(Eng)Nicaragua, 6% for the universities (Cast)
neil birrell (neil@lds.co.uk)
Sun, 17 Dec 1995 19:06:11 +0100
The current situation is as follows: after dozens of marches by the
university students of Nicaragua (including all of its regions) demanding
the 6% of the national budget owing to them, after the taking of the airport
and the massacre of students last Wednesday (TN 13th December) (so far one
student is dead, 3 are in a critical condition and about 40 more have been
wounded by gunshot). Well after all that the parliamentary delegates did not
accept the 6% budgetary figure and wish to include UNICA (expensive,
private, catholic universities) among those universities which receive state
funding and they also want to reform the autonomous status of the
universities demanding that they submit accounts every three months amongst
other things. We are continually hearing news of 4,000 students (800
according to the extreme right, 8000 according to the students, I believe a
figure of 4000 is probably accurate) who are united against the National
Assembly and currently we arereturning to UCA to analyse further the
situation and decide on what actions to take (today they are offering
sweeteners to the students and riot cops to try to calm the situation)
The act to cut the university budget has been passed: 37 against, 39 for one
abstention and four who didn't vote but still it was passed. Shame.
More news as it comes in...
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