Athens Protest

Athens, Greece.
Sunday, 10 March 2013.

With the motto "Poverty, unemployment, suicides. Enough is enough!" hundreds of protesters gathered at Syntagma Square in central Athens. Riot police lined up in front of the Parliament and tried to repel the crowd with the use of shields and chemicals.

Sunday’s rally came as the Greek government negotiates with the so-called "troika" of inspectors from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The troika returned to Athens last week to discuss the next steps in a painful austerity and reform program aiming to pull Greece out of the economic crisis.

The Greeks followed the Portuguese who held massive demonstrations across Portugal against austerity policies, last Saturday. The Athens protest ended in minor scuffles between demonstrators and police.

The Greek middle class is suffering from austerity measures and from rising unemployment. This is the main reason why strikes and demonstrations are often taking place in Athens and other cities of the country.

More images at: Kevrekidis Photography 

© 2013 Jordan Kevrekidis