NEWS

Police on alert for attacks on public buildings, unrest

Police on alert for attacks on public buildings, unrest

Police are bracing for a spike in unrest in the coming days with sources indicating that members of anarchist and other anti-establishment groups are planning to occupy or attack government and public buildings in protest at a new agreement with creditors that foresees additional austerity.

Sources indicated that buildings could be targeted as early as Wednesday, when a multi-bill of tax and pension reforms is to go to Parliament. There are fears that protesters will try to occupy the headquarters of leftist SYRIZA in Koumoundourou Square, which was taken over in early March by anarchists demanding that the government satisfy the demands of jailed hunger strikers. The anarchist group Rouvikonas, whose members participated in that occupation, were also the driving force behind several protests in recent months, including one on the grounds of Parliament in April.

Sources from the police’s counterterrorism unit expressed concerns that rising tensions could lead to a resurgence of activity by urban guerrilla groups. “The political and social circumstances are fertile ground for the outbreak of arson attacks… or even bomb attacks and armed activities,” a police source told Kathimerini.

Police are also on alert to deal with potential upheaval in central Athens Wednesday as MPs gather in Parliament to debate and vote on new austerity measures agreed on by the government and Greece’s creditors.

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