From: Barry Stoller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Argentina ruling class in danger HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- BBC (with additional material by AFP, CNN and AP). 20 December 2001. Crisis grips Argentina. The death toll in Argentina has risen to 16 as widespread protests and riots over government austerity measures continued. All the fatalities were victims of gunfire in clashes with police or merchants defending their shops after thousands of Argentines took to the streets Wednesday in Buenos Aires and other cities. Police said more than 500 people were arrested in the protests against economic austerity measures to meet payment deadlines for its 132-billion-dollar foreign debt. Hundreds of people gathered on the historic Plaza de Mayo outside the presidential palace in Buenos Aires - despite a state of emergency which granted police special powers of arrest. Protesters fought pitched rock-throwing skirmishes with riot officers, who swung truncheons and fired round after round of tear gas into the crowds. Water cannons roared across the Plaza de Mayo, directing their jets against scrambling demonstrators, who then counterattacked. Some 300 demonstrators taunted riot police and shouted anti-government slogans, demanding the president step down: "Go! Go!" they shouted as riot police and mounted cavalry officers charged. Chanting "Come out! Come out!" others called for De la Rua to step onto the balcony of the ornate government palace and face the people. But the shutters remained firmly closed, the palace surrounded by iron barricades and scores of riot police. The president's offices are at the palace, also called the Government House. Protesters refused to budge, despite repeated police efforts. "A people united will never be defeated!" they chanted. "I'm not leaving here! They've already kicked me out 10 times but I will come back," said Alicia Fernanez, a 51-year-old jobless woman who was beating a metal saucepan. "This is terrible. Where's our democracy gone?" Demonstrator Jose Luis Anicas, 41, who has four children and has been jobless for six months, said: "People are fed up. They don't want De la Rua anymore. They don't want any of these politicians anymore." Authorities said more than 350 people have been arrested since the unrest began, including many hauled kicking and screaming from Plaza de Mayo, in front of the Government House. Firefighters rushed to extinguish fires set off around the Presidential Palace by incendiary devices. Looters attacked supermarkets in major cities and ransacked homes. Eight of those killed were in outlying provinces, and many died of gunshot wounds. The dead included a 15-year-old boy reportedly shot during disturbances in western Santa Fe province. Others among the dead included people reportedly shot by merchants defending their stores with weapons. In the Buenos Aires suburb of Quilmes, a 23-year-old man was shot and killed during a supermarket raid by looters before dawn. In southern Rio Negro province, a 46-year-old woman was shot during confrontations between police and supermarket raiders. More supermarket attacks were reported in the north-central province of Tucuman, and vandals reportedly ransacked family homes in the northeastern province of Corrientes. North of Buenos Aires on the Panamerican highway that crosses the country, there were reports of supermarket lootings and attacks on country estates [N.B.]. Elsewhere in the capital and in other major cities, anti-government protesters banged pots and pans, while motorists honked horns and snarled traffic in opposition to De la Rua's austerity plans. Many businesses began closing amid fears the violence could escalate. Mr de la Rua blamed the riots on "enemies of the republic" and called for political co-operation to tackle the crisis, in a televised address to the nation on Wednesday night. The emergency decree grants the government special powers to quell looting and rioting. It allows the authorities to bring troops and other security forces onto the streets. Public meetings are also banned. The White House has expressed concern about the crisis in Argentina and said it was monitoring the situation closely. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews with photo attachments of the riots _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
