A rally organized against the Latvian government turned into a violent protest. An when some hundred people tried to break in the Parliament, many did not seem suprised.It might be the end of a dream.
A dream that, although has been over since quite a while already,
some people confused with reality until this late evening. Until the
moment when the pacific streets of Riga saw one of the biggest rallies
ever organized since its independence becoming a violent protest
against the policies of a government which seems to be a great
disappointment for many.AFP reported about 8 people injuried, 1 looted shop (...an alcohol
store...) and several broken windows: something that, even if in the
rest of the EU it would not be difffernt from the leftover of a
football match between unpolite teenagers, in this region become
immediately the biggest sign of a situation that is far from being
fully understood by the political elites.
"I'm surprised it's taken so long to get to this point," said
protester Maris, 46, referring to the trouble, saying politicians had
been "robbing" the people for years.
The rally was called by a
broad-range coalition including opposition parties and trade unions
which are trying to force out centre-right Prime Minister Ivars
Godmanis.
Latvia, which joined the European Union in 2004, had
enjoyed a reputation as an economic "tiger" as robust domestic demand
powered rapid growth.
But this country of 2.3 million people slid
into recession last year as consumption slumped in the face of
double-digit inflation, tighter domestic credit rules and the global
economic crisis.
The economy is thought to have contracted by
1.5-2.0 percent in 2008 -- final data are yet to be released -- and is
expected to shrink by 5.0-8.0 percent this year according to the
authorities and independent economists.
Latvia was last month
granted a 7.5-billion-euro (10.4-billion-dollar) aid package by the
International Monetary Fund and other lenders to try to cushion the
country from the slump.
Parliament also approved linked
belt-tightening measures, notably deep budget cuts that slash state
employees' pay by up to 15 percent.
Besides their anger over the economy, Tuesday's protesters also demanded a shake up on the political scene.
Latvians'
trust in lawmakers has been at a low ebb for years, and there has been
a drive to give the people the constitutional right to dissolve
parliament through referenda, something supporters say is needed to
clip the wings of politicians whose graft scandals regularly grab
headlines.
In August 2008, parliament agreed to draft such a constitutional change, but there has been little progress.
Tuesday's
rally was a revival of a movement that drew crowds of 5,000 to
demonstrations that fuelled the December 2007 resignation of Godmanis's
centre-right predecessor Aigars Kalvitis, who was under fire for
alleged abuse of power and failing to manage the economy properly.
