Publications
Partners
Athens - Greek workers staged a general strike on Wednesday, disrupting public transport on land and sea and forcing offices to close as protesters voiced outrage at a new round of austerity proposals.
Thousands of demonstrators flooded the central Syntagma Square in Athens in front of parliament where members are debating a new budget that contains the austerity package.
Police had erected a metal barrier across the street leading to the parliament building and dozens of police vans were parked in front to allow the deputies unhindered access to the chamber.
Several main thoroughfares around parliament were also closed to traffic and pedestrians and the city centre was also cordoned off.
Rallies called by trade unions were due to begin in the late morning but thousands of early protesters belonged to the popular protest group calling itself "The indignants", independent of the unions and inspired by a Spanish protest movement.
They filled the central square with Greek national and Spanish flags and banners reading "Resist" and the battle cry from the Spanish civil war, "No pasaran" (They shall not pass).
The Spanish "indignants" only dismantled their sprawling encampment in a central Madrid square on June 12, after a four-week sit-in to protest corruption, unemployment and welfare cuts in their country.
Protest organisers in Greece, who have been camping out in Sytagama Square for the past three weeks, said a human chain would be formed around the legislative chamber as lawmakers started debating a new controversial round of austerity cuts.
Tension has been rising in Greece in the past few days with protesters voicing their discontent over plans for a new wave of spending cuts and tax hikes.
Greece's ruling Socialist party, in power since October 2009, says its budget proposals must pass if the country is to continue receiving the international loan assistance necessary to avoid default.
Parliament must vote on the budget by the end of June, but support for the plan has started to fray among former ruling party allies.
Lawmaker Georges Lianis resigned from the Socialist's parliamentary bloc on Tuesday, saying the government's policies "had failed," thereby reducing the to 155 out of 300 the number seats controlled by the ruling party.
Another party member also recently indicated that he would vote against the government's plan, raising the likelihood the proposal may be rejected.
A similar event in Portugal prompted the collapse of a left wing government followed by snap elections that were won by a right-of-centre party.
Greece's right leaning main opposition party insists it will vote against the measures.
Eurozone finance ministers failed to reach accord at talks on Tuesday on a second bailout package to avert a Greek default.
Opinion polls show most Greeks have lost confidence in their country's government and a political and judicial system that has conspicuously failed to root out endemic corruption.
