BY GEORGES MEHRABIAN AND CAN COBAN
ATHENS, Greece - Some 15,000 students marched here January
15, bringing the city center to a halt. High school students,
who were the overwhelmingly majority of protesters, were joined
by hundreds of university students and teachers. The teachers
union declared a strike to coincide with the student action.
Thousands more demonstrated throughout cities across the
country, giving the action a nationwide dimension.
There have been protests for almost nine weeks, including occupations of many high school campuses and some college buildings, aimed at overturning the Arsenis Law. This law attempts to significantly reduce access to higher education by instituting restrictive examinations and is a blow to public education. It is part of a broader package of assaults the government says are needed to meet the economic criteria for Greece to enter the European Monetary Union.
Throughout this city, especially in working-class neighborhoods, contingents assembled around the occupied high schools and universities from the early morning hours. Militant correspondents joined the contingent of high school students from the neighborhood of Zografou. The group of 300 marched into the center, blocking the main boulevard and chanting, "It will not pass," referring to the Arsenis Law.
The occupations peaked at 2,000 schools just prior to the holidays. Many occupations were suspended during the two-week Christmas period. But other students maintained guard at some 400 schools. "This last week school assemblies were held to decide whether or not to resume. As of today, 650 schools had voted to resume the occupations," said Andreas Simopoulos, a high school student in Zografou attending the demonstration. "This is despite a public campaign of threats from the government, which is threatening to cancel the entire school year, as well as arrest and prosecute students found on occupied school grounds."
Simopoulos continued, "Our response was not to be intimidated but rather to respond to the threats. We descended on the Zografou City Hall and met with the city council and got the mayor to sign a declaration putting high schools in this municipality off limits to the cops."
Television broadcasts have been showing daily clashes between parents and students occupying the schools. Militant reporters saw one such clash in another area of Athens. "Some parents came to our school early in the week and tried to break the chains at the gate and put an end to the occupation," said Andreas Kilchikzis while his high school contingent was assembling. "We pushed them back. In the exchange we discovered that they did not even have children in this school, but rather in a nearby elementary school that is not even occupied. This showed that many of these clashes are organized by supporters of the government and are not genuine." An assembly of students and parents has been called for January 17 to help clear the air, Kilchikzis added.
"A lot depends on today's march," said Simopoulos. "After so many weeks many students are tired and feel like they have done the maximum. A big turnout will help give folks courage, since they face a lot of pressure and many are starting to say let's go back to school. The assemblies over the next few days will be decisive."
"It would be totally wrong to go back to classes now," added Georgia Kafedzi, another student. "After so many weeks to go back without pushing back the law would mean having fought so long for nothing."
At a meeting of 250 called by the parents association at the Zografou High School two days later, parents, teachers, and students aired their views on the continuing struggle. The meeting was opened by presentations of two representatives each from parents, teachers, and students.
One parent doubted the students' knowledge of the actual law they were fighting against. Another parent, who teaches both at the public school and at a private university preparatory institute, said the new law reinforces private education. "Before kids would go to the private institutes to prepare for entrance exams in four subjects. With the new law it will be 10 subjects, in 26 different national exams."
No one present spoke in opposition to the struggle being waged by the students, although many favored doing something other than occupying the school. In the end, the meeting decided unanimously to support whatever decision the student body took at its general assembly. The next day, following three hours of discussion, the students in Zografou voted 170 to 20, with 15 abstaining, to continue the occupation.
The student protests have provoked a government crisis. On January 14 the main opposition New Democracy Party submitted a motion in parliament of no confidence in the education minister.
Meanwhile, hundreds of farmers in the area of Thessaly also took to the roads on January 15 against government agricultural policies. "We will rally for our problems and support the farmers, some of whom are our fathers," one youth at a joint farmer-student rally in Karditsa told the daily Athens News.