Friday, September 23, 2005
NEVER AGAIN TO CAMPUS REPRESSION! OUST GEN. DE LEON FROM MSU! OUST GMA FROM MALACANANG! - NUSP
September 17, 2005
“After the intense political crackdown of legitimate government dissidents, comes the militarization and repression of state colleges and universities, as exemplified by General Ricardo de Leon’s ascent to the Presidency of the Mindanao State University.” This was the statement by Rizza Ramirez, National President of the National Union of Students of the Philippines as the NUSP and other student organizations articulate their outrage on the seemingly undeclared Martial Law under the present Arroyo administration at a press conference in Quezon City today.
Ramirez says, “The present conditions in the schools now are just like how it was during the darkest days of Martial Law, when the President’s generals were as powerful as the president of the land. How can a police officer, with no sound academic background take the helm of one of the biggest and best state university in the country? There can be no other reason for this but outright political desperation by the President to preserve herself in power by keeping her generals in high government positions.”
“Gen. de Leon’s appointment to the MSU validates the suspicion of the Filipino students for the longest time. The primary concern of Mrs. Arroyo is neither governance nor delivery of efficient basic social services but political survival. She was never a bit concerned about the education of her youth. To assert that de Leon’s appointment is to maintain peace and order in the campus is plain hogwash because it should be the local police handling that, not the board of regents of the school!” Ramirez asserts.
“How do you explain to the students the bypassing of the university search committee for the presidency and appointing someone not even in its list? The search committee is an institutionalized process that has long been respected by the academe. To tamper with it is to tamper the better judgment of the real stakeholders of the University, and Gen. de Leon is totally out of place in an academic community.” Ramirez explains.
Ramirez asserts, “There is great distrust on how Gen. de Leon will run MSU. But it will certainly be in the manner the President runs the country – a campus garrison by a loyal general in the midst of a police state run by a fake President. The decisive dispersal of student and faculty protesters when he first visited the MSU the past week is the initial proof of this.”
“As the youth witnesses further the maneuverings of the Palace in resorting to strongman tactics such as this, all trust in her regime is lost and the struggle to oust her continues forth.” Ramirez finally says.
The NUSP will join the nationwide multi-sectoral mobilization on the 21st of September in remembering Martial Law and sustaining the campaign for Gloria Arroyo’s ouster.
“After the intense political crackdown of legitimate government dissidents, comes the militarization and repression of state colleges and universities, as exemplified by General Ricardo de Leon’s ascent to the Presidency of the Mindanao State University.” This was the statement by Rizza Ramirez, National President of the National Union of Students of the Philippines as the NUSP and other student organizations articulate their outrage on the seemingly undeclared Martial Law under the present Arroyo administration at a press conference in Quezon City today.
Ramirez says, “The present conditions in the schools now are just like how it was during the darkest days of Martial Law, when the President’s generals were as powerful as the president of the land. How can a police officer, with no sound academic background take the helm of one of the biggest and best state university in the country? There can be no other reason for this but outright political desperation by the President to preserve herself in power by keeping her generals in high government positions.”
“Gen. de Leon’s appointment to the MSU validates the suspicion of the Filipino students for the longest time. The primary concern of Mrs. Arroyo is neither governance nor delivery of efficient basic social services but political survival. She was never a bit concerned about the education of her youth. To assert that de Leon’s appointment is to maintain peace and order in the campus is plain hogwash because it should be the local police handling that, not the board of regents of the school!” Ramirez asserts.
“How do you explain to the students the bypassing of the university search committee for the presidency and appointing someone not even in its list? The search committee is an institutionalized process that has long been respected by the academe. To tamper with it is to tamper the better judgment of the real stakeholders of the University, and Gen. de Leon is totally out of place in an academic community.” Ramirez explains.
Ramirez asserts, “There is great distrust on how Gen. de Leon will run MSU. But it will certainly be in the manner the President runs the country – a campus garrison by a loyal general in the midst of a police state run by a fake President. The decisive dispersal of student and faculty protesters when he first visited the MSU the past week is the initial proof of this.”
“As the youth witnesses further the maneuverings of the Palace in resorting to strongman tactics such as this, all trust in her regime is lost and the struggle to oust her continues forth.” Ramirez finally says.
The NUSP will join the nationwide multi-sectoral mobilization on the 21st of September in remembering Martial Law and sustaining the campaign for Gloria Arroyo’s ouster.
# posted by Terry Ridon : 5:09 PM
