The New “University Police” Shows Greece’s Authoritarian Turn
After the bloody suppression of the Polytechnic students’ uprising in 1973, universities became a symbol of Greek democracy — and for decades, police were banned from even entering campuses. But on Thursday, parliament voted to create a special police force to patrol universities, as the right-wing government mounts a troubling crackdown on supposedly “dangerous” student groups.
Students in Athens, Greece, protest the formation of university police on campus in February 2021. (Moira Lavelle)
Meliana Makari has been to every demonstration these last five weeks. Along with thousands of students across Greece, Makari, eighteen, a student of electrical and computer engineering at the National Technical University of Athens, hoped to prevent the passing of a bill overhauling Greece’s public education system. “The law will change the role of the university in our society,” said Makari after the February 11 protest. “The university right now functions as a free and public social and political space — and in my opinion, this new law will change that for good.”
Yet despite protests, on Thursday, the Greek parliament passed the new education law. Among other things, the measures promoted by the right-wing New Democracy government will create a special police force for Greek universities, change the system of student admissions, and curtail their time at university. Students argue that the law is a crackdown on freedom of speech and political organizing.
“Until now, the universities were public space — everyone could get in, everyone could attend classes even without actually being a student, everyone could also attend the political assemblies and create political movements inside the university,” said Makari.
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