A pensioner kills himself outside the Greek parliament due to austerity measures that has left him in poverty.
For a second day, Police have clashed with protestors angry at the tragic death of 77 year old Dimitris Christoulas. During the rush hour yesterday morning, Dimitris made his way to Syntagma Square outside the Greek Parliament building. He pulled out a pistol and shot himself in the head.
Dimitris had left a brief suicide note. It read:
"The Tsolakoglou government has annihilated all traces for my survival, which was based on a very dignified pension that I alone paid for 35 years with no help from the state. And since my advanced age does not allow me a way of dynamically reacting (although if a fellow Greek were to grab a Kalashnikov, I would be right behind him), I see no other solution than this dignified end to my life, so I don’t find myself fishing through garbage cans for my sustenance. I believe that young people with no future will one day take up arms and hang the traitors of this country at Syntagma square, just like the Italians did to Mussolini in 1945"
Friends and neighbours have reported that Dimitris was politically active, and was very much involved in several anti-austerity campaigns.
A friend who lived on the same street as Dimitris said:
“He did not rebel from his couch, he was a beautiful man, and he will live on in history”
There has been a massive outpouring of grief across Greece, with many blaming the government, and referring to the suicide as a ‘murder’. http://rt.com/news/greece-protest-pensioner-suicide-306/
Rest in Peace Dimitris Christoulas
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Winchester - Jobseeker took
Winchester - Jobseeker took own life