Riot dog stands his ground as Greek firefighters protest in Central Athens-March 26, 2009

Thousands of firefighters from across Greece came to Athens on Thursday, March 26, 2009 to vent their anger at the government of Kostas Karamanlis. Many of the firefighters are part-time workers and they say they were promised year-round employment by the Greek government. That promise was withdrawn due to financial constraints which prompted the protesters to converge on Athens. Earlier in the day, firefighters gathered at the Labour Ministry and were dispersed by riot police who fired tear gas into the crowd. They regrouped at 5 pm at Syntagma Square near the Greek Parliament, many of them wearing their full uniforms. Some members tried to gain entrance to the Economic Ministry office which is close by on Ermou Street, a popular shopping and tourist destination. Scuffles with police broke out and hundreds of firefighters rushed over to confront police. After an exchange of tear gas, pepper spray, bottles and other solid objects things settled down. The firefighters hunkered down for a few hours facing off against lines of riot police. As the evening went on the protest winded down and many were ready to go home. One firefighter was resigned to the fact that the protest didn't change the government's position. "We haven't heard anything today," he said.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• greece
• athens
• firefighters
• police
• clash
• tear gas
• pepper spray
• riot dog

[thematt121295]

thank you for the sign translations

[RemorselessGM]

@TheTownLord And also don't forget they are protecting those that are out to destroy the people, fuck them. they are there by own choice and no one else but they themselfs are responsible for what happens to them. The people have been protesting peacefully for a while, didn't work so this is what you get when you refuse to listen to the people of the world. Total anarchy and anyone protecting fascism can get fucked up for all i care!!

[decimated550]

@sternumagnum - I've read of lots of problems with the generous welfare states. Too many immigrants...what is your opinion of Muslims run amok in Scandinavia, England, France. Massive public debt is a huge problem unless one ignores it. Well, now the Euro is in force and its downsides are too big to ignore...what do i know, i'm no professional economist but apparently the whole continent is is turmoil, massive yet ineffective bailouts don't seem to indicate any kind of health

[sternumagnum]

@decimated550 The crises in Europe and the US have very different causes. In America, it was a real estate bubble that tailed off into the toxic paper of sub-prime mortgage loans that caused it. In the Eurozone, it's simply the matter of having a foreign currency - without the prerequisites of an Optimal Currency Area. As to European social-democracy, the system had been working quite well, thank you. There was never any real, economic problem of financing any social program in Europe.

[darkforceofme]

Εχω την εντυπωση πως καποιοι ψευτο-αναρχηκη εγκληματιες πραγματικα ΕΚΜΕΤΑΛΕΥΤΙΚΑΝ αυτη την διαμαρτυρια. Ακουσα το "ωραιο γνωστο ψευδο-συνθημα" τους - "μπατσοι γουρουνια δολοφονοι"(;). Ακομα και τον ρυ8μο με το πως το φωναζετε το εχετε παρει απο αλλου(οποιος ξερει-ξερει απο που :P). Η πραγματικη δολοφνοι ειναι αυτη ομως. Η κατασταση πραγματικα ειναι θλιβεροι στην Ελλαδα....ο αλλος πεταει ενα χρτονι....

[decimated550]

@PanzerBlitz43 - I'm not saying America is better than Greece. All i'm saying is that Greece is messed up for reasons inherent to itself and Europe - their type of socialism that is absolutely destructive on a national scale. America sucks to, for similar reasons...John Stossel said that our Social Security promises are so expensive they are eqiuvalent to the cost of 30 Iraq wars. Western civ will go under in our lifetime

[PanzerBlitz43]

@decimated550 even with its problems, Greece has far more democracy than America, a complete police state with vast soviet style prison gulags for profit (only worse than the Siberian gulags) that rigs elections like China between only two "parties" who are the same people, just look at the republican fake elections for a few block headed savages on US propaganda channels right now, American "democracy" is total corporate slavery, invading and mass murdering people for profits.

[decimated550]

@PanzerBlitz43 - stop using the "the greeks invented democracy" claim. May well be true, but it is not true any more. They want short work weeks and great benefits. Social welfare states are a relatively recent invention, maybe one hundred years old, but it has ruined greece and western civilization because benefit costs always creep up due to popular demand, and people live until they're damn 88, but retire at 50 or 60, drawing all that pension money until the state has to use pretend money.

[PanzerBlitz43]

@decimated550 greece is where ancient democracy started. America isn't a democracy, its a dictatorship and slave state same as China so obviously with your brainwashing you can't understand

[decimated550]

@RemorselessGM - just because someone is stamping up and down means that their protest is valid? A country only needs so many firefighters, and greece decided it has too many. All these meatheads want is fire-proof job security, great wages, benefits, and pensions. If they were promised it, well, no one can keep a promise that's too expensive to follow through on. Yes firefighters are "good guys, they protect people" but you can't have too many of them, or the public sector gets too pricey

[sternumagnum]

@Kamenos4ever Γράφεις σε greeklish και αποκαλείς μαλάκα αυτόν επειδή δεν μιλάει τέλεια τα αγγλικά; Τι να σου πώ, τώρα.