Greek public and private sector workers went on strike yesterday, grounding flights, shutting schools and halting public transport in the second nationwide walkout in two weeks in protest against austerity plans.
Athens’ streets echoed with loud-speakers blaring slogans calling for the rich to pay for a severe debt crisis, as thousands marched against cuts in civil servants’ income, tax hikes, a pension freeze and increase in the retirement age.
“No sacrifice for the rich,” protesters chanted, beating drums and holding banners reading: “Where did the money go?”
Under pressure from EU partners and markets to do more to stem a crisis that has shaken the euro, the government last week unveiled a 4.8 billion euro (US$6.51 billion) austerity package to slash spending and raise taxes.
The 24-hour strike was unlikely to derail the plan, however.
Although most Greeks agree measures are necessary, the package is viewed as hitting the wrong people in a nation with widespread corruption and tax evasion.
“The measures are unfair ... we cannot make it, we have children, families. We need to find the money to support them,” said 60-year-old health sector worker Odysseas Panagopoulos. “Banks and rich people should pay for this crisis.”
Last week’s austerity package, aimed at reassuring markets that Athens can handle a 300 billion euro debt mountain, came just five months after the socialists won an election on a promise to help the poor face Greece’s first recession in 16 years.
The level of participation in the strike and protests will be watched closely outside Greece. EU policymakers, rating agencies and financial markets welcomed the latest measures but want to see them implemented quickly and smoothly.
“This government deceived us,” said Zaharoula Toulia, 57, a private sector pensioner, who voted for the socialists in October.
“They said there was money. Where is it?” asked Toulia, who lives on an 800 euro pension and says her two children are unemployed.
Unions from taxi drivers to garbage collectors have stepped up protests over the past weeks. Yesterday’s strike was called by the main private sector union GSEE and its public sector sister ADEDY, which together represent half of the country’s 5 million workforce. ADEDY is preparing more action next month.
Opinion polls show Greeks, even those protesting, widely believe the measures will be applied despite growing opposition.
“Everything will be dead in Greece but the majority of people understand there is no other option,” ALCO pollster Costas Panagopoulos said. “I don’t believe a strike and rallies can seriously affect the government’s policies.”
Buses and trains were not operating in Athens, and ships were docked. Journalists and state TV were also on strike. Bank employees, firefighters, tax collectors and even police officers were also expected to be among those marching. Many archeological sites and museums were closed to visitors.
Opposition to the cuts has been relatively subdued so far, but Greeks are prone to take to the streets in protests that can turn violent. Riot police were stationed throughout central Athens and police said they were bracing for trouble after clashes at an anti-austerity march last week.
France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and accompanying warships were in the Philippines yesterday after holding combat drills with Philippine forces in the disputed South China Sea in a show of firepower that would likely antagonize China. The Charles de Gaulle on Friday docked at Subic Bay, a former US naval base northwest of Manila, for a break after more than two months of deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. The French carrier engaged with security allies for contingency readiness and to promote regional security, including with Philippine forces, navy ships and fighter jets. They held anti-submarine warfare drills and aerial combat training on Friday in
COMBAT READINESS: The military is reviewing weaponry, personnel resources, and mobilization and recovery forces to adjust defense strategies, the defense minister said The military has released a photograph of Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) appearing to sit beside a US general during the annual Han Kuang military exercises on Friday last week in a historic first. In the photo, Koo, who was presiding over the drills with high-level officers, appears to be sitting next to US Marine Corps Major General Jay Bargeron, the director of strategic planning and policy of the US Indo-Pacific Command, although only Bargeron’s name tag is visible in the seat as “J5 Maj General.” It is the first time the military has released a photo of an active
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
COORDINATION, ASSURANCE: Separately, representatives reintroduced a bill that asks the state department to review guidelines on how the US engages with Taiwan US senators on Tuesday introduced the Taiwan travel and tourism coordination act, which they said would bolster bilateral travel and cooperation. The bill, proposed by US senators Marsha Blackburn and Brian Schatz, seeks to establish “robust security screenings for those traveling to the US from Asia, open new markets for American industry, and strengthen the economic partnership between the US and Taiwan,” they said in a statement. “Travel and tourism play a crucial role in a nation’s economic security,” but Taiwan faces “pressure and coercion from the Chinese Communist Party [CCP]” in this sector, the statement said. As Taiwan is a “vital trading
RSS