Greek pensioners protest further pension cuts

By Idyli Tsakiri

ATHENS

Thousands of pensioners marched in Athens on Tuesday, protesting against further cuts in their benefits.

Greece’s elderly have repeatedly witnessed declines in their income since the country’s prolonged economic crisis began.

One of the protesters said he had seen his pension cut 11 times since 2010.

“These are the policies of death, and they will exist for as long as European politicians exist,” Gerasimos Benetatos, 72, told Anadolu Agency.

The Greek government plans to sign a new round of austerity measures in order for a second review of the country’s bailout program to be completed.

Additional reductions in pensions is part of the negotiations between Greece and its lenders.

However, Greece’s senior citizens remain incensed at the cuts. Pensioners are “easy victims”, said 78-year-old Vaggelis Michos, another demonstrator.

“We are completely stricken by poverty and wretchedness is all we see in the future,” Michos added.

The pensioners gathered in Kotzia Square in the center of Athens and marched to the labor ministry, brandishing banners against the government’s austerity policies.

“Don’t cut the pensions, cut your throats,” read one.

Tuesday’s protest comes less than two weeks before the Greek Orthodox Easter, when the elderly used to receive a bonus of half their monthly pension.

However, this bonus was abolished five years ago and never restored, counter to pre-election promises made by the country’s main governing SYRIZA party before it came to power.