OVER 3,000 workers and youth staged a rally in the Athens city centre last Friday evening against the visit of the German Chancellor to Athens.
The rally was organised by several trades unions, the Coalition of the Radical Left party and other left parties.
The Greek Communist Party (KKE) refused to take part or organise their own mobilisation against the Merkel visit.
The Greek coalition government of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras prohibited all rallies and demonstrations in half the Athens city centre, the airport and the motorway to Athens.
Over 5,000 police were employed to seal off the prohibited areas. Demonstrators were not allowed to enter the ‘prohibition zone’ as police buses and squads of armed riot police lined up the streets in Athens.
At a press conference, Chancellor Merkel said that the ‘hard’ EC-IMF-ECB Austerity Measures Accords and reforms were ‘worthwhile’ and should continue, since this is not the end.
Prime Minister Samaras agreed and stated that ‘the Austerity Measures will continue’, and arrogantly added that he does ‘not even think about elections’.
Samaras was hoping for more than a pat in the back from Merkel, since opinion polls show that the two government coalition parties are heading for a heavy defeat in the forthcoming European and local elections in Greece to be held on the same day May 29.