arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

Ten thousand people were announced for a demonstration organized by farmers on December 4th to "support" the government during negotiations for higher EU farming subsidies in Brussels. Only a few dozen policemen were present. The protesters caused damages to the Ministry of Agriculture which will cost a quarter of a million crowns to repair. Deputy of police administration Vladislav Husak claimed that the few dozen policemen who were present decided to "think out the consequences" instead of intervening with the protesters. The farmers managed to block the main arterial road (Magistral), even though their march had been prohibited beforehand. Demonstrators threw concussion grenades, broke 24 windows of the Ministry of Agriculture, in front of which one demonstrator set fire to a pile of straw. Stanislav Gross from the Ministry of Interior claimed that the demonstrations of farmers do not threaten with violence. "Emotions prevailed over common sense" claimed Ladislav Skopal, Chairman of the Parliament's Agricultural Board. "Why didn't we intervene? because they are not radicals" claims Stanislav Gross. One sign threatened to "Drive the Spidlas out with pitchforks" (Spidla is the newly elected Czech Prime Minister). The Ministry of the Interior claims that a far greater threat is posed by anti-globalization demonstrators.