Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday announced primary three measures to boost security at Greece's beleaguered higher education institutions, days after a video was posted by self-styled anarchists showing them roughing up the rector of the Athens University of Economics and Business in his office and even placing a sign around his neck - a scene eerily reminiscent of 1930s Nazi Germany and 1960s China during the "Cultural Revolution".
Greece's tertiary level institutions have long been plagued by vandalism, petty crime and extremist political groupings - ranging from the far left to violence-prone "anti-authoritarians" - due, in part, to unique 1982-era "asylum" regime that prevents law enforcement from intervening on campuses except with the expressed permission of college administrators.
"Fascism may change colors but it has the same substance," Mitsotakis told university rectors during a tele-conference, a month after a historic trial declared the ultra-rightist Golden Dawn party a criminal organization, with convictions handed down to its top leadership.
Among others, the Greek premier announced the creation of a special security force based in universities themselves, a body that will request police assistance when necessary. He also said access to university campuses will be controlled, along with the installation of CCTV systems, perimeter fencing and better lighting.
Finally, he said stricter laws will be enacted for offenses committed on university grounds.
