,. . r tiac tan Da t Eighty-three years of editorial freedom Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan The death of politics in 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104 News Phone: 764-0552 TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 1974 No peace in Vietnam WHEN FOUR GOVERNMENTS signed the Paris Peace Accords one year ago, the people of the United States and Vietnam looked forward in their various ways to the end of a conflict that, for two decades, had ravaged both nations mili- tarily, economically and, especially for the American people, morally. Any hopes that were cherished about the Paris Accords bringing peace to Viet- nam have now vanished in artillery fire, spreading famine, tiger cages, and swell- ing refugee camps. It is now clear that the U. S. govern- ment's intervention in the complex civil strife in Vietnam follows its own grim logic regardless of the needs or desires of the 'citizens of either country. The needs of multinational corporations for raw materials and markets outweight all consideration of ethical, legal, or diplo- matic niceties. ACCORDING TO THE terms of the peace agreement, a permanent ceasefire was to begin on the day that the agree- ment was ratified. Ironically, more bomb tonnage has fallen on Vietnam in the past year than in any previous one, and at least 100,000 Vietnamese have died as the battles flare and subside. A National Council of Reconciliation and Concord was to be established, and new elections under international super- vision were to be held in the South. But the Saigon regime has announced that it has no intention of entering discussions or negotiations with any communists. Editorial Staff CHRISTOPHER PARKS and EUGENE ROBINSON Co-Editors in Chief TONY SCHWARTZ........ ....... Sunday Editor DIANE LEVICK....................... Arts Editor MARTIN PORTER.. . ...........Sunday Editor MARILYN RILEY.,....... Associate Managing Editor ZACHARY SCHILLER..........Editorial Director ERIC SCHOCH ..........Editorial Director CHARLES STEIN....................City Editor TED STEIN..................... Executive Editor ROLE TESSEM ..................Managing Editor EDITORIAL PAGU EDITORS: Miarnie Heyn, Chuck Wilbur, David Yalowitz STAFF wRITfRS: Prakaesh Aswanl, Gordon Atcheson, Dan Biddle, Penny Blank, Dan Blugerman, Howard Bri ).,Dave Burhenn, Bonnie Caes, Charles Cole- rman, Mike Duweck, Tred Evanoff, Deborah Good, William Heenan, Cindy Hill, Jack Krost. Jean Love- Josephine Marcotty, Cheryl Pilate, Judy Ruskin, tAnn Raurna, Bob Seidenstein, Stephen Selbt, Jeff Sorensen, Sue ttephenson, David Stoll, Rebecca Warner Photography Staff! THOMAS GOTTLIEB Chief Photographer KEN PINK ...................... Staff Photographer STUART HOLANDER..........Staff Photographer KAREN KASMAUSKI.............Staff Photographer DAVID MARGOLICK.............Staff Photographer ALLISON RUTTAN..............Staff Photographer JOHN UPTON .................... Staff Photographer Sports Staff DAN BORUS Sports Editor PRANK LONGO - Managing Sports Editor B(B MGINN ...............Executive Sports Editor CHUCK BLOOM ..............Associate Sports Editor JOEL GREER..............Associate Sports Editor RICH STUCK ..............Contributing Sports Editor BOB HEUER............Contributing Sports Editor And Thieu's Tet (lunar new year) pre- sent to the Vietnamese people was an an- nouncement that the required elections will not be held. And although the agreement stipu- lated that all political prisoners were to be released and repatriated, this heated issue cooled rapidly once American POW's came home. Tens and possibly hundreds of thousands of political pri- soners are still held in jails that are de- signed, built, financed, and directed by the U.S. military, while surveillance, com- puterized data gathering on all citizens over the age of fifteen, and "pacification" programs continue unabated. THE U. S. GOVERNMENT, despite an international commitment to disen- gage from the conflict in Vietnam, con- tinues to give direct financial and mili- tary support to regime whose corruption and viciousness are legendary. The Paris Peace Agreement was an at- tempt to move the conflict in Vietnam from the military arena into the political arena where differences could be re- solved in a less-than-lethal fashion, so that ultimately the country could be re- unified. But" the Thieu regime, with complete support from the American government, has thus far evaded the terms of the peace agreement and effectively blocked the chances of a political, non-military, resolution. As long as political solutions are un- available, the military struggle will con- tinue, and actually grow, throughout the foreseeable future. And as long as mili- tary struggle continues, the possibility exists for a renewed U. S. troop commit- ment in Vietnam, accompanied by either the involuntary servitude of the draft or ,the appalling spectacle of American vol- unteer mercenary troops. AMERICANS MUST REALIZE that their government's involvement in the Vietnam war is far from over, and must take concrete steps to insure its final re- solution under the terms of the Paris Agreement. Citizens must apply pressure to Con- gress to cut off military and police aid to Thieu, and must constantly remind Thieu that his violations of the agreement, es- pecially in regard to political prisoners, do not pass unnoticed. And the public must demand accurate information on political and military events in Vietnam from press and gov- ernment. Further, all of us must contri- bute to rebuilding all the lives - Ameri- can veterans and draft resisters, Vietna- mese soldiers and civilians - that have been shattered by this war. TODAY'S STAFF: News: Dan Biddle, Cheryl Pilate, S a r a Rimer, Judy Ruskin, David Stoll, Becky Warner Editorial Page: Ted Hartzell, Marnie Heyn, Eric Schoch Arts Page: Ken Fink, Diane Levick Photo Technician: David Margolick By GARY THOMAS ON JANUARY 27, 1973, the United States, North Vietnam (DRV), South Viet- nam (GVN) and the Provisional Revolution- ary Government of South Vietnam (PRG) sat down in Paris to affix their signatures to a document aimed at bringing peace to a war-weary Vietnam. The diplomatic handiwork of Henry Kis- singer and North Vietnam's Le Duc Tho finally produced a peace agreement to bring stability to South Vietnam and extricate the United States from a quagmire of its own making. One year later, South Vietnam is still without peace or agreement. Historically, wars have been fought to be won with a decisive military victory. The post-World War II era has changed that, with the Korean settlement foreshadowing what was to come out of Vietnam. The Paris agreement was a series of points designed to end hostilities with a political formula - not a military one. It is in this context that the breakdown of the cease- fire must be viewed. EACH SIGNATORY in the agreements, of course, had different interests at heart in the accord. For the United States, the ob- ject was to get out as quickly as possible "with honor" - which meant getting out while maintaining shreds of its steadily dwindling prestige. To this end Dr. Kissing- er was able to deliver what President Nixon wanted. For the DRV, it was an end to the bomb- ing which had plagued that ceutnry ever since American intrusion into the conflict. This was secondary, however, to the Viet- namese drean of unification - a vision which Ho Chi Minh did not live to see and which still has not come about. The agreement also put North Vietnamese down the long path to reconstruction. For the GVN, there was no real interest at all - it had been pressured into it by the United States. Kissinger made it clear to South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu that he faced a sure cutoff of Amer- ican aid from an awakening Congress if he did not play ball. Thieu's position remains the same as it always has been: the agreements are just a worthless piece of paper and he will have no truck with Communists. THE PRG HAD the most to gain by the accords. The political formula drawn up in Paris gave PRG a legal stake in the political future of South Vietnam, a goal denied them under the Thieu regime - and still denied them one year later. The most basic responsibility for the two domestic sides under the agreement is that they engage in political competition with each other. It was to be essentially a struggle be- VotmnA tietnam political struggle in face of such obstacles. While it, too, has violated the ceasefire, it realizes the importance of political strug- gle over military battles. From a New York Times report on Nov. 1, 1973: "President Thieu has never had any real interest in engaging in the com- plex, high-risk 'political struggle' suggested by the Paris Agreement . . . and the Com- munists, while willing to try the political struggle, were hardly prepared to aban- don their military options." Where does the United States fit into this? As overt military presence left Vietnam, more and more of the slack left by the military was taken up by U.S. multina- tional corporations, with Lear-Siegler, Asia- tic Petroleum and ITT topping the list. The corporations have vied for aircraft mechanics, communications specialists and other ex-military men to go back to Viet- nam as civilians under Defense Department contracts and do the same jobs they did in the military. A potential applicant for a job with Lear- Siegler was turned down in February be- cause all the openings had been filled so quickly. When asked if he should try again at a later time, the Lear recruiter an- swered, "Oh, sure. We entered Vietnam in 1965 and we'll be there a long time veet." A NOV. 28, 1973 report in the Los Angeles Times revealed another aspect of contin- uing American involvement. The story quot- ed a U.S. military oficer in Thailand "with access to intelligence reports on South Vietnamese bombing raids" as saying U.S. photo reconnaissance planes have been fly- ing missions to check on accuracy of Sai- gon's pilots. Aid has also continued to South Vietnam. The Administration allocated more than $3 billion in military aid to Indochina this fiscal year. This figure includes Laos, Cam- bodia and Thailand. The $3 billion figure has not been publicly broken down for us to see who gets what. Whatever happens this coming year, one fact remains clear: The GVN, with the tacit approval of the United States, has refused to allow the PRG to participate in the poli- tical process in South Vietnam. The viola- tions continue on both sides. Until the GVN does show such willing- ness, there can be every realistic expecta- tion that the PRG and DRV will con- tinue to seek military solutions out of a lack of any other alternative. The one opened to them, the Paris Peace Agreement, has failed. Gary Thomas is a reporter for United P-ess International news service. A 'civilian' helps load bombs at Da Nang tween the GVN and PRG for support among the people - a struggle which the GVN has adamantly refused to allow. In this the GVN has had the tacit support of the United States, which has already gotten what it wanted out of the agreement: an "honor- able" withdrawal and return of its POWs. The U.S. and GVN squarely placed the blame for the breakdown of the accords on the PRG and DRV. These two have had the most to gain by honoring the agreement, while the U.S. and South Vietnam have the least to gain by cofnpliance DEFENSE SECRETARY James Schles- inger said on Jan. 7 of this year that the United States might resume bombing in the event of an offensive "without provo- cation" - an interesting statement if one reads between the lines, for it implies that -ation on the part of its South Viet- T?* had already occurred. Such provocation has already resulted in PRG violations reported by the West- ern press, while GVN violations have often gone unnoticed. Newsmen are forbid- den by the Saigon government from travel- ling into PRG-controlled zones, where most of the GVN shelling and bombing takes place. When newsmen have managed to g e t close to the action, they have been abus- ed by GVN troops. Craig Whitney of the New York Times reported on April 7, 1973 that "to con- ceal the fighting from public notice, the government banned all civilian traffic." While covering ceasefire fighting on that same day, Whitney reported, "The (police) chief ripped out the photographer's film and confiscated the driver's identity card. His men shot out two tires of the jeep." BUT THE PRG has been willing to try the The fruits of ignorance By PATRICIA TEPPER THURSDAY night State Repre- sentative Perry Bullard sat down with students in South Quad's West Lounge to report on legisla- tion in Lansing and to gather stu- dent opinions on current issues. He was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of twelve. Never has stu- dent apathy run so high. Bullard, alarmed about the growing menace of police-state tac- tics in Michigan government, had many fascinating things to say: -$400,000 of the state's budget has been allotted for TIP - Turn In a Pusher - despite the fact that the national program has failed completely. Thirty-four new nar- cotics agents have been hired, and rewards up to $30,000 are to be. offered. The administrative board governing the awards is secret; the basis for reward, vague. Since informers are to be iden- tified only by number, a narcotics agent could conceivable take un- fair advantage of the system, and an informer could collect without reporting the sum on his/her tax returns. -CLERK-TYPISTS working for the state are required to take a psychological test as part of their civil service exam. The test will soon be administered to state troop- ers, and eventually to others fur- ther up the bureaucratic line. Questions like, "When you were a child, who punished you most? a) your father; b) your mother" or "When you were disciplined as a child, were vou a) punished phy- sically; b) punished verbally; c) deprived of something; d) severe- ly reprimanded but not punished)" are highly personal and totally ir- relevant to job performance. Yet the entire test consists of such questions. As Bullard aptly puts it, "It's a perversion to have these questions asked of you." -Bullard also pointed out that the oil industry is playing games with the American people and -put- ting corporate interests far abo-e the welfare of the nation. Oil in- dustries are amassing huge pro- fits during an oil shortage, while consumers are paying exorbitant prices for gasoline and fuel oil. -BULLARD ALSO talked about tuition, a subject vital to students. Little can be done about secret re- gents' meetings, which are consti- tutionally protected, but Bulllard has proposed the addition of three student regents, to represent stux- dent interests. He also nad sug- gestions for more effective finan- cial aid programs and alternatives like a deferred tuition plan. The list goes on and on. Student disinterest was undmuht- edly not the only factor which in- fluenced attendance at the mect- ing. There seems to 'e a pervas- ive attitude that individuals are powerless to effect any kind of change. Many of those not attend- ing considered a state reprecenta- tive too inconsequential to produce it is not insignificant. On t h e contrary, it makes decisions that vitally affect the state and t h e University itself. Although it is tempting to con- cern ourselves solely with enor- mous national affairs, we cannot ignore local and regional issues, be- "Questions like, 'When you were a child, who pu-nishedl you most? a) youL father b) your mother . ..' are highly personal and totally ir- relevant to job performance." |.|.|||a . ..|||. . .... justifiable) that they have no voic in eaucational and governmenta. matters and that they should have the 'right to exercise some control over the issues that affect them. THURSDAY NIGHT they had an opportunity to speak out, but no one showed up. People who do not take political responsibility deserve the inade- quate legislation and. incompetent leaders they often get. Voters must remain consistently aware of trends in governmental policy - but it city, state, or national - in order to assert and protect their consti- tutional rights. Without continual vigilance on the part of citizens, legislators sometimes convenient- ly forget their duty to guard their constituents' rights and pass bills which make massive invasion of privacy, in the form of phychologi- cal tests, a mandatory part of the civil service exam. Voter indifferent is an insidious threat to freedom, but few people seem to recognize its danger. If we end up with a nation looking more and more like a police state, it is, to a great extent, our own fault. Patricia Tepper is a staff writer for The Daily. worthwhile legislation. T h e y thought that he would have noth- ing new to say to students, a n d that any input from them in turn would not matter anyway. To a certain extent, they were right. Bullard did not have any sensaional news to report, but he did reveal some interesting facts, and he did ask for student response to important issues. THE FACT is that a state re- presentative can have influence. The state legislature, although sometimes invisible to the public, cause one set frequently springs from the other. The grassroots movement for "law and order" is one example. A major focal point of the 1968 and 1972 presidentdil elections, it has filtered up through municipal and state levels to na- tional politics. The point is that students had a chance to find out what decisions the state legislature has made and is going to consider, as well as a chance to make their views known to their representative. They did not take it, however. Students constantly complain (and #JE1ZRZ For >S A NICE G.31. Etur ma's ibo MMY GAMES V1JIT4N RK T. . tw83 rr t py I / ^1 a 4 t II I I lY i /w Letter To The Daily: IN THE '60's the country em- barked upon a miserable escapade in Sountheast Asia. It took years to get out and stop the death of tens of thousands of Americans. In the '70's we are not without our killing mistakes. Now this country kills its young unborn. They are not entitled to a thing because they cannot speak for themselves. Our involvement in Vietnam cost us over 40,000 Americans. Since abortion became a reality doctors have killed more than 10 times 'that number in one-fifth the time. In this country in the '60's col- lege students protested deaths of servicement in an "unlawful" and "unjust" war. Are the unborn any less deserving? How can anybody onoose a war and support abortion Equating abortion with war tax resistance To The Daily: THIS MORNING Mr. William Himebrook, an agent with the Spec- ial Intelligence Unit of the Internal Revenue Service, and Mrs. Mary Kellman, from the local IRS of- fice on Washtenaw Avenue, visited me at my office. Mr. Himebrook's purpose was to inform me that I was in the process of being inves- tigated for possible criminal vio- lations of the Internal Revenue Code. He informed me of my rights under the law and said the investi- gation of my case would include discussions with other people. I have refused to pay my Fed- eral income taxes voluntarily since May 1, 1970, the day after Mr. Nixon's announcement of the in- vasion of Cambodia. Except for pose of killing and maiming inno- cent human beings here at home and in foreign lands. The funds I have refused to pay to the gov- ernment have gone, instead, to or- ganizations which promote human welfare. For these activities I am suspected of being a criminal. There are many people in th s community who agree with my ob- jectives and my methods. Many others agree with my goals, but not my methods. Some people object to both. But I am confident that thc vast majority of the people who know me, or know of me, whether they agree with my actions or not, are supportive of my efforts to make this community, this nation, and this world more peaceful plac- es in which to live. I know people are particularly supportive of my right to follow the' dictates of my conscience, so long as these orinci- pals do not hurt other people. In these days ofi almost d a i 1 y revelations about 1 corruption in government, I feel it is very im- portant for me, as an elected pub- lic official, to let my constituents and the people of this community know that my ability to follow the dictates of my conscience, in both personal and public matters, is of utmost importance to me: That comes first. I shall not be swayed from my position by invesi- igations, threats of punishment or anything else} and in follbwing this course, if there is a price to pay, I realize I will have to p ty it. -Liz Taylor County Commissioner . ontact your reps- Sen. Phillip Hart (Dem), Rm 253, Old Senate Bldg., Capitol Bill, Washington, D.C. 20515. Sen. Robert Griffin (Rep), Rm 353, Old Senate Bldg., Capitol ill-Wn1 chitn nT C )215.