Greek police used violence against demonstrators in Athens
Submitted by Редакция on 22 September, 2010 - 07:04At least two thousand demonstrators gathered at the Omonia square and headed for the column to the parliament. There drivers are going to hold a meeting the night before Wednesday morning. The demonstration involved drivers and truck owners from all over Greece, including the powerful "reinforcements" from Crete. Initially, the drivers tried to break into the center of the city in their trucks, but they did not miss the transit police and the demonstrators had to walk.
Tomorrow, the Greek Parliament should begin consideration of the law, which will introduce free licensing for drivers of trucks and tankers, and vote on the bill on Wednesday.The intention of the Government, it cuts down on transportation costs and help stabilize retail prices. License holders, which now stand up to several thousand euros, say they can go bust if their license depreciate.
This sparked a wave of discontent among truck drivers oppose the Government's plans.
About a thousand trucks and tanks lined up on the largest Greek highway, in particular, on the main entrances to Athens.In the morning drivers briefly blocked the highway Athens - Thessaloniki, causing kilometer traffic jams. More than 2,5 thousand strikers first passed through the central streets of the capital, until stopped by the Parliament. The demonstrators called on MPs to refuse to accept the bill on the liberalization of the industry. At the same time, the police surrounded the parliament building, which caused dissatisfaction among the protesters.
Some protesters began throwing in the Greek Parliament building covering a special detachment water bottles and cups of coffee.In response, guardians of state law enforcement have used stun grenades, tear gas and rubber batons. The confrontation lasted for several minutes. No injuries in the incident were reported.
More than 2,5 thousand truck drivers and fuel tankers with Greek flags in their hands marched today through the main streets of the capital to the Greek Parliament, said Kommersant.
As reported, the drivers began a protest on 13 September. This event has already struck the Greek exporters, warehouses are filled with cargo containers not be sent.Association of Exporters of Northern Greece, said that the loss from this action is 5 million euros per day.
A strike in July the owners of trucks and fuel tankers has led to major problems in the supply of gasoline Greek islands, stopping a number of enterprises, disrupt the harvest in some areas of the country.
