European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 07, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes Tom Wicker Gorbachev Nof Bush is world s leading figure cd iarlottesv1lle, a. After a f Irum on arms control at the White Bur v to Miller Center Here some of those lending raised an interesting question who among the world s leaders would be most Likely to be believed if he or she a promising plan for peace among nations the name they reluctantly settled upon was thai of Mikhail Gorbachev. Remember that the question was not who might have such a plan or might be most Likely to devise one or whether its author would be sincere. The question was which National Leader the world would be most Likely to believe if he or she proposed a new peace plan. Gorbachev was the All but inevitable Choice because he alone among today s leaders joined in an agreement actually reducing the number of nuclear weapons in the world the inf treaty which caused his country to make a larger sacrifice of deployed weapons than the . He is pressing for further reductions in nuclear weapons and has taken the Lead in proposing cuts in conventional arms again appearing willing to make heavier cuts than those that would be required of the West. He agreed to and carried out the withdrawal of soviet troops from Afghanistan. O he is trying within the soviet Union to make economic and political reforms aimed at a More open and efficient society an Effort arousing the interest of the world. He seems willing to let similar re forms go Forward in formerly captive nations like Poland and Hungary. The sincerity of All these approaches May be questioned As Well As whether or not they can succeed or their author survive and some americans doubt that arms agreements acceptable to Moscow or the Reform of soviet society arc in the Best interests of the United . Rosenthal states. What seems abundantly Clear nevertheless is that Gorbachev appears to most of the world s Peoples to be More innovative courageous and farsighted than any other Leader on the scene the cautionary history of the soviet Union notwithstanding. Who in China for example could make a statement to the world that would Likely be As convincing in the cause of peace As one by Gorbachev might be today who is even certainly in command of events in China looking to the West is there a euro Pean Leader who could capture the world s attention As Gorbachev might certainly not the steely Thatcher or beleaguered Kohl and probably not the re served and aloof Mitterrand. Nor do the less powerful countries or the United nations offer a Leader of moral standing sufficient to lift him or her above relative National weakness someone of the International stature once attributed to Dag Hammarskjold of the United nations Jawaharlal Nehru of India or Olof palme of Sweden. That leaves George Bush in whom so far Little boldness innovation or farsightedness have been discerned. Whatever momentum toward another arms control agreement president Bush inherited from Reagan and Gorbachev for exam ple has been lost in his administration s snails Pace Security review. Soviet american relations and the Middle East have been left to fester Only tentative new approaches to Eastern Europe and third world debt have been suggested. Bush has paid lip service to per Stroika in the soviet Union but his defense Secretary openly predicted Gorbachev s downfall and replacement by a far More hostile soviet Leader Sug Gesting an administration unsure of its attitude on one of the most important questions it faces. The turn away from military pres sure in Central America was forced on Bush by Domestic politics. Japan has been alienated by the fax controversy. Nato is mostly opposed to Bush s Adamant refusal to negotiate with the Sovi ets on the less than crucial Issue of Battlefield nuclear weapons in West Germany though such negotiations offer More Opportunity than threat. Many of the world s Peoples customarily look to presidents of the United states As champions of peace but merely holding the office is not enough. The world needs Hope ideas Promise not dour responses to others initiatives not divided counsels and lame excuses. Until Bush offers a More positive vision of the future and some Promise of reaching it an expectant world is Likely to listen to Mikhail Gorbachev instead. C new Yorito to not Don t let Public anger subvert Law and order new York please wait just a few question about that gang of thugs arrested for beating and rap ing the Jogger in the Park. Who ruled they arc guilty what judge listened to the arguments of their de sense lawyers when did he make the crucial decision about admissibility of their confessions what did he then say to the jury before they filed out to consider a verdict what jury the City Public press officialdom politicians has convicted the arrested gang members before trial face it. Now All that is left is to lock them up for the rest of their lives. As a Newspaperman i have been watching and Reading astonished As journalistic rules about not assuming or implying guilt before a trial went into the garbage can. The people in jail Are wolves no worse than animals some kind of hideous mutants. That was what some of the tabloid columnist and headlines screamed. Most of the rest of the press print and electronic also have decided those people in jail arc guilty and hardly bother to hide it. Sprinkling an alleged Here and there does not change the tone. And As far As i know no politician or major office Holder has made a Point of stressing that under Ameri can Law there arc such things As trials and they Are supposed to come before conviction. It is sad to see a great City wipe out one essential difference Between us and the kind of people who beat and rape belief in Law and order. If we really believe in Law we have to let it take its course not Short circuit it by what we write or say. I we really want order we must follow the understand Ings upon which it depends. One of them is the understanding against verbal Lynch ing which is what judgment before trial amounts to. I know people i despise arc saying some of these things including the hate paddlers the lawyers who show up in court whenever they Sec a Chance to turn Black against White. They remain despicable the More so when they Are pict Stic. Nor do i have affection for those professional civil libertarians obsessed with sympathy for criminals. We need More arrests More jails harder punish ments particularly of drug criminals and All assault ers no matter what that costs the taxpayers. Jails Are still cheaper than crime. And i do not bleed a drop for any Young hoodlums who wander the streets looking for trouble. Rapists or not these gangs threaten every one of us. Bail regulations in cases involving any personal assault should be tightened not loosened. Yes we All know the combination of poverty the drug society and family life destroyed by irresponsible teen age pregnancies docs produce Street thugs and other criminals. Just the same until we do something about it we All have the right to walk the streets or jog in the Parks anywhere any time. There is a lot of death penalty talk around. Editorials and columns Are written for and against All on the Assumption that the gang members in jail arc guilty. 1 believe the death Penally can be justified in Law and am All for it against War criminals As in Nuremberg and against hostage takers and similar terrorists. I am not yet confident enough in the infallibility of the courts to Campaign for it in civilian criminal Law. But the death penalty is not the Point. The Point is that whatever the punishment it is essential to Law and order that a guilty judgment by jury or Public come Only after a trial. That must be seen to be True by their families their neighbors All of us. The responsibility for avoiding Public prejudgment belongs particularly to those who reach readers View ers or voters. In this Case that thought barely receives even lip service. .,.,members of the gang can still get a fair trial in new York. The idea that Only people who say they have no knowledge of a crime can serve on a jury is ludicrous. In a country literally wired to news it produces juries either of Nincompoop or liars. So the problem with Public prejudgment is not chiefly its Impact on the eventual trial. What is so deeply disturbing is the effect that callousness about prejudging can have not on criminals but on american the press and to prejudge criminal cases we damage the one thing that sustains us the Constitution. If officials keep silence about prejudgment or encourage it they violate the civic decency they Are supposed to if the Public is unaware or does not care it diminishes what it wants most respect for Law and for order. C now Yolk times
