Spanish spirit spreads to Greece

THE EMPOWERING spirit of the #spanishrevolution - itself inspired by Egypt's Tahrir Square - has spread to Greece, taking opposition against neoliberalism there to a new level.

Reported From the Greek Streets: "In a series of demonstrations and gatherings unseen in Greece’s recent turbulent history, tens of thousands took to the streets demanding for 'all politicians to go', in a call similar to the one that shook Spain only a few days ago.

"In Athens, approximately 20,000 took to Syntagma Square; in Thessaloniki, approximately 5,000 gathered in front of the city’s white tower. Many thousands gathered in Patras, Volos, Chania, Ioannina and Larisa, and other cities."

A later update from Syntagma Square on Wednesday night said: "Thousands seem to prepare themselves for spending the night at the square with tents and folding beds.

"An impromptu popular assembly finished earlier on; people gather in groups, discuss, approach the parliament in turns shouting slogans. There will definitely be many of them here in the morning."

Meanwhile, further East, the Georgian authorities used brutal force to break up an anti-government protest.

The so-called 'silver revolution', so named because of the older age groups involved, had demanded the resignation of US-backed president Mikheil Saakashvili.