{"id":1018523,"date":"2023-03-08T20:07:56","date_gmt":"2023-03-08T20:07:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/thousands-march-greek-train-disaster"},"modified":"2023-03-08T20:07:56","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T20:07:56","slug":"its-not-an-accident-its-a-crime-thousands-march-for-justice-after-greek-train-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/03\/08\/its-not-an-accident-its-a-crime-thousands-march-for-justice-after-greek-train-disaster\/","title":{"rendered":"‘It’s Not an Accident, It’s a Crime’: Thousands March for Justice After Greek Train Disaster"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tens of thousands of people marched throughout Greece on Wednesday\u2014amid a nationwide walkout organized by labor unions and student associations\u2014to demand accountability and reforms in the wake of the country's deadliest train disaster, which has been attributed to austerity imposed from abroad.<\/p>

The February 28 crash that killed 57 people and injured another 72 has sparked public outrage over the deteriorating quality of the rail network. As Reuters<\/em> reported<\/a>, \"Striking workers say years of neglect,<\/a> underinvestment, and understaffing\u2014a legacy of Greece's decade-long debt crisis\u2014are to blame.\"<\/p>

\"Greece sold its state-owned railway operator, now called Hellenic Train, to Italy's state-owned Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane in 2017 during its debt crisis,\" the news outlet noted. \"The sale was a term in the country's bailout agreements with the European Union and the Washington-based International Monetary Fund.\"<\/p>

More than 40,000 workers and students hit the streets of Athens, where they chanted<\/a> \"murderers!\" and \"we are all in the same carriage.\" Demonstrators in Greece's capital and largest city also waved signs reading<\/a>, It's not an accident, it's a crime\" and, \"It could have been any of us on that train.\"<\/p>

Another 20,000-plus people rallied in Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city. Meanwhile, near the scene of the train collision in Larrisa, protesters declared<\/a>, \"No to profits over our lives!\"<\/p>

The demonstrations coincided with a daylong strike called by trade unionists. Greece's largest public sector union participated in the work stoppage, disrupting a wide range of transit services, while a teachers' union made clear<\/a> that \"it's not the time to fall silent.\"<\/p>

Rail workers, for their part, \"have staged rolling, 24-hour strikes since Thursday, bringing the network to a halt,\" Reuters<\/em> reported. \"The workers say their demands for improvement in safety protocols have gone unheard for years.\"<\/p>

Police have responded to protests held across Greece since the disaster occurred with violent repression.<\/p>

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\\u201cEarlier today, our MeRA25 party members demonstrated peacefully against the hideous privatisation of our railways that led to a foreshadowed tragedy. Here is how the police treated us. Democrats of the world beware: Greece is sliding into a quasi-fascist condition.\\u201d<\/div> \u2014 Yanis Varoufakis (@Yanis Varoufakis)\n 1678047067<\/a>\n<\/blockquote>\n