Greek youth and students march against police brutality

Greek youth and students, already facing budget cuts for youth programs, a repressive conservative government pushing the privatization of the university system, and a slowing economy where their degrees mean less and less, are now apparently fed up. The spark? The police killing of a 15-year-old boy. Reuters:

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece braced for a third day of demonstrations on Monday after the fatal shooting by police of a teenager triggered underlying anger over the Conservative government's economic policies and the worst rioting in decades.

Thousands clashed with police and rampaged through Athens and other cities this weekend, destroying scores of businesses, injuring dozens and piling pressure on the conservative government, whose ratings have already been hit by a slowdown.

"Athens and Thessaloniki under siege" said daily Eleftheros Typos on its front page, while Apogevmatini newspaper headlined: "48 hours of horror".

Despite the arrest of two police officers for the killing of the 15-year-old boy, the Greek Communist Party announced a mass rally in central Athens for Monday evening and the socialist PASOK opposition, which has taken the lead in opinion polls recently, called for peaceful mass demonstrations.

What a different society Greece has. If only we had seen such outrage after the police killing of Deonte Rawlings in DC.