Midway

[Luzz]

Ash, Silence and Order

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Ash hangs in the air above the capital, carried by the remains of the recent protests. Every night, the city seems to stop at 9 p.m, the students’ hour. After sunset, the students dominate the streets. Roads fill with young people calling for the Military League to step down from power, urging citizens to strike, rise up and organize a revolution against the generals.

The Red Horizon (赤の光界), the most radical student organization in the country, continues to keep the university gates closed. They organize guard shifts, set up barricades and call on the people “not to submit to military tyranny.” They accuse the League of “preparing a new, even harsher dictatorship.” Representatives of the group say they are ready to fight the tyrants who walk over the bodies of innocent citizens.

Meanwhile, New Dawn (新しい夜明け) seems to take a more moderate stance. While they condemn the persecutions and the Martial Law, they leave open the possibility of a dialogue with Arakawa, a move that already causes internal tension in the left movement, as many see it as a betrayal of left wing principles.

In response to the decisions of the left wing groups, the Independent Military League ordered the immediate reopening of all universities. “Education cannot remain a hostage to extreme groups,” said the League’s spokesperson. Security forces have already been deployed around the major institutions of the capital...

Public fear of a possible military assault on the universities grows day by day. A few days ago, the Military League positioned tanks in front of the Law School’s main gate, while students hung from the railings shouting: “The university belongs to the people, not to fascism!”

Representatives of the student unions have already gathered at the central steps of the university, awaiting the developments and the decisions of the military…