Pressure on the Greek government from opposition parties is mounting, after hundreds of rallies about the Tempi train crash on Friday, February 28th, in which tens of thousands gathered to commemorate the 57 victims of the deadliest rail accident in Greek history, took place.
As clashes between police and hooded protesters continued outside the Greek parliament at Syntagma Square, the leader of the left party Nea Aristera (New Left), Alexis Charitsis called on PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis to resign.
“Today is a historic day for our democracy. The sovereign people have spoken—peacefully and in unprecedented numbers. They have expressed a vote of no confidence in the delegitimized Mitsotakis government,” Charitsis stated.
“Mr. Mitsotakis, you must immediately order an end to the crackdown and withdraw police forces. And then, you must resign,” he concluded.
The leader of SYRIZA, Sokratis Famellos commented on the huge rallies: “Today, across Greece and beyond, Greek men and women are seeking justice for the Tempi crime, for the crime of its cover-up, and for a safe society with secure transportation.”
“New Democracy and Mr. Mitsotakis can no longer remain in power. They must resign today,” stated Sokratis Famellos in a post following the intervention of riot police and the dispersal of the mass demonstration in central Athens.
Famellos continued by saying the Greek PM could guarantee neither a safe society nor secure transportation.
The general secretary of the Greek Communist Party (KKE), Dimitris Koutsoumpas called for the harsh punishment of the responsible parties and individuals proven to be implicated in the tragic train crash, either political or criminal.
Meanwhile, on the occasion of the second anniversary of the Tempi train crash, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis posted on social media: “Two years have passed since the night of February 28, 2023, which was destined to indelibly mark our collective memory with the Tempi tragedy. Everyone’s thoughts are with the families of the 57 victims, with the injured, but also with those who survived this accident, forever carrying within them the wound of its memory.”
