European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 26, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse 2�?o a it t �00 o or �?o0 we a w ? a saturday january 26, 1991william Safire ? 1�c�?T.,�,. A a a r a a i��.? a a v Quot w a a a i win a r a it the stars and stripes Page 11 column massacres blow away soviets Rosy image the second skirmish of the soviet civil War following a bloody sunday a in Lithuania took place in russian occupied Riga Latvia. A Black Beret troops a personally Loyal to the dictator Gorbachev staged a predawn assault on police Headquarters killing five and wounding 10. A cameraman filming the murders a the nations leading filmmaker a was also killed. The excuse the latvians had not turned in All their arms. The penalty massacre. In Moscow the dictator held a no questions news conference. He denied As usual the command had come from him offered Crocodile tear condolences and called for an investigation. That White Wash to come will find that sleeping latvians provoked the attack and deserved to die. Who Are those Black berets they Are perestroika a praetorian guard formed three years ago to be Mikhail Gorbachev a goons if other More regular troops refuse to kill protesting civilians. Last week a tank division of the red army stationed in byelorussian refused Transfer to Latvia two tank divisions already in Latvia showed no inclination to do dirty work on civilians especially after Boris Yeltsin called on russian soldiers to refuse orders to fire on crowds. This then became a Job for Gorbachev a hand picked Interior minister Boris Pugo a a the new Beriau a and the Black berets directly under his command. These Are not elite soldiers a indeed they would Cut and run if faced by organized units of any army a but Are bully boys with a criminal mindset similar to the nazi s.s., eager to smash and kill defenceless civilians courageous cameramen or local police. When the Kab in Riga sent a couple of operatives to the apartment of Dainis. Ivans head of the Independence minded popular front and the most popular political figure in Latvia the agents found him gone. That was because the elected parliament placed the Power to form a latvian government in exile in his hands to be used if the Gorbachev crackdown leads to a puppet regime it sent him with his family to Sanctuary in Sweden a nation that has shown toughness in pressing for Baltic Independence. Ivans along with his Lith blotter Book uranian counterpart is now in the United states to plead for our governments backing in resisting Moscow a War on his people. He a not getting it. The Baltic will continue to get lip service Bland statement James j. Kilpatrick di99i from the White House about How we arc a deeply troubled about the gremlins reversion to Type but no diplomatic recognition a not even a pledge to link a Moscow Summit to a visit to Riga. Ivans is being listened to but not heard. We had lunch the other Day in Washington. A year ago we met in his Riga a apartment a where he was Home writing his country a declaration of Independence and Early in my agitation for Baltic Independence. Today he is still a determined idealist but no longer the crusading journalist and environmentalist he is the elected vice president of a nation victimized by Kremlin duplicity. Like his compatriots he has no More illusions about glasnost or Rosy promises of peaceful dialogue on the Way to Freedom. Gorbachev s propagandists according to this 35-year-old Leader Are telling the Baltic not to expect any help front the a United states a that we will be tied up in a Long unsuccessful War in the persian Gulf. Lest the Baltic Peoples do not believe this the Gorbachev Black berets will take Over the local broadcasting facilities As they did on Lithuania s a bloody Ivans says the latvians have barricaded themselves at broadcasting facilities As Well As around their parliament. A at first we will make peaceful resistance but if they shoot our people we will organize volunteers and we will defend ourselves. have to shoot us Brave words but what of the half of Latvia a population not ethnic latvian will it go along with the Quisling Pugo and his Black berets a russians Are joining us on the barricades. Two of the policemen killed were has brought us together against communism and Freedom is not won by television inner views or by pleas for outside help or by Reliance on the assurances of dictators. The terrible truth is that Freedom is most often won on the barricades after cacti fice when real soldiers come to the Rescue of countrymen being savaged by the dictators killers and when outsiders Are shamed into diplomatic support. A the tree of Liberty a wrote Thomas Jefferson a must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and Mikhail Gorbachev is making that sad conclusion of 17s7 hold True in 1991. C the now Porto tiros a school Bible ruckus a visiting mama saw the two books and had a Missy. The school principal went into conniption. The District school Board fled to the mountains. Then the american civil liberties Union and the anti defamation league of by Nai by Rith got into the act. The concerned women for America leaped to the defense of an overwhelmed teacher. After a while everyone wound up in Federal court and the Story is Worth your attention. It began at Berkeley gardens elementary school in Denver on a parents night in september 1987. By ill Luck a Parent wandered into the classroom of fifth Grade teacher Kenneth Roberts there her Eye fell upon a Small Bookcase containing 239 books. Most of the books were at the level of a the care and feeding of gerbils a but aha. What did her inquisitive Eye behold but a the Bible in pictures and a the life of the visitor was aghast. She ran to the office of principal Kathleen mad Igan to report the horrid sight. Madigan at once entered or. Roberts classroom perused the two books and directed or. Roberts to remove them from the classroom Library.�?�. A. While she was there Madigan noticed a Bible that Roberts kept on his desk. The dreadful sight quite unnerved her. She ordered him to keep this suspicious object out of sight during school hours. She also discovered that Froid time to time during silent Reading periods Roberts had been Reading to himself from the Bible. This had to a lop forthwith not Content Madigan visited the school Library a and removed a Bible from the Library having thus wiped out the last hint Trace or vestige of potential Christian influence from the school Madigan threatened Roberts with disciplinary action for insubordination if he got out of line again. Naturally everyone wound up in . District court. There was some confusion suit against Madigan and the school District had been filed in the name of three Kelly White Kelly Nelson and Amy Nelson. On examination it transpired that Kelly Kelly and Amy never had been students of Kenneth Roberts. They had no Access to the forbidden books. Their Little psyches had suffered no demonstrable damage whatever. Judge Sherman g. Finesilver threw them out of court for want of standing. That left Roberts own suit against the school officials. He pleaded that his first amendment right to the free exercise of religion had been violated. He also claimed violation of his right of free Speed in the defendants countered by arguing that Roberts actions taken All in All amounted to conduct respecting an a establishment of religion Quot in violation of the Constitution. The trial judge also threw Roberts out of court or mostly out of court. In january of 1990, judge by Silver summarily ordered the Bible restored to the school ,.but otherwise the defendants pres ailed. The casement up to the 10th circuit. On dec. 17, the appellate court voted 2-1 to affirm. Judge Monroe g. Mckay writing for the majority took 28 pages to conclude that the school officials had acted properly a for the valid purpose of preventing Roberts from promoting christianity in a promoting there was not one word of evidence that Roberts Ever had opened his Mouth about the Christian religion. He had never proselytize anyone. So far. As the record discloses no child Ever even looked at the potentially dangerous books. The books just sat there on the shelf Doggy on the outside possibility that someday some 11-year-old might want to learn a. Litile bit about one of the great towering figures in. World history and one of the greatest literature Ever put to press. The majority a decision was preposterous. Senior circuit judge James e. Barrett vigorously dissented. He denounced Madigan a insistence a on the obliteration of All Christian books from the school her extreme stance amounted to disparagement and hostility toward the Christian religion. Nothing in Birst Amend ment jurisprudence supports her a unwarranted actions. Roberts conduct was passive. Well i Hope the concerned women for America will finance Roberts Appeal to the supreme court and i Hope further that the High court agrees to hear the Case. If la 5 facts in this trivial Case support an of relic Ion a words have lost their meaning. But then what else is new a <1. A a a re
