organised jointly by the National Union of Students (UK) and the International Union of Students, was the first of its kind for a number of years. It showed the political changes that have taken place in the British student movement since the JaLe 170us. nowever me DarLe Dants signany ranca to understand une meaning or the sudent strusmes wilch oroke ouE internationally at this time.
FAILURE
This failure to understand the role vlaved bv the student movement in 1968 was clearly shown by the willingness of delegates-including NUs executive mem bers-to give full recognition to the puppet czeen student union couv, wnien was set up after the Soviet invasion in 1968. Only one delegate from the NUS executive, Valerie Coultas, protested that this was a blatant breach of NUS conference decisions before withdrawing from the seminar.
The Committee to Detend Czecho slovak Socialists distributed a statement Cale orme couv eeerates to state unequivocally their condemnation of ine aline ore zecnos ovar socialisis uke student leader Jiri Muller. The statement pointed out that 'the Socialist Opposition pressed solidarity with their persecuted connaucs m eune au nave made ciea! that they regard the two movements as Last week's international seminar on Chile, | part of one world-wide struggle for socialism, freedom and democracy.
It went on to quote from an open letter sent by thirty recentiv released political prisoners to the Society of Czechoslovak Lawyers, accusing the latter of using propaganda to safeguard the status quo in our country, one feature of which is active trade between Czechoslovakia and the fascist Chilean Junta while asylum is retused to Chilear refugees. However, most of the delegates at the seminar cynically responded by warmly applauding a CSUV speaker and denouncing those who wished to raise the issue of Czechoslovakia'as bent on disruption.
TRAGIC
Almost as tragic as this was the seminar itself. After £4,000 had been raised from British student unions to neip tinance ine seminar, those tew student observers who did turn up had little chance to discuss with the international delegates. Instead they had to sit through one long speech after another without any discussion or even questions.
Worse still, these speeches-while graphically outlining the brutality of the Chilean regime-were notably vague when it came to practical proposals for how to fight it. But then, any thing else might nave snown up the double dealine of the Last european bureaucrats. ..