Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 14, 1991 TAG: 9102150158
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ROBERTA ENGLISH STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In Russia, that is.
He will join a group of prominent Soviet, American and Canadian officials at York University in Canada to discuss "Glastnost and the Global Village."
The former Virginia state senator said he was shocked when he got the invitation.
"I was surprised they knew who I was," Hopkins said, "I guess somebody read my book."
Hopkins said his invitation came not in recognition of being a senator for 20 years, but as an acclaimed author for his book, "One Bugle,No drums," about the Korean War.
The book, which accounts the heroic retreat of the 1st Marine Division at Chosin Reservoir, was inducted into the Royal Canadian Military Institute in 1987.
Hopkins said he is most impressed with the guest list for the conference. Russian mayors, Canadian Supreme Court justices, and former U.N. ambassadors will attend.
"I was flattered a little bit with the caliber of people they invited," Hopkins said.
The conference, sponsored by York University and the Novosti Press Agency in Moscow, will be telecast on Canadian public TV and Russian prime time.
The conference will focus on glastnost and perestroika, two terms that symbolize political openness and economic restructuring. Panelists will discuss the implications of these policies for the global societies of the 21st century.
Hopkins' topic is the "American Military Industrial Complex." He said he doesn't think America has the resources to be a global police force, but should assist in United Nations affairs.
Hopkins suggests maintaining an internal police force similar to a national guard that could be sent to trouble spots.
Hopkins said he sees the conference as a great learning experience for himself and looks forward to presenting his topic.
"I hope what I have to say will have some impact," Hopkins said.
Hopkins also is looking forward to meeting his peers socially outside of the conference. He said he is especially excited about meeting the widow of Andrei Sakharov, who helped invent the Russian hydrogen bomb in the 1950s.
The 69-year-old politician has had an active career in Roanoke. After he left the assembly in 1980, he secured $2.6 million in state funds for the Center in the Square, where the planetarium bears his name.
In the early '80s he lead the fund-raising campaign for the war memorial in Lee Plaza, and he is a leading advocate of the Explore Project zoological park and tourist complex.
Hopkins said he expects this conference to be one of the more exciting events of his career, but he harbors no illusions of grandeur about becoming internationally famous.
"I don't think that at my age, I'm going to become famous," Hopkins said. "But it's something that I will thoroughly enjoy."
by CNB