Greek riot police have fired stun grenades and pepper spray to push back protesters throwing stones and petrol bombs in central Athens to protest the visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Thousands of Greeks defied a ban on protests, gathering in Syntagma Square in central Athens as Ms Merkel's plane touched down.
Two protesters dressed in German military uniforms waved a red-black-and-white swastika flag and held out their arms in the Nazi salute.
Many Greeks blame Ms Merkel for forcing painful cuts on Greece in exchange for two EU-IMF bailout packages totalling over €200bn.
Police have readied 6,000 officers, including anti-terrorist units and rooftop snipers, to provide security during the six-hour visit.
German sites in the Greek capital, including the embassy and Goethe Institute, are under special protection.
Ms Merkel was given the red carpet treatment and full military honours at Athens airport.
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras greeted her with a handshake as she exited the German air force jet. A band played the German and Greek national anthems.
In the centre of Athens, the reception was less warm. On Syntagma Square, banners read "Merkel out, Greece is not your colony" and "This is not a European Union, it's slavery".
After steering clear of Greece for the past five years, Ms Merkel decided to visit for several reasons.
She wants to show support for Mr Samaras, a fellow conservative, as he struggles to impose more cuts on a society fraying at the edges after five years of recession.
At a joint appearance before the press in the afternoon, she is expected to confirm her desire to keep Greece in the eurozone, after members of her government flirted with the idea of an exit earlier this year.
With a year to go until Germany holds an election, Ms Merkel also hopes to neutralise opposition criticism that she has neglected Greece and contributed to its woes by insisting on crushing budget cuts.
Unions and opposition activists on streets
Teachers, doctors and other public employees stopped work in a gesture of protest, while trade unions and opposition political parties took to the streets, risking confrontation with police.
Demonstrations in Athens have a habit of turning violent, hijacked by radicals armed with petrol bombs and rocks.
Greece is in talks with the Troika of lenders - the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund - on the next tranche of a €130bn loan package, its second bailout since 2010.
Without the €31.5bn tranche, Greece says it will run out of money by the end of November.
Many Greeks say they cannot take more of the wage cuts and tax increases that have left a quarter of the workforce jobless and slashed the country's economic output by a fifth.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Teargas fired as Angela Merkel visits Greece
Dengan url
http://newsdeadlineup.blogspot.com/2012/10/teargas-fired-as-angela-merkel-visits.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Teargas fired as Angela Merkel visits Greece
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Teargas fired as Angela Merkel visits Greece
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar