Protests as Greece shuts public broadcaster ERT

Media workers, politicians and concerned members of the public joined protests outside the ERT office after it was announced it would be re-launched as a leaner, cheaper organisation under new budget cuts.

The closure of the public television and radio provider is one of the most drastic measures taken to slim down Greek public institutions under austerity measures imposed as a condition of its bailout.

Crowds of ERT employees gathered outside the Athens headquarters after the announcement and vowed to fight the decision. The workers called for a general media blackout in protest.

We won’t allow the voice of Greece to be silenced. George Savvidis, head of the Greek journalist union

Private TV stations took shows off air replacing them with re-runs and adverts as part of a six-hour display of solidarity.

Riot police blocked the entrance to an ERT studio in central Athens where protesters unfolded a banner reading “Down with the junta, ERT won’t close”.

ERT’s radio and television stations cost 300 million euros a year and were accused of becoming a “typical case of…incredible waste” by government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou.

‘No sacred cows’

In a statement aired on ERT Mr Kedikoglou claimed: “At a time when the Greek people are enduring sacrifices, there is no room for delay, hesitation or tolerance for sacred cows.”

The station was taken off air after midnight and the 2,600 employees were asked to reapply for their jobs as part of a new organisation.

The head of the Greek journalists union POESY George Savvidis said: “Journalism is persecuted. We won’t allow the voice of Greece to be silenced.”

Read more about the reality of life in 'messy, messy Athens' 

Tony Rigopoulos, a 23-year-old student in Athens who is part of the Channel 4 News Austerity kids project, told Channel 4 News the mood was “tense”.

“Thousands of people gathered spontaneously at the headquarters of ERT in Athens, and ERT’s offices all over the country. It is really important that this story is forwarded all over the world…ERT is extremely important for Greeks in Greece and abroad. The government has started to resemble authoritarian regimes,” he said.

At 3am, with many people still outside the headquarters, he added: “I just returned home from there. The situation is tense but many believe this is the beginning of a greater movement.”

Political fallout

The decision will be a test for Greece’s fragile three-party coalition – whose two junior partners quickly came out to oppose the shutdown, protesting that they were not consulted.

Inspectors from Greece’s “troika” of lenders – the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank – arrived in Athens earlier this week to measure progress under the bailout programme.

The European Commission’s economic and monetary affairs commissioner Olli Rehn said the decision to close ERT was taken by the Greek government without the influence of the troika.

“The Commission has not sought the closure of ERT, but nor does the commission question the Greek government’s mandate to manage the public sector,” Mr Rehn told the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

“The decision of the Greek authorities should be seen in the context of the major and necessary efforts that the authorities are taking to modernise the Greek economy. Those include improving its efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector,” he said in a statement to deputies.

The IMF admitted last week that it had mishandled the early stages of Greece’s bailout but warned that there would be no easing of austerity measures.