CYPRUS

Thousands of students protest against bailout

Thousands of school and university students in Nicosia, Cyprus, last week protested outside parliament and at the presidential palace against the bailout memorandum and the troika , writes Maria Gregorou for Cyprus Mail.

The protesters were escorted by police as they held banners reading: “People fight. They are drinking our blood”, and “You have destroyed our future and our dreams”. Protesters also shouted slogans like “Troika go home” and “Troika out of Cyprus”, substituting the usual word “Turks” in the more-familiar version of the chant: “Turks out of Cyprus”.

"They've just got rid of all our dreams, everything we've worked for, everything we've achieved up until now, what our parents have achieved," one student, who gave his name as Thomas, told Reuters.
Full report on the Cyprus Mail site

And Peter Stevenson of Cyprus Mail reports that the University of Cyprus, which banks with Laiki (Popular) Bank, now has €5 million (US$6.4 million) remaining in its accounts as opposed to a planned €40m. According to Rector Costas Christofides, the previous government failed to give the university its funding of €10m in December 2012. The university also stands to lose a total of €25m from the ‘haircut’ on deposits at the bank, which will leave it with a total of €5m.
Full report on the Cyprus Mail site