Defiant Keratea residents clash with police
Residents of Keratea, southeastern Attica, on Thursday scaled up their protests against the planned construction of a landfill in their area, digging a 2-meter-deep trench in the middle of Lavriou Avenue, the thoroughfare connecting the nearby port of Lavrio to the capital, and clashing violently with riot police officers in the evening.
Demonstrators of all ages hurled stones and firebombs at police officers, who responded by firing tear gas.
Earlier in the day, officers stood guard as bulldozers and steamrollers were brought in to repair the damage to Lavriou Avenue.
The trench, believed to have been dug in the early hours of Thursday morning, resulted in the closure of a large section of the road for several hours.
Commenting on the defiance of protesters in Keratea yesterday, government spokesman Giorgos Petalotis said it would not thwart the landfill plan.
?No one can stop a project which concerns health, the environment and people?s daily lives,? he said.
