cl ble n ss de Ninety-seven years of editorial freedom 1 Ita1 /Ol. XCVII - No. 60 Copyright 1986, The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor, Michigan - Wednesday, November 26, 1986 Eight Pages I_ P oindexter resigns amid turmoil WASHINGTON (AP) - President Reagan's national security adviser, Vice Adm. John Poindexter, signed yesterday, anda key operative who handled ecret arms sales to Iran was fired as the administration disclosed that up to $30 million the Iranians paid for U. S. arms was diverted to U. S.-backed Nicaraguan rebels. Reagan, nonetheless, continued to defend his Iranian policy while admitting that one element of its implementation "was seriously flawed" and that he was not kept fully informed of his own aides' activities. "I am deeply troubled that the implementation of a policy aimed at resolving a truly tragic situation in the fiddle East has resulted in such controversy," Reagan sail. "As I've stated previously, I believe our policy goals toward Iran were well-founded. However, the information brought to my attention Monday con- Arms deal money was diverted to Contrcas vinced me that in one aspect, implementation if that policy was seriously flawed." MEANWHILE, Attorney General Edwin Meese revealed that the first U. S.-sanctioned arms shipment to Iran took place in 1985 without Reagan's knowledge and was approved by the president only after the fact. Administration sources, speaking on condition they not be identified, said that Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North, who was fired in the shakeup, gave Israeli officials the go-ahead for the shipment on his own authority. Reagan said he would name a commission to examine the role of his National Security Council staff, which directed the operation and has come under fire from the State Department for its operations. He said the Justice Department will launch a full-scale probe of how the money was handled to determine whether federal crimes were committed in funneling money to the Contras at a time when Congress had banned direct U. S. military aid to them. Meese, speaking after Reagan, told reporters that, with North's knowledge, $10 million to $30 million collected from the Iranians for U. S.-shipped weapons was siphoned by Israeli middlemen and transferred to bank accounts set up by Contra rebels fighting the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua. "The only person who precisely knew about this was Col. North," Meese said of the money matters. Sources say North, an expert on unconventional warfare in the Political-Military Affairs section of the NSC staff, secretly oversaw American efforts to help the Contras, handled counter-terrorism matters for the White House, and was a key link in the secret arms shipments to Iran. MEESE SAID Reagan knew nothing of the transfer of funds to the Contras and "didn't have com- plete information at the time regarding" a November 1985 arms shipment by the Israelis. That shipment apparently was returned to Israel. See REAGAN, Page 2 MSA have may huge deficit By WENDY SHARP The Michigan Student Assembly may owe Student Legal Services $19,000 due to an error by last year's treasurer, said an assembly member. Bruce Belcher, treasurer of Student Legal Services- and chairperson of MSA's Rules and Elections Committee, said the assembly may not have given enough money to Student Legal Services last year. MSA is supposed to allocate 61.7 percent of its budget to the legal service each year. MSA President Kurt Muenchow said the previous treasurer may have calculated the assembly's allocation to Student Legal Services based on the 1984-85 student fee of $4.75 instead of the 1985-86 fee of $5.07, which would create the deficit, Muenchow said. IF THERE was an error, this year's MSA's reserve fund of $20,000 will have to be used to pay the debt, Belcher said. "What I would like to do about this is to pass an amendmentito (MSA's) compiled code on financial operations," Belcher said. The amendment would require MSA to put a certain percentage of its budget into the reserve fund, he said, and that would insure that the assembly's reserve fund would not be wiped out again. Daily Photo by PETE ROSS Graduate student Mark Fernau, dressed as Uncle Sam, hands participated in the rally which reminded people about hunger problems out crosses painted with the names of dead Nicaraguans at in the world. yesterday's rally on the Diag. About 75 Community High School students Students remember victims By JIM BAUER Dozens of University and Community High School students joined together yesterday to remember the people who cannot celebrate Thanksgiving because they are beset by hunger, war, or oppression. Referring to American Indians, Ann Arbor resident Mark Weinstein urged the audience to "think about the original peoples who are still struggling." Weinstein drew cheers from the audience, which included about 75 sign-carrying Community High School students who arrived late, when he quoted textbooks on American history. "The textbooks teach us that Indians were warlike. How can the white man call anyone warlike with his record of killing and destruction?" he asked. Sue Olienick, a Community High student, told the crowd her school was taking action for peace. After the rally, about 40 of the high school students marched to the front of the Union and staged a die- in at the intersection of State Street and South University. Four police officers arrived within seconds, but the students refused to "come alive" and halted traffic for about 10 minutes. "Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for what you have, but it is also a time to think about what other people don't have, both domestically and internationally," Melissa Fernau, a member of the Latin American Solidarity Committee, told a group of about 20 people on the Diag. Fernau condemned U.S. intervention in Central America as antithetical to fundamental American values. "It's ironic that at Thanksgiving we celebrate our country's founders fleeing persecution and starting new lives while today we are the persecutors Thanksgiving: It just ain't what it used to be By STEVE BLONDER "The four f's - family, friends, feast, and, of course, football" - that's what Thanksgiving means to LSA freshman David Weiss. It turns out that other students have many of the same feelings about the November tradition. "Thanksgiving means to me that there are 27 days left to shop until Christmas," said LSA senior Terri Pulice. The Pilgrims probably werer i considering the Detroit Lions or Macy's Department Store when they celebrated the first Thanksgiving. University history Prof. John Shy explained that the celebration "was in fact an authentic occasion which really did happen. It is one of the happier moments in American history." The original celebration was in response to the new found strength and health experienced by the Pilgrims and their small harvest, Shy said. Graduate student John Corser's thought regarding Thanksgiving serves as a reminder that the American Indians were included in the original Thanksgiving. "Thanksgiving serves to represent the way that our own culture See TURKEY, Page 3 of people in Central America," she said. "These are countries which are trying to start new lives." Kurt Berggren, an Ann Arbor attorney who recently visited Juigalpa, Nicaragua, Ann Arbor's sister city, spoke on the plight of the people of Nicaragua. "The most disturbing aspect was their lack of basic necessities," he said. "They are in desperate need of medical supplies, educational. materials, and even basic everyday items such as toilet paper." Berggren charged the Reagan Administration with advocating a "brutal economic blocade" of Nicaragua and sponsoring a war by subsidizing the rebels trying to overthrow the Nicaraguan government. "During the 10 days that I spent in Nicaragua, there were two Contra attacks that killed a total of 10 innocent people," he said. Cindy Phillips, a member of the World Hunger Education-Action Committee, said there are 20 million chronically hungry people in the United States and that "there isn't adequate support on the federal level. President Reagan expects the private groups to shoulder most of the responsibility." Youths speak on living with war Beicher ... MSA in deficit- Belcher will draw up an amendment and propose it to the assembly after Thanksgiving break. M S A' S current treasurer, Seth' Surchin, whose term began in February, said his predecessor may have "done something careless." Surchin said he could not be more specific until outside auditors complete their report on MSA's budget. The audit will be returned to the assembly in January. The assembly is audited annually because of a requirement in its constitution, Muenchow said. See MSA, Page 3 By KELLY McNEIL In Lebanon children are used to "the sight of blood, the sight of torn flesh, and to the sight of injured people," said a girl from Lebanon yesterday. She was among youths from war zones around the world who spoke on their childhood experiences. Speaking before an audience at the Ann Arbor Public Library, representatives from South Africa, the Philipines, Lebanon, the Marshall Islands, Guatemala, and the United States implored members of the audience to take an active role to help end war in their countries, and to limit U.S. involvement in other countries. The youths are part of an organization called Children of War. Their visit to Ann Arbor and other areas around Detroit was coordinated by the Detroit Anti-Hunger/Youth Advocacy Center. Rima Zankoul from Lebanon gave a particularly emotional speech. She was six years old when the war in Lebanon began in 1974, and has witnessed the effects of war See INNOCENT, Page 3 TODAY The "Ann Arbor flu" he flu VYnck T urvhn c, eme t o vnt of the influenza virus, with a changed surface antigen. In other words, it can make you sick. Symptoms are nearly the same as for all other flu strains:. Night sweats, fever, nausea and everything else associated with the common ailment. The strain is denoted Type B because of the virus involved. As of now, the existence of official seal on this year's elections by certifying the vote totals from the Nov. 4 balloting. The final vote for governor turned out to be: Gov. James Blanchard, 1,632,138, and Republican William Lucas 753,647. Any losing candidates have two days to seek a recount, officials said yesterday. INSIDE IRAN: Opinion suggests that President Reagan listen to his Secretary of State. TUE VIII 1AM A tArta A i. m - I.aA I ,