The Association of Puerto Rican University Professors (APPU) on Wednesday called a 24-hour strike at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), vowing that there will be no classes on Thursday.
The decision to strike was made as students held a protest on campus, after a fierce confrontation with riot police in front of the José M. Lázaro Library, during which several youth were arrested and others were wounded.
“The violence and brutality unleashed by the Puerto Rico Police against the students who were drawing graffiti on the sidewalks of the Río Piedras campus, which was indiscriminately applied to students on the entire campus, highlights the daily tension that we experience at the University of Puerto Rico,” said APPU President María Gisela Rosado.
The APPU and the Brotherhood of Exempt, Non-Teaching Employees (HEEND) marched down Wednesday afternoon to the office of Chancellor Ana Guadalupe, to set up a dialogue to put an end to violent conflicts between riot police and students.
Though it was initially announced that Guadalupe would not meet them, later she agreed to a meeting. At this moment, the meeting is underway.
Both the HEEND and the APPU are demanding that the Puerto Rico Police leave the campus, though UPR President José Ramón de la Torre earlier made statements indicating that the police will remain on campus.
The strike began at 3 PM on Wednesday.
The original article “Vuelve a complicarse el conflicto en la UPR” was published by WAPA.tv on 9 February 2011. Translation by Yoshie Furuhashi (@yoshiefuruhashi | yoshie.furuhashi [at] gmail.com).
| Print