Acropolis protests
October 14, 2010
Riot police used tear gas and batons to disperse hundred of protestors barricading the Acropolis for a second straight day Thursday. The protestors, most of them workers at the Culture Ministry, are demanding back wages and permanent employment contracts.
The strike began on Wednesday, when some 200 employees barricaded the Acropolis and refused to allow tourists to enter Greece's most famous tourist site unless their demands were met.
Closed to tourists
"The Acropolis is a world heritage monument and no one has the right to shut it down and prevent thousands of people who have travelled to see it from visiting it," said deputy minister for tourism George Nikitiadis.
Protestors vowed to return on Friday.
In a show of solidarity, the Acropolis' permanent security guards went on a one-day strike Thursday to protest the extreme use of violence by police against the demonstrators.
On Monday, a Greek policeman was sentenced to life in prison for the shooting of an Athens teenager that sparked nationwide riots in 2008.
Author: Sarah Harman (Reuters/AFP)
Editor: Rob Turner