Demonstrations against the Greek government have continued in Athens, with protesters clashing with police outside the parliament building. The protests were sparked by the country’s deadliest train crash in living memory, which occurred last week and killed at least 57 people. Thousands of students, railway workers, and left-wing groups have taken to the streets to demand accountability for the accident and better safety standards on the rail network. The protests have been ongoing for three days, with railway workers staging rotating walkouts since Wednesday. The government has blamed human error for the crash, but protesters have criticized the government’s cost-cutting and underinvestment in rail infrastructure.
On Sunday, a small group of protesters hurled petrol bombs at police and set fire to rubbish bins. Police responded by firing tear gas and stun grenades, clearing Syntagma Square of protesters within a few minutes. The protesters then dispersed to nearby streets. Police said that 12,000 people had gathered by the large esplanade in front of the parliament to demand accountability for Tuesday’s head-on collision near the central city of Larissa.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s government has promised justice for the victims of the crash. Mitsotakis has blamed human error for the accident but has also acknowledged that there are broader issues with Greece’s railway network that need to be addressed. He apologized to the victims’ families on Facebook, writing: “As prime minister, I owe everyone, but most of all the relatives of the victims, an apology…Justice will very fast investigate the tragedy and determine liabilities.” A station master in the nearby city of Larissa who was on duty at the time of the crash has been charged with endangering lives and disrupting public transport.
Railway workers’ unions have criticized safety systems throughout the rail network, saying that they have been deficient for years. They have called on the government to provide a timetable for the implementation of safety protocols. Mitsotakis has said that if there had been a remote system in place throughout the rail network “it would have been, in practice, impossible for the accident to happen”. He has promised that Greece will soon announce action and seek expertise from the European Commission and other countries on improving rail safety.
The protests have led to strike action that has paralysed train and metro services. Pope Francis has expressed his condolences for the victims of the crash, saying in his weekly address to crowds in St Peter’s Square, Rome: “I pray for the dead, I am close to the injured and their relatives, and may Our Lady comfort them.”