Letters to the editor

Stem cells

Christian Toto in “Brain injuries to newborns,” (Metropolitan, Aug. 22) tells us that collecting and using umbilical stem cells is less controversial than using embryonic stem cells because they are typically discarded.

While that is a valid argument, umbilical cells are less controversial because no one is killed in the process of collecting them. The donor is also the recipient, avoiding issues of exploitation. Regardless of one’s moral perspective, it would behoove us all to at least understand the argument.

JANET BUTTERS

Gaithersburg

Religion and Yugoslavia

I am writing in support of Michael Djordjevich’s arguments presented in his three-part Op-Ed series (“The Balkan Mirror,” Aug. 15; “Toward a Greater Albania,” Aug 16; “The New World Disorder, Aug. 17) and to refute some arguments made by Arijana Harris (“The ’Balkan Mirror,’” Letters, Aug. 24). Ms. Harris relies on the Yugoslav fairy tale propaganda rather than on historical facts researched by several academics and political scientists.

As an example, Ms. Harris states that secession of Slovenia and Croatia had little to do with religion. As a matter of fact, it had a great deal to do with religion.

After the death of communist dictator Tito, the Vatican revived the ancient policy of European division between the Roman and Byzantine parts.

The Yugoslav Republic of Slovenia was mono-ethnic and almost 100 percent Catholic, while the Yugoslav Republic of Croatia was predominantly Catholic with a 12 percent Serbian Christian Orthodox minority. Hence, Slovenia and Croatia belonged to the Roman Europe together with Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia.

The other Yugoslav republics had predominant Serbian Orthodox and Muslim populations and thus belonged to the Byzantine Europe together with Russia. The Vatican was successful in convincing a number of European political parties to support its position.

Vicious secession campaigns were initiated in Germany and Austria. Germany, as the leading member of the European Community (now European Union), took the lead and coerced most other EC partners in dismembering Yugoslavia.

Germany recognized the secessionist republics of Slovenia and Croatia on Dec. 23, 1991, the Vatican on Jan. 12, 1992, and the EC on Jan. 15. The United States’ recognition did not come until April 6.

In contrast to the Vatican’s policy, initially the U.S. policy was to preserve Yugoslavia, as illustrated with Secretary of State James Baker’s visit to Belgrade in June 1991. For 10 hours, Mr. Baker shuttled from one room to another with the heads of all Yugoslav republics repeating the same arguments for preserving integrity of Yugoslavia.

Four days after Mr. Baker’s departure, Slovenia and Croatia unilaterally declared their independence, casting Yugoslavia into a political and constitutional limbo. The ensuing series of events culminated in the Serbo-Croat civil war. Former U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance characterized it as the Genscher’s war (Hans Dietrich-Genscher was Germany’s foreign minister).

Slobodan Milosevic and his socialists wanted to preserve Yugoslavia. Faced with the fait accompli, they decided to let Slovenia go but supported the Serbian minority in Croatia.

It was not his intention to prevent the Croats or any other nation from leaving Yugoslavia, but he wasn’t going to allow anybody to drag the Serbs out with them against their will. If the Slovenians and Croats have the right to leave Yugoslavia, then Serbs have the right to stay.

The Krajina Serbs had their own referendum and overwhelmingly decided to remain in Yugoslavia. The solution was to redraw the republic’s borders arbitrarily established by Tito during World War II. David Owen, the EC negotiator, revealed in his book that the Dutch (Netherlands held the EC presidency then) suggested that the borders be redrawn in some cases, but this proposal was incomprehensibly rejected. Mr. Owen viewed it as a folly far greater than that of premature recognition itself.

VOJIN JOKSIMOVICH

Escondido, Calif.

Border madness

The letter, “Adding insult to injury,” states, “The arrest and conviction of Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos (prior nominee for “Border Patrol agent of the year”) and Jose Alfonso Compean boggles the mind (Aug. 21).” This makes sense after hearing over and over that orders to the Border Patrol not to enforce the border come from the White House.

Two years ago, the Border Patrol here in California began illegal alien sweeps. In one week, 12 agents rounded up 500 illegal aliens. Word came down from the White House via Asa Hutchinson, then-undersecretary for border and transportation security, to stop the sweeps immediately.

I’ve been following through the Internet news about the U.S.-Mexican border for the past nine years and continue to hear about the corruption in American border cities, particularly in Texas. It is rumored that the drug cartels have mayors, council members, sheriffs, district attorneys and even judges on their payrolls, but where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Judging by past events, I believe the White House has a lot to do with this aberration of justice as well.

HAYDEE PAVIA

Laguna Woods, Calif.

Thanks, Cos

Thank God for Bill Cosby’s relentless commitment to black American families (“Cosby exhorts students, parents,” Metropolitan, Aug 23). Mr. Cosby recently visited three Baltimore elementary schools exhorting black children to value education and black adults to build stronger families.

It’s going to take more than Mr. Cosby to turn this crisis around. Affluent, influential hip-hop artists and professional black athletes need to also step up to the plate in a national effort to change the course that many of our young, black Americans are taking.

PAMELA A. HAIRSTON

Washington

Stop the ’invasion’

“In his new book ’State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America,’ [Pat Buchanan ] the former presidential candidate and White House speechwriter examines immigration-related social problems and documents high levels of support among Hispanics for the so-called ’Reconquista’ of the U.S. Southwest,” (“Buchanan warns of flood of illegals,” Page 1, Aug. 22)

Mr. Buchanan could not be more correct in his conclusions on this issue.

The president and Congress have failed the American people on this issue, and it will only continue to worsen as long as the government refuses to see what is completely clear to the rest of us: This country is being overrun by low-education, low-income illegal aliens, and American citizens are having to pay for it.

I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Buchanan’s idea about a “moratorium” on immigration; however, I don’t think he goes far enough on the issue of deportation.

I am also convinced that if employers were forced to obey the law, then illegal aliens would not have work in the first place. If they cannot find work to begin with, then they will be forced to leave without any money to support themselves.

I also believe that there should be no welfare for illegal aliens and that the 14th Amendment must be changed to stop the flood of anchor babies. It is putting too much pressure on our hospitals, which are understaffed and underfunded, to provide services to families who cannot pay the medical costs for their children. I am sick and tired of watching the hospitals in my county close due to the lack of money.

Enough is enough — the government has got to stop this invasion.

PAM ALGEA

San Diego