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Show Sunday, May 24, 1992 7A WORLD Standard-Examiner European Community threatens sanctions against Serbia BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) - Fighting resumed across BoswiaHerntcovina Saturday as the European Community said it would impose sanctions on Serbia their ambassadors from Belgrade, the Serbian and federal capital. to force it out of the republic’s civil war. NewYork and San Francisco and a suspension of “contacts” with the Yugoslav military. On Saturday, the community pledged $76.2 million in aid for refugees throughout the former Yu- In Lisbon, Portugal, EC spokesman FernandoBalsinha said specific sanctions had not been determined. Earlier, an ECsource, speaking on condition of anonymi- ty, said options included trade and energy embargoes. Further discussion was scheduled for Tuesday in Belgium. U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker II] on Friday announced the closing of Yugoslav consulates in goslav federation. The warin Bosnia is an “affront to our collective conscience,” Baker said in Lisbon, where he was at- The EC countries and United tending discussions on Soviet aid. EC mediators also held separate States have already called back peace talks in Lisbon with repre- sentatives of Bosnia’s three warring factions. No breakthroughs were reported. Portugal holds the rotating EC presidency. In Geneva, the U.N. High Com- missioner for Refugees said it is withdrawing its remaining staff from Bosnia. Twelve U.N. relief trucks were hijacked late Thursday by militiamen. More than 2,200 people have been killed in Bosnia and 7,600 woundedsince the republic’s Slavic Muslims and Croats voted for independence on Feb. 29. Serbs, who account for one-third of the popu- lation of 4.3 million, oppose independence. About 650,000 people havefled their homes in Bosnia since the fighting started. An agreement Friday to withdraw Serb-led federal troops from Sarajevo was delayed to give wives and children in the blockaded barracks more time to pack, an army officer in Sarajevo said in telephoneinterview. The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the evacuation might start early Sunday. Several previous evacuation plans have failed, mostly because ofre- newed fighting. In the Croatian port of Split, refugee officials were trying to accom- modate about 3,000 mothers and children — ase Muslims — whoarrived late Friday from a Sarajevo suburb, where they had been held for three days. They were released in exchange for food deliveries to the federal armybarracks. Sarajevo appeared relatively quiet Saturday, but the Belgrade-based Tanjug news agencysaid Bosnian defense officials reported clashes between their forces and ethnic Serbs in the suburb of Dobrinja. At least seven deaths were reported in clashes elsewhere in the republic, according to Croatian and Serbian media. Five died in Goradze in the southeast, one in Bihac, northwest of Sarajevo, and one Tuzla, in the north. Other clashes were reported in Cajnice in the southeast and Brcko in the north. In Croatia, fighting was reported at the port of Zadar and theeastern stronghold of Osijek. Two people were reported killed. In Serbia, the ethnic Albania minority in Kosovo, an Albaniandominated southern province, plan to elect a president and a 130member regional assembly on Sunday. The vote could be a step toward independence and eventual union with neighboring Albania. Philippine president to inherit problems MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The candidate most likelyto be the next president of the Philippines apologized for holding his news conference at a hotel. There was no electricity at his headquarters, Fidel Ramos explained. Lack ofelectricity is but one of the formidable problems that Corazon Aquinowill leave to her sucgesar whenshe leaves office June 30. ANALYSIS The economy is stagnant, having grown just 0.5 percent last year. Population is mushrooming at 2.8 percent annually. Nearly one-third of the labor force is unemployed or works only part time. Three out of five of the 64 million Filipinos live in poverty. In Manila, squatter shacks proliferate in vacant lots, beneath bridges and along the Pasig River and its tributaries open sewers that long have been declared ecologically dead. In the rural areas, conditions are worse. Last June’s eruption of Mount Pinatubo devastated parts of three provinces and forced the United States to abandon Clark Air Base. Nearly a year later, farmers whose lands were buried in tons of volcanic ash stand along the highway near San Fernando, begging for handouts from motorists. Communist rebels still operate in manyrural areas, although their numbers have declined since Aquino rose to power in the 1986 popular uprising that ousted the late President Ferdinand Marcos. “To me, the most urgent necessity is to get everybodyto agree the country is in dire straits, crisis even,” said Ramos. Internationally, the nation must carve a newrole for itself. For generations, Philippine foreign policy focused on the United States, its former colonial power. U.S. military bases in the country provided the glue for a relation- ship which, though often a source of friction, provided the Philippines with leverage that a poor, developing country without vast oil resources could never have enjoyed. When the nation needed international financial help after Marcos’ ouster, Washington organized a multinational donor program. The Americans discreetly urged the Dutch to monitor the activities of the Communist-dominated National Democratic Front, which was using its office in Utrecht to raise funds for the Marxist rebellion here. U.S. ships and planes helped in search and rescue operations after maritime accidents and flew supplies to areas hit bynatural di- sasters. But the decision to close the last U.S. base at Subic Bay this year has changedall that. All seven presidential candidates promised to encourage foreign investment. But infrastructure deteriorated so badly during the Aquino years that many investors must decide whether the Philippines is worth the trouble. Bmeavsad pte Ramosleads,rival SeeBoe oT begins hungerstrike MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Fidel Ramos took a commanding ad in the presidential race Satur- day, but a defiant rival began a hunger strike to demand an endto illeged vote fraud Ramos, who is supported by outgoing President Corazon Aquino, was more than | million votes ahead in the count from the May 11 elections, which has been marred by charges of baiiot rigging and other violations Congress was scheduled to meet Mondayto review returns and prolaim a winner to succeed Aquino, term ¢ nds on June 30. Legislators can challenge the returns, but hose there are fears that a delay in nam- a new pr I tical sident could lead to a crisis and a mili tary take- Presidential candidate Miriam Defensor Santuago claims the count has been delayed to ng results for Ramos. 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