EDON would like to extend a warm greeting to the thousands of students who marched outside the presidential palace. They demonstrated their right to an all-round education, in opposition to the government's continued effort to turn schools into examination centres.
Following the decision of the Pancyprian Students' Coordination Committee (PSEM) to mobilize, the government has taken all the means at its disposal to deter them. Through pressure within schools, threats of absences, distortions and misinformation, the Anastasiadis - DISY government and its closest allies have attempted to break the students' resolve and prevent the success of the mobilization. Cypriot students have once again demonstrated that neither bullying nor scare tactics can disorient the student movement when it is organized, targeted and determined to fight to the end for its rightful demands.
The mass and momentum of the mobilization is a response to the government's overall attack on the school and its character. It is time for the government to realize that the measures they are promoting are being massively rejected by students in schools and that no matter how hard they persist, the struggle for a human and democratic school will not stop. The ministry's insistence on turning the school into a production line of pupils, cut and sewn into their own measures, is part of the overall philosophy of government, which is not for the benefit of the pupils.
At the same time, with regard to the comments of various circles on 'guided' students and the political expediencies behind the mobilizations, we consider them to be offensive towards the students themselves. In this way the government is trying to activate social automation and influence the decisions of the organized groups which are opposing its policies.
EDON will remain unmoved and will continue to support the organized student movement in every way with its struggles against anti-popular and anti-youth policies for a school that is meaningful and comprehensive. We express our solidarity and congratulations to the struggling students and urge them to continue their fight until the final victory.
Press bureau
CC EDON
16/01/2020