OCR Text |
Show Get your Games Cheaper at Graywhale XBOX Games • Halo 2 ltd. edition $49.99 • Regular edition $45.99 •Fable $45.99 • Dead or Alive Ultimate $45.99 10 STATESN tfORLD&NATION Bush insists Iraq's January elections not be delayed FABLE Playstation 2 Games • Kllfzone $45.99 PS2/XBOX Games • Urbz: Sims In the city $45.99 1010 N. Main • 753-9799 ALL THINGS MOUNTAIN ARCTERYX BY SCOTT LINDLAW Associated Press Black Diamond 25% Off with Student ID Discount good through Dec. 24, 2004 FEATURING: • Outdoor performance clothing • Tents • Sleeping bags • Climbing gear • Telemark & Cross Country skis J AP Photo/US Embassy, Paul Viala ^ j , 7 k l .„ . ***H17 N. Mam 753-1541 Mon-Sat 10am -7pm www.trailheadstore.com SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN POWELL, center, speaks to young volunteers of the Foundation for Reproductive Health and Family Education (FOSREF) an organization working to prevent aids virus at the USAID headquarters in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday. Powell condemns political violence in Haiti during visit BYANNEGEARAN Associated Press Perfect Partner. Square One 630 West 200 North 753-8875 Now Playing! WESTATES STADIUM 8 535 W 100 N PROVIDENCE 753-1900 WESTATES MOVIES 5 2450 N MAIN LOGAN 787-9438 FRIDAY, DEC. 3,2004 PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti Heavy gunfire rang out near Haiti's presidential palace Wednesday as Secretary of State Colin Powell met with the country's interim leaders. Powell said international peacekeeping troops need to come down hard on street toughs and those who carry out political violence in Haiti. "They have to forcefully take on those armed individuals of the kind who were firing this morning," Powell said after meetings at the National Palace with President Boniface Alexandre, Prime Minister Gerard Latortue and other political leaders. After Powell wrapped up his oneday trip, shots continued to echo through the streets. Four people were killed and at least 11 were injured. Bloodied gunshot victims crowded the corridors at the capital's main hospital, where U.N. police were standing guard. U.N. troops were also on alert at the national penitentiary, said Damian Onses Cardona, a spokesman for the U.N. force, now at more than 6,000 members. Most of the clashes occurred in Bel Air, a slum loyal to ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and several blocks awayfromthe National Palace. Haiti is still beset with violence and political infighting as the oneyear anniversary of Aristide's ouster approaches in February. The country's caretaker government has pledged open elections next fall, a goal Powell said Haiti can meet with outside help. "The only outcome that will satisfy the U.S. is an election next year that is free and fair,... that is not fraudulent and stolen," Powell said later in his one-day trip to shore up democratic efforts in the desperately poor country. The United States, and Powell in particular, have been instrumental in Haiti's chaotic power shifts over the past decade. Powell was once an Aristide supporter but helped arrange Aristide's exile this year. "I'm deeply saddened the opportunity that was given to Mr. Aristide a decade ago was wasted," Powell said Wednesday. "But the Haitian people have a new oppor- tunity." Aristide and others claim the Bush administration coerced him to leave Haiti. Aristide's followers say Powell signed onto a plan to remove Aristide because he was viewed as a troublemaker whose unpopularity could destabilize the Caribbean country and cause a tide of refugees to head for U.S. shores. The administration says Aristide departed voluntarily. Gunshots, including several long bursts of automatic weapons fire, were heard in front of the palace shortly after Powell entered with a small U.S. delegation. A palace security official said a shot was fired from a passing car, and U.N. forces guarding the palace returned fire. Several U.N. tanks appeared a short while later and patrolled the palace front. Shots were also fired at the U.S. Embassy, according to a U.N. official who spoke on condition of anonymity. In Washington, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said Powell was in a holding room at the palace when shots were fired outside. Despite1 the presence of Brazilian-led U.N. peacekeeping troops, rebels and former soldiers have refused to abandon police stations across the country. They have also refused to disarm, saying they need to stabilize Haiti until the government reinstates the military and the police hire more recruits. The U.S.-backed interim government has accused Aristide of orchestrating recent political violence from exile in South Africa. Aristide has denied supporting violence. At least 89 people have been killed in politically linked violence since Sept 30, when pro-Aristide groups stepped up protests demanding his return. Besides Alexandre and Latortue, Powell saw leaders from various civil and political groups in Haiti, including some who supported Aristide. He also met with young Haitians who receive and provide HIV and AIDS services. Powell said the United States will spend $40 million on AIDS prevention and treatment in Haiti next year, double the current amount. The next best thing to fruits and vegetables. WASHINGTON — President Bush rejected calls for a delay in next month's Iraqi elections, insisting Thursday that the vote was too important to put off even though violence and chaos still grip much of the country. "It's time for the Iraqi citizens to go to the polls," Bush said. Bush predicted Iraq's elections would leave the world "amazed that a society has been transformed so quickly," but he did not explain why he was so adamant that balloting go forward as scheduled Jan. 30, A number of Iraqi political parties have urged delay. The president also weighed in on Ukraine's election crisis, saying more forcefully than before that other countries must not meddle as Ukraine sorts through its disputed vote and contemplates a new one. A runoff election last month sparked massive protests that have paralyzed the government. "I think any election, if there is one, ought to be free from any foreign influence," Bush said, raising the stakes in what has become a proxy battle between Washington and Moscow. Both governments see the outcome as vital to their influence in the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a similar warning earlier this week. He said Ukraine's crisis must be solved without foreign pressure, though Putin continued Thursday to play a highprofile role. In Moscow, Putin hosted Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, an ally of the declared winner, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. Putin sharply criticized the Ukrainian opposition's proposal to hold a repeat election, telling Kuchma that a new vote "would yield nothing." "We're watching very carefully what is taking place," Bush said. "But any election in any country must reflect the will of the people and not that of any foreign government." Bush spoke in the Oval Office at the start of a i meeting with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. i As for the Iraqi election, Bush last week said he hoped the Jan. 30 balloting would not be postponed, even though 17 political parties in Iraq have urged the interim government to put it off for at least six months. Those groups want security at polling places to be ensured. On Thursday, a Sunni political party official said his organization would push forward with that demand. But Bush was firtner than ever. "The elections should not be postponed," he •said. "It's time for the Iraqi citizens to go to the polls and that's why we are very firm on the Jan. 30 date." Bush's spokesman, Scott McClellan, said elections are essential "to bringing about a stable and peaceful and democratic Iraq." "This will be an important milestone as they ' move away from their past oftyrannyand oppression and brutality," McClellan said. -> On another subject, Bush steered gingerly < around allegations of corruption in the United Nations' oil-for-food program in Iraq, allegations that first surfaced in January. Those charges have escalated: Two weeks ago, a congressional investigation uncovered evidence that Saddam Hussein's government raised more than $21.3 billion in illegal revenue by subverting U.N. sanctions against Iraq, including the oil-for-food program. Bush did not answer two questions about whether U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan should resign, as Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., has urged. But he said a thorough investigation was necessary to ensure taxpayers can "feel comfortable" as the U.S. government pays U.N. dues. American dues to the United Nations this year are $362 million, not including payments to separate agencies such as the IAEA, the U.N. nuclear agency based in Austria, "I look forward to the full disclosure of the facts, get honest appraisal of that which went on," Bush said. Spy satellite control and political asylum rules block intelligence bill BY JESSE J. HOLLAND Associated Press Think you've got what it takes to be Editor in Chief of The Utah Statesman? Apply for Spring Semster before TYiesday, Dec. 7, 9 a.m. Check with the Adviser, TSC 1O5-A, for details. Maybe all the dominos will fall for you. Juice Plus provides whole food based nutrition from 17 different fruits, vegetables, and grains in a convenient capsule or chewable form. Questions call: 435-512-3755 WASHINGTON — Two issues have House Republicans tied in a knot on the intelligence bill President Bush says he wants: military control of spy satellites and provisions that, some lawmakers say, let terrorists shield themselves with claims of political asylum. Negotiators are working down to the wire in hopes of getting an agreement so the GOP-controlled House can vote Monday on legislation to put the bipartisan Sept 11 commissions recommendations into law. If the House goes ahead, the Senate would act Tuesday, sending Bush legislation that would set up a national intelligence director and a national counterterrorism center Still standing in the way, however, are House Armed Services Committee chairman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., and House Judiciary Committee chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis. Despite entreaties from the White House to support the bill, the lawmakers remain the main opponents. ; Bush, in a call Thursday to House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., told them he wants an intelligence bill completed. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Joseph Iieberman, DConn., the lead Senate negotiators, say they are not prepared to open negotiations again. Bush was expected to send Congress a letter on Friday that outlines what he wants done iNTHIlfiFNrFRMI See page 7 7 |