SIMONA SHARONI
Author of Gender and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Sharoni is currently a professor at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. She said today: “If there is any relationship between the recent mini-intifada and the negotiations, it is that the two issues that have been central to the protests — the Palestinian refugees and the release of political prisoners — have not been seriously addressed. Those who are familiar with the Oslo Accords, its supplements and its rocky implementation should not be surprised that Palestinians have once again taken to the streets…. If Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon is designed to de-escalate tensions in the region, one is hard-pressed to understand the increased Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon in recent weeks.”
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FADIA RAFEEDIE
As Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has given commencement addresses around the country this month, she has repeatedly been met with protests against the continued sanctions on Iraq. The most notable incident occurred at the University of California at Berkeley where Rafeedie, the University Medalist, denounced the U.S.-imposed sanctions in her speech which followed Albright’s. As Albright spoke, 59 protesters were ejected from the hall.
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EDMOND KELLER
Director of the UCLA African Studies Center, Keller said today: “The Ethiopians do not want to halt their advance since they are winning and are well prepared for a very brutal, short war against the Eritreans. We need to put some teeth in the arms embargo that the UN has imposed. Once again, the West saw a looming crisis in Africa and did little, wishing it would just go away…”
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JOHN BURROUGHS
Burroughs, executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee on Nuclear Policy, monitored the recently completed Non-Proliferation Review Conference at the UN. Burroughs said today: “The Clinton administration needs to act on the commitments it made at the conference in negotiating with the Russians and working with Congress in pursuing arms reductions and ending reliance on the nuclear threat.”
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For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy: Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
