EUROZONE-GREECE/COMMUNIST PARTY RALLY Greek Communist party stages anti-austerity protest

Record ID: 142257

  • Title: EUROZONE-GREECE/COMMUNIST PARTY RALLY Greek Communist party stages anti-austerity protest
  • Date: 27th August 2015
  • Summary: ATHENS, GREECE (AUGUST 27, 2015) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF GREEK COMMUNIST PARTY SUPPORTERS GATHERED ON SYNTAGMA SQUARE / COMMUNIST PARTY LEADER DIMITRIS KOUTSOUBAS ON PODIUM VARIOUS OF SUPPORTERS LISTENING TO KOUTSOUBAS AND SHOUTING ANTI-AUSTERITY SLOGANS SUPPORTERS WAVING PARTY FLAGS CHANTING (Greek): "Capitalism will never be humane" KOUTSOUBAS GIVING SPEECH FROM PODIUM (SOUNDBITE) (Greek) GREEK COMMUNIST PARTY LEADER, DIMITRIS KOUTSOUBAS, SAYING: "What happened to the bailouts that Syriza was going to do away with and to rescind with just one bill? What happened with the markets, that Syriza would act like the Pied Piper and lead them all to a dance? All this now, however, does not entertain us anymore, because the bill that the Greek people are called to pay is very bitter, very heavy, it's unbearable, because it is the people that will pay, as they have paid and will keep on paying all the previous measures." VARIOUS OF SUPPORTERS CHANTING (Greek): "People won't condone never-ending bailouts" VARIOUS OF PEOPLE AT RALLY LISTENING KOUTSOUBAS ON PODIUM / SUPPORTERS CLAPPING (SOUNDBITE) (Greek) GREEK COMMUNIST PARTY LEADER, DIMITRIS KOUTSOUBAS, SAYING: "With a strong Greek Communist Party we can fight against the bailouts that have led the people to bankruptcy, to pave the way to finish once and for all with all the measures that are not to the peoples advantage, to get rid of those that are responsible; the power of money and those that move it." VARIOUS OF PARTY SUPPORTERS HOLDING FLAGS / PARLIAMENT IN BACKGROUND
  • Embargoed: 11th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Greece
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA5WN7F29FM6YUJ6RWBTD7GZKN
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Thousands of people took to the streets of central Athens on Thursday (August 27) to join an anti-austerity rally organised by Greece's Communist Party.
    Waving the party's red flag and chanting anti-bailout slogans, they met on Syntagma Square in front of the Greek parliament.
    The Communist Party leader, Dimitris Koutsoubas expressed his opposition to the current government, saying the bailout former Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras signed was unbearable for the Greek people.
    "What happened to the bailouts that Syriza was going to do away with and to rescind with just one bill? What happened with the markets, that Syriza would act like the Pied Piper and lead them all to a dance? All this now, however, does not entertain us anymore, because the bill that the Greek people are called to pay is very bitter, very heavy, it's unbearable, because it is the people that will pay, as they have paid and will keep on paying all the previous measures," Dimitris Koutsoubas told the crowds.
    The Communist party and its trade union PAME have been at the forefront of several anti-austerity rallies.
    Tsipras, who during his seven months in office took Greece to the brink of financial collapse and exit from the euro, resigned in the hope of crushing a far-left rebellion in his Syriza party and strengthening his grip on power through a snap election.
    Koutsoubas called on Greeks to punish those responsible with their vote.
    "With a strong Greek Communist Party we can fight against the bailouts that have led the people to bankruptcy, to pave the way to finish once and for all with all the measures that are not to the peoples advantage, to get rid of those that are responsible; the power of money and those that move it," said Koutsoubas.
    Last week, 25 out of Syriza's 149 lawmakers walked out of the party to form a new anti-bailout party.
    Tsipras had to rely on temporary support from the opposition to get the 86 billion euros ($97 billion) bailout programme through parliament.
    Greece has already had two bailouts worth 240 billion euros ($270 billion) from the eurozone and the IMF, but its economy has shrunk by a quarter, unemployment is more than 25 percent and one in two young people is out of work.
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