[Onthebarricades] Anti-neoliberal, anti-corporate and anti-capitalist protests, December 2008

[global resistance roundup]

* NIGERIA: Workers disrupt Chevron in peaceful blockade
* TANZANIA: Barrick gold mine stormed by villagers
* HAITI: Marchers denounce occupation, foreign aid
* NIGERIA: Police violence mars women's march against poverty
* INDIA: Bhopal survivors protest in Delhi
* INDONESIA: Mudslide survivors protest delays
* INDIA: Insurance privatisation sparks wave of protests
* US: Washington mayoral event protested
* US: San Francisco - man chains self to tree in cuts protest
* TAIWAN: Civic groups protest regressive tax reforms
* INDIA: Andhra Pradesh - Privatisation protested by local council workers
* US: Bail out the people, not the banks - protests across America
* ICELAND: Parliament besieged, TV station forced off air, banks stormed 
as protests escalate
* UKRAINE: Thousands protest over crisis
* RUSSIA: Bank customers protest after closure
* RUSSIA: Tax protests rock Vladivostok
* UK: Protesters dress as Santa in anti-poverty protest






http://allafrica.com/stories/200812040610.html

Nigeria: Chevron Vs Workers - Security Men Manhandle Nupeng Chief, Workers
Emma Amaize
4 December 2008

NO fewer than 15 workers, including the chairman of the Warri Zonal 
Council of the National Union of Petroleum and Gas Workers (NUPENG) were 
manhandled and injured, yesterday, in an attempt by security operatives 
in Warri to stop members of the union from disrupting the operations of 
the Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), as threatened, Tuesday.
Some of the injured workers were taken to the hospital for medical 
attention. NUPENG is protesting alleged attempt by the company to sack 
122 contract staff for indicating their interest to join the union.
Vanguard gathered that as early as 7.00 am, yesterday, tankers numbering 
over 100 barricaded the ever busy NPA Expressway housing the oil firm 
thereby temporarily halting vehicular movement on the ever busy road.
A combined team of anti-crime mobile, regular policemen and soldiers who 
were drafted to beef up security at the company threw teargas and used 
gun butts to beat members of the union in an orchestrated effort to 
break up their rank.
Comrade Williams Akporeha, Chairman, NUPENG, Warri Zonal council who was 
also beaten up by security operatives said yesterday that, "We are here 
to tell Deltans and Nigerians of police and soldiers brutality on 
innocent Nigerians".
"NUPENG, as it is known today in this country is not a violent body. 
NUPENG is a peaceful body and we carry out our protest peacefully. 
Today, we are at Chevron's gate right now to protest CNL management 
grand design to flush out NUPENG members in the company's operations.
As we stand here talking to you, about 122 workers are on the firing 
line because they decided to join NUPENG and management has said that 
they do not have the right to join NUPENG," he stated.
According to the NUPENG boss, as a free country, the 122 contract staff 
of Polmaz being threatened with sack by CNL had the right to join any 
Union of their choice.
"We came here peacefully today with over 100 trucks to barricade CNL's 
entrance and the major NPA Expressway to register our protest, but 
Chevron gave the security operatives shoot-on-sight order. A soldier 
told me that they were just having pity on us that the order that they 
received was to shoot us on sight," he claimed.
(Vanguard)





http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=15263

TANZANIA: Villagers storm Barrick gold mine: Inflict much damage, FFU 
police deployed to disperse them

This Day (Tanzania)
December 13th, 2008
Thousands of villagers raided the North Mara gold mine owned by Barrick 
Gold Corp on Thursday night and caused damage to various mining 
equipments worth more than $16 million (approx. 21bn/-).

Reports from Tarime district in Mara region where the mine is located 
say at least one person, identified as Mang’weina Mwita Mang’weina, died 
in the ensuing skirmishes.

The Mara regional crimes officer (RCO), Deusdedit Kato, confirmed to 
THISDAY that at least one person was shot dead during the mine invasion.

Barrick Gold Tanzania spokesman Teweli Teweli also confirmed to THISDAY 
that approximately 4,000 people had participated in the raid of the mine 
site.

’’The intruders went into the Nyabirama open-pit deposit and started 
stoning the security personnel there,’’ Teweli said.

He stated that the security guards at the gold mine were ’’totally 
outnumbered and forced to retreat.’’

Teweli said the damaged equipment include a caterpillar loader worth 
$1.6m, two shovel machines valued at $7m and $4m respectively, and a 
drill rig worth $4m, amongst others.

’’They stole some of the components from these equipments and then set 
the machinery on fire,’’ the Barrick Gold Tanzania spokesman explained.

He said riot police from the Field Force Unit (FFU) arrived at the scene 
at around 10 pm and set about dispersing the intruders.

’’After the FFU police managed to clear the area, emergency response 
teams at the mine were able to put out the fires set by the intruders on 
the mining equipments,’’ he said.

According to the Barrick Gold website, the North Mara mine consists of 
three open-pit deposits Gokona, Nyabirama, and Nyabigena.

Such invasions are understood to have become a fairly common occurrence 
at the North Mara gold mine, whereby residents of surrounding villages 
tend to force their way in to try and steal gold ore from the open pit 
deposits.





http://news.ino.com/headlines/?newsid=20081215001706

Tanzania Barrick Mine Intruders Steal Gold, Disrupt Output
208 days ago

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

Tanzania's North Mara Gold Mine has been invaded by around 4,000 
intruders who stole gold ore and destroyed property worth $15 million, a 
spokesman for Barrick Gold Tanzania Ltd. said Monday.

"There will be significant loss of production and revenue as a result of 
the invasion" last week, Teweli Teweli said.

A group of intruders attacked Nyabirama pit where Barrick employees had 
just completed blasting high-grade ore. The attackers stole gold ore and 
destroyed mining equipment, Teweli said.

"The well-organized groups started stoning the security personnel. Under 
relentless attack and outnumbered the security personnel were forced to 
abandon their posts and retreat to safety," he said.

After around four and half hours, the company's field force unit 
vehicles were able to reach the pit and successfully cleared it and the 
surrounding areas. This enabled Barrick's emergency response teams to 
fight the fires started by the intruders at the mine premises, he said.

Barrick Gold Tanzania is a unit of Canada-based Barrick Gold Corp. 
(ABX), the world's leading gold producer.

Last year, North Mara Gold Mine produced 237,000 ounces of gold. Barrick 
also owns Bulyanhulu, Kahama and Tuliwaka Gold Mines in Tanzania.
Barrick has since the start of the decade been embroiled in disputes 
with communities surrounding its mines in Tanzania.

Activists have in the past accused large mining companies in Tanzania of 
uprooting tens of thousands of smallscale miners and locals from their 
ancestral lands to pave the way for large mines without adequate 
compensation.

Since last year, the Tanzanian government has been resurveying mining 
regions to demarcate land for smallscale miners and lessen conflicts 
with large mining companies.

Tanzania is Africa's third leading gold producer after Ghana and South 
Africa.

-By Nicholas Bariyo, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires; 
+256-75-2624615; bariyonic at yahoo.co.uk






http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/12/17/2448993.htm?site=goldfields

No WA workers injured in Tanzania mine clash
Posted December 17, 2008 13:46:00
• Map: Kalgoorlie 6430
Barrick Gold, the world's largest gold miner, says no workers from 
Western Australia were injured when one of its mines in Tanzania was 
stormed by thousands of people.
Millions of dollars worth of equipment was destroyed last week when 
thousands of villagers and criminals attacked its North Mara gold mine.
There were concerns for two former goldfields' residents who are working 
in Africa for Barrick, but the company says none of its staff were injured.
International media organisations have reported one person was killed 
during the mine invasion, but Barrick says it is unaware of any deaths.
The mine site's security manager, Kevin Moxham, says all personnel are 
now back at work.






http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/world/2008/12/6/30326/Haitian-voodoo-protest-denounces-foreign-aid-UN-peacekeepers

Haitian voodoo protest denounces foreign aid, U.N. peacekeepers
Print Email Bookmark Save to my profile 146 Comments - last on Dec 28 at 
4:49 PM

Port-au-Prince.– Voodoo priests say foreign aid and the presence of 
9,000 U.N. peacekeepers in Haiti are holding back the chronically 
impoverished country.
Voodoo supreme chief Max Beauvoir says Haitians cannot live comfortably 
among heavily armed U.N. troops and that aid groups accomplish little 
while preventing locals from helping themselves.
About 300 adherents wearing patron spirits' colors marched Friday near 
the presidential palace. They poured alcohol before a statue honoring 
Haiti's rebel slave founders.
Marchers also denounced the Dec. 5 anniversary of Christopher Columbus's 
1492 arrival in what is now northern Haiti. Voodoo is an official 
religion in Haiti







http://allafrica.com/stories/200812030184.html

Nigeria: Bayelsa Women Protest Neglect
Samuel Oyadongha
3 December 2008

What could be described as a peaceful protest march by Bayelsa women 
yesterday almost degenerated into violence when a senior police officer 
attached to the Government House otherwise known as 'Creek Haven' 
descended on a cameraman covering the rally.
The timely intervention of one of the soldiers manning the Armoured 
Personnel Carriers in front of the Government House gate however averted 
a possible show down between the protesters and the security operatives.
The cameraman was taking shots of the protesters when the police 
officer, a Deputy Superintendent, ordered him out of the arena with 
slaps threatening to smash his camera if he failed to leave.
Sensing trouble, one of the soldiers around, a sergeant quickly stepped 
in and prevailed on the officer to exercise some measure of restraint 
given the charged scenario.
Angered by the action of the officer, the women drawn from the eight 
local government areas of the state under the auspices of HOST 
Communities of Nigeria (HOSCON), Oil and Gas, Bayelsa State chapter, who 
were protesting the continued refusal of the state government to 
constitute a board to manage the oil revenue accruing to the state, 
resorted to booing at the officer.
Armed with placards some of which read, "We have the right to manage our 
oil fund," "Give us Bayelsa State Oil Producing Areas Development 
Commission (BASOPADEC) or face a showdown from oil communities in the 
state." The women said they can no longer fold their arms and watch the 
state resources being wasted while the oil producing communities are 
wallowing in abject poverty and denied the basic necessities of life.
The governor had repeatedly said there was no need for such commission 
as virtually all communities in the state are in one way or the other 
linked with oil production.
But the women leader of the HOSCON in Bayelsa State, Violet Obun, in a 
statement made available to newsmen lamented the deplorable situation in 
the oil producing communities saying the communities have the right to 
manage the resources coming from their land.
She said they took to the street to let Bayelsans know that the host 
communities are not feeling the impact of the derivation proceeds which 
runs to several billions monthly since the advent of constitutional 
democracy in 1999 when the enforcement of the 13 per cent derivation 
payment to oil producing areas commenced.
"We wish to affirm in unequivocal terms that the proceeds of the 13 per 
cent derivation do not belong to the Bayelsa State government and most 
importantly, Timipre Sylva, but, the host communities in the swamps and 
creeks, who bear the brunt of the oil exploration and exploitation.
"Therefore, the governor should as a matter of urgent public importance 
release from January, 2008 the funds to a commission to enable the host 
communities participate and manage our resources and determine our 
development imperatives", she said.
The oil communities appealed to the Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, 
President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Prof. Kimse Okoko, 
traditional institutions in the state and oil majors to prevail on the 
governor to "create the commission and allow peace in our communities".
(Vanguard, Nigeria)






http://www.dailyindia.com/show/284813.php

Bhopal gas disaster victims stage protests in Delhi
 From ANI

New Delhi, Dec 3: To support the struggle of Bhopal gas victims, various 
organizations, supporting groups and students held a protest here last 
evening.

The protesters alleged that even after 24 years of the tragedy in which 
3,800 people died, the victims are still awaiting help and support.

The protest was organised by the International Campaign for Justice 
inhopal (ICJB), a worldwide coalition of some 20 people's organizations, 
NGO'snd individuals to express solidarity with the groups.

"All the Delhi supporters, supporting groups and students want the 
empowered commission for Bhopal and also block an extra legal exit for 
the Dow Chemicals. We have gathered in memory of the Union Carbide 
victims and also in solidarity with the longest-running struggle. We are 
with them in full view for justice and life with dignity and demand for 
accountability," said Shalini Sharma, a volunteer associated with the ICJB.

On the night of December 2, 1984, tons of a toxic gas leaked from a 
pesticide plant owned by Union Carbide in India's central Bhopal, 
killing about 3,800 people almost instantly. Thousands more were maimed.

Union Carbide in 1984 accepted moral responsibility for the tragedy and 
established a 100 million dollars charitable trust fund to build a 
hospital for victims. Later Union Carbide was taken over by Dow 
Chemical.The Union Carbide, after a protracted legal battle, paid 470 
million dollars to the Indian Government in a settlement reached in 1989.







http://www.chinapost.com.tw/asia/indonesia/2008/12/03/185951/Indonesia-mud.htm

Updated Wednesday, December 3, 2008 10:15 am TWN, Reuters
Indonesia mud volcano victims protest delays
JAKARTA -- About 500 people made homeless by a mud volcano in 
Indonesia’s East Java held a rally in the capital on Tuesday to protest 
against delays in compensation by an energy firm blamed by some 
scientists for the disaster.
The mud volcano, which started erupting in May 2006 near Indonesia’s 
second-biggest city of Surabaya, has inundated 12 villages and displaced 
more than 50,000 people.
Some scientists have said that energy firm PT Lapindo Brantas’ drilling 
for a gas exploration well set off the mud volcano. Lapindo has denied 
it is to blame, saying the mud disaster was triggered by tectonic activity.
But the government has ordered Lapindo to pay 3.8 trillion rupiah 
(US$310.2 million) in compensation to the victims.
“We need them to pay up so we can rearrange our lives again,” said 
Lusita Wiji Lestari, one of the protesters outside the presidential 
palace in Jakarta.
Lapindo is linked to the Bakrie Group, controlled by the family of Chief 
Social Welfare Minister Aburizal Bakrie, who earlier this year was named 
as Indonesia’s richest man.
Lapindo was due to pay 80 percent of the compensation by this month 
after paying 20 percent last year.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last week called on Nirwan Bakrie, 
the younger brother of the welfare minister, to pay some victims who had 
not received the 20 percent payment.
A spokesman for the protesters, Wisnu Aji, said Lapindo had recently 
offered 15 million rupiah (US$1,255), but said the amount was too small 
to pay for a new house.
Yuniwati Teryana, a Lapindo spokeswoman, said it would pay the rest 
“gradually”, without elaborating.
“We cannot deny that in this global financial crisis situation, the 
company is suffering a decrease of productivity and performance so the 
payment is a bit slow,” she said in a telephone text message.
The Bakrie group, whose interests span energy, property and telecoms, 
has been struggling to raise money in order to repay about US$1.2 
billion of debt.
Indonesian vice president Jusuf Kalla said in September the government 
had given up all hope of halting the mud.





http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/26/stories/2008122655410700.htm

Kerala

Kerala unit of DYFI to hold demonstrations
Special Correspondent
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala unit of the Democratic Youth Federation 
of India (DYFI) has decided to organise demonstrations across the State 
on Friday to protest against the Central government’s move for 
privatisation of the insurance sector.
In a statement here on Thursday, the DYFI State secretariat termed the 
government decision to introduce a bill seeking to raise the FDI cap in 
the insurance sector from 26 per cent to 49 per cent in Parliament as a 
move that would place the insurance sector at the mercy of foreign 
monopolies.
It said this would result in the economic crisis spreading in the 
country with greater speed.






http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/24/stories/2008122451990300.htm

Tamil Nadu - Tuticorin

Demonstration
TUTICORIN: Members of the All India Insurance Employees’ Association 
staged a demonstration on Beach Road here on Tuesday against the move to 
rise foreign direct investment in insurance sector from 26 to 49 per 
cent. It was led by S. Sekar, divisional vice-president. K. Kanagaraj, 
district secretary, CPI (M), spoke.






http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/24/stories/2008122453620300.htm

Karnataka - Mysore

Insurance employees stage demonstration
Staff Correspondent
MYSORE: Members of the Insurance Corporation Employees’ Union (ICEU), 
Mysore division, boycotted work and staged a demonstration at K.R. 
Circle here on Tuesday in response to a nationwide call given by All 
India Insurance Employees’ Association opposing foreign direct 
investment (FDI) in the insurance sector.
Alleged
Addressing the protesters, general secretary of ICEU S.S Nagesh and 
president N. Vijayakumar alleged that the United Progressive Alliance 
Government was enhancing the cap for FDI in the insurance sector 
according to the wishes of certain foreign companies. The global 
meltdown was already taking a toll on the country and the financial 
sector was reeling under the recession.
The Government was not serious about addressing the problems of the 
financial sector, they alleged. Leaders of various trade unions 
including, Bharath Sanchar Nigam Ltd, Medical Representatives 
Association, All India Trade Union Congress and Centre for Indian Trade 
Union took part in the protest.






http://www.nowpublic.com/world/dc-mayor-b-day-bash-protest-street-repairs

DC: Mayor B-Day Bash/Protest/Street Repairs
Share:
by fwinstead | December 7, 2008 at 04:11 pm

Washington, DC – Hundreds attended Mayor Adrian Fenty's birthday 
party/2010 re-election fundraiser at the historic Owl's Nest, home of 
real estate developer Chris Donatelli on Saturday. Many arrived in cars 
sporting Maryland and Virginia license plates. While outside a 
comparable number of protesters arrived via walking from the public 
transit Metro station blocks away. A flurry of snow greeted all.
Attendees partied in a large tent on the front lawn. Protesters gathered 
across the street on a freshly re-built sidewalk.
Protesters included many from: Empower DC, Metropolitan Washington 
Council, AFL-CIO, Jobs with Justice and other groups. They wanted Mayor 
Fenty to stop supporting monied developers and other private interests 
who destroy DC families and communities with their short-term profit taking.
In addition several people walked up to inquire about the traffic jam 
backed up to Connecticut Avenue. When informed of the circumstances, 
they joined in protesting the Mayor.
The 2 blocks of road and sidewalk on Chesapeake Street from Connecticut 
Avenue to Chris Donatelli's front entrance is being resurfaced and 
replaced by the city. Chris Donatelli is known for real estate 
development and now for supporting Adrian Fenty's 2010 re-election. 
Signs posted earlier in the week indicated the work closest to the fund 
raiser would be finished within an 1 ½ hours of the Mayor's birthday 
party start. Like most publicly financed construction in DC, it was not 
completed on time.
This post-Thanksgiving road work was not well publicized. Several cars 
received tickets for being in the path of the construction zone that 
popped up. With Ward 3 Councilmember Mary “Boss” Cheh living just 3 
blocks away, many wondered why there was no advanced notice for this 
city project which will give Donatelli a smooth ride from his house to 
Connecticut Avenue.






http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/25/BAQD14UVVO.DTL

Man chains self to City Hall tree in protest
Erin Allday, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, December 25, 2008

(12-25) 04:00 PDT San Francisco -- A San Francisco man was arrested in 
City Hall on Wednesday after using a bicycle chain and handcuffs to 
attach himself to a giant holiday tree in protest of recent budget cuts.

Aaron Buchbinder, 25, chained himself to the so-called Tree of Hope at 
around 11 a.m., wrapping the bicycle chain around the trunk and locking 
himself to it with handcuffs, said Eileen Hirst, a spokeswoman with the 
Sheriff's Department.
He also poured glue into the handcuff lock, forcing deputies to cut him 
free from the bindings before they could detain him. He was chained to 
the tree for about an hour.
Buchbinder was arrested on suspicion of disruption of public business, 
Hirst said.
The Tree of Hope - a 20-foot pine tree covered with hundreds of origami 
cranes - was not harmed in the incident.
Buchbinder was criticizing Mayor Gavin Newsom's recent budget cuts, 
especially cuts to the Public Health Department and services for 
low-income residents, said Elihu Hernandez, who said he and Buchbinder 
are members of the "Citizens Committee to Save Tiny Tim."
"Our protest goes with what Charles Dickens wrote in 'A Christmas 
Carol.' When there were no public safety nets, he wrote a book to stir 
the human spirit, to remind us that life is precious," Hernandez said. 
"Mayor Newsom is ignoring the voices of the poor. He makes Ebenezer 
Scrooge look like Santa Claus."
The city is facing a budget deficit this year of more than $100 million, 
and the next fiscal year's deficit is expected to exceed half a billion 
dollars. The Public Health Department has suffered the most cuts in part 
because it is the city's largest agency.





http://www.taiwanheadlines.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=143783&CtNode=39

Civic groups protest against proposed tax reforms
12/13/2008 (CNA)
Taipei, Dec. 13 (CNA) The Fair Tax Reform Alliance, with support from 17 
other civic groups, staged a protest against the government's proposed 
tax reforms in Taipei Saturday, drawing about 4,000 demonstrators.

According to spokesman Chien Hsi-chieh, the alliance is against the 
proposed reforms as it believes they will only benefit big business and 
the wealthy.

Wang Jung-chang, the alliance's founder, said the reforms, if 
implemented, will favor the rich but generate debts for future generations.

The protest lasted about two hours, with protesters moving from the 
Liberty Square at the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall complex and marching 
past the Legislative Yuan building before ending their protest at 
Kategelan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office.

The 17 civic groups that took part included the National Federation of 
Bank Employees Unions, the Union of Bank SinoPac and the National 
Teachers' Association, Chien said.

He added that the protest was just a start and that the alliance will 
invite the public to refuse to pay their taxes next April and May if the 
government does not improve its tax policies.

One specific appeal of the alliance is to oppose a government's plan to 
cut inheritance and gift tax from 50 percent to 10 percent.

According to the alliance, the cut will only profit the rich while 
shaving NT$20 billion (US$600 million) from the government coffers.

It also took issue with the Ministry of Finance insistence that the 
proposed tax cut would help attract investment to Taiwan and expressed 
doubt as to the effectiveness of such a move.

Chien also criticized the Tax Reform Committee, which was established in 
late June to give objective and professional advice on the government's 
tax policy making and reform proposals, as being a tool of President Ma 
Ying-jeou.

Chien was a consultant for the committee but dropped out last month 
after deciding that the committee only serves the interests of big 
companies and the rich. (By Ruth Wang)






http://www.chinapost.com.tw/business/asia/b-taiwan/2008/12/14/187555/Over-4000.htm

December 14, 2008 9:28 am TWN, The China Post news staff
Over 4,000 people protest against tax reforms, inheritance rate cut
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The Fair Tax Reform Alliance, backed by 17 other civic 
groups, yesterday staged a protest against unfair tax reforms proposed 
by the government, with over 4,000 demonstrators taking to the streets 
in Taipei.
Chien Hsi-chieh, spokesman of the alliance, said that the alliance is 
against the proposed reforms as they will benefit only big business and 
the wealthy.
Wang Jung-chang, convener of the alliance, said the reforms, if 
implemented, will favor the rich but generate debts for future generations.
One specific appeal of the alliance is to oppose a government’s plan to 
cut inheritance and gift tax from 50 percent to 10 percent. According to 
the alliance, the cut will only profit the rich while shaving NT$20 
billion (US$600 million) from the government coffers.
Wang called for President Ma Ying-jeou to discharge Finance Minister Lee 
Shu-der for destroying the finance discipline and make the national 
coffers suffer losses by supporting the tax reforms. Lee insisted that 
the proposed tax cut would help attract investment to Taiwan.
The protest lasted about two hours, with protesters moving from the 
Liberty Square at the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall and marching past 
the Legislative Yuan building before ending their protest at Kategelan 
Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office.
Among the 17 participating civic groups were the National Federation of 
Bank Employees Unions, the Union of Bank SinoPac and the National 
Teachers’ Association, Chien said.
He added that the protest was just a start and that the alliance will 
invite the public to refuse to pay their taxes next April and May if the 
government does not improve its tax policies.
Chien also criticized the Tax Reform Committee, which was established in 
late June to give objective and professional advice on the government’s 
tax policy making and reform proposals, as being a tool of President Ma.
Chien was a consultant for the committee but dropped out in November 
after he found that the committee only serves the interests of big 
companies and the rich.





http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/12/14/2003431047

Thousands protest against ‘unfair’ tax cuts in Taipei
FEED THE RICH: Data from the Ministry of Economic Affairs show that 
eight of the top 40 richest people in Taiwan pay no tax, while wage 
earners pay the bulk
By Loa Iok-sin
STAFF REPORTER
Sunday, Dec 14, 2008, Page 2

Participants raise placards in a demonstration organized by the Alliance 
for Fair Tax Reform in Taipei yesterday to protest against corporate tax 
reductions. The signs read “Fairness” and “Demand a fair tax system.”
PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FENG, TAIPEI TIMES
Led by the Alliance for Fair Tax Reform (AFTR), thousands of people took 
to the streets yesterday to show their opposition to government tax 
cuts, which they believe only benefit the rich.
“We had a cut in the securities exchange transaction tax earlier this 
year, and now the big corporations are pushing for a cut in the 
inheritance tax and an extension of the Statute for Upgrading Industries 
[促進產業升級條例],” AFTR spokesman Chien Hsi-chieh told the 
demonstrators at Liberty Square before the march began.

The statute, first adopted in 1990, was designed to boost the economy by 
giving favorable treatment such as tax breaks to selected industries or 
businesses choosing to invest in selected areas.

As the statute is supposed to expire next year, business lobbyist groups 
are pushing for its extension.

“Business leaders always tell us that tax breaks would help them 
prosper, and in turn, they would be paying more tax,” Chien said. 
“Decades have passed since we first had tax breaks favoring the 
corporations and we’ve yet to see any increase in tax revenue.”

“No tax breaks for the rich” and “we want a fair tax reform,” the crowd 
shouted as they marched through Taipei streets.

Confederation of Taipei Trade Unions executive director Chou Chia-chun 
(周佳君) agreed.

“According to figures released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs [in 
2005], eight of the top 40 richest people in Taiwan did not pay a cent 
in taxes — while we the ordinary wage-earners are shouldering more than 
70 percent of the tax burden,” Chou said.

“The government should collect more tax from the rich and lift a little 
bit of the tax burden off the laborers,” she said.

Garden of Hope Foundation executive director Chi Hui-jung (紀惠容) 
voiced concern that unfair tax cuts would only widen the gap between the 
rich and the poor.

“As a result, more people will need to depend on the social welfare 
system, but I don’t know where the government will get the money as it’s 
already deep in debt after all the tax cuts,” Chi said.

The parade stopped as it passed by the Legislative Yuan and released a 
list of 13 lawmakers across party lines who strongly support what they 
consider “unfair tax reform” plans.

The legislators on the list included: Chen Chieh (陳杰), Lin Te-fu (林德 
福), Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛), Hsueh Ling (薛凌), Lee Chun-yee (李俊毅), 
Wang Sing-nan (王幸男), Chen Ken-te (陳根德), Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾), Lai 
Shyh-bao (賴士葆), Chang Chia-chun (張嘉郡), Sun Ta-chien (孫大千), Lu 
Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) and Ting Shou-chung (丁守中).

Youth Labor Union 95 spokesman Chen Poh-chien (陳柏謙) urged voters to 
boycott the lawmakers on the list in the next legislative election.

The demonstrators marched peacefully to Ketagalan Blvd in front of the 
Presidential Office, where alliance convener Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋) 
called on President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to oppose unfair tax reforms 
and remove Minister of Finance Lee Sush-der (李述德).





http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/16/stories/2008121659010500.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

Delay in holding GVMC meet: TDP stages novel protest
Staff Reporter
VISAKHAPATNAM: Deploring the ‘delay’ in conducting the general body 
meeting of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, the TDP on 
Monday held a “Mock Council” in front of the corporation office.
The ‘mock council’ was organised as representations twice to the Mayor 
to conduct the council meeting had failed to elicit any response, TDP 
floor leader Nalluri Bhaskara Rao said reminding that the council last 
met about five months ago.
TDP’s senior corporator Gogineni Sambasiva Rao was the “Mayor” and Kona 
Tata Rao “the Commissioner.”
More than 25 TDP corporators attended meeting.
The TDP fielded some of its own men as Congress corporators in the meeting.
Host of problems
Mr. Bhaskara Rao deplored the host of problems that faced the 
corporation and criticised the functioning of its officials.
Among them was poor sanitation and corruption charges against various 
wings of the corporation.
Criticising the GVMC move to develop its sites in public-private 
partnership, a ‘proposal’ on handing over GVMC for PPP was also taken up.
‘Noisy debate’
This was done by enacting the ‘noisy debate’ in the corporation, rushing 
to the podium and the TDP corporators assailing the Congress’ use of its 
majority to pass such resolutions.
Several women TDP corporators participated in the meeting which lasted 
for about one and a half hours.






http://www.workers.org/2008/us/emergency_protests_1218/

Emergency protests demand: “Bail out the workers, not Bank of America”
By Monica Moorehead
Published Dec 10, 2008 9:16 PM
Dec. 10—Today, the sixth day of the workers’ occupation of the Republic 
Windows and Doors plant in Chicago, emergency actions took place in 
cities across the country in support of the takeover targeting local 
Bank of America offices and buildings. Today’s demonstrations are part 
of a Dec. 8-13 week of solidarity with the Republic workers and were 
called on one- to two-day notice by community and political activists to 
raise a broader awarenss.

Buffalo, N.Y.
WW photo: Ellie Dorrittie
A Dec. 7 Bail Out the People Movement statement reads in part: “About 
250 employees of Republic Windows and Doors plant in Chicago began an 
occupation of the plant on Friday, Dec. 5, the last scheduled day of the 
plant’s operation. The workers, members of the United Electrical Workers 
Union Local 1110, were not given the legally mandated 60-day prior 
notification of the plant´s closing; also the plant´s management and 
owners did not show up to a meeting with the workers scheduled for Dec. 5.
“The workers decided to occupy the plant. They have vowed to stay in the 
plant until they receive, at the very least, 60 days pay. The owners say 
that they had to close because Bank of America refused to extend them 
any more credit. The Bank of America has received hundreds of billions 
of dollars over the past three months in bailout money from the government.
“These workers, who are overwhelmingly Latin@ immigrants, have taken a 
courageous stand by putting their bodies on the line in their fight for 
the right to feed their families and to be treated with respect and 
dignity like all human beings. In a way, they are fighting for the 
rights of all workers who are under attack, whether they are restaurant 
workers, public employees or auto workers fighting to hold on to their 
jobs and union.
“We must stand with them.”
In Baltimore about 25-30 people came out in the rain to protest against 
Bank of America where an open microphone rally took place. A delegation 
of four people attempted to deliver a protest letter to the bank 
manager, who refused to accept the letter. The delegation pledged to 
hold another picket in front the bank in the near future.
A noisy and militant demonstration in support of the Chicago UE workers 
was also held in Buffalo, N.Y., in front of the downtown Bank of America 
headquarters building. It was well received in a city that was hit the 
same day with another round of local job losses and threats to auto 
workers. Representatives from the International Action Center, WNY Peace 
Center, an anarchist youth group, and Citizen Action participated.
Two rallies in Chicago
In Chicago, a thousand protesters of many nationalities surrounded a 
downtown Bank of America office on a bitter cold day. Among the labor 
unions represented were UE and SEIU locals. Two support rallies were 
held. Activists traveled from Cleveland, Detroit, New York, Baltimore 
and elsewhere to demand justice for the Republic workers.


Detroit
In Detroit, 75 protesters held a very spirited and militant 
demonstration at the Detroit headquarters of Bank of America in the 
Guardian Building downtown in the heart of the financial district. 
Called by the Moratorium Now! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures and 
Evictions, the action received media coverage from FOX 2, USA Today, the 
Detroit Free Press, a documentary film crew, Peoples Tribune and others.
Besides raising the demands of the Republic workers, there was support 
for Lorene Parker, who is being foreclosed by Bank of America in 
Detroit. Ms. Parker addressed the crowd and the media.


Detroit
The protesters went into the lobby of the building and occupied it for 
about ten minutes, chanting slogans against foreclosure and for a 
moratorium. Security was nowhere in sight. The receptionists threatened 
to call the cops. The response from the protesters was, “Go ahead; we 
pay your salaries, not the bank.”
In downtown Los Angeles, the Bank of America office near Pershing Square 
shut their doors before the official closing time to avoid the real 
possibility of having protesters come in to disrupt business there. 
Picketers chanted, “Bank of America, shame on you, save the plant for 
Chicago workers;” “Bail out the people, not the banks;” and “Banks got 
bailed out, they got sold out, justice, justice for UE workers.” 
Protesters included activists from Bayan-USA, SEIU Local 721, 
Labor-Community Coalition and the International Action Center.


New York City
WW photo: Monica Moorehead
“Chicago workers lead the fight; A job is a right”, was one of many 
chants heard on a picket line in front of a New York City Bank of 
America office across from City Hall. The action was co-sponsored by the 
Bail Out the People Movement and the May 1st Coalition for Immigrant and 
Worker’s Rights. When the New York police tried to tell the protesters 
that they could not hold a protest in front of the bank, activists told 
them that the sidewalk is public property and that they had the right to 
stay. The police then backed off and picket line proceeded.
Workers World spoke with a veteran UE supporter Lillian Liftlander—her 
name was Rosenberg in the 1940s when she worked as a researcher for the 
union in the national office. “I came out today because it is the UE. I 
really like the slogan, ‘Bank of America gets bailed out; we got sold 
out.’” This Manhattan resident still gets the UE news and tries to weigh 
in when she can.
“The UE took part in a demonstration in Washington, D.C., a few years 
ago,” she said, “and the workers all wore shirts that had printed on the 
back: ‘The members run this union.’ That’s what’s best about the UE.” 
Liftlander sent greetings from her 98-year-old union buddy who just 
wasn’t up to picketing this rainy day.
In Philadelphia, a protest was held at the Center City Bank of America 
in the rain. Ten minutes before the picket was scheduled to start, there 
were already people there with their own hand made signs and banners. 
Twenty or more people came for some part of the rally and received a 
significantly positive response from people going by. Activists from the 
International Action Center, IWW, Action AIDS, Code Pink, and from union 
participated. There was also a “honk against the bailout- solidarity 
with the Chicago workers” sign which got a very good response.


Raleigh, N.C.
WW photo: Dante Strobino
In Raleigh, N.C. many public workers, members of UE local 150 and 
community supporters gathered at the legislature chanting “Bail Out the 
Workers, Not the Banks” and then marched down to the Bank of America 
financial buildings to deliver a message of solidarity to their brothers 
and sisters in Chicago at Republic Windows and Doors plant.
In San Francisco, ANSWER, San Francisco Labor Council, AFL-CIO and the 
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement-SF Chapter (LCLAA) 
co-sponsored a solidarity demonstration with the Chicago Republic 
workers at the Bank of America office. Four people were arrested at the 
protest. Supporters of death row political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal also 
joined this demonstration. ILWU Local 10 members, including Clarence 
Thomas, were in attendance.
Contributors to this round-up are Abayomi Azikiwe, Sharon Black, John 
Catalinotto, Steven Ceci, Ellie Dorrittie, Jerry Goldberg, Larry Hales, 
Kris Hamel, Cheryl LaBash, Joan Marquardt, Betsey Piette and Dante Strobino.
________________________________________
Articles copyright 1995-2009 Workers World. Verbatim copying and 
distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without 
royalty provided this notice is preserved.






http://newsok.com/capitol-protester-misses-holidays/article/feed/34850

Capitol protester misses holidays
Comments 0
Buzz up!
By RON JENKINS
Published: December 31, 2008
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Susan Mills, a 23-year-old college student, 
sunbathed at the Capitol last spring to protest state lawmakers getting 
expensive gifts from lobbyists. Now she's bundled up in frigid weather 
to publicly express outrage over federal bailouts.
Mills used up her spring break in her earlier protest and missed much of 
the holiday season in her second demonstration, which she began 
Christmas Eve and planned to end after New Year's Day.
A pre-engineering student at Oklahoma City Community College, she said 
she doesn't belong to any local political organizations, but believes 
one person can make a difference by standing up for beliefs.
"I really just want to help the situation," she said Wednesday morning 
after emerging from the one-person tent she pitched on the Capitol's 
south steps.
Mills said she is incensed that federal bailout funds have gone to 
corporations and financial institutions when the middle class suffers 
economically and women continue to get unequal pay in the job market.
"I understand what it's like to be in a male-dominated field and feel 
like you're not getting treated equally. I feel like being out here is 
bringing attention to the issue," she said.
She said she was a certified "3G welder" who was treated differently 
than her male counterparts when she worked five months for a local company.
Mills got a permit from the Oklahoma Department of Central Services to 
stage the demonstration from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
Temperatures were in the 20's early Wednesday and Mills dressed 
appropriately in a winter coat and gloves, with a handwarmer nearby in 
her tent.
"It's all been pretty positive," she said when asked if anyone had 
questioned her sanity for doing what she is doing in such cold weather.






http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/world/protests+force+icelandic+pm+off+air/2895607

Protests force Icelandic PM off air
Print this page
Last Modified: 31 Dec 2008
Source: PA News
A nationally televised meeting between Iceland's prime minister and 
other political leaders has been forced off the air by angry protesters.
For more than two decades, the leaders of Iceland's political parties 
have met every New Year's Eve over champagne and spiced herring to talk 
about the year ahead on Iceland's Channel 2 television.
But this year's programme with Prime Minister Geir Haarde was cut short 
after 45 minutes when a torch-wielding crowd stormed Reykjavik's Hotel 
Borg in an attempt to get to the studio.





http://www.nowpublic.com/world/police-and-protesters-fight-reykjavik-protest

Police and protesters fight in Reykjavik - protest
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by dorisig007 | December 31, 2008 at 10:16 am
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Today at around 13:30 ,one of the TV news channels hold every year ,on 
the last day ,a tv brodcast ,live,where they talk about the year with 
political party chairmens.
But today ,the hotel,wich is located near the parliement building,was 
attacke by protesters.

TV equipment was destroyed,so the brodacast could not be sent.

Then the protesters tried to get into the hotel,but police stopped 
them,and later use gas to get them out.

Protesters where angry ,shouting " goverment out " and " fascists "

Some of the TV people ,protesters and police ,got minor injuries .






http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=26196

Article posted Nov 29 2008, 1:20 AM Category: Geopolitics
Source: Scotsman
A near-riot and parliament besieged: Iceland boiling mad at credit crunch
By Omar Valdimarsson

THOUSANDS of Icelanders have demonstrated in Reykjavik to demand the 
resignation of Prime Minister Geir Haarde and Central Bank governor 
David Oddsson, for failing to stop the country's financial meltdown.

It was the latest in a series of protests in the capital since October's 
banking collapse crippled the island's economy. At least five people 
were injured and Hordur Torfason, a well-known singer in Iceland and the 
main organiser of the protests, said the protests would continue until 
the government stepped down.

As crowds gathered in the drizzle before the Althing, the Icelandic 
parliament, on Saturday, Mr Torfason said: "They don't have our trust 
and they are no longer legitimate."

The value of the Icelandic krona has been cut in half since January.

Four Nordic countries, as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), 
have pledged to lend the country a combined $4.6 billion to help revive 
its deflated economy. The loan would be the first by the IMF to a 
Western nation since 1976.

One young man climbed on to the balcony of the Althing building, where 
the president appears upon inauguration and on Iceland's national day, 
and hung a banner reading: "Iceland for Sale: $2,100,000,000" – the 
amount of the loan the country is getting from the IMF.

A separate group of 200-300 people gathered in front of the city's main 
police station, throwing eggs and demanding the release of a young 
protester being held there.

Police in riot gear used pepper spray to drive back an attempt to free 
the protester during which several windows at the police station were 
shattered. The pro-tester was later released after his fine was paid.

As daylight began to wane, demonstrators drifted away into the nearby 
coffee shops. Here, as currency tumbles, the price of a cup of coffee 
has shot up by about one-third since before the crisis struck.

The demonstrators accuse the government – elected last year – of not 
doing enough to regulate the banking industry and have called for early 
elections.

Iceland's next election is not required until 2011.

Opposition parties tabled a no-confidence motion in the government on 
Friday over its handling of the crisis, but the motion carries little 
chance of toppling the ruling coalition which has a solid parliamentary 
majority.

Gudrun Jonsdottir, a 36-year-old office worker, said: "I've just had 
enough of this whole thing. I don't trust the government, I don't trust 
the banks, I don't trust the political parties, and I don't trust the IMF.

"We had a good country and they ruined it."

BACKGROUND

ICELAND'S three biggest banks – Kaupthing, Landsbanki and Glitnir – 
collapsed under the weight of billions of dollars of debts accumulated 
in an aggressive overseas expansion, shattering the country's currency. 
Iceland's government seized control of all three institutions in early 
October.

This week, the North Atlantic island nation, which has a population of 
only 320,000, secured a package of more than US$10 billion (about £6.7 
billion) in loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and several 
European countries to help it rebuild its shattered financial system.

Despite the intervention, however, Iceland still faces a sharp economic 
slowdown and surging job losses while at least one-third of Icelanders 
are also at risk of losing their homes and life savings.

Geir Haarde, the Icelandic prime minister, has promised that the 
government will use the IMF money to bring back a flexible interest rate 
scheme and rewrite financial laws, particularly legislation relating to 
insolvency.

Iceland was the first country to ask the IMF for help as the turmoil in 
the credit markets in October hit home.

The UK government used anti-terrorism legislation to freeze money 
deposited by UK savers in Icelandic banks in order to ensure that their 
money was protected.






http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/4047235/Icelandic-TV-program-featuring-PM-forced-off-air-by-protesters.html

Icelandic TV program featuring PM forced off air by protesters
An annual nationally televised meeting between Iceland's prime minister 
and other political leaders was forced off the air on New Year's Eve 
when a group of 500 angry protesters disrupted the broadcast.

Last Updated: 10:52PM GMT 31 Dec 2008
For more than two decades, the leaders of Iceland's political parties 
have met every New Year's Eve over champagne and spiced herring to 
discuss the year ahead on Iceland's Channel 2 television.
But this year's show with Prime Minister Geir Haarde was cut short 45 
minutes into the program when a torch-wielding crowd stormed Reykjavik's 
Hotel Borg in an attempt to get to the studio.
Protesters inside and outside the hotel clashed with police, who fired 
pepper spray to disperse the crowd. Some demonstrators threw water 
balloons, while others tossed firecrackers.
At one point, the broadcaster's television cables caught fire, 
interrupting the live broadcast. The program cut to advertisements, 
followed by an announcement that Channel 2's equipment had been damaged 
and the show would be suspended.
Outside the hotel, a policeman hit on the head with a brick had to be 
hospitalised. Three protesters were arrested.
The disruption was the latest in a series of demonstrations that have 
rocked Iceland since the country's economy imploded this autumn under a 
mammoth load of bad debt. Unemployment has increased and inflation has 
soared.
Demonstrations have been largely peaceful - some protesters were 
reportedly invited in for coffee when they showed up at President Olafur 
Grimsson's home earlier this month.
But other events have turned violent. Icelandic authorities used tear 
gas for the first time since 1949 when a huge crowd tried to storm a 
police station in Reykjavik in November, and on Dec 18, protesters 
smashed the windows of the country's financial watchdog agency.







http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2008-12/2008-12-01-voa79.cfm?CFID=162342052&CFTOKEN=39463820&jsessionid=66308619ee8ebea550604d8683e6d2032826

Icelanders Protest Economic Crisis
By VOA News
01 December 2008

Demonstrators crowd into a city square in Reykjavik, Iceland, 01 Dec 2008
Thousands of Icelanders marked the 90th anniversary of sovereignty from 
Denmark Monday by demanding the government resign over the country's 
economic crisis.

Hundreds of marchers tried to storm central bank headquarters in 
Reykjavik. They left after a tense hour-long standoff with riot police.

The global financial crisis has left Iceland's economy in shambles. 
Three major banks have collapsed, unemployment has soared, and the value 
of the krona has plunged.

Prime Minister Geir Haarde has refused to resign or call for early 
elections. He blames Iceland's economic calamity on commercial bankers.

The government was forced to ask the International Monetary Fund and 
several countries for a multi-billion-dollar loan.






http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/business/news/article_1446012.php/Protesting_Icelanders_storm_bank_streets_over_economy_crisis_

Protesting Icelanders storm bank, streets, over economy crisis
Business News
Dec 1, 2008, 20:23 GMT
Reykjavik - What began Monday as a celebration of Iceland's 90th 
birthday since its independence from Denmark in 1918 turned into 
protests by several hundred people who stormed to the central bank in 
anger over the government's handling of the financial crisis.
The protests were a continuation of demonstrations over the weekend that 
drew several thousand people despite freezing conditions.
Monday's protestors pushed into the Central Bank foyer, loudly demanding 
the resignation of Central Bank chief David Oddsson. Over the weekend, 
angry Icelanders demanded that Prime Minister Geir Haarde step down. 
Similar calls for the two men to step down have punctuated recent weeks.
The two men are being held accountable for the financial breakdown, bank 
collapses and accumulation of huge debt in the country of 320,000 on the 
island nation in the icy North Atlantic. The crisis followed on the US 
financial crisis that started unravelling in earnest in mid September.
The Icelandic krone has lost three-quarters of its value over 12 months. 
The government has only been able to ward off bankruptcy through credits 
from the International Monetary Fund and other governments.
Iceland is in for a tough year in 2009 as the economy is expected to 
shrink by 10 per cent, unemployment to quadruple, and inflation to hit 
20 per cent.
Recent central bank figures for November have inflation at 17 per cent.
Possible options that Haarde's Independence Party may seek include 
applying for membership in the European Union. The party has 
traditionally been a sceptic toward the 27-nation bloc, but a 
reassessment has been forced in the wake of the global credit crunch 
that in October contributed to the collapse of Iceland's three major banks.
Coalition partner the Social Democratic Alliance party is more 
favourably inclined toward EU membership.






http://www.nowpublic.com/world/video-thumb-december-1st-2008-protest-and-attack-central-bank-iceland

Video Thumb December 1st 2008 protest and attack on the central bank in 
Iceland
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Video Thumb December 1st 2008 protest and attack on the central bank in 
Iceland
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Today ,the 1st december 2008 - Iceland celebrated it 90th annivercary of 
Self Rule from Denmark.
We got independence in 1944.
People went to Arnarholl ,the hill between the govermnet house and the 
Central bank.
There protest speaches where held ,and still demanding the ressignation 
of the goverment ,and the Central Bank managers.
After the protest was over ,people went to the central bank ,and tried 
to get in .
To do what ,i dont know.
Police tried to stop the protesters.
Protesters got into the lobby,but there big glass doors where shut,and 
police where in front of the door.
But
later the Police left,and the people got into the inner lobby,and
another glass door -and behind that door,was riot police ready.
Protesters tried to get the Police to help them .
The central bank was under siege for about one and a half hours.
Protesters used eggs and paint at the building.
Police warned the protesters ,that they would use pepperspray.
But in the end ,the Police informed the protesters ,that mr: David 
Oddsson ,the ceo of the central bank,was not in the building.
So the protesters told the police ,they would go out peacefully,if they 
would go out first.
And leave three officers to confirm that the protesters had left the 
building.
So all in all - a peaceful protest in Reykjavik - Iceland







http://www.nowpublic.com/world/peaceful-and-silent-protest-iceland-today

Peaceful and Silent Protest in Iceland Today
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by dorisig007 | December 13, 2008 at 03:03 pm
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Peaceful and Silent Protest in Iceland Today-Video-02
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Today ,saturday 13th ,there was a peaceful protest in front of the 
Icelandic parliement building.
There was silence for 17 minutes,and one minute for every year that the 
Independence party has been in power in Iceland.
In the end ,ladies burnt clothes,representing the corruption,how 
relatives and friends got the big jobs ,at the banks and so forth.
The govermnet has taken over the banks in Iceland,but the same guys that 
controlled the banks before the crisis,are still in controll of the banks.
Corruption here in Iceland ,between the political members of parliement 
and the buisness controllers ,is huge.
There is now an investigation about the crisis ,and who should be 
responsible,in the goverment and banking sector.
And who is controlling that investigation ? Well ,the goverment ,of course.

Time magazine ,has put Iceland on the top ten list ,of huge buisness 
mistakes.
On that list are also ,Freddie Mac ,Fannie Mae,Lehman Brothers ,AIG and 
more.
But Time also says - Iceland might be broke ,but the have geothermal 
heat,so Icelanders wont freeze to death.






http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/12/414768.html

Protestors Barge into Iceland's Central Bank
MR | 09.12.2008 18:01 | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements | World
Around 100 protestors broke their way into the entrance of the Central
Bank headquarters in Reykjavík, throwing eggs and splashing paint, after
the Sovereignty Day national meeting on Arnarhóll yesterday

Protestors wanted a word with Central Bank governor and chairman Davíd
Oddsson but riot police prevented them from going any further than into
the entrance of the building.

They barged into the bank after one of the speakers at the meeting
urged, "Now let's go to the Central Bank and talk with Davíd." The
demonstrators' message was rather clear, "Davíd out!" as they repeatedly
chanted.

"It is a very simple demand and no one listens to it. Ninety percent of
the nation wants him gone," said protestor Gudjón Heidar Valgardsson.
Police warned people that teargas would be used if the situation
couldn't be kept under control otherwise.

Demonstrators said they would leave if police would unarm. Once police
complied with people's demand, they kept their word. "Long live the
people. We will be back!" a demonstrator shouted on the way out.
MR






http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a2gMphgAVl3U&refer=home

Iceland ‘Like Chernobyl’ as Meltdown Shows Anger Can Boil Over
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By Ben Holland

Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) -- It was the week before Christmas in Reykjavik, 
and all through the town Eva Hauksdottir led a band of 60 
whistle-blowing, pan-banging, shouting demonstrators.
“Pay your own debts,” they yelled as they visited one bank office after 
another in Iceland’s capital. “Don’t make the children pay.”
When she isn’t leading one of the almost daily acts of protest in this 
land devastated by the global financial meltdown, Hauksdottir sells good 
luck charms made from the claws of ptarmigans, a local bird, and voodoo 
dolls in the form of bankers. She says she expects to lose her home, 
worth less than when she bought it two years ago, after the amount she 
owes jumped more than 20 percent.
Unrest following the end of a five-year economic boom is overshadowing 
the holidays in a country of 320,000 near the Arctic Circle, where the 
folklore is filled with magic, trolls and elves. Expansion ended with 
the collapse of the U.S. subprime mortgage market. The fallout in 
Iceland may presage civil disruptions elsewhere, as job losses multiply 
and credit bills come due. Few nations can count themselves safe, says 
Ian Bremmer, president of the New York-based Eurasia Group, which 
analyzes political risk for businesses.
“As people have their expectations changed radically, you can have 
protests come out of nowhere,” even in developed countries, Bremmer said.
‘Maybe Axes’
Riots in Greece this month, sparked by the police shooting of a 
teenager, became tinged with economic dissension. A group of Kuwaiti 
equity traders marched on the emir’s office in October to demand the 
closing of the stock exchange to stem losses. Even in U.S. cities, civil 
disorder is “conceivable” if unemployment rises above 10 percent from 
November’s 6.7 percent, Bremmer says.
Hauksdottir, the owner of a Reykjavik witchcraft shop, says over a cup 
of thyme and juniper tea that only civil disobedience can force banks to 
stop collecting debts that people can’t pay.
“We’ll use our voices, and then if we have to we’ll use our hands, and 
maybe axes,” Hauksdottir says.
At Reykjavik’s half-built concert hall, a symbol of the good times that 
juts from the harbor toward the North Pole, the visitor center is closed 
to visitors. The principal owner, Landsbanki Islands hf, failed in 
October. Marketing director Thorhallur Vilhjalmsson says he’s making 
ends meet on severance pay.
“Iceland right now is like Chernobyl after the blast,” Vilhjalmsson 
says. “It looks normal, but there’s radiation.”
Kicking Down Doors
The protests may escalate as bills come due and severance pay runs out 
for those who lost jobs at the three biggest lenders, including 
Landsbanki, the second-largest, says Stefan Palsson, a historian. He 
once led the Campaign Against Militarism, opposing NATO bases in the 1960s.
He said he’s surprised ordinary people are backing activists once 
considered “hooligans.” There was public outrage three years ago when 
environmentalists poured yogurt over aluminum representatives to protest 
a new plant.
“Now you have protesters kicking down doors at police stations, and 
respectable elderly people saying ‘Well, they’re young and full of 
enthusiasm, and anyway, they’re right!’” he said.
Inflation rose to 18.1 percent this month, and the International 
Monetary Fund predicts that Iceland’s economy will shrink 9.6 percent 
next year. The Washington-based global lender of last resort put 
together a rescue package for the country worth as much as $5.3 billion 
last month.
No-Debt Ethics
The decline in the krona and surge in prices are creating a triple 
whammy for borrowers whose home loans are typically linked to inflation 
or foreign currencies. Households owed more than double their disposable 
income at the end of 2006, almost twice the level in the U.S., according 
to the IMF.
Some Icelanders say the easy money of the past decade eroded the 
island’s traditions. A sheep farmer in the 1934 novel, “Independent 
People,” by Iceland’s only Nobel laureate, Halldor Laxness, preferred 
freedom from debt to any material comforts. His motto was: “I don’t owe 
anyone a penny.”
That philosophy may return, says Birgir Asgeirsson, 63, the priest at 
Reykjavik’s Hallgrimskirkja Lutheran church.
“I grew up learning that you work for what you get, but kids today just 
get what they want,” Asgeirsson says. “Now I can hear parents say ‘No, 
my little boy, it’s not that easy.’”
Gunnlaugur Gudmundsson is an astrologer and chief executive officer of a 
company that provides horoscope predictions for phone operators such as 
Vodafone Group Plc. Customer numbers have more than doubled since the 
crisis broke, he said.
“The classic question used to be, ‘I’m in love with this guy, will he 
marry me?’” he said at a table strewn with star- charts. “Now the 
questions are about jobs, and when the good times will return.”
Two-Year Contraction
The answer may be 2011, according to the IMF, which projects two years 
of economic contraction first.
That may take Iceland back to the income levels of five or 10 years ago, 
“and we weren’t badly off then,” said Hannes Holmstein Gissurarson, 
professor of politics at the University of Iceland and a central bank 
supervisory board member. Banks and politicians were victims of an 
“external shock,” and weren’t behaving much worse than their 
counterparts elsewhere, he said.
The difference was one of scale. As governments worldwide pumped money 
into stricken banks, Iceland couldn’t follow suit. By the end of last 
year, local banks had accumulated assets almost nine times the size of 
the country’s $12 billion economy, according to the IMF.
The lack of backup was a “systemic error no one thought of,” Gissurarson 
said.
‘Cocktail Party’
The Reykjavik concert hall was budgeted at 170 million pounds ($252 
million), Vilhjalmsson says. That was more than 2 percent of gross 
domestic product -- equivalent to a $250 billion project in the U.S. 
Pointing to miniature models, Vilhjalmsson says the building’s glass 
shell was designed to refract the low Arctic sun in kaleidoscopic shades.
In midwinter in the world’s northernmost capital the sun appears for 
just four hours a day, leaving long evenings for Icelanders to figure 
out how their country got caught up in the global boom-and-bust. 
Vilhjalmsson has his own version.
“The West is having this great, long cocktail party,” Vilhjalmsson says. 
“And then, late in the evening, in comes this cute little dwarf, 
Iceland. And he gets drunk.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Holland in Istanbul at 
bholland1 at bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: December 22, 2008 19:05 EST






http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/12/415934.html

Mass protests continue in Iceland
aftaka | 22.12.2008 20:57 | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements | World
Since early this winter, Iceland has been facing economic crisis. More 
protests and direct actions against capitalism and the government are 
taking place. Here is a summary of what has been happening for the last 
week or so.
The original article comes from an Icelandic anarchist website, Aftaka, 
and can be seen here with photos. Before you read this article you might 
want to check out another article to read about what has been happening 
in Iceland before. Click here to check it out.

Saturday, December 13th, one more mass demonstration had been planned on 
Austurvöllur, a square in front of the parliament. But this time, after 
9 weeks of speeches, people decided to keep silent for 17 minutes, one 
minute for each year that Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn (a right wing 
conservative party) has been in power. It was rather lame and 
embarrassing to stand there in silence but after the 17 minutes of 
silence, an alarm clock rang, which was supposed to symbolize the waking 
of Icelandic people. Jacket suits and other symbols of the male 
dominated authority, were burned.

Children sold

Before the demonstration started, Food Not Bombs took place like every 
Saturday, but with an extra event this time. On the same square were 
Food Not Bombsd takes place, a big piece of art has decorated two high 
walls for more than half a year; big photos of over 400 children. This 
Saturday a group of radicals glued a price ticked over the kids’ faces 
saying “11,2 millions - SOLD!” A banner said “Your social cost in 
capitalism is:” since the 11,2 million Icelandic Krónur (ISK) is the 
minimum price every single person in Iceland will pay if Iceland 
receives a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Fliers were distributed, explaining the impacts of the IMF loan and the 
social cost of “continuing capitalism”. The children kept “sold” until 
couple of days later when a unlucky city worker got the job of picking 
the price tickets of their faces.

Coca Cola vs. SantAnarchist Clauses

Later this same Saturday, Coca Cola had organized its annual 
boner-parade to take place in the center of Reykjavík. Every year, the 
company’s trucks are decorated with Christmas lights and loudspeakers 
playing American Christmas pop songs. The trucks then drive around the 
city, stopping in shopping malls and on busy shopping streets, were (for 
some absurd reason) parents have gathered with their children to 
experience this one big advertisement of one of the most cruel 
corporations in the world.

Two years ago, a small group of people tried to stop the Coca Cola train 
from driving down the center of Reykjavík, but were stopped by the 
police which drove in front of the company´s trucks. This year, people 
had other plan in mind.

Around 40 people and 10 SantAnarcist Clauses entered the parade, in 
between the trucks and the police, with a big banner saying “Coke is 
capitalism’s shit - Enjoy!” For about an hour, Christmas songs with 
anti-capitalistic texts were sung and fliers given out, explaining Coca 
Colas human and environmental crimes around the world. Only with the 
help of 6 police pigs could the Coke trucks continue their way from the 
center, which means that a lot of parents had to answer their kids’ 
question: “Why did the police stop the nice and fun Santa Clauses?”

Ministers enter a meeting through the “ass”

On Tuesday morning, December 16th, the government had scheduled it’s 
weekly meeting in the prime minister’s office. Just like week earlier 
people gathered around the building to try to stop the ministers from 
entering and the meeting from taking place. This time the action had 
been more broadly announced, which meant that the police knew about it 
and could make all necessary arrangements. But it also meant that more 
people were expected to come.

Between 150 and 200 people met together few hundred meters from the 
office and marched towards it from two different directions. The police 
later announced they had not expected this many people to show up and 
therefor not made enough arrangements. Still, between 60 and 70 pigs 
welcomed the protesters.

Next to the prime minister’s office there is a kindergarten and in the 
windows, the children sat and watched, exited. The police’s first action 
was to enter the kindergarten and tell the workers there to take the 
kids to another part of the house, were they could not see the street. 
They do not want the kids to how they real work, do they?

The street was completely packed with people who were there only to 
prevent a government meeting from taking place. After a bit of a 
struggle the protesters managed to close the street from two sides. But 
quickly it became clear that the minister’s would enter from the back, 
so people entered the garden from different angles. The police reacted 
like usually, by stopping people with force and putting up police lines.

Soon one minister after another started to arrive, having to walk 
through a hallway of angry protesters, shouting at them. The garden was 
full of snow and ice, so the pigs gently helped the ministers to enter 
the meeting. It was beautiful and ugly at the same time to witness the 
fact that a government meeting could not take place without police help, 
as well as watching the ministers having to enter from the back - “from 
the ass” like protesters shouted.

The actions was peaceful for sure, but more aggressive and angry than 
before. When all ministers were in (at least people though so) and the 
meeting had been disturbed for a while with noise and snowballs, people 
decided to use their time differently and leave the place.

But when the group was about to walk down the street, almost the whole 
police force built a chain and for some unknown reason, prevented people 
from walking. This ended up in a sort of a fight were the pigs tried to 
take masks of people and violently throw people away. Few individuals 
tried to negotiate with the police, ending with all the pigs getting an 
order to move and let people through. Once again the police showed it’s 
robot behavior.

In to the banks

The next morning people gathered again, this time in front of the 
parliament, but not to enter the parliament again. After a short meeting 
the group of 50 people entered one of the many buildings of Landsbankinn 
bank, first the technical crew’s office and later the headquarters. A 
statement was read out loud were it was demanded that the banks and it’s 
directors would pay their own debts instead of putting it all on people 
who had nothing to do with the current financial crisis. It is estimated 
that the Icelandic people will have to pay 250 billion ISK, only to pay 
up Landsbankinn’s so called IceSave debts.

The loan from IMF was also denounced, since it fundamentally turns every 
person in the country in to slaves. People made noise, chanted slogans, 
banged on drums and walls. Work was stopped for a while, but most of 
all, a clear message was sent to the bank: “We will come whenever we 
want and stop work in the corrupt institution. Take responsibility for 
your own stupid business!” The action was short but clear.

And again…

Thursday morning, people gathered once again and now the Financial 
Supervisory (FS) was hit hard. 50 people marched to the building, which 
was heavily guarded by security guards, who had locked all possible 
entrances. People demanded to get to speak to the director of the FS but 
were denied again and again. When not let in, people took up stones and 
broke their way in to the outer entrance.

There they banged on windows and shouted slogans against the FS. The 
security guards contacted the police, who came quickly, but people had 
formed a chain in front of the doors to protect the ones inside. The 
windows of the inner entrance were now broken, the message against the 
FS sent out once again, and than the group left the building and marched 
away.

People did not walk far, but straight in to the next bank, Glitnir, were 
a similar action to the one the day before took place. Apart from 
stopping work with noise, people started reading leaflets from the bank 
out loud, entertaining themselves with all the bullshit in there. After 
a while, the group left, but again the message was clear: “We will come 
back!”

Today, Monday December 22nd, the entrance of the Financial Supervisory 
was closed again, this time with chains and locks.

The future

Let’s face it, these actions have not been very high profile, especially 
compared to other countries. But they are a very important step forward 
in the Icelandic society. Finally people seem to be waking up, realizing 
the real impacts of capitalism and the nature of authority.

For the last decades, only one direct action campaign has been active in 
Iceland, the environmental campaign Saving Iceland. For the last four 
years, Saving Iceland has done direct actions against one of the major 
heads of the neo-liberalism, heavy industry. Apart from SI’s action, 
Icelandic resistance has been at level zero. Without it, nothing of what 
we have been witnessing for the last few weeks would have been possible.

The resistance is getting stronger and it has to get the change to grown 
organically. It might take some time, but at least it has started.

---

Some of the photos in this article are gently stolen from Jakob Fannar 
and Ljósvaki, others are from Aftaka.

Click here to see more photos from protests and direct actions in Iceland.

A video from the action by the Financial Supervisory can be seen by 
clicking here and the action by the Prime Minister’s office is here.

The website of the environmental campaign mentioned above, Saving 
Iceland, is here.


E-Mail: aftaka at riseup.net Website: http://www.aftaka.org
aftaka






http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2008/12/18/2227081-windows-broken-at-icelands-financial-regulator

Windows broken at Iceland's financial regulator
Thu Dec 18, 2008 2:57 PM EST
business, eu, protests, iceland
Valur Gunnarsson, Associated Press Writer
A small group of demonstrators smashed windows at the offices of 
Iceland's financial regulator Thursday — the latest in a series of 
demonstrations in the financially stricken island nation.
Some 50 or so people gathered out front of the Financial Supervisory 
Authority Thursday to demand the resignation of the organization's top 
officials. Some threw rocks, shattering windows.
The group dispersed as police arrived and there were no arrests.
Protests have been a fixture of Iceland's political scene since the 
country's debt-laden economy collapsed spectacularly earlier this year 
under the impact of the credit crunch. Unemployment has risen and prices 
have soared.
On Wednesday, a group of about 100 people marched into the headquarters 
and two branches of Iceland's recently nationalized Landsbanki bank to 
demand the resignation of the institution's board. On Tuesday another 
crowd surrounded a building where Iceland's cabinet was due to meet. 
Ministers had to enter through the back door as demonstrators jeered.
Earlier this month several hundred Icelanders stormed the central bank 
to demand the ouster of its chief, David Oddson, singing songs and 
facing off with riot police inside the bank's lobby. Thousands more have 
gathered for regular anti-government rallies held since October. Most 
protests have been peaceful.
But, in this country of just over 300,000 people, some people have had 
occasion to communicate directly with those they hold responsible for 
the economic collapse.
On Wednesday, media magnate Jon Asgeir Johannesson, one of Iceland's 
richest men, was hit by a snowball when protesters heckled him outside 
his upscale hotel in Reykjavik.
"We wanted to have a word with him as he was walking out," Gudjon Heidar 
Valgardsson, one of the protesters, told Icelandic media. "I asked him 
whether he had censored the press. When he refused to answer, I said 
'censor this' and threw a snowball at him."
Johannesson was unhurt by the incident.










http://www.chinapost.com.tw/business/europe/2008/12/24/188989/5000-Ukrainians.htm

December 24, 2008 9:58 am TWN, AFP
5,000 Ukrainians protest amid economic crisis
KIEV -- About 5,000 Ukrainians took part in a union-led protest in Kiev 
on Tuesday to demand higher wages and more social protection in the 
ex-Soviet republic, which has been hit hard by the global economic crisis.
Holding signs such as “No to the impoverishment of the people” and 
“Patience is not unlimited,” the protesters gathered in a central Kiev 
square before heading to the seats of the Ukrainian government and 
parliament. They gave authorities a petition calling for higher wages 
and lower fees for communal services. They also demanded a law 
prohibiting commercial banks from raising interest rates on consumer loans.
“We are protesting against the arbitrariness of the government. They are 
freezing our wages,” said one protester, Irina Kulich, a 46-year-old 
from the Black Sea port city of Odessa. “We call on the president and 
the prime minister to stop the destruction of the national economy,” 
another protester said.
The demonstration was organised by the Federation of Ukrainian Trade 
Unions with support from two pro Russian opposition parties, the Regions 
Party and the Communists. Similar protests took place in major cities on 
Dec. 17.
Ukraine has been among the countries hardest hit by global financial 
turmoil as the plunging price of steel, the country’s main export, has 
exacerbated a credit crunch and a sharp fall in its stock market.
Industrial production in the country crashed 15.2 percent in November 
compared to the previous month and 28.6 percent compared to November 
2007. Meanwhile the country’s currency, the hryvnia, has lost nearly 
half its value against the dollar over the past six months.






http://www.euronews.net/2008/12/23/thousands-protest-in-ukraine/

Thousands protest in Ukraine 23/12/08 19:59 CET
Ukraine
The following article has been retrieved from the archive and no longer 
contains the original video.
Thousands of trade unionists have taken to the streets in Ukraine to 
protest against cuts in wages and benefits and to demand action to ease 
the country’s economic crisis. The demonstrators marched through Kiev 
calling for social justice, and called for an end to food price rises.
Ukraine has been hard hit by the global financial crisis, and its 
currency has plummeted in value. The protestors came from across the 
country. They warned that if their demands were not met by February, 
they would strike to force the government to do its job or resign.
Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has said several times that she will not 
cut benefits. However, with industrial production in severe decline and 
unemployment expected to double in the coming months, she faces a 
daunting winter of discontent.





http://www.sptimes.ru/story/27917

Depositors Hold First Bank Protest in Russian Capital
Reuters
Depositors with a small bank took to the streets in central Moscow on 
Friday to demand the return of their funds, the first publicized bank 
protest the capital has seen during the credit crisis.
On Friday, around 15 protesters lined up across the street from Capital 
Credit bank’s offices, some holding posters that read “2008 = 1998.”
The organizers said they had requested a permit to accommodate 70 
members of its depositors’ organization but received a permit for just 
over a dozen.
They said they had been unable to make withdrawals from the bank for two 
to three months.
“The bank has effectively suspended withdrawals but has not put this 
down in writing. Depositors are being told to write a statement 
[demanding their withdrawal], but it goes nowhere,” said Dmitry 
Trofimov, a member of the depositors’ group.
Bank officials declined comment.
The government has attempted to sooth depositors’ worries that the 
financial crisis will consume their savings, as the ruble collapse did 
in 1998. Government deposit insurance has been raised to 700,000 rubles, 
far more than the average depositor is likely to have.
Deposit outflows reached 6 percent in October in the weeks after a 
crisis of confidence in the financial system after liquidity fears 
forced the state to bail out a few small banks.






http://www.chinapost.com.tw/business/europe/2008/12/15/187760/Thousands-of.htm

Updated Monday, December 15, 2008 11:15 am TWN, AFP
Thousands of Russian car lovers protest higher tariffs
VLADIVOSTOK -- Thousands of car lovers rallied on Sunday in Russia’s far 
eastern city of Vladivostok to protest a government decision to raise 
tariffs on imported foreign automobiles.
About 3,000 people gathered in the city center’s to hold signs with 
slogans like “Against Tariffs” as passing drivers honked their horns in 
solidarity. Meanwhile at the Vladivostok airport more than 3,000 people 
gathered for an unexpectedly large protest, forcing airport authorities 
to summon police to maintain order.





http://georgiandaily.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9169&Itemid=65

Putin Sends OMON Troops from Moscow to Suppress Vladivostok Protests

December 22, 2008
WINDOW ON EURASIA
Paul Goble’
Vienna, December 22 – In yet another indication that Moscow fears 
protests in the regions could get support from local governments and 
thus represent a threat to itself, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin send 
OMON units from Moscow, Daghestan and two Siberian cities to ruthlessly 
suppress a second weekend of demonstrations in the Far Eastern city of 
Vladivostok.
But his transparent effort to send a message to more than just the 
residents of the Russian Far East appears to have backfired. Not only 
have people elsewhere organized similar protests, but some Russians are 
asking why Moscow television has not reported on the Vladivostok events 
and even whether the Duma should reverse Putin’s order imposing tariffs 
on foreign cars.
And consequently, like anyone who tries to put out a grease fire by 
throwing water at it --and highlights his own weakness by bringing the 
water from so far away -- Putin may now be learning that his actions 
have had the unintended consequence of transforming what had been a 
regionally-based demonstration about cars into an all-Russian protest 
against himself.
The current situation began on December 9 when Putin in the name of 
protecting Russia’s domestic automobile producers imposed an additional 
tariff on imported cars. That hit the Russian Far East especially hard 
because people there who own cars generally own Japanese brands with 
steering wheels on the right.
Then on the weekend of December 13-14, a column of 700 cars paraded 
through Vladivostok and blocked access to the airport for some hours to 
protest the new tariff. Leaders of the group said that they would stage 
a larger protest meeting on December 20 or 21st if Putin did not reverse 
himself.
While the Russian government offered some subsidies to those who would 
be hit hardest by the tariff, Putin refused to back down. And yesterday 
more than 2,000 people demonstrated in Vladivostok, this time not only 
against the tariffs but with a demand that Putin be dismissed as prime 
minister.
Yesterday’s Vladivostok protest followed demonstrations of a similar 
kind in Kaliningrad, Tomsk, Barnaul, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Chita, 
Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk-na-Amure, Kazan, Abakan, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, St. 
Petersburg, Moscow and other Russian cities.
According to one source, local officials in Vladivostok, many of whom 
were openly sympathetic to the demonstrators a week ago, were so 
concerned with the possibility that yesterday’s demonstration might get 
out of hand that they appealed to regional and Moscow officials for aid.
But even if that appeal was made, it seems more likely that Putin 
decided that he could not count on the local militia to control the 
situation in the way that he wanted and that only by sending in forces 
not linked to the city could he count on the suppression of what was 
rapidly becoming an anti-Putin manifestation.
(That Moscow views regional militias as increasingly unreliable is 
suggested by a report this week that the Russian interior ministry is 
replacing senior commanders in various parts of the country not with 
their deputies as had been true earlier but with officials dispatched 
from elsewhere who have few local ties.)
In any case, the Putin government sent in ten busloads of forces from 
the capital, the North Caucasus, and other cities far from Vladivostok 
in the expectation that they would behave more forcefully than the 
locals. That expectation proved entirely reasonable, and the OMON 
militia from elsewhere beat up many, including journalists and arrested 
up to 200 demonstrators.
Worse, the OMON officers did not limit their attacks to protesters after 
the latter refused to disperse but lashed out at people walking by with 
their children who had, nothing to do with the demonstration, according 
to the Japanese automobile news site, www.drom.ru, and photographs 
carried on various blogs.
Among the journalists who suffered were some from the Russia television 
channel, TV Tsentr, NTV, Channel One, “Izvestiya,” Interfax, and PTR. 
According to many reports, the OMON beat some of these so severely that 
they were hospitalized where according to some reports at least one 
remains 24 hours later.
According to Polit.ru, the journalists were shocked by the behavior of 
the OMON units from Moscow, including one that has gained notoriety in 
the past from its efforts at crowd control and intimidation of the 
opponents of the regime: The “manners” of these outsiders were very 
different than those of the militia in Vladivostok.
Putin and the imported OMON units achieved some of their goals but not 
all of them. On the one hand, they succeeded in blocking television 
coverage of these events, thus limiting the number of Russians who would 
know about protests taking place in a city nine time zones away from the 
Russian capital.
But on the other, this very suppression of information has led many 
Russians to become even more cynical about television and to turn to the 
Internet and, where they are still available, foreign radio broadcasts, 
for information, channels which Putin and the Russian government do not 
control.
And while workers at Russian automobile factories back what Putin has 
done and while many Moscow writers dismiss all these events as being 
about a small city far away, there are indications that within the 
political class, some are worried enough that there is even talk of 
reversing Putin’s decision.
That probably won’t happen anytime soon but neither will there be a 
quick end to protest demonstrations like the ones that have been taking 
place in Vladivostok or – and this is far more important – the rising 
tide of popular anger against Moscow’s pretensions in many regions of 
the Russian Federation.







http://articles.latimes.com/2008/dec/23/world/fg-russia-autos23

Russians protest plan to raise taxes on imported cars
The tax hike pits the nation's ailing auto industry against working 
people, many of whom depend on the import of foreign cars for 
transportation and jobs.
By Megan K. Stack
December 23, 2008
A planned tax hike on imported cars is roiling Russia, whose government 
is caught between the populist demands of middle-class protesters and a 
crumbling automobile industry.
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The dozens of demonstrations that have cropped up across Russia in 
recent weeks haven't been particularly big. However, they have been 
significant as the first notable show of widespread dissent in the 
near-decade since Prime Minister Vladimir Putin cemented his hold on power.
Organizers say they will keep up the pressure unless the government 
reverses its decision to raise taxes on imported automobiles.
The tariff, which takes effect in January, has pitted an ailing domestic 
auto industry against working people, especially in Russia's eastern 
flank, who have come to rely upon the import of inexpensive Japanese 
cars for transportation and employment.
Underscoring the depth of the problem, the country's biggest carmaker 
today announced plans to suspend production until early February. All 
three of Russia's largest automobile companies have turned to the state 
for help in recent months as car sales plummeted.
AvtoVAZ, makers of Lada cars, was forced to temporarily halt production 
because the supply of parts had been interrupted, Russian media 
reported. The company did not answer questions sent today by e-mail.
In the past, the country was flush enough with oil revenue that the 
government could avoid this kind of disruption. But with unemployment 
rising rapidly and car sales plummeting, the country's leaders have been 
forced to prioritize.
So far, Putin appears determined to save the domestic auto industry. 
Over the weekend, amid the protests, he promised subsidized loans to 
motorists willing to buy Russian. He also floated the idea of offering 
"state support" to foreign carmakers operating plants in Russia.
Infuriated drivers say it's not enough. In Russia's eastern lands, an 
influx of cheap cars from Japan has spawned an explosion in car 
ownership -- and created jobs for importers, car parts wholesalers and 
mechanics that helped shore up the region as industry slumped.
The tax hike, which will be determined for each vehicle based on a 
complicated formula, will drastically increase the cost of foreign cars 
and trucks. Vehicles older than five years will be slapped with a duty 
of at least 70%, making their importation unprofitable.







http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2008-12/2008-12-22-voa57.cfm?CFID=167005345&CFTOKEN=57787780&jsessionid=6630c4b705fea8f1816d1962182094d5f203

Dilemma: Could Effort to Help Russian Auto Makers Hurt Other Russian 
Workers?
By Peter Fedynsky
Moscow
22 December 2008
On Sunday, Russian riot police in the Far Eastern port city of 
Vladivostok used force to break up a demonstration against a plan to 
increase tariffs on imported cars in order to help the country's ailing 
domestic auto industry. But, Moscow's proposal on behalf of autoworkers 
could be shifting, rather than solving, the country's economic problems.


Russian PM Vladimir Putin, right, visits Russian truck maker OAO Kamaz 
in Naberezhnye Chelny, the region of Tatarstan, about 700 kilometers 
east of Moscow, 19 Dec. 2008
Russia's auto industry, like that of many countries, has fallen on hard 
times. In an effort to help domestic manufacturers, Prime Minister Putin 
last week imposed steep duties on used right-wheel drive vehicles 
imported from Japan.

He says the federal government will also offer credit assistance for the 
purchase of domestic-built cars and will pay the cost of transporting 
them as far as 7,000 kilometers from factories in western Russia to the 
Far East.

But the economy of that distant region has also fallen on hard times, 
and several hundred people demonstrated their displeasure with Mr. 
Putin's plan Sunday in Vladivostok. About 100 were arrested and some 
reporters were beaten. Similar demonstrations were also held in Moscow, 
St. Petersburg and other Russian cities.

Many residents of Vladivostok fear that subsidized domestic cars will 
not offset the losses they could suffer from restrictions on their 
import-export business, which they say is a mainstay of the economy in 
Russia's Pacific Primorye region.

Vladimir Litvinov, representative of the Russian Car Owner's Federation 
in Vladivostok,says the Primorye region does not have any industrial 
firms, agriculture is dilapidated, there is no fish processing industry, 
ports are working at only 10 to 15 percent of capacity. So according to 
Litvinov, Primorye survives on the import and export of goods to and 
from Russia.


People hold Russian and Japanese flags as they protest against 
authorities' plans to raise tariffs on imported used Japanese cars in 
Vladivostok, 20 Dec. 2008
Political observers say the force used to disperse the demonstration in 
Vladivostok could reflect Kremlin fear of potential protests over 
growing nationwide unemployment and inflation during the global economic 
downturn. The Kremlin is also seeking to amend Russia's treason law to 
include not only hostile acts, but any acts deemed to be a threat to the 
security of the country, including its constitutional order and sovereignty.

Nina Tagankina of the Moscow Helsinki Group, a human rights 
organization, told VOA the protesters in Vladivostok not only had every 
legal right to demonstrate, but also good reason.

Tagankina asks if the workers of Vladivostok will be able to maintain 
adequate living conditions for themselves and their families, and their 
very lives. She notes that if worker salaries will be lower than the 
minimum needed to survive, they will not be able to support their families.

A representative of Russia's AvtoVaz car company declined VOA's request 
for a telephone interview on the necessity of government support for the 
auto industry at the apparent expense of Vladivostok's car import 
business. But Kirill Tachennikov, industrial analyst at the Otkrytia 
Financial Corporation in Moscow, says the government's decision to 
support domestic manufacturers boils down to a matter of numbers.

Tachennikov says a choice must be made, either to support those involved 
in the import of used cars, which in the final analysis does not bring 
any substantive benefit to the federal budget, or to close domestic car 
factories that have demand, but whose further existence is now 
complicated by the economic crisis and need government assistance. The 
analyst adds that many thousands of people work in the auto industry.

Vladimir Litvinov notes that the import business is the primary source 
of capital in the Vladivostok area. He says the loss of that source 
means many people will leave the area or even Russia, and those who 
remain will not have the means to survive.






http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/20081222_Protest_over_Russia_s_car_tariffs_intensifies.html

Posted on Mon, Dec. 22, 2008

Protest over Russia's car tariffs intensifies
By Liya Khabarova
Associated Press
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia - Riot police clubbed, kicked and detained dozens in 
the Pacific port of Vladivostok yesterday in a harsh crackdown on a 
protest that was one of dozens across Russia by people outraged over an 
increase in car import tariffs.
With unemployment spiking, prices rising and the ruble sliding, the 
protests over a seemingly mundane tariff appear to be broadening into a 
wide expression of public discontent - and beginning to present a 
genuine challenge to the Kremlin.
"The Russian people have started to open their eyes to what's happening 
in this country," said Andrei Ivanov, 30, a manager who joined about 200 
people at a rally in Moscow. "The current regime is not acting on behalf 
of the welfare of the people, but against the welfare of the people."
The government announced the tariffs on imported automobiles this month 
to bolster flagging domestic car production and try to head off layoffs 
or labor unrest among the country's more than 1.5 million auto-industry 
workers.
But imported used cars are highly popular among Russians, particularly 
throughout the Far East, where private cars imported from nearby Japan 
vastly outnumber vehicles built in Russia. Protests against the tariffs, 
which are scheduled to go into effect next month, have been most 
vehement in Vladivostok, Russia's largest Pacific port.
Second weekend
Hundreds rallied in the city Saturday for the second weekend in a row, 
and demonstrators hoped to rally again yesterday. But authorities 
refused to authorize the demonstration, and hundreds of riot police 
blocked off the city square where it was planned.
Soon after, several hundred people gathered on Vladivostok's main square 
- not the planned site of the demonstration. Waiting riot police ordered 
them to disperse, saying the gathering was illegal. The group refused 
and began singing and dancing around a traditional Russian New Year's 
tree on the square.
Police - some shipped in from Moscow, 5,750 miles to the west - began 
hauling men and women into waiting vans as people chanted "Fascists!" 
and "Shame! Shame!"
A reporter saw police beat several people with truncheons, throw them to 
the ground, and kick them. Several parents were detained as their 
children watched.
"Riot police encircled the group . . . even those just passing by, and 
they started taking people away without any sort of comment," said Olga 
Nikolaevna, 62, a retiree who witnessed the incident.
A reporter saw at least 10 journalists detained by police, who demanded 
that several journalists turn over videotapes and photo memory chips. 
Police wrecked a Japanese TV crew's video camera, and some journalists 
were beaten and kicked.
Police criticized
Vladimir Litvinov, who heads a local rights group, said police behaved 
"like beasts" and had no right to break up the gathering, since it 
wasn't overtly political.
"We support a civilized resolution to all the problems but when they 
send Moscow riot police to break up a gathering in our city, and they 
start breaking arms and legs and heads . . . ," he told the Associated 
Press. "People are very, very angry. It's hard to predict what might 
happen now."
Regional police officials said they were forbidden from saying how many 
people had been arrested. Protest organizers and witnesses counted more 
than 100.
Protests over the car tariffs were held in more than a dozen cities, 
with motorists driving in long columns with flags waving. National TV 
channels, which are state-controlled, ignored the demonstrations.
In Moscow, about 200 protesters wore yellow ribbons on their jackets and 
held placards decrying the tariffs, the government and the rise in 
consumer prices.
"At the same time, we're registering general discontent with the 
policies of this government," said Yulia Marova, 28, a Moscow resident.
The Kremlin has sidelined political opponents and put tight controls on 
civil society and the media, rolling back many post-Soviet freedoms.
But in recent weeks, migrant workers in the Ural Mountains city of 
Yekaterinburg protested wage arrears and pensioners in the Siberian town 
of Barnaul took to the streets to protest the withdrawal of discounted 
fares on public transport.
http://en.rian.ru/video/20081222/119084599.html

09:43 22/12/2008
Protest in Novosibirsk against the government's decision to raise import 
duties on used foreign cars
The Russian government passed a resolution on December 10 to raise 
import duties on foreign cars and trucks from January 12, 2009 amid the 
ongoing global financial crisis to protect domestic auto producers and 
foreign companies assembling vehicles in Russia.







http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/140ad268-cfca-11dd-abf9-000077b07658.html

Russian police break up protest against rise in car import duties
By Isabel Gorst in Moscow
Published: December 22 2008 02:00 | Last updated: December 22 2008 02:00
Riot police in Vladivostok in the far east of Russia broke up a protest 
yesterday against a steep rise in car import duties. Witnesses said at 
least 100 people were detained as police closed in on the unsanctioned 
rally, beating protesters and reporters who were covering the event.
Motorists staged similar rallies in 30 cities across the country, 
prompting fears of a surge in social unrest as the country's economic 
crisis deepens.
Vladimir Ryzhkov, an independent opposition leader, said the authorities 
had deployed Moscow-based units of the Omon special forces to control 
the demonstration in Vladivostok 3,750 miles away.
"They are scared. Local forces will not strike their own people," said 
Mr Ryzhkov.
The rise in duty will add about 50 per cent to the cost of imported 
vehicles in a move intended to protect the struggling domestic auto 
industry. The Pacific port of Vladivostok is a hub for imports of used 
Japanese cars and will be hit particularly hard.
AvtoVaz, Russia's largest independent carmaker, which is 25 per 
cent-owned by Renault, warned last week that the Russian car market 
could contract by between 40 per cent and 50 per cent next year.
Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, unveiled a $5bn (£3.3bn, €3.6bn) 
package of protectionist measures to prop up the auto industry last week 
including $3bn of cheap credits for buyers of Russian cars and a $2bn 
bail-out for manufacturers.
Russian railways will transport new cars to the far east of the country 
free of charge.
Mr Putin said that it was "inadmissible" to import cars while Russian 
carmakers were struggling.
Mr Ryzhkov said the measures were designed to support Russian oligarchs 
rather than the people and would fail.
"No one will buy Russian cars because they are bad cars," he said.
The crisis has pitted car buyers against carmakers.
Workers at the idled Gaz truck factory, controlled by Oleg Deripaska, 
the indebted metals tycoon, demonstrated in favour of the protectionist 
measures last week.
In Moscow, however, about 300 mainly young people protested against the 
higher car duty under close watch by the police.
"This is not a political demonstration," said Sergei Kanaev, a lawyer 
and head of the Association for the Protection of Motorists' Rights.
"We are here to protect our right to buy cars that we like and that are 
safe."
Until the crisis, Russia had been Europe's fastest growing auto market 
with cheap credit bringing foreign cars within reach of ordinary people 
for the first time.
Most of the big foreign carmakers have established local assembly 
ventures in the past two years to cater for Russians' liking for foreign 
brands.
Renault and Ford announced production cuts at their Russian assembly 
plants after car sales there plunged by 15 per cent in November.
However, some dealers in luxury foreign sports utility vehicles said 
Russian sales have risen since the onset of the crisis, with buyers 
seeking a safe haven for their cash as stock markets slumped.






http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/12/21/russia-protest.html?ref=rss

Russian police put end to protest against auto tariffs
Last Updated: Sunday, December 21, 2008 | 8:41 PM ET Comments51Recommend42
CBC News
Police clubbed, kicked and detained dozens of people in eastern Russia 
on Sunday as hundreds of people protested higher import taxes on used 
foreign vehicles.
Police officers detain a protester in Vladivostok during a demonstration 
against the government's plans to raise tariffs on imported used cars. 
(Liya Khabarova/Associated Press)
Reporters said they saw officers in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok 
beat several people with truncheons, throw them to the ground and kick them.
About 500 people gathered in the city's central square to demonstrate 
the government's decision to bring in the higher tax on Jan. 11. The 
measure means all foreign cars more than three years old will be subject 
to a 54 per cent tax, instead of the current 48 per cent.
Police rounded up at least 100 people and put them in waiting vans 
during the unsanctioned protest, witnesses said. A television camera 
operator was among those detained, video footage showed.
The government announced the tariffs hike earlier this month in an 
effort to shore up the struggling domestic auto industry and discourage 
Russians from buying second-hand foreign vehicles, which are popular in 
Vladivostok, a city some 9.300 kilometres east of Moscow,
Since the announcement, there have been demonstrations in at least 12 
cities denouncing the tariffs. Sunday's protest in the port city, where 
many make a living selling used Japanese-made cars, was the third held 
in the last eight days.
On Friday, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin publicy urged Russians to shun 
foreign cars in favour of locally produced ones.
About three-quarters of all automobiles sold in Russia over the past 
year have been imports.






http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/22/world/europe/22russia.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Protests Erupt in Russia Over Raising of Car Tariffs

By CLIFFORD J. LEVY
Published: December 21, 2008
MOSCOW — Small demonstrations occurred in several Russian cities over 
the weekend in reaction to the government’s plan to raise tariffs on 
imported automobiles, and the riot police broke up one protest on Sunday 
in Vladivostok in the country’s far east, briefly detaining scores of 
people, news agencies reported.
While the demonstrations each drew only a few hundred people, they were 
perhaps the most visible evidence of discontent with the government over 
the financial crisis. When the price of oil was high and Russia’s 
economy was soaring, the government was broadly popular, but the recent 
downturn has caused growing public anxiety as unemployment has spiked 
and the value of the ruble has dropped.
In an apparent sign of the Kremlin’s concern over the tariff issue, it 
sent special riot police units to quell the protest in Vladivostok, 
according to witnesses quoted by news agencies. Other demonstrations 
over the tariffs have occurred there this month.
Amateur video posted online by people who said they were at Sunday’s 
demonstration in Vladivostok shows riot police officers dragging 
protesters into vans. The authorities said they broke up the 
demonstration because its sponsors had not received official permission 
to hold it.
A reporter for The Associated Press in Vladivostok said that police 
officers had beaten several people with truncheons, thrown them to the 
ground and kicked them. Several journalists were arrested.
Vladimir Litvinov, who leads a local rights group, told The Associated 
Press that officers behaved “like beasts” and should not have ended the 
gathering because it was peaceful and not political.
“We support a civilized resolution to all the problems, but when they 
send Moscow riot police to break up a gathering in our city, and they 
start breaking arms and legs and heads,” he said, adding: “People are 
very, very angry. It’s hard to predict what might happen now.”
Vladivostok, Russia’s largest port on the Pacific, is a major point for 
importing foreign cars into Russia. The government announced the tariffs 
on imported cars in an effort to protect the beleaguered domestic car 
industry.
The Federation of Russian Car Owners, a grass-roots advocacy group, has 
helped sponsor the protests, under the slogan, “Authorities: Raise the 
Standard of Living, not the Tariff.”






http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&subsection=United+Kingdom+%26+Europe&month=December2008&file=World_News2008122232533.xml

Russian police detain 100 protesters
Web posted at: 12/22/2008 3:25:33
Source ::: REUTERS

Police officers detain protesters in the centre of Russia’s far eastern 
city of Vladivostok yesterday.
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia: Russian riot police detained at least 100 people 
yesterday protesting against government measures linked to the economic 
crisis, a crackdown that highlighted official sensitivity to growing 
hardship.
Riot police broke up an unsanctioned rally organised against new car 
import duties, kicked a protester as he was being held and hurled a 
cameraman’s gear to the ground.
Police used a loudhailer to order demonstrators to go home as they 
gathered near the city centre, and the OMON riot police started 
snatching people after an uneasy 30-minute standoff.
Local media said 100-200 of the 500 participants were detained but 
authorities declined to confirm this figure.
Further protests were due to take place across Russia on Sunday against 
car import tariffs, which are being raised to prop up struggling 
domestic car producers and discourage Russians from buying second-hand 
vehicles.
They are particularly popular in Russia’s Far East which is a major 
importer of used Japanese cars and political analysts say the protests 
are the first serious challenge by Russians to measures directly linked 
to the financial crisis.
The global economic crisis has battered Russian financial markets and 
oil, a chief source of foreign currency revenue, has plunged from $147 
to under $40 per barrel in six months.
Protestors in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok, 6,000 km east of 
Moscow, are urging Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to reverse the car 
import tariff hike, which they say will destroy livelihoods.
“For me, the car business is the only way to support my family,” said 
car dealer Nikolai Kostalenko who took part in the protest.
Nikolai Markovtsev, a local parliamentarian with the pro-Kremlin Fair 
Russia party, said protesters were seeking to protect their jobs.
“The government has shown how it interacts with the people.
They should talk to people, not twist their arms,” he said.
The car duty is largely a defensive measure to protect Russia’s domestic 
motor industry, which is largely based around the Volga region cities 
like Togliatti, home of the Soviet-era Lada cars, several time zones to 
the west.






http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/police-clash-with-rioters-as-protests-sweep-russia-1582818.html?r=RSS

Police clash with rioters as protests sweep Russia
By Miriam Elder in Moscow
Monday December 22 2008
More than 100 people were arrested in Russia yesterday as riot police 
clashed with demonstrators protesting against the economic crisis and 
rising car tariffs.
Demonstrations were held across Russia to protest an increase in import 
tariffs, in the strongest challenge yet to the government's handling of 
the financial crisis that is ravaging the country.
Riot police reportedly beat and detained at least 100 people in an 
illegal protest in Vladivostok that turned violent.
The protests began there several weeks ago, and have since spread across 
Russia. People are unhappy with a government decision to raise tariffs 
on imported cars by as much as 50pc -- a move that Prime Minister 
Vladimir Putin argues would increase demand for Russian-made cars.
Protesters blame him directly for the move, as well as the country's 
declining economic situation, in a rare challenge to a government that 
has worked hard to crush dissent.
In Moscow, several hundred people gathered in a square directly across 
from the Kremlin, carrying banners calling on Putin to withdraw the tax 
increase.
Russians tend to prefer foreign made cars, especially in the Far East, 
where Japanese imports are cheaper and better quality.
"I don't want to drive around in a Zhiguli, it's dangerous.
"I'd never drive my family around in one," said Yuriy (40) at the Moscow 
protest.
"When times were good, they didn't use our oil money to develop 
industry, just to build yachts and villas," said Andrei, a 29-year-old 
metal worker at the Moscow rally.
He, like many others, said it was the first time he had attended a protest.
Mr Putin built his popularity on years of economic growth fuelled by 
high oil prices.
The financial crisis hit Russia in September and, in the past month, it 
has led to mass layoffs and a depreciating currency, fuelling social 
discontent across the country.
Most protests in Russia usually involve pensioners, but Sunday's 
demonstrators were mainly young men. (© Daily Telegraph, London)
- Miriam Elder in Moscow






http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/12/21/russia-protest-update/

Russia: Protest Update

Sunday, December 21st, 2008 @ 23:34 UTC
by Veronica Khokhlova
Sean's Russia Blog writes about today's protests in Russia: “The barrage 
of mass protest fired in Russia’s far east ten days ago echoed with a 
whimper as opponents of the import car tax hike staged actions across 
Russia. Today’s protests lacked the manpower of the previous ones, and 
in Vladivostok, the epicenter of the movement, OMON easily dispersed a 
crowd of around a 500 people. […] To Solidarity’s and other Russian 
liberals’ chagrin, the domestic upheaval they’ve all been wishing and 
waiting for didn’t happen. And if recent polls are any indication, they 
won’t happen anytime soon. […]”






http://cbs5.com/national/Russsia.protest.violence.2.892351.html

Dec 21, 2008 11:45 am US/Pacific
Russians Riot Over Increase In Car Tariffs
AP Photographer Witnesses Russian Riot Police Beat, Kick Several People
CBS News Interactive: About Russia
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (AP) ―
Click to enlarge
Russian riot police hold a training exercise in Moscow on February 20, 
2008. (File)
Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images

Riot police clubbed, kicked and detained dozens in the Pacific port of 
Vladivostok on Sunday in a harsh crackdown on a protest that was one of 
dozens across Russia by people outraged over an increase in car import 
tariffs.

With unemployment spiking, prices rising and the ruble sliding, the 
protests over a seemingly mundane tariff appear to be broadening into a 
wide expression of public discontent — and beginning to present a 
genuine challenge to the Kremlin.

"The Russian people have started to open their eyes to what's happening 
in this country," said Andrei Ivanov, a 30-year-old manager who joined 
about 200 people at a rally in Moscow. "The current regime is not acting 
on behalf of the welfare of the people, but against the welfare of the 
people."

The government announced the tariffs on imported automobiles earlier 
this month to bolster flagging domestic car production and try to head 
off layoffs or labor unrest among the country's more than 1.5 million 
car industry workers.

But imported used cars are highly popular among Russians, particularly 
throughout the Far East, where private cars imported from nearby Japan 
vastly outnumber vehicles built in Russia. Protests against the tariffs, 
which are scheduled to go into effect next month, have been most 
vehement in Russia's largest Pacific port — Vladivostok.

Hundreds rallied in the city Saturday for the second weekend in a row, 
and demonstrators hoped to rally again Sunday. But authorities refused 
to authorize the demonstration and hundreds of riot police blocked off 
the city square where it was planned.

Soon after, several hundred people gathered on Vladivostok's main square 
— not the planned site of the demonstration. Waiting riot police ordered 
them to disperse, saying the gathering was illegal. The group refused 
and began singing and dancing around a traditional Russian New Year's 
tree on the square.

Police — some shipped in from Moscow, 5,750 miles to the west — began 
hauling men and women into waiting vans as people chanted "Fascists!" 
and "Shame! Shame!"

An Associated Press reporter saw police beat several people with 
truncheons, throw them to the ground and kick them. Several parents were 
detained as their children watched.

"Riot police encircled the group ... even those just passing by, and 
they started taking people away without any sort of comment," said Olga 
Nikolaevna, a 62-year-old retiree who witnessed the incident.

An AP reporter saw at least 10 journalists detained by police, who 
demanded that several journalists turn over videotapes and photo memory 
chips. Police wrecked a Japanese TV crew's video camera, and some 
journalists were beaten and kicked, including an AP photographer.

Vladimir Litvinov, who heads a local rights group, said police behaved 
"like beasts" and had no right to break up the gathering, since it 
wasn't overtly political.

"We support a civilized resolution to all the problems but when they 
send Moscow riot police to break up a gathering in our city, and they 
start breaking arms and legs and heads...," he told AP. "People are 
very, very angry. It's hard to predict what might happen now."

Regional police officials said they were forbidden from saying how many 
people had been arrested. Protest organizers and witnesses counted more 
than 100.

Protests over the car tariffs, which take effect next month, were held 
in more than a dozen cities, with motorists driving in long columns with 
flags waving. National TV channels, which are state-controlled, ignored 
the demonstrations.

In Moscow, about 200 protesters wore yellow ribbons on their jackets and 
held placards decrying the tariffs, the government and the rise in 
consumer prices.

"At the same time we're registering general discontent with the policies 
of this government," said Yulia Marova, a 28-year-old Moscow resident.

The Kremlin has sidelined political opponents and put tight controls on 
civil society and the media, rolling back many post-Soviet freedoms. But 
in recent weeks, migrant workers in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg 
protested wage arrears and pensioners in the Siberian town of Barnaul 
took to the streets to protest the withdrawal of discounted fares on 
public transport.

Domestic and foreign car companies' announcements of production cutbacks 
in Russia and warnings of potential layoffs have added to the Kremlin 
worries. The industry employs more than 1.5 million workers nationwide.

While auto industry workers have applauded the tariff increase, Russian 
consumers and others involved in the $30.5 billion car import business 
have not. Many Russians say they have a right to buy what they want 
without paying to support the Russian auto industry.






http://en.rian.ru/russia/20081221/119034240.html

Police block unsanctioned auto protest in Russia's Far East
15:38 | 21/ 12/ 2008

VLADIVOSTOK, December 21 (RIA Novosti) - Police dispersed over a hundred 
of protesters on Sunday during an unauthorized protest in the Russian 
Far East against the government's decision to raise import duties on 
used foreign cars.
The Russian government passed a resolution on December 10 to raise 
import duties on foreign cars and trucks from January 12, 2009 amid the 
ongoing global financial crisis to protect domestic auto producers and 
foreign companies assembling vehicles in Russia.
The government's decision will see actual import duties rise 50% on 
second-hand foreign cars and 100% on used foreign trucks. The decision 
has sparked a wave of protests in the Primorye Region in the Russian Far 
East where over 90% of vehicles are used Japanese cars.
The police urged demonstrators to go home as they gathered on the city's 
central square. After protesters refused to leave the square, the police 
broke up the rally, detaining several protesters who tried to put up 
resistance.
Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin urged on Friday that natural 
monopolies and state-run companies buy only Russian-made cars, and 
recommended private companies to do likewise.
"I'd like to say straight off that budget money, the funds of natural 
monopolies and, I hope, the largest private companies should be spent on 
buying domestically produced products," Putin said.
"Now that our producers are forced to slash production, I think it is 
absolutely unacceptable to spend money on acquiring foreign cars," he 
said, specifying that Russian-made cars included foreign cars assembled 
in Russia.






http://www.euronews.net/2008/12/21/arrests-at-anti-car-duty-protest-in-russia/

Russia
Arrests at anti car-duty protest in Russia 21/12/08 20:06 CET
The following article has been retrieved from the archive and no longer 
contains the original video.
Russian riot police have detained dozens of people demonstrating against 
higher import duties on used foreign cars.
Violence erupted as police in the eastern port city of Vladivostok moved 
in to arrest as many as 100 protesters, including a press cameraman who 
was bundled unceremoniously into a waiting police vehicle.
Several protests took place across Russia against punitive tariffs 
designed to prop up struggling domestic car producers.
The arrests underline official sensitivity to any gatherings linked to 
growing economic hardship.
In Moscow protesters clutched posters deriding the country’s leaders.
“Of course nobody will buy (Rusian) Zhiguli and Volga because thy are of 
very poor quality,” said one demonstrator.
“People would rather save money to buy a foreign car and curse the 
authorities, or, they will give up the idea of buying a car. So it won’t 
have any economic effect but it will result in rancour, for sure. People 
will get the impression that the authorities, who drive expensive cars, 
are mocking them.”
Another man said: “I think it’s a test of slavery. If we eat this it 
means they can treat us like dirt. Yes, there were Soviet cars, I 
personally had a Zaporozhets and was happy, but that was 30 years ago. 
Time moves on but the cars stay the same rubbish.”
But in the Volga region, several time zones to the West of Vladivostok 
and home of the Soviet era Lada car, about a hundred people attended a 
subdued rally supporting the government’s measures.
Their banners read, “Yes to the increase – no to the speculators”, and 
urged people to buy Russian.






http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,24832652-401,00.html?from=public_rss

Riot police break up protest
 From correspondents in Moscow
Agence France-Presse
December 22, 2008 04:20am

POLICE violently broke up a protest in Russia's Far East against higher 
tariffs on used imported cars against the backdrop of a worsening economy.
Riot police flown in from Moscow detained about 200 people as up to 1000 
demonstrators protested for a second day running in the Pacific port 
city of Vladivostok.
About 200 protesters rallied in Moscow today in support of motorists in 
Vladivostok.
Behind the protest was a government move earlier this month to increase 
tariffs on used cars from abroad, notably from nearby Japan, to shield 
Russian automakers from the worst of the global economic crisis.












http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/business_money/santas+protest+over+bankers+bonuses/2890902

Santas protest over bankers bonuses
Print this page
Last Modified: 22 Dec 2008
Source: PA News
Anti-poverty activists staged a protest at a bank as part of a 
demonstration against bonuses being paid to bankers despite the economic 
downturn.
Up to 30 members of the London Coalition Against Poverty handed out 
leaflets which said You Owe Us, and Bonuses For The Homeless, Not 
Bankers, as they entered the RBS building in the City of London.
The demonstrators, some dressed as Father Christmas, complained that 
three out of four City bankers will be receiving substantial bonuses 
this year. They were ejected from the building by security staff.
Spokeswoman Ellie Schling said: "For the vast majority of us this 
Christmas will be more difficult than most. But the majority of bankers 
will again be receiving obscene amounts of money in Christmas bonuses 
and to make it worse it's our money they're getting this year.
"While the Government is giving them the means to pamper themselves for 
another year it is instigating welfare reform that will drive more 
people into poverty and turning a blind eye to the tens of thousands of 
people left homeless due to inadequate social housing.
"We need to stand up to the banks and the Government and tell them this 
is unacceptable."