Protesters threw fire bombs at police outside parliament yesterday during a general strike that paralyzed Greece and piled pressure on a conservative government reeling from the worst riots in decades.
“Government murderers!” demonstrators shouted, furious at the shooting of a teenager by police on Saturday that has sparked four days of violence fueled by simmering public anger at political scandals, rising unemployment and poverty.
Witnesses said the officer who fired the shot took deliberate aim, but his lawyer said yesterday that a ballistics report showed the boy was killed by an accidental ricochet.
“The investigation shows it was a ricochet ... In the end, this was an accident,” lawyer Alexis Kougias said. The ballistics report has yet to be officially published.
Thousands marched on parliament in a union rally against economic and social policy, which quickly turned violent. Police fired teargas and protesters responded with stones, bottles and sticks, a witness said.
The opposition socialist party has said the government, which has a one-seat majority and trails in opinion polls, has lost the trust of the people and has called for elections.
“Participation in the strike is total, the country has come to a standstill,” said Stathis Anestis, spokesman for the GSEE union federation which called the 24-hour stoppage.
Foreign and domestic flights were grounded, banks and schools were shut, and hospitals ran on emergency services as hundreds of thousands of Greeks walked off the job.
Unions say privatizations, tax rises and pension reform have worsened conditions, especially for the one-fifth of Greeks who live below the poverty line, precisely at a time when the global downturn is hurting the country.
Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, who swept to power amid the euphoria of the 2004 Athens Olympics, appealed to political leaders for unity and urged unions to cancel yesterday’s rally. But his requests were flatly rejected by the opposition.
“He and his government are responsible for the widespread crisis that the country, that Greek society is experiencing,” socialist party spokesman George Papakonstantinou said.
One policeman has been charged with murder over the shooting of Alexandros Grigoropoulos, but has said he only fired in warning. The officer was due to appear before investigators with his colleague, who has been charged as an accomplice.
Rioting at the teenager’s death began in Athens on Saturday and quickly spread to at least 10 cities across the country. Greeks also protested in Paris, Berlin, London, The Hague and Cyprus.
The riots, Greece’s worst unrest since the aftermath of military rule in 1974, have caused more than 20 million euros (US$25.9 million) in damage in wrecked cars, torched shops and banks, insurers say.
At the last count across Greece, 108 people had been arrested — with one of the most graphic attacks by looting rioters involving swords and slingshots stolen from a weapons shop, police said.
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