editorial
Coup in Sudan not
such a big surprise
It is the largest country in Africa and the second largest
recipient of U.S. economic and military aid on the conti
nent. In the midst of growing American support, events in
Sudan took a sharp turn on Saturday. Sudanese President
Gaafar Nimeiri was removed from office in the same way he
came to power 16 years ago: not by election, but in a
bloodless military coup.
The coup hardly comes as a surprise. Nimeiri’s un
popularity among the Sudanese people has risen to new
heights in recent years. He became an increasingly brutal
leader, whose imposition of Islamic law in 1983 led to harsh
punishments, including public floggings and amputations
for crimes such as thievery and adultery. It also helped to
fuel a civil war between the Nimeiri government and the
non-Moslem population living in southern Sudan.
Despite constant anti-government demonstrations in the
capital of Khartoum and growing anti-Nimeiri sentiment
among Sudan’s intellectual and business elite, President
Ronald Reagan had nothing but praise for Nimeiri. His ad
ministration stood by this unpopular leader in the same way
that the U.S. government stood by the Shah of Iran when all
indicators showed that the Shah was largely hated by his
own people. In the words of one Khartoum University pro
fessor, “anyone would be better (than Nimeiri), even Idi
Amin.” That Reagan could support Nimeiri shows how out
of touch his administration was with the sentiments of the
Sudanese people.
It’s hard to say what will now happen in Sudan.
Although the streets of Khartoum were filled with Sudanese
citizens celebrating the end of Nimeiri’s rule, any predic
tions for that country’s future are tentative at best. Sudan is
one of the poorest Third World nations. Its infrastructure is
barely developed and poverty and hunger are widespread.
Reagan’s unfortunate support for Nimeiri’s brutal and
chaotic leadership may cost the United States political in
fluence in a sensitive region of Africa: Ethiopia, Uganda,
Libya and Egypt all share common borders with Sudan.
Many Sudanese are furious that the United States insisted on
supporting Nimeiri to the bitter end.
Whatever the future holds for Sudan, and hopefully it
will be better than under Nimeiri, it’s time the United States
learned an important lesson: Support for repressive Third
World governments only increases the level of anti
Americanism in the world today. In the words of a Sudanese
student, “You don’t make friends by supporting dictators.”
It’s important for people to
learn about homosexuality
For too long, the general public has remained ignorant
regarding the subject of homosexuality. For too long, this ig
norance has manifested itself in violence and discrimination
toward homosexuals. The way to replace ignorance
with awareness is to take the time to learn about an issue.
During Gay and Lesbian Pride Week, which begins today,
we encourage students to take the opportunity to learn about
the subject of homosexuality.
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance (GALA) hopes that
students from all backgrounds will participate in this week’s
activities, which include films, discussions, workshops,
and cultural events. Students are especially encouraged to
see the film, “The Times of Harvey Milk,” to be shown for
free on Wednesday at 8 p.m. in 150 Geology. Only by taking
the time to learn can the myths and fears surrounding
homosexuality be replaced with compassion and
understanding.
letters
Lacks facts
No one is attempting to deny
that homosexual males are often
the victims of Acquired Im
mune Deficiency Syndrome.
Blaming this group for the
disease, or implying that AIDS
is the result of a “bad habit” or
“vice” (Dan Goulet, ODE, April
5) is a manifestly homophobic
response, and simply does not
have its basis in factual
information.
It is erroneous to group gay
men and lesbians together,
especially with respect to AIDS.
Lesbians have a lower risk of
getting AIDS than the average
population. In addition, gay
men who are informed about
AIDS and conscientious about
their own and others’ safety
have a greatly reduced risk of
contracting the disease.
It is necessary to remember
that while AIDS is a disease,
homosexuality is not. Like be
ing heterosexual, being gay or
lesbian is an expression of self.
The idea that homosexual men
are “disease machines” is
ludicrous. We would be in
terested to know what specific
medical journals Goulet obtain
ed his misinformation from. In
actuality, heterosexuals have
the highest rates of sexually
transmitted diseases- The ac
cusation that anyone from the
gay community has attempted
to purposely spread AIDS
sounds like a paranoid fantasy,
and is reminiscent of the Ku
Klux Klan’s claim that black
people are conspiring to mix the
races. Of course, nothing has
been “documented” concern
ing such cases.
emerald
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by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co., at the
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The Gay and Lesbian Alliance
encourages anyone desiring in
formation about AIDS to attend
the presentation by the Casade
AIDS Project on April 11 at 7
pm in'the EMU Forum Room.
)im Shoemaker
Lynn Pinckney
Pamela Harbeintner
Jennie Bricker
GALA
Food carts
concerning me iooa venaors:
Definition of a restaurant — A
place to eat.
The vendors compete with
brown baggers (maybe the EMU
cafeteria). The vendors do not
offer a place to eat or specially
prepared foods (as from a chef).
They should have to pay the
same fees to be inspected and a
percentage of being on the bus
line (hours open). But the
restaurant owners saying that
they are losing profits is like the
steakhouse owner complaining
about Bob’s hamburger house.
Steven Reiter
Eugene
Very insulted
I, a foreign student, do feel
strongly insulted by the callous
way that the Maranatha Chris
tian Church chooses to share
their faith. As a Christian, 1
have often wondered whether
the kindred folks at MCC are
trying to convert people to
"their” faith or are they trying
to turn people off from Chris
tianity? Syncretism does exist
within Christianity itself. How
can they be so self-righteous as
to proclaim that only the
Maranathas are correct and all
other Christian denominations
are wrong? But the Bible tells us
that "No prophecy of the scrip
ture is of any private interpreta
tion” (2 Peter 1:20-21), so syn
cretism is redundant.
To proclaim that you are not
"in the least insulted by the
display in the EMU lobby” can
hardly justify your blatant at
tack on other religions. Not only
are you not representative of all
foreign Christian students, Ms.
Wan and Ms. Amore, you are
not even representative of other
Christian organizations on
campus.
As Christians we should
spread our faith by exemplify
ing ourselves to others, not by
condemning them. I come from
a country where religious
tolerance is the norm, and • •
although Christians are' a
minority, they are able to coex
ist peacefully with people of
other religions.
The Bible teaches us that
“The fruit of the spirit is love,
joy, peace" (Gaiatiahs 5:22-23)
and “Put off all these: anger,
wrath, malice’’ (Ephesians
4:22-24). Surely the Maranathas
should abide by these teachings
in their evangelical efforts and
not denigrate other religions, if
they truly believe in the Bible.
Harold Leong
Industrial Relations
International Studies
m
No on blood
According to “AIDS, the
Blood Supply, and Homosex
uality.” published by the In
stitute for the Scientific In
vestigation of Sexuality,
homosexuals should not be
allowed to give blood due to the
practices of most homosexuals.
The booklet warns:
“Gays get AIDS because they
are profoundly promiscuous,
highly mobile and practice un
sanitary sex. Gays average about
3 0 different sex part
ners/year. . , Rectal intercourse
is engaged in by 90 percent of
gays.. . About 9f) percent of
gays admit to oral/anal contact
and about 70 percent practice it
regularly. About a third practice
handballing (insertion of the fist
and forearm up the anus of a
"lover”) and about a fifth
urinate on and/or in each other.
There are other anti-biologic ac
tivities in which homosexuals
engage with some regularity,
but it ought to be obvious that
anyone who consumes saliva,
seuiKi], leues ana urine irom
dozens of strangers is an ex
traordinarily poor choice as a
blood provider.”
1 presume there are homosex
uals who don’t participate in all
of the activities the ISIS men
tions, but it would be difficult
to be a practicing homosexual
and not engage in some of these
acts. However, if most do
engage in all or even some of
these acts (the ISIS lists a varie
ty of sources to back up their
statements), then maybe there’s
a good case to be made for re
quiring homosexuals — and
yes, drug users too — to abstain
from blood donation or else face
criminal prosecution.
Lori Parkman
Eugene