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Protesters blockade Greek stock exchange

Tue Feb 16, 2010 4:20 AM EST
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Associated Press
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<p>A woman leaves the headquarters of Greece's General Accounting Office in Athens on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010. Employees at the agency joined Greek customs officials in walking off the job Tuesday for a three-day strike to protest government austerity measures designed to pull the country out of a debt crisis that has shaken the entire eurozone. A poster notifying the public about the strike is taped on the door. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)</p>

A woman leaves the headquarters of Greece's General Accounting Office in Athens on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010. Employees at the agency joined Greek customs officials in walking off the job Tuesday for a three-day strike to protest government austerity measures designed to pull the country out of a debt crisis that has shaken the entire eurozone. A poster notifying the public about the strike is taped on the door. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

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ATHENS — Members of a trade union on Monday blockaded the Athens Stock Market to protest government austerity measures aimed at tackling Greece's debt crisis.

Protest organizers, backed by the Greek Communist Party, said they plan to maintain the blockade through Tuesday, but stock market officials said the exchange was running normally through online trading.

Trading on the Athens exchange runs from 08:15 GMT (03:15 EST) to 15:20 GMT.

The blockade occurred ahead of a 24-hour general strike called by the country's main unions, which is set to halt public services and ground flights, adding to Europe's airline travel disruption caused by walkouts elsewhere.

Police did not intervene to end the protest at the exchange.

Giorgos Perros, a protest organizer, said the government measures unfairly burdened low-income Greeks.

"The stock market building will not open today ... We believe these stock market indices — gauges of wealth — should halt for a day," Perros said.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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