ATHENS, May 9 (Xinhua) -- A plaque commemorating the victims of a firebomb attack on a central Athens bank branch during an anti-austerity protest a decade ago which shocked the nation was unveiled by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Saturday.
"The symbolism of today's gesture is clear: the country should never again fall victim of blind division, hatred and violence," he said at the site of the former bank branch after speaking to relatives of the victims.
"Tragic events like this are incompatible with our democratic tradition and the society we envision. I hope and wish that we never witness in our country again events of extreme polarization and blind violence," said Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, who attended the event.
On May 5, 2010 during a demonstration against the first bailout program Greece had just agreed to in order to deal with an acute debt crisis, three employees of Marfin Bank, including a pregnant woman, died of smoke inhalation, when hooded protesters attacked the building with firebombs.
They were among two dozen people who were trapped inside the bank branch during the attack.
The Greek state will not appeal against a lower court ruling that recognized civil liability, awarding damages totaling 2.24 million euros (2.46 million U.S. dollars) to the families of Epameinondas Tsakalis, 36, Paraskevi Zoulia, 34, Angeliki Papathanasopoulou, 32, and her unborn baby, the Prime Minister's office announced.
It is a gesture of "moral obligation," it was stressed.
The perpetrators of the Marfin tragedy remain unpunished. In 2016 two men who had been arrested as suspects for the attack were acquitted. Three bank officials were condemned to 5-22 years on manslaughter and negligence charges for insufficient safety measures.
Socialist Movement for Change party leader Fofi Gennimata and City of Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis also attended Saturday's event. Main opposition Radical Left SYRIZA party leader Alexis Tsipras and Communist Party KKE General Secretary Dimitris Koutsoumbas laid wreaths at the site shortly earlier. (1 euro= 1.1 U.S. dollars) Enditem
