The most severe police brutality

greece / turkey / cyprus | education | news report Saturday March 10, 2007 11:20 by LA

Against 35.000 of students and teachers

The most severe police brutality against 35.000 of students and teachers in demonstration in Athens.

Thousands of students and teachers, protesting against the new law for the universities which is being voting at the moment, were brutally repressed by the police.

The new law for the functioning of the Universities is being voted at the moment, after the decision of the government to start the process in the Parliament despite the public outrage; since students, pupils, teachers and academics have been in an ongoing struggle since May 2006, including occupations of schools and faculties, strikes and demonstrations.

As the state media reported, only the governmental party voted for the new law, while the rest of them decided to leave the room after the preliminary poll. Meanwhile, more than 35.000 of students, including teachers and academics, were demonstrating in the streets of Athens, in order to surround the Parliament.

It was in front of the Parliament that some demonstrators clashed with the police while the air got full of asphyxiating and tear gas. The march was forced to split into pieces and about 100 hundred demonstrators that had randomly been at that place, were segregated and severely walloped by a heavy police force. Several attacks followed, in order to split the rest of the march into smaller pieces, when the school teachers were beaten as well. Individuals had to ran away and hide into nearby buildings.

Dozens of randomly chosen demonstrators have been arrested or brought to the police headquarters, most of them plain students or even old-aged teachers. Others had to go to the hospital with wounding on the heads.

The situation is still evolving as this article is being written. As the Polytechnic faculty has been blocked by the police, 2.000 people have occupied the Administration Building, while some others are holding an assembly in the Law school. All demonstrators are currently in a very bad mood, either beaten or sprayed with tear gas and pepper spray.

At the same time, a spontaneous solidarity demonstration is taking place in Thessaloniki city, up on the North of Greece.

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