Protesters clash with police in Lithuania

The Associated Press
Published: January 16, 2009

VILNIUS, Lithuania: Police used tear gas and rubber bullets Friday to disperse anti-government protesters who were throwing rocks and eggs at Lithuania's Parliament.

The Interior Ministry said 13 people were injured, including one policeman. One protester lost a finger to a rubber bullet, police said. About a dozen windows on the Parliament building, in downtown Vilnius, were shattered.

About 7,000 protesters had gathered outside Parliament on Friday morning to demonstrate against unpopular reforms aimed at easing the economic crisis. The violence started when police pushed away protesters who were demanding to see the parliamentary speaker.

By evening Vilnius was quiet. Police said more than 40 people had been detained.

"According to police information, this is a well orchestrated action against Lithuania," Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius told journalists.

"There are forces that are interested in destabilization and chaos in Lithuania, and they are using the public's dismay over painful reforms to achieve their hostile plans," Kubilius said, adding that police knew who was responsible.

Kubilius' center-right coalition, in power less than two months, has been criticized for tax increases the government said were needed to shore up state finances. On Friday, Lithuania's Finance Ministry announced it intended to borrow €1 billion (US$1.3 billion) from the European Investment Bank to plug a yawning budget gap. The Baltic country's economy is expected to enter a recession this year.

The clash echoes violent protests this week in Latvia and Bulgaria, and recent demonstrations in Greece, as a wave of discontent over economic woes, difficult reforms and government corruption sweeps through parts of Europe.

In Latvia, police detained more than 100 people Tuesday after protesters pelted police with rocks.

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