[Onthebarricades] Anti-neoliberal, anti-capitalist and anti-corporate protests, January 2009

[global resistance roundup]

* ECUADOR: CONAIE lead indigenous mobilisations against mining law, 
block roads
* NIGERIA - Niger Delta - Protest against marginalisation in Warri
* SWITZERLAND: Clashes at Davos summit protests as anti-capitalists 
stand up to repressive police, protest ban
* ICELAND: Protests over crisis bring down government
* BRAZIL: Tens of thousands attend World Social Forum
* MALAYSIA: Protest against hypermarket project
* PHILIPPINES: Repression against anti-mining protesters during leader's 
visit
* US - California: Budget cuts bring out protesters
* MEXICO: Rally over economic crisis
* FRANCE: Supermarket raids against consumerism, crisis
* US: Vermont - Cuts draw budget protest
* RUSSIA: Activists arrested at car import tax protest
* LITHUANIA: Austerity plan sparks protest, unrest
* LATVIA: New resistance movement emerges after unrest in Riga
* FRANCE: Millions take part in anti-neoliberal strikes, protests
* SWITZERLAND: Bank paintbombed
* Articles on crisis protests across Europe






http://ecuador-rising.blogspot.com/2009/01/indians-block-ecuador-highways-to.html

Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Indians Block Ecuador Highways to Protest Mining
LAHT, January 20, 2009
QUITO -- Indian groups in Ecuador started blocking highways before dawn 
Tuesday in protest against the new mining law, while Interior Minister 
Fernando Bustamante asked that the demonstrations be carried out peacefully.

The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, or Conaie, and 
some environmental groups called for nationwide protests against the new 
law, which they believe will harm the environment and favor 
multinational mining companies.

According to media accounts, indigenous groups began blocking highways 
at sunrise, above all in the country's Andean region, although 
government officials said that these demonstrations were not really 
significant.

North of Quito some 1,000 Indians stalled traffic before dawn on the Pan 
American Highway with tree trunks and stones, witnesses said.

Those blockades and similar actions have not resulted in any serious 
clashes with police, authorities said.

Miguel Torres, an Indian leader in the northern province of Imbabura 
where the police have kept the road to the capital from being cut off, 
said on Radio Quito that "the blockades will be progressive."

Another Indian leader said on the Teleamazonas network that police 
stopped demonstrators from entering the capital for a planned 
demonstration and march to Congress.

"Groups that want to protest against the mining law or anything else can 
do so, they have the right, they have freedom of expression and can give 
their points of view, but we are going to require that they do so with 
respect for law and order," the interior minister said in an interview 
on Sonorama radio.

"If they block highways or take any other action that keeps people from 
carrying on with their normal lives, we'll have to intervene and do what 
the law requires in such cases," Bustamante said.

After the statement President Rafael Correa made Monday that there are 
groups out to destabilize the government, the minister said that "some 
leaders" of these groups may have such an intention, but he doesn't 
believe "that together the demonstrators have that idea."

Correa, a left-leaning, U.S.-trained economist, says the new mining law 
includes environmental safeguards and accuses the measure's opponents of 
engaging in "childish leftism and environmentalism."






http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=324778&CategoryId=14089

Ecuador Residents Protest Against Mining Without Environmental Protection

QUITO -- Hundreds of peasants in Ecuador's southern Andean region 
blocked roads on Monday to protest lawmakers' expected approval of a new 
mining law that opponents claim doesn't do enough to protect the 
environment and rural communities.

The militants piled sticks, rocks and piles of burning tires on the 
three main routes into Cuenca, the biggest city in the southern highlands.

Four protesters were arrested, three police officers injured and an 
ambulance set on fire in Molleturo, near Cuenca, reporters said.

The president of the Union of Water Systems in Azuay province, Carlos 
Perez, told journalists that the roadblocks will continue until 
Ecuador's Congress either shelves the proposed legislation or sends a 
commission to the region to see the environmental harm done by existing 
mining projects.

The 120 police deployed to Cuenca were unable to clear the roads.

Separately, scores of independent miners arrived in Quito to demand that 
the congressional committee now reviewing the bill amend the text to 
include provisions legitimizing small mining cooperatives.

President Rafael Correa's leftist government says the peasants' 
objections to the proposed law are unwarranted, as the measure includes 
strict environmental safeguards.

The administration criticizes the demonstrators as "childish," asserting 
that mining, if properly regulated, can be part of lifting Ecuadorians 
out of poverty.

Though the Andean nation produces nearly 600,000 barrels of oil per day, 
roughly 70 percent of the population remains poor.






http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45513

ECUADOR: Indigenous Groups Protest Government Policies
By Kintto Lucas

QUITO, Jan 22 (IPS) - Since the start of his term in January 2007, 
Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa has had touchy relations with the 
indigenous peoples' movement, in spite of the fact that it backed his 
election. But passage of a mining law has deepened the rift between them 
and triggered protests.

In his report this week to the country's interim Congress, a temporary 
legislature installed after the country's new constitution was approved 
in September 2008 and that will function until a new Congress is 
elected, the centre-left president criticised leftwing sectors and 
indigenous leaders who are opposed to the mining law.

"Where does the biggest danger to the citizen revolution lie? In the 
infantile left, the infantile pro-indigenous movement, the infantile 
ecological movement, which have become active again, holding meetings to 
push for an uprising opposed to mining," the president has stated.

In a speech from the balcony of the seat of government to hundreds of 
people this week, Correa said he would accept protests if they were 
peaceful, but emphasised that he would not allow roadblocks, like those 
carried out by the indigenous movement in different parts of the country 
on Tuesday.

"With this law in hand, we will not allow these abuses, we will not 
allow uprisings, roadblocks, attacks on private property, or obstacles 
to an activity (mining) that is legal and that is being regulated," he 
said.

The indigenous movement is opposed to the new mining law because they 
argue that it is based on a model of large-scale extraction which will 
affect the environment, pollute water and plunder the natural wealth of 
the country while providing hardly any benefits to Ecuadoreans, and only 
benefiting foreign corporations.

The business community is also critical of the mining law, but in their 
case because they believe it puts mining in Ecuador at a disadvantage 
compared to competitors in Peru and Chile, for example.

But the government considers that extractive industries such as gold and 
copper mining are of essential importance to the country's development.

Humberto Cholango, the head of Ecuarunari, an association of Quechua 
peoples from the Andes highlands and the largest member organisation of 
the powerful Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador 
(CONAIE), told IPS that "unfortunately" the government has not been 
willing to enter into dialogue and the president is surrounded by 
"rightwing" leaders.

CONAIE, which represents 90 percent of the indigenous peoples' movement, 
is divided into three regional branches, for the highlands, the coast, 
and the Amazon jungle areas - Ecuador's three main geographical divisions.

"The president has only to look around him if he wants to see 
representatives of the right," said Cholango, referring to certain 
ministers and secretaries who were formerly linked to rightwing sectors.

"The indigenous peoples' movement has fought against the neoliberal 
model for many years. It has faced repression and members have been 
killed under different governments, but it has maintained its dignity," 
he said, clarifying that Tuesday’s protest was not organised to 
destabilise the government, but to urge it to "correct its course."

Cholango said Correa raised hopes when he took office two years ago, but 
that he has been incapable of understanding the country’s indigenous 
people.

"We are open to dialogue. This protest demonstration is against the 
neoliberal model and against laws that oppose change, like the mining 
law which endangers water sources, or the food sovereignty law which 
favours agribusiness monopolies," he said.

He said the protesters were demanding, above all, discussion of the 
draft water law presented by the indigenous movement, which seeks to 
conserve and protect water resources.

"We do not accept that a government that says it is in favour of 
marginalised people should not take their views into account when it 
makes laws. It's inconceivable that laws as important as those on mining 
or food sovereignty should be passed without public debate, or that they 
should contain articles that run counter to the constitution itself, 
which enshrines the rights of nature," he said.

Urban and youth movements as well as environmental and human rights 
organisations joined in CONAIE's protest on Tuesday.

The Council of Evangelical Indigenous Peoples and Organisations of 
Ecuador (FEINE), the second-largest indigenous group, expressed 
agreement with CONAIE's demands. Its head, Marco Murillo, complained 
about the total lack of social participation in lawmaking and in the 
government.

The other, and final, component of the indigenous peoples' movement is 
the National Federation of Peasant, Indigenous and Black Organisations 
(FENOCIN), linked to the Socialist Party, which has a much weaker social 
influence. Some of its leaders occupy mid-level government posts.

Political analyst Alejandro Moreano said Ecuador’s indigenous movement 
is the country’s largest social movement and one of the most powerful in 
Latin America.

"It was the indigenous movement that kept the fight against 
neoliberalism alive in the 1990s, and it has a very substantial social 
base," he told IPS.

Tuesday’s protests included roadblocks at different points of the 
highways joining the highlands with the Pacific coast and Amazon 
regions, and were deemed a success by indigenous leaders. Four 
protesters and six policemen were injured in clashes, according to local 
press reports. (END/2009)







http://allafrica.com/stories/200901120807.html

Nigeria: Itsekiri People Protest Over Marginalisation By Desopadec
Emma Arubi
12 January 2009
HUNDREDS of aggrieved men, women and youths from eight Itsekiri riverine 
oil bearing communities in Warri South council, yesterday, marched 
through major streets of Warri, protesting what they described as "Total 
and gruesome marginalization and neglect of their communities by the 
Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) in 
the distribution and execution of projects in the state."
The placard-carrying protesters under the aegis of Obi-Eri for Peace 
Movement in a letter addressed to the Executive Chairman of DESOPADEC, 
Chief Wellington Okirika, alleged that since the creation of the 
development agency for the oil bearing communities in the state, "They 
have been totally disregarded and ostracized," just as they further said 
that the Itsekiri representative on the Board of the Commission has been 
unhelpful to their case.
The Obi-Eri for Peace Movement comprises communities like Atankporo, 
Aja-Osolo, Otumara, Ugboritseduwa, Okogho, Ugbosien, Obontie, Ubagboro 
and others.
The letter signed by Messrs Thomas Atsedosan, Tony Akoma, Benson 
Uremure, Daniel Eyikimiaghan, David Asifor, Edwin Fenemigho, Sunday 
Edema for the various communities and Johnson Onire, Chairman and Paul 
Oniyegwarion, Secretary respectively, of Obi-Eri for Peace Movement said 
their well- thought out dreams and aspiration at the birth of DESOPADEC 
as a development instrument for the oil communities have been thwarted 
as no project exist in these communities that produces a large quantity 
of oil and gas in the state.
While calling for a good percentage of patronage in the distribution of 
the micro-credit facility to people from these affected communities, 
they warned that as patriotic Itsekiris and ardent supporters of the 
Governor Uduaghan administration they are entitle to benefit from both 
the human and infrastructural development programmes of DESOPADEC, just 
as they would no longer keep mute while their oil wealth is being used 
to develop other areas.
The statement reads in part: "We will have no other cause than to resort 
to the law and seek an injunction restraining DESOPADEC from carrying 
out any development in any area of oil producing communities if we are 
excluded from further benefiting from development, just as we may wish 
that development does not exist at all in the entire organization of 
DESOPADEC."






http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gOWXfPlV8HTPVu_Zn-mrBT8Bdalg

Swiss police clash with anti-Davos protesters, arrest 60
4 days ago
GENEVA (AFP) — Swiss police clashed with demonstrators against the Davos 
forum on Saturday, firing tear gas in central Geneva after officers were 
pelted with bottles and fireworks.
Sixty people were arrested after hundreds of protestors converged on the 
centre of Geneva to protest against the World Economic Forum in Davos in 
defiance of a ban imposed by local authorities, a police spokesman said.
Organisers had appealed for calm, while attacking the ban on the march.
But bottles and firecrackers were thrown at the riot police who charged 
the demonstrators, using teargas grenades.
"Around 60 people were arrested, of whom 20 have already been released," 
police spokesman Jean-Philippe Brandt said two hours after the start of 
the protest.
He said no injuries had been reported on either side, adding that most 
demonstrators had been dispersed and only a hard core of some 100 
radicals were being contained by police.
After tentatively allowing the rally to go ahead, the regional 
government said earlier this month the organisers of the demonstration 
had been unable to provide sufficient security guarantees to stage the 
event in the western Swiss city.
Police equipped with a water cannon had blocked the planned route of the 
march, while participants were systematically checked and their bags 
searched.
In Davos itself, a group of several dozen protestors marched through the 
snow-covered Alpine village, holding a giant banner that read "You Are 
The Crisis".
Another small group chanting "No To the WEF" threw fake blood on 
security barriers and ripped down sheeting on the perimeter.
Anti-globalisation groups frequently protest against the annual meeting 
of the select group of the world's business and political elite in the 
eastern mountain resort of Davos, although demonstrations have subsided 
in recent years.
Laurent Moutinot, the Geneva canton's minister in charge of home affairs 
and policing, said last week, "We're not facing a popular movement, but 
a group of people who deliberately aim to come here for a bust-up."
Banners being carried Saturday called for freedom of expression and 
attacked the "capitalist swindle", claiming that "the blackmailers of 
the WEF are mortgaging our future."
Some demonstrators disguised as clowns attempted to provoke the police 
by ridiculing them.
Later Saturday a "large group" returning to the capital Bern from the 
Geneva protest tried to hold a demonstration but were dispersed by 
security forces who used teargas and rubber bullets, Bern police 
spokesman Franz Maerki said.
Organizers protested strongly over the banning of the Geneva 
demonstration, with Eric Decarro of the Solidarites union declaring: 
"The government of Geneva canton banned a demonstration for the first 
time in 35 years."
Earlier this month a Swiss group of "anarchist and communist political 
forces" put out posters depicting fiery images of masked protestors, 
calling for people to join the "revolutionary block" or to "smash WEF."
That stirred up memories in Geneva of protests against a meeting of G8 
industrialised countries in nearby France in 2003, which turned into 
running overnight battles between rioters and police and left shops 
ransacked.
Although the Davos meeting takes place on the other side of the country, 
the WEF's administrative headquarters are just outside Geneva and the 
prosperous city's private banks and commodity traders are taken as 
something of a symbol for capitalism.
Davos, perched high in the Alps, is also cordoned off by a massive 
security operation during the event, but a small authorised 
demonstration of a few dozen people took place there Saturday.
Police kept a low profile, and only some symbolic snowballs and a few 
shoes were thrown by the protestors.





http://www.inthenews.co.uk/news/autocodes/countries/switzerland/davos-protest-turns-violent-$1265206.htm

Davos protest turns violent
Saturday, 31 Jan 2009 18:37

Protest in Geneva against Davos turns violent
Printer friendly version
A protest in Geneva against the annual Davos economic meeting turned 
violent after bottles were thrown at police.

Geneva authorities had denied the anti-capitalist protestors a permit to 
hold their demonstration but the group went ahead with a march toward 
the city centre.

Witnesses at the scene said the event was largely peaceful until police 
blocked the crowd from entering the centre.

Bottles and fireworks were reportedly thrown from within the 
1,000-strong group and police responded with tear gas and a water cannon.

Protestors carried banners that said "You are the crisis", accusing the 
delegates of being the cause of the problem rather than the solution.

Protester Alex Heideger, a member of the Davos Green Party, told 
Rueters: "It's the same people who came last year and said the world 
economic situation is fine, and now we're in a financial crisis. Now 
it's the taxpayer who has to solve the whole problem.

Geneva police said about 60 people were detained temporarily for checks 
but there have been no arrests.





http://uk.reuters.com/article/gc08/idUKTRE50L2IC20090122

Anti-Davos protest ban could spark violence
Thu Jan 22, 2009 11:42am GMT
By Robert Evans
GENEVA (Reuters) - Left-wing parties and anti-capitalist groups 
denounced a "dictatorial" ban on a demonstration planned for January 31 
in Geneva against the Davos World Economic Forum and said the move could 
cause violence.
One group planning to march through the city center said on Thursday 
that the organizers would meet soon to discuss how to react to the 
decision by the Socialist-controlled government of the canton of Geneva.
"The decision risks producing the opposite effect to what was intended 
and provoking incidents, because some people will not submit to this 
dictate," said a statement from the small Les Communistes party.
The Solidarite grouping which links radical left parties in Geneva's 
cantonal parliament, or Council, and had declined to take part in the 
march, said it opposed the ban -- demanded by right-wing parties -- as a 
violation of public freedoms.
Announcing the ban earlier this week, the Socialist President of the 
Council -- effectively head of government -- Laurent Moutinot said he 
felt he was not banning a protest "but taking measures against a 
gathering of rioters."
Geneva officials, on the moderate left as well as from centrist and 
right parties, feared that the protest would bring a repetition of 
violence during another anti-capitalist march in 2003 against a summit 
of the G8 group of rich countries.
One reason given by Solidarite for staying out of the demonstration was 
that it had been organized by groups largely based outside the Geneva 
canton.
The Forum in Davos, at the other end of Switzerland and where protests 
have been banned over the past few years, has been an annual event since 
the 1970s and is being held this year from January 28 to February 1.
On Wednesday, the Geneva-based Forum said business and political leaders 
from around the world will gather there in record numbers to chart a way 
out of the economic crisis.
Anti-Forum groups argue that it is a focus for capitalist leaders from 
government and industry to plan how to maintain domination of the global 
economy and pursue exploitation of workers in the West and the peoples 
of poor countries.
(Editing by Jonathan Lynn and Elizabeth Piper)





http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LE726797.htm

Protesters to blame Davos elite for global crisis
14 Jan 2009 14:32:02 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Robert Evans
GENEVA, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Hard-left and anarchist activists plan a 
major anti-capitalist demonstration in Geneva to coincide with the 
annual World Economic Forum in Davos at the end of the month, organisers 
said on Wednesday.
And while right-wing and centrist political parties are calling for the 
Jan. 31 protest to be banned for fear of violence, Geneva police are 
threatening to refuse extra duties on the day over a pay dispute.
"Having a major demonstration in Geneva at a time when world capitalism 
is in crisis has real meaning because this city, the stronghold of 
private bankers and of commodity trading houses, is at the centre of the 
system," a statement by protesters said.
The Davos gathering, it added, will be the scene of efforts "by those 
who have created and profited from the economic crisis to work out a 
short-term solution that will protect their interests....in a huge 
operation of exploitation and theft." Radical leftist groupings regard 
the Forum, which has its headquarters in Geneva although the regular 
January meeting of global economic and political leaders is at the 
opposite end of Switzerland, as a nerve-centre for global capitalism.
The Forum, set up in the 1970s, describes itself as "an independent 
international organisation committed to improving the state of the world 
by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and 
industry agendas."
PUTIN TO ATTEND
It says some 42 national leaders -- including prime ministers Vladimir 
Putin of Russia, Wen Jiabao of China and Angela Merkel of Germany -- 
will attend this year's Jan. 28 to Feb. 1 meeting alongside developing 
country leaders, top company and banking figures and labour union 
representatives.
The protesters' statement, from the anti-globalisation ATTAC group, said 
the opening speech from Putin -- whom it described as "the butcher of 
Chechnya" -- would set the tone for a meeting of "the elite of world 
capitalism." Protests, which often turned violent, were held in Davos 
itself during the 1990s, but were later banned and organisers switched 
them to Zurich or the Swiss capital Berne.
Officials in Geneva fear that bringing them there might lead to a 
repetition of widespread violence in June 2003 during huge 
demonstrations against a meeting in nearby Evian, France, of leaders of 
the G8 group of industrialised countries.
Organisers then -- as now -- said they aimed to keep the protest 
peaceful, but anarchist groups attacked city centre shops, banks and 
offices, many of which were boarded up for three days beforehand, and 
burned vehicles.
The work-to-rule warning from Geneva police, who in 2003 called on 
reinforcements from France as well as other parts of Switzerland, came 
because they were not paid extra for overtime during last summer's 
European Soccer championship.
But Geneva newspaper reports suggest that they are unlikely when the 
time comes to refuse to turn out in force on January 31. They were given 
additional pay for policing the 2003 protests, in which a number of them 
were injured.
Several European countries have seen outbreaks of popular anger since 
the start of the global financial crisis, with three weeks of riots in 
Greece last month, protests in Iceland and Russia, and street violence 
this week in Latvia and Bulgaria. (Editing by Mark Trevelyan)






http://en.rian.ru/world/20090131/119906654.html

Protesters rally against Davos forum in Geneva, police fire tear gas
19:04 | 31/ 01/ 2009

GENEVA, January 31 (RIA Novosti) - Police used tear gas and water 
cannons against protesters rallying in Geneva on Saturday against the 
World Economic Forum in Davos after the rally participants started 
throwing bottles.
Hundreds of protesters reportedly went out of control after authorities 
banned them from demonstrating on a central street.
Some protesters were dispersed by police, but groups of young people 
were continuing to attack policemen.
The demonstrators accuse the participants of the Davos forum, which is 
an annual meeting of top businessmen, world leaders and journalists to 
discuss the most important global issues, of failing to prevent the 
current economic crisis.





http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090131.wdavosprot0131/BNStory/International/home

Police fire tear gas at protesters in Geneva
Associated Press
January 31, 2009 at 10:45 AM EDT
GENEVA — Riot police fired tear gas at bottle-throwing demonstrators in 
Geneva protesting the annual World Economic Forum.
An Associated Press reporter on the scene says the protest was largely 
peaceful until police blocked the protesters from walking to the centre 
of the city.
Some in the crowd of about 1,000 people threw bottles and police 
responded with tear gas.
Geneva authorities had denied the anti-capitalist protesters a permit to 
hold their demonstration Saturday.

Protestors hold signs during a demonstration against the ongoing World 
Economic Forum in Geneva on Saturday. (Reuters)

Police were attempting to corral protesters into a tight area near 
Geneva's train station when the trouble started.
The forum — an annual gathering of the world's business and political 
elite — is taking place on the other side of Switzerland in the elegant 
Swiss Alps resort of Davos.






http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2009-01/2009-01-31-voa22.cfm?CFID=176073345&CFTOKEN=94473588&jsessionid=de309c8ec4a0d493f9793b7e6e77606c1f6a

Swiss Police Clash with Protesters at Davos Economic Meeting
By VOA News
31 January 2009

Demonstrators clashes with riot police to protest against the Davos 
World Economic Forum, in Geneva, Switzerland, 31 Jan 2009
Protesters upset about the handling of the global economic crisis are 
clashing with police in Switzerland.

Police say groups of demonstrators marched through the Alpine ski resort 
town of Davos Saturday, some throwing objects at security barriers 
erected to protect leaders who are meeting at the World Economic Forum.

Other protesters carried signs or chanted, blaming officials for the crisis.

In Geneva, hundreds of protesters took to the streets in defiance of a 
government ban.

Officials say the crowd pelted police with bottles when their route to 
the center was blocked, forcing police to repel the crowd with tear gas 
and water cannons.

One official says 60 people were detained, though some have been released.

The World Economic Forum has administrative offices near Geneva. The 
city is often a targeted by protesters as a symbol of capitalism.






http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jan2009/icel-j28.shtml

Protests over economic crisis topple Icelandic government
By Barry Grey
28 January 2009
The Icelandic government fell on Monday, becoming the first regime to 
collapse as a direct result of the global economic crisis and resulting 
popular opposition. Months of street protests over the devastating 
social impact of the collapse of the country's currency and banking 
system reached a crescendo last week, when thousands of demonstrators 
rallying outside the parliament building pelted right-wing Independence 
Party Prime Minister Geir Haarde with eggs, paint and rolls of toilet 
paper, and police responded by firing tear gas, the first time tear gas 
was used against the public in Iceland since 1949.
On Friday, Haarde announced that he would step down as prime minister, 
citing a recent diagnosis of throat cancer, and agreed to hold early 
elections, which he set for May 9. His coalition government with the 
Social Democratic Alliance Party had been scheduled to remain in power 
until elections in 2011.
However, Haarde insisted that his government would not resign, arguing 
that political instability would compound the worsening economic crisis, 
which has seen prices and unemployment soar and the savings of many of 
the country's 320,000 residents vanish. A fresh anti-government 
demonstration on Saturday, involving some 5,000 people, led to a 
fracturing of the ruling coalition and forced Haarde to reverse course. 
On Monday he formally announced the resignation of the government.
On Tuesday, the president, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, asked the Social 
Democratic Alliance to form a new interim government, to rule until 
elections are held in May, or perhaps even earlier. It is expected that 
the Social Democrats will form a minority government in coalition with 
the Left-Green Movement Party, which had supported the anti-government 
demonstrations.
There is little prospect that a new center-left government will 
stabilize the economy or silence the mounting opposition of workers, 
youth and middle-class people who are being impoverished by the collapse 
of the heavily indebted economy. The Social Democrats are fully 
implicated in the "free market" speculative policies that brought the 
country to economic ruin, and the Left-Green Movement demonstrated its 
loyalty to the state and the capitalist ruling elite by offering to join 
a national government when the country's three major banks collapsed 
last October.
There are also unresolved policy differences between the two parties. 
The Social Democrats favor closer ties to the European Union, including 
a possible application to join, and have endorsed the severe austerity 
terms of a bailout organized by the International Monetary Fund in 
October. The Left-Greens have called for renegotiation of the $2.1 
billion IMF loan and opposed entry into the EU. However, the head of the 
Left-Greens, Steingrimur Sigfusson, indicated that he would be willing 
to alter these positions in return for entry into government.
The collapse of the right-wing Haarde government is the sharpest 
expression to date of the growing social and political turmoil across 
Europe arising from the economic crisis. Iceland was hit hardest by the 
financial meltdown that followed the collapse of the Wall Street 
investment bank Lehman Brothers last September because nearly two 
decades of "free market" policies and financial speculation that 
transformed the country into a center for "hot money" from international 
investors had left its banking system highly leveraged and entirely 
dependent on foreign capital.
However, similar conditions prevail in many European economies and 
recent weeks have seen a wave of sometimes violent protests fueled by 
the impact of the economic breakdown. Earlier this month Greek students 
and youth held daily mass protests for several weeks following the 
police killing of a 15-year-old youth. The Greek protests were sustained 
by anger over conditions of mass unemployment and poverty, especially 
among young people, that have been intensified by the economic crisis.
Mass demonstrations and riots have shaken a number of Eastern European 
countries that have been devastated by the financial crisis, including 
Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Bulgaria. Hungary and 
Ukraine have both resorted to IMF loans in an attempt to stave off 
national bankruptcy.
In all of these countries, the governments have imposed austerity 
policies in an attempt to slash expenditures so as to meet debt payments 
to international banks and creditors. In Latvia, for example, the 
government this month announced wage cuts and reductions in social 
spending combined with tax increases.
Other European countries have also seen mass protests. In Spain, which 
was heavily invested in the housing and credit bubbles that have now 
imploded, tens of thousands of workers and youth demonstrated last week 
in the city of Zaragoza to demand relief from soaring unemployment 
resulting from the collapse of the country's construction and retail 
industries.
Other European economies with outsized banking systems that are 
immediately at risk include Austria and Ireland. Even in Britain, whose 
currency has fallen by 30 percent in recent months, public speculation 
is growing over the prospect of state bankruptcy.
Simon Johnson, former chief economist at the IMF and senior fellow at 
the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, 
commenting on the collapse of the Icelandic government, told the 
Washington Post, "I think it's going to spread. We're in a phase now 
we're beginning to see the political fallout."
A worried New York Times in its account of the Iceland crisis 
characterized the demonstrations that have broken out in Europe "in all 
cases" as being "anti-capitalist."
The global economic crisis has broadly discredited the ideology of the 
capitalist market, but perhaps nowhere more suddenly and explosively 
than in Iceland. The Independence Party has ruled since 1991, with David 
Oddsson, now the governor of the central bank, heading the government 
until 2004. Under Oddsson, the international operations of the major 
banks grew massively, building up liabilities many times the size of the 
country's economic output. The country's big banks borrowed $120 billion 
on international markets early this decade, six times the size of 
Iceland's gross domestic product. The country's foreign debt peaked at 
ten times GDP.
The speculative policies of the government and the banks fueled an 
economic boom that lifted Iceland's per capita GDP to one of the highest 
in the world. Iceland topped the most recent United Nations Human 
Development Index.
But when the credit crisis erupted, the banks could not make their 
payments and the central bank lacked the foreign currency to bail them 
out. The collapse of the banks sent the currency, the krona, into free 
fall. Since most consumer goods are imported, prices soared. 
Unemployment shot up. Government statistics show the jobless rate up by 
45 percent in December from the previous month. The finance ministry 
forecasts a contraction of 9.6 percent in GDP for this year and 2010 and 
an unemployment rate of 8.6 percent next year, although this figure is 
widely believed to be an underestimation.
A recent survey indicated that 70 percent of Icelandic companies are 
technically bankrupt, raising the likelihood of an explosive growth of 
unemployment. The same survey put the rate of personal bankruptcies at 
40 percent of the population. About a third of the population is 
believed to have lost all or part of their savings.
In a commentary published Monday, the Guardian characterized Iceland as 
"the world's biggest hedge fund" and noted:
"Iceland had relatively high interest rates, so investors borrowed 
heavily in Japanese yen and bought Icelandic bonds. Money flowed into 
Iceland... The financial crash has put paid to Iceland's get rich quick 
scheme—known as the yen carry trade—and left Iceland saddled with debts 
it has no hope of paying without impoverishing its people for decades to 
come."





http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/stories/2009/01/25/124598c4c462

Protesters demand Iceland government quits now
Updated at 7:57am on 25 January 2009
Thousands of protesters called on Saturday for Iceland's government to 
step down immediately, dismissing the prime minister's promise to resign 
and call an early election.
Prime Minister Geir Haarde said on Friday he would quit under the cloud 
of the country's economic collapse and called for an election on 9 May, 
about two years earlier than scheduled.
Police estimated as many as 6,000 demonstrators stood on the square 
outside Iceland's Althing parliament, some carrying signs demanding "a 
new democracy".
It was the fifth straight day of protests, and the demonstration was a 
big as any since regular Saturday protests started in October.
Mr Haarde voiced "contempt" on Saturday for some of the actions by banks 
that triggered the country's financial crisis.
"I would like to use this opportunity to state my disbelief and contempt 
for some of the things that have been coming into the daylight in 
regards to the banks," he told national radio, but declined to comment 
on whether the actions of the banks had been criminal.
Mr Haarde has announced he is going abroad soon for surgery on a 
malignant tumour of the oesophagus.
Iceland, one of the richest countries in the world per capita in 2007, 
plunged into crisis in October when it fell victim to the global credit 
crunch. Its currency collapsed as its financial system imploded and 
unemployment in the island nation of 320,000 is surging.






http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,603244,00.html

01/23/2009

ICELAND'S EARLY ELECTION
Prime Minister Steps Down amid Violent Protests
Icelandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde on Friday called early elections 
following violent protests on the streets of Reykjavik. Meanwhile, 
Europe's top politicians are on edge following clashes in Bulgaria, 
Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary and Greece.
Icelandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde, rattled by the financial crisis 
and widespread anti-government protests, called early national elections 
for May 9 on Friday and announced he was stepping down.
Haarde, 57, said he would not seek re-election because he has a throat 
tumor. The new timetable brings forward elections which were due in 2011.
Iceland, the epicenter of the banking crisis, saw huge debts toppling 
its banks last autumn. Its fragile economy is expected to contract by 10 
percent this year. Faced with rocketing unemployment and rising 
inflation, Icelanders have increasingly taken to the streets to voice 
their anger.
Tensions in Reykjavik peaked on Thursday night when police used tear gas 
to control rioters for the first time since 1949. Demonstrators say the 
ruling Independence Party have brought financial ruin to a once wealthy 
island. In recent days, crowds of 2,000 -- from a population of 320,000 
-- have gathered in front of the parliament to rail against the government.
Polls suggest a new election would likely spell a swing to the left with 
the Left-green party profiting from the tide of anti-capitalist sentiment.
Icelanders haven't been the only ones in Europe taking to the streets to 
voice their disgust at worsening economic conditions. People in 
Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary and Greece have likewise been 
voicing their frustration.
Indeed, with the European wave of social unrest gathering speed, there 
have been signs of concern among top European Union politicians. In 
March, a summit of European leaders will focus on the rising protests, a 
senior European Union source told the British newspaper The Daily 
Telegraph on Thursday. "There are concerns. The EU shares them. It is 
one of the major challenges for the Spring Council," the senior European 
source said.
NEWSLETTER
Sign up for Spiegel Online's daily newsletter and get the best of Der 
Spiegel's and Spiegel Online's international coverage in your In- Box 
everyday.

In December, French President Nicolas Sarkozy even went so far as to 
warn of "May 1968" protests spreading across Europe. Since then 
"intensive sharing of information" is under way among a number of EU 
governments, including France and Germany. Concern has risen as riots in 
various countries in Europe have grown more dramatic among soaring 
unemployment and slashed government spending.
Last week, Lithuanian police fired tear gas at demonstrators who threw 
stones at the parliament in protest at government social spending cuts. 
Meanwhile in Bulgaria, hundreds protesters smashed windows, fought 
police and damaged cars when an anti corruption protest escalated into a 
riot.
jas -- with wire reports







http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LT740088.htm

Iceland nears deal on new coalition; protests go on
29 Jan 2009 13:56:22 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Adds central bank forecast, quotes)
By Kristin Arna Bragadottir
REYKJAVIK, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Icelandic politicians said on Thursday 
they were close to agreeing a deal on cabinet posts and a government 
policy statement, and fresh economic data on Thursday underlined the 
urgency of tackling the nation's crisis.
The president has asked the Social Democrats and the opposition 
Left-Green Party to form a new government to replace the administration 
of Geir Haarde, who resigned as prime minister on Monday under pressure 
from violent public protests. His centre-right Independence Party is not 
being included.
"We might present a statement of government policies and the division of 
offices tomorrow if all goes well," Social Affairs Minister Johanna 
Sigurdardottir, a social democrat, told Reuters during a break in the talks.
"I assume there might be a formal changing of governments on Saturday," 
she said.
Social Democrat leader Ingibjorg Gisladottir has proposed Sigurdardottir 
become prime minister in a new cabinet while Gisladottir takes sick 
leave to recover from a benign brain tumour. Gisladottir was not at 
parliament on Thursday.
Earlier, the central bank said the jobless rate was likely to rise to 11 
percent in the first quarter of 2010 and stay high for a longer time 
than it previously thought. Output is seen falling more than 10 percent 
this year, the bank said, as it chose to leave interest rates unchanged 
at a record 18 percent.
The global financial crisis hit Iceland in October, ending a decade of 
rising prosperity in a matter of days by triggering a collapse in the 
currency and financial system. Prior to October, unemployment had been 
around one percent in the small North Atlantic nation of 320,000 people.
To stay afloat, Iceland secured $10 billion loan from the International 
Monetary Fund and several European countries.
The crisis sparked protests as Icelanders blamed Haarde and other top 
officials for failing to stave off economic mayhem.
Police used pepper spray and arrested six protesters on Wednesday 
evening at a demonstration outside a NATO meeting in the capital Reykjavik.
SHRINKING ECONOMIC OUTPUT
The Social Democrats were the junior party in the outgoing coalition, 
while the opposition Left-Greens now lead opinion polls. The inter-party 
talks need to find common ground on many issues, including whether to 
apply to join the European Union.
Leaders of both parties have said they hope to iron out their 
differences by the weekend.
Ossur Skarphedinsson, also a senior Social Democrat, told Reuters, 
"There is not much that we are not in agreement with, we have little 
left now."
The Left-Greens are more cautious about EU membership than the Social 
Democrats, although the parties broadly agree there should be a 
referendum on whether to open EU accession talks. The issue is further 
complicated by the timing of an early general election, which could come 
between April and June.
Left-Green leader Steingrimur Sigfusson has also called for a 
renegotiation of the IMF loan.
Sigfusson was expected to comment on the talks at about 1700 GMT on 
Thursday. (Writing by Kim McLaughlin; Editing by Louise Ireland)





http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7013847922

Iceland Leader, Government Quit Amid Economic Meltdown, Protests
ShareThis
January 26, 2009 11:17 p.m. EST


Windsor Genova - AHN News Writer
Reykjavik, Iceland (AHN) - Iceland's prime minister and government on 
Monday resigned amid public protests and to take responsibility for the 
collapse of the country's currency and banking systems in October.
The resignation of Prime Minister Geir Haarde earned him the distinction 
of becoming the first leader to be forced out of office by the global 
credit crisis.
Haarde on Friday said his coalition government will lead the country 
until early elections on May 9. But he changed his position Monday when 
his Independence party's partner, the Social Democratic Alliance, wanted 
to take over the premiership.
"We couldn't accept the Social Democratic demand that they would lead 
the government. That is not something we agreed on in 2007," said 
Haarde, according to the Guardian. The coalition government was formed 
in 2007 and its term was until 2011.
"We would become like a divorcing couple, shouting at each other, if we 
continued like this. That's not my style," said Ingibjorg Solrun 
Gisladottir, the head of the Alliance party.
Meanwhile, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson has asked members of the 
administration to continue doing their job until a new government is formed.
The island country's three major banks collapsed in October for failing 
to finance its debts and losing deposits due to a bank run in the U.K. 
This was followed by the devaluation of the national currency and the 
sharp drop of the stock exchange' capitalization. High inflation and 
unemployment followed.





http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=165114

Protesters want Iceland gov’t to step down now

Thousands of protesters called on Saturday for Iceland’s government to 
step down immediately, dismissing the prime minister’s promise to resign 
and call an early election following the country’s economic collapse.

Police estimated as many as 6,000 demonstrators stood on the square 
outside Iceland’s Althing Parliament, some carrying signs demanding “a 
new democracy.” It was the fifth straight day of protests, and the 
demonstration was a big as any since regular Saturday protests started 
in October. Prime Minister Geir Haarde, sick with cancer, said on Friday 
he would quit and called for a May 9 election. On Saturday he voiced 
“contempt” for some of the actions by banks that triggered the country’s 
financial crisis. Iceland, one of the world’s richest countries per 
capita in 2007, plunged into crisis in October when it fell victim to 
the global credit crunch. Its currency collapsed as its financial system 
imploded and unemployment in the island nation of 320,000 is surging.

26 January 2009, Monday
REUTERS REYKJAVIK






http://www.nowpublic.com/tech-biz/8-year-old-girl-speech-protest-today

8 year old girl speech at the protest today
Share:
by dorisig007 | January 3, 2009 at 04:39 pm
8 year old girl speach at the protest today -Video-01
Today,at the protest in Reykjavik -- a 8 year old girl held a speach 
critzising the banking investors and the goverment - and her name is 
Dagny Dimmbla.
Her is her speach,with subtitles.

The protest was peaceful and good.
The weather was foggy and damp






http://www.roguegovernment.com/index.php?news_id=13923

Icelandic Police Fire Pepper Spray On Protesters Published on 01-21-2009 
Email To Friend Print Version

Source: Reuters
Icelandic police fired pepper spray on Tuesday to control protesters 
demanding that the government resign for overseeing the country's 
economic collapse.
A crowd estimated by police at more than 1,000, some hammering on pots 
and pans, gathered around the Althing parliament building in the capital 
Reykjavik.
"About 20 persons have sought assistance from medics, stationed by the 
Althing, to get treatment after having been sprayed with pepper spray," 
Icelandic police chief Sigurbjorn Jonsson told Reuters.
State radio said 20 people had been arrested. Jonsson said police would 
comment on arrests once the protest was over.
Iceland's currency plunged and its financial system collapsed in October 
under the weight of billions of dollars of foreign debts incurred by its 
banks. The volcanic island's economy is expected to suffer a huge 
contraction this year while unemployment, once close to zero, is set to 
soar.
Protests against Prime Minister Geir Haarde's government and the central 
bank have become a regular fixture in the once-tranquil streets of the 
capital. A parliament official said the demonstration had caused a 
15-minute delay to Tuesday's session.
Popular discontent over the impact of the global financial crisis has 
contributed to violent protests in several European countries, including 
Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Greece, which saw a wave of riots in 
December.





http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24951316-12335,00.html

Crisis-hit Iceland's ruling party sees early vote
• Font Size: Decrease Increase
• Print Page: Print
By Omar R. Valdimarsson and Kristin Arna Bragadottir | January 23, 2009
Article from: Reuters
ICELAND'S main ruling party, struggling to overcome a catastrophic 
economic crisis, said it expected early elections this year, after a day 
of violent anti-government protests.
Prime Minister Geir Haarde has so far vowed to stay on, saying a snap 
election would disrupt efforts to stabilise an economy rocked by the 
collapse of its banks last year following a decade-long boom fuelled by 
cheap foreign funding.

But protests turned violent today, with demonstrators wanting Haarde, 
the central bank governor and other senior officials to quit, accusing 
them of "incompetent rule" and cosy ties to the business elite.

The Independent Party's deputy leader Thorgerdur Gunnarsdottir told 
parliament that the party expected an election this year, two years 
ahead of time.

Independent Party parliamentarian Illugi Gunnarsson told Reuters it was 
"obvious" that early elections would take place, but that the party had 
not discussed any specific dates.

"Whether the elections will be this September, October or in May (2010), 
the most important thing right now is to get the wheels of the economy 
rolling again," Gunnarsson said.

Haarde's office declined to comment on election issues, and he did not 
mention early elections during a speech to parliament on measures to 
bolster the economy.

Overnight, police used tear gas against demonstrators for the first time 
in Iceland since protests over the Atlantic island's entry into the NATO 
military alliance in 1949.

Yesterday afternoon, about 80 protesters stood outside parliament, 
chanting for the "disqualified government" to resign. Latvia, Bulgaria 
and other European countries hit hard by the global economic meltdown 
have also seen unrest.

Police spokesman Gunnar Sigurdsson said of the situation overnight, 
"There were a couple of hundred (protesters) when they had to use the 
gas. It went on for two hours or so. There were no arrests. Some 
injuries, but not serious."

Besides its economic woes, Iceland also faces a strategic, long-term 
question over whether to join the European Union or remain outside. The 
crisis has buoyed public support for joining the EU and adopting the 
euro currency.

Baldur Thorhallsson, political science professor at the University of 
Iceland, said next week's Independent Party congress could hold the key 
to the cabinet's longevity.

Haarde's traditionally eurosceptic group may change tack and propose to 
launch EU accession talks, trying to appease the government's junior 
partner, the pro-EU Social Democrats.

"The government stands on very wobbly feet right now," Thorhallsson 
said. "The Social Democrats gave the Independent Party an opportunity to 
change their (EU) course, and will probably wait with any actions until 
after their congress."

Iceland's economy is set to shrink 10 percent this year and unemployment 
is surging. To stay afloat during the worst of the crisis, Iceland 
negotiated a $10 billion aid package crafted by the IMF and effectively 
froze trade in its hobbled currency.

"The main thing now is that we have to go ahead with the IMF plan," said 
Asgeir Jonsson, heard of research at New Kaupthing Bank.

"We really need to open the currency market and also we have to get the 
new state-owned banks working."






http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LL97664.htm

Iceland protests grow, premier vows to stay on
21 Jan 2009 23:49:51 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Adds Social Democrat resolution, comments)
By Omar R Valdimarsson
REYKJAVIK, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Angry Icelandic protesters clashed with 
riot police as they called for a new government on Wednesday and the 
country's prime minister said he had the support of his coalition partner.
Iceland Prime Minister Geir Haarde, speaking after his limousine had 
been pelted with eggs and cans by demonstrators, said the government was 
"fully functional".
The government is coming under fierce pressure from Icelanders who are 
frustrated by the handling of a financial crisis that has wreaked havoc 
with the island's economy. Opposition politicians and demonstrators have 
called for Haarde and other senior officials to resign.
"The government is still fully functional and the coalition parties are 
going to continue their cooperation as confirmed to me today by 
Ingibjorg Gisladottir," he told journalists after meeting with lawmakers 
from his Independence Party.
Foreign Minister Gisladottir is head of the Social Democratic Alliance, 
which forms a coalition government with the Independence Party.
That support was not matched by some party members in Reykjavik who 
passed a resolution demanding the party leave the government.
The vote by the party's biggest and most influential district, was 
approved at a late-night meeting surrounded by hundreds of 
anti-government protesters. It also demanded that general election be 
called no later than in May.
"The message this large body within the party is sending its leadership 
is very clear," said Agust Olafur Agustsson, vice chairman of the Social 
Democratic Alliance.
"This body is calling for an election, but until anything else is 
decided, we will continue to work faithfully with the Independence 
Party," he told Reuters after the meeting.
Anti-government and central bank protests are now regular fixtures in 
the once-tranquil capital after sharp currency falls and the collapse of 
the financial system in October caused by billions of dollars of foreign 
debt being incurred by banks.
Television footage from channel RUV showed protesters banging on 
Haarde's black limousine and then pelting it with eggds outside the 
government building.
The vehicle managed to drive away after riot police arrived.
PARLIAMENT PROTESTS
The protest also left the government building splattered with eggs and 
paint. The demonstrators then moved off to parliament and by evening 
about 3,000 protesters had gathered to face riot police surrounding the 
Althing, hurling fire crackers at the building and chanting 
"disqualified government".
One demonstrator scaled the face of the parliament building, reaching a 
balcony from which he hung a sign reading "Treason due to recklessness 
is still treason".
The volcanic island's economy is expected to suffer a huge contraction 
this year while unemployment, once close to zero, is set to soar.
"People feel that it is incredible that after such a policy disaster 
that we faced last year, there has been no resignation, no minister, no 
one has resigned or responded, or taken responsibility for what 
happened," said Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson, a political scientist at the 
University of Iceland.
Kristinsson said there was a substantial likelihood the government would 
not survive the coming two weeks.
"I think it is more likely than not. It could happen today, next week or 
the weekend at the end of the month, especially since the Independence 
Party convention will be held next weekend," he said.
Haarde's Independence Party is due to begin a national congress of its 
members on Jan. 29 to discuss issues which include revisiting the 
party's long-standing opposition to Iceland seeking membership in the 
European Union. (Reporting by Omar R Valdimarsson; additional reporting 
by Patrick Lannin in Riga, Victoria Klesty in Stockholm and Wojciech 
Moskwa in Oslo; Writing by Niklas Pollard; Editing by Matthew Jones)






http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/731388/protests-over-icelandic-economic-crisis/?rss=yes

Protests over Icelandic economic crisis
14:54 AEST Wed Jan 21 2009
87 days 23 hours 54 minutes ago

The dire state of Iceland's economy is causing a wave of protests in the 
capital Reykjavik.

Icelandic police used tear gas to disperse protesters outside parliament 
during its first session for the year, broadcaster RUV reported.
Iceland has experienced a wave of protests since October when the 
country's three banks were nationalised when they faced collapse in the 
wake of the global credit crunch.
The North Atlantic nation of some 320,000 people is facing a severe 
contraction of its economy with unemployment due to rise sharply.
A paper prepared by the finance ministry said unemployment had reached 
1.7 per cent in the fourth quarter 2008, and was predicted to increase 
this year to 7.8 per cent.
Fresh figures from the Directorate of Labour suggest that unemployment 
among the youth - 16 to 24-year-olds - was rising more rapidly than 
among older workers.
Interest rates are at 18 per cent and the country recently secured a 
$US2.1 billion ($A3.24 billion) bridging loan from the International 
Monetary Fund.





http://story.floridastatesman.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/3a8a80d6f705f8cc/id/456540/cs/1/

Icelandic citizens gather to protest
Florida Statesman
Wednesday 21st January, 2009
The Icelandic capital Reykjavik has been the scene of new riots.

The police have used pepper spray to disperse about 1,000 demonstrators 
who were massed outside the parliament building.

Twenty protesters were later arrested and some were injured, needing 
medical attention.

Reykjavik has for weeks been the scene of demonstrations targetting 
Prime Minister Geir Haarde's government for its handling of the 
financial crisis.

Iceland's economy is under huge pressure following the collapse of its 
financial system.






http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7843327.stm

Wednesday, 21 January 2009

Protesters pelt Iceland PM's car
The Icelandic prime minister's car is attacked by anti-government protesters
Angry protesters surrounded Icelandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde's car 
on Wednesday, banging on the vehicle's windows and pelting it with eggs.
Television footage showed Mr Haarde hurriedly getting into his car 
outside the government building in Reykjavik before a crowd descended on 
it.
He managed to drive off only once his bodyguards and police pushed them 
away.
On Tuesday, police arrested 20 people at a protest demanding Mr Haarde 
resign over his handling of the economy.
About 2,000 people attended the demonstration outside parliament in 
Reykjavik, in a bid to disrupt the first session of the year.
Some people hammered on the windows of the parliament, the Althing, 
breaking several on the ground floor. Others set off smoke bombs and 
threw snowballs at riot police stationed outside.

Protests against the government have become a regular fixture in Reykjavik
Chief police inspector Johann Thorisson said the force had not detained 
anyone after the attack on the prime minister's car on Wednesday because 
he had not been physically attacked.
"There is still turbulence, but we are going to try and take it easy and 
not arrest anyone. Now they just throw snowballs, banging on drums and 
making noise," he told the Reuters news agency.
Correspondents say protests against the government and central bank have 
become a regular fixture in Reykjavik since October, when Iceland's 
financial system collapsed in the global credit crunch.
The country's currency has since plummeted, while unemployment - once 
close to zero - is soaring. The economy is meanwhile forecast to shrink 
by 9.6% this year and see no growth in 2010.






http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKTRE50J54E20090120?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews

Iceland protesters demand government step down
Tue Jan 20, 2009 4:09pm GMT

REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Icelandic police fired pepper spray and made 
arrests at a demonstration outside parliament on Tuesday where 
protesters demanded the government that oversaw the country's economic 
collapse step down, local media said.
Several hundred demonstrators, some hammering on pots and pans, gathered 
around the Althing, amid calls for the Icelandic government to step 
down, a Reuters witness reported.
Icelandic daily Morgunbladid on its Website said up to 10 people had 
been arrested and the police had fired pepper spray at the demonstrators.
Iceland succumbed to the global crisis as its currency plunged and its 
financial system collapsed in October under the weight of billions of 
dollars of foreign debts incurred by its banks.
The volcanic island's economy is expected to suffer a huge contraction 
this year while unemployment, which in recent years has rested close to 
zero, is set to soar.
Protests against Prime Minister Geir Haarde's government and the central 
bank have become a regular fixture in the once-tranquil streets of the 
capital ever since the collapse of the island's main commercial banks 
last year.
A police official estimated more than a thousand protesters had gathered 
around parliament, but said he had no information about arrests.
(Editing by Michael Roddy)





http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/davos/7857309.stm

Wednesday, 28 January 2009

Brazil holds 'alternative Davos'
By Gary Duffy
BBC News, Sao Paulo

Amazonian indians have taken part, concerned with their plight
Tens of thousands of social activists and environmental and political 
groups have gathered in the Brazilian city of Belem for the World Social 
Forum.
The event is timed deliberately to coincide with the World Economic 
Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Organisers say the global financial crisis has given the six-day meeting 
new importance in providing an alternative perspective.
Environmental issues are featuring prominently in the discussions.
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will join four other 
presidents from across South America at the forum later this week.
Amazon's future
The city of Belem, not far from the mouth of the Amazon River, is a 
location of symbolic importance for the tens of thousands of political 
and environmental activists who have gathered there.
The future of the Amazon itself is a key concern for those taking part 
in the World Social Forum, among them representatives of Brazil's 
Indigenous population.

The protesters are making the most of Belem's moment in the spotlight
There has already been a chaotic protest as Indian groups along with 
many thousands of demonstrators marched and danced through the streets 
of city, calling on the world to protect the rainforest.
The World Social Forum was first held in Brazil in 2001, and as in 
previous years the gathering has been timed to present an alternative 
view to the World Economic Forum at Davos in Switzerland.
The theme of the forum in Brazil is that "another world is possible" and 
that during a period of economic crisis for many countries the time is 
right for change.
The broadly-based gathering has attracted a range of individuals and 
groups from faith healers to communists and peace activists.
The economic crisis has undoubtedly raised the profile of the social 
forum. Local officials believe that as many as 100,000 people are in 
Belem for what organisers say has grown to become the biggest 
anti-globalisation event on the planet.






http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/28/content_10728526.htm

1,000 protestors: Save Amazon

An aerial view shows people protesting against Amazon deforestation 
during the 2009 World Social Forum near the mouth of the Amazon River in 
the city of Belem January 27, 2009. About 1, 000 protestors made a 
formation in the shape of an Amazon Indian man holding a bow and arrow. 
The words read, "SOS Amazon". (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)










http://english.sina.com/world/2009/0131/215049.html

Carrefour project runs into protests in Kuala Lumpur
2009-01-31 16:34:31 GMT2009-02-01 00:34:31 (Beijing Time) xinhuanet
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Some 50 residents of Kuala Lumpur, 
Malaysia, gathered at a construction site of Carrefour Hypermarket near 
here on Saturday to protest the resumption of its development, claiming 
it would affect their daily life.
The peaceful protest was seen after local state assemblyman Mohd Nasir 
Hashim held a press conference and expressed his disappointment for the 
project allowed to continue despite objections, Malaysia's national news 
agency Bernama reported.
Mohd Nasir said that he did not receive any formal letter from the 
Petaling Jaya Municipal Council on the resumption of the project and he 
would continue to support those residents and fulfill his 
responsibilities towards them as the project would have adverse impact 
on their life.
The hypermarket development reportedly was near a school and surrounded 
by residential areas, and not a part of the town planning.
Some local residents hoped the government would consider relocation of 
the project due to possible security hazards, traffic congestion, the 
school and residents' welfare.






http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090110-182610/Presidents-guards-harass-protesters

President’s guards harass protesters
By Dona Pazzibugan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 18:43:00 01/10/2009

Filed Under: Government, Civil unrest, Politics, Mining and quarrying, 
Security (general), Defense
MANILA, Philippines -- Members of the Presidential Security Group forced 
three church workers to strip their shirts that bore anti-mining slogans 
during President Macapagal-Arroyo's recent visit to Midsalip, Zamboanga 
Del Sur.
Shortly before Arroyo arrived in the mineral-rich municipality last 
January 6, three PSG elements accosted three men, who turned out to be 
workers of the San Jose Parish Church.
The PSG operatives ordered the three men to take off their shirts that 
bore the words "Stop Mining and Corruption."
The incident has reached the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the 
Philippines, which reported the news on its website on Saturday.
A spokesman for the Ecclesiastical province of Dipolog, Iligan, Ozamiz, 
Pagadian, Ipil, and Marawi’s committee on mining issues said it was 
withholding the names of the three church workers until after the 
"inquiries have been finished."
The CBCP website said Church officials condemned the PSG's harassment, 
which was unexpected.
San Jose Church parish Fr. Raymund Ugwu said he personally heard the 
accounts made by the three men who were made to take off their shirts.
During her trip to Midsalip, Arroyo also canceled her scheduled visit to 
the local parish where she was supposed to meet with Fr. Ugwu and the 
assistant parish priest Fr. James Kutal.
"The priests would have aired the people's concern against the influx of 
mining companies in the town," said Benita Clamonte of the Justice and 
Peace and Integrity of Creation-Mindanao, an anti-mining and 
anti-logging campaign under the Columban Missionaries.
She said several Malacañang emissaries met with local church officials a 
month ago to arrange the President's visit to the San Isidro parish.






http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=53289

Budget Cuts Bring Out Protestors
Posted By: C. Johnson 3 months ago
SACRAMENTO, CA - Upset over proposed budget cuts to state programs, 
people from all walks of life have decended on the State Capitol to protest.
Several busloads of seniors, students, educators, disabled and home 
healthcare workers are protesting the budget impasse adding to 
California's fiscal woes.
Saying they've already borne $10 million in cuts, demonstrators like 
Herb Meyer of Marin County say additional reductions are unacceptable. 
Relying on state-paid in-home help since an accident 16 years ago, Meyer 
said cuts have already reduced the hours of his in-home helper. "I need 
in-home services. They get me out of bed. They dress me. They prepare my 
meals," Meyer said. "With more cuts happening, there will be no 
alternative for people like myself to live independently. We'll be 
forced to go into a skilled nursing home and that will cost the 
government three to four times as much as it does now."
and further reductions could force him to move out of his home. "I need
Gov. Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders have been meeting again this 
week to come up with a fiscal plan. No deal has been announced.
Last week the govenor vetoed an $18 billion bill sponsored by Democrats.
California is facing a $14.2 billion shortfall the rest of this fiscal 
year and a deficit close to $42 billion in the next 17 months.
News10/KXTV





http://www.sacbee.com/capitolandcalifornia/story/1543492.html

Contesting cuts: Protest staged at Capitol
ShareThis
Published: Thursday, Jan. 15, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 1A
While state leaders debated California's budget, a rally outside the 
Capitol on Wednesday brought out several hundred people – many who said 
that during an economic downturn, state budget cuts are wrong:
Children's resources
Steve Weaver, 43, Auburn. Parent of two children, one with a disability, 
and Auburn Union School District trustee.
"Regional centers give us services that support our child's needs so 
that she can be an active part of the community. Also, schools very well 
may be cut. Music, libraries, computer labs could be cut again."
College tuition
Whitney Thompson, 22, Fresno. Fresno State University college student 
and waitress.
"I'd like to be a teacher. I'm in a crazy amount of debt and the fees 
are rising every year. I have to work more, which hurts my grades."
________________________________________
Medi-Cal
Beverly Griffith, 50, Oakland. Housekeeping worker at Sutter Alta 
Bates/Summit Medical Center
"If we don't have Medi-Cal then we are going to see more cuts at our 
hospital and see patient care affected. We have quality care now."
________________________________________
Home health care
Ramiro Montoya, Berkeley, 53, advisory board member In-Home Supportive 
Services, HIV positive
"I have a terminal illness. My attendant has saved my life three times. 
I definitely need someone to help me with my daily routine. If they cut 
my attendant's salary, how will I survive?"
________________________________________
Public schools
Anne McCaughey, Stockton, 51. President, Stockton Teachers Association
"Cuts could almost decimate public education. We are already struggling 
for materials, technology. We are using outdated equipment and our 
classrooms are in disrepair. It is getting harder and harder to recruit 
the best and the brightest into the teaching profession."
– Bill Lindelof





http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=53204

Welfare Recipients Protest Proposed Cuts
Posted By: Karen Massie 3 months ago

SACRAMENTO, CA - Children from around California who joined their 
parents at the State Capitol on Monday brought several dozen pairs of 
shoes with them.
"We won't have enough money for shoes if you cut CalWorks," yelled one 
protester.
"I feel you're cutting money that kids need," said Jenesis Hayes. She 
came to the protest with her brothers, ages 15 and 12, and her mother, 
Felicia Hayes.
"I didn't have any compassion for people on welfare before because I 
didn't know anything about it," Felicia Hayes said. "But I understand it 
now after going through it myself."
Hayes said a divorce forced her on to welfare rolls. The welfare-to-work 
program known as CalWorks helps pay for her food, housing and college.
"I should be done with my degree in a couple of years but only through 
CalWorks," Hayes said. "Only through CalWorks have I been able to make 
it. I get $863 plus food stamps."
She said if her benefits are cut she can't turn to her ex-husband for 
help. ""I need this money because he lost his job and can't help with 
child support and spousal support," Hayes said.
Hayes is not alone, according to Diana Spatz with Lifetime (Low-income 
Families' Empowerment Through Education).
"The governor's proposed budget cuts will put kids on the streets and 
lead to homelessness," said Spatz. "This is penny-wise and pound 
foolish. In the long run, foster care is significantly more expensive 
than keeping families together using CalWorks."
After demonstrating on the capitol steps, protesters took their cause to 
the governor's office.
"The governor is aware of the impact proposed budget cuts will have on 
people," said Aaron McLear, Schwarzenegger's press secretary. "The fact 
is, we have a $42 billion deficit that gets worse every single day. So 
we're just running out of good options."
Spatz eagerly accepted when McLear asked if she and some of the 
protestors wanted to meet with a member of the governor's staff.
The discussion lasted about 45 minutes. When Spatz emerged, she said, 
"Our message to the governor was don't target children. Don't cut 
benefits for low-income children. They're the ones with the most to lose 
and the least to give."
News10/KXTV






http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7862294.stm

Saturday, 31 January 2009

Protesters rally in Mexico City
Mexicans demonstrate in the capital
Thousands of people in Mexico City have protested against what they say 
is the inadequate response by the government to growing economic 
problems in Mexico.
The protesters - most of them from rural areas - were angry at President 
Felipe Calderon's recent move to freeze the price of petrol but not diesel.
They said the costs of running farm machinery had become prohibitive.
The country's economy has also been hit by a fall in the amount of money 
sent home by Mexicans living abroad.
Remittances that Mexicans living abroad - mainly in the United States - 
have fallen for the first time since records began in 1995, the BBC's 
Stephen Gibbs in Mexico City says.
After oil, the money is the country's second largest source of foreign 
income, our correspondent says, although it represents less than 3% of 
Mexico's GDP.





http://www.buzzle.com/articles/247443.html

French Left Pioneers a Radical New Tactic: the Picnic Protest
Activists take food off the shelves and invite shoppers to dine with 
them to highlight the plight of 'Generation Y'
In exactly a week's time, in a supermarket somewhere in or around Paris, 
a couple of dozen young French activists are going to choose an aisle, 
unfold tables, put on some music and, taking what they want from the 
shelves, start a little picnic. The group "L'Appel et la Pioche" (The 
call and the pick axe) will have struck again - fruit and veg, dairy or 
the fish counter will have been transformed into a flash protest against 
global capitalism, rampant consumerism, bank bail-outs, poor housing, 
expensive food, profit margins and pretty much everything else that is 
wrong in the world.

The "supermarket picnic" will go on for as long as it can - before the 
security guards throw the activists out or the police arrive. Shoppers 
will be invited to join in, either bringing what they want from the 
shelves or just taking something lifted lightly from among the crisps, 
sweets or quality fruit already on the tables.

"L'Appel et la Pioche" have struck four times so far and have no 
intention of stopping what they claim is a highly effective new way of 
protesting.

"Everyone is bored of demonstrations. And handing out tracts at 6am at a 
market is neither effective nor fun," said Leïla Chaïbi, 26, the leader 
of the group. "This is fun, festive, non-threatening and attracts the 
media. It's the perfect way of getting our message across."

Linked to a new left-wing political party committed to a renewal of 
politics and activism, Chaïbi's group represents more than just a 
radical fringe and has been gaining nationwide attention.

A veteran of fights to get pay and better conditions for young people 
doing work experience, Chaïbi claims to represent millions of young 
Frenchmen and women who feel betrayed by the system.

"We played the game and worked hard and got a good education because we 
were told we would get a flat and a job at the end of it. But it wasn't 
true," said Victor, 34, another member of the group. "We have huge 
difficulty getting a proper job and a decent apartment."

Chaïbi, who works on short-term contracts in public relations and is 
currently looking for work, told the Observer that the group's 
aspirations were limited. "I am not asking for thousands and thousands 
of euros a month as a salary or a vast five-room apartment. Just 
something decent."

In recent years, the problems of France's "Generation Y" or "babylosers" 
have made headlines. As with many other European societies, after 
decades of growth, this is the first set of young people for centuries 
who are likely to have standards of living lower than their parents. 
According to recent research, in 1973, only 6% of recent university 
leavers were unemployed, currently the rate is 25-30%; salaries have 
stagnated for 20 years while property prices have doubled or trebled; in 
1970, salaries for 50-year-olds were only 15% higher than those for 
workers aged 30, the gap now is 40%. The young are also likely to be 
hard hit by the economic crisis.

New ways of working mean new ways of demonstrating, too. "We are already 
on precarious short-term contracts, so there's no point in going on 
strike," said Chaïbi. "But a supermarket is very public and we make sure 
the media are there to cover our actions."

So far reactions have been good, the group claims. In one supermarket in 
a suburb of Paris, the activists say they got a spontaneous round of 
applause from the checkout workers. Elsewhere, security guards have been 
"friendly". Everywhere in France, the problem of a weakening "pouvoir 
d'achat" - the buying power of static wages - is a cause for resentment.

The economic crisis is further fueling anger. Though not yet as badly 
hit as the UK, thanks to tighter regulation and much lower levels of 
personal borrowing, French businesses have still been laying off staff 
amid predictions of a massive rise in unemployment this year. Unions 
have been largely passive in the face of threatened redundancies, 
accepting go-slows to preserve jobs.

With the French Socialist party in disarray, alternative forms of 
political protest on the left, particularly a breakaway communist 
faction led by charismatic postman Olivier Besancenot, have made 
inroads. Protests about the homeless or against the expulsion of 
immigrants have largely taken place independently of the Socialist 
party, which is mired in feuds and ideological incoherence.

One new group is the Jeudi Noir, which organizes heavily publicized 
squats of vacant buildings in Paris. Named Black Thursday after the day 
classified advertisements for flats appear, activists recently took over 
a clinic that has lain empty at the heart of the Left Bank for nearly 
five years.

"This is not just about finding myself somewhere to live," said Julien 
Bayou, 28, who is now living in one of the former clinic's offices. "We 
are making a political point. We just think it is wrong that a building 
in perfect condition should be empty for years when so many people need 
somewhere to live."

Chaïbi sat in the kitchen of the former clinic. "It's not just about the 
supermarkets," she said. "It's about fighting the system."






http://www.wcax.com/global/story.asp?s=9723941

Governor's Proposed Cuts Draw Protest

Montpelier, Vermont - January 23, 2009
A day after the budget speech-- harsh and quick criticism to the 
governor's cuts from many groups, ranging from advocates for seniors, 
kids and the disabled.
"Our message to the governor is this: Stop," said Carlen Finn, of Voices 
for Vermont Children.
The governor proposed $34 million in reductions to Human Services and 
higher premiums for people on state health care programs.
"They want to slice dental coverage from $495 to $200 a year," said 
Nicole LeBlanc of Montpelier. "Can I get all the dental care I need in a 
year for $200? I'm worried because it's cheaper to pull a tooth than 
fill a cavity."
They weren't here just to complain but to offer a solution-- taxes. They 
want the state to raise the tax on cigarettes by $1 and raise income 
taxes on Vermonters making over half a million dollars a year. Combined 
that would generate over $20 million. They say the rest should come from 
the federal stimulus package and they're opposed to any cuts.
"Somebody needs to explain to the governor that the word tax is not a 
four letter word," said Christopher Curtis of Legal Aid.
"If you look at our structural issue of $200 million-- that would be an 
awful lot of taxes," said Sen. Susan Bartlett, D-Lamoille County.
And both Democrats and the governor are wary about relying too heavily 
on the federal stimulus since so much is up in the air.
But lawmakers are looking at some taxes. Sen. Bartlett chairs the 
Appropriations Committee and today said she supports a gas tax to pay 
for transportation projects. Details are still being worked out.
"And when you hit a certain point when you don't need any more revenue 
you cap it and you don't-- and you are not paying over a certain 
amount," Bartlett said. "That to me is a very logical way to deal with 
the structural problems in the transportation fund."
But an obstacle is Gov. Douglas who reinforced in his budget address 
he's against any tax increases.
"With one of the highest tax burdens in the nation, raising these taxes 
now would slow a recovery and offset any gains achieved through the 
federal stimulus," Douglas said.
Another group hoping to avoid cuts-- the state employees union. The 
governor proposed eliminating 660 state workers.
"So I think it's going to put even more of a strain on a tough economy," 
said Jes Kraus of VSEA.
It could also mean longer waits for Vermonters needing service. One idea 
to save jobs is to reopen the contract and negotiate lower salaries.
"Because of the lack of information these conversations are just 
beginning with the membership and that will be something they have to 
weigh-- the different alternatives that are available and the options 
they have," Kraus explained.
Lawmakers will now get down to work on the budget and with a strong 
democratic majority in the legislature, it is expected they will make 
changes to the governor's proposal.
Kristin Carlson - WCAX News





http://www.rferl.org/Content/Opposition_Activists_Detained_At_St_Petersburg_Tax_Protest/1368161.html

Opposition Activists Detained At St. Petersburg Tax Protest
January 09, 2009
ST. PETERSBURG -- Two activists were detained in St. Petersburg as they 
protested a tax increase on the import of foreign cars, RFE/RL's Russian 
Service reports.

The January 8 demonstration was to include a parade of cars, but the 
street to the rally was blocked by city authorities.

Activist Vladimir Ivanhik was arrested for displaying a black flag 
showing a hammer and sickle, even though a court recently ruled that 
such a flag can be shown in Russia.

Olga Kurnosova, head of St. Petersburg's branch of the United Civil 
Front, was also detained at the end of the rally. She told RFE/RL that 
her arrest was punishment for her slogans "Russia Without Putin" and "We 
Need Another Russia."

The demonstration was held ahead of the January 12 nationwide protest 
against an increase on the import tax for foreign cars.







http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/world/europe/two-million-take-part-in-french-economic-protests-14163008.html?r=RSS

Two million take part in French economic protests
Friday, 30 January 2009

Around two million people are believed to have taken part in public 
demonstrations across France yesterday to protest at the Government's 
handling of the economic crisis.
A nationwide general strike was arranged by trade unions to demand more 
action from President Nicolas Sarkozy to protect jobs and wage levels.
The unions say large numbers are unhappy with the fact that Mr Sarkozy 
has found billions of euros to bail out reckless banks, but is not 
spending enough to protect workers and consumers.
Yesterday's strike crippled transport, education and hospital services 
across France.
Clashes broke out between police and protesters at the end of the day, 
with some people throwing bottles and starting fires in Paris.






http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/30/content_10735335.htm

France hit by strikes and mass protests

Public and private sector workers demonstrate with banners and giant 
balloons during a protest march in Paris January 29, 2009. Hundreds of 
thousands of French workers staged a nationwide strike on Thursday to 
try to force President Nicolas Sarkozy and business leaders to do more 
to protect jobs and wages during the economic crisis.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)






http://www.vancouversun.com/business/fp/story.html?id=1230849

French shut transit, schools in protest

Residents take to streets to send Sarkozy message

By Peter O'Neil, Europe Correspondent, Canwest News ServiceJanuary 29, 2009

A demonstrator holds a banner reading 'social emergency' during a 
protest march of public and private sector workers in Paris Thursday. 
Hundreds of thousands of French workers staged a nationwide strike to 
force the government to do more to protect jobs and wages during the 
economic crisis.
Photograph by: Charles Platiau, Reuters
PARIS - A uniquely French day of public fury hit the country Thursday as 
hundreds of thousands of workers partly shut down the transit system and 
some schools to protest President Nicolas Sarkozy’s handling of the 
global financial crisis.
The so-called “Black Thursday” demonstration had the kind of widespread 
popular support unimaginable in Canada, where such demonstrations that 
impair public services are typically dominated and supported by unions 
and left-wing political supporters.
The protests, led partly by communist unions, had a scattergun message 
that included complaints about government reforms, cuts in the teacher 
workforce, and Sarkozy’s handling of the global financial crisis.
The government has contributed $575 billion to bail out the struggling 
banking sector, while $42 billion has been committed to an economic 
stimulus package.
Union leaders say he should follow Britain’s example and offer help for 
consumers. “For several months now, especially since the crisis 
exploded, we have been asking the government for various measures, 
notably help to boost consumer spending,” said Jean-Claude Mailly, head 
of the Force Ouvriere union. “Up until now we have not had any response 
and when you don’t get dialogue you get a show of force,” he said. The 
unions have a point to prove to Sarkozy, who said in July that “these 
days, when there is a strike, nobody notices.”
Polls in France indicate that as many as three out of four citizens - 
many of them sympathetic to right-of-centre parties like Sarkozy’s Union 
for a Popular Movement - backed the initiative. As few as 12 per cent 
were opposed.
A Canadian historian said the popular street uprising reflects three 
French factors - a sense of entitlement in a country that expects 
coddling from the state, a profound lack of faith in political 
institutions, and nostalgia for France’s history of grand public uprisings.
“There’s a certain romance in taking it to the street and imagining that 
you are riding on a great historical continuum stretching back to 1789 
and the storming of the Bastille,” said Timothy Smith, a Queen’s 
University professor and author of France in Crisis.
But Thursday’s demonstrations, bore no resemblance to that bloody 
revolution or even the May 1968 drama in which masses of students and 
workers tore up streets, paralyzed the country and almost brought the 
government to its knees.
Many trains and metro lines were operational Thursday and two-thirds of 
teachers showed up to work, according to officials.
Still, it was meant to send a message to Sarkozy.
“He’s helping his rich friends but what is he doing for the people?” 
said newspaper vendor Ali Bourdache.
Smith said in an e-mail exchange that the French take to the streets in 
part because it’s the only way to bring change.
“The French parliament is the weakest in the rich world; even weaker 
than Canada’s,” he wrote.
“People don’t bother writing to their representative because little will 
come of it.”
Demands that Sarkozy protect jobs and wages, in the midst of a global 
financial collapse, also reflect the heavy role of, and support for, the 
state in a country where more than half the population either works for 
the government or are directly related to a civil servant.
“Most French people - from civil service workers to private sector 
employees - distrust the market. They expect that the state will 
guarantee a certain level of material comfort,” said Smith.
In a 2003 book on France’s unique political culture, Canadian authors 
Julie Barlow and Jean-Benoit Nadeau wrote that France’s affinity for 
protest is due in part to geography.
France is a unitary state with political and economic power concentrated 
in a single city. It is easy for transportation unions to blackmail 
decision-makers because all corridors lead to Paris.
In Canada and the U.S., by contrast, economic and political power are 
diffuse.
The French also glorify defiance of authority, they wrote.
“Since the Middle Ages the Paris mobs have triggered countless political 
crises,” the authors state in Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong.
“Rich or poor, bourgeois or working class, the French have no 
inhibitions when it comes to taking their views to the street, grabbing 
a sign, chanting slogans, forming human chains around towns, or cracking 
fireworks in front of bored riot squads.”
Sarkozy is highly sensitive to this history. He recently spoke of Louis 
XVI, France’s king during the revolution, and his pretty young queen 
Marie Antoinette.
“France is one of the most difficult countries to govern. Louis XVI, 
with his young wife, was one of the most loved kings for 10 years. Both 
of them ended with their heads on the block.”
With files from Reuters






http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/30/2478137.htm

French protest against Govt's handling of economic crisis
By ABC correspondent Philip Williams
Posted Fri Jan 30, 2009 10:25am AEDT
• Video: French protest over economy (ABC News)
French trade unions say 1 million people have taken to the streets in a 
day of protest against the Government's handling of the economic crisis.
While there is argument about the numbers taking part the message was 
clear.
Unions want the Government to put more emphasis on saving jobs and 
protecting the weaker sections of the community like pensioners.
There is anger and frustration with the Government's handling of the 
crisis which has seen billions of euros pumped into the French banking 
system.
Transport, education and postal services were all affected by the strike 
though the total shutdown promised by the unions did not eventuate.
It is predicted unemployment in France could reach 10 per cent by the 
end of the year.
The protesters were calling on the Government to focus on job protection 
rather than cost cutting.





http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20090081873

France protests against Sarkozy's economic policies
Noopur Tiwari
Friday, January 30, 2009, (Paris)
As many countries of the world slip into recession and jobs are lost 
people are getting restless.

France came to a near standstill on Thursday as two and a half million 
people took to the streets to protest against French president Nicolas 
Sarkozy's handling of the financial crisis.

"Everyone's simply protesting against Sarkozy's politics," said a protester.

The French constitution gives its citizens the right to strike and they 
seemed to know how to use it well. Even though the government felt it 
was a time to express solidarity, and not stop work to come out into the 
streets, the citizens disagreed.

"It's the only way to act and get the government to its knees," said a 
French citizen.

The French have been worrying about their economic situation now for 
nearly a decade. But the global financial crisis and the tough reforms 
lined up by Nicolas Sarkozy have turned that worry into real fear.






http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=241633
France hit as workers protest
Posted on » Friday, January 30, 2009
PARIS: More than a million French workers took to the streets yesterday 
during a strike to mark rising anger over President Nicolas Sarkozy's 
handling of the economic crisis.
Billed as a "Black Thursday," the nationwide day of action caused less 
transport disruption than expected but the strike was well supported, 
with a quarter of France's five million public sector workers downing tools.
The demonstrations were the biggest since the right-wing president 
arrived in office in May 2007, and came amid mounting public anger at 
his policies, in particular his plans to cut public sector jobs.
Marchers thronged the boulevards of eastern Paris - 300,000 according to 
the organisers, 65,000 according to police - to demand protection for 
jobs threatened by the global slowdown.






http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=WER20090129&articleId=12083

The European Protest Movement
Is Europe in "Pre revolutionary" Mode?

by Michael Werbowski

Global Research, January 29, 2009

“Off with their heads” and “man the barricades” the cries of the famed 
“sans culottes” rang out and sent shivers down the spines of the doomed 
Bourbon dynasty way back then. These poor yet determined revolutionary 
men fighting for a semblance of social justice and disparagingly 
referred to as “without knee breaches” by the ruling royals and 
aristocracy seem to reverberate in today’s urban European settings.

220 years after the French revolution, scenes somewhat reminiscent of 
the almost long forgotten revolts, are again visible on the streets of 
Paris. They appear to be pre revolutionary in their scope and political 
impact. The fall out from all this maybe like a horror film come true 
for those at the top.

Unions of all sorts have mobilised in protest of what is perceived as 
anti social government policy of President Nicolas Sarkozy, or a final 
assault on what remains of the welfare state, decimated by decades of 
rampant and reckless ultra liberalism which has since run amok. This has 
paralyzed the country by widespread strike action. From rail to air, 
transport has been virtually halted. Public employees and their union 
members fearing for the security of their jobs and anticipated state 
imposed reforms in the public sector have made many in French angst ridden.
Is Europe in all out revolt or this a dress rehearsal for the real thing?
On Thursday in Spain, echoing the current social unrest in France, 
unions have taken the cue from their French counterparts and announced 
upcoming mass protests to denounce huge lay offs and egregious abuses in 
the name of personal gain and profit in the world’s banking sector on 
both a national and global banking scale. Spain now holds the 
ignominious title of having the highest unemployment rate (unemployment 
is over 4 million in 2009 so far) in all of Europe. An unflattering 
distinction which it had not held since its pre EU membership days.
The country is experiencing massive layoffs in the construction 
industry, mainly due to an American style bursting of a speculative 
property bubble, related to over inflated housing prices and unbridled 
development. The scale of the anticipated protest may not be a big as 
those in France but social tensions are apparently as high or at the 
boiling point and about to blow over.

A Greek tragedy in the making
The upheaval in France and Spain follows weeks of social disturbance in 
other parts of Europe this month, including the Baltic States, Bulgaria 
and overall Greece where very violent protest headed by so called 
“anarchists” and other “leftist” or what official might refer to as 
“riff raff” took place. A new wave of protests has begun this week. The 
violent protests seem to be sparked but decades of neo liberal policies 
imposed from above coupled by the sudden drastic and devastating 
socially downturn in many EU member state economics. There are now, news 
reports coming out of Greece of “arsonists” and “anarchists” attacking 
foreign car dealerships.
Certainly this is all quite troubling for the government. Those in power 
should ask themselves this: “Are the assailants targeting the symbols 
associated with a luxurious lifestyle led by a select few fellow 
citizens?” Or this : “Are the attacks against police stations, the 
exclusive Athens boutiques and their private security companies (or 
goons) all part of an overall general exasperation with current policies 
which have bred intolerable social inequity , and are part of a popular 
uprising against the ruling classes and their valets the law enforcement 
stooges? “.

Whatever the causes may be, the protests have spread beyond the cities 
and now paralyse the Greek countryside as well. This week farmers staged 
a huge protest using 5,000 tractors to block road and border crossing to 
neighbouring states, in protest of dropping agricultural prices for 
their goods and most likely as well their increasingly precarious way of 
life. The ongoing protests threaten the distribution of food supplies in 
the country and beyond.

Out in the cold but not alone: Iceland’s Revolution

The long tolerated excesses of the so called “super rich” continue to 
shake up Europe amidst the worst economic crisis not seen since the 
great depression. The aftershocks of the collapse of the global banking 
sector can be seen in Iceland. The once prosperous and stable island is 
now in total disarray. Recent, streets protest in the quite fishing port 
of Reykjavik, have led to the fall of the government.
Icelanders are apparently apoplectic about the recent implosion of their 
national economy thanks to over leveraged lending and excessive 
deregulation or laissez faire policies greed driven bankers adopted , 
which led to overexpansion aboard and eventually the bankruptcy of the 
country, when local banks became inundated with “toxic loans” generated 
during the sub prime mortgage boom years. This week the government fell 
to be replace by Johanna Sigurdardottir, 66, whose Social Democratic 
Party is talking with the Left-Greens on a new administration after 
protests helped force out her predecessor, Geir Haarde of the 
Independence Party.







http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12974153&fsrc=rss

France
A time of troubles and protest
Jan 22nd 2009 | POISSY
 From The Economist print edition
As European economies sink, fears of social unrest rise. This article 
looks at France; the next two at eastern Europe and Spain

AFP
A FROSTY weekday at the end of the morning shift, and car workers are 
streaming out of the factory gate, coats buttoned up against the winter 
chill. But these employees, at the Peugeot car plant in Poissy, just 
west of Paris, will not be returning to work the next day. The factory 
is now operating short weeks, due to a slump in car sales. It shut down 
completely for four weeks over Christmas. And these workers are the 
lucky ones: they still have jobs, whereas 700 colleagues on temporary 
contracts have lost theirs. “There’s a real fear that redundancies could 
be next,” says Georges Martin, a union official who has worked here for 
33 years.
The French may not be troubled by heavy mortgages or credit-card bills, 
but fears of unemployment are rising as recession takes hold. In 
November France’s jobless total reached 2.1m, an 8.5% rise on a year 
earlier. Other European Union countries such as Spain and Ireland are 
seeing even sharper rises in unemployment, as Europe’s economies head 
into what European Commission forecasts suggest may be their worst year 
since the 1970s (see chart). French unemployment, now 7.9%, could top 
10% by 2010. Joblessness is growing fastest among under-25s, many of 
whom are being laid off as firms cut those on short-term contracts.

The government is most worried about the car industry, which directly 
employs 700,000 people in France (6,600 of them in Poissy), and 
indirectly 2.5m. This week François Fillon, the prime minister, told 
car-industry bosses that state help would go only to firms that kept 
production (and jobs) in the country. The Europe-wide concern that 
rising unemployment could provoke social unrest is particularly acute in 
France, where even in good times protesters take readily to the streets.
There have been various outbursts in recent weeks. When President 
Nicolas Sarkozy dropped in on a town in Normandy, the police had to use 
tear-gas to control a crowd of protesting students and teachers. 
Militant unions in Paris forced the closure of a railway station, 
Saint-Lazare, for a day, and have paralysed public transport in 
Marseille. In December Mr Sarkozy postponed a school reform out of 
fears, prompted by riots in Greece, that French high-school protests 
could get out of hand and even set off a rerun of May 1968.
In the industrial town of Poissy, which grew up around the car plant 
that opened in 1938, there is a palpable sense of unease. “There is a 
lot of anxiety and stress, even depression, particularly among the 
young,” says Frédérik Bernard, the Socialist mayor. “When Peugeot is in 
difficulty, so is the town.” Some 400 temporary workers laid off at the 
factory live locally, and their chances of finding new jobs are slim. 
Even before the recession, France’s two-tier labour market overly 
protected permanent jobs and so prompted firms to hire only on flexible 
short-term contracts. These are the jobs, often held by the young, that 
are now being shed.
Could the jobs malaise translate into unrest? Two things cause concern. 
The first is the student movement, which in France includes high-school 
unions. Many politicians on the left emerged from student politics, 
which at university level is a potent lobby. Campus sit-ins in 2006 
forced the then government to back down from a proposed flexible job 
contract for the young. Mr Sarkozy is even more worried about 
high-school unions. They are more unpredictable, and more easily 
influenced by hard-left or anarchist groups, or by teachers, who lose 
pay for days on strike and so prefer the students to come out instead. 
Should trouble break out in France, or elsewhere in Europe, there will 
be genuine fears of contagion.
Up on the hill above Poissy, opposite a rain-streaked low-rise housing 
estate, the Lycée Le Corbusier was periodically blockaded by pupils last 
autumn, as part of the countrywide protests that forced Mr Sarkozy’s 
climbdown. The students are against cuts to teaching staff, as well as a 
proposed new curriculum. But at Le Corbusier they are quick to point out 
that the reform has been postponed, not dropped. Pauline Jagu-David, a 
student leader who packs flyers alongside economics textbooks in her 
bag, says that students are still angry. “We know we’re a strong force, 
and that we frighten the government.”
The second cause of unease is the rise of a militant union, Solidaire 
Unitaire Démocratique, or SUD. Loosely linked to hard-left Trotskyist 
and revolutionary communist groups, it belongs to a tradition that the 
French call anarcho-syndicalisme. It is anti-establishment, not being 
one of the five official unions that deal with the government. It is 
non-hierarchical and has no official leader. Yet, with a strong 
following among workers for the SNCF rail company, where it is the 
second-biggest union, and a deft ability to find loopholes in the law, 
it has disrupted train services into the Gare Saint-Lazare for weeks, 
affecting hundreds of thousands of angry commuters. Ahead of internal 
company elections to works councils this March, it is keen to make its 
voice heard, cause trouble and recruit support.
One of SUD’s feats is to have made the Confédération Générale du Travail 
(CGT), France’s powerful communist-backed union, seem moderate. In the 
café next to the car factory in Poissy, CGT officials, their blue union 
jackets over grey Peugeot overalls, outline proposals to management on 
pay and working practices. “They are using the crisis as an excuse to 
cut pay and intensify the workload,” says Farid Borsali, the CGT general 
secretary at Poissy. He is scandalised that the government is handing 
money to banks when workers’ pay is stagnant. But the union is 
organising nothing more sinister than buses to take workers to join a 
national day of action next week.
Such organised protests are meant to be peaceful. French public opinion 
is not behind radicals such as SUD. Callers to radio talk-shows during 
the one-day station closure were furious, pointing out that the union 
had the luxury of combining troublemaking with public-sector job 
security. But as the recession bites, the chances of rallying disparate 
protest groups around an anti-capitalist ideology could rise. In Poissy 
the CGT’s Mr Martin is glum. “You saw what happened in Greece,” he says 
darkly. “There’s a social bomb waiting to explode here too.”







http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90783/91321/6577029.html

January 19, 2009

Protesters hurl paint against UBS headquarters

Workers clean off red and green paint from the headquarters of the Union 
Bank of Switzerland (UBS) in Zurich Jan. 18, 2009. According to Zurich's 
city Police, a group of unidentified protesters hurled paint against the 
building on Saturday evening.






http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jan2009/eeur-j26.shtml

Economic crisis unleashes violent protests across Eastern Europe
By Markus Salzmann
26 January 2009
The international economic crisis has hit Eastern Europe with full force 
and brought long-simmering social and political tensions to the surface.
Last week approximately 10,000 people protested in Latvia against the 
rampant corruption and incompetence of those in the highest public 
offices. The demonstration, which had been called by the opposition 
parties and trade unions, was followed by scenes of violence, with over 
100 arrested.
In the Bulgarian capital Sofia, approximately 2,000 demonstrated against 
the government. Anger with the grand coalition under Prime Minister 
Sergei Stanishev has been strengthened by the acute gas crisis; this 
Balkan state is entirely dependent on Russian supplies of gas via 
Ukraine. When supplies were cut off last week, Bulgarians suffered under 
the icy temperatures.
Last Friday there were also violent protests in Lithuania. Protests also 
took place in five other Lithuanian cities, as well as the capital, with 
more than 20,000 taking part.
In Lithuania anger was directed against the conservative government of 
Andrius Kubilius. His party, the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian 
Democrats, which governs in a four-party coalition, recently agreed 
measures to deal with the financial and economic crisis that are 
entirely at the expense of the general population. The government wants 
to cut expenditure in the public sector and on social security by 12 to 
15 percent, at the same time raising taxes while cutting subsidies for 
medicine and heating.
Any end to this series of protests is not in sight, and observers are 
predicting similar protests for Estonia, where the government of Andrus 
Ansip is rapidly losing support, and also in Romania.
Last week thousands of workers at the Renault subsidiary Dacia in the 
southern Romanian city of Pitesti demonstrated in defence of their jobs. 
The workers demanded that the continual production breaks be lifted and 
that their jobs be guaranteed. Last year, Pitesti had seen strikes for 
higher wages lasting for weeks. Meanwhile, Dacia management are planning 
a fourth production break from January 26 for two weeks, due to 
"dramatically falling" demand. Only on Monday Dacia terminated a 
one-month interruption of work.
Management are considering sacking a quarter of the workforce due to the 
collapse of demand in January. This was confirmed in the press by Dacia 
general manager Francois Fourmont. If the "plan to deal with the 
consequences of the crisis" does not bear fruit by the spring, he said, 
some 3,000 to 4,000 of Dacia's 13,000 workers will be dismissed.
Dacia's suppliers have already been hard hit. Cable manufacturer Leoni 
is closing its plant in Pitesti, one of its four factories in Romania, 
making about 220 workers there redundant. The management have justified 
this by saying that production exceeds demand. Workers at the Nokia 
factory, opened only last year in Klausenburg, are facing dismissals. 
According to trade union sources, Nokia has already sacked about 600 
workers.
Anger here is also being directed ever more directly against the 
government in Bucharest. Shortly before the end of the year, the 
government trebled the "eco-tax" on imported used cars, with the aim of 
protecting the domestic automobile industry. But many drivers protested 
against the measure by mounting road blockades.
The struggle between the population and the political elite will 
inevitably increase because of the mounting economic crisis. The 
governments in Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania have already announced they 
will implement further austerity measures to stabilize the state 
finances. All political parties, whether nominally calling themselves 
socialist or right-wing reformist, are agreed that the burden of the 
crisis must be placed upon the general population.
Eastern Europe—"source of the fire-storm"
Over the recent past, the economies in the former Eastern bloc countries 
have experienced a rapid growth, reaching double-digits in some places. 
Following the "high-altitude flight," however, instead of the "soft 
landing" experts had hoped for, an abrupt crash is predicted.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Stalinist regimes in 
Eastern Europe in the early 1990s, local industries were largely shut 
down or sold off at bargain basement prices to foreign investors. 
Transnational corporations such as Volkswagen, Renault and Nokia tried 
to reduce their costs by developing factories in the low-wage countries 
of Eastern Europe. They were supported by a corrupt, compliant elite 
that mainly stemmed from the old Stalinist cadres, which provided a 
crucial element to removing all political obstacles to exploitation.
Economic success depended entirely on the supply of capital from abroad. 
The sudden drying up of these capital flows as a result of the 
international financial crisis caused massive problems for the Eastern 
Europe states. Only international support has enabled a complete 
collapse to be avoided, so far.
Last year Hungary was saved from bankruptcy by a cash infusion from the 
IMF. And now Latvia has also been granted a credit package. Poland and 
Estonia, whose economies face imminent failure, have been assured a 
total of $400 million. The failure of any Eastern European state would 
inevitably have dramatic consequences for the entire region.
The situation of Ukraine is particularly precarious. According to some 
observers, state bankruptcy threatens the country. "Market data points 
to a payments failure," Die Welt quotes strategist Tom Fallon at La 
Française des Placements in Paris. The country's currency, the hrywnja, 
has lost 30 percent of its value in the past three months, recalling the 
collapse of the Asian currency markets during the Asian crisis of 1997.
The country's indebtedness is crushing. According to financial press 
agency Bloomberg, Ukraine has debts of $105 billion on the international 
credit markets, a massive amount for a country whose annual economic 
output is approximately $140 billion. In December industrial production 
fell by over 26 percent. The price of the country's most important 
export product, steel, has fallen by 56 percent since the summer. At the 
stock market in Kiev, brokers are speculating on a huge shock. The main 
stock index has lost 85 percent in value in less than a year.
Under the headline, "The Next Source of the Fire-storm is Eastern 
Europe," Financial Times Deutschland pointed to the consequences for 
Western Europe. If European Union members such as Hungary or Estonia get 
into a predicament, FTD writes, this will also affect the state budgets, 
banks and investors in the other EU countries.
"A dramatic meltdown of wealth," reports FTD, and points to the example 
of the Griffin Eastern Europe Fund, which has lost 63 percent in value 
within one year. "The Julius Bär Black Sea Fund, which invests in stock 
markets around the Black Sea, has even managed to destroy 80 percent of 
investors' capital in 12 months."
According to the article, Eastern Europe business presently ranks among 
the greatest risks for Western banks. The banks' commitment in these 
countries amounts to some $1,500 billion. Financial institutions from 
Austria, Italy, France, Sweden and Greece are particularly affected. 
Austrian banks alone have outstanding credits of €224 billion in Eastern 
Europe, corresponding to 78 percent of Austria's entire economic output.





http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24949612-26040,00.html

Protests tip of iceberg as Europe braces for chaos
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Roger Boyes | January 23, 2009
Article from: The Australian
ICELAND has no army, no navy and no air force -- but it does have riot 
police.
The troopers came out to quell the latest riots in Reykjavik, which 
erupted in front of parliament this week over the country's massive debt 
and inability to deal with the financial crisis.
The building was splattered with paint and yoghurt, the crowd yelled and 
banged pans, shot fireworks and flares at the windows and lit a fire in 
front of the main door.
The protesters gathered again yesterday, hurling eggs at the car of 
Prime Minister Geir Haarde and banging cans on its roof.
The transformation of the placid island into a community of seething 
anger -- triggering half a dozen riots in recent weeks -- is more than a 
regional oddity.
In Riga last week, 10,000 protesters laid siege to the Latvian 
parliament; hundreds of Bulgarians rallied on Wednesday to demand that 
the Socialist-led Government should take action or step down, in a 
second week of demonstrations, and last month the police shooting of a 
15-year-old Greek boy led to days of running battles in the streets of 
Athens and Salonika.
The protests went beyond the usual angry reflexes of societies braced 
for recession. The Greek riots heralded sympathetic actions across the 
world, from Moscow to Madrid, and in Berlin the Greek Consulate was 
briefly stormed. The Riga unrest spread rapidly to Lithuania. It is, 
some say, just the beginning: 2009 could become another 1968 -- a new 
age of rebellion.
Robert Wade, of the London School of Economics, addressed about 1000 
Icelanders recently at a protest meeting in a Reykjavik cinema, warning 
that large-scale civil unrest was on the way. The tipping point, he 
said, would be this northern spring.
"It will be caused by the rise of general awareness throughout Europe, 
America and Asia that hundreds and millions of people in rich and poor 
countries are experiencing rapidly falling consumption standards; that 
the crisis is getting worse, not better, and that it has escaped the 
control of public authorities, national and international," he said.
The global liquidity emergency became a full-blown crash so quickly that 
there was no time to hold governments to account. Unemployment is 
starting to soar and cuts in public spending are hurting hospitals, 
schools and universities. Personal bankruptcies are at record levels.
Every segment of society has been hit, but it is the young who feel the 
pain most -- and just as in 1968, it is they who are leading the rebellion.
In the EU, migration was a way out of a tight domestic labour market. No 
more: the magnitude of the recession means there is no easy escape. 
There are reports of anti-immigrant trouble brewing in Spain.
Each flare-up touches on a separate aspect of the crisis. In Greece, it 
was partly about the failure of the education system. In Vilnius it was 
over high taxes. In Russia, unrest was about dearer car import duties.
But there are common threads. And there is a shared shock that the good 
times have gone. "The explosion conceals a compressed desperation," 
Greek psychology professor Fotini Tsalikoglou said of the outburst in 
Athens.
"Many young people live with the unbearable knowledge that there is no 
future."
The Times