Fuel-price protester burns own BMW in Frankfurt
2008-10-17 17:57:53

وكالة الأنباء السعودية - واس

Frankfurt, June 27 , SPA -- An activist demanding a tax holiday on petrol
set fire to his own BMW car in front of the German city of
Frankfurt's most iconic skyscraper Friday to protest at soaring fuel
costs, according to dpa.
Police said he parked the car on a grass verge near the 63-storey
Messeturm building, poured a canister of petrol over it and set it
alight. Lettering painted on the car said "Petrol Profiteering" and
showed the address of his protest site on the internet.
By the time police and fire crews arrived, the car had been
gutted.
Police detained the man, 30, who lives in neighbouring Bavaria
state. They said the damage, including the loss of the car, totalled
about 10,000 euros (15,700 dollars). The man had said he had wanted
to burn the car in Berlin, but it had been too far to drive.
Police spokesman Karlheinz Wagner said the protester, who had
given up his job 23 days earlier, would probably be charged with
pollution and would receive a big invoice from the fire brigade.

"The guy was quite lucky because the petrol tank did not explode,"
he added.
On the website, the man, who gave only his first name, Michael,
made clear that he viewed the German government, not oil companies,
as the profiteers, since the retail price of petrol in Germany was
mainly tax.
He said he had ceased working because he had had to pay 250 euros
monthly for fuel to drive to a job 80 kilometres from his home.
The scene of the blaze, the Messeturm, is a lone tower dominating
its own plaza and a main Frankfurt street and is generally ranked the
second tallest office building in the city.
--SPA

المصدر http://www.spa.gov.sa/details.php?id=568992