the riot police, known as the MAT in Greek, are notorious for their lack of discipline and indiscriminate use of both the baton and tear gas, a fact that is likely to inflame matters producing the kinds of images prime minister, Giorgos Papandreou so dearly wishes to avoid.

Greek general strike - Thessaloniki

Greek general strike - Thessaloniki, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

In what promises to be the first round of a new series of confrontations between Greece's trade unions and the government public and private sector employees went on strike today across the country.

The strike action has paralyzed much of the nation's transport network and was accompanied by mass demonstrations in Athens and other major cities. As prime minister Giorgos Papandreou desperately tries to persuade Greece's EU partners that his government can reduce the massive $420 billion public debt burden threatens to destablisise not just Greece but the entire eurozone area.

However, recent government actions to raise revenues and reduce costs have put it on a collision course with trade unions anxious to protect members incomes and jobs. With some of the lowest wages in EU and unemployment rapidly rising labour leaders argue that the cost of country's debt repayments should not be shouldered by the country's poorest.

In Greece's second city between 8,000 and 10,000 marchers took to the streets demanding that the country's rich pay the price for the present crisis. European Union flags were also burnt in protest against the role of Brussels in role in applying austerity measures which threaten to derail the Greek economy and make any possible debt repayment plan even more difficult.

Demotix

Greeks protest over government austerity measures

Greeks protest over government austerity measures, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Thanks once again to Eleni for lending me her Canon E40 - Here's hoping I don't drop or lose it.

Between the wars

, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Anti - government protests - Thessaloniki, Greece

Anti - government protests - Thessaloniki, Greece, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Thousands of students and other groups took to the streets of Athens and Thessaloniki yesterday to protest the present Greek government and its policies.

The government has announced that it has decided on a policy of zero tolerence in dealing with Greece's recent wave of unrest and the change in the ruling New Democracy party's change in tactics was seen in a more aggresive stance on the part of the MAT (Greek riot police) on Friday.

However, the change has proved to be less effective than hoped for as most of the arrests carried out the Athens authorities turned out to be lawyers acting as volunteer legal advisors to those taking part in yesterday's march. The 18 lawyers have filed a suit against deputy minister for law and order, after the head of the riot squad that detained them said that he was carrying out a "political decision", according a report on the Greek TV station Skai's, web site.

In addition the Athenian union of newspaper correspondents (ESIEA) have officially complained to the ministry of law and order over the beating of journalists and other members of the media by the police during yesterday's march.

http://my.nowpublic.com/world/greek-protests-resume-after-holiday-lull

Also the independent Greek news agency tvxs.gr posted video of riot police intimidating innocent citizens after the march. If you fast forward to 9 mins you'll see them harrassing a senior citizen who dared to question their authority.

Mixed reactions to the protests in Greece

Mixed reactions to the protests in Greece, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

A smartly dressed woman , shopping bags around her waiting at the bus stop claps and cheers masked protesters marching by. The man next to her shouts out "Shame, shame on you"

Taken during a protest march in Thessaloniki, Greece last week.

Greek protesters occupy National Theatre, Athens

Picture by Dr Jack

Just minutes after the curtains went up, demonstrators seized the stage of the National Theatre, Athens and read out a prepared statement demanding the immediate release of all those arrested in the recent events following the killing of Greek teenager, Alexis Grigoropulos by police two weeks ago. The protesters also called upon the audience to join them in the streets shouting", Turn off your cell phones, turn on your conscience."

The performance of Roberto Succo by Bernard -Marie Koltes was cancelled in a gesture of solidarity by actors and theatre staff with the young protesters.

In addition a massive protest concert was held yesterday outside the Athens univesity campus where thousands watched 64 groups and singers perform until early hours of Saturday morning.

NowPublic

Tags: protests | World | Occupation | athens | demo | sit-in | 13. Greece | griots | greek riots | national theatre | alexis grigoropoulos

Following the news from Athens via Twitter

I'm currently following what is happening with the massive demonstration in Athens via Twitter. It seems a good source for the latest updates from people on the spot. Most of it is in Greek, however, if you look in the sidebar there is a translation into English option to help.

Just look up the griot tag in Twitter.

Greek protesters unfurl banners from the Acropolis

"ATHENS — Student protesters evaded security guards at the Acropolis on Wednesday and unfurled two giant pink banners over a wall near the Parthenon to rally support for continued demonstrations against the government."

Picture and article from the New York Times today

Good to see that protesters have got more media savvy. As PR stunts go this has to be one of the best I've seen in a long while.

Anti-government demos - Thessaloniki 2008

Anti-government demos - Thessaloniki 008, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Greece hit by massive strikes

Greece was hit today by a a wave of stoppages which effectively paralysed the country.  Journalists, teachers, air traffic controllers and many other unions staged the action in order to protest against the economic policies of the current conservative New Democracy government and to express their dissatisfaction  with the Prime Minster, Kostas Karamanlis's recent record on issues such as pension reforms.

The move by the Greek government to inject 28 billion Euros into the country's banking sector has also fuelled an angry response by  people facing failing public services and ever growing unemployment. In addition the latest economic scandal involving a Greek Orthodox monastery in allegedly illegal land deals with the New Democracy administration has merely added to the Prime Minister's woes.

According to the main opposition party PASOK, the Vatopedi monastery land swap scandal is the 45th such case in the current government's 54 month in power.

NowPublic

Tags: Greece | protests | World | STRIKES | New Democracy | Kostas Karamanlis | vetpoedi

Anti-government demo - Thessaloniki

Anti-government demo - Thessaloniki, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

It takes a particular kind of political genius to build a coalition that includes groups as disparate as air stewardesses and anarcho-syndicalists, firemen and ecologists, cops and communists. However, Greek prime minister, Kostas Karamanlis has indeed united all these people, however, all in opposition to his scandal - ridden government which seems incapable of getting through a week without one embarrassing revelation or another.

Dodgy land deals, suspicious financial transactions in business, even vote rigging in parliament are just some of the charges the conservative New Democracy party has faced in the 12 months since it was re-elected.

http://www.nowpublic.com/world/greek-pm-under-siege