UNIVERSITY HOLDS ITS FIRST TEACH-IN
By Sirio Di Giuliomaria
Rome
The demonstrations here against Vice-president Humphrey [see World Outlook April 14, p. 390] proved to be only a prelude to other antiwar actions called in sympathy with the Spring Mobilization in the United States April 15.
A mass rally was held April 12. Among the official speakers was Lelio Basso, an Italian member of parliament participating in the International War Crimes Tribunal who recently returned from Vietnan.
After the meeting, a number of Communist youth, disregarding the admonitions of various Communist officials, led a large part of the audience in a street demonstration. Thus from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., young antiwar fighters marched in the center of Rome, shouting "Ho Chi Minh," "Vietnam," and militant slogans supporting the Vietnamese revolution.
The police limited themselves to watching the crowd and trying to keep it under some control until the demonstrators reached the area of the American enbassy, which for the Italian police is sacrosanct territory.
The police then charged the crowd. A number were beaten or injured by fire hoses; some were arrested and later put on trial.
On April 15, the same day that 500,000 persons were demonstrating in New York and San Francisco, the Association of Radical University Students of Rome (which includes in its membership Communists, Socialists and independent radical youth) succeeded in organizing a teach-in at the Rome University for the first time.
Sponsored by the professors of the faculty of physics, it turned out to be a huge success. More than 500 persons packed the hall, while about 1,500 latecomers listened to loudspeakers outside.
The speeches were decidedly to the left of the official positions of the Italian Communist party and the leadership hesitated long before joining in. Aldo Natoli, a well-known Communist menber of parliament who is generally viewed as being rather left-oriented, was finally sent down to represent the party.
Professor Veneventano, a physics teacher at the university, chaired the meeting. ;
The first report was made by Siliqu, a student who is chairman of the university chapter of the Association of Radical Students. His speech, a good one, was warmly applauded.
The speakers included Livio Maitan, who spoke as the representative of Bandiera Rossa [Red Flag}, the bimonthly paper of the Italian Trotskyists; Lelio Basso; Dr. Arnold Krivine, a French physician who reported on a recent trip he made to Vietnam in connection with the work of the International War Crimes Tribunal; Giulio Savelli, on behalf of the monthly magazine La Sinistra (The Left]; Franco Russo, a leader of the Rome organization of the Communist youth; Iuwigi Nono, a well-known musician; a representative of the Catholic review Testimonianze; various foreign students, including a Chilean and a Greek student; a few members of pro- Chinese organizations; David Alexander, a Cuban journalist who has contributed articles for La Sinistra.
The warmest welcome was undoubtedly accorded the speech by Alexander. As soon as he came to the rostrum, the audience arose, applauding and chant "Cuba! Cuba!" and "Che Guevara!" Even the
small pro-Chinese groups joined in the ovation to revolutionary Cuba.
During his speech, which was mostly devoted to explaining the strategy which Cuba proposes in order to provide Vietnam with the most effective possible defense, Alexander was interrupted by heavy applause, especially when he criticized the policy of “peaceful coexistence." Another ovation marked the close of his speech.
A warm reception was also given Savelli, especially when he warned about being taken in by the policies voiced by the Pope in connection with the war in Vietnan.
Lelio Basso's speech was very well received. However this was more in tribute to the personality of the old Socialist leader and to his work on the International War Crimes Tribunal than to the speech he made.
Natoli was heckled several times. He attacked those who had insinuated that no Communists were present at the pro- Vietnam demonstration.
"If another organization appears," said Natoli, "which is capable of organizing similar demonstrations, we shall all be happy; but as long as such an organization does not exist, only the Communists can organize mass demonstrations."
As a matter of fact, Natoli was right in saying that the Communists had organized the demonstrations. However, he left out the fact that it was done by left-wing Communists against the opposition of the party leadership. (Publicly the leadership sought to take credit for the demonstrations; inside the party it sharply attacked the Communist youth, accusing them of breaking discipline by organizing demonstrations in violation of party directives.)
Livio Maitan was among the last to speak. He explained the necessity for an international united front in solidarity with the Vietnamese people and criticized both the sectarianism of the Chinese in refusing to cooperate with the Soviet Union in this, and the opportunism of the Soviet leadership which, while pretending to be in favor of a united front, nevertheless helps- reactionary governments. in Latin America and Asia.
Maitan pointed out that unfortunately the recent demonstrations were composed mainly of students. He proposed concentrating on the task of bringing the workers into joint action.
On the student front, he proposed that a united Vietnam committee be formed at the university. The proposal was listened to with interest and taken up by a PSIUP [Italian Socialist Party of Proletarian Unity] student who spoke after hin.
The experience of this first teachin in Rome was extremely positive. The speeches were militant. Only one person, a member of the editorial staff of Rinascita (the official Communist party weekly) attempted to defend the policy of the CP, and the attempt was a weak one. He soon became discouraged by the hostile reception.
When the representative of the Catholic review Testimonianze defended nonviolence, the audience started hissing.
A small group of Socialists and Communists indicated their approval of. this pacifist position by applauding; _ whereupon the Catholic immediately said: "Those who are applauding must understand that if you are for nonviolence, then you must be against the present social system and refuse to try to change it from within.
Even left-wing Catholics take a more militant stand than supporters of the official line of the Italian Communist party!
"A NICE LITTLE WAR"
In an interview quoted May 4 in Newsday, U.S.Senator J.W.Fulbright said that some businessmen and government officials regard the Vietnam conflict as "a nice