Greece approves austerity amid Athens riots

Greek lawmakers approved a new round of drastic austerity measures after a long day of street battles between police and protesters left dozens injured and Athens buildings ablaze. The deputies defied the 100,000-strong turnout in Athens and Thessaloniki and approved another round of stringent budget measures requested by Greece's international creditors in return for a multi-billion rescue fund. "Of 278 deputies present, 199 voted for, and 74 against," Parliament Speaker Philippos Petsalnikos said after a tense vote with thousands of police standing guard outside. Rebels from the majority socialist PASOK party and rightwing New Democracy who voted against the law were immediately expelled from their respective parties. Deputies "will assume their responsibility" and make the most important choice of "advancing with Europe and the single currency", Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said shortly before the vote took place. On Syntagma Square, which adjoins parliament and has become a hub of popular anger, emergency workers braved a barrage of rocks and tear gas to evacuate the wounded. Protester die-hards brandished homemade flame throwers, in addition to the usual petrol bombs, an AFP reporter noted. As nearby storefronts burned, fire engines were initially unable to intervene because of the size of the protest and the chaos that filled the streets around Parliament. When the masked protesters tried to break through the riot police cordon around parliament, the standoff broke out into running battles. The civil protection ministry counted 40 fires in Athens with several buildings set ablaze, most of them by petrol bombs. The health ministry said 54 people were injured in the day's events. Papademos denounced the violence in the debate leading up to the vote, saying the scuffles around the parliament building had no place in a democracy. An estimated 80,000 protesters gathered in Athens, police said, matching the biggest turnouts achieved against earlier austerity packages last year, while around 20,000 also demonstrated in the second city of Thessaloniki. Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told parliament it had to back the government-approved plan to unlock a 130 billion euro ($171 billion) rescue fund from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, or Greece would be forced to default. "The situation is very clear. Tonight at midnight before the markets open the Greek parliament must send the message that our nation can and will (support the debt deal)," Venizelos said.  Tokyo shares opened slightly higher Monday following parliament's approval of the measures. The vote, while a key hurdle, will not in itself release the much-needed funds and eurozone finance ministers who say their patience has been sorely tested by Athens are set to meet Wednesday in Brussels to discuss the next step. The pressure on Greece is huge as eurozone leaders increasingly minimise the wider dangers of the country stumbling out of the single currency. German Economy Minister Philipp Roesler on Sunday said the prospect of such an exit is becoming a "D-Day" that is "less scary". Eurogroup finance ministers were meant to approve the new bailout late last week but balked instead on fears that Athens was short of meeting its commitments.  Even with the approval in parliament, the EU wants Greek political leaders to sign a commitment to adhere to the austerity measures before Papademos triggers snap elections expected in April. The proposed measures in Sunday's vote are expected to heap more hardship on ordinary Greeks already suffering from the crisis. They involve a 22-percent cut in the minimum wage (32 percent for workers under 25); deregulating the labour market to make it easier to lay off workers; and a package of tax and pension reforms. Sunday's protesters included trade unionists, youths with shaven heads waving Greek flags, communist activists and left-wing sympathisers, many of them equipped with gas masks. Many families also joined in the rally, although the square was quickly cleared after the first round of tear gas was fired, before filling up again. They denounced what they describe as blackmail being imposed by the international troika of the EU, the IMF and the European Central Bank in return for the bailout. "It's not easy to live in these conditions," said 49-year-old engineer Andreas Maragoudakis. "By 2020 we will be the Germans' slaves." Civil engineer Anastasia Papadaki, 27, said "the measures are not the solutions to the problem as they will not bring growth. "It's just the international community blackmailing us." The deputies were to also back a bond swap agreed with private creditors which will wipe out around 100 billion euros from Greece's 350-billion-euro debt. Venizelos said the government must carry out the bond swap by Friday in order to have enough time to prevent a chaotic bankruptcy when Greece faces a wave of nearly 14.5 billion euros in maturing debt on March 14. "If that does not happen, the country will be bankrupt," Venizelos said.