Greece will propose legislation this week to scrap academic sanctuary, a law that was designed to protect protesting students and freedom of ideas but which the new government says is used as a cover for lawlessness, Reuters reports.
The law is a legacy of the crackdown by the then military junta on students on November 17, 1973, when a tank burst through the gates of the Athens Polytechnic, killing dozens and leaving a deep rooted suspicion towards authority among Greeks.
The day became a symbolic moment in the nation’s history, and on each anniversary students march solemnly through Athens with a blood-stained flag. The prospect of the law being scrapped has brought some students out onto the streets.
Under the 1982 law, which has already been repealed and reinstated by different governments during the past years, Greek universities have been largely out of bounds to police.
But the newly elected Conservative government points out the notion of academic sanctuary has outlived its purpose and is now being hijacked by criminal elements.
“From an asylum for the protection of ideas it has unfortunately become an asylum for lawlessness,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted.
Mitsotakis, who unseated leftist Alexis Tsipras in the July 7 election, campaigned hard on the issue of public safety while opinion polls showed the theme topped public concerns along with the economy.
Read the full article at ekathimerini.com
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