‘Indignant’ Greeks take to cities for second day
Thousands of people demonstrating against austerity measures braved heavy rain in Athens on Thursday to protest in front of Parliament for a second consecutive day.
Responding to invitations on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking media, ?The Indignant,? as the movement has dubbed itself, gathered in the thousands in the Greek capital and other major cities across the country. It was estimated that over 7,000 people gathered in Syntagma Square alone.
?I would like to know how the unionists feel to see more people marching here than they have ever been able to muster,? a 30-year-old employee of a public utility, who wanted to remain anonymous, told Kathimerini.
Yet some protesters expressed concern over where the movement will go from here. ?What will come of this ideological mosaic?? wondered Costas, a self-proclaimed leftist.
?The slogans we have been hearing since yesterday have little point and are old-fashioned,? added Lefteris, who claims to be apolitical. ?The slogans need work and direction,? he said, expressing the widely held belief that unless the slogans become real demands and proposals soon, the movement will fall flat.
The mood on Thursday was determined, however, and many demonstrators said that they were ready to join the protests being organized for Friday and Saturday. Some were even writing up lists of things they would need to see the protest through, like tents, garbage bags and food.
At Thessaloniki?s White Tower, protesters did not turn out in the same numbers as yesterday, though the sit-down demonstration in front of the city?s most important landmark appeared to have greater involvement from political parties.
In the Peloponnesian port of Patra, heavy and constant rainfall kept the Indignant away, with only some 300 people gathering at Aghiou Georgiou Square.
