Fresh unrest erupts at Greek anti-austerity protests

Athens, Feb 20 (AFP) Police in Athens fired tear gas at stone-throwing protestors today as thousands of Greeks walked off the job to join the debt-ridden country's first general strike this year and oppose austerity measures. About 15,000 striking workers took part in a Communist-organised demonstration in Athens and 20,000 more joined protests organised by other unions, according to police figures. Another 15,000 people marched in Greece's northern metropolis Thessaloniki, local authorities said. Protesters tried to firebomb a car in Athens and threw rocks at police, who fired back tear gas, while in the city of Iraklio on the island of Crete, demonstrators overturned a squad car, police said. "Unpaid bills, slashed wages and pensions, boarded-up shops. Greek people cannot wait for saviours. Only by taking their fortunes into their own hands can they exit the stalemate," main opposition leader Alexis Tsipras, head of the radical leftist Syriza party, told reporters. The nationwide strike -- the first general work stoppage in Greece this year -- forced airport authorities to scrap or reschedule dozens of flights while hospitals operated on reduced staffing. Ships were to remain docked throughout the day, disrupting ferry services to the islands. And although most public transport was to run, buses and train services expected disruptions. Doctors, lawyers and teachers took part in the protest action organised by private sector union GSEE and the public sector ADEDY. "No to modern sweat-shops, hands off collective labour agreements," read the main banner carried by Communist demonstrators in Athens. Greece's three-party government insists there is no alternative to the harsh austerity programme demanded by the country's creditors in return for vital loans to stave of bankruptcy. Facing a sixth year of continuous recession, the heavily indebted country has been relying on international rescue packages to avoid bankruptcy and get its economy back on track. Since 2010 the European Union and the International Monetary Fund have committed 240 billion euros (USD 320 billion) overall in rescue loans to Greece. (AFP) ASY 02201929 NNNN