Five policemen were injured and 16 demonstrators arrested Thursday in Bolivia after a day of street protests against a recent fuel price hike. Accoeding to dpa, the government raised fuel prices by 83 per cent on Sunday. Government plans to raise the minimum wage for employees in the health, military, education and police sectors by 20 per cent from currently about 115 dollars a month to offset the price hikes did not prevent the mass protests. In the central city of Cochabamba, four policemen were injured in clashes with students and other protestors demanding a repeal of the price increase. "One of the officers is in critical condition," Erbol radio reported, adding that about 16 people had been arrested for the violence occurring in the city centre. A fifth policeman was injured by explosives in the capital La Paz, a senior police official said. In cities across the country, protestors damaged public and private buildings, including offices of organizations linked to President Evo Morales' Movement for Socialism party, and blocked roads, news reports said. Protestors in El Alto, a city near La Paz, demanded the resignation of the town's mayor, Rene Patana, for not speaking out against the fuel price increases, and marched to the capital to protest at the seat of government.
