4 OPINION Page 4 Friday, March 14, 1986 The Michigan Doily Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Wasserman I I Vol. XCVI, No. 111 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board Skewed priorities t ) HELP WANTED WS~J LIVE tDLC41VE TYS. MEMBERS OF Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity spent $1500 to bring the fastest beer drinker in the world to Ann Arbor on Monday. Isn't that great? As one brother said, "The speed at which he drinks beer is a goal for all fraternity brothers all over the country." Aspiring to drink beer is hardly an admirable goal and diverts atten- tion from individual and social programs. Of course, this is just one par- ticularly gross example of money spent on frivolous activities. Ever- day, citizens in the United States make decisions based on the high standard of living gained by under- paying people in Third World coun- tries. People should work toward building a world community, but often exploit and oppress others in order to enjoy more prosperous lives. On the other side, Americans try to help by sending food and Peace Corps volunteers much like people here contribute to "good causes" on a local level. While these efforts are valid, they are hardly sufficient. Valuing in- dividual lives is essential to preserving humanity. Though everyone should feel good about having fun, it is important to remember to keep things in per- spective. It's typical of students to spend money for immediate self gratification. Dormitory hall residents are easily persuaded to give up money for parties, but less likely to donate to charity. Frater- nities and sororities claim that their community service is suf- ficient, justifying exorbitant spen- ding on social functions. They have money and deserve to pay for beer drinking heros if they so desire. Certainly, all people need pleasure and should have the opportunity to enjoy themselves. But the trend here is disturbing and is indicative of a larger society where priorities are skewed. "% r \N411 THE VSTI K I " i 'CA o you ATFM VlZV& TSSTj TIRE LIP ECTO12 OR THE G U&flpi 4 A 1 I " ° C9'66 m ox y LETTERS: 4 Support Urged for freedom fighters' No Contra aid P-resident Reagan's proposal for $100 million in aid to the Contras is critical in that its suc- cess or failure could well deter- mine future U.S. policy in Central America. If passed this aid will commit the U.S. to a military solution to the problems of that region. The administration insists, for official purposes anyway, that aid to the Contras is not necessarily meant to overthrow the Sandanista government of Nicaragua, but is intended to bring about a negotiated settlement. What the Sandinistas are expected to negotiate, except for their own downfall, remains unclear. Proponents of aid say that the huge Sandinista military threatens to destabalize Central America. This argument fails to justify con- tinued aid to the Contras. The larger the Contra threat becomes the more the Sandinistas will be required to expand their military and the more dependent they will become on the Soviet Union. A negoitated reduction of arms through the Contradora process is a much more sensible way of acheiving long lasting peace. Besides if the Sandinista pose such a huge threat to their neighbors one would expect U.S. allies in the region to be more supportive of aid. However, despite their dependen- ce on U.S. suport for their survival, none of the allies have indicated any support for the Contras. J. Aid to the Conras is also suppor- ted on the grounds that the San- dinistas are creating a repressive totalitarian regime. While it is true that the Sandinistas have curtailed civil liberties, their record com- pares favorably with that of the Contras who have been cited for ex- treme brutality and lack of respect for human rights by Amnesty In- ternational. The assumption behind this argument is that either Contra pressure will make the Sandinistas more respectful of human rights or that a Contra government formed if the rebellion succeeds will be democratic. The fact that most of the curtailments in human rights in Nicaragua have come in repsonse to Contra military pressure makes it seem unlikely that the aid will result in greater civil liberties. The second scenario is equally unlikely when one takes into account the large number of former National Guar- dsmen and Somocistas in the Con- tra organization. Nobel Laureate Perez Esquivel put it best in his speech at Hale Auditorium Monday when he said America's priorities in Central America are out of touch with reality and that $100 million could accomplish much more if used for development purposes than as aid for the Contras. Aid to the Contras will only escalate the violence which already devastates Nicaragua and will in no way aid the cause of democracy. To the Daily: The letter written by Dr. John Vandermeer in the March 4th Daily does a great disservice to the people of Nicaragua by portraying the brave freedom fighters as terrorists. If the citizens of Nicaragua are to realize the freedom they fought for in 1979, they must overthrow Ortega and the other San- dinistas. Backed by billions of dollars of military hardware supplied by the Soviet Union, Cuba, East Germany, Bulgaria, Libya and even the PLO, the Sandinistas have razed entire villages suspected of aiding the Nicaraguan Democratic Force, indiscriminately massacring men, women, and children from Soviet Hind Mi-24 helicopter gun- ships. While these acts of barbarism usually go unreported incidents such as the one Dr. Vandermeer reported are always well publicized. And while it is unfortunate that innocent civilians died at the hands of freedom fighters, the circum- stances surrounding the tragedy should be examined before we label the freedom fighters as terrorists. Dr. Vandermeer states that the van which was assaulted was returning from a visit to a military base. Although I cannot be familiar with the details of this particular incident, since the Sandinistas regularly use military vehicles for this type of transportation it is very likely that a military vehicle was carrying these civilian. If anyone is to be blamed for such deaths, it must be the Sandinistas who place civilians in jeopardy by carrying them in military vans in combat zones. For the underarmed freedom fighters, the battle is often horrifying, especially when they acciden- tally slay their own countrymen, Reagan dece To the Daily: On January 11, I returned from Nicaragua as a witness to the war. Reagan's "freedom fighters," the "contra," commit many atrocities against the in- nocent of Nicaragua. Bombed health care facilities, schools and churches are prevalent. Many young school teachers and rural doctors are kidnapped and mur- dered. The United State Em- bassy official who we interviewed in Managua acknowledged the at- tacks on civilian targets. He ad- the ones they strive to liberate from communist slavery. Yet these brave men and women, mostly peasants whose farms have been confiscated to form state farms, continue to brave the threat of death and the miseries of warfare in a gallant struggle to save their nation. If Daniel Or- tega is to follow Duvalier and Marcos into exile, leaving behind a liberated country, these freedom fighters must receive our help. Show your support for freedom by voting NO on Proposal A on April 7. --Bill Tayler March 4 Freedom fighter label is a misnomer To the Daily: As President Reagan presses Congress for 100 million more dollars for the "contras" who seek to overthrow the Nicaraguan government, I'd like to share my own experiences of who these "freedom fighters" are. I was in Nicaragua this sum- mer when Congress granted them 27 million dollars in "humanitarian" aid. Within a week, encouraged by the new funding, the Contras had massacred two bus loads of women civilians, attacked a hospital, a grain silo and bridges, as well as slaughtering dozens of local militia men in ambushes, all just outside the northern city Esteli where I was staying. The bodies of some I saw buried had been mutilated by the Contras. I can not begin to convey the pain I saw families suffer as they lost loved ones, except to remind readers of the pictures of and stories about people similarly victimized last December by the terrorist airport bombings Rome and Vienna. Is this the kind of "pressure" Reagan talks of exerting on the Nicaraguan government to bring it to the bargaining table? Did what I witnessed serve the cause of freedom? I do not believe so. I hope that other Americans, when they put aside the rhetoric about "Communism" and "freedom fighters" and realize that the ives public paign of deception. Although the Administration has claimed that the "contra" force has been growing at a rate of 1000 men per month, there are barely any mon- thly increases. The "contra" force is not an army of 20,000 combatants as Reagan claims but exist with about 12,000 men and boys. Altering factual statistics as the Administration is doing in attempt to win votes in congress will not be accpted. Moreover, to call those who are anti-contra, anti-American, as Contras are people who kill people - 12,000 so far, 3,000 of them children - will refuse to have our country continuing sup- porting them. Write to Congressman Carl Pursell (361 W. Eisenhower Pkwy, A2 48104) or to your other representatives, urging them to block any aid to the Contras. A final note on who the Contras are: of the approximately fifty captured that week near Esteli, most were teenaged-boys, manq of whom claimed to have been. kidnapped and forced to fight, according to a UPI reporter I spoke to who interviewed them. - Adam Eigner March 4 Muencho w acts fairly To the Daily: I would like to make a point of clarification about the March 5th article, "Group attacks funding committee." In the first place, I was a member of the Budget Priorities Committee at the time of the two Freedom Charter Coalition hearings. BPC was completely justified in their two separate decisions to not fund the Coalition. When. the Freedom Charter in front of BPC during the December hearing, there was some uncertainty as to the group's connection. They had MSA's Student Rights Committee listed as part of the coalition. Af- ter some investigation, a document calling for the organization of the Freedom Charter was shown to me with the signature of an MSA Officer on MSA stationary. This was VP for Personnel, Eric Schnaufer. To this extent BPC thought that the Freedom Charter Coalition should be treated as an internal allocation (i.e., Women's Issues or Academic Affairs) and not an external allocation (i.e. Shaking Through, Black Student Union, R.C. Players). At this point, MSA overturned BPC's ruling, without allocating the Freedom Charter money. In- stead, it was ruled that Freedom Charter should come back for another hearing. At this hearing, BPC did vote to give them money, 200 out of the 600 dollars requested. The reason was that BPC felt that MSA would not want to be the sole sponsor of the Freedom Charter (this is precedented). It appears that the committee was wrong, because MSA voted to allocate liberal groups is untrue. The BPC evaluates each group in- dividually-not based on political classification or any other type of classification. Groups such as The Anvil, the Engineering student newspaper, and ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), received only $50 between the two of them. Certainly that isn't "liberal bias". Belcher's investigation in- to the committee is purely a pdlitical move. As Rules Chair man Mr. Belcher has the respon- sibility to submit a complete description of BPC to the assem- bly for approval. Instead of doing this, so that the Assembly can rationally discuss controver- sy, Mr. Belcher has chosen to drag BPC tirough the mud. Fur- thermore, the committee has made no apparent attempt to contact any BPC members as of yet. As the term is drawing to 4 close, actions are needed, not words. Finally, Bruce Belcher's per- sonal attacks on Kurt Muenchow are unprofessional, unfounded, and uncalled for. Kurt has never in my time on BPC tried to in- fluence the group in any way. He is a good leader and encourages discussion and a group decision. A leader of such a group shout remain neutral, and Kurt Mue chow has performed such duties excellently. As Bruce is running for MSA again on the Student "Rights" Party, it is obvious that the accusations are meant to un- dermine the credibility of Muen- chow and Thompson, running on the Meadow Party (Daily 3/5.) Bruce has done a good job with Rules and Elections this year, and he should be nrofessional an* r - U.-.