Greek Rioting - Unrelated to Islam
World | Tue, Dec 9, 2008 at 10:18:27 am PST
Lots of people have emailed us to express suspicion at the reports of “youths” rioting in Greece after the police shooting of a teenager. The suspicion is understandable, given media’s previous reluctance to identify the rioters in France as anything other than “youths,” but the simple fact is that this horrible violence has nothing to do with Islamic immigrants and everything to do with Greece’s home-grown anarchist left: Violence breaks out during Greek teen’s funeral.
ATHENS, Greece – Riot police fought running battles with mourners Tuesday after the funeral of a teenager whose shooting by officers set off waves of rioting that have sent Greece’s already unpopular government reeling.
Opposition socialist leader George Papandreou called for early elections, saying the governing conservatives were incapable of defending the public from rioters.
The government has a single-seat majority in the 300-member Parliament and opposition parties blame hands-off policing for encouraging the worst rioting the country has seen in decades. “The government cannot handle this crisis and has lost the trust of the Greek people,” Papandreou said. “The best thing it can do is resign and let the people find a solution ... we will protect the public.”
High-school and university students joined elements of mostly left-wing and self-styled anarchist groups to rampage through the capital and several other cities overnight. Gangs of masked youths roamed the streets erecting burning barricades and pelting riot police with rocks and bottles.
On Tuesday, police fired tear gas to dispel dozens of youths throwing stones and sticks and setting trash cans on fire near the funeral for 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos, whose death Saturday sparked the rioting. Dozens of local residents gathered on the streets, shouting at police to stop firing gas in the residential area.
