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Show Opinion a Page A12 Cea NRlsecaaheonen OUR VIEW The Salt Lake Tribune's Editorial Position eres ove The Salt Lake Cribune Saturday/July 12, 1997 Chaos in Cambodia Hun Sen, the formerPol Potdisciple who supposedly swore off terrorism and tyranny when Vietnaminstalled him as Cambodian premierin 1979, has reverted to his old ways. The recent murdersof his political opponents have destroyed his credibility and demand severe censure. As if Cambodians haven't suffered enough at the hands of despots like Khmer Rougeleader Pot Pot, blamed for the deaths of millionsof citizens in the late '70s, Hun Sen is dragging the fledgling democracyback into the badold-daysof political chaos, violence and civil war. In the confusion surrounding the re- ported cornering of Pol Pot — and in the absence of First Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh, who wasin France — Second Prime Minister Hun Sen staged a coup. Gun battles broke out between forces loyal to the two coalition leaders, some of Ranariddh’s associates turned up dead, and now other opponentsarefleeingfortheir lives. Asif oblivious to the contradictions andpolitical implicationsof the events, HunSen nonchalantly declared himself sole leaderof the country Thursday. He denied a coup occurred and disclaimed responsibility for any deaths. Ranariddh, he said, had jumpedshipafterillegally negotiating peace with the Khmer Rouge and preparing a military powergrab himself. So muchfor civilized solutions to decades of upheaval and political dis- agreement Violent power struggles were sup: posed to end when Hun Sen agree 1991 to share power under the United Nations-brokered peace agreement and Ranariddh’s party won the 1993 eleetion. Now discredited but with his superior military strength intact, Hun Sen has renewed disruption andterror. The arrogant, heavily armed bully contends outside military intervention would be a mistake, and he may be right. Cambodian citizens would suffer the brunt of more bloodshed. Better to usepolitical and economic pressure for now, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has met the challenge. In unprecedented criticism of a neighbor's internalaffairs, ASEAN indefinitely postponed Cambodia's entranceintoits trading bloc Thequick suspensionofU.S.aid will underscore the gravity of Hun Sen’s error. The United Nations, which has spent considerable political and financial capital for peace in Cambodia the past decade, also mustswiftly denounce Hun Sen andhis tactics. Perhaps Vietnam, even asit solidifies relations with the United States and others, can persuade him to honor Cambodia's new constitution by stepping aside, Thecitizens of this small, Indochinese nation have chosen the rule of law overforce. Their democratic dream deserves — and, unfortunately, requires — international support. THE PUBLIC FORUM Letters from The Tribune's readers Ulster Hopes Still Flicker This could have been a terribly bloody weekend in Northern Ireland. But, thanks to a Protestant decision Thursday to cancel scheduled marches through Catholic neighborhoods, sectarian violencewill likely be muted enoughto give the Ulster peace process a chance — one that can be redeemed only by immediate and dramatic steps by Protestant and Catholic opposition groups. As the tension recedes, what has to happen in the next month is simple; The Irish Republican Armymustdeclare a be- lievable cease-fire, and the Protestant Unionists must drop their long-held position that a decommissioning of IRA arms is necessaryprior to entering talks with Sinn Fein, the IRA's political wing. should take place simultaneously with Baptists Wrong on Disney peacetalks. That is the principle that the The recent decision by the Southern Baptist Convention to boycott Disney Unionists, with new British pressure on them, must now accept as well. Blair’s embrace of the Mitchell report was significant step forward by the Brit- ish, but his government then tooka slight step back last weekend by allowing the provocative Orange Order march at Portadown, triggering three days of Catholic protest. An even uglier scenario loomed this weekend with scheduled Orange marchesin Belfast and Londonderry, but the Protestants, with some British arm- twisting, have backed off. The Orange marches this weekend could have spawned more IRAviolence that might have wrecked the peace process. But now the onus is squarely back In other words, the pressure is nowon the two contentious sides in NorthernIreland to cometo the table quickly, and it on the IRA to renew the cease-fire that it halted in February 1996 — and on Sinn Fein to showthatit really has the influ- has been put on them by TonyBlair, the new British prime minister whose first steps into the Ulster quagmire have been generally encouraging. ence to convince the IRA thugs to aban- Late last month, Blair did something that his predecessors in the Major governmentfailed to do: He joinedthe Irish government in fully accepting the fundamental principle of the 18-month-old Mitchell report, which is that arms decommissioning by paramilitary groups don violence. ‘The cancelling of the Orange marches this weekendreflects the desire of most Protestants and Catholics in Northern Irelandto live in peace, the kind of peace theyhad tasted and celebrated during the 11%4-year-long IRA cease-fire. That cease- fire must be renewed nowif hopes for negotiations toward a permanent peace areto takeflight. Don’t Tie FDA’s Hands The greatest flawin the settlementne- President Clinton and Congress must together insist that the FDA remain unfettered as it carries out its mandated responsibility to protect public health. A deal that tries to restrict the FDA to any- thing less than full freedom ofaction is unacceptable. Some attorneys general, eyeing the bil- lions of dollars that their states stand to gain from the tobaccoindustry over the next 25 years, fear that anysignificant changes made in the agreement at the federal level could destroy it, That, we think, is nonsense ‘This fight is over. By agreeing to cover the states’ costs for treating patients with tobacco-related diseases and to finance anti-smoking campaigns, the cigarette makers are implicitly conceding the tox- icity of their product, and their liability for the consequences of that. The industryis simply in no position to insist on conditionslimiting what the FDA can do Neither, it goes without saying, can the state attorneys general commit the federal government to hamstringing one of its most important regulatory agencies. The FDA must be free to movequickly and unconditionally to regulate nicotine and so deny cigarettes their addictive power, That is not a process that should take up to 12 years, as the agreement would have it, or be contingent on the absurd, impossible requirement that the Disneycontinues to provide the world with some of the best family-oriented products manufactured anywhere: Year after year, they have givenus quality live and animated moviesthat teach ourchil- dren tolerance, compassion and a love for the human spirit. Their theme parks are clean and fun and opento people of all religions, ethnic groups and sexual orientation. Would the religious right FDA's hands not be tied. So does Presi dent Clinton, Congress can donoless. John F. Pitzpatrick (1024-1960) EDITOR John W. Gallivan (1060-1983) James B. Shelledy EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR Harry B. Fuller, Jt MAIN ST, SALT LAKE CTIY, MITT KEARNS-TRINUNE CORPORATION, 143 5, — — — _ ceived, not all submissions are published. @ Mail to Public Forum, The Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110. WOur fax number is (801) 2372022. Wasteful Lawsuit Whyis the trust land administration wastingits time and our schoolchildren’s moneyto sue the government? Instead of finding a mutually beneficial land swap for school trust lands in the national ences, we can all make some impact on monument, they are whining to the court system. cording to some narrow, restrictive all people have value. Despite our differthe world in which welive by looking into our own heart, the heartthat beats within us all. There is a common thread for for that, Touchstone has brought the world manygreat movies under this banner, If the militant right objects to those projects, don't watch them, but please do not take away my right as an adult to enjoy them Disneyis a corporation with many facets. Entertainment is its primary goal. Disney quality is higher than ever. A widespread boycott of Disney because of this group's obsession with intolerance of and bigotry towardcertain Americansis preposterous. The Southern Baptists havetheir right to believe howthey want, but that does not take awaythe right of clear-thinking people to justifiably criticize their ex cesses, I say hoorayfor Disney! Keep up the good work and we will continue to purchase your high-quality products! oO KENT PRICE Salt LakeCity Breaking Trust The world must be sue-crazy or some- thing. Thestate trust lands administracase-Escalante National Monument. Ap- The monument wasdesignated to protect some of the most wondrous landscapes —a benefitto schoolchildren now and in the future. This unnecessary law- suit will deprive our schoolchildrenoffinancial support in the present, and attempts to deprive the nation of a great natural treasurein the future. TERI UNDERWOOD Salt Lake City Qo stated that cost was correctly identified as the “nub” ofthe problem of whatto do with Moab's tailings pile. You are right, but for the wrong reasons. The government was supposed to relo- cate 3 million tons oftailings abouta halfmile in Monticello, San Juan County, for $52 million in 1989. By 1995, the cost was up to $116 million and is now $226 mil- lion, It could be anyone's guess whatit would cost to movethe 10-million-ton Atlas pile 18 miles, but simple arithmetic and common sense show it could easily approach $700 million-800 million. It must be that Grand County wants some of this pork-barrel spending, apparently even if it means bankrupting the company that helped makeit what it is. ‘The specialinterests say they can move the Atlas pile for $20,355,396 in 314 days. Asa consulting engineer,I categorically refute that estimate; however, Tam sure that Atlas would be more than willing to take them up on it to get the matter resolved. of our schoolchildren, Isn't that what the ‘The special interests say the pile is threatening the drinking water for 18 million downstream users and must be er to just sue. Give me a break This lawsuit is not in the best interests trust lands administration should be most concerned with, or have we sold that ide al out for the gloryof the courtroom? If the trust lands administrators were looking for a way to waste a chunk of money, they have succeeded admirably. Too bad that the money they are wasting belongstoour schoolchildren JP BONN Salt Lake City come involved. This is the message I heard from 419 high school students, representing 39 Utah high schools, who recently participated in the Close Up Foundation governmentstudies program in Washington,D.C. e For a full week, the students had the opportunity to develop a better understanding of our democratic process. By observing congressional proceedings, questioning journalists and meeting with governmentexperts,the abstracts of history and the process of governing were transformed into concrete experiences. In addition, students were able to share their views with their peers from other areas of the country. deeper awareness of their responsibilities as citizens and the realization that a single individual can makea difference. Their enthusiasm for involvementin the democratic processis to be admired. The Close Up experience was made possible through the strong support of parents,teachers and schools. Also, vari- ‘ous companies and organizations helped make Close Up fellowshipsavailable to students in financial need. These sponsors include the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and Union Pacific Corporation. On behalf of all of us at Close Up, I would like to thank all who madethe experience possible. DEBORA MATTIKO Utah Outreach Coordinator Close Up Foundation Alexandria, Va. o The Best Solution for Moab Tailings Is to Cap Them in Place In the June 11 7ribune editorial, you tly, they think that it would beeasi- p The Close-Up Experience “ Democracyis not a spectatorsport. For it to survive andflourish, weall must be- Participants returned home with a guideline coming from Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson? The one lesson that makes Disney products resonate so powerfully is that tion should be working on swapping the school trust lands out of the Grand Stair PUBLISHER Letters are condensed andedited. Becauseof the volume of mail re- have those parks exclude individuals ac- Everett Dominic Welch i sighted andtotallyineffective at best. Koop and former FDA head David Kessler, twoof the nation's most influential anti-smokingactivists, insist that the UTAH'S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1871 Jorry O'Brien(1983-1904) ly to be published. ® Piease type and double space. dictatorial and fanatical at worst, short- riseto a black market TheSalt LakeTribune PAST PUBLISHERS veloping a single themeare more like- FDAshowthat regulation would notgive Former Surgeon General C, which you live are kept confidential. @ Keepit short. Concise letters de- Magic Kingdom. find this radical action rejection of everything produced by the the Beast,” and ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” to name but a few. Disneyis involved nowin projects with adult themes. There is a viable market From The Los Angeles Times telephone numbers, Information oth- er than your name and the city in right-wing assemblycalls for an all-out overcoming adversity and intolerance by looking to one’s own strengths, Thisis the lesson of “The Lion King,” “Beauty and ANOTHER VIEW gotiated by40stateattorneys general and the tobaccoindustry lies in its attempt to restrict the Food and Drug Administration’s authority to regulate nicotine, an addictive drug. Repairing that flaw presents no insurmountable challenge. Corporation and ABC shows blatantly howextremist and out of touch thereligious right has become. Because they disagree with some of Disney's programming and corporate judgments, this Where to Write @ When submitting letters to the Public Forum, please include yourfull name, signature, address and daytime moved to a newlocation, away from the river, 1 strongly disagree, The 1995-06 state river-water sampling program con- firmed that I am correct and the ial interests are wrong. Evenif the pile did affect the river, nothing can be gained by movingit, One only has to understand the technical reports to grasp this fact; “The horses already left the barn.” If the specialinterests arein truth concerned about the river's water quality, they should be demanding the immediate in-place reclamation of the pile to prevent any more needless seepage, not seeking to delay the project in the courts. If they are indeed sincere, they do not comprehend the overall problem or the technical issues, I understand they are advisors to Rep, George Miller of California, whois leading a coalition calling on Vice President Gore to intervene. It is amazing that one has only to assert oneself as an expert to be one! One of our county commissioners said it all when hetold his followers at their recent news media event why the pile should be moved — aesthetics, The small crowd cheered resoundingly, They do not care what others have to pay. They are quick to stop projects that will create capital and will go to any lengthsto create worthless work that will cost 1s dearly, Is it any wonder we havesuch a frightening: ly high federal deficit? They are now pushing to convert this project into Title 1 status, wherein the governmentwill do the job. This is ridiculous! The in-place reclamation can be done economically by Atlas Corp, with less health and safety risk and achieve a better result, Their $15 million pricetag is a bargain for the U.S, taxpayer, whois responsible for 56 percent of the cost. ‘There is no doubt in my mind how this job should be done: Cap the pile in place as soon as possible ROBERT 8. PATTISON joaly * + |
