Greek police tear gas austerity protest

Riot police in Athens fired tear gas against masked youths during a march on Thursday by tens of thousands of Greeks protesting austerity measures demanded by the new unity government. Police said 27,000 people in Athens and 15,000 in the second city of Thessalonika joined demonstrations marking a 1973 student uprising seen as a key moment in the restoration of democracy in Greece nearly four decades ago. "We will throw all of them out," promised a banner held aloft by students in the capital while another carried by anarchists read: "In the face of tyranny, one must choose between chains and arms." The march, the first test of the scale of public defiance against the coalition set up to deal with Greek's crippling debt crisis, was a sombre, largely peaceful affair although violence flared briefly during the afternoon. A group of protesters threw stones and two firebombs at police outside parliament, while a dozen masked youths set two large dustbins alight near the US embassy, said police, who had deployed 7,000 officers in anticipation of trouble. Riot officers wearing body armour and wielding batons and shields responded with tear gas, protecting themselves with gas masks as the crowds ran away. A police source said 11 people were arrested and four police officers hurt. An empty guard box outside European Union offices was also set on fire during the demonstration, which dwarfed the 20,000 who gathered in Athens last year. Greece is slogging through a third year of recession exacerbated by wage cuts and tax hikes imposed by the previous socialist government of George Papandreou. The measures are set to continue under the coalition set up last week under former European Central Bank deputy chief Lucas Papademos, as he seeks to implement reforms demanded by EU and International Monetary Fund creditors in exchange for a 130-billion-euro bailout. "We have no money, no jobs, no future," said Sotiris Kirbas, a 52-year-old unemployed man on the protest in Athens. "The crisis is not only about numbers, it's about people." The annual march of November 17 commemorates a student uprising at the Athens Polytechnic in 1973 which was violently repressed. At least 44 people died but it helped topple a US-backed army dictatorship and brought back the republic. The bloodstained Greek flag that flew over the university that night is carried at the head of the demonstration each year. Papademos said the anniversary was "an opportunity to emphasise that with determination and unity, we can achieve our national goals to resolve the crisis and guarantee the country's return to growth and jobs". But the inclusion of far-right politicians in his cabinet, the first time they have been in power since democracy was restored in 1974, added to the outrage of the protesters. "Down with the government of socialists, conservatives and fascists," a protester banner said. Other demonstrators condemned the appointment of an unelected prime minister at the demand of EU leaders. "We have a government that did not emerge from elections, nobody asked us. What is this, if not a junta?" asked Marita, a 23-year-old civil engineering student. The socialist, conservative and far-right nationalist parties formed a coalition last week to save Greece from looming bankruptcy, and they must now approve a crucial eurozone debt bailout before holding early elections. In rare good news, holders of Greek sovereign debt said Thursday they hope to reach a deal "within weeks" on the planned reduction in the value of their holdings, which is expected to see about 100 billion euros of debt cancelled. The new Greek government was officially confirmed in parliament on Wednesday, with 255 out of 300 lawmakers showing their support in a vote of confidence. But Greece's third largest party, the Communists, and the smaller leftist Syriza party have pledged to fight to bring down the government to prevent further belt-tightening after two years of austerity.