Nearly 700 arrested in Canada student protests

Police made 518 more arrests in Montreal and more than 200 more were arrested at protests in Quebec City and Sherbrookeon on Thursday morning after nightly student protests turned violent again amid police "kettling."

Thousands of protesters continued to defy the controversial new law, passed last week, requiring any protest group of more than 50 people to advise police eight hours in advance.

Police declared the protest illegal but allowed it to proceed peacefully for several hours. According to reports, the violence started when riot police began "kettling" demonstrators -- surrounding them and cutting off their exit -- and students began throwing rocks. Toronto police were criticized for kettling protesters during the G20 summit in June 2010.

Police said they will lay fines and criminal charges.

The longest student strike in Quebec's history -- now 102 days old -- has morphed from student unrest over increased tuition fees to general dissatisfaction with Premier Jean Charest's nine-year-old Liberal government.

Leo Bureau-Blouin, president of the moderate FECQ student group, said Wednesday he's ready to negotiate an end to the strike.

"The Charest government has chosen the track of repression rather than the track of discussion," he told reporters.

The government says student leaders are unwilling to budge on their position against tuition hikes.

More than 2,000 people have been arrested during the three-month strike, including more than 700 in the past five days since Charest's government began legislating attempts to end the violence.

About 30% of Quebec students have been on strike since Feb. 14, and the movement has garnered support from around the world. (Torontosun.com)