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Greece Protests Turn Violent As Papandreou Meets W/President
By Angelika Papamiltiadou
ATHENS (MNI) - Anti-austerity protests here turned violent this afternoon as Prime Minister George Papandreou urged national unity before heading into an emergency meeting with the president of the Republic, Karolos Papoulias.
In Athens' central Syntagma Square, police shot tear gas into a huge crowd to try and break up the protests. The protesters, numbering close to 100,000 by some estimates, were still encircling the Parliament and blocking the access of MPs, who had planned to begin discussing the government's latest E28 billion deficit-cutting plan this morning.
Several MPs said they were attacked while trying to enter the Parliament by demonstrators throwing bricks, stones and eggs. Meanwhile, police clashed with demonstrators encircling the Greek Finance Ministry, where there have been 40 arrests so far.
Papandreou asked for calm and urged a consensus across political parties ahead of the debate on the government's medium-term fiscal plan, which includes new salary and pension cuts, tax increases on all income levels, and a E50 billion privatization plan. Greece's EU partners, as well as the IMF and the ECB, have insisted that a new bailout package for Athens currently being negotiated is conditional upon swift passage of those new measures.
Shortly before meeting with Papoulias, Papandreou issued a statement saying Greece was living through historical times that demand "historical decisions." He reiterated that his government "will proceed with a sense of duty to take the decisions necessary to overcome the crisis."
He added that a "national consensus" is needed, implying that the opposition parties will have to share the burden in case the fiscal plan is rejected by Parliament.
The prime minister is expected to address the nation later in the day. In addition to the street protests, workers in the public and private sectors are on strike today to protest the new round of austerity measures.
All opposition parties have said they will vote against the government's new plan.
But the government is also facing strong opposition from MPs in its own party, one of whom unexpectedly defected last night, labelling the new plan "cruel and unjust." Now the Socialist government retains a fragile majority of just four seats in Parliament. Press reports suggest that around 10 more members of the ruling party are ready to resign or defect and become independent, in protest against the new plan.
In such an event, and were the government unable to gain the support of other parties, the country would likely head towards early elections.
By Angelika Papamiltiadou
ATHENS (MNI) - Anti-austerity protests here turned violent this afternoon as Prime Minister George Papandreou urged national unity before heading into an emergency meeting with the president of the Republic, Karolos Papoulias.
In Athens' central Syntagma Square, police shot tear gas into a huge crowd to try and break up the protests. The protesters, numbering close to 100,000 by some estimates, were still encircling the Parliament and blocking the access of MPs, who had planned to begin discussing the government's latest E28 billion deficit-cutting plan this morning.
Several MPs said they were attacked while trying to enter the Parliament by demonstrators throwing bricks, stones and eggs. Meanwhile, police clashed with demonstrators encircling the Greek Finance Ministry, where there have been 40 arrests so far.
Papandreou asked for calm and urged a consensus across political parties ahead of the debate on the government's medium-term fiscal plan, which includes new salary and pension cuts, tax increases on all income levels, and a E50 billion privatization plan. Greece's EU partners, as well as the IMF and the ECB, have insisted that a new bailout package for Athens currently being negotiated is conditional upon swift passage of those new measures.
Shortly before meeting with Papoulias, Papandreou issued a statement saying Greece was living through historical times that demand "historical decisions." He reiterated that his government "will proceed with a sense of duty to take the decisions necessary to overcome the crisis."
He added that a "national consensus" is needed, implying that the opposition parties will have to share the burden in case the fiscal plan is rejected by Parliament.
The prime minister is expected to address the nation later in the day. In addition to the street protests, workers in the public and private sectors are on strike today to protest the new round of austerity measures.
All opposition parties have said they will vote against the government's new plan.
But the government is also facing strong opposition from MPs in its own party, one of whom unexpectedly defected last night, labelling the new plan "cruel and unjust." Now the Socialist government retains a fragile majority of just four seats in Parliament. Press reports suggest that around 10 more members of the ruling party are ready to resign or defect and become independent, in protest against the new plan.
In such an event, and were the government unable to gain the support of other parties, the country would likely head towards early elections.
