Students Struggle international appeal

From Jordi Martorell, Labor-L, 9 July 1997

La Red Obrera (the new Spanish language section of LabourNet) has received the following message from the Nicaraguan students in struggle. Although it is not strictly a trade union issue we felt we had the responsability to circulate it. The students movement in Nicaragua is part of a wider movement of protests against the present government and its policies by workers, peasants and other sections of the population. Please feel free to forward this message as widely as possible. The trasnlation from Spanish has been done in a rush and therefore will have many mistakes, but we hope the sense of the Appeal will be understood. This appeal can be found in English and Spanish at LabourNet's web site (www.labournet.org.uk)

La Red Obrera/LabourNet
www.labournet.org.uk
laredobrera@socappeal.easynet.co.uk

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While we were writing the international communique, eaerlier today, July 7 1997, at 2.30 pm there has been another attempt by the police to evict the students. Since then until now (11.00 pm) the police has been attacking all university premises in the capital, where the students had reerected the barricades early in the morning after the weekend break. The students took shelther in the university buildings and defended themselves, while police was using tear gas bombs and rubber bullets against them. At the time of writing these lines, 11.00 pm, there are still clashes and the police is sorrounding the university premises. The figures for the number of injured are still confuse, but acording to a broadcast by Canal 4 there are 4 policemen and 70 students injured (some of them severely) and around 50 students have been arrested.

COMMUNIQUE TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY (N. 1) NICARAGUAN NATIONAL UNION OF STUDENTS (UNEN)

Managua, July 7 1997

After six months of the coming into power of the government of Arnoldo Aleman and his party, the Liberal Alliance, the neoliberal policies of this government have put those sections of the population most in need in a very difficult situation. The government is determined to erase all conquests and social advances won during the 80s and which are still available for the majority of the population.

The passing by the parliament, on June 26, of the presidential veto against the allocation of 6% of the national budget of teh Republic to the universities, marked the beginning of a process aimed at closing down the state university and replacing it by an elitis and exlusive education system aimed at defending the interests of the neoliberal policies.

Background

The history of the struggle for the 6% is closely linked to the authonomy of the universities which was won in 1958. In 1964 it was agred to allocate 2% of the national budget to the Nicaraguan National Autonomous University (UNAN) and, due to the increase in the demand for higher education, it was planned to increase this allocation to reach 6% of the budget. However the December 1972 earthquake which completely destroyed the country's capital forced to allocate funds to its reconstruction, thus preventing the 6% from being reached.

After a decade of social changes in the 80s, during which all sections of society had access to higher education and 15,000 students were sent to Eastern European universities, the universities, organised in the National Universities Council (CNU), in 1990 had their autonomous status legally recognised and were allocated by law the 6% of the budget according to Law 89.

In 1992, because of its commitments to neoliberal policies and with international financial institutions, the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro government refused to transfer the 6% of the country's budget to the universities. This sparked a students movement which lasted for 52 days. The struggle finished on August 18 when the National Assembly was forced to pass a law giving a truthful meaning to the authonomy law. In 1995 the 6% was given constitutional, status as part of the constitutional reforms passed on that year, in article 125 of the Constitution.

In 1995, the government continued its attempts to cut the state allocation for universities in order to change the whole model of higher education. The firt step was to withdraw the 6% from the following year's budget. This provocked a state of permanent mobilisation in the universities which the government tried to silence with the December 13 massacre. On that day, the police attacked a demonstration of 15,000 students in front of the National Assembly, using tear gas, rubber bullets and real fire. The clashes lasted for four hours, two protesters died (a student and a university worker), one student lost his leg due to fire arm wounds, another lost one eye (due to real fire) and another 60 students were severely injured (including one of the students leaders who sas shot on the torax).

The repression sparked a national struggle of the university, with mass marches and occupations of government buildings (including the occupation of the chancellery on January 31 1996, as a result of which 116 students were arrested althought latter on popular pressure forced thair release). This struggle ended in a victory when on April 13 1996 the National Assembly passed law 218 forcing the government to transfer 6% of the budget to the universities in the CNU.

The new government

With the new liberal government things did not change, and they are still trying to destroy the model of state education. On March 11 the National Assembly passed the constitutional 6% which this year amounted to 333,078,583 cordobas to be allocated through two different channels: a direct transfer of 282,072,060 cordobas and a special investment plan of 51,006,523 cordobas.

However, on April 3 the government vetoed the budget for the university, thus breaking the law in four instances: breaking article 125 of the constitution, breaking the law of authonomy of higher education institutions, breaking the procedure rules of the ANtional Assembly, and by sending the changes after the deadline had gone.

This veto tries to argue that the 6% of the budget is not 333 million cordobas but only 282 million cordobas (232 to be given by direct transfer and the rest through special investment plans). The government is trying to make its own interpretation of what the 6% means. But this is just the first step in an attempt to implement their neoliberal plans of a private and elitist university, which would have very bad effects on the possibilities of the 40,000 university students of finisheing their studies. At the same time it would prevent access to higher education to the new generation of Nicaraguans with low income.

The Assembly passes the veto

On June 26 the National Assembly, with a liberal majority supported by ome other parties, passed the presidential veto against the 6% with 47 votes in favour and 42 against. Some MPs from the so-called centre betrayed the promises they had made to the university community and voted in favour, thus accepting the government's economic rewards for doing it. At the same time thousands of students who were aoutside the Assembly waiting for the results were repressed by the police.

From then on the university community launched a series of protests against the veto, trying to force the liberal government of Aleman to change its position inr elation to the 6% and defending the country's laws which had been broken systematically by a government blinded by mean and dangerous political interests.

Since the passing of the presidential veto, the university community has organised mass protests on a daily basis to defend the constitutional 6% clashing with the police in several occasions. This was the case last Monday, June 30, when special anti riot units of the National Police, breaking the university authonomy, entered violently in the buildings of National Engineering University (UNI) and the National Agrarian University (UNA) and later on tried to evict violently the students which had erected barricades in the sorroundings of UNI and UCA (Central American University). As a result of the attempted eviction 30 students were injured, amongst them Francisco Silva, with a rubber bullet wound in the skull, who could lose his speech as a result. The government repression has also meant random arrests of students just for being found near the university campuses which are sorrounded by the police which has organised raod blocks in all streets leading to them.

Although the government has not recognised that the 6% means 333 million, this week has been forced, due to growing student pressure, to change its mind and to accept the direct transfer of the whole amount of 282 million cordobas (while earlier part of this money was going to be paid thropugh investmen plans, as we explained above). In fact the government has already transfered this week the monthly allocation for July on the basis of this new figure of direct tranfer of 282 millions.

The population is clearly supportive of the students and has joined the students protest both in mass rallies and directly defending the students, preventing them from being arrested by the police, and giving them medical assistance, money and other ressources needed to organise the struggle.

This protest shows that the Nicaraguan youth does not want to remain aside of the national reality, but is actively participating in the defense of its interests and does not accept the authoritaian way in which the class in power is ruling Nicaragua.

Therefore we make the following INTERNATIONAL APPEAL

We ask all groups or individuals internationally (students unions or associations, trade unions, universities, rectories, colleges, human rights organisations, Churches, faculties, solidarity groups, political parties and all those who wish to show solidarity with the struggle of the Nicaraguan students movement) to send faxes or telegrams addressed to the President and the Home Office Minister (Ministro de Gobernacion), expressing the following:

1. Opposition to teh presidential veto:

• because it breaks article 125 of the COnstitution
• because it breaks law 89 of authonomy of higher education institutions
• because it was sent to the National Assembly after the deadline
• becasue it goes against the possibilities of the youth to have a professional and techincal training, especially those students who have less possibilities of having a proper education because of their poverty or for being unemployed.
• because this is an attempt to privatise the whole of the Higher Education and make it an elitist and exclusive system.

2. Opposition to government repression and aggression againbst the University Community through the use of police forces, and demand the immediate release of all those arrested.

3. Demand from the government total respect of University Authonomy.

4. Demand from the government recognition and respect for the allocation of 6% of the General Budget of the Republic to the universities members of the National University COuncil (CNU).

SEND TELEGRAMS TO:

Sr. PRESIDENTE DE LA REPUBLICA
Dr. Arnoldo Aleman Lacayo
Casa Presidencial
Managua, NICARAGUA

Sr. MINISTRO DE GOBERNACION
Dr. Jose Antonio Alvarado
Ministerio de gobernacion
Managua, NICARAGUA

FAXES CAN ALSO BE SENT ADDRESSED TO THE ABOVE TO THE FAX NUMBER OF THE CNU TO BE RESENT FROM THERE:

CNU FAX: + 505 278 33 85

MESSAGES CAN BE SENT BY EMAIL THROUGH La Red Obrera AND WE WILL RESEND THEM TO NICARAGUA, AS COMRADES THERE HAVE ASKED US FOR OBVIOUS SECURITY REASONS NOT TO MAKE THEIR EMAIL ADDRESS PUBLIC.

SOLIDARITY FAXES CAN ALSO BE SENT TO THE CNU FAX

Thanking to all those who have already sent messages of support and waiting for a quick reply to this urgent appeal, yours fraternally NICARAGUAN NATIONAL UNION OF STUDENTS (UNEN).