Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 12, 1987)
bassador: II.N. ‘best hope for peace By Frank Smith Senior Stull Writer A U.N. official told an audience at xas A&M on Wednesday that al- mgh the United Nations has its flaws, it “is our best hope for peace ■ Earth.” ■ Ambassador Jaime DePinies, un- (lisecretary general of the United Nations, made his remarks during his keynote address kicking off the M( morial Student Center’s 32nd an imal Student Conference on Na tional Affairs. He spoke to an audi- Bce of about 350 in Rudder ■Theater. ■DePinies gave an overview of the U.N., touching on both its current functions and its history. He also ad- |fessecl the organization's strengths and shortcomings. ■“Perhaps the area in which the Greatest progress has l>een achieved has been in the Held of coloniza tion,” he said. “When the United Na- lonsl>egan, it had only 51 memljers. Only four were from Africa — Libe ria, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Af rica. U.N. official discusses group’s political role Jaime DePinies By Frank Smith Senior Stull' Writer Editor’s Note: fust prior to de livering the keynote address to the Memorial Student Center’s 32nd annual Student Conference on National Affairs, Jaime DePi nies, undersecretary general of the United Nations, spoke with The Battalion about the U.N. That interview, which has been edited for length, follows. Q: This conference has to do with the U.N.’s purpose vs. poli tics. With so many member na tions, is it possible to de-politicize the U.N.? And if so, how? A: Well, certainly not. The U.N. is mainly a political organ. That’s obvious. Everything is po litical. 1 think it serves a great purpose, particularly because it removes the steam of the big con flicts when they explode. . . . It’s a very good instrument, I would say, just to exchange views. As far as settling questions, some times they have settled. Some oth ers, not. The machinery is there. We can cope with conflict. The problem is whether the member states are willing to cope with them, or whether they’re trying to block. Q: As it relates to an instance such as the Iran-Iraq war, what type of machinery are we talking about? A: Only Iraq has said it is will ing to abide by the resolutions of the Security Council. Iran said no. Iran doesn’t want to settle anything inside the United Na tions. They say the United Nations is biased, the United Nations doesn’t condemn. The United Nations has not condemned the chief of state of Iraq. And the Ira qis, on the other hand, say why should we abide by your wishes? So there they are. And it’s a ca- See Interview, page 16 “ Today, the United Nations has 159 members, 51 of which are from Africa.” He said the U.N., like all human endeavors, has its flaws. “Nonetheless, this is our best hope for peace on Earth,” DePinies said. “If it did not exist, it would have to lie created.” But DePinies didn’t ignore the U.N.’s problems. In particular, he emphasized the problem of “abuse” of veto powers by the permanent members of the U.N. Security Coun cil. “The effectiveness of the organi zation (the U.N.) revolves around the democratic spirit found in the charter,” DePinies said. “ The United Nations is based, among others, on the principle of sovereign equality of all its member states.” This principle, however, doesn’t apply to the Security Council, he said. The Security Council has the power to decide what action the U.N. should take to settle interna tional disputes. The council has 15 members. Five — France, Oreat Britain, China, the Soviet Union and the United States — are permanent members. By charter, many ques tions that come before the council can be blocked if one of the perma nent members exercises its veto power. DePinies referred to a mechanism the U.N. General Assembly can use to bypass the Security Council when the council becomes immobilized by a veto. In 1950, the assembly approved a resolution giving it the power to step in whenever peace is threatened and the council lias failed to act. In such a case, the assembly can suggest ac- See U.N., page 16 pour! withdraws !3rd-party liability in ‘dram shop’ suit ■AUSTIN (AP) — The Texas Su- Iprune Court on Wednesday with- plrew its October decision that said bar and restaurant owners could be Iheki liable for cl amage caused when ' a drunken patron becomes a drunken driver. ■The high court granted a motion tor rehearing filed by attorneys f or I ■Chico restaurants, which was sued as a result of a 1983 Houston traf fic lleath caused by a driver who had Fbecn drinking at an El Chico “happy hejnr.” ■Supreme Court justices, who had ruled in October without hearing ar guments, Wednesday set April 1 as the date for oral arguments in the ■called “dram shop” case. ■in its brief, attorneys for the res- lajnant said there is no “public out cry” for dram shop liabilit y in Texas. ■‘The Texas Legislature has Istndly resisted the implementation ol pure dram shop liability such as \ that recognized by this court,” the 1 restaurant’s attorneys told the court. ■jOn Oct. 15, without writing an opinion, the Supreme Court ruled phere was no reversible error in a | Houston court of appeals decision in the El Chico case. The appeals court overturned a trial judge’s decision [that dismissed the lawsuit against El Chico without convening a full trial. IThe case was sent back to the trial • court, but Ei Chico appealed to the Supreme Court. The suit was filed by survivors of Larry Bryan Poole, 31, of Houston, who was killed Jan. 21, 1983, when a vehicle driven by Rene Saenz, of Houston ran a red light and slammed into Poole’s vehicle. According to court records, Saenz said he had become intoxicated while drinking at an El Chico restau rant in Houston. He pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 months in prison and 15 years on probation. He testified he had consumed “a lot” of Scotch anti water at El Chico. The Supreme Court’s October ruling had been criticized by the Texas Restaurant Association, which contends it put an unfair and expen sive burden on restaurant owners. In their rehearing brief, El Chico’s lawyers said enactment of a dram shop provision is a legislative, not a judicial, matter. T hey said res taurants had no way of knowing that a court might rule they are responsi ble for drunken patrons once they leave. But an attorney for Poole’s survi vors said El Chico management ap parently was aware of the possibility because they had issued a 1983 memo to employees that said, “Don’t risk your employer’s investment by serving an intoxicated person.” Hobby Hall resident Melany Wolfe is treated by emergency medical when she was struck by a bicyclist. Although not badly injured, she technicians Wednesday afternoon. Wolfe was crossing Ross Street was taken to the A.P. Beutel Health Center as a precaution. House plans to release 500 inmates ■ AUSTIN (AP) — T he House, ■oving quickly to try to ease Iprison crowding, approved a res olution Wednesday that sponsors ’ sail 1 would rush up to 500 non-vi- l Bent inmates to half way houses around the state. B Rep. Bill Ceverha, R-Dallas, isaul the resolution would allow I the Board of Pardons and Paroles t() speed up spending money set aside for halfway-house place ments of inmates who are within three to six months of release. ■ The Texas Department of Cot- ■cdons has been forced to close its doors twice so far this year be- ; cause the inmate population has ■ceeded a 95 percent capacity ^ limit set by law. ■Ceverha said there are 32 half- 0 I 0 way houses statewide with which the state contracts to house in- pates shortly before they are re- Ifeised on parole. But he noted Thai 750 of the 1,300 halfway P>use beds are now empty. ■ Parole officials have indicated thai the resolution woidd allow |theni to place an additional 450 to 500 inmates in the halfway houses within two weeks, he said. ■ inmates eligible for the hall- way-house plan tire non-violent offenders who have never been turned down f or parole, or never I convicted of crimes in which a I ‘deadly weapon was used. ■ Newspapers: Israel, Shiites negotiating swap BEIRUT’, Lebanon (AP) — Newspapers in London and Israel said Wednesday secret talks were going on for a major swap that would free foreign hostages in Lebanon in exchange for 400 Arab prisoners. Lebanese Shiite leader Nabih Berri said there were no talks yet but indications were positive. Berri, head of the mainstream Shiite movement Amal, made the original proposal on Saturday, setting off a frenzy of rumors, reports and speculat ion on the hostage crisis. Berri, who is also Lebanon’s justice min ister, proposed that Israel f ree 400 Arab pris oners. In return, Amal would return a cap tured Israeli airman and a Moslem extremist organization would free the four kidnapped educators — three Americans and an Indian — it was threatening to kill. On Wednesday, the Israeli newspaper Da- var said Israel and the United States were ne gotiating a multinational deal to free all cap tives held in Lebanon by pro-Syrian and pro- Iranian groups, with Israel freeing 400 Ar abs. Davar, which has close ties to Israeli For eign Minister Shimon Peres’ Labor Party, said the deal involved the Swiss and Syrian gov ernments and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The swap would include re leasing the airman captured in October and three Lebanese Jews seized in Beirut last year. The paper datelined its report f rom Wash ington and quoted unidentified American and Israeli sources. Israeli officials have expressed doubt that Berri could deliver on promises involving or ganizations not his own. Beni’s militiamen do hold, however, the navigator of an Israeli Phantom fighter- bomber shot down over south Lebanon Oct. 1. In Washington on Wednesday, White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater insisted anew that the United States is not involved in talks with Israel about hostages and said, “We have not urged Israel or any other country to be involved in a deal with the hostage takers.” The London Times said Wednesday a “wide-ranging deal” was in the works involv ing the four educators, the Israeli airman and Arab prisoners. It said the negotiations followed “months of secret contacts between the Israelis and guerrilla leaders in southern Lebanon” through the Red Cross. Red (Toss headquarters in Geneva denied it was involved in negotiations. Student Senate board chairman resigns By Christi Daugherty Stull Writer The chairman of the Student Sen ate Judicial Board, who had refused at the previous meeting to swear in two vice-presidential appointees, re signed at Wednesday night’s meet ing. When a motion was made to swear in the appointees, Chairman Jen nifer Huang announced her resig nation and named Rudy Rodriguez as her replacement. “At the Board meeting last night I announced my resignation to the Board members,” Huang said. She declined to comment about her reasons for leaving, saying only, “I think the role of student govern ment is to promote good relations between the student body and the Senate. I don’t want to stand in the way of this.” She refused to say how she might be standing in the way of the relationship, but when asked if the Senate was fulfilling this role she Student service fees increase 6 percent By Christi Daugherty Stull Writer The Student Senate voted unani mously Wednesday night to raise student service fees for the 1987-88 school year from $61 to $65. The Senate Finance Chairman called the bill, “the single most im portant bill the Senate passes,” be cause it gives the group temporary monetary power. “If you don’t listen to anything else I say all year, listen to me now,” Chairman Spence McClung said. “This is important.” The Senate’s decision will be sent directly to John Koldus, vice presi-* dent for student services. The 6-percent increase, he said, represents hundreds of hours of work by the finance committee, in cluding fourteen hearings. This is the second year in a row that student service fees have in creased. Last year fees were raised 11 percent. Of the organizations receiving in creases in funding from this fee hike, the Study Abroad program was awarded the largest increase at 59 percent, while the shuttle bus pro gram received the only decrease in funding, a decline of 1.5 percent. McClung justified the large in crease for the Study Abroad pro gram by saying it is such a small-bud get program that the increase f rom $8,446 to $13,446 was almost negli gible. He also said that the decrease in funding to the shuttle bus program was not expected to increase student shuttle bus fees. said, “I think they’re trying.” Student Body President Mike Sims claimed no previous knowledge of Huang’s intention of resigning. “We were as surprised by this as you were,” Sims said. “She told me about this moments ago and gave no reasons.” Sims declined to speculate about possible reasons for Huang’s deci sion. After being sworn in, Rodriguez then swore in the executive and ad ministrative vice presidential ap pointees — Brian Banner and Jay Hutchenst—as his first duty. In legislative action, after a lengthy and sometimes heated de flate, the Senate voted down a senate reform bill that would have cut the size of the group in hall . Although a majority of the mem bers voted in favor of the bill, which was designed to combat problems with apathy and consistently poor at tendance, it fell nine votes short of the necessary two-thirds majority to change a bylaw. There were many complaints from senators that the bill was a quick fix and not precise enough for such an important move. “By cutting our size in half we may increase our efficiency, but we won’t increase our output,” Senator Robert Russell said. Others argued that the overall size of the Senate was too cumbersome, and very little ever got done. “The student body has evolved,” Senator James Johnson said. “We must allow the Senate to evolve to meet the changes of the student liotly.” See Senate, page 12