Up to 2,000 policemen to be removed from guarding VIPs, says minister
Alternate Citizen’s Protection Minister Yiannis Panousis plans to remove up to 2,000 policemen from guarding VIPs and return them to normal duty.
Speaking to Vima FM on Monday, Panousis said that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras wants the number of policemen acting as bodyguards to be reduced by 1,500 to 2,000.
Panousis indicated that he also expects the police to make scarcer use of tear gas during protests.
“To use chemicals means that things have reached extremes, where others are using various weapons, from chunks of marble to anything else,” he said. “In this case, we can examine the option but chemicals are not there for chasing pensioners or teachers.”
