Chile's students pressure Bachelet goverment

[struggle4progress]

New National Strike Promised For June 5 If Demands Are Not Met



(June 1, 2006) High school student leaders Wednesday threatened a nationwide strike on Monday, June 5, unless the government answered all their demands by this Friday ..

The president saw the protests as an opportunity for profound change, rather than the first crisis of her government, saying, “These 15, 16, 17-year-old kids are expressing democracy … (they have) an awareness of their rights.”

The student protest began modestly two weeks ago with the aim of reducing transportation costs and college entrance examination fees for public school students. The students also sought to reduce the length of the school days, arguing that increased hours mandated by new laws resulted in “make work” classes that did little to enhance their education ..

Government officials have long acknowledged the deficiencies and “classist” nature of Chile’s educational system, and it was the subject of extensive debate during the recent presidential elections ..

http://www.tcgnews.com/santiagotimes/index.php?nav=story&story_id=11462&topic_id=1


New Chile student clashes erupt

Chilean riot police have used water cannon and tear gas to disperse student protests in the capital Santiago for a second consecutive day.

Demonstrators are demanding educational reforms including a new curriculum, free bus fares and no exam fees.

The latest clashes erupted a day after mass demonstrations which saw more than 700 arrested and at least 14 injured.

President Michelle Bachelet condemned the police's handling of the unrest and sacked the head of special forces ..

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5035616.stm

[Bozita]

1. A lot of the fruit I've been eating has a Chilean label

Must be a lot of small farmers there.

[Vidar]

2. Applauding their activism.

[struggle4progress]

3. Eight journalists fall victim to police crackdown on student demo

Reporters Without Borders today condemned the use of violence by police against five journalists and the arbitrary arrests of three others on 30 May in Santiago, during the student protests that have shaken Chile in the past few days. While welcoming the disciplinary measures that have been taken by the authorities, the organisation warned that members of the police and gendarmerie were using methods inherited from the 1973-1990 military dictatorship ...

Those injured included three TV cameramen - Marco Cabrera of Red TV, Gustavo Pavez of Canal 13 and Libio Saavedra of Canal 9 - who were beaten and stoned by gendarmes and one of them was beaten while on the ground although they were wearing armbands displaying the name of their news media.

Two newspaper photographers, Julio Castro and Fernando Fiedler of the daily Diario Financiero, were also injured after receiving the same kind of treatment. All five were taken to hospital, where a senior Santiago police officer went and took statements from them.

Julio Oliva, the editor of the weekly, and two of his journalists, Iván Valdes and Marcos Días, were also arrested in the same area and were forcibly taken to a police station where they were slapped and insulted. According to Oliva, gendarmes told them their links to the Chilean Communist Party (PCC) were a sufficient reason to hold them. The weekly had just posted online reports warning that the demonstrations could be infiltrated by plain-clothes gendarmes ...

http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=17901