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Greece hit by general strike against cut

Wednesday, September 26 12:07:25

Flights and trains were suspended, shops pulled down their shutters and tens of thousands took to the streets today in Greece's first big anti-austerity strike since a coalition government took power in June.

In Athens, more than 50,000 people chanted: "We won't submit to the troika (of lenders)" and "EU, IMF Out!".

The rally marched past Athens' central Syntagma square to parliament to protest against a new round of belt-tightening demanded by EU and IMF lenders as the price for fresh aid.

"We can't take it anymore - we are bleeding. We can't raise our children like this," said Dina Kokou, a 54-year-old teacher and mother of four who lives on 1,000 euros a month. "These tax hikes and wage cuts are killing us."

The strike, called by the country's two biggest unions representing half the four-million-strong work force, is shaping up to be the first test of whether Prime Minister Antonis Samaras can stand his ground in the face of popular protests.

The traditional summer break has allowed his fragile conservative-led coalition to enjoy relative calm on the streets since narrowly coming to power on a pro-euro, pro-bailout platform, but unions predict an abrupt end to the seasonal lull.

"Yesterday the Spaniards took to the streets, today it's us, tomorrow the Italians and the day after - all the people of Europe," Yiorgos Harisis, a unionist from the ADEDY p u blic sector group told demonstrators.

"With this strike we are sending a strong message to the government and the troika that the measures will not pass even if voted in parliament, because the government's days are numbered." About 3,000 police - twice the number usually deployed - stood guard in the centre of Athens as authorities braced for the kind of unrest that has marked past rallies. Athens last witnessed serious violence in February, when protesters set shops and banks ablaze as parliament approved an austerity bill.

Police formed a barricade outside parliament, and officers blocked a pensioner who tried to move towards Samaras's office holding a banner with pictures of Greek prime ministers under the title: "The biggest traitors in Greek history".

Ahead of marches scheduled later in the day, ships stayed docked, museums and monuments were shut to visitors and air traffic controllers walked off the job for a three-hour stoppage. (C ) Reuters