Tractors flood Prague as farmers rally against government

AFP | Prague  

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

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 told AFP.

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.

"They are only using us, we export quality food to Germany and France and import inferior food," he added.

Coming from western Czech Republic, Zdenek Taubr said the government should reduce red tape for farmers.

"The job, working in the field, that's fine, but now you only spend your time in the office and don't get to the field at all. And I'm already lost in the paperwork," he told AFP.

The Agrarian Chamber expected 4,000 protesters and 1,000 tractors and other machinery in Prague but the crowd outside the Czech government building in the capital was smaller.

Thousands of farmers also rallied in neighbouring Poland on Wednesday, slamming EU regulation and cheap imports from Ukraine.