Vol. 71/No. 14      April 9, 2007

Demonstrators carried banners demanding, “Free public education for all!” Currently, 247 university departments are under student occupation out of 450 nationwide.

This is the third month of weekly marches and occupations by university students and professors aimed at blocking government reforms that would allow the establishment of private non-profit universities, as well as restrict the right to asylum within university compounds. These measures are tied to a proposed revision of the Greek constitution, which states that only the state can be responsible for higher education.

The bill was approved March 8 by the deputies of New Democracy, the main conservative party that holds a majority in parliament. During a protest march on that day, police attacked the demonstrators. Riot cops used tear gas and then charged against the protesters. More than 60 people were arrested. The police used as a pretext an arson attack by a handful of masked individuals on the monument to the Unknown Soldier.

Protesting the cop violence, the lead banner in the March 16 protest read, “Arrests, tear gas don’t terrorize us; the justice of our struggle is the only law!” Security this time was organized by delegations of teachers unions from elementary and secondary schools, the university professors association, other trade unions, and student associations involved in the struggle. The march was carried out without police violence or arrests.
 
 
Related articles:
Athens event launches new Greek-language title
Pamphlet describes fraud of education reform under capitalism  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home