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