Pulse
A new jazz nightclub in downtown Eugene
refines the idea of a night on the town.
PapS
Sports
Trucks, cranes and construction crews
are all over the field at Autzen Stadium.
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httpyAvww.dailyemerald.com
Thursdayjanuary 17,2002
Since 1 900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
Volume 103, Issue 77
‘War is simply not an option ’
The Students of
the Indian Sub
continent are
planning a
festival that will
celebrate Diwali
(an Indian festi
val of lights that
marks the
beginning of the
New Year)
Saturday in
Agate Hall.
Photographed
here, Gibran
Azamali.Shruti
Shah, Lisa Tsai,
Rakhi Patel.
Adam Jones Emerald
Conflict
and the art of communication
■ Despite the 54-year conflict
between India and Pakistan,
Students of the Indian
Subcontinent show camaraderie
By Danielle Gillespie
Oregon Daily Emerald
It has been more than a month
since Pakistani terrorists attacked
India’s Parliament Complex in New
Delhi, heightening the long-standing
conflict between India and Pakistan
and leading many international
leaders to fear the countries may be
headed to war.
But members of Students of the
Indian Subcontinent, a University
group comprising students from In
dia and Pakistan, say that although
the governments of the two coun
tries may disagree, the average Pak
istani and Indian citizens have good
relations.
Three SIS members who have
family living in Pakistan and India
said they believe a war between the
two countries is unlikely, but Pak
istan and India need to resolve their
54-year political conflict over the
state of Kashmir.
“War is simply not an option,”
junior Aashim Tyagi said. “Both
countries want to resolve the conflict
on a diplomatic level and cannot af
ford a full-scale war because of their
nuclear power.”
The conflict between India and Pak
istan began when the two countries
split after gaining their independence
from Britain. Both countries staked
claim to the state of Kashmir. Recently,
political conflict has intensified after
an attack on India’s Parliament Com
plex in New Delhi by Pakistani terror
ists on Dec. 13.
Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee equated the attack to Pak
istan blaming them for supporting ter
rorists. Pakistan’s president, Pervez
Musharraf, wants to ban two organi
zations linked to the Dec. 13 attack —
Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e
Taiba — while the Bush Administra
tion has been orchestrating peace
talks between the countries.
Tyagi said Pakistan should not be
considered responsible for the attack
on India.
“It was a terrorist group who
could be from any country or have
any religious background; it has no
Turn to Communication, page 4
Eugene City Council elects new president
■ City council presidents have
mainly formal duties, and those will
now be assumed by David Kelly
By Marty Toohey
Oregon Daily Emerald
The Eugene City Council elected
David Kelly as city council president
for 2002 on Monday night.
The change took effect immediately.
Kelly, who represents Ward 3,
which includes the University, said he
will receive no more power, but will
have a few more formal responsibili
ties, including conducting meetings.
. . “The responsibility of the president
can vary a lot depending on circum
stances,” said Kelly, who served as
council vice presi
dent last year.
“Sometimes the
mayor is too busy
to attend an e/ent,
and sometimes
when he feels the
city still needs a
presence, he’ll ask
the city council
president to be
there.”
The council
also elected Gary Pape, Ward 5, vice
president on Monday night.
Betty Taylor, Ward 2, served as city
council president last year.
The filing deadline for city council
elections is March 5, and Kelly has
already declared his intention to run
for re-election. Gary Rayor, Ward 4,
will not run for election, because the
city’s redrawing of its ward bound
aries put him in Ward 1 with Bonny
Bettman, and Bettman’s term will not
expire for another two years. The
terms of Pape and Pat Farr, Ward 6,
will expire this spring, and neither
has declared their candidacy.
E-mail reporter Marty Toohey
at martytoohey@dailyemerald.com.
U.S. Attorney
to complete
anti-terrorism
questioning
■ It is unclear how many University students may
have been interviewed by the Justice Department
By John Liebhardt
Oregon Daily Emerald
The Justice Department anti-terrorism interviews of for
eign visitors are 99 percent complete in the Eugene area,
according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
However, it is uncertain how many University students,
if any, participated in the interviews. Anne Leavitt, asso
ciate vice president for student affairs and dean of stu
dents, said she had heard only anecdotal evidence about
the interviews of University students.
The investigation is part of the "war on terrorism”
launched after the attacks of Sept. 11. Since the attacks,
more than 1,000 people nationwide have been detained,
many of them on minor immigration charges.
Chris Cardani, assistant U.S. attorney in Eugene, would
not provide information on the number of interviews his
office conducted, but he said no arrests have been made.
“An overwhelming majority of people were very helpful;
they were almost eager to help out,” he said. Presently, in
vestigators are conducting “a few” follow-up interviews.
Leavitt said investigators contacted the Department of
Public Safety in search of one student who was listed un
der an address in the residence halls. However, the stu
dent resided at that address last year and is no longer en
rolled at the University.
“(The investigators) never called for any additional in
formation,” she said.
Secrecy has surrounded the anti-terror investigation,
which began Nov. 9 when U.S. Attorney General John
Ashcroft enlisted the help of state and local law enforce
ment agencies to interview 5,000 people nationwide on
their knowledge of terrorism.
Investigators never released the complete criteria of
who will make up the interviewee lists but did admit the
criteria could include men, age 18 to 33, who have been
in the country since January 2000. Many civil liberties
groups complained that men of Middle Eastern descent
were being singled out in the investigation.
The U.S. Attorney’s office in Portland estimated in No
vember that 200 residents in Oregon, 40 from Lane County,
could be on the lists to interview. Currently, there are more
than 1,400 international students enrolled at the University.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon offered
free legal assistance for any person contacted by the in
vestigators. However, ACLU of Oregon spokesman David
Fidanque said his office received less than 10 calls for the
service. Only one person actually used an ACLU lawyer
during the interview, he said.
Civil liberties groups and some legal officials com
plained that the federal investigation resembled a witch
hunt that would not provide any useful information. The
Portland City Attorney would not allow the Portland Po
lice Department to participate in the investigations be
cause of some of the interview questions might break Ore
gon civil liberties law.
Also, the Eugene Police Department voiced concern
over some of the criteria used to make up the interview
lists. After speaking with University officials and mem
bers of the Arab and Muslim communities, EPD decided
not to participate in the interviews but provided logistical
support for the investigators.
E-mail community editor John Liebhardt
atjohnliebhardt@dailyemerald.com.