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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 9, 1994)
A mifeariRjgfiMSB Page 12 • The BATTALION Get A Mug! A / 5 ''" f U\i :> AGGIELAND AGGIEIAND AGGIEIANI) t’s that time again, Ags! So hurry on out and get your picture in the 1995 Aggieland! For only $1.00, you can beat the rush and be a part of the nation’s largest yearbook. From September 5-16, students from EVERY CLASS will be able to get their picture taken at AR Photography, Monday- Friday, 9 to 5. If you didn’t pay during registration, bring $1.00 to 230 Reed McDonald. Don’t miss out on your chance to be like these glamorous Aggies. Come on down and get a mug for the 1995 Aggieland! OPINION Friday • September 9, Fiji clay • Sc Mail (^AT I Americans, media misunderstand Anglo-Irish affairs The cease fire declared by the Provisional Irish Republican Army last Wednesday has once again caused a great deal of in terest in Irish affairs. Indeed, even a Battalion columnist thought himself en lightened enough to write an ar ticle referring to the IRA. Un fortunately, he shares in the general ignorance and miscon ceptions we have been fed by the British government. Now we are being exposed to a whole slough of new names and nomenclature. However, behind these thinly veiled definitions are facts that have been tangled by British-censored press. Take for instance Sinn Fein, which in Gaelic means “We Ourselves”. Though often tagged as the “political wing” of the IRA, Sinn Fein is actually much older than the Provision al IRA. Though the British government officially recog nizes Sinn Fein as a political party, it refuses to negotiate with the party or allow its pres ident, Gerry Adams, to travel to mainland Britain. The British government even bans the voice of any Sinn Fein party members from being broadcast over British air waves, effectively limiting the political debate to one side. Following coverage of the events in Northern Ireland, one discovers a certain dichotomy in nomenclature. On one side there is the IRA, which is a ruthless army of Catholic “terrorists,” and on the other side we have “Protestant extremists.” Think about this for a sec ond. Which sounds more despi cable: terrorist or extremist? The fact is that there are sever al loyalist terrorist groups in Northern Ireland, including the Ulster Volunteer Force (the front group of the Ulster De fense Association, which was only recently declared an illegal paramilitary organization) and the Ulster Freedom Fighters. In the last five years, these “extremists” have killed twice as many people as the IRA, and in almost every case, these have been Catholic civilians, victims of reprisals for IRA at tacks on police or military tar gets. A recently leaked Protes tant “Doomsday Plan,” calling for the elimination of all Catholics in four of the six counties of Northern Ireland should unification be achieved, shows how far these loyalist groups are willing to go. What the press also fails to tell you is that not only has it been proven that the British mil itary provides loyalist groups with weapons, but that these death squads are actually legally functioning organizations on the mammmmmmmmtm AGGIE THROWS Show your college pride by showing off your team colors Takfe home a spirited collegiate licensed team throw by Rug Barn. Each blanket is soft woven cotton jacquard and measures a gener ous 46X60." They’re just right as stadium blankets and at home on the foot of a dorm bed. 40.00 'M&mmmwm Dillard’s British mainland. They can openly and vigorously solicit funds, hold meetings and recruit members. In the last week these groups have injured or killed three innocent Catholics and bombed the Sinn Fein’s Belfast office in an attempt to derail the cease fire. From the Stocker Affair to British “shoot-to-kill” death squads that have committed ex traterritorial assassinations, the British government has consistently pursued a hard line against Irish nationalism. Indeed, the IRA has good reason not to trust the British After the cease fire of 1975 failed in the face of British stinacy, crown forces swept through Catholic neighbor hoods picking up suspects tar geted by British intelligence While the IRA was obeying the cease fire, the British securitj forces were busily preparing for an end to the cease fire. British persecution is not limited to military affairs. Asa suspected Irish terrorist, you can be held for up to 7 days without seeing a lawyer, during which time you are stripped, beaten and humiliated in order to extract a confession. By exercising the right to si' lence, you are presumed guilty. Further, you do not have the right to a trial by jury and must face a legal system overwhelm ingly staffed by Protestants. The fact that the IRA is will ing to call a cease fire does bring hope. Who deserves cred it for convincing Irish republi cans that there is a future in peace? First and foremost the Irish-American community, which has been ever vigilant in its watch over Northern Irish affairs. Indeed, just after a delega tion of five Irish-American po litical and business leaders, headed by former Congressman Bruce Morrison, returned from negotiations with Sinn Fein and Uie IRA, the cease fire was announced. The overwhelming amount of credit for this particular cease fire goes to our president. During his election campaign, he promised to take action by appointing a special envoy to investigate the situation. Recently, in the face of fiera British opposition, Bill Cl into allowed Sinn Fein, President Gerry Adams and several other Irish nationalists into the country. And now Clinton has committed himself to taking an active role in this peace process, a role that America must take if there is to be a so lution. We can unequivocally say that President Clinton has made successful headway where Presidents Reagan and Bush utterly and completely failed. If our two past Republican presidents could have stood up to the British like Clinton has, who knows where this peace process would be right now. Belinda Mark Jay F jenny Ma MAf N the Volun to sch teach A! Sean O’Donnell Class of’% Society should pay attention to real world problems What a sorry state our coun try is in! Instead of working to help the people and improve the nation our leaders are too busy bickering and worrying about re-election. O.J. Simpson dominates headlines while the massacres in Rwanda and the former Yu goslavia are relegated to sec ondary status. Violence and sex are glamorized on TV and it is not even safe to walk down the street. People are starving and homeless, beaten and battered, while we turn our backs. What happened to moral responsibili ty, values and compassion? How can people play God and decide which life is worthy to be lived and which is not? What is it with all the apathy? Children are murdered in the streets by children. Scandal and gridlock are the norm in Washington. What are we to do? If this is the best country in the world, which I believe it is, then what is happening? Stop “not caring” and start to do something. Voice your opinion, vote, write your elected representa tive, get involved in govern ment and pray for help because God knows, we need it! ... Class is over - have a good day. s tl cor I car man are ! I in their d sidering 1 everyone ization tl far away, little ner schedules who don’I in calculi Across Los Ange graduate ern Calif of the sai for' lie C oi time, she As a p; nationai teach Eni eighth gr an area o les. The drugs an “It rea parents r wearing : Violence, ings,” sht are for re Still, I her stude “based uy dren dese excellent ally belie The jol ing. Bees have eno told to ex dents. SI curricula pected to course. I two midd bined for meet in a biggest cl be to con am the tc Katy ii wears a l still resei leader. Becauf Teach for studied e month in to their n ing was h 500 new < seminars riculum c taught a gram. Tl both prov the corps mental e( dents in t School Di a&m Marcel LeJeune Class of’95 It is nr lave the A -ording to