Opposition slams government over parade protests
Opposition parties have criticized the government after anti-austerity protesters prevented the annual October 28 parade taking place in Thessaloniki and several other cities on Friday.
President Karolos Papoulias and other dignitaries left the podium in the northern port city after hundreds of demonstrators blocked the route of the parade, held to mark Greece?s entry into the Second World War.
Government spokesman Ilias Mosialos appealed for ?calm and self-control? from the opposition parties, who he asked to take clear public positions on Friday?s events.
However, New Democracy led the way in criticizing the government for failing to ensure the parades took place and being unable to respond to people?s anger.
?The government is watching these social explosions, which its policies have triggered, helplessly,? said ND leader Antonis Samaras, who also slammed the protests.
?At a time when the country is tending to its wounds and is trying to stand on its own two feet, our national symbols and Greek history should not be associated with this catastrophic government,? he said. ?It is a despicable way to react to a despicable government. Only our enemies would want us to be divided.?
The right-wing Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) blamed the protests on leftists. The nationalist also called for Citizens? Protection Minister Christos Papoutsis to resign.
However, the protests were applauded by WWII resistance hero Manolis Glezos. The former leftist politician
?What happened in Thessaloniki restores the true meaning of October 28,? he told ANT-1 TV. ?Seventy one years ago our people said ?no? to subjugation and today the people are saying ?no? to our country becoming a protectorate.?
