(ANSA-AFP) - ATHENS, JAN 14 - Hundreds of Greek students on
Thursday demonstrated in Athens and other cities over a plan to
better police the country's violence-prone universities. "Cops
out of campuses," read a banner in the Athens protest, where
brief scuffles broke out with riot police who prevented the
demonstrators from occupying the street. Protests were also held
in Thessaloniki and Patras. The ministries of education and
police this week rolled out the plan to create a dedicated
1,000-strong force to patrol campuses. The officers will not
carry firearms but will be equipped with batons and pepper
spray, the police ministry said. The operation of Greek
universities has been disrupted for decades by clashes and
violence against staff, often blamed on youth organisations
affiliated with the country's leading parties. "Things must
change," government spokesman Christos Tarantilis, formerly a
professor of management science, told reporters on Thursday.
(ANSA-AFP).
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