Galery

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George Floras, a member of the Athens professional chamber, has assessed that the damage to retailers due to the riots on Friday amounts to 6-8 million euro.

As he states for SKY TV, shops in the centre of Athens suffer even greater, incalculable, damage due to the total 6,000 rallies and demonstrations that take place in the Greek capital every year.

Indicative of the significant damage is the fact that the teams of the municipality have gathered 50 tons of stones, sticks and waste from the city centre.

Meanwhile, Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis has openly opposed how the police confines the anarchists to the neighbourhood of Exarcheia during incidents such as the recent ones. "Are the residents of Exarcheia second or third class people?" he asked. "From a left neighbourhood the area is becoming a true grey island", said Kaminis.

He has also opposed the excessive police presence, stressing that it causes problems. "The state should consider another approach", concluded the Mayor of Athens.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras had met with the father of Nikos Romanos who has been starving himself for a fourth week now.

Upon leaving the Prime Minister's residence Maximou, Geroge Romanos told reporters that he had spoken with the Prime Minister and Minister of Justice but no solution had been found so far.

George Romanos

"I have not been proposed a solution, no solution to the problem has been found so far. I think they will soon discuss it again and hope to come to a solution", he stressed.

"What I want is for the request of my child to be accepted. From a human point of view, now I am speaking as a father, they should understand that they need to propose a solution," said Nikos Romanos’ father.

"My child will continue (the hunger strike). A large part of Greek society knows what is fair," stressed George Romanos.

Asked about the condition of his son, he replied, "He is in critical condition, and as the days are passing by the probability of him dying is increasing, with all the ensuing consequences for the government. Thank you."

Antonis Samaras told Nikos Romanos’ father, "As a parent, I share the concern about the health of your child but as Prime Minister, who respects the separation of powers, I cannot interfere in the work of justice in any way."

For his part, Minister of Justice Haralambos Athanasiou stated in a conversation with journalists that the Prime Minister had listened to George Romanos as a parent and had asked the parents to lend psychological support to their child to stop the hunger strike.

As for the father's request to be proposed a solution, the Minister explained the legal framework for investigations and convictions, as well as the new law on distance learning, and stated that he cannot interfere in the work of the competent judicial authorities.

Haralambos Athanasiou added that the legislative framework is one of the most advanced and most modern in Europe and henceforth the state cannot interfere.