Page 4-Saturday, May 5, 1979-The Michigan Daily
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Michigan Dail Letter
Eighty-nine Years of Editorial Freedom
Iran's Revolution
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Ml. 48109
Vol. LXXXIX, No. 4-S News Phone: 764-0552 To the Daily:
After being searched for
Edited and managed by students themseves donnmarsh las h
at the University of Michigan gloves to cover brass knuckles,
one is permitted to attend the
"open" meeting. The rom is
rt d e lined by over 30 "defense squad
masalmsrrcedo"pith i a
speaker from "attacks" of an
aaudiencenumbering less than
ten. Some of the "marshals" are
rosters peace t e:
familiar to members -of the
RAGMENTS OF Cold War mentality still audience who attended a
F exist in the U.S. trade policies with the Soviet evous Spartacus Youth
F League (SYL) "meeting." They
Jnion and China. The era of detente, par- are the same "marshals" who
icularly normalization of relations with the brutally attacked with knives
?eople's Republic of China, has prompted some unarmed Iranians, while
iegotiations and some successes in trade policy. the police watched with approval.
Both countries seek most-favored-nation (MFN) self as an Iranian, yet does not
rade status, which would entitle them to lowered know how to speak Persian,
ariffs and all the other privileges our other frien- proceeds to tell of her experien-
Is now enjoy. ces in the Middle East. She sets
forth a series of "facts" about
This breakthrough is vital to upgrading the and accusations against the
tandard of living of millions of Soviet and present Iranian government,
"hinese citizens, but also as the bulwark of con- and misinformation.
inued peace and stability throughout the world. After the speech, the audience
kwarding such status embraces the interdepen- is given "equal time" to
lent relationships among the three major powers. respond-three minutes per per-
Che increasing Soviet reliance on U.S. grain ex- son. As one marshal, Gene, said,
orts reduces the likelihood that the USSR would Eualr bodyg ets equal time ando
ndanger severing the lifeline due to its own try to disrupt the meeting here,
aggression. At the same time this relationship they will get a fist in the face."
night provide the U.S. with greater leverage in It is response to this at-
ther negotiations. mosphere which is reminiscent of
SAVAKian "democracy," and to
MFN status for China is necessary to back up the accusations and misinfor-
ormalization with tangible gains. Presidents mation presented therein, that
ixon and Ford took preliminary steps to improve this is written.
elations during their terms, but then abrupt the present government of Iran is
olicy shifts and domestic concerns had a chilling quite clear concerning women. In
ffect on further progress. It would be tragic to an interview with a correspon-
epeat such inconsistencies after such vast gains dent of Lemonde (French
ave been made. China admittedly is not the best newspaper), the Ayatollah said,
redit risk, but the Chinese are conscientious" osed her liber lam has never
bout repayment and arrangements already are trary, it has always been against
eing made to deal with the lack of collateral. The the concept of women as objects
ozen assets issue has not been resolved, and and has restored her dignity to
iusiness interests in both countries are eager to her. Woman is the equal of man,
and like him she is free to choose
dvance trade. her destiny and her activities..."
The main snag remaining is the And in an interview with James
ackson-Vanik amendment, which sets free Cockeroff, associate professor of
migration as a prerequisite to granting MFN Sociology at Rutgers University
tatus. The legislation was aimed at the release of (s published in the New York
oviet Jews, but also applies to China. To change should we be against the
he rules for China would pose a threat to the education of women? Why should
varm-up of U.S.-Soviet relations. Last week's we be against women working?
lissident-spy exchange provides a ray of hope Why should women not be able to
hat the Soviets will soften their stance on human work in public institutions
ights. But some solid assurance that they will we be against women traveling?
ontinue on this path is necessary before the trade Women, just like men, are free in
tatus can be changed. Some Chinese citizens all the above activities."
were permitted to emigrate following nor- Women, according to the
nalization, but restrictions were again imposed. Islamic law, are free and the
The importance of trade to the Deng Xiaoping equals of men.
['h imortnceConcerning the Kurdish
government might prompt more progress. population in Iran, the position of
The Carter Administration has expressed the Islamic government is also
illingness to extend MFN status to both nations. clear. After speaking with
'he emigration requirements, however, have for- popular representatives of the
government, the Kurdish are
ed the U.S. to adopt a wait-and-see attitude on participating in popular elec-
his matter. It is refreshing to see pragmatism tions. They have the right to
eplace the Cold War mentality, and we hope to maintian autonomy and self-
ee both U.S. trade and diplomatic policies con- determination Within Iran-they
nue on this cour~ -e- - wll continue to pes -their
-, - ' tisc~~r.language, wear teir customa-
garb, practice their religion, and
govern themselves.
Other minorities, both in
religion and nationality, are free
and equal under the Islamic rule
of Iran. An example is the Jewish
population of Iran. As quoted in
.an article in the New York Times,
Khomeini invited, "all those
Jews who under the influence of
propaganda have left their coun-
try and now are in Israel to come
back to their country and par-
ticipate in rebuilding their coun-
try."
The new government of Iran,
envisions a society in which there
is redistribution of the country's
wealth in favor of the oppressed;
a society in which men and
women will not exploit one
another; a society in which all
are given the same social rights
and liberties. This is what
Khomeini, the Islamic gover-
nment, and the people of Iran are
struggling to achieve.
Without a doubt, in such a coun-
try, the roots of colonialism and
Imperialism are in danger. Also,
the brilliant light shed by such a
pure revolution will illuminate
the minds of oppressed people of
other countries which are under
the yoke of colonialism.
Therefore, it is of no surprise that
the colonialist media has created
such a slanderous and viscious
campaign in an attempt to
discredit this inspiring
revolution.
Yet, the people shall not be
fooled by such feeble facades.
The democracy and freedom
achieved by the Iranian people
will not be undermined. Rather,
the revolution will serve as a
shining example for other op-
pressed people around the world.
-Allah Akbar
Iranian Moslem students in
Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti
Daily Coverage
To the Daily:
Throughout the year, it has
been alleged that the LSA-SG
spends most of its time on issues
which do not relate to the College
or University. Unfortunatelyi
while the government has spen
over three-quarters of its time50
academic issues, the Daily ha
chosen to cover these a;
"academic" issues, without men
tion of LSA-SG efforts.
Take for example the
"Academics" year in review
The review is a good summation
of the year of reporting which the
Daily has given these issues:
tenure, the LSA faculty meetings
and experiential learning have
all been greatly impacted by the
work which LSA-SG members
have put in-yet our efforts are
mentioned (if at all) as con.
stituting a peripheral element of
the issue.
As long as the Daily continues
this type of coverage, the
visibility of the government will
have to be improved solely by our
own efforts. In the same light, the
Daily will continue to serve the
interests of the administration, in
that it refuses to grant students
the same access to print as ad.
ministrators "enjoy." In short,
your coverage reflects a high
degree of arrogance as to the
definition and application of
"newsworthy." In your year in
review, only Mr. Bernstein and
Ms. Engebrecht show any degree
of appreciation of student efforts
over the past year-Lenny is the
only reviewer to actually degrade
himself to the point of qusting
students, Julie, for herupart,
willing to go out on a limb and
suggest that MSA has had some
successes.
I am sincerely not interested in
seeing my name in print (o5
greater degree than this year.
Indeed, I have seen very few ar-
ticles outside of those of Ber-
nstein/Engebrecht worth
reading. I merely offer this asa
note by which to inform you of the
feelings of most Council mem
bers-and to suggest that a fur
ther decline in next year's sub
scriptions may prompt the Daity
to critically evaluate its ap
proach.
-Bob Stechuk
President LSA-SG
s to the Daily
S . 'Maybe th pughta be h + bu ter t