Latvian protesters clash with police

The Associated Press

The International Herald Tribune

January 13, 2009



RIGA, Latvia: A large anti-government demonstration in Latvia's capital Tuesday turned violent when hundreds of vandals attacked parliamentary and ministry buildings.



Dozens of protesters leaving a demonstration in Riga's historic old town tried to storm Parliament but were pushed by police back onto a neighboring street.



There, on a street known as the banking district, rioters overturned a police van and set fire to it, smashed windows of the Finance Ministry and looted a liquor store.



Police used mace and periodic charges to disperse the mob, while rioters threw ice and chunks of cobblestone.



Three officers were seriously injured and 126 protesters were detained, Interior Ministry spokeswoman Sigita Pildava said.



She said most of those detained were young men and many were drunk.



In addition, 32 people were injured, Vija Grigala, an official with the emergency medical services, was quoted as saying by the Leta news agency.

The violence caught the Interior Ministry off guard and reinforcements were slow to arrive at the scene, forcing a small group of police in riot gear to fend off about 200 protesters.



Police estimate that 10,000 people participated in the demonstration — the largest since Latvia became independent in 1991 — in which protesters sang songs and called for the president to dissolve Parliament.



Latvians are angry about rising unemployment and economic reforms including tax increases, and many blame the center-right government of Ivars Godmanis for the country's woes.



The country's economy was once the fastest-growing in the European Union, but it has undergone a dramatic reverse and is expected to contract 5 percent this year.



International lenders including the EU, the International Monetary Fund and Nordic countries have pledged $10.5 billion in financial assistance to help Latvia recover.



The Baltic nation of 2.3 million residents regained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and joined the EU five years ago.



President Valdis Zatlers has stepped up criticism of the government and Parliament in recent months, but he has stopped short of threatening to dissolve the legislature.