This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/03/greek-police-fire-teargas-at-pensioners-during-anti-austerity-protest-athens
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Greek police fire teargas at pensioners during anti-austerity protest | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Greek police have fired teargas and pepper spray at protesting pensioners after a group of them attempted to push over a police van near the office of the prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, whose leftwing government faces mounting pressure over planned austerity measures. | Greek police have fired teargas and pepper spray at protesting pensioners after a group of them attempted to push over a police van near the office of the prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, whose leftwing government faces mounting pressure over planned austerity measures. |
| More than a thousand people, some of them with canes, took part in the rally in Athens on Monday. Protesters chanted: “Shame on you, shame on you!” with one group of elderly demonstrators trying to tip over the van, triggering the police response. | More than a thousand people, some of them with canes, took part in the rally in Athens on Monday. Protesters chanted: “Shame on you, shame on you!” with one group of elderly demonstrators trying to tip over the van, triggering the police response. |
| Protesters ran, with one grey-haired man falling to his knees and coughing and several others appearing to be in distress. | Protesters ran, with one grey-haired man falling to his knees and coughing and several others appearing to be in distress. |
| No arrests or injuries were reported. In response to opposition party criticism, police said they were suspending indefinitely the use of teargas at “rallies of workers and pensioners”. | No arrests or injuries were reported. In response to opposition party criticism, police said they were suspending indefinitely the use of teargas at “rallies of workers and pensioners”. |
| Greece’s leftwing government has imposed cuts on pensions this year as part of its bailout commitments to international lenders, with the International Monetary Fund pressing for tougher measures. | Greece’s leftwing government has imposed cuts on pensions this year as part of its bailout commitments to international lenders, with the International Monetary Fund pressing for tougher measures. |
| The latest round of cuts follows six years of bailout-related austerity measures, while nearly a quarter of Greeks remain unemployed and no longer eligible for state benefits. | The latest round of cuts follows six years of bailout-related austerity measures, while nearly a quarter of Greeks remain unemployed and no longer eligible for state benefits. |
| “This is a fight for our life. The country has been driven to desperation,” Dimos Koumbouris, a pension protest organiser, said. “They have torn our income to shreds – taking money that people earned with hard work. We have to protest today and keep protesting. There’s no other option.” | “This is a fight for our life. The country has been driven to desperation,” Dimos Koumbouris, a pension protest organiser, said. “They have torn our income to shreds – taking money that people earned with hard work. We have to protest today and keep protesting. There’s no other option.” |
| Years of cuts have pushed nearly half of pensioners’ monthly income below the official poverty line, according to a survey published last week by the National Pension Network, which represents Greece’s main retiree associations. | Years of cuts have pushed nearly half of pensioners’ monthly income below the official poverty line, according to a survey published last week by the National Pension Network, which represents Greece’s main retiree associations. |
| Fifty-two per cent of Greek households rely on pensions directly or indirectly to meet monthly expenses, the survey found. | Fifty-two per cent of Greek households rely on pensions directly or indirectly to meet monthly expenses, the survey found. |
| Tsipras’s government is facing mounting public discontent as it prepares to approve new measures in the winter – including loosening employment rights and mortgage protections. | Tsipras’s government is facing mounting public discontent as it prepares to approve new measures in the winter – including loosening employment rights and mortgage protections. |
| His government is pinning its hopes on a strong rebound in the economy next year after eight years of recession or near-zero growth. | His government is pinning its hopes on a strong rebound in the economy next year after eight years of recession or near-zero growth. |
| According to preliminary 2017 budget figures released on Monday, Greece is expected to post growth of 2.7% in 2017, from a 0.3% contraction this year. | According to preliminary 2017 budget figures released on Monday, Greece is expected to post growth of 2.7% in 2017, from a 0.3% contraction this year. |
| But unemployment is forecast to remain high next year, at 22.4% , and the national debt at a staggering 175% of annual output – €318.7bn (£278bn) from its peak of 179% in 2016. | But unemployment is forecast to remain high next year, at 22.4% , and the national debt at a staggering 175% of annual output – €318.7bn (£278bn) from its peak of 179% in 2016. |
| An opinion poll published on Sunday found 85% of Greeks believed the country was headed in the wrong direction, with 51% backing an early general election, and 42% picking the conservative opposition leader, Kyriakos Mitsotakis as most suited to be prime minister, compared with 23% backing Tsipras. | An opinion poll published on Sunday found 85% of Greeks believed the country was headed in the wrong direction, with 51% backing an early general election, and 42% picking the conservative opposition leader, Kyriakos Mitsotakis as most suited to be prime minister, compared with 23% backing Tsipras. |