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Victoria Mindova

"IMF - out!" was the main slogan of the protest on Tuesday night in downtown Athens. Representatives of various trade unions and supporters of anarchism in this country gathered in front of the National Library on Panepistimiou Boulevard. Angry speeches against police violence and capitalist regime were pouring from the megaphones, followed by music like Rage Against the Machine - 'Killing in the name of' and Rammstein - 'Du Hast'. Tension was in the air over the protesters. 

Frown, moody, angry crowds of unhappy people roamed around the sidewalks with propaganda leaflets and protest banners in their hands. "Crisis should be paid by capitalists”, "All together in the fight against the corrupt system – let us stop the anti-social measures of the European Union and the IMF", "Imperialists – out!", "Workers against speculators – strikes," were part of the slogans that spread over the heads of the protesters. From time to time voices shouted "No to modern slavery!" and "IMF GO HOME!" More than ever this protest was attended by angry young men of anarchism. They looked with suspicion at any camera or people with microphone in their hands. After the recent arrests of terrorists from the anarchist organization "Revolutionary Fight" the young rebels began to see in any citizen a police informant or provocateur. 

People of all ages took part in the protest with one main goal - not to allow the government to sign the contract for financial assistance with the IMF at the end of this week. According to protesters, the only way to prevent the hard times, predicted by financial analysts for the ordinary Greek, is to actively strike and protests. Union leaders in Greece argue that this is the only way to preserve public social rights of the working class in the country, i.e. pensions, salaries and bonuses should remain the same if not higher. They are adamant that the crisis must be taken care of by those who have money - banks, businesses and others who come into the category of capitalists. "Our goal is to put pressure on the government and we will be out on the streets every day to prevent the negative consequences of violating the historically reclaimed rights of the working class,” was only part of the statement of a trade union leader of the Greek Federation of State Workers for GRReporter. 

"Greece is in the beginning of consolidation of local finances with the rules of the International Monetary Fund. Public concerns are now largely caused by lack of clarity and information most likely as is the experience of other countries in similar situations," interprets the events Ina Strasdiniy, who is a correspondent of Radio Latvia in Brussels. On a two-day mission to unravel the mystery and reflect the Greek protests, Ina provides that Greece is awaited by far more difficult years than those Latvia has undergone during the supervision of the IMF. The reasons are that the Mediterranean country is a member of the eurozone, which hampers the process of deflation of the local currency needed to rescue the local economy. The Latvian journalist notes that the crisis provides a good opportunity for the country to turn away from the grey economy and corruption, which stifle the domestic market today. However, she estimates that as a whole 2011 will be a difficult year for Greece.