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Show DAILY UTAH HRONICLE I :i ! " ,,J II "p I Salvador is not a democracy, political science professor says EI Editor's note: In a ?; - VOL. H NO. 42 UNIVERSITY OF UTAH FRIDAY. NOVEMBER IS, 19S were kept out of the political arena during the recent presidential election, he said. "I would presume that in an honest election, all viable political forces would have an equal chance to expose their ideas to the general population. Those were the conditions in El Salvador that were precisely absent." So, in the absence of true democracy, who is running the country? Epstein says there are three main power contenders in El Salvador. The most important is the country's military. Second in significance is the American series concluding today, the ttiv-pa- rt Chronicle looks at the current political situation in Central America through the ey es of Ed Epstein, a political science professor and a specialist in Latin American affairs. by Donn Walker Staff writer Contrary to what Ronald Reagan may tell the American public and despite the fact a civilian president was recently elected in El Salvador, that country is far from being a true democracy. At least that's the view of U. political science professor Ed Epstein. "If, by democracy, you mean a situation where there is a minimal level of respect for freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, or simply a situation where one is not exposing himself to death by expressing his personal political beliefs, then one would have to say El Salvador is not very much of a democracy," he said recently during an interview with the Chronicle. The country is fairly authoritarian and repressive, Epstein said, but he avoids characterizations which imply extremes. He prefers instead to look at Salvadoran society as a continuum with extremes and midpoints. "Clearly, in that sense, it is not the most repressive regime one could imagine. Nevertheless, it has clear, widespread, repressive tendencies." Much of the repression in El Salvador takes place at the hands of the military, which Epstein said routinely rounds up people suspected of being leftist or leftist sympathizers and murders them. It's these same leftists whose voices Qinxuclr photo by Sttvf Griilin Miriam Onyeabor, a University of Utah sociology Ph. D candidate, recently returned from West Africa and shared her views at the Hinckley Institute. U.S. withdrawal ripens W. Africa for communism U. Staff writer Organizations (UNESCO) will not only have a negative effect on West Africa, but could also harm the United States in the long run. This is what Miriam Onyeabor, a Nigerian Ph.D candidate recently returned from West Africa, told a group gathered at the Hinckley Institute's Coffee and Politics Thursday. The United States, she said, is now occasionally voicing mistrust of the United Nations and labeling it "communist propaganda machinery." That same mistrust translates into a tendency for the United States to equate the entire Third World with communism, even though traditional African society was based on free enterprise. Onyeabor said the United States fails to realize, however, that UNESCO was feeding Africa's children. Its abandonment of the organization only makes Africa more vulnerable to communism because it longs for a solution to poverty and misery. She told the group that Africa is the continent of the future because it abounds with natural and human resources. Rather than abandon it to the throes of communism, Students Against Multiple Sclerosis (SAMS), a new is 150 other colleges to raise money for competing with sclerosis. multiple The U. is the only Utah college involved in SAMS, which is a national organization. All schools involved are gradually. "The United States cannot abandon Africa because it awards. It must be provides no immediate continent to the allow and develop," she said. "We patient must give Africa the impetus to try democracy for tomorrow so they will long for the kiss of freedom for their children," she said. Citing a recent editorial written by William Buckley Jr., Onyeabor said another problem between Africa and the United States exists in a severe ideological gap. self-inter- she said. The group's final activity will take place in February, and Pack claims the event will involve everyone on campus, something which has never been accomplished before. "Some schools can raise $86,000 in one night, and if we're going to beat these schools we need total campus support," said Pack. The U. became involved in SAMS when the national headquarters of the organization called ASUU leaders and told them about the competition and the objectives of the group. "We thought it would be an excellent thing for the school, and we graciously accepted their invitation," Pack said. Students interested in becoming involved in this project should leave their names in the ASUU office, said Pack. "We need support and help from everyone." She said SAMS will provide positive exposure for the U. and will give students the opportunity to become involved in a good cause. "Many people have the misconception that university students are merely with no regard for anyone or anything else," said Pack. "This organization will show otherwise." Currently there are 20 students involved with SAMS. Pack is building subcommittees within the organization, and she is looking for more people to work in all areas of the group. lit? est Buckley, exuding an opinion held by many Americans, writes that Africans are better off living in bondage if it means they will not starve. But she said Africans would prefer starvation to bondage. The organization raised S 1,000 in the recent Mr. Homecoming contest. It is currently planning other activities and events which have never been done before, competing to raise the largest sum of money before March 14, 1986. The school raising the most money will win a free MTV sponsored concert, said Genine Pack, chairwoman of the U. chapter of the organization. Onyeabor said the United States should take time to consider African nations individually, rather than lumping them together. This would allow it to treat problems more effectively and inspire democracy Pack. student organization at the University of Utah, . is "With a project of this magnitude we need several people to get involved, and if the U. wants to win the competition, the entire campus should participate," said by Trudy Skogerboc News Editor Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural vis-a-v- SViS to competes help fight by Lisa Carricaburu The United State's recent withdrawal from the United the American embassy in San government, Salvador. Third in importance is elected President Duarte and his civilian advisers, all of whom are members of the Christian Democratic Party. "What I'm suggesting is that it would be very foolish to pretend Duarte commands the military and they automatically do what he tells them to because he is constitutionally head of state," Epstein said. "That is simply a legal fiction." Duarte docs, however, have a certain degree of bargaining power with the military because it is dependent on the United States for money to stay in business, Epstein said. "Duarte does have some leeway, but clearly he is in a very weak position and the military is in a much stronger position. They have the guns." He describes the ideology of the government as right in the center of a political spectrum. It has, at times, advocated certain reformist positions. The most publicized of these has been what Epstein calls "fairly limited land reform." This policy hasn't continued on page two self-seekin- g, Reading circles t 0 around n U. No, these University of Utah students are not entranced by Keats and Shelley or deeply probing a calculus problem. ifiPilliiiri 'Jiff " - i WmimL x- - yyffisi dnflin - Oironick photo hy Stew They're not reading their textbooks. It seems reading the Chronicle might just be the thing to do with a few spare minutes Union Building. Non-Prof- it in the Org. 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