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| Greek riot police - Reuters |
Athens riot police clashed with protesting workers barricading the Acropolis today, using teargas to clear the entrance to Greece's most famous ancient site.
Culture ministry workers had shut down the Acropolis yesterday morning, complaining they were owed up to 22 months' back pay. About 100 protesters barricaded themselves inside, padlocked the entrance gates and refused to allow any tourists in until their demands were met.
Police in riot gear arrived this morning after a court order said the protesters were hindering access to an ancient site and its 2,500-year-old marble temples.
"Riot police and violence won't break the strike," the protesters chanted, clinging to the gates.
But police used a side entrance to break into the site, then used pepper spray to clear the protesters and journalists covering the standoff from the main gate. At least one protester was led away in handcuffs to a waiting police bus.
Dozens of tourists who had arrived early to visit the site looked on as the standoff unfolded, occasionally snapping pictures of the riot police.
"We know the workers have a right to protest, but it is not fair that people who come from all over the world to see the Acropolis should be prevented from getting in," said Spanish tourist Ainhoa García shortly before the clashes broke out.
Greece is in the midst of a tough austerity programme that has cut public workers' salaries and trimmed pensions in an effort to pull the country out of severe debt. The austerity plan has led to a series of strikes and demonstrations as workers' unions protest the cutbacks.
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