GREECE: Violent clashes erupt in Athens, three policemen injured
- ITN Source
GREECE: Violent clashes erupt in Athens, three policemen injured
Protesters armed with sticks and petrol bombs set fire to garbage bins and ripped up sidewalk tiles in front of the Greek parliament in Athens as they fought running battles with police who responded by firing tear gas into the chanting crowds on Thursday (February 22, 2007). Two police officers were injured and taken to hospital to be treated for burn wounds from petrol bombs, while another one was being treated for injuries after being beaten with sticks, police said. At least one protester was arrested by police, before a chase through the city ensued with protesters facing off with police in the streets and outside the Athens University where demonstrators built flaming barricades of garbage bins and hid behind them. Police were then targeted with more petrol bombs and stones. Trees and shrubs, and the bins were set ablaze from the molotov coktails, and firemen had to be called in to control the damage. The clashes carried on for hours with police trying to rush protesters in order to force them to disperse by throwing volleys of tear gas. The protesters were among about 7,000 mainly students and teachers who marched through central Athens demanding an end to conservative government plans to reform the country's education system. Some carried banners reading "a fight to the finish" referring to their vow to keep protesting against the reform plan so it will not be voted in, but the government has vowed to pass the bill. Universities have been crippled for months by sit-ins and protests, often turning violent, which are now a weekly feature in Athens and other Greek cities. The government has said the bill, which will be voted on in parliament in the coming weeks, is aimed at increasing competitiveness in Greek universities, but students claim more competition will create more unemployment.
ITN Source | February 23, 2007
