Athens residents express outrage

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Source: CCTV.com | 12-10-2008 13:51

We begin with Greece where riots have continued to grip the capital city of Athens, leaving the city paralyzed.

The police killing of a teenage boy has led to three days of rioting as youths rampaged through Athens and cities across the country. And more violence is expected.

Left-wing protestors shout slogans outside the Greece consulate in Berlin, December 8, 2008, after others  forcibly entered the building to demonstrate against the fatal shooting of a Greek teenager in Athens by police over the weekend. (Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters)

The funeral of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos was held in a seaside suburb of Athens on Tuesday afternoon.

Schools and universities across Greece were closed, and hundreds of teachers and students rallied in central Athens.

Demonstrator, said, "I'm a teacher. I want change."

Police fired tear gas to dispel dozens of youths throwing stones and sticks and setting trash cans on fire near the funeral.

In other parts of the city, some teenage protesters pelted police with rocks and scuffled with officers in front of Parliament. Groups of high-school students attacked four police stations But riot police did not respond and no injuries were reported.

Many residents expressed sympathy for the boy who was killed.

Athens Resident, said, "It's a total disgrace, of course it's a shame for the boy, but what about the rest of the people, who don't have money, and at a time like this too."

By early Tuesday, hundreds of stores, cars, banks and buildings in about a dozen cities across Greece had been torched, smashed or looted.

Local commentators say the growing hostility by young Greeks toward authority is fed by public discontent over low wages, frequent public corruption scandals and a strong historic distrust of government rooted in past political upheavals.

Socialist party leader, George Papandreous, called for early elections, saying the conservative government could no longer defend the public from rioters.

Two police officers have been charged over the shooting of the boy one was charged with premeditated murder and the other with abetting him.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei