October 20, 2011
Greek lawmakers narrowly passed a package of austerity measures Thursday, as second day of strikes and violent protests over the package convulsed the country and further weakened the ruling Socialist party.
In a final vote late Thursday, Greece's Parliament approved the measures by a vote of 154 in favor and 144 against. But the vote came at a cost to the Socialist government, which saw its slender parliamentary majority narrowed further after expelling a rebel lawmaker for not toeing the party line.
The vote came as tens of thousands of people gathered outside the Parliament building to denounce the austerity program, coinciding with a second day of a 48-hour general strike that paralyzed public services across the country.
The protests were marred by violence when hundreds of self-styled anarchist youths clashed with demonstrators from Greece's Communist-led Pame union, leading to running street battles around the city's main Syntagma Square.
Riot police then entered the square to halt the fight. There were more than 70 injuries and a 53-year-old union protester with a previous history of heart problems died from a heart attack after inhaling tear gas fired by police during the demonstration, a hospital official said.
More
No comments:
Post a Comment