Clashes in Athens between protesters and police on March 16, 2023, two weeks after the February 28 train crash that killed 57 people. (AFP/ANGELOS TZORTZINIS)
Riot forces clashed with a group of protesters on the sidelines of rallies in Greece on Thursday involving tens of thousands of people who have once again voiced their anger after the train disaster that killed 57 people in late February.
This is the second large-scale demonstration in Athens and other cities in the country since the head-on collision between two trains on the evening of February 28.
According to police counts, more than 40,000 people took to the streets, including more than 30,000 in the capital.
All of Greece is also on a general strike for 24 hours while anger is still strong and directed against the conservative government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
In central Athens, next to the Parliament, a group of protesters threw Molotov cocktails and the police responded by spraying tear gas and throwing stun grenades, according to AFP journalists.
Dumpsters were set on fire near the university and shop windows were smashed.
About 14 people were arrested during the demonstrations, three of them will be brought to justice immediately, according to the police. Five police officers were also injured, the Greek police said in a statement.
Some of the protesters also gathered in front of the headquarters of the Hellenic Train railway company, as they had already done three days after the accident between a passenger train between Athens and Thessaloniki (north) and a freight convoy.
“Either their profits or our lives,” wrote one demonstrator on the facade of the building, which was guarded by a police cordon.
“Murderers!” cried schoolchildren, too, when a large banner proclaimed: “Kill profits. With our massive struggles we will overthrow them.”
– “Things have to change”
In Thessaloniki, the country’s second largest city in the north, incidents also occurred on the sidelines of a parade with more than 8,000 people, according to AFP.
“Things need to change in this country,” said Stravoula Ghatzieleftheriou, a private sector worker in Athens, as general elections are set for July.
After several more limited demonstrations in the days after the train crash, around 65,000 people protested on March 8, some of whom called for the resignation of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who has been in power since 2019.
Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport in Athens was abandoned due to a strike on March 16, 2023 (AFP / Angelos Tzortzinis)
Public transport in Athens was severely disrupted on Thursday. All boats connecting the mainland to the islands remain docked for 24 hours and most aircraft remain on the tarmac.
Rail traffic, which has been suspended since the accident, is only to be gradually resumed from March 22nd.
Many schools are also closed, while students who have been at the forefront of this unprecedented wave of protests since the financial crisis years also took part in the processions in large numbers.
– Fed up –
Aside from the train disaster that rocked the country, Greeks are howling that they are fed up with the deteriorating public services in a country bled dry by years of crisis and austerity plans imposed by its creditors.
Because if the Tempé railway accident in the center of the country was attributed to a mistake by the station master, it was also caused by the dilapidated state of the rail network and the severe delays in modernization, particularly signaling, which are the first elements of the investigation.
Undermined in the aftermath of the disaster, the prime minister sought to respond to the outrage of a population that has largely lost confidence in institutions since the 2009-2018 financial crisis.
He promised “total transparency” in the ongoing investigation and repeatedly asked the victims’ families for forgiveness.
This anger movement is particularly strong among young people and students, while many have been victims in higher education.
Demonstrators carry a sign that reads “assassin” in Athens, March 12, 2023 ( AFP / ANGELOS TZORTZINIS )
“Tears (…) have turned into anger, the new generation will not forgive you,” read one of the banners in the center of Athens.
The protesters hold up signs that read “Call me when you arrive,” a message from a mother to her child that has become the slogan of this protest.
In its last editorial, the liberal daily Kathimerini conjured up the revolt of the “bankrupt and pandemic generation”.