Left Right Out

(b) The elections which took place in January of this year were manifestly, corrupt and, in spite of protests which resulted in the withdrawal from the unions of all left-wing and many non-party students, an unrepresentative leadership was established. This had been the culmination of events over the previous year, such as the exclusion of foreign students from the faculty organizations, misappropriation of funds, and a refusal to Implement the 10 point programme adopted by the students in 1945. It is certain that even if the general national crisis had not developed as it did, these matters concerning the students would have been raised at the I.U.S. Council to be held this summer.

In this case it is understandable that the Action Committees should temporarily assume responsibility for the direction of student affairs, pending further elections to be held at the earliest possible moment, and further, that they should adopt as their policy the agreed 10 point programme and undertake measures regarding the improvement of student housing, stipends, and curricula. Here we regard as the central Issue be held as soon as possible, and we find no evidence so far to suggest the opposite view. It must also be emphasized that this development refers only to one section of the Czechoslovak student movement, since the constituent unions in Brno, Olomouc, and Bratislava continue to function normally, as do several of the faculty organizations in the Prague University itself.

Thirdly, regarding the expulsion of students and professors, one can understand that in a formerly occupied country, it would be universally accepted that persons should be excluded from public office who had betrayed their country's interests by collaborating with the occupying force. In the universities, the Courts of Honour legally constituted for this purpose were suspended early in 1947, even though 1800 cases waited for review. These Courts of Honour, composed as previously, have been set in motion again.