Thousands protesting Slovenia austerity

Thousands of people held demonstrations at Congress Square in the center of Ljubljana on Saturday to protest against the government-sponsored austerity policy. The demonstrators demanded the government create conditions that would ensure the majority of people have jobs and live a decent life. “Austere Austerity Leads to Even More Debt”, “Stop to Social Inequality”, and “Slovenia is Most Competitive in Corruption,” some of their placards read. The demonstrations here followed examples of other protests initiated by the European Trade Union Confederation, which saw rallies held in many European countries in the past few days. Different from demonstrations in Portugal and Spain that were marred by violent outbursts, protests in Ljubljana are relatively calm. Slovenian parliament adopted in May a bill, introducing sweeping public spending cuts in a bid to curb national financial crisis. The adoption of the controversial austerity bill makes it possible for the Slovenian government to secure 500 million euros (US$660 million) in savings this year and 750 million euros (US$990 million) in 2013.