Milosevic’s War Crimes

It hardly makes any sense when some politicians and observers say the recent indictment of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic will hinder the current efforts for a peace settlement in Kosovo (“In the Bunker,” Europe, June 7). It has been said all too rightly for four years, since the Dayton peace accord was signed, that Bosnia and Herzegovina will know no lasting peace until the wartime Bosnian Serb leaders, Radovan Karadzic and Gen. Ratko Mladic, are caught and brought before the Yugoslav war-crimes tribunal to answer for their crimes. Both in Bosnia and in Kosovo, Milosevic was the very first initiator of the conflict, and, as such, the first person to blame for the way it was conducted. Far from being an obstacle, the indictment of Milosevic actually constitutes a very long-awaited first step toward genuine, lasting peace in what was the peaceful, multiethnic nation of Yugoslavia before he tore it all apart. Bernard J. Henry Garches, France

Thank God a woman, Louise Arbour, was brave enough to call Milosevic a war criminal. Bill Clinton, Wesley Clark and the rest of the NATO leaders will have to, at long last, see him for what he is. Do they have the guts to throw him out of the game? Gabrielle C. Gibbons Boca Raton, Florida

Milosevic, who has been issued an arrest warrant by an international tribunal, should accept the moral responsibility for the present Kosovo mayhem and step down. Syed Altaf Ahmed Madras, India

A Battle Over Early Americans

How fascinating is our persistent desire to uncover who was first to arrive on our continent (“The First Americans” Society & the Arts, June 7). As a scientific debate, and a study of applied archeology and anthropology, it’s a subject quite unlike any other. To have longstanding beliefs upset by hard evidence is unsettling for most people, who generally believe that once a theory is learned, it becomes hard fact. What I find disturbing in your article is the underlying theme that the new findings are stirring up political passions. I cannot fathom how the existence of a population predating the North American Indian tribes in any way threatens their position in history. Stephen F. Czetty New Milford, New Jersey

Your article “The First Americans” discussed who inhabited America first. I find it troubling that there is such a concern over something that seems trivial compared with the problems we are facing today, such as Kosovo and school violence. Is finding the answers to who got here first going to solve any of our current problems? Rather than focusing on where we came from, shouldn’t we rather worry about where we’re going? Patricia A. Mazzei Caracas, Venezuela

I was interviewed for “The First Americans” and know your reporter was aware that Joseph M. McAvoy of the Nottoway River Survey first found and carbon-dated the earliest pre-Clovis components at the Cactus Hill archeological site in Virginia. I would never take credit for someone else’s work, but since my name is the only one attached to the Cactus Hill site in your story, readers could conclude that our group made the pioneering discoveries there. In fact, we only confirmed what McAvoy discovered. Michael F. Johnson Falls Church, Virginia

Status Quo in China

I felt indignant upon reading your articles about my motherland China (“Broken Dreams,” Asia, June 7). For many years America gave China an ideal impression of itself. Also, due to lack of information about current events in the ’80s, we were not aware of the outside world. Many Chinese therefore viewed America through rose-colored glasses. Today, however, the romantic image has faded. Why do Americans keep making things difficult for us? I think they fear that one day China will take over their Big Brother status. America just wants to profit economically as well as politically from China. Ma Yeqin Singapore

Let’s remind the Chinese, who unfortunately lost three citizens in the Belgrade bombing, about what happened at Tiananmen Square in 1989. The Chinese government doesn’t need sympathy nor apologies, but the relatives of the dead do. I’m not just referring to the three who were killed in Belgrade, but also to the students, workers and intellectuals who were killed by the Chinese Army in 1989. Has the Chinese government ever heard of the word hypocrisy? Caroline von Perner Norrtalje, Sweden

When I saw the worldwide response of the Chinese to the unfortunate bombing of their embassy, I couldn’t help thinking about the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1951. More than a million Tibetans have died as a result. Tibetans were thrown into prison, monasteries were bombed and nuns and monks were killed. The Tibetan culture, its buildings, its people, its great literature and teachings have largely been destroyed. The illegal occupation of China still continues. However, under the guidance of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetans’ response continues to be compassion, forgiveness and nonviolence. Betty White Jamaica, Wisconsin

A small group of Chinese wants to have a little fun (“Wasted Youth”)? Let them. As a 24-year-old American who has lived in various European communities, I can honestly say I’ve seen it all. Even in some of the more beautiful European cities, one may be surprised to discover what goes on in the streets after the art galleries have long closed. And we Americans had our Woodstock. More power to China’s youth. After all, a society is not truly a society without a few dissidents to keep it healthy. Christopher Leonard Sovata, Romania

Ignoring Africa

My congratulations to NEWSWEEK for publishing Jesse Jackson’s article “A Tale of Two Countries,” about America’s nonaction concerning the wars on the African continent (World View, June 7). The discrepancy both in the reporting and in the aid allocated to Sierra Leone and Kosovo should trouble our conscience. I’ve been involved with various refugee situations in Africa and I can only plea for more coverage–not only sporadic but continuous coverage. There are at least 15 refugee-producing conflicts raging in Africa. We need to know about them and ask what countries like the United States can do, both in terms of bringing relief now and in ensuring such horrors will not be repeated. The media have a crucial role in shifting the basis of our political choices from what is profitable and popular to what is morally correct. Please continue. Michael A. Blume Rome, Italy

I agree with Jesse Jackson that most Americans are blissfully ignorant of the war in Sierra Leone. I would go further and say that most Americans are completely ignorant of the concept of Africa as more than a Third World starving continent. The truth is that Africa is so diverse that there is absolutely no blanket statement that can be made about African people that isn’t proved untrue elsewhere on the continent. The article reminds me of a comment by an old African anthropology professor, saying that the only thing he heard President Reagan say about Africa in the eight years he was in office was along the lines of “There seems to be a tribal conflict there.” Carolyn Lucas Yandell Kent, England

I enjoyed reading the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s article. As much as I try, I still do not understand the double standards of the developed countries. How can one explain the U.S. foreign policy toward Africa? Does America feel any moral obligation to Africa at all? President Clinton should re-address the U.S. commitment to the African countries that are embracing democratic ideals. Alhaji Sanyinna Tukur Sofia, Bulgaria

Do we intervene in Kosovo just to pat ourselves on the back, feeling we’re “making the world safe for democracy”? Do politicians give billions of dollars, military, even lives, just to claim in the next campaign that they, too, are defenders of human rights? Andrea Ferrin Tournefeuille, France

Hostage to the Past

Frederick Kempe, author of the book “Father/Land” indicates that we Germans still have to feel guilty about a past we are not responsible for (Society & the Arts, June 7). This is an insult to all Germans. As a member of his generation (I’m 43) I have no problems with events that took place before I was born. But I do have problems with being held hostage to the past. According to Kempe’s logic, remarkable German achievements would have been impossible, such as the reunification of East and West, the new German armed forces and European integration. Any healthy national identity is obviously impossible, too. I get the impression that some people are interested in a perpetuation of “German guilt” because we’re willing to pay for it. Helmut F. Luge Meinz, Germany

Brushing Up Leonardo

I’ve visited Italy in the last month and believe it’s safe to say that no two people on the street there agree on almost anything. So the touch-up of a revered masterpiece like “The Last Supper” is certain to get debate going for years to come (“One Leonardo, To Stay,” Europe, June 7). But despite the restorations, viewing the Sistine Chapel ceiling, “The Birth of Venus” or “The Last Supper” will forever be a feast for the imagination as well as the eye. All these magnificent works draw us in and make us ponder what was in the artist’s mind when they were first fashioned. They provide balm for the soul, and the crowds will undoubtedly keep coming–regardless of how they feel about the restoration controversy. Carol A. Lucas Portland, Oregon

Getting Connected

Your reports on technological developments are interesting, but it concerns me that these are presented as positive developments (“The New Digital Galaxy” Society & the Arts, May 31). Are we ready for a world where we’re dependent on a system that links everything from our bank accounts to our personal communications? The user will know next to nothing about the operation of the system. I can just imagine the viruses of the future–the refrigerator door won’t open; the washer goes on an infinite spin cycle. Or worse, as Bill Gates said in your article “Why the PC Will Not Die”: “Even though the underlying hardware, networks and software will become more complex, that complexity will be hidden from users.” Exactly. Joy LaFrance Bonn, Germany

It’s the turn of the century, and the future never seemed more exciting. With all these future technological gadgets around the house, with conveniences at your fingertips, with information ready when and where you would need it–I can’t wait to experience it all. But wait a minute. Everything in your house linked to the Internet? Your refrigerator connected to the supermarket? The toilet wired to some medical laboratory? Maybe George Orwell was right in his book “1984” after all. Is there a Big Brother lurking in the future? It is actually possible to control all these entities with one device. The paranoid side of my personality has been stirred–and I’m not so excited anymore. Steven Cuenca Makati City, Philippines

As I was reading the graphic “A Really Smart House,” I was reminded of the science-fiction short story “There Will Come Soft Rains,” written by Ray Bradbury many years ago. The story is about a house that is totally automated. All areas of the home serve its owners; from the alarm-clock wake-up call to the preparation of breakfast, lunch and dinner–even the cigar is prepared on an automated chair. The inhabitants, however, are absent as they have been obliterated by an earlier atomic attack. Interestingly, and hopefully, only the automated (Bradbury wrote well before the onslaught of digitalized computers) house is the truly prophetic insight. S. Alan Schweitzer Avon, Ohio

‘Star Wars’: Disappointing

I was one of the “lucky” Germans who got to see “Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace” before it opens here in August. I have for years eagerly been anticipating that moment. To make it short: I was disappointed. David Ansen’s critique, in which he concluded that the movie was a “disappointment,” was correct (“The Phantom Movie,” Society & the Arts, May 17). What disturbed me the most were the childish and superficial dialogue. Special effects alone may impress kids, but they do not necessarily make a good movie. Oliver Martin Friedberg, Germany

Clarification

Our May 17 story “The Selling of Star Wars,” described the movie’s original merchandising rights. Twentieth Century Fox’s role in that merchandising also bears mention. George Lucas and Fox shared the rights for 1976-1979, with Fox administering them. Lucas took full control in 1979.