Thousands of anti-austerity protesters took to the streets of central Athens on Wednesday urging their government to stand firm and reject further austerity measures being demanded by the country’s creditors.
The protest in Syntagma Square marked the first major demonstration against Greece's creditors since the new Syriza government entered parliament in late January but also caused reaction from pro-Europe individuals that are planning to have a counter protest today in Syntagma Square in front of the Greek parliament building in Athens.
The "Stay with Europe" Facebook event page has nearly 30,000 people committed to the 7.30 p.m. counter-protest.
Pro-Europe protesters call on government to take action on reaching a deal. Organizers say they wanted to plan a peaceful event in order to send a message to the government. “The continuing uncertainty has rattled Greeks” one of the organizers said.
The event has come under criticism by Avgi newspaper, the mouthpiece of the leftist government of Alexis Tsipras. The newspaper's editor-in-chief Vassilis Moulopoulos published a brief editorial under the title “Tea Party goes Syntagma” claiming that the counter-protest is a rally of the rich to claim a world which excludes the poor.
Anti-austerity organizers were also disappointed by the low participation and age range of demonstrators as from the 5,000 participants most were people over age 50.