Sam • it again. At a
rcceDt • hcric gathering
celebrating the history of
demOcracy ill Cost Rica, Presi
dent George Buch branded
President Daniel Ortega of
lcaragua a ·1ittIe man" and an
an.imar at a garden party.
This pungent reaction from
the U.S. President came in
response to an announcement
that the Nicar guan govern-
.ment might be forced to aban
do the 19 month old cease-fire
because of chronic violations of
the cease-fire by the u.s. back-
. ed Contras.
President Bush was quick to
condemn Ortega for his threat
to cancel the cease-fire. Those
ho at e anxious to curry favor
with or otherwise stay in the
good ·graces of their powerful
northern neighbor immediately
followed suit. .
. Lost in the flurry of condem
nations was any serious attempt
to evaluate the veracity ofPresi
dent Ortega's claim that
hundreds of violations of the
cease fire by the Contras had
resulted in more than 700
death and nearly 1,200
wounded.
REALO ENSE
To be sure Ortega's timing
may have been awkward nd
some t undiplomatic by con
ventional standards. But who is
to say wheil and in form a
be le gued people/nation
should cry out ill anguish?
In fact the real violation of in
temational etiquette bas been
the U.S. intrusion into the inter
nal affairs of Nicaragua.
After nearly 30 years ofbaek
ing the d potism of the Samoza
family, the United tatessought
to dictate to the Sandinista
regime what the nature of its
newly on revolution should be.
Instead of providing ve
economic aid and technical as
sistance to help the Sandinistas
fulfill the promi e of their
revolution, Ronald Reagan·
chose to throw down the gaUD
let to stop the ·spread of com
munism",
The U.S. created the Con
tras, financed them and UD
leashed them to prosecute
Reagan's war of "nationa!
liberation".
u.s. MADE IT WORSE
The impact of R�'s war
on the soveriegn n tion of
Nicaragu was predictable. In
stead of investinrrcsourc:es into
bettering the life of the peop
in terms of improving the
economy, creating jobs, build
ing housing etc. resources WCI'C .
diverted into a military build-up
to defend the very . CDCC of
the revolution itself t the
onslaught of Reagan's warriors.
Despite the stagcriDg dif
ficulties posed by the ar,
however, the Sandinistas still
managed to make some impres
sive gains in literacy, education
and health care. Unfortunately
the tremendous drain of resour
ces and drag on the economy
caused by Reagan's war has
made it virtually impossible for'
the Sandinistas government to
keep pace with the rising expec
tations sparked by the revolu
tion.
Though the revolution rid
the nation of the hated Samoza,
Reagan's war coupled with
some initial errors by the San
dinistas arc weakened and vul
nerable.
HOW FREE?
It is against this backdrop
that "free" elections are
scheduled to take place in
February. However, these elec
tions will not be 'free" of U �S. in
trusion and interference.
The rampant destabilizing
attacks of the U.S. backed Con-
tras over the duration" of the
f , •
.des in·
.1 -
rcaraqua
cease-fire already constitut a
U.S. encroachment by proxy
into the affairs of Nicaragua.
A firm hand from lean, tJll
George could have reined in the
Contras at ytime during the
last several months. It is clear
that Bush and Co. are dedicated
to the demise of the "littleman"
from Managua at all costs.
It is for that reason that Bush
is not taking any chances. T�e
U.S. is planning to ROur $9 mil
lion into Nicaragua under the
guise of assisting the election
process.
The real intent is to defeat
the Sandinistas. This fact �
betrayed when some officials
within the administration first
proposed funding the
Nicaraguan opposition directly.
Apparently this upfront ap
proach was just a bit too raw for
even George Bush to stomach.
So instead monies will be fun
neled into "neutral" agencies to
undertake a variety of "services"
including a massive door to
door canvas to insure that every
eligible Nicaraguan citizen i
registered to vote in the
February election.
I THERE, WHY OT HERE?
It is ironic that millions of
dollars can be· spent in
Nicaragua to do registration,
while legislation to remove
cumbersome bar r iers to
registration within the United •
States is currently stalled in
Congress. -,
Nonetheless, the U.S. can
"sponsor" democracy in
Nicaragua. Can you imagine
another nation comtemplatin
funding a political party in
America? It is unthinkable, un
conscionable and it would n
be tolerated. But this is precise
ly what is happening in
Nicaragua.
First a U.S. sponsored war,
then a cease fire violated. by
Reagan' warriors and now out
right interference in the elec- .
tion process of another
soveriegn nation.
If that's not arrogance 0
power, I don't know what is. Bu
this is the kind of instrustion
into other peoples affairs tha
goes oil when U.S. presidents,
policy makers and a sizeable
segment of people withi this
country perceive people of
color nd leaders of developing
nations little boys and girl
and "animals",
Ron Daniels served as the
Director of the National Rain
bow Coalition and as the Deputy
Campaign' Manager· for th«
Reverend Jesse Jackson's
Presidential Campaign '88. He
serves as President of the In
stitute for Community Organiza
tion and Development in
Youn&f1Qwn, Ohio.
Fall 1989 State of the Campus
Mary, Martin, Malcolm,
Marcus, Mandela, Maurice,
Mays, Muhammad, Medgar
and Mickey.
THIS IS DEDICATED TO
THE MULTI-CULTURAL
FRESHMEN CLASS OF 1989.
My challenge to last year's class
was to "remember that they
were not alone, not a'minority'
and to keep their ears and eyes
on world events."
They saw and learned from
the Howard University stu
dents. HU students were deter
mined and correct in wanting to
have input into university af
fairs.
They saw and learned from
the Chinese students and
government in Tiananmen
Square that "an organized
movement" is the lifeblood of an
emerging non-European world
order.
They saw and learned from
you, then in high school, that it
is po sible to want to be
careerists and contributors to
the global village.
ow you are THEY. This is
your turn to shape and be
shaped within the arena of
. higher education.
In California, people of color
are already the majority. At the
University of California at
Berkeley, multi-cultural stu
dents are now the majority.
HIGHER
·EDUCATIO
by Keith o.
Hilton
THIS IS THE FLAGSHIP
UNIVERSITY of the nation's
university system, and con
sidered the top public university
in the country by many.
There is a resurgence ot in
terest in attending
predominantl� U.S. African
colleges and universities. Out
standing young women are
choosing Bennett and Spelman
over some other highly
respected co-ed institutions.
M-c tudents at
predominantly Euro-American
(white) colleges are rediscover
ing African Studie , the teach
ing profession, the role of
Ethnic Centers and the impor
tance of sensitive 'college
professionals of all ethnicities.
Young U .. Africans are
rejecting drug, gang and
sexually focu ed music. What
we arc saying here i n t wi· hful
thinking, but rather scientific
res arch ba ed on obs rvation,
archival d ta, interviews and
direct feedbac .
This is not to say that the bat
tie for and over your collectiv
nd individual potential and
powerness is not ongoing.
There are stiJl orne who will
continue to produce "misery"
research to justify neg tive
news reporting.
The reality of 1989 is' that
each of you should be armed
with the knowlege that as you
strengthen your commitment to
career and community, place
is being prepared for y u by a
burgeoning Afrocentric (and
m-e) management network.
Fin lIy, student scholars
remember that when you a
looking for biographical topics
to reinforce your studies or
majors, you don't hav to look
far to find example of tho e
who loved you: Mary cthune,
Martin Luther King, Malcolm
X, Marcus Garvey, Nelson
Mandela (still with us),
Maurice Bishop, Benjamin ."
May, Elijah Muhammad,
Medg r Ever and Mickey
Leland. Li e the cia efor
you, y u 0 are n t alone.
HILTON: HIGHER
EDUCATION is designed 10
dialogue with college and world
readers. Education is ong ing
and certainly notlimit dID cia s
room study. Let's talk.