Thousands of students and hundreds of bank workers protested in the Cypriot capital Nicosia on Tuesday as banks stayed shut to stop a run on deposits after the island agreed a painful bailout to avert bankruptcy.
The chairman of Cyprus's biggest commercial bank offered to resign after a special administrator was appointed over his head to run the lender, which is being restructured as part of the package to bail out the oversized financial sector.
Cyprus's banks were ordered to remain closed until Thursday, and even then will impose capital controls to prevent depositors from stripping out all their funds. (TOP FOREIGN LENDERS & BANK EXPOSURE TO CYPRUS)
Cyprus had faced bankruptcy and potential ejection from the European single currency without a rescue deal with international lending bodies. Now that the deal has been struck, it faces job losses and economic contraction.
Reuters journalists estimated up to 3,000 high school students protested outside parliament, the first major expression of popular anger after Cyprus agreed to the Euro 10-billion ($13-billion) bailout with the European Union.
"They've just gotten rid of all our dreams, everything we've worked for, everything we've achieved up until now, what our parents have achieved," said a student who gave his name as Thomas.
Outside the central bank, about 200 employees of the country's biggest commercial bank, the Bank of Cyprus, demanded the resignation of the central bank governor, chanting "Hands off Cyprus" and "Disgrace".
"We are scared. We were also so proud of the Bank of Cyprus. We worked with a lot of love, not just for the money," said a Bank of Cyprus worker who gave her name as Anthoulla.
The chairman of the bank, Andreas Artemis offered to resign on Tuesday, a source at the bank said.
"He sent a resignation letter this morning which will be examined by the Board of Directors convening this afternoon," the bank source said, requesting anonymity.
