DATE=2/14/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=MEXICO UNIVERSITY (L)
NUMBER=2-259157
BYLINE=GREG FLAKUS
DATELINE=MEXICO CITY
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: More than 200-thousand students returned to
classrooms on Monday at the National Autonomous
University of Mexico, known as UNAM [oo-`nahm]. The
largest university in the Americas had been closed for
more than nine months by a strike that ended a week
ago when federal police entered the campus. But, as
V-O-A's Greg Flakus reports from Mexico City, the
conflict in the university community has not ended.
TEXT: /// sound of student protesters ///
Student protesters marched onto the UNAM campus on
Monday to call for the release of imprisoned strikers
and a continuance of the campus shutdown. The
militants tried to invade buildings and block students
from attending classes. They failed in that attempt,
however, after shouting and shoving matches with
larger numbers of students who favor a return to
normalcy. The militants then roamed around with spray
paint, writing slogans on walls only recently cleaned
of previous graffiti.
No police, either from the university, Mexico City or
the federal government, intervened to protect the
campus or the students returning to classes.
Mexican Interior Minister Diodoro Carrasco told
reporters that federal police will remain on the
sidelines for now.
/// CARRASCO SPANISH ACT FADES UNDER ///
He says federal authorities will keep their attention
on UNAM in the coming days to see how the situation
develops. He did not indicate that he would send
police back to the campus if there is further trouble,
but he did not rule it out.
Meantime, Mr. Carrasco and the federal police are
under fire from intellectuals and some politicians,
who accuse them of having violated the Mexican
constitution by taking back the UNAM campus from the
strikers. The critics say the autonomy of the
university was violated when the federal police
intervened, even though UNAM officials approved it.
Strike supporters, meantime, continue to press for the
release of what they term "political prisoners," a
reference to the 53 strike leaders arrested on
February sixth who have been held over for trial and
denied bail. They are charged with having stolen
public property and other crimes related to the
strike.
The strike at UNAM began last April over a tuition
hike proposal that was quickly dropped. The militants
who controlled the strike council, however, refused to
end their seizure of the campus and added more
demands. President Ernesto Zedillo authorized federal
police to enter the campus after a violent clash on
February first between strikers and students favoring
a return to classes. (Signed)
Neb/gf/gm
14-Feb-2000 18:15 PM EDT (14-Feb-2000 2315 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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