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Some demonstrators battle Greek police as thousands protest austerity plan

15 June 2011 15:49 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Tens of thousands of Greek demonstrators marched on parliament today in Athens to try to keep the government from passing a new austerity plan, with some young people on the edge of the rally throwing rocks and firebombs at police, APA reports quoting â€œUSA TODAYâ€.
"Resign, resign," the crowd chanted, the Associated Press reports.
At one point, peaceful demonstrators clashed with the violent groups of hooded youths to try to separate them from the larger rally. Thousands of police used parked buses and crowd barriers to block access to the building.
The protests came as Prime Minister George Papandreou, facing an internal party revolt, is trying to push through a new five-year campaign of tax hikes, spending cuts and sale of state property in order to continue getting aid from the European Union and International Monetary Fund and avoid default, the Associated Press reports.
The rally and demonstrations are part of a 24-hour general strike against the new austerity measures.