Groundswell: economic and ethnic tensions spark wave of protests across the globe

October 2, 2011 – ATHENS – Greece was expected to unveil its plan on Sunday to begin laying off state workers, the most contentious part of a reform package demanded by the EU and IMF to free up loans and stave off bankruptcy. Without the release of an 8 billion euro ($10.7 billion)tranche of an EU bailout, massively indebted Greece could run out of money to pay state wage bills within weeks. European officials are scrambling to avert a Greek debt default, which could wreck the balance sheets of European banks, damage the prospects of the euro single currency and possibly plunge the world into a new global financial crisis. A senior member of the ruling coalition in Germany, Europe’s paymaster, said it may be necessary for Greece to abandon the euro, a prospect European governments officially reject as beyond consideration. Negotiators from the International Monetary Fund, European Union and European Central Bank, known as the troika, have returned to Athens after walking out of talks a month ago, and have met Greek officials for the past four days. To persuade the troika to release the loans, the government has promised to introduce new taxes, cut state wages by an average of 20 percent and reduce the number of public sector workers by a fifth by 2015. The austerity measures are deeply unpopular, and public sector unions hope that strikes and demonstrations can wreck the Socialist government’s resolve to enact them. No part of the package is more contentious than the plan to lay off state workers — who make up a fifth of the Greek workforce and are guaranteed jobs for life under a constitution that bans firing government employees in virtually all circumstances. The cabinet was due to meet on Sunday evening to discuss a plan to begin layoffs by setting up a “labor reserve.” Under the plan, 30,000 workers would be put in the reserve by the end of this year and paid 60 percent of their salaries for a year, after which they would be dismissed. The government has yet to announce how the program would work, including details such as whether it would be used to push out younger workers or only to accelerate the retirement of workers already reaching pension age. Greek officials said late on Saturday a solution was close. –Reuters

New York – Police reopened the Brooklyn Bridge Saturday evening after more than 700 anti-Wall Street protesters were arrested for blocking traffic lanes and attempting an unauthorized march across the span. The arrests took place when a large group of marchers, participating in a second week of protests by the Occupy Wall Street movement, broke off from others on the bridge’s pedestrian walkway and headed across the Brooklyn-bound lanes. “Over 700 summonses and desk appearance tickets have been issued in connection with a demonstration on the Brooklyn Bridge late this afternoon after multiple warnings by police were given to protesters to stay on the pedestrian walkway, and that if they took roadway they would be arrested,” a police spokesman said. “Some complied and took the walkway without being arrested. Others proceeded on the Brooklyn-bound vehicular roadway and were. The bridge was re-opened to traffic at 8:05 p.m. (0005 GMT Sunday).” Most of those who were arrested were taken into custody off the bridge, issued summonses and released. Witnesses described a chaotic scene on the famous. –Reuters

Portugal – Thousands demonstrated in Portugal Saturday against the government’s austerity measures amid projections that the economic situation is far worse than expected. Government and private sector workers rallied in Lisbon and Porto, following a call by the country’s largest trade union federation to speak out against policies it says have devastated “jobs, workers, pensions and social rights.” “No to price rises” and “No to the destruction of health care”, read banners hoisted by demonstrators marching through central Lisbon. Rally organizers, who said they had charted dozens of buses to transport protestors from around the country, did not immediately provide an estimate of the turnout. In April, Portugal became the third eurozone country after Greece and Ireland to request an emergency bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to deal with its mountain of debt. –France 24

Bulgaria – The Bulgarian president says the National Security Council is holding an emergency meeting to discuss rising ethnic tensions as nationalist groups stage anti-Roma rallies across the country. According to a statement from Georgi Parvanov’s office on Saturday, the council is scheduled to shape “emergency measures to guarantee law and order in the country and prevent and counter ethnic tensions.” Riots erupted last weekend in the southern village of Katunitsa after a 19-year-old man was run over and killed by a minibus driven by a man linked to a local leader of the Roma, also known as Gypsies. Villagers hurled stones and firebombs at Roma leader’s house, demanding he and his family be expelled. –Las Vegas Sun

Israel – Approximately 2,000 Israeli Arabs, including members of Knesset and other top officials, participated in marches in the northern town of Sakhnin on Saturday to commemorate the October 2000 riots. The demonstrators waved Palestinian flags, chanted slogans decrying Israel, and held up photos of the 13 Israeli Arab protesters who were killed in clashes with Israeli police forces 11 years ago, at the start of the Second Intifada. Saturday’s demonstrators also called for the indictment of the policemen whom they claim were responsible for the killings. –The Haaretz

Bolivia — Bolivian natives angry over plans to build a highway through an Amazon nature preserve resumed their protest march Saturday after a violent police crackdown a week ago, a top demo leader said. The march began at daybreak in the town of Quiquibey, some 300 kilometers (186 miles) northeast of La Paz, protest leader Rafael Quispe told AFP. Quispe said that the hundreds of protesters were moving toward the capital at a speed of around 20 kilometers (12 miles) a day. Bolivian authorities have been trying to tamp down the uproar that erupted when riot police fired tear gas and arrested hundreds of activists who had been marching for a month on September 25. Bolivia’s defense minister Cecilia Chacona resigned over the incident, followed by interior minister Sacha Llorenti. Migration chief Maria Rene Quiroga has also stepped down, calling the crackdown “unforgivable.” –AFP