(source: www.libcom.org)
More than 150,000 people took to the streets of Athens against the
austerity measures in a mass protest marches that have led to extended
battles in the greek capital.
On Thursday March 11 all Greece came to a 24h standstill as a
result of the second general strike to be called within less than a
month (not the third as reported by foreign media, as the first strike
in February only concerned the public sector). As a result of the
strike called by GSEE (private sector union umbrella) and ADEDY (public
sector union umbrella) as well as PAME (the Communist Party union
umbrella) no buses, trams, metros, trolley buses or suburban trains
exited their stations, while due to air-traffic control workers’ strike
no flights are being realised within or in and out of the country. Only
the electric train will function for 4h in Athens in order to
facilitate people’s participation in the mass demo at noon. In the
health sector, all hospitals are functioning with emergency personnel
only, as all doctors, ambulance drivers and nurses are striking. All
banks are closed to the public, and all public and municipal offices
and services have been shut by the strike. The Corinth Canal has also
been shut by the workers controling it, allowing no ships to make the
vital crossing. All boats have been immobilised in the harbours and no
inter-city trains are running. Post offices remain closed, while
National Electricity, National Waters and National Telecoms workers are
taking part in the strike with all offices and factories of the above
industries closed for the day. All schools and universities remain also
closed as teachers and academics are partcipating in the strike. Office
workers, factory workers and contruction workers are also participating
en mass in the strike. Firemen and policemen are also performing
walk-outs, with a policemen demo at the National Police HQ planned for
the afternoon. Due to the participation of the TV, radio, electronic
news websites, and the press in the strike, there are no news
broadcasts for 24h. Thus the information gathered here will be
completed by means of Comments after the end of the General Strike when
more information become available. In total more than 3 million people
(out of a total population of 11 million) are expected to having taken
part in the general strike today.
Background:
The General Strike comes as a new climax to labour struggle against the
new austerity measures the greek government has announced in response
to its notorious credit crisis. In the days before the General Strike,
stage workers have occupied the Ministry of Labour on Peiraeos street,
while the continuing occupation of the General State Accountancy by
layed-off Olympic Airways workers has caused the intervention of the
state persecutor who has demanded their arrest. No such move of
repression has been made yet by the police, and Panepistimiou street
remains cut in two by the protesters for more than a week now. In
Salonica, the General Industrialists Bureau was occupied yesterday by
workers, while radicals from the left dropped a huge banner in the
Acropolis reading “take the measures back”. Troughout the week, tax
officers performed a 48h strike, school traffic wardens in Northern
Greece performed a 3-day strike, while judges and other judicial
officers performed 4-h work daily stoppages. No garbage has been
collected since last Saturday in Athens, Patras and Salonica as refuse
collectors have blockaded the great garbage depot of the three major
cities. Finally, in the city of Komitini ENKLO textile workers are
mounting an ever more intense labour struggle, with protest marches and
strikes: two banks were occupied by the workers last Monday.
The Demos:
The first demo in Athens was performed by PAME, the Communist Party
union umbrella, just before noon. PAME allied workers first formed
small demos across Athens, then marched to Omonoia square and all
together in a 50,000 strong march to the Parliament. At the same time,
people started gathering at Patision and Alexandras junction for the
demo called by GSEE and ADEDY. The demo which soon gathered over
100,000 people set to march to the Parliament at 12:30 when just
outside the Polytechnic riot police forces tried to cut-off a large
anarchist block from the march by brutal force. Clashes ensued with
extended use of tear gas and molotov cocktails. Despite the air being
thick with smoke and CS gas, the march continued its way along Patision
avenue and on to Stadiou street where many corporate shops came under
attack. After reaching the Parliament, the march turned to
Panepistimiou street where renewed clashes erupted at the height of
Propylea. With the march coming to its final distination, protesters
who continued their way to Omonoia where attacked by Delta team
motorised forces. The Delta-team thugs tried to hit the protesters in
full speed sparking more pitched battles with police squads encircled
and beaten by the angry crowd and several Delta-team motorbikes
destroyed. At the time of writing, the battles have moved to Exarcheia
where protesters have erected flaming baricades and are confronting
riot police and Delta force cops by means of rocks and molotov
cocktails. Many protesters have sought refuge at the Polytechnic from
which they are confronting police forces on both Patision and Stournari
street. During the clashes many protesters have been wounded with one
reported to be in intensive care with heavy wounds on the chest. The
number of people arrested remains unclear but there are about 16 people
detained and 13 cops hospitalised.
In Salonica 6 different marches took place by different unions and
umbrella unions. Protesters of the Worker’s Centre march, which
numbered 7,000 people in total, attacked corporate and church-owned
shops on Egnatia avenue, while two super-markets were looted with the
commodities distributed to the people. Despite the police firing
tear-gas, the march continued and attacked the Ministry of Macedonia
and Thrace with paint and rocks before reaching the Worker’s Centre.
In Ioannina despite the pouring rain around 1.500 people marched
against the measures with no news of clashes. Similar protest marches
took place in Sitia, Naxos, Veroia, Patras and other cities. In
Heracleion, Crete, shops that did not allow their workers to strike
were blockaded and several banks came under attack by protesters. In
Volos, protesters blockaded the gates of the METKA factory not allowing
security-staff (i.e. scabs) to enter the premises, with many more
corporate chain shops that did not allow their workers to strike
blockaded and shut by the protesters. The official union-bosses of
Volos were forced to leave the march after mass heckling by the
workers.
Despite anti-strike war waged by the bourgeois media, amongst which
the more bloodthirty ones like Kathimerini is urging the government to
crush the protests “even if some protesters die”, the Athens march is
estimated to be the largest in 15 years, and has demonstrated the
resolve of the working class to fight back against the capitalist
onslaught.
