Mozambique at the
Thre hold of Peace
ke on
wan
pro ecutor
ch eked
By DESHORN W TKI
a temple for God at
Jul, 7tb
MUSKBOON - On Friday, July
�2, the Urban Leagu of Greater
Muskegon formally reque ted the in
tervention of the Civil Right
Divi ion of he U.S. Justice Depart
ment in W: hington, D.C. and the
tate attorney general office in the
even urrounding the homicide of
Louis Franchot Green.
A letter dd d to U.S. Assis-
t nt Attorney General for Civil
Righ John Dunn tate that because
the inve tigation reg rding Green
"has been handled in a manner which
provoked uspicion and racial
unrest. .. there i th appe ranee that
j lice may not have been erved."
In addition, the Urb n League'
1''''''-''_-- t
BI ck community "as to whether the
investigation w complete nd free
of r cial bia " and asks the U.S.
Department of Justice to conduct an
inquiry to ascertain whether the case
Human Right Watch on police brutality:
By GWEN McKiNN Y
NNPA News Service
While the struggle in white-ruled
South Africa continues to dominate
and shape United States public per
ceptions of the region, the events
unfolding in the neighboring nation
of Mozambique go virtually un
noticed.
Engulfed in change, conflict and
crippling poverty, Mozambique now
stands at the threshold of securing a
peace that could create greater
stability, not only for that former
Portugu e colony, but for the entire
region.
It is a region- which has been be-
ieged by wars, underdevelopment
and refugees, in large part fueled by
the political and economic domina
tion of the South African apartheid
regime.
The toll has been everely felt in
Mozambique where rebels, propped
up by former colonial rulers of Zim
babwe and white South Africans,
-off policy
Constitution
: <, By GREGORY HOSKIN
Sp,eial to tM Michigan Citi;,n
The group cha Used U.S. Attorney Generat
Richard Thornburg's "failure to respond to the
videotaped beating of Rodney King at the hands of
the Lo Angele police. .
Human Righ W tch proposed the withholding
of federal funds to law enforcement programs
where brutality is alleged. It pointed specifically to
the federal funding for high tech weapons such as
the non-lethal laser gun used by the L.A. police
against King.
The group also recommended that Congress
_ grant the Attorney General the power to seek in
junctions against widespread andcontinuing pat
terns of the excessive use of force bylocal police,
and that the federal government do a better job of
collecting data on police abuses.
A Justice Department spokesperson said the �
charges were ab urd, noting the Department had
prosecuted 10 cases of brutality in the current fiscal
year.
WASHINGTON-Americans are being denied
their basic constitutional rights because the federal
government takes a hands-off policy towards police
brutality, ccordlng to a report released July 9 by
tbe Human Rights Watch.
TIle group blasted the Justice Department in
particular for turning their bead as police brutality
escalate ACro the country.
Human Righ Watch noted that the passivity of
tbe fed�ral government when it comes to police
bru1ality is in sharp contrast to the role of Uncle
Sam in combatting other violations of civil rights,
especially employment, housing and voting dis
crimination.
TIle rights monitoring group suggested that Jus
'. nee officials should develop standards of police
accountabtliry .
contains nyelemen of civil righ
violations.
The lett r to St te Attorney
General Frank Kelly highlight
imilar poin . However, devi tin
from the theme of ible violatio
of civil rights, the letter req a
review of the inve ligation of M -
kegon County Pro ecutor Tony
Tague and the Muskegon Police
Dep rtment.
TH LEAGUE 0 the attor-
ney general to appoint omeone from
its office to uperintend the prosecu
tion of Robert Collins, Sr. and Robert
Collins, Jr., who were charged with
weapon violation following the
death of Louis Franchot Green in the
parking lot of Daniel' Family Re -
taurant on June 18. Tague
pronounced the homicide justifiable
even before a police inve tigation
was completed.
Gloria W. Gardner. executive
director of the Urban League of
Greater Muskegon, admitted it w
unusual for the Urban League to get
involved in a case of thi nature. She
aid uch ca e are usually within the
cope of the NAACP, but because the
Green' c e was so poorly handled
and the charges impo ed on the
Collin t 0 blatantly unj � the
U I...eague It" to
do omething nd we did." Sbe said
he had no knowledge to what
course of action the NAACP would
- adopt regarding the case.
have persisted with a brutal war of
death and destabilization.
DESTRUCTION OF railways,
bridge , machinery and other in
frastructural damage caused directly
by South Africa and the rebel group
known by its Portuguese ac nym
RENAMO has co t Mozambique an
estimated $7 billion.
Over the 'past decade, thousands
58 PEACE, �.g 2
JESSICA FLETCHER: No.
Every other teenage girl I see on.
the street is either pregnant or car
rying a baby and hasn't even
�dUlte<l from high sdlool yet
BENNIE D. RRI: No.
Most paren are afraid to talk to
their children about ex. Children
react to TV and rap music even
though m t of it i immoral.
L : No. If
they were, there probably would
not be many teenager pregnan-
DARRYLWASBINGTON: o.
That is one �f the bilge.t
problems in today'. SOCiety.
Parents need to become more
re ponsible if future .. rali
are goin k> act in a reII�llbi
manner.