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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 1987)
Editorial Arias plan deserves Reagan's support President Oscar Arias Sanchez of Costa Rica was award ed the Nobel Peace Prize Tuesday for developing the recent ly implemented Central American peace plan, termed the Arrnrd The Central American peace plan intends to end guer rilla wars in Guatemala. El Salvador and Nicaragua. It also requires cease-fires, amnesties and freedom of press and assembly to bring greater democracy by Nov. 7. Reagan, on the other hand, has been attempting to secure new military aid for the Nicaraguan Contras, despite the Guatemala Accord’s prescription that •’extra-regional governments which openly or covertly provide military, logistical, financial . .aid . .to irregular forces or insurrec tionist movements. . . cease this aid. as an indispensable ele ment for achieving a stable and lasting peace in the region.” The Reagan administration’s attempt to ignore this prescription coincides with Reagan's criticism of the accord. Initially. Reagan described the peace plan as "fatally flaw ed," but he later recanted this opinion, announcing ap proval despite concerns that it contained "loopholes and omissions." By attempting to secure $270 million in renewed military aid for the Contras, however, the Reagan ad ministration not only is violating the explicit terms of the peace accord but also threatening to circumvent peace in Nicaragua specifically and in (Central America generally. According to the Reagan administration's argument, renewed Contra aid would provide a “guarantee” that the Sandinistas comply with the accord. Conversely, speaking Tuesday on Nightline, Arias argued correctly that renewed U.S. military aid to the Con tras will give Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega an excuse not to comply with the Guatamala peace accord. Previously. Arias also urged Congress not to approve new aid to the Con tras; presumably. Arias' recipience of the Peace Prize will boost his influence in Congress. So far. the Sandinista government has complied with the accord by allowing the opposition newspaper. La Pren sa. to resume publishing uncensored, implementing a cease fire in three war-tom regions, and stated its interest to negotiate with field commanders of the Contras. But the Reagan administration’s attempts to circumvent the peace plan do not begin with the attempt to renew Con tra aid. When Arias was developing the plan and refusing to provide the Contras with an operating base in Costa Rica, he encountered strong retaliatory measures from the Reagan administration. U.S. economic assistance to Costas Rica, for example, was temporarily suspended. The Reagan administration also has restricted the historically favorable trade status of Costa Rica, imposing bans and restrictions on exports to the United States. The Reagan administration's attempt to sabotage Arias' efforts also is consistent with the administration's past policy of impeding efforts toward a peace plan in Central America. On June 25-26. 1087, for example, a long-planned meeting of the Central American leaders to discuss Arias' peace plan in Guatemala was cancelled after Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-american Affairs Elliot Abrams pressured and manipulated both El Salvadorean President Napoleon Duarte and Honduran President lose Azcona to pull out. thereby temporarily thwarting the possibilties of an accord. The Reagan administration also thwarted the Contadora negotiating process. The United States promulgated its sup port for the proposed treaty when Secretary of State George P. Shultz called it “an important step forward." On Sept. 21. 1984, however, when the Sandinistas an nounced they would sign the peace proposal, the ad ministration all of a sudden found “serious flaws" in it and pressured El Salvador and Honduras not to sign after both nations had announced their support of the plan. Then, in a secret October 1984 memorandum, the Na tional Security Council virtually admitted to sabotage of the proposal: “We have effectively blocked Contadora group ef forts to impose a second draft of the Revised Contradora Act." Consistently, the U.S. administration has blocked at temps to achieve peace in Central America. Since further military aid to “insurrectionist movements" is against the provisions of Arias' plan, new contra aid will provide Ortega with a valid excuse to avoid complying with the Guatemala peace accord. To end violence in Central America. Congress should reject the administration's attempt to derail the Arias plan, heeding the advice of the Nobel Peace Prize recipient. SO, IS IT THE FRONT SEAT AND SUPPORT THE SECRETARY OP EDUCATION, OR THE BACK SEAT AND SUPPORT THE SURGEON GENERAL? Hfk' TO, Letters Unsettling The Senate Judiciary Commit tee. headed by hypocritical Joe Hiden. and demagogic (demi god?) Ted Kennedy, spent itself in an orgy of disgraceful slander and character assassination. The nomination of Robert Bork. who has no intellectual peer on the committee, is certainly In doubt. If not finished. What is unsettling, but not surprising, is that the campus cognoscente of political opinion have slavishly followed the anti-intellectualism of the judiciary committee. Aping the flawed reasoning and ruthless partisanship of groups like People for the American Way, the editors of the Hmerald and certain faculty of the law school have denied Bork the very rights they claim to uphold. Freedom of speech is more than allowing someone to get up on a soap box in a park and scream their brains out The right also implies a person not having their record or view points distorted to the point that what they actually say is effec tually obscured. As for the editors of the Emerald and those law school professors who signed the let ter. I suggest you dust off you pocket Constitutions and get out your Wests. Ixx>king over the 120 years of the life of the 14th Amendment. I find that Judge Bork is far from radical in his opinions Certainly he disagrees with Justices Douglas and Black. But only base motives would label that "radical.” Jude Vollendorf Student A success The Second Annual River front Picnic was a groat success! The co-sponsers — the ASUO. the Survival Center, the Land. Air and Water (l~AW) and the Student Cooperative Association — would like to thank the musicians Shumba, Beat Soup and others very much for their groat musical spirit We would also like to thank the following local businesses for their generous and much appriciated food donations: The Bagel Factory, the Beanery. Cafe Central. Cenesis Juice Co-op, Hu mix; I Bagel, the Kestrel Cafe, Monster Cookie, New Frontier Market, Oasis Fine Foods, Organically Crown Co-op. Prince Puckler’s. Sam's To Go. Springfield Creamery, Sundance Natural Foods. Surate Soyfoods, the Tofu Palace, Vinnie's Pizza, Wildtime Foods and the many others who wanted to help but were unable to at this time. We would also like to thank the following individuals without whose valuable energy this event would not have happened' Kasey Brooks, Nan Cohen. Kick Gold, Nancy Kincaid. Katherine l^rsen, Tom Lester and Mike Walker. Thanks also to all those people who showed up to share this wonderful day and event in the riverfront natural area (playing fields) which we are all trying to protect. Don't forget the march on Ci ty Hall to save the Riverfront this Friday. Oct. 16th. 11:30 a m. in front of the EMU! See you there. Dan Stotter Law Oregon Daily Emerald The Oregon Dally Emerald I* published Monday through Friday except during exam weak and vacation* by the Oregon Dally Emerald Publishing Co . at the University of Oregon. Eugene. Oregon, 97403 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 ol papers is prosecutable by law General Staff Advertising Director Susan Thelen Advertising Sales: Ten Boring. Gary DeLossa, Tom Leech, Catherine Lilia. Rick Mart*. Laura McKinney. Heather Mull. Joann Nelson. Julie Paul. Barbara Rogers. 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