Athens standstill
July 18, 2011
Parts of the Greek capital, Athens, have come to a standstill as taxi drivers launched a 48-hour strike over plans to liberalize the taxi trade and the nation's struggling economy.
Thousands of tourists were left stranded at the city's main international airport as taxi drivers formed a 20,000-strong convoy along the main highway to the aviation hub.
Athens' main Syntagma Square was also hit by severe disruptions, as was the main port of Pireaus, where cabbies blocked the gate to the cruise ship docking station.
Similar disruptions were reported at the western port of Patras, which serves as a main port towards Italy and the northern port of Thessaloniki.
A public prosecutor has ordered police to detain taxi drivers if necessary on charges of hampering travel during the peak tourist season.
The strikes are aimed at convincing the Greek government to back down on its plan to increase the number of taxi licenses that can be issued. The drivers have threatened to prolong their protest if the reforms are not reversed.
Greece is currently straining under mountains of debt and subsequent social unrest over the handling of the economic crisis by the government of Prime Minister George Papandreou.
Athens is under pressure from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to liberalize dozens of tightly regulated industries as a condition for receiving installments of a 110-billion-euro ($154 billion) financial bailout package.
Author: Darren Mara (AFP, dpa)
Editor: Martin Kuebler