Italian and Turkish Students Defend Education Rights

In Italy the student movement organized in every city demonstrations and political actions against the reform to continue the fight started in September that saw a massive participation on 30th and 14th November marches in Rome when hundred thousands students and education workers joined the protest. In many European cities Italian students organized in political collectives to demonstrate in solidarity with their Italian colleagues.

Also in Istanbul Italian students organized in a collective called “The Bosporus wave” protested on 14th of November in front of Italian Consulate.

Today the Italian students, after and assembly on Thursday with Genç-Sen members and Eğitim-Sen representatives, decided to meet in front of Italian Cultural Institute to continue their protest shouting the slogan “Noi la crisi non la paghiamo!” (“We will not pay for your crisis” e.n.) and showing hand-written posters in Italian, Turkish and English against education reforms.

“We are here to protest against university’s reform and economical crisis with Turkish students and we will demonstrate together in Ankara tomorrow” says Carlotta an exchange student in Marmara University.

Turkish students from Genç-Sen partecipated in the protest in solidarity with Italian students too.

“We are here to say that Turkish and Italian students will not pay the bill of this crisis. This crisis it is a capitalistic crisis, the owners have to pay for it, this isn’t neither a workers’ nor a students’ problem. As Genç-Sen members we welcome the struggle for the rights of our student friends in Italy” said Emre Öztürk, Genç-Sen member who joined the protest.

İstanbul Universities’s workers’ trade union Eğitim-Sen branch sent a message of solidarity to the Italian students too.

Protesters, after they tried to show a banner to Italian Cultural Institute’s main balcony and they were blocked by institute’s employees, started to march towards Istiklal Street, but they were blocked by the police.

After a discussion that took some minutes they were allowed to march until Galatasaray high school where they concluded the protest announcing an Italian student delegation will join tomorrow demonstration in Ankara against AKP neoliberal policies organized by DISK, KESK and other social organizations standing shoulder to shoulder with Turkish students shouting together: “We will not pay for your crisis!”(AT/EÜ)