(ANSA-AFP) - ATHENS, MAR 15 - Journalists in Greece on
Wednesday staged a 24-hour walkout, part of two days of labour
action this week over last month's rail tragedy that claimed 57
lives. Journalists' union Poesy said the strike was in support
of "the nationwide demand to assign responsibility for the
(train) crime and take all measures" to prevent further loss of
life. The accident occurred shortly before midnight on February
28 when a passenger train crashed into a freight train in
central Greece after both were mistakenly left running on the
same track. Most of the passengers were students returning from
a holiday weekend. Several people are still in hospital, and one
passenger is still fighting for his life. A general strike will
be held Thursday over the tragedy, which exposed decades of
safety failings in Greek railways and has put major pressure on
the conservative government ahead of national elections. The
stationmaster and three other railway officials have been
charged, but public anger has focused on long-running
mismanagement of the network and the country has been rocked by
a series of sometimes violent mass protests. On Sunday, about
12,000 demonstrators gathered outside parliament, while 5,000
took to the streets of the second city Thessaloniki, police
said. (ANSA-AFP).
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