Greeks rally against austerity measures as public sector shut down in 24-hour strikes
ATHENS. April 23. KAZINFORM Greece was hit by a new series of strikes and demonstrations on Thursday, as labor unions organized a 24-hour walk out of public sector services and marches against austerity measures across the country; Kazinform refers to Xinhua.
As the Greek government holds a new round of talks with EU and IMF officials who visit Athens from Wednesday on the final terms of a possible financial aid package for the Greek economy, thousands of Greek citizens went out on the streets of Athens and major cities to protest cutbacks on salaries, raises in taxes and reforms in the pension system.
At least 10,000 protesters, according to police estimations, took part in two separate rallies that ended in front of the parliament in the center of Athens on Thursday, as Eurostat announced that the Greek public deficit for 2009 stood at 13.6 percent of GDP, much higher than estimated.
The marches were organized by the umbrella union of public servants ADEDY and labor unions close to the two Left parties represented in parliament.
Holding banners with slogans against the Greek Stability and Growth Program, the government, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, and chanting similar slogans such as "Take the measures back" or "Thieves get out" and "We will not pay for the crisis others caused," the protesters withdrew after around four hours.
Archaeological sites and theatres across Greece also shut down on Thursday and major problems were caused in transports by ships, as seamen hold a 72-hour strike since Wednesday.
The rest of the public transportation system and airports functioned as normal on Thursday as a sign of solidarity with passengers who suffered over the past week because of disruptions in flights due to the volcanic ash that spread across Europe after a volcano eruption in Iceland; Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.news.xinhuanet.com for full version.