Violent protests over mounting economic woes shook the Latvian capital, Riga, late Jan. 13, leaving some 25 injured and leading to 106 arrests. In the wake of the demonstrations, President Valdis Zatlers threatened to call for a referendum that would allow voters to dissolve parliament, saying trust in the government had "collapsed catastrophically." (NYT [2], Jan. 14)
On Jan. 14, more than 30 were injured, including a dozen police officers, and more than 150 detained as protesters clashed with police outside the Bulgarian parliament in Sofia, Bulgaria [3]'s capital. Protesters demanded the resignation of lawmakers and government officials, who they accused of corruption. Students, environmentalists and farmers were among the protesters, led by the Association for Development and Civic Control, while masked youth hurled stones and snowballs at police, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. A 15-year-old boy was among those arrested for possession of three home-made bombs. (AHN [4], Jan. 14)
See our last posts on the Baltics [5], the Balkans [6] and the econocataclysm [7].
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