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Salient. Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 26, No. 1. Monday, February 25, 1963

Red Students Clash in Dominican Riot

page 4

Red Students Clash in Dominican Riot

Recently, in the Dominican Republic, two contending groups of students faced each other at the University of Santo Domingo and hurled stones and Molotov cocktails, then resorted to firearms said to have been supplied by outside parties and organisations. Order was restored after the police surrounded the university to prevent additional arms being sent in.

The clash took place between students belonging to the right-wing Christian Students Revolutionary Bloc (BRUC), and leftist students, sympathisers with the Communist faction which controls the Dominican Student Federation (FED).

The crisis between the two groups had begun earlier when BRUC issued a public denunciation of irregularities committed by the Communist leadership of the national student union FED and by the rector of the university, Dr Julio Cesar Castanos.

Among other things, BRUC denounced the withdrawal "without consultation" of two of the four delegates from the Dominican Republic to the International Student Conference (ISC/COSEC) held in Quebec in July. BRUC also criticised "usurpation of functions and abuse of power on the part of these (same two) students, who have affiliated the FED with the International Union of Students (IUS. headquarters Prague) without the permission of the Central Executive Committee of FED."

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Also condemned was "the surreptitious attitude of the rector, who ordered that the expenses of a trip to Russia be paid without the approval of the University Council." Altogether 18 separate acts were denounced by BRUC.

As a result of these charges the rector, supported by the leftist students, demanded a convocation of the University Faculty which is the highest university authority and consists of 218 members: rectors, deans, professors, and students to investigate the charges.

However, the University Council rejected the demand and conducted its own investigation whose results—made public on September 17—confirmed the accusations made by BRUC against the rector.

At a student meeting called by the leftists on September 18. the Secretary General of FED affirmed that he, and a companion of the same "political leanings," took an "anti-imperialist" and "anti-colonialist" position and withdrew from the ICS in Quebec. He denounced as pro-imperialist and pro-capitalist the attitude of the other two Dominican delegates who took a different position at the ISC.

He conceded that the manner in which he and the other leftist delegate were designated to attend the I US conference meeting in Leningrad (August 1962) was "anti-democratic," but—he said—this was done in order to "ensure a worthy representation" at that meeting, and he considered it a triumph that FED was admitted to IUS with one vote in the IUS Executive Committee.

Then a document was read to the meeting which demanded that the University Council convoke the University Faculty meeting within 24 hours, and threatening to picket the offices of the deans. Meantime, on the afternoon of the same day the rector submitted his resignation. The resignation was accepted by the University Faculty in a protracted session lasting from 3 pm till midnight on September 27. The right-wing forces seemed plainly to have won this round in what promises to be an intense and prolonged struggle within the Dominican Republic's renascent student movement.

From New York.