Students, angered by a police raid at Lebanon's Saint Joseph University on the eve of Independence Day, say they will stage a strike on Monday to protest what they call intimidation and suppression of liberties, reports said.
Interior Minister Elias Murr, who was abroad when the raid took place, told the MBC FM radio channel that he had ordered an investigation into the issue, based on what he called “a serious thing to happen.”
He attributed the incident to several police officers acting on their own personal initiative.
The minister reportedly voiced his rejection of the decision to send security personnel onto a university campus without his approval, according to The Daily Star.
The policemen stormed into the university to tear down Lebanese flags to which students had pinned black cloths to signify their perception that the country lacks independence, the Beirut-based paper reported.
They also ripped up photographs on display that showed security officers beating up students during a demonstration last August in front of the Justice Palace in Beirut.
The raid triggered angry reactions from various political and non-aligned groups and officials who denounced the act as a clear violation of public freedoms, which are upheld by the Constitution – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
