From Athens with Love: Athens 2-day strike

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

The colossal strike wave hits Athens

Most stores, kiosks and main mass transportation stations in the city center of Athens are shut down today. The reason is one of the largest strikes during this decade in Greek history lead by The General Confederation of Greek Labour (GSEE) and private (Adedy) unions.

While some protesters throw Molotov cocktails and break the historic buildings to stone hundreds of riot police outside, inside the parliament house there is a heated discussion and voting whether Greece will pass the bill that guarantees next installment from 110 billion international bailout money in the situation were a government debt is 162 % of its GDP. Without next installment money Greece government is said to be unable to pay salaries and pensions as soon as mid-November.

It seems that approximately 70 000 people disagrees furiously on Syntagma Square. They are on the streets with gas masks, white faces, signs and whistles to attack against tens of thousands of temporary job cuts, a new civil service salary system, tax hikes and pension cuts. The riot police are responding with tear gas from the protective ring around the parliament building while black smoke is floating on the air from bus company ticket boots and piling up garbage set on fire.

In the international markets Greece´s creditors have already agreed of 21% haircut on their loans, but there is no assurance it is going to be enough to rescue sinking Greek economy. Therefore the whole world is clued to the mass media gizmos, hosted by hundreds of reporters, to watch the Modern time Greek Odyssey - its raise or its fall.