Greeks asked for ‘breath of dignity’; rallies around country

The crowd includes people of all ages

Shortly after 21:30 on Wednesday night a rally in the center of Athens was completed.

More than 15.000 Athenian citizens expressed their solidarity and support in the “battle” between the Greek government and its partners at the extraordinary Eurogroup in Brussels.

Earlier today, thousands of people have gathered to express their support for the Greek government, ahead of a crucial battle at an extraordinary Eurogroup meeting in Brussels.

Over 10,000 people originally arrived at Syntagma Square, whitch quickly reached the 15.000, in front of the Greek parliament, for a rally that was scheduled to begin at 18.00 pm.  The crowd included people of all ages and even young children, with their parents, holding Greek flags and shouting pro-government slogans.

Activists have taken to the airwaves and social media in Greece and around Europe this week to call for pro-Greek government rallies as Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis enters a “lion’s den” at Wednesday evening’s Eurogroup meeting in Brussels.

The rally, dubbed by activists as “A Breath of Dignity”, aimed to show solidarity to the anti-austerity government of Greece and against perceived scare-mongering and “blackmailing” tactics by the “troika” of Greece’s institutional creditors (EC, ECB, IMF).

Braving the freezing weather, Greeks — at least the pro-government ones willing to demonstrate — have gathered at designated points around the country — “We cannot be blackmailed!” “We will not succumb!” “We won’t go back!” “We must win!” are some of the banners unfurled for the world’s cameras.