OPINION Page 4 Thursday, October 5, 1989 The ilgan Daily 0 Daily By Roberto Javier Frisancho The recent editorial by the Daily ("By Popular Demand," 9/19/89) and the op-eds by David Austin ("U.S. at war in El Salvador," 9/13/89) and Philip Cohen ("A New Proposal for Peace," 9/21/89) on El Salvador are part of a nationwide campaign by the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) toacut off -U.S. aid to the government of El Salvador =with the goal of a victory by the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) guerrillas. CISPES, (founded in 1980 by Farid Handal, who is the brother of Shafik Handal, the general secretary of the Salvadoran Communist Party of the FMLN), along with its chapters, the Latin American Solidarity Committee (LASC) among them, is trying to portray the FMLN as an organization fighting for lib- eration and not one whose main goal is to obtain power (i.e. dictatorial power) in El Salvador. Their arguments are of a cheaper quality than the paper that the Daily is printed on. The most popular argument used is hu- man rights abuses. Surprisingly, they do not quote Americas Watch. This is be- ,cause its executive director, Aryeh Neier, testified in July 1989 before the House Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Affairs that "one of the most important features of the current Salvadoran human rights picture is the increase in abuses by the FMLN. For the first time in our knowledge, the numbers of FMLN viola- skews (NACLA Report on the Americas, September 1989). For the FMLN, negotiations are part of a war strategy. A January 1988 FMLN document, "Strategic Appraisal," captured by the Salvadoran army, shows that the FMLN uses negotiations as a ploy for winning power. The document states that "in dialogue as such we must have as our central objective keeping the enemy tied at the table with a view to his strategic weakening.... Dialogue is one of the forms of conspiratorial struggle and we must maintain it." Guillermo Ungo, pres- idential candidate for the Democratic Convergence (CD) and president of the Democratic Revolutionary Front (FDR) (the FMLN's political wing), has admitted that the FMLN does not expect its pro- posals to be accepted, rather that they are actually meant to "corner and isolate the Army" (The New York Times, February 26, 1989). After the election, Ungo strongly dis- agreed with the FMLN's view that its boycott was a success. The FMLN argued that the total of abstentions, voided bal- lots, and votes for the CD showed wide support for the FMLN and proved that ARENA's victory, and the process itself, was illegitimate. Ungo pointed out that the guerrillas could not "suck from three teats" at the same time, that their violent tactics "could only lead to a strong absten- tion which no one can claim as his own." (Latin American Weekly Report, March 30, 1989). facts on Democratic Convergence leaders have 1 also conceded that, outside guerrilla ranks, the social base of the FMLN is no more t than 50,000. This is confirmed in a pollt by the Jesuit-run University of Central1 America. Asked of their opinion of the FMLN, only 6 percent of Salvadorans said "good" or "very good." While 61 percent said they had a "bad" or "very bad" view. The Daily and LASC realize this, which is why they have resorted to twisting the facts. They mention as "evidence of new { popular opposition the turnout of 100,000 (the largest march since 1980) at an Independence Day rally on September 15" in San Salvador. The implication is that the march was organized by the FMLN, which would be a complete lie. Actually, 1 it was organized by the Permanent government. FMLN supporters try to act like they tions have outpaced those attributed to uniformed members of the security forces." The FMLN has gotten so out of hand in its killing that on October 25, 1988, in a unprecedented move, Maria Julia Hernandez, the director of Tutela Legal (the Catholic Church's human rights of- fice) went on national television to con- demn the FMLN for having its guerrillas murder four peasants in Apopa while iden- tifying themselves as soldiers of the Salvadoran First Infantry Brigade. And as Neier pointed out, "The use of land mines continues to victimize inno- cent civilians, as in the May 22, 1989, in- El Salvador political figures, especially mayors. It has demanded that mayors resign or face execu- tion. So far, eight mayors have been mur- dered and 120 out of a total 262 mayors have resigned. According to the North American Congress on Latin America "the contention that mayors are legitimate mil- itary targets has little basis in relevant in- ternational law, and the campaign has been harshly condemned by both Americas Watch and Amnesty International." are genuinely concerned that the right- wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) won the March 1989 presiden- tial elections. But Joaquin Villalobos, leader of the FMLN, has stated on several 0 occasions that the FMLN preferred an ARENA victory because it would re-polar- ize the country and break Congressional consensus on aid to El Salvador (The Washington Post, March 21, 1989). This would benefit the FMLN, which receives assistance from Cuba and Nicaragua (this support was only recently admitted by Villalobos [Time, October 2, 1989). In polarization, to paraphrase Villalobos, the "active minority" would make history andO not the passive majority. Thus, it is clear that the FMLN is willing to use any means (in this case, negotiations with the intent of stopping U.S. aid) in order to achieve its end: complete power. Roberto Javier Frisancho is a senior in political science and Latin American Studies, and president of the Coalition for Democracy in Latin America (CDLA). '...[T]he Latin American Solidarity Committee...is trying to portray the FMLN as an organization fighting for liberation and not one whose main goal is to obtain power (i.e. dictatorial power) in El Salvador. Their arguments are of a cheaper quality than the paper that the Daily is printed on.' Committee of the National Debate for Peace in El Salvador. This independent committee is composed of 59 civic orga- nizations called together by Catholic Archbishop Arturo Rivera y Damas to propose solutions for bringing about peace between the FMLN and the Salvadoran cident in which nine passengers were killed by the FMLN mine under the bus of El Leon Pintado in the Department of Santa Ana." Along with killing women and children, the FMLN (like the Colombian cocaine cartel) shows no restraint in assassinating Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan 420 Maynard St. Vol. C, No. 21 Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board. All other cartoons, signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily. .4. Demand an open University Bach Mai Hospital, the largest in Hanoi, before and after U.S. bombs fell on it on June 27, 1972. The war against Vietnam is now being fought with dollars. End the war in Vietnam By the United Coalition Against Racism Today at 12 noon in the Diag the United Coalition Against Racism will be holding a rally demanding access to the University for people of color. Despite promising to increase student of color enrollment, the University has recorded steadily decreasing numbers. Such promises (or, more correctly, "hype"), in- cluding "Diversity Day," the Michigan Mandate, and much more, are fueled by an intent to put students of color in a state of passivity. Protests, marches, and sit-ins are detrimental to the prestige of this insti- tution. The University administration can't afford activism, but we recognize it is necessary: we know that we need to look behind the hype and to protest the real, dismal truth we see there. The history of activism at the Univer- sity includes a series demands presented to the administration in 1970 regarding fi- nancial aid and Black enrollment. At that time, the University agreed to achieve 12 percent Black enrollment. In 1976 Black enrollment reached its peak - just over 7 percent. Since then, numbers have steadily decreased to the point at which we now stand, 5.4 percent. Last year, Black enrollment went up one-tenth of one percent, and the Univer- sity boasted about it. But the University is silent this year; enrollment slid back that one-tenth and more. If the University is so committed to increasing the numbers, then why are they falling? Making small gains one year and erasing them the next does not come close to achieving increased mi- nority enrollment. The issue of enrollment is connected to several other problems with University policies, which the University portrays to us as anything but problems. This year, there was a 12 percent in- crease in tuition. The University tells us that this is necessary and in accordance with the ebb and flow of inflation, an an- nual process. But how many families can show a 12 percent increase in their income each year? And even if there were such an increase in a working-class family's in- come, that 12 percent would hardly com- pare to the big dollars that the University costs. The increase makes the University less accessible to people of color because they are the poorest in this state. But they pay taxes to fund this institution: they have a right to go here. Then the University says that its finan- cial aid plan will meet the tuition increase. There have been no changes in financial aid; more students of color are having problems than ever before. Financial Aid continues to offer an almost-livable plan as Pennsylvania State for better financial aid programs. This brings us to the issue of retention, something the University generally ig- nores. Only first year students of color ar*0 of value to the University because pub- lished statistics only record numbers for incoming classes. But once the University gets students here, it must not just leavb them in this miserable climate where the accomplishments of people of color are ignored in the curriculum, where racist remarks are screamed across campus, and racism is taught in the classrooms. Thle issue of retention is complex, but how lit- tle the University is doing becomes much clearer when the dropout rate for people of color remains far higher than that of white students. Fewer students of color are applying to come here because they know they cant afford it or can't hope to compete witp white students on the racially biased star- 'Fewer students of color are applying to come here because they know they can't afford it or can't hope to compete with white students on the racially biased standardized tests.' :. s S EVEN MILLION anti-personnel bombs and M-79 fragment grenades embedded in an area smaller than the state-of Rhode Island: this is the legacy of the U.S. presence in Binh Tri Thien province, five years after the Vietnamese defeated U.S. troops. (Indochina Issues 12/89). The U.S. government has never rec- ognized that it was beaten in Vietnam. For the past decade, it has continued its ,war with trade embargoes instead of soldiers and bombs. The United States has blocked the yVietnamese from receiving World Bank and International Monetary Fund loans, the principle source of capital for de- veloping nations. It has also success- fully pressured its allies to keep the Vietnamese out of the Association of 'South East Asian Nations, a regional :trade organization. American policies have dragged Vietnam into deeper poverty and forced .the nation into economic dependence on the Soviet Union - one of its few sources of aid. As of 1984, Vietnam ;owed the Soviets more than $4 billion, in addition to its other debts to Europe and the East Bloc (Far Eastern Economic Review 11/15/84). * Two red herrings are often used to justify America's embargo of Vietnam: the invasion of Kampuchea and the rbodies of U.S. war dead. Vietnam invaded Kampuchea in December1978. At that time, the longed occupation of Kampuchea, but its fears of the Pol Pot regime were le- gitimate. The United States - itself guilty of prolonged occupation - had not paid Vietnam the billions of dollars in war reparations (which it still owes), and was not proposing any solution to the Kampuchean raids. U.S. complaints about the Vietnamese occupation serve to divert attention from its own crimes against Kampuchea. In President Nixon's final term, the U.S. dropped 400,000 tons of bombs on Kampuchea, installed the Lon Nol government with a CIA-engi- neered coup, and then cut off aid when it appeared that the Khmer Rouge had won. This was when Phnom Penh was entirely dependent on the U.S. for food rations - which amounted to only 280g of rice per family per day (Hilderbrand and Porter, Cambodia: Starvation and Revolution, 1976). Quite simply the U.S. eliminated all alternatives to the Pol Pot regime and then blamed Vietnam for engaging in self-defense. To the Washington mindset, the de- mand for the repatriation of U.S. war dead is also legitimate. The thinking is that the United States has the right to carpet-bomb Vietnam, destroy its economy with an embargo, and then ask the Vietnamese people for favors. What's astonishing is not the demand, but the fact that Vietnamese govern- ment has complied with the requests by looking for Americans still in the for first-year students, but it takes it away in their sophomore year, forcing many students of color to drop out. This injus- tice continues, while University President Duderstadt claims aid has been increased by more than 40 percent. The University has a history of manipulating statistics; why should we believe them now? One would expect that an increase in financial aid would mean that more people of color could come here, but the numbers don't re- flect any such thing. More and more stu- dents of color from Michigan are choosing to travel hundreds of miles to schools such dardized tests. And they know that if they do come, they will be met by a complete lack of concern for the hardships in the lives of most people of color. Thus, fewer students of color are entering. And those few who do come are not staying. Our concerns are similar to those voice4 19 years ago, and that is sad. But the largest decreases in Black enrollment coriie at times when activism is low. We most keep up the fight: the University won't move if we don't make ourselves heard. As long as we get no justice, we must give the University no peace. Capitalism is just: 0 Don't believe the "progressives" -1 By Steve Mytyk The Daily recently reprinted an article from Dollars and Sense magazine ("Settling for more," Daily, 10/2/89), in which "conservatism" and "liberalism" were declared dead, and which called for the institution of "progressive" new policies to reinvigorate the welfare state. It con- tained horrible misrepresentations of the nature of capitalism and the concept of justice. The mixed economy we have in America today is not capitalism. pleases from you to finance its handouts, the right tothe product of your own effort becomes meaningless. In capitalism, no one gets handouts; it's laissez-faire, let it alone, hands off - the government has absolutely no legitimate interest in the economy. This means no welfare, no loans to businesses, no finan- cial aid for college students, and no na- tional health care. In a capitalist society, you get what you earn by your own hard work, no more and no less, whether you are a business or an individual, and no one can legally take it away from you by force or fraud. And that is what justice means: getting what you deserve. mo,.«..- - - -,,...,,. ....~c, ,.t..,. . property rights is nothing more than tyranny by majority rule. They want you to believe that capitalism is the cause of all our problems - that a political system6 which guarantees to each citizen the free- dom to pursue success and happiness Is the most evil curse ever to befall mankin(d. Don't believe any of it for a second. The ideology of the "progressives" is like arsenic. If you drink milk laced with arsenic, you don't get a healthy person, you get a corpse. If you mix socialistn with capitalism, you get the mangled half- breed that you see in America today, with the decaying of freedom, increased gov- g