Maria Residents protesting Canadian gold mining company scuffle with police
Published by MAC on 2002-04-18Maria Residents protesting Canadian gold mining company scuffle with police
THESSALONIKI, Greece (Associated Press)
Residents of a northern Greek village protesting a Canadian company's mining activities scuffled with police, leaving one policeman slightly injured, authorities said Wednesday.
The scuffles occurred late Tuesday near the village of Stratoniki, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) southeast of Thessaloniki, when a protester allegedly lay down in the middle of a road in an attempt to prevent vehicles from reaching the facilities of the TVX mining company.
A policeman was treated for minor injuries in a nearby hospital after being hit by a rock thrown by protesters. A total of four people were arrested, police said.
Stratoniki residents have been protesting an expansion to the Toronto-based company's base metals mine underneath the village. They claim the mining has damaged a number of buildings in the village. The protesters are fighting in court to try and overturn a government permit granted for the expansion. Similar court action forced TVX to abandon a gold mining and processing project at a nearby site. Maria Kadoglou