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Anastasia Balezdrova

At 2 pm the Greek parliament began discussing the three texts bill – regarding the 100 billion Euros cut on the debt owed to private creditors, regarding the recapitalization of Greek banks and the empowerment of Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos to sign a new loan with the European Union and International Monetary Fund for 130 billion Euros. They will help the country avoid bankruptcy. But Greece's partners will lend the money only after austerity measures are applied and financial discipline is put in order in Athens.

Many people have come together outside the parliament building to protest against the new measures of financial discipline which the parliament will have to adopt today in order to conclude the contract for the new loan. GRReporter reporter Anastasia Balezdrova reported from the centre of Athens, that police have pushed protesters from Syntagma square outside parliament towards the neighbouring streets Ermou, Panepistimiou and Akadimias using tear gas. In order to try to neutralize the tear and chemical gases used by the police, the demonstrators set great fires in the centre of Athens.

Anarchists break off marble pieces from the streets Filelinion and  Othonos and throw them at the police. According to Sky TV currently four people are wounded. Demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails  in the lobby of the King George Hotel, without causing major property damage. The number of wounded is increasing and the victims include some policemen. Syntagma Square is nearly empty, the fights go on the streets leading to it.

The situation inside the parliament building is not that much more relaxed, because dozens of parliament members are leaving their parliamentary groups in order to protest against the conditions under which Europe wants to give the new loan to Greece. Former ministers Harris Kastanidis and Louka Katseli left the lines of PASOK. Initially, parliament members rejected the request by the Radical Left SYRIZA to declare the new 130 billion Euros loan, as unconstitutional.

In an interview with the Sunday edition of Kathimerini newspaper the executive director of the Institute of International Finance Charles Dallara called upon the Greek parliament members to vote the 50 percent write off of the Greek debt by private lenders in the country. "If the PSI is not completed by 14 March, catastrophe awaits us," said from the parliamentary tribune also the Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos.

The calls of the Finite Element against the signing of the new loan with the European Union, are not stopping. The famous composer Mikis Theodorakis, now in his old age, was one of those who called on citizens to gather around the parliament building. He was there himself and entered the parliament to call upon parliament members to vote against the loan. But he was unable to explain how overnight Greece will be able to reset its budget deficit and live without the money of Germany and other rich EU countries.

Medical organizations have opened up a voluntary point on Syntagma Square, where the President of the Medical Association George Patoulis is currently present.