Farmers, police clash over cotton prices |
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Thu, 08 Feb 2007 15:53
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ASUNCION, Paraguay (AFX) - Angry farmers protesting government-set prices for cotton clashed with police in a rural Paraguayan town, leaving 27 farmers and 11 police injured, authorities said.Government spokeswoman Lilian Ruiz, said one police officer was hospitalized after being clubbed on the head Wednesday, but none of the other injuries on either side was serious.She said many of the 27 injured farmers were treated for rubber bullet injuries while several of the 11 hurt police officers had cuts and bruises after being struck with sticks.The clash occurred near the rural town of Curce Tacuar, some 150 miles north of the capital of Asuncion, during a day of protests nationwide against government-mandated prices for their latest cotton crop.She said demonstrating farmers tried to barricade a rural highway, triggering a clash with police.Odilon Espinola, head of the major National Campesino Federation, said some 20,000 peasant farmers in this poor, agrarian nation had staged a day of protests in towns and communities all around cotton growing areas.He charged that government-set prices of about 25 cents for every 2.2 pounds of cotton was 'laughable.' The farmers, he said, are demanding that the prices set by government decree be raised by President Nicanor Duarte's government to at least 40 cents.The government has said it is studying other possible ways to compensate farmers but had no comment on the demands for a hike in cotton prices.In 2006, Paraguay exported more than $200 million in cotton abroad, one of its leading agricultural exports after beef and soybeans.Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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