The Michigan Daily -Wednesday, January 16, 1991 - Page 3 Soviets tighten control over breakaway Baltic republics r RIGA, U.S.S.R. (AP) - Soviet commandos stormed a Latvian police academy and seized weapons from cadets yesterday as unrest surged through the Baltics. In Moscow, Mikhail Gorbachev clashed head-on with a hot-tempered military hard-liner who demanded the Soviet president take even harsher measures against the breakaway re- publics. Thousands at a Communist Party-led rally in Riga roared for a pro-Kremlin group to take power in Latvia. In Lithuania, a military heli- copter circled parliament and workers dug a long trench behind the build- ing to protect it from Soviet tanks. A government official said 80 people were missing after Sunday's military assault on the republic's television tower. Fourteen people are known to have been killed in the attack; 230 were injured. About 5,000 Kremlin loyalists rallied in the Estonian capital of Tallinn, condemning the separatist Estonian government. Gorbachev has been striking back at pro-independence forces he says are violating the Soviet Constitution. Yesterday, he made a fiery speech to the Supreme Soviet legislature. The president spoke of the need for negotiating ways of disarming civilians who have amassed weapons to defend themselves. Suddenly Col. Nikolai Petrushenko stood up stiffly, pumped his right arm up and down and shouted: "No negotiations! The bandits must be disarmed tonight!" Gorbachev, who has been under great pressure from impatient hard- liners such as Petrushenko to take tougher steps to restore order, shot back angrily, "Before you stands a man who understands the full re- sponsibility and full acuteness of this problem." Latvian Interior Minister Aloizs Vaznis accused Soviet "black beret" commandos of staging attacks that "are designed to provoke armed con- flict to prompt the intervention of military units, which are combat- ready." The commandos attacked Latvia's only police academy at 2 a.m. and took pistols, automatic weapons, sniper's rifles and grenade launchers that Vaznis said, "could be used in provocative actions" against the re- public's government. Some commandos arrived at the academy disguised as traffic police; talked their way past a night guard and disarmed him, Latvian radio re ported. Other commandos seized the building, disarming the cadets and severely beating two, the report said They left a short time later. On Monday, commandos in black berets seized a police precinct station in a Riga suburb but left quickly and later returned the captured weapons. The commandos also occupied d heating facility in a Riga suburb. The black beret units are controlled by the Soviet Interior Ministry, which is headed by Boris Pugo, a former head of the Latvian KGB secret police. "I have come to the conclusion that these actions were planned by the Soviet Interior Ministry" in Moscow, Vaznis said. MICHELLE uUYaiiy Engineering Senior Cynthia Tarr (left) and LSA Senior Nahid Karim (right) join hands while singing "Lift Every Voice and Sing" during the 6th annual candlelight service in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., held yesterday evening at the Trotter House. 175 students gather for vigil to honor ing's birthday by Shalini Patel and Lisa Sanchez 'Daily Staff Reporters While many students gathered last night to protest possible war in the Gulf, others gathered to honor a man of peace - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On what would have been the 62nd birthday of the civil rights leader, about 175 people assembled -for the Sixth Annual Candlelight Service at Trotter House last night. Throughout the service, the threat of war persisted as the United Nations deadline for Iraqi with- drawal from Kuwait drew near. The impending deadline only seemed to reinforce the importance of Dr. King's vision of liberation and ,peace. Song, prayer and speeches marked the celebration and vigil. The University's Gospel choir struck a chord dominant in the minds of many with "The Storm Will Pass Over," a song which per- sonified the Gulf conflict. The Reverend Mark Wilson, a sociology graduate student, deliv- ered the keynote address, drawing parallels between King's position on U.S. involvement in Vietnam and the current situation in the Persian Gulf. Wilson said King had noted the disproportionate number of people of color in the military during Vietnam and the devastating effects of a war economy on poverty. A parallel situation exists in the Persian Gulf conflict, Wilson said. "My friends, we have a night- mare tonight," Wilson said. "White money is being sent out of our country. Our neighborhoods are falling down and our families are falling apart." Wilson challenged students to actively protest the impending war. "I have a dream that the students will get involved with this Persian Gulf situation. I have a dream that every military base will be leveled down so that we can build up schools and educational institu- tions." Wilson also called the U.N. deadline date, which falls on Dr. King's birthday, a "slap in the face of Dr. Martin Luther King." LSA sophomore Laurita Kaigler agreed with Wilson's speech. "(The deadline) is a slap in the face of Black people, the Black community has no vital interests in Saudi Arabia," she said. "Bush has made clear that he has no respect for the Black community." LSA sophomore David Payne, who attended the vigil, disagreed. "I'm sure it was a coincidence," he said. Another of the event's speakers was George Davis, a School of Education graduate student. He ex- pressed dissatisfaction with the U.S. Persian Gulf involvement and the preservation of the New World Order as its justification. "The New World Order," he said, is "nothing but a tightening of white control of people of color across the world." As the lights dimmed at the end of the vigil, participants joined hands and voices in "Lift Every Voice and Sing." Symbol of war Ann Arbor resident Linda Diane Feldt protests the use of force in the Persian Gulf at a noon rally yesterday. ~PBS documentary film to feature teach-in creator Bergmann by Chris Afendulis ,Daily Staff Reporter In 1965, a young University faculty member helped originate an innovative plan to help students un- ,derstand the heightening Vietnam ,War - the teach-in. Twenty-five years later, ,University students flocked to simi- *lar sessions on a different conflict - the Persian Gulf. University Philosophy Prof. Frithjof Bergmann, who continues to teach and research at the University, was the young professor who helped develop the teach-in concept. "You can mention the word teach-in in China or Germany and people will know what you're talk- ing about," said Bergmann, who helped organize the nation's first teach-in in March of 1965. His fame has recently attracted major television networks for inter- views, and his contributions to the turbulent Vietnam era will be show- cased in a television series on PBS this month. Due to Bergmann's commit- ment to current research, he has been unable to collaborate on the University's current wave of teach- ins. "I don't want to spread myself too thin," he said. He still believes in the effec- tiveness of teach-ins, however. "The idea (behind the original teach-in) was that intelligent opposi- tion is much better than unintelli- gent opposition," he said. "It had a permanent influence on people's lives... people were left with the feeling, 'Yes, I can change the world."' He estimated that at least half of all the colleges and universities na- tionwide held teach-ins during the Vietnam War. Bergmann holds higher hopes for the current wave of teach-ins, ex- plaining that while opposition to the Vietnam War was marginal in 1965, today's widespread anti-war senti- ment gives educators much more to work with. He also believes attitudes have drastically changed since the mid- '60s, explaining that many saw the Vietnam War as a struggle between freedom and tyranny. "Now," he said, "there is hardly anyone who believes in that fantasy." Many of Bergmann's opinions about the Vietnam era will be exam- ined in "Making Sense of the Sixties," which will air on PBS January 21st, 22nd, and 23rd at 9:00 pm. Television producer David Hoffman contacted Bergmann over a year ago to examine his role in the '60s, which included not only his teach-in activities, but also a body of philosophical work dealing with the time and its legacy. "I've worked to make more co- herent some of the impulses of the '60s," he said. He felt that the intel- lectual climate of the decade deterio- rated in its later years, leading to a fragmentation of its hopes. His work in philosophy during the '70s sought to make order of the chaos of the previous decade and re- capture the idealism of its early years. "I've persisted and worked out ideas that are more coherent and vi- able," said Bergmann of his endeav- ors, which include working with two Indian tribes, the homeless in Nqw York City, and Detroit's inner-city youth. Bergman said his most ambi- tious project, called the Center for New Work, attempts to help indus- trial workers who have been increaW- ingly displaced by technological i- novations. ยง _ _ z WTHE LIST What's happening in Ann Arbor today MSA rejects Gulf anti-war resolution Wk rworda Oft V.,I All groups appear in the There will be We apologize Meeting Undergraduate Ph weekly discussion.p History of Contempo to be led by T. H Angell Hall, 7:00. VIA Hillel, bi-w Hillel, 6:30. AIESEC (Internatio Students in Economi weekly meeting. B-S 6:00. Speaker "Orthodox Chris America," Fr. Jose Union, 7-8:00. "Robust Estimate Hellinger Neighb Wu, speaker. 451 Ma "Hlghly Selective who wish to have their weekly meetings List must resubmit their announcements. no automatic carry-overs from last term. for the inconvenience. is Furthermore Safewalk functions 8-11:30 Sun.- iilosophy Club, Thurs. Call 936-1000 or stop by 102 This week: "The UG1i. rary Philosophy" Northwalk functions 8-11:30 Sun.- Hinchman. 2220 Thurs. Call 763-WALK or stop by 2333 Bursley. 'eekly meeting. ECB Peer Writing Tutors avalible to help with your papers Sunday- nal Association of Thursday, Angell/Haven Computing ics and Business), Center, 7-11:00. chool, Rm. 1273, U of M Shorin-Ryu Karate-do Club, weekly practice. Call 994-3620 for info. CCRB Martial Arts Rm., 8:30-9:30. U of M Tae Kwon Do Club, s wednesday workout. CCRB Martial Arts Rm., 7-8:30. tian Unity in "Life on A Curve," a show about f Abud, speaker. education performed by The Resi- dence Hall Repertory Theatre Troupe. s in Shrinking Mosher Jordan, 10:00. orhoods," Coln Beans and Rice Dinner. Guild ason Hall, 4:00. House, 802 Monroe St., 6:00. Syntheses via Comedy Company Auditions. Call by Jay Garcia_ Daily MSA Reporter Despite the urging of its execu- tive leadership, the Michigan Student Assembly narrowly rejected a resolution opposing war in the Persian Gulf after a long debate at last night's meeting. The resolution, which supported the planned actions of Students Against U.S. Intervention in the Middle East (SAUSI) for the day fol- lowing a military attack, was voted down by a roll call margin of 20 to 18. MSA President Jennifer Van Valey began the meeting by com- menting on the impending war in the Gulf and expressed her own feel- ings against the actions of the U.S. government. "I'm not willing to support the wholesale slaughter of Americans and Iraqis," Van Valey said. She expressed hope that assembly members would set aside their differ- ences to support the resolution and also encouraged them to attend SAUSI meetings and the "Troops Out Now" vigil held last night. It was clear from the debate that the assembly was divided over the resolution. Many representatives had problems with the specific clauses and wanted to see things deleted, added, or changed. Some assembly members were concerned that the resolution should express support for u.a. turoos ai- ready deployed in Saudi Arabia. "It hurts me to see people down- play (the troops)," said.LSA rep. Julie Davies, who explained that she has friends in the Gulf area. Engineering rep. Brian Kight said he was strongly opposed to the reso- lution because it did not necessarily represent the ideas of the majority of students on campus, who are MSA's constituents. n-"v~oo c*UinrVnr fUI T T C tUnnnoal- VY W )iIUUU rl tLi-P.. tni we snum nVL v PLL1118WUM in the mouths of the students with a resolution," Knight said. "I know i lot of students would be mad if thi$ resolution passed." a In response, Paula Church of the Peace and Justice Commission re- minded everyone that MSA is a pq- litical body. A motion was made to postpone the resolution which would have essentially killed it. It did not pass.r Health & Fitness ]bJ - i kin ko's COPIES with this coupon 8 1 /2 X 11, white, selt serve or auto fed only expires 4/30/9 1 Something For Everybody 'Swimming *Nautilus 'Raquetball *Basketball 'Aerobics *Dance *Free Weights .Martial Arts 'Yoga *Pre-school 'Child Care Center *Family Activities ...And just a short walk from central campus.