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Show 4Monday, March 15, 1993 The Daily Herald Panel blamesEI Sa lvador’s military for atrocities Briefs dents in the rebel movement. may— By PETER JAMES SPIELMANN Expulsion sparks Associated Press Writer violence in Egypt ors. judges and unarmed U.S. mil- :5. itary personnel. ‘ ’ It put the number of “grave violations" by rebels at 400 killings and 300 disappear— anccs. The investigators were unable to LNITED NATIONS ~ El Sal— \ ador's military is to blame for the \IKI). Egypt (AP) - Plt‘sc“ clitoi‘s t; restioned 52 people today .J'svat violent weekend demonstra- tout hcd off by a school‘s exv \ast majority of atrocities in the country's civil war. from the mas— sacre of six Jesuit priests to the slaughter of thousands ofcivilians. an international rights panel says in fix responsibility for the 1980 slaying of four American church women — three Maryknoll nuns and a Catholic lay worker. But the report named numerous officials who it said were aware that senior officers had ordered the {a o st: of four girls for playing tap. iCkI‘IkiCLI anti—Christian ser~ a report released today. The L'.N.~appointed commis- l'Et'l‘s to their classrrrates. \ church w as gutted and seven po'ttemen wounded in the vio» igu-sc. [be girls were expelled and t'rerr leather tired several weeks ago for playing tapes of Egyptian preacher Sheds ()mar Abdel-Rah» man. a radicalbluslini cleric. An opposition newspaper said Chris:iai‘: girls w ere in the classroom and listened to the tapes. sion called for the immediate remm al frorn the military of all oftieers rt cited for human rights violations and said all rights abusers should be barred from political office for at least 10 years. ”The army. security forces and death squads linked to them com- killings — among them the National Guard director. Col. Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova. Five guardsmen who said they acted on higher orders were convicted in the case and were sentenced to 30 years in prison. Photographs of the bodies being removed from a shallow grave mitted massacres. sometimes of hundreds of people at a time. ” said the panel. which was led by U.S.. Colombian and Venezuelan ju— prompted intense American debate The blind cierrc has lived in the over the U.S. aid to the country. The commission said leaders of the rebel Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front ordered the 1985 killing of four U.S. Marine risis. l 'nited States for three years. Embassy gunmen issue demands SAN JOSE. Costa Rica (AP) ~ Gunmen who have been holding tire Nicaraguan ambassador and ii ether captives at his embassy fora xv eek issued new demands Sunday. I ate Sunday. the gunmen isstted a statement urging the United States and others to free/c eco nomic aid to Nicaragua "until an .mestigation is completed” into President Violeta Chamorro‘s government. In particular. the gunman want an examination of the treatment ol former "Contra” rebels. who had battled the Sandinista government thatpreceded Chamorro‘s. Until the statement Sunday. aua thorities had reported no direct communication with the gttnmen since Friday. Among killings blamed on the military establishment was the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero in 1980just as the war was beginning. i hrotrghottt the 12—year conflict that ended with 1992 peace accords. the United States backed a series of Salvadoran governments against leftist rebels. providing military and financial aid. Just hours before the report was issued. President Alfredo Cristiani called in El Salvador for an immediate general amnesty. But rebel leaders rejected it and called for adherence to the commission's recommendations. The country is struggling to move toward elections and Cristi— ani and the Salvadoran military had tried for months to prevent the report's release. Failing. the mili— tary tried to discredit the report. Most ofthc 75.000 people killed in the war were civilians suspected of leftist leanings. Embassy guards at an outdoor cafe Salvadoran Defense Minister Emilio Ponce, right, Deputy Defense Minister General Juan Orlando Zepeda. center. and Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Gilberto Rubio salute during a ceremony in 1992. day resigned his post as defense minister. Ponce called the com— rebel leaders. who it said ordered mission “unfair and prejudiced.” the assassinations of U.S. soldiers Ponce and others ordered Col. and of mayors of tow ns under gov- Guillermo Alfredo Bcnavides to ernmentcontrol. have special counterinsurgency Among rights violations during- soldiers from the U.S.-trained Atthe war that especially shocked the lacatl Battalion kill the Jesuits and world were the 1989 slaying of the leave no witnesses. the report said. six Jesuits. their housekeeper and That unit was chosen for the task her daughter. and the assassination because it had raided the premises of Romero as he led a Mass. of the Jesuits a few days earlier. The “Commission on the Truth looking for evidence of Roman of El Salvador" found a chain of Catholic support of the guerrillas command for the slaying of the during a rebel uprising in San SalJesuits that led to Gen. Rene Emi- vador, the capital. lio Ponce. then a colonel. w-ho FriThe Atlacatl Battalion. which To a lesser extent. the commis— sion pointed the linger at leftist Sudan denies plans for Iranian base KHARTOLM. Sudan (AP) , A senior Sudanese official denied on Sunday that his country was planning to let Iranian warships use Port Sudan as a base on the Red Sea. Egyptian President Hosni .\lubarak said Wednesday he had re- ceived information on the plan. which he said wotrld threaten Egypt. Mubarak threatened to "launch an immediate military strike. 'A base in Sudan would give Iran a naval presence in the Middle East‘s second nrajor seaw'ay. 800 miles south of the Suc/ Canal. lran’s position on the Persian Gulf already gives its navy the ability to threaten shipping in that oil-rich witlerw‘a} . Government gains ground in Angola :l.UANDA. Angola (AP) * A g0vernment offensive reportedly pashcd rebels farther from a strategic oil town in the northwest Sunday. while thousands of refugees fled intense fighting in the interior us. highlands. Rebel resistance was all but overcome in Soyo. a coastal city l85 miles north of Luanda that is crucial to petroleum exports. but some shelling continued near the airport and along the highway inland. a government military offi~ c raaid. An official claimed Saturday that Soyo was recaptured with only ugln resistance from rebels of the Tsafional Union for the Total Independence of Angola. know-n as 'thTA. Andorra approves first constitution ANDORRA LA VELLA. Arr— dori'a (AP) — Citizens of this tiny moirntain enclave between Spain and France voted overwhelmingly Sunday to adopt their first constitu- tlort. ending a system of government that had been in effect since theMiddle Ages. very one of the country‘s 9.- lZZiveligible voters cast ballots. apprpving the constitution by a‘rnarw ginIof more than 3-1. official taflfes showed. . flirt: referendum followed years of: gfbate in this country known mg ly for its skiing, tax-free swing and 7—century-old politi- cri- stem. ' dorra has been run jointly by tub "princes" - the president of Ffi'pce and Spain’s Bishop of Urgel. in an operation known as the “Zona Rosa Massacre. ” In El Salvador. Cristiani said a general amnesty would “close the door to all temptations of revenge was disbanded last year. also com— and reprisals. ” "We want to tell the country at mitted the worst massacre of the war, the slaughter of at least 200 this time that the time to pardon peasants around El Mozote in De- each other for any harm caused has cember 1981. Some estimates of arrived.” he said. Ferman Cienfuegos, a member the death toll reach 1,000. Another finding of the commis- of the former rebel’s political comsion had long been widely suspect- mission. rejected the idca of an ed —— that Romero's assassination immediate amnesty. The commission’s report was to was ordered by Roberto D’Au— buisson, a founder of Cristiani’s be formally released this morning rightist ARENA party who died of by its authors: former Colombian president Belisario Betancur, cancer last year. The commission also found left- former Venezuelan foreign minisist rebels guilty of “grave human ter Reynaldo Figucrcdo and U.S. rights violations" including killing human rights lawyer Thomas and kidnapping civilians. “dissi— Buergenthal. AP Photo Serb rebels close in on . besieged Muslim town A World Health OrganizaBy DAVID CRARY tion expert. Dr. Simon Mardel. Associated Press Writer who walked through eastern SARAJEVO. Bosnia-Herze- Bosnia. charged Sunday that gm ina 7 Serb rebels closed in Serb forces purposely shell cion the last defenders in the vilians and UN. personnel. Mtrslim enclave of Konjevic With their military advance Polje today and vowed no aid in full swing. Bosnian Serbs would reach nearby Srebrenica again .voieed dissatisfaction as long as the UN. commander with a L‘ . N plan to split Bosnia into 10 largely autonomous stay ed there. Murat Efendic. an eastern prminces, Bosnian official based in SaraMomeilo Krajisnik. speaker jevo. told The Associated Press of the Bosnian Serbs‘ self-pro; he had received word by ham claimed parliament. urged a de— radio that Konjevic Polje "is lay in peace talks scheduled for falling." He said Serbs were this week at UN. headquarters moving into the village. 50 in New York. Yugoslavia‘s miles east of Sarajevo. and its Tanjug news agency reported. defenders and civilians were The talks are on a plan defleeing. vised by L'.N. envoy Cyrus Efendic gave no further de» Vance and Lord Owen. the Eutails. Ham radio operators in ropean Community mediator. Zagreb. Croatia. said they were to end ll months of war over unable to contact Konjevic Bosnia's secession from SerbPolje today. indicating the vildominated Yugoslavia. Delaylage‘s defenders were in trou— ing acceptance of the plan is ble. likely to mean more misery for The fall of Konje\ic Polje eastern Bosnia. would worsen the plight of Srebrcnica. a town 15 miles to the Morillon set up a temporary southwest overflowing with headquarters at Srebrenica‘s Maslims who have fled the Serb town hall and was trying to neadvance in eastern Bosnia. gotiate safe passage for an aid Gen. Philippe Morillon. the convoy and evacuation flights. t'.l\‘. peacekeeper commander. Jolles said he wanted to set up a was holed up there for a fourth permanent station for UN. milday trying to arrange help for itary observers. civilians. “There is near starvation. Laurens Jolles. a UN. relief slow starvation and people are official just back from Srebren— dying of exhaustion and expoica. said up to 40 people were sure at a rate of 30 to 40 a day.“ dying of cold and hunger daily. said Jolles. “If nothing is done "I have seen scenes I would hundreds will start dying every never have expected in the 20th day." ‘ He said aid been dropped by century." Jolles told the AP in Belgrade. Yugoslavia. “Thou- U.S. planes the past two weeks sands of women and children was “absolutely insufficient“ living together in the snow. for the town. which has swelled without any shelter. huddled to a population of more than around fires. Most have not ea- 60.000 by the flood of refugees. “A human stream runs to ten for four to fix e days. " Jolles said Morillon had mountains every night" to look pledged to stay in Srebrenica for dropped aid. said Jolles. until Serb forces allowed U.N. ”But only the strongest ones get trucks to bring in food and med— the food —- certainly not the icine and permitted the evacua- mothers and children who need tion of sick and wounded. it most.“ But an official at UN. head— Overnight. six Air Force Cquarters in Zagreb said the Bos- 130 cargo planes dropped 41.4 nian Serb military command tons of food and 1.4 tons of had rejected. negotiations while medical supplies over Zepa in Morillon was in Srebrenica. eastern Bosnia. It was the 15th After routing Muslims from such airdrop in eastern Bosnia a string of villages in the region since the operation began that borders Serb-dominated March I. Yugoslavia. Bosnian Serb The Bosnian government rebels have their artillery says at least I34,000 people are trained on Srebrenica and show dead or missing from the fightno sign ofallowing aid convoys ing. in which the Serbs have seized 70 percent of Bosnia. through. China plans more economic reforms By DAN BIERS Associated Press Writer BEIJING — Premier Li Peng offered a blueprint today for accelerating capitalist-style reforms to keep China’s economy one of the world‘s fastest-growing despite what he called a constant threat of inflation. Li made it clear. however, that the ruling Communist Party has no plans to case its authoritarian rule. He called political stability a cornerstone of fast-paced economic change. “We must never allow ourselves to be distracted from economic development.“ Li told China‘s legislature, the National People’s Congress. “All other work must be subordinated to and serve that central task. ’ ‘During its 17-day meeting. the congress will fill more topgovemment slots with members of the party‘s top body. the seven-mem— ber Politburo Standing Committee. For the first time. no old revolutionaries from Mao Tsc-tung‘s era are expected in key govemmcnt posts. The personnel reshuffle has been widely expected to help ensure that power will smoothly pass to a new generation of Communist officials after the death of senior leader Deng Xiaoping, who is 88 and ailing. Deng still remains the final arbiter of policy. despite having no officral posts. Similarly. the revolutionary veterans who formally retire during this congress session. including President Yang Shangkun, will still wield considerable influence because of their seniority. Li’s two-hour speech made it clear the congress will be devoted to endorsing Deng's call to deepen his economic reforms. which led to 12.8 percent growth last year while much of the world was mired in recession. He showed none of the caution of his 1992 work report —., which is the Chinese equivalent of a U.S. State of the Union speech — when he suggested 6 percent economic growth rate. This year, he said the average annual growth rate through 1995 should hit 8 percent or 9 percent and could even exceed that rate. Western economists generally believe that China cannot sustain faster growth without igniting in— flation, a politically explosive issue which helped the 1989 prodemocracy movement win mass of inflation." and also acknowl- edged strains on China’s transport facilities and shortages of energy. He also said the amount of bank credit has risen too fast. But Li did not say the economy was “overheating," a word that would suggest the government was worried that growth was out of control and might take steps to cool it down. Instead. he said that “where conditions permit, a higher rate (of growth) can and should be achieved." The work report serves as a blueprint for the country’s development for the coming year. Its key passages are immediately enshrined as state policy. and will be cited countless times by officials throughout 1993. Li stressed that social and political stability are essential for modernization and economic development. He gave no indication China is interested in political reform that would bring it closer to Westemstyle democracies. In fact, he used the speech to denounce British plans to intro— duce political reform in its colony support. of Hong Kong, which will be handed back to China in I997. Beijing Li, who is expected to receive another five-year term. perfunctorily wamod of the “constant threat fears the proposals could ignite calls for democracy in mainland China. Militants claim responsibility for India bombings By THOMAS WAGNER Associated Press Writer BOMBAY. India — A Sikh militant group that has set off many bombs in the troubled northern near a rail station in the Bombay neighborhood of Dadar. Car bombs devastated hotels. skyscrapers, the stock exchange and apartment buildings across Bombay on Friday. terrorist attacks. Bombay has remained peaceful since Friday. but officials are con- cerned that the explosions could cause another round of Hindu- Muslim riots in the city, where 600 state of Punjab called a news agenThe Press Trust of India said a people died in such violence in Jancy today and made the first claim man identifying himself as a uary. of responsibility for the blasts that spokesman for the Khalistan Comdevastated Bombay. Also today, an Indian newspaper said thc United States was sending a team of experts on Tuesday to compare the 13 explosions that killed more than 300 people on Friday and the blast that rocked the mando Force called this morning and said his group exploded the bombs to show the federal and Punjab governments that it remains active and determined in the battle for independence. Punjab is one of the few states in No one has been accused of setting off the bombs on Friday. But many believe that if authorities accuse a member of the city’s minority Muslim community more communal violence could follow. The Independent newspaper said experts from the United States and the international police agency World Trade Center in New York India that doesn‘t have a Hindu on Feb. 26. The U.S. Embassy in majority. Bombay is more than Interpol were on their way to BomNew Delhi refused to confirm the 800 miles south of Punjab. bay to compare the explosions with report. The rebel roup. one of many in the World Trade Center blast. It said Washington had already In another development. police Punjab. suffered major setbacks found two motor scooters rigged last year when police shot and sent vital information concerning with hidden bombs that apparently killed its four top leaders in the leading terrorist operatives from the Middle East who could have failed to explode in the streets of state. It is the only militant group in been responsible. Bombay on Friday. The bombs Punjab that had been using car U.S. Embassy officials in New were defused. . The scooters were parked about bombs and hand grenades to blow Delhi refused to confirm the report. six blocks from each other outside up police officials. However, Indian officials invesThe two men arrested so far in Zaveri Bazaar, an area in south Bfgmbay where other bombs went tigating the Bombay car bombs the World Trade Center bombing have said they appear to have con- are both Palestinians. one with Jor0 . On Sunday. police found anoth- tained sophisticated explosives danian citizenship and one who er scooter packed with explosives never used in the country‘s many was born in Kuwait. |