Protests in Greece demand justice after train crash

Mass protests outside Greece’s capital over train crash injustice (Photo: Yannis Kemmos: X/@JohnKemmos)

Hundreds of thousands of people protested across Greece last weekend to demand justice for the victims of the 2023 Tempi train crash.

Huge numbers gathered in both of the country’s biggest cities, Athens and Thessaloniki.  There were over 100 other protests across Greece ahead of the two-year anniversary of the disaster on 28 February.  Some 57 people died, and dozens more were injured, when a passenger train and a freight train collided.

The prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, claims the disaster is a result of human error only. But it is a symptom of the widespread neglect to services in the wake of Greece’s economic crisis.

Governments failed to maintain safety standards or to modernise the network. This left railway services riddled with malfunctioning and outdated equipment.

Protesters said politicians and the media are scapegoating the stationmaster to avoid accusations of government complicity.  One Athenian taxi driver said, “They’re focussed on the tree and have moved the forest.”

Greece’s right wing government, led by New Democracy, is under increasing pressure. It’s being accused of tampering with evidence and running a “mafia-like cover-up”.

The government suffered a no-confidence vote in March last year in relation to its handling of the crash. Two former transport ministers—Kostas Karamanlis who resigned following the crash, and Christos Spirtzis—are being accused of criminal breach of duty.

But the government has tried to bury its complicity. Recent protests have been sparked by the release of an audio recording.  It suggests that up to 30 of the victims could have survived if not for a massive fireball that exploded after the crash.

Last weekend’s protests were met with riot police, who used tear gas and flash-bang grenades to disperse the largely peaceful demonstration in Athens.

Workers Solidarity, Socialist Worker’s sister publication, has called for a general strike to be held on the second anniversary of the crash. ‘‘This is the moment, to scale up strikes,” it says.

Struggle can bring down the murderers of New Democracy.