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New Wave of Riots Expected as 100,000 Face Sack in Greece

by Paul Conneally | December 14, 2008 at 03:27 pm

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As news comes in that 100,000 Greek workers face unemployment over and after the Christmas and New Year period the greek authorities are preparing for a new wave of riots in Athens.

Bad news for the Greek government is that around 50% of the population view the riots as a 'popular uprising' rather than a criminal act.

Link to further report at Now Public on Greek Riots.

Students at mass demonstrations have been handing out timetables scheduling another week of the civil unrest that has brought violence to Athens and other parts of Greece.

Rallies outside police stations and courthouses and blockading areas of main cities are among the plans as a leading union official said that anger among disenchanted youths would only get worse in the months ahead, with as many as 100,000 jobs under threat after the Christmas period.

“A massive wave of redundancies will kick in come the new year when, according to our estimates, 100,000 jobs will be lost, which represents an additional 5 per cent on the unemployment rate,” said Stathis Anestis, of the General Confederation of Greek Workers.

An opinion poll at the weekend showed that about half of Greeks considered the violence to be a “popular uprising”, while almost 70 per cent thought that the Government – the main focus of the rioters’ ire – had responded to the crisis inadequately.