Another round of violent clashes broken out in Greece, Wednesday, after protesters took to the streets against a wave of government-imposed austerity measures designed to rein in the country’s budgetary deficit. Police in Athens fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators hurling stones and petrol bombs, as a 24-hour nationwide strike bringing much of the country to a standstill.
“There are politicians which have robbed the country blind yet no one has been brought to justice.”
Doria Tsirigoi
Government offices and many schools remained closed on Wednesday afternoon, with the union-organised strike also causing major disruption to public transport and hospital services. More than 100 flights were cancelled, as clouds of smoke from the riots choked the capital city, while a journalist walkout from state and private television and radio stations resulted in a partial media blackout.
The major protests are the first of their kind this year after Greece’s Socialist Pasok administration was forced to call in a €110 billion EU–IMF bail-out last May, the EUobserver.ccm reports.
“I am demonstrating because the government has to fix this mess that it has gotten into,” hairdresser Doria Tsirigoti told the DPA German press agency as she pulled the shutters down on her salon to avoid damage.
“There are politicians which have robbed the country blind yet no one has been brought to justice.”
Government spending cuts and tax hikes linked to the EU-IMF support package have proved highly contentious with many Greek citizens.
Speaking at the protests, deputy leader of Greece’ large GSEE union, Stathis Anestis, dubbed the government measures “harsh and unfair”.
“We are facing long-term austerity, with high unemployment and destabilising our social structure,” he told the Associated Press news agency.
“What is increasing is the level of anger and desperation … If these harsh policies continue, so will we.”
On Tuesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel indicated that the repayment period for Greece’s international loan could be extended.
The latest clashes come as EU leaders prepare to meet next month in various formats to discuss an overhaul of the bloc’s emergency lending fund and budgetary rules.
A Franco-German ‘Pack for Competitiveness’ is also on the agenda, with the package of proposals meeting a frosty reception at a European Summit earlier this month.
The euro zone’s second EU-IMF bail-out recipient, Ireland, is set for national elections this Friday, with the ruling popular Fianna Fail party headed for a humiliating defeat of historic proportions.
Anger over the bail-out lending terms has been a central element during recent election campaigning, with the front-runner centre-right Fine Gael party repeatedly stating its desire to see loan interest rates reduced.
This video is just uploaded on YouTube by Sky News. It shows a policeman being set on fire during the anti-austerity protests in Greece involving tens of thousands of people.
Five people were injured when the demonstration against government cuts turned violent. More than 30,000 had taken part in the demonstration but many were forced to take cover when youths began throwing rocks and fire bombs. The officer was hit by a petrol bomb which set his uniform and motorcycle on fire.
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Mr. Assange Heading For Guantanamo Bay? Here’s To You Mr. President!
A UK court ordered that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange be extradited to Sweden to face questioning about sexual-assault allegations, dealing a serious blow to the document-leaking site and its founder. An extrade to Sweden might result in Mr. Assange ending up at Guantanamo Bay, his laywers says.
The decision means that Mr. Assange’s efforts to build and promote WikiLeaks will be detoured to some degree in coming months by the possibility that he will face criminal sex charges. WikiLeaks has gained notoriety with governments around the world through its release of thousands of classified documents and diplomatic cables, the Wall Street Journal writes.
On Thursday afternoon, the judge released Mr. Assange on the same bail conditions he has been living under since December, which require him to wear an electronic monitoring tag, report to police every day and live at a supporter’s estate northeast of London, where he must abide by a curfew.
WikiLeaks is already struggling with a number of problems, which could intensify as Mr. Assange is distracted by his legal saga.
Arguing against his extradition, Mr. Assange’s lawyers said he wouldn’t get a fair trial in Sweden, where they say he has been vilified in the press.
They say Mr. Assange tried to meet with Swedish prosecutors several times before leaving Sweden, but was rebuffed.
They also argued that the sexual offenses alleged don’t rise to a level that merit extradition proceedings in the UK.
But the UK court said it appeared possible that Mr. Assange had tried to evade questioning while he was in Sweden. Judge Howard Riddle called all four alleged offenses extraditable, and says he was confident Mr. Assange would receive a fair trial in Sweden if he is charged.
The extradition hearing began in early February.
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