27 May 2013

Techno parade arrests

5:17 am on 27 May 2013

Police in Switzerland have arrested more than 60 people in clashes at a politically-charged techno music parade in Berne.

Twenty one members of the security forces were injured.

The trouble erupted in the Old Town early on Sunday during an unauthorised Dance Yourself Free parade of about 10,000 people.

Windows of banks and shops along the parade route were spraypainted and smashed. One group attempted to break down temporary barriers protecting parliament.

Police responded with tear gas and a water cannon.

The parade was in its third year, even though the organisers lack a permit.

Black bloc organisers say the right to party is just one cause, along with opposition to the gentrification of parts of Berne, which they say has driven up property prices and created a sanitised city for the rich.