Thousands of Greeks joined strikes across the country marking the second anniversary of the fatal Tempe train crash that killed 57 people, the Guardian reported. 

Experts blamed the crash on oversights and serious systemic errors, while striking workers halted flights, sea and rail transport and thousands of people gathered in Athens' central Syntagma Square under the watch of police in riot gear. One sign read: 'Government of murderers'.

Organisers vowed that the protests would be on a scale not seen for years.

Fifty-seven, nearly all students, died and dozens of others were injured when an intercity passenger train collided head-on with a freight locomotive in Tempe Valley on February 28, 2023. It was the worst rail accident in Greek history. 

Petros Constantinou, a prominent leftist activist, said, "What we are seeing is a river of indignation that is swelling by the minute. Citizens feel cheated. They want answers, they want justice and they want to support the families of the victims. Everyone believes that this will be the biggest show of people power in this country in decades."

On the eve of the protests, Nikos Androulakis, leader of the Pasok party, the main opposition party in Greece, accused the government of "deceiving" the Greek people and "doing everything possible to hide its political responsibility". He said he would table a motion of no confidence in the government next week, stepping up pressure on Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. 

Protests are taking place in 200 cities across the country. Diaspora communities from Canada to Australia have announced similar demonstrations in a sign of the fury the disaster has caused.

All international and domestic flights were suspended as air traffic controllers joined sailors, train drivers, doctors, lawyers and teachers in a 24-hour general strike to pay tribute to the victims of the disaster. Across the country, businesses were closed and theatres cancelled performances.

In the suburbs of Athens, groups of all ages headed downtown with placards reading "I have no oxygen," a slogan of the protests that echoes the last words of the woman who called emergency services. Many students went to class dressed in black, a symbol of mourning. 

Mitsotakis, a former banker, has not faced such turmoil since he first won office in July 2019. Public anger over the response to the disaster - not least the decision to quickly clean up the site and remove debris that included vital evidence and human remains - has been heightened by a perceived and growing sense of a government cover-up.

Within days of the crash, Greek authorities rushed to cover the area with gravel and cement, which has yet to be fully explained.

Accusations of political interference in the investigation are compounded by the slow pace at which justice is being served: no trial has yet been held and no public official has been convicted or held accountable for the tragedy. | BGNES