Informed Sources; South Korea Clamps Down On Students

South Korea, the staunch ally of the United States, executed eight people April 19, amid massive student demonstrations which led U.S.-backed President Park to issue an "emergency decree" forbidding campus rallies or anti-government demonstrations.

Despite the decree the students continued protests. By April 12, twenty universities had been closed, three university presidents had resigned, 62 students had been expelled and 78 others are being held held by police.

The eight martyred students were members of the outlawed People's Revolutionary Party. They were tried by a closed military court with no witnesses, and executed within 24 hours after the Supreme Court upheld their convictions in a ten minute session.

The U.S. gave Park $142 million in military aid in 1974. The U.S. Agency for International Development's Office of Public Safety in South Korea, which is responsible for training local police, spent $7.3 million.