Photo: YORGOS KARAHALIS/AP/DPA/PICTURE ALLIANCE / copyright
Thousands of people gathered this Sunday (03.05.2023) before the Parliament of Athens to demand responsibilities from the Government after the death, on February 28, of 57 people in the most serious railway accident in the history of Greece. Groups of protesters threw Molotov cocktails at security forces, while others set garbage containers on fire.
The local press estimates that some 10,000 people participated in the protest, one of the most massive since the tragedy occurred. The marches have been repeated for several days to demand transport safety and denounce that there is a State responsibility for not having modernized the railway structure, which lacks automated control systems that could have prevented the crash.
In the presence of minority, but very violent, groups of demonstrators, the police fired stun grenades and tear gas, in order to prevent part of the march from going to the offices of Hellenic Train, the company that operates the railways in Greece. . “Your policies cost lives” could be read on one of the banners displayed by the protesters, while another accused the government of being “murderous”.
“This crime will not be forgotten”
The demonstration was attended by leftist groups, railway unions and students. Most of the fatalities in the accident were young people under the age of 25, according to authorities, who still work to identify all the bodies recovered from among the twisted iron of the wagons. “This crime will not be forgotten,” the protesters shouted.
The railway workers, who also lost colleagues in the tragedy, have organized rotating strikes since Wednesday, in which they have denounced the reduction of costs and lack of investment. Greece’s railways are operated by the Italian company Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, although the country’s railway infrastructure, including safety systems, is run by the state company OSE.
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