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Show Wednesday, August 26, 1992 THE HERALD, Provo, Utah, Page Dl Shevardnadze faces long fight in Georgia By SERGEI SHARGOROOSKY Associated Press Writer TBILISI, Georgia A sin Five also has a strong industrial base. renewed bloodletting. It wasn't Georgia's main railroad passes supposed to be this way. through Abkhazia, and it is a key Shevardnadze faces what may outlet to the Black Sea. be a long fight with separatists in "For us, it is tremendous the Black Sea coastal region of Abwealth," said Roman Gotsirdze, khazia that could spread to neighGeorgia's deputy prime minister. boring areas. And any sign of "This region can become the fastweakness could encourage rebels est developing one in Georgia." in another breakaway region. Any sign of political weakness South Ossetia, where Russian on Abkhazia by Shevardnadze and forces are also involved. his colleagues could give a boost to It is a scenario repeated in other separatists in South Ossetia who republics of the former Soviet emwant to join with their- brethren pire, where ethnic disputes heated across the border in Russia's North up after the collapse of central Ossetia. The region calmed after; power. Regions in Russia, the recent deployment of Russian, Ukraine, Moldova and elsewhere Georgian and Ossetian peacekeep- . 4 - months after returning to power in his native Georgia, Eduard Shevardnadze leads a nation troubled by - V V4 v5 - ' ; iff'. vw VI - . i 1 V I '4 : AP Photo Children are beaten with sticks when they become upset Saturday after learning there is not enough food for everyone during distribution by the Red Cross in Berdale, Somalia. Such scenes of misery are common in Somalia. ; , omalians battle over inadequate food supply itiditor's note: AP photogra- pher Greg Marinovich visited the town ofBaidoa and the village of Berdale in southwest Somalia, thel region worst hit by the country's famine. Here is his account of the suffering he saw. " ; By GREG MARINOVICH Associated Press Writer dust-cover- BERDALE, Somalia Every day at dawn, the starving children, many weak with hacking coughs, line up and wait patiently tcTbe fed. On this day, there would not be enough of the Red rice and beans to goaround. When it became clear the food would run short, the children began to push and shout and cry. A man and a woman standing next to the black vats hit at the children with sticks to keep them in line. Some cowered momentarily, then pushed forward again. One thin boy stood unflinching, his tin Cross-provid- bowl outstretched, even as he of the Red Cross issued its first was struck on the shoulder. warning about the crisis in DeAdult villagers tried to pick the cember, but the wealthy nations weakest children and bring them have begun efforts to alleviate the to the front, but it was too late. situation only in the recent The food had run out. Only about weeks. In Berdale, a village about 30 half the children had been fed. The unfed ones scrambled in miles outside Baidoa, the soil is a the dust on hands and knees, fine white dust that has turned the wailing and fighting for single entire landscape a pale gray. Its residents have grains of rice. They shoved them thin, in their mouths, getting mostly the appearance of ghosts. dirt. One emaciated teen-agfell At another feeding station in flat on his face and had to be Berdale, an armed guard pushed back a determined boy who came helped to his feet. Such scenes of suffering are no higher than the guard's waist. The boy threw punches in frusenacted day in and around a southwest desert town of tration, and finally the guard about 60,000 people, which kneed the child in the head, sendholds one of the largest concening him sprawling to the ground. The boy cried bitterly for sevtrations of starving people in Soeral minutes, then picked up a malia. In a nation torn asunder by rock, but others restrained him. war, chaos, anarchy and drought, The child got nothing to eat. At a third line nearby for between l.S and 2 million people almost a quarter of Somalia's adults, a woman with a young boy in tow arrived late and tried population face starvation. The International Committee to push her way toward the feed ed ed er ' Bai-do- a, ing pots. A group of women pushed her back, hitting her with their empty food bowls. Eventually a guard with a rifle forced her away at gunpoint. Neither she nor her child received any food. Amid all the jostling, Ambia Mohamed Barken, 25, cradled a child under each arm. They were twins, born a day earlier. In Baidoa, children streamed in the gate of a center run by Concern, an Irish aid group that is feeding about 10,000 children. A tiny stick-lik- e body lay at the child The had died during gate. the night. Only children who had been examined previously and tagged with plastic bracelets were allowed in. The rest would have to be screened, but all were clearly in need. The number of untagged children grew and grew, soon reaching the hundreds. Finally the guard opened the gate to all and the kids surged in. Zambia fakes on drought with program unique drought-relie- f By MELINDA HAM Associated Press Writer NAMWALA, Zambia There is only a month's food supply left in drought-devastatZambia, but ed villagers like Nelson Mulongo don't despair or stand in line for handouts. Instead, they are digging wells, grading roads and doing other construction jobs in a unique project that relief experts be an example for the should say entire, suffering region. "There's not going to be a disaster or a famine anywhere in this country," said Tony Mornement of U.N. World Food Program during a recent visit to Namwala, 176 miles southwest of the capital, Lusaka. "Zambia is miles ahead of all southern Africa in its drought relief program." Zambia is one of II southern African countries suffering the century's worst drought. The traditional food exporters Zimbabwe and South Africa also are affected, making international relief essential to prevent widespread starvation. President Frederick Chiluba declared a national emergency in February, well before other leaders, ensuring timely frjod imports. work-for-fo- well-organiz- ed south-era'Afric- an And unlike other stricken countries, little of the aid is being given away in impoverished Zambia. Instead, some 90 percent of it is being sold commercially, while those who can't afford to buy are earning food through programs such as that in Namwala. "Our community will have something lasting for our efforts, as well as us receiving food," said Mulongo, a peasant farmer who supports two wives and 15 children. Like most of his neighbors, Mulongo this year watched his corn, peanut and sunflower crops shrivel and die under cloudless skies. Twenty of his steers also perished. Now Mulongo is helping build a dam, earning a day's food for his family in return for a day's work. Other villagers are deepening wells, repairing roads, and building schools and clinics. Only a handful of the .7 million n peasants living in areas will get food for nothing, mainly the old, the handicapped and the sick, the government says. Under Zambian founding father Kenneth Kaunda, in previous droughts Mulongo and other peasants relied on friendship with the village headman for food aid. If the headman didn't like you, Mulongo recalled, you didn't eat. 1 drought-stricke- , "Associated Press Writer FRANKFURT, Germany .d.Farben, -I- the chemical giant that Bsed forced labor to fuel the Naztwar machine, held its annual stpfikjholders meeting Tuesday as protesters demanded reparations and the company's closure. "Shame on you!" protesters shouted as about 600 stockholders arrived for the meeting in a luxury downtown hotel. The dozen protesters included relatives of some of the 25.000 people who were worked to death in a forced labor camp run by I.G. Farben during World War II. There was some pushing and shoving but no major disturbances. About two dozen police were on hand but did not interfere with the protesters, who carried signs such as, "I.G. Farben money belongs to Auschwitz victims," and "Germany, the Master of Death." I.G. Farben was formed as the world's largest chemical concern in 1925. It used inmates from the Auschwitz concentration camp in what is now Poland to run a neighboring I.G. Farben plant in which helped supply Hitler's army. An I.G. Farben subsidiary produced the Zyklon-gas used for killing Jews and other concentration camp inmates during the war. About 6 million Jews died in Mon-owit- z, B the East bloc. Shevardnadze brought Georgia world respect despite the fact that he heads a body without a formal popular mandate. Earlier this summer, Shevardnadze offered a "national reconciliation" manifesto, including an amnesty for the jailed supporters of Gamsakhurdia followers. Elections were scheduled for October. A fragile peace was won in South Ossetia, in northern Georgia. Now, after sending in troops that overthrew the government in the secessionist region of Abkhazia, the Shevardnadze government faces its biggest challenge. Although the Georgian troops have restored order in the Abkhazian capital, Sukhumi, its exiled leadership is threatening a guerrilla war, and neighboring Caucasus regions vowed to join in the battle with the southern republic. The intervention followed an independence vote in Abkhazia's regional parliament in July. There are 90,000 Muslims, and 500,000 Georgians, Russians and Armenians in the rich Black Sea region. Georgia cannot afford to lose Abkhazia for both political and economic reasons. Abkhzia, a vacation paradise, produces tea and citrus fruit, but ing forces. Concessions to Abkhazia also could complicate the State Council's struggle with armed Gamsakhurdia followers in Megrelia, a western Georgian region bordering Abkhazia. Just days after Shevardnadze's Aug. 4 national reconciliation declaration, Gamsakhurdia forces kidnapped top Interior Ministry officials and Shevardnadze's national security adviser who had gone to their stronghold for negotiations, and bombed a major railroad bridge. Shevardnadze sent 3,000 troops with heavy artillery to find the kidnappers and secure railways and communications links. The bulk of the contingent rolled into Abkhazia, clashing with Abkhazian troops. Georgian leaders accused the Abkhazia parliament chief, former Communist Vladislav Ardzinba, of siding with Gamsakhurdia. When the Abkhazia parliament refused Tbilisi's demands to remove Ardzinba, Georgian troops moved into Sukhumi and deposed its leadership. At least 50 people were killed in the fighting. Tbilisi appointed a military council to govern the region. Sukhumi has been ravaged by widespread looting. Ardzinba and other Abkhazian leaders have established a stronghold at the coastal city of Gudauta, near Sukhumi, and refuse to negotiate with Tbilisi. Many of Abkhazia's ethnic Georgians sided with Gamsakhurdia and have not cooperated with the soldiers sent by Tbilisi. nine-memb- er Planning A Vacation? We'll Hold The News For u! X union Chiluba, a leader, defeated Kaunda in elections last October with promises to end corruption and offer a fair deal to all of Zambia's 8 million people. His government's drought relief program has earned praise from aid agencies, who say food is being distributed quickly and fairly. Zambia's drought relief plan hasn't wiped out suffering in the most remote areas. Lenny Mutambo walked and traveled by canoe for five hours to reach the clinic in Namwala so his baby could get a free meal of protein porridge. "In my village we have run out of maize," he said, "and now we are eating wild vegetables. Even hunting is impossible because we can't afford bullets." Many of the children brought to the clinic are underweight and suffer from skin diseases such as scabies, according to nurse Rosemary high-ener- Bubala. But there have been no reports of starvation deaths, and in the Namwala region there are no signs of severe malnutrition, she said. World Food Program officer Derrina Mukopa said is a way to ensure that truly desperate people are fed, because those not in dire need are less likely to put in hard labor. food-for-wo- rk . The Daily Herald Vacation Pak. 1991. "The money of I.G. Farben belongs to victims of Auschwitz," said Peter Gingold, 77, who lost his brother and sister and several relatives in the infamous concentration camp. 1 I you have to do is tell us when you plan on leaving and when you will return and we will save your papers for vou! There is no extra cost to you, just the regular monthly price. the Holocaust. I.G. Farben was ordered into liquidation by the victorious allies after the war. It no longer produces anything, but it maintains an office in Frankfurt and is still winding up business. But speculation about getting back valuable assets in former East Germany has driven up prices for the firm's stock. The company had $1 13 million in assets in the financial year that ended in December :1 All Protesters heckle Germany company for war role 2y NESHA STARCEVIC are seeking independence. After a civil war in January that ousted President Zviad Gamsak-hurdi- a and left more than 100 people dead, Shevardnadze returned to Georgia in March to become president of the governing State Council. He was hailed in the West as the Soviet foreign minister who with Mikhail Gorbachev helped liberate r Vacation Pak 1 j 1 I 1 j I Issue, have The Dally Herald saved Starting with oay nwim for me and all back copies delivered to me on ninth which regular delivery will continue. ) 1 liilllll) I .Address. Name. 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