Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - March 19, 2001, Winnipeg, Manitoba Focus a11 Macii 2001 must use troops to halt guerrilla violence by Trudy Rubin its testing time for the Bush administration in the the Bush Campaign mantra was that we should bring our nato troops Home from Bosnia and Koso the busies backed off after the europeans rightly complained their troops were doing most of the Job of stabilizing the but the unwillingness to do its share is encouraging a few Hundred albanian guerrillas to grow increasingly the guerrillas Are smug gling arms Over the Kosovo Border to fight in areas of Serbia and Macedo Nia populated mainly by ethnic Alba this raises the Long feared spectre of a War to create a greater Albania that could fracture much of the most embarrassing is that peacekeepers patrol the Section of the Kosovo Border across which the guerrillas the Bush administration wont let them do their Job Well enough to thwart the trouble maybe its the Somalia syndrome the notion that the military should avoid the risk of casualties at any Cost that holds the administration or maybe Bush has bought the myth Bill Clinton once believed that the people of the Balkans Are doomed to fight maybe he Doest grasp that conditions have improved since the vicious ethnic wars of the for one the leaders who fomented War in Bosnia and including Slobodan Are either dead or out of the peo Ples of the Balkans Are desperately looking to frantic to be included in european institutions and except for a few Hundred diehard no one in the Balkans wants to be Balkan any most understand that ethnic differ and any Border can be resolved Only by Albania has officially criticized the ethnic albanian guerrilla moderate ethnic albanian leaders in Macedonia have also condemned the guerrillas from Kosovo and scoff at the greater Albania in interviewed Arben Shaf Leader of Macedonia largest albanian we met in the City of not far from the current Skir he told it is pure imagination to think of joining Albania with the albanian parts of Macedo Nia and Kosovo because there Are rules in International you cant change Borders every our priority is to push Macedonia into the eur and nato and to bring Forward european standards and Val the bearded Xhaferi Contin he wants More rights for ethnic albanians within Macedonia including a controversial plan to have them made a constitutional nation equal to the but inside one we Are not talk ing about two states in he so Why Are ethnic albanian guerrillas fighting in because some Hartline fighters from the anti serb Kosovar liberation army la cant give up the struggle for a greater in part because of uncertainty Over the regions Kosovo remains under in administration and nato Uncer Tain when or whether it will gain Independence from across the Kosovo the Fate of ser Bias pre Sovo populated mainly by has been equally nato forbade serbian troops to enter a Buffer zone in the so la fighters Felt Safe to the situation became explosive after the defeat of Milosevic in recent serbian with the Advent of democratic Rule in Bel la hardliners feared nato might never let Kosovo split from so they started testing the to meet that nato must regain credibility toy halting the guerrilla violence on Kosovo Bor that requires to show their the Bush administration has forbidden peace keepers to Cross into the pre Sovo Valley on patrol to Check on the maybe the should Swap zones with the British who have shown that there willing and Able to use the la guerrillas Are the last gasp of the surely they Arent too much for the worlds strongest military Alliance including Trudy Rubin is a columnist and editor Ial Board member for the Philadelphia modern mexican Robin Hood keeps up fight for Indian rights Hes the modern Day version of Robin like his historical he too is a Champion of the poor and Down Rod in place of a Bow and he carries a cellular Tele phone and is linked to the worldwide and much of Mexico seems caught up in a love affair with Zap Atista guerrilla chieftain sub Comandante Marcos and his Indian now camped out in Mexico City Fol lowing their triumphant arrival in the capital a few Days some Are comparing the zapatistas1 enthusiastic reception in Mexico cites main Plaza with the dramatic arrival in the capital in 1914 of the famous Pancho Villa and his Indian counter Emiliano during the mexican but sub Comandante Marcos and Zap Atista leaders should be wary of such for both Pancho Villa and Emiliano As Well As the goals they fought for in the 1910 17 were ultimately betrayed by those they helped bring to ending their own Days at the hands of paid privileges while no one would suggest Marcos and other a Patistas Are going to suf Fer similar it would be naive to think the ruling establishment in Mexico is suddenly going to willingly give up the Power and privileges enjoyed since the mexican revolution to atone for the purported mistreat ment of the country indigenous population Over almost five that is what it would take for mexi cos indigenous people to break out of their longstanding poverty and marginalization from mainstream keeping the country indigenous population divided and docile since the arrival of Hernan Cortes and the conquistadors in 1519 has always been a key element for those control Ling Mexico thanks to the past collusion Between Mexico wealthy oligarchy about three dozen families of essentially european extraction and the corruption Ridden ruling Partido Revol Cionario institutional the nations indigenous groups and Mestizo populace mixed bloods were kept in a state of Semi subject to Pri Power Bro to thai in health Assembly not about scandal it is unfortunate that your article natives aim to shake scandal misses the entire Point of the Assembly of Manitoba chiefs special chiefs Assembly on the Winnipeg free press has been so engrossed with the shenanigans at health Canada for the past six you now appear incapable of seeing anything beyond the Story you Are am is not trying to shake a scan the Story you Are looking for has nothing to do with the Assembly your reporter if am is some How associated with the situation at the Sage eng treatment it is Only because the free press obsession with that Issue has stigmatized All first nations people and All first nations our Assembly dealt with the Dia betes crisis in our Dis abilities among our Hospital the shortage of Given the limitations of our time and the crucial nature of these in sure you can understand our reluctance to stray from our packed Agenda to accommodate your did your reporter not see All the Community people at our Assembly these Are the people we remain accountable we dont answer to the Winnipeg free or any other Media Dennis White Bird grand chief Assembly of Manitoba chiefs subsidize Farmers before its too late i am sick and tired of our hardworking Farmers having to stage rallies like the one at the legislative build ing this because the Federal Liberal govern ment is elected in Quebec and Ontario at every the Jean Chretien government is not putting a High Pri v Claudio Cruz associated press sub Comandante Marcos left shakes hands with Diego son of mexican revolutionary Leader Emiliano kers or local who treated them Little better than countless Indi ans still do not even speak the decision of har Vard educated president Carlos Salinas de Gor Tari to have Mexico join Naftal As of galvanized the previously passive people of Chia sub Oman Dante Marcos reputedly Rafael Sebastien a University professor was astute enough to use Taftas negative potential Impact on Dir poor Campesino to rally recruits to the Zap Atista move the zapatistasdetermiss3s nation to continue their famous uprising at struggle despite the Odds san Cristobal de against them has forced pm state3 m c a the Powers hate to acknowledge that the plight of Mexico indigenous people can no longer be ignored Indef As in the despite claims by the mexican authorities that they want to seek a peaceful Solu Tion to the Uris powerful forces within both the Pri and elsewhere were opposed to any truly significant changes undermining their own influence and Mexico indigenous people and mestizos in Many particularly the have been fighting for decades Over disputed land claims with Large their disputes frequently ending in including massacres of the steady erosion of the Pris stranglehold on Power with opposition parties now controlling a number of states and Vicente Fox of the conservative pan party elected last year As the first no Pri presi has changed the equation for Mexico 100 million Fox says he wants a True dialogue with Mexico indigenous but such a dialogue would have to Lead to Concrete including wide ranging reforms to Benefit the coun try impoverished Many of whom have had to leave their villages to seek work in the cities or to Cross the Border not enough ending oppression and human rights abuses wont be to pro vide the country disadvantaged with the real possibility of breaking out of their Circle of poverty will require providing greater educational Possi vocational plus Access to health and social programs to improve their daily by pro Viding such including Agri cultural the government could improve standards of living and also curb the flow of migrants to the the latter phenomenon having created an Urban subclass devoid of any meaningful prospects for the while such reforms would be a significant step the Road ahead would still be arduous As Mexico numerous ethnic and linguistic groups try to reconcile their differ the situation in Southern states has become even More complicated and dangerous As religious divisions Between the majority Catholic Church and protestant evangelicals increasingly Lead to friction within the same local politicians and Large landowners used such divisions to sow further resulting in expulsion of thousands of indigenous people from their own Odds the a Patistas determination to continue their struggle despite the Odds against them has forced the Powers hate to acknowledge that the plight of Mexico indigenous people can no longer be ignored As in the president Salinas freed Mexico Economy from and Canadian Trade president Fox needs to free his people from poverty and repress welcomes letters from they must include the authors address and Telephone letters May be letters to the 1355 Mountain r2x fax 6977412 email Ortity on the terrible situation facing our Prairie i Hope canadians realize they have some of the cheapest and highest Quality food in the you get that food from our hardworking Grain Doest grow on Bay Street in Toronto or Portage and main in win i Hope canadians write their maps to demand a subsidy for our Farmers before food prices go sky just like our natural prime minister Wake up Keith Fox Winnipeg congratulations on smoking ban Way to bombers congratulations on your decision to ban smoking in the stands at Winnipeg Blue bomber games what a healthy exam ple you Are providing your especially the i Hope you also soon consider Banning smoking in the main food areas there i go to the Garden City mall but usually stay away from the food court because the cigarette smoke there sometimes makes me feel ill and bothers my Throat and Winnipeg could be a cleaner and healthier place to if City Council soon banned secondhand smoke in All outdoor and indoor Public Aaron Yanofsky Grade 6 Winnipeg doctors visits wont put food on table As a Low income single Parent of four children living in the inner City of it was with great interest that i read kids pay for poverty March the statistics Are indeed i agree with Leigh Wincott identification of the relationship Between poor health and problems associated with Low the social planning Council of win Harvest study mini mum welfare inadequate for March 7 clearly concluded that Low income families often do not have enough Money to have healthy doctors suggestion to have children in their offices More often will not help Low income immunizations will not put nourishing food on the regular visits to a doctors office will not improve sub Standard Nancy Grant Winnipeg dont blame teasers for shootings i am responding to the letter that appeared in the March 14 edition of your newspaper from Michelle care in the is Chretien suggested that the recent incidents of school violence that have plagued North american High schools Are to be blamed equally on the kids who allegedly tease other students and the kids who actually commit heinous acts such As school i found this statement very school taunting has been going on for during my Public school which Only ended last i saw just about All of my fellow Stu dents get taunted at one time or another of More than it want a pleasant experience for but such experiences hardly give students who Are picked on a licence to retaliate against their tormentors with any form of to suggest that the students who per formed the shootings at Columbine High school or More recently at san Tana High school Are any less responsible for the unspeakable acts they have committed simply because they were taunted by their classmates is both offensive and Jonathon Naylor flin flon doonesbury by Garry Trudeau Poth it that the two Prink what can ipod you fort ;