Greece's Paralyzing General Strike Turns Violent In Central Athens
-- Greece hit by general strike, first such protest of 2011
-- Protesters clash with police in the capital
-- Strike action hobbles public transport in Athens
-- Strike draws support from business community
By Alkman Granitsas and Nick Skrekas
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
ATHENS (Dow Jones)--Greece was paralyzed Wednesday by a nationwide general strike as hundreds of thousands of workers, shop keepers and civil servants walked off the job in a 24-hour protest over the Socialist government's ongoing austerity program.
In the center of Athens, a protest by thousands of workers, leftists and civil servants outside parliament in Syntagma Square turned violent as several hundred youths hurled projectiles, fire crackers and Molotov cocktails at police, who responded with volleys of tear gas and stun grenades.
Police estimate the total number of protesters in the capital at about 30,000 and while some incidents have occurred they are relieved that violent episodes haven't been more widespread.
The clashes spread to other points around the city center with police and protesters fighting in the streets near the University of Athens campus and in parts of the central business district.
Protesters also set up road blocks, attacked shops and set small fires in garbage bins.
"We have made one arrest of a man who had in his possession an archer's bow and arrows, as well as an axe. We hadn't seen anything like that before," police spokesman Panagiotis Papapetropoulos told Dow Jones Newswires.
However, turnout was moderate compared with previous 24-hour strike rallies.
Greece's two umbrella unions, GSEE and ADEDY, which together have around 1.2 million members, called the protests over the austerity measures, and come as Greece stumbles its way through its worst recession in decades, made worse by a raft of government austerity measures and economic reforms.
"Workers today are living through the most barbaric attack at the expense of their rights and their lives," public sector umbrella union ADEDY said in a statement. "We have a collective and personal responsibility to ourselves and to our children to succeed in our struggle."
The strike affected public services, with government ministries, local government offices, courts and schools all closed, while hospitals and many state-owned enterprises were operating with skeleton staff.
Mass transit around the capital ground to a halt as bus, trolley, tram and subway operations were suspended, with only Athens' electric rail operating a reduced schedule.
Nearly 50 domestic flights were canceled ahead of a four-hour walkout by air traffic controllers, while ferry operations to Greece's islands were also suspended.
Recent data show that Greece's recession has deepened, with the economy contracting a worse-than-expected 4.5% last year and with few signs of an upturn in sight.
Joblessness has risen to 13.9%, while youth unemployment is a staggering 35.6%. Greece's retailers association, ESEE, estimates that 120,000 small businesses will be declared bankrupt this year alone.
At the same time, the Greek government is struggling to implement a three-year austerity program in an effort to close a budget deficit that reached a record 15.6% of gross domestic product in 2009.
The austerity measures, along with a series of other economic reforms, are part of a deal reached last May between Greece and the European Union and International Monetary Fund in exchange for a EUR110 billion bailout.
Wednesday's action--the first such strike this year--has drawn support from the business community, with ESEE calling on its members to close their shops and join the protest. Private doctors, pharmacists and journalists also walked off the job.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said Wednesday he understands the pain of the people protesting, but indicated that protest itself wasn't enough.
"Sometimes I would like to be out there protesting myself because I am not happy about what is happening, but it isn't enough to protest. We have to change our country, and we are determined to do so," Papandreou told a news conference in Helsinki.
Police spokesman Papapetropoulos said about 3,000 security officers are ready in the streets of Athens to prevent the demonstrations from sliding into destructive violence.
"We have already taken increased security measures," he added.
***
Anche qui si parla di circa 30.000 persone, un numero abbastanza limitato ...