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 act in a reII�llbi manner.