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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (July 23, 1987)
Editorial Iran/Iraq truce needs enforcement The U N. Security Council’s decision ordering a cease fire in the seven-year war between Iran and Iraq Tuesday is a bold and direct statement that should be enforced. Although no enforcement provisions were established in tire resolution, the unanimous decision calls for a cease fire. withdrawal of forces and an exchange of prisoners of war. If the two countries do not take steps to end the war. then a worldwide arms embargo resolution will be considered. It is unlikely Iran or Iraq will comply to the resolution — Iran’s president already has called the resolution "wor thless ” But by recognizing the war and the arms sales pro blem. the United Nations have provided international pressure to end the fighting. These intentions must be followed. Many countries pro fit from the sale of arms to both Iran and Iraq, therefore en couraging continued fighting. All countries must be en couraged to stop dealing with Iran and Iraq. This resolution should not become a meaningless symbolic gesture because of the heavy trading. The United States was a major force behind the deci sion But the Reagan Administration has benefited from secret arms sales to Iran and. by protecting Kuwaiti oil ships, has aligned itself with Iraq. Our support of the resolution has l>een criticized as a political move to overshadow this hypocracy. We should not hesitate to support an arms embargo and encourage other countries to follow our lead. The United Nations cannot enforce this resolution without the full support of everyone involved. With our in fluence in the United Nations, we can provide the support needed and the resolution can become more than words on a paper. Tanker escort service unwarranted in gulf Kuwaiti uil tankers ant being sailed under the U.S. flag and escorted by U.S. naval vessels through the troubled waters of the Persian Gulf. The Keagan Administration has asserted the U.S. presence alongside Kuwaiti tankers is necessary to prevent Iran from interrupting the freedom of navigation in the strife-torn region. The reflagging of Kuwaiti tankers under the U.S. flag, however, is unwarranted with regard to the justification ar ticulated by the Keagan administration. The United States imports only about six percent of its oil from the Persian Gulf. Thus, in relation to the amount of oil imported from the gulf, the U.S. government is footing the bill for the protection of oil transshipments to other na tions, particularly japan and Europe, which import 54 and 30 percent of their oil from the gulf, respectively. The administration’s escort service also is politically imprudent. Because Kuwait is allied with Iraq, reflagging changes the United States from being neutral in the war to being aligned indirectly with Iraq. Iran may perceive this shift in political status as a hostile move, increasing the possibility of an armed confrontation between Iran and the United States. Furthermore, the informal change from neutral status to alliance with Iraq vis-a-vis Kuwait will damage future diplomatic relations with the Iranians. Rather than police the Persian gulf with U.S. military force, the Keagan Administration should establish a collec tive. international peacekeeping force w'ith other nations to ensure freedom of navigation for oil tankers. OUfcFOUCfeSWPLK FUHEi US flags. ON 10JWNT1 TINKERS 'SO TU£ IRANIANS WONT 5WDDPT nr^M WTM jrgRUS-TVBrVC SXXSMT FROM' c\ Commentary_ Threats aimed at Salvadoran critics The recent kidnappings in I-os Angeles of two Central American political activists, and revelations of death threats against 17 other refugees and two U S. citizens, indicate the notorious death squads of El Salvador are operating inside the United States. Commentary by Scott Harding Moreover, the attacks appear to be the result of collaboration between the Keagan administra tion — through the FB! — and the National Guard in El Salvador, in an effort to silence opponents of the war and U.S. involvement in El Salvador. On July 7. a 24-year-old member of a Salvadoran women's organization was kid napped at knifepoint by two men she described as having Salvadoran accents. Blindfold ed for the next six hours, the woman repeatedly was raped with a stick, tortured and ques tioned about her political ac tivities and knowledge of members of the Los Angelos chapter of the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES). When she refused to answer any questions, her abductors assaulted her in a manner similar to the techniques employed by El Salvador's death squads. A doctor who ex -1 Oregon Daily Emerald The Oregon Daily Emerald is published Tuesday and Thursday during (he summer by the Oregon Oatly Emerald Publishing Co. at the University ol Oregon. Eugene. Oregon. 97403 Daily publication will resume with the tail term The Emerald operates independently ol the University with offices on the third floor of the Erb Memorial Union and is a member of the Associated Press The Emerald is private property The unlawful removal or use of papers is prosecutable by law General Staff Advertising Director Susan Thelen Production Manager Michele Ross Classified Advertising Alyson Simmons Assistant to the Publisher Jean Ownbey Editor Managing/Student Govt News Editor Editorial Page Editor Photo Editor Night Editor Associele Editor* Higher Ed Administration General Assignment/Entertainment Community Stanley Nelson Carolyn Lamberson Eden God bey Angela Muniz Shu Shing Chen Andrew LaMar Mike Drummond Aaron Knox Stophen Maher Advertising: Janelle Heitmann Production: Sandra Daller / Ad Coordinator Kelly Alexandre, Eliot Knight. Diana Moy. Angela Muntz, Ingrid White. Serena Williams News and Editorial Display Advertising Classified Advertising Letter Perfect Graphics Production Circulation and Business 686 5511 6863712 686 4343 686 5511 686 4381 686 5511 o mined the woman said her wounds were "very similar (o the other victims of torture in El Salvador and Guatemala who I have examined previously.” After debating whether to kill her. the two men told their vic tim the attack would serve as a warning to others they had targeted. Six days later, another Salvaduran woman found a let ter in her mailbox threatening her life and that of 19 others, all of whom are active members of Salvadoran solidarity organiza tions in the United States. Marta Alicia Kiveria described the let ter as similar to written death threats she received in El Salvador prior to her 1979 arrest and torture by the Salvadoran National Guard. Last Saturday, two masked gunmen with Salvadoran ac cents abducted a Guatemalan woman who works with Salvadoran support groups at a 1,08 Angeles bus stop The two never harmed the woman physically, but instead threatened future attacks. Combined with a series of threatening letters, phone calls and vandalizing of cars, a distinct pattern of violence and intimidation against Central American political refugees and support groups has emerged in recent weeks. Indeed, the series of events prompted the FBI last week to begin an investigation into the crimes. While the FBI investigation indicates the seriousness of the crimes, the agency's involve ment may be like letting the fox watch the henhouse, just as COINTELPRO. the FBI's domestic spying operation, in filtrated and intimidated the Black Panthers and anti-war organizations in the 1980s and 1970s. the FBI recently has targeted C1SPES and other domestic groups opposed to the Reagan administration's Central American policies. On March 7. 1983. the Department of Justice establish ed new guidelines on domestic surveillance and investigation by the FBI of political groups. The new policy allows for the infiltration of certain organiza tions for the purpose of influen cing their activities. According to Freedom Of Information Act requests filed by C1SPES, the FBI has at least 17 volumes of files on C1SPES, while more than 20 chapters of the group have been or are under investigation. l^ast February. Frank Varelli, a paid FBI informant who in filtrated the Dallas CISPES chapter from 1981 to 1984, fur ther elaborated on the FBI's domestic spying activities before the House Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights. In the course of his testimony, and in subsequent interviews. Varelli exposed a reciprocal relationship between the FBI and the National Guard and Na tional Police of El Salvador. Both organizations are known to have participated repeatedly in death-squad activities. In an elaborate exchange of information, Varelli supplied the Guard with the names of Salvadoran "opponents'* who were to be deported from the United States to El Salvador. Another purpose of the rela tionship. according to Varelli, was that "the Guard, the Na tional Police, or the death squads from El Salvador were interested in gathering in telligence, gathering informa tion on where or who was op posing the aid to El Salvador so they can carry on activities" in the United States. Varelli cited "bombing, arson" and other crimes that right-wing Salvadorans and members of the National Guard were prepared to commit against in dividuals or groups opposed to U.S. policy in El Salvador. It would appear from the re cent events in Los Angeles that these activities are now under way. Varolli's testimony points to probable U.S. complicity. As shown by the Iran-Contra hear ings. the Reagan administration is intent on using the most ruthless means in its quest to eliminate critics of its Central American policy, both at home and abroad.
