[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
[HCDX] Greek police oust workers occupying headquarters of defunct state broadcaster
Please reply to zliangas@xxxxxxxxx
Greek police oust workers occupying headquarters of defunct state
broadcaster
Posted: November 7, 2013 | Author: SOZ | Filed under: Uncategorized
|Leave a comment »
By NICHOLAS PAPHITIS Associated Press
November 07
http://greekleftreview.wordpress.com/2013/11/07/greek-police-oust-
workers-occupying-headquarters-of-defunct-state-broadcaster/
ATHENS, Greece ? In a pre-dawn swoop Thursday, Greek riot police ended a
nearly five-month protest by sacked workers broadcasting from what was
once the headquarters of the defunct ERT state broadcaster, removing a
few dozen people occupying the complex.
Police said four people were briefly detained during the operation in the
northern Athens suburb of Agia Paraskevi.
About 50 people were removed from the building, which will be handed over
to ERT?s successor that is now broadcasting from cramped studios in
another part of Athens.
Among the detainees was radio journalist Nikos Tsimbidas, who was
broadcasting live as police entered the studio.
?Believe me, it?s a shocking experience to be on the mic with two
platoons of riot police surrounding the live broadcasting booth,? he said
on air. ?We are being removed, I?ve just been informed that it appears
orders have been given for me to stop talking.?
The evacuation was peaceful, although police later used tear gas to push
back a crowd of about 200 who turned up outside the complex to support
the former ERT workers.
The main opposition Syriza radical left coalition protested the ?illegal?
police operation, with several Syriza lawmakers joining protesters
outside the building.
PHOTO: Parliament Member of Syriza, main opposition party Nikos Voutsis
scuffles with police as he tries to pass from a block near ERT's
headquarters in the northern Athens suburb of Agia Paraskevi, Greece
early Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. Greek police said they have removed the
remaining former workers from what used to be the headquarters of the
now-defunct ERT state broadcaster. The building had been occupied by the
protesting ex-employees for the past five months. (AP Photo/Thanassis
Stavrakis)
Parliament Member of Syriza, main opposition party Nikos Voutsis scuffles
with police as he tries to pass from a block near ERT?s headquarters in
the northern Athens suburb of Agia Paraskevi, Greece early Thursday, Nov.
7, 2013. Greek police said they have removed the remaining former workers
from what used to be the headquarters of the now-defunct ERT state
broadcaster. The building had been occupied by the protesting ex-
employees for the past five months. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
?The government ? has created a black page in the history of state
television and democracy in our country,? a party statement said.
Government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou said the evacuation was to ?restore
the rule of law.?
The complex had been occupied by the protesting ex-employees since June
11, when Greece?s conservative-led government abruptly closed ERT and
fired all 2,700 staff, citing the need to cut costs due to the country?s
severe financial crisis. They continued to produce unauthorized
broadcasts online, including airing news reports and documentaries.
These ended Thursday, although regional former ERT branches were still
broadcasting their own unauthorized programs.
?The broadcasting complex had been illegally occupied, and that resulted
in daily financial losses for the Greek state,? Kedikoglou said. ?The
(police) intervention was carried out in the presence of a prosecutor.?
ERT?s abrupt closure triggered a political crisis that prompted a junior
left-wing ally to walk out of the governing coalition, amid daily
protests in Greece and international condemnation.
The former workers had turned down repeated government calls to leave the
ERT headquarters so that full-scale state broadcasts can resume from the
complex.
However, the bulk of ERT?s journalists and many other staff, despite
initial vows to fight the broadcaster?s closure, were eventually rehired
by DT, ERT?s successor.
Former ERT staff have called for a protest near the Agia Paraskevi
building later Thursday.
my radio shack: http://www.ipernity.com/doc/zliangas/album/282394
http://delicious.com/gr_greek1/zak (all my pages )
_
Hard-Core-DX mailing list
Hard-Core-DX@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/hard-core-dx
http://www.hard-core-dx.com/
_______________________________________________
THE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE IS FREE. It may be copied, distributed
and/or modified under the conditions set down in the Design Science License
published by Michael Stutz at
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/dsl.html