ATHENS, Greece — Clashes between riot police and rock-throwing, masked youths broke out during a demonstration Thursday in central Athens by tens of thousands of striking workers protesting austerity measures that the Greek government has said it has no choice but to implement.
The debt-ridden country is under intense pressure from markets and the European Union to reduce its deficit from 12.7 percent of economic output in 2009 to 8.7 percent this year. Last week, Greece introduced a harsh $6.5 billion austerity package that cut civil servants’ wages, froze pensions and raised consumer taxes.
The new cutbacks, added to a previous $15.24 billion austerity plan, sparked a wave of strikes and protests from labor unions whose reaction to the initial measures had been muted. Thursday’s 24-hour general strike, the second in about a week, grounded airline flights, halted public transport, suspended news broadcasts and left public hospitals working with emergency staff.
Demonstrators took to the streets of Athens and Thessaloniki, banging drums and chanting slogans such as “no sacrifice for plutocracy,” and “real jobs, higher pay.” They were joined by uniformed police, coast-guard and fire-service officers.
Police said 13 officers were injured and 16 people were detained, with nine arrested.
