Prague: Hundreds of tractors disrupted traffic in Prague’s historic centre on Thursday as farmers staged a rally against austerity policies and excessive red tape.
One protester was detained after spilling a truckload of manure outside the government building.
In the latest of a wave of farmers’ rallies staged across Europe, protesters called on the government to support rural employment and drop austerity measures, including taxes on EU subsidies. They also complained about high production costs, excessive red tape, EU environmental laws and grain imports from Ukraine.
“We are protesting against our government, they are withholding our subsidies and we don’t have equal conditions compared with ... Germany or France,” farmer Michal Lucan said. Lucan, who travelled around 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the east of the country to Prague, said Europe was divided into the privileged West and the East. — AFP
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