New tensions flared around 3:30 p.m. in the center of Athens after previous episodes Earlier, on the sidelines of a mass rally about a railway accident in the city of Tempe.

Police forces attempted to repel with chemicals about 300 people who remained in front of the parliament building and on Amalia Avenue after the mood calmed down for a while after the incidents.

Tensions arose when some of the assembled people sat down on the road to prevent the roads from opening. The police then asked them to leave, but they refused, whereupon the police force pushed them away.

Five arrests and seven wounded police officers

IN six additionsof which five turned into arrestsGreek police have stepped in today after incidents that erupted on the sidelines of a mass rally in central Athens over a train derailment in Tempe.

Recall that the tension began at the bottom of Syntagma Square, when a group of strangers threw Molotov cocktails, and the police responded with chemicals. The episodes then spread to the Propylaea and finally to Omonia.

EL.AS announcement.

“Today, in the morning hours, on Sunday, March 5, 2023, at the initiative of various associations, organizations and associations, a rally and a protest procession were held on Syntagma Square with the participation of about 10,000 people in connection with the railway accident in Tempi.

A group of more than 200 people who were inside and along the perimeter of the rally, and then the march, pelted the police with marble, stones and Molotov cocktails.

These persons, who were at the end of the march, namely on Panepistimi Street, continued to attack the police officers, causing damage to buildings and vehicles.

To repel the attacks, the police forces made limited use of the necessary appropriate means and proceeded to detain 6 people, of which 5 were arrested.

It is noted that as a result of these attacks, 7 policemen were injured, who were taken to the 401st General Military Hospital of Athens.”

Mass rally

Thousands of workers, boys and girls, families with children responded to the call of trade unions, student associations, self-employed and women’s associations for a rally, which took place today at Syntagma as part of a 48-hour railroad strike. The rally was attended by a large delegation of the Central Committee of the KKE headed by its general secretary Dimitris Kutsumba.

The Pallaic rally became a platform to denounce “eternal political responsibility” and promise that “these crimes will not be covered up.” “Today we were counted and there are fewer of us,” said Nikos Lazou, president of the Greek Train Workers Union.

From the scene of the gathering, he invited the people to honor the memory of the dead with a minute of silence. “This is not the fault of one worker, it is the fault of all governments over time,” he stressed. “No one listened to us,” he complained, referring to the consistent intervention of the unions due to the lack of security measures, understaffing, the dismantling of the railway. “We were shouting about security, the security of citizens, the security of workers,” he stressed and recalled that the Greek people paid large sums from their own pockets and did not have a modern and safe railway. Finally, he thanked all unions and agencies for their support.

The condolences of the train drivers to the families of the victims were conveyed by Kostas Genidunias, President of the Panhellenic Union of Tractors. “They never answered us. However, today they have to answer the Greek society,” he stressed, recalling the complaints of trade unions about the working conditions of the railway. “We thank you and promise: we will not forget,” he concluded.

“Our life matters. These days I hear it from those who have been on the road,” said Vassilis Zavoyannis, president of the Union of Transport Workers. With his intervention, he emphasized the need for a modern and safe railroad while emphasizing that “no one can claim he ‘didn’t know'”.

“Today we mourn our brothers, our children, our colleagues, our friends,” said Ilias Trevlos, Vice President of the Greek Train Workers Union and member of the Panhellenic Railway Federation. “They were killed by those who put a price on human lives,” he stressed and pointed out that today, despite the great opportunities provided by technology, trains operate in the conditions of the 60s.

He complained that “even now the company, in a meeting with the unions, has not given any answer to the questions raised by the workers.” “We respond with the strength of unity and solidarity,” he said, adding: “Now is the time to voice and fight!” when submitting the context of requests and claims.

The railway workers demand, in addition to the obvious, clarification of the causes of the accident and the distribution of responsibility, as well as the following:

• Direct recruitment of permanent staff in all specialties.
• Appropriate specialization and certification of personnel.
• Programs to train all employees in the safe way to perform tasks.
• Completion of infrastructure projects and secure operation of the network.
• Proper maintenance and repair of rolling stock and lines.
• Maintenance, repair and modernization of technical facilities and structures.
• Occupational health and safety measures during the movement of trains, especially when passing through settlements.
• Provide all personal protective equipment.
• Safety technician and professional doctor in each complex.
• Cheap and safe public transport for people and workers without reasonable economic benefit.

“We are here for all of them,” said Marita Stergiu of the Medical Students Association. “Now is not the time for silence,” he added, and repeated the promise made these days by thousands of young men and women, “to be the voice of the dead and demand responsibility for the crime.” From the stage of mobilization, he called for a new rally organized by student associations on Wednesday.

Giorgos Kalamaras, member of the board of the Piraeus Labor Centre, referred to the policy which, through a series of laws and regulations, led to the obsolescence and dismantling of the railway.

Nikos Mavrokefalos, a member of the administration of the Athens Labor Center, called for a condemnation of policies that put safety and life “on the balance of costs.”

He recalled that next to the complaints of the railways there are similar complaints and speeches of workers and their trade unions in a number of other modes of transport. In continuation of the struggle, he called for the demand for modern and safe transport and public transport, for modern rights for personnel in these areas.

Finally, he called for workplace initiatives on Monday and Tuesday, and a mobilization of student unions in Athens and Piraeus on Wednesday.

The great rally ended with dozens of black balloons filling the sky, and thousands of people gathered, promising to continue the militant initiatives.

Week of mobilization

The new appointment of trade unions and mass organizations is the strike meeting on Wednesday, March 8, at 12:30. in the Propylaea due to the general stoppage of work announced by the Labor Centers of Athens and Piraeus and ADEDY.

The labor centers of Athens and Piraeus have decided to stop working on this day from 12:00 to 16:00. and they call on the higher trade union organizations to decide to transform the mobilizations into a strike of all employees.

Until this day, the railroad trade unions continue to strike (Monday – Tuesday – Wednesday), and the labor centers call on all trade unions to immediately start rallies, general meetings, work around the workplace in support of the struggle of the railroad workers, for the success of the strike rally on Wednesday.