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Greek parliament passes austerity measures amid anti-establishment protests

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Greek parliament passes austerity measures amid anti-establishment protests

The Greek parliament has passed sweeping austerity measures demanded by lenders to open talks on a new multibillion-euro bailout package to keep Greece in the euro.

The package was approved with 229 votes in the 300-seat chamber. There were 64 votes against it and six abstentions, Reuters has reported.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said there was no alternative to the package, which he acknowledged would cause hardship, but he stood by the decision. "I am the last person to shirk this responsibility," he told parliament.

In exchange for funding worth up to EUR 86 billion ($94 billion), Greece has accepted reforms including significant pension adjustments, increases to value added taxes, an overhaul of its collective bargaining system, measures to liberalize its economy and tight limits on public spending. It has also agreed to sequester EUR 50 billion of public assets in a special privatization fund to act as collateral on the deal, UNIAN reports.

The austerity measures were approved while thousands of Greeks took to the streets of Athens on Wednesday to protest against a new bailout deal that saved Greece from bankruptcy but will impose more reforms on the country that is already deep in crisis.

The Wednesday daytime protest, called by the trade union PAME, which is affiliated to the Greek Communist Party, was part in a series of protest marches against austerity throughout the day in central Athens. But by night, anti-establishment protesters threw dozens of petrol bombs at police in front of the parliament building on Wednesday in some of the most serious violence outbreaks in over two years, according to Reuters.

As the Greek parliament was preparing to debate the austerity package ahead of the crucial vote, thousands of workers, students and unemployed holding banners reading "Cancel the Bailout!" and "No to the Policies of EU, ECB and IMF" were rallying in the Greek capital and calling on the government to withdraw the bill.

Later, anti-establishment protesters clashed with police who responded with tear gas, sending hundreds of people fleeing in central Syntagma Square.

Once a common sight in protest marches in Greece, clashes with police had been very rare since the leftist Syriza party came to power in January.

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