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Greek government defends handling of riots
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-12-11 11:36 ATHENS, Greece -- Five days of rioting that saw bands of youths marauding through the streets has shocked a generally tolerant Greek public and led many to question how the situation was allowed to degenerate. The police and government are now under intense scrutiny, despite saying they went out of their way to avoid bloodshed.
The government, which also faced a crippling general strike Wednesday, insists it has acted in the public's best interests, safeguarding lives over property amid an unprecedented explosion of rage sparked by the shooting death by police of a 15-year-old in one of Athens' often volatile neighborhoods. The two officers involved in the shooting were quickly arrested, charged and ordered jailed. The government sought to show it was trying to act with restraint when it came to dealing with the protesters. "Human life is top priority. Property comes next," Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos said during the worst of the rioting Monday, as masked youths overturned cars, erected blazing barricades across city streets and smashed stores at will. Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, whose conservatives are hanging with a single seat majority in the 300-member Parliament, is under threat. Already on the ropes after a series of financial scandals and widespread opposition to unpopular economic, pension and education reforms, the riots could be his undoing. The general strike shut down schools, public services, hospitals and airline flights, increasing the pressure on Karamanlis. To try to reassure businesses, Karamanlis pledged financial aid to those who lost property in the riots, cash payments of $12,800, delays in tax payments and three-month guarantees for employee salaries. It is unclear if that will satisfy a shocked public. "Society is frightened, but also angry at the rioters, the looters and the government," said political science professor Haris Papasotiriou of Athens' Pantion University. "They demand a more dynamic response (to the riots) and better policing." Separate opinion polls published Wednesday, before the financial aid package was made public, showed 68 percent of Greeks disapproved of the government's handling of the crisis, and gave a nearly 5 percentage-point lead to the Socialists. "This country is not being governed," senior Socialist party member Evangelos Venizelos said in Parliament. "There is no way Mr. Karamanlis can come back from this." But Karamanlis has ignored calls for early elections. The exact circumstances of the death of the youth, Alexandros Grigoropoulos, are disputed. But one thing is clear: the boy was killed in a shooting by police, who have often been accused of heavy-handed tactics. Alexis Cougias, a lawyer for one of the policemen, told reporters that a ballistics examination showed that the teen was killed by a ricochet and not a direct shot. One officer said he had fired warning shots but did not shoot directly at the boy. "Because he fired in the air to save his life, as a result of this accident ... he faces family and personal ruin," Cougias said of the officer. Still, students joined masked youths in the riots, chanting that favorite Greek slogan: "Cops! Pigs! Murderers!" So authorities wanted to avoid forceful police tactics. But that has been of little comfort to shopowners, who saw their businesses go up in flames. "Nobody seems to care about the employees at the burnt shops. What will their fate be now over the Christmas season?" asked one shop assistant on the popular Ermou shopping street who would only give her first name, Eleni. Although riot police fired tear gas, they did so mainly when attacked themselves and did not intervene when businesses were torched. Soon, local media were reporting instances of enraged civilians confronting looters. Violence is nothing new in Greece's frequent demonstrations, where the right to protest is considered an intrinsic part of democracy. The student uprising in 1973 against the 1967-74 military dictatorship has gained near mythical status. |
