The Associated Press
December 1, 2008
REYKJAVIK, Iceland: Thousands of Icelanders marked the 90th anniversary of their nation’s sovereignty with angry protest Monday, and several hundred stormed the central bank to demand the ouster of bankers they blame for the country’s spectacular economic meltdown.
Tiny Iceland has seen its banks and currency collapse in just a few weeks while prices and
unemployment soar — leaving a country regarded as a model of Scandinavian prosperity in a state of shock.
“The government played roulette and the whole nation has lost,” writer Einar Mar Gudmundsson told a noisy but peaceful anti-government rally of several thousand people in downtown Reykjavik.
After the rally, hundreds of protesters stormed the headquarters of Sedlabanki, Iceland’s central bank, demanding the sacking of its chief, David Oddsson.
The demonstrators staged an hour-long standoff with shield-wielding riot police inside the bank’s lobby, singing songs and chanting “Out with David” and “Power to the People.” The protest ended peacefully when both police and demonstrators agreed to withdraw.
