Greek leftists march in support of Turkish protesters

ATHENS - Agence France-Presse

Supporters of the Greek Communist party shout slogans during a rally in solidarity with the Turkish protesters in Athens June 3, 2013. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan accused anti-government protesters on Monday of walking "arm-in-arm with terrorism", remarks that could further inflame public anger after three days of some of the most violent riots in decades. REUTERS/Yorgos Karahalis

Around a thousand Greek leftists on Monday marched in support of Turkish protesters who clashed with police in Ankara for a fourth day in the greatest unrest to face Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government."Authoritarianism is broken on the street, solidarity with the Turkish people," chanted the demonstrators from various leftist groups including the main opposition radical left Syriza party."From Taksim Square to Athens, we fight poverty and hunger," they sang, referring to Istanbul's main square where demonstrators rallied.The Athens demonstration included a small group of Kurdish refugees who held a banner in Greek and Turkish: "Overturn the regime".A similar protest had been held in the northern city of Thessaloniki on Sunday.The protests in Turkey started out as a local environment campaign and quickly turned into one of the biggest demonstrations against Erdogan's government since it came to power over a decade ago.Syriza, Greece's second largest party, has condemned the Turkish police's heavy-handed response to the protests and called on European Union authorities to put pressure on Ankara."All over Turkey there are protests over press freedom, union rights, the rights of Kurds, women and the right to protest. It is imperative that Erdogan listens," Syriza said.