The protest of thousands of discontented Athenians and citizens of other major Greek cities against the government's economic measures continued for the ninth consecutive day. But the peaceful protest is not so peaceful already two days.
Lawmakers who participated in a congress for illegal immigration held on the island of Corfu had to leave by a Coast Guard boat. The reason for this was the presence of hundreds of protesters against the political system in front of the building where the congress was held.
The phenomenon of street lynching is not quite new in Greece, especially after beating the New Democracy MP Costis Hadzidakis during the general strike in December 2010. Despite the claims of civic committees, which made a camp in front of the Greek Parliament on Syntagma Square, that they manage to prevent the spectacular from time to time protests from extreme representatives they still managed to squeeze through and cause more violent events.
A group of dozens of protesters blocked the only open entrance of the Parliament to prevent the deputies and staff who were in the building from leaving it. It is not yet clear how the protesters managed to mislead the police and find themselves at the entrance on the Vassilis Sofiyas Avenue. The police tiptoed some deputies out through the National Garden with torches. Most of the deputies, however, did not even think to leave the building before the opening of a "corridor" by the police forces. The cars of the deputies passed through the police cordon, behind which were assembled many people who cursed, kicked in the doors of cars and spat on their tightly closed windows.
According to the discontented on Syntagma Square, the angry assailants were not part of them; they came to the Parliament after the meeting, which took place in front of the Athens University with the world-renowned composer Mikis Theodorakis and a group of academics, including the Dean Theodossis Pelegrinis. They opposed "the selling of Greece" and called for a return to the drachma. With slogans like "Air, air to go the cholera" the participants in the meeting took a stand against the government policy and stated that "a helicopter is waiting for those in power" to leave the country.
The meeting, during which we heard the song about the pot by the composer Stamatis Kraunakis, sung by Dimitris Mitropanos, is far the only forum of expression of similar ideas.
Aiming to condemn this trend, 32 representatives of literature, arts and scientific community issued a statement entitled "Take the courage". They express in it their concern about the dramatic situation in Greece and their opposition to the populist and irresponsible voices that captured the public domain. In the declaration, they stress that: "The full entry of Greece in Europe, which is indispensable for its salvation as a modern and advanced country, and its political, social and economic achievements are seriously threatened today. As responsible citizens we feel the need to express our position, because the voices of populism and responsibility took over the public expression by hiding from most of the Greeks how serious the situation is and offer disastrous and unrealistic solutions in times of crisis." The intellectuals urge all members of the Greek political life to change their mentality, to forget their party interests and finally to assume their responsibilities. We ask them to explain honestly to the Greek citizens the dangers that threaten the country, the fight and the necessary sacrifices for rescuing and restoring its dignity, and to work actively and consistently for this turnaround."