The student protest in front of the Ministry of Education escalated this Tuesday into direct clashes with police, damage to the building and the use of force to disperse the crowd. From the official version and the reported footage, the situation quickly spiraled out of control, while one female protester was seen injured in the head.
From protest to violence against the building
At first, students gathered in front of the Ministry of Education, but tensions rose immediately. Protesters threw eggs and sprayed the walls of the building with paint, turning the protest into an open confrontation with the institution.
The situation then escalated even further: metal railings and bricks were pulled from the surrounding area and thrown toward the building. As a result, window panes were also shattered.
Harsh chants and an attempt to breach the entrance
Protesters entered inside the ministry’s perimeter and, amid loud chants, tried to break through the iron gate to enter the building. At this stage of the protest, flares were also thrown, making the situation even more dangerous.
In the background, chants such as “Burn it, burn it” could be heard, shifting the protest from a pressure demonstration into an act with clear elements of violence against the public institution.
Police intervene with a cordon, rubber batons and arrests
After the escalation, police intervened by first setting up a security cordon. Then, according to the official version from the reported scene, there was use of rubber batons, protesters were taken into custody and arrests began.
At one point, a water truck was also used to disperse the crowd. The intervention by law enforcement raised the usual questions about the proportionality of force, especially in the presence of young people and in a narrow space in front of the institution.
One injured and regrouping in front of the ministry
During the clash, one female protester was seen bleeding from the head. There is still no full public clarification about the circumstances of her injury, while the exact number of those taken into custody or arrested was not made known at the same time.
Even after the crowd was dispersed with water, the protest did not end completely. The young people called on each other not to retreat and began regrouping once again in front of the Ministry of Education.
The image that emerged from the protest was one of a rapid escalation between anger in the street and the response of law enforcement.
It remains to be seen whether the institutions will provide a full account of the injured, those taken into custody, and the reasons for the use of force in this intervention.