stirring sticks and chanting slogans against the government, thousands of pensioners took part in demonstrations across Greece to demand that the new government put an end to cuts in their monthly payments.
The marches were held Wednesday in cities across the country, most of them in Athens, where demonstrators marched to the headquarters of the Ministry of Labour.
The protests come amid uncertainty over the bailout of Greece and while the new government, led by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras leftist tries to convince international creditors having reliable reforms.
An agreement is necessary for Greece to receive the rescue. Successive Greek governments have had to implement austerity measures, including pension cuts and spending the last five years, to receive funds and avoid bankruptcy, and a potential exit from the euro zone.
previous governments “have cut our pensions and our health care … and we are fighting to recover,” said Dimos Koumbouris, organizer of the protests and senior Communist Party.
While approaches within maturities for Greece on Wednesday was speculation that the country could delay a payment to the International Monetary Fund expires next week. The German magazine Spiegel reported that Greek Interior Minister Nikos Voutsis said that without an agreement, Athens could delay payment of the April 9 about 450 million euros (485 million dollars).
But the government immediately denied any weighing that option.
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