EUROZONE-GREECE/ANTI-AUSTERITY PROTEST Greeks rally for Tsipras and against austerity

Record ID: 151574

  • Title: EUROZONE-GREECE/ANTI-AUSTERITY PROTEST Greeks rally for Tsipras and against austerity
  • Date: 17th June 2015
  • Summary: ATHENS, GREECE (JUNE 17, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ANTI-AUSTERITY PROTESTERS GATHERED AT CENTRAL SQUARE PROTESTERS PERFORMING ANTI-AUSTERITY SHOW IN VARIOUS EUROPEAN LANGUAGES PROTESTER PERFORMING AND SAYING IN ITALIAN: "They (Italians) have been living above their means" PROTESTER PERFORMING SAYING IN ENGLISH: "Now they want credit" PROTESTERS PLAYING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
  • Embargoed: 2nd July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Greece
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA69UL0B7BFID7KX4UMCUP0M3UH
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Athens residents on Wednesday (June 17), staged a protest outside the Greek parliament and called on Greece's international creditors to respect the mandate the Greek people gave to the leftist-led government to end austerity.
    Some 3,000 Greeks of all ages responded to a call by social media users to back Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in the deadlocked reforms-for-cash negotiations one day before a crucial Eurogroup meeting in Luxembourg- which many European Union officials said might be the last chance to stop Athens sliding into default and towards leaving the euro.
    The protesters used colorful banners in front of the parliament reading "Our lives don't belong to the lenders" and chanted "the red lines must be respected", referring to the government's red lines in the strenuous talks that have dragged for over 5 months.
    Recent opinion polls show a majority of Greeks want to remain in the euro but there has also been deep resentment of the cuts demanded of Greece, which has seen its economy shrink by more than 25 percent since the start of the crisis.
    "A person that has been led to poverty cannot be frightened from anything else, isn't ' t that so? Nothing can frightens us anymore," said another protester Marina Papoutsidou, adding: "We want our dignity, our pride and to have a decent life." Papoutsidou has been unemployed for four years and two years ago her husband also lost his job.
    On Tuesday (June 16) the Greek novice premier accused creditors of trying to "humiliate" his country by demanding more budget cuts to unlock desperately needed frozen aid.
    Greece's Interior Minister Nikos Voutsis who joined the protesters on Wednesday repeated the governments' commitment to end austerity.
    "We are pleased because the people are sending their own message to our partner creditors, that the proposals they have submitted are not generous and will further lead the country to a dead end. I think that we can move towards an honorable agreement that will open prospects for the Greek people however we are prepared for anything. We will not co-sign for new austerity," said Voutsis.
    Athens has until the end of June to find a way out of the impasse before it faces a 1.6 billion euro ($1.8 billion) repayment due to the International Monetary Fund leaving it bankrupt and teetering on the edge of the euro zone.
    Some officials see Thursday's (June 18) meeting of euro zone finance ministers as a last chance to bridge differences and clinch a deal, however the president of the so-called Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said the chance of an accord was "very small".
    Highlighting the fraying tempers, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Bavarian allies accused Athens on Wednesday of not grasping the seriousness of the situation, with CSU Secretary-General Andreas Scheuer calling Greek rulers "clowns".
    Earlier on Wednesday the former head of the European Council of EU leader, Herman van Rompuy, said that a Greek exit from the euro zone would be a lasting blow to Greece and to the European Union's most ambitious political and economic project.
    Another protest rally has been called for Thursday (June 18) but this time from Greeks who say they want Tsipras to back down from his red lines and keep the debt-laden country in the euro zone.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register