W E D N E S D A Y APRIL 24, 2002
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVII, No. 56
In address, Israeli official defends West Bank invasion
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
ARGUMENTS BEGIN IN CIANCI TRIAL BY CHRIS BYRNES
BY BETHANY RALLIS
Speaking Tuesday night in Carmichael Auditorium, Israeli diplomat Nimrod Barkan called Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip a necessary reaction to Palestinian terrorism. He said the suicide bombings in recent months were an attempt by the Palestinians to blackmail the Israeli government into withdrawing from the Gaza Strip without actually signing a peace treaty. The Israeli government tried to root out terrorism just as the U.S. government did in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, Barkan said. He said the attacks on Israel were a product of the unrest between Palestinians and Israelis. “(The two sides) start shooting,” Barkan said. “This explains why the Palestinians started to kill Jews and rejected proposals of peace.” Before Israel can achieve peace, it must understand why the problems reached such severity, he said. “If we do not look at and learn from history, we may be doomed to repeat the past,” Barkan said. He retraced the history of turbulent relations between Israel and the Palestinians and said Israel continually proposes peace and attempts to withdraw partially from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Palestinian government, however, has failed to accept negotiations and has reverted to terrorism, he said. Barkan said Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is working for peace. He said Israel should continue with its military offensive until “Palestinian authorities rebuild negotiations that will lead to peace.” He said the United States did not have the right to demand Israel to withdraw from the West Bank. A student asked Barkan about alleged reports of Israelis executing Palestinians. The student said a professor had brought up the issue in class after viewing footage of the executions on CNN. Barkan said he was not aware of any executions. “I cannot explain any generalities or false accusations,” he said. “Rumors start easily, and there is a tendency of rumors to spread easily when people want to see something in a certain light.” He told The Herald that rumors create tension on college campuses, and he said this tension can be a product of misinformation. Misinformation about Israeli executions indicates there is “a propaganda war with Palestinians” who are
Seth Kerschner / Herald
The trial of Mayor Vincent Cianci and three co-defendants began Tuesday with opening arguments from prosecution and defense attorneys. Cianci is charged with racketeering, mail fraud and extortion.
Opening statements made Tuesday in Mayor Vincent Cianci’s corruption trial focused on character, with defense attorneys claiming the mayor sought only to improve Providence, and the prosecution calling City Hall a “criminal enterprise.” Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Rose, lead prosecutor and the first to address the jury, said the case “is about the corrupt administration of Vincent A. Cianci, Jr., a.k.a. ‘Buddy.’” Cianci and three co-defendants face 29 counts of extortion, mail fraud, bribery and witness tampering. “The purpose of Cianci’s criminal enterprise was to enrich him, personally and politically,” said Rose, pointing at Cianci as he spoke. Nearly shouting to the jury, Rose summarized alleged incidents of corruption that constitute the government’s case while he pointed to each defendant individually. Cianci’s lawyer Richard Egbert offered a different view of his client. He described the defendant as a “get-things-done mayor” who simply wanted to improve the city of Providence. “The Renaissance City did not come by accident,” Egbert said. “It was done by the energy and the leadership and the time commitment of one man,” he said. Egbert said Rose failed to tell the jury two crucial facts. The first was the existence of a secret surveillance tape, recorded by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which allegedly depicts the mayor being offered a bribe from an undercover agent. Cianci allegedly arranged a meeting between the undercover agent and see CIANCI, page 4
Students rally to ‘Take Back the Night’ from violence BY JULIA ZUCKERMAN
The Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance sponsored its second annual “Take Back the Night” rally Tuesday, raising awareness about violence against women and paying tribute to victims. Participants marched in a loop that started and ended on the Main Green, holding signs that read “Take Back the Night” and “Stop the Violence.” As they marched across the Main Green, through Wriston Quad and on Thayer Street, the students chanted, “Students unite — take back the night!” Several times along the way, they stopped and students read information, poems and testimony about violence against women. One stop dealt with domestic violence, one with rape and sexual assault, one with violence related to sexual orientation, one with female genital mutilation and one with sexual slavery and trafficking. At the beginning of the rally, FMLA Vice President Katie Del Guercio ’04 explained the worldwide “Take Back the Night” movement, which began in 1978. “We come together tonight to take a stand against all the violence that terrorizes women around the world,” she
see BARKAN, page 7 see NIGHT, page 4
Marion Billings / Herald
Members of the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance organized the annual ‘Take Back the Night’ rally Tuesday to raise awareness of domestic violence.
I N S I D E W E D N E S D AY, A P R I L 2 4 , 2 0 0 2 Princeton announces it will rename the University’s Third World Center page 3
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Harvard review committee makes recommendations to address grade inflation page 3
Taubman Center namesake sentenced to one year in prison in Sotheby’s scandal page 5
TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Carl Takei ’02 says UCS must work to influence disciplinary reform process column,page 11
Women’s golf places third in weekend’s Ivy Championships in Trenton page 12
mostly sunny high 56 low 41