Riot police, protesters clash at Acropolis
ATHENS, Greece
Up to 100 Culture Ministry workers had shut down the Acropolis
on Wednesday morning, complaining they were owed up to 22 months'
worth of back pay. The protesters barricaded themselves inside,
padlocked the entrance gates and refused to allow any tourists in
until their demands were met.
Police in riot gear arrived Thursday morning after a court order
said the protesters were hindering access to an ancient site and
its 2,500-year-old marble temples.
"Riot police and violence won't break the strike," the
protesters chanted, clinging to the entrance gates.
But police used a side entrance to break into the site, then
used pepper spray to clear the protesters and journalists covering
the standoff from the main gate. At least one protester was led
away in handcuffs to a waiting police bus.
Dozens of bemused tourists who had arrived early Thursday
morning to visit the ancient site looked on as the standoff
unfolded, occasionally snapping pictures of the riot police.
"We know the workers have a right to protest, but it is not
fair that people who come from all over the world to see the
Acropolis should be prevented from getting in," said Spanish
tourist Ainhoa Garcia shortly before the clashes broke out.
Greece is in the midst of a tough austerity program which has
cut public workers' salaries and trimmed pensions in an effort to
pull the country out of a severe debt crisis. The austerity plan
has led to a series of strikes and demonstrations as workers'
unions protest the cutbacks.
Guards and workers at archaeological sites have long been
complaining they are owed months of back pay, and have shut down
the Acropolis before in protest, though usually only for a few
hours at a time.
But authorities often are sensitive to protests at the
emblematic ancient site, particularly as the country largely relies
on tourism for revenue.
And visitors who have traveled from far-flung countries were
unimpressed by the protest.
"We think this is a shame. We will not recommend that people
come to Greece," said Veronica Traverso, a tourist from Argentina
standing with a friend outside the padlocked gates. "We are not to
blame for Greece's troubles."
Traverso said she had only two days to spend in Athens and was
due to leave the city in a couple of hours -- her hopes of visiting
the Acropolis dashed.