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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 7, 1999)
NEWSROOM: (541)346-5511 E-MAIL: ode@oregoa uoregon.edu ON-LINE EDITION: www.dailyemerald.com EDITOR IN CHIEF Ryan Frank EDITORIAL EDITORS KameronCole Stefanie Knowlton For crimes against humanity As atrocities are endured by the ethnic Albanians at the hands of the Serbs, we need to remember the real target: Milosevic If NATO’s attack against Yugoslavia is to be successful, Slobodan Milosevic must be sent to one of two places; to hell or to the Hague. The Hague, located in the Netherlands, is the United Nations headquarters where war criminals face trial and imprisonment. Make no mistake about it, Milosevic is a war criminal. At the Hague, Milosevic could rot away in his cell with ex-Nazis, terrorists and even some of his former cronies who were con victed of war crimes for their participation in ethnic cleansing in Bosnia. In hell, Milosevic could shovel coal with fellow genocidal maniacs Adolph Hitler and Pol Pot. In either scenario, whether it takes more Opinion Aaron Artman bombing or the use of ground troops, the people of Kosovo must be allowed to return to their homes and Milosevic must pay for his crimes. Forget Milosevic’s at tempts to spin the allied air strikes as representing NATO’s aggression and crim inal acts. Disregard the fact that the ethnic Albanians and the Serbs have been engaged in a civil war for most of their history in Yugoslavia. Avoid cultural rela tivism (the notion that we cannot tell people of other cultures or ethnicities what is right or wrong) because it is not be acceptable, espe cially in 1999, for a leader of any culture to perform acts of genocide. The situation is not black and white but when compared to the Vietnam War or the Gulf War, it seems the bombing of Yugoslavia gives a clearer picture of right and wrong. NATO is right, and Milosevic and the scores of Serbs who are either active or tacit support ers of his ethnic cleansing are wrong. The United States and its allies have their own skeletons in the closet. The horrific treatment of the Native Americans is one ex ample of near genocidal policy carried out by the government. And obviously the poli cy of enslaving African Americans repre sents an ugly time in our nation’s history. In Yugoslavia, however, the skeletons are not even close to the closet. They are alive and well and represent the men who carry out Milosevic’s agenda in a cowardly fashion. The way ethnic Albanians are disposed of represents a kind of terror that is fiercely one sided in modem history. It is doubtful, no matter what kind of atrocities were commit ted by the Albanians during their historical dispute with the Serbs, that the elderly, weak and poor deserve to live in constant fear. According to Mishar Juareka, who told her story to John Kifner of the New York Times on April 6, Serbian police used knives to kill four children after surround ing a large group of Albanians in her village of Balencia. Juareka said the children were killed because their parents did not t have enough money to pay off the po- J watched an entire ethnic population be eliminated from Yugoslavia. The situation is very complex. Given that American and civilian casualties have been practical'y non-existent in the military con flicts we have endured as students, the no tion of entering a conflict with the potential for casualties is a tough sell. An even tougher sell, however, is back L ing out of Yugoslovia before Milosevic is eliminated or incarcerated. Like it or not, the United States has a policy of policing the world. In the case Operation Allied Forces, the cops had better get their man. Aaron Artman is a columnist for the Emerald. His views do not necessarily represent those of the newspaper. ace. In another scenario, Albanian C refugees described a March 26 inci dent where 100 people were gathered from villages in Kosovo and shot with automatic weapons. After spraying the crowd with bullets, Milosevic’s henchmen reportedly burned sever al of the bodies. Those who aren’t killed don’t fare much better. Their houses and shops are often burned. Even if their homes remain intact, they are forced to leave, as witnessed by the near 400,000 refugees who rgp fWINGftrBor/ nave nea Kosovo. This creates a major dilemma for NATO decision makers. It is X obvious that NATO’s attacks have given the green light to Milosevic and his policies of terror. Many would argue that the increase in aggres- i sion is the fault of the f alliance. | Proponents of that \ argument should con sider the alternative. Without Operation Al lied Forces, Milosevic would be able to carry out his agenda at his own pace while NATO { stood aside and watched. Ln 50 years, we could all sit around the fire with our grand children and tell them that the United States— me most avia supporter ot freedom in the world—sat and Giovanni SaHmenafcmerald Letters to the Editor Column hard to swallow The editorial printed on Friday, April 3 by Vince Medeiros was absolutely unac ceptable. [ODE April 3 “Short and sweet.”] Not only was the article’s sexist content unbelievably offensive, but it contained graphic and unnecessary sexual descrip tions, the inclusion of which leaves me baf fled at the editorial integrity of the Emerald. What sort of professional ethic allows such degrading and inappropriate material to be considered printable, much less enter taining? And what sort of message does it send to the greater campus community when women are referred to as “prey,” and when sexually objectifying women for sport and drunken sex with prostitutes consti tutes a spring break worthy of a nearly full page column? I would like to think that the Emerald has higher journalistic standards. The Emerald, as a widely-read student newspaper, has a responsibility not to print material that through its blatant sexist content condones and advocates violence against women. But maybe the “hungry male staffers” are too busy “devouring stack of high-quality Swedish pom” to notice or care what kind of trash they print. Molly J. McClure Psychology and Women’s Studies KWVA not listener’s choice I, like most students, don’t like every thing that I hear on KWVA. Personally, I think there is too much of an emphasis on noisy puck rock. However, I would not question the station’s right to program what they want. There is certainly no lack of diversity on KWVA. There is brit-rock, The Hacienda show-my favorite, ska, hip-hop, world mu sic; also a great show on Mondays 4-6, garage, rockabilly and, of course, lots of col lege rock and punk. True, most of this music is not popular. But isn t that the point of independent ra dio? I like Phish and the Dead as much as the next guy, but there are already three shows featuring the Dead’s music on other stations. Jezukewicz’s self-righteous crusade is misguided and self-serving, and his ranti ng seems a little paranoid. If he really wanted to make a difference, he could either apply of be a DJ at KWVA the way everyone else has to: list 100 bands you would like to play; not just two, or he could go to KRVM or KLCC and attempt to get a show covering Phish, String Cheese In cident, Leftover Salmon and other jam bands who, unlike the Dead, are ignored by radio programmers. If Jezukewicz was actually successful in making KWVA play exactly what the listen ers wanted to hear, we would probably start hearing Celine Dion and the Goo Goo Dolls much more than the Dead. And God knows we don’t need any more of that on the radio. Nick Levine Junior, Music Education LETTERS POLICY The Oregon Daily Emerald will at tempt to print all letters containing com ments on topics of interest to the Uni versity community. Letters must be limited to 250 words. The Emerald re serves the right to edit any letter for length, clarity, grammar, style and libel. Letters may be dropped off at EMU Suite 300.
