Tankers roll but fuel protests spread

LONDON -- Fuel tankers escorted by police have begun to roll past protesters' barricades at British fuel refineries raising hopes of an end to the country's fuel crisis.

But protests are escalating in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, as support for blockades gather momentum in Ireland, Italy, Poland and Spain.

In Belgium protests which crippled traffic in Brussels, Charleroi and Nivelles on Tuesday have entered a fourth day after talks between union leaders and the government over petrol prices failed to provide a breakthrough.

With some retailers in Britain reporting that 90 percent of their petrol stations had run dry and amid warnings of essential services and food deliveries being disrupted, the Prime Minister Tony Blair implemented emergency measures to end the protest.

The action announced late on Tuesday after an urgent meeting of the British Cabinet included the possibility of deploying troops to move fuel to critical points and the government instructed oil companies to resume deliveries of fuel.

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Some trucks have left depots in England and Scotland, passing demonstrators blockading the gates. The drivers were met by shouts of abuse but there were no reports of violence.

Five tankers left an oil depot in Purfleet, southeast England, under police escort late on Tuesday. Ten have left Scotland's Grangemouth refinery and another three drove out of the Woodford terminal near Manchester.

Lorry drivers, taxi drivers and others angry over high fuel prices and taxes have blockaded fuel depots since 7 September, creating shortages that have set off panic buying and kept cars off roads.

European blockades

While the disruption was worst in Britain, similar protests blocked roadways in other European cities and along the borders of Belgium and the Netherlands.

Smaller protests were also reported in Germany, Italy and even France, whose government made concessions to strikers over the weekend.

Truck drivers and farmers in Ireland, Spain and Poland also say they are considering action.

In Italy taxi drivers and hauliers are scheduled to meet with Transportation Minister Pierluigi Bersani on Wednesday following small-scale protests by fishermen over the weekend.

The Irish Road Haulage Association, which represents about 1,200 of its country's 4,000 lorry drivers, has said it will mount protests on Friday and next Monday unless the government agrees to a 20 percent cut in duty on diesel.

Farmers in Spain are planning a series of protests after talks with the Madrid government failed to reach a deal on how to compensate them for rising transport costs.

Fuel protests also struck in cyberspace early Wednesday, when someone using the name "fluxnyne" posted a message on OPEC's official Web site.

On the site's introductory page, an animation is followed briefly by a message at the bottom of the screen, visible for approximately six seconds: "I think I speak for everyone out there (the entire planet), when I say you guys need to get your collective asses in gear with the price of crude, we really need to focus on the poverty-stricken countries, who don't even have enough money for asprin (sic), let alone exorbidant (sic) prices for heating oil. I think the lives of children are paramount to your profits. Thanks for listening -fluxnyne"

Taxes account for 74 percent of the cost of fuel in Britain, which at $4.31 is the highest in Europe.

But the oil companies have also been accused of mounting a "phoney war" by refusing to move their trucks out of the depots, despite reassurances from demonstrators that their protests were peaceful.

Blair has been adamant that the government would not cave in to the protesters but he has not said what steps he would take if supplies did not open up.

"Whatever the strength of the feeling, there can be no excuse whatever for this type of action, which is hurting our people, businesses and emergency services severely," he said.

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Fuel protests widen across Britain
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Fuel protest causes fresh chaos across France
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