Demonstraties in Europa: Griekenland. #2

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Athens protesters resolve to fight to the finish

Maria Kittou had rushed to Syntagma Square on hearing that the next wave of austerity measures would include biting tax increases that would hit the poor hard. "They are pushing us to the edge," snarled the pensioner. Pointing at the Greek parliament building and shouting herself hoarse, she added: "These people aren't worthy of the Greek flag. They have brought us nothing but shame. They have to go."

At 75, Kittou has endured the ravages of Greece's brutal German occupation, bloody civil war, authoritarian rightwing rule and military dictatorship. Thirty-seven years after the return of democracy, there is a growing sense that the country is at war again, only this time fighting a battle of epic economic proportions.

"It is the lack of any light at the end of the tunnel that makes it so hard," said Kittou, one of many who have turned Athens's main plaza into Europe's pre-eminent fiscal battleground. This week, as the country confronts what EU president José Manuel Barroso, pictured below, has called its "moment of truth", the self-declared "people's assembly" promised the mother of all fights.

"This plan must not pass. On Wednesday, the day of the vote, we will encircle the vouli [300-seat House]. We will send the message that people will not accept it."

Until recently those huddled under plastic awnings in the square – often behind rickety tables with loudspeakers at the ready – were passed off as a spontaneous phenomenon of "outraged" Greeks acting beyond party or political creed. But as the debt crisis has gone from bad to worse, the protesters in Syntagma have begun to symbolise the disappointment and failures of a nation on the brink of collapse.

In the 18 months since the crisis erupted, Greeks have suffered a wave of belt-tightening that has seen wages cut, pensions slashed and benefits lost. The socialist government has desperately tried to rein in the country's colossal ¤355bn debt by taking an axe to its profligate public sector. Unions estimate 150,000 jobs could be lost.

The promise of renewed aid on Friday did little to assuage concerns that it is Greece's most vulnerable class who are footing the bill for the debt debacle. The latest reforms have reinforced the perception that it is low-wage earners, pensioners and out-of-work youths who will suffer.

"They are very harsh measures, but what is more they are very unfair," said Petros Triantopoulos, who teaches gymnastics at a state primary school in the capital.

"Civil servants are easy targets. Those who should be hit, the tax evaders, the rich who have whisked their money abroad, are still getting away with it," added the father of two, who is typical of the thousands of low-income, middle class Greeks who have participated in the colourful fury of Syntagma Square.

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Greek communists storm the Acropolis in bailout protest

'Power to the workers' banners erected as Greece debates bailout conditions

In a dramatic start to a week dominated by one of the most crucial parliamentary votes in modern Greek history, communist militants stormed the Acropolis on Monday morning unfurling huge "power to the workers" banners from the monument's ramparts.

As tourists ascended the hill to the fifth-century BC site, they were greeted by gigantic protest banners proclaiming: "The peoples have the power and never surrender. Organize – Counter attack."

"We call upon working people, youth, women to join our popular uprising," the All Workers Militant Front (PAME), an adjunct of the powerful Greek communist party, the KKE, declared in a statement.

"We will strengthen our struggle with people from all over the world against capitalist brutality in order for the brutal measures that bankrupt the people not to be applied."

Although described as a symbolic move, the stunt reinforced the level of popular hostility to economic policies now seen as crucial if Greece is to avoid a possibly disastrous default.

Upping the ante, unions have declared a 48-hour general strike starting on Tuesday – the first two-day walkout since the collapse of military rule and the return of democracy in 1974 – to coincide with parliament's debate on the measures. Mass rallies have been scheduled in 65 towns during the two days that Greek politicians will discuss the belt-tightening policies.

"It will be two days that have never seen before," said Stathis Anestis of the General Confederation of Greek Workers, the country's largest labour force.

The debate on the austerity programme, which includes ¤28bn (£25bn) of fresh spending cuts and higher taxes, begins on Monday with a vote expected on Wednesday. Talks will also take place in Rome on Monday evening between EU officials and European bankers over the vexed question of the role of private creditors in a second rescue package for Greece.

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Op woensdag 29 juni 2011 20:10 schreef Monidique het volgende:
Nou, het valt allemaal maar tegen nu.

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Op donderdag 30 juni 2011 16:46 schreef Weltschmerz het volgende:
Je veroorzaakt de grootste economische crisis sinds 1929 en als beloning krijg je een heel land met zijn publieke voorzieningen om leeg te trekken en een heleboel goedkope loonslaven.

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Op donderdag 30 juni 2011 16:47 schreef dotCommunism het volgende:

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Weer een geslaagd plan van het IMF.

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Op donderdag 30 juni 2011 17:28 schreef Weltschmerz het volgende:

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En de neo-imperalisten (nee, ik blijf de term liberaal correct gebruiken). Je moet het ze nageven, ze buiten de oneindige domheid van het volk goed uit.

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Op donderdag 30 juni 2011 17:31 schreef betyar het volgende:
Internet draait weer op volle toeren. Nieuwe modem van Ziggo gekregen en gaan met die banaan.

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Op donderdag 30 juni 2011 17:31 schreef GSbrder het volgende:

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Verkeerde topic `

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Op donderdag 30 juni 2011 17:31 schreef betyar het volgende:
-sorry-

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Op donderdag 30 juni 2011 17:39 schreef Weltschmerz het volgende:

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Hoezo?

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Op donderdag 30 juni 2011 17:49 schreef Weltschmerz het volgende:

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Maar dan buiten ze toch die oneindige domheid uit of niet?

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Op donderdag 30 juni 2011 17:55 schreef Weltschmerz het volgende:
Merkwaardige definitie van uitbuiten heb jij, of je las in eerste instantie gewoon niet goed.

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Op donderdag 30 juni 2011 18:01 schreef Weltschmerz het volgende:

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Het ging om het uitbuiten van oneindige domheid, zoals je ook iemands naiviteit, goedertierendheid of schoonheid zou kunnen uitbuiten. Je kunt eigenschappen uitbuiten, met name oneindige domheid leent zich daar goed voor, niettemin doen ze dat wel érg goed.