100s of Greek pensioners stage anti-austerity protests
Hundreds of Greek pensioners have taken to the streets in several cities across the country to show their anger at austerity measures in the debt-ridden nation.
The largest of the Wednesday protest rallies was held in the capital city of Athens, where protesters marched to the Labor Ministry.
Chanting anti-government slogans, the demonstrators asked the country's new left-wing government to end cuts to their monthly pensions.
Successive Greek governments "have axed our pensions and our health care... and we will fight all the way to get them back," said Dimos Koumbouris, a protest organizer.
The rallies came amid uncertainty about Greece's bailout program as the anti-austerity government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras struggles to convince the troika of international creditors -- the European Central Bank (ECB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Commission -- that it has a credible reform plan.
During his electoral campaign, Tsipras vowed to reconsider the austerity measures that have caused mounting dissatisfaction in the country.
The measures have forced people to endure multiple tax increases, along with cuts in pension and salary, in exchange for bailout loans by the international lenders.
Over the past weeks, Athens and the EU have been at loggerheads over the country’s bailout loans.
The government of Tsipras, whose leftist Syriza party stormed to victory in January 25 elections, has tried to renegotiate the terms of the country’s €240-billion (USD 270 billion) bailout it received in 2010 in return for imposing harsh austerity measures.
On February 20, a tentative agreement to extend Greece’s bailout program by four months was reached during preparatory talks between Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, IMF chief Christine Lagarde and Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem.
However, Greece was asked to submit a list of proposed economic reforms to the European Union in order for the agreement to take effect.
Experts from the EU and IMF are going through the details of the list of reforms provided by Athens, which could unlock another 7.2 billion euros (USD 7.8 billion) in loans.
MSM/AS/MHB
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