Yesterday something quite kafkaesque happened here in Costa Rica. The ripples of these events ran through the different social networks (Twitter, Facebook), through the news, as well as in different blogs all around. Well, at least all around the country. The situation was triggered by many, many things, starting with a law enforcement recount of events that has more versions than the number of fanfics ever written on Harry Potter, and continued by the students and professors of the University that reacted fast and angrily at the intrusion. Here's quickly what we can gather from the media, which, by the way, is doing an awesome job out of showing how tendencialist they are, and how, in the name of making some look bad, they care sheer nothing about the quality of the information.
Yesterday, it seems that a corrupt officer, who is - in the same article or reportage - a traffic officer or a security employe of the University, tried to get money out of a bus driver in exchange of not writing him a ticket. (As far as I know, University security officers do not write traffic tickets, or any tickets.) Since this happened in the morning, the bus driver told the man that he had no money, but since we was working with a University bus service, he could meet him later and give him the money. The "officer" accepted, and they decided to meet at noon by the Radio Universidad, on the Eastern side of the campus (number one in the map). However, the busdriver decided to call the police to inform them about the case. Quite amazingly, because such things don't happen that way in Costa Rica, and should I know since when I went to report a stalker at the police station they told me that unless I was actually harmed, hopefully killed, they could really do nothing, the police, in this case, assigned him quite an army of OIJ agents, to capture the corrupt traffic officer/University officer.
At noon the bus driver and the suspect met at the Radio, but when the undercover officer of the OIJ went to arrest the suspect, this ran away. Now please direct your attention to the map I've included. According to the law enforcement recount, the suspect ran away from the OIJ, and entered the campus through the gates at the Law Faculty, at the Western side of the campus. It has been said that he did so in order to be protected by the Universitary Autonomy. People here know about this since in the times of great national strikes, many students took refuge in the campuses. So, according to the official recount of the events, and please follow the map, the suspect IGNORED the entry inmediately to the South, by the Architechture Faculty, as well as the entry through the North by the General Studies, and instead ran around the entire perimeter of the campus, ignoring any other entry, particularly entries that can be made by foot and not by vehicles, all the way (route shown in purple) to the Western entrance, a wide entrance where vehicles can enter. The suspect went from point 1 to point 2 to take advantage of Universitary Autonomy.
The agents were stopped at the entrance, since the police can't enter the campus (unless not unauthorized), and they didn't notify or ask the help of the Universitary Police in the case (since the traffic officer-University officer... was a University officer?). The Attorney Office, the Supreme Court Chief, a judge... it seems they gave permission to do so (it's important to point out here that no warrant was issued and none was mentioned), and somewhere-somehow-sometime (you know, details. They are not all that important) they like notified the University, though strangely the Rector complained about the intrusion, the sudden, unanounced, unlawful intrusion, and since the police and the OIJ have the absolute right to go anywhere, enter any place in order to capture a suspect (said so by the director of the OIJ), they ran into the campus chasing him.
This is were students and professors, seeing the Autonomy of the University so blatantly violated, stepped up to defend it. This is were Hell went loose. Suddenly an insane amount of police officers, OIJ agents fought the students and the professors in a display of violence that had little to envy from those displayed in less democratic countries. They weren't chasing the suspect, but beating, grabbing students and professors. Acording to the press, it was a mob composed by students and Unions. You know, National Evil, Unions. In the shots taken by the media cameras, you see police officers attacking with clubs and fists the students, one hitting a woman in the head, another grabbing a student by the neck and bumping forcefully his head into the side of the police car.
There were five people arrested: one teacher and four students. Now, it is not a matter of maths, but no matter how much I make my numbers, I just don't find the suspect among the arrested people. You know, the corrupt officer being chased in the first place. Oh yeah, he was arrested too, but the marked money wasn't found on him. The students, professors and the Rector went to the police station where the professor and the four students were held and there the Rector negociated their release. Two students suffered serious injuries. The Rector promised to press charges against the OIJ for the unlawful entrance, and the violation of the Universitary Autonomy. The Director of the OIJ says there was no violation because "in these cases there's no such thing". Still, help me out here, would you? IF the University was noticed, as the law enforcement says now, why was the Rector, the one who SHOULD BE informed, pressing charges and not aware of the situation?
Now, there IS such a thing as the Universitary Autonomy, it's not an invention of the Unionists or the UCR, and that's not ma mechanism to protect criminals. From my standing point, though the students and the professors may have overreacted, may have not waited getting properly informed before charging like Chuck Norris (though I would chase with a pan anyone just irrupting in my house without prior permission), the fault was entirely on the OIJ and other law enforcement agents and personal. They knew before head that a posible arrest was to happen near the campus, so they could have coordinated before hand with the Universitary Police to keep an eye on the suspect, or issue premits, and Universitary Police Escorts for the OIJ agents. I mean, if I am in the University and see the OIJ agents WITH the Universitary Police I would assume they have permits to be there. But that's just me. IF the OIJ for whatever reason wishes to keep the Universitary Police and the University out of the matter, why didn't they place undercover agents in the area? The campus isn't exactly unknown, uncharted territory. Given the agreed location of the meeting with the suspect, they could have placed agents in strategic places to cut his escape routes. I mean they did have a lot of agents to beat up students, why not to place some around the perimeter to more effectively catch the suspect?
I'm proud of the University, even if it isn't my Alma Mater, I'm proud of them because they stand up for their rights. Just like the police can't run into an Embassy to catch a suspect, it can't run into the Universitary Campuses either.
Stand up for your rights, University! Show the country how rights must be defended against those who wish to take them away!
The agents were stopped at the entrance, since the police can't enter the campus (unless not unauthorized), and they didn't notify or ask the help of the Universitary Police in the case (since the traffic officer-University officer... was a University officer?). The Attorney Office, the Supreme Court Chief, a judge... it seems they gave permission to do so (it's important to point out here that no warrant was issued and none was mentioned), and somewhere-somehow-sometime (you know, details. They are not all that important) they like notified the University, though strangely the Rector complained about the intrusion, the sudden, unanounced, unlawful intrusion, and since the police and the OIJ have the absolute right to go anywhere, enter any place in order to capture a suspect (said so by the director of the OIJ), they ran into the campus chasing him.
There were five people arrested: one teacher and four students. Now, it is not a matter of maths, but no matter how much I make my numbers, I just don't find the suspect among the arrested people. You know, the corrupt officer being chased in the first place. Oh yeah, he was arrested too, but the marked money wasn't found on him. The students, professors and the Rector went to the police station where the professor and the four students were held and there the Rector negociated their release. Two students suffered serious injuries. The Rector promised to press charges against the OIJ for the unlawful entrance, and the violation of the Universitary Autonomy. The Director of the OIJ says there was no violation because "in these cases there's no such thing". Still, help me out here, would you? IF the University was noticed, as the law enforcement says now, why was the Rector, the one who SHOULD BE informed, pressing charges and not aware of the situation?
Now, there IS such a thing as the Universitary Autonomy, it's not an invention of the Unionists or the UCR, and that's not ma mechanism to protect criminals. From my standing point, though the students and the professors may have overreacted, may have not waited getting properly informed before charging like Chuck Norris (though I would chase with a pan anyone just irrupting in my house without prior permission), the fault was entirely on the OIJ and other law enforcement agents and personal. They knew before head that a posible arrest was to happen near the campus, so they could have coordinated before hand with the Universitary Police to keep an eye on the suspect, or issue premits, and Universitary Police Escorts for the OIJ agents. I mean, if I am in the University and see the OIJ agents WITH the Universitary Police I would assume they have permits to be there. But that's just me. IF the OIJ for whatever reason wishes to keep the Universitary Police and the University out of the matter, why didn't they place undercover agents in the area? The campus isn't exactly unknown, uncharted territory. Given the agreed location of the meeting with the suspect, they could have placed agents in strategic places to cut his escape routes. I mean they did have a lot of agents to beat up students, why not to place some around the perimeter to more effectively catch the suspect?
I'm proud of the University, even if it isn't my Alma Mater, I'm proud of them because they stand up for their rights. Just like the police can't run into an Embassy to catch a suspect, it can't run into the Universitary Campuses either.
Stand up for your rights, University! Show the country how rights must be defended against those who wish to take them away!
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