Greek Parliament Passes Austerity Bill, Protests Turn Violent

News from The Associated Press: Greek Parliament Passes Austerity Bill

Greece's Parliament has approved an austerity bill demanded by bailout creditors, despite a significant level of dissent from the governing leftist Syriza party.

The bill to impose sweeping tax hikes and spending cuts was approved with the support of three pro-European opposition parties.

Several prominent members of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' ruling party voted against his recommendation, including Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis and former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis.

Eurozone rescue lenders demanded the fresh round of cuts in a deal reached this week to place Greece in a new bailout program.

Dissenters argued that Greeks could not face any more cuts after six years of recession that saw a sharp rise in poverty and unemployment.

Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has voted against the government in a critical austerity bill vote.

'We have been betrayed!' Protest turns violent as Greece votes - Yahoo News

Firebombs thrown by furious anti-austerity protesters exploded in front of Greece's parliament Wednesday as anger over a new bailout deal spilled onto the streets of the capital

As lawmakers prepared to vote on the unpopular deal, police fired tear gas to push back dozens of hooded and masked protesters, who threw rocks and stones as they chanted angrily in Syntagma square.

"We have been betrayed!" shouted a man in a balaclava, as police used pepper spray and gas to stop a crowd breaching a security line blocking off the road to the prime minister's office.

The violence erupted on the sidelines of a rally of 12,500 people opposed to the passage of the reforms which many fear will increase suffering in the already debt-laden country.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and eurozone counterparts agreed to the tough reforms on Monday in order to unlock a new rescue for Greece worth up to 86 billion ($94 billion) -- angering many in his anti-austerity party and other leftwing supporters.

Officers could be seen dragging protesters away in handcuffs and police sources said some 40 people had been detained.

Close to 20 police riot vans lined the streets around Syntagma, where ambulance workers and firemen handed out water to protesters caught in clouds of stinging tear gas.

Four policemen and two AFP photographers were injured by flying debris and a television van parked nearby was set on fire, along with dumpsters and a Greek flag.

While police pushed rioters away from parliament, those retreating vandalised ATMs and a few shop windows as they went.

- 'Government of traitors' -

Tsipras has thrown his weight behind the reforms and Greece's parliament looked likely to adopt them later Wednesday -- despite rebels in the PM's Syriza party -- in large part thanks to the support of pro-European opposition parties.

The majority of Greeks voted against similar austerity terms in a referendum on July 5.

"Our government is a government of traitors. We voted 'No' then Tsipras signs up to even worse conditions. It's madness," raged unemployed demonstrator Arsenios Pappas, 35, before the violence broke out.

Next to a banner showing a 'No' wrecking ball knocking down a wall of austerity measures, primary school teacher Natasia Kokkoli, 53, said the bailout deal "is simply not fair" and perhaps leaving the eurozone would be better.

"I think Greece is being used as an experiment by Europe. With the banks empty of course it's hard, but without the euro maybe Greece could find its way again," she said.

Presenting The "Greek Terms Of Surrender" As Annotated By Yanis Varoufakis | Zero Hedge

The Greek "deal" has already been dubbed "a new Versailles Treaty" for good reason: for Greece, the agreement which effectively abdicates sovereignty to Germany, is precisely that.

And while few if any in Greece - and certainly its parliament - have carefully read the actual contents of the Summit statement, and instead are rushing to pass the deal with hopes that just approving its contents may lead to the ECB blessing a prompt reopening of banks so Greeks can resume withdrawing their frozen deposits before the public realizes it was betrayed by its rulers, one person who has read it is the former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis.

And not only that: just hours before what may be the most critical vote in Greek history, he has released an annotated version of what the Euro Summit statement really means for Greece.

In his words: The Euro Summit statement (or Terms of Greece’s Surrender – as it will go down in history) follows, annotated by yours truly. The original text is untouched with my notes confined to square brackets (and in red). Read and weep… [For a pdf copy click here.]

Greek Debt Crisis 2015 | Reuters.com

Live updates on the debt crisis in Greece.

 Greek anti-establishment protesters threw stones and dozens of petrol bombs at police in front of parliament on Wednesday before a key vote on a bailout deal, in some of the most serious violence in more than two years.

Police responded with tear gas, sending hundreds of people fleeing in central Syntagma Square.

Garbage cans and a vehicle belonging to a television crew were also set on fire. The clashes were brief and calm largely returned to the square, with a few hundred protesters staying on under heavy police surveillance.

Earlier, thousands took to the streets of Athens in a series of otherwise peaceful marches during the day to protest against the new bailout deal that saved Greece from bankruptcy but will impose more reforms on a country already deep in crisis.

Greek protesters clash with police at anti-austerity march | Reuters

Greek anti-establishment protesters threw stones and dozens of petrol bombs at police in front of parliament on Wednesday before a key vote on a bailout deal, in some of the most serious violence in more than two years. 

Police responded with tear gas, sending hundreds of people fleeing in central Syntagma Square.

Garbage cans and a vehicle belonging to a television crew were also set on fire. The clashes were brief and calm largely returned to the square, with a few hundred protesters staying on under heavy police surveillance.

Earlier, thousands took to the streets of Athens in a series of otherwise peaceful marches during the day to protest against the new bailout deal that saved Greece from bankruptcy but will impose more reforms on a country already deep in crisis.

Once a common sight in protest marches in Greece, clashes with police had been very rare since the leftist Syriza party came to power in January. About 30 people were detained, a police source said.

Just before the clashes, protesters marched waving banners reading "Cancel the bailout!" and "No to the policies of the EU, the ECB and the IMF."

Pharmacists pulled down their shutters across Greece and civil servants walked off their jobs in protest in a 24-hour strike against reforms.

July 5: Greek Independence Day; July 15: Greek In Dependence Day | Zero Hedge

The Greek parliament just voted - by a landslide - in favor of the bailout-offer-you-cannot-refuse (as opposed to facing up to the pain imminently and suffering through a Grexit) implicitly giving up their sovereignty and sending their "No" voting citizenry what we are sure will only be a deeper economic depression...

A majority of 229 Greek lawmakers voted in favor of bill which includes prior actions demanded by creditors for a bailout agreement that the govt has applied for, Parliament Speaker says.

64 lawmakers voted against bill, 6 abstained, in Greece’s 300-seat chamber

Bill titled “urgent measures for the negotiation and signing of an agreement with the European Stability Mechanism”

38 lawmakers of governing Syriza party, including former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, former deputy Finance Minister Nadia Valavani, and Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis didn’t support bill

Out of 149 Syriza MPs, 32 voted against bill, 6 abstained, 1 didn’t show up