This is eye opening. Germany supplies the thugs just like WTO in Seattle and demonstrations elsewhere. Professionally organized and funded!!

German mob organised Haider

demo, say police

By Julian Coman in Vienna

Haunted by history

AUSTRIAN police believe a German mob may have been

behind some of the worst violence in Vienna since the

Second World War after up to 4,000 protesters battled

with police into the night.

Fighting broke out on Friday

as President Thomas Klestil

was swearing in a new

government that included the

far-Right Freedom Party, led

by Jörg Haider. Extreme

Left-wing protesters and

anarchists battled with riot

police across Vienna

throughout the day and into

the early hours of yesterday. Fifty-seven demonstrators and

25 police officers were injured as the centre of Vienna was

besieged by flag-waving demonstrators. The fighting at

night left a further four officers injured.

Ewald Bachinger, a police spokesman, said: "There

appeared to be a large number of German demonstrators

involved. They were highly organised, using mobile

phones and co-ordinating activities on the internet. We

wanted to let the demonstrations take place but these

people should realise that the police are not their enemies."

Demonstrators hurled smoke bombs, paving stones, eggs

and fruit at the riot police, who responded with water

cannons. "Down with racism," read one banner, while

another said: "1,938 reasons against Haider," in a

reference to the 1938 annexation of Austria by Nazi

Germany.

The new ministers arrived in Mr Klestil's office via a

tunnel from nearby government offices to avoid the clashes.

Mr Haider adopted a defiant pose towards the EU's

suspension of bilateral relations with Austria, issuing a

thinly-veiled warning yesterday that his group could block

EU decisions if sanctions were maintained.

He urged Austrians not to be intimidated by EU action,

adding: "They are going to sit down with us around a table,

if not, there won't be any decisions taken in Europe."