After a full month of drama, Greece and its creditors finally agreed on a multi-billion dollar bailout package. One of the bailout’s most controversial conditions is a list of new austerity measures, and we all know how many Greeks feel about those.
Anti-austerity violence broke out on the streets of Athens last night.
Megan Specia of Mashable reported:
Tensions were high on Wednesday night outside the Greek parliament building on Athens’ Syntagma Square, which was the center of violent anti-austerity protests in years past.And while the streets of Athens were largely calm for much of the day, despite thousands marching against austerity measures tied to the country’s new bailout agreement, the night took a more violent turn.As night fell, clashes broke out between protesters waiting to hear the fate of their country’s economic future and the police sent to keep them calm.The authorities responded with tear gas to disperse the crowd, as dozens of men and women, many dressed in black with their faces covered, came into the square wielding sticks and fire extinguishers to fight back.Police say about 50 protesters were arrested during an hour-long clash outside parliament.Prior to the clashes, riot police had packed the square as tensions ran high ahead of a planned midnight vote to determine the future of Greece by the country’s parliament.
This video from the Associated Press shows some of the aftermath of the rioting:
The News and Observer has more:
Greece passes austerity bill amid dissent, violenceGreek lawmakers voted overwhelmingly early Thursday to approve a harsh austerity bill demanded by bailout creditors, despite significant dissent from members of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ left-wing party.The bill, which imposes sweeping tax hikes and spending cuts, fueled anger in the governing Syriza party and led to a revolt against Tsipras, who has insisted the deal forged after a marathon weekend eurozone summit was the best he could do to prevent Greece from catastrophically crashing out of Europe’s joint currency…The vote came after an anti-austerity demonstration by about 12,000 protesters outside parliament degenerated into violence as the debate was getting underway Wednesday night. Riot police battled youths who hurled petrol bombs for about an hour before the clashes died down.
I’ll leave you with these words of wisdom from Iowahawk:
Featured image via YouTube.
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