Spain: Miner protest intensifies

Miners in Asturias, north-west Spain, are continuing their protests against the withdrawal of government subsidies for mines, saying that without the funding the industry will collapse. In the ongoing unrest they have blocked railways and roads and clashed with police.

Esther Rodriguez, a miner’s wife said: “What future can we have? But the worst thing is that nobody in Spain supporting us, only miners from other countries like Poland and the UK.”

A miner who wished to stay anonymous said: ‘‘There is a lot of tension, and the tension is reaching the point where riot police are entering villages full of women and children, and they don’t care. In the same way that they don’t care, we won’t care either. It’s really sad because it is reaching the point that one day something bad will happen.”

As riot police moved in using rubber bullets, demonstrators took to the woods using sling shots and home made rocket launchers.

Meanwhile other groups of miners are continuing their three-week-old underground sit-in, refusing to come up from the mines until the government promises not to cut mining subsidies. Reports say that their health is starting to suffer from remaining in the mines for such an extended period.

Copyright © 2013 euronews