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Show Thursday, February 23, 1989 Chronicle - Page Four EDITORIAL Salvadtoraoi) pl mroeiriits Edward Ruiz Thanks to a new peace plan introduced by the Salvadoran rebels, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel as far as the decade-ol- d civil war is concerned. The Bush administration would do well to give the peace plan sub- stantive consideration and encourage the Salvadoran government to do likewise. In their most recent overture toward trying to set the peace plan in stone, Salvadoran rebel leaders met to discuss the most crucial h component of the peace plan: a postponement of the elections next month. The purpose of the postponement is to reorganize the election in order to allow fair Democratic participation from the four-mont- left-liber- al Convergence Party. The plan also calls for a multiparty commission to oversee peace negotiations; new, more fair election laws; and establishing international verification committees to monitor the electoral process. National Republican Alliance, The or the Arena Party (which has strong ties to the notorious death squads), is predicted to win the elections next month, which could potentially jeopardize the civilian government as well as the nation as a whole. far-rig- ht Understandably, the Arena Party has remained steadfastly antagonistic toward the rebel peace plan, as it would allow the conservative Christian Democratic Party, as well as the left parties, more time to campaign. Fortunately, some officials in the Bush administration have voiced approval of the peace plan. State Department spokesman Charles Redmarusaid the plan is -- 'worthy of serious . . . consideration." If all goes well, the Bush administration will pursue a policy of encouraging peace in the region (via legitimate negotiations) while simultaneously proThe rebels' peace moting plan offers the beginnings of a foundation for just such a policy to come into fruition. self-determinati- Iran's King Nut takes the cake support on. Sticks and stones . . Throughout history there have been many fanatical nuts, such as Adolph Hitler, Jim Jones and Ronald Reagan, who have grown to power only to do harm to others. But now, for probably the first time ever, there exists an entire country completely composed of fanatical nuts: Iran. Led by King Nut himself, the Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran, along with many other fanatical Moslems, is up in arms about the book The Satanic Verses. Taking Salman Rushdie's book as a blasphemous attack on the Islamic religion, Khomeini called for Rushdie's death and offered millions of dollars for his head. Like good little sheep, Khomeini's followers have gone into their demonstration mode. (It d their seems to me that Iranians must spend last the and time sleeping, another third fighting Iraq third protesting the Western world.) Now I readily admit that I know very little about the Islam religion or Moslems. And I don't doubt for a moment that the book is offensive to their religion. The point is that it doesn't matter whether the book is offensive, it only matters that the book has ideas be open or in it, and all to the world. I know not all Moslems want Rushdie killed, and I know more countries than just Iran have had protests, but as a whole, Iran is one large mass of dangerous fanaticism. People who are afraid to listen to ideas that go against their own beliefs are people who have something to hide. And in the arena of religion, ideas are even more essential. I'm not a religious person, but I do know faith is everything to a religion. If someone's religion is "attacked" by offensive ideas, so that the person would hav those ideas censored, then that is a person who has very little faith in his or hen religion. . To fundamentalist Moslems, blasphemy is, according to a Sunday New York Times article, "a form of apostasy, a capital crime under Islamic law. The article continues, "The logic of the Ayatollah is simi- lar to that of St. Augustine: Better a heretic should die than allow false teachings or ridicule lead others to eternal damnation." Well now, it seems to me that the path to eternal damnation is kind of a personal decision and shouldn't be decided by a religious leader. As with most religions, the fundamentalists become dangerous, while the moderates are subjected to attack as well, only because they share the same religion. Granted, other religions in the West have the same views on blasphemy as the Islamic religion, and like the fundamentalist Moslems, the fanatics of the Western world are also dangerous. But when a whole country is filled with fundamentalists, problems will never end. If Khomeini were a smart man, he would have learned the same lesson tha fundamentalist Christians learned last year when they spoke dgainst The Last Temptation of Christ. In that case, like in the Rushdie case, fundamentalists all over the world protested something they hadn't even seen nor read, while creating the type of publicity that would give a In. case Khomeini didn't notice, PR man a hard-othe book wasn't selling until he opened his big lists all over mouth. Now the book is on best-sellof free ity the charge. As for Rushdie, he's dead. He's also a coward. I don't blame him for going into hiding, but I do frown on the fact that he apologized to angered Moslems. Once Khomeini put a large price on his head, did he really think an apology would save his life? It's too late pal, so you might as well stand by your work. Back in the Western world where ideas are never censored (yeah right), Waldenbooks set a dangerous precedent by pulling the book off its shelves nationwide. Sure, they are still selling them on request, but when fundamentalists learn they created enough a t i i e pressure 10 iorce menca s largesti cuajn uiriuook- stores to take the novel off its shelves, what "pressures" might appear in the future? Fortunately there are people like Sam Weller, owner of Sam Weller Bookstore in Salt Lake, that take responsibility for their jobs and make sure they supply readers with n. one-thir- ideas-offens- ive er world-public- not-sho- uld anti-Rushd- ie i 1 i- books. r Tuesday morning, President Bush, "Mr. Freedom of Ideas," condemned Iran's death"decree as being "deeply offensive to the norm of civilized behavior." Bush is the last authority on civilization. As the leader of a country that spends billions of dollars on defense and gives millions more in aid to other countries while the foundation of America rots away, Bush has no right to say we're civilized and someone else is not. The Western world is controlled by egotistical old white men who always wear impractical suits and ties even if it's in the middle of the worst heat spell in 50 years. That's not civiliza: tion, that's stupidity Ed Ruiz, a senior majoring in mass communication, is the assistant news editor of the Chronicle. 9 VkiA. I I EVER THINK OF JOINING A FRATERNITY? I Now's Your Chance! t JOIN UTAH'S GR OWING GREEK SYSTEM '"AC - NAU C' i pM i;l(Q)l y T ! : M LOOKING FOR foft Ta! ft A S WG $3G&ICS' ' r Give ' us a call - 584-466-2 ' " ... or stop by our table In the Union |
