‘Indignant’ plan third day of protest in Athens
The social media-inspired protests in Athens and other cities look set to continue as demonstrators have been invited to voice their dissatisfaction for a third day running.
The ?Indignant? movement, which takes its name from a similar campaign in Spain, has chiefly been driven by Facebook and other social networking sites. Messages have been posted calling for people to return to Syntagma Square at 6 p.m. on Friday.
On Wednesday, some 20,000 people filled the square in front of Parliament, while close to 10,000 gathered on Thursday despite heavy rain. Thousands more gathered in the centers of several other Greek cities.
There is no central theme to the protests, which are not linked to any particular party or labor union, but they are directed at the unpopular austerity measures that have accompanied Greece?s bailout and at the lack of accountability of politicians. Like the Spanish protesters, Greeks are also demanding better job prospects and an improved quality of life.
?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.
