Riot police fire tear gas on protesters!
ATHENS, Greece - February 10, 2010 - Riot police have fired tear gas on protests in Greece today as tensions over the country's debt crisis threatened to turn violent.
Police fired at the protesters in central Athens today during a 24-hour strike by public sector workers outraged at the government's attempt to cut its crippling debt by slashing government pay.
The strike has grounded flights and shut many state schools and offices in the first big test of the government's resolve to tackle a debt crisis that has shaken the euro zone.
Investors, rating agencies and EU policymakers are closely watching the 24-hour strike and the government's response.
They have said Greece, which is prone to violent street protests, will not get support for free and urged the government to be firm.
Hundreds of members of the ADEDY public sector union waving banners and beating drums marched through central Athens as riot police looked on, ahead of a demonstration planned for later in the day in front of Parliament.
Unions oppose plans to freeze public wages, slash the salary supplements many Greeks receive on top of basic pay, and replace just one in five people leaving the civil service.
They say tax reforms, which are also part of the EU-backed plan to shore up Greece's finances, hurt the poor.
Police fired at the protesters in central Athens today during a 24-hour strike by public sector workers outraged at the government's attempt to cut its crippling debt by slashing government pay.
The strike has grounded flights and shut many state schools and offices in the first big test of the government's resolve to tackle a debt crisis that has shaken the euro zone.
Investors, rating agencies and EU policymakers are closely watching the 24-hour strike and the government's response.
They have said Greece, which is prone to violent street protests, will not get support for free and urged the government to be firm.
Hundreds of members of the ADEDY public sector union waving banners and beating drums marched through central Athens as riot police looked on, ahead of a demonstration planned for later in the day in front of Parliament.
Unions oppose plans to freeze public wages, slash the salary supplements many Greeks receive on top of basic pay, and replace just one in five people leaving the civil service.
They say tax reforms, which are also part of the EU-backed plan to shore up Greece's finances, hurt the poor.
