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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 2001)
Green Party calls for different approach to crisis ■ Party leaders believe attacks should be called a crime against humanity, not war By Marty Toohey for the Emerald The United States should have waited for an international investi gation into the Sept. 11 attacks in stead of attacking Afghanistan, Na tional Green Party leaders said in a statement Wednesday. “We believe the Sept. 11 attacks should ... be characterized as an in ternational crime against humanity, not a war,” the statement said. “A full investigation, undertaken with international cooperation, must take place. ... American declarations of war inhibit rather than promote this international cooperation.” The statement called for careful scrutiny of all U.S. policies in the Middle East, as well as lifting of economic sanctions against Iraq, which the Green Party said have caused more than 500,000 Iraqi civilian deaths. The statement was also critical of President George W. Bush’s ordering military action without congressional approval. The president, as commander in-chief, can legally order military action for 60 days before congres sional approval is required. Several Republicans disagree with the statement. Speaking on be half of the Republican party, Daryl Howard, executive director for the Republican Party of Oregon, said the Green Party’s understanding of the situation “is wrong,” and that “the approach they have presented is not supported by Americans.” Howard said the sanctions should not be lifted until Iraq al lows inspectors access to facilities suspected of housing chemical, bi ological and nuclear weapons. “If they will let us have access, then maybe we would take a look at the whole situation,” he said. Stan Pulliam, the chairman of the University’s College Republi cans, said that lifting the sanctions would be a “step back as far as pun ishment” of Iraq, which Pulliam said may be implicated in the at tacks. Both Pulliam and Howard said a world court will not be an effective means of bringing Osama bin Laden to justice. “Osama bin Laden is not some one who would react favorably to walking into a court and letting them settle things,” Howard said. Pulliam said he is “not too con cerned about a world court, which would have Taliban members.” “We did not take the offensive,” Pulliam said. “I find it insulting (that) they want us to take a step back when we were the country that was attacked. We have waited, gathered evidence and built a world alliance for more than a month before our first attack.” Local and international Greens support the national party’s state ment. Blair Bobier, a founder of the Pacific Green Party, said the terrorists need to be brought to justice, but the United States is re acting too quickly and too violent ly, and the government’s actions “sadden me almost as much as the events on Sept. 11. “Is killing innocent civilians any different? It appears the U.S. is do ing the same thing,” Bobier said. He also said civilian casualties will be unavoidable if military ac tion is taken, regardless of whether the United States is accompanied Citv officials address local residents’ anthrax fears ■ FBI says Eugene is an unlikely target, but residents shouldn’t open unidentifiable mail By Lindsay Buchele Oregon Daily Emerald The Eugene Police Department held an emergency press confer ence Friday to dispel the fears of Eugene citizens who are worried about contracting the infectious disease anthrax. Eugene Police Chief Jim Hill said the department received an in crease in calls Friday from people concerned about coming in contact with anthrax. “People have been noticing pow dery substances and wondering if it could be anthrax,” Hill said. “We’re here to dispel some of their fears.” With Hill was Dr. Geoff Sim mons, a representative of 700 doc tors in Lane County, and FBI Agent Mike Morrow, who is in charge of the Eugene office of the FBI. Simmons said that an anthrax in fection resembles the flu, with symptoms appearing anywhere from one to 45 days after contact has been made. He said if a person is experiencing flu symptoms at this time, they should see their doc tor for a nose culture to determine if anthrax is the cause for the symp toms. “There is no room for panic,” Simmons said. “If there is a proba bility that anthrax is in Eugene, the federal government will become in volved.” Simmons also said there are at least four antibiotics — in addition to a vaccine — available to treat the disease. It is also the most treatable of all biological weapons. Oregon has a low threat level for anthrax to begin with, said Morrow. “There is no information to sug gest that there are any targets in Oregon,” Morrow said. “People should not be in panic mode.” Morrow said the best thing for people to do is be aware. If you can’t identify a piece of mail, don’t open it, he said. EPD spokeswoman Pam Alejan dre said the EPD communication center has been overwhelmed with calls, and that people need to keep the threat in perspective when call ing. None of the reports so far have turned out to be an anthrax case, she said. The EPD and FBI will both con tinue to be available for reports of suspicious articles or occurrences, Hill said. “We want to reassure the com munity that we’re working with the FBI and local health officials when dealing with this threat,” Hill said. “We want people to be paying at tention, but is unlikely that Eugene is a target.” Simmons suggests that since the flu has not yet hit Eugene this sea son, residents experiencing muscle aches, fever, headaches or fatigue should visit their doctor or the ur gent care unit of Sacred Heart Med ical Center. Lindsay Buchele is the community editor for the Oregon Daily Emerald. She can be reached atlindsaybuchele@dailyemerald.com. by international forces. “Military action certainly didn’t work when the U.S. went (into Panama) to get Noriega,” he said. Pekka Haavisto, spokesman for the European Federation of Green Parties, said explosions at U.S. em bassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August 1998 and the October 2000 suicide attack on the USS Cole were indicators of the Middle East’s feelings toward the United States. He also said the creation of a Unit ed Nations world police force is necessary. “An eye for eye, and soon the whole world will be blind,” Haav isto said. “We are not heading to the old-style Wild West — dead or alive — but to a world with justice and strong international laws.” Marty Toohey is a freelance reporter for the Emerald. University Events Tuesday, Oct. 16 Workshops: Academic Learning Services presents “Get Savvy,” a week of events focused on student success. The events begin Tuesday with workshops throughout the day, including “Succeeding at the UO: Lessons from Harry Potter” at noon in the EMU’s Metoiius Room and “Essay Exams: Beyond the BS" at 1 p.m. in the EMU’s Owyhee Room. Free. Events continue through Friday. For a complete schedule and more information, call 346-3226 or visit http://ais.uoregon.edu/. Wednesday, Oct. 17 Wednesdays at Noon: S. Marie Harvey, associate director of the Center for the Study of Women in Society, presents “CSWS Grants Workshop.” Noon. 330 Hendricks. Free. Anthrax continued from page 1 summer, said FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela. Alshehhi was aboard the second jet to strike the World Trade Center. Alghamdi was on the flight that crashed 80 miles southeast of Pitts burgh. But Orihuela said the FBI wasn’t drawing immediate conclusions. “Right now it looks like a coinci dence,” Orihuela said from outside the tabloid’s Boca Raton headquar ters. “We are not searching the apartment at this time. We are fo cusing on this building.” In other developments Sunday, three more anthrax exposures were reported from a letter received at 012708, DATE RAPE DRUG VICTIM • Are you a female victim of date rape drugs? • Were you raped in the downtown Eugene area? • Do you believe you may have been videotaped? I WAS TOO. I'd like to talk to you. Please call this number and let me know how I might contact you. BE AS ANONYMOUS AS YOU NEED TO BE, BUT PLEASE CALL. 607-8091 NBC in New York, and four Mi crosoft workers who came in contact with a contaminated letter in Neva da tested negative for infection. The exposures in New York were to a po lice officer who handled the letter, and two lab technicians. In South Florida, the apartment connection marks the most direct link to date between the terrorist hi jackers and the AMI anthrax cases. The Delray apartment in ques tion is central to a massive federal investigation into the terrorist at tacks. Two terrorists, Alshehhi and Alghamdi, rented the apartment in Delray Beach just north of Boca Ra ton, the FBI said. The other seven, including suspected ringleader Mo hamed Atta, are connected because they visited the apartment or other GARDEN • HID lighting • Hydroponic supply • Organic soil • Territorial seeds Aqua Serene Hydroponi Quality merchandise Great prices Unbeatable service Tropical house plant seeds CS s 2836 W. 11th St. 302-9073 § 11:00-6:00, 7 days/week wise had a direct tie to the inhabi tants, said a federal official familiar with the investigation. It is clear that the apartment was a meeting ground for terrorists, au thorities say. Now they must deter mine whether unit 1504 was also a hatching ground for the anthrax at tacks. In addition to Stevens and the two other workers who were ex posed to the bacteria, AMI gener al counsel Michael Kahane said, five people tested positive for an thrax antibodies, which indicates that at some point in their lives they were exposed. But officials with the Centers for Disease Con trol and Prevention said the find ings are preliminary and that more tests are necessary. Authori NW Largest Reef Tank 20 Gat combo $65 50 Gal combo $99 75 Gal combo $245 135 Gal combo $345 (combo Includes tank, lid & light) AQUA SERENE 2836 W. 11th St. 485-2171 AQUA SERENE your fish's dream West Coast's !i§d§t£ d id§£ all fish pet shop Salt Water ilia Red Bellied Pfhar?H4X ties said that none displayed symptoms, and all were being treated with antibiotics. As a search for clues continues in South Florida and the number of an thrax exposures grows across the country, investigators and experts are grappling with whether the cases are the work of the Sept. 11 terrorists. One of the nation’s leading bio logical warfare researchers said Sunday that the appearance of mul tiple anthrax infections suggests the possibility of a bioterrorist attack. “The level of suspicion is high for me, though it’s still open for me whether it’s a bioterrorist attack,” said C.J. Peters, former chief of spe cial pathogens at the CDC in At lanta. Peters, now a professor of mi crobiology and coauthor of the 1997 book “Virus Hunter,” said his suspi cion may turn to certainty if strains of the bacteria found in Florida, New York and Nevada are the same. A federal official familiar with the investigation into the attacks said that prior to the New York ex posures, investigators were treating the Boca Raton incident as an “iso lated criminal case.” But with the New York and Nevada cases, the same official shifted gears: “Maybe there is a concerted conspiracy connected to the Sept. 11 attacks.” Herald Staff Writers Larry Lebowitz, William Yardley and Johnny Diaz and Herald wire services contributed to this report. © 2001, The Miami Herald. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services. 012689] In Touch Cellular Students Call Home for Free Free digital Nokia phone 3600 minutes Free Free Long Distance Free Roaming In Touch Cellular & Paging Authorized Verizon, Voice Stream, Nextel and Dish Network agents. 1154 Garfield 302-0977
