Greek Police Use Teargas on Pensioners Protesting Austerity

Thousands of pensioners responded to a protest call by the communist opposition and tensions boiled over as their protest march approached the Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's office and residence in Athens Monday.

OPINION:
Who Profited From the $440 Billion Greek Bailout? Not Greeks

One group of protesters attempted to breach the cordon of riot police guarding the building, while others attempted to overturn a police car, according to an AFP correspondent. Police responded with pepper spray, but protesters regrouped before being dispersed.

Reacting swiftly, Minister for Citizens' Protection Nikos Toska took responsibility for the use of the gas irritant and announced a ban on "all use of tear gas on protests by pensioners and workers."

The leftist Syriza party of Prime Minister Tsipras, when it was in opposition, regularly decried the use of tear gas on protesters.

Its use was widespread during anti-austerity protests at the beginning of the decade, to the point where whole neighborhoods in the Greek capital were affected. The elderly protesters shouted slogans such as "We can't live on 400 euros (US$450)," and "Let the rich pay for the crisis."

The demonstrators were angered by 15 successive cuts in their pension payments, most recently in April, as part of massive rounds of austerity during the past seven years, dictated by creditors which culminated in three international bailouts.

RELATED:​​
WikiLeaks: IMF to Threaten Greece with Bankruptcy

Pensioners have been particularly hit, with many benefits pared as taxes have spiked. "Is it possible that I should pay the same real estate tax as a rich businessman?" asked Nikos Saslov, a civil servant due for retirement next year.

"If they (the government) are leftists, then I'm Sophia Loren," the graying bespectacled man in sandals said, referring to the Italian actress.

The overall effect has been cuts of 25 to 55 percent to pensions, according to Ika, the largest social security organization in Greece.

Six out of 10 Greek retirees receive pensions of less than 700 euros per month, a pensioners group said last week, which is below the poverty level in the country and money which in some cases whole families depend on.