Costas Karamanlis, Greek
prime minister, called an emergency cabinet meeting on Monday night
amid escalating violence in central Athens with rioters setting fire to
dozens of buildings around the parliament square.
Mr Karamanlis
was expected to declare a state of emergency as police struggled to
control a third day of riots in half a dozen cities around Greece.
In
Athens the situation deteriorated after nightfall when masked youths
broke up a peaceful protest march by the leftwing opposition Syriza
party, throwing firebombs at two luxury hotels and a bank branch.
Thousands
of Greek youths on Monday took part in a third day of violent protests
following the killing of a 15-year-old boy by a police officer in a
students’ district of Athens.
Earlier as police fired teargas
at the rock-throwing demonstrators in central Athens, shoppers fled
into a nearby metro station. The central square overlooking the
parliament building emptied after police buses blocked access to
traffic.
Undeterred by the violence, two leftwing political parties staged separate protest meetings followed by a march to parliament.
Alecos
Alavanos, leader of Syriza, which is supported by many young Greeks,
called for the resignation of the centre-right government.
“There was no justification for what happened. The conservatives cannot stay in power after this,” he said.
Greek
authorities appeared ill-prepared to handle the sustained protests,
with many government buildings left unguarded in Athens and other
cities.
Several government offices had to be evacuated after fire-bomb
attacks. Police said more than 60 shops, banks and dealerships were
damaged over the weekend.
Business in the city centre of Athens ground to a halt.
Many shops with smashed windows opened as usual.
“In
these times businesses can’t afford to turn any customers away,” said
George Sofronos, deputy president of the city’s retailing association.
George Alogoskoufis, finance minister, said the government would pay compensation for damage to property.
Authorities fear more street clashes, with a teachers’ walk-out
set for Tuesday, to be followed by a full-fledged public sector strike
on Wednesday.
The teenager, Alexandros Gligoropoulos, died after being hit by bullets fired by a police officer on Saturday night.