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Rome Burns: Italian Public Fury Over Austerity Budget as Protesters Clash With Police

21st Century Wire says…

The wonders of technocracy, and the virtues of Goldman Sachs economic blood lust…

In Rome this past Saturday, irate Italian demonstrators clashed with police. Crowds used smoke bombs, sticks and clubs, as they attacked police in full riot gear. The crowds greatly out numbered the police, hence the police were running scared most of the time.

In the early past of this new century, Europe has been sacked and raped, not by the barbarian hordes from the north, but by the bankers from the north.

Europe, like North America, is a ticking socio-economic time bomb, built by bankers, and with bankers lighting the fuse…

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RT Reports…

Violence broke out between police and demonstrators in Rome on Saturday as tens of thousands took to the streets to protest Italy’s new budget.


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Fifteen protesters were arrested and at least 20 police officers were injured, according to the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

We are laying siege to the city!” chanted the crowd, as a small minority pelted the police and government buildings with water bottles and eggs.

A group of protesters turned over garbage bins and set some of them on fire in front of the Economy Ministry.

Members of the Guardia di Finanza protect themselves as they stand in front of the Economy minister during clashes on the sidelines of an anti-austerity protest on October 19, 2013 in Rome. (AFP Photo / Alberto Pizzoli)
Members of the Guardia di Finanza protect themselves as they stand in front of the Economy minister during clashes on the sidelines of an anti-austerity protest on October 19, 2013 in Rome. (AFP Photo / Alberto Pizzoli)
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Police say they confiscated tear gas canisters and rocks from some of the radicals in the predominantly youthful crowd and found chains stashed away along the route of the march.

Organizers estimated that 70,000 people took part in the protest, while authorities placed the number closer to 50,000.

With this budget the government is continuing to hurt a country which is already on its knees,” said Piero Bernocchi, leader of the left-wing COBAS trade union that was behind the demonstration.

“Even after austerity has proven to be disastrous, with debt rising, the economy crumbling, and unemployment soaring, they still continue with these policies.

Thousands of people march during an anti-austerity protest on October 19, 2013 in Rome. (AFP Photo / Alberto Pizzoli)
Thousands of people march during an anti-austerity protest on October 19, 2013 in Rome. (AFP Photo / Alberto Pizzoli)
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Earlier this week, Prime Minister Enrico Letta – who is presiding over a fractious Left-Right coalition – presented the 2014 budget that immediately came under a firestorm of criticism from both sides of the political spectrum.

Left-wingers criticized the document for freezing state sector pay and pensions, while right-wingers and businesses said it failed to stimulate growth with insufficient cuts to Italy’s oppressive corporate taxes.

People try to broke the windows of an Unicredit bank agency during an anti-austerity protest on October 19, 2013 in Rome. (AFP Photo / Alberto Pizzoli)
People try to broke the windows of an Unicredit bank agency during an anti-austerity protest on October 19, 2013 in Rome. (AFP Photo / Alberto Pizzoli)
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Italy annually spends around 800 billion euro – a sum it cannot afford as it struggles with a recession that started more than two years ago. The latest budget aims to cut the deficit to 2.5 percent – still worse than most of Europe.

On Friday, a general strike paralyzed transport links in the country and forced the cancellation of flights in and out of Rome.

But Saturday’s protests weren’t just about pay. Some called for the government to abandon an expensive fast-train link with France. Others demanded that Italy provide more social housing. Many bemoaned the country’s treatment of immigrants, who have suffered several tragic incidents in recent months as they attempted to reach the coast of Italy.

Letta has gone on television to defend his government, but dissenters have not been placated and say that even bigger demonstrations will be staged next week.

A man throws a bottle in direction of policem during clashes on the sidelines of an anti-austerity protest on October 19, 2013 in Rome. (AFP Photo / Filippo Monteforte)
A man throws a bottle in direction of policem during clashes on the sidelines of an anti-austerity protest on October 19, 2013 in Rome. (AFP Photo / Filippo Monteforte)


SEE ALSO: Indigenous Canadian anti-fracking protest: Arrests, pepper-spray, snipers, and torched cars

 

 

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