Government stands firm over pit closures following miners violent protest

What had been planned as a peaceful demonstration by miners protesting against pit closures, turned into a fierce battle with the police. Between 7,000-10,000 miners travelled to Warsaw and marched towards the city center, first passing the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) party headquarters, where they broke a few windows and threw paint at the building. The miners headed to converge outside the Economy Ministry. Here, armed with crowbars, spades and clubs they tore down police barrackades erected to protect the building. At this point stones and petrol bombs began to be thrown and Wasaw's Plac Trzech Krzyży looked like a battlefield as the police brought in a water cannon to try and bring the miners under control. Several policemen ended up in hospital with burns and other wounds. After blocking a main Warsaw road for about 15 minutes, the miners headed back to Silesia. A trade union leader said the main loudspeaker system that accompanied the protest broke down and so control over the demonstration collapsed. In the late afternoon, Deputy Economy Minister Irena Herbst addressed a news conference declaring that the government's decision to close four mines will not be changed. "If we fail to do this, then the whole industry will go bankrupt," she said. (Gazeta Wyborcza, pp. 1, 6, 7; Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1, A2, A3) M.K.