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Police tear gas students

Police in Santiago, Veraguas confronted students of the Escuela Normal Juan Demóstenes Arosemena with tear gas yesterday after the students blocked traffic on the Inter-American highway in their second day of protest against a bill proposed by the Ministerio de Educación (Meduca). About 60 of the students received medical attention for gas inhalation.

Crowd control units of the Policía Nacional and provincial authorities arrived on the scene to maneuver the students off of the road, but they stayed put, making a human barrier across the four lanes. Meduca officials also attempted to mediate the situation via telephone.

When students refused to unblock the highway, police dropped six cans of tear gas into the crowd. Later, two more cans were tossed onto Avenida Héctor Alejandro Santacoloma, which quickly dispersed the protesters. A few students responded to the bombs by throwing stones at police officers.

Veraguas police chief Cristian Hayer explained that since the Constitution prohibits closure of the international highway, the student blockade had to be cleared. He maintained that police had tried to communicate with the students before resorting to tear gas.

Student leaders were meeting with Meduca officials in the capital and did not participate in the protests.

Migdalia Jiménez, who took part in the protest, said that using tear gas bombs against defenseless students was an abuse of power by the police.