Greek students protest education reform

Mon Sep 26, 2011

A group of Greek students has stormed into the studio of a state TV station in the capital city of Athens to voice its opposition to the government's recent education reforms.

According to police sources, around 60 students broke into the state-owned NET TV channel headquarters on Sunday in an effort to air a message challenging the government's plans to reform Greek universities, AFP reported.

"There has been an occupation at the state television channel NET and we are dealing with it," government spokesman Elias Mossialos said, adding, “They are students, this is not an issue related to the channel."

The incident caused station authorities to suspend the news bulletin on air at the time.

Meanwhile, a protest outside the Greek parliament in Athens turned violent after police forces used tear gas to disperse demonstrators who had staged the rally to protest the government's economic policies, including a newly assessed property tax.

This comes as the country's Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos has pledged to press ahead with austerity measures even if they involve great political costs.

Greece is in the front line of the euro zone financial crisis, which has been plunging into the abyss brought on by unprecedented levels of government debt.

Since last year, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund have provided Greece with two rescue packages worth over $380 billion in return for tough austerity measures.

The measures, which include cuts to public sector salaries and pensions, tax increases and an overhaul of the pension system, have sparked nationwide protests in the country.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/201176.html.