IWW Education Workers’ Industrial Union – International

Update on the student protests in Belgrade, from a participant.

By Joseph K, from http://libcom.org  

At 19:00h tonight occupation of the Philosophical faculty has been declared. This is now second faculty that is being held by students, together with faculty of Architecture. The meeting was held with the minister of education yesterday, but his offer was rejected by the 600 students strong assembly at the Architecture faculty.

The university and State (although, the government is not formed for two months now, since the last elections, and most probably no-government situation will be prolonged for at least a month more) authorities are increasingly getting aware of the possibilities of this turning into a real hell for them, so now more political accusations are coming. Dean of the philosophical faculty claimed at todays university meeting, in front of the press which only waited for that so to blow up the story, just few hours before blockade that he is:

“…expecting that the blockade starts at his faculty too, because, organizers of all strikes at the University are not students, but organization named “Anarcho-syndicalist initiative”

By Joseph K, article from http://libcom.org

A participant’s report of new student protests against neo-liberal “reforms” of the education sector.

“Some 300 students gathered at the protest in front of Faculty of Architecture today. After blocking of the major Belgrade boulevard for some time, just few hours ago decision was made to do a sleep-over in the faculty building, which will turn into a full-time blockade of the building tomorrow morning. 400 students are currently occupying the faculty. As before, the infrastructure of the protest is provided by ASI-IWA (libcom editors’ note: the Serbian affiliate of the anarcho-syndicalist International Workers’ Association).

This is just a first step in revival of the protest in this schooling year. In the autumn of 2006, students at the University of Belgrade launched the first organised counter-offensive against neo-liberal reforms of higher education in Serbia. In this way they continued the same struggle initiated earlier in the same year by their colleagues from France, Greece and other countries across the world.

The student protests lasted three months, from the beginning of October until end of December 2006. It included eight public protest meetings, over 30 student gatherings at the Faculty of Philosophy and approximately 15 gatherings at other faculties across the city. Over 17,000 students of Belgrade University signed petitions in support of protest demands.”