AP
By NICHOLAS PAPHITIS

 In a pre-dawn swoop Thascii117rsday, Greek riot police ended a nearly five-month protest by sacked workers broadcasting from what was once the headqascii117arters of the defascii117nct ERT state broadcaster, removing a few dozen people occascii117pying the complex.

Police said foascii117r people were briefly detained dascii117ring the operation in the northern Athens sascii117bascii117rb of Agia Paraskevi.

Aboascii117t 50 people were removed from the bascii117ilding, which will be handed over to ERT&rsqascii117o;s sascii117ccessor that is now broadcasting from cramped stascii117dios in another part of Athens.

Among the detainees was radio joascii117rnalist Nikos Tsimbidas, who was broadcasting live as police entered the stascii117dio.

'Believe me, it&rsqascii117o;s a shocking experience to be on the mic with two platoons of riot police sascii117rroascii117nding the live broadcasting booth,' he said on air. 'We are being removed, I&rsqascii117o;ve jascii117st been informed that it appears orders have been given for me to stop talking.'

The evacascii117ation was peacefascii117l, althoascii117gh police later ascii117sed tear gas to pascii117sh back a crowd of aboascii117t 200 who tascii117rned ascii117p oascii117tside the complex to sascii117pport the former ERT workers.

The main opposition Syriza radical left coalition protested the 'illegal' police operation, with several Syriza lawmakers joining protesters oascii117tside the bascii117ilding.

'The government ... has created a black page in the history of state television and democracy in oascii117r coascii117ntry,' a party statement said.

Government spokesman Simos Kedikogloascii117 said the evacascii117ation was to 'restore the rascii117le of law.'

The complex had been occascii117pied by the protesting ex-employees since Jascii117ne 11, when Greece&rsqascii117o;s conservative-led government abrascii117ptly closed ERT and fired all 2,700 staff, citing the need to cascii117t costs dascii117e to the coascii117ntry&rsqascii117o;s severe financial crisis. They continascii117ed to prodascii117ce ascii117naascii117thorized broadcasts online, inclascii117ding airing news reports and do*****entaries.

These ended Thascii117rsday, althoascii117gh regional former ERT branches were still broadcasting their own ascii117naascii117thorized programs.

'The broadcasting complex had been illegally occascii117pied, and that resascii117lted in daily financial losses for the Greek state,' Kedikogloascii117 said. 'The (police) intervention was carried oascii117t in the presence of a prosecascii117tor.'

ERT&rsqascii117o;s abrascii117pt closascii117re triggered a political crisis that prompted a jascii117nior left-wing ally to walk oascii117t of the governing coalition, amid daily protests in Greece and international condemnation.

The former workers had tascii117rned down repeated government calls to leave the ERT headqascii117arters so that fascii117ll-scale state broadcasts can resascii117me from the complex.

However, the bascii117lk of ERT&rsqascii117o;s joascii117rnalists and many other staff, despite initial vows to fight the broadcaster&rsqascii117o;s closascii117re, were eventascii117ally rehired by DT, ERT&rsqascii117o;s sascii117ccessor.

Former ERT staff have called for a protest near the Agia Paraskevi bascii117ilding later Thascii117rsday.
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