OPINION *age Friday, November 18, 1983 The Michigan Daily How deployment affects one Sicilian city 4 By Frances T. Farenthold fifth in a series tOn March 8, 1983, International Women's Day, I marched in a peaceful procession of several thousand women through the winding streets of Eemiso, past the shuttered doors and windows of this little town in Sicily. With me to oppose the planned deployment here of 112 cruise missiles were Franciscan nun Rosemary Lyn- ch and Elizabeth Scott of the National Council of Churches of Christ. The next day we arrived at the entrance of Euromissile Debate tue proposed cruise missile base at the old Magliocco airport, just outside Comiso. At the gate, their arms locked together, sat 15 women from the nearby peace camp. A line of soldiers stood behind them, engaging in banter; a few Carabinieri (elite state police) patrol the area. One of the Women asked that I report to their embassies should they be arrested. : SUDDENLY, several squad cars filled with additional Carabinieri and plainclothes police kirived. Without warning, the Carabinieri charged. Rosemary's camera was jerked from her ek as she attempted to photograph the vplent encounter. The police assualted a jour- ,olist, ripping out and exposing his film.: They 'rSiashed his head into the street. I watched in consternation as the Carabinieri lunged for the demonstrators. Grabbing whatever they could - arms, legs, clothes - They dragged the women 25 feet down the road. I TURNED toward an officer twisting a woman's arm and admonished him. To no :vail. The arm was broken. kl paved road. Looking over the wall of the old airport, we saw a few workmen moving around in a desultory way. Someone was hammering in the distance. Yet very little work had been done. Morale at CUPID was high. The feeling was that there was still time to stop the deployment. March 1983. In a few short months, this serene community had undergone a fundamen- tal transformation. Cranes, condominiums, and high rises have altered radically the lan- dscape. Tall, hastily erected buildings now overshadow the vineyards and traditional half- built houses. Rumor abounds about a billion dollar expen- diture for the base and a 3,500-bed military hospital. This city of 28,000 is presently served by a 120-bed hospital. THE CITIZENS of Comiso have been told that the new base will bring a boom to their economy and an end to unemployment. But af- ter eight months of work, only 60 workers of the 5,000 without jobs have been employed at the base. None of the contracts recently awarded have been to local or Sicilian firms, as promised. First there were whispers. Now it is openly discussed and mentioned in print that the Mafia has become a strong _presence in Comiso. Organized crime stands to profit from lucrative construction contracts obtained through ghost companies and kickbacks, and from the drugs and prostitutes it is ready to supply. The mafia. intimidates those who would speak out, and increasingly harasses those who do. Two Americans attending mass in Comiso in May were approached by a woman they had never seen before. "You have no idea what kind of pressure we're under not to oppose the base," she whispered to them. THE MAFIA has also attempted to quell resistance with their assassination of Pio la Toree, a dedicated opponent of organized crime and the missile base. While the Mafia's response to protest has been harassment, the government's has been official silence. Thirty thousand people demon- strated against deployment in October, 1981 and 100,000 as preparations to clear the base began in april, 1982. In June, 1982 one million Sicilians, including 80 percent of Comisco's voters, signed a petition of protest sent to the Italian capital. This petition has been doomed to gather dust in a basement in Rome. Comiso is not yet a household word in the., United States, and yet our government's policy has had a profound effect on the life of that community. It might be interesting to know how many of our elected federal officials are even aware of it. Circumstances made it possible for me to see the disruption that our official policy brings to a modest Sicilian community. Whereas the people of Nevada and Utah had the resources to stop the deployment of the MX in their backyards, the people of Comiso are simply pawns of higher authorities. Time and time again democracy has been overridden in this struggle. The local representatives of the people have never been consulted about the proposed base. And the in- stallation of the missiles is an unquestionable violation of the Paris Peace Treaty of 1947 which explicity forbids the use of Sicily for military ends. Whatever the official verbiage about deterrence, the fact is that these missiles' range is only 1,500 miles. Thus they are in- capable of reaching either Moscow or Leningrad. However, they are capable of reaching Libya and.the Middle East. In effect, Sicily is being transformed into a nuclear ef- fensive launching pad. Who in the name of the American people made this epic decision, and by what method was it made, and for what purpose? Unless an aroused American electorate brings' these issues to the forefront in the next few months, we will be accepting one more horrendous step toward annihilation. Farenthold is a Houston attorney. She has been president of Wells College in New' York and a member of the Texas House of Representatives. The incident was brief and violent on the part of the police. The women, disheveled and bruised, regrouped in a circle to plan their next move. We assured the women that we would convey information of their experience when we returned to Rome and the United States. Upon our return to Rome, we wrote the U.S. ambassador protesting the treatment. No response. We held a press conference and met with Italian reporters and senators. There was minimal news coverage; two days later the women from the peace camp were arrested and deported. MY FIRST VISIT to Comiso had been four months earlier in November, at the invitation of Giacomo Cagnes, the former mayor of the city for 26 years. I had come to observe and be briefed by the United Citizens for Disar- mament and Peace (CUPID), the local organization he heads in opposition to the proposed missile base. When I arrived the scene had been much dif- ferent. I was met at the airport in Catania by an Italian protestant minister and his wife. As we drove into Comiso, I noted with interest the relative prosperity of this fertile region. I was told that until the site was selected for the missile base, Comiso had been free of Mafia in- fluence. As we drove along a country road, I saw the olive groves, vineyards, and numerous greenhouses where tomatoes and strawberries are grown for export all over Europe. My guides explained that the half-built houses we saw signify the local tradition of building as a family is able to afford it, part by part. AS WE APPROACHED the old Magliocco air- port, the narrow lane suddenly widened into a /. .j fr. ยข. Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Sinclair AT'&TusWT AT?'oU'LL sLL US &OPISTICATED UH TECH SVARE PARTS CHEATER TNMJ S OUR iE QuLAR u'?PLIER? 4 Vol. XCIV-No. 63 4~ , r 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 LETN JUST SAPN S ? z. Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board w New political voices flF SOMEONE out there doesn't believe incumbent Maurice Ferre, a Puerto !. that women and blacks finally have Rican, was reelected mayor largely asserted themselves as legitimate because of the overwhelming support political animals, the results of local he received from the city's blacks. And and state elections across the country though Raymond Flynn soundly ;over the past two weeks should change defeated a black, Melvin King, for 'iis mind. From Charlotte, N.C. to San mayor in Boston it was more a victory Francisco the two groups that have for neighborhood politics over machine been fighting for their political voices politics. Neither candidate spent vast inade themselves heard. The noise will sums of money and both rani on platforms r e mserb esatether.h n eNoeber. aimed at heeling Boston's deep racial keverberate through next November. divisions. Not for a long time, if ever, have a Blacks did well because they group of "off-off year" elections (non- registered and voted; the efforts of presidential and non-congressional Democratic presidential candidate lection years) sent a stronger signal Jesse Jackson and of the National to both major parties. The message was Association for the Advancement of "lear: The party that best reevaluates Colored People paid off again - just as ,Its priorities toward women, blacks, they did last April when Harold and other minorities likely will do well Washington became Chicago's first in 1984. black mayor. Women showed their political Democrats stand to gain most from muscle in Kentucky, Houston, and San this show of strength by women and Francisco. Democrat Martha Layne blacks. But to reap those benefits the Collins became the bluegrass state's leaders of the party will have to come first woman governor (four of the to understand that their strength lies state's eight constitutionally beyond big labor. The party will have established offices are now held by to find a lot of room in its platform for women). Kathy Whitmire was-relected these new power groups. The standard mayor of Houston as was Dianne Fein- line will not do anymore. stein in San Francisco. Republicans are in trouble if they Many politicians now feel that the cannot bridge the gender and race strong showing of these women means gaps Ronald Reagan has expanded both Democratic and Republican greatly. Republicans might stand even leaders may have to do more than just more to gain by nominating a woman talk about running a woman on the for vice president. presidential ticket. One suggestion had 1984 should be more than Feinstein as the ideal Democratic vice Democratic labor against Repulican presidential candidate. business. It is up to the two parties to Blacks did well also. W. Wilson find a way to use the new powers that Goode and Harvey Gant were elected have emerged from the shadows. The hmayors of Philadelphia and Charlotte party that does it best stands the better respectively. Both become the first chance of calling the White House black mayor of those cities. In Miami, home for a few years. LETTERS TO THE DAILY: Dean and Krell: Haunting Daily readers 4 To the Daily: Dean or Krell? The question haunts avid readers of the Daily Arts page like that woman you met six weeks ago at Joe's (you remem- ber her, "Love your nails ... You must be a Libra . . ."). The one with the fine Euclidean Topology. As the bleary eyes fix on the by- line each morning-after, Krell or Dean will undoubtedly appear. You knew that, like you knew the monster was waiting for you behind the closet door. Another literacy (?) miasma of drug- induced phantasm set to (and vaguely recounting) last night's musical incident, set down in unedited and misspelled authen- ticity for a readership too shallow Even for Larry, the article strikes a sophomoric tone. True to form, nothing whatsoever was said about - what was their name again? - oh yeah: The Three O'Clocks. (cute name, right?). An undegreeduate hero rises from the debris of a har- monic maelstrom - that's Dean, ni? Like Brando, he surveys, then abstains. Deep. Less really is more. Could it be that a new cynic has risen to challenge the staid farts? Is it rather, a student of these proud probes, destined to fill their graduated vacancies? 'M' go blue! BLOOM COUNTY No, such trespass would not be tolerated by the jealous Gods of the Old Besmirch. This "King" character is but a mereticious pseudonym, and it remains to be seen who's gonna claim it. It seems unthinkable that one of them won't. - Jim Walsh November 10 We encourage our readers to use this space to discuss and respond to issues of their concern. Whether those topics cover University, Ann Arbor community, state national, or international issues in a straightforward or unconventional manner, we feel such a dialogue is a crucialfunction of the Daily. Letters and guest columns should be typed, triple-spaced, and signed. 4 ............................................... .-.-.-.-.............................-.-...-.-.......................... . . by Berke Breathed 71 u if Ylr!_ en lnnna+ /}1L Cfl f 71 -rrr,larc m-s, I., 71 *1 II