Greek mayor arrested after bulldozing toll booth barriers
Helena Smith in Athens
When drivers in Greece began refusing to pay road tolls it was seen as a bit of good-natured defiance, born of economy necessity.
When Apostolos Gletsos, mayor of Stylida, took control of a municipal bulldozer and broke his way through the barriers of a toll booth, civil disobedience took on an altogether different hue.
"What I did was within the realm of my duties to defend the legal rights of citizens. I don't regret it and would do it again," said the mayor, who was arrested and charged.
"Locals in Stylida are country people and they should be able to bypass tolls for free."
Until now Gletsos was better known for his roles in seamy TV soap operas.
But his antics on the main highway 130 miles north of Athens have turned him into a national hero as Greeks protesting against unprecedented austerity measures take "social justice" into their own hands.
Supermarkets are also being confronted by shoppers refusing to pay bills as cuts bite, recession deepens and unemployment worsens in a country that narrowly averted bankruptcy thanks to a £110bn bailout from the EU and IMF.
As many as 600,000 motorists refused to pay at toll stations over the Christmas period.
Resistance is expected to mount in the coming weeks following a landmark meeting by anti-toll campaigners in the central Greek town of Lamia tomorrow.
"Our roads should be controlled by the state, not private companies that demand exorbitant fees," said Dimitris Kodellas, a shopowner.
He regularly gets out of his car, lifts the barriers at toll booths and drives through them when he drives from Argos, his hometown in the Peloponnese, to Athens.
"At first toll station staff made a great fuss and demanded that we fill in forms, but the wave is too big for them now ... doing this saves me €14 each way.
"At a time when a lot of us are forced to get by on €600 a month that's a lot of money."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/14/greek-mayor-bulldozes-toll-booth-barriers
Jan. 14, 2011