Islam Times - Greece Police ban demos against German Chancellor’s visit

Islam Times - Greek Police have issued a statement saying that all protests or public gatherings against a planned visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the country’s capital are prohibited.

According to the statement released on Monday, the country’s Police banned “public gatherings and demonstrations'' in Athens city center where the German Embassy and Greek Parliament are located.

Anti-austerity protesters are expected to take to the streets in Athens on Tuesday to take part in a protest organized by labor unions and opposition parties against Merkel’s 6-hour-visit to the country.

People in debt-stricken Greece blame Merkel for pressuring their government to enforce harsh austerity measures.

During her first visit to Greece since the eurozone economic crisis began in 2009, Merkel will meet Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, as his coalition government is struggling to get international lenders to agree on a new package of spending cuts.

Some 6,000 police officers will be deployed across Athens on Tuesday.

Greece has been at the epicenter of the eurozone debt crisis and is experiencing its fifth year of recession, while harsh austerity measures have left about half a million people without jobs.

On October 1, Greek government unveiled its 2013 draft budget which includes measures that would affect pensions, benefits, and the salaries of civil servants to meet the criteria by the troika of lenders, i.e. the European Union (EU), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank (ECB).

The new austerity program includes slashing pensions by 3.5 billion euros, health cuts worth 1.47 billion euros as well as a 517-million-euro reduction in defense spending. However, the measures have not convinced the troika.