Police and fishermen clash in front of Italy's parliament buildings

Jan 25, 2012, 16:48 GMT

Rome - At least two people were injured Wednesday when police in Rome baton-charged a group of demonstrators who had thrown firecrackers at Italian parliament buildings to protest against fuel price and tax increases introduced by the country's technocratic government.

One of the injured, a member of a group of demonstrators representing fishermen, was taken to hospital to receive treatment, media reports said.

The fishermen say that the spike in the cost of diesel, on which many of their trawlers and boats run, is threatening to put them out of business.

The protest in Rome in front of the Palazzo Montecitorio building, which houses parliament's lower houses Chamber of Deputies, was one of several demonstrations and strikes taking place around the country against Prime Minister Mario Monti's government.

The hike in fuel taxes was decided upon by the government led by former EU commissioner Monti, as part of efforts to bring down the country's deficit and debt levels.

In the southern city of Naples, many petrol stations were forced to close after supplies ran out. That shortage is due to a strike by truck drivers, which began in Sicily over the weekend, but has spread to many other parts of Italy.

In the northern city of Milan, an organization representing farmers, Coldiretti, began giving out vegetables, eggs and other products free of charge in protest against the truck driver's strike, which the organization says is preventing many perishable goods such as fruit and vegetables from reaching markets.

Meanwhile, many truck drivers continued their work stoppages. There were reports of several scuffles between strikers and other drivers who were trying to drive their vehicles through barricades erected by the protesters to block roads highways.

Monti's technocratic government plans to introduce a series of measures aimed at liberalizing Italy's economy to spur growth and offset the effects of a recession forecast for this year.