Reuters
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Hundreds of thousands gathered in Greek cities and towns on Friday to demand justice on the second anniversary of the country’s most deadly train crash, with workers grounding planes and halting the transport of seas and trains.
Fifty-seven people were killed when a passenger train filled with students collided with a freight train near the Central Valley of Greece on February 28, 2023.
Two years later, the safety gap that caused the crash has not been met. It was discovered on Thursday. Another judicial investigation remains unfinished and no one has been found guilty of the accident.
Large-scale demonstrations were planned in dozens of cities across the country. All international and domestic flights were grounded as air traffic controllers joined crews, train drivers, doctors, lawyers and teachers on a 24-hour general strike to pay tribute to the victims of the crash. Businesses closed and theaters cancelled performances.
By the early hours of the morning, tens of thousands had gathered at Syntagma Square in the heart of Athens and were seen by police on a riot device. Sign with the words “Murderer’s Government.” The central right government of Kiriakos Mitotakis, who won reelection after the crash in 2023, has faced repeated criticisms by the victim’s parents for not launching a parliamentary investigation into political responsibility.
The government denied fraud and said it was up to the judiciary to investigate the accident. Friday’s protests reflect an increase in anger over the Greek disaster. It reflects the common distrust of government after the 2009-2018 debt crisis, when the 2009-2018 debt crisis lost wages and pensions and public services suffered from funding shortages. ”
“The Athenerary musician is 57-year-old Christos Maine said: “It was a murder, not an accident,” he said.
Another protester who named her as Evi said she was there to mourn the death. “It’s because the government tried to hide things.” The names of the killed were spray painted in red on the ground in front of the Congress building. In the suburbs of Athens, groups of all ages became downtown and read a placard called “I Have No Oxygen.” This is a protest slogan that reflects the woman’s last words in her call for emergency services. Many students went to classes dressed in black, a symbol of mourning. The others hugged the black balloons.
In a Facebook post Friday, Mitsotakis said his government will work to modernize the rail network and make it safer. “That night we saw the country’s most glimpse of the face that was in the National Mirror,” he wrote about the night of the crash. “The fatal human error has come across the inadequateness of the chronic condition.”
Opposition parties accused the government of covering up the evidence and urged them to resign. Next week, Congress will discuss whether to set up a committee to investigate possible political liability in the disaster. In a survey conducted by Pulse Polls this week, 82% of Greeks said that train disasters are the “most” or “most important” issue in the country, with 66% saying they are unhappy with the investigation into the accident.
In Athens, students chanted, “Please text me when you get there” – the last message many of the victim’s relatives sent to them.
