6The Daily Tar HeelWednesday. Janaury 29,
93 r d year of editorial freedom
Arnk Rkxi:rt and
Editor
ANJKTTA McUIUiN
J an it Olson
J A Ml WHITF.
Jll.l.GURBHR
LORl-TTA GRANTHAM
I'roJmlini Editor
. I Utiiersity Editor
News VJitnr
State and National VJitnr
City VJitnr
Tom Camp
. . . who risked
To fly across the
sky, travel through
space, step beyond
board
this small planet of OpiniOPI
ours mis nas
always been man's dream. But that
dream became a horrible nightmare
Tuesday when the space shuttle Chal
lenger exploded, killing all seven of its
passengers. Today, the nation, the whole
world, grieves at the loss of those who
gave their lives to achieve that dream.
The explosion numbed most viewers.
After 25 safe launches, the shuttle had
become old hat, hardly newsworthy. But
the calamity was a fiery reminder of how
dangerous space travel remains of
how courageous those seven, and all
space travelers before them,' had been
to risk their lives for the advancement
of mankind.
To a nation jaded by the special effects
of George Lucas and the space heroics
of Luke Skywalker, the disaster was
brutally ugly. But the men and women
who died were real people trying to bring
about a day when man can turn to space
for solutions to problems on earth.
Most of the media attention has been
focused on the first American civilian
in space, schoolteacher Christa McAu
liffe. It is terribly ironic that she should
be one of the first victims of space travel
since the days before man landed on the
moon. She was named to the mission
as a symbol that all mankind could
benefit from space travel. A teacher, she
editorialist's column-
Listen
To those of you who wish to silence
Adolfo Calero on this campus:
"Freedom fighters."
You decry their role in Nicaraguan
affairs along with their claim to the
name above and oppose tonight's
appearance of Adolfo Calero, their chief
spokesman. But your opposition insults
the tradition left by the true freedom
fighters who founded this nation on
certain rights and liberties, not the least
of which is the freedom of speech.
Controversy is what makes that
protection worthwhile. Without con
troversy, debate stagnates, discussion
dies. Without static, everything falls
apart, hung in lethargy.
The weekly Carolina Contest
Sponsored by the Carolina Union and the 'DTH'
EARLY TV TRIVIA
Answer five of the following questions to be eligible to win.
Who portrayed the grandfather on the 1959 series My Three Sons'!
What did Deputy Chester Goode call the marshal in Gunsmokel
What was the "peanut gallery" on the popular children's show Howdy Doodyl
Which Andy Griffith Show character is best known for his line, "How do you do,
Mrs. Wiley"?
Name the four regulars on Leave It to Beaver, along with their roles.
On the show Hazel, what were the names of Hazel's employers?
Who emceed You Bet Your Life!
PRIZE: Two complimentary tickets to the Feb. 11 performance of
the Prague Chamber Orchestra. .
YOUR NAME
ADDRESS PHONE: '
LAST WEEK'S WINNER: Elizabeth Cheld
Clip (his form tnd place it in the "Bits and Pieces" box next to the Union
desk by 5 p.m. today. The winning response will be drawn from correct responses
received.
Fuil-tiime UNC graduate and undergraduate students eligible only. 'DTH' and
Union committee members not eligible.
1986
David Schmidt
Editor
Lorry Williams
Lee Roberts
Elizabeth Ellen
Marymelda Hall
Larry Childress
Back Page Editor
Business VJitnr
.Sports Editor
Arts Editor
Veatures Editor
Photography Editor
their lives
represented the advances space travel
has produced in our knowledge of the
universe. Space travel and exploration
is for the good of us all, not just the
military.
The NASA program must not fall
victim to critics who would use this
catastrophe as an argument for ending
the program. The explosion, does not
prove that the shuttle is unworkable, that
space cannot and should not be
explored. It proves that accidents are
inevitable, that the human and material
cost must be a part of the expected
investment. The shuttle has successfully
launched, flown its mission and landed
24 times. With all the possibility for
error, it is actually a wonder that there
has been no accident until now.
The disaster of Apollo 1 occurred in
1967. Just two years later, Neil Arm
strong walked on the moon. No one can
deny the value the latter feat has had
in boosting national morale, and in
providing the impetus for further space
research, and the resulting, unimagina
ble expansion of man's knowledge about
his world and the universe around it,
knowledge that can be of immense
benefit in solving mankind's problems.
What if the moon project had been
killed after Apollo 1? The United States,
and the world, would have been deprived
of as much as, and maybe less than, it
will lose if the shuttle program is
unwisely scrubbed in an emotional and
political reaction to Tuesday's disaster.
Calero's views deserve to be aired, and
you should be grateful that student fees
were used to stimulate, not dictate,
thought about the Nicaraguan conflict.
You may believe Calero is wrong, but
you cannot expect everyone else to
believe you are right. Allow them the
opportunity to see for themselves.
Like you did with speakers brought
to campus by the Carolina Committee
on Central America speakers who
hardly were politically neutral.
By all means protest tonight if you
wish, but permit the man to speak.
Harass him, seek to drown him out, clear
him off campus, and your voice will
choke with hypocrisy.
DAVE SCHMIDT
White wash,
By ASHLEY OSMENT
To hear live justification for the most brutal
of international terrorism, one should be at
Memorial Wednesday at 8:00 p.m., when the
Union Forum Committee will co-host with the
College Republicans, Adolfo Calero, the head
of Reagan's CIA-backed contras. And after
Calero delivers his plea for the $100 million in
military aid that Reagan promised last week, will
the Union Forum Committee chalk up this event
as a victory for free speech?
If the Union were truly interested in free speech
it would sponsor a speaker and discussion based
on relevent information as to the truth about
the Contras. The White House already has given
Calero regular press coverage as it whitewashes
the terrorist Contras as "freedom fighters." On
the other hand, numerous respected human
rights observers including Witness for Peace,
America's Watch and even ex-contra leader
Edgar Champrro (New Republic, Aug. 1985),
have accused the FDN (Calero's group) of
Q & A favors
To the editors:
So I got here from the Federal
Republic of Germany (for the many
who do not know, that is one of
the two parts of Germany that has
existed since WWII) and I was told
this here is the land of freedom and
democracy. I know that there are
many ways, to define these two, but
I believe that the following two facts
are difficult to include in any of
those definitions:
Democracy equals pluralism
equals different points of view. But
there are certain limitations to that:
having a Contra speak on campus
follows the Same principle as having
the police escort a KKK rally, which
costs students' or taxpayers' money
(you now "they" did not prohibit
S A rallies in Germany between 1930
and 1933, but after 1933 the SA
prohibited every other rally.) For
this consideration it does not matter
whether you consider the Contras
terrorists, what they are, or "free
dom fighters," what they areni (see
e.g. the Edgar Chamorro quote in
I A
PROP BY
1 " (iii 'I
jV ; -J ' IrwMWR - !
H ' " I r , ii hi i' v 1 1 I
A view on Contras' Calero
By BRUCE ALEXANDER
On Wednesday, Jan. 29, a Central American
political figure will deliver a speech here at UNC.
Although I strongly disagree with the objectives
of the organization he represe nts, I plan to attend.
I will be in Memorial Hall not to disrupt or
even to protest his presence. Instead, I will be
there to listen and to ask a question or two.
I urge you to do the same. The speaker's name
is Adolfo Calero, and he represents the Nica
raguan Democratic Force or FDN, the main unit
of the Contras. ,
It is likely that Mr. Calero will not say anything
that we have not already heard from the lips
of Ronald Reagan or George Schultz, after all,
they have a common goal. Adolfo Calero will
tell us that he supported the Sandinista
government of Nicaragua before they "betrayed"
the 1979 revolution which overthrew U.S. backed
dictator Anastasio Somoza He will warn us that
the Sandinistas are Soviet puppets who desire
Communist domination of Central America.
Calero will also tell us that his contras are they
legitimate heirs to the throne in Nicaragua, ana ,
that they are dedicated to true democracy. He
might even borrow a phrase from Ronald Reagan .
and refer to his Contras as, "freedom fighters"
or "our brothers." We in the audience will listen,
and we will consider what he has told us about
his Contras, and hopefully we will question him
about some of the things he has not told us.
In 1979, the Nicaraguan people were successful
in overthrowing Somoza after 30 years of
oppressive dictatorship. They inherited a
devastated economy under which poverty,
disease, malnutrition and illiteracy had been the
lot of the majority of the population for decades.
Exercising their newly won freedom with the help
of various existing U.S. and international loans,
they successfully began a literacy program, built
medical clinics, and established immunization
programs. The people began the difficult task
of increasing food production for domestic use
while maintaining coffee exports to obtain badly
needed foreign capital, sine Somoza fled with
billions of dollars from Nicaraguan banks.
In 1980, the new Nicaraguan government
' suffered a serious setback. The American people
elected Ronald Reagan. Within days of his
inauguration, the new U.S. president cancelled
as much aid to Nicaragua as was legally possible
smooth talk,
engaging m a strategy ol systematic leuorism
against the civilian population of Nicaragua.
Unfortunately, the Union has agreed to the terms
of Calero and the College Republicans that
Calero alone will speak allowing no debate
or even panel discussion and that all questions
be submitted in advance.
After passively listening to Adolfo Calero's
carefully contrived justification for the Contras
(without even an open question and answer
period afterward), what are UNC students and
the Chapel Hill community to do? It seems
unbelievable that anyone could discern from such
a talk whether or not Calero is a terrorist, or
whether the Reagan policy of backing the contras
to the tune of $100 million is a ruthless disaster
or not.
Has the Union considered that there are
thousands of murdered Nicaraguan civilians,
almost half teenagers or younger who had every
right stripped from them as they were kidnapped,
raped and tortured by Calero's "freedom
fighters?" Or does the Union feel let down by
the Reagan administration's attempts to white-
READER FORUM
Calero
a DTH editorial on January 28).
Just like it should be in a "plu
ralistic democracy" there will be a
question and answer section Wed
nesday night after Calero's speech,
but just like it should not be in a
"democracy," you have to hand in
the questions one day in advance
so that they can be censored (they
might not be, what I hope, but
whether they will be or not, I oppose
the procedure.) This censoring of
the questions to Calero is not
pluralism anymore, but favoritism
of the Contra's side.
After all, one should not forget
that Calero's mission is not to point
out his opinions about U.S. policies
in Central America, but to raise
funds for more terrorist activities
(e.g. intimidating the civilian pop
ulation by assassinations of farmers,
teachers, etc.) and right now so
called liberal treatment for Calero
is worth nothing.
Frank Schleper
Chapel Hill
To the editors:
The Forum Committee of the
Carolina Union and the UNC
College Republicans will present
Adolfo Calero, a leader of the
Nicaraguan resistence, in Memor
ial Hall tonight at 8:00.
The United States government
funding of the Contras in Nia
caragua has been the subject of
some controversy. Adolfo
Calero is the major representa
tive of the Contras with whom
the U.S. government deals on
matters of military and financial
aid; indeed he is unable to attend
a reception following the speech
because he will be meeting with
President Reagan in the morn
ing. His address tonight presents
the University community with
a unique opportunity to hear
firsthand why the Contras want
U.S. taxpaver's money.
BY ANY CHANCE, DIP EITHER A hVR.GRANlM OR A.
WHILE I WAS AWAY, MISS SNUTHERS
and pressured U.S. allies and international
organizations to do the same. United States
purchases of coffee, Nicaragua's main export,
declined by 90 percent. Along with isolating
Nicaragua in the Western economy, the admin
istration began to exert pressure in other ways.
U.S. military exercises in the region increased
dramatically in size, frequency and duration. In
Honduras, where in recent years, military
maneuvers have followed one another like
clockwork, construction of permanent barracks,
radar installations, airfields, etc., has proceeded
at a furious pace, far exceeding "war game"
needs. There have been corresponding increases
in military aid to Nicaragua's neighbors. For
example, despite a greatly increased Pentagon
budget in the last year of the Carter adminis
tration, Honduras and El Salvador only received
combined military aid of less than $10 million.
In the first three years of the Reagan admin
istration, military aid to these two countries
exceeded $286 million, almost a ten-fold annnual
increase.
Shortly after taking power, the Sandinista
government requested a moderate .amount of
military equipment, mostly defensive in nature,
from the Carter administration. When only a
portion of the aid was approved, Nicaraguan
Interior Minister Thomas Borges replied, "We
prefer the U.S. market, but if it is closed to us
then we .will have to seek another, possibly the
European market." So, in 1981, the Sandinistas
agreed to purchase $15 million in military
hardware from the French. This represented a
greater amount than, they had spent on Soviet
military equipment in the previous two years
combined. This move by the French, described
as a "stab in the back" by Secretary of State
Alexander Haig, resulted in increased American
pressure on the French and the sale was not
completed. Wary of U.S. anger, other allies
similarly refused to trade with Nicaragua.
Facing a U.S. military buildup in Honduras
and El Salvador, and observing U.S. attempts
to revive the disbanded Costa Rican army on
their southern border, the Sandanistas sought
help from the only source the Reagan admin
istration left open to them, the Soviet Union.
The Russians, along with the Cubans, were quite
willing to help, and the Reagan administration's
prophesy of Soviet influence in the region became
self-fulfilling.
Applying still more pressure on the Sandinis
cover truth
wash the contras, , thus rJre the need for
student fees at UNC (estimated $600) to give
a platform to Calero, from which he can tell
us that all those dead children were subversives,
all those destroyed health clinics and schools were
hotbeds of subversion and that all those blown
up granaries were full of food grown by peasant
cooperatives, the mainstay of subversive
radicalism?
Adolfo Calero is coming to the Triangle with
Reagan's blessing, to smooth-talk us into backing
his terrorism. While he's here hell campaign first
at Duke, Tuesday at 8:00 p.m., and then hell
stop off at Raleigh's Velvet Cloak Inn for some
fundraising from local business "leaders" (the
Congressional Club). Local activists from the
Triangle Central America Movement are ready
to respond. We will protest the reality of terrorist
activity in Nicaragua, and Calero's efforts to
legitimize these kinds of crimes.
Ashley Osment, a senior French and history
major from Sylba, is a member of the Carolina
Committee on Central America.
Contraversial issue
This does not constitute an
endorsemment by the Carolina
Union of U.S, government pol
icy or Contra activities. We are
presenting a viewpoint on a
major foreign policy issue. We
have confidence in the critical
abilities of students to decide for
themselves as to the validity of
the viewpoint.
The Carolina Union Activities
Board was not unaware that this
program would evince extreme
opinions on both sides. After
hours of discussion we felt that
this program would increase
awareness of the controversy
surrounding U.S. government
involvement in Nicaragua. We
believe this to be consistent with
the role of a University.
Walt Boyle Jr.
Chapel Hill
MR. R.UDMAM
tas, the administration began to support anti
Sandinista rebels or Contras such as Adolfo
Calero. The Central Intelligence Agency was
directed to arm and train Nicaraguan exiles to
overthrow the government of Nicaragua. In
addition to providing assistance such as the
publication of the infamous assassination
manual, the CIA undertook certain actions on
their own, such as the mining of the civilian port
of Corinto. However, the majority of the direct
action was undertaken by the Contras who
possessed skills of their own, namely in economic
and political terrorism. In addition to engaging
the Nicaraguan military from protected bases in
Honduaras and Costa Rica, Reagan's "moral
equivalent of our Founding Fathers" was
responsible for the destruction of 100 state and
privately owned coffee farms and the displace
ment of 120,000 civilians (as of February 1985).
During the same period, Contra raids forced the
closing of 840 adult education centers and almost
400 schools. In 1984 alone, 300 teachers were
either killed or kidnapped by "our brothers."
These figures don't begin to tell the story of the
effect the Contras have had on the rebuilding
of Nicaragua.
During the past five years, there have been
serious disagreements among the various factions
of the Contras. Last spring, Edgar Chamorro,
a former spokesman for Adolfo Calero's FDN,
identified himself to American journalists as a
CIA employee. He characterized the FDN as
containing many members of Somoza's National
Guard, and detailed numerous atrocities com
mitted against Nicaraguan civilians by the FDN.
Not surprisingly, the FDN quickly disowned
Chamorro and the U.S. Immigration Service
began investigating the likelihood that Mr.
Chamorro was a long-overlooked illegal alien.
Now the Reagan administration proposes to
spend an additional $90 to $100 million over
the next year on military aid for the contras.
Adolfo Calero's speeches are one of the means
by which they hope to convince Congress and
the American public to support funding for the
overthrow cf the Nicaraguan government. If you
feel that they not be telling the whole story, attend
Mr. Calero's speech on Wednesday . . . and ask
him some questions.
Bruce Alexander is a graduate science
education major from Saxapahaw.