Greece is still a country in a financial crisis and the latest drastic measure the government has had to undertake without warning is shutting down the state-run broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT).
According to the BBC, the move comes as Greece continues to take more austerity measures as part of the bailout it received. The broadcaster’s television output has already stopped, although it has been allowed to continue operating an Internet radio station and is still posting videos online.
The move has sparked protests, with Greek opposition leader Alexis Tsipras asking President Karolos Papoulias to stop it. The move has resulted in the loss of 2,700 jobs and the Greek journalists’ union had a 24-hour strike. Although ERT’s competitors continued to run their operations.
Tsipras called it “illegal” and “Many times the word 'coup' is used as an exaggeration. In this case, it is not an exaggeration.”
The Guardian notes that the government did say that it plans on reopening ERT soon, just with a smaller workforce.
“We are very shocked, we are angry,” Odin Linardatou, who lead ERT’s foreign desk, told the BBC. “What I cannot accept in a democracy is that Greece will not have a public broadcaster.”
ERT is mostly funded by the state, with all Greeks paying a portion of their electricity bill to cover its costs.
Greece, which is still held back by a mountain of debt, has had to rely on European partners and the International Monetary Fund since 2010. The unemployment rate has grown to 27 percent and the state has to cut 15,000 government jobs by 2015 as part of its requirements.