Violence during Greek general strike
Wednesday, 10 December 2008 22:24
Greek riot police clashed with demonstrators again today, and a general strike paralysed the country.
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis announced financial support for businesses damaged in the riots and the main opposition leader, George Papandreou, appealed for an end to the violence that has gripped more than 10 Greek cities.
Government sources denied rumours that emergency measures were being considered.
No more protests are planned this week but tension remains high.
Youths lobbed firebombs at police, who returned volleys of tear gas outside Athens polytechnic university, hours after clashes outside parliament following a union rally against economic and social policy.
Foreign and domestic flights were grounded, banks and schools were shut, and hospitals ran on emergency services as hundreds of thousands of Greeks walked off the job.
Unions say privatisations, tax rises and pension reform have worsened conditions, especially for the one-fifth of Greeks who live below the poverty line.
The Greek Commerce Confederation said damage to businesses in Athens alone was about €200m, with 565 shops seriously damaged.
One policeman has been charged with murder and his partner with abetting him over the shooting of Alexandros Grigoropoulos, 15.
A prosecutor has ordered both men jailed pending trial after the officer testified he had fired in the air.
In Rome, demonstrators burned a garbage bin and threw firecrackers and rocks at police cars trying to stop them reaching the Greek embassy.
- Nine News: Ray Kennedy reports that anger at a teen's fatal shooting spilled over again during a general strike
- Six One News: Ray Kennedy reports that it is the fifth day of violence in the city, which began after a teenager was shot dead by police at the weekend
- One News: Gareth O'Connor reports that traders estimate that the rioting has caused over €1bn worth of damage
- News At One: Achilleas Topas, Sky News Greece, says that the strike was planned before the recent clashes with police over a teenager's death
