CENTER FOR BALL PEACE AND STATE CONFLICT STUDIES UNIVERSITY THE OLIVE BRANCH APRIL 4, 2014 SPOTLIGHT: TANK MAN.......................................................... 2 BLOG OF THE WEEK: NONVIOLENT LIFESTYLES.............. 4 ARTICLE: APRIL VIOLENCE....................................................5 EVENT DESCRIPTION: RELAY FOR NONVIOLENCE........... 6 FEATURED ARTICLE: MAPPING COURSES......................... 7 ON CAMPUS EVENTS: THIS WEEK....................................... 8 OFF CAMPUS EVENTS: THIS WEEK..................................... 9 ON CAMPUS EVENTS: ALL SEMESTER..............................10 ORGANIZATIONS....................................................................13 FELLOWSHIPS........................................................................14 CONFERENCES.......................................................................15 ABOUT.......................................................................................16 2 IN THE SPOTLIGHT TANK MAN EMILY HART ne of the most well- had spent seven weeks occupying As he stood in front of the known peace activists the area, uncompromising govern- tanks, they rolled to a halt before is also one of the most ment leaders ordered the military attempting to drive around him. Omysterious. to enforce martial law and forcibly As the tanks maneuvered, the man !e Tank Man, also known disperse the protesters. repeatedly repositioned himself to as the Unknown Protestor, is the !e massacre occurred on remain in their path. nickname for the unidenti"ed man June 4th when troops opened "re Eventually, the tank immedi- who blocked a line of tanks on with assault weapons on crowds of ately in front of the Protester shut the morning a#er the Tiananmen unarmed civilians. o$ its engines. !e Protester, having Square Massacre. Because the Chinese govern- successfully staved o$ the ad- Photographs of this man ment wrote the protests o$ as a vancement of the vehicles, climbed standing in front of the tanks “counter-revolutionary riot,” the onto the lead tank and called to its circulated rapidly among media events that took place at driver. outlets, making him an Tiananmen Square in 1989 are According to eyewitnesses, international symbol for human prohibited from being discussed or the Tank Man and the driver had rights and one of the most iconic memorialized in China. a brief conversation, during which "gures of the 20th century. However, journalists that were the Tank Man reportedly asked !ough some have identi"ed covertly documenting the Tianan- “Why are you here? My city is in the Tank Man as a 19-year-old men protests have allowed pieces of chaos because of you.” However, the student named Wang Weilin, his the story to be revealed to the rest driver was unfazed and restarted identity has still not been of the world; one of these pieces is the tank’s engine, prompting the con"rmed, nor his fate following the lone Unknown Protester. Protester to return to his spot in its his act of protest. path. Following the brutal massacre In 1989, the Tiananmen on the 4th of June, the Chinese mil- Shortly a#er this continued Square protests were met with itary still patrolled Beijing, round- stando$, the Protester was pulled violent military retaliation that le# ing up and arresting remaining away by two equally mysterious hundreds, if not thousands, of protesters and anyone suspected of "gures in blue suits. Some witness- civilians dead and injured. being sympathetic to their cause. es of the incident believe the "g- ures were part of the government’s !e protests had been As can be seen in the now- Public Security Bureau, while organized by university and high famous images of the incident, others believe that they were simply school students in Beijing, columns of tanks lined the streets citizens concerned for the Tank decrying their country’s economic surrounding Tiananmen Square. Man’s wellbeing. and governmental corruption, and However, the path of these calling for government accountabil- In any case, the Tank Man vehicles was halted when the Tank ity, workers’ control over industry, quickly disappeared; his fate and Man took up his position directly and the freedom of the press and of whereabouts following his brave in front of them. According to foot- speech. protest are unknown, though there age taken from nearby has been a great deal of speculation. At the pinnacle of the hotel balconies, the man held two Initially, the British tabloid “!e protests, roughly one million shopping bags and was dressed Sunday Express” identi"ed him as people had assembled in Tianan- simply. Wang Weilin and (continued) men Square. However, a#er they 3 IN THE SPOTLIGHT TANK MAN (CONTINUED) reported that he had been arrested government; another source Magazine included him in a list of and charged with “public said that he was jailed for several the “100 Most Important People of hooliganism” and “attempting to months before being killed by "ring the Century.” subvert members of the People’s squad. Images of his post in front Liberation Army.” In her book Red China Blues: of the column of tanks have been However, the Chinese My Long March from Mao to Now, globally circulated among government has denied these author Jan Wong states her belief newspapers and other media, reports and maintains that they that the Tank Man escaped prose- making him an international icon know nothing of his whereabouts, cution and is currently hiding from for justice and human rights. though they have been looking for the government in mainland China. !rough his actions, people him. Whatever his fate, the Tank around the world became aware of On the tenth anniversary of Man, the Unknown Protester, has the situation in China and joined in the incident, an assistant to inspired many nonviolent protest- solidarity with the Chinese people Richard Nixon declared that the ers and peace activists. to decry the corruption of the Tank Man had been executed two In their April 1998 issue, Time nation’s elite government o%cials. weeks a#er his protest by the !e most widely distributed photograph of the Tank Man was taken by Je" Widener, a photographer for the Associated Press, from a sixth #oor terrace of the Beijing Hotel. 5 BLOG OF THE WEEK KIM SERVAAS “ When I think about the term much more restraint than making pockets. !oreau also said: nonviolence I imagine equality, a rash decision. !e government IF A THOUSAND MEN working together, and having puts rules in place for a reason and WERE NOT TO PAY THEIR common goals. for the most part many of them are TAX'BILLS THIS YEAR, important. THAT WOULD NOT BE A “ To some degree almost all “ VIOLENT AND BLOODY people want to perceive themselves However, there comes a point MEASURE, AS IT WOULD as nonviolent. People want to where the rules have to be thrown BE TO PAY THEM, AND believe that they are the good guys out of the window. Henry David ENABLE THE STATE TO COMMIT VIOLENCE AND or that they are doing the right !oreau said: “ SHED INNOCENT BLOOD. thing. THE ONLY OBLIGATION If we want change we have to When a person attempts to WHICH I HAVE A RIGHT TO ASSUME, IS TO DO AT be willing to take risks for the good adopt a nonviolent lifestyle they ANY TIME WHAT I of our country. may "nd it more di%cult than THINK IS RIGHT. they originally thought. In order Albert Campus talked a great to remove violence in a person’s We cannot blindly follow deal about the end of murder in life, sources of the violence must be the government like mules. We his piece “Neither Victims Nor found and removed. have to use our brains and make Executioners.” conscious decisions. If a rule or It is on the internet, tv, radio, ideal is blatantly wrong it must not It is really hard for me to in schools, religion, and through- be followed; it must be pointed imagine a world without murder as sad as that is. Wars seem constant; out history; if a person removed all out over and over again until it is as soon as one ends another one violence a new culture would be removed or changed. made. Not a single culture like this begins. When I turn on the news all exists today. No one likes change; the I hear about is murder. government does not like change, People being killed in war, Does nonviolence mean you and government o%cials do not cannot stand up for yourself? Does like change. Change is di%cult and schools, movie theaters, stores, in it mean that you have to follow all comes with risks like losing a job. their own homes it is everywhere. I of the rules set down by the govern- am quite positive that I will not see ment? No! When a government o%cial the end murder in my lifetime. is sitting comfortably, making well !ere are ways to stand up for over $200,000 a year, why risk any- So much would have to yourself in a way that is nonviolent. thing? !e government of all things change; people’s attitudes would You could explain your thoughts must be &exible to change. have to change. I am all for the and listen to another side of the ending of violence but in order for story. Being nonviolent does not Rights and rules will never us to get there people have to be turn a person into a punching bag, improve instead they will become willing to feel uncomfortable, break it means that they chose to have stagnant and citizens will rebel if norms, and "nd new values. change is avoided. We want to see respect for themselves and others. Any rule that justi"es the where our money is going; we want killing of innocent people I am Making the mental decision to it in our schools, in our roads, in against. Let’s stop murder, and stop not make snide remarks or slam our health care, not in our o%cial’s violence.