Greek MPs vote through fresh cuts as man dies in day of street battles

• Athens parliament passes austerity package amid violent protests • Trade unionist killed as police use tear gas to break up fighting Greece’s attempt to reform itself was marked by death, violence and chaos as mass demonstrations against austerity measures demanded in return for international aid were eclipsed by fierce fighting outside the Athens parliament. As lawmakers debated the package of job and spending cuts, which was approved on Thursday night, a trade unionist died in clashes only metres away. The man, identified as Dimitris Kotsaridis, a 53-year-old construction worker, was pronounced dead shortly after being tear-gassed in running battles between rival groups that were eventually broken up by police. “Enough is enough, society is despairing, the country is collapsing,” said MP Vasso Papandreou, giving voice to widespread fears that Greece is on the verge of imploding. “I will vote in favour [of the measures] but this is the last time. I am struggling with my conscience,” added the deputy, a prominent member of the ruling Pasok party, although no relation to prime minister George Papandreou. The EU and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which have been keeping Greece afloat with funds drawn down from a €110bn bailout put together in May 2010, have said that without the new package of cuts and tax increases, further aid will be withheld. But with the governing socialists divided over the cutbacks, following a relentless wave of similar measures that have thrown Greece into deep recession, the debate inside the 300-seat house was unusually heated. After voting against a measure abolishing collective wage agreements, Louka Katseli, the former Pasok economy minister, was reportedly expelled from the ruling party. Outside the parliament, in Syntagma Square, 80,000 protesters had gathered in bright sunshine to denounce the policies, before the area was turned into a war zone. In scenes not seen since the collapse of military rule, Greeks turned on Greeks, with some throwing petrol bombs and rocks, others wielding wooden batons and clubs. Television showed black-clad youths, many wearing helmets and gas masks, attacking members of the Communist-affiliated trade union, Pame, which had been attempting to lead a peaceful protest by forming a human chain around the parliament building. Kotsaridis, who was taken to the hospital with scores of other protesters injured in the clashes, is the fourth victim of the crisis so far. Three employees died last year after the bank in which they worked in central Athens was fire-bombed by self-styled anarchists. The unrest, which saw hooded youths setting light to rubbish bins in a wave of destruction around the capital, coincided with the second day of a crippling 48-hour strike called by unions to protest against the new round of austerity cuts. On Wednesday 100,000 protesters gathered in Syntagma. “The message we want to send both abroad and here at home is that we are not going to accept these policies lying down,” said Evangelos Fotio, a private sector employee, sitting on a kerb as he took a respite from chanting himself hoarse. “The government seems to have forgotten to speak to us. All it does it speak to the troika [the EU, the IMF and the European Central Bank] and enforce what they tell it to do.” Ordinary Greeks hit by the cuts have seen their purchasing power halved in the last year. Addressing parliament before the make-or-break ballot, Evangelos Venizelos, the finance minister, said Greeks confronted a choice between “a difficult situation and a catastrophe”. The sacrifices they were being asked to make were “huge” but nothing compared to the crisis they would face if Greece was forced to declare bankruptcy and default on its debt. “There will be absolutely no point in either me attending tomorrow’s euro group meeting or the prime minister attending the EU summit in Brussels on Sunday if this bill is not passed,” he said. But with resistance to the reforms unlikely to abate, unions warned that the passage of the bill would amount to an empty victory. “Our European friends should know that our prime minister will go to the EU summit naked, because the promises he will make will have no backing in his country. The measures will be impossible to implement,” said Ilias Iliopoulos, secretary general of the civil servants’ union, ADEDY. Greece European debt crisis Europe Helena Smith guardian.co.uk

Posted by on October 21, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.