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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 21, 1988)
Thursday, April 21,1988AThe Battalion/Page 3 State and Local Journalist talks of his imprisonment in Sudan By Tracy Hamm Reporter Even though he* knew he would face imprisonment, a former jour nalist in the north African country of Sudan insisted on relating the starvation and political conflict in the country. Michael Kilungson talked Wednesday night about his experi ences reporting the famine and civil war in Sudan during a program sponsored by the Texas A&M chap ter of Amnesty International. Kilungson, who now has political asylum in the United States, was tor tured and imprisoned by the Suda nese government because of stories he smuggled to the British Broad casting Corp. describing the condi tions of the people. “The people were walking skele tons and many were dying from star vation,” he said. “I had to tell the truth about what was happening.” Journalists are responsible to the government in Sudan, so they are expected to write only favorable sto ries about the government, Kilung son said. “As long as you do what the gov ernment says, you have no prob lems,” he said. “If you are Sudanese you are supposed to protect the gov ernment, but I recorded history.” The famine in Sudan is worse than in Ethiopia because it has not been publicized, he said. Vehicles’ passage is blocked because of the civil war. The roads are mined and planes trying to fly in food are Shot down, he said. “I have seen people dying almost every hour,” he said. “People were lying along the roads waiting for food from the government which was not coming.” Kilungson explained that the civil war is causing many people to suf fer. The conflict in Sudan is between people of African origin who want Sudan to become an African country and the Arabs who rule the country, he said. After Kilungson released stories about the conditions in Sudan, he was warned by the government about his actions. “I was told to keep quiet and if I did it again I was in big trouble,” he said. “But, I had to make my own contribution and make sure the out side world knew what was happe ning.” Students square off over question of A&M divestment in South Africa By Holly Becka Reporter A debate is never a calm thing, and Wednesday’s discussion be tween Texas A&M’s Students Against Apartheid and Young Con servatives ol Texas concerning the question “Is divestment a desirable course for A&M to pursue?” was an example. Two SAA representatives, David Luckenbach and J.J. Martinez, took the stand that A&M needs to with draw its $3.3 million investments in South Af rica to produce results. “Anyone can say apartheid is bad or evil, but unless you try to stop it, you utter weak, hypocritical words,” Martinez, a freshman business-fi nance major, said. “Ask how to help, and I’ll tell you ‘divest.’ We feed in money that supports apartheid.” Luckenbach said even the threat of divestment causes a change, which might make the white govern ment push for human rights. “We need to pull out of South Af rica, and make them (the govern ment) weak so they will push for re form,” Luckenbach, a freshman political science major, said. On the flip side were Dick Lonqu- ist and James Cecil, representatives of vcrr. “America needs to invest in South Africa, provide economic aid and loans,” Lonquist, a senior petroleum engineering major, said. “Pulling out takes away positive influence. We can’t have models for a constitu tional democracy leaving.” Cecil agreed, and said U.S. cor porations benefited black workers. “U.S. corporations provide a chance for blacks to make progress, and the white government is forced to recognize them as a political force,” he said. “Under the ‘Sullivan Principle,’ (a work program first im plemented in 1977), blacks were trained and educated, trade unions were recognized, and there was an improved quality of life because of pensions, health care and housing.” Luckenbach said only one percent of the blacks in South Africa are in fluenced by the Sullivan Principle, and apartheid has not been weak ened because of the principle. “The Sullivan Principle hasn’t produced a change,” he said. “There is no concrete evidence apartheid has been weakened. It’s more logical to assume divestment would affect more people, and more than sanc tions (would).” Martinez said the United States is South Africa’s number one trade partner and investor, and therefore, change would occur by divesting. Lonquist retorted, saying the Sul livan Principles were a good exam ple of Americans promoting the democratic form of government. “Democracy is easier to under stand while you sit here with five dollars in your pocket, rather than none,” he said. “If we invest, we show the blacks work and produc tion. It’s a good example. If we di vest, the South African government and private investors buy the Ameri can companies for four cents on a dollar, and America loses out. The South African whites get it.” Luckenbach compared the South African government to the German Nazi Regime. He said even the prime minister of South Africa said Nazis and the Botha government were “brothers under the sun.” “No Western measures were taken then,” Luckenbach said. “We allowed what happened to happen. We shouldn’t just stand back this time.” Lonquist said Luckenbach’s paral lel was like comparing apples to oranges. The debate was moderated by po litical science professor Dr. Norman Luttbeg. He posed questions to the representatives. In answer to Luttbeg’s question. “Are the universities that have di vested ill-informed?” Luckenbach said definitely not. “There have been 85 universities — one half of a billion dollars — that (have) divested, including Harvard and Yale,” he said. “I think they have investigated it as well as, if not better than, us, and made the right decision. I think we should follow.” Lxmquist said he doesn’t think the universities are misinformed, but di vestment depends on the goals of the university’s funds. Answering Luttbeg’s last question, “Is divestment an ineffective case but morally right, or effective but morally wrong?” Cecil said it was morally wrong and ineffective to withdraw support, while Lucken bach said it was effective and morally correct. “By investing, we support,” Luck enbach said. “By divesting, we don’t. Whether or not it’s effective, it is still morally right. No matter what politi cal affiliation, what’s right is right.” After both groups entertained a few audience questions, Lonquist closed in reply to “Should A&M di vest?” with a strong stand. “Divestment doesn’t stop apart heid,” he said. “We should invest to make an influence.” On March 14, 1986, Kilungson was imprisoned because of his at tempts to expose the famine among the people. He was beaten daily and almost starved to death during his two- month imprisonment. The govern ment demanded that he reveal the spies who had assisted him or to turn over a device on which they claimed he sent his broadcasts to the BBC, he said. “It is amazing that a person can go two days without food,” Kilungson said. “Eventually, I was brought food, but I shared it with others who were dying.” Kilungson described how he was forced to watch other people be tor tured and killed. He and the other prisoners had to carry away the dead bodies after people were executed or collapsed in the cell. Since the BBC and several embas sies knew of his imprisonment, the government did not execute him, Kilungson said. Representatives of the BBC and Amnesty International tried to visit Kilungson in April. Kilungson was released on May 12, 1986 and instructed to write a statement to the BBC that he was all right and had been treated well by the Sudanese government, he said. After friends convinced him that he must leave the country, Kilung son escaped to Uganda where Am nesty International and Red Cross representatives were waiting, he said. Kilungson described how he used cigarettes and beer to gain the trust of the border guards so that he could cross into Uganda. Kilungson moved on to Kenya and worked for the BBC while he re cuperated from the many medical problems created by his treatment during imprisonment, he said. Kilungson then applied for politi cal asylum in the United States. “My name and my cause were well known, so I had no problems getting into the United States,” he said. Kilungson now lives in Houston and is sponsored by the YMCA In ternational Services Resettlement Program. Man left with collection of 9 Cadillacs ODESSA (AP) — Some people collect baseball cards, some old coins and some antiques. The oil industry boom-that-went-bust, you might say, has made H.C. “Brownie” Brown a collector of Cadillacs by default. Brown, owner of Brown Well Service & Supply Co., has been a “Cadillac man” for a great many of the more than 40 years he’s been in Odessa operating his oilfield service and supply business. During the “good years,” Brown provided all of his salesmen with Cadillacs to cover their wide-ranging territories. “We needed good, sturdy, de pendable cars that we didn’t have to worry about,” he said, noting they’ve never had to do much work on any of the cars. Today, Brown has about nine Ca dillacs, ranging from a 1959 model to a 1978 model. A 1979 Ford LTD sticks out like a sore thumb as it sits next to a near-classic maroon 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Fleetwood with its distinctive soaring rear fins. The 1959 Fleetwood has 99,069 actual miles on it, and there’s a 1977 2-door Biarritz that shows more than 119,000 miles on the odometer. Another 1977 2-door Eldorado shows more than 74,000 miles. Correction A cutline accompanying a pho tograph on Page 1 of Wednes day’s Battalion incorrectly identi fied Democratic state Sen. Kent Caperton as a Republican. Caperton — who was honorary ringmaster for Tarzan Zerbini’s Circus — was shown in the photo graph with an elephant rather than a donkey. But representa tives from Caperton’s office as sured The Battalion on Wednes day that the senator has not changed parties. In addition, the photograph was taken on Tuesday, not Wednesday, as the cutline stated. One You Pay For One You. Don't. When you treat yourself to a 100% natural Little Caesars pizza, We # ll treat you to a second pizza FREE! Little Caesar Mugs are Available 25C Refills VALUABLE COUPON FREE PITTA Buy any size Original Round pizza at regular price, get identical pizza FREE! hke varies tleperKang on sire, artd number of toppfnysi ordered. Valid] lytth Coupon at partlCipetUng Little Caesars. 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