June 14, 2013 | 17:31

Published time: June 13, 2013 21:09
Edited time: June 14, 2013 05:39

http://rt.com/news/us-claims-assad-chemical-weapons-671/

ATHENS — Thousands of Greeks walked off the job on Thursday in the third general strike of the year, this time called by labor unions to protest a surprise decision by the conservative-led government to close the state broadcaster and put about 2,900 employees out of work.

The nationwide walkout shut down tax offices, left hospitals on emergency staffing and disrupted travel. Ferries remained moored in ports and trains at depots, and long delays were expected on international flights. Public transit was also affected, though workers were running a reduced service to allow Greeks to join a protest rally.

Instead of gathering outside Parliament in central Athens, as they have done for anti-austerity protests since 2010, demonstrators met on Thursday outside the headquarters of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation northeast of Athens. Former employees and supporters have gathered there since Tuesday night, when the authorities pulled the broadcaster off the air.

Private television channels continued a news blackout begun on Wednesday, and newspaper employees walked off the job, leaving many Greeks to turn to blogs and social networks for news updates. Some dismissed employees of the closed state broadcaster, known as ERT for its initials in Greek, continued to produce news programs that were distributed through satellite channels.

Though ERT was often criticized for overspending and for lacking independence, it was widely valued in Greece for its in-depth news coverage, documentaries and cultural programs. The government has said it will set up a leaner replacement company, probably over the summer; until then, Greek viewers are left with six privately owned national channels and a host of local stations whose offerings vary widely in quality and whose news coverage is assumed to be influenced by the views of their owners. The national channels typically offer an assortment of news, talk shows, cooking programs and films.

The country’s two main labor unions represent about 2.5 million workers and have historically been very powerful, though their influence has waned somewhat as many Greeks have been worn down by three years of job losses and wage and pension cuts. The unions condemned “unprecedented and provocative” initiatives by the authorities, including the shutdown of ERT.

The civil servants’ union, known as Adedy, accused the government of “methodically and autocratically annihilating the rights of workers and citizens, one by one, for a long time now,” and said that the government’s only aim was to satisfy the demands of Greece’s three main foreign lenders: the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Envoys from the lenders, known collectively as the troika, did not comment on the ERT shutdown. On Wednesday, the European economic and monetary affairs commissioner, Olli Rehn, said there had been no pressure from Brussels for Athens to close its state broadcaster.

“The commission has not sought the closure of ERT, but nor does the commission question the Greek government’s mandate to manage the public sector in Greece,” Mr. Rehn said.

In an address to a business conference on Wednesday night, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras criticized the labor unions for “striking every time something significant and positive happens.” He described ERT as “sinful” and “an emblem of lack of transparency and waste,” said the new state broadcaster would be based on “the most modern international prototypes,” and dismissed the protests as “the final spasms of a status quo of privileges, which is collapsing.”

The two junior political parties in the governing coalition led by Mr. Samaras’s New Democracy party have also objected to to the closing of ERT and have demanded talks with the prime minister on the issue. Officials of the two parties, Pasok and the Democratic Left, have said they were seeking a compromise and do not want to pull out of the coalition.

The leader of the main opposition party, Syriza, accused the two junior coalition parties of pretending to condemn the closing of ERT while continuing to back Mr. Samaras because “they are even more afraid of early elections than New Democracy.”

The government spokesman, Simos Kedikoglou, said on Thursday that he believed the three governing parties would reach a deal when Parliament debates the creation of a successor to ERT, to be called New Hellenic Radio, Internet and Television, or Nerit.

Demonstrations in Ankara were once again subject to a heavy police intervention in the early hours of June 14, as a critical meeting between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and a second delegation comprising representatives of the Gezi Park protesters was under way.

The police used tear gas and water cannons against a group of 200 demonstrators blocking traffic at the Kennedy Avenue, near the Embassy of the United States. Protesters that scattered in side-streets were also chased by the police. Five people have reportedly been taken into custody.

The protests in Ankara were less crowded due to heavy rain in the Turkish capital. Police had intervened in the same area during the three previous days.

June/14/2013

ISTANBUL

Istanbul Governor Hüseyin Avni Mutlu today called on the mothers of the Gezi Park protesters to “bring their children home.” However, instead of following the governor’s order, many mothers joined their children at the demonstration, marking the latest instance of protesters turning the authorities’ statements on their head.

Dozens of mothers held hands and formed a large human chain to show their support to the protests, which have entered their 17th day, by standing guard around the park.

Earlier, Mutlu had said that no police intervention was foreseen in the next 24 hours, despite reports that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had instructed otherwise. Mutlu also gave his own cell phone number during a broadcast by the private NTV channel, calling on the young people at Gezi Park not to hesitate giving him a ring. He also said that he intended to visit the park soon.