Burning
National Post – May 6,
2010
By Kelly
McParland
On Tuesday, teachers,
hospital workers, garbage collectors, pensioners, construction workers and
other public employees demonstrated in front of Parliament, chanting,
"Never! We will never pay for the EU and IMF." Government ministries,
tax offices, schools, hospitals and other services were closed. Members of the
Greek communist party hung banners reading "Peoples of Europe – Rise
Up."
Predictably, police
were forced to fire tear gas at a small group that threw rocks and bottles,
providing the required phony drama for TV cameras.
A bigger rally was
planned for yesterday, with private-sector workers expected to join in what was
billed as a nationwide general strike. What occurred instead was a nationwide
tragedy, as a group of demonstrators set fire to a branch of the Marfin Egnatia
Bank near the Greek Parliament.
Firefighters trying
to get to the blaze were held up for 15 minutes as the protesters fought with
police, clashes that also impeded people trying to flee the fire. When
firefighters eventually got there, they found three bodies inside.
The victims, who
included a pregnant woman, died of smoke inhalation.
Firefighters had to
restrain a distraught elderly woman outside the bank, who wept and cried,
"My child, my child."
At least three more
buildings were set on fire, battled by 30 fire trucks and 80 firefighters.
George Papandreou,
the Greek Prime Minister, lashed out at the attackers, saying they had hijacked
a democratic protest.
"We are deeply
shocked by the unjust death of these three people, our fellow citizens, who
were victims of a murderous act," he told Parliament.
"We're a free
and democratic country, and every citizen has the right to demonstrate. To
protest is one thing, to murder is another.
"The
perpetrators of the violence will be arrested and judged."
Perhaps Tuesday's
protesters weren't satisfied with the turnout at the preliminary demonstrations
and figured a little death would help.
Reports that day
indicated "hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets," and
"dozens of protesters from the Communist Party broke the locks at the
entrance to the Acropolis."
Hundreds of
demonstrators? That's hardly a nationwide upsurge. Maybe it's because the
"Peoples of Europe" had already risen up, and made clear they had no
desire to continue subsidizing a country that had grown fat on borrowed money
and couldn't bring itself to face the music.
Among other things,
the package would sharply reduce government hiring, scrap bonus payments, cap
holiday bonuses, freeze wages for three years, raise the value-added tax two
points to 23% and tax illegal construction.
Isn't illegal
construction ... illegal?
Despite the
hollering, there are signs many Greeks are fed up with the ludicrous lengths
the government had gone to placate unions, complaining workers were able to
retire in their 40s and expect to collect pensions.
Mr. Papandreou told
The Washington Post the austerity package would impose a dose of much-needed
reality.
"This will
create a different
Under the existing
culture, "there was a sense that people who had the power and means could
go around and do what they wanted. They asked, 'Why should I pay my taxes when
others don't?' "
It would be nice if
he proved correct, but it's still up in the air. Countries don't get as fat and
lazy as
Before they started
torching banks, Greek union members displayed their inability to think much
beyond lunch hour, blocking 1,000 tourists from boarding a cruise ship in
Good thinking, union
members: Drive away a company that's providing you with jobs.
There is precedent
for a chaotic, broke, deeply indebted country faced with the need for painful
reform in the teeth of labour unions more intent on their own welfare than the
future of the country.
If I recall
correctly, the unions lost that battle in the end (See: Thatcher, Margaret).
Burning all the banks in
(Click to enlarge)
|
