U44 Ar4,* tian Ba~tk
Eighty years of editorial freedom
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Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1971
NIGHT EDITOR: LARRY LEMPERT
The invasion of Laos
THE AMERICAN people should be at
war; not with the people of any other
nation. R a t h e r, the American people
should be at war with their own govern-
'ment, a distant and alienated leadership
only claiming to represent them.
For those who observe, the battle be-
tween the two proceeds daily. For most,
however, the fact that the Nixon Admin-
istration has expanded the Indochina
war, even in the face of an overwhelm-
ing national desire to end it immediately,
'is the most recent indication of the
depth of the struggle.
To an extent, everyone recognizes the
existence of the problem. Thus it was that
Nixon employed a blackout of the news
prior to the invasion, for he understood
that most Americans would not tolerate
any further indication that the policies
which led to the invasion of Cambodia
last May had not been changed. Realiz-
ing that the people are against him, Nixon
could only hope to manipulate his enemy
by controlling the information they re-
ceived.
But the fact remains that Nixon is
solely responsible for the current inva-
sion. Even if people can believe adminis-
tration statements claiming that Ameri-
can intervention in Laos has been limited
to air and artillery support, Secretary of
State William Rogers' admission that the
final, decision to enter Laos lay with
Nixon clearly indicates who is responsible
for the continuation of imperialistic acts
in Indochina.
Nor would Nixon's responsibility be les-
sened if his claim of keeping U.S. troops
out of Laos were actually true. For the
technological escalation of the war re-
sulting in the defoliation of the Vietna-
mese countryside and the subsequent
genetic damage to the Indochinese people
as well as the destruction resulting from
anti-personnel and conventional bombs
are no less devastating or immoral than
would be the use of ground troops.
DESPITE THIS genocidal A m e r i c a n
strategy, the Vietnamese recognize the
necessity of alliance between themselves
and the American people if peace is to
be achieved, they have continued to ex-
press their steadfast solidarity with the
American people who they feel are not
represented by the U.S. government.
Even after the U.S. had intervened in
Laos, for example, Madame Nguyen Thi
Binh, foreign minister of South Vietnam's
Provisional Revolutionary Government,
sent an appeal to the American people
Editorial Saft
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saying, "Earnestly call you to mobilize
peace forces in your country. Check U.S.
dangerous ventures in Indochina."
And after communicating with Ma-
dame Binh Sunday, Rennie Davis report-
ed to the conference that the Vietnamese
have lost the patience they once had
about the war. As the genocide against
their people mounts they can no longer
consider waging a five or ten year strug-
gle with the belief that the defeat of
United States imperialism is inevitable.
They can not face the prospect of an
entire generation of deformed children
brought a b o u t by American chemical
warfare.
THEREFORE, IT is now more important
than ever for the American and Viet-
name peoples to take joint action to end
Nixon's Indochina war. And the People's
Peace Treaty just ratified by the national
Student and Youth Conference on a Peo-
ple's Peace represents a significant step
in this direction.
But the treaty will only be another
meaningless petition if those who sign it
do not recognize their responsibility to
implement it. The flexibility of the treaty
in not prescribing any specific form of
implementation a l1 o w s the anti - war
m o v e m e n t to broaden its support -
through an appeal to individuals of dif-
ferent levels of political consciousness.
In the long run, the proposed May Day
demonstrations in Washington, D.C., are
one important method of implementing
the treaty, for the decision to commit
large-scale civil disobedience in the capi-
tal intensifies the level of the American
struggle. Of course the success of the May
Day actions rests on the work done to take
the treaty to the American people in
the months preceding May.
Given the government's news manipu-
lating ability and the limited media cov-
erage that such events as the people's
peace conference received, difficult per-
son-to-person contact may be the only
means available to garner the support to
end the war.
In any event, the May Day demonstra-
tion is not likely by itself to end the war;
hence it must be seen not as the culmi-
nation of the peace treaty efforts but
rather as a stage in a protracted struggle.
And the struggle must begin now, before
the American people are allowed to for-
get the import of the Laotian invasion-
such as happened after last year's Cam-
bodian invasion.
Students on this campus must adopt
the sense of urgency felt by the Vietna-
mese over the invasion of Laos. The shell
of apathy that has enveloped this campus
must be burst by fierce opposition to the
invasion and to the general policy of the
Nixon administration. Ann Arbor must
demonstrate itssoutrage by participating
in actions here tomorrow, thus joining
with millions of others in demonstrations
across the country this week.
-ZACHERY SCHILLER
-CHUCK WILBUR
T reaty for a
g People 's Peace
The folloning is the text of the joint treaty of peace between the People of
the United S ates, South Vietnam and North Vietnam, as ratified by the na-
tional Student and You.h Conference for a People's Peace.
B E IT KNOWN that the American and Vietnamese people are not
t enemies. The war is carried out in the names of the people of the
United States and South Vietnam but without our consent, it destroys
the land and people of Vietnam. it drains America of its resources, its
youth and its honor.
We hereby agree to end the war on the following terms, so that
both peoples can live under the joy of independence and can devote
themselves to building a society based on human equality and respect
for the earth. In rejecting the war we also reject all forms of racism
and discrimination against people based on color, class, sex, national
origin, and ethnic grouping which form the basis of the policies of
present and past United States governments.:
1. The Americans agree to immediate and total withdrawal from
Vietnam and publicly set the date by which all U.S. military forces will
be removed.
2. The Vietnamese pledge that as soon as the U.S. government
publicly sets a date for total withdrawal:
, .They will enter discussions to secure the release of all American
prisoners including pilots captured while bombing North Vietnam.
3. There will be an immediate cease fire between U.S. forces and
those led by the provisional Revolutionary Government of South Viet-
nam,
s 4. They will enter discussions on the procedures to guarantee the
safety of all withdrawing troops.
5. The Americans pledge to end the imposition of Thieu-Ky-Khiem
on the people of South Vietnam in order to insure their right to self-
determination and so that all political prisoners can be released.
6. The Vietnamese pledge to form a provisional coalition govern-
ment to organize democratic elections, all parties agree to respect the
results of elections in which all South Vietnamese can participate freely
without the presence of any foreign troops.
7. The South Vietnamese pledge to enter discussion of procedures
to guarantee the safety and political freedom of those South Vietna-
mese who have collaborated with the U.S. or with the U.S.-supported
regime.
8. The Americans and Vietnamese agree to respect the indepen-
dence, peace and neutrality of Laos and Cambodia in accord with the
1954 and 1962 Geneva conventions and not to interfere in the internal
affairs of these two countries.
9. Upon these points of agreement, we pledge to end the war and
resolve all other questions.in the spirit of self-determination and mu-
tual respect for the independence and political freedom of the people
of Vietnam and the United States.
By ratifing this agreement we pledge to take whatever actions
ar e appr opiriate to implement the termis of this joint treaty and to in-
sure its acceptance by the government of the United States.
The obsolescence ofthe da te
By LARRY LEMPERT
"YOU HAVE to accept change
before it's too late," said my
friend Justin Thyme (who likes to
include his middle initial N., for
Nickov) as we ran around the track
at Waterman.
"You can't be static in a world
of motion," said Justin, "You'll be
left behind."
I TRIED TO catch up as he con-
tinued, "I know it's not always
easy. You've been brought up to
have certain expectations, to do
things in a certain way."
"Can you slow down a little,
Justin?"
"You can't slow down." he said
"you've got to keep up with the
times. She's liberated. Don't feel
hurt, learn from her. Do you want
to know why she turned you
down?"he asked as we began our
fourth lap.
"No, I want to sit down for a
minute. I'm not in very good shape,
you know. All I do is go to classes
and work at the paper."
WE STOPPED RUNNING. "I'll
tell you why she turned you down.
You asked her for a date, that's
why. '
"Oh."
"There is no such thing as a date
anymore, Larry. The only dates
that exist grow on trees."
"I was never too good at climb-
ing, I guess."
But Justin was halfway up the
rope. "Dating is a dead institu-
has surprised the Marxian state in
tion," he yelled down to me. "It
withering." He dropped down to
the mat. "Fact it, you're still living
in high school."
"Oh my God."
"That's right, high school. You
think you can call a girl on the
telephone and ask her to go to a
play. Then you think you can go
to her place, pick her up, see the
play get something to eat after-
wards and take her home."
"Didn't you forget something?"
"No, that's just the point!
Things don't work like that any-
more. You're on the wrong track
the minute you pick up the tele-
phone."
WE LEFT THE track and walked
toward the showers. "But I didn't
pick up the telephone. I asked her
in person."
"And what did she say?"
"She said she'd let me know in
a couple days."
"And I suppose you sat around
wondering if she was putting you
down, or if she was playing hard
to get, or whatever?
"Yeah, I guess I wondered."
Justin shook his head sadly. "You
are in bad shape, aren't you?
Those games are over now. What
was her final answer?"
"She said she couldn't go be-
cause she couldn't afford it."
"Don't tell me." Justin braced
himself. "You said, 'Oh, if that's
the only problem, I'll pay for it."
"That's right."
"No, no, no, no, no! Sure, going
to a show on some guy's dough is
a freehride. But it's also accepting
his definition of roles. It's saying,
'Yes, pay for me, provide for me,
because I can't pay or provide for
myself'."
"Shit, that hurts!" I turne.d off
the hot water in the shower.
"You're damn right it hurts, and
that's why she turned you down.
Listen." he said, "You're all wet."
HE TURNED off his shower and
went to get me a towel.
*1-
tL
Letters to The Daily
-Daily-Randy Edmonds
Harris
To the Daily:
AS CANDIDATES for political
office in the city of Ann Arbor, we
are appalled and angered by the
firing of Robert H. Hunter as as-
sistant director of the city's Hu-
man Relations Department. Mr.
Hunter has charged that his dis-
missal was politically motivated.
It appears that he was fired be-
cause he has consistently taken
the position that the city govern-
ment ought to be a vigorous de-
fender of minority rights rather
than an ineffective apologist for
meaningless and marginal reform.
He dared to criticize Mayor Harris
for refusing to prosecute a police
officer who had struck a black
prisoner who was pinned to the
ground at a rally during the BAM
strike at the University last year.
The claim of Mayor Harris that
the Hunter dismissal was the sole
decision of the director of the Hu-
man Rights Department is no
more than a politically motivated
refusal to face up to the respon-
sibility for this atrocity.
It is interesting to note that for
nearly two years, Harris has con-
tinually refused to support the re-
moval of Police C h i e f Walter
Krasny from his position despite
numerous, well d o c u m e n t e d
charges of racism and insensitivi-
ty on the part of Krasny and his
department. It is ironic, indeed,
that a supposedly liberal mayor
should dismiss a man w h o for
nearly five years has fought for
the rights of Ann Arbor's black
w.C.C.
To the Daily:
Thank goodness for the Washte-
naw Community College Free Day
Care Center. Without it, myself
and many, many others would not
be able to further our educations.
Fortunately the Washtenaw Com-
munity C o 11 e g e administration
could see that this community col-
lege would need day care facilities
in order to serve the community
for which it was established. 'they
acted affirmatively by creating a
day care center for pre-schoolers.
With the increased student en-
rollment at W.C.C. came the in-
creased load of children on the
nursery facilities. Therefore, an-
other facility was made available
for more pre-schoolers this term.
This is truly a community college
in tune with the community it
serves.
Now, however, there is a greater
need for more playthings, (espe-
cially sturdy wooden toys), snacks
like juice, crackers, and fruit, and
educational materials. A request
has already been made to The
Ann Arbor News' Action Please
column concerning the need for a
television (possibly two, now) so
the children would be able to
watch the much acclaimed NET
television program, Sesame Street.
As of this writing, no affirmative
action has come.
The University of Michigan could
certainly learn something from the
W.C.C. positive day care center
program, the newly-created day
Classified research and the 'U':
Reevaluation necessary
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is
the text of a letter sent to Prof.
Gerhard Weinberg, chairman of
Senate Assembly.
SINCE MY appointment to the
Senate Assembly Classified Re-
search Committee, I have become
increasingly concerned about the
type of military-sponsored research
being conducted at the University.
As a committee member I have
had the opportunity to review sum-
maries of all classified research
proposals written during the past
two and one-half years. At this
point, it is clear to me that most of
this secret research is inconsistent
with the goals and philosophy of
our university. I am bringing this
matter to your attention, and to the
attention of the entire university
community, because I feel that
some immediate action must be
taken to rectify the situation.
The primary goal of a university
should be the preservation and en-
hancement of human life and hu-
man resources. However, our uni-
versity is conducting millions of
dollars of research to perfect wea-
pon systems and subsystems which
are being used by the military to
kill and incapacitate other human
beings. Obviously, such enter-
prises are inappropriate for the
and reports are classified they are
not generally available for peace-
ful a n d humane applications.
Moreover, the nature and mission
of the agencies sponsoring this type
of research mitigates against the
non-military utilization of the
knowledge obtained.
As a member of the university
community, I am deeply concerned
that academic freedom be pre-
served. Researchers should have
the right to conduct investigations
in any area of interest as long as
they do not endanger the health and
safety of others. The research
which I am describing, however,
does not fall under the umbrella
of academic freedom because its
results will be used by the funding
source to injure and kill people.
Further, research in wnich the data
and reports are often kept secret
isantiethical to academic freedom
as well as the scientific method.
Many other renowned institutions
including Yale, Harvar-1, Prince-
ton, Michigan State, and the Uni-
versity of Minnesota have come to
the conclusion that classified re-
search is not an appropriate fune-
tion of the university.
IT IS ESPECIALLY incensing to
know that our university is making
ability of military aircraft and
tanks so that they can reach their
targets. Remote Sensing, Counter-
measures Techniques, Target Sig-
natures, Acoustic Surveillance, In-
frared Surveillance and Counter-
measures - all of these seeminglyg
innocuous research areas are, in
reality, sophisticated weaponry en-
hancing destructive capabilities in
Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.
In view of the above, I wish to
make several recommendations
with respect to secret military re-
search. First; all war research#
funded by Department of Defense
agencies, or any other sponsor In-
volved in the killing process,
should be immediately halted.
Second, the veil of secrecy sur-
rounding such research should be
lifted to permit informed discus-
sion within the university commur
ity. Finally, the Senate Assembly
should thoroughly reevaluate clas-
sified research and publicly recon-
sider the appropriateness of con-
ducting war research at the uni-
versity.
In closing, I would like to re-
quest permission to appear before
Senate Assembly sometime in the
near future to elaborate by con-
cerns. Thank you very much for
your consideration.