STUDENTS FIGHT POLICE

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29105, 18 January 1960, Page 9

STUDENTS FIGHT POLICE

Attempt To Stop Kishi’s U.S. Trip (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) TOKYO, January 16. After a night of fighting between police and anti-American students the Japanese Prime Minister (Mr Kishi) and his Foreign Minister (Mr Fujiyama) left Tokyo International Airport this morning on their way to sign a revised Security Pact with the United States. After a fight in the airport buildings during the night police had ejected 700 students demonstrating against Japan’s ties with the United States and the West.

The official party’s heavily guarded motor cavalcade passed through Tokyo streets to the airport this morning without incident, avoiding the feared clash with several thousands students who had threatened to try and stop the departure. Tokyo police said this morning they were holding 78 of the students involved in the attempt to occupy the airport building early this morning. Those arrested included the chairman of the extremist Left - wing students’ organisation known as the Zengakuren.

Police said they had 5000 men on duty this morning to guard the official party. They estimated there were about 2000 students at the airport this morning but the demonstrators concentrated on the wrong road as the Prime Minister’s car took an alternative route.

About 8000 unionists, students, and members of other Left-wing organisations held rallies at five centres in Tokyo today in a protest against the departure of the Prime Minister.

Police said today’s rallies and demonstrations in Tokyo City were sponsored by the Peoples’ Council against the Revision of the Security Treaty. This was the council’s eleventh unified sponsored drive against the security treaty. No arrests were made and police said there were no clashes between persons at the rallies and the police. The students who had announced that they planned to try to prevent the party from leaving Tokyo, began to gather in the lobby of the airport late last night. They ignored police warnings and requests to move. Senior police officials decided to reinforce the police at the airport and early today the students moved from the terminal lobby to the restaurant. The students smashed down a glass door leading into the restaurant. Windows and doors were barricaded with chairs and tables. They took up defensive positions and armed themselves with tins and empty beer bottles. The 1500 police attacked. They ripped down the barricades with firehooks but students retaliated by hurling pepper into their faces.

Reinforcements swept around to the rear and broke down the frail wooden walls with firehooks. Gradually they began to remove the shouting, struggling students. The students formed scrumlike formations to try and keep police out of the restaurant But they failed and the police were

joined by a number of ultranationalists who opposed the students’ plan. By the time the police had cleared all the students from the building about 70 students, including their leader, had been arrested.

But the battle was not yet over. About 200 students later gathered at the entrance of the airport and defied police attempts to remove them.