Three killed in bank fire during Athens riots
ATHENS. May 5. KAZINFORM Three people were killed Wednesday in a fire that broke out at a bank during violent protests against harsh new spending cuts, police said.
Hooded protesters firebombed a Marfin Bank branch near the parliament building, trapping at least 20 employees and customers inside, witnesses told Xinhua.
Police said the victims -- two women and one man -- were all employees of the bank.
The violence broke out as protesters of all ages gathered in central Athens to denounce government policies implemented in exchange for a 110-billion-euro (146-billion-U.S.-dollar) rescue package by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
Demonstrators chanting "thieves, thieves" marched toward the parliament and attempted to break through a cordon of riot police guarding the building.
"Why should I pay for others' mistakes and scandals? Why should my children pay when it was not their fault? Greece almost reached bankruptcy. How can I guarantee them that in a few months or years they will not ask for more sacrifices from us, while people responsible do not pay?" Kostas Fournaris, a 53-year-old civil servant, told Xinhua.
The first battles between police and demonstrators erupted near the Polytechnion, or the Technical University of Athens.
Protesters threw paving stones at the police, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades. One protester threw a Molotov cocktail at a bank that quickly went up in flames, Kazinform refers to Xinhuanet.
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