Santiago, Chile, Jun 6, 2008 / 14:54 pm
The archbishop of Santiago, Cardinal Javier Errazuriz, said this week dialogue is always the best route for resolving complaints, such as those being raised by student and teacher groups and that have led to confrontations with the police.
Asked about the protests led by students and professors who are opposed to a new law on education, Cardinal Errazuriz said, “The first thing is to always opt for dialogue.”
He said there was no sign of “unwillingness to listen to the complaints and needs of these groups. I believe the president herself (Michelle Bachelet), when she established the Presidential Council for Education, wanted to include students.”
The cardinal explained that students may feel that some of their complaints have not been addressed, but he noted that the protests are being carried out “by groups of students, and not by all the students in Chile.”
“Dialogue should always be the first choice, and force should not be used to force a dialogue in which authorities seem willing to participate,” Cardinal Errazuriz said.