Violence erupts in Athens as Greeks protest new wave of austerity measures

Striking Greek workers denounced a new wave of austerity measures today as a demand too far by the IMF and EU, but Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told the nation it had to decide within days whether to take the pain and stay in the euro or not.

Meanwhile in central Athens Police fired teargas as black-masked protesters threw petrol bombs, stones and bottles. The biggest police trade union said it would issue arrest warrants for Greece’s international lenders for subverting democracy, and refused to “fight against our brothers”.

As public rage seethed, the leader of the far-right LOAS party, the smallest of three parties backing Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, said he could not support the harsh austerity programme.

“I explained to the other political leaders that I cannot vote for this loan agreement,” LAOS leader George Karatzaferis told a news conference.

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