I OPINION Page 4 Wednesday, October 23, 1985 The Michigan Daily Gheft hiantiy Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Vol. XCVI, No. 35 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board Nicaragua's' natural 0 enemies' Peace possibilities T sraeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres' announcement of a "possible blueprint" for renewed Mid-East peace process talks is reason to celebrate. The announcements, made during a special session of the United Nations honoring the organization's 40th anniversary, is both an affirmation of the U.N. 's potency as an international forum and a long-awaited glimmer of hope on the Mid-East horizon. While the blueprint offered by Peres is not a radical departure from previous policy statements - the new willingness to travel to Jordan for negotiations or utilize a non-partisan international organization to initially facilitate the talks is certainly a new tact. Despite the fact that the Jor- danian delegation and the majority of all Arab delegations walked out on Peres' speech at the U.N., Jor- dan's King Hussein has announced his desire to negotiate, issuing a somewhat vexing double message. In any case, the main thrust of Peres' message was to present a plan for the immediate resum- ption of peace talks. The potential for discussion between Israel and a Jordanian-Palestinian delegation discussion has most recently been thwarted by acts of terrorism per- petrated by numerous middle eastern factions. Indeed, the last significant negotiations have lost most of their relevance as Camp David and the Carter administration slip into a historical context. Most heartening, perhaps, is Peres' declaration that he intends to negotiate pursuant to the U.N.'s security council's resolutions 242 and 348 - which refer to Israel's right to exist and the sovereignty of occupied territories - and the "willingness to entertain suggestions proposed by other par- ticipants." While the United States has con- sistenly been instrumental in facilitating peace talks, it is a renewed commitment to the possibilities of the U.N. forum that indicate a seriousness in the proposal. While the U.S. and Israel are constantly coming under fire in the U.N. General Assembly, it is encouraging that Israel does not feel so alienated as to deny the ideals and function of the inter- national body which was basically designed to mediate in such chronic and complex conflicts as the type that now engulf the Middle East. By Peter Rosset The plane coming down. A smell of insecticide. And Sergio tells me: "The smell of Nicaragua." -from a poem by Father Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaraguan Minister of Culture This line of poetry by Nicaragua's poet laureate, Ernesto Cardenal, captures the essence of the pesticide crisis in that coun- try prior to the 1979 revolution. While our press daily debates the merits of Nicaragua's Sandinista leadership on a variety of points, one of the Snadinista's most remarkable achievements has been overlooked. They have begun to reverse a thirty year legacy of insecticide abuse that claimed thousands of victims every year and crippled Nicaragua's national economy. The story revolves around the addiction of "ol' king cotton" to pesticides. Cotton and coffee are Nicaragua's two main export crops; together they provide the bulk of the desperately foreign currency that pays for medicine, seeds, fertilizer, spare parts, and Rosset is a U. of M. graduate student who recently spent two years as a pest management advisor to the Nicaraguan Ministry of Agriculture. everything else that Nicaragua cannot manufacture locally. Yet under the long and brutal reign of the U.S.-back Somoza dynasty, the costs of imported insecticides grew so high that the country as a whole began to lose dollars on cotton. Heavy U.S. foreign assistance spurred the massive introduction of cotton in Nicaragua in the 1950's. At that time there were three kinds of insect pests, and farmers sprayed their cotton about three times a year. But as the years passed, and acreage grew, more and more chemicals were sprayed. The in- sects became resistant from constant ex- posure to chemicals, and the natural enemies that once preyed upon them were wiped out. As a result, by 1979 therewere 24 important kinds of pests, and the average farmer sprayed 30 times. Some farmers even sprayed 50 to 60 times a season. In 1967 every hectare of cotton in Nicaragua was doused with 99 liters of liquid and 19 kilograms of powdered insec- ticide. 75 different kinds were sprayed, many promoted by U.S. companies despite the fact that they were not approved for use at home. Mother's milk contained 80 times more DDT than the maximum permitted in the U.S. for cow's milk. The United Nations recognized Somoza's Nicaragua as a world- class pesticide disaster. But that has all been changing since 1979. By the fifth year of the Sandinista revolution national pesticide imports had been reduced by more than 25% through the use of in- novative, ecologically based pest control in cotton. It is simple and elegant. During the dry season the insects usuall4 hibernate because there is no cotton to eat. So the farmers now plow all the after-har- vest cotton stalks under ground, leaving just a small island or "trap crop" of stalks in each field, about 2 by 50 meters in size. All of the pests are attracted to these small islan- ds of potential food, where it is a simple matter to eliminate them. The next growing season there simply aren't as many pests, so the farmer doesn't need to spray as much. And yields have actually been higher. Based on this dramatic success in cotton, the most impressive by far in the Third World, Nicaraguans are now searching for similar, ecological sound techniques to use on their other crops. If left alone, they could turn Nicaragua into an ecological showcase for the world. Even the U.S. might learn something. But the Reagan Administration has shown no inclination to let Nicaragua be. Nevertheless, I say we must give change a chance, because the way things are now i most of the Third World not much of anything is working and millions are star- ving. I Wasserman AC-MGM12IN THE 60's WE WREALWAYS 11- CMt1- ThT VWOULD SPI'NMIuiOw N5 W.L,13ONER, WE l..OcPN& FORQ T{EISSV& f1AT CULD INTO 11WSCR2ETSTo MA~?AA A&rA1NT N~r IWL'}SAVE Iy. N(CDt6 A.SoF "TIE MA~e.? Co~RTC-TYAY12J*4-- Is&uE SoM)TAiCK?/ /w __ _ ___ * Q 0 . I LETTERS Daily coverage of Bush protest skewed 11 Minding Marcos T HE REAGAN Administration this week made a concerted pitch to allay the deteriorating political and economic situation in the Philipines in an effort to con- front growing influence of the communist party in the country, presently estimated at 30,000. Reagan sent Republican senator Paul Laxalt of Nevada to appeal to Philipine President Marcos for economic and political reform. Un- fortunately, according to Marcos' spokesman, the President told Laxalt that the Philipines had not been overrun by insurgents in the 1950s and the 1970s and "will not be overrun by this one." The Laxalt commission was deployed at a time when the U.S. Department of Defense was planning to invest $1.3 billion in two of America's largest military bases - the Clark Air Base and the Subic Bay Naval Base - both located in the Philipines. Clearly, Reagan's proposed reform initiatives represent a step in the right direction. Since Sep- tember 1972, Filipinos have lived under a brutally repressive state of martial law. Civilian courts have been supplanted by military tribunals and previously established freedoms of the press, speech, and assembly have all been revoked. Until the recent Laxalt pronouncement, Reagan seemed to believe that 'constructive engagement' "Filipino style" was effectively insuring cordial relations in the long-standing alliance and simultaneously laying the groundwork for a new base- and-aid agreement. In effort to bolster the alliance and to cement pending military proposals, in 1981, Vice President George Bush, stated in a toast to Marcos: "We love your adherence to democratic principles and to democratic processes." In the second Presidential debate last Oc- tober with Walter Mondale, President Reagan claimed that communism was the only alter- native to Ferdinand Marcos. The sudden change in Ad- ministration outlook on the Filipino oppressions appears to be an- chored in strategic political con- cerns. Despite Filipino claims, to the contrary communist aggressions continue at a rapid pace with guerrillas operating in areas that were previously im- pregnable to attack. In the face of these hostilities it is becoming clear to Reagan that there must be an alternative to the Marcos regime, because if there is not, communism will surely prevail. Although Reagan's initiatives might appear favorable on the surface, they must be assessed in a strategic context rather than as a sincere effort by the Reagan Administration to end the repressive rule. The actual impact of Laxalt's visit will not become apparent until the details of Administration pressure on Marcos are released. In the meantime, it is encouraging that Reagan has altered his view of Marcos' oppression, although this attitude alteration may have come too late. To the Daily: Last week we witnessed a disgraceful event: the rude and obnoxious behavior of a small group of people during the ceremony designed to celebrate the Peace Corp's 25th Anniver- sary. The Michigan Daily had a crucial role in orchestrating this spectacle. On Monday, before the event, the Daily actively encouraged the protest by focusing on Vice- President Bush's visit and on the plans of the people who were going to protest that visit rather than on the anniversary celebration itself. They even went so far as to identify several different protest groups and name a contact person for each of those groups, just in case people wanted to join in. The next day, the Daily repor- ted the story that they had helped create. The front page story gave top billing to the protestors com- plete with photographs. While the continuation of the story on the inside pages acknowledged the presence of Pro Bush people, they were labeled in the caption of a photograph as Young Republicans, sorority women, or Michigan Review staff persons. The Daily failed to mention that the hecklers upset the majority of the audience who wanted to celebrate the anniver- sary of the Peace Corps. The Daily failed to mention that the hecklers upset and embarrassed the majority of the audience who wanted to see and hear the speakers. Finally, the Daily failed to mention that the hecklers upset and embarrassed the majority of the audience who wanted to show their respect for the office of the Vice President of the United States. In fact, the only thing the Daily did not fail to mention was the content of Bush's speech. We are sure the majority of the audience ap- preciated this since so few could actually hear the speech. Wouldn'trit have been in- teresting if the Daily had inter- viewed some of the people in the audience who strongly disagreed with the current administration's political stances, yet had the good manners to show respect for the nerson holding the second- would not have produced the same sensational headlines. (Imagine 100 LEAVE RALLY! 3,900 REMAIN!) We are proud of The University of Michigan and believe it is a priviledge to be a student here, but we are embarrassed to be represented by a newspaper which advocates bad manners as a legitimate form of protest. The University is a respected in- stitution and deserves distinguished speakers. We hope that the experience of Vice- President George Bush and Peace Corps Director Lorraine Ruppe will not suggest to other distinguished men and women that they may only speak on this campus if they present a viewpoint which is consistent with the Michigan Daily's current editorial position. -Tim Crowe Doug Krol October 14 This letter was cosigned by 22 university students. 'Today' shows sanitized slice of U life To the Daily: Yesterday morning while at- tending the filming of the Today Show on the University of Michigan campus, a friend and I attempted to display a banner which read "NBC: Report the Bombing of El Salvador." (Yes, it is true that there are large- scale aerial bombings occurring in El Salvador. Yes, it is true that the U.S. is involved. And yes, it is also true that NBC has not covered this story. But that is not what this letter is about). While attempting to display our banner, we were approached by an Ann Arbor police officer, Seargant Hughes, and a Univer- sity of Michigan Security Officer Tim Shannon, and asked without explanation to move away from where we were standing. We pointed out that other persons were standing in exactly the same area as we, and since none of them were being asked to leave, we felt that we should be allowed to remain. When we did not move, the of- ficers became more aggressive and Seargant Hughes grabbed our banner in the middle so that we could not display it, and holding the banner and the arm of my friend, attempted to force us to move. I stated that we had a legal right to protest silently and display our banner - we were not obstructing the sight of other per- sons, were not being disruptive, and had a ticket to be attending the event like everyone else stan- ding there. To this the officer replied, "They don't want this here," referring to our banner. The obvious implication was the NBC did not want our banner to be viewed on television. BLOOM COUNTY The message for the Today Show was "M Go Blue" and that was the only message that would be seen or heard. It is clear that NBC came here to show its predetermined message that there is no activism on this cam- pus, and that U of M students don't care about what goes on in the world. It's frightening just how far they will go to sanitize the environment in order to ob- tain the desired results. It's too bad that the University and Ann Arbor Police feel it necessary to harass and intimidate students who have a different message to present. Since when do Ann Ar- bor Police and University of Michigan Security Officers work for NBC? I find it frightening the way in which Campus Security of the U of M and the Ann Arbor Police are cooperating to suppress the legitimate rights of students an* community members to symbolic protest. It seems that the right to free speech is only good as long as you don't try to use it. When George Bush appeared on cam- pus he said of the protesters that it would be "nice" if they could take their act to Moscow. Yester- day we couldn't even take it to the Diag. At one point during our confrontation with the officers yesterday, I said "I have a leg right" to which one of the officer. replied "Your legal rights have nothing to do with this." That much at least, is self-evident. -Kathryn L. Savoie October 18 Hired killer' responds To the Daily: I would like to respond to some of the comments made by Michael Taussig in his letter printed in the October 16 issue of the Daily. As I am one of his so- called "hired killers," I take great exception to his comments regarding the armed forces. If Mr. Taussig had taken the time to find out anything about the military, he would discover that those of us who choose this par- ticular career swore an oath that puts a great emphasis on the defense of the Constitution, in- cluding, of course, the right of free speech and the freedom of the press. In other words, Mr. Taussig, we, who you see fit to vilify as "hired killers," are sworn to protect your right to d so. If you feel so tainted and used by your somewhat tenuous association with us (by appearing in the same publication?!), I submit that you might be better off in an academic environment where such publications do not exist. We certainly don't want to lessen your "academic worth and work." As citizens of this country, it i our right to express our opinions; - however, I don't believe this should extend to defamation. We don't insult you for your choice of profession whether we like it per- sonally or not, Mr. Taussig; don't insult us for ours. -Thomas Gould October 17 by Berke Breathed We encourage our readers to use this space to discuss and respond to issues of their concern. Whether those topics cover University, Ann Arbor com- 0 i 0