Gunmen shoot policeman in Athens

Source: BBC

A Greek riot policeman has been seriously injured after being shot in central Athens.

Greece's police chief says bullet cases matched the Kalashnikov rifle used in another attack on police in December.

The officer, 21-year-old Diamandis Matzounis, was part of a unit guarding the culture ministry when the pre-dawn attack took place.
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The victim was on a life support machine on Monday after spending five hours in surgery. He lost several litres of blood after being hit in the abdomen and is described as being in a critical condition.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7810972.stm

A police killing of a teenager sparked those riots a few weeks ago.

The policeman who shot the youth is in jail, charged with murder; the victim here is personally innocent.

Source: AP


ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek anti-terror police are investigating an attack Monday against riot police in Athens that severely wounded a policeman and raised fears of a resurgence of domestic terrorism.

At least two gunmen sprayed riot police with automatic weapons fire outside the Culture Ministry before dawn Monday. Authorities said the attack may be linked to an extreme left-wing group that fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the U.S. embassy in Athens two years ago.

The shooting was a severe escalation in violence even after Greece was hit in December by its worst riots in decades, sparked by the fatal police shooting of a teenager on Dec. 6.

For two weeks after the 15-year-old boy's death in Athens' often volatile Exarchia district, masked protesters frequently attacked police with gasoline bombs and rocks in near daily riots but caused no serious injuries.



Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h688jFLiOpxrAcGDh_g8yfHC-2gAD95H4SQO9

This is major. Along with the instability in the Balkans that we saw earlier last year, I'm thinking that this region will explode into chaos. There's other factors, too. For instance the high tax rates, food shortages and the Greek government wanting to bend to the European Union's cookie cutter plan has Greeks up at arms.

I would be up at arms if my culture and livliehoods were about to be raped by corporate greed and deeper corruption. Thankfully I was already born into the transition period, so I spared my own life by not being able to build bombs at the age of 3.

I am siding with the citizens in this debacle. The world's government(s) are out of control and the people need to rise and show their true force.

Come on folks, this is the world's oldest democracy. I'm all about following example!