International Demonstration from Brussels to Laeken

At December 14 more than 25.000 people demonstrated in Brussels who where marching in several blocks. Communists, anarchists, ATTAC and also several student blocks. Several? Yes several... There was a block of German and Danish students, a block with Greek students, a block with French students etc. The demonstration was loud and in the block where i was, the students where very loud to: "Education not for sale - people not profit!".

It was a shame that the police had ordered policemen in front of the demo who told locals to go of the streets because a very dangerous demo was coming... Because of this and because the original demo route was forbidden we marched through streets who where almost empty. At the end the demo was surrounded by police forces at "tout le taxi" . Thousands of people where not allowed to leave and so the police changed "Tout le Taxi" for a few hours into a prison. A few stones where thrown... Two of us where about half an hour before the police surrounded "Tout Le Taxi" on the street and you could already see that something would happen. The Belgium police suddenly started to push people  back in full robo-cop riot gear although nothing happened at this time, so there was no need for this police action. This was about 200 - 300 meters away from "Tout le Taxi". A lot of this people just wanted to go home. Personally i became the feeling that they needed a few pictures for the media of black blockers throwing rocks etc (So the coverage wouldn't be about our goals but instead about riots). But to conclude this short report: the demo gave me a lot of energy and i will continue... and a lot of people that i have spoken had the same feeling.

International Students meeting (EU Students + D14 Youth) during the EU summit in Laeken

At December 14 various student groups came together in order to change experiences about the reformation of education because of the Bologna-declaration and the GATS-treaty. It was decided that we continue the build-up of an European network that will give an answer of protest at an European level against the attack on democratic student rights. There was also a proposal to workout an alternative, a platform text that should make it clear what kind of education European students and pupils really need. About 150 students from Greece, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Great Britain, Austria and a Dutch representative from ESIB (The European students union) attended at the meeting.

There where many examples given that showed that students have more and more problems to study in a "normal" human way. Students can`t afford their study in several countries because of the introduction of study fees (or often because of the cuts in student salaries- Bafög) - Look at the situation in for instance Austria, Greece, England: 10 until 15%.  They want to make education to a product, a profitable product.  In Greece pupils are forced to go from the common school system innto a very much more specified school system. Because of the big resistance the Greek government can`t introduce the Bachelor- and Master system - yet. In England there are teachers who can´t teach because of a lack of good teaching material. Somebody from Vienna (Austria) told that students have to pay study fees for the first time and that reforms are introduced very fast, one follow immediately the next one. Because of the many protests various governments are trying to privatise education through the backdoor.



The Bologna-declaration is being accompanied with 2 important keywords: "mobility" and "quality". Bologna really means more mobility, but ony for the rich and "best" student. A big part of the students will not even notice this hihger mobility, on the contrary. When we really want to achieve more mobility of the students there has to be free education and free transport. Bologna puts us in the direction of education "made in the USA". Bologna creates a lot of differences between students and it will create an education of first, second and third class (read: quality). Bologna will make the implementation of the GATS-treaty possible. GATS is in the principal there to abolish all regulation for the services industry. This neo-liberal policy has disastorous consequences in the so called third world countries. But in the so called rich countries of the north the social standard will be moved in the wrong direction. The investment agency Merrill Lynch means for instance that in the coming 10 years the complete educational sector will be privatised - worldwide!

The students movement is in a difficult phase where there is much at stake, but where we also can win a lot. The struggle is not united, not on a national and not on an international level. There are lots of protests against the European demolition of the educational system, like the big demonstrations in Madrid (200.000 students). The students have to understand (in our point of view) that these education-reforms are decide on an European level and that it will be impossible to fight against every individual law. It is very clear that students have to unite their struggle. An European network would help us all to defend ourselves against governments and transnational corporations.

It was also getting clear that a lot of students are very open for a protest movement against the war. The understanding that warfare is also being decided on an European level can let the resistance against the European Union only grow.

We decided to stay to common terms in our protest against the education-reforms. We did this while the educational systems are very different and because of that the reformation and problems are from country to country very different. Nevertheless problems on a national level are a warning for those counries that are not that far with the Bologna-reforms. They are examples for the future if we don`t unite our resistance. A student from belgium said that we have to create our own vision of education in order to be less depending on what various governments decide and instead fight for our own vision and ideas. A working group was being installed in order to write a platform text that has to be discussed in the EU countries. This should be voted about before the next EU sumemit in Sevilla (Spain) in order to build a united front at the next summit.

And we will go further as only protest. We will go into the offensive and will work on an alternative European education system in the platform text.

After the meeting we heard that many students have exams during the summit in Sevilla and therefore it`s maybe better to build a student block at the EU summit in barcelona in March (15th and 16th) 2002. The very latest news however is that Spanish students are mobilising for a counte rsummit about education and 3 days of protest at March 15, 16 and 17 during the meeting of the EU education ministers in Salamanca. They are planning the protests together with ATTAC and anti-capatalistic groups.