Page 4 -The Michigan Daily - Friday, April 6, 1990
* cijbe ~irigan faiIy
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
ARTS 763 0379 PHOTO 764 0552
NEWS 764 0552 SPORTS 747 3336
OPINION 747 2814 WEEKEND 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.
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U.S. should do more to prosecute murderers
IT HAS NOW BEEN MORE THAN
four months since the murders of six
Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and
her daughter by the armed forces of El
Salvador. Despite the fact that Salvado-
ran president Alfredo Cristiani has
admitted the military's guilt in this
crime, there is no indication that the
officers responsible will be prosecuted.
Even more to the disgrace of the
U.S. government, there is no sign of
any impending cuts or even restrictions
of the more than $1.5 million of U.S.
tax dollars going to the government of
the death squads every day.
This should not be surprising, since
U.S. policy has consistently allowed
free rein for murder and torture of op-
ponents to the Salvadoran government.
Despite the extra-judicial killing of
more than 70,000 civilians in the last
decade, including Archbishop Romero
in 1980, not a single officer of the Sal-
vadoran armed forces has ever been
convicted of human rights abuses.
The strategy has had some success,
from the White House point of view, in
forcing the opposition to go into exile
or to take up arms with the guerillas of
the FMLN. Thus the U.S. hopes to
win militarily what it could not win in
an open political contest: a dependent
client government for El Salvador.
Because of international outrage
over the killings of the priests, which
were committed in front of witnesses
by the military, the Cristiani govern-
ment arrested seven lower ranking offi-
cers and one colonel for the crime.
But there is little doubt that the order
for the murders came from high-rank-
ing government officials. On January
19, the New York Times cited diplo-
mats and other sources close to the in-
vestigation as stating that Colonel Be-
navides, the highest ranking officer
arrested, could not have ordered this
atrocity without approval from his su-
periors.
It seems that the Salvadoran and
U.S. governments are able to vindicate
themselves with the arrest of a few un-
derlings. Soon after the January 19th
article, the idea of higher officers' guilt
began to disappear. The focus of sub-
sequent articles was that Cristiani had
initiated a new era in which the military
was no longer immune from prosecu-
tion and was instead subordinated to
civilian rule.
This is of course what the U.S.
State Department would like the public
to believe, so that Congress can con-
tinue appropriating money to the Sal-
vadoran government without fear of
embarrassment.
However, nothing could be further
from the truth. According to the 1989
report of the Catholic Church's legal
aid office in San Salvador, more than
3,000 political assassinations took
place during that year. Most of these
were government-sanctioned murders.
The professional cowards that now
occupy the overwhelming majority of
the U.S. congressional seats will need
tremendous public pressure to reverse
the brutal and murderous course in El
Salvador.
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4
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I
Israel shouldn't be linked with South Africa
By Roxanne Meadow
Last week in the Fishbowl, the show-
case contained a display, entitled "Strug-
gles in Solidarity," which made a
fundamentally misguided analogy. In this
display, the governmental policies of Is-
rael and South Africa were linked, and
Zionism was compared to apartheid.
A list of "differences" between the two
nations was proposed. Unfortunately, this
list was incomplete. It lacked several truly
dissimilar aspects of the policies and ide-
ologies of Israel and South Africa:
Zionism is the national liberation
movement of the Jewish people. It con-
tains neither reference to race nor advocates
discrimination. Apartheid is a policy of ra-
cial segregation perpetuated by the gov-
ernment of South Africa. Its roots lie in
the concept of racial inferiority and lack of
inherent rights of Black people.
The government of Israel is a democ-
racy with a multiparty system. Each citi-
zen, Arab and Jew alike, is granted one
vote and is eligible to be elected to public
office. In South Africa, a non-white ma-
jority, which possesses virtually no polit-
ical rights, is ruled by the force of a white
minority.
Minorities in Israel share freedom of re-
ligion, equality before the law, unlimited
domestic travel rights, and use of public
Meadow is an LSA senior.
facilities with the Jewish majority. The
segregation and severe restrictions imposed
on Blacks in South Africa are in complete
contrast to these Israeli policies.
Israel has not annexed the West Bank
and Gaza Strip. It is therefore prohibited,
by international law, from granting Israeli
citizenship to the territories' Arab resi-
dents. The South African government re-
frains from granting full citizenship to its
non-white majority throughout the coun-
try, solely for racist reasons.
In addition to misperceptions regarding
these distinctions, Israel is often criticized
for its trade and diplomatic relations with
South Africa. A 1987 U.S. State Depart-
ment report to congress showed that many
countries, including Israel, the United
States, France, Great Britain, Italy, and
several Arab nations, have maintained rela-
Italy, Great Britain, and Jordan. Only Is-
rael, however, has been singled out for di-
rect individual criticism. This double stan-
dard reflects an anti-Israel, not an anti-
apartheid, agenda.
Israel, like any other nation, desires.
peaceful relations with as many countries
as possible. Israel was, however, placed in
a complicated predicament by the eco-
nomic isolation imposed on it by its Arab
neighbors, and subsequently by Black
African nations under pressure from the
Arab world in 1973. South Africa was one
of the only nations in this region to man-
tain ties with Israel.
Despite these ties, Israel does not con-
done South Africa's racist practices. The
Israeli government has repeatedly repudi,
ated South Africa's apartheid policy.
Suspicion should be raised when mdi-
Only Israel, however, has been singled out for direct
individual criticism. This double standard reflects an :
anti-Israel, not an anti-apartheid, agenda.
Enrollment
'U' is doing little to attract minority students
tions with South Africa. In 1986 and
1987, Israel's commercial ties with South
Africa totalled $142 million, approxi-
mately 1 percent of South Africa's overall
trade. In contrast to this small amount, the
Arab world's trade with South Africa to-
talled $2-3 billion, including 95 percent of
South Africa's oil shipped directly from
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates,
Oman, Egypt, and Iran. Most of South
Africa's arms have come from France,
viduals either single out Israel for criti-
cism or try to equate Israeli policy with
South African policy. President of tle
Soweto Civic Organization, Dr. Nthatd
Motlana, recognized this when during his
recent visit to Israel he said, "it is muchl
too simplistic to equate the Israeli-Pales;
tinian problem whith the Black-White
problem in South Africa. That is one of
the things I've learned since coming to Is,
rael."
"I GUESS YOU SEE MORE BLACK
faces because there are more of us out
there," said Regent Nellie Varner, who
was one of 200 Black students at the
University of Michigan in 1964. She
sees the University today as being no
different than the one she knew 26
years ago.
Varner feels that despite the Black
Action Movement strike in 1970 and
despite President Duderstadt's Michi-
gan Mandate for making Michigan
more diverse, the status of Black stu-
dents has not changed.
In 1970, when the BAM strike oc-
curred, activists were demanding an
increase in minority enrollment to 10
percent (a figure the University has
never achieved), the intensification of
recruitment of qualified Black students,
and an increase in supportive services
for minority students.
It seems odd that these demands are
almost exactly what the United Coali-
tion Against Racism is demanding in
1990. One reason that significant pro-
gress is not being made is that although
attitudes may have changed, the Ad-
missions Office still relies on policies
which are geared towards admitting a
white student body.
This is not a new idea - the admin-
iStration has shown us that they have
an interest in maintaining status quo. In
January of 1988, then-LSA Dean Peter
Steiner said "Our challenge is not to
change this university into another kind
of institution where minorities would
naturally flock in much greater num-
bers." Steiner never retracted his re-
marks and Interim President Robben
Fleming stood by him through the
"crisis." Steiner took an early retire-
ment from his job later that year.
A very real problem is that the Uni-
versity does little to recruit from any
high schools in Detroit other that Cass
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Technical and Renaissance. The Uni-
versity needs to broaden its recruitment
practices and redefine what it means to
be "qualified." There are plenty of
qualified Black students, but they are
not being recruited and they are not
coming here voluntarily because
Michigan has not made itself attractive
to minority students. Additionally, the
University does very little to aid mi-
nority students financially.
Things have not gotten much better
in Duderstadt's administration. Just last
week in the University Record, Dud-
erstadt wrote, "But why are we and
other universities experiencing inci-
dents of group conflict, prejudice, and
hostility? At least part of the reason is
that we are becoming more diverse."
Where is the logic behind this state-
ment? It is the lack of diversity that
causes these incidents, not any sup-
posed increase in minority enrollment.
In the same essay, Duderstadt
wrote, "Our intellectual work benefits
from an expanded vision of the world
that comes from new ideas. We also
grow individually as we learn to see
new perspectives and hear new voices
formerly closed off to us." He is as-
suming that "we" are a white institu-
tion. It seems to indicate that whites
can benefit from hearing others. It also
gives the impression that the voices and
perspectives that were "closed off'
were done so by nature or some force
beyond our control, when, in fact, mi-
nority enrollment is very much in our
control.
The situation for minorities at the
University of Michigan will continue to
until the administration assumes a dif-
ferent attitude. Until the students make
effective and relentless demands, the
University will continue in its racist
and unprogressive policies.
I
Balloons pollute area
To the Daily:
The rally commemorating Lesbian and
Gay Men's Awareness Week 1990 was
successful in many respects, but failed
miserably in onelarge one. The failure of
this rally, and one which is inexcusable
given the circumstances, was the release of
helium-filled balloons into the air at the
end of the event.
This action was not the result of igno-
rance of its impacts, but rather something
much worse: complete disdain for envi-
ronmental responsibility, the unwilling-
ness of the organizers to do what they
knew was right.
David Horste, the host of the event, in-
formed us that the rainbow of balloons
decorating the library steps would be re-
leased at the end of the rally. He added, in
a sarcastic manner, that the balloons
would "pollute the environment." It is
clear that he knew this action was not en-
vironmentally sound.
His mockery is deeply offensive. Not
only is helium a rare and irreplaceable re-
source that should not be wasted in such a
trivial manner, but when the helium
escapes or the balloons burst, the remain-
ing litter does not degrade and is often
ingested by aquatic and terrestrial wildlife,
resulting in choking and death.
When I approached Horste and asked
him not to release the balloons because
they would in fact damage the environ-
ment, he consulted with his colleague,
Ron Wheeler. Both declared that the bal-
loons would be released.
It seems to me that the progressive
group of people attending the rally would
have been more than happy to accept that
the balloons not be released and that they
be disposed of properly. Horste and
Wheeler could have preserved their in-
tegrity by not releasing the balloons and
explicitly stating the reasons.
By doing so, they could have demon-
strated their ability to move beyond nar-
But the damage has been done. The 20
foot wall of balloons has been released and
has polluted the environment and poten-
tially harmed wildlife throughout south-
eastern Michigan.
Elise McLaughlin
School of Natural Resources
Daily should be more
cautious of stereotypes
To the Daily:
Congratulations. Between the editorial
"A step back" (3/29/90) and the Wasser-
man cartoon below it, you managed to
slur Mormons and Moslems, along with
Idahoans in general in the course of an
otherwise legitimate criticism of Right to
Life movement tactics.
The cartoon depicted an American-look-
ing man walking with a veiled wife past a
bench with two ladies sitting on it, one of
whom remarks, "You can always tell folks
from Idaho."
What's this supposed to mean? Well,
referring to the article above, it is the
"Mormon population at large" pushing for
the abortion restrictions, so the married
couple, I figure, is Mormon, but the wife
is dressed as a stereotypical Moslem wife.
The message that comes across is, "The
residents of Idaho are anti-women's rights
because they're Mormons, which is equiv-
alent to being Moslem."
Now I realize that this statement may
not represent the opinion of the majority
of the Daily's editorial board, but the mes-
sage was nonetheless implicit in your
placement of the Wasserman cartoon. In
the future, please remember to not play
with stereotypes. They can produce harm-
ful editorial side-effects.
Alex Eulenberg
Residential College sophomore
Daily omitted facts
from Arabs living in the Galilee, where-
upon a number of Arabs decided to hold ,a
peaceful protest against the expropriatio.
The Daily failed, however, to mention that
the expropriated land was part of a large,
project to develop the Galilee.
Two thirds of the land expropriated be-
longed to Jews, and all the land owners
were given compensation, as is required by
Israeli law. The expropriated land was used
to build schools, widen roads, and con-,
struct an industrial complex.
The Daily's use of the words "peaceful
protesters" to describe the Arab response
to the land expropriation is somewhat
questionable. They began their "protest"
by throwing rocks at other Israeli civilians
and vandalizing Jewish-owned property in
the Galilee. When the Israeli army arrived
to contain the violence, the "peaceful
protesters" threw Molotov cocktails at the
soldiers. Thirty eight Israeli soldiers were
wounded, and the barrage of petrol bombs
caused the army to fire on the protesters.
Six Arabs were killed and 32 were
wounded.
It is interesting that the Daily decided
to draw attention to this particular protest
by Palestinians against Israel. Palestinians
have protested in Israel rather frequently
since the beginning of the Intifada, so
there is surely no lack of recent protests
for the Daily to commemorate. Why
should the Daily choose to commemorate
this extremely violent protest against an
Israeli government plan to build schools,
rather than some more recent protest?
I should point out that the Land Day
protest of 1976 was the only violent anti-
Israel protest ever held by Palestinians in-
side the 1967 borders of Israel. The current
violence associated with the Intifada is oc-
curring in Judea, Sumeria (the West Bank)
and Gaza, which Israel captured in the de-
fensive war of 1967.
In Israel, there are a number of Israelis
on the political left who believe that a
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