The Battalion
OPINION
Thursday, September 13,1990
Opinion Page Editor Ellen Hobbs
U.S. government should end aid to El Salvador
The United States got out of bed with
one devil (in Iraq), but is still sleeping
with another devil in El Salvador. The
United States still hasn’t learned its
lesson: don’t arm governments that
slaughter their own people.
The United States armed Iraq as it
gassed Kurdish Iraqis, and the United
States is still arming the El Salvadoran
military as it continues to slaughter its
own people.
Since the Salvadoran civil war began
in 1980, the El Salvadoran military has
killed over 60,000 people. Over 40,000
of these were civilians.
The military uses a variety of
methods including torture, bombing of
villages and killing through the use of
death squads. Amnesty International
reports that there have been 20
documented killings done by the death
squads this year. The Salvadoran non
governmental Human Rights
Commission reports that the Salvadoran
army has killed 561 civilians in the first
half of this year.
No one is safe from the army.
Civilians that merely speak of a
negotiated settlement with the
Farabundo Marti National Liberation
Front (the rebel group that battles the
Irwin
Tang
Columnist
government, known as the FMLN) are
red-tagged by the death squads.
Even the churches are not immune.
The Acatlacatl Battalion of the army
murdered and mutilated six Jesuit
priests, their housekeeper, and her
daughter last year. President Alfredo
Cristiani admitted that the army was
involved, but with a little push from
President Bush, U.S. aid to the El
Salvadoran army kept flowing south,
into their bloody hands.
The U.S. government presently sends
about $1.4 million a day to the
Salvadoran government and their
military. Over the last 10 years, the
United States has given about $4 1 /2
billion worth of aid to the Salvadoran
government. About $ 1 billion of it has
been military aid. The U.S. government
funds, supplies and trains the
Salvadoran military. In fact, the
battalion that murdered the six priests
had received training from the U.S.
Green Berets two days before the
murders.
Why does the United States continue
to send aid to the Salvadoran
government with no strings attached? I
pressed House Republican Joe Barton
on the issue. I fear his thoughts may be
prevalent in Washington, especially in
the White House. He basically replied
that the Salvadoran government is
fighting the FMLN, the other side of the
civil war, and thus should be allowed to
do whatever they want. Civilian
slaughter is simply an unfortunate side
effect.
Sorry, Joe, but that is not good
enough. Let us consider the situation in
El Salvador and come up with a more
peaceful approach:
• The impoverished people of El
Salvador have only become poorer as a
result of the last 10 years of civil war.
Only 10 percent of the rural peasants
have potable water. Another year of
civil war could cause further famine,
deeper economic collapse and more
mass exodus. Another year of war could
break El Salvador’s spine once and for
all.
• The military continues to fight
both the civil war and the war on
civilians. It is out of control. The
Mail Call
‘Honors-only’ policies unfair
EDITOR:
Well, after three years of attending Texas A&M and
promising myself I’d write a letter to the editor about one
thing or another, I’ve decided to finally do it. This is in re
sponse to the latest ‘honors’ policy announcements.
How can the RHA director of facilities announce the
24-hours visitation of Eppright and Wells halls with a
straight face? By stating that the reason for this privilege is
because the residents are ‘responsible adults’ is the same as
stating all other Aggies are irresponsible. If you, ‘Mr./Mrs.
regular Aggie’, are not insulted, you should be. I can’t be
lieve that with all the official calls to end racism and sepa
ratism on the A&M campus, a university policy can so bla
tantly provide privileges to one group of students and not
the other.
And another thing, who are these ‘honor students’ tak
ing over one of the female residence halls so that they can
receive more personal, one-on-one attention frOfn theifin-
structors. Don’t all of us deserve this attention?
How can anyone deny that this elitist treatment of
honor students is unfair to all of us? I just hope some
thing’s done about this before the next headline reads,
‘Sbisa Declared Honors Dining Hall.’ Who knows what’s
next.
Kevin Ault, ’91
Middle East peace plan naive
EDITOR:
Irwin Tang’s column regarding a peace plan for the
Middle East was extremely naive. Saddam Hussein is not a
man to be trusted. Before Iraq invaded Kuwait, Hussein
publicly stated that he would not invade Kuwait; and just
like with Hitler in the late 1930s, the world was stupid
enough to believe him. Tang’s plan would have Hussein
voluntarily destroy all of his chemical weapons along with
his nuclear plants that are working on producing enriched
uranium and plutonium for bombs. He’s a maniac. You
can’t reason rationally with an irrational person. While
Hussein may say that his goal is to unite all Arabs, it is ob
vious from his actions that his plan is to dominate the en
tire region.
Tang’s plan coupled Iraq’s withdrawal from Kuwait
with Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied territory. The
two situations have absolutely no connection. Israel should
immediately withdraw all forces from the occupied territo
ries, but not as a result of negotiations with Hussein. Hus
sein invaded Kuwait because he needed the money that
their oil fields would generate since he was broke after
fighting a war that he started with Iran for 10 years, not to
unite the Arabs.
Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian homeland is just
as bad as the invasion of Kuwait, but they are simply not
connected. Israel’s reasoning for occupying the land is to
tally illogical. They say because their ancestors lived in the
area, they have the right to take the land and subjugate the
people who live there. That’s like me going into London
and saying that the whole city belongs to me since my an
cestors lived there in the 1600s. It simply makes no sense.
Finally, the United States must immediately force Hus
sein to leave Kuwait, and if possible, force him from power
using whatever means necessary. It is estimated that he is
within five years of developing a working nuclear bomb
He already has missiles that are capable of striking a long
distance, and it is obvious by looking at his past actions that
he will not hesitate to use his nuclear weapons when he de
velops them. The man is crazy and must not be allowed to
become more powerful.
Mike Bryant, ’90
Pro-choicers want ‘liberty’ to kill
EDITOR:
I can’t help but to reply to Jim James’ comments at a
Pro-choice Aggies meeting as reported in The Battalion on
September 5. The headline says it all. “Candidate equates
pro-choice with liberty.” I agree. Liberty alone is probably
what pro-choicers are all about. There is more to our con
stitutional rights than liberty alone. The liberty of an indi
vidual should only be exercised so as not to interfere with
the liberty of others. The fellow that has mutilated college
students in Florida is an example of choice gone mad. It is
a gruesome domination of one weak individual by another
more powerful one.
I think it is quite ironic that in the same issue of The
Battalion as the report on Mr. James’ talk there is an article
about surgery performed on a fetus still in her mother’s
womb but three and-a-half months before her natural
birth would take place. This baby (we call it that when we
want it) could have legally been killed by abortion. If late
term abortion accounts for only eight to 10 percent of all
abortion, which is a figure accepted by both sides of the is
sue, over 160,000 late-term abortions are performed in the
United States yearly and over 400 daily.
Maurine McLean of Feminist for Life of America ad
dressed our need to understand both life and choice at Ag
gies for Life’s meeting which was held on the same night as
Mr. James’ talk. It would have been nice to see both sides
represented in this paper, but The Battalion didn’t show
up.
Michael J. Bradham
graduate student
EDITOR’S NOTE: An interview with Maurine McLean
appeared on the front page of Monday’s Battalion.
Have an opinion? Express it!
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff re
serves the right to edit letters for style and length, but will make every effort to main
tain the author’s intent. There is no guarantee that letters submitted will be
printed. Each letter must be signed and must include the classification, address and
telephone number of the writer, or sent to Campus Mail Stop 1111.
government can not or will not control
the military. There is no independent
judiciary system to try human rights
offenders (and consequently, there
hasn’t been any one convicted). The
more civilians the army kill, the more
people join the FMLN; and war flames
fly higher. The military will not reform
on its own; it must be forced to reform.
• The FMLN is not even close to
dead. The U.S. and El Salvadoran
governments insist that the FMLN is on
its last legs, but in reality, the two sides
are in stalemate. In peace talks, the
FMLN insists on reform of the
Salvadoran army; that is the one thing
that they will not budge on. If the
military is not reformed, then the
FMLN will not put their arms down.
The United States must take a stand
for the El Salvadoran people. Instead of
taking the side of the government, the
United States should take the side of
peace and human rights for all.
First, the United States should stop all
military aid to El Salvador until the
killing, torture, beatings, bombing, and
generally corrupt behavior stops and
the military is both controlled by the
people and accountable to an
independent judiciary.
y/SSELLEJ
if The Battalk
Second, the United States should: ilT S-ffi
encourage peace talks and pusheacl
side to give up sensible concessions
as military reform and greater land
reform f rom t lie government and
complete Cease-fire and destruction
all weapons from the FMLN. The
United States could threaten the
government with reduction of aidil
they are too stubborn on reform.
United States could offer aid to the
country as a whole if peace isachien
this would pressure both sides.
The war-sick Salvadoran public
sees that a negotiated settlement is
All college
orking in a f
Texas A&N
lass of ’90, f
e airwaves,
tive rock mus
he Edge.
The 22-yez
best solution. T hey would apply eve: n ' cat ’ on S ra dv
greater pressure to both sides oncei f a , lu, [l^L rK e
see that peace is possible and thateviBL^^ed the id
the United States wants peace. V n g j n hi s heat
The United Nations should alsoh
invited to play a bolder role as medt >ays.
The U.N. has already worked some,
of a miracle this year, mediatingan
agreement between sides in the
Cambodian civil war.
‘El Salvador’ is often translated as
‘Saviour of the World.’ The saviour
needs saving. But in order tosavetlt r 16 was neede<
saviour, America must stop sleeping
with the devil.
Irwin Tang is a junior political sen
n to serve n
able at the sta
other.
major.
“KANM re;
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ion, Luke wo
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As a freshr
alternate disc
House
Six-year NAACP member Wac
ref utes negligence claims
As a six-year member of the NAACP,
I have a few problems with yesterday’s
column by Larry Cox. First, it is implied
that the Association has been woefully
negligent in their responsibilities toward
African-Americans. I advise you to do
research into the results of the past
national convention. Then you will find
what programs and initiatives are taking
place in our community to make us a
stronger people.
I could tell you myself, but perhaps
you will show the same emphasis to
research the tasks of the NAACP as you
did in penning its downfalls.
Second, is it really true that this was a
‘self-serving non-solution’ intended as a
ploy for attention? I beg to dif f er, Mr.
Cox. Before I go on, I pose to you a
question: Are you even a member of the
NAACP? I hope your reply is yes,
because if not, you have a very minimal
number of avenues to gather
information about the Association.
If you really feel we are neglecting
our own, reread (if you have read
already) the recent list of 50 f uture
black leaders in Ebony magazine. Go
even deeper than that, and find out
what the leaders of our community are
actually doing. Until then, please try to
avoid sardonic criticisms of our
methods.
Third, do you really want to know
what the late Dr. King’s connection was
with the University of Texas? It’s the
same as his connection with other
predominately Caucasian campuses
around the nation. He, through the
power and efficacy of the civil rights
movement, helped make it possible for
us to go to the UTs and the A&Ms.
Jefferson Davis has no connection
because he had nothing to fight for; his
descendants would automatically be
eligible as far as race is concerned.
Fourth, do you really want to talk
about one group taking away the history
of another? I think not. As a descendant
of African heritage, I find my very
existence in this hemisphere as an
attempt by one to erase the pride and
culture of another.
History speaks for itself . No one
asked my ancestors if they wanted to
leave their land, be brainwashed as
slaves, and be degraded as inferior
human beings. I don’t think we even
have to go back that far. Even inrece
history, no one tells the school childn
about the role we have played in
forming this nation; they only learnii
history of the dominant culture. Ifil
were not so, why is it that the majorir
students even here at A&M can’t tel
about the details of Black history in
America?
By buiklinj
County A&M
/aco youths I
The studer
tend college c
enrolled in /
raising effort
The mbn
‘scholarship f
Othel Neel
Waco-McLen
arship Progr:
method of fi
Christopher
Henderson
Reader's Opinion
To borrow a phrase, don’t touditl
Yes, it is dangerous to have one’s culli
eradicated, and we've been tryingtol
people this for the past four centuries
Fifth, you want to know about‘her
principles?’ 1 ry exploitation, for one
Even if it were so that six percent of
Southerners were slave owners, thef
is that ‘six percent’ exploited 90 +
percent of the Af ricans that were ha
And as their economy was based inili
on agriculture, did the menofLarn
Cox’s great-great-great-grandfathet
regiment work in the fields?
I don’t think so, but mine did. Bui |
who lived off the results? ThoseofM |
Cox - . . i
I can appreciate, although I disagf
with, your views on your history.
However, 1 thoroughly disagree will)
your carping criticisms of our
Association.
If you really have a problem, and
aren’t just searching for somethingtt
write about, 1 urge you to becotnea
member of the Association. Thennes f
year, you can travel to the convention f
and voice your concerns. Until such
time, be careful about what you say 1
could very well be mistaken.
Christopher Henderson is a senior
speech communication and Spanish
major.
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