New violence wracks Greece ahead of teen's funeral

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Hundreds of teenage protesters pelted police with rocks and scuffled with officers in front of Parliament Tuesday before the funeral of a 15-year-old boy whose shooting by police set off three days of rioting across Greece. Socialist leader George Papandreou called for early elections, saying the conservative government could no longer defend the public from rioters. The government has a single-seat majority in the 300-member Parliament and opposition parties blame hands-off policing for encouraging the worst rioting the country has seen in decades. "The government cannot handle this crisis and has lost the trust of the Greek people," Papandreou said. The funeral of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos was to be held in a seaside suburb of Athens Tuesday afternoon. Schools and universities across Greece were closed and hundreds of teachers, university lecturers and students rallied in central Athens. In the western part of the city, officials said groups of high-school students attacked four police stations but riot police did not respond and no injuries were reported.