Thousands protest austerity, rising power prices in Montenegro

Podgorica (dpa) - Thousands of people rallied on Saturday in the Montenegrin capital Podgorica to protest austerity measures and a decision by the government to raise the price of electricity by 7 per cent.

Organizers said 10,000 people attended, a huge crowd in a country of 650,000. Some demonstrators threw eggs at the government headquarters, but the protest ended without major incidents.

Prime Minister Igor Luksic, whose government wants to cut spending from 43 per cent to 38 per cent of gross domestic product by 2014, said he understood the "wish of organizers to point to the difficult economic situation." However, he ruled out reversing the decision on electricity prices.

Luksic‘s cabinet projects growth of 0.5 per cent to 2 per cent in 2012, and up to 4 per cent in 2013.

The smallest of the former Yugoslav republics hopes to launch accession talks with the European Union in June. However, it first has to improve rule of law and show progress in fighting corruption. dpa bb jln ar Author: Boris Babic