Anti-Berlusconi protesters clash with police outside of premier's villa

Anti-Berlusconi protesters clash with police outside of premier's villa

2011-02-07 05:23:49 GMT+7 (ICT)

ARCORE, ITALY (BNO NEWS) -- Two people were arrested and others injured when Italian police and hundreds of protesters clashed near the villa of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Sunday, AGI national news agency reported.

Protesters threw bottles and other glass objects at riot police, while police responded with baton charges to disperse them. The clashes occurred at a street that leads to Villa San Martino, the residence of Berlusconi.

The event was organized by the Purple People, an anti-Berlusconi group on the Internet, to demand the resignation of the prime minister. Protesters waved banners reading “Prostitutes out of the state,†and “Enough of Berlusconi.†  

On Saturday an estimated 9,000 demonstrators, including the author Umberto Eco, gathered in the centre of Milan calling on Berlusconi to resign. Another 3,000 protested in Florence.

Judges are set to request this week that Berlusconi stand trial. The 74-year-old prime minister has vowed to stay in office depite allegations of his involvement in procuring under-age prostitutes for his notorious parties.

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