Italians hold anti-Berlusconi demos

Italy: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Rome Saturday, February 12, 2011. Hundreds of people have held demonstrations across Italy to protest against Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's unethical conduct.

The demonstrators banged pots and pans in Rome and Milan on Saturday and demanded that the premier resign.

Anger over the sexual scandals facing Berlusconi has led to calls for his resignation, with many Italians demanding that the courts take legal action against him.

The gatherings came one day before demonstrations scheduled for Sunday, when thousands of women are expected to turn out in 200 Italian cities to denounce what they say is Berlusconi's debasing of females.

Prosecutors want to try Berlusconi for allegedly paying a 17-year-old Moroccan girl for sex. Paying for prostitution with a minor is a crime in Italy.

In a counter-protest, newspaper editor Giuliano Ferrara hung up underwear in a Milan auditorium to criticize what he calls a puritanical drive to oust the prime minister.

Berlusconi has dismissed the allegations as a smear campaign.

"I'm not worried in the slightest," Berlusconi said last week. "I am a wealthy gentleman, who can spend the rest of his life building hospitals for children like I've always wanted to." Press TV