In Greece, anger at austerity measures

Associated Press
June 6, 2011

Tens of thousands of protesters angry about the government’s austerity policies demanded yesterday that the heavily indebted country stop paying its creditors.

Many protesters carried signs and wore stickers reading “we don’t owe, we won’t sell, we won’t pay’’ in the demonstration outside Parliament. The signs referred to planned privatizations that the government has agreed to speed up in order to make up for a shortfall in projected revenue.

Greece was saved from default in May 2010 with a $160 billion bailout package of loans from the International Monetary Fund and European Union. In return, it imposed strict austerity measures last year, including public salary cuts, pension reductions, and broad tax hikes.

The measures have angered ordinary Greeks, sparking frequent protests.

In the latest one, demonstrators chanted “thieves, thieves’’ while pointing at the parliament building.

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