Greece: universities as sanctuaries

The current demonstrations in Greece serve as an interesting reminder of student activism in Greece in an earlier era, and how in post-dictatorship Greece the law was enlisted to protect demonstrations. During the dictatorship, the law was effectively used to enforce systematic political repression. The 1973 student strikes, began, interestingly, with the barricades at the University of Athens Faculty of Law, soon to be followed with the protests of the Athens Polytechnic. The latter ended when the Government sent a tank crashing through the gates. Students pleaded with soldiers to disobey the military orders but to no avail.

After the dictatorship, the constitution protected all education establishments from police or military intrusions, essentially making them into sanctuaries. Although there have been efforts to restrict it, this protection is so far respected in the current crisis. The idea of a legally protected possibility of asylum within the state itself is a spectacular way in which the law can protect dissent, including violent dissent that may be in breach of the law. It of course has a long history, temples and churches having offered some sort of sanctuary for centuries. It is striking, however, that in the case of Greece this protection is recognized by the State's law itself.