Chilean students occupy congress to press demands

Chilean students have been protesting for six months, calling for free public education

Dozens of students and other protesters in Chile occupied the Congress building in Santiago during a Senate committee debate on next year's education budget.

Police sealed off the entrance to prevent more protesters entering.
The students left eight hours later, after opposition legislators promised to introduce a bill calling for a referendum on education.
Chilean students have been protesting for nearly six months demanding free public education.
Police sealed off the entrance to the building with metal barriers to keep more protesters from entering.
They confronted a crowd of hundreds of students and parents outside who were carrying signs demanding "Free Education" and "Referendum Now".
Three youths climbed on top of the committee table and unfurled a sign which read "Plebiscite now".
The students broadcast their action live on the internet via webcam.
Reform demands Education Minister Felipe Bulnes and others taking part in the Senate committee meeting hurriedly left the building.
Protesters shouted and threw coins at Mr Bulnes.
The Senate president, Guido Girardi, who is a member of the opposition Party for Democracy, spoke to the protesters and promised they would not be dislodged by force by the police.
He has been critical of the government's handling of the students' protests.
The students have been boycotting classes and mounting demonstrations for almost six months.
On Tuesday, police in Santiago used tear gas and water cannon in clashes with masked protesters who set up burning barricades and threw petrol bombs; 260 people were arrested.
The government said after these violent demonstrations that it would invoke an emergency security law to help quell student unrest - the most serious in Chile since 1990.
On Wednesday, students held another mass demonstration to press their demands; there were sporadic clashes across the city.
Talks over education reform broke down this month and there is no sign of a resolution.
Indeed, positions appear to be hardening.
Student leaders are demanding wholesale reform of Chile's education system, which they say is unequal and under-funded, but they have condemned the violence.
They want the central government to take full control of education and increase spending on public schools and universities.
President Sebastian Pinera has responded by promising limited reforms and around $4bn (£2.6bn) in extra funding.
On Tuesday, he approved a law increasing subsidies for children from poor backgrounds attending private schools.
But he has categorically rejected calls for full state control and free education.