Season over / Page 9
An independent newspaper
http://www.dailyemerald.com
Monday, March 10,2003
Since 1900
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Volume 104, Issue 115
Faces of
U.S.: Some military personnel oppose
a ‘war of aggression’ against Iraq and
seek conscientious objector status
Prashant Gopal
South Florida Sun-Sentinel (KRT)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — National Guard
reservist Bryan Alarcon said “no” when his ser
geant called looking for volunteers to go to
Turkey as part of the U.S. military ramp-up to
war. If he’s ordered to go, Alarcon says, he’ll re
fuse — even if his decision lands him in jail.
The 25-year-old West Palm Beach, Fla., resi
dent is among a small group of military personnel
who have joined another fight — the one build
ing locally and across the country against war.
Alarcon said he’d rather risk going to jail than
participate in a conflict he considers immoral. He
said he didn’t apply for money from the military to
pay for his Palm Beach Community7 College tuition
this semester and joined thousands of other Ameri
cans for the Jan. 18 peace rally in Washington, D.C.
It’s uncertain how many service people share
Alarcon’s beliefs. But as war talk heated up in Janu
ary, the anti-war G.I. Rights Hotline fielded a record
number of calls, mosdy from military personnel and
families seeking advice on conscientious-objector
and other discharges. The3,582 calls were twice the
normal monthly call volume, the group reported.
“They’re going to call me a coward,” said Alarcon,
a full-time student who has a 9-month-old daugh
ter. “But being a coward is not acting as I believe. ”
Soldiers who don’t want to participate in the
looming war are facing a difficult choice. But jail
isn’t the only option for resisters. The military rec
ognizes conscientious objectors who prove they
have deeply held moral, ethical or religious beliefs
that would keep them from participating in war
Turn to U.S., page 7
A. Enrique Valentin South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Above: Marine Corps reservist Travis Clark, of Plantation, Florida, a special events coordinator for a South Florida
anti-war group, participates in a peace rally Sunday in Hollywood, Fla Top right A young student in the northern
village of Kalak, Iraq, attends the Avesta Primary School for Girls, whose curriculum promotes an independent
Kurdistan. Below: A member of a war-stricken family in Qasr-e-Shirin, Iran, spends a Saturday in Basij Park
overlooking the city razed in the 8-year fran-lraq war,
Peter Andrew Bosch Miami Herald
IRAQ; A Kurdistan village
under 24-hour watch by
Iraqi soldiers eagerly awaits
the start of an American war
Mark McDonald
Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT)
KALAK, Iraq — It’s a drab little vil
lage, pleasant enough when the olive
trees are in flower, but mostly it’s just
sunburned shepherds and their black
faced sheep. Even the locals admit
that Kalak is unremarkable — except
that it’s probably the most dangerous
place in all of Iraq.
Pitched above a broad tributary of
the Tigris River, Kalak is part of Kur
distan, that broad swatch of northern
Iraq that’s beyond Saddam Hussein’s
control. A quarter-mile away, dug into
a ridgeline above the town, Hussein’s
Turn to Iraq, page 8
IRAN: After an eight-year war, residents of a small village near
the border of Iraq trust neither Hussein nor the United States
Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson
Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT)
QASR-E-SHIREN, Iran—Few Iranians
suffered the ravages of their bloody, eight
year war with Iraq more than the resi
dents of this sleepy little border town.
Yet while residents hate and fear Sad
dam Hussein — “Have you forgiven
Hitler?” Zahra Dekami, 32, asked —
there is no apparent support for Presi
dent George W. Bush’s plan to oust him.
Many of the 30,000 Kurds who live
here saw family members killed or cap
tured by Hussein’s troops when they
occupied the hamlet in 1980.
The Iraqi invaders leveled every build
ing except the mosque. The town, called
“Sweet Castle” in Persian, has since
been rebuilt, although rusting Iraqi tanks
and artillery still litter barren fields that
once were vast palm tree groves in this
breadbasket of western Iran.
“It’s America who backed the Iraqis
in their war against us, and now all
they want to do is collect the weapons
they left behind,” insisted Dekami,
drawing her black, head-to-toe chador
tightly around her.
Added her father, Yabdullah Deka
mi, 75, who spent four years as an
Iraqi prisoner of war: “Bush insults us
if he thinks we believe the reasons
he’s giving for this war.”
Turn to Iran, page 6
Speaker
suggests
native law
approach
The weekend’s Environmental Law
Conference featured 15 keynote
speakers on a variety of issues
Ali Shaughnessy
Environment/Science/Technology Reporter
As the time approached 1 p.m. Satur
day, the EMU Ballroom rapidly filled with
students, environmental activists, lawyers
and community members, who had gath
ered to hear the Honorable Robert Yazzie
speak. Seats filled quickly, and people en
tering late were resigned to sitting on the
floor or leaning against the wall.
“I miss the days of heavy winter
snows,” Yazzie said. “When I see, feel and
taste the declining quality of our water,
life and earth, I worry what my grandchil
dren and future generations will inherit.”
Yazzie—the Chief Justice of the Nava
jo Supreme Court — was one of 15
keynote speakers involved with the 21st
annual Public Interest Environmental
Turn to Environment page 7
MIPs rise
23 percent
in 2002-03
The Eugene Police Department
has already issued 200 citations
this term; weather conditions
and enforcement are factors
Caron Alarab
Safety/Crime/Transportation Reporter
The Eugene Police Department has is
sued more than 50 minor in possession of
alcohol citations during the last two week
ends, accounting for about 25 percent of
those issued this term alone. And while both
EPD and the Department of Public Safety’s
MIP statistics are already higher compared
with last year, local officials say rises and
fluctuations in cited alcohol-related offenses
result from several factors, including weath
er conditions and enforcement.
“It’s essentially up to the people,”
Sgt. Peter Aguilar said. “Change is a
strange animal.”
According to EPD numbers reported
between Friday evenings and Sunday
mornings, about 200 MIP citations have
Turn to MIP, page 5
Weather
Today: High 57, Low 48, cloudy, chance of showers
Tuesday: High 55, Low 45, light rains, breezy
Looking ahead
Tuesday Wednesday
Students and community Students risk losing grant
members of various faiths money after Kulongoski
come together monthly approves legislative plan
sues of the Commentator, the “conserva
tive journal of opinion,” have disap
peared. The paper said last spring at least
half of its “Hate” issues were stolen.
Commentator editor in chief Pete R.
Hunt said he believes campus commu
nity members were incensed by the last
page of the new issue, which features an
image of anti-war protesters in Wash
ington, D.C., with “You Fucking
Racists” printed in bold capital letters
below the picture.
“People have told me that the page was
‘irresponsible’ and ‘reckless,”’ he said.
“However, I fully stand behind our deci
sion to run it... I believe that there are
both subtle and obvious elements of
racism throughout these demoastradons.”
Hunt added he doubts the missing pa
pers have anything to do with the Ore
gon Voice’s recent grievance which al
leged that the Commentator stole
unprinted Oregon Voice material and
altered it with anti-Semitic remarks.
The Commentator is considering or
dering another 1,200 copies of its March
publication for distribution.
—stqffwriters