El e :4d3ta Baly Eighty-Seven Years of Editorial Freedom 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Ml 48109 I Latin American terrorism: A Wednesday, October 6, 1976 News Phone: 764-0552 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan Debate two Debate one regularly administered drug GERALD FORD AND JIMMY CAR- TER will be debating again tonight, this time about defense and foreign policies, and there is no overriding reason to suspect that the candidates will be any less cardboard than in the first political TV game show of Sep- tember 23. The debates have not yet proven to be debates. So far, all the two candidates have done amounts to an exchange of carefully prepared statements, providing for a rather dis- appointing spectacle if not a pitiful farce. They'll be talking about real issues tonight, but Carter is still going to promise a new hope for America while Ford advocates conservatism and sta- tus quoism - probably resorting to his ridiculously simple-minded placebo statement, "We are at peace!" Neither of these approaches are convincing. By them, the debates are just legitimized ad-hype if the first one has indeed set the pattern for the rest. Ford and Carter's emotional thrusts are unexciting, uncreative, formula- sales packages based on buzz words and other routines generally associat- ed with selling cars. This second per- sonality contest based upon who can make relative rhetoric sound the most sincere - and the other sound very bad -- is both a shame and an affront to the people of this country. Nevertheless, watch the second big, gloriously anachronistic debate. May- be we'll be surprised to learn that Ford and Carter have smelled the coffee of dissatisfaction and sensibly reordered what they have to say, as dubious a proposition as that may be. If they haven't - which is more likely - the least we can do is fire off a few letters to our representatives demanding democratic realism of our appointed, annointed or elected officials, esT)(-il- ly those trying to get elected. Ford and Carter may surprise us by coming on straight, and the world might start spinning in the other di- rection. If that sounds cynical, It is no worse in proportion to the insult the debates, as they are now, inflict upon our system. Watch 'em and weep and try to keep your fingers out of the Quaalude jar. James Carter By FRANK VIVIANO ON SEPTEMBER 21, the normal quiet of Washington's Embassy Row was shattered by a time bomb which killed Dr. Orlando Letelier, former Chilean Ambassador to the United States, and his Institute for Policy Studies colleague Ronnie Moffit, Dr. Letelier, a political moderate, had been deprived of his citi- zenship only days before, thanks largely to his efforts to discourage foreign as- sistance to the repressive miltary gov- ernment of General Augusto Pinochet. However much the violence surprised Washingtonians, its intended victim was prepared for it. "They are going to kill me," he had told a New York Times reporter some months earlier. The death of Ms. Moffitt, an Ameri- can, and the extension of terrorism to the very capital of the United States has provided us with a taste of what, for millions of Latin Americans, is regular- lv - administered bitter medicine. Politi- cal murders, torture, and imprisonment without charge have become the rule, rather than the exception, in much of the Spanish and Portuguese - speaking western hemisphere. According to Unit- ed Nationsestimates, the whereabouts of more than 8,000 Chileans who "disap- peared" during the September, 1973, coup are still unknown. Some 360,000 others have been fired from their jobs as a result of political or union activities, including a great number of the coun- try's academics. The entire Economics faculty of the Catholic University in Santiago, 90 per cent of whom are mem- bers of the conservative Christian Dem- ocratic Party, have been discharged. In- fants are routinely taken from parents tinder pressure to provide testimony against opponents of the regime. The terror respects no barriers, it is di- rected at anyone, old or young, leftist or centrist, male or female, who ob- jects to the tactics of the military junta. While Americans have heard a great deal about the abuse of human rights in Chile, less is known of equally-dreadful conditions in other Latin American na- tions. Argentina is currently at the mercy of roving "death squads" which Frank Viriano is a graduate student in the Program in American Culture and a ember of the AnnA Arbor Committee for Hluman Rights in Latin Amnerica. account for nearly 2,000 political assas- sinations annually. Of late, their chief targets have been Argentine Jews. With the approval of the government, explicit- ly anti-semitic propaganda is distributed in the schools. Some students are re- quired to read Hitler's Mein Kampf. One group has actually declared "total war against the Jews." Since March 24, Con- gress has been closed, political parties banned, union membership made illegal, and 10,500 people incarcerated. In Brazil, which boasts Latin Ameri- ca's most robust economy, with a GNP of more than $100 billion, artists and in- tellectuals who call attention to the ironic presence of the continent's largest population of the desperately poor, have reason to fear for their lives. Recently, the entire staff of Rio's Museum of Mod- ern Art was arrested for such activities - or simple association with them. The Museum's film collection was destroyed by police because it included the works of Russian cinema pioneer Sergei Eisen- stein. Vladimir Herzog, news director of the state-owned educational television network, committed suicide after intense grilling by security officials. IN URUGUAY, Paraguay, Peru, Co- lumbia, Mexico, and elsewhere, efforts to improve the conditions of dislocated Indian tribes and peasants bring harsh penalties. Seven students who protested the lavish expenditures of the govern- ment of El Salvador on the Miss Uni- verse Contest, while famine is the daily lot of many, were publicly executed. The list of atrocities goes on and on, most of it well documented by the United Na- tions Commission on Human Rights and by the Organization of American States. The offending governments are of wide- ly-divergent economic philosophies: some, like Peru, are of the left: others, like Chile, reactionary. Common to them all, is disdain for the basic right to hu- man dignity which citizens of the United States and Canada take for granted. Sympathy for the plight of the abused anywhere should be sufficient to arouse deep concern among Americans. There are, sadly, other compelling reasons for us to take belated notice of develop- ments in Latin America. The hard truth is that such conditions could not prevail without the tacit - which is not to say inactive - support of the United States government, and financial encourage- ment from American business. We can only guess how painful a recent special report in Business Week must have been for exiled Chileans, Argentines, and oth- ers. "There is good news coming out of Latin America for the hundreds of U. S. and other foreign companies with a stake in this vast region," the report began. And later: "Chile is the model, in purest form, of the new strategy of economic development based on market competition free enterprise, and an 'op- ening to the exterior."' Dow Chemical, which gave us napalm and defoliant war- fare in Vietnam, calls it "one of the world's major growth opportunities." ITT, cited by the Congress of the United States as a major contributor to the chaos which destroyed the elected gov- ernment of Salvador Allende, admits to intense involvement in the internal poli- tics of many Latin nations. The leaders of the present regime in Chile, however, seem quite undisturbed. "To be per- fectly frank, they have never brought up the subject," says ITT Latin America vice-president J. W. Guilfoyle. U. S. Congressional hearings also re- vealed that the Central Intelligence Ag- ency poured at least $400,000 into efforts to dislodge Dr. Allende and promote in- stability. The U. S. Treasury Depart- ment's Export-Import Bank withheld credit from Chile during the Allende years, and U. S. Agency for Internation- al Development funding was cancelled. Assistance from private banks depend- ing on U. S. loan guarantees fell from $220 million to $35 million. By contrast, combined support from foreign sources in the eighteen months which followed the military takeover has amounted to a staggering $622 million. MOST AMERICANS can plead ignor- ance, perhaps, in defense of their half- hearted response to a tragedy for which their own political and economic leaders bear significant responsibility. The news media, which have traditionally consid- ered Latin American affairs only when, as in Chilehthey are impossible to ig- nore, have shed far too little light on the rise of terrorism to our south. We must respond to it now as a fait accompli. Nevertheless, our response is crucial, and our belated confrontation with the facts important. In the week of November 14-20, the Ann Arbor Committee for Human Rights in Latin America, a politically-non-par- tisan organization of students, faculty, and members of the community, will sponsor a teach-in on "Terror in Latin America." The event is designed to meet the problem of ignorance head-on. Inter- nationally - renowned experts on Latin American politics and economics, exiled artists and intellectuals, representatives of the United Nations and other concern- ed groups will be in Ann Arbor for a series of lectures, workshops, and panel discussions treating the crisis. Partici- pants will examine such topics as the role of the churches in Latin American politics, the prevalence of torture, the plight of women and minority groups, economic factors in the rise of totalitar- ian government, restraint of academic freedom, and much more. It is hoped that the teach-in will call attention, perhaps on a national scale, to the seriousness of the crisis in Latin America and provide concerned Amer- icans with opportunities to help ameli- orate conditions there. Despite the harshness of their methods, repressive regimes have proven sensitive to inter- national protest. Well-coordinated cam- paigns have resulted in the release of some political prisoners. In addition, the legislative means to exert American pressure on offending nations was passed by Congress this year. American assist- ance may now be revoked for any gov- ernment which abuses the human rightly of its own citizens. If the law is to be effectively enforced, .however, Ameri- cans must make their concern known to their representatives in Washington. The teach-in marks an ambiguous an- niversary for the University of Michi- gan. Just a decade ago, the nation's first teach-in on the War in Vietnam was held here. Then ,as now, the media portray- ed American students as apathetic, self- centered, and interested only in "doing their own thing." Within two years, that image had undergone a rather complete transformation. Then, as now, the lack of interest was related to a lack of knowledge. Our ig- norance of the realities of Southeast Asia heled forge a disastrous commitment to governments which had little popu- lar support, which systematically de- nrived people of their rights as human beings, and which indulged in the most appalling sorts of political corruption. Will we learn anything from our own re cent history? Or will we make the samo awful mistake again? Gerald Ford TODAY'S STAFF: News: Bill Turque, Tim Schick, Stu McConnell, Liz Kaplan, Liz Slowik Editorial Page: Rob Meachum, Tom Stevens Arts Page: Lois Josimovich Photo Technician: Chris Schneider Letters should be typed and limited to 400 words. The Daily reserves the right to edit letters for length and grammar. Cuba turns on charm at UN i to buck up relations with U.S. b;m ? YESN s~?w,? : -:. bAb ( a 1 wav %xc, A PRA- MARVIAIL AFFAIR! ... rEs, susax... ei :- r S I' "t CrOiNis TO G1V ... f1ND AN %N-rjy.M tw-Mvvw 'TO PLAYBfiK wR6N 1. GET WK s Sus FFiw*ti thY SF3C'cl1MXwE q1; °YER.# 'C14N N SWEOEtJd 1 \:J (C1-EAYER ,".YES, 5vSgN... ya By T. D. ALLMAN Pacific News Service -rHE COCKTAIL PARTY, held in the United Nations en- clave here, was not an unusual one. Guests included diplomats, journalists, university profes- sors, officials of foundations and several of those chic, thirtyish women who are the diplomatic equivalents of snow bunnies. In one corner, two Cuban dip- lomats were engaged in a heat- ed argument. What was unusual was that they were arguing with each other, rather than with Americans. Whether the Cubans were aware of it or not, their amicable but lively debate had a highly favorable effect on the other guests. "I've visited many commu- nist countries," said one U.S. foreign policy expert, "and you just never see a pair of Rus- sian or Chinese officials dis- agree with each other in pub- lic. I find the Cubans likeable and impressive." While United Nations member- ship is important to Cuba, Cuba's New York mission is ab- solutely vital to its growing dia- logue with Americans - a dia- logue that is more lively than ever, despite the fact that the two countries have had no dip- lomatic relations for more than fifteen years. The objective of Cuba's dip- lomacy in New York is so clear that not even the Cubans them- selves make any secret of it. Though the official course of U.S.-Cuban detente has been blocked following the Cuban military intervention in Angola, an unofficial, behind-the-scenes Cuban effort to promote renew- ed diplomatic relations is flour- ishing. FROM THEIR UN mission, Cuban diplomats armed with invitations to Havana have been seeking out Americans they be- lieve will be influential policy- makers after the presidential election, whoever wins. As a result, the trickle of im- -t- -1 T C -;ctn o i,,- sonally conservative, even when they favor major liberalizations in U.S. foreign policy, and there- fore their personal reactions are especially interesting. Most such visitors dislike the communist- style austerity of Cuba. But they are greatly impressed by Cuba's social accomplishments, and they remark again and again about the absence of se- cret police, the lack of fear among Cubans, their friendli- ness and their frankness, even in political discussions with foreigners. "FOR ALL ITS FAULTS, I still would prefer a liberal de- mocracy like Venezuela," said one such visitor, Robert Bond, who is a research fellow at New York's Council on Foreign Relations. But, he added, "if one is to choose between the dictatorship in Chile and the dic- tatorship in Cuba, I would pre- fer Cuba. Castro has not only given the people bread. He has given them dignity." Even during the darkest days of the U.S.-Cuba confrontation, Americans and Cubans retained much in common for the sim- ple reason that historically no other Latin American country, not even Mexico, has been so close to the United States. The expertise of Cuba's America watchers clearly remains great and the Cubans seem correctly to have recognized that they can only gain by giving Ameri- cans a largely unimpeded look at themselves and the socialist society they have built since Castro entered Havana in 1959. Why, nonetheless, are the Cu- bans so eager to re-establish diplomatic relations with a coun- try which historically has ex- nloited Cuba, and which, since 1960, has done everything from blockade the country to conspir- ing to have its national leader assassinated? BOTH AMERICANS and Cu- bans point out that it was nev- er Cuba that broke off dinlo- matic relations with the United States. or withdrew from the borne Pell. "Yet in spite of the total independence they now have from America, we are still terribly important to them. It is almost as though by re- establishing ties with Washing- ton they would gain the final, ultimate legitimacy." Cuban officials frankly state that they would benefit from re- newed trade ties with the U.S. and from access to American technology. And in return, high ranking Cuban officials, in mar- athon conversations with visit- ing Americans, have offered the possibility of what once were some unthinkable conces- sions. ACCORDING TO Americans recently returning from Cuba, these include an end to the propaganda war with the U.S., some form of reconciliation with the Cuban exile community in America, which amounts to ten per cent of the entire Cuban population, an end to Cuban pressure at the UN and else- where for Puerto Rican inde- pendence and even discussing the question of compensation for nationalized U.S. holdings in Cuba. Cuban officials, while strong- ly defending the Angola inter- vention, state that it was a product of unique circumstanc- es, among them Dr. Kissinger's own unwarranted hostility to the MPLA. They point out that they have counselled the government of Angola to establish diplomat- ic relations with all nations, in- cluding the U.S. And they express the hope that Dr. Kissinger's present Af- rican diplomacy will succeed to the extent that another Angola- type situation - and hence an- other need for Cuban interven- tion - will not arise again. The question cannot help pos- ing itself: Is the Cuban eager- ness for relations with the U.S. a function of the same dissatis- faction with the Soviet Union that ultimately has driven coun- tries as diverse as Ghana, Egypt and China into better relations with Washington? Russian presence, while very important, is discreet, respect- ful of Cuban sovereignty and that in unusually frank discus- sions with Cubans no trace of irritation with the Soviet Union emerged. "Of course, they can never forget what Khrushchev did during the missile crisis," one such American remarked. "But there also is the fact that Moscow itself favors Cuban- U.S. detente." Both the Cuban mission in New York and the foreign min- istry in Havana are watching the U.S. presidential election carefully, and have attempted in a low-key but consistent man- ner to build bridges to the Car- ter camp. The Cuban effort already may have enjoyed some important successes. At a recent private but high-level meeting at the Center for Inter-American Re- lations in New York, recent vis- itors to Havana discussed their experience. There was no apparent hos- tility to the idea or re-establish- ing relations with Cuba at the meeting. Indeed, the atmosphere was one of guarded but real optimism that U.S.-Cuban rela- tions sooner rather than later can be restored on a mutually respectful basis. CUBAN OFFICIALS private- ly say that they have no illu- sions that the road back to cor- rect relations with the U.S. will be an easy one, whether Ford or Carter wins in November. And they correctly point out that U.S. concessions on the Pana- ma Canal may complicate any eventual U.S.-Cuban rapproche- ment by making either Ford or Carter even more reluctant to permit an eventual return of the U.S. Guantanamo base to Cuban sovereignty. But the Cubans are equally convinced that their patient, low key good neighbor policy to- ward individual members of the U.S. foreign policy community is successfully building a do- mestic appreciation of Cuba's accomplishments, and friendly (R, DADb t? £tES ,~. !- ,X s' 1N C RtIAM *IAwAV 0citlMR TO tE't MRR~t'p ..@ ,SN .. C.AN I tP= YAJtVwM N. MI ~S VS A#S i? 1 '1A'.L V~~ ~ A~~ T AR r-4,-