The Greek Riots

There has been rioting in Greece, from Saturday to today. It appears to be a major blow up in that country. The rioting is the most intense disturbance in quite a while in Western Europe as can be seen on this video. The following news story is from the main press:

ATHENS, Greece (CNN) -- Bursts of tear gas exploded in downtown Athens as police continued to battle hundreds of young self-styled anarchists rioting Sunday in major cities across Greece.

In a fury over the death of a teenager killed by police on Saturday, angry demonstrations had not abated by late Sunday night.

"It at first seemed like it was calming down today, but then at 5 p.m. Athens time it kicked off again," according to Joel Brown, a CNN senior press officer visiting Athens. "There are lots of burning bins and debris in the street and a huge amount of tear gas in the air, which we got choked with on the way back to our hotel," he said.

Tourists holed up in downtown Athens hotels were told by hotel staff not to leave their rooms as police fanned out across the city, Brown said.

The U.S. and British embassies issued warnings to employees and tourists on Sunday, instructing them to avoid downtown Athens and other major cities until rioting subsides.

For more information click here.

I also have the reaction from a political party in Greece:

Info Statement of the Communist Organization of Greece (KOE)

The Communist Organization of Greece (KOE) salutes the dozens of thousands of youth and people who continue, for the third consecutive day, the resolute and combative demonstrations against the government and the police murder. At this moment (morning of Monday 8 December) thousands of school pupils are demonstrating in front of the Athens Police General Headquarters, as well as in many neighborhoods of Athens and all over Greece. This afternoon the Coalition of Radical Left (SYRIZA) and other left organizations call for big popular demonstrations in the centre of Athens and in many other cities. Even the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), which until now made nothing and did not participate in any protest, now feels the pressure and the anger of the youth and of the popular masses and calls for a (separate, as always…) meeting in Athens.

The demonstrators all over Greece express a spontaneous and at the same time popular political demand: the condemnation of the government of K. Karamanlis. The anger and the protests of the masses are fully justified. The police murder cannot go unpunished. The attempt of the government to change the subject and to focus on the “destructions of public and private property” cannot cover the guilt of this government. The government is guilty, because it arms the killer cops and there is always not any punishment for their crimes. The government is guilty because it transformed the city of Athens in a huge gas chamber and tried to smash the demonstration attacking the people with chemicals and torturing the arrested demonstrators.

The government bears the full political responsibility. It failed everywhere: in economy, in education, in labor, in democratic rights. The sooner this criminal government falls, the better for the people and the society! The fake “resignations” of the Interior Minister and of the Public Order Vice-minister cannot calm the genuine social anger. Even more, as these “resignations” were not accepted by the Prime-minister, this fact proves the full political responsibility of the Prime-minister and of his government as a whole.

The revolt does not end. It just starts. We call upon the youth and the people: Everyone in today’s demonstrations all over Greece! Let’s declare the strike in schools and let’s occupy the universities. Let’s transform the general workers’ strike of this Wednesday in a popular uprising against the criminal government, in a People’s Court that will condemn the corrupted and murderous government. Let’s make the political responsibles pay dearly for their continuous crimes!