Athens turned into a battlefield Thursday as students protesting a new Greek education bill hurled petrol bombs, sticks and stones at riot police, who retaliated by firing tear gas, according to dpa. Seven people were reported injured in the clashes that started shortly after an estimated 9,000 students and teachers marched through the capital towards parliament, where deputies were voting on the bill. Reports said at least 40 protesters were brought in for questioning in what has been described as the worst clashes police have seen in years. The main clashes broke out right after parliament passed the education reform bill with 160 votes in favour and 117 against, with 19 absentees. Chanting "it will never pass" and carrying black banners reading "down with the government and its reforms", a group of hooded youths set fire to a bank branch, smashed shop windows and a presidential guard post and destroyed the entrance of a luxury hotel in Constitution, or Syntagma, Square. Traffic in central Athens came to a standstill for hours, forcing pedestrians to take shelter in cafes and restaurants. In one typical exchange, an angry man shouted: "This is unbelievable. We shouldn't have students ruling our lives this way." A teacher identifying himself as Stavroula Mavromichali countered: "We were left with no other option but to react this way." The demonstration was the latest of many, as wide-ranging discontent forced the closure of hundreds of university departments and resulted in violent protests across the country. The walkouts have crippled Greece's educational system and many fear tens of thousands of students risk of losing the school year. One of the changes, altering the law on asylum, seeks to make it easier for police to enter university grounds. Police have been prevented from entering university campuses since the days of the Greek military junta when the military crushed a 1973 student uprising with tanks, killing dozens. Police are often faced with the problem of anarchists, armed with fire bombs, avoiding arrest following protest marches by seeking refuge in universities. Private tertiary education institutions are banned from operating in Greece and the conservative government believes the new law, allowing for the operation of private universities, would lead to greater competitiveness and higher educational standards. Teachers, students and union leaders insist the government should upgrade free public education instead and fear the move could lead to higher education costs and lower teaching standards. Educators accuse the government of failing to keep one of its main pre-election promises of hiking education funding to 5 per cent of GDP from a current 3.5 per cent.
