Greek citizens are livid from more than a year and a half of austerity bills. Hundreds of young adults vandalized stores in central Athens and had altercations with riot police during an egregious government rally against new austerity policy's that were voted in approval by Parliament on Wednesday. The rioting started instantaneously during a nationwide 48-hour strike that temporarily put a halt on services from flights, banks, customs offices, stores and ferries.
The Austerity bill holds measures including tax hikes, more salary and pension cuts for public servants and suspensions on collective labor contracts. Greek officials have been saying that that the government will run out of money to pay its debt by mid-November and needs help from other European Banks. However, European banks won't give Greece more money without measures being put into place to control the countries debt.
Nikos Anastasopoulos, head of workers' union for an Athens municipality, stated, "We just can't take it anymore. There is desperation, anger and bitterness."
The bill won its first round of voting from a 300-member parliament, a second round of votes must be done before the bill is passed and put into effect. The Parliament has received threats from a communist party-backed union that they will encircle it and attempt anything to prevent members from entering the building for the second round of votes.
Violence still continued long after the strike was over. Police were fighting burning barricades created by the young rioters that came close to the tourist town of Monastiraki.The capital's streets were filled with debris and thick black smoke coming from burning bus-stops and trash.
European leaders are still cultivating a strategy to Greece's debt crisis. Leaders are starting to realize that the current bailout for Greece has not helped as much as they hoped and a second bailout will be needed. However, before a second bailout is given, measures will need to be taken on how the private sector will be affected from the bailout.
See Link: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Greece-Riots-as-austerity-apf-4013630638.html?x=0
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