Three Killed In Athens Bank Fire Amid Strike
Three
kill athens bank fire amid strike
<m> Three </m> Killed In Athens Bank Fire Amid Strike
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<m> Three </m> Killed In Athens Bank Fire Amid Strike
7 : 00pm UK , Wednesday 05 May 2010
Three people have died after rioters in Greece set fire to a bank in Athens during a nationwide strike against huge spending cuts aimed at rescuing the country's economy .
Greek police clashed with protesters in the capital as tens of thousands of people joined a 24 - hour walkout .
The three bank workers - two women and a man - were killed when their branch went up in flames after a protester threw a petrol bomb inside .
Firefighters rescued another five people from the balcony .
Greek prime minister George Papandreou condemned the killings , saying : "A demonstration is one thing and murder is quite another" .
He added : "We will , of course , stand alongside the families who lost loved ones .
This is the least we can do .
"To those who now mourn the loss of three children we say that the perpetrators will be identified and held accountable for what they've done . "
The general strike was staged as a protest against a new round of draconian austerity measures .
Police said as many as 20 , 000 people took to the streets of Athens as rallies all around the country kicked off .
Also in the capital , a large group of people attempted to break through a riot police cordon guarding the parliament building .
The protesters launched rocks and petrol bombs at the officers , who responded with stun grenades and tear gas - filling Syntagma Square with chemical smoke .
Violence was also reported in Thessaloniki , where a further 20 , 000 people joined the city's demonstrations .
Greece has been paralysed by the strike and was effectively cut - off from the outside world .
Flights to and from the country were grounded , while trains and ferries suspended their routes .
Hospitals and schools were also hit .
The Greek government is attempting to slice 30bn euros ( �25 . 7bn ) from its deficit over the next three years .
The country has to save money as a condition of a 110bn - euro emergency rescue package from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund .
Ordinary workers are furious .
Trade unions say their members are having to pay for an economic crisis that has been created by corrupt politicians
The vice president of the civil servants' union , Elias Vrettakos , told Sky News : "The measures of the government overtake our historic gains and abolish our rights and return society back to the 1960s . "
Other union leaders have called the cuts "savage attacks on workers' rights" .
Markets around the world remained sceptical about the bail - out , as concerns grew about the economic crisis in the eurozone and fears it will spead .