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BY ROBERT GLAS
OCIATEDPRE
OC 0 R1
WORLD AND NATION
NEWS ANALYSIS
In hi zeal to reform the corrupt
rmy, cou nd bureauc y, Presi-
dent J n-Bertrand Aristide alarmed
many Hai ti by ignoring parli -
ment and ppe ring to endorse
lynch-mob vengeance by orne of hi
upporters. Feeling e pecially
thre tened were the nation' tradi­
tional power brokers. To millions
of lum dwellers and ub i tence
farmer, the 38-year-old Roman
tholic prie t ousted in last week's
bloody coup i "the prophet," who
would deliver thi impoverished na­
tion from two centurie of repression
nd neglect.
But the general , entrepreneurs,
Iandowner and con ervative
bishops-- the elite 5 percent who
control the wealth and wield the
power - have alwa regarded the
country's first freely elected presi­
dent with suspicion.
· They will undoubtedly playa role
m deciding whether he will be res­
tored to power, of which he was
stripped after j t eight months in
office.
The 32-nation Organization of
American State, which ent a high­
:level diplom tic mission to Haiti, has
·threatened to cut off millions of dol­
lars in aid and sever diplomatic and
trade ties unless Aristide and his
democratically elected government
are reinstated.
But many Haitian leaders would
apparently be satisfied if Aristide
were replaced by a Supreme Court
justice pending new elections -
from which Aristide would be
barred.
Trying to fill the power vacuum
left by the army's Sept. 30 ouster of
Aristide, the National Assembly is
consulting many military, business
and political leaders.
The assembly itself frequently
hastangled with Aristide on con­
stitutional issues, such as his ap­
pointment of a Supreme Court presi­
dent and vice president without con­
sulting the Senate.
Hostility to Aristide among the
· elite stems in part from his reformist
: policies, which were drying up sour- . JOHANNESBURG, South Africa
: ces. of graft for corrupt soldiers, - Thousands of chanting Blacks
: bureaucrats, judges and marched in cities around the
: businessmen. country on Monday, Sept. 30 to
, 'But there has been wider unease denounce a new tax they say will
· over mob intimidation and evidence hurt the poor.
: of Aristide's influence on tht( courts. In the largest prote t, 10,000
: In July, for example, a court tookjust people marched to the Cape
: 24 'hours to convict loyalists of the Town city center near Parlia-
: former Duvalierist dictatorship in- - ment, and some pelted police
r volved in a failed attempt to prevent with bottles. No serious injuries
I Aristide from taking office. were reported, and police said
· Before the trial, Aristide said he about 75 demonstrators were
· wanted swift justice. Lawmakers briefly detained.
· also were shocked when hundreds of The protests followed the in-
• slu�m dwellers besieged the Legisla- troduction Monday of a new 10-
tive Palace in August and forced the percent tax on virtually all goods
National Assembly to drop con- and services except basic
sideration of a censure motion foodstuffs"
against Aristide's handpicked prime The government imposed the
minister, a baker named Rene value added tax, or VAT, despite
Preval.. . warnings from the African Na-
Some Haitians believe a key fac- tional Congress, trade unions
tor in the coup was Aristide's seem- and other opposition groups that
ing approval of a lynch-mob techni- it would spark a major confron­
que in which a burning tire is placed tation.
over a victim's head. The marchers in Cape Town
.Addressing a throng at the Na- carried signs reading: "Bread
tional Palace on Sept. 27, just three Not VA T" and cc Down With This
days before the coup, Aristide said of Killer V AT." .
the, so-called flaming necklace: The government is trying to
"What a beautiful tool. What a opcn constitutional negotiations
beautiful instrurnent. What a beauti- with the ANC and other opposi­
ful' devlce. It smells good and tion groups. However, a standoff
everywhere you go you want to over the new tax could further
breathe it. ' delay those effort by President
"Paul Latortue, a Haitian F.W. de Klerk.
economist at the University of Puer- The new tax replaces a 13
to Rico in San Juan, said Aristide's percent general ales tax which
"flaming necklace" peech con- had exempted many items, in-
cluding some foods, medicine,
. firmed suspicions among the middle utilities and services. Because
class that Ari tide condoned
VAT covers a wider range of
violence to prop up his governmen goods and services, the govern-
The speech, he aid. hardened ment says it will collect the same
opinion among "the have-nets who amount of revenue despite the .
want him to return and the haves who lower rate.
are deeply set against him." But opponent of VAT ay :
Se ARISTlDE, A-10 millions of poor Bl ck will suf-
a2C:nQ.lIl" to increase
port for
n r n VI 0 the Qvil
ct d the Co titution.
The former Ho e of Rep en tive
M jority hip 0 ve up the high t
con io politi I t ever h ld by
fric n Americ n to become U CF
pre ident, honored recently by
Democratic and Republican coll t
events po red by th Con ional Bl
C ucu , the White Hou e Initi tive on
HBCU d t reception for rmer White
House ide Stanley Scott ho ted by the
UNCF ith Pre ident d . Bush
pecial guest
In outlining three-point program to ve
HBCU, the top-ran ing politic I
leader-minister turned educator earlier told
Black college upporte "I am always
reminded by Rep. (Wllliam) Bill Cay (D-St
Louis) that we ve no permanent enemies,
no permanent friend , just permanent
interest.A mind is terrible thing to w teo
lbat's our permanent interest .. "
Speaking in Washington at the clo ing
national conference hmcheon of the White
Ho e Initiative on HBCU , Gray stated that
"the underlying a sumption of current
color-blind theory is that after 365 years of
lavery' and legal gregation, it ha ta n
only 25 years (of enactment) of the Civil
more
middle-income tuden
costs-s-especi ly or Afri
overcome the burden of e ce ive
borrowing," Gray emph ized. Among
UNC chools, tudent borrowin h
inc d from eight to 51 percent, with the
number of tuden edin 10 doubling
form 11, to 22, in th P t decad .
Gray urged the group to campaign for
more public and priv te upport of their
institution; req e t that Pre ident Bush
withdraw federal upport for th tate of
. . ippi' uit to cut off funding for Blae
colleges in the tate and eek more "clout" by
moving the Whi House Initiative program
into the White House "to get more re peet"
"I really don't believe the President is
informed on what other branches of
government are doing in this situation," Gray
continued, "because of his long commitment
to HBCUs and the UNCF ... Especially ince
he recently said if eparate academies are
needed to save young Blac men in Detroit,
'go ahead and do it.'"
Gray noted that the Department of the
Interior has also announced plans to spend
$20 million to restore buildings on several
campuses, including Morris Brown,
Spelman, St. Augustine, Savannah State,
Tougaloo, Bethun -Cookman, and Delaware
State Colleges and Howard, Hampton and
Michigan
tate
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP)
_ Racial and religious differences
have widened the rift between blacks
and Je ,but conferees id Tue -
day that both group can improve
relations by emphasizing common
ground. "Slavery and the
Holocau t" and "Black
Nationali m and Jewish
Nationalism" were among the topics
debated at Tuesday's session at
Michigan State University.
Organizcrs said the seminar was
a response to lingering controversy
on campus since'a visit last year by
Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrak­
han, whose criticism of Israeli op­
pression of the Palestinians is con-
i<kred by some Jews to be anti-
Shaw Universities.
"It just seems ab olutely contradictory �o
pursue the e policies which are just and right
on one band and on the other hand to file a
(U.S.) brief in the Mi is ippi case," he
commented. "It appears if the right hand
doesn't know what the left band i doing ...
board of dvi ors. Dr. Oswald P. Bronson Sr.,
president of Bethune-Cookman College,
Dayton Beach, FL, i ch innan of the
42-member colleges UNFC and be' so
chairman of the board of the l07-member
historically Blac imtitutions in the National
Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher
Educa.tion (NAPEO).
ROBERT GOODWIN, executive
director of the White House Initiative, said
that President Bush had met with the
President's Board of Advi ors on HBCU and
agreed to discuss the Mississippi case with
White House Counsel C. Gordon Gray.
Dr. James E. Cheek, Howard Universi y
president emeritus, is chairman of the HBCU
In emphasizing the continuing need for
HBCUs for AmericanS who see choice and
equal opportunity in higher education, Gray
concluded "Havard is great for polishing if
you're a diamond already, but our insti tutioDS
are great for taking the rough coal and
pol' bing them into diam CIs ... "
el examines turmoil between Jews, Blacks
Semitic.
Jewish community leaders were
dismayed because Farrakhan drew
little criticism from Black leaders.
"We're not nece arily here to
heal wound , but to continue the dis­
cus ion and elevate it," said Barry
G ,a profe or of English and
director of Jewish studies at
Michigan State. "We might be ex­
acerbating conflict before we resolve
it."
Ten ions between Jews and
Blacks are reflected in popular cul­
ture, which in turn creates problems
with jokes and songs in bad taste,
id Richard Lobenthal, director of
the Detroit chapter of the Anti­
. Defamation League of B'nai B'rith.
N�w tax sparks protests,
claimed ir to poor
BYGREGMYRE
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
fer because they will have to pay
taxes on almost all foods as well
as medicine and utilities.
The increased costs come as
millions are struggling to make
ends meet in a country reeling
under a 2-year-old recession, 15
percent inflation and high un­
employment.
About 5,000 people carrying
placards and shouting slogans
marched in downtown J ohannes­
burg as scores of heavily armed
police backed by armored
vehicles stood watch. "VAT is
robbing the p,oor," ANC official
Ronnie Kasrils told the marchers
in Johannesburg to loud ap­
plause.
There were smaller rallies in
the capital of Pretoria, Durban
and about 10 other cities. No
violence was reported.
The ANC and the Congress of
South African Trade Unions are
leading opposition to VAT, and
have gained support from con­
sumer groups and some
businessmen.
ANC President Nelson Man­
'dela and de Klerk met over the
weekend, and the government
announced Sunday that several
additional foods would be ex­
empt from VAT. But Mandela
said the concession was inade­
quate.
The government argues VAT
is a fairer tax, that it will be more
difficult to evade than the pre­
vious tax, and that it will help
boost the economy. It also claims
the long-term benefits will out­
weigh a short-term decline in the
cost of living of about 1 or 2 per­
cent.
The ANC and the trade
unions argue, however, that in­
flation and VAT together could
raise the co t of living 20 to 30
percent in the coming year.
"I see a lot more insensitivity and
casualness in the unleashing of
something we used to suppress 10
years ago," Lobenthal aid.
Vandalism, death threats and as­
saults against Jews have risen steadi­
ly in the past five years both
statewide and nationwide, Lobenthal
said. Jewish and Black leaders agree
that young Blacks tend to have more
Ship and "bad" when Blacks pursue
their self-interest in opposition to
Jewish interests.
So far this year, Michigan Jew
have uffered 55 inciden of van­
dalism, death threats and ul,.34
percent more than the 41 uch inci­
dents reported in 1990, the Anti­
Defamation League said.
. �
ho tile feelings toward and
stereotypical conceptions of Jews
than those of their parents.
Blacks considered to be anti­
Semitic, however, feel that Jews
want to control Blacks' thinking,
particularly when it comes to Israel
and the Palestinians. Black, Jewish
relationships are considered "good"
when Blacks accept Jewish leader-
Don't Le
Af
•
lea
arve
Here's how you can help
The following organizations are among those accepting tax-deductible donation for
African ,famine relief, which you should designate on your check.
Arlcare
Afrlcare Hcuse .
440 R Street, N. W.
Washington, D.C. 20001
American Friends Service Committee
1501 Cherry St.
Philadelphia, Penn. 19102
American Jewish World Service
1290 Avenue of th Americas
New York, N.Y. 10104
American Red Cro
PO Box 37243
Washington, D.C. 20013
Catholic Relief Services
Social Nlnlstrie. Office
305 Michigan Ave.
Detroit, Mlch, 48228
Church World S rvlce
PO Box 988
.Elkhart, Ind. 48515
(Epi copal) Presiding Bishop' Fund
for World Relief
815 Second Ave.
New York, N.Y. 10017
Oxfam America
115 Broadway
Bo.ton, Maas. 02118
U.S.Commltt e for th United Nation.
Chlldr n's Fund (UNICEF)
333 E. 38th St.
New York, N.Y. 10018
