Photo Gallery Greece Grinds to a Halt
Tourists sitting in the port of Piraeus had to put their plans on hold: The strike was called by ADEDY, a union representing half a million civil servants, and GSEE, a union representing 2 million workers in the private sector.
Passengers wait during a four-hour work stoppage in Athens International Airport. The protesters are opposed to the austerity package that their representatives will vote on this Wednesday and Thursday.
The stoppage has also affected railway and commuter traffic. The measures protesters oppose include 50 billion (roughly $71 billion) in wage cuts and tax increases.
Thousands of protesters gathered in the streets of Athens this morning to voice their opposition to the cuts. But international leaders and other euro-zone leaders are demanding that Greece accept the austerity package.
Many protesters feel the cuts hurt ordinary pensioners and workers at the expense of the rich. "The measures are for the good of the banks not for the good of the workers," Yannis Tsounis, a 38-year-old municipal worker, told Reuters. "Europe must not see us as pariahs. We are beginning to feel as not being part of Europe."
Meanwhile flight boards brought only bad news at Athens' airport. Greece is suffering from the worst recession since the 1970s. Youth unemployment has surpassed 40 percent, and state debt has skyrocketed.
Protesters in front of the Greek Parliament in Athens: Though the ruling PASOK party enjoys 155 of the seats in the 300-seat hourse, there are worries that not all members with vote with the party. Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos warned lawmakers of the need to back the measures. "The government is running out of time," he said, according to Reuters. "We are handling our country's history right now, and nobody can play with that."
The measures are meant to pull Greece back from the brink of bankruptcy. European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn warned that failure to pass the measures would result in the country's immediate default.
Many Greeks are furious at the austerity plan. After years of political corruption and inefficiency, they might now have to face even tougher conditions. "They are asking the people to bow down for 50 years," Aleka Papariga, the leader of the communist party, said in a statement, according to Reuters.
In the early afternoon, groups of stone-throwing youths began squaring off with more than 5,000 police.
Here, an outmatched protester confronts police in front of the parliament building.
A Greek police officer kicks a teargas canister that had been thrown back at officers.
A protester kicks a police officer escorting an arrested protester.
A demonstrator smashes the windows of a McDonalds restaurant.
Police watch on as a parasol burns.
Protesters hold up a mock hangman's scaffold in front of the parliament building.
Even chairs were used as weapons in the protest.
