Chilean President Michelle Bachelet moves to defuse student protests

(AP) President Michelle Bachelet on Wednesday sought to defuse violent student protests that have paralyzed Chilean schools by appointing an advisory panel to study ways to end inequalities in the country's classrooms.

Facing the first major leadership test of her administration, Bachelet named 12 high school and university students to the 60-member committee, which will also include teachers and education experts.

The panel is the latest gesture by Bachelet to squelch three weeks of angry marches, strikes and sit-ins by more than 600,000 students across the South American nation.

Student leaders reacted cautiously. They said they would call assemblies to debate returning to classes, while several lauded what they said seemed a step forward. Protests had eased Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of the president's announcement.

"We are doing something unheard of because we are giving students a key role on this council, which will begin debate on the kind of education system we want and which we will create," Bachelet said in a televised address before flying to Washington for a meeting with President Bush.

Chile has undergone years of free-market economic successes but has failed to match those with corresponding strides for its underfinanced and ill-maintained public schools.

The new commission is to help change an unpopular law put in place by former dictator Augusto Pinochet the day before his 1973-90 dictatorship ended. The law made local governments responsible for education, which has led to students in poor areas receiving inferior education.

"We have a historic opportunity, a beautiful chance to embark on a great transformation that will make Chile a more egalitarian country," Bachelet said.

What began last month as a small-scale protest by high school students surged out of control, embarrassing the president's 3-month-old socialist government when some marches turned violent.

Scenes of rock-throwing protesters met by police firing water cannons led to a national debate about Bachelet's leadership abilities.

She had appeared to defuse the crisis last week, when she offered students a variety of benefits that will cost Chile some $200 million through next year.

She was criticized by some, however, for appearing to cave in to student demands. And the concessions did not stop a nationwide school walkout Monday that led to vandalism, shop looting and rock-throwing skirmishes with police.

"The president's panel doesn't exactly fulfill all our expectations, but it is a reasonable advance," student leader German Westhoof said. "The number of spots given the high school students is too few. But perhaps things can be worked out. Personally for me this is progress."

Another student leader, William Vallejos, said students were serious about forcing genuine reforms and would keep up protests if they weren't carried out.

"We're young, we have a lot of energy, and if we have to continue we can do so," he said.