| OCR Text |
Show Wee oe weew tet UA c SAVINGS Mexican officials accused of covering up massacre of 45 he Assocate ACTEAL. Mexico InvesUgalors are Federal pressing top of- ficials in the southern state of Chiapas to explain why they failed to stop a massacre of 45 Indian villagers, despite being alerted during the hours-long attack One state emplovee said police blocked him tram passing through the area because of gun- fire directly contradicting state officials’ insistence that they didn’t know about the shooting until hours later And a newspaper on Friday cited witnesses as saying that polige tried to cover up the massacre, digging graves to hidethe bodies, then rushing them off to the state capital for autopsies. At least two dozen men, all wearing ski masks and blue or black uniforms, openedfire on villagers in this highlands Maya community on Monday, killing seven men, 20 women and 18 a ca Attorney General Jorge Madrazo said The “immense majority” were shot in the back with high-caliber weapons, Madrazosaid The massacre shocked people across Mexico, produced calls for the governor's resignation and reinforced skepticism about the federal government's efforts to revive peace talks with the Zapausta rebels. It has put govern- ment officials all the way up to President Emesto Zedillo on the defensive Zedillo has condemned the massacre and called for renewed vestigation. But he confirmed that he had interrogated Homero Tovilla, the Chiapas state secretary, about when state officials had learned of the massacre. Tovilla admitted that Roman Catholic priests in nearby San Cristobal had called to report gunfire in Acteal about 11:30 a.m. Monday. He said he called the local police station, which told him there was no evidence of violence. peace talks with the rebels. Zapatista leaders. however, have blamed Zedillo for the bloodshed, accusing the government of talking peace while arming paramilitary groups Forty-one people have been detained in the attack, all of them Maya Indians from Alberto Chan. a civil defense official, told The Associated Press that he was driving on a road to Acteal at 11 a.m. Mon- ¢ 3.3 cu. ft. super capacity e Exclusive stainless steel tub LWA-20AW day when a state police official fe)’ | | stopped him and told himit was too dangerous to continue. villages around Acteal. But investigators sull have not said who they believe ordered the attack. Survivors have blamed paramilitary forces aligned with Mexico's ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI Madrazo said he could not discuss some aspects of the in- ee, ee oe “They told me I couldn't go any farther because there was a shootout,” he said. I That would directly contradict the state government's version of events, and could lend credence in the massacre. not, ele¢ SGD-22T to some survivors’ assertions that state police officers participated Frost the for) TM17TB siti¢ ally unté U.S. easing restrictions Mysterious Kenyan disease on Colombia military aid | tween the guerrillas and the drug traffickers is clearest. WASHINGTON The Clinton administration, fearful that Marxist guerrillas allied with drug traffickers pose a The aid consists principally of spare parts, communications | growing threat to the government of Colombia, is loosening boats and vehicles. restrictions on aid to the Colombian armed forces, withheld for years because of the mili- tary’s human rights record. A unique agreement worked out last summer - and heavily debated within the administra- uion - permits U.S. aid, expected to total about $37 million in fiscal 1998, to be used bythe Colombian military for counterinsurgencyactivities as part of a larger program to fight drug trafficking. The aid can be used in only a specifically defined geographic area - called “the box” whose exact boundaries are | side is loosening considerably.” said a senior administration official in an unusually blunt assessment ofthe growing guerrilla threat in Latin America’s oldest democracy. “About $0 abik Medical experts were testing Car wan dozens of blood samples from nyans by causing bleeding from | the nose and mouth. Red Cross officials say 42 people have died in neighboring Somalia, and = in B | hari sen agai wor! Hat specimens were sent to Nairobi for analysis. there is a growing nexus between the narcos and many fronts of the guerrillas. The govermment is in trouble.” The controversial policy is an attempt to walk through a poli- | cy mine field. Critics say the | | “At this point, we're concerned it may be something that affects both animals and people,” said Douglas Klaucke, a World Health Organization representa- ist.“ was SELF CLEANING swe inve tive in Kenya. If animals are affected, then malaria, which is endemic in the region, is not the cause. ¢ Littlecat lift pass* ADU 30000WW ¢ Ski rental Ski Sch 9,400 “ First Time on Boards $40." Includes: feot of ¢2 hour lesson ¢ Littlecat lift pass* ‘prop ¢ Snowboard rental * No upgrade on lift pass 5 waa RoPtbEctBRU BescBetol Located in the Wasatch-Cache National Forest _ DISH WASHER RMC-810W. Convection or Microwave @eeaueees. eserves? a%& Earp SLAe*eseeuend ee #440 8G ee ° he ho 2A e ena ¢2 hour lesson MICROWAVE ame ee $35." Includes: Amana.CONVECTION | Amana, LEVEL poe eke Time on Skis eek ae eRe or almond Turntable OCMshot A ¢ White, black, Se Fee Oe Se eer esa awe ws RW-635T © 1000 watt | ae eee rwrerrvre tenance © | decades and cost thousands of lives and livestock. scientists said Friday. which has killed scores of Ke- percent of the territory is not roughlythe southern half of the country, where the alliance be- M. - both humans and animals to determine the nature ofthe disease, under government control, and closer to a vicious, multi-sided political conflict that has lasted to a filed pears to be killing both humans “The grip of the government | on the territory in the country- classified but which covers P Can ring. of-o e Extra large 6.6 cu. ft. capacity ¢ Speed Queen NAIROBI, Kenya - A mysterious disease in remote, flooded parts of northeastern Kenya ap- equipment, ammunition and maintenance for helicopters, move brings the United States 2-ONLY The Associated Press y The Washington Post Ti ll a Fa By DOUGLAS FARAH GAS DRYERS |
