Chile students, police clash at new protest over reforms

Chilean police fired tear gas and used water cannons to disperse stone-throwing students protesting May 28 against what they call inadequate education reforms and heavy-handed crackdowns on recent demonstrations.

Thousands of students took to the streets of Santiago to condemn President Michelle Bachelet's reforms, claiming they fall short of overhauling an unequal education system inherited from the 1973-1990 dictatorship of late ruler Augusto Pinochet.
      
The protest began in the early morning hours as students dragged piles of rubbish into the streets and set them on fire, blocking traffic.
      
Demonstrators then massed outside the education ministry and state television network.        

After being dispersed by police, thousands of protesters again took to the streets May 28 night. Hooded protesters gathered around a government building where they erected barricades and attempted to loot shops, police said.        

Police reported four officers were hurt in the demonstrations.
      
"We're still a very long way from achieving our dreams. The reforms are very inadequate," student leader Claudia Arevalo told AFP.
      
The students, who have been protesting against the education system since 2011, also accused police of using excessive force to break up recent demonstrations.
      
An art student from Catholic University is currently in critical condition after being knocked to the ground and badly injured by a police water cannon during a protest in the port city of Valparaiso last week.
      
Police again used water cannons as well as tear gas May 28 as masked protesters attacked them with sticks and stones during an unauthorized march through the center of the capital....