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The Citizen, 1991-04-10, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 1991. Opinion. War a hollow victory Any self-satisfaction members of the United Nations Coalition had over driving Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait can now be put down to a hollow victory as the pictures of starving Kurdish refugees dominate our newspapers and television screens. The vengeance shown by Hussein in slaughtering Kurds because some rose in rebellion against him should dispell any lingering doubts that he is just as evil as propaganda surrounding the Gulf War portrayed him to be. He has turned on his own people using weapons he had feared to use on the coalition forces. He has left Kuwait in near darkness even in daylight because of the 500 oil well fires his troops set before they withdrew. The man is a huge international criminal. But the rest of us aren’t looking too good either. The old expression about “loose lips sinking ships” could apply to U.S. President George Bush in the whole issue of the Kurds. Wishfully thinking out loud, President Bush, encouraged dissident groups to rebel against Saddam. It was up to the people of Iraq to take care of their president, he had said. The Kurds and the Shiittes perhaps believed the media reports about how Saddam’s army and air force had been crushed by the allies. Initially their rebellions met with success but Saddam put the helicopter gunships and the tanks that hadn’t been used against the allies, to war against the rebels. There are reports he also used chemical weapons to win back the cities taken by the rebellious minorities. Once the rebels were routed, Saddam turned to revenge, taking out his frustrations on the innocent as well as the soldiers, bringing about the charge of genocide: that he wants to wipe out the entire Kurdish people. Worried about his tactics, nearly a million Kurds have tried to escape to Turkey and Iran, only to be blocked at the border. They sit, starving, unprotected from the cold mountain air, waiting for help. Our help has been slow in coming. By the end of last week our governments had started to send aid but it may be too late for many of the women and children freezing in the mountains. We have failed these people but they will pay the price: If we are not prepared to support people who rebel against cruel dictatorship, we should learn to keep our mouths shut. Too many times such as in the Hungarian rebellion of 1956 or the Czechoslovakian uprising of 1968, we have given verbal support to people only to watch in horror when their leaders cracked down. We can betray people by giving them a home when we’re not prepared to back it up with force. Mr. Bush has talked at great length about the New World Order he envisions. Let part of that order be that we be open and honest with governments and with rebel factions and not play games with the lives of innocent people. Farmers share problems For many Ontario farmers the announcement of a new interest relief program from the provincial government last week was welcome news. For many it means they may now have money to plant crops this spring. Ironically, at the same time the new program was being announced, the newspapers and airwaves were filled with stories of people in the Soviet Union and Albania angrily looking at empty store shelves wondering where their food was to come from. In Canada, farmers have been hard hit financially because they’ve produced so much food they can’t make back what it costs them to produce it. Although the communist countries are plagued with inefficien­ cies in bureaucratic system of food processing and delivery, the basic problem remains that farmers just aren’t being paid enough for them to produce more food. The problem is the same in Canada where farmers in many commodities, just can’t make a living on the price they’re being paid. The difference is that in North America nobody starves because if one farmer goes bankrupt, there’s always another who thinks he can break even if he just grew a little more than he did last year. There’s no doubt that for consumers, our western free enterprise system is much the better because our store shelves are always full. Few farmers here, owning their own land and feeling more in control of their lives would trade their situation with Soviet farmers but one still must wonder whether our system is that much better for farmers than the mess in Eastern Europe. Looking Backward ONE YEAR AGO APRIL 11,1990 Another new business opened its doors as Bell’s Discount Centre and Variety Store in the former Blyth Supermarket building located at the north end of downtown. Owner, John Bell of Seaforth and his wife Cheryl own two similar stores in Lucknow and New Hamburg. Jodee Medd’s experiment on the affects of fruit tree insecticide on yellow jacket wasps impressed the judges at the Huron County Science Fair in Clinton so much, they chose her as the winner in the grade seven biological division to go on to the Canadian Science Fair Competition in Windsor. Jodee is a student at Blyth Public School. As the result of an early morning accident on Highway 86, in Morris Township, the driver of a 1989 Chev pick-up, Lori McKague, 17, of RR 1, Belmore, and her pas­ senger, 17-year-old Craig King of RR 1, Gbrrie sustained minimal injuries. According to a spokesper­ son from the Wingham OPP, the pick-up skidded on the icy road, entered the south ditch and rolled. THREE YEARS AGO APRIL 6,1988 Blyth’s Betty Battye was pre­ sented with a pin on behalf of the Huron County Board of Education, in recognition of the many hours of selfless volunteer work she contri­ butes to school children each year. Mrs. Battye has taught gymnastics classes after school hours at Blyth Public School for the past 10 years, all on a volunteer basis. Always mindful of her work, the board has honoured Mrs. Battye on several other occasions over the years. The Brussels Crusaders captured the W.O.A.A. Intermediate “A” Championship with a thrilling, suspense-filled 8-7 victory. Larry Giousher received a gas barbecue from Grant Sparling of Sparling’s Propane as the prize in the March draw held by the Blyth Minor Ball Association. Beetlejuice was playing at the Park Theatre, Goderich this week. FIVE YEARS AGO APRIL 9,1986 Sharron Dobson of Ethel was recently a winner of a trip to Expo from entering a draw at the McDonald’s restaurant in Hanover. Wong Yee Fun won the Royal Canadian Legion Public Speaking Contest at Mount Forest. She now goes on to area level and will present her speech at the Aurora Legion. The topic of her speech is her trip from Malaysia to Canada. Conestoga College held their awards banquet for the Radio and Television and Broadcast Jour­ nalist of 1986 (includes a $100 bursary) and the London Canadian Association of Consumers Rogers Cable T.V. award in recognition of an academic standing and contribu­ tion to College and Community ($1,000 scholarship). The Citizen. P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. N0M 1H0 Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 P.O Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont NOG 1H0 Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021 The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $20.50/year ($19.16 plus $134 C.S.T.] for local; $41.73/year ($39.00 plus $2.73 G.S.T.] for local letter carrier in Coderich, Hanover, Listowel, etc. and out-of-area (40 miles from Brussels]; $60.00/year for U.S.A, and Foreign. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited. Advertising Deadlines: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth. We are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright. Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel, Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships. (♦CNA 1990 BLUE RIBBON AWARD Editor & Publisher, Keith Roulston Production Manager, Jill Roulston Advertising Manager, Dave Williams Second Class Mail Registration No. 6968