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ATHENS — Tens of thousands of Greeks poured into the streets on Sunday to demand justice over a crash that killed 57 people — the country’s worst.
One of the largest demonstrations in recent years took place in the capital’s Syntagma Square in front of the parliament, while protests took place in more than 100 cities in Greece and abroad.
Protesters were holding banners reading “I have no oxygen,” echoing a young woman’s last words in a call to an emergency line, published by local media last week.
“Citizens are disillusioned. The growing crisis of trust in institutions is evident as the distinction between executive power and the judiciary continues to erode, especially in cases like the Tempe tragedy,” said Nikos Androulakis, the leader of the main opposition party Pasok.
“This is what in history we call a breakthrough,” New Left leader Alexis Charitsis said. “The social front has shaken the whole country.”
The head-on collision of a freight train and a passenger train packed with students took place just before midnight on Feb. 28, 2023. Almost two years later, a trial is yet to start and keeps getting pushed back by delays in key parts of the investigation.
Greece’s ruling New Democracy government failed to heed a call from the European public prosecutor to take action regarding the potential criminal liability of two former transport ministers following the train crash.
The government, which was reelected after the railway tragedy, denies the accusations.
The latest call for answers comes after audio evidence leaked last week indicated that some 30 of the 57 victims of the tragedy were still alive after the crash and died later, possibly as a result of asphyxiation or burns, as the collision caused a massive explosion and fire.
The government’s proposal of former parliament speaker Konstantinos Tasoulas for the Greek presidency last week, further angered the relatives, who say that under his watch the parliament refused to attribute any political responsibility.
“We want to ensure that no crime goes unpunished,” said Maria Karystianou, a representative of the association of families the victims, who lost her daughter and called the events a “mafia-style operation to cover up the truth.”
Clashes erupted at the end of the protests in Athens and Thessaloniki.
“The government responded to the request for oxygen with tear gas and flash grenades,” the opposition Syriza party said in a statement.
