Greece Crippled by General Strike

By Roddy Thomson, AFP [Industry Week]

Greece ground to a halt Tuesday as angry workers launched a 48-hour general strike against an austerity drive ordered by its bankruptcy-threatened government in exchange for a European bailout.

Crowds converged early on Syntagma Square, where parliament will vote on sweeping spending cuts as planes, ships and most public transport came to a halt.

Europe's economic tsar, Olli Rehn, in Brussels warned that Greece faced "a critical juncture" and the austerity program was the "only way to avoid immediate default."

But that view was not shared by protesters, determined to block passage of the package.

"We don't want your money Europe," a protester named Iamando, 36, told AFP on the square where police were already out in force at 11 a.m. GMT. "Leave us alone -- please, please, please."

The number of police in the center of the capital rose to 4,000, according to the authorities, with traffic unable to circulate in central Athens.

Public transport was halted in Athens for the fourth general strike called this year by the country's two biggest unions, with the exception of the metro, whose drivers decided not to strike so as to allow Athenians to swell protest numbers.

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