7A
AFRICA/ The Charlotte Post
Thursday, January 23,1997
Helms threatens S. Africa
Senator urges U.S. suspension of
aid if weapons are sold to Syria
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - Sen. Jesse
Helms, head of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee,
urged the Chnton administra
tion Friday to suspend aid to
South Africa if that country
goes ahead with plans to sell
weapons components to Syria.
“The government of South
Africa should understand
that, not only will U.S.-South
African relations suffer if they
arm a terrorist nation, but
also a significant amount of
U.S. foreign aid to South
Africa will be cut off,” Helms,
R-N.C., said in a statement.
Last week. South African
President Nelson Mandela
rejected any pressure against
the $650 million deal, which
involves the supply of modem
firing control systems for
Syria’s aging, Soviet-made
tank force.
Syria is on a U.S. list of
countries
that sponsor
terrorism,
along with
several other
foes of Israel
in the Middle
East.
American
law requires
the adminis
tration to
withhold
assistance to nations that pro
vide military equipment to
countries on the list.
Israel also has protested the
deal. It said the South African
fire control system was based
Helms
on technology obtained from
Israel before 1994 by South
Africa’s white government.
“Syrian acquisition of the
state-of-the-art military hard
ware runs counter to long
standing U.S. national securi
ty interests in the region and
represents a significant new
threat to Israel,” said Helms’
statement.
Helms, a staunch supporter
of Israel, recommended that
the administration make it
clem to the South African gov
ernment “in no uncertain
terms” that foreign aid will be
suspended if the sale goes
through.
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Seven black soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery in World War II last week by President
right are: Valencie James, vindow of Willy James; Grace Woodfork, sister of Ruben Rivers,;Edward Carter
Jr.; Arlene Fox, widow of John Fox,;Sandra Johnson, niece of Charles Thomas and Vernon Baker.
WHITE HOUSE PHOTO
Clinton. Pictured left to
III, son of Edward Carter
Black admitted to Confederate group
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Sat. 7.30am-6pm
Appt. Available
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By John Hendren
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BALTIMORE - With the
induction of Anthony Cohen
into the Sons of Confederate
Veterans on Saturday, the
historical group made a new
foray into the territory of its
adversaries.
Bristling under the criticism
of civil rights advocates who
call them bearers of a racist
symbol, the historical organi
zation raised the Confederate
flag, sang "Dixie" and added
the first black member to its
ranks.
“I came to join the Sons of
Confederate Veterans to
honor my family history and
to honor American history,”
said Cohen, a historian
descended from black and
white Confederate soldiers
who is writing a book on the
underground railroad.
The induction, which came
during an annual Lee and
Jackson Day ceremony, car
ried new meaning after
Maryland officials revoked
Maryland license plates that
bore the Confederate battle
flag made specially for the his
torical group.
Black state legislators said
the plates paid tribute to
racism.
“A dark cloud cast its shad
ow across the Free State,” said
Patrick J. Griffin III, head of
the Maryland chapter of the
Sons of Confederate Veterans.
A crowd of about 300, many
of them dressed in
Confederate battle garb,
cheered and gave rebel yells
before twin statues of
Confederate generals Robert
E. Lee and Thomas
“Stonewall” Jackson.
“The question I’m often
asked is why I would be asso
ciated with a symbol that
many African Americans con
sider racist,” Cohen said. “The
Sons of Confederate Veterans
fly the flag to honor our histo
ry. They are not a racist orga
nization.”
Cohen last summer walked
from Sandy Spring to Ontario,
Canada, covering a path aboli
tionists used to hide slaves
that escaped from the South.
Black legislators convinced
the state Motor Vehicles
Administration earlier this
month to recall the
Confederate tags and replace
them with plates bearing no
Confederate symbol.
“Maryland is not the state of
Strom Thurmond. Maryland is
not a state of the Deep South,”
state Sen. Larry Young, who
led the charge to recall the
tags, said earlier this month.
“We are a state of racial har
mony.”
The Saturday ceremony
departed strongly from
Confederate gatherings of the
Civil War era. Celebrants
dipped the Confederate "stars
and bars" and other flags as
the American flag was raised
while Peter Johnston of the
Sons of Union Veterans said
the Pledge of Allegiance.
Immediately afterward,
those in attendance made a
similar pledge to the
Confederate flag and swore
their “undying devotion to the
cause for which it stands.”
Among those braving the
frigid outdoor ceremony was
Thomas Winter of Columbia,
dressed in a Confederate gray
uniform, black boots and a
copper belt buckle that read
“CSA,” for the Confederate
States of America.
“We’re celebrating my wife's
ancestry" Winter said.
Linda Winter’s great-grand
father served with the
Confederate Army, he said,
fighting against his own
great-grandfather, who fought
for the Union.
“We had family fighting fam
ily,” Linda Winter said.
Duane Tressler said he did
n't understand the,state’s
reaction to the plate contro
versy.
“I wouldn’t like to see the
Confederate flag on the state
Capitol,” said Tressler, secre
tary of the Baltimore Civil
War Museum-President
Street Station, which opens in
Baltimore in April.
But to deny the descendants
of Confederate veterans the
right to display their group's
logo - the Confederate battle
flag - is equally misguided,
because other groups are
allowed to display their logos
on Maryland license plates, he
said.
“To pick these poor guys out
for criticism is to be too dis
criminatory,” Tressler said.
Members of the Sons of
Confederate Veterans earlier
this month said they were
considering suing the state
after the MVA decided to
recall the 78 plates it had
issued to members of the
group.
“This is going to end up in
legal action, and the state of
Maryland is going to end up
with egg on its face,” Cohen
said. “It’s a shame we can't
have free speech in the Free
State.”
Advertise in the 1997
Black Guide
Published by The
Charlotte Post
Call 376-0496
How should Mecklenburg
County manage its garbage
for the next 10 years?
Mecklenburg Coun^ is drafting a new Solid Waste Management Plan and would
like your help. Attend one of these public meetings to learn what options are
possible and give us your suggestions.
^ Tuesday, January 28, 6 p.m.,
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, Room 267, 600 East Fourth St.
^ Thursday, January 30, 6 p.m.,
CPCC North Center, Public Safety Building Auditorium,
11930 Verhoeff Drive, Huntersville
^ Wednesday, February 5, 7 p.m..
Belle Johnston Community Center, 1000 Johnston Road, Pineville
^ Thursday, February 6, 6 p.m..
West Boulevard Library, 2157 West Boulevard f/
■ Here are some of the issues we'll consider:
1. What waste reduc^n and recycling fMt>grams should be in the plan?**
2. How should programs be funded (taxes, fees, user charges through programs
such as pay-aS'you-throw, other means}? .
i
3. Should reQfcling programs be mandatory or voluntary?
4. Should the Coun^ have its own landfill or transfer its garbage to landfills out of
the County?
5. Should the County pursue higher cost alternatives to landfilling, such as waste-to-
energy f^ilities?
6. Should Mecklenburg County retain the State's 4d% waste reduction goal or choose
a different one?
You can contact us at:
(704) 336-6087
Plan, Mecklenburg County, 700 N. Tryoh St., Charlotte, NC 28202
or via the Internet at: http://wvirw.charmeck.nc.us/coeng/mcsvvni.htni