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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 1990)
'2, ■>>N Texas A&M e Battalion WEATHER •/'/' / ' V/s TOMORROW’S FORECAST: Cool and cloudy with a chance of rain HIGH: 65 LOW: 42 1.89 No.87 USPS 045360 12 Pages College Station, Texas Monday, February 5,1990 oviet crowds demand iurrender of monopoly CM ’ersojJ hclu, 'Kbpl oietet "a/iia P kft mi MOSCOW (AP) — Hundreds of thou- are » ,lds of cheerin S protesters filled the biniid streets of the capital Sunday to de- 'pstei* a nd that the Communists surrender their ■ranglehold on power, perhaps the biggest —> Jotest in Moscow since the Bolshevik Rev- i ; - Mution. The huge gathering came on the eve of a ■Marty Central Committee meeting during |fRiich President Mikhail S. Gorbachev is ex- ■cuecl to propose that other parties be al- j^jfcwed to compete for power, a move likely tv spur an intense struggle between hard- Riers and reformers. ■ The crowd waved huge white-red-and- ■ue flags of pre-revolutionary Russia and te ^Held signs warning party officials to “Re- "H^lljicmber Romania,” where a bloody revolt ■dt year toppled the Stalinist regime of Nic- oi e Ceausescu. 1 The masses stopped next to Red Square lira gigantic rally that was meant to influ- |0nce the pivotal Communist Party plenary meeting that opens Monday, fan*! “This plenum is the party’s last chance,” ■Bedared Boris N. V'eltsm, a populist Com- munist leader who promised to place the crowd’s demands before the 251-member Central Committee. Others, harkening to the revolution that overthrew the czar in February 1917 before being swept away by Lenin eight months later, said a new revolution was under way. Some demonstrators at the head of the rally chanted “Politburo resign!” Others whistled in derision when they passed the Moscow city council headquarters on Gorky Street. Trucks blocked Moscow’s Garden Ring Road for the marchers who linked arms next to Gorky Park and completely filled eight lanes of traffic, stretching back more than half a mile. Cordons of uniformed po lice blocked cars elsewhere, turning the center of Moscow into a virtual pedestrian mall. In all, the march and rally lasted for about five hours before participants began to disperse. Police observed the peaceful proceedings in the historic heart of the cap ital, but there were no reports of any distur bances. Windfall itaag A road sign on the Highway 6 east bypass was blown over by heavy winds during Thursday night’s storm. The Photo by Steven M. Noreyko weather cleared up Saturday afternoon, and Sunday was the first day of blue skies in nearly a week. in 21! in 410 3.P.E. rriea! onto latS “wisf rati more 764- min LAN- .Cal 7100 andi- rinal SCONA examines foreign policy ixperts direct political discussions with student delegates 3y JULIE MYERS Df The Battalion Staff Experts on U.S. military and agricultural foreign aid and stu- lents and faculty from around the nation and abroad will meet at Texas A&M this week to debate the United States’ foreign aid pol- cy. The 35th annual MSC Student Conference on National Affairs will begin Wednesday at 8 p.m. and end Saturday. Since its inception in 1955, SCONA has been planned, orga- lized and presented by A&M students. Three other programs like it exist in the United States. Topics for this year’s SCONA program include an overview of U S. foreign aid, its efficiency, the convergence of foreign invest ment and foreign policy and the goals of the United States from a global perspective. In addition, visiting discussion leaders, many of them scholars or firsthand observers of foreign aid policy-making, will lead 10 •fltmdmtftle discussions fdr the student delegates in Rudder Tower and the MSC. This is the focal point of each SCONA conference. As a year-long project, the preparation for the conference is di vided into three major subcommittees: finance, planning and oper ations. The tasks facing the SCONA committee in developing an educational conference include: selecting and refining a topic, re searching and obtaining the speakers, inviting discussion leaders, raising the annual budget and notifying colleges and universities about the upcoming conference. SCONA does not receive any fryids from the University to sup port its estimated $100,000 budget. Consequently, SCONA chair man and senior marketing major Kellye Bowman said the confer ence is trying to secure an endowment similar to those which finance other MSC programs like the Jordan Fellows. President Lyndon B. Johnson, Nobel Prize Winner Milton Friedman and Vice President Walter Mondale have been featured SCONA speakers in the past. All speeches and panel discussions are free to the public. • John Maxwell Hamilton, senior public affairs adviser for the UNITED STATES FOREIGN AID purpose, players & politics MSC SCONA XXXV World Bank, will discuss the origin, history and purpose of foreign aid Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Rudder Theater. • The formulation of U.S. foreign aid will be debated Thurs day at 10 a.m. by Col. Charles R. Weaver, former U.S. military co operation chief in Beirut, Lebanon; Patrick Breslin of the Inter- American Foundation Office of Learning and Dissemination; and Dr. James T. Goodwin, coordinator of International Agricultural Programs at A&M. • David Black of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture will speak at 7:30 p.m. Thursday on execution of foreign aid. • Paul Coverdell, director of the Peace Corps, will speak at 10:30 a.m. Friday on evaluating foreign aid. • Dr. Betty Unterberger, A&M history professor and foreign affairs specialist, will speak on the future of foreign aid at the clos ing address Saturday at 10 a.m. Mandela’s wife calls for pressure on government PAARL, South Africa (AP) — Serious obstacles still block the release of Nelson Mandela and more pressure must be put on the white-led government before he can be freed from nearly three decades in prison, his wife said Sunday. The government, meanwhile, warned Mandela’s newly legalized African National Congress that the world would turn against the group if it continued to wage a guerrilla war. Mandela met with his wife, Winnie, on Sunday, two days after the government lifted numerous restrictions on the anti apartheid movement. After the meeting, she appealed for renewed pressure on the government to force the lifting of remain ing emergency restrictions. “Unfortunately, the obstacles that were in the way, which prevented his release on Friday, still exist,” Mrs. Mandela said after the four-hour visit at the Victor Verster prison farm. “It ... doesn’t depend on him when he will be released,” she said. But in answer to repeated questions about the obstacles, she said Mandela still demands the complete lifting of the 3.5-year-old state of emer gency. President F.W. de Klerk partially lifted the emergency in a historic speech Friday in which he legalized the African National Congress, placed a moratorium on execu tions and lifted restrictions on hundreds of individuals and scores of anti-apartheid or ganizations. De Klerk’s actions met many, but not all, of the conditions the ANC and Mandela had set for the start of negotiations to end apartheid and give the voteless black major ity a voice in the government. Under the emergency regulations that remain in effect, the government can de tain anyone for up to six months without charge, police have wide powers to ban Unfortunately, the obstacles that were in the way, which prevented his release on Friday, still exist.” — Winnie Mandela, wife of imprisoned anti-apartheid leader meetings or speeches and restrict television or photo coverage of their own actions in dealing with political unrest. De Klerk issued a statement through government-run radio Sunday night re sponding to comments from ANC officials that the guerrilla campaign would con tinue. If that happened, de Klerk was quoted as saying, “The world would turn against them.” ‘The democratic movement is the trend of the world’ IlChinese students talk about changes By KEVIN HAMM Of The Battalion Staff To Ke Zhou, the relationship between China and the United States is crystal led in a political cartoon he saw: the picture is of President George Bush holding Chinese students in one hand, with his other arm around the shoulders of Chinese leaders. “Now we can really negotiate,” the caption says. nut fot the 33-year-old Texas A&M graduate student. understanding Bush’s efforts to assuage China’s government is not the same as agreeing with them. Like many of the 40,000 Chinese stu dents in the United States, Zhou was frustrated when legislation to protect Them from deportation died in the Sen ate last week, four votes short of overrid ing the president’s veto. “1 think in the long run he made the wrong choice, because this generation wilt he hack sooner or later,” Zhou said. “The democratic movement is the trend of the world. Eventually China will go in this direction, and then the leaders will ho from the generation here. This will harm their relationship in the future. •. T don’t think (the president) antic ipated the democratic system would be established in China in the short term — he’s just trying to improve the dictator ship,” Zhou said. “In that case he made the wise choice. But, if we are going to have a democratic system in the near fu- ture, everyone will remember what George Bush did.” Bush had to choose between signing the legislation into law. or vetoing it ana issuing an executive order accomplish ing the same objectives, He chose the lat ter after expressing the need to exercise caution when dealing with China. ‘ This is not the time for an emotional response hut for a reasoned, careful ac- h ( m that takes into account both our long-term interests and recognition of a complex internal situation m China,” Bush said during a June 5 news confer* China’s government had threatened to cut all student exchange programs and cultural relations with the United States if the bill became law, but they haven’t expressed concern over the ex ecutive order. Zhou said this is because the Chinese government trusts Bush. Bush won that trust between 1974 and 1975 when he was the head of the United States Liaison Mission to China. “I think they know, most of them in Congress, that 1 have not only a keen po- liticaf interest in China, but that I under stand it reasonably well,” Bush said. ^ When we go back, we will disappear. Thaf s why stub dents really need protection. They need protection des perately.” — Xun Ge, Chinese graduate student Zhou agreed that Bush knows how the Chinese government works, with per sonal relationships between leaders be ing very important, he said. But he said Bush was in contact with only the older leaders while he was in China, not with the people. Bush had a standing invita tion every weekend to lunch with Deng Xiaoping, who is currently China’s se nior leader, Zhou said, Chinese students also are confused by the president’s seemingly inconsistent foreign policy. Xun Ge, a 30-year-old graduate stu dent at A&M, said, “When you look at the whole issue, when you look around the world, your policy has to be consis tent.” Citing the United States’ support of democratic changes in Eastern Eu rope, he said, “It’s hard to understand why you have double standards in the human rights.” : ' J Zhou said, “The United Stales should stand for human rights, for freedom and democracy, not for the dictator- ship-’ 1 ( . Ge said he is afraid for Chinese stu dents, like himself and Zhou, who have spoken but in support of the democratic movement, if they are forced to return to China. The Chinese government keeps a “black list” with names of stu dents who are actively involved in pro testing the government, he said. : “When we go back, we wilt disappear,” Ge said. “That’s why students really need protection. They need protection desperately.” Zhou agreed that they will be pun ished eventually. “When we go home, they can catch us whenever they want,” Zhou said, “Sooner or later you will be caught. “if something happened to me, they could say ’He is in China, we have our own law.’ In their opinion, that’s r ight,” Although students aren’t in danger while in the United States, Zhou said the Chinese Consulate in Houston has tried to coerce students over the phone, warn ing them not to get involved in the movement or demonstrations. Zhou has received two phone calls. “They probably know it’s no use to in timidate me,” Zhou said. “They just want to persuade me to trust the govern ment.” Ge is not worried about being de ported any time soon. However, he won ders what will happen in the future when the Tiananmen Square massacre begins to fade from people’s minds, “Right now (Bush) says, Tru going to protect all these Chinese students by ex ecutive order.*,” Ge said. “But who See China/Page 8 Visiting lecturer named communications head for economic summit By STACY E. ALLEN Of The Battalion Staff A Texas A&M visiting lecturer has been appointed communications director for the 1990 Houston Economic Summit Host Committee. Peter Roussel, who teaches JOUR 440, Media and the Presidency, has served in the White House as a media staff assistant un der President Ford and President Reagan. “I’m excited about doing this because it will present Houston to the global news me dia and to the leaders that will attend the event,” Roussel said. “I am a native Housto nian and have a 20-year personal and pro fessional association with President Bush, and I want the summit to be a success for him. I have discussed this with the presi dent and received his encouragement.” Roussel was special assistant and deputy press secretary to Reagan from 1981 to 1987, staff assistant to Ford from 1974 to 1976 and press secretary/personal press of ficer to Bush from 1969 to 1974. As a spokesman for Reagan, Roussel helped plan the U.S. media participation for six economic summits. Roussel said his job will include keeping the ongoing economic summit media fo cused on three things: the activities of the seven leaders that will be in attendance at the summit; the city of Houston and its pos itive aspects; and the role of President Bush as the host of the event in his hometown. Roussel will commute between Houston and College Station throughout the semes ter to honor his commitment to A&M. In addition to teaching, Roussel is serv ing as a public relations consultant for A&M to advance the University’s reputa tion in the national media. He is working with President Mobley to improve A&M’s chances of securing the Bush library. “In taking this position,” Roussel said, “I told Lay (co-chairman of the Summit Host Committee) that I had a commitment to Texas A&M and President Mobley, and if doing this would hurt A&M or get in the way of my commitment, I wouldn’t take it.” Battalion File Photo Peter Roussel