DATE=1/6/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=ZEDILLO/UNIVERSITY (L)
NUMBER=2-258884
BYLINE=GREG FLAKUS
DATELINE=MEXICO CITY
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: In Mexico City, more than 600 militant
students remain behind bars following federal police
intervention early Sunday to recover the campus of the
National Autonomous University of Mexico, known as
UNAM [oo-`nahm]. As V-O-A's Greg Flakus reports from
our bureau in Mexico City, the operation was
personally approved by Mexican President Ernesto
Zedillo.
TEXT: In a televised message to the nation,
President Zedillo hailed the peaceful and orderly
execution of the police operation. He also called on
the UNAM students, faculty and administrators to work
together to renew and rebuild the national university.
The Mexican president also expressed regret that the
more-than-nine-month-long strike had not been resolved
through a dialogue within the UNAM community.
/// FIRST ZEDILLO SPANISH ACT FADES UNDER ///
President Zedillo said he had taken the decision to
apply the law after a violent clash last week between
the strikers and non-striking students, who were
trying to re-open a high school affiliated with the
university. He said authorization for the raid had
been obtained from a federal judge in what he termed
"an impeccable legal process". Mr. Zedillo said he
also stipulated that the federal police carrying out
the operation should not carry firearms and that
representatives of the National Human Rights
Commission be on hand to ensure that police acted
properly.
/// SECOND ZEDILLO SPANISH ACT FADES UNDER ///
President Zedillo said the militant strike leaders had
made this action necessary by their intransigence. He
said they had violated the autonomy of the university
by seizing it for their own interests. He also cited
the militants' rejection of a referendum held last
month, in which nearly 90-percent of UNAM students,
faculty, and workers voted for an end to the strike.
In a statement to reporters earlier on Sunday, UNAM
Rector Juan Ramon de la Fuente blamed the strike on
what he termed "outsiders." Also on Sunday, the El
Financiero newspaper published a list of 20 non-
university leftist organizations that have been
involved directly or indirectly in the UNAM strike.
Representatives of some of those groups joined
hundreds of parents and supporters of the arrested
student militants in a march through Mexico City
streets Sunday night. They called for the release of
those who had been arrested and the withdrawal of
federal police from the campus. (Signed).
Neb/GF/gm
06-Feb-2000 20:53 PM EDT (07-Feb-2000 0153 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
