Clashes between police and rioters in central Athens, at protest rally over Tempi

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Violent incidents erupted at Syntagma Square at 13:30 on Thursday afternoon, during a rally organised by trade unions in protest against the deadly accident at Tempi and to demand safety in public transportation. Unidentified individuals clashed with police, attacking them with petrol bombs, stones and other objects, while police responded with the use of tear gas.

According to initial reports, the violence began in the lower part of the square and spread to the upper part of Syntagma Square and Panepistimiou Street, where groups of rioters broke shop windows and set fire to garbage bins. Minor clashes were also reported in Omonia Square and Patission Street.

While the situation appeared to have calmed down and police partially reopened roads in the centre of Athens, a new round of violence erupted at the Propylea on Panepistimiou Street just before 15:00.

Police said that 10 people have been detained so far, six during preliminary searches and four during the incidents.

Protest rallies over Tempi rail crash concluded in central Athens

Protest rallies organised by trade unions in central Athens to protest against the Tempi rail crash concluded on Thursday, on which unions federations and labour centres had declared a 24-hour strike, with tens of thousands turning up to demonstrate.

The rally organised by the General Confederation of Employees of Greece (GSEE) and other labour organisations was held in Syntagma Square outside Parliament and concluded with a march to Omonia Square, under the banner “Hear the voices”. According to the head of the Athens Labour Centre Kostas Koulouris “they must finally hear the workers and the citizens and the representatives of the workers because the safety of our life cannot be costed.”

A separate rally was organised by the left-wing trade union faction at Propylea, where the central message was that people’s lives were more important than profits, and which concluded with a march to the offices of Hellenic Train. Protestors demanded modern, safe and affordable public transport and immediate measures for health and safety in public buildings and work places.

A third rally was held by the civil servants union federation ADEDY in Klafthmonos Square, along with anti-establishment and left-wing groups, stretching along Stadiou Street to Omonia, and ending with a march to Parliament and back to Omonia Square.

Source: ANA – MPA

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