Bulqize, protesters clash with police
25/08/2011 15:30
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Today’s protest in Bulqize was accompanied by physical clashes with the police
forces that have been staying in this town for several days.
The miners gathered this morning to the gallery entrances, waiting for an agreement with the concessionary company.
The situation was calm until it came to the protesters’ attention that a small group of strikebreakers were trying to enter the mine and start working.
The situation got tenser and the miners rushed to block the entrance of the gallery and some of them even went inside. They also stopped some trucks loaded with construction materials for the mine.
Police intervened and tried to push the miners away.
Raw physical clashes took place between the miners and the police, leaving three miners wounded and seeking medical help.
The mineworkers pretend that they were wounded when police tried to push them away, while the police denies of having hurt anyone.
Due to the high temperatures and strong physical clashes, some of the mineworkers faced serious health problems, mainly those who were part of the hunger strike that was held in the underground galleries.
After the intervention of the syndication and police leaders, the situation calmed down, although tension is still high.
While the strikers were expecting an agreement with the concessionary company, the latter tried to start the work in the mines with a group of strikebreakers. Such actions deteriorated the situation, decreasing the hopes for a solution.
The miners have started this protest since the first days of July, initially by downing tools and then escalated it to hunger strike and even violence.
The situation stalled due to some details about the dialogue procedures, with which none of parties seems to comply, and not for the requests that the miners have presented.
The administrator of this company visited the mine some days ago, and despite his efforts, he was unable to convince the miners to sit on dialogue tables.
The company has as a nonnegotiable condition; the exclusion of syndication representatives in the dialogue, while the miners want to be represented by the syndication for any agreement.
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