Page 4 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, March 13, 1990 le idligan ailI EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 ARTS NEWS OPINION 763 0379 764 0552 747 2814 PHOTO SPORTS WEEKEND 764 0552 747 3336 747 4630 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. r:rf "'% i+.tiIromf th e D aily'ii::: . f!:f...%:"Fii:"i"ii:% {. i f~i:i{i~ i'ii : ~': ii%....rr.. ... i:::ii/ : ;!!y. %~'iis:"}: .:?.:"h'i? iYi?. M SA elections ./ -::.r.. .r,:.rr -::: { . ~r ...:~> :-:i3. ,Students can end infighting, focus on leadrshipFn:!::";'2::: 60\ 4I ~ f Public hears one side of Turkish-Armenian conflit THIS THURSDAY IS THE FILING deadline for candidates planning to run in next month's Michigan Student Assembly spring elections. Half of the assembly's 48 positions, including president and vice president, will be selected by the student body. Students who believe they can help revitalize a dysfunctional organization like MSA should consider filing for candidacy; funning for student government is an excellent opportunity to affect change on campus. In the past, MSA has been hindered by the political infighting between rep- resentatives and executive officers. MSA has an annual budget of half a million dollars; such financial respon- 'sibility necessitates that decisions be made professionally and maturely. A year ago, a significant number of Conservative Coalition party members won seats on the assembly, including the offices of president and vice presi- dent. The CC vowed to "make MSA more responsible," and to "put an end to political bickering"; unfortunately, little has changed in the past year. In fact, looking at the fiasco of the fall 60.ACEV AS 61VEN u? s coupT 5 > RES f~. f; elections (for which current President Aaron Williams refused to shoulder re- sponsibility), one could say that MSA has gotten worse - the circus-like at- mosphere is no longer confined to chambers, but has expanded all over campus via petty attacks in the Daily. The history of pastineptitudenaside, MSA is the only central representation students have at the University. It is a vital link between the administration and the student body, and it functions as an important network for the vast number of student organizations on campus which require student funding. MSA needs people who will concen- trate on issues facing students, not on internal bickering. The upcoming election provides an excellent opportunity for interested Itu- dents - with or without a history of involvement at MSA - to make a change. Whether running with a party or as an independent, candidates have the opportunity to become leaders at this University by representing stu- dents and putting an end to the infight- ing that has plagued MSA for years. NO'S 1 VEN VT IS ARYS T AOVETO GIV ..ROVI\lDED I DON'T NAVETo 61VE V? MY DIS ICT'S SASES "I By Tayfun Akin The American public in general and the Daily readership in particular have been exposed to only one side of the Turkish- Armenian conflict: the Armenian side. We believe that this one-sidedness, which is perhaps the result of misinformation or lack of information, has been the cause of a great deal of misunderstanding between Armenians and Turks, and within the American public. The Armenian allegation, that the Ot- toman Empire instituted a systematic, state-run program to exterminate the Ar- menian people, is dubious. Much of the evidence supporting this allegation is drawn from reports by Christian mission- aries, whose religious biases against the Moslem peoples of Eastern Anatolia should be obvious. Other evidence comes from reports by the U.S. Ambassador to the Sublime Porte; he remained in Istan- bul throughout the conflict . No one denies that events in Eastern Anatolia, 1915-1917, were horrifying. However, these were the result of an inva- sion by the Czarist Russian army. Arme- nians joined the Czarist troops, an act of rebellion against the Ottoman Govern- ment. The ensuring civil war and subse- quent relocation of civilian population of Eastern Anatolia had tragic consequences. Hundreds of thousands of people, Armeni- ans, Kurds and Turks, Christian and Moslem, died in inter-communal warfare or because of disease and famine. Akin is president of the Turkish Student Association. This letter reflects the opin- ions of the Executive Committee of the TSA. These events cannot possibly be termed "genocide" on the part of the Ottoman Empire, which, at any event, was over- thrown by the Turkish Revolution in 1923. Ottoman responsibility can only lie in the Empire's inability to protect its civilian population (both Moslem and Christian) from wide-scale civil war, famine and disease, all while fighting a world war on five fronts. Official government documents pertain- ing to the tragic events of 1915-1917 are now being uncovered. As of May, 1989, scholars are being granted easy access to the Ottoman archives and the tens of thou- sands of documents therein. According to Dr. Heath Lowry, editor of the Journal of Ottoman Studies, "Among the newly- available documents are several dozen bound handwritten registers containing the record of the deliberations and decisions of the Ottoman Council of Ministers for the years 1914-1922. These registers include each and every decree pertaining to the de- cision to relocate the Ottoman Armenians away from the war zones during the first World War period. Even to the uninitiated, the importance of these materials to de- termining the validity or lack thereof of the genocide charge should be apparent." Scholarly research continues. However, in the past 15 years, Armenian terrorists have claimed scores of innocent lives at- tempting compel the international com- munity to accept their version of history as fact. In 250 separate incidents, perpe- trated by Armenian terrorist groups in more than 20 countries, 73 innocent peo- ple have been killed and 467 were wounded. Armenian terrorist groups have not re- stricted their violence to Turkish targets, but have victimized those who did not re- spond favorably to their claims. Ameri- cans, Portuguese, Swiss, Canadians, French, Australian, and others have been victims of Armenian terrorism. This terrorist campaign does not re- spect even academic freedom in American universities. In 1985, an earlier resolution to commemorate the alleged "Armenian Genocide" was brought before Congress. Some 70 professors of Ottoman history united and published their protest against the commemoration in the New York Times. Those who signed the protest did not back down in the face of complaints, threats and even attacks. The Turkish Student Association calls for unbiased, unrestricted scholarship to further our understanding of the events in Eastern Anatolia during World War I. Ar- menian emotions about this tragic time have been fired by the tales told by parents and grandparents. We too have heard sto- ries, stories of atrocities committed on our Turkish parents and grandparents at that time. We rely on and respect the memories of our ancestors as the Armenians do theirs. However, we do not consider emotions to be the equivalent of historical proof. Con- tinued allegations of genocide only serve ,. to spread the seeds of animosity, bigotry, and hatred between Turks and Armenians. We ask that Turks and Armenians alike acknowledge the human tragedy which be- fell all the peoples of Eastern Anatolia during WWI and strive to promote under- standing and friendship, instead of hatred. Finally, it is our hope that the American community will take a more objective stance in viewing this complex issue. J5 i 7 rF xa vi ap ilk W W NE'S 6twA up N!S .AND A PTY'S 1WDNo vcy... TN1S is c . AL. OF S600D.. - ... AP Cokely editorial does not go far enough To the Daily: In response to the editorial about Steve Cokely (2/26/90), I would like to offer my congratulations to the Daily for bringing such anti-Semitic comments out in the open. But the editorial didn't go far enough. For Cokely to make such statements against and about Jews, although totally unfounded and outrageous, is nonetheless his constitutional right. For the BSU to bring a man with his views to this cam- pus and then support his views with statements like "He was just giving out facts" is abhorrent. Additionally, the editorial in the Issues Forum (2/26/90) supporting the Diag shanties' existence on the Diag made no mention of the Tagar bus which serves to remind people of Palestinian terrorism against Israelis. The authors, some of whom are member of UCAR, mentioned the two South African and the Palestinian shanties but conveniently forgot the Israeli one. Also, they mention the purpose of each shanty and describe that the Pales- timan shanty "was built to symbolize Is- raeli state apartheid policies against Pales- tinians," but omit the idea of Palestinian terrorism against Israelis. BSU and UCAR are always advocating a dialogue between racial groups on cam- pus. By bringing and supporting speakers such as Cokely and forgetting Palestinian attacks on Israelis, they really just demon- strate that they wish to be the soul defin- ers of what is and is not racism. Instead of working to iron out different perceptions and feelings about each group, BSU and UCAR have sought to separate themselves even further from other groups that disagree with them. Randy Lehner first-year LSA student SLS can help students To the Daily: We wish to commend the Daily, and reporter Amy Harmon, for her excellent ar- ticle, "The Dangers of Student Housing" (Weekend Magazine, 2/23/90). As advo- cates for better housing and tenants' rights, we are confident that the feature article will raise student consciousness concerning their options and legal rights. Our organizations are always available for assistance. Student Legal Services (SLS) provides free legal help to students, and we specialize in landlord-tenant mat- ters. The Housing Law Reform Project is SLS's advocacy branch, concentrating on education and community networking to improve housing conditions and laws. The Ann Arbor Tenants Union provides phone counseling and organizing assistance to all local tenants - not just students. We wish to reiterate our strong support of tenant privacy rights, which the land- lords quoted in your article did not seem to take seriously. One landlord thought that tenants without answering machines de- served minimal respect for privacy. An- other stated that tenants moving into a unit "... of course feel that it's their home... (!)" Tenants: your rental housing is your home, according to the law, and our organizations are here to help you. You can reach Student Legal Services at 763-9920, the Housing Law Reform Project at 936-0836 and the Ann Arbor Tenants Union at 763-6876. We look for- ward to hearing from you. Nicholas Roumel, Attorney Student Legal Services Michael Appel Housing Law Reform Project Claudia Green Housing Law Reform Project Ex-Opinion editors - i.. a -... 0L -2- - the Board for Student Publications. During my membership, it was chaired at first by Prof. Eisendrath and then by Prof. Rosen- thal. The Board was fully aware that its re- sponsibilities and authority were limited to financial matters; we did not even need to be reminded by those editors who at- tended our meetings that editorial policy was none of our concern. I did not even dare to suggest that the Daily's most cry- ing need was a good copy editor. Only once, and then on the initiative of the editor in chief, did we discuss a policy question, and on that occasion our recom- mendation was disregarded. At no time was even the shadow of a threat to the Daily introduced, although of course some staffers may have considered it threatening when the Board attempted, so far unsuc- cessfully, to make staffers end the practice of making hundreds of dollars of personal long-distance calls at the paper's expense. At no time during my service on the Board, whether in our meetings or in con- versations outside them, did Professor Rosenthal suggest or even hint at any in- terference in the editorial independence of the Daily. Now, of course, anything is possible in a paranoid world. It may be that Presi- dent Duderstadt, Regent Power and Profes- sor Rosenthal spend late-night hours plan- ning to do in the Daily so that it may be converted into a mouthpiece for Ariel Sharon. It is, I suppose, possible that Nancy McGlothlin, the Manager of Stu- dent Publications, harbors secret ambi- tions to take over the paper, to become the Rupert Murdoch of Ann Arbor. If so, they Baker defends letter, criticizes Rep. Pursell To the Daily: I have been recently informed that Carl Pursell, a man slow to thought but quick to anger, is foaming once again, and that I am partly responsible. Apparently, the Daily reprinted a satirical piece, attacking Pursell's support for the military death squads in El Salvador, which I had co-au- thored. Pursell claimed outrage that the piece had been reprinted and that the Daily had failed to mention that the origins of the satire was being investigated by the FBI. Pursell's outrage is well-placed. If it is, in fact, the case that the FBI is again spying on Pursell's political oppo- nents, then the Daily certainly should be investigating this matter thoroughly. The FBI has a long history of spying on those who are opposed to government policies. Just last spring when William Sessions was visiting the University to give the Law School's commencement address, it was revealed that the FBI had been spying on Ann Arbor's Central America solidarity activists, and that the FBI was still lying ; in an effort to conceal this spying. If the FBI is still acting as a secret po- lice force available to investigate Pursell's political opponents any time he is of- fended, it would be an incredible- although unsurprising - violation of ba- sic democratic principles. It has been well-documented how the mainstream media in this country repeat government pronouncements as fact and work to censor any substantive discussion of IT C nlntjiP n njr'iuftitnr 1,Pttu r Writer accuses Daily of plagiarism To the Daily: I found it interesting to note that it stook a riot in the Fishbowl to get the Daily to write an editorial condemning the infamous anti-Semitic bigot Steve :'nkreiu whn nnnrd nn amnuiQ T ftnnd part, the first half of the editorial was the writing of Jonathan Brent, not the Daily. Brent is given no credit for his excel- lent work. Were this editorial an essay written for any course at the University of Michigan, it would be called "plagiarism"