Riots rage in Greece

Mon, 02/13/2012 - 11:34am

Images

Protesters pass by a burning cinema in Athens, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012. Riots engulfed central Athens and at least 10 buildings went up in flames in mass protests late Sunday as lawmakers prepared for a historic parliamentary vote on harsh austerity measures demanded to keep the country solvent and within the eurozone. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

A protester gestures at riot police during clashes in the northern Greek port city of Thessaloniki, late Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012. Greek lawmakers on Monday approved harsh new austerity measures demanded by bailout creditors to save the debt-crippled nation from bankruptcy, after rioters in central Athens torched buildings, looted shops and clashed with riot police. The black banner in the background reads ''Occupation.'' (AP Photo/Nikolas Giakoumidis)

A man looks at a destroyed building as a firefighter extinguish remnants of a fire in central Athens on Monday Feb. 13, 2012. Firefighters are dousing smoldering buildings and cleanup crews are sweeping rubble following a night of rioting in central Athens after lawmakers approved harsh new austerity measures demanded by bailout creditors to save the debt-crippled nation from bankruptcy. The rioting began ahead of a historic vote in Parliament on yet more austerity measures. Lawmakers approved the bill in a 199-74 vote, with strong dissent among the two main coalition partners. (AP Photo/Dimitri Messinis)

People walk past destroyed shops in central Athens on Monday Feb. 13, 2012. Firefighters are dousing smoldering buildings and cleanup crews are sweeping rubble following a night of rioting in central Athens after lawmakers approved harsh new austerity measures demanded by bailout creditors to save the debt-crippled nation from bankruptcy. The rioting began ahead of a historic vote in Parliament on yet more austerity measures. Lawmakers approved the bill in a 199-74 vote, with strong dissent among the two main coalition partners. (AP Photo/Dimitri Messinis)

Workers clear a burned out cafe in central Athens on Monday Feb. 13, 2012. Firefighters are dousing smoldering buildings and cleanup crews are sweeping rubble following a night of rioting in central Athens after lawmakers approved harsh new austerity measures demanded by bailout creditors to save the debt-crippled nation from bankruptcy. The rioting began ahead of a historic vote in Parliament on yet more austerity measures. Lawmakers approved the bill in a 199-74 vote, with strong dissent among the two main coalition partners. (AP Photo/Dimitri Messinis)

ATHENS, Greece -- Greece's Parliament passed an austerity and debt-relief bill on Monday as rioters in Athens looted shops and set buildings on fire.

The austerity bill was supported by 199 of the 300 members of Parliament, , while the coalition government expelled 43 deputies over dissent in the crucial debt vote, reducing their majority from 236 to 193.

Athens must now persuade its international lenders, the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund that it has the will to implement the spending cuts and public-sector reforms required to release $171 billion in emergency loans.

Thick clouds of smoke and tear gas filled the air around Parliament as the voting took place. Demonstrators torched more than 20 buildings, including apartments, shops, banks, cafes, two cinemas and a museum.

Police clashed with more than 2,000 anarchists carrying clubs and gasoline bombs on dozens of fronts across the city.

More than 80 people, including 30 police officers, were reported injured and 25 arrests were made, police said.

Prime Minister Lucas Papademos appealed for calm as the voting began in Parliament.

"The destruction taking place outside this building has no place in democracy," Papademos said. "I call on the public to show calm -- during this crucial and serious period we do not have the luxury of this type of protest."

Earlier, thousands of protesters, many of them wearing gas masks, marched to Parliament to rally against the drastic cuts, which include cutting the minimum wage by 22 per cent, pension cuts and laying off one in five civil servants.

While most of the protesters were peaceful, several hundred of them fought alongside anarchists at various locations around the city center, tearing chunks of marble broken off the fronts of luxury hotels and shops.

Among those who joined the campaign against Greece accepting a bailout in return for harsh measures were composer Mikis Theodorakis, 86, and veteran leftist politician Manoli Glezos, 89.

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Giorgos Makris, a 44-year-old mathematics teacher, said he was not going to back-down and would continue to fight against the harsh new measures.

"I am fighting for my future which they have destroyed by cutting my salary by 20 per cent," he said.

Meanwhile, Greece's eurozone partners kept up the pressure for real reforms. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Greeks should be aware of the fact that there was a need for dramatic change.

"That's why now promises are not enough anymore," Schaeuble said in remarks published in the newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

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