Outside an Athens courthouse yesterday, where hearings were taking place for dozens arrested in last week’s riots, demonstrators threw eggs, stones, and firebombs. The country is facing its second week of protests and riots, and with more expected on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Youth Movement
Primarily polytechnic students between the ages of 15 and 24, the protesters have attacked local banks, shops, and police stations in what is said to be the worst rioting Greece has seen in a quarter century. Athenian merchants estimated that 560 shops, 170 bank branches, and 17 hotels have been damaged. A law barring police from university campuses has allowed rioters to find refuge at Athens Polytechnic, which has been used as a base and an arsenal.
Community Support
Though the police claimed that the death of Grigoropoulos was an accident caused by a bullet which ricocheted, the incident has ignited a deeper anger over economic issues in the country and opposition to the conservative government. A poll taken by Kathimerini daily over the weekend found that the majority of Greek citizens viewed the situation as a “popular uprising” rather than destructive acts committed by fringe groups. Labor unions and some teachers have come out in support of the protesters and solidarity marches have taken place in Germany, France, Spain, and Denmark. One organizer of a solidarity protest in Montreal called the Greek students an inspiration to those “struggling with the consequence of global economic crisis.”
Extended Unrest
Concern about poor education, lack of job prospects, and corruption in state administration have carried these demonstrations for 11 days and counting. A website documenting the events makes claims that students, peaceful and unprovoked, are being attacked with teargas regularly. Leaders of the socialist opposition party are calling for Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis to step down.
On the 2008 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index, Greece was 5th among EU countries. A January 2008 article in Kathimerini claimed that 1 in 5 residents pay a bribe each year to a private or public official. Plus, the poll taken over the weekend by Kathimerini found a 68% disapproval rating for the current Greek administration.
Nicholas Lountos, a Greek activist and writer with the Socialist Workers Party told Democracy Now “I think it’s not only solidarity, but I think it’s the same struggle against police brutality, for democracy, against war, against poverty. It’s the same struggle.” Lountos claimed that this coming Thursday would be the next major day for demonstrations.
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