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Greek Protesters Clash With Police During Strike

   VOA News 29 June 2010
   Strikers  clash  with  riot  police  during a demonstration in central
   Athens, 29 Jun 2010

Photo: AP

   Strikers  clash  with  riot  police  during a demonstration in central
   Athens, 29 Jun 2010

   Greek  demonstrators clashed with riot police Tuesday in Athens during
   the  fifth  major  strike  this  year,  called  to  protest government
   austerity measures.
   An  estimated  10,000  people  took part in Tuesday's protest marches,
   which shut down transportation services, left hospitals operating with
   emergency  staff  and  pulled  news  broadcasts  off  the  air.  Some
   protesters threw projectiles at police, who responded with tear gas.
   Greece's  two  main  private and public sector labor unions - GSEE and
   ADEDY - organized the nationwide walkout.  The unions fiercely oppose
   the  government's  moves  to raise taxes, freeze civil service pay and
   cut pensions in a push to decrease the country's huge debt.
   Tuesday's protests are small compared to demonstrations in Athens last
   month.   A rally May 5 attracted tens of thousands and ended with the
   deaths of three bank employees inside a building that was set on fire.
   Greek  officials  say  the  austerity  measures  being  considered are
   necessary  to avoid bankruptcy. Greece agreed to the steps to secure a
   massive  emergency  loan  from  the  European  Union and International
   Monetary Fund.
   Members  of  a  communist-affiliated  union  (PAME)  also demonstrated
   Tuesday  in  Greece's  main port of Piraeus, where they tried to block
   tourists and locals from boarding ferries at the port.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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