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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 29, 1990)
The Battalion OPINION Friday, June 29,1990 Opinion Page Editor Damon Arhos Better ways exist to end apartheid than Mandela’s Tom DeLay, Republican congressman from Sugar Land, must know something about Nelson Mandela that the rest of America does not. DeLay remarked that the prestige of addressing a joint session of Congress was diminished by Mandela’s appearance on Tuesday. Tom DeLay was one of several Congressmen that boycotted Nelson Mandela’s speech. The networks were certainly there. They love Mandela. When Mandela was released from a South African jail, Jim Hickey for ABC compared Mandela to Pope John Paul II. Tom Brokaw called Mandela a “philosopher king.” Carole Simpson, also reporting for ABC, said Mandela is a “god-like father figure.” CBS This Morning’s Harry Smith exalted Mandela’s release as a “second coming.” Tom Shales, a Washington Post TV critic, reprehended the competition among reporters “to see who could heap the most praise on Mandela.” According to Washington, D.C. based Media Watch, “Apartheid must end, but the media is failing to do its job by ignoring Mandela’s full agenda.” During the past few months, the networks and newspapers have described Mandela as a “political prisoner.” Amnesty International, the American authority on world human rights, however, declared in 1985 that, “Mandela had participated in planning acts of sabotage and inciting violence, so that he could no longer fulfill the criteria for the classification of political prisoners.” Before he was thrown in jail 27 years ago, Mandela wrote in “How to be a Good Communist,” that “Under a Communist Party government, South Africa will become a land of milk and honey.” But there was one serious problem: Achieving Communist Party rule. Mandela had a plan. But he was caught. Mandela and his co-conspirators were apprehended with 50 tons of explosives for, according to documents reportedly written by Mandela, 210,000 hand grenades and 48,000 land mines — in short, enough to kill 250,000 people and destroy Johannesburg. On maps accompanying the explosives were 105 targets: police stations, power plants, homes of black policemen and communication facilities. The African National Congress (ANC) began in 1912. At its inception it included virtually all blacks in South Africa. In 1937, communist factions took control of the ANC and thousands of blacks began withdrawing from the organization. Many claim the South African Communist Party (SACP) still controls the ANC. Immediately after his release from prison this year Mandela scared a lot of observers, if not the media, when he said in Capetown that the general secretary of the SACP, Joe Slovo, is “one of our finest patriots ... the alliance between ourselves and the party remains as strong as it always was.” Joe Slovo was also to accompany Nelson Mandela to the negotiations table in front of Frederik W. de Klerk last spring. The true hilarity comes from listening to Dan Rather say, “I’d classify him (Mandela) moderate.” Another skeleton the media insists on “leaving” in Mandela’s closet is the necklacing of black opponents by ANC factions. According to Tamsanqa Linda, mayor of a black township and chair of an organization of 74 townships near Soweto, a tire is filled with kerosene and then shoved over the shoulders of a victim, effectively clamping his arms to his side. Then he is beaten, ridiculed and mercilously tortured with a flickering flame until the tormentors choose to light their living torch. 1 have seen pictures of the victims; it is an ugly sight. In 1986, Winnie Mandela proclaimed, “Together, hand in hand, with our boxes of matches and necklaces, we shall liberate this country.” Tamsanqa Linda says her “necklaces” have instead “liberated” the souls of over 400 blacks. The cause for the bloodshed between blacks is partly political, partly tribal. The largest black political organization in South Af rica is the Inkathas, led by the chief of the 5.4 million Zulus, Mangosuthu Buthelezi. The Inkathas are naturally composed primarily of Zulus, and the group opposes sanctions. Buthelezi told the AP when he visited President Bush here on Feb. 28 that sanctions “minimize economic growth and maximize black misery.” The smaller, radical ANC is composed primarily of Xhosas like Mandela, and ardently favors sanctions. They are most belligerent to Inkathas in the black homeland of Natal. That is the only region in South Africa still under martial law. While negotiating with President Bush in the White House, Mandela and I promise I 'won’t tell your parents../’ requested financial aid for the ANC Fortunately, Bush, portrayinghis occasional wisdom, brushed theap|* aside. That is exactly what the ANC is,i like all political parties, its numbert objective is to be in power. IftheAK were to obtain power, blacks in So® Africa would probably gain politics; advantages, but their economicrigl; would go the way of a dandelion®! tornado. Mandela knows the best way toa people’s heart is through their stomachs. Absence of food onthetj is the best way to radicalize blacks against apartheid. The ANC deputy president’s firs efforts to create economic turmoih mildly effective. Because of sanctiot, unemployment among blacks rose nearly four percent from the early to 1989. It rose from 8 percenttoll percent, according to an October!: article in The Economist. The ef fect of international restrictions on long term capital,an: the lowering of the price of goldint last decade is already taking its tollo: the economy. But Mandela’s “sanctionmonious” (a Houston Chronicle f unny) attitude is unendic Before coming to the United States Nelson tried to dissuade Germanva Switzerland from extending anycrec to or buying gold from South Africa The gold industry is the country's largest employer! Perhaps exemplifying Mandela's ultimate goal was his demand, until recently, that de Klerk stepdownfoi interim government (the ANC).No* demands negotiations with the government of South Africa. Why must the ANC “negotiate"ic de Klerk? For Power. If I werecallini the shots, the ANC would just make: hell of a lot of demands on the government, resort to violence as defense only, and take our case tolk world community. Nelson Mandela’s goal is toindte black radicalism with the tool of economic turmoil to overthrow,b> intimidation or violence, the South Af rican government and install a communist regime. There are better ways to end apartheid. yon Beeler is a junior nuclear engineering major. Change in freshman English course at UT step in right direction Lately it seems everyone has a stand on a controversial issue — a cause, if you will. People are constantly debating issues such as religion, race, sex (gender), sexual preference and flag burning, of all things. Anyone who considers themselves a human being is affected by most, if not all, of these subjects. Whether we were born into a category or simply chose to classify ourselves into one, we have regrettably positioned the human race into its lowest form of segregation. We exclude others, and by doing so exclude ourselves. Groups are formed to fight against other groups and, of course, nothing more than hatred arises out of their one-sided view. We have to grow up and face the fact that a righteous attitude will get us nowhere. All it takes is one person or one group to hold back society. The Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday that the English department at the University of Texas at Austin has voted to change their freshman composition class to a writing Rudy Japp Cordova Jr. ' 3^ Columnist We class focusing on racism and sexism. The controversy has started because some professors believe “it’s politicizing an English class.” Joseph Kruppa, chairman of the English department at UT, simply stated that the class had no intentions of imparting an ideological view. It is a writing class to demonstrate the understanding of the complications that arise in social tension concerning “differences in gender, sexual preference, age, ethnic background, race and religion.” Congratulations to the UT English department! It’s about time someone in this state has made a positive move toward education with a purpose. I suppose this has to do w r ith the fact that the professors of today participated in the strikes of yesteryear. They too were stuck between the struggles of freedom and racial tension. It is sad to see that some of these issues are still around because they were never solved. I feel that society in the 90s is a total reflection of the attempts to civilize the nation from a state of hatred to one of peace. I also have enough real sense to know that there will always be someone out there who doesn’t agree with me. That is the person we have to be frightened of, not blacks, women or homosexuals. Texas A&M is no exception. All kinds of people live and breathe together on this campus. It is great that we have groups that we can belong to, but it is a shame when people are excluded because of their God-given birthright. I am asking the professors at Texas A&M to watch and learn. If this is only the beginning of a change in our educational system, then I don’t want to see A&M left behind. What is happening at UT is a sign of progress. We are moving towards the 21st century with full force. The only way we can learn and form our opinions is if we study history and sociology. If we know what has “ A A^ll kinds of people live and breathe together on this campus. It is great that we have groups that we can belong to, but it is a shame when people are excluded because of their God-given birthright. If this is only the beginning of a change in our educational system, then I don’t want to see A&M left behind.” happened in the past, we can learn to avoid the same mistakes. When we learn what is happening in society, then we can plan for the future. We put those two together and we get an educated plan which includes everybody. What they are attempting to accomplish at UT is wonderfulbecaus they are including a writing class witli study of human relations. In English 103, Texas A&M’s composition and rhetoric course, we had to write compositions on thingslii past experiences or places we’ve traveled to. If we can throw inalittle study about society, then we can learn more in ENGL 103 than we do now. It is a useless class anyhow since it isn’t included in our curriculum. Tlif class should have more weightandai least mean something. That way freshman can begin to understandtij kinds of negative attitudes that are slowing us down. Those who oppose this change are obviously the ones who are afraid of different races, religions or sexual preferences. But there is nothingtolK afraid of. Education isn’t a fearjfsa human privilege. Rudy Cordova Jr. is a senior thealri arts major. 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