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University Daily Kansan
Thursday, Oct. 31, 1963
Press Distorts Dispute KU Algerians State
By Marshall Caskey
A group of Algerian students said last night that American newspapers in this area have badly distorted the facts in reporting the Algerian-Morocco border war.
Mohammed Abdelbari, Algiers sophomore; Djamel Benzine,
Bougie sophomore; and Mansour Qubouzar, Tziiouzio sophomore, said the American newspapers are completely wrong in their statements that the war may develop into world-wide proportions.
Oubouzar said that he particularly objected to an article by UPI Foreign News Analyst Phil Newsom. (See Oct. 29. Kansas)
"IN THAT ARTICLE." Oubouzar said, "it states that 'United Arab Republic President Gamel Abdel Nasser and the Communist bloc would intervene to save Algerian President Ahmed Ben Bella from disaster. This is absolutely untrue. Algeria would never accept assistance from the Communists."
Benzine said the Communists don't have anything to do with the disagreement. "It looks almost as though the papers would like to give the impression that Algeria is part of the Communist bloc," Benzine said.
Abdelbari said, "The whole idea of the existence of an East-West conflict in the border war is a huge distortion. They (the newspapers) keep talking about the weapons which Algeria received from the Soviet Union. The weapons had been ordered long before the war. They just happened to arrive at this time.
"The papers give the impression that Algeria is Communist backed. They don't bother to state the fact that there are more Russian MIG's in Morocco than there are in Algeria." Abdelbari said.
"IT'S NOT an international affair." Oubouzar said. "The conflict is simply one between two government systems."
"We became so alarmed when we read the newspaper accounts of the Communists stepping in," Abdelbari said, "we telephoned the United Nations and spoke to our representatives there. We were assured that the stories were not true, but we wanted to be sure so we shone Algeria twice and talked to our friends and relatives about the situation. They, too, assured us that Algeria
would accept no help from the Communists.
"So far as the matter of weapons is concerned," Abdelbari said, "Algeria needed weapons and Russia supplied them—that is where the Russian connection with the war ceased."
"The question of exactly where the Morrocan-Algerian border is," Oubouzar said, "has existed for years. Ben Bella had agreed to a meeting, but the Moroccan troops moved in before the meeting was held. I believe that Hassan had a political problem in his country and used the border question to direct attention away from the internal trouble and rally his people around him. Ben Bella was having trouble of his own at the time and used the trouble to rally the Algerian people."
"ALGERIA is in a position where she cannot back down," Benzine said. "We have just fought a war for our independence and we cannot stand by and see areas of our country taken. What would the United States do if Mexico suddenly demanded California?
THE ALGERIAN students agreed with statements made earlier by Morocean student Ali Mouhine (Oct. 29 Kansas) regarding the strictly political nature of the war. They agreed that there is no particular feeling of hostility among the masses of people in the two countries. Benzine said, "Ali is our best friend here, we have no feelings against him because he is a Morocan. There are no bed feelings between the two peoples."
"Before the war broke out, the border question was regarded as a political game. Since the war began, however, the Algerians no longer consider it a game. They are ready to go to the front and fight for their territory."
Oubouzar predicted that North Africa will one day unite into some sort of close economic alliance.
HOLIDAY INN RESTAURANT PROUDLY PRESENT THEIR MOST UNIQUE ITALIAN BUFFET
Every Friday Evening FEATURING
PIZZA with or without meat
SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS
CHICKEN CACCIATORE
FRIED EGG PLANT
FISH CREOLE
—TOSSED GREENS
—COLD CUTS
—DEVILED EGGS
—CHERRY PEPPERS
—SHRIMP TOMATO
ASPIC
—and MANY
OTHERS
(Continued from page 1)
Phipps agreed to tell the 15 girls who knew about the interruption that nothing was to be said.
Cohimia again called Hashinger, and after instructing Miss Lawrence to place the receiver back on the hook, the 'talkathon' was resumed at about 4 a.m.
SERVED WITH EVERY MEAL
GARLIC TOAST
AUTHENTIC
SPUMONI
ICE CREAM
Talkathon
After a talk with the assistant dean of men, Fred McElhenie, and numerous persons at Templin Hall, Lindquist and Cohlmia were invited to Templin for dinner. Cohlmia was to try to identify the Templinite who "relied" him.
Served in Italian Atmosphere
with Live Entertainment for
Your Dining Pleasure
Only $2.06 Per Person
$3.50 Per Couple
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Cohmia was successful and the Templin resident, whose name is being withheld, admitted he had been responsible for the interruption.
Highway 59 & 10
THE TEMPLIN senate held a special meeting last night to consider the matter.
The senate voted to send an apology to JRP. Wing meetings in the dormitory voted against sending such a letter. The Templin resident who touched off the affair then sent a personal letter of apology to Lindquist.
Amidst the dispute the talkathon plods along. This time the hook in JRP is firmly bound with several strands of bailing wire.
A former World Bank economist, now teaching at KU, will lead a discussion on taxes for students representing North American countries at Texas, A&M University's Student Conference on National Affairs December 11-15.
Texas Tax Talk By KU Economist
professor of economics and East Asian area studies.
He is F. H. H. King, an associate
"This can be quite lively," King said. Students from Mexico to Georgia and Saskatchewan attend the conference at Texas A&M's expense and present opinions rarely encountered in settings where students have similar backgrounds.
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