Mass strikes and protests in Greece on jubilee day train disaster

In Greece on Friday, the majority of the Greek population participates in a massive national strike due to dissatisfaction with the handling of the largest train disaster in the country. Train operators, air traffic controllers, doctors, lawyers and teachers have resigned their work, among others. Companies and stores are close and theater performances are canceled.

At the railway tragedy that took place on 28 February 2023, 57 people were killed. The Greeks blame the government that it is not transparent in the handling of the train disaster, following a report that was published on Thursday. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to protest.

Two years ago the disaster took place in the municipality of Temi. A freight train collided head -on In a passenger train that ran on the same track, which caused 57 people to kill and fell another dozens of injuries. According to Greek opinion polls believes a large part of the population that the government has since tried to conceal what exactly happened, and who is responsible for it.

Responsibility

Initially, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis blamed the shoes of the station chief. So far, only railway employees have been charged. In Greece, there is in particular dissatisfaction that no politicians from the conservative government are held responsible.

Last January, suspicions arose that the large number of fatalities had to do with illegal fuels transported by the freight train. On leaked audio recordings from the train at the time of the accident, a woman was told who said she was no longer able to get air.

Mitsotakis has not responded to a call from the European public prosecutor to possibly prosecute two former transport ministers. The conservative government denies accusations that it hurts the truth and in turn accuses the opposition to want to score political points about the backs of victims and relatives, writes Polrico.

Conclusions report

On Thursday, the Greek research council published a report with conclusions about the handling of the disaster. The report shows that the track in Greece is heavily outdated and in need of innovation. It is also concluded that certain safety protocols are still not being complied with. This means that there will be too much responsibility with individuals who are insufficiently trained for that.

The national strike was already planned for the publication of the report, but has resulted in furious protests by the conclusions from the study. Five thousand agents were deployed in Athens alone. The protests, in more that 350 Greek cities, are organized by the families of the victims.

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