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Athens - Anger mounted in Greece on Thursday after several people were hurt in an anti-austerity protest, one of them seriously, and as desperate efforts to cut the country's enormous debt stalled.
The Socialist government, which has endured waves of protests against its economic policies since last year, was put on the defensive after a 31-year-old protester was hospitalised with near-fatal head injuries.
"(We) express regret for the grievous injury sustained by this young man," government spokesperson George Petalotis said in a statement.
"We must all keep our calm and poise in the difficult conditions our country is going through," Petalotis said.
The protester, Yiannis Kafkas, was one of a dozen people hurt in skirmishes with police on the sidelines of demonstrations Wednesday in Athens and other cities against the government's economic policies, which are seen to have pushed the country into recession.
A communist group said Kafkas had been beaten with a truncheon and doctors at the hospital where he was treated accused the police of "barbarity". "Violence and repression against those who resist will not endure," the local doctors' union said in a statement.
Another demonstration against police brutality will be held on Thursday.
The police said 15 of its officers had also been hurt in the skirmishes.
The protests broke out as Greece undergoes a critical audit of its finances by experts from the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank, which last year rescued the country from imminent bankruptcy with a €110bn loan.
Greece needs to show progress on economic reforms initiated last year to earn a scheduled €12bn loan instalment it needs to pay its bills.
But the recession threw its deficit reduction targets off-mark in 2010, and this year it has struggled to keep its finances in balance.
European officials have admitted that Athens is likely to need more help to stay abreast of repayments stemming from its huge €340bn debt.
But Germany's finance minister on Thursday said Greece will not receive any further aid from its European partners unless it tightens its belt further and submits to "clear conditions".
If it becomes clear that Greece needs additional assistance, "it must be discussed what further measures are to be undertaken, especially by Greece," Wolfgang Schaeuble said in parliament.
