PM warns protests could harm economy

BUCHAREST, (AP)

Dozens of demonstrators gathered in downtown Bucharest yesterday as Romania's prime minister warned that violent protests that left 59 injured over the weekend could jeopardise stability and economic growth.

Police on Sunday clashed with a small contingent of around 1,000 protesters in the capital, after four days of demonstrations against austerity measures turned violent. Tear gas and flares were used to repel demonstrators hurling stones and firebombs.

Interior minister Traian Igas said yesterday that around 8,700 people attended weekend demonstrations around the country, but only in Bucharest did the protests turn violent, when, according to interior ministry officials, fans of football clubs infiltrated the demonstrations and then wreaked havoc in the city.

Bucharest mayor Sorin Oprescu said the windows of shops, banks and bus stations were smashed, and street lights vandalised.

Prime Minister Emil Boc yesterday called the violence "unacceptable", and said it "cannot be tolerated". He promised, however, that a controversial health law that sparked the protests will be redrafted.

Boc urged Romanians to understand that tough austerity measures were needed to avoid a default. "We understand the hardships Romanians are facing ... . The crisis has been harsher than we imagined," he said.