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other Greece articles

Greek truckers’ strike ends but anger remains

The potential to shut Greece down

Greek myths and realities: Economic crisis and resistance

Greek workers say: ‘We won’t pay’

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Issue: 2132 dated: 20 December 2008 News online only
posted: 7.00pm Fri 19 Dec 2008

This article should be read after: Greece: the struggle continues

Greece's hot winter of protest continues

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Protesters marching on Thursday 18 December (Pic: » Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk)

Fighting with the police has continued (Pic: » Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk)

Mass protests and strikes are continuing in Greece, two weeks after the police killing of 15 year old Alexandros Grigoropoulos. The mass movement that has taken to the streets has intensified the pressure on the right wing New Democracy government. Alexandros’s killing has become a focus for all the general discontent in society.

Thursday saw strikes by hospital workers and teachers, who joined a mass protest of students in Athens against the government.

Panos Garganas is the editor of Workers Solidarity, Socialist Worker’s sister paper in Greece. Panos said, “Tens of thousands of people joined the demonstration. The bulk of it was made up of university and school students, but there were a large number of strikers who made up the head of the march.

“The hospital workers had called their strike over understaffing, wages and other issues before the killing of Alexandros.

“People travelled from outside Athens to rally at the ministry of health. They then marched to join the students and teachers. The hospital workers wanted to be there with the students.

“The march was very successful and was peaceful until it arrived in parliament. That was when the police attacked it, and there were clashes until the evening.

“The movement against the government is going to continue. The Greek TUC is demonstrating today against the government’s budget plans, which give billions of euros to the bankers.

“There is to be an anti-racist demonstration in Athens tomorrow against the attacks on migrants. People on Thursday’s demonstration were making the connections over the state’s treatment of protesters and immigrants. There were chants that said the same killers who murder immigrants, murder school students.

“There is also likely to be a demonstration between Christmas and the new year.

“The unions of the university lecturers, primary school teachers and secondary school teachers are meeting to decide what their next day of action will be, which is set to be sometime in early January.

“The university students co-ordinating meeting is also discussing the next stage in the struggle. It is going to be a hot new year for the government.”

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