Overnight riots after Greek suicide in Athens over austerity cuts
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Athens - The suicide of an elderly Greek man over thegovernment's harsh austerity measures triggered violent clashesovernight in Athens' central Syntagma Square, radio reports saidThursday.
Riot police, firing tear gas, clashed with some 1,500 protesterswho hurled petrol bombs and chunks of marble outside parliament inthe early hours on Thursday. Officials said ten people were arrestedbut no injuries were reported.
The protests took place hours after the 77-year-old retiredpharmacist man shot himself in the head near a metro exit crowdedwith commuters in the busy square on Wednesday morning.
Private Skai television said a suicide note, which was found inthe man's pocket, attributed his decision to the debt crisis, sayinghe wanted to avoid being a financial burden on his children after thegovernment slashed his pension.
The man said the government had made it impossible for him tosurvive on the pension he had paid into for 35 years.
The note said "that I find no other solution than a dignified endbefore I resort to rummaging through garbage in search of food." The suicide has shocked public opinion, with hundreds of peopleleaving flowers and written notes pinned to the tree under which theman shot himself.//DPA
