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<DIV><FONT face=Calibri>2 articles</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="font-color: black"><FONT size=3
face=Calibri></FONT><BR>(1)<BR><BR>25,000 Protest Against Fees
Increase<BR><BR>By Sean Flynn, Education Editor<BR>Irish Times<BR>November 4,
2010<BR><BR><A
title="http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/1104/1224282635055.html
CTRL + Click to follow link"
href="http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/1104/1224282635055.html">http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/1104/1224282635055.html</A><BR><BR>In
the largest student protest for a generation, at<BR>least 25,000 voiced their
opposition to increased<BR>student fees outside the Dáil yesterday.<BR><BR>As
he surveyed the vast crowd on Merrion Street, the<BR>president of the Union of
Students in Ireland (USI)<BR>Gary Redmond declared: "The sleeping giant that is
the<BR>student movement has been awoken.''<BR><BR>For too long, he said,
students had been a sitting<BR>target for the Government, but the movement had
been<BR>reinvigorated and they would no longer roll over.<BR><BR>Pointing their
fingers accusingly towards Leinster<BR>House, the students chanted "I am a Vote,
I am a Vote"<BR>for several minutes. It was a powerful moment during
a<BR>protest which seemed at times like a throwback to<BR>student resistance in
the 1960s.<BR><BR>The scale of the protest, organised hurriedly after<BR>weekend
reports of a threatened _3,000 student charge,<BR>appeared to take even the USI
by surprise. It estimated<BR>that over 40,000 attended the event. Protesters
wore<BR>yellow T-shirts bearing the slogan Education Not<BR>Emigration.<BR><BR>A
feature of the protest was the large number of<BR>students from the Letterkenny,
Tralee, Limerick and<BR>Galway/Mayo institutes of technology.<BR><BR>Virtually
every third-level college in the State -<BR>university and institute of
technology - appeared to be<BR>represented. In all, over 200 buses ferried
students<BR>from campuses all over the Republic. The protest took<BR>over 90
minutes to make the short journey from Parnell<BR>Square to Merrion
Street.<BR><BR>In his address, Mr Redmond exhorted students to return<BR>to
their lecture halls and their college libraries with<BR>a new determination to
face down education cuts.<BR><BR>Despite the clashes which would later mar the
event,<BR>the main protest was notable for its good humour
and<BR>bonhomie.<BR><BR>Needing little cajoling from the main speakers,
the<BR>crowd delivered its own rendition of Oh Mary, Why Don't<BR>You Have Some
Sense? - in this case the song was<BR>directed at Minister for Education Mary
Coughlan.<BR><BR>Behind the good humour, the placards also reflected<BR>real
concern about a grim future of unemployment or<BR>emigration. One said "Pay My
Fees or Pay My Dole";<BR>another read, "BA Hons not BA to London".<BR><BR>In his
address, Mr Redmond said the huge attendance<BR>reflected the fear among
students about further<BR>increases in college fees.<BR><BR>"Thousands of
students are already struggling to fund<BR>their college education, and any
increases in fees will<BR>force many of these students to drop out of
their<BR>courses. It will also prevent thousands of potential<BR>students from
entering third-level education in the<BR>future," he said.<BR><BR>Students, Mr
Redmond added, are "the key to Ireland's<BR>future prosperity". We have, he
said, sent a "clear<BR>message that we will not stand idly by while
being<BR>targeted in the budget".<BR><BR>The USI later blamed "left-wing''
groups for the<BR>"destructive and anti-social violence" which it said<BR>would
only divert attention from its campaign against<BR>increased student fees. Mr
Redmond said: "This anti-<BR>social behaviour was completely separate from
USI's<BR>protest.''<BR><BR>c 2010 The Irish Times<BR><BR>(2)<BR><BR>Police
Attack Mass Student Protests<BR><BR>By Bill Benfield <BR>Morning Star (UK)
<BR>November 4,
2010<BR><BR>http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/97261<BR><BR>Around
25,000 students took to the streets of Dublin on<BR>Wednesday in protest at
plans to increase college<BR>registration fees.<BR><BR>And in the Dail today
Taoiseach Brian Cowen refused to<BR>be drawn on the possible doubling of fees in
next<BR>month's budget.<BR><BR>While the protest by the Union of Students in
Ireland<BR>was generally peaceful, many were confronted by riot<BR>police on
foot and horseback afterwards.<BR><BR>Trouble flared up when police charged
about 2,000<BR>people gathered near the Department of Finance after<BR>the main
march on Leinster House.<BR><BR>Police claimed that students threw bricks,
placards and<BR>eggs at the Department.<BR><BR>About 20 stormed into the lobby
before being wrestled<BR>back out.<BR><BR>Hundreds more staged a sit-down
protest in the road.<BR><BR>Police admitted that several protesters had
been<BR>injured and three had been arrested.<BR><BR>The Union of Students in
Ireland (USI) distanced itself<BR>from those who had occupied the
building.<BR><BR>"USI is saddened by the actions of a small minority
of<BR>people who staged a sit-in protest at the Department of<BR>Finance shortly
after the USI protest march today.<BR><BR>"This anti-social behaviour was
completely separate<BR>from the USI demo," it said in a statement.<BR><BR>Many
protesters wore T-shirts calling for "Education,<BR>not emigration," referring
to a recent surge of young<BR>people leaving Ireland with its
double-digit<BR>unemployment for opportunities abroad, from Canada
to<BR>Australia.<BR><BR>The Communist Party of Ireland condemned "the use
of<BR>mounted police and the riot squad to attack the<BR>militant but peaceful
mobilisation of thousands of<BR>students."<BR><BR>A spokesperson added: "It is
clear that this<BR>government, the European Union and international<BR>bankers
will brook no protests or resistance against<BR>the austerity measures that they
are imposing upon the<BR>Irish people.<BR><BR>"This violence from the state must
be met with renewed<BR>mobilisations of all working people whose
living<BR>standards are under attack in the state's attempt to<BR>save the
ultra-rich from the consequences of their<BR>actions.<BR><BR>"It is incumbent on
the Irish Confederation of Trade<BR>Unions to make sure their demonstration on
November 27<BR>matches the same determination and mobilisation that<BR>Irish
students have shown."<BR><BR></DIV></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>