Greek Police Raid Occupied Broadcasting Station

Greek riot police raided the headquarters of the country’s former state broadcaster, ERT, forcibly removing dozens of staff members who had been occupying the building since June when the authorities abruptly shut down the organization.

Excessive spending at ERT was the chief reason given by the authorities when they pulled the plug on the broadcaster, laying off more than 2,600 workers and prompting a political crisis that nearly brought down the government. Since then, defiant workers have been occupying ERT’s headquarters, airing a pirate broadcast via the Internet. A transitional state broadcaster went on the air in July and a replacement for ERT, to be called Nerit, is expected to start operating next spring. In a message broadcast online, ERT workers called on supporters to rally outside the broadcaster’s headquarters. “The battle for democracy and social justice which ERT workers have been fighting for more than four months, has reached its most crucial moment,” the message said. “It’s time to act.”