Monitoring Desk
ATHENS: Greek police fired tear gas at firebomb-throwing protesters outside parliament on Wednesday as thousands demonstrated over the country’s worst rail tragedy and asked the prime minister to quit.
As many as 57 people were killed and 14 others injured after a freight train collided with a passenger train, carrying mostly students, on February 28.
The biggest protests were in the capital city Athens, where more than 40,000 people flooded the streets, holding banners that read “it is not an accident, it is a crime” and “it could have been any of us on that ill-fated train”.
Outside parliament, dozens of black-clad, masked youths hurled stones and Molotov cocktails at riot police, who responded by firing tear gas. The enraged demonstrators also torched a van a few blocks away.
In the second Thessaloniki city of Greece, riot police fired tear gas at stone-throwing demonstrators outside the local railway station.
According to police, over 65,000 protesters took to the streets nationwide.
“I’m here to pay tribute to the victims but also to express my frustration and anger,” Athens protester Niki Siouta, a 54-year-old civil engineer, said.
“This government must quit.”
Widespread public anger across Greek after train tragedy
Alongside the demonstrators, Greek civil servants staged a 24-hour walkout while teachers, doctors, bus drivers, and ferry crew members also staged rallies.
Railways operations were paralyzed as train workers extended a strike launched in the aftermath of the accident.
“This government decides to spend money on the police and the army, but not for our safety,” said Thanassis Oikonomou, a striking worker and bus union representative.
Demands are growing louder for Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to step down over the tragedy, which has highlighted a harsh spotlight on decades of government mismanagement of the rail network.
The transport minister of Greece resigned on March 1, and Mitsotakis has apologized to families of victims, pledged to investigate what happened, and embarked on a flurry of public appearances in a bid to soothe anger.
The prime minister visited the crash site and delivered a televised address, blaming “human error” for the tragedy while calling for a special committee of experts to probe.
