Protests and confrontation in Iceland's capital Reykjavik escalated today when riots police and demonstrators clashed in the early hours of the morning. As a result two police officers were seriously injured and the police used tear gas for the first time in nearly 60 years to break up the demonstration.
Thousands of Icelanders have been gathering outside the parliament of the tiny Scandinavian nation to protest the present coalition government's handling of the recent financial crisis which has stalled the country's economy and left the island with debt ten times its annual GNP.
Prime minister, Geir H. Haarde also bore the brunt of protestor's wrath when his car was surrounded by demonstrators who shouted anti - government slogans and banged pots and pans, requiring the intervention of the police before he could leave. Such protests are unprecedented in modern Icelandic history.
The small Scandanavian country, blessed with abundant natural resources and enjoying one of the highest living standards in the world is hardly the kind of place one associates with economic catastrophe and riots. All that changed yesterday when thousands took to the streets to protest the present government's handling of the recent financial crisis. With gross national product down two thirds, a 45% rise in unemployment and the country defaulting on loan repayments Icelanders are faced with the worst economic crisis in living memory.
The target of their anger members of the government that presided over a meltdown in the banking sector and wider economy which has been so severe that a third of islanders are considering emmigration according to a report in the Economist. The coalition government has repeatedly rejected calls for elections in light of the current situation
As with the recent riots and protests in Greece, the impression that those in power have lined their own pockets while ordinary citizens have had to pay the price for financial mismangament has infuriated ordinary Icelanders.
Despite sub zero temperatures the protests have continued for a second day with members of the parliamentary opposition taking time out from debates to join the demonstrators.
