Gan��tey1 6 LVe ... :
EDITORIAL
olic
VIElVS
live from the
lion' Capital, illion 0
meric n i tne ed the
a e ome pect cle of t , ar-
ored pe onnel c rrie , multi-
ple mi Ile launc d Patriot
n ite rumbling do n Pen­
n ylv nia Ave.
Two day later in Ne Yor
City, there a hu e ticker tape
parade to elcome home the
troop , the lar e t parade of its
kind Ince World r II.
Every since the end of the Per­
si n Gulf ar, the U.S. ith the
urging ·of Pre ident Bush, h
been engaged in a perpetual vic­
tory celebration. The July 4th
holiday promises yet another
round of thank you for the
troops and elf congratulation
for the "victory" in the Persian
Gulf.
Meanwhile in Iraq, children
are dying by the thousand as a
direct consequence of tbe U.S.
"victory."
In a recent Time Magazine ar:
ticle, Nina Burliegh reported
that, "according to the Ir qi Red
Crescent, 80� of all deaths since
the cease-fire have been
youngsters ...
80% oj all
deaths since the
cease-fire have
been youngsters
victory alute Ind elcome
home celebration a long a
po ible.
The celebration ma k the
moral b nkruptcy of U.S.
foreign policy and divert tten­
lion a ay from the failure of the
government to develop a dome -
tic agenda to meet the human
needs of million who uffer
right here in the U.S.
The ealthy, the powerful and
the privileged will continue to
feed the American public sym­
bols nd celebrations until the
American people ake-up to the
reality of the hypocrisy and con­
tradictions in U.S. foreign policy
and dome tic policy.
DESPITE THE overwhelm­
ing popularity of the victory
celebration and related hoopla,
tbe progre sive movement must
continue to dare to tell the truth
to the people about tbe unnece -
sary and immoral Persian Gulf
War.
. government ha
people bout intervention into
th affli of other n tion. d
time nd time g in the U.S.
overnment nd elf- ervin
poli tic 1 le der h ve u cd
foreign interventions to divert
attention way from failure and
contradiction at bome.
The progre ive movement
mu t be on the offen ive with
popul r public education cam­
paigns, direct action c mpaign
nd action at the ballot box to
build a con en u for peace and
_---.
"Peace -at L
Portugal served as the mediator.
As of this date, the peace
process appears to be holding
and the cessation of warfare in
and on Angola has been halted.
In p rticular, the President of
Angola, H.B. Jose Eduardo Dos
Santos, sbould be congratulated
for his successful and
courageous leadersbip. During
the signing of the Peace Ac­
cords, President Dos Santos
stated, "This is an occasion of
great joy and emotion because
the formal signing of these Ac­
cords enshrines the beginning of '
a new eta of peace and concord
in Angola. I am sure tbat senti­
ments, wbich are being ex­
perienced by 11 Angolans, ar
shared by the international com­
munity as a whole, which
believes in the fundamental
values of humanity."
PRESIDENT DOS SANTOS
further empbasized, "At this
solemn hour we pay a heartfelt'
tribute to the memory of those
who sacrificed their lives so that
the country could remain an in­
tegral entity, and the dignity and
Independence of tbe Angolan
people could be upheld. Thank
to their example, we have over­
come many domeatic and exter-
st "-
nal obstacles. We have broug t
together diverse goals and emo­
tions and adopted a general
strategy which led u to placing
the Angolan case within the con­
text of the existing outhern
African conflict."
When news of the Peace Ac­
cords reached Angola, ten of
thousands of Angolans danced
in the streets of the capital city
Luanda and in clue and town
throughout the country. The joy
of peace is now bel ng transla ted
into a "democratization
process." It is our hope that
finally the people of Angola will
secure thi strategic African na­
tion so that greater empower­
ment and stability will come to
the entire outhern African
region.
We are aware that there are
still some .out ide political,
economic and military powers
which arc prone to c tinue to
attempt to interfere in the inter­
nal affairs of Angola against the
interest of the Angolan people
and government. For tho e of u
who live here in the United
State ,we mu t continue to rai e
our voices and energle in up­
port of Angola' right to choo e
it own future without infmida­
lion from the We t or the East.
----ta
U.
,
-.A.
It' a cene straight out of Nazi Germany. The police
board a train or bus and while frightened pas engers
huddle in fear, the goons randomly search passenger's
luggage .. Some unlucky soul is whisked away and swal­
lowed up for day , perhaps a lifetime in a legal maze.
We can even draw the pictures in our mind. We see
the fashions of the 1940's, the gestapo uniforms, Ger-
man Shepherds even. ,
No, thi is ot some film about the 40's. We're
deacrlb America, 1991.
eenuy, tbe Supr me Court aaid that a person
can be detained, up to 48 hours without being charged.
If the arrest is made on a Friday night, and the courts
don't open until Monday, tbat means a person can legal­
ly be held until Wednesday evening, almost a week
later.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled it WIS okay
for policemen to board a public bus or train and at
random aearch luggage for drugs -as long IS the pas­
engers arc warned they can say no.
Civil liberties arc being eroded and the public, so
overwhelmed by the crime related to drugs, seems will­
ing to go along. Instead of attacking the propblems that
contribute to drug trafficing, authorities concentrate on
the crime that results from the drugs. In chasing the
as aults, the B & E's, and the murderers, everyone loses
sight of the fact that these arc symptoms of a society
lick to its core.
Resolving unemployment, miseducation and housing
would be a major first step to lowering crime statistics.
In ,the meantime, we should all oppose the teady"
erosion of personal liberty.
Too many lives have been lost in the pursuit of
freedom to so cheaply waive it away in the name of
fighting drugs. The freedom we hold so dear will be at
the whim of the authorities, dependant on race, status,
class and address.
America stands to lose too much if the current rush'
to facsim continues. Land of the free will be history.
Instead, we will claim Police State, U.S.A. home of the
threatened, harrassed and oppressed.
. THE MICHIGAN CITIZEN
PubU.hed oh
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A HARVARD MEDICAL
team th t visited Iraq in late
April estimated that 170,000
children will die of gastrointes­
tinal disease complicated by
malnutrition as a result of the
war."
This awful toll on the children
of Iraq is because the victorious
U.S. led coalition forces bombed
water purification plants,
destroyed bospitalland reeked
Iraq's electrical po er syatem.
U.S. government figures just
released also estimate that the
victorious coalition forces killed
some 100,000 Iraqi soldiers and
wounded another 300,000. No
figures were provided for
civilian casualties, but estimates
range as high as 250,000
civilians killed and wounded.
No matter how you look at it,
the .horrendous death and
destruction caused by the U.S.
led coalition cannot be justified.
This bloody and brutal exercise
of U.S. military muscle is hardly
cause for celebration.
Indeed these non-stop
celebrations arc an obscene orgy
of mili tarism rooted in the most
shallow and superfluous kind of
patriotism.
THE PERSIAN GU�F War
was not fought to protect the in­
terest of the majori1y of the
citizens of the U.S. '
It was fought to protect the
Ang
la:
By BeDjamlD r. Cbavls, Jr.
, All persons of African de­
scent throughout the world, and
all persons who are committed
to jus lee and peace, are
celebrat g the fact that tbe
atru88le f peace in Angola haa
finally bee won. The people
and governm t Qf The Peoples
Republic of � gola arc to be
aaluted for their liant and long
lasting sacrifices to achieve a
lasting peace without com­
promising their national
aovereignty and right to selC­
determination.
After throwing off SOO years
of Portuguese colonialism in
1975, the people and the govern­
ment of Angola have had to en­
dure 16 years of brutal attacks
from eparate and .combined
armed forces of the ractst apart­
heid regime in South Africa as
well aa attacD from so-called
Unita rebel unita led by Jonas
Savlmbi wbo is a client of the
United Statea.
On May 31, 1991, in Lisbon,
Portugal, Peace Accords were
algned between tbe government
of ADlola and Unita. The
United States and the Soviet
Union erved observers and
encoura era of the peace
process. The government of
V AO
POI T
j tlce society. � .: :
e m t patiently plan for the :, I
f, I
Ion ul confident tbat "truth: I
cru hed to e rth ill ri e again.
I
.1 I
ROil Daniels serves a Prest' I
den: 0/ tlte Institute lor Co". .. ·' t
munity Organization a"tJ·, :
Development ill Youllgstown··I:
Ohio. He may be cOlllacted at I
(216) 746-5747. . .,:
.. '
BY SIERS FOR THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. N.C;:·
• 'J
I':
I.
Benjamh.
Chavl.
CIVIL
RIGHTS
The victory of the people of I
Angola i a victory for peac� :
and justice f-or all of the peoples J I
of the world. The international :
community must now re pond iq,'" :
the economic development I I
needs of Angola. This natioq :
not only has the potential to be, I
"the bread ba ket" for all or :
southern Africa, but also Angola I
has the potential, in spite of the I :
deva tation of war, to be one 0 . :
the leading African economic r ..
forces of the 21 t century. ,.:
Elections do not automat-: .
icall bring democracy. The, :
new spirit of peace with respect, .
dignity and overeignty in An .. , '
gola today is the f damental '
formul from which Angola '
democracy and pro perity w!l1� :
continue to evolve. We mu t do ·
all that we can to help our sisteri" :
and brothers in Angola becaUl�
their strugSle continues to be; ,
our truggle. .. .