Sat Sep 10, 2011 9:19PM GMT
A Greek police officer pushes a civilian during a protest in Thessaloniki on September 10, 2011.Riot police in Greece's second-largest city have attacked protesters who were holding a demonstration against the government's austerity measures.
Police fired tear gas to disperse thousands of angry protesters in the northern port city of Thessaloniki on Saturday.
Police say they have detained more than 60 people, AP reported.
Protesters also gathered near the Parliament building in Athens on Saturday until police used tear gas to disperse them.
The demonstrations were staged ahead of Prime Minister George Papandreou's annual speech about the country's economy.
Since last year, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund have provided Greece two rescue packages worth over $380 billion in return for tough austerity measures.
The measures, which include cuts to public sector salaries and pensions, tax increases, and an overhaul of the pension system, have sparked nationwide protests in Greece.
Papandreou's European partners have urged him to accelerate the spending cuts in order to avoid a default on Greece's debts and to meet the revenue and reform targets set in the bailout agreement.
Greece must persuade both the EU and the IMF that it is making sufficient financial reforms. Otherwise, it will not receive the next $11 billion of bailout loans and will go bankrupt within weeks.
