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Show Viet student convicted 0 ai(Mngyrf because these leaHPW ri any follow V I I student leaders tZ W only a small pnt? 'lect U students vote. 6ntaSeo( Afraid Of Draft "There's not a ok students demoiist J0' ' said. "They're too ri110"1 1 too tired, and w thV' of student defeSn 6 'S afraid of beTngSi trouble. A lot of Ti worked haSfo'aS J? houses after Tet anT k Kt real sense of almi ey felt 1 May offensive came7 'i there were more ref U"J ,JJ ever, and the studen ? ! h rl What's the use?" JUsUij. r Jf Prc r SAIGON (CPS)-The third Saigon student leader in three months was convicted by a military tribunal on charges of "engaging in activities helpful to the Viet Cong." No evidence was produced against him, he did not acknowledge any guilt, and he has often spoken out about the repressive and corrupt nature of the Saigon government. Not that the student, Nguyen Thanh Cong, a 24-year-old medical student, had no previous court record, the court suspended the three-year sentence; but, in case anyone had missed the point, Cong was still being held, without being charged again, two weeks after the trial. He went on a hunger strike, and a delegation of university professors, who were told Cong could have no visitors, protested to the authorities, but they received no response. Anti-Government Leaflets Cong was picked up when anti-government propaganda leaflets were found in the student union headquarters. At the time, the police said Cong was not under arrest but was "invited to police headquarters to determine the origin of the documents." Two days later, although there was still no evidence against Cong, he was officially charged, apparently on the grounds that as acting head of the student union he was responsible for the presence of the leaflets. On the same day that Cong was charged, factionalism broke out among the remaining leaders of the Students' Representative Council. Control swing from government-supported groups to National Liberation Front (NLF)--sympathizing students-while many students pointed out that neither faction was democratically elected and so could not represent student opinion. The whole situation invited comparison with the coup-oriented politics of the nation's general officers. Protest Administrations Under past regimes, according to one long-time Saigon student activist, students have buried their differences long enough to protest the evils of a particular administration, all of which have been more or less equally repressive and corrupt. But not, he added, there is little chance the students can come together for such a purpose. This is partly because the present government has more thoroughly infiltrated the ranks of student organizations, and partly because a greater feeling of hopelessness has come over the students. Little Student Power Another reliable source, a young American who has worked with Vietnamese youth groups for two years, agrees there is little chance of student power being exerted in the near future, and for much the same reasons. He said changes in the student councils are not significant events at present |