By NICHOLAS PAPHITIS
Riot police surrounds workers and supporters outside the main entrance of ERT headquarters in the northern Athens suburb of Agia Paraskevi, Greece early Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. Greek police said they have removed the remaining former workers from what used to be the headquarters of the now-defunct ERT state broadcaster. The building had been occupied by the protesting ex-employees for the past five months. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Greece Former State Broadcaster
Greek police blocks the main entrance of ERT headquarters in the northern Athens suburb of Agia Paraskevi, Greece early Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. Greek police said they have removed the remaining former workers from what used to be the headquarters of the now-defunct ERT state broadcaster. The building had been occupied by the protesting ex-employees for the past five months. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Greece Former State Broadcaster
Workers cry as Greek police guards the main entrance of ERT headquarters in the northern Athens suburb of Agia Paraskevi, Greece early Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. Greek police said they have removed the remaining former workers from what used to be the headquarters of the now-defunct ERT state broadcaster. The building had been occupied by the protesting ex-employees for the past five months. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Greece Former State Broadcaster
A policeman guards outside the main entrance of ERT headquarters in the northern Athens suburb of Agia Paraskevi, Greece early Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. Greek police said they have removed the remaining former workers from what used to be the headquarters of the now-defunct ERT state broadcaster. The building had been occupied by the protesting ex-employees for the past five months. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Greece Former State Broadcaster
Workers and supporters scuffle with riot police near ERT’s headquarters in the northern Athens suburb of Agia Paraskevi, Greece early Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. Greek police said they have removed the remaining former workers from what used to be the headquarters of the now-defunct ERT state broadcaster. The building had been occupied by the protesting ex-employees for the past five months. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Greece Former State Broadcaster
Parliament Member of Syriza, main opposition party Nikos Voutsis scuffles with police as he tries to pass from a block near ERT’s headquarters in the northern Athens suburb of Agia Paraskevi, Greece early Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. Greek police said they have removed the remaining former workers from what used to be the headquarters of the now-defunct ERT state broadcaster. The building had been occupied by the protesting ex-employees for the past five months. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Greece Former State Broadcaster
Riot police use handcuffs to lock a metal fence gate at ERT headquarters in the northern Athens suburb of Agia Paraskevi, Greece, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. In a pre-dawn swoop, Greek riot police ended a nearly 5-month protest by sacked workers broadcasting from what was once the headquarters of the defunct state broadcaster, removing a few dozen people occupying the complex. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Greece Former State Broadcaster
Workers and supporters gather outside ERT’s headquarters as police guard the main entrance in the northern Athens suburb of Agia Paraskevi, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. In a pre-dawn swoop, Greek riot police ended a nearly 5-month protest by sacked workers broadcasting from what was once the headquarters of the defunct state broadcaster, removing a few dozen people occupying the complex. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
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ATHENS, Greece (AP) — In a pre-dawn swoop Thursday, Greek riot police ended a nearly five-month protest by sacked workers broadcasting from what was once the headquarters of the defunct ERT state broadcaster, removing a few dozen people occupying the complex.
Police said four people were briefly detained during the operation in the northern Athens suburb of Agia Paraskevi.
About 50 people were removed from the building, which will be handed over to ERT’s successor that is now broadcasting from cramped studios in another part of Athens.
Among the detainees was radio journalist Nikos Tsimbidas, who was broadcasting live as police entered the studio.
“Believe me, it’s a shocking experience to be on the mic with two platoons of riot police surrounding the live broadcasting booth,” he said on air. “We are being removed. I’ve just been informed that it appears orders have been given for me to stop talking.”
The complex had been occupied by the protesting ex-employees since June 11, when Greece’s conservative-led government abruptly closed ERT and fired all 2,700 staff, citing the need to cut costs due to the country’s severe financial crisis. They continued to produce unauthorized broadcasts online, including airing news reports and documentaries.
These ended Thursday, although regional former ERT branches were still broadcasting their own unauthorized programs.
The evacuation at the ERT headquarters was peaceful, although police later used tear gas to push back a crowd of about 200 who turned up outside the complex to support the former ERT workers. About 1,000 people gathered later Thursday near the building in a peaceful protest against the police operation.
The main left-wing opposition party, Syriza, said it would call a vote of no confidence in parliament against the conservative-led coalition government and described the police operation as illegal. Several Syriza lawmakers joined protesters outside the building.
“The government … has created a black page in the history of state television and democracy in our country,” a party statement said.
Government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou said the evacuation was to “restore the rule of law.”
“The broadcasting complex had been illegally occupied, and that resulted in daily financial losses for the Greek state,” Kedikoglou said. “The (police) intervention was carried out in the presence of a prosecutor.”
ERT’s abrupt closure triggered a political crisis that prompted a junior left-wing ally to walk out of the governing coalition amid daily protests in Greece and international condemnation.
The former workers had turned down repeated government calls to leave the ERT headquarters so that full-scale state broadcasts could resume from the complex.
However, the bulk of ERT’s journalists and many other staff, despite initial vows to fight the broadcaster’s closure, were eventually rehired by DT, ERT’s successor and a transition company under the Finance Ministry.
