Greeks Protest Against Tighter Demo Rules

Athens, July 9 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Jul, 2020 ) :Thousands of Greeks demonstrated on Thursday against a new law tightening street protest rules that has been criticised by the opposition as undemocratic.

Outside parliament in Athens, some protesters threw firebombs at police as the government majority was expected to approve the bill in an evening vote.

Riot police fired tear gas to disperse them.

Around 10,000 people participated in three separate Athens protests against the new law, a police source said.

Among the new regulations are less street space afforded to smaller protests, and the right of police to ban certain gatherings -- including counter-protests -- for security reasons.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the new rules were necessary to regulate "dozens of small protests" that routinely shut down city centres.

"There are frequent cases where these events... descend into vandalism," he told lawmakers on Thursday prior to the vote.

"There must be rules so that (protests) do not impede citizens' movement and work, and the life of an entire city," Mitsotakis said.

These rights are as "sacred" as the right to demonstrate, he said.

"Our constitution protects (the right to protest) since 1864," he said.

The main opposition leftist Syriza party has attacked the bill as "paternalistic" and "fascist-like".

"Today is a dark day for the Greek republic," said Syriza leader and former PM Alexis Tsipras.

Syriza and other smaller parties have accused the government of seeking to muzzle criticism ahead of a deep recession coming in the autumn, exacerbated by a long coronavirus lockdown.

Amnesty International also expressed "serious concern" about the new law, arguing that it runs counter to international human rights provisions.

Tightening demonstration rules has been a key pledge of Mitsotakis' conservatives who came to power a year ago.

A poll released by Skai tv station on Thursday showed 56 percent of respondents support additional rules on protests, with 33 percent against.