ATHENS, Greece — Greek anarchists disrupted a peaceful rally Sunday by hurling firebombs, chairs and wooden planks at riot police in brief clashes outside parliament while lawmakers debated a controversial austerity bill.
Police responded with stun grenades and bursts of tear gas to disperse the anarchists, who were split into two groups. One group mixed among a peaceful protest of about 10,000 people holding banners, and the other went inside Syntagma Square in front of parliament.
The bill, introduced as part of requirements Greece must meet under its third international bailout, is set to increase social security and pension contributions and raise taxes for most people. Greek workers said the increases will decimate their incomes, already hurt by six years of crippling austerity.
Greece's biggest unions called for the larger protest Sunday, and most in attendance were Communist party sympathizers.
About 45 minutes before they started throwing projectiles, anarchists beat up a known farmer activist, shouting that he was a member of the far-right Golden Dawn party. Other protesters dragged the farmer away.
A few minutes later, another group of anarchists set upon another person, with riot police using stun grenades to stop the beating. The anarchists then regrouped before attacking riot police outside a trio of luxury hotels in Syntagma Square.
There were also clashes in Thessaloniki, where anarchists broke away from a protest march to hurl firebombs at police guarding the local offices of the ruling Syriza party.
Read Monday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.