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WORLD NEWS 9
Friday 5 February 2016
Protests, EU demands add
pressure on Greece’s Tsipras
DEREK GATOPOULOS men. part of Greece’s a latest A riot policeman clash with protesters during a 24-hour nation-
NICHOLAS PAPHITIS Coffee shop owners closed 80 billion euro ($89 billion) wide general strike in Athens, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016. Sporadic
Associated Press their stores in protest in the international bailout and clashes broke out in central Athens Thursday as tens of thou-
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — central city of Larissa, while is currently being negotiat- sands marched to the Greek Parliament during a general strike
Tens of thousands joined farmers maintained high- ed in Athens between the called to protest planned pension reforms that are part of the
anti-government protests way blockades and drove government and inspec- country’s third international bailout.
across Greece Thursday as tractors through the center tors from Eurozone lenders
the country was crippled of Greece’s second largest and the International Mon- Associated Press
by a general strike against city, Thessaloniki. etary Fund.
painful pension reforms de- Protests occurred in at Adding pressure on Tsipras, es were closed while trans- State-run hospitals ran on
manded by bailout lend- least a dozen cities, amid a report released by the Eu- port, including flights and emergency staff, while
ers. mounting union anger at ropean Commission Thurs- ferry services, faced delays farmers maintained their
In Athens, police said some Tsipras’ left-wing govern- day warned that pension and cancellation. The strike blockades of highways
40,000 people joined ral- ment which has promised reforms and new tax hikes also stopped the flow of that forced motorists into
lies that ended with a brief to spare pensioners further would still not be enough thousands of migrants and lengthy detours.
outbreak of violence when cuts in the short term but to meet bailout targets. refugees travelling from the Police officers are planning
anarchist protesters hurled hike income contributions “Further measures will be Greek islands where they a demonstration in central
rocks and petrol bombs at to bolster the ailing system. needed in 2016 and 2017 make landfall. Athens Friday.q
police outside Parliament. Despite the pledge, Ath- in order to reach the pro-
The general strike present- ens retiree Yannis Kouvala- gram’s primary (budget)
ed the most widespread kis said he felt let down by surplus targets,” it said, pre-
opposition to Prime Minister Tsipras’ year-old govern- dicting that Greece will slip
Alexis Tsipras’ government ment. back into mild recession
so far, shutting down ev- “They said they’d help this year and that the na-
erything from schools to fu- pensioners and the unem- tional debt will climb to 185
neral homes, and uniting a ployed and look what hap- percent of gross domestic
disparate group of profes- pened: Things got worse,” product.
sions, including artists, taxi he said. “They’re fooling The disruption from the strike
drivers, lawyers, doctors, us.” was wide-ranging. Schools
vets, engineers and sea- The pension overhaul is and many private business-
