4
OPINION
Page 4
Monday, February 10, 1986
The Michigan Daily
-
-1
Wasserman
E0 e Miditb ga t al
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
Vol. XCVI, No. 92
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board
Puppet cut off
THE REVOLT of the Haitian
people that toppled dictator
Jean-Claude Duvalier is one of the
most heartening and historic even-
ts of the past year. Unfortunately,
the United States government has
made its role difficult to under-
stand.
The Duvalier regime was
notorious for its human rights
abuses. According to Amnesty In-,
ternational's 1984 report titled Tor-
ture in the 80s, "torture and ill-
treatment of detainees in Haiti has
been ,regularly reported to Am-
nesty International since
President-a-vie, President for life,
John Claude Duvalier took office
in 1971."
Duvalier outlawed trade unions,
free speech, assembly and select
dissident intellectuals, journalists
and lawyers. Duvalier himself
acknowledged as he fled Haiti
Friday that this time around, the
revolt against him would require
massive blood-letting to put down.
In reality, though perhaps not
readily apparent, Duvalier had no
choice but to leave. Like Marcos,
Duvalier received the label of
loser or 'strategic liability"
from the United States. Unlike
,Marcos, Duvalier was easily
replaced by the United States.
When the outbreak against
Duvalier started November 27th
'last year, U.S. officials said that
Duvalier was not on his "last
legs," but his regime was
nonetheless "surprisingly" brittle.
Thus, the U.S. already considered
Duvalier a "strategic liability" -
a likely target for instability.
On December 17th, according to
the Nation, Haiti's Foreign
Minister was already pleading that
the U.S. not cut off aid. He
promised investigations of human
rights abuses. That was an ex-
traordinary if insincere ploy con-
sidering that according to the 1984
report by Amnesty International,
there had never been a single in-
stance of torture or ill-treatment
investigated by Haitain
authorities.
The revolt in Haiti intensified as
Haitians vented their hatred for
the repressive apparatus. They
dug up the graves of hated
generals and toppled Duvalier's
statue.
Then, the handwriting on the
wall became more clear to
Duvalier. First, the State Depar-
tment incorrectly reported ahead
of the script that Duvalier had fled
Haiti. This report itself encouraged
Haitians both here and in Haiti.
Next, the United States ended its
14 years of complicity with
Duvalier citing increased human
rights abuses in Haiti. According to
the Nation, Western economic aid
accounted for over one-third of
Haiti's budget. If Duvalier did not
know already, the United States
had switched from "constructive
engagement" to replacement
strategies for its puppet.
The people of Haiti have much to
rejoice for in ridding themselves of
Duvalier and in taking revenge
against his private army-the Ton-
tos or any legal admission to the
U.S.
The struggle of the Haitian
people has caused American
policy-makers to include their
demands as part of American
strategic reality. Future progress
for the Haitian cause depends on
realizing that American human-
rights policy is defined by political
motivations.
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Pentagon invades campus
4
By Mara Silverman
Funds for military research are
dramatically increasing nation-wide and at
the University. Pentagon funding is the
fastest growing source of money for Univer-
sity research. Between 1980-1985, Depar-
tment of Defense support for University
research jumped 89 percent, and thus grew
nearly twice as fast as any other source of
federal funds for universities. According to
the Council on Economic Priorities, univer-
sities are currently as dependent on Depar-
tment of Defense funding as they were at the
height of the Vietnam War.
The University has doubled its intake of
military research funds in the past five
years. In 1985 the 'U' performed 7.8 million
dollars worth of defense research. This
money pays for University projects such as
research on Trident Missile Transportation,
hardening electrical systems to survive a
nuclear blast, Stealth Technology, Mustard
Gas, Anti-Submarine Warfare, Explosive
Dust, and many others.
The University administration, in the face
of the growing availability of Star Wars fun-
ds, is inviting more such research on cam-
pus. The Regents recently "encouraged"
professors to perform research on Star
Wars. Vice President for Research Linda
Wilson recently stated that she wished to
double the amount of Pentagon funds on
campus in the next four years. Of course,
the 'U' already has a stake in the SDI
program with projects such as particle*
beam weapons, SDI software, SDI sur-
veillance systems, and with over four
million dollars worth of projects pending
acceptance at the SDI office.
The influx of Star Wars money threatens
the University in overt and subtle ways. The
sheer amount of the research, with 100
million expected to be spent next year at
universities, threatens the separation of the
University and the state; it threatens the
autonomy of the University to question and
study a program as dubious and controver-
sial as Star Wars. Furthermore, Star Wars
research is now categorized by the Pen-
tagon as 6.3 research, or highly applied
weapons research, as opposed to most
University research which is classified as
6.1 research or more basic research. Pen-
tagon officials have stated that it is likely
that "successful" SDI research will become
classified and results will not be openly
publishable. James Ionson, director of the
SDI program, has employed quite shady
practices in his research funding
allocations. For example, the University
was not informed about three SDI projects
at U-M which were being funded by his of-
fice. Ionson has also used the willingness of
researchers to do SDI research as an endor-
sement of the Star Wars program.
In the summer of 1985, students and
faculty at the 'U' who were concerned with
the growing presence of Star Wars on cam-
pus, formed Campuses Against Weapons in
Space (CAWS). In the last eight months,
CAWS has worked to bring issues surroun-
ding Star Wars to campus. In October of
1985, CAWS sponsored the conference on
"The Strategic Defense Initiative and
Universities" which was attended by over
1200 people. CAWS has also organized
theater events which depicted the absurdity
of the Star Wars program as well as holding
a number of vigils and disseminating in-
formation on SDI and its role in the Univer-
sity. CAWS has circulated a petition which
states the undesirability of Star Wars
research on campus and which was signed
by over a thousand people on campus.
More ,recently, CAWS has focused on
classified research guidelines. These
guidelines were enacted in 1972 and they
state that the University will not engage in
research that can destroy human life or that
has limits on its open publication. In August,
the Regents called for a review of these
guidelines and appointed the Ad-hoc Com-
mittee on Classified Research to do so. The
committee will arrive with recommen-
dations in early March. The Regents and the
University administration have made no in-
dication as to what influence the Michigan
Student Assembly and the Faculty Senate
will have on these recommendations before
they are voted on by the Regents. CAWS
members have been active in pointing out
the terrible statement which would be made
if University research policy was changed
to read that it encourages research intended
to destroy human life.
Unfortunately, the University ad-
ministration has not been listening, either to
our concerns about Star Wars or about the
University research policies. Vice President
Linda Wilson has said the administration
does not plan to address the issue of Star
Wars on campus; President Shapiro has not
presented a plan for student and faculty in-
fluence on the recommendations of the ad-
hoc committee on classified research.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon invasion shows no
sign of stopping. It has become necessary to
confront the University administration with
the serious issues at stake in the University
performing military research and to make
clear our determination that this type of
research should not and cannot go on here.
If you are interested in finding out more
about these issues, or in working for a
peaceful University, Campuses against
Weapons in Space and the new Coalition
against Militarism will be having a mass
meeting on Tuesday Feb. 11 at 7:30 in 429
Mason Hall. Come join us.
Reform responsibility
It is apparent after Friday's elec-
-tion that President Ferdinand
Marcos can no longer be viewed by
the United States as the legitimate
:-ruler of that country. Though the
vote tallies are still incomplete,
officials of the Reagan ad-
-ministration have estimated that
.challenger Corazon Aquino may
have received as much as 65 to 70
percent of the vote.
A vote tally of that proportion
cannot be seen as anything less
thanna statement by the Filipino
people that they consider her to be
their legitimate representative,
particularly when one takes into
account the astonishing degree to
which the Marcos forces engaged
*in open fraud. Although some
amount of fraud was expected, it
was not predicted that Marcos
would be buying votes and
engaging in acts of violence in
metro Manila, where the news
media was headquartered and the
Aquino supporters were par-
ticularly well organized.
The shameless nature with which
the government engaged in fraud
shows that the Marcos regime is
determined to keep power regar-
dless of what the people say. Fur-
thermore, the extent to which Mar-
cos and his associates profit from
thi widacnra , ,,,..nin ;,,n
repression in the countryside.
Second, a comprehensive land
reform initiative must be under-
taken. Third, the government must
begin to restructure agricultural
and urban life for peasants and
workers to provide them with the
necessary resources to feed and
clothe their families.
The United States should
recognize and support the will of
the Filipinos. As the primary im-
petus for the election, the U.S.
bears some responsibility for
fostering change which will result
in the aforementioned reforms.
First, the U.S. should recognize the
vote count of the nonpartisan
National Movement for Free Elec-
tions (Namfrel) as the most ac-
curate tally available and begin to
separate from Marcos. If Marcos
does not relinquish power the U.S.
should look for possible sites to
relocate military bases in the
Philippines and severely cut back
military and economic aid.
Hopefully, these changes will
strengthen the hand of the reform
element of the Filipino military,
now divided between a faction con-
ducive to reform and Marcos'
loyalists. With U.S. aid and the
presence of U.S. bases on the line,
the reformers may be able to gain
prominence. Also, by pulling away
from Marcos, the U.S. can reduce
Silverman is a senior
Residential College.
in the
LETTERS:
Coordinate the protest of terrorism
To the Daily:
In a time of shifting allegien-
ces, it may be necessary and ad-
visable to reassess one's position
in the international 'scheme.
Because there are a variety of
factors that affect thesrelation-
ships among nations, these
relationships are far from static
but require frequent realign-
ment.
Nevertheless, it would not
seem unreasonable to require
some foundation of agreement in
principle between those countries
that share a similar political
bent. During wartime, civility
and the sanctity of life are often
superceded by military ex-
pedience. (Although in Vietnam,
even the military, the U.S.
military that is, was held accoun-
table for certain questionable ac-
ts). However in peacetime, the
,.gt o afpand fr, na-aLP
increasing incidences of terrorist
destruction of life and property,
the United Nations has been im-
potently silent. None of the
otherwise vocal human rights
organizations have raised an in-
dignant whimper against this
total disregard for life.
Perhaps it is such a blatant
abrogation of human decency
that these watchdog agencies
take for granted a universal
rejection of such activities. Sur-
prisingly (or not so surprisingly),
there is support to the contrary.
There are certain parties that
defend a terrorist's right to mur-
der and destroy, even to the ex-
tent of promoting them. There
are certain individuals and
leaders of countries who com-
mend such activity. Surprisingly
(or not so surprisingly), there is
only one voice in the international
community that calls for justice
auai.t he _rn.ra.rcof hP
this coordinated support, the
voice of protest must be raised.
The danger lies in the
hopelessness that nothing can be
done. Until an acceptable code of
conduct can be agreed upon by
Code dange
To the Daily:
The recent trials of CIA
protestors, in which not a single
individual was convicted should
serve to call attention to the
danger of the proposed code of
non-academic conduct. While all
the defendants are innocent ac-
cording to our system of criminal
justice, there is little reason to
believe that code hearings would
have produced the same result.
In both cases, evidence essential
to the presentation of the defen-
dant's case, either in the form of
documents or testimony, was ob-
tnnp ,rn Tni- rct-pm
the international community,
that voice must never be still
regardless from which corner i
ensues.
-Dan Sladich
February 4
rs exposed
defendants in their efforts to
prepare their case. Also univer-
sity employees who present false
testimony in code trials will not
be subject to perjury charges, as
they currently must be in
criminal cases.
This raises a second issue con-
cerning the proposed code. Will
University employees who com-
mit perjury in order to have
students wrongfully convicted be
faced with dismissal from their
jobs, since this crime is a felony
and considerably more serious
than anything the protestorsa