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Dr. Barnett Slepian, the mainstay of Buffalo's only abortion clinic, was slain as he stood at his kitchen window. Slepian has been described as a fatalist who stubbornly adhered to doing what he thought right. The FBI is looking for James Kopp for questioning as a material witness in the slaying. Kopp has long been identified as a major voice in the anti-abortion movement. Attorney General Reno will investigate if the slaying is part of a nation-wide plot. In Canada, authorities are worried that new violence could erupt as Remembrance Day approaches. Anti-abortion pamphlets have been delivered to a Canadian newspaper, possibly by Kopp. Abortion clinics continue to be targeted by anti-abortion groups such as Operation Rescue, Lambs of Christ, and Army of God. Opposition ranges from silent vigils to vocal and physical intimidation, and even murder. Dr. Bart Shepian of Buffalo's only abortion clinic was murdered in his home. Police in the US and Canada are looking for James Kopp, a known abortion opponent, as a material witness in that murder. The clinics serve poor, young, and uneducated women since the well-to-do use their established providers. AG Janet Reno has named a task force to find out if the Slepian murder, the third in five years, is part of an organized campaign of violence. The primary doctor at the last abortion clinic in Buffalo, NY, was shot and killed. Dr. Slepian, a stubborn man, dedicated to women's care, and an unlikely martyr. It's the 7th such death, and the 4th similar attack. James Kopp is sought as a material witness. The anti-abortion movement has local and itinerate members. Their activities go from prayers and talking to confrontations, threats and violence. After this killing, the FBI resumed a search for an anti-abortion conspiracy. Since the first few years after Roe v Wade, the number of abortions has declined, as has the number of clinics and doctors providing the procedure, especially for poorer women. On Oct. 23, 1998, a sniper killed Dr. Barnet Slepian, a mainstay in the last abortion clinic in the Buffalo area and one of only a few doctors performing the procedure in the face of protesters and threats. Many of the protesters are itinerants like Rev. Norman Weslin, founder of the anti-abortion group Lambs of Christ, who travel about spreading their message and shutting down clinics. Another itinerant demonstrator, James Charles Kopp, is wanted by the FBI as a material witness in the Slepian murder. In addition to anti-abortion violence, a shortage of doctors who are trained and willing to do the procedures imperil their widespread availability.
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"Federal authorities investigating the murder of a Buffalo-area obstetrician who performed abortions have identified a Vermont man as a material witness to the sniper attack last month and issued a warrant for his arrest Wednesday to bring him in for questioning. The man was identified as James Charles Kopp, 44, whose last known address was in St. Albans, Vt. His whereabouts are not known, investigators said. Investigators said Kopp's car was seen near the Amherst, N.Y., home of Dr. Barnett Slepian in the weeks before the doctor, whose work at an abortion clinic had long made him a target of harassment, was killed. Kopp, according to police records and abortion rights groups, has often moved about the country in a series of protests at abortion clinics, and has been linked to an underground manual that describes methods of killing or maiming doctors who perform abortions. Denise O'Donnell, the U.S. attorney for the western district of New York, said Kopp was not considered a suspect at this time but was believed to have information material to the case. She declined to give details on what evidence was being sought from Kopp, describing it only as information that is contained in a sealed affidavit whose disclosure would compromise the ongoing investigation. Ms. O'Donnell said that federal law allowed for an arrest warrant for a material witness when a person has information that is important to a case. ``If Kopp is found, he would be arrested, brought to Buffalo and ordered to provide the required evidence,'' Ms. O'Donnell said. ``Then, most likely, the individual would be released.'' Slepian, 52, was shot by a sniper firing from outside his home on Oct. 23, shortly after returning from an evening service at his synagogue. He was standing in his kitchen with his wife and one of his four sons when the bullet crashed through a back window. He died two hours later. Law enforcement officials said Wednesday's announcement of the material witness warrant was in part an attempt to underscore the potential danger of anti-abortion violence in advance of Remembrance Day, a Canadian holiday that falls on Nov. 11 and that the authorities have associated with some anti-abortion crimes. At the same time, the Justice Department and the FBI were trying to find ways to step up the federal response to violence at abortion clinics in the aftermath of the Slepian killing. The officials said that Attorney General Janet Reno would soon announce that the Justice Department, aiming to heighten the visibility of the federal role in cases that cross state and local jurisdictional boundaries, would revive a national investigative effort focused on abortion clinic violence. Ms. Reno and senior FBI officials, including Robert Bryant, the deputy FBI director, have met with physician and abortion rights groups in recent days to discuss ways to enhance federal investigative efforts and coordination with local agencies. Federal authorities first organized an abortion clinic task force in 1995 after the killing of a Florida doctor. The unit, which was charged with investigating whether a national conspiracy existed, spent nearly two years studying abortion clinic violence. The unit disbanded without uncovering a national conspiracy. Law enforcement officials said that the unit's operation did help reduce violence at abortion clinics and that, in part, the decision to re-establish it was prompted by Ms. Reno's desire to send a renewed message to anti-abortion extremists that the government would aggressively investigate these crimes. Slepian's murder fit the pattern of four earlier sniper attacks on abortion doctors in Canada and western New York, dating from 1994. None of the attacks have been solved. Bernard Tolbert, special agent in charge of the FBI in Buffalo, said at a news conference here Wednesday that investigators had not determined whether there is a link between the five killings. ``There's a possibility they could be linked, but certainly no information,'' he said. Tolbert gave little information about the subject of the material-witness warrant, except to say that Kopp's black 1987 Chevrolet Cavalier, with the Vermont license plate BPE216, was seen near Slepian's home beginning several weeks before the murder. ``We don't have any idea of where he is,'' Tolbert said of Kopp. ``We are looking for him every place we can, every place he might be.'' A photograph of Kopp taken in January 1997 has been distributed to law enforcement agencies around the United States and Canada. The National Abortion Federation has sent out an advisory to clinics around the country about the search for Kopp, said Melinda DuBois, assistant director of Womenservices, the clinic where Slepian worked. She said naming Kopp a material witness in the case had not brought relief to the nurses and other workers at the clinic. ``I don't think it makes me or anyone else at the clinic feel differently,'' she said. ``I don't want anybody to relax and say, `Oh God, they got the guy.' That's easy to happen. I still want people to be very vigilant.'' The clinic is the last in the Buffalo area that is performing abortions. Slepian was one of only a handful of doctors in Buffalo who were still willing to perform the procedure in the face of pickets, protesters and threats. Since his death, doctors from outside Buffalo have come to the clinic to continue providing abortion services.",
"Rosina Lotempio was standing outside abortion clinics here before Operation Rescue stormed into town in 1992 for the rowdy Spring of Life rallies, in which hundreds were arrested. She was there before Lambs of Christ demonstrators came to town in 1993. She was on the sidewalk outside Buffalo GYN Womenservices the morning of Oct. 23, about 12 hours before Barnett Slepian, the clinic doctor, was fatally shot in his home. And she was there Friday, brown rosary beads in her hands, a small gold cross on a chain around her neck, quietly praying for abortions to stop. ``I'm heartbroken when I have to come here,'' Mrs. Lotempio, 58, said as she stood in the cold, wearing small black earmuffs and a white turtleneck adorned with a tiny silver pin of baby feet. ``It's very difficult out here; I depend on God,'' she said, after praying for several moments to decide whether to talk to a reporter. The bombings, the fiery rhetoric of abortion opponents and the posters of bloody fetuses may capture the attention of the news media, but people like Mrs. Lotempio are the foot soldiers in the abortion battle. They call themselves street counselors and come to the clinic whenever they believe abortions are being performed. They pray and they talk to women, hoping to change their minds. Some scream profanities. Others, like Mrs. Lotempio, denounce not only the violence against doctors and clinics, but also the blocking of doors and the shouting of ugly epithets at clinic workers and patients. For the approximately 80 abortion opponents here, their protest is more like a job than a political activity. There is a schedule. People count on them to show up. Mrs. Lotempio, a mother of three and grandmother of six, connects her involvement to a conversation in the 1970s in which she helped a friend decide to abort an unwanted pregnancy. Two decades later, she was haunted by her own question: whether the fetus was male or female. ``I just felt horrible and I felt guilty,'' she said, tears in her eyes. ``I thought that if I was at the clinic doing something, I could make up for that baby's life.'' During Mrs. Lotempio's 8 a.m.-to-10 a.m. shift Friday, about a dozen people circled the area in front of the Buffalo clinic, saying the ``Hail Mary.'' Others take her spot on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. She returns on Saturdays, when up to 40 people crowd the sidewalk. Similar bands of protesters march in front of abortion clinics throughout the United States, and local protesters are often joined by bands of people who roam the country. At the clinic on Main Street, north of downtown Buffalo, there is an odd sense of community. Local protesters greet Dick, the security guard, by name. They sometimes see the ``enemy'' _ abortion-rights volunteers who escort patients in and out of the clinic _ in the supermarket or on the soccer field. Robert Behn, one of the protest leaders, even spent two hours talking about abortion over breakfast last year with Slepian. And several said they",
"cried when they heard of Slepian's death. Most of the protesters, including Mrs. Lotempio, were among the thousands of people arrested here in 1992, the height of anti-abortion activity in Buffalo. But if Operation Rescue returns, as planned, for a Spring of Life reunion in April, Mrs. Lotempio said, she will not be there. Instead, she plans to stay in church and pray, to avoid the militancy she says she finds uncomfortable. Glenn Murray, a lawyer for Womenservices clinic, said: ``When people from out of town show up, that is when we feel the most danger. The local people are a known quantity. We know most of the local people by name.'' Buffalo has been among a handful of hot spots for abortion protesters for the last decade. It is a heavily Catholic city where thousands of protesters from around the country demonstrated for two weeks in 1992. They failed to close abortion clinics, but 500 people were arrested in rallies that snarled traffic and drew national headlines. Those rallies, as well as earlier protests and continuing sidewalk vigils, have had an impact, people on both sides of the abortion issue say. The number of clinics performing abortions in the Buffalo area has dropped to one from three. And after Slepian's death and the retirement this week of another doctor, there are only two doctors in the area for whom abortions form a significant part of their practices. The daily demonstrators count this as progress. But their perch outside the clinic means they witness far more of what they believe are murders than what they call rescues. About 30 women a day might go into the clinic. After eight years, Mrs. Lotempio can count eight women who changed their minds and did not get abortions while she was at the clinic. Inside the clinic, the protests just make a hard job harder, many clinic workers say. While some demonstrators simply repeat the rosary, other protesters call out to patients as they drive into the parking lot behind the building, or walk up to the fortresslike front. They ask questions like ``Do you know what your baby looks like?'' or ``Is it a boy or a girl?'' Sometimes they accuse people of murder and torture and sin, or threaten them with damnation. Federal law bars protesters from coming within 15 feet of the clinic entrances, and from leaning signs against its walls. Some push the limits, frustrating clinic workers and guards. The rules protect people from physical harassment, but because of the distance, they turn what could be quiet conversations into catcalls and taunts. When a patient goes into the clinic, the protesters ``take on a different persona,'' said Melinda DuBois, director of the Buffalo clinic. ``They scream and yell and call us names. They lie. Some days we're immune to it, but other days it's just too much.'' Linda Palm, 51, marching at the clinic on Friday, said she identified with the clinic patients. When she was 23, she said, she struggled with the difficulties of being unmarried and pregnant herself, but",
"decided to have her child, and married the father. She began protesting in 1990, after attending an abortion protest march in Albany.",
"Everyone who knew Dr. Barnett Slepian knew that the slight, graying physician endured a measure of stress that would exhaust, even break, most people. There were the strangers who pawed through the garbage cans at his home and growled ``murderer'' as they passed him in the grocery store aisle. Demonstrators assailed his pregnant patients as they arrived at his office for their checkups, calling him a baby killer. Outside the clinic where he performed abortions two days a week, pickets shouted epithets like ``pig'' to his face. Slepian, an obstetrician and gynecologist by training and an abortion doctor by principle, rarely acknowledged the strain. He might crack an occasional joke at the expense of the protesters who shadowed him at work and on weekends. Then he would do something unexpected, like invite an anti-abortion leader to breakfast or stop and chat with a familiar demonstrator outside the clinic. So when he was killed Oct. 23 by a sniper's bullet fired through the kitchen window of his home in the Buffalo, N.Y., suburbs, a furtive execution that fit a pattern of four earlier attacks on abortion providers in western New York state and Canada, friends and relatives wondered not so much that Slepian's work could arouse such murderous violence. He had predicted as much himself. Instead, they wondered, once again, that he persisted in that work, long after other Buffalo doctors had surrendered to the pressure of abortion opponents. ``He was an incredibly fatalistic person who thought that if your number's up, it's up, and there is nothing you can do about it,'' said H. Amanda Robb, the doctor's 32-year-old niece. ``And he was incredibly stubborn. He said that women had a right to comprehensive health care and since he was a women's doctor, he was going to provide it for them.'' Slepian is the third doctor to be killed in the last five years in bombings and shootings that have killed 7 people and wounded 17 at abortion clinics around the nation. To his tormentors, he was simply an abortion doctor. To members of the abortion rights movement, he was a martyr for their cause. But Slepian was far from either. In interviews with friends and family members, he emerges as more than a one-dimensional abstract _ a conservative who advocated old-fashioned values like self-reliance, a shy man who had rare flashes of anger, a doctor who performed abortions but had no more patience for women who had multiple abortions than for women who had multiple children they did not want or could not support. He was killed because he performed a medical procedure that has become emotional and politicized. Yet there is nothing in his life to suggest he was a crusader in either politics or medicine. Rather, he was an obstinate, unassuming man who did a remarkable thing. Out of contrariness and out of conscience, say those who knew him, he refused to allow anyone to dictate what kind of doctor he should be, and for that, he paid with his life. The clues to Slepian's flinty brand of commitment",
"lie, in part, in his upbringing. His was a family that took success for granted even as it teetered on the edge of poverty. To earn money for medical school, he shoveled muck at a ranch and drove a taxi. He made few friends, but those he had were friends for life. When their wives were sick, he called repeatedly. When they were lonely, he flew to their side. Slepian, who was known as Bart, used to tell people that he chose obstetrics because it is a specialty that exposes a doctor to the least suffering, and that he performed abortions because it was legal and the alternatives were so much worse. Slepian often expressed exasperation over women who came to him for abortion after abortion. ``Don't they get it?'' his clinic staff recall him saying more than once. He had the same impatience for women like those he remembered from his residency in inner-city Buffalo, who had child after child and no means of support. ``He had the contempt for that of somebody who had pulled himself up by his bootstraps and made it in the world,'' Ms. Robb said. He believed that to ban abortions or, just as shameful in his view, to stop teaching young doctors how to perform them, would not correct the human imperfections that he found so irritating. ``There are 1.5 million abortions performed in this country,'' his niece said, ``and he just felt we're not equipped to handle 1.5 million unwanted children.'' When he was killed, at the age of 52, Bart Slepian owned an imposing red brick home in the quiet suburb of Amherst, complete with a swimming pool with piped-in music and an assortment of the time-saving gadgets he adored. Slepian's trajectory to that comfortable doctor's life had been unconventional. His grandfather, a Russian Jewish immigrant who started out selling shoelaces from a pushcart in Boston, propelled all five of his sons into Harvard at a time when few Jews met the university's blue-blood standards. His father, in turn, decreed that his own three sons would be doctors or earn Ph.D's. ``We grew up in a home where there was tremendous, tremendous, tremendous respect for education,'' said Serena Robb, Slepian's sister, who is four years older than him. ``If you got an A, it was OK If you got a B, you got yelled at.'' The family's means did not match its expectations. Slepian's father, Philip, had joined his own father's business manufacturing leather soles for shoes. Soon after Bart was born in 1946 in Boston, the company failed, so to save money, the father moved his family of six to his in-laws' apartment in McKeesport, Pa., and then to Rochester, N.Y. Once settled, Slepian's father set himself up as a freelance writer, crisscrossing the country in his old Studebaker, researching the origins of prominent citizens at the Library of Congress and writing their stories for small-town newspapers. He sold articles by the hundreds, and was still writing until his death nine years ago at the age of 93. The success that was",
"expected of Bart Slepian did not come easily. As a child, he was so shy that he cried when anyone looked at him, his sister recalled. An unexceptional student, he went to a local community college before transferring to the University of Denver, where he majored in zoology. Rejected by medical schools in the United States _ the fate of two out of three applicants in the late 1960s _ he studied one year in Belgium and then enrolled at the Autonomous University for Medicine in Guadalajara, Mexico. His friends remember him as funny and obstinate, a thin young man with glasses and a receding hairline who beat all comers at arm-wrestling and pool. ``Bart had certain beliefs, strongly held,'' said Richard Schwarz, an old classmate who is an internist on Long Island. ``He always said you shouldn't sit around whining about things,'' Schwarz said. ``He would say, `Go after what's yours and what's right.''' Bart Slepian's determination surfaced in quirky ways. He once insisted on going to the top of the World Trade Center, despite a crippling fear of heights. To get to the window, he crawled, inch by inch. ``I said, `You don't have to do this,' '' recalled Schwarz, who was with him at the time. ``And he said, `I want to do it.' Bart made it count. He felt alive.'' Forced to drop out of school every few semesters to work, he lived in Reno with his sister Serena, a widow who was struggling to take care of two young daughters. She worked as a waitress and a blackjack dealer, sharing her tips with him while he drove a cab, cleaned barns at a ranch and worked as a laboratory assistant at the local Veterans Administration hospital. After graduation, he moved to Buffalo for his medical residency. There he married Lynne Breitbart, a registered nurse 10 years his junior, and scraped together the money to buy an obstetrics practice from a doctor who was about to retire. He had a soothing, unhurried manner. When a patient of his, Patti Durlak, was diagnosed with diabetes, Slepian referred her to a specialist but called every few days for months to help her overcome a fear of the needles she had to use for her insulin injections. ``The other doctor said, `Just deal with it,''' Mrs. Durlak recalled. ``Not Dr. Slepian.'' In most ways, he was a typical suburban family man, working six days a week and spending his free time at Little League games and county fairs with his four sons. But by the late 1980s, he and other abortion doctors in Buffalo were under siege. In one notorious 1991 incident recorded on videotape, the Rev. Paul Schenck, one of the fieriest of Buffalo's anti-abortion leaders, threw himself in front of the doctor's car as he pulled into the clinic driveway. Slepian parked on the street. As he pushed his way through the crowd of chanting demonstrators, Schenck cupped his hands around his mouth and lunged, shouting, ``Slepian, you pig!'' Slepian's attempts to separate the abortion conflict from his private",
"life were futile. The protests followed him home and the man who had been so bashful as a boy found himself, uncomfortably, at the center of controversy and attention. Once, he showed his anger. In 1988, when demonstrators jeered at him from the sidewalk in front of his home as he opened Hanukkah presents with his children, the doctor came out brandishing a baseball bat. He denied he hurt anyone, but a town judge ordered him to repair one protester's smashed van window and pay a portion of another's medical bills. The outburst surprised his family and friends. It was not Slepian's style to make a public fuss, much less acknowledge the stress of being taunted by protesters. ``Stress?'' his oldest brother Paul responded gruffly when asked about the doctor's mood. ``I never heard the word used in my family, except as an engineering term. He said it was a nuisance.'' Mrs. Slepian did not respond to requests for an interview. She expressed rage to The Buffalo News shortly after the shooting. She said that whoever had killed her husband deserved the death penalty and that she would be happy to administer the lethal injection herself. She also spoke out after Schenck's brother, Robert, another anti-abortion leader who frequently confronted Slepian, sent a bouquet of flowers. Mrs. Slepian denounced him as ``a hypocrite.'' After the confrontation in 1988, Slepian turned to civil harassment lawsuits, letters and levity to deal with the protesters. In 1993, when a man active in the anti-abortion effort was arrested for rifling through the doctor's garbage cans at home, Slepian tried to treat the incident lightly. ``They hopefully got the bags full of dirty diapers,'' he joked. He tried to engage his critics through the local newspaper. He told The Buffalo News that abortion protesters should turn their energies to helping women avoid unwanted pregnancies through birth control and counseling. In a letter to the editor he warned that by repeatedly calling him a murderer, his critics were inciting violence. Slepian accepted that opponents of abortion acted out of moral conviction, his friends said, but resented the personal attacks. ``He thought it tended to demonize and dehumanize him and increased the danger,'' said his lawyer, Glenn Edward Murray. So Slepian took a step that few of the nation's beleaguered abortion clinic doctors dared. He insisted that if he tried hard enough, he might cut through the venom. To the dismay of the staff members who feared for his safety, Slepian began about a year ago to stop and chat with protesters he recognized outside the Womenservices abortion clinic in Buffalo, where he worked two days a week. He surprised a gathering of protesters who were preparing for what they euphemistically called a ``house call,'' or demonstration at the doctor's home, and invited the protest's organizer, the Rev. Robert Behn, to breakfast. Their hourlong conversation the next morning was inconclusive, Behn said, dismissing Slepian's gesture as an ``attempt to get people to like him.'' He asked Slepian how performing abortions affected him spiritually. In response, he recalled, the doctor",
"said, ``I'm fine spiritually.'' Slepian, meanwhile, focused more on time away from home with his family. He planned to take a cruise next spring. He bought a time-share apartment near Disney World in Florida. ``He had so many plans,'' said Ellen Fink, a close friend of the couple for 15 years. ``He wasn't done. He wasn't done living yet.'' Still, sometimes during the most casual conversations, a shadow would appear. When his wife gave him a gray African parrot for a birthday gift, Slepian joked that the bird would probably outlive him so he would teach it his eulogy. ``He would talk about the funeral he wanted,'' Mrs. Fink said. ``He said he didn't have a lot of friends and wanted all of them to come in separate cars, one in each car, so he'd have a long procession.'' In the week before his death, Slepian had reasons to be preoccupied with thoughts of mortality. A medical checkup had revealed a blockage of his heart, Mrs. Fink said, recounting a conversation with Mrs. Slepian the day of the slaying. A blockage is a sign of probable coronary artery disease. He was to have more tests the following week. ``I said, `Lynne, just relax, it's going to be OK,''' Mrs. Fink recalled. That same day, the National Abortion Federation sent a fax to the Womenservices clinic warning of a pattern of sniper attacks on abortion doctors that occurred in early November. Marilynne Buckham, the clinic director, sent it to Slepian. ``He definitely took it seriously,'' she recalled. Typically, the doctor did not share any concerns he might have felt. ``It was a normal day,'' said Tammi Latini, his office assistant. ``We were horsing around.' That evening, the Slepians went to synagogue to mark the ninth anniversary of the death of Slepian's father. Shortly after they returned home, a sniper's bullet smashed through the kitchen window, killing Slepian as he chatted with his wife and sons. The protesters returned to the clinic five days later, the first day it reopened. Mrs. Buckham, the director, said Slepian would not have been surprised. They have their routine. So did he. ``He never wanted a day to end on a bad note,'' she said. ``At the end of the day, I would always say, `Thank you for coming.' And he would always turn with a stupid grin and say, `Thanks for having me.'''",
"The slaying of Dr. Barnett Slepian in his home last week eliminated the mainstay of the only abortion clinic here, but it has not eliminated women's access to abortion. That is because the availability of abortion in the Buffalo area, as in much of the United States, is a complex reality, one affected by class and education, medical training and the personal convictions of individual doctors. Knowledgeable middle-class and affluent women here who find themselves with an unwanted pregnancy can usually obtain an abortion from their private gynecologists, or if a gynecologist has a personal objection to the procedure, through a referral to a colleague. Women who are poor, young or uneducated and have no such regular relationships with doctors have to rely on specialized clinics like the one Slepian worked in, or on hospitals. It is this group _ for whom unplanned pregnancies are far more common than for prosperous women _ that faces a shrinking universe of possibilities as a result of the fear set off by Slepian's killing and the slayings of five other doctors and clinic workers since 1993, medical experts said. ``If you're well off and well connected, you can get your abortion,'' said Dr. Stephen Wear, co-director of the center for clinical ethics at the University of Buffalo, which trains doctors for the Buffalo area's hospitals. ``For everybody else, it's less and less available.'' The number of abortions in the United States has been declining steadily since the first years after the Supreme Court's Roe vs. Wade decision legalized abortion in 1973, according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, which studies reproductive issues. They now number roughly 1.5 million a year, according to reports by Guttmacher, or 1.4 million, according to the National Right to Life Committee, the nation's largest anti-abortion group, which calculates its estimate partly from the Guttmacher figures. The number of providers who identify themselves as performing abortions as part of their practice is diminishing as well. A 1994 Guttmacher study, the last one published, found that the number had decreased 18 percent between 1982 and 1992, to 2,380 from 2,908. Moreover, the study said, only 12 percent of the nation's residency programs routinely offer training in abortions during the first trimester, though many do offer elective courses. Laura Echevarria, director of media relations for the National Right to Life Committee, contends, however, that most teaching hospitals do train gynecologists in procedures for treating miscarriages that are similar to those used for performing abortions. Only in cosmopolitan and comparatively liberal cities like New York does the availability of abortions continue at a steady level, experts say, though even in these locales there is concern about the decreasing number of young doctors who emerge from residencies fully trained in performing abortions. The Guttmacher Institute, which keeps the nation's most precise statistics, said that in 1992, the last year for which it has figures, there were 142,410 abortions in New York that were done by just 151 providers, including 61 hospitals and 44 clinics. Still, that provider figure greatly understates the number of private doctors who perform them in their offices, medical experts say. ``Many obstetricians and gynecologists in Manhattan provide abortions as part of their palette of services, and have for many years,'' said Dr. Richard Hausknecht, the medical director of Planned Parenthood. ``Rich and middle-class women have always had access to abortions, and they always will.'' The major threat to availability in the city is less a result of anti-abortion violence than of medical training. ``The bottom line is that we're facing an impending shortage of physicians who are adequately trained and willing to do the procedures,'' said Dr. John Choate, chairman of the New York State division of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. But the lack of training programs is also a result of political pressures on hospitals and universities by antagonists of abortion and the same climate of fear. ``Physicians tend to lie low,'' Choate said. ``They don't publicize the fact that they do them. If they do them, they do it quietly out of fear for their practice and for their lives.'' One development on the horizon that is expected to change the outlook for abortions substantially is final federal approval, expected next year, of the RU-486 pill, the drug that ends an early pregnancy without the need for surgery. When the pill was introduced in France and in Edinburgh, Scotland, Hausknecht said, the number of surgical abortions plummeted.",
"While veterans and civic leaders devote Wednesday's national holiday to honoring fallen soldiers, Remembrance Day has become a chilling vigil for Canadians in the front lines of the abortion-rights movement. There is immediate fear, because an anti-abortion gunman is believed to be at large. And there is long-term anxiety, because even in this country where abortions are legal and publicly funded, women may find access diminishing. There is speculation the sniper's timing is linked to Remembrance Day because some anti-abortion activists use the day to commemorate aborted fetuses. Three times since 1994, a sniper has used this time of year to fire into the home of a Canadian doctor who performs abortion, each time wounding the target. The attacks were spread across Canada _ Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia. U.S. and Canadian investigators now believe those attacks were linked to two shootings of abortion-providing doctors in upstate New York, including the Oct. 23 slaying of Dr. Barnett Slepian at his home near Buffalo. An American anti-abortion activist, James Kopp, is wanted for questioning about the shootings. Police say they don't know which side of the border he is on, fueling uneasiness at clinics and hospitals throughout Canada. ``You must realize Canada has the largest undefended border in the world,'' said Keith McCaskill, a police inspector in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and spokesman for the investigation. Many women's clinics have tightened security, and doctors who provide abortions have been urged to take precautions. ``I would suggest they be extremely aware of their day-to-day goings on, whether during their business day or after hours,'' said Toronto Detective Rick Stubbings. Across Canada, there have been reports of obstetrician-gynecologists modifying their practices or deciding to stop performing abortions. Some wear bulletproof vests and hang sheets over windows of their homes. Abortion-rights groups say most doctors are not backing down. ``There's a great deal of sadness,'' said Susan Fox, director of a clinic in Edmonton, Alberta, that provides abortions. ``But there's also a feeling of determination that we won't be deterred or scared by these actions.'' Marilyn Wilson, executive director of the Canadian Abortion Rights Action League, sees a long-term threat because fear of violence may intimidate young doctors from entering the field. ``There are almost no doctors who have stopped performing these procedures, even under the current reign of terror,'' she said. ``But young doctors with families wouldn't necessarily want to do this. They may not be willing to put their lives at risk.'' The abortion debate is only one of several factors contributing to a shortage of obstetrician-gynecologists in Canada. The national society that oversees the speciality says there are about 1,400 doctors in the field, a shortfall of 600, and most are in their 50s or 60s. The society says long hours and limits on fees paid by the public health-care system are causing burnout and deterring medical school graduates as they choose a specialty. Another problem is that few Canadian medical schools offer training in abortion. Women in Canada's big cities generally have adequate access to abortions. Those in rural areas often face long journeys, and the province of Prince Edward Island prohibits abortions at its six hospitals, forcing women there to travel to New Brunswick or Nova Scotia. Abortion-rights groups say the situation would improve if the RU-486 abortion pill were available in Canada. No drug company has applied for permission to market the pill, either fearing boycotts or doubting its profitability. The government has been urged to make a public appeal to drug companies, but the health department says this can't be done. ``It would be a conflict of interest,'' said Bonnie Fox-McIntyre, a department spokeswoman. ``As a regulator we have to stay at arm's length, so we can judge an application impartially.'' Abortion was illegal in Canada until 1988. Now there is no abortion law of any sort, about 100,000 abortions are performed annually, and polls indicate roughly three-quarters of Canadians favor pro-choice policies. Yet public support doesn't spare doctors from fear. Dr. Henry Morgentaler, who led efforts to overturn the old abortion law and whose Toronto clinic was bombed in 1993, says he and his colleagues are sacrificing personal freedom as they reluctantly increase security measures. ``Unfortunately, doctors who are committed to providing these services will have to accept a certain diminishment of their enjoyment of life,'' he said.",
"By outward appearances, Dorothy Hayes' life seems ordinary. She and her family live in a rambling old home on the shore of Lake Ontario, and every morning, she gives her husband, John, a peck on the cheek before he goes to work. She runs errands, like other suburban moms, and spends much of her day taking care of her children. But one thing sets Mrs. Hayes apart from her neighbors. As a devoted opponent of abortion, the 43-year-old mother of nine regularly plays host to a series of traveling speakers, priests and protesters _ many of whom have come to Rochester intent upon spreading the word against abortion and shutting down clinics that provide it. She is one of thousands of people across the country loosely associated with anti-abortion groups like the Lambs of Christ who have opened their homes to the Lambs' founder, the Rev. Norman Weslin, and other itinerant demonstrators. While many _ including Mrs. Hayes _ disavow violent tactics, supporters of abortion rights say that people like her bear some responsibility when the protesters they help blockade clinics or threaten doctors. ``These people who provide Father Weslin with food and shelter when he comes into town to close the clinics are not innocent,'' said Ann Glazier, the director of clinic defense for the Planned Parenthood Federation. ``It's just not credible to say they aren't part of the extremist activity that is taking place at these clinics. They are still guilty of interfering with women's access.'' But Mary Quinn, a local organizer for the Lambs of Christ who also offers her home to protesters, sees matters in a differing light. ``Taking people in like this is an act of Christian charity,'' Mrs. Quinn said. `People who travel around the country doing this work are taken in by those of us that who don't want to lose their stupid houses. We take in these people because they are willing to make the sacrifice.'' Members of the Lambs of Christ have been persistent figures in protests at the Buffalo women's clinic where Dr. Barnett Slepian worked before he was shot to death last month. Although no suspect has been identified in the shooting or in several similar attacks in New York and Canada over the past several years, officials are looking to question a Vermont man whose car was seen near Dr. Slepian's home. That man, James Charles Kopp, has participated in abortion protests for more than a decade, and often was a house guest of other members of the Lambs of Christ. While Mrs. Hayes says she would never so much as obstruct a clinic's door, some of those to whom she has given refuge have no qualms about doing so. Weslin, the leader of the Lambs of Christ, is one of those who has benefited from Mrs. Hayes' hospitality, a modern version of the generosity that Christ and the Apostles knew well. He prides himself on being arrested more than 60 times during protests in front of medical clinics. And throughout the 1980s and early '90s, he was active in",
"clinic ``rescues,'' in which protesters tried physically to restrain patients trying to enter clinics. Weslin stayed at Mrs. Hayes' home only once, beginning in May 1996 when he first came to speak at local churches about the anti-abortion movement. But during a stay that lasted several months, he was arrested on Federal charges of blocking access to a Rochester health clinic where abortions were performed. He was later convicted and served two and a half months in prison. During the protest outside the clinic, he and several other protesters locked themselves in a homemade contraption called ``the oven,'' made of cement and iron. It took police officers several hours to lug the device to a horse trailer that carted it off. At the same protest, one man glued his head to a lock on a gate surrounding the clinic, a move some protesters later said was an accident. Abortion opponents like Mrs. Hayes and Mrs. Quinn speak of attending peaceful observances at abortion clinics and offering prayers for the unborn. They talk about counseling women about alternatives to abortion at Roman Catholic ``pregnancy centers,'' and their support of anti-abortion candidates. But they also say they saw nothing wrong with Weslin trying to block access to clinics. They describe the activity as peaceful resistance meant to stop what they see as murders. Weslin and the other house guests of Mrs. Hayes and Mrs. Quinn come recommended from friends and members of local Catholic churches, they said, adding that most are speakers at local churches or anti-abortion events. And although they say they would never take into their homes a stranger wanted by the FBI, like Kopp, they concede that they sometimes know little about their guests. But Mrs. Hayes and Mrs. Quinn say they know a lot about Weslin. An Army veteran, he has been a leader of the anti-abortion movement for more than 25 years, they say, and founded a home for unwed mothers. Mrs. Hayes said that when she met him, it was obvious he was a man of peace who ``had a tremendous devotion to the Blessed Mother and basically recognized that we are helpless lambs.'' Barbara Fredericks, another local abortion opponent who developed ties to the Lambs after Weslin came to town, added that the priest epitomized a man of God. ``I just knew when I looked at his holy shoes and his simple coat that had been mended 50 times,'' she said. ``He was humble, a man who was doing this for a higher purpose, trying to save people through sacrifice and prayer.'' opp also has robust defenders among the people who housed him as he rode about the country from protest to protest. E. Kenny, 20, said that his parents housed Kopp in their St. Albans, Vt., home for two years after he spoke at their local church in 1988. During Kopp's stay, he was a pleasure, Kenny said, always helping around the house. ``He was a nice guy, kind of like an uncle to us,'' Kenny said. ``He'd sit around and play video games with us",
"and make us model planes out of wood.'' Like Weslin, Kopp was consumed by a need to fight abortion and often talked about its evils, Kenny said, adding that Kopp was a gentle man who wanted to become a Catholic priest. ``He was always in a good mood,'' Kenny said. ``He never did anything violent at all.'' Both Kopp and Weslin have been arrested repeatedly during abortion protests. The men have moved in the same circles and at times found themselves arrested at the same events. Mrs. Quinn said that Weslin told her in a recent telephone conversation that he knew Kopp. Weslin could not be reached for comment, but it is clear that the two men have encountered each other. Both faced misdemeanor charges after blocking a Burlington, Vt., health clinic in 1990 that Kopp called ``the mill.'' And they spent time in the same jail in Atlanta in 1988 after a clinic protest. Slepian's death has abortion opponents like Mrs. Hayes and Mrs. Quinn worried, both about how the killing is being portrayed in the media and what it will do to membership in groups like the Lambs of Christ. ``For a long time, you felt like the voice in the desert that wasn't being heard,'' Mrs. Hayes said. ``And then there was this horrible tragedy of this doctor's death becoming the face of the movement. ``We're about saving lives,'' she said. The FBI has not talked to Mrs. Hayes, but Kenny said that agents have spoken to him. The Justice Department says that a Federal task force set up this week to investigate the killing of Slepian is looking for evidence connecting anti-abortion violence at various clinics. ``It's fair to say that when investigating these events, we will look at any connection between individuals engaged in criminal conduct,'' Myron Marlin, a spokesman for the department, said. Many local Catholics associated with the Lambs of Christ have tried to distance themselves from the killing of Slepian. They are mailing literature saying that the killer does not represent their movement. In addition, some people associated with the Lambs are offering other possible explanations for the killing. Some say they believe that the killer might have been someone overcome by grief after a personal experience with abortion. Others wondered whether the shooter had tried to wound the doctor to scare him or prevent him from performing more abortions. The Lambs also wonder whether abortionist opponents are being blamed for a shooting committed by a disgruntled patient. One idea gaining currency among the Lambs, and prominently displayed on their Web site, suggests that the killing was the result of a plot by abortion supporters to discredit abortion opponents just before last week's elections. Mrs. Hayes says she doesn't know the truth. ``There are wackos who travel around and they may be in front of the clinic because we are drawn to the same place,'' she said. ``But you don't know everyone who shows up and you don't turn to the person next to you and tell them they don't belong there.'' Mrs. Fredericks",
"said that anyone who would shoot a doctor who provides abortions was someone ``who had snapped, perhaps because of the importance of the situation.'' Members of the Lambs of Christ and other opponents of abortion in Rochester wonder whether the killing of Slepian will hinder their efforts. When Weslin first arrived two years ago, he brought new focus to a group that often had done little more than counsel pregnant women and set up booths on college campuses, they said. ``In many cities, they have a priest for life coordinating and leading rosary marches'' against abortion, Mrs. Quinn said. ``But with Father Weslin coming here, we could finally come together and feel like we were doing something sacrificial as a group.'' Mrs. Hayes said that she felt the first pull of the movement in the early 1980s, when she heard women speak about ``choice'' in regard to abortion. Then she saw ``Silent Scream,'' a well-known anti-abortion film that purports to show the footage of an abortion. ``What I saw was the end of life,'' she said. She began to volunteer at a Catholic pregnancy center where she encouraged women ``not to kill their child.'' She also began to house unwed mothers and went to stand vigil outside local clinics where abortions were performed. Mrs. Hayes looked at her 3-month-old daughter, Bernadette, then pointed to the prenatal image of the infant, a sonogram taken at 13 weeks that she keeps on her refrigerator door. She described what could have been her baby's fate, had she been someone else's child. ``Two pounds and two inches ago, she could have been a partial-birth abortion,'' Mrs. Hayes said, referring to a controversial late-term abortion procedure. ``They have the hardest time getting the shoulders out, so they can get to the head and puncture it. ``It's brutal, but what do you expect when the purpose is a dead baby? There's no question that these doctors are trying to murder a child.''",
"On the eve of a holiday that has been linked to antiabortion violence, the authorities on Tuesday were investigating whether a picture of an aborted fetus sent to a Canadian newspaper was connected to last month's fatal shooting of a Buffalo, N.Y. doctor who provided abortions or four similar attacks in western New York and Canada since 1994. The newspaper, the Hamilton (Ontario) Spectator, has received five similar packages in the last year, some containing veiled threats and several delivered by a man who employees said resembled James Charles Kopp, who is wanted for questioning as a witness about the Oct. 23 slaying of Dr. Barnett Slepian. Five days after the shooting, the Spectator received a package containing an antiabortion flier with biographical information about Slepian, including a photograph of him that had been crossed out. ``It certainly causes us to be more interested than ever in speaking to Kopp,'' said Inspector Keith McKaskill of the Winnipeg Police Department, a spokesman for the Canada-United States task force investigating the five shootings. Even as they searched for Kopp, federal officials were also looking into three letters that were received Monday by Catholic and antiabortion organizations in Buffalo, Indianapolis and Chicago. Those letters, saying they contained the deadly anthrax bacteria, came 10 days after eight similar threats to clinics that provide abortions. All the letters appear to be hoaxes, and it remains unclear whether they were connected to any of the five shootings. Kopp is not a suspect in the shootings. An itinerant antiabortion activist whose last known address is in Vermont, he is the subject of warrants on both sides of the border. In Canada, he is suspected of administrative violations of immigration law; in the United States, he is wanted as a material witness in the Slepian case.",
"James Kopp, the man the FBI is seeking as a material witness in the sniper slaying of Dr. Barnett Slepian, is known to abortion rights leaders as an aggressive anti-abortion protester, and law enforcement officials say he has been arrested several times in demonstrations at abortion clinics. The portrait that emerges of Kopp, 44, from police records, studies by researchers on right-wing movements, newspaper accounts of protests, and abortion rights advocates, is that of an itinerant protester, moving about the country in a series of increasingly abrasive protests at abortion clinics. Federal law enforcement officials say he is not currently a suspect in the Slepian shooting, and there was no indication Wednesday that he had been arrested for any violent acts. At several abortion protests, he was charged with trespassing or resisting arrest, according to news accounts. One of his arrests was in Atlanta during Operation Rescue's huge anti-abortion protests there in 1988. While he was in an Atlanta jail, Kopp was given the nickname Atomic Dog, which investigators contend links him to the violent fringe of the anti-abortion movement, responsible for a series of bombings and arsons and seven murders of abortion providers like Slepian over the last five years. Responsibility for some of the violence _ like the bombing of an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Ala., earlier this year, in which an off-duty policeman was killed _ has been claimed in notes signed by a shadowy ``Army of God.'' An underground manual issued in the name of the Army of God, which describes methods for attacking abortion clinics, including how to make homemade C-4 plastic explosives, begins with a tribute, by nickname, of a clandestine band pledged to stop abortions. The first name under this ``Special Thanks'' section is Atomic Dog. The Atlanta police, after searching the hundreds of arrest records of the protesters from the summer of 1988, confirmed Wednesday night that the date of birth and Social Security number of the James Kopp arrested then matched those given out Wednesday by the FBI task force in Buffalo investigating the murder of Slepian, who was gunned down through the window if his home in suburban Amherst on Oct. 23. At the nondescript frame house in St. Albans, Vt., that the FBI gave as Kopp's last known address, the current resident, who gave his name only as E. Kenny, 20, a shipping clerk, remembered Kopp well. He lived there for part of 1990 as the guest of Kenny's parents, who were active in the anti-abortion movement, among a group of protesters who tried to shut down two abortion clinics in Burlington in stubborn demonstrations that year. Kenny remembered Kopp as a ``really nice guy,'' who did chores around the place but paid no rent to the parents. He sometimes made wooden toys or played video games with Kenny, then a child. ``But the focus of his life was the anti-abortion movement,'' Kenny recalled. ``He was known among these people as Atomic Dog. It wasn't like a name that he had to go to the store or something. But if you knew anything about him, that's what you called him.'' Roughly 95 people were arrested during the protests, according to newspaper accounts at the time. ``There were many, many arrests,'' recalled Allie Stickney, the president of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. ``It was very big for Vermont. There were Kryptonite locks and leaflets from the Army of God and the Lambs of Christ. It was clearly a highly organized blockade.'' According to newspaper accounts, Kopp was arrested outside a clinic in Levittown, Long Island, in 1991. The protests in Atlanta in 1998 appeared to be a turning point for a hard-core group of protesters. The Atlanta police cracked down hard and carted hundreds of demonstrators off to an isolated prison dormitory the called ``the farm.'' Operation Rescue had mounted a series of blockades to close down abortion clinics in New York and Philadelphia that spring. Atlanta was their high point, but in the face of the tough arrest policy, the movement faltered, split apart and stalled. ``It was a traumatic, life-changing experience,'' said Frederick Clarkson, author of ``Eternal Hostility,'' a book on the anti-abortion movement, adding that by 1993 with the shooting of Dr. David Gunn, an abortion provider in Florida, some of those in the Atlanta jail became the nucleus of a group signing a ``justifiable homicide'' statement that declared that the use of force was warranted to ``defend the life of an unborn child.''",
"In the aftermath of last month's deadly sniper attack on an obstetrician in upstate New York, Attorney General Janet Reno announced last week that she was setting up a new investigative unit to examine the possibility that the doctor was the victim of a broader anti-abortion plot. The unit, the National Clinic Violence Task Force, will include a dozen Justice Department lawyers and involve several law-enforcement agencies. But the main work of looking into the shooting of Dr. Barnett Slepian in his suburban Buffalo home and how it fits a larger pattern of organized violence will be done by the FBI, which has jurisdiction over domestic terrorism. For many in the FBI, that's a problem. In contrast to the old image of gung-ho FBI agents turning their surveillance machinery on political groups, a number of senior FBI agents privately expressed misgivings about the attorney general's latest task force, the second she has ordered to begin a broad investigation into a conspiracy involving anti-abortion violence. FBI officials fear that expanding the investigation could drive the agency over the ill-defined boundary that separates inquiries into criminal activity from those into political causes and unpopular ideas. Today's agents are eager to disassociate themselves from the old J. Edgar Hoover days of trampling the civil rights of political dissidents in the guise of serious investigations. They do not want the agency drawn into the middle of the bitter ideological war between anti-abortion groups and abortion rights advocates, who have long asserted the existence of an organized campaign against clinics and doctors. Many of those calling for government help were once themselves subjects of FBI interest as anti-war and civil rights activists. Senior agency officials, including Director Louis Freeh, were starting their careers in the early 1970s and watched in dismay as the FBI was shaken by revelations about Cointelpro, the counterintelligence program that allowed agents to spy on, burgle, wiretap and infiltrate anti-war and civil rights groups like Students for a Democratic Society and the Student Nonviolence Coordinating Committee. Some officials are dubious that a conspiracy exists to kill doctors who perform abortions. They came up empty handed when Reno ordered the first federal inquiry in 1994 after the killing of a Florida doctor and his bodyguard. The Justice Department conducted a two-year grand jury investigation; agents pursued some anti-abortion activists using surveillance teams. But investigators never found a specific plot against abortion clinics and staff members. Violence at abortion clinics is only part of the problem. The FBI has in recent years found itself thrown into a minefield of politically tinged cases involving the volatile worlds of anti-government militias, environmental and Christian extremists, white separatists, animal rights activists and Islamic fundamentalists. ``The FBI is very quick to jump from investigating crime to investigating political association,'' said David Cole, a law professor at Georgetown University. ``When you move from investigating crimes to investigating groups, that all-important nexus to criminal conduct gets lost, the focus gets broader and broader and you start sweeping in all kinds of lawful political activity.'' In response to terrorist attacks like the bombings of the World Trade Center in 1993, the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995 and the Olympic park in Atlanta in 1996, the agency has increased efforts to deter such incidents in a major prevention program. In such cases, the Justice Department, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies said they operate under domestic security guidelines that require investigators to find a ``reasonable indication'' that a group is planning to break the law before they can open an inquiry into an organization. Before the authorities can use such intrusive tactics as wiretapping or property searches, they must have specific evidence. Yet FBI agents throughout the country have quietly evaluated the threat posed by a variety of extremist groups through its links to local authorities and informal interviews with the leaders of some groups. Their conclusion is that most of these groups pose little real danger. Much more difficult to investigate are lone terrorists inflamed by the oratory of extremist ideology but who belong to no group, drifting along society's frayed margins, ``off the grid,'' as some agents describe it, without the usual ties to family, friends or work. The profile fits Eric Robert Rudolph, the fugitive wanted for bombings at the Atlanta Olympics, a gay nightclub and two abortion clinics. He has kept his beliefs mostly to himself, although acquaintances hint that he was familiar with religious extremism and hate groups. In contrast, James Charles Kopp, who is being sought as a material witness in the killing of Slepian, left a trail of clues about his motives. He was an early follower of Randall Terry, a leader of Operation Rescue. Later, Kopp was associated with the Lambs of Christ, an another militant anti-abortion group. One law-enforcement official said that the government should do what it does best. ``We should investigate violations,'' he said. ``We shouldn't investigate groups.''",
"In July 1988, when Randall Terry drove through the night from his home in Binghamton, N.Y., to Atlanta to start the series of anti-abortion protests that would finally put his new hard-line group, Operation Rescue, onto America's front pages, James Charles Kopp was in the van riding alongside him, according to former leaders of Operation Rescue who spoke on the condition of anonymity. And, those people say, when Terry was arrested on the first day of Operation Rescue's ``Siege of Atlanta,'' Kopp followed him into jail. Along with more than one hundred other Operation Rescue members, according to some people who were there, Kopp remained in jail for 40 days and adhered to Terry's orders not to give a real name to the police or courts. After his release, Kopp returned to Operation Rescue's Binghamton headquarters, and was there working alongside Terry as the group's power and influence in the anti-abortion movement surged in late 1988 and 1989, according to the former leaders of Operation Rescue. Now, Kopp is being sought by federal and local law enforcement authorities for questioning as a material witness in the murder of an obstetrician who performed abortions in the Buffalo region. The authorities also say he may have information that will help solve four other sniper attacks on doctors who performed abortions in Canada and upstate New York. Some abortion-rights groups are seizing on Kopp's role in Operation Rescue to raise new questions about the connections between the recent anti-abortion violence and the hard-line anti-abortion protest groups that burst onto the national scene in the late 1980s. For years, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department have looked in vain for evidence to determine whether a national conspiracy might be behind a series of clinic bombings and shootings of doctors and other clinic staff members that began in the early 1990s. A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., that looked into conspiracy allegations was ultimately disbanded without finding a national underground. But some federal law enforcement officials say they hope that Kopp may help provide such a link. In fact, the announcement that law enforcement officials are looking for him has been made as Attorney General Janet Reno has prepared to revive an interagency task force to look once again for possible conspiracies behind anti-abortion crimes. Federal law enforcement officials and the authorities say Kopp is not now a suspect in the sniper attack on Oct. 23 that killed Dr. Barnett A. Slepian near Buffalo. But they say Kopp's car was seen near Slepian's home in Amherst, N.Y. in the weeks before the doctor was shot. One day after issuing a warrant for Kopp's arrest as a material witness, law enforcement officials from at least 10 agencies spanning the United States and Canadian border still had not located Kopp Thursday. But law enforcement officials said they were pursuing many tips, including about 400 that have poured into the FBI's information line: (800) 281-1184. The police have gone through photographs of abortion protesters and clinic workers in Buffalo and around the country, and they are also reviewing hundreds of hours of videotapes of demonstrations in search of Kopp's face. At this point, officials consider the shooting of Slepian to be connected to three attacks in Canada and one in Rochester on doctors who provide abortions. The five attacks, all since 1994, occurred in the weeks leading up to Nov. 11, Veterans Day _ called Remembrance Day in Canada _ a holiday that has become important to anti-abortion activists. But the attacks were spread over four years and 3,000 miles, from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Buffalo. As is the case with many early veterans of Operation Rescue, Kopp was transformed into a hard-core anti-abortion militant in jail in Atlanta in 1988, according to many people who were in jail with him who insisted on anonymity."
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"Federal authorities investigating the murder of a Buffalo-area obstetrician who performed abortions have identified a Vermont man as a material witness to the sniper attack last month and issued a warrant for his arrest Wednesday to bring him in for questioning. The man was identified as James Charles Kopp, 44, whose last known address was in St. Albans, Vt. His whereabouts are not known, investigators said. Investigators said Kopp's car was seen near the Amherst, N.Y., home of Dr. Barnett Slepian in the weeks before the doctor, whose work at an abortion clinic had long made him a target of harassment, was killed. Kopp, according to police records and abortion rights groups, has often moved about the country in a series of protests at abortion clinics, and has been linked to an underground manual that describes methods of killing or maiming doctors who perform abortions. Denise O'Donnell, the U.S. attorney for the western district of New York, said Kopp was not considered a suspect at this time but was believed to have information material to the case. She declined to give details on what evidence was being sought from Kopp, describing it only as information that is contained in a sealed affidavit whose disclosure would compromise the ongoing investigation. Ms. O'Donnell said that federal law allowed for an arrest warrant for a material witness when a person has information that is important to a case. ``If Kopp is found, he would be arrested, brought to Buffalo and ordered to provide the required evidence,'' Ms. O'Donnell said. ``Then, most likely, the individual would be released.'' Slepian, 52, was shot by a sniper firing from outside his home on Oct. 23, shortly after returning from an evening service at his synagogue. He was standing in his kitchen with his wife and one of his four sons when the bullet crashed through a back window. He died two hours later. Law enforcement officials said Wednesday's announcement of the material witness warrant was in part an attempt to underscore the potential danger of anti-abortion violence in advance of Remembrance Day, a Canadian holiday that falls on Nov. 11 and that the authorities have associated with some anti-abortion crimes. At the same time, the Justice Department and the FBI were trying to find ways to step up the federal response to violence at abortion clinics in the aftermath of the Slepian killing. The officials said that Attorney General Janet Reno would soon announce that the Justice Department, aiming to heighten the visibility of the federal role in cases that cross state and local jurisdictional boundaries, would revive a national investigative effort focused on abortion clinic violence. Ms. Reno and senior FBI officials, including Robert Bryant, the deputy FBI director, have met with physician and abortion rights groups in recent days to discuss ways to enhance federal investigative efforts and coordination with local agencies. Federal authorities first organized an abortion clinic task force in 1995 after the killing of a Florida doctor. The unit, which was charged with investigating whether a national conspiracy existed, spent nearly two years studying abortion clinic violence. The unit disbanded without uncovering a national conspiracy. Law enforcement officials said that the unit's operation did help reduce violence at abortion clinics and that, in part, the decision to re-establish it was prompted by Ms. Reno's desire to send a renewed message to anti-abortion extremists that the government would aggressively investigate these crimes. Slepian's murder fit the pattern of four earlier sniper attacks on abortion doctors in Canada and western New York, dating from 1994. None of the attacks have been solved. Bernard Tolbert, special agent in charge of the FBI in Buffalo, said at a news conference here Wednesday that investigators had not determined whether there is a link between the five killings. ``There's a possibility they could be linked, but certainly no information,'' he said. Tolbert gave little information about the subject of the material-witness warrant, except to say that Kopp's black 1987 Chevrolet Cavalier, with the Vermont license plate BPE216, was seen near Slepian's home beginning several weeks before the murder. ``We don't have any idea of where he is,'' Tolbert said of Kopp. ``We are looking for him every place we can, every place he might be.'' A photograph of Kopp taken in January 1997 has been distributed to law enforcement agencies around the United States and Canada. The National Abortion Federation has sent out an advisory to clinics around the country about the search for Kopp, said Melinda DuBois, assistant director of Womenservices, the clinic where Slepian worked. She said naming Kopp a material witness in the case had not brought relief to the nurses and other workers at the clinic. ``I don't think it makes me or anyone else at the clinic feel differently,'' she said. ``I don't want anybody to relax and say, `Oh God, they got the guy.' That's easy to happen. I still want people to be very vigilant.'' The clinic is the last in the Buffalo area that is performing abortions. Slepian was one of only a handful of doctors in Buffalo who were still willing to perform the procedure in the face of pickets, protesters and threats. Since his death, doctors from outside Buffalo have come to the clinic to continue providing abortion services.",
"Rosina Lotempio was standing outside abortion clinics here before Operation Rescue stormed into town in 1992 for the rowdy Spring of Life rallies, in which hundreds were arrested. She was there before Lambs of Christ demonstrators came to town in 1993. She was on the sidewalk outside Buffalo GYN Womenservices the morning of Oct. 23, about 12 hours before Barnett Slepian, the clinic doctor, was fatally shot in his home. And she was there Friday, brown rosary beads in her hands, a small gold cross on a chain around her neck, quietly praying for abortions to stop. ``I'm heartbroken when I have to come here,'' Mrs. Lotempio, 58, said as she stood in the cold, wearing small black earmuffs and a white turtleneck adorned with a tiny silver pin of baby feet. ``It's very difficult out here; I depend on God,'' she said, after praying for several moments to decide whether to talk to a reporter. The bombings, the fiery rhetoric of abortion opponents and the posters of bloody fetuses may capture the attention of the news media, but people like Mrs. Lotempio are the foot soldiers in the abortion battle. They call themselves street counselors and come to the clinic whenever they believe abortions are being performed. They pray and they talk to women, hoping to change their minds. Some scream profanities. Others, like Mrs. Lotempio, denounce not only the violence against doctors and clinics, but also the blocking of doors and the shouting of ugly epithets at clinic workers and patients. For the approximately 80 abortion opponents here, their protest is more like a job than a political activity. There is a schedule. People count on them to show up. Mrs. Lotempio, a mother of three and grandmother of six, connects her involvement to a conversation in the 1970s in which she helped a friend decide to abort an unwanted pregnancy. Two decades later, she was haunted by her own question: whether the fetus was male or female. ``I just felt horrible and I felt guilty,'' she said, tears in her eyes. ``I thought that if I was at the clinic doing something, I could make up for that baby's life.'' During Mrs. Lotempio's 8 a.m.-to-10 a.m. shift Friday, about a dozen people circled the area in front of the Buffalo clinic, saying the ``Hail Mary.'' Others take her spot on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. She returns on Saturdays, when up to 40 people crowd the sidewalk. Similar bands of protesters march in front of abortion clinics throughout the United States, and local protesters are often joined by bands of people who roam the country. At the clinic on Main Street, north of downtown Buffalo, there is an odd sense of community. Local protesters greet Dick, the security guard, by name. They sometimes see the ``enemy'' _ abortion-rights volunteers who escort patients in and out of the clinic _ in the supermarket or on the soccer field. Robert Behn, one of the protest leaders, even spent two hours talking about abortion over breakfast last year with Slepian. And several said they cried when they heard of Slepian's death. Most of the protesters, including Mrs. Lotempio, were among the thousands of people arrested here in 1992, the height of anti-abortion activity in Buffalo. But if Operation Rescue returns, as planned, for a Spring of Life reunion in April, Mrs. Lotempio said, she will not be there. Instead, she plans to stay in church and pray, to avoid the militancy she says she finds uncomfortable. Glenn Murray, a lawyer for Womenservices clinic, said: ``When people from out of town show up, that is when we feel the most danger. The local people are a known quantity. We know most of the local people by name.'' Buffalo has been among a handful of hot spots for abortion protesters for the last decade. It is a heavily Catholic city where thousands of protesters from around the country demonstrated for two weeks in 1992. They failed to close abortion clinics, but 500 people were arrested in rallies that snarled traffic and drew national headlines. Those rallies, as well as earlier protests and continuing sidewalk vigils, have had an impact, people on both sides of the abortion issue say. The number of clinics performing abortions in the Buffalo area has dropped to one from three. And after Slepian's death and the retirement this week of another doctor, there are only two doctors in the area for whom abortions form a significant part of their practices. The daily demonstrators count this as progress. But their perch outside the clinic means they witness far more of what they believe are murders than what they call rescues. About 30 women a day might go into the clinic. After eight years, Mrs. Lotempio can count eight women who changed their minds and did not get abortions while she was at the clinic. Inside the clinic, the protests just make a hard job harder, many clinic workers say. While some demonstrators simply repeat the rosary, other protesters call out to patients as they drive into the parking lot behind the building, or walk up to the fortresslike front. They ask questions like ``Do you know what your baby looks like?'' or ``Is it a boy or a girl?'' Sometimes they accuse people of murder and torture and sin, or threaten them with damnation. Federal law bars protesters from coming within 15 feet of the clinic entrances, and from leaning signs against its walls. Some push the limits, frustrating clinic workers and guards. The rules protect people from physical harassment, but because of the distance, they turn what could be quiet conversations into catcalls and taunts. When a patient goes into the clinic, the protesters ``take on a different persona,'' said Melinda DuBois, director of the Buffalo clinic. ``They scream and yell and call us names. They lie. Some days we're immune to it, but other days it's just too much.'' Linda Palm, 51, marching at the clinic on Friday, said she identified with the clinic patients. When she was 23, she said, she struggled with the difficulties of being unmarried and pregnant herself, but decided to have her child, and married the father. She began protesting in 1990, after attending an abortion protest march in Albany.",
"Everyone who knew Dr. Barnett Slepian knew that the slight, graying physician endured a measure of stress that would exhaust, even break, most people. There were the strangers who pawed through the garbage cans at his home and growled ``murderer'' as they passed him in the grocery store aisle. Demonstrators assailed his pregnant patients as they arrived at his office for their checkups, calling him a baby killer. Outside the clinic where he performed abortions two days a week, pickets shouted epithets like ``pig'' to his face. Slepian, an obstetrician and gynecologist by training and an abortion doctor by principle, rarely acknowledged the strain. He might crack an occasional joke at the expense of the protesters who shadowed him at work and on weekends. Then he would do something unexpected, like invite an anti-abortion leader to breakfast or stop and chat with a familiar demonstrator outside the clinic. So when he was killed Oct. 23 by a sniper's bullet fired through the kitchen window of his home in the Buffalo, N.Y., suburbs, a furtive execution that fit a pattern of four earlier attacks on abortion providers in western New York state and Canada, friends and relatives wondered not so much that Slepian's work could arouse such murderous violence. He had predicted as much himself. Instead, they wondered, once again, that he persisted in that work, long after other Buffalo doctors had surrendered to the pressure of abortion opponents. ``He was an incredibly fatalistic person who thought that if your number's up, it's up, and there is nothing you can do about it,'' said H. Amanda Robb, the doctor's 32-year-old niece. ``And he was incredibly stubborn. He said that women had a right to comprehensive health care and since he was a women's doctor, he was going to provide it for them.'' Slepian is the third doctor to be killed in the last five years in bombings and shootings that have killed 7 people and wounded 17 at abortion clinics around the nation. To his tormentors, he was simply an abortion doctor. To members of the abortion rights movement, he was a martyr for their cause. But Slepian was far from either. In interviews with friends and family members, he emerges as more than a one-dimensional abstract _ a conservative who advocated old-fashioned values like self-reliance, a shy man who had rare flashes of anger, a doctor who performed abortions but had no more patience for women who had multiple abortions than for women who had multiple children they did not want or could not support. He was killed because he performed a medical procedure that has become emotional and politicized. Yet there is nothing in his life to suggest he was a crusader in either politics or medicine. Rather, he was an obstinate, unassuming man who did a remarkable thing. Out of contrariness and out of conscience, say those who knew him, he refused to allow anyone to dictate what kind of doctor he should be, and for that, he paid with his life. The clues to Slepian's flinty brand of commitment lie, in part, in his upbringing. His was a family that took success for granted even as it teetered on the edge of poverty. To earn money for medical school, he shoveled muck at a ranch and drove a taxi. He made few friends, but those he had were friends for life. When their wives were sick, he called repeatedly. When they were lonely, he flew to their side. Slepian, who was known as Bart, used to tell people that he chose obstetrics because it is a specialty that exposes a doctor to the least suffering, and that he performed abortions because it was legal and the alternatives were so much worse. Slepian often expressed exasperation over women who came to him for abortion after abortion. ``Don't they get it?'' his clinic staff recall him saying more than once. He had the same impatience for women like those he remembered from his residency in inner-city Buffalo, who had child after child and no means of support. ``He had the contempt for that of somebody who had pulled himself up by his bootstraps and made it in the world,'' Ms. Robb said. He believed that to ban abortions or, just as shameful in his view, to stop teaching young doctors how to perform them, would not correct the human imperfections that he found so irritating. ``There are 1.5 million abortions performed in this country,'' his niece said, ``and he just felt we're not equipped to handle 1.5 million unwanted children.'' When he was killed, at the age of 52, Bart Slepian owned an imposing red brick home in the quiet suburb of Amherst, complete with a swimming pool with piped-in music and an assortment of the time-saving gadgets he adored. Slepian's trajectory to that comfortable doctor's life had been unconventional. His grandfather, a Russian Jewish immigrant who started out selling shoelaces from a pushcart in Boston, propelled all five of his sons into Harvard at a time when few Jews met the university's blue-blood standards. His father, in turn, decreed that his own three sons would be doctors or earn Ph.D's. ``We grew up in a home where there was tremendous, tremendous, tremendous respect for education,'' said Serena Robb, Slepian's sister, who is four years older than him. ``If you got an A, it was OK If you got a B, you got yelled at.'' The family's means did not match its expectations. Slepian's father, Philip, had joined his own father's business manufacturing leather soles for shoes. Soon after Bart was born in 1946 in Boston, the company failed, so to save money, the father moved his family of six to his in-laws' apartment in McKeesport, Pa., and then to Rochester, N.Y. Once settled, Slepian's father set himself up as a freelance writer, crisscrossing the country in his old Studebaker, researching the origins of prominent citizens at the Library of Congress and writing their stories for small-town newspapers. He sold articles by the hundreds, and was still writing until his death nine years ago at the age of 93. The success that was expected of Bart Slepian did not come easily. As a child, he was so shy that he cried when anyone looked at him, his sister recalled. An unexceptional student, he went to a local community college before transferring to the University of Denver, where he majored in zoology. Rejected by medical schools in the United States _ the fate of two out of three applicants in the late 1960s _ he studied one year in Belgium and then enrolled at the Autonomous University for Medicine in Guadalajara, Mexico. His friends remember him as funny and obstinate, a thin young man with glasses and a receding hairline who beat all comers at arm-wrestling and pool. ``Bart had certain beliefs, strongly held,'' said Richard Schwarz, an old classmate who is an internist on Long Island. ``He always said you shouldn't sit around whining about things,'' Schwarz said. ``He would say, `Go after what's yours and what's right.''' Bart Slepian's determination surfaced in quirky ways. He once insisted on going to the top of the World Trade Center, despite a crippling fear of heights. To get to the window, he crawled, inch by inch. ``I said, `You don't have to do this,' '' recalled Schwarz, who was with him at the time. ``And he said, `I want to do it.' Bart made it count. He felt alive.'' Forced to drop out of school every few semesters to work, he lived in Reno with his sister Serena, a widow who was struggling to take care of two young daughters. She worked as a waitress and a blackjack dealer, sharing her tips with him while he drove a cab, cleaned barns at a ranch and worked as a laboratory assistant at the local Veterans Administration hospital. After graduation, he moved to Buffalo for his medical residency. There he married Lynne Breitbart, a registered nurse 10 years his junior, and scraped together the money to buy an obstetrics practice from a doctor who was about to retire. He had a soothing, unhurried manner. When a patient of his, Patti Durlak, was diagnosed with diabetes, Slepian referred her to a specialist but called every few days for months to help her overcome a fear of the needles she had to use for her insulin injections. ``The other doctor said, `Just deal with it,''' Mrs. Durlak recalled. ``Not Dr. Slepian.'' In most ways, he was a typical suburban family man, working six days a week and spending his free time at Little League games and county fairs with his four sons. But by the late 1980s, he and other abortion doctors in Buffalo were under siege. In one notorious 1991 incident recorded on videotape, the Rev. Paul Schenck, one of the fieriest of Buffalo's anti-abortion leaders, threw himself in front of the doctor's car as he pulled into the clinic driveway. Slepian parked on the street. As he pushed his way through the crowd of chanting demonstrators, Schenck cupped his hands around his mouth and lunged, shouting, ``Slepian, you pig!'' Slepian's attempts to separate the abortion conflict from his private life were futile. The protests followed him home and the man who had been so bashful as a boy found himself, uncomfortably, at the center of controversy and attention. Once, he showed his anger. In 1988, when demonstrators jeered at him from the sidewalk in front of his home as he opened Hanukkah presents with his children, the doctor came out brandishing a baseball bat. He denied he hurt anyone, but a town judge ordered him to repair one protester's smashed van window and pay a portion of another's medical bills. The outburst surprised his family and friends. It was not Slepian's style to make a public fuss, much less acknowledge the stress of being taunted by protesters. ``Stress?'' his oldest brother Paul responded gruffly when asked about the doctor's mood. ``I never heard the word used in my family, except as an engineering term. He said it was a nuisance.'' Mrs. Slepian did not respond to requests for an interview. She expressed rage to The Buffalo News shortly after the shooting. She said that whoever had killed her husband deserved the death penalty and that she would be happy to administer the lethal injection herself. She also spoke out after Schenck's brother, Robert, another anti-abortion leader who frequently confronted Slepian, sent a bouquet of flowers. Mrs. Slepian denounced him as ``a hypocrite.'' After the confrontation in 1988, Slepian turned to civil harassment lawsuits, letters and levity to deal with the protesters. In 1993, when a man active in the anti-abortion effort was arrested for rifling through the doctor's garbage cans at home, Slepian tried to treat the incident lightly. ``They hopefully got the bags full of dirty diapers,'' he joked. He tried to engage his critics through the local newspaper. He told The Buffalo News that abortion protesters should turn their energies to helping women avoid unwanted pregnancies through birth control and counseling. In a letter to the editor he warned that by repeatedly calling him a murderer, his critics were inciting violence. Slepian accepted that opponents of abortion acted out of moral conviction, his friends said, but resented the personal attacks. ``He thought it tended to demonize and dehumanize him and increased the danger,'' said his lawyer, Glenn Edward Murray. So Slepian took a step that few of the nation's beleaguered abortion clinic doctors dared. He insisted that if he tried hard enough, he might cut through the venom. To the dismay of the staff members who feared for his safety, Slepian began about a year ago to stop and chat with protesters he recognized outside the Womenservices abortion clinic in Buffalo, where he worked two days a week. He surprised a gathering of protesters who were preparing for what they euphemistically called a ``house call,'' or demonstration at the doctor's home, and invited the protest's organizer, the Rev. Robert Behn, to breakfast. Their hourlong conversation the next morning was inconclusive, Behn said, dismissing Slepian's gesture as an ``attempt to get people to like him.'' He asked Slepian how performing abortions affected him spiritually. In response, he recalled, the doctor said, ``I'm fine spiritually.'' Slepian, meanwhile, focused more on time away from home with his family. He planned to take a cruise next spring. He bought a time-share apartment near Disney World in Florida. ``He had so many plans,'' said Ellen Fink, a close friend of the couple for 15 years. ``He wasn't done. He wasn't done living yet.'' Still, sometimes during the most casual conversations, a shadow would appear. When his wife gave him a gray African parrot for a birthday gift, Slepian joked that the bird would probably outlive him so he would teach it his eulogy. ``He would talk about the funeral he wanted,'' Mrs. Fink said. ``He said he didn't have a lot of friends and wanted all of them to come in separate cars, one in each car, so he'd have a long procession.'' In the week before his death, Slepian had reasons to be preoccupied with thoughts of mortality. A medical checkup had revealed a blockage of his heart, Mrs. Fink said, recounting a conversation with Mrs. Slepian the day of the slaying. A blockage is a sign of probable coronary artery disease. He was to have more tests the following week. ``I said, `Lynne, just relax, it's going to be OK,''' Mrs. Fink recalled. That same day, the National Abortion Federation sent a fax to the Womenservices clinic warning of a pattern of sniper attacks on abortion doctors that occurred in early November. Marilynne Buckham, the clinic director, sent it to Slepian. ``He definitely took it seriously,'' she recalled. Typically, the doctor did not share any concerns he might have felt. ``It was a normal day,'' said Tammi Latini, his office assistant. ``We were horsing around.' That evening, the Slepians went to synagogue to mark the ninth anniversary of the death of Slepian's father. Shortly after they returned home, a sniper's bullet smashed through the kitchen window, killing Slepian as he chatted with his wife and sons. The protesters returned to the clinic five days later, the first day it reopened. Mrs. Buckham, the director, said Slepian would not have been surprised. They have their routine. So did he. ``He never wanted a day to end on a bad note,'' she said. ``At the end of the day, I would always say, `Thank you for coming.' And he would always turn with a stupid grin and say, `Thanks for having me.'''",
"The slaying of Dr. Barnett Slepian in his home last week eliminated the mainstay of the only abortion clinic here, but it has not eliminated women's access to abortion. That is because the availability of abortion in the Buffalo area, as in much of the United States, is a complex reality, one affected by class and education, medical training and the personal convictions of individual doctors. Knowledgeable middle-class and affluent women here who find themselves with an unwanted pregnancy can usually obtain an abortion from their private gynecologists, or if a gynecologist has a personal objection to the procedure, through a referral to a colleague. Women who are poor, young or uneducated and have no such regular relationships with doctors have to rely on specialized clinics like the one Slepian worked in, or on hospitals. It is this group _ for whom unplanned pregnancies are far more common than for prosperous women _ that faces a shrinking universe of possibilities as a result of the fear set off by Slepian's killing and the slayings of five other doctors and clinic workers since 1993, medical experts said. ``If you're well off and well connected, you can get your abortion,'' said Dr. Stephen Wear, co-director of the center for clinical ethics at the University of Buffalo, which trains doctors for the Buffalo area's hospitals. ``For everybody else, it's less and less available.'' The number of abortions in the United States has been declining steadily since the first years after the Supreme Court's Roe vs. Wade decision legalized abortion in 1973, according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, which studies reproductive issues. They now number roughly 1.5 million a year, according to reports by Guttmacher, or 1.4 million, according to the National Right to Life Committee, the nation's largest anti-abortion group, which calculates its estimate partly from the Guttmacher figures. The number of providers who identify themselves as performing abortions as part of their practice is diminishing as well. A 1994 Guttmacher study, the last one published, found that the number had decreased 18 percent between 1982 and 1992, to 2,380 from 2,908. Moreover, the study said, only 12 percent of the nation's residency programs routinely offer training in abortions during the first trimester, though many do offer elective courses. Laura Echevarria, director of media relations for the National Right to Life Committee, contends, however, that most teaching hospitals do train gynecologists in procedures for treating miscarriages that are similar to those used for performing abortions. Only in cosmopolitan and comparatively liberal cities like New York does the availability of abortions continue at a steady level, experts say, though even in these locales there is concern about the decreasing number of young doctors who emerge from residencies fully trained in performing abortions. The Guttmacher Institute, which keeps the nation's most precise statistics, said that in 1992, the last year for which it has figures, there were 142,410 abortions in New York that were done by just 151 providers, including 61 hospitals and 44 clinics. Still, that provider figure greatly understates the number of private doctors who perform them in their offices, medical experts say. ``Many obstetricians and gynecologists in Manhattan provide abortions as part of their palette of services, and have for many years,'' said Dr. Richard Hausknecht, the medical director of Planned Parenthood. ``Rich and middle-class women have always had access to abortions, and they always will.'' The major threat to availability in the city is less a result of anti-abortion violence than of medical training. ``The bottom line is that we're facing an impending shortage of physicians who are adequately trained and willing to do the procedures,'' said Dr. John Choate, chairman of the New York State division of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. But the lack of training programs is also a result of political pressures on hospitals and universities by antagonists of abortion and the same climate of fear. ``Physicians tend to lie low,'' Choate said. ``They don't publicize the fact that they do them. If they do them, they do it quietly out of fear for their practice and for their lives.'' One development on the horizon that is expected to change the outlook for abortions substantially is final federal approval, expected next year, of the RU-486 pill, the drug that ends an early pregnancy without the need for surgery. When the pill was introduced in France and in Edinburgh, Scotland, Hausknecht said, the number of surgical abortions plummeted.",
"While veterans and civic leaders devote Wednesday's national holiday to honoring fallen soldiers, Remembrance Day has become a chilling vigil for Canadians in the front lines of the abortion-rights movement. There is immediate fear, because an anti-abortion gunman is believed to be at large. And there is long-term anxiety, because even in this country where abortions are legal and publicly funded, women may find access diminishing. There is speculation the sniper's timing is linked to Remembrance Day because some anti-abortion activists use the day to commemorate aborted fetuses. Three times since 1994, a sniper has used this time of year to fire into the home of a Canadian doctor who performs abortion, each time wounding the target. The attacks were spread across Canada _ Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia. U.S. and Canadian investigators now believe those attacks were linked to two shootings of abortion-providing doctors in upstate New York, including the Oct. 23 slaying of Dr. Barnett Slepian at his home near Buffalo. An American anti-abortion activist, James Kopp, is wanted for questioning about the shootings. Police say they don't know which side of the border he is on, fueling uneasiness at clinics and hospitals throughout Canada. ``You must realize Canada has the largest undefended border in the world,'' said Keith McCaskill, a police inspector in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and spokesman for the investigation. Many women's clinics have tightened security, and doctors who provide abortions have been urged to take precautions. ``I would suggest they be extremely aware of their day-to-day goings on, whether during their business day or after hours,'' said Toronto Detective Rick Stubbings. Across Canada, there have been reports of obstetrician-gynecologists modifying their practices or deciding to stop performing abortions. Some wear bulletproof vests and hang sheets over windows of their homes. Abortion-rights groups say most doctors are not backing down. ``There's a great deal of sadness,'' said Susan Fox, director of a clinic in Edmonton, Alberta, that provides abortions. ``But there's also a feeling of determination that we won't be deterred or scared by these actions.'' Marilyn Wilson, executive director of the Canadian Abortion Rights Action League, sees a long-term threat because fear of violence may intimidate young doctors from entering the field. ``There are almost no doctors who have stopped performing these procedures, even under the current reign of terror,'' she said. ``But young doctors with families wouldn't necessarily want to do this. They may not be willing to put their lives at risk.'' The abortion debate is only one of several factors contributing to a shortage of obstetrician-gynecologists in Canada. The national society that oversees the speciality says there are about 1,400 doctors in the field, a shortfall of 600, and most are in their 50s or 60s. The society says long hours and limits on fees paid by the public health-care system are causing burnout and deterring medical school graduates as they choose a specialty. Another problem is that few Canadian medical schools offer training in abortion. Women in Canada's big cities generally have adequate access to abortions. Those in rural areas often face long journeys, and the province of Prince Edward Island prohibits abortions at its six hospitals, forcing women there to travel to New Brunswick or Nova Scotia. Abortion-rights groups say the situation would improve if the RU-486 abortion pill were available in Canada. No drug company has applied for permission to market the pill, either fearing boycotts or doubting its profitability. The government has been urged to make a public appeal to drug companies, but the health department says this can't be done. ``It would be a conflict of interest,'' said Bonnie Fox-McIntyre, a department spokeswoman. ``As a regulator we have to stay at arm's length, so we can judge an application impartially.'' Abortion was illegal in Canada until 1988. Now there is no abortion law of any sort, about 100,000 abortions are performed annually, and polls indicate roughly three-quarters of Canadians favor pro-choice policies. Yet public support doesn't spare doctors from fear. Dr. Henry Morgentaler, who led efforts to overturn the old abortion law and whose Toronto clinic was bombed in 1993, says he and his colleagues are sacrificing personal freedom as they reluctantly increase security measures. ``Unfortunately, doctors who are committed to providing these services will have to accept a certain diminishment of their enjoyment of life,'' he said.",
"By outward appearances, Dorothy Hayes' life seems ordinary. She and her family live in a rambling old home on the shore of Lake Ontario, and every morning, she gives her husband, John, a peck on the cheek before he goes to work. She runs errands, like other suburban moms, and spends much of her day taking care of her children. But one thing sets Mrs. Hayes apart from her neighbors. As a devoted opponent of abortion, the 43-year-old mother of nine regularly plays host to a series of traveling speakers, priests and protesters _ many of whom have come to Rochester intent upon spreading the word against abortion and shutting down clinics that provide it. She is one of thousands of people across the country loosely associated with anti-abortion groups like the Lambs of Christ who have opened their homes to the Lambs' founder, the Rev. Norman Weslin, and other itinerant demonstrators. While many _ including Mrs. Hayes _ disavow violent tactics, supporters of abortion rights say that people like her bear some responsibility when the protesters they help blockade clinics or threaten doctors. ``These people who provide Father Weslin with food and shelter when he comes into town to close the clinics are not innocent,'' said Ann Glazier, the director of clinic defense for the Planned Parenthood Federation. ``It's just not credible to say they aren't part of the extremist activity that is taking place at these clinics. They are still guilty of interfering with women's access.'' But Mary Quinn, a local organizer for the Lambs of Christ who also offers her home to protesters, sees matters in a differing light. ``Taking people in like this is an act of Christian charity,'' Mrs. Quinn said. `People who travel around the country doing this work are taken in by those of us that who don't want to lose their stupid houses. We take in these people because they are willing to make the sacrifice.'' Members of the Lambs of Christ have been persistent figures in protests at the Buffalo women's clinic where Dr. Barnett Slepian worked before he was shot to death last month. Although no suspect has been identified in the shooting or in several similar attacks in New York and Canada over the past several years, officials are looking to question a Vermont man whose car was seen near Dr. Slepian's home. That man, James Charles Kopp, has participated in abortion protests for more than a decade, and often was a house guest of other members of the Lambs of Christ. While Mrs. Hayes says she would never so much as obstruct a clinic's door, some of those to whom she has given refuge have no qualms about doing so. Weslin, the leader of the Lambs of Christ, is one of those who has benefited from Mrs. Hayes' hospitality, a modern version of the generosity that Christ and the Apostles knew well. He prides himself on being arrested more than 60 times during protests in front of medical clinics. And throughout the 1980s and early '90s, he was active in clinic ``rescues,'' in which protesters tried physically to restrain patients trying to enter clinics. Weslin stayed at Mrs. Hayes' home only once, beginning in May 1996 when he first came to speak at local churches about the anti-abortion movement. But during a stay that lasted several months, he was arrested on Federal charges of blocking access to a Rochester health clinic where abortions were performed. He was later convicted and served two and a half months in prison. During the protest outside the clinic, he and several other protesters locked themselves in a homemade contraption called ``the oven,'' made of cement and iron. It took police officers several hours to lug the device to a horse trailer that carted it off. At the same protest, one man glued his head to a lock on a gate surrounding the clinic, a move some protesters later said was an accident. Abortion opponents like Mrs. Hayes and Mrs. Quinn speak of attending peaceful observances at abortion clinics and offering prayers for the unborn. They talk about counseling women about alternatives to abortion at Roman Catholic ``pregnancy centers,'' and their support of anti-abortion candidates. But they also say they saw nothing wrong with Weslin trying to block access to clinics. They describe the activity as peaceful resistance meant to stop what they see as murders. Weslin and the other house guests of Mrs. Hayes and Mrs. Quinn come recommended from friends and members of local Catholic churches, they said, adding that most are speakers at local churches or anti-abortion events. And although they say they would never take into their homes a stranger wanted by the FBI, like Kopp, they concede that they sometimes know little about their guests. But Mrs. Hayes and Mrs. Quinn say they know a lot about Weslin. An Army veteran, he has been a leader of the anti-abortion movement for more than 25 years, they say, and founded a home for unwed mothers. Mrs. Hayes said that when she met him, it was obvious he was a man of peace who ``had a tremendous devotion to the Blessed Mother and basically recognized that we are helpless lambs.'' Barbara Fredericks, another local abortion opponent who developed ties to the Lambs after Weslin came to town, added that the priest epitomized a man of God. ``I just knew when I looked at his holy shoes and his simple coat that had been mended 50 times,'' she said. ``He was humble, a man who was doing this for a higher purpose, trying to save people through sacrifice and prayer.'' opp also has robust defenders among the people who housed him as he rode about the country from protest to protest. E. Kenny, 20, said that his parents housed Kopp in their St. Albans, Vt., home for two years after he spoke at their local church in 1988. During Kopp's stay, he was a pleasure, Kenny said, always helping around the house. ``He was a nice guy, kind of like an uncle to us,'' Kenny said. ``He'd sit around and play video games with us and make us model planes out of wood.'' Like Weslin, Kopp was consumed by a need to fight abortion and often talked about its evils, Kenny said, adding that Kopp was a gentle man who wanted to become a Catholic priest. ``He was always in a good mood,'' Kenny said. ``He never did anything violent at all.'' Both Kopp and Weslin have been arrested repeatedly during abortion protests. The men have moved in the same circles and at times found themselves arrested at the same events. Mrs. Quinn said that Weslin told her in a recent telephone conversation that he knew Kopp. Weslin could not be reached for comment, but it is clear that the two men have encountered each other. Both faced misdemeanor charges after blocking a Burlington, Vt., health clinic in 1990 that Kopp called ``the mill.'' And they spent time in the same jail in Atlanta in 1988 after a clinic protest. Slepian's death has abortion opponents like Mrs. Hayes and Mrs. Quinn worried, both about how the killing is being portrayed in the media and what it will do to membership in groups like the Lambs of Christ. ``For a long time, you felt like the voice in the desert that wasn't being heard,'' Mrs. Hayes said. ``And then there was this horrible tragedy of this doctor's death becoming the face of the movement. ``We're about saving lives,'' she said. The FBI has not talked to Mrs. Hayes, but Kenny said that agents have spoken to him. The Justice Department says that a Federal task force set up this week to investigate the killing of Slepian is looking for evidence connecting anti-abortion violence at various clinics. ``It's fair to say that when investigating these events, we will look at any connection between individuals engaged in criminal conduct,'' Myron Marlin, a spokesman for the department, said. Many local Catholics associated with the Lambs of Christ have tried to distance themselves from the killing of Slepian. They are mailing literature saying that the killer does not represent their movement. In addition, some people associated with the Lambs are offering other possible explanations for the killing. Some say they believe that the killer might have been someone overcome by grief after a personal experience with abortion. Others wondered whether the shooter had tried to wound the doctor to scare him or prevent him from performing more abortions. The Lambs also wonder whether abortionist opponents are being blamed for a shooting committed by a disgruntled patient. One idea gaining currency among the Lambs, and prominently displayed on their Web site, suggests that the killing was the result of a plot by abortion supporters to discredit abortion opponents just before last week's elections. Mrs. Hayes says she doesn't know the truth. ``There are wackos who travel around and they may be in front of the clinic because we are drawn to the same place,'' she said. ``But you don't know everyone who shows up and you don't turn to the person next to you and tell them they don't belong there.'' Mrs. Fredericks said that anyone who would shoot a doctor who provides abortions was someone ``who had snapped, perhaps because of the importance of the situation.'' Members of the Lambs of Christ and other opponents of abortion in Rochester wonder whether the killing of Slepian will hinder their efforts. When Weslin first arrived two years ago, he brought new focus to a group that often had done little more than counsel pregnant women and set up booths on college campuses, they said. ``In many cities, they have a priest for life coordinating and leading rosary marches'' against abortion, Mrs. Quinn said. ``But with Father Weslin coming here, we could finally come together and feel like we were doing something sacrificial as a group.'' Mrs. Hayes said that she felt the first pull of the movement in the early 1980s, when she heard women speak about ``choice'' in regard to abortion. Then she saw ``Silent Scream,'' a well-known anti-abortion film that purports to show the footage of an abortion. ``What I saw was the end of life,'' she said. She began to volunteer at a Catholic pregnancy center where she encouraged women ``not to kill their child.'' She also began to house unwed mothers and went to stand vigil outside local clinics where abortions were performed. Mrs. Hayes looked at her 3-month-old daughter, Bernadette, then pointed to the prenatal image of the infant, a sonogram taken at 13 weeks that she keeps on her refrigerator door. She described what could have been her baby's fate, had she been someone else's child. ``Two pounds and two inches ago, she could have been a partial-birth abortion,'' Mrs. Hayes said, referring to a controversial late-term abortion procedure. ``They have the hardest time getting the shoulders out, so they can get to the head and puncture it. ``It's brutal, but what do you expect when the purpose is a dead baby? There's no question that these doctors are trying to murder a child.''",
"On the eve of a holiday that has been linked to antiabortion violence, the authorities on Tuesday were investigating whether a picture of an aborted fetus sent to a Canadian newspaper was connected to last month's fatal shooting of a Buffalo, N.Y. doctor who provided abortions or four similar attacks in western New York and Canada since 1994. The newspaper, the Hamilton (Ontario) Spectator, has received five similar packages in the last year, some containing veiled threats and several delivered by a man who employees said resembled James Charles Kopp, who is wanted for questioning as a witness about the Oct. 23 slaying of Dr. Barnett Slepian. Five days after the shooting, the Spectator received a package containing an antiabortion flier with biographical information about Slepian, including a photograph of him that had been crossed out. ``It certainly causes us to be more interested than ever in speaking to Kopp,'' said Inspector Keith McKaskill of the Winnipeg Police Department, a spokesman for the Canada-United States task force investigating the five shootings. Even as they searched for Kopp, federal officials were also looking into three letters that were received Monday by Catholic and antiabortion organizations in Buffalo, Indianapolis and Chicago. Those letters, saying they contained the deadly anthrax bacteria, came 10 days after eight similar threats to clinics that provide abortions. All the letters appear to be hoaxes, and it remains unclear whether they were connected to any of the five shootings. Kopp is not a suspect in the shootings. An itinerant antiabortion activist whose last known address is in Vermont, he is the subject of warrants on both sides of the border. In Canada, he is suspected of administrative violations of immigration law; in the United States, he is wanted as a material witness in the Slepian case.",
"James Kopp, the man the FBI is seeking as a material witness in the sniper slaying of Dr. Barnett Slepian, is known to abortion rights leaders as an aggressive anti-abortion protester, and law enforcement officials say he has been arrested several times in demonstrations at abortion clinics. The portrait that emerges of Kopp, 44, from police records, studies by researchers on right-wing movements, newspaper accounts of protests, and abortion rights advocates, is that of an itinerant protester, moving about the country in a series of increasingly abrasive protests at abortion clinics. Federal law enforcement officials say he is not currently a suspect in the Slepian shooting, and there was no indication Wednesday that he had been arrested for any violent acts. At several abortion protests, he was charged with trespassing or resisting arrest, according to news accounts. One of his arrests was in Atlanta during Operation Rescue's huge anti-abortion protests there in 1988. While he was in an Atlanta jail, Kopp was given the nickname Atomic Dog, which investigators contend links him to the violent fringe of the anti-abortion movement, responsible for a series of bombings and arsons and seven murders of abortion providers like Slepian over the last five years. Responsibility for some of the violence _ like the bombing of an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Ala., earlier this year, in which an off-duty policeman was killed _ has been claimed in notes signed by a shadowy ``Army of God.'' An underground manual issued in the name of the Army of God, which describes methods for attacking abortion clinics, including how to make homemade C-4 plastic explosives, begins with a tribute, by nickname, of a clandestine band pledged to stop abortions. The first name under this ``Special Thanks'' section is Atomic Dog. The Atlanta police, after searching the hundreds of arrest records of the protesters from the summer of 1988, confirmed Wednesday night that the date of birth and Social Security number of the James Kopp arrested then matched those given out Wednesday by the FBI task force in Buffalo investigating the murder of Slepian, who was gunned down through the window if his home in suburban Amherst on Oct. 23. At the nondescript frame house in St. Albans, Vt., that the FBI gave as Kopp's last known address, the current resident, who gave his name only as E. Kenny, 20, a shipping clerk, remembered Kopp well. He lived there for part of 1990 as the guest of Kenny's parents, who were active in the anti-abortion movement, among a group of protesters who tried to shut down two abortion clinics in Burlington in stubborn demonstrations that year. Kenny remembered Kopp as a ``really nice guy,'' who did chores around the place but paid no rent to the parents. He sometimes made wooden toys or played video games with Kenny, then a child. ``But the focus of his life was the anti-abortion movement,'' Kenny recalled. ``He was known among these people as Atomic Dog. It wasn't like a name that he had to go to the store or something. But if you knew anything about him, that's what you called him.'' Roughly 95 people were arrested during the protests, according to newspaper accounts at the time. ``There were many, many arrests,'' recalled Allie Stickney, the president of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. ``It was very big for Vermont. There were Kryptonite locks and leaflets from the Army of God and the Lambs of Christ. It was clearly a highly organized blockade.'' According to newspaper accounts, Kopp was arrested outside a clinic in Levittown, Long Island, in 1991. The protests in Atlanta in 1998 appeared to be a turning point for a hard-core group of protesters. The Atlanta police cracked down hard and carted hundreds of demonstrators off to an isolated prison dormitory the called ``the farm.'' Operation Rescue had mounted a series of blockades to close down abortion clinics in New York and Philadelphia that spring. Atlanta was their high point, but in the face of the tough arrest policy, the movement faltered, split apart and stalled. ``It was a traumatic, life-changing experience,'' said Frederick Clarkson, author of ``Eternal Hostility,'' a book on the anti-abortion movement, adding that by 1993 with the shooting of Dr. David Gunn, an abortion provider in Florida, some of those in the Atlanta jail became the nucleus of a group signing a ``justifiable homicide'' statement that declared that the use of force was warranted to ``defend the life of an unborn child.''",
"In the aftermath of last month's deadly sniper attack on an obstetrician in upstate New York, Attorney General Janet Reno announced last week that she was setting up a new investigative unit to examine the possibility that the doctor was the victim of a broader anti-abortion plot. The unit, the National Clinic Violence Task Force, will include a dozen Justice Department lawyers and involve several law-enforcement agencies. But the main work of looking into the shooting of Dr. Barnett Slepian in his suburban Buffalo home and how it fits a larger pattern of organized violence will be done by the FBI, which has jurisdiction over domestic terrorism. For many in the FBI, that's a problem. In contrast to the old image of gung-ho FBI agents turning their surveillance machinery on political groups, a number of senior FBI agents privately expressed misgivings about the attorney general's latest task force, the second she has ordered to begin a broad investigation into a conspiracy involving anti-abortion violence. FBI officials fear that expanding the investigation could drive the agency over the ill-defined boundary that separates inquiries into criminal activity from those into political causes and unpopular ideas. Today's agents are eager to disassociate themselves from the old J. Edgar Hoover days of trampling the civil rights of political dissidents in the guise of serious investigations. They do not want the agency drawn into the middle of the bitter ideological war between anti-abortion groups and abortion rights advocates, who have long asserted the existence of an organized campaign against clinics and doctors. Many of those calling for government help were once themselves subjects of FBI interest as anti-war and civil rights activists. Senior agency officials, including Director Louis Freeh, were starting their careers in the early 1970s and watched in dismay as the FBI was shaken by revelations about Cointelpro, the counterintelligence program that allowed agents to spy on, burgle, wiretap and infiltrate anti-war and civil rights groups like Students for a Democratic Society and the Student Nonviolence Coordinating Committee. Some officials are dubious that a conspiracy exists to kill doctors who perform abortions. They came up empty handed when Reno ordered the first federal inquiry in 1994 after the killing of a Florida doctor and his bodyguard. The Justice Department conducted a two-year grand jury investigation; agents pursued some anti-abortion activists using surveillance teams. But investigators never found a specific plot against abortion clinics and staff members. Violence at abortion clinics is only part of the problem. The FBI has in recent years found itself thrown into a minefield of politically tinged cases involving the volatile worlds of anti-government militias, environmental and Christian extremists, white separatists, animal rights activists and Islamic fundamentalists. ``The FBI is very quick to jump from investigating crime to investigating political association,'' said David Cole, a law professor at Georgetown University. ``When you move from investigating crimes to investigating groups, that all-important nexus to criminal conduct gets lost, the focus gets broader and broader and you start sweeping in all kinds of lawful political activity.'' In response to terrorist attacks like the bombings of the World Trade Center in 1993, the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995 and the Olympic park in Atlanta in 1996, the agency has increased efforts to deter such incidents in a major prevention program. In such cases, the Justice Department, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies said they operate under domestic security guidelines that require investigators to find a ``reasonable indication'' that a group is planning to break the law before they can open an inquiry into an organization. Before the authorities can use such intrusive tactics as wiretapping or property searches, they must have specific evidence. Yet FBI agents throughout the country have quietly evaluated the threat posed by a variety of extremist groups through its links to local authorities and informal interviews with the leaders of some groups. Their conclusion is that most of these groups pose little real danger. Much more difficult to investigate are lone terrorists inflamed by the oratory of extremist ideology but who belong to no group, drifting along society's frayed margins, ``off the grid,'' as some agents describe it, without the usual ties to family, friends or work. The profile fits Eric Robert Rudolph, the fugitive wanted for bombings at the Atlanta Olympics, a gay nightclub and two abortion clinics. He has kept his beliefs mostly to himself, although acquaintances hint that he was familiar with religious extremism and hate groups. In contrast, James Charles Kopp, who is being sought as a material witness in the killing of Slepian, left a trail of clues about his motives. He was an early follower of Randall Terry, a leader of Operation Rescue. Later, Kopp was associated with the Lambs of Christ, an another militant anti-abortion group. One law-enforcement official said that the government should do what it does best. ``We should investigate violations,'' he said. ``We shouldn't investigate groups.''",
"In July 1988, when Randall Terry drove through the night from his home in Binghamton, N.Y., to Atlanta to start the series of anti-abortion protests that would finally put his new hard-line group, Operation Rescue, onto America's front pages, James Charles Kopp was in the van riding alongside him, according to former leaders of Operation Rescue who spoke on the condition of anonymity. And, those people say, when Terry was arrested on the first day of Operation Rescue's ``Siege of Atlanta,'' Kopp followed him into jail. Along with more than one hundred other Operation Rescue members, according to some people who were there, Kopp remained in jail for 40 days and adhered to Terry's orders not to give a real name to the police or courts. After his release, Kopp returned to Operation Rescue's Binghamton headquarters, and was there working alongside Terry as the group's power and influence in the anti-abortion movement surged in late 1988 and 1989, according to the former leaders of Operation Rescue. Now, Kopp is being sought by federal and local law enforcement authorities for questioning as a material witness in the murder of an obstetrician who performed abortions in the Buffalo region. The authorities also say he may have information that will help solve four other sniper attacks on doctors who performed abortions in Canada and upstate New York. Some abortion-rights groups are seizing on Kopp's role in Operation Rescue to raise new questions about the connections between the recent anti-abortion violence and the hard-line anti-abortion protest groups that burst onto the national scene in the late 1980s. For years, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department have looked in vain for evidence to determine whether a national conspiracy might be behind a series of clinic bombings and shootings of doctors and other clinic staff members that began in the early 1990s. A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., that looked into conspiracy allegations was ultimately disbanded without finding a national underground. But some federal law enforcement officials say they hope that Kopp may help provide such a link. In fact, the announcement that law enforcement officials are looking for him has been made as Attorney General Janet Reno has prepared to revive an interagency task force to look once again for possible conspiracies behind anti-abortion crimes. Federal law enforcement officials and the authorities say Kopp is not now a suspect in the sniper attack on Oct. 23 that killed Dr. Barnett A. Slepian near Buffalo. But they say Kopp's car was seen near Slepian's home in Amherst, N.Y. in the weeks before the doctor was shot. One day after issuing a warrant for Kopp's arrest as a material witness, law enforcement officials from at least 10 agencies spanning the United States and Canadian border still had not located Kopp Thursday. But law enforcement officials said they were pursuing many tips, including about 400 that have poured into the FBI's information line: (800) 281-1184. The police have gone through photographs of abortion protesters and clinic workers in Buffalo and around the country, and they are also reviewing hundreds of hours of videotapes of demonstrations in search of Kopp's face. At this point, officials consider the shooting of Slepian to be connected to three attacks in Canada and one in Rochester on doctors who provide abortions. The five attacks, all since 1994, occurred in the weeks leading up to Nov. 11, Veterans Day _ called Remembrance Day in Canada _ a holiday that has become important to anti-abortion activists. But the attacks were spread over four years and 3,000 miles, from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Buffalo. As is the case with many early veterans of Operation Rescue, Kopp was transformed into a hard-core anti-abortion militant in jail in Atlanta in 1988, according to many people who were in jail with him who insisted on anonymity."
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In a dispute over a new collective bargaining agreement the National Basketball Association owners declared a lockout on July 1, 1998. They wanted to discard a clause in the old agreement allowing teams to pay their own free agents whatever they wanted, substituting a hard salary cap. The players wanted to keep earning as much as possible. On Oct. 5 all 114 preseason games were cancelled. The players then proposed a 50% tax on salaries above $18 million that the owners rejected. On Oct. 13 the NBA cancelled the first two weeks of the regular season. By Oct. 21 the entire season seemed in jeopardy in the interests of the best paid. The Larry Bird exception has been used to pay some NBA players much more than the salary cap allows. Stalled labor dispute over NBA salaries cancels preseason games and threatens regular season games. NBA owners and players plan meeting, which is unsuccessful. Players submit proposal at next meeting. Owners to respond by Fri. First 2 weeks of the season, 99 games, are cancelled. An arbitrator will decide on Mon. whether or not NBA players with guaranteed salary contracts should be paid during the owners' lockout. As the NBA labor battle goes on, most, if not all, season games may be cancelled. Lesser paid players may suffer if union doesn't survive. The National Basketball Association joined the NHL, the NFL and baseball when it canceled first the preseason games then two weeks of regular season. In litigation that is complicated by a dispute over the distribution of nearly $2 billion in league income, the main sticking point is the owner's insistence on a salary cap without exceptions. Top players are avoiding discussion of the Larry Bird exception, which allows a player to secure any amount he wants in resigning with his current team except as it applies to their taxation proposal. Also pending is an arbiter's decision as to whether players will be paid during the lockout. In a dispute between the owners and NBA players over how to divide the $2 billion in league-wide income, all preseason and the first 99 1998-1999 regular season games were cancelled. The Larry Bird exception, a clause in the old agreement that allowed teams to pay their own free agents any amount, regardless of salary-cap rules, is the major issue. The owners want a restricted salary cap. The players have proposed a superstar tax, and the owners have presented a counter proposal, but negotiations have stalled. Meanwhile, both sides are awaiting a ruling by arbitrator Feerick on whether $800 million in guaranteed salaries will be paid during the lockout.
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"In a decision that will almost certainly lead to the first work stoppage in National Basketball Association history, the league Monday announced the cancellation of all 114 preseason games. Citing stalled negotiations with the Players Association over a new collective bargaining agreement, league officials said they would decide next week whether to cancel the first week of regular season games. While the decision had been expected for 10 days, it nonetheless sent a strong signal that the owners and players will probably be willing to cancel at least part of the regular season in order to settle their labor dispute. Both sides agree that it would take at least three weeks to hold abbreviated training camps and sign over 200 free agents to new contracts. Privately, officials on both sides do not believe the season will start as scheduled on Nov. 3 or even before December. Unlike Major League Baseball, the National Football League and the National Hockey League, the NBA has never lost a regular-season game to labor strife. ``Since we're not even negotiating, you have to conclude it's very likely that we're going miss some part of the regular season,'' deputy commissioner Russ Granik said Monday night. ``We'll try and defer any decisions until the last minute, but right now it does not look good.'' The two sides will meet on Thursday _ their first official bargaining session since Aug. 6. Commissioner David Stern and a group of owners walked out of a meeting after dismissing the merits of a new proposal from the players. Neither Granik nor players association executive director Billy Hunter sounded as if this week's meeting would go a long way toward the signing of a new agreement _ the precursor to playing again. ``I don't think you have any choice but to miss games at this point,'' Hunter said. ``In fact, I think the they've intended it all along. They've locked us out, they've refused to negotiate and they've given us a proposal that's ludicrous.'' Not only are both sides still awaiting the outcome of an arbitration decision that is due before Oct. 18 - the Fordham Law School dean John Feerick will rule whether or not more than 200 players with $800 million in guaranteed contracts should be paid during the lockout _ but the owners and players also are making time to win public opinion before they test their fans' loyalties by canceling games. Monday in 11 cities throughout the country, the players are holding make-shift press conferences at training-camp venues, NBA arenas and gymnasiums. Patrick Ewing, the union president, and several teammates will speak at SUNY-Purchase in Purchase, N.Y., where the Knicks train during the season. With training camp originally scheduled to open on Oct. 6, the message from the players is clear: if the owners would call an end to the lockout, we would be ready to play today. About 100 players are expected to attend, speak and sign autographs for fans afterward. ``I wish they would put their energies into trying to negotiate a deal rather than the various other",
"things that they've been doing,'' Granik said. The dispute is essentially over how the owners and players will judiciously divvy up $2 billion in income. It began last year with the contention by the owners that their employees were receiving more than their fair share of the pot. The owners were allowed to terminate the current agreement because of a clause that enabled them to do so after player salaries reached 53.8 percent of total basketball-related income. The owners say that figure is currently hovering around 57.1 percent. Though many economic issues need to be resolved, the main point of contention since the labor agreement expired and the owners declared a lockout on July 1 has been a clause which allows teams to pay their own free agents whatever they want, regardless of salary-cap rules governing the NBA's 29 teams. Called the Larry Bird exception, it was created to allow the Hall of Fame Boston Celtics forward to re-sign with the Celtics near the end of his career. Michael Jordan exercised the clause the last two years with the Chicago Bulls, earning more than $30 million per season _ figures more than $5 million more what a team is allowed to spend on all its players. But with exorbitant salaries paid to several unproven stars over the last few years and $100 million deals sprouting up routinely, the owners are determined to swing the income pendulum back toward themselves by enforcing a restricted salary cap _ a hard cap _ and putting a ceiling on how much one player could earn. ``Last year, the players received about $1 billion dollars in salaries and benefits and we have made proposals that are guaranteed to increase that number by 20 percent over the next four years,'' Granik said in a prepared statement. ``Our proposals would result in an average player salary of more than $3.1 million and a minimum salary for 10-year veterans of $750,000. Unfortunately, the union leadership has been unwilling to give any serious consideration to what we have offered.'' Hunter labeled those claims as optimistic projections, and shot down a number of new proposals presented to the players on Sept. 25. ``If they had left the current deal in place, we would have gotten much of that anyway,'' he added. ``All we're saying is, we're not in position to accept a hard cap.'' Monday's decision to cancel the preseason came less than two weeks after the NBA indefinitely postponed training camp and canceled the first week of exhibition games. Through tickets sales alone, Granik estimated that losing the exhibition season would cost the league between $35 million and $40 million. Decisions about the cancellations of regular season games are expected to be made next week, he added. A league official said the games would be canceled in blocks of one or two weeks, depending upon circumstances regarding negotiations. Thursday's bargaining session has suddenly become the last hope at starting the season on time. ``Hurdles could be overcome very quickly, but I have no reason to believe they will on Thursday,'' Granik",
"said. Added Hunter: ``Of course they don't expect much to get done. When Russ and David decide the negotiations are going to be real and substantive, then something will happen. What they're banking on now is that the players are going to miss paychecks and cave in November. It's as if they've ingested something that has to pass. And once it passes, then they'll negotiate.''",
"The first substantive talks in more than two months between opposing sides of the National Basketball Association's labor dispute came and went Thursday without a hint of a settlement. Still, a five-hour meeting that was described as cordial by the league and ``almost like two bulls letting off a little steam'' by the players association produced another scheduled round of talks next Tuesday. Barring a major compromise, that will not be enough time to preserve a full season and prevent the league from losing its first regular-season games to labor strife in November. Russ Granik, the NBA's deputy commissioner, said the league would wait until after next week's meeting before deciding to cancel regular-season games. He also discussed the possibility of a significantly shortened season. ``We haven't made a determination that you need this exact number of games in order to have a representative season,'' Granik said. ``But we recognize that beyond a certain point we can't possibly sell to our fans that we're having an NBA season. ``Whether's that 60 games, 50 games or 49 or 53, we're not there yet. We have a few months before we have to face that decision.'' Perhaps the only progress involved Thursday in the conference room of a midtown Manhattan hotel was a question-and-answer session over the league's latest proposal to the players. Patrick Ewing, the union president, and vice presidents Herb Williams and Dikembe Mutombo attended the meeting with the union's executive director, Billy Hunter, and union lawyers. No owners were present, but Granik, Commissioner David Stern and the league's lawyers spent most of the day explaining the intricacies of a two-week-old proposal to the players. At one point before the two parties broke for lunch, Stern and Hunter raised their voices and accused each other of handling their constituencies poorly, a participant in the meeting said. But the two were seen shaking hands and laughing after the meeting concluded shortly after 3 p.m. ``There was some venting from both sides,'' Hunter said. ``We've been placid and very respectful. Today, we took the coats off and we were inclined to take the gloves off a little bit. Having done that, I think it kind of loosened up both sides.'' Hunter added: ``Did anybody blink today? They're sort of look at us for any kind of nuance they can find during the course of negotiations that might, in some way or another, give some indication that while we're mouthing one thing we might be open to something else. We're looking at their body language, too. I don't think that they're ready to make a deal.'' The last formal meeting between both sides on Aug. 6 ended when Stern and the owners abruptly marched out after they had received a proposal from the players.",
"As labor battles go, the current one between the National Basketball Association and its players is weird even by sports standards. There is a real possibility that most, if not all, of the coming season will be canceled. In this union battle it is the interests of the best paid, not those who make union scale, that are dominating the discussion. And here it is some of the workers, not the management, who are considering trying to make the union disappear. The current arrangement has produced an unbalanced pay scale of immense proportions. Last year more players than ever before received the union minimum, then $242,000 for rookies or $272,000 for veterans. The number of players making $1 million to $2 million a year _ the middle class, in NBA terms _ fell sharply. But Michael Jordan made $33 million. This should not be a surprise. Sports is an entertainment business, not unlike movies. Big stars get millions, while most get union scale. Over the years, NBA efforts to stem the rise of salaries have failed. The most important loophole in its salary cap lets a team sign its own free agent for whatever it is willing to pay. When that was adopted, it was assumed that no team would pay a lot more than a rival could pay. But it has not worked out that way. In the current negotiation, the league has offered to guarantee that its payroll will rise 20 percent over the next four years, from $1 billion to $1.2 billion, and says it is open to proposals to split that money any way the players want, whether by raising the minimum salary or guaranteeing raises for veterans. The union says it is worried about that middle class, but seems determined to preserve the free market. The league got its broadcasters, NBC and Time Warner's cable channels, to agree to pay this year's television fees whether or not there are any games to broadcast. (They will be paid back in later years, either through reduced fees or extra games to show.) Owners hoped the players would think management was willing to wait them out, and come to terms with only a small part of the season canceled. But the union is acting unhurried. It turned aside requests for negotiations this week, saying the players had to meet first. Then there is the issue of union suicide, a tactic that was rejected by the players in 1995. The idea is that if the players had no union, it would be illegal under antitrust laws for the owners to collude. The sky would be the limit. That tactic might fail. The courts could reject a union decertification vote as a sham, and in any case some players may fear that teams would feel free to offer less than the old union minimum. But if the players go that route, it could be a long time before real negotiations get going. Billy Hunter, the union's executive director, warned the owners this week that a prolonged lockout could destroy the league's popularity. That was what all the seers said four years ago, when baseball's World Series was canceled by labor troubles. But fan memories are relatively short, and now baseball seems more popular than ever. With that in mind, both owners and players may choose to battle on for months.",
"In a critical ruling for the North American National Basketball Association and the players' union, arbitrator John Feerick decides Monday whether more than 200 players with guaranteed contracts should be paid during the lockout. If the players win, the owners will be liable for about dlrs 800 million in guaranteed salaries, although they have vowed to appeal if they lose. The league already has sued the players over Feerick's jurisdiction. ``If we win, I think it just emboldens the spirit and resolve of the players,'' union director Billy Hunter said. ``But I don't think there will be anybody celebrating because there's no guarantee that it will end the lockout. ``It only means they have to pay some 200 players, and they've indicated to us their intent to file an immediate appeal and take it as far as they have to in order to avoid payment. ``So even if he does rule in our favor, at most it's a hollow victory. The players aren't going to get paid Nov. 15 in any circumstance,'' Hunter said. If the owners win, it will remove the last wild card the players had been holding. The sides have not negotiated since last Tuesday, when the union proposed a superstar tax on the highest contracts. The league made a counterproposal Friday, asking that the tax be imposed with a much lower threshold. Hunter dismissed the league's latest proposal on Friday afternoon, then said both sides would be best served by awaiting Feerick's ruling. It's unlikely any negotiations will be held this week, since the union is holding a meeting for all NBA players and the agents advisory committee in Las Vegas from Wednesday through Friday. ``We've got to get a sense of where the players are, what they consider to be reasonable and what they're willing to do in order to get the season to commence,'' Hunter said. The union filed a grievance with Feerick before the lockout was imposed July 1 over the owners' announcement June 29 that they would not honor guaranteed deals. In a six-day hearing over the summer, the union argued that owners should have protected themselves from being liable for guaranteed salaries during a work stoppage by inserting lockout language into the standard player contract. The Sacramento Kings inserted a lockout clause into center Olden Polynice's contract in 1994, and it was approved by the league. The union used the existence of that clause to argue that all the other teams should have protected themselves similarly. Most players are due to receive their first paychecks Nov. 15, although a dozen or so had clauses entitling them to be paid over the summer. None has received a paycheck. The NBA argued that a tenet of labor law allows employers to withhold pay from employees during a lockout. The league also called former union director Simon Gourdine to testify, but Feerick upheld union objections and prohibited Gourdine from saying whether it was his understanding when he negotiated the old labor agreement in 1995 that players would not be paid if the owners chose to reopen the agreement and impose a lockout.",
"In a critical ruling for the North American National Basketball Association and the players' union, arbitrator John Feerick decides Monday whether more than 200 players with guaranteed contracts should be paid during the lockout. If the players win, the owners will be liable for about dlrs 800 million in guaranteed salaries, although they have vowed to appeal if they lose. The league already has sued the players over Feerick's jurisdiction. ``If we win, I think it just emboldens the spirit and resolve of the players,'' union director Billy Hunter said. ``But I don't think there will be anybody celebrating because there's no guarantee that it will end the lockout. ``It only means they have to pay some 200 players, and they've indicated to us their intent to file an immediate appeal and take it as far as they have to in order to avoid payment. ``So even if he does rule in our favor, at most it's a hollow victory. The players aren't going to get paid Nov. 15 in any circumstance,'' Hunter said. If the owners win, it will remove the last wild card the players had been holding. The sides have not negotiated since last Tuesday, when the union proposed a superstar tax on the highest contracts. The league made a counterproposal Friday, asking that the tax be imposed with a much lower threshold. Hunter dismissed the league's latest proposal on Friday afternoon, then said both sides would be best served by awaiting Feerick's ruling. It's unlikely any negotiations will be held this week, since the union is holding a meeting for all NBA players and the agents advisory committee in Las Vegas from Wednesday through Friday. ``We've got to get a sense of where the players are, what they consider to be reasonable and what they're willing to do in order to get the season to commence,'' Hunter said. The union filed a grievance with Feerick before the lockout was imposed July 1 over the owners' announcement June 29 that they would not honor guaranteed deals. In a six-day hearing over the summer, the union argued that owners should have protected themselves from being liable for guaranteed salaries during a work stoppage by inserting lockout language into the standard player contract. The Sacramento Kings inserted a lockout clause into center Olden Polynice's contract in 1994, and it was approved by the league. The union used the existence of that clause to argue that all the other teams should have protected themselves similarly. Most players are due to receive their first paychecks Nov. 15, although a dozen or so had clauses entitling them to be paid over the summer. None has received a paycheck. The NBA argued that a tenet of labor law allows employers to withhold pay from employees during a lockout. The league also called former union director Simon Gourdine to testify. He said it was his understanding when he negotiated the old labor agreement in 1995 that players would not be paid if the owners chose to reopen the agreement and impose a lockout.",
"The National Basketball Association, embroiled in a labor dispute with its players, Tuesday canceled the first two weeks of the 1998-99 season. It is the first time in the league's 51-year history that it will lose regular-season games. The NBA's deputy commissioner, Russ Granik, announced the cancellation after nearly three and a half hours of meetings concluded at a Manhattan hotel. The decision to cancel 99 games between Nov. 3 and Nov. 16 came after the players association proposed the implementation of a tax system instead of a hard salary cap, a proposal the owners said they would respond to by Friday. ``We tried our best today to try to do what was possible to salvage the season,'' said Alonzo Mourning, the Miami Heat center. ``Unfortunately, it didn't work out.'' After 35,001 games without a blemish, the NBA now joins the National Hockey League, the National Football League and Major League Baseball in having lost games to a labor dispute. Taking into account that a three- to four-week period would be needed for training camp and free-agent signings before the season starts, the league said it would decide in two weeks whether to make further cancellations. ``I'm very sad and disappointed,'' said the NBA commissioner, David Stern. ``I consider it to be a collective failure, but I honestly don't know what else we could have done. I do things that I like to think are in the best interests of the game. And I believe this is.'' The decision came after what both sides agreed were the most substantive talks since the owners imposed a lockout on the player July 1. Seventeen players, including union president Patrick Ewing and vice presidents Mitch Richmond, Herb Williams, Dikemebe Mutombo and Ty Corbin, attended the meeting along with Stern, Granik and five members of the ownership committee _ Madison Square Garden president Dave Checketts and owners Abe Pollin of Washington, Gordon Gund of Cleveland, Les Alexander of Houston and Jerry Colangelo of Phoenix. The talks featured what the players association implied were a bevy concessions made to the owners that they felt would accommodate the league's desire to swing the revenue pendulum back toward the owners. The dispute involves the distribution of approximately $2 billion in league-wide income. The main sticking point has been the owners' insistence on a salary cap without exceptions, the implementation of which they believe would bring player salaries' in line with revenue growth. While the players did not discuss the elimination of the Larry Bird exception _ a clause that allows a player to secure any amount of money he wants in re-signing with his current team _ they did address the exception in their taxation proposal. The main points were as follows: _ A 50 percent tax would be imposed on salary earned above $18 million, a clause that would affect only a few players who exercised their Bird rights. For example, if a player made $20 million, the team would be forced to put $1 million into a fund that would most likely be distributed to low-revenue teams.",
"``There could be provisions made for some players,'' said Jeffrey Kessler, the chief outside counsel for the union. ``We don't want to do anything that would encourage Chicago from getting Michael Jordan back. And I think the league feels the same way.'' The proposal is similar to the luxury tax proposed by the union in 1995 during negotiations, but it would not be nearly as liberal. _ A salary cap credit would go into effect if the league pays out more than 63 percent of revenues in salary. Whatever figure over that number reduces the salary cap the next year. If the figure was $29 million over the salary cap, then the 29 teams would work with a salary cap $1 million less than the previous season. But the players would have an assurance that the salary cap would go up at least $2 million before the credit goes into effect. _ Also, if the 63-percent threshold is met, a reduction of annual 20 percent raises would take effect for multi-year contracts. Players would either get raises of 10 percent or the rate of growth in league revenues. The union said this clearly addresses the league's desire to bring salaries in line with revenues. Since the owners re-opened the current agreement because 57.1 percent of revenue was going toward salaries, the 63-percent figure would probably have to come down substantially for the owners to agree to such a proposal. _ Teams would get a right of first refusal on free agents after the fourth year for incoming rookies, meaning a player would be contractually obligated to the same team for the first four years of his deal. Currently, the rookie scale is three years and includes a clause that enables a player to exercise his Bird rights after two seasons _ a clause Kevin Garnett parlayed into an astronomical $126 million deal last year with Minnesota. _ Finally, the players agreed to make marijuana a banned substance. Details of testing have not been negotiated and no specific discussions took place regarding testing for performance-enhancing drugs, a provision the owners included in their last proposal. In return for the concessions, the players want an increase in the minimum salary _ currently $272,500 _ and creation of an average salary exception. This would allow every team above the salary cap being able to sign one free agent per year for the average salary _ currently $2.6 million. ``We're buoyed by the fact for the first time they've decided to submit a counterproposal,'' the union's executive director, Billy Hunter, said. ``I don't know if I'm more optimistic, but I can earnestly say we can look our ballplayers in the eye and say we made a valiant effort.'' Asked if the players would finally be tested financially with the cancellation of games, Hunter added: ``It's not about us blinking. We want to reach an agreement. We're tired of the rhetoric, we're tired of the game-playing. Our position all along has been we don't want to accept a bad deal.'' Granik said refunds to fans would be",
"made at end of the calendar month and that the first refund would include monies for canceled preseason games. He estimated the losses into the ``hundreds of millions of dollars.'' ``I think we have serious concern whether a tax system can address the kind of needs we have economically,'' he added. ``But there's some possibility.'' Added Stern, ``We owe it to the fans to go back and look at the notion whether a tax rate might begin to achieve the result we wanted. It doesn't look promising, but we're going to spend the next two days to see if we can give a favorable response.'' Though the decision to cancel games was not surprising, it did represent a major shift in prior labor stalemates. Both sides reluctantly hammered out a deal in 1995 before the start of training camp with the sole notion of not missing games and preserving the NBA's perfect record. Tuesday, they could not come to such an accord. ``I'd like to think these our the last games we have to cancel,'' Granik said. ``But unless this or something else works, or there's some dramatic breakthrough, I think that is certainly not all of the season that's in jeopardy.''",
"Despite modest encouragement over a new proposal delivered by the players to the owners, the National Basketball Association Tuesday canceled the first two weeks of the regular season, the first time in the league's 51-year history that it will lose games to a labor dispute. The NBA's deputy commissioner, Russ Granik, announced the cancellation after nearly three and a half hours of meetings concluded at a Manhattan hotel. The decision to cancel 99 games between Nov. 3 and Nov. 16 came after the players association proposed the implementation of a tax system instead of a hard salary cap, a proposal the owners said they would respond to by Friday. ``We tried our best today to try to do what was possible to salvage the season,'' said Alonzo Mourning, the Miami Heat center. ``Unfortunately, it didn't work out.'' After 35,001 games without a blemish, the NBA now joins the National Hockey League, the National Football League and Major League Baseball in having lost games to a labor dispute. Taking into account that a three- to four-week period would be needed for training camp and free-agent signings before the season starts, the league said it would decide in two weeks whether to make further cancellations. ``I'm very sad and disappointed,'' said the NBA commissioner, David Stern. ``I consider it to be a collective failure, but I honestly don't know what else we could have done. I do things that I like to think are in the best interests of the game. And I believe this is.'' The decision came after what both sides agreed were the most substantive talks since the owners imposed a lockout on the player July 1. Seventeen players, including union president Patrick Ewing and vice presidents Mitch Richmond, Herb Williams, Dikemebe Mutombo and Ty Corbin, attended the meeting along with Stern, Granik and five members of the ownership committee _ Madison Square Garden president Dave Checketts and owners Abe Pollin of Washington, Gordon Gund of Cleveland, Les Alexander of Houston and Jerry Colangelo of Phoenix. The talks featured what the players association implied were a bevy concessions made to the owners that they felt would accommodate the league's desire to swing the revenue pendulum back toward the owners. The dispute involves the distribution of approximately $2 billion in league-wide income. The main sticking point has been the owners' insistence on a salary cap without exceptions, the implementation of which they believe would bring player salaries' in line with revenue growth. While the players did not discuss the elimination of the Larry Bird exception _ a clause that allows a player to secure any amount of money he wants in re-signing with his current team _ they did address the exception in their taxation proposal. The main points were as follows: _ A 50 percent tax would be imposed on salary earned above $18 million, a clause that would affect only a few players who exercised their Bird rights. For example, if a player made $20 million, the team would be forced to put $1 million into a fund that would",
"most likely be distributed to low-revenue teams. ``There could be provisions made for some players,'' said Jeffrey Kessler, the chief outside counsel for the union. ``We don't want to do anything that would encourage Chicago from getting Michael Jordan back. And I think the league feels the same way.'' The proposal is similar to the luxury tax proposed by the union in 1995 during negotiations, but it would not be nearly as liberal. _ A salary cap credit would go into effect if the league pays out more than 63 percent of revenues in salary. Whatever figure over that number reduces the salary cap the next year. If the figure was $29 million over the salary cap, then the 29 teams would work with a salary cap $1 million less than the previous season. But the players would have an assurance that the salary cap would go up at least $2 million before the credit goes into effect. _ Also, if the 63-percent threshold is met, a reduction of annual 20 percent raises would take effect for multi-year contracts. Players would either get raises of 10 percent or the rate of growth in league revenues. The union said this clearly addresses the league's desire to bring salaries in line with revenues. Since the owners re-opened the current agreement because 57.1 percent of revenue was going toward salaries, the 63-percent figure would probably have to come down substantially for the owners to agree to such a proposal. _ Teams would get a right of first refusal on free agents after the fourth year for incoming rookies, meaning a player would be contractually obligated to the same team for the first four years of his deal. Currently, the rookie scale is three years and includes a clause that enables a player to exercise his Bird rights after two seasons _ a clause Kevin Garnett parlayed into an astronomical $126 million deal last year with Minnesota. _ Finally, the players agreed to make marijuana a banned substance. Details of testing have not been negotiated and no specific discussions took place regarding testing for performance-enhancing drugs, a provision the owners included in their last proposal. In return for the concessions, the players want an increase in the minimum salary _ currently $272,500 _ and creation of an average salary exception. This would allow every team above the salary cap being able to sign one free agent per year for the average salary _ currently $2.6 million. ``We're buoyed by the fact for the first time they've decided to submit a counterproposal,'' the union's executive director, Billy Hunter, said. ``I don't know if I'm more optimistic, but I can earnestly say we can look our ballplayers in the eye and say we made a valiant effort.'' Asked if the players would finally be tested financially with the cancellation of games, Hunter added: ``It's not about us blinking. We want to reach an agreement. We're tired of the rhetoric, we're tired of the game-playing. Our position all along has been we don't want to accept a bad deal.''",
"Granik said refunds to fans would be made at end of the calendar month and that the first refund would include monies for canceled preseason games. He estimated the losses into the ``hundreds of millions of dollars.'' ``I think we have serious concern whether a tax system can address the kind of needs we have economically,'' he added. ``But there's some possibility.'' Added Stern, ``We owe it to the fans to go back and look at the notion whether a tax rate might begin to achieve the result we wanted. It doesn't look promising, but we're going to spend the next two days to see if we can give a favorable response.'' Though the decision to cancel games was not surprising, it did represent a major shift in prior labor stalemates. Both sides reluctantly hammered out a deal in 1995 before the start of training camp with the sole notion of not missing games and preserving the NBA's perfect record. Tuesday, they could not come to such an accord. ``I'd like to think these our the last games we have to cancel,'' Granik said. ``But unless this or something else works, or there's some dramatic breakthrough, I think that is certainly not all of the season that's in jeopardy.''",
"He was the classic small-town prodigy, with the creativity of a big-city profiteer. When there was no shot to take, he invented a new one. When there was no one to pass to, he reconfigured the play until a teammate was open. Larry Bird, in the Indiana countryside or inside Boston Garden, was a luminous exception to the governing rule. That is why, six years after his retirement from the National Basketball Association, his name is again basketball's most prominent, beginning with his induction to the Hall of Fame before 7,000 Bird watchers at the Civic Center here on Friday night. Deservedly enshrined as forever exceptional, he again becomes Bird, the exception, the case study for a contentious and potentially disastrous labor war. ``No, not really,'' Bird said, when I asked whether he is troubled by the likelihood of his legendary name soon representing a symbol of greed to unsympathetic millions. ``There's always a player's name attached to these things. I know at the time I was very happy about it.'' That would have been 1988, when the Celtics wanted to compensate Bird with a $4.9 million bonus to push through his back pain, go on as their savior. Three years later, in a contract arbitration involving the Knicks' Patrick Ewing, the agent David Falk would contend that the NBA conspired with the Celtics to circumvent the salary cap, in order to satisfy Bird. Alan Greenspan, I am sure, would agree that this salary cap is convoluted enough to give anyone a headache, so let's just say it is a cap that does not exist when a team is negotiating with one of its own. The process of unsealing the cap to re-sign a particular player eventually became known as making use of the Larry Bird exception. And that is where we stand, as this onetime exception has become the very expensive rule the owners don't want to play by anymore. ``I can understand both sides,'' said Bird, safely in the middle, between Bird, the former exception, and Bird, the present Indiana Pacers' coach. ``Without getting into the exception, I think it's very important for players to stay in the same place.'' Important, he meant, for franchise stability and fan identification. ``You have a son who is 7 years old, he goes from 7 to 17 in the 10 years you've played,'' Bird said. ``A lot of people in Boston told me that they had followed me, from the time they were very young to when they were in college.'' The Bird years numbered only three Celtics championships, but he was the best player pro basketball's most famous team ever had. He and Magic Johnson created a basketball renaissance that began during a college title showdown in Salt Lake City and spread worldwide, like an infectious smile. They stood for the pass, for team play, but now their decade of selflessness has given way to one of selfishness. The NBA of Michael Jordan reached greater heights than anyone imagined it could, but it is a league that now suffers from a sickness of the soul. ``If Larry and Magic hadn't done what they did, we might not survive what we're about to go through,'' said Bill Fitch, Bird's first Celtics coach, who, with Bill Walton, stood with him on the night that, he said, gave closure to his playing career. The owners, as always, are exaggerating their misery, but this time, it is much easier to not root for the players. The president of the union is Ewing, who one day commands players to boycott the world championships because the NBA's corporate fingerprints are on them, then the next day helps himself to some television commentary work for David Stern's women's annex. Ewing leads the fight to protect the $100 million contracts for 21-year-olds who have achieved not a single playoff victory, linked to the big payoffs for agents like his friend Falk. The battle is waged in the name of a salary cap that makes exceptions of the unexceptional, rewards everyone as if they were Bird. ``I believe that in any field there has to be an allowance for the truly special ones,'' Walton said. ``But that group is very small. When I was growing up in this sport, the only players who got the recognition were the champions, the ones who always made you feel good about the game, about sports. That's how Larry and Magic played, always dreaming of the special team. It wasn't about hype, about money.'' That is not quite the case, nor should it have been. Bird was a businessman's ball player from the day he arrived, with his flannel shirts and blue-collar ethic. He hired the late Bob Woolf, one of the original heavy-hitting agents, and got himself a record rookie contract. Then he went out and turned a 29-victory catastrophe into a 61-victory contender. A rare Bird, an honest exception to the rule.",
"More than 220 National Basketball Association players with guaranteed contracts will find out Monday whether they are to be paid during the management lockout, a long-awaited arbitrator's decision that may affect leverage in the league's dispute with the players and have major ramifications on American sports-labor law. But neither the players nor the owners are counting on the ruling by the arbitrator, John Feerick, to speed up negotiations, especially if Feerick finds in favor of the players, an award that could approach $800 million in salaries. NBA attorneys have indicated to the union that if the decision goes against management, they will seek to have it vacated by appealing to the U.S. District Court in Manhattan and then, if necessary, to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a process that could prevent the players from getting paid for several months. The NBA has already canceled the first two weeks of the regular season because of the labor dispute. The league has other litigation pending in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. If the players win the ruling, the NBA intends to renew its motion to disqualify Feerick. The motion was brought last summer on the grounds that no collective bargaining agreement existed and, therefore, he had no jurisdiction to hear the matter. ``If he rules in our favor, I think it emboldens the spirit and the resolve of the players,'' said Billy Hunter, union executive director. ``But we understand that won't end the lockout. It just means they have to pay 200-some players. And there is still other litigation alive that may take a while to resolve. At most, it's a hollow victory.'' Feerick will have taken the full 30 days to render his decision. Whatever he decides, his ruling will be watched carefully. There is no precedent for locked-out athletes being paid. During the NBA summer lockout of 1995, players who missed paychecks did not file a grievance. Neither did National Hockey League players who were locked out for the first three months of the 1994-95 season. The union argued that owners should have protected themselves by inserting clauses about non-payment for lockouts and strikes into individual player contracts. In support of its arguments, the union pointed to clauses in a few individual player contracts that contained language precluding payment during a lockout. The league is relying on the basic tenets of labor law, which hold that employees not be paid during strikes or lockouts. A ruling for the union would be significant for all future negotiations between players and owners. The deterrent factor of a lockout is that employees subject to a collective bargaining agreement do not get paid once the agreement expires and they are unable to reach a new agreement. If Feerick finds in favor of the players, there will be no economic incentive for those with guaranteed contracts to reach an agreement quickly. They would essentially be paid for not playing basketball. If Feerick finds in favor of the owners, the reality of not being paid may spur the players to reach an agreement more quickly. But Hunter disputed this notion, and in a conference call Friday talked openly about the entire season's being canceled before the players would back away from their ultimate goals. ``I'm not at all concerned,'' Hunter said. ``There's been no demonstration that there's going to be a change in our resolve. After the players saw these proposals from the league and the recent posturing by NBA owners, well, I had two players call me up and tell me, if need be, they'd be willing to hock everything they've got.'' Another significant development may be thedeparture of many players to Europe until the dispute is settled, according to at least two player agents. ``I think it would be a case-by-case basis, but yes, there's already some people talking about that,'' said Bill Strickland, a member of the union's agents advisory committee. Steve Kauffman, another member of the committee, said he would explore the possibility that one client, Nets center Rony Seikaly, would sign with a professional team in Greece. ``We wouldn't look to void his deal with the team,'' Kauffman said. ``But we would want him to have the right for him to work temporarily until he could come back and honor his contract.' Russ Granik, NBA deputy commissioner, said the league has approved the idea of players' earning a living elsewhere until the lockout is settled. Proposals exchanged last week that included the concept of a luxury-tax system on player salaries appeared to reflect the first signs of progress in negotiations since the lockout began July 1. But both sides have termed the figures in each other's proposal as unacceptable, and it was unclear whether either side was willing compromise. ``I don't think we should get too carried away about the possibilities just yet,'' Granik said. ``When they explored the idea of a tax system, we were taking the players at their word that they wanted to make some headway. But to call their first proposal meaningless is charitable. They proposed something that has no impact. As it stands, that can't be the solution.'' The owners' goal is to slow the growth of player salaries in relation to leaguewide revenue over the next three years, while the players want to keep earning as much as possible.",
"Patrick Ewing did not want to sound like a striking longshoreman demanding health benefits. ``I'm not going to try and put it in dollars and cents.'' But Ewing, president of the National Basketball Association Players Association, played the public-relations game Tuesday by expounding on the themes of labor unrest: strong-willed unity and short-sighted proposals. On the day when training camps were scheduled to begin, players from across the country held news conferences in 14 NBA cities to proclaim themselves ready to practice for the regular season. ``We want to show the public that we, as players, want to play,'' said Ewing, who was flanked by five teammates. ``Today is supposed to be the start of training camp. We want to practice and we want the season to start. But unfortunately, the owners have locked us out and the season has been postponed.'' The owners and players are scheduled hold their first bargaining session since Aug. 6 on Thursday in Manhattan. Neither side is predicting progress toward signing a new collective bargaining agreement and beginning the season as scheduled on Nov. 3. The league canceled the entire 114-game preseason on Monday. Next week, it will consider canceling the first-ever regular season games in league history. With wide philosophical differences on how $2 billion annual income should be distributed, both sides have privately said they don't expect to play a regular season game before December. Billy Hunter, the union's executive director, offered a glimmer of hope. He spoke optimistically about the potential for a quick resolution. Standing a few feet away from Ewing, he said, ``I hope the owners and commissioner have gotten the message: that we're serious about a deal. I'm prepared to make a quantum leap. I don't think we're that far off. I think there's a lot jockeying, a lot of rhetoric and a lot of games being played. But if and when the owners decide they want a deal, then they'll get one.'' But soon after, he began lambasting the owners' latest proposal, which includes the eventual phasing out of the Larry Bird exception _ the clause that enables free agents to earn unlimited salaries from their current teams. That clause represents the major rift in negotiations. Owners would like to implement a restrictive salary cap that would eventually put a ceiling on how much one player can earn. ``I don't know if this is going to come to a speedy resolution,'' Ewing said. ``They're entrenched with what they want, which is a hard cap. And we feel with a hard cap, we as players, cannot survive. We would have to be stupid and ignorant to accept that deal.'' Said Hunter, ``If you go for their proposal, it's just a joke. It's a step backwards. I cannot understand it. If the intent was to reach an agreement at this late stage or to negotiate in earnest, this was the wrong way to go about it.'' League officials did not respond to the players' comments. ``All we want is our fair share and we feel like they're trying to take that away from us,'' Ewing said. `There's a perception that we're on strike. It's the other way around. We've been locked out.'' Besides Ewing, the other Knicks included former union president Buck Williams, former vice president Herb Williams, Allan Houston and John Starks. Marcus Camby also showed up briefly. When the media horde closed in, however, the third-year forward went to look for his late-arriving teammates inside the practice facility. He was stopped at the gym door, which was locked. ``They locked us out,'' said Rockets forward Mario Elie. ``Everybody's got to get that corrected. It's not on us. They're the ones that closed us down.'' The stalemate has elicited talks of possibly bringing in a mediator in the coming weeks, as Major League Baseball did in 1994 to help solve its labor dispute. But the players are convinced commissioner David Stern and the owners are set on testing their resolve before any genuine headway can be made in negotiations. That means missing paychecks in November, something Ewing said the players are prepared to do. Both sides are still awaiting the outcome of an arbitration decision that is due before Oct. 18. Fordham Law School dean John Feerick will rule whether or not more than 200 players with $800 million in guaranteed contracts should be paid during the lockout. Feerick's decision could give new leverage to one side. But if the players lose the arbitration, more than 400 athletes _ many with extravagant lifestyles and tremendous financial obligations _ will have their allegiances instantly tested. ``It's like they want to see how strong we are,'' Ewing said. ``Based on the proposals we've received, we're very strong.'' ``So far, it seems as though the NBA is dug in on their position,'' Buck Williams said. ``I don't think they're too concerned at this point about making a deal. He added, ``We're about as far apart as the Grand Canyon right now.''"
] |
[
"In a decision that will almost certainly lead to the first work stoppage in National Basketball Association history, the league Monday announced the cancellation of all 114 preseason games. Citing stalled negotiations with the Players Association over a new collective bargaining agreement, league officials said they would decide next week whether to cancel the first week of regular season games. While the decision had been expected for 10 days, it nonetheless sent a strong signal that the owners and players will probably be willing to cancel at least part of the regular season in order to settle their labor dispute. Both sides agree that it would take at least three weeks to hold abbreviated training camps and sign over 200 free agents to new contracts. Privately, officials on both sides do not believe the season will start as scheduled on Nov. 3 or even before December. Unlike Major League Baseball, the National Football League and the National Hockey League, the NBA has never lost a regular-season game to labor strife. ``Since we're not even negotiating, you have to conclude it's very likely that we're going miss some part of the regular season,'' deputy commissioner Russ Granik said Monday night. ``We'll try and defer any decisions until the last minute, but right now it does not look good.'' The two sides will meet on Thursday _ their first official bargaining session since Aug. 6. Commissioner David Stern and a group of owners walked out of a meeting after dismissing the merits of a new proposal from the players. Neither Granik nor players association executive director Billy Hunter sounded as if this week's meeting would go a long way toward the signing of a new agreement _ the precursor to playing again. ``I don't think you have any choice but to miss games at this point,'' Hunter said. ``In fact, I think the they've intended it all along. They've locked us out, they've refused to negotiate and they've given us a proposal that's ludicrous.'' Not only are both sides still awaiting the outcome of an arbitration decision that is due before Oct. 18 - the Fordham Law School dean John Feerick will rule whether or not more than 200 players with $800 million in guaranteed contracts should be paid during the lockout _ but the owners and players also are making time to win public opinion before they test their fans' loyalties by canceling games. Monday in 11 cities throughout the country, the players are holding make-shift press conferences at training-camp venues, NBA arenas and gymnasiums. Patrick Ewing, the union president, and several teammates will speak at SUNY-Purchase in Purchase, N.Y., where the Knicks train during the season. With training camp originally scheduled to open on Oct. 6, the message from the players is clear: if the owners would call an end to the lockout, we would be ready to play today. About 100 players are expected to attend, speak and sign autographs for fans afterward. ``I wish they would put their energies into trying to negotiate a deal rather than the various other things that they've been doing,'' Granik said. The dispute is essentially over how the owners and players will judiciously divvy up $2 billion in income. It began last year with the contention by the owners that their employees were receiving more than their fair share of the pot. The owners were allowed to terminate the current agreement because of a clause that enabled them to do so after player salaries reached 53.8 percent of total basketball-related income. The owners say that figure is currently hovering around 57.1 percent. Though many economic issues need to be resolved, the main point of contention since the labor agreement expired and the owners declared a lockout on July 1 has been a clause which allows teams to pay their own free agents whatever they want, regardless of salary-cap rules governing the NBA's 29 teams. Called the Larry Bird exception, it was created to allow the Hall of Fame Boston Celtics forward to re-sign with the Celtics near the end of his career. Michael Jordan exercised the clause the last two years with the Chicago Bulls, earning more than $30 million per season _ figures more than $5 million more what a team is allowed to spend on all its players. But with exorbitant salaries paid to several unproven stars over the last few years and $100 million deals sprouting up routinely, the owners are determined to swing the income pendulum back toward themselves by enforcing a restricted salary cap _ a hard cap _ and putting a ceiling on how much one player could earn. ``Last year, the players received about $1 billion dollars in salaries and benefits and we have made proposals that are guaranteed to increase that number by 20 percent over the next four years,'' Granik said in a prepared statement. ``Our proposals would result in an average player salary of more than $3.1 million and a minimum salary for 10-year veterans of $750,000. Unfortunately, the union leadership has been unwilling to give any serious consideration to what we have offered.'' Hunter labeled those claims as optimistic projections, and shot down a number of new proposals presented to the players on Sept. 25. ``If they had left the current deal in place, we would have gotten much of that anyway,'' he added. ``All we're saying is, we're not in position to accept a hard cap.'' Monday's decision to cancel the preseason came less than two weeks after the NBA indefinitely postponed training camp and canceled the first week of exhibition games. Through tickets sales alone, Granik estimated that losing the exhibition season would cost the league between $35 million and $40 million. Decisions about the cancellations of regular season games are expected to be made next week, he added. A league official said the games would be canceled in blocks of one or two weeks, depending upon circumstances regarding negotiations. Thursday's bargaining session has suddenly become the last hope at starting the season on time. ``Hurdles could be overcome very quickly, but I have no reason to believe they will on Thursday,'' Granik said. Added Hunter: ``Of course they don't expect much to get done. When Russ and David decide the negotiations are going to be real and substantive, then something will happen. What they're banking on now is that the players are going to miss paychecks and cave in November. It's as if they've ingested something that has to pass. And once it passes, then they'll negotiate.''",
"The first substantive talks in more than two months between opposing sides of the National Basketball Association's labor dispute came and went Thursday without a hint of a settlement. Still, a five-hour meeting that was described as cordial by the league and ``almost like two bulls letting off a little steam'' by the players association produced another scheduled round of talks next Tuesday. Barring a major compromise, that will not be enough time to preserve a full season and prevent the league from losing its first regular-season games to labor strife in November. Russ Granik, the NBA's deputy commissioner, said the league would wait until after next week's meeting before deciding to cancel regular-season games. He also discussed the possibility of a significantly shortened season. ``We haven't made a determination that you need this exact number of games in order to have a representative season,'' Granik said. ``But we recognize that beyond a certain point we can't possibly sell to our fans that we're having an NBA season. ``Whether's that 60 games, 50 games or 49 or 53, we're not there yet. We have a few months before we have to face that decision.'' Perhaps the only progress involved Thursday in the conference room of a midtown Manhattan hotel was a question-and-answer session over the league's latest proposal to the players. Patrick Ewing, the union president, and vice presidents Herb Williams and Dikembe Mutombo attended the meeting with the union's executive director, Billy Hunter, and union lawyers. No owners were present, but Granik, Commissioner David Stern and the league's lawyers spent most of the day explaining the intricacies of a two-week-old proposal to the players. At one point before the two parties broke for lunch, Stern and Hunter raised their voices and accused each other of handling their constituencies poorly, a participant in the meeting said. But the two were seen shaking hands and laughing after the meeting concluded shortly after 3 p.m. ``There was some venting from both sides,'' Hunter said. ``We've been placid and very respectful. Today, we took the coats off and we were inclined to take the gloves off a little bit. Having done that, I think it kind of loosened up both sides.'' Hunter added: ``Did anybody blink today? They're sort of look at us for any kind of nuance they can find during the course of negotiations that might, in some way or another, give some indication that while we're mouthing one thing we might be open to something else. We're looking at their body language, too. I don't think that they're ready to make a deal.'' The last formal meeting between both sides on Aug. 6 ended when Stern and the owners abruptly marched out after they had received a proposal from the players.",
"As labor battles go, the current one between the National Basketball Association and its players is weird even by sports standards. There is a real possibility that most, if not all, of the coming season will be canceled. In this union battle it is the interests of the best paid, not those who make union scale, that are dominating the discussion. And here it is some of the workers, not the management, who are considering trying to make the union disappear. The current arrangement has produced an unbalanced pay scale of immense proportions. Last year more players than ever before received the union minimum, then $242,000 for rookies or $272,000 for veterans. The number of players making $1 million to $2 million a year _ the middle class, in NBA terms _ fell sharply. But Michael Jordan made $33 million. This should not be a surprise. Sports is an entertainment business, not unlike movies. Big stars get millions, while most get union scale. Over the years, NBA efforts to stem the rise of salaries have failed. The most important loophole in its salary cap lets a team sign its own free agent for whatever it is willing to pay. When that was adopted, it was assumed that no team would pay a lot more than a rival could pay. But it has not worked out that way. In the current negotiation, the league has offered to guarantee that its payroll will rise 20 percent over the next four years, from $1 billion to $1.2 billion, and says it is open to proposals to split that money any way the players want, whether by raising the minimum salary or guaranteeing raises for veterans. The union says it is worried about that middle class, but seems determined to preserve the free market. The league got its broadcasters, NBC and Time Warner's cable channels, to agree to pay this year's television fees whether or not there are any games to broadcast. (They will be paid back in later years, either through reduced fees or extra games to show.) Owners hoped the players would think management was willing to wait them out, and come to terms with only a small part of the season canceled. But the union is acting unhurried. It turned aside requests for negotiations this week, saying the players had to meet first. Then there is the issue of union suicide, a tactic that was rejected by the players in 1995. The idea is that if the players had no union, it would be illegal under antitrust laws for the owners to collude. The sky would be the limit. That tactic might fail. The courts could reject a union decertification vote as a sham, and in any case some players may fear that teams would feel free to offer less than the old union minimum. But if the players go that route, it could be a long time before real negotiations get going. Billy Hunter, the union's executive director, warned the owners this week that a prolonged lockout could destroy the league's popularity. That was what all the seers said four years ago, when baseball's World Series was canceled by labor troubles. But fan memories are relatively short, and now baseball seems more popular than ever. With that in mind, both owners and players may choose to battle on for months.",
"In a critical ruling for the North American National Basketball Association and the players' union, arbitrator John Feerick decides Monday whether more than 200 players with guaranteed contracts should be paid during the lockout. If the players win, the owners will be liable for about dlrs 800 million in guaranteed salaries, although they have vowed to appeal if they lose. The league already has sued the players over Feerick's jurisdiction. ``If we win, I think it just emboldens the spirit and resolve of the players,'' union director Billy Hunter said. ``But I don't think there will be anybody celebrating because there's no guarantee that it will end the lockout. ``It only means they have to pay some 200 players, and they've indicated to us their intent to file an immediate appeal and take it as far as they have to in order to avoid payment. ``So even if he does rule in our favor, at most it's a hollow victory. The players aren't going to get paid Nov. 15 in any circumstance,'' Hunter said. If the owners win, it will remove the last wild card the players had been holding. The sides have not negotiated since last Tuesday, when the union proposed a superstar tax on the highest contracts. The league made a counterproposal Friday, asking that the tax be imposed with a much lower threshold. Hunter dismissed the league's latest proposal on Friday afternoon, then said both sides would be best served by awaiting Feerick's ruling. It's unlikely any negotiations will be held this week, since the union is holding a meeting for all NBA players and the agents advisory committee in Las Vegas from Wednesday through Friday. ``We've got to get a sense of where the players are, what they consider to be reasonable and what they're willing to do in order to get the season to commence,'' Hunter said. The union filed a grievance with Feerick before the lockout was imposed July 1 over the owners' announcement June 29 that they would not honor guaranteed deals. In a six-day hearing over the summer, the union argued that owners should have protected themselves from being liable for guaranteed salaries during a work stoppage by inserting lockout language into the standard player contract. The Sacramento Kings inserted a lockout clause into center Olden Polynice's contract in 1994, and it was approved by the league. The union used the existence of that clause to argue that all the other teams should have protected themselves similarly. Most players are due to receive their first paychecks Nov. 15, although a dozen or so had clauses entitling them to be paid over the summer. None has received a paycheck. The NBA argued that a tenet of labor law allows employers to withhold pay from employees during a lockout. The league also called former union director Simon Gourdine to testify, but Feerick upheld union objections and prohibited Gourdine from saying whether it was his understanding when he negotiated the old labor agreement in 1995 that players would not be paid if the owners chose to reopen the agreement and impose a lockout.",
"In a critical ruling for the North American National Basketball Association and the players' union, arbitrator John Feerick decides Monday whether more than 200 players with guaranteed contracts should be paid during the lockout. If the players win, the owners will be liable for about dlrs 800 million in guaranteed salaries, although they have vowed to appeal if they lose. The league already has sued the players over Feerick's jurisdiction. ``If we win, I think it just emboldens the spirit and resolve of the players,'' union director Billy Hunter said. ``But I don't think there will be anybody celebrating because there's no guarantee that it will end the lockout. ``It only means they have to pay some 200 players, and they've indicated to us their intent to file an immediate appeal and take it as far as they have to in order to avoid payment. ``So even if he does rule in our favor, at most it's a hollow victory. The players aren't going to get paid Nov. 15 in any circumstance,'' Hunter said. If the owners win, it will remove the last wild card the players had been holding. The sides have not negotiated since last Tuesday, when the union proposed a superstar tax on the highest contracts. The league made a counterproposal Friday, asking that the tax be imposed with a much lower threshold. Hunter dismissed the league's latest proposal on Friday afternoon, then said both sides would be best served by awaiting Feerick's ruling. It's unlikely any negotiations will be held this week, since the union is holding a meeting for all NBA players and the agents advisory committee in Las Vegas from Wednesday through Friday. ``We've got to get a sense of where the players are, what they consider to be reasonable and what they're willing to do in order to get the season to commence,'' Hunter said. The union filed a grievance with Feerick before the lockout was imposed July 1 over the owners' announcement June 29 that they would not honor guaranteed deals. In a six-day hearing over the summer, the union argued that owners should have protected themselves from being liable for guaranteed salaries during a work stoppage by inserting lockout language into the standard player contract. The Sacramento Kings inserted a lockout clause into center Olden Polynice's contract in 1994, and it was approved by the league. The union used the existence of that clause to argue that all the other teams should have protected themselves similarly. Most players are due to receive their first paychecks Nov. 15, although a dozen or so had clauses entitling them to be paid over the summer. None has received a paycheck. The NBA argued that a tenet of labor law allows employers to withhold pay from employees during a lockout. The league also called former union director Simon Gourdine to testify. He said it was his understanding when he negotiated the old labor agreement in 1995 that players would not be paid if the owners chose to reopen the agreement and impose a lockout.",
"The National Basketball Association, embroiled in a labor dispute with its players, Tuesday canceled the first two weeks of the 1998-99 season. It is the first time in the league's 51-year history that it will lose regular-season games. The NBA's deputy commissioner, Russ Granik, announced the cancellation after nearly three and a half hours of meetings concluded at a Manhattan hotel. The decision to cancel 99 games between Nov. 3 and Nov. 16 came after the players association proposed the implementation of a tax system instead of a hard salary cap, a proposal the owners said they would respond to by Friday. ``We tried our best today to try to do what was possible to salvage the season,'' said Alonzo Mourning, the Miami Heat center. ``Unfortunately, it didn't work out.'' After 35,001 games without a blemish, the NBA now joins the National Hockey League, the National Football League and Major League Baseball in having lost games to a labor dispute. Taking into account that a three- to four-week period would be needed for training camp and free-agent signings before the season starts, the league said it would decide in two weeks whether to make further cancellations. ``I'm very sad and disappointed,'' said the NBA commissioner, David Stern. ``I consider it to be a collective failure, but I honestly don't know what else we could have done. I do things that I like to think are in the best interests of the game. And I believe this is.'' The decision came after what both sides agreed were the most substantive talks since the owners imposed a lockout on the player July 1. Seventeen players, including union president Patrick Ewing and vice presidents Mitch Richmond, Herb Williams, Dikemebe Mutombo and Ty Corbin, attended the meeting along with Stern, Granik and five members of the ownership committee _ Madison Square Garden president Dave Checketts and owners Abe Pollin of Washington, Gordon Gund of Cleveland, Les Alexander of Houston and Jerry Colangelo of Phoenix. The talks featured what the players association implied were a bevy concessions made to the owners that they felt would accommodate the league's desire to swing the revenue pendulum back toward the owners. The dispute involves the distribution of approximately $2 billion in league-wide income. The main sticking point has been the owners' insistence on a salary cap without exceptions, the implementation of which they believe would bring player salaries' in line with revenue growth. While the players did not discuss the elimination of the Larry Bird exception _ a clause that allows a player to secure any amount of money he wants in re-signing with his current team _ they did address the exception in their taxation proposal. The main points were as follows: _ A 50 percent tax would be imposed on salary earned above $18 million, a clause that would affect only a few players who exercised their Bird rights. For example, if a player made $20 million, the team would be forced to put $1 million into a fund that would most likely be distributed to low-revenue teams. ``There could be provisions made for some players,'' said Jeffrey Kessler, the chief outside counsel for the union. ``We don't want to do anything that would encourage Chicago from getting Michael Jordan back. And I think the league feels the same way.'' The proposal is similar to the luxury tax proposed by the union in 1995 during negotiations, but it would not be nearly as liberal. _ A salary cap credit would go into effect if the league pays out more than 63 percent of revenues in salary. Whatever figure over that number reduces the salary cap the next year. If the figure was $29 million over the salary cap, then the 29 teams would work with a salary cap $1 million less than the previous season. But the players would have an assurance that the salary cap would go up at least $2 million before the credit goes into effect. _ Also, if the 63-percent threshold is met, a reduction of annual 20 percent raises would take effect for multi-year contracts. Players would either get raises of 10 percent or the rate of growth in league revenues. The union said this clearly addresses the league's desire to bring salaries in line with revenues. Since the owners re-opened the current agreement because 57.1 percent of revenue was going toward salaries, the 63-percent figure would probably have to come down substantially for the owners to agree to such a proposal. _ Teams would get a right of first refusal on free agents after the fourth year for incoming rookies, meaning a player would be contractually obligated to the same team for the first four years of his deal. Currently, the rookie scale is three years and includes a clause that enables a player to exercise his Bird rights after two seasons _ a clause Kevin Garnett parlayed into an astronomical $126 million deal last year with Minnesota. _ Finally, the players agreed to make marijuana a banned substance. Details of testing have not been negotiated and no specific discussions took place regarding testing for performance-enhancing drugs, a provision the owners included in their last proposal. In return for the concessions, the players want an increase in the minimum salary _ currently $272,500 _ and creation of an average salary exception. This would allow every team above the salary cap being able to sign one free agent per year for the average salary _ currently $2.6 million. ``We're buoyed by the fact for the first time they've decided to submit a counterproposal,'' the union's executive director, Billy Hunter, said. ``I don't know if I'm more optimistic, but I can earnestly say we can look our ballplayers in the eye and say we made a valiant effort.'' Asked if the players would finally be tested financially with the cancellation of games, Hunter added: ``It's not about us blinking. We want to reach an agreement. We're tired of the rhetoric, we're tired of the game-playing. Our position all along has been we don't want to accept a bad deal.'' Granik said refunds to fans would be made at end of the calendar month and that the first refund would include monies for canceled preseason games. He estimated the losses into the ``hundreds of millions of dollars.'' ``I think we have serious concern whether a tax system can address the kind of needs we have economically,'' he added. ``But there's some possibility.'' Added Stern, ``We owe it to the fans to go back and look at the notion whether a tax rate might begin to achieve the result we wanted. It doesn't look promising, but we're going to spend the next two days to see if we can give a favorable response.'' Though the decision to cancel games was not surprising, it did represent a major shift in prior labor stalemates. Both sides reluctantly hammered out a deal in 1995 before the start of training camp with the sole notion of not missing games and preserving the NBA's perfect record. Tuesday, they could not come to such an accord. ``I'd like to think these our the last games we have to cancel,'' Granik said. ``But unless this or something else works, or there's some dramatic breakthrough, I think that is certainly not all of the season that's in jeopardy.''",
"Despite modest encouragement over a new proposal delivered by the players to the owners, the National Basketball Association Tuesday canceled the first two weeks of the regular season, the first time in the league's 51-year history that it will lose games to a labor dispute. The NBA's deputy commissioner, Russ Granik, announced the cancellation after nearly three and a half hours of meetings concluded at a Manhattan hotel. The decision to cancel 99 games between Nov. 3 and Nov. 16 came after the players association proposed the implementation of a tax system instead of a hard salary cap, a proposal the owners said they would respond to by Friday. ``We tried our best today to try to do what was possible to salvage the season,'' said Alonzo Mourning, the Miami Heat center. ``Unfortunately, it didn't work out.'' After 35,001 games without a blemish, the NBA now joins the National Hockey League, the National Football League and Major League Baseball in having lost games to a labor dispute. Taking into account that a three- to four-week period would be needed for training camp and free-agent signings before the season starts, the league said it would decide in two weeks whether to make further cancellations. ``I'm very sad and disappointed,'' said the NBA commissioner, David Stern. ``I consider it to be a collective failure, but I honestly don't know what else we could have done. I do things that I like to think are in the best interests of the game. And I believe this is.'' The decision came after what both sides agreed were the most substantive talks since the owners imposed a lockout on the player July 1. Seventeen players, including union president Patrick Ewing and vice presidents Mitch Richmond, Herb Williams, Dikemebe Mutombo and Ty Corbin, attended the meeting along with Stern, Granik and five members of the ownership committee _ Madison Square Garden president Dave Checketts and owners Abe Pollin of Washington, Gordon Gund of Cleveland, Les Alexander of Houston and Jerry Colangelo of Phoenix. The talks featured what the players association implied were a bevy concessions made to the owners that they felt would accommodate the league's desire to swing the revenue pendulum back toward the owners. The dispute involves the distribution of approximately $2 billion in league-wide income. The main sticking point has been the owners' insistence on a salary cap without exceptions, the implementation of which they believe would bring player salaries' in line with revenue growth. While the players did not discuss the elimination of the Larry Bird exception _ a clause that allows a player to secure any amount of money he wants in re-signing with his current team _ they did address the exception in their taxation proposal. The main points were as follows: _ A 50 percent tax would be imposed on salary earned above $18 million, a clause that would affect only a few players who exercised their Bird rights. For example, if a player made $20 million, the team would be forced to put $1 million into a fund that would most likely be distributed to low-revenue teams. ``There could be provisions made for some players,'' said Jeffrey Kessler, the chief outside counsel for the union. ``We don't want to do anything that would encourage Chicago from getting Michael Jordan back. And I think the league feels the same way.'' The proposal is similar to the luxury tax proposed by the union in 1995 during negotiations, but it would not be nearly as liberal. _ A salary cap credit would go into effect if the league pays out more than 63 percent of revenues in salary. Whatever figure over that number reduces the salary cap the next year. If the figure was $29 million over the salary cap, then the 29 teams would work with a salary cap $1 million less than the previous season. But the players would have an assurance that the salary cap would go up at least $2 million before the credit goes into effect. _ Also, if the 63-percent threshold is met, a reduction of annual 20 percent raises would take effect for multi-year contracts. Players would either get raises of 10 percent or the rate of growth in league revenues. The union said this clearly addresses the league's desire to bring salaries in line with revenues. Since the owners re-opened the current agreement because 57.1 percent of revenue was going toward salaries, the 63-percent figure would probably have to come down substantially for the owners to agree to such a proposal. _ Teams would get a right of first refusal on free agents after the fourth year for incoming rookies, meaning a player would be contractually obligated to the same team for the first four years of his deal. Currently, the rookie scale is three years and includes a clause that enables a player to exercise his Bird rights after two seasons _ a clause Kevin Garnett parlayed into an astronomical $126 million deal last year with Minnesota. _ Finally, the players agreed to make marijuana a banned substance. Details of testing have not been negotiated and no specific discussions took place regarding testing for performance-enhancing drugs, a provision the owners included in their last proposal. In return for the concessions, the players want an increase in the minimum salary _ currently $272,500 _ and creation of an average salary exception. This would allow every team above the salary cap being able to sign one free agent per year for the average salary _ currently $2.6 million. ``We're buoyed by the fact for the first time they've decided to submit a counterproposal,'' the union's executive director, Billy Hunter, said. ``I don't know if I'm more optimistic, but I can earnestly say we can look our ballplayers in the eye and say we made a valiant effort.'' Asked if the players would finally be tested financially with the cancellation of games, Hunter added: ``It's not about us blinking. We want to reach an agreement. We're tired of the rhetoric, we're tired of the game-playing. Our position all along has been we don't want to accept a bad deal.'' Granik said refunds to fans would be made at end of the calendar month and that the first refund would include monies for canceled preseason games. He estimated the losses into the ``hundreds of millions of dollars.'' ``I think we have serious concern whether a tax system can address the kind of needs we have economically,'' he added. ``But there's some possibility.'' Added Stern, ``We owe it to the fans to go back and look at the notion whether a tax rate might begin to achieve the result we wanted. It doesn't look promising, but we're going to spend the next two days to see if we can give a favorable response.'' Though the decision to cancel games was not surprising, it did represent a major shift in prior labor stalemates. Both sides reluctantly hammered out a deal in 1995 before the start of training camp with the sole notion of not missing games and preserving the NBA's perfect record. Tuesday, they could not come to such an accord. ``I'd like to think these our the last games we have to cancel,'' Granik said. ``But unless this or something else works, or there's some dramatic breakthrough, I think that is certainly not all of the season that's in jeopardy.''",
"He was the classic small-town prodigy, with the creativity of a big-city profiteer. When there was no shot to take, he invented a new one. When there was no one to pass to, he reconfigured the play until a teammate was open. Larry Bird, in the Indiana countryside or inside Boston Garden, was a luminous exception to the governing rule. That is why, six years after his retirement from the National Basketball Association, his name is again basketball's most prominent, beginning with his induction to the Hall of Fame before 7,000 Bird watchers at the Civic Center here on Friday night. Deservedly enshrined as forever exceptional, he again becomes Bird, the exception, the case study for a contentious and potentially disastrous labor war. ``No, not really,'' Bird said, when I asked whether he is troubled by the likelihood of his legendary name soon representing a symbol of greed to unsympathetic millions. ``There's always a player's name attached to these things. I know at the time I was very happy about it.'' That would have been 1988, when the Celtics wanted to compensate Bird with a $4.9 million bonus to push through his back pain, go on as their savior. Three years later, in a contract arbitration involving the Knicks' Patrick Ewing, the agent David Falk would contend that the NBA conspired with the Celtics to circumvent the salary cap, in order to satisfy Bird. Alan Greenspan, I am sure, would agree that this salary cap is convoluted enough to give anyone a headache, so let's just say it is a cap that does not exist when a team is negotiating with one of its own. The process of unsealing the cap to re-sign a particular player eventually became known as making use of the Larry Bird exception. And that is where we stand, as this onetime exception has become the very expensive rule the owners don't want to play by anymore. ``I can understand both sides,'' said Bird, safely in the middle, between Bird, the former exception, and Bird, the present Indiana Pacers' coach. ``Without getting into the exception, I think it's very important for players to stay in the same place.'' Important, he meant, for franchise stability and fan identification. ``You have a son who is 7 years old, he goes from 7 to 17 in the 10 years you've played,'' Bird said. ``A lot of people in Boston told me that they had followed me, from the time they were very young to when they were in college.'' The Bird years numbered only three Celtics championships, but he was the best player pro basketball's most famous team ever had. He and Magic Johnson created a basketball renaissance that began during a college title showdown in Salt Lake City and spread worldwide, like an infectious smile. They stood for the pass, for team play, but now their decade of selflessness has given way to one of selfishness. The NBA of Michael Jordan reached greater heights than anyone imagined it could, but it is a league that now suffers from a sickness of the soul. ``If Larry and Magic hadn't done what they did, we might not survive what we're about to go through,'' said Bill Fitch, Bird's first Celtics coach, who, with Bill Walton, stood with him on the night that, he said, gave closure to his playing career. The owners, as always, are exaggerating their misery, but this time, it is much easier to not root for the players. The president of the union is Ewing, who one day commands players to boycott the world championships because the NBA's corporate fingerprints are on them, then the next day helps himself to some television commentary work for David Stern's women's annex. Ewing leads the fight to protect the $100 million contracts for 21-year-olds who have achieved not a single playoff victory, linked to the big payoffs for agents like his friend Falk. The battle is waged in the name of a salary cap that makes exceptions of the unexceptional, rewards everyone as if they were Bird. ``I believe that in any field there has to be an allowance for the truly special ones,'' Walton said. ``But that group is very small. When I was growing up in this sport, the only players who got the recognition were the champions, the ones who always made you feel good about the game, about sports. That's how Larry and Magic played, always dreaming of the special team. It wasn't about hype, about money.'' That is not quite the case, nor should it have been. Bird was a businessman's ball player from the day he arrived, with his flannel shirts and blue-collar ethic. He hired the late Bob Woolf, one of the original heavy-hitting agents, and got himself a record rookie contract. Then he went out and turned a 29-victory catastrophe into a 61-victory contender. A rare Bird, an honest exception to the rule.",
"More than 220 National Basketball Association players with guaranteed contracts will find out Monday whether they are to be paid during the management lockout, a long-awaited arbitrator's decision that may affect leverage in the league's dispute with the players and have major ramifications on American sports-labor law. But neither the players nor the owners are counting on the ruling by the arbitrator, John Feerick, to speed up negotiations, especially if Feerick finds in favor of the players, an award that could approach $800 million in salaries. NBA attorneys have indicated to the union that if the decision goes against management, they will seek to have it vacated by appealing to the U.S. District Court in Manhattan and then, if necessary, to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a process that could prevent the players from getting paid for several months. The NBA has already canceled the first two weeks of the regular season because of the labor dispute. The league has other litigation pending in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. If the players win the ruling, the NBA intends to renew its motion to disqualify Feerick. The motion was brought last summer on the grounds that no collective bargaining agreement existed and, therefore, he had no jurisdiction to hear the matter. ``If he rules in our favor, I think it emboldens the spirit and the resolve of the players,'' said Billy Hunter, union executive director. ``But we understand that won't end the lockout. It just means they have to pay 200-some players. And there is still other litigation alive that may take a while to resolve. At most, it's a hollow victory.'' Feerick will have taken the full 30 days to render his decision. Whatever he decides, his ruling will be watched carefully. There is no precedent for locked-out athletes being paid. During the NBA summer lockout of 1995, players who missed paychecks did not file a grievance. Neither did National Hockey League players who were locked out for the first three months of the 1994-95 season. The union argued that owners should have protected themselves by inserting clauses about non-payment for lockouts and strikes into individual player contracts. In support of its arguments, the union pointed to clauses in a few individual player contracts that contained language precluding payment during a lockout. The league is relying on the basic tenets of labor law, which hold that employees not be paid during strikes or lockouts. A ruling for the union would be significant for all future negotiations between players and owners. The deterrent factor of a lockout is that employees subject to a collective bargaining agreement do not get paid once the agreement expires and they are unable to reach a new agreement. If Feerick finds in favor of the players, there will be no economic incentive for those with guaranteed contracts to reach an agreement quickly. They would essentially be paid for not playing basketball. If Feerick finds in favor of the owners, the reality of not being paid may spur the players to reach an agreement more quickly. But Hunter disputed this notion, and in a conference call Friday talked openly about the entire season's being canceled before the players would back away from their ultimate goals. ``I'm not at all concerned,'' Hunter said. ``There's been no demonstration that there's going to be a change in our resolve. After the players saw these proposals from the league and the recent posturing by NBA owners, well, I had two players call me up and tell me, if need be, they'd be willing to hock everything they've got.'' Another significant development may be thedeparture of many players to Europe until the dispute is settled, according to at least two player agents. ``I think it would be a case-by-case basis, but yes, there's already some people talking about that,'' said Bill Strickland, a member of the union's agents advisory committee. Steve Kauffman, another member of the committee, said he would explore the possibility that one client, Nets center Rony Seikaly, would sign with a professional team in Greece. ``We wouldn't look to void his deal with the team,'' Kauffman said. ``But we would want him to have the right for him to work temporarily until he could come back and honor his contract.' Russ Granik, NBA deputy commissioner, said the league has approved the idea of players' earning a living elsewhere until the lockout is settled. Proposals exchanged last week that included the concept of a luxury-tax system on player salaries appeared to reflect the first signs of progress in negotiations since the lockout began July 1. But both sides have termed the figures in each other's proposal as unacceptable, and it was unclear whether either side was willing compromise. ``I don't think we should get too carried away about the possibilities just yet,'' Granik said. ``When they explored the idea of a tax system, we were taking the players at their word that they wanted to make some headway. But to call their first proposal meaningless is charitable. They proposed something that has no impact. As it stands, that can't be the solution.'' The owners' goal is to slow the growth of player salaries in relation to leaguewide revenue over the next three years, while the players want to keep earning as much as possible.",
"Patrick Ewing did not want to sound like a striking longshoreman demanding health benefits. ``I'm not going to try and put it in dollars and cents.'' But Ewing, president of the National Basketball Association Players Association, played the public-relations game Tuesday by expounding on the themes of labor unrest: strong-willed unity and short-sighted proposals. On the day when training camps were scheduled to begin, players from across the country held news conferences in 14 NBA cities to proclaim themselves ready to practice for the regular season. ``We want to show the public that we, as players, want to play,'' said Ewing, who was flanked by five teammates. ``Today is supposed to be the start of training camp. We want to practice and we want the season to start. But unfortunately, the owners have locked us out and the season has been postponed.'' The owners and players are scheduled hold their first bargaining session since Aug. 6 on Thursday in Manhattan. Neither side is predicting progress toward signing a new collective bargaining agreement and beginning the season as scheduled on Nov. 3. The league canceled the entire 114-game preseason on Monday. Next week, it will consider canceling the first-ever regular season games in league history. With wide philosophical differences on how $2 billion annual income should be distributed, both sides have privately said they don't expect to play a regular season game before December. Billy Hunter, the union's executive director, offered a glimmer of hope. He spoke optimistically about the potential for a quick resolution. Standing a few feet away from Ewing, he said, ``I hope the owners and commissioner have gotten the message: that we're serious about a deal. I'm prepared to make a quantum leap. I don't think we're that far off. I think there's a lot jockeying, a lot of rhetoric and a lot of games being played. But if and when the owners decide they want a deal, then they'll get one.'' But soon after, he began lambasting the owners' latest proposal, which includes the eventual phasing out of the Larry Bird exception _ the clause that enables free agents to earn unlimited salaries from their current teams. That clause represents the major rift in negotiations. Owners would like to implement a restrictive salary cap that would eventually put a ceiling on how much one player can earn. ``I don't know if this is going to come to a speedy resolution,'' Ewing said. ``They're entrenched with what they want, which is a hard cap. And we feel with a hard cap, we as players, cannot survive. We would have to be stupid and ignorant to accept that deal.'' Said Hunter, ``If you go for their proposal, it's just a joke. It's a step backwards. I cannot understand it. If the intent was to reach an agreement at this late stage or to negotiate in earnest, this was the wrong way to go about it.'' League officials did not respond to the players' comments. ``All we want is our fair share and we feel like they're trying to take that away from us,'' Ewing said. `There's a perception that we're on strike. It's the other way around. We've been locked out.'' Besides Ewing, the other Knicks included former union president Buck Williams, former vice president Herb Williams, Allan Houston and John Starks. Marcus Camby also showed up briefly. When the media horde closed in, however, the third-year forward went to look for his late-arriving teammates inside the practice facility. He was stopped at the gym door, which was locked. ``They locked us out,'' said Rockets forward Mario Elie. ``Everybody's got to get that corrected. It's not on us. They're the ones that closed us down.'' The stalemate has elicited talks of possibly bringing in a mediator in the coming weeks, as Major League Baseball did in 1994 to help solve its labor dispute. But the players are convinced commissioner David Stern and the owners are set on testing their resolve before any genuine headway can be made in negotiations. That means missing paychecks in November, something Ewing said the players are prepared to do. Both sides are still awaiting the outcome of an arbitration decision that is due before Oct. 18. Fordham Law School dean John Feerick will rule whether or not more than 200 players with $800 million in guaranteed contracts should be paid during the lockout. Feerick's decision could give new leverage to one side. But if the players lose the arbitration, more than 400 athletes _ many with extravagant lifestyles and tremendous financial obligations _ will have their allegiances instantly tested. ``It's like they want to see how strong we are,'' Ewing said. ``Based on the proposals we've received, we're very strong.'' ``So far, it seems as though the NBA is dug in on their position,'' Buck Williams said. ``I don't think they're too concerned at this point about making a deal. He added, ``We're about as far apart as the Grand Canyon right now.''"
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In December 1998 a story broke that relatives of International Olympic Committee (IOC) members had received $400,000 in scholarships from promoters of Salt Lake City for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. The IOC immediately ordered a top-level investigation. Senior IOC official Marc Hodler called the scholarships a "bribe". The IOC rules stated that cities could not give any IOC member anything exceeding $150 in value. Hodler went on to allege similar malpractice in choosing other Olympic sites and estimated that 5-7% of the 115 IOC members received compensation for their votes. IOC President Samaranch vowed to expel any guilty member. IOC executive board member, Marc Hodler, alleged that agents from cities bidding to host Olympic Games offer IOC members bribes to favor their city. The allegation was made public when Holder revealed the Salt Lake City 2002 Games organizers offered scholarship payments to IOC members' relatives. The IOC is investigating the charges and further allegations of Olympic corruption in voting for the games of 1996, 1998 and 2000. IOC President Samaranch called for an investigation of the allegations, promising to expel anyone found guilty, and ordered Hodler to keep quiet. Japan denied allegations of bribery to host the 1998 Winter Games. Salt Lake Olympic bidders gave $400,000 in scholarships to 13 IOC relatives in the first case of host-city bribery. Gifts of over $150 to IOC members or relatives is banned. The IOC's Marc Hodler says agents and a member demanded payment to 5-7% of the IOC for votes. Bribery was also part of 1996, 2000, and 2002 bidding. Nagano's mayor denies bribery to host the 1998 games. $17 million went unaccounted for. Hodler says he won't resign but may be expelled. The IOC head says bribe takers will be expelled, Hodler will stay. The games will stay in Salt Lake. IOC VP Keba Mbaye, former World Court judge, headed an inquiry. The Salt Lake committee apologized. In 1995 Salt Lake City was chosen to host the 2002 Winter Olympics. The revelation that from 1991 to 1995, the city's bid committee spent nearly $400,000 on scholarships to 13 people, six of them relatives of IOC members, ignited an international scandal. IOC rules forbid bidding cities from giving members or their relatives anything valued greater than $150; however, IOC member Marc Hodler alleges widespread corruption. According to Hodler, agents offer to sell votes, and the bid campaigns for the 1996, 1998, and 2000 games were tainted. A special IOC panel investigating the Salt Lake City matter will also consider the allegations of broader wrongdoing.
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"A top IOC official on Saturday made explosive allegations of widespread Olympic corruption, saying agents demand up to dlrs 1 million to deliver votes in the selection of host cities. Marc Hodler, a senior member of the International Olympic Committee executive board, alleged malpractices in the voting for the 1996 Atlanta Games, 2000 Sydney Olympics and 2002 Salt Lake Games. Hodler said a group of four agents, including one IOC member, have been involved in promising votes for payment. He declined to identify them. ``The four agents try to make a living out of this,'' he said. ``I missed a chance to be a rich man. Some of the agents do the following: they say, `I can offer this or that number of votes.' ``The price wold be between dlrs 500,000 and dlrs 1 million for a number of votes, a bloc.'' Hodler added that the agents then charge the city winning the bid ``something like dlrs 3 million to dlrs 5 millon.'' Hodler, an 80-year-old Swiss lawyer, said there is one agent who boasts ``that no city has ever won the Olympic Games without his help.'' ``No one can prove that,'' Hodler said. IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch immediately disassociated himself from Hodler's allegations. ``The only official spokeman for the IOC executive board is (director general) Francois Carrard,'' Samaranch said. ``All the other comments are personal comments. They are not official comments.'' Hodler's allegations, made to a group of reporters, came as the IOC continued investigations into alleged financial misconduct by the Salt Lake City group which won the bid for the 2002 games. Hodler has described as a ``bribe'' the dlrs 500,000 scholarship fund set up by Salt Lake which benefited the relatives of six IOC members. It also came as the former minister in charge of Sydney's 2000 Olympic bid revealed he was asked to offer bribes in exchange for votes. Bruce Baird, the former New South Wales minister, said he refused. Asked whether Atlanta's victory in the vote for the 1996 games was clean, Hodler said, ``Certainly not.' Asked whether Sydney's election was clean, he said, ``I would be surprised. I know what happened but I don't want to disclose it.'' ``I can't imagine that Sydney is different from the others,'' he said. ``Sydney pretends it is completely clean, clean, clean.'' Hodler contested the argument by the current Salt Lake organizing committee that it was not directly involved in the controversial scholarship program and that the onus was on former bid chief Thomas Welch. ``Yesterday the lawyer of Salt Lake City said, `Everything had been done by Tom Welch, who is not there any more. We know nothing.' My experience is that this is not true.'' The controversy centers on scholarships _ including tuition assistance and athlete training programs _ paid to relatives of IOC members by the Salt Lake bid committee. From 1991 to 1995, the committee _ under the direction of Welch _ spent nearly dlrs 400,000 on scholarships to 13 individuals _ six of them relatives of IOC members, mostly from Africa. The current SLOC president, Frank Joklik, was chairman of the bid committee at the time. SLOC vice president Dave Johnson was also a high official on the bid committee.",
"The mayor of the Japanese city of Nagano, site of the 1998 Winter Olympics, denied allegations that city officials bribed members of the International Olympic Committee to win the right to host the games. Nagano Mayor Tasuku Tsukada was responding to allegations by Marc Hodler, the Swiss member of the IOC executive board, of systematic buying and selling of the Olympic Games. ``I have never heard of such a thing,'' Tsukada told the Associated Press Sunday. ``As far as Nagano is concerned, we haven't done anything wrong. We were selected as host of the Olympics through our efforts. We can't believe that Mr. Hodler has made such a statement,'' he said. Tsukada was vice chairman of the Japanese committee to invite the Olympics to Nagano. Nagano has been criticized for spending a large amount of money to win the games. Sports Nippon, a leading Japanese sports newspaper, said more than 2 billion yen (dlrs 17 million) of the money Nagano spent to bring the games there has not been accounted for. Japan Olympic Committee has warned cities seeking to host the games in the future that they should not entertain IOC members excessively, the newspaper said. Holder's accusation might effect the invitation activities for the 2008 summer Olympics by Osaka, Japan's second largest city, the paper said. Osaka is competing with Beijing, China and other cities for the right to host the games. Nagano became the first Asian city to host the Winter Games since Sapporo, Japan played host to the 1972 games. Eighty-eight IOC members took part in a secret vote in 1991 to decide who would host the 1998 games. Nagano led in each of the five rounds, beating out Salt Lake city 46 votes to 42 in the final ballot.",
"Saying ``if we have to clean, we will clean,'' Juan Antonio Samaranch responded on Sunday to allegations of corruption in the Olympic bidding process by declaring that IOC members who were found to have accepted bribes from candidate cities could be expelled. ``It is a serious problem we have before us,'' Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee, said in a hastily arranged news conference at a tumultuous meeting of the IOC executive board. Samaranch compared the current climate to the Soviet boycott of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and the sprinter Ben Johnson's expulsion from the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. ``Those were difficult moments,'' Samaranch said. ``Now we are facing another difficult moment, but I'm sure we will solve this problem.'' Samaranch expressed surprise at allegations made by the IOC executive board member Marc Hodler of Switzerland that agents were offering to sell I.O.C. members' votes for payments from bidding cities. Hodler, the second most senior member of the IOC, said Saturday that he knew of four agents, including one IOC member, who engaged in such activities. Hodler said he believed that 5 to 7 percent of the IOC membership, which currently numbers 115, asked for some sort of compensation for their vote. He has called for a new electoral process, in which the executive board or some other select IOC group would decide which cities become Olympic hosts instead of the full IOC membership. Samaranch agreed Sunday that the time had come to explore change. ``The system we have now is very complicated, very slow and very expensive,'' he said. Hodler, the former head of the International Ski Federation, also claimed that the Fiat tycoon Gianni Agnelli had given free vans to influence votes for the Italian resort of Sestriere to hold the 1997 world skiing championships. Fiat denied the claims on Saturday, but Sunday Howard Peterson, a former senior American delegate to the ski federation, said he had been offered cars by two Fiat executives. The issue of vote-buying came to the fore in Lausanne because of the recent disclosure of scholarship payments made to six relatives of IOC members by Salt Lake City officials during their successful bid to play host to the 2002 Winter Games. The Salt Lake Organizing Committee has said the payments, which amounted to slightly less than $400,000, came from a privately financed fund that was started in 1991. And Intermountain Health Care, Utah's largest health care provider, confirmed Sunday that it gave free surgical services to at least two people associated with the IOC in 1994. A special commission headed by the IOC vice president Dick Pound was appointed on Friday to investigate the issue and has met with Salt Lake officials. Sunday, Frank Joklik, president of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, issued a public apology to the ``Olympic family and the citizens of Utah'' for the embarrassment caused by the scholarships program. Samaranch Sunday ruled out taking the Games from Salt Lake City. He said, ``If necessary we will expel members if this ad hoc commission thinks these members are guilty.'' Pound said his commission was already ``satisfied Salt Lake City won the 2002 Games on the merit of the bid.'' He also said that his commission would expand its inquiry beyond the Salt Lake City bid only if it was presented with evidence and not simply rumors of corruption in other bids. On Saturday, Hodler had suggested the bidding teams from Atlanta and Nagano, Japan, that won the 1996 Summer Olympics and 1998 Winter Olympics had not run ``clean'' campaigns. Billy Payne, who presided over Atlanta's bid, and Makoto Kobayashi, the general secretary of the Nagano organizing committee, denied those claims. Asked whether he regretted his statements Sunday, Hodler said, ``Not at all'' and later said that ``the cities have been the victims and not the villains.'' Pound said there had been concern in the IOC for some time about agents. ``There always have been lobbyists,'' he said. ``In recent years, especially with the Olympics coming up every two years, there seems to be a professional class being created.'' Hodler, when pressed for further comment this afternoon at Olympic headquarters, initially covered his mouth with both hands and then said, ``Muzzle imposed by the president.'' Hodler, 80, is one of only four IOC members with life membership because he was appointed before age limits were imposed in 1966. Asked if he might resign he said, ``I'm not going to resign, but I might be expelled.'' But the 78-year-old Samaranch said he had ``great respect'' for Hodler and no intention of asking for his resignation or pushing for his expulsion.",
"Moving quickly to tackle an escalating corruption scandal, IOC leaders questioned Salt Lake City officials Friday in the first ever investigation into alleged vote-buying by an Olympic city. Acting with unusual speed, the International Olympic Committee set up a special investigative panel that immediately summoned the organizers of the 2002 Salt Lake Games to address the bribery allegations. The chief investigator refused to rule out the possibility of taking the games away from Salt Lake City _ though that scenario is considered highly unlikely. Frank Joklik, president of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, and SLOC senior vice president Dave Johnson appeared before the IOC panel for 90 minutes Friday night. Both sides declined to comment after the talks, saying the inquiry was still in process. Earlier, Joklik met with IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch and other top officials to provide information and documents on the case. The controversy centers on the payment of nearly dlrs 400,000 in scholarships to relatives of IOC members by the Salt Lake bid committee which won the right to stage the 2002 games. Senior IOC executive board member Marc Hodler said the scholarship fund _ described as ``humanitarian aid'' by Salt Lake officials _ amounted to a bribe to sway votes in the 1995 election. It's the most serious case of alleged ethical misconduct investigated by the IOC since former U.S. member Robert Helmick was accused of conflict of interest in 1991. Helmick eventually resigned both as an IOC member and as president of the U.S. Olympic Committee. This is the first time the IOC has ever investigated possible bribery by bidding cities, despite previous rumors and allegations of corruption in other Olympic votes. ``The executive board takes this matter very seriously,'' said Dick Pound, the IOC vice president heading the Salt Lake inquiry. ``Despite many requests made in the past or evidence to support rumors that have been floating around, we have never had anything come forward. ``Specific allegations have now been made. The executive board acted very quickly to investigate.'' Also on the investigative panel are IOC vice president Keba Mbaye, executive board members Jacques Rogge and Thomas Bach, and IOC director general Francois Carrard. Pound said the panel would investigate allegations that ``there may or may not have been payments for the benefit of members of the IOC or their families connected with the Salt Lake City bid.'' Pound, a Canadian lawyer, said there was no deadline for completion of the investigation but said it was possible the inquiry could be wrapped up this weekend. Pound declined to speculate on what _ if any _ sanctions could be taken against Salt Lake but did not rule out moving the games elsewhere. ``We're not going to make any conclusions or any speculations as to what we may decide until we know what the facts are,'' he said. Moving the games would be unprecedented and, with just over three years to go, would be a logistical nightmare. Most of the facilities needed for the games in Salt Lake already are built. John Krimsky, deputy secretary general of the U.S. Olympic Committee, discounted any possibility of the games being moved. ``There is no chance at all, absolutely none in my mind,'' he said. ``I can't be stronger in saying I don't consider it a possibility whatsoever of the games being withdrawn from Salt Lake City. '' Salt Lake organizers have denied that the bid committee's dlrs 500,000 project was an effort to buy key IOC members' support in the four years between votes on the 1998 and 2002 Winter Games. Salt Lake lost the '98 race to Nagano, Japan, in 1991, when the program was begun. It won a landslide vote over Sion, Switzerland, for the 2002 Games in the 1995 balloting. From 1991 to 1995, the bid committee _ under the direction of former president Thomas Welch _ spent nearly dlrs 400,000 on scholarships to 13 individuals _ six of them relatives of IOC members, mostly from Africa. Olympic rules prohibit bidding cities from giving IOC members or their relatives any presents or benefits exceeding a value of dlrs 150. ``I've already stated I do not regard what was done as a bribe,'' Joklik said Friday. ``I recognize there have been perceptions contrary to that. I regret those perceptions, but I don't feel they are justified.'' Joklik was chairman of the bid committee at the time, the No. 2 official behind Welch. Welch resigned last year as president of the organizing committee after being accused of domestic violence against his wife. He currently serves as a SLOC consultant. ``The organizing committee certainly has people of integrity and ethical standards that would stand any investigation,'' Joklik said. ``The facts were in the early 1990s when the bid committee was operating.'' Among those identified as receiving scholarship funds was Sonia Essomba, the daughter of the late Rene Essomba of Cameroon. The elder Essomba, a prominent surgeon, was the secretary general of the National Olympic Committees of Africa.",
"What started as a local controversy in Salt Lake City has evolved into a full-blown international scandal. The International Olympic Committee has ordered a top-level investigation into the payment of nearly dlrs 400,000 in scholarships to relatives of IOC members by the Salt Lake group which won the bid for the 2002 Winter Games. IOC executive board member Marc Hodler said the scholarship fund _ described as ``humanitarian aid'' by Salt Lake officials _ amounted to a ``bribe.'' ``I'm terribly sorry that even Salt Lake City _ by far the best place to hold the winter games _ had to use certain methods in order to get the vote,'' Hodler said. IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch assigned the international body's juridical commission _ which deals with legal and ethical issues _ to investigate. The inquiry will be headed by IOC vice president Keba Mbaye of Senegal, a highly respected former World Court judge. The scholarship fund was first disclosed two weeks ago by a Salt Lake radio station. The controversy is now bound to overshadow the routine progress report which the Salt Lake Olympic Committee (SLOC) is scheduled to make to the IOC executive board this weekend. SLOC president Frank Joklik, who arrived in Lausanne Friday, welcomed the IOC investigation. ``I think that's who the matter should be taken up by,'' he told The Associated Press. `` Of course, we intend to collaborate fully with the IOC and its investigation.'' Joklik expressed concern that the case had harmed Salt Lake's image. ``I appreciate the perception of this matter is bad now,'' he said. Asked about Hodler's accusation of bribery, Joklik said he hadn't seen the remarks yet and couldn't reply directly. But he sought to distance himself from the allegations by making a distinction between the actions of the bidding committee and the current organizing committee. ``Presumably (Hodler's) remarks are related to actions of the bid commitee before 1995,'' Joklik said. ``The organizing committee certainly has people of integrity and ethical standards that would stand any investigation. The facts were in the early 1990s when the bid committee was operating.'' U.S. Olympic Committee deputy secretary general John Krimsky described the controversy as ``disruptive'' for Salt Lake's image and preparations for the games. ``It doesn't do us any good at all,'' he said. ``I hope we see a speedy resolution to Judge Mbaye's review. I hope it will be a footnote. I hope it never becomes a chapter.'' Salt Lake organizers, 10th graf pvs",
"The senior Olympic official who leveled stunning allegations of corruption within the IOC said Sunday he had been ``muzzled'' by president Juan Antonio Samaranch and might be throw out of the organization. Marc Hodler, the Swiss member of the IOC executive board, said Samaranch had ordered him to keep quiet. He said he was told not to appear at a scheduled routine news conference. Asked whether he might resign, Hodler said, ``No, I don't resign. But maybe I will be expelled. You never know.'' Hodler was, 3rd graf pvs",
"Swiss IOC executive board member Marc Hodler said Sunday he might be thrown out of the International Olympic Committee for making allegations of corruption within the Olympic movement. Asked whether he might resign, Hodler said, ``No, I don't resign. But maybe I will be expelled. You never know.'' Hodler, who made the allegations Saturday, said he has since been ``muzzled'' by IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch. His comments came as the leader of the Salt Lake organizing committee apologized Sunday for the alleged rules violations during the city's successful bid for the 2002 Winter Games. The IOC, meanwhile, said it was prepared to investigate allegations made by Hodler of bribery in the selection of Olympic host cities. Frank Joklik, 4th graf pvs",
"Following is the text of the rules on gifts and benefits that were in force during the bidding for the 2002 Winter Olympics: _ ``The finalist cities as well as third parties acting for them or on their behalf or in their favor, are forbidden to give IOC members _ as well as their blood relations, relatives by marriage, guests or companions _ any presents, liberalities or direct or indirect benefits other than souvenirs ot small presents of a total value which shall in no case exceed U.S. dlrs 150 per person.'' _ ``Finalist cities and any third parties acting for them or on their behalf or in their favor are forbidden to conclude with IOC members, their relations, relatives by marriage, their guests or companions, agreements, transactions or any other contracts.'' _ ``In the event of a serious breach of the present regulations, the IOC executive board may further propose to the IOC session that it exclude the city having breached the regulation from the contest for the games.''",
"LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) _ IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch on Sunday promised to expel any members if they are found guilty of accepting bribes. Samaranch said he was surprised at the allegations of corruption in the International Olympic Committee made by senior Swiss member Marc Hodler. But he said the allegations would be considered by a special IOC panel looking into alleged rules violations by the Salt Lake group which won the 2002 Winter Games. ``If it is necessary, we will expel members if this commission feels these members are guilty,'' Samaranch said at a news conference. ``After we get the recommendations of the panel, we will take the measures necessary to arrange the problem.'' Samaranch said the IOC was intent on protecting the integrity of the organization and the Olympics as a whole. ``If we have to clean, we will clean,'' he said. ``After, the IOC will be even stronger than before.'' Samaranch said he was taken aback by Hodler's allegations, which were made to reporters Saturday. Samaranch said Hodler should have brought his allegations first to the IOC executive board. ``For me, I was really surprised. If he has names and evidence, he must go to the executive board.'' Hodler said he believed four agents _ including one IOC member _ had been involved in vote-buying over the past 10 years. He said he thought 5 to 7 percent of the IOC members _ currently numbering 115 _ were open to bribery. Samaranch denied that he ``muzzled'' Hodler, as the Swiss official claimed earlier Sunday. He said he had told all members of the executive board that only himself and director general Francois Carrad could speak to the media. ``This is not the first time I do this,'' he said. Samaranch expressed his respect and admiration for Hodler and ruled out the possbility of expelling him from the IOC, an option the Swiss member had raised. ``Never, never, is anyone thinking to expel Mr. Hodler,'' Samaranch said. The IOC also ruled out any possibility of stripping Salt Lake City of the games over alleged rules violations during the bid. ``No, there is not any kind of possibiity,'' he said. ``We trust the organizing committee of Salt Lake City.'' The Salt Lake controvery centers on a scholarship program that provided nearly dlrs 400,000 in tuition and other assistance to 13 individuals _ including six relatives of IOC members, mostly from Africa. Samaranch said the IOC would possibly consider a new procedure to eliminate the tempations for corruption in the selection of host cities. Under current rules, all IOC members have a vote. Samaranch noted the IOC could adopt the formula used by sports federations such as FIFA, world soccer's governing body, which assign their executive boards to select sites.",
"A top IOC official on Saturday made explosive allegations of widespread Olympic corruption, saying agents demand up to dlrs 1 million to deliver votes in the selection of host cities. Marc Hodler, a senior member of the International Olympic Committee executive board, alleged malpractices in the bid campaigns for the games of 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002. Hodler said a group of four agents, including one IOC member, have been involved in promising votes for payment. He declined to identify them. ``The four agents try to make a living out of this,'' he said. ``I missed a chance to be a rich man. Some of the agents do the following: they say, `I can offer this or that number of votes.' ``The price would be between dlrs 500,000 and dlrs 1 million for a number of votes, a bloc.'' Hodler added that the agents then charge the city winning the bid ``something like dlrs 3 million to dlrs 5 millon.'' Hodler, an 80-year-old Swiss lawyer, said there is one agent who boasts ``that no city has ever won the Olympic Games without his help.'' ``No one can prove that,'' Hodler said. ``It could be possible.'' He said he believed agents had been buying and selling votes for the past 10 years. ``There are four agents we know,'' he said. ``One is an IOC member. He promises he will give enough votes so (the biddding city) can win.'' Asked whether all Olympic votes are tainted, Hodler said, ``I know of so many times. There is a good chance it is always the case.'' IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch immediately disassociated himself from Hodler's allegations. ``The only official spokeman for the IOC executive board is (director general) Francois Carrard,'' Samaranch said. ``All the other comments are personal comments. They are not official comments.'' Hodler's allegations, made to a group of reporters, came as the IOC continued investigations into alleged financial misconduct by the Salt Lake City group which won the bid for the 2002 games. Hodler has described as a ``bribe'' the dlrs 500,000 scholarship fund set up by Salt Lake which benefited the relatives of six IOC members. It also came as the former minister in charge of Sydney's 2000 Olympic bid revealed he was asked to offer bribes in exchange for votes. Bruce Baird, the former New South Wales minister, said he refused. Asked whether Atlanta's victory in the vote for the 1996 games was clean, Hodler said, ``Certainly not.'' John Krimsky, deputy secretary general of the U.S. Olympic Committee, disputed Hodler's assertion. ``There is no basis for the charges against Atlanta at this point,'' Krimsky said. ``All these issues should be put to the IOC review commission.'' Hodler also leveled allegations against the head of the Athens bid which lost to Atlanta in the 1996 vote. Hodler said he overheard Spyros Metaxa, a wealthy Greek businessman who led the bid, describing Samaranch and IOC members as ``stupid'' for imposing restrictions on the bidding process. ``For me there is only one purpose: winning the games,'' Hodler quoted Metaxa as saying. ``I will do whatever is necessary to win the games _ if it costs me dlrs 100,000, dlrs 10 million or dlrs 100 million.'' Hodler said he didn't know of any misconduct in Athens' successful bid for the 2004 games. Asked whether Sydney's election for the 2000 games was clean, Hodler said, ``I would be surprised. I know what happened but I don't want to disclose it.'' ``I can't imagine that Sydney is different from the others,'' he said. ``Sydney pretends it is completely clean, clean, clean.'' The committee which won the 1998 games for Nagano ``certainly had to do things which are not legitimate,'' Hodler said. Hodler contested the argument by the current Salt Lake organizing committee that it was not directly involved in the controversial scholarship program and that the onus was on former bid chief Thomas Welch. ``Yesterday the lawyer of Salt Lake City said, `Everything had been done by Tom Welch, who is not there any more. We know nothing.' My experience is that this is not true.'' The controversy centers on scholarships _ including tuition assistance and athlete training programs _ paid to relatives of IOC members by the Salt Lake bid committee. From 1991 to 1995, the committee _ under the direction of Welch _ spent nearly dlrs 400,000 on scholarships to 13 individuals _ six of them relatives of IOC members, mostly from Africa. The current SLOC president, Frank Joklik, was chairman of the bid committee at the time. SLOC vice president Dave Johnson was also a high official on the bid committee. Hodler said the blame shud be on those ``who put pressure'' on Salt Lake to offer the scholarship funds. ``Nobody blames Salt Lake City,'' he said. ``We blame those voters who can be bought _ not Salt Lake City. They were a victim. We should thank them for not paying money _ only scholarships.'' Joklik on Saturday denied any payment for votes. ``I don't even know what agents are,'' he said."
] |
[
"A top IOC official on Saturday made explosive allegations of widespread Olympic corruption, saying agents demand up to dlrs 1 million to deliver votes in the selection of host cities. Marc Hodler, a senior member of the International Olympic Committee executive board, alleged malpractices in the voting for the 1996 Atlanta Games, 2000 Sydney Olympics and 2002 Salt Lake Games. Hodler said a group of four agents, including one IOC member, have been involved in promising votes for payment. He declined to identify them. ``The four agents try to make a living out of this,'' he said. ``I missed a chance to be a rich man. Some of the agents do the following: they say, `I can offer this or that number of votes.' ``The price wold be between dlrs 500,000 and dlrs 1 million for a number of votes, a bloc.'' Hodler added that the agents then charge the city winning the bid ``something like dlrs 3 million to dlrs 5 millon.'' Hodler, an 80-year-old Swiss lawyer, said there is one agent who boasts ``that no city has ever won the Olympic Games without his help.'' ``No one can prove that,'' Hodler said. IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch immediately disassociated himself from Hodler's allegations. ``The only official spokeman for the IOC executive board is (director general) Francois Carrard,'' Samaranch said. ``All the other comments are personal comments. They are not official comments.'' Hodler's allegations, made to a group of reporters, came as the IOC continued investigations into alleged financial misconduct by the Salt Lake City group which won the bid for the 2002 games. Hodler has described as a ``bribe'' the dlrs 500,000 scholarship fund set up by Salt Lake which benefited the relatives of six IOC members. It also came as the former minister in charge of Sydney's 2000 Olympic bid revealed he was asked to offer bribes in exchange for votes. Bruce Baird, the former New South Wales minister, said he refused. Asked whether Atlanta's victory in the vote for the 1996 games was clean, Hodler said, ``Certainly not.' Asked whether Sydney's election was clean, he said, ``I would be surprised. I know what happened but I don't want to disclose it.'' ``I can't imagine that Sydney is different from the others,'' he said. ``Sydney pretends it is completely clean, clean, clean.'' Hodler contested the argument by the current Salt Lake organizing committee that it was not directly involved in the controversial scholarship program and that the onus was on former bid chief Thomas Welch. ``Yesterday the lawyer of Salt Lake City said, `Everything had been done by Tom Welch, who is not there any more. We know nothing.' My experience is that this is not true.'' The controversy centers on scholarships _ including tuition assistance and athlete training programs _ paid to relatives of IOC members by the Salt Lake bid committee. From 1991 to 1995, the committee _ under the direction of Welch _ spent nearly dlrs 400,000 on scholarships to 13 individuals _ six of them relatives of IOC members, mostly from Africa. The current SLOC president, Frank Joklik, was chairman of the bid committee at the time. SLOC vice president Dave Johnson was also a high official on the bid committee.",
"The mayor of the Japanese city of Nagano, site of the 1998 Winter Olympics, denied allegations that city officials bribed members of the International Olympic Committee to win the right to host the games. Nagano Mayor Tasuku Tsukada was responding to allegations by Marc Hodler, the Swiss member of the IOC executive board, of systematic buying and selling of the Olympic Games. ``I have never heard of such a thing,'' Tsukada told the Associated Press Sunday. ``As far as Nagano is concerned, we haven't done anything wrong. We were selected as host of the Olympics through our efforts. We can't believe that Mr. Hodler has made such a statement,'' he said. Tsukada was vice chairman of the Japanese committee to invite the Olympics to Nagano. Nagano has been criticized for spending a large amount of money to win the games. Sports Nippon, a leading Japanese sports newspaper, said more than 2 billion yen (dlrs 17 million) of the money Nagano spent to bring the games there has not been accounted for. Japan Olympic Committee has warned cities seeking to host the games in the future that they should not entertain IOC members excessively, the newspaper said. Holder's accusation might effect the invitation activities for the 2008 summer Olympics by Osaka, Japan's second largest city, the paper said. Osaka is competing with Beijing, China and other cities for the right to host the games. Nagano became the first Asian city to host the Winter Games since Sapporo, Japan played host to the 1972 games. Eighty-eight IOC members took part in a secret vote in 1991 to decide who would host the 1998 games. Nagano led in each of the five rounds, beating out Salt Lake city 46 votes to 42 in the final ballot.",
"Saying ``if we have to clean, we will clean,'' Juan Antonio Samaranch responded on Sunday to allegations of corruption in the Olympic bidding process by declaring that IOC members who were found to have accepted bribes from candidate cities could be expelled. ``It is a serious problem we have before us,'' Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee, said in a hastily arranged news conference at a tumultuous meeting of the IOC executive board. Samaranch compared the current climate to the Soviet boycott of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and the sprinter Ben Johnson's expulsion from the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. ``Those were difficult moments,'' Samaranch said. ``Now we are facing another difficult moment, but I'm sure we will solve this problem.'' Samaranch expressed surprise at allegations made by the IOC executive board member Marc Hodler of Switzerland that agents were offering to sell I.O.C. members' votes for payments from bidding cities. Hodler, the second most senior member of the IOC, said Saturday that he knew of four agents, including one IOC member, who engaged in such activities. Hodler said he believed that 5 to 7 percent of the IOC membership, which currently numbers 115, asked for some sort of compensation for their vote. He has called for a new electoral process, in which the executive board or some other select IOC group would decide which cities become Olympic hosts instead of the full IOC membership. Samaranch agreed Sunday that the time had come to explore change. ``The system we have now is very complicated, very slow and very expensive,'' he said. Hodler, the former head of the International Ski Federation, also claimed that the Fiat tycoon Gianni Agnelli had given free vans to influence votes for the Italian resort of Sestriere to hold the 1997 world skiing championships. Fiat denied the claims on Saturday, but Sunday Howard Peterson, a former senior American delegate to the ski federation, said he had been offered cars by two Fiat executives. The issue of vote-buying came to the fore in Lausanne because of the recent disclosure of scholarship payments made to six relatives of IOC members by Salt Lake City officials during their successful bid to play host to the 2002 Winter Games. The Salt Lake Organizing Committee has said the payments, which amounted to slightly less than $400,000, came from a privately financed fund that was started in 1991. And Intermountain Health Care, Utah's largest health care provider, confirmed Sunday that it gave free surgical services to at least two people associated with the IOC in 1994. A special commission headed by the IOC vice president Dick Pound was appointed on Friday to investigate the issue and has met with Salt Lake officials. Sunday, Frank Joklik, president of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, issued a public apology to the ``Olympic family and the citizens of Utah'' for the embarrassment caused by the scholarships program. Samaranch Sunday ruled out taking the Games from Salt Lake City. He said, ``If necessary we will expel members if this ad hoc commission thinks these members are guilty.'' Pound said his commission was already ``satisfied Salt Lake City won the 2002 Games on the merit of the bid.'' He also said that his commission would expand its inquiry beyond the Salt Lake City bid only if it was presented with evidence and not simply rumors of corruption in other bids. On Saturday, Hodler had suggested the bidding teams from Atlanta and Nagano, Japan, that won the 1996 Summer Olympics and 1998 Winter Olympics had not run ``clean'' campaigns. Billy Payne, who presided over Atlanta's bid, and Makoto Kobayashi, the general secretary of the Nagano organizing committee, denied those claims. Asked whether he regretted his statements Sunday, Hodler said, ``Not at all'' and later said that ``the cities have been the victims and not the villains.'' Pound said there had been concern in the IOC for some time about agents. ``There always have been lobbyists,'' he said. ``In recent years, especially with the Olympics coming up every two years, there seems to be a professional class being created.'' Hodler, when pressed for further comment this afternoon at Olympic headquarters, initially covered his mouth with both hands and then said, ``Muzzle imposed by the president.'' Hodler, 80, is one of only four IOC members with life membership because he was appointed before age limits were imposed in 1966. Asked if he might resign he said, ``I'm not going to resign, but I might be expelled.'' But the 78-year-old Samaranch said he had ``great respect'' for Hodler and no intention of asking for his resignation or pushing for his expulsion.",
"Moving quickly to tackle an escalating corruption scandal, IOC leaders questioned Salt Lake City officials Friday in the first ever investigation into alleged vote-buying by an Olympic city. Acting with unusual speed, the International Olympic Committee set up a special investigative panel that immediately summoned the organizers of the 2002 Salt Lake Games to address the bribery allegations. The chief investigator refused to rule out the possibility of taking the games away from Salt Lake City _ though that scenario is considered highly unlikely. Frank Joklik, president of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, and SLOC senior vice president Dave Johnson appeared before the IOC panel for 90 minutes Friday night. Both sides declined to comment after the talks, saying the inquiry was still in process. Earlier, Joklik met with IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch and other top officials to provide information and documents on the case. The controversy centers on the payment of nearly dlrs 400,000 in scholarships to relatives of IOC members by the Salt Lake bid committee which won the right to stage the 2002 games. Senior IOC executive board member Marc Hodler said the scholarship fund _ described as ``humanitarian aid'' by Salt Lake officials _ amounted to a bribe to sway votes in the 1995 election. It's the most serious case of alleged ethical misconduct investigated by the IOC since former U.S. member Robert Helmick was accused of conflict of interest in 1991. Helmick eventually resigned both as an IOC member and as president of the U.S. Olympic Committee. This is the first time the IOC has ever investigated possible bribery by bidding cities, despite previous rumors and allegations of corruption in other Olympic votes. ``The executive board takes this matter very seriously,'' said Dick Pound, the IOC vice president heading the Salt Lake inquiry. ``Despite many requests made in the past or evidence to support rumors that have been floating around, we have never had anything come forward. ``Specific allegations have now been made. The executive board acted very quickly to investigate.'' Also on the investigative panel are IOC vice president Keba Mbaye, executive board members Jacques Rogge and Thomas Bach, and IOC director general Francois Carrard. Pound said the panel would investigate allegations that ``there may or may not have been payments for the benefit of members of the IOC or their families connected with the Salt Lake City bid.'' Pound, a Canadian lawyer, said there was no deadline for completion of the investigation but said it was possible the inquiry could be wrapped up this weekend. Pound declined to speculate on what _ if any _ sanctions could be taken against Salt Lake but did not rule out moving the games elsewhere. ``We're not going to make any conclusions or any speculations as to what we may decide until we know what the facts are,'' he said. Moving the games would be unprecedented and, with just over three years to go, would be a logistical nightmare. Most of the facilities needed for the games in Salt Lake already are built. John Krimsky, deputy secretary general of the U.S. Olympic Committee, discounted any possibility of the games being moved. ``There is no chance at all, absolutely none in my mind,'' he said. ``I can't be stronger in saying I don't consider it a possibility whatsoever of the games being withdrawn from Salt Lake City. '' Salt Lake organizers have denied that the bid committee's dlrs 500,000 project was an effort to buy key IOC members' support in the four years between votes on the 1998 and 2002 Winter Games. Salt Lake lost the '98 race to Nagano, Japan, in 1991, when the program was begun. It won a landslide vote over Sion, Switzerland, for the 2002 Games in the 1995 balloting. From 1991 to 1995, the bid committee _ under the direction of former president Thomas Welch _ spent nearly dlrs 400,000 on scholarships to 13 individuals _ six of them relatives of IOC members, mostly from Africa. Olympic rules prohibit bidding cities from giving IOC members or their relatives any presents or benefits exceeding a value of dlrs 150. ``I've already stated I do not regard what was done as a bribe,'' Joklik said Friday. ``I recognize there have been perceptions contrary to that. I regret those perceptions, but I don't feel they are justified.'' Joklik was chairman of the bid committee at the time, the No. 2 official behind Welch. Welch resigned last year as president of the organizing committee after being accused of domestic violence against his wife. He currently serves as a SLOC consultant. ``The organizing committee certainly has people of integrity and ethical standards that would stand any investigation,'' Joklik said. ``The facts were in the early 1990s when the bid committee was operating.'' Among those identified as receiving scholarship funds was Sonia Essomba, the daughter of the late Rene Essomba of Cameroon. The elder Essomba, a prominent surgeon, was the secretary general of the National Olympic Committees of Africa.",
"What started as a local controversy in Salt Lake City has evolved into a full-blown international scandal. The International Olympic Committee has ordered a top-level investigation into the payment of nearly dlrs 400,000 in scholarships to relatives of IOC members by the Salt Lake group which won the bid for the 2002 Winter Games. IOC executive board member Marc Hodler said the scholarship fund _ described as ``humanitarian aid'' by Salt Lake officials _ amounted to a ``bribe.'' ``I'm terribly sorry that even Salt Lake City _ by far the best place to hold the winter games _ had to use certain methods in order to get the vote,'' Hodler said. IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch assigned the international body's juridical commission _ which deals with legal and ethical issues _ to investigate. The inquiry will be headed by IOC vice president Keba Mbaye of Senegal, a highly respected former World Court judge. The scholarship fund was first disclosed two weeks ago by a Salt Lake radio station. The controversy is now bound to overshadow the routine progress report which the Salt Lake Olympic Committee (SLOC) is scheduled to make to the IOC executive board this weekend. SLOC president Frank Joklik, who arrived in Lausanne Friday, welcomed the IOC investigation. ``I think that's who the matter should be taken up by,'' he told The Associated Press. `` Of course, we intend to collaborate fully with the IOC and its investigation.'' Joklik expressed concern that the case had harmed Salt Lake's image. ``I appreciate the perception of this matter is bad now,'' he said. Asked about Hodler's accusation of bribery, Joklik said he hadn't seen the remarks yet and couldn't reply directly. But he sought to distance himself from the allegations by making a distinction between the actions of the bidding committee and the current organizing committee. ``Presumably (Hodler's) remarks are related to actions of the bid commitee before 1995,'' Joklik said. ``The organizing committee certainly has people of integrity and ethical standards that would stand any investigation. The facts were in the early 1990s when the bid committee was operating.'' U.S. Olympic Committee deputy secretary general John Krimsky described the controversy as ``disruptive'' for Salt Lake's image and preparations for the games. ``It doesn't do us any good at all,'' he said. ``I hope we see a speedy resolution to Judge Mbaye's review. I hope it will be a footnote. I hope it never becomes a chapter.'' Salt Lake organizers, 10th graf pvs",
"The senior Olympic official who leveled stunning allegations of corruption within the IOC said Sunday he had been ``muzzled'' by president Juan Antonio Samaranch and might be throw out of the organization. Marc Hodler, the Swiss member of the IOC executive board, said Samaranch had ordered him to keep quiet. He said he was told not to appear at a scheduled routine news conference. Asked whether he might resign, Hodler said, ``No, I don't resign. But maybe I will be expelled. You never know.'' Hodler was, 3rd graf pvs",
"Swiss IOC executive board member Marc Hodler said Sunday he might be thrown out of the International Olympic Committee for making allegations of corruption within the Olympic movement. Asked whether he might resign, Hodler said, ``No, I don't resign. But maybe I will be expelled. You never know.'' Hodler, who made the allegations Saturday, said he has since been ``muzzled'' by IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch. His comments came as the leader of the Salt Lake organizing committee apologized Sunday for the alleged rules violations during the city's successful bid for the 2002 Winter Games. The IOC, meanwhile, said it was prepared to investigate allegations made by Hodler of bribery in the selection of Olympic host cities. Frank Joklik, 4th graf pvs",
"Following is the text of the rules on gifts and benefits that were in force during the bidding for the 2002 Winter Olympics: _ ``The finalist cities as well as third parties acting for them or on their behalf or in their favor, are forbidden to give IOC members _ as well as their blood relations, relatives by marriage, guests or companions _ any presents, liberalities or direct or indirect benefits other than souvenirs ot small presents of a total value which shall in no case exceed U.S. dlrs 150 per person.'' _ ``Finalist cities and any third parties acting for them or on their behalf or in their favor are forbidden to conclude with IOC members, their relations, relatives by marriage, their guests or companions, agreements, transactions or any other contracts.'' _ ``In the event of a serious breach of the present regulations, the IOC executive board may further propose to the IOC session that it exclude the city having breached the regulation from the contest for the games.''",
"LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) _ IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch on Sunday promised to expel any members if they are found guilty of accepting bribes. Samaranch said he was surprised at the allegations of corruption in the International Olympic Committee made by senior Swiss member Marc Hodler. But he said the allegations would be considered by a special IOC panel looking into alleged rules violations by the Salt Lake group which won the 2002 Winter Games. ``If it is necessary, we will expel members if this commission feels these members are guilty,'' Samaranch said at a news conference. ``After we get the recommendations of the panel, we will take the measures necessary to arrange the problem.'' Samaranch said the IOC was intent on protecting the integrity of the organization and the Olympics as a whole. ``If we have to clean, we will clean,'' he said. ``After, the IOC will be even stronger than before.'' Samaranch said he was taken aback by Hodler's allegations, which were made to reporters Saturday. Samaranch said Hodler should have brought his allegations first to the IOC executive board. ``For me, I was really surprised. If he has names and evidence, he must go to the executive board.'' Hodler said he believed four agents _ including one IOC member _ had been involved in vote-buying over the past 10 years. He said he thought 5 to 7 percent of the IOC members _ currently numbering 115 _ were open to bribery. Samaranch denied that he ``muzzled'' Hodler, as the Swiss official claimed earlier Sunday. He said he had told all members of the executive board that only himself and director general Francois Carrad could speak to the media. ``This is not the first time I do this,'' he said. Samaranch expressed his respect and admiration for Hodler and ruled out the possbility of expelling him from the IOC, an option the Swiss member had raised. ``Never, never, is anyone thinking to expel Mr. Hodler,'' Samaranch said. The IOC also ruled out any possibility of stripping Salt Lake City of the games over alleged rules violations during the bid. ``No, there is not any kind of possibiity,'' he said. ``We trust the organizing committee of Salt Lake City.'' The Salt Lake controvery centers on a scholarship program that provided nearly dlrs 400,000 in tuition and other assistance to 13 individuals _ including six relatives of IOC members, mostly from Africa. Samaranch said the IOC would possibly consider a new procedure to eliminate the tempations for corruption in the selection of host cities. Under current rules, all IOC members have a vote. Samaranch noted the IOC could adopt the formula used by sports federations such as FIFA, world soccer's governing body, which assign their executive boards to select sites.",
"A top IOC official on Saturday made explosive allegations of widespread Olympic corruption, saying agents demand up to dlrs 1 million to deliver votes in the selection of host cities. Marc Hodler, a senior member of the International Olympic Committee executive board, alleged malpractices in the bid campaigns for the games of 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002. Hodler said a group of four agents, including one IOC member, have been involved in promising votes for payment. He declined to identify them. ``The four agents try to make a living out of this,'' he said. ``I missed a chance to be a rich man. Some of the agents do the following: they say, `I can offer this or that number of votes.' ``The price would be between dlrs 500,000 and dlrs 1 million for a number of votes, a bloc.'' Hodler added that the agents then charge the city winning the bid ``something like dlrs 3 million to dlrs 5 millon.'' Hodler, an 80-year-old Swiss lawyer, said there is one agent who boasts ``that no city has ever won the Olympic Games without his help.'' ``No one can prove that,'' Hodler said. ``It could be possible.'' He said he believed agents had been buying and selling votes for the past 10 years. ``There are four agents we know,'' he said. ``One is an IOC member. He promises he will give enough votes so (the biddding city) can win.'' Asked whether all Olympic votes are tainted, Hodler said, ``I know of so many times. There is a good chance it is always the case.'' IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch immediately disassociated himself from Hodler's allegations. ``The only official spokeman for the IOC executive board is (director general) Francois Carrard,'' Samaranch said. ``All the other comments are personal comments. They are not official comments.'' Hodler's allegations, made to a group of reporters, came as the IOC continued investigations into alleged financial misconduct by the Salt Lake City group which won the bid for the 2002 games. Hodler has described as a ``bribe'' the dlrs 500,000 scholarship fund set up by Salt Lake which benefited the relatives of six IOC members. It also came as the former minister in charge of Sydney's 2000 Olympic bid revealed he was asked to offer bribes in exchange for votes. Bruce Baird, the former New South Wales minister, said he refused. Asked whether Atlanta's victory in the vote for the 1996 games was clean, Hodler said, ``Certainly not.'' John Krimsky, deputy secretary general of the U.S. Olympic Committee, disputed Hodler's assertion. ``There is no basis for the charges against Atlanta at this point,'' Krimsky said. ``All these issues should be put to the IOC review commission.'' Hodler also leveled allegations against the head of the Athens bid which lost to Atlanta in the 1996 vote. Hodler said he overheard Spyros Metaxa, a wealthy Greek businessman who led the bid, describing Samaranch and IOC members as ``stupid'' for imposing restrictions on the bidding process. ``For me there is only one purpose: winning the games,'' Hodler quoted Metaxa as saying. ``I will do whatever is necessary to win the games _ if it costs me dlrs 100,000, dlrs 10 million or dlrs 100 million.'' Hodler said he didn't know of any misconduct in Athens' successful bid for the 2004 games. Asked whether Sydney's election for the 2000 games was clean, Hodler said, ``I would be surprised. I know what happened but I don't want to disclose it.'' ``I can't imagine that Sydney is different from the others,'' he said. ``Sydney pretends it is completely clean, clean, clean.'' The committee which won the 1998 games for Nagano ``certainly had to do things which are not legitimate,'' Hodler said. Hodler contested the argument by the current Salt Lake organizing committee that it was not directly involved in the controversial scholarship program and that the onus was on former bid chief Thomas Welch. ``Yesterday the lawyer of Salt Lake City said, `Everything had been done by Tom Welch, who is not there any more. We know nothing.' My experience is that this is not true.'' The controversy centers on scholarships _ including tuition assistance and athlete training programs _ paid to relatives of IOC members by the Salt Lake bid committee. From 1991 to 1995, the committee _ under the direction of Welch _ spent nearly dlrs 400,000 on scholarships to 13 individuals _ six of them relatives of IOC members, mostly from Africa. The current SLOC president, Frank Joklik, was chairman of the bid committee at the time. SLOC vice president Dave Johnson was also a high official on the bid committee. Hodler said the blame shud be on those ``who put pressure'' on Salt Lake to offer the scholarship funds. ``Nobody blames Salt Lake City,'' he said. ``We blame those voters who can be bought _ not Salt Lake City. They were a victim. We should thank them for not paying money _ only scholarships.'' Joklik on Saturday denied any payment for votes. ``I don't even know what agents are,'' he said."
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Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad ruled adroitly for 17 years until September 1998 when he suddenly reversed his economic policy and fired his popular deputy and heir apparent, Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar organized a political opposition leading Mahathir to arrest him. Mahathir met street demonsrations with tear gas and water cannon, but his censorship did not reach Anwar's internet support. News that police had beaten Anwar brutally brought protests from around the world, but the Malaysian trade minister discounted any unrest. Anwar remained in custody as lawyers appealed. Malaysia hardly provided a salubrious setting for the forthcoming economic summit. Mahathir's 17-year rule saw great advances. Now, Malaysia has economic crisis and instability. Photos show bruised Anwar, who says police beat him. Mahathir requests investigation. Anwar supporters use internet to air views, photos, speeches. EU is concerned about reports of his abuse and hopes for appropriate actions. Habibie and Estrada may stay away from APEC talks over Anwar's arrest. A witness against Anwar asks for appeal of his conviction. Anwar says false confession was coerced. Lawyers demand Anwar's release. Ruling party leaders discuss Anwar's replacement; Mahathir not choosy. Rafidah says arrest won't cause unrest or scare away investors. Newspaper photos of the bruised face of Thailand's jailed former deputy minister, Anwar Ibrahim, has aroused international condemnation as well as local demonstrations. Ibrahim, considered heir-apparent to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed, was fired by Mahathir for being morally unfit for office. Anwar mounted a nationwide campaign against Mahathir before his arrest. Mahathir served as Prime Minister for 17 years with a bold socio-economic program that had veered into recession. Anwar differed with Mahathir over economic policy and began speaking out against him. Mahathir has not selected a successor and if he resigns or dies, a power struggle could ensue. Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad fired Deputy PM Anwar Ibrahim, once groomed as a successor but now called unfit to lead and trying to topple him, after an economic disagreement. Anwar and a friend were charged with illegal homosexual activity. Anwar showed marks of a beating during 10 days in custody. The EU condemned his abuse and regional leaders considered boycotting a Malaysian meeting. Anwar's treatment sparked street riots and protests on the Internet. Lawyers demanded his release. The incident damaged Mahathir's 17-years of good leadership and isolated Malaysia from international markets, although the Malaysian trade minister played down its effect.
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"Deprived of a voice in state-controlled newspapers and television, supporters of Malaysia's jailed opposition leader have turned to the Internet to air their views. Although the government said police would ``check every bit of information and leaflet'' posted on the Internet, Malaysia's sole Internet provider acknowledged Friday the medium is ``impossible to control.'' Jailed, beaten and facing trial on 10 sexual misconduct and corruption charges, ousted Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is a political underdog in Malaysia. In the realm of cyberspace, though, he's top dog. Within hours of Anwar's recent speech accusing Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of cruelty and insanity, dozens of boot-legged recordings had been posted onto new websites hatched by supporters. Among the hottest images now making the Internet rounds are several news-photo versions of Anwar's badly bruised eye, which he claims was inflicted by police during his first night of detention. Most pro-Anwar sites also contain his speeches, private letters to Mahathir, clippings of foreign news reports and prose scorching the 72-year old prime minister. Most of the Internet content about Anwar is false or unverifiable, but the medium is tough to rein in, said Azzman Shariffadeen, head of Mimos, the company that set up Malaysia's Internet infrastructure. ``No website has been blocked or censored by the government,'' he said. Shortly after Anwar's arrest, one of the former leader's aides bragged that they had set up dozens of sites offshore, beyond the reach of the Malaysian government. Malaysian journalist M.G.G. Pillai, who runs a popular website on local politics, isn't surprised by the aggressive march toward cyberspace. ``When you're in the opposition and you have no access to resources and media, then you end up making use of what's available to air your grouses,'' he said, noting that membership on his site has soared by 40 percent since Anwar's ouster. The cyber explosion is a boon to most middle-class Malaysians, who are leery of local media. ``I've finally given up reading local newspapers. They're so skewed,'' said Michael Chan, a lawyer who upgraded his computer with a high-speed modem the day after Anwar was arrested on Sept. 20. Chan uses the modem to download pictures of balaclava-clad police in bulletproof jackets busting down Anwar's front door before bundling him off to jail. Occasionally, he receives e-mail calling for organized rallies at the National Mosque and nearby Independence Square, where hundreds of protesters have been arrested by police. The advertised demonstrations don't always materialize. Other e-mails call for ``silent protests.'' Malaysians are being urged on the Internet now to switch off all lights for 10 minutes on Oct. 6 to declare their ``state of sorrow, sadness and darkness'' over national injustice.",
"A key witness in the government's sexual misconduct case against Malaysia's former deputy prime minister remains determined to appeal his conviction, his attorney said Monday. Munawar Ahmad Aness, a friend and speech writer of Anwar Ibrahim, pleaded guilty to the charges last month, allegedly confessing to having sex with the political dissident. Anwar has said the guilty plea was coerced. Aness, a Pakistani with permanent residence in the United States, was sentenced to six months in jail. In a move that could deal a major setback to the case against Anwar, Aness then filed a letter of appeal through his lawyers. Another letter then appeared, saying Aness would not go through with the appeal. His lawyers say the second letter was a fraud. ``His instructions are he wants us to proceed with the appeal. There is no change,'' said Balwant Singh, one of two lawyers defending Aness, after a meeting with Aness. One of the major charges against Anwar hinges on Aness' confession. Singh spoke to reporters after attending court proceedings Monday where Anwar's trial was fixed for Nov. 2 on corruption charges. He said he went to a hospital to meet Aness when the court broke for lunch. Aness was jailed on Sept. 15 but moved soon after to a hospital where he has been under treatment for heart problems. ``He has given us the written retainer. He signed a notice of appeal. We have instructions to proceed and we are proceeding,'' said Singh, adding he filed the letter of appeal in court Sept. 29. Between the visits with his client, however, Aness signed another letter saying he would not proceed with the appeal, Singh said. That led to confusion whether Aness really wanted an appeal. ``Somebody approached him and asked him to sign a typewritten letter,'' said Singh. ``He was asked to sign it and he did.''",
"Among Asia's leaders, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was notable as a man with a bold vision: a physical and social transformation that would push this nation into the forefront of world affairs. It almost came true. In 17 years as prime minister, Mahathir, 72, who is a medical doctor, fostered an economic liberalization that led to some of the world's fastest rates of growth. He drove Malaysians to be more productive, to embrace high technology and to begin major investments around the world. He created a national affirmative-action program that allowed the country's ethnic Chinese, Malays and Indians to share in improved living standards and a new sense of Malaysian identity and pride. This year was to have been Mahathir's year of triumph, perhaps paving the way for his retirement, with the inauguration of huge public works projects and impressive gatherings of foreign leaders and sportsmen. But today, in a dizzying turnaround, Malaysia is on Asia's critical list, its economy teetering on the edge of disaster and its stability shaken by what seems to have been an entirely avoidable political cat fight. Last month, Mahathir dismissed and arrested his deputy and heir apparent, Anwar Ibrahim, 51, accusing him of corruption and illegal sex acts. The move set off street demonstrations and aroused international condemnation, particularly from Anwar's many friends in foreign governments. One of the region's most stable and prosperous nations is suddenly in an uproar. It appears that as in Indonesia, Thailand, Japan and South Korea, the pressures of economic collapse have spawned a political crisis. In all those nations, the result was a change in leadership. The question now is: Is Mahathir next? The answer is far from clear. Unlike in Indonesia, there has been little evidence of a simmering discontent in Malaysia. The ouster of former President Suharto in Indonesia had been predicted by many people. Almost no one seems to have foreseen the eruption here. Malaysia is not familiar with political demonstrations. Unlike Indonesians, Malaysians rarely riot. Many people here were puzzled and disturbed when they encountered water cannon and the riot police on the streets in recent weeks. ``What we're seeing is unprecedented,'' said Ambassador John Malott of the United States. ``This has never happened in Malaysia, and nobody knows where it's going to go. You can write a lot of scenarios but we are in totally uncharted waters.'' Mahathir, the confident nation-builder, seems to be flailing as he watches his legacy crumble. An economy that had been growing at more than 8 percent a year for the last decade is now headed for a contraction of perhaps 6 percent. Angry and frustrated, he closed Malaysia off from international financial markets one month ago, turning his back on the foreign investors whom he once embraced and who had fueled the country's rapid growth. The move had the intended effect of bringing home the Malaysian currency, insulating it from the speculators Mahathir blames for the crisis, and giving an adrenaline jolt to the now self-contained economy. It is a move that seems in tune with a recent round of questioning of the economic orthodoxy of the International Monetary Fund. But few foreign economists expect it to work for long. ``Mahathir is attacking the fundamental beliefs of the free market, of capitalism, of Wall Street,'' a foreign diplomat said. ``We are either watching economic theory being rewritten or reconfirmed _ and I don't think it's being rewritten.'' The day after making his economic gamble, Mahathir set off the most severe political crisis of his tenure, dismissing Anwar, the man he had been grooming to be his successor. Two weeks later, Anwar was arrested at his home and held incommunicado for 10 days, during which he says he was beaten by his jailers. Last week he was charged with 10 counts of corruption and sexual misconduct that could result in a prison term of up to 34 years. The harshness of those moves unleashed a surge of largely unsuspected discontent that mobilized Anwar's motley fellow constituencies: liberal democrats, young professionals and politically assertive Muslims. For the first time in decades, Malaysians by the thousands demonstrated in the streets and in mosques and were met with tear gas and water cannon. Many people were beaten and hundreds were detained, although most were later released. With the emergence of this still-tentative opposition movement, the fear expressed by one Western diplomat is of a ``downward spiral'' in which ``suppression breeds more discontent breeds more suppression breeds more discontent.'' People here whisper that Mahathir's days may now be numbered. But few venture a guess at what the number might be. Given his control of the levers of power and the lack of focus or leadership in the opposition, Mahathir could ride out the storm as Anwar's trial proceeds. But he has struck a harsh blow to the morale of his own nation, to the sense of confidence he had worked so hard to build under the slogan ``Malaysia Can!'' In this generally decorous nation, the depth of anger expressed by two men who once called each other father and son is disturbing to hear. Anwar, says the prime minister, is ``despicable'' and ``a sodomist.'' Mahathir, says his former deputy, is ``senile'' and ``insane.'' Malaysians, who have stolidly accepted Mahathir's authoritarian rule with a mixture of gratitude and emerging pride, seem stunned.",
"Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Friday he is not too choosy about who will be his successor. The man need not necessarily be very religious and only preoccupied with doing virtuous deeds at all times, the national news agency, Bernama, quoted Mahathir as saying after Friday prayers at the Al-Falah Mosque in the northern town of Jitra in Kedah state. ``It is sufficient that the person does things acceptable by the people,'' Mahathir said. So far Mahathir, 72, has designated three heirs-apparent during his 17-year rule. One resigned. Another challenged Mahathir for leadership of the ruling party, and lost. On Sept. 2, he fired the last one, Anwar Ibrahim, calling him morally unfit for office. Anwar mounted a nationwide campaign against the prime minister before being detained as a national security risk and charged with illegal homosexual acts and corruption in connection with those allegations. Mahathir told reporters later that Anwar had been working toward toppling him as prime minister and president of the governing coalition's dominant party, the United Malays National Organization. ``He appeared very good to me but he was actually planning ways of bringing me down. At first, I did not believe when people told me about this, but I now know this to be true,'' said Mahathir. Mahathir said Anwar had arranged for his supporters to contest for and gain control of the UMNO divisions so that he could win the party's top post in next year's party elections.",
"Bruises on the face of jailed dissident Anwar Ibrahim, splashed on newspaper front pages for two days and downloaded from the Internet, are blemishing the image of Malaysian police. After first suggesting that the former deputy prime minister had beaten himself on the face, neck and arms during 10 days in police custody, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad called for an investigation of the wounds Anwar displayed in court Tuesday and Wednesday. ``We can't accept this and we will undertake full investigations,'' Mahathir was quoted as saying in Thursday's New Straits Times. ``The police cannot harm their detainees in the course of their interrogation.'' Mahathir fired Anwar on Sept. 2 from his posts as deputy prime minister and finance minister, saying he was morally unfit for office. The two had differed over economic policy as the country veered into recession and Anwar has said the 72-year-old Mahathir feared him as an alternative leader. Local newspapers that are normally pro-Mahathir have splashed close-up photos of Anwar's badly bruised face for two days. People are peering at the pictures, downloading copies from the Internet, discussing whether Mahathir, who also oversees the police as home affairs minister, knew what was happening to the man he had once groomed as his successor. It was not the first time that a Malaysian has said he was tortured or mistreated in police custody. But there has been no one as high-profile as Anwar. ``What I experienced was chicken feed compared to Anwar,'' Syed Husin Ali, head of the opposition Malaysian People's Party, said Thursday. In a book about his six-month detention under the same law that kept Anwar away from family and lawyers for 10 days, Syed described being hit and deprived of sleep. ``At least I didn't have bruises on my face, although I was slapped and hit on the stomach,'' Syed told The Associated Press. Anwar's bruises raise ``alarming questions about the state of governance in the country,'' said Lim Kit Siang, leader of the opposition Democratic Action Party. If Mahathir did not know of the alleged beatings, it suggests the police acted on their own. At a series of rallies before his arrest, Anwar led throngs in chanting for Mahathir's resignation and a more open, less corrupt government. His arrest Sept. 20 was followed by street protests and hundreds of additional arrests. Before his arrest, Anwar designated his wife, Azizah Ismail, as the leader of his new ``reform'' movement. But police have banned her from speaking publicly. On Thursday she was summoned for the third time to police headquarters for questioning about an interview with regional television network CNBC Asia. She had expressed fears that her husband would be injected with the HIV virus to prove allegations of homosexuality, and police are investigating possible charges of sedition against her. She called the repeated interviews ``pressure and harassment.'' Three Malaysian police officers traveled to Singapore Thursday to ask CNBC news anchors how they had arranged to get the Sept. 21 interview with Azizah and one with Anwar on Sept. 3. CNBC refused to answer questions about its news gathering, said vice president of news programming Chris Blackman. Anwar, who pleaded innocent this week to five charges of sodomy and five of corruption, told the court that police beat him the night he was arrested, ``until blood seeped down my nose,'' leaving him half-conscious. His allegations, accompanied by pictorial evidence, brought prompt expressions of disapproval, from the U.S. State Department, the Australian government, Amnesty International, and the finance ministers of other countries who used to meet with Anwar at international conferences. On Thursday, the Indonesian government, where security forces have been accused for years of mistreating prisoners, said it regretted the reports about Anwar's injuries and that the allegations have placed in doubt a visit to Malaysia by President B.J. Habibie.",
"Lawyers for the prime minister's former deputy, now his most prominent opponent, went to court Thursday to demand their client's release from indefinite detention. Azizah Ismail, the wife of jailed politician Anwar Ibrahim, told reporters that the lawyers had filed a habeas corpus appeal that says the dissident politician is being unjustly held. She said authorities have denied lawyers access to her husband, and asked: ``How are they going to prepare for his defense?'' Anwar, 51, was arrested Sept. 20 under the Internal Security Act, which allows indefinite detention without trial, after two weeks of rallies around Malaysia at which he called for government reform and Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's resignation. Anwar was sacked on Sept. 2 from his posts as deputy prime minister and finance minister, after he had differed with Mahathir on policy for escaping economic recession. But the prime minister said the deputy was fired because he was morally unfit. Anwar said Mahathir viewed him as a threat. Anwar since has been charged with corruption and illegal homosexual acts, and is to go on trial Nov. 2. He has pleaded innocent to all the charges, which he says were trumped up by his political enemies. ``We claim that his detention is illegal and we'll prove that in court,'' said one of Anwar's lawyers, Pawancheek Marican. He said the lawyers had asked the High Court for an early hearing on the request for Anwar's release. When Anwar appeared in court Monday, the judge had assured defense attorneys that they would have access to their client so that they could prepare their arguments for the trial. Azizah said authorities have spurned all her requests for family members to visit her husband on grounds that Anwar's case was still under police investigation. ``I pleaded with the police to allow the children to see their father,'' she told reporters at the courthouse. ``I told them that I don't have to see my husband. But please let my son go and see him. But the police said no.'' Although Anwar remains in custody at the Bukit Aman federal police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, all but five of those arrested under the ISA for participating in activities and rallies organized by Anwar have been released. Sidek Baba, deputy rector of the International Islamic University, was released Wednesday after 16 days in jail. ``I may have been detained because I knew Anwar during my involvement with the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement,'' Sidek was quoted as saying by The Star daily. Despite the recent protests against him, Prime Minister Mahathir said Wednesday that support for his ruling party remains strong and there have been no defections from the party, which claims a membership of 2.4 million in a nation of 22 million. He ruled out an early election to prove his popularity. A general election is not scheduled until 2000. Support ``is solid,'' said Mahathir. ``There is no exodus from the party.'' This week, Mahathir declined to name a replacement for Anwar, who had been Malaysia's deputy prime minister since 1993. The absence of a successor could lead to a power struggle in the event Mahathir is forced to resign or dies, because there is no clear line of succession. Mahathir, 72, underwent heart bypass surgery in 1989.",
"The leaders of Malaysia's ruling party met Tuesday to discuss a replacement for ousted deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, who faces trial next month in a case that will test the country's legal system. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 72, said last week he could ``drop dead'' at any time. But because of the large number of candidates for the deputy's job within the ruling United Malays National Organization, a decision was not expected quickly. The party leaders, who have been conducting a national campaign to explain to Malaysians why the popular Anwar was fired Sept. 2, will also confer on what to do now that the High Court judge has banned all comments on Anwar's guilt or innocence. The ruling coalition had scheduled a giant rally in the capital Saturday, aimed at drawing in the youth to whom Anwar's campaign of reform has the most appeal. Mahathir, who had heart bypass surgery in 1989, had groomed Anwar, 51, as his successor. But he fired his protege from his posts as deputy prime minister and finance minister on grounds he was morally unfit to lead. The two had differed over economic policy and Anwar has said Mahathir feared he was a threat to his 17-year rule. Anwar was also dumped from the ruling party, and after two weeks of nationwide rallies at which he called for government reform and Mahathir's resignation, he was arrested under a law that allows police to hold him indefinitely, and prevent him from seeing his family and lawyers. On Tuesday, Mahathir denounced demonstrators who had flocked by the thousands to the streets of downtown Kuala Lumpur in recent weeks, calling them part of a plot to topple the government. Baton-wielding riot police had dispersed the crowds with tear gas and water cannons, arresting more than 100 people. ``They decided that the government should be brought down through demonstrations, riots,'' the Bernama news agency quoted Mahathir as saying in Sarawak state on Borneo Island. He was expected to return to Kuala Lumpur later Tuesday to chair the UMNO meeting. After Anwar appeared in court with a black eye, bruised face, neck and arms, his case drew international attention, particularly from the presidents of the Philippines and Indonesia, who have raised the possibility they might not attend an 18-nation summit in Malaysia next month. The United States would downgrade President Bill Clinton's visit to Kuala Lumpur next month if Anwar continued to be mistreated, the Wall Street Journal quoted an official in Washington as saying. Clinton is scheduled to go to Malaysia for the meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. Wearing a neck brace Monday after a court-ordered hospital checkup, Anwar was ordered to stand trial Nov. 2 on four charges of abusing his powers to interfere with a police investigation. His trial is to halt on Nov. 14 and resume after the APEC meetings. He has pleaded innocent to all charges, including another corruption count and five charges of sodomy. He faces 14 years in prison and a fine on each corruption count and 20 years, plus whipping, on each sexual charge, if convicted. Anwar was arrested Sept. 20 under the Internal Security Act, which allows jail without trial. Under the same law, police also arrested 17 people considered Anwar associates and a risk to national security. As of Tuesday, 12 had been released. The UMNO supreme council was expected to prepare a list of top candidates for Anwar's job for Mahathir's final decision. The Star newspaper, which is close to the government, listed the favorites as Foreign Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Education Minister Najib Tun Razak. Other top contenders included Mahathir's confidant Daim Zainuddin, a former finance minister brought back into the Cabinet in June as ``special functions minister'' in charge of economic recovery. Rafidah Aziz, the international trade and industry minister, and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, a former finance minister, were also in the running.",
"BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union on Friday expressed its ``deep concern'' over reports of physical abuse of Malaysia's former deputy-prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, who was arrested last month. ``The EU urges the Malaysian authorities to ensure that similar incidents will not occur again in the future and that Anwar Ibrahim be assured correct treatment while in custody,'' a statement by the 15 EU countries said. The EU ``hopes that appropriate action will be taken against any individuals, including officials, found responsible for such mistreatment,'' the statement added. On Sept. 2, Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad fired Anwar, calling him morally unfit for office. Mahathir and Anwar had differed over economic policy and Anwar says Mahathir feared him as an alternative leader. Anwar mounted a nationwide campaign against the prime minister before being detained as a national security risk and charged with illegal homosexual acts and corruption in connection with those allegations. Earlier this week, Anwar appeared in court with a black eye and bruises on his neck and arms. He told the magistrate's courts he was beaten by police on Sept. 20, the night of his arrest. Faced with mounting public criticism, Mahathir called Thursday for a probe by the attorney general of the alleged mistreatment of Anwar. The EU statement welcomed the opening of this investigation. It also welcomed the release of seven youth leaders, including Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the head of the youth wing of the ruling United Malays National Organization and a former ally of Anwar, who were arrested last week in connection with demonstrations in favor of the ousted deputy-premier. ``The EU expresses hope that the other political demonstrators still detained under the Internal Security Act will also be released soon,'' the statement said. The former deputy-premier, who was also finance minister, pleaded innocent this week to charges of sodomy and corruption. A number of Anwar's associates are still detained.",
"The arrest of former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim won't lead to massive social unrest or frighten away investors, Malaysia's trade minister said Thursday. Anwar was fired by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Sept. 2 after the two differed on economic policy. He then began speaking out against Mahathir and was arrested Sept. 20. ``Frankly speaking there is no reason to say that just because one man was arrested for something ... that it should bring any unrest,'' trade minister Rafidah Aziz said. ``Leaders come and go. ... They even get sacked in all countries of the world. They even die,'' she told a news conference in Manila, where she attended a meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations economic ministers. Rafidah said there have only been a few demonstrations in Malaysia over Anwar's arrest, all of them ``orchestrated.'' In recent visits to Chicago, New York, Houston and Boston, she said potential investors asked her about Anwar's arrest but were still interested in investing in Malaysia. Anwar said police beat him in custody. In recent appearances in court, where he is facing charges of corruption and illegal homosexual acts, he was seen with a black eye and a neck brace. At least two ASEAN leaders, Philippine President Joseph Estrada and Indonesian President B.J. Habibie, have spoken out against Anwar's treatment. The Philippine leader said he was considering skipping a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders in Malaysia in November to protest the arrest of Anwar, whom he described as a personal friend. He later said he would attend the summit and had only made the earlier remarks out of sympathy toward Anwar. The Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia are founding member countries of ASEAN, which also includes Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.",
"Indonesian President B.J. Habibie finds attending a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders ``difficult'' because of his concerns about the arrest of Malaysia's former deputy prime minister, a Thai newspaper reported Sunday. Asia-Pacific leaders are scheduled to meet next month in Malaysia for an annual economics meeting. Last week, Philippine President Joseph Estrada said he was considering not going to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum because of Anwar Ibrahim's arrest. ``I'm very concerned over how my friend Anwar Ibrahim has been treated,'' Habibie was quoted as saying by the English-language newspaper The Nation. ``I'm concerned because people should not forget that Anwar Ibrahim had contributed a lot for the benefit of his country.'' Anwar is a charismatic politician who was once picked to be the successor to Malaysia's long-serving Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. But he was suddenly fired by Mahathir on Sept. 2 after the two differed on economic policy. He then began speaking out against Mahathir and was arrested Sept. 20. Anwar has been accused of engaging in homosexual acts illegal under Malaysia law, but the charges are generally seen as a pretext for his political persecution. In a court appearance last week, Anwar's face was bruised and he said he had been beaten by police, heightening international attention to his case. ``Because of human rights involved _ and I think it is universal _ people should be given the chance to defend themselves,'' Habibie was quoted as saying in the interview conducted Saturday. ``People should not be tortured.'' Habibie said Anwar's dismissal should not have been based ``on things which had not been proven.'' On attending the APEC meeting, he said, ``It's difficult for me.'' But he said he would consult parliament, adding, ``I'm not coming personally but as the president of 211 million people of Indonesia.'' Like Estrada, Habibie served as his country's vice president when Anwar was deputy prime minister, making them counterparts on the international affairs circuit."
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"Deprived of a voice in state-controlled newspapers and television, supporters of Malaysia's jailed opposition leader have turned to the Internet to air their views. Although the government said police would ``check every bit of information and leaflet'' posted on the Internet, Malaysia's sole Internet provider acknowledged Friday the medium is ``impossible to control.'' Jailed, beaten and facing trial on 10 sexual misconduct and corruption charges, ousted Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is a political underdog in Malaysia. In the realm of cyberspace, though, he's top dog. Within hours of Anwar's recent speech accusing Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of cruelty and insanity, dozens of boot-legged recordings had been posted onto new websites hatched by supporters. Among the hottest images now making the Internet rounds are several news-photo versions of Anwar's badly bruised eye, which he claims was inflicted by police during his first night of detention. Most pro-Anwar sites also contain his speeches, private letters to Mahathir, clippings of foreign news reports and prose scorching the 72-year old prime minister. Most of the Internet content about Anwar is false or unverifiable, but the medium is tough to rein in, said Azzman Shariffadeen, head of Mimos, the company that set up Malaysia's Internet infrastructure. ``No website has been blocked or censored by the government,'' he said. Shortly after Anwar's arrest, one of the former leader's aides bragged that they had set up dozens of sites offshore, beyond the reach of the Malaysian government. Malaysian journalist M.G.G. Pillai, who runs a popular website on local politics, isn't surprised by the aggressive march toward cyberspace. ``When you're in the opposition and you have no access to resources and media, then you end up making use of what's available to air your grouses,'' he said, noting that membership on his site has soared by 40 percent since Anwar's ouster. The cyber explosion is a boon to most middle-class Malaysians, who are leery of local media. ``I've finally given up reading local newspapers. They're so skewed,'' said Michael Chan, a lawyer who upgraded his computer with a high-speed modem the day after Anwar was arrested on Sept. 20. Chan uses the modem to download pictures of balaclava-clad police in bulletproof jackets busting down Anwar's front door before bundling him off to jail. Occasionally, he receives e-mail calling for organized rallies at the National Mosque and nearby Independence Square, where hundreds of protesters have been arrested by police. The advertised demonstrations don't always materialize. Other e-mails call for ``silent protests.'' Malaysians are being urged on the Internet now to switch off all lights for 10 minutes on Oct. 6 to declare their ``state of sorrow, sadness and darkness'' over national injustice.",
"A key witness in the government's sexual misconduct case against Malaysia's former deputy prime minister remains determined to appeal his conviction, his attorney said Monday. Munawar Ahmad Aness, a friend and speech writer of Anwar Ibrahim, pleaded guilty to the charges last month, allegedly confessing to having sex with the political dissident. Anwar has said the guilty plea was coerced. Aness, a Pakistani with permanent residence in the United States, was sentenced to six months in jail. In a move that could deal a major setback to the case against Anwar, Aness then filed a letter of appeal through his lawyers. Another letter then appeared, saying Aness would not go through with the appeal. His lawyers say the second letter was a fraud. ``His instructions are he wants us to proceed with the appeal. There is no change,'' said Balwant Singh, one of two lawyers defending Aness, after a meeting with Aness. One of the major charges against Anwar hinges on Aness' confession. Singh spoke to reporters after attending court proceedings Monday where Anwar's trial was fixed for Nov. 2 on corruption charges. He said he went to a hospital to meet Aness when the court broke for lunch. Aness was jailed on Sept. 15 but moved soon after to a hospital where he has been under treatment for heart problems. ``He has given us the written retainer. He signed a notice of appeal. We have instructions to proceed and we are proceeding,'' said Singh, adding he filed the letter of appeal in court Sept. 29. Between the visits with his client, however, Aness signed another letter saying he would not proceed with the appeal, Singh said. That led to confusion whether Aness really wanted an appeal. ``Somebody approached him and asked him to sign a typewritten letter,'' said Singh. ``He was asked to sign it and he did.''",
"Among Asia's leaders, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was notable as a man with a bold vision: a physical and social transformation that would push this nation into the forefront of world affairs. It almost came true. In 17 years as prime minister, Mahathir, 72, who is a medical doctor, fostered an economic liberalization that led to some of the world's fastest rates of growth. He drove Malaysians to be more productive, to embrace high technology and to begin major investments around the world. He created a national affirmative-action program that allowed the country's ethnic Chinese, Malays and Indians to share in improved living standards and a new sense of Malaysian identity and pride. This year was to have been Mahathir's year of triumph, perhaps paving the way for his retirement, with the inauguration of huge public works projects and impressive gatherings of foreign leaders and sportsmen. But today, in a dizzying turnaround, Malaysia is on Asia's critical list, its economy teetering on the edge of disaster and its stability shaken by what seems to have been an entirely avoidable political cat fight. Last month, Mahathir dismissed and arrested his deputy and heir apparent, Anwar Ibrahim, 51, accusing him of corruption and illegal sex acts. The move set off street demonstrations and aroused international condemnation, particularly from Anwar's many friends in foreign governments. One of the region's most stable and prosperous nations is suddenly in an uproar. It appears that as in Indonesia, Thailand, Japan and South Korea, the pressures of economic collapse have spawned a political crisis. In all those nations, the result was a change in leadership. The question now is: Is Mahathir next? The answer is far from clear. Unlike in Indonesia, there has been little evidence of a simmering discontent in Malaysia. The ouster of former President Suharto in Indonesia had been predicted by many people. Almost no one seems to have foreseen the eruption here. Malaysia is not familiar with political demonstrations. Unlike Indonesians, Malaysians rarely riot. Many people here were puzzled and disturbed when they encountered water cannon and the riot police on the streets in recent weeks. ``What we're seeing is unprecedented,'' said Ambassador John Malott of the United States. ``This has never happened in Malaysia, and nobody knows where it's going to go. You can write a lot of scenarios but we are in totally uncharted waters.'' Mahathir, the confident nation-builder, seems to be flailing as he watches his legacy crumble. An economy that had been growing at more than 8 percent a year for the last decade is now headed for a contraction of perhaps 6 percent. Angry and frustrated, he closed Malaysia off from international financial markets one month ago, turning his back on the foreign investors whom he once embraced and who had fueled the country's rapid growth. The move had the intended effect of bringing home the Malaysian currency, insulating it from the speculators Mahathir blames for the crisis, and giving an adrenaline jolt to the now self-contained economy. It is a move that seems in tune with a recent round of questioning of the economic orthodoxy of the International Monetary Fund. But few foreign economists expect it to work for long. ``Mahathir is attacking the fundamental beliefs of the free market, of capitalism, of Wall Street,'' a foreign diplomat said. ``We are either watching economic theory being rewritten or reconfirmed _ and I don't think it's being rewritten.'' The day after making his economic gamble, Mahathir set off the most severe political crisis of his tenure, dismissing Anwar, the man he had been grooming to be his successor. Two weeks later, Anwar was arrested at his home and held incommunicado for 10 days, during which he says he was beaten by his jailers. Last week he was charged with 10 counts of corruption and sexual misconduct that could result in a prison term of up to 34 years. The harshness of those moves unleashed a surge of largely unsuspected discontent that mobilized Anwar's motley fellow constituencies: liberal democrats, young professionals and politically assertive Muslims. For the first time in decades, Malaysians by the thousands demonstrated in the streets and in mosques and were met with tear gas and water cannon. Many people were beaten and hundreds were detained, although most were later released. With the emergence of this still-tentative opposition movement, the fear expressed by one Western diplomat is of a ``downward spiral'' in which ``suppression breeds more discontent breeds more suppression breeds more discontent.'' People here whisper that Mahathir's days may now be numbered. But few venture a guess at what the number might be. Given his control of the levers of power and the lack of focus or leadership in the opposition, Mahathir could ride out the storm as Anwar's trial proceeds. But he has struck a harsh blow to the morale of his own nation, to the sense of confidence he had worked so hard to build under the slogan ``Malaysia Can!'' In this generally decorous nation, the depth of anger expressed by two men who once called each other father and son is disturbing to hear. Anwar, says the prime minister, is ``despicable'' and ``a sodomist.'' Mahathir, says his former deputy, is ``senile'' and ``insane.'' Malaysians, who have stolidly accepted Mahathir's authoritarian rule with a mixture of gratitude and emerging pride, seem stunned.",
"Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Friday he is not too choosy about who will be his successor. The man need not necessarily be very religious and only preoccupied with doing virtuous deeds at all times, the national news agency, Bernama, quoted Mahathir as saying after Friday prayers at the Al-Falah Mosque in the northern town of Jitra in Kedah state. ``It is sufficient that the person does things acceptable by the people,'' Mahathir said. So far Mahathir, 72, has designated three heirs-apparent during his 17-year rule. One resigned. Another challenged Mahathir for leadership of the ruling party, and lost. On Sept. 2, he fired the last one, Anwar Ibrahim, calling him morally unfit for office. Anwar mounted a nationwide campaign against the prime minister before being detained as a national security risk and charged with illegal homosexual acts and corruption in connection with those allegations. Mahathir told reporters later that Anwar had been working toward toppling him as prime minister and president of the governing coalition's dominant party, the United Malays National Organization. ``He appeared very good to me but he was actually planning ways of bringing me down. At first, I did not believe when people told me about this, but I now know this to be true,'' said Mahathir. Mahathir said Anwar had arranged for his supporters to contest for and gain control of the UMNO divisions so that he could win the party's top post in next year's party elections.",
"Bruises on the face of jailed dissident Anwar Ibrahim, splashed on newspaper front pages for two days and downloaded from the Internet, are blemishing the image of Malaysian police. After first suggesting that the former deputy prime minister had beaten himself on the face, neck and arms during 10 days in police custody, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad called for an investigation of the wounds Anwar displayed in court Tuesday and Wednesday. ``We can't accept this and we will undertake full investigations,'' Mahathir was quoted as saying in Thursday's New Straits Times. ``The police cannot harm their detainees in the course of their interrogation.'' Mahathir fired Anwar on Sept. 2 from his posts as deputy prime minister and finance minister, saying he was morally unfit for office. The two had differed over economic policy as the country veered into recession and Anwar has said the 72-year-old Mahathir feared him as an alternative leader. Local newspapers that are normally pro-Mahathir have splashed close-up photos of Anwar's badly bruised face for two days. People are peering at the pictures, downloading copies from the Internet, discussing whether Mahathir, who also oversees the police as home affairs minister, knew what was happening to the man he had once groomed as his successor. It was not the first time that a Malaysian has said he was tortured or mistreated in police custody. But there has been no one as high-profile as Anwar. ``What I experienced was chicken feed compared to Anwar,'' Syed Husin Ali, head of the opposition Malaysian People's Party, said Thursday. In a book about his six-month detention under the same law that kept Anwar away from family and lawyers for 10 days, Syed described being hit and deprived of sleep. ``At least I didn't have bruises on my face, although I was slapped and hit on the stomach,'' Syed told The Associated Press. Anwar's bruises raise ``alarming questions about the state of governance in the country,'' said Lim Kit Siang, leader of the opposition Democratic Action Party. If Mahathir did not know of the alleged beatings, it suggests the police acted on their own. At a series of rallies before his arrest, Anwar led throngs in chanting for Mahathir's resignation and a more open, less corrupt government. His arrest Sept. 20 was followed by street protests and hundreds of additional arrests. Before his arrest, Anwar designated his wife, Azizah Ismail, as the leader of his new ``reform'' movement. But police have banned her from speaking publicly. On Thursday she was summoned for the third time to police headquarters for questioning about an interview with regional television network CNBC Asia. She had expressed fears that her husband would be injected with the HIV virus to prove allegations of homosexuality, and police are investigating possible charges of sedition against her. She called the repeated interviews ``pressure and harassment.'' Three Malaysian police officers traveled to Singapore Thursday to ask CNBC news anchors how they had arranged to get the Sept. 21 interview with Azizah and one with Anwar on Sept. 3. CNBC refused to answer questions about its news gathering, said vice president of news programming Chris Blackman. Anwar, who pleaded innocent this week to five charges of sodomy and five of corruption, told the court that police beat him the night he was arrested, ``until blood seeped down my nose,'' leaving him half-conscious. His allegations, accompanied by pictorial evidence, brought prompt expressions of disapproval, from the U.S. State Department, the Australian government, Amnesty International, and the finance ministers of other countries who used to meet with Anwar at international conferences. On Thursday, the Indonesian government, where security forces have been accused for years of mistreating prisoners, said it regretted the reports about Anwar's injuries and that the allegations have placed in doubt a visit to Malaysia by President B.J. Habibie.",
"Lawyers for the prime minister's former deputy, now his most prominent opponent, went to court Thursday to demand their client's release from indefinite detention. Azizah Ismail, the wife of jailed politician Anwar Ibrahim, told reporters that the lawyers had filed a habeas corpus appeal that says the dissident politician is being unjustly held. She said authorities have denied lawyers access to her husband, and asked: ``How are they going to prepare for his defense?'' Anwar, 51, was arrested Sept. 20 under the Internal Security Act, which allows indefinite detention without trial, after two weeks of rallies around Malaysia at which he called for government reform and Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's resignation. Anwar was sacked on Sept. 2 from his posts as deputy prime minister and finance minister, after he had differed with Mahathir on policy for escaping economic recession. But the prime minister said the deputy was fired because he was morally unfit. Anwar said Mahathir viewed him as a threat. Anwar since has been charged with corruption and illegal homosexual acts, and is to go on trial Nov. 2. He has pleaded innocent to all the charges, which he says were trumped up by his political enemies. ``We claim that his detention is illegal and we'll prove that in court,'' said one of Anwar's lawyers, Pawancheek Marican. He said the lawyers had asked the High Court for an early hearing on the request for Anwar's release. When Anwar appeared in court Monday, the judge had assured defense attorneys that they would have access to their client so that they could prepare their arguments for the trial. Azizah said authorities have spurned all her requests for family members to visit her husband on grounds that Anwar's case was still under police investigation. ``I pleaded with the police to allow the children to see their father,'' she told reporters at the courthouse. ``I told them that I don't have to see my husband. But please let my son go and see him. But the police said no.'' Although Anwar remains in custody at the Bukit Aman federal police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, all but five of those arrested under the ISA for participating in activities and rallies organized by Anwar have been released. Sidek Baba, deputy rector of the International Islamic University, was released Wednesday after 16 days in jail. ``I may have been detained because I knew Anwar during my involvement with the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement,'' Sidek was quoted as saying by The Star daily. Despite the recent protests against him, Prime Minister Mahathir said Wednesday that support for his ruling party remains strong and there have been no defections from the party, which claims a membership of 2.4 million in a nation of 22 million. He ruled out an early election to prove his popularity. A general election is not scheduled until 2000. Support ``is solid,'' said Mahathir. ``There is no exodus from the party.'' This week, Mahathir declined to name a replacement for Anwar, who had been Malaysia's deputy prime minister since 1993. The absence of a successor could lead to a power struggle in the event Mahathir is forced to resign or dies, because there is no clear line of succession. Mahathir, 72, underwent heart bypass surgery in 1989.",
"The leaders of Malaysia's ruling party met Tuesday to discuss a replacement for ousted deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, who faces trial next month in a case that will test the country's legal system. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 72, said last week he could ``drop dead'' at any time. But because of the large number of candidates for the deputy's job within the ruling United Malays National Organization, a decision was not expected quickly. The party leaders, who have been conducting a national campaign to explain to Malaysians why the popular Anwar was fired Sept. 2, will also confer on what to do now that the High Court judge has banned all comments on Anwar's guilt or innocence. The ruling coalition had scheduled a giant rally in the capital Saturday, aimed at drawing in the youth to whom Anwar's campaign of reform has the most appeal. Mahathir, who had heart bypass surgery in 1989, had groomed Anwar, 51, as his successor. But he fired his protege from his posts as deputy prime minister and finance minister on grounds he was morally unfit to lead. The two had differed over economic policy and Anwar has said Mahathir feared he was a threat to his 17-year rule. Anwar was also dumped from the ruling party, and after two weeks of nationwide rallies at which he called for government reform and Mahathir's resignation, he was arrested under a law that allows police to hold him indefinitely, and prevent him from seeing his family and lawyers. On Tuesday, Mahathir denounced demonstrators who had flocked by the thousands to the streets of downtown Kuala Lumpur in recent weeks, calling them part of a plot to topple the government. Baton-wielding riot police had dispersed the crowds with tear gas and water cannons, arresting more than 100 people. ``They decided that the government should be brought down through demonstrations, riots,'' the Bernama news agency quoted Mahathir as saying in Sarawak state on Borneo Island. He was expected to return to Kuala Lumpur later Tuesday to chair the UMNO meeting. After Anwar appeared in court with a black eye, bruised face, neck and arms, his case drew international attention, particularly from the presidents of the Philippines and Indonesia, who have raised the possibility they might not attend an 18-nation summit in Malaysia next month. The United States would downgrade President Bill Clinton's visit to Kuala Lumpur next month if Anwar continued to be mistreated, the Wall Street Journal quoted an official in Washington as saying. Clinton is scheduled to go to Malaysia for the meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. Wearing a neck brace Monday after a court-ordered hospital checkup, Anwar was ordered to stand trial Nov. 2 on four charges of abusing his powers to interfere with a police investigation. His trial is to halt on Nov. 14 and resume after the APEC meetings. He has pleaded innocent to all charges, including another corruption count and five charges of sodomy. He faces 14 years in prison and a fine on each corruption count and 20 years, plus whipping, on each sexual charge, if convicted. Anwar was arrested Sept. 20 under the Internal Security Act, which allows jail without trial. Under the same law, police also arrested 17 people considered Anwar associates and a risk to national security. As of Tuesday, 12 had been released. The UMNO supreme council was expected to prepare a list of top candidates for Anwar's job for Mahathir's final decision. The Star newspaper, which is close to the government, listed the favorites as Foreign Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Education Minister Najib Tun Razak. Other top contenders included Mahathir's confidant Daim Zainuddin, a former finance minister brought back into the Cabinet in June as ``special functions minister'' in charge of economic recovery. Rafidah Aziz, the international trade and industry minister, and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, a former finance minister, were also in the running.",
"BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union on Friday expressed its ``deep concern'' over reports of physical abuse of Malaysia's former deputy-prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, who was arrested last month. ``The EU urges the Malaysian authorities to ensure that similar incidents will not occur again in the future and that Anwar Ibrahim be assured correct treatment while in custody,'' a statement by the 15 EU countries said. The EU ``hopes that appropriate action will be taken against any individuals, including officials, found responsible for such mistreatment,'' the statement added. On Sept. 2, Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad fired Anwar, calling him morally unfit for office. Mahathir and Anwar had differed over economic policy and Anwar says Mahathir feared him as an alternative leader. Anwar mounted a nationwide campaign against the prime minister before being detained as a national security risk and charged with illegal homosexual acts and corruption in connection with those allegations. Earlier this week, Anwar appeared in court with a black eye and bruises on his neck and arms. He told the magistrate's courts he was beaten by police on Sept. 20, the night of his arrest. Faced with mounting public criticism, Mahathir called Thursday for a probe by the attorney general of the alleged mistreatment of Anwar. The EU statement welcomed the opening of this investigation. It also welcomed the release of seven youth leaders, including Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the head of the youth wing of the ruling United Malays National Organization and a former ally of Anwar, who were arrested last week in connection with demonstrations in favor of the ousted deputy-premier. ``The EU expresses hope that the other political demonstrators still detained under the Internal Security Act will also be released soon,'' the statement said. The former deputy-premier, who was also finance minister, pleaded innocent this week to charges of sodomy and corruption. A number of Anwar's associates are still detained.",
"The arrest of former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim won't lead to massive social unrest or frighten away investors, Malaysia's trade minister said Thursday. Anwar was fired by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Sept. 2 after the two differed on economic policy. He then began speaking out against Mahathir and was arrested Sept. 20. ``Frankly speaking there is no reason to say that just because one man was arrested for something ... that it should bring any unrest,'' trade minister Rafidah Aziz said. ``Leaders come and go. ... They even get sacked in all countries of the world. They even die,'' she told a news conference in Manila, where she attended a meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations economic ministers. Rafidah said there have only been a few demonstrations in Malaysia over Anwar's arrest, all of them ``orchestrated.'' In recent visits to Chicago, New York, Houston and Boston, she said potential investors asked her about Anwar's arrest but were still interested in investing in Malaysia. Anwar said police beat him in custody. In recent appearances in court, where he is facing charges of corruption and illegal homosexual acts, he was seen with a black eye and a neck brace. At least two ASEAN leaders, Philippine President Joseph Estrada and Indonesian President B.J. Habibie, have spoken out against Anwar's treatment. The Philippine leader said he was considering skipping a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders in Malaysia in November to protest the arrest of Anwar, whom he described as a personal friend. He later said he would attend the summit and had only made the earlier remarks out of sympathy toward Anwar. The Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia are founding member countries of ASEAN, which also includes Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.",
"Indonesian President B.J. Habibie finds attending a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders ``difficult'' because of his concerns about the arrest of Malaysia's former deputy prime minister, a Thai newspaper reported Sunday. Asia-Pacific leaders are scheduled to meet next month in Malaysia for an annual economics meeting. Last week, Philippine President Joseph Estrada said he was considering not going to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum because of Anwar Ibrahim's arrest. ``I'm very concerned over how my friend Anwar Ibrahim has been treated,'' Habibie was quoted as saying by the English-language newspaper The Nation. ``I'm concerned because people should not forget that Anwar Ibrahim had contributed a lot for the benefit of his country.'' Anwar is a charismatic politician who was once picked to be the successor to Malaysia's long-serving Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. But he was suddenly fired by Mahathir on Sept. 2 after the two differed on economic policy. He then began speaking out against Mahathir and was arrested Sept. 20. Anwar has been accused of engaging in homosexual acts illegal under Malaysia law, but the charges are generally seen as a pretext for his political persecution. In a court appearance last week, Anwar's face was bruised and he said he had been beaten by police, heightening international attention to his case. ``Because of human rights involved _ and I think it is universal _ people should be given the chance to defend themselves,'' Habibie was quoted as saying in the interview conducted Saturday. ``People should not be tortured.'' Habibie said Anwar's dismissal should not have been based ``on things which had not been proven.'' On attending the APEC meeting, he said, ``It's difficult for me.'' But he said he would consult parliament, adding, ``I'm not coming personally but as the president of 211 million people of Indonesia.'' Like Estrada, Habibie served as his country's vice president when Anwar was deputy prime minister, making them counterparts on the international affairs circuit."
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Power in Lebanon is shared equally by a Maronite Christian president, a Sunni Muslim prime minister, and a Shiite Parliament speaker, an arrangement made to prevent a recurrence of the 1975-90 civil war. Syria, with 30,000 troops in Lebanon is the main power broker there. The Lebanese parliament amended the constitution to permit popular army general Emile Lahoud to become president. Prime minister Rafik Hariri, the architect of Lebanon's postwar reconstruction, expected to get a fourth term but a conflict with the new president led him to bow out as premier. Lebanon's economic stability has been threatened by the conflict. Army Commander and Maronite Catholic Emile Lahoud was named Lebanon's president for the next 6 years, chosen by outgoing President Hrawi and Syria's Hafez Assad. Traditionally the president is a Maronite, the PM a Sunni, and Speaker of Parliament a Shiite. Election by Parliament is a formality. The constitution was amended to permit senior public servants to be president. Lahoud rebuilt the army and ended militia reign. Walid Jumblatt opposed a military president, fearing a return of surveillance on civilians. PM Rafik Hariri, a businessman who rebuilt the country and economy, refused his delayed re-appointment by Lahoud, who vowed to fight corruption. Lebanon's leadership changed in Nov 1998. Army commander Emile Lahoud was elected to a 6-year term as President by the Parliament and took office on Nov 24. He had the backing of Syrian President Assad, the powerbroker in Lebanon, and a special constitutional amendment in Oct cleared his way. He did not immediately ask Prime Minister Rafik Hariri to form a new government. Hariri, the nation's top businessman, had served three terms and rebuilt the nation, but some accused him of corruption. His support in the Parliament had also slipped, but many believed Lahoud was trying to assert his authority. When finally asked to form a government, Hariri refused. Lebanon's Parliament voted the country's top military man, Gen. Emile Lahoud, president. Lahoud, who promises to clean up a graft-riddled government, is popular and is backed by powerful Syria. It is unclear, though, whether Prime Minister Hariri, in office since 1992 and credited with the country's economic recovery, will continue to head the cabinet. 31 of 128 legislators chose not to support him, leaving it to the president to name the next prime minister. Consequently, Hariri withdrew his candidacy, claiming the president acted unconstitutionally when he accepted the mandate to name a prime minister. Hariri's administration was plagued by nepotism.
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"Parliament on Thursday formally elected Gen. Emile Lahoud, the popular army commander who has the backing of powerful neighbor Syria, as Lebanon's next president. All the 118 legislators present at the session cast votes in his favor. Lahoud is to be sworn for a six-year term on Nov. 24, the day President Elias Hrawi leaves office.",
"Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's efforts to win a fourth term in office have hit a snag after he failed to receive the expected speedy appointment from new President Emile Lahoud. Hariri is still the front-runner to form the next government but Saturday's Daily Star newspaper quoted sources as saying that Hariri was ``outraged'' that only 62 of the 128 members in Parliament declared their support for him during a meeting with Lahoud Friday. According to the constitution, a president must begin his term by appointing the prime minister and a Cabinet through a decree issued after consulting with Parliament members. A presidential decree was expected Friday but nothing came through after a meeting between Lahoud and Hariri. Hariri had even scheduled Friday a traditional meeting between the prime minister-designate and former prime ministers, but that was canceled. The state-run National News Agency said that while only 62 deputies told Lahoud they supported Hariri, the rest refused to divulge their choice or left it to the president to decide. A TV station owned by Hariri said he won the backing of at least 100 deputies. The delay reflects the tug-of-war among the power brokers in the country. Under a formula aimed at preventing the recurrence of the 1975-90 civil war, power in Lebanon is shared equally by a Maronite Christian president, a Sunni Muslim prime minister and a Shiite Parliament speaker. While the Christian Lahoud may have no objection to appointing the Sunni Hariri, it is possible that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's 19 Shiite supporters in the legislature are holding out to emphasize their value. The leading An-Nahar and other newspapers said the delay could last for days. But in the end, it is Hariri that is most likely to be renamed on the strength of his record in office. Hariri, Lebanon's top businessman, has almost single-handedly created a multibillion dollar program to rebuild a country destroyed by the civil war. He is also credited with stabilizing the currency and restoring confidence in the postwar economy. But his government under former president Elias Hrawi were dogged by accusations of corruption. Hariri, who has been prime minister since 1992, was appointed three times during the extended term of former President Elias Hrawi. He has remained in office as caretaker prime minister since Lahoud succeeded Hrawi on Tuesday. Lahoud, a general who as army commander rebuilt the military from 1989 until his election by Parliament in October, has pledged in his inauguration speech Tuesday to clean up the corruption-plagued administration.",
"Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the business tycoon who launched Lebanon's multibillion dollar reconstruction from the devastation of civil war, said Monday he was bowing out as premier following a dispute with the new president. He accused President Emile Lahoud of violating the constitution and demanded that he acknowledge it before he could reconsider his position. Hariri's move could be a ploy to gain more power as a new government is formed, but the crisis atmosphere generated by the possible departure of the billionaire businessman could affect Lebanon's economic recovery. ``I'm not a candidate,'' Hariri said in a live interview with CNN. He demanded that Lahoud admit that he acted unconstitutionally by allowing 31 Parliament deputies to authorize him to name a prime minister instead of naming one themselves. Such an action ``might put the country in danger,'' Hariri warned. Asked if there was a risk of renewed conflict in Lebanon over the alleged tampering with the constitution, Hariri said: ``If the president continues with this, I don't know what will happen.'' But the dispute between the two leaders appears to be over who will have the upper hand in governing the nation of 3.2 million. Lahoud, 62, is an army commander who wants to assert his authority at the start of his six-year presidential term. Hariri, 53, virtually has had a free hand in running the country since he became premier six years ago under former President Elias Hrawi. A brief meeting on Monday between the two did not help resolve the disagreements. Hariri's Cabinet has been serving in a caretaker capacity since Lahoud's inauguration last Tuesday. Lahoud on Monday set the stage for choosing a new prime minister when he scheduled a fresh round of consultations with Parliament for Tuesday and Wednesday. In a statement, Lahoud said Hariri was asked but declined to form the next government after a previous round of consultations. The offer came after the 128 legislators polled by the president gave Hariri a majority but fell short of the near unanimous backing he had received in his previous three mandates since 1992. Hariri is credited with restoring economic confidence and stabilizing the national currency. His globe-trotting travels to drum up political and economic support were sometimes instrumental in drawing international financial aid and investment. But he was faulted for declining living standards at home and a rise in corruption in government. Lahoud pledged in a tough inauguration speech to clean up the graft-riddled administration. The general enjoys widespread popular backing after succeeding in rebuilding an army fractured by civil war. Central bank officials on Monday tried to calm fears about a run on the Lebanese pound by announcing that the bank was ready to intervene with its foreign currency reserves if necessary, the state-run National News Agency reported. It added that the money markets remained stable.",
"A Cabinet minister and a close Syria ally on Wednesday criticized the Syrian-backed choice of the army commander as president, and said he will boycott a vote to elect the military man for the executive post. Walid Jumblatt, the minister for displaced persons, said he and his party's three legislators will not vote when the 128-member Parliament elects the president, likely sometime before Oct. 23. Although a boycott by Jumblatt's Progressive Socialist Party will hardly spoil the chances of Gen. Emile Lahoud, it could embolden others to express discontent at the choice and the process of his election. Lahoud is virtually assured of the job: the prime minister and the parliament speaker first approved Lahoud, who then won the all-important backing of Syria, the main power broker in Lebanon. ``Historically, we do not approve that a military man takes control of the country,'' Jumblatt told reporters after a meeting with outgoing President Elias Hrawi. Although opposition to Syria's hold on Lebanon's politics is common among anti-Syrian politicians, it is rare for somebody like Jumblatt to openly speak against a decision personally cleared by Syrian President Hafez Assad who keeps 30,000 troops in Lebanon. Like Jumblatt, some in Lebanon fear that a military man as president could mean intelligence agents will track civilian life just as they did between 1958 and 1964 during the presidency of Fouad Chehab, the only other army commander to become head of state. In nominating Lahoud, ``rules were not respected,'' Jumblatt said. ``Things were supposed to run in a more democratic way,'' said Jumblatt, whose Druse militia fought Christian forces during the 1975-90 civil war. The new president must be sworn in on Nov. 24, the day Hrawi leaves office after a six-year term. Jumblatt said ``there is adequate political diversity and competition in the country,'' implying that choosing a military man for president was unnecessary. Deputy Prime Minister Michel Murr sought to calm fears about military intrusion. He told reporters that Lahoud will ``keep the army out of politics just as he kept politics out of the army.'' Lahoud, a 62-year-old naval officer, enjoys wide public and political support at home and has good relations with Syria. He gained public admiration for reuniting an army fractured by civil war and in ending the reign of militias. Many hope he will cleanse the government of nepotism and wastage of public funds. Lahoud's nomination complies with a tradition that the president be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and Parliament speaker a Shiite Muslim. The government is run by the joint efforts of the three officials. Jumblatt said his party will also boycott a Parliamentary session to amend the Constitution so that senior public servants can run for president. Criticism of the nomination process also came from a meeting of Catholic bishops on Wednesday. Nevertheless, the bishops welcomed the choice of Lahoud, a fellow Catholic, a statement said.",
"The commander of Lebanon's army will become the country's next president after winning the crucial backing of Syria, the powerbroker in Lebanon. ``Congratulations, your excellency the general,'' Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri told army commander Emile Lahoud in a telephone conversation Monday that was headlined on the front-page of the leftist newspaper As-Safir. Lebanese media said the matter was settled Monday at a meeting in Damascus between outgoing President Elias Hrawi and Syrian President Hafez Assad, whose country dominates its weaker, smaller neighbor. Agriculture Minister Shawki Fakhoury, a Hrawi confidant, said Tuesday that Lahoud is expected to be elected by the 128-member Parliament at an extraordinary session on Oct. 15. The election is a formality since other candidates have little chance now that Syria has thrown its weight behind Gen. Lahoud. In another formality before the election, the Parliament will amend the constitution, which forbids senior public servants from running for president. The new president must be sworn in on Nov. 24, the day Hrawi leaves office at the end of his six-year term. The choice of Lahoud, a Maronite Catholic, will continue a 55-year-old tradition under which the president is a Maronite, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the Parliament speaker a Shiite Muslim. Agreement among the three officials is essential for the smooth running of the government. Since Lahoud has a good relationship with Hariri and Speaker Nabih Berri, little change was expected in government policy. Lahoud's nomination ends weeks of suspense over the identity of the next head of state. Lahoud, a 62-year-old naval officer trained in Britain and the United States, enjoys wide public and political support at home and has good relations with Syria. But the choice could not have been sealed before a final say from Assad, who keeps 30,000 troops in this country. His word is referred to in the Beirut media as ``the password.'' Lahoud, elevated from rear admiral to general and appointed army commander in 1988 amid a rebellion in the fractured military during the 1975-90 civil war, is credited with rebuilding the 55,000-strong Lebanese army and in ending the reign of militias. In Lebanon, the army commander heads the air force, navy and the ground forces. Many hope he will copy his success with the military in government, which is plagued by nepotism and waste of public funds. But some fear that a military man in the nation's highest office could mean a return to the use of intelligence services to track civilian life _ the case under Fouad Chehab, the only other army commander to become president, who ruled from 1958 to 1964. ``The election of a military man is a threat to democracy in Lebanon,'' Raymond Edde, a Christian politician living in self-imposed exile in France, told the An-Nahar newspaper.",
"Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has declined an informal invitation from Lebanon's new president to form the next government, sparking a political crisis in this country as it rebuilds from its devastating civil war. Sources close to the prime minister, whose Cabinet has been in care-taker capacity since last Tuesday's swearing in of Emile Lahoud as president, said Hariri turned down the invitation from Lahoud to select a new Cabinet. There has been no formal announcement from Lahoud reappointing Hariri as prime minister. Although Hariri's move could be a bargaining tactic, since he remains the front-runner for the premiership, the apparent tension between the two powerful men could affect Lebanon's economic stability as it recovers from the 1975-90 civil war. Hariri, 53, the architect of Lebanon's multibillion dollar postwar reconstruction program, has been in power since 1992. A billionaire businessman who made his fortune in Saudi Arabia, Hariri is credited with restoring economic confidence and stabilizing the national currency. The dispute appears to be the opening salvo of a struggle on how Lebanon will be governed during Lahoud's six-year term. Toward the end of former President Elias Hrawi's nine years in office, Hariri virtually had a free hand in running the country. Lahoud, 62, a former commander of Lebanon's army, was propelled to power with widespread popular backing. He pledged in a tough inauguration speech to clean up the graft-riddled administration. The British-trained general made his name rebuilding the army after it disintegrated in the civil war. Similar political disputes in Lebanon in the past have been solved only with the intervention of Syria, the main power broker in this country. Damascus supports both Lahoud and Hariri. Lahoud had been expected to issue a presidential decree last week asking Hariri to form the next government after the president polled members of the 128-seat Parliament on their choice for prime minister. But many legislators, who in the past gave their overwhelming support to Hariri, did not name him and, instead, left it to the president to select a prime minister. The two leaders met Friday, but no presidential decree followed. The sources close to Hariri, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the prime minister's decision to bow out came because he did not feel Lahoud was following constitutional procedures in selecting the premier.",
"Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has declined an informal invitation from Lebanon's new president to form the next government, sparking a political crisis in this country as it rebuilds from its devastating civil war. Sources close to the prime minister, whose Cabinet has been in care-taker capacity since last Tuesday's swearing in of Emile Lahoud as president, said Hariri turned down the invitation from Lahoud to select a new Cabinet. There has been no formal announcement from Lahoud reappointing Hariri as prime minister. Although Hariri's move could be a bargaining tactic, since he remains the front-runner for the premiership, the apparent tension between the two powerful men could affect Lebanon's economic stability as it recovers from the 1975-90 civil war. Hariri, 53, the architect of Lebanon's multibillion dollar postwar reconstruction program, has been in power since 1992. A billionaire businessman who made his fortune in Saudi Arabia, Hariri is credited with restoring economic confidence and stabilizing the national currency. Lahoud, 62, commander of Lebanon's army who was propelled to power with widespread popular backing, pledged in a tough inauguration speech to clean up the graft-riddled administration. The British-trained general made his name rebuilding the army after it disintegrated in the civil war. Previous disputes among government leaders have cost the Central Bank hundreds of millions of dollars in its efforts to stabilize the Lebanese pound. Such political disputes in Lebanon in the past were solved only with the intervention of Syria, the main power broker in this country. Damascus supports both Lahoud and Hariri. Lahoud had been expected to issue a presidential decree last week asking Hariri to form the next government. The decree was to be issued after the president polled members of the 128-seat Parliament on their choice for prime minister. But many legislators, who in the past gave their overwhelming support to Hariri, did not name him and, instead, left it to the president to select a prime minister. The two leaders met Friday, but no presidential decree followed. The sources close to Hariri, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the prime minister's decision to bow out came because he did not feel Lahoud was following constitutional procedures in selecting the premier. The Hariri camp argues that the president can poll Parliament members on their choice for prime minister but cannot accept a mandate to name a person of his choice. The dispute, in fact, appears to be the opening salvo of a struggle on how Lebanon will be governed during Lahoud's six-year term. Toward the end of former President Elias Hrawi's nine years in office, Hariri virtually had a free hand in running the country.",
"Lebanon's Parliament on Tuesday ratified a constitutional amendment to clear the way for the election of the army's commander, Gen. Emile Lahoud, as president. Lahoud has received the backing of Syria, the main power broker in the country, making the election by Lebanon's pro-Syrian Parliament later this week just a formality. A total of 113 deputies voted for the amendment and four deputies against, including the general's cousin, Nassib Lahoud, a presidential aspirant. Eleven deputies were absent. Among those who were absent was Walid Jumblatt, a Cabinet minister who had said he would boycott the session to protest the choice of a military man even though Lahoud has wide public and political support. The 128-member legislature is expected to meet Thursday to elect Lahoud after outgoing President Elias Hrawi signs the constitutional amendment. The amendment to Article 49 of the constitution revokes a ban on senior civil servants from running for the presidency. The new president will be sworn in Nov. 24, the day Hrawi leaves office. Hrawi has served for nine years, including a three-year extension in 1995 to his six-year term. Lahoud, a Maronite Catholic, will keep alive a 55-year-old tradition under which the president is a Maronite, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the Parliament speaker a Shiite Muslim. Lahoud, appointed army commander in 1989 amid a rebellion in the fractured military during the 1975-90 civil war, is credited with rebuilding the 55,000-strong Lebanese army and in ending the reign of militias. Many hope he will copy his success with the military in the government, which is plagued by nepotism and waste of public funds. But some fear of military dominance of public life.",
"Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the business tycoon who launched Lebanon's multibillion dollar reconstruction from the devastation of civil war, said Monday he was bowing out as premier following a dispute with the new president. He accused President Emile Lahoud of violating the constitution and demanded that he acknowledge it before he could reconsider his position. Hariri's move could be a ploy to gain more power as a new government is formed, but the crisis atmosphere generated by the possible departure of the billionaire businessman could affect Lebanon's economic recovery. ``I'm not a candidate,'' Hariri said in a live interview with CNN. He demanded that Lahoud admit that he acted unconstitutionally by allowing 31 Parliament deputies to authorize him to name a prime minister instead of naming one themselves. Such an action ``might put the country in danger,'' Hariri warned. Asked if there was a risk of renewed conflict in Lebanon over the alleged tampering with the constitution, Hariri said: ``If the president continues with this, I don't know what will happen.'' But the dispute between the two leaders appears to be over who will have the upper hand in governing the nation of 3.2 million. Lahoud, 62, is an army commander who wants to assert his authority at the start of his six-year presidential term. Hariri, 53, virtually has had a free hand in running the country since he became premier six years ago under former President Elias Hrawi. A brief meeting on Monday between the two did not help resolve the disagreements. Hariri's Cabinet has been serving in a caretaker capacity since Lahoud's inauguration last Tuesday. Lahoud on Monday set the stage for choosing a new prime minister when he scheduled a fresh round of consultations with Parliament for Tuesday and Wednesday. In a statement, Lahoud said Hariri was asked but declined to form the next government after a previous round of consultations. The offer came after the 128 legislators polled by the president gave Hariri a majority but fell short of the near unanimous backing he had received in his previous three mandates since 1992. Hariri is credited with restoring economic confidence and stabilizing the national currency. His globe-trotting travels to drum up political and economic support were sometimes instrumental in drawing international financial aid and investment. But he was faulted for declining living standards at home and a rise in corruption in government. Lahoud pledged in a tough inauguration speech to clean up the graft-riddled administration. The general enjoys widespread popular backing after succeeding in rebuilding an army fractured by civil war. Central bank officials on Monday tried to calm fears about a run on the Lebanese pound by announcing that the bank was ready to intervene with its foreign currency reserves if necessary, the state-run National News Agency reported. It added that the money markets remained stable.",
"Parliament on Thursday formally elected Gen. Emile Lahoud, the popular army commander who has the backing of powerful neighbor Syria, as Lebanon's next president. All the 118 legislators present at the session cast votes in his favor. Lahoud is to be sworn in for a six-year term on Nov. 24, the day President Elias Hrawi leaves office."
] |
[
"Parliament on Thursday formally elected Gen. Emile Lahoud, the popular army commander who has the backing of powerful neighbor Syria, as Lebanon's next president. All the 118 legislators present at the session cast votes in his favor. Lahoud is to be sworn for a six-year term on Nov. 24, the day President Elias Hrawi leaves office.",
"Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's efforts to win a fourth term in office have hit a snag after he failed to receive the expected speedy appointment from new President Emile Lahoud. Hariri is still the front-runner to form the next government but Saturday's Daily Star newspaper quoted sources as saying that Hariri was ``outraged'' that only 62 of the 128 members in Parliament declared their support for him during a meeting with Lahoud Friday. According to the constitution, a president must begin his term by appointing the prime minister and a Cabinet through a decree issued after consulting with Parliament members. A presidential decree was expected Friday but nothing came through after a meeting between Lahoud and Hariri. Hariri had even scheduled Friday a traditional meeting between the prime minister-designate and former prime ministers, but that was canceled. The state-run National News Agency said that while only 62 deputies told Lahoud they supported Hariri, the rest refused to divulge their choice or left it to the president to decide. A TV station owned by Hariri said he won the backing of at least 100 deputies. The delay reflects the tug-of-war among the power brokers in the country. Under a formula aimed at preventing the recurrence of the 1975-90 civil war, power in Lebanon is shared equally by a Maronite Christian president, a Sunni Muslim prime minister and a Shiite Parliament speaker. While the Christian Lahoud may have no objection to appointing the Sunni Hariri, it is possible that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's 19 Shiite supporters in the legislature are holding out to emphasize their value. The leading An-Nahar and other newspapers said the delay could last for days. But in the end, it is Hariri that is most likely to be renamed on the strength of his record in office. Hariri, Lebanon's top businessman, has almost single-handedly created a multibillion dollar program to rebuild a country destroyed by the civil war. He is also credited with stabilizing the currency and restoring confidence in the postwar economy. But his government under former president Elias Hrawi were dogged by accusations of corruption. Hariri, who has been prime minister since 1992, was appointed three times during the extended term of former President Elias Hrawi. He has remained in office as caretaker prime minister since Lahoud succeeded Hrawi on Tuesday. Lahoud, a general who as army commander rebuilt the military from 1989 until his election by Parliament in October, has pledged in his inauguration speech Tuesday to clean up the corruption-plagued administration.",
"Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the business tycoon who launched Lebanon's multibillion dollar reconstruction from the devastation of civil war, said Monday he was bowing out as premier following a dispute with the new president. He accused President Emile Lahoud of violating the constitution and demanded that he acknowledge it before he could reconsider his position. Hariri's move could be a ploy to gain more power as a new government is formed, but the crisis atmosphere generated by the possible departure of the billionaire businessman could affect Lebanon's economic recovery. ``I'm not a candidate,'' Hariri said in a live interview with CNN. He demanded that Lahoud admit that he acted unconstitutionally by allowing 31 Parliament deputies to authorize him to name a prime minister instead of naming one themselves. Such an action ``might put the country in danger,'' Hariri warned. Asked if there was a risk of renewed conflict in Lebanon over the alleged tampering with the constitution, Hariri said: ``If the president continues with this, I don't know what will happen.'' But the dispute between the two leaders appears to be over who will have the upper hand in governing the nation of 3.2 million. Lahoud, 62, is an army commander who wants to assert his authority at the start of his six-year presidential term. Hariri, 53, virtually has had a free hand in running the country since he became premier six years ago under former President Elias Hrawi. A brief meeting on Monday between the two did not help resolve the disagreements. Hariri's Cabinet has been serving in a caretaker capacity since Lahoud's inauguration last Tuesday. Lahoud on Monday set the stage for choosing a new prime minister when he scheduled a fresh round of consultations with Parliament for Tuesday and Wednesday. In a statement, Lahoud said Hariri was asked but declined to form the next government after a previous round of consultations. The offer came after the 128 legislators polled by the president gave Hariri a majority but fell short of the near unanimous backing he had received in his previous three mandates since 1992. Hariri is credited with restoring economic confidence and stabilizing the national currency. His globe-trotting travels to drum up political and economic support were sometimes instrumental in drawing international financial aid and investment. But he was faulted for declining living standards at home and a rise in corruption in government. Lahoud pledged in a tough inauguration speech to clean up the graft-riddled administration. The general enjoys widespread popular backing after succeeding in rebuilding an army fractured by civil war. Central bank officials on Monday tried to calm fears about a run on the Lebanese pound by announcing that the bank was ready to intervene with its foreign currency reserves if necessary, the state-run National News Agency reported. It added that the money markets remained stable.",
"A Cabinet minister and a close Syria ally on Wednesday criticized the Syrian-backed choice of the army commander as president, and said he will boycott a vote to elect the military man for the executive post. Walid Jumblatt, the minister for displaced persons, said he and his party's three legislators will not vote when the 128-member Parliament elects the president, likely sometime before Oct. 23. Although a boycott by Jumblatt's Progressive Socialist Party will hardly spoil the chances of Gen. Emile Lahoud, it could embolden others to express discontent at the choice and the process of his election. Lahoud is virtually assured of the job: the prime minister and the parliament speaker first approved Lahoud, who then won the all-important backing of Syria, the main power broker in Lebanon. ``Historically, we do not approve that a military man takes control of the country,'' Jumblatt told reporters after a meeting with outgoing President Elias Hrawi. Although opposition to Syria's hold on Lebanon's politics is common among anti-Syrian politicians, it is rare for somebody like Jumblatt to openly speak against a decision personally cleared by Syrian President Hafez Assad who keeps 30,000 troops in Lebanon. Like Jumblatt, some in Lebanon fear that a military man as president could mean intelligence agents will track civilian life just as they did between 1958 and 1964 during the presidency of Fouad Chehab, the only other army commander to become head of state. In nominating Lahoud, ``rules were not respected,'' Jumblatt said. ``Things were supposed to run in a more democratic way,'' said Jumblatt, whose Druse militia fought Christian forces during the 1975-90 civil war. The new president must be sworn in on Nov. 24, the day Hrawi leaves office after a six-year term. Jumblatt said ``there is adequate political diversity and competition in the country,'' implying that choosing a military man for president was unnecessary. Deputy Prime Minister Michel Murr sought to calm fears about military intrusion. He told reporters that Lahoud will ``keep the army out of politics just as he kept politics out of the army.'' Lahoud, a 62-year-old naval officer, enjoys wide public and political support at home and has good relations with Syria. He gained public admiration for reuniting an army fractured by civil war and in ending the reign of militias. Many hope he will cleanse the government of nepotism and wastage of public funds. Lahoud's nomination complies with a tradition that the president be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and Parliament speaker a Shiite Muslim. The government is run by the joint efforts of the three officials. Jumblatt said his party will also boycott a Parliamentary session to amend the Constitution so that senior public servants can run for president. Criticism of the nomination process also came from a meeting of Catholic bishops on Wednesday. Nevertheless, the bishops welcomed the choice of Lahoud, a fellow Catholic, a statement said.",
"The commander of Lebanon's army will become the country's next president after winning the crucial backing of Syria, the powerbroker in Lebanon. ``Congratulations, your excellency the general,'' Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri told army commander Emile Lahoud in a telephone conversation Monday that was headlined on the front-page of the leftist newspaper As-Safir. Lebanese media said the matter was settled Monday at a meeting in Damascus between outgoing President Elias Hrawi and Syrian President Hafez Assad, whose country dominates its weaker, smaller neighbor. Agriculture Minister Shawki Fakhoury, a Hrawi confidant, said Tuesday that Lahoud is expected to be elected by the 128-member Parliament at an extraordinary session on Oct. 15. The election is a formality since other candidates have little chance now that Syria has thrown its weight behind Gen. Lahoud. In another formality before the election, the Parliament will amend the constitution, which forbids senior public servants from running for president. The new president must be sworn in on Nov. 24, the day Hrawi leaves office at the end of his six-year term. The choice of Lahoud, a Maronite Catholic, will continue a 55-year-old tradition under which the president is a Maronite, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the Parliament speaker a Shiite Muslim. Agreement among the three officials is essential for the smooth running of the government. Since Lahoud has a good relationship with Hariri and Speaker Nabih Berri, little change was expected in government policy. Lahoud's nomination ends weeks of suspense over the identity of the next head of state. Lahoud, a 62-year-old naval officer trained in Britain and the United States, enjoys wide public and political support at home and has good relations with Syria. But the choice could not have been sealed before a final say from Assad, who keeps 30,000 troops in this country. His word is referred to in the Beirut media as ``the password.'' Lahoud, elevated from rear admiral to general and appointed army commander in 1988 amid a rebellion in the fractured military during the 1975-90 civil war, is credited with rebuilding the 55,000-strong Lebanese army and in ending the reign of militias. In Lebanon, the army commander heads the air force, navy and the ground forces. Many hope he will copy his success with the military in government, which is plagued by nepotism and waste of public funds. But some fear that a military man in the nation's highest office could mean a return to the use of intelligence services to track civilian life _ the case under Fouad Chehab, the only other army commander to become president, who ruled from 1958 to 1964. ``The election of a military man is a threat to democracy in Lebanon,'' Raymond Edde, a Christian politician living in self-imposed exile in France, told the An-Nahar newspaper.",
"Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has declined an informal invitation from Lebanon's new president to form the next government, sparking a political crisis in this country as it rebuilds from its devastating civil war. Sources close to the prime minister, whose Cabinet has been in care-taker capacity since last Tuesday's swearing in of Emile Lahoud as president, said Hariri turned down the invitation from Lahoud to select a new Cabinet. There has been no formal announcement from Lahoud reappointing Hariri as prime minister. Although Hariri's move could be a bargaining tactic, since he remains the front-runner for the premiership, the apparent tension between the two powerful men could affect Lebanon's economic stability as it recovers from the 1975-90 civil war. Hariri, 53, the architect of Lebanon's multibillion dollar postwar reconstruction program, has been in power since 1992. A billionaire businessman who made his fortune in Saudi Arabia, Hariri is credited with restoring economic confidence and stabilizing the national currency. The dispute appears to be the opening salvo of a struggle on how Lebanon will be governed during Lahoud's six-year term. Toward the end of former President Elias Hrawi's nine years in office, Hariri virtually had a free hand in running the country. Lahoud, 62, a former commander of Lebanon's army, was propelled to power with widespread popular backing. He pledged in a tough inauguration speech to clean up the graft-riddled administration. The British-trained general made his name rebuilding the army after it disintegrated in the civil war. Similar political disputes in Lebanon in the past have been solved only with the intervention of Syria, the main power broker in this country. Damascus supports both Lahoud and Hariri. Lahoud had been expected to issue a presidential decree last week asking Hariri to form the next government after the president polled members of the 128-seat Parliament on their choice for prime minister. But many legislators, who in the past gave their overwhelming support to Hariri, did not name him and, instead, left it to the president to select a prime minister. The two leaders met Friday, but no presidential decree followed. The sources close to Hariri, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the prime minister's decision to bow out came because he did not feel Lahoud was following constitutional procedures in selecting the premier.",
"Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has declined an informal invitation from Lebanon's new president to form the next government, sparking a political crisis in this country as it rebuilds from its devastating civil war. Sources close to the prime minister, whose Cabinet has been in care-taker capacity since last Tuesday's swearing in of Emile Lahoud as president, said Hariri turned down the invitation from Lahoud to select a new Cabinet. There has been no formal announcement from Lahoud reappointing Hariri as prime minister. Although Hariri's move could be a bargaining tactic, since he remains the front-runner for the premiership, the apparent tension between the two powerful men could affect Lebanon's economic stability as it recovers from the 1975-90 civil war. Hariri, 53, the architect of Lebanon's multibillion dollar postwar reconstruction program, has been in power since 1992. A billionaire businessman who made his fortune in Saudi Arabia, Hariri is credited with restoring economic confidence and stabilizing the national currency. Lahoud, 62, commander of Lebanon's army who was propelled to power with widespread popular backing, pledged in a tough inauguration speech to clean up the graft-riddled administration. The British-trained general made his name rebuilding the army after it disintegrated in the civil war. Previous disputes among government leaders have cost the Central Bank hundreds of millions of dollars in its efforts to stabilize the Lebanese pound. Such political disputes in Lebanon in the past were solved only with the intervention of Syria, the main power broker in this country. Damascus supports both Lahoud and Hariri. Lahoud had been expected to issue a presidential decree last week asking Hariri to form the next government. The decree was to be issued after the president polled members of the 128-seat Parliament on their choice for prime minister. But many legislators, who in the past gave their overwhelming support to Hariri, did not name him and, instead, left it to the president to select a prime minister. The two leaders met Friday, but no presidential decree followed. The sources close to Hariri, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the prime minister's decision to bow out came because he did not feel Lahoud was following constitutional procedures in selecting the premier. The Hariri camp argues that the president can poll Parliament members on their choice for prime minister but cannot accept a mandate to name a person of his choice. The dispute, in fact, appears to be the opening salvo of a struggle on how Lebanon will be governed during Lahoud's six-year term. Toward the end of former President Elias Hrawi's nine years in office, Hariri virtually had a free hand in running the country.",
"Lebanon's Parliament on Tuesday ratified a constitutional amendment to clear the way for the election of the army's commander, Gen. Emile Lahoud, as president. Lahoud has received the backing of Syria, the main power broker in the country, making the election by Lebanon's pro-Syrian Parliament later this week just a formality. A total of 113 deputies voted for the amendment and four deputies against, including the general's cousin, Nassib Lahoud, a presidential aspirant. Eleven deputies were absent. Among those who were absent was Walid Jumblatt, a Cabinet minister who had said he would boycott the session to protest the choice of a military man even though Lahoud has wide public and political support. The 128-member legislature is expected to meet Thursday to elect Lahoud after outgoing President Elias Hrawi signs the constitutional amendment. The amendment to Article 49 of the constitution revokes a ban on senior civil servants from running for the presidency. The new president will be sworn in Nov. 24, the day Hrawi leaves office. Hrawi has served for nine years, including a three-year extension in 1995 to his six-year term. Lahoud, a Maronite Catholic, will keep alive a 55-year-old tradition under which the president is a Maronite, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the Parliament speaker a Shiite Muslim. Lahoud, appointed army commander in 1989 amid a rebellion in the fractured military during the 1975-90 civil war, is credited with rebuilding the 55,000-strong Lebanese army and in ending the reign of militias. Many hope he will copy his success with the military in the government, which is plagued by nepotism and waste of public funds. But some fear of military dominance of public life.",
"Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the business tycoon who launched Lebanon's multibillion dollar reconstruction from the devastation of civil war, said Monday he was bowing out as premier following a dispute with the new president. He accused President Emile Lahoud of violating the constitution and demanded that he acknowledge it before he could reconsider his position. Hariri's move could be a ploy to gain more power as a new government is formed, but the crisis atmosphere generated by the possible departure of the billionaire businessman could affect Lebanon's economic recovery. ``I'm not a candidate,'' Hariri said in a live interview with CNN. He demanded that Lahoud admit that he acted unconstitutionally by allowing 31 Parliament deputies to authorize him to name a prime minister instead of naming one themselves. Such an action ``might put the country in danger,'' Hariri warned. Asked if there was a risk of renewed conflict in Lebanon over the alleged tampering with the constitution, Hariri said: ``If the president continues with this, I don't know what will happen.'' But the dispute between the two leaders appears to be over who will have the upper hand in governing the nation of 3.2 million. Lahoud, 62, is an army commander who wants to assert his authority at the start of his six-year presidential term. Hariri, 53, virtually has had a free hand in running the country since he became premier six years ago under former President Elias Hrawi. A brief meeting on Monday between the two did not help resolve the disagreements. Hariri's Cabinet has been serving in a caretaker capacity since Lahoud's inauguration last Tuesday. Lahoud on Monday set the stage for choosing a new prime minister when he scheduled a fresh round of consultations with Parliament for Tuesday and Wednesday. In a statement, Lahoud said Hariri was asked but declined to form the next government after a previous round of consultations. The offer came after the 128 legislators polled by the president gave Hariri a majority but fell short of the near unanimous backing he had received in his previous three mandates since 1992. Hariri is credited with restoring economic confidence and stabilizing the national currency. His globe-trotting travels to drum up political and economic support were sometimes instrumental in drawing international financial aid and investment. But he was faulted for declining living standards at home and a rise in corruption in government. Lahoud pledged in a tough inauguration speech to clean up the graft-riddled administration. The general enjoys widespread popular backing after succeeding in rebuilding an army fractured by civil war. Central bank officials on Monday tried to calm fears about a run on the Lebanese pound by announcing that the bank was ready to intervene with its foreign currency reserves if necessary, the state-run National News Agency reported. It added that the money markets remained stable.",
"Parliament on Thursday formally elected Gen. Emile Lahoud, the popular army commander who has the backing of powerful neighbor Syria, as Lebanon's next president. All the 118 legislators present at the session cast votes in his favor. Lahoud is to be sworn in for a six-year term on Nov. 24, the day President Elias Hrawi leaves office."
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PKK leader Ocalan was arrested on arrival at the Rome airport. He asked for asylum. Turkey pressured Italy to extradite Ocalan, whom they consider a terrorist. Kurds in Europe flocked to Rome to show their support. About 1,500 staged a hunger strike outside the hospital where he was held. Italy began a border crackdown to stop Kurds flocking to Rome. Greek media and officials oppose extradition. Romanian Kurds staged a 1-day business shutdown to protest his arrest. In a Turkish prison, an Italian prisoner was taken hostage. The Turkish president needed extra security for a trip to Austria. This is Italy's Prime Minister D'Alema's first foreign policy test. The leader of the Kurdish rebel group fighting for autonomy in southeast Turkey, Abdullah Ocalan, was arrested at Rome's international airport on Thursday. The arrest set off a wave of protests throughout Europe as Kurdish groups in Italy, Romania, Germany, Austria rallied in support of Ocalan. The support ranged from a one-day shutdown of business in Romania to a hunger strike in Rome. In Turkey, Kurdish inmates took an Italian prisoner hostage in an effort to get Italy to extradite Ocalan. Italy's leftist Prime Minister was being pressured to grant Ocalan asylum. An international incident resulted after the arrest in Rome of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). An armed struggle has ensued since the PKK was formed in 1978, and nearly 37,000 died. Turkey wants Ocalan extradited but Italy is reluctant since Turkey still has the death penalty. Kurds from all over Europe have come to Rome, or at least tried to, to protest Ocalan's detention and to urge asylum for him. Turkey has said countries bordering eastern Turkey have harbored Kurdish rebels and Greece has voiced support for the Kurds. Prisoners in Turkey held an Italian inmate hostage in hope of forcing Italy to extradite Ocalan. Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdish Workers Party, was detained in the Rome airport and is asking for political asylum. Ocalan has led the Kurdish insurgents in southeastern Turkey since 1978. Turkey, where he faces the death penalty, immediately requested his extradition and has heavily pressured Italy. Germany also wants him. Greeks and leftist Italians oppose his extradition. Others in Europe have joined with Kurds in staging demonstrations and hunger strikes. Prisoners in Turkey are holding an Italian in hopes of a swap. The Kurds join Cyprus as contentious issues as the Turkish President goes to Vienna to discuss European Union membership.
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"Greek media and officials leveled strong opposition Sunday to the possible extradition of Abdullah Ocalan, the arrested Kurdish guerrilla leader, to Greece's traditional rival Turkey. Ocalan, whose Kurdistan Workers Party has waged a 14-year war with Turkey for autonomy in southeastern Turkey, is in prison custody in Rome where his arrest was announced Friday. ``We do not give advise to other countries,'' said parliament speaker Apostolos Kaklamanis. ``Europe has a tradition of civilization and human rights and I think as a rule it abides by that tradition.'' Greece has not officially responded to Ocalan's arrest, which was welcomed by the United States. But Greek government officials have stressed support for Kurdish self-determination. ``We have repeatedly brought attention to the problems created by the blatant violation of human rights in southeast Turkey,'' government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said late Saturday. In the past, Greece has accused Ankara of waging a campaign of ``genocide'' against its Kurdish population. Ankara counters that Greece is harboring PKK ``terrorists.'' Both sides angrily deny the charges. Thousands of Kurdish refugees from northern Iraq and Turkey have sought refuge in Greece. A group of more than 100 Kurds began a three-day fast in a downtown Athens square Saturday in support of Ocalan. Within hours of the PKK leader's arrest, Turkey requested his extradition to face a number of terrorism-related charges, which could carry the death penalty. ``Italy knows what the fate of the Kurdish rebel will be if he falls into the hands of the Turkish military regime,'' said an editorial Saturday in the Greek daily Eleftherotypia. ``Ocalan has requested political asylum in Italy as head of the Kurdish liberation movement and should be allowed to remain in a democratic country. He must not be extradited to Turkey.'' Greece's Communist party and a small leftist opposition party called on the government to exercise its influence on Italy to keep Ocalan there. The move was also supported by a number of parliamentary deputies from the governing Socialist party. Earlier this month, a bloc of 109 lawmakers in the 300-member parliament issued an invitation for Ocalan to visit Greece.",
"Turkish authorities negotiated with an imprisoned mob leader for a second day Monday to secure the release of an Italian inmate held hostage to pressure Italy into extraditing a Kurdish rebel leader, a prosecutor said. The Italian, Mario Calascibetta, was taken hostage Sunday by a group of inmates affiliated with mob leader Yasar Oz, to push for the return to Turkey of rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, Turkey's most-wanted man. Ocalan is currently being held in Rome. Calascibetta, imprisoned in Istanbul's Metris jail since his detention in August, was due to be handed over to Swiss police Monday. He is wanted for questioning in Switzerland in connection with a killing. Turkey's Anatolia news agency said Oz was determined not to free his hostage until Italy agreed to Turkey's demand to send back Ocalan who is Turkey's most wanted man. ``He is not in any life threatening danger. We are not alarmed for his safety,'' said prosecutor Celil Demircioglu. ``The negotiations are continuing, we believe he will be freed very soon.'' Demircioglu said Calascibetta's extradition would now be delayed by a few days. He denied Turkish press reports that the Italian was being held at gun point. Oz is currently on trial on drugs-related charges. The mob has often supported right-wing parties and ultranationalist causes. At a time when the state is under pressure to crack down on the mob, it seemed convenient for Oz to show he was backing the government's cause.",
"Facing his first real foreign policy test, Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema must decide what to do with a prominent Kurdish rebel leader who was arrested at the Rome airport on Thursday. Turkey wants Italy to extradite the rebel, Abdullah Ocalan, leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is seeking Kurdish autonomy in southeastern Turkey. He is viewed in Turkey as a terrorist. Germany also has a warrant out for his arrest on homicide charges. But D'Alema, a former Communist who was appointed prime minister last month, is under pressure from leftists in his coalition to offer Ocalan political asylum. In a news conference Monday, D'Alema recognized the extent of the problem. ``The last thing we wanted was an awkward and complicated situation like this one,'' he said. He noted that Italian law prohibits extradition of suspects to countries that have the death penalty. Turkey has capital punishment, though it says it will soon abolish it. Ocalan is being tried in absentia there on charges that could bring the death penalty. D'Alema said a committee in the Interior Ministry would determine whether Ocalan would qualify for political asylum, which would be possible if Ocalan's promise to renounce terrorism, issued Monday, holds up. ``We do not want someone who organizes terrorism in Italy,'' D'Alema said. ``This is an opportunity to find an exit from a bloody conflict.'' Earlier Monday, while members of D'Alema's government met with Turkish officials who were in Rome for a European ministerial meeting, thousands of Kurds flooded into Rome to hold a demonstration and hunger strike in support of Ocalan. D'Alema's decision was further complicated on Sunday when Turkish inmates in a prison in Istanbul took an Italian prisoner hostage, saying they would release him only after Italy extradited Ocalan. Monday, D'Alema said he would not bow to pressure.",
"Turkey stepped up the pressure on Italy for the extradition of captured Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, warning Sunday that granting him asylum would amount to ``opening doors to terrorism.'' In Rome, 1,500 Kurds massed for a second day of demonstrations outside the military hospital where Ocalan is believed to be held. Kurds arrived from Germany and France to show solidarity with the rebel leader and a Kurdish group stopped at Rome's airport launched a hunger strike. If Italy sends the Kurd leader back to Turkey, ``he'll be tortured for certain,'' said Dino Frisullo, an Italian supporter among the singing, chanting Kurds outside the military hospital. ``And very possibly he'll be killed.'' Ocalan was arrested at the Rome airport on Thursday as soon as he stepped off a plane from Moscow, where he had sought asylum after recently fleeing his hideout in Syria. He leads the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, PKK, which has been fighting for Kurdish autonomy in southeastern Turkey since 1984. The conflict has killed nearly 37,000 people. Turkey considers Ocalan a terrorist and its most-wanted criminal. ``If Western European nations open their arms (to the rebels) they will be taking on this great terrorism problem,'' Deputy Premier Bulent Ecevit told reporters in Ankara. ``If Italy continues to show the tolerance it showed yesterday it will be opening its doors to terrorism,'' Ecevit added, referring to Italy's handling of brawls that broke out among the Kurdish demonstrators in Rome on Saturday. The protests were peaceful Sunday. Ocalan faces the death penalty in Turkey, a fact that has heightened opposition in Italy to his extradition. Although there have been no executions in Turkey since 1984, Italy has consistently refused to extradite anyone if there were even a risk of capital punishment. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem left for Rome on Sunday to attend a meeting of European defense and foreign ministers. Before leaving, he criticized an Italian Justice Ministry official, who reportedly said Turkey's extradition request would be refused. ``To announce the results of an extradition trial that has not yet even begun does not go hand in hand with justice,'' Cem told reporters. He said he would tell Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini ``that we expect a serious and fair approach.'' Ocalan, a political science dropout from Ankara University, founded the Marxist-inspired PKK in 1978. He turned the group toward armed struggle in 1984, finding wide support among poor Kurds in the underdeveloped southeast. The Turkish army claims to have all but wiped out the PKK within Turkey but the rebels have havens in Iran, Syria, and Iraq and the fighting continues.",
"A Kurdish rebel group fighting for autonomy in Turkey's southeast faces an uncertain future following the detention in Rome of its founder and leader. Italian authorities captured Abdullah Ocalan at Rome's international airport Thursday. Turkey has asked for his extradition and Ocalan has asked for political asylum. Some believe that without Ocalan, who ruled some 10,000 loyal rebels with an iron fist, his Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, will be left in disarray. ``If the head is dethroned, the rebellion gets a mortal blow,'' said Cengiz Candar who has been following the Kurdish insurgency for daily Sabah. But Ocalan has been absent from the battlefield for at least a month, and others contend that the PKK is capable of operating without him. ``Let us not fall into false expectations that this will be the end of the PKK. The PKK has already been acting like a headless monster for too long,'' said Ilnur Cevik of the English-language Turkish Daily News. Turkish newspapers have carried frequent reports of power struggles within the PKK and said that Ocalan's grip on the PKK was beginning to waver. Better known as Apo, Ocalan founded the Kurdistan Workers Party, PKK, in 1978. The movement turned to armed struggle in 1984, mainly focusing on guerrilla-style warfare in the southeast, but also carrying out bomb attacks on civilians in western Turkey. Close to 37,000 people died in the conflict. His presence in Europe could also be a blessing in disguise for the group, forcing the PKK to transform itself from a rebel army into a political movement. Ocalan seemed to be moving in this direction before his detention. While living in Damacus, he increased his meetings with European deputies. This may be the PKK's best option. The Turkish military claims it has made important battlefield gains and captured the PKK's second-in-command this year. The rebels also seem to have lost the support of Syria, which appears to have forced Ocalan to leave after Turkey threatened to attack it. Two Iraqi Kurdish groups controlling Turkey's border with Iraq have also grown lukewarm. The PKK has used their bases in Syria and Iraq to wage cross-border operations. ``The PKK had two options. Either they choose to fight until they get control of the area, regardless of what image they project abroad, or they try to take on a political image. I believe (Ocalan) wanted to leave the Middle East so he could become a political figure,'' said Hikmet Tavak, managing director of the London-based Kurdish television, MED-TV. In Rome, spokesmen for the PKK said Ocalan had carefully selected Italy because he felt there was sympathy there for his cause. They also said Italian authorities were warned that Ocalan would be arriving. There is a fair amount of sympathy for the Kurds in Europe, and if the movement gains political momentum, Turkey could come under more pressure from its western allies to grant the Kurds minority rights. There are an estimated 8 to 15 million Kurds in Turkey. They are not recognized as an official minority and barred from using Kurdish in education or broadcasting. Kurdish politicians have been jailed and groups banned on charges of supporting the PKK.",
"Thousands of Kurds living in Romania closed down restaurants, shops and companies to protest the arrest of leader Abdullah Ocalan by Italian authorities, a newspaper reported Tuesday. Kurdish business leaders said the one-day shutdown Monday cost their 1,000 businesses some dlrs 700,000, daily Evenimentul Zilei reported. There are some 4,000 Kurds living in Romania. Kurdish students cut classes and workers didn't go to work. Some 41 Kurds declared a hunger strike Monday to protest Ocalan's detention. The protesters have refused any medical assistance from Romanian authorities, relying on the services of two Kurdish doctors, the paper reported. ``We are not terrorists, as we are considered by the Turkish state and its friends,'' said Aihan Dogan, a Kurdish leader. The detention in Italy of Kurdish rebel leader Ocalan prompted widespread protests by Kurds throughout Europe. Turkey has asked for Ocalan to be returned to Turkey.",
"INNSBRUCK, Austria (AP) -- Italian authorities have turned back at least 136 people along the Austro-Italian border during an immigration crackdown prompted by the arrest of Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan, Austrian officials said Monday. Most of those sent back since the crackdown began Saturday were refused entry into Italy because they had no visas or residence permits, the Austrians said. On Monday alone, about 70 people were refused entry at the Brenner Pass crossing point. They included Pakistanis, Indians, Yugoslavs and Chinese as well as Kurds, the Austrians said. The border crackdown appeared designed to prevent large numbers of Kurds living in Western Europe from flocking to Rome for protests in connection with Ocalan's arrest. Turkey has asked for Ocalan's extradition. Austrian authorities said many of those turned back had come from Germany. A Red Cross station was set up at the border to assist those turned away to return to Germany if their residence permits were in order. Those without proper papers were detained by Austrian immigration.",
"Turkey stepped up pressure on Italy for the extradition of captured Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, saying Sunday that granting him asylum would amount to ``opening doors to terrorism.'' Kurds in Italy, Germany, Austria and Romania launched protests and hunger strikes in fervent shows of solidarity with the rebel leader. Kurds came to Rome by bus and car from across Western Europe for a 1,500-strong protest outside the military hospital where Ocalan is believed held under tight security. If Italy sends Ocalan back to Turkey, ``he'll be tortured for certain,'' said Dino Frisullo, an Italian supporter among the singing, chanting Kurds outside the military hospital. ``And very possibly he'll be killed.'' Ocalan was arrested Thursday at the Rome airport as soon as he stepped off a plane from Moscow, where he had sought asylum after fleeing his hideout in Syria. He leads the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, PKK, which has been fighting for Kurdish autonomy in southeastern Turkey since 1984. The conflict has killed nearly 37,000 people. To Turkey, Ocalan is the nation's most-wanted criminal. ``If Western European nations open their arms (to the rebels) they will be taking on this great terrorism problem,'' Deputy Premier Bulent Ecevit told reporters in Ankara. ``If Italy continues to show the tolerance it showed yesterday, it will be opening its doors to terrorism,'' Ecevit added, referring to Italy's handling of brawls that broke out during the first day of protests Saturday outside the Rome military hospital. The protest in Rome was peaceful Sunday. Elsewhere in Europe, dozens of Kurds protested in Bucharest until chased away by police; 1,000 Kurds rallied in Bonn, some waving pictures of the Kurd leader; and 100 Kurds in Vienna set up tents outside Parliament and declared a hunger strike. In Turkey, four Kurdish prison inmates were in critical condition after setting themselves on fire to protest Ocalan's arrest, the independent Human Rights Association said. Ocalan faces the death penalty in Turkey, a fact that has heightened opposition in Italy to his extradition. Although there have been no executions in Turkey since 1984, Italy has consistently refused to extradite anyone if there were even a risk of capital punishment. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem left for Rome on Sunday to attend a meeting of European defense and foreign ministers, saying he would tell Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini that ``we expect a serious and fair approach.'' He criticized an Italian Justice Ministry official, who reportedly said Italy would deny Turkey's extradition request. ``To announce the results of an extradition trial that has not yet even begun does not go hand in hand with justice,'' Cem told reporters before departing. Turkish Defense Minister Ismet Sezgin indicated to reporters in Rome that Italian companies could be shut out of Turkey's billions of dollars of defense contracts if it fails to turn over the Kurd. In Italy, Dini told reporters in the city of Trento that the government would decide Ocalan's request for asylum in a ``clear and responsible manner.'' It was up for the courts to decide Turkey's extradition request, as well as an expected one from Germany, he said. In Istanbul, Turkish inmates at a prison took an Italian prisoner hostage to increase pressure for Ocalan's extradition. Metris prison officials said the jail director was talking to the inmate captors. Ocalan founded the Marxist-inspired PKK in 1978. He turned the group toward armed struggle in 1984, finding wide support among poor Kurds in the underdeveloped southeast. The Turkish army claims to have all but wiped out the PKK within Turkey but the rebels have havens in Iran, Syria, and Iraq and the fighting continues.",
"About 1,000 policemen were assigned to protect Turkish President Suleyman Demirel, who arrived Tuesday on a three-day official visit. President Thomas Klestil's invitation for the visit was issued to take place during Austria's European Union presidency. Austrian government officials reportedly will try to open up a ``longer-term perspective'' for Turkey's EU membership. A related topic certain to come up is Cyprus, among six countries with whom the European Union started formal membership talks on Nov. 10. In a rare joint statement, the Netherlands, Germany and France said the inability of Greek and Turkish Cypriots to reconcile their differences weighed heavily on their island's membership chances. They spoke of ``fundamental problems'' in the Cyprus negotiating process, adding ``a political solution is urgently required.'' Austrian police took special measures to ensure the safety of the Turkish visitor. ``The political situation requires comprehensive security measures,'' the Austria Press Agency quoted Walter Zehetmayr, a senior police officer, as saying. The extra effort was prompted by the arrest last week in Rome of Abdullah Ocalan, the chief of the Turkish Workers Party PKK, Zehetmayr said. He hinted that he expects large protests of Turkish groups in Vienna. Demirel, who was accompanied by five Cabinet members and a large trade delegation, is the first head of state of the Turkish Republic to visit Austria, APA said. Following his talks with Klestil and a luncheon in the president's residence, Demirel was scheduled to meet Parliament president Heinz Fischer and other senior officials. He was also to deliver a speech to the Foreign Policy Society later Tuesday.",
"About 1,500 Kurds who spent the night outside a military hospital where Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan is believed held continued their hunger strike Monday to protest his detention. Kurds from across Western Europe have been streaming into Rome to show their support for Ocalan (pronounced Oh-jah-lan), who was arrested Thursday when he stepped off a plane from Moscow. He had been seeking political asylum in Russia after fleeing his hideout in Syria. He has, 3rd graf"
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"Greek media and officials leveled strong opposition Sunday to the possible extradition of Abdullah Ocalan, the arrested Kurdish guerrilla leader, to Greece's traditional rival Turkey. Ocalan, whose Kurdistan Workers Party has waged a 14-year war with Turkey for autonomy in southeastern Turkey, is in prison custody in Rome where his arrest was announced Friday. ``We do not give advise to other countries,'' said parliament speaker Apostolos Kaklamanis. ``Europe has a tradition of civilization and human rights and I think as a rule it abides by that tradition.'' Greece has not officially responded to Ocalan's arrest, which was welcomed by the United States. But Greek government officials have stressed support for Kurdish self-determination. ``We have repeatedly brought attention to the problems created by the blatant violation of human rights in southeast Turkey,'' government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said late Saturday. In the past, Greece has accused Ankara of waging a campaign of ``genocide'' against its Kurdish population. Ankara counters that Greece is harboring PKK ``terrorists.'' Both sides angrily deny the charges. Thousands of Kurdish refugees from northern Iraq and Turkey have sought refuge in Greece. A group of more than 100 Kurds began a three-day fast in a downtown Athens square Saturday in support of Ocalan. Within hours of the PKK leader's arrest, Turkey requested his extradition to face a number of terrorism-related charges, which could carry the death penalty. ``Italy knows what the fate of the Kurdish rebel will be if he falls into the hands of the Turkish military regime,'' said an editorial Saturday in the Greek daily Eleftherotypia. ``Ocalan has requested political asylum in Italy as head of the Kurdish liberation movement and should be allowed to remain in a democratic country. He must not be extradited to Turkey.'' Greece's Communist party and a small leftist opposition party called on the government to exercise its influence on Italy to keep Ocalan there. The move was also supported by a number of parliamentary deputies from the governing Socialist party. Earlier this month, a bloc of 109 lawmakers in the 300-member parliament issued an invitation for Ocalan to visit Greece.",
"Turkish authorities negotiated with an imprisoned mob leader for a second day Monday to secure the release of an Italian inmate held hostage to pressure Italy into extraditing a Kurdish rebel leader, a prosecutor said. The Italian, Mario Calascibetta, was taken hostage Sunday by a group of inmates affiliated with mob leader Yasar Oz, to push for the return to Turkey of rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, Turkey's most-wanted man. Ocalan is currently being held in Rome. Calascibetta, imprisoned in Istanbul's Metris jail since his detention in August, was due to be handed over to Swiss police Monday. He is wanted for questioning in Switzerland in connection with a killing. Turkey's Anatolia news agency said Oz was determined not to free his hostage until Italy agreed to Turkey's demand to send back Ocalan who is Turkey's most wanted man. ``He is not in any life threatening danger. We are not alarmed for his safety,'' said prosecutor Celil Demircioglu. ``The negotiations are continuing, we believe he will be freed very soon.'' Demircioglu said Calascibetta's extradition would now be delayed by a few days. He denied Turkish press reports that the Italian was being held at gun point. Oz is currently on trial on drugs-related charges. The mob has often supported right-wing parties and ultranationalist causes. At a time when the state is under pressure to crack down on the mob, it seemed convenient for Oz to show he was backing the government's cause.",
"Facing his first real foreign policy test, Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema must decide what to do with a prominent Kurdish rebel leader who was arrested at the Rome airport on Thursday. Turkey wants Italy to extradite the rebel, Abdullah Ocalan, leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is seeking Kurdish autonomy in southeastern Turkey. He is viewed in Turkey as a terrorist. Germany also has a warrant out for his arrest on homicide charges. But D'Alema, a former Communist who was appointed prime minister last month, is under pressure from leftists in his coalition to offer Ocalan political asylum. In a news conference Monday, D'Alema recognized the extent of the problem. ``The last thing we wanted was an awkward and complicated situation like this one,'' he said. He noted that Italian law prohibits extradition of suspects to countries that have the death penalty. Turkey has capital punishment, though it says it will soon abolish it. Ocalan is being tried in absentia there on charges that could bring the death penalty. D'Alema said a committee in the Interior Ministry would determine whether Ocalan would qualify for political asylum, which would be possible if Ocalan's promise to renounce terrorism, issued Monday, holds up. ``We do not want someone who organizes terrorism in Italy,'' D'Alema said. ``This is an opportunity to find an exit from a bloody conflict.'' Earlier Monday, while members of D'Alema's government met with Turkish officials who were in Rome for a European ministerial meeting, thousands of Kurds flooded into Rome to hold a demonstration and hunger strike in support of Ocalan. D'Alema's decision was further complicated on Sunday when Turkish inmates in a prison in Istanbul took an Italian prisoner hostage, saying they would release him only after Italy extradited Ocalan. Monday, D'Alema said he would not bow to pressure.",
"Turkey stepped up the pressure on Italy for the extradition of captured Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, warning Sunday that granting him asylum would amount to ``opening doors to terrorism.'' In Rome, 1,500 Kurds massed for a second day of demonstrations outside the military hospital where Ocalan is believed to be held. Kurds arrived from Germany and France to show solidarity with the rebel leader and a Kurdish group stopped at Rome's airport launched a hunger strike. If Italy sends the Kurd leader back to Turkey, ``he'll be tortured for certain,'' said Dino Frisullo, an Italian supporter among the singing, chanting Kurds outside the military hospital. ``And very possibly he'll be killed.'' Ocalan was arrested at the Rome airport on Thursday as soon as he stepped off a plane from Moscow, where he had sought asylum after recently fleeing his hideout in Syria. He leads the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, PKK, which has been fighting for Kurdish autonomy in southeastern Turkey since 1984. The conflict has killed nearly 37,000 people. Turkey considers Ocalan a terrorist and its most-wanted criminal. ``If Western European nations open their arms (to the rebels) they will be taking on this great terrorism problem,'' Deputy Premier Bulent Ecevit told reporters in Ankara. ``If Italy continues to show the tolerance it showed yesterday it will be opening its doors to terrorism,'' Ecevit added, referring to Italy's handling of brawls that broke out among the Kurdish demonstrators in Rome on Saturday. The protests were peaceful Sunday. Ocalan faces the death penalty in Turkey, a fact that has heightened opposition in Italy to his extradition. Although there have been no executions in Turkey since 1984, Italy has consistently refused to extradite anyone if there were even a risk of capital punishment. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem left for Rome on Sunday to attend a meeting of European defense and foreign ministers. Before leaving, he criticized an Italian Justice Ministry official, who reportedly said Turkey's extradition request would be refused. ``To announce the results of an extradition trial that has not yet even begun does not go hand in hand with justice,'' Cem told reporters. He said he would tell Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini ``that we expect a serious and fair approach.'' Ocalan, a political science dropout from Ankara University, founded the Marxist-inspired PKK in 1978. He turned the group toward armed struggle in 1984, finding wide support among poor Kurds in the underdeveloped southeast. The Turkish army claims to have all but wiped out the PKK within Turkey but the rebels have havens in Iran, Syria, and Iraq and the fighting continues.",
"A Kurdish rebel group fighting for autonomy in Turkey's southeast faces an uncertain future following the detention in Rome of its founder and leader. Italian authorities captured Abdullah Ocalan at Rome's international airport Thursday. Turkey has asked for his extradition and Ocalan has asked for political asylum. Some believe that without Ocalan, who ruled some 10,000 loyal rebels with an iron fist, his Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, will be left in disarray. ``If the head is dethroned, the rebellion gets a mortal blow,'' said Cengiz Candar who has been following the Kurdish insurgency for daily Sabah. But Ocalan has been absent from the battlefield for at least a month, and others contend that the PKK is capable of operating without him. ``Let us not fall into false expectations that this will be the end of the PKK. The PKK has already been acting like a headless monster for too long,'' said Ilnur Cevik of the English-language Turkish Daily News. Turkish newspapers have carried frequent reports of power struggles within the PKK and said that Ocalan's grip on the PKK was beginning to waver. Better known as Apo, Ocalan founded the Kurdistan Workers Party, PKK, in 1978. The movement turned to armed struggle in 1984, mainly focusing on guerrilla-style warfare in the southeast, but also carrying out bomb attacks on civilians in western Turkey. Close to 37,000 people died in the conflict. His presence in Europe could also be a blessing in disguise for the group, forcing the PKK to transform itself from a rebel army into a political movement. Ocalan seemed to be moving in this direction before his detention. While living in Damacus, he increased his meetings with European deputies. This may be the PKK's best option. The Turkish military claims it has made important battlefield gains and captured the PKK's second-in-command this year. The rebels also seem to have lost the support of Syria, which appears to have forced Ocalan to leave after Turkey threatened to attack it. Two Iraqi Kurdish groups controlling Turkey's border with Iraq have also grown lukewarm. The PKK has used their bases in Syria and Iraq to wage cross-border operations. ``The PKK had two options. Either they choose to fight until they get control of the area, regardless of what image they project abroad, or they try to take on a political image. I believe (Ocalan) wanted to leave the Middle East so he could become a political figure,'' said Hikmet Tavak, managing director of the London-based Kurdish television, MED-TV. In Rome, spokesmen for the PKK said Ocalan had carefully selected Italy because he felt there was sympathy there for his cause. They also said Italian authorities were warned that Ocalan would be arriving. There is a fair amount of sympathy for the Kurds in Europe, and if the movement gains political momentum, Turkey could come under more pressure from its western allies to grant the Kurds minority rights. There are an estimated 8 to 15 million Kurds in Turkey. They are not recognized as an official minority and barred from using Kurdish in education or broadcasting. Kurdish politicians have been jailed and groups banned on charges of supporting the PKK.",
"Thousands of Kurds living in Romania closed down restaurants, shops and companies to protest the arrest of leader Abdullah Ocalan by Italian authorities, a newspaper reported Tuesday. Kurdish business leaders said the one-day shutdown Monday cost their 1,000 businesses some dlrs 700,000, daily Evenimentul Zilei reported. There are some 4,000 Kurds living in Romania. Kurdish students cut classes and workers didn't go to work. Some 41 Kurds declared a hunger strike Monday to protest Ocalan's detention. The protesters have refused any medical assistance from Romanian authorities, relying on the services of two Kurdish doctors, the paper reported. ``We are not terrorists, as we are considered by the Turkish state and its friends,'' said Aihan Dogan, a Kurdish leader. The detention in Italy of Kurdish rebel leader Ocalan prompted widespread protests by Kurds throughout Europe. Turkey has asked for Ocalan to be returned to Turkey.",
"INNSBRUCK, Austria (AP) -- Italian authorities have turned back at least 136 people along the Austro-Italian border during an immigration crackdown prompted by the arrest of Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan, Austrian officials said Monday. Most of those sent back since the crackdown began Saturday were refused entry into Italy because they had no visas or residence permits, the Austrians said. On Monday alone, about 70 people were refused entry at the Brenner Pass crossing point. They included Pakistanis, Indians, Yugoslavs and Chinese as well as Kurds, the Austrians said. The border crackdown appeared designed to prevent large numbers of Kurds living in Western Europe from flocking to Rome for protests in connection with Ocalan's arrest. Turkey has asked for Ocalan's extradition. Austrian authorities said many of those turned back had come from Germany. A Red Cross station was set up at the border to assist those turned away to return to Germany if their residence permits were in order. Those without proper papers were detained by Austrian immigration.",
"Turkey stepped up pressure on Italy for the extradition of captured Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, saying Sunday that granting him asylum would amount to ``opening doors to terrorism.'' Kurds in Italy, Germany, Austria and Romania launched protests and hunger strikes in fervent shows of solidarity with the rebel leader. Kurds came to Rome by bus and car from across Western Europe for a 1,500-strong protest outside the military hospital where Ocalan is believed held under tight security. If Italy sends Ocalan back to Turkey, ``he'll be tortured for certain,'' said Dino Frisullo, an Italian supporter among the singing, chanting Kurds outside the military hospital. ``And very possibly he'll be killed.'' Ocalan was arrested Thursday at the Rome airport as soon as he stepped off a plane from Moscow, where he had sought asylum after fleeing his hideout in Syria. He leads the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, PKK, which has been fighting for Kurdish autonomy in southeastern Turkey since 1984. The conflict has killed nearly 37,000 people. To Turkey, Ocalan is the nation's most-wanted criminal. ``If Western European nations open their arms (to the rebels) they will be taking on this great terrorism problem,'' Deputy Premier Bulent Ecevit told reporters in Ankara. ``If Italy continues to show the tolerance it showed yesterday, it will be opening its doors to terrorism,'' Ecevit added, referring to Italy's handling of brawls that broke out during the first day of protests Saturday outside the Rome military hospital. The protest in Rome was peaceful Sunday. Elsewhere in Europe, dozens of Kurds protested in Bucharest until chased away by police; 1,000 Kurds rallied in Bonn, some waving pictures of the Kurd leader; and 100 Kurds in Vienna set up tents outside Parliament and declared a hunger strike. In Turkey, four Kurdish prison inmates were in critical condition after setting themselves on fire to protest Ocalan's arrest, the independent Human Rights Association said. Ocalan faces the death penalty in Turkey, a fact that has heightened opposition in Italy to his extradition. Although there have been no executions in Turkey since 1984, Italy has consistently refused to extradite anyone if there were even a risk of capital punishment. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem left for Rome on Sunday to attend a meeting of European defense and foreign ministers, saying he would tell Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini that ``we expect a serious and fair approach.'' He criticized an Italian Justice Ministry official, who reportedly said Italy would deny Turkey's extradition request. ``To announce the results of an extradition trial that has not yet even begun does not go hand in hand with justice,'' Cem told reporters before departing. Turkish Defense Minister Ismet Sezgin indicated to reporters in Rome that Italian companies could be shut out of Turkey's billions of dollars of defense contracts if it fails to turn over the Kurd. In Italy, Dini told reporters in the city of Trento that the government would decide Ocalan's request for asylum in a ``clear and responsible manner.'' It was up for the courts to decide Turkey's extradition request, as well as an expected one from Germany, he said. In Istanbul, Turkish inmates at a prison took an Italian prisoner hostage to increase pressure for Ocalan's extradition. Metris prison officials said the jail director was talking to the inmate captors. Ocalan founded the Marxist-inspired PKK in 1978. He turned the group toward armed struggle in 1984, finding wide support among poor Kurds in the underdeveloped southeast. The Turkish army claims to have all but wiped out the PKK within Turkey but the rebels have havens in Iran, Syria, and Iraq and the fighting continues.",
"About 1,000 policemen were assigned to protect Turkish President Suleyman Demirel, who arrived Tuesday on a three-day official visit. President Thomas Klestil's invitation for the visit was issued to take place during Austria's European Union presidency. Austrian government officials reportedly will try to open up a ``longer-term perspective'' for Turkey's EU membership. A related topic certain to come up is Cyprus, among six countries with whom the European Union started formal membership talks on Nov. 10. In a rare joint statement, the Netherlands, Germany and France said the inability of Greek and Turkish Cypriots to reconcile their differences weighed heavily on their island's membership chances. They spoke of ``fundamental problems'' in the Cyprus negotiating process, adding ``a political solution is urgently required.'' Austrian police took special measures to ensure the safety of the Turkish visitor. ``The political situation requires comprehensive security measures,'' the Austria Press Agency quoted Walter Zehetmayr, a senior police officer, as saying. The extra effort was prompted by the arrest last week in Rome of Abdullah Ocalan, the chief of the Turkish Workers Party PKK, Zehetmayr said. He hinted that he expects large protests of Turkish groups in Vienna. Demirel, who was accompanied by five Cabinet members and a large trade delegation, is the first head of state of the Turkish Republic to visit Austria, APA said. Following his talks with Klestil and a luncheon in the president's residence, Demirel was scheduled to meet Parliament president Heinz Fischer and other senior officials. He was also to deliver a speech to the Foreign Policy Society later Tuesday.",
"About 1,500 Kurds who spent the night outside a military hospital where Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan is believed held continued their hunger strike Monday to protest his detention. Kurds from across Western Europe have been streaming into Rome to show their support for Ocalan (pronounced Oh-jah-lan), who was arrested Thursday when he stepped off a plane from Moscow. He had been seeking political asylum in Russia after fleeing his hideout in Syria. He has, 3rd graf"
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Famine had become the rule as North Korea entered its fourth winter of chronic food shortage in 1998. In 1997 the nation produced only 2.8 million tons of grain of the 4.5 million required to feed its 23 million people. Poor harvests, floods and droughts contributed to the problem exasperated by government restrictions on international aid. Two million may have died from famine and the U.N. reported that 65% of the children under 7 showed stunted growth. One report concluded that famine and a failed public health system had produced a generation of physically and mentally impaired children. Similar conditions were said to be developing in Cambodia. N. Korea will have another poor harvest this year, making this its 4th winter of famine. Government has cut the number of people to get aid for security reasons. The possibility of nuclear weapons in N. Korea threatens U.S. aid. Millions have died of starvation. Two thirds of children under age 7 are malnourished and their growth is stunted. A generation will be physically and mentally impaired. Hyundai's founder will give 501 cattle to his native N. Korea. About 200 defected to S. Korea in the last 3 years. China returned 100 to 150, denying them asylum. Hunger in Cambodia is due to a bad economy. N. Korea will send 317 to the Asian Games in Thailand. North Korea has suffered 5 years of famine, caused by floods and the loss of Soviet trade. The government distributed nutritionless substitutes and made food aid available to fewer people. Two million may have starved. Children are stunted. Curable diseases become fatal. A generation is impaired mentally and physically. Some seek asylum in the South. China sends refugees home. N. Korea's hard line discourages donors. Hyundai's founder donated cattle to the North but leaders claim he sabotaged them. He hopes to promote tourism of the North. N. Korea is sending many athletes to the Asian Games despite famine. Cambodia's famine approaching N. Korea's level. The fourth year of devastating famine is striking North Korea, making it the worst in East Asia, and behind only India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, with Cambodia catching up. North Korea is getting massive international aid, but investigators fear the young generation will be lost to severe malnutrition. The public health system is disseminated. The old, rural, and nonpolitical are hardest hit. The rigid political system continues to limit access and aid to 30% of the country, repel attempts to help, such as from South Korean businessmen and Doctors without Borders, and waste money on propaganda. More are fleeing to China, seeking food not political freedom.
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"North Korea is entering its fourth winter of chronic food shortages with its people malnourished and at risk of dying from normally curable illnesses, senior Red Cross officials said Tuesday. The officials warned against international complacency and hostility toward North Korea as the food crisis stretches on and the isolated communist country shows little willingness to adopt far-reaching changes to revive its ruined economy. ``Humanitarian suffering cannot be routine in any part of the world,'' said Margareta Wahlstrom, the Red Cross' undersecretary of disaster relief, who returned to Beijing Tuesday after a week inspecting the aid agency's operations in North Korea. She and other Red Cross officials saw further ravages of North Korea's slow-motion famine: electricity supplied to only half the capital, Pyongyang, at a time; the elderly looking swollen, a sign of long-term hunger; a generation of children stunted, with 10-year-olds looking like 6-year-olds and 5-year-olds like 2-year-olds. Everywhere, from bakeries to government ministries, people were being served noodles and cakes made from soybeans mixed with acorns, grass and herbs, Red Cross president Astrid Heiberg said. Heiberg likened the additives to ``cattle food'' and noted that doctors reported a rise in stomach illnesses from the mixtures. ``This is really part of the daily life,'' she said. ``You would not give them to your children or your elderly mother knowing she would get cramps in her stomach and diarrhea unless her stomach was moaning.'' Three years of floods and drought that started in 1995 devastated North Korea's collective farming and planned economy, already teetering from the loss of its Soviet bloc trading partners. With few goods or money to barter or buy foreign supplies, the country lacks sufficient fertilizer for crops, and fuel and parts for machinery. The Red Cross inspectors saw soldiers and people harvesting cabbage, the winter's main vegetable. The grain harvest is finished and by U.N. estimates little improved over last year's: about 3 million tons, only enough to meet two-thirds of the needs of North Korea's 22 million people. As the long, harsh winter begins, doctors confirm and official statistics show widespread malnutrition, tuberculosis on the rise and hunger-weakened patients unable to recover from operations and sickness, Heiberg said. Doctors worry that the respiratory illnesses so common in the winter may ``take a toll'' on the weakened population, she said. One 10-bed hospital in the countryside was keeping only three patients at a time because it did not have food to care for more, said Heiberg. The Red Cross wants to focus its latest dlrs 9 million appeal on getting essential medicines and blankets and warm clothes to North Korea. Food aid is largely being turned over to U.N. agencies.",
"Despite catastrophic hunger at home, North Korea plans to send 317 athletes and officials to next month's Asian Games in Thailand, South Korean officials said Thursday. It will be the largest sports delegation the communist country has sent abroad in recent years. North Korean Sports Minister Chang Ung said 209 athletes from his country will compete in 21 events in Bangkok, hoping to win medals in women's judo, women's soccer, wrestling, table tennis, weightlifting and boxing. Chang made the remarks in an interview published recently by the Chosun Shinbo, a newspaper run by pro-North Korean residents in Japan, said Seoul's Naewoe Press, which obtained the report. Chang said North Korea was sending a large delegation to Bangkok to prepare for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. North Korea did not enter the last Asian Games, in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1994. It sent only 18 athletes and officials to the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, in February. Naewoe is run by South Korea's main government intelligence agency and specializes in monitoring communist news media. Three years of floods and drought that started in 1995 devastated North Korea's collective farming and planned economy, forcing the country to rely on outside aid to feed its 23 million people.",
"More than five years of severe food shortages and a near-total breakdown in the public health system have led to devastating malnutrition in North Korea and probably left an entire generation of children physically and mentally impaired, a new study by international aid groups has found. The study, the first scientific nutritional survey in North Korea, confirms the disturbing reports by international aid workers, who over the past year have gained increasing access to the population of this highly isolated and secretive country. Among other shocking findings, researchers from the World Food Program, Unicef and the European Union found that, because of long-term food shortages, a staggering 62 percent of children under 7 years old suffer from stunted growth. They have discovered that, despite a huge international food aid program over the past three years, severe malnutrition is widespread among toddlers at crucial stages of brain development, suggesting that this generation's physical and mental abilities will not develop normally and that the losses can never be recovered. Separately, international medical workers from groups like the Red Cross, have begun to document how the effects of food shortages are being severely compounded by a breakdown in public health services. Even basic water purification systems stand idle for lack of essential ingredients like chlorine, Red Cross workers say, leaving vast numbers of people with such severe diarrhea that they are unable to absorb completely what little food they have. As the North Korean dictatorship has slowly, often grudgingly, granted increased access to international aid groups in the last six months, an increasingly clear and saddening picture of the hunger haas emerged as a result of the large formal study and informal surveys and observations by foreign aid agencies. Past assessments of the magnitude of the disaster in the country of 23 million are considered flawed because they were based on interviews with a small number of North Korean refugees who had fled into China. And while the researchers and aid workers on the ground in North Korea have not seen evidence of cannibalism or starving children dying by the roadside _ descriptions that have surfaced in the more lurid refugee reports _ what they did find was in many ways equally disturbing: A population withering after nearly a decade of chronic hunger, people so weakened by malnutrition that colds and stomach flus quickly turn lethal, the future of a generation irretrievably lost. ``Now at last we have hard facts _ the situation is very grave,'' said Judith Cheng-Hopkins, regional director for Asia of the World Food Program, which has taken part in the research. ``To me this is a famine in slow motion. People cope year after year, and probably a lot drop off. But the totality is very hard to gauge.'' For three weeks this fall, crews led by foreign scientists were finally permitted to fan out across North Korea to conduct the first random sample nutritional survey of children, providing by far the most solid data on the crisis. They found that 62 percent of children under 7 had stunted growth, a",
"symptom of long-term malnutrition. Thirty percent of 1-year-olds suffered from moderate to severe malnutrition. This means a high likelihood of impaired mental and physical development, because the nervous system matures dramatically during this essential first year. The researchers said that available scientific data suggest that 10 years ago, malnutrition was rare in North Korea. ``Even if the situation improves, it is unlikely to improve to the degree that the country will fully recover from what we saw,'' said Judit Katona-Apte, a senior program adviser for the World Food Program. ``People will be small and not as well developed as otherwise and somewhat limited in their mental capacities.'' Likewise, when Red Cross representatives this year tested the water supply at the 840 hospitals and clinics where they operate, they found that not one had water that was suitable for human consumption, said Sten Swedlund, head of the Red Cross delegation in North Korea. ``But of course they drink it _ they have no choice,'' he said during a recent trip to Beijing. ``There is a very close relationship between the problems caused by the lack of food and a health sector that's in very bad shape.'' Virtually all the children under 7 who are malnourished also have diarrhea, he said. None of the aid groups has been able to study the issue of hunger-related deaths, and the North Koreans have not released relevant figures, although most experts agree that probably more than one million and perhaps as many as three million have died prematurely since the food shortages began. But public health experts say the number who have perished might be difficult to tally in any case, because most deaths were probably not from quick starvation, but from immune systems weakened by years of hunger, so that common colds more easily give way to lethal pneumonia and an ordinary bout of infectious diarrhea proves fatal. Still, there are some disturbing clues: In one limited study conducted by the World Food Program and other groups last year on 4,000 children hand-picked by the government, 10 percent had a parent who was dead. In this fall's independent nutritional survey, 18 teams of experts sent to eight of North Korea's nine provinces looked at 1,800 rural and urban children under seven. In addition to finding that 62 percent of children had stunted growth, the teams found that about 16 percent of children were suffering from acute malnutrition and were underweight for their height, a sign that they were severely underfed at the time of the study. That figure is higher than in any country in East Asia and puts North Korea among the world's worst 10 countries in terms of malnutrition. While that 16 percent figure is not quite as bad as that of India and Bangladesh, the worst in the world with an 18 percent malnutrition rate, experts say that North Korea's number in some ways understates the problem. In India and Bangladesh, pockets of severe poverty alternate with pockets of relative plenty, while in North Korea the whole country is to some degree underfed.",
"``Even in war-torn countries, famine is more in pockets,'' Dr. Katona-Apte said. ``It's hard to think of another country that's been affected in this way.'' The survey results are especially sobering since the researchers studied only children under 7, the group that received nearly all the food donated from abroad. After three years of food donations, many foreign aid workers in the country have remarked that children in nurseries and kindergartens are looking better _ but that their older siblings are failing. So a month ago, the World Food Program began providing elementary schools with high nutrition biscuits for children aged 7 to 12. ``We have reason to believe that many people are suffering and that the elderly are a neglected age group that is just getting weaker and weaker,'' Swedlund said. There are now more than 100 Westerners living in Pyongyang, the capital city, and many say the long-term hunger is readily apparent there. ``If you walk down the street in Pyongyang and ask a child how old she is, you are usually off by three years,'' Swedlund said. ``She may be 7 but she looks just 3 or 4.'' Dr. Katona-Apte, a nutrition expert who has worked in Bangladesh and the Sudan, said she was shocked when she first visited a North Korean kindergarten last year. ``There were these two children sitting at a desk who were obviously severely malnourished _ they were so thin and they had patchy hair,'' she said. ``And they were just sitting there working. This is accepted as normal! They are in school, and they should really be hospitalized or placed in nutritional rehabilitation. If you saw them in a refugee camp, you would recommend immediate intervention.'' But with a severely depleted public health and hospital system, that option does not exist, she and others said. Many Korean doctors do not know how to diagnose or treat malnutrition; few had seen it before this decade. And, in any case, the hospitals lack the food and proper nutritional supplements. Swedlund said most hospitals lacked medicines, had no glass to replace broken windows and were ``colder inside than out,'' having received no coal since 1994. He said that even in hospitals, sanitation and water purification systems were virtually nonexistent, because the country lacks chlorine for purification and fuel to run water pumps. He said that next year, the Red Cross would start to address those problems, spending $3.5 on food for hospital patients and $1 million on water treatment. With few other options, vast numbers of North Koreans have resorted to eating ``substitute food,'' hard cakes and noodles made from a mix of nutritional plants, like soybeans and sweet potatoes, combined with indigestible filler, like cornstalks and straw. ``This now constitutes 40 percent of food intake,'' Swedlund said. ``It's becoming a regular part of the food basket.'' Doctors in North Korea say many people suffer from stomachaches after eating this partly indigestible material, he said, but added, ``If you're very hungry, it fills your stomach.'' Although the North Koreans date their food problems to a series of",
"floods and droughts in the mid-1990's, the foreign researchers who have worked in North Korea say medical records and childhood growth patterns indicate that the hunger began several years before that and is linked to the collapse of the Soviet Union, which had long been North Korea's main supplier of food, fuel and fertilizer. North Korea is a mountainous country, with less than 20 percent arable land. It has been a food importer for decades, mostly from the former Soviet Union, but also from China. ``The country has to come to grips with the fact that this is part of a structural problem and can't just be blamed on the weather anymore,'' Ms. Cheng-Hopkins said. Still, she and others praised the normally rigid and secretive government for slowly loosening its restrictions. Swedlund said that after three years in the country, the international Red Cross, which collaborates with the North Korean Red Cross, had found officials increasingly responsive and doctors more willing to share medical records and bring up problems. Travel is still restricted. There are more than 100 counties, home to 30 percent of the population, to which aid groups have no access and where they have therefore refused to provide food or medical supplies. Still, the number of counties open to the workers has increased steadily, and freedom to move about has improved. Ms. Cheng-Hopkins said about half of follow-up inspections were now unannounced, and she noted that the researchers in the nutritional survey were allowed to select villages to visit and enter homes at random. Workers from the Red Cross and the World Food Program said they had not observed extreme scenes of people dying of acute starvation and believe that they would have if they were occurring frequently. ``I have not seen acute starvation like I have seen in Bangladesh,'' Dr. Katona-Apte said. ``But that doesn't mean it can't exist. We're still really limited in what we can see.'' Swedlund said it was unlikely that the counties still closed to foreigners were markedly different from the open ones. And while some have surmised that the closed counties might harbor pockets of death and devastation, he said he accepted North Korea's explanation that they had been excluded from some areas for national security reasons. ``One thing I've learned is how important national security issues are to the North Koreans,'' said Swedlund, a retired admiral in the Swedish Navy. ``And I really think these areas are important from that standpoint,'' he added, going through a map of closed areas and describing what Western intelligence experts know about military installations there. He also rejected the notion that the North Korean military is stealing donated food, a charge leveled by the organization Doctors Without Borders, when it angrily pulled out of North Korea last summer to protest the many restrictions on groups working there. Now that aid groups say they are starting to get somewhat better cooperation from the North Koreans, they hope to repeat their nutrition survey every 6 to 12 months. And they are still analyzing some tantalizing findings: Boys were",
"twice as likely to suffer from stunted growth as girls, and every child whose mother was dead was malnourished. ``A generation of North Korean children is already scarred for life,'' said Astrid Heiberg, president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, in an interview in Beijing after a trip to North Korea. ``We need to continue to mobilize resources to prevent an even greater catastrophe.''",
"The founder of South Korea's largest conglomerate plans to visit his native North Korea again next week with a gift of 501 cattle, company officials said Thursday. The visit has been delayed a month because of a dispute over 500 cattle donated by Chung Ju-yung, founder of the Hyundai group, during a trip to the North in June. North Korea claimed 71 of those cattle died because Seoul government agents force-fed them indigestible vinyl strips and lumps of rope before shipping them to the North. Calling the North's claim nonsense, Seoul's Ministry of National Unification ordered Hyundai to check thousands of other cattle being raised at its ranch on the west coast. The ministry later acknowledged that lumps of rope were found in the stomachs of some cattle on the ranch, but said the material didn't kill the animals donated to North Korea. It blamed the deaths on stress caused by the long shipment by truck to the North. The South Korean government said it would not authorize a second shipment of cattle unless the North retracted its accusations. On Thursday, South Korean Unification Minister Kang In-duk said North Korea sent a letter to Hyundai last week, saying that ``the misunderstanding with the southern authorities on the issue of the dead cattle is cleared.'' Kang said the North's letter ``cleared a stumbling block for Hyundai's additional cattle donation.'' During his visit, Chung is expected to reach agreement on details of Hyundai's plan to start sightseeing tours of a scenic mountain in the North. The tours, originally scheduled to begin in September, have been delayed because of cost, security and other matters. Hyundai hopes to send by ship up to 2,000 tourists a week for four-day tours of Diamond Mountain on the North's east coast beginning in November. Animosity and distrust between the two Koreas run deep. The Korean states were separated into the communist North and the capitalist South in 1945. They fought a three-year war in the early 1950s.",
"Famine-threatened North Korea's harvest will be no better this year than last and could be worse, a senior U.N. aid official said Saturday. North Korea needs a minimum 4.5 million to 5 million tons of grain to feed its 23 million people, but managed last year to harvest just 2.8 million tons, Namanga Ngongi, deputy head of the World Food Program said. Although hard figures are not yet available, the prospects for this year are that ``the harvest will not be any better,'' Ngongi told reporters in Beijing after visiting North Korea. ``It may be worse than last year.'' Poor harvests, economic collapse and three years of floods and drought, have produced chronic food shortages in North Korea and left it heavily reliant on foreign aid. Fertilizer is lacking, as is fuel to power tractors and farm machinery, meaning most planting and harvesting must be done by hand. ``Every year it gets worse,'' Ngongi said. But despite the need for food aid, Ngongi said the government about a month ago cut the number of counties to which the WFP has access from 171 to 145, reducing the number of people who can get aid from 6.7 million to 5.8 million. Most of those receiving WFP aid are children aged between 6 months and 6 years. Ngongi said the government cited security concerns _ notably the lack of a peace treaty with its rival South Korea _ for its decision. The government said the ban would be temporary, Ngongi added. Ngongi, who spent four days inspecting WFP relief efforts in North Korea, said people generally looked better than during a visit last year. But he also said he could see that ``a large part of the population is very weak.'' ``Everybody has been consuming at a very low level. So they may not be severely malnourished, but they are not well nourished at all,'' he said. U.S. officials who toured some of the hardest-hit regions of North Korea this summer said 2 million people may have died because of famine. Ngongi said he saw malnourished children who were said to be 10 or 11 years old, but appeared to be only 4 or 5 years old. About 30 percent of children in one primary school he visited were not in class. ``A lot of the children were too weak to come to school,'' he said. But Ngongi said foreign food aid has saved lives. ``A lot of people are alive today thanks to the international community's support,'' he said.",
"Police in northeastern China's Jilin province said Monday they had rounded up at least 100 North Koreans and sent them back to endure a famine in their reclusive country. A police official in the Jilin city of Tonghua, near the North Korean border, said the North Koreans were forced to repatriate because some had resettled illegally in China, had formed criminal gangs or engaged in prostitution. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, denied reports in the South Korean press that the Chinese had disregarded requests for political asylum in forcing the refugees back across the border. He said they had crossed into China seeking food, not because of political repression in North Korea. Citing a North Korean human rights group and Japanese tourists visiting the region, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported Monday that 150 North Koreans had been sent home from China, despite having presented petitions for political asylum. North Korea is entering its fourth winter of chronic food shortages, having harvested only 3 million tons of grain this year, about two-thirds of the minimum needed by its 23 million people.",
"Hunger and malnutrition in Cambodia are reaching crisis levels comparable to the effects of famine in North Korea, a U.N. World Food Program representative said Tuesday. Though North Korea is suffering from a simple lack of food, a faltering economy in Cambodia combined with weak health care and education is causing similar levels of malnutrition in children, said Ken Davies, the WFP's country director. ``There is enough rice. The problem is that people are too poor to access it. The problem is poverty,'' Davies said. The WFP is currently supporting 1.7 million hungry Cambodians _ about 15 percent of the population _ with food-for-work and direct assistance programs, but Davies said he fears there are still plenty more that are not getting enough to eat every day. ``The problem is so bad that it is only a little worse in North Korea,'' Davies said. ``The situation is much worse than most people recognize.'' According to a recent WFP survey, 49 percent of Cambodian children under age 5 are stunted by lack of food and 20 percent suffer from acute malnutrition. By comparison, a similar survey of North Korean children under 7 found that 65 percent are stunted and 16 percent suffer from acute malnutrition. Cambodia has produced a rice surplus for export in the last two years and expects another this year, but WFP statistics show that 25 percent of rice-growing areas account for 75 percent of the surplus. The majority of Cambodian farmers are not producing enough to keep their families fed and are being increasingly saddled with debts incurred when they run out of reserves before harvest, Davies said. Money-lenders in rural Cambodia typically charge 100 percent interest, which must be paid in rice at harvest time, giving many farmers a handicapped start on the next crop season. Poor sanitation, lack of health care and ignorance of modern child rearing _ problems left mostly unaddressed by under-funded health and education sectors in Cambodia _ have exacerbated the food security problem, Davies said. Davies urged the new government to substantially increase annual expenditures on health, education and rural development as a first step in a long-term solution to Cambodia's food crisis. ``The poverty is getting worse right now and the situation with the malnutrition of children is a crisis,'' Davies said. Cambodia typically earmarks about half of its annual budget to defense and security. In the 1998 budget, education was allocated 6.5 percent, health 4.4 percent and rural development 0.2 percent. Actual disbursements to the three ministries are often only 60 to 70 percent of the budgeted amount as annual revenues fall short of expectations, according to aid workers. A 1999 budget draft proposed a reduction of the health ministry's allotment, which caused an outcry in September from health officials and the U.N. World Health Program. The draft was later readjusted to provide an unprecedented 33 percent increase in health spending.",
"A North Korean man arrived in Seoul Wednesday and sought asylum after escaping his hunger-stricken homeland, government officials said. Kim Myong Sup, 23, had been living in hiding in a ``third country'' since fleeing North Korea last year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said. The ministry generally uses the term ``third country'' to avoid naming China, which is required by treaty with North Korea to return defectors to their homeland. The ministry described Kim as a former athlete, but said details of his background and his method of escape from North Korea were not available. About 200 North Koreans have defected to South Korea in the past three years, including 60 so far this year. All complained about severe food and fuel shortages in their country. The Koreas were divided into the communist North and the capitalist South in 1945. They fought the Korean War in 1950-53 and never signed a formal peace treaty.",
"A congressman who visited remote parts of North Korea last week said Saturday that the food and health situation there was desperate and deteriorating, and that millions of North Koreans might have starved to death in the last few years. The congressman, Tony Hall, D-Ohio, who has had a longtime interest in world hunger, passed through Tokyo on his return to the United States and showed photographs he had taken of North Korean children with patchy hair, protruding bones, open sores and other signs of severe malnutrition. Hall also brought back a bag of what officials called ``substitute food'' being distributed by a government food station: dried leaves and straw, so coarse that even cattle would normally turn away. ``They grind it into powder and make it into noodles,'' Hall said. The noodles have no nutrition and are indigestible, leaving people holding their aching stomachs, he said. North Korea has admitted that it is facing serious economic difficulties, but there have been sharply diverging assessments of how serious these are. Some visitors with the United Nations and other organizations have said that the food situation seems to be a bit better now than a year or two ago. Hall said that the divergence might have arisen because in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, life did seem to be slightly better than during his three previous trips to North Korea. But in rural areas where foreigners are not often allowed to visit, he added, the overall situation is worse than ever. Based on visits to four hospitals, Hall also emphasized that public health care had declined sharply. In one hospital, assistants were holding down a patient while surgeons conducted a stomach operation without electric lights or anesthesia. Ordinary North Koreans are suffering, in part, because their government's hard-line policies have alienated would-be donors and aid agencies. The United Nations has repeatedly appealed for relief aid for North Korea, but the latest appeal has raised less than one-third of the target. In September, Doctors Without Borders announced that it was pulling its staff of 13 from North Korea because it feared that its aid was going to the politically connected rather than to the most needy. North Korea does not release mortality figures or health statistics, but Hall said that the United Nations had gathered and would soon release data indicating that 30 percent of North Korean children under age 2 are acutely malnourished and that 67 percent of all children are physically stunted. Hall said he thought that overall at least 1 million people had died and that the total was probably closer to 3 million. In an indication of the seriousness with which professional demographers view the situation, the U.S. Bureau of the Census recently published estimates suggesting that North Korea's population peaked in 1995 at 21.55 million and has since fallen to 21.23 million this year. That would be a decline of 320,000 over three years, a period when North Korea's population would have been expected to grow by about 925,000 people, based on the population growth rate of the early 1990s. Nicholas Eberstadt, an American specialist on North Korean population figures, says that there simply is not enough hard information for him to estimate the death toll from the famine. But he notes one political tidbit: North Korea's constitution stipulates that there should be one delegate to the country's ``people's assembly'' for every 30,000 citizens. This year's assembly did not expand as previous ones did, but rather had just 687 delegates, the same as the previous assembly held in 1990. While Eberstadt counsels caution, that could mean that North Korea's population, after eight years in which it had been expected to add several million people, is now back to 20.6 million people or fewer. The United States has been supplying grain to North Korea, but strains are growing over a secret underground complex in the North that some experts worry may be the heart of a new nuclear weapons program. The United States warned last week that the ``agreed framework'' that is the basis for its relations with North Korea will be in jeopardy unless the North lets American experts visit the underground complex and resolve their doubts. North Korea has said that it will show off the complex only if Washington promises that if the complex is not a nuclear one, it will pay for ``vilifying us and impairing our prestige.'' Washington refuses to pay, and North Korea is warning that the standoff could lead the agreement to fall apart. ``Their shameless and wicked demand is an open infringement upon our sovereignty and wanton interference in our internal affairs,'' declared North Korea's leading newspaper, Rodong Sinmun.",
"Years of food shortages have stunted the growth of millions of North Korean children, with two-thirds of children under age seven suffering malnourishment, U.N. experts said Wednesday. Several years of flooding and droughts coupled with an economic downturn have heavily damaged North Korea's crop production and capacity to import food in the closed, communist nation. A survey carried out in September and October also showed that 16 percent of children in North Korea are acutely malnourished, with a body weight too low for their height. That figure, which reflects ongoing shortages, is exceeded in Asia only by Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. Eighteen teams, each headed by a foreign official from the World Food Program, the U.N. Children's Fund or the European Union, carried out the study. They measured the weight and height of 1,800 North Korean children from infants up to age seven in homes randomly selected in areas where aid agencies have access. Those areas cover around 70 percent of the population. It was the first ``technically sound survey'' of the problem, UNICEF official Kirsi Madi told reporters. The most alarming findings were for toddlers aged one to two, 30 percent of whom were acutely malnourished. At that age, ``malnutrition can permanently impair physical and intellectual growth,'' said Judy Cheng-Hopkins, WFP director for the region. Children in North Korea's three largest cities _ Pyongyang, Wonsan and Nampo _ were better off than their counterparts elsewhere, with 11 percent acutely malnourished. Boys were almost twice as badly affected as girls."
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"North Korea is entering its fourth winter of chronic food shortages with its people malnourished and at risk of dying from normally curable illnesses, senior Red Cross officials said Tuesday. The officials warned against international complacency and hostility toward North Korea as the food crisis stretches on and the isolated communist country shows little willingness to adopt far-reaching changes to revive its ruined economy. ``Humanitarian suffering cannot be routine in any part of the world,'' said Margareta Wahlstrom, the Red Cross' undersecretary of disaster relief, who returned to Beijing Tuesday after a week inspecting the aid agency's operations in North Korea. She and other Red Cross officials saw further ravages of North Korea's slow-motion famine: electricity supplied to only half the capital, Pyongyang, at a time; the elderly looking swollen, a sign of long-term hunger; a generation of children stunted, with 10-year-olds looking like 6-year-olds and 5-year-olds like 2-year-olds. Everywhere, from bakeries to government ministries, people were being served noodles and cakes made from soybeans mixed with acorns, grass and herbs, Red Cross president Astrid Heiberg said. Heiberg likened the additives to ``cattle food'' and noted that doctors reported a rise in stomach illnesses from the mixtures. ``This is really part of the daily life,'' she said. ``You would not give them to your children or your elderly mother knowing she would get cramps in her stomach and diarrhea unless her stomach was moaning.'' Three years of floods and drought that started in 1995 devastated North Korea's collective farming and planned economy, already teetering from the loss of its Soviet bloc trading partners. With few goods or money to barter or buy foreign supplies, the country lacks sufficient fertilizer for crops, and fuel and parts for machinery. The Red Cross inspectors saw soldiers and people harvesting cabbage, the winter's main vegetable. The grain harvest is finished and by U.N. estimates little improved over last year's: about 3 million tons, only enough to meet two-thirds of the needs of North Korea's 22 million people. As the long, harsh winter begins, doctors confirm and official statistics show widespread malnutrition, tuberculosis on the rise and hunger-weakened patients unable to recover from operations and sickness, Heiberg said. Doctors worry that the respiratory illnesses so common in the winter may ``take a toll'' on the weakened population, she said. One 10-bed hospital in the countryside was keeping only three patients at a time because it did not have food to care for more, said Heiberg. The Red Cross wants to focus its latest dlrs 9 million appeal on getting essential medicines and blankets and warm clothes to North Korea. Food aid is largely being turned over to U.N. agencies.",
"Despite catastrophic hunger at home, North Korea plans to send 317 athletes and officials to next month's Asian Games in Thailand, South Korean officials said Thursday. It will be the largest sports delegation the communist country has sent abroad in recent years. North Korean Sports Minister Chang Ung said 209 athletes from his country will compete in 21 events in Bangkok, hoping to win medals in women's judo, women's soccer, wrestling, table tennis, weightlifting and boxing. Chang made the remarks in an interview published recently by the Chosun Shinbo, a newspaper run by pro-North Korean residents in Japan, said Seoul's Naewoe Press, which obtained the report. Chang said North Korea was sending a large delegation to Bangkok to prepare for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. North Korea did not enter the last Asian Games, in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1994. It sent only 18 athletes and officials to the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, in February. Naewoe is run by South Korea's main government intelligence agency and specializes in monitoring communist news media. Three years of floods and drought that started in 1995 devastated North Korea's collective farming and planned economy, forcing the country to rely on outside aid to feed its 23 million people.",
"More than five years of severe food shortages and a near-total breakdown in the public health system have led to devastating malnutrition in North Korea and probably left an entire generation of children physically and mentally impaired, a new study by international aid groups has found. The study, the first scientific nutritional survey in North Korea, confirms the disturbing reports by international aid workers, who over the past year have gained increasing access to the population of this highly isolated and secretive country. Among other shocking findings, researchers from the World Food Program, Unicef and the European Union found that, because of long-term food shortages, a staggering 62 percent of children under 7 years old suffer from stunted growth. They have discovered that, despite a huge international food aid program over the past three years, severe malnutrition is widespread among toddlers at crucial stages of brain development, suggesting that this generation's physical and mental abilities will not develop normally and that the losses can never be recovered. Separately, international medical workers from groups like the Red Cross, have begun to document how the effects of food shortages are being severely compounded by a breakdown in public health services. Even basic water purification systems stand idle for lack of essential ingredients like chlorine, Red Cross workers say, leaving vast numbers of people with such severe diarrhea that they are unable to absorb completely what little food they have. As the North Korean dictatorship has slowly, often grudgingly, granted increased access to international aid groups in the last six months, an increasingly clear and saddening picture of the hunger haas emerged as a result of the large formal study and informal surveys and observations by foreign aid agencies. Past assessments of the magnitude of the disaster in the country of 23 million are considered flawed because they were based on interviews with a small number of North Korean refugees who had fled into China. And while the researchers and aid workers on the ground in North Korea have not seen evidence of cannibalism or starving children dying by the roadside _ descriptions that have surfaced in the more lurid refugee reports _ what they did find was in many ways equally disturbing: A population withering after nearly a decade of chronic hunger, people so weakened by malnutrition that colds and stomach flus quickly turn lethal, the future of a generation irretrievably lost. ``Now at last we have hard facts _ the situation is very grave,'' said Judith Cheng-Hopkins, regional director for Asia of the World Food Program, which has taken part in the research. ``To me this is a famine in slow motion. People cope year after year, and probably a lot drop off. But the totality is very hard to gauge.'' For three weeks this fall, crews led by foreign scientists were finally permitted to fan out across North Korea to conduct the first random sample nutritional survey of children, providing by far the most solid data on the crisis. They found that 62 percent of children under 7 had stunted growth, a symptom of long-term malnutrition. Thirty percent of 1-year-olds suffered from moderate to severe malnutrition. This means a high likelihood of impaired mental and physical development, because the nervous system matures dramatically during this essential first year. The researchers said that available scientific data suggest that 10 years ago, malnutrition was rare in North Korea. ``Even if the situation improves, it is unlikely to improve to the degree that the country will fully recover from what we saw,'' said Judit Katona-Apte, a senior program adviser for the World Food Program. ``People will be small and not as well developed as otherwise and somewhat limited in their mental capacities.'' Likewise, when Red Cross representatives this year tested the water supply at the 840 hospitals and clinics where they operate, they found that not one had water that was suitable for human consumption, said Sten Swedlund, head of the Red Cross delegation in North Korea. ``But of course they drink it _ they have no choice,'' he said during a recent trip to Beijing. ``There is a very close relationship between the problems caused by the lack of food and a health sector that's in very bad shape.'' Virtually all the children under 7 who are malnourished also have diarrhea, he said. None of the aid groups has been able to study the issue of hunger-related deaths, and the North Koreans have not released relevant figures, although most experts agree that probably more than one million and perhaps as many as three million have died prematurely since the food shortages began. But public health experts say the number who have perished might be difficult to tally in any case, because most deaths were probably not from quick starvation, but from immune systems weakened by years of hunger, so that common colds more easily give way to lethal pneumonia and an ordinary bout of infectious diarrhea proves fatal. Still, there are some disturbing clues: In one limited study conducted by the World Food Program and other groups last year on 4,000 children hand-picked by the government, 10 percent had a parent who was dead. In this fall's independent nutritional survey, 18 teams of experts sent to eight of North Korea's nine provinces looked at 1,800 rural and urban children under seven. In addition to finding that 62 percent of children had stunted growth, the teams found that about 16 percent of children were suffering from acute malnutrition and were underweight for their height, a sign that they were severely underfed at the time of the study. That figure is higher than in any country in East Asia and puts North Korea among the world's worst 10 countries in terms of malnutrition. While that 16 percent figure is not quite as bad as that of India and Bangladesh, the worst in the world with an 18 percent malnutrition rate, experts say that North Korea's number in some ways understates the problem. In India and Bangladesh, pockets of severe poverty alternate with pockets of relative plenty, while in North Korea the whole country is to some degree underfed. ``Even in war-torn countries, famine is more in pockets,'' Dr. Katona-Apte said. ``It's hard to think of another country that's been affected in this way.'' The survey results are especially sobering since the researchers studied only children under 7, the group that received nearly all the food donated from abroad. After three years of food donations, many foreign aid workers in the country have remarked that children in nurseries and kindergartens are looking better _ but that their older siblings are failing. So a month ago, the World Food Program began providing elementary schools with high nutrition biscuits for children aged 7 to 12. ``We have reason to believe that many people are suffering and that the elderly are a neglected age group that is just getting weaker and weaker,'' Swedlund said. There are now more than 100 Westerners living in Pyongyang, the capital city, and many say the long-term hunger is readily apparent there. ``If you walk down the street in Pyongyang and ask a child how old she is, you are usually off by three years,'' Swedlund said. ``She may be 7 but she looks just 3 or 4.'' Dr. Katona-Apte, a nutrition expert who has worked in Bangladesh and the Sudan, said she was shocked when she first visited a North Korean kindergarten last year. ``There were these two children sitting at a desk who were obviously severely malnourished _ they were so thin and they had patchy hair,'' she said. ``And they were just sitting there working. This is accepted as normal! They are in school, and they should really be hospitalized or placed in nutritional rehabilitation. If you saw them in a refugee camp, you would recommend immediate intervention.'' But with a severely depleted public health and hospital system, that option does not exist, she and others said. Many Korean doctors do not know how to diagnose or treat malnutrition; few had seen it before this decade. And, in any case, the hospitals lack the food and proper nutritional supplements. Swedlund said most hospitals lacked medicines, had no glass to replace broken windows and were ``colder inside than out,'' having received no coal since 1994. He said that even in hospitals, sanitation and water purification systems were virtually nonexistent, because the country lacks chlorine for purification and fuel to run water pumps. He said that next year, the Red Cross would start to address those problems, spending $3.5 on food for hospital patients and $1 million on water treatment. With few other options, vast numbers of North Koreans have resorted to eating ``substitute food,'' hard cakes and noodles made from a mix of nutritional plants, like soybeans and sweet potatoes, combined with indigestible filler, like cornstalks and straw. ``This now constitutes 40 percent of food intake,'' Swedlund said. ``It's becoming a regular part of the food basket.'' Doctors in North Korea say many people suffer from stomachaches after eating this partly indigestible material, he said, but added, ``If you're very hungry, it fills your stomach.'' Although the North Koreans date their food problems to a series of floods and droughts in the mid-1990's, the foreign researchers who have worked in North Korea say medical records and childhood growth patterns indicate that the hunger began several years before that and is linked to the collapse of the Soviet Union, which had long been North Korea's main supplier of food, fuel and fertilizer. North Korea is a mountainous country, with less than 20 percent arable land. It has been a food importer for decades, mostly from the former Soviet Union, but also from China. ``The country has to come to grips with the fact that this is part of a structural problem and can't just be blamed on the weather anymore,'' Ms. Cheng-Hopkins said. Still, she and others praised the normally rigid and secretive government for slowly loosening its restrictions. Swedlund said that after three years in the country, the international Red Cross, which collaborates with the North Korean Red Cross, had found officials increasingly responsive and doctors more willing to share medical records and bring up problems. Travel is still restricted. There are more than 100 counties, home to 30 percent of the population, to which aid groups have no access and where they have therefore refused to provide food or medical supplies. Still, the number of counties open to the workers has increased steadily, and freedom to move about has improved. Ms. Cheng-Hopkins said about half of follow-up inspections were now unannounced, and she noted that the researchers in the nutritional survey were allowed to select villages to visit and enter homes at random. Workers from the Red Cross and the World Food Program said they had not observed extreme scenes of people dying of acute starvation and believe that they would have if they were occurring frequently. ``I have not seen acute starvation like I have seen in Bangladesh,'' Dr. Katona-Apte said. ``But that doesn't mean it can't exist. We're still really limited in what we can see.'' Swedlund said it was unlikely that the counties still closed to foreigners were markedly different from the open ones. And while some have surmised that the closed counties might harbor pockets of death and devastation, he said he accepted North Korea's explanation that they had been excluded from some areas for national security reasons. ``One thing I've learned is how important national security issues are to the North Koreans,'' said Swedlund, a retired admiral in the Swedish Navy. ``And I really think these areas are important from that standpoint,'' he added, going through a map of closed areas and describing what Western intelligence experts know about military installations there. He also rejected the notion that the North Korean military is stealing donated food, a charge leveled by the organization Doctors Without Borders, when it angrily pulled out of North Korea last summer to protest the many restrictions on groups working there. Now that aid groups say they are starting to get somewhat better cooperation from the North Koreans, they hope to repeat their nutrition survey every 6 to 12 months. And they are still analyzing some tantalizing findings: Boys were twice as likely to suffer from stunted growth as girls, and every child whose mother was dead was malnourished. ``A generation of North Korean children is already scarred for life,'' said Astrid Heiberg, president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, in an interview in Beijing after a trip to North Korea. ``We need to continue to mobilize resources to prevent an even greater catastrophe.''",
"The founder of South Korea's largest conglomerate plans to visit his native North Korea again next week with a gift of 501 cattle, company officials said Thursday. The visit has been delayed a month because of a dispute over 500 cattle donated by Chung Ju-yung, founder of the Hyundai group, during a trip to the North in June. North Korea claimed 71 of those cattle died because Seoul government agents force-fed them indigestible vinyl strips and lumps of rope before shipping them to the North. Calling the North's claim nonsense, Seoul's Ministry of National Unification ordered Hyundai to check thousands of other cattle being raised at its ranch on the west coast. The ministry later acknowledged that lumps of rope were found in the stomachs of some cattle on the ranch, but said the material didn't kill the animals donated to North Korea. It blamed the deaths on stress caused by the long shipment by truck to the North. The South Korean government said it would not authorize a second shipment of cattle unless the North retracted its accusations. On Thursday, South Korean Unification Minister Kang In-duk said North Korea sent a letter to Hyundai last week, saying that ``the misunderstanding with the southern authorities on the issue of the dead cattle is cleared.'' Kang said the North's letter ``cleared a stumbling block for Hyundai's additional cattle donation.'' During his visit, Chung is expected to reach agreement on details of Hyundai's plan to start sightseeing tours of a scenic mountain in the North. The tours, originally scheduled to begin in September, have been delayed because of cost, security and other matters. Hyundai hopes to send by ship up to 2,000 tourists a week for four-day tours of Diamond Mountain on the North's east coast beginning in November. Animosity and distrust between the two Koreas run deep. The Korean states were separated into the communist North and the capitalist South in 1945. They fought a three-year war in the early 1950s.",
"Famine-threatened North Korea's harvest will be no better this year than last and could be worse, a senior U.N. aid official said Saturday. North Korea needs a minimum 4.5 million to 5 million tons of grain to feed its 23 million people, but managed last year to harvest just 2.8 million tons, Namanga Ngongi, deputy head of the World Food Program said. Although hard figures are not yet available, the prospects for this year are that ``the harvest will not be any better,'' Ngongi told reporters in Beijing after visiting North Korea. ``It may be worse than last year.'' Poor harvests, economic collapse and three years of floods and drought, have produced chronic food shortages in North Korea and left it heavily reliant on foreign aid. Fertilizer is lacking, as is fuel to power tractors and farm machinery, meaning most planting and harvesting must be done by hand. ``Every year it gets worse,'' Ngongi said. But despite the need for food aid, Ngongi said the government about a month ago cut the number of counties to which the WFP has access from 171 to 145, reducing the number of people who can get aid from 6.7 million to 5.8 million. Most of those receiving WFP aid are children aged between 6 months and 6 years. Ngongi said the government cited security concerns _ notably the lack of a peace treaty with its rival South Korea _ for its decision. The government said the ban would be temporary, Ngongi added. Ngongi, who spent four days inspecting WFP relief efforts in North Korea, said people generally looked better than during a visit last year. But he also said he could see that ``a large part of the population is very weak.'' ``Everybody has been consuming at a very low level. So they may not be severely malnourished, but they are not well nourished at all,'' he said. U.S. officials who toured some of the hardest-hit regions of North Korea this summer said 2 million people may have died because of famine. Ngongi said he saw malnourished children who were said to be 10 or 11 years old, but appeared to be only 4 or 5 years old. About 30 percent of children in one primary school he visited were not in class. ``A lot of the children were too weak to come to school,'' he said. But Ngongi said foreign food aid has saved lives. ``A lot of people are alive today thanks to the international community's support,'' he said.",
"Police in northeastern China's Jilin province said Monday they had rounded up at least 100 North Koreans and sent them back to endure a famine in their reclusive country. A police official in the Jilin city of Tonghua, near the North Korean border, said the North Koreans were forced to repatriate because some had resettled illegally in China, had formed criminal gangs or engaged in prostitution. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, denied reports in the South Korean press that the Chinese had disregarded requests for political asylum in forcing the refugees back across the border. He said they had crossed into China seeking food, not because of political repression in North Korea. Citing a North Korean human rights group and Japanese tourists visiting the region, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported Monday that 150 North Koreans had been sent home from China, despite having presented petitions for political asylum. North Korea is entering its fourth winter of chronic food shortages, having harvested only 3 million tons of grain this year, about two-thirds of the minimum needed by its 23 million people.",
"Hunger and malnutrition in Cambodia are reaching crisis levels comparable to the effects of famine in North Korea, a U.N. World Food Program representative said Tuesday. Though North Korea is suffering from a simple lack of food, a faltering economy in Cambodia combined with weak health care and education is causing similar levels of malnutrition in children, said Ken Davies, the WFP's country director. ``There is enough rice. The problem is that people are too poor to access it. The problem is poverty,'' Davies said. The WFP is currently supporting 1.7 million hungry Cambodians _ about 15 percent of the population _ with food-for-work and direct assistance programs, but Davies said he fears there are still plenty more that are not getting enough to eat every day. ``The problem is so bad that it is only a little worse in North Korea,'' Davies said. ``The situation is much worse than most people recognize.'' According to a recent WFP survey, 49 percent of Cambodian children under age 5 are stunted by lack of food and 20 percent suffer from acute malnutrition. By comparison, a similar survey of North Korean children under 7 found that 65 percent are stunted and 16 percent suffer from acute malnutrition. Cambodia has produced a rice surplus for export in the last two years and expects another this year, but WFP statistics show that 25 percent of rice-growing areas account for 75 percent of the surplus. The majority of Cambodian farmers are not producing enough to keep their families fed and are being increasingly saddled with debts incurred when they run out of reserves before harvest, Davies said. Money-lenders in rural Cambodia typically charge 100 percent interest, which must be paid in rice at harvest time, giving many farmers a handicapped start on the next crop season. Poor sanitation, lack of health care and ignorance of modern child rearing _ problems left mostly unaddressed by under-funded health and education sectors in Cambodia _ have exacerbated the food security problem, Davies said. Davies urged the new government to substantially increase annual expenditures on health, education and rural development as a first step in a long-term solution to Cambodia's food crisis. ``The poverty is getting worse right now and the situation with the malnutrition of children is a crisis,'' Davies said. Cambodia typically earmarks about half of its annual budget to defense and security. In the 1998 budget, education was allocated 6.5 percent, health 4.4 percent and rural development 0.2 percent. Actual disbursements to the three ministries are often only 60 to 70 percent of the budgeted amount as annual revenues fall short of expectations, according to aid workers. A 1999 budget draft proposed a reduction of the health ministry's allotment, which caused an outcry in September from health officials and the U.N. World Health Program. The draft was later readjusted to provide an unprecedented 33 percent increase in health spending.",
"A North Korean man arrived in Seoul Wednesday and sought asylum after escaping his hunger-stricken homeland, government officials said. Kim Myong Sup, 23, had been living in hiding in a ``third country'' since fleeing North Korea last year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said. The ministry generally uses the term ``third country'' to avoid naming China, which is required by treaty with North Korea to return defectors to their homeland. The ministry described Kim as a former athlete, but said details of his background and his method of escape from North Korea were not available. About 200 North Koreans have defected to South Korea in the past three years, including 60 so far this year. All complained about severe food and fuel shortages in their country. The Koreas were divided into the communist North and the capitalist South in 1945. They fought the Korean War in 1950-53 and never signed a formal peace treaty.",
"A congressman who visited remote parts of North Korea last week said Saturday that the food and health situation there was desperate and deteriorating, and that millions of North Koreans might have starved to death in the last few years. The congressman, Tony Hall, D-Ohio, who has had a longtime interest in world hunger, passed through Tokyo on his return to the United States and showed photographs he had taken of North Korean children with patchy hair, protruding bones, open sores and other signs of severe malnutrition. Hall also brought back a bag of what officials called ``substitute food'' being distributed by a government food station: dried leaves and straw, so coarse that even cattle would normally turn away. ``They grind it into powder and make it into noodles,'' Hall said. The noodles have no nutrition and are indigestible, leaving people holding their aching stomachs, he said. North Korea has admitted that it is facing serious economic difficulties, but there have been sharply diverging assessments of how serious these are. Some visitors with the United Nations and other organizations have said that the food situation seems to be a bit better now than a year or two ago. Hall said that the divergence might have arisen because in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, life did seem to be slightly better than during his three previous trips to North Korea. But in rural areas where foreigners are not often allowed to visit, he added, the overall situation is worse than ever. Based on visits to four hospitals, Hall also emphasized that public health care had declined sharply. In one hospital, assistants were holding down a patient while surgeons conducted a stomach operation without electric lights or anesthesia. Ordinary North Koreans are suffering, in part, because their government's hard-line policies have alienated would-be donors and aid agencies. The United Nations has repeatedly appealed for relief aid for North Korea, but the latest appeal has raised less than one-third of the target. In September, Doctors Without Borders announced that it was pulling its staff of 13 from North Korea because it feared that its aid was going to the politically connected rather than to the most needy. North Korea does not release mortality figures or health statistics, but Hall said that the United Nations had gathered and would soon release data indicating that 30 percent of North Korean children under age 2 are acutely malnourished and that 67 percent of all children are physically stunted. Hall said he thought that overall at least 1 million people had died and that the total was probably closer to 3 million. In an indication of the seriousness with which professional demographers view the situation, the U.S. Bureau of the Census recently published estimates suggesting that North Korea's population peaked in 1995 at 21.55 million and has since fallen to 21.23 million this year. That would be a decline of 320,000 over three years, a period when North Korea's population would have been expected to grow by about 925,000 people, based on the population growth rate of the early 1990s. Nicholas Eberstadt, an American specialist on North Korean population figures, says that there simply is not enough hard information for him to estimate the death toll from the famine. But he notes one political tidbit: North Korea's constitution stipulates that there should be one delegate to the country's ``people's assembly'' for every 30,000 citizens. This year's assembly did not expand as previous ones did, but rather had just 687 delegates, the same as the previous assembly held in 1990. While Eberstadt counsels caution, that could mean that North Korea's population, after eight years in which it had been expected to add several million people, is now back to 20.6 million people or fewer. The United States has been supplying grain to North Korea, but strains are growing over a secret underground complex in the North that some experts worry may be the heart of a new nuclear weapons program. The United States warned last week that the ``agreed framework'' that is the basis for its relations with North Korea will be in jeopardy unless the North lets American experts visit the underground complex and resolve their doubts. North Korea has said that it will show off the complex only if Washington promises that if the complex is not a nuclear one, it will pay for ``vilifying us and impairing our prestige.'' Washington refuses to pay, and North Korea is warning that the standoff could lead the agreement to fall apart. ``Their shameless and wicked demand is an open infringement upon our sovereignty and wanton interference in our internal affairs,'' declared North Korea's leading newspaper, Rodong Sinmun.",
"Years of food shortages have stunted the growth of millions of North Korean children, with two-thirds of children under age seven suffering malnourishment, U.N. experts said Wednesday. Several years of flooding and droughts coupled with an economic downturn have heavily damaged North Korea's crop production and capacity to import food in the closed, communist nation. A survey carried out in September and October also showed that 16 percent of children in North Korea are acutely malnourished, with a body weight too low for their height. That figure, which reflects ongoing shortages, is exceeded in Asia only by Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. Eighteen teams, each headed by a foreign official from the World Food Program, the U.N. Children's Fund or the European Union, carried out the study. They measured the weight and height of 1,800 North Korean children from infants up to age seven in homes randomly selected in areas where aid agencies have access. Those areas cover around 70 percent of the population. It was the first ``technically sound survey'' of the problem, UNICEF official Kirsi Madi told reporters. The most alarming findings were for toddlers aged one to two, 30 percent of whom were acutely malnourished. At that age, ``malnutrition can permanently impair physical and intellectual growth,'' said Judy Cheng-Hopkins, WFP director for the region. Children in North Korea's three largest cities _ Pyongyang, Wonsan and Nampo _ were better off than their counterparts elsewhere, with 11 percent acutely malnourished. Boys were almost twice as badly affected as girls."
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Budget negotiations between the White House and House Republicans were delayed on several issues. At issue were provisions that included requiring Federal Health Insurance providers to provide contraceptives to women as Well as a provision to build a road across a wildlife preserve in Alaska. The contraceptive issue faced an uncertain future while Clinton likely will veto the road. There is disagreement also on how to spend the funding on education. This year's budget discussions also have been hampered because it is the first time since budget procedures were established in 1974 that there has been a surplus, preventing agreement on a budget resolution. Whether to use the 1st surplus in decades for a tax cut, to pay off the national debt, or for new initiatives made the 1998 federal budget negotiations chaotic. The Oct 1 start of the fiscal year was extended 5 times. Major issues were census statistical sampling, federal health plan coverage of contraceptives regardless of religious affiliation, and school aid decisions by the federal gov't or local jurisdictions. Other issues included a Federal Election Commission provision, a road through an Alaskan wildlife refuge, and an airline peanut ban. Committees crafted the budget document after broad agreement was reached when 8 bills were lumped together. In 1998, for the first time in decades, the US budget negotiators faced a surplus. Both sides said this was harder than a deficit situation, but they finally spent $1.7 trillion. The last seven spending bills were the most difficult and finally were merged into one package. Controversial issues included health insurance paying for contraception, control of new education allocations, an Alaskan wilderness road, whether the 2000 census would include statistical sampling, and establishing an emergency fund. Conservatives felt the results favored the liberals, but both sides were satisfied and glad to finish before Election Day and avoid a government shutdown. After several deadline extensions, Congressional leaders and the White House agreed on an omnibus spending package, the final portion of the $1.7 trillion budget. It includes more money for education and defense, business tax breaks, and farm aid, as well as funds for Colombia to use in drug interdiction. To offset the new spending, the surplus will be tapped for $20 billion, to the ire of conservatives. This year, without the common goal of reducing the deficit, reaching agreement was very difficult. Policy provisions involving the 2000 census, contraception, and the Alaskan wilderness were also tied to the spending package and were hotly debated.
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"A sticking point for White House and congressional budget negotiators has been the issue of how the 2000 census will be conducted, and the White House is finding itself negotiating on the issue as much with House Democrats as it is with the House Republican leaders. On Monday, White House negotiators, led by chief of staff Erskine Bowles, tried to determine whether Democrats would accept a deal to finance for six months the departments of State, Justice and Commerce, which oversees the Census Bureau. The deal would put off until next March the contentious issue of whether the next census would use statistical sampling to supplement traditional methods of counting people. Bowles told the group of Democrats that the House Republicans were willing to give on a number of outstanding issues that were stalling final agreement on the budget, but that they were digging in their heels when it came to financing the census for six months. The Democrats met in the office of Minority Leader Dick Gephardt. The rationale for the half-year financing is that by next March the Supreme Court is expected to rule on whether using sampling is legal or constitutional. The Supreme Court has already agreed to review two lower court rulings that said sampling would violate federal law. Oral arguments on the cases are set for November. But House Democrats balked at the idea of six months' financing for the census, arguing that even if the Supreme Court allowed sampling, the Republicans would be under no obligation to approve money for a census that included sampling. ``The general feeling among many Democrats was that even if we won the case, there would be a lot less leverage in March, especially if it was the only issue left to be debated,'' said a House Democratic official who insisted on anonymity. Democrats contend that now is the time to press the Republicans, while they want to complete work on the budget and go home to campaign. Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., who attended the meeting Monday, said, ``It was, sort of, this is where we are. We've been able to accomplish great things, what do you think? We made it very clear that unless the census was included, along with some other issues, like school construction, the deal wouldn't be acceptable.'' Statistical sampling would allow the Census Bureau to estimate populations that are difficult to count, and would have the largest effect on the counting of African-Americans in cities and blacks and Hispanics in rural areas, groups that are traditionally undercounted by the standard means. Republicans fear, and Democrats hope, that the method would raise the count of people living in traditionally Democratic areas, giving the party an advantage when new boundaries for election districts are drawn following the 2000 census. At Monday's meeting, the Democrats reminded administration officials that Clinton had promised that he would veto any legislation that restricted the Census Bureau's ability to conduct an accurate census. ``I can't think of any way that restricts the census more than not to fully fund it,'' said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y. The willingness of House Democrats, including Gephardt, to press the president on the issue represents a realization of their leverage with Clinton, who will need all of their support in the coming impeachment inquiry. ``Gephardt is a major player now, and the irony is we helped make him that,'' said Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., who supports the use of sampling in the census. The Democrats' position also indicates how little trust many have in the White House on this issue. The proposal to finance the departments of Commerce, Justice and State for six months is similar to one reached last November between Bowles and House Speaker Newt Gingrich. The idea then was that holding all three departments hostage in the census fight would place maximum pressure on all sides to work out their differences over sampling. But House Democrats were not consulted before that agreement was struck and later grumbled about it. At a meeting of the Democratic caucus Tuesday, Ms. Maloney briefed lawmakers on dealings with the White House and declared that Clinton had promised that he would hold firm on the census and that she believed him, a participant said. The statement was greeted with laughter. ``There is a certain level of suspicion because there have been times when we have been cut out,''said the House Democratic official. ``But I have to say, there hasn't been much evidence of that, this time.''",
"Struggling to meet their fourth deadline over the federal budget, congressional Republicans and White House officials wrestled Tuesday with their differences over education, the most politically high-stakes element of the budget battle. Negotiators ended a late-night session without resolving disagreements over not just education, but the census and contraceptives. These were among the biggest issues that still separated the two sides as each tried to formulate a message to take home to voters for the Nov. 3 elections. On education, the issue that President Clinton has propelled to the forefront and on which Republicans do not want to appear recalcitrant, both sides have agreed to spend more than $1 billion but not on how to spend it. The president insists that the money be spent to hire 100,000 teachers across the country so that the average class can be reduced to 18 students. Republicans, railing against ``Beltway bureaucrats,'' say that local school districts should decide how the money is spent, whether it be for teachers or computers. As the two sides broke Tuesday night, White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles, the president's top negotiator, emerged from the session saying: ``We don't have a deal. We made some good progress. The biggest issue, still, is the 100,000 teachers.'' He added: ``There are still some open issues'' upon which no agreement has been reached, but he sounded optimistic about a session scheduled for Wednesday morning. ``I think we've got a chance of wrapping up tomorrow,'' he said. The two sides remained apart on several ideological matters, including whether to allow federal health plans to cover contraceptives and whether to allow those few plans with religious affiliations to refuse to cover contraceptives not only on religious grounds but on moral grounds as well. They were also split on how to conduct the census in 2000, which is one of the thorniest issues. It is not one that moves voters, but it is vital to both parties because it helps determine their relative strength in Congress. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Bowles met for much of the day in the speaker's office, shuttling in and out of ante-rooms with their lieutenants but giving few clues about the nitty-gritty details of their talks. They have given themselves another deadline of midnight Wednesday to wrap up about $500 billion worth of spending items, but they could easily extend that deadline another day or two. They missed having spending bills in place for the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year, providing temporary financing for the federal government through Oct. 9, then Oct. 12, then Wednesday. Some of the other central issues, like financing for the International Monetary Fund, were all but nailed down, but neither side was ready to declare a final deal until all the other elements of the budget package were in place. ``We're down to splitting infinitives,'' House Majority Leader Dick Armey said of approving money for the IMF. As they worked through several issues, Republican leaders appeared to be calculating the differences in their own party that might sour a final deal when",
"it arrives on the House floor _ more of a concern than the Senate floor because the Senate has fewer differences among its Republicans and with the White House. Some conservative Republicans said they were concerned over the emerging shape of the final package, particularly elements dealing with family planning and emergency spending. They say the president's proposals for emergency spending, on such items as the peacekeeping mission in Bosnia, fixing the year 2000 computer bug and providing relief to American farmers, will break the limits in last year's balanced-budget agreement. The administration said such money would come from corresponding cuts elsewhere in the budget, but conservatives say it comes from raiding the surplus. If Republican leaders cannot count on their conservatives, they will need support from Democrats to pass the final package. And Democrats on Tuesday expressed concern over some White House positions, on issues like the census and an apparent compromise with Republicans on aid for farmers. Rep. David McIntosh, R-Ind., a leader of House conservatives, said he believed Republican leaders were ceding too quickly to the White House. He said that the president appeared to be getting his way on some issues but that what he really seemed to be winning was the war of public relations. ``The president is getting what he wants; he's controlling the situation,'' McIntosh lamented. When Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott appears on television, McIntosh said, ``it's in reaction to the president.'' Nonetheless, McIntosh suggested that he could vote for a final accord. ``Most conservatives are holding out for a better deal than we're hearing,'' he said, ``but we'll probably give them the vote because we don't see a much better alternative happening if it goes down.'' Others were distressed, particularly about two contraceptive issues. One would require federal health plans to cover contraceptives. The other would bar overseas family-planning organizations from lobbying to change abortion laws in other countries. Rep. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said he wanted to see the final language on the health plan measure. As it passed both the House and the Senate, it allowed for health plans with religious affiliation to decline to offer contraceptive coverage; Coburn wants plans to be able to refuse such coverage on moral grounds as well. The plan covers five specific types of contraception. Coburn said he wanted two of those _ Depo-Provera and intrauterine devices _ to be eliminated from coverage because he said they interfered with fertilization and were therefore considered to cause abortions. Democrats like Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., who introduced the contraceptive plan in the House, said she strongly objected to Coburn's position. She said that health plans based their decisions on what to offer on profits, not morals. The question is whether the White House will insist on keeping the contraceptive coverage in the final package and will oppose the moral exception. If the administration allows the moral exception, it could alienate some House Democrats. House Democrats are also worried about the direction the talks are taking on the census. This has always loomed as one of the biggest issues",
"separating Democrats and Republicans. The results of a census help determine the future power of the two political parties. But the fact that the two sides are finally talking about it now indicates that they are covering the full range of budget matters that need to be resolved. The White House has proposed buying time on the matter by financing the Commerce, State and Justice departments only for five months. The Commerce Department contains the Census Bureau. White House officials said this would put off the nettlesome issue while allowing a resolution of the entire spending package, but House Democrats worry it would be a prelude to giving in to Republicans down the road. Republican leaders like the idea of postponing a decision but say that financing should be restricted only for the Census Bureau. On several touchy environmental issues that have prompted repeated veto threats from the White House, the two sides appeared to be opting for compromise over confrontation, with several disputes resolved. But a few particularly difficult issues remained under negotiation. A compromise was struck between the White House and Alaskan lawmakers on logging in the Tongass National Forest. But compromise still eluded them on the question of building a road through a wilderness refuge to connect two communities in Alaska.",
"Some conservatives sounded notes of discord Friday over the federal spending agreement, but they also said they would probably vote for the $500 billion package because it boosted defense spending and provided aid to farmers. However, no one can vote on the package just yet, because it is not finished. The deal that President Clinton and Republican leaders hailed Thursday was a broad outline of areas of agreement on the final portion of the $1.7 trillion budget, not a written document. That is now being crafted by the chairmen of the spending committees and their aides, who said Friday that there were still disputes that needed to be resolved and that the final document could run to more than 3,000 pages. For example, still unresolved is a dispute over whether airlines can create a ``peanut-free'' zone to protect passengers who are allergic to peanuts. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and other members from Georgia, a major peanut-producing state, are fighting the proposal, which would force airlines to ban peanuts within three rows of someone with an allergy. Congress gave itself until midnight Tuesday to vote on the final bill, agreeing with President Clinton to a fifth extension of temporary financing to keep the government open. The budget was due Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year. The vote was initially expected Friday, but the bill is nowhere near to being written. Only a handful of top-level bargainers _ including Gingrich, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles _ were in the room for the final deal. Excluded were the committee chairmen and the heads of the appropriation committees, who now must write the language that will put the deal into law. Almost everyone on Capitol Hill expects the budget to pass eventually, with the biggest defections coming from conservatives who object to the $20 billion taken from the surplus to address so-called emergencies and for the package's failure to offer voters a serious tax cut. The lag time before the bill is officially closed is making some conservatives nervous that more members will try to add provisions that will further expand a bill they already consider overly bloated. And some worry that once the hometown pork that is stuffed into the bill is publicly revealed, voters could put pressure on members not to support it. The elections are Nov. 3. But several conservatives said that despite these problems, they expected to support the bill anyway. Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., said: `Most of my friends, who are predominantly activist conservatives, are split about 50-50. If tax cuts were your primary thing, then you're unhappy, but many conservatives have a mixed agenda. My position is, hold the nose and vote yes. We have no tax cuts and far too much spending that I oppose, but that's the nature of compromise. Every member has a little different focus.'' Souder said he liked the extra money for defense spending, and he liked the price supports for farmers. Hog farmers in his district, whose biggest customers were Japan and China,",
"had been hit hard by the collapse of Asian markets. Several Republicans said that the bill seemed skewed in favor of the Democrats. They cited two reasons: Clinton needed to curry favor with Democrats to shore up support if the House votes to impeach him, and Republican leaders feared that if they had stood up to Clinton, they might have forced a government shutdown and Republicans would be blamed. ``Clinton was buying votes,'' said Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio. ``He was sucking up to the liberal Democrats so they would support him in impeachment.'' Rep. W.J. (Billy) Tauzin, R-La., said the leaders seemed motivated by a desire to avoid the political damage they incurred from the partial government shutdowns of 1995 and 1996. He also cited the president's need to placate the left by adding costly domestic programs. ``The combination of the lessons learned three years ago and the scandal on the president's side yielded the inevitable result, a budget that leans way to the left,'' Tauzin said. Still, he said he would probably support the bill. ``It won't be enthusiastically,'' he said. ``It won't be holding my nose either. I would have preferred to spend more of this money on a tax cut. I think we would have gotten a tax cut, but for the scandal. If the president had not been caught up with the scandal, he probably would have followed the Dick Morris strategy and moved towards the center.'' Gingrich said he recognized that some conservatives were wary of the agreement. But he sought to reassure them that the package served their interests. He cited a $9 billion increase in defense spending. And he noted that the Republicans had blocked several items, including needle-exchange programs in the District of Columbia, national education testing and U.S. contributions to a United Nations program that pays for family planning in China, which many in Congress object to because China has a policy of coercing abortions and forcing sterilization. Gingrich said the agreement was the best that could be achieved ``when you have a conservative Republican Congress and a liberal Democratic president.'' Some conservatives who had been especially critical were more understanding Thursday. Rep. David McIntosh, R-Ind., a leader of conservatives in the House, had denounced the bill earlier as a Great Society type of big-spending program. Friday, after a meeting of Republicans, he said, ``Our leadership found themselves in a bad situation and did a good job.'' A few remained outright hostile to the bill, as much for the hasty way in which it was cobbled together as for what it contained. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, said: `I'm voting `no' unless something revolutionary happens between now and Tuesday. I think it's the process that gives the president the ability to stonewall until the very end and then hold us for ransom. The Republican leadership in the House and Senate did a good job of limiting the highway robbery, but it's still gone too far beyond the spending caps.'' Also angry at the rushed endgame was Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., who took to the",
"House floor and said he could not support the final bill. ``I'm going to urge my colleagues to vote `no,' '' Taylor said. ``We have stayed here this long. We can stay a little bit longer. And I am going to encourage my colleagues to continue to vote no until we are given adequate time to study the measure that is brought before us.''",
"Voting mainly on party lines on a question that has become a touchstone in the debate over development and preservation of wilderness, the Senate on Thursday approved a gravel road through remote wildlife habitat in Alaska. The road, barely 30 miles long, would slice across the edge of a wildlife refuge and wilderness area on the Aleutian Peninsula, where it would connect an isolated village called King Cove to a long-range air strip in the town of Cold Bay. Without the road, its backers say, about 700 residents of King Cove must continue to use unreliable air and boat service in emergencies, often risking dangerous winds and seas as they seek medical evacuation to Anchorage. Opponents of the road call the project an unjustifiable precedent that threatens the seasonal breeding grounds of protected migratory birds, and they say that improved air or sea service would be a better alternative. The vote Thursday, 59-38, was a victory for the state's congressional delegation. But with President Clinton likely to veto the measure, the final outcome may depend on whether its sponsors can insert the road proposal into a huge spending bill that is likely to emerge just before Congress heads home for the Nov. 3 elections. Three Republicans voted against the bill, and six Democrats voted for it. The Clinton administration has repeatedly warned that it will veto a big spending bill if it contains an array of anti-environmental provisions that are under consideration. Indeed, the White House seems to be itching for a partisan fight over environmental priorities. But while many Republicans in Congress still appear reluctant to engage in that broad fight, they were willing Thursday to cast their lot with the Senate's two powerful Alaskans, Ted Stevens and Frank Murkowski, both Republicans. A companion bill in the House, sponsored by Rep. Don Young of Alaska, also a Republican, has not come to the floor. Even Sen. John Chafee of Rhode Island, a leader of Republican environmentalists, voted for the road. Last February Chafee's staff had assembled a score of environmental lobbyists in his office to plan strategy for opposing the road, environmental advocates said Thursday. They speculated that the senator had changed his position out of deference to the power of Stevens, who as chairman of the Appropriations Committee exerts tremendous influence at a time when a dozen spending bills are in their final stages. A Chafee aide said Chafee voted reluctantly for the road after Alaska's senators convinced him of its merits. Stevens said in angry tones Thursday that two-thirds of Alaska's land was off limits to development and that vital health services were being denied to his state's residents. ``We can't use it without permission from some bureaucrat who is compelled by extreme environmentalists,'' he said. ``They are so extreme that they say this 330,000-acre Izembek refuge, the smallest wilderness in Alaska, is so sacrosanct that it can't move its border 60 feet.'' But Sen. Dale Bumpers, D-Ark., called the road project a dangerous precedent. ``Building a road through a wilderness in Alaska, no matter how short or how long, would be the first time in the nation we have voted deliberately to authorize a road through a wilderness area,'' Bumpers said. ``And once you go down that road, nobody knows where it is going to end.''",
"House and Senate negotiators agreed Thursday to require most federal health plans to cover prescription contraceptives for women, giving an unusual victory on Capitol Hill to advocates of abortion rights. But the future of the measure was in doubt because it was attached to a spending bill that includes a controversial provision regarding the Federal Election Commission. That provision could scuttle the spending bill, which would finance the Treasury Department and the Postal Service and which still must be approved by the House and Senate. The contraceptive measure would require the federal health plans, which affect 1.2 million female federal employees who are of child-bearing age, to cover the five methods of contraception that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in this country _ birth control pills, diaphragms, inter-uterine devices, Norplant and Depo-Provera. Currently, only 19 percent of federal health plans cover those methods. The House and Senate approved the contraceptive measure earlier this year. But the opponents of abortion were furious about the approval and persuaded Republican leaders to have negotiators reopen discussion on the matter. The cost of contraceptives has driven up the out-of-pocket cost of health care for women. And many male members of Congress seemed persuaded to support coverage of contraceptives for women, since almost all of the 285 federal health plans cover Viagra, the male impotency drug. Thursday, with pressure building to resolve the spending bills before Oct. 9, when temporary financing of the government expires, the negotiators agreed to include the contraceptive measure in their conference report on the $13.4 billion bill for the Treasury Department and Postal service. Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., who pushed the contraceptive measure through the House, hailed Thursday's agreement as the first major accomplishment by abortion rights advocates since the Republicans took control of Congress in 1994. She said the negotiators had agreed to include the measure because in an election year they did not want to be perceived as opposing contraception or be seen as rejecting a measure that had passed both the House and Senate. But many Democrats said the were upset that the bill contains a provision that is seen as interfering with the independence of the Federal Election Commission. That provision would require a four-vote majority among the seven federal election commissioners every four years to retain the general counsel and staff director. The provision is aimed at getting rid of Lawrence Noble, the current general counsel, who has investigated the campaign finance practices of groups like the Christian Coalition. The contraceptive measure is one of four related matters that have helped stall four spending bills. The three other bills that are stalled in part because of abortion-related matters include the agriculture bill, in which there is a dispute over whether the federal Food and Drug Administration should use taxpayer money to approve drugs like RU-486, which induce abortions. The foreign operations bill is also stalled over whether to finance international family planning programs that may also promote abortion, while the labor and health bill is delayed because of a provision that would block access of minors to contraception. Addressing the measure on insurance coverage for contraceptives, Helen Alvarez, a spokeswoman for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, said that the bill was bad policy. She said contraception had failed to stem the number of abortions, teen-age pregnancies or out-of-wedlock births. ``Public-relations-wise, it's a good tactic for them,'' she conceded, ``but in terms of social policy, this is a failure.''",
"Some conservatives sounded notes of discord Friday over the federal spending agreement, but they also said they would probably vote for the $500 billion package because it boosted defense spending and provided aid to farmers. However, no one can vote on the package just yet, because it is not finished. The deal that President Clinton and Republican leaders hailed Thursday was a broad outline of areas of agreement on the final portion of the $1.7 trillion budget, not a written document. That is now being crafted by the chairmen of the spending committees and their aides, who said Friday that there were still disputes that needed to be resolved and that the final document could run to more than 3,000 pages. For example, still unresolved is a dispute over whether airlines can create a ``peanut-free'' zone to protect passengers who are allergic to peanuts. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and other members from Georgia, a major peanut-producing state, are fighting the proposal, which would force airlines to ban peanuts within three rows of someone with an allergy. Congress gave itself until midnight Tuesday to vote on the final bill, agreeing with President Clinton to a fifth extension of temporary financing to keep the government open. The budget was due Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year. The vote was initially expected Friday, but the bill is nowhere near to being written. Only a handful of top-level bargainers _ including Gingrich, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles _ were in the room for the final deal. Excluded were the committee chairmen and the heads of the appropriation committees, who now must write the language that will put the deal into law. Almost everyone on Capitol Hill expects the budget to pass eventually, with the biggest defections coming from conservatives who object to the $20 billion taken from the surplus to address so-called emergencies and for the package's failure to offer voters a serious tax cut. The lag time before the bill is officially closed is making some conservatives nervous that more members will try to add provisions that will further expand a bill they already consider overly bloated. And some worry that once the hometown pork that is stuffed into the bill is publicly revealed, voters could put pressure on members not to support it. The elections are Nov. 3. But several conservatives said that despite these problems, they expected to support the bill anyway. Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., said: `Most of my friends, who are predominantly activist conservatives, are split about 50-50. If tax cuts were your primary thing, then you're unhappy, but many conservatives have a mixed agenda. My position is, hold the nose and vote yes. We have no tax cuts and far too much spending that I oppose, but that's the nature of compromise. Every member has a little different focus.'' Souder said he liked the extra money for defense spending, and he liked the price supports for farmers. Hog farmers in his district, whose biggest customers were Japan and China, had been hit hard by the collapse of Asian markets.",
"Struggling to meet their fourth deadline over the federal budget, congressional Republicans and White House officials wrestled Tuesday with their differences over education, the most politically high-stakes element of the budget battle. Negotiators ended a late-night session without resolving disagreements over not just education, but the census and contraceptives. These were among the biggest issues that still separated the two sides as each tried to formulate a message to take home to voters for the Nov. 3 elections. On education, the issue that President Clinton has propelled to the forefront and on which Republicans do not want to appear recalcitrant, both sides have agreed to spend more than $1 billion but not on how to spend it. The president insists that the money be spent to hire 100,000 teachers across the country so that the average class can be reduced to 18 students. Republicans, railing against ``Beltway bureaucrats,'' say that local school districts should decide how the money is spent, whether it be for teachers or computers. As the two sides broke Tuesday night, White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles, the president's top negotiator, emerged from the session saying: ``We don't have a deal. We made some good progress. The biggest issue, still, is the 100,000 teachers.'' He added: ``There are still some open issues'' upon which no agreement has been reached, but he sounded optimistic about a session scheduled for Wednesday morning. ``I think we've got a chance of wrapping up tomorrow,'' he said. The two sides remained apart on several ideological matters, including whether to allow federal health plans to cover contraceptives and whether to allow those few plans with religious affiliations to refuse to cover contraceptives not only on religious grounds but on moral grounds as well. They were also split on how to conduct the census in 2000, which is one of the thorniest issues. It is not one that moves voters, but it is vital to both parties because it helps determine their relative strength in Congress. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Bowles met for much of the day in the speaker's office, shuttling in and out of ante-rooms with their lieutenants but giving few clues about the nitty-gritty details of their talks. They have given themselves another deadline of midnight Wednesday to wrap up about $500 billion worth of spending items, but they could easily extend that deadline another day or two. They missed having spending bills in place for the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year, providing temporary financing for the federal government through Oct. 9, then Oct. 12, then Wednesday. Some of the other central issues, like financing for the International Monetary Fund, were all but nailed down, but neither side was ready to declare a final deal until all the other elements of the budget package were in place. ``We're down to splitting infinitives,'' House Majority Leader Dick Armey said of approving money for the IMF. As they worked through several issues, Republican leaders appeared to be calculating the differences in their own party that might sour a final deal when",
"it arrives on the House floor _ more of a concern than the Senate floor because the Senate has fewer differences among its Republicans and with the White House. Some conservative Republicans said they were concerned over the emerging shape of the final package, particularly elements dealing with family planning and emergency spending. They say the president's proposals for emergency spending, on such items as the peacekeeping mission in Bosnia, fixing the year 2000 computer bug and providing relief to American farmers, will break the limits in last year's balanced-budget agreement. The administration said such money would come from corresponding cuts elsewhere in the budget, but conservatives say it comes from raiding the surplus. If Republican leaders cannot count on their conservatives, they will need support from Democrats to pass the final package. And Democrats on Tuesday expressed concern over some White House positions, on issues like the census and an apparent compromise with Republicans on aid for farmers. Rep. David McIntosh, R-Ind., a leader of House conservatives, said he believed Republican leaders were ceding too quickly to the White House. He said that the president appeared to be getting his way on some issues but that what he really seemed to be winning was the war of public relations. ``The president is getting what he wants; he's controlling the situation,'' McIntosh lamented. When Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott appears on television, McIntosh said, ``it's in reaction to the president.'' Nonetheless, McIntosh suggested that he could vote for a final accord. ``Most conservatives are holding out for a better deal than we're hearing,'' he said, ``but we'll probably give them the vote because we don't see a much better alternative happening if it goes down.'' Others were distressed, particularly about two contraceptive issues. One would require federal health plans to cover contraceptives. The other would bar overseas family-planning organizations from lobbying to change abortion laws in other countries. Rep. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said he wanted to see the final language on the health plan measure. As it passed both the House and the Senate, it allowed for health plans with religious affiliation to decline to offer contraceptive coverage; Coburn wants plans to be able to refuse such coverage on moral grounds as well. The plan covers five specific types of contraception. Coburn said he wanted two of those _ Depo-Provera and intrauterine devices _ to be eliminated from coverage because he said they interfered with fertilization and were therefore considered to cause abortions. Democrats like Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., who introduced the contraceptive plan in the House, said she strongly objected to Coburn's position. She said that health plans based their decisions on what to offer on profits, not morals. The question is whether the White House will insist on keeping the contraceptive coverage in the final package and will oppose the moral exception. If the administration allows the moral exception, it could alienate some House Democrats. House Democrats are also worried about the direction the talks are taking on the census. This has always loomed as one of the biggest issues",
"separating Democrats and Republicans. The results of a census help determine the future power of the two political parties. But the fact that the two sides are finally talking about it now indicates that they are covering the full range of budget matters that need to be resolved. The White House has proposed buying time on the matter by financing the Commerce, State and Justice departments only for five months. The Commerce Department contains the Census Bureau. White House officials said this would put off the nettlesome issue while allowing a resolution of the entire spending package, but House Democrats worry it would be a prelude to giving in to Republicans down the road. Republican leaders like the idea of postponing a decision but say that financing should be restricted only for the Census Bureau. On several touchy environmental issues that have prompted repeated veto threats from the White House, the two sides appeared to be opting for compromise over confrontation, with several disputes resolved. But a few particularly difficult issues remained under negotiation. A compromise was struck between the White House and Alaskan lawmakers on logging in the Tongass National Forest. But compromise still eluded them on the question of building a road through a wilderness refuge to connect two communities in Alaska.",
"Top-level budget negotiators for congressional Republicans and the White House concluded yet another bargaining session late Sunday afternoon with plans to resume talks on Monday morning and probably extend their midnight Monday deadline for another day or two. Both sides were amiable as they emerged from a two-hour session, but they had little to report and indicated that their relatively early departure, compared with the last three nights, should not be interpreted as a sign of crisis or of imminent peace in the budget talks. Sunday's discussions focused on education and President Clinton's request for $1.1 billion to hire 100,000 teachers, but aides said the bargainers did not delve into much detail and nothing was resolved. ``I think we made some real progress today, but we still have a significant difference in the area of education,'' said Erskine Bowles, Clinton's chief of staff and top negotiator, after Sunday's meeting. ``We're going to try to plow through that over the next two days.'' Asked how far apart the two sides were on education, Rep. Dick Armey of Texas, the Republican majority leader, replied: ``I don't know. We're not together.'' He said the two sides had made ``some progress, but not enough.'' The talks came during another day of escalated political confrontation as congressional Democrats and Republicans, painfully aware that they have three weeks until Election Day, tried to take advantage of the static budget situation. Congress has passed only six of the 13 required spending bills and are negotiating now with the White House on a final omnibus package that will contain the remaining seven bills and major issues including how to conduct the census in the year 2000, how much money to provide the International Monetary Fund and under what conditions it should be provided, and how much emergency money to provide for items like increased security at U.S. embassies around the world and for American farmers. Also to be resolved are a host of issues that have little to do with financing and more to do with ideology, including environmental matters, contraception and national student testing. Republicans said the president had been disengaged from the process, and they were irked at what they said was his swooping in at the 11th hour and pushing his education agenda in an apparently successful portrayal of himself as the guardian of that popular topic. Democrats countered that the Republican-led Congress had done nothing all year, and cast the Republicans as extremists for blocking the president's plea for more money to hire teachers and modernize schools. In fact, Republican bargainers said Saturday night that they would provide the money if local governments, not Washington, could decide how the money would be used. Armey was one of many who castigated the president for apparent disengagement, an indirect reminder that Clinton has been steeped in a sex scandal and is facing an impeachment inquiry in the House. The scant number of congressional Republicans who did not leave town for the weekend used the House floor to press this same message. ``What about the president?'' asked Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, the majority whip. ``Maybe in Martha's Vineyard? Aspen? Camp David? Where is the president? I bet the American people don't know that he spent 152 days out of the 283 days this year fund raising, traveling and on vacation.'' Republicans said that Clinton had participated in 98 fund-raising events so far this year and that two events on Monday in New York, supporting the Senate campaign of Rep. Charles Schumer, would bring him to 100. Clinton said at the White House that he was ``prepared to do whatever it takes'' to reach a resolution over the spending bills, and dispatched his aides to Capitol Hill. He also said he would postpone from Monday morning until Monday afternoon his departure for his fund-raising tour in New York, and he canceled a fund-raising appearance in Florida. But as the high-level budget bargaining concluded Sunday afternoon, both sides agreed they would need to extend their deadline beyond midnight Monday, when temporary financing for the government expires for the third time since the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year. Congressional Democrats struck back at the Republicans, saying they have held a slack schedule themselves. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., said Congress had been in session only 108 days so far this year, an unusually abbreviated period and one consumed for more than a month by the drive to hold impeachment hearings on the president. Most Americans, Miller said, had worked more than 225 days. ``They say, `Where is the president?''' Miller said. ``The president has been waiting for the budget. This is the first Congress since 1974 that has no budget,'' he said, referring to the broad blueprint that is supposed to guide spending. ``This is a Congress that can't pass seven of its appropriations bills,'' he said, largely because of divisive splits among conservative and moderate Republicans.",
"For the first time in decades, Congress and the White House negotiated tax and spending legislation this year with the budget in surplus. The result was chaos. The lawmakers were never able to agree on a budget resolution _ the framework into which all the tax and spending bills are supposed to fit. This had not happened since congressional budget procedures were established in 1974. Then, without the discipline of such an overall plan, the Senate and the House could not pass eight of the 13 spending bills needed to keep the government running. So the lawmakers had to stay in session more than a week longer than they had hoped. Finally, they lumped all eight bills together this week and announced an agreement. But the only way they could get this far was to resort to gimmicks. One was to designate $20 billion as ``emergency'' expenditures so that programs did not have to be cut elsewhere to offset the new spending. This will use up more than one-quarter of the anticipated budget surplus in the current fiscal year. Another gimmick extended the tax break for Individual Retirement Accounts to couples with incomes from $100,000 to $150,000. This will actually raise a small amount of revenue in the next five years _ the period covered by budget accounting _ but it will make the picture considerably worse in later years. As hard as it was to negotiate a budget in the bad old days of budget deficits, say the politicians involved, it was exponentially more difficult this year. At least in years past, there was a common goal. As much as they disagreed on policy and principle, they were all aiming at a reduction in the deficit. This year, some members of Congress wanted to use the surplus for a big tax cut. Others wanted to pay off the national debt. Others wanted to spend part of it on medical research, schools and weapons for the Pentagon. Others wanted to spend large sums on highways. Still others wanted to continue cutting government spending. And that was just among the Republicans. The Democrats had their own ideas about the budget, and President Clinton laid down his marker about saving the surplus until a way was found to shore up the Social Security system. ``In budget terms,'' said Robert Reischauer, a former director of the congressional budget office, ``this is like the end of the Cold War.'' There are other differences as well in the way things were negotiated with the budget in a surplus. In 1990, 1993 and 1995, when politicians staked their careers on striking a budget deal to lower the deficit, the fundamental question was how to divide up the bitter medicine of more taxes and less spending. Republicans, for the most part, opposed tax increases and favored cutting spending on social programs. Democrats wanted to raise taxes, especially on the rich, and protect social spending. In the end, balances were carefully drawn. But plenty of politicians _ President George Bush, to name one _ lost their jobs in the process. This year, with Democrats and Republicans alike claiming victory, the burning issue was how to parcel out the candy. Democrats got more money for education and farm assistance. Republicans got more money for the military and an extension of popular tax breaks for businesses. Some of the $20 billion that will eat into the surplus really will go for emergencies, like relief for victims of Hurricane Georges. But much of the money, like the $90 million that will pay for six new helicopters for the national police in Colombia to use in drug interdiction, was designated emergency spending simply because there was no other way to get it into the budget. For the politicians, the new way is more fun. It is hard to imagine that anyone will be voted out of office because of this year's budget. But that did not make it easier to reach an agreement. The other big difference is that the principal fights this year were not over money at all. They involved delicate policy issues like needle exchanges, contraception, global warming, immigration and the census. In Congress, there is no consensus on these matters. So the only way policy could be set was to wrap them into the giant spending bill. It may be more pleasant to debate policy than money. But it is probably harder to find a way to split the difference. As long as the surplus lasts, the lack of discipline that characterized the budget-writing this year is likely to continue. This is distressing to those devoted to controlling government spending. ``The temptation,'' said L. Ari Fleischer, spokesman for the House Ways and Means Committee, ``is to grab the loot and spend it.''",
"Struggling to meet their fourth deadline over the federal budget, congressional Republicans and White House officials wrestled Tuesday with their differences over education, staging events to demonstrate support for what has become the most public and politically high-stakes element of the budget battle. Negotiators met into the night to hash out their disagreements over aid for schools, the census and contraceptives. These were among the biggest issues that still separated the two sides as each tried to formulate a message to take home to voters for the Nov. 3 elections. On education, the issue that President Clinton has propelled to the forefront of the talks and on which Republicans do not want to appear recalcitrant, both sides have agreed to spend more than $1 billion but disagree over how to spend it. The president insists the money be spent on hiring 100,000 teachers across the country so that the average class can be reduced to 18 students. Republicans, railing against ``Beltway bureaucrats,'' say that local school districts should decide how the money is spent, whether it be for teachers or computers. The two sides remained apart on several ideological matters, including whether to allow federal health plans to cover contraceptives and whether to allow those few plans with religious affiliations to refuse to cover contraceptives not only on religious grounds but on moral grounds as well. And they also were split on how to conduct the census in the year 2000. This is one of the thorniest issues. It is not one that moves voters, but it is vital to both parties because it helps determine their relative strength in Congress. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Erskine Bowles, the president's chief of staff and top negotiator, met for much of the day in the speaker's office, shuttling in and out of ante-rooms with their lieutenants but giving few clues about the nitty gritty details of their talks. They have given themselves another deadline of midnight Wednesday to wrap up about $500 billion-worth of spending items, but they could easily extend that deadline another day or two. They missed the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year, providing temporary funding for the federal government through Oct. 9, then Oct. 12, then Wednesday. Some of the other central issues, such as financing for the International Monetary Fund, were all but nailed down, but neither side was ready to declare a final deal until all the other elements of the budget package are in place. ``We're down to splitting infinitives,'' Rep. Dick Armey of Texas, the Republican majority leader, said of approving funds for the international fund. As they worked through several issues, Republican leaders appeared to be calculating the differences in their own party that might sour a final deal when it arrives on the House floor _ more of a concern than on the Senate floor because the Senate has fewer differences among its Republicans and with the White House."
] |
[
"A sticking point for White House and congressional budget negotiators has been the issue of how the 2000 census will be conducted, and the White House is finding itself negotiating on the issue as much with House Democrats as it is with the House Republican leaders. On Monday, White House negotiators, led by chief of staff Erskine Bowles, tried to determine whether Democrats would accept a deal to finance for six months the departments of State, Justice and Commerce, which oversees the Census Bureau. The deal would put off until next March the contentious issue of whether the next census would use statistical sampling to supplement traditional methods of counting people. Bowles told the group of Democrats that the House Republicans were willing to give on a number of outstanding issues that were stalling final agreement on the budget, but that they were digging in their heels when it came to financing the census for six months. The Democrats met in the office of Minority Leader Dick Gephardt. The rationale for the half-year financing is that by next March the Supreme Court is expected to rule on whether using sampling is legal or constitutional. The Supreme Court has already agreed to review two lower court rulings that said sampling would violate federal law. Oral arguments on the cases are set for November. But House Democrats balked at the idea of six months' financing for the census, arguing that even if the Supreme Court allowed sampling, the Republicans would be under no obligation to approve money for a census that included sampling. ``The general feeling among many Democrats was that even if we won the case, there would be a lot less leverage in March, especially if it was the only issue left to be debated,'' said a House Democratic official who insisted on anonymity. Democrats contend that now is the time to press the Republicans, while they want to complete work on the budget and go home to campaign. Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., who attended the meeting Monday, said, ``It was, sort of, this is where we are. We've been able to accomplish great things, what do you think? We made it very clear that unless the census was included, along with some other issues, like school construction, the deal wouldn't be acceptable.'' Statistical sampling would allow the Census Bureau to estimate populations that are difficult to count, and would have the largest effect on the counting of African-Americans in cities and blacks and Hispanics in rural areas, groups that are traditionally undercounted by the standard means. Republicans fear, and Democrats hope, that the method would raise the count of people living in traditionally Democratic areas, giving the party an advantage when new boundaries for election districts are drawn following the 2000 census. At Monday's meeting, the Democrats reminded administration officials that Clinton had promised that he would veto any legislation that restricted the Census Bureau's ability to conduct an accurate census. ``I can't think of any way that restricts the census more than not to fully fund it,'' said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y. The willingness of House Democrats, including Gephardt, to press the president on the issue represents a realization of their leverage with Clinton, who will need all of their support in the coming impeachment inquiry. ``Gephardt is a major player now, and the irony is we helped make him that,'' said Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., who supports the use of sampling in the census. The Democrats' position also indicates how little trust many have in the White House on this issue. The proposal to finance the departments of Commerce, Justice and State for six months is similar to one reached last November between Bowles and House Speaker Newt Gingrich. The idea then was that holding all three departments hostage in the census fight would place maximum pressure on all sides to work out their differences over sampling. But House Democrats were not consulted before that agreement was struck and later grumbled about it. At a meeting of the Democratic caucus Tuesday, Ms. Maloney briefed lawmakers on dealings with the White House and declared that Clinton had promised that he would hold firm on the census and that she believed him, a participant said. The statement was greeted with laughter. ``There is a certain level of suspicion because there have been times when we have been cut out,''said the House Democratic official. ``But I have to say, there hasn't been much evidence of that, this time.''",
"Struggling to meet their fourth deadline over the federal budget, congressional Republicans and White House officials wrestled Tuesday with their differences over education, the most politically high-stakes element of the budget battle. Negotiators ended a late-night session without resolving disagreements over not just education, but the census and contraceptives. These were among the biggest issues that still separated the two sides as each tried to formulate a message to take home to voters for the Nov. 3 elections. On education, the issue that President Clinton has propelled to the forefront and on which Republicans do not want to appear recalcitrant, both sides have agreed to spend more than $1 billion but not on how to spend it. The president insists that the money be spent to hire 100,000 teachers across the country so that the average class can be reduced to 18 students. Republicans, railing against ``Beltway bureaucrats,'' say that local school districts should decide how the money is spent, whether it be for teachers or computers. As the two sides broke Tuesday night, White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles, the president's top negotiator, emerged from the session saying: ``We don't have a deal. We made some good progress. The biggest issue, still, is the 100,000 teachers.'' He added: ``There are still some open issues'' upon which no agreement has been reached, but he sounded optimistic about a session scheduled for Wednesday morning. ``I think we've got a chance of wrapping up tomorrow,'' he said. The two sides remained apart on several ideological matters, including whether to allow federal health plans to cover contraceptives and whether to allow those few plans with religious affiliations to refuse to cover contraceptives not only on religious grounds but on moral grounds as well. They were also split on how to conduct the census in 2000, which is one of the thorniest issues. It is not one that moves voters, but it is vital to both parties because it helps determine their relative strength in Congress. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Bowles met for much of the day in the speaker's office, shuttling in and out of ante-rooms with their lieutenants but giving few clues about the nitty-gritty details of their talks. They have given themselves another deadline of midnight Wednesday to wrap up about $500 billion worth of spending items, but they could easily extend that deadline another day or two. They missed having spending bills in place for the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year, providing temporary financing for the federal government through Oct. 9, then Oct. 12, then Wednesday. Some of the other central issues, like financing for the International Monetary Fund, were all but nailed down, but neither side was ready to declare a final deal until all the other elements of the budget package were in place. ``We're down to splitting infinitives,'' House Majority Leader Dick Armey said of approving money for the IMF. As they worked through several issues, Republican leaders appeared to be calculating the differences in their own party that might sour a final deal when it arrives on the House floor _ more of a concern than the Senate floor because the Senate has fewer differences among its Republicans and with the White House. Some conservative Republicans said they were concerned over the emerging shape of the final package, particularly elements dealing with family planning and emergency spending. They say the president's proposals for emergency spending, on such items as the peacekeeping mission in Bosnia, fixing the year 2000 computer bug and providing relief to American farmers, will break the limits in last year's balanced-budget agreement. The administration said such money would come from corresponding cuts elsewhere in the budget, but conservatives say it comes from raiding the surplus. If Republican leaders cannot count on their conservatives, they will need support from Democrats to pass the final package. And Democrats on Tuesday expressed concern over some White House positions, on issues like the census and an apparent compromise with Republicans on aid for farmers. Rep. David McIntosh, R-Ind., a leader of House conservatives, said he believed Republican leaders were ceding too quickly to the White House. He said that the president appeared to be getting his way on some issues but that what he really seemed to be winning was the war of public relations. ``The president is getting what he wants; he's controlling the situation,'' McIntosh lamented. When Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott appears on television, McIntosh said, ``it's in reaction to the president.'' Nonetheless, McIntosh suggested that he could vote for a final accord. ``Most conservatives are holding out for a better deal than we're hearing,'' he said, ``but we'll probably give them the vote because we don't see a much better alternative happening if it goes down.'' Others were distressed, particularly about two contraceptive issues. One would require federal health plans to cover contraceptives. The other would bar overseas family-planning organizations from lobbying to change abortion laws in other countries. Rep. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said he wanted to see the final language on the health plan measure. As it passed both the House and the Senate, it allowed for health plans with religious affiliation to decline to offer contraceptive coverage; Coburn wants plans to be able to refuse such coverage on moral grounds as well. The plan covers five specific types of contraception. Coburn said he wanted two of those _ Depo-Provera and intrauterine devices _ to be eliminated from coverage because he said they interfered with fertilization and were therefore considered to cause abortions. Democrats like Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., who introduced the contraceptive plan in the House, said she strongly objected to Coburn's position. She said that health plans based their decisions on what to offer on profits, not morals. The question is whether the White House will insist on keeping the contraceptive coverage in the final package and will oppose the moral exception. If the administration allows the moral exception, it could alienate some House Democrats. House Democrats are also worried about the direction the talks are taking on the census. This has always loomed as one of the biggest issues separating Democrats and Republicans. The results of a census help determine the future power of the two political parties. But the fact that the two sides are finally talking about it now indicates that they are covering the full range of budget matters that need to be resolved. The White House has proposed buying time on the matter by financing the Commerce, State and Justice departments only for five months. The Commerce Department contains the Census Bureau. White House officials said this would put off the nettlesome issue while allowing a resolution of the entire spending package, but House Democrats worry it would be a prelude to giving in to Republicans down the road. Republican leaders like the idea of postponing a decision but say that financing should be restricted only for the Census Bureau. On several touchy environmental issues that have prompted repeated veto threats from the White House, the two sides appeared to be opting for compromise over confrontation, with several disputes resolved. But a few particularly difficult issues remained under negotiation. A compromise was struck between the White House and Alaskan lawmakers on logging in the Tongass National Forest. But compromise still eluded them on the question of building a road through a wilderness refuge to connect two communities in Alaska.",
"Some conservatives sounded notes of discord Friday over the federal spending agreement, but they also said they would probably vote for the $500 billion package because it boosted defense spending and provided aid to farmers. However, no one can vote on the package just yet, because it is not finished. The deal that President Clinton and Republican leaders hailed Thursday was a broad outline of areas of agreement on the final portion of the $1.7 trillion budget, not a written document. That is now being crafted by the chairmen of the spending committees and their aides, who said Friday that there were still disputes that needed to be resolved and that the final document could run to more than 3,000 pages. For example, still unresolved is a dispute over whether airlines can create a ``peanut-free'' zone to protect passengers who are allergic to peanuts. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and other members from Georgia, a major peanut-producing state, are fighting the proposal, which would force airlines to ban peanuts within three rows of someone with an allergy. Congress gave itself until midnight Tuesday to vote on the final bill, agreeing with President Clinton to a fifth extension of temporary financing to keep the government open. The budget was due Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year. The vote was initially expected Friday, but the bill is nowhere near to being written. Only a handful of top-level bargainers _ including Gingrich, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles _ were in the room for the final deal. Excluded were the committee chairmen and the heads of the appropriation committees, who now must write the language that will put the deal into law. Almost everyone on Capitol Hill expects the budget to pass eventually, with the biggest defections coming from conservatives who object to the $20 billion taken from the surplus to address so-called emergencies and for the package's failure to offer voters a serious tax cut. The lag time before the bill is officially closed is making some conservatives nervous that more members will try to add provisions that will further expand a bill they already consider overly bloated. And some worry that once the hometown pork that is stuffed into the bill is publicly revealed, voters could put pressure on members not to support it. The elections are Nov. 3. But several conservatives said that despite these problems, they expected to support the bill anyway. Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., said: `Most of my friends, who are predominantly activist conservatives, are split about 50-50. If tax cuts were your primary thing, then you're unhappy, but many conservatives have a mixed agenda. My position is, hold the nose and vote yes. We have no tax cuts and far too much spending that I oppose, but that's the nature of compromise. Every member has a little different focus.'' Souder said he liked the extra money for defense spending, and he liked the price supports for farmers. Hog farmers in his district, whose biggest customers were Japan and China, had been hit hard by the collapse of Asian markets. Several Republicans said that the bill seemed skewed in favor of the Democrats. They cited two reasons: Clinton needed to curry favor with Democrats to shore up support if the House votes to impeach him, and Republican leaders feared that if they had stood up to Clinton, they might have forced a government shutdown and Republicans would be blamed. ``Clinton was buying votes,'' said Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio. ``He was sucking up to the liberal Democrats so they would support him in impeachment.'' Rep. W.J. (Billy) Tauzin, R-La., said the leaders seemed motivated by a desire to avoid the political damage they incurred from the partial government shutdowns of 1995 and 1996. He also cited the president's need to placate the left by adding costly domestic programs. ``The combination of the lessons learned three years ago and the scandal on the president's side yielded the inevitable result, a budget that leans way to the left,'' Tauzin said. Still, he said he would probably support the bill. ``It won't be enthusiastically,'' he said. ``It won't be holding my nose either. I would have preferred to spend more of this money on a tax cut. I think we would have gotten a tax cut, but for the scandal. If the president had not been caught up with the scandal, he probably would have followed the Dick Morris strategy and moved towards the center.'' Gingrich said he recognized that some conservatives were wary of the agreement. But he sought to reassure them that the package served their interests. He cited a $9 billion increase in defense spending. And he noted that the Republicans had blocked several items, including needle-exchange programs in the District of Columbia, national education testing and U.S. contributions to a United Nations program that pays for family planning in China, which many in Congress object to because China has a policy of coercing abortions and forcing sterilization. Gingrich said the agreement was the best that could be achieved ``when you have a conservative Republican Congress and a liberal Democratic president.'' Some conservatives who had been especially critical were more understanding Thursday. Rep. David McIntosh, R-Ind., a leader of conservatives in the House, had denounced the bill earlier as a Great Society type of big-spending program. Friday, after a meeting of Republicans, he said, ``Our leadership found themselves in a bad situation and did a good job.'' A few remained outright hostile to the bill, as much for the hasty way in which it was cobbled together as for what it contained. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, said: `I'm voting `no' unless something revolutionary happens between now and Tuesday. I think it's the process that gives the president the ability to stonewall until the very end and then hold us for ransom. The Republican leadership in the House and Senate did a good job of limiting the highway robbery, but it's still gone too far beyond the spending caps.'' Also angry at the rushed endgame was Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., who took to the House floor and said he could not support the final bill. ``I'm going to urge my colleagues to vote `no,' '' Taylor said. ``We have stayed here this long. We can stay a little bit longer. And I am going to encourage my colleagues to continue to vote no until we are given adequate time to study the measure that is brought before us.''",
"Voting mainly on party lines on a question that has become a touchstone in the debate over development and preservation of wilderness, the Senate on Thursday approved a gravel road through remote wildlife habitat in Alaska. The road, barely 30 miles long, would slice across the edge of a wildlife refuge and wilderness area on the Aleutian Peninsula, where it would connect an isolated village called King Cove to a long-range air strip in the town of Cold Bay. Without the road, its backers say, about 700 residents of King Cove must continue to use unreliable air and boat service in emergencies, often risking dangerous winds and seas as they seek medical evacuation to Anchorage. Opponents of the road call the project an unjustifiable precedent that threatens the seasonal breeding grounds of protected migratory birds, and they say that improved air or sea service would be a better alternative. The vote Thursday, 59-38, was a victory for the state's congressional delegation. But with President Clinton likely to veto the measure, the final outcome may depend on whether its sponsors can insert the road proposal into a huge spending bill that is likely to emerge just before Congress heads home for the Nov. 3 elections. Three Republicans voted against the bill, and six Democrats voted for it. The Clinton administration has repeatedly warned that it will veto a big spending bill if it contains an array of anti-environmental provisions that are under consideration. Indeed, the White House seems to be itching for a partisan fight over environmental priorities. But while many Republicans in Congress still appear reluctant to engage in that broad fight, they were willing Thursday to cast their lot with the Senate's two powerful Alaskans, Ted Stevens and Frank Murkowski, both Republicans. A companion bill in the House, sponsored by Rep. Don Young of Alaska, also a Republican, has not come to the floor. Even Sen. John Chafee of Rhode Island, a leader of Republican environmentalists, voted for the road. Last February Chafee's staff had assembled a score of environmental lobbyists in his office to plan strategy for opposing the road, environmental advocates said Thursday. They speculated that the senator had changed his position out of deference to the power of Stevens, who as chairman of the Appropriations Committee exerts tremendous influence at a time when a dozen spending bills are in their final stages. A Chafee aide said Chafee voted reluctantly for the road after Alaska's senators convinced him of its merits. Stevens said in angry tones Thursday that two-thirds of Alaska's land was off limits to development and that vital health services were being denied to his state's residents. ``We can't use it without permission from some bureaucrat who is compelled by extreme environmentalists,'' he said. ``They are so extreme that they say this 330,000-acre Izembek refuge, the smallest wilderness in Alaska, is so sacrosanct that it can't move its border 60 feet.'' But Sen. Dale Bumpers, D-Ark., called the road project a dangerous precedent. ``Building a road through a wilderness in Alaska, no matter how short or how long, would be the first time in the nation we have voted deliberately to authorize a road through a wilderness area,'' Bumpers said. ``And once you go down that road, nobody knows where it is going to end.''",
"House and Senate negotiators agreed Thursday to require most federal health plans to cover prescription contraceptives for women, giving an unusual victory on Capitol Hill to advocates of abortion rights. But the future of the measure was in doubt because it was attached to a spending bill that includes a controversial provision regarding the Federal Election Commission. That provision could scuttle the spending bill, which would finance the Treasury Department and the Postal Service and which still must be approved by the House and Senate. The contraceptive measure would require the federal health plans, which affect 1.2 million female federal employees who are of child-bearing age, to cover the five methods of contraception that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in this country _ birth control pills, diaphragms, inter-uterine devices, Norplant and Depo-Provera. Currently, only 19 percent of federal health plans cover those methods. The House and Senate approved the contraceptive measure earlier this year. But the opponents of abortion were furious about the approval and persuaded Republican leaders to have negotiators reopen discussion on the matter. The cost of contraceptives has driven up the out-of-pocket cost of health care for women. And many male members of Congress seemed persuaded to support coverage of contraceptives for women, since almost all of the 285 federal health plans cover Viagra, the male impotency drug. Thursday, with pressure building to resolve the spending bills before Oct. 9, when temporary financing of the government expires, the negotiators agreed to include the contraceptive measure in their conference report on the $13.4 billion bill for the Treasury Department and Postal service. Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., who pushed the contraceptive measure through the House, hailed Thursday's agreement as the first major accomplishment by abortion rights advocates since the Republicans took control of Congress in 1994. She said the negotiators had agreed to include the measure because in an election year they did not want to be perceived as opposing contraception or be seen as rejecting a measure that had passed both the House and Senate. But many Democrats said the were upset that the bill contains a provision that is seen as interfering with the independence of the Federal Election Commission. That provision would require a four-vote majority among the seven federal election commissioners every four years to retain the general counsel and staff director. The provision is aimed at getting rid of Lawrence Noble, the current general counsel, who has investigated the campaign finance practices of groups like the Christian Coalition. The contraceptive measure is one of four related matters that have helped stall four spending bills. The three other bills that are stalled in part because of abortion-related matters include the agriculture bill, in which there is a dispute over whether the federal Food and Drug Administration should use taxpayer money to approve drugs like RU-486, which induce abortions. The foreign operations bill is also stalled over whether to finance international family planning programs that may also promote abortion, while the labor and health bill is delayed because of a provision that would block access of minors to contraception. Addressing the measure on insurance coverage for contraceptives, Helen Alvarez, a spokeswoman for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, said that the bill was bad policy. She said contraception had failed to stem the number of abortions, teen-age pregnancies or out-of-wedlock births. ``Public-relations-wise, it's a good tactic for them,'' she conceded, ``but in terms of social policy, this is a failure.''",
"Some conservatives sounded notes of discord Friday over the federal spending agreement, but they also said they would probably vote for the $500 billion package because it boosted defense spending and provided aid to farmers. However, no one can vote on the package just yet, because it is not finished. The deal that President Clinton and Republican leaders hailed Thursday was a broad outline of areas of agreement on the final portion of the $1.7 trillion budget, not a written document. That is now being crafted by the chairmen of the spending committees and their aides, who said Friday that there were still disputes that needed to be resolved and that the final document could run to more than 3,000 pages. For example, still unresolved is a dispute over whether airlines can create a ``peanut-free'' zone to protect passengers who are allergic to peanuts. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and other members from Georgia, a major peanut-producing state, are fighting the proposal, which would force airlines to ban peanuts within three rows of someone with an allergy. Congress gave itself until midnight Tuesday to vote on the final bill, agreeing with President Clinton to a fifth extension of temporary financing to keep the government open. The budget was due Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year. The vote was initially expected Friday, but the bill is nowhere near to being written. Only a handful of top-level bargainers _ including Gingrich, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles _ were in the room for the final deal. Excluded were the committee chairmen and the heads of the appropriation committees, who now must write the language that will put the deal into law. Almost everyone on Capitol Hill expects the budget to pass eventually, with the biggest defections coming from conservatives who object to the $20 billion taken from the surplus to address so-called emergencies and for the package's failure to offer voters a serious tax cut. The lag time before the bill is officially closed is making some conservatives nervous that more members will try to add provisions that will further expand a bill they already consider overly bloated. And some worry that once the hometown pork that is stuffed into the bill is publicly revealed, voters could put pressure on members not to support it. The elections are Nov. 3. But several conservatives said that despite these problems, they expected to support the bill anyway. Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., said: `Most of my friends, who are predominantly activist conservatives, are split about 50-50. If tax cuts were your primary thing, then you're unhappy, but many conservatives have a mixed agenda. My position is, hold the nose and vote yes. We have no tax cuts and far too much spending that I oppose, but that's the nature of compromise. Every member has a little different focus.'' Souder said he liked the extra money for defense spending, and he liked the price supports for farmers. Hog farmers in his district, whose biggest customers were Japan and China, had been hit hard by the collapse of Asian markets.",
"Struggling to meet their fourth deadline over the federal budget, congressional Republicans and White House officials wrestled Tuesday with their differences over education, the most politically high-stakes element of the budget battle. Negotiators ended a late-night session without resolving disagreements over not just education, but the census and contraceptives. These were among the biggest issues that still separated the two sides as each tried to formulate a message to take home to voters for the Nov. 3 elections. On education, the issue that President Clinton has propelled to the forefront and on which Republicans do not want to appear recalcitrant, both sides have agreed to spend more than $1 billion but not on how to spend it. The president insists that the money be spent to hire 100,000 teachers across the country so that the average class can be reduced to 18 students. Republicans, railing against ``Beltway bureaucrats,'' say that local school districts should decide how the money is spent, whether it be for teachers or computers. As the two sides broke Tuesday night, White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles, the president's top negotiator, emerged from the session saying: ``We don't have a deal. We made some good progress. The biggest issue, still, is the 100,000 teachers.'' He added: ``There are still some open issues'' upon which no agreement has been reached, but he sounded optimistic about a session scheduled for Wednesday morning. ``I think we've got a chance of wrapping up tomorrow,'' he said. The two sides remained apart on several ideological matters, including whether to allow federal health plans to cover contraceptives and whether to allow those few plans with religious affiliations to refuse to cover contraceptives not only on religious grounds but on moral grounds as well. They were also split on how to conduct the census in 2000, which is one of the thorniest issues. It is not one that moves voters, but it is vital to both parties because it helps determine their relative strength in Congress. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Bowles met for much of the day in the speaker's office, shuttling in and out of ante-rooms with their lieutenants but giving few clues about the nitty-gritty details of their talks. They have given themselves another deadline of midnight Wednesday to wrap up about $500 billion worth of spending items, but they could easily extend that deadline another day or two. They missed having spending bills in place for the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year, providing temporary financing for the federal government through Oct. 9, then Oct. 12, then Wednesday. Some of the other central issues, like financing for the International Monetary Fund, were all but nailed down, but neither side was ready to declare a final deal until all the other elements of the budget package were in place. ``We're down to splitting infinitives,'' House Majority Leader Dick Armey said of approving money for the IMF. As they worked through several issues, Republican leaders appeared to be calculating the differences in their own party that might sour a final deal when it arrives on the House floor _ more of a concern than the Senate floor because the Senate has fewer differences among its Republicans and with the White House. Some conservative Republicans said they were concerned over the emerging shape of the final package, particularly elements dealing with family planning and emergency spending. They say the president's proposals for emergency spending, on such items as the peacekeeping mission in Bosnia, fixing the year 2000 computer bug and providing relief to American farmers, will break the limits in last year's balanced-budget agreement. The administration said such money would come from corresponding cuts elsewhere in the budget, but conservatives say it comes from raiding the surplus. If Republican leaders cannot count on their conservatives, they will need support from Democrats to pass the final package. And Democrats on Tuesday expressed concern over some White House positions, on issues like the census and an apparent compromise with Republicans on aid for farmers. Rep. David McIntosh, R-Ind., a leader of House conservatives, said he believed Republican leaders were ceding too quickly to the White House. He said that the president appeared to be getting his way on some issues but that what he really seemed to be winning was the war of public relations. ``The president is getting what he wants; he's controlling the situation,'' McIntosh lamented. When Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott appears on television, McIntosh said, ``it's in reaction to the president.'' Nonetheless, McIntosh suggested that he could vote for a final accord. ``Most conservatives are holding out for a better deal than we're hearing,'' he said, ``but we'll probably give them the vote because we don't see a much better alternative happening if it goes down.'' Others were distressed, particularly about two contraceptive issues. One would require federal health plans to cover contraceptives. The other would bar overseas family-planning organizations from lobbying to change abortion laws in other countries. Rep. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said he wanted to see the final language on the health plan measure. As it passed both the House and the Senate, it allowed for health plans with religious affiliation to decline to offer contraceptive coverage; Coburn wants plans to be able to refuse such coverage on moral grounds as well. The plan covers five specific types of contraception. Coburn said he wanted two of those _ Depo-Provera and intrauterine devices _ to be eliminated from coverage because he said they interfered with fertilization and were therefore considered to cause abortions. Democrats like Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., who introduced the contraceptive plan in the House, said she strongly objected to Coburn's position. She said that health plans based their decisions on what to offer on profits, not morals. The question is whether the White House will insist on keeping the contraceptive coverage in the final package and will oppose the moral exception. If the administration allows the moral exception, it could alienate some House Democrats. House Democrats are also worried about the direction the talks are taking on the census. This has always loomed as one of the biggest issues separating Democrats and Republicans. The results of a census help determine the future power of the two political parties. But the fact that the two sides are finally talking about it now indicates that they are covering the full range of budget matters that need to be resolved. The White House has proposed buying time on the matter by financing the Commerce, State and Justice departments only for five months. The Commerce Department contains the Census Bureau. White House officials said this would put off the nettlesome issue while allowing a resolution of the entire spending package, but House Democrats worry it would be a prelude to giving in to Republicans down the road. Republican leaders like the idea of postponing a decision but say that financing should be restricted only for the Census Bureau. On several touchy environmental issues that have prompted repeated veto threats from the White House, the two sides appeared to be opting for compromise over confrontation, with several disputes resolved. But a few particularly difficult issues remained under negotiation. A compromise was struck between the White House and Alaskan lawmakers on logging in the Tongass National Forest. But compromise still eluded them on the question of building a road through a wilderness refuge to connect two communities in Alaska.",
"Top-level budget negotiators for congressional Republicans and the White House concluded yet another bargaining session late Sunday afternoon with plans to resume talks on Monday morning and probably extend their midnight Monday deadline for another day or two. Both sides were amiable as they emerged from a two-hour session, but they had little to report and indicated that their relatively early departure, compared with the last three nights, should not be interpreted as a sign of crisis or of imminent peace in the budget talks. Sunday's discussions focused on education and President Clinton's request for $1.1 billion to hire 100,000 teachers, but aides said the bargainers did not delve into much detail and nothing was resolved. ``I think we made some real progress today, but we still have a significant difference in the area of education,'' said Erskine Bowles, Clinton's chief of staff and top negotiator, after Sunday's meeting. ``We're going to try to plow through that over the next two days.'' Asked how far apart the two sides were on education, Rep. Dick Armey of Texas, the Republican majority leader, replied: ``I don't know. We're not together.'' He said the two sides had made ``some progress, but not enough.'' The talks came during another day of escalated political confrontation as congressional Democrats and Republicans, painfully aware that they have three weeks until Election Day, tried to take advantage of the static budget situation. Congress has passed only six of the 13 required spending bills and are negotiating now with the White House on a final omnibus package that will contain the remaining seven bills and major issues including how to conduct the census in the year 2000, how much money to provide the International Monetary Fund and under what conditions it should be provided, and how much emergency money to provide for items like increased security at U.S. embassies around the world and for American farmers. Also to be resolved are a host of issues that have little to do with financing and more to do with ideology, including environmental matters, contraception and national student testing. Republicans said the president had been disengaged from the process, and they were irked at what they said was his swooping in at the 11th hour and pushing his education agenda in an apparently successful portrayal of himself as the guardian of that popular topic. Democrats countered that the Republican-led Congress had done nothing all year, and cast the Republicans as extremists for blocking the president's plea for more money to hire teachers and modernize schools. In fact, Republican bargainers said Saturday night that they would provide the money if local governments, not Washington, could decide how the money would be used. Armey was one of many who castigated the president for apparent disengagement, an indirect reminder that Clinton has been steeped in a sex scandal and is facing an impeachment inquiry in the House. The scant number of congressional Republicans who did not leave town for the weekend used the House floor to press this same message. ``What about the president?'' asked Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, the majority whip. ``Maybe in Martha's Vineyard? Aspen? Camp David? Where is the president? I bet the American people don't know that he spent 152 days out of the 283 days this year fund raising, traveling and on vacation.'' Republicans said that Clinton had participated in 98 fund-raising events so far this year and that two events on Monday in New York, supporting the Senate campaign of Rep. Charles Schumer, would bring him to 100. Clinton said at the White House that he was ``prepared to do whatever it takes'' to reach a resolution over the spending bills, and dispatched his aides to Capitol Hill. He also said he would postpone from Monday morning until Monday afternoon his departure for his fund-raising tour in New York, and he canceled a fund-raising appearance in Florida. But as the high-level budget bargaining concluded Sunday afternoon, both sides agreed they would need to extend their deadline beyond midnight Monday, when temporary financing for the government expires for the third time since the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year. Congressional Democrats struck back at the Republicans, saying they have held a slack schedule themselves. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., said Congress had been in session only 108 days so far this year, an unusually abbreviated period and one consumed for more than a month by the drive to hold impeachment hearings on the president. Most Americans, Miller said, had worked more than 225 days. ``They say, `Where is the president?''' Miller said. ``The president has been waiting for the budget. This is the first Congress since 1974 that has no budget,'' he said, referring to the broad blueprint that is supposed to guide spending. ``This is a Congress that can't pass seven of its appropriations bills,'' he said, largely because of divisive splits among conservative and moderate Republicans.",
"For the first time in decades, Congress and the White House negotiated tax and spending legislation this year with the budget in surplus. The result was chaos. The lawmakers were never able to agree on a budget resolution _ the framework into which all the tax and spending bills are supposed to fit. This had not happened since congressional budget procedures were established in 1974. Then, without the discipline of such an overall plan, the Senate and the House could not pass eight of the 13 spending bills needed to keep the government running. So the lawmakers had to stay in session more than a week longer than they had hoped. Finally, they lumped all eight bills together this week and announced an agreement. But the only way they could get this far was to resort to gimmicks. One was to designate $20 billion as ``emergency'' expenditures so that programs did not have to be cut elsewhere to offset the new spending. This will use up more than one-quarter of the anticipated budget surplus in the current fiscal year. Another gimmick extended the tax break for Individual Retirement Accounts to couples with incomes from $100,000 to $150,000. This will actually raise a small amount of revenue in the next five years _ the period covered by budget accounting _ but it will make the picture considerably worse in later years. As hard as it was to negotiate a budget in the bad old days of budget deficits, say the politicians involved, it was exponentially more difficult this year. At least in years past, there was a common goal. As much as they disagreed on policy and principle, they were all aiming at a reduction in the deficit. This year, some members of Congress wanted to use the surplus for a big tax cut. Others wanted to pay off the national debt. Others wanted to spend part of it on medical research, schools and weapons for the Pentagon. Others wanted to spend large sums on highways. Still others wanted to continue cutting government spending. And that was just among the Republicans. The Democrats had their own ideas about the budget, and President Clinton laid down his marker about saving the surplus until a way was found to shore up the Social Security system. ``In budget terms,'' said Robert Reischauer, a former director of the congressional budget office, ``this is like the end of the Cold War.'' There are other differences as well in the way things were negotiated with the budget in a surplus. In 1990, 1993 and 1995, when politicians staked their careers on striking a budget deal to lower the deficit, the fundamental question was how to divide up the bitter medicine of more taxes and less spending. Republicans, for the most part, opposed tax increases and favored cutting spending on social programs. Democrats wanted to raise taxes, especially on the rich, and protect social spending. In the end, balances were carefully drawn. But plenty of politicians _ President George Bush, to name one _ lost their jobs in the process. This year, with Democrats and Republicans alike claiming victory, the burning issue was how to parcel out the candy. Democrats got more money for education and farm assistance. Republicans got more money for the military and an extension of popular tax breaks for businesses. Some of the $20 billion that will eat into the surplus really will go for emergencies, like relief for victims of Hurricane Georges. But much of the money, like the $90 million that will pay for six new helicopters for the national police in Colombia to use in drug interdiction, was designated emergency spending simply because there was no other way to get it into the budget. For the politicians, the new way is more fun. It is hard to imagine that anyone will be voted out of office because of this year's budget. But that did not make it easier to reach an agreement. The other big difference is that the principal fights this year were not over money at all. They involved delicate policy issues like needle exchanges, contraception, global warming, immigration and the census. In Congress, there is no consensus on these matters. So the only way policy could be set was to wrap them into the giant spending bill. It may be more pleasant to debate policy than money. But it is probably harder to find a way to split the difference. As long as the surplus lasts, the lack of discipline that characterized the budget-writing this year is likely to continue. This is distressing to those devoted to controlling government spending. ``The temptation,'' said L. Ari Fleischer, spokesman for the House Ways and Means Committee, ``is to grab the loot and spend it.''",
"Struggling to meet their fourth deadline over the federal budget, congressional Republicans and White House officials wrestled Tuesday with their differences over education, staging events to demonstrate support for what has become the most public and politically high-stakes element of the budget battle. Negotiators met into the night to hash out their disagreements over aid for schools, the census and contraceptives. These were among the biggest issues that still separated the two sides as each tried to formulate a message to take home to voters for the Nov. 3 elections. On education, the issue that President Clinton has propelled to the forefront of the talks and on which Republicans do not want to appear recalcitrant, both sides have agreed to spend more than $1 billion but disagree over how to spend it. The president insists the money be spent on hiring 100,000 teachers across the country so that the average class can be reduced to 18 students. Republicans, railing against ``Beltway bureaucrats,'' say that local school districts should decide how the money is spent, whether it be for teachers or computers. The two sides remained apart on several ideological matters, including whether to allow federal health plans to cover contraceptives and whether to allow those few plans with religious affiliations to refuse to cover contraceptives not only on religious grounds but on moral grounds as well. And they also were split on how to conduct the census in the year 2000. This is one of the thorniest issues. It is not one that moves voters, but it is vital to both parties because it helps determine their relative strength in Congress. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Erskine Bowles, the president's chief of staff and top negotiator, met for much of the day in the speaker's office, shuttling in and out of ante-rooms with their lieutenants but giving few clues about the nitty gritty details of their talks. They have given themselves another deadline of midnight Wednesday to wrap up about $500 billion-worth of spending items, but they could easily extend that deadline another day or two. They missed the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year, providing temporary funding for the federal government through Oct. 9, then Oct. 12, then Wednesday. Some of the other central issues, such as financing for the International Monetary Fund, were all but nailed down, but neither side was ready to declare a final deal until all the other elements of the budget package are in place. ``We're down to splitting infinitives,'' Rep. Dick Armey of Texas, the Republican majority leader, said of approving funds for the international fund. As they worked through several issues, Republican leaders appeared to be calculating the differences in their own party that might sour a final deal when it arrives on the House floor _ more of a concern than on the Senate floor because the Senate has fewer differences among its Republicans and with the White House."
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Clinton will visit Israel, Gaza and the West bank Dec. 12-15 as agreed in the Wye River accord. The days preceding his trip are filled with violence, unrest and divisiveness. Hamas denounces Clinton's trip, but makes no threats against him. Netanyahu says Arafat is "making a farce" of the Wye accord. The two sides disagree over its terms. The Israelis and Palestinians are troubled by violence, fear and loss. Clinton has impeachment troubles. Extra security is in place wherever Clinton will go. He hopes to salvage the Wye accord. However, Netanyahu continues to withdraw troops from the West Bank as stipulated in the agreement. Despite concerns it might cause more unrest, President Clinton met in Israel separately with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Yasser Arafat to negotiate Wye Accord agreement terms. Israel is demanding revocation of anti-Israeli clauses in the 1964 Palestinian charter. Palestine is demanding Israel's release of Palestinian prisoners. Both sides are exchanging accusations over Israeli West Bank settlements and anti-Israeli violence. Hamas denounced Clinton's visit but avoided threats. US and Palestinian agents kept the Gaza area secure. In the end, Netanyahu, facing political turmoil, told President Clinton he would not remove his troops from the West Bank. Security high for Clinton's visit to Gaza, part of the Wye Accord, as Palestinian leaders revoke a 1964 Israeli destruction clause. Israel claims Air Force One landing in Palestinian is sovereign recognition. It won't withdraw West Bank troops unless Palestinians formally vote to revoke the clause and violence stops. Palestine says Israel violated the Accord by improper prisoner releases, roadbuilding and settlement expansion. It warns of violence and there have been stone-throwing protests. Radical Islam group Hamas denounces the visit and the Accord. Clinton has made ending the long feud a crusade. Both Clinton and Netanyahu's leadership threatened. Clinton traveled to the mid-East in December in an effort to energize the Wye agreement signed by Israel and Palestine. Problems immediately faced this accord, intended to trade Israeli territory for security. Questions remained on which prisoners should be released and what constituted a vote to revoke a 1964 call to destroy Israel. Jewish settlers continued to take more lands. Violence and demonstrations went on. The Israeli far right was angry. Clinton was facing impeachment hearings. History and hatred were too strong for him to succeed. Netanyahu finally refused to move the peace process forward, but probably still will be voted out of office.
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"Armored personnel carriers were deployed Tuesday around the convention center where U.S. President Bill Clinton will address 1,500 Palestinian delegates next week. U.S. Secret Service agents have already arrived in Gaza to work with their Palestinian counterparts on how to protect Clinton during his first visit to Palestinian areas. ``There is cooperation with the American security people. We have our own plan. The Americans have their own procedures as well,'' said the Palestinian police chief, Ghazi Jabali. The Islamic militant group Hamas, which hopes to scuttle the accord, has been careful not to openly threaten Clinton. However, Hamas has carried out more than a dozen suicide bombings in Israel in an attempt to bring peace talks with Israel to a halt. On Monday, Clinton and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat are to address members of the Palestine National Council and delegates from other groups, at the Shawa Cultural Center in Gaza City. Traffic near the Shawa Center still flowed normally Tuesday, but plainclothes security as well as uniformed officers with M-17 and AK-47 assault rifles began patrolling in the vicinity. Streets around the center are to be closed days before the Clinton visit. Four armored personnel were parked at the corners of the convention center, with members of Arafat's elite bodyguard unit, known as Force 17, sitting on the vehicles. APCs were also deployed outside Arafat's guest house and near the Palestinian legislative council. Jabali said the APCs were part of a Palestinian security plan that has been presented to the Americans. U.S. security agents, in turn, have given their Palestinian counterparts sophisticated explosives detection equipment. ``The Palestinian police are ready to protect President Clinton here in Gaza or in Bethlehem,'' Jabali said, referring to Clinton's expected visit next Tuesday to the Church of the Nativity in the biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem In Jerusalem, Clinton's entourage of 1,200 people will take over the Jerusalem Hilton, at a cost of half a million dollars. The hotel boasts stunning views of Jerusalem's walled Old City and the slopes of the Judean Desert.",
"Israel affirmed Friday that it will not withdraw troops in the West Bank unless the top Palestinian decision-making body holds a vote to annul clauses of the PLO charter calling for Israel's destruction. Just a day before U.S. President Bill Clinton's arrival, Israel also rejected a U.S. compromise on the release of Palestinian prisoners, an issue that has sparked riots in the West Bank. The Palestinians have said they would revoke the clauses only by acclamation, not by a vote, when the Palestine National Council meets on Monday in Clinton's presence. With its demand, Israel may be setting itself up for a showdown with Clinton whose visit to Israel and the Palestinian is ushering in the next stage of the Wye River land-for-security agreement he helped negotiate. Under the accord, the annulment of the offending provisions by the PNC is to clear the way for an Israeli troop pullback. Clinton is unlikely to declare the PNC has not completed its task because that would mean his high-profile visit has been a failure. However, Israeli officials said they would not drop their demand for a vote. ``They have to vote in the PNC,'' said Israeli government spokesman Moshe Fogel. Otherwise, he said, Israel will not turn over additional West Bank territory to the Palestinians because ``transfer of territory is irreversible.'' In Washington, deputy U.S. State Department spokesman James Foley was evasive on whether the United States expected a vote from the PNC. ``The procedures need to be clear enough that nullification has taken place,'' he said. A senior Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States has not asked Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to consider holding a vote. On Thursday, the Palestinians took an interim step when a smaller leadership body, the 124-member Palestinian Central Council, declared the charter clauses revoked. The 95 members present were asked whether they approved a letter in which Arafat informed Clinton that the charter clauses calling for Israel's destruction were null and void. In all, 81 voted in favor, seven against and seven abstained. Asked about the decision, Arafat would only say that ``it was a very important and constructive meeting.'' The Palestinian leader also said he hoped Clinton would exert pressure on Israel to keep its obligations under the Wye agreement. The Palestine Liberation Organization charter was drawn up three decades ago, long before Israel and the Palestinians started their peace process in 1993. The Palestinians say they took all the required steps to revoke the pertinent clauses at a PNC session in Gaza in 1996. However, Netanyahu has said the PNC never completed the job. During the Wye River talks, the Palestinians agreed in a compromise to invite PNC members and delegates from other groups to Gaza to hear Clinton and Arafat speak. The Wye accord says delegates should ``reaffirm'' the Arafat letter to Clinton, but does not specifically refer to a vote. Former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres sided with the Palestinians on Friday. ``They did it once, they did it twice, they don't have to do it again,'' said Peres, who was prime minister during the PNC vote in 1996. Israel and the Palestinians have also accused each other of violating other elements of the Wye agreement. A key point of contention has been Israel's pledge to release 750 Palestinian prisoners in three stages by the end of January. The Palestinians have said Israel broke a promise to release prisoners held for anti-Israeli activities. Israel said it never made such a pledge, and accused the Palestinian Authority of incitement over the prisoner issue. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the United States offered a compromise, a trilateral committee to go over the list of prisoners one by one and determine who will be released. But Israeli Cabinet Secretary Danny Naveh said Friday such a proposal was unacceptable. ``Israel has not been offered such a compromise and there will not be such a compromise,'' Naveh said. On Friday, about 2,000 supporters of the Islamic militant Hamas movement marched through the West Bank town of Nablus to press for the release or prisoners. ``We want prisoners, not Clinton,'' the crowd chanted. At Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest site, the prayer leader, Yousef Abu Sneineh, spoke out sharply against the U.S.-brokered peace agreement. ``America supports a peace agreement that further reinforces the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian lands,'' he said.",
"President Clinton will travel to Gaza next month to address Palestinian leaders, the White House said Friday. He is to speak at what the Palestinians are describing as a historic meeting to formally revoke anti-Israel clauses in the 1964 Palestinian charter. Israel demanded revocation of the clauses at U.S.-brokered negotiations last month that led to the latest land-for-peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. As part of that settlement, reached at Wye, Md., Clinton agreed to travel to territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority to speak at the meeting of the Palestinian National Council, the de facto parliament. According to a schedule released Friday by the White House, Clinton will visit Gaza, the West Bank and Israel during a four-day trip that will begin on Dec. 12. He is to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, before returning to Washington on Dec. 15. Clinton administration officials said the White House had not yet decided whether Clinton would fly to the newly opened Gaza International Airport aboard Air Force One, given the symbolism of the president's jet landing on Palestinian soil with the trappings of a state visit. Officials said the White House was fearful of upsetting Israeli leaders who are worried that the president's planned visit to Gaza appears to be a step toward American recognition of a Palestinian state. The White House said the president would ``speak to the Israeli and Palestinian people about the importance of the Wye agreement and the need to continue to support the Middle East peace process.'' The meeting in Gaza on Dec. 14 is bound to be contentious, given that many prominent Palestinians have charged that the Wye agreement allows the Israeli government to backtrack on promises made to the Palestinians in their 1994 peace settlement. The Palestinians have insisted that they have already revoked clauses in the 1964 charter that called for Israel's destruction. In January, Arafat wrote to the White House, listing the anti-Israel provisions that he said had been annulled. But the letter did not satisfy the Israelis. And during the talks in Maryland last month, Arafat agreed to call a meeting of the national council to ``reaffirm'' the decision to revoke the clauses. In order to guarantee passage of a motion to annul the provisions, Arafat is being allowed under an agreement with the Israelis and the United States to pack the council meeting in Gaza with his loyalists, and to conduct the vote by a show of hands instead of a ballot. During a recent interview with Israeli television, Clinton brushed aside concerns that his visit to Gaza might be seen as a step toward U.S. recognition of a Palestinian state. ``That is not what I'm doing in going there,'' he said. ``I have tried strictly to adhere to the position of the United States that we would not take a position on any final status issue.'' He said he was traveling to Gaza at the recommendation of, among others, Netanyahu. ``The prime minister wanted me to go there and wanted us all to make this pitch,'' he said, adding that he would ask the Palestinian National Council ``to support the peace and to renounce the idea of animosity toward and opposition to the existence of the state of Israel, and instead embrace the path not only of peace but of cooperation.''",
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday accused Yasser Arafat of ``making a farce'' of the Wye River accords and said he would not agree to further troop withdrawals until a halt to anti-Israel violence. Netanyahu, in an interview with The Associated Press, said the Palestinians were emboldened to foment street riots and threaten to declare statehood because they believed they had the Clinton administration ``in their back pocket.'' ``The Palestinians are making a farce out of the Wye River accord. They think they have the United States in their back pocket,'' said the Israeli leader. ``As long as that is the case, they will not change their behavior.'' Netanyahu said he did not believe the United States was siding with the Palestinians, but his sharply worded remarks sent a strong signal that he would like President Bill Clinton to intervene and lower Palestinian expectations prior to his Dec. 12-15 trip. Palestinians claim it is Israel that has violated the summit agreement reached in October by not freeing jailed political activists, by confiscating West Bank land for roads and allowing Jewish settlers to seize hilltops for expansion. Ahmed Qureia, speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council and the head of the peace team that negotiated the Oslo accords, told reporters Sunday ``all means of resistance'' was justified in opposing settler activity. Netanyahu, who rejected claims of settlement expansion as ``bunk,'' was interviewed in the Cabinet room after a meeting of his unruly coalition government, which rallied behind Netanyahu on his tough stance. But officials said Science Minister Silvan Shalom attacked him for being too generous to the Palestinians by agreeing to the Clinton visit next week to Gaza and the West Bank. ``We are not going to give up territory when there are violations of the agreement and attempts to get things that weren't achieved at Wye using violence,'' Netanyahu said. Israel has threatened to scrap the next Israeli troop pullback, which is scheduled for Dec. 18, three days after Clinton's departure. The United States has said it should go ahead as scheduled. Palestinians see the Clinton trip as implicit recognition of their struggle for statehood, even though Clinton has specifically said in an interview aired on Israel's Channel 2 television that it should not be read that way. Netanyahu made clear that he would be annoyed if Air Force One landed at the newly opened Palestinian airport in Gaza, which aides said would be viewed as a strong symbol of support for Palestinian demands for sovereignty. ``We will be very disappointed if that is the case. We've said to the United States that we don't think that is necessary,'' Netanyahu said of reports that Clinton's plane would land in Gaza. He said traveling by motorcade would be quicker and more politically considerate. ``Unless somebody wants to put a thumb in our eye, I think there are better ways to travel,'' Netanyahu said. In the interview, Netanyahu stressed that he opposed Palestinian statehood and demanded that Arafat stop threatening to declare independence on May 4, 1999, when the Palestinians maintain the Oslo accords expire. ``What must be is that Yasser Arafat retracts this open and incipient violation of the Oslo and Wye River accords and recommits himself to negotiating until we get white smoke, until we get a solution. That's the only way we'll get a real peace between Israel and the Palestinians,'' Netanyahu said. In a conciliatory speech in Sweden over the weekend, Arafat stressed that he sought a negotiated settlement and did not mention May 4 as a deadline. He also said any Palestinian state would not make alliances with states hostile to Israel _ one of Netanyahu's key concerns. The Israeli leader is also demanding that Arafat drop claims that Netanyahu promised at Wye to release 750 Palestinians jailed for anti-Israel attacks that resulted in bloodshed, rather than freeing car thieves and petty criminals. Each side has a different interpretation of the understanding regarding the prisoners. Netanyahu maintains he never agreed to free those with ``blood on their hands.'' ``It's high time that Yasser Arafat admits this was agreed upon and that he's not going to make demands on Israel, including the incitement of violence,...on a trumped-up charge, '' he said. ``Israel never promised to release murders at Wye, and it won't release them.'' The issue has been the focal point for a new wave of violent protests and demonstrations in the West Bank and a hunger strike that began Saturday by the 1,700 Palestinian inmates. Israel is also upset by statements that the nearly 600-member Palestinian National Council will not reaffirm in a vote that anti-Israel clauses in the Palestinian charter have been deleted. Netanyahu maintained that only 25 members out of hundreds who live abroad had been invited so far. Netanyahu quoted Clinton as telling him that the purpose of his visit was to ``personally make sure that they actually rescind this charter that calls for Israel's destruction.''",
"Less than a week before U.S. President Bill Clinton is to arrive for a visit meant to bolster a new Israeli-Palestinian peace accord, the two sides exchanged angry accusations Sunday over Jewish settlements and street clashes. Ahmed Qureia, speaker of the Palestinian parliament, warned of possible violence if Israel continues to expand settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, where the Palestinians hope to establish a state. ``If settlement activity continues, then all means of resistance are open,'' Qureia, who is also known as Abu Ala, told reporters in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Since the signing of a land-for-security accord, Jewish settlers have accelerated the establishment of makeshift communities on West Bank hilltops, in an explicit bid to keep the land from being turned over to the Palestinians. Meanwhile, at a meeting of the Israeli Cabinet, ministers expressed dismay over an outbreak of street clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli troops in the West Bank. ``The Palestinians have been asked to immediately stop the violence and incitement to violence,'' the Cabinet said in a statement. At least two Palestinians were injured Sunday in a confrontation outside the Jewish settlement of Ariel in the northern West Bank. Demonstrators threw stones at Israeli troops, who responded with rubber bullets and tear gas. A day earlier, 27 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers were injured in similar clashes throughout the West Bank. And three days before that, Israelis were horrified by television footage of an Israeli soldier being dragged from a car and beaten with chunks of concrete by a Palestinian mob. Israel says Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority is orchestrating the street fighting. The Palestinians deny that. The past week's protests grew out of an increasingly bitter dispute over Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Israel last month freed 250 of 750 prisoners it is to release under the Wye accords, but most were criminals. The Palestinians are demanding that so-called security prisoners _ those being held for anti-Israel activity _ be released instead. Also Sunday, another quarrel was brewing over the scheduled meeting of the Palestinian National Council, the Palestinian parliament-in-exile, in the Gaza Strip during Clinton's visit. At the gathering, the PNC and other Palestinians in attendance are to reaffirm the nullification of clauses in their national charter that call for Israel's destruction. Israel has demanded that the Palestinians hold an actual vote at the meeting rather than simply proclaiming the charter changed, but the Palestinians on Sunday repeated their objections to that. ``They haven't the right to give us instructions,'' Arafat said Sunday as he returned to Gaza following a trip to Europe. Clinton's visit to Israel and the Palestinian lands, which is to begin Saturday, is meant to provide impetus to the U.S.-brokered peace accords and encourage both sides to stick to a timetable for compliance. But some commentators suggested the visit was proving a polarizing force instead. ``He is coming to promote the peace process... but his visit's only actual result is a sharpening of the differences,'' Yosef Lapid wrote in Sunday's editions of the Maariv newspaper. In Israel, increasing concern is being voiced over Clinton's planned visit to Gaza, the first ever by a sitting U.S. president. At Sunday's Israeli Cabinet meeting, a shouting match broke out over the issue, according to Israel radio. ``Who invited President Clinton to the Gaza Strip?'' Silvan Shalom, the science minister, reportedly yelled at Netanyahu. Netanyahu said it had been Clinton's idea, not his. The United States has repeatedly said the visit is not intended as an endorsement of Palestinian statehood, but the Palestinians see it as a powerful boost to their sovereignty hopes. Arafat adviser Ahmed Tibi said on Israeli television that the invitation for a Clinton visit came from Israel and was ``warmly welcomed'' by the Palestinians.",
"In an atmosphere of political tension, U.S. President Clinton met Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a bid to put the troubled Wye River peace accord back on track. After getting together for breakfast in Clinton's hotel suite, the two leaders met at Netanyahu's office and planned to talk to reporters later. The president was sure to be asked about the impeachment drama unfolding in Washington. At a late-night arrival ceremony for Clinton Saturday, Netanyahu said he hoped the president's visit would ``contribute to true peace.'' Again, the Israeli leader accused the Palestinians of ignoring commitments in peace accords. Clinton is to meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Monday in the Gaza Strip. Thousands of police were deployed throughout Israel during the Clinton visit. At the hotel where Clinton is staying, 500 policemen were posted to guard the president and his 600-member delegation. Clinton's wife, Hillary, and their daughter, Chelsea, set out on their own schedule. Mrs. Clinton toured a school in a cooperative village of Jews and Palestinians, while Chelsea visited Jerusalem's Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site. Israeli Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon told reporters during a picture-taking session with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright that Israel ``has not left'' the Wye River agreement. ``We will not give up'' on the land-for-security accord, Sharon said. But, he added, ``it should be based on mutual reciprocity.'' About two hours before Air Force One landed Saturday night, the House Judiciary Committee approved a fourth article of impeachment against Clinton. The full House will vote on the impeachment articles next week. Israeli government spokesman Moshe Fogel was asked Sunday if the success of Clinton's visit would turn on the question of revoking the Palestinian Liberation Organization's founding charter. ``President Clinton played a very important role in the Wye Memorandum and its success, and I think that it's going to be very, very important that this visit show us at least a readiness on the part of the Palestinian Authority to move forward in peace,'' Fogel said. There was no letup in violence Sunday. Palestinian stone throwers clashed with Israeli troops and an Israeli high school student was stabbed and wounded by a Palestinian teen-ager. In his remarks at Clinton's airport arrival Saturday night, Netanyahu said the peace process is in danger. ``Mr. President,'' Netanyahu said, speaking in Hebrew, ``The truth has to be told. In recent weeks the Palestinians again constantly, systematically and intentionally violated all their commitments. We are not entitled, not able and not prepared to forgo fulfillment of those commitments.'' Netanyahu, who is facing political turmoil in his hard-line coalition government, said he could not accept ``a phony peace on paper'' which is ``not honored in practice.'' Since Clinton presided over its signing in Washington in October, the land-for-security agreement has hit one snag after another. Israel froze implementation of the accord altogether, accusing Arafat of violating the deal and inciting violent street protests. Clinton said the United States shares Israel's concerns about security. ``Peace is not simply an option among many but the only choice that can avert still more years of bloodshed, apprehension and sorrow,'' he said. ``That is why I'm here.'' He said ``both sides now must face the challenge of implementing Wye.'' Both Clinton and Netanyahu have a shaky political future. The Israeli leader is fighting for his political survival as parliament prepares for a no-confidence vote within two weeks. His coalition began to weaken after he and Arafat signed the Wye River Memorandum Oct. 23 agreeing to turn over 13 percent of West Bank territory to be met by Palestinian security measures. Netanyahu has said there would be no further troop withdrawals until West Bank rioting and violence ends. Israel and the Palestinians are also in bitter disagreement over procedures for revoking passages in the Palestinian charter calling for Israel's destruction and the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails for militant or political acts against the Jewish state. On Monday, the president is to fly to the Palestinian-run Gaza Strip to be welcomed by Arafat with the trappings of a state visit. Clinton's visit to Gaza and his address to the Palestinian National Council is seen by some as a boost for dreams of Palestinian statehood. ``It implies de facto recognition of a Palestinian state,'' Ziyad Abu Ziyad, a member of the Palestinian legislative council, said in an interview Sunday.",
"On a street newly littered with the debris of battle _ stones, spent tear gas canisters, charred remnants of half-burned tires _ a sodden Palestinian flag flaps in a fitful rain-laden wind outside a house in mourning. Inside, to the tinny recorded wail of Koranic verses, neighbors and relatives of the dead man _ a 21-year-old university student felled on the roof of his own home by an Israeli soldier's rubber-coated bullet _ sipped tiny cups of coffee left unsweetened to symbolize the bitter occasion. Some smoked, a few spoke quietly among themselves, but most simply sat in reflective silence. Among those in attendance on this day, the first of the traditional three days of family mourning, was Saeb Erekat, the chief peace negotiator for Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority. The dead youth, Nasr Erekat, was a cousin of his. Erekat stayed for a time, sitting amid clan elders in Arab headdresses and teen-age nephews in American-style athletic shoes, then slipped away for a meeting in connection with President Clinton's visit beginning this weekend. ``It's been very difficult,'' he said later, asked about carrying on his negotiating duties at such a time. ``I have a great sense of sorrow and sadness, a feeling of such loss. I hope God will enable me to use my grief to strengthen my determination for peace.'' The scene at the Erekat home, in the Arab village of Abu Dis on Jerusalem's eastern outskirts, drives home a central truth about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: on both sides of the divide, the political is also deeply personal. And that inescapability goes to the heart of the quarrel's intractability. In the glare of world attention, it is easy to forget that there are fewer people living in Israel and the Palestinian lands combined than there are in New York City. In the small and jostling confines of what few here choose to call the Holy Land, the conflict touches all. Everyone has a stake in it. Israelis fret daily over soldier sons on dangerous patrol in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, or shudder when they pass a sidewalk cafe once ripped by an Islamic militant's suicide bomb. Palestinian families struggle to keep alive the memories of fathers and brothers languishing in Israeli prisons, and chafe under the checkpoints and gunsights of Israeli troops. On both sides, the youngest soak up fear and anger along with their ABCs. And elders' memories of half a century past still rise to trouble the collective sleep: the shadow of the Holocaust for Israelis, the trauma of exile and dispossession for the Palestinians. Against this backdrop, amid a landscape little changed since biblical times, terrible Old Testament themes _ lamentation and retribution, the smiting of enemies and the sharpening of swords _ spring to life once again in any day's headlines. Now comes Clinton, this most American of presidents, one who has made Middle East peacemaking a kind of personal crusade, in hopes of halting what has become one of the century's most protracted blood feuds. Clinton is no stranger to these particular hatreds. Three years ago, in another winter season, he came here to bury Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, gunned down by a nationalist Jew who could not abide the terms of a Mideast agreement that called _ just as this latest accord does _ for Israel to cede West Bank land in exchange for peace with the Palestinians. On the occasion of this visit _ first intended to celebrate the Wye River accords signed seven weeks ago in Washington, now meant to salvage them _ all three of the principals are embattled. Clinton is under an impeachment cloud; Arafat is buffeted by furious Palestinian street protests and his own failing health, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government is hanging by a thread. The days leading up to Clinton's visit have been divisive ones, contriving somehow to simultaneously tap into both sides' greatest fears. In the West Bank's worst spasm of violence in months, Israelis watched windows of Israeli-plated cars shatter from stones thrown by angry youths, saw TV footage of a cringing Israeli soldier _ now facing court martial _ being beaten bloody by a Palestinian mob, heard Palestinian officials' exhortations for a new intefadeh, or uprising. Palestinians, for their part, listened in anger as Netanyahu announced the suspension of an upcoming Israeli troop pullback in the West Bank and tried vainly to halt Israeli bulldozers expanding Jewish settlements on land they claim as their own. Both sides _ to Palestinians' satisfaction, and Israel's dismay _ came to see the visit as an implicit acknowledgement of Palestinian statehood aspirations, despite increasingly desperate American efforts to avoid casting it in that light. Clinton's foray to the Gaza Strip, which is already under Palestinian rule, will be the first by a sitting American president. Palestinians intend to play on that symbolism for all it is worth, greeting him with the strains of their once-banned national anthem. In the mourning house in Abu Dis, though, the friends and relatives of Nasr Erekat had little to say about politics and statehood. They talked about Nasr instead. Amr Erekat, 27, recalled his disbelief as he cradled his dying cousin in his arms. His 14-year-old brother Taher spoke haltingly of the big brother he had looked up to. His childhood friend, Samir Abdel Salam, remembered wishing he had stuck to his studies as diligently as Nasr had. Saeb Erekat, the peace negotiator, could find neither lesson nor logic to his young cousin's death. ``It's senseless, this rhythm of bloodshed,'' he said. ``At these difficult times, you pray for one thing, for both sides: no more of it.''",
"The radical Islamic group Hamas on Monday denounced U.S. President Bill Clinton's upcoming visit to the Gaza Strip but carefully avoided making any threats against him. Hamas is, 2nd graf pvs",
"Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to move the peace process forward, which has frustrated President Bill Clinton and angered the Palestinians, may not be enough to save his government from collapse next week. Netanyahu on Wednesday briefed his Cabinet on Clinton's three-day visit and affirmed what he told the president a day earlier _ that he would not withdraw troops in the West Bank on Friday, as stipulated by the Wye River peace accord. Clinton had hoped, 3rd graf pvs",
"Keeping a promise to Israel and the United States, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Thursday convened senior officials and legislators to revoke clauses of the PLO founding charter calling for Israel's destruction. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, said he has ordered the Israeli army to deal with Palestinian riots with a ``firm hand.'' He added that he would not go ahead with a West Bank troop pullback, as promised under the Wye River peace agreement, unless Arafat met a list of demands. The West Bank has been swept by stone-throwing protests in recent days, and thousands of Palestinians marched Thursday in the funeral procession of a 17-year-old stone mason, Jihad Iyad, who was killed by Israeli army gunfire a day earlier. The violence raised concern that U.S. President Bill Clinton's visit to the region, which is to start late Saturday, is fomenting more unrest rather than calming the already tense situation. Israeli hard-liners, including Cabinet ministers, have said Clinton's visit is conferring statehood status on the Palestinian areas. On Thursday, signs reading ``Clinton go home'' were strung along the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway and on walls in Jerusalem. The most problematic moment of the Clinton visit will be his address Monday to the Palestine National Council, the Palestinians' parliament-in-exile, and other Palestinian groups, in Gaza City. Under the Wye agreement, the PNC is to reaffirm during this session an Arafat letter to Clinton which declares clauses of the PLO founding charter calling for Israel's destruction revoked. Israel insists a vote be taken by a show of hands, while the Palestinians say only approval by acclamation is required. Netanyahu said Thursday he will not settle for anything less than a vote, even if Clinton declares the PNC session a success without it. ``It is Israel which determines issues connected with its future,'' Netanyahu said when asked by Israel radio whether he would be ready to enter a showdown with Clinton over the issue. It is unlikely the U.S. president would side with Israel in such a dispute because it would mean that the main purpose of his visit, to usher in the next stage of the Wye agreement, had failed. Immediately after the PNC session, Israel is to transfer five percent of the West Bank from its sole control to joint jurisdiction. Netanyahu said last week he was freezing the pullback over what he claimed were systematic Palestinian violations of the peace accord. He reiterated Thursday that he would not change his decision unless Arafat publicly dropped plans to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state in May. The prime minister's critics have said he is seizing excuse after excuse to walk away from the agreement because he faces a very real threat from hard-liners in his coalition to bring down the government in the event of another troop withdrawal. The Palestinians, meanwhile, pressed ahead with implementing the accord. On Thursday, 98 members of the 124-member Palestinian Central Council met at Arafat's seaside headquarters to hold a vote on whether to approve the Arafat letter concerning the PLO charter. The meeting is an interim step, ahead of Monday's PNC session, and is stipulated by the Wye agreement. A simple majority of 63 members is required, and a vote was expected by Thursday evening. The council has not met for years and was revived specifically for Thursday's vote. It consists of PNC delegates, members of the Palestinian legislative council and the PLO Executive Committee, among others."
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[
"Armored personnel carriers were deployed Tuesday around the convention center where U.S. President Bill Clinton will address 1,500 Palestinian delegates next week. U.S. Secret Service agents have already arrived in Gaza to work with their Palestinian counterparts on how to protect Clinton during his first visit to Palestinian areas. ``There is cooperation with the American security people. We have our own plan. The Americans have their own procedures as well,'' said the Palestinian police chief, Ghazi Jabali. The Islamic militant group Hamas, which hopes to scuttle the accord, has been careful not to openly threaten Clinton. However, Hamas has carried out more than a dozen suicide bombings in Israel in an attempt to bring peace talks with Israel to a halt. On Monday, Clinton and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat are to address members of the Palestine National Council and delegates from other groups, at the Shawa Cultural Center in Gaza City. Traffic near the Shawa Center still flowed normally Tuesday, but plainclothes security as well as uniformed officers with M-17 and AK-47 assault rifles began patrolling in the vicinity. Streets around the center are to be closed days before the Clinton visit. Four armored personnel were parked at the corners of the convention center, with members of Arafat's elite bodyguard unit, known as Force 17, sitting on the vehicles. APCs were also deployed outside Arafat's guest house and near the Palestinian legislative council. Jabali said the APCs were part of a Palestinian security plan that has been presented to the Americans. U.S. security agents, in turn, have given their Palestinian counterparts sophisticated explosives detection equipment. ``The Palestinian police are ready to protect President Clinton here in Gaza or in Bethlehem,'' Jabali said, referring to Clinton's expected visit next Tuesday to the Church of the Nativity in the biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem In Jerusalem, Clinton's entourage of 1,200 people will take over the Jerusalem Hilton, at a cost of half a million dollars. The hotel boasts stunning views of Jerusalem's walled Old City and the slopes of the Judean Desert.",
"Israel affirmed Friday that it will not withdraw troops in the West Bank unless the top Palestinian decision-making body holds a vote to annul clauses of the PLO charter calling for Israel's destruction. Just a day before U.S. President Bill Clinton's arrival, Israel also rejected a U.S. compromise on the release of Palestinian prisoners, an issue that has sparked riots in the West Bank. The Palestinians have said they would revoke the clauses only by acclamation, not by a vote, when the Palestine National Council meets on Monday in Clinton's presence. With its demand, Israel may be setting itself up for a showdown with Clinton whose visit to Israel and the Palestinian is ushering in the next stage of the Wye River land-for-security agreement he helped negotiate. Under the accord, the annulment of the offending provisions by the PNC is to clear the way for an Israeli troop pullback. Clinton is unlikely to declare the PNC has not completed its task because that would mean his high-profile visit has been a failure. However, Israeli officials said they would not drop their demand for a vote. ``They have to vote in the PNC,'' said Israeli government spokesman Moshe Fogel. Otherwise, he said, Israel will not turn over additional West Bank territory to the Palestinians because ``transfer of territory is irreversible.'' In Washington, deputy U.S. State Department spokesman James Foley was evasive on whether the United States expected a vote from the PNC. ``The procedures need to be clear enough that nullification has taken place,'' he said. A senior Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States has not asked Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to consider holding a vote. On Thursday, the Palestinians took an interim step when a smaller leadership body, the 124-member Palestinian Central Council, declared the charter clauses revoked. The 95 members present were asked whether they approved a letter in which Arafat informed Clinton that the charter clauses calling for Israel's destruction were null and void. In all, 81 voted in favor, seven against and seven abstained. Asked about the decision, Arafat would only say that ``it was a very important and constructive meeting.'' The Palestinian leader also said he hoped Clinton would exert pressure on Israel to keep its obligations under the Wye agreement. The Palestine Liberation Organization charter was drawn up three decades ago, long before Israel and the Palestinians started their peace process in 1993. The Palestinians say they took all the required steps to revoke the pertinent clauses at a PNC session in Gaza in 1996. However, Netanyahu has said the PNC never completed the job. During the Wye River talks, the Palestinians agreed in a compromise to invite PNC members and delegates from other groups to Gaza to hear Clinton and Arafat speak. The Wye accord says delegates should ``reaffirm'' the Arafat letter to Clinton, but does not specifically refer to a vote. Former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres sided with the Palestinians on Friday. ``They did it once, they did it twice, they don't have to do it again,'' said Peres, who was prime minister during the PNC vote in 1996. Israel and the Palestinians have also accused each other of violating other elements of the Wye agreement. A key point of contention has been Israel's pledge to release 750 Palestinian prisoners in three stages by the end of January. The Palestinians have said Israel broke a promise to release prisoners held for anti-Israeli activities. Israel said it never made such a pledge, and accused the Palestinian Authority of incitement over the prisoner issue. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the United States offered a compromise, a trilateral committee to go over the list of prisoners one by one and determine who will be released. But Israeli Cabinet Secretary Danny Naveh said Friday such a proposal was unacceptable. ``Israel has not been offered such a compromise and there will not be such a compromise,'' Naveh said. On Friday, about 2,000 supporters of the Islamic militant Hamas movement marched through the West Bank town of Nablus to press for the release or prisoners. ``We want prisoners, not Clinton,'' the crowd chanted. At Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest site, the prayer leader, Yousef Abu Sneineh, spoke out sharply against the U.S.-brokered peace agreement. ``America supports a peace agreement that further reinforces the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian lands,'' he said.",
"President Clinton will travel to Gaza next month to address Palestinian leaders, the White House said Friday. He is to speak at what the Palestinians are describing as a historic meeting to formally revoke anti-Israel clauses in the 1964 Palestinian charter. Israel demanded revocation of the clauses at U.S.-brokered negotiations last month that led to the latest land-for-peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. As part of that settlement, reached at Wye, Md., Clinton agreed to travel to territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority to speak at the meeting of the Palestinian National Council, the de facto parliament. According to a schedule released Friday by the White House, Clinton will visit Gaza, the West Bank and Israel during a four-day trip that will begin on Dec. 12. He is to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, before returning to Washington on Dec. 15. Clinton administration officials said the White House had not yet decided whether Clinton would fly to the newly opened Gaza International Airport aboard Air Force One, given the symbolism of the president's jet landing on Palestinian soil with the trappings of a state visit. Officials said the White House was fearful of upsetting Israeli leaders who are worried that the president's planned visit to Gaza appears to be a step toward American recognition of a Palestinian state. The White House said the president would ``speak to the Israeli and Palestinian people about the importance of the Wye agreement and the need to continue to support the Middle East peace process.'' The meeting in Gaza on Dec. 14 is bound to be contentious, given that many prominent Palestinians have charged that the Wye agreement allows the Israeli government to backtrack on promises made to the Palestinians in their 1994 peace settlement. The Palestinians have insisted that they have already revoked clauses in the 1964 charter that called for Israel's destruction. In January, Arafat wrote to the White House, listing the anti-Israel provisions that he said had been annulled. But the letter did not satisfy the Israelis. And during the talks in Maryland last month, Arafat agreed to call a meeting of the national council to ``reaffirm'' the decision to revoke the clauses. In order to guarantee passage of a motion to annul the provisions, Arafat is being allowed under an agreement with the Israelis and the United States to pack the council meeting in Gaza with his loyalists, and to conduct the vote by a show of hands instead of a ballot. During a recent interview with Israeli television, Clinton brushed aside concerns that his visit to Gaza might be seen as a step toward U.S. recognition of a Palestinian state. ``That is not what I'm doing in going there,'' he said. ``I have tried strictly to adhere to the position of the United States that we would not take a position on any final status issue.'' He said he was traveling to Gaza at the recommendation of, among others, Netanyahu. ``The prime minister wanted me to go there and wanted us all to make this pitch,'' he said, adding that he would ask the Palestinian National Council ``to support the peace and to renounce the idea of animosity toward and opposition to the existence of the state of Israel, and instead embrace the path not only of peace but of cooperation.''",
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday accused Yasser Arafat of ``making a farce'' of the Wye River accords and said he would not agree to further troop withdrawals until a halt to anti-Israel violence. Netanyahu, in an interview with The Associated Press, said the Palestinians were emboldened to foment street riots and threaten to declare statehood because they believed they had the Clinton administration ``in their back pocket.'' ``The Palestinians are making a farce out of the Wye River accord. They think they have the United States in their back pocket,'' said the Israeli leader. ``As long as that is the case, they will not change their behavior.'' Netanyahu said he did not believe the United States was siding with the Palestinians, but his sharply worded remarks sent a strong signal that he would like President Bill Clinton to intervene and lower Palestinian expectations prior to his Dec. 12-15 trip. Palestinians claim it is Israel that has violated the summit agreement reached in October by not freeing jailed political activists, by confiscating West Bank land for roads and allowing Jewish settlers to seize hilltops for expansion. Ahmed Qureia, speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council and the head of the peace team that negotiated the Oslo accords, told reporters Sunday ``all means of resistance'' was justified in opposing settler activity. Netanyahu, who rejected claims of settlement expansion as ``bunk,'' was interviewed in the Cabinet room after a meeting of his unruly coalition government, which rallied behind Netanyahu on his tough stance. But officials said Science Minister Silvan Shalom attacked him for being too generous to the Palestinians by agreeing to the Clinton visit next week to Gaza and the West Bank. ``We are not going to give up territory when there are violations of the agreement and attempts to get things that weren't achieved at Wye using violence,'' Netanyahu said. Israel has threatened to scrap the next Israeli troop pullback, which is scheduled for Dec. 18, three days after Clinton's departure. The United States has said it should go ahead as scheduled. Palestinians see the Clinton trip as implicit recognition of their struggle for statehood, even though Clinton has specifically said in an interview aired on Israel's Channel 2 television that it should not be read that way. Netanyahu made clear that he would be annoyed if Air Force One landed at the newly opened Palestinian airport in Gaza, which aides said would be viewed as a strong symbol of support for Palestinian demands for sovereignty. ``We will be very disappointed if that is the case. We've said to the United States that we don't think that is necessary,'' Netanyahu said of reports that Clinton's plane would land in Gaza. He said traveling by motorcade would be quicker and more politically considerate. ``Unless somebody wants to put a thumb in our eye, I think there are better ways to travel,'' Netanyahu said. In the interview, Netanyahu stressed that he opposed Palestinian statehood and demanded that Arafat stop threatening to declare independence on May 4, 1999, when the Palestinians maintain the Oslo accords expire. ``What must be is that Yasser Arafat retracts this open and incipient violation of the Oslo and Wye River accords and recommits himself to negotiating until we get white smoke, until we get a solution. That's the only way we'll get a real peace between Israel and the Palestinians,'' Netanyahu said. In a conciliatory speech in Sweden over the weekend, Arafat stressed that he sought a negotiated settlement and did not mention May 4 as a deadline. He also said any Palestinian state would not make alliances with states hostile to Israel _ one of Netanyahu's key concerns. The Israeli leader is also demanding that Arafat drop claims that Netanyahu promised at Wye to release 750 Palestinians jailed for anti-Israel attacks that resulted in bloodshed, rather than freeing car thieves and petty criminals. Each side has a different interpretation of the understanding regarding the prisoners. Netanyahu maintains he never agreed to free those with ``blood on their hands.'' ``It's high time that Yasser Arafat admits this was agreed upon and that he's not going to make demands on Israel, including the incitement of violence,...on a trumped-up charge, '' he said. ``Israel never promised to release murders at Wye, and it won't release them.'' The issue has been the focal point for a new wave of violent protests and demonstrations in the West Bank and a hunger strike that began Saturday by the 1,700 Palestinian inmates. Israel is also upset by statements that the nearly 600-member Palestinian National Council will not reaffirm in a vote that anti-Israel clauses in the Palestinian charter have been deleted. Netanyahu maintained that only 25 members out of hundreds who live abroad had been invited so far. Netanyahu quoted Clinton as telling him that the purpose of his visit was to ``personally make sure that they actually rescind this charter that calls for Israel's destruction.''",
"Less than a week before U.S. President Bill Clinton is to arrive for a visit meant to bolster a new Israeli-Palestinian peace accord, the two sides exchanged angry accusations Sunday over Jewish settlements and street clashes. Ahmed Qureia, speaker of the Palestinian parliament, warned of possible violence if Israel continues to expand settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, where the Palestinians hope to establish a state. ``If settlement activity continues, then all means of resistance are open,'' Qureia, who is also known as Abu Ala, told reporters in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Since the signing of a land-for-security accord, Jewish settlers have accelerated the establishment of makeshift communities on West Bank hilltops, in an explicit bid to keep the land from being turned over to the Palestinians. Meanwhile, at a meeting of the Israeli Cabinet, ministers expressed dismay over an outbreak of street clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli troops in the West Bank. ``The Palestinians have been asked to immediately stop the violence and incitement to violence,'' the Cabinet said in a statement. At least two Palestinians were injured Sunday in a confrontation outside the Jewish settlement of Ariel in the northern West Bank. Demonstrators threw stones at Israeli troops, who responded with rubber bullets and tear gas. A day earlier, 27 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers were injured in similar clashes throughout the West Bank. And three days before that, Israelis were horrified by television footage of an Israeli soldier being dragged from a car and beaten with chunks of concrete by a Palestinian mob. Israel says Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority is orchestrating the street fighting. The Palestinians deny that. The past week's protests grew out of an increasingly bitter dispute over Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Israel last month freed 250 of 750 prisoners it is to release under the Wye accords, but most were criminals. The Palestinians are demanding that so-called security prisoners _ those being held for anti-Israel activity _ be released instead. Also Sunday, another quarrel was brewing over the scheduled meeting of the Palestinian National Council, the Palestinian parliament-in-exile, in the Gaza Strip during Clinton's visit. At the gathering, the PNC and other Palestinians in attendance are to reaffirm the nullification of clauses in their national charter that call for Israel's destruction. Israel has demanded that the Palestinians hold an actual vote at the meeting rather than simply proclaiming the charter changed, but the Palestinians on Sunday repeated their objections to that. ``They haven't the right to give us instructions,'' Arafat said Sunday as he returned to Gaza following a trip to Europe. Clinton's visit to Israel and the Palestinian lands, which is to begin Saturday, is meant to provide impetus to the U.S.-brokered peace accords and encourage both sides to stick to a timetable for compliance. But some commentators suggested the visit was proving a polarizing force instead. ``He is coming to promote the peace process... but his visit's only actual result is a sharpening of the differences,'' Yosef Lapid wrote in Sunday's editions of the Maariv newspaper. In Israel, increasing concern is being voiced over Clinton's planned visit to Gaza, the first ever by a sitting U.S. president. At Sunday's Israeli Cabinet meeting, a shouting match broke out over the issue, according to Israel radio. ``Who invited President Clinton to the Gaza Strip?'' Silvan Shalom, the science minister, reportedly yelled at Netanyahu. Netanyahu said it had been Clinton's idea, not his. The United States has repeatedly said the visit is not intended as an endorsement of Palestinian statehood, but the Palestinians see it as a powerful boost to their sovereignty hopes. Arafat adviser Ahmed Tibi said on Israeli television that the invitation for a Clinton visit came from Israel and was ``warmly welcomed'' by the Palestinians.",
"In an atmosphere of political tension, U.S. President Clinton met Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a bid to put the troubled Wye River peace accord back on track. After getting together for breakfast in Clinton's hotel suite, the two leaders met at Netanyahu's office and planned to talk to reporters later. The president was sure to be asked about the impeachment drama unfolding in Washington. At a late-night arrival ceremony for Clinton Saturday, Netanyahu said he hoped the president's visit would ``contribute to true peace.'' Again, the Israeli leader accused the Palestinians of ignoring commitments in peace accords. Clinton is to meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Monday in the Gaza Strip. Thousands of police were deployed throughout Israel during the Clinton visit. At the hotel where Clinton is staying, 500 policemen were posted to guard the president and his 600-member delegation. Clinton's wife, Hillary, and their daughter, Chelsea, set out on their own schedule. Mrs. Clinton toured a school in a cooperative village of Jews and Palestinians, while Chelsea visited Jerusalem's Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site. Israeli Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon told reporters during a picture-taking session with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright that Israel ``has not left'' the Wye River agreement. ``We will not give up'' on the land-for-security accord, Sharon said. But, he added, ``it should be based on mutual reciprocity.'' About two hours before Air Force One landed Saturday night, the House Judiciary Committee approved a fourth article of impeachment against Clinton. The full House will vote on the impeachment articles next week. Israeli government spokesman Moshe Fogel was asked Sunday if the success of Clinton's visit would turn on the question of revoking the Palestinian Liberation Organization's founding charter. ``President Clinton played a very important role in the Wye Memorandum and its success, and I think that it's going to be very, very important that this visit show us at least a readiness on the part of the Palestinian Authority to move forward in peace,'' Fogel said. There was no letup in violence Sunday. Palestinian stone throwers clashed with Israeli troops and an Israeli high school student was stabbed and wounded by a Palestinian teen-ager. In his remarks at Clinton's airport arrival Saturday night, Netanyahu said the peace process is in danger. ``Mr. President,'' Netanyahu said, speaking in Hebrew, ``The truth has to be told. In recent weeks the Palestinians again constantly, systematically and intentionally violated all their commitments. We are not entitled, not able and not prepared to forgo fulfillment of those commitments.'' Netanyahu, who is facing political turmoil in his hard-line coalition government, said he could not accept ``a phony peace on paper'' which is ``not honored in practice.'' Since Clinton presided over its signing in Washington in October, the land-for-security agreement has hit one snag after another. Israel froze implementation of the accord altogether, accusing Arafat of violating the deal and inciting violent street protests. Clinton said the United States shares Israel's concerns about security. ``Peace is not simply an option among many but the only choice that can avert still more years of bloodshed, apprehension and sorrow,'' he said. ``That is why I'm here.'' He said ``both sides now must face the challenge of implementing Wye.'' Both Clinton and Netanyahu have a shaky political future. The Israeli leader is fighting for his political survival as parliament prepares for a no-confidence vote within two weeks. His coalition began to weaken after he and Arafat signed the Wye River Memorandum Oct. 23 agreeing to turn over 13 percent of West Bank territory to be met by Palestinian security measures. Netanyahu has said there would be no further troop withdrawals until West Bank rioting and violence ends. Israel and the Palestinians are also in bitter disagreement over procedures for revoking passages in the Palestinian charter calling for Israel's destruction and the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails for militant or political acts against the Jewish state. On Monday, the president is to fly to the Palestinian-run Gaza Strip to be welcomed by Arafat with the trappings of a state visit. Clinton's visit to Gaza and his address to the Palestinian National Council is seen by some as a boost for dreams of Palestinian statehood. ``It implies de facto recognition of a Palestinian state,'' Ziyad Abu Ziyad, a member of the Palestinian legislative council, said in an interview Sunday.",
"On a street newly littered with the debris of battle _ stones, spent tear gas canisters, charred remnants of half-burned tires _ a sodden Palestinian flag flaps in a fitful rain-laden wind outside a house in mourning. Inside, to the tinny recorded wail of Koranic verses, neighbors and relatives of the dead man _ a 21-year-old university student felled on the roof of his own home by an Israeli soldier's rubber-coated bullet _ sipped tiny cups of coffee left unsweetened to symbolize the bitter occasion. Some smoked, a few spoke quietly among themselves, but most simply sat in reflective silence. Among those in attendance on this day, the first of the traditional three days of family mourning, was Saeb Erekat, the chief peace negotiator for Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority. The dead youth, Nasr Erekat, was a cousin of his. Erekat stayed for a time, sitting amid clan elders in Arab headdresses and teen-age nephews in American-style athletic shoes, then slipped away for a meeting in connection with President Clinton's visit beginning this weekend. ``It's been very difficult,'' he said later, asked about carrying on his negotiating duties at such a time. ``I have a great sense of sorrow and sadness, a feeling of such loss. I hope God will enable me to use my grief to strengthen my determination for peace.'' The scene at the Erekat home, in the Arab village of Abu Dis on Jerusalem's eastern outskirts, drives home a central truth about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: on both sides of the divide, the political is also deeply personal. And that inescapability goes to the heart of the quarrel's intractability. In the glare of world attention, it is easy to forget that there are fewer people living in Israel and the Palestinian lands combined than there are in New York City. In the small and jostling confines of what few here choose to call the Holy Land, the conflict touches all. Everyone has a stake in it. Israelis fret daily over soldier sons on dangerous patrol in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, or shudder when they pass a sidewalk cafe once ripped by an Islamic militant's suicide bomb. Palestinian families struggle to keep alive the memories of fathers and brothers languishing in Israeli prisons, and chafe under the checkpoints and gunsights of Israeli troops. On both sides, the youngest soak up fear and anger along with their ABCs. And elders' memories of half a century past still rise to trouble the collective sleep: the shadow of the Holocaust for Israelis, the trauma of exile and dispossession for the Palestinians. Against this backdrop, amid a landscape little changed since biblical times, terrible Old Testament themes _ lamentation and retribution, the smiting of enemies and the sharpening of swords _ spring to life once again in any day's headlines. Now comes Clinton, this most American of presidents, one who has made Middle East peacemaking a kind of personal crusade, in hopes of halting what has become one of the century's most protracted blood feuds. Clinton is no stranger to these particular hatreds. Three years ago, in another winter season, he came here to bury Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, gunned down by a nationalist Jew who could not abide the terms of a Mideast agreement that called _ just as this latest accord does _ for Israel to cede West Bank land in exchange for peace with the Palestinians. On the occasion of this visit _ first intended to celebrate the Wye River accords signed seven weeks ago in Washington, now meant to salvage them _ all three of the principals are embattled. Clinton is under an impeachment cloud; Arafat is buffeted by furious Palestinian street protests and his own failing health, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government is hanging by a thread. The days leading up to Clinton's visit have been divisive ones, contriving somehow to simultaneously tap into both sides' greatest fears. In the West Bank's worst spasm of violence in months, Israelis watched windows of Israeli-plated cars shatter from stones thrown by angry youths, saw TV footage of a cringing Israeli soldier _ now facing court martial _ being beaten bloody by a Palestinian mob, heard Palestinian officials' exhortations for a new intefadeh, or uprising. Palestinians, for their part, listened in anger as Netanyahu announced the suspension of an upcoming Israeli troop pullback in the West Bank and tried vainly to halt Israeli bulldozers expanding Jewish settlements on land they claim as their own. Both sides _ to Palestinians' satisfaction, and Israel's dismay _ came to see the visit as an implicit acknowledgement of Palestinian statehood aspirations, despite increasingly desperate American efforts to avoid casting it in that light. Clinton's foray to the Gaza Strip, which is already under Palestinian rule, will be the first by a sitting American president. Palestinians intend to play on that symbolism for all it is worth, greeting him with the strains of their once-banned national anthem. In the mourning house in Abu Dis, though, the friends and relatives of Nasr Erekat had little to say about politics and statehood. They talked about Nasr instead. Amr Erekat, 27, recalled his disbelief as he cradled his dying cousin in his arms. His 14-year-old brother Taher spoke haltingly of the big brother he had looked up to. His childhood friend, Samir Abdel Salam, remembered wishing he had stuck to his studies as diligently as Nasr had. Saeb Erekat, the peace negotiator, could find neither lesson nor logic to his young cousin's death. ``It's senseless, this rhythm of bloodshed,'' he said. ``At these difficult times, you pray for one thing, for both sides: no more of it.''",
"The radical Islamic group Hamas on Monday denounced U.S. President Bill Clinton's upcoming visit to the Gaza Strip but carefully avoided making any threats against him. Hamas is, 2nd graf pvs",
"Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to move the peace process forward, which has frustrated President Bill Clinton and angered the Palestinians, may not be enough to save his government from collapse next week. Netanyahu on Wednesday briefed his Cabinet on Clinton's three-day visit and affirmed what he told the president a day earlier _ that he would not withdraw troops in the West Bank on Friday, as stipulated by the Wye River peace accord. Clinton had hoped, 3rd graf pvs",
"Keeping a promise to Israel and the United States, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Thursday convened senior officials and legislators to revoke clauses of the PLO founding charter calling for Israel's destruction. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, said he has ordered the Israeli army to deal with Palestinian riots with a ``firm hand.'' He added that he would not go ahead with a West Bank troop pullback, as promised under the Wye River peace agreement, unless Arafat met a list of demands. The West Bank has been swept by stone-throwing protests in recent days, and thousands of Palestinians marched Thursday in the funeral procession of a 17-year-old stone mason, Jihad Iyad, who was killed by Israeli army gunfire a day earlier. The violence raised concern that U.S. President Bill Clinton's visit to the region, which is to start late Saturday, is fomenting more unrest rather than calming the already tense situation. Israeli hard-liners, including Cabinet ministers, have said Clinton's visit is conferring statehood status on the Palestinian areas. On Thursday, signs reading ``Clinton go home'' were strung along the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway and on walls in Jerusalem. The most problematic moment of the Clinton visit will be his address Monday to the Palestine National Council, the Palestinians' parliament-in-exile, and other Palestinian groups, in Gaza City. Under the Wye agreement, the PNC is to reaffirm during this session an Arafat letter to Clinton which declares clauses of the PLO founding charter calling for Israel's destruction revoked. Israel insists a vote be taken by a show of hands, while the Palestinians say only approval by acclamation is required. Netanyahu said Thursday he will not settle for anything less than a vote, even if Clinton declares the PNC session a success without it. ``It is Israel which determines issues connected with its future,'' Netanyahu said when asked by Israel radio whether he would be ready to enter a showdown with Clinton over the issue. It is unlikely the U.S. president would side with Israel in such a dispute because it would mean that the main purpose of his visit, to usher in the next stage of the Wye agreement, had failed. Immediately after the PNC session, Israel is to transfer five percent of the West Bank from its sole control to joint jurisdiction. Netanyahu said last week he was freezing the pullback over what he claimed were systematic Palestinian violations of the peace accord. He reiterated Thursday that he would not change his decision unless Arafat publicly dropped plans to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state in May. The prime minister's critics have said he is seizing excuse after excuse to walk away from the agreement because he faces a very real threat from hard-liners in his coalition to bring down the government in the event of another troop withdrawal. The Palestinians, meanwhile, pressed ahead with implementing the accord. On Thursday, 98 members of the 124-member Palestinian Central Council met at Arafat's seaside headquarters to hold a vote on whether to approve the Arafat letter concerning the PLO charter. The meeting is an interim step, ahead of Monday's PNC session, and is stipulated by the Wye agreement. A simple majority of 63 members is required, and a vote was expected by Thursday evening. The council has not met for years and was revived specifically for Thursday's vote. It consists of PNC delegates, members of the Palestinian legislative council and the PLO Executive Committee, among others."
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After discarding a suggested change of orbit, the Russian Space Agency went ahead with plans to launch its Zarya module of the international space station on Nov. 20, 1998. Although delayed for a day, U.S. plans to launch the space shuttle Endeavour carrying the U.S. module Unity and six astronauts were carried out on Dec. 4. The astronauts' job was to connect Unity with the already-orbiting Zarya as the first step in assembling 100 major components of the planned space station. Using the shuttle's 50-foot robot arm, the two modules were joined setting the stage for a spacewalk by two astronauts the next day to attach electrical connectors and cables. The International Space Station when completed will have a million pound mass and be longer than a football field. It will house up to seven space explorers. The initial assembly of space station components involves linking the US Unity, carried into space by the shuttle Endeavour, with the Russian Zarya. The Russians had asked for a different launch profile in order to be able to transfer equipment from its MIR station, but that was not possible. Endeavour astronauts successfully completed the complicated maneuvers to join the two space objects. NASA estimates that 43 more launches will be required to completely assemble the 16-nation space station. On Friday the shuttle Endeavor carried six astronauts into orbit to start building an international space station. The launch occurred after Russia and U.S. officials agreed not to delay the flight in order to orbit closer to MIR, and after a last-minute alarm forced a postponement. On Sunday astronauts joining the Russian-made Zarya control module cylinder with the American-made module to form a 70,000 pounds mass 77 feet long. NASA estimates 43 more launches and 159 more space walks are needed to assemble the complex. When completed the 16-nation space station will be longer than a football field. It will be used to study adaptation to space flight. Russia and NASA jointly decided against a Russian cost-cutting proposal to orbit the 2nd space station, a 16-country cooperative project, closer to Mir, citing complexity, risk, and bad sun angles. After 5 years of assembly, the research station will house 7 people. A 12-day shuttle mission will attach the US Unity module to the Russian Zarya, already in orbit. Thursday's launch was delayed by a pressure drop. A 2nd attempt Friday was perfect. Unity was attached to Zarya in a blind docking using cameras and computer images. Electrical and cable connections come next. Unity will serve as a passageway for future modules. Two Zarya antennas failed to deploy.
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"Endeavour's astronauts connected the first two building blocks of the international space station on Sunday, creating a seven-story tower in the shuttle cargo bay. It was the first time that the Russian-built Zarya control module and the made-in-America Unity chamber had ever touched. It looked to be a perfect and, hopefully, long-lasting fit. ``We have capture of Zarya,'' commander Robert Cabana announced the moment the two pieces came together. ``Congratulations to the crew of the good ship Endeavour,'' replied Mission Control. ``That's terrific.'' The 240-mile-high construction job began two hours earlier with Nancy Currie's capture of Zarya (Russian for Sunrise) using the shuttle robot arm. ``We're halfway home,'' Cabana said. Then came the hard part: stacking the two giant cylinders in the cargo bay. The two station pieces are so big _ 77 feet from the tip of one to the tip of the other with a combined mass of 70,000 pounds _ that Currie and her crewmates had to rely on a computerized vision system and camera views, rather than direct line of sight. This was the first time such a ``blind'' docking had ever been attempted. Currie positioned the solar-winged Zarya, still on the end of the shuttle robot arm, several inches directly above Unity. It was slow going; she wanted and needed perfect alignment. Once she was sure she had it, Cabana fired Endeavour's thrusters, and the brief burst raised the shuttle and thereby Unity enough for the docking mechanisms on the two station components to snap together. The historical moment occurred above the South Pacific. The union _ intended to last the station's 15-year or more lifetime _ set the stage for a spacewalk by two astronauts on Monday to attach electrical connectors and cables between the two components. Mission Control thought Sunday's work might take hours longer than planned and gave the six astronauts plenty of time for the tasks. But everything occurred more or less when and how it was supposed to, aside from a piece of space junk that strayed too close. Before beginning their final approach to Zarya, the six astronauts had to steer clear of a chunk of a rocket launched last month from California. Mission Control ordered the pilots to fire the shuttle thrusters to put an extra three miles between Endeavour and the space junk, putting Endeavour a total of five miles from the orbiting debris. The smaller gap would have been ``probably a little too close for comfort,'' Mission Control said. The bigger worry, by far, was over Endeavour's pursuit and capture of Zarya, and its coupling with Unity. The shuttle's 50-foot robot arm had never before handled an object as massive as the 41-foot, 44,000-pound Zarya, a power and propulsion module that was launched from Kazakstan on Nov. 20. It will provide all of the necessary electricity and steering for the fledgling space station until a permanent control module can be launched next summer. Minutes after Zarya's capture, Cabana called down that two antennas on the module were still undeployed as Russian flight controllers had feared. The antennas must be fully deployed in order for Zarya's manual docking system to work; that system won't be needed before next summer, officials said. The only other problem was with a Zarya battery; the astronauts took up a replacement part. The 36-foot, 25,000-pound Unity, the first American-made component, will serve as a connecting passageway, or vestibule, for future modules. It was crucial that Zarya and Unity be joined; if they could not be connected with the robot arm, NASA would have sent out two spacewalking astronauts to manually fit them together. In all, three spacewalks are planned for Endeavour's 12-day flight, not only to hook up electrical connections between the two modules but to install handrails and other tools for future crews. The joined modules will be released from Endeavour once all of the work is completed. NASA estimates 43 more launches and 159 more spacewalks will be needed after this mission to assemble the entire orbiting complex. Once completed, the 16-nation space station will have a mass of 1 million pounds, be longer than a football field, and house up to seven astronauts and cosmonauts.",
"Endeavour's astronauts connected the first two building blocks of the international space station on Sunday, creating a seven-story tower in the shuttle cargo bay. It was the first time that the Russian-built Zarya control module and the made-in-America Unity chamber had ever touched. It looked to be a perfect and, hopefully, long-lasting fit. ``We have capture of Zarya,'' commander Robert Cabana announced the moment the two pieces came together. ``Congratulations to the crew of the good ship Endeavour,'' replied Mission Control. ``That's terrific.'' The 240-mile-high construction job began two hours earlier with Nancy Currie's capture of Zarya (Russian for Sunrise) using the shuttle robot arm. ``We're halfway home,'' Cabana said. Then came the hard part: stacking the two giant cylinders in the cargo bay. The two station pieces are so big _ 77 feet from the tip of one to the tip of the other with a combined mass of 70,000 pounds _ that Currie and her crewmates had to rely on a computerized vision system and camera views, rather than direct line of sight. This was the first time such a ``blind'' docking had ever been attempted. Currie positioned the solar-winged Zarya, still on the end of the shuttle robot arm, several inches directly above Unity. It was slow going; she wanted and needed perfect alignment. Once she was sure she had it, Cabana fired Endeavour's thrusters, and the brief burst raised the shuttle and thereby Unity enough for the docking mechanisms on the two station components to snap together. The historical moment occurred above the South Pacific. It took several tries, however, for Zarya and Unity to be pulled tightly together. The docking ring between them would not retract properly; Mission Control quickly traced the problem to the attached robot arm and asked the crew to release its hold on the docked Zarya. That did the trick. The union _ intended to last the station's 15-year or more lifetime _ set the stage for a spacewalk by two astronauts on Monday to attach electrical connectors and cables between the two components. Mission Control thought Sunday's work might take hours longer than planned and gave the six astronauts plenty of time for the tasks. But everything occurred more or less when and how it was supposed to, aside from a piece of space junk that strayed too close. Before beginning their final approach to Zarya, the six astronauts had to steer clear of a chunk of a rocket launched last month from California. Mission Control ordered the pilots to fire the shuttle thrusters to put an extra three miles between Endeavour and the space junk, putting Endeavour a total of five miles from the orbiting debris. The smaller gap would have been ``probably a little too close for comfort,'' Mission Control said. The bigger worry, by far, was over Endeavour's pursuit and capture of Zarya, and its coupling with Unity. The shuttle's 50-foot robot arm had never before handled an object as massive as the 41-foot, 44,000-pound Zarya, a power and propulsion module that was launched from Kazakstan on Nov. 20. It will provide all of the necessary electricity and steering for the fledgling space station until a permanent control module can be launched next summer. Minutes after Zarya's capture, Cabana called down that two antennas on the module were still undeployed as Russian flight controllers had feared. The antennas must be fully deployed in order for Zarya's manual docking system to work; that system won't be needed before next summer, officials said. The only other problem was with a Zarya battery; the astronauts took up a replacement part. The 36-foot, 25,000-pound Unity, the first American-made component, will serve as a connecting passageway, or vestibule, for future modules. It was crucial that Zarya and Unity be joined; if they could not be connected with the robot arm, NASA would have sent out two spacewalking astronauts to manually fit them together. In all, three spacewalks are planned for Endeavour's 12-day flight, not only to hook up electrical connections between the two modules but to install handrails and other tools for future crews. The joined modules will be released from Endeavour once all of the work is completed. NASA estimates 43 more launches and 159 more spacewalks will be needed after this mission to assemble the entire orbiting complex. Once completed, the 16-nation space station will have a mass of 1 million pounds, be longer than a football field, and house up to seven astronauts and cosmonauts.",
"Following a series of intricate maneuvers and the skillful use of the space shuttle Endeavour's robot arm, astronauts on Sunday joined the first two of many segments that will form the international space station. The shuttle and its crew of six snared the Russian-made Zarya control module after chasing it around the Earth in ever-closing orbits throughout the day. Less than an hour after a rendezvous 240 miles above the Earth shortly before 6 p.m., Lt. Col. Nancy Currie of the Army deftly used the 50-foot arm to grab the 40,000-pound cylinder as the craft passed above Russia and to slowly pull it toward the shuttle. Seeing Zarya up close, Col. Robert Cabana of the Marines, the shuttle commander, confirmed that two antennas had failed to deploy from the module following its launch from Kazakhstan on Nov. 20. There were earlier indications that the antennas, which will be used later by the station to manually assist spacecraft dockings, had not extended. Currie took almost two hours to painstakingly move Zarya above the American-made Unity docking port positioned in Endeavour's cargo bay. When the two pieces were aligned within inches of one another, Cabana fired small thruster rockets that raised the shuttle, allowing the modules to clamp together. The two station pieces, together measuring about 77 feet from end to end and having a combined mass of 70,000 pounds, are the first of 100 major components to be united in space over the next five years to form an orbiting outpost that would weigh almost a million pounds and span an area the size of two football fields. More than 40 additional missions by U.S. shuttles and Russian rockets will be used to haul all of the components and other supplies into orbit, and astronauts from both nations are to spend almost 1,800 hours doing spacewalks to assemble the entire structure. The spece station is expected to cost its partnership of 16 nations more than $40 billion just to construct. Bringing the pieces together is only the first step in mating them. A pair of astronauts are to make three spacewalks this week, the first on Monday, during which they will hook up electrical and communications cables, remove covers, attach handrails and perform other tasks to get the modules to work as one unit. The most difficult part of Sunday's mating of the $240 million Zarya to the $300 million Unity was bringing them together after the shuttle caught up with the Russian unit. Currie had to use the Canadian-built robot arm to place Zarya on top of Unity without being able to see where the pieces joined. Unity, raised in Endeavour's cargo bay on Saturday, is so large that it blocked Currie's view of the mating fixtures from the shuttle's windows. She used views from remote cameras and a computerized vision system built on the arm to estimate the relative positions of the two large segments. The computerized system examined markings on both modules, computed their relationship to one another using the marks and displayed the results on a laptop computer. ``We've never done anything like this before,'' Currie said before the flight, adding that she had practiced the difficult maneuver more than 100 times over the last two years. The flight of Endeavour, which took off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., last Friday, had gone according to plan until early Sunday, when mission control ordered the shuttle to change its orbit slightly to avoid a piece of space debris. Air Force space debris trackers noted that the shuttle was to pass within 1.6 miles of a spent stage of an American booster rocket launched last month. Although this was considered a safe distance, shuttle controllers decided to widen the separation to five miles as an extra precaution.",
"Endeavour and its astronauts closed in Sunday to capture the first piece of the international space station, the Russian-made Zarya control module that had to be connected to the Unity chamber aboard the shuttle. Stacking the two giant cylinders 240 miles above the Earth was considered the most difficult part of the mission. The job fell to Nancy Currie, the shuttle crane operator who had deftly hoisted and repositioned Unity in the cargo bay on Saturday. The two station pieces are so big _ 77 feet from the tip of one to the tip of the other with a combined mass of 70,000 pounds _ that Currie and her crewmates were going to have to rely on a computerized vision system and camera views, rather than direct line of sight. Such a ``blind'' docking had never been attempted before. Mission Control gave the astronauts plenty of time for the tasks. ``The main thing I've tried to do for the last two years working on this flight is make sure we have time. We have margin on everything,'' said flight director Bob Castle. Before beginning their final approach to Zarya _ Russian for Sunrise _ the shuttle's six astronauts had to steer clear of a chunk of a rocket launched last month from California. Mission Control ordered the pilots to fire the shuttle thrusters to put an extra three miles between Endeavour and the space junk, putting Endeavour a total of five miles from the orbiting debris. The smaller gap would have been ``probably a little too close for comfort,'' Mission Control said. The bigger worry, by far, was over Endeavour's pursuit and capture of Zarya, and its coupling with Unity. The shuttle's 50-foot robot arm had never before been assigned to handle an object as massive as the 44,000-pound Zarya, a power and propulsion module that was launched from Kazakhstan on Nov. 20. It will provide all the necessary electricity and steering for the fledgling space station until a permanent control module can be launched next summer. The 36-foot, 25,000-pound Unity will serve as a connecting passageway, or vestibule, for future modules. In case Zarya and Unity could not be connected with the robot arm, two spacewalking astronauts would have to manually fit them together. The astronauts would be going out anyway Monday to attach electrical connectors and cables between the two components. In all, three spacewalks were planned for Endeavour's 12-day flight. NASA estimates 43 more launches and 159 more spacewalks will be needed after this mission to assemble the entire orbiting complex. Once completed, the 16-nation space station will have a mass of 1 million pounds, be longer than a football field, and house up to seven astronauts and cosmonauts.",
"For the second day in a row, astronauts boarded space shuttle Endeavour on Friday for liftoff on NASA's first space station construction flight. ``Let's go do this,'' said commander Robert Cabana. ``Amen,'' replied a launch controller. Rain and cloudy skies were once again a threat. But NASA was confident the master alarm in Endeavour's cockpit would behave; it went off with just 4{ minutes to go in the countdown Thursday, forcing a delay. NASA has only five minutes or less each day to launch Endeavour in order to meet up with the first space station part, which was put in orbit two weeks ago by the Russians. The shuttle contains the second station component. The master alarm blared and red lights flashed just before the shuttle was to lift off early Thursday. By the time controllers traced the problem to a momentary drop in hydraulic pressure and decided to press ahead, it was too late _ they had missed the cutoff by a second or two. ``Sure, it's frustrating,'' said Bill Readdy, shuttle program director and a veteran shuttle commander. ``But we do things right. We do things by the book, and we're not going to cut any corners even if it means just shaving a second or two.'' The six astronauts crawled out of the shuttle, and two threw up their hands. Cabana held up his thumb and index finger a half-inch apart: ``We were that close.'' The problem was confined to one of Endeavour's three hydraulic pressure units. The pressure dropped just long enough to trigger the alarm, evidently because of a sensitive switch, then returned to normal. NASA engineers spent the day examining the problem, but found nothing wrong with any of the systems and were confident it would not reoccur. Endeavour's flight is already a year late because of a cash crunch in Russia, one of NASA's partners in building the international space station. The one-day delay cost NASA about $600,000, mostly in fuel and overtime pay. Aboard Endeavour is an American-made connecting passageway named Unity. The astronauts will use the shuttle robot arm to capture the Russian space station piece and attach it to Unity. Then, two spacewalkers will hook up all the electrical connections and cables between the two cylinders, and attach handrails and tools for future crews. Until the alarm sounded, it looked as though the weather would be the only problem. Rain and clouds moved in from the Atlantic 1{ hours before liftoff, but drifted away with minutes to spare. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and other dignitaries from around the world had gathered in the drizzle to see Endeavour and its crew off. ``Here we have 16 countries cooperating on a venture to the future,'' said Albright, who was expected back for Friday's attempt. ``This is a good investment.''",
"A last-minute alarm forced NASA to halt Thursday's launching of the space shuttle Endeavour, on a mission to start assembling the international space station. Another attempt for Endeavour and its crew of six astronauts is scheduled for Friday at 3:36 a.m. This was the first time in three years, and 19 flights, that a shuttle countdown had been stopped after the spaceship was fueled and the crew aboard the craft and ready to go. The uncommon delay prompted frowns and furrowed brows here, although officials stressed that it was entirely warranted. ``We want to err on the conservative side,'' Ralph Roe, launch director at the Kennedy Space Center, said at a news conference after the sudden halt of the countdown just 19 seconds before liftoff. Everything had been going smoothly for a rare nighttime launching, set for 3:58 on Thursday morning. The weather, forecast to be iffy, turned out to be fine, and the sky was alight with a nearly full moon. But the length of the so-called launching window was, as planned, unusually short _ only 10 minutes. That brevity was a result of Endeavour's having to rendezvous with a space-station part that Russia put into orbit last month. The show-stopper arose about four minutes before liftoff when the computer in the space shuttle set off a master alarm. Controllers studied the data and discovered a momentary pressure drop on one of the hydraulic systems that control the movements of the shuttle's engines and its rudder and other flight surfaces. Officials eventually decided that the pressure drop was insignificant, and they resolved to press ahead. But by then it was too late: time had run out for one of the procedures needed to keep the shuttle's fuel supercold. So the countdown was aborted just 19 seconds from blastoff. The six astronauts began to emerge from the shuttle an hour later and ultimately headed for bed to rest up for another attempt early Friday.",
"WASHINGTON _ NASA and the Russian Space Agency have agreed to set aside a last-minute Russian request to launch an international space station into an orbit closer to Mir, officials announced Friday. While putting the new station closer to Russia's 12-year-old Mir station would make it easier to transfer equipment and supplies from the old outpost to the new one, the request came too late to be acted on, said Randy Brinkley, NASA's space station program manager. NASA was surprised last week when Russia's prime station contractor proposed the orbital position change just two-and-a-half weeks before launch of the first part of the new station. Delaying the Nov. 20 flight by 10 hours to match the orbits would have forced similar shifts in the subsequent assembly flights, and resulted in potentially unfavorable sun angles on the solar-powered station, engineers said. ``We have mutually concluded that it would not be prudent to make these changes,'' Brinkley said during a news conference held at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. ``It added technical complexity and risks to the mission that were not justified.'' The decision, which followed ``frank and candid'' discussions between the two partners, was not imposed by the United States, he said. ``The conclusions were mutual,'' Brinkley said. ``Both sides concluded that it did not make sense.'' The Russians, struggling to find money for their space program with their nation in economic collapse, had said they wanted to transfer thousands of pounds of newer equipment and scientific instruments from Mir as an economy move. However, some critics questioned the Russians' motives, wondering if the requested orbital change was part of plan to delay the decommissioning and destruction of Mir, which the Russians have agreed to do next summer. The Russians have so little money that the United States and other partners in the international station fear that money spent on Mir will prevent Russia from meeting its obligations with the new project. ``The Mir competes with the international space station for very critical resources and for funding,'' Brinkley said. NASA will consider ideas for salvaging Mir's research equipment to use on the international space station, he said, but only if it does not interfere with assembling the new station. The United States and 15 other nations plan to begin building the new station in orbit next week when the Russians launch a module that will supply power and propulsion during the early stages of the five-year construction period. The space shuttle Endeavor is to follow on Dec. 3 with the second station part, a U.S.-built connecting passageway that attaches to the first module.",
"Endeavour's astronauts connected the first two building blocks of the international space station on Sunday, creating a seven-story tower in the shuttle cargo bay. It was the first time that the Russian-built Zarya control module and the made-in-America Unity chamber had ever touched. It looked to be a perfect and, hopefully, long-lasting fit. ``We have capture of Zarya,'' commander Robert Cabana announced the two pieces came together. ``Congratulations to the crew of the good ship Endeavour,'' replied Mission Control. ``That's terrific.'' The 240-mile-high construction job began two hours earlier with Nancy Currie's capture of Zarya (Russian for Sunrise) using the shuttle robot arm. ``We're halfway home,'' Cabana said. Then came the hard part: stacking the two giant cylinders in the cargo bay. The two station pieces are so big _ 77 feet from the tip of one to the tip of the other with a combined mass of 70,000 pounds _ that Currie and her crewmates had to rely on a computerized vision system and camera views, rather than direct line of sight. This was the first time such a ``blind'' docking had ever been attempted. Currie positioned the solar-winged Zarya, still on the end of the shuttle robot arm, several inches directly above Unity. It was slow going; she wanted and needed perfect alignment. Once she was sure she had it, Cabana fired Endeavour's thrusters, and the brief burst raised the shuttle and thereby Unity enough for the docking mechanisms on the two station components to snap together. The historical moment occurred above the South Pacific. The union _ intended to last the station's 15-year or more lifetime _ set the stage for a spacewalk by two astronauts on Monday to attach electrical connectors and cables between the two components. Mission Control thought Sunday's work might take hours longer than planned and gave the six astronauts plenty of time for the tasks. But everything occurred more or less when and how it was supposed to, aside from a piece of space junk that strayed too close. Before beginning their final approach to Zarya, the six astronauts had to steer clear of a chunk of a rocket launched last month from California. Mission Control ordered the pilots to fire the shuttle thrusters to put an extra three miles between Endeavour and the space junk, putting Endeavour a total of five miles from the orbiting debris. The smaller gap would have been ``probably a little too close for comfort,'' Mission Control said. The bigger worry, by far, was over Endeavour's pursuit and capture of Zarya, and its coupling with Unity. The shuttle's 50-foot robot arm had never before handled an object as massive as the 41-foot, 44,000-pound Zarya, a power and propulsion module that was launched from Kazakstan on Nov. 20. It will provide all of the necessary electricity and steering for the fledgling space station until a permanent control module can be launched next summer. Minutes after Zarya's capture, Cabana called down that two antennas on the module were still undeployed as Russian flight controllers had feared. The antennas must be fully deployed in order for Zarya's manual docking system to work; that system won't be needed before next summer, officials said. The only other problem was with a Zarya battery; the astronauts took up a replacement part. The 36-foot, 25,000-pound Unity, the first American-made component, will serve as a connecting passageway, or vestibule, for future modules. It was crucial that Zarya and Unity be joined; if they could not be connected with the robot arm, NASA would have sent out two spacewalking astronauts to manually fit them together. In all, three spacewalks are planned for Endeavour's 12-day flight, not only to hook up electrical connections between the two modules but to install handrails and other tools for future crews. The joined modules will be released from Endeavour once all of the work is completed. NASA estimates 43 more launches and 159 more spacewalks will be needed after this mission to assemble the entire orbiting complex. Once completed, the 16-nation space station will have a mass of 1 million pounds, be longer than a football field, and house up to seven astronauts and cosmonauts.",
"The planet's most daring construction job began Friday as the shuttle Endeavour carried into orbit six astronauts and the first U.S.-built part of an international space station that is expected to cost more than $100 billion. After a last-minute alarm on the shuttle forced a postponement early Thursday, the launch went off flawlessly at 3:36 Friday morning, right on schedule. The night sky was clear, and the moon full. With a roar, Endeavour made its fiery ascent and briefly turned the Florida coastline from night to day. More than five minutes and 500 miles later, the spaceship's main engines could still be seen in the distance, twinkling like a new star. On their 12-day flight, Endeavour's astronauts are to locate a Russian part already in orbit, grasp it with the shuttle's robot arm and attach the new U.S. module. Wielding tools hundreds of miles above Earth, working methodically in the cold void, the astronauts will be starting a five-year assembly that is likely to make the construction of the Pyramids and the great cathedrals look like child's play. Construction of the station, which will be a research facility, will require an estimated 160 space walks, which, for safety reasons, will always be done by two people. When complete, the international space station, dominated by solar power arrays, will cover an area equal to that of two football fields. Modules of interconnected laboratories and living quarters for up to seven astronauts are to form a habitat equal to that of two 747 jetliners. The station's batteries alone, if lined up, would extend a half-mile. The project entails high risk, because of the technical difficulty of putting all this together in the unforgiving environment of space, along with the dangers inherent in flying the space shuttle to the construction site. The work is further complicated by international politics and worries about money. The Russians, whose participation in the partnership clinched the post-Cold War deal five years ago, are now a wild card. Moscow's economic and political woes have left Western officials unsure of its ability and willingness to come up with its share of money and technology. At the same time, the station's costs are rising, and its critics among scientists worry that its appetite for money will consume their own federal financing. The project's total cost is a subject of debate, but the most credible estimates now put the price of assembly and of operation for a decade, the station's estimated lifetime, at $110 billion. Of that, American taxpayers are to spend roughly $96 billion, and the project's 15 foreign partners about $14 billion. The station is intended to be a grand laboratory where, in the environment of weightlessness, investigators can develop new materials and new drugs and explore physiology's remaining mysteries, in part so that humans may someday know how to adapt for long space flight to other worlds. Friday, in any case, little was heard about the project but praise. ``Great show, Endeavour,'' mission control in Houston radioed to the six astronauts as the shuttle went into orbit. At the Florida",
"spaceport, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright lauded the launching team and the new venture. ``That was truly, truly fantastic,'' she told the team after the liftoff. And it was important, she added, to have so many nations ``working together on the kinds of issues that the 21st century is going to be concerned with.'' ``So my congratulations to all of you,'' the secretary said. ``Stupendous work.'' The main cargo Thursday was the Unity module, the first U.S.-built station part. Small compared with the giants to come in three dozen shuttle flights during assembly, the unit is 18 feet long, weighs 13 tons and is to serve as a connecting hub for other modules. Saturday, one of the astronauts, Lt. Col. Nancy Currie of the Army, is to have the shuttle's robot arm hoist Unity from the payload bay and secure it to Endeavour's docking system, moving the unit from a horizontal to a vertical position. Then, Sunday, the astronauts are to rendezvous with the module known as Zarya, or Sunrise, which Russia launched into orbit from Kazakhstan on Nov. 20. Financed by the United States but built in Russia, Zarya, 41 feet long, is be a kind of tugboat for the embryonic station, furnishing power and propulsion as well as communication and rendezvous abilities. When Endeavour's payload bay is within 10 feet of Zarya, Colonel Currie is to reach out with the robot arm and pull the Russian module into position over Unity. The mechanical arm has never before moved anything so big. Zarya, while completely weightless in space, has 21 tons of mass. If mishandled, it can crush and kill. As Col. Currie holds Zarya steady, Endeavour's commander, Col. Robert Cabana of the Marine Corps, a veteran of three space flights, is to nudge the shuttle forward to join the two station pieces together. When mated with special attachments, Zarya and Unity will form the station's first element, 63 feet long and 78 feet wide out to the tips of the solar arrays. Starting Monday, a pair of space-walking astronauts are to hook up electrical connections and data cables between the units, attach antennas and install tools and handrails for future visitors. The builders will be Col. Jerry Ross of the Air Force, 50, and Dr. James Newman, 42, a physicist. Their series of three space walks will continue Wednesday and end Saturday, Dec. 12. As construction goes on outside, the astronauts inside Endeavour will be busy making preparations to enter the new station through a connecting tunnel and docking system. Next Thursday, the crew will enter the embryonic station for the first time, installing portable fans and lights. Friday they will again enter, to prepare for the arrival in 1999 of the next major element, the first one both built and financed by Russia. The other astronauts on Endeavour are its pilot, Maj. Frederick Sturckow of the Marine Corps, and a mission specialist, Sergei Krikalev of the Russian Space Agency. After separating from the new outpost, the crew is to bring Endeavour back to the Kennedy Space Center on Dec.",
"15, with the mission length just shy of 12 days. Gretchen McClain, NASA's director in Washington for the international space station, said in an interview here that its overall costs were actually small for individual Americans. Over its lifetime, she said, the annual cost will equal that of a pizza and a soft drink for each of the nation's 96 million taxpayers. U.S. costs for construction, she added, were $24 billion, and for operations through the year 2012 were $10.4 billion, for a total of $34.4 billion. Most experts outside the agency consider this figure ridiculously low because it ignores many billions of dollars spent in early development work as well as the cost of numerous shuttle flights, which run about $800 million apiece.",
"Endeavour's astronauts connected the first two building blocks of the international space station on Sunday, creating a seven-story tower in the shuttle cargo bay. It was the first time that the Russian-built Zarya control module and the made-in-America Unity chamber had ever touched. It looked to be a perfect and, hopefully, long-lasting fit. ``We have capture of Zarya,'' commander Robert Cabana announced the moment the two pieces came together. ``Congratulations to the crew of the good ship Endeavour,'' replied Mission Control. ``That's terrific.'' The 240-mile-high construction job began two hours earlier with Nancy Currie's capture of Zarya (Russian for Sunrise) using the shuttle robot arm. ``We're halfway home,'' Cabana said. Then came the hard part: stacking the two giant cylinders in the cargo bay. The two station pieces are so big _ 77 feet from the tip of one to the tip of the other with a combined mass of 70,000 pounds _ that Currie and her crewmates had to rely on a computerized vision system and camera views, rather than direct line of sight. This was the first time such a ``blind'' docking had ever been attempted. Currie positioned the solar-winged Zarya, still on the end of the shuttle robot arm, several inches directly above Unity. It was slow going; she wanted and needed perfect alignment. Once she was sure she had it, Cabana fired Endeavour's thrusters, and the brief burst raised the shuttle and thereby Unity enough for the docking mechanisms on the two station components to snap together. The historical moment occurred above the South Pacific. It took several tries, however, for Zarya and Unity to be pulled tightly together. The docking ring between them would not retract properly; Mission Control quickly traced the problem to the attached robot arm and asked the crew to release its hold on the docked Zarya. That did the trick. The union _ intended to last the station's 15-year or more lifetime _ set the stage for a spacewalk by two astronauts on Monday to attach electrical connectors and cables between the two components. Mission Control thought Sunday's work might take hours longer than planned and gave the six astronauts plenty of time for the tasks. But everything occurred more or less when and how it was supposed to, aside from a piece of space junk that strayed too close. Before beginning their final approach to Zarya, the six astronauts had to steer clear of a chunk of a rocket launched last month from California. Mission Control ordered the pilots to fire the shuttle thrusters to put an extra three miles between Endeavour and the space junk, putting Endeavour a total of five miles from the orbiting debris. The smaller gap would have been ``probably a little too close for comfort,'' Mission Control said. The bigger worry, by far, was over Endeavour's pursuit and capture of Zarya, and its coupling with Unity. The shuttle's 50-foot robot arm had never before handled an object as massive as the 41-foot, 44,000-pound Zarya, a power and propulsion module that was launched from Kazakstan on Nov. 20. It will provide all of the necessary electricity and steering for the fledgling space station until a permanent control module can be launched next summer. Minutes after Zarya's capture, Cabana called down that two antennas on the module were still undeployed as Russian flight controllers had feared. The antennas must be fully deployed in order for Zarya's manual docking system to work; that system won't be needed before next summer, officials said. The only other problem was with a Zarya battery; the astronauts took up a replacement part. The 36-foot, 25,000-pound Unity, the first American-made component, will serve as a connecting passageway, or vestibule, for future modules. It was crucial that Zarya and Unity be joined; if they could not be connected with the robot arm, NASA would have sent out two spacewalking astronauts to manually fit them together. In all, three spacewalks are planned for Endeavour's 12-day flight, not only to hook up electrical connections between the two modules but to install handrails and other tools for future crews. The joined modules will be released from Endeavour once all of the work is completed. NASA estimates 43 more launches and 159 more spacewalks will be needed after this mission to assemble the entire orbiting complex. Once completed, the 16-nation space station will have a mass of 1 million pounds, be longer than a football field, and house up to seven astronauts and cosmonauts."
] |
[
"Endeavour's astronauts connected the first two building blocks of the international space station on Sunday, creating a seven-story tower in the shuttle cargo bay. It was the first time that the Russian-built Zarya control module and the made-in-America Unity chamber had ever touched. It looked to be a perfect and, hopefully, long-lasting fit. ``We have capture of Zarya,'' commander Robert Cabana announced the moment the two pieces came together. ``Congratulations to the crew of the good ship Endeavour,'' replied Mission Control. ``That's terrific.'' The 240-mile-high construction job began two hours earlier with Nancy Currie's capture of Zarya (Russian for Sunrise) using the shuttle robot arm. ``We're halfway home,'' Cabana said. Then came the hard part: stacking the two giant cylinders in the cargo bay. The two station pieces are so big _ 77 feet from the tip of one to the tip of the other with a combined mass of 70,000 pounds _ that Currie and her crewmates had to rely on a computerized vision system and camera views, rather than direct line of sight. This was the first time such a ``blind'' docking had ever been attempted. Currie positioned the solar-winged Zarya, still on the end of the shuttle robot arm, several inches directly above Unity. It was slow going; she wanted and needed perfect alignment. Once she was sure she had it, Cabana fired Endeavour's thrusters, and the brief burst raised the shuttle and thereby Unity enough for the docking mechanisms on the two station components to snap together. The historical moment occurred above the South Pacific. The union _ intended to last the station's 15-year or more lifetime _ set the stage for a spacewalk by two astronauts on Monday to attach electrical connectors and cables between the two components. Mission Control thought Sunday's work might take hours longer than planned and gave the six astronauts plenty of time for the tasks. But everything occurred more or less when and how it was supposed to, aside from a piece of space junk that strayed too close. Before beginning their final approach to Zarya, the six astronauts had to steer clear of a chunk of a rocket launched last month from California. Mission Control ordered the pilots to fire the shuttle thrusters to put an extra three miles between Endeavour and the space junk, putting Endeavour a total of five miles from the orbiting debris. The smaller gap would have been ``probably a little too close for comfort,'' Mission Control said. The bigger worry, by far, was over Endeavour's pursuit and capture of Zarya, and its coupling with Unity. The shuttle's 50-foot robot arm had never before handled an object as massive as the 41-foot, 44,000-pound Zarya, a power and propulsion module that was launched from Kazakstan on Nov. 20. It will provide all of the necessary electricity and steering for the fledgling space station until a permanent control module can be launched next summer. Minutes after Zarya's capture, Cabana called down that two antennas on the module were still undeployed as Russian flight controllers had feared. The antennas must be fully deployed in order for Zarya's manual docking system to work; that system won't be needed before next summer, officials said. The only other problem was with a Zarya battery; the astronauts took up a replacement part. The 36-foot, 25,000-pound Unity, the first American-made component, will serve as a connecting passageway, or vestibule, for future modules. It was crucial that Zarya and Unity be joined; if they could not be connected with the robot arm, NASA would have sent out two spacewalking astronauts to manually fit them together. In all, three spacewalks are planned for Endeavour's 12-day flight, not only to hook up electrical connections between the two modules but to install handrails and other tools for future crews. The joined modules will be released from Endeavour once all of the work is completed. NASA estimates 43 more launches and 159 more spacewalks will be needed after this mission to assemble the entire orbiting complex. Once completed, the 16-nation space station will have a mass of 1 million pounds, be longer than a football field, and house up to seven astronauts and cosmonauts.",
"Endeavour's astronauts connected the first two building blocks of the international space station on Sunday, creating a seven-story tower in the shuttle cargo bay. It was the first time that the Russian-built Zarya control module and the made-in-America Unity chamber had ever touched. It looked to be a perfect and, hopefully, long-lasting fit. ``We have capture of Zarya,'' commander Robert Cabana announced the moment the two pieces came together. ``Congratulations to the crew of the good ship Endeavour,'' replied Mission Control. ``That's terrific.'' The 240-mile-high construction job began two hours earlier with Nancy Currie's capture of Zarya (Russian for Sunrise) using the shuttle robot arm. ``We're halfway home,'' Cabana said. Then came the hard part: stacking the two giant cylinders in the cargo bay. The two station pieces are so big _ 77 feet from the tip of one to the tip of the other with a combined mass of 70,000 pounds _ that Currie and her crewmates had to rely on a computerized vision system and camera views, rather than direct line of sight. This was the first time such a ``blind'' docking had ever been attempted. Currie positioned the solar-winged Zarya, still on the end of the shuttle robot arm, several inches directly above Unity. It was slow going; she wanted and needed perfect alignment. Once she was sure she had it, Cabana fired Endeavour's thrusters, and the brief burst raised the shuttle and thereby Unity enough for the docking mechanisms on the two station components to snap together. The historical moment occurred above the South Pacific. It took several tries, however, for Zarya and Unity to be pulled tightly together. The docking ring between them would not retract properly; Mission Control quickly traced the problem to the attached robot arm and asked the crew to release its hold on the docked Zarya. That did the trick. The union _ intended to last the station's 15-year or more lifetime _ set the stage for a spacewalk by two astronauts on Monday to attach electrical connectors and cables between the two components. Mission Control thought Sunday's work might take hours longer than planned and gave the six astronauts plenty of time for the tasks. But everything occurred more or less when and how it was supposed to, aside from a piece of space junk that strayed too close. Before beginning their final approach to Zarya, the six astronauts had to steer clear of a chunk of a rocket launched last month from California. Mission Control ordered the pilots to fire the shuttle thrusters to put an extra three miles between Endeavour and the space junk, putting Endeavour a total of five miles from the orbiting debris. The smaller gap would have been ``probably a little too close for comfort,'' Mission Control said. The bigger worry, by far, was over Endeavour's pursuit and capture of Zarya, and its coupling with Unity. The shuttle's 50-foot robot arm had never before handled an object as massive as the 41-foot, 44,000-pound Zarya, a power and propulsion module that was launched from Kazakstan on Nov. 20. It will provide all of the necessary electricity and steering for the fledgling space station until a permanent control module can be launched next summer. Minutes after Zarya's capture, Cabana called down that two antennas on the module were still undeployed as Russian flight controllers had feared. The antennas must be fully deployed in order for Zarya's manual docking system to work; that system won't be needed before next summer, officials said. The only other problem was with a Zarya battery; the astronauts took up a replacement part. The 36-foot, 25,000-pound Unity, the first American-made component, will serve as a connecting passageway, or vestibule, for future modules. It was crucial that Zarya and Unity be joined; if they could not be connected with the robot arm, NASA would have sent out two spacewalking astronauts to manually fit them together. In all, three spacewalks are planned for Endeavour's 12-day flight, not only to hook up electrical connections between the two modules but to install handrails and other tools for future crews. The joined modules will be released from Endeavour once all of the work is completed. NASA estimates 43 more launches and 159 more spacewalks will be needed after this mission to assemble the entire orbiting complex. Once completed, the 16-nation space station will have a mass of 1 million pounds, be longer than a football field, and house up to seven astronauts and cosmonauts.",
"Following a series of intricate maneuvers and the skillful use of the space shuttle Endeavour's robot arm, astronauts on Sunday joined the first two of many segments that will form the international space station. The shuttle and its crew of six snared the Russian-made Zarya control module after chasing it around the Earth in ever-closing orbits throughout the day. Less than an hour after a rendezvous 240 miles above the Earth shortly before 6 p.m., Lt. Col. Nancy Currie of the Army deftly used the 50-foot arm to grab the 40,000-pound cylinder as the craft passed above Russia and to slowly pull it toward the shuttle. Seeing Zarya up close, Col. Robert Cabana of the Marines, the shuttle commander, confirmed that two antennas had failed to deploy from the module following its launch from Kazakhstan on Nov. 20. There were earlier indications that the antennas, which will be used later by the station to manually assist spacecraft dockings, had not extended. Currie took almost two hours to painstakingly move Zarya above the American-made Unity docking port positioned in Endeavour's cargo bay. When the two pieces were aligned within inches of one another, Cabana fired small thruster rockets that raised the shuttle, allowing the modules to clamp together. The two station pieces, together measuring about 77 feet from end to end and having a combined mass of 70,000 pounds, are the first of 100 major components to be united in space over the next five years to form an orbiting outpost that would weigh almost a million pounds and span an area the size of two football fields. More than 40 additional missions by U.S. shuttles and Russian rockets will be used to haul all of the components and other supplies into orbit, and astronauts from both nations are to spend almost 1,800 hours doing spacewalks to assemble the entire structure. The spece station is expected to cost its partnership of 16 nations more than $40 billion just to construct. Bringing the pieces together is only the first step in mating them. A pair of astronauts are to make three spacewalks this week, the first on Monday, during which they will hook up electrical and communications cables, remove covers, attach handrails and perform other tasks to get the modules to work as one unit. The most difficult part of Sunday's mating of the $240 million Zarya to the $300 million Unity was bringing them together after the shuttle caught up with the Russian unit. Currie had to use the Canadian-built robot arm to place Zarya on top of Unity without being able to see where the pieces joined. Unity, raised in Endeavour's cargo bay on Saturday, is so large that it blocked Currie's view of the mating fixtures from the shuttle's windows. She used views from remote cameras and a computerized vision system built on the arm to estimate the relative positions of the two large segments. The computerized system examined markings on both modules, computed their relationship to one another using the marks and displayed the results on a laptop computer. ``We've never done anything like this before,'' Currie said before the flight, adding that she had practiced the difficult maneuver more than 100 times over the last two years. The flight of Endeavour, which took off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., last Friday, had gone according to plan until early Sunday, when mission control ordered the shuttle to change its orbit slightly to avoid a piece of space debris. Air Force space debris trackers noted that the shuttle was to pass within 1.6 miles of a spent stage of an American booster rocket launched last month. Although this was considered a safe distance, shuttle controllers decided to widen the separation to five miles as an extra precaution.",
"Endeavour and its astronauts closed in Sunday to capture the first piece of the international space station, the Russian-made Zarya control module that had to be connected to the Unity chamber aboard the shuttle. Stacking the two giant cylinders 240 miles above the Earth was considered the most difficult part of the mission. The job fell to Nancy Currie, the shuttle crane operator who had deftly hoisted and repositioned Unity in the cargo bay on Saturday. The two station pieces are so big _ 77 feet from the tip of one to the tip of the other with a combined mass of 70,000 pounds _ that Currie and her crewmates were going to have to rely on a computerized vision system and camera views, rather than direct line of sight. Such a ``blind'' docking had never been attempted before. Mission Control gave the astronauts plenty of time for the tasks. ``The main thing I've tried to do for the last two years working on this flight is make sure we have time. We have margin on everything,'' said flight director Bob Castle. Before beginning their final approach to Zarya _ Russian for Sunrise _ the shuttle's six astronauts had to steer clear of a chunk of a rocket launched last month from California. Mission Control ordered the pilots to fire the shuttle thrusters to put an extra three miles between Endeavour and the space junk, putting Endeavour a total of five miles from the orbiting debris. The smaller gap would have been ``probably a little too close for comfort,'' Mission Control said. The bigger worry, by far, was over Endeavour's pursuit and capture of Zarya, and its coupling with Unity. The shuttle's 50-foot robot arm had never before been assigned to handle an object as massive as the 44,000-pound Zarya, a power and propulsion module that was launched from Kazakhstan on Nov. 20. It will provide all the necessary electricity and steering for the fledgling space station until a permanent control module can be launched next summer. The 36-foot, 25,000-pound Unity will serve as a connecting passageway, or vestibule, for future modules. In case Zarya and Unity could not be connected with the robot arm, two spacewalking astronauts would have to manually fit them together. The astronauts would be going out anyway Monday to attach electrical connectors and cables between the two components. In all, three spacewalks were planned for Endeavour's 12-day flight. NASA estimates 43 more launches and 159 more spacewalks will be needed after this mission to assemble the entire orbiting complex. Once completed, the 16-nation space station will have a mass of 1 million pounds, be longer than a football field, and house up to seven astronauts and cosmonauts.",
"For the second day in a row, astronauts boarded space shuttle Endeavour on Friday for liftoff on NASA's first space station construction flight. ``Let's go do this,'' said commander Robert Cabana. ``Amen,'' replied a launch controller. Rain and cloudy skies were once again a threat. But NASA was confident the master alarm in Endeavour's cockpit would behave; it went off with just 4{ minutes to go in the countdown Thursday, forcing a delay. NASA has only five minutes or less each day to launch Endeavour in order to meet up with the first space station part, which was put in orbit two weeks ago by the Russians. The shuttle contains the second station component. The master alarm blared and red lights flashed just before the shuttle was to lift off early Thursday. By the time controllers traced the problem to a momentary drop in hydraulic pressure and decided to press ahead, it was too late _ they had missed the cutoff by a second or two. ``Sure, it's frustrating,'' said Bill Readdy, shuttle program director and a veteran shuttle commander. ``But we do things right. We do things by the book, and we're not going to cut any corners even if it means just shaving a second or two.'' The six astronauts crawled out of the shuttle, and two threw up their hands. Cabana held up his thumb and index finger a half-inch apart: ``We were that close.'' The problem was confined to one of Endeavour's three hydraulic pressure units. The pressure dropped just long enough to trigger the alarm, evidently because of a sensitive switch, then returned to normal. NASA engineers spent the day examining the problem, but found nothing wrong with any of the systems and were confident it would not reoccur. Endeavour's flight is already a year late because of a cash crunch in Russia, one of NASA's partners in building the international space station. The one-day delay cost NASA about $600,000, mostly in fuel and overtime pay. Aboard Endeavour is an American-made connecting passageway named Unity. The astronauts will use the shuttle robot arm to capture the Russian space station piece and attach it to Unity. Then, two spacewalkers will hook up all the electrical connections and cables between the two cylinders, and attach handrails and tools for future crews. Until the alarm sounded, it looked as though the weather would be the only problem. Rain and clouds moved in from the Atlantic 1{ hours before liftoff, but drifted away with minutes to spare. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and other dignitaries from around the world had gathered in the drizzle to see Endeavour and its crew off. ``Here we have 16 countries cooperating on a venture to the future,'' said Albright, who was expected back for Friday's attempt. ``This is a good investment.''",
"A last-minute alarm forced NASA to halt Thursday's launching of the space shuttle Endeavour, on a mission to start assembling the international space station. Another attempt for Endeavour and its crew of six astronauts is scheduled for Friday at 3:36 a.m. This was the first time in three years, and 19 flights, that a shuttle countdown had been stopped after the spaceship was fueled and the crew aboard the craft and ready to go. The uncommon delay prompted frowns and furrowed brows here, although officials stressed that it was entirely warranted. ``We want to err on the conservative side,'' Ralph Roe, launch director at the Kennedy Space Center, said at a news conference after the sudden halt of the countdown just 19 seconds before liftoff. Everything had been going smoothly for a rare nighttime launching, set for 3:58 on Thursday morning. The weather, forecast to be iffy, turned out to be fine, and the sky was alight with a nearly full moon. But the length of the so-called launching window was, as planned, unusually short _ only 10 minutes. That brevity was a result of Endeavour's having to rendezvous with a space-station part that Russia put into orbit last month. The show-stopper arose about four minutes before liftoff when the computer in the space shuttle set off a master alarm. Controllers studied the data and discovered a momentary pressure drop on one of the hydraulic systems that control the movements of the shuttle's engines and its rudder and other flight surfaces. Officials eventually decided that the pressure drop was insignificant, and they resolved to press ahead. But by then it was too late: time had run out for one of the procedures needed to keep the shuttle's fuel supercold. So the countdown was aborted just 19 seconds from blastoff. The six astronauts began to emerge from the shuttle an hour later and ultimately headed for bed to rest up for another attempt early Friday.",
"WASHINGTON _ NASA and the Russian Space Agency have agreed to set aside a last-minute Russian request to launch an international space station into an orbit closer to Mir, officials announced Friday. While putting the new station closer to Russia's 12-year-old Mir station would make it easier to transfer equipment and supplies from the old outpost to the new one, the request came too late to be acted on, said Randy Brinkley, NASA's space station program manager. NASA was surprised last week when Russia's prime station contractor proposed the orbital position change just two-and-a-half weeks before launch of the first part of the new station. Delaying the Nov. 20 flight by 10 hours to match the orbits would have forced similar shifts in the subsequent assembly flights, and resulted in potentially unfavorable sun angles on the solar-powered station, engineers said. ``We have mutually concluded that it would not be prudent to make these changes,'' Brinkley said during a news conference held at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. ``It added technical complexity and risks to the mission that were not justified.'' The decision, which followed ``frank and candid'' discussions between the two partners, was not imposed by the United States, he said. ``The conclusions were mutual,'' Brinkley said. ``Both sides concluded that it did not make sense.'' The Russians, struggling to find money for their space program with their nation in economic collapse, had said they wanted to transfer thousands of pounds of newer equipment and scientific instruments from Mir as an economy move. However, some critics questioned the Russians' motives, wondering if the requested orbital change was part of plan to delay the decommissioning and destruction of Mir, which the Russians have agreed to do next summer. The Russians have so little money that the United States and other partners in the international station fear that money spent on Mir will prevent Russia from meeting its obligations with the new project. ``The Mir competes with the international space station for very critical resources and for funding,'' Brinkley said. NASA will consider ideas for salvaging Mir's research equipment to use on the international space station, he said, but only if it does not interfere with assembling the new station. The United States and 15 other nations plan to begin building the new station in orbit next week when the Russians launch a module that will supply power and propulsion during the early stages of the five-year construction period. The space shuttle Endeavor is to follow on Dec. 3 with the second station part, a U.S.-built connecting passageway that attaches to the first module.",
"Endeavour's astronauts connected the first two building blocks of the international space station on Sunday, creating a seven-story tower in the shuttle cargo bay. It was the first time that the Russian-built Zarya control module and the made-in-America Unity chamber had ever touched. It looked to be a perfect and, hopefully, long-lasting fit. ``We have capture of Zarya,'' commander Robert Cabana announced the two pieces came together. ``Congratulations to the crew of the good ship Endeavour,'' replied Mission Control. ``That's terrific.'' The 240-mile-high construction job began two hours earlier with Nancy Currie's capture of Zarya (Russian for Sunrise) using the shuttle robot arm. ``We're halfway home,'' Cabana said. Then came the hard part: stacking the two giant cylinders in the cargo bay. The two station pieces are so big _ 77 feet from the tip of one to the tip of the other with a combined mass of 70,000 pounds _ that Currie and her crewmates had to rely on a computerized vision system and camera views, rather than direct line of sight. This was the first time such a ``blind'' docking had ever been attempted. Currie positioned the solar-winged Zarya, still on the end of the shuttle robot arm, several inches directly above Unity. It was slow going; she wanted and needed perfect alignment. Once she was sure she had it, Cabana fired Endeavour's thrusters, and the brief burst raised the shuttle and thereby Unity enough for the docking mechanisms on the two station components to snap together. The historical moment occurred above the South Pacific. The union _ intended to last the station's 15-year or more lifetime _ set the stage for a spacewalk by two astronauts on Monday to attach electrical connectors and cables between the two components. Mission Control thought Sunday's work might take hours longer than planned and gave the six astronauts plenty of time for the tasks. But everything occurred more or less when and how it was supposed to, aside from a piece of space junk that strayed too close. Before beginning their final approach to Zarya, the six astronauts had to steer clear of a chunk of a rocket launched last month from California. Mission Control ordered the pilots to fire the shuttle thrusters to put an extra three miles between Endeavour and the space junk, putting Endeavour a total of five miles from the orbiting debris. The smaller gap would have been ``probably a little too close for comfort,'' Mission Control said. The bigger worry, by far, was over Endeavour's pursuit and capture of Zarya, and its coupling with Unity. The shuttle's 50-foot robot arm had never before handled an object as massive as the 41-foot, 44,000-pound Zarya, a power and propulsion module that was launched from Kazakstan on Nov. 20. It will provide all of the necessary electricity and steering for the fledgling space station until a permanent control module can be launched next summer. Minutes after Zarya's capture, Cabana called down that two antennas on the module were still undeployed as Russian flight controllers had feared. The antennas must be fully deployed in order for Zarya's manual docking system to work; that system won't be needed before next summer, officials said. The only other problem was with a Zarya battery; the astronauts took up a replacement part. The 36-foot, 25,000-pound Unity, the first American-made component, will serve as a connecting passageway, or vestibule, for future modules. It was crucial that Zarya and Unity be joined; if they could not be connected with the robot arm, NASA would have sent out two spacewalking astronauts to manually fit them together. In all, three spacewalks are planned for Endeavour's 12-day flight, not only to hook up electrical connections between the two modules but to install handrails and other tools for future crews. The joined modules will be released from Endeavour once all of the work is completed. NASA estimates 43 more launches and 159 more spacewalks will be needed after this mission to assemble the entire orbiting complex. Once completed, the 16-nation space station will have a mass of 1 million pounds, be longer than a football field, and house up to seven astronauts and cosmonauts.",
"The planet's most daring construction job began Friday as the shuttle Endeavour carried into orbit six astronauts and the first U.S.-built part of an international space station that is expected to cost more than $100 billion. After a last-minute alarm on the shuttle forced a postponement early Thursday, the launch went off flawlessly at 3:36 Friday morning, right on schedule. The night sky was clear, and the moon full. With a roar, Endeavour made its fiery ascent and briefly turned the Florida coastline from night to day. More than five minutes and 500 miles later, the spaceship's main engines could still be seen in the distance, twinkling like a new star. On their 12-day flight, Endeavour's astronauts are to locate a Russian part already in orbit, grasp it with the shuttle's robot arm and attach the new U.S. module. Wielding tools hundreds of miles above Earth, working methodically in the cold void, the astronauts will be starting a five-year assembly that is likely to make the construction of the Pyramids and the great cathedrals look like child's play. Construction of the station, which will be a research facility, will require an estimated 160 space walks, which, for safety reasons, will always be done by two people. When complete, the international space station, dominated by solar power arrays, will cover an area equal to that of two football fields. Modules of interconnected laboratories and living quarters for up to seven astronauts are to form a habitat equal to that of two 747 jetliners. The station's batteries alone, if lined up, would extend a half-mile. The project entails high risk, because of the technical difficulty of putting all this together in the unforgiving environment of space, along with the dangers inherent in flying the space shuttle to the construction site. The work is further complicated by international politics and worries about money. The Russians, whose participation in the partnership clinched the post-Cold War deal five years ago, are now a wild card. Moscow's economic and political woes have left Western officials unsure of its ability and willingness to come up with its share of money and technology. At the same time, the station's costs are rising, and its critics among scientists worry that its appetite for money will consume their own federal financing. The project's total cost is a subject of debate, but the most credible estimates now put the price of assembly and of operation for a decade, the station's estimated lifetime, at $110 billion. Of that, American taxpayers are to spend roughly $96 billion, and the project's 15 foreign partners about $14 billion. The station is intended to be a grand laboratory where, in the environment of weightlessness, investigators can develop new materials and new drugs and explore physiology's remaining mysteries, in part so that humans may someday know how to adapt for long space flight to other worlds. Friday, in any case, little was heard about the project but praise. ``Great show, Endeavour,'' mission control in Houston radioed to the six astronauts as the shuttle went into orbit. At the Florida spaceport, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright lauded the launching team and the new venture. ``That was truly, truly fantastic,'' she told the team after the liftoff. And it was important, she added, to have so many nations ``working together on the kinds of issues that the 21st century is going to be concerned with.'' ``So my congratulations to all of you,'' the secretary said. ``Stupendous work.'' The main cargo Thursday was the Unity module, the first U.S.-built station part. Small compared with the giants to come in three dozen shuttle flights during assembly, the unit is 18 feet long, weighs 13 tons and is to serve as a connecting hub for other modules. Saturday, one of the astronauts, Lt. Col. Nancy Currie of the Army, is to have the shuttle's robot arm hoist Unity from the payload bay and secure it to Endeavour's docking system, moving the unit from a horizontal to a vertical position. Then, Sunday, the astronauts are to rendezvous with the module known as Zarya, or Sunrise, which Russia launched into orbit from Kazakhstan on Nov. 20. Financed by the United States but built in Russia, Zarya, 41 feet long, is be a kind of tugboat for the embryonic station, furnishing power and propulsion as well as communication and rendezvous abilities. When Endeavour's payload bay is within 10 feet of Zarya, Colonel Currie is to reach out with the robot arm and pull the Russian module into position over Unity. The mechanical arm has never before moved anything so big. Zarya, while completely weightless in space, has 21 tons of mass. If mishandled, it can crush and kill. As Col. Currie holds Zarya steady, Endeavour's commander, Col. Robert Cabana of the Marine Corps, a veteran of three space flights, is to nudge the shuttle forward to join the two station pieces together. When mated with special attachments, Zarya and Unity will form the station's first element, 63 feet long and 78 feet wide out to the tips of the solar arrays. Starting Monday, a pair of space-walking astronauts are to hook up electrical connections and data cables between the units, attach antennas and install tools and handrails for future visitors. The builders will be Col. Jerry Ross of the Air Force, 50, and Dr. James Newman, 42, a physicist. Their series of three space walks will continue Wednesday and end Saturday, Dec. 12. As construction goes on outside, the astronauts inside Endeavour will be busy making preparations to enter the new station through a connecting tunnel and docking system. Next Thursday, the crew will enter the embryonic station for the first time, installing portable fans and lights. Friday they will again enter, to prepare for the arrival in 1999 of the next major element, the first one both built and financed by Russia. The other astronauts on Endeavour are its pilot, Maj. Frederick Sturckow of the Marine Corps, and a mission specialist, Sergei Krikalev of the Russian Space Agency. After separating from the new outpost, the crew is to bring Endeavour back to the Kennedy Space Center on Dec. 15, with the mission length just shy of 12 days. Gretchen McClain, NASA's director in Washington for the international space station, said in an interview here that its overall costs were actually small for individual Americans. Over its lifetime, she said, the annual cost will equal that of a pizza and a soft drink for each of the nation's 96 million taxpayers. U.S. costs for construction, she added, were $24 billion, and for operations through the year 2012 were $10.4 billion, for a total of $34.4 billion. Most experts outside the agency consider this figure ridiculously low because it ignores many billions of dollars spent in early development work as well as the cost of numerous shuttle flights, which run about $800 million apiece.",
"Endeavour's astronauts connected the first two building blocks of the international space station on Sunday, creating a seven-story tower in the shuttle cargo bay. It was the first time that the Russian-built Zarya control module and the made-in-America Unity chamber had ever touched. It looked to be a perfect and, hopefully, long-lasting fit. ``We have capture of Zarya,'' commander Robert Cabana announced the moment the two pieces came together. ``Congratulations to the crew of the good ship Endeavour,'' replied Mission Control. ``That's terrific.'' The 240-mile-high construction job began two hours earlier with Nancy Currie's capture of Zarya (Russian for Sunrise) using the shuttle robot arm. ``We're halfway home,'' Cabana said. Then came the hard part: stacking the two giant cylinders in the cargo bay. The two station pieces are so big _ 77 feet from the tip of one to the tip of the other with a combined mass of 70,000 pounds _ that Currie and her crewmates had to rely on a computerized vision system and camera views, rather than direct line of sight. This was the first time such a ``blind'' docking had ever been attempted. Currie positioned the solar-winged Zarya, still on the end of the shuttle robot arm, several inches directly above Unity. It was slow going; she wanted and needed perfect alignment. Once she was sure she had it, Cabana fired Endeavour's thrusters, and the brief burst raised the shuttle and thereby Unity enough for the docking mechanisms on the two station components to snap together. The historical moment occurred above the South Pacific. It took several tries, however, for Zarya and Unity to be pulled tightly together. The docking ring between them would not retract properly; Mission Control quickly traced the problem to the attached robot arm and asked the crew to release its hold on the docked Zarya. That did the trick. The union _ intended to last the station's 15-year or more lifetime _ set the stage for a spacewalk by two astronauts on Monday to attach electrical connectors and cables between the two components. Mission Control thought Sunday's work might take hours longer than planned and gave the six astronauts plenty of time for the tasks. But everything occurred more or less when and how it was supposed to, aside from a piece of space junk that strayed too close. Before beginning their final approach to Zarya, the six astronauts had to steer clear of a chunk of a rocket launched last month from California. Mission Control ordered the pilots to fire the shuttle thrusters to put an extra three miles between Endeavour and the space junk, putting Endeavour a total of five miles from the orbiting debris. The smaller gap would have been ``probably a little too close for comfort,'' Mission Control said. The bigger worry, by far, was over Endeavour's pursuit and capture of Zarya, and its coupling with Unity. The shuttle's 50-foot robot arm had never before handled an object as massive as the 41-foot, 44,000-pound Zarya, a power and propulsion module that was launched from Kazakstan on Nov. 20. It will provide all of the necessary electricity and steering for the fledgling space station until a permanent control module can be launched next summer. Minutes after Zarya's capture, Cabana called down that two antennas on the module were still undeployed as Russian flight controllers had feared. The antennas must be fully deployed in order for Zarya's manual docking system to work; that system won't be needed before next summer, officials said. The only other problem was with a Zarya battery; the astronauts took up a replacement part. The 36-foot, 25,000-pound Unity, the first American-made component, will serve as a connecting passageway, or vestibule, for future modules. It was crucial that Zarya and Unity be joined; if they could not be connected with the robot arm, NASA would have sent out two spacewalking astronauts to manually fit them together. In all, three spacewalks are planned for Endeavour's 12-day flight, not only to hook up electrical connections between the two modules but to install handrails and other tools for future crews. The joined modules will be released from Endeavour once all of the work is completed. NASA estimates 43 more launches and 159 more spacewalks will be needed after this mission to assemble the entire orbiting complex. Once completed, the 16-nation space station will have a mass of 1 million pounds, be longer than a football field, and house up to seven astronauts and cosmonauts."
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At least 60 teenagers were killed and another 160 were injured in a dance hall fire in Goteborg, Sweden, Sweden's second largest city. The fire was the worst in Sweden's modern history. At least 400 teenagers, attending a Halloween dance, were crammed into a facility meant to hold 150. The dance attendees were mostly immigrant children from representing 19 nationalities, including Somalia, Ethiopia, Iraq, Iran and former Yugoslavia. The cause of the fire, which quickly engulfed the two-story brick building is unknown as investigators continue to probe the ruins. Emergency help was delayed by about three minutes because of language difficulties. A fire rapidly destroyed a Goteborg, Sweden dance hall as some 400 teenaged Halloween revelers jammed up while trying to evacuate. At least 60 died, mostly from smoke inhalation, and about 150 were injured. The actual capacity of the 2nd floor dance hall was 150. Forensic experts are having success identifying the burned bodies but the question of how the fire began is still unanswered. The blaze gutted the entire building owned by the Macedonian Association. Mostly immigrants attended the dance. The fire squads say they lost about six minutes while trying to respond to a call in poor Swedish. It is doubtful a quicker response would have made a difference. A fire at an overcrowded dance hall in Goteborg, Sweden killed 60 and injured 180. Most victims were 13-18, immigrants covering 19 nationalities. The 2-story brick building was rated for 150 but held 400. Owned by the Macedonian Association, it had been rented out to 8 party arrangers for a Halloween dance, held on the 2nd floor. One of two exit stairways was blocked by fire. A panicky phone call in poor Swedish to authorities took 3 minutes to understand. Fire trucks were on the scene 6 minutes later. The explosive, fast-spreading fire reached 600C. It may have burned undetected for some time. Arson was a possibility but the cause remains undetermined. Sweden's deadliest fire occurred on Halloween when a dance hall in Goteborg, filled with teenagers, burst into flames. The cause is not known, but the hall, approved for 150, contained as many as 400 and one of the two exits was blocked. Sixty were killed and between 150 and 173 injured. Most were immigrants or their children and represented 19 nationalities. Many felt the rescue was late. Rescuers said they had trouble understanding the first call, but were there in 6 minutes. Condolences came from Swedish authorities. A memorial service was held and a memory wall was growing. Although identifications are difficult, 40 of the dead have been identified.
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"A fire turned a dance hall jammed with teen-age Halloween revelers into a deathtrap, killing 65 people and injuring 157 others in Sweden's second-largest city. The fast-spreading fire that broke out just a few minutes before midnight Thursday gutted the building and left rescuers facing a hideous scene that local rescue service leader Lennart Olin likened to a ``gas chamber.'' The cause of the fire had not been determined as of Friday evening. Although an estimated 400 people, most aged 13 to 18, were at the dance on the building's second floor, the facility had approval for a maximum capacity of 150, said Hans Carlsson, the detective leading the disaster investigation. The fire, at the facilities of the Macedonian Association local immigrant group, was the deadliest in modern Swedish history. In 1978, 20 people died in a fire at a hotel in the town of Boraas. Police said most victims choked to death on smoke and poisonous gases; 59 bodies were found at the scene and six others died later. Of the injured, 57 were in intensive care, said Sven Martinell, spokesman for the local medical authorities. The building did not have sprinklers and was not required to have them, officials said. The dance was attended mostly by immigrants or children of immigrants. Police said the dead or injured represented at least 19 nationalities, including Somalis, Ethiopians, Iraqis, Iranians and Swedes, along with people from current and former Yugoslavia and unspecified Latin American countries. The Macedonian Association, which rents space in the building, had in turn rented the facility out to others for the dance, Carlsson said. That person was not immdiately identified. Binan Atta was walking to the Macedonian Association when he saw the fire. He said he raced in and pulled to safety several people, including a friend. ``His clothes had burned off. His skin was red and bubbly,'' Atta said. ``Lots of kids were just screaming,'' he added at Hammarkullen Lutheran Church, where several dozen family and friends of victims gathered. ``I saw about 10 people in windows who just jumped. They didn't even look down'' beforehand. Fire officials were alerted at 11:43 p.m. (2243 GMT) Thursday and had a fire truck at the scene four minutes later, rescue workers said. The blaze was already consuming the building. The building had just two exits, one of which was blocked by fire, city police technician Stephen Holmberg was quoted as saying by the Swedish news agency TT. ``It was a panic,'' Goteborg police spokesman Bengt Staaf said, with youths trampling each other to get out, and other youths scuffling with police to get in and attempt to help friends. Olin said there were indications that the fire could have been set. ``The fact that it spread so fast indicates that it was not a normal fire,'' he said. Goteborg is about 500 kilometers (300 miles) southwest of the capital, Stockholm. The crowd in the second story of the building contained mostly 13 to 18 year olds celebrating Halloween and a holiday weekend. ``A night full of expectation, happiness over extra leave from school and high spirits in anticipation of a weekend was brutally and suddenly changed into a tragedy of incomprehensible dimensions,'' the Goteborg city council said in a statement. ``Goteborg is today a city in shock.'' Prime Minister Goeran Persson visited the fire site at midday and King Carl XVI Gustav made a statement of condolence. Jamal Fawz, 15, told TT that he was out on the dance floor when the blaze started with about 400 people inside. ``It looked like it started in the ceiling, and lamps and loudspeakers fell to the floor,'' he was quoted as saying. ``It was chaos. Everybody was trying to get out and people trampled on each other on the way to the exit. ... Others kicked out the windows and jumped out.'' Ambulances were called in from several nearby communities. The Goteborg rescue services also brought city buses into service to help transport the injured. Anna-Lisa Saar, a social worker at Oestra Hospital, where many of the victims were taken, said identifying many of them was difficult. ``Maybe you have teen-agers yourself and know how they are ... They maybe don't have their own identification, but have that of a friend who is a year older. Girls don't carry their identification on them, but in a bag and maybe that wasn't lying with the body,'' she said, according to TT. Goteborg has about 435,000 people.",
"A fire turned a dance hall jammed with teen-age Halloween revelers into a deathtrap, killing 60 people and injuring 162 others in Sweden's second-largest city. Police earlier had reported 65 dead, but backed off that figure Friday evening. ''The earlier information that police gave out was wrong,'' Hans Carlsson, the lead detective in the case, told a news conference. The fast-spreading, 3rd graf pvs",
"Forensic experts examining heavily burned bodies were able Saturday to identify more of the 60 young people who died in a dance hall fire, but the catastrophe's most tormenting question was still unanswered. How could it happen; what caused the flames that raced through a hall packed far beyond capacity, blocking one of the exits and forcing panicked teen-agers to flee down the one remaining staircase and leap out of second-story windows? ''As long as the technicians haven't established the cause of the fire, we don't know if it's arson or not,'' Goteborg chief prosecutor Ulf Noren said Saturday evening. Earlier in the day, Noren had said it was a ''50-50'' chance that the fire was arson, prompting wide speculation that authorities had tracked down new clues. But Noren later retracted the remark, saying he'd meant only that no possibilities were being excluded. As investigators worked to find the cause, examiners identified another 22 of the bodies, bringing the total to 40, and officials said 49 people were released from hospital. Of the 162 people who suffered non-fatal injuries in the Thursday night fire, 76 remain hospitalized. Most of the victims were immigrants or of immigrant parentage, from countries including Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Ethiopia and current and former Yugoslavia. The first call alerting authorities to the fire was made in heavily accented Swedish and that, combined with noise and the caller's distress, delayed the fire squads' response by several minutes. Per-Olof Ortarsen of Goteborg's emergency services line said the call was so hard to understand that it took three minutes for workers to figure out what was going on and where to send fire trucks. The first fire trucks and rescue squads were on the scene six minutes after the call was received, Ortarsen told a news conference. He and other officials declined to comment on whether a quicker response could have saved any of the mostly immigrant victims. But the minutes of delay felt endless to those caught in the terror of the fire and survivors have spoken angrily of what they saw as a slow and even obstructive response. ``No help. No police. No firemen,'' 17-year-old Zuhir Hersi, one of the disc jockeys at the bash said Friday, hours after the blaze exploded. ``Just kids helping kids.'' And once the squads arrived, the kids were then blocked from helping, they say. ``We could have saved more young people if only police hadn't stopped us,'' Mohanned Hussein was quoted as saying by the newspaper Expressen. On Saturday, hundreds of people stood quietly outside the gutted building amid flowers and candles as they attempted to come to grips with catastrophe. In the parking lot that a day before had been a tumult of ambulances and screams, mourners had laid a 30-meter-long (100-foot-long) pile of bouquets, candles and cards of remembrance. The cards' inscriptions were brief _ ``I will see you in heaven,'' ``We miss you'' _ and the people who stood reading them also had few words. ``I just wanted to show my sympathy. I think about them. There's nothing else we can do,'' said Caroline Ericsson, who didn't know any of the fire's victims. ''It's damn difficult,'' said Connie Mesfin, who said she lost a friend in the blaze. Lasse Gustafsson, a former Goteborg firefighter severely disfigured in an explosion, also came to the club site to try to show the victims' relatives and friends that spirit can help them pull through despair. ``I can't give them hope. Consolation is enough,'' he said, as people nearby cast uneasy glances at his scars. Many of those injured in the blaze may have to endure similar shocked looks the rest of their lives. Authorities say the explosive fire quickly raised the temperature in the hall to 600 degrees (1,100 F). The hall was packed far beyond its capacity. Licensed to hold a maximum of 150, the hall held at least 250 and perhaps as many as 400 when the fire hit. One of the two exit stairways was blocked by fire and there were conflicting statements from witnesses as to whether the fire came up the stairs from a lower level, or whether it spread there after breaking out in the second-floor rooms. The worst previous fire disaster in modern Sweden was in 1978 in Boraas, when 20 people died in a hotel fire. Goteborg, Sweden's second-largest city with about 435,000 people, is 500 kilometers (300 miles) southwest of Stockholm.",
"A fire turned a dance hall jammed with teen-age Halloween revelers into a deathtrap, killing at least 60 people and injuring about 180 in Sweden's second-largest city. The fast-spreading fire completely gutted the building and left rescuers facing a hideous scene that local rescue service leader Lennart Olin likened to a ``gas chamber.'' Although an estimated 400 people, most aged 13 to 18, were at the dance on the building's second floor, the facility had approval for a maximum capacity of 150, said Hans Carlsson, the detective leading the disaster investigation. The fire, at the facilities of the Macedonian Association local immigrant group, was the deadliest in modern Swedish history. In 1978, 20 people died in a fire at a hotel in the town of Boraas. At a news conference Friday morning, police said most victims choked to death on smoke and poisonous gases; 59 bodies were found at the scene and the 60th victim died at a hospital, officials said. The dance apparently was attended mostly by immigrants or children of immigrant. Police said the list of injured included Somalis and people from current and former Yugoslavia. The Macedonian Association, which rents space in the building, had in turn rented the facility out to another person for the dance, Carlsson said. That person was not immdiately identified. Binan Atta was walking to the Macedonian Association when he saw the fire. He said he raced in and pulled to safety several people, including a friend. ``His clothes had burned off. His skin was red and bubbly,'' Atta said. ``Lots of kids were just screaming,'' he added at Hammarkullen Lutheran Church, where several dozen family and friends of victims gathered. ``I saw about 10 people in windows who just jumped. They didn't even look down'' beforehand. Fire officials were alerted at 11:43 p.m. (2243 GMT) Thursday and had a fire truck at the scene four minutes later, rescue workers said. The blaze was already consuming the building. The building had just two exits, one of which was blocked by fire, city police technician Stephen Holmberg was quoted as saying by the Swedish news agency TT. ``It was a panic,'' Goteborg police spokesman Bengt Staaf said, with youths trampling each other to get out, and other youths scuffling with police to get in and attempt to help friends. The cause of the fire was not immediately known, although officials said it apparently began with an explosion. Olin said there were indications that the fire could have been set. ``The fact that it spread so fast indicates that it was not a normal fire,'' he said. About 180 people were taken to hospitals with injuries, and about 20 were in intensive care. Seven of the most severely injured were taken by helicopter to burn clinics in other cities. Goteborg is about 500 kilometers (300 miles) southwest of the capital, Stockholm. The crowd in the second story of the building contained mostly 13 to 18 year olds celebrating Halloween and a holiday weekend. ``A night full of expectation, happiness over extra leave from school and high spirits in anticipation of a weekend was brutally and suddenly changed into a tragedy of incomprehensible dimensions,'' the Goteborg city council said in a statement. ``Goteborg is today a city in shock.'' Prime Minister Goeran Persson visited the fire site at midday and King Carl XVI Gustav made a statement of condolence. Jamal Fawz, 15, told TT that he was out on the dance floor when the blaze started with about 400 people inside. ``It looked like it started in the ceiling, and lamps and loudspeakers fell to the floor,'' he was quoted as saying. ``It was chaos. Everybody was trying to get out and people trampled on each other on the way to the exit. ... Others kicked out the windows and jumped out.'' Ambulances were called in from several nearby communities. The Goteborg rescue services also brought city buses into service to help transport the injured. Anna-Lisa Saar, a social worker at Oestra Hospital, where many of the victims were taken, said identifying many of them was difficult. ``Maybe you have teen-agers yourself and know how they are ... They maybe don't have their own identification, but have that of a friend who is a year older. Girls don't carry their identification on them, but in a bag and maybe that wasn't lying with the body,'' she said, according to TT. Goteborg has about 435,000 people.",
"A fire turned a Swedish dance hall jammed with teen-age Halloween revelers into a deathtrap, killing at least 60 people and injuring about 180. ``It reminded me of the gas chambers at Auschwitz,'' local rescue service leader Lennart Olin said on national radio, describing the sight when rescuers first entered the building in Goteborg, a city of half a million people on the country's west coast. The fire was the deadliest in modern Swedish history since 1978, when 20 people died in the town of Boraas. ``We are still searching the building ... but so far we have found 60 dead,'' Goteborg police official Jan Edmundson said on national radio. At a news conference Friday morning, police said most victims choked to death on smoke and poisonous gases. The injured toll was lowered slightly to 180, but included seven people who needed treatment at emergency burn centers. Binan Atta was walking to the Macedonian Association when he saw the fire. He said he raced in and pulled to safety several people, including a friend. ``His clothes had burned off. His skin was red and bubbly,'' Atta said. ``Lots of kids were just screaming,'' he added at Hammarkullen Lutheran Church, where several dozen family and friends of victims gathered. ``I saw about 10 people in windows who just jumped. They didn't even look down'' beforehand. Fire officials were alerted at 11:43 p.m. (2243 GMT) Thursday and had a fire truck at the scene four minutes later, rescue workers said. The blaze was already consuming the two-story brick building. The dance was on the second floor. About 300 or 400 people were inside, police said. Many escaped on their own. Police rescued 40, and recovered 59 bodies. The 60th victim died at a hospital. ``It was a panic,'' Goteborg police spokesman Bengt Staaf said, with youths trampling each other to get out, and other youths scuffling with police to get in and attempt to help friends. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. ``What we know is that there was an explosion,'' Edmundson said. Olin said there were signs that the fire was set. ``The fact that it spread so fast indicates that it was not a normal fire,'' he said. The Swedish news agency TT reported 190 people were taken to hospitals with injuries, and about 20 were in intensive care. Seven of the most severely injured were taken by helicopter to burn clinics in other cities, the report said. Goteborg is about 500 kilometers (300 miles) southwest of the capital, Stockholm. The fire broke out about midnight (2300 GMT Thursday) in building of the local Macedonian Association, which organized the dance. The crowd in the second story of the building contained mostly 13 to 18 year olds celebrating Halloween and a holiday weekend. ``A night full of expectation, happiness over extra leave from school and high spirits in anticipation of a weekend was brutally and suddenly changed into a tragedy of incomprehensible dimensions,'' the Goteborg city council said in a statement. ``Goteborg is today a city in shock.'' Jamal Fawz, 15, told TT that he was out on the dance floor when the blaze started with about 400 people inside. ``It looked like it started in the ceiling, and lamps and loudspeakers fell to the floor,'' he was quoted as saying. ``It was chaos. Everybody was trying to get out and people trampled on each other on the way to the exit. ... Others kicked out the windows and jumped out.'' Ambulances were called in from several nearby communities. The Goteborg rescue services also brought city buses into service to help transport the injured. Olin said the rescue service inspected the building in April 1997 and ``fulfilled all possible demands as far as emergency exits and the possibility for fast evacuation.'' Anna-Lisa Saar, a social worker at Oestra Hospital, where many of the victims were taken, said identifying many of them was difficult. ``Maybe you have teen-agers yourself and know how they are ... They maybe don't have their own identification, but have that of a friend who is a year older. Girls don't carry their identification on them, but in a bag and maybe that wasn't lying with the body,'' she said, according to TT. Goteborg has about 435,000 people.",
"Hundreds of teen-agers jammed into an upstairs hall planning to dance the night away, but by the time the sun rose Friday they were dead, clinging to life in hospitals or weeping in disbelief at a fire that killed 67 of them. Police said another 173 people were injured, 20 of them severely, in the explosive fire that engulfed the plain brick two-story building just before midnight Thursday and turned a boisterous disco dance into a screaming terror in a matter of moments. Bent metal bars on some of the hall's windows showed the panic-fueled strength that the teen-agers, many of them immigrants, exerted as they sought ways out of the hall, which with some 400 people inside was crowded to more than twice its legal capacity. Below the second-floor windows lay stray shoes, broken glass and bloody blankets used to wrap those who may or may not have lived. ``I've been crying all day. I haven't been able to sleep. I'm alive, so why should I sleep when my friends are dead,'' 17-year-old Alina Turk said as she stood outside the ruined building Friday afternoon. She said she had been at the dance and two male friends of hers died. Zuhir Hersi, the 17-year-old disc jockey at the bash, told of his ordeal in telegraphic bursts. ``Panic. No help. No police. No firemen. Only kids helping each other,'' he said from his bed in a Goteborg hospital. Although Hersi, like many of the youths at the dance, believes the police and firemen were slow, authorities said the first fire trucks were on the scene within five minutes of getting the alarm. But the fire spread so fast that even an instant response would likely have been too slow. The cause of the fire had not been determined as of Friday evening. Fire Brigade Engineer Bo Wahlstroem said the flames' quick, raging spread could indicate arson, or that the fire had burned undetected for a time before exploding. The fire destroyed the building, whose second floor, where the dance took place, was rented by the local Macedonian immigrant association in Sweden's second-largest city. The association had hired out the hall for the night to eight party arrangers, police said but declined to identify the arrangers. The crowd was mostly aged 13 to 18, witnesses said, and consisted mostly of immigrants or children of immigrant parents. Officials said the dead and injured were of 19 nationalities, including Somalis, Ethiopians, Iraqis, Iranians and Swedes, as well as people from the current and former Yugoslavia and unspecified Latin American countries. Identifying the dead was a wrackingly slow process, forcing relatives and friends exhausted with dread to wait for hours at hospitals. Some were able to make the wait in rooms off-limits to journalists, but many had to wait in corridors, crying and teen-agers hurry in and out of rooms as they looked for their pals. Only 14 bodies had been indentified by Friday evening. ``The identification is hard not only because of the burns but also because they have no driver's licenses or other documents _ they were so young,'' said Kerstin Einarsson of Sahlgrenska Hospital, the largest in the city of 435,000 some 500 kilometers (300 miles) west of Stockholm. The blaze, the worst fire disaster in Sweden's modern history, shocked a country renowned for its smooth calmness. King Carl XVI Gustaf, on a trip out of the country, sent a statement reassuring victims' relatives that ``all of us in Sweden feel great sympathy.'' Prime Minister Goeran Persson travelled from Stockholm to the fire site, first laying flowers outside and walking into the gutted wreck. ``The floor was full of shoes and boots, the same kind of boots my own children wear,'' he said. On Friday evening, about 1,500 mostly young people, came to the Goteborg Cathedral to try to assuage their grief and bewilderment at a memorial service. The youths were dressed in the same sort of hip-hop garb that the dance-goers had worn, but listened to delicate hymns instead of pounding disco. They wept, they embraced, and some looked around nervously, apparently not knowing how to behave in a church. ``I don't go to church. I'm a Muslim, but I don't go to prayers,'' said a young man who gave his name only as Sami. ``I'm accompanying my Christian friends. We lost someone. We're mourning _ that's all.''",
"A fire turned a Swedish dance hall jammed with teen-age Halloween revelers into a deathtrap, killing 60 people and injuring 155. The fast-spreading fire that broke out just a few minutes before midnight Thursday gutted the building and left rescuers facing a hideous scene that local rescue service leader Lennart Olin likened to a ``gas chamber.'' The cause of the fire had not been determined as of Friday evening. Although an estimated 400 people, most aged 13 to 18, were at the dance on the upper floor, the facility had approval for a maximum capacity of 150, Hans Carlsson, the detective leading the disaster investigation. The fire, at the facilities of the Macedonian Association local immigrant group, was the deadliest in modern Swedish history. In 1978, 20 people died in a fire at a hotel in the town of Boraas. Police said most victims choked to death on smoke and poisonous gases; 59 bodies were found at the scene and one other died later. Of the injured, at least 57 were in intensive care, according to Sven Martinell, spokesman for the local medical authorities. Police earlier had reported 65 dead, but backed off that figure Friday evening. ``The earlier information that police gave out was wrong,'' said Hans Carlsson, the lead detective in the case. The building, graf 5 pvs",
"A fire turned a Swedish dance hall jammed with teen-age Halloween revelers into a deathtrap, killing at least 60 people and injuring about 180. The fast-spreading fire completely gutted the two-story building and left rescuers facing a hideous scene that local rescue service leader Lennart Olin likened to a ``gas chamber.'' Although an estimated 400 people, most aged 13 to 18, were at the dance on the upper floor, the facility had approval for a maximum capacity of 150, Hans Carlsson, the detective leading the disaster investigation. The fire, at the facilities of the Macedonian Association local immigrant group, was the deadliest in modern Swedish history since 1978, when 20 people died in the town of Boraas. On Friday, police said most victims choked to death on smoke and poisonous gases; 59 bodies were found at the scene, and the 60th victim died at a hospital, officials said. The injured included about 20 in serious condition. The dance apparently was attended mostly by immigrants or children of immigrants. Police said the list of injured included Somalis and people from current and former Yugoslavia. The Macedonian Association had rented the facility out for the dance, Carlsson said. That person was not immediately identified. Binan Atta was walking to the Macedonian Association when he saw the fire. He said he raced in and pulled to safety several people, including a friend. ``His clothes had burned off. His skin was red and bubbly,'' Atta said. ``Lots of kids were just screaming,'' he added at Hammarkullen Lutheran Church, where several dozen family and friends of victims gathered. ``I saw about 10 people in windows who just jumped. They didn't even look down'' beforehand. Fire officials were alerted at 11:43 p.m. (2243 GMT) Thursday and had a fire truck at the scene four minutes later, rescue workers said. The blaze was already consuming the brick building. About 300 or 400 people were inside, police said. Many escaped on their own. Police rescued 40. The Swedish news agency TT said the association had permission to have only 150 people in the facility. The building had just two exits, one of which was blocked by fire, city police technician Stephen Holmberg was quoted as saying by TT. ``It was a panic,'' Goteborg police spokesman Bengt Staaf said, with youths trampling each other to get out, and other youths scuffling with police to get in and attempt to help friends. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. ``What we know is that there was an explosion,'' Edmundson said. Olin said there were indications that the fire could have been set. ``The fact that it spread so fast indicates that it was not a normal fire,'' he said. About 180 people were taken to hospitals. Seven of the most severely injured were taken by helicopter to burn clinics in other cities, the report said. Goteborg is about 500 kilometers (300 miles) southwest of the capital, Stockholm. The dance was filled with teen-agers celebrating Halloween and a holiday weekend. ``A night full of expectation, happiness over extra leave from school and high spirits in anticipation of a weekend was brutally and suddenly changed into a tragedy of incomprehensible dimensions,'' the Goteborg city council said in a statement. ``Goteborg is today a city in shock.'' Prime Minister Goeran Persson visited the fire site at midday and King Carl XVI Gustav made a statement of condolence. Jamal Fawz, graf 19 pvs",
"A panicky telephone call in poor Swedish was the first word that authorities got of a fire racing through a dance hall crowded with immigrant teen-agers, delaying fire squads' response to the blaze that killed 60 and injured 162, officials said Saturday. Per-Olof Ortarsen of Goteborg's emergency services line said the call was so hard to understand that it took three minutes for workers to figure out what was going on and where to send fire trucks. The first fire trucks and rescue squads were on the scene six minutes after the call was received, Ortarsen said at a news conference. He and other officials declined to comment on whether a quicker response could have saved any of the mostly immigrant victims. The minutes of delay felt endless to those caught in the terror of the fire and survivors have spoken angrily of what they saw as a slow and even obstructive response. ''No help. No police. No firemen,'' 17-year-old Zuhir Hersi, one of the disc jockeys at the bash, said Friday, hours after the blaze exploded. ''Just kids helping kids.'' And once the squads arrived, the kids were blocked from helping, they say. ''We could have saved more young people if only police hadn't stopped us,'' Mohanned Hussein was quoted as saying by the newspaper Expressen. On Saturday, hundreds of people stood quietly outside the gutted building amid flowers and candles as they attempted to come to grips with catastrophe. In the parking lot that a day before had been a tumult of ambulances and screams, mourners had laid a 30-meter-long (100-foot-long) pile of bouquets, candles and cards of remembrance. The cards' inscriptions were brief _ ``I will see you in heaven,'' ``We miss you'' _ and the people who stood reading them also had few words. ``I just wanted to show my sympathy. I think about them. There's nothing else we can do,'' said Caroline Ericsson, who didn't know any of the victims. For Lasse Gustavsson, having the right words wasn't as important as showing his face, severely disfigured in a fire. The former Goteborg firefighter lost his ears, his eyelids and most of his nose in a gas explosion. By showing up, he said, he wanted to show the victims' relatives and friends that spirit can help them pull through despair. ``I can't give them hope. Consolation is enough,'' he said, as people nearby cast uneasy glances at his scars. Many of those injured in the blaze may have to endure similar shocked looks the rest of their lives. Authorities say the explosive fire quickly raised the temperature in the overcrowded hall to 600 degrees (1,100 F). The cause of the fire that broke out just before midnight Thursday remains under investigation. Witness accounts have varied widely, with some reporting smoke coming from the cellar and others saying the fire appeared to start in the ceiling of the dance hall on the building's second floor. The fire's quick spread has prompted speculation that it could have been set, but officials also say the explosive spread could have been because the fire had been burning undetected for some time. What's known is that the hall was packed far beyond its capacity. Licensed to hold a maximum of 150, the hall held at least 250 and perhaps as many as 400 when the fire hit. The crowd was mostly teen-agers and mostly immigrants or children of immigrant parents. They had come for a dance organized by eight party-arrangers whom police have not identified; the hall was rented by the organizers from the local Macedonian immigrant association. Officials said the dead and injured were of 19 nationalities, including Somalis, Ethiopians, Iraqis, Iranians and Swedes, as well as people from the current and former Yugoslavia and unspecified Latin American countries. Identifying the dead was a wrackingly slow process, forcing relatives and friends already exhausted with dread to wait for hours at hospitals. Only 18 of the dead had been identified by midday Saturday. ``The identification is hard because they have no driver's licenses or other documents _ they were so young,'' said Kerstin Einarsson of Sahlgrenska Hospital, the largest in the city of 435,000 residents about 300 miles (500 kilometers) west of Stockholm. The worst previous Swedish fire disaster in modern history was in 1978 in Boraas, when 20 people died in a hotel fire.",
"A fire turned a dance hall jammed with teen-age Halloween revelers into a deathtrap, killing 60 people and injuring 162 others in Sweden's second-largest city. Police earlier had reported 65 dead, but backed off that figure Friday evening. ''The earlier information that police gave out was wrong,'' Hand Carlsson, the lead detective in the case, told a news conference. The fast-spreading fire that broke out just a few minutes before midnight Thursday gutted the building and left rescuers facing a hideous scene that local rescue service leader Lennart Olin likened to a ``gas chamber.'' The cause of the fire had not been determined as of Friday evening. Although an estimated 400 people, most aged 13 to 18, were at the dance on the building's second floor, the facility had approval for a maximum capacity of 150, said Carlsson. The fire, at the facilities of the Macedonian Association local immigrant group, was the deadliest in modern Swedish history. In 1978, 20 people died in a fire at a hotel in the town of Boraas. Police said most victims choked to death on smoke and poisonous gases; 59 bodies were found at the scene and one other died later. Of the injured, at least 57 were in intensive care, according to Sven Martinell, spokesman for the local medical authorities. The building did not have sprinklers and was not required to have them, officials said. The dance was attended mostly by immigrants or children of immigrants. Police said the dead or injured represented at least 19 nationalities, including Somalis, Ethiopians, Iraqis, Iranians and Swedes, along with people from current and former Yugoslavia and unspecified Latin American countries. The Macedonian Association, which rents space in the building, had in turn rented the facility out to others for the dance, Carlsson said. That person was not immdiately identified. Binan Atta was walking to the Macedonian Association when he saw the fire. He said he raced in and pulled to safety several people, including a friend. ``His clothes had burned off. His skin was red and bubbly,'' Atta said. ``Lots of kids were just screaming,'' he added at Hammarkullen Lutheran Church, where several dozen family and friends of victims gathered. ``I saw about 10 people in windows who just jumped. They didn't even look down'' beforehand. Fire officials were alerted at 11:43 p.m. (2243 GMT) Thursday and had a fire truck at the scene four minutes later, rescue workers said. The blaze was already consuming the building. The building had just two exits, one of which was blocked by fire, city police technician Stephen Holmberg was quoted as saying by the Swedish news agency TT. ``It was a panic,'' Goteborg police spokesman Bengt Staaf said, with youths trampling each other to get out, and other youths scuffling with police to get in and attempt to help friends. Olin said there were indications that the fire could have been set. ``The fact that it spread so fast indicates that it was not a normal fire,'' he said. Goteborg is about 500 kilometers (300 miles) southwest of the capital, Stockholm. The crowd in the second story of the building contained mostly 13 to 18 year olds celebrating Halloween and a holiday weekend. ``A night full of expectation, happiness over extra leave from school and high spirits in anticipation of a weekend was brutally and suddenly changed into a tragedy of incomprehensible dimensions,'' the Goteborg city council said in a statement. ``Goteborg is today a city in shock.'' Prime Minister Goeran Persson visited the fire site at midday and King Carl XVI Gustav made a statement of condolence. Jamal Fawz, 15, told TT that he was out on the dance floor when the blaze started with about 400 people inside. ``It looked like it started in the ceiling, and lamps and loudspeakers fell to the floor,'' he was quoted as saying. ``It was chaos. Everybody was trying to get out and people trampled on each other on the way to the exit. ... Others kicked out the windows and jumped out.'' Ambulances were called in from several nearby communities. The Goteborg rescue services also brought city buses into service to help transport the injured. Anna-Lisa Saar, a social worker at Oestra Hospital, where many of the victims were taken, said identifying many of them was difficult. ``Maybe you have teen-agers yourself and know how they are ... They maybe don't have their own identification, but have that of a friend who is a year older. Girls don't carry their identification on them, but in a bag and maybe that wasn't lying with the body,'' she said, according to TT. Goteborg has about 435,000 people."
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"A fire turned a dance hall jammed with teen-age Halloween revelers into a deathtrap, killing 65 people and injuring 157 others in Sweden's second-largest city. The fast-spreading fire that broke out just a few minutes before midnight Thursday gutted the building and left rescuers facing a hideous scene that local rescue service leader Lennart Olin likened to a ``gas chamber.'' The cause of the fire had not been determined as of Friday evening. Although an estimated 400 people, most aged 13 to 18, were at the dance on the building's second floor, the facility had approval for a maximum capacity of 150, said Hans Carlsson, the detective leading the disaster investigation. The fire, at the facilities of the Macedonian Association local immigrant group, was the deadliest in modern Swedish history. In 1978, 20 people died in a fire at a hotel in the town of Boraas. Police said most victims choked to death on smoke and poisonous gases; 59 bodies were found at the scene and six others died later. Of the injured, 57 were in intensive care, said Sven Martinell, spokesman for the local medical authorities. The building did not have sprinklers and was not required to have them, officials said. The dance was attended mostly by immigrants or children of immigrants. Police said the dead or injured represented at least 19 nationalities, including Somalis, Ethiopians, Iraqis, Iranians and Swedes, along with people from current and former Yugoslavia and unspecified Latin American countries. The Macedonian Association, which rents space in the building, had in turn rented the facility out to others for the dance, Carlsson said. That person was not immdiately identified. Binan Atta was walking to the Macedonian Association when he saw the fire. He said he raced in and pulled to safety several people, including a friend. ``His clothes had burned off. His skin was red and bubbly,'' Atta said. ``Lots of kids were just screaming,'' he added at Hammarkullen Lutheran Church, where several dozen family and friends of victims gathered. ``I saw about 10 people in windows who just jumped. They didn't even look down'' beforehand. Fire officials were alerted at 11:43 p.m. (2243 GMT) Thursday and had a fire truck at the scene four minutes later, rescue workers said. The blaze was already consuming the building. The building had just two exits, one of which was blocked by fire, city police technician Stephen Holmberg was quoted as saying by the Swedish news agency TT. ``It was a panic,'' Goteborg police spokesman Bengt Staaf said, with youths trampling each other to get out, and other youths scuffling with police to get in and attempt to help friends. Olin said there were indications that the fire could have been set. ``The fact that it spread so fast indicates that it was not a normal fire,'' he said. Goteborg is about 500 kilometers (300 miles) southwest of the capital, Stockholm. The crowd in the second story of the building contained mostly 13 to 18 year olds celebrating Halloween and a holiday weekend. ``A night full of expectation, happiness over extra leave from school and high spirits in anticipation of a weekend was brutally and suddenly changed into a tragedy of incomprehensible dimensions,'' the Goteborg city council said in a statement. ``Goteborg is today a city in shock.'' Prime Minister Goeran Persson visited the fire site at midday and King Carl XVI Gustav made a statement of condolence. Jamal Fawz, 15, told TT that he was out on the dance floor when the blaze started with about 400 people inside. ``It looked like it started in the ceiling, and lamps and loudspeakers fell to the floor,'' he was quoted as saying. ``It was chaos. Everybody was trying to get out and people trampled on each other on the way to the exit. ... Others kicked out the windows and jumped out.'' Ambulances were called in from several nearby communities. The Goteborg rescue services also brought city buses into service to help transport the injured. Anna-Lisa Saar, a social worker at Oestra Hospital, where many of the victims were taken, said identifying many of them was difficult. ``Maybe you have teen-agers yourself and know how they are ... They maybe don't have their own identification, but have that of a friend who is a year older. Girls don't carry their identification on them, but in a bag and maybe that wasn't lying with the body,'' she said, according to TT. Goteborg has about 435,000 people.",
"A fire turned a dance hall jammed with teen-age Halloween revelers into a deathtrap, killing 60 people and injuring 162 others in Sweden's second-largest city. Police earlier had reported 65 dead, but backed off that figure Friday evening. ''The earlier information that police gave out was wrong,'' Hans Carlsson, the lead detective in the case, told a news conference. The fast-spreading, 3rd graf pvs",
"Forensic experts examining heavily burned bodies were able Saturday to identify more of the 60 young people who died in a dance hall fire, but the catastrophe's most tormenting question was still unanswered. How could it happen; what caused the flames that raced through a hall packed far beyond capacity, blocking one of the exits and forcing panicked teen-agers to flee down the one remaining staircase and leap out of second-story windows? ''As long as the technicians haven't established the cause of the fire, we don't know if it's arson or not,'' Goteborg chief prosecutor Ulf Noren said Saturday evening. Earlier in the day, Noren had said it was a ''50-50'' chance that the fire was arson, prompting wide speculation that authorities had tracked down new clues. But Noren later retracted the remark, saying he'd meant only that no possibilities were being excluded. As investigators worked to find the cause, examiners identified another 22 of the bodies, bringing the total to 40, and officials said 49 people were released from hospital. Of the 162 people who suffered non-fatal injuries in the Thursday night fire, 76 remain hospitalized. Most of the victims were immigrants or of immigrant parentage, from countries including Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Ethiopia and current and former Yugoslavia. The first call alerting authorities to the fire was made in heavily accented Swedish and that, combined with noise and the caller's distress, delayed the fire squads' response by several minutes. Per-Olof Ortarsen of Goteborg's emergency services line said the call was so hard to understand that it took three minutes for workers to figure out what was going on and where to send fire trucks. The first fire trucks and rescue squads were on the scene six minutes after the call was received, Ortarsen told a news conference. He and other officials declined to comment on whether a quicker response could have saved any of the mostly immigrant victims. But the minutes of delay felt endless to those caught in the terror of the fire and survivors have spoken angrily of what they saw as a slow and even obstructive response. ``No help. No police. No firemen,'' 17-year-old Zuhir Hersi, one of the disc jockeys at the bash said Friday, hours after the blaze exploded. ``Just kids helping kids.'' And once the squads arrived, the kids were then blocked from helping, they say. ``We could have saved more young people if only police hadn't stopped us,'' Mohanned Hussein was quoted as saying by the newspaper Expressen. On Saturday, hundreds of people stood quietly outside the gutted building amid flowers and candles as they attempted to come to grips with catastrophe. In the parking lot that a day before had been a tumult of ambulances and screams, mourners had laid a 30-meter-long (100-foot-long) pile of bouquets, candles and cards of remembrance. The cards' inscriptions were brief _ ``I will see you in heaven,'' ``We miss you'' _ and the people who stood reading them also had few words. ``I just wanted to show my sympathy. I think about them. There's nothing else we can do,'' said Caroline Ericsson, who didn't know any of the fire's victims. ''It's damn difficult,'' said Connie Mesfin, who said she lost a friend in the blaze. Lasse Gustafsson, a former Goteborg firefighter severely disfigured in an explosion, also came to the club site to try to show the victims' relatives and friends that spirit can help them pull through despair. ``I can't give them hope. Consolation is enough,'' he said, as people nearby cast uneasy glances at his scars. Many of those injured in the blaze may have to endure similar shocked looks the rest of their lives. Authorities say the explosive fire quickly raised the temperature in the hall to 600 degrees (1,100 F). The hall was packed far beyond its capacity. Licensed to hold a maximum of 150, the hall held at least 250 and perhaps as many as 400 when the fire hit. One of the two exit stairways was blocked by fire and there were conflicting statements from witnesses as to whether the fire came up the stairs from a lower level, or whether it spread there after breaking out in the second-floor rooms. The worst previous fire disaster in modern Sweden was in 1978 in Boraas, when 20 people died in a hotel fire. Goteborg, Sweden's second-largest city with about 435,000 people, is 500 kilometers (300 miles) southwest of Stockholm.",
"A fire turned a dance hall jammed with teen-age Halloween revelers into a deathtrap, killing at least 60 people and injuring about 180 in Sweden's second-largest city. The fast-spreading fire completely gutted the building and left rescuers facing a hideous scene that local rescue service leader Lennart Olin likened to a ``gas chamber.'' Although an estimated 400 people, most aged 13 to 18, were at the dance on the building's second floor, the facility had approval for a maximum capacity of 150, said Hans Carlsson, the detective leading the disaster investigation. The fire, at the facilities of the Macedonian Association local immigrant group, was the deadliest in modern Swedish history. In 1978, 20 people died in a fire at a hotel in the town of Boraas. At a news conference Friday morning, police said most victims choked to death on smoke and poisonous gases; 59 bodies were found at the scene and the 60th victim died at a hospital, officials said. The dance apparently was attended mostly by immigrants or children of immigrant. Police said the list of injured included Somalis and people from current and former Yugoslavia. The Macedonian Association, which rents space in the building, had in turn rented the facility out to another person for the dance, Carlsson said. That person was not immdiately identified. Binan Atta was walking to the Macedonian Association when he saw the fire. He said he raced in and pulled to safety several people, including a friend. ``His clothes had burned off. His skin was red and bubbly,'' Atta said. ``Lots of kids were just screaming,'' he added at Hammarkullen Lutheran Church, where several dozen family and friends of victims gathered. ``I saw about 10 people in windows who just jumped. They didn't even look down'' beforehand. Fire officials were alerted at 11:43 p.m. (2243 GMT) Thursday and had a fire truck at the scene four minutes later, rescue workers said. The blaze was already consuming the building. The building had just two exits, one of which was blocked by fire, city police technician Stephen Holmberg was quoted as saying by the Swedish news agency TT. ``It was a panic,'' Goteborg police spokesman Bengt Staaf said, with youths trampling each other to get out, and other youths scuffling with police to get in and attempt to help friends. The cause of the fire was not immediately known, although officials said it apparently began with an explosion. Olin said there were indications that the fire could have been set. ``The fact that it spread so fast indicates that it was not a normal fire,'' he said. About 180 people were taken to hospitals with injuries, and about 20 were in intensive care. Seven of the most severely injured were taken by helicopter to burn clinics in other cities. Goteborg is about 500 kilometers (300 miles) southwest of the capital, Stockholm. The crowd in the second story of the building contained mostly 13 to 18 year olds celebrating Halloween and a holiday weekend. ``A night full of expectation, happiness over extra leave from school and high spirits in anticipation of a weekend was brutally and suddenly changed into a tragedy of incomprehensible dimensions,'' the Goteborg city council said in a statement. ``Goteborg is today a city in shock.'' Prime Minister Goeran Persson visited the fire site at midday and King Carl XVI Gustav made a statement of condolence. Jamal Fawz, 15, told TT that he was out on the dance floor when the blaze started with about 400 people inside. ``It looked like it started in the ceiling, and lamps and loudspeakers fell to the floor,'' he was quoted as saying. ``It was chaos. Everybody was trying to get out and people trampled on each other on the way to the exit. ... Others kicked out the windows and jumped out.'' Ambulances were called in from several nearby communities. The Goteborg rescue services also brought city buses into service to help transport the injured. Anna-Lisa Saar, a social worker at Oestra Hospital, where many of the victims were taken, said identifying many of them was difficult. ``Maybe you have teen-agers yourself and know how they are ... They maybe don't have their own identification, but have that of a friend who is a year older. Girls don't carry their identification on them, but in a bag and maybe that wasn't lying with the body,'' she said, according to TT. Goteborg has about 435,000 people.",
"A fire turned a Swedish dance hall jammed with teen-age Halloween revelers into a deathtrap, killing at least 60 people and injuring about 180. ``It reminded me of the gas chambers at Auschwitz,'' local rescue service leader Lennart Olin said on national radio, describing the sight when rescuers first entered the building in Goteborg, a city of half a million people on the country's west coast. The fire was the deadliest in modern Swedish history since 1978, when 20 people died in the town of Boraas. ``We are still searching the building ... but so far we have found 60 dead,'' Goteborg police official Jan Edmundson said on national radio. At a news conference Friday morning, police said most victims choked to death on smoke and poisonous gases. The injured toll was lowered slightly to 180, but included seven people who needed treatment at emergency burn centers. Binan Atta was walking to the Macedonian Association when he saw the fire. He said he raced in and pulled to safety several people, including a friend. ``His clothes had burned off. His skin was red and bubbly,'' Atta said. ``Lots of kids were just screaming,'' he added at Hammarkullen Lutheran Church, where several dozen family and friends of victims gathered. ``I saw about 10 people in windows who just jumped. They didn't even look down'' beforehand. Fire officials were alerted at 11:43 p.m. (2243 GMT) Thursday and had a fire truck at the scene four minutes later, rescue workers said. The blaze was already consuming the two-story brick building. The dance was on the second floor. About 300 or 400 people were inside, police said. Many escaped on their own. Police rescued 40, and recovered 59 bodies. The 60th victim died at a hospital. ``It was a panic,'' Goteborg police spokesman Bengt Staaf said, with youths trampling each other to get out, and other youths scuffling with police to get in and attempt to help friends. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. ``What we know is that there was an explosion,'' Edmundson said. Olin said there were signs that the fire was set. ``The fact that it spread so fast indicates that it was not a normal fire,'' he said. The Swedish news agency TT reported 190 people were taken to hospitals with injuries, and about 20 were in intensive care. Seven of the most severely injured were taken by helicopter to burn clinics in other cities, the report said. Goteborg is about 500 kilometers (300 miles) southwest of the capital, Stockholm. The fire broke out about midnight (2300 GMT Thursday) in building of the local Macedonian Association, which organized the dance. The crowd in the second story of the building contained mostly 13 to 18 year olds celebrating Halloween and a holiday weekend. ``A night full of expectation, happiness over extra leave from school and high spirits in anticipation of a weekend was brutally and suddenly changed into a tragedy of incomprehensible dimensions,'' the Goteborg city council said in a statement. ``Goteborg is today a city in shock.'' Jamal Fawz, 15, told TT that he was out on the dance floor when the blaze started with about 400 people inside. ``It looked like it started in the ceiling, and lamps and loudspeakers fell to the floor,'' he was quoted as saying. ``It was chaos. Everybody was trying to get out and people trampled on each other on the way to the exit. ... Others kicked out the windows and jumped out.'' Ambulances were called in from several nearby communities. The Goteborg rescue services also brought city buses into service to help transport the injured. Olin said the rescue service inspected the building in April 1997 and ``fulfilled all possible demands as far as emergency exits and the possibility for fast evacuation.'' Anna-Lisa Saar, a social worker at Oestra Hospital, where many of the victims were taken, said identifying many of them was difficult. ``Maybe you have teen-agers yourself and know how they are ... They maybe don't have their own identification, but have that of a friend who is a year older. Girls don't carry their identification on them, but in a bag and maybe that wasn't lying with the body,'' she said, according to TT. Goteborg has about 435,000 people.",
"Hundreds of teen-agers jammed into an upstairs hall planning to dance the night away, but by the time the sun rose Friday they were dead, clinging to life in hospitals or weeping in disbelief at a fire that killed 67 of them. Police said another 173 people were injured, 20 of them severely, in the explosive fire that engulfed the plain brick two-story building just before midnight Thursday and turned a boisterous disco dance into a screaming terror in a matter of moments. Bent metal bars on some of the hall's windows showed the panic-fueled strength that the teen-agers, many of them immigrants, exerted as they sought ways out of the hall, which with some 400 people inside was crowded to more than twice its legal capacity. Below the second-floor windows lay stray shoes, broken glass and bloody blankets used to wrap those who may or may not have lived. ``I've been crying all day. I haven't been able to sleep. I'm alive, so why should I sleep when my friends are dead,'' 17-year-old Alina Turk said as she stood outside the ruined building Friday afternoon. She said she had been at the dance and two male friends of hers died. Zuhir Hersi, the 17-year-old disc jockey at the bash, told of his ordeal in telegraphic bursts. ``Panic. No help. No police. No firemen. Only kids helping each other,'' he said from his bed in a Goteborg hospital. Although Hersi, like many of the youths at the dance, believes the police and firemen were slow, authorities said the first fire trucks were on the scene within five minutes of getting the alarm. But the fire spread so fast that even an instant response would likely have been too slow. The cause of the fire had not been determined as of Friday evening. Fire Brigade Engineer Bo Wahlstroem said the flames' quick, raging spread could indicate arson, or that the fire had burned undetected for a time before exploding. The fire destroyed the building, whose second floor, where the dance took place, was rented by the local Macedonian immigrant association in Sweden's second-largest city. The association had hired out the hall for the night to eight party arrangers, police said but declined to identify the arrangers. The crowd was mostly aged 13 to 18, witnesses said, and consisted mostly of immigrants or children of immigrant parents. Officials said the dead and injured were of 19 nationalities, including Somalis, Ethiopians, Iraqis, Iranians and Swedes, as well as people from the current and former Yugoslavia and unspecified Latin American countries. Identifying the dead was a wrackingly slow process, forcing relatives and friends exhausted with dread to wait for hours at hospitals. Some were able to make the wait in rooms off-limits to journalists, but many had to wait in corridors, crying and teen-agers hurry in and out of rooms as they looked for their pals. Only 14 bodies had been indentified by Friday evening. ``The identification is hard not only because of the burns but also because they have no driver's licenses or other documents _ they were so young,'' said Kerstin Einarsson of Sahlgrenska Hospital, the largest in the city of 435,000 some 500 kilometers (300 miles) west of Stockholm. The blaze, the worst fire disaster in Sweden's modern history, shocked a country renowned for its smooth calmness. King Carl XVI Gustaf, on a trip out of the country, sent a statement reassuring victims' relatives that ``all of us in Sweden feel great sympathy.'' Prime Minister Goeran Persson travelled from Stockholm to the fire site, first laying flowers outside and walking into the gutted wreck. ``The floor was full of shoes and boots, the same kind of boots my own children wear,'' he said. On Friday evening, about 1,500 mostly young people, came to the Goteborg Cathedral to try to assuage their grief and bewilderment at a memorial service. The youths were dressed in the same sort of hip-hop garb that the dance-goers had worn, but listened to delicate hymns instead of pounding disco. They wept, they embraced, and some looked around nervously, apparently not knowing how to behave in a church. ``I don't go to church. I'm a Muslim, but I don't go to prayers,'' said a young man who gave his name only as Sami. ``I'm accompanying my Christian friends. We lost someone. We're mourning _ that's all.''",
"A fire turned a Swedish dance hall jammed with teen-age Halloween revelers into a deathtrap, killing 60 people and injuring 155. The fast-spreading fire that broke out just a few minutes before midnight Thursday gutted the building and left rescuers facing a hideous scene that local rescue service leader Lennart Olin likened to a ``gas chamber.'' The cause of the fire had not been determined as of Friday evening. Although an estimated 400 people, most aged 13 to 18, were at the dance on the upper floor, the facility had approval for a maximum capacity of 150, Hans Carlsson, the detective leading the disaster investigation. The fire, at the facilities of the Macedonian Association local immigrant group, was the deadliest in modern Swedish history. In 1978, 20 people died in a fire at a hotel in the town of Boraas. Police said most victims choked to death on smoke and poisonous gases; 59 bodies were found at the scene and one other died later. Of the injured, at least 57 were in intensive care, according to Sven Martinell, spokesman for the local medical authorities. Police earlier had reported 65 dead, but backed off that figure Friday evening. ``The earlier information that police gave out was wrong,'' said Hans Carlsson, the lead detective in the case. The building, graf 5 pvs",
"A fire turned a Swedish dance hall jammed with teen-age Halloween revelers into a deathtrap, killing at least 60 people and injuring about 180. The fast-spreading fire completely gutted the two-story building and left rescuers facing a hideous scene that local rescue service leader Lennart Olin likened to a ``gas chamber.'' Although an estimated 400 people, most aged 13 to 18, were at the dance on the upper floor, the facility had approval for a maximum capacity of 150, Hans Carlsson, the detective leading the disaster investigation. The fire, at the facilities of the Macedonian Association local immigrant group, was the deadliest in modern Swedish history since 1978, when 20 people died in the town of Boraas. On Friday, police said most victims choked to death on smoke and poisonous gases; 59 bodies were found at the scene, and the 60th victim died at a hospital, officials said. The injured included about 20 in serious condition. The dance apparently was attended mostly by immigrants or children of immigrants. Police said the list of injured included Somalis and people from current and former Yugoslavia. The Macedonian Association had rented the facility out for the dance, Carlsson said. That person was not immediately identified. Binan Atta was walking to the Macedonian Association when he saw the fire. He said he raced in and pulled to safety several people, including a friend. ``His clothes had burned off. His skin was red and bubbly,'' Atta said. ``Lots of kids were just screaming,'' he added at Hammarkullen Lutheran Church, where several dozen family and friends of victims gathered. ``I saw about 10 people in windows who just jumped. They didn't even look down'' beforehand. Fire officials were alerted at 11:43 p.m. (2243 GMT) Thursday and had a fire truck at the scene four minutes later, rescue workers said. The blaze was already consuming the brick building. About 300 or 400 people were inside, police said. Many escaped on their own. Police rescued 40. The Swedish news agency TT said the association had permission to have only 150 people in the facility. The building had just two exits, one of which was blocked by fire, city police technician Stephen Holmberg was quoted as saying by TT. ``It was a panic,'' Goteborg police spokesman Bengt Staaf said, with youths trampling each other to get out, and other youths scuffling with police to get in and attempt to help friends. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. ``What we know is that there was an explosion,'' Edmundson said. Olin said there were indications that the fire could have been set. ``The fact that it spread so fast indicates that it was not a normal fire,'' he said. About 180 people were taken to hospitals. Seven of the most severely injured were taken by helicopter to burn clinics in other cities, the report said. Goteborg is about 500 kilometers (300 miles) southwest of the capital, Stockholm. The dance was filled with teen-agers celebrating Halloween and a holiday weekend. ``A night full of expectation, happiness over extra leave from school and high spirits in anticipation of a weekend was brutally and suddenly changed into a tragedy of incomprehensible dimensions,'' the Goteborg city council said in a statement. ``Goteborg is today a city in shock.'' Prime Minister Goeran Persson visited the fire site at midday and King Carl XVI Gustav made a statement of condolence. Jamal Fawz, graf 19 pvs",
"A panicky telephone call in poor Swedish was the first word that authorities got of a fire racing through a dance hall crowded with immigrant teen-agers, delaying fire squads' response to the blaze that killed 60 and injured 162, officials said Saturday. Per-Olof Ortarsen of Goteborg's emergency services line said the call was so hard to understand that it took three minutes for workers to figure out what was going on and where to send fire trucks. The first fire trucks and rescue squads were on the scene six minutes after the call was received, Ortarsen said at a news conference. He and other officials declined to comment on whether a quicker response could have saved any of the mostly immigrant victims. The minutes of delay felt endless to those caught in the terror of the fire and survivors have spoken angrily of what they saw as a slow and even obstructive response. ''No help. No police. No firemen,'' 17-year-old Zuhir Hersi, one of the disc jockeys at the bash, said Friday, hours after the blaze exploded. ''Just kids helping kids.'' And once the squads arrived, the kids were blocked from helping, they say. ''We could have saved more young people if only police hadn't stopped us,'' Mohanned Hussein was quoted as saying by the newspaper Expressen. On Saturday, hundreds of people stood quietly outside the gutted building amid flowers and candles as they attempted to come to grips with catastrophe. In the parking lot that a day before had been a tumult of ambulances and screams, mourners had laid a 30-meter-long (100-foot-long) pile of bouquets, candles and cards of remembrance. The cards' inscriptions were brief _ ``I will see you in heaven,'' ``We miss you'' _ and the people who stood reading them also had few words. ``I just wanted to show my sympathy. I think about them. There's nothing else we can do,'' said Caroline Ericsson, who didn't know any of the victims. For Lasse Gustavsson, having the right words wasn't as important as showing his face, severely disfigured in a fire. The former Goteborg firefighter lost his ears, his eyelids and most of his nose in a gas explosion. By showing up, he said, he wanted to show the victims' relatives and friends that spirit can help them pull through despair. ``I can't give them hope. Consolation is enough,'' he said, as people nearby cast uneasy glances at his scars. Many of those injured in the blaze may have to endure similar shocked looks the rest of their lives. Authorities say the explosive fire quickly raised the temperature in the overcrowded hall to 600 degrees (1,100 F). The cause of the fire that broke out just before midnight Thursday remains under investigation. Witness accounts have varied widely, with some reporting smoke coming from the cellar and others saying the fire appeared to start in the ceiling of the dance hall on the building's second floor. The fire's quick spread has prompted speculation that it could have been set, but officials also say the explosive spread could have been because the fire had been burning undetected for some time. What's known is that the hall was packed far beyond its capacity. Licensed to hold a maximum of 150, the hall held at least 250 and perhaps as many as 400 when the fire hit. The crowd was mostly teen-agers and mostly immigrants or children of immigrant parents. They had come for a dance organized by eight party-arrangers whom police have not identified; the hall was rented by the organizers from the local Macedonian immigrant association. Officials said the dead and injured were of 19 nationalities, including Somalis, Ethiopians, Iraqis, Iranians and Swedes, as well as people from the current and former Yugoslavia and unspecified Latin American countries. Identifying the dead was a wrackingly slow process, forcing relatives and friends already exhausted with dread to wait for hours at hospitals. Only 18 of the dead had been identified by midday Saturday. ``The identification is hard because they have no driver's licenses or other documents _ they were so young,'' said Kerstin Einarsson of Sahlgrenska Hospital, the largest in the city of 435,000 residents about 300 miles (500 kilometers) west of Stockholm. The worst previous Swedish fire disaster in modern history was in 1978 in Boraas, when 20 people died in a hotel fire.",
"A fire turned a dance hall jammed with teen-age Halloween revelers into a deathtrap, killing 60 people and injuring 162 others in Sweden's second-largest city. Police earlier had reported 65 dead, but backed off that figure Friday evening. ''The earlier information that police gave out was wrong,'' Hand Carlsson, the lead detective in the case, told a news conference. The fast-spreading fire that broke out just a few minutes before midnight Thursday gutted the building and left rescuers facing a hideous scene that local rescue service leader Lennart Olin likened to a ``gas chamber.'' The cause of the fire had not been determined as of Friday evening. Although an estimated 400 people, most aged 13 to 18, were at the dance on the building's second floor, the facility had approval for a maximum capacity of 150, said Carlsson. The fire, at the facilities of the Macedonian Association local immigrant group, was the deadliest in modern Swedish history. In 1978, 20 people died in a fire at a hotel in the town of Boraas. Police said most victims choked to death on smoke and poisonous gases; 59 bodies were found at the scene and one other died later. Of the injured, at least 57 were in intensive care, according to Sven Martinell, spokesman for the local medical authorities. The building did not have sprinklers and was not required to have them, officials said. The dance was attended mostly by immigrants or children of immigrants. Police said the dead or injured represented at least 19 nationalities, including Somalis, Ethiopians, Iraqis, Iranians and Swedes, along with people from current and former Yugoslavia and unspecified Latin American countries. The Macedonian Association, which rents space in the building, had in turn rented the facility out to others for the dance, Carlsson said. That person was not immdiately identified. Binan Atta was walking to the Macedonian Association when he saw the fire. He said he raced in and pulled to safety several people, including a friend. ``His clothes had burned off. His skin was red and bubbly,'' Atta said. ``Lots of kids were just screaming,'' he added at Hammarkullen Lutheran Church, where several dozen family and friends of victims gathered. ``I saw about 10 people in windows who just jumped. They didn't even look down'' beforehand. Fire officials were alerted at 11:43 p.m. (2243 GMT) Thursday and had a fire truck at the scene four minutes later, rescue workers said. The blaze was already consuming the building. The building had just two exits, one of which was blocked by fire, city police technician Stephen Holmberg was quoted as saying by the Swedish news agency TT. ``It was a panic,'' Goteborg police spokesman Bengt Staaf said, with youths trampling each other to get out, and other youths scuffling with police to get in and attempt to help friends. Olin said there were indications that the fire could have been set. ``The fact that it spread so fast indicates that it was not a normal fire,'' he said. Goteborg is about 500 kilometers (300 miles) southwest of the capital, Stockholm. The crowd in the second story of the building contained mostly 13 to 18 year olds celebrating Halloween and a holiday weekend. ``A night full of expectation, happiness over extra leave from school and high spirits in anticipation of a weekend was brutally and suddenly changed into a tragedy of incomprehensible dimensions,'' the Goteborg city council said in a statement. ``Goteborg is today a city in shock.'' Prime Minister Goeran Persson visited the fire site at midday and King Carl XVI Gustav made a statement of condolence. Jamal Fawz, 15, told TT that he was out on the dance floor when the blaze started with about 400 people inside. ``It looked like it started in the ceiling, and lamps and loudspeakers fell to the floor,'' he was quoted as saying. ``It was chaos. Everybody was trying to get out and people trampled on each other on the way to the exit. ... Others kicked out the windows and jumped out.'' Ambulances were called in from several nearby communities. The Goteborg rescue services also brought city buses into service to help transport the injured. Anna-Lisa Saar, a social worker at Oestra Hospital, where many of the victims were taken, said identifying many of them was difficult. ``Maybe you have teen-agers yourself and know how they are ... They maybe don't have their own identification, but have that of a friend who is a year older. Girls don't carry their identification on them, but in a bag and maybe that wasn't lying with the body,'' she said, according to TT. Goteborg has about 435,000 people."
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Prospects for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum scheduled for Nov. 14-18, 1998 in Malaysia were cast in doubt in September when the Malaysian Prime Minister fired and then arrested his deputy and expected successor who was very popular at home and abroad. Widespread demonstrations occurred in Malaysia while presidents of Indonesia and the Philippines spoke of skipping the APEC meeting. APEC also faced a gloomy financial picture with many of the region's economies mired in recession and high unemployment. On the way to the forum a group of high powered U.S. investors made a pep talk in Thailand, but prospects remained dim. Philippine and Indonesian presidents may not attend upcoming APEC summit in Malaysia due to Mahathir's arrest of Anwar. Malaysian leaders discuss replacement for Anwar. Philippine ambassador is asked to explain his president's support for Anwar. Issues at upcoming APEC summit will include the Asian economic crisis and IMF. Taiwan's president pressured by China to send representative. Mahathir's economic and political moves will be issues at the summit. World financial officials advise reform; topic likely to dominate talks. US-ASEAN delegation to attend; likes Thai economic efforts. APEC leaders to taste local Malaysian food at luncheon after summit. The coming Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Malaysia will open with most Asian countries still in dire economic straits. Thailand has made some reforms but reforms proposed by the International Monetary Fund have not been adopted by other nations. Malaysia, on the eve of the meeting, discontinued trading in its currency, viewed as a quick fix. Some world leaders, especially the presidents of the Philippines and Indonesia and also President Clinton, have second thoughts about attending the meeting because of Malaysia's arrest and treatment of former deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. He was charged with corruption and homosexual activity. A gloomy economic picture is facing Pacific-rim nations as they prepare for the Asian-Pacific economic summit in late November. The debates will focus on the global economy and reforms verses quick fixes such as capitol controls. Host Malaysia is in disarray over the firing, arrest and trial of the deputy prime minister, who has the support of the presidents of Indonesia and the Philippines. These men may not join the other 15 heads of state and the Taiwanese chief economic planner at the summit. Many fortunes, including Japan's and Clinton's, have fallen since the last meeting. Only good news is new reform plans in Thailand and a spicy, Malaysian lunch.
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"The Philippine ambassador to Malaysia said Friday he was summoned to the Malaysian Foreign Ministry to explain his president's statements in support of dissident Anwar Ibrahim. Ambassador Jose Brillantes said in a radio interview from Kuala Lumpur that he was called Thursday after the Malaysian dissident's eldest daughter met Philippine President Joseph Estrada. ``They expressed their concern about what's happening and the statements coming out of the Philippines,'' Brillantes told radio station DZXL in Manila. Brillantes said he explained that following the 1986 ``people power'' revolt against the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Filipinos' react ``strongly'' to ``real and perceived violations of human rights.'' ``I just explained our culture to them,'' he said. Anwar was fired as deputy premier in September and later arrested, appearing in court with a black eye, bruises and a neck brace. He says he was beaten by security guards. Estrada has expressed support for Anwar, whom he considers a personal friend, and indicated he may not attend a summit of Asia Pacific Rim nations in Malaysia next month. He has also said Anwar should be held in house arrest during his upcoming trial on corruption and sexual misconduct charges. Anwar has denied the charges, calling them politically motivated. On Thursday, Estrada told Anwar's daughter, Nurul Izzah, to tell her father ``not to waver because he is fighting for a cause, the cause of the Malaysian people.'' He said, however, that his support is personal and moral and not meant to interfere in the internal problems of Malaysia. Brillantes said: ``The expression of personal opinion is allowed in our culture and it is not surprising for that to happen.'' He also said ``there is no connection'' between Anwar's case and the summit meeting in Malaysia of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. ``We still consider, as expressed by our president, that APEC is important to us,'' he said. He did not say how the Malaysian officials reacted, but he said he was not reprimanded. Meanwhile, a group Philippine legislators said they plan to attend Anwar's trial, which opens Nov. 2. ``We feel that being observers to his trial will be our silent statement of our democratic aspirations for all Asia,'' the group said in a statement.",
"Again bowing to Chinese pressure, Taiwan will send its chief economic planner to represent President Lee Teng-hui at November's Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in Kuala Lumpur, the Foreign Ministry said Friday. Lee decided to send Chiang Pin-kung to the informal leaders summit on Nov. 17-18 after ``giving much thought'' to an invitation from Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the ministry said. Presentation of an invitation to Lee by the host nation _ with the understanding that it will be politely refused _ is an annual formality that allows Taiwan to maintain a semblance of dignity and the host to avoid controversy with China. Beijing's threat to boycott APEC's annual meeting if Lee attends has forced him to send a stand-in every year since the inaugural summit in 1993. China claims Taiwan as a breakaway province and argues that only sovereign nations are allowed to send their heads of state. APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States. Russia, Vietnam and Peru will join in November.",
"In little more than a week, the world's leaders will converge on this businesslike city in the heart of Southeast Asia for the annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. They could hardly be meeting in a more provocative place. On Sept. 1, Malaysia discontinued trading in its currency, the ringgit, and imposed sweeping controls on the flow of capital in its stock and currency markets, particularly on investment from overseas. In doing so, the Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, in effect slammed the door on the global economy that President Clinton and the other leaders are coming here to champion. Mahathir's decision drew jeers from international investors and policy- makers, who warned that Malaysia was seeking a quick fix that would retard its desperately needed reforms and leave it the odd man out when Asia finally recovered from the regional malaise. Now, though, Mahathir's allies are marshaling new economic data that they say indicate that capital controls are breathing new life into the country's moribund economy. Malaysia's foreign reserves rose strongly in September, and there is anecdotal evidence that consumers are starting to spend again. ``It's nice to be able to say that since we adopted capital controls, the economy has improved,'' said Zainal Aznam Yusof, the deputy director of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, a research organization here that helped draft the policies. ``But we want to see whether this is strongly sustainable.'' Critics said it was predictable that capital controls would be a short-term tonic to Malaysia's economy. Because the country is sheltered from the vagaries of capital flows and currency fluctuations, they said, the government had been able to ease interest rates and encourage consumer spending. Still, the mere fact that Malaysia's experiment has yielded some positive results guarantees that the issue will come up during the APEC meeting. With Mahathir leading the campaign, the cause of capital controls will have a fiery advocate who has a penchant for getting under the skin of Westerners. ``Mahathir is a very outspoken political leader,'' said Chia Yew Boon, an independent analyst in Singapore. ``There is no way the likes of Clinton or Jiang Zemin are going to be able to muzzle him,'' he added, referring to President Jiang of China. Policy-makers in the United States have expressed fears that if Malaysia's gambit is seen as successful, other economically weakened countries in the region, like Indonesia, might be tempted to try it. So far, Indonesian officials have said they would stick to the recovery plan devised by the International Monetary Fund, which stresses economic austerity and open markets. But officials in Japan have expressed some sympathy for Mahathir's policies, while Paul Krugman, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has advocated using them as an emergency measure. Yusof said recent events had vindicated Malaysia's contention that it needed to insulate itself from the ravages of the global financial system. He said the recent near-collapse of a prominent American hedge fund underscored how sudden flows of capital can have destructive consequences. The Long-Term Capital Management hedge fund,",
"based in Greenwich, Conn., was nearly wrecked by a series of wrong bets on Treasury securities after the collapse of the economy in Russia prompted a flight of capital out of that country. ``The LTCM fiasco really provides a case study of what could go wrong in the global economy,'' Yusof said. With capital controls as protection, Yusof said Malaysia was picking up the pieces of its shattered economy. In addition to growing foreign reserves, he said Malaysia had improved its trade balance and revived consumer purchases of durable goods. Foreign investors have also not wholly abandoned Malaysia, as experts had predicted they would. While foreign direct investment fell in September _ to $142 million, from an average monthly rate of $321 million for the period from January through September _ it did not dry up completely. For every comforting statistic, though, the critics produce an alarming one. They said the increase in Malaysia's foreign reserves was merely due to the new capital restrictions, which stipulated that Malaysian currency held outside the country would be worthless unless repatriated by Sept. 30. The skeptics also noted that bank lending declined in September, despite several reductions in interest rates. So the consumers who are buying new cars and home appliances are merely dipping into their savings, which means the buying spree will end when their savings are depleted. ``The argument was that by imposing capital controls, you'd regain control over monetary policy, which would increase the supply of money and lessen the liquidity crunch,'' said K.S. Jomo, a professor of political economy at the University of Malaya here. ``But that's not happening.'' The biggest flaw in Malaysia's policy, Jomo and others said, is its timing. With the Asian crisis more than a year old, much of the foreign capital that was in the country has already gone. The critics said Mahathir had spooked would-be investors without even locking in the ones who used to be here. ``There is a case to be made for the temporary imposition of capital controls, but to avert a crisis, not to respond to one,'' Jomo said. In fact, other Asian currencies, like the Indonesian rupiah and the Thai baht, have actually rebounded since Malaysia suspended trading in its currency and fixed the exchange rate at 3.8 ringgit to the dollar. Analysts liken the situation to buying an insurance policy for a disaster that has come and gone. More important, the capital controls are slowing down much-needed corporate and banking reforms. The government's rescue of Renong, a major conglomerate with close ties to Mahathir, is going ahead, though some analysts predict the government will eventually scrap the much-criticized plan. The rescue of politically connected companies remains a tense issue here. On Monday, during the trial of Malaysia's former deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, on charges of corruption and sex-related crimes, Anwar angrily denied Mahathir's claim that he had approved the bailout. Anwar's sensational trial is a reminder that Mahathir's economic policies cannot be disentangled from politics. Malaysia's 72-year-old prime minister clashed with his former protege over how to respond",
"to the Asian crisis, and he dismissed Anwar the day after imposing capital controls. During boom times, Mahathir won support for his policies by wrapping them in anti-foreigner language. In a speech on Monday, he attacked a familiar target, saying foreign currency traders ``are the cause of the currency turmoil,'' adding: ``They spread it worldwide. They precipitated the current recession in every country.'' But Mahathir's treatment of Anwar has stirred anger and sparked growing social unrest in Malaysia. With protesters chanting for reform on the usually orderly streets of this city, experts said Mahathir needed capital controls to work in order to soothe the country's agitated population. ``Things will heat up if the economy does not improve,'' said Chandra Muzaffar, a professor of political science at the University of Malaya. ``Then the whole question of Mahathir and his leadership will remain an issue.'' In that regard, at least, the leaders who converge on Kuala Lumpur in two weeks will be able to identify with their embattled host.",
"The leaders of Malaysia's ruling party met Tuesday to discuss a replacement for ousted deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, who faces trial next month in a case that will test the country's legal system. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 72, said last week he could ``drop dead'' at any time. But because of the large number of candidates for the deputy's job within the ruling United Malays National Organization, a decision was not expected quickly. The party leaders, who have been conducting a national campaign to explain to Malaysians why the popular Anwar was fired Sept. 2, will also confer on what to do now that the High Court judge has banned all comments on Anwar's guilt or innocence. The ruling coalition had scheduled a giant rally in the capital Saturday, aimed at drawing in the youth to whom Anwar's campaign of reform has the most appeal. Mahathir, who had heart bypass surgery in 1989, had groomed Anwar, 51, as his successor. But he fired his protege from his posts as deputy prime minister and finance minister on grounds he was morally unfit to lead. The two had differed over economic policy and Anwar has said Mahathir feared he was a threat to his 17-year rule. Anwar was also dumped from the ruling party, and after two weeks of nationwide rallies at which he called for government reform and Mahathir's resignation, he was arrested under a law that allows police to hold him indefinitely, and prevent him from seeing his family and lawyers. On Tuesday, Mahathir denounced demonstrators who had flocked by the thousands to the streets of downtown Kuala Lumpur in recent weeks, calling them part of a plot to topple the government. Baton-wielding riot police had dispersed the crowds with tear gas and water cannons, arresting more than 100 people. ``They decided that the government should be brought down through demonstrations, riots,'' the Bernama news agency quoted Mahathir as saying in Sarawak state on Borneo Island. He was expected to return to Kuala Lumpur later Tuesday to chair the UMNO meeting. After Anwar appeared in court with a black eye, bruised face, neck and arms, his case drew international attention, particularly from the presidents of the Philippines and Indonesia, who have raised the possibility they might not attend an 18-nation summit in Malaysia next month. The United States would downgrade President Bill Clinton's visit to Kuala Lumpur next month if Anwar continued to be mistreated, the Wall Street Journal quoted an official in Washington as saying. Clinton is scheduled to go to Malaysia for the meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. Wearing a neck brace Monday after a court-ordered hospital checkup, Anwar was ordered to stand trial Nov. 2 on four charges of abusing his powers to interfere with a police investigation. His trial is to halt on Nov. 14 and resume after the APEC meetings. He has pleaded innocent to all charges, including another corruption count and five charges of sodomy. He faces 14 years in prison and a fine on each corruption count and 20 years, plus whipping, on each sexual charge, if convicted. Anwar was arrested Sept. 20 under the Internal Security Act, which allows jail without trial. Under the same law, police also arrested 17 people considered Anwar associates and a risk to national security. As of Tuesday, 12 had been released. The UMNO supreme council was expected to prepare a list of top candidates for Anwar's job for Mahathir's final decision. The Star newspaper, which is close to the government, listed the favorites as Foreign Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Education Minister Najib Tun Razak. Other top contenders included Mahathir's confidant Daim Zainuddin, a former finance minister brought back into the Cabinet in June as ``special functions minister'' in charge of economic recovery. Rafidah Aziz, the international trade and industry minister, and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, a former finance minister, were also in the running.",
"Indonesian President B.J. Habibie finds attending a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders ``difficult'' because of his concerns about the arrest of Malaysia's former deputy prime minister, a Thai newspaper reported Sunday. Asia-Pacific leaders are scheduled to meet next month in Malaysia for an annual economics meeting. Last week, Philippine President Joseph Estrada said he was considering not going to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum because of Anwar Ibrahim's arrest. ``I'm very concerned over how my friend Anwar Ibrahim has been treated,'' Habibie was quoted as saying by the English-language newspaper The Nation. ``I'm concerned because people should not forget that Anwar Ibrahim had contributed a lot for the benefit of his country.'' Anwar is a charismatic politician who was once picked to be the successor to Malaysia's long-serving Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. But he was suddenly fired by Mahathir on Sept. 2 after the two differed on economic policy. He then began speaking out against Mahathir and was arrested Sept. 20. Anwar has been accused of engaging in homosexual acts illegal under Malaysia law, but the charges are generally seen as a pretext for his political persecution. In a court appearance last week, Anwar's face was bruised and he said he had been beaten by police, heightening international attention to his case. ``Because of human rights involved _ and I think it is universal _ people should be given the chance to defend themselves,'' Habibie was quoted as saying in the interview conducted Saturday. ``People should not be tortured.'' Habibie said Anwar's dismissal should not have been based ``on things which had not been proven.'' On attending the APEC meeting, he said, ``It's difficult for me.'' But he said he would consult parliament, adding, ``I'm not coming personally but as the president of 211 million people of Indonesia.'' Like Estrada, Habibie served as his country's vice president when Anwar was deputy prime minister, making them counterparts on the international affairs circuit.",
"The agenda might be global, but the menu will be Malaysian when world leaders meet next week for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. Pacific Rim leaders, including U.S. President Bill Clinton, will sample local dishes at a luncheon planned for the end of their two-day summit. It's expected to be a hot affair. Spicy delicacies on the menu are satay kajang, a beef or chicken kebab in peanut sauce; ayam percik, chicken curry with chilies; soto ayam, a Malaysian chicken soup, and fried rice ``village-style,'' the Star newspaper reported in Monday editions. Desert will be simple: fresh tropical fruit, said Maleia Marsden, general manager of the Cyberview Lodge, where the leaders were expected to stay during the summit Nov. 17-18. APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States. Russia, Vietnam and Peru will also join APEC this year.",
"Top finance officials from 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific region advised Asia's battered economies on Sunday to adopt further reforms in their effort to restore stability. Among the necessary steps is for countries to restructure their economies and corporations to make them less susceptible to abuse by narrow political interests, the officials suggested. The deputy finance ministers and deputy central bank governors met for two days to review progress on the ``Manila Framework,'' an agreement reached last November that aims to promote regional economic stability. Many of Asia's economies have plunged into recession since that agreement. Collapsed currencies, weakened demand and higher unemployment now characterize a region that once boasted some of the world's highest economic growth rates. The worsening financial gloom is likely to dominate talks at next week's summit in Kuala Lumpur of leaders from the 18-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. The summit is to take place on Nov. 17-18. In a joint statement, the officials cited risks including slower global growth, with particular mention of Russia's worsening economy, and the need to speed up social programs to help the poor in the worst-hit countries. Stanley Fischer, deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, noted that some countries have already reformed their banking sectors. But he stressed the need for corporate restructuring as well. ``These are not easy things to do,'' he said. Meanwhile, Malaysia's most prominent dissident predicted that the country's prime minister would declare ``a state of emergency'' after the APEC meeting ends in Kuala Lumpur, a report said Sunday. Former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, now on trial on charges of corruption and sexual misconduct, made the warning in an interview with Monday's edition of Time magazine. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad fired Anwar in September, saying he was morally unfit to lead, then had him expelled from Malaysia's ruling party. Anwar denies the allegations and says they were fabricated because Mahathir considered his popularity a threat to the prime minister's 17-year rule.",
"After an unusual, one-on-one chat Tuesday night, the Philippine and Indonesian presidents were considering staying away from an Asia-Pacific summit in Malaysia to protest the treatment of their jailed friend Anwar Ibrahim. Both presidents have hinted they might not attend the meeting of the 18 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation nations next month in the Malaysian capital out of concern for Anwar. The former deputy prime minister and finance minister of Malaysia was arrested Sept. 20 on corruption and illegal sex charges, then brought to court with a black eye and bruises. Philippine President Joseph Estrada told business and political leaders in Singapore on Tuesday that he had not made up his mind. Estrada called Anwar his friend and said, ``I think all of us here believe that due process and human rights should be respected.'' Indonesian President B.J. Habibie may also stay away, his foreign minister, Ali Alatas, said after the two new Southeast Asian leaders held a half-hour private meeting. If Habibie passes up APEC, Alatas said, it will be because ``he has difficulty leaving the country while there is no vice president, while there are so many problems to deal with.'' Habibie has already canceled a state visit to Malaysia, citing difficulties at home. The meeting was delayed for almost 90 minutes when a mechanical fault was discovered in one of two Indonesian helicopters that were to have flown Estrada and his entourage through heavy rain from Singapore. A ferry was chartered for the 45-minute sea journey. Habibie apologized when Estrada finally arrived at the Melia Panorama Hotel. Estrada replied, ``That's all right.'' The two men, who have each been in power less than five months, met alois June 30 inaugural speech to give the underclass a fairer share of the country's wealth. Habibie took office May 21, hours after his predecessor and mentor, Suharto, was forced from power after national protests and street riots over Indonesia's collapsing economy.",
"A group of high-powered U.S. investors in Southeast Asia on Monday applauded efforts to perk up Thailand's staggering economy, saying they had been assured by top Thai officials that key economic reform packages will soon be approved. After meetings with Thai Cabinet members, including Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, members of the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council said they were confident in the future of Thailand's economy and promised their companies would continue to invest here and elsewhere in the region. ``We would be quick as observers to applaud the aggressiveness of the reform packages that we see being proposed in front of your government today,'' said business council chairman George David, who is also chairman and CEO of United Technologies Corp. Thailand was hit hard by last year's Asian economic crisis, and the proposed economic reform legislation focuses on resolving the massive bad debt of private companies, which is hindering a recovery. ``This is very aggressive, good reform. It's very impressive,'' David said, adding that Finance Minister Tarrin Nimmanahaeminda promised Parliament would pass reform measures in ``months, not years.'' The U.S.-ASEAN Business Council is a private organization comprising about 300 U.S. companies with substantial investments in Southeast Asia. David said the five executives in the delegation represented dlrs 300 billion in assets. The council's lobbying efforts with the U.S. and Southeast Asian governments have concentrated on removing tariffs and other barriers to overseas trade. The delegation will travel to Kuala Lumpur for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum Nov. 14-18. David said free trade should be a focus of discussions among the government leaders attending. ``What I hope they will say at APEC is a very strong affirmation of the free-trade agenda and a very strong affirmation of the foreign direct investment agenda,'' he added.",
"The last time the Asia-Pacific region held its annual summit to promote free trade, Japan's prime minister assured everyone that his economy wouldn't be the next victim of Asia's financial crisis. Canada, the host country, was criticized by some in Canada for cracking down on demonstrations against Suharto, Indonesia's iron-fisted ruler at the time. And President Bill Clinton, whose popularity and booming economy were the envy of the planet, joined everyone else in urging countries such as Thailand and South Korea to bite the bullet and comply with the tough economic reforms that the International Monetary Fund was demanding. My, how the challenges have grown, as the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum prepares for its November summit in Malaysia. Japan _ the world's second largest economy, and Asia's financial anchor _ is suffering through its worst recession since World War II, and that bad news cost Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto his job. Suharto, who ruled Indonesia for 32 years, was driven out of power by a violent, pro-democracy movement, and the world's fourth most populous country is in real trouble financially. Wall Street is now coping with a steep downturn. And even though Clinton has promised to attend the APEC meeting, some people wonder how he can do that while facing an impeachment inquiry back home, thanks to the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal. Worse still, Asia's economic crisis is showing signs of going global, and more and more economists are criticizing the IMF for the way it is handling its bailouts. Other well-respected economists are going even further, questioning whether a free-market philosophy doesn't leave some countries too vulnerable to the chaos of major market speculators. In fact, Malaysia isn't the only country trying self-defense mechanisms such as capital controls. Hong Kong recently spent a fortune investing in its stock market to ward off speculators. And Washington is trying to figure out what to do with hedge funds after watching its Federal Reserve help bail out a major one that was going under, and seeing the investments of others send the U.S. dollar into a tailspin against Japan's yen. Ironically, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who made one of his typical anti-free-market comments during last year's summit, probably could have opened this year's with an ``I told you so.'' But even he is having major domestic problems. Mahathir, 72, who is widely credited with creating modern Malaysia during his 17 years in power, dismissed Anwar Ibrahim, his expected successor, in an apparent dispute over how to battle the country's economic mess. Instead of stepping aside, Anwar launched a reform movement across Malaysia that quickly led to big rallies demanding that Mahathir step down. The prime minister used riot police to thwart the protests, and jailed Anwar, charging him with corruption and sex crimes, and scheduling his trial for Nov. 2. The trial will be interrupted during the Nov. 12-18 APEC meetings, but Mahathir's treatment of Anwar and his reform movement already have been criticized by APEC members such as Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and the United States. President B.J. Habibie of Indonesia and Philippine President Joseph Estrada consider Anwar a friend, and Estrada won't say whether he plans to attend this year's APEC summit. John S. Wolf, the U.S. ambassador for APEC, recently acknowledged that it won't be easy for APEC members to meet in Malaysia as the Asian crisis ``ricochets around the world with no clear sign what will happen next.'' But he also said the leaders of the 21 APEC members should aim for a productive meeting. Wolf said such gatherings give members a chance to discuss IMF bailout strategies and the free-market philosophy, to resolve bilateral disputes, and to continue to reduce tariff rates to help struggling countries improve their exports. ``This has been a lousy year in general. It has affected all of us. It has set APEC back, and there is no silver bullet to solve the crisis right away,'' said Wolf. ``But we should welcome the chance to work together and to develop a sense of what's possible.'' So far, APEC has been criticized for doing little during the financial crisis. But next month it hopes to complete a plan that would lift trade barriers in nine key industries: environmental products and services, energy, fisheries, forestry, toys, jewelry, medical goods, chemical products and telecommunications. Besides the United States, APEC, which accounts for half of all global trade _ consists of these members: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. During the Malaysia meeting, APEC also will include three new members: Russia _ one of the latest victims of the financial crisis _ Vietnam and Peru."
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"The Philippine ambassador to Malaysia said Friday he was summoned to the Malaysian Foreign Ministry to explain his president's statements in support of dissident Anwar Ibrahim. Ambassador Jose Brillantes said in a radio interview from Kuala Lumpur that he was called Thursday after the Malaysian dissident's eldest daughter met Philippine President Joseph Estrada. ``They expressed their concern about what's happening and the statements coming out of the Philippines,'' Brillantes told radio station DZXL in Manila. Brillantes said he explained that following the 1986 ``people power'' revolt against the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Filipinos' react ``strongly'' to ``real and perceived violations of human rights.'' ``I just explained our culture to them,'' he said. Anwar was fired as deputy premier in September and later arrested, appearing in court with a black eye, bruises and a neck brace. He says he was beaten by security guards. Estrada has expressed support for Anwar, whom he considers a personal friend, and indicated he may not attend a summit of Asia Pacific Rim nations in Malaysia next month. He has also said Anwar should be held in house arrest during his upcoming trial on corruption and sexual misconduct charges. Anwar has denied the charges, calling them politically motivated. On Thursday, Estrada told Anwar's daughter, Nurul Izzah, to tell her father ``not to waver because he is fighting for a cause, the cause of the Malaysian people.'' He said, however, that his support is personal and moral and not meant to interfere in the internal problems of Malaysia. Brillantes said: ``The expression of personal opinion is allowed in our culture and it is not surprising for that to happen.'' He also said ``there is no connection'' between Anwar's case and the summit meeting in Malaysia of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. ``We still consider, as expressed by our president, that APEC is important to us,'' he said. He did not say how the Malaysian officials reacted, but he said he was not reprimanded. Meanwhile, a group Philippine legislators said they plan to attend Anwar's trial, which opens Nov. 2. ``We feel that being observers to his trial will be our silent statement of our democratic aspirations for all Asia,'' the group said in a statement.",
"Again bowing to Chinese pressure, Taiwan will send its chief economic planner to represent President Lee Teng-hui at November's Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in Kuala Lumpur, the Foreign Ministry said Friday. Lee decided to send Chiang Pin-kung to the informal leaders summit on Nov. 17-18 after ``giving much thought'' to an invitation from Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the ministry said. Presentation of an invitation to Lee by the host nation _ with the understanding that it will be politely refused _ is an annual formality that allows Taiwan to maintain a semblance of dignity and the host to avoid controversy with China. Beijing's threat to boycott APEC's annual meeting if Lee attends has forced him to send a stand-in every year since the inaugural summit in 1993. China claims Taiwan as a breakaway province and argues that only sovereign nations are allowed to send their heads of state. APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States. Russia, Vietnam and Peru will join in November.",
"In little more than a week, the world's leaders will converge on this businesslike city in the heart of Southeast Asia for the annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. They could hardly be meeting in a more provocative place. On Sept. 1, Malaysia discontinued trading in its currency, the ringgit, and imposed sweeping controls on the flow of capital in its stock and currency markets, particularly on investment from overseas. In doing so, the Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, in effect slammed the door on the global economy that President Clinton and the other leaders are coming here to champion. Mahathir's decision drew jeers from international investors and policy- makers, who warned that Malaysia was seeking a quick fix that would retard its desperately needed reforms and leave it the odd man out when Asia finally recovered from the regional malaise. Now, though, Mahathir's allies are marshaling new economic data that they say indicate that capital controls are breathing new life into the country's moribund economy. Malaysia's foreign reserves rose strongly in September, and there is anecdotal evidence that consumers are starting to spend again. ``It's nice to be able to say that since we adopted capital controls, the economy has improved,'' said Zainal Aznam Yusof, the deputy director of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, a research organization here that helped draft the policies. ``But we want to see whether this is strongly sustainable.'' Critics said it was predictable that capital controls would be a short-term tonic to Malaysia's economy. Because the country is sheltered from the vagaries of capital flows and currency fluctuations, they said, the government had been able to ease interest rates and encourage consumer spending. Still, the mere fact that Malaysia's experiment has yielded some positive results guarantees that the issue will come up during the APEC meeting. With Mahathir leading the campaign, the cause of capital controls will have a fiery advocate who has a penchant for getting under the skin of Westerners. ``Mahathir is a very outspoken political leader,'' said Chia Yew Boon, an independent analyst in Singapore. ``There is no way the likes of Clinton or Jiang Zemin are going to be able to muzzle him,'' he added, referring to President Jiang of China. Policy-makers in the United States have expressed fears that if Malaysia's gambit is seen as successful, other economically weakened countries in the region, like Indonesia, might be tempted to try it. So far, Indonesian officials have said they would stick to the recovery plan devised by the International Monetary Fund, which stresses economic austerity and open markets. But officials in Japan have expressed some sympathy for Mahathir's policies, while Paul Krugman, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has advocated using them as an emergency measure. Yusof said recent events had vindicated Malaysia's contention that it needed to insulate itself from the ravages of the global financial system. He said the recent near-collapse of a prominent American hedge fund underscored how sudden flows of capital can have destructive consequences. The Long-Term Capital Management hedge fund, based in Greenwich, Conn., was nearly wrecked by a series of wrong bets on Treasury securities after the collapse of the economy in Russia prompted a flight of capital out of that country. ``The LTCM fiasco really provides a case study of what could go wrong in the global economy,'' Yusof said. With capital controls as protection, Yusof said Malaysia was picking up the pieces of its shattered economy. In addition to growing foreign reserves, he said Malaysia had improved its trade balance and revived consumer purchases of durable goods. Foreign investors have also not wholly abandoned Malaysia, as experts had predicted they would. While foreign direct investment fell in September _ to $142 million, from an average monthly rate of $321 million for the period from January through September _ it did not dry up completely. For every comforting statistic, though, the critics produce an alarming one. They said the increase in Malaysia's foreign reserves was merely due to the new capital restrictions, which stipulated that Malaysian currency held outside the country would be worthless unless repatriated by Sept. 30. The skeptics also noted that bank lending declined in September, despite several reductions in interest rates. So the consumers who are buying new cars and home appliances are merely dipping into their savings, which means the buying spree will end when their savings are depleted. ``The argument was that by imposing capital controls, you'd regain control over monetary policy, which would increase the supply of money and lessen the liquidity crunch,'' said K.S. Jomo, a professor of political economy at the University of Malaya here. ``But that's not happening.'' The biggest flaw in Malaysia's policy, Jomo and others said, is its timing. With the Asian crisis more than a year old, much of the foreign capital that was in the country has already gone. The critics said Mahathir had spooked would-be investors without even locking in the ones who used to be here. ``There is a case to be made for the temporary imposition of capital controls, but to avert a crisis, not to respond to one,'' Jomo said. In fact, other Asian currencies, like the Indonesian rupiah and the Thai baht, have actually rebounded since Malaysia suspended trading in its currency and fixed the exchange rate at 3.8 ringgit to the dollar. Analysts liken the situation to buying an insurance policy for a disaster that has come and gone. More important, the capital controls are slowing down much-needed corporate and banking reforms. The government's rescue of Renong, a major conglomerate with close ties to Mahathir, is going ahead, though some analysts predict the government will eventually scrap the much-criticized plan. The rescue of politically connected companies remains a tense issue here. On Monday, during the trial of Malaysia's former deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, on charges of corruption and sex-related crimes, Anwar angrily denied Mahathir's claim that he had approved the bailout. Anwar's sensational trial is a reminder that Mahathir's economic policies cannot be disentangled from politics. Malaysia's 72-year-old prime minister clashed with his former protege over how to respond to the Asian crisis, and he dismissed Anwar the day after imposing capital controls. During boom times, Mahathir won support for his policies by wrapping them in anti-foreigner language. In a speech on Monday, he attacked a familiar target, saying foreign currency traders ``are the cause of the currency turmoil,'' adding: ``They spread it worldwide. They precipitated the current recession in every country.'' But Mahathir's treatment of Anwar has stirred anger and sparked growing social unrest in Malaysia. With protesters chanting for reform on the usually orderly streets of this city, experts said Mahathir needed capital controls to work in order to soothe the country's agitated population. ``Things will heat up if the economy does not improve,'' said Chandra Muzaffar, a professor of political science at the University of Malaya. ``Then the whole question of Mahathir and his leadership will remain an issue.'' In that regard, at least, the leaders who converge on Kuala Lumpur in two weeks will be able to identify with their embattled host.",
"The leaders of Malaysia's ruling party met Tuesday to discuss a replacement for ousted deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, who faces trial next month in a case that will test the country's legal system. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 72, said last week he could ``drop dead'' at any time. But because of the large number of candidates for the deputy's job within the ruling United Malays National Organization, a decision was not expected quickly. The party leaders, who have been conducting a national campaign to explain to Malaysians why the popular Anwar was fired Sept. 2, will also confer on what to do now that the High Court judge has banned all comments on Anwar's guilt or innocence. The ruling coalition had scheduled a giant rally in the capital Saturday, aimed at drawing in the youth to whom Anwar's campaign of reform has the most appeal. Mahathir, who had heart bypass surgery in 1989, had groomed Anwar, 51, as his successor. But he fired his protege from his posts as deputy prime minister and finance minister on grounds he was morally unfit to lead. The two had differed over economic policy and Anwar has said Mahathir feared he was a threat to his 17-year rule. Anwar was also dumped from the ruling party, and after two weeks of nationwide rallies at which he called for government reform and Mahathir's resignation, he was arrested under a law that allows police to hold him indefinitely, and prevent him from seeing his family and lawyers. On Tuesday, Mahathir denounced demonstrators who had flocked by the thousands to the streets of downtown Kuala Lumpur in recent weeks, calling them part of a plot to topple the government. Baton-wielding riot police had dispersed the crowds with tear gas and water cannons, arresting more than 100 people. ``They decided that the government should be brought down through demonstrations, riots,'' the Bernama news agency quoted Mahathir as saying in Sarawak state on Borneo Island. He was expected to return to Kuala Lumpur later Tuesday to chair the UMNO meeting. After Anwar appeared in court with a black eye, bruised face, neck and arms, his case drew international attention, particularly from the presidents of the Philippines and Indonesia, who have raised the possibility they might not attend an 18-nation summit in Malaysia next month. The United States would downgrade President Bill Clinton's visit to Kuala Lumpur next month if Anwar continued to be mistreated, the Wall Street Journal quoted an official in Washington as saying. Clinton is scheduled to go to Malaysia for the meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. Wearing a neck brace Monday after a court-ordered hospital checkup, Anwar was ordered to stand trial Nov. 2 on four charges of abusing his powers to interfere with a police investigation. His trial is to halt on Nov. 14 and resume after the APEC meetings. He has pleaded innocent to all charges, including another corruption count and five charges of sodomy. He faces 14 years in prison and a fine on each corruption count and 20 years, plus whipping, on each sexual charge, if convicted. Anwar was arrested Sept. 20 under the Internal Security Act, which allows jail without trial. Under the same law, police also arrested 17 people considered Anwar associates and a risk to national security. As of Tuesday, 12 had been released. The UMNO supreme council was expected to prepare a list of top candidates for Anwar's job for Mahathir's final decision. The Star newspaper, which is close to the government, listed the favorites as Foreign Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Education Minister Najib Tun Razak. Other top contenders included Mahathir's confidant Daim Zainuddin, a former finance minister brought back into the Cabinet in June as ``special functions minister'' in charge of economic recovery. Rafidah Aziz, the international trade and industry minister, and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, a former finance minister, were also in the running.",
"Indonesian President B.J. Habibie finds attending a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders ``difficult'' because of his concerns about the arrest of Malaysia's former deputy prime minister, a Thai newspaper reported Sunday. Asia-Pacific leaders are scheduled to meet next month in Malaysia for an annual economics meeting. Last week, Philippine President Joseph Estrada said he was considering not going to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum because of Anwar Ibrahim's arrest. ``I'm very concerned over how my friend Anwar Ibrahim has been treated,'' Habibie was quoted as saying by the English-language newspaper The Nation. ``I'm concerned because people should not forget that Anwar Ibrahim had contributed a lot for the benefit of his country.'' Anwar is a charismatic politician who was once picked to be the successor to Malaysia's long-serving Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. But he was suddenly fired by Mahathir on Sept. 2 after the two differed on economic policy. He then began speaking out against Mahathir and was arrested Sept. 20. Anwar has been accused of engaging in homosexual acts illegal under Malaysia law, but the charges are generally seen as a pretext for his political persecution. In a court appearance last week, Anwar's face was bruised and he said he had been beaten by police, heightening international attention to his case. ``Because of human rights involved _ and I think it is universal _ people should be given the chance to defend themselves,'' Habibie was quoted as saying in the interview conducted Saturday. ``People should not be tortured.'' Habibie said Anwar's dismissal should not have been based ``on things which had not been proven.'' On attending the APEC meeting, he said, ``It's difficult for me.'' But he said he would consult parliament, adding, ``I'm not coming personally but as the president of 211 million people of Indonesia.'' Like Estrada, Habibie served as his country's vice president when Anwar was deputy prime minister, making them counterparts on the international affairs circuit.",
"The agenda might be global, but the menu will be Malaysian when world leaders meet next week for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. Pacific Rim leaders, including U.S. President Bill Clinton, will sample local dishes at a luncheon planned for the end of their two-day summit. It's expected to be a hot affair. Spicy delicacies on the menu are satay kajang, a beef or chicken kebab in peanut sauce; ayam percik, chicken curry with chilies; soto ayam, a Malaysian chicken soup, and fried rice ``village-style,'' the Star newspaper reported in Monday editions. Desert will be simple: fresh tropical fruit, said Maleia Marsden, general manager of the Cyberview Lodge, where the leaders were expected to stay during the summit Nov. 17-18. APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States. Russia, Vietnam and Peru will also join APEC this year.",
"Top finance officials from 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific region advised Asia's battered economies on Sunday to adopt further reforms in their effort to restore stability. Among the necessary steps is for countries to restructure their economies and corporations to make them less susceptible to abuse by narrow political interests, the officials suggested. The deputy finance ministers and deputy central bank governors met for two days to review progress on the ``Manila Framework,'' an agreement reached last November that aims to promote regional economic stability. Many of Asia's economies have plunged into recession since that agreement. Collapsed currencies, weakened demand and higher unemployment now characterize a region that once boasted some of the world's highest economic growth rates. The worsening financial gloom is likely to dominate talks at next week's summit in Kuala Lumpur of leaders from the 18-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. The summit is to take place on Nov. 17-18. In a joint statement, the officials cited risks including slower global growth, with particular mention of Russia's worsening economy, and the need to speed up social programs to help the poor in the worst-hit countries. Stanley Fischer, deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, noted that some countries have already reformed their banking sectors. But he stressed the need for corporate restructuring as well. ``These are not easy things to do,'' he said. Meanwhile, Malaysia's most prominent dissident predicted that the country's prime minister would declare ``a state of emergency'' after the APEC meeting ends in Kuala Lumpur, a report said Sunday. Former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, now on trial on charges of corruption and sexual misconduct, made the warning in an interview with Monday's edition of Time magazine. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad fired Anwar in September, saying he was morally unfit to lead, then had him expelled from Malaysia's ruling party. Anwar denies the allegations and says they were fabricated because Mahathir considered his popularity a threat to the prime minister's 17-year rule.",
"After an unusual, one-on-one chat Tuesday night, the Philippine and Indonesian presidents were considering staying away from an Asia-Pacific summit in Malaysia to protest the treatment of their jailed friend Anwar Ibrahim. Both presidents have hinted they might not attend the meeting of the 18 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation nations next month in the Malaysian capital out of concern for Anwar. The former deputy prime minister and finance minister of Malaysia was arrested Sept. 20 on corruption and illegal sex charges, then brought to court with a black eye and bruises. Philippine President Joseph Estrada told business and political leaders in Singapore on Tuesday that he had not made up his mind. Estrada called Anwar his friend and said, ``I think all of us here believe that due process and human rights should be respected.'' Indonesian President B.J. Habibie may also stay away, his foreign minister, Ali Alatas, said after the two new Southeast Asian leaders held a half-hour private meeting. If Habibie passes up APEC, Alatas said, it will be because ``he has difficulty leaving the country while there is no vice president, while there are so many problems to deal with.'' Habibie has already canceled a state visit to Malaysia, citing difficulties at home. The meeting was delayed for almost 90 minutes when a mechanical fault was discovered in one of two Indonesian helicopters that were to have flown Estrada and his entourage through heavy rain from Singapore. A ferry was chartered for the 45-minute sea journey. Habibie apologized when Estrada finally arrived at the Melia Panorama Hotel. Estrada replied, ``That's all right.'' The two men, who have each been in power less than five months, met alois June 30 inaugural speech to give the underclass a fairer share of the country's wealth. Habibie took office May 21, hours after his predecessor and mentor, Suharto, was forced from power after national protests and street riots over Indonesia's collapsing economy.",
"A group of high-powered U.S. investors in Southeast Asia on Monday applauded efforts to perk up Thailand's staggering economy, saying they had been assured by top Thai officials that key economic reform packages will soon be approved. After meetings with Thai Cabinet members, including Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, members of the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council said they were confident in the future of Thailand's economy and promised their companies would continue to invest here and elsewhere in the region. ``We would be quick as observers to applaud the aggressiveness of the reform packages that we see being proposed in front of your government today,'' said business council chairman George David, who is also chairman and CEO of United Technologies Corp. Thailand was hit hard by last year's Asian economic crisis, and the proposed economic reform legislation focuses on resolving the massive bad debt of private companies, which is hindering a recovery. ``This is very aggressive, good reform. It's very impressive,'' David said, adding that Finance Minister Tarrin Nimmanahaeminda promised Parliament would pass reform measures in ``months, not years.'' The U.S.-ASEAN Business Council is a private organization comprising about 300 U.S. companies with substantial investments in Southeast Asia. David said the five executives in the delegation represented dlrs 300 billion in assets. The council's lobbying efforts with the U.S. and Southeast Asian governments have concentrated on removing tariffs and other barriers to overseas trade. The delegation will travel to Kuala Lumpur for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum Nov. 14-18. David said free trade should be a focus of discussions among the government leaders attending. ``What I hope they will say at APEC is a very strong affirmation of the free-trade agenda and a very strong affirmation of the foreign direct investment agenda,'' he added.",
"The last time the Asia-Pacific region held its annual summit to promote free trade, Japan's prime minister assured everyone that his economy wouldn't be the next victim of Asia's financial crisis. Canada, the host country, was criticized by some in Canada for cracking down on demonstrations against Suharto, Indonesia's iron-fisted ruler at the time. And President Bill Clinton, whose popularity and booming economy were the envy of the planet, joined everyone else in urging countries such as Thailand and South Korea to bite the bullet and comply with the tough economic reforms that the International Monetary Fund was demanding. My, how the challenges have grown, as the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum prepares for its November summit in Malaysia. Japan _ the world's second largest economy, and Asia's financial anchor _ is suffering through its worst recession since World War II, and that bad news cost Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto his job. Suharto, who ruled Indonesia for 32 years, was driven out of power by a violent, pro-democracy movement, and the world's fourth most populous country is in real trouble financially. Wall Street is now coping with a steep downturn. And even though Clinton has promised to attend the APEC meeting, some people wonder how he can do that while facing an impeachment inquiry back home, thanks to the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal. Worse still, Asia's economic crisis is showing signs of going global, and more and more economists are criticizing the IMF for the way it is handling its bailouts. Other well-respected economists are going even further, questioning whether a free-market philosophy doesn't leave some countries too vulnerable to the chaos of major market speculators. In fact, Malaysia isn't the only country trying self-defense mechanisms such as capital controls. Hong Kong recently spent a fortune investing in its stock market to ward off speculators. And Washington is trying to figure out what to do with hedge funds after watching its Federal Reserve help bail out a major one that was going under, and seeing the investments of others send the U.S. dollar into a tailspin against Japan's yen. Ironically, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who made one of his typical anti-free-market comments during last year's summit, probably could have opened this year's with an ``I told you so.'' But even he is having major domestic problems. Mahathir, 72, who is widely credited with creating modern Malaysia during his 17 years in power, dismissed Anwar Ibrahim, his expected successor, in an apparent dispute over how to battle the country's economic mess. Instead of stepping aside, Anwar launched a reform movement across Malaysia that quickly led to big rallies demanding that Mahathir step down. The prime minister used riot police to thwart the protests, and jailed Anwar, charging him with corruption and sex crimes, and scheduling his trial for Nov. 2. The trial will be interrupted during the Nov. 12-18 APEC meetings, but Mahathir's treatment of Anwar and his reform movement already have been criticized by APEC members such as Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and the United States. President B.J. Habibie of Indonesia and Philippine President Joseph Estrada consider Anwar a friend, and Estrada won't say whether he plans to attend this year's APEC summit. John S. Wolf, the U.S. ambassador for APEC, recently acknowledged that it won't be easy for APEC members to meet in Malaysia as the Asian crisis ``ricochets around the world with no clear sign what will happen next.'' But he also said the leaders of the 21 APEC members should aim for a productive meeting. Wolf said such gatherings give members a chance to discuss IMF bailout strategies and the free-market philosophy, to resolve bilateral disputes, and to continue to reduce tariff rates to help struggling countries improve their exports. ``This has been a lousy year in general. It has affected all of us. It has set APEC back, and there is no silver bullet to solve the crisis right away,'' said Wolf. ``But we should welcome the chance to work together and to develop a sense of what's possible.'' So far, APEC has been criticized for doing little during the financial crisis. But next month it hopes to complete a plan that would lift trade barriers in nine key industries: environmental products and services, energy, fisheries, forestry, toys, jewelry, medical goods, chemical products and telecommunications. Besides the United States, APEC, which accounts for half of all global trade _ consists of these members: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. During the Malaysia meeting, APEC also will include three new members: Russia _ one of the latest victims of the financial crisis _ Vietnam and Peru."
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The Wye River Accord provided for an airport at Gaza, giving Palestinians their own airport with Israel in charge of security. Gaza International Airport opened on Nov. 24, 1998 with arrival of an Egypt Air flight, but the highlight was landing of the first Palestinian Airlines plane, greeted joyously by a celebrating crowd. Yasser Arafat was on hand to greet these and later flights. The airport was expected to provide stimulus to the Palestinian economy as well as facilitating Palestinians' travel abroad. Despite frequent "differences" between Palestinian and Israeli airport officials, the airport was still functioning at the end of the year. On Tuesday, Palestinians celebrated the inauguration of the new Gaza International Airport as part of the latest Mideast peace accord. It will be the first unfettered access route Palestinians have ever had out of the Gaza Strip. An Egypt Air plane was the first to land, followed by an emotional touchdown of the first Palestinian plane. Palestinian leader Arafat greeted the crew and seven other planes. Saturday, a Palestinian flight inaugurated an air route between Gaza and Jordan. However, tensions developed when Israeli security officials delayed two planes from taking off when Palestinian workers refused to let them check a passenger's identity. Gaza International Airport, the first Palestinian gateway to the world, opened on November 24 to celebrations, with Arafat greeting arrivals. The recent Wye Accords, signed between Israel and Palestine in the US, made the long-planned event possible. The Palestinian airlines began commercial flights on December 5 and looked forward to adding a fourth aircraft. While the Palestinians are running the airport, Israel approves all flights and monitors security. This cooperation could only lead to problems and by late December Israel was delaying flights and threatening to close the airport as violence continues elsewhere and the Accords appear to be doomed. Israeli security officials delayed the take-off of two planes from Gaza International Airport, further straining the Mid-East peace process. Considered a milestone toward Palestinian autonomy, thousands cheered Gaza's opening in November. Though some equipment was still not installed, Palestinian planes as well as planes from Egypt and other nations landed on opening day and were met by Arafat. The airport's opening and the stipulation that Israel would control the airspace and monitor passengers were included in the U.S. brokered Wye River accord. Since Wye, however, Israel and the Palestinians have accused each other of failing to honor its provisions.
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"Taking a major step toward statehood, the Palestinians on Tuesday inaugurated Gaza International Airport, their first gateway to the world, with cheers, tears and an outpouring of patriotism. An Egypt Air plane was the first to land on the desert tarmac in the southern Gaza Strip at 8:30 a.m. (0630 gmt). But the emotional highlight was the touchdown of the first Palestinian Airlines plane, a Fokker 50. After landing, the pilot and co-pilot raised Palestinian flags high above their heads as they descended the stairway. A chant of ``Allahu Akbar,'' or God is Great, rose from of a crowd of thousands of Palestinians who had pushed their way onto the airfield to join the celebrations. ``You are a beautiful sight,'' Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat later told the Palestinian crew in the VIP lounge lavishly decorated with deep red Oriental carpets and wall mosaics. Throughout the morning, Arafat walked from the lounge to the tarmac seven times to greet planes from Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Spain, the European Union and two Palestinian Airlines flights. ``This is a preparation for the declaration of the Palestinian state,'' Arafat said, smiling broadly and flashing a V sign. However, Israel continues to control the airspace and has the authority to shut down the airfield at any time. It will monitor arriving passengers and cargo, and can keep travelers or goods out if it considers them a danger to Israeli security. Disputes between Israel and the Palestinian Authority over security had delayed the airport opening for more than two years. In a sign of cooperation, Israeli and Palestinian security agents approached the Egypt Air jet together Tuesday and collected the passports of the passengers, including Egyptian Cabinet ministers and comedian Adel Imam, in white bags. Throughout the morning, there were spontaneous celebrations. As a police marching band played bagpipes, airport workers, policemen and Cabinet ministers held each other by their hands and danced in a circle. Some kissed and embraced their neighbors, others wiped away tears and several officers waved their rifles in the air. In one corner of the airfield, about 300 people gathered around a man and a boy riding mules that moved to the beat of drums. The dlrs 75 million airport will provide a boost to the troubled Palestinian economy, permitting the export of Palestinian flowers and farm produce that until now were shipped out via Israel, often with difficulties and delays. The airfield will also make it easier for Palestinians to travel abroad, although a majority of Gazans are probably too poor to be able to afford an air ticket. Until now, Palestinians wanting to fly abroad needed permission to enter Israel and fly out of Ben Gurion International airport near Tel Aviv. The other option was to travel by land to Jordan and catch flights there. Palestinians living in the West Bank still need a permit to cross Israel into Gaza to get to the airport. Travel is expected to become easier once a land route between the West Bank and Gaza opens next month. Israel's government does not permit Israelis to use the Palestinian airport, citing security reasons. However, Israeli Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon said Tuesday that this might change in the future. The opening of the airport was negotiated during last month's U.S.-sponsored Mideast summit near Washington. As part of the accord, Israel also withdrew troops in the northern West Bank last week and released 250 Palestinian prisoners. A Palestinian industrial park between Gaza and Israel is to open next month, while Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on a Palestinian seaport in Gaza are continuing. Gaza International, with the call letters LVGZ, was designed in an Oriental style with graceful arches and elaborate tiles imported from Morocco. The airport has one passenger terminal, a VIP lounge and a three-kilometer (two-mile)-long runway. A 1-meter (4-foot)-tall poster of Arafat hangs from the control tower wall. Palestine Airlines, with a small fleet that includes one Boeing 727, will begin direct flights to Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia next week. In the first weeks, airport operations will have to rely on some improvisation. Major pieces of equipment, including the controls for the control tower, are still held up at the Israeli port of Ashdod. Tuesday's planes were guided to a safe landing by a portable control panel installed in a van. Despite its temporary shortcomings, many Palestinians consider the airport a big step toward independence. For those living in the small, overcrowded Gaza Strip, which is ringed by the Mediterranean on one side and by barbed wire on the other three, it may help ease the feeling of being trapped. ``Now we will be able to travel without the Israeli procedures that we usually must go through,'' said Khaled Salmeh, who studies economics at Gaza City University and plans to fly next month to Saudi Arabia, for a pilgrimage to Mecca.",
"The first Palestinian commercial flight landed at Amman's Marka Airport on Saturday, inaugurating an air route between Jordan and the autonomous Gaza Strip. The Falcon F-50 short-haul plane carried 48 passengers, mostly Palestinian businessmen and students. The plane will return later in the day. Last weekend, the Palestinians inaugurated an airport in the Mediterranean city of Gaza under the U.S.-brokered Wye River accord which envisages Israel ceding more lands to the Palestinians in return for security guarantees. Jasser Ziyyad, director-general of the Jordanian Civil Aviation Authority, said Jordan agreed with the Palestinians earlier in the week on four weekly flights between them _ two by the Palestinian airline and two for Jordan. Meanwhile, Jordanian newspapers quoted unnamed Palestinian aviation officials as saying one more passenger plane will be added to the Palestinian fleet of three short-haul aircraft. It said the addition was necessary to transport an estimated 3,600 Palestinian Muslims who wish to travel to Saudi Arabia in early March to perform the annual pilgrimage to holy shrines in that country.",
"Israeli security officials delayed two planes from taking off from the Palestinian airport on Wednesday, marking the latest tensions in a rare area of Israeli-Palestinian cooperation.",
"Amid a flurry of last minute preparations, the fledgling Palestinian Authority prepared Thursday for a milestone on the road to maturity: its own airport. As part of the latest Mideast peace accord, Israeli and Palestinian officials were to sign a protocol for the airport Friday and Palestinian negotiators said Gaza International Airport would open Sunday. The airport has been nearly completed for months. On Thursday, officials added a few extra touches of yellow paint and fresh flowers. It was not clear who would be the first arrivals at the airport. Officials said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat may travel by car to Egypt in order to fly into the airport. Others hinted the first international flight may be reserved for U.S. President Bill Clinton who is scheduled to visit Gaza in December. Egypt's Middle East News Agency said the first plane to land would be carrying Egypt's health minister and several doctors bearing medical supplies as gifts. Israel, which will oversee security at the airport, has forbidden its own citizens from using the airport initially, Israel's Channel 2 TV said. All flights, which must be approved by Israel in advance, would not be allowed to fly over Israeli airspace. After touring the airport Thursday, a U.S. official said more work was needed to be done before the airport was ready for Clinton. ``It may be a landing site for President Clinton, but we're not confirming,'' said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity. ``When you fly Air Force One, you're flying several planes and a lot of equipment,'' he said. The airport will be the first unfettered access route Palestinians will have out of the Gaza Strip.",
"Amid a flurry of last minute preparations, the young Palestinian Authority prepared Thursday for a milestone on the road to maturity: its very own airport. As part of the latest Mideast peace accord, Israeli and Palestinian officials were to sign a protocol for the airport Friday and Palestinian negotiators said Gaza International Airport would open Sunday. The airport has been nearly completed for months but Thursday officials there added a few extra touches of yellow paint and fresh flowers. It was not clear who would be the first arrivals at the airport. Officials said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat may travel by car to Egypt in order to fly into the airport. Others hinted the first international flight may be reserved for U.S. President Bill Clinton who is scheduled to visit Gaza in December. Egypt's Middle East News Agency said the first plane to land would be carrying Egypt's health minister and several doctors bearing medical supplies as gifts. Israel, which will oversee security at the airport, has forbidden its own citizens from using the airport initially, Israel's Channel 2 TV said. And all flights, which must be approved by Israel in advance, would not be allowed to fly over their airspace. After touring the airport Thursday, a U.S. official said more work needed to be done before the airport was ready for Clinton. ``It may be a landing site for President Clinton, but we're not confirming,'' said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity. ``When you fly Air Force One, you're flying several planes and a lot of equipment,'' he said. The airport will be the first unfettered access route Palestinians will have out of the Gaza Strip.",
"Israel has threatened to close down the Palestinian-run Gaza airport over a security violation, an Israeli official said Tuesday, a move that could further undermine the already fragile peace process. Palestinian airport workers refused to allow Israeli security officials to check the identity of passengers who arrived on an Egyptian plane Sunday afternoon, most of whom worked for the Palestinian Authority, according to Civilian Airport Authority Director Nir Yarkoni. ``The Transportation Minister asked me to tell the Palestinians that if this continues, we won't allow the airport operate,'' he told The Associated Press. Yarkoni said he conveyed the message in a letter Monday to chairman of the Palestinian Civil Aviation Authority Brig. Gen. Fayez Zeidan. Zeidan was not immediately available for comment. Israel retains security control over flights arriving to Gaza International Airport. The airport's opening last month, stipulated by the accords brokered by U.S. President Bill Clinton at Wye River, Maryland in October, was hailed by Palestinians as a milestone toward independence and statehood. Since then, Israel has accused the Palestinians of failing to contain anti-Israel violence, and has frozen the accords. The Palestinians, in turn, accuse Israel of reneging on an agreement to release Palestinians jailed for anti-Israel activities.",
"Israel has threatened to close down the Palestinian-run Gaza airport over a security violation, an Israeli official said Tuesday, a move that could further undermine the already fragile peace process. Palestinian airport workers refused to allow Israeli security officials to check the identity of passengers who arrived on an Egyptian plane Sunday afternoon, most of whom worked for the Palestinian Authority, according to Civilian Airport Authority Director Nir Yarkoni. ``The Transportation Minister asked me to tell the Palestinians that if this continues, we won't allow the airport operate,'' he told The Associated Press. Yarkoni said he conveyed the message in a letter sent Monday to chairman of the Palestinian Civil Aviation Authority Brig. Gen. Fayez Zeidan. Zeidan was not immediately available for comment. Israel retains security control over flights arriving to Gaza International Airport. The airport's opening last month, stipulated by the accords brokered by U.S. President Bill Clinton at Wye River, Maryland in October, was hailed by Palestinians as a milestone toward independence and statehood. Since then, Israel has accused the Palestinians of failing to contain anti-Israel violence, and has frozen the accords. The Palestinians, in turn, accuse Israel of reneging on an agreement to release Palestinians jailed for anti-Israel activities.",
"The control tower is still without controls, the check-in counter has no computers and the runway can't function after dark for lack of flood lights. Despite such temporary shortcomings, Gaza International Airport is set to open Tuesday, aided by a little improvisation and a lot of patriotic pride. ``It's a glorious feeling of independence, a feeling that we are open to the world,'' said Fawzi Tabil, a Palestinian watching while workers painted white lines Monday on the tarmac in the southern Gaza Strip, close to the Egyptian border. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat planned to be on hand Tuesday morning when a plane from Cairo carrying Egyptian officials becomes the first arrival. At half-hour intervals, six more planes are to come in from places such as Morocco and Spain. The European Union, which donated dlrs 38 million for equipment and training, is sending its Mideast envoy on a special plane. The airport opening had been held up for two years because of disputes between Israel and the Palestinian Authority over Israel's role in monitoring passengers and cargo. In the end, Israel will have a say over who and what is coming into the Gaza, but the Israeli monitors will operate discretely, behind one-way mirrors, as they do now at the Rafah and Allenby Bridge crossings into autonomous Palestinian areas. The airport protocol was signed last week, as part of the Wye River land-for-security deal between Israel and the Palestinians. Tomer Degani, a spokesman for the Israeli military government in Gaza, said periodic security closures, which bar Palestinians from entering Israel, would not effect the operation of the airport. He said Israel was inspecting certain gear such as X-ray machines and electro-magnet equipment for safety but that it wouldn't hold-up the airport from opening. The head of the Palestinian Civil Aviation Authority, Fayez Zeidan, was not available Monday for comment. For the time being, it will still be a bit of an adventure to fly out of Gaza International or to land there. Palestinian officials say the equipment for the control tower, the computers for the check-in counters and the flood lights are still at the Israeli port of Ashdod. Nir Yarkoni, a spokesman for Israel's Civil Aviation Authority, acknowledged delays in some of the equipment reaching Dahanieh but said he did not know the reasons. Degani, from the Israeli military government, said some equipment was being held up by customs. Portable control, 12th graf pvs",
"Israeli security officials delayed two planes from taking off from the Palestinian airport on Wednesday, the latest tensions in a rare area of Israeli-Palestinian cooperation. A plane bound for Amman, Jordan was delayed for two hours over an Israeli demand that Palestinian officials inspect the luggage of a Palestinian passenger, Israel radio reported. The plane left with the passenger aboard, but without his luggage. Israeli officials also delayed a plane making a stopover from Saudi Arabia to Cairo, it said. Israeli airport security officials were not available for comment. Abdel Razek Yehia, a Palestinian official who helped negotiate the airport's opening, confirmed the delays. He said such differences did not undermine the peace process. ``Every day we have differences,'' he told The Associated Press. ``We are all doing all our best to continue the peace process.'' The airport's opening last month, stipulated by the accords brokered by U.S. President Bill Clinton at Wye River, Maryland in October, was hailed by Palestinians as a milestone toward independence and statehood. Israel retains security control over flights arriving at Gaza International Airport, and Palestinian security officials consult with their Israeli counterparts. Earlier this week, Israel threatened to close down the Gaza airport when Palestinian airport workers refused to allow Israeli security officials to check the identity of passengers who arrived on an Egyptian plane, most of whom worked for the Palestinian Authority. Palestinian officials said that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and his entourage were aboard the plane in question, and that exempted the plane from Israeli security checks. Since Wye, Israel has accused the Palestinians of failing to contain anti-Israel violence, and has frozen the accords. The Palestinians, in turn, accuse Israel of reneging on an agreement to release Palestinians jailed for anti-Israel activities.",
"Taking a major step toward statehood, the Palestinians on Tuesday inaugurated Gaza International Airport, their first gateway to the world, with cheers, tears and an outpouring of patriotism. An Egypt Air plane was the first to land on the desert tarmac in the southern Gaza Strip at 8:30 a.m. (0630 gmt). But the emotional highlight was the touchdown of the first Palestinian Airlines plane, a Fokker 50. After landing, the pilot and co-pilot raised Palestinian flags high above their heads as they descended the stairway. A chant of ``Allahu Akbar,'' or God is Great, rose from of a crowd of thousands of Palestinians who had pushed their way onto the airfield to join the celebrations. ``You are a beautiful sight,'' Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat later told the Palestinian crew in the VIP lounge lavishly decorated with deep red Oriental carpets and wall mosaics. Throughout the morning, Arafat walked from the lounge to the tarmac seven times to greet planes from Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Spain, the European Union and two Palestinian Airlines flights. ``This is a preparation for the declaration of the Palestinian state,'' Arafat said, smiling broadly and flashing a V sign. However, Israel continues to control the airspace and has the authority to shut down the airfield at any time. It will monitor arriving passengers and cargo, and can keep travelers or goods out if it considers them a danger to Israeli security. Disputes between Israel and the Palestinian Authority over security had delayed the airport opening for more than two years. In a sign of cooperation, Israeli and Palestinian security agents approached the Egypt Air jet together Tuesday and collected the passports of the passengers, including Egyptian Cabinet ministers and comedian Adel Imam, in white bags. Throughout the morning, there were spontaneous celebrations. As a police marching band played bagpipes, airport workers, policemen and Cabinet ministers held each other by their hands and danced in a circle. Some kissed and embraced their neighbors, others wiped away tears and several officers waved their rifles in the air. In one corner of the airfield, about 300 people gathered around a man and a boy riding mules that moved to the beat of drums. The dlrs 75 million airport will provide a boost to the troubled Palestinian economy, permitting the export of Palestinian flowers and farm produce that until now were shipped out via Israel, often with difficulties and delays. The airfield will also make it easier for Palestinians to travel abroad, although a majority of Gazans are probably too poor to be able to afford an air ticket. Until now, Palestinians wanting to fly abroad needed permission to enter Israel and fly out of Ben Gurion International airport near Tel Aviv. The other option was to travel by land to Jordan and catch flights there. Palestinians living in the West Bank still need a permit to cross Israel into Gaza to get to the airport. Travel is expected to become easier once a land route between the West Bank and Gaza opens next month. Israel's government does not permit Israelis to use the Palestinian airport, citing security reasons. However, Israeli Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon said Tuesday that this might change in the future. The opening of the airport was negotiated during last month's U.S.-sponsored Mideast summit near Washington. As part of the accord, Israel also withdrew troops in the northern West Bank last week and released 250 Palestinian prisoners. A Palestinian industrial park between Gaza and Israel is to open next month, while Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on a Palestinian seaport in Gaza are continuing. Gaza International, with the call letters LVGZ, was designed in an Oriental style with graceful arches and elaborate tiles imported from Morocco. The airport has one passenger terminal, a VIP lounge and a three-kilometer (two-mile)-long runway. A 1-meter (4-foot)-tall poster of Arafat hangs from the control tower wall. Palestine Airlines, with a small fleet that includes one Boeing 727, will begin direct flights to Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia next week. In the first weeks, airport operations will have to rely on some improvisation. Major pieces of equipment, including the controls for the control tower, are still held up at the Israeli port of Ashdod. Tuesday's planes were guided to a safe landing by a portable control panel installed in a van. Despite its temporary shortcomings, many Palestinians consider the airport a big step toward independence. For those living in the small, overcrowded Gaza Strip, which is ringed by the Mediterranean on one side and by barbed wire on the other three, it may help ease the feeling of being trapped. ``Now we will be able to travel without the Israeli procedures that we usually must go through,'' said Khaled Salmeh, who studies economics at Gaza City University and plans to fly next month to Saudi Arabia, for a pilgrimage to Mecca."
] |
[
"Taking a major step toward statehood, the Palestinians on Tuesday inaugurated Gaza International Airport, their first gateway to the world, with cheers, tears and an outpouring of patriotism. An Egypt Air plane was the first to land on the desert tarmac in the southern Gaza Strip at 8:30 a.m. (0630 gmt). But the emotional highlight was the touchdown of the first Palestinian Airlines plane, a Fokker 50. After landing, the pilot and co-pilot raised Palestinian flags high above their heads as they descended the stairway. A chant of ``Allahu Akbar,'' or God is Great, rose from of a crowd of thousands of Palestinians who had pushed their way onto the airfield to join the celebrations. ``You are a beautiful sight,'' Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat later told the Palestinian crew in the VIP lounge lavishly decorated with deep red Oriental carpets and wall mosaics. Throughout the morning, Arafat walked from the lounge to the tarmac seven times to greet planes from Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Spain, the European Union and two Palestinian Airlines flights. ``This is a preparation for the declaration of the Palestinian state,'' Arafat said, smiling broadly and flashing a V sign. However, Israel continues to control the airspace and has the authority to shut down the airfield at any time. It will monitor arriving passengers and cargo, and can keep travelers or goods out if it considers them a danger to Israeli security. Disputes between Israel and the Palestinian Authority over security had delayed the airport opening for more than two years. In a sign of cooperation, Israeli and Palestinian security agents approached the Egypt Air jet together Tuesday and collected the passports of the passengers, including Egyptian Cabinet ministers and comedian Adel Imam, in white bags. Throughout the morning, there were spontaneous celebrations. As a police marching band played bagpipes, airport workers, policemen and Cabinet ministers held each other by their hands and danced in a circle. Some kissed and embraced their neighbors, others wiped away tears and several officers waved their rifles in the air. In one corner of the airfield, about 300 people gathered around a man and a boy riding mules that moved to the beat of drums. The dlrs 75 million airport will provide a boost to the troubled Palestinian economy, permitting the export of Palestinian flowers and farm produce that until now were shipped out via Israel, often with difficulties and delays. The airfield will also make it easier for Palestinians to travel abroad, although a majority of Gazans are probably too poor to be able to afford an air ticket. Until now, Palestinians wanting to fly abroad needed permission to enter Israel and fly out of Ben Gurion International airport near Tel Aviv. The other option was to travel by land to Jordan and catch flights there. Palestinians living in the West Bank still need a permit to cross Israel into Gaza to get to the airport. Travel is expected to become easier once a land route between the West Bank and Gaza opens next month. Israel's government does not permit Israelis to use the Palestinian airport, citing security reasons. However, Israeli Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon said Tuesday that this might change in the future. The opening of the airport was negotiated during last month's U.S.-sponsored Mideast summit near Washington. As part of the accord, Israel also withdrew troops in the northern West Bank last week and released 250 Palestinian prisoners. A Palestinian industrial park between Gaza and Israel is to open next month, while Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on a Palestinian seaport in Gaza are continuing. Gaza International, with the call letters LVGZ, was designed in an Oriental style with graceful arches and elaborate tiles imported from Morocco. The airport has one passenger terminal, a VIP lounge and a three-kilometer (two-mile)-long runway. A 1-meter (4-foot)-tall poster of Arafat hangs from the control tower wall. Palestine Airlines, with a small fleet that includes one Boeing 727, will begin direct flights to Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia next week. In the first weeks, airport operations will have to rely on some improvisation. Major pieces of equipment, including the controls for the control tower, are still held up at the Israeli port of Ashdod. Tuesday's planes were guided to a safe landing by a portable control panel installed in a van. Despite its temporary shortcomings, many Palestinians consider the airport a big step toward independence. For those living in the small, overcrowded Gaza Strip, which is ringed by the Mediterranean on one side and by barbed wire on the other three, it may help ease the feeling of being trapped. ``Now we will be able to travel without the Israeli procedures that we usually must go through,'' said Khaled Salmeh, who studies economics at Gaza City University and plans to fly next month to Saudi Arabia, for a pilgrimage to Mecca.",
"The first Palestinian commercial flight landed at Amman's Marka Airport on Saturday, inaugurating an air route between Jordan and the autonomous Gaza Strip. The Falcon F-50 short-haul plane carried 48 passengers, mostly Palestinian businessmen and students. The plane will return later in the day. Last weekend, the Palestinians inaugurated an airport in the Mediterranean city of Gaza under the U.S.-brokered Wye River accord which envisages Israel ceding more lands to the Palestinians in return for security guarantees. Jasser Ziyyad, director-general of the Jordanian Civil Aviation Authority, said Jordan agreed with the Palestinians earlier in the week on four weekly flights between them _ two by the Palestinian airline and two for Jordan. Meanwhile, Jordanian newspapers quoted unnamed Palestinian aviation officials as saying one more passenger plane will be added to the Palestinian fleet of three short-haul aircraft. It said the addition was necessary to transport an estimated 3,600 Palestinian Muslims who wish to travel to Saudi Arabia in early March to perform the annual pilgrimage to holy shrines in that country.",
"Israeli security officials delayed two planes from taking off from the Palestinian airport on Wednesday, marking the latest tensions in a rare area of Israeli-Palestinian cooperation.",
"Amid a flurry of last minute preparations, the fledgling Palestinian Authority prepared Thursday for a milestone on the road to maturity: its own airport. As part of the latest Mideast peace accord, Israeli and Palestinian officials were to sign a protocol for the airport Friday and Palestinian negotiators said Gaza International Airport would open Sunday. The airport has been nearly completed for months. On Thursday, officials added a few extra touches of yellow paint and fresh flowers. It was not clear who would be the first arrivals at the airport. Officials said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat may travel by car to Egypt in order to fly into the airport. Others hinted the first international flight may be reserved for U.S. President Bill Clinton who is scheduled to visit Gaza in December. Egypt's Middle East News Agency said the first plane to land would be carrying Egypt's health minister and several doctors bearing medical supplies as gifts. Israel, which will oversee security at the airport, has forbidden its own citizens from using the airport initially, Israel's Channel 2 TV said. All flights, which must be approved by Israel in advance, would not be allowed to fly over Israeli airspace. After touring the airport Thursday, a U.S. official said more work was needed to be done before the airport was ready for Clinton. ``It may be a landing site for President Clinton, but we're not confirming,'' said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity. ``When you fly Air Force One, you're flying several planes and a lot of equipment,'' he said. The airport will be the first unfettered access route Palestinians will have out of the Gaza Strip.",
"Amid a flurry of last minute preparations, the young Palestinian Authority prepared Thursday for a milestone on the road to maturity: its very own airport. As part of the latest Mideast peace accord, Israeli and Palestinian officials were to sign a protocol for the airport Friday and Palestinian negotiators said Gaza International Airport would open Sunday. The airport has been nearly completed for months but Thursday officials there added a few extra touches of yellow paint and fresh flowers. It was not clear who would be the first arrivals at the airport. Officials said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat may travel by car to Egypt in order to fly into the airport. Others hinted the first international flight may be reserved for U.S. President Bill Clinton who is scheduled to visit Gaza in December. Egypt's Middle East News Agency said the first plane to land would be carrying Egypt's health minister and several doctors bearing medical supplies as gifts. Israel, which will oversee security at the airport, has forbidden its own citizens from using the airport initially, Israel's Channel 2 TV said. And all flights, which must be approved by Israel in advance, would not be allowed to fly over their airspace. After touring the airport Thursday, a U.S. official said more work needed to be done before the airport was ready for Clinton. ``It may be a landing site for President Clinton, but we're not confirming,'' said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity. ``When you fly Air Force One, you're flying several planes and a lot of equipment,'' he said. The airport will be the first unfettered access route Palestinians will have out of the Gaza Strip.",
"Israel has threatened to close down the Palestinian-run Gaza airport over a security violation, an Israeli official said Tuesday, a move that could further undermine the already fragile peace process. Palestinian airport workers refused to allow Israeli security officials to check the identity of passengers who arrived on an Egyptian plane Sunday afternoon, most of whom worked for the Palestinian Authority, according to Civilian Airport Authority Director Nir Yarkoni. ``The Transportation Minister asked me to tell the Palestinians that if this continues, we won't allow the airport operate,'' he told The Associated Press. Yarkoni said he conveyed the message in a letter Monday to chairman of the Palestinian Civil Aviation Authority Brig. Gen. Fayez Zeidan. Zeidan was not immediately available for comment. Israel retains security control over flights arriving to Gaza International Airport. The airport's opening last month, stipulated by the accords brokered by U.S. President Bill Clinton at Wye River, Maryland in October, was hailed by Palestinians as a milestone toward independence and statehood. Since then, Israel has accused the Palestinians of failing to contain anti-Israel violence, and has frozen the accords. The Palestinians, in turn, accuse Israel of reneging on an agreement to release Palestinians jailed for anti-Israel activities.",
"Israel has threatened to close down the Palestinian-run Gaza airport over a security violation, an Israeli official said Tuesday, a move that could further undermine the already fragile peace process. Palestinian airport workers refused to allow Israeli security officials to check the identity of passengers who arrived on an Egyptian plane Sunday afternoon, most of whom worked for the Palestinian Authority, according to Civilian Airport Authority Director Nir Yarkoni. ``The Transportation Minister asked me to tell the Palestinians that if this continues, we won't allow the airport operate,'' he told The Associated Press. Yarkoni said he conveyed the message in a letter sent Monday to chairman of the Palestinian Civil Aviation Authority Brig. Gen. Fayez Zeidan. Zeidan was not immediately available for comment. Israel retains security control over flights arriving to Gaza International Airport. The airport's opening last month, stipulated by the accords brokered by U.S. President Bill Clinton at Wye River, Maryland in October, was hailed by Palestinians as a milestone toward independence and statehood. Since then, Israel has accused the Palestinians of failing to contain anti-Israel violence, and has frozen the accords. The Palestinians, in turn, accuse Israel of reneging on an agreement to release Palestinians jailed for anti-Israel activities.",
"The control tower is still without controls, the check-in counter has no computers and the runway can't function after dark for lack of flood lights. Despite such temporary shortcomings, Gaza International Airport is set to open Tuesday, aided by a little improvisation and a lot of patriotic pride. ``It's a glorious feeling of independence, a feeling that we are open to the world,'' said Fawzi Tabil, a Palestinian watching while workers painted white lines Monday on the tarmac in the southern Gaza Strip, close to the Egyptian border. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat planned to be on hand Tuesday morning when a plane from Cairo carrying Egyptian officials becomes the first arrival. At half-hour intervals, six more planes are to come in from places such as Morocco and Spain. The European Union, which donated dlrs 38 million for equipment and training, is sending its Mideast envoy on a special plane. The airport opening had been held up for two years because of disputes between Israel and the Palestinian Authority over Israel's role in monitoring passengers and cargo. In the end, Israel will have a say over who and what is coming into the Gaza, but the Israeli monitors will operate discretely, behind one-way mirrors, as they do now at the Rafah and Allenby Bridge crossings into autonomous Palestinian areas. The airport protocol was signed last week, as part of the Wye River land-for-security deal between Israel and the Palestinians. Tomer Degani, a spokesman for the Israeli military government in Gaza, said periodic security closures, which bar Palestinians from entering Israel, would not effect the operation of the airport. He said Israel was inspecting certain gear such as X-ray machines and electro-magnet equipment for safety but that it wouldn't hold-up the airport from opening. The head of the Palestinian Civil Aviation Authority, Fayez Zeidan, was not available Monday for comment. For the time being, it will still be a bit of an adventure to fly out of Gaza International or to land there. Palestinian officials say the equipment for the control tower, the computers for the check-in counters and the flood lights are still at the Israeli port of Ashdod. Nir Yarkoni, a spokesman for Israel's Civil Aviation Authority, acknowledged delays in some of the equipment reaching Dahanieh but said he did not know the reasons. Degani, from the Israeli military government, said some equipment was being held up by customs. Portable control, 12th graf pvs",
"Israeli security officials delayed two planes from taking off from the Palestinian airport on Wednesday, the latest tensions in a rare area of Israeli-Palestinian cooperation. A plane bound for Amman, Jordan was delayed for two hours over an Israeli demand that Palestinian officials inspect the luggage of a Palestinian passenger, Israel radio reported. The plane left with the passenger aboard, but without his luggage. Israeli officials also delayed a plane making a stopover from Saudi Arabia to Cairo, it said. Israeli airport security officials were not available for comment. Abdel Razek Yehia, a Palestinian official who helped negotiate the airport's opening, confirmed the delays. He said such differences did not undermine the peace process. ``Every day we have differences,'' he told The Associated Press. ``We are all doing all our best to continue the peace process.'' The airport's opening last month, stipulated by the accords brokered by U.S. President Bill Clinton at Wye River, Maryland in October, was hailed by Palestinians as a milestone toward independence and statehood. Israel retains security control over flights arriving at Gaza International Airport, and Palestinian security officials consult with their Israeli counterparts. Earlier this week, Israel threatened to close down the Gaza airport when Palestinian airport workers refused to allow Israeli security officials to check the identity of passengers who arrived on an Egyptian plane, most of whom worked for the Palestinian Authority. Palestinian officials said that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and his entourage were aboard the plane in question, and that exempted the plane from Israeli security checks. Since Wye, Israel has accused the Palestinians of failing to contain anti-Israel violence, and has frozen the accords. The Palestinians, in turn, accuse Israel of reneging on an agreement to release Palestinians jailed for anti-Israel activities.",
"Taking a major step toward statehood, the Palestinians on Tuesday inaugurated Gaza International Airport, their first gateway to the world, with cheers, tears and an outpouring of patriotism. An Egypt Air plane was the first to land on the desert tarmac in the southern Gaza Strip at 8:30 a.m. (0630 gmt). But the emotional highlight was the touchdown of the first Palestinian Airlines plane, a Fokker 50. After landing, the pilot and co-pilot raised Palestinian flags high above their heads as they descended the stairway. A chant of ``Allahu Akbar,'' or God is Great, rose from of a crowd of thousands of Palestinians who had pushed their way onto the airfield to join the celebrations. ``You are a beautiful sight,'' Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat later told the Palestinian crew in the VIP lounge lavishly decorated with deep red Oriental carpets and wall mosaics. Throughout the morning, Arafat walked from the lounge to the tarmac seven times to greet planes from Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Spain, the European Union and two Palestinian Airlines flights. ``This is a preparation for the declaration of the Palestinian state,'' Arafat said, smiling broadly and flashing a V sign. However, Israel continues to control the airspace and has the authority to shut down the airfield at any time. It will monitor arriving passengers and cargo, and can keep travelers or goods out if it considers them a danger to Israeli security. Disputes between Israel and the Palestinian Authority over security had delayed the airport opening for more than two years. In a sign of cooperation, Israeli and Palestinian security agents approached the Egypt Air jet together Tuesday and collected the passports of the passengers, including Egyptian Cabinet ministers and comedian Adel Imam, in white bags. Throughout the morning, there were spontaneous celebrations. As a police marching band played bagpipes, airport workers, policemen and Cabinet ministers held each other by their hands and danced in a circle. Some kissed and embraced their neighbors, others wiped away tears and several officers waved their rifles in the air. In one corner of the airfield, about 300 people gathered around a man and a boy riding mules that moved to the beat of drums. The dlrs 75 million airport will provide a boost to the troubled Palestinian economy, permitting the export of Palestinian flowers and farm produce that until now were shipped out via Israel, often with difficulties and delays. The airfield will also make it easier for Palestinians to travel abroad, although a majority of Gazans are probably too poor to be able to afford an air ticket. Until now, Palestinians wanting to fly abroad needed permission to enter Israel and fly out of Ben Gurion International airport near Tel Aviv. The other option was to travel by land to Jordan and catch flights there. Palestinians living in the West Bank still need a permit to cross Israel into Gaza to get to the airport. Travel is expected to become easier once a land route between the West Bank and Gaza opens next month. Israel's government does not permit Israelis to use the Palestinian airport, citing security reasons. However, Israeli Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon said Tuesday that this might change in the future. The opening of the airport was negotiated during last month's U.S.-sponsored Mideast summit near Washington. As part of the accord, Israel also withdrew troops in the northern West Bank last week and released 250 Palestinian prisoners. A Palestinian industrial park between Gaza and Israel is to open next month, while Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on a Palestinian seaport in Gaza are continuing. Gaza International, with the call letters LVGZ, was designed in an Oriental style with graceful arches and elaborate tiles imported from Morocco. The airport has one passenger terminal, a VIP lounge and a three-kilometer (two-mile)-long runway. A 1-meter (4-foot)-tall poster of Arafat hangs from the control tower wall. Palestine Airlines, with a small fleet that includes one Boeing 727, will begin direct flights to Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia next week. In the first weeks, airport operations will have to rely on some improvisation. Major pieces of equipment, including the controls for the control tower, are still held up at the Israeli port of Ashdod. Tuesday's planes were guided to a safe landing by a portable control panel installed in a van. Despite its temporary shortcomings, many Palestinians consider the airport a big step toward independence. For those living in the small, overcrowded Gaza Strip, which is ringed by the Mediterranean on one side and by barbed wire on the other three, it may help ease the feeling of being trapped. ``Now we will be able to travel without the Israeli procedures that we usually must go through,'' said Khaled Salmeh, who studies economics at Gaza City University and plans to fly next month to Saudi Arabia, for a pilgrimage to Mecca."
] |
40
|
duc04-test-13
|
Despite concern that corruption, incompetence and financial failure would delay or prevent Thailand's ability to host the Asian Games, Bangkok was ready for the December 6 deadline. After an extravagant opening ceremony, the games went well despite a brief soccer brawl, a snooker game incident, the banning of Iran's equestrian team horses for not being disease free, and the withdrawal of Saudi Arabia over strained relations with Thailand. Thai police cleared the streets of beggars and criminals, and athletes were disciplined to avoid Bangkok's night life. China's recall of four soccer players from Europe is testimony of the importance of the games. The Asian Games scheduled for Bangkok Dec. 6-20, 1998 were never a sure thing. Thailand was in economic doldrums and there was question whether the sports complex for the games would be completed in time. By late October, however, it was clear the games could take place. Thai police rounded up beggars who might intimidate spectators, but then in late November Saudi Arabia withdrew its teams and there was concern that athletes might be tempted by Bangkok's nightlife and the availability of Viagra. But on Dec. 6 the games opened as scheduled as 6,000 athletes from 41 nations competed, including a heated snooker match between India and Pakistan. Despite economic problems and threats from the Asian Olympic Committee that it would move the games, Thailand was able to meet construction deadlines and open the 13th annual Asian Games to participants from 43 countries. The games have not been without controversy. In a surprise move, Saudi Arabia pulled its athletes from the games, probably in reprisal for a jewel theft and the murder of three of its diplomats. There was speculation that the Saudis would send a ceremonial delegation. National rivalries also were Apparent in a snooker game between India and Pakistan when an argument Arose following a disputed call. Bangkok prepared for the 6000 athletes from 41 nations to compete in the Asian Games. Thai police detained more than 300 beggars to make the city's streets safer, but its notorious night life concerned some team managers. China considered recalling overseas soccer players to bolster chances at the Games. Saudi Arabia abruptly withdrew its 105-man team citing the approach of Ramadan but more likely for past grievances with the Thais. Later, they considered sending a "small team". The Iranian equestrian team's horses failed the vet's exam. The Thai King opened the Games with an elaborate ceremony. Rivals India and Pakistan argued during a snooker match.
|
[
"China's national soccer team could call back four players from overseas to boost its chances at the Asian Games in Thailand in December, an official newspaper reported Monday. Two of the players, Fan Zhiyi and Sun Jihai, play for Crystal Palace in the English First Division. Another, Yang Chen, plays in Germany, while Li Jinyu is with Nantes in France. Englishman Bob Houghton, who coaches the national team, said recalling Fan and Sun for the Asian Games would allow him to ``see if they can bring the things they have learned recently in England to the national team,'' the China Sports Daily said. Houghton also said that Yang, who plays in Frankfurt, ``very possibly could become an extremely important player in the national team,'' the newspaper reported. Li, who has not had many chances to play since his move to France, also ``is very willing to come back,'' the newspaper said. China and South Korea will both field their Asian Games teams at a friendly warm-up match Nov. 22, the newspaper said. The Asian Games are held every four years.",
"Horses belonging to Iran's equestrian team will not be allowed to compete in next month's Asian Games because they failed to meet the requirements of the games' veterinary commission, the Thai organizers announced Thursday. The three horses originally came from Iran, but arrived in Thailand after a training period in the United States. They did not have the necessary health certificates guaranteeing that they are disease-free, said Siraya Chunekamrai, president of the Veterinary Commission for the games. This is the first Asian Games in which competitors have been allowed to bring their own horses from abroad. According to regulations, all participating horses had to be screened for a number of diseases before arriving in Thailand. Siraya said she felt sorry for the Iranian team because the problem resulted from ignorance of the rules. Iran is the only country that did not pass the requirements. ``They are the most beautiful horses of all,'' she said. ``I am so sorry for the team but cannot allow them to compete because it is against the rules and it might affect other horses' good health.'' There is only one Thai horse available on standby for the Iranians, as Thailand was not prepared for such a problem, Siraya said. ``If the Iranian team can borrow a couple of more horses from other participating countries, they still can compete,'' she said. There are 106 horses and 12 countries participating in the equestrian events. Most of the horses actually come from Europe and the United States. Thailand has provided a climate-controlled stable and field cleared of contaminants to help the horses become acclimatized to the tropical heat before the competition begins Dec. 8. Many of the horses are suffering stress from the journey here, but those from Asian countries are adjusting faster than those from cold countries, Siraya said.",
"In rites building from low flares symbolizing dawn to a fiery cauldron lighting, Thailand's king opened the Asian Games Sunday night, giving Thais some respite from an economic crisis that once threatened the continent's Olympic-style event. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch, was upstaged slightly by Japan's Naoko Takahashi. In a marathon run in early morning, to avoid the worst of Bangkok's tropical heat, she won the games' first gold medal in a time just one minute off the world record. Her medal ceremony immediately preceded the official opening festivities for two weeks of competition among 6,000 athletes from 41 nations. In all, 377 gold medals are at stake in 36 sports, including Asian specialities such as kabaddi and sepak takraw. But the king not only made the key proclamation and released the royal pigeon, he also anointed a plaque for the Royal Main Stadium and composed some of the music. Songs written by the king, a talented jazz composer, were played by the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra. Thai officials who approached him at the ceremony did so on their knees. Others greeting the king included International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch. A cascade of fireworks in honor of his 71st birthday Saturday and dancers who prostrated themselves on the field welcomed the monarch to his seat in the royal box. Then came the athletes, starting with Cambodia and ending with the host Thai team. Saudi Arabia, which withdrew its team at the last minute, was represented by only a flag bearer. The Sri Lankan team was led by six dancers in bright costumes, who delighted the crowd in the 60,000-seat stadium with acrobatic maneuvers. Each team was led by a Thai beauty queen holding its signboard. After the parade, five of the women collapsed, and three were taken out on stretchers. A giant cauldron atop the stadium was lit by touching a torch to a smaller cauldron inside a model of a temple, which then was lifted on an elevator and sent an explosion of sparks into the games' flame receptacle. Outside the stadium before the ceremony, long lines of people waited to take photos of themselves in front of a plastic statue of the games' elephant mascot, ``Chai-yo.'' One, Sakchai Pungsrinon, a 30-year-old piping engineer, who paid 1,000 baht (dlrs 26) for his ceremonies ticket, said, ``Thailand has many problems. Asia also has many problems. For two weeks, maybe we can forget about all these problems.'' Several thousand people without tickets milled around outside, waving small Thai flags and waiting for a glimpse of the king. They also could watch the ceremony on a large television screen. Security measures included bomb-sniffing dogs. For the competing nations _ many sending reduced teams to ease the pinch of the Asian crisis _ the games are a proving ground for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. ``It's not just getting a gold, it's getting a gold with a result that is close or at world standards,'' said Li Furong, deputy head of China's Asian Games delegation. ``The main target is the 2000 Olympics.'' Sunday's focus was more on pageantry, beginning with slightly built Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai leading off a torch relay at 9:09 a.m. (0209 GMT), reflecting popular belief that nine is a lucky number. Bhumibol is the ninth king of the current dynasty. The three-hour ceremonies featured 7,614 performers in lavishly produced acts with the theme ``Friendship Beyond Frontiers.'' Performers in ancient Thai garb paraded across the field, followed by people-drawn chariots. A martial arts display celebrated Asian unity, and hundreds of primary school students dressed in colorful outfits introduced the games' mascot. Parts of the ceremony were built around the Indian Ramayana epic, the basis for much of traditional Thai mythology, literature and performing and fine arts. The field became a swirl of giant snakes, swans, birds, angels, and other mystical creatures. Another performance celebrating the unity of Asia capped the show, with four large swan floats pulled to the middle of the field, each tethered to a giant balloon symbolizing the sun, moon, earth and a giant lotus. Fireworks burst overhead, searchlights played across the stadium and lasers split the darkness before the royal anthem concluded the program. The combined budget for the opening and closing ceremonies was 70 million baht (dlrs 1.94 million), including a large share of donated and at-cost labor _ part of Thailand's remedy for overcoming financial problems that hit the games. In warming up the audience before the ceremonies, a Thai comedian jested: ``If you're Saudi, raise your hand.'' Saudi Arabia withdrew from the games at the last minute, throwing some of the scheduling into disarray. It cited a national holiday and the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, but many Thais saw the move as retaliation for the failure of Thai police to solve a number of serious crimes against Saudi citizens.",
"Thailand showed its nearly complete facilities for the Asian Games to a tough jury Thursday _ the heads of the organizing committees from the 43 nations competing in the December event. Thailand won host rights for the quadrennial games in 1995, but setbacks in preparations led officials of the Olympic Council of Asia late last year to threaten to move the games to another country. They complained that the Thai organizers were behind in constructing facilities and had failed to keep them informed. It appeared that Thursday's tour was successful in reassuring everyone. ``We have a strong of sense of relief,'' said Abdul Muttaleb al-Ahmad, director general of the Kuwait-based Olympic Council of Asia and a frequent critic of Thailand's organizing committee. ``Everything is 99 percent completed.'' In a welcoming speech, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Bhichai Rattakul, also chairman of the Thai organizing committee, told delegation members to cast aside any doubts over whether the Dec. 6-20 games will be a success. ``I can hereby confirm that regardless of what Thailand has faced, we ... have tried to accommodate all requests for the 13th Asian Games,'' said Bhichai. Since the Thai organizers began their preparations, they have faced many difficulties, most of them resulting from the country's financial crisis, he said. But the country was able to pull it through, he added. ``This is an example of Asia's resiliency. We have financial problems in all of Asia but still we are able to prepare commendably,'' said Manuel Veguillas, head of the Philippine delegation. ``I am impressed,'' said Tu Mingde, secretary-general of China's Olympic Committee. ``The games will be a success.'' Still, Bangkok's infamous traffic jams did not go overlooked. ``My only concern now is the road construction leading to the site,'' said Kenji Ono from Japan. Construction workers are trying to ensure that the road leading to the stadium, including a flyover at a key intersection, will be completed on time for the games. The Olympic Council of Asia, meanwhile, is working with the Bangkok Organizing Committee to come up with a contingency plan in case of any possible emergency, said its director general, Muttaleb. ``You cannot really anticipate anything,'' he said, as he toured the main stadium of the Sports Authority of Thailand. ``Any venue can have a problem, such as electrical failure.''",
"Organizers of December's Asian Games have dismissed press reports that a sports complex would not be completed on time, saying preparations are well in hand, a local newspaper said Friday. Santiparb Tejavanija, deputy secretary of the Bangkok Asian Games Organizing Committee, said construction of the sports complex at the Muang Thong Thani housing estate is 95 percent complete and will be finished this month, the Bangkok Post reported. Liquidity problems at Bangkok Land, the company that owns the housing estate, threatened to prevent the company from finishing the complex in time for the Dec. 6-20 games. Deputy Prime Minister Bhichai Rattakul, who chairs the organizing committee, expressed doubt last month that the complex would be completed on time because of the financial problems. Santiparb told the Post the money problems had been overcome by shifting 200 million baht (dlrs 5 million) worth of credit guarantees from a project that had been scrapped to cover the construction cost of the complex. Preparations for the games have been plagued by political interference by previous governments, alleged corruption and incompetence. The decision to award the contract for the sports complex was controversial, with critics calling it an attempt to bail out the property developer's failed housing estate. Doubts over Thailand's ability to stage the games increased over the past year-and-a-half after the country entered its worst economic downturn in decades. The body governing the games threatened several times to award Asia's version of the Olympics to other countries, but Thailand argued that all would be ready by opening day. The Bangkok games are expected to attract more than 10,000 athletes from 43 nations.",
"A snooker game between longtime Asian rivals India and Pakistan led to a flareup of tempers Sunday, showing a depth of differences that shocked Thai organizers and spectators at the Asian Games. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since becoming independent in 1947. A Thai referee's decision that India's Yashin Merchant had committed a foul during a decisive frame sparked a fierce debate with the referee that forced stoppage of play for 15 minutes. Merchant defeated Mohammad Saleh 5-4 after order was restored, but the incident not only violated the sport's strict etiquette, but showed the distrust between the two neighbors that often has spilled over into sports. The referee ruled that Merchant's white cue ball had first touched the black before hitting the target, red. Merchant protested. With the referee refusing to reverse his decision, Merchant sought help from the Indian team. Several Indian team members went to the playing arena, and one of them wrote a quick protest letter using the snooker table as a writing platform. Disgusted spectators viewed it as a breach of snooker etiquette. ``It does not look nice for grownup men wearing neckties to fight,'' said Pakistani team manager Shahnawaz Khan. ``We just watched the whole drama,'' he said. Pakistani team officials did not intervene, instead staying in their allocated seats. ``It was made very clear to everybody that a referee's decision will be final, but now that the Indians have lodged a formal complaint, we have also done so,'' Khan said. The Indian complaint, however, has no meaning now as Merchant has won. Indian officials were not available for comment. Tournament director Surasak Werapong said both complaints were thrown out because neither side paid the required dlrs 50 filing fee. The match was one of the first as snooker made its Asian Games debut in style, with elated officials greeting the opening with muffled clapping, in keeping with the sport's etiquette. A total of 19 countries are vying for 10 gold medals in snooker and billiards. The preliminary elimination rounds began Sunday. ``This is the brightest day for us,'' said Manmohanjit Singh, the Singapore-born president of the International Billiards and Snooker Federation, the sport's world governing body. ``This is indeed a high step and this will greatly help to make the sport more popular in Asia, which is coming up fast,'' said Singh, whose family migrated to Singapore from India several decades ago. With the addition of snooker, the Asian Games now have 36 sports.",
"Saudi Arabia is considering sending a small team to the Bangkok Asian Games from which it pulled out unexpectedly this week, a Saudi official said Saturday. Saudi Arabia's top sports official, Prince Faisal bin Fahd, is studying a proposal by the Olympic Council of Asia to at least send a symbolic delegation to the Dec. 6-20 Games, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The plea to reconsider was made by Sheik Ahmad al-Fahd al Sabah, president of the Olympic Council of Asia. Sheik Ahmad, a member of the Kuwaiti royal family, is a friend of Prince Faisal. Saudi Arabia's sudden announcement Wednesday that it is withdrawing its 105-member team shocked hosts Thailand, who remain skeptical about the official reasons offered. Saudi sports authorities said the Games conflicted with national centenary celebrations and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. But observers point rather to Saudi anger at the failure of Thai authorities to solve two, decade-old criminal cases involving their nationals: the theft of dlrs 20 million worth of jewels from a Saudi prince and the murder of three Saudi diplomats in Bangkok. The cases are widely believed to involve people high up in the power hierarchy, who in Thailand rarely face prosecution. Saudi Arabia has in the past said relations would only be normalized when the two cases were solved. Thai newspapers reported Saturday that attempts to convince Saudi Arabia to participate in the upcoming 13th Asian Games have failed. Thai Olympic Committee Chairman Gen. Chettha Thanajaro told the Bangkok Post he sent a last-minute plea to his Saudi counterpart but has received no response. ``I have done my best. We have to respect their decision,'' he told the Post. The withdrawal has thrown the Games' schedules into disarray.",
"Thai police have detained more than 300 beggars, most from neighboring countries, in a campaign to make Bangkok's streets safer for spectators and athletes arriving for the upcoming Asian Games, a senior police officer said Friday. Arrests were made throughout Bangkok during a four-day crackdown on panhandlers. About 100 of those detained were displayed Friday to local and foreign press at a detention center in Bangkok. ``Most come here because of economic hardship,'' said Maj. Gen. Chanvut Vajrabukka, deputy commissioner for the immigration police. ``There are some beggars, however, who are under control of gangsters. They could cause trouble for tourists and athletes.'' Other groups targeted by police in advance of the Asian Games are foreign criminal gangs believed to operate in Bangkok and other major cities in Thailand. The Asian Games will be held from the Dec. 6-20.",
"For some teams, ``out of bounds'' at the Asian Games means more than just a line on a soccer field or basketball floor. That's because the host city offers the punchy mix of Viagra and notorious night life. The Pakistanis say all their athletes and officials for the games opening Sunday have been told not to even think of the wonder drug and ``night life ideas.'' The Indian team's solution is mandatory meetings for all athletes before bedtime. The Sri Lankan participants, who had to sign a code of conduct before coming to Bangkok, are being watched by an army brigadier with a track record of high discipline. The Chinese have done their homework on staying out of trouble. Thailand, especially the capital Bangkok, is known worldwide for its titillating night life. From taxi drivers to local tourist magazines distributed free at hotels, there are messengers aplenty to advertise massage parlors and escort services. Minutely detailed photo albums seek to arouse sensual fantasies. Estimates of the number of female sex workers in Thailand, a country of 60 million, range from more than 300,000 to 2 million. Under Thailand's drug rules, Viagra is not available in drug stores, but is sold only in hospital pharmacies with a prescription from a urologist, cardiologist, endocrinologist or psychiatrist for 400 baht (about dlrs 10) a dose. But there is a black market in the drug that might prove an attraction for some among the more than 15,000 athletes, officials and media personnel in Bangkok. ``No way,'' said Gurdayal Singh Mander, leader of the Indian contingent, when asked if there was a risk of lack in discipline. ``I believe no one will try anything silly in Bangkok. Even if they try, our watching system is watertight and we will know,'' said Mander, a former police officer. Indian officials in charge of various sports meet their athletes at 10 p.m. before bedtime at the Asian Games village. The Pakistanis have opted for trust and nationalism. ``Oh, Viagra,'' exclaimed Pakistani medical officer Yousef Baig. ``They know all about it and they know all about Bangkok. We have told them, don't break our trust and keep the good name of Pakistan flying high,'' Dr. Baig said. China has taken a similar approach. ``We don't treat them as kids, telling them don't do this, don't do that. We just told them to leave a good impression of Chinese athletes,'' said Li Furong, deputy head of the Chinese delegation. For the Sri Lankans, ``we have told them that they will not be allowed outside the games village until they finish their discipline,'' said Upali Bandaratillaka, a serving brigadier in the Sri Lankan army. ``Even if they want to go to shopping, one of us will accompany them,'' Bandaratillaka said. His deputy is a police officer. Host Thailand is stressing that sex isn't lurking around every corner. A ``Traditional Thai Massage Parlor'' has been opened at the games' village. ``Thai traditional massage is considered an art form,'' said Prarop Laovanich, secretary of the Asian Games Sub-Committee for Culture and Performance. ``A skilled masseur can cure ailments and muscular fatigue.'' And one must wear baggy white pajamas before a traditional Thai massage.",
"Saudi Arabia's abrupt withdrawal from the Asian Games left organizers scrambling Thursday to change schedules and Thai diplomats mulling a decade of relations strained by jewel theft and the murder of diplomats. Bhichai Rattakul, deputy prime minister and president of the Bangkok Asian Games Organizing Committee, asked the Foreign Ministry to urge the Saudi government to reconsider withdrawing its 105-strong team. The games open Dec. 6. ``We're not sure if this is related to the Saudi jewel scandal,'' Bhichai told Thai radio. ``But regardless, we should not mix sports with politics.'' In a letter to the Thai prime minister's office, reported Thursday by Bangkok newspapers, Saudi sports authorities cited the looming Muslim holy month of Ramadan and national centenary celebrations as reasons for suddenly pulling out. But suspicion immediately arose that the real reason was the continued strain in relations since a Thai janitor stole precious jewelry from the palace of a Saudi prince in 1989 and fled home. Thai police recovered the jewels and returned them, but many were fakes _ leading the Saudis to conclude that corrupt officers and members of Thailand's power elite kept the loot. The real jewels have never been recovered. Tensions were aggravated in 1990 and 1991, when three Saudi diplomats were murdered in Bangkok. In retaliation, the Saudis barred new Thai guest workers and refused to renew the visas of the thousands already in the desert kingdom. The killings remain unsolved. Saudi Arabia has said relations would be normalized only when the two cases were solved. Kobsak Chutikul, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said it would be understandable if Saudi Arabia pulls out because of Ramadan fasting. ``If there is any other reason behind this, such as the jewelry case and the murders, we will regret it very much because sports should be separated from politics,'' Kobsak said. Organizers noted that 10 other Muslim nations are sending teams. Suggestions were made that in the future, the Olympic Council of Asia should consider punishing last-minute withdrawals. Organizers need to hold new draws for both handball and basketball because of the pullout, but said the live television coverage schedule will not be affected. The withdrawal is expected to cost 30 million baht (dlrs 830,000) to cover the committee's expenses for organizing programs, accommodation and television schedules. They said they would consult with the council, which oversees the organization of the games, about the impact of the Saudi withdrawal. Officials, meanwhile, expressed shock over a brawl that erupted Tuesday during a friendly soccer match between Thailand and Qatar. The scoreless match was suspended without further play after players from both sides kicked, punched and body-slammed each other for about 10 minutes. Several suffered light injuries. ``As a host, surely the melee will have an impact on the image and reputation of Thailand,'' said Santiparb Tejavanija, chairman of the administrative committee. ``Nobody wanted that incident to happen.'' Officials said that forgiveness was a better option than punishment and that both sides would be admonished not to let a repeat brawl occur."
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"China's national soccer team could call back four players from overseas to boost its chances at the Asian Games in Thailand in December, an official newspaper reported Monday. Two of the players, Fan Zhiyi and Sun Jihai, play for Crystal Palace in the English First Division. Another, Yang Chen, plays in Germany, while Li Jinyu is with Nantes in France. Englishman Bob Houghton, who coaches the national team, said recalling Fan and Sun for the Asian Games would allow him to ``see if they can bring the things they have learned recently in England to the national team,'' the China Sports Daily said. Houghton also said that Yang, who plays in Frankfurt, ``very possibly could become an extremely important player in the national team,'' the newspaper reported. Li, who has not had many chances to play since his move to France, also ``is very willing to come back,'' the newspaper said. China and South Korea will both field their Asian Games teams at a friendly warm-up match Nov. 22, the newspaper said. The Asian Games are held every four years.",
"Horses belonging to Iran's equestrian team will not be allowed to compete in next month's Asian Games because they failed to meet the requirements of the games' veterinary commission, the Thai organizers announced Thursday. The three horses originally came from Iran, but arrived in Thailand after a training period in the United States. They did not have the necessary health certificates guaranteeing that they are disease-free, said Siraya Chunekamrai, president of the Veterinary Commission for the games. This is the first Asian Games in which competitors have been allowed to bring their own horses from abroad. According to regulations, all participating horses had to be screened for a number of diseases before arriving in Thailand. Siraya said she felt sorry for the Iranian team because the problem resulted from ignorance of the rules. Iran is the only country that did not pass the requirements. ``They are the most beautiful horses of all,'' she said. ``I am so sorry for the team but cannot allow them to compete because it is against the rules and it might affect other horses' good health.'' There is only one Thai horse available on standby for the Iranians, as Thailand was not prepared for such a problem, Siraya said. ``If the Iranian team can borrow a couple of more horses from other participating countries, they still can compete,'' she said. There are 106 horses and 12 countries participating in the equestrian events. Most of the horses actually come from Europe and the United States. Thailand has provided a climate-controlled stable and field cleared of contaminants to help the horses become acclimatized to the tropical heat before the competition begins Dec. 8. Many of the horses are suffering stress from the journey here, but those from Asian countries are adjusting faster than those from cold countries, Siraya said.",
"In rites building from low flares symbolizing dawn to a fiery cauldron lighting, Thailand's king opened the Asian Games Sunday night, giving Thais some respite from an economic crisis that once threatened the continent's Olympic-style event. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch, was upstaged slightly by Japan's Naoko Takahashi. In a marathon run in early morning, to avoid the worst of Bangkok's tropical heat, she won the games' first gold medal in a time just one minute off the world record. Her medal ceremony immediately preceded the official opening festivities for two weeks of competition among 6,000 athletes from 41 nations. In all, 377 gold medals are at stake in 36 sports, including Asian specialities such as kabaddi and sepak takraw. But the king not only made the key proclamation and released the royal pigeon, he also anointed a plaque for the Royal Main Stadium and composed some of the music. Songs written by the king, a talented jazz composer, were played by the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra. Thai officials who approached him at the ceremony did so on their knees. Others greeting the king included International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch. A cascade of fireworks in honor of his 71st birthday Saturday and dancers who prostrated themselves on the field welcomed the monarch to his seat in the royal box. Then came the athletes, starting with Cambodia and ending with the host Thai team. Saudi Arabia, which withdrew its team at the last minute, was represented by only a flag bearer. The Sri Lankan team was led by six dancers in bright costumes, who delighted the crowd in the 60,000-seat stadium with acrobatic maneuvers. Each team was led by a Thai beauty queen holding its signboard. After the parade, five of the women collapsed, and three were taken out on stretchers. A giant cauldron atop the stadium was lit by touching a torch to a smaller cauldron inside a model of a temple, which then was lifted on an elevator and sent an explosion of sparks into the games' flame receptacle. Outside the stadium before the ceremony, long lines of people waited to take photos of themselves in front of a plastic statue of the games' elephant mascot, ``Chai-yo.'' One, Sakchai Pungsrinon, a 30-year-old piping engineer, who paid 1,000 baht (dlrs 26) for his ceremonies ticket, said, ``Thailand has many problems. Asia also has many problems. For two weeks, maybe we can forget about all these problems.'' Several thousand people without tickets milled around outside, waving small Thai flags and waiting for a glimpse of the king. They also could watch the ceremony on a large television screen. Security measures included bomb-sniffing dogs. For the competing nations _ many sending reduced teams to ease the pinch of the Asian crisis _ the games are a proving ground for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. ``It's not just getting a gold, it's getting a gold with a result that is close or at world standards,'' said Li Furong, deputy head of China's Asian Games delegation. ``The main target is the 2000 Olympics.'' Sunday's focus was more on pageantry, beginning with slightly built Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai leading off a torch relay at 9:09 a.m. (0209 GMT), reflecting popular belief that nine is a lucky number. Bhumibol is the ninth king of the current dynasty. The three-hour ceremonies featured 7,614 performers in lavishly produced acts with the theme ``Friendship Beyond Frontiers.'' Performers in ancient Thai garb paraded across the field, followed by people-drawn chariots. A martial arts display celebrated Asian unity, and hundreds of primary school students dressed in colorful outfits introduced the games' mascot. Parts of the ceremony were built around the Indian Ramayana epic, the basis for much of traditional Thai mythology, literature and performing and fine arts. The field became a swirl of giant snakes, swans, birds, angels, and other mystical creatures. Another performance celebrating the unity of Asia capped the show, with four large swan floats pulled to the middle of the field, each tethered to a giant balloon symbolizing the sun, moon, earth and a giant lotus. Fireworks burst overhead, searchlights played across the stadium and lasers split the darkness before the royal anthem concluded the program. The combined budget for the opening and closing ceremonies was 70 million baht (dlrs 1.94 million), including a large share of donated and at-cost labor _ part of Thailand's remedy for overcoming financial problems that hit the games. In warming up the audience before the ceremonies, a Thai comedian jested: ``If you're Saudi, raise your hand.'' Saudi Arabia withdrew from the games at the last minute, throwing some of the scheduling into disarray. It cited a national holiday and the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, but many Thais saw the move as retaliation for the failure of Thai police to solve a number of serious crimes against Saudi citizens.",
"Thailand showed its nearly complete facilities for the Asian Games to a tough jury Thursday _ the heads of the organizing committees from the 43 nations competing in the December event. Thailand won host rights for the quadrennial games in 1995, but setbacks in preparations led officials of the Olympic Council of Asia late last year to threaten to move the games to another country. They complained that the Thai organizers were behind in constructing facilities and had failed to keep them informed. It appeared that Thursday's tour was successful in reassuring everyone. ``We have a strong of sense of relief,'' said Abdul Muttaleb al-Ahmad, director general of the Kuwait-based Olympic Council of Asia and a frequent critic of Thailand's organizing committee. ``Everything is 99 percent completed.'' In a welcoming speech, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Bhichai Rattakul, also chairman of the Thai organizing committee, told delegation members to cast aside any doubts over whether the Dec. 6-20 games will be a success. ``I can hereby confirm that regardless of what Thailand has faced, we ... have tried to accommodate all requests for the 13th Asian Games,'' said Bhichai. Since the Thai organizers began their preparations, they have faced many difficulties, most of them resulting from the country's financial crisis, he said. But the country was able to pull it through, he added. ``This is an example of Asia's resiliency. We have financial problems in all of Asia but still we are able to prepare commendably,'' said Manuel Veguillas, head of the Philippine delegation. ``I am impressed,'' said Tu Mingde, secretary-general of China's Olympic Committee. ``The games will be a success.'' Still, Bangkok's infamous traffic jams did not go overlooked. ``My only concern now is the road construction leading to the site,'' said Kenji Ono from Japan. Construction workers are trying to ensure that the road leading to the stadium, including a flyover at a key intersection, will be completed on time for the games. The Olympic Council of Asia, meanwhile, is working with the Bangkok Organizing Committee to come up with a contingency plan in case of any possible emergency, said its director general, Muttaleb. ``You cannot really anticipate anything,'' he said, as he toured the main stadium of the Sports Authority of Thailand. ``Any venue can have a problem, such as electrical failure.''",
"Organizers of December's Asian Games have dismissed press reports that a sports complex would not be completed on time, saying preparations are well in hand, a local newspaper said Friday. Santiparb Tejavanija, deputy secretary of the Bangkok Asian Games Organizing Committee, said construction of the sports complex at the Muang Thong Thani housing estate is 95 percent complete and will be finished this month, the Bangkok Post reported. Liquidity problems at Bangkok Land, the company that owns the housing estate, threatened to prevent the company from finishing the complex in time for the Dec. 6-20 games. Deputy Prime Minister Bhichai Rattakul, who chairs the organizing committee, expressed doubt last month that the complex would be completed on time because of the financial problems. Santiparb told the Post the money problems had been overcome by shifting 200 million baht (dlrs 5 million) worth of credit guarantees from a project that had been scrapped to cover the construction cost of the complex. Preparations for the games have been plagued by political interference by previous governments, alleged corruption and incompetence. The decision to award the contract for the sports complex was controversial, with critics calling it an attempt to bail out the property developer's failed housing estate. Doubts over Thailand's ability to stage the games increased over the past year-and-a-half after the country entered its worst economic downturn in decades. The body governing the games threatened several times to award Asia's version of the Olympics to other countries, but Thailand argued that all would be ready by opening day. The Bangkok games are expected to attract more than 10,000 athletes from 43 nations.",
"A snooker game between longtime Asian rivals India and Pakistan led to a flareup of tempers Sunday, showing a depth of differences that shocked Thai organizers and spectators at the Asian Games. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since becoming independent in 1947. A Thai referee's decision that India's Yashin Merchant had committed a foul during a decisive frame sparked a fierce debate with the referee that forced stoppage of play for 15 minutes. Merchant defeated Mohammad Saleh 5-4 after order was restored, but the incident not only violated the sport's strict etiquette, but showed the distrust between the two neighbors that often has spilled over into sports. The referee ruled that Merchant's white cue ball had first touched the black before hitting the target, red. Merchant protested. With the referee refusing to reverse his decision, Merchant sought help from the Indian team. Several Indian team members went to the playing arena, and one of them wrote a quick protest letter using the snooker table as a writing platform. Disgusted spectators viewed it as a breach of snooker etiquette. ``It does not look nice for grownup men wearing neckties to fight,'' said Pakistani team manager Shahnawaz Khan. ``We just watched the whole drama,'' he said. Pakistani team officials did not intervene, instead staying in their allocated seats. ``It was made very clear to everybody that a referee's decision will be final, but now that the Indians have lodged a formal complaint, we have also done so,'' Khan said. The Indian complaint, however, has no meaning now as Merchant has won. Indian officials were not available for comment. Tournament director Surasak Werapong said both complaints were thrown out because neither side paid the required dlrs 50 filing fee. The match was one of the first as snooker made its Asian Games debut in style, with elated officials greeting the opening with muffled clapping, in keeping with the sport's etiquette. A total of 19 countries are vying for 10 gold medals in snooker and billiards. The preliminary elimination rounds began Sunday. ``This is the brightest day for us,'' said Manmohanjit Singh, the Singapore-born president of the International Billiards and Snooker Federation, the sport's world governing body. ``This is indeed a high step and this will greatly help to make the sport more popular in Asia, which is coming up fast,'' said Singh, whose family migrated to Singapore from India several decades ago. With the addition of snooker, the Asian Games now have 36 sports.",
"Saudi Arabia is considering sending a small team to the Bangkok Asian Games from which it pulled out unexpectedly this week, a Saudi official said Saturday. Saudi Arabia's top sports official, Prince Faisal bin Fahd, is studying a proposal by the Olympic Council of Asia to at least send a symbolic delegation to the Dec. 6-20 Games, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The plea to reconsider was made by Sheik Ahmad al-Fahd al Sabah, president of the Olympic Council of Asia. Sheik Ahmad, a member of the Kuwaiti royal family, is a friend of Prince Faisal. Saudi Arabia's sudden announcement Wednesday that it is withdrawing its 105-member team shocked hosts Thailand, who remain skeptical about the official reasons offered. Saudi sports authorities said the Games conflicted with national centenary celebrations and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. But observers point rather to Saudi anger at the failure of Thai authorities to solve two, decade-old criminal cases involving their nationals: the theft of dlrs 20 million worth of jewels from a Saudi prince and the murder of three Saudi diplomats in Bangkok. The cases are widely believed to involve people high up in the power hierarchy, who in Thailand rarely face prosecution. Saudi Arabia has in the past said relations would only be normalized when the two cases were solved. Thai newspapers reported Saturday that attempts to convince Saudi Arabia to participate in the upcoming 13th Asian Games have failed. Thai Olympic Committee Chairman Gen. Chettha Thanajaro told the Bangkok Post he sent a last-minute plea to his Saudi counterpart but has received no response. ``I have done my best. We have to respect their decision,'' he told the Post. The withdrawal has thrown the Games' schedules into disarray.",
"Thai police have detained more than 300 beggars, most from neighboring countries, in a campaign to make Bangkok's streets safer for spectators and athletes arriving for the upcoming Asian Games, a senior police officer said Friday. Arrests were made throughout Bangkok during a four-day crackdown on panhandlers. About 100 of those detained were displayed Friday to local and foreign press at a detention center in Bangkok. ``Most come here because of economic hardship,'' said Maj. Gen. Chanvut Vajrabukka, deputy commissioner for the immigration police. ``There are some beggars, however, who are under control of gangsters. They could cause trouble for tourists and athletes.'' Other groups targeted by police in advance of the Asian Games are foreign criminal gangs believed to operate in Bangkok and other major cities in Thailand. The Asian Games will be held from the Dec. 6-20.",
"For some teams, ``out of bounds'' at the Asian Games means more than just a line on a soccer field or basketball floor. That's because the host city offers the punchy mix of Viagra and notorious night life. The Pakistanis say all their athletes and officials for the games opening Sunday have been told not to even think of the wonder drug and ``night life ideas.'' The Indian team's solution is mandatory meetings for all athletes before bedtime. The Sri Lankan participants, who had to sign a code of conduct before coming to Bangkok, are being watched by an army brigadier with a track record of high discipline. The Chinese have done their homework on staying out of trouble. Thailand, especially the capital Bangkok, is known worldwide for its titillating night life. From taxi drivers to local tourist magazines distributed free at hotels, there are messengers aplenty to advertise massage parlors and escort services. Minutely detailed photo albums seek to arouse sensual fantasies. Estimates of the number of female sex workers in Thailand, a country of 60 million, range from more than 300,000 to 2 million. Under Thailand's drug rules, Viagra is not available in drug stores, but is sold only in hospital pharmacies with a prescription from a urologist, cardiologist, endocrinologist or psychiatrist for 400 baht (about dlrs 10) a dose. But there is a black market in the drug that might prove an attraction for some among the more than 15,000 athletes, officials and media personnel in Bangkok. ``No way,'' said Gurdayal Singh Mander, leader of the Indian contingent, when asked if there was a risk of lack in discipline. ``I believe no one will try anything silly in Bangkok. Even if they try, our watching system is watertight and we will know,'' said Mander, a former police officer. Indian officials in charge of various sports meet their athletes at 10 p.m. before bedtime at the Asian Games village. The Pakistanis have opted for trust and nationalism. ``Oh, Viagra,'' exclaimed Pakistani medical officer Yousef Baig. ``They know all about it and they know all about Bangkok. We have told them, don't break our trust and keep the good name of Pakistan flying high,'' Dr. Baig said. China has taken a similar approach. ``We don't treat them as kids, telling them don't do this, don't do that. We just told them to leave a good impression of Chinese athletes,'' said Li Furong, deputy head of the Chinese delegation. For the Sri Lankans, ``we have told them that they will not be allowed outside the games village until they finish their discipline,'' said Upali Bandaratillaka, a serving brigadier in the Sri Lankan army. ``Even if they want to go to shopping, one of us will accompany them,'' Bandaratillaka said. His deputy is a police officer. Host Thailand is stressing that sex isn't lurking around every corner. A ``Traditional Thai Massage Parlor'' has been opened at the games' village. ``Thai traditional massage is considered an art form,'' said Prarop Laovanich, secretary of the Asian Games Sub-Committee for Culture and Performance. ``A skilled masseur can cure ailments and muscular fatigue.'' And one must wear baggy white pajamas before a traditional Thai massage.",
"Saudi Arabia's abrupt withdrawal from the Asian Games left organizers scrambling Thursday to change schedules and Thai diplomats mulling a decade of relations strained by jewel theft and the murder of diplomats. Bhichai Rattakul, deputy prime minister and president of the Bangkok Asian Games Organizing Committee, asked the Foreign Ministry to urge the Saudi government to reconsider withdrawing its 105-strong team. The games open Dec. 6. ``We're not sure if this is related to the Saudi jewel scandal,'' Bhichai told Thai radio. ``But regardless, we should not mix sports with politics.'' In a letter to the Thai prime minister's office, reported Thursday by Bangkok newspapers, Saudi sports authorities cited the looming Muslim holy month of Ramadan and national centenary celebrations as reasons for suddenly pulling out. But suspicion immediately arose that the real reason was the continued strain in relations since a Thai janitor stole precious jewelry from the palace of a Saudi prince in 1989 and fled home. Thai police recovered the jewels and returned them, but many were fakes _ leading the Saudis to conclude that corrupt officers and members of Thailand's power elite kept the loot. The real jewels have never been recovered. Tensions were aggravated in 1990 and 1991, when three Saudi diplomats were murdered in Bangkok. In retaliation, the Saudis barred new Thai guest workers and refused to renew the visas of the thousands already in the desert kingdom. The killings remain unsolved. Saudi Arabia has said relations would be normalized only when the two cases were solved. Kobsak Chutikul, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said it would be understandable if Saudi Arabia pulls out because of Ramadan fasting. ``If there is any other reason behind this, such as the jewelry case and the murders, we will regret it very much because sports should be separated from politics,'' Kobsak said. Organizers noted that 10 other Muslim nations are sending teams. Suggestions were made that in the future, the Olympic Council of Asia should consider punishing last-minute withdrawals. Organizers need to hold new draws for both handball and basketball because of the pullout, but said the live television coverage schedule will not be affected. The withdrawal is expected to cost 30 million baht (dlrs 830,000) to cover the committee's expenses for organizing programs, accommodation and television schedules. They said they would consult with the council, which oversees the organization of the games, about the impact of the Saudi withdrawal. Officials, meanwhile, expressed shock over a brawl that erupted Tuesday during a friendly soccer match between Thailand and Qatar. The scoreless match was suspended without further play after players from both sides kicked, punched and body-slammed each other for about 10 minutes. Several suffered light injuries. ``As a host, surely the melee will have an impact on the image and reputation of Thailand,'' said Santiparb Tejavanija, chairman of the administrative committee. ``Nobody wanted that incident to happen.'' Officials said that forgiveness was a better option than punishment and that both sides would be admonished not to let a repeat brawl occur."
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On Oct. 4, 1998 Yugoslav President Milosevic ordered his forces in Kosovo back to their barracks. While supressing the Albanian independence movement they had massacred hundreds of civilians and left 275,000+ refugees. NATO threatened airstrikes unless hostilities ceased and peace talks began. U.S. envoy Holbrooke insisted that Milosevic pull all forces out of Kosovo. Milosevic called the NATO threat "a criminal act" and said Holbrooke aided Albanian terrorists. Russia also urged an end to hostilities, but the Yugoslavs denied any fighting and vowed to defend their country if attacked. Neither side budged as NATO seemed to wait for a U.N. decision. Under threat of NATO attack, Milosevic orders back most army units. US envoy says situation is as grave as it was 2 weeks ago, despite temporary abatement of fighting. US and Russia increase pressure on Milosevic to end the humanitarian crisis in Kosovo or face NATO airstrikes. US envoy tells Milosevic to pull back his military and let Albanian refugees return home. Yugoslavia claims it is taking steps to comply with peace demands. However, NATO says that UN Security Council conditions have not yet been met. US envoy gives Milosevic last minute warning to halt ethnic crackdown in Kosovo. Milosevic calls NATO threat criminal act favoring guerrillas. Yugoslav President Slbodan Milosevic does not appear to be complying completely with UN demands to withdraw his troops and stop anti-Albanian activity in Kosovo. U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke said the level of fighting may have abated but the situation is such that it could resume. The U.S. and Russia have ratcheted up pressure on Milosevic warning him of inevitable NATO air strikes. Yugoslavia claimed it "is faced with the imminent danger of war", will defend itself if attacked and called NATO's threats a "criminal act". Yugoslav generals put the nation's air defense on high alert then pulled some armored equipment out of Kosovo as a compromise. Yugoslavia failed to comply with a U.N. resolution demanding that the forces sent to Kosovo to suppress the ethnic Albanian separatist uprising be withdrawn and is now threatened with NATO airstrikes. Though Milosevic moved some units from the Serbian province, U.S. special envoy Holbrooke called the situation serious. Russia, previously against a NATO attack, said the strikes could occur if steps aren't taken to end the crisis. Hundreds, mostly Albanian civilians, have been killed and thousands are refugees. While the U.S. and other nations want peace, they oppose Kosovo independence, fearing it could destabilize other Albanian-populated Balkan states.
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"The United States and Russia are ratcheting up the pressure on Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, warning that NATO airstrikes are inevitable unless he takes decisive action to end the crisis in Kosovo province. Fearing airstrikes, Yugoslav generals put the nation's air defense on high alert, but tried a belated compromise by moving some tanks and other heavy equipment out of Kosovo. A Western diplomat said up to 120 Yugoslav army armored vehicles, including tanks, have been pulled out. However, U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke said Monday that the Kosovo situation remains critical despite a lull in fighting and the removal of some Yugoslav tanks and troops. Holbrooke spoke in Brussels, Belgium, en route to Belgrade to meet with Milosevic. ``We hope to make clear to president Milosevic and the people of Yugoslavia the extreme gravity of the situation,'' Holbrooke said after a meeting with NATO leaders. Holbrooke said he was told that NATO preparations continued unabated. ``At NATO, the planning for military action is serious, intense and sustained,'' he said. Serbian police and the Yugoslav army have routed separatist Kosovo Albanian rebels in the crackdown that began in late February. The conflict has killed hundreds _ most of them Albanian civilians _ and left more than 275,000 refugees. Kosovo is in southern Serbia, the main republic of Yugoslavia. Milosevic met Sunday with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev, Serbian President Milan Milutinovic and Yugoslavia's top defense officials. The Russians are against using NATO force in Kosovo. However, Ivanov and Sergeyev said the airstrikes could occur ``if decisive measures are not immediately taken for a radical improvement of the situation,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Vladimir Rakhmanin told the ITAR-Tass news agency. To avoid such an attack, Yugoslavia must end the hostilities, withdraw army and security forces, take urgent measures to overcome the humanitarian crisis, ensure that refugees can return home and take part in peace talks, he said. In Berlin, German Gen. Dieter Stoeckmann told German radio that NATO action could come ``within days.'' NATO's decision may depend on a report U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is scheduled to present Monday to the Security Council on whether Yugoslavia is meeting U.N. demands. Serb authorities appeared ready for compromise by installing an interim government in the rebellious province in Serbia, the dominant republic in Yugoslavia. On Monday, Yugoslav Prime Minister Momir Bulatovic said the government had accepted a Russian proposal for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to investigate the crisis. Yugoslavia had repeatedly rejected such a mission until its membership in the 54-nation organization is restored. Bulatovic also claimed there was no longer any fighting in the secessionist, majority Albanian province. He said five of the 10 special police units had been removed from Kosovo and the others had been returned to barracks in the province. A Yugoslav statement said the nation's leaders wanted the Kosovo dispute solved peacefully, ``but in case we are attacked, we shall defend our country with all means.'' One option could be for parliament to declare a state of emergency _ a step which could lead to a general mobilization of all military-aged men. The head of Yugoslavia's other republic, Montenegro, on Monday urged Milosevic to accept all international demands and avert a NATO attack. ``We have to avert a clash with the whole world, a confrontation which we are bound to lose,'' Montenegro's pro-Western president, Milo Djukanovic, said in a statement.",
"With the threat of NATO attack mounting, Yugoslavia's prime minister warned Monday the nation faces the ``imminent danger of war'' and claimed the government is taking steps to comply with international demands for peace in Kosovo. But NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana told reporters that the Alliance believed Yugoslavia had not yet met the conditions demanded by the U.N. Security Council. ``The reality coming to us is that the compliance is not yet in place,'' Solana said. ``As far as we are concerned, once again, I can tell you we are ready.'' In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said ``systematic terror'' had been inflicted on Kosovo civilians within recent days and that Yugoslav forces were mostly responsible. But Annan said he did not ``have the means necessary to provide an independent assessment of compliance as required by the Security Council'' and suggested the 15 members may want to make their ``own judgement in this respect.'' Following a meeting with Solana in Brussels, Belgium, U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke said the situation in the southern Serbian province was as bad now as two weeks ago. Holbrooke said he would tell Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic of ``the extreme gravity of the situation.'' Sources speaking on condition of anonymity said Holbrooke arrived in Belgrade late Monday afternoon and was expected to meet Milosevic in the evening.",
"The American envoy Richard Holbrooke met with President Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia Monday night and according to American diplomats told him that he had to take further steps to pull back his military in Kosovo Province or face a NATO attack. Milosevic was also told, the diplomats said, that he had to insure that the roughly 250,000 ethnic Albanian refugees who have been forced to flee their homes in the fighting in the last six months be allowed to return home. Most of these refugees are reluctant to return because many of the Serb police officers who destroyed their homes and villages remain in the neighborhoods. After delivering his sternest message so far to Milosevic over the Kosovo conflict, Holbrooke said at a news conference that NATO's military plans for attacking Serbia were moving ahead on a ``serious, intense and sustained basis.'' Holbrooke's mission to Milosevic was described by the American diplomats as ``not a do or die trip,'' but they added, ``We're at a very serious juncture.'' Shortly after Holbrooke's meeting with Milosevic, the Yugoslav leader issued a defiant statement on Serbian television in which he said the ``threats of aggression'' outlined by Holbrooke represented ``a criminal act.'' Milosevic, who rarely comments about his meetings with foreign diplomats and whose tough words cast an unusually ominous tone, also said that Holbrooke's position constituted ``support for Albanian terrorists and not the Albanian people.'' Milosevic was apparently accusing Holbrooke of supporting the ethnic Albanian guerrillas of the Kosovo Liberation Army, who have been fighting to make the Serbian province of Kosovo an independent nation. The Yugoslav leader added that ``for more than seven days there have been no skirmishes or military action.'' An American diplomat familiar with the themes Holbrooke planned to stress to Milosevic said there had been no expectation that the American envoy would walk out Monday night with an agreement. Rather, the point was to underscore to the Yugoslav leader and make explicit what was expected of him. ``It was not quite an ultimatum,'' the diplomat said, ``but more a matter of what steps have to be taken to show compliance.'' The essence of Holbrooke's demands centered on issues outlined in a United Nations Security Council resolution of two weeks ago. The resolution ordered Milosevic to withdraw the extra army and police forces that were sent to Kosovo to deal with the guerrillas and to send back to their bases the military forces normally stationed in the province. So far, American diplomats said, Milosevic has withdrawn troops from the field but not all of them are in their barracks. Such a move is essential, American diplomats said, to create a conducive atmosphere for any possible negotiations on the future status of the province. The U.N. resolution also calls for a political solution. Holbrooke and the U.S. ambassador to Macedonia, Christopher Hill, discussed with Milosevic a political document drawn up by the State Department that calls for broad autonomy for Kosovo. Milosevic withdrew the autonomy in 1989 as he began his campaign of Serb nationalism. The countryside in central Kosovo has been eerily silent since last Thursday. The sound of artillery thuds and mortar rounds have been noticeably absent and the coils of white smoke that signified burning villages have vanished from the green hills and valleys. Police checkpoints are more relaxed and areas that were sealed off this time last week by the Yugoslav army are now open to the patrols of diplomatic monitors from the United States, European Union and Russia. These monitors, many of whom are former military officers, have reported that the Yugoslav army has ``stood down'' and that they have seen virtually no military action since late last week. There has been sporadic shooting, the monitors have reported. But this superficial calm is not good enough because the Serb military has the capacity to resume fighting very quickly, a NATO military officer said Monday. The officer added that a cease-fire in Kosovo is ``pretty much enacted.'' He also said that the ``trend toward compliance is positive.'' The interior ministry police must also reduce their presence around villages so that refugees who have fled have the confidence to return, the military officer said. Some interior ministry police officers had left the province, but not enough, he added. On the question of how badly damaged the KLA had been by the Yugoslav army's three-month offensive, the NATO officer said, ``It's a fair assessment that the KLA is dismantled but not destroyed.'' Holbrooke's first stop Monday was Brussels, where he met with the secretary-general of NATO, Javier Solana. On Tuesday he plans to travel to Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, where he is scheduled to meet with the ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova to present the political proposal for the future status of Kosovo. He is expected back in Belgrade on Tuesday afternoon for another session with Milosevic.",
"The United States and Russia are ratcheting up the pressure on President Slobodan Milosevic, warning that NATO airstrikes are inevitable unless he takes decisive action soon to end the humanitarian crisis in the southern Serbian province. Fearing airstrikes, Yugoslav generals put the nation's air defense on high alert, but tried a belated compromise by moving some tanks and other heavy equipment out of Kosovo. A Western diplomat said up to 120 Yugoslav army armored vehicles, including tanks, have been pulled out. In Brussels, Belgium, however, U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke told reporters Monday that the situation in Kosovo is as bad now as two weeks ago. Holbrooke is en route to Belgrade for a meeting with Milosevic. ``While the level of fighting (in Kosovo) may have abated temporarily, the capacity for its resumption is there,'' Holbrooke said after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Javier Solana and Supreme Allied Commander Europe Wesley K. Clark. ``The situation therefore remains fully as serious today as it was a week or two ago,'' he said. ``We hope to make clear to president Milosevic and the people of Yugoslavia the extreme gravity of the situation.'' On Sunday, Milosevic met with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev, Serbian President Milan Milutinovic and Yugoslavia's top defense officials. The Russians are against using NATO force in Kosovo. However, Ivanov and Sergeyev said the airstrikes could occur ``if decisive measures are not immediately taken for a radical improvement of the situation,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Vladimir Rakhmanin told the ITAR-Tass news agency. To avoid such an attack, Yugoslavia must end the hostilities, withdraw army and security forces, take urgent measures to overcome the humanitarian crisis, ensure that refugees can return home and take part in peace talks, he said. In Berlin, German Gen. Dieter Stoeckmann told German radio that NATO action could come ``within days.'' NATO's decision may depend on a report U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is scheduled to present to the Security Council Monday on whether Yugoslavia is meeting U.N. demands. Serb authorities appeared ready for compromise by installing an interim government in the rebellious province in Serbia, the dominant republic in Yugoslavia. Serbian police and the Yugoslav army have routed separatist Kosovo Albanian rebels in the crackdown that began in late February. The conflict has killed hundreds _ most of them Albanian civilians _ and left more than 275,000 refugees. A Yugoslav statement said the nation's leaders wanted the Kosovo dispute solved peacefully, ``but in case we are attacked, we shall defend our country with all means.'' The government said Friday that the fighting had ended and blamed continuing violence on ethnic Albanian rebels, who are fighting for independence for the Serbian province. Although the United States and Europeans want an end to the fighting, they also oppose independence for the majority Albanian province, fearing that could destabilize other Balkan countries with Albanian populations. In the Kosovo capital Pristina, the KLA offered to help NATO forces if asked. KLA spokesman Jakup Krasniqi said in a statement published Monday by the Albanian language newspaper Bujku that ``we wish they (airstrikes) would become reality'' and ``we shall provide assistance... if it is asked of us.'' Krasniqi accused ethnic Albanian politicians of having ``given up on independence'' and having become ``the servants of the enemy,'' by agreeing to accept autonomy but not independence. Serbs reported two attacks Sunday on civilian cars by Albanian ``terrorists'' 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Pristina, Kosovo's provincial capital. Elsewhere, a policeman was killed after stepping on a mine, the Serb Media Center said. The Kosovo Information Center, allied with the ethnic Albanians, reported heavy fighting between government forces and the guerrillas 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Pristina. Ethnic Albanian political leaders have rejected the new interim government, which was drawn up without their participation. The council is composed of seven Serbs, five ethnic Albanians and the rest Turks and Muslims. Momentum for outside involvement has increased in the past week amid revelations of massacres of ethnic Albanian civilians in the forests of Kosovo. London's Sunday Telegraph reported that Britain is preparing troops and armored units for Kosovo, to be deployed in a post-airstrike peacekeeping role. The defense ministry refused to confirm or deny the report but repeated that Britain was ready to participate in a NATO attack. French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine met Sunday night with his British counterpart, Robin Cook, to discuss the situation in Kosovo, France's Foreign Ministry said. Vedrine and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright had a lengthy telephone conversation as well, the spokesman said. On Sunday, Human Rights Watch said both Milosevic's government and ethnic Albanian rebels have committed atrocities since the conflict began, but the government abuses were on a much greater scale. The report by the New York-based human rights organization says Milosevic has ``the primary responsibility for gross government abuses.''",
"BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) _ U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke said Monday the military situation in Kosovo was as bad now as two weeks ago. Holbrooke said he will explain the ``extreme gravity of the situation'' when he meets Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic later Monday. Speaking after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Javier Solana and Supreme Allied Commander Europe Wesley K. Clark, Holbrooke said ``while the level of fighting (in Kosovo) may have abated temporarily, the capacity for its resumption is there.'' ``The situation therefore remains fully as serious today as it was a week or two ago,'' he told reporters before flying to Belgrade. He plans to meet with the Kosovan Albanian leaders on Tuesday. ``We hope to make clear to president Milosevic and the people of Yugoslavia the extreme gravity of the situation,'' he said.",
"With NATO attacks said to be only days away, top U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke delivered a last-minute warning Monday to Yugoslavia's president to halt his crackdown on ethnic Albanians in Kosovo or face airstrikes. But Slobodan Milosevic showed no signs of backing down. Following his meeting with Holbrooke, Milosevic's office issued a statement denouncing NATO threats as a ``criminal act'' that favored separatist ethnic Albanian guerrillas. The statement, broadcast by government television, said there had been no fighting in the Serbian province for the past seven days and that the crisis represented no threat to other countries in the southern Balkans. Holbrooke, the U.S. ambassador-designate to the United Nations, met with Milosevic for several hours late Monday after arriving from Brussels, Belgium, where he conferred with senior NATO officials. Holbrooke issued no statement after the meeting. Before boarding a plane for the Yugoslav capital, Belgrade, however, Holbrooke said conditions in the southern Serbian province had not improved since the alliance started two weeks ago to finalize plans for air raids to force Milosevic to halt his offensive against Kosovo Albanian separatists. Holbrooke said he planned to drive home to Milosevic ``the extreme gravity of the situation.'' Holbrooke negotiated the peace deal with Milosevic and other Balkan leaders that ended the 3 1/2 year Bosnian war in 1995. In Washington, U.S. President Bill Clinton expressed concern that Milosevic was ``playing the classic game of making false promises'' to avoid NATO military strikes. Clinton, in a telephone call with Russian President Boris Yeltsin, said Milosevic's compliance with U.N. demands ``must be verifiable, tangible and irreversible,'' press secretary Joe Lockhart said at the White House. ``What happens next depends on President Milosevic,'' Lockhart quoted the president telling the Russian leader, who has opposed the use of force against Moscow's longtime ally. As Holbrooke tried to resolve the crisis through negotiations, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said a decision on NATO military action was imminent. ``We are getting ready for NATO action and later this week we will expect a decision to be taken,'' Cook told reporters after a special session of the Cabinet called by Prime Minister Tony Blair. In Brussels, NATO officials said they were ready to launch airstrikes within hours of receiving an order to attack. If that first airstrike failed to deter Serb forces, a senior NATO official said on condition of anonymity, the alliance could unleash a ``fully fledged air campaign'' involving hundreds of planes. At the United Nations, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Yugoslav forces had increased their attacks on Kosovo's ethnic Albanians even after a U.N. resolution demanded a cease-fire. In a widely anticipated report to the Security Council, Annan listed apparent violations of a Sept. 23 U.N. resolution, decried the ``appalling atrocities in Kosovo,'' and said it was ``clear beyond any reasonable doubt'' that Yugoslav forces were responsible for the bulk of them. The U.N. chief also said rebel forces of the Kosovo Liberation Army also were responsible for human rights violations, a charge the KLA quickly denied. NATO countries had been awaiting the U.N. chief's report to determine whether to use military force to stop the offensive on ethnic Albanians, who are seeking autonomy like they had until 1989, if not independence, from Yugoslavia. Albanians in the province outnumber Serbs 9-to-1. Despite Annan's unwillingness to declare Serb noncompliance, U.S. State Department spokesman James Foley said the Clinton administration believed Milosevic had not met the conditions laid down by the U.N. Security Council. Foley cited the absence of a formal cease-fire, the failure to arrange a meaningful dialogue with ethnic Albanian leaders and the continued presence of ``major army units'' in southeastern Kosovo near Albania's border. The European Union nations were divided Monday on whether to launch air strikes without U.N. Security Council backing. The EU foreign ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, agreed to tighten economic sanctions against Milosevic, but it was unlikely that stricter travel curbs for Yugoslav officials and freezing more Yugoslav assets abroad would be anything more than symbolic. Meanwhile, Yugoslavia's prime minister told an emergency session of parliament Monday that the country ``is faced with the imminent danger of war.'' Yugoslavia is comprised of dominant Serbia and smaller Montenegro. ``The threats are serious,'' Prime Minister Momir Bulatovic said. ``And I call on this parliament to conclude that Yugoslavia is faced with the imminent danger of war. Yugoslavia has to defend itself if it was attacked.'' One option was for parliament to declare a state of emergency _ a step toward a mobilization of all military-aged men. But the parliament voted to introduce the measure ``when the first bomb drops on our territory.'' In an attempt to head off NATO action, Bulatovic said the government had accepted a Russian proposal for an investigation by the 54-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Yugoslavia had repeatedly rejected such a mission to Kosovo until Yugoslav membership in the organization is restored. The prime minister also said there was no longer any fighting in Kosovo, which has 2 million residents. He said five of the 10 special police units had been removed from Kosovo and the others had been returned to their barracks in the province. One diplomat in Kosovo, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there has been a significant redeployment of Yugoslav army troops out of Kosovo to other parts of Serbia, including a mechanized brigade that pulled out Sunday. Some army units remain in the field, and there is enormous fear that violence will resume, particularly among refugees, tens of thousands of whom are living in the hills and forests without shelter.",
"With NATO attacks said to be only days away, top U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke delivered an 11th-hour warning Monday to Yugoslavia's president to halt his crackdown on ethnic Albanians in Kosovo or face airstrikes. But there was no sign that Slobodan Milosevic was backing down. Following his meeting with Holbrooke, Milosevic's office issued a statement denouncing NATO threats as a ``criminal act'' which favored separatist ethnic Albanian guerrillas. The statement, broadcast by government television, said there had been no fighting in the Serbian province for the past seven days and that the crisis represented no threat to other countries in the southern Balkans. Holbrooke, the U.S. ambassador-designate to the United Nations, met with Milosevic for several hours late Monday after arriving from Brussels, Belgium, where he conferred with senior NATO officials. There was no statement from Holbrooke after the meeting. Before boarding a plane for Belgrade, however, Holbrooke said conditions in the southern Serbian province had not improved since the alliance started two weeks ago to finalize plans for air raids to force Milosevic to halt his offensive against Kosovo Albanian separatists. Holbrooke said he planned to drive home to Milosevic ``the extreme gravity of the situation.'' Holbrooke negotiated the peace deal with Milosevic and other Balkan leaders that ended the 3 and one-half year Bosnian war in 1995. In Washington, President Clinton expressed concern that Milosevic was ``playing the classic game of making false promises'' to avoid NATO military strikes. Clinton, in a telephone call with Russian President Boris Yeltsin, said Milosevic's compliance with U.N. demands ``must be verifiable, tangible and irreversible,'' press secretary Joe Lockhart said at the White House. ``What happens next depends on President Milosevic,'' Lockhart quoted the president telling the Russian leader, who has opposed the use of force against Moscow's longtime ally. As Holbrooke tried to resolve the crisis through negotiations, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said a decision on NATO military action was imminent. ``We are getting ready for NATO action and later this week we will expect a decision to be taken,'' Cook told reporters after a special session of the Cabinet called by Prime Minister Tony Blair. In Brussels, NATO officials said they were ready to launch airstrikes within hours of receiving an order to attack. If that first airstrike failed to deter Serb forces, a senior NATO official said on condition of anonymity, the alliance could unleash a ``fully fledged air campaign'' involving hundreds of planes. At the United Nations, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Yugoslav forces had increased their attacks on Kosovo's ethnic Albanians even after a U.N. resolution demanded a cease-fire. In a widely anticipated report to the Security Council, Annan listed apparent violations of a Sept. 23 U.N. resolution, decried the ``appalling atrocities in Kosovo,'' and said it was ``clear beyond any reasonable doubt'' that Yugoslav forces were responsible for the bulk of them. The U.N. chief also said rebel forces of the Kosovo Liberation Army also were responsible for human rights violations, a charge the KLA quickly denied. NATO countries had been awaiting the U.N. chief's report to determine whether to use military force to stop the offensive on ethnic Albanians, who are seeking autonomy like they had until 1989, if not independence, from Yugoslavia. Albanians in the province outnumber Serbs 9-to-1. Despite Annan's unwillingness to declare Serb noncompliance, State Department spokesman James Foley said the Clinton administration believed Milosevic had not met the conditions laid down by the Security Council. Briefing reporters in Washington, Foley cited the absence of a formal cease-fire, the failure to arrange a meaningful dialogue with ethnic Albanian leaders and the continued presence of ``major army units'' in southeastern Kosovo near Albania's border. Meanwhile, Yugoslavia's prime minister told an emergency session of parliament Monday that the country ``is faced with the imminent danger of war.'' Yugoslavia is comprised of dominant Serbia and smaller Montenegro. ``The threats are serious,'' Prime Minister Momir Bulatovic said. ``And I call on this parliament to conclude that Yugoslavia is faced with the imminent danger of war. Yugoslavia has to defend itself if it was attacked.'' One option was for parliament to declare a state of emergency _ a step toward a mobilization of all military-aged men. But the parliament voted to introduce the measure ``when the first bomb drops on our territory.'' In an attempt to head off NATO action, Bulatovic said the government had accepted a Russian proposal for an investigation by the 54-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Yugoslavia had repeatedly rejected such a mission to Kosovo until Yugoslav membership in the organization is restored. The prime minister also said there was no longer any fighting in Kosovo, which has 2 million residents. He said five of the 10 special police units had been removed from Kosovo and the others had been returned to their barracks in the province. One diplomat in Kosovo, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there has been a significant redeployment of Yugoslav army troops out of Kosovo to other parts of Serbia, including a mechanized brigade that pulled out Sunday. Some army units remain in the field, and there is enormous fear that violence will resume, particularly among refugees, tens of thousands of whom are living in the hills and forests without shelter.",
"The United States and Russia are ratcheting up the pressure on President Slobodan Milosevic, warning that NATO airstrikes are inevitable unless he takes decisive action soon to end the humanitarian crisis in the southern Serbian province. Fearing airstrikes, Yugoslav generals put the nation's air defense on high alert, but tried a belated compromise by moving some tanks and other heavy equipment out of Kosovo. A Western diplomat said up to 120 Yugoslav army armored vehicles, including tanks, have been pulled out. In Brussels, Belgium, however, U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke told reporters Monday that the situation in Kosovo has not improved. Holbrooke is en route to Belgrade for a meeting with Milosevic. ``While the level of fighting (in Kosovo) may have abated temporarily, the capacity for its resumption is there,'' Holbrooke said after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Javier Solana and Supreme Allied Commander Europe Wesley K. Clark. ``The situation therefore remains fully as serious today as it was a week or two ago,'' he said. ``We hope to make clear to President Milosevic and the people of Yugoslavia the extreme gravity of the situation.'' On Sunday, Milosevic met with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev, Serbian President Milan Milutinovic and Yugoslavia's top defense officials. The Russians are against using NATO force in Kosovo. However, Ivanov and Sergeyev said the airstrikes could occur ``if decisive measures are not immediately taken for a radical improvement of the situation,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Vladimir Rakhmanin told the ITAR-Tass news agency. To avoid such an attack, Yugoslavia must end the hostilities, withdraw army and security forces, take urgent measures to overcome the humanitarian crisis, ensure that refugees can return home and take part in peace talks, he said. In Berlin, 7th graf pvs",
"Under NATO threat to end his punishing offensive against ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo, President Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia has ordered most units of his army back to their barracks and may well avoid an attack by the alliance, military observers and diplomats say. Milosevic, who on one hand is excoriated by Washington as the scourge of Kosovo yet on the other hand is treated as key to peace in Bosnia, acted as the European Union, NATO and the United Nations prepared for a review on Monday of possible military intervention. Russia stepped up its warnings against such action and dispatched its foreign and defense ministers on an unusually high-level mission to see the Yugoslav president Sunday in Belgrade. As he has so often, Milosevic appears to have bowed to foreign demands in the nick of time and yet still accomplished what he wanted. This weekend, foreign diplomatic observers in Kosovo reported that a ``military stand-down'' had taken place in the province, where Milosevic's forces have waged a fierce offensive against Albanian rebels. The observers said that except for segments of three brigades, most units of the Yugoslav army were ``home.'' The daily reports of the observer mission, made up of U.S., European Union and Russian military experts, are one of the key elements in helping Washington and European capitals decide whether Milosevic has met their demands for a cease-fire. By putting the army back in its barracks, sending some police units out of Kosovo and ordering an end to burning and looting of villages, Milosevic may well avoid a NATO attack, diplomats here and in Washington said. But at the same time, they acknowledge that while NATO looked the other way, he enjoyed a three-month license to overwhelm the Kosovo Liberation Army _ the rebel army fighting for independence for Kosovo and its ethnic Albanian majority _ and terrorize the rural civilian population that supports it. His military operation created more than 250,000 refugees, whom the Clinton administration is gearing up to take care of this winter through a variety of relief organizations. U.S. officials said they expected Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. envoy who dealt with Milosevic in negotiating an end to the war in Bosnia, to meet with him on Monday to discuss a political plan for Kosovo. The heart of the disagreement in Kosovo is between Serbia, Yugoslavia's principal republic, which insists on keeping Kosovo as a province, and the ethnic Albanians there who have chafed under Milosevic's repression since he stripped the province of virtual autonomy in 1989, and who now seek independence. The West, fearing the precedent that independence for Kosovo would set in other conflicts in the world, has been trying to mediate a middle course. In essence, diplomats said they believed that the plan Holbrooke will present to Milosevic calls for a three-year interim period leading to a status fairly close to the pre-1989 autonomy arrangement. Since the Kosovo conflict flared up in March, critics of Washington's policy toward Milosevic argue that he has been able to choreograph every move to suit his goal: pushing",
"the Albanian population into submission with impunity. ``The United States and its allies have waited four months while he cleaned the clock of the Kosovo Liberation Army,'' said Morton Abramowitz, head of the International Crisis Group, a policy analysis organization, ``and taken three weeks to discuss military action, with the result that 500 Albanian villages were destroyed.'' Administration officials now acknowledge that when NATO failed to live up to its earlier threat in June to strike Serbia, Milosevic took advantage of the indecision and plunged ahead with an artillery and tank offensive against the lightly armed guerrilla forces, whose bedrock of popular support had helped win them effective control of large swaths of Kosovo territory, including key roads. While he was doing that, Milosevic skillfully managed a key requirement for Washington: he made sure that the war did not spill over into neighboring Albania and Macedonia, fragile countries in a traditionally volatile area. All along, the biggest fear in Washington has been that the Kosovo conflict would engulf neighboring countries and encourage Albania and the ethnic Albanian population in Macedonia to join the cause. Such a possibility raised the specter of a new Balkans conflict just three years after peace was secured in Bosnia. Milosevic catered to Washington's concern that the conflict be contained. The Yugoslav army mined Kosovo's borders with Macedonia and Albania, ensuring that few refugees could escape and limiting routes for arms supplies for the rebels. The Yugoslav leader also understood that Washington was unsure about how to deal with the disorganized Albanian political leadership in Kosovo and the unbending Kosovo Liberation Army, whose main chiefs were hardened emigres returned from Switzerland and Germany. For example, Holbrooke persuaded Milosevic to meet in May with Ibrahim Rugova, the top Albanian political leader in Kosovo, an encounter that turned out to be little more than a photo opportunity. For that procedural breakthrough, Holbrooke recommended the lifting of a ban on foreign investment in Serbia that had been put in place the month before. After meeting with Rugova, Milosevic stepped up his military operations in Kosovo, forcing Washington to reverse itself again and carry out the investment ban. In late June, Holbrooke met with two self-styled Kosovo guerrilla commanders in the province's western town of Junik but then broke off all contact. Clinton administration officials said at the time that they were concerned that NATO intervention would bolster the separatist forces. To try to put the best face on the situation, Washington worked with Moscow to get Milosevic to accept the presence of international monitors who would patrol Kosovo and report on military action. The monitors were slow in getting organized. By August, when the Yugoslav army, backed by the Serbian special police, were in full swing against the rebels and burning and looting villages in the process, the monitors found it difficult to gain access to the fighting. They drove up to roadblocks, knew something was going on from the sounds and the smoke, but could not be precise. In recent days as the tanks and artillery have withdrawn, access has",
"improved, the monitors say. But there are some areas in central Kosovo around Likovac and Gornje Obrinje that the monitors have ruled off limits because of land mines on the roads. The mines are believed to have been planted by the guerrillas. Gornje Obrinje was the site of a massacre of 18 ethnic Albanian women, children and elderly people on Sept. 26. A British reporter who walked across fields into the village on Sunday said about 10 mortar shells, apparently from the Serbian police or the Yugoslav army, were fired at the village early Sunday afternoon. The Yugoslav army and police forces have been responsible for the vast majority of atrocities in the Kosovo conflict, said a report by New York-based group Human Rights Watch, released here on Sunday. The report said the rebels had also violated the laws of war by taking civilian hostages and carrying out summary executions. But the violations by the guerrillas were on a ``lesser scale'' than the government abuses, the author of the report, Fred Abrahams, concluded. The report focused on what it called a watershed in the conflict _ the attack by police forces on three ethnic Albanian villages in late February and early March in the Drenica region of central Kosovo. At least 83 people, including 24 women and children, were killed in the attack, which involved helicopters, artillery and armored personnel carriers. In the Yugoslav capital, Belgrade, which is a four-hour drive north through rolling countryside from Kosovo's capital of Pristina, Milosevic remains politically secure. That is in part, his domestic critics say, because diplomats like Holbrooke and the head of the U.N.refugee agency, Sadako Ogata, insist on going to see him, thus enhancing his stature.",
"With the threat of NATO attack mounting, Yugoslavia's prime minister warned Monday the nation faces the ``immiment danger of war'' and claimed the government was taking steps to comply with international demands for peace in Kosovo. In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said ``systematic terror'' had been inflicted on Kosovo civilians within recent days and that Yugoslav forces were mostly responsible. But Annan said he did not ``have the means necessary to provide an independent assessment of compliance as required by the Security Council'' and suggested the 15 members may want to make their ``own judgement in this respect.'' But U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke said the situation in the southern Serbian province was as bad now as two weeks ago. Holbrooke spoke in Brussels, Belgium en route to Belgrade, where he planned to drive home to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic ``the extreme gravity of the situation.'' Meanwhile, Yugoslavia's prime minister told an emergency session of parliament Monday that the country ``is faced with the imminent danger of war.'' Kosovo is a province of Serbia, the main republic of Yugoslavia. ``The threats are serious,'' Prime Minister Momir Bulatovic said. ``And I call on this parliament to conclude that Yugoslavia is faced with the imminent danger of war. Yugoslavia has to defend itself if it was attacked.'' One option could be for parliament to declare a state of emergency _ a step which could lead to a general mobilization of all military-aged men. In an attempt to head off NATO action, Bulatovic said the government had accepted a Russian proposal for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to investigate the crisis. Yugoslavia had repeatedly rejected such a mission to Kosovo until Yugoslav membership in the 54-nation organization is restored. Bulatovic also claimed there was no longer any fighting in the rebellious, majority Albanian province. He said five of the 10 special police units had been removed from Kosovo and the others had been returned to barracks in the province. In Brussels, however, Holbrooke made clear that half-measures would not be enough to satisfy Washington and prevent a NATO attack. ``While the level of fighting may have abated temporarily, the capacity for its resumption is there,'' Holbrooke said after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Javier Solana and Supreme Allied Commander Europe Wesley K. Clark. ``The situation, therefore, remains fully as serious today as it was a week or two ago,'' he said. ``We hope to make clear to president Milosevic and the people of Yugoslavia the extreme gravity of the situation.'' Meanwhile, the head of Yugoslavia's other republic, Montenegro, called on Milosevic to accept all international demands and avert a NATO attack. ``We have to avert a clash with the whole world, a confrontation which we are bound to lose,'' Montenegro's pro-Western president, Milo Djukanovic, said in a statement. Djukanovic, a staunch Milosevic critic, called on the Yugoslav president to address the nation ``with an unambiguous message'' that he has accepted all U.N. resolutions and agreements he made with Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Djukanovic blamed Yugoslavia's problems on Milosevic's ``undemocratic regime.'' Fearing airstrikes, Yugoslav generals put the nation's air defense on high alert and moved some tanks and other heavy equipment out of Kosovo. A Western diplomat said up to 120 Yugoslav army armored vehicles, including tanks, have been pulled out. Belgrade had been counting on Russia to block any U.N.-sanctioned military moves by the Western Alliance. On Sunday, Milosevic met with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev, Serbian President Milan Milutinovic and Yugoslavia's top defense officials. Although the Russians are against using NATO force in Kosovo, Ivanov and Sergeyev said the airstrikes could occur ``if decisive measures are not immediately taken for a radical improvement of the situation,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Vladimir Rakhmanin told the ITAR-Tass news agency. To avoid such an attack, Yugoslavia must end the hostilities, withdraw army and security forces, take urgent measures to overcome the humanitarian crisis, ensure that refugees can return home and take part in peace talks, he said. In Berlin, German Gen. Dieter Stoeckmann told German radio that NATO action could come ``within days.'' Serb authorities appeared ready for compromise by installing an interim government in the rebellious province in Serbia, the dominant republic in Yugoslavia. Serbian police and the Yugoslav army have routed separatist Kosovo Albanian rebels in the crackdown that began in late February. The conflict has killed hundreds _ most of them Albanian civilians _ and left more than 275,000 refugees. Ethnic Albanians compromise 90 percent of the province's 2 million-strong population, and most favor independence or substantial self-rule. Momentum for outside involvement has increased in the past week amid revelations of massacres of ethnic Albanian civilians in the forests of Kosovo. Although the United States and Europeans want an end to the fighting, they also oppose independence for Kosovo, fearing that could destabilize other Balkan countries with Albanian populations. In the Kosovo capital Pristina, the KLA offered to help NATO forces if asked. KLA spokesman Jakup Krasniqi said in a statement published Monday by the Albanian language newspaper Bujku that ``we wish they (airstrikes) would become reality'' and ``we shall provide assistance... if it is asked of us.'' Krasniqi accused ethnic Albanian politicians of having ``given up on independence'' and having become ``the servants of the enemy,'' by agreeing to accept autonomy but not independence. Ethnic Albanian political leaders have rejected the new interim government, which was drawn up without their participation. The council is composed of seven Serbs, five ethnic Albanians and the rest Turks and Muslims."
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"The United States and Russia are ratcheting up the pressure on Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, warning that NATO airstrikes are inevitable unless he takes decisive action to end the crisis in Kosovo province. Fearing airstrikes, Yugoslav generals put the nation's air defense on high alert, but tried a belated compromise by moving some tanks and other heavy equipment out of Kosovo. A Western diplomat said up to 120 Yugoslav army armored vehicles, including tanks, have been pulled out. However, U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke said Monday that the Kosovo situation remains critical despite a lull in fighting and the removal of some Yugoslav tanks and troops. Holbrooke spoke in Brussels, Belgium, en route to Belgrade to meet with Milosevic. ``We hope to make clear to president Milosevic and the people of Yugoslavia the extreme gravity of the situation,'' Holbrooke said after a meeting with NATO leaders. Holbrooke said he was told that NATO preparations continued unabated. ``At NATO, the planning for military action is serious, intense and sustained,'' he said. Serbian police and the Yugoslav army have routed separatist Kosovo Albanian rebels in the crackdown that began in late February. The conflict has killed hundreds _ most of them Albanian civilians _ and left more than 275,000 refugees. Kosovo is in southern Serbia, the main republic of Yugoslavia. Milosevic met Sunday with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev, Serbian President Milan Milutinovic and Yugoslavia's top defense officials. The Russians are against using NATO force in Kosovo. However, Ivanov and Sergeyev said the airstrikes could occur ``if decisive measures are not immediately taken for a radical improvement of the situation,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Vladimir Rakhmanin told the ITAR-Tass news agency. To avoid such an attack, Yugoslavia must end the hostilities, withdraw army and security forces, take urgent measures to overcome the humanitarian crisis, ensure that refugees can return home and take part in peace talks, he said. In Berlin, German Gen. Dieter Stoeckmann told German radio that NATO action could come ``within days.'' NATO's decision may depend on a report U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is scheduled to present Monday to the Security Council on whether Yugoslavia is meeting U.N. demands. Serb authorities appeared ready for compromise by installing an interim government in the rebellious province in Serbia, the dominant republic in Yugoslavia. On Monday, Yugoslav Prime Minister Momir Bulatovic said the government had accepted a Russian proposal for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to investigate the crisis. Yugoslavia had repeatedly rejected such a mission until its membership in the 54-nation organization is restored. Bulatovic also claimed there was no longer any fighting in the secessionist, majority Albanian province. He said five of the 10 special police units had been removed from Kosovo and the others had been returned to barracks in the province. A Yugoslav statement said the nation's leaders wanted the Kosovo dispute solved peacefully, ``but in case we are attacked, we shall defend our country with all means.'' One option could be for parliament to declare a state of emergency _ a step which could lead to a general mobilization of all military-aged men. The head of Yugoslavia's other republic, Montenegro, on Monday urged Milosevic to accept all international demands and avert a NATO attack. ``We have to avert a clash with the whole world, a confrontation which we are bound to lose,'' Montenegro's pro-Western president, Milo Djukanovic, said in a statement.",
"With the threat of NATO attack mounting, Yugoslavia's prime minister warned Monday the nation faces the ``imminent danger of war'' and claimed the government is taking steps to comply with international demands for peace in Kosovo. But NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana told reporters that the Alliance believed Yugoslavia had not yet met the conditions demanded by the U.N. Security Council. ``The reality coming to us is that the compliance is not yet in place,'' Solana said. ``As far as we are concerned, once again, I can tell you we are ready.'' In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said ``systematic terror'' had been inflicted on Kosovo civilians within recent days and that Yugoslav forces were mostly responsible. But Annan said he did not ``have the means necessary to provide an independent assessment of compliance as required by the Security Council'' and suggested the 15 members may want to make their ``own judgement in this respect.'' Following a meeting with Solana in Brussels, Belgium, U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke said the situation in the southern Serbian province was as bad now as two weeks ago. Holbrooke said he would tell Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic of ``the extreme gravity of the situation.'' Sources speaking on condition of anonymity said Holbrooke arrived in Belgrade late Monday afternoon and was expected to meet Milosevic in the evening.",
"The American envoy Richard Holbrooke met with President Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia Monday night and according to American diplomats told him that he had to take further steps to pull back his military in Kosovo Province or face a NATO attack. Milosevic was also told, the diplomats said, that he had to insure that the roughly 250,000 ethnic Albanian refugees who have been forced to flee their homes in the fighting in the last six months be allowed to return home. Most of these refugees are reluctant to return because many of the Serb police officers who destroyed their homes and villages remain in the neighborhoods. After delivering his sternest message so far to Milosevic over the Kosovo conflict, Holbrooke said at a news conference that NATO's military plans for attacking Serbia were moving ahead on a ``serious, intense and sustained basis.'' Holbrooke's mission to Milosevic was described by the American diplomats as ``not a do or die trip,'' but they added, ``We're at a very serious juncture.'' Shortly after Holbrooke's meeting with Milosevic, the Yugoslav leader issued a defiant statement on Serbian television in which he said the ``threats of aggression'' outlined by Holbrooke represented ``a criminal act.'' Milosevic, who rarely comments about his meetings with foreign diplomats and whose tough words cast an unusually ominous tone, also said that Holbrooke's position constituted ``support for Albanian terrorists and not the Albanian people.'' Milosevic was apparently accusing Holbrooke of supporting the ethnic Albanian guerrillas of the Kosovo Liberation Army, who have been fighting to make the Serbian province of Kosovo an independent nation. The Yugoslav leader added that ``for more than seven days there have been no skirmishes or military action.'' An American diplomat familiar with the themes Holbrooke planned to stress to Milosevic said there had been no expectation that the American envoy would walk out Monday night with an agreement. Rather, the point was to underscore to the Yugoslav leader and make explicit what was expected of him. ``It was not quite an ultimatum,'' the diplomat said, ``but more a matter of what steps have to be taken to show compliance.'' The essence of Holbrooke's demands centered on issues outlined in a United Nations Security Council resolution of two weeks ago. The resolution ordered Milosevic to withdraw the extra army and police forces that were sent to Kosovo to deal with the guerrillas and to send back to their bases the military forces normally stationed in the province. So far, American diplomats said, Milosevic has withdrawn troops from the field but not all of them are in their barracks. Such a move is essential, American diplomats said, to create a conducive atmosphere for any possible negotiations on the future status of the province. The U.N. resolution also calls for a political solution. Holbrooke and the U.S. ambassador to Macedonia, Christopher Hill, discussed with Milosevic a political document drawn up by the State Department that calls for broad autonomy for Kosovo. Milosevic withdrew the autonomy in 1989 as he began his campaign of Serb nationalism. The countryside in central Kosovo has been eerily silent since last Thursday. The sound of artillery thuds and mortar rounds have been noticeably absent and the coils of white smoke that signified burning villages have vanished from the green hills and valleys. Police checkpoints are more relaxed and areas that were sealed off this time last week by the Yugoslav army are now open to the patrols of diplomatic monitors from the United States, European Union and Russia. These monitors, many of whom are former military officers, have reported that the Yugoslav army has ``stood down'' and that they have seen virtually no military action since late last week. There has been sporadic shooting, the monitors have reported. But this superficial calm is not good enough because the Serb military has the capacity to resume fighting very quickly, a NATO military officer said Monday. The officer added that a cease-fire in Kosovo is ``pretty much enacted.'' He also said that the ``trend toward compliance is positive.'' The interior ministry police must also reduce their presence around villages so that refugees who have fled have the confidence to return, the military officer said. Some interior ministry police officers had left the province, but not enough, he added. On the question of how badly damaged the KLA had been by the Yugoslav army's three-month offensive, the NATO officer said, ``It's a fair assessment that the KLA is dismantled but not destroyed.'' Holbrooke's first stop Monday was Brussels, where he met with the secretary-general of NATO, Javier Solana. On Tuesday he plans to travel to Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, where he is scheduled to meet with the ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova to present the political proposal for the future status of Kosovo. He is expected back in Belgrade on Tuesday afternoon for another session with Milosevic.",
"The United States and Russia are ratcheting up the pressure on President Slobodan Milosevic, warning that NATO airstrikes are inevitable unless he takes decisive action soon to end the humanitarian crisis in the southern Serbian province. Fearing airstrikes, Yugoslav generals put the nation's air defense on high alert, but tried a belated compromise by moving some tanks and other heavy equipment out of Kosovo. A Western diplomat said up to 120 Yugoslav army armored vehicles, including tanks, have been pulled out. In Brussels, Belgium, however, U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke told reporters Monday that the situation in Kosovo is as bad now as two weeks ago. Holbrooke is en route to Belgrade for a meeting with Milosevic. ``While the level of fighting (in Kosovo) may have abated temporarily, the capacity for its resumption is there,'' Holbrooke said after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Javier Solana and Supreme Allied Commander Europe Wesley K. Clark. ``The situation therefore remains fully as serious today as it was a week or two ago,'' he said. ``We hope to make clear to president Milosevic and the people of Yugoslavia the extreme gravity of the situation.'' On Sunday, Milosevic met with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev, Serbian President Milan Milutinovic and Yugoslavia's top defense officials. The Russians are against using NATO force in Kosovo. However, Ivanov and Sergeyev said the airstrikes could occur ``if decisive measures are not immediately taken for a radical improvement of the situation,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Vladimir Rakhmanin told the ITAR-Tass news agency. To avoid such an attack, Yugoslavia must end the hostilities, withdraw army and security forces, take urgent measures to overcome the humanitarian crisis, ensure that refugees can return home and take part in peace talks, he said. In Berlin, German Gen. Dieter Stoeckmann told German radio that NATO action could come ``within days.'' NATO's decision may depend on a report U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is scheduled to present to the Security Council Monday on whether Yugoslavia is meeting U.N. demands. Serb authorities appeared ready for compromise by installing an interim government in the rebellious province in Serbia, the dominant republic in Yugoslavia. Serbian police and the Yugoslav army have routed separatist Kosovo Albanian rebels in the crackdown that began in late February. The conflict has killed hundreds _ most of them Albanian civilians _ and left more than 275,000 refugees. A Yugoslav statement said the nation's leaders wanted the Kosovo dispute solved peacefully, ``but in case we are attacked, we shall defend our country with all means.'' The government said Friday that the fighting had ended and blamed continuing violence on ethnic Albanian rebels, who are fighting for independence for the Serbian province. Although the United States and Europeans want an end to the fighting, they also oppose independence for the majority Albanian province, fearing that could destabilize other Balkan countries with Albanian populations. In the Kosovo capital Pristina, the KLA offered to help NATO forces if asked. KLA spokesman Jakup Krasniqi said in a statement published Monday by the Albanian language newspaper Bujku that ``we wish they (airstrikes) would become reality'' and ``we shall provide assistance... if it is asked of us.'' Krasniqi accused ethnic Albanian politicians of having ``given up on independence'' and having become ``the servants of the enemy,'' by agreeing to accept autonomy but not independence. Serbs reported two attacks Sunday on civilian cars by Albanian ``terrorists'' 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Pristina, Kosovo's provincial capital. Elsewhere, a policeman was killed after stepping on a mine, the Serb Media Center said. The Kosovo Information Center, allied with the ethnic Albanians, reported heavy fighting between government forces and the guerrillas 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Pristina. Ethnic Albanian political leaders have rejected the new interim government, which was drawn up without their participation. The council is composed of seven Serbs, five ethnic Albanians and the rest Turks and Muslims. Momentum for outside involvement has increased in the past week amid revelations of massacres of ethnic Albanian civilians in the forests of Kosovo. London's Sunday Telegraph reported that Britain is preparing troops and armored units for Kosovo, to be deployed in a post-airstrike peacekeeping role. The defense ministry refused to confirm or deny the report but repeated that Britain was ready to participate in a NATO attack. French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine met Sunday night with his British counterpart, Robin Cook, to discuss the situation in Kosovo, France's Foreign Ministry said. Vedrine and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright had a lengthy telephone conversation as well, the spokesman said. On Sunday, Human Rights Watch said both Milosevic's government and ethnic Albanian rebels have committed atrocities since the conflict began, but the government abuses were on a much greater scale. The report by the New York-based human rights organization says Milosevic has ``the primary responsibility for gross government abuses.''",
"BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) _ U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke said Monday the military situation in Kosovo was as bad now as two weeks ago. Holbrooke said he will explain the ``extreme gravity of the situation'' when he meets Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic later Monday. Speaking after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Javier Solana and Supreme Allied Commander Europe Wesley K. Clark, Holbrooke said ``while the level of fighting (in Kosovo) may have abated temporarily, the capacity for its resumption is there.'' ``The situation therefore remains fully as serious today as it was a week or two ago,'' he told reporters before flying to Belgrade. He plans to meet with the Kosovan Albanian leaders on Tuesday. ``We hope to make clear to president Milosevic and the people of Yugoslavia the extreme gravity of the situation,'' he said.",
"With NATO attacks said to be only days away, top U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke delivered a last-minute warning Monday to Yugoslavia's president to halt his crackdown on ethnic Albanians in Kosovo or face airstrikes. But Slobodan Milosevic showed no signs of backing down. Following his meeting with Holbrooke, Milosevic's office issued a statement denouncing NATO threats as a ``criminal act'' that favored separatist ethnic Albanian guerrillas. The statement, broadcast by government television, said there had been no fighting in the Serbian province for the past seven days and that the crisis represented no threat to other countries in the southern Balkans. Holbrooke, the U.S. ambassador-designate to the United Nations, met with Milosevic for several hours late Monday after arriving from Brussels, Belgium, where he conferred with senior NATO officials. Holbrooke issued no statement after the meeting. Before boarding a plane for the Yugoslav capital, Belgrade, however, Holbrooke said conditions in the southern Serbian province had not improved since the alliance started two weeks ago to finalize plans for air raids to force Milosevic to halt his offensive against Kosovo Albanian separatists. Holbrooke said he planned to drive home to Milosevic ``the extreme gravity of the situation.'' Holbrooke negotiated the peace deal with Milosevic and other Balkan leaders that ended the 3 1/2 year Bosnian war in 1995. In Washington, U.S. President Bill Clinton expressed concern that Milosevic was ``playing the classic game of making false promises'' to avoid NATO military strikes. Clinton, in a telephone call with Russian President Boris Yeltsin, said Milosevic's compliance with U.N. demands ``must be verifiable, tangible and irreversible,'' press secretary Joe Lockhart said at the White House. ``What happens next depends on President Milosevic,'' Lockhart quoted the president telling the Russian leader, who has opposed the use of force against Moscow's longtime ally. As Holbrooke tried to resolve the crisis through negotiations, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said a decision on NATO military action was imminent. ``We are getting ready for NATO action and later this week we will expect a decision to be taken,'' Cook told reporters after a special session of the Cabinet called by Prime Minister Tony Blair. In Brussels, NATO officials said they were ready to launch airstrikes within hours of receiving an order to attack. If that first airstrike failed to deter Serb forces, a senior NATO official said on condition of anonymity, the alliance could unleash a ``fully fledged air campaign'' involving hundreds of planes. At the United Nations, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Yugoslav forces had increased their attacks on Kosovo's ethnic Albanians even after a U.N. resolution demanded a cease-fire. In a widely anticipated report to the Security Council, Annan listed apparent violations of a Sept. 23 U.N. resolution, decried the ``appalling atrocities in Kosovo,'' and said it was ``clear beyond any reasonable doubt'' that Yugoslav forces were responsible for the bulk of them. The U.N. chief also said rebel forces of the Kosovo Liberation Army also were responsible for human rights violations, a charge the KLA quickly denied. NATO countries had been awaiting the U.N. chief's report to determine whether to use military force to stop the offensive on ethnic Albanians, who are seeking autonomy like they had until 1989, if not independence, from Yugoslavia. Albanians in the province outnumber Serbs 9-to-1. Despite Annan's unwillingness to declare Serb noncompliance, U.S. State Department spokesman James Foley said the Clinton administration believed Milosevic had not met the conditions laid down by the U.N. Security Council. Foley cited the absence of a formal cease-fire, the failure to arrange a meaningful dialogue with ethnic Albanian leaders and the continued presence of ``major army units'' in southeastern Kosovo near Albania's border. The European Union nations were divided Monday on whether to launch air strikes without U.N. Security Council backing. The EU foreign ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, agreed to tighten economic sanctions against Milosevic, but it was unlikely that stricter travel curbs for Yugoslav officials and freezing more Yugoslav assets abroad would be anything more than symbolic. Meanwhile, Yugoslavia's prime minister told an emergency session of parliament Monday that the country ``is faced with the imminent danger of war.'' Yugoslavia is comprised of dominant Serbia and smaller Montenegro. ``The threats are serious,'' Prime Minister Momir Bulatovic said. ``And I call on this parliament to conclude that Yugoslavia is faced with the imminent danger of war. Yugoslavia has to defend itself if it was attacked.'' One option was for parliament to declare a state of emergency _ a step toward a mobilization of all military-aged men. But the parliament voted to introduce the measure ``when the first bomb drops on our territory.'' In an attempt to head off NATO action, Bulatovic said the government had accepted a Russian proposal for an investigation by the 54-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Yugoslavia had repeatedly rejected such a mission to Kosovo until Yugoslav membership in the organization is restored. The prime minister also said there was no longer any fighting in Kosovo, which has 2 million residents. He said five of the 10 special police units had been removed from Kosovo and the others had been returned to their barracks in the province. One diplomat in Kosovo, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there has been a significant redeployment of Yugoslav army troops out of Kosovo to other parts of Serbia, including a mechanized brigade that pulled out Sunday. Some army units remain in the field, and there is enormous fear that violence will resume, particularly among refugees, tens of thousands of whom are living in the hills and forests without shelter.",
"With NATO attacks said to be only days away, top U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke delivered an 11th-hour warning Monday to Yugoslavia's president to halt his crackdown on ethnic Albanians in Kosovo or face airstrikes. But there was no sign that Slobodan Milosevic was backing down. Following his meeting with Holbrooke, Milosevic's office issued a statement denouncing NATO threats as a ``criminal act'' which favored separatist ethnic Albanian guerrillas. The statement, broadcast by government television, said there had been no fighting in the Serbian province for the past seven days and that the crisis represented no threat to other countries in the southern Balkans. Holbrooke, the U.S. ambassador-designate to the United Nations, met with Milosevic for several hours late Monday after arriving from Brussels, Belgium, where he conferred with senior NATO officials. There was no statement from Holbrooke after the meeting. Before boarding a plane for Belgrade, however, Holbrooke said conditions in the southern Serbian province had not improved since the alliance started two weeks ago to finalize plans for air raids to force Milosevic to halt his offensive against Kosovo Albanian separatists. Holbrooke said he planned to drive home to Milosevic ``the extreme gravity of the situation.'' Holbrooke negotiated the peace deal with Milosevic and other Balkan leaders that ended the 3 and one-half year Bosnian war in 1995. In Washington, President Clinton expressed concern that Milosevic was ``playing the classic game of making false promises'' to avoid NATO military strikes. Clinton, in a telephone call with Russian President Boris Yeltsin, said Milosevic's compliance with U.N. demands ``must be verifiable, tangible and irreversible,'' press secretary Joe Lockhart said at the White House. ``What happens next depends on President Milosevic,'' Lockhart quoted the president telling the Russian leader, who has opposed the use of force against Moscow's longtime ally. As Holbrooke tried to resolve the crisis through negotiations, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said a decision on NATO military action was imminent. ``We are getting ready for NATO action and later this week we will expect a decision to be taken,'' Cook told reporters after a special session of the Cabinet called by Prime Minister Tony Blair. In Brussels, NATO officials said they were ready to launch airstrikes within hours of receiving an order to attack. If that first airstrike failed to deter Serb forces, a senior NATO official said on condition of anonymity, the alliance could unleash a ``fully fledged air campaign'' involving hundreds of planes. At the United Nations, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Yugoslav forces had increased their attacks on Kosovo's ethnic Albanians even after a U.N. resolution demanded a cease-fire. In a widely anticipated report to the Security Council, Annan listed apparent violations of a Sept. 23 U.N. resolution, decried the ``appalling atrocities in Kosovo,'' and said it was ``clear beyond any reasonable doubt'' that Yugoslav forces were responsible for the bulk of them. The U.N. chief also said rebel forces of the Kosovo Liberation Army also were responsible for human rights violations, a charge the KLA quickly denied. NATO countries had been awaiting the U.N. chief's report to determine whether to use military force to stop the offensive on ethnic Albanians, who are seeking autonomy like they had until 1989, if not independence, from Yugoslavia. Albanians in the province outnumber Serbs 9-to-1. Despite Annan's unwillingness to declare Serb noncompliance, State Department spokesman James Foley said the Clinton administration believed Milosevic had not met the conditions laid down by the Security Council. Briefing reporters in Washington, Foley cited the absence of a formal cease-fire, the failure to arrange a meaningful dialogue with ethnic Albanian leaders and the continued presence of ``major army units'' in southeastern Kosovo near Albania's border. Meanwhile, Yugoslavia's prime minister told an emergency session of parliament Monday that the country ``is faced with the imminent danger of war.'' Yugoslavia is comprised of dominant Serbia and smaller Montenegro. ``The threats are serious,'' Prime Minister Momir Bulatovic said. ``And I call on this parliament to conclude that Yugoslavia is faced with the imminent danger of war. Yugoslavia has to defend itself if it was attacked.'' One option was for parliament to declare a state of emergency _ a step toward a mobilization of all military-aged men. But the parliament voted to introduce the measure ``when the first bomb drops on our territory.'' In an attempt to head off NATO action, Bulatovic said the government had accepted a Russian proposal for an investigation by the 54-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Yugoslavia had repeatedly rejected such a mission to Kosovo until Yugoslav membership in the organization is restored. The prime minister also said there was no longer any fighting in Kosovo, which has 2 million residents. He said five of the 10 special police units had been removed from Kosovo and the others had been returned to their barracks in the province. One diplomat in Kosovo, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there has been a significant redeployment of Yugoslav army troops out of Kosovo to other parts of Serbia, including a mechanized brigade that pulled out Sunday. Some army units remain in the field, and there is enormous fear that violence will resume, particularly among refugees, tens of thousands of whom are living in the hills and forests without shelter.",
"The United States and Russia are ratcheting up the pressure on President Slobodan Milosevic, warning that NATO airstrikes are inevitable unless he takes decisive action soon to end the humanitarian crisis in the southern Serbian province. Fearing airstrikes, Yugoslav generals put the nation's air defense on high alert, but tried a belated compromise by moving some tanks and other heavy equipment out of Kosovo. A Western diplomat said up to 120 Yugoslav army armored vehicles, including tanks, have been pulled out. In Brussels, Belgium, however, U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke told reporters Monday that the situation in Kosovo has not improved. Holbrooke is en route to Belgrade for a meeting with Milosevic. ``While the level of fighting (in Kosovo) may have abated temporarily, the capacity for its resumption is there,'' Holbrooke said after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Javier Solana and Supreme Allied Commander Europe Wesley K. Clark. ``The situation therefore remains fully as serious today as it was a week or two ago,'' he said. ``We hope to make clear to President Milosevic and the people of Yugoslavia the extreme gravity of the situation.'' On Sunday, Milosevic met with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev, Serbian President Milan Milutinovic and Yugoslavia's top defense officials. The Russians are against using NATO force in Kosovo. However, Ivanov and Sergeyev said the airstrikes could occur ``if decisive measures are not immediately taken for a radical improvement of the situation,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Vladimir Rakhmanin told the ITAR-Tass news agency. To avoid such an attack, Yugoslavia must end the hostilities, withdraw army and security forces, take urgent measures to overcome the humanitarian crisis, ensure that refugees can return home and take part in peace talks, he said. In Berlin, 7th graf pvs",
"Under NATO threat to end his punishing offensive against ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo, President Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia has ordered most units of his army back to their barracks and may well avoid an attack by the alliance, military observers and diplomats say. Milosevic, who on one hand is excoriated by Washington as the scourge of Kosovo yet on the other hand is treated as key to peace in Bosnia, acted as the European Union, NATO and the United Nations prepared for a review on Monday of possible military intervention. Russia stepped up its warnings against such action and dispatched its foreign and defense ministers on an unusually high-level mission to see the Yugoslav president Sunday in Belgrade. As he has so often, Milosevic appears to have bowed to foreign demands in the nick of time and yet still accomplished what he wanted. This weekend, foreign diplomatic observers in Kosovo reported that a ``military stand-down'' had taken place in the province, where Milosevic's forces have waged a fierce offensive against Albanian rebels. The observers said that except for segments of three brigades, most units of the Yugoslav army were ``home.'' The daily reports of the observer mission, made up of U.S., European Union and Russian military experts, are one of the key elements in helping Washington and European capitals decide whether Milosevic has met their demands for a cease-fire. By putting the army back in its barracks, sending some police units out of Kosovo and ordering an end to burning and looting of villages, Milosevic may well avoid a NATO attack, diplomats here and in Washington said. But at the same time, they acknowledge that while NATO looked the other way, he enjoyed a three-month license to overwhelm the Kosovo Liberation Army _ the rebel army fighting for independence for Kosovo and its ethnic Albanian majority _ and terrorize the rural civilian population that supports it. His military operation created more than 250,000 refugees, whom the Clinton administration is gearing up to take care of this winter through a variety of relief organizations. U.S. officials said they expected Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. envoy who dealt with Milosevic in negotiating an end to the war in Bosnia, to meet with him on Monday to discuss a political plan for Kosovo. The heart of the disagreement in Kosovo is between Serbia, Yugoslavia's principal republic, which insists on keeping Kosovo as a province, and the ethnic Albanians there who have chafed under Milosevic's repression since he stripped the province of virtual autonomy in 1989, and who now seek independence. The West, fearing the precedent that independence for Kosovo would set in other conflicts in the world, has been trying to mediate a middle course. In essence, diplomats said they believed that the plan Holbrooke will present to Milosevic calls for a three-year interim period leading to a status fairly close to the pre-1989 autonomy arrangement. Since the Kosovo conflict flared up in March, critics of Washington's policy toward Milosevic argue that he has been able to choreograph every move to suit his goal: pushing the Albanian population into submission with impunity. ``The United States and its allies have waited four months while he cleaned the clock of the Kosovo Liberation Army,'' said Morton Abramowitz, head of the International Crisis Group, a policy analysis organization, ``and taken three weeks to discuss military action, with the result that 500 Albanian villages were destroyed.'' Administration officials now acknowledge that when NATO failed to live up to its earlier threat in June to strike Serbia, Milosevic took advantage of the indecision and plunged ahead with an artillery and tank offensive against the lightly armed guerrilla forces, whose bedrock of popular support had helped win them effective control of large swaths of Kosovo territory, including key roads. While he was doing that, Milosevic skillfully managed a key requirement for Washington: he made sure that the war did not spill over into neighboring Albania and Macedonia, fragile countries in a traditionally volatile area. All along, the biggest fear in Washington has been that the Kosovo conflict would engulf neighboring countries and encourage Albania and the ethnic Albanian population in Macedonia to join the cause. Such a possibility raised the specter of a new Balkans conflict just three years after peace was secured in Bosnia. Milosevic catered to Washington's concern that the conflict be contained. The Yugoslav army mined Kosovo's borders with Macedonia and Albania, ensuring that few refugees could escape and limiting routes for arms supplies for the rebels. The Yugoslav leader also understood that Washington was unsure about how to deal with the disorganized Albanian political leadership in Kosovo and the unbending Kosovo Liberation Army, whose main chiefs were hardened emigres returned from Switzerland and Germany. For example, Holbrooke persuaded Milosevic to meet in May with Ibrahim Rugova, the top Albanian political leader in Kosovo, an encounter that turned out to be little more than a photo opportunity. For that procedural breakthrough, Holbrooke recommended the lifting of a ban on foreign investment in Serbia that had been put in place the month before. After meeting with Rugova, Milosevic stepped up his military operations in Kosovo, forcing Washington to reverse itself again and carry out the investment ban. In late June, Holbrooke met with two self-styled Kosovo guerrilla commanders in the province's western town of Junik but then broke off all contact. Clinton administration officials said at the time that they were concerned that NATO intervention would bolster the separatist forces. To try to put the best face on the situation, Washington worked with Moscow to get Milosevic to accept the presence of international monitors who would patrol Kosovo and report on military action. The monitors were slow in getting organized. By August, when the Yugoslav army, backed by the Serbian special police, were in full swing against the rebels and burning and looting villages in the process, the monitors found it difficult to gain access to the fighting. They drove up to roadblocks, knew something was going on from the sounds and the smoke, but could not be precise. In recent days as the tanks and artillery have withdrawn, access has improved, the monitors say. But there are some areas in central Kosovo around Likovac and Gornje Obrinje that the monitors have ruled off limits because of land mines on the roads. The mines are believed to have been planted by the guerrillas. Gornje Obrinje was the site of a massacre of 18 ethnic Albanian women, children and elderly people on Sept. 26. A British reporter who walked across fields into the village on Sunday said about 10 mortar shells, apparently from the Serbian police or the Yugoslav army, were fired at the village early Sunday afternoon. The Yugoslav army and police forces have been responsible for the vast majority of atrocities in the Kosovo conflict, said a report by New York-based group Human Rights Watch, released here on Sunday. The report said the rebels had also violated the laws of war by taking civilian hostages and carrying out summary executions. But the violations by the guerrillas were on a ``lesser scale'' than the government abuses, the author of the report, Fred Abrahams, concluded. The report focused on what it called a watershed in the conflict _ the attack by police forces on three ethnic Albanian villages in late February and early March in the Drenica region of central Kosovo. At least 83 people, including 24 women and children, were killed in the attack, which involved helicopters, artillery and armored personnel carriers. In the Yugoslav capital, Belgrade, which is a four-hour drive north through rolling countryside from Kosovo's capital of Pristina, Milosevic remains politically secure. That is in part, his domestic critics say, because diplomats like Holbrooke and the head of the U.N.refugee agency, Sadako Ogata, insist on going to see him, thus enhancing his stature.",
"With the threat of NATO attack mounting, Yugoslavia's prime minister warned Monday the nation faces the ``immiment danger of war'' and claimed the government was taking steps to comply with international demands for peace in Kosovo. In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said ``systematic terror'' had been inflicted on Kosovo civilians within recent days and that Yugoslav forces were mostly responsible. But Annan said he did not ``have the means necessary to provide an independent assessment of compliance as required by the Security Council'' and suggested the 15 members may want to make their ``own judgement in this respect.'' But U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke said the situation in the southern Serbian province was as bad now as two weeks ago. Holbrooke spoke in Brussels, Belgium en route to Belgrade, where he planned to drive home to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic ``the extreme gravity of the situation.'' Meanwhile, Yugoslavia's prime minister told an emergency session of parliament Monday that the country ``is faced with the imminent danger of war.'' Kosovo is a province of Serbia, the main republic of Yugoslavia. ``The threats are serious,'' Prime Minister Momir Bulatovic said. ``And I call on this parliament to conclude that Yugoslavia is faced with the imminent danger of war. Yugoslavia has to defend itself if it was attacked.'' One option could be for parliament to declare a state of emergency _ a step which could lead to a general mobilization of all military-aged men. In an attempt to head off NATO action, Bulatovic said the government had accepted a Russian proposal for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to investigate the crisis. Yugoslavia had repeatedly rejected such a mission to Kosovo until Yugoslav membership in the 54-nation organization is restored. Bulatovic also claimed there was no longer any fighting in the rebellious, majority Albanian province. He said five of the 10 special police units had been removed from Kosovo and the others had been returned to barracks in the province. In Brussels, however, Holbrooke made clear that half-measures would not be enough to satisfy Washington and prevent a NATO attack. ``While the level of fighting may have abated temporarily, the capacity for its resumption is there,'' Holbrooke said after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Javier Solana and Supreme Allied Commander Europe Wesley K. Clark. ``The situation, therefore, remains fully as serious today as it was a week or two ago,'' he said. ``We hope to make clear to president Milosevic and the people of Yugoslavia the extreme gravity of the situation.'' Meanwhile, the head of Yugoslavia's other republic, Montenegro, called on Milosevic to accept all international demands and avert a NATO attack. ``We have to avert a clash with the whole world, a confrontation which we are bound to lose,'' Montenegro's pro-Western president, Milo Djukanovic, said in a statement. Djukanovic, a staunch Milosevic critic, called on the Yugoslav president to address the nation ``with an unambiguous message'' that he has accepted all U.N. resolutions and agreements he made with Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Djukanovic blamed Yugoslavia's problems on Milosevic's ``undemocratic regime.'' Fearing airstrikes, Yugoslav generals put the nation's air defense on high alert and moved some tanks and other heavy equipment out of Kosovo. A Western diplomat said up to 120 Yugoslav army armored vehicles, including tanks, have been pulled out. Belgrade had been counting on Russia to block any U.N.-sanctioned military moves by the Western Alliance. On Sunday, Milosevic met with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev, Serbian President Milan Milutinovic and Yugoslavia's top defense officials. Although the Russians are against using NATO force in Kosovo, Ivanov and Sergeyev said the airstrikes could occur ``if decisive measures are not immediately taken for a radical improvement of the situation,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Vladimir Rakhmanin told the ITAR-Tass news agency. To avoid such an attack, Yugoslavia must end the hostilities, withdraw army and security forces, take urgent measures to overcome the humanitarian crisis, ensure that refugees can return home and take part in peace talks, he said. In Berlin, German Gen. Dieter Stoeckmann told German radio that NATO action could come ``within days.'' Serb authorities appeared ready for compromise by installing an interim government in the rebellious province in Serbia, the dominant republic in Yugoslavia. Serbian police and the Yugoslav army have routed separatist Kosovo Albanian rebels in the crackdown that began in late February. The conflict has killed hundreds _ most of them Albanian civilians _ and left more than 275,000 refugees. Ethnic Albanians compromise 90 percent of the province's 2 million-strong population, and most favor independence or substantial self-rule. Momentum for outside involvement has increased in the past week amid revelations of massacres of ethnic Albanian civilians in the forests of Kosovo. Although the United States and Europeans want an end to the fighting, they also oppose independence for Kosovo, fearing that could destabilize other Balkan countries with Albanian populations. In the Kosovo capital Pristina, the KLA offered to help NATO forces if asked. KLA spokesman Jakup Krasniqi said in a statement published Monday by the Albanian language newspaper Bujku that ``we wish they (airstrikes) would become reality'' and ``we shall provide assistance... if it is asked of us.'' Krasniqi accused ethnic Albanian politicians of having ``given up on independence'' and having become ``the servants of the enemy,'' by agreeing to accept autonomy but not independence. Ethnic Albanian political leaders have rejected the new interim government, which was drawn up without their participation. The council is composed of seven Serbs, five ethnic Albanians and the rest Turks and Muslims."
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1,000 people mourned Matthew Shepherd, the gay University of Wyoming student who was severely beaten and left to die tied to a fence. The crime sparked nationwide vigils and prompted President Clinton to call for federal hate-crimes legislation. In 19 states, including Colorado, sexual orientation is not included in hate-crime laws. Wyoming is one of 10 states with no hate-crime laws at all, but the governor appealed to lawmakers to reconsider their opposition. Christian conservatives argue that hate-crime laws restrict freedom of speech, while gay rights activists and others say these laws send a message that attacks on minorities will not be tolerated. A passerby who found Matthew Shepard's nearly lifeless body tied to a fence outside Laramie, Wyoming at first thought it was a scarecrow. Matthew, an openly gay student at the University of Wyoming, had been kidnapped, brutally beaten and left to die in near freezing temperatures. Two men, Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney were arrested on charges of kidnapping and attempted first degree murder. Two women, friends of the accused, were charged as accessories after the fact. Seeing this as a hate crime, gay-rights activists nationwide renewed efforts to get the Clinton Administration to pass hate-crime legislation. A 22-year old gay University of Wyoming student was found beaten and left to die lashed to a fence. Two men were arraigned on kidnapping, robbery, and attempted murder charges (changed to murder after Shepard died) and two females were charged as accessories. Expressions of sympathy came from across the nation, including President Clinton and the crime was widely denounced. The savage nature of the crime renewed calls for enactment of hate-crimes legislation. The House passed a resolution calling the killing "outrageous". On the day Shepard died, the Family Research Council co-hosted a press conference to demonize gay people. Two men in Wyoming kidnapped, robbed, and brutally beat a gay university student who died in a coma five days after the assault. The incident fanned public outrage. Hundreds in Laramie and on campuses across the nation demonstrated support to the student with marches and candlelight vigils. President Clinton responded to nationwide calls by urging Congress to pass the Federal Hate Crimes Protection Act. Gay leaders stressed that hostility towards gays, based on several surveys, flourishes in high schools and universities. By coincidence, on the day of the beating a religious right organization in Washington was announcing a barrage of TV ads aimed at gays.
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"Matthew Shepard, the gay college student who was kidnapped and severely beaten, died here Monday, five days after he was found unconscious on a Wyoming ranch where he had been left tied to a fence for 18 hours in near-freezing temperatures. His death, announced at Poudre Valley Hospital here, fanned the outrage that followed word of last week's attack, spawning nationwide vigils, producing a call for federal hate-crimes legislation from President Clinton and fueling debates over such laws in a host of Western states, including Wyoming, that have resisted them. From Denver to the University of Maryland, people turned out to honor the The slight, soft-spoken 21-year-old Shepard, a freshman at the University of Wyoming, who became an overnight symbol of anti-gay violence after he was found dangling from the fence by a passerby. Two men and two women have been charged in the case. The men were charged with attempted murder and are expected to face first-degree murder charges that could bring the death penalty. ``There is incredible symbolism about being tied to a fence,'' said Rebecca Isaacs, political director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in Washington. ``People have likened it to a scarecrow. But it sounded more like a crucifixion.'' Gay leaders hope _ and Christian conservatives fear _ that Shepard's death will galvanize Congress and state legislatures to pass hate-crime legislation or broaden existing laws. Conservatives generally oppose such laws because they favor one group's rights over another. In the last two decades, 21 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws that increase penalties for crimes that are committed because of a person's race, religion, color, national origin, and sexual orientation. Another 19 states, including Colorado, do not include sexual orientation in their hate-crime laws. Ten states, including Wyoming, have no hate-crime laws at all. In Washington, Clinton responded to news of Shepard's death by urging Congress to pass the federal Hate Crimes Protection Act, which would make federal offenses of crimes based on sex, disability and sexual orientation. Wyoming has been one of the nation's holdouts, rejecting three hate crimes bills since 1994, most recently in February. But Monday, after Shepard's death, Gov. Jim Geringer appealed to lawmakers to reconsider their opposition. ``I ask for a collective suggestion for anti-bias, anti-hate legislation that can be presented to the Wyoming Legislature for their consideration in January,'' Geringer said. The governor met Monday morning with Dennis Shepard, the slain student's father, and said that the elder Shepard did not want his son's death to become ``a media circus'' and that ``we should not use Matt to further an agenda.'' Geringer said that Shepard's father also said: ``Don't rush into just passing all kinds of new hate-crimes laws. Be very careful of any changes and be sure you're not taking away rights of others in the process to race to this.'' Leaders of gay rights groups interviewed Monday said they would respect the family's privacy by not attending the burial in Casper, Wyo., on Saturday. But they added that they hoped the death would have an",
"impact on legislators around the nation. ``Matthew's death, I hope, will bring about a better and deeper understanding of hate crime laws,'' said Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign, a lesbian and gay rights group that has 250,000 members. ``Matthew's death may lead to an awakening in Wyoming and in the United States Congress as the need for this legislation.'' In 1996, 21 men and women were killed in the United States because of their sexual orientation, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama group that tracks violence against minorities. According to the FBI, sexual orientation was a factor in 11.6 percent of the 8,759 hate crimes recorded in 1996. But Christian conservatives warn that gay leaders want to use Shepard's death to expand hate rights laws and to curtail freedom of speech. ``Hate crimes laws have nothing to do with perpetrators of violent crime and everything to do with silencing political opposition,'' said Steven Schwalm, an analyst with the Family Research Council, a Washington group dedicated to defending ``faith, family and freedom.'' ``It would criminalize pro-family beliefs,'' Schwalm said. ``This basically sends a message that you can't disagree with the political message of homosexual activists.'' Agreement came from John Paulk, who was featured this summer in a series of advertisements about how he and his wife, Anne, ``overcame'' homosexuality through religious conversion. ``We have every right to speak out against an agenda that is contrary to Biblical norms,'' said Paulk, who describes himself as a homosexuality specialist for Focus on the Family, a Christian group in Colorado Springs, Colo. ``Because we are standing up and opposing the homosexual agenda, we are being looked upon as advocating violence against homosexuals, when we categorically reject violence against homosexuals.'' Last Thursday, the Family Research Council unveiled a series of television advertisements that preach the ``healing'' of homosexuality through religious conversion. Gay leaders charge that these advertisements help create a hostile climate for homosexuals, a climate that can lead to violence. Hate crime laws that are on the books in 40 states have not impinged on freedom of speech, said Brian Levin, a criminal justice professor who directs the Center on Hate and Extremism at Stockton College, in Pomona, N.J. Instead, he said, hate crime laws send a clear message that society does not tolerate attacks on minorities. ``We want to deter the broken windows and simple assaults before they escalate,'' he said. Referring to murders of homosexuals, he added: ``These crimes are preventable. Offenders get emboldened if they are not punished the first time.'' Levin said that his research indicated that homosexuals suffered higher rates of violent crime than the population at large. He also said that roughly half of the people who attack homosexuals are male, aged 22 or younger. The two men charged in the killing of Shephard are both white, Russell Henderson, 21, and Aaron McKinney, 22. ``With other crimes, violence is a means to an end. With hate crimes, the violence becomes an unstoppable goal,'' Levin said. Shepard suffered a dozen cuts around the head,",
"face and neck, as well as a massive blow to the back of his skull. ``Because their social stature in society, gays are often viewed as appropriate targets,'' Levin added. Citing the need for hate crime laws to send a clear message to gay bashers, Levin said: ``The discourse in society leaves many of these people to believe that what they are doing is socially acceptable.'' While some gay leaders saw crucifixion imagery in Shepard's death, others saw a different symbolism: the Old West practice of nailing a dead coyote to a ranch fence as a warning to future intruders. ``This University of Wyoming student was beaten and left to die, tied to a fence like an animal because he was honest and open about being gay,'' Beatrice Dorhn, legal director of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, said Monday, ``Matthew Shepard's horrible suffering and death cannot be dismissed simply as the fault of deranged, isolated individuals. His attackers are among millions of Americans who constantly hear the message that gay people are not worthy of the most basic equal treatment,'' Ms. Dorhn said.",
"On the same day Americans learned last week that Matthew Shepard, a 5-foot-2, 105-pound gay college student, had been tortured, strung up like an animal and left to die on a fence outside Laramie, Wyo., the Family Research Council was co-hosting a press conference in Washington. It was the latest salvo in a six-month campaign by the religious right, with the tacit, even explicit, approval of Republican leaders, to demonize gay people for political gain in this election year. This particular press conference was to announce a new barrage of ads _ a TV follow-up to a summer print campaign _ in which alleged former homosexuals who have ``changed'' implore others to do likewise ``through the power of Jesus Christ.'' The commercials, gooey in style, end with a slogan: ``It's not about hate ... It's about hope.'' But it's really about stirring up the fear that produces hate. If these ads were truly aimed at gay people, they wouldn't be broadcast at extravagant cost to the wide general audience reached by TV, and they wouldn't be trumpeted in Washington, insuring free national exposure, three weeks before Election Day. The ads themselves, despite the sugar-coating of ``hope,'' ooze malice. In one of them, homosexuality is linked to drug addiction and certain death by AIDS; all of them implicitly posit that homosexuality is itself a disease in need of a cure. Matthew Shepard has now been ``cured,'' that's for sure. As his uncle, R.W. Eaton, told The Denver Post, the 21-year-old Matt, who aspired to a career in diplomacy and human rights, was ``a small person with a big heart, mind and soul that someone tried to beat out of him.'' Of his nephew's shattered body Eaton said, ``It's like something you might see in war.'' And a war it is. Go to the Family Research Council's Web site and you will find a proud description of its readiness to ``wage the war against the homosexual agenda and fight to maintain the traditional meaning of `family.''' The head of the Family Research Council is Gary Bauer, a GOP power broker and putative presidential candidate, who disingenuously goes on talk shows to say that his organization hates no one and deplores violence. But if you wage a well-financed media air war in which people with an innate difference in sexual orientation are ceaselessly branded as sinful and diseased and un-American seekers of ``special rights,'' ground war will follow. It's a story as old as history. Once any group is successfully scapegoated as a subhuman threat to ``normal'' values by a propaganda machine, emboldened thugs take over. Two weeks after James Byrd was savagely dragged to his death from a pickup truck in Texas in June, I wrote a column about an ugly incident outside the GOP state convention in Fort Worth, where a mob threatened a group of gay Log Cabin Republicans who were protesting discriminatory treatment by their own party. The gay-bashers had been directly preceded by steady saber-rattling from Republican politicians: Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma had likened James Hormel, a gay nominee to an ambassadorship, to David Duke; Pat Robertson had wondered on TV if God might wreak havoc on Disney World for its ``Gay Days''; the Texas GOP spokesman had likened Log Cabin to the Ku Klux Klan. Just two days after this near-brush with violence in Fort Worth, Trent Lott was on TV seconding the religious right's condemnation of gay people as sinful and sick. A frightened gay Texas Republican who had been at the convention melee asked when I interviewed him then: ``Do you have to have someone hurt and beat up and dragged from a truck to stop this?'' Months later not even the murder in Laramie has moved Lott to apologize for his words, and still no major GOP leader dares take on its ``religious'' wing and its crusade against people like Matthew Shepard. In one of the new ads in that supposedly hate-free crusade, an ostensibly loving mother condemns her son for the ``bad choice'' of being gay. Is it that mother who speaks for American values, or is it Matthew's? ``Go home, give your kids a hug,'' Judy Shepard said in a message read by a tearful hospital spokesman who announced her child's death early Monday morning, ``and don't let a day go by without telling them you love them.''",
"Matthew Wayne Shepard, the gay student who was beaten in the dead of night, tied to a fence and left to die alone, was mourned at his funeral Friday by 1,000 people, including many who had never met him. ``Matt believed that if he had made one person's life better, he had succeeded,'' his cousin, the Rev. Anne Kitch, said in a homily that was carried beyond the packed pews of St. Mark's Episcopal Church, through a filled parish hall, across the street to a packed Presbyterian church and across Casper on an AM radio station. ``Judging from the world's response,'' she said, ``Matt will have made a difference in the lives of thousands.'' As the first snowstorm of the fall blanketed Casper, fresh flowers filled the red brick church here where Shepard had been baptized as a teen-ager and where he once wore the white robes of an Episcopal acolyte. ``There is an image that comes to mind when I reflect on Matt on that wooden cross rail fence,'' said the Rev. Royce Brown, the pastor of St. Mark's, in a eulogy. ``I replace that image with that of another man hung upon a cross. When I concentrate on that man, I can release the bitterness inside.'' Shepard, a 21-year-old freshman at the University of Wyoming, had dreamed of working one day for human rights. In death, he has become a national catalyst for a new drive to guarantee for gay people the right to physical safety. His death hit a nerve in the nation this week, eliciting dozens of candlelight vigils and rallies for tolerance, several statements of sadness from President Clinton, and a congressional resolution. Thursday, the House of Representatives passed by voice vote a resolution that condemned Shepard's killing as ``outrageous'' and that urged each member of Congress and every U.S. citizen ``to denounce this outrageous murder of another human being.'' In one of the largest rallies, about 1,000 people, including members of Congress of both parties, gathered on the steps of the Capitol in Washington to condemn Shepherd's killing and to urge passage of a federal bill that would add extra penalties to crimes motivated by a victim's sexual orientation, gender or disability. House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt urged passage of the bill, leading the crowd in a chant of ``Now! Now! Now.'' ``We will never forget the love that the world has shared with this kind, loving son,'' said Shepherd's father, Dennis, his father, outside Casper City Hall, as his mother, Judy, stood by, weeping. He said the family was ``touched beyond measure'' by ``the thousands of e-mail comments, Web-site messages, phone calls and cards offering help, consolation, sympathy and support.'' Before the funeral, about a dozen protesters, largely from Kansas and Texas, waved signs with anti-homosexual messages. But mourners stood in front of them, singing ``Amazing Grace'' and holding umbrellas to block the sight of the spectacle from friends and family members entering the church. On hearing of the protest, the Casper City Council held an emergency meeting Thursday night and unanimously passed an ordinance",
"banning protests during funerals. Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer had warned in advance that anti-gay protesters were ``just flat not welcome.'' The governor, a Republican, added, ``What we don't need is a bunch of wingnuts coming in.'' Shepard was born in Casper and attended elementary school, junior high and several years of high school and college here. With flags at Casper's public schools flying at half-staff Friday, many mourners were his old classmates. Others traveled here, one driving from as far away as New Jersey, out of a sense of solidarity. ``I've had a pit in my heart and my stomach since I heard this,'' said Steve Pietrangelo, who drove 300 miles to wait three hours in cold rain and snow to attend the funeral of a man he never met. ``I just wanted to pay my respects to him and his family.'' Touching people of all walks of life, Shepard's murder has elicited calls for tolerance of homosexuals from unexpected quarters. At the University of Wyoming this fall, football players will wear yellow and green stickers on their helmets in memory of Shepard. Organizers said that yellow signifies tolerance and green symbolizes peace. In Casper, a conservative city of 51,000, located in the heart of Wyoming's oil belt, tolerance has become the watchword. ``Prejudice against homosexuals is just as redneck as anti-black bias,'` The Casper Star-Tribune, Wyoming's largest newspaper, wrote in its main editorial on Sunday. ``Violence against our homosexual friends and neighbors has created a most un-American climate of fear in Wyoming and the rest of the nation.'' Monday, Jason Marsden, the newspaper's political reporter, wrote lovingly that, ``Matthew Shepard is still my friend, and not just because we are both members of the loose-knit community of gay people striving to make our way in this sometimes hostile place called Wyoming.'' ``Matt was very short and hard to hug,'' Marsden recalled of the young man who had grown up in Casper. ``But it was worth trying, because he'd hug you with everything in his little, fragile frame.'' In a week of spiritual reflection, Aaron Kreifels, the University of Wyoming freshman who found his battered classmate Oct. 7, attributed the chance discovery to ``God's plan.'' On that afternoon, Kreifels, an 18-year-old architectural engineering student, had nearly completed a rigorous six-mile ride on a mountain bike up and down Cactus Canyon, in public lands east of Laramie. Kreifels recalled in an interview Thursday his only mishap of the ride, ``I hit this big limestone rock and did one over the handlebars.'' Dusting himself off and looking around in the fading light of the day, Kreifels recalled, ``I noticed something out of my eye that looked like a scarecrow. I walked around the fence, and as I got closer, I noticed the hair.'' Shepard, his hands bound behind his back with a nylon cord and tied to a fence post, was lying on the ground, face up, unconscious. ``Sometimes I wonder why I found him alive, if he was going to die,'' Kreifels reflected, before traveling to spend this weekend at home with his",
"parents in Grand Island, Neb. ``But I guess God wanted his parents to be with him.''",
"At first, the passing bicyclist thought the crumpled form lashed to a ranch fence was a scarecrow. But when he stopped, he found the burned, battered and nearly lifeless body of Matthew Shepard, an openly gay college student who had been tied to the fence 18 hours earlier. On Friday, the 22-year-old University of Wyoming student was in a coma in critical condition. At Albany County courthouse here, Russell Henderson, 21, and Aaron McKinney, 22, were arraigned on charges of kidnapping, aggravated robbery and attempted first-degree murder. Two women described as friends of the men, Kristen Leann Price, 18, and Chastity Vera Pasley, 20, have been charged as accessories after the fact to attempted first-degree murder. Shepard's friends said that he did not know his alleged tormentors. Laramie police say the primary motive was robbery, although court papers filed Friday indicate Shepard's homosexuality may also have been a factor. Shepard's friends call the attack a hate crime. ``He was very open about his sexuality,'' Tina LaBrie, an anthropology student here, said of her friend. ``I admired him for that because it is very courageous to be yourself even when others disagree.'' A few hours before he was beaten, Shepard, a slight 5-foot, 2-inch man who wore braces on his teeth, had attended a meeting of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Association, said Walter Boulden, a friend of Shepard's. ``He was sitting at the bar, having a beer, when two men came up and talked to him,'' Boulden, a 46-year-old university lecturer of social work here, said today between tears. ``He indicated he was gay, and they said they were gay, too.'' ``Now, he is in a coma,'' continued Boulden, who visited his friend at a hospital in Fort Collins, Colo., on Thursday. ``I don't think anybody expects him to pull through.'' Shepard, who spoke Arabic and German, studied at a boarding school in Switzerland before moving back to the United States to attend the University of Wyoming, the alma mater of his father, an oil rig safety inspector in Saudi Arabia. Matthew Shepard was born in Casper, the capital of Wyoming's oil belt, and spent much of his youth there. But six weeks after returning to Wyoming and enrolling as a freshman here, Shepard fell into a depression, said Ms. Labrie and her husband, Phillip. Accustomed to life in Europe and Denver, this foreign language student who wanted to become a diplomat found himself living in this isolated city of 27,000 people. Set in a treeless landscape defined by barbed wire fences, grazing cattle and a busy freight railroad line, Laramie is a town where pickup trucks outnumber sport utility vehicles, where fall entertainment revolves around this Saturday's homecoming football game and the start of the hunting season in the nearby Medicine Bow mountains. Although Wyoming often bills itself as the ``equality state,'' in reference to its being the first state to give women the vote, the state legislature has repeatedly voted down hate crime legislation on the grounds that it would give homosexuals special rights. ``Wyoming is not really gay friendly,'' Marv Johnson, executive director of the Wyoming chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said from Cheyenne. ``The best way to characterize that is by a comment a legislator made a few years back, when he likened homosexuals to gay bulls as worthless and should be sent to the packing plant.'' Shepard joined the campus gay association at the university within days. One of his favorite haunts was the Fireside Bar, which drew a mixed crowd of college students and rodeo cowboys, gays and straights. ``He definitely wasn't drunk when he came in,'' recalled the bartender, Matt Galloway. ``He wasn't drunk when he went out.'' Calvin Rerucha, the county attorney, charged in court documents today that McKinney and Henderson posed as homosexuals and lured Shepard out to McKinney's pickup truck just after midnight early Wednesday. Beating him inside the truck, the pair drove him one mile southeast to an isolated part of a new rural subdivision, the County Attorney's report charged. There, it said, the men tied their captive to a post-and-rail fence and pistol-whipped him with a .357 magnum ``while he begged for his life.'' Relatives said that Shepard also suffered burns on his body. After nearly beating the young man to death, Laramie Police Commander David O'Malley said, the assailants stole his wallet and shoes and left him tied to the fence. The police commander said that when his officers arrested the two men on Thursday, they found in McKinney's pickup truck a .357 magnum pistol covered with blood and Shepard's shoes and credit card. He said they found Shepard's wallet at McKinney's home. The police commander said that the two women helped the two men dump their bloody clothing, and that they reported hearing the men make anti-gay remarks. Ms. Pasley, a freshman art student at the university, lived with Henderson. Ms. Price lived with McKinney. The police did not say what the other three did for a living. On Friday, friends and Laramie residents struggled to understand the incident. Shepard, some said, may have felt a false sense of confidence because the local Gay Association completed plans on Tuesday night for ``Gay Awareness Week 1998.'' The weeklong series of events starts here Sunday with a local observance of ``National Coming Out Day'' and a lecture on Monday by Leslea Newman, the author of ``Heather Has Two Mommies,'' a book about lesbian families. ``If I were a homosexual in Laramie, I would hang low, very low,'' said Carla Brown, manager of the Fireside. ``Openly gay behavior is not only discouraged, it's dangerous.''",
"At first, the passing bicyclist thought the crumpled form lashed to a ranch fence was a scarecrow. But when he stopped, he found the burned, battered and nearly lifeless body of Matthew Shepard, an openly gay college student who had been tied to the fence 18 hours earlier. On Friday, the 22-year-old University of Wyoming student was in a coma in critical condition. At Albany County courthouse here, Russell Henderson, 21, and Aaron McKinney, 22, were arraigned on charges of kidnapping, aggravated robbery and attempted first-degree murder. Two women described as friends of the men, Kristen Leann Price, 18, and Chastity Vera Pasley, 20, have been charged as accessories after the fact to attempted first-degree murder. Shepard's friends said that he did not know his alleged tormentors. Laramie police say the primary motive was robbery, although court papers filed Friday indicate Shepard's homosexuality may also have been a factor. Shepard's friends call the attack a hate crime. ``He was very open about his sexuality,'' Tina LaBrie, an anthropology student here, said of her friend. ``I admired him for that because it is very courageous to be yourself even when others disagree.'' A few hours before he was beaten, Shepard, a slight 5-foot, 2-inch man who wore braces on his teeth, had attended a meeting of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Association, said Walter Boulden, a friend of Shepard's. ``He was sitting at the bar, having a beer, when two men came up and talked to him,'' Boulden, a 46-year-old university lecturer of social work here, said today between tears. ``He indicated he was gay, and they said they were gay, too.'' ``Now, he is in a coma,'' continued Boulden, who visited his friend at a hospital in Fort Collins, Colo., on Thursday. ``I don't think anybody expects him to pull through.'' Shepard, who spoke Arabic and German, studied at a boarding school in Switzerland before moving back to the United States to attend the University of Wyoming, the alma mater of his father, an oil rig safety inspector in Saudi Arabia. Matthew Shepard was born in Casper, the capital of Wyoming's oil belt, and spent much of his youth there. But six weeks after returning to Wyoming and enrolling as a freshman here, Shepard fell into a depression, said Ms. Labrie and her husband, Phillip. Accustomed to life in Europe and Denver, this foreign language student who wanted to become a diplomat found himself living in this isolated city of 27,000 people. Set in a treeless landscape defined by barbed wire fences, grazing cattle and a busy freight railroad line, Laramie is a town where pickup trucks outnumber sport utility vehicles, where fall entertainment revolves around this Saturday's homecoming football game and the start of the hunting season in the nearby Medicine Bow mountains. Although Wyoming often bills itself as the ``equality state,'' in reference to its being the first state to give women the vote, the state legislature has repeatedly voted down hate crime legislation on the grounds that it would give homosexuals special rights. ``Wyoming is not really gay friendly,'' Marv Johnson, executive director of the Wyoming chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said from Cheyenne. ``The best way to characterize that is by a comment a legislator made a few years back, when he likened homosexuals to gay bulls as worthless and should be sent to the packing plant.'' Shepard joined the campus gay association at the university within days. One of his favorite haunts was the Fireside Bar, which drew a mixed crowd of college students and rodeo cowboys, gays and straights. ``He definitely wasn't drunk when he came in,'' recalled the bartender, Matt Galloway. ``He wasn't drunk when he went out.'' Calvin Rerucha, the county attorney, charged in court documents today that McKinney and Henderson posed as homosexuals and lured Shepard out to McKinney's pickup truck. Beating him inside the truck, the pair drove him one mile southeast to an isolated part of a new rural subdivision, the County Attorney's report charged. There, it said, the men tied their captive to a post-and-rail fence and pistol-whipped him with a .357 magnum ``while he begged for his life.'' Relatives said that Shepard also suffered burns on his body. After nearly beating the young man to death, Laramie Police Commander David O'Malley said, the assailants stole his wallet and shoes and left him tied to the fence. The police commander said that when his officers arrested the two men on Thursday, they found in McKinney's pickup truck a .357 magnum pistol covered with blood and Shepard's shoes and credit card. He said they found Shepard's wallet at McKinney's home. The police commander said that the two women helped the two men dump their bloody clothing, and that they reported hearing the men make anti-gay remarks. Ms. Pasley, a freshman art student at the university, lived with Henderson. Ms. Price lived with McKinney. The police did not say what the other three did for a living. On Friday, friends and Laramie residents struggled to understand the incident. Shepard, some said, may have felt a false sense of confidence because the local Gay Association completed plans on Tuesday night for ``Gay Awareness Week 1998.'' The weeklong series of events starts here Sunday with a local observance of ``National Coming Out Day'' and a lecture on Monday by Leslea Newman, the author of ``Heather Has Two Mommies,'' a book about lesbian families. ``If I were a homosexual in Laramie, I would hang low, very low,'' said Carla Brown, manager of the Fireside. ``Openly gay behavior is not only discouraged, it's dangerous.''",
"Matthew Wayne Shepard, the gay student who was beaten in the dead of night, tied to a fence and left to die alone, was mourned at his funeral Friday by 1,000 people, including many who had never met him. ``Matt believed that if he had made one person's life better, he had succeeded,'' his cousin, the Rev. Anne Kitch, said in a homily that was carried beyond the packed pews of St. Mark's Episcopal Church, through a filled parish hall, across the street to a packed Presbyterian church and across Casper on an AM radio station. ``Judging from the world's response,'' she said, ``Matt will have made a difference in the lives of thousands.'' As the first snowstorm of the fall blanketed Casper, fresh flowers filled the red brick church here where Shepard had been baptized as a teen-ager and where he once wore the white robes of an Episcopal acolyte. ``There is an image that comes to mind when I reflect on Matt on that wooden cross rail fence,'' said the Rev. Royce Brown, the pastor of St. Mark's, in a eulogy. ``I replace that image with that of another man hung upon a cross. When I concentrate on that man, I can release the bitterness inside.'' Shepard, a 21-year-old freshman at the University of Wyoming, had dreamed of working one day for human rights. In death, he has become a national catalyst for a new drive to guarantee for gay people the right to physical safety. His death hit a nerve in the nation this week, eliciting dozens of candlelight vigils and rallies for tolerance, several statements of sadness from President Clinton, and a congressional resolution. Thursday, the House of Representatives passed by voice vote a resolution that condemned Shepard's killing as ``outrageous'' and that urged each member of Congress and every U.S. citizen ``to denounce this outrageous murder of another human being.'' In one of the largest rallies, about 1,000 people, including members of Congress of both parties, gathered on the steps of the Capitol in Washington to condemn the Shepherd's killing and to urge passage of a federal bill that would add extra penalties to crimes motivated by a victim's sexual orientation, gender or disability. House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt urged passage of the bill, leading the crowd in a chant of ``Now! Now! Now.'' ``We will never forget the love that the world has shared with this kind, loving son,'' said Shepherd's father, Dennis, his father, outside Casper City Hall, as his mother, Judy, stood by, weeping. He said the family was ``touched beyond measure'' by ``the thousands of e-mail comments, Web-site messages, phone calls and cards offering help, consolation, sympathy and support.'' Before the funeral, about a dozen protesters, largely from Kansas and Texas, waved signs with anti-homosexual messages. But mourners stood in front of them, singing ``Amazing Grace'' and holding umbrellas to block the sight of the spectacle from friends and family members entering the church. On hearing of the protest, Laramie's City Council held an emergency meeting Thursday night and unanimously passed an ordinance",
"banning protests during funerals. Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer had warned in advance that anti-gay protesters were ``just flat not welcome.'' The governor, a Republican, added, ``What we don't need is a bunch of wingnuts coming in.'' Shepard was born in Casper and attended elementary school, junior high and several years of high school and college here. With flags at Casper's public schools flying at half-staff Friday, many mourners were his old classmates. Others traveled here, one driving from as far away as New Jersey, out of a sense of solidarity. ``I've had a pit in my heart and my stomach since I heard this,'' said Steve Pietrangelo, who drove 300 miles to wait three hours in cold rain and snow to attend the funeral of a man he never met. ``I just wanted to pay my respects to him and his family.'' Touching people of all walks of life, Shepard's murder has elicited calls for tolerance of homosexuals from unexpected quarters. At the University of Wyoming this fall, football players will wear yellow and green stickers on their helmets in memory of Shepard. Organizers said that yellow signifies tolerance and green symbolizes peace. In Casper, a conservative city of 51,000, located in the heart of Wyoming's oil belt, tolerance has become the watchword. ``Prejudice against homosexuals is just as redneck as anti-black bias,'` The Casper Star-Tribune, Wyoming's largest newspaper, wrote in its main editorial on Sunday. ``Violence against our homosexual friends and neighbors has created a most un-American climate of fear in Wyoming and the rest of the nation.'' Monday, Jason Marsden, the newspaper's political reporter, wrote lovingly that, ``Matthew Shepard is still my friend, and not just because we are both members of the loose-knit community of gay people striving to make our way in this sometimes hostile place called Wyoming.'' ``Matt was very short and hard to hug,'' Marsden recalled of the young man who had grown up in Casper. ``But it was worth trying, because he'd hug you with everything in his little, fragile frame.'' In a week of spiritual reflection, Aaron Kreifels, the University of Wyoming freshman who found his battered classmate Oct. 7, attributed the chance discovery to ``God's plan.'' On that afternoon, Kreifels, an 18-year-old architectural engineering student, had nearly completed a rigorous six-mile ride on a mountain bike up and down Cactus Canyon, in public lands east of Laramie. Kreifels recalled in an interview Thursday that his only mishap of the ride, ``I hit this big limestone rock and did one over the handlebars.'' Dusting himself off and looking around in the fading light of the day, Kreifels recalled, ``I noticed something out of my eye that looked like a scarecrow. I walked around the fence, and as I got closer, I noticed the hair.'' Shepard, his hands bound behind his back with a nylon cord and tied to a fence post, was lying on the ground, face up, unconscious. ``Sometimes I wonder why I found him alive, if he was going to die,'' Kreifels reflected, before traveling to spend this weekend at home with",
"his parents in Grand Island, Neb. ``But I guess God wanted his parents to be with him.''",
"Last Saturday morning, while Matthew Shepard lay comatose from a beating, a college homecoming parade passed a few blocks from his hospital bed in Fort Collins. Propped on a fraternity float was a straw-haired scarecrow, labeled in black spray paint: ``I'm Gay.'' Few people missed the message. Three days earlier, Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming freshman, was savagely beaten and tied to a ranch fence in such a position that a passerby first mistook him for a scarecrow. Tuesday, officials at Colorado State University reacted with outrage to the fraternity float, opening an investigation and disciplinary procedures against the fraternity, Pi Kappa Alpha. The fraternity chapter immediately suspended seven members and said they had acted independently. But in a week when candlelight vigils for Shepard were being held on campuses across the nation, the scarecrow incident highlighted how hostility toward gay people often flourishes in high schools and universities, gay leaders said Tuesday. ``People would like to think that what happened to Matthew was an exception to the rule but, it was an extreme version of what happens in our schools on a daily basis,'' said Kevin Jennings, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, a New York group dedicated to ending anti-gay bias in the schools. Shepard, a slightly built 21-year-old, died on Monday morning from the injuries suffered in the beating. He never regained consciousness after being discovered on the evening of Oct. 7, 18 hours after he was lashed to the fence. Two men, Russell Henderson, 21, and Aaron McKinney, 22, were arraigned late Monday night on first-degree murder charges. Their girlfriends, Chasity Pasley, 20, and Kristen Price, 18, have been arraigned as accessories after the fact. In response to the killing, about 50 candelight vigils were scheduled this week, from Texas to Vermont, from Wayne, Neb., to New York City. At the Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins where Shepard was in intensive care for five days, his parents, Dennis and Judy Shepard, received about 6,000 electronic messages of condolences. Tuesday, when funeral arrangements were announced for Friday in Casper, Wyo., the hospital Web site received 30,000 hits an hour. Friends at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyo., have set up The Matthew Shepard Memorial Fund to raise money to pressure the state legislature to pass anti-hate crime legislation. ``I see his name going down in gay history as a catalyst for renewed activism,'' said Matt Foreman, a former Wyomingite who directs Empire State Pride Agenda, a gay political organization in New York. From around the nation Tuesday, gay leaders stressed that campus homophobia is not restricted to college towns in the Rocky Mountain West. Last year, in a survey of almost 4,000 Massachusetts high school students, 22 percent of gay respondents said they skipped school in the past month because they felt unsafe at school, and 31 percent said they had been threatened or injured at school in the past year. These percentages were about five times greater than the percentages of heterosexual respondents. The survey was conducted at 58 high schools by the Massachusetts Department of Education. In a separate study of nearly 500 community college students in the San Francisco area, 32 percent of male respondents said they had verbally threatened gay people and 18 percent said they had physically threatened or assaulted gay people. The study was conducted this year by Karen Franklin, a forensic psychologist who is a researcher at the University of Washington. Surveys of gay college students conducted in the late 1980s at Yale University, Oberlin College, Rutgers University and Penn State found that 16 percent to 26 percent had been threatened with violence, and that 40 percent to 76 percent had been verbally harassed, said the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, a lobbying group based in Washington. Last year, a student group in Des Moines, Iowa, called Concerned Students, recorded hallway and classroom conversations at five high schools on 10 ``homophobia recording day.'' They estimated that the average Des Moines high school student hears about 25 anti-gay remarks every day. ``Nine out of 10 `teaching tolerance' courses weed out gays,'' Foreman said. ``There are a lot of people preaching anti-racism and anti-semitism. But it is still very much OK to make anti-gay jokes, to express anti-gay sentiments.'' In a survey of the nation's 42 largest school districts, 76 percent do not train teachers on issues facing gay students, and 42 percent do not have policies to protect students from discrimination based on sexual orientation, said the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, which conducted the survey last month. In Fort Collins, while hospital officials struggled with an electronic avalanche of condolences, city police detectives were investigating a different kind of e-mail. On Monday, hours after Shepard's death, two gay organizations, the Rainbow Chorus and the Lambda Community Center, received identical messages applauding Shepard's murder. The messages closed with the words: ``I hope it happens more often.''",
"As a gay college student lay hospitalized in critical condition after a severe beating here, this small city, which bills itself as ``Wyoming's hometown,'' wrestled with its attitudes towards gay men. On Saturday, at the University of Wyoming's annual homecoming parade, ``Pistol Pete'' and his uniformed brass band were overshadowed by a larger group of marchers _ 450 people, many wearing yellow armbands and carrying signs in support of the 21-year-old student, Matthew Shepard, who suffered severe head injuries in the attack last week. ``Hate is not a Small Town Value _ No to Violence and Evil,'' read one sign, as watchers applauded. With passersby spontaneously joining the protest group, two women held another sign that read, ``No Hate Crimes in Wyoming.'' Two candlelight vigils were held Sunday night at churches near the campus. At the Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colo., where Shepard's health continued to deteriorate, the hospital has received so many flowers that nurses have started to distribute bouquets to other patients. A vigil at the hospital on Saturday evening drew about 500 people. ``We live in the Equality State,'' Shannon Rexroat wrote Friday in a special edition of the Branding Iron, the campus newspaper. Referring to Wyoming's pioneer heritage as the first state to grant women the right to vote, Ms. Rexroat, the campus newspaper's editor added: ``That means nothing to me anymore. We live in a state where a young man was brutally beaten because he is gay.'' But others recalled another side of ``Wyoming's hometown,''which has a population of more than 26,000. Jamie Lewis, another editor, said that on Friday he was handing out copies of the special edition when a passerby backed away from him and used an anti-gay epithet. Last week's brutal assault bubbled out of an ongoing climate of hostility toward gay men and lesbians, leaders of the local Unitarian church said in a letter published Sunday in the city's newspaper, The Laramie Daily Boomerang. ``This incident was atypical in its brutality, but not in its underlying motive,'' wrote Jeffrey Lockwood and Stephen Johnson. Gay people in Laramie, they wrote, ``are frequently assaulted with derision, intolerance, insult and hostility _ if not guns and ropes.'' Ric Turley, who dropped out of college here after one year in the 1970s, recalled driving here to see his family for Christmas in 1993 and seeing a vandalized billboard on the main highway. Under a brace of pistols, an advertising appeal for a state history museum had been changed, he said, from ``Shoot a Day or Two,'' to ``Shoot a Gay or Two.'' Turley, who is gay and said he only came out after he had left Wyoming, said that he immediately complained to the museum. But returning a month later, he found the message had not been erased. After complaining to the museum for a second time, he said he took a can of black spray paint and blotted out the word ``gay.'' ``It was this kind of complacency and apathy that allowed this to happen,'' he said of the beating in which two local men have been charged, Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney. According to the local police and prosecutors, the two men lured Shepard out of a bar by saying they were gay. Then, the Laramie police say, the pair kidnapped Shepard, pistol-whipped him with a .357 Magnum and left him tied to a ranch fence for 18 hours until a passing bicyclist spotted Shepard, who was unconscious. On Sunday, the Laramie police said that McKinney had been arrested on Thursday at the same hospital in Fort Collins where Shepard was being treated. McKinney was being treated for a ``minor'' skull fracture unrelated to the fracas with Shepard, said Ben Fritzen, a Laramie police detective. President Clinton has condemned the attack, saying on Saturday, ``I was deeply grieved by the act of violence perpetrated against Matthew Shepard.'' Clinton urged Congress to pass the federal Hate Crimes Prevention Act, saying, ``There is nothing more important to the future of this country than our standing together against intolerance, prejudice and violent bigotry.'' Wyoming is one of 10 states that does not have a hate crime law. The latest attempt died in the state Legislature in Cheyenne in February. On Saturday, Wyoming's governor, Jim Geringer, said he was ``outraged and sickened'' by the attack. Here in Laramie, McKinney's father, Bill, also condemned the attack. His pickup truck was apparently used in the kidnapping. But he also complained about the massive attention by the national media. The national press ``blew it totally out of proportion because it involved a homosexual,'' McKinney told The Denver Post. `Had this been a heterosexual these two boys decided to take out and rob, this never would have made the national news.'' Shepard grew up in Casper until his sophomore year in high school, when his father, an oil rig safety engineer, was transferred to Saudi Arabia. The young man completed high school at a boarding school in Lugano, Switzerland, where he learned Italian and German. On Saturday, his parents, Dennis and Judy Shepard, released a statement from Fort Collins thanking ``the American public for their kind thoughts about Matthew.'' ``He is a trusting person who takes everybody at face value and he does not see the bad side of anyone,'' the Shepards wrote. ``He has always strongly felt that all people are the same, regardless of their sexual preference, race or religion.'' Noting that their son was born prematurely and that his ``life has often been a struggle,'' they added, ``He is physically short in stature, but we believe he is a giant when it comes to respecting the worth of others.''",
"Matthew Wayne Shepard, the gay student who was beaten in the dead of night, tied to a fence and left to die alone, was mourned at his funeral Friday by 1,000 people, including many who had never met him. ``Matt believed that if he had made one person's life better, he had succeeded,'' his cousin, the Rev. Anne Kitch, said in a homily that was carried beyond the packed pews of St. Mark's Episcopal Church, through a filled parish hall, across the street to a packed Presbyterian church and across Casper on an AM radio station. ``Judging from the world's response,'' she said, ``Matt will have made a difference in the lives of thousands.'' As the first snowstorm of the fall blanketed Casper, fresh flowers filled the red brick church here where Shepard had been baptized as a teen-ager and where he once wore the white robes of an Episcopal acolyte. ``There is an image that comes to mind when I reflect on Matt on that wooden cross rail fence,'' said the Rev. Royce Brown, the pastor of St. Mark's, in a eulogy. ``I replace that image with that of another man hung upon a cross. When I concentrate on that man, I can release the bitterness inside.'' Shepard, a 21-year-old freshman at the University of Wyoming, had dreamed of working one day for human rights. In death, he has become a national catalyst for a new drive to guarantee for gay people the right to physical safety. His death hit a nerve in the nation this week, eliciting dozens of candlelight vigils and rallies for tolerance, several statements of sadness from President Clinton, and a congressional resolution. Thursday, the House of Representatives passed by voice vote a resolution that condemned Shepard's killing as ``outrageous'' and that urged each member of Congress and every U.S. citizen ``to denounce this outrageous murder of another human being.'' In one of the largest rallies, about 1,000 people, including members of Congress of both parties, gathered on the steps of the Capitol in Washington to condemn Shepherd's killing and to urge passage of a federal bill that would add extra penalties to crimes motivated by a victim's sexual orientation, gender or disability. House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt urged passage of the bill, leading the crowd in a chant of ``Now! Now! Now.'' ``We will never forget the love that the world has shared with this kind, loving son,'' said Shepherd's father, Dennis, his father, outside Casper City Hall, as his mother, Judy, stood by, weeping. He said the family was ``touched beyond measure'' by ``the thousands of e-mail comments, Web-site messages, phone calls and cards offering help, consolation, sympathy and support.'' Before the funeral, about a dozen protesters, largely from Kansas and Texas, waved signs with anti-homosexual messages. But mourners stood in front of them, singing ``Amazing Grace'' and holding umbrellas to block the sight of the spectacle from friends and family members entering the church. On hearing of the protest, Laramie's City Council held an emergency meeting Thursday night and unanimously passed an ordinance banning",
"protests during funerals. Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer had warned in advance that anti-gay protesters were ``just flat not welcome.'' The governor, a Republican, added, ``What we don't need is a bunch of wingnuts coming in.'' Shepard was born in Casper and attended elementary school, junior high and several years of high school and college here. With flags at Casper's public schools flying at half-staff Friday, many mourners were his old classmates. Others traveled here, one driving from as far away as New Jersey, out of a sense of solidarity. ``I've had a pit in my heart and my stomach since I heard this,'' said Steve Pietrangelo, who drove 300 miles to wait three hours in cold rain and snow to attend the funeral of a man he never met. ``I just wanted to pay my respects to him and his family.'' Touching people of all walks of life, Shepard's murder has elicited calls for tolerance of homosexuals from unexpected quarters. At the University of Wyoming this fall, football players will wear yellow and green stickers on their helmets in memory of Shepard. Organizers said that yellow signifies tolerance and green symbolizes peace. In Casper, a conservative city of 51,000, located in the heart of Wyoming's oil belt, tolerance has become the watchword. ``Prejudice against homosexuals is just as redneck as anti-black bias,'` The Casper Star-Tribune, Wyoming's largest newspaper, wrote in its main editorial on Sunday. ``Violence against our homosexual friends and neighbors has created a most un-American climate of fear in Wyoming and the rest of the nation.'' Monday, Jason Marsden, the newspaper's political reporter, wrote lovingly that, ``Matthew Shepard is still my friend, and not just because we are both members of the loose-knit community of gay people striving to make our way in this sometimes hostile place called Wyoming.'' ``Matt was very short and hard to hug,'' Marsden recalled of the young man who had grown up in Casper. ``But it was worth trying, because he'd hug you with everything in his little, fragile frame.'' In a week of spiritual reflection, Aaron Kreifels, the University of Wyoming freshman who found his battered classmate Oct. 7, attributed the chance discovery to ``God's plan.'' On that afternoon, Kreifels, an 18-year-old architectural engineering student, had nearly completed a rigorous six-mile ride on a mountain bike up and down Cactus Canyon, in public lands east of Laramie. Kreifels recalled in an interview Thursday that his only mishap of the ride, ``I hit this big limestone rock and did one over the handlebars.'' Dusting himself off and looking around in the fading light of the day, Kreifels recalled, ``I noticed something out of my eye that looked like a scarecrow. I walked around the fence, and as I got closer, I noticed the hair.'' Shepard, his hands bound behind his back with a nylon cord and tied to a fence post, was lying on the ground, face up, unconscious. ``Sometimes I wonder why I found him alive, if he was going to die,'' Kreifels reflected, before traveling to spend this weekend at home with his",
"parents in Grand Island, Neb. ``But I guess God wanted his parents to be with him.''",
"Matthew Shepard, the gay college student who was kidnapped and severely beaten, died here Monday, five days after he was found unconscious on a Wyoming ranch where he had been left tied to a fence for 18 hours in near-freezing temperatures. His death, announced at Poudre Valley Hospital here, fanned the outrage that followed word of last week's attack, spawning nationwide vigils, producing a call for federal hate-crimes legislation from President Clinton and fueling debates over such laws in a host of Western states, including Wyoming, that have resisted them. From Denver to the University of Maryland, people turned out to honor the The slight, soft-spoken 21-year-old Shepard, a freshman at the University of Wyoming, who became an overnight symbol of anti-gay violence after he was found dangling from the fence by a passerby. Russell Anderson, 21, and Aaron McKinney, 21, were charged with attempted murder and are expected to face first-degree murder charges that could bring the death penalty. Their girlfriends, Chastity Pasley, 21, and Kristen Price, 18, were charged as accessories. In Denver, mourners wrote messages on a graffiti wall as part of national Gay Awareness Week. In San Francisco, a giant rainbow flag that symbolizes the gay rights movement was lowered to half-staff in the Castro district. ``There is incredible symbolism about being tied to a fence,'' said Rebecca Isaacs, political director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in Washington. ``People have likened it to a scarecrow. But it sounded more like a crucifixion.'' Police in Laramie, Wyo., where the beating took place, have said they believed robbery was the primary motive for the attack against Shepard, which occurred outside a bar in the town of 27,000. But investigators also said Shepard's sexuality may have been a factor. Police said Henderson and McKinney lured Shepard from the bar by saying they too were gay and one of their girlfriends said Shepard had embarassed one of the men by making a pass at him. Monday, police said that after leaving Shepard tied to the fence, the men returned to Laramie and picked a fight on a street corner with two Hispanic men, Emiliano Morales, 19, and Jeremy Herrera, 18. McKinney and Morales suffered head injuries in the brawl; McKinney was arrested when he sought treatment at the same hospital where Shepard died. Gay leaders hope _ and Christian conservatives fear _ that Shepard's death will galvanize Congress and state legislatures to pass hate-crime legislation or broaden existing laws. Conservatives generally oppose such laws because they favor one group's rights over another. In the last two decades, 21 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws that increase penalties for crimes that are committed because of a person's race, religion, color, national origin, and sexual orientation. Another 19 states, including Colorado, do not include sexual orientation in their hate-crime laws. Ten states, including Wyoming, have no hate-crime laws at all. In Washington, Clinton responded to news of Shepard's death by urging Congress to pass the federal Hate Crimes Protection Act, which would make federal offenses of crimes based",
"on sex, disability and sexual orientation. Wyoming has been one of the nation's holdouts, rejecting three hate crimes bills since 1994, most recently in February. But Monday, after Shepard's death, Gov. Jim Geringer appealed to lawmakers to reconsider their opposition. ``I ask for a collective suggestion for anti-bias, anti-hate legislation that can be presented to the Wyoming Legislature for their consideration in January,'' Geringer said. The governor met Monday morning with Dennis Shepard, the slain student's father, and said that the elder Shepard did not want his son's death to become ``a media circus'' and that ``we should not use Matt to further an agenda.'' Geringer said that Shepard's father also said: ``Don't rush into just passing all kinds of new hate-crimes laws. Be very careful of any changes and be sure you're not taking away rights of others in the process to race to this.'' Leaders of gay rights groups interviewed Monday said they would respect the family's privacy by not attending the burial in Casper, Wyo., on Saturday. But they added that they hoped the death would have an impact on legislators around the nation. ``Matthew's death, I hope, will bring about a better and deeper understanding of hate crime laws,'' said Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign, a lesbian and gay rights group that has 250,000 members. ``Matthew's death may lead to an awakening in Wyoming and in the United States Congress as the need for this legislation.'' In 1996, 21 men and women were killed in the United States because of their sexual orientation, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama group that tracks violence against minorities. According to the FBI, sexual orientation was a factor in 11.6 percent of the 8,759 hate crimes recorded in 1996. But Christian conservatives warn that gay leaders want to use Shepard's death to expand hate rights laws and to curtail freedom of speech. ``Hate crimes laws have nothing to do with perpetrators of violent crime and everything to do with silencing political opposition,'' said Steven Schwalm, an analyst with the Family Research Council, a Washington group dedicated to defending ``faith, family and freedom.'' ``It would criminalize pro-family beliefs,'' Schwalm said. ``This basically sends a message that you can't disagree with the political message of homosexual activists.'' Agreement came from John Paulk, who was featured this summer in a series of advertisements about how he and his wife, Anne, ``overcame'' homosexuality through religious conversion. ``We have every right to speak out against an agenda that is contrary to Biblical norms,'' said Paulk, who describes himself as a homosexuality specialist for Focus on the Family, a Christian group in Colorado Springs, Colo. ``Because we are standing up and opposing the homosexual agenda, we are being looked upon as advocating violence against homosexuals, when we categorically reject violence against homosexuals.'' Last Thursday, the Family Research Council unveiled a series of television advertisements that preach the ``healing'' of homosexuality through religious conversion. Gay leaders charge that these advertisements help create a hostile climate for homosexuals, a climate that can lead",
"to violence. Hate crime laws that are on the books in 40 states have not impinged on freedom of speech, said Brian Levin, a criminal justice professor who directs the Center on Hate and Extremism at Stockton College, in Pomona, N.J. Instead, he said, hate crime laws send a clear message that society does not tolerate attacks on minorities. ``We want to deter the broken windows and simple assaults before they escalate,'' he said. Referring to murders of homosexuals, he added: ``These crimes are preventable. Offenders get emboldened if they are not punished the first time.'' Levin said that his research indicated that homosexuals suffered higher rates of violent crime than the population at large. He also said that roughly half of the people who attack homosexuals are male, aged 22 or younger. ``With other crimes, violence is a means to an end. With hate crimes, the violence becomes an unstoppable goal,'' Levin said. Shepard suffered a dozen cuts around the head, face and neck, as well as a massive blow to the back of his skull. ``Because their social stature in society, gays are often viewed as appropriate targets,'' Levin added. Citing the need for hate crime laws to send a clear message to gay bashers, Levin said: ``The discourse in society leaves many of these people to believe that what they are doing is socially acceptable.'' While some gay leaders saw crucifixion imagery in Shepard's death, others saw a different symbolism: the Old West practice of nailing a dead coyote to a ranch fence as a warning to future intruders. ``This University of Wyoming student was beaten and left to die, tied to a fence like an animal because he was honest and open about being gay,'' Beatrice Dorhn, legal director of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, said Monday, ``Matthew Shepard's horrible suffering and death cannot be dismissed simply as the fault of deranged, isolated individuals. His attackers are among millions of Americans who constantly hear the message that gay people are not worthy of the most basic equal treatment,'' Ms. Dorhn said."
] |
[
"Matthew Shepard, the gay college student who was kidnapped and severely beaten, died here Monday, five days after he was found unconscious on a Wyoming ranch where he had been left tied to a fence for 18 hours in near-freezing temperatures. His death, announced at Poudre Valley Hospital here, fanned the outrage that followed word of last week's attack, spawning nationwide vigils, producing a call for federal hate-crimes legislation from President Clinton and fueling debates over such laws in a host of Western states, including Wyoming, that have resisted them. From Denver to the University of Maryland, people turned out to honor the The slight, soft-spoken 21-year-old Shepard, a freshman at the University of Wyoming, who became an overnight symbol of anti-gay violence after he was found dangling from the fence by a passerby. Two men and two women have been charged in the case. The men were charged with attempted murder and are expected to face first-degree murder charges that could bring the death penalty. ``There is incredible symbolism about being tied to a fence,'' said Rebecca Isaacs, political director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in Washington. ``People have likened it to a scarecrow. But it sounded more like a crucifixion.'' Gay leaders hope _ and Christian conservatives fear _ that Shepard's death will galvanize Congress and state legislatures to pass hate-crime legislation or broaden existing laws. Conservatives generally oppose such laws because they favor one group's rights over another. In the last two decades, 21 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws that increase penalties for crimes that are committed because of a person's race, religion, color, national origin, and sexual orientation. Another 19 states, including Colorado, do not include sexual orientation in their hate-crime laws. Ten states, including Wyoming, have no hate-crime laws at all. In Washington, Clinton responded to news of Shepard's death by urging Congress to pass the federal Hate Crimes Protection Act, which would make federal offenses of crimes based on sex, disability and sexual orientation. Wyoming has been one of the nation's holdouts, rejecting three hate crimes bills since 1994, most recently in February. But Monday, after Shepard's death, Gov. Jim Geringer appealed to lawmakers to reconsider their opposition. ``I ask for a collective suggestion for anti-bias, anti-hate legislation that can be presented to the Wyoming Legislature for their consideration in January,'' Geringer said. The governor met Monday morning with Dennis Shepard, the slain student's father, and said that the elder Shepard did not want his son's death to become ``a media circus'' and that ``we should not use Matt to further an agenda.'' Geringer said that Shepard's father also said: ``Don't rush into just passing all kinds of new hate-crimes laws. Be very careful of any changes and be sure you're not taking away rights of others in the process to race to this.'' Leaders of gay rights groups interviewed Monday said they would respect the family's privacy by not attending the burial in Casper, Wyo., on Saturday. But they added that they hoped the death would have an impact on legislators around the nation. ``Matthew's death, I hope, will bring about a better and deeper understanding of hate crime laws,'' said Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign, a lesbian and gay rights group that has 250,000 members. ``Matthew's death may lead to an awakening in Wyoming and in the United States Congress as the need for this legislation.'' In 1996, 21 men and women were killed in the United States because of their sexual orientation, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama group that tracks violence against minorities. According to the FBI, sexual orientation was a factor in 11.6 percent of the 8,759 hate crimes recorded in 1996. But Christian conservatives warn that gay leaders want to use Shepard's death to expand hate rights laws and to curtail freedom of speech. ``Hate crimes laws have nothing to do with perpetrators of violent crime and everything to do with silencing political opposition,'' said Steven Schwalm, an analyst with the Family Research Council, a Washington group dedicated to defending ``faith, family and freedom.'' ``It would criminalize pro-family beliefs,'' Schwalm said. ``This basically sends a message that you can't disagree with the political message of homosexual activists.'' Agreement came from John Paulk, who was featured this summer in a series of advertisements about how he and his wife, Anne, ``overcame'' homosexuality through religious conversion. ``We have every right to speak out against an agenda that is contrary to Biblical norms,'' said Paulk, who describes himself as a homosexuality specialist for Focus on the Family, a Christian group in Colorado Springs, Colo. ``Because we are standing up and opposing the homosexual agenda, we are being looked upon as advocating violence against homosexuals, when we categorically reject violence against homosexuals.'' Last Thursday, the Family Research Council unveiled a series of television advertisements that preach the ``healing'' of homosexuality through religious conversion. Gay leaders charge that these advertisements help create a hostile climate for homosexuals, a climate that can lead to violence. Hate crime laws that are on the books in 40 states have not impinged on freedom of speech, said Brian Levin, a criminal justice professor who directs the Center on Hate and Extremism at Stockton College, in Pomona, N.J. Instead, he said, hate crime laws send a clear message that society does not tolerate attacks on minorities. ``We want to deter the broken windows and simple assaults before they escalate,'' he said. Referring to murders of homosexuals, he added: ``These crimes are preventable. Offenders get emboldened if they are not punished the first time.'' Levin said that his research indicated that homosexuals suffered higher rates of violent crime than the population at large. He also said that roughly half of the people who attack homosexuals are male, aged 22 or younger. The two men charged in the killing of Shephard are both white, Russell Henderson, 21, and Aaron McKinney, 22. ``With other crimes, violence is a means to an end. With hate crimes, the violence becomes an unstoppable goal,'' Levin said. Shepard suffered a dozen cuts around the head, face and neck, as well as a massive blow to the back of his skull. ``Because their social stature in society, gays are often viewed as appropriate targets,'' Levin added. Citing the need for hate crime laws to send a clear message to gay bashers, Levin said: ``The discourse in society leaves many of these people to believe that what they are doing is socially acceptable.'' While some gay leaders saw crucifixion imagery in Shepard's death, others saw a different symbolism: the Old West practice of nailing a dead coyote to a ranch fence as a warning to future intruders. ``This University of Wyoming student was beaten and left to die, tied to a fence like an animal because he was honest and open about being gay,'' Beatrice Dorhn, legal director of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, said Monday, ``Matthew Shepard's horrible suffering and death cannot be dismissed simply as the fault of deranged, isolated individuals. His attackers are among millions of Americans who constantly hear the message that gay people are not worthy of the most basic equal treatment,'' Ms. Dorhn said.",
"On the same day Americans learned last week that Matthew Shepard, a 5-foot-2, 105-pound gay college student, had been tortured, strung up like an animal and left to die on a fence outside Laramie, Wyo., the Family Research Council was co-hosting a press conference in Washington. It was the latest salvo in a six-month campaign by the religious right, with the tacit, even explicit, approval of Republican leaders, to demonize gay people for political gain in this election year. This particular press conference was to announce a new barrage of ads _ a TV follow-up to a summer print campaign _ in which alleged former homosexuals who have ``changed'' implore others to do likewise ``through the power of Jesus Christ.'' The commercials, gooey in style, end with a slogan: ``It's not about hate ... It's about hope.'' But it's really about stirring up the fear that produces hate. If these ads were truly aimed at gay people, they wouldn't be broadcast at extravagant cost to the wide general audience reached by TV, and they wouldn't be trumpeted in Washington, insuring free national exposure, three weeks before Election Day. The ads themselves, despite the sugar-coating of ``hope,'' ooze malice. In one of them, homosexuality is linked to drug addiction and certain death by AIDS; all of them implicitly posit that homosexuality is itself a disease in need of a cure. Matthew Shepard has now been ``cured,'' that's for sure. As his uncle, R.W. Eaton, told The Denver Post, the 21-year-old Matt, who aspired to a career in diplomacy and human rights, was ``a small person with a big heart, mind and soul that someone tried to beat out of him.'' Of his nephew's shattered body Eaton said, ``It's like something you might see in war.'' And a war it is. Go to the Family Research Council's Web site and you will find a proud description of its readiness to ``wage the war against the homosexual agenda and fight to maintain the traditional meaning of `family.''' The head of the Family Research Council is Gary Bauer, a GOP power broker and putative presidential candidate, who disingenuously goes on talk shows to say that his organization hates no one and deplores violence. But if you wage a well-financed media air war in which people with an innate difference in sexual orientation are ceaselessly branded as sinful and diseased and un-American seekers of ``special rights,'' ground war will follow. It's a story as old as history. Once any group is successfully scapegoated as a subhuman threat to ``normal'' values by a propaganda machine, emboldened thugs take over. Two weeks after James Byrd was savagely dragged to his death from a pickup truck in Texas in June, I wrote a column about an ugly incident outside the GOP state convention in Fort Worth, where a mob threatened a group of gay Log Cabin Republicans who were protesting discriminatory treatment by their own party. The gay-bashers had been directly preceded by steady saber-rattling from Republican politicians: Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma had likened James Hormel, a gay nominee to an ambassadorship, to David Duke; Pat Robertson had wondered on TV if God might wreak havoc on Disney World for its ``Gay Days''; the Texas GOP spokesman had likened Log Cabin to the Ku Klux Klan. Just two days after this near-brush with violence in Fort Worth, Trent Lott was on TV seconding the religious right's condemnation of gay people as sinful and sick. A frightened gay Texas Republican who had been at the convention melee asked when I interviewed him then: ``Do you have to have someone hurt and beat up and dragged from a truck to stop this?'' Months later not even the murder in Laramie has moved Lott to apologize for his words, and still no major GOP leader dares take on its ``religious'' wing and its crusade against people like Matthew Shepard. In one of the new ads in that supposedly hate-free crusade, an ostensibly loving mother condemns her son for the ``bad choice'' of being gay. Is it that mother who speaks for American values, or is it Matthew's? ``Go home, give your kids a hug,'' Judy Shepard said in a message read by a tearful hospital spokesman who announced her child's death early Monday morning, ``and don't let a day go by without telling them you love them.''",
"Matthew Wayne Shepard, the gay student who was beaten in the dead of night, tied to a fence and left to die alone, was mourned at his funeral Friday by 1,000 people, including many who had never met him. ``Matt believed that if he had made one person's life better, he had succeeded,'' his cousin, the Rev. Anne Kitch, said in a homily that was carried beyond the packed pews of St. Mark's Episcopal Church, through a filled parish hall, across the street to a packed Presbyterian church and across Casper on an AM radio station. ``Judging from the world's response,'' she said, ``Matt will have made a difference in the lives of thousands.'' As the first snowstorm of the fall blanketed Casper, fresh flowers filled the red brick church here where Shepard had been baptized as a teen-ager and where he once wore the white robes of an Episcopal acolyte. ``There is an image that comes to mind when I reflect on Matt on that wooden cross rail fence,'' said the Rev. Royce Brown, the pastor of St. Mark's, in a eulogy. ``I replace that image with that of another man hung upon a cross. When I concentrate on that man, I can release the bitterness inside.'' Shepard, a 21-year-old freshman at the University of Wyoming, had dreamed of working one day for human rights. In death, he has become a national catalyst for a new drive to guarantee for gay people the right to physical safety. His death hit a nerve in the nation this week, eliciting dozens of candlelight vigils and rallies for tolerance, several statements of sadness from President Clinton, and a congressional resolution. Thursday, the House of Representatives passed by voice vote a resolution that condemned Shepard's killing as ``outrageous'' and that urged each member of Congress and every U.S. citizen ``to denounce this outrageous murder of another human being.'' In one of the largest rallies, about 1,000 people, including members of Congress of both parties, gathered on the steps of the Capitol in Washington to condemn Shepherd's killing and to urge passage of a federal bill that would add extra penalties to crimes motivated by a victim's sexual orientation, gender or disability. House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt urged passage of the bill, leading the crowd in a chant of ``Now! Now! Now.'' ``We will never forget the love that the world has shared with this kind, loving son,'' said Shepherd's father, Dennis, his father, outside Casper City Hall, as his mother, Judy, stood by, weeping. He said the family was ``touched beyond measure'' by ``the thousands of e-mail comments, Web-site messages, phone calls and cards offering help, consolation, sympathy and support.'' Before the funeral, about a dozen protesters, largely from Kansas and Texas, waved signs with anti-homosexual messages. But mourners stood in front of them, singing ``Amazing Grace'' and holding umbrellas to block the sight of the spectacle from friends and family members entering the church. On hearing of the protest, the Casper City Council held an emergency meeting Thursday night and unanimously passed an ordinance banning protests during funerals. Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer had warned in advance that anti-gay protesters were ``just flat not welcome.'' The governor, a Republican, added, ``What we don't need is a bunch of wingnuts coming in.'' Shepard was born in Casper and attended elementary school, junior high and several years of high school and college here. With flags at Casper's public schools flying at half-staff Friday, many mourners were his old classmates. Others traveled here, one driving from as far away as New Jersey, out of a sense of solidarity. ``I've had a pit in my heart and my stomach since I heard this,'' said Steve Pietrangelo, who drove 300 miles to wait three hours in cold rain and snow to attend the funeral of a man he never met. ``I just wanted to pay my respects to him and his family.'' Touching people of all walks of life, Shepard's murder has elicited calls for tolerance of homosexuals from unexpected quarters. At the University of Wyoming this fall, football players will wear yellow and green stickers on their helmets in memory of Shepard. Organizers said that yellow signifies tolerance and green symbolizes peace. In Casper, a conservative city of 51,000, located in the heart of Wyoming's oil belt, tolerance has become the watchword. ``Prejudice against homosexuals is just as redneck as anti-black bias,'` The Casper Star-Tribune, Wyoming's largest newspaper, wrote in its main editorial on Sunday. ``Violence against our homosexual friends and neighbors has created a most un-American climate of fear in Wyoming and the rest of the nation.'' Monday, Jason Marsden, the newspaper's political reporter, wrote lovingly that, ``Matthew Shepard is still my friend, and not just because we are both members of the loose-knit community of gay people striving to make our way in this sometimes hostile place called Wyoming.'' ``Matt was very short and hard to hug,'' Marsden recalled of the young man who had grown up in Casper. ``But it was worth trying, because he'd hug you with everything in his little, fragile frame.'' In a week of spiritual reflection, Aaron Kreifels, the University of Wyoming freshman who found his battered classmate Oct. 7, attributed the chance discovery to ``God's plan.'' On that afternoon, Kreifels, an 18-year-old architectural engineering student, had nearly completed a rigorous six-mile ride on a mountain bike up and down Cactus Canyon, in public lands east of Laramie. Kreifels recalled in an interview Thursday his only mishap of the ride, ``I hit this big limestone rock and did one over the handlebars.'' Dusting himself off and looking around in the fading light of the day, Kreifels recalled, ``I noticed something out of my eye that looked like a scarecrow. I walked around the fence, and as I got closer, I noticed the hair.'' Shepard, his hands bound behind his back with a nylon cord and tied to a fence post, was lying on the ground, face up, unconscious. ``Sometimes I wonder why I found him alive, if he was going to die,'' Kreifels reflected, before traveling to spend this weekend at home with his parents in Grand Island, Neb. ``But I guess God wanted his parents to be with him.''",
"At first, the passing bicyclist thought the crumpled form lashed to a ranch fence was a scarecrow. But when he stopped, he found the burned, battered and nearly lifeless body of Matthew Shepard, an openly gay college student who had been tied to the fence 18 hours earlier. On Friday, the 22-year-old University of Wyoming student was in a coma in critical condition. At Albany County courthouse here, Russell Henderson, 21, and Aaron McKinney, 22, were arraigned on charges of kidnapping, aggravated robbery and attempted first-degree murder. Two women described as friends of the men, Kristen Leann Price, 18, and Chastity Vera Pasley, 20, have been charged as accessories after the fact to attempted first-degree murder. Shepard's friends said that he did not know his alleged tormentors. Laramie police say the primary motive was robbery, although court papers filed Friday indicate Shepard's homosexuality may also have been a factor. Shepard's friends call the attack a hate crime. ``He was very open about his sexuality,'' Tina LaBrie, an anthropology student here, said of her friend. ``I admired him for that because it is very courageous to be yourself even when others disagree.'' A few hours before he was beaten, Shepard, a slight 5-foot, 2-inch man who wore braces on his teeth, had attended a meeting of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Association, said Walter Boulden, a friend of Shepard's. ``He was sitting at the bar, having a beer, when two men came up and talked to him,'' Boulden, a 46-year-old university lecturer of social work here, said today between tears. ``He indicated he was gay, and they said they were gay, too.'' ``Now, he is in a coma,'' continued Boulden, who visited his friend at a hospital in Fort Collins, Colo., on Thursday. ``I don't think anybody expects him to pull through.'' Shepard, who spoke Arabic and German, studied at a boarding school in Switzerland before moving back to the United States to attend the University of Wyoming, the alma mater of his father, an oil rig safety inspector in Saudi Arabia. Matthew Shepard was born in Casper, the capital of Wyoming's oil belt, and spent much of his youth there. But six weeks after returning to Wyoming and enrolling as a freshman here, Shepard fell into a depression, said Ms. Labrie and her husband, Phillip. Accustomed to life in Europe and Denver, this foreign language student who wanted to become a diplomat found himself living in this isolated city of 27,000 people. Set in a treeless landscape defined by barbed wire fences, grazing cattle and a busy freight railroad line, Laramie is a town where pickup trucks outnumber sport utility vehicles, where fall entertainment revolves around this Saturday's homecoming football game and the start of the hunting season in the nearby Medicine Bow mountains. Although Wyoming often bills itself as the ``equality state,'' in reference to its being the first state to give women the vote, the state legislature has repeatedly voted down hate crime legislation on the grounds that it would give homosexuals special rights. ``Wyoming is not really gay friendly,'' Marv Johnson, executive director of the Wyoming chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said from Cheyenne. ``The best way to characterize that is by a comment a legislator made a few years back, when he likened homosexuals to gay bulls as worthless and should be sent to the packing plant.'' Shepard joined the campus gay association at the university within days. One of his favorite haunts was the Fireside Bar, which drew a mixed crowd of college students and rodeo cowboys, gays and straights. ``He definitely wasn't drunk when he came in,'' recalled the bartender, Matt Galloway. ``He wasn't drunk when he went out.'' Calvin Rerucha, the county attorney, charged in court documents today that McKinney and Henderson posed as homosexuals and lured Shepard out to McKinney's pickup truck just after midnight early Wednesday. Beating him inside the truck, the pair drove him one mile southeast to an isolated part of a new rural subdivision, the County Attorney's report charged. There, it said, the men tied their captive to a post-and-rail fence and pistol-whipped him with a .357 magnum ``while he begged for his life.'' Relatives said that Shepard also suffered burns on his body. After nearly beating the young man to death, Laramie Police Commander David O'Malley said, the assailants stole his wallet and shoes and left him tied to the fence. The police commander said that when his officers arrested the two men on Thursday, they found in McKinney's pickup truck a .357 magnum pistol covered with blood and Shepard's shoes and credit card. He said they found Shepard's wallet at McKinney's home. The police commander said that the two women helped the two men dump their bloody clothing, and that they reported hearing the men make anti-gay remarks. Ms. Pasley, a freshman art student at the university, lived with Henderson. Ms. Price lived with McKinney. The police did not say what the other three did for a living. On Friday, friends and Laramie residents struggled to understand the incident. Shepard, some said, may have felt a false sense of confidence because the local Gay Association completed plans on Tuesday night for ``Gay Awareness Week 1998.'' The weeklong series of events starts here Sunday with a local observance of ``National Coming Out Day'' and a lecture on Monday by Leslea Newman, the author of ``Heather Has Two Mommies,'' a book about lesbian families. ``If I were a homosexual in Laramie, I would hang low, very low,'' said Carla Brown, manager of the Fireside. ``Openly gay behavior is not only discouraged, it's dangerous.''",
"At first, the passing bicyclist thought the crumpled form lashed to a ranch fence was a scarecrow. But when he stopped, he found the burned, battered and nearly lifeless body of Matthew Shepard, an openly gay college student who had been tied to the fence 18 hours earlier. On Friday, the 22-year-old University of Wyoming student was in a coma in critical condition. At Albany County courthouse here, Russell Henderson, 21, and Aaron McKinney, 22, were arraigned on charges of kidnapping, aggravated robbery and attempted first-degree murder. Two women described as friends of the men, Kristen Leann Price, 18, and Chastity Vera Pasley, 20, have been charged as accessories after the fact to attempted first-degree murder. Shepard's friends said that he did not know his alleged tormentors. Laramie police say the primary motive was robbery, although court papers filed Friday indicate Shepard's homosexuality may also have been a factor. Shepard's friends call the attack a hate crime. ``He was very open about his sexuality,'' Tina LaBrie, an anthropology student here, said of her friend. ``I admired him for that because it is very courageous to be yourself even when others disagree.'' A few hours before he was beaten, Shepard, a slight 5-foot, 2-inch man who wore braces on his teeth, had attended a meeting of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Association, said Walter Boulden, a friend of Shepard's. ``He was sitting at the bar, having a beer, when two men came up and talked to him,'' Boulden, a 46-year-old university lecturer of social work here, said today between tears. ``He indicated he was gay, and they said they were gay, too.'' ``Now, he is in a coma,'' continued Boulden, who visited his friend at a hospital in Fort Collins, Colo., on Thursday. ``I don't think anybody expects him to pull through.'' Shepard, who spoke Arabic and German, studied at a boarding school in Switzerland before moving back to the United States to attend the University of Wyoming, the alma mater of his father, an oil rig safety inspector in Saudi Arabia. Matthew Shepard was born in Casper, the capital of Wyoming's oil belt, and spent much of his youth there. But six weeks after returning to Wyoming and enrolling as a freshman here, Shepard fell into a depression, said Ms. Labrie and her husband, Phillip. Accustomed to life in Europe and Denver, this foreign language student who wanted to become a diplomat found himself living in this isolated city of 27,000 people. Set in a treeless landscape defined by barbed wire fences, grazing cattle and a busy freight railroad line, Laramie is a town where pickup trucks outnumber sport utility vehicles, where fall entertainment revolves around this Saturday's homecoming football game and the start of the hunting season in the nearby Medicine Bow mountains. Although Wyoming often bills itself as the ``equality state,'' in reference to its being the first state to give women the vote, the state legislature has repeatedly voted down hate crime legislation on the grounds that it would give homosexuals special rights. ``Wyoming is not really gay friendly,'' Marv Johnson, executive director of the Wyoming chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said from Cheyenne. ``The best way to characterize that is by a comment a legislator made a few years back, when he likened homosexuals to gay bulls as worthless and should be sent to the packing plant.'' Shepard joined the campus gay association at the university within days. One of his favorite haunts was the Fireside Bar, which drew a mixed crowd of college students and rodeo cowboys, gays and straights. ``He definitely wasn't drunk when he came in,'' recalled the bartender, Matt Galloway. ``He wasn't drunk when he went out.'' Calvin Rerucha, the county attorney, charged in court documents today that McKinney and Henderson posed as homosexuals and lured Shepard out to McKinney's pickup truck. Beating him inside the truck, the pair drove him one mile southeast to an isolated part of a new rural subdivision, the County Attorney's report charged. There, it said, the men tied their captive to a post-and-rail fence and pistol-whipped him with a .357 magnum ``while he begged for his life.'' Relatives said that Shepard also suffered burns on his body. After nearly beating the young man to death, Laramie Police Commander David O'Malley said, the assailants stole his wallet and shoes and left him tied to the fence. The police commander said that when his officers arrested the two men on Thursday, they found in McKinney's pickup truck a .357 magnum pistol covered with blood and Shepard's shoes and credit card. He said they found Shepard's wallet at McKinney's home. The police commander said that the two women helped the two men dump their bloody clothing, and that they reported hearing the men make anti-gay remarks. Ms. Pasley, a freshman art student at the university, lived with Henderson. Ms. Price lived with McKinney. The police did not say what the other three did for a living. On Friday, friends and Laramie residents struggled to understand the incident. Shepard, some said, may have felt a false sense of confidence because the local Gay Association completed plans on Tuesday night for ``Gay Awareness Week 1998.'' The weeklong series of events starts here Sunday with a local observance of ``National Coming Out Day'' and a lecture on Monday by Leslea Newman, the author of ``Heather Has Two Mommies,'' a book about lesbian families. ``If I were a homosexual in Laramie, I would hang low, very low,'' said Carla Brown, manager of the Fireside. ``Openly gay behavior is not only discouraged, it's dangerous.''",
"Matthew Wayne Shepard, the gay student who was beaten in the dead of night, tied to a fence and left to die alone, was mourned at his funeral Friday by 1,000 people, including many who had never met him. ``Matt believed that if he had made one person's life better, he had succeeded,'' his cousin, the Rev. Anne Kitch, said in a homily that was carried beyond the packed pews of St. Mark's Episcopal Church, through a filled parish hall, across the street to a packed Presbyterian church and across Casper on an AM radio station. ``Judging from the world's response,'' she said, ``Matt will have made a difference in the lives of thousands.'' As the first snowstorm of the fall blanketed Casper, fresh flowers filled the red brick church here where Shepard had been baptized as a teen-ager and where he once wore the white robes of an Episcopal acolyte. ``There is an image that comes to mind when I reflect on Matt on that wooden cross rail fence,'' said the Rev. Royce Brown, the pastor of St. Mark's, in a eulogy. ``I replace that image with that of another man hung upon a cross. When I concentrate on that man, I can release the bitterness inside.'' Shepard, a 21-year-old freshman at the University of Wyoming, had dreamed of working one day for human rights. In death, he has become a national catalyst for a new drive to guarantee for gay people the right to physical safety. His death hit a nerve in the nation this week, eliciting dozens of candlelight vigils and rallies for tolerance, several statements of sadness from President Clinton, and a congressional resolution. Thursday, the House of Representatives passed by voice vote a resolution that condemned Shepard's killing as ``outrageous'' and that urged each member of Congress and every U.S. citizen ``to denounce this outrageous murder of another human being.'' In one of the largest rallies, about 1,000 people, including members of Congress of both parties, gathered on the steps of the Capitol in Washington to condemn the Shepherd's killing and to urge passage of a federal bill that would add extra penalties to crimes motivated by a victim's sexual orientation, gender or disability. House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt urged passage of the bill, leading the crowd in a chant of ``Now! Now! Now.'' ``We will never forget the love that the world has shared with this kind, loving son,'' said Shepherd's father, Dennis, his father, outside Casper City Hall, as his mother, Judy, stood by, weeping. He said the family was ``touched beyond measure'' by ``the thousands of e-mail comments, Web-site messages, phone calls and cards offering help, consolation, sympathy and support.'' Before the funeral, about a dozen protesters, largely from Kansas and Texas, waved signs with anti-homosexual messages. But mourners stood in front of them, singing ``Amazing Grace'' and holding umbrellas to block the sight of the spectacle from friends and family members entering the church. On hearing of the protest, Laramie's City Council held an emergency meeting Thursday night and unanimously passed an ordinance banning protests during funerals. Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer had warned in advance that anti-gay protesters were ``just flat not welcome.'' The governor, a Republican, added, ``What we don't need is a bunch of wingnuts coming in.'' Shepard was born in Casper and attended elementary school, junior high and several years of high school and college here. With flags at Casper's public schools flying at half-staff Friday, many mourners were his old classmates. Others traveled here, one driving from as far away as New Jersey, out of a sense of solidarity. ``I've had a pit in my heart and my stomach since I heard this,'' said Steve Pietrangelo, who drove 300 miles to wait three hours in cold rain and snow to attend the funeral of a man he never met. ``I just wanted to pay my respects to him and his family.'' Touching people of all walks of life, Shepard's murder has elicited calls for tolerance of homosexuals from unexpected quarters. At the University of Wyoming this fall, football players will wear yellow and green stickers on their helmets in memory of Shepard. Organizers said that yellow signifies tolerance and green symbolizes peace. In Casper, a conservative city of 51,000, located in the heart of Wyoming's oil belt, tolerance has become the watchword. ``Prejudice against homosexuals is just as redneck as anti-black bias,'` The Casper Star-Tribune, Wyoming's largest newspaper, wrote in its main editorial on Sunday. ``Violence against our homosexual friends and neighbors has created a most un-American climate of fear in Wyoming and the rest of the nation.'' Monday, Jason Marsden, the newspaper's political reporter, wrote lovingly that, ``Matthew Shepard is still my friend, and not just because we are both members of the loose-knit community of gay people striving to make our way in this sometimes hostile place called Wyoming.'' ``Matt was very short and hard to hug,'' Marsden recalled of the young man who had grown up in Casper. ``But it was worth trying, because he'd hug you with everything in his little, fragile frame.'' In a week of spiritual reflection, Aaron Kreifels, the University of Wyoming freshman who found his battered classmate Oct. 7, attributed the chance discovery to ``God's plan.'' On that afternoon, Kreifels, an 18-year-old architectural engineering student, had nearly completed a rigorous six-mile ride on a mountain bike up and down Cactus Canyon, in public lands east of Laramie. Kreifels recalled in an interview Thursday that his only mishap of the ride, ``I hit this big limestone rock and did one over the handlebars.'' Dusting himself off and looking around in the fading light of the day, Kreifels recalled, ``I noticed something out of my eye that looked like a scarecrow. I walked around the fence, and as I got closer, I noticed the hair.'' Shepard, his hands bound behind his back with a nylon cord and tied to a fence post, was lying on the ground, face up, unconscious. ``Sometimes I wonder why I found him alive, if he was going to die,'' Kreifels reflected, before traveling to spend this weekend at home with his parents in Grand Island, Neb. ``But I guess God wanted his parents to be with him.''",
"Last Saturday morning, while Matthew Shepard lay comatose from a beating, a college homecoming parade passed a few blocks from his hospital bed in Fort Collins. Propped on a fraternity float was a straw-haired scarecrow, labeled in black spray paint: ``I'm Gay.'' Few people missed the message. Three days earlier, Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming freshman, was savagely beaten and tied to a ranch fence in such a position that a passerby first mistook him for a scarecrow. Tuesday, officials at Colorado State University reacted with outrage to the fraternity float, opening an investigation and disciplinary procedures against the fraternity, Pi Kappa Alpha. The fraternity chapter immediately suspended seven members and said they had acted independently. But in a week when candlelight vigils for Shepard were being held on campuses across the nation, the scarecrow incident highlighted how hostility toward gay people often flourishes in high schools and universities, gay leaders said Tuesday. ``People would like to think that what happened to Matthew was an exception to the rule but, it was an extreme version of what happens in our schools on a daily basis,'' said Kevin Jennings, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, a New York group dedicated to ending anti-gay bias in the schools. Shepard, a slightly built 21-year-old, died on Monday morning from the injuries suffered in the beating. He never regained consciousness after being discovered on the evening of Oct. 7, 18 hours after he was lashed to the fence. Two men, Russell Henderson, 21, and Aaron McKinney, 22, were arraigned late Monday night on first-degree murder charges. Their girlfriends, Chasity Pasley, 20, and Kristen Price, 18, have been arraigned as accessories after the fact. In response to the killing, about 50 candelight vigils were scheduled this week, from Texas to Vermont, from Wayne, Neb., to New York City. At the Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins where Shepard was in intensive care for five days, his parents, Dennis and Judy Shepard, received about 6,000 electronic messages of condolences. Tuesday, when funeral arrangements were announced for Friday in Casper, Wyo., the hospital Web site received 30,000 hits an hour. Friends at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyo., have set up The Matthew Shepard Memorial Fund to raise money to pressure the state legislature to pass anti-hate crime legislation. ``I see his name going down in gay history as a catalyst for renewed activism,'' said Matt Foreman, a former Wyomingite who directs Empire State Pride Agenda, a gay political organization in New York. From around the nation Tuesday, gay leaders stressed that campus homophobia is not restricted to college towns in the Rocky Mountain West. Last year, in a survey of almost 4,000 Massachusetts high school students, 22 percent of gay respondents said they skipped school in the past month because they felt unsafe at school, and 31 percent said they had been threatened or injured at school in the past year. These percentages were about five times greater than the percentages of heterosexual respondents. The survey was conducted at 58 high schools by the Massachusetts Department of Education. In a separate study of nearly 500 community college students in the San Francisco area, 32 percent of male respondents said they had verbally threatened gay people and 18 percent said they had physically threatened or assaulted gay people. The study was conducted this year by Karen Franklin, a forensic psychologist who is a researcher at the University of Washington. Surveys of gay college students conducted in the late 1980s at Yale University, Oberlin College, Rutgers University and Penn State found that 16 percent to 26 percent had been threatened with violence, and that 40 percent to 76 percent had been verbally harassed, said the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, a lobbying group based in Washington. Last year, a student group in Des Moines, Iowa, called Concerned Students, recorded hallway and classroom conversations at five high schools on 10 ``homophobia recording day.'' They estimated that the average Des Moines high school student hears about 25 anti-gay remarks every day. ``Nine out of 10 `teaching tolerance' courses weed out gays,'' Foreman said. ``There are a lot of people preaching anti-racism and anti-semitism. But it is still very much OK to make anti-gay jokes, to express anti-gay sentiments.'' In a survey of the nation's 42 largest school districts, 76 percent do not train teachers on issues facing gay students, and 42 percent do not have policies to protect students from discrimination based on sexual orientation, said the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, which conducted the survey last month. In Fort Collins, while hospital officials struggled with an electronic avalanche of condolences, city police detectives were investigating a different kind of e-mail. On Monday, hours after Shepard's death, two gay organizations, the Rainbow Chorus and the Lambda Community Center, received identical messages applauding Shepard's murder. The messages closed with the words: ``I hope it happens more often.''",
"As a gay college student lay hospitalized in critical condition after a severe beating here, this small city, which bills itself as ``Wyoming's hometown,'' wrestled with its attitudes towards gay men. On Saturday, at the University of Wyoming's annual homecoming parade, ``Pistol Pete'' and his uniformed brass band were overshadowed by a larger group of marchers _ 450 people, many wearing yellow armbands and carrying signs in support of the 21-year-old student, Matthew Shepard, who suffered severe head injuries in the attack last week. ``Hate is not a Small Town Value _ No to Violence and Evil,'' read one sign, as watchers applauded. With passersby spontaneously joining the protest group, two women held another sign that read, ``No Hate Crimes in Wyoming.'' Two candlelight vigils were held Sunday night at churches near the campus. At the Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colo., where Shepard's health continued to deteriorate, the hospital has received so many flowers that nurses have started to distribute bouquets to other patients. A vigil at the hospital on Saturday evening drew about 500 people. ``We live in the Equality State,'' Shannon Rexroat wrote Friday in a special edition of the Branding Iron, the campus newspaper. Referring to Wyoming's pioneer heritage as the first state to grant women the right to vote, Ms. Rexroat, the campus newspaper's editor added: ``That means nothing to me anymore. We live in a state where a young man was brutally beaten because he is gay.'' But others recalled another side of ``Wyoming's hometown,''which has a population of more than 26,000. Jamie Lewis, another editor, said that on Friday he was handing out copies of the special edition when a passerby backed away from him and used an anti-gay epithet. Last week's brutal assault bubbled out of an ongoing climate of hostility toward gay men and lesbians, leaders of the local Unitarian church said in a letter published Sunday in the city's newspaper, The Laramie Daily Boomerang. ``This incident was atypical in its brutality, but not in its underlying motive,'' wrote Jeffrey Lockwood and Stephen Johnson. Gay people in Laramie, they wrote, ``are frequently assaulted with derision, intolerance, insult and hostility _ if not guns and ropes.'' Ric Turley, who dropped out of college here after one year in the 1970s, recalled driving here to see his family for Christmas in 1993 and seeing a vandalized billboard on the main highway. Under a brace of pistols, an advertising appeal for a state history museum had been changed, he said, from ``Shoot a Day or Two,'' to ``Shoot a Gay or Two.'' Turley, who is gay and said he only came out after he had left Wyoming, said that he immediately complained to the museum. But returning a month later, he found the message had not been erased. After complaining to the museum for a second time, he said he took a can of black spray paint and blotted out the word ``gay.'' ``It was this kind of complacency and apathy that allowed this to happen,'' he said of the beating in which two local men have been charged, Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney. According to the local police and prosecutors, the two men lured Shepard out of a bar by saying they were gay. Then, the Laramie police say, the pair kidnapped Shepard, pistol-whipped him with a .357 Magnum and left him tied to a ranch fence for 18 hours until a passing bicyclist spotted Shepard, who was unconscious. On Sunday, the Laramie police said that McKinney had been arrested on Thursday at the same hospital in Fort Collins where Shepard was being treated. McKinney was being treated for a ``minor'' skull fracture unrelated to the fracas with Shepard, said Ben Fritzen, a Laramie police detective. President Clinton has condemned the attack, saying on Saturday, ``I was deeply grieved by the act of violence perpetrated against Matthew Shepard.'' Clinton urged Congress to pass the federal Hate Crimes Prevention Act, saying, ``There is nothing more important to the future of this country than our standing together against intolerance, prejudice and violent bigotry.'' Wyoming is one of 10 states that does not have a hate crime law. The latest attempt died in the state Legislature in Cheyenne in February. On Saturday, Wyoming's governor, Jim Geringer, said he was ``outraged and sickened'' by the attack. Here in Laramie, McKinney's father, Bill, also condemned the attack. His pickup truck was apparently used in the kidnapping. But he also complained about the massive attention by the national media. The national press ``blew it totally out of proportion because it involved a homosexual,'' McKinney told The Denver Post. `Had this been a heterosexual these two boys decided to take out and rob, this never would have made the national news.'' Shepard grew up in Casper until his sophomore year in high school, when his father, an oil rig safety engineer, was transferred to Saudi Arabia. The young man completed high school at a boarding school in Lugano, Switzerland, where he learned Italian and German. On Saturday, his parents, Dennis and Judy Shepard, released a statement from Fort Collins thanking ``the American public for their kind thoughts about Matthew.'' ``He is a trusting person who takes everybody at face value and he does not see the bad side of anyone,'' the Shepards wrote. ``He has always strongly felt that all people are the same, regardless of their sexual preference, race or religion.'' Noting that their son was born prematurely and that his ``life has often been a struggle,'' they added, ``He is physically short in stature, but we believe he is a giant when it comes to respecting the worth of others.''",
"Matthew Wayne Shepard, the gay student who was beaten in the dead of night, tied to a fence and left to die alone, was mourned at his funeral Friday by 1,000 people, including many who had never met him. ``Matt believed that if he had made one person's life better, he had succeeded,'' his cousin, the Rev. Anne Kitch, said in a homily that was carried beyond the packed pews of St. Mark's Episcopal Church, through a filled parish hall, across the street to a packed Presbyterian church and across Casper on an AM radio station. ``Judging from the world's response,'' she said, ``Matt will have made a difference in the lives of thousands.'' As the first snowstorm of the fall blanketed Casper, fresh flowers filled the red brick church here where Shepard had been baptized as a teen-ager and where he once wore the white robes of an Episcopal acolyte. ``There is an image that comes to mind when I reflect on Matt on that wooden cross rail fence,'' said the Rev. Royce Brown, the pastor of St. Mark's, in a eulogy. ``I replace that image with that of another man hung upon a cross. When I concentrate on that man, I can release the bitterness inside.'' Shepard, a 21-year-old freshman at the University of Wyoming, had dreamed of working one day for human rights. In death, he has become a national catalyst for a new drive to guarantee for gay people the right to physical safety. His death hit a nerve in the nation this week, eliciting dozens of candlelight vigils and rallies for tolerance, several statements of sadness from President Clinton, and a congressional resolution. Thursday, the House of Representatives passed by voice vote a resolution that condemned Shepard's killing as ``outrageous'' and that urged each member of Congress and every U.S. citizen ``to denounce this outrageous murder of another human being.'' In one of the largest rallies, about 1,000 people, including members of Congress of both parties, gathered on the steps of the Capitol in Washington to condemn Shepherd's killing and to urge passage of a federal bill that would add extra penalties to crimes motivated by a victim's sexual orientation, gender or disability. House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt urged passage of the bill, leading the crowd in a chant of ``Now! Now! Now.'' ``We will never forget the love that the world has shared with this kind, loving son,'' said Shepherd's father, Dennis, his father, outside Casper City Hall, as his mother, Judy, stood by, weeping. He said the family was ``touched beyond measure'' by ``the thousands of e-mail comments, Web-site messages, phone calls and cards offering help, consolation, sympathy and support.'' Before the funeral, about a dozen protesters, largely from Kansas and Texas, waved signs with anti-homosexual messages. But mourners stood in front of them, singing ``Amazing Grace'' and holding umbrellas to block the sight of the spectacle from friends and family members entering the church. On hearing of the protest, Laramie's City Council held an emergency meeting Thursday night and unanimously passed an ordinance banning protests during funerals. Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer had warned in advance that anti-gay protesters were ``just flat not welcome.'' The governor, a Republican, added, ``What we don't need is a bunch of wingnuts coming in.'' Shepard was born in Casper and attended elementary school, junior high and several years of high school and college here. With flags at Casper's public schools flying at half-staff Friday, many mourners were his old classmates. Others traveled here, one driving from as far away as New Jersey, out of a sense of solidarity. ``I've had a pit in my heart and my stomach since I heard this,'' said Steve Pietrangelo, who drove 300 miles to wait three hours in cold rain and snow to attend the funeral of a man he never met. ``I just wanted to pay my respects to him and his family.'' Touching people of all walks of life, Shepard's murder has elicited calls for tolerance of homosexuals from unexpected quarters. At the University of Wyoming this fall, football players will wear yellow and green stickers on their helmets in memory of Shepard. Organizers said that yellow signifies tolerance and green symbolizes peace. In Casper, a conservative city of 51,000, located in the heart of Wyoming's oil belt, tolerance has become the watchword. ``Prejudice against homosexuals is just as redneck as anti-black bias,'` The Casper Star-Tribune, Wyoming's largest newspaper, wrote in its main editorial on Sunday. ``Violence against our homosexual friends and neighbors has created a most un-American climate of fear in Wyoming and the rest of the nation.'' Monday, Jason Marsden, the newspaper's political reporter, wrote lovingly that, ``Matthew Shepard is still my friend, and not just because we are both members of the loose-knit community of gay people striving to make our way in this sometimes hostile place called Wyoming.'' ``Matt was very short and hard to hug,'' Marsden recalled of the young man who had grown up in Casper. ``But it was worth trying, because he'd hug you with everything in his little, fragile frame.'' In a week of spiritual reflection, Aaron Kreifels, the University of Wyoming freshman who found his battered classmate Oct. 7, attributed the chance discovery to ``God's plan.'' On that afternoon, Kreifels, an 18-year-old architectural engineering student, had nearly completed a rigorous six-mile ride on a mountain bike up and down Cactus Canyon, in public lands east of Laramie. Kreifels recalled in an interview Thursday that his only mishap of the ride, ``I hit this big limestone rock and did one over the handlebars.'' Dusting himself off and looking around in the fading light of the day, Kreifels recalled, ``I noticed something out of my eye that looked like a scarecrow. I walked around the fence, and as I got closer, I noticed the hair.'' Shepard, his hands bound behind his back with a nylon cord and tied to a fence post, was lying on the ground, face up, unconscious. ``Sometimes I wonder why I found him alive, if he was going to die,'' Kreifels reflected, before traveling to spend this weekend at home with his parents in Grand Island, Neb. ``But I guess God wanted his parents to be with him.''",
"Matthew Shepard, the gay college student who was kidnapped and severely beaten, died here Monday, five days after he was found unconscious on a Wyoming ranch where he had been left tied to a fence for 18 hours in near-freezing temperatures. His death, announced at Poudre Valley Hospital here, fanned the outrage that followed word of last week's attack, spawning nationwide vigils, producing a call for federal hate-crimes legislation from President Clinton and fueling debates over such laws in a host of Western states, including Wyoming, that have resisted them. From Denver to the University of Maryland, people turned out to honor the The slight, soft-spoken 21-year-old Shepard, a freshman at the University of Wyoming, who became an overnight symbol of anti-gay violence after he was found dangling from the fence by a passerby. Russell Anderson, 21, and Aaron McKinney, 21, were charged with attempted murder and are expected to face first-degree murder charges that could bring the death penalty. Their girlfriends, Chastity Pasley, 21, and Kristen Price, 18, were charged as accessories. In Denver, mourners wrote messages on a graffiti wall as part of national Gay Awareness Week. In San Francisco, a giant rainbow flag that symbolizes the gay rights movement was lowered to half-staff in the Castro district. ``There is incredible symbolism about being tied to a fence,'' said Rebecca Isaacs, political director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in Washington. ``People have likened it to a scarecrow. But it sounded more like a crucifixion.'' Police in Laramie, Wyo., where the beating took place, have said they believed robbery was the primary motive for the attack against Shepard, which occurred outside a bar in the town of 27,000. But investigators also said Shepard's sexuality may have been a factor. Police said Henderson and McKinney lured Shepard from the bar by saying they too were gay and one of their girlfriends said Shepard had embarassed one of the men by making a pass at him. Monday, police said that after leaving Shepard tied to the fence, the men returned to Laramie and picked a fight on a street corner with two Hispanic men, Emiliano Morales, 19, and Jeremy Herrera, 18. McKinney and Morales suffered head injuries in the brawl; McKinney was arrested when he sought treatment at the same hospital where Shepard died. Gay leaders hope _ and Christian conservatives fear _ that Shepard's death will galvanize Congress and state legislatures to pass hate-crime legislation or broaden existing laws. Conservatives generally oppose such laws because they favor one group's rights over another. In the last two decades, 21 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws that increase penalties for crimes that are committed because of a person's race, religion, color, national origin, and sexual orientation. Another 19 states, including Colorado, do not include sexual orientation in their hate-crime laws. Ten states, including Wyoming, have no hate-crime laws at all. In Washington, Clinton responded to news of Shepard's death by urging Congress to pass the federal Hate Crimes Protection Act, which would make federal offenses of crimes based on sex, disability and sexual orientation. Wyoming has been one of the nation's holdouts, rejecting three hate crimes bills since 1994, most recently in February. But Monday, after Shepard's death, Gov. Jim Geringer appealed to lawmakers to reconsider their opposition. ``I ask for a collective suggestion for anti-bias, anti-hate legislation that can be presented to the Wyoming Legislature for their consideration in January,'' Geringer said. The governor met Monday morning with Dennis Shepard, the slain student's father, and said that the elder Shepard did not want his son's death to become ``a media circus'' and that ``we should not use Matt to further an agenda.'' Geringer said that Shepard's father also said: ``Don't rush into just passing all kinds of new hate-crimes laws. Be very careful of any changes and be sure you're not taking away rights of others in the process to race to this.'' Leaders of gay rights groups interviewed Monday said they would respect the family's privacy by not attending the burial in Casper, Wyo., on Saturday. But they added that they hoped the death would have an impact on legislators around the nation. ``Matthew's death, I hope, will bring about a better and deeper understanding of hate crime laws,'' said Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign, a lesbian and gay rights group that has 250,000 members. ``Matthew's death may lead to an awakening in Wyoming and in the United States Congress as the need for this legislation.'' In 1996, 21 men and women were killed in the United States because of their sexual orientation, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama group that tracks violence against minorities. According to the FBI, sexual orientation was a factor in 11.6 percent of the 8,759 hate crimes recorded in 1996. But Christian conservatives warn that gay leaders want to use Shepard's death to expand hate rights laws and to curtail freedom of speech. ``Hate crimes laws have nothing to do with perpetrators of violent crime and everything to do with silencing political opposition,'' said Steven Schwalm, an analyst with the Family Research Council, a Washington group dedicated to defending ``faith, family and freedom.'' ``It would criminalize pro-family beliefs,'' Schwalm said. ``This basically sends a message that you can't disagree with the political message of homosexual activists.'' Agreement came from John Paulk, who was featured this summer in a series of advertisements about how he and his wife, Anne, ``overcame'' homosexuality through religious conversion. ``We have every right to speak out against an agenda that is contrary to Biblical norms,'' said Paulk, who describes himself as a homosexuality specialist for Focus on the Family, a Christian group in Colorado Springs, Colo. ``Because we are standing up and opposing the homosexual agenda, we are being looked upon as advocating violence against homosexuals, when we categorically reject violence against homosexuals.'' Last Thursday, the Family Research Council unveiled a series of television advertisements that preach the ``healing'' of homosexuality through religious conversion. Gay leaders charge that these advertisements help create a hostile climate for homosexuals, a climate that can lead to violence. Hate crime laws that are on the books in 40 states have not impinged on freedom of speech, said Brian Levin, a criminal justice professor who directs the Center on Hate and Extremism at Stockton College, in Pomona, N.J. Instead, he said, hate crime laws send a clear message that society does not tolerate attacks on minorities. ``We want to deter the broken windows and simple assaults before they escalate,'' he said. Referring to murders of homosexuals, he added: ``These crimes are preventable. Offenders get emboldened if they are not punished the first time.'' Levin said that his research indicated that homosexuals suffered higher rates of violent crime than the population at large. He also said that roughly half of the people who attack homosexuals are male, aged 22 or younger. ``With other crimes, violence is a means to an end. With hate crimes, the violence becomes an unstoppable goal,'' Levin said. Shepard suffered a dozen cuts around the head, face and neck, as well as a massive blow to the back of his skull. ``Because their social stature in society, gays are often viewed as appropriate targets,'' Levin added. Citing the need for hate crime laws to send a clear message to gay bashers, Levin said: ``The discourse in society leaves many of these people to believe that what they are doing is socially acceptable.'' While some gay leaders saw crucifixion imagery in Shepard's death, others saw a different symbolism: the Old West practice of nailing a dead coyote to a ranch fence as a warning to future intruders. ``This University of Wyoming student was beaten and left to die, tied to a fence like an animal because he was honest and open about being gay,'' Beatrice Dorhn, legal director of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, said Monday, ``Matthew Shepard's horrible suffering and death cannot be dismissed simply as the fault of deranged, isolated individuals. His attackers are among millions of Americans who constantly hear the message that gay people are not worthy of the most basic equal treatment,'' Ms. Dorhn said."
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Acknowledging his mistakes, Clinton supports Democrat candidates and speaks at fundraisers. He backs Mary Boyle of Ohio in her bid for U.S. Senate. Democrat candidates try to limit the effect of the Lewinsky debacle on their campaigns. A N.Y. labor union backs Democrat Schumer to keep Republicans from gaining a 60-seat majority. Sen. D'Amato sidesteps queries about Clinton's impeachment on the campaign trail. A gay group may back D'Amato, the prospect of which is upsetting Democrats. House Republicans are using idle time to get votes on issues to help their campaigns. The National Republican Congressional Committee sponsors deceptive fundraising calls. In addition to the usual factors that prevail in Congressional elections, this year's is complicated by the uncertain effect of the impending impeachment of President Clinton. The president has admitted mistakes, but remains a popular campaigner for House Democrats. In the New York race between D'Amato and Schumer, both are seeking union and gay/lesbian endorsement. Republican Voinovich hopes to take the seat of retiring John Glenn in Ohio. A budget agreement between Republican congressional leaders and the White House is needed soon to avoid a government shutdown. A leadership award from Speaker Gingrich's office is merely a pitch for contributions. President Clinton's impeachment woes are causing problems for the approaching mid-term elections. The President stopped apologizing, saying he must "live with the consequences" of his mistakes, and urging democrats to take pride in his achievements. Democratic candidates hope to contain the Lewinsky debacle while trying to prevent a Republican majority in the Senate. In New York, the Human Rights Campaign may endorse both candidates. In Ohio, Republican Voinovich is in a crucial face-off with Democrat Mary Boyles. Republicans are using a bait-and-switch routine to earn funds from small business. Their House votes are on topics to boast about back home. In tight congressional and Senate races leading up to the Nov. 1998 elections, strategists and candidates were unsure how to deal with the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal. Though the President pointed to his record while stumping, many Democrats, embarrassed by his behavior, distanced themselves from him. With impeachment a possibility, the Senate races assumed even greater importance. While it was unlikely the Republicans would win enough Senate seats to remove the President, Democrats feared their opponents could gain a filibuster-proof, 60-seat majority. The NY senate race between Republican D'Amato and Schumer was one of the tightest in the nation.
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"It was not a voice mail message that Dr. Marilyn Rymer, a neurologist in Kansas City, Mo., would routinely delete, even as a registered Democrat. ``Speaker Newt Gingrich's office,'' it said, was calling to discuss a ``national leadership award.'' Dr. Rymer has won acclaim as the director of a prominent stroke-treatment center, but this proposition seemed particularly grand. When she returned the call, she said she was told she would also be named honorary chairman of an elite committee to advise Gingrich on legislation. Too good to be true? Well, Dr. Rymer would have to pay her own way if the committee should actually meet, and as an honorary committee chairman, she discovered, she would be a member of a committee composed entirely of honorary chairmen. And oh, the speaker wanted a donation of $500 to $1,000 to ``help our efforts,'' according to a transcript of a similar chat with another doctor, to elect a bigger Republican majority in the House of Representatives. With the approach of the midterm elections next month, it turns out that the National Republican Congressional Committee, which supports candidates for the House, has been sponsoring similar calls to tens of thousands of small-business owners, including doctors. With this and other fund-raising programs, the committee says it has amassed $62 million for the elections. But campaign finance watchdogs say the solicitations mark a new departure in political fund raising, one they call akin to the practices of marketing companies like the Publishers' Clearing House that hook consumers with visions of million-dollar windfalls to induce them to subscribe to magazines. By citing the speaker and promising celebrity and influence, they say, the calls are a bait-and-switch scheme to seize the attention of people who might otherwise hang up. Dr. Rymer says she was incensed. So was Dr. Stanley Turecki, a child and family psychiatrist in New York who votes as an independent and was also called. ``I was absolutely outraged,'' he said. ``Anybody else who would do that would fall into the category of consumer fraud.'' Kenneth Gross, a Washington lawyer who specializes in election law and represents both Democratic and Republican clients, said, ``I have never heard of that particular device.'' But it doesn't appear illegal, he said, adding, ``It's a fund-raising gimmick to get attention.'' Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocate of campaign finance reform, said, ``This is a new version of caveat emptor _ buyer be damned instead of buyer beware.'' When businesses do it, he added, Congress orders investigations. ``But this isn't going to be investigated because it's members of Congress who are doing it.'' Todd Harris, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said that he had not heard of any complaints and that there was no intent to deceive. ``The national leadership award is a part of what we call donor and member fulfillment,'' Harris said. ``It's part of bringing them into the process. It's important that they be recognized for the support they give the party.'' ``There's no quid pro quo'' that people solicited could receive awards",
"for past contributions, he added. What most peeves Drs. Rymer and Turecki is the message left with secretaries and answering machines invoking Gingrich's ``office'' and proposing the award. They say they envisioned a senior aide at a telephone in the speaker's chambers under the Capitol Dome. The calls, however, are not placed by aides to Gingrich, by any of his offices or by anyone in Washington. They are made by people with headsets and computers at the home of InfoCision Management Corp., a telemarketing firm and Congressional committee client in Akron, Ohio. On its Web page, InfoCision says its 1,400 employees operate 1,584 telephone lines and 9 phone centers. ``Every word in the script is approved by our clients,'' the company says on its Web site. ``Every conceivable objection is scripted with a powerful rebuttal.'' Besides telemarketing for businesses, said Jamie Blair, a supervisor at the center, ``we specialize in helping the Republican Party and conservative political groups.'' However far they are from Gingrich, the telemarketers are instructed to answer return calls with: ``Republican Congressional Committee, Newt Gingrich's office. May I help you?'' A doctor in Kansas City, Mo., who is a registered Republican and who declined to be named, dialed the Gingrich number (888-484-1644) left on answering machines and secretly recorded the ensuing discussion, which is legal in Missouri. ``We were asked to contact you on behalf of the speaker,'' says a woman who picked up the call and identified herself as Nancy. ``He is right now aggressively pushing legislation to cut taxes by as much as half, and he's also interested in legislation to cut capital gains to a single rate of 15 percent.'' To assure passage of the legislation, the speaker wants to increase his Republican majority, she says, adding, ``To help us do that, the speaker is pulling together a group of individuals such as yourself and is inviting you to be an honorary chairman on his advisory council.'' Nancy continues: ``There will be correspondence with the speaker, such as conference calls. It's a great way that he can get your input and thoughts on legislation that does concern you. Or maybe surveys or questionnaires.'' Later, Nancy says: ``As a member of his committee, you would be receiving from the speaker our national leadership award, which is really quite an honor. And to be honest, he will be asking each of our chairmen if they could help our efforts to increase our majority with a one-time contribution of $500 or $1,000. ``Now that would be used on the nationwide media campaign that Newt has undertaken to target those seats we really need. And as someone who I'm sure would also benefit from this, could I tell the speaker he could count on your help?'' The doctor demurs. ``I am a registered, you know, Republican in Kansas,'' she tells Nancy. ``Probably if I were to do something it would be to go through my own representative.'' Then the doctor tries to ascertain where Nancy is located. ``Is this congressman Gingrich's office that I'm talking to?'' the doctor asks. ``The",
"speaker's office,'' says Nancy. ``This is the speaker's office.'' ``That I'm talking to,'' says the doctor, double-checking. ``Uh-huh,'' Nancy replies. The law prohibits political fund-raising calls from federal offices. Vice President Al Gore is under a Justice Department investigation for fund-raising calls he allegedly made from his office in the 1996 presidential campaign. But the calls can be made from just about anywhere else, including campaign offices. Harris said the calls are ``in no way related to the speaker's OFFICIAL office.'' He added: ``What is more important is not where the calls get routed. People are more interested in an award with the speaker's good name on it than whether the call gets routed to Washington or Ohio.'' Turecki disagrees. ``I see it as basic sleaze,'' he said.",
"The last time George Voinovich ran for office, he won re-election as Ohio's governor with 72 percent of the vote, stunning even his most optimistic supporters and setting a 20th-century record for victory margins in Ohio politics. This year, Voinovich, a Republican who is barred from seeking a third term, is running again, this time for the Senate seat held by John Glenn, a Democrat who is retiring. And while there are few who expect Voinovich to repeat his electoral benchmark of four years ago, politicians of both parties generally acknowledge that he is well positioned to increase the Republican majority in the Senate. That has not prevented Voinovich's Democratic opponent, Mary Boyle, from undertaking a vigorous campaign. Ms. Boyle, a former commissioner in Cuyahoga County, which encompasses Cleveland, is crisscrossing the nation's seventh-most populous state in what she describes as a grass-roots campaign that, while operating on a comparative shoestring, has nonetheless attracted to her side nationally known Democrats _ President Clinton foremost among them _ on the campaign trail. Glenn, the former astronaut who is preparing to return to space this month at the age of 77, has not made an endorsement in the Senate race. Like many candidates this year, Ms. Boyle, 55, is campaigning hard on the issue of education, seeking to portray Voinovich, 61, as a lackluster steward who allowed the state's schools to decline. ``He promised to be the education governor,'' said Ms. Boyle. ``But after seven and a half years he has failed the students of this state.'' Her role in the campaign, she said, ``is to remind the people of the state of Ohio that George Voinovich made a promise and that he didn't deliver on it.'' Specifically, she discusses a decision last year by the Ohio Supreme Court that cited wide disparities in the quality of the state's schools and ruled unconstitutional the formula for funding them. She has also attacked her Republican opponent for supporting a proposal to raise the state's sales tax by one percent. Under that plan, half the additional funds would have been used for school improvement with the remainder earmarked for reducing property taxes. That statewide ballot initiative last May proved to be wildly unpopular, with about 80 percent of the voters opposing it. While the topics of taxes and education are hot ones this political season in Ohio, it is not clear that Ms. Boyle's emphasis on them has helped her campaign. Despite some narrowing in the opinion polls, she is still trailing Voinovich by 15 percentage points in some polls and as much as 20 points in others. There is also a sharp fund-raising disparity. Ms. Boyle, who is running her first statewide race and has widespread union support, has raised nearly $2 million so far, far less than the nearly $7 million Voinovich has taken in. Also, Voinovich, a former lieutenant governor, has been on statewide ballots five times over the last 20 years and thus is the better-known candidate. The electoral dynamics of Ohio are also aiding Voinovich. The northern half of the state, with its history of industrial, unionized cities, has a tradition of voting largely for Democratic candidates, while the southern tier of the state is considered more conservative and typically leans Republican. But Voinovich and Ms. Boyle share the same home terrain, depriving Ms. Boyle of the geographic advantage that often accompanies Democratic candidates. Indeed, as a boy, Voinovich once delivered newspapers to the Boyle home in the working-class Collinwood section of Cleveland. And Voinovich, a former mayor of Cleveland, has developed a reputation as a moderate Republican who works well with Democrats. Voinovich, while campaigning vigorously himself, is keeping a full schedule of official duties, assuming the role of the experienced, elected official. ``If I get into the Senate, I will probably know more about domestic policy than any member of the Senate,'' he said in an interview on Wednesday in Canton, sandwiched between a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a fund-raising reception at a vacuum cleaner museum. ``As mayor, I had my nose rubbed into the problems of urban America and was fairly successful in dealing with them. And, as governor, I have dealt with the problems of Medicaid, welfare and education. I'm the only person in the United States who has been president of the National League of Cities and chairman of the National Governors Association.'' To his opponent's charges on his record on education, Voinovich is dismissive. ``I'm probably the only Republican in the United States who has been endorsed by the Ohio Education Association and National Education Association,'' he said, adding that Ms. Boyle was a member of the state Legislature during the period cited in the Supreme Court ruling. ``Mary Boyle was vice chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and a member of the Democratic leadership during those years,'' Voinovich said. ``They did nothing to fix the buildings, they did nothing for technology and the urban school districts.'' Ms. Boyle, who has not yet begun to run campaign commercials on television, said her status as the underdog had ``allowed me to be more focused, more intense.'' Pausing after a campaign fund-raising breakfast with former Democratic Sen. Bill Bradley of New Jersey here on Wednesday, Ms. Boyle said: ``This has been a marathon and it's been pretty much uphill. But now, we're down to the last three miles. It's a tough race.''",
"White House officials and gay Democrats, concerned that the nation's largest gay and lesbian political organization is about to endorse Sen. Alfonse D'Amato for re-election, are intensely lobbying the group to try to shift its support to the Democratic challenger, Rep. Charles Schumer. Publicly, officials in the organization, the Human Rights Campaign, said they were still deliberating their position in the closely watched race, considered among the tightest in the nation. They said they would probably make an endorsement by Friday. But privately, organization officials and gay activists from both parties who have been monitoring the debate say the group is most likely to endorse D'Amato, a Republican seeking his fourth term. They also raised the possibility that the group would endorse both candidates, or remain neutral. If the group endorses D'Amato, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the endorsement would be based on three major factors: The group tends to favor incumbents, has been searching for allies among the Senate Republican majority and considers D'Amato's recent record on gay issues to be quite strong. An endorsement by the group, which is held in high regard by many gay and lesbian voters, could prove important in swinging voters to D'Amato in a tight race. It would also be a major symbolic victory for the senator, who has sought to recast himself as a centrist in recent years and could use the endorsement to build his standing among moderate swing voters. A D'Amato endorsement would also weaken Schumer's efforts to portray the incumbent as a right-wing extremist and would signify to many voters a fraying of the traditional Democratic coalition that has included black and gay voters, women and labor unions. The intensity of the debate surrounding the endorsement underscores the importance of the New York Senate race to Democrats across the nation, who see defeating D'Amato as one of their best opportunities to prevent the Republicans from gaining 60 seats in the Senate _ enough to stop a Democratic filibuster. The Republicans currently hold a 55-to-45 majority. ``There is sentiment in the community that if the Republicans get 60 votes, that Trent Lott will basically be in charge politically for the next two years,'' said David Mixner, a close friend of President Clinton's who is gay. He was referring to the Senate majority leader, who has called homosexuality a sin and likened it to kleptomania. Saturday, Schumer picked up his own endorsement from New York's largest gay and lesbian political organization, the Empire State Pride Agenda. Although the Human Rights Campaign is bipartisan, it has been very close to the Clinton administration, has many Democrats on its board and receives much of its money from Democratic contributors. Largely because of the group's strong Democratic ties, gay Democrats, New York liberals and White House officials are infuriated that it is even considering endorsing D'Amato, who also runs on the Right to Life and Conservative Party lines and often receives high ratings from the Christian Coalition, which typically opposes legislation on civil rights for gay people. Although the organization has been",
"thought to be inching toward a D'Amato endorsement for months, the lobbying campaign for Schumer has picked up intensity in the last two weeks, driven partly by a growing sense that the race is now closer than ever. Democrats and advocates in both parties who support rights for gay people said that Vice President Al Gore, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Secretary for Health and Human Services Donna Shalala have made personal appeals to Human Rights Campaign officials urging them not to endorse D'Amato. White House officials said they did not know whether the three had made such appeals, and Human Rights Campaign officials declined to comment. Schumer met privately with the group's top officials last week to make one last pitch for the endorsement. Clinton administration officials have also been buttonholing the group's board members at every opportunity, from cocktail parties to fund-raisers, raising concerns about a D'Amato endorsement. Some New York advocates of civil rights for gay people have flooded the organization with phone calls, e-mail messages and letters. Democratic officials have been encouraging the group's major donors to express their opposition to D'Amato. People involved in the lobbying efforts said that at best, they are hoping the group will endorse both candidates, or make no endorsement at all. ``Chuck Schumer has been a strong supporter of issues that are important to gay communities,'' said a senior White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. ``The last thing that they should want to do is hurt the candidacy of someone who has been so supportive of their agenda.'' The Human Rights Campaign is considered the most influential gay and lesbian organization in Washington, with a national membership of 250,000 and an annual budget of more than $13 million. The group was created in the early 1980s in large part to counter the rise of the Christian right and Ronald Reagan. Paradoxically, D'Amato was first elected in the Reagan landslide of 1980 and remained a strong supporter of President Reagan. For D'Amato, who has aggressively courted gay voters, the endorsement would represent a crowning achievement in his efforts to reposition himself as a moderate. Since 1993, the senator has backed the right of gay citizens to serve in the military, sponsored legislation to prevent job discrimination against gay workers and opposed his own leadership's attempts to block the nominations of two openly gay men to positions in the Clinton administration. To gay supporters of D'Amato, an endorsement by the Human Rights Campaign would signify the political maturation of the gay electorate and help the organization insulate itself from accusations that it is too close to the Democratic Party. Those who support a D'Amato endorsement, including top officials within the Human Rights Campaign, contend that in the current political climate, where Congress is almost certain to remain under Republican control after November, gay people must build alliances with moderate Republicans. Human Rights Campaign officials also say their standing policy is to support friendly incumbents, even when their challengers have better voting records on gay issues. That is the case in New",
"York, where Schumer's rating by the Human Rights Campaign has been consistently better than D'Amato's. Both men, however, have angered advocates of rights for gay people by voting for legislation that allows states to not recognize gay marriages. In a precedent widely cited by D'Amato supporters, the organization endorsed Sen. John F. Kerry, a Democrat, over the Republican challenger, William Weld, in the 1996 Massachusetts Senate race, even though Weld's record on gay rights was considered stronger. The move angered gay Republicans, who now contend that snubbing D'Amato would prove that the group is biased toward Democrats. But there is clearly a large number of Human Rights Campaign contributors and board members who strongly feel that endorsing D'Amato will permanently damage the group, particularly among women. They fear that abortion rights supporters will quit the group in droves because D'Amato has never wavered in his opposition to abortion during 18 years in Congress. Many New York gay activists would also be deeply upset if the group endorses D'Amato, whom they blame for installing the state Senate majority leader, Joseph Bruno, whom they consider to be strongly anti-gay. Matt Foreman, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, cited D'Amato's role as ``the architect'' of the state Republican Party as a major reason the group endorsed Schumer. ``While he has criticized fellow Republicans in Washington for their intolerance, here at home, his own party's blatant discrimination is still the order of the day,'' Foreman said. For that reason, some White House officials say they think a Human Rights Campaign endorsement of D'Amato will be almost meaningless among gay voters. They contend that it might even hurt the senator among his conservative base. ``I don't think anybody will vote for Al D'Amato because of an HRC endorsement,'' said a White House aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity. ``But I think some people in the Right to Life Party and some upstate people are going to say, `Who is this guy and why should we vote for him?'''",
"In other election years, Reps. David Price and Julia Carson would have had little in common other than that they were Democrats with relatively safe seats. Price is a centrist who has represented this high-tech district in North Carolina for all but 2 of the last 12 years, a political scientist who has taught at Duke and Yale. Mrs. Carson, fairly liberal, is a House freshman who worked her way up in politics from the grass roots, having been reared in poverty. But party officials who opened this election year with high hopes of recapturing the House are beginning to worry that Democratic incumbents like Price and Mrs. Carson share something else: greater-than-expected peril on Election Day. As in many congressional races, the biggest variable is the White House scandal, which has injected fear and uncertainty into campaigns around the country. Other Democratic incumbents who Republican officials cite as locked in contests that are more competitive than expected include Reps. Corrine Brown of Florida, Vic Snyder of Arkansas, Lois Capps and Ellen Tauscher of California, Martin Frost of Texas, Melvin Watt of North Carolina, John LaFalce of New York and Sander Levin of Michigan. Here in North Carolina's 4th Congressional District, Price, acknowledging that his own polls showed him in a tight race, said: ``This is a swing district that is sensitive to any tide or trend. It's something you think about a lot in connection with the president's troubles.'' The efforts of Price and Mrs. Carson to contain the Lewinsky debacle _ and their opponents' attempts to capitalize on it _ offer important clues suggesting how Clinton's problems are influencing the conduct of races around the country. Many Democrats are straddling a line that seems to shift a bit with every new scandal-related disclosure: they do not want to appear close to a president whose conduct embarrasses them, and yet, sensing the possibility of a public backlash against Republicans, they are weighing their words carefully and are wary of hopping on any impeachment bandwagon. And while publicly these Democrats express confidence that the scandal will have little impact on them, their campaigns are preparing for the worst by placing greater emphasis than ever on behind-the-efforts to prod their core constituencies to vote. In a reflection of the uncertainty that the Clinton scandal has cast even among Republicans, the challengers in the Price and Carson districts _ both are political novices seeking office for the first time _ have differing strategies: Tom Roberg, a computer executive in Raleigh who is taking on Price, has broadcast a television commercial exploiting the scandal. ``Tom Roberg has called for Bill Clinton's resignation,'' the narrator says. ``This is not the time to be silent, Price. Where do you stand?'' But in Indianapolis, Gary Hofmeister, a conservative jeweler challenging Mrs. Carson in Indiana's 10th Congressional District, is taking a more subtle approach: rather than mention the scandal directly, he notes as often as he can that ``Julia votes with Clinton almost 100 percent of the time.'' Asked why he was not much raising the scandal directly, Hofmeister",
"said: ``Don't murder somebody when they're in the process of committing suicide. There would be a danger if we went overboard.'' The best evidence of the discomfort of both Price and Mrs. Carson is that when asked in separate interviews whether they would want Clinton to campaign in their districts, both said it would be impossible at this late date for the White House to schedule a visit. What if there was a sudden schedule change? Both paused, squirmed a bit and mustered answers that were hardly affirmative. ``Given the president's popularity, I doubt it will hurt me,'' Mrs. Carson said. And Price? ``I don't think that would be such a good idea,'' he said. ``I've never had a president campaign here, and I wouldn't want to start this time'' although he is eagerly welcoming Erskine Bowles, the president's chief of staff and a popular native son in North Carolina, to stump with him here this Sunday.) Making strategy for the stump is further complicated by anecdotal evidence that runs counter to Democratic fears and Republican hopes. In three days of campaign stops here in North Carolina and in Indianapolis, the scandal was rarely raised by any voter being courted by the candidates of either party. When a reporter asked about it, many voters said that as appalled as they were at Clinton's behavior, they had a hard time relating it to their decision on which way to vote in the congressional elections in five weeks. As Hofmeister walked through the parking lot outside a gun and knife show at the Indiana National Guard Armory in Indianapolis last Sunday, Billy Derringer, a 57-year-old machinist who is retired on disability, called him over to express outrage about the millions of dollars that had been spent to investigate Clinton. ``It's pathetic to spend all of our money,'' said Derringer, who identified himself as an independent. ``It shouldn't have gotten this far.'' Hofmeister tried his best to make the Republicans' case. ``There has to be rule of law,'' he said. Mrs. Carson said she hoped that Democrats and swing voters alike would become so fed up with the Lewinsky inquiry that the issue might even help her. To that end, she proudly informs audiences that she voted against making public the report delivered to the House by Kenneth Starr, the Whitewater independent counsel. ``I was one of 63 members of Congress who voted against putting all that filth on the Internet,'' she said, adding that Starr's inquiry had been ``a cruel hoax in terms of fiscal responsibility and accountability.'' The Carson campaign is counting on voters like Timothy Daly, a 38-year-old real estate executive who voted for a Republican two years ago but now favors Mrs. Carson. ``I'm pulling the Democratic ticket because I'm tired of it: the right side of the Republican Party is playing politics,'' Daly said. ``We'd like to see them go on with the people's business.'' Back here in the 4th District, Price has some reasons to be worried. He was first elected to the House in 1986 but, as a",
"four-term incumbent, was ousted in the Republican sweep of 1994 (only to win his seat back two years later). In addition, the district was redrawn last year to include a large Durham section where voters do not know him well. Determined not to be a midterm casualty of Clinton once again, Price says he is waging the most vigorous get-out-the-vote ground campaign of his career. Rather than engage Roberg over the Clinton scandal, Price has begun broadcasting a television commercial that emphasizes his central issue: education. The congressman's advisers say they intentionally produced an advertisement that appears decidedly nonpolitical _ it features school children in a play _ in an effort to break through the television clutter about the scandal. But the Price campaign also has a weapon it is holding in reserve, in the event Roberg appears to be riding the Clinton scandal to advantage: the incumbent's advisers say they would not be timid about running commercials underscoring that he earned a divinity degree before getting his doctorate in political science. At a coffee with voters in a wealthy enclave of Raleigh the other night, Roberg opened his remarks by asserting that Clinton had ``lost the moral authority to lead.'' Yet none of those assembled asked him about the scandal; they were more concerned about the state's plans to build a highway near their neighborhood.",
"In a cocoon of loyal and wealthy supporters, President Clinton said Friday that he must ``live with the consequences'' of his mistakes, although he contended that Democrats should take pride in the achievements of his presidency and take heart from its possibilities. Clinton has stopped apologizing for his conduct with Monica Lewinsky, but he has taken to making glancing, at times humble, references to it, before moving on to attack the Republican Congress as indifferent to Americans' needs. He did so Friday at a series of fund-raisers. In one deft sentence, he acknowledged his personal pain while claiming credit for the country's economic strength, making a compact appeal for both sympathy and support in an appearance earlier in the day in Cleveland. After thanking the gathered donors for the ``very kind personal things'' they had said to him, the president declared, ``If I had to do it all over again, every day, I would do it in a heartbeat, to see America where it is today as compared to six years ago.'' As the applause died away, Clinton continued, ``I want you to understand, too, that we all have to live with the consequences of our mistakes in life.'' He added with a chuckle: ``Most of us don't have to live with it in quite such a public way. But nobody gets out of life for free.'' To the music of a saxophone and a hammered dulcimer, Clinton raised about $200,000 over lunch in a private home in Cleveland for the Democratic Senate candidate in Ohio, Mary Boyle. Then he flew to Philadelphia to raise half a million dollars for the Democratic Party. By midsummer, the president's aides were delighted to have persuaded him to condense his fund-raising remarks to just 10 minutes of policy points and partisan jabbing. But as his troubles have grown and the mid-term elections have approached, his free-form remarks have become longer. In Cleveland on Friday, he spoke for 26 minutes and here on Friday evening he spoke for almost 20 minutes. These fund-raising visits have fallen into a pattern since Clinton's videotaped grand jury testimony on Aug. 17. He is lauded, applauded and embraced by his hosts and the donors. ``Mr. President, these are your friends here today,'' said Tony George, the host of the Cleveland event, offering the refrain of those who have played a similar role. But in Cleveland as elsewhere, protesters who were scattered along the president's motorcade route were reminders of calls for his resignation and impeachment, and of the mockery some are heaping upon his presidency. At a rally for the president outside city hall here Friday night a group of Teamsters chanted, ``two more years.'' Clinton's motorcade route was lined downtown with hundreds of people, some of them carrying supportive or condemnatory signs. After an impromptu shopping trip, during which he was greeted with shouts of ``We love you,'' Clinton told some donors at the beginning of an impassioned reprise of his Cleveland speech: ``I didn't even mind the protesters, that's the American way.'' But, he added, he preferred it when they were in the minority, ``and that seemed to be the case.'' As he rode into Cleveland, Clinton passed a billboard for a local radio station, WNCX. ``Lovin', touchin', squeezin','' it read, the words superimposed on a cartoon of the president with his arm over Ms. Lewinsky's shoulders, the Washington Monument beside them. The president left it to his aides on Friday to respond directly to the latest gusher of grand jury disclosures in Washington. Instead, in his remarks, Clinton spoke with pride of his record and with urgency about addressing the international economic crisis and the needs of struggling farmers and schoolchildren. As he typically does now before such partisan audiences, he also walked through his political calculation for the mid-term elections. Clinton said in Cleveland that Republicans had bragged privately to him about their prospects. ``They tell me, `Oh, we're going to do very well, Mr. President, in these mid-terms because we have so much more money than you do,''' and because Democrats who turned out to re-elect Clinton would not return to the polls in an off-year. That argument, of course, would also insulate Clinton from any blame for depressing the Democratic vote. But he often goes further than that, saying that his predicament could actually help the Democrats. Lower-income Democratic voters, he said, might not bother to vote in a typical election. ``The people that were good enough to serve you here at this event today, they've got a lot of hassles in their life,'' he said. But, he said, ``adversity is our friend,'' because it can overcome apathy and ``focus us on what is at issue here.'' What should be at issue, Clinton said, are his achievements and agenda and the Republicans' record, which he described harshly. ``What have they done?'' he asked in Cleveland. ``They killed the minimum wage increase for 12 million Americans. They killed campaign finance reform. They killed the tobacco reform legislation.''",
"Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, the New York Republican who is running for re-election, went to Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal the other morning to accept an award from mass-transit advocates. But the reporters who had gathered there showed little interest in the shiny train car at the senator's back. Instead, they repeatedly asked him how he would vote on an impeachment of President Clinton. ``Look, I'm not going to make any comment with respect to that subject matter,'' D'Amato responded. ``I am not just a citizen. I am a citizen-senator who may be called upon to make a decision.'' But D'Amato is something else as well: a candidate in what may be the tightest Senate race in the nation. And variations of his elliptical response can be heard in Senate races around the country, where both Republicans and Democrats are encountering similar questions. All of which suggests that after the House voted Thursday to authorize an impeachment inquiry, this year's 34 races for the U.S. Senate have become, beyond what they already were, the electoral equivalent of jury selection. If the House votes to impeach Clinton, the matter goes to the Senate, which must decide by a two-thirds majority whether to convict him and, thus, remove him from office. As a result, the Monica Lewinsky matter has suddenly injected a new disruptive force into the Senate contests. Voters, even those who support Clinton, expect their political leaders, Republican or Democratic, to renounce Clinton's behavior, and candidates have been doing that. But impeachment is another matter; most polls show the nation is against it. The danger for Senate candidates is that with impeachment now a real possibility, the debate may move beyond the president's behavior _ about which there is little disagreement _ to the more problematic issue of whether he should be removed from office. For most of the strategists involved in the races, there is little guidance on how to handle the impeachment issue. Advisers to candidates of both parties said in interviews last week that they were perplexed and worried, unsure what they can or should do on the issue to gain the advantage _ or guard against harm. ``I can't tell how this one is going to go,'' said Mike Russell, a spokesman for the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. ``This is a very surreal environment.'' Of the 34 Senate seats in play, 18 are held by Democrats and 16 by Republicans, who now hold 55 seats in all. Republicans would have to win 28 of the 34 races to produce the 67 votes necessary for conviction, assuming such a vote were to go along party lines. Only an electoral catastrophe for the Democrats, which seems almost unthinkable, could produce such a huge loss. Jennifer Duffy, who follows Senate races for the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan newsletter, said that so far, at least, none of the Senate candidates has made an explicit appeal for votes based on how they would vote on a presidential jury. But she and others are wondering if this may be about to change. This is difficult",
"ground to measure. One of the central questions of this political year has been how Clinton's dealings with Ms. Lewinsky might affect turnout. For a long time, politicians assumed that dispirited Democrats would stay home as a rebuke to Clinton, just as many Republicans did in November 1974, three months after President Richard M. Nixon resigned. But now some analysts wonder if the partisan fight in Congress last week might have the opposite effect among some Democrats. ``That's the problem,'' said Stuart Rothenberg, the editor of an independent political newsletter in Washington. ``It's not that we don't know, and that the politicians don't know, where the general public stands on impeachment. The problem is that we don't know where the electorate stands on impeachment.'' And asking voters to think ahead to an impeachment proceeding as they cast their ballots in a Senate race is, in the words of Stuart Stevens, a Republican consultant, ``a double bank-shot.'' Such strategies, he said, tend to work only with a small number of single-minded or sophisticated voters. Against that complicated backdrop, the prevailing thinking is that the use of the impeachment issue will vary from race to race, state to state and week to week, depending on the circumstances of the candidates and the composition of the electorate. If Democrats try to turn the image of Clinton in the dock to their advantage, it would be in states with a Democratic edge or with sizable numbers of black voters, who overwhelmingly support the president. In contests like those, it might well prove to be in the interest of a Democratic candidate to, as one consultant put it, sit down in front of a camera and tape an advertisement in which the candidate denounces the president's behavior but solemnly pledges to vote against impeachment. Strategists in both parties believe that kind of approach could prove effective. ``This is an issue where there is a huge disconnect between the elites and the public,'' said Fred Yang, a Democratic consultant with clients in Wisconsin and the Carolinas. That kind of Democratic strategy might emerge in California, New York, Illinois, Wisconsin, Washington and perhaps Arkansas. By contrast, Democrats in South Carolina, Georgia and Nevada would be less likely to oppose Clinton's impeachment. On the other side, Republican consultants are telling their candidates to stress Clinton's misdeeds and stay away from talk of impeachment. The last thing the party wants is to turn the Senate elections into a referendum on whether Clinton should be forced from office. ``The White House might think from the overall public numbers that maybe they would like to make this a referendum election,'' said Ed Goeas, a Republican pollster who is working in Senate races this year. ``Republicans certainly aren't going to let that happen.'' D'Amato responded to questions about Clinton with the language that Republican consultants have been suggesting to their candidates. ``When and if that matter comes to the Senate, I will decide on the facts that are presented to me at that time,'' D'Amato said. ``It would be very premature for me to",
"suggest any course of action without it being referred. Because, indeed, we may be called upon to act as a jury of some kind.'' But Schumer, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, which is conducting the impeachment investigation, virtually embraced the issue. In a live telecast of the hearings, he said the president deserved a lesser punishment, such as censure or reprimand. And Schumer plans to campaign in New York on Monday with Clinton at his side. Schumer's media adviser, Hank Morris, seemed to suggest last week that impeachment will grow as an issue. ``Senator D'Amato claims he does not want to share his opinion with the people of New York,'' Morris said. ``And if he doesn't have an opinion, he's the only New Yorker who doesn't have an opinion.'' Asked if Schumer would raise the issue in a television commercial, Morris responded: ``We don't talk about what we're going to do. I wouldn't rule it in and I wouldn't rule it out.''",
"Nearly 60 years behind the times, the House voted Friday to condemn the Nazi-Soviet nonaggression pact of 1939. The measure, a nonbinding resolution, was brought to the floor by Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill. He is of Lithuanian descent, has a pocket of Lithuanians in his hometown of Collinsville and wants to try to highlight his support for the Baltic states' past efforts against Soviet repression. Shimkus' measure is an example of how members of Congress are spending their time as they stand idle and wait for Republican leaders to reach agreement on spending bills with the White House, thus avoiding a government shutdown and allowing them to go home and campaign for the November elections. With time on their hands, many Republicans are using the House floor as their personal stage to elicit votes on topics that they can boast about to the folks back home. Most of these matters have little chance of finding their way into law, but members hope to turn them to their advantage on Election Day. There are plenty of other items whose sponsors hope will not attract attention. These tend to be special-interest matters that members hope will escape scrutiny in the rush to leave town. The sponsors of these measures now have the added advantage of the impeachment inquiry, which has been preoccupying Congress, the news media and the public and giving them cover to move their pet causes quietly into the gigantic omnibus package that Congress will eventually present to Clinton for signing. These quieter measures include one proposed by Mississippi's two senators, Trent Lott and Thad Cochran, both Republicans. They want agriculture export credits to buy chickens for Russia, which has bought the chickens but cannot pay for them. The chickens are from Mississippi. Democrats have little influence in the Republican-controlled Congress. But some Democrats are close enough to Republican leaders, and to Republican goals, that their measures are taken seriously. These include Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., the ranking Democrat on the national security subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, who is pushing a measure to increase military pensions. Perhaps the best example of an attempt to force a vote for political advantage is a measure that would require minors to notify their parents if they are seeking contraceptives from federally funded family planning clinics. House leaders allowed the measure to be brought to the floor as a way to appease the more conservative members, who believe they have been shortchanged by the budget process. It passed the House by a vote of 224-200 but has almost no chance of becoming law. The Senate does not plan to take it up, and Clinton would almost certainly veto it. But Rep. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said that votes like these were important because they put their sponsors' ideological foes on the record as opposing something that sounds reasonable, and that opposition can be used against them in the Nov. 3 election.",
"It was a surprising scene three months ago when Dennis Rivera, one of New York City's most left-leaning labor leaders, was singing the praises of Sen. Alfonse M. D'Amato. Rivera, president of the largest union in New York City, praised D'Amato for persuading Trent Lott, the Senate majority leader, to support legislation that financed health coverage for hundreds of thousands of uninsured children. It looked as if Rivera's politically potent union might endorse D'Amato _ or at the very minimum stay neutral in this year's U.S. Senate race in New York. But on Monday, Rivera's 150,000-member union, 1199, the National Health and Human Service Employees union, endorsed Rep. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., and thereby risked D'Amato's wrath. The endorsement is risky, labor leaders acknowledge, because angering this powerful senator could make him far less responsive to labor's needs when unions turn to him for help in the future if he is re-elected. Although it may seem illogical, two words go far to explain why Rivera's union backed Schumer: Monica Lewinsky. Largely as a result of the Lewinsky scandal, Democrats say they suddenly fear that the Republicans will gain a filibuster-proof, 60-seat majority in the Senate, where the Republicans have 55 seats to the Democrats' 45. For labor leaders like Rivera, the notion of a strong Republican majority is a nightmare. That fear has helped push other New York unions into Schumer's column, even though D'Amato had long courted them. Those unions include the teamsters' joint council in New York City and District Council 37, an umbrella group representing 120,000 municipal employees. Labor leaders say they fear that with a filibuster-proof Republican majority, the Senate would push through anti-union legislation, like recently defeated Republican proposals to curb labor's political spending and cut financing for the National Labor Relations Board. ``We are worried about legislation that will not allow the labor movement to survive into the next century,'' Rivera said. Alarmed that the Democrats will lose Senate seats in California, Illinois, Wisconsin, Nevada and South Carolina, Rivera's union concluded that it was worth backing Schumer. The decision, Rivera emphasized repeatedly, was not personal but was based on national considerations. ``Unfortunately, the leadership of the Republican Party at the national level in the person of Newt Gingrich and Trent Lott are not necessarily from the same culture as the Republicans of the Northeast,'' he said. ``They're far more conservative, far more anti-labor, far more anti-worker, far more pro-business. We fear that the Democratic Party faces irrelevance in the United States Senate if we go below 41 seats.'' Trying to avoid a rupture with D'Amato, Rivera praised him as ``an effective senator.'' The endorsement could be a boon for Schumer. Rivera's union and the teachers' union have labor's strongest political operations in New York. In addition, Schumer will get thousands of dollars from the local as well as use of its renowned phone banks, which can make 50,000 political calls a day. A spokesman for D'Amato said, ``Al D'Amato's proud that he's been endorsed by over 100 union federations and locals, representing more that 400,000 working men and women, and he'll continue his efforts on behalf of working middle class families.'' His labor endorsements include the New York City Patrolmen's Benevolent Association and the New York State Building and Construction Trades Council. Besides the backing of 1199, Schumer also received the endorsement of 1199's parent union, the Service Employees International Union, which has 350,000 members in New York State. Rivera _ who did not support D'Amato the last time he ran either _ announced the endorsements during the founding convention of the New York State Council of the service employees union. The convention packed Town Hall, and the new group aims to make the service employees a power to be reckoned with by bringing together a dozen union locals to forge a common political and legislative strategy. Earlier this year, 1199 merged with the service employees, and as part of that agreement, Rivera became head of the service employees in New York State.",
"White House officials and gay Democrats, concerned that the nation's largest gay and lesbian political organization is about to endorse Sen. Alfonse D'Amato for re-election, are intensely lobbying the group to try to shift its support to the Democratic challenger, Rep. Charles Schumer. Publicly, officials in the organization, the Human Rights Campaign, said they were still deliberating their position in the closely watched race, considered among the tightest in the nation. They said they would probably make an endorsement by Friday. But privately, organization officials and gay activists from both parties who have been monitoring the debate say the group is most likely to endorse D'Amato, a Republican seeking his fourth term. They also raised the possibility that the group would endorse both candidates, or remain neutral. If the group endorses D'Amato, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the endorsement would be based on three major factors: The group tends to favor incumbents, has been searching for allies among the Senate Republican majority and considers D'Amato's recent record on gay issues to be quite strong. An endorsement by the group, which is held in high regard by many gay and lesbian voters, could prove important in swinging voters to D'Amato in a tight race. It would also be a major symbolic victory for the senator, who has sought to recast himself as a centrist in recent years and could use the endorsement to build his standing among moderate swing voters. A D'Amato endorsement would also weaken Schumer's efforts to portray the incumbent as a right-wing extremist and would signify to many voters a fraying of the traditional Democratic coalition that has included black and gay voters, women and labor unions. The intensity of the debate surrounding the endorsement underscores the importance of the New York Senate race to Democrats across the nation, who see defeating D'Amato as one of their best opportunities to prevent the Republicans from gaining 60 seats in the Senate _ enough to stop a Democratic filibuster. The Republicans currently hold a 55-to-45 majority. ``There is sentiment in the community that if the Republicans get 60 votes, that Trent Lott will basically be in charge politically for the next two years,'' said David Mixner, a close friend of President Clinton's who is gay. He was referring to the Senate majority leader, who has called homosexuality a sin and likened it to kleptomania. Saturday, Schumer picked up his own endorsement from New York's largest gay and lesbian political organization, the Empire State Pride Agenda. Although the Human Rights Campaign is bipartisan, it has been very close to the Clinton administration, has many Democrats on its board and receives much of its money from Democratic contributors. Largely because of the group's strong Democratic ties, gay Democrats, New York liberals and White House officials are infuriated that it is even considering endorsing D'Amato, who also runs on the Right to Life and Conservative Party lines and often receives high ratings from the Christian Coalition, which typically opposes legislation on civil rights for gay people. Although the organization has been",
"thought to be inching toward a D'Amato endorsement for months, the lobbying campaign for Schumer has picked up intensity in the last two weeks, driven partly by a growing sense that the race is now closer than ever. Democrats and advocates in both parties who support rights for gay people said that Vice President Al Gore, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Secretary for Health and Human Services Donna Shalala have made personal appeals to Human Rights Campaign officials urging them not to endorse D'Amato. White House officials said they did not know whether the three had made such appeals, and Human Rights Campaign officials declined to comment. Schumer met privately with the group's top officials last week to make one last pitch for the endorsement. Clinton administration officials have also been buttonholing the group's board members at every opportunity, from cocktail parties to fund-raisers, raising concerns about a D'Amato endorsement. Some New York advocates of civil rights for gay people have flooded the organization with phone calls, e-mail messages and letters. Democratic officials have been encouraging the group's major donors to express their opposition to D'Amato. People involved in the lobbying efforts said that at best, they are hoping the group will endorse both candidates, or make no endorsement at all. ``Chuck Schumer has been a strong supporter of issues that are important to gay communities,'' said a senior White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. ``The last thing that they should want to do is hurt the candidacy of someone who has been so supportive of their agenda.'' The Human Rights Campaign is considered the most influential gay and lesbian organization in Washington, with a national membership of 250,000 and an annual budget of more than $13 million. The group was created in the early 1980s in large part to counter the rise of the Christian right and Ronald Reagan. Paradoxically, D'Amato was first elected in the Reagan landslide of 1980 and remained a strong supporter of President Reagan. For D'Amato, who has aggressively courted gay voters, the endorsement would represent a crowning achievement in his efforts to reposition himself as a moderate. Since 1993, the senator has backed the right of gay citizens to serve in the military, sponsored legislation to prevent job discrimination against gay workers and opposed his own leadership's attempts to block the nominations of two openly gay men to positions in the Clinton administration. To gay supporters of D'Amato, an endorsement by the Human Rights Campaign would signify the political maturation of the gay electorate and help the organization insulate itself from accusations that it is too close to the Democratic Party. Those who support a D'Amato endorsement, including top officials within the Human Rights Campaign, contend that in the current political climate, where Congress is almost certain to remain under Republican control after November, gay people must build alliances with moderate Republicans. Human Rights Campaign officials also say their standing policy is to support friendly incumbents, even when their challengers have better voting records on gay issues. That is the case in New",
"York, where Schumer's rating by the Human Rights Campaign has been consistently better than D'Amato's. Both men, however, have angered advocates of rights for gay people by voting for legislation that allows states to not recognize gay marriages. In a precedent widely cited by D'Amato supporters, the organization endorsed Sen. John F. Kerry, a Democrat, over the Republican challenger, William Weld, in the 1996 Massachusetts Senate race, even though Weld's record on gay rights was considered stronger. The move angered gay Republicans, who now contend that snubbing D'Amato would prove that the group is biased toward Democrats. But there is clearly a large number of Human Rights Campaign contributors and board members who strongly feel that endorsing D'Amato will permanently damage the group, particularly among women. They fear that abortion rights supporters will quit the group in droves because D'Amato has never wavered in his opposition to abortion during 18 years in Congress. Many New York gay activists would also be deeply upset if the group endorses D'Amato, whom they blame for installing the state Senate majority leader, Joseph Bruno, whom they consider to be strongly anti-gay. Matt Foreman, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, cited D'Amato's role as ``the architect'' of the state Republican Party as a major reason the group endorsed Schumer. ``While he has criticized fellow Republicans in Washington for their intolerance, here at home, his own party's blatant discrimination is still the order of the day,'' Foreman said. For that reason, some White House officials say they think a Human Rights Campaign endorsement of D'Amato will be almost meaningless among gay voters. They contend that it might even hurt the senator among his conservative base. ``I don't think anybody will vote for Al D'Amato because of an HRC endorsement,'' said a White House aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity. ``But I think some people in the Right to Life Party and some upstate people are going to say, `Who is this guy and why should we vote for him?'''",
"The last time George Voinovich ran for office, he won re-election as Ohio's governor with 72 percent of the vote, stunning even his most optimistic supporters and setting a 20th-century record for victory margins in Ohio politics. This year, Voinovich, a Republican who is barred from seeking a third term, is running again, this time for the Senate seat held by John Glenn, a Democrat who is retiring. And while there are few who expect Voinovich to repeat his electoral benchmark of four years ago, politicians of both parties generally acknowledge that he is well positioned to increase the Republican majority in the Senate. That has not prevented Voinovich's Democratic opponent, Mary Boyle, from undertaking a vigorous campaign. Ms. Boyle, a former commissioner in Cuyahoga County, which encompasses Cleveland, is crisscrossing the nation's seventh-most populous state in what she describes as a grass-roots campaign that, while operating on a comparative shoestring, has nonetheless attracted to her side nationally known Democrats _ President Clinton foremost among them _ on the campaign trail. Glenn, the former astronaut who is preparing to return to space this month at the age of 77, has not made an endorsement in the Senate race. Like many candidates this year, Ms. Boyle, 55, is campaigning hard on the issue of education, seeking to portray Voinovich, 61, as a lackluster steward who allowed the state's schools to decline. ``He promised to be the education governor,'' said Ms. Boyle. ``But after seven and a half years he has failed the students of this state.'' Her role in the campaign, she said, ``is to remind the people of the state of Ohio that George Voinovich made a promise and that he didn't deliver on it.'' Specifically, she discusses a decision last year by the Ohio Supreme Court that cited wide disparities in the quality of the state's schools and ruled unconstitutional the formula for funding them. She has also attacked her Republican opponent for supporting a proposal to raise the state's sales tax by one percent. Under that plan, half the additional funds would have been used for school improvement with the remainder earmarked for reducing property taxes. That statewide ballot initiative last May proved to be wildly unpopular, with about 80 percent of the voters opposing it. While the topics of taxes and education are hot ones this political season in Ohio, it is not clear that Ms. Boyle's emphasis on them has helped her campaign. Despite some narrowing in the opinion polls, she is still trailing Voinovich by 10 percentage points in some polls and as much as 18 points in others. There is also a sharp fund-raising disparity. Ms. Boyle, who is running her first statewide race and has widespread union support, has raised nearly $2 million so far, far less than the nearly $7 million Voinovich has taken in. Also, Voinovich, a former lieutenant governor, has been on statewide ballots five times over the last 20 years and thus is the better-known candidate. The electoral dynamics of Ohio are also aiding Voinovich. The northern half of the state, with its history of industrial, unionized cities, has a tradition of voting largely for Democratic candidates, while the southern tier of the state is considered more conservative and typically leans Republican. But Voinovich and Ms. Boyle share the same home terrain, depriving Ms. Boyle of the geographic advantage that often accompanies Democratic candidates. Indeed, as a boy, Voinovich once delivered newspapers to the Boyle home in the working-class Collinwood section of Cleveland. And Voinovich, a former mayor of Cleveland, has developed a reputation as a moderate Republican who works well with Democrats. Voinovich, while campaigning vigorously himself, is keeping a full schedule of official duties, assuming the role of the experienced, elected official. ``If I get into the Senate, I will probably know more about domestic policy than any member of the Senate,'' he said in an interview on Wednesday in Canton, sandwiched between a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a fund-raising reception at a vacuum cleaner museum. ``As mayor, I had my nose rubbed into the problems of urban America and was fairly successful in dealing with them. And, as governor, I have dealt with the problems of Medicaid, welfare and education. I'm the only person in the United States who has been president of the National League of Cities and chairman of the National Governors Association.'' To his opponent's charges on his record on education, Voinovich is dismissive. ``I'm probably the only Republican in the United States who has been endorsed by the Ohio Education Association and National Education Association,'' he said, adding that Ms. Boyle was a member of the state Legislature during the period cited in the Supreme Court ruling. ``Mary Boyle was vice chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and a member of the Democratic leadership during those years,'' Voinovich said. ``They did nothing to fix the buildings, they did nothing for technology and the urban school districts.'' Ms. Boyle, who has not yet begun to run campaign commercials on television, said her status as the underdog had ``allowed me to be more focused, more intense.'' Pausing after a campaign fund-raising breakfast with former Democratic Sen. Bill Bradley of New Jersey here on Wednesday, Ms. Boyle said: ``This has been a marathon and it's been pretty much uphill. But now, we're down to the last three miles. It's a tough race.''"
] |
[
"It was not a voice mail message that Dr. Marilyn Rymer, a neurologist in Kansas City, Mo., would routinely delete, even as a registered Democrat. ``Speaker Newt Gingrich's office,'' it said, was calling to discuss a ``national leadership award.'' Dr. Rymer has won acclaim as the director of a prominent stroke-treatment center, but this proposition seemed particularly grand. When she returned the call, she said she was told she would also be named honorary chairman of an elite committee to advise Gingrich on legislation. Too good to be true? Well, Dr. Rymer would have to pay her own way if the committee should actually meet, and as an honorary committee chairman, she discovered, she would be a member of a committee composed entirely of honorary chairmen. And oh, the speaker wanted a donation of $500 to $1,000 to ``help our efforts,'' according to a transcript of a similar chat with another doctor, to elect a bigger Republican majority in the House of Representatives. With the approach of the midterm elections next month, it turns out that the National Republican Congressional Committee, which supports candidates for the House, has been sponsoring similar calls to tens of thousands of small-business owners, including doctors. With this and other fund-raising programs, the committee says it has amassed $62 million for the elections. But campaign finance watchdogs say the solicitations mark a new departure in political fund raising, one they call akin to the practices of marketing companies like the Publishers' Clearing House that hook consumers with visions of million-dollar windfalls to induce them to subscribe to magazines. By citing the speaker and promising celebrity and influence, they say, the calls are a bait-and-switch scheme to seize the attention of people who might otherwise hang up. Dr. Rymer says she was incensed. So was Dr. Stanley Turecki, a child and family psychiatrist in New York who votes as an independent and was also called. ``I was absolutely outraged,'' he said. ``Anybody else who would do that would fall into the category of consumer fraud.'' Kenneth Gross, a Washington lawyer who specializes in election law and represents both Democratic and Republican clients, said, ``I have never heard of that particular device.'' But it doesn't appear illegal, he said, adding, ``It's a fund-raising gimmick to get attention.'' Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocate of campaign finance reform, said, ``This is a new version of caveat emptor _ buyer be damned instead of buyer beware.'' When businesses do it, he added, Congress orders investigations. ``But this isn't going to be investigated because it's members of Congress who are doing it.'' Todd Harris, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said that he had not heard of any complaints and that there was no intent to deceive. ``The national leadership award is a part of what we call donor and member fulfillment,'' Harris said. ``It's part of bringing them into the process. It's important that they be recognized for the support they give the party.'' ``There's no quid pro quo'' that people solicited could receive awards for past contributions, he added. What most peeves Drs. Rymer and Turecki is the message left with secretaries and answering machines invoking Gingrich's ``office'' and proposing the award. They say they envisioned a senior aide at a telephone in the speaker's chambers under the Capitol Dome. The calls, however, are not placed by aides to Gingrich, by any of his offices or by anyone in Washington. They are made by people with headsets and computers at the home of InfoCision Management Corp., a telemarketing firm and Congressional committee client in Akron, Ohio. On its Web page, InfoCision says its 1,400 employees operate 1,584 telephone lines and 9 phone centers. ``Every word in the script is approved by our clients,'' the company says on its Web site. ``Every conceivable objection is scripted with a powerful rebuttal.'' Besides telemarketing for businesses, said Jamie Blair, a supervisor at the center, ``we specialize in helping the Republican Party and conservative political groups.'' However far they are from Gingrich, the telemarketers are instructed to answer return calls with: ``Republican Congressional Committee, Newt Gingrich's office. May I help you?'' A doctor in Kansas City, Mo., who is a registered Republican and who declined to be named, dialed the Gingrich number (888-484-1644) left on answering machines and secretly recorded the ensuing discussion, which is legal in Missouri. ``We were asked to contact you on behalf of the speaker,'' says a woman who picked up the call and identified herself as Nancy. ``He is right now aggressively pushing legislation to cut taxes by as much as half, and he's also interested in legislation to cut capital gains to a single rate of 15 percent.'' To assure passage of the legislation, the speaker wants to increase his Republican majority, she says, adding, ``To help us do that, the speaker is pulling together a group of individuals such as yourself and is inviting you to be an honorary chairman on his advisory council.'' Nancy continues: ``There will be correspondence with the speaker, such as conference calls. It's a great way that he can get your input and thoughts on legislation that does concern you. Or maybe surveys or questionnaires.'' Later, Nancy says: ``As a member of his committee, you would be receiving from the speaker our national leadership award, which is really quite an honor. And to be honest, he will be asking each of our chairmen if they could help our efforts to increase our majority with a one-time contribution of $500 or $1,000. ``Now that would be used on the nationwide media campaign that Newt has undertaken to target those seats we really need. And as someone who I'm sure would also benefit from this, could I tell the speaker he could count on your help?'' The doctor demurs. ``I am a registered, you know, Republican in Kansas,'' she tells Nancy. ``Probably if I were to do something it would be to go through my own representative.'' Then the doctor tries to ascertain where Nancy is located. ``Is this congressman Gingrich's office that I'm talking to?'' the doctor asks. ``The speaker's office,'' says Nancy. ``This is the speaker's office.'' ``That I'm talking to,'' says the doctor, double-checking. ``Uh-huh,'' Nancy replies. The law prohibits political fund-raising calls from federal offices. Vice President Al Gore is under a Justice Department investigation for fund-raising calls he allegedly made from his office in the 1996 presidential campaign. But the calls can be made from just about anywhere else, including campaign offices. Harris said the calls are ``in no way related to the speaker's OFFICIAL office.'' He added: ``What is more important is not where the calls get routed. People are more interested in an award with the speaker's good name on it than whether the call gets routed to Washington or Ohio.'' Turecki disagrees. ``I see it as basic sleaze,'' he said.",
"The last time George Voinovich ran for office, he won re-election as Ohio's governor with 72 percent of the vote, stunning even his most optimistic supporters and setting a 20th-century record for victory margins in Ohio politics. This year, Voinovich, a Republican who is barred from seeking a third term, is running again, this time for the Senate seat held by John Glenn, a Democrat who is retiring. And while there are few who expect Voinovich to repeat his electoral benchmark of four years ago, politicians of both parties generally acknowledge that he is well positioned to increase the Republican majority in the Senate. That has not prevented Voinovich's Democratic opponent, Mary Boyle, from undertaking a vigorous campaign. Ms. Boyle, a former commissioner in Cuyahoga County, which encompasses Cleveland, is crisscrossing the nation's seventh-most populous state in what she describes as a grass-roots campaign that, while operating on a comparative shoestring, has nonetheless attracted to her side nationally known Democrats _ President Clinton foremost among them _ on the campaign trail. Glenn, the former astronaut who is preparing to return to space this month at the age of 77, has not made an endorsement in the Senate race. Like many candidates this year, Ms. Boyle, 55, is campaigning hard on the issue of education, seeking to portray Voinovich, 61, as a lackluster steward who allowed the state's schools to decline. ``He promised to be the education governor,'' said Ms. Boyle. ``But after seven and a half years he has failed the students of this state.'' Her role in the campaign, she said, ``is to remind the people of the state of Ohio that George Voinovich made a promise and that he didn't deliver on it.'' Specifically, she discusses a decision last year by the Ohio Supreme Court that cited wide disparities in the quality of the state's schools and ruled unconstitutional the formula for funding them. She has also attacked her Republican opponent for supporting a proposal to raise the state's sales tax by one percent. Under that plan, half the additional funds would have been used for school improvement with the remainder earmarked for reducing property taxes. That statewide ballot initiative last May proved to be wildly unpopular, with about 80 percent of the voters opposing it. While the topics of taxes and education are hot ones this political season in Ohio, it is not clear that Ms. Boyle's emphasis on them has helped her campaign. Despite some narrowing in the opinion polls, she is still trailing Voinovich by 15 percentage points in some polls and as much as 20 points in others. There is also a sharp fund-raising disparity. Ms. Boyle, who is running her first statewide race and has widespread union support, has raised nearly $2 million so far, far less than the nearly $7 million Voinovich has taken in. Also, Voinovich, a former lieutenant governor, has been on statewide ballots five times over the last 20 years and thus is the better-known candidate. The electoral dynamics of Ohio are also aiding Voinovich. The northern half of the state, with its history of industrial, unionized cities, has a tradition of voting largely for Democratic candidates, while the southern tier of the state is considered more conservative and typically leans Republican. But Voinovich and Ms. Boyle share the same home terrain, depriving Ms. Boyle of the geographic advantage that often accompanies Democratic candidates. Indeed, as a boy, Voinovich once delivered newspapers to the Boyle home in the working-class Collinwood section of Cleveland. And Voinovich, a former mayor of Cleveland, has developed a reputation as a moderate Republican who works well with Democrats. Voinovich, while campaigning vigorously himself, is keeping a full schedule of official duties, assuming the role of the experienced, elected official. ``If I get into the Senate, I will probably know more about domestic policy than any member of the Senate,'' he said in an interview on Wednesday in Canton, sandwiched between a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a fund-raising reception at a vacuum cleaner museum. ``As mayor, I had my nose rubbed into the problems of urban America and was fairly successful in dealing with them. And, as governor, I have dealt with the problems of Medicaid, welfare and education. I'm the only person in the United States who has been president of the National League of Cities and chairman of the National Governors Association.'' To his opponent's charges on his record on education, Voinovich is dismissive. ``I'm probably the only Republican in the United States who has been endorsed by the Ohio Education Association and National Education Association,'' he said, adding that Ms. Boyle was a member of the state Legislature during the period cited in the Supreme Court ruling. ``Mary Boyle was vice chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and a member of the Democratic leadership during those years,'' Voinovich said. ``They did nothing to fix the buildings, they did nothing for technology and the urban school districts.'' Ms. Boyle, who has not yet begun to run campaign commercials on television, said her status as the underdog had ``allowed me to be more focused, more intense.'' Pausing after a campaign fund-raising breakfast with former Democratic Sen. Bill Bradley of New Jersey here on Wednesday, Ms. Boyle said: ``This has been a marathon and it's been pretty much uphill. But now, we're down to the last three miles. It's a tough race.''",
"White House officials and gay Democrats, concerned that the nation's largest gay and lesbian political organization is about to endorse Sen. Alfonse D'Amato for re-election, are intensely lobbying the group to try to shift its support to the Democratic challenger, Rep. Charles Schumer. Publicly, officials in the organization, the Human Rights Campaign, said they were still deliberating their position in the closely watched race, considered among the tightest in the nation. They said they would probably make an endorsement by Friday. But privately, organization officials and gay activists from both parties who have been monitoring the debate say the group is most likely to endorse D'Amato, a Republican seeking his fourth term. They also raised the possibility that the group would endorse both candidates, or remain neutral. If the group endorses D'Amato, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the endorsement would be based on three major factors: The group tends to favor incumbents, has been searching for allies among the Senate Republican majority and considers D'Amato's recent record on gay issues to be quite strong. An endorsement by the group, which is held in high regard by many gay and lesbian voters, could prove important in swinging voters to D'Amato in a tight race. It would also be a major symbolic victory for the senator, who has sought to recast himself as a centrist in recent years and could use the endorsement to build his standing among moderate swing voters. A D'Amato endorsement would also weaken Schumer's efforts to portray the incumbent as a right-wing extremist and would signify to many voters a fraying of the traditional Democratic coalition that has included black and gay voters, women and labor unions. The intensity of the debate surrounding the endorsement underscores the importance of the New York Senate race to Democrats across the nation, who see defeating D'Amato as one of their best opportunities to prevent the Republicans from gaining 60 seats in the Senate _ enough to stop a Democratic filibuster. The Republicans currently hold a 55-to-45 majority. ``There is sentiment in the community that if the Republicans get 60 votes, that Trent Lott will basically be in charge politically for the next two years,'' said David Mixner, a close friend of President Clinton's who is gay. He was referring to the Senate majority leader, who has called homosexuality a sin and likened it to kleptomania. Saturday, Schumer picked up his own endorsement from New York's largest gay and lesbian political organization, the Empire State Pride Agenda. Although the Human Rights Campaign is bipartisan, it has been very close to the Clinton administration, has many Democrats on its board and receives much of its money from Democratic contributors. Largely because of the group's strong Democratic ties, gay Democrats, New York liberals and White House officials are infuriated that it is even considering endorsing D'Amato, who also runs on the Right to Life and Conservative Party lines and often receives high ratings from the Christian Coalition, which typically opposes legislation on civil rights for gay people. Although the organization has been thought to be inching toward a D'Amato endorsement for months, the lobbying campaign for Schumer has picked up intensity in the last two weeks, driven partly by a growing sense that the race is now closer than ever. Democrats and advocates in both parties who support rights for gay people said that Vice President Al Gore, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Secretary for Health and Human Services Donna Shalala have made personal appeals to Human Rights Campaign officials urging them not to endorse D'Amato. White House officials said they did not know whether the three had made such appeals, and Human Rights Campaign officials declined to comment. Schumer met privately with the group's top officials last week to make one last pitch for the endorsement. Clinton administration officials have also been buttonholing the group's board members at every opportunity, from cocktail parties to fund-raisers, raising concerns about a D'Amato endorsement. Some New York advocates of civil rights for gay people have flooded the organization with phone calls, e-mail messages and letters. Democratic officials have been encouraging the group's major donors to express their opposition to D'Amato. People involved in the lobbying efforts said that at best, they are hoping the group will endorse both candidates, or make no endorsement at all. ``Chuck Schumer has been a strong supporter of issues that are important to gay communities,'' said a senior White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. ``The last thing that they should want to do is hurt the candidacy of someone who has been so supportive of their agenda.'' The Human Rights Campaign is considered the most influential gay and lesbian organization in Washington, with a national membership of 250,000 and an annual budget of more than $13 million. The group was created in the early 1980s in large part to counter the rise of the Christian right and Ronald Reagan. Paradoxically, D'Amato was first elected in the Reagan landslide of 1980 and remained a strong supporter of President Reagan. For D'Amato, who has aggressively courted gay voters, the endorsement would represent a crowning achievement in his efforts to reposition himself as a moderate. Since 1993, the senator has backed the right of gay citizens to serve in the military, sponsored legislation to prevent job discrimination against gay workers and opposed his own leadership's attempts to block the nominations of two openly gay men to positions in the Clinton administration. To gay supporters of D'Amato, an endorsement by the Human Rights Campaign would signify the political maturation of the gay electorate and help the organization insulate itself from accusations that it is too close to the Democratic Party. Those who support a D'Amato endorsement, including top officials within the Human Rights Campaign, contend that in the current political climate, where Congress is almost certain to remain under Republican control after November, gay people must build alliances with moderate Republicans. Human Rights Campaign officials also say their standing policy is to support friendly incumbents, even when their challengers have better voting records on gay issues. That is the case in New York, where Schumer's rating by the Human Rights Campaign has been consistently better than D'Amato's. Both men, however, have angered advocates of rights for gay people by voting for legislation that allows states to not recognize gay marriages. In a precedent widely cited by D'Amato supporters, the organization endorsed Sen. John F. Kerry, a Democrat, over the Republican challenger, William Weld, in the 1996 Massachusetts Senate race, even though Weld's record on gay rights was considered stronger. The move angered gay Republicans, who now contend that snubbing D'Amato would prove that the group is biased toward Democrats. But there is clearly a large number of Human Rights Campaign contributors and board members who strongly feel that endorsing D'Amato will permanently damage the group, particularly among women. They fear that abortion rights supporters will quit the group in droves because D'Amato has never wavered in his opposition to abortion during 18 years in Congress. Many New York gay activists would also be deeply upset if the group endorses D'Amato, whom they blame for installing the state Senate majority leader, Joseph Bruno, whom they consider to be strongly anti-gay. Matt Foreman, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, cited D'Amato's role as ``the architect'' of the state Republican Party as a major reason the group endorsed Schumer. ``While he has criticized fellow Republicans in Washington for their intolerance, here at home, his own party's blatant discrimination is still the order of the day,'' Foreman said. For that reason, some White House officials say they think a Human Rights Campaign endorsement of D'Amato will be almost meaningless among gay voters. They contend that it might even hurt the senator among his conservative base. ``I don't think anybody will vote for Al D'Amato because of an HRC endorsement,'' said a White House aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity. ``But I think some people in the Right to Life Party and some upstate people are going to say, `Who is this guy and why should we vote for him?'''",
"In other election years, Reps. David Price and Julia Carson would have had little in common other than that they were Democrats with relatively safe seats. Price is a centrist who has represented this high-tech district in North Carolina for all but 2 of the last 12 years, a political scientist who has taught at Duke and Yale. Mrs. Carson, fairly liberal, is a House freshman who worked her way up in politics from the grass roots, having been reared in poverty. But party officials who opened this election year with high hopes of recapturing the House are beginning to worry that Democratic incumbents like Price and Mrs. Carson share something else: greater-than-expected peril on Election Day. As in many congressional races, the biggest variable is the White House scandal, which has injected fear and uncertainty into campaigns around the country. Other Democratic incumbents who Republican officials cite as locked in contests that are more competitive than expected include Reps. Corrine Brown of Florida, Vic Snyder of Arkansas, Lois Capps and Ellen Tauscher of California, Martin Frost of Texas, Melvin Watt of North Carolina, John LaFalce of New York and Sander Levin of Michigan. Here in North Carolina's 4th Congressional District, Price, acknowledging that his own polls showed him in a tight race, said: ``This is a swing district that is sensitive to any tide or trend. It's something you think about a lot in connection with the president's troubles.'' The efforts of Price and Mrs. Carson to contain the Lewinsky debacle _ and their opponents' attempts to capitalize on it _ offer important clues suggesting how Clinton's problems are influencing the conduct of races around the country. Many Democrats are straddling a line that seems to shift a bit with every new scandal-related disclosure: they do not want to appear close to a president whose conduct embarrasses them, and yet, sensing the possibility of a public backlash against Republicans, they are weighing their words carefully and are wary of hopping on any impeachment bandwagon. And while publicly these Democrats express confidence that the scandal will have little impact on them, their campaigns are preparing for the worst by placing greater emphasis than ever on behind-the-efforts to prod their core constituencies to vote. In a reflection of the uncertainty that the Clinton scandal has cast even among Republicans, the challengers in the Price and Carson districts _ both are political novices seeking office for the first time _ have differing strategies: Tom Roberg, a computer executive in Raleigh who is taking on Price, has broadcast a television commercial exploiting the scandal. ``Tom Roberg has called for Bill Clinton's resignation,'' the narrator says. ``This is not the time to be silent, Price. Where do you stand?'' But in Indianapolis, Gary Hofmeister, a conservative jeweler challenging Mrs. Carson in Indiana's 10th Congressional District, is taking a more subtle approach: rather than mention the scandal directly, he notes as often as he can that ``Julia votes with Clinton almost 100 percent of the time.'' Asked why he was not much raising the scandal directly, Hofmeister said: ``Don't murder somebody when they're in the process of committing suicide. There would be a danger if we went overboard.'' The best evidence of the discomfort of both Price and Mrs. Carson is that when asked in separate interviews whether they would want Clinton to campaign in their districts, both said it would be impossible at this late date for the White House to schedule a visit. What if there was a sudden schedule change? Both paused, squirmed a bit and mustered answers that were hardly affirmative. ``Given the president's popularity, I doubt it will hurt me,'' Mrs. Carson said. And Price? ``I don't think that would be such a good idea,'' he said. ``I've never had a president campaign here, and I wouldn't want to start this time'' although he is eagerly welcoming Erskine Bowles, the president's chief of staff and a popular native son in North Carolina, to stump with him here this Sunday.) Making strategy for the stump is further complicated by anecdotal evidence that runs counter to Democratic fears and Republican hopes. In three days of campaign stops here in North Carolina and in Indianapolis, the scandal was rarely raised by any voter being courted by the candidates of either party. When a reporter asked about it, many voters said that as appalled as they were at Clinton's behavior, they had a hard time relating it to their decision on which way to vote in the congressional elections in five weeks. As Hofmeister walked through the parking lot outside a gun and knife show at the Indiana National Guard Armory in Indianapolis last Sunday, Billy Derringer, a 57-year-old machinist who is retired on disability, called him over to express outrage about the millions of dollars that had been spent to investigate Clinton. ``It's pathetic to spend all of our money,'' said Derringer, who identified himself as an independent. ``It shouldn't have gotten this far.'' Hofmeister tried his best to make the Republicans' case. ``There has to be rule of law,'' he said. Mrs. Carson said she hoped that Democrats and swing voters alike would become so fed up with the Lewinsky inquiry that the issue might even help her. To that end, she proudly informs audiences that she voted against making public the report delivered to the House by Kenneth Starr, the Whitewater independent counsel. ``I was one of 63 members of Congress who voted against putting all that filth on the Internet,'' she said, adding that Starr's inquiry had been ``a cruel hoax in terms of fiscal responsibility and accountability.'' The Carson campaign is counting on voters like Timothy Daly, a 38-year-old real estate executive who voted for a Republican two years ago but now favors Mrs. Carson. ``I'm pulling the Democratic ticket because I'm tired of it: the right side of the Republican Party is playing politics,'' Daly said. ``We'd like to see them go on with the people's business.'' Back here in the 4th District, Price has some reasons to be worried. He was first elected to the House in 1986 but, as a four-term incumbent, was ousted in the Republican sweep of 1994 (only to win his seat back two years later). In addition, the district was redrawn last year to include a large Durham section where voters do not know him well. Determined not to be a midterm casualty of Clinton once again, Price says he is waging the most vigorous get-out-the-vote ground campaign of his career. Rather than engage Roberg over the Clinton scandal, Price has begun broadcasting a television commercial that emphasizes his central issue: education. The congressman's advisers say they intentionally produced an advertisement that appears decidedly nonpolitical _ it features school children in a play _ in an effort to break through the television clutter about the scandal. But the Price campaign also has a weapon it is holding in reserve, in the event Roberg appears to be riding the Clinton scandal to advantage: the incumbent's advisers say they would not be timid about running commercials underscoring that he earned a divinity degree before getting his doctorate in political science. At a coffee with voters in a wealthy enclave of Raleigh the other night, Roberg opened his remarks by asserting that Clinton had ``lost the moral authority to lead.'' Yet none of those assembled asked him about the scandal; they were more concerned about the state's plans to build a highway near their neighborhood.",
"In a cocoon of loyal and wealthy supporters, President Clinton said Friday that he must ``live with the consequences'' of his mistakes, although he contended that Democrats should take pride in the achievements of his presidency and take heart from its possibilities. Clinton has stopped apologizing for his conduct with Monica Lewinsky, but he has taken to making glancing, at times humble, references to it, before moving on to attack the Republican Congress as indifferent to Americans' needs. He did so Friday at a series of fund-raisers. In one deft sentence, he acknowledged his personal pain while claiming credit for the country's economic strength, making a compact appeal for both sympathy and support in an appearance earlier in the day in Cleveland. After thanking the gathered donors for the ``very kind personal things'' they had said to him, the president declared, ``If I had to do it all over again, every day, I would do it in a heartbeat, to see America where it is today as compared to six years ago.'' As the applause died away, Clinton continued, ``I want you to understand, too, that we all have to live with the consequences of our mistakes in life.'' He added with a chuckle: ``Most of us don't have to live with it in quite such a public way. But nobody gets out of life for free.'' To the music of a saxophone and a hammered dulcimer, Clinton raised about $200,000 over lunch in a private home in Cleveland for the Democratic Senate candidate in Ohio, Mary Boyle. Then he flew to Philadelphia to raise half a million dollars for the Democratic Party. By midsummer, the president's aides were delighted to have persuaded him to condense his fund-raising remarks to just 10 minutes of policy points and partisan jabbing. But as his troubles have grown and the mid-term elections have approached, his free-form remarks have become longer. In Cleveland on Friday, he spoke for 26 minutes and here on Friday evening he spoke for almost 20 minutes. These fund-raising visits have fallen into a pattern since Clinton's videotaped grand jury testimony on Aug. 17. He is lauded, applauded and embraced by his hosts and the donors. ``Mr. President, these are your friends here today,'' said Tony George, the host of the Cleveland event, offering the refrain of those who have played a similar role. But in Cleveland as elsewhere, protesters who were scattered along the president's motorcade route were reminders of calls for his resignation and impeachment, and of the mockery some are heaping upon his presidency. At a rally for the president outside city hall here Friday night a group of Teamsters chanted, ``two more years.'' Clinton's motorcade route was lined downtown with hundreds of people, some of them carrying supportive or condemnatory signs. After an impromptu shopping trip, during which he was greeted with shouts of ``We love you,'' Clinton told some donors at the beginning of an impassioned reprise of his Cleveland speech: ``I didn't even mind the protesters, that's the American way.'' But, he added, he preferred it when they were in the minority, ``and that seemed to be the case.'' As he rode into Cleveland, Clinton passed a billboard for a local radio station, WNCX. ``Lovin', touchin', squeezin','' it read, the words superimposed on a cartoon of the president with his arm over Ms. Lewinsky's shoulders, the Washington Monument beside them. The president left it to his aides on Friday to respond directly to the latest gusher of grand jury disclosures in Washington. Instead, in his remarks, Clinton spoke with pride of his record and with urgency about addressing the international economic crisis and the needs of struggling farmers and schoolchildren. As he typically does now before such partisan audiences, he also walked through his political calculation for the mid-term elections. Clinton said in Cleveland that Republicans had bragged privately to him about their prospects. ``They tell me, `Oh, we're going to do very well, Mr. President, in these mid-terms because we have so much more money than you do,''' and because Democrats who turned out to re-elect Clinton would not return to the polls in an off-year. That argument, of course, would also insulate Clinton from any blame for depressing the Democratic vote. But he often goes further than that, saying that his predicament could actually help the Democrats. Lower-income Democratic voters, he said, might not bother to vote in a typical election. ``The people that were good enough to serve you here at this event today, they've got a lot of hassles in their life,'' he said. But, he said, ``adversity is our friend,'' because it can overcome apathy and ``focus us on what is at issue here.'' What should be at issue, Clinton said, are his achievements and agenda and the Republicans' record, which he described harshly. ``What have they done?'' he asked in Cleveland. ``They killed the minimum wage increase for 12 million Americans. They killed campaign finance reform. They killed the tobacco reform legislation.''",
"Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, the New York Republican who is running for re-election, went to Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal the other morning to accept an award from mass-transit advocates. But the reporters who had gathered there showed little interest in the shiny train car at the senator's back. Instead, they repeatedly asked him how he would vote on an impeachment of President Clinton. ``Look, I'm not going to make any comment with respect to that subject matter,'' D'Amato responded. ``I am not just a citizen. I am a citizen-senator who may be called upon to make a decision.'' But D'Amato is something else as well: a candidate in what may be the tightest Senate race in the nation. And variations of his elliptical response can be heard in Senate races around the country, where both Republicans and Democrats are encountering similar questions. All of which suggests that after the House voted Thursday to authorize an impeachment inquiry, this year's 34 races for the U.S. Senate have become, beyond what they already were, the electoral equivalent of jury selection. If the House votes to impeach Clinton, the matter goes to the Senate, which must decide by a two-thirds majority whether to convict him and, thus, remove him from office. As a result, the Monica Lewinsky matter has suddenly injected a new disruptive force into the Senate contests. Voters, even those who support Clinton, expect their political leaders, Republican or Democratic, to renounce Clinton's behavior, and candidates have been doing that. But impeachment is another matter; most polls show the nation is against it. The danger for Senate candidates is that with impeachment now a real possibility, the debate may move beyond the president's behavior _ about which there is little disagreement _ to the more problematic issue of whether he should be removed from office. For most of the strategists involved in the races, there is little guidance on how to handle the impeachment issue. Advisers to candidates of both parties said in interviews last week that they were perplexed and worried, unsure what they can or should do on the issue to gain the advantage _ or guard against harm. ``I can't tell how this one is going to go,'' said Mike Russell, a spokesman for the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. ``This is a very surreal environment.'' Of the 34 Senate seats in play, 18 are held by Democrats and 16 by Republicans, who now hold 55 seats in all. Republicans would have to win 28 of the 34 races to produce the 67 votes necessary for conviction, assuming such a vote were to go along party lines. Only an electoral catastrophe for the Democrats, which seems almost unthinkable, could produce such a huge loss. Jennifer Duffy, who follows Senate races for the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan newsletter, said that so far, at least, none of the Senate candidates has made an explicit appeal for votes based on how they would vote on a presidential jury. But she and others are wondering if this may be about to change. This is difficult ground to measure. One of the central questions of this political year has been how Clinton's dealings with Ms. Lewinsky might affect turnout. For a long time, politicians assumed that dispirited Democrats would stay home as a rebuke to Clinton, just as many Republicans did in November 1974, three months after President Richard M. Nixon resigned. But now some analysts wonder if the partisan fight in Congress last week might have the opposite effect among some Democrats. ``That's the problem,'' said Stuart Rothenberg, the editor of an independent political newsletter in Washington. ``It's not that we don't know, and that the politicians don't know, where the general public stands on impeachment. The problem is that we don't know where the electorate stands on impeachment.'' And asking voters to think ahead to an impeachment proceeding as they cast their ballots in a Senate race is, in the words of Stuart Stevens, a Republican consultant, ``a double bank-shot.'' Such strategies, he said, tend to work only with a small number of single-minded or sophisticated voters. Against that complicated backdrop, the prevailing thinking is that the use of the impeachment issue will vary from race to race, state to state and week to week, depending on the circumstances of the candidates and the composition of the electorate. If Democrats try to turn the image of Clinton in the dock to their advantage, it would be in states with a Democratic edge or with sizable numbers of black voters, who overwhelmingly support the president. In contests like those, it might well prove to be in the interest of a Democratic candidate to, as one consultant put it, sit down in front of a camera and tape an advertisement in which the candidate denounces the president's behavior but solemnly pledges to vote against impeachment. Strategists in both parties believe that kind of approach could prove effective. ``This is an issue where there is a huge disconnect between the elites and the public,'' said Fred Yang, a Democratic consultant with clients in Wisconsin and the Carolinas. That kind of Democratic strategy might emerge in California, New York, Illinois, Wisconsin, Washington and perhaps Arkansas. By contrast, Democrats in South Carolina, Georgia and Nevada would be less likely to oppose Clinton's impeachment. On the other side, Republican consultants are telling their candidates to stress Clinton's misdeeds and stay away from talk of impeachment. The last thing the party wants is to turn the Senate elections into a referendum on whether Clinton should be forced from office. ``The White House might think from the overall public numbers that maybe they would like to make this a referendum election,'' said Ed Goeas, a Republican pollster who is working in Senate races this year. ``Republicans certainly aren't going to let that happen.'' D'Amato responded to questions about Clinton with the language that Republican consultants have been suggesting to their candidates. ``When and if that matter comes to the Senate, I will decide on the facts that are presented to me at that time,'' D'Amato said. ``It would be very premature for me to suggest any course of action without it being referred. Because, indeed, we may be called upon to act as a jury of some kind.'' But Schumer, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, which is conducting the impeachment investigation, virtually embraced the issue. In a live telecast of the hearings, he said the president deserved a lesser punishment, such as censure or reprimand. And Schumer plans to campaign in New York on Monday with Clinton at his side. Schumer's media adviser, Hank Morris, seemed to suggest last week that impeachment will grow as an issue. ``Senator D'Amato claims he does not want to share his opinion with the people of New York,'' Morris said. ``And if he doesn't have an opinion, he's the only New Yorker who doesn't have an opinion.'' Asked if Schumer would raise the issue in a television commercial, Morris responded: ``We don't talk about what we're going to do. I wouldn't rule it in and I wouldn't rule it out.''",
"Nearly 60 years behind the times, the House voted Friday to condemn the Nazi-Soviet nonaggression pact of 1939. The measure, a nonbinding resolution, was brought to the floor by Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill. He is of Lithuanian descent, has a pocket of Lithuanians in his hometown of Collinsville and wants to try to highlight his support for the Baltic states' past efforts against Soviet repression. Shimkus' measure is an example of how members of Congress are spending their time as they stand idle and wait for Republican leaders to reach agreement on spending bills with the White House, thus avoiding a government shutdown and allowing them to go home and campaign for the November elections. With time on their hands, many Republicans are using the House floor as their personal stage to elicit votes on topics that they can boast about to the folks back home. Most of these matters have little chance of finding their way into law, but members hope to turn them to their advantage on Election Day. There are plenty of other items whose sponsors hope will not attract attention. These tend to be special-interest matters that members hope will escape scrutiny in the rush to leave town. The sponsors of these measures now have the added advantage of the impeachment inquiry, which has been preoccupying Congress, the news media and the public and giving them cover to move their pet causes quietly into the gigantic omnibus package that Congress will eventually present to Clinton for signing. These quieter measures include one proposed by Mississippi's two senators, Trent Lott and Thad Cochran, both Republicans. They want agriculture export credits to buy chickens for Russia, which has bought the chickens but cannot pay for them. The chickens are from Mississippi. Democrats have little influence in the Republican-controlled Congress. But some Democrats are close enough to Republican leaders, and to Republican goals, that their measures are taken seriously. These include Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., the ranking Democrat on the national security subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, who is pushing a measure to increase military pensions. Perhaps the best example of an attempt to force a vote for political advantage is a measure that would require minors to notify their parents if they are seeking contraceptives from federally funded family planning clinics. House leaders allowed the measure to be brought to the floor as a way to appease the more conservative members, who believe they have been shortchanged by the budget process. It passed the House by a vote of 224-200 but has almost no chance of becoming law. The Senate does not plan to take it up, and Clinton would almost certainly veto it. But Rep. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said that votes like these were important because they put their sponsors' ideological foes on the record as opposing something that sounds reasonable, and that opposition can be used against them in the Nov. 3 election.",
"It was a surprising scene three months ago when Dennis Rivera, one of New York City's most left-leaning labor leaders, was singing the praises of Sen. Alfonse M. D'Amato. Rivera, president of the largest union in New York City, praised D'Amato for persuading Trent Lott, the Senate majority leader, to support legislation that financed health coverage for hundreds of thousands of uninsured children. It looked as if Rivera's politically potent union might endorse D'Amato _ or at the very minimum stay neutral in this year's U.S. Senate race in New York. But on Monday, Rivera's 150,000-member union, 1199, the National Health and Human Service Employees union, endorsed Rep. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., and thereby risked D'Amato's wrath. The endorsement is risky, labor leaders acknowledge, because angering this powerful senator could make him far less responsive to labor's needs when unions turn to him for help in the future if he is re-elected. Although it may seem illogical, two words go far to explain why Rivera's union backed Schumer: Monica Lewinsky. Largely as a result of the Lewinsky scandal, Democrats say they suddenly fear that the Republicans will gain a filibuster-proof, 60-seat majority in the Senate, where the Republicans have 55 seats to the Democrats' 45. For labor leaders like Rivera, the notion of a strong Republican majority is a nightmare. That fear has helped push other New York unions into Schumer's column, even though D'Amato had long courted them. Those unions include the teamsters' joint council in New York City and District Council 37, an umbrella group representing 120,000 municipal employees. Labor leaders say they fear that with a filibuster-proof Republican majority, the Senate would push through anti-union legislation, like recently defeated Republican proposals to curb labor's political spending and cut financing for the National Labor Relations Board. ``We are worried about legislation that will not allow the labor movement to survive into the next century,'' Rivera said. Alarmed that the Democrats will lose Senate seats in California, Illinois, Wisconsin, Nevada and South Carolina, Rivera's union concluded that it was worth backing Schumer. The decision, Rivera emphasized repeatedly, was not personal but was based on national considerations. ``Unfortunately, the leadership of the Republican Party at the national level in the person of Newt Gingrich and Trent Lott are not necessarily from the same culture as the Republicans of the Northeast,'' he said. ``They're far more conservative, far more anti-labor, far more anti-worker, far more pro-business. We fear that the Democratic Party faces irrelevance in the United States Senate if we go below 41 seats.'' Trying to avoid a rupture with D'Amato, Rivera praised him as ``an effective senator.'' The endorsement could be a boon for Schumer. Rivera's union and the teachers' union have labor's strongest political operations in New York. In addition, Schumer will get thousands of dollars from the local as well as use of its renowned phone banks, which can make 50,000 political calls a day. A spokesman for D'Amato said, ``Al D'Amato's proud that he's been endorsed by over 100 union federations and locals, representing more that 400,000 working men and women, and he'll continue his efforts on behalf of working middle class families.'' His labor endorsements include the New York City Patrolmen's Benevolent Association and the New York State Building and Construction Trades Council. Besides the backing of 1199, Schumer also received the endorsement of 1199's parent union, the Service Employees International Union, which has 350,000 members in New York State. Rivera _ who did not support D'Amato the last time he ran either _ announced the endorsements during the founding convention of the New York State Council of the service employees union. The convention packed Town Hall, and the new group aims to make the service employees a power to be reckoned with by bringing together a dozen union locals to forge a common political and legislative strategy. Earlier this year, 1199 merged with the service employees, and as part of that agreement, Rivera became head of the service employees in New York State.",
"White House officials and gay Democrats, concerned that the nation's largest gay and lesbian political organization is about to endorse Sen. Alfonse D'Amato for re-election, are intensely lobbying the group to try to shift its support to the Democratic challenger, Rep. Charles Schumer. Publicly, officials in the organization, the Human Rights Campaign, said they were still deliberating their position in the closely watched race, considered among the tightest in the nation. They said they would probably make an endorsement by Friday. But privately, organization officials and gay activists from both parties who have been monitoring the debate say the group is most likely to endorse D'Amato, a Republican seeking his fourth term. They also raised the possibility that the group would endorse both candidates, or remain neutral. If the group endorses D'Amato, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the endorsement would be based on three major factors: The group tends to favor incumbents, has been searching for allies among the Senate Republican majority and considers D'Amato's recent record on gay issues to be quite strong. An endorsement by the group, which is held in high regard by many gay and lesbian voters, could prove important in swinging voters to D'Amato in a tight race. It would also be a major symbolic victory for the senator, who has sought to recast himself as a centrist in recent years and could use the endorsement to build his standing among moderate swing voters. A D'Amato endorsement would also weaken Schumer's efforts to portray the incumbent as a right-wing extremist and would signify to many voters a fraying of the traditional Democratic coalition that has included black and gay voters, women and labor unions. The intensity of the debate surrounding the endorsement underscores the importance of the New York Senate race to Democrats across the nation, who see defeating D'Amato as one of their best opportunities to prevent the Republicans from gaining 60 seats in the Senate _ enough to stop a Democratic filibuster. The Republicans currently hold a 55-to-45 majority. ``There is sentiment in the community that if the Republicans get 60 votes, that Trent Lott will basically be in charge politically for the next two years,'' said David Mixner, a close friend of President Clinton's who is gay. He was referring to the Senate majority leader, who has called homosexuality a sin and likened it to kleptomania. Saturday, Schumer picked up his own endorsement from New York's largest gay and lesbian political organization, the Empire State Pride Agenda. Although the Human Rights Campaign is bipartisan, it has been very close to the Clinton administration, has many Democrats on its board and receives much of its money from Democratic contributors. Largely because of the group's strong Democratic ties, gay Democrats, New York liberals and White House officials are infuriated that it is even considering endorsing D'Amato, who also runs on the Right to Life and Conservative Party lines and often receives high ratings from the Christian Coalition, which typically opposes legislation on civil rights for gay people. Although the organization has been thought to be inching toward a D'Amato endorsement for months, the lobbying campaign for Schumer has picked up intensity in the last two weeks, driven partly by a growing sense that the race is now closer than ever. Democrats and advocates in both parties who support rights for gay people said that Vice President Al Gore, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Secretary for Health and Human Services Donna Shalala have made personal appeals to Human Rights Campaign officials urging them not to endorse D'Amato. White House officials said they did not know whether the three had made such appeals, and Human Rights Campaign officials declined to comment. Schumer met privately with the group's top officials last week to make one last pitch for the endorsement. Clinton administration officials have also been buttonholing the group's board members at every opportunity, from cocktail parties to fund-raisers, raising concerns about a D'Amato endorsement. Some New York advocates of civil rights for gay people have flooded the organization with phone calls, e-mail messages and letters. Democratic officials have been encouraging the group's major donors to express their opposition to D'Amato. People involved in the lobbying efforts said that at best, they are hoping the group will endorse both candidates, or make no endorsement at all. ``Chuck Schumer has been a strong supporter of issues that are important to gay communities,'' said a senior White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. ``The last thing that they should want to do is hurt the candidacy of someone who has been so supportive of their agenda.'' The Human Rights Campaign is considered the most influential gay and lesbian organization in Washington, with a national membership of 250,000 and an annual budget of more than $13 million. The group was created in the early 1980s in large part to counter the rise of the Christian right and Ronald Reagan. Paradoxically, D'Amato was first elected in the Reagan landslide of 1980 and remained a strong supporter of President Reagan. For D'Amato, who has aggressively courted gay voters, the endorsement would represent a crowning achievement in his efforts to reposition himself as a moderate. Since 1993, the senator has backed the right of gay citizens to serve in the military, sponsored legislation to prevent job discrimination against gay workers and opposed his own leadership's attempts to block the nominations of two openly gay men to positions in the Clinton administration. To gay supporters of D'Amato, an endorsement by the Human Rights Campaign would signify the political maturation of the gay electorate and help the organization insulate itself from accusations that it is too close to the Democratic Party. Those who support a D'Amato endorsement, including top officials within the Human Rights Campaign, contend that in the current political climate, where Congress is almost certain to remain under Republican control after November, gay people must build alliances with moderate Republicans. Human Rights Campaign officials also say their standing policy is to support friendly incumbents, even when their challengers have better voting records on gay issues. That is the case in New York, where Schumer's rating by the Human Rights Campaign has been consistently better than D'Amato's. Both men, however, have angered advocates of rights for gay people by voting for legislation that allows states to not recognize gay marriages. In a precedent widely cited by D'Amato supporters, the organization endorsed Sen. John F. Kerry, a Democrat, over the Republican challenger, William Weld, in the 1996 Massachusetts Senate race, even though Weld's record on gay rights was considered stronger. The move angered gay Republicans, who now contend that snubbing D'Amato would prove that the group is biased toward Democrats. But there is clearly a large number of Human Rights Campaign contributors and board members who strongly feel that endorsing D'Amato will permanently damage the group, particularly among women. They fear that abortion rights supporters will quit the group in droves because D'Amato has never wavered in his opposition to abortion during 18 years in Congress. Many New York gay activists would also be deeply upset if the group endorses D'Amato, whom they blame for installing the state Senate majority leader, Joseph Bruno, whom they consider to be strongly anti-gay. Matt Foreman, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, cited D'Amato's role as ``the architect'' of the state Republican Party as a major reason the group endorsed Schumer. ``While he has criticized fellow Republicans in Washington for their intolerance, here at home, his own party's blatant discrimination is still the order of the day,'' Foreman said. For that reason, some White House officials say they think a Human Rights Campaign endorsement of D'Amato will be almost meaningless among gay voters. They contend that it might even hurt the senator among his conservative base. ``I don't think anybody will vote for Al D'Amato because of an HRC endorsement,'' said a White House aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity. ``But I think some people in the Right to Life Party and some upstate people are going to say, `Who is this guy and why should we vote for him?'''",
"The last time George Voinovich ran for office, he won re-election as Ohio's governor with 72 percent of the vote, stunning even his most optimistic supporters and setting a 20th-century record for victory margins in Ohio politics. This year, Voinovich, a Republican who is barred from seeking a third term, is running again, this time for the Senate seat held by John Glenn, a Democrat who is retiring. And while there are few who expect Voinovich to repeat his electoral benchmark of four years ago, politicians of both parties generally acknowledge that he is well positioned to increase the Republican majority in the Senate. That has not prevented Voinovich's Democratic opponent, Mary Boyle, from undertaking a vigorous campaign. Ms. Boyle, a former commissioner in Cuyahoga County, which encompasses Cleveland, is crisscrossing the nation's seventh-most populous state in what she describes as a grass-roots campaign that, while operating on a comparative shoestring, has nonetheless attracted to her side nationally known Democrats _ President Clinton foremost among them _ on the campaign trail. Glenn, the former astronaut who is preparing to return to space this month at the age of 77, has not made an endorsement in the Senate race. Like many candidates this year, Ms. Boyle, 55, is campaigning hard on the issue of education, seeking to portray Voinovich, 61, as a lackluster steward who allowed the state's schools to decline. ``He promised to be the education governor,'' said Ms. Boyle. ``But after seven and a half years he has failed the students of this state.'' Her role in the campaign, she said, ``is to remind the people of the state of Ohio that George Voinovich made a promise and that he didn't deliver on it.'' Specifically, she discusses a decision last year by the Ohio Supreme Court that cited wide disparities in the quality of the state's schools and ruled unconstitutional the formula for funding them. She has also attacked her Republican opponent for supporting a proposal to raise the state's sales tax by one percent. Under that plan, half the additional funds would have been used for school improvement with the remainder earmarked for reducing property taxes. That statewide ballot initiative last May proved to be wildly unpopular, with about 80 percent of the voters opposing it. While the topics of taxes and education are hot ones this political season in Ohio, it is not clear that Ms. Boyle's emphasis on them has helped her campaign. Despite some narrowing in the opinion polls, she is still trailing Voinovich by 10 percentage points in some polls and as much as 18 points in others. There is also a sharp fund-raising disparity. Ms. Boyle, who is running her first statewide race and has widespread union support, has raised nearly $2 million so far, far less than the nearly $7 million Voinovich has taken in. Also, Voinovich, a former lieutenant governor, has been on statewide ballots five times over the last 20 years and thus is the better-known candidate. The electoral dynamics of Ohio are also aiding Voinovich. The northern half of the state, with its history of industrial, unionized cities, has a tradition of voting largely for Democratic candidates, while the southern tier of the state is considered more conservative and typically leans Republican. But Voinovich and Ms. Boyle share the same home terrain, depriving Ms. Boyle of the geographic advantage that often accompanies Democratic candidates. Indeed, as a boy, Voinovich once delivered newspapers to the Boyle home in the working-class Collinwood section of Cleveland. And Voinovich, a former mayor of Cleveland, has developed a reputation as a moderate Republican who works well with Democrats. Voinovich, while campaigning vigorously himself, is keeping a full schedule of official duties, assuming the role of the experienced, elected official. ``If I get into the Senate, I will probably know more about domestic policy than any member of the Senate,'' he said in an interview on Wednesday in Canton, sandwiched between a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a fund-raising reception at a vacuum cleaner museum. ``As mayor, I had my nose rubbed into the problems of urban America and was fairly successful in dealing with them. And, as governor, I have dealt with the problems of Medicaid, welfare and education. I'm the only person in the United States who has been president of the National League of Cities and chairman of the National Governors Association.'' To his opponent's charges on his record on education, Voinovich is dismissive. ``I'm probably the only Republican in the United States who has been endorsed by the Ohio Education Association and National Education Association,'' he said, adding that Ms. Boyle was a member of the state Legislature during the period cited in the Supreme Court ruling. ``Mary Boyle was vice chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and a member of the Democratic leadership during those years,'' Voinovich said. ``They did nothing to fix the buildings, they did nothing for technology and the urban school districts.'' Ms. Boyle, who has not yet begun to run campaign commercials on television, said her status as the underdog had ``allowed me to be more focused, more intense.'' Pausing after a campaign fund-raising breakfast with former Democratic Sen. Bill Bradley of New Jersey here on Wednesday, Ms. Boyle said: ``This has been a marathon and it's been pretty much uphill. But now, we're down to the last three miles. It's a tough race.''"
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On Nov. 6, 1998 a suicide auto-bomb attack on a Jerusalem market killed two Palestinian "martyrs" and wounded 21 Israelis. Israel's cabinet immediately suspended consideration of the Wye peace agreement and the Prime Minister vowed to expand Jewish settlement in the Arab sector of Jerusalem. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the bombing and identified the Wye accord as its target. Israel called for outlawing Islamic Jihad and Hamas while the Palestinians accused Israel as using the bombing as a pretext for delaying implementation of Wye. The "martyrs", 21 and 24, were both alumni of Israeli jails. After a bombing in a Jerusalem market Fri., the Israeli Cabinet postponed indefinitely its vote on the Wye River peace accord. At first, Hamas claimed responsibility for attack in which 2 suicide bombers were killed and 24 people were hurt. On Sat. , Islamic Holy War (Islamic Jihad) took credit for attack, vowing more to block the accord. Israel would not debate or vote on the accord until Palestinians took steps to stop terrorism and outlaw military wings of radical groups. Israel intends to continue building homes in Jerusalem, including in Arab sector. One of the Palestinian suicide bombers had spent much of his teen years in Israeli prisons. A car bomb exploded prematurely near a busy Jerusalem market killing the two suicide bombers and injuring 21 Israelis. One of the Islamic Jihad "martyrs" had said he was "going to Paradise". The Israeli cabinet was meeting at the time of the explosion and they put off ratification of the Wye River "land for security" accord. The Islamic Jihad promises more attacks in hope of derailing the accord. The US expects, at least hopes, for ratification. PM Netanyahu vows to continue Jewish building in Jerusalem and Israel demanded that radical Islamic groups be outlawed. The Palestinian Authority condemned the attack and claimed to have already made some arrests The Wye River accord has not been implemented. As the Israeli cabinet was considering the agreement, Islamic Jihad militants exploded a car bomb in nearby Mahane Yehuda market. The cabinet suspended ratification of the agreement, demanding the Palestinian Authority take steps against terrorism. Further, after the bombing, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced the resumption of construction of a new settlement, Har Homa, in a traditionally Arab area east of Jerusalem. Israel also demands that Arafat outlaw the military wings of Islamic Jihad and Hamas. The attack injured 24 Israelis, but only the two assailants, Sughayer and Tahayneh, were killed.
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"Israel's Cabinet decided Friday to suspend indefinitely its ratification of the land-for-security agreement with the Palestinians. The decision came less than three hours after a car rigged with explosives blew up in an outdoor market in downtown Jersualem. Two people were killed and 21 others were wounded in the attack for which the Islamic militant group Hamas claimed responsibility. The Cabinet said it would not resume its debate or hold a vote on the accord until the Palestinian Authority has taken steps against terrorism. The Cabinet also said it would not resume the ratification process until Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has clarified the procedure for revoking clauses in the PLO founding charter calling for Israel's destruction. The procedure is part of the Wye River agreement negotiated last month. However, Israelis and Palestinians have widely divergent interpretations of how the clauses should be rescinded. Israel says it should be done by a vote by the Palestine National Council. The Palestinians say a vote is not required.",
"A defiant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that Israel would continue to build Jewish neighborhoods throughout Jerusalem, including at a controversial site in the traditionally Arab sector of the city. ``We will build also in Har Homa as we will build in every part of Jerusalem,'' Netanyahu told a crowd of political supporters in Jerusalem, ``By 2000 there will be homes at Har Homa.'' Har Homa is the site of a planned Jewish neighborhood in traditionally Arab east Jerusalem. Groundbreaking at the site led to angry Palestinian protests and a breakdown of peace talks in March 1997. Netanyahu's Cabinet delayed action on the new peace accord following Friday's suicide bombing at a Jerusalem market, and his remarks about building on Har Homa may be seen as a provocation by the Palestinians at a politically sensitive moment. U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright expects Israel's Cabinet to ratify the new peace accord within a few days despite the market bombing, a television report said Saturday. ``The United States understands the delay by a day or two but expects the agreement to be approved soon,'' Albright told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone, Channel Two reported. The radical group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility Saturday for the market bombing and vowed more attacks to try to block the new peace accord. ``This heroic operation is not the first and not going to be the last,'' the group said in a leaflet faxed to news organizations. ``We refuse any political agreement that would recognize the Zionist enemy.'' An Islamic Jihad official in the Syrian capital of Damascus confirmed that the group's leader Ramadan Abdullah Shallah claimed responsibility for Friday's bombing in an interview with the Paris-based Radio Monte Carlo. Palestinian security sources and the families of the dead bombers had already identified them as Islamic Jihad activists. At least half a dozen other Islamic activists have been rounded up since the bombing, the sources said. Palestinian political leaders said Israel should not use Friday's suicide bombing, which killed the two assailants and wounded 21 Israelis, as an excuse to stop the peace process. One of Israel's key demands is that the Palestinians do more to fight attacks by Islamic militants against Israeli targets. The Palestinians, however, said the two bombers had come from Israeli-controlled areas and that Israel thus bore at least part of the security responsibility for the attack. The Israeli military said it could not confirm the suicide bombers' identities and hometowns, but they were disclosed by Palestinian security officials and also reported by Palestinian media. One lived near the Anata refugee camp, north of Jerusalem, and the other lived in the West Bank village of Silat al Harithiya, outside the town of Jenin. Both families held so-called mourning houses on Saturday, but not actual funerals, since Israeli authorities still have their bodies. ``I didn't raise him to lose him like that,'' said Mohammed Zughayar, the 54-year-old father of Yusef Ali Mohammed Zughayar, 22. ``I'm proud, but I'm sad because I loved my son.'' The family of Suleiman Musa Dahayneh, 24, said he had been married for three months to Zughayar's sister, Basma. They met when she was visiting her brother, who was in prison with Dahayneh, the family said. At the market, some 200 observant Jews gathered Saturday night near the site of the bombing to offer prayers of thanks that no lives other than those of the assailants were lost. A ring of young men wearing skullcaps joined hands and danced, and rabbis spoke of the ``miracle'' that had saved those shopping in the market at the time of the attack. Although Hamas initially claimed responsibility through anonymous phone calls to the police for Friday's attack all sides now have agreed that it was Islamic Jihad that carried it out.",
"On a warm, sunny morning last Friday, at the time he usually left for work at his family's produce store, Youssef Sughayer said goodbye to his grandmother for the last time and rode off to his death. Relatives say that the 21-year-old Palestinian from this village near Jerusalem showed no sign that he was heading for a suicide mission with his brother-in-law as part of a secret cell of Islamic Holy War. Their car-bomb blew apart two hours later in a Jerusalem market, killing both men and wounding 24 people. ``Don't grieve for me,'' he wrote in a farewell note, according to relatives who found it later. ``If you cry, cry with happiness that I'm a martyr. Don't serve bitter coffee, serve sweets. I'm going to Paradise.'' At the family's stone house outside Jerusalem on Sunday, visitors paying condolence calls were served sweet juice, not coffee, as Sughayer's relatives tried to make sense of what he had done. The young man, once an ace student, had come of age in Israeli prisons. Jailed for a year at age 15 for stoning Israeli cars during the riots of the Palestinian uprising, he was imprisoned again at 17, that time for three-and-a-half years for similar offenses and affiliation with Islamic Holy War. Relatives said he was an impressionable teen-ager, influenced by Islamic militants with whom he was jailed. Sughayer came out of prison more devout, and hardened by mistreatment at the hands of the Israelis, relatives said. His cellmates taught him the doctrine of holy war and about the glories of martyrdom, said an older brother, Samih Sughayer. ``They sowed it in his heart,'' he said. ``He wanted to be a martyr in the cause of God.'' But that reality, suddenly so clear Sunday, was not so apparent when Sughayer was freed seven months ago. ``He seemed normal,'' said his brother. ``He went to work at the grocery store, he finished his high school classes and he wanted to enroll in the university. He was supposed to take a driving test in a few days. If he was planning something, we didn't see it.'' He would stay up late at night after work, studying the Koran and praying, but he showed no outward signs of rage toward Israel. ``He would joke about things and say that whatever happens is God's will,'' said a brother-in-law, who insisted on anonymity. ``He was an easygoing guy.'' Last Thursday, Sughayer bought a battered red Fiat and parked it near his house. When someone at home asked about the car he said nothing, and family members assumed it was one of the stolen vehicles often found here. On Friday morning he left with the car, meeting his brother-in-law and old jail buddy, Suleiman Tahayneh, who came from his village near the West Bank town of Jenin. Tahayneh had his own score to settle with the Israelis. His leg had been amputated after he was shot in a confrontation with Israeli troops during the uprising, his relatives said. The Fiat was loaded with explosives, and the two men drove to the market. That evening, when concerned members of the Sughayer family gathered to await news of their missing relative, a man arrived and told them that he had sold his car to Youssef the previous day. It was a red Fiat, the same car they had seen near the house, and the same type of car that news reports said had exploded in the marketplace. At midnight, Israeli security forces raided the house and interrogated family members. The last, grim pieces of the puzzle fell into place. ``Up to the last minute on Thursday night we were talking together,'' said Sughayer's oldest brother, Ali, who worked with him past midnight at the produce store. ``He asked me about someone who had moved his hardware shop to another village, about how he was doing. Earlier we ate together, and we talked about giving charity to the poor. He wasn't nervous.'' ``He had plans for the future,'' Ali continued. ``Maybe the people in his group convinced him to do this, and he could not refuse. We did not expect this from him.''",
"A car rigged with explosives blew up Friday morning in Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market packed with Israelis shopping for the Jewish Sabbath, killing two people and wounding 21. The Islamic militant group Hamas, which has tried to stop the peace agreement, claimed responsibility, police said. In response to the attack, the Israeli cabinet suspended ratification of the Wye agreement until there ``is verification that the Palestinian authority is indeed fighting terrorism.'' The Israeli Cabinet also announced it will begin to build houses in the controversial Jewish settlement of Har Homa in east Jerusalem. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had held up the work in recent months in an apparent attempt to not disrupt negotiations with the Palestinians. Aides to Netanyahu were not immediately available for comment. The Cabinet ministers had just begun a second day of of talks on the peace agreement about a mile (kilometer) away from the entrance to the market and just meters (yards) from the site of a suicide bombing last year. In Friday's explosion, the rigged car, a red Fiat, blew up at about 9:45 a.m. (0745 GMT) at the entrance of Mahane Yehuda market, just meters (yards) away from the site of a suicide bombing in July 1997. Witnesses heard a series of small explosions. Yair Cohen, 43, said he was buying cookies when he saw a car driving slowly, with smoke coming out of the hood and exhaust pipes. ``People started to shout `car on fire.' After a while, we heard a blast, and something hit me in the stomach,'' said Cohen who was treated for minor injuries at Hadassah Hospital. The car was a mass of twisted metal sitting in the middle of the main intersection outside the market. Flames shot 100 feet (30 meters) in the air. A charred corpse, covered by a blanket, lay several meters away. Streams of soot-black water ran in the street. Another bare-legged body lay in the street, face down, in a pool of blood below the head. Rescue workers covered the body with sodden pieces of cardboard box and plastic shopping bags. ``There was hysteria, people were running,'' said Eliad Duan, an Israeli border policeman who was patrolling the market and was lightly injured. One heavy-set woman, apparently in shock, climbed into an ambulance, weeping. Three paramedics talked to her, persuading her that she did not need medical treatment, and after a few moments she climbed out of the vehicle again. Soldiers and police wearing plastic gloves held back the crowds. ``It's dangerous _ stay back!'' they shouted. Just a block away from the blast, shoppers went about their business. One young woman shopper said: ``We can't stop with what we are doing when this happens.'' Hassan Asfour, a Palestinian peace negotiator, said the Palestinian Authority condemned the attack. ``This is a crime and whoever commits this, hurts the interests of the Palestinian people.''",
"Israel's Cabinet announced within hours of a market bombing Friday that it will put off a vote indefinitely on whether to ratify the Wye River accord until Palestinians crack down further on terrorism. Israel radio said the 18-member Cabinet debate on the Wye River accord would resume only after Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority fulfilled all of its commitments under the agreement, including arresting Islamic militants. The Cabinet also insisted that Arafat convene the Palestinian National Council, a parliament in exile, to abrogate the Palestinian National Charter, which calls for Israel's destruction. The Israeli Cabinet had convened for a second day in an attempt to approve the Wye agreement. ``To our sorrow, since the Wye agreement ... there has been relentless terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens,'' according to a Cabinet statement read on the radio. Israel radio quoted officials saying the Cabinet would also decide to renew construction of the Har Homa neighborhood in the traditionally Arab sector of Jerusalem. Groundbreaking there in March 1997 led to a break-off in negotiations with the Palestinians.",
"Setting the stage for a new quarrel over how to crack down on militants, Israel is demanding that the military wings of two radical Islamic groups be outlawed, while the Palestinian Authority insists it has already banned them. Implementation of the Israeli-Palestinian land-for-security accord, signed Oct. 23 in Washington, was to have begun this past week, but has hit various snags. Most recently, Israel's Cabinet put off a vote to ratify the accord after a suicide bombing Friday in Jerusalem that killed the two assailants and injured 21 Israelis. The radical group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility. David Bar-Illan, a top aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Sunday that Israel expects Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to formally outlaw the military wings of Islamic Jihad and the larger militant group Hamas. Hassan Asfour, a senior Palestinian official, said Hamas' military wing, Izeddine al Qassam, and the military wing of Islamic Jihad were outlawed by the Palestinian Authority in 1996. But Bar-Illan said the Palestinian legislature had never passed such a law. ``Why did Mr. Arafat agree in the Wye accord to outlaw them if he has already done it?'' he asked. The Wye memorandum states that the Palestinian Authority ``will inform the United States fully of the actions it has taken to outlaw all organizations (or wings of organizations, as appropriate) of a military, terrorist or violent character, and their support structure and to prevent them freedom of action in the areas under its jurisdiction.'' A Palestinian security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a joint Israeli-Palestinian meeting was held Saturday night to discuss security in the wake of Friday's attack. Participants included the head of the Palestinian intelligence, Amin Hindi, and the head of preventive security in the Gaza Strip, Mohammed Dahlan. The idea of outlawing Hamas and Islamic Jihad was brought up in the meeting and also proposed by Netanyahu to Arafat during a phone call, the official said. The Palestinians said they could ban activity by Hamas or Islamic Jihad that endangered either Israelis or Palestinians, but could not outlaw them outright as political movements. Friday's bombing led to finger-pointing by both sides. Israel said it showed Arafat's crackdown on terrorists had not been sweeping enough. The Palestinians, however, have also accused Israel of failing to take at least partial security responsibility for the attack, because both attackers came from Israeli-controlled areas, and had recently served time in Israeli jails. Israel as a rule is harshly critical of the Palestinian Authority's security efforts when attackers come from Palestinian-controlled areas or have been released from Palestinian prisons. On Sunday, Palestinian Justice Minister Freih Abu-Medein accused Netanyahu of using the blast as a pretext for delaying implementation of the peace accord. ``This attack is a gift to Mr. Netanyahu,'' Abu-Medein said. ``All the time he is praying to God to help him ... to escape from the agreement.'' Under the accord, Israel is to hand over another 13 percent of the territory in the West Bank to the Palestinians in exchange for various security steps. Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai predicted Sunday that the Israeli Cabinet would ratify the agreement in coming days. ``I estimate that the government will meet this week and will accept the decision of the majority (in favor of the agreement),'' he said.",
"A defiant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that Israel would continue to build Jewish neighborhoods throughout Jerusalem, including at a controversial site in the traditionally Arab sector of the city. ``We will build also in Har Homa as we will build in every part of Jerusalem,'' Netanyahu told a crowd of political supporters in Jerusalem, ``By 2000 there will be homes at Har Homa.'' Har Homa is the site of a planned Jewish neighborhood in traditionally Arab east Jerusalem, which Palestinians want to have as the capital of their hoped-for independent state. Groundbreaking at the site led to angry Palestinian protests and a breakdown of peace talks in March 1997. Netanyahu's Cabinet delayed action on the latest Israeli-Palestinian accord following Friday's suicide bombing at a Jerusalem market, and his remarks about building on Har Homa may be seen as a provocation by the Palestinians at a politically sensitive moment. U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told Netanyahu by phone that she expects Israel's Cabinet to ratify the new peace accord within a few days despite the market bombing, Channel Two television reported Saturday. The radical group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility Saturday for the market bombing and vowed more attacks to try to block the new peace accord. ``This heroic operation is not the first and not going to be the last,'' the group said in a leaflet faxed to news organizations. ``We refuse any political agreement that would recognize the Zionist enemy.'' An Islamic Jihad official in the Syrian capital of Damascus confirmed that the group's leader Ramadan Abdullah Shallah claimed responsibility for Friday's bombing in an interview with the Paris-based Radio Monte Carlo. Palestinian security sources and the families of the dead bombers had already identified them as Islamic Jihad activists. At least half a dozen other Islamic activists have been rounded up since the bombing, the sources said. Palestinian political leaders said Israel should not use Friday's suicide bombing, which killed the two assailants and wounded 21 Israelis, as an excuse to stop the peace process. One of Israel's key demands is that the Palestinians do more to fight attacks by Islamic militants against Israeli targets. The Palestinians, however, said the two bombers had come from Israeli-controlled areas and that Israel thus bore at least part of the security responsibility for the attack. The Israeli military said it could not confirm the suicide bombers' identities and hometowns, but they were disclosed by Palestinian security officials and also reported by Palestinian media. One lived near the Anata refugee camp, north of Jerusalem, and the other lived in the West Bank village of Silat al Harithiya, outside the town of Jenin. Both families held so-called mourning houses on Saturday, but not actual funerals, since Israeli authorities still have their bodies. ``I didn't raise him to lose him like that,'' said Mohammed Zughayar, the 54-year-old father of Yusef Ali Mohammed Zughayar, 22. ``I'm proud, but I'm sad because I loved my son.'' The family of Suleiman Musa Dahayneh, 24, said he had been married for three months to Zughayar's sister, Basma. They met when she was visiting her brother, who was in prison with Dahayneh, the family said. At the market, some 200 observant Jews gathered Saturday night near the site of the bombing to offer prayers of thanks that no lives other than those of the assailants were lost. A ring of young men wearing skullcaps joined hands and danced, and rabbis spoke of the ``miracle'' that had saved those shopping in the market at the time of the attack. Although Hamas initially claimed responsibility through anonymous phone calls to the police for Friday's attack all sides now have agreed that it was Islamic Jihad that carried it out.",
"Blood and soot-blackened water ran in rivulets from the charred wreckage. A burly policeman bent to cover a bloodied corpse with whatever was at hand _ a sodden piece of cardboard, a plastic shopping bag. Two people were killed and at least 21 injured when an explosives-rigged car blew up Friday at Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market, only meters (yards) from the site of a suicide bombing 16 months ago. At police barricades set up along Jerusalem's busiest thoroughfare, soldiers and police held back crowds of people, some frantic about loved ones who had been shopping in the crowded market only hours before the start of the Jewish Sabbath. ``Please, please, is there a girl with red hair who is hurt?'' an older, heavyset woman said tearfully, trying to push her way past police. A young female soldier patted her arm consolingly. Some of the onlookers gave vent to fury over the new peace agreement, which was being debated by Israel's Cabinet even as the blast occurred. ``Death to Arabs! Death to Arafat!'' a small crowd of demonstrators shouted. Police tried to grab one of them, but he escaped into the crowd. The explosives-rigged car was a mass of twisted metal, with only the steering column intact. Next to the wreckage lay a completely charred body with stumps of arms and legs _ apparently that of the bomber. Witnesses said they heard a series of explosions. Although shop windows closest to the car were shattered, market stalls only a few more feet (yards) away were completely intact, and stacked with neat piles of bananas and onions. Eyewitness Yaakov Shlomo said initial, smaller blasts scared most onlookers away. ``When the big explosion went, there were already not that many people nearby,'' he said. ``That was a miracle from heaven.'' Shlomo Meir, a black-clad Orthodox Jew, was standing nearby when he heard a blast. When he tuirned he saw fire. ``It was terrible,'' he said, red-eyed. ``I thought, `Again!''' Only a block away, some stalls were still open and shoppers were buying produce. One woman, with almost maniacal determination, sorted through a pile of oranges. ``We can't stop what we're doing when this happens,'' she said grimly. By the police barricades, wearing bright-orange vests, stood a group of Orthodox Jewish volunteers who search scenes of accidents and attacks for body parts, in keeping with their religious belief that bodies must be buried intact. One young volunteer squinted down the street as his group waited for permission to begin its grisly task. ``It's hard, this work, but it's very important to us,'' he said.",
"The militant Palestinian movement Islamic Holy War said Saturday that it carried out the suicide bombing in a Jerusalem market on Friday, which prompted arrests by the Palestinian Authority overnight. Palestinian officials said they had jailed several of the small but radical group's members from the West Bank, and raided and then shut down a nursery school linked to the organization in Bethlehem, which is controlled by the Palestinians. The two bombers who carried out Friday's attack, which led the Israeli Cabinet to suspend deliberations on the land-for-security accord signed with the Palestinians last month, were identified as members of Islamic Holy War from West Bank villages under Israeli security control. Ramadan Abdallah Shallah, the Damascus-based leader of Islamic Holy War, said ``martyrs'' from his movement had carried out the Jerusalem attack in response to Israel's settlement policy and ``Judaization'' of the West Bank. He spoke in an interview with Monte Carlo Radio, an Arabic station broadcasting from Paris that is widely listened to in the Middle East. A leaflet signed by the group and faxed to Reuters in Jerusalem said the ``heroic attack,'' in which 24 people were injured and the 2 bombers killed, had been carried out ``to confront the great conspiracy that aims to liquidate the Palestinian cause through the Oslo and Wye Plantation agreements of submission.'' Islamic Holy War and its counterpart, Hamas, have denounced as a sellout of Palestinian rights the 1993 Oslo self-rule accord and the latest agreement, known as the Wye Memorandum, named for the Wye Plantation in Maryland, where the deal was worked out with strenuous American mediation. Shallah's claim of responsibility from abroad contrasted with the muted response of Islamic Holy War's leadership in the Gaza Strip, which has reportedly given commitments to the Palestinian Authority to refrain from such attacks. ``We have no knowledge in the movement about the operation that occurred in Jerusalem,'' said Nafez Azzam, a senior leader of Islamic Holy War in Gaza. ``From its conditions we consider it likely that it was an individual effort.'' The Palestinian cabinet, in a statement issued after a meeting on Friday night, accused ``foreign forces'' of standing behind the attack. One cabinet member, who declined to be identified, pointed a finger at Iran, saying a search of one bomber's home had uncovered a letter he had written to the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, expressing condolences for the recent killing of several Iranian diplomats in Afghanistan. Iran, which has backed militant Islamic groups opposed to the Arab-Israeli peace efforts, has denounced the Wye agreement, branding Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, a traitor to the Palestinian cause. The Palestinian cabinet promised to crack down on the militants, who it said were jeopardizing the recovery of Palestinian land and hopes for statehood by giving Israel a pretext to postpone carrying out the Wye accord. The Israeli Cabinet suspended a meeting to ratify the agreement after the bombing, demanding that the Palestinians conduct an ``all-out war on terror.'' Israeli officials had no comment Saturday on the measures taken by the Palestinian Authority on Friday. The Wye agreement calls for an Israeli troop withdrawal from 13 percent more of the West Bank in exchange for specific Palestinian measures against violent militants. A Palestinian security official said several Islamic Holy War members were arrested in the West Bank on Friday night. Arrests were also reported in the Gaza Strip. Itaf Alayan, a supporter of the group who runs the Islamic Purity Nursery in Bethlehem, said Palestinian officers had raided the school and confiscated videotapes and educational cassettes before locking it up. The two bombers were identified as Youssef Zughayer, 21, from Anata, near Jerusalem, and his brother-in-law, Suleiman Tahayneh, 24, from Silat al-Harithiya, near the West Bank town of Jenin. Both had served time in Israeli jails and were known to be members of Islamic Holy War. ``We never thought he would do something like this,'' said Muhammad Zughayer, Youssef's father. ``We condemn such acts, but the only thing we can do now is to say may he rest in peace.''",
"The radical group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility Saturday for the suicide bombing of a crowded Jerusalem market and promised more attacks to try to block the new peace accord. ``This heroic operation is not the first and not going to be the last,'' the group said in a leaflet faxed to news organizations. ``We refuse any political agreement that would recognize the Zionist enemy.'' The leaflet could not immediately be authenticated, but its style was consistent with that of past communications from the group. An Islamic Jihad official in the Syrian capital of Damascus confirmed that the group's leader Ramadan Abdullah Shallah claimed responsibility for Friday's bombing in an interview with the Paris-based Radio Monte Carlo. Palestinian security sources and the families of the dead bombers had already identified them as Islamic Jihad activists. At least half a dozen other Islamic activists have been rounded up since the bombing, the sources said. Although Hamas initially claimed responsibility through anonymous phone calls to the police, all sides now have agreed that it was Islamic Jihad that carried it out. There was no immediate explanation for the inaccurate claim, but the two groups have carried out attacks together in the past as part of their goal of stopping the peace process."
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"Israel's Cabinet decided Friday to suspend indefinitely its ratification of the land-for-security agreement with the Palestinians. The decision came less than three hours after a car rigged with explosives blew up in an outdoor market in downtown Jersualem. Two people were killed and 21 others were wounded in the attack for which the Islamic militant group Hamas claimed responsibility. The Cabinet said it would not resume its debate or hold a vote on the accord until the Palestinian Authority has taken steps against terrorism. The Cabinet also said it would not resume the ratification process until Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has clarified the procedure for revoking clauses in the PLO founding charter calling for Israel's destruction. The procedure is part of the Wye River agreement negotiated last month. However, Israelis and Palestinians have widely divergent interpretations of how the clauses should be rescinded. Israel says it should be done by a vote by the Palestine National Council. The Palestinians say a vote is not required.",
"A defiant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that Israel would continue to build Jewish neighborhoods throughout Jerusalem, including at a controversial site in the traditionally Arab sector of the city. ``We will build also in Har Homa as we will build in every part of Jerusalem,'' Netanyahu told a crowd of political supporters in Jerusalem, ``By 2000 there will be homes at Har Homa.'' Har Homa is the site of a planned Jewish neighborhood in traditionally Arab east Jerusalem. Groundbreaking at the site led to angry Palestinian protests and a breakdown of peace talks in March 1997. Netanyahu's Cabinet delayed action on the new peace accord following Friday's suicide bombing at a Jerusalem market, and his remarks about building on Har Homa may be seen as a provocation by the Palestinians at a politically sensitive moment. U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright expects Israel's Cabinet to ratify the new peace accord within a few days despite the market bombing, a television report said Saturday. ``The United States understands the delay by a day or two but expects the agreement to be approved soon,'' Albright told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone, Channel Two reported. The radical group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility Saturday for the market bombing and vowed more attacks to try to block the new peace accord. ``This heroic operation is not the first and not going to be the last,'' the group said in a leaflet faxed to news organizations. ``We refuse any political agreement that would recognize the Zionist enemy.'' An Islamic Jihad official in the Syrian capital of Damascus confirmed that the group's leader Ramadan Abdullah Shallah claimed responsibility for Friday's bombing in an interview with the Paris-based Radio Monte Carlo. Palestinian security sources and the families of the dead bombers had already identified them as Islamic Jihad activists. At least half a dozen other Islamic activists have been rounded up since the bombing, the sources said. Palestinian political leaders said Israel should not use Friday's suicide bombing, which killed the two assailants and wounded 21 Israelis, as an excuse to stop the peace process. One of Israel's key demands is that the Palestinians do more to fight attacks by Islamic militants against Israeli targets. The Palestinians, however, said the two bombers had come from Israeli-controlled areas and that Israel thus bore at least part of the security responsibility for the attack. The Israeli military said it could not confirm the suicide bombers' identities and hometowns, but they were disclosed by Palestinian security officials and also reported by Palestinian media. One lived near the Anata refugee camp, north of Jerusalem, and the other lived in the West Bank village of Silat al Harithiya, outside the town of Jenin. Both families held so-called mourning houses on Saturday, but not actual funerals, since Israeli authorities still have their bodies. ``I didn't raise him to lose him like that,'' said Mohammed Zughayar, the 54-year-old father of Yusef Ali Mohammed Zughayar, 22. ``I'm proud, but I'm sad because I loved my son.'' The family of Suleiman Musa Dahayneh, 24, said he had been married for three months to Zughayar's sister, Basma. They met when she was visiting her brother, who was in prison with Dahayneh, the family said. At the market, some 200 observant Jews gathered Saturday night near the site of the bombing to offer prayers of thanks that no lives other than those of the assailants were lost. A ring of young men wearing skullcaps joined hands and danced, and rabbis spoke of the ``miracle'' that had saved those shopping in the market at the time of the attack. Although Hamas initially claimed responsibility through anonymous phone calls to the police for Friday's attack all sides now have agreed that it was Islamic Jihad that carried it out.",
"On a warm, sunny morning last Friday, at the time he usually left for work at his family's produce store, Youssef Sughayer said goodbye to his grandmother for the last time and rode off to his death. Relatives say that the 21-year-old Palestinian from this village near Jerusalem showed no sign that he was heading for a suicide mission with his brother-in-law as part of a secret cell of Islamic Holy War. Their car-bomb blew apart two hours later in a Jerusalem market, killing both men and wounding 24 people. ``Don't grieve for me,'' he wrote in a farewell note, according to relatives who found it later. ``If you cry, cry with happiness that I'm a martyr. Don't serve bitter coffee, serve sweets. I'm going to Paradise.'' At the family's stone house outside Jerusalem on Sunday, visitors paying condolence calls were served sweet juice, not coffee, as Sughayer's relatives tried to make sense of what he had done. The young man, once an ace student, had come of age in Israeli prisons. Jailed for a year at age 15 for stoning Israeli cars during the riots of the Palestinian uprising, he was imprisoned again at 17, that time for three-and-a-half years for similar offenses and affiliation with Islamic Holy War. Relatives said he was an impressionable teen-ager, influenced by Islamic militants with whom he was jailed. Sughayer came out of prison more devout, and hardened by mistreatment at the hands of the Israelis, relatives said. His cellmates taught him the doctrine of holy war and about the glories of martyrdom, said an older brother, Samih Sughayer. ``They sowed it in his heart,'' he said. ``He wanted to be a martyr in the cause of God.'' But that reality, suddenly so clear Sunday, was not so apparent when Sughayer was freed seven months ago. ``He seemed normal,'' said his brother. ``He went to work at the grocery store, he finished his high school classes and he wanted to enroll in the university. He was supposed to take a driving test in a few days. If he was planning something, we didn't see it.'' He would stay up late at night after work, studying the Koran and praying, but he showed no outward signs of rage toward Israel. ``He would joke about things and say that whatever happens is God's will,'' said a brother-in-law, who insisted on anonymity. ``He was an easygoing guy.'' Last Thursday, Sughayer bought a battered red Fiat and parked it near his house. When someone at home asked about the car he said nothing, and family members assumed it was one of the stolen vehicles often found here. On Friday morning he left with the car, meeting his brother-in-law and old jail buddy, Suleiman Tahayneh, who came from his village near the West Bank town of Jenin. Tahayneh had his own score to settle with the Israelis. His leg had been amputated after he was shot in a confrontation with Israeli troops during the uprising, his relatives said. The Fiat was loaded with explosives, and the two men drove to the market. That evening, when concerned members of the Sughayer family gathered to await news of their missing relative, a man arrived and told them that he had sold his car to Youssef the previous day. It was a red Fiat, the same car they had seen near the house, and the same type of car that news reports said had exploded in the marketplace. At midnight, Israeli security forces raided the house and interrogated family members. The last, grim pieces of the puzzle fell into place. ``Up to the last minute on Thursday night we were talking together,'' said Sughayer's oldest brother, Ali, who worked with him past midnight at the produce store. ``He asked me about someone who had moved his hardware shop to another village, about how he was doing. Earlier we ate together, and we talked about giving charity to the poor. He wasn't nervous.'' ``He had plans for the future,'' Ali continued. ``Maybe the people in his group convinced him to do this, and he could not refuse. We did not expect this from him.''",
"A car rigged with explosives blew up Friday morning in Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market packed with Israelis shopping for the Jewish Sabbath, killing two people and wounding 21. The Islamic militant group Hamas, which has tried to stop the peace agreement, claimed responsibility, police said. In response to the attack, the Israeli cabinet suspended ratification of the Wye agreement until there ``is verification that the Palestinian authority is indeed fighting terrorism.'' The Israeli Cabinet also announced it will begin to build houses in the controversial Jewish settlement of Har Homa in east Jerusalem. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had held up the work in recent months in an apparent attempt to not disrupt negotiations with the Palestinians. Aides to Netanyahu were not immediately available for comment. The Cabinet ministers had just begun a second day of of talks on the peace agreement about a mile (kilometer) away from the entrance to the market and just meters (yards) from the site of a suicide bombing last year. In Friday's explosion, the rigged car, a red Fiat, blew up at about 9:45 a.m. (0745 GMT) at the entrance of Mahane Yehuda market, just meters (yards) away from the site of a suicide bombing in July 1997. Witnesses heard a series of small explosions. Yair Cohen, 43, said he was buying cookies when he saw a car driving slowly, with smoke coming out of the hood and exhaust pipes. ``People started to shout `car on fire.' After a while, we heard a blast, and something hit me in the stomach,'' said Cohen who was treated for minor injuries at Hadassah Hospital. The car was a mass of twisted metal sitting in the middle of the main intersection outside the market. Flames shot 100 feet (30 meters) in the air. A charred corpse, covered by a blanket, lay several meters away. Streams of soot-black water ran in the street. Another bare-legged body lay in the street, face down, in a pool of blood below the head. Rescue workers covered the body with sodden pieces of cardboard box and plastic shopping bags. ``There was hysteria, people were running,'' said Eliad Duan, an Israeli border policeman who was patrolling the market and was lightly injured. One heavy-set woman, apparently in shock, climbed into an ambulance, weeping. Three paramedics talked to her, persuading her that she did not need medical treatment, and after a few moments she climbed out of the vehicle again. Soldiers and police wearing plastic gloves held back the crowds. ``It's dangerous _ stay back!'' they shouted. Just a block away from the blast, shoppers went about their business. One young woman shopper said: ``We can't stop with what we are doing when this happens.'' Hassan Asfour, a Palestinian peace negotiator, said the Palestinian Authority condemned the attack. ``This is a crime and whoever commits this, hurts the interests of the Palestinian people.''",
"Israel's Cabinet announced within hours of a market bombing Friday that it will put off a vote indefinitely on whether to ratify the Wye River accord until Palestinians crack down further on terrorism. Israel radio said the 18-member Cabinet debate on the Wye River accord would resume only after Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority fulfilled all of its commitments under the agreement, including arresting Islamic militants. The Cabinet also insisted that Arafat convene the Palestinian National Council, a parliament in exile, to abrogate the Palestinian National Charter, which calls for Israel's destruction. The Israeli Cabinet had convened for a second day in an attempt to approve the Wye agreement. ``To our sorrow, since the Wye agreement ... there has been relentless terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens,'' according to a Cabinet statement read on the radio. Israel radio quoted officials saying the Cabinet would also decide to renew construction of the Har Homa neighborhood in the traditionally Arab sector of Jerusalem. Groundbreaking there in March 1997 led to a break-off in negotiations with the Palestinians.",
"Setting the stage for a new quarrel over how to crack down on militants, Israel is demanding that the military wings of two radical Islamic groups be outlawed, while the Palestinian Authority insists it has already banned them. Implementation of the Israeli-Palestinian land-for-security accord, signed Oct. 23 in Washington, was to have begun this past week, but has hit various snags. Most recently, Israel's Cabinet put off a vote to ratify the accord after a suicide bombing Friday in Jerusalem that killed the two assailants and injured 21 Israelis. The radical group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility. David Bar-Illan, a top aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Sunday that Israel expects Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to formally outlaw the military wings of Islamic Jihad and the larger militant group Hamas. Hassan Asfour, a senior Palestinian official, said Hamas' military wing, Izeddine al Qassam, and the military wing of Islamic Jihad were outlawed by the Palestinian Authority in 1996. But Bar-Illan said the Palestinian legislature had never passed such a law. ``Why did Mr. Arafat agree in the Wye accord to outlaw them if he has already done it?'' he asked. The Wye memorandum states that the Palestinian Authority ``will inform the United States fully of the actions it has taken to outlaw all organizations (or wings of organizations, as appropriate) of a military, terrorist or violent character, and their support structure and to prevent them freedom of action in the areas under its jurisdiction.'' A Palestinian security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a joint Israeli-Palestinian meeting was held Saturday night to discuss security in the wake of Friday's attack. Participants included the head of the Palestinian intelligence, Amin Hindi, and the head of preventive security in the Gaza Strip, Mohammed Dahlan. The idea of outlawing Hamas and Islamic Jihad was brought up in the meeting and also proposed by Netanyahu to Arafat during a phone call, the official said. The Palestinians said they could ban activity by Hamas or Islamic Jihad that endangered either Israelis or Palestinians, but could not outlaw them outright as political movements. Friday's bombing led to finger-pointing by both sides. Israel said it showed Arafat's crackdown on terrorists had not been sweeping enough. The Palestinians, however, have also accused Israel of failing to take at least partial security responsibility for the attack, because both attackers came from Israeli-controlled areas, and had recently served time in Israeli jails. Israel as a rule is harshly critical of the Palestinian Authority's security efforts when attackers come from Palestinian-controlled areas or have been released from Palestinian prisons. On Sunday, Palestinian Justice Minister Freih Abu-Medein accused Netanyahu of using the blast as a pretext for delaying implementation of the peace accord. ``This attack is a gift to Mr. Netanyahu,'' Abu-Medein said. ``All the time he is praying to God to help him ... to escape from the agreement.'' Under the accord, Israel is to hand over another 13 percent of the territory in the West Bank to the Palestinians in exchange for various security steps. Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai predicted Sunday that the Israeli Cabinet would ratify the agreement in coming days. ``I estimate that the government will meet this week and will accept the decision of the majority (in favor of the agreement),'' he said.",
"A defiant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that Israel would continue to build Jewish neighborhoods throughout Jerusalem, including at a controversial site in the traditionally Arab sector of the city. ``We will build also in Har Homa as we will build in every part of Jerusalem,'' Netanyahu told a crowd of political supporters in Jerusalem, ``By 2000 there will be homes at Har Homa.'' Har Homa is the site of a planned Jewish neighborhood in traditionally Arab east Jerusalem, which Palestinians want to have as the capital of their hoped-for independent state. Groundbreaking at the site led to angry Palestinian protests and a breakdown of peace talks in March 1997. Netanyahu's Cabinet delayed action on the latest Israeli-Palestinian accord following Friday's suicide bombing at a Jerusalem market, and his remarks about building on Har Homa may be seen as a provocation by the Palestinians at a politically sensitive moment. U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told Netanyahu by phone that she expects Israel's Cabinet to ratify the new peace accord within a few days despite the market bombing, Channel Two television reported Saturday. The radical group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility Saturday for the market bombing and vowed more attacks to try to block the new peace accord. ``This heroic operation is not the first and not going to be the last,'' the group said in a leaflet faxed to news organizations. ``We refuse any political agreement that would recognize the Zionist enemy.'' An Islamic Jihad official in the Syrian capital of Damascus confirmed that the group's leader Ramadan Abdullah Shallah claimed responsibility for Friday's bombing in an interview with the Paris-based Radio Monte Carlo. Palestinian security sources and the families of the dead bombers had already identified them as Islamic Jihad activists. At least half a dozen other Islamic activists have been rounded up since the bombing, the sources said. Palestinian political leaders said Israel should not use Friday's suicide bombing, which killed the two assailants and wounded 21 Israelis, as an excuse to stop the peace process. One of Israel's key demands is that the Palestinians do more to fight attacks by Islamic militants against Israeli targets. The Palestinians, however, said the two bombers had come from Israeli-controlled areas and that Israel thus bore at least part of the security responsibility for the attack. The Israeli military said it could not confirm the suicide bombers' identities and hometowns, but they were disclosed by Palestinian security officials and also reported by Palestinian media. One lived near the Anata refugee camp, north of Jerusalem, and the other lived in the West Bank village of Silat al Harithiya, outside the town of Jenin. Both families held so-called mourning houses on Saturday, but not actual funerals, since Israeli authorities still have their bodies. ``I didn't raise him to lose him like that,'' said Mohammed Zughayar, the 54-year-old father of Yusef Ali Mohammed Zughayar, 22. ``I'm proud, but I'm sad because I loved my son.'' The family of Suleiman Musa Dahayneh, 24, said he had been married for three months to Zughayar's sister, Basma. They met when she was visiting her brother, who was in prison with Dahayneh, the family said. At the market, some 200 observant Jews gathered Saturday night near the site of the bombing to offer prayers of thanks that no lives other than those of the assailants were lost. A ring of young men wearing skullcaps joined hands and danced, and rabbis spoke of the ``miracle'' that had saved those shopping in the market at the time of the attack. Although Hamas initially claimed responsibility through anonymous phone calls to the police for Friday's attack all sides now have agreed that it was Islamic Jihad that carried it out.",
"Blood and soot-blackened water ran in rivulets from the charred wreckage. A burly policeman bent to cover a bloodied corpse with whatever was at hand _ a sodden piece of cardboard, a plastic shopping bag. Two people were killed and at least 21 injured when an explosives-rigged car blew up Friday at Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market, only meters (yards) from the site of a suicide bombing 16 months ago. At police barricades set up along Jerusalem's busiest thoroughfare, soldiers and police held back crowds of people, some frantic about loved ones who had been shopping in the crowded market only hours before the start of the Jewish Sabbath. ``Please, please, is there a girl with red hair who is hurt?'' an older, heavyset woman said tearfully, trying to push her way past police. A young female soldier patted her arm consolingly. Some of the onlookers gave vent to fury over the new peace agreement, which was being debated by Israel's Cabinet even as the blast occurred. ``Death to Arabs! Death to Arafat!'' a small crowd of demonstrators shouted. Police tried to grab one of them, but he escaped into the crowd. The explosives-rigged car was a mass of twisted metal, with only the steering column intact. Next to the wreckage lay a completely charred body with stumps of arms and legs _ apparently that of the bomber. Witnesses said they heard a series of explosions. Although shop windows closest to the car were shattered, market stalls only a few more feet (yards) away were completely intact, and stacked with neat piles of bananas and onions. Eyewitness Yaakov Shlomo said initial, smaller blasts scared most onlookers away. ``When the big explosion went, there were already not that many people nearby,'' he said. ``That was a miracle from heaven.'' Shlomo Meir, a black-clad Orthodox Jew, was standing nearby when he heard a blast. When he tuirned he saw fire. ``It was terrible,'' he said, red-eyed. ``I thought, `Again!''' Only a block away, some stalls were still open and shoppers were buying produce. One woman, with almost maniacal determination, sorted through a pile of oranges. ``We can't stop what we're doing when this happens,'' she said grimly. By the police barricades, wearing bright-orange vests, stood a group of Orthodox Jewish volunteers who search scenes of accidents and attacks for body parts, in keeping with their religious belief that bodies must be buried intact. One young volunteer squinted down the street as his group waited for permission to begin its grisly task. ``It's hard, this work, but it's very important to us,'' he said.",
"The militant Palestinian movement Islamic Holy War said Saturday that it carried out the suicide bombing in a Jerusalem market on Friday, which prompted arrests by the Palestinian Authority overnight. Palestinian officials said they had jailed several of the small but radical group's members from the West Bank, and raided and then shut down a nursery school linked to the organization in Bethlehem, which is controlled by the Palestinians. The two bombers who carried out Friday's attack, which led the Israeli Cabinet to suspend deliberations on the land-for-security accord signed with the Palestinians last month, were identified as members of Islamic Holy War from West Bank villages under Israeli security control. Ramadan Abdallah Shallah, the Damascus-based leader of Islamic Holy War, said ``martyrs'' from his movement had carried out the Jerusalem attack in response to Israel's settlement policy and ``Judaization'' of the West Bank. He spoke in an interview with Monte Carlo Radio, an Arabic station broadcasting from Paris that is widely listened to in the Middle East. A leaflet signed by the group and faxed to Reuters in Jerusalem said the ``heroic attack,'' in which 24 people were injured and the 2 bombers killed, had been carried out ``to confront the great conspiracy that aims to liquidate the Palestinian cause through the Oslo and Wye Plantation agreements of submission.'' Islamic Holy War and its counterpart, Hamas, have denounced as a sellout of Palestinian rights the 1993 Oslo self-rule accord and the latest agreement, known as the Wye Memorandum, named for the Wye Plantation in Maryland, where the deal was worked out with strenuous American mediation. Shallah's claim of responsibility from abroad contrasted with the muted response of Islamic Holy War's leadership in the Gaza Strip, which has reportedly given commitments to the Palestinian Authority to refrain from such attacks. ``We have no knowledge in the movement about the operation that occurred in Jerusalem,'' said Nafez Azzam, a senior leader of Islamic Holy War in Gaza. ``From its conditions we consider it likely that it was an individual effort.'' The Palestinian cabinet, in a statement issued after a meeting on Friday night, accused ``foreign forces'' of standing behind the attack. One cabinet member, who declined to be identified, pointed a finger at Iran, saying a search of one bomber's home had uncovered a letter he had written to the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, expressing condolences for the recent killing of several Iranian diplomats in Afghanistan. Iran, which has backed militant Islamic groups opposed to the Arab-Israeli peace efforts, has denounced the Wye agreement, branding Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, a traitor to the Palestinian cause. The Palestinian cabinet promised to crack down on the militants, who it said were jeopardizing the recovery of Palestinian land and hopes for statehood by giving Israel a pretext to postpone carrying out the Wye accord. The Israeli Cabinet suspended a meeting to ratify the agreement after the bombing, demanding that the Palestinians conduct an ``all-out war on terror.'' Israeli officials had no comment Saturday on the measures taken by the Palestinian Authority on Friday. The Wye agreement calls for an Israeli troop withdrawal from 13 percent more of the West Bank in exchange for specific Palestinian measures against violent militants. A Palestinian security official said several Islamic Holy War members were arrested in the West Bank on Friday night. Arrests were also reported in the Gaza Strip. Itaf Alayan, a supporter of the group who runs the Islamic Purity Nursery in Bethlehem, said Palestinian officers had raided the school and confiscated videotapes and educational cassettes before locking it up. The two bombers were identified as Youssef Zughayer, 21, from Anata, near Jerusalem, and his brother-in-law, Suleiman Tahayneh, 24, from Silat al-Harithiya, near the West Bank town of Jenin. Both had served time in Israeli jails and were known to be members of Islamic Holy War. ``We never thought he would do something like this,'' said Muhammad Zughayer, Youssef's father. ``We condemn such acts, but the only thing we can do now is to say may he rest in peace.''",
"The radical group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility Saturday for the suicide bombing of a crowded Jerusalem market and promised more attacks to try to block the new peace accord. ``This heroic operation is not the first and not going to be the last,'' the group said in a leaflet faxed to news organizations. ``We refuse any political agreement that would recognize the Zionist enemy.'' The leaflet could not immediately be authenticated, but its style was consistent with that of past communications from the group. An Islamic Jihad official in the Syrian capital of Damascus confirmed that the group's leader Ramadan Abdullah Shallah claimed responsibility for Friday's bombing in an interview with the Paris-based Radio Monte Carlo. Palestinian security sources and the families of the dead bombers had already identified them as Islamic Jihad activists. At least half a dozen other Islamic activists have been rounded up since the bombing, the sources said. Although Hamas initially claimed responsibility through anonymous phone calls to the police, all sides now have agreed that it was Islamic Jihad that carried it out. There was no immediate explanation for the inaccurate claim, but the two groups have carried out attacks together in the past as part of their goal of stopping the peace process."
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House Speaker-elect Robert L. Livingston was forced to admit to his Republican colleagues his past adultery. This was forced by an investigation by Larry Flynt. When Livingston called for Clinton to quit, House Democrats yelled, "You resign"! Stunningly, he did. TV commentators were caught off guard. Livingston put pressure on Clinton to follow his example. The House moved to impeach Clinton and called on the Senate to try him. Livingston's downfall was said to show a breakdown in legislative civility. Those who want impeachment were called radicals and fanatics. Livingston's pursuit of Clinton was characterized as "rabid", showing his own hypocrisy. House Speaker-elect Robert Livingston shocked his Republican colleagues in the midst of a Clinton impeachment debate by admitting to adulterous affairs during his Congressional tenure. He later urged Clinton to follow his example and resign that increased the fury of the impeachment debate. The House moved to impeach the President for perjury and called on the Senate to try him, convict him and remove him from office. Some who believe the debate shows the fanatical, partisan, and hateful side of Republican behavior, advise the Senate only to censure Clinton and thus avoid partisan vengeance. The issue deepens a cultural fissure and a sense of uncertainty. During the Clinton impeachment debate in the House, Speaker-elect Bob Livingston declared that he would set an example for the president and resign from Congress over revelations of his marital infidelities. Republican demands that the president also resign were rejected by Democrats who also said that Livingston should not quit and that the Speaker-elect's resignation was, in the words of Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y), "a surrender to sexual McCarthyism". With the House vote to impeach, the president will face a Senate trial, but it is unlikely that 67 members will vote for conviction. The trial could be mercifully shortened, however, by a vote of censure. As impeachment proceedings in the House approached a climax, House members were stunned by an admission from House Speaker elect Livingston that he was guilty of an adulterous affair. The admission follows disclosures by Hustler published Larry Flynn, who had offered one million dollars to anyone who could provide such information on a House or Senate member. Livingston's admission was met with a standing ovation by House members, as was his subsequent resignation. In resigning, Livingston called on President Clinton to do the same. Political pundits see the whole process as driven by partisan politics.
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"Rep. Bob Livingston, who confessed to his colleagues Thursday night that he had had adulterous affairs, stunned the House chamber Saturday morning by saying in the impeachment debate on President Clinton that he would not serve as speaker and would quit Congress in six months. He urged the president to follow his example and quit, too. But at the White House, where calls for Clinton's resignation are derided as a Republican strategy, the president sent a spokesman into the driveway to urge Livingston to reconsider his resignation. Livingston stood in the well of the House he has served for two decades and called on Clinton to resign his office rather than force a trial in the Senate, drawing boos from his colleagues and cat-calls that he should quit instead. He then did just that. ``I must set the example that I hope President Clinton will follow,'' Livingston announced to a shocked and silent chamber in an act that left the Republican Party in total chaos just hours before the vote to impeach Clinton. The decision also left the party leaderless on the eve of the opening of the 106th Congress, when Republicans must govern with one of the narrowest majorities in history. Several Republicans, including Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, the majority whip, somberly welcomed the news, suggesting it relieved them of an excruciating embarrassment. In lauding Livingston's move, DeLay said, ``He understood what this debate was all about _ it's about honor and decency and integrity and the truth, everything we honor in this country.'' But Democrats said they were aghast, and many _ including Clinton _ called on Livingston to reconsider his decision. ``Mr. Livingston's resignation was wrong,'' declared Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y. ``It is a surrender to a developing sexual McCarthyism. Are we going to have a new test if someone wants to run for public office _ are you now or have you ever been an adulterer?'' He called on the country to distinguish between sins and crimes. White House press secretary Joe Lockhart said Clinton was ``disappointed'' at the news of Livingston's plans and wished that he would reconsider. Lockhart said the president ``firmly believes that the politics of personal destruction in this town and this country has to come to an end.'' He reaffirmed that Clinton would not resign, saying: ``The president is going to do what's in the best interest of the country. It would be wrong to give in to this insidious politics of personal destruction.'' Livingston's announced resignation was all the more stunning for its disclosure in a process that could result in the president's removal from office. The speaker is second in line to the presidency, after the vice president. Newt Gingrich, the outgoing speaker, who was driven from the post after Republicans lost five seats in the November election, technically remains speaker until Jan. 6, when Livingston's election was to be ratified by the new Congress. But Gingrich has removed himself from the daily operations of the House at this extraordinary session and has begun to dismantle his office. Livingston's decision",
"was said to be driven in part by the anger of a group of about a dozen conservatives in his party who were disillusioned that he had withheld news of his affairs from them. They had threatened to withhold their votes for him in the election in January that would formally make him speaker. He was also concerned about the pain caused to his family by further disclosures, some members said. They added that, not lost on many in his party, was the example he would set for the president by offering to resign his post now. DeLay, No. 3 in the House Republican leadership, is expected to fill the power vacuum at least temporarily, in deed if not in title, while the party regroups to find a new speaker. Many members quickly rallied around Rep. Dennis Hastert of Illinois. Hastert, one of DeLay's deputy whips who is well respected among his colleagues, had been promoted as a candidate for majority leader last month, but never mounted a campaign. Rep. Dick Armey of Texas only precariously held on to his majority-leader post last month and was not considered a likely candidate for speaker. He is expected to manage the reorganization, which Republican leaders have set for Jan. 4. Livingston met privately with his closest advisers Friday as the impeachment debate unfolded. Some of his colleagues believed he had made a mistake in disclosing Thursday night _ just as the House was moving into the divisive debate over impeachment _ that he had ``on occasion strayed from my marriage.'' He told Republican leaders late Thursday afternoon that Hustler magazine was going to expose his affairs early next year. Some leaders urged him to keep quiet, but his wife, Bonnie, encouraged him to tell his colleagues immediately, despite the momentous vote that was nearing on the floor. At that point Thursday night, Roll Call, a newspaper on Capitol Hill, reported on its Web site that Livingston was going to admit to the affairs and was going to offer to resign. In a closed-door meeting with his fellow Republicans, he did admit to the affairs but made no offer to step down, receiving three standing ovations instead. Thursday night, Livingston stated that he would ``not be intimidated by these efforts'' to exploit his past. But Friday he removed himself from public action and that night drew his closest advisers into his confidence. His aides said Saturday that they had no clue what was he was contemplating, and few other members were aware of his plans. Asked if he had any advance word, Rep. J.C. Watts of Oklahoma, a newly elected member of the Republican leadership, said: ``I had no idea.'' Asked if there had been internal party pressure on Livingston to resign, Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky., said: ``I didn't know about it if there was,'' but added, ``There were some members who were critical of it.'' As the leaders tried Saturday to hold the party together on and off the House floor, most Republicans stuck to their prepared scripts on the floor in favor of",
"impeaching the president. But some began expressing their anguish. Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., who admitted to his own adulterous affair earlier this year, said after Livingston's resignation: ``Those of us who are sinners must feel wretched today. Something is going on repeatedly that has to be stopped, and that is a confusion between private acts of infidelity and public acts.'' To much applause, Hyde declared: ``Congress has no business intruding into private acts.'' Republicans, indeed Livingston himself, had made this same distinction between Clinton's sexual indiscretions and Livingston's, saying that Clinton lied about his private acts and therefore abused the legal system and his powers. As Livingston said in his statement Thursday: ``These indiscretions were not with employees on my staff and I have never been asked to testify under oath about them.'' Democrats hoped that Livingston's seemingly drastic action would wake up the House to how poisoned the atmosphere had become and might prompt Republicans to reconsider the impeachment of Clinton. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., said, ``We are now starting to offer up sacrificial lambs to whatever terrible disease this is.'' In a stirring speech applauded even by some Republicans, Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, the Democratic leader, praised Livingston as a ``worthy, good and honorable man'' and said his resignation was a grave mistake. ``It's a terrible capitulation to the negative political forces that are consuming our political system and our country,'' Gephardt said, adding that the events of the last few days showed ``life imitates farce.'' ``We need to stop destroying imperfect people at an unattainable altar of public morality,'' he said, urging his colleagues to ``step back from the abyss'' and reject resignation, impeachment and ``vicious self-righteousness.''",
"The New York Times said in an editorial for Sunday, Dec. 20: The Republicans' drive for a partisan impeachment based soley on party-line voting power rather than any sense of proportion produced an unexpected sideshow in the resignation of Rep. Bob Livingston from his role as future speaker of the House. Analysts on both sides of the struggle over President Clinton's future will point to Livingston's downfall as evidence of a generalized breakdown in legislative civility on Capitol Hill. Democrats will see a moral symmetry, depicting Livingston as a victim of the sexual puritanism he was wielding against Clinton. But the one thing that no one should fall for is Livingston's invitation to use his resignation as a model for resolving the crisis at the White House. Livingston's statement rocked Congress, but it should not shake the foundations of the somber constitutional process now underway. By lying under oath, Clinton made it necessary for the House to consider impeachment. The evidence convinced most Americans that the president should be censured, but not removed from office. Livingston allowed GOP partisans to block censure in the House. The result is that after Saturday's expected impeachment vote, after Livingston's unexpected announcement, the mission of the Senate remains the same. It must resist those Republicans who want to short-circuit the constitutional process with demands for resignation, and it must use the upcoming Senate trial as a forum for finding a censure commensurate with the president's personal dishonesty and offenses against the law. These require stern punishment but not removal from office. In undertaking this work, the Senate must also reassure the American people that a decisive wisdom at the core of our messy-looking political system has not melted down. In such distempered times, this is a shining opportunity for the Senate. Its members pride themselves on being the Republic's fire wall against presidential excess and the popular or partisan passions that sometimes seize the House of Representatives. No one can predict whether Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott will rise to the defining challenge of his career or whether he will surrender to the mean streak he acquired during 16 grumpy years as a minority member of the House. We would like to see Lott reach for a starring role in history. Lott's growling response to questions about censure is not encouraging. He may be right that the Constitution requires him to convene a trial, but nothing in that document prevents him from speedily guiding the Senate toward censure negotiations. Indeed, a simple majority vote _ 45 Democrats plus 6 cooperating Republicans _ can end the Senate trial at any time, clearing the way for introduction of the kind of censure resolution suggested by former Sen. Bob Dole. In an intriguing report on NBC, Tim Russert described discussions among a bipartisan group of senators about a censure that would involve some form of presidential confession, a fine and a joint congressional request that Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr not prosecute Clinton in the courts. If Lott refuses to allow a bipartisan search for censure, the burden will fall upon respected members like Joseph Lieberman on the Democratic side and Orrin Hatch for the Republicans. Through cooperation, they can guide the Senate toward a punishment that fixes Clinton in history as a president who lied under oath, but avoids the taint of partisan vengeance associated with the House impeachment vote. The Senate's historic reputation for prudence requires it to find appropriate punishment for a personally weak president who has damaged the rule of law, but not threatened the stability of the government.",
"``We are here to debate impeachment and should not be distracted from that,'' the minority whip, Rep. David Bonior, Democrat of Michigan, said during Saturday's House debate, in what leaped out as an impossible goal. It would have taken a kaleidoscopic television screen to capture the constantly shifting images competing for center stage: impeachment, Iraq, the resignation of Rep. Robert Livingston, the response from the White House. The months leading up to the impeachment of President Clinton had become a series of televised anticlimaxes, but the hours before the vote made up for that lack of drama. There were hardly enough shorthand terms or split screens to cover the activity. All the networks and cable channels carried the moment that unexpectedly set the tone, as Livingston, a Louisiana Republican, announced during the debate that he would not become House speaker. The commentators had been set to carry the congressional ratification of the inevitable vote, but suddenly the most plugged-in reporters were caught off guard. As Tim Russert said to Tom Brokaw on NBC, ``Tom, knock us all over.'' In the echo chamber that television news so often becomes, the shared mantra had been weightier in early morning. ``For only the second time in American history'' a president would be impeached, went the standard line. Yet despite all the pundits speculating and politicians telegraphing every move, no one had hinted at the Livingston resignation. The announcement was, as Brokaw put it, at least partly ``a political ploy,'' and the repercussions were immediate. Reporters began gathering word from Capitol Hill about candidates for the speaker's job, and the conversation moved to the next stage of the political tug of war. The Republicans used Livingston's resignation to say that the president should resign, too; the Democrats immediately countered with the idea that the president would stay and that Livingston should as well. That led to one of the less-expected split screens of the day, and it was not a bad choice. While Congress was debating, CNN showed anti-aircraft fire in Baghdad in one box. In the other, Joe Lockhart, Clinton's press secretary, stood in the White House driveway telling reporters that the president would like Livingston to reconsider his decision. There was more stateliness in the House than television usually offers, and one reason was purely visual. ``Keep in mind that we do not control the picture,'' Dan Rather said on CBS, explaining that the television cameras in Congress are provided by the House, not the individual networks. There was no way to roam and zoom in for reaction shots, as at a political convention. But the sense of history and decorum didn't last long at CBS. At noon, before the vote, CBS went to a football game, becoming the only network to leave the news coverage. CBS' corporate decision to try to have it both ways meant that Rather would break in with updates from Washington. ``I'll see you very soon,'' he said as he signed off the complete coverage, looking like a trouper. But he was in a position no news anchor should have been in on this day. He later announced impeachment votes on a split screen with the football game in progress in the upper part of the screen. On the other networks and cable channels, the vote itself literally happened in the background. As TV screens toted up the numbers of the electronically-cast vote, members of Congress milled around and chatted on the floor. Even the brief Democratic walkout after a motion to consider censure was defeated was thoroughly forecast. As the Democrats straggled down the steps of Congress, it looked curiously undramatic on television, though it probably made a better still photograph once they were all in place. And while the votes were in progress, the jockeying for the speaker's job heated up. ``We already have a presumptive leader,'' Gwen Ifill of NBC News said in midafternoon, naming Rep. Dennis Hassert, R-Ill., who had also been cited by the other networks as a likely candidate. If the political and military action had not intruded, it might have been more obvious that the debate on the House floor sent a message about vast divisions in politics and morality, signaling how deep a cultural fissure this crisis has opened. The impeachment, said Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, was ``a debate about relativism vs. absolute truth.'' Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., contended that Congress had lost the ``distinction between sins and crimes,'' and argued against the ``sexual McCarthyism'' that has become prominent. And against the backdrop of the revelations of adultery that led to Livingston's resignation, Rep. Dick Gephardt, the minority leader, declared ``the politics of personal destruction has to end.'' But as all the jabbering and political posturing continued, as reporters raced to cover the president's statement about the impeachment and the latest briefings from the Pentagon, there was little time to focus on the profound cultural message beneath those rhetorical flourishes.",
"Bob Livingston, the incoming speaker of the House, took no public role Friday as the debate unfolded on whether to impeach President Clinton. His previous 24 hours had been his most visible in the month since his party nominated him as speaker and perhaps the most excruciating in his public career: He spent most of the day in a chaotic procedural wrangle over the terms of Friday's debate; he ended it by telling his Republican colleagues that he had had extramarital affairs during his 20-year tenure in Congress. His disclosure followed an investigation by Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler, the sex magazine, who said Friday at a news conference in Beverly Hills, Calif., that his publication had learned that Livingston had had adulterous affairs during the last 10 years. Flynt said earlier this year that he wanted to expose the ``hypocrisy'' of those in Washington who are investigating Clinton and in October offered $1 million to anyone who could prove they had had affairs with members of Congress. He said Friday that this larger investigation, to be published perhaps as soon as January, would reveal what he described as indiscretions of several other Republicans. He said he had no connection with the White House but that he had hired an investigative firm based in Washington and made up of former employees of the FBI and the CIA. He would not confirm whether the firm is Terry Lenzner's Investigative Group Inc., which has done work for the president's private lawyers. Livingston was unavailable to reporters Friday. He spent some time Friday morning sprawled in a chair in the back of the House chamber, listening to the debate over whether to impeach Clinton for lying about his own sexual indiscretions. Several colleagues knelt at Livingston's knee, whispered to him and patted him on the back. He spent most of the day in a private office off the chamber, avoiding the gauntlet of reporters who lay in wait for him between the House and his regular office across the street. The only word out of his aides was that the Navy had awarded contracts worth millions of dollars for ships to be built in his Louisiana district at the Avondale Shipyards. During Friday's debate, a handful of Democrats made only oblique allusions to human failures. For example, Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., said: ``Let he that has no sin cast the first stone. Who, who among us has not sinned?'' But no one said that Livingston's disclosure or the mild Democratic attempts to exploit it would influence their votes on impeachment. Rather, on the House floor and in hallway chitchat, Livingston's conduct seemed to be the last thing that either Republicans or Democrats wanted to talk about. ``Bob Livingston is a first-rate human being,'' said Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., who has worked closely and sparred with Livingston on the Appropriations Committee, in an interview. ``I will repeat what the nuns taught me at St. James a long time ago: We would all be a hell of a lot better off looking after our own souls rather than trying to evaluate somebody else's. None of us have any business even having an opinion on it.'' Even conservative Republicans seemed ready to overlook the disclosure. ``We're not going to say, `Bob, you can't be speaker because you violated your vows with your wife,''' said Rep. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Like many, including Livingston, Graham distinguished Livingston's conduct from Clinton's by saying that the president had ``trampled'' on the legal system whereas Livingston's behavior was strictly private. Despite Flynt's claims, many Republicans blamed the Clinton administration for smearing Livingston, although they offered no evidence. ``This isn't just happening on its own,'' said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R- Calif.",
"House Speaker-elect Robert L. Livingston presented a fresh note of shock to the impeachment debate against President Clinton on Thursday night as the Republican leader was forced to admit to his Republican colleagues that he had carried on adulterous affairs in his past. ``It has suddenly come to my attention that there are individuals working together with the media who are investigating my personal background in an effort to find indiscretions which may be exploitable against me and my party on the eve of the upcoming historic vote on impeachment,'' Livingston declared in a statement after appearing before a shocked House Republican conference to head off the disclosure as it surfaced in news reports. After hearing his admissions in a closed session, Livingston's colleagues gave him a standing ovation of support and said the question of his resigning had never arisen. ``My fate is in your hands,'' Livingston told the Republicans, according to lawmakers who were present. The debate over the president's fate would go forward, Republicans later insisted, drawing distinctions between the speaker-elect's revelations and the sex-and-mendacity scandal that has put Clinton on the brink of impeachment. The president is charged in an impeachment resolution with perjury and abuse of power in his attempt to hide sexual indiscretions. Democrats offered no immediate comment, but Republicans were braced to hear Livingston's admissions alluded to in the debate Friday by Democrats who have decried the investigation of the president as basically a partisan and unfair rummaging through his sex life. Livingston, saying he had sought spiritual counseling and had received the forgiveness of his family, noted he had several times told reporters during his campaign to become speaker that ``I was running for speaker, not sainthood.'' He added, ``There was a reason for those words.'' ``During my 33-year marriage to my wife, Bonnie, I have on occasion strayed from my marriage, and doing so nearly cost me my marriage and family,'' Livingston said in his brief prepared statement. But he attempted to draw a contrast with the allegations against the president, asserting: ``I want to assure everyone that these indiscretions were not with employees on my staff and I have never been asked to testify under oath about them.'' The disclosure of the speaker-elect's marital infidelities, disclosed in ``Rollcall,'' a Capitol Hill newspaper, sent a new jolt of uncertainty among lawmakers as they prepared for the momentous debate over the president's admitted misbehavior in office and whether he should be impeached and tried by the Senate. Rep. Henry Hyde, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee who is to bring the impeachment charges against the president, previously was cited by a magazine for an extra-marital affair in his past. Then, as on Thursday night, Republicans voiced suspicions that Democratic defenders of the president instigated media investigations in an effort to embarrass the Clinton's principal accusers. But no proof was offered as Republicans left their conference, facing the uncertainties of a debate that already promised to be bare-knuckled in its partisanship. Livingston left the conference surrounded by Capitol police, not taking questions from waiting reporters. His chief leadership aides immediately rallied in support. ``Some who would rather not struggle with this constitutional question continue to try to twist the debate into an unseemly investigation of private lives,'' said Rep. Dick Armey, the Republican majority leader. In its report on the internet Thursday night, Rollcall did not disclose its source but made an oblique reference to Hustler, the sex magazine. Larry Flint, publisher of Hustler, earlier this year advertised an offer of a $1 million bounty for information about e of members of Congress guilty of sexual indiscretions. ``It breaks your heart because we're all subject to human frailties,'' said Asa Hutchinson, R-Ark., as he left the conference. ``This is not a comfortable circumstance for anyone,'' he added, insisting the president and the speaker-elect presented two separate issues. ``We've got a duty to do under the Constitution.''",
"In the end, the will of the people meant nothing. Bob Livingston couldn't have been clearer about that. His mind and the minds of his followers were closed. Even as the bombing continued in Iraq and Americans from coast to coast were clamoring for an alternative to impeachment, even as his own adulterous past was being flushed out in the grotesque invasions of privacy that inevitably followed the relentlessly prurient pursuit of the president, even as the country began to contemplate the destructive effects of a lengthy and bitter Senate trial, the speaker-designate arrogantly and stupidly proclaimed: ``Let us disregard the outside influences.'' The radicals on the Hill would hear nothing but the echoes of their own fanaticism. Impeach! Impeach! And that continued even after the stunning announcement Saturday morning that Livingston would quit the House. Dismayed by the partisan stampede, Dick Gephardt, the Democratic leader, warned during the impeachment debate on Friday: ``In your effort to uphold the Constitution, you are trampling the Constitution.'' David Bonior, the Democratic whip, said: ``This is wrong. It is unfair. It is unjust. At a time when events in the world and the challenges at home demand that we stand united, censure is the one solution that can bring us together. To my colleagues across the aisle, I say let go of your obsession. Listen to the American people.'' But the voices of reason would not be heard. Livingston and his right-wing colleagues, the Tom DeLays, the Henry Hydes, the Bob Barrs, were on a mission of destruction and would not be denied. Ordinary Americans could cry out all they wanted. They could protest and demonstrate, send faxes and E-mails. It didn't matter. The right was on the march and democracy was on the run. Rep. Thomas Barrett, a Democrat from Wisconsin, tried to remind his Republican colleagues that the Constitution ``does not allow you to remove a president from office because you can't stand him.'' He was, of course, ignored. The Republicans will pay a huge price for their brazen, utterly partisan attempt to drag a president from the White House in defiance of the will of the people. The party's contempt for the voters was arrogantly but quite adequately summed up by Alan Simpson, the former senator from Wyoming, who said: ``The attention span of Americans is which movie is coming out next month and whether the quarterly report on their stock will change.'' If the voters are the dopes that Mr. Simpson thinks they are, then come 2000 everyone will have forgotten there was an impeachment crisis. But Rep. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., was probably closer to the truth when he said, ``I warn my colleagues that you will reap the bitter harvest of the unfair partisan seeds you sow today.'' One of the many strange events of the past couple of weeks was the way in which virtually all of the previously undecided Republicans, the so-called moderates, surrendered their independence and lined up like lackeys to follow the right wing's lead. All proclaimed loudly that they were voting on principle, but in fact it was an exercise in mass cowardice, exemplified by Rep. John McHugh of upstate New York. McHugh announced on Tuesday that he would vote for impeachment. But if his decision was based on principle, he had an odd way of expressing it. The Washington Post said McHugh appeared to have no stomach for a Senate conviction or removal of the president from office. Of his colleagues in the Senate, McHugh said, ``I, for one, would accept, even welcome, their mercy.'' In other words, let the Senate do the heavy constitutional lifting. McHugh may have wished out loud for mercy, but he clearly was too frightened of the right-wingers in the House to cast a compassionate vote himself. The GOP can no longer conceal that it is a party of extremists, of right-wing absolutists, a party out of step with the political and cultural orientation of most Americans. Bob Livingston may be leaving, but his arrogant comment can still serve as his party's slogan. ``Let us disregard the outside influences.'' Let us disregard the people.",
"Rejecting a last-minute Democratic attempt to soften its action to censure, the House of Representatives moved to impeach President William Jefferson Clinton for perjury on Saturday and to call on the Senate to try him, convict him and remove him from office. But even before the vote, Republicans pressed another line of attack, demanding Clinton's resignation. Rep. Robert Livingston, nominated for speaker last month by his party, startled the House when he announced he would not run for speaker and would resign from the House after 21 years of service. He urged the president to ``heal the wounds that you have created. You, sir, may resign your post.'' Angry Democrats booed and shouted, ``You resign!'' Livingston continued, ``I can only challenge you in such fashion if I am willing to heed my own words.'' Apologizing again for extramarital affairs revealed two days ago, he said, ``I believe I had it in me to do a fine job. But I cannot do that job or be the kind of leader that I would like to be under current circumstances.'' Then he bolted from the House chamber, nearly knocking reporters and members down. (The House voted 228-206 to approve the first article of impeachment, accusing Clinton of committing perjury before a federal grand jury. The vote was announced at 1:24 p.m. EST, leaving the 42nd president to face trial in the Senate on whether he should be removed from office.) Clinton rejected the advice immediately. His spokesman, Joe Lockhart, said, ``The president has no intention of resigning.'' By calling on Livingston to reconsider, the president argued more broadly against resignation under fire. Perhaps speaking to both cases, Lockhart said, ``It would be wrong to give in to this insidious politics of personal destruction.'' Unless Clinton changes course, this would be only the second impeachment of a president in the 209-year history of the Republic, and the first since Andrew Johnson was acquitted in 1868. Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, the majority leader, has insisted that no bargaining over censure can prevent it from starting. But the Senate could halt a trial later as part of a deal. Considering the degree of partisanship displayed Saturday, assembling the two-thirds majority required under the Constitution for conviction is most unlikely. Sixty-seven votes would be required, and there are only 55 Republicans in the Senate, along with 45 Democrats. Four articles of impeachment before the House charged Clinton with perjury in lying about his affair with Monica Lewinsky to a federal grand jury here on Aug. 17. He was also charged with perjury in the Paula Jones sexual harassment suit, obstruction of justice and abuse of power. The Republican argument, over and over, was that Clinton had lied in denying having sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky. Rep. Dick Armey of Texas, the majority leader, said, ``A nation of laws cannot be ruled by a person who breaks the law.'' Rep. Nancy Johnson of Connecticut said: ``There can be no justice without the truth. That is just profoundly so, and that is why perjury matters.'' Rep. Gerald Kleczka of",
"Wisconsin began the Democrats' arguments by saying, ``What the president did was wrong, both personally and morally, but his acts did not threaten our democracy and thus do not rise to the level of impeachable offenses as defined by our founding fathers in our Constitution.'' Rep. Charles Schumer, New York's senator-elect, said: ``The rule of law requires that the punishment fit the crime. Allow us to vote for censure.'' Saturday's votes were the penultimate step in the most serious conflict between Congress and a president since Richard M. Nixon resigned in the face of impeachment and certain conviction on Aug. 9, 1974. But while that case spun out from a 1972 break-in at Democratic headquarters in the Watergate complex, this one began with a murky land deal in Arkansas in 1978. Through the efforts of Kenneth Starr, the independent counsel under the law enacted in the wake of Watergate, the investigation spread to examine Clinton's affair with a White House intern. All year it has preoccupied the capital despite an immense disconnect with public opinion; since the scandal became public in January, polls have shown that the public opposed impeachment and wanted the inquiry brought to an end. Even on Friday night, after a 13-hour debate, a CBS News Poll of 548 people showed that only 38 percent wanted their representative to vote for impeachment; 58 percent wanted a no vote. The conflict now enters uncharted seas, since the Nixon resignation cut the matter short and the Johnson trial occurred in a different America, with no nuclear weapons or cable television or public opinion polls. But the capital was still rife with confident speculation. Some guessed, or hoped, that the results of the recent poll, which showed increases in support for resignation as a way to spare the nation a trial in which Ms. Lewinsky and Linda Tripp would be star witnesses, would weaken Clinton's resolve. Others thought the Republicans, seeing dismal numbers in polls about their party's standing in the United States, would be the first to blink. With a majority in the Senate, they have the power to end a trial at any time after the Senate receives notice of impeachment on the day it convenes, Jan. 6, or the next day. But while Clinton has focused on the polls, and the CBS News survey showed that 64 percent still approve of his handling of his job as president, resignation could almost immediately subject him to criminal prosecution. And Republicans have steadfastly ignored the polls all year, and confronted them directly on Saturday. Representative J.C. Watts of Oklahoma, newly elected as chairman of the Republican caucus, said: ``What's popular isn't always right. You say polls are against this. Polls measure changing feelings, not steadfast principle. Polls would have rejected the Ten Commandments. Polls would have embraced slavery and ridiculed women's rights. ``You say we must draw this to a close. I say we must draw a line between right and wrong, not with a tiny fine line of an executive fountain pen, but with the big fat lead of a",
"No. 2 pencil. And we must do it so every kid in America can see it. The point is not whether the president can prevail, but whether truth can prevail.'' Last weekend, when the Judiciary Committee recommended the four articles of impeachment, Clinton's side still hoped to prevail with the help of 20 to 30 Republican moderates who were uncommitted. As the week wore on, almost all of them broke against the president. One who did not, Rep. Christopher Shays of Connecticut, said Saturday: ``After Judge Starr's report to Congress in September, and his presentation to the Judiciary Committee in November, I concluded that impeachable offenses were not proven, and that the proven offenses were not impeachable. ``But the president's continued failure to come to grips with his actions, the sincerity and arguments of members of the Judiciary Committee from both sides of the aisle, the change of heart and conviction by members on my side of the aisle who originally opposed impeachment and who now support it, and the strong and powerful opinion of so many of my constituents who oppose my position and who wanted the president impeached caused me to rethink my position.'' He added: ``Yesterday morning, before I visited with the president, I concluded that my original position was the correct one, for me. I believe that the impeachable offenses have not been proven, and that the proven offenses are not impeachable.'' But Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, who has led the Republican effort to force Clinton from office, dismissed his and other arguments as moral relativism. He began by praising Livingston: ``There is no greater American in my mind, at least today, than Bob Livingston, because he understood what this debate was all about. It was about honor and decency and integrity and the truth; everything that we honor in this country. It was also a debate about relativism vs. absolute truth.'' He continued, ``The president's defenders have said that the president is morally reprehensible, that he is reckless, that he has violated the trust of the American people, lessened their esteem for the office of president and dishonored the office which they have entrusted him, and that _ but that doesn't rise to the level of impeachment.'' Rep. Jose Serrano of New York said, ``My constituents don't hate Bill Clinton; they love him and they're praying for him right at this very moment. You may have the votes today to impeach him, but you don't have the American people. And let me tell you something, I grew up in the public housing projects of the South Bronx. I can see a bunch of bullies when I see them. The bullies get theirs, and you're going to get yours, too. Rep. Henry Hyde of Illinois, the Judiciary Committee chairman who brought the charges to the House floor, said the Congress and the American people needed to distinguish between private acts of infidelity and public acts by public officials. In Clinton's case, he said, the House was dealing with ``a serial violator of the oath who is the",
"chief law-enforcement officer.'' He said that the Senate could be ``innovative and creative'' in deciding how best to punish Clinton, but that the House was bound by the Constitution to move ahead with articles of impeachment. ``Justice is so important to the most humble among us,'' Hyde said. ``Equal justice under the law _ that's what we're fighting for.'' Democrats, reading from the same Constitution, voiced diametrically opposite conclusions, and attacked the fairness of the proceedings that culminated Saturday. ``We're losing track of distinction between sins and crimes,'' said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y. ``We're lowering the standards of impeachment. What the president has done is not a great and dangerous offense to the republic.'' Democrats also criticized Republicans for impeaching Clinton at the very moment that U.S. troops waged war against Iraq. ``Six days before Christmas our troops are in battle, and a lame-duck Congress is rushing to overthrow the commander in chief,'' said Rep. David Bonior of Michigan, the second-ranking House Democrat. The ghosts of Watergate hung over the House chamber. One Republican cited the parallels between the charges the House Judiciary Committee brought against Nixon 25 years ago, and the counts that the same committee brought to the House floor for affirmation on Saturday. ``Nixon cheated. He cheated the electoral system,'' said Rep. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican on the Judiciary Committee. And now, Graham said, the full House is voting to impeach Clinton ``because we believe he committed crimes that result in cheating our judicial system.'' But most of the day's debate was firmly rooted in Clinton's effort to conceal his sexual affair with Monica Lewinsky. Rep. Bob Barr, a Georgia Republican on the Judiciary Committee who is one of Clinton's fiercest critics, held up copies of the U.S. Criminal Code, the Judiciary Committee's report on the impeachment inquiry and, finally, the Constitution, in defending his decision to impeach the president. ``Today, we rely on the three pillars of our society: the law itself, evidence and the Constitution,'' said Barr. ``There is no joy in upholding the law,'' Watts said. ``If we cannot see lawlessness, our children cannot recognize it. How can we tell our children honesty is the best policy when we don't demand it as a policy?'' But Democrats assailed the very premise on which the Republican majority built its impeachment case against Clinton. Rep. John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, assailed the four articles of impeachment, count by count, as unfounded by evidence and failing to rise to impeachment. He saved his most savage scorn for the final count, abuse of power. ``The majority has simply tried to dress up the perjury counts in the Watergate abuse-of-power language,'' Conyers said.",
"The raw passions were such that the House Democrats did not to hesitate to bellow ``You resign! You resign!'' at Speaker-elect Robert Livingston when he called from the House floor for President Clinton to quit the White House in the face of certain impeachment. Shockingly, stunningly, Livingston did just that. He quit in one breathtaking utterance, as if flicking a trump card onto the heap of impeachment angst festering before his eyes in the debating chamber. In his one and only strategem in leading his fellow House Republicans, Livingston's decision struck Congress like a verbal bomb. Stunned Democrats saw their fury vaporized upon the instant. They had to stand, almost staggering to their feet, to join the Republicans in a prolonged, emotional ovation for Livingston and his undeniable self-sacrifice. As they stood, the Democrats sensed Livingston had most suddenly closed a trap on the president and his defenders. For, with the impeachment issue set to move to the Senate, Livingston, whose own marital indiscretions were now before the public to his obvious misery, chose to show how the question of a political leader's resignation was very much in play in this tumult-tossed city. ``I must set the example that I hope President Clinton will follow,'' Livingston declared, flabbergasting all attending the impeachment debate and the nation watching beyond. Livingston walked off the floor like the sheriff in some bullet-pocked political ``High Noon,'' discarding the leadership badge he had wrested from the earlier speaker-casualty, Newt Gingrich. In the corridor just beyond, a doorman shouted to a police officer: ``Livingston just resigned!'' ``What? What?'' came the reply from the officer, who obviously thought the momentous announcement would be about Clinton's impeachment, not Livingston's political self-immolation. Just so, the Democrats, already deep into bone-raw exhaustion after their long fight to save the president, grasped for bearings. ``It is a surrender to a developing sexual McCarthyism!'' declared Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., a leading presidential defender trying to rally Democrats around the argument that Livingston should not resign any more than President Clinton should quit under fire. But the Republicans were surging to the fore on the strength of Livingston's announcement, fighting tears as they rose to salute him as the ultimate political role model in the grueling impeachment process as it roared into the final minutes of debate. ``For some it is no longer good enough to make a mistake, to confirm that mistake and take the consequences of that mistake,'' said Tom DeLay, the Republican whip, his hands shaking, his eyes tearing as he addressed the House and sought to drive the example of Livingston all the way down Pennsylvania Avenue. ``He understood what this debate was all about _ honor, duty, integrity and the truth,'' said DeLay arguing that in one swift blow, Livingston had demonstrated himself to have been a far better speaker than Clinton has been a president. With something of the political elan the president showed in initiating the Iraq attack as his own impeachment loomed, House Republicans, battered in public opinion polls, had found a rocket's red glare of their own. ``I have hurt you all deeply and beg your forgiveness,'' Livingston told the House, the nation and his family as he announced retreat. Only moments before, Democrats openly hissed the man as Livingston firmly read his own judgment upon the president: ``Sir, you have done great damage to this nation over the past year.'' Presidential resignation was in order, he continued, and then came the shouts of ``You resign! You resign!'' And as Livingston closed the circle on his career, he stunned the place into a collective breath of disbelief and somehow almost threatened to reduce the dark historic issue before the House _ the impeachment of the president _ into a matter of anticlimax. ``They must not succeed,'' David Bonior, the Democratic whip said of the Republicans as he was given the task of refocusing the day on the misdeeds of the president, not the departure of the speaker. ``We are here to debate impeachment and should not be distracted from that,'' he declared. ``The only way we can stop this vicious cycle,'' Bonior cried out from the floor, ``is if we refuse to give into it, whether it is Bill Clinton or Bob Livingston.'' But the House was still reeling through the frenzied day as the fateful vote on the presidency approached and the notion of resignation licked about the capital city like a flame in a forest.",
"It has gotten to the point where drastic action may be necessary. You know those movies about Ebola virus outbreaks, where the guys in sterile suits come in, seal off the area and completely irradiate it? They may have to do that to Washington. Just eradicate us and start from scratch. In a few, short days we have managed to make the terms ``surreal,'' ``bizarre,'' ``split-screen America,'' ``shocking,'' ``runaway train'' and ``politics of personal destruction'' useless cliches. We no longer govern here. We just roll around in the gutter wondering who's next in this sexual auto-de-fe. On Saturday morning, we had the surreal, shocking, bizarre, split-screen image of Bob Livingston, the speaker-elect, stepping down after his marital infidelities were revealed. ``We are all pawns on the chessboard,'' Livingston said, before asking the president to resign and then resigning himself. Livingston's rabid pursuit of the president, even as he hoped to hide his own dirty laundry, made him an avatar of hypocrisy in a capital rotting with hypocrisy. On Thursday night, when Livingston first confessed his sins to Republicans in hopes of keeping his hold on his post, his colleagues gave him a standing ovation. And after he made his surprise announcement Saturday, the Republicans gave him another ovation and stepped up to deliver encomiums to their lost speaker. ``One's self-esteem gets utterly crushed at times like this,'' sighed Henry Hyde, another tormenter of the president who also had to admit that he had succumbed to temptation. Tom DeLay, the jagged-edge exterminator who may next-up in the speaker roundelay, was choked up, praising the greatness of Livingston for understanding that this was ``a debate about relativism versus absolute truth.'' What could be more relative than a Republican who has hidden a lot of affairs trying to impeach a president for lying about his? Spurred by Larry Flynt's bounty for sinnuendo, the city was braced for more craziness. The Ship of Fools reached cruising speed on Friday evening, when we had the frightening scene of Republicans so crazed with hatred of the president that they were railroading through an impeachment even though the United States was at war with Iraq, even though the House chamber was mostly empty, even though Republicans were huddled in a glass house on the issue of sex and lies, and even though the White House was still pitching a tent and planning sleigh rides for a Winter Wonderland press party on Monday. (The White House was keeping the journalists quarantined outside this year, but encouraged them to bring their kids. To soak up some of that cozy family atmosphere, no doubt. Why are the Republicans so obsessed, when everyone in his right mind agrees that impeachment is an outlandishly over-the-top punishment for Clinton and a self-destructive course for the country? Because they genuinely hate the president. They think he's a dishonest, immoral, issue-stealing, selfish child of the '60s. They don't think they're going to pay a political price for this, and if they do, they don't care. It might be a great time to see a lot of combovers, but it's not a great time to see a lot of stature. The House debate was not history. It was just a more hideous version of ``The McLaughlin Group.'' While Republicans tried to draw the distinction that Clinton had perjured himself, they ignored that the president had been lured by the Starr-Jones attorney team into testifying on Monica Lewinsky. Ordinarily one would feel sorry for Livingston. But the Republicans have brought this sexual doomsday machine on themselves by focusing so single-mindedly on Clinton's sex life. The Republicans were so determined to do their high-tech lynching that they engaged in wacky role reversals. Many Republican hawks argued that Bill Clinton should not be bombing Saddam, claiming the timing was suspicious, even though they had hammered him for not bombing five weeks ago. In an incredibly unseemly display, Trent Lott, the majority leader, and former Bush national security adviser Brent Scowcroft and Bush Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger chimed in on the attack. There's too much hate here. And I hate it.",
"The only thing certain now is uncertainty. The smart money shouts that President Clinton will never resign, and he concurs. The smart money argues that the Senate could not muster the 67 votes that would be needed to remove the wounded president from office, which would require the defection of 12 Democrats if all the Republicans stand against him. The smart money insists that someone will cut a deal to end all this. Maybe so. But the smarter money whispers, ``Remember.'' Remember that everyone in Washington, including Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said the House would never, ever, treat impeachment as a partisan issue. Wrong. Remember that all the pundits predicted Democratic losses in the midterm elections, and when the opposite happened, they said impeachment was dead. Twice wrong. And remember that in the New Year the nation may travel down a road it has never traveled before. One other president, Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, has been tried by the Senate, of course. But that happened in a different country _one with only 37 states, with primitive communications, with a simple economy based largely on agriculture, with only minimal commitments abroad. In the toxic politics of century's end in Washington, the inconceivable has become the commonplace. The wholly unanticipated announcement Saturday morning by Rep. Robert Livingston, R-La., that he would not serve as speaker and would resign from Congress, following his equally unanticipated disclosure on Thursday night of several extramarital affairs, only deepened the capital's profound sense of insecurity. The deadly sweep of the scythe of neo-puritanism appears unstoppable, at least for the moment, and Livingston's forthcoming resignation will increase the pressure on the president to do likewise. ``You've set before us an example,'' the leader of House Republican majority, Rep. Dick Armey of Texas, told Livingston Saturday. ``The example is that principle comes before power.'' The Democrats made the opposite point, arguing that the Livingston case showed how very wrong it was to savage people for personal pecaddillos. One transcendently important thing remains the same: Although surrounded by judicial trappings and presided over by the chief justice, trials of presidents are political processes, with power residing in the hands of elective politicians. In addition to narrow legal issues of guilt or innocence, they can weigh considerations of party, the nation's future, their own individual political well-being and almost anything else they care to weigh in reaching a verdict. The longer they took, the more numerous the call for resignation would probably be. Even before Saturday's epochal roll-calls, four of ten Americans interviewed in the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll said they thought the president should step down if he were to be indicted, despite the fact that a large majority voiced disapproval of the impeachment proceedings. What lies behind that seeming contradiction, of course, is the fear that Clinton, and the country with him, would be incapacitated. No one took Andrew Johnson very seriously after he escaped conviction by a single vote. But Clinton, a man of powerful will whose whole life has been a series",
"of comebacks, has already embarked on an effort to show that he can do the nation's business. Richard Nixon clawed his way back to respectability after leaving the White House when no one thought he could; Clinton intends to re-establish his authority while still in office. He has one great advantage: Two-thirds of the American public continues to voice its approval of his political stewardship, whatever it thinks of him as a man. The president will press hard, despite his much-reduced leverage, for a deal on censure. Indeed, in as fine a piece of political irony as one could ask for, he has already sought to enlist former Sen. Bob Dole, the Republican he defeated in 1996, as an emissary to the Senate majority. The numbers are not unpromising: with the help of six Republicans, the 45 Democrats could end the trial at any time and pass a censure resolution that the House would surely take up. There are enough Republican moderates and sometime party-buckers to make that a plausible target. But the Republican leader in the Senate, Trent Lott of Mississippi, who has made his unwillingness to take the president's word plainly evident in recent days, is determined to fight such a trial-aborting arrangement. It is clear that Clinton's reputation has been stained forever, no matter what the Senate does. The spot will not out. History will remember this man who so coveted a glowing legacy not as an impresario of economic growth, not as the Moses who pointed the way to the 21st century, but as the second president ever to be impeached, if not as the first to be ousted. That harsh word, ``impeachment,'' will cling to his name as surely as ``Teapot Dome'' clings to Harding's and ``Depression'' to Hoover's. But he is not alone in having suffered grievous injury in the political avalanche that was shaken loose by the disclosure of Clinton's sexual relationship with a former White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. The Republicans' public support has shriveled to 40 percent in the new Times/CBS News poll, its lowest level in 14 years, and it could go lower once the fact of impeachment sinks in. Journalists are seen by many as jackals, indifferent to whatever personal suffering or national angst they may cause as long as they get the story, and none too concerned about accuracy. In fact, the whole political culture of the 1990s, with its criminalization of political conduct and its seeming indifference to important national and international issues, has fallen into disrepute with ordinary Americans. The last week seemed to crystallize the long-term decline in political civility. Republicans called Clinton a liar, even as he was committing American pilots to the skies over Iraq, and Democrats accused their rivals of conducting a political lynching or a political coup d'etat. Bipartisanship may have been the biggest victim of all. Party lines on Saturday's rolls calls held as firm as leg irons. Almost all of the Republicans who opposed impeachment did so not exclusively on legal principle but at least partly because of special political circumstances",
"_ the Democratic majority in Rep. Constance Morella's district in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, for example, and the gratitude of Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., for Clinton's peacemaking in Ireland. It is hard to see who has emerged from it with reputation enhanced, except perhaps Hillary Rodham Clinton, staunch in the face of deception. If some of the threats and dire predictions uttered by House Democrats in recent days are to be taken at face value, the nation is entering upon an Era of Bad Feelings, the polar opposite of a second Era of Good Feelings, similar to that of the 1820s, that Clinton had hoped to preside over. Rep. Tom Sawyer, D-Ohio, compared Clinton on Friday to Sir Thomas More, executed for treason in 1535 because of his religious beliefs. He quoted More's words as an admonition for today: ``What you have hunted me for is not my actions but for the thoughts of my heart. It is a long road you have opened. God help the statesmen who walk your road.'' But amidst all the loose talk about permanent damage to this institution or that, remember: Things change with startling speed in modern American politics, and the institutions of American government have proved extraordinarily resilient. President Nixon, it was almost universally agreed in 1974, had weakened the American presidency for many decades to come. Nobody said that after eight years under Ronald Reagan, and that was only 15 years later."
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"Rep. Bob Livingston, who confessed to his colleagues Thursday night that he had had adulterous affairs, stunned the House chamber Saturday morning by saying in the impeachment debate on President Clinton that he would not serve as speaker and would quit Congress in six months. He urged the president to follow his example and quit, too. But at the White House, where calls for Clinton's resignation are derided as a Republican strategy, the president sent a spokesman into the driveway to urge Livingston to reconsider his resignation. Livingston stood in the well of the House he has served for two decades and called on Clinton to resign his office rather than force a trial in the Senate, drawing boos from his colleagues and cat-calls that he should quit instead. He then did just that. ``I must set the example that I hope President Clinton will follow,'' Livingston announced to a shocked and silent chamber in an act that left the Republican Party in total chaos just hours before the vote to impeach Clinton. The decision also left the party leaderless on the eve of the opening of the 106th Congress, when Republicans must govern with one of the narrowest majorities in history. Several Republicans, including Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, the majority whip, somberly welcomed the news, suggesting it relieved them of an excruciating embarrassment. In lauding Livingston's move, DeLay said, ``He understood what this debate was all about _ it's about honor and decency and integrity and the truth, everything we honor in this country.'' But Democrats said they were aghast, and many _ including Clinton _ called on Livingston to reconsider his decision. ``Mr. Livingston's resignation was wrong,'' declared Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y. ``It is a surrender to a developing sexual McCarthyism. Are we going to have a new test if someone wants to run for public office _ are you now or have you ever been an adulterer?'' He called on the country to distinguish between sins and crimes. White House press secretary Joe Lockhart said Clinton was ``disappointed'' at the news of Livingston's plans and wished that he would reconsider. Lockhart said the president ``firmly believes that the politics of personal destruction in this town and this country has to come to an end.'' He reaffirmed that Clinton would not resign, saying: ``The president is going to do what's in the best interest of the country. It would be wrong to give in to this insidious politics of personal destruction.'' Livingston's announced resignation was all the more stunning for its disclosure in a process that could result in the president's removal from office. The speaker is second in line to the presidency, after the vice president. Newt Gingrich, the outgoing speaker, who was driven from the post after Republicans lost five seats in the November election, technically remains speaker until Jan. 6, when Livingston's election was to be ratified by the new Congress. But Gingrich has removed himself from the daily operations of the House at this extraordinary session and has begun to dismantle his office. Livingston's decision was said to be driven in part by the anger of a group of about a dozen conservatives in his party who were disillusioned that he had withheld news of his affairs from them. They had threatened to withhold their votes for him in the election in January that would formally make him speaker. He was also concerned about the pain caused to his family by further disclosures, some members said. They added that, not lost on many in his party, was the example he would set for the president by offering to resign his post now. DeLay, No. 3 in the House Republican leadership, is expected to fill the power vacuum at least temporarily, in deed if not in title, while the party regroups to find a new speaker. Many members quickly rallied around Rep. Dennis Hastert of Illinois. Hastert, one of DeLay's deputy whips who is well respected among his colleagues, had been promoted as a candidate for majority leader last month, but never mounted a campaign. Rep. Dick Armey of Texas only precariously held on to his majority-leader post last month and was not considered a likely candidate for speaker. He is expected to manage the reorganization, which Republican leaders have set for Jan. 4. Livingston met privately with his closest advisers Friday as the impeachment debate unfolded. Some of his colleagues believed he had made a mistake in disclosing Thursday night _ just as the House was moving into the divisive debate over impeachment _ that he had ``on occasion strayed from my marriage.'' He told Republican leaders late Thursday afternoon that Hustler magazine was going to expose his affairs early next year. Some leaders urged him to keep quiet, but his wife, Bonnie, encouraged him to tell his colleagues immediately, despite the momentous vote that was nearing on the floor. At that point Thursday night, Roll Call, a newspaper on Capitol Hill, reported on its Web site that Livingston was going to admit to the affairs and was going to offer to resign. In a closed-door meeting with his fellow Republicans, he did admit to the affairs but made no offer to step down, receiving three standing ovations instead. Thursday night, Livingston stated that he would ``not be intimidated by these efforts'' to exploit his past. But Friday he removed himself from public action and that night drew his closest advisers into his confidence. His aides said Saturday that they had no clue what was he was contemplating, and few other members were aware of his plans. Asked if he had any advance word, Rep. J.C. Watts of Oklahoma, a newly elected member of the Republican leadership, said: ``I had no idea.'' Asked if there had been internal party pressure on Livingston to resign, Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky., said: ``I didn't know about it if there was,'' but added, ``There were some members who were critical of it.'' As the leaders tried Saturday to hold the party together on and off the House floor, most Republicans stuck to their prepared scripts on the floor in favor of impeaching the president. But some began expressing their anguish. Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., who admitted to his own adulterous affair earlier this year, said after Livingston's resignation: ``Those of us who are sinners must feel wretched today. Something is going on repeatedly that has to be stopped, and that is a confusion between private acts of infidelity and public acts.'' To much applause, Hyde declared: ``Congress has no business intruding into private acts.'' Republicans, indeed Livingston himself, had made this same distinction between Clinton's sexual indiscretions and Livingston's, saying that Clinton lied about his private acts and therefore abused the legal system and his powers. As Livingston said in his statement Thursday: ``These indiscretions were not with employees on my staff and I have never been asked to testify under oath about them.'' Democrats hoped that Livingston's seemingly drastic action would wake up the House to how poisoned the atmosphere had become and might prompt Republicans to reconsider the impeachment of Clinton. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., said, ``We are now starting to offer up sacrificial lambs to whatever terrible disease this is.'' In a stirring speech applauded even by some Republicans, Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, the Democratic leader, praised Livingston as a ``worthy, good and honorable man'' and said his resignation was a grave mistake. ``It's a terrible capitulation to the negative political forces that are consuming our political system and our country,'' Gephardt said, adding that the events of the last few days showed ``life imitates farce.'' ``We need to stop destroying imperfect people at an unattainable altar of public morality,'' he said, urging his colleagues to ``step back from the abyss'' and reject resignation, impeachment and ``vicious self-righteousness.''",
"The New York Times said in an editorial for Sunday, Dec. 20: The Republicans' drive for a partisan impeachment based soley on party-line voting power rather than any sense of proportion produced an unexpected sideshow in the resignation of Rep. Bob Livingston from his role as future speaker of the House. Analysts on both sides of the struggle over President Clinton's future will point to Livingston's downfall as evidence of a generalized breakdown in legislative civility on Capitol Hill. Democrats will see a moral symmetry, depicting Livingston as a victim of the sexual puritanism he was wielding against Clinton. But the one thing that no one should fall for is Livingston's invitation to use his resignation as a model for resolving the crisis at the White House. Livingston's statement rocked Congress, but it should not shake the foundations of the somber constitutional process now underway. By lying under oath, Clinton made it necessary for the House to consider impeachment. The evidence convinced most Americans that the president should be censured, but not removed from office. Livingston allowed GOP partisans to block censure in the House. The result is that after Saturday's expected impeachment vote, after Livingston's unexpected announcement, the mission of the Senate remains the same. It must resist those Republicans who want to short-circuit the constitutional process with demands for resignation, and it must use the upcoming Senate trial as a forum for finding a censure commensurate with the president's personal dishonesty and offenses against the law. These require stern punishment but not removal from office. In undertaking this work, the Senate must also reassure the American people that a decisive wisdom at the core of our messy-looking political system has not melted down. In such distempered times, this is a shining opportunity for the Senate. Its members pride themselves on being the Republic's fire wall against presidential excess and the popular or partisan passions that sometimes seize the House of Representatives. No one can predict whether Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott will rise to the defining challenge of his career or whether he will surrender to the mean streak he acquired during 16 grumpy years as a minority member of the House. We would like to see Lott reach for a starring role in history. Lott's growling response to questions about censure is not encouraging. He may be right that the Constitution requires him to convene a trial, but nothing in that document prevents him from speedily guiding the Senate toward censure negotiations. Indeed, a simple majority vote _ 45 Democrats plus 6 cooperating Republicans _ can end the Senate trial at any time, clearing the way for introduction of the kind of censure resolution suggested by former Sen. Bob Dole. In an intriguing report on NBC, Tim Russert described discussions among a bipartisan group of senators about a censure that would involve some form of presidential confession, a fine and a joint congressional request that Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr not prosecute Clinton in the courts. If Lott refuses to allow a bipartisan search for censure, the burden will fall upon respected members like Joseph Lieberman on the Democratic side and Orrin Hatch for the Republicans. Through cooperation, they can guide the Senate toward a punishment that fixes Clinton in history as a president who lied under oath, but avoids the taint of partisan vengeance associated with the House impeachment vote. The Senate's historic reputation for prudence requires it to find appropriate punishment for a personally weak president who has damaged the rule of law, but not threatened the stability of the government.",
"``We are here to debate impeachment and should not be distracted from that,'' the minority whip, Rep. David Bonior, Democrat of Michigan, said during Saturday's House debate, in what leaped out as an impossible goal. It would have taken a kaleidoscopic television screen to capture the constantly shifting images competing for center stage: impeachment, Iraq, the resignation of Rep. Robert Livingston, the response from the White House. The months leading up to the impeachment of President Clinton had become a series of televised anticlimaxes, but the hours before the vote made up for that lack of drama. There were hardly enough shorthand terms or split screens to cover the activity. All the networks and cable channels carried the moment that unexpectedly set the tone, as Livingston, a Louisiana Republican, announced during the debate that he would not become House speaker. The commentators had been set to carry the congressional ratification of the inevitable vote, but suddenly the most plugged-in reporters were caught off guard. As Tim Russert said to Tom Brokaw on NBC, ``Tom, knock us all over.'' In the echo chamber that television news so often becomes, the shared mantra had been weightier in early morning. ``For only the second time in American history'' a president would be impeached, went the standard line. Yet despite all the pundits speculating and politicians telegraphing every move, no one had hinted at the Livingston resignation. The announcement was, as Brokaw put it, at least partly ``a political ploy,'' and the repercussions were immediate. Reporters began gathering word from Capitol Hill about candidates for the speaker's job, and the conversation moved to the next stage of the political tug of war. The Republicans used Livingston's resignation to say that the president should resign, too; the Democrats immediately countered with the idea that the president would stay and that Livingston should as well. That led to one of the less-expected split screens of the day, and it was not a bad choice. While Congress was debating, CNN showed anti-aircraft fire in Baghdad in one box. In the other, Joe Lockhart, Clinton's press secretary, stood in the White House driveway telling reporters that the president would like Livingston to reconsider his decision. There was more stateliness in the House than television usually offers, and one reason was purely visual. ``Keep in mind that we do not control the picture,'' Dan Rather said on CBS, explaining that the television cameras in Congress are provided by the House, not the individual networks. There was no way to roam and zoom in for reaction shots, as at a political convention. But the sense of history and decorum didn't last long at CBS. At noon, before the vote, CBS went to a football game, becoming the only network to leave the news coverage. CBS' corporate decision to try to have it both ways meant that Rather would break in with updates from Washington. ``I'll see you very soon,'' he said as he signed off the complete coverage, looking like a trouper. But he was in a position no news anchor should have been in on this day. He later announced impeachment votes on a split screen with the football game in progress in the upper part of the screen. On the other networks and cable channels, the vote itself literally happened in the background. As TV screens toted up the numbers of the electronically-cast vote, members of Congress milled around and chatted on the floor. Even the brief Democratic walkout after a motion to consider censure was defeated was thoroughly forecast. As the Democrats straggled down the steps of Congress, it looked curiously undramatic on television, though it probably made a better still photograph once they were all in place. And while the votes were in progress, the jockeying for the speaker's job heated up. ``We already have a presumptive leader,'' Gwen Ifill of NBC News said in midafternoon, naming Rep. Dennis Hassert, R-Ill., who had also been cited by the other networks as a likely candidate. If the political and military action had not intruded, it might have been more obvious that the debate on the House floor sent a message about vast divisions in politics and morality, signaling how deep a cultural fissure this crisis has opened. The impeachment, said Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, was ``a debate about relativism vs. absolute truth.'' Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., contended that Congress had lost the ``distinction between sins and crimes,'' and argued against the ``sexual McCarthyism'' that has become prominent. And against the backdrop of the revelations of adultery that led to Livingston's resignation, Rep. Dick Gephardt, the minority leader, declared ``the politics of personal destruction has to end.'' But as all the jabbering and political posturing continued, as reporters raced to cover the president's statement about the impeachment and the latest briefings from the Pentagon, there was little time to focus on the profound cultural message beneath those rhetorical flourishes.",
"Bob Livingston, the incoming speaker of the House, took no public role Friday as the debate unfolded on whether to impeach President Clinton. His previous 24 hours had been his most visible in the month since his party nominated him as speaker and perhaps the most excruciating in his public career: He spent most of the day in a chaotic procedural wrangle over the terms of Friday's debate; he ended it by telling his Republican colleagues that he had had extramarital affairs during his 20-year tenure in Congress. His disclosure followed an investigation by Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler, the sex magazine, who said Friday at a news conference in Beverly Hills, Calif., that his publication had learned that Livingston had had adulterous affairs during the last 10 years. Flynt said earlier this year that he wanted to expose the ``hypocrisy'' of those in Washington who are investigating Clinton and in October offered $1 million to anyone who could prove they had had affairs with members of Congress. He said Friday that this larger investigation, to be published perhaps as soon as January, would reveal what he described as indiscretions of several other Republicans. He said he had no connection with the White House but that he had hired an investigative firm based in Washington and made up of former employees of the FBI and the CIA. He would not confirm whether the firm is Terry Lenzner's Investigative Group Inc., which has done work for the president's private lawyers. Livingston was unavailable to reporters Friday. He spent some time Friday morning sprawled in a chair in the back of the House chamber, listening to the debate over whether to impeach Clinton for lying about his own sexual indiscretions. Several colleagues knelt at Livingston's knee, whispered to him and patted him on the back. He spent most of the day in a private office off the chamber, avoiding the gauntlet of reporters who lay in wait for him between the House and his regular office across the street. The only word out of his aides was that the Navy had awarded contracts worth millions of dollars for ships to be built in his Louisiana district at the Avondale Shipyards. During Friday's debate, a handful of Democrats made only oblique allusions to human failures. For example, Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., said: ``Let he that has no sin cast the first stone. Who, who among us has not sinned?'' But no one said that Livingston's disclosure or the mild Democratic attempts to exploit it would influence their votes on impeachment. Rather, on the House floor and in hallway chitchat, Livingston's conduct seemed to be the last thing that either Republicans or Democrats wanted to talk about. ``Bob Livingston is a first-rate human being,'' said Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., who has worked closely and sparred with Livingston on the Appropriations Committee, in an interview. ``I will repeat what the nuns taught me at St. James a long time ago: We would all be a hell of a lot better off looking after our own souls rather than trying to evaluate somebody else's. None of us have any business even having an opinion on it.'' Even conservative Republicans seemed ready to overlook the disclosure. ``We're not going to say, `Bob, you can't be speaker because you violated your vows with your wife,''' said Rep. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Like many, including Livingston, Graham distinguished Livingston's conduct from Clinton's by saying that the president had ``trampled'' on the legal system whereas Livingston's behavior was strictly private. Despite Flynt's claims, many Republicans blamed the Clinton administration for smearing Livingston, although they offered no evidence. ``This isn't just happening on its own,'' said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R- Calif.",
"House Speaker-elect Robert L. Livingston presented a fresh note of shock to the impeachment debate against President Clinton on Thursday night as the Republican leader was forced to admit to his Republican colleagues that he had carried on adulterous affairs in his past. ``It has suddenly come to my attention that there are individuals working together with the media who are investigating my personal background in an effort to find indiscretions which may be exploitable against me and my party on the eve of the upcoming historic vote on impeachment,'' Livingston declared in a statement after appearing before a shocked House Republican conference to head off the disclosure as it surfaced in news reports. After hearing his admissions in a closed session, Livingston's colleagues gave him a standing ovation of support and said the question of his resigning had never arisen. ``My fate is in your hands,'' Livingston told the Republicans, according to lawmakers who were present. The debate over the president's fate would go forward, Republicans later insisted, drawing distinctions between the speaker-elect's revelations and the sex-and-mendacity scandal that has put Clinton on the brink of impeachment. The president is charged in an impeachment resolution with perjury and abuse of power in his attempt to hide sexual indiscretions. Democrats offered no immediate comment, but Republicans were braced to hear Livingston's admissions alluded to in the debate Friday by Democrats who have decried the investigation of the president as basically a partisan and unfair rummaging through his sex life. Livingston, saying he had sought spiritual counseling and had received the forgiveness of his family, noted he had several times told reporters during his campaign to become speaker that ``I was running for speaker, not sainthood.'' He added, ``There was a reason for those words.'' ``During my 33-year marriage to my wife, Bonnie, I have on occasion strayed from my marriage, and doing so nearly cost me my marriage and family,'' Livingston said in his brief prepared statement. But he attempted to draw a contrast with the allegations against the president, asserting: ``I want to assure everyone that these indiscretions were not with employees on my staff and I have never been asked to testify under oath about them.'' The disclosure of the speaker-elect's marital infidelities, disclosed in ``Rollcall,'' a Capitol Hill newspaper, sent a new jolt of uncertainty among lawmakers as they prepared for the momentous debate over the president's admitted misbehavior in office and whether he should be impeached and tried by the Senate. Rep. Henry Hyde, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee who is to bring the impeachment charges against the president, previously was cited by a magazine for an extra-marital affair in his past. Then, as on Thursday night, Republicans voiced suspicions that Democratic defenders of the president instigated media investigations in an effort to embarrass the Clinton's principal accusers. But no proof was offered as Republicans left their conference, facing the uncertainties of a debate that already promised to be bare-knuckled in its partisanship. Livingston left the conference surrounded by Capitol police, not taking questions from waiting reporters. His chief leadership aides immediately rallied in support. ``Some who would rather not struggle with this constitutional question continue to try to twist the debate into an unseemly investigation of private lives,'' said Rep. Dick Armey, the Republican majority leader. In its report on the internet Thursday night, Rollcall did not disclose its source but made an oblique reference to Hustler, the sex magazine. Larry Flint, publisher of Hustler, earlier this year advertised an offer of a $1 million bounty for information about e of members of Congress guilty of sexual indiscretions. ``It breaks your heart because we're all subject to human frailties,'' said Asa Hutchinson, R-Ark., as he left the conference. ``This is not a comfortable circumstance for anyone,'' he added, insisting the president and the speaker-elect presented two separate issues. ``We've got a duty to do under the Constitution.''",
"In the end, the will of the people meant nothing. Bob Livingston couldn't have been clearer about that. His mind and the minds of his followers were closed. Even as the bombing continued in Iraq and Americans from coast to coast were clamoring for an alternative to impeachment, even as his own adulterous past was being flushed out in the grotesque invasions of privacy that inevitably followed the relentlessly prurient pursuit of the president, even as the country began to contemplate the destructive effects of a lengthy and bitter Senate trial, the speaker-designate arrogantly and stupidly proclaimed: ``Let us disregard the outside influences.'' The radicals on the Hill would hear nothing but the echoes of their own fanaticism. Impeach! Impeach! And that continued even after the stunning announcement Saturday morning that Livingston would quit the House. Dismayed by the partisan stampede, Dick Gephardt, the Democratic leader, warned during the impeachment debate on Friday: ``In your effort to uphold the Constitution, you are trampling the Constitution.'' David Bonior, the Democratic whip, said: ``This is wrong. It is unfair. It is unjust. At a time when events in the world and the challenges at home demand that we stand united, censure is the one solution that can bring us together. To my colleagues across the aisle, I say let go of your obsession. Listen to the American people.'' But the voices of reason would not be heard. Livingston and his right-wing colleagues, the Tom DeLays, the Henry Hydes, the Bob Barrs, were on a mission of destruction and would not be denied. Ordinary Americans could cry out all they wanted. They could protest and demonstrate, send faxes and E-mails. It didn't matter. The right was on the march and democracy was on the run. Rep. Thomas Barrett, a Democrat from Wisconsin, tried to remind his Republican colleagues that the Constitution ``does not allow you to remove a president from office because you can't stand him.'' He was, of course, ignored. The Republicans will pay a huge price for their brazen, utterly partisan attempt to drag a president from the White House in defiance of the will of the people. The party's contempt for the voters was arrogantly but quite adequately summed up by Alan Simpson, the former senator from Wyoming, who said: ``The attention span of Americans is which movie is coming out next month and whether the quarterly report on their stock will change.'' If the voters are the dopes that Mr. Simpson thinks they are, then come 2000 everyone will have forgotten there was an impeachment crisis. But Rep. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., was probably closer to the truth when he said, ``I warn my colleagues that you will reap the bitter harvest of the unfair partisan seeds you sow today.'' One of the many strange events of the past couple of weeks was the way in which virtually all of the previously undecided Republicans, the so-called moderates, surrendered their independence and lined up like lackeys to follow the right wing's lead. All proclaimed loudly that they were voting on principle, but in fact it was an exercise in mass cowardice, exemplified by Rep. John McHugh of upstate New York. McHugh announced on Tuesday that he would vote for impeachment. But if his decision was based on principle, he had an odd way of expressing it. The Washington Post said McHugh appeared to have no stomach for a Senate conviction or removal of the president from office. Of his colleagues in the Senate, McHugh said, ``I, for one, would accept, even welcome, their mercy.'' In other words, let the Senate do the heavy constitutional lifting. McHugh may have wished out loud for mercy, but he clearly was too frightened of the right-wingers in the House to cast a compassionate vote himself. The GOP can no longer conceal that it is a party of extremists, of right-wing absolutists, a party out of step with the political and cultural orientation of most Americans. Bob Livingston may be leaving, but his arrogant comment can still serve as his party's slogan. ``Let us disregard the outside influences.'' Let us disregard the people.",
"Rejecting a last-minute Democratic attempt to soften its action to censure, the House of Representatives moved to impeach President William Jefferson Clinton for perjury on Saturday and to call on the Senate to try him, convict him and remove him from office. But even before the vote, Republicans pressed another line of attack, demanding Clinton's resignation. Rep. Robert Livingston, nominated for speaker last month by his party, startled the House when he announced he would not run for speaker and would resign from the House after 21 years of service. He urged the president to ``heal the wounds that you have created. You, sir, may resign your post.'' Angry Democrats booed and shouted, ``You resign!'' Livingston continued, ``I can only challenge you in such fashion if I am willing to heed my own words.'' Apologizing again for extramarital affairs revealed two days ago, he said, ``I believe I had it in me to do a fine job. But I cannot do that job or be the kind of leader that I would like to be under current circumstances.'' Then he bolted from the House chamber, nearly knocking reporters and members down. (The House voted 228-206 to approve the first article of impeachment, accusing Clinton of committing perjury before a federal grand jury. The vote was announced at 1:24 p.m. EST, leaving the 42nd president to face trial in the Senate on whether he should be removed from office.) Clinton rejected the advice immediately. His spokesman, Joe Lockhart, said, ``The president has no intention of resigning.'' By calling on Livingston to reconsider, the president argued more broadly against resignation under fire. Perhaps speaking to both cases, Lockhart said, ``It would be wrong to give in to this insidious politics of personal destruction.'' Unless Clinton changes course, this would be only the second impeachment of a president in the 209-year history of the Republic, and the first since Andrew Johnson was acquitted in 1868. Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, the majority leader, has insisted that no bargaining over censure can prevent it from starting. But the Senate could halt a trial later as part of a deal. Considering the degree of partisanship displayed Saturday, assembling the two-thirds majority required under the Constitution for conviction is most unlikely. Sixty-seven votes would be required, and there are only 55 Republicans in the Senate, along with 45 Democrats. Four articles of impeachment before the House charged Clinton with perjury in lying about his affair with Monica Lewinsky to a federal grand jury here on Aug. 17. He was also charged with perjury in the Paula Jones sexual harassment suit, obstruction of justice and abuse of power. The Republican argument, over and over, was that Clinton had lied in denying having sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky. Rep. Dick Armey of Texas, the majority leader, said, ``A nation of laws cannot be ruled by a person who breaks the law.'' Rep. Nancy Johnson of Connecticut said: ``There can be no justice without the truth. That is just profoundly so, and that is why perjury matters.'' Rep. Gerald Kleczka of Wisconsin began the Democrats' arguments by saying, ``What the president did was wrong, both personally and morally, but his acts did not threaten our democracy and thus do not rise to the level of impeachable offenses as defined by our founding fathers in our Constitution.'' Rep. Charles Schumer, New York's senator-elect, said: ``The rule of law requires that the punishment fit the crime. Allow us to vote for censure.'' Saturday's votes were the penultimate step in the most serious conflict between Congress and a president since Richard M. Nixon resigned in the face of impeachment and certain conviction on Aug. 9, 1974. But while that case spun out from a 1972 break-in at Democratic headquarters in the Watergate complex, this one began with a murky land deal in Arkansas in 1978. Through the efforts of Kenneth Starr, the independent counsel under the law enacted in the wake of Watergate, the investigation spread to examine Clinton's affair with a White House intern. All year it has preoccupied the capital despite an immense disconnect with public opinion; since the scandal became public in January, polls have shown that the public opposed impeachment and wanted the inquiry brought to an end. Even on Friday night, after a 13-hour debate, a CBS News Poll of 548 people showed that only 38 percent wanted their representative to vote for impeachment; 58 percent wanted a no vote. The conflict now enters uncharted seas, since the Nixon resignation cut the matter short and the Johnson trial occurred in a different America, with no nuclear weapons or cable television or public opinion polls. But the capital was still rife with confident speculation. Some guessed, or hoped, that the results of the recent poll, which showed increases in support for resignation as a way to spare the nation a trial in which Ms. Lewinsky and Linda Tripp would be star witnesses, would weaken Clinton's resolve. Others thought the Republicans, seeing dismal numbers in polls about their party's standing in the United States, would be the first to blink. With a majority in the Senate, they have the power to end a trial at any time after the Senate receives notice of impeachment on the day it convenes, Jan. 6, or the next day. But while Clinton has focused on the polls, and the CBS News survey showed that 64 percent still approve of his handling of his job as president, resignation could almost immediately subject him to criminal prosecution. And Republicans have steadfastly ignored the polls all year, and confronted them directly on Saturday. Representative J.C. Watts of Oklahoma, newly elected as chairman of the Republican caucus, said: ``What's popular isn't always right. You say polls are against this. Polls measure changing feelings, not steadfast principle. Polls would have rejected the Ten Commandments. Polls would have embraced slavery and ridiculed women's rights. ``You say we must draw this to a close. I say we must draw a line between right and wrong, not with a tiny fine line of an executive fountain pen, but with the big fat lead of a No. 2 pencil. And we must do it so every kid in America can see it. The point is not whether the president can prevail, but whether truth can prevail.'' Last weekend, when the Judiciary Committee recommended the four articles of impeachment, Clinton's side still hoped to prevail with the help of 20 to 30 Republican moderates who were uncommitted. As the week wore on, almost all of them broke against the president. One who did not, Rep. Christopher Shays of Connecticut, said Saturday: ``After Judge Starr's report to Congress in September, and his presentation to the Judiciary Committee in November, I concluded that impeachable offenses were not proven, and that the proven offenses were not impeachable. ``But the president's continued failure to come to grips with his actions, the sincerity and arguments of members of the Judiciary Committee from both sides of the aisle, the change of heart and conviction by members on my side of the aisle who originally opposed impeachment and who now support it, and the strong and powerful opinion of so many of my constituents who oppose my position and who wanted the president impeached caused me to rethink my position.'' He added: ``Yesterday morning, before I visited with the president, I concluded that my original position was the correct one, for me. I believe that the impeachable offenses have not been proven, and that the proven offenses are not impeachable.'' But Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, who has led the Republican effort to force Clinton from office, dismissed his and other arguments as moral relativism. He began by praising Livingston: ``There is no greater American in my mind, at least today, than Bob Livingston, because he understood what this debate was all about. It was about honor and decency and integrity and the truth; everything that we honor in this country. It was also a debate about relativism vs. absolute truth.'' He continued, ``The president's defenders have said that the president is morally reprehensible, that he is reckless, that he has violated the trust of the American people, lessened their esteem for the office of president and dishonored the office which they have entrusted him, and that _ but that doesn't rise to the level of impeachment.'' Rep. Jose Serrano of New York said, ``My constituents don't hate Bill Clinton; they love him and they're praying for him right at this very moment. You may have the votes today to impeach him, but you don't have the American people. And let me tell you something, I grew up in the public housing projects of the South Bronx. I can see a bunch of bullies when I see them. The bullies get theirs, and you're going to get yours, too. Rep. Henry Hyde of Illinois, the Judiciary Committee chairman who brought the charges to the House floor, said the Congress and the American people needed to distinguish between private acts of infidelity and public acts by public officials. In Clinton's case, he said, the House was dealing with ``a serial violator of the oath who is the chief law-enforcement officer.'' He said that the Senate could be ``innovative and creative'' in deciding how best to punish Clinton, but that the House was bound by the Constitution to move ahead with articles of impeachment. ``Justice is so important to the most humble among us,'' Hyde said. ``Equal justice under the law _ that's what we're fighting for.'' Democrats, reading from the same Constitution, voiced diametrically opposite conclusions, and attacked the fairness of the proceedings that culminated Saturday. ``We're losing track of distinction between sins and crimes,'' said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y. ``We're lowering the standards of impeachment. What the president has done is not a great and dangerous offense to the republic.'' Democrats also criticized Republicans for impeaching Clinton at the very moment that U.S. troops waged war against Iraq. ``Six days before Christmas our troops are in battle, and a lame-duck Congress is rushing to overthrow the commander in chief,'' said Rep. David Bonior of Michigan, the second-ranking House Democrat. The ghosts of Watergate hung over the House chamber. One Republican cited the parallels between the charges the House Judiciary Committee brought against Nixon 25 years ago, and the counts that the same committee brought to the House floor for affirmation on Saturday. ``Nixon cheated. He cheated the electoral system,'' said Rep. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican on the Judiciary Committee. And now, Graham said, the full House is voting to impeach Clinton ``because we believe he committed crimes that result in cheating our judicial system.'' But most of the day's debate was firmly rooted in Clinton's effort to conceal his sexual affair with Monica Lewinsky. Rep. Bob Barr, a Georgia Republican on the Judiciary Committee who is one of Clinton's fiercest critics, held up copies of the U.S. Criminal Code, the Judiciary Committee's report on the impeachment inquiry and, finally, the Constitution, in defending his decision to impeach the president. ``Today, we rely on the three pillars of our society: the law itself, evidence and the Constitution,'' said Barr. ``There is no joy in upholding the law,'' Watts said. ``If we cannot see lawlessness, our children cannot recognize it. How can we tell our children honesty is the best policy when we don't demand it as a policy?'' But Democrats assailed the very premise on which the Republican majority built its impeachment case against Clinton. Rep. John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, assailed the four articles of impeachment, count by count, as unfounded by evidence and failing to rise to impeachment. He saved his most savage scorn for the final count, abuse of power. ``The majority has simply tried to dress up the perjury counts in the Watergate abuse-of-power language,'' Conyers said.",
"The raw passions were such that the House Democrats did not to hesitate to bellow ``You resign! You resign!'' at Speaker-elect Robert Livingston when he called from the House floor for President Clinton to quit the White House in the face of certain impeachment. Shockingly, stunningly, Livingston did just that. He quit in one breathtaking utterance, as if flicking a trump card onto the heap of impeachment angst festering before his eyes in the debating chamber. In his one and only strategem in leading his fellow House Republicans, Livingston's decision struck Congress like a verbal bomb. Stunned Democrats saw their fury vaporized upon the instant. They had to stand, almost staggering to their feet, to join the Republicans in a prolonged, emotional ovation for Livingston and his undeniable self-sacrifice. As they stood, the Democrats sensed Livingston had most suddenly closed a trap on the president and his defenders. For, with the impeachment issue set to move to the Senate, Livingston, whose own marital indiscretions were now before the public to his obvious misery, chose to show how the question of a political leader's resignation was very much in play in this tumult-tossed city. ``I must set the example that I hope President Clinton will follow,'' Livingston declared, flabbergasting all attending the impeachment debate and the nation watching beyond. Livingston walked off the floor like the sheriff in some bullet-pocked political ``High Noon,'' discarding the leadership badge he had wrested from the earlier speaker-casualty, Newt Gingrich. In the corridor just beyond, a doorman shouted to a police officer: ``Livingston just resigned!'' ``What? What?'' came the reply from the officer, who obviously thought the momentous announcement would be about Clinton's impeachment, not Livingston's political self-immolation. Just so, the Democrats, already deep into bone-raw exhaustion after their long fight to save the president, grasped for bearings. ``It is a surrender to a developing sexual McCarthyism!'' declared Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., a leading presidential defender trying to rally Democrats around the argument that Livingston should not resign any more than President Clinton should quit under fire. But the Republicans were surging to the fore on the strength of Livingston's announcement, fighting tears as they rose to salute him as the ultimate political role model in the grueling impeachment process as it roared into the final minutes of debate. ``For some it is no longer good enough to make a mistake, to confirm that mistake and take the consequences of that mistake,'' said Tom DeLay, the Republican whip, his hands shaking, his eyes tearing as he addressed the House and sought to drive the example of Livingston all the way down Pennsylvania Avenue. ``He understood what this debate was all about _ honor, duty, integrity and the truth,'' said DeLay arguing that in one swift blow, Livingston had demonstrated himself to have been a far better speaker than Clinton has been a president. With something of the political elan the president showed in initiating the Iraq attack as his own impeachment loomed, House Republicans, battered in public opinion polls, had found a rocket's red glare of their own. ``I have hurt you all deeply and beg your forgiveness,'' Livingston told the House, the nation and his family as he announced retreat. Only moments before, Democrats openly hissed the man as Livingston firmly read his own judgment upon the president: ``Sir, you have done great damage to this nation over the past year.'' Presidential resignation was in order, he continued, and then came the shouts of ``You resign! You resign!'' And as Livingston closed the circle on his career, he stunned the place into a collective breath of disbelief and somehow almost threatened to reduce the dark historic issue before the House _ the impeachment of the president _ into a matter of anticlimax. ``They must not succeed,'' David Bonior, the Democratic whip said of the Republicans as he was given the task of refocusing the day on the misdeeds of the president, not the departure of the speaker. ``We are here to debate impeachment and should not be distracted from that,'' he declared. ``The only way we can stop this vicious cycle,'' Bonior cried out from the floor, ``is if we refuse to give into it, whether it is Bill Clinton or Bob Livingston.'' But the House was still reeling through the frenzied day as the fateful vote on the presidency approached and the notion of resignation licked about the capital city like a flame in a forest.",
"It has gotten to the point where drastic action may be necessary. You know those movies about Ebola virus outbreaks, where the guys in sterile suits come in, seal off the area and completely irradiate it? They may have to do that to Washington. Just eradicate us and start from scratch. In a few, short days we have managed to make the terms ``surreal,'' ``bizarre,'' ``split-screen America,'' ``shocking,'' ``runaway train'' and ``politics of personal destruction'' useless cliches. We no longer govern here. We just roll around in the gutter wondering who's next in this sexual auto-de-fe. On Saturday morning, we had the surreal, shocking, bizarre, split-screen image of Bob Livingston, the speaker-elect, stepping down after his marital infidelities were revealed. ``We are all pawns on the chessboard,'' Livingston said, before asking the president to resign and then resigning himself. Livingston's rabid pursuit of the president, even as he hoped to hide his own dirty laundry, made him an avatar of hypocrisy in a capital rotting with hypocrisy. On Thursday night, when Livingston first confessed his sins to Republicans in hopes of keeping his hold on his post, his colleagues gave him a standing ovation. And after he made his surprise announcement Saturday, the Republicans gave him another ovation and stepped up to deliver encomiums to their lost speaker. ``One's self-esteem gets utterly crushed at times like this,'' sighed Henry Hyde, another tormenter of the president who also had to admit that he had succumbed to temptation. Tom DeLay, the jagged-edge exterminator who may next-up in the speaker roundelay, was choked up, praising the greatness of Livingston for understanding that this was ``a debate about relativism versus absolute truth.'' What could be more relative than a Republican who has hidden a lot of affairs trying to impeach a president for lying about his? Spurred by Larry Flynt's bounty for sinnuendo, the city was braced for more craziness. The Ship of Fools reached cruising speed on Friday evening, when we had the frightening scene of Republicans so crazed with hatred of the president that they were railroading through an impeachment even though the United States was at war with Iraq, even though the House chamber was mostly empty, even though Republicans were huddled in a glass house on the issue of sex and lies, and even though the White House was still pitching a tent and planning sleigh rides for a Winter Wonderland press party on Monday. (The White House was keeping the journalists quarantined outside this year, but encouraged them to bring their kids. To soak up some of that cozy family atmosphere, no doubt. Why are the Republicans so obsessed, when everyone in his right mind agrees that impeachment is an outlandishly over-the-top punishment for Clinton and a self-destructive course for the country? Because they genuinely hate the president. They think he's a dishonest, immoral, issue-stealing, selfish child of the '60s. They don't think they're going to pay a political price for this, and if they do, they don't care. It might be a great time to see a lot of combovers, but it's not a great time to see a lot of stature. The House debate was not history. It was just a more hideous version of ``The McLaughlin Group.'' While Republicans tried to draw the distinction that Clinton had perjured himself, they ignored that the president had been lured by the Starr-Jones attorney team into testifying on Monica Lewinsky. Ordinarily one would feel sorry for Livingston. But the Republicans have brought this sexual doomsday machine on themselves by focusing so single-mindedly on Clinton's sex life. The Republicans were so determined to do their high-tech lynching that they engaged in wacky role reversals. Many Republican hawks argued that Bill Clinton should not be bombing Saddam, claiming the timing was suspicious, even though they had hammered him for not bombing five weeks ago. In an incredibly unseemly display, Trent Lott, the majority leader, and former Bush national security adviser Brent Scowcroft and Bush Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger chimed in on the attack. There's too much hate here. And I hate it.",
"The only thing certain now is uncertainty. The smart money shouts that President Clinton will never resign, and he concurs. The smart money argues that the Senate could not muster the 67 votes that would be needed to remove the wounded president from office, which would require the defection of 12 Democrats if all the Republicans stand against him. The smart money insists that someone will cut a deal to end all this. Maybe so. But the smarter money whispers, ``Remember.'' Remember that everyone in Washington, including Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said the House would never, ever, treat impeachment as a partisan issue. Wrong. Remember that all the pundits predicted Democratic losses in the midterm elections, and when the opposite happened, they said impeachment was dead. Twice wrong. And remember that in the New Year the nation may travel down a road it has never traveled before. One other president, Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, has been tried by the Senate, of course. But that happened in a different country _one with only 37 states, with primitive communications, with a simple economy based largely on agriculture, with only minimal commitments abroad. In the toxic politics of century's end in Washington, the inconceivable has become the commonplace. The wholly unanticipated announcement Saturday morning by Rep. Robert Livingston, R-La., that he would not serve as speaker and would resign from Congress, following his equally unanticipated disclosure on Thursday night of several extramarital affairs, only deepened the capital's profound sense of insecurity. The deadly sweep of the scythe of neo-puritanism appears unstoppable, at least for the moment, and Livingston's forthcoming resignation will increase the pressure on the president to do likewise. ``You've set before us an example,'' the leader of House Republican majority, Rep. Dick Armey of Texas, told Livingston Saturday. ``The example is that principle comes before power.'' The Democrats made the opposite point, arguing that the Livingston case showed how very wrong it was to savage people for personal pecaddillos. One transcendently important thing remains the same: Although surrounded by judicial trappings and presided over by the chief justice, trials of presidents are political processes, with power residing in the hands of elective politicians. In addition to narrow legal issues of guilt or innocence, they can weigh considerations of party, the nation's future, their own individual political well-being and almost anything else they care to weigh in reaching a verdict. The longer they took, the more numerous the call for resignation would probably be. Even before Saturday's epochal roll-calls, four of ten Americans interviewed in the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll said they thought the president should step down if he were to be indicted, despite the fact that a large majority voiced disapproval of the impeachment proceedings. What lies behind that seeming contradiction, of course, is the fear that Clinton, and the country with him, would be incapacitated. No one took Andrew Johnson very seriously after he escaped conviction by a single vote. But Clinton, a man of powerful will whose whole life has been a series of comebacks, has already embarked on an effort to show that he can do the nation's business. Richard Nixon clawed his way back to respectability after leaving the White House when no one thought he could; Clinton intends to re-establish his authority while still in office. He has one great advantage: Two-thirds of the American public continues to voice its approval of his political stewardship, whatever it thinks of him as a man. The president will press hard, despite his much-reduced leverage, for a deal on censure. Indeed, in as fine a piece of political irony as one could ask for, he has already sought to enlist former Sen. Bob Dole, the Republican he defeated in 1996, as an emissary to the Senate majority. The numbers are not unpromising: with the help of six Republicans, the 45 Democrats could end the trial at any time and pass a censure resolution that the House would surely take up. There are enough Republican moderates and sometime party-buckers to make that a plausible target. But the Republican leader in the Senate, Trent Lott of Mississippi, who has made his unwillingness to take the president's word plainly evident in recent days, is determined to fight such a trial-aborting arrangement. It is clear that Clinton's reputation has been stained forever, no matter what the Senate does. The spot will not out. History will remember this man who so coveted a glowing legacy not as an impresario of economic growth, not as the Moses who pointed the way to the 21st century, but as the second president ever to be impeached, if not as the first to be ousted. That harsh word, ``impeachment,'' will cling to his name as surely as ``Teapot Dome'' clings to Harding's and ``Depression'' to Hoover's. But he is not alone in having suffered grievous injury in the political avalanche that was shaken loose by the disclosure of Clinton's sexual relationship with a former White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. The Republicans' public support has shriveled to 40 percent in the new Times/CBS News poll, its lowest level in 14 years, and it could go lower once the fact of impeachment sinks in. Journalists are seen by many as jackals, indifferent to whatever personal suffering or national angst they may cause as long as they get the story, and none too concerned about accuracy. In fact, the whole political culture of the 1990s, with its criminalization of political conduct and its seeming indifference to important national and international issues, has fallen into disrepute with ordinary Americans. The last week seemed to crystallize the long-term decline in political civility. Republicans called Clinton a liar, even as he was committing American pilots to the skies over Iraq, and Democrats accused their rivals of conducting a political lynching or a political coup d'etat. Bipartisanship may have been the biggest victim of all. Party lines on Saturday's rolls calls held as firm as leg irons. Almost all of the Republicans who opposed impeachment did so not exclusively on legal principle but at least partly because of special political circumstances _ the Democratic majority in Rep. Constance Morella's district in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, for example, and the gratitude of Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., for Clinton's peacemaking in Ireland. It is hard to see who has emerged from it with reputation enhanced, except perhaps Hillary Rodham Clinton, staunch in the face of deception. If some of the threats and dire predictions uttered by House Democrats in recent days are to be taken at face value, the nation is entering upon an Era of Bad Feelings, the polar opposite of a second Era of Good Feelings, similar to that of the 1820s, that Clinton had hoped to preside over. Rep. Tom Sawyer, D-Ohio, compared Clinton on Friday to Sir Thomas More, executed for treason in 1535 because of his religious beliefs. He quoted More's words as an admonition for today: ``What you have hunted me for is not my actions but for the thoughts of my heart. It is a long road you have opened. God help the statesmen who walk your road.'' But amidst all the loose talk about permanent damage to this institution or that, remember: Things change with startling speed in modern American politics, and the institutions of American government have proved extraordinarily resilient. President Nixon, it was almost universally agreed in 1974, had weakened the American presidency for many decades to come. Nobody said that after eight years under Ronald Reagan, and that was only 15 years later."
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NASA and the Russian Space Agency readied the first part of an international space station for launch from Baikonur base. They decided not to change the orbit of the Zarya module as Russia had requested. Zarya's Nov. 20 launch was a success. The Zarya module orbited Earth for 2 weeks before a rendezvous with U.S. shuttle Endeavor to join it to the Unity module. It was tweaked and working well. It will serve as a space tugboat. The first 2 building blocks of the international space station were successfully joined by Endeavor astronauts in the shuttle's open cargo bay. Endeavor astronauts made 2 of 3 planned spacewalks to work on the space station modules. Russia launched the first piece of the international space station into orbit a year after the originally scheduled date. The launch follows a last minute Russian request to change the orbit of the space station to put it closer to Mir. This request was set aside. Two weeks later, the U.S. carried the Unity chamber into orbit. U.S. astronauts aboard the Endeavor shuttle then joined the Unity chamber to the Russian Zarya control module. The resulting 7 story structure appeared to be a perfect fit. In a subsequent second space walk, the astronauts were to install antennas on the Unity chamber as well as to attempt to unjam a Russian antenna. After a year's delay Russia launched the first unit of the international space station, then pushed it to a higher orbit. Zarya will provide propulsion, power, and comms. US shuttle Endeavour made a blind docking with Zarya. Two spacewalks made electrical connections with Unity, which will serve as a passageway, attached its antennas and attempted to open a stuck Zarya antenna. A Russian cost-cutting proposal to orbit the station closer to Mir jointly vetoed. Russia promised to destroy Mir but now wants to extend its life. Russia sold early research time on the station to NASA to pay construction costs but claims the management lead for 1st 5 years. Jerry Ross and James Newman spacewalked to attach antennas to Unity, the American half of the first stage of the 16-nation space station. Unity will be a connecting passageway for other modules. The other portion of the fledgling station, the Russian- built and launched Zarya module, will provide power and propulsion to the facility. The successful launch of Zarya, which had been delayed over a year due to funding woes, was hailed by the Russian Space Agency head as proof that the Russian space industry "is perfectly able to fulfill all of its commitments on the international space station". Russia is scheduled to launch the crew module next year.
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"Russian space officials gave the first module of the international space station a routine tweak Saturday to push it into higher orbit, and convened a meeting on Earth to map out its future. Flight controllers fired one of the module's two maneuvering engines to raise it to an orbit about 230 kilometers (157 miles) in space, the station's public affairs office said. Russian Space Agency general director Yuri Koptev told reporters the maneuver was carried out ``with great accuracy,'' and the 24-ton core module was cruising through space without any problems. The module, called Zarya, or Sunrise, lifted off Friday from the Baikonur launchpad in Kazakstan into an initial orbit 200 kilometers (125 miles) above Earth. Zarya is to serve as a space tugboat in the early stages of the international project, providing propulsion, power and communications. It will fly alone for two weeks before a rendezvous with the American space shuttle Endeavour, which is to be launched Dec. 3 carrying the Unity connecting module. The international space station is a U.S.-led successor to Russia's Mir space station, and is being heralded by space officials as the vehicle for unprecedented international cooperation in space in the 21st century. The heads of the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Japan and Canada, along with the European Space Agency, met in Moscow on Saturday to discuss the project, the Interfax news agency reported. The space agency heads agreed on a schedule for future meetings and on holding a scientific conference on the project somewhere in Europe, at an unspecified date. Also Saturday, the head of Russia's Mission Control, Vladimir Lobachev, was quoted as saying that Russia would take the lead role in managing the international space station during its first five years. Previously, space officials have said the station would be jointly controlled from Moscow and Houston, with the U.S. space agency NASA taking a lead role. According to Interfax, Lobachev said it made sense for Russia to control the project because the Russian-built Zarya and a Russian-built service module would perform most of the life support and navigational functions for the station's first five years. ``Furthermore, Russian engineers are more experienced in this job and NASA officials are aware of this,'' he said. The space station is expected to cost at least dlrs 40 billion, of which the United States is expected to pay dlrs 24 billion. Russia's financing problems delayed the initial launch by a year, and some critics have said the station amounts to an expensive way for NASA to keep Russia's beleaguered space program alive. The station will serve as an orbital home for visiting astronauts and cosmonauts for at least 15 years.",
"Endeavour's astronauts connected the first two building blocks of the international space station on Sunday, creating a seven-story tower in the shuttle cargo bay. It was the first time that the Russian-built Zarya control module and the made-in-America Unity chamber had ever touched. It looked to be a perfect and, hopefully, long-lasting fit. ``We have capture of Zarya,'' commander Robert Cabana announced the two pieces came together. ``Congratulations to the crew of the good ship Endeavour,'' replied Mission Control. ``That's terrific.'' The 240-mile-high construction job began two hours earlier with Nancy Currie's capture of Zarya (Russian for Sunrise) using the shuttle robot arm. ``We're halfway home,'' Cabana said. Then came the hard part: stacking the two giant cylinders in the cargo bay. The two station pieces are so big _ 77 feet from the tip of one to the tip of the other with a combined mass of 70,000 pounds _ that Currie and her crewmates had to rely on a computerized vision system and camera views, rather than direct line of sight. This was the first time such a ``blind'' docking had ever been attempted. Currie positioned the solar-winged Zarya, still on the end of the shuttle robot arm, several inches directly above Unity. It was slow going; she wanted and needed perfect alignment. Once she was sure she had it, Cabana fired Endeavour's thrusters, and the brief burst raised the shuttle and thereby Unity enough for the docking mechanisms on the two station components to snap together. The historical moment occurred above the South Pacific. The union _ intended to last the station's 15-year or more lifetime _ set the stage for a spacewalk by two astronauts on Monday to attach electrical connectors and cables between the two components. Mission Control thought Sunday's work might take hours longer than planned and gave the six astronauts plenty of time for the tasks. But everything occurred more or less when and how it was supposed to, aside from a piece of space junk that strayed too close. Before beginning their final approach to Zarya, the six astronauts had to steer clear of a chunk of a rocket launched last month from California. Mission Control ordered the pilots to fire the shuttle thrusters to put an extra three miles between Endeavour and the space junk, putting Endeavour a total of five miles from the orbiting debris. The smaller gap would have been ``probably a little too close for comfort,'' Mission Control said. The bigger worry, by far, was over Endeavour's pursuit and capture of Zarya, and its coupling with Unity. The shuttle's 50-foot robot arm had never before handled an object as massive as the 41-foot, 44,000-pound Zarya, a power and propulsion module that was launched from Kazakstan on Nov. 20. It will provide all of the necessary electricity and steering for the fledgling space station until a permanent control module can be launched next summer. Minutes after Zarya's capture, Cabana called down that two antennas on the module were still undeployed as Russian flight controllers had feared. The antennas must be fully deployed in order for Zarya's manual docking system to work; that system won't be needed before next summer, officials said. The only other problem was with a Zarya battery; the astronauts took up a replacement part. The 36-foot, 25,000-pound Unity, the first American-made component, will serve as a connecting passageway, or vestibule, for future modules. It was crucial that Zarya and Unity be joined; if they could not be connected with the robot arm, NASA would have sent out two spacewalking astronauts to manually fit them together. In all, three spacewalks are planned for Endeavour's 12-day flight, not only to hook up electrical connections between the two modules but to install handrails and other tools for future crews. The joined modules will be released from Endeavour once all of the work is completed. NASA estimates 43 more launches and 159 more spacewalks will be needed after this mission to assemble the entire orbiting complex. Once completed, the 16-nation space station will have a mass of 1 million pounds, be longer than a football field, and house up to seven astronauts and cosmonauts.",
"The first piece of the international space station was orbiting Earth Friday, sprouting antennae and unfolding solar power panels as it awaited other segments, which will eventually grow into the largest orbital laboratory in history. The module, called Zarya from the Russian term meaning sunrise or dawn, took a flawless ride into space atop a three-stage Russian Proton booster rocket that lifted off at 1:40 a.m. Eastern time from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launching was witnessed by the heads of the space agencies of the 16 nations that are sponsoring the station, which will cost at least $40 billion to build over the next five years. Zarya, built in Russia with $240 million from the United States, is to be joined in two weeks by the first American module, a docking hub called Unity. The space shuttle Endeavour is to take off on Dec. 3 to rendezvous with Zarya and attach the two units. This is to be followed by 43 more flights by American and Russian rockets carrying more than 100 parts to be assembled in space to form a 900,000-pound research station housing up to seven astronauts. Daniel Goldin, the administrator of NASA, said at a news conference following the launching, ``Now we only have 44 launches to go, about 1,000 hours of space walks and countless problems.'' But because of all the partner nations trusting each other and working together, he said, ``the international space station is going to be a reality.'' Even as the new space station is coming together, questions continue about the fate of Russia's existing space laboratory, the 12-year-old Mir. Because of the collapse of the Russian economy, doubts that Russia can produce enough rockets and other equipment to support both projects led Russia to promise that it would abandon Mir and destroy the station by next summer. However, in recent weeks Russian officials have been lobbying to find ways to extend Mir's life. According to a report by the news agency Reuters, President Boris Yeltsin's space adviser, Yevgeny Shaposhnikov, said Friday he was preparing a number of proposals on extending Mir's life past the year 2000. Support for such options has been growing in recent weeks among Russian space officials, astronauts and nationalists, who see Mir as a symbol of Russian achievements in space. James Van Laak, NASA's deputy manager of operations for the space station, said Friday that the agency had not received any formal proposals about extending Mir's life. ``NASA would find such a proposal unacceptable if it has any measurable impact on the international space station,'' Van Laak said in a telephone interview from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, ``No one has any objection to Mir or keeping it operational if the Russians find a way to support both projects, but they have to demonstrate they can.'' Yuri Koptev, head of the Russian Space Agency, said the launching of Zarya, a 42,000-pound space tugboat that will supply power and propulsion in the early stages of station construction, was a needed vindication for the troubled Russian space program. ``The Russian space industry is alive and well and is perfectly able to fulfill all of its commitments on the international space station,'' Koptev said.",
"A Russian Proton booster rocket carried the first part of the international space station into orbit Friday, heralding the start of a new era in international space colonization. Russian space officials and others cheered as ground control announced that the capsule had separated from its booster rocket and reached its first orbit at about 200 kilometers (125 miles) above the Earth. ``Success,'' shouted one exultant official some 10 minutes after the giant rocket blasted off and entered orbit. The heads of the space agencies of 16 nations participating in the project watched the lift-off from a distance of about 5 kilometers (3 miles). Strategic Rocket Forces troops who had prepared the launch were in underground bunkers to avoid poisoning by the highly toxic rocket fuel. Russian and U.S. officials said the launch was ``flawless'' and the module performed well during initial tests. They cautioned that much work remains to be done to get the ambitious space station project up and working. ``Now we only have 44 launches to go, about 1,000 hours of space walks and countless problems, but because of the trust and mutual respect ... the international space station is going to be a reality,'' NASA chief Daniel Goldin told a press conference after the launch. His Russian counterpart, Yuri Koptev, said the launch was a vital vindication for the troubled Russian space industry, proving it could play a major role in space operations. ``Today we made a truly epoch-making step to carry out this project. The Russian space industry is alive and well and is perfectly able to fulfill all of its commitments on the international space station,'' he said. The launch went smoothly, with the rocket soaring into the cloudy sky above the central Asian steppes. The huge roar of the rocket reverberated for dozens of kilometers (miles) across the empty plain around the base. The mood at the launch pad was tense before the launch, with space officials and workers anxiously making last-minute checks to ensure there were no problems. Solar power panels on the module were successfully deployed shortly after it reached its first orbit and all systems were working normally, officials said. The launch of the Russian cargo module, which had been delayed for more than a year, ushers in a new era of cooperation among former space-race rivals. Space officials expressed optimism that cooperation would further promote world stability following the end of the Cold War. ``We still have some contradictions, we still have combat missiles aimed at each other, but the predominant trend is the state of cooperation and doing things together,'' said Yuri Semyonov of Russia's Energia space company. The 12.4-meter (41.2-feet) Zarya, or Sunrise, was launched by a three-stage Proton booster rocket. Zarya is designed to serve as a space tugboat in the early stages of the project, providing propulsion, power and communications. Engineers finished final preparations early Friday for the liftoff of the 24-ton module. The rocket blasted off under cloudy skies and strong winds, and disappeared behind the clouds 40 seconds later. The international space station, the U.S.-led successor to Russia's beleaguered Mir, involves 16 nations and is due to be completed by 2004. It will consist of more than 100 elements that will take 45 assembly flights to complete. Russia's crucial participation has been hampered by the country's financial problems. The launch of the first segment was postponed repeatedly, mainly because the chronically broke Russian space agency couldn't afford to complete another part of the station that is to go up later. Zarya is to fly alone for two weeks before a rendezvous with the American space shuttle Endeavor, which is to be launched Dec. 3 carrying the Unity connecting module. The space station will not be inhabitable until at least early 2000, following the launch of a Russian crew module which is set to blast off next July or August. The space station is expected to cost at least dlrs 40 billion, with the United States planning to pay dlrs 24 billion. It will serve as an orbital home for visiting astronauts and cosmonauts for at least 15 years. Russia has repeatedly failed to meet deadlines for constructing the crew module, putting the whole project behind schedule. Having lost hope of getting promised government funds, the Russian space agency has sold research time on the station to NASA for dlrs 60 million to complete the segment. Russia rents the Baikonur launching pad from Kazakstan.",
"Russian space experts were making final preparations Thursday at the Baikonur rocket base to launch the first component of a multibillion dollar international space station after a year of delay. Built by a Russian company and to be launched atop a Russian booster rocket, the 24-ton Zarya (Sunrise) control and cargo module is a U.S.-funded component of the station. It will serve as a space tugboat in the early stages of the project, providing propulsion, power and communications. The unmanned launch, set for 9:40 Moscow time (0640 GMT) Friday from Baikonur in Kazakhstan, has been delayed for one year mainly because of the cash-strapped Russian space agency's failure to complete another part of the station. ``After years of discussing, planning and replanning, we are about to launch hardware,'' Gretchen McClain, deputy associate administrator for the new station, said at a news conference earlier this week. ``We are ready to begin a project that will bring us into the millennium with women and men living and working in space permanently.'' Russian officials added their traditional note of superstition. ``It is not in the Russian tradition to preface a launch with ... some advance statements. I would like to knock on wood, which is rather common in the Russian tradition,'' said Alexander Krasnov, a deputy chief of Russian Space Agency's manned flight department. The station, involving 16 nations with the United States and Russia playing the biggest roles, will consist of more than 100 elements that will take 45 assembly flights to complete. It is due to be completed by 2004. The station will weigh 500 tons (more than a million pounds) and is expected to cost at least dlrs 40 billion, with the United States planning to pay dlrs 21 billion. It will serve as an orbital home for visiting astronauts and cosmonauts for up to 20 years. Zarya is to fly alone for two weeks before a rendezvous with the American space shuttle Endeavor, which is to be launched Dec. 3 carrying the Unity connecting module. The shuttle crew will attach the two modules together in three space walks, using the Endeavors robot arm. The 12.4-meter (41.2-feet) Zarya holds more than 6 tons of fuel in its 16 tanks and is capable of flying independently for 430 days. Its control system consists of 36 thrusters and two large engines for major orbital changes. It will be launched by a three-stage heavy-lift Proton booster rocket that would put Zarya into orbit in less than 10 minutes after the blastoff. In the ensuing days, the ground controllers will gradually adjust its orbit in preparation for the meeting with Endeavor. The space station will not be inhabitable until early 2000, following the launch of a Russian crew module which is set to blast off next July or August. Russia has repeatedly failed to meet deadlines for constructing the crew module, putting the whole project behind schedule. Having lost hope of getting the promised government funds, the Russian space agency has sold its early research time on the station to NASA for dlrs 60 million to complete the segment. Agency chief Yuri Koptev said that taking part in the new station is the only hope for the beleaguered Russian space industry, whose funding has collapsed since the Soviet collapse. The project would allow Russia to keep up to 80,000 jobs over the next 15 years. Koptev assailed some Russian space engineers who continue to insist that more money should be put into Russia's own battered 12-year old Mir space station to extend its lifetime instead of committing more funds to the new space outpost. ``The choice mustn't be determined by emotions. Some people are glued to one thing (Mir) and don't care about the rest,'' Koptev said at a recent news conference. ``We must proceed from the understanding of what would take us into the future, allow us to preserve our industry.'' The Russian Khrunichev company has earned over dlrs 200 million for building Zarya, whose design was based on earlier Soviet spacecraft, including some of the Mir's six modules.",
"Two astronauts ventured back out on another spacewalk Wednesday to attach antennas to the international space station under construction nearly 250 miles above Earth. For the second time this week, Jerry Ross and James Newman floated out the hatch of the shuttle Endeavour to work on the seven-story, 35-ton station taking shape in the open cargo bay. Their No. 1 priority was to attach two 100-pound antennas to Unity, the American-made side of the space station. Their other job, time permitting, was trickier: trying to open a stuck antenna on Zarya, the Russian-built control module. The planned seven-hour spacewalk was not nearly as difficult or crucial as Monday night's outing, during which Ross and Newman hooked up 40 electrical connections between Zarya and Unity. The plan called for the men to lug two suitcase-size antennas about halfway up Unity and install them on opposite sides of the 36-foot cylinder. Once activated, the antennas will provide a direct, virtually uninterrupted communication link between Unity and NASA's Mission Control. Otherwise, U.S. flight controllers would have to rely on the sporadic coverage provided by Russian ground stations. The electronic and computer hookups for the antennas will be made inside Unity on Thursday, after the entire crew enters the orbiting station for the first time. Other spacewalking chores for Ross and Newman on Wednesday evening included erecting a sunshade over a computer mounted to the outside of Unity. Mission Control decided just before the spacewalk to let Newman take a crack at unjamming the Zarya antenna. Flight controllers urged caution. The antenna was rolled up on a spool, and engineers worried the 3-foot strip might pop open with enough force to hurt him if he got too close. Newman had a 10-foot grappling hook for the job. The antenna is one of two that failed to open properly following Zarya's Nov. 20 launch from Kazakstan. One more spacewalk is planned for Endeavour's 12-day mission: On Saturday, Ross and Newman will conduct a photo survey and take out a sack of tools that will be used by future station visitors. Newman also may try to unjam the other Zarya antenna. This was the sixth spacewalk for Ross during his 18-year NASA career, the most by an American, and the third for Newman.",
"Endeavour's astronauts connected the first two building blocks of the international space station on Sunday, creating a seven-story tower in the shuttle cargo bay. It was the first time that the Russian-built Zarya control module and the made-in-America Unity chamber had ever touched. It looked to be a perfect and, hopefully, long-lasting fit. ``We have capture of Zarya,'' commander Robert Cabana announced the moment the two pieces came together. ``Congratulations to the crew of the good ship Endeavour,'' replied Mission Control. ``That's terrific.'' The 240-mile-high construction job began two hours earlier with Nancy Currie's capture of Zarya (Russian for Sunrise) using the shuttle robot arm. ``We're halfway home,'' Cabana said. Then came the hard part: stacking the two giant cylinders in the cargo bay. The two station pieces are so big _ 77 feet from the tip of one to the tip of the other with a combined mass of 70,000 pounds _ that Currie and her crewmates had to rely on a computerized vision system and camera views, rather than direct line of sight. This was the first time such a ``blind'' docking had ever been attempted. Currie positioned the solar-winged Zarya, still on the end of the shuttle robot arm, several inches directly above Unity. It was slow going; she wanted and needed perfect alignment. Once she was sure she had it, Cabana fired Endeavour's thrusters, and the brief burst raised the shuttle and thereby Unity enough for the docking mechanisms on the two station components to snap together. The historical moment occurred above the South Pacific. The union _ intended to last the station's 15-year or more lifetime _ set the stage for a spacewalk by two astronauts on Monday to attach electrical connectors and cables between the two components. Mission Control thought Sunday's work might take hours longer than planned and gave the six astronauts plenty of time for the tasks. But everything occurred more or less when and how it was supposed to, aside from a piece of space junk that strayed too close. Before beginning their final approach to Zarya, the six astronauts had to steer clear of a chunk of a rocket launched last month from California. Mission Control ordered the pilots to fire the shuttle thrusters to put an extra three miles between Endeavour and the space junk, putting Endeavour a total of five miles from the orbiting debris. The smaller gap would have been ``probably a little too close for comfort,'' Mission Control said. The bigger worry, by far, was over Endeavour's pursuit and capture of Zarya, and its coupling with Unity. The shuttle's 50-foot robot arm had never before handled an object as massive as the 41-foot, 44,000-pound Zarya, a power and propulsion module that was launched from Kazakstan on Nov. 20. It will provide all of the necessary electricity and steering for the fledgling space station until a permanent control module can be launched next summer. Minutes after Zarya's capture, Cabana called down that two antennas on the module were still undeployed as Russian flight controllers had feared. The antennas must be fully deployed in order for Zarya's manual docking system to work; that system won't be needed before next summer, officials said. The only other problem was with a Zarya battery; the astronauts took up a replacement part. The 36-foot, 25,000-pound Unity, the first American-made component, will serve as a connecting passageway, or vestibule, for future modules. It was crucial that Zarya and Unity be joined; if they could not be connected with the robot arm, NASA would have sent out two spacewalking astronauts to manually fit them together. In all, three spacewalks are planned for Endeavour's 12-day flight, not only to hook up electrical connections between the two modules but to install handrails and other tools for future crews. The joined modules will be released from Endeavour once all of the work is completed. NASA estimates 43 more launches and 159 more spacewalks will be needed after this mission to assemble the entire orbiting complex. Once completed, the 16-nation space station will have a mass of 1 million pounds, be longer than a football field, and house up to seven astronauts and cosmonauts.",
"The first part of the international space station was smoothly orbiting Earth on Friday after a faultless launch that marked the start of a new age in space exploration and colonization. A Russian Proton booster rocket carried the module into its initial orbit 200 kilometers (125 miles) above the Earth and the unit was operating as planned, officials said. Russia's Zarya, or Sunrise, module is to fly alone for two weeks before a rendezvous with the American space shuttle Endeavour, which is to be launched Dec. 3 carrying the Unity connecting module. Space officials from 16 nations taking part in the project cheered as the rocket soared into the cloudy sky above the central Asian steppe from the Baikonur launch pad Friday _ a year later than planned. ``During the, pickup 4th pvs",
"WASHINGTON _ NASA and the Russian Space Agency have agreed to set aside a last-minute Russian request to launch an international space station into an orbit closer to Mir, officials announced Friday. While putting the new station closer to Russia's 12-year-old Mir station would make it easier to transfer equipment and supplies from the old outpost to the new one, the request came too late to be acted on, said Randy Brinkley, NASA's space station program manager. NASA was surprised last week when Russia's prime station contractor proposed the orbital position change just two-and-a-half weeks before launch of the first part of the new station. Delaying the Nov. 20 flight by 10 hours to match the orbits would have forced similar shifts in the subsequent assembly flights, and resulted in potentially unfavorable sun angles on the solar-powered station, engineers said. ``We have mutually concluded that it would not be prudent to make these changes,'' Brinkley said during a news conference held at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. ``It added technical complexity and risks to the mission that were not justified.'' The decision, which followed ``frank and candid'' discussions between the two partners, was not imposed by the United States, he said. ``The conclusions were mutual,'' Brinkley said. ``Both sides concluded that it did not make sense.'' The Russians, struggling to find money for their space program with their nation in economic collapse, had said they wanted to transfer thousands of pounds of newer equipment and scientific instruments from Mir as an economy move. However, some critics questioned the Russians' motives, wondering if the requested orbital change was part of plan to delay the decommissioning and destruction of Mir, which the Russians have agreed to do next summer. The Russians have so little money that the United States and other partners in the international station fear that money spent on Mir will prevent Russia from meeting its obligations with the new project. ``The Mir competes with the international space station for very critical resources and for funding,'' Brinkley said. NASA will consider ideas for salvaging Mir's research equipment to use on the international space station, he said, but only if it does not interfere with assembling the new station. The United States and 15 other nations plan to begin building the new station in orbit next week when the Russians launch a module that will supply power and propulsion during the early stages of the five-year construction period. The space shuttle Endeavor is to follow on Dec. 3 with the second station part, a U.S.-built connecting passageway that attaches to the first module.",
"Endeavour and its astronauts closed in Sunday to capture the first piece of the international space station, the Russian-made Zarya control module that had to be connected to the Unity chamber aboard the shuttle. Stacking the two giant cylinders 240 miles above the Earth was considered the most difficult part of the mission. The job fell to Nancy Currie, the shuttle crane operator who had deftly hoisted and repositioned Unity in the cargo bay on Saturday. The two station pieces are so big _ 77 feet from the tip of one to the tip of the other with a combined mass of 70,000 pounds _ that Currie and her crewmates were going to have to rely on a computerized vision system and camera views, rather than direct line of sight. Such a ``blind'' docking had never been attempted before. Mission Control gave the astronauts plenty of time for the tasks. ``The main thing I've tried to do for the last two years working on this flight is make sure we have time. We have margin on everything,'' said flight director Bob Castle. Before beginning their final approach to Zarya _ Russian for Sunrise _ the shuttle's six astronauts had to steer clear of a chunk of a rocket launched last month from California. Mission Control ordered the pilots to fire the shuttle thrusters to put an extra three miles between Endeavour and the space junk, putting Endeavour a total of five miles from the orbiting debris. The smaller gap would have been ``probably a little too close for comfort,'' Mission Control said. The bigger worry, by far, was over Endeavour's pursuit and capture of Zarya, and its coupling with Unity. The shuttle's 50-foot robot arm had never before been assigned to handle an object as massive as the 44,000-pound Zarya, a power and propulsion module that was launched from Kazakhstan on Nov. 20. It will provide all the necessary electricity and steering for the fledgling space station until a permanent control module can be launched next summer. The 36-foot, 25,000-pound Unity will serve as a connecting passageway, or vestibule, for future modules. In case Zarya and Unity could not be connected with the robot arm, two spacewalking astronauts would have to manually fit them together. The astronauts would be going out anyway Monday to attach electrical connectors and cables between the two components. In all, three spacewalks were planned for Endeavour's 12-day flight. NASA estimates 43 more launches and 159 more spacewalks will be needed after this mission to assemble the entire orbiting complex. Once completed, the 16-nation space station will have a mass of 1 million pounds, be longer than a football field, and house up to seven astronauts and cosmonauts."
] |
[
"Russian space officials gave the first module of the international space station a routine tweak Saturday to push it into higher orbit, and convened a meeting on Earth to map out its future. Flight controllers fired one of the module's two maneuvering engines to raise it to an orbit about 230 kilometers (157 miles) in space, the station's public affairs office said. Russian Space Agency general director Yuri Koptev told reporters the maneuver was carried out ``with great accuracy,'' and the 24-ton core module was cruising through space without any problems. The module, called Zarya, or Sunrise, lifted off Friday from the Baikonur launchpad in Kazakstan into an initial orbit 200 kilometers (125 miles) above Earth. Zarya is to serve as a space tugboat in the early stages of the international project, providing propulsion, power and communications. It will fly alone for two weeks before a rendezvous with the American space shuttle Endeavour, which is to be launched Dec. 3 carrying the Unity connecting module. The international space station is a U.S.-led successor to Russia's Mir space station, and is being heralded by space officials as the vehicle for unprecedented international cooperation in space in the 21st century. The heads of the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Japan and Canada, along with the European Space Agency, met in Moscow on Saturday to discuss the project, the Interfax news agency reported. The space agency heads agreed on a schedule for future meetings and on holding a scientific conference on the project somewhere in Europe, at an unspecified date. Also Saturday, the head of Russia's Mission Control, Vladimir Lobachev, was quoted as saying that Russia would take the lead role in managing the international space station during its first five years. Previously, space officials have said the station would be jointly controlled from Moscow and Houston, with the U.S. space agency NASA taking a lead role. According to Interfax, Lobachev said it made sense for Russia to control the project because the Russian-built Zarya and a Russian-built service module would perform most of the life support and navigational functions for the station's first five years. ``Furthermore, Russian engineers are more experienced in this job and NASA officials are aware of this,'' he said. The space station is expected to cost at least dlrs 40 billion, of which the United States is expected to pay dlrs 24 billion. Russia's financing problems delayed the initial launch by a year, and some critics have said the station amounts to an expensive way for NASA to keep Russia's beleaguered space program alive. The station will serve as an orbital home for visiting astronauts and cosmonauts for at least 15 years.",
"Endeavour's astronauts connected the first two building blocks of the international space station on Sunday, creating a seven-story tower in the shuttle cargo bay. It was the first time that the Russian-built Zarya control module and the made-in-America Unity chamber had ever touched. It looked to be a perfect and, hopefully, long-lasting fit. ``We have capture of Zarya,'' commander Robert Cabana announced the two pieces came together. ``Congratulations to the crew of the good ship Endeavour,'' replied Mission Control. ``That's terrific.'' The 240-mile-high construction job began two hours earlier with Nancy Currie's capture of Zarya (Russian for Sunrise) using the shuttle robot arm. ``We're halfway home,'' Cabana said. Then came the hard part: stacking the two giant cylinders in the cargo bay. The two station pieces are so big _ 77 feet from the tip of one to the tip of the other with a combined mass of 70,000 pounds _ that Currie and her crewmates had to rely on a computerized vision system and camera views, rather than direct line of sight. This was the first time such a ``blind'' docking had ever been attempted. Currie positioned the solar-winged Zarya, still on the end of the shuttle robot arm, several inches directly above Unity. It was slow going; she wanted and needed perfect alignment. Once she was sure she had it, Cabana fired Endeavour's thrusters, and the brief burst raised the shuttle and thereby Unity enough for the docking mechanisms on the two station components to snap together. The historical moment occurred above the South Pacific. The union _ intended to last the station's 15-year or more lifetime _ set the stage for a spacewalk by two astronauts on Monday to attach electrical connectors and cables between the two components. Mission Control thought Sunday's work might take hours longer than planned and gave the six astronauts plenty of time for the tasks. But everything occurred more or less when and how it was supposed to, aside from a piece of space junk that strayed too close. Before beginning their final approach to Zarya, the six astronauts had to steer clear of a chunk of a rocket launched last month from California. Mission Control ordered the pilots to fire the shuttle thrusters to put an extra three miles between Endeavour and the space junk, putting Endeavour a total of five miles from the orbiting debris. The smaller gap would have been ``probably a little too close for comfort,'' Mission Control said. The bigger worry, by far, was over Endeavour's pursuit and capture of Zarya, and its coupling with Unity. The shuttle's 50-foot robot arm had never before handled an object as massive as the 41-foot, 44,000-pound Zarya, a power and propulsion module that was launched from Kazakstan on Nov. 20. It will provide all of the necessary electricity and steering for the fledgling space station until a permanent control module can be launched next summer. Minutes after Zarya's capture, Cabana called down that two antennas on the module were still undeployed as Russian flight controllers had feared. The antennas must be fully deployed in order for Zarya's manual docking system to work; that system won't be needed before next summer, officials said. The only other problem was with a Zarya battery; the astronauts took up a replacement part. The 36-foot, 25,000-pound Unity, the first American-made component, will serve as a connecting passageway, or vestibule, for future modules. It was crucial that Zarya and Unity be joined; if they could not be connected with the robot arm, NASA would have sent out two spacewalking astronauts to manually fit them together. In all, three spacewalks are planned for Endeavour's 12-day flight, not only to hook up electrical connections between the two modules but to install handrails and other tools for future crews. The joined modules will be released from Endeavour once all of the work is completed. NASA estimates 43 more launches and 159 more spacewalks will be needed after this mission to assemble the entire orbiting complex. Once completed, the 16-nation space station will have a mass of 1 million pounds, be longer than a football field, and house up to seven astronauts and cosmonauts.",
"The first piece of the international space station was orbiting Earth Friday, sprouting antennae and unfolding solar power panels as it awaited other segments, which will eventually grow into the largest orbital laboratory in history. The module, called Zarya from the Russian term meaning sunrise or dawn, took a flawless ride into space atop a three-stage Russian Proton booster rocket that lifted off at 1:40 a.m. Eastern time from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launching was witnessed by the heads of the space agencies of the 16 nations that are sponsoring the station, which will cost at least $40 billion to build over the next five years. Zarya, built in Russia with $240 million from the United States, is to be joined in two weeks by the first American module, a docking hub called Unity. The space shuttle Endeavour is to take off on Dec. 3 to rendezvous with Zarya and attach the two units. This is to be followed by 43 more flights by American and Russian rockets carrying more than 100 parts to be assembled in space to form a 900,000-pound research station housing up to seven astronauts. Daniel Goldin, the administrator of NASA, said at a news conference following the launching, ``Now we only have 44 launches to go, about 1,000 hours of space walks and countless problems.'' But because of all the partner nations trusting each other and working together, he said, ``the international space station is going to be a reality.'' Even as the new space station is coming together, questions continue about the fate of Russia's existing space laboratory, the 12-year-old Mir. Because of the collapse of the Russian economy, doubts that Russia can produce enough rockets and other equipment to support both projects led Russia to promise that it would abandon Mir and destroy the station by next summer. However, in recent weeks Russian officials have been lobbying to find ways to extend Mir's life. According to a report by the news agency Reuters, President Boris Yeltsin's space adviser, Yevgeny Shaposhnikov, said Friday he was preparing a number of proposals on extending Mir's life past the year 2000. Support for such options has been growing in recent weeks among Russian space officials, astronauts and nationalists, who see Mir as a symbol of Russian achievements in space. James Van Laak, NASA's deputy manager of operations for the space station, said Friday that the agency had not received any formal proposals about extending Mir's life. ``NASA would find such a proposal unacceptable if it has any measurable impact on the international space station,'' Van Laak said in a telephone interview from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, ``No one has any objection to Mir or keeping it operational if the Russians find a way to support both projects, but they have to demonstrate they can.'' Yuri Koptev, head of the Russian Space Agency, said the launching of Zarya, a 42,000-pound space tugboat that will supply power and propulsion in the early stages of station construction, was a needed vindication for the troubled Russian space program. ``The Russian space industry is alive and well and is perfectly able to fulfill all of its commitments on the international space station,'' Koptev said.",
"A Russian Proton booster rocket carried the first part of the international space station into orbit Friday, heralding the start of a new era in international space colonization. Russian space officials and others cheered as ground control announced that the capsule had separated from its booster rocket and reached its first orbit at about 200 kilometers (125 miles) above the Earth. ``Success,'' shouted one exultant official some 10 minutes after the giant rocket blasted off and entered orbit. The heads of the space agencies of 16 nations participating in the project watched the lift-off from a distance of about 5 kilometers (3 miles). Strategic Rocket Forces troops who had prepared the launch were in underground bunkers to avoid poisoning by the highly toxic rocket fuel. Russian and U.S. officials said the launch was ``flawless'' and the module performed well during initial tests. They cautioned that much work remains to be done to get the ambitious space station project up and working. ``Now we only have 44 launches to go, about 1,000 hours of space walks and countless problems, but because of the trust and mutual respect ... the international space station is going to be a reality,'' NASA chief Daniel Goldin told a press conference after the launch. His Russian counterpart, Yuri Koptev, said the launch was a vital vindication for the troubled Russian space industry, proving it could play a major role in space operations. ``Today we made a truly epoch-making step to carry out this project. The Russian space industry is alive and well and is perfectly able to fulfill all of its commitments on the international space station,'' he said. The launch went smoothly, with the rocket soaring into the cloudy sky above the central Asian steppes. The huge roar of the rocket reverberated for dozens of kilometers (miles) across the empty plain around the base. The mood at the launch pad was tense before the launch, with space officials and workers anxiously making last-minute checks to ensure there were no problems. Solar power panels on the module were successfully deployed shortly after it reached its first orbit and all systems were working normally, officials said. The launch of the Russian cargo module, which had been delayed for more than a year, ushers in a new era of cooperation among former space-race rivals. Space officials expressed optimism that cooperation would further promote world stability following the end of the Cold War. ``We still have some contradictions, we still have combat missiles aimed at each other, but the predominant trend is the state of cooperation and doing things together,'' said Yuri Semyonov of Russia's Energia space company. The 12.4-meter (41.2-feet) Zarya, or Sunrise, was launched by a three-stage Proton booster rocket. Zarya is designed to serve as a space tugboat in the early stages of the project, providing propulsion, power and communications. Engineers finished final preparations early Friday for the liftoff of the 24-ton module. The rocket blasted off under cloudy skies and strong winds, and disappeared behind the clouds 40 seconds later. The international space station, the U.S.-led successor to Russia's beleaguered Mir, involves 16 nations and is due to be completed by 2004. It will consist of more than 100 elements that will take 45 assembly flights to complete. Russia's crucial participation has been hampered by the country's financial problems. The launch of the first segment was postponed repeatedly, mainly because the chronically broke Russian space agency couldn't afford to complete another part of the station that is to go up later. Zarya is to fly alone for two weeks before a rendezvous with the American space shuttle Endeavor, which is to be launched Dec. 3 carrying the Unity connecting module. The space station will not be inhabitable until at least early 2000, following the launch of a Russian crew module which is set to blast off next July or August. The space station is expected to cost at least dlrs 40 billion, with the United States planning to pay dlrs 24 billion. It will serve as an orbital home for visiting astronauts and cosmonauts for at least 15 years. Russia has repeatedly failed to meet deadlines for constructing the crew module, putting the whole project behind schedule. Having lost hope of getting promised government funds, the Russian space agency has sold research time on the station to NASA for dlrs 60 million to complete the segment. Russia rents the Baikonur launching pad from Kazakstan.",
"Russian space experts were making final preparations Thursday at the Baikonur rocket base to launch the first component of a multibillion dollar international space station after a year of delay. Built by a Russian company and to be launched atop a Russian booster rocket, the 24-ton Zarya (Sunrise) control and cargo module is a U.S.-funded component of the station. It will serve as a space tugboat in the early stages of the project, providing propulsion, power and communications. The unmanned launch, set for 9:40 Moscow time (0640 GMT) Friday from Baikonur in Kazakhstan, has been delayed for one year mainly because of the cash-strapped Russian space agency's failure to complete another part of the station. ``After years of discussing, planning and replanning, we are about to launch hardware,'' Gretchen McClain, deputy associate administrator for the new station, said at a news conference earlier this week. ``We are ready to begin a project that will bring us into the millennium with women and men living and working in space permanently.'' Russian officials added their traditional note of superstition. ``It is not in the Russian tradition to preface a launch with ... some advance statements. I would like to knock on wood, which is rather common in the Russian tradition,'' said Alexander Krasnov, a deputy chief of Russian Space Agency's manned flight department. The station, involving 16 nations with the United States and Russia playing the biggest roles, will consist of more than 100 elements that will take 45 assembly flights to complete. It is due to be completed by 2004. The station will weigh 500 tons (more than a million pounds) and is expected to cost at least dlrs 40 billion, with the United States planning to pay dlrs 21 billion. It will serve as an orbital home for visiting astronauts and cosmonauts for up to 20 years. Zarya is to fly alone for two weeks before a rendezvous with the American space shuttle Endeavor, which is to be launched Dec. 3 carrying the Unity connecting module. The shuttle crew will attach the two modules together in three space walks, using the Endeavors robot arm. The 12.4-meter (41.2-feet) Zarya holds more than 6 tons of fuel in its 16 tanks and is capable of flying independently for 430 days. Its control system consists of 36 thrusters and two large engines for major orbital changes. It will be launched by a three-stage heavy-lift Proton booster rocket that would put Zarya into orbit in less than 10 minutes after the blastoff. In the ensuing days, the ground controllers will gradually adjust its orbit in preparation for the meeting with Endeavor. The space station will not be inhabitable until early 2000, following the launch of a Russian crew module which is set to blast off next July or August. Russia has repeatedly failed to meet deadlines for constructing the crew module, putting the whole project behind schedule. Having lost hope of getting the promised government funds, the Russian space agency has sold its early research time on the station to NASA for dlrs 60 million to complete the segment. Agency chief Yuri Koptev said that taking part in the new station is the only hope for the beleaguered Russian space industry, whose funding has collapsed since the Soviet collapse. The project would allow Russia to keep up to 80,000 jobs over the next 15 years. Koptev assailed some Russian space engineers who continue to insist that more money should be put into Russia's own battered 12-year old Mir space station to extend its lifetime instead of committing more funds to the new space outpost. ``The choice mustn't be determined by emotions. Some people are glued to one thing (Mir) and don't care about the rest,'' Koptev said at a recent news conference. ``We must proceed from the understanding of what would take us into the future, allow us to preserve our industry.'' The Russian Khrunichev company has earned over dlrs 200 million for building Zarya, whose design was based on earlier Soviet spacecraft, including some of the Mir's six modules.",
"Two astronauts ventured back out on another spacewalk Wednesday to attach antennas to the international space station under construction nearly 250 miles above Earth. For the second time this week, Jerry Ross and James Newman floated out the hatch of the shuttle Endeavour to work on the seven-story, 35-ton station taking shape in the open cargo bay. Their No. 1 priority was to attach two 100-pound antennas to Unity, the American-made side of the space station. Their other job, time permitting, was trickier: trying to open a stuck antenna on Zarya, the Russian-built control module. The planned seven-hour spacewalk was not nearly as difficult or crucial as Monday night's outing, during which Ross and Newman hooked up 40 electrical connections between Zarya and Unity. The plan called for the men to lug two suitcase-size antennas about halfway up Unity and install them on opposite sides of the 36-foot cylinder. Once activated, the antennas will provide a direct, virtually uninterrupted communication link between Unity and NASA's Mission Control. Otherwise, U.S. flight controllers would have to rely on the sporadic coverage provided by Russian ground stations. The electronic and computer hookups for the antennas will be made inside Unity on Thursday, after the entire crew enters the orbiting station for the first time. Other spacewalking chores for Ross and Newman on Wednesday evening included erecting a sunshade over a computer mounted to the outside of Unity. Mission Control decided just before the spacewalk to let Newman take a crack at unjamming the Zarya antenna. Flight controllers urged caution. The antenna was rolled up on a spool, and engineers worried the 3-foot strip might pop open with enough force to hurt him if he got too close. Newman had a 10-foot grappling hook for the job. The antenna is one of two that failed to open properly following Zarya's Nov. 20 launch from Kazakstan. One more spacewalk is planned for Endeavour's 12-day mission: On Saturday, Ross and Newman will conduct a photo survey and take out a sack of tools that will be used by future station visitors. Newman also may try to unjam the other Zarya antenna. This was the sixth spacewalk for Ross during his 18-year NASA career, the most by an American, and the third for Newman.",
"Endeavour's astronauts connected the first two building blocks of the international space station on Sunday, creating a seven-story tower in the shuttle cargo bay. It was the first time that the Russian-built Zarya control module and the made-in-America Unity chamber had ever touched. It looked to be a perfect and, hopefully, long-lasting fit. ``We have capture of Zarya,'' commander Robert Cabana announced the moment the two pieces came together. ``Congratulations to the crew of the good ship Endeavour,'' replied Mission Control. ``That's terrific.'' The 240-mile-high construction job began two hours earlier with Nancy Currie's capture of Zarya (Russian for Sunrise) using the shuttle robot arm. ``We're halfway home,'' Cabana said. Then came the hard part: stacking the two giant cylinders in the cargo bay. The two station pieces are so big _ 77 feet from the tip of one to the tip of the other with a combined mass of 70,000 pounds _ that Currie and her crewmates had to rely on a computerized vision system and camera views, rather than direct line of sight. This was the first time such a ``blind'' docking had ever been attempted. Currie positioned the solar-winged Zarya, still on the end of the shuttle robot arm, several inches directly above Unity. It was slow going; she wanted and needed perfect alignment. Once she was sure she had it, Cabana fired Endeavour's thrusters, and the brief burst raised the shuttle and thereby Unity enough for the docking mechanisms on the two station components to snap together. The historical moment occurred above the South Pacific. The union _ intended to last the station's 15-year or more lifetime _ set the stage for a spacewalk by two astronauts on Monday to attach electrical connectors and cables between the two components. Mission Control thought Sunday's work might take hours longer than planned and gave the six astronauts plenty of time for the tasks. But everything occurred more or less when and how it was supposed to, aside from a piece of space junk that strayed too close. Before beginning their final approach to Zarya, the six astronauts had to steer clear of a chunk of a rocket launched last month from California. Mission Control ordered the pilots to fire the shuttle thrusters to put an extra three miles between Endeavour and the space junk, putting Endeavour a total of five miles from the orbiting debris. The smaller gap would have been ``probably a little too close for comfort,'' Mission Control said. The bigger worry, by far, was over Endeavour's pursuit and capture of Zarya, and its coupling with Unity. The shuttle's 50-foot robot arm had never before handled an object as massive as the 41-foot, 44,000-pound Zarya, a power and propulsion module that was launched from Kazakstan on Nov. 20. It will provide all of the necessary electricity and steering for the fledgling space station until a permanent control module can be launched next summer. Minutes after Zarya's capture, Cabana called down that two antennas on the module were still undeployed as Russian flight controllers had feared. The antennas must be fully deployed in order for Zarya's manual docking system to work; that system won't be needed before next summer, officials said. The only other problem was with a Zarya battery; the astronauts took up a replacement part. The 36-foot, 25,000-pound Unity, the first American-made component, will serve as a connecting passageway, or vestibule, for future modules. It was crucial that Zarya and Unity be joined; if they could not be connected with the robot arm, NASA would have sent out two spacewalking astronauts to manually fit them together. In all, three spacewalks are planned for Endeavour's 12-day flight, not only to hook up electrical connections between the two modules but to install handrails and other tools for future crews. The joined modules will be released from Endeavour once all of the work is completed. NASA estimates 43 more launches and 159 more spacewalks will be needed after this mission to assemble the entire orbiting complex. Once completed, the 16-nation space station will have a mass of 1 million pounds, be longer than a football field, and house up to seven astronauts and cosmonauts.",
"The first part of the international space station was smoothly orbiting Earth on Friday after a faultless launch that marked the start of a new age in space exploration and colonization. A Russian Proton booster rocket carried the module into its initial orbit 200 kilometers (125 miles) above the Earth and the unit was operating as planned, officials said. Russia's Zarya, or Sunrise, module is to fly alone for two weeks before a rendezvous with the American space shuttle Endeavour, which is to be launched Dec. 3 carrying the Unity connecting module. Space officials from 16 nations taking part in the project cheered as the rocket soared into the cloudy sky above the central Asian steppe from the Baikonur launch pad Friday _ a year later than planned. ``During the, pickup 4th pvs",
"WASHINGTON _ NASA and the Russian Space Agency have agreed to set aside a last-minute Russian request to launch an international space station into an orbit closer to Mir, officials announced Friday. While putting the new station closer to Russia's 12-year-old Mir station would make it easier to transfer equipment and supplies from the old outpost to the new one, the request came too late to be acted on, said Randy Brinkley, NASA's space station program manager. NASA was surprised last week when Russia's prime station contractor proposed the orbital position change just two-and-a-half weeks before launch of the first part of the new station. Delaying the Nov. 20 flight by 10 hours to match the orbits would have forced similar shifts in the subsequent assembly flights, and resulted in potentially unfavorable sun angles on the solar-powered station, engineers said. ``We have mutually concluded that it would not be prudent to make these changes,'' Brinkley said during a news conference held at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. ``It added technical complexity and risks to the mission that were not justified.'' The decision, which followed ``frank and candid'' discussions between the two partners, was not imposed by the United States, he said. ``The conclusions were mutual,'' Brinkley said. ``Both sides concluded that it did not make sense.'' The Russians, struggling to find money for their space program with their nation in economic collapse, had said they wanted to transfer thousands of pounds of newer equipment and scientific instruments from Mir as an economy move. However, some critics questioned the Russians' motives, wondering if the requested orbital change was part of plan to delay the decommissioning and destruction of Mir, which the Russians have agreed to do next summer. The Russians have so little money that the United States and other partners in the international station fear that money spent on Mir will prevent Russia from meeting its obligations with the new project. ``The Mir competes with the international space station for very critical resources and for funding,'' Brinkley said. NASA will consider ideas for salvaging Mir's research equipment to use on the international space station, he said, but only if it does not interfere with assembling the new station. The United States and 15 other nations plan to begin building the new station in orbit next week when the Russians launch a module that will supply power and propulsion during the early stages of the five-year construction period. The space shuttle Endeavor is to follow on Dec. 3 with the second station part, a U.S.-built connecting passageway that attaches to the first module.",
"Endeavour and its astronauts closed in Sunday to capture the first piece of the international space station, the Russian-made Zarya control module that had to be connected to the Unity chamber aboard the shuttle. Stacking the two giant cylinders 240 miles above the Earth was considered the most difficult part of the mission. The job fell to Nancy Currie, the shuttle crane operator who had deftly hoisted and repositioned Unity in the cargo bay on Saturday. The two station pieces are so big _ 77 feet from the tip of one to the tip of the other with a combined mass of 70,000 pounds _ that Currie and her crewmates were going to have to rely on a computerized vision system and camera views, rather than direct line of sight. Such a ``blind'' docking had never been attempted before. Mission Control gave the astronauts plenty of time for the tasks. ``The main thing I've tried to do for the last two years working on this flight is make sure we have time. We have margin on everything,'' said flight director Bob Castle. Before beginning their final approach to Zarya _ Russian for Sunrise _ the shuttle's six astronauts had to steer clear of a chunk of a rocket launched last month from California. Mission Control ordered the pilots to fire the shuttle thrusters to put an extra three miles between Endeavour and the space junk, putting Endeavour a total of five miles from the orbiting debris. The smaller gap would have been ``probably a little too close for comfort,'' Mission Control said. The bigger worry, by far, was over Endeavour's pursuit and capture of Zarya, and its coupling with Unity. The shuttle's 50-foot robot arm had never before been assigned to handle an object as massive as the 44,000-pound Zarya, a power and propulsion module that was launched from Kazakhstan on Nov. 20. It will provide all the necessary electricity and steering for the fledgling space station until a permanent control module can be launched next summer. The 36-foot, 25,000-pound Unity will serve as a connecting passageway, or vestibule, for future modules. In case Zarya and Unity could not be connected with the robot arm, two spacewalking astronauts would have to manually fit them together. The astronauts would be going out anyway Monday to attach electrical connectors and cables between the two components. In all, three spacewalks were planned for Endeavour's 12-day flight. NASA estimates 43 more launches and 159 more spacewalks will be needed after this mission to assemble the entire orbiting complex. Once completed, the 16-nation space station will have a mass of 1 million pounds, be longer than a football field, and house up to seven astronauts and cosmonauts."
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While China plans to sign the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights at the U.N., it is still harassing and arresting human rights campaigners. Three prominent leaders of the China Democratic Party were put to trial and sentenced to 11-, 12- and 13-year prison terms. Germany and the U.S. condemned the arrests. A labor rights activist was released and exiled to the U.S. to blunt any opposition to Communist rule. U.S. policy to encourage trade and diplomacy in hope of democratic reforms evidences failure, but the U.S. is continuing its policy of encouragement. Friends of jailed dissidents state that they will continue to campaign for change. The US trade-driven policy of expanded ties encouraging Chinese democracy is questioned. China signed rights treaties and dissidents used new laws to set up China Democracy Party, but China violates the new laws by persecuting dissidents. It regularly frees activists from prison then exiles them so they lose local influence. It arrested an activist trying to register a rights monitoring group. CP leader Jiang's hard-line speech and publicity for activists sentenced to long prison terms signals a renewed Chinese crackdown. A rights activist expected to be sacrificed in the cause of democracy. Germany called China's sentencing of dissidents unacceptable. After 2 years of wooing the West by signing international accords, apparently relaxing controls on free speech, and releasing and exiling three dissenters, China cracked down against political dissent in Dec 1998. Leaders of the China Democracy Party (CDP) were arrested and three were sentenced to jail terms of 11 to 13 years. The West, including the US, UK and Germany, reacted strongly. Clinton's China policy of engagement was questioned. China's Jiang Zemin stated economic reform is not a prelude to democracy and vowed to crush any challenges to the Communist Party or "social stability". The CDP vowed to keep working, as more leaders awaited arrest. Xu Wenli, Wang Youchai, and Qin Yongmin, leading dissidents and prominent members of the China Democracy Party, were found guilty of subversion and sentenced to 13, 11, and 12 years in prison, respectively. Soon after the sentencing, China's president, Jiang Zemin, delivered speeches in which he asserted that Western political system must not be adopted and vowed to crush challenges to Communist Party rule. The harsh sentences and speeches signal a crackdown on dissent, but Zha Jianguo, another Democracy Party leader, says he will continue to push for change. Western nations condemned the sentences as violations of U.N. rights treaties signed by China.
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"In stern judgments capping a decisive crackdown on dissidents, Chinese courts sentenced two prominent democracy campaigners to 13 and 11 years in prison Monday for trying to organize an opposition political party. The 13-year prison term given Xu Wenli after a 3 1/2-hour trial in Beijing was the longest for a Chinese dissident in three years. His colleague in the China Democracy Party, Wang Youcai, was sentenced to 11 years, in a verdict announced by a court in Hangzhou four days after his trial. Xu's conviction deprives the would-be opposition group of a potent organizer and the fractured dissident community at large of a strong and moderating voice. Xu remained defiant during his tightly controlled trial on subversion charges. He refused to answer questions from prosecutors and judges and responded only to those from his lawyer, the court-appointed attorney, Mo Shaoping, said. When the court asked if he would appeal, ``Xu Wenli said he would not appeal,'' Mo said, quoting his client as saying ``this is political persecution.'' Xu's daughter also criticized the verdict. ``All he wanted to do was to advocate free speech and make sure the party registers peacefully. But the government failed this test, and now my father has to go to jail again for it,'' said daughter Xu Jin, a graduate student at Boston University. Security forces have orchestrated a concerted crackdown, trampling China's slim legal safeguards to crush the China Democracy Party. In three weeks, at least 32 people have been detained or questioned and Xu, Wang and another leading member, Qin Yongmin, have been put on trial. All three were charged with trying to subvert China's Communist Party-led system. Xu and Qin were given less than four days to prepare their defenses. Last Thursday, Wang and Qin faced trials without legal counsel after police detained or scared off potential lawyers. No verdict has been announced in Qin's case. Judges in Beijing and Hangzhou found that Xu and Wang plotted subversion by founding branches of the China Democracy Party in both cities and accepting money from abroad, the official Xinhua News Agency said in a rare mention of dissident activities. The courts ruled the two should be ``severely punished'' as repeat offenders, Xinhua said in an indirect reference to their previous democracy campaigning. Wary of the China Democracy Party's appeal, scores of uniformed and plainclothes police sealed off Beijing's No. 1 Intermediate People's Court Monday for Xu's trial. Foreign reporters were kept 500 meters (yards) away from the building. Xu's wife was the only friend or family member given permission to watch the proceedings, along with an audience selected by court officials. She was escorted from her home to the courthouse by three plainclothes officers. Hours after the verdict, He Xintong still had not returned home nor had she contacted her daughter. Police detained at least two of Xu's democracy party colleagues and kept watch on the houses of others. ``Members of the China Democracy Party will struggle to the end for the realization of democracy,'' said Gao Hongmin, whose home was under surveillance. Gao, who helped Xu organize the party's Beijing branch, said authorities would not be able to arrest all the party's supporters. In just six months, the party attracted enough of a following to try to register branches in 14 provinces and cities. The U.S. government and exiled dissidents, many of whom supported the party's efforts, denounced the sentences and called for the dissidents' release. ``We are deeply disappointed with both the guilty verdict and the extremely harsh sentence given to Mr. Xu,'' said U.S. Embassy spokesman Bill Palmer. ``No individual should be arrested, tried or sentenced for exercising internationally recognized freedoms.'' Xu, 55, edited an underground journal in the Democracy Wall movement 20 years ago and spent 12 years in prison, mostly in solitary confinement. Since his parole ended last year, he has been behind-the-scenes advisor to a host of dissident activities. He supported Qin Yongmin, another Democracy Wall veteran, in setting up an independent human rights monitor and advised others to run for local legislative seats in Beijing. Xu became openly involved in the China Democracy Party in November. Wang Youcai, a student leader of the Tiananmen Square democracy demonstrations in 1989 and now 32, publicly declared the China Democracy Party's formation in June and said the group intended to challenge the Communist Party's 49-year ban on opposition politics. Police have sporadically detained supporters of the democracy party. The decisive move came on Nov. 30 as Chinese Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin returned from Japan, ending a busy two years of diplomatic forays. In a speech broadcast nationwide on Friday, Jiang warned against subversives trying to bring down the system and vowed never to copy Western democracy. To allay international criticism, China released a respected labor rights campaigner, Liu Nianchun, from 3 1/2 years in prison camps on Sunday and sent him into exile in the United States.",
"German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, who drew China's anger recently by meeting with exiled dissident Wei Jingsheng, said China's sentencing of two dissidents Monday was unacceptable and flouted an international treaty the country recently signed. ``The reaction of Chinese courts is totally unacceptable,'' Fischer said, calling for the dissidents' immediate release. ``The accused simply tried through peaceful means to exercise their right to free speech and assembly, which are guaranteed by China's constitution,'' and by the United Nations' International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which China recently signed, Fischer said in a statement. Chinese courts sentenced dissidents Xu Wenli and Wang Youcai to 13 and 11 years for trying to organize an opposition political party.",
"Six months after President Clinton traveled to Beijing and challenged China's leaders to move rapidly toward political reform, the administration's policy of engaging Beijing was called into question Monday when Chinese courts sentenced three of the nation's most prominent dissidents to long jail sentences. Critics of China on Capitol Hill and human rights groups said the tough prison terms were evidence of the failure of the administration's policy of encouraging trade and diplomatic ties with China in hopes of democratic reform. The dissidents _ Xu Wenli, who was sentenced Monday to 13 years in prison, Wang Youcai, who received an 11-year sentence, and Qin Yongming, who was reported to have received 12 years were charged with subversion. The State Department said it had received reports from sources it did not identify that a third leading democracy campaigner, Qin Yongmin, had been sentenced to 13 years in prison after a trial last week in the city of Wuhan. Relatives of Qin in China denied the reports, however, and said that his trial continued. Given Clinton's effusive praise for China's senior leaders during his trip to Beijing last summer, the administration found itself on the defensive Monday and harshly criticized the prison sentences, even as it continued to insist that the administration's policy of engagement was helping push Beijing toward democracy. James Foley, a State Department spokesman, said the United States ``deeply deplores'' the jail terms and called for the immediate release of the dissidents. ``These three men appear to have been involved in nothing more than efforts to form a new political party,'' he said. While condemning the prison sentences, Foley and other American officials were careful to note the administration's assessment that there had been progress in human rights in China, some of it linked to Clinton's meeting in Beijing with Chinese President Jiang Zemin. ``There had been improvements in the human rights situation in China, modest improvements,'' Foley said. The severe prison terms _ and other recent instances of harassment of democracy campaigners in China _ are ``steps backward in relationship to what had been an improved human rights performance,'' he said. Critics of the administration's China policy noted that the long prison sentences were handed out less than a week after Jiang delivered a pointed speech in Beijing in which he made clear that China's economic reforms were not a prelude to Western-style democracy. ``The Western mode of political systems must never be copied,'' he said, adding that those who challenged the Communist Party's supremacy would be crushed. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who has long been among China's harshest critics in Congress, said the prison sentences handed out to Xu and Wang were ``the clearest demonstration'' since the president's visit to China last summer of Beijing's ``true intentions regarding human rights.'' ``They are pathetic, really pathetic,'' she said of the administration. ``The administration can say what it wants, but it must know Monday that its policy on China is an embarrassment. What the Chinese have learned is that they have all the latitude in the world.'' Mike Jendrzejczyk, Washington director for Human Rights Group, said the jail terms were proof of the need for the administration to revise its China policy, which he described as ``almost entirely'' driven by the administration's desire to encourage trade. He said that while there had been some signs of progress in the human rights situation in China over the last year _ notably, China's agreement to sign international treaties on civil and economic rights _ the overall picture was bleak. ``On balance,'' he said, ``any progress China has made by allowing greater openness may have been canceled out by a more repressive attitude.'' Human Rights Watch, the largest American-based human rights group, called on the administration to consider postponing or canceling a planned visit to China early next year by Commerce Secretary William Daley and a high-level trade delegation as a protest over the prison sentences. ``That would get Beijing's attention,'' Jendrzejczck said. Other China experts and scholars insisted that the administration was right to continue its policy of engagement with China, and that there was reason to believe that political reform would follow economic reform, as Clinton has argued. Peter Rodman, a former Nixon and Reagan administration official now at the Nixon Center in Washington, said that ``the United States cannot control the evolution of a society as complex as China's.'' He said the harsh prison sentences given out Monday to the dissidents were to be expected, especially since Xu and Wang had been involved in trying to set up a political party to challenge the Communists. ``The pattern of this regime is that every once in a while, they ease up a bit and somebody goes too far and there's a crisis,'' he said. ``I don't think you can blame the United States for this crackdown, nor can you give us credit for any political reforms. On human rights, I just don't think there's much more we can do.''",
"China released a respected, but ailing labor rights campaigner from a prison work camp Sunday and immediately sent him into exile in the United States. Releasing Liu Nianchun appeared to be an attempt by the government to blunt international criticism over Monday's upcoming trial of prominent dissident Xu Wenli. Xu is the third leading member of a would-be opposition political party put on trial for subversion in a three-week crackdown that has seen at least 32 dissidents arrested or interrogated. Beijing police Sunday detained one of Xu's China Democracy Party colleagues, Zha Jianguo, to prevent him from attending the trial, Xu's wife said. Although pleased that Liu Nianchun was free, human rights groups decried the Chinese government's timing as manipulative. ``We don't want to give any credit to the Chinese government for this cynical game it is playing,'' said Xiao Qiang, director of New York-based Human Rights in China. After 3 1/2 years in prison, Liu was taken from the Tuanhe labor camp on the outskirts of Beijing, driven to the capital's airport and put on a Canadian Air flight, ultimately bound for New York, his mother and brother said. Accompanying Liu into exile was his wife, Chu Hailan, and their 11-year-old daughter, the family said. Liu Nianchun's release follows the same pattern China used in freeing its two most famous dissidents, Wei Jingsheng in Nov. 1997 and Wang Dan in April. Authorities released Liu on medical parole, exactly five months before the end of his prison term, provided he go into exile, said his brother and exiled democracy campaigner, Liu Qing. Liu Nianchun, 50, has been in ill-health for at least two years. In an exam authorities finally agreed to provide last month, doctors discovered Liu had tumors in his mouth, stomach and bowels, Liu Qing said. Like Wang and Wei, the United States and other Western governments have lobbied China to release Liu. Chinese leaders have been forcing well-known dissidents into exile throughout the 1990s, finding that once abroad they lose their influence among dissidents at home. In the only official comment on the release, the Xinhua News Agency reported that judicial departments took into account Liu's health and behavior in the labor camp in approving his parole for medical treatment. ``I am very happy for Liu Nianchun, but at the same time sending people directly from prison into exile is a type of human rights violation and persecution,'' Liu Qing said in a telephone interview from his home in New York's Brooklyn borough. Liu Nianchun was one of the most respected figures in the fractured, persecuted dissident community. His more than 3 1/2 years in prisons and labor camps was a sad illustration of the way China's Communist Party rulers punish people they deem a threat. Liu was imprisoned three times in the past 17 years. His last arrest came after he signed a petition calling for labor rights in May 1995. Liu was never put on trial. Fourteen months passed before his wife, Chu Hailan, first learned of his fate and whereabouts: a three-year spell in a labor camp in the frigid, remote northeast. His term was the maximum police may impose on criminal suspects without trial. Labor camp officials later extended Liu's sentence by a year for trying to escape, a charge Chu claimed was fabricated. Inside the labor camp, Liu once started a hunger strike to protest his treatment. He was beaten with cattle prods and confined to a room of 2 square meters (2 square yards) where he could only sit or stand. His wife endured police harassment, beatings and detentions in campaigning for his release. Chu was dragged away and hit by security forces when she tried to hand a letter to U.N. human rights chief Mary Robinson outside a Beijing hotel in September.",
"Hours before China was expected to sign a key U.N. human rights treaty and host British Prime Minister Tony Blair, police hauled a prominent human rights campaigner in for questioning Monday. Qin Yongmin's latest run-in with the authorities came as he tried for the second time in a week to legally register a human rights monitoring group. Qin said a civil affairs official in the Hubei provincial capital of Wuhan accused him of engaging in illegal activities. The police came soon after he returned home. ``As I'm sending this statement, the Wuhan Public Security Bureau is again taking me away,'' Qin said in a hastily scrawled message on the bottom of the typed statement faxed to reporters. Qin, detained briefly two weeks ago, was questioned for about three hours before being released and threatened with prosecution if he persisted in trying to set up his China Human Rights Observer. Qin hoped the harassment would stop after China signs the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but he said if local authorities don't observe the treaty ``we will unswervingly push ahead with protecting human rights to the last.'' China plans to sign the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on Monday at the United Nations. By the time the ink is dry, Blair should be landing in Beijing on Tuesday morning for the first visit by a British prime minister in seven years. The treaty is supposed to guarantee freedoms of speech and assembly. But even after China signs, the treaty would not come into force until ratified by the legislature, which may attach reservations effectively nullifying some provisions. Blair has vowed to discuss differences over human rights with Chinese leaders. His visit has drawn appeals from dissidents and an international press freedom group urging him to persuade Chinese leaders to free political prisoners. In an open letter, three dissident said that while Chinese leaders say they respect human rights principles, in law and practice the government allows rights abuses and persecution of dissidents. Thousands of political prisoners are believed to remain in Chinese prisons, labor camps or detention centers, said the letter, a copy of which was released by the Hong Kong-based Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China. The letter called for the release of Shi Binhai, a journalist who compiled a popular book on political change; Fang Jue, a businessman who called openly for political reform; and other imprisoned activists. Paris-based Reporters Without Borders urged Blair to call for the release of Gao Yu, Liu Xiaobo and Liu Jingsheng. The three are among 13 journalists imprisoned ``simply for attempting to practice their profession,'' it said in a statement.",
"His friend and political mentor is jailed, robbing their budding opposition political party of its most potent organizer, but Zha Jianguo is not afraid. A bag packed with toothbrush, toothpaste and medicine lies ready at his Beijing home for the day Chinese police take him away. He has told police interrogators he expects to be jailed, likely for a few years less than the 13 given China Democracy Party leader Xu Wenli on Monday. ``Democracy is a process, and in that process a small number of people will be sacrificed,'' Zha, a 47-year-old former manager of a computer design company and vice chairman of the party's Beijing branch, told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday. ``We want to use our sacrifice to arouse the people, and we believe that sacrifice is worthwhile.'' With a mixture of defiance and cool clarity about the chances for success, Zha said he and other China Democracy Party members will continue organizing and campaigning for change. His tenacity holds despite the summary trials and harsh punishments for Xu, Wang Youcai and Qin Yongmin _ prominent party principals from the provinces who were sentenced to 11 and 12 years _ and despite threatening signs from the ruling Communist Party. Chinese President Jiang Zemin warned in a speech published Wednesday that political subversives threatened what he called China's fragile social order. ``Whenever any element that undermines stability raises its head, it must be resolutely nipped in the bud,'' Jiang said. Zha maintains that such tactics are unnecessary. In its manifestoes, the Democracy Party espoused peaceful means to target ``the undemocratic system, not the political power of the Communist Party.'' ``We believe elections held after the establishment of a democratic system should decide who has the power,'' said Zha. What many the world over consider democracy is legally subversive in China for threatening the Communist Party-led system. In the past month, authorities have arrested and convicted Xu, Qin and Wang and detained or interrogated at least 29 other party members. Police took Zha from his home Sunday afternoon and held him for nearly 24 hours to keep him from Xu's trial. Until the crackdown, the China Democracy Party distinguished itself from past attempts at opposition by its openness. Organizers publicly announced their intention to set up the party. They tried to register with authorities. Statements were faxed to foreign media and human rights groups to circumvent China's state-controlled media. Now, the party's members _ about 500 by Zha's count _ are being driven underground. Party members will concentrate on increasing ranks and will be more guarded in the use of telephones and faxes and their occasional meetings, Zha said. ``If Xu and the other two were the first round, then the second round is very likely and it will be bigger,'' Zha said. ``In such an unbalanced contest, we are forced to use more secretive means.'' The arrests of Xu, Wang and Qin deprive the party of its more influential members, Zha said. All had proven track records, Xu and Qin as dissident editors in the Democracy Wall era movement 20 years ago, Wang as a student leader of the Tiananmen Square democracy demonstrations in 1989. ``But from another aspect, this has strengthened the resolve of even more party members to struggle on,'' Zha said of the arrests. Zha got interested in politics as a radical youth, following Mao Tse-tung's appeals to go to the countryside in 1968. When he returned to Beijing in 1989, he marched in the Tiananmen protests and continued his activism. Friends introduced him to Xu Wenli in 1995. Having been released from prison two years before, Xu was still not openly involved in dissident politics, but he held court in his Beijing home to discuss China's future.",
"The trials of three outspoken dissidents over, Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin signaled Wednesday that China will sustain a crackdown on dissent throughout next year. In his second hard-line speech in six days, Jiang vowed to crush any challenges to Communist Party rule and preserve social stability. He demanded that officials ``talk politics'' _ a euphemism for following party orders. The speech, to senior law enforcement officials, used uncompromising language heard less frequently over the past 18 months as Chinese leaders sought to improve relations abroad. Jiang's harsh tone punctuated the summary trials and convictions for subversion this week of three political critics who tried to form an opposition party. To underscore the party's intolerant mood, national newspapers ran brief accounts Tuesday and Wednesday of the 13-, 12- and 11-year prison terms given to Xu Wenli, Qin Yongmin and Wang Youcai. Dissidents are rarely mentioned by official media, and the reports served as a warning to China's 1.2 billion people. In the speech, reported by state television, Jiang said stability was crucial over the next year. He noted two key events on the political calendar: the 50th anniversary of Communist Party rule on Oct. 1 and China's recovery of the Portuguese colony of Macau on Dec. 20. ``We must strengthen the ideological and political education of officials and raise their awareness of and resistance to the sabotaging acts of hostile domestic and foreign forces,'' China Central Television quoted Jiang as saying. ``Whenever any element that undermines stability raises its head, it must be resolutely nipped in the bud.'' Jiang did not exclusively target political enemies. He likened their threat to that of white-collar and ordinary criminals and ticked off a list of potentially volatile problems _ inefficient state industries, legions of laid-off workers, stagnating farmers' incomes and corrupt officials. The emphasis on stability and warnings to those who would disrupt it were reminiscent of party pronouncements in the waning years of Jiang's mentor, Deng Xiaoping. After Deng died in 1997 and Jiang emerged victorious from a major party conclave, he projected a more confident image. Reform, not stability, were the bywords of the past year. Academic debates over the past year were the boldest in 10 years by China's relatively controlled standards. Party leaders too touted efforts to build a more comprehensive, predictable legal system and won praise from Western governments for signing U.N. rights treaties. ``Our active developments of foreign affairs has reached new achievements,'' Jiang said. ``Our country's stature has risen a step higher.'' By arresting and convicting Xu, Qin and Wang in less than three weeks, China trampled its own legal safeguards for criminal suspects and raised questions about its commitments to U.N. rights treaties it signed over the past 15 months. Despite the swift punishments given the three, dissidents have continued to campaign for justice. Four elder members of the dissident community sent a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and U.N. human rights commissioner Mary Robinson calling on China to stop persecuting political critics and release political prisoners. ``We have experienced extreme disappointment, worry and shock'' over the long sentences given Xu, Qin and Wang and the recent detentions of several other Chinese, the four wrote in a letter dated Tuesday that was released by New York-based Human Rights in China on Wednesday. In addition, 214 dissidents in China planned a 100-day series of rotating 24-hour fasts beginning Thursday to protest the sentences, the Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China reported Wednesday night. The fasts were to have begun with lawyer Wang Wenjiang, whom authorities prevented from representing Wang Youcai, and Wang Zechen in Liaoning province in northeastern China, but the two activists were detained by police Wednesday evening, the Hong Kong-based center said. The British ambassador in Beijing, Tony Galsworthy, and others delivered a protest message to the Chinese government demanding the immediate release of Xu, Qin and Wang, the Foreign Office in London confirmed on Wednesday. It was conveyed on behalf of the European Union, the United States, Canada and Norway.",
"Trying to deflect foreign criticism of a crackdown on democracy campaigners, China sent a respected labor rights activist from jail into U.S. exile Sunday even as it prepared to put a prominent dissident on trial. Xu Wenli's trial Monday and his almost certain conviction would deprive a nascent opposition political party of a potent organizer and a moderate voice. He is the third and most influential leader in the China Democracy Party tried in a three-week campaign that has seen at least 32 members detained or questioned. For organizing the party and thereby challenging the ruling Communist Party, Xu, 55, is accused of subverting state power, a crime punishable by 10 years to life in prison. To prevent supporters from rallying outside Beijing's No. 1 Intermediate People's Court, police detained two of Xu's colleagues Sunday and kept watch on the homes of at least two others, friends and a Hong Kong-based rights group reported. As police moved against Xu's friends, labor rights campaigner Liu Nianchun was taken from a prison camp outside Beijing and, with his wife and daughter, was put on a plane to Canada and then New York, his first taste of freedom in more than 3 1/2 years. Authorities released Liu on medical parole five months before the end of his sentence provided he go abroad, said his brother, exiled democracy campaigner Liu Qing. His wife claimed for two years that Liu's health was worsening. But only last month did authorities grant a comprehensive exam. Doctors found tumors, perhaps cancerous, in the 50-year-old's mouth, stomach and bowels, Liu Qing said. The timing of Liu's exile and Xu's trial was the most brazen in a string of high-profile dissident releases calculated to influence Western governments. Human rights groups immediately denounced Liu's release as cynical and manipulative. ``The Chinese government continues to play hostage politics with no true commitment to international human rights standards,'' said Xiao Qiang of Human Rights in China, a New York-based lobbying group that Liu Qing heads. Over the past two years, as China tried to woo the West, Beijing signed two key U.N. rights treaties and won praise for bringing its spotty legal system closer to international standards. The ruling Communist Party relaxed some controls on dissenting views among academics. Xu Wenli and other dissidents saw opportunity in the more open atmosphere. Over the past six months, dissidents in 14 provinces and cities have tried to use Chinese laws to set up and register the China Democracy Party. In a sign of the opposition party's appeal, 205 dissidents from across China issued a petition Sunday calling for the immediate release of Xu and two other leaders, the Hong Kong-based Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China reported. To wipe out the opposition movement, authorities have violated recently revised laws that are supposed to protect the rights of criminal suspects. They rushed Xu and fellow leader Qin Yongmin to trial with less than four days notice given to their families, instead of the 10 required by law. Qin and a third principal organizer, Wang Youcai, were also denied legal counsel. Police detained or scared off prospective lawyers, forcing the two to argue their own defenses in separate trials on Thursday. No verdicts have been announced. The Beijing court appointed Xu a lawyer, but his wife, He Xintong, suspects it is merely a formality in what she expects to be a show trial. ``He hasn't even read the whole indictment. How is he going to represent my husband?'' He Xintong said after talking with the lawyer and his aide. Authorities have turned down requests by Xu's colleagues to attend the trial, and He said she has been given one pass, for herself. Xu edited an influential dissident journal in the Democracy Wall movement 20 years ago and spent 12 years in prison, most of them in solitary confinement. Since his parole ended last year, Xu has played the role of elder adviser to dissidents. He became openly involved in the China Democracy Party in November, organizing the group's branch in Beijing and nearby Tianjin. Shortly before his arrest, he called on party members and exiled dissidents to convene a nationwide congress.",
"By sentencing two of the country's most prominent democracy campaigners to long prison terms, China on Monday took its harshest steps yet in its current crackdown on organized political opposition. After a trial that lasted just three and a half hours, Xu Wenli _ at 55 the dean of the dissident movement, and a man who has already spent 12 years in prison for advocating democracy _ was sentenced to 13 years for ``subversion of state power.'' Xu's alleged crimes included helping to organize a new political party, calling for an end to Communist rule in interviews with foreign journalists, calling for independent labor unions and, prosecutors said, accepting $500 from a dissident abroad. He was defended by a lawyer who was appointed by the court just four days ago and met his client only once. Also sentenced Monday, to 11 years in prison, was Wang Youcai, 32, founder of the China Democracy Party, which has now been suppressed. Wang was tried on subversion charges on Thursday in a brief court session, with no defense lawyer, in the eastern city of Hangzhou. The punishment of a third veteran democracy campaigner, Qin Yongmin, 44, has not been announced. His trial began in the central city of Wuhan on Thursday and may reconvene on Tuesday, relatives said. A similarly long sentence is expected. Monday's sentences, which came just six months after President Clinton's visit to Beijing, where he publicly challenged China's leaders to move quickly toward political reform, were harshly criticized by the State Department. They also appeared to spell the effective end here of the China Democracy Party, which these three men, along with hundreds of lesser-known individuals, tried to organize in recent months. The long sentences also crushed the hopes of many liberal intellectuals here that China's warming relations with the United States in recent years and its signing of global treaties on human rights might bring a significant easing of political controls. Xu was tried Monday morning in the Beijing Intermediate Court. When after a brief recess the three-judge panel announced his 13-year sentence, Xu stood up and shouted, ``I protest!'' said his wife of 28 years, He Xintong. Then, said Ms. He and lawyers who were present, he shouted that the judges were unfair and that he would not appeal his case because the proceedings were illegitimate. With the sentencing of Xu, China's Communist government has silenced one of its most energetic and persistent critics, one who has given over his adult life to the cause of democracy. Xu first came to prominence during the Democracy Wall movement of the late 1970s, then served 12 years in prison, much of it in solitary confinement. In the last several months, sensing a new opportunity to speak out and making constant use of fax machines and e-mail, he and Qin tried to draw attention to China's obligations under two international covenants it has signed _ one on economic and cultural rights, and one on civil and political rights. In the face of several temporary detentions and stiff warnings, they continued their activities.",
"Wang, in contrast, first became involved in dissident activities in 1989, while a graduate student in physics in Beijing, when he became a leader of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations. After the student movement was smashed by the army, he was on the most-wanted list, then was arrested and spent two years in prison. During Clinton's visit to China in June, Wang announced the formation of the China Democracy Party. Hundreds around the country, including Xu and Qin, began promoting the idea. But while the government has allowed somewhat freer discussion of political topics in universities and obscure journals in the last year, it has not allowed any challenges _ in print or in the form of organized groups _ to the principle of Communist Party rule. In a speech on Friday celebrating 20 years of economic reforms, the president and Communist Party chief, Jiang Zemin, emphasized the primacy of the party, saying, ``The Western mode of political systems must never be adopted.'' After learning of Monday's sentences, the American Embassy here, which has spent the last two years building improved relations between China and the United States, issued a strong condemnation of what it termed the ``deplorable decisions.'' ``We are deeply disappointed with both the guilty verdicts and the extremely harsh sentences,'' the statement said. ``No individual should be arrested, tried and sentenced for exercising internationally recognized freedoms, including those guaranteed in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China has committed itself.'' Like Thursday's trials, both of which proceeded with no defense attorneys because prospective lawyers had been warned off by police or detained, Monday's proceeding showed that in cases involving security issues, police and courts could write their own rules. According to the criminal procedure law, defendants are to be notified at least 10 days before a trial, but Xu was told only four days ago that his trial would be Monday. His wife, who until Monday had not been allowed to contact him since his arrest on Nov. 30, was told three days ago. Under the law, defendants also have the right to a lawyer of their choice, but Xu was assigned a lawyer by the court late last week. Before Monday morning's trial, the lawyer, Mo Shaoping, saw his client only for one brief meeting, an associate of Mo's said. Xu's wife refused to meet the lawyer before the trial. ``Meeting him would be tantamount to cooperating with the whole charade,'' she said in a telephone interview this weekend. Responding to the accusations during Monday morning's trial, Xu's lawyer argued that Xu had engaged in the peaceful expression of his own views and that this could not amount to subversive activities against the state, an associate of the lawyer said. But in a decision that was clearly preordained, the court declared Xu guilty and sentenced him to spend what may be much of the rest of his life in prison. Born in 1943 in the southeastern province of Jiangxi, Xu was interested in politics even as a teen-ager, his wife said. In the 1960s, as",
"an idealistic Marxist, he decided to get his learning in society rather than attend a university. He served in the navy for five years, then became an electrician with the Beijing railroad before becoming involved with the democracy movement and going to prison. On Monday afternoon, in a police station hours after the trial finished, Xu was allowed a half-hour with his wife. ``He told me he'd be able to handle the pain,'' she later recounted in a telephone interview. ``He said that this would give him time to think things over and calmly reflect on what has happened.'' Ms. He, who has been married to Xu since 1971, said she expected to see him in monthly visits to prison. The couple has a daughter, Xu Jin, who is a graduate student in fine arts at Boston University. In an earlier interview, soon after her husband was arrested on Nov. 30, Ms. He said Xu had told her, ``I can't change the way I am.'' If he received a long sentence, he told his wife, she should go on and enjoy her life. ``And if I die,'' Xu said as they parted that day, ``please plant a tree for me.''",
"German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, who drew China's anger recently by meeting with exiled dissident Wei Jingsheng, said China's sentencing of two dissidents Monday was unacceptable and flouted an international treaty the country recently signed. ``The reaction of Chinese authorities is totally unacceptable,'' Fischer said, calling for the dissidents' immediate release. ``The accused simply tried through peaceful means to exercise their right to free speech and assembly, which are guaranteed by China's constitution,'' and by the United Nations' International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which China recently signed, Fischer said in a statement. Chinese courts sentenced dissidents Xu Wenli and Wang Youcai to 13 and 11 years for trying to organize an opposition political party."
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"In stern judgments capping a decisive crackdown on dissidents, Chinese courts sentenced two prominent democracy campaigners to 13 and 11 years in prison Monday for trying to organize an opposition political party. The 13-year prison term given Xu Wenli after a 3 1/2-hour trial in Beijing was the longest for a Chinese dissident in three years. His colleague in the China Democracy Party, Wang Youcai, was sentenced to 11 years, in a verdict announced by a court in Hangzhou four days after his trial. Xu's conviction deprives the would-be opposition group of a potent organizer and the fractured dissident community at large of a strong and moderating voice. Xu remained defiant during his tightly controlled trial on subversion charges. He refused to answer questions from prosecutors and judges and responded only to those from his lawyer, the court-appointed attorney, Mo Shaoping, said. When the court asked if he would appeal, ``Xu Wenli said he would not appeal,'' Mo said, quoting his client as saying ``this is political persecution.'' Xu's daughter also criticized the verdict. ``All he wanted to do was to advocate free speech and make sure the party registers peacefully. But the government failed this test, and now my father has to go to jail again for it,'' said daughter Xu Jin, a graduate student at Boston University. Security forces have orchestrated a concerted crackdown, trampling China's slim legal safeguards to crush the China Democracy Party. In three weeks, at least 32 people have been detained or questioned and Xu, Wang and another leading member, Qin Yongmin, have been put on trial. All three were charged with trying to subvert China's Communist Party-led system. Xu and Qin were given less than four days to prepare their defenses. Last Thursday, Wang and Qin faced trials without legal counsel after police detained or scared off potential lawyers. No verdict has been announced in Qin's case. Judges in Beijing and Hangzhou found that Xu and Wang plotted subversion by founding branches of the China Democracy Party in both cities and accepting money from abroad, the official Xinhua News Agency said in a rare mention of dissident activities. The courts ruled the two should be ``severely punished'' as repeat offenders, Xinhua said in an indirect reference to their previous democracy campaigning. Wary of the China Democracy Party's appeal, scores of uniformed and plainclothes police sealed off Beijing's No. 1 Intermediate People's Court Monday for Xu's trial. Foreign reporters were kept 500 meters (yards) away from the building. Xu's wife was the only friend or family member given permission to watch the proceedings, along with an audience selected by court officials. She was escorted from her home to the courthouse by three plainclothes officers. Hours after the verdict, He Xintong still had not returned home nor had she contacted her daughter. Police detained at least two of Xu's democracy party colleagues and kept watch on the houses of others. ``Members of the China Democracy Party will struggle to the end for the realization of democracy,'' said Gao Hongmin, whose home was under surveillance. Gao, who helped Xu organize the party's Beijing branch, said authorities would not be able to arrest all the party's supporters. In just six months, the party attracted enough of a following to try to register branches in 14 provinces and cities. The U.S. government and exiled dissidents, many of whom supported the party's efforts, denounced the sentences and called for the dissidents' release. ``We are deeply disappointed with both the guilty verdict and the extremely harsh sentence given to Mr. Xu,'' said U.S. Embassy spokesman Bill Palmer. ``No individual should be arrested, tried or sentenced for exercising internationally recognized freedoms.'' Xu, 55, edited an underground journal in the Democracy Wall movement 20 years ago and spent 12 years in prison, mostly in solitary confinement. Since his parole ended last year, he has been behind-the-scenes advisor to a host of dissident activities. He supported Qin Yongmin, another Democracy Wall veteran, in setting up an independent human rights monitor and advised others to run for local legislative seats in Beijing. Xu became openly involved in the China Democracy Party in November. Wang Youcai, a student leader of the Tiananmen Square democracy demonstrations in 1989 and now 32, publicly declared the China Democracy Party's formation in June and said the group intended to challenge the Communist Party's 49-year ban on opposition politics. Police have sporadically detained supporters of the democracy party. The decisive move came on Nov. 30 as Chinese Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin returned from Japan, ending a busy two years of diplomatic forays. In a speech broadcast nationwide on Friday, Jiang warned against subversives trying to bring down the system and vowed never to copy Western democracy. To allay international criticism, China released a respected labor rights campaigner, Liu Nianchun, from 3 1/2 years in prison camps on Sunday and sent him into exile in the United States.",
"German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, who drew China's anger recently by meeting with exiled dissident Wei Jingsheng, said China's sentencing of two dissidents Monday was unacceptable and flouted an international treaty the country recently signed. ``The reaction of Chinese courts is totally unacceptable,'' Fischer said, calling for the dissidents' immediate release. ``The accused simply tried through peaceful means to exercise their right to free speech and assembly, which are guaranteed by China's constitution,'' and by the United Nations' International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which China recently signed, Fischer said in a statement. Chinese courts sentenced dissidents Xu Wenli and Wang Youcai to 13 and 11 years for trying to organize an opposition political party.",
"Six months after President Clinton traveled to Beijing and challenged China's leaders to move rapidly toward political reform, the administration's policy of engaging Beijing was called into question Monday when Chinese courts sentenced three of the nation's most prominent dissidents to long jail sentences. Critics of China on Capitol Hill and human rights groups said the tough prison terms were evidence of the failure of the administration's policy of encouraging trade and diplomatic ties with China in hopes of democratic reform. The dissidents _ Xu Wenli, who was sentenced Monday to 13 years in prison, Wang Youcai, who received an 11-year sentence, and Qin Yongming, who was reported to have received 12 years were charged with subversion. The State Department said it had received reports from sources it did not identify that a third leading democracy campaigner, Qin Yongmin, had been sentenced to 13 years in prison after a trial last week in the city of Wuhan. Relatives of Qin in China denied the reports, however, and said that his trial continued. Given Clinton's effusive praise for China's senior leaders during his trip to Beijing last summer, the administration found itself on the defensive Monday and harshly criticized the prison sentences, even as it continued to insist that the administration's policy of engagement was helping push Beijing toward democracy. James Foley, a State Department spokesman, said the United States ``deeply deplores'' the jail terms and called for the immediate release of the dissidents. ``These three men appear to have been involved in nothing more than efforts to form a new political party,'' he said. While condemning the prison sentences, Foley and other American officials were careful to note the administration's assessment that there had been progress in human rights in China, some of it linked to Clinton's meeting in Beijing with Chinese President Jiang Zemin. ``There had been improvements in the human rights situation in China, modest improvements,'' Foley said. The severe prison terms _ and other recent instances of harassment of democracy campaigners in China _ are ``steps backward in relationship to what had been an improved human rights performance,'' he said. Critics of the administration's China policy noted that the long prison sentences were handed out less than a week after Jiang delivered a pointed speech in Beijing in which he made clear that China's economic reforms were not a prelude to Western-style democracy. ``The Western mode of political systems must never be copied,'' he said, adding that those who challenged the Communist Party's supremacy would be crushed. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who has long been among China's harshest critics in Congress, said the prison sentences handed out to Xu and Wang were ``the clearest demonstration'' since the president's visit to China last summer of Beijing's ``true intentions regarding human rights.'' ``They are pathetic, really pathetic,'' she said of the administration. ``The administration can say what it wants, but it must know Monday that its policy on China is an embarrassment. What the Chinese have learned is that they have all the latitude in the world.'' Mike Jendrzejczyk, Washington director for Human Rights Group, said the jail terms were proof of the need for the administration to revise its China policy, which he described as ``almost entirely'' driven by the administration's desire to encourage trade. He said that while there had been some signs of progress in the human rights situation in China over the last year _ notably, China's agreement to sign international treaties on civil and economic rights _ the overall picture was bleak. ``On balance,'' he said, ``any progress China has made by allowing greater openness may have been canceled out by a more repressive attitude.'' Human Rights Watch, the largest American-based human rights group, called on the administration to consider postponing or canceling a planned visit to China early next year by Commerce Secretary William Daley and a high-level trade delegation as a protest over the prison sentences. ``That would get Beijing's attention,'' Jendrzejczck said. Other China experts and scholars insisted that the administration was right to continue its policy of engagement with China, and that there was reason to believe that political reform would follow economic reform, as Clinton has argued. Peter Rodman, a former Nixon and Reagan administration official now at the Nixon Center in Washington, said that ``the United States cannot control the evolution of a society as complex as China's.'' He said the harsh prison sentences given out Monday to the dissidents were to be expected, especially since Xu and Wang had been involved in trying to set up a political party to challenge the Communists. ``The pattern of this regime is that every once in a while, they ease up a bit and somebody goes too far and there's a crisis,'' he said. ``I don't think you can blame the United States for this crackdown, nor can you give us credit for any political reforms. On human rights, I just don't think there's much more we can do.''",
"China released a respected, but ailing labor rights campaigner from a prison work camp Sunday and immediately sent him into exile in the United States. Releasing Liu Nianchun appeared to be an attempt by the government to blunt international criticism over Monday's upcoming trial of prominent dissident Xu Wenli. Xu is the third leading member of a would-be opposition political party put on trial for subversion in a three-week crackdown that has seen at least 32 dissidents arrested or interrogated. Beijing police Sunday detained one of Xu's China Democracy Party colleagues, Zha Jianguo, to prevent him from attending the trial, Xu's wife said. Although pleased that Liu Nianchun was free, human rights groups decried the Chinese government's timing as manipulative. ``We don't want to give any credit to the Chinese government for this cynical game it is playing,'' said Xiao Qiang, director of New York-based Human Rights in China. After 3 1/2 years in prison, Liu was taken from the Tuanhe labor camp on the outskirts of Beijing, driven to the capital's airport and put on a Canadian Air flight, ultimately bound for New York, his mother and brother said. Accompanying Liu into exile was his wife, Chu Hailan, and their 11-year-old daughter, the family said. Liu Nianchun's release follows the same pattern China used in freeing its two most famous dissidents, Wei Jingsheng in Nov. 1997 and Wang Dan in April. Authorities released Liu on medical parole, exactly five months before the end of his prison term, provided he go into exile, said his brother and exiled democracy campaigner, Liu Qing. Liu Nianchun, 50, has been in ill-health for at least two years. In an exam authorities finally agreed to provide last month, doctors discovered Liu had tumors in his mouth, stomach and bowels, Liu Qing said. Like Wang and Wei, the United States and other Western governments have lobbied China to release Liu. Chinese leaders have been forcing well-known dissidents into exile throughout the 1990s, finding that once abroad they lose their influence among dissidents at home. In the only official comment on the release, the Xinhua News Agency reported that judicial departments took into account Liu's health and behavior in the labor camp in approving his parole for medical treatment. ``I am very happy for Liu Nianchun, but at the same time sending people directly from prison into exile is a type of human rights violation and persecution,'' Liu Qing said in a telephone interview from his home in New York's Brooklyn borough. Liu Nianchun was one of the most respected figures in the fractured, persecuted dissident community. His more than 3 1/2 years in prisons and labor camps was a sad illustration of the way China's Communist Party rulers punish people they deem a threat. Liu was imprisoned three times in the past 17 years. His last arrest came after he signed a petition calling for labor rights in May 1995. Liu was never put on trial. Fourteen months passed before his wife, Chu Hailan, first learned of his fate and whereabouts: a three-year spell in a labor camp in the frigid, remote northeast. His term was the maximum police may impose on criminal suspects without trial. Labor camp officials later extended Liu's sentence by a year for trying to escape, a charge Chu claimed was fabricated. Inside the labor camp, Liu once started a hunger strike to protest his treatment. He was beaten with cattle prods and confined to a room of 2 square meters (2 square yards) where he could only sit or stand. His wife endured police harassment, beatings and detentions in campaigning for his release. Chu was dragged away and hit by security forces when she tried to hand a letter to U.N. human rights chief Mary Robinson outside a Beijing hotel in September.",
"Hours before China was expected to sign a key U.N. human rights treaty and host British Prime Minister Tony Blair, police hauled a prominent human rights campaigner in for questioning Monday. Qin Yongmin's latest run-in with the authorities came as he tried for the second time in a week to legally register a human rights monitoring group. Qin said a civil affairs official in the Hubei provincial capital of Wuhan accused him of engaging in illegal activities. The police came soon after he returned home. ``As I'm sending this statement, the Wuhan Public Security Bureau is again taking me away,'' Qin said in a hastily scrawled message on the bottom of the typed statement faxed to reporters. Qin, detained briefly two weeks ago, was questioned for about three hours before being released and threatened with prosecution if he persisted in trying to set up his China Human Rights Observer. Qin hoped the harassment would stop after China signs the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but he said if local authorities don't observe the treaty ``we will unswervingly push ahead with protecting human rights to the last.'' China plans to sign the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on Monday at the United Nations. By the time the ink is dry, Blair should be landing in Beijing on Tuesday morning for the first visit by a British prime minister in seven years. The treaty is supposed to guarantee freedoms of speech and assembly. But even after China signs, the treaty would not come into force until ratified by the legislature, which may attach reservations effectively nullifying some provisions. Blair has vowed to discuss differences over human rights with Chinese leaders. His visit has drawn appeals from dissidents and an international press freedom group urging him to persuade Chinese leaders to free political prisoners. In an open letter, three dissident said that while Chinese leaders say they respect human rights principles, in law and practice the government allows rights abuses and persecution of dissidents. Thousands of political prisoners are believed to remain in Chinese prisons, labor camps or detention centers, said the letter, a copy of which was released by the Hong Kong-based Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China. The letter called for the release of Shi Binhai, a journalist who compiled a popular book on political change; Fang Jue, a businessman who called openly for political reform; and other imprisoned activists. Paris-based Reporters Without Borders urged Blair to call for the release of Gao Yu, Liu Xiaobo and Liu Jingsheng. The three are among 13 journalists imprisoned ``simply for attempting to practice their profession,'' it said in a statement.",
"His friend and political mentor is jailed, robbing their budding opposition political party of its most potent organizer, but Zha Jianguo is not afraid. A bag packed with toothbrush, toothpaste and medicine lies ready at his Beijing home for the day Chinese police take him away. He has told police interrogators he expects to be jailed, likely for a few years less than the 13 given China Democracy Party leader Xu Wenli on Monday. ``Democracy is a process, and in that process a small number of people will be sacrificed,'' Zha, a 47-year-old former manager of a computer design company and vice chairman of the party's Beijing branch, told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday. ``We want to use our sacrifice to arouse the people, and we believe that sacrifice is worthwhile.'' With a mixture of defiance and cool clarity about the chances for success, Zha said he and other China Democracy Party members will continue organizing and campaigning for change. His tenacity holds despite the summary trials and harsh punishments for Xu, Wang Youcai and Qin Yongmin _ prominent party principals from the provinces who were sentenced to 11 and 12 years _ and despite threatening signs from the ruling Communist Party. Chinese President Jiang Zemin warned in a speech published Wednesday that political subversives threatened what he called China's fragile social order. ``Whenever any element that undermines stability raises its head, it must be resolutely nipped in the bud,'' Jiang said. Zha maintains that such tactics are unnecessary. In its manifestoes, the Democracy Party espoused peaceful means to target ``the undemocratic system, not the political power of the Communist Party.'' ``We believe elections held after the establishment of a democratic system should decide who has the power,'' said Zha. What many the world over consider democracy is legally subversive in China for threatening the Communist Party-led system. In the past month, authorities have arrested and convicted Xu, Qin and Wang and detained or interrogated at least 29 other party members. Police took Zha from his home Sunday afternoon and held him for nearly 24 hours to keep him from Xu's trial. Until the crackdown, the China Democracy Party distinguished itself from past attempts at opposition by its openness. Organizers publicly announced their intention to set up the party. They tried to register with authorities. Statements were faxed to foreign media and human rights groups to circumvent China's state-controlled media. Now, the party's members _ about 500 by Zha's count _ are being driven underground. Party members will concentrate on increasing ranks and will be more guarded in the use of telephones and faxes and their occasional meetings, Zha said. ``If Xu and the other two were the first round, then the second round is very likely and it will be bigger,'' Zha said. ``In such an unbalanced contest, we are forced to use more secretive means.'' The arrests of Xu, Wang and Qin deprive the party of its more influential members, Zha said. All had proven track records, Xu and Qin as dissident editors in the Democracy Wall era movement 20 years ago, Wang as a student leader of the Tiananmen Square democracy demonstrations in 1989. ``But from another aspect, this has strengthened the resolve of even more party members to struggle on,'' Zha said of the arrests. Zha got interested in politics as a radical youth, following Mao Tse-tung's appeals to go to the countryside in 1968. When he returned to Beijing in 1989, he marched in the Tiananmen protests and continued his activism. Friends introduced him to Xu Wenli in 1995. Having been released from prison two years before, Xu was still not openly involved in dissident politics, but he held court in his Beijing home to discuss China's future.",
"The trials of three outspoken dissidents over, Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin signaled Wednesday that China will sustain a crackdown on dissent throughout next year. In his second hard-line speech in six days, Jiang vowed to crush any challenges to Communist Party rule and preserve social stability. He demanded that officials ``talk politics'' _ a euphemism for following party orders. The speech, to senior law enforcement officials, used uncompromising language heard less frequently over the past 18 months as Chinese leaders sought to improve relations abroad. Jiang's harsh tone punctuated the summary trials and convictions for subversion this week of three political critics who tried to form an opposition party. To underscore the party's intolerant mood, national newspapers ran brief accounts Tuesday and Wednesday of the 13-, 12- and 11-year prison terms given to Xu Wenli, Qin Yongmin and Wang Youcai. Dissidents are rarely mentioned by official media, and the reports served as a warning to China's 1.2 billion people. In the speech, reported by state television, Jiang said stability was crucial over the next year. He noted two key events on the political calendar: the 50th anniversary of Communist Party rule on Oct. 1 and China's recovery of the Portuguese colony of Macau on Dec. 20. ``We must strengthen the ideological and political education of officials and raise their awareness of and resistance to the sabotaging acts of hostile domestic and foreign forces,'' China Central Television quoted Jiang as saying. ``Whenever any element that undermines stability raises its head, it must be resolutely nipped in the bud.'' Jiang did not exclusively target political enemies. He likened their threat to that of white-collar and ordinary criminals and ticked off a list of potentially volatile problems _ inefficient state industries, legions of laid-off workers, stagnating farmers' incomes and corrupt officials. The emphasis on stability and warnings to those who would disrupt it were reminiscent of party pronouncements in the waning years of Jiang's mentor, Deng Xiaoping. After Deng died in 1997 and Jiang emerged victorious from a major party conclave, he projected a more confident image. Reform, not stability, were the bywords of the past year. Academic debates over the past year were the boldest in 10 years by China's relatively controlled standards. Party leaders too touted efforts to build a more comprehensive, predictable legal system and won praise from Western governments for signing U.N. rights treaties. ``Our active developments of foreign affairs has reached new achievements,'' Jiang said. ``Our country's stature has risen a step higher.'' By arresting and convicting Xu, Qin and Wang in less than three weeks, China trampled its own legal safeguards for criminal suspects and raised questions about its commitments to U.N. rights treaties it signed over the past 15 months. Despite the swift punishments given the three, dissidents have continued to campaign for justice. Four elder members of the dissident community sent a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and U.N. human rights commissioner Mary Robinson calling on China to stop persecuting political critics and release political prisoners. ``We have experienced extreme disappointment, worry and shock'' over the long sentences given Xu, Qin and Wang and the recent detentions of several other Chinese, the four wrote in a letter dated Tuesday that was released by New York-based Human Rights in China on Wednesday. In addition, 214 dissidents in China planned a 100-day series of rotating 24-hour fasts beginning Thursday to protest the sentences, the Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China reported Wednesday night. The fasts were to have begun with lawyer Wang Wenjiang, whom authorities prevented from representing Wang Youcai, and Wang Zechen in Liaoning province in northeastern China, but the two activists were detained by police Wednesday evening, the Hong Kong-based center said. The British ambassador in Beijing, Tony Galsworthy, and others delivered a protest message to the Chinese government demanding the immediate release of Xu, Qin and Wang, the Foreign Office in London confirmed on Wednesday. It was conveyed on behalf of the European Union, the United States, Canada and Norway.",
"Trying to deflect foreign criticism of a crackdown on democracy campaigners, China sent a respected labor rights activist from jail into U.S. exile Sunday even as it prepared to put a prominent dissident on trial. Xu Wenli's trial Monday and his almost certain conviction would deprive a nascent opposition political party of a potent organizer and a moderate voice. He is the third and most influential leader in the China Democracy Party tried in a three-week campaign that has seen at least 32 members detained or questioned. For organizing the party and thereby challenging the ruling Communist Party, Xu, 55, is accused of subverting state power, a crime punishable by 10 years to life in prison. To prevent supporters from rallying outside Beijing's No. 1 Intermediate People's Court, police detained two of Xu's colleagues Sunday and kept watch on the homes of at least two others, friends and a Hong Kong-based rights group reported. As police moved against Xu's friends, labor rights campaigner Liu Nianchun was taken from a prison camp outside Beijing and, with his wife and daughter, was put on a plane to Canada and then New York, his first taste of freedom in more than 3 1/2 years. Authorities released Liu on medical parole five months before the end of his sentence provided he go abroad, said his brother, exiled democracy campaigner Liu Qing. His wife claimed for two years that Liu's health was worsening. But only last month did authorities grant a comprehensive exam. Doctors found tumors, perhaps cancerous, in the 50-year-old's mouth, stomach and bowels, Liu Qing said. The timing of Liu's exile and Xu's trial was the most brazen in a string of high-profile dissident releases calculated to influence Western governments. Human rights groups immediately denounced Liu's release as cynical and manipulative. ``The Chinese government continues to play hostage politics with no true commitment to international human rights standards,'' said Xiao Qiang of Human Rights in China, a New York-based lobbying group that Liu Qing heads. Over the past two years, as China tried to woo the West, Beijing signed two key U.N. rights treaties and won praise for bringing its spotty legal system closer to international standards. The ruling Communist Party relaxed some controls on dissenting views among academics. Xu Wenli and other dissidents saw opportunity in the more open atmosphere. Over the past six months, dissidents in 14 provinces and cities have tried to use Chinese laws to set up and register the China Democracy Party. In a sign of the opposition party's appeal, 205 dissidents from across China issued a petition Sunday calling for the immediate release of Xu and two other leaders, the Hong Kong-based Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China reported. To wipe out the opposition movement, authorities have violated recently revised laws that are supposed to protect the rights of criminal suspects. They rushed Xu and fellow leader Qin Yongmin to trial with less than four days notice given to their families, instead of the 10 required by law. Qin and a third principal organizer, Wang Youcai, were also denied legal counsel. Police detained or scared off prospective lawyers, forcing the two to argue their own defenses in separate trials on Thursday. No verdicts have been announced. The Beijing court appointed Xu a lawyer, but his wife, He Xintong, suspects it is merely a formality in what she expects to be a show trial. ``He hasn't even read the whole indictment. How is he going to represent my husband?'' He Xintong said after talking with the lawyer and his aide. Authorities have turned down requests by Xu's colleagues to attend the trial, and He said she has been given one pass, for herself. Xu edited an influential dissident journal in the Democracy Wall movement 20 years ago and spent 12 years in prison, most of them in solitary confinement. Since his parole ended last year, Xu has played the role of elder adviser to dissidents. He became openly involved in the China Democracy Party in November, organizing the group's branch in Beijing and nearby Tianjin. Shortly before his arrest, he called on party members and exiled dissidents to convene a nationwide congress.",
"By sentencing two of the country's most prominent democracy campaigners to long prison terms, China on Monday took its harshest steps yet in its current crackdown on organized political opposition. After a trial that lasted just three and a half hours, Xu Wenli _ at 55 the dean of the dissident movement, and a man who has already spent 12 years in prison for advocating democracy _ was sentenced to 13 years for ``subversion of state power.'' Xu's alleged crimes included helping to organize a new political party, calling for an end to Communist rule in interviews with foreign journalists, calling for independent labor unions and, prosecutors said, accepting $500 from a dissident abroad. He was defended by a lawyer who was appointed by the court just four days ago and met his client only once. Also sentenced Monday, to 11 years in prison, was Wang Youcai, 32, founder of the China Democracy Party, which has now been suppressed. Wang was tried on subversion charges on Thursday in a brief court session, with no defense lawyer, in the eastern city of Hangzhou. The punishment of a third veteran democracy campaigner, Qin Yongmin, 44, has not been announced. His trial began in the central city of Wuhan on Thursday and may reconvene on Tuesday, relatives said. A similarly long sentence is expected. Monday's sentences, which came just six months after President Clinton's visit to Beijing, where he publicly challenged China's leaders to move quickly toward political reform, were harshly criticized by the State Department. They also appeared to spell the effective end here of the China Democracy Party, which these three men, along with hundreds of lesser-known individuals, tried to organize in recent months. The long sentences also crushed the hopes of many liberal intellectuals here that China's warming relations with the United States in recent years and its signing of global treaties on human rights might bring a significant easing of political controls. Xu was tried Monday morning in the Beijing Intermediate Court. When after a brief recess the three-judge panel announced his 13-year sentence, Xu stood up and shouted, ``I protest!'' said his wife of 28 years, He Xintong. Then, said Ms. He and lawyers who were present, he shouted that the judges were unfair and that he would not appeal his case because the proceedings were illegitimate. With the sentencing of Xu, China's Communist government has silenced one of its most energetic and persistent critics, one who has given over his adult life to the cause of democracy. Xu first came to prominence during the Democracy Wall movement of the late 1970s, then served 12 years in prison, much of it in solitary confinement. In the last several months, sensing a new opportunity to speak out and making constant use of fax machines and e-mail, he and Qin tried to draw attention to China's obligations under two international covenants it has signed _ one on economic and cultural rights, and one on civil and political rights. In the face of several temporary detentions and stiff warnings, they continued their activities. Wang, in contrast, first became involved in dissident activities in 1989, while a graduate student in physics in Beijing, when he became a leader of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations. After the student movement was smashed by the army, he was on the most-wanted list, then was arrested and spent two years in prison. During Clinton's visit to China in June, Wang announced the formation of the China Democracy Party. Hundreds around the country, including Xu and Qin, began promoting the idea. But while the government has allowed somewhat freer discussion of political topics in universities and obscure journals in the last year, it has not allowed any challenges _ in print or in the form of organized groups _ to the principle of Communist Party rule. In a speech on Friday celebrating 20 years of economic reforms, the president and Communist Party chief, Jiang Zemin, emphasized the primacy of the party, saying, ``The Western mode of political systems must never be adopted.'' After learning of Monday's sentences, the American Embassy here, which has spent the last two years building improved relations between China and the United States, issued a strong condemnation of what it termed the ``deplorable decisions.'' ``We are deeply disappointed with both the guilty verdicts and the extremely harsh sentences,'' the statement said. ``No individual should be arrested, tried and sentenced for exercising internationally recognized freedoms, including those guaranteed in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China has committed itself.'' Like Thursday's trials, both of which proceeded with no defense attorneys because prospective lawyers had been warned off by police or detained, Monday's proceeding showed that in cases involving security issues, police and courts could write their own rules. According to the criminal procedure law, defendants are to be notified at least 10 days before a trial, but Xu was told only four days ago that his trial would be Monday. His wife, who until Monday had not been allowed to contact him since his arrest on Nov. 30, was told three days ago. Under the law, defendants also have the right to a lawyer of their choice, but Xu was assigned a lawyer by the court late last week. Before Monday morning's trial, the lawyer, Mo Shaoping, saw his client only for one brief meeting, an associate of Mo's said. Xu's wife refused to meet the lawyer before the trial. ``Meeting him would be tantamount to cooperating with the whole charade,'' she said in a telephone interview this weekend. Responding to the accusations during Monday morning's trial, Xu's lawyer argued that Xu had engaged in the peaceful expression of his own views and that this could not amount to subversive activities against the state, an associate of the lawyer said. But in a decision that was clearly preordained, the court declared Xu guilty and sentenced him to spend what may be much of the rest of his life in prison. Born in 1943 in the southeastern province of Jiangxi, Xu was interested in politics even as a teen-ager, his wife said. In the 1960s, as an idealistic Marxist, he decided to get his learning in society rather than attend a university. He served in the navy for five years, then became an electrician with the Beijing railroad before becoming involved with the democracy movement and going to prison. On Monday afternoon, in a police station hours after the trial finished, Xu was allowed a half-hour with his wife. ``He told me he'd be able to handle the pain,'' she later recounted in a telephone interview. ``He said that this would give him time to think things over and calmly reflect on what has happened.'' Ms. He, who has been married to Xu since 1971, said she expected to see him in monthly visits to prison. The couple has a daughter, Xu Jin, who is a graduate student in fine arts at Boston University. In an earlier interview, soon after her husband was arrested on Nov. 30, Ms. He said Xu had told her, ``I can't change the way I am.'' If he received a long sentence, he told his wife, she should go on and enjoy her life. ``And if I die,'' Xu said as they parted that day, ``please plant a tree for me.''",
"German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, who drew China's anger recently by meeting with exiled dissident Wei Jingsheng, said China's sentencing of two dissidents Monday was unacceptable and flouted an international treaty the country recently signed. ``The reaction of Chinese authorities is totally unacceptable,'' Fischer said, calling for the dissidents' immediate release. ``The accused simply tried through peaceful means to exercise their right to free speech and assembly, which are guaranteed by China's constitution,'' and by the United Nations' International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which China recently signed, Fischer said in a statement. Chinese courts sentenced dissidents Xu Wenli and Wang Youcai to 13 and 11 years for trying to organize an opposition political party."
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As contestants prepared for the 1998 running of Australia's 630 nautical mile Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race, the American maxi yacht Sayonara emerged as the favorite followed by Australia's Brindabella and Wild Thing. Winds of 15-30 knots were forecast. The first day of the race Brindabella and Sayonara led. By the end of the second day horrendous conditions had developed with gales reaching 80 knots and waves as high as 10 meters. By dusk of the third day three crewmen were dead, three missing, many injured and about half of the 115 yachts were forced out of the race. Sayonara was narrowly ahead of Brindabella and expected to reach Hobart the next day. Gale-force winds and high seas struck the 155 participants in Australia's Sydney to Hobart yacht race. One sailor, Glyn Charles, who was swept off the yacht Sword of Orion, is presumed drowned and two seamen on the Business Post Naiad were killed. Search and rescue efforts were stretched to the limit also as three yachts turned up missing. One yacht, the B-52 was found with the crew safe. Race organizers never considered canceling the race, claiming that the skippers controlled whether to stay in the race or drop out. A total of 37 yachts were forced out of the race, many of which had lost their masts. US-owned Sayonara, favored to win the Sydney-Hobart yacht race, set an early, fast lead. Weather deteriorated. In Bass Strait, boats rolled in heavy seas and crewmen were swept overboard. 37 yachts dropped from the race, with many dismasted and many crewmen injured. The race continued as winds gusted to 90 mph and seas swelled to 35 feet. Yachts Solo Globe and Winston Churchill went missing, as did B-52 which was later found. Business Post Naiad's owner died of a heart attach and a crewman drowned. Sword of Orion's Glyn Charles was presumed drowned after 24 hours overboard. Three other sailors remained missing. Sayonara maintained its lead. Before this year, only two deaths had occurred in the 54-year history of the Sydney-to-Hobart race. Since the start of this year's classic, Bruce Guy and Phil Skeggs from The Business Post Naiad have died, three from the Winston Churchill are missing, and Glyn Charles is presumed drowned after being washed overboard the Sword of Orion. Huge seas and gale-force winds have battered the 115-boat fleet, forcing at least 37 yachts to retire. Numerous crewmen have been rescued, including an American, John Campbell, who was swept overboard the Kingurra. The race, nevertheless, continued. American maxi Sayonara narrowly leads last year's winner, Brindabella.
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"Two yacht crew members are dead, three yachts remain missing and rescue resources were stretched to the limit Monday as huge seas and gale-force winds continued to batter the Sydney-to-Hobart race fleet. A helicopter rescue team flew to a spot about 50 nautical miles off the far south New South Wales town of Merimbula early Monday morning. Two crew found dead on the stricken 40-foot vessel Business Post Naiad were left behind while seven colleagues were winched aboard the helicopter and flown to Merimbula Hospital, he said. The deaths were confirmed by an Australian Search and Rescue Coordination Center spokesman in Canberra a short time later. Neither organization was able to say how the sailors died or give details on the injuries suffered by surviving crewmen. Three yachts remain missing and there was no sign of a sailor swept off the Sword of Orion when the boat rolled in wild seas on Sunday night. The missing boats are veteran cutter Winston Churchill, which sailed in the inaugural 1945 race, B-52 and Solo Globe Challenger. A major search involving Australia's navy continued Monday morning for those missing. Race spokesman Peter Campbell said it was not known how long the sailor washed overboard could survive in the water. ``It's supposition. We had John Quinn survive for 5 1-2 hours in 1993 and that was in the middle of the night in very severe conditions,'' Campbell said. Despite the horrendous conditions it was unlikely the race would be called off, he said. ``It does say in the instructions that it is the sole responsibility of the skipper of each yacht to decide whether he continues in the race or retires,'' he said. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has alerted all shipping in Bass Strait as high winds and huge seas smash into the remnants of the 115-boat fleet. An AMSA spokesman said they were alerted that the 30-foot Sydney yacht Sword of Orion had rolled in heavy seas near Gabo Island about 450 kilometers (280 miles) east of Melbourne. Several crewmen were injured including one with a broken leg. The yacht, which has a crew of 11, was halfway across Bass Strait when it overturned. The Navy sent a Sea King helicopter with night-vision and heat-seeking equipment to search the area and the frigate HMAS Newcastle was on its way to the area. Earlier, as winds gusting to 80 knots and seas of 35 feet caused havoc to the fleet, several rescues took place. A police helicopter rescued a yachtsman swept overboard when the Victorian yacht Kingurra was rolled over in huge seas 19 nautical miles south of Gabo Island. John Campbell, an American, was in the water for about 40 minutes and was suffering from hypothermia when he was winched to safety by senior constable Barry Barclay, who dropped into large swells to secure Campbell. A total of 37 yachts have been forced to retire from the 630-nautical-mile race, many having been dismasted or suffering injuries to crew. Meanwhile, American maxi Sayonara was narrowly ahead of last year's line winner Brindabella. Although the two were forced to reduce sail and cut speed, they were still well inside the race record for the 630-nautical-mile race of 2 days, 14 hours, seven minutes and 10 seconds set by German maxi Morning Glory in 1996. (djp)",
"Gale-force winds and high seas battered yachts in the Sydney-to-Hobart race Monday, killing at least two crew members and leaving two yachts missing. The two dead were found on the 40-foot vessel Business Post Naiad, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) off the New South Wales state town of Merimbula, according to the Australian Search and Rescue Coordination Center (AusSAR) in Canberra. One of the missing yachts _ B-52 _ was found mid-morning Monday and was making its way towards Eden on the New South Wales coast, an AusSAR spokesman said. The nine crew on board were thought to be safe and the vessel was sailing unassisted. The spokesman said no word had been received on the fate of the Winston Churchill or the sailor swept from the deck of Sword of Orion on Sunday night. As of mid-morning Monday, he had been in the water for 15 hours. The yacht, which has a crew of 11, was halfway across Bass Strait when it overturned. The Navy sent a Sea King helicopter with night-vision and heat-seeking equipment to search the area and the frigate HMAS Newcastle was on its way to the area. Rescuers in more than 30 search aircraft were similarly unsure of the whereabouts and condition of Solo Globe and its crew. Seven others on board the Business Post Naiad were put aboard a helicopter and flown to Merimbula Hospital, the center said. The center was unable to identify the sailors, say how they died or give details on the injuries sustained by surviving crewmen. There were unconfirmed reports that one of the dead sailors was British. With winds gusting to 80 knots and seas swelling to 10 meters (35 feet), the race continued even as rescue teams searched for the three missing yachts. Race spokesman Peter Campbell said it was not known how long the sailor washed overboard could survive in the water. ``It's supposition,'' Campbell said. ``We had John Quinn survive for 5 1-2 hours in 1993 and that was in the middle of the night in very severe conditions.'' A police helicopter rescued a yachtsman swept overboard when Kingurra rolled over 35 kilometers (22 miles) south of Gabo Island. John Campbell, an American, was in the water for about 40 minutes and had hypothermia when he was taken to safety by Senior Constable Barry Barclay, who dropped into large swells to secure Campbell. Despite the conditions, Peter Campbell said it was unlikely the race would be called off. ``It does say in the instructions that it is the sole responsibility of the skipper of each yacht to decide whether he continues in the race or retires,'' he said. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) alerted all shipping in Bass Strait as high winds and huge seas smash into the remnants of the 115-boat fleet. A total of 37 yachts have been forced out of the 1,160-kilometer (725-mile) race. Many lost their masts or have injured crew. The American maxi Sayonara was narrowly ahead of last year's winner, Brindabella. Although the two were forced to reduce sail and cut speed, they were still well inside the race record of 2 days, 14 hours, 7 minutes, 10 seconds, set by German maxi Morning Glory in 1996.",
"British sailor Glyn Charles was missing and presumed drowned _ becoming the third fatality in the Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race _ while three others remained missing in rough seas after nightfall Monday. Robin Poke, a spokesman for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), admitted it was unlikely the 33-year-old Charles could survive more than 24 hours at sea after being washed off Sword of Orion on Sunday night. ``He has been out there in 10-meter (30-feet) waves and 80-kilometer (50-mile) winds,'' Poke said Monday. ``He will be a superman if he makes it.'' Charles sailed in four Admiral's Cups and represented Britain in the Star Class at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics where he finished 11th. Two sailors died after gale-force winds and high seas battered the entrants. Four members from the veteran cutter Winston Churchill were winched to safety from a liferaft before dark Monday. Two more crew from the Winston Churchill were plucked from a second liferaft late Monday night, but three others who had been aboard the liferaft were still missing. ``We are unsure about what has happened to the other three, it appears they were washed out of the liferaft,'' a spokesman for the authority said. The two dead, both Australians, were found on the 40-foot vessel Business Post Naiad, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) off the New South Wales state town of Merimbula. The yacht's owner-skipper Bruce Guy and first-time race participant Phil Skeggs were killed. Guy suffered a heart attack during one of the two occasions the yacht rolled while Skeggs drowned when he was unable to free himself from a safety harness. Their bodies were left on board the boat but attempts were being made to recover them as soon as possible, rescue officials said. ``Dad loved sailing,'' said Bruce Guy's son Mark Guy. ``He loved the competition. He also loved a beer and a talk after the race. Dad simply loved life.'' Winston Churchill skipper Richard Winning was one of the four rescued. ``The worst thing of the whole affair was that after we got into the life raft and became separated from the others, the damned thing capsized twice on these great seas at night which is bloody frightening, let me tell you,'' Winning said. ``You have got four of us underneath this little canopy and the next thing is you are upside down. I wouldn't want to have spent another night out there.'' The first recorded death in the race, which started in 1945, was in 1984 when a 72-year-old yachtsman was washed overboard from Yahoo 2 and presumed drowned. In 1989, a 58-year-old man died from head injuries on the yacht Flying Colours after a 45-knot gale off the southern NSW coast snapped the boat's mast. AMSA spokesman David Gray said about 50 sailors had been winched to safety in this year's race. ``There's just many, many injuries on those yachts that got knocked down. A lot of them rolled over _ one rolled over twice,'' Gray said. ``They've got hand, leg, facial injuries, they really got pounded yesterday.'' American John Campbell was rescued by a police helicopter after being swerpt overboard when Kingurra rolled over 35 kilometers (22 miles) south of Gabo Island. Campbell was in the water for about 40 minutes and had hypothermia when he was taken to safety by Senior Constable Barry Barclay, who dropped into large swells to secure Campbell. ``I was definitely worried,'' Campbell told United States television in Seattle. ``There was a point I didn't think I was going to survive.'' ``(Barclay) came down into the water only about 5, 10 feet away from me and I swam to him pretty quickly. I just threw my arms into the harness and they hoisted me up.'' About half of the 115-yacht fleet have been forced out of the 1,160-kilometer (725-mile) race. The American maxi Sayonara was narrowly ahead of last year's winner, Brindabella, and expected to cross the line Tuesday.",
"Leading maxi yachts Brindabella, Sayonara and Marchioness were locked in a three-way duel down the New South Wales state coast Saturday as the Sydney to Hobart fleet faced deteriorating weather. All three maxis reported in at the same latitude during Saturday night's positioning report when they were about 30 nautical miles south of Jervis Bay on the New South Wales south coast. American maxi Sayonara and Sydney boat Brindabella reported they were about 50 kilometers (30 miles) offshore while Marchioness was a couple of miles further inshore. In fourth spot was Australian maxi Wild Thing. The three leaders covered 105 nautical miles in the first 7 1-2 hours of the race. Propelled for the most part by favorable northerly breezes, the leaders rocketed along at an average speed of 14 knots in the first part of the 630-nautical-mile race to Hobart on the island state of Tasmania. The fast early pace put the leaders well on schedule to eclipse Morning Glory's 1996 race record but that was before the far tougher conditions forecast for overnight Saturday night. Morning Glory, a German maxi, broke the 21-year-old race record two years ago, arriving in Hobart 2 days, 14 hours, seven minutes and 10 seconds after she left Sydney. While the annual event started in friendly and favorable northeasterly breezes, the 115-strong fleet reported cloudier conditions as it moved down the coast. The yachts were bracing for a tough night with thunderstorms predicted ahead of a west-southwesterly change expected to lash the south coast by Sunday morning. Earlier, a crowd of around 300,000 people on the Sydney headlands and water witnessed the start of the annual blue water classic. Sayonara took the initial honors when she beat Brindabella though Sydney heads, but the 1997 line honors winner drew level when the American maxi's spinnaker blew out and had to be replaced.",
"United States maxi Sayonara looks set to continue the foreign domination of line honors in Australia's famous Sydney to Hobart yacht race, which starts Saturday. Sayonara, raced by American computer billionaire Larry Ellison, has only been beaten once since it was launched in 1995 and is aiming for its second win in the 630 nautical mile bluewater classic. If the 80-footer beats the local boats home into Hobart, it will be third time in four years a foreign yacht has finished first. New Zealand Endeavour trumped the locals in 1992, Sayonara won in 1995 and German's Morning Glory set a race record of two days, 14 hours, seven minutes and 10 seconds the following year. Sayonara's rivals are expected to be last year's line honors winner Brindabella of Sydney and new Australian maxi Wild Thing. The contest for handicap honors appears more open, but there are many who believe Sayonara could become the sixth yacht to do the line honors and handicap double. Ellison believes unforeseen damage is the only major barrier to victory. ``She is a much more modern boat than Brindabella, if we don't break, we should beat Brindabella, we should beat anybody,'' Ellison said. ``If we hold together we should win the race, the question is if this boat comes through and pays us a favor we would just love to knock off the record.'' Ellison says Sayonara can knock half a day off Morning Glory's record given the right conditions. Brindabella's captain and owner George Snow believes a new record is possible. ``I think the front boats will be very close all the way down, which will be a great challenge,'' said Snow. ``We are well set up, we've got the best crew we've ever had and I think the boat is in great shape,'' Snow added. The race is tipped to start Saturday under freshening north easters with the prospect of showers and a thunder storm before a southerly change of around 25-30 knots later in the day. The southerly is expected to ease to 15-20 knots over Sunday before swinging back to the north on Monday with a west to south westerly change expected to move through Tasmania and Bass Strait on Tuesday when the first yacht is anticipated to finish.",
"Gale-force winds and high seas battered yachts in Australia's Sydney-to-Hobart race Monday, killing at least two crew members and leaving three yachts missing. The two dead were found on the 40-foot (12-meter) vessel Business Post Naiad, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) off the New South Wales town of Merimbula, according to the Australian Search and Rescue Coordination Center in Canberra. Seven others on board were taken to a hospital by helicopter, the center said. The center was unable to identify the sailors, say how they died or give details on the injuries sustained by surviving crewmen. One of the missing yachts _ B-52 _ was found mid-morning Monday and was making its way toward Eden on the New South Wales coast, AusSAR said. The nine crew on board were thought to be safe and the vessel was sailing unassisted. With winds gusting to 90 mph (145 kph) and seas swelling to 35 feet (10 meters), the race continued even as rescue teams searched for the missing vessels. AusSAR said no word had been received on the fate of the Winston Churchill or the sailor swept from the deck of Sword of Orion on Sunday night. As of mid-morning Monday, he had been in the water for 15 hours. The yacht, which has a crew of 11, was halfway across Bass Strait when it overturned. The Navy sent a Sea King helicopter with night-vision and heat-seeking equipment to search the area and the frigate HMAS Newcastle was on its way to the area. The missing boats are veteran cutter Winston Churchill, which sailed in the inaugural 1945 race and Solo Globe Challenger. Despite the conditions, Race spokesman Peter Campbell said it was unlikely the race would be called off. ``It does say in the instructions that it is the sole responsibility of the skipper of each yacht to decide whether he continues in the race or retires,'' he said. A total of 37 yachts have been forced out of the 1,160-kilometer (725-mile) race. Many lost their masts or have injured crew.",
"Gale-force winds and high seas battered yachts in Australia's Sydney-to-Hobart race Monday, killing at least two crew members and leaving three yachts missing. The two dead were found on the 40-foot (12-meter) vessel Business Post Naiad, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) off the New South Wales town of Merimbula, according to the Australian Search and Rescue Coordination Center in Canberra. Seven others on board were taken to a hospital by helicopter, the center said. The center was unable to identify the sailors, say how they died or give details on the injuries sustained by surviving crewmen. With winds gusting to 90 mph (145 kph) and seas swelling to 35 feet (10 meters), the race continued even as rescue teams searched for the missing vessels. There was no sign of a sailor swept off the Sword of Orion when the 30-foot (9-meter) boat rolled in wild seas Sunday night near Gabo Island, about 280 miles (450 kilometers) east of Melbourne. The yacht, which has a crew of 11, was halfway across Bass Strait when it overturned. Race spokesman Peter Campbell said it was not known how long the sailor could survive in the water. The missing boats are veteran cutter Winston Churchill, which sailed in the inaugural 1945 race; B-52; and Solo Globe Challenger. Despite the conditions, Campbell said it was unlikely the race would be called off. ``It does say in the instructions that it is the sole responsibility of the skipper of each yacht to decide whether he continues in the race or retires,'' he said. A total of 37 yachts have been forced out of the 1,160-kilometer (725-mile) race. Many lost their masts or have injured crew.",
"A major search was under way in Bass Strait off Australia's southeast coast on Sunday night for an injured crewman swept overboard during the Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said it had alerted all shipping in the Strait as high winds and huge seas smash into the remnants of the 115-boat fleet. The Australian Navy has sent a Sea King helicopter with night-vision and heat-seeking equipment to search the area and may send the frigate HMAS Newcastle into the area Monday morning morning from Sydney. An AMSA spokesman said they were alerted that the 13-meter Sydney yacht Sword of Orion had been rolled in the heavy seas, with several crewmen being injured, including the unidentified man lost overboard. Another crewman has a broken leg. The yacht, which has a crew of 11, was halfway across Bass Strait heading towards Hobart, capital of the island state of Tasmania and the finish line in the annual race. The ANSA spokesman said search conditions were ``atrocious.'' Earlier, as winds gusting to 80 knots and seas of 35 feet caused havoc to the fleet, several rescues took place. A police helicopter rescued a yachtsman swept overboard when the Victorian yacht Kingurra was rolled over in huge seas 19 nautical miles south of Gabo Island. John Campbell, an American, was in the water for about 40 minutes and was suffering from hypothermia when he was winched to safety by senior constable Barry Barclay, who dropped into 20-foot seas to secure Campbell. The Victorian state police Air Wing used an infra-red night vision system to find Campbell and the Navy Sea King is using the same equipment to try to find the man lost from Sword of Orion. Another helicopter lifted the entire crew of 12 from the dismasted VC Offshore Stand Aside. Several crew members were injured in the dismasting, with one losing several fingers and another suffering head injuries. A total of 37 yachts have been forced to retire from the 630-nautical-mile race, many having been dismasted or suffering injuries to crew. Meanwhile, American maxi Sayonara is narrowly ahead of last year's line winner Brindabella. Although the two were forced to reduce sail and cut speed, they were still well inside the race record for the 630-nautical-mile race of 2 days, 14 hours, seven minutes and 10 seconds set by German maxi Morning Glory in 1996. (djp)",
"Two sailors died and 15 others were missing after gale-force winds and high seas battered yachts in the Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race Monday. ``There are two that have been confirmed deceased which is tragedy because in the 54-year history of the race I think there's only two people who have died in it before,'' said Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokesman David Gray. The two dead were found on the 40-foot vessel Business Post Naiad, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) off the New South Wales state town of Merimbula. Gray said Business Post Naiad owner-skipper Bruce Guy and first-time race participant Phil Skeggs were killed. Both men were from Launceston in northern Tasmania. Guy suffered a heart attack during one of the two occasions the yacht rolled, Gray said, while Skeggs drowned when he was unable to free himself from a safety harness. Their bodies were left on board the boat but attempts were being made to recover them as soon as possible. Race officials said Guy sailed in two previous Sydney to Hobart yacht races. Grave fears were held for the safety of the nine crew on missing cutter Winston Churchill, while contact has been lost with the five crew aboard Solo Globe. British sailor Glyn Charles was swept off the Sword of Orion on Sunday night when the boat rolled in wild seas. At 12:30 p.m. local time (0130 GMT) Monday Charles had been missing for about 17 hours. Race officials said Charles had sailed in four Admiral's Cups and represented Britain in the Star Class at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics where he finished 11th. Race spokesman Peter Campbell said it was not known how long Gray could survive in the water. ``It's supposition,'' Campbell said. ``We had John Quinn survive for 5 1-2 hours in 1993 and that was in the middle of the night in very severe conditions.'' Gray said about 56 sailors had been winched to safety. ``There's just many many injuries on those yachts that got knocked down. A lot of them rolled over _ one rolled over twice,'' Gray said. ``They've got hand, leg, facial injuries, they really got pounded yesterday.'' One of the missing yachts _ B-52 _ was found mid-morning Monday and was making its way towards Eden on the New South Wales coast. The nine crew on board were thought to be safe and the vessel was sailing unassisted. American John Campbell was rescued by a police helicopter after being swerpt overboard when Kingurra rolled over 35 kilometers (22 miles) south of Gabo Island. Campbell was in the water for about 40 minutes and had hypothermia when he was taken to safety by Senior Constable Barry Barclay, who dropped into large swells to secure Campbell. ``I was definitely worried,'' Campbell told United States television in Seattle. ``There was a point I didn't think I was going to survive.'' ``(Barclay) came down into the water only about 5, 10 feet away from me and I swam to him pretty quicky. I just threw my arms into the harness and they hoisted me up.'' At least 37 yachts have been forced out of the 1,160-kilometer (725-mile) race. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority alerted all shipping in Bass Strait as high winds and huge seas smash into the remnants of the 115-boat fleet. The American maxi Sayonara was narrowly ahead of last year's winner, Brindabella. Although the two were forced to reduce sail and cut speed, they were still well inside the race record of 2 days, 14 hours, 7 minutes, 10 seconds, set by German maxi Morning Glory in 1996.",
"Two yacht crew members are dead, three yachts remain missing and rescue resources were stretched to the limit Monday as huge seas and gale-force winds continued to batter the Sydney-to-Hobart race fleet. A helicopter rescue team flew to a spot about 50 nautical miles off the far south New South Wales town of Merimbula early Monday morning. Two crew found dead on the stricken 40-foot vessel Business Post Naiad were left behind while seven colleagues were winched aboard the helicopter and flown to Merimbula Hospital, he said. The deaths were confirmed by an Australian Search and Rescue Coordination Center spokesman in Canberra a short time later. Neither organization was able to say how the sailors died or give details on the injuries suffered by surviving crewmen. Three yachts remain missing and there was no sign of a sailor swept off the Sword of Orion when the boat rolled in wild seas on Sunday night. The missing boats are veteran cutter Winston Churchill, which sailed in the inaugural 1945 race, B-52 and Solo Globe Challenger. A major search involving Australia's navy continued Monday morning for those missing. Race spokesman Peter Campbell said it was not known how long the sailor washed overboard could survive in the water. ``It's supposition. We had John Quinn survive for 5 1-2 hours in 1993 and that was in the middle of the night in very severe conditions,'' Campbell said. Despite the horrendous conditions it was unlikely the race would be called off, he said. ``It does say in the instructions that it is the sole responsibility of the skipper of each yacht to decide whether he continues in the race or retires,'' he said. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has alerted all shipping in Bass Strait as high winds and huge seas smash into the remnants of the 115-boat fleet. An AMSA spokesman said they were alerted that the 30-foot Sydney yacht Sword of Orion had rolled in heavy seas near Gabo Island about 450 kilometers (280 miles) east of Melbourne. Several crewmen were injured including one with a broken leg. The yacht, which has a crew of 11, was halfway across Bass Strait when it overturned. The Navy sent a Sea King helicopter with night-vision and heat-seeking equipment to search the area and the frigate HMAS Newcastle was on its way to the area. Earlier, as winds gusting to 80 knots and seas of 35 feet caused havoc to the fleet, several rescues took place. A police helicopter rescued a yachtsman swept overboard when the Victorian yacht Kingurra was rolled over in huge seas 19 nautical miles south of Gabo Island. John Campbell, an American, was in the water for about 40 minutes and was suffering from hypothermia when he was winched to safety by senior constable Barry Barclay, who dropped into large swells to secure Campbell. A total of 37 yachts have been forced to retire from the 630-nautical-mile race, many having been dismasted or suffering injuries to crew. Meanwhile, American maxi Sayonara was narrowly ahead of last year's line winner Brindabella. Although the two were forced to reduce sail and cut speed, they were still well inside the race record for the 630-nautical-mile race of 2 days, 14 hours, seven minutes and 10 seconds set by German maxi Morning Glory in 1996. (djp)"
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"Two yacht crew members are dead, three yachts remain missing and rescue resources were stretched to the limit Monday as huge seas and gale-force winds continued to batter the Sydney-to-Hobart race fleet. A helicopter rescue team flew to a spot about 50 nautical miles off the far south New South Wales town of Merimbula early Monday morning. Two crew found dead on the stricken 40-foot vessel Business Post Naiad were left behind while seven colleagues were winched aboard the helicopter and flown to Merimbula Hospital, he said. The deaths were confirmed by an Australian Search and Rescue Coordination Center spokesman in Canberra a short time later. Neither organization was able to say how the sailors died or give details on the injuries suffered by surviving crewmen. Three yachts remain missing and there was no sign of a sailor swept off the Sword of Orion when the boat rolled in wild seas on Sunday night. The missing boats are veteran cutter Winston Churchill, which sailed in the inaugural 1945 race, B-52 and Solo Globe Challenger. A major search involving Australia's navy continued Monday morning for those missing. Race spokesman Peter Campbell said it was not known how long the sailor washed overboard could survive in the water. ``It's supposition. We had John Quinn survive for 5 1-2 hours in 1993 and that was in the middle of the night in very severe conditions,'' Campbell said. Despite the horrendous conditions it was unlikely the race would be called off, he said. ``It does say in the instructions that it is the sole responsibility of the skipper of each yacht to decide whether he continues in the race or retires,'' he said. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has alerted all shipping in Bass Strait as high winds and huge seas smash into the remnants of the 115-boat fleet. An AMSA spokesman said they were alerted that the 30-foot Sydney yacht Sword of Orion had rolled in heavy seas near Gabo Island about 450 kilometers (280 miles) east of Melbourne. Several crewmen were injured including one with a broken leg. The yacht, which has a crew of 11, was halfway across Bass Strait when it overturned. The Navy sent a Sea King helicopter with night-vision and heat-seeking equipment to search the area and the frigate HMAS Newcastle was on its way to the area. Earlier, as winds gusting to 80 knots and seas of 35 feet caused havoc to the fleet, several rescues took place. A police helicopter rescued a yachtsman swept overboard when the Victorian yacht Kingurra was rolled over in huge seas 19 nautical miles south of Gabo Island. John Campbell, an American, was in the water for about 40 minutes and was suffering from hypothermia when he was winched to safety by senior constable Barry Barclay, who dropped into large swells to secure Campbell. A total of 37 yachts have been forced to retire from the 630-nautical-mile race, many having been dismasted or suffering injuries to crew. Meanwhile, American maxi Sayonara was narrowly ahead of last year's line winner Brindabella. Although the two were forced to reduce sail and cut speed, they were still well inside the race record for the 630-nautical-mile race of 2 days, 14 hours, seven minutes and 10 seconds set by German maxi Morning Glory in 1996. (djp)",
"Gale-force winds and high seas battered yachts in the Sydney-to-Hobart race Monday, killing at least two crew members and leaving two yachts missing. The two dead were found on the 40-foot vessel Business Post Naiad, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) off the New South Wales state town of Merimbula, according to the Australian Search and Rescue Coordination Center (AusSAR) in Canberra. One of the missing yachts _ B-52 _ was found mid-morning Monday and was making its way towards Eden on the New South Wales coast, an AusSAR spokesman said. The nine crew on board were thought to be safe and the vessel was sailing unassisted. The spokesman said no word had been received on the fate of the Winston Churchill or the sailor swept from the deck of Sword of Orion on Sunday night. As of mid-morning Monday, he had been in the water for 15 hours. The yacht, which has a crew of 11, was halfway across Bass Strait when it overturned. The Navy sent a Sea King helicopter with night-vision and heat-seeking equipment to search the area and the frigate HMAS Newcastle was on its way to the area. Rescuers in more than 30 search aircraft were similarly unsure of the whereabouts and condition of Solo Globe and its crew. Seven others on board the Business Post Naiad were put aboard a helicopter and flown to Merimbula Hospital, the center said. The center was unable to identify the sailors, say how they died or give details on the injuries sustained by surviving crewmen. There were unconfirmed reports that one of the dead sailors was British. With winds gusting to 80 knots and seas swelling to 10 meters (35 feet), the race continued even as rescue teams searched for the three missing yachts. Race spokesman Peter Campbell said it was not known how long the sailor washed overboard could survive in the water. ``It's supposition,'' Campbell said. ``We had John Quinn survive for 5 1-2 hours in 1993 and that was in the middle of the night in very severe conditions.'' A police helicopter rescued a yachtsman swept overboard when Kingurra rolled over 35 kilometers (22 miles) south of Gabo Island. John Campbell, an American, was in the water for about 40 minutes and had hypothermia when he was taken to safety by Senior Constable Barry Barclay, who dropped into large swells to secure Campbell. Despite the conditions, Peter Campbell said it was unlikely the race would be called off. ``It does say in the instructions that it is the sole responsibility of the skipper of each yacht to decide whether he continues in the race or retires,'' he said. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) alerted all shipping in Bass Strait as high winds and huge seas smash into the remnants of the 115-boat fleet. A total of 37 yachts have been forced out of the 1,160-kilometer (725-mile) race. Many lost their masts or have injured crew. The American maxi Sayonara was narrowly ahead of last year's winner, Brindabella. Although the two were forced to reduce sail and cut speed, they were still well inside the race record of 2 days, 14 hours, 7 minutes, 10 seconds, set by German maxi Morning Glory in 1996.",
"British sailor Glyn Charles was missing and presumed drowned _ becoming the third fatality in the Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race _ while three others remained missing in rough seas after nightfall Monday. Robin Poke, a spokesman for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), admitted it was unlikely the 33-year-old Charles could survive more than 24 hours at sea after being washed off Sword of Orion on Sunday night. ``He has been out there in 10-meter (30-feet) waves and 80-kilometer (50-mile) winds,'' Poke said Monday. ``He will be a superman if he makes it.'' Charles sailed in four Admiral's Cups and represented Britain in the Star Class at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics where he finished 11th. Two sailors died after gale-force winds and high seas battered the entrants. Four members from the veteran cutter Winston Churchill were winched to safety from a liferaft before dark Monday. Two more crew from the Winston Churchill were plucked from a second liferaft late Monday night, but three others who had been aboard the liferaft were still missing. ``We are unsure about what has happened to the other three, it appears they were washed out of the liferaft,'' a spokesman for the authority said. The two dead, both Australians, were found on the 40-foot vessel Business Post Naiad, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) off the New South Wales state town of Merimbula. The yacht's owner-skipper Bruce Guy and first-time race participant Phil Skeggs were killed. Guy suffered a heart attack during one of the two occasions the yacht rolled while Skeggs drowned when he was unable to free himself from a safety harness. Their bodies were left on board the boat but attempts were being made to recover them as soon as possible, rescue officials said. ``Dad loved sailing,'' said Bruce Guy's son Mark Guy. ``He loved the competition. He also loved a beer and a talk after the race. Dad simply loved life.'' Winston Churchill skipper Richard Winning was one of the four rescued. ``The worst thing of the whole affair was that after we got into the life raft and became separated from the others, the damned thing capsized twice on these great seas at night which is bloody frightening, let me tell you,'' Winning said. ``You have got four of us underneath this little canopy and the next thing is you are upside down. I wouldn't want to have spent another night out there.'' The first recorded death in the race, which started in 1945, was in 1984 when a 72-year-old yachtsman was washed overboard from Yahoo 2 and presumed drowned. In 1989, a 58-year-old man died from head injuries on the yacht Flying Colours after a 45-knot gale off the southern NSW coast snapped the boat's mast. AMSA spokesman David Gray said about 50 sailors had been winched to safety in this year's race. ``There's just many, many injuries on those yachts that got knocked down. A lot of them rolled over _ one rolled over twice,'' Gray said. ``They've got hand, leg, facial injuries, they really got pounded yesterday.'' American John Campbell was rescued by a police helicopter after being swerpt overboard when Kingurra rolled over 35 kilometers (22 miles) south of Gabo Island. Campbell was in the water for about 40 minutes and had hypothermia when he was taken to safety by Senior Constable Barry Barclay, who dropped into large swells to secure Campbell. ``I was definitely worried,'' Campbell told United States television in Seattle. ``There was a point I didn't think I was going to survive.'' ``(Barclay) came down into the water only about 5, 10 feet away from me and I swam to him pretty quickly. I just threw my arms into the harness and they hoisted me up.'' About half of the 115-yacht fleet have been forced out of the 1,160-kilometer (725-mile) race. The American maxi Sayonara was narrowly ahead of last year's winner, Brindabella, and expected to cross the line Tuesday.",
"Leading maxi yachts Brindabella, Sayonara and Marchioness were locked in a three-way duel down the New South Wales state coast Saturday as the Sydney to Hobart fleet faced deteriorating weather. All three maxis reported in at the same latitude during Saturday night's positioning report when they were about 30 nautical miles south of Jervis Bay on the New South Wales south coast. American maxi Sayonara and Sydney boat Brindabella reported they were about 50 kilometers (30 miles) offshore while Marchioness was a couple of miles further inshore. In fourth spot was Australian maxi Wild Thing. The three leaders covered 105 nautical miles in the first 7 1-2 hours of the race. Propelled for the most part by favorable northerly breezes, the leaders rocketed along at an average speed of 14 knots in the first part of the 630-nautical-mile race to Hobart on the island state of Tasmania. The fast early pace put the leaders well on schedule to eclipse Morning Glory's 1996 race record but that was before the far tougher conditions forecast for overnight Saturday night. Morning Glory, a German maxi, broke the 21-year-old race record two years ago, arriving in Hobart 2 days, 14 hours, seven minutes and 10 seconds after she left Sydney. While the annual event started in friendly and favorable northeasterly breezes, the 115-strong fleet reported cloudier conditions as it moved down the coast. The yachts were bracing for a tough night with thunderstorms predicted ahead of a west-southwesterly change expected to lash the south coast by Sunday morning. Earlier, a crowd of around 300,000 people on the Sydney headlands and water witnessed the start of the annual blue water classic. Sayonara took the initial honors when she beat Brindabella though Sydney heads, but the 1997 line honors winner drew level when the American maxi's spinnaker blew out and had to be replaced.",
"United States maxi Sayonara looks set to continue the foreign domination of line honors in Australia's famous Sydney to Hobart yacht race, which starts Saturday. Sayonara, raced by American computer billionaire Larry Ellison, has only been beaten once since it was launched in 1995 and is aiming for its second win in the 630 nautical mile bluewater classic. If the 80-footer beats the local boats home into Hobart, it will be third time in four years a foreign yacht has finished first. New Zealand Endeavour trumped the locals in 1992, Sayonara won in 1995 and German's Morning Glory set a race record of two days, 14 hours, seven minutes and 10 seconds the following year. Sayonara's rivals are expected to be last year's line honors winner Brindabella of Sydney and new Australian maxi Wild Thing. The contest for handicap honors appears more open, but there are many who believe Sayonara could become the sixth yacht to do the line honors and handicap double. Ellison believes unforeseen damage is the only major barrier to victory. ``She is a much more modern boat than Brindabella, if we don't break, we should beat Brindabella, we should beat anybody,'' Ellison said. ``If we hold together we should win the race, the question is if this boat comes through and pays us a favor we would just love to knock off the record.'' Ellison says Sayonara can knock half a day off Morning Glory's record given the right conditions. Brindabella's captain and owner George Snow believes a new record is possible. ``I think the front boats will be very close all the way down, which will be a great challenge,'' said Snow. ``We are well set up, we've got the best crew we've ever had and I think the boat is in great shape,'' Snow added. The race is tipped to start Saturday under freshening north easters with the prospect of showers and a thunder storm before a southerly change of around 25-30 knots later in the day. The southerly is expected to ease to 15-20 knots over Sunday before swinging back to the north on Monday with a west to south westerly change expected to move through Tasmania and Bass Strait on Tuesday when the first yacht is anticipated to finish.",
"Gale-force winds and high seas battered yachts in Australia's Sydney-to-Hobart race Monday, killing at least two crew members and leaving three yachts missing. The two dead were found on the 40-foot (12-meter) vessel Business Post Naiad, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) off the New South Wales town of Merimbula, according to the Australian Search and Rescue Coordination Center in Canberra. Seven others on board were taken to a hospital by helicopter, the center said. The center was unable to identify the sailors, say how they died or give details on the injuries sustained by surviving crewmen. One of the missing yachts _ B-52 _ was found mid-morning Monday and was making its way toward Eden on the New South Wales coast, AusSAR said. The nine crew on board were thought to be safe and the vessel was sailing unassisted. With winds gusting to 90 mph (145 kph) and seas swelling to 35 feet (10 meters), the race continued even as rescue teams searched for the missing vessels. AusSAR said no word had been received on the fate of the Winston Churchill or the sailor swept from the deck of Sword of Orion on Sunday night. As of mid-morning Monday, he had been in the water for 15 hours. The yacht, which has a crew of 11, was halfway across Bass Strait when it overturned. The Navy sent a Sea King helicopter with night-vision and heat-seeking equipment to search the area and the frigate HMAS Newcastle was on its way to the area. The missing boats are veteran cutter Winston Churchill, which sailed in the inaugural 1945 race and Solo Globe Challenger. Despite the conditions, Race spokesman Peter Campbell said it was unlikely the race would be called off. ``It does say in the instructions that it is the sole responsibility of the skipper of each yacht to decide whether he continues in the race or retires,'' he said. A total of 37 yachts have been forced out of the 1,160-kilometer (725-mile) race. Many lost their masts or have injured crew.",
"Gale-force winds and high seas battered yachts in Australia's Sydney-to-Hobart race Monday, killing at least two crew members and leaving three yachts missing. The two dead were found on the 40-foot (12-meter) vessel Business Post Naiad, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) off the New South Wales town of Merimbula, according to the Australian Search and Rescue Coordination Center in Canberra. Seven others on board were taken to a hospital by helicopter, the center said. The center was unable to identify the sailors, say how they died or give details on the injuries sustained by surviving crewmen. With winds gusting to 90 mph (145 kph) and seas swelling to 35 feet (10 meters), the race continued even as rescue teams searched for the missing vessels. There was no sign of a sailor swept off the Sword of Orion when the 30-foot (9-meter) boat rolled in wild seas Sunday night near Gabo Island, about 280 miles (450 kilometers) east of Melbourne. The yacht, which has a crew of 11, was halfway across Bass Strait when it overturned. Race spokesman Peter Campbell said it was not known how long the sailor could survive in the water. The missing boats are veteran cutter Winston Churchill, which sailed in the inaugural 1945 race; B-52; and Solo Globe Challenger. Despite the conditions, Campbell said it was unlikely the race would be called off. ``It does say in the instructions that it is the sole responsibility of the skipper of each yacht to decide whether he continues in the race or retires,'' he said. A total of 37 yachts have been forced out of the 1,160-kilometer (725-mile) race. Many lost their masts or have injured crew.",
"A major search was under way in Bass Strait off Australia's southeast coast on Sunday night for an injured crewman swept overboard during the Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said it had alerted all shipping in the Strait as high winds and huge seas smash into the remnants of the 115-boat fleet. The Australian Navy has sent a Sea King helicopter with night-vision and heat-seeking equipment to search the area and may send the frigate HMAS Newcastle into the area Monday morning morning from Sydney. An AMSA spokesman said they were alerted that the 13-meter Sydney yacht Sword of Orion had been rolled in the heavy seas, with several crewmen being injured, including the unidentified man lost overboard. Another crewman has a broken leg. The yacht, which has a crew of 11, was halfway across Bass Strait heading towards Hobart, capital of the island state of Tasmania and the finish line in the annual race. The ANSA spokesman said search conditions were ``atrocious.'' Earlier, as winds gusting to 80 knots and seas of 35 feet caused havoc to the fleet, several rescues took place. A police helicopter rescued a yachtsman swept overboard when the Victorian yacht Kingurra was rolled over in huge seas 19 nautical miles south of Gabo Island. John Campbell, an American, was in the water for about 40 minutes and was suffering from hypothermia when he was winched to safety by senior constable Barry Barclay, who dropped into 20-foot seas to secure Campbell. The Victorian state police Air Wing used an infra-red night vision system to find Campbell and the Navy Sea King is using the same equipment to try to find the man lost from Sword of Orion. Another helicopter lifted the entire crew of 12 from the dismasted VC Offshore Stand Aside. Several crew members were injured in the dismasting, with one losing several fingers and another suffering head injuries. A total of 37 yachts have been forced to retire from the 630-nautical-mile race, many having been dismasted or suffering injuries to crew. Meanwhile, American maxi Sayonara is narrowly ahead of last year's line winner Brindabella. Although the two were forced to reduce sail and cut speed, they were still well inside the race record for the 630-nautical-mile race of 2 days, 14 hours, seven minutes and 10 seconds set by German maxi Morning Glory in 1996. (djp)",
"Two sailors died and 15 others were missing after gale-force winds and high seas battered yachts in the Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race Monday. ``There are two that have been confirmed deceased which is tragedy because in the 54-year history of the race I think there's only two people who have died in it before,'' said Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokesman David Gray. The two dead were found on the 40-foot vessel Business Post Naiad, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) off the New South Wales state town of Merimbula. Gray said Business Post Naiad owner-skipper Bruce Guy and first-time race participant Phil Skeggs were killed. Both men were from Launceston in northern Tasmania. Guy suffered a heart attack during one of the two occasions the yacht rolled, Gray said, while Skeggs drowned when he was unable to free himself from a safety harness. Their bodies were left on board the boat but attempts were being made to recover them as soon as possible. Race officials said Guy sailed in two previous Sydney to Hobart yacht races. Grave fears were held for the safety of the nine crew on missing cutter Winston Churchill, while contact has been lost with the five crew aboard Solo Globe. British sailor Glyn Charles was swept off the Sword of Orion on Sunday night when the boat rolled in wild seas. At 12:30 p.m. local time (0130 GMT) Monday Charles had been missing for about 17 hours. Race officials said Charles had sailed in four Admiral's Cups and represented Britain in the Star Class at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics where he finished 11th. Race spokesman Peter Campbell said it was not known how long Gray could survive in the water. ``It's supposition,'' Campbell said. ``We had John Quinn survive for 5 1-2 hours in 1993 and that was in the middle of the night in very severe conditions.'' Gray said about 56 sailors had been winched to safety. ``There's just many many injuries on those yachts that got knocked down. A lot of them rolled over _ one rolled over twice,'' Gray said. ``They've got hand, leg, facial injuries, they really got pounded yesterday.'' One of the missing yachts _ B-52 _ was found mid-morning Monday and was making its way towards Eden on the New South Wales coast. The nine crew on board were thought to be safe and the vessel was sailing unassisted. American John Campbell was rescued by a police helicopter after being swerpt overboard when Kingurra rolled over 35 kilometers (22 miles) south of Gabo Island. Campbell was in the water for about 40 minutes and had hypothermia when he was taken to safety by Senior Constable Barry Barclay, who dropped into large swells to secure Campbell. ``I was definitely worried,'' Campbell told United States television in Seattle. ``There was a point I didn't think I was going to survive.'' ``(Barclay) came down into the water only about 5, 10 feet away from me and I swam to him pretty quicky. I just threw my arms into the harness and they hoisted me up.'' At least 37 yachts have been forced out of the 1,160-kilometer (725-mile) race. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority alerted all shipping in Bass Strait as high winds and huge seas smash into the remnants of the 115-boat fleet. The American maxi Sayonara was narrowly ahead of last year's winner, Brindabella. Although the two were forced to reduce sail and cut speed, they were still well inside the race record of 2 days, 14 hours, 7 minutes, 10 seconds, set by German maxi Morning Glory in 1996.",
"Two yacht crew members are dead, three yachts remain missing and rescue resources were stretched to the limit Monday as huge seas and gale-force winds continued to batter the Sydney-to-Hobart race fleet. A helicopter rescue team flew to a spot about 50 nautical miles off the far south New South Wales town of Merimbula early Monday morning. Two crew found dead on the stricken 40-foot vessel Business Post Naiad were left behind while seven colleagues were winched aboard the helicopter and flown to Merimbula Hospital, he said. The deaths were confirmed by an Australian Search and Rescue Coordination Center spokesman in Canberra a short time later. Neither organization was able to say how the sailors died or give details on the injuries suffered by surviving crewmen. Three yachts remain missing and there was no sign of a sailor swept off the Sword of Orion when the boat rolled in wild seas on Sunday night. The missing boats are veteran cutter Winston Churchill, which sailed in the inaugural 1945 race, B-52 and Solo Globe Challenger. A major search involving Australia's navy continued Monday morning for those missing. Race spokesman Peter Campbell said it was not known how long the sailor washed overboard could survive in the water. ``It's supposition. We had John Quinn survive for 5 1-2 hours in 1993 and that was in the middle of the night in very severe conditions,'' Campbell said. Despite the horrendous conditions it was unlikely the race would be called off, he said. ``It does say in the instructions that it is the sole responsibility of the skipper of each yacht to decide whether he continues in the race or retires,'' he said. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has alerted all shipping in Bass Strait as high winds and huge seas smash into the remnants of the 115-boat fleet. An AMSA spokesman said they were alerted that the 30-foot Sydney yacht Sword of Orion had rolled in heavy seas near Gabo Island about 450 kilometers (280 miles) east of Melbourne. Several crewmen were injured including one with a broken leg. The yacht, which has a crew of 11, was halfway across Bass Strait when it overturned. The Navy sent a Sea King helicopter with night-vision and heat-seeking equipment to search the area and the frigate HMAS Newcastle was on its way to the area. Earlier, as winds gusting to 80 knots and seas of 35 feet caused havoc to the fleet, several rescues took place. A police helicopter rescued a yachtsman swept overboard when the Victorian yacht Kingurra was rolled over in huge seas 19 nautical miles south of Gabo Island. John Campbell, an American, was in the water for about 40 minutes and was suffering from hypothermia when he was winched to safety by senior constable Barry Barclay, who dropped into large swells to secure Campbell. A total of 37 yachts have been forced to retire from the 630-nautical-mile race, many having been dismasted or suffering injuries to crew. Meanwhile, American maxi Sayonara was narrowly ahead of last year's line winner Brindabella. Although the two were forced to reduce sail and cut speed, they were still well inside the race record for the 630-nautical-mile race of 2 days, 14 hours, seven minutes and 10 seconds set by German maxi Morning Glory in 1996. (djp)"
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The UN war crimes tribunal demands Yugoslavia's full cooperation in its investigations. It blasted Belgrade for refusing to let investigators probe alleged atrocities in Kosovo. The tribunal acquitted a Muslim commander, but convicted 3 underlings. The commander was greeted by hundreds at Sarajevo a irport on his return. Survivors say Serb forces in Kosovo took revenge against civilians for their battle losses. Trial begins for Bosnian Serb Jelisic, nicknamed "Serb Adolf," who boasted of many killings. He is accused of genocide, although he confessed to 12 killings. U.S. forces in Bosnia arrested a Serb general accused of genocide at Srebrenica. Yugoslavia has cooperated with the UN War crimes tribunal in cases where Serbs were victims in Bosnia and Croatia, but has been slow to allow investigation of alleged atrocities in Kosovo. Serbs fighting there suffered losses to the guerillas and took revenge on civilians including women and children. The war crimes tribunal acquitted a Muslim military commander of war crimes against Bosnian Serb prisoners but convicted three underlings. A Bosnian Serb, known as "Serb Adolf", accused of genocide, admitted killing Muslims and Croats. Allied forces arrested a Bosnian Serb general charged with genocide and who could implicate Slobodan Milosevic. Yugoslavia was told to cooperate with the UN War Crimes Tribunal whether Serbs were victims or accused. Belgrade refused visas to Kosovo atrocity investigators. Serbians took revenge on Kosovo civilians for heavy losses. Muslim commander Delalic was acquitted of anti-Bosnian Serb atrocities after 3 years and welcomed home. 3 of his underlings were convicted. Croat commander Mucic was convicted for permitting atrocities. "Serb Adolf" Goran Jelisic was freed from jail by Bosnian Serbs and told to go kill Muslims. He confessed to murdering 12. Maj. Gen. Krstic, a Bosnian Serb, is the first serving officer to be arrested. He directed the attack on Srebrenica. Milosevic cooperates with the U.N. war crimes tribunal when Serbs are victims, but is an obstructionist when they are the accused. Officials, for example, limited U.N. investigators' access to Kosovo, where Serbs massacred 21 ethnic Albanian civilians of the Delijaj clan. Further, while U.S. and allied forces arrested Bosnian Serb General Krstic on genocide charges, other indicted, high-ranking Serb leaders are protected in Serbia. Meanwhile, in the first trial involving anti-Serb acts, a Muslim military commander was freed, but three prison camp officials were convicted. Also, in The Hague, the genocide trial of Goran Jelisic, the "Serb Adolf," has begun.
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"The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal Monday acquitted a Muslim commander of war crimes against Bosnian Serb prisoners in 1992, but convicted three underlings in the first U.N. case dealing with anti-Serb atrocities. The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal cleared Zejnil Delalic, a Muslim, of responsibility for war crimes committed against Serb captives at a Bosnian government-run prison camp under his command. Prosecutor Grant Niemann said he would appeal Delalic's acquittal, and asked judges to keep him in custody pending the outcome of the appeal. The U.N. court convicted camp commander Zdravko Mucic, a Croat, of 11 war crimes and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions because he oversaw guards who murdered nine Serbs and tortured six. Mucic smiled as he heard his sentence of seven years in prison read out. His conviction was the first by an international court on the basis of so-called ``command responsibility'' since post-World War II tribunals convicted Nazi and Japanese superiors for the crimes of their subordinates. ``Mr. Mucic was clearly derelict in his duty and allowed those under his authority to commit the most heinous of offenses, without taking any disciplinary action,'' said presiding Judge Adolphus Karibi-Whyte. Hazim Delic, a Muslim who served as Mucic's deputy, was found guilty of two murders and of raping two women as well as torturing other inmates. He was sentenced to 20 years. Esad Landzo, a Muslim guard, was convicted of three murders and the torture of at least three other inmates. He was jailed for 15 years. All four defendants had faced up to life imprisonment, the maximum punishment at the tribunal, which has no death penalty. Monday's verdicts ended a marathon 20-month trial that focused on the brutal mistreatment of the Bosnian Serbs, themselves blamed for the vast majority of the conflict's war crimes. During the trial _ the tribunal's longest to date involving 122 witnesses _ survivors described the campaign of terror unleashed against Serbs in the area. Inmates at the Celebici prison camp were beaten to death by guards wielding baseball bats, wooden planks and rifle butts, according to testimony. Others were set on fire, raped and forced to commit sexual acts with members of their own family. The 49-page indictment detailing atrocities at Celebici asserts that at least 14 prisoners were killed in 1992. One prisoner was beaten to death and had a Muslim party badge nailed to his head, a witness claimed. Yet a few witnesses also praised Delalic and Mucic for humanitarian gestures, such as getting food and clothing to some prisoners and releasing others. The tribunal, set up by the Security Council in 1993, has convicted only one other person following a trial _ Bosnian Serb Dusan Tadic, who was sentenced in May 1997 to 20 years for killing and torturing Muslims in 1992. Two other men have confessed to killing Muslims, handing the tribunal two more convictions while sparing it the need for trials.",
"Hundreds of people gathered at Sarajevo airport on Saturday to welcome Zejnil Delalic, who was cleared of war crimes charges earlier this week after spending 980 days in jail of the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Delalic, a Muslim, was cleared of charges of war crimes committed in 1992 against Serb prisoners in the Muslim-led Bosnian Army prison camp Celebici near his hometown of Konjic. Three others involved in the same case were convicted and will serve prison terms at The Hague for crimes committed as camp guards. Delalic held up his verdict as he arrived and was first greeted by his family and then by many friends from Konjic, 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Sarajevo, where a huge welcome party for him was planned. ``This is the book of 500 pages in which it says 12 times Delalic is not guilty,'' he told reporters. ``More important is that acts commited by some weren't ordered by officers of our Bosnian Army. These acts were qualified as acts of individuals that happened on a daily basis,'' he said. Edina Residovic, Delalic's lawyer, said she will seek compensation for wrongful imprisonment on behalf of Delalic, who spent almost three years in confinement.",
"American and allied forces in Bosnia on Wednesday arrested a Bosnian Serb general who was charged with genocide by the international war crimes tribunal in a recent secret indictment. Maj. Gen. Radislav Krstic, arrested without incident in the American sector in northeast Bosnia, is the highest-ranking official to be seized so far, and the first serving military officer. He is accused of directing the attack on Srebrenica in 1995, one of the most chilling and influential events of the Bosnian war, when some 7,000 Bosnian Muslim men were marched off, presumably to their deaths, as U.N. peacekeepers stood by. The indictment of Krstic accuses him of having committed genocide during and after the fall of Srebrenica between July 11 and Nov. 1, 1995. He is indicted both in connection with ``direct personal involvement in the commission of these crimes'' as well as his command responsibility. He is also accused of murder and other crimes against humanity. Krstic was a colonel in 1995, and the deputy commander of the Drina battalion, but was promoted to general within days of the fall of Srebrenica. He is considered a close associate of the Bosnian Serb commander, Gen. Ratko Mladic, and the former Bosnian Serb leader, Radovan Karadzic, both of whom are wanted by the tribunal. And he is considered capable, if he is willing to testify, of implicating Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, who has not been indicted. Louise Arbour, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, called Krstic ``a very significant military leader'' and said she was delighted with the arrest. The general was only indicted on Oct. 30, tribunal officials said, but the indictment was kept secret so there would be a better chance of a successful arrest. NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana warned that other war crimes suspects still at large ``should realize that they, too, will be brought to justice.'' James Rubin, the State Department spokesman, said that the arrest ``serves as a standing warning to those indicted for war crimes, who remain at large, that they will be held individually accountable for their actions.'' The Bosnian Serbs reacted angrily to the arrest, with the hardline Bosnian Serb president, Nikola Poplasen, saying that his government would now reduce contacts with NATO-led peacekeeping forces ``to the necessary minimum.'' Poplasen, who defeated a more moderate candidate backed by Washington in September elections, said the arrest of Krstic had ``embittered and upset'' the Bosnian Serbs and would harm the implementation of the Dayton agreement that ended the 1992-1995 Bosnian war. He said he would protest the arrest, and his remarks were later endorsed by parliament in a majority vote. A senior official of a NATO country called the arrest ``very good news'' and said it was ``a warning to Milosevic himself'' and others who have not been publicly indicted that ``the murders committed have not been forgotten.'' A Pentagon official said the arrest, the most important made in the American sector, ``was a sign that this is a continuing process.'' NATO-led peacekeeping troops have now arrested nine people wanted for war crimes",
"in the former Yugoslavia, four of whom were the subject of sealed indictments. There have been numerous calls for the arrest of Mladic and Karadzic, the two most infamous men indicted, but they normally are accompanied by armed guards. NATO forces have never tried to arrest them, apparently fearing casualties and an angry public reaction from Bosnian Serbs. Officials say that both Mladic and Karadzic are believed to have left the Bosnian Serb Republic to live in Serbia, which is part of Yugoslavia and controlled by Milosvevic. Krstic, who was transferred to The Hague for trial, is the 35th suspect who has been taken there and the 26th person currently being held there. He is the commander of the Bosnian Serb 5th Corps and was arrested while traveling on the road to Bijelina. At the outset of the war in 1992, he was an officer of the Yugoslav Army, and like all senior Bosnian Serb officers, was transferred to the new Bosnian Serb force. In 1994, he lost a leg in a mine explosion. One Bosnian Serb official said in a telephone interview that, at the time, Krstic had responsibility for ``anti-terrorist units'' who were given some of the most difficult tasks. ``Srebrenica is a dark part of our history and people don't talk about it,'' the official said. ``But everyone believes it was the anti-terrorist units that were sent to do the killing.'' In Banja Luka on Wednesday, some members of the Bosnian Serb parliament protested the arrest, saying that Krstic was simply doing his job as a soldier. Ivo Daalder, a former Bosnia expert on the National Security Council, now with the Brookings Institution, said the arrest showed a new and promising coordination between the Tribunal and NATO troops, given the rapid arrest after the Oct. 30 indictment. He also said that the arrest of a serving officer for an important war crime would send an important message. Srebrenica was a key town in the Bosnian conflict. It was where the United Nations first made a stand in March 1993, when the commander of U.N. troops personally led a convoy of trucks to the surrounded town and promised the Bosnian Muslims there that Srebrenica would be a ``safe area'' and the United Nations would protect them. But in July 1995, the United Nations did not protect Srebrenica with air strikes, and peacekeeping troops watched as the Serbs marched in, separated Muslim men and women and marched the men off. ``Srebrenica signaled the massive failure of the West,'' said Daalder. ``It galvanized the United States and NATO to act.'' At a London conference later in July, NATO agreed to defend Gorazde and remaining safe areas with massive air strikes if necessary. After a mortar attack on the Sarajevo marketplace in late August, NATO air strikes began, signaling the last chapter of the war and leading to the American-brokered Dayton Accords. In Sarajevo Wednesday, an aide to the Bosnian Muslim member of the collective presidency, Alija Izetbegovic, praised the arrest. ``We welcome this action, hoping very soon that the time will come",
"for Karadzic and Mladic to be brought to justice,'' said the aide, Mirza Jajric. The arrest took place as foreign ministers of the member countries of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe met in Oslo, Norway, to discuss the international effort to keep the peace in Kosovo, the southern Serbian province. Under a deal pressed on Milosevic in October, the organization will provide up to 2,000 civilians to monitor a cease-fire in Kosovo and to promote a political settlement there to give Kosovo enhanced autonomy. Macedonia's government Wednesday formally approved the basing of 1,700 NATO troops near its border with Kosovo. Those troops will be prepared to rush to the aid of the civilian monitors if necessary.",
"The president of the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal harshly criticized Belgrade authorities anew for refusing to let U.N. investigators probe alleged atrocities in Kosovo. In a letter to the United Nations Security Council released Wednesday by the tribunal, presiding judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald of the United States said the failure of Yugoslav officials to grant visas to investigators is ``an affront.'' ``The intentional and continuous refusal by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to comply with its clear and incontrovertible legal obligations to the tribunal is an affront to the Security Council and all law-abiding nations,'' she said. The Texas judge fired off the letter last Friday following the refusal of Belgrade authorities to allow tribunal Chief Prosecutor Louise Arbour of Canada and a team of investigators to visit Kosovo. McDonald asked the Security Council to impose ``measures which are sufficiently compelling to bring the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia into the fold of law-abiding nations.'' Hundreds of people, mostly ethnic Albanians, have been killed, and as many as 300,000 driven from their homes since February, when Serb forces began a crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo. The tribunal wants to look into allegations of war crimes on both sides of the conflict.",
"Yugoslavia must cooperate with the U.N. war crimes tribunal investigating alleged atrocities during the wars in Croatia and Bosnia, international legal experts meeting in Belgrade said Sunday. The meeting was the first international debate in Yugoslavia over the U.N. tribunal's work and the government's cooperation with it. The tribunal, established by the U.N. Security Council in 1993, sits in The Hague, Netherlands. Despite objections to the tribunal, Yugoslav authorities allowed the two-day discussions _ organized by the Belgrade-based, non-governmental Humanitarian Law Center _ to take place without any problems. State-run media largely ignored the event. Though there were some disagreements, participants in the discussions generally agreed that crimes against humanity cannot go unpunished. ``The indicted who are not in The Hague are at-large because of the refusal by Croatian and Yugoslav authorities to arrest and extradite them,'' said Mark Ellis, a lawyer and representative of the American Bar Association. Present-day Yugoslavia, consisting of Serbia and Montenegro, cooperates with the tribunal in cases where Serbs were the victims in Bosnia and Croatia, the two former republics that fought wars for their secession. But Yugoslavia has questioned the tribunal's jurisdiction and refuses to indict three army officers wanted for alleged war crimes in Croatia. Last week, it also refused to allow U.N. investigators to probe alleged atrocities in Serbia's southern Kosovo province where ethnic Albanian separatists are fighting government forces. ``The tribunal was founded to satanize Serbs,'' said Miodrag Mitic, a former legal adviser in Yugoslavia's foreign ministry. He said the U.N. court was influenced by powerful countries that dominate the international body. On Saturday, David Scheffer, the U.S. State Department's ambassador at-large for war crimes, demanded Yugoslavia's full cooperation.",
"To his Muslim targets, Bosnian Serb Goran Jelisic was ``the face of genocide'' who once bragged that ``he had to kill 20 or 30 Muslims before his morning coffee.'' Opening a genocide trial Monday at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal, U.N. prosecutor Terree Bowers said the 30-year-old mechanic used the nickname Adolf ``with a perverse pride in the genocidal symbolism it represented.'' Jelisic pleaded guilty in October to murdering 12 Muslims and Croats in and around the Serb-run Luka camp set up in Brcko, northern Bosnia, in May 1992. By trying him for genocide, prosecutors will be able to call evidence about the background of Jelisic's murders, including the involvement of more senior Serbs. The trial also will give survivors of his killing spree chance to tell their story in court. Bowers told a three-judge tribunal panel that Jelisic admitted in interviews with investigators to far more killings than the dozen to which he has pleaded guilty. Jelisic will be convicted of those murders and sentenced at the end of his trial, which is expected to last well into 1999. He faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. ``We will never be able to fix the exact number'' of victims, Bowers said. ``But if we are to believe even a small percentage of the totals which Goran Jelisic claimed, then his victims certainly number well over 100.'' As the trial began, judges were read excerpts of a psychological report which stated that Jelisic was mentally fit to stand trial but suffered a ``borderline personality disorder.'' Wearing a striped sweater and black jeans, Jelisic brought a laptop computer into court and took notes. When he wasn't writing, Jelisic sat slightly slumped in his chair, his head still, looking impassively around the courtroom. Jelisic's campaign of murder stands out _ even at a tribunal set up to deal exclusively with atrocities _ for its cold-bloodedness. ``Once Goran Jelisic even declined assistance from a guard, noting that he was still in `good form' even though he had killed over 60 people,'' Bowers told judges, citing statements made by witnesses due to testify later in the trial. ``To victims in Brcko, the face of genocide was the face of Goran Jelisic,'' he said. Bowers told the judges that Jelisic, who held no official rank, was released by Bosnian Serb authorities from jail, where he was serving three years for fraud, and sent to Brcko to murder Muslims. He told investigators that on his arrival in the town, which was of strategic importance to Bosnian Serbs, he was given a list of Muslim targets and ordered to kill as many as possible. Jelisic, Bowers said, seemed to relish the task. ``Witness testimony will also establish that Goran Jelisic was not a reluctant tool of the genocide who was being compelled by Serb authorities to act against his will,'' the U.S. prosecutor said. ``Quite to the contrary, the testimony will firmly establish that Goran Jelisic was an efficient and enthusiastic participant in the genocide.'' Set up in 1993, the U.N. court has convicted two Muslims, two Bosnian Croats and a Bosnian Serb of war crimes including murder, rape and torture, but it has yet to register a genocide conviction. An earlier genocide trial was halted when the defendant, Bosnian Serb Milan Kovacevic, died of a ruptured artery in his tribunal cell.",
"He called himself the ``Serb Adolf,'' and his crimes were as chilling as his nickname. In a trial opening Monday at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal, U.N. prosecutors were seeking to convince a three-judge panel that Goran Jelisic is guilty of genocide, the court's most serious offense. The 30-year-old former Bosnian Serb mechanic confessed in October to murdering 12 Muslims and Croats in 1992, astonishing many observers by reversing his earlier declarations of innocence. Although his guilty pleas mean an automatic conviction for war crimes and crimes against humanity _ and the likelihood of a maximum life sentence _ Jelisic has denied that the killing spree constituted genocide. By pressing on with a genocide trial, prosecutors will be able to call evidence about the background of Jelisic's murders, including the involvement of more senior Serbs. The trial also will give survivors of his ruthless campaign a chance to tell their story in court. To convict Jelisic of genocide, prosecutors must prove that the murders _ most of them carried out with close-range shots from an automatic pistol _ were part of a campaign intended to wipe out an entire ethnic group in the northern Bosnian town of Brcko. Jelisic, who was arrested in January by U.S. troops serving in the NATO force in Bosnia, has pleaded guilty to a total of 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The charges cover the murders as well as three beatings and the plundering of property. In entering those guilty pleas, Jelisic told the tribunal he wanted to ``cleanse my soul.'' He will officially be convicted of those charges during the genocide trial. Jelisic's victims were killed in or near the Serb-run Luka prison camp, a former port complex on the banks of the Sava River. Although most victims were men, Jelisic also clubbed one female inmate with a police baton and then fatally shot her. U.N. prosecutors say Jelisic identified himself to prisoners as the ``Serb Adolf,'' a reference to Hitler, and bragged about the number of Muslims he had killed. Set up in 1993, the U.N. court has convicted three Muslims, two Bosnian Croats and a Bosnian Serb of war crimes including murder, rape and torture, but it has yet to register a genocide conviction. An earlier genocide trial was halted when the defendant, Bosnian Serb Milan Kovacevic, died of a ruptured artery in his tribunal cell.",
"The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal Monday acquitted a Muslim military commander of war crimes against Bosnian Serb prisoners in 1992, but convicted three underlings in the first U.N. case dealing with anti-Serb atrocities. The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal cleared Zejnil Delalic, a Muslim, of responsibility for war crimes committed against Serb captives at a Bosnian government-run prison camp under his command. Prosecutor Grant Niemann said he would appeal Delalic's acquittal, and asked judges to keep him in custody pending the outcome of the appeal. The U.N. court convicted camp commander Zdravko Mucic, a Croat, of 11 war crimes and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions because he oversaw guards who murdered nine Serbs and tortured six. Mucic smiled as he heard his sentence of seven years in prison read out. His conviction was the first by an international court on the basis of so-called ``command responsibility'' since post-World War II tribunals convicted Nazi and Japanese superiors for the crimes of their subordinates. ``Mr. Mucic was clearly derelict in his duty and allowed those under his authority to commit the most heinous of offenses, without taking any disciplinary action,'' said presiding Judge Adolphus Karibi-Whyte. Hazim Delic, a Muslim who served as Mucic's deputy, was found guilty of two murders and of raping two women as well as torturing other inmates. He was sentenced to 20 years. Esad Landzo, a Muslim guard, was convicted of three murders and the torture of at least three other inmates. He was jailed for 15 years. All four defendants had faced up to life imprisonment, the maximum punishment at the tribunal, which has no death penalty. Monday's verdicts ended a marathon 20-month trial that focused on the brutal mistreatment of the Bosnian Serbs, themselves blamed for the vast majority of the conflict's war crimes. During the trial _ the tribunal's longest to date involving 122 witnesses _ survivors described the campaign of terror unleashed against Serbs in the area. Inmates at the Celebici prison camp were beaten to death by guards wielding baseball bats, wooden planks and rifle butts, according to testimony. Others were set on fire, raped and forced to commit sexual acts with members of their own family. The 49-page indictment detailing atrocities at Celebici asserts that at least 14 prisoners were killed in 1992. One prisoner was beaten to death and had a Muslim party badge nailed to his head, a witness claimed. Yet a few witnesses also praised Delalic and Mucic for humanitarian gestures, such as getting food and clothing to some prisoners and releasing others. The tribunal, set up by the Security Council in 1993, has convicted only one other person following a trial _ Bosnian Serb Dusan Tadic, who was sentenced in May 1997 to 20 years for killing and torturing Muslims in 1992. Two other men have confessed to killing Muslims, handing the tribunal two more convictions while sparing it the need for trials.",
"Some of the closest combat in the half year of the Kosovo conflict, to the point of fighting room to room and floor to floor, occurred near this village six weeks ago, in the days before 21 women, children and elderly members of the Delijaj clan were massacred by Serbian forces, their mutilated bodies left strewn on the forest floor. Piecing together what happened, from surviving family members, ethnic Albanian separatist forces and official Serbian information, a story emerges of fierce guerrilla resistance to an onslaught by Serbian tanks, artillery and infantry. The Serbian forces fighting here appear to have suffered unusually heavy losses and, after the guerrillas finally fled, took revenge against the civilians, shooting women and children at close range as they tried to run away from their pursuers. According to relatives who found the bodies, Pajazit Delijaj, 65, was decapitated, his brain left on display on the ground. Hava Delijaj, 65, was shot and one of her feet cut with a knife so that it hung by a thread of skin. Young women and children who had run a few hundred yards up a rocky path were mowed down. Miraculously, a 6-week-old baby, Diturie, was found by her father alive in the clasp of her dead mother, Lumnije, 30, more than 24 hours after the killings. ``Blood was in her mouth and her mother's hand on the baby,'' said Imer Delijaj, the father, an avowed member of the Kosovo Liberation Army, the ethnic Albanian guerrilla force, who returned in uniform to discover the bodies. ``I moved her hand and at that moment she opened her eyes. I realized she was alive. I tried to clean the blood from her mouth and she put her tongue out.'' Several members of the Delijaj clan survived. Zejnije Delijaj, 39, who had cooked for the guerrillas at the family compound when they returned from fighting in the days before the massacre, recalled how she fled, crawling, falling, running and hiding in the woods as the Serbs shot at her. ``I could feel the dirt hitting me from the impact of the bullets,'' she said in an interview, her nose still bloodied from what she said was a heavy fall during her flight. ``First it was machine guns, then grenades, then cannon,'' she said. ``Every time I moved and they heard leaves rustling, they shot.'' The massacre of the Delijajs, whose forebears settled in the Drenica Valley about 150 years ago, was not the first in the conflict that ravaged the Serbian province between March and October and has now lulled into an uneasy truce. Indeed, the conflict between Serbian forces bent on keeping Kosovo in Serbia and guerrillas fighting for the independence of its heavily ethnic Albanian population first drew international attention with the massacre of the Jasari clan in early March by Serbian units at Prekaz, in central Kosovo. But the killing of the Delijajs, ranging from the paralyzed patriarch, Fazli, 94, who was burned in his bed, to the slaughter of Valmir, 18 months, who was found shot, is the most",
"thoroughly documented so far. Human Rights Watch, a New York-based group, believes the knowledge gathered so far increases the possibility of prosecutions by the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. The Hague's prosecutors could also draw on the observations of diplomats, human rights monitors and reporters who saw the bodies scattered in the ravine where the victims were killed before they were buried in shallow graves in the clan's nearby compound. In other Kosovo massacres, bodies had been moved from the sites before they were seen by independent observers. Further, family members who survived the assault have described what they saw and the circumstances in the hills and valleys around Obrinje as the Serbs pushed forward early Saturday morning, Sept. 26, from their headquarters at Likovac, north of here. By then, the Albanian guerrillas had fled the area around the Delijaj compound, dispersing after what a senior commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Naim Maloku, termed particularly fierce combat with the Serbs. In the days before Sept. 26, he said, the guerrillas _ caught in a Serbian pincer movement _ had decided to fight rather than surrender. The fighting _ sometimes house to house, even room to room _ took an unusually heavy toll among the Serbs, said Maloku, a former officer in the Yugoslav army. He said he believed that it was those deaths the Serbs avenged with the massacre of the Delijajs. In other major attacks during the conflict, the guerrillas generally found an escape hatch. In Obrinje, led by another former officer of the Yugoslav army whom Maloku declined to name, the guerrillas fought, using land mines and rocket-propelled grenades. Maloku said he knew from a report made by rebel headquarters that at least 47 Serbian soldiers and police officers were killed in the fighting between here and Bajince, three miles east. ``We took weapons from 47 Serbs,'' he said. The state-controlled Serbian media center in Kosovo's capital, Pristina, said 10 Serbian police officers were killed in the fighting, including five reservists who died when their vehicle hit an antitank mine on Sept. 25. The announcement of 10 Serbs killed in one action is unusually high. The practice of taking violent revenge is a time-honored tradition in the Balkans. From 1991 to 1995, in the wars in Croatia and Bosnia, Serbs, Croats and, to a far lesser extent, the main victims, the Muslims, avenged World War II massacres and new blood feuds, driven into killing by leaders who exploited old conflicts to carve new fiefs for themselves as the old, Communist Yugoslavia collapsed. In this case, it appears, Serbian vengeance was visited upon the Delijajs. Survivors of the clan said they had feared an assault on their collection of mud and brick homes lining a rocky dirt track directly opposite the village of Likovac, the Serbs' base just a mile away. The Serbs had pushed the rebels out of Likovac in August and the guerrillas had established new headquarters around Bajince, six miles east of Obrinje. As the Serbs swept down from the nearby Cicavica Mountains, and",
"up from the road that runs from Pristina to Klina, it was clear that Obrinje would be a target. Most women and children in the area had moved into Apple Valley, where more than 10,000 refugees had gathered outdoors, seeking safety in numbers. But Imer Delijaj, 38, said he decided that the ravine below his family compound would be a better hiding place. He said he believed the women, children and elderly would be spared if the Serbs found them. As the Serbs approached on foot the Saturday morning of the massacre, the last person to flee the compound itself was Bashkim Delijaj, 21, the youngest son of 94-year-old Fazli. Bashkim Delijaj said he had stayed behind to look after his bedridden father. ``The shelling started again at 7 a.m. on Saturday and I saw a tank convoy approaching, with infantry behind the tanks,'' Bashkim Delijaj recalled in an interview. ``I was smoking a cigarette when a grenade fell on the roof and from a hole in the gate I saw soldiers coming from about 30 meters away. They were in brown army uniforms, had huge knives or small axes. Many had beards.'' Bashkim Delijaj said he was unable to carry his father to safety, and did not have the courage to tell him what was happening. ``I told him I was getting the animals out of the barn,'' he said. He said he ran, hid, ran some more, and eventually received shelter from a farmer, all the time hearing shooting and shelling. When the firing had died down Monday morning, he returned to the compound and ran into Imer, still wearing his guerrilla uniform. They went to one of the houses and found Imer Delijaj's brother, Adem, 33, shot dead, his body sprawled on the ground in the rain, and the burned torso of Fazli. ``I looked in the window of our house and saw only the bones of my father, which looked like what we learned in biology class,'' he said. Together, the two men went to find out what had happened in the ravine. There they found the bodies. First, Ali, 65, who, Imer Delijaj said, had been cut through the neck with his own tobacco cutting knife. Then Pajazit, who had been decapitated in a makeshift tent, his brain placed between two foam mattresses. Then Hava, 65, who was sprawled near the tent. They moved on to find Jeton, Imer's 10-year-old son, and Imer's mother, Hamide, 60, not far away. Imer's sister-in-law, Luljeta, who was seven months pregnant, had been mutilated, he said. A little further up the ravine, Imer said he saw his wife, Lumnije, 30. He opened his wife's coat and found his 6-week-old baby girl, now 3 months old and recovering at a relative's home in Likovac. He said he tried to clean the baby and then put her under his jacket and walked a few feet further to find the bodies of his 4-year-old daughter, Menduhije, and two other young children, Donieta, 5, and Gentiana, 7. The corpses of other family members were found",
"in the woods and two older men, Habib, 51, and Hysen, 53, were found the next morning, Imer said. On Oct. 3, the bodies of two missing teen-age girls, Mehane, 16, and Antigua, 13, were found in the bushes at the side of a road near an abandoned Serbian police compound. Later in the month, the body of Hajriz was found pushed down a well, close to the ravine. One uncle, Sharif, who was in the ravine, is still missing, presumed dead. Human Rights Watch, which has been documenting the Delijaj massacre, has described it as the most vicious of a pattern of attacks on civilians by the Serbs in the Kosovo conflict. (To a lesser extent, Albanian guerrillas also attacked Serbian civilians, forcing them from their homes, and allegedly carried out at least two massacres.) The evidence strongly indicates that the Gornje Obrinje killings were followed by conscious mutilations carried out after the victims were killed, a coming report by Human Rights Watch says. Delijaj family members have told Human Rights Watch monitors and others that they saw an ethnic Albanian police officer accompanying the Serbian police officers during the fighting. They believe that the police officer, who is posted at the nearby Glogovac police station, was used by the Serbian special police officers as a guide to the Obrinje area. This police officer, who is apparently one of a small group of ethnic Albanians officers who have remained loyal to the Serbs, could be an important witness for criminal investigators from the war-crimes tribunal in The Hague, according to human rights experts. ``The ethnic Albanian policeman could be an important witness to identifying the police and army units responsible for the atrocities,'' said Peter Boueckhart, a researcher for Human Rights Watch. ``It is vital that those who carried out these atrocities are prosecuted by the Hague tribunal.'' At the burned Delijaj compound in the last week, Imer Delijaj has been acting as the host of a wake which, following Albanian tradition, will last several weeks and began after family members returned from their hiding places in the woods. Color photographs of the youngest members of the family, and of Imer's mother and grandmother, have been mounted behind glass on a table outside the gate. A 30-year-old faded black and white picture of Fazli in a double-breasted suit stands apart, a sign of ultimate respect. An outsized Albanian flag with a black double-headed eagle on a red field is draped behind the table. Imer Delijaj's face seemed tense and his words were spare as he described his family's death. He did not express direct remorse for allowing his family to use a hiding place so close to the family compound, which for all practical purposes was an informal base for fighters. His lawyer, Bajram Krasniqi, who said he was eager to be helpful to investigators of the Hague tribunal, said in Pristina that he believed Imer Delijaj felt guilty for a faulty decision. Whether the tribunal will closely examine the case remains unclear. Slobodan Milosevic, the Yugoslav president, has issued only",
"a handful of visas to investigators from the tribunal. Two investigators who were in Kosovo at the time of the massacre left six days later without visiting the site or contacting Krasniqi about the killings. Would Imer Delijaj seek revenge? As he sat on the floor of his living room with a group of male visitors, he replied: ``It's easy to answer. If I can see eye to eye with men I will fight them. But only with men in uniform and in a fair fight. If I see children with them, I will treat them like children all over the world. Children are children.''",
"In its first case to deal with atrocities against Serbs during Bosnia's civil war, a U.N. war crimes tribunal on Monday convicted three prison officials and guards, but acquitted a top military commander who oversaw the facility. The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal cleared Cmndr. Zejnil Delalic, of the Bosnian Muslim Army, of responsibility for war crimes committed at a government-run prison camp under his overall command. Prosecutor Grant Niemann of Australia said he would appeal Delalic's acquittal. Judges freed Delalic pending the outcome of the appeal. ``Let me thank you for a just and fair judgment,'' Delalic told the court. ``The judgment has even increased my trust in this institution.'' The tribunal convicted camp warden Zdravko Mucic, a Croat, of 11 war crimes and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions because he oversaw guards who murdered nine Serbs and tortured six. Mucic, wearing dark sunglasses and a cross, smiled as he heard his sentence of seven years in prison. Tribunal Deputy Prosecutor Graham Blewitt of Australia said he was considering appealing Mucic's ``inadequate'' sentence. Mucic's conviction was the first by an international court on the basis of ``command responsibility'' since post-World War II tribunals convicted Nazi and Japanese superiors for the crimes of their subordinates. ``Mr. Mucic was clearly derelict in his duty and allowed those under his authority to commit the most heinous of offenses, without taking any disciplinary action,'' said presiding Judge Adolphus Karibi-Whyte of Nigeria. Monday's verdicts ended a marathon 20-month trial that focused on the brutal mistreatment of the Bosnian Serbs, themselves blamed for the vast majority of war crimes committed during the 3 1/2-year Bosnian conflict. During the trial _ the tribunal's longest to date involving 122 witnesses _ survivors described the campaign of terror unleashed against Serbs in the area. Inmates at the Celebici prison camp were beaten to death by guards wielding baseball bats, wooden planks and rifle butts, according to testimony. Others were set on fire, raped and forced to commit sexual acts with members of their own family. The 49-page indictment detailing atrocities at Celebici asserts that at least 14 prisoners were killed in 1992. One prisoner was beaten to death and had a Muslim party badge nailed to his head, a witness claimed. Yet a few witnesses also praised Delalic and Mucic, for humanitarian gestures, such as getting food and clothing to some prisoners and releasing others. Hazim Delic, a Muslim who served as deputy warden of the camp, was found guilty of two murders and of raping two women as well as torturing other inmates. He was sentenced to 20 years by Karibi-Whyte, who denounced rape as ``a despicable act which strikes at the very core of human dignity and physical integrity.'' Delic's defense attorney said he would likely appeal. Esad Landzo, a Muslim guard, was convicted of killing three prisoners and torturing at least three others and was sentenced to 15 years. His attorneys also are likely to appeal the conviction. All four defendants had faced up to life imprisonment, the maximum punishment at the tribunal, which has no death penalty. A charge against Delic and Mucic of plundering property was dismissed by the three-judge panel. Mucic also was cleared of responsibility for four murders and three cases of mistreatment or torture of prisoners. Delic was cleared of two murders, and of command responsibility for other killings at Celebici. He was also acquitted of three cases of torture. Landzo was cleared of one murder charge and one torture count. The tribunal, set up by the Security Council in 1993, has convicted only one other person following a trial _ Bosnian Serb Dusan Tadic, who was sentenced in May 1997 to 20 years for killing and torturing Muslims in 1992. Two other men have confessed to killing Muslims, handing the tribunal two more convictions without conduction trials."
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"The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal Monday acquitted a Muslim commander of war crimes against Bosnian Serb prisoners in 1992, but convicted three underlings in the first U.N. case dealing with anti-Serb atrocities. The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal cleared Zejnil Delalic, a Muslim, of responsibility for war crimes committed against Serb captives at a Bosnian government-run prison camp under his command. Prosecutor Grant Niemann said he would appeal Delalic's acquittal, and asked judges to keep him in custody pending the outcome of the appeal. The U.N. court convicted camp commander Zdravko Mucic, a Croat, of 11 war crimes and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions because he oversaw guards who murdered nine Serbs and tortured six. Mucic smiled as he heard his sentence of seven years in prison read out. His conviction was the first by an international court on the basis of so-called ``command responsibility'' since post-World War II tribunals convicted Nazi and Japanese superiors for the crimes of their subordinates. ``Mr. Mucic was clearly derelict in his duty and allowed those under his authority to commit the most heinous of offenses, without taking any disciplinary action,'' said presiding Judge Adolphus Karibi-Whyte. Hazim Delic, a Muslim who served as Mucic's deputy, was found guilty of two murders and of raping two women as well as torturing other inmates. He was sentenced to 20 years. Esad Landzo, a Muslim guard, was convicted of three murders and the torture of at least three other inmates. He was jailed for 15 years. All four defendants had faced up to life imprisonment, the maximum punishment at the tribunal, which has no death penalty. Monday's verdicts ended a marathon 20-month trial that focused on the brutal mistreatment of the Bosnian Serbs, themselves blamed for the vast majority of the conflict's war crimes. During the trial _ the tribunal's longest to date involving 122 witnesses _ survivors described the campaign of terror unleashed against Serbs in the area. Inmates at the Celebici prison camp were beaten to death by guards wielding baseball bats, wooden planks and rifle butts, according to testimony. Others were set on fire, raped and forced to commit sexual acts with members of their own family. The 49-page indictment detailing atrocities at Celebici asserts that at least 14 prisoners were killed in 1992. One prisoner was beaten to death and had a Muslim party badge nailed to his head, a witness claimed. Yet a few witnesses also praised Delalic and Mucic for humanitarian gestures, such as getting food and clothing to some prisoners and releasing others. The tribunal, set up by the Security Council in 1993, has convicted only one other person following a trial _ Bosnian Serb Dusan Tadic, who was sentenced in May 1997 to 20 years for killing and torturing Muslims in 1992. Two other men have confessed to killing Muslims, handing the tribunal two more convictions while sparing it the need for trials.",
"Hundreds of people gathered at Sarajevo airport on Saturday to welcome Zejnil Delalic, who was cleared of war crimes charges earlier this week after spending 980 days in jail of the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Delalic, a Muslim, was cleared of charges of war crimes committed in 1992 against Serb prisoners in the Muslim-led Bosnian Army prison camp Celebici near his hometown of Konjic. Three others involved in the same case were convicted and will serve prison terms at The Hague for crimes committed as camp guards. Delalic held up his verdict as he arrived and was first greeted by his family and then by many friends from Konjic, 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Sarajevo, where a huge welcome party for him was planned. ``This is the book of 500 pages in which it says 12 times Delalic is not guilty,'' he told reporters. ``More important is that acts commited by some weren't ordered by officers of our Bosnian Army. These acts were qualified as acts of individuals that happened on a daily basis,'' he said. Edina Residovic, Delalic's lawyer, said she will seek compensation for wrongful imprisonment on behalf of Delalic, who spent almost three years in confinement.",
"American and allied forces in Bosnia on Wednesday arrested a Bosnian Serb general who was charged with genocide by the international war crimes tribunal in a recent secret indictment. Maj. Gen. Radislav Krstic, arrested without incident in the American sector in northeast Bosnia, is the highest-ranking official to be seized so far, and the first serving military officer. He is accused of directing the attack on Srebrenica in 1995, one of the most chilling and influential events of the Bosnian war, when some 7,000 Bosnian Muslim men were marched off, presumably to their deaths, as U.N. peacekeepers stood by. The indictment of Krstic accuses him of having committed genocide during and after the fall of Srebrenica between July 11 and Nov. 1, 1995. He is indicted both in connection with ``direct personal involvement in the commission of these crimes'' as well as his command responsibility. He is also accused of murder and other crimes against humanity. Krstic was a colonel in 1995, and the deputy commander of the Drina battalion, but was promoted to general within days of the fall of Srebrenica. He is considered a close associate of the Bosnian Serb commander, Gen. Ratko Mladic, and the former Bosnian Serb leader, Radovan Karadzic, both of whom are wanted by the tribunal. And he is considered capable, if he is willing to testify, of implicating Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, who has not been indicted. Louise Arbour, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, called Krstic ``a very significant military leader'' and said she was delighted with the arrest. The general was only indicted on Oct. 30, tribunal officials said, but the indictment was kept secret so there would be a better chance of a successful arrest. NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana warned that other war crimes suspects still at large ``should realize that they, too, will be brought to justice.'' James Rubin, the State Department spokesman, said that the arrest ``serves as a standing warning to those indicted for war crimes, who remain at large, that they will be held individually accountable for their actions.'' The Bosnian Serbs reacted angrily to the arrest, with the hardline Bosnian Serb president, Nikola Poplasen, saying that his government would now reduce contacts with NATO-led peacekeeping forces ``to the necessary minimum.'' Poplasen, who defeated a more moderate candidate backed by Washington in September elections, said the arrest of Krstic had ``embittered and upset'' the Bosnian Serbs and would harm the implementation of the Dayton agreement that ended the 1992-1995 Bosnian war. He said he would protest the arrest, and his remarks were later endorsed by parliament in a majority vote. A senior official of a NATO country called the arrest ``very good news'' and said it was ``a warning to Milosevic himself'' and others who have not been publicly indicted that ``the murders committed have not been forgotten.'' A Pentagon official said the arrest, the most important made in the American sector, ``was a sign that this is a continuing process.'' NATO-led peacekeeping troops have now arrested nine people wanted for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia, four of whom were the subject of sealed indictments. There have been numerous calls for the arrest of Mladic and Karadzic, the two most infamous men indicted, but they normally are accompanied by armed guards. NATO forces have never tried to arrest them, apparently fearing casualties and an angry public reaction from Bosnian Serbs. Officials say that both Mladic and Karadzic are believed to have left the Bosnian Serb Republic to live in Serbia, which is part of Yugoslavia and controlled by Milosvevic. Krstic, who was transferred to The Hague for trial, is the 35th suspect who has been taken there and the 26th person currently being held there. He is the commander of the Bosnian Serb 5th Corps and was arrested while traveling on the road to Bijelina. At the outset of the war in 1992, he was an officer of the Yugoslav Army, and like all senior Bosnian Serb officers, was transferred to the new Bosnian Serb force. In 1994, he lost a leg in a mine explosion. One Bosnian Serb official said in a telephone interview that, at the time, Krstic had responsibility for ``anti-terrorist units'' who were given some of the most difficult tasks. ``Srebrenica is a dark part of our history and people don't talk about it,'' the official said. ``But everyone believes it was the anti-terrorist units that were sent to do the killing.'' In Banja Luka on Wednesday, some members of the Bosnian Serb parliament protested the arrest, saying that Krstic was simply doing his job as a soldier. Ivo Daalder, a former Bosnia expert on the National Security Council, now with the Brookings Institution, said the arrest showed a new and promising coordination between the Tribunal and NATO troops, given the rapid arrest after the Oct. 30 indictment. He also said that the arrest of a serving officer for an important war crime would send an important message. Srebrenica was a key town in the Bosnian conflict. It was where the United Nations first made a stand in March 1993, when the commander of U.N. troops personally led a convoy of trucks to the surrounded town and promised the Bosnian Muslims there that Srebrenica would be a ``safe area'' and the United Nations would protect them. But in July 1995, the United Nations did not protect Srebrenica with air strikes, and peacekeeping troops watched as the Serbs marched in, separated Muslim men and women and marched the men off. ``Srebrenica signaled the massive failure of the West,'' said Daalder. ``It galvanized the United States and NATO to act.'' At a London conference later in July, NATO agreed to defend Gorazde and remaining safe areas with massive air strikes if necessary. After a mortar attack on the Sarajevo marketplace in late August, NATO air strikes began, signaling the last chapter of the war and leading to the American-brokered Dayton Accords. In Sarajevo Wednesday, an aide to the Bosnian Muslim member of the collective presidency, Alija Izetbegovic, praised the arrest. ``We welcome this action, hoping very soon that the time will come for Karadzic and Mladic to be brought to justice,'' said the aide, Mirza Jajric. The arrest took place as foreign ministers of the member countries of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe met in Oslo, Norway, to discuss the international effort to keep the peace in Kosovo, the southern Serbian province. Under a deal pressed on Milosevic in October, the organization will provide up to 2,000 civilians to monitor a cease-fire in Kosovo and to promote a political settlement there to give Kosovo enhanced autonomy. Macedonia's government Wednesday formally approved the basing of 1,700 NATO troops near its border with Kosovo. Those troops will be prepared to rush to the aid of the civilian monitors if necessary.",
"The president of the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal harshly criticized Belgrade authorities anew for refusing to let U.N. investigators probe alleged atrocities in Kosovo. In a letter to the United Nations Security Council released Wednesday by the tribunal, presiding judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald of the United States said the failure of Yugoslav officials to grant visas to investigators is ``an affront.'' ``The intentional and continuous refusal by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to comply with its clear and incontrovertible legal obligations to the tribunal is an affront to the Security Council and all law-abiding nations,'' she said. The Texas judge fired off the letter last Friday following the refusal of Belgrade authorities to allow tribunal Chief Prosecutor Louise Arbour of Canada and a team of investigators to visit Kosovo. McDonald asked the Security Council to impose ``measures which are sufficiently compelling to bring the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia into the fold of law-abiding nations.'' Hundreds of people, mostly ethnic Albanians, have been killed, and as many as 300,000 driven from their homes since February, when Serb forces began a crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo. The tribunal wants to look into allegations of war crimes on both sides of the conflict.",
"Yugoslavia must cooperate with the U.N. war crimes tribunal investigating alleged atrocities during the wars in Croatia and Bosnia, international legal experts meeting in Belgrade said Sunday. The meeting was the first international debate in Yugoslavia over the U.N. tribunal's work and the government's cooperation with it. The tribunal, established by the U.N. Security Council in 1993, sits in The Hague, Netherlands. Despite objections to the tribunal, Yugoslav authorities allowed the two-day discussions _ organized by the Belgrade-based, non-governmental Humanitarian Law Center _ to take place without any problems. State-run media largely ignored the event. Though there were some disagreements, participants in the discussions generally agreed that crimes against humanity cannot go unpunished. ``The indicted who are not in The Hague are at-large because of the refusal by Croatian and Yugoslav authorities to arrest and extradite them,'' said Mark Ellis, a lawyer and representative of the American Bar Association. Present-day Yugoslavia, consisting of Serbia and Montenegro, cooperates with the tribunal in cases where Serbs were the victims in Bosnia and Croatia, the two former republics that fought wars for their secession. But Yugoslavia has questioned the tribunal's jurisdiction and refuses to indict three army officers wanted for alleged war crimes in Croatia. Last week, it also refused to allow U.N. investigators to probe alleged atrocities in Serbia's southern Kosovo province where ethnic Albanian separatists are fighting government forces. ``The tribunal was founded to satanize Serbs,'' said Miodrag Mitic, a former legal adviser in Yugoslavia's foreign ministry. He said the U.N. court was influenced by powerful countries that dominate the international body. On Saturday, David Scheffer, the U.S. State Department's ambassador at-large for war crimes, demanded Yugoslavia's full cooperation.",
"To his Muslim targets, Bosnian Serb Goran Jelisic was ``the face of genocide'' who once bragged that ``he had to kill 20 or 30 Muslims before his morning coffee.'' Opening a genocide trial Monday at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal, U.N. prosecutor Terree Bowers said the 30-year-old mechanic used the nickname Adolf ``with a perverse pride in the genocidal symbolism it represented.'' Jelisic pleaded guilty in October to murdering 12 Muslims and Croats in and around the Serb-run Luka camp set up in Brcko, northern Bosnia, in May 1992. By trying him for genocide, prosecutors will be able to call evidence about the background of Jelisic's murders, including the involvement of more senior Serbs. The trial also will give survivors of his killing spree chance to tell their story in court. Bowers told a three-judge tribunal panel that Jelisic admitted in interviews with investigators to far more killings than the dozen to which he has pleaded guilty. Jelisic will be convicted of those murders and sentenced at the end of his trial, which is expected to last well into 1999. He faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. ``We will never be able to fix the exact number'' of victims, Bowers said. ``But if we are to believe even a small percentage of the totals which Goran Jelisic claimed, then his victims certainly number well over 100.'' As the trial began, judges were read excerpts of a psychological report which stated that Jelisic was mentally fit to stand trial but suffered a ``borderline personality disorder.'' Wearing a striped sweater and black jeans, Jelisic brought a laptop computer into court and took notes. When he wasn't writing, Jelisic sat slightly slumped in his chair, his head still, looking impassively around the courtroom. Jelisic's campaign of murder stands out _ even at a tribunal set up to deal exclusively with atrocities _ for its cold-bloodedness. ``Once Goran Jelisic even declined assistance from a guard, noting that he was still in `good form' even though he had killed over 60 people,'' Bowers told judges, citing statements made by witnesses due to testify later in the trial. ``To victims in Brcko, the face of genocide was the face of Goran Jelisic,'' he said. Bowers told the judges that Jelisic, who held no official rank, was released by Bosnian Serb authorities from jail, where he was serving three years for fraud, and sent to Brcko to murder Muslims. He told investigators that on his arrival in the town, which was of strategic importance to Bosnian Serbs, he was given a list of Muslim targets and ordered to kill as many as possible. Jelisic, Bowers said, seemed to relish the task. ``Witness testimony will also establish that Goran Jelisic was not a reluctant tool of the genocide who was being compelled by Serb authorities to act against his will,'' the U.S. prosecutor said. ``Quite to the contrary, the testimony will firmly establish that Goran Jelisic was an efficient and enthusiastic participant in the genocide.'' Set up in 1993, the U.N. court has convicted two Muslims, two Bosnian Croats and a Bosnian Serb of war crimes including murder, rape and torture, but it has yet to register a genocide conviction. An earlier genocide trial was halted when the defendant, Bosnian Serb Milan Kovacevic, died of a ruptured artery in his tribunal cell.",
"He called himself the ``Serb Adolf,'' and his crimes were as chilling as his nickname. In a trial opening Monday at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal, U.N. prosecutors were seeking to convince a three-judge panel that Goran Jelisic is guilty of genocide, the court's most serious offense. The 30-year-old former Bosnian Serb mechanic confessed in October to murdering 12 Muslims and Croats in 1992, astonishing many observers by reversing his earlier declarations of innocence. Although his guilty pleas mean an automatic conviction for war crimes and crimes against humanity _ and the likelihood of a maximum life sentence _ Jelisic has denied that the killing spree constituted genocide. By pressing on with a genocide trial, prosecutors will be able to call evidence about the background of Jelisic's murders, including the involvement of more senior Serbs. The trial also will give survivors of his ruthless campaign a chance to tell their story in court. To convict Jelisic of genocide, prosecutors must prove that the murders _ most of them carried out with close-range shots from an automatic pistol _ were part of a campaign intended to wipe out an entire ethnic group in the northern Bosnian town of Brcko. Jelisic, who was arrested in January by U.S. troops serving in the NATO force in Bosnia, has pleaded guilty to a total of 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The charges cover the murders as well as three beatings and the plundering of property. In entering those guilty pleas, Jelisic told the tribunal he wanted to ``cleanse my soul.'' He will officially be convicted of those charges during the genocide trial. Jelisic's victims were killed in or near the Serb-run Luka prison camp, a former port complex on the banks of the Sava River. Although most victims were men, Jelisic also clubbed one female inmate with a police baton and then fatally shot her. U.N. prosecutors say Jelisic identified himself to prisoners as the ``Serb Adolf,'' a reference to Hitler, and bragged about the number of Muslims he had killed. Set up in 1993, the U.N. court has convicted three Muslims, two Bosnian Croats and a Bosnian Serb of war crimes including murder, rape and torture, but it has yet to register a genocide conviction. An earlier genocide trial was halted when the defendant, Bosnian Serb Milan Kovacevic, died of a ruptured artery in his tribunal cell.",
"The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal Monday acquitted a Muslim military commander of war crimes against Bosnian Serb prisoners in 1992, but convicted three underlings in the first U.N. case dealing with anti-Serb atrocities. The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal cleared Zejnil Delalic, a Muslim, of responsibility for war crimes committed against Serb captives at a Bosnian government-run prison camp under his command. Prosecutor Grant Niemann said he would appeal Delalic's acquittal, and asked judges to keep him in custody pending the outcome of the appeal. The U.N. court convicted camp commander Zdravko Mucic, a Croat, of 11 war crimes and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions because he oversaw guards who murdered nine Serbs and tortured six. Mucic smiled as he heard his sentence of seven years in prison read out. His conviction was the first by an international court on the basis of so-called ``command responsibility'' since post-World War II tribunals convicted Nazi and Japanese superiors for the crimes of their subordinates. ``Mr. Mucic was clearly derelict in his duty and allowed those under his authority to commit the most heinous of offenses, without taking any disciplinary action,'' said presiding Judge Adolphus Karibi-Whyte. Hazim Delic, a Muslim who served as Mucic's deputy, was found guilty of two murders and of raping two women as well as torturing other inmates. He was sentenced to 20 years. Esad Landzo, a Muslim guard, was convicted of three murders and the torture of at least three other inmates. He was jailed for 15 years. All four defendants had faced up to life imprisonment, the maximum punishment at the tribunal, which has no death penalty. Monday's verdicts ended a marathon 20-month trial that focused on the brutal mistreatment of the Bosnian Serbs, themselves blamed for the vast majority of the conflict's war crimes. During the trial _ the tribunal's longest to date involving 122 witnesses _ survivors described the campaign of terror unleashed against Serbs in the area. Inmates at the Celebici prison camp were beaten to death by guards wielding baseball bats, wooden planks and rifle butts, according to testimony. Others were set on fire, raped and forced to commit sexual acts with members of their own family. The 49-page indictment detailing atrocities at Celebici asserts that at least 14 prisoners were killed in 1992. One prisoner was beaten to death and had a Muslim party badge nailed to his head, a witness claimed. Yet a few witnesses also praised Delalic and Mucic for humanitarian gestures, such as getting food and clothing to some prisoners and releasing others. The tribunal, set up by the Security Council in 1993, has convicted only one other person following a trial _ Bosnian Serb Dusan Tadic, who was sentenced in May 1997 to 20 years for killing and torturing Muslims in 1992. Two other men have confessed to killing Muslims, handing the tribunal two more convictions while sparing it the need for trials.",
"Some of the closest combat in the half year of the Kosovo conflict, to the point of fighting room to room and floor to floor, occurred near this village six weeks ago, in the days before 21 women, children and elderly members of the Delijaj clan were massacred by Serbian forces, their mutilated bodies left strewn on the forest floor. Piecing together what happened, from surviving family members, ethnic Albanian separatist forces and official Serbian information, a story emerges of fierce guerrilla resistance to an onslaught by Serbian tanks, artillery and infantry. The Serbian forces fighting here appear to have suffered unusually heavy losses and, after the guerrillas finally fled, took revenge against the civilians, shooting women and children at close range as they tried to run away from their pursuers. According to relatives who found the bodies, Pajazit Delijaj, 65, was decapitated, his brain left on display on the ground. Hava Delijaj, 65, was shot and one of her feet cut with a knife so that it hung by a thread of skin. Young women and children who had run a few hundred yards up a rocky path were mowed down. Miraculously, a 6-week-old baby, Diturie, was found by her father alive in the clasp of her dead mother, Lumnije, 30, more than 24 hours after the killings. ``Blood was in her mouth and her mother's hand on the baby,'' said Imer Delijaj, the father, an avowed member of the Kosovo Liberation Army, the ethnic Albanian guerrilla force, who returned in uniform to discover the bodies. ``I moved her hand and at that moment she opened her eyes. I realized she was alive. I tried to clean the blood from her mouth and she put her tongue out.'' Several members of the Delijaj clan survived. Zejnije Delijaj, 39, who had cooked for the guerrillas at the family compound when they returned from fighting in the days before the massacre, recalled how she fled, crawling, falling, running and hiding in the woods as the Serbs shot at her. ``I could feel the dirt hitting me from the impact of the bullets,'' she said in an interview, her nose still bloodied from what she said was a heavy fall during her flight. ``First it was machine guns, then grenades, then cannon,'' she said. ``Every time I moved and they heard leaves rustling, they shot.'' The massacre of the Delijajs, whose forebears settled in the Drenica Valley about 150 years ago, was not the first in the conflict that ravaged the Serbian province between March and October and has now lulled into an uneasy truce. Indeed, the conflict between Serbian forces bent on keeping Kosovo in Serbia and guerrillas fighting for the independence of its heavily ethnic Albanian population first drew international attention with the massacre of the Jasari clan in early March by Serbian units at Prekaz, in central Kosovo. But the killing of the Delijajs, ranging from the paralyzed patriarch, Fazli, 94, who was burned in his bed, to the slaughter of Valmir, 18 months, who was found shot, is the most thoroughly documented so far. Human Rights Watch, a New York-based group, believes the knowledge gathered so far increases the possibility of prosecutions by the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. The Hague's prosecutors could also draw on the observations of diplomats, human rights monitors and reporters who saw the bodies scattered in the ravine where the victims were killed before they were buried in shallow graves in the clan's nearby compound. In other Kosovo massacres, bodies had been moved from the sites before they were seen by independent observers. Further, family members who survived the assault have described what they saw and the circumstances in the hills and valleys around Obrinje as the Serbs pushed forward early Saturday morning, Sept. 26, from their headquarters at Likovac, north of here. By then, the Albanian guerrillas had fled the area around the Delijaj compound, dispersing after what a senior commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Naim Maloku, termed particularly fierce combat with the Serbs. In the days before Sept. 26, he said, the guerrillas _ caught in a Serbian pincer movement _ had decided to fight rather than surrender. The fighting _ sometimes house to house, even room to room _ took an unusually heavy toll among the Serbs, said Maloku, a former officer in the Yugoslav army. He said he believed that it was those deaths the Serbs avenged with the massacre of the Delijajs. In other major attacks during the conflict, the guerrillas generally found an escape hatch. In Obrinje, led by another former officer of the Yugoslav army whom Maloku declined to name, the guerrillas fought, using land mines and rocket-propelled grenades. Maloku said he knew from a report made by rebel headquarters that at least 47 Serbian soldiers and police officers were killed in the fighting between here and Bajince, three miles east. ``We took weapons from 47 Serbs,'' he said. The state-controlled Serbian media center in Kosovo's capital, Pristina, said 10 Serbian police officers were killed in the fighting, including five reservists who died when their vehicle hit an antitank mine on Sept. 25. The announcement of 10 Serbs killed in one action is unusually high. The practice of taking violent revenge is a time-honored tradition in the Balkans. From 1991 to 1995, in the wars in Croatia and Bosnia, Serbs, Croats and, to a far lesser extent, the main victims, the Muslims, avenged World War II massacres and new blood feuds, driven into killing by leaders who exploited old conflicts to carve new fiefs for themselves as the old, Communist Yugoslavia collapsed. In this case, it appears, Serbian vengeance was visited upon the Delijajs. Survivors of the clan said they had feared an assault on their collection of mud and brick homes lining a rocky dirt track directly opposite the village of Likovac, the Serbs' base just a mile away. The Serbs had pushed the rebels out of Likovac in August and the guerrillas had established new headquarters around Bajince, six miles east of Obrinje. As the Serbs swept down from the nearby Cicavica Mountains, and up from the road that runs from Pristina to Klina, it was clear that Obrinje would be a target. Most women and children in the area had moved into Apple Valley, where more than 10,000 refugees had gathered outdoors, seeking safety in numbers. But Imer Delijaj, 38, said he decided that the ravine below his family compound would be a better hiding place. He said he believed the women, children and elderly would be spared if the Serbs found them. As the Serbs approached on foot the Saturday morning of the massacre, the last person to flee the compound itself was Bashkim Delijaj, 21, the youngest son of 94-year-old Fazli. Bashkim Delijaj said he had stayed behind to look after his bedridden father. ``The shelling started again at 7 a.m. on Saturday and I saw a tank convoy approaching, with infantry behind the tanks,'' Bashkim Delijaj recalled in an interview. ``I was smoking a cigarette when a grenade fell on the roof and from a hole in the gate I saw soldiers coming from about 30 meters away. They were in brown army uniforms, had huge knives or small axes. Many had beards.'' Bashkim Delijaj said he was unable to carry his father to safety, and did not have the courage to tell him what was happening. ``I told him I was getting the animals out of the barn,'' he said. He said he ran, hid, ran some more, and eventually received shelter from a farmer, all the time hearing shooting and shelling. When the firing had died down Monday morning, he returned to the compound and ran into Imer, still wearing his guerrilla uniform. They went to one of the houses and found Imer Delijaj's brother, Adem, 33, shot dead, his body sprawled on the ground in the rain, and the burned torso of Fazli. ``I looked in the window of our house and saw only the bones of my father, which looked like what we learned in biology class,'' he said. Together, the two men went to find out what had happened in the ravine. There they found the bodies. First, Ali, 65, who, Imer Delijaj said, had been cut through the neck with his own tobacco cutting knife. Then Pajazit, who had been decapitated in a makeshift tent, his brain placed between two foam mattresses. Then Hava, 65, who was sprawled near the tent. They moved on to find Jeton, Imer's 10-year-old son, and Imer's mother, Hamide, 60, not far away. Imer's sister-in-law, Luljeta, who was seven months pregnant, had been mutilated, he said. A little further up the ravine, Imer said he saw his wife, Lumnije, 30. He opened his wife's coat and found his 6-week-old baby girl, now 3 months old and recovering at a relative's home in Likovac. He said he tried to clean the baby and then put her under his jacket and walked a few feet further to find the bodies of his 4-year-old daughter, Menduhije, and two other young children, Donieta, 5, and Gentiana, 7. The corpses of other family members were found in the woods and two older men, Habib, 51, and Hysen, 53, were found the next morning, Imer said. On Oct. 3, the bodies of two missing teen-age girls, Mehane, 16, and Antigua, 13, were found in the bushes at the side of a road near an abandoned Serbian police compound. Later in the month, the body of Hajriz was found pushed down a well, close to the ravine. One uncle, Sharif, who was in the ravine, is still missing, presumed dead. Human Rights Watch, which has been documenting the Delijaj massacre, has described it as the most vicious of a pattern of attacks on civilians by the Serbs in the Kosovo conflict. (To a lesser extent, Albanian guerrillas also attacked Serbian civilians, forcing them from their homes, and allegedly carried out at least two massacres.) The evidence strongly indicates that the Gornje Obrinje killings were followed by conscious mutilations carried out after the victims were killed, a coming report by Human Rights Watch says. Delijaj family members have told Human Rights Watch monitors and others that they saw an ethnic Albanian police officer accompanying the Serbian police officers during the fighting. They believe that the police officer, who is posted at the nearby Glogovac police station, was used by the Serbian special police officers as a guide to the Obrinje area. This police officer, who is apparently one of a small group of ethnic Albanians officers who have remained loyal to the Serbs, could be an important witness for criminal investigators from the war-crimes tribunal in The Hague, according to human rights experts. ``The ethnic Albanian policeman could be an important witness to identifying the police and army units responsible for the atrocities,'' said Peter Boueckhart, a researcher for Human Rights Watch. ``It is vital that those who carried out these atrocities are prosecuted by the Hague tribunal.'' At the burned Delijaj compound in the last week, Imer Delijaj has been acting as the host of a wake which, following Albanian tradition, will last several weeks and began after family members returned from their hiding places in the woods. Color photographs of the youngest members of the family, and of Imer's mother and grandmother, have been mounted behind glass on a table outside the gate. A 30-year-old faded black and white picture of Fazli in a double-breasted suit stands apart, a sign of ultimate respect. An outsized Albanian flag with a black double-headed eagle on a red field is draped behind the table. Imer Delijaj's face seemed tense and his words were spare as he described his family's death. He did not express direct remorse for allowing his family to use a hiding place so close to the family compound, which for all practical purposes was an informal base for fighters. His lawyer, Bajram Krasniqi, who said he was eager to be helpful to investigators of the Hague tribunal, said in Pristina that he believed Imer Delijaj felt guilty for a faulty decision. Whether the tribunal will closely examine the case remains unclear. Slobodan Milosevic, the Yugoslav president, has issued only a handful of visas to investigators from the tribunal. Two investigators who were in Kosovo at the time of the massacre left six days later without visiting the site or contacting Krasniqi about the killings. Would Imer Delijaj seek revenge? As he sat on the floor of his living room with a group of male visitors, he replied: ``It's easy to answer. If I can see eye to eye with men I will fight them. But only with men in uniform and in a fair fight. If I see children with them, I will treat them like children all over the world. Children are children.''",
"In its first case to deal with atrocities against Serbs during Bosnia's civil war, a U.N. war crimes tribunal on Monday convicted three prison officials and guards, but acquitted a top military commander who oversaw the facility. The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal cleared Cmndr. Zejnil Delalic, of the Bosnian Muslim Army, of responsibility for war crimes committed at a government-run prison camp under his overall command. Prosecutor Grant Niemann of Australia said he would appeal Delalic's acquittal. Judges freed Delalic pending the outcome of the appeal. ``Let me thank you for a just and fair judgment,'' Delalic told the court. ``The judgment has even increased my trust in this institution.'' The tribunal convicted camp warden Zdravko Mucic, a Croat, of 11 war crimes and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions because he oversaw guards who murdered nine Serbs and tortured six. Mucic, wearing dark sunglasses and a cross, smiled as he heard his sentence of seven years in prison. Tribunal Deputy Prosecutor Graham Blewitt of Australia said he was considering appealing Mucic's ``inadequate'' sentence. Mucic's conviction was the first by an international court on the basis of ``command responsibility'' since post-World War II tribunals convicted Nazi and Japanese superiors for the crimes of their subordinates. ``Mr. Mucic was clearly derelict in his duty and allowed those under his authority to commit the most heinous of offenses, without taking any disciplinary action,'' said presiding Judge Adolphus Karibi-Whyte of Nigeria. Monday's verdicts ended a marathon 20-month trial that focused on the brutal mistreatment of the Bosnian Serbs, themselves blamed for the vast majority of war crimes committed during the 3 1/2-year Bosnian conflict. During the trial _ the tribunal's longest to date involving 122 witnesses _ survivors described the campaign of terror unleashed against Serbs in the area. Inmates at the Celebici prison camp were beaten to death by guards wielding baseball bats, wooden planks and rifle butts, according to testimony. Others were set on fire, raped and forced to commit sexual acts with members of their own family. The 49-page indictment detailing atrocities at Celebici asserts that at least 14 prisoners were killed in 1992. One prisoner was beaten to death and had a Muslim party badge nailed to his head, a witness claimed. Yet a few witnesses also praised Delalic and Mucic, for humanitarian gestures, such as getting food and clothing to some prisoners and releasing others. Hazim Delic, a Muslim who served as deputy warden of the camp, was found guilty of two murders and of raping two women as well as torturing other inmates. He was sentenced to 20 years by Karibi-Whyte, who denounced rape as ``a despicable act which strikes at the very core of human dignity and physical integrity.'' Delic's defense attorney said he would likely appeal. Esad Landzo, a Muslim guard, was convicted of killing three prisoners and torturing at least three others and was sentenced to 15 years. His attorneys also are likely to appeal the conviction. All four defendants had faced up to life imprisonment, the maximum punishment at the tribunal, which has no death penalty. A charge against Delic and Mucic of plundering property was dismissed by the three-judge panel. Mucic also was cleared of responsibility for four murders and three cases of mistreatment or torture of prisoners. Delic was cleared of two murders, and of command responsibility for other killings at Celebici. He was also acquitted of three cases of torture. Landzo was cleared of one murder charge and one torture count. The tribunal, set up by the Security Council in 1993, has convicted only one other person following a trial _ Bosnian Serb Dusan Tadic, who was sentenced in May 1997 to 20 years for killing and torturing Muslims in 1992. Two other men have confessed to killing Muslims, handing the tribunal two more convictions without conduction trials."
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Latin leaders at Ibero-American summit explore ways to avoid economic turmoil and warn of likely global recession. Brazil President Cardoso will announce deficit-cutting austerity measures. Brazil and the IMF move closer to an agreement on a $30 billion rescue package. Cardoso readies his plan for spending cuts and tax increases as part of the IMF deal. He will unveil the full plan next week. The success of his economic efforts may depend on the outcome of upcoming gubernatorial elections. The Commerce Dept. measures the effects of global economic decline on the U.S. economy. The U.S. will give billions of taxpayer dollars to the Brazil-IMF rescue deal. As Latin American nations gathered for the Ibero-American summit, there was general concern for the global economy. Most leaders attending warned that the downturn in the global economy could have dire consequences. The crisis facing Latin America has had an effect on the U.S. economy as exports declined as a result of the recession. Brazil's economy was especially hard hit and it has entered into talks with the IMF to secure loans needed to bolster its economy. The outcome of these talks could depend on the outcome of the Brazilian elections. In an effort to cuts its deficit, Brazil has cut back on the perks of government workers. In an effort to stem the financial crisis in Brazil, the world's ninth largest economy and the financial engine of Latin America, U.S. officials have signaled a willingness to provide billions in direct aid. Brazil is also negotiating with the IMF for a $30 billion bail-out package. The agreement almost certainly includes unpopular austerity measures to trim the country's budget deficit. Brazil's crisis was triggered by Russia's default on loans followed by a strong outflow of capital. Meanwhile, the U.S. Commerce Department reported the nation's trade deficit rose $2.2 billion, indicating the U.S. has not been shielded from the global economic downturn. In an effort to stem the financial crisis in Brazil, the world's ninth largest economy and the financial engine of Latin America, U.S. officials have signaled a willingness to provide billions in direct aid. Brazil is also negotiating with the IMF for a $30 billion bail-out package. The agreement almost certainly includes unpopular austerity measures to trim the country's budget deficit. Brazil's crisis was triggered by Russia's default on loans followed by a strong outflow of capital. Meanwhile, the U.S. Commerce Department reported the nation's trade deficit rose $2.2 billion, indicating the U.S. has not been shielded from the global economic downturn.
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"Brazil and the International Monetary Fund moved closer Tuesday to agreement on an expected dlrs 30 billion rescue package for the world's ninth-largest economy. A joint statement by the IMF and the Brazilian government said the two sides agreed Brazil should aim to reduce its budget deficit from an expected eight percent of gross domestic product to zero by 2000. The statement was issued after weekend talks between IMF officials and a Brazilian delegation headed by Pedro Parente, executive secretary of the Finance Ministry. Representatives of the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank took part in the talks. Both organizations as well as private banks are expected to contribute to the rescue package. Brazil is the latest country to be hit by the financial crisis that began 15 months ago in Asia and then spread to Russia. Brazil has lost about dlrs 25 billion in foreign currency reserves since August when Russia defaulted on its debts and sparked a new crisis of confidence in emerging market countries. If instability continues in Brazil it could affect Argentina, its main trading partner, and other Latin American economies. Despite the re-election of Fernando Henrique Cardoso for a second term as president and the announcement Oct. 8 that Brazil and the IMF had agreed on the broad outlines of a financial assistance package, investors continued to withdraw large sums of money from Brazil. Cardoso is preparing an emergency program of budget cuts to restore investor confidence and prevent a devaluation of the country's currency. Investors want Cardoso to outline the plans this week but he is expected to wait until after Sunday's second round of elections for state governors, whose support he needs for his budget cuts. The joint statement said the Brazil-IMF discussions ``were aimed at preparing the ground for prompt support by the international community, including the IMF, for the multi-year fiscal program to be announced soon by the Brazilian authorities, which will include new policy initiatives.'' The statement reiterated Brazil's goal of achieving a primary budget surplus of 2.6 percent of its gross domestic product in 1999, 2.8 percent in 2000 and 3.0 percent in 2001 which would '' fulfill the government target of stabilizing the ratio of net consolidated public sector debt to GDP by the year 2000.'' The two sides are to continue their talks ``with the objective of reaching early agreement,'' the statement said.",
"There's no such thing as a free lunch any longer in Brazil, President Fernando Henrique Cardoso is telling government workers. No haircuts or phone calls, either. Eager to bolster the sagging economy, Cardoso wants to slash dlrs 19 billion (23.5 billion reals) from the budget deficit, and he's beginning by paring perks for the more than 2,000 workers at the presidential palace in Brasilia, the capital. Sure, it's not much when compared with a deficit of some dlrs 65 billion, or 7 percent of economic output. But as Cardoso readies a package of spending cuts and tax increases, he clearly wants to show Brazilians that economy starts at home. So goodbye to the afternoon courtesy snack of sandwiches, fruit and juice, a palace tradition. Three barber shops in the palace were closed, and the use of cellular phones and copiers was restricted. The price of a buffet offered employees for lunch was raised from dlrs 6 to dlrs 8.50 (7 reals to 10 reals). Cardoso himself has promised to travel less and more cheaply. On a trip to a summit in Portugal this month, he took a delegation of just eight, half the usual number. The savings at the palace could come to nearly dlrs 145,000 (170,000 reals) a month, said Nilson Rebello, chief administrator of the president's office. Cardoso, under pressure to repair an economy battered by the world financial turmoil, is expected to unveil the full scope of his deficit-cutting plan next week. It is believed to include a spate of new taxes on fuel, income, personal fortunes and bank transactions. The plan is part of a deal with the International Monetary Fund for a rescue package estimated at dlrs 30 billion. The money would strengthen and, hopefully, restore investor confidence in the world's ninth-largest economy, now at the center of the financial crisis buffeting developing nations for more than a year. Brazil already has agreed to annual targets to sharply reduce its deficit through the year 2001. On Wednesday, newspapers published a joint statement from Brazil and the IMF, although a final agreement hasn't been reached yet. Despite Cardoso's efforts, many Brazilians were less than impressed by the palace penny-pinching. The leftist Workers Party said the government was making a big deal of insignificant savings while it failed to cut other dubious projects, such as a dlrs 800,000 (1 million reals) moat being built around Congress to keep protesters from easily entering the building. The Globo TV network also suggested there still was plenty of fat to cut, citing government expenses for running shoes, Persian carpets and gold cufflinks, intended as presents for visiting dignitaries. Cardoso is counting on help from friendly state governors to control spending. But the governors, some facing runoff elections on Sunday, are promising pay raises and public works projects that could sink the austerity plan. In Brasilia, Joaquim Roriz has promised civil service raises, bonuses and new jobs that his opponent estimates would cost some dlrs 1 billion (1.2 billion reals). Roriz hasn't explained where the money would come from. In powerful Minas Gerais state, the government will almost certainly have to lay off workers _ the state payroll consumes 78 percent of the budget. To rein in the free-spending habits of provincial politicians, Cardoso reportedly wants to hold local governments to bimonthly limits on spending. Federal money would automatically be cut off if spending gets out of hand.",
"The United States is preparing to commit U.S. taxpayer funds as part of a lending program of at least $30 billion to try to insulate Brazil, and with it the rest of Latin America, from the worst effects of the financial turmoil circling the globe, according to U.S. and foreign officials assembling the program. Details of the U.S. contribution, which is expected to total several billion dollars in direct aid or loan guarantees, have yet to be negotiated. But several congressional leaders have been alerted to the likelihood that the administration would have to act while Congress is in recess. This early warning from the administration reflects memories of how Congress erupted with objections and hearings in 1995 when President Clinton committed $20 billion in U.S. funds to the bailout of Mexico. But administration officials said last week that their early soundings indicate that members of Congress are deeply concerned about preventing an economic collapse in Latin America that would resound in the United States, and thus they expect few objections. The timing of an aid package for Brazil _ originally expected within the next few days _ is complicated by unexpected delays that have cropped up in dealing with the Brazilian government. The government of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso faces politically risky gubernatorial elections on Sunday, which may well determine whether Brazil can execute an austerity program that is the key condition for the loans it is concurrently negotiating with the International Monetary Fund. The biggest role in the rescue program for Brazil will be taken by the International Monetary Fund, which said last week that it would contribute at least $15 billion _ and appears to be under pressure from the United States to do even more. Another $9 billion or so will come from the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, and the remainder from the United States and other major industrial nations. Germany and Japan, though, have been reluctant to take part, one U.S. official noted, suggesting that Latin America is chiefly Washington's problem, not their own. So far, U.S. officials working behind the scenes to organize the aid package have said nothing in public about the details of plans for a direct contribution to Brazil. ``Brazil is very important to the economic well-being of the region, the United States and the international community, and all of us are very much focused on seeing how we can be helpful,'' Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin said on Friday. But in a wide-ranging interview about the global economic turmoil, Rubin declined to say what strategy he would pursue in dealing with Brazil's problems and insisted that no decisions had been made about how the United States might contribute. But he discussed Brazil as an opportunity to engage in the kind of preventive financial diplomacy that President Clinton advocated in speeches to the IMF and the World Bank here three weeks ago. At the time, Clinton argued that the monetary fund should ``provide contingent finance to help countries ward off global financial contagion'' rather than wait for disaster to strike. Direct",
"U.S. aid to Brazil would clearly send a symbolic message: that after a year of trying to manage the financial crisis through the monetary fund, the United States is now ready to put a limited amount of its own capital at risk to prevent further havoc _ not only for Brazil but to stop chaos spreading to Argentina, Mexico and other countries that are major U.S. trading partners. That would be a change of strategy. So far, the United States has operated almost entirely through international financial institutions, chiefly the IMF But it would also be a risky move for President Clinton, economically and politically. Even though Congress objected to the $20 billion in U.S. funds committed to the bailout of Mexico, it turned out that only $12 billion was ultimately needed, and it has since been paid back, with interest. But Rubin noted on Friday that ``it's a very different environment now.'' Other administration officials say they believe that there would be few objections in Congress to direct U.S. participation in a Brazil bailout. ``I think there are a lot more people in Congress who are now scared to death by what's been happening in the markets, and what could happen in their own districts,'' a White House official said last week, ``and they won't say much as long as they don't have to vote on it.'' By acting soon to stabilize Latin America, the administration is hoping to capitalize on two weeks of relative calm after the late-summer panic that engulfed Russia and, at its height, led to an outflow of a billion dollars a day from Brazil, for fear that it would be the next country forced to devalue its currency. Whether this calm marks the beginning of a turnaround or just another pause in the wildfires that have erupted since Thailand's currency crisis in July 1997 is a matter of considerable debate. But many experts cite the confluence of several events that have reassured jittery investors around the world: two successive interest-rate cuts in the United States, Japan's long-delayed move to prop up its banking system with $500 billion in taxpayer funds, and a steady strengthening of currencies in Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea, the first signs that investors may be preparing to return. Always circumspect when it comes to commenting publicly on markets, Rubin acknowledged that ``in the last several weeks there have been a number of significant, positive developments.'' But the former trader, burned during a 26-year career by many false market rallies, warned that ``serious issues remain'' and that ``it will take some time for the world to work its way out'' of what he has repeatedly called ``the most serious international financial disruption of the last 50 years.'' In fact, Rubin's aides are clearly nervous about the possibility of another outbreak that could set off a new round of panic, which has made it virtually impossible for many emerging-market countries to borrow money on world markets. ``Brazil and Japan are the two obvious tinderboxes,'' said Jeffrey Garten, dean of the Yale School of Management,",
"who served as undersecretary of commerce for international affairs during Clinton's first term. ``In Brazil, the issue is whether the package that is coming together will really be big enough to deal with an exploding debt problem. And in Japan the question is whether there is real reform that goes along with the money.'' But after spending 18 months in negotiations with the Japanese, Rubin clearly senses that the United States has little leverage in Tokyo; its problems are chiefly rooted in political gridlock, not lack of resources. In Brazil, though, the United States has a better chance of buying time and influencing an economic reform program, as long as it does not appear to be dictating terms publicly to Cardoso and his team. But demonstrating economic support will probably require tapping the Exchange Stabilization Fund, created during the Roosevelt administration to help stabilize the dollar. The money is under Rubin's control, with presidential approval, and he reached into it to circumvent congressional objections to aiding Mexico in 1995. But the reaction was so strong _ for a time Congress restricted tapping the fund for international bailouts _ that Rubin has been extraordinarily cautious ever since. He committed $3 billion in a ``second line of defense'' in emergency aid programs for Indonesia and South Korea last year, but no money was ultimately dispersed to either country. U.S. officials said that South Korea did not need the extra help, and that the collapse of the Suharto government in Indonesia so changed the political scene there that it would be too risky to offer direct U.S. aid. In the bailout of Russia _ whose economy collapsed after President Boris Yeltsin abandoned an agreement to reform the economy and dismissed the leading reformers _ the United States offered no direct help. Those events set off a panicked exit by investors from all emerging markets, and greatly worsened Brazil's troubles. So far, Brazilian officials have successfully calmed the market by constantly talking about a forthcoming aid program from the IMF, convincing speculators that it would be dangerous to bet against the country. But at the same time, the Brazilian officials have maintained the pose that they do not really need the cash _ and are certainly in no hurry to get it. U.S. officials and top officials of the IMF are clearly nervous, worried that the longer the negotiations drag on, the greater will be the risk of Brazil being caught in another round of market turmoil. ``The Brazilians want everyone to think that it's all under control,'' said an investment banker involved in the talks. ``But the fact is that there's still a real risk that sometime in the next 18 months the government is going to be forced to devalue'' its currency, which is pegged to the dollar, but adjusts about 7.5 percent a year in a carefully controlled fall. To prevent a sudden devaluation, the Brazilian government has had to raise interest rates to more than 50 percent, choking off credit for most companies. Meanwhile, the country is slipping into recession. The aid",
"would buy time for the Brazilians, but it is contingent on Cardoso's success in persuading the legislature to end huge deficits, chiefly through unpopular cuts in social spending. The first deputy managing director for the International Monetary Fund, Stanley Fischer, spent Friday in Brazil to review the country's austerity plan, which is expected to be announced after Sunday's elections but before the international package, to avoid the appearance that the global lender is dictating conditions to Brazil. ``Brazil has to do a lot,'' Fischer said last week before leaving on his trip. ``In return, I expect the international community will make a large contribution.''",
"Leaders from 19 Latin American nations, Spain and Portugal put finishing touches Saturday on an Ibero-American summit declaration warning of global recession unless action is taken to stabilize the international financial system. The draft declaration said recent financial market turmoil shows that adjustments must be made quickly ``to keep the difficulties affecting a few from becoming a crisis for all.'' The declaration addresses the world's seven richest nations. The Group of Seven is composed of the United States, Japan, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Canada. The final declaration will be approved at Sunday's summit in this port city in northern Portugal. Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso said Saturday that Brazil and China, two of the world's largest economies, had become the ``dikes of resistance'' to global recession. Protecting their economies from the spreading economic turmoil, which is affecting more countries than at any time since the early 1980s, is key to world economic stability, he said. Brazil is Latin America's biggest economy and the eighth-largest in the world, and its economic collapse could take the rest of the continent with it. To halt Brazil's slide toward recession, Cardoso is preparing austerity measures including spending cuts, tax hikes and lower interest rates. The reforms would help Brazil qualify for an International Monetary Fund rescue package estimated at dlrs 30 billion. The IMF has put together bailout packages totaling dlrs 137 billion since the financial crisis struck Thailand 15 months ago and then spread from Asia to Russia. U.S. President Bill Clinton's administration, aware of the impact that a Latin American recession would have on the United States, has actively pushed the IMF and the World Bank to support Brazil after it was hit by investor flight.",
"Latin American leaders flew Friday to Portugal for a weekend summit to figure out how they can shield their economies from the global financial crisis. Not since the early 1980s have so many countries been in recession, and the crisis now threatens to cripple Latin America's developing economies. An early arrival, Cuban President Fidel Castro, described the turmoil in world financial markets as the most important issue facing the world at the moment. ``I don't know if we are coming to the end of the world economic order. It will be interesting to know,'' the Cuban leader said at a hotel press conference shortly after his arrival for the annual Ibero-American summit. Emphasizing the scale of the threat, Castro said President Clinton was aware that ``if South America falls into crisis, it will be extended inevitably also to the United States,'' which is heavily involved in investments and loans in the region. Jittery investors have abruptly pulled cash out of Latin America with devastating effects on stock markets and currency reserves. The heads of state and government from Latin America, Spain and Portugal will explore measures to ward off the financial turmoil that already has devastated Asia and Russia. Stock markets also fell in Portugal and Spain, heavy investors in Latin America. The Latin American leaders must gauge the need for unpopular reforms of their public finances, including austerity packages which risk social unrest and political upheaval. A joint declaration will be signed Sunday in this ancient port city on the Douro River in northern Portugal. Diplomats said there was consensus on the form of the final statement. The declaration ``calls on the international community, and Group of Seven countries in particular, to take the necessary measures to promote stability in international financial markets, which is a necessary condition for sustained economic growth,'' said Luis Augusto Castro Neves, of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry. Latin America's leaders favor creating some kind of regulatory system for global financial transactions that would place controls on speculators, like measures to slow down the internatioal flow of money. They also want reforms that allow international financial institutions to head off crises rather than react to them with rescue packages. ``International institutions must be active in tackling crises like the recent one ... and contribute to stability,'' Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama said. ``Countries that have progressive policies should not be penalized, they should be given incentives,'' Gama added in reference to Latin American nations' efforts to modernize their economies. Brazil, the continent's largest economy and a potential bulwark against creeping recession, is waiting for news of a dlrs 30 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund. The presidents of the World Bank and InterAmerican Development Bank also were expected at the talks. The move by the U.S. Federal Reserve to cut interest rates Thursday revived Latin America's financial markets, but analysts expected the reprieve to be short-lived because of deep concerns about the continent's economic health. The recent economic troubles stemmed in part from the structural weaknesses of Latin American economies. A strike being waged by state employees in Colombia against a government austerity package offers a glimpse of the trouble that could arise if tough reforms are introduced. Brazil is drafting an austerity package that will hit public spending, especially social security.",
"The Commerce Department on Tuesday provided a concrete measure of the effects of the global economic downturn on the American economy, reporting that the nation's trade deficit widened by $2.2 billion in August to $16.77 billion. That is the widest gap since the government recalculated the way it measures trade flows in 1992. It resulted from a decline in American exports and a sharp increase in what this country buys from abroad. So far this year, the trade deficit is running roughly 50 percent above last year's levels and is up to a projected $170 billion for the year, a gap that is expected to widen even further. One senior administration official who deals with economic issues, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday that internal projections suggest that the trade deficit in 1999 could reach $300 billion, a figure that he said ``will certainly cut into growth, and could well become a major political problem.'' Trade deficits carry with them both good and troubling signals about the economy. The current flood of imports is helping contain inflation to some of the lowest levels in decades. And while sales of American aircraft, computer chips and other goods are suffering, the weakening of the dollar on world markets in recent weeks may provide an end-of-the-year boost for American exporters. But at this moment of global upheaval, the biggest problem facing American companies is the inability of many nations and some large companies in Asia and Latin America simply to borrow money to make ordinary purchases. The result is such a freeze of economic activity that empty shipping containers are stacking up on American piers. And the effects are hurting everyone from Midwest farmers who can no longer send wheat to an impoverished Russia, to East Coast fishermen who are discovering that Japan's appetite for salmon and lobster has been ruined by the banking crisis. Among the most surprising elements of Tuesday's report is that more than a third of August's deficit was with one country that so far has managed to ward off the worst effects of the global troubles: China. Despite continued growth of the Chinese economy, exports to China have slowed dramatically and imports of Chinese-made goods have exploded, as the country desperately seeks to sell here goods that would ordinarily be sold elsewhere in Asia. That increased the monthly deficit with Beijing to $5.9 billion, levels previously only seen in trade with Japan. The Chinese _ besieged by floods, deeply troubled state-owned industries and an incipient banking crisis _ have signaled to the United States in recent weeks that they have little interest in any swift moves to open their markets further in return for entry into the World Trade Organization. That amounts to a major setback for President Clinton, who for three years has been using the negotiations over China's entry to the world body as the centerpiece of his effort to open China both economically and politically. Ostensible progress in this area has been cited by the administration until recently as one of the successes of the administration's China policy, but now officials say privately that the progress is evaporating. The decline in exports will trim the growth of the American economy, and it was one factor in the Federal Reserve's decision to lower interest rates two times in recent weeks. So administration officials were going out of their way Tuesday to portray the numbers as another warning sign, but not a crisis. ``While the United States remains strong and sound, the troubled condition of the global marketplace continue to strongly influence the U.S. trade balance,'' Commerce Secretary Williams Daley said in a statement Tuesday. After China, the biggest deterioration in the American trade balance in August came in Mexico, where the peso has weakened markedly as economic contagion has spread through Latin America. Exports to Mexico have remained unchanged. But imports from Mexico have increased markedly _ chiefly automobiles and automotive parts and telecommunications equipment _ as American manufacturers have taken advantage of the weakening currency. In contrast, America's trade surplus with Brazil, the latest focus of concern by the administration and the International Monetary Fund, barely budged from the same period a year ago. Normally, that would be cited as a sign of continued demand for American products in Latin America's largest economy, but there is fear it might be imperiled. The news comes as the United States and the IMF complete a bailout package of $30 billion or more for Brazil, intended to help it stave off the kind of economic troubles that have swept through Asia, Russia and several other nations. Tuesday the IMF and Brazil reached agreement on the country's fiscal targets for this year and next, a sign that the aid will likely be announced after elections in Brazil this weekend. But for all these potential problems, the rising trade deficit has barely caused a ripple on Capitol Hill. Because the rising level of imports does not appear to be triggering any unemployment here, the subject has barely come up in races for the House and Senate around the country. The only exception has been in regions where the steel industry is strong. The major steel companies have charged in recent weeks that Asian nations are dumping products on the American market at prices well below their costs. The Commerce Department has begun an inquiry. The Commerce Department's numbers showed that the deficit rose 15.3 percent to $16.77 billion in August, up from a revised figure of $14.55 billion in July. The department said that the resumption of production at General Motors Corp. after last summer's strike may have increased the size of the deficit's rise in August, as GM brought in parts from abroad. The deficit was the highest since the Commerce Department began a new method of tracking trade information in 1992. Exports, the department said, fell three tenths of 1 percent, to about $74.8 billion. Imports rose 2.2 percent to $91.6 billion.",
"President Fernando Henrique Cardoso's efforts to repair the largest economy in Latin America may depend on the outcome of this weekend's gubernatorial elections. Cardoso wants to impose tough measures that would slash government spending and impose new taxes to try to halt the slide in Brazil's economy and restore investor confidence. But his plan, expected to be unveiled next week, must be approved by Congress, and state governors have enormous sway over local delegations. ``The influence governors have on their congressional blocs is overwhelming,'' said University of Sao Paulo political scientist Eduardo Kugelmas. Brazil has been caught up in the financial turmoil that began more than a year ago in Southeast Asia. As wary investors have fled its financial markets, Brazil's foreign reserves have fallen below dlrs 50 billion from dlrs 70 billion at the end of July. On Sunday, voters return to the polls for runoff elections in 12 states and in the Federal District of Brasilia. The outcome will likely determine how successful Cardoso is in getting Congress to approve his economic program, which is aimed at trimming the budget deficit. New income, fuel and bank transaction taxes are expected to be proposed. Kugelmas said opponents of the president stand a good chance of winning in four large states _ Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul. ``If they win, the president will face a tough uphill battle,'' he said. Cardoso needs the governors' support not only in influencing the congressional delegations, but also in holding down their own spending. ``The problem is that none of the candidates in Sunday's elections ... wants to be identified with unpopular austerity measures,'' said Kugelmas. ``So they promise to spend more money on schools, hospitals and public work projects.'' Sao Paulo, Brazil's industrial and financial powerhouse, is perhaps the state most critical to the success of Cardoso's austerity plans. With more than 34 million inhabitants, nearly equal to the entire population of neighboring Argentina, it alone accounts for more than one-third of Brazil's economic output and 70 of the 513 congressional seats. While incumbent governor Mario Covas, a Cardoso ally who is seeking re-election, has committed himself to the austerity plan, Covas opponent Paulo Maluf is a question mark. ``If Maluf wins, he will use his victory as a launching pad to the presidency in 2003,'' Kugelmas predicted. ``And that means he will try to stay as far away as possible from any austerity measure.''",
"Caught in the middle of an economic crisis, many Brazilian factories fear they won't be able to pay their workers the mandatory year-end bonus. So they're considering paying with products instead of cash. Some workplaces have already offered their employees such things as hammers, nails, screws and bolts instead of the traditional cash bonus that normally is equivalent to one month's wage, said the head of Brazil's largest federation of trade unions. ``The idea is completely unacceptable,'' said Joao Antonio Felicio, secretary-general of the federation, which represents more than 2,000 unions and 19 million workers. ``We will recommend our unions reject such a preposterous proposal.'' But strapped for cash and punished by high interest rates and declining sales, factory owners may have no other choice, said Joseph Curi, president of the Sao Paulo State Association of Small Industries, which represents 110,000 factories that employ nearly 800,000 workers. ``Access to credit is almost impossible,'' Curi said. ``If banks and the government don't create some kind of emergency credit line, the only option many of our associates will have will be to use products to pay the bonus.'' Factories that produce clothes, shoes, food, toys and household appliances were ``the most enthusiastic about the idea,'' Curi said. Curi predicted even harsher times for Brazil with the belt-tightening austerity package newly re-elected President Fernando Henrique Cardoso is expected to announce Tuesday. The measures, aimed at curbing the country's ballooning budget deficit _ equal to about 7 percent of gross domestic product _ are expected to include spending cuts and, possibly, more taxes. ``There is a lot of talk of increasing taxes, which means less cash circulating in the market and more credit restrictions,'' Curi said. ``It is a shortsighted approach that will spell more recession and the collapse of many small factories.'' Brazil has been a major casualty of the global economic crisis, buffeted by loss of investor confidence and a strong outflow of capital. The country's foreign reserves have fallen below dlrs 50 billion, from dlrs 70 billion at the end of July. In an effort to prevent a collapse of the nation's currency, the real, and stem capital flight, interest rates were hiked to 50 percent a year. For union leader Felicio, the proposed product-for-cash swap ``is a clear sign of the despair the business sector is feeling because of the recessive economic policies'' brought by the Real Plan, the economic stabilization program put together in 1994 when Cardoso was finance minister. The plan succeeded in slashing inflation from 2,400 percent to almost zero today. But it also brought recession and unemployment, which now stands at almost 8 percent, the highest in a decade.",
"Brazilian officials ended four days of meetings with representatives of the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday without living up to their public pledge to announce concrete measures to reduce government deficits. In Washington, Pedro Parente, executive secretary of the Brazilian Finance Ministry, offered only details on Brazil's plans for raising a primary account surplus over the next three years. With only five days to go before gubernatorial runoffs on Sunday, neither he nor President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, in Brasilia, said how the government planned to achieve the savings. Important allies of Cardoso are lagging behind in three key states, and despite the government promises, market analysts did not expect an announcement until after the elections. Instead, the strategy in Brasilia and Washington appeared to focus on reassuring the markets that work on cutting the deficit was going forward, without providing fodder for opponents in domestic elections. ``The discussions continue with the objective of reaching agreement soon on the detailed program,'' said a joint statement by the IMF and the Brazilian Finance Ministry. Because of Brazil's enormous deficits, the collapse of emerging markets has hit the nation particularly hard, draining foreign currency reserves and pushing the economy toward recession. Finance officials in Washington and around the world fear that a collapse of Brazil, because of its size and links to other economies, would worsen financial instability throughout the hemisphere. With 160 million people, Brazil represents the world's ninth-largest economy and is the financial engine of Latin America. Throughout the day, government officials met with Cardoso in Brasilia and were expected to fine-tune a three-year austerity package that Cardoso was to discuss with congressional party leaders on Wednesday morning. In Brasilia, officials said that among the measures being considered were a tax increase on financial transactions, to three-tenths of a percent from two-tenths of a percent, and extending the Fiscal Stabilization Fund, which sets aside 20 percent of all taxes collected for presidential discretionary spending. The fund was to have expired by 1999. Speaking in Washington, Parente said that Brazil would aim toward a surplus of 2.6 percent in 1999, 2.8 percent in 2000 and 3 percent in 2001. It had already been announced, at the end of the IMF's annual meeting in Washington two weeks ago that Brazil would have to reach a primary account surplus of 2.5 percent to 3 percent to qualify for IMF aid. The primary account covers government expenses, without interest payments on debt. Ernest Brown, senior economist for Latin America at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, said signs that the Brazilian government and the IMF were moving closer to an aid package were reassuring, and that he did not expect much more than reassurance until next week. ``I call this the `We have a pope' scenario,'' Brown said. ``You're just going to hear that we have a pope, maybe see the white smoke rising,'' he said, ``and not figure out who the pope is until after the elections.''",
"There's no such thing as a free lunch any longer in Brazil, President Fernando Henrique Cardoso is telling government workers. No haircuts or phone calls, either. Eager to bolster the sagging economy, Cardoso wants to slash dlrs 19 billion from the budget deficit, and he's beginning by paring perks for the more than 2,000 workers at the presidential palace in Brasilia, the capital. Sure, it's not much when compared with a deficit of some dlrs 65 billion, or 7 percent of economic output. But as Cardoso readies a package of spending cuts and tax increases, he clearly wants to show Brazilians that economy starts at home. So goodbye to the afternoon courtesy snack of sandwiches, fruit and juice, a palace tradition. Three barber shops in the palace were closed, and the use of cellular phones and copiers was restricted. The price of a buffet offered employees for lunch was raised from dlrs 6 to dlrs 8.50. Cardoso himself has promised to travel less and more cheaply. On a trip to a summit in Portugal this month, he took a delegation of just eight, half the usual number. The savings at the palace could come to nearly dlrs 145,000 a month, said Nilson Rebello, chief administrator of the president's office. Cardoso, under pressure to repair an economy battered by the world financial turmoil, is expected to unveil the full scope of his deficit-cutting plan next week. It is believed to include a spate of new taxes on fuel, income, personal fortunes and bank transactions. The plan is part of a deal with the International Monetary Fund for a rescue package estimated at dlrs 30 billion. The money would strengthen and, hopefully, restore investor confidence in the world's ninth-largest economy, now at the center of the financial crisis buffeting developing nations for more than a year. Brazil already has agreed to annual targets to sharply reduce its deficit through the year 2001. On Wednesday, newspapers published a joint statement from Brazil and the IMF, although a final agreement hasn't been reached yet. Despite Cardoso's efforts, many Brazilians were less than impressed by the palace penny-pinching. The leftist Workers Party said the government was making a big deal of insignificant savings while it failed to cut other dubious projects, such as a dlrs 800,000 moat being built around Congress to keep protesters from easily entering the building. The Globo TV network also suggested there still was plenty of fat to cut, citing government expenses for running shoes, Persian carpets and gold cufflinks, intended as presents for visiting dignitaries. Cardoso is counting on help from friendly state governors to control spending. But the governors, some facing runoff elections on Sunday, are promising pay raises and public works projects that could sink the austerity plan. In Brasilia, Joaquim Roriz has promised civil service raises, bonuses and new jobs that his opponent estimates would cost some dlrs 1 billion. Roriz hasn't explained where the money would come from. In powerful Minas Gerais state, the government will almost certainly have to lay off workers _ the state payroll consumes 78 percent of the budget. To rein in the free-spending habits of provincial politicians, Cardoso reportedly wants to hold local governments to bimonthly limits on spending. Federal money would automatically be cut off if spending gets out of hand."
] |
[
"Brazil and the International Monetary Fund moved closer Tuesday to agreement on an expected dlrs 30 billion rescue package for the world's ninth-largest economy. A joint statement by the IMF and the Brazilian government said the two sides agreed Brazil should aim to reduce its budget deficit from an expected eight percent of gross domestic product to zero by 2000. The statement was issued after weekend talks between IMF officials and a Brazilian delegation headed by Pedro Parente, executive secretary of the Finance Ministry. Representatives of the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank took part in the talks. Both organizations as well as private banks are expected to contribute to the rescue package. Brazil is the latest country to be hit by the financial crisis that began 15 months ago in Asia and then spread to Russia. Brazil has lost about dlrs 25 billion in foreign currency reserves since August when Russia defaulted on its debts and sparked a new crisis of confidence in emerging market countries. If instability continues in Brazil it could affect Argentina, its main trading partner, and other Latin American economies. Despite the re-election of Fernando Henrique Cardoso for a second term as president and the announcement Oct. 8 that Brazil and the IMF had agreed on the broad outlines of a financial assistance package, investors continued to withdraw large sums of money from Brazil. Cardoso is preparing an emergency program of budget cuts to restore investor confidence and prevent a devaluation of the country's currency. Investors want Cardoso to outline the plans this week but he is expected to wait until after Sunday's second round of elections for state governors, whose support he needs for his budget cuts. The joint statement said the Brazil-IMF discussions ``were aimed at preparing the ground for prompt support by the international community, including the IMF, for the multi-year fiscal program to be announced soon by the Brazilian authorities, which will include new policy initiatives.'' The statement reiterated Brazil's goal of achieving a primary budget surplus of 2.6 percent of its gross domestic product in 1999, 2.8 percent in 2000 and 3.0 percent in 2001 which would '' fulfill the government target of stabilizing the ratio of net consolidated public sector debt to GDP by the year 2000.'' The two sides are to continue their talks ``with the objective of reaching early agreement,'' the statement said.",
"There's no such thing as a free lunch any longer in Brazil, President Fernando Henrique Cardoso is telling government workers. No haircuts or phone calls, either. Eager to bolster the sagging economy, Cardoso wants to slash dlrs 19 billion (23.5 billion reals) from the budget deficit, and he's beginning by paring perks for the more than 2,000 workers at the presidential palace in Brasilia, the capital. Sure, it's not much when compared with a deficit of some dlrs 65 billion, or 7 percent of economic output. But as Cardoso readies a package of spending cuts and tax increases, he clearly wants to show Brazilians that economy starts at home. So goodbye to the afternoon courtesy snack of sandwiches, fruit and juice, a palace tradition. Three barber shops in the palace were closed, and the use of cellular phones and copiers was restricted. The price of a buffet offered employees for lunch was raised from dlrs 6 to dlrs 8.50 (7 reals to 10 reals). Cardoso himself has promised to travel less and more cheaply. On a trip to a summit in Portugal this month, he took a delegation of just eight, half the usual number. The savings at the palace could come to nearly dlrs 145,000 (170,000 reals) a month, said Nilson Rebello, chief administrator of the president's office. Cardoso, under pressure to repair an economy battered by the world financial turmoil, is expected to unveil the full scope of his deficit-cutting plan next week. It is believed to include a spate of new taxes on fuel, income, personal fortunes and bank transactions. The plan is part of a deal with the International Monetary Fund for a rescue package estimated at dlrs 30 billion. The money would strengthen and, hopefully, restore investor confidence in the world's ninth-largest economy, now at the center of the financial crisis buffeting developing nations for more than a year. Brazil already has agreed to annual targets to sharply reduce its deficit through the year 2001. On Wednesday, newspapers published a joint statement from Brazil and the IMF, although a final agreement hasn't been reached yet. Despite Cardoso's efforts, many Brazilians were less than impressed by the palace penny-pinching. The leftist Workers Party said the government was making a big deal of insignificant savings while it failed to cut other dubious projects, such as a dlrs 800,000 (1 million reals) moat being built around Congress to keep protesters from easily entering the building. The Globo TV network also suggested there still was plenty of fat to cut, citing government expenses for running shoes, Persian carpets and gold cufflinks, intended as presents for visiting dignitaries. Cardoso is counting on help from friendly state governors to control spending. But the governors, some facing runoff elections on Sunday, are promising pay raises and public works projects that could sink the austerity plan. In Brasilia, Joaquim Roriz has promised civil service raises, bonuses and new jobs that his opponent estimates would cost some dlrs 1 billion (1.2 billion reals). Roriz hasn't explained where the money would come from. In powerful Minas Gerais state, the government will almost certainly have to lay off workers _ the state payroll consumes 78 percent of the budget. To rein in the free-spending habits of provincial politicians, Cardoso reportedly wants to hold local governments to bimonthly limits on spending. Federal money would automatically be cut off if spending gets out of hand.",
"The United States is preparing to commit U.S. taxpayer funds as part of a lending program of at least $30 billion to try to insulate Brazil, and with it the rest of Latin America, from the worst effects of the financial turmoil circling the globe, according to U.S. and foreign officials assembling the program. Details of the U.S. contribution, which is expected to total several billion dollars in direct aid or loan guarantees, have yet to be negotiated. But several congressional leaders have been alerted to the likelihood that the administration would have to act while Congress is in recess. This early warning from the administration reflects memories of how Congress erupted with objections and hearings in 1995 when President Clinton committed $20 billion in U.S. funds to the bailout of Mexico. But administration officials said last week that their early soundings indicate that members of Congress are deeply concerned about preventing an economic collapse in Latin America that would resound in the United States, and thus they expect few objections. The timing of an aid package for Brazil _ originally expected within the next few days _ is complicated by unexpected delays that have cropped up in dealing with the Brazilian government. The government of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso faces politically risky gubernatorial elections on Sunday, which may well determine whether Brazil can execute an austerity program that is the key condition for the loans it is concurrently negotiating with the International Monetary Fund. The biggest role in the rescue program for Brazil will be taken by the International Monetary Fund, which said last week that it would contribute at least $15 billion _ and appears to be under pressure from the United States to do even more. Another $9 billion or so will come from the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, and the remainder from the United States and other major industrial nations. Germany and Japan, though, have been reluctant to take part, one U.S. official noted, suggesting that Latin America is chiefly Washington's problem, not their own. So far, U.S. officials working behind the scenes to organize the aid package have said nothing in public about the details of plans for a direct contribution to Brazil. ``Brazil is very important to the economic well-being of the region, the United States and the international community, and all of us are very much focused on seeing how we can be helpful,'' Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin said on Friday. But in a wide-ranging interview about the global economic turmoil, Rubin declined to say what strategy he would pursue in dealing with Brazil's problems and insisted that no decisions had been made about how the United States might contribute. But he discussed Brazil as an opportunity to engage in the kind of preventive financial diplomacy that President Clinton advocated in speeches to the IMF and the World Bank here three weeks ago. At the time, Clinton argued that the monetary fund should ``provide contingent finance to help countries ward off global financial contagion'' rather than wait for disaster to strike. Direct U.S. aid to Brazil would clearly send a symbolic message: that after a year of trying to manage the financial crisis through the monetary fund, the United States is now ready to put a limited amount of its own capital at risk to prevent further havoc _ not only for Brazil but to stop chaos spreading to Argentina, Mexico and other countries that are major U.S. trading partners. That would be a change of strategy. So far, the United States has operated almost entirely through international financial institutions, chiefly the IMF But it would also be a risky move for President Clinton, economically and politically. Even though Congress objected to the $20 billion in U.S. funds committed to the bailout of Mexico, it turned out that only $12 billion was ultimately needed, and it has since been paid back, with interest. But Rubin noted on Friday that ``it's a very different environment now.'' Other administration officials say they believe that there would be few objections in Congress to direct U.S. participation in a Brazil bailout. ``I think there are a lot more people in Congress who are now scared to death by what's been happening in the markets, and what could happen in their own districts,'' a White House official said last week, ``and they won't say much as long as they don't have to vote on it.'' By acting soon to stabilize Latin America, the administration is hoping to capitalize on two weeks of relative calm after the late-summer panic that engulfed Russia and, at its height, led to an outflow of a billion dollars a day from Brazil, for fear that it would be the next country forced to devalue its currency. Whether this calm marks the beginning of a turnaround or just another pause in the wildfires that have erupted since Thailand's currency crisis in July 1997 is a matter of considerable debate. But many experts cite the confluence of several events that have reassured jittery investors around the world: two successive interest-rate cuts in the United States, Japan's long-delayed move to prop up its banking system with $500 billion in taxpayer funds, and a steady strengthening of currencies in Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea, the first signs that investors may be preparing to return. Always circumspect when it comes to commenting publicly on markets, Rubin acknowledged that ``in the last several weeks there have been a number of significant, positive developments.'' But the former trader, burned during a 26-year career by many false market rallies, warned that ``serious issues remain'' and that ``it will take some time for the world to work its way out'' of what he has repeatedly called ``the most serious international financial disruption of the last 50 years.'' In fact, Rubin's aides are clearly nervous about the possibility of another outbreak that could set off a new round of panic, which has made it virtually impossible for many emerging-market countries to borrow money on world markets. ``Brazil and Japan are the two obvious tinderboxes,'' said Jeffrey Garten, dean of the Yale School of Management, who served as undersecretary of commerce for international affairs during Clinton's first term. ``In Brazil, the issue is whether the package that is coming together will really be big enough to deal with an exploding debt problem. And in Japan the question is whether there is real reform that goes along with the money.'' But after spending 18 months in negotiations with the Japanese, Rubin clearly senses that the United States has little leverage in Tokyo; its problems are chiefly rooted in political gridlock, not lack of resources. In Brazil, though, the United States has a better chance of buying time and influencing an economic reform program, as long as it does not appear to be dictating terms publicly to Cardoso and his team. But demonstrating economic support will probably require tapping the Exchange Stabilization Fund, created during the Roosevelt administration to help stabilize the dollar. The money is under Rubin's control, with presidential approval, and he reached into it to circumvent congressional objections to aiding Mexico in 1995. But the reaction was so strong _ for a time Congress restricted tapping the fund for international bailouts _ that Rubin has been extraordinarily cautious ever since. He committed $3 billion in a ``second line of defense'' in emergency aid programs for Indonesia and South Korea last year, but no money was ultimately dispersed to either country. U.S. officials said that South Korea did not need the extra help, and that the collapse of the Suharto government in Indonesia so changed the political scene there that it would be too risky to offer direct U.S. aid. In the bailout of Russia _ whose economy collapsed after President Boris Yeltsin abandoned an agreement to reform the economy and dismissed the leading reformers _ the United States offered no direct help. Those events set off a panicked exit by investors from all emerging markets, and greatly worsened Brazil's troubles. So far, Brazilian officials have successfully calmed the market by constantly talking about a forthcoming aid program from the IMF, convincing speculators that it would be dangerous to bet against the country. But at the same time, the Brazilian officials have maintained the pose that they do not really need the cash _ and are certainly in no hurry to get it. U.S. officials and top officials of the IMF are clearly nervous, worried that the longer the negotiations drag on, the greater will be the risk of Brazil being caught in another round of market turmoil. ``The Brazilians want everyone to think that it's all under control,'' said an investment banker involved in the talks. ``But the fact is that there's still a real risk that sometime in the next 18 months the government is going to be forced to devalue'' its currency, which is pegged to the dollar, but adjusts about 7.5 percent a year in a carefully controlled fall. To prevent a sudden devaluation, the Brazilian government has had to raise interest rates to more than 50 percent, choking off credit for most companies. Meanwhile, the country is slipping into recession. The aid would buy time for the Brazilians, but it is contingent on Cardoso's success in persuading the legislature to end huge deficits, chiefly through unpopular cuts in social spending. The first deputy managing director for the International Monetary Fund, Stanley Fischer, spent Friday in Brazil to review the country's austerity plan, which is expected to be announced after Sunday's elections but before the international package, to avoid the appearance that the global lender is dictating conditions to Brazil. ``Brazil has to do a lot,'' Fischer said last week before leaving on his trip. ``In return, I expect the international community will make a large contribution.''",
"Leaders from 19 Latin American nations, Spain and Portugal put finishing touches Saturday on an Ibero-American summit declaration warning of global recession unless action is taken to stabilize the international financial system. The draft declaration said recent financial market turmoil shows that adjustments must be made quickly ``to keep the difficulties affecting a few from becoming a crisis for all.'' The declaration addresses the world's seven richest nations. The Group of Seven is composed of the United States, Japan, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Canada. The final declaration will be approved at Sunday's summit in this port city in northern Portugal. Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso said Saturday that Brazil and China, two of the world's largest economies, had become the ``dikes of resistance'' to global recession. Protecting their economies from the spreading economic turmoil, which is affecting more countries than at any time since the early 1980s, is key to world economic stability, he said. Brazil is Latin America's biggest economy and the eighth-largest in the world, and its economic collapse could take the rest of the continent with it. To halt Brazil's slide toward recession, Cardoso is preparing austerity measures including spending cuts, tax hikes and lower interest rates. The reforms would help Brazil qualify for an International Monetary Fund rescue package estimated at dlrs 30 billion. The IMF has put together bailout packages totaling dlrs 137 billion since the financial crisis struck Thailand 15 months ago and then spread from Asia to Russia. U.S. President Bill Clinton's administration, aware of the impact that a Latin American recession would have on the United States, has actively pushed the IMF and the World Bank to support Brazil after it was hit by investor flight.",
"Latin American leaders flew Friday to Portugal for a weekend summit to figure out how they can shield their economies from the global financial crisis. Not since the early 1980s have so many countries been in recession, and the crisis now threatens to cripple Latin America's developing economies. An early arrival, Cuban President Fidel Castro, described the turmoil in world financial markets as the most important issue facing the world at the moment. ``I don't know if we are coming to the end of the world economic order. It will be interesting to know,'' the Cuban leader said at a hotel press conference shortly after his arrival for the annual Ibero-American summit. Emphasizing the scale of the threat, Castro said President Clinton was aware that ``if South America falls into crisis, it will be extended inevitably also to the United States,'' which is heavily involved in investments and loans in the region. Jittery investors have abruptly pulled cash out of Latin America with devastating effects on stock markets and currency reserves. The heads of state and government from Latin America, Spain and Portugal will explore measures to ward off the financial turmoil that already has devastated Asia and Russia. Stock markets also fell in Portugal and Spain, heavy investors in Latin America. The Latin American leaders must gauge the need for unpopular reforms of their public finances, including austerity packages which risk social unrest and political upheaval. A joint declaration will be signed Sunday in this ancient port city on the Douro River in northern Portugal. Diplomats said there was consensus on the form of the final statement. The declaration ``calls on the international community, and Group of Seven countries in particular, to take the necessary measures to promote stability in international financial markets, which is a necessary condition for sustained economic growth,'' said Luis Augusto Castro Neves, of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry. Latin America's leaders favor creating some kind of regulatory system for global financial transactions that would place controls on speculators, like measures to slow down the internatioal flow of money. They also want reforms that allow international financial institutions to head off crises rather than react to them with rescue packages. ``International institutions must be active in tackling crises like the recent one ... and contribute to stability,'' Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama said. ``Countries that have progressive policies should not be penalized, they should be given incentives,'' Gama added in reference to Latin American nations' efforts to modernize their economies. Brazil, the continent's largest economy and a potential bulwark against creeping recession, is waiting for news of a dlrs 30 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund. The presidents of the World Bank and InterAmerican Development Bank also were expected at the talks. The move by the U.S. Federal Reserve to cut interest rates Thursday revived Latin America's financial markets, but analysts expected the reprieve to be short-lived because of deep concerns about the continent's economic health. The recent economic troubles stemmed in part from the structural weaknesses of Latin American economies. A strike being waged by state employees in Colombia against a government austerity package offers a glimpse of the trouble that could arise if tough reforms are introduced. Brazil is drafting an austerity package that will hit public spending, especially social security.",
"The Commerce Department on Tuesday provided a concrete measure of the effects of the global economic downturn on the American economy, reporting that the nation's trade deficit widened by $2.2 billion in August to $16.77 billion. That is the widest gap since the government recalculated the way it measures trade flows in 1992. It resulted from a decline in American exports and a sharp increase in what this country buys from abroad. So far this year, the trade deficit is running roughly 50 percent above last year's levels and is up to a projected $170 billion for the year, a gap that is expected to widen even further. One senior administration official who deals with economic issues, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday that internal projections suggest that the trade deficit in 1999 could reach $300 billion, a figure that he said ``will certainly cut into growth, and could well become a major political problem.'' Trade deficits carry with them both good and troubling signals about the economy. The current flood of imports is helping contain inflation to some of the lowest levels in decades. And while sales of American aircraft, computer chips and other goods are suffering, the weakening of the dollar on world markets in recent weeks may provide an end-of-the-year boost for American exporters. But at this moment of global upheaval, the biggest problem facing American companies is the inability of many nations and some large companies in Asia and Latin America simply to borrow money to make ordinary purchases. The result is such a freeze of economic activity that empty shipping containers are stacking up on American piers. And the effects are hurting everyone from Midwest farmers who can no longer send wheat to an impoverished Russia, to East Coast fishermen who are discovering that Japan's appetite for salmon and lobster has been ruined by the banking crisis. Among the most surprising elements of Tuesday's report is that more than a third of August's deficit was with one country that so far has managed to ward off the worst effects of the global troubles: China. Despite continued growth of the Chinese economy, exports to China have slowed dramatically and imports of Chinese-made goods have exploded, as the country desperately seeks to sell here goods that would ordinarily be sold elsewhere in Asia. That increased the monthly deficit with Beijing to $5.9 billion, levels previously only seen in trade with Japan. The Chinese _ besieged by floods, deeply troubled state-owned industries and an incipient banking crisis _ have signaled to the United States in recent weeks that they have little interest in any swift moves to open their markets further in return for entry into the World Trade Organization. That amounts to a major setback for President Clinton, who for three years has been using the negotiations over China's entry to the world body as the centerpiece of his effort to open China both economically and politically. Ostensible progress in this area has been cited by the administration until recently as one of the successes of the administration's China policy, but now officials say privately that the progress is evaporating. The decline in exports will trim the growth of the American economy, and it was one factor in the Federal Reserve's decision to lower interest rates two times in recent weeks. So administration officials were going out of their way Tuesday to portray the numbers as another warning sign, but not a crisis. ``While the United States remains strong and sound, the troubled condition of the global marketplace continue to strongly influence the U.S. trade balance,'' Commerce Secretary Williams Daley said in a statement Tuesday. After China, the biggest deterioration in the American trade balance in August came in Mexico, where the peso has weakened markedly as economic contagion has spread through Latin America. Exports to Mexico have remained unchanged. But imports from Mexico have increased markedly _ chiefly automobiles and automotive parts and telecommunications equipment _ as American manufacturers have taken advantage of the weakening currency. In contrast, America's trade surplus with Brazil, the latest focus of concern by the administration and the International Monetary Fund, barely budged from the same period a year ago. Normally, that would be cited as a sign of continued demand for American products in Latin America's largest economy, but there is fear it might be imperiled. The news comes as the United States and the IMF complete a bailout package of $30 billion or more for Brazil, intended to help it stave off the kind of economic troubles that have swept through Asia, Russia and several other nations. Tuesday the IMF and Brazil reached agreement on the country's fiscal targets for this year and next, a sign that the aid will likely be announced after elections in Brazil this weekend. But for all these potential problems, the rising trade deficit has barely caused a ripple on Capitol Hill. Because the rising level of imports does not appear to be triggering any unemployment here, the subject has barely come up in races for the House and Senate around the country. The only exception has been in regions where the steel industry is strong. The major steel companies have charged in recent weeks that Asian nations are dumping products on the American market at prices well below their costs. The Commerce Department has begun an inquiry. The Commerce Department's numbers showed that the deficit rose 15.3 percent to $16.77 billion in August, up from a revised figure of $14.55 billion in July. The department said that the resumption of production at General Motors Corp. after last summer's strike may have increased the size of the deficit's rise in August, as GM brought in parts from abroad. The deficit was the highest since the Commerce Department began a new method of tracking trade information in 1992. Exports, the department said, fell three tenths of 1 percent, to about $74.8 billion. Imports rose 2.2 percent to $91.6 billion.",
"President Fernando Henrique Cardoso's efforts to repair the largest economy in Latin America may depend on the outcome of this weekend's gubernatorial elections. Cardoso wants to impose tough measures that would slash government spending and impose new taxes to try to halt the slide in Brazil's economy and restore investor confidence. But his plan, expected to be unveiled next week, must be approved by Congress, and state governors have enormous sway over local delegations. ``The influence governors have on their congressional blocs is overwhelming,'' said University of Sao Paulo political scientist Eduardo Kugelmas. Brazil has been caught up in the financial turmoil that began more than a year ago in Southeast Asia. As wary investors have fled its financial markets, Brazil's foreign reserves have fallen below dlrs 50 billion from dlrs 70 billion at the end of July. On Sunday, voters return to the polls for runoff elections in 12 states and in the Federal District of Brasilia. The outcome will likely determine how successful Cardoso is in getting Congress to approve his economic program, which is aimed at trimming the budget deficit. New income, fuel and bank transaction taxes are expected to be proposed. Kugelmas said opponents of the president stand a good chance of winning in four large states _ Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul. ``If they win, the president will face a tough uphill battle,'' he said. Cardoso needs the governors' support not only in influencing the congressional delegations, but also in holding down their own spending. ``The problem is that none of the candidates in Sunday's elections ... wants to be identified with unpopular austerity measures,'' said Kugelmas. ``So they promise to spend more money on schools, hospitals and public work projects.'' Sao Paulo, Brazil's industrial and financial powerhouse, is perhaps the state most critical to the success of Cardoso's austerity plans. With more than 34 million inhabitants, nearly equal to the entire population of neighboring Argentina, it alone accounts for more than one-third of Brazil's economic output and 70 of the 513 congressional seats. While incumbent governor Mario Covas, a Cardoso ally who is seeking re-election, has committed himself to the austerity plan, Covas opponent Paulo Maluf is a question mark. ``If Maluf wins, he will use his victory as a launching pad to the presidency in 2003,'' Kugelmas predicted. ``And that means he will try to stay as far away as possible from any austerity measure.''",
"Caught in the middle of an economic crisis, many Brazilian factories fear they won't be able to pay their workers the mandatory year-end bonus. So they're considering paying with products instead of cash. Some workplaces have already offered their employees such things as hammers, nails, screws and bolts instead of the traditional cash bonus that normally is equivalent to one month's wage, said the head of Brazil's largest federation of trade unions. ``The idea is completely unacceptable,'' said Joao Antonio Felicio, secretary-general of the federation, which represents more than 2,000 unions and 19 million workers. ``We will recommend our unions reject such a preposterous proposal.'' But strapped for cash and punished by high interest rates and declining sales, factory owners may have no other choice, said Joseph Curi, president of the Sao Paulo State Association of Small Industries, which represents 110,000 factories that employ nearly 800,000 workers. ``Access to credit is almost impossible,'' Curi said. ``If banks and the government don't create some kind of emergency credit line, the only option many of our associates will have will be to use products to pay the bonus.'' Factories that produce clothes, shoes, food, toys and household appliances were ``the most enthusiastic about the idea,'' Curi said. Curi predicted even harsher times for Brazil with the belt-tightening austerity package newly re-elected President Fernando Henrique Cardoso is expected to announce Tuesday. The measures, aimed at curbing the country's ballooning budget deficit _ equal to about 7 percent of gross domestic product _ are expected to include spending cuts and, possibly, more taxes. ``There is a lot of talk of increasing taxes, which means less cash circulating in the market and more credit restrictions,'' Curi said. ``It is a shortsighted approach that will spell more recession and the collapse of many small factories.'' Brazil has been a major casualty of the global economic crisis, buffeted by loss of investor confidence and a strong outflow of capital. The country's foreign reserves have fallen below dlrs 50 billion, from dlrs 70 billion at the end of July. In an effort to prevent a collapse of the nation's currency, the real, and stem capital flight, interest rates were hiked to 50 percent a year. For union leader Felicio, the proposed product-for-cash swap ``is a clear sign of the despair the business sector is feeling because of the recessive economic policies'' brought by the Real Plan, the economic stabilization program put together in 1994 when Cardoso was finance minister. The plan succeeded in slashing inflation from 2,400 percent to almost zero today. But it also brought recession and unemployment, which now stands at almost 8 percent, the highest in a decade.",
"Brazilian officials ended four days of meetings with representatives of the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday without living up to their public pledge to announce concrete measures to reduce government deficits. In Washington, Pedro Parente, executive secretary of the Brazilian Finance Ministry, offered only details on Brazil's plans for raising a primary account surplus over the next three years. With only five days to go before gubernatorial runoffs on Sunday, neither he nor President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, in Brasilia, said how the government planned to achieve the savings. Important allies of Cardoso are lagging behind in three key states, and despite the government promises, market analysts did not expect an announcement until after the elections. Instead, the strategy in Brasilia and Washington appeared to focus on reassuring the markets that work on cutting the deficit was going forward, without providing fodder for opponents in domestic elections. ``The discussions continue with the objective of reaching agreement soon on the detailed program,'' said a joint statement by the IMF and the Brazilian Finance Ministry. Because of Brazil's enormous deficits, the collapse of emerging markets has hit the nation particularly hard, draining foreign currency reserves and pushing the economy toward recession. Finance officials in Washington and around the world fear that a collapse of Brazil, because of its size and links to other economies, would worsen financial instability throughout the hemisphere. With 160 million people, Brazil represents the world's ninth-largest economy and is the financial engine of Latin America. Throughout the day, government officials met with Cardoso in Brasilia and were expected to fine-tune a three-year austerity package that Cardoso was to discuss with congressional party leaders on Wednesday morning. In Brasilia, officials said that among the measures being considered were a tax increase on financial transactions, to three-tenths of a percent from two-tenths of a percent, and extending the Fiscal Stabilization Fund, which sets aside 20 percent of all taxes collected for presidential discretionary spending. The fund was to have expired by 1999. Speaking in Washington, Parente said that Brazil would aim toward a surplus of 2.6 percent in 1999, 2.8 percent in 2000 and 3 percent in 2001. It had already been announced, at the end of the IMF's annual meeting in Washington two weeks ago that Brazil would have to reach a primary account surplus of 2.5 percent to 3 percent to qualify for IMF aid. The primary account covers government expenses, without interest payments on debt. Ernest Brown, senior economist for Latin America at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, said signs that the Brazilian government and the IMF were moving closer to an aid package were reassuring, and that he did not expect much more than reassurance until next week. ``I call this the `We have a pope' scenario,'' Brown said. ``You're just going to hear that we have a pope, maybe see the white smoke rising,'' he said, ``and not figure out who the pope is until after the elections.''",
"There's no such thing as a free lunch any longer in Brazil, President Fernando Henrique Cardoso is telling government workers. No haircuts or phone calls, either. Eager to bolster the sagging economy, Cardoso wants to slash dlrs 19 billion from the budget deficit, and he's beginning by paring perks for the more than 2,000 workers at the presidential palace in Brasilia, the capital. Sure, it's not much when compared with a deficit of some dlrs 65 billion, or 7 percent of economic output. But as Cardoso readies a package of spending cuts and tax increases, he clearly wants to show Brazilians that economy starts at home. So goodbye to the afternoon courtesy snack of sandwiches, fruit and juice, a palace tradition. Three barber shops in the palace were closed, and the use of cellular phones and copiers was restricted. The price of a buffet offered employees for lunch was raised from dlrs 6 to dlrs 8.50. Cardoso himself has promised to travel less and more cheaply. On a trip to a summit in Portugal this month, he took a delegation of just eight, half the usual number. The savings at the palace could come to nearly dlrs 145,000 a month, said Nilson Rebello, chief administrator of the president's office. Cardoso, under pressure to repair an economy battered by the world financial turmoil, is expected to unveil the full scope of his deficit-cutting plan next week. It is believed to include a spate of new taxes on fuel, income, personal fortunes and bank transactions. The plan is part of a deal with the International Monetary Fund for a rescue package estimated at dlrs 30 billion. The money would strengthen and, hopefully, restore investor confidence in the world's ninth-largest economy, now at the center of the financial crisis buffeting developing nations for more than a year. Brazil already has agreed to annual targets to sharply reduce its deficit through the year 2001. On Wednesday, newspapers published a joint statement from Brazil and the IMF, although a final agreement hasn't been reached yet. Despite Cardoso's efforts, many Brazilians were less than impressed by the palace penny-pinching. The leftist Workers Party said the government was making a big deal of insignificant savings while it failed to cut other dubious projects, such as a dlrs 800,000 moat being built around Congress to keep protesters from easily entering the building. The Globo TV network also suggested there still was plenty of fat to cut, citing government expenses for running shoes, Persian carpets and gold cufflinks, intended as presents for visiting dignitaries. Cardoso is counting on help from friendly state governors to control spending. But the governors, some facing runoff elections on Sunday, are promising pay raises and public works projects that could sink the austerity plan. In Brasilia, Joaquim Roriz has promised civil service raises, bonuses and new jobs that his opponent estimates would cost some dlrs 1 billion. Roriz hasn't explained where the money would come from. In powerful Minas Gerais state, the government will almost certainly have to lay off workers _ the state payroll consumes 78 percent of the budget. To rein in the free-spending habits of provincial politicians, Cardoso reportedly wants to hold local governments to bimonthly limits on spending. Federal money would automatically be cut off if spending gets out of hand."
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One of those mentioned for the 1998 Nobel Literature Prize was Jose Saramago, Portuguese writer, atheist and Communist. Saramago was weary of hearing again that this year he might win. But this time he did, much to the delight of Portugal, but not to the Vatican. In speculation on the Peace Prize it came out that only a strict deadline rule denied Jimmy Carter the 1978 prize. The 1998 Medicine Prize went to three American pharmacologists, Robert Furchgott, Louis Ignarro and Ferid Murad for their discovery of the role of nitric oxide in the nervous and cardiovascular systems, one of the most important discoveries in the history of cardiovascular medicine. Announcement of the Nobel Prize awards always generates great interest. The prize for literature has always been one to receive varying responses. Past selections have been praised, questioned, or even written off as politically or nationally "correct". This year's winner is 75-year old Jose Saramago, the first Portuguese language writer to win. It is the fourth straight year that a European won. The Peace Prize always receives critical response. Then President Carter would have shared the 1978 Prize with Sadat and Begin, except for a missed deadline. The 1998 Nobel for medicine was awarded to three US researchers for discoveries with nitric oxide. 1998's Nobel prize for literature went to a Portuguese for the 1st time, imaginative novelist Jose Saramago, long a candidate. Portugal celebrated but the Vatican called him a communist and anti-religious. The meaning of Nobel's advice to honor "literature that works in an ideal direction" is unclear. 3 Americans won in medicine for 1980s discoveries concerning nitric oxide's function in the body, which sparked new research. Nobel nominations are secret. Prizes are awarded on Dec. 10th, the day of Nobel's death, all in Stockholm except the Peace prize in Oslo. The 1978 committee wanted to give the Peace Prize to Jimmy Carter but missed its own deadline. Jose Saramago is the first Portuguese-language writer and one of few communists to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. He is widely acclaimed for his imaginative allegories. Three American researchers, Robert Furchgott, Louis Ignarro, and Ferid Murad, shared the 1998 Nobel Prize for Medicine for discovering how nitric oxide acts as a signal molecule in the cardiovascular system. Their research led to new treatments for heart and lung diseases, shock, and impotence. The deliberations surrounding the awards are secret; however, Stig Ramel, a former director of the Nobel Foundation, revealed the committee wanted Jimmy Carter to share the 1978 peace prize.
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"Jose Saramago became the first writer in Portuguese to win the Nobel Prize for Literature on Thursday. His personal delight was seconded by a burst of public elation in his homeland. Saramago, 75, and Portuguese said they were pleased the Swedish Academy had finally acknowledged the literary contribution of Portugal, a small country of 10 million people bordering Spain on Europe's southwestern Iberian Peninsula. ``It has taken all of this century to win a Nobel Prize for the Portuguese language,'' Saramago said at the Frankfurt Book Fair, speaking through an interpreter. Saramago, a soft-spoken man known for his hard-edged and iconoclastic views, said he shared the honor with his country and he hoped winning the prize would make Portugal and its language ``more visible and audible.'' ``I'm personally very happy for myself. I'm also happy for my country,'' he said at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany where he was engulfed by well-wishers offering roses. Back home, President Jorge Sampaio said the award was a cause for ``great collective satisfaction.'' Prime Minister Antonio Guterres said the award was ``above all a prize for Portugal and the Portuguese language'' which is spoken by 180 million worldwide, mostly in Brazil, but also in Portugal's five former colonies in Africa. Saramago's controversial opinions and atheistic outlook have frequently clashed with the establishment and the general public. Even on the day he won the prize, the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano attacked the Swedish Academy's choice, describing Saramago as an ``old-school communist'' who had a ``substantially antireligious vision.'' Undersecretary of State Sousa Lara was so upset by one of Saramago's novels in 1992 that he withdrew his name from Portugal's nominees for the European Literature Prize. At the time, Lara said Saramago's 1991 novel ``O Evangelho Segundo Jesus Cristo'' (The Gospel according to Jesus Christ) offended Portugal's Roman Catholic religious convictions and divided the country. The book describes a Christ who, subject to human desires, lives with Mary Magdalene and tries to back out of his crucifixion. ``I have not come to bring peace but the sword,'' said Saramago, an atheist, at the time. He retreated in disgust with his Spanish wife, Pilar del Rio, to his home in Lanzarote in Spain's Canary Islands. He has never courted the kind of fame offered by literary prizes, and his bluntness can sometimes offend. ``I am skeptical, reserved, I don't gush, I don't go around smiling, hugging people and trying to make friends,'' he once said. A gaunt man with wisps of white hair, Saramago was born in Azinhaga, a small town near Lisbon. From a poor family, he never finished university but continued to study part-time while supporting himself as a metalworker. His first novel, published in 1947 _ ``Terra do Pecado,'' or ``Country of Sin'' _ was a tale of peasants in moral crisis. It sold badly but won enough recognition to propel him from the welder's shop to a literary magazine. But for the next 18 years, Saramago, a communist who opposed the 41-year conservative dictatorship of Antonio Salazar, published only a few travel and poetry books while he worked as a journalist. He returned to fiction only after Salazar's regime was toppled by a military uprising in 1974. Since the 1980s, he has been one of Portugal's best-selling contemporary writers and his works have been translated into more than 20 languages. He first won critical acclaim abroad with his 1982 historical fantasy ``Memorial do Convento,'' published in English in 1988 as ``Baltasar and Blimunda.'' It is set during the Catholic-inspired inquisition and explores the war between individuals and organized religion, picking up Saramago's recurring theme of the loner struggling against authority. He is most frequently compared with Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez because his prose is often rooted in recognizable settings but at the same time tinged with magical elements. The Nobel citation praised his work that ``with parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony continually enables us to apprehend an elusory reality.'' Saramago remains a prominent nonconformist through his regular newspaper and radio commentaries, though his views are always inspired by his deep concern for his fellow man. ``Blindness,'' his most recent book to be translated into English, is an unsettling allegory about the social meltdown as an inexplicable blindness sweeps through society. ``This blindness isn't a real blindness, it's a blindness of rationality,'' he said. ``We're rational beings but we don't behave rationally. If we did, there'd be no starvation in the world.'' In the 1989 ``The History of the Siege of Lisbon,'' a Lisbon proofreader mischievously inserts the word ``not'' into a text on the 12th century capture of the Portuguese capital from the Moors, thereby fictionally altering the course of European history with a stroke of his pen. Such historical and literary mischief are Saramago trademarks. In his 1986 book, ``The Stone Raft,'' the Iberian Peninsula snaps off from the rest of the European continent and floats off into the North Atlantic _ apparently in a metaphorical search for identity away from the standardizing nature of the European Union, of which Portugal and Spain are enthusiastic members. Saramago will receive the dlrs 978,000 prize on Dec. 10 in Stockholm.",
"Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who seems a perennial Nobel Peace Prize also-ran, could have won the coveted honor in 1978 had it not been for strict deadline rules for nominations. That prize was shared by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin for signing the Camp David peace accords. However, the five-member Norwegian awards committee also wanted to honor Carter for brokering the pact, only to be foiled by their own rules. ``The Nobel committee wanted to give the prize to all three,'' said Geir Lundestad, the current committee's nonvoting secretary, said on Sunday. ``But Carter had not been nominated when the deadline ran out.'' Nominations postmarked by Feb. 1 are accepted for that year's prize. The committee can add it own nominations at its first meeting of the year, usually in early March. The Camp David accords were not signed until Sept. 17, 1978, about five weeks before that year's peace prize was annouCkuld not give him the prize, the Norwegian committee recognized in the 1978 awards citation ``the positive initiative taken by President Jimmy Carter.'' Lundestad said the committee, which works in deep secrecy in its five or six meetings a year, tried to find a loophole in the rules, which are overseen by the Swedish Nobel Foundation. The Nobel Prizes were endowed by Alfred Nobel, a Swedish industrialist whose 355 inventions included dynamite. In his 1895 will, Nobel endowed the prizes, and said the peace prize should be picked by a Norwegian committee and the rest by Swedish institutions. Lundestad said the committee turned to the Swedish Nobel Foundation for advice on Carter because it was a question of principle. Stig Ramel, a Swede who was then director of the Nobel Foundation, advised against breaking the rules, Lundestad said by telephone. Normally, the committee refuses to discuss past candidates in keeping with a strict policy of secrecy in which selection details are sealed for 50 years. Lundestad made an exception because Ramel revealed the Carter dilemma in his 1994 memoirs. Carter has repeatedly been nominated for the Nobel prize for his consistent and wide-ranging peace efforts. He is also among the 139 candidates for the prize being announced in Oslo on Friday. However, early speculation leans more toward someone involved in the Northern Ireland peace process, Czech President Vaclav Havel to mark the 30th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of his country, or a human rights activist to mark the 50th anniversary of the U.N. Human Rights Charter. While the committee wanted to honor Carter and could not, with hindsight some regretted the prize for other reasons. Four years after Begin won the prize, the Israeli prime minister ordered an invasion of southern Lebanon in which thousands of civilians died. Kare Kristiansen, who served on the peace prize committee from 1991 to 1994, once said that, had the committee waited, Begin probably would not have won.",
"Three American pharmacologists were awarded the Nobel Prize on Monday for their surprising discoveries of how natural production of a gas, nitric oxide, can mediate a wide variety of bodily actions. Those include widening blood vessels, helping to regulate blood pressure, initiating erections, battling infections, preventing formation of blood clots and acting as a signal molecule in the nervous system. The prize, for physiology or medicine, went to Dr. Robert Furchgott, 82, of the State University of New York in Brooklyn; Dr. Louis Ignarro, 57, of the University of California at Los Angeles, and Dr. Ferid Murad, 62, of the University of Texas Medical School in Houston. The announcement of a significant phase of the discoveries by two of Monday's winners at a meeting in 1986 ``elicited an avalanche of research activities in many different laboratories around the world,'' said the Nobel committee at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, which makes the awards. Its citation said that the research had led to new treatments for treating heart and lung diseases, shock and impotence. Ignarro ``discovered the principle that led to the use of Viagra as an anti-impotency drug,'' said Dr. Sten Orrenius, a professor of toxicology at the Karolinska Institute. Nitric oxide starts the process by which blood vessels in the penis widen to produce an erection. Nitric oxide, a chemical relative of the anesthetic gas nitrous oxide, is better known as a common air pollutant formed when nitrogen burns, such as in automobile exhaust fumes. But scientists now know it is distributed widely in the body. The discoveries honored on Monday were made largely during the 1980s at a time when scientists knew that bacteria produced nitric oxide but did not think it was important in animals and humans. The award committee said that ``this was the first discovery that a gas can act as a signal molecule in the organism.'' The discovery was startling because ``nitric oxide is totally different from any other known signal molecule and so unstable that it is converted to nitrate and nitrite within 10 seconds.'' Recipients of the Nobel Prize, including some who have lobbied for it for years, often profess surprise on learning of their award. This year's winners were refreshingly candid. Furchgott said he had planned to sleep late on Monday, a holiday, but was awakened at 5:30 at his home in Hewlett, N.Y. He said that he knew that previous Nobel prize winners had nominated him for the award, but that he still was ``somewhat surprised'' to receive it. ``I guess I had some good friends voting,'' Furchgott said. He said he could not get back to sleep. Murad said he had ``pondered the odds and thought that maybe I could win the prize, if not now maybe in a couple of years.'' He described the award as the culmination of a career and said that ``when it happens, it's incredible.'' Ignarro was traveling in Italy. Dr. Gerald Levey, the dean of UCLA, said ``we actually anticipated this day for about four years now.'' The three 1998 winners never worked together, ``but",
"we talked a lot of shop talk at meetings,'' Furchgott said. Dr. Valentin Fuster, the president of the American Heart Association and the head of cardiology at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, said that ``the discovery of nitric oxide and its function is one of the most important in the history of cardiovascular medicine.'' Doctors have learned from the prize-winning research that in heart disease, the endothelium, or inner lining of arteries, makes less nitric oxide. Drugs like nitroglycerine, however, can help replenish stores of nitric oxide. Now, drug companies are trying to develop more powerful heart drugs based on newer knowledge of nitric oxide's role as a signal molecule. Researchers have also learned that nitric oxide produced in the endothelium rapidly spreads through cell membranes to the underlying muscle cells in arteries. Then it can shut off muscle contractions in the arteries, thus widening them and reducing blood pressure. Inhalation of nitric oxide gas has saved the lives of some people with certain lung diseases, particularly infants who have developed dangerously high pulmonary blood pressure. But regulating the amount of nitric oxygen inhaled is critical because too much can be lethal. Nitric oxide plays a harmful role in the collapse of the circulatory system, or shock, resulting from overwhelming microbial infections. Bacteria can release products that cause white blood cells to release enormous amounts of nitric oxide. As a result, blood pressure drops. Scientists are trying to develop drugs that can block production of nitric oxide in such infections. White blood cells also play a role in attacking cancerous cells. The gas can also induce a type of programmed cell death known as apoptosis. Scientists are studying nitric oxide's effects on the immune system to stop the growth of cancers. They are also exploring nitric oxide's possible role in regulating body temperature. Doctors are measuring the production of nitric oxide in the lungs and intestines to diagnose a number of ailments, including asthma and colitis, and are studying its role in menstruation. Nitric oxide formed in nerve cells spreads rapidly in all directions to activate cells in the vicinity and influence many functions, like behavior and the mobility of the intestinal tract. Nitric oxide is also being studied for its role in smell and memory. Nitric oxide's role is still unfolding; scientists have written thousands of scientific papers about it in recent years and have started a journal, Nitric Oxide. The Nobel committee cited Furchgott for performing in 1980 ``an ingenious experiment'' that showed that a drug, acetylcholine, widened blood vessels only if the inner layer, or endothelium, was intact. Furchgott concluded that blood vessels widen because the endothelial cells produce a signal molecule that he called EDRF, for endothelium-derived relaxing factor, which relaxes smooth muscle cells in blood vessels. Furchgott's findings ``led to a quest to identify the factor,'' the citation said. (OPTIONAL TRIM CAN BEGIN HERE) The citation did not refer to an accident in Furchgott's laboratory that played a major role in his discoveries. In 1995, in the Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Furchgott wrote that on",
"May 5, 1978, in the first of a series of planned experiments on arteries from a rabbit, a technician did not follow directions correctly. The technician performed one step of the experiment before instead of after he was supposed to wash out a drug used in an earlier phase of the experiment. Furchgott expected that the arteries would contract. Instead, they relaxed. It was the first time he had seen the drugs under study produce such a reaction, and he used the insight to plan additional experiments. Furchgott omitted the technician's name in that paper and in another in 1996 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. On Monday, he said David Davidson was the technician. (OPTIONAL TRIM ENDS HERE) The committee cited Ignarro for concluding in 1986, from ``a brilliant series of analyses'' conducted independently of Furchgott, that EDRF was identical to nitric oxide. Furchgott said he and Ignarro made the announcement at the same symposium in 1986 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., but the papers were not published until 1998. Murad was cited for work conducted over the years while he worked at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., and Abbott Laboratories in Illinois. Murad said he felt fortunate to have heard Furchgott report his early work on EDRF in 1980. Murad showed that a gas could regulate important cellular functions and studied how nitroglycerin and related heart drugs led to the release of nitric oxide. (OPTIONAL TRIM CAN BEGIN HERE) In his early training at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Murad worked in the laboratory of Dr. Theodore Rall, who also trained another Nobel prize winner, Dr. Alfred Gilman of the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas. Gilman said in an interview that he believed Rall, now retired and living in Charlottesville, Va., was the first scientist to have trained two Nobel Prize winners. In addition, Rall worked with Dr. Earl Sutherland, who also won a Nobel Prize. In his early reseach years, Murad worked on a chemical known as cyclic guanosine monophosphate, which later turned out to be critical in the nitric oxide story. Murad's trainees referred to the early work as ``dumping experiments'' because all they could do in the laboratory at the time was crudely add various hormones and agents to slices of tissue, cell cultures. It took years to develop the more refined techniques that led to the understanding of nitric oxide's many roles in the body. But for many years, most of the scientific community was skeptical of the ability of a free radical like nitric oxide to activate an enzyme, Murad said in 1996 when he and Furchgott shared the Albert Lasker basic medical research award. (OPTIONAL TRIM ENDS HERE) The Nobel Prizes were created by the will of Alfred Nobel, whose invention of dynamite involved the use of nitroglycerine. The award committee noted an odd twist to this year's award. When Nobel developed chest pain from heart disease, it said, he refused to take the nitroglycerine his doctor prescribed because he knew",
"it caused headache. Nobel dismissed nitroglycerine's benefit in the relief of chest pain. Nobel died in 1896. The prize that the three scientists will share is now worth $938,000.",
"When Alfred Nobel wrote the directions establishing a literature prize in his name, he chose an unclear word and scratched out a few letters. Questions about the prize have engaged and piqued the literary world ever since. A new chapter in the mystery will be written Thursday, when the Swedish Academy announces this year's winner of the world's most prestigious prize for writers. The prize focuses intense media attention on the Swedish capital and the clamor of journalists generally drowns out a question: Why does the world care so much about the literary choices of a handful of people in a quiet and remote country? Does the Nobel Prize really recognize the best? When asked that question, Swedish Academy permanent secretary Sture Allen smiled and said ``Look at the list of prizewinners!'' The answer obscures as much as it clarifies. On one hand, the Nobel Prize has recognized world-renowned writers such as Isaac Bashevis Singer and brought little-known wonders to light, such as Wislawa Szymborska. But the prize arguably also has honored the mediocre, heaping attention on those who would have been more fairly served by obscurity. Among them is the winner of the first prize in 1901, Sully Prudhomme. That choice was denounced by Sweden's leading literary light, August Strindberg, and a group of Swedes sent a letter to Leo Tolstoy apologizing for the Academy's slight in not choosing him. Arguments over the Academy's choices are inevitable, considering the instructions they were given. Nobel's will says the prize should recognize literature that works ``in an ideal direction.'' What, exactly, he meant by ``ideal** is unclear and the Academy's choices have reflected the confusion. The Academy has chosen to interpret the word to apply to works ranging from the good-hearted charm of Szymborska's poetry to the crushing hopelessness of Samuel Beckett's writings. When Nobel wrote the word ``ideal'' _ in Swedish ``idealisk** _ he superimposed the last couple of letters over previous one. Allen was so curious to understand Nobel's thoughts that he engaged a forensic expert to try to find out what the earlier letters were. The expert succeeded _ to a point. He found that the first word Nobel wrote was ``idealirad,'' a word that doesn't exist. Despite the inclarity around the edges, Allen said he is confident that the Academy's choices bolster Nobel's core idea that ``literature would be the basis for some kind of progress.'' About this year's choice, he won't say more than that: the Academy is bound to keep its deliberations secret. But observers love to speculate on who might win, even who's on the shortlist for the prize, this year worth 7.6 million kronor (about dlrs 974,000). Names that freuqently come up in the guessing include V.S. Naipaul, China's Bei Dao and Pa Kin, American poet John Ashbery, and Jose Saramago of Portugal.",
"There's room for a few more names on a 20th century honor roll of writers, and one will be added this week when the Swedish Academy announces the latest Nobel Literature laureate. Who is chosen and why stimulates animated conversation with readers as well as academics, critics and the authors themselves. This year's winner _ or, possibly, winners _ will be announced Thursday, the Academy disclosed Tuesday. ``The joke you hear is that it goes to people you never heard of,'' said Ian Jack, editor of London-based Granta literary magazine. But the Nobel, awarded most every year since 1901, also shines a light, usually deservedly, on wonderful writers few people have read, he added. His favorites include Trinidad-born V.S. Naipaul, though he's convinced Naipaul probably won't win because of his ``dark ... pessimistic'' and often scathing portrayals of post-colonial African culture. The academy keeps its deliberations secret. Who is considered seriously, even who's nominated, isn't disclosed. A writer's nationality, by the terms of the prize founder Alfred Nobel's will, is supposed to be irrelevant. Two can share the prize, though the last time that happened was 1974. Winners are expected to personally receive it: awards are not given posthumously. Looking at the process from afar, Harold Bloom, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, said the award committee has an unsettling record of selections that are ``nationally 'correct' and politically 'correct.''' The winners list is prestigious, he concedes, but by no means uniformly lustrous. ``Absolutely not! Outrageously not,'' he said in a telephone interview from New York. ``They include all kinds of fifth-raters. ... James Joyce never got one, for heaven's sake. Neither did Marcel Proust.'' Bloom's U.S. favorites include Cormac McCarthy, author of ``Blood Meridian''; Philip Roth, author of ``American Pastoral''; and John Ashbery, ``the best living poet.'' A review of recent winners may foreshadow this year's laureate. Seven of the past 10 were men _ does that favor a woman? Two of the past three were poets _ does that favor a prose writer? Four of the past 10 wrote in English, and the last three laureates are European. In comparison, only three Asian writers have ever won. ``Bei Dao is a personal favorite of mine,'' said Abe Harumasa, editor-in-chief of the Japanese literary magazine Bungei. ``The choice could be interpreted as being motivated partly by politics,'' given the poet's association with China's democracy movement, ``but it's clear he's a wonderful poet.'' Minoru Takeuchi, a professor of Chinese literature at Japan's prestigious Kyoto University, cited novelists Pa Kin and Xie Bing Xin as worthy. The latter is known for her portrayals of the struggles of Chinese women. China, which translates and publishes the works of many Nobel winners, ``desperately'' wants its first laureate, he added. Spain's Nobel hopes are pinned on Francisco Ayala, 92, winner of this year's renowned Prince of Asturias prize, said Jose Maria Martinez Cachero, an author, university professor and secretary of the jury that selected Ayala. Other presumed Latin candidates are Peru-born Mario Vargas Llosa, a member of the 200-year-old Royal Spanish Language Academy, Martinez Cachero said, and Portugal's Jose Saramago, whose works have been translated into more than 20 languages. For his part, Saramago, 75, said in a recent Associated Press interview that he's weary of speculation that this year, once again, he might win. ``Let's not get into that,'' he said. ``I just write.''",
"Three American researchers on Monday won the Nobel Medicine Prize for discovering how nitric oxide acts as a signal molecule in the cardiovascular system, a breakthrough with applications ranging from hardening of the arteries to impotence. The prestigious prize went to Robert F. Furchgott, Louis J. Ignarro and Ferid Murad. Furchgott is a pharmacologist at the State University of New York in Brooklyn, Ignarro is at University of California-Los Angeles and Murad is at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston. The citation by the Karolinska Institute said ``it was a senation that the simple, common air pollutant (nitric oxide), which is formed when nitrogen burns ... could exert important functions in the organism. '' Because of the research, ``we know today that nitric oxide acts as a signal molecule in the nervous system, as a weapon against infections and as a regulator of blood pressure.'' ``Signal transmission by a gas that is produced by one cell, penetrates through membranes and regulates the function of another cell represents an entirely new principle,'' the citation said. Understanding how nitric oxide transmits the signals has sparked research on a wide range of new drugs, including those that can be used in the treatment of heart problems, artherosclerosis, shock and impotence. The prize amount of 7.6 million kronor (dlrs 978,000) is divided equally among the three. Last year, the prize went to Stanley B. Prusiner of the University of California at San Francisco for his discovery of prions, the rogue proteins identified as causing Mad Cow Disease. Winners generally aren't known outside the medical community, although the list of laureates contains a few familiar names including Ivan Pavlov, tuberculosis pioneer Robert Koch, and DNA researchers Francis Crick and James Watson. Generally, they are researchers who have made discoveries that sound small on paper but carry large consequences. Among other well-known names to receive the prize is David Baltimore, although he shared the prize in 1975, long before becoming one of the world's most visible AIDS researchers. Alan Cormack of the United States and Sir Godfrey Hounsfield may not be familiar names, but what they won the prize for in 1979 is a term known by most patients: computer-assisted tomography _ or CAT scan. The medicine prize was the second of the six Nobels to be announced this year. Last Thursday, the literature prize went to Portuguese novelist Jose Saramago. The physics and chemistry prizes will be announced Tuesday, the economics prize on Wednesday and the peace prize on Friday. All the announcements are in Stockholm, except for the peace prize which is given in Oslo, Norway. The prizes are presented on Dec. 10, the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, the industrialist and inventor of dynamite whose will established the prizes.",
"Robert F. Furchgott, Louis J. Ignarro and Ferid Murad of the United States on Monday won the Nobel Medicine Prize. They were given the prize for their discoveries concerning nitric oxide as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system, according to the citiation from the Karolinska lnstitute. Furchgott is a pharmacologist at the State University of New York in Brooklyn, Ignarro is at University of California-Los Angeles and Murad is at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston. The citation said ``it was a senation that the simple, common air pollutant (nitric oxide), which is formed when nitrogen burns ... could exert important functions in the organism. '' Because of the research, ``we know today that nitric oxide acts as a signal molecule in the nervous system, as a weapon against infections and as a regulator of blood pressure.'' The prize amount of 7.6 million kronor (dlrs 978,000) is divided equally among the three. Last year, the prize went to Stanley B. Prusiner of the University of California at San Francisco for his discovery of prions, the rogue proteins identified as causing Mad Cow Disease. Winners generally aren't known outside the medical community, although the list of laureates contains a few familiar names including Ivan Pavlov, tuberculosis pioneer Robert Koch, and DNA researchers Francis Crick and James Watson. Generally, they are researchers who have made discoveries that sound small on paper but carry large consequences. Among other well-known names to receive the prize is David Baltimore, although he shared the prize in 1975, long before becoming one of the world's most visible AIDS researchers. Alan Cormack of the United States and Sir Godfrey Hounsfield may not be familiar names, but what they won the prize for in 1979 is a term known by most patients: computer-assisted tomography _ or CAT scan. The medicine prize was the second of the six Nobels to be announced this year. Last Thursday, the literature prize went to Portuguese novelist Jose Saramago. The physics and chemistry prizes will be announced Tuesday, the economics prize on Wednesday and the peace prize on Friday. All the announcements are in Stockholm, except for the peace prize which is given in Oslo, Norway. The prizes are presented on Dec. 10, the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, the industrialist and inventor of dynamite whose will established the prizes.",
"Portuguese novelist Jose Saramago, whose capricious vision includes a section of Europe breaking off and floating out to sea, on Thursday was named the winner of the 1998 Nobel Literature Prize. In its citation, the Swedish Academy said it gave the award to Saramago for work that ``with parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony continually enables us to apprehend an elusory reality.'' Saramago, 75, wrote his breakthrough novel in 1982, ``Baltasar and Blimunda.'' Perhaps his best-known work is ``The Stone Raft,'' in which the Iberian Peninsula breaks off from Europe for supernatural reasons and floats off into the Atlantic. That device allows him to comment ironically ``about the authorities and politicians, perhaps especially about the major players in power politics.'' Saramago's exuberant imagination and playfulness have made him one of Portugal's most popular contemporary novelists, and his works have been translated into more than 20 languages. In ``Blindness,'' his most recent work to be translated into English, a nameless man in a nameless country suddenly goes blind, and the affliction quickly spreads through the country _ grim tale of social collapse. In 1991's ``The Gospel According to Jesus Christ,'' God and the devli negotiate about evil, and Jesus tries to back out of his crucifixion. ``Saramago's idiosyncratic development of his own resonant style of fiction gives him a high standing ... he invokes tradition in a way that in the current state of things can be described as radical,'' the Academy said in the citation for the 7.6-million kronor (dlrs 978,000 prize). Saramago (pronounced sah-rah-MAH-go) is the fourth consecutive European to win the prestigious prize, and the first laureate to write in Portuguese. He had long been seen as one of the strongest potential candidates for the prize and the frequent media queries about his prospects contrasted with his quiet personality. ``I am skeptical, reserved, I don't gush, I don't go around smiling, hugging people, trying to make friends,'' he told The Associated Press in a recent interview. ``I just write.'' Saramago on Thursday had planned to leave Frankfurt, Germany, _ where he was attending the international book fair _ for his home in the Canary Islands. But Portuguese state radio said he was taken off the plane before departure and driven back to the fair, where a crowd wa waiting for him. The literature prize is one of five established by Alfred Nobel, the Swedish industrialist and inventor of dynamite. The prizes have been awarded since 1901; a sixth prize, in economics, was started in 1969. According to the terms of Nobel's will, the literature prize is to recognize writing that works ``in an ideal direction.'' How to interpret that term has been widely debated. The Nobel Prize over the years has been given to writers with world-views stretching from the bleak futility of Samuel Beckett's works to the vivid epics of Iceland's Halldor Laxness. The prize even has gone occasionally to writers who did not work in fiction or poetry, notably Winston Churchill and Bertrand Russell. Last year's prize went to Dario Fo, the Italian playwright whose work combines gut-busting comedy with acid social and political commentary. The 1996 winner was the Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska, as shy and delicate and Fo is boisterous. The Swedish Academy does not reveal who was nominated or who it considered on its shortlist. Nominations can be made by previous laureates, professors of history and literature, members of the Academy and presidents of some national authors' organizations. The Nobel Prize in Medicine winner will be announced Oct. 12, the physics and chemistry winners on Oct. 13, the economics laureate on Oct. 14 and the peace prize on Occt. 16. All the prize announcements are in Stockholm, except for the peace prize which is given in Oslo, Norway. All the prizes are presented on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death.",
"Jose Saramago, a 75-year-old Portuguese writer who took up literature relatively late in life and whose richly imaginative novels soon won him a following of loyal readers across Europe and vocal admirers in the United States, was awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Literature Thursday by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm. A tall, balding man whose large, tinted glasses often give him a mien of severity, Saramago is the first Portuguese-language writer _ and one of the first card-carrying Communists _ to become a Nobel Literature laureate. He is also the fourth successive European to win the prize, after Italy's Dario Fo in 1997, Poland's Wislawa Szymborska in 1996 and Ireland's Seamus Heaney in 1995. In its citation Thursday, the Swedish Academy praised Saramago ``who with parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony continually enables us once again to apprehend an elusory reality.'' Although Saramago discounts the influence of Latin American ``magical realism'' on his work, his novels often use the supernatural, allegorical, paradoxical and irrational as ways of addressing complex questions of faith and existence. Many of his novels are set against a backdrop of political or historical events, but it is his unwavering concern for individual fate that gives his fiction its distinctive voice and independent character. His best-known books, all published in the United States, are ``Baltasar and Blimunda,'' ``The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis,'' ``The Stone Raft'' and ``The History of the Siege of Lisbon.'' His latest book available in English, ``Blindness,'' in which all but one of his characters mysteriously become blind, was described as his ``symphonic new novel'' by Andrew Miller in The New York Times Book Review on Sunday. ``There is no cynicism and there are no conclusions, just a clear-eyed and compassionate acknowledgment of things as they are, a quality than can only honestly be termed as wisdom,'' Miller, himself a novelist, wrote. ``We should be grateful when it is handed to us in such generous measures.'' Saramago learned of his award Thursday at Frankfurt airport, where he was preparing to fly home via Madrid to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands after attending the Frankfurt Book Fair. Earlier this week, he participated in a round-table of Portuguese writers on the topic, ``Why I am still a Communist.'' He immediately returned to the fair where he was received with cheers and bouquets of roses. ``I am personally very happy for myself,'' he said. ``I am also happy for my country.'' Later he told a news conference: ``The Portuguese language had to wait 100 years for this. There have to be ways and means of protecting the language so that it does not become a museum, but is something that is alive. The writer's role is to protect it and work with it.'' The award was also celebrated in Lisbon, where President Jorge Sampaio described it as ``recognition of Portuguese culture,'' while the local Communist leader, Carlos Carvalho, saw it as a credit to his own party. ``As a member of our party,'' he noted solemnly, ``Saramago makes a great contribution to our ideals",
"and to the struggle for social change.'' The laureate's fiction, though, is never overtly political. Saramago, whose body of work includes poetry, essays, plays and a journal as well as 10 novels, is unusual for having emerged as a major literary figure only at the age of 60. His novels have since been translated into 30 languages, selling particularly well in Portugal, Brazil, Spain, Italy and Germany. While he has not been well known in the United States, his novels have always been critically well received there. For all his late blooming, though, Saramago long dreamed of becoming a writer. Born into a family of rural laborers and raised in Lisbon, he was forced by poverty to leave school while a teen-ager and learn the trade of car mechanic. Yet he managed to publish a small novel at the age of 25. Later, he found work at a Lisbon publishing company, but the oppressive and censorial atmosphere of the Salazar dictatorship discouraged him from writing. It was only after Portugal's April 1974 revolution that Saramago felt free to find his voice. A member of the Portuguese Communist Party since 1969, he served as editor of a Lisbon newspaper, Diario de Noticias, during an 18-month period when the left looked likely to seize power in Portugal. But an anti-Communist backlash in November 1975 forced him out of the newspaper and he began translating French texts into Portuguese to make ends meet. In the late 1970s, he also turned to novels, publishing three in succession in 1977, 1978 and 1980. But it was in 1982, with ``Baltasar and Blimunda'' (``Memorial do Convento'' in Portuguese), that he achieved his international breakthrough. ``This is a rich, multifaceted and polysemous text that at the same time has a historical, a social and an individual perspective,'' the Swedish Academy noted Thursday. ``The insight and wealth of imagination to which it gives expression is characteristic of Saramago's work as a whole.'' Set in 18th-century Portugal during the Inquisition, the book tells of the baroque efforts of a war veteran, Baltasar, and a visionary, Blimunda, to escape to the heavens aboard a flying machine powered by human wills captured by the hypersensory Blimunda. This fantastic story takes place against the very real background of the tortuous construction of the massive Mafra Convent by thousands of men held in the grip of the Inquisition. When the novel was published in the United States in 1987, Irving Howe acclaimed it as ``brilliant'' in The New York Times Book Review. ``Mr. Saramago is constantly present as a voice of European skepticism, a connoisseur of ironies,'' Howe wrote. ``I think I hear in his prose echoes of Enlightenment sensibility, caustic and shrewd.'' In his next novel, ``The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis,'' which is also a homage to the great Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa, who appears in it as a ghost, Saramago sets his story in the early years of the Salazar dictatorship, with the tale following the romantic and sexual misadventures of a poet-physician. Writing in The New York Times, Herbert",
"Mitgang called it ``a rare, old-fashioned novel _ at once lyrical, symbolic and meditative.'' Saramago, whose sense of literary freedom is evident in his unconventional punctuation and conflicting use of tenses, sought a different form of freedom in ``The Stone Raft,'' where he imagines the confusion unleashed when the Iberian peninsula suddenly breaks free from the rest of Europe and begins drifting toward the New World and threatens to collide with the Azores. To the delight of Britons, Gibraltar is left behind. Unsurprisingly, the bitter satire, ``The Gospel According to Jesus Christ,'' proved controversial, with God shown as using the innocently human Jesus to create a religion that has spawned violence and intolerance. When a Lisbon jury picked the book as Portugal's entry for a 1992 European literary prize, the country's conservative government vetoed the choice as blasphemous. It was then that Saramago decided to leave his small, crowded apartment in Lisbon for the relative solitude of Lanzarote. ``The History of the Siege of Lisbon,'' published in the United States last year, is a whimsical tale set in motion by the decision of a humble proofreader at a publishing house to insert the word ``not'' into a key passage in a standard history of Portugal. With this ``lunatic creative act,'' as Edmund White put it in The New York Times Book Review, he ``totally derails the national saga'' by affirming that the crusaders did not in fact help liberate 12th-century Lisbon from Moorish occupation. White ended his July 1997 review with a prescient remark. ``Word has it that Saramago is overdue for a Nobel Prize,'' he noted. ``No candidate has a better claim to lasting recognition than this novelist.'' With the recent publication of ``Blindness'' in the United States, only Saramago's latest novel, ``Todos os Nomes,'' or ``All the Names'' still awaits translation into English. In the tradition of Andre Gide and Julian Green, though, he has now embarked on his journals. The fourth volume of these ``Cadernos de Lanzarote'' was just published in Lisbon. Saramago will receive his Nobel Prize, worth the equivalent of $967,500 this year, at a ceremony in Stockholm on Dec. 10.",
"A day after winning the Nobel Prize for literature, Portuguese novelist Jose Saramago insisted that while he was delighted to win the award, it could just as easily have gone to many other Portuguese writers. ``I'm not the only one who deserved it'', said the first Portuguese-language author to obtain the prestigious award. ``There have been other Portuguse authors, like Fernando Pessoa, whose work would justify 1,000 Nobels'' Speaking at a packed press coference in Madrid, Saramago joked about how he heard he had won the prize from German air hostess at Frankfurt airport as he waited for a flight home to Spain's Canary Islands. The news left the 75-year-old writer no choice but to leave the airport and return to the city's book fair to meet the press and public. ``At that moment I was over the moon and returning to the book fair the only thing I was worried about was that the whole thing was an error,'' said Saramago. Dismissing the Vatican paper's disapproval Thursday of his achievment, Saramago, a known atheist, quipped that he was aware that ``the Pope had been among the jury, I wouldn't have won the prize.'' ``The Vatican is easily upset'', said Saramago, ``I think that the Vatican should keep its mind on its prayers and leave people alone''. Meanwhile in Portugal, where Saramago is scheduled to arrive on Tuesday, the delight at the Swedish Academy's award for Saramago was reflected in the daily papers, with even the country's three daily sports papers ample space to the event. The two leading dailies, Publico and Diario de Noticias, gave over their entire front pages to Saramago. Lisbon City Hall rushed out posters saying ``Congratulations Jose Saramago'' which were hung up around the capital during the night. Saramago was born into a poor, illiterate family in Azinhaga, a small town near Lisbon. He never finished university but continued to study part-time while supporting himself as a metalworker. ``Nothing in my life would have led one to think I'd win the Nobel Prize'', said Saramago. ``I wasn't born to win the Nobel. I didn't have my own books until I was 18.'' His first novel, published in 1947 _ ``Terra do Pecado,'' or ``Country of Sin'' _ was a tale of peasants in moral crisis. For the next 18 years, Saramago, a communist who opposed the 41-year conservative dictatorship of Antonio Salazar, published only a few travel and poetry books while he worked as a journalist. He returned to fiction only after Salazar's regime was toppled by a military uprising in 1974. Since the 1980s, his works have been translated into more than 20 languages. Regarding the future, Saramago said the book he is currently working on will be called ``The Cavern'' and deals with a modern version of myth of Plato and the cave."
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"Jose Saramago became the first writer in Portuguese to win the Nobel Prize for Literature on Thursday. His personal delight was seconded by a burst of public elation in his homeland. Saramago, 75, and Portuguese said they were pleased the Swedish Academy had finally acknowledged the literary contribution of Portugal, a small country of 10 million people bordering Spain on Europe's southwestern Iberian Peninsula. ``It has taken all of this century to win a Nobel Prize for the Portuguese language,'' Saramago said at the Frankfurt Book Fair, speaking through an interpreter. Saramago, a soft-spoken man known for his hard-edged and iconoclastic views, said he shared the honor with his country and he hoped winning the prize would make Portugal and its language ``more visible and audible.'' ``I'm personally very happy for myself. I'm also happy for my country,'' he said at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany where he was engulfed by well-wishers offering roses. Back home, President Jorge Sampaio said the award was a cause for ``great collective satisfaction.'' Prime Minister Antonio Guterres said the award was ``above all a prize for Portugal and the Portuguese language'' which is spoken by 180 million worldwide, mostly in Brazil, but also in Portugal's five former colonies in Africa. Saramago's controversial opinions and atheistic outlook have frequently clashed with the establishment and the general public. Even on the day he won the prize, the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano attacked the Swedish Academy's choice, describing Saramago as an ``old-school communist'' who had a ``substantially antireligious vision.'' Undersecretary of State Sousa Lara was so upset by one of Saramago's novels in 1992 that he withdrew his name from Portugal's nominees for the European Literature Prize. At the time, Lara said Saramago's 1991 novel ``O Evangelho Segundo Jesus Cristo'' (The Gospel according to Jesus Christ) offended Portugal's Roman Catholic religious convictions and divided the country. The book describes a Christ who, subject to human desires, lives with Mary Magdalene and tries to back out of his crucifixion. ``I have not come to bring peace but the sword,'' said Saramago, an atheist, at the time. He retreated in disgust with his Spanish wife, Pilar del Rio, to his home in Lanzarote in Spain's Canary Islands. He has never courted the kind of fame offered by literary prizes, and his bluntness can sometimes offend. ``I am skeptical, reserved, I don't gush, I don't go around smiling, hugging people and trying to make friends,'' he once said. A gaunt man with wisps of white hair, Saramago was born in Azinhaga, a small town near Lisbon. From a poor family, he never finished university but continued to study part-time while supporting himself as a metalworker. His first novel, published in 1947 _ ``Terra do Pecado,'' or ``Country of Sin'' _ was a tale of peasants in moral crisis. It sold badly but won enough recognition to propel him from the welder's shop to a literary magazine. But for the next 18 years, Saramago, a communist who opposed the 41-year conservative dictatorship of Antonio Salazar, published only a few travel and poetry books while he worked as a journalist. He returned to fiction only after Salazar's regime was toppled by a military uprising in 1974. Since the 1980s, he has been one of Portugal's best-selling contemporary writers and his works have been translated into more than 20 languages. He first won critical acclaim abroad with his 1982 historical fantasy ``Memorial do Convento,'' published in English in 1988 as ``Baltasar and Blimunda.'' It is set during the Catholic-inspired inquisition and explores the war between individuals and organized religion, picking up Saramago's recurring theme of the loner struggling against authority. He is most frequently compared with Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez because his prose is often rooted in recognizable settings but at the same time tinged with magical elements. The Nobel citation praised his work that ``with parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony continually enables us to apprehend an elusory reality.'' Saramago remains a prominent nonconformist through his regular newspaper and radio commentaries, though his views are always inspired by his deep concern for his fellow man. ``Blindness,'' his most recent book to be translated into English, is an unsettling allegory about the social meltdown as an inexplicable blindness sweeps through society. ``This blindness isn't a real blindness, it's a blindness of rationality,'' he said. ``We're rational beings but we don't behave rationally. If we did, there'd be no starvation in the world.'' In the 1989 ``The History of the Siege of Lisbon,'' a Lisbon proofreader mischievously inserts the word ``not'' into a text on the 12th century capture of the Portuguese capital from the Moors, thereby fictionally altering the course of European history with a stroke of his pen. Such historical and literary mischief are Saramago trademarks. In his 1986 book, ``The Stone Raft,'' the Iberian Peninsula snaps off from the rest of the European continent and floats off into the North Atlantic _ apparently in a metaphorical search for identity away from the standardizing nature of the European Union, of which Portugal and Spain are enthusiastic members. Saramago will receive the dlrs 978,000 prize on Dec. 10 in Stockholm.",
"Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who seems a perennial Nobel Peace Prize also-ran, could have won the coveted honor in 1978 had it not been for strict deadline rules for nominations. That prize was shared by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin for signing the Camp David peace accords. However, the five-member Norwegian awards committee also wanted to honor Carter for brokering the pact, only to be foiled by their own rules. ``The Nobel committee wanted to give the prize to all three,'' said Geir Lundestad, the current committee's nonvoting secretary, said on Sunday. ``But Carter had not been nominated when the deadline ran out.'' Nominations postmarked by Feb. 1 are accepted for that year's prize. The committee can add it own nominations at its first meeting of the year, usually in early March. The Camp David accords were not signed until Sept. 17, 1978, about five weeks before that year's peace prize was annouCkuld not give him the prize, the Norwegian committee recognized in the 1978 awards citation ``the positive initiative taken by President Jimmy Carter.'' Lundestad said the committee, which works in deep secrecy in its five or six meetings a year, tried to find a loophole in the rules, which are overseen by the Swedish Nobel Foundation. The Nobel Prizes were endowed by Alfred Nobel, a Swedish industrialist whose 355 inventions included dynamite. In his 1895 will, Nobel endowed the prizes, and said the peace prize should be picked by a Norwegian committee and the rest by Swedish institutions. Lundestad said the committee turned to the Swedish Nobel Foundation for advice on Carter because it was a question of principle. Stig Ramel, a Swede who was then director of the Nobel Foundation, advised against breaking the rules, Lundestad said by telephone. Normally, the committee refuses to discuss past candidates in keeping with a strict policy of secrecy in which selection details are sealed for 50 years. Lundestad made an exception because Ramel revealed the Carter dilemma in his 1994 memoirs. Carter has repeatedly been nominated for the Nobel prize for his consistent and wide-ranging peace efforts. He is also among the 139 candidates for the prize being announced in Oslo on Friday. However, early speculation leans more toward someone involved in the Northern Ireland peace process, Czech President Vaclav Havel to mark the 30th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of his country, or a human rights activist to mark the 50th anniversary of the U.N. Human Rights Charter. While the committee wanted to honor Carter and could not, with hindsight some regretted the prize for other reasons. Four years after Begin won the prize, the Israeli prime minister ordered an invasion of southern Lebanon in which thousands of civilians died. Kare Kristiansen, who served on the peace prize committee from 1991 to 1994, once said that, had the committee waited, Begin probably would not have won.",
"Three American pharmacologists were awarded the Nobel Prize on Monday for their surprising discoveries of how natural production of a gas, nitric oxide, can mediate a wide variety of bodily actions. Those include widening blood vessels, helping to regulate blood pressure, initiating erections, battling infections, preventing formation of blood clots and acting as a signal molecule in the nervous system. The prize, for physiology or medicine, went to Dr. Robert Furchgott, 82, of the State University of New York in Brooklyn; Dr. Louis Ignarro, 57, of the University of California at Los Angeles, and Dr. Ferid Murad, 62, of the University of Texas Medical School in Houston. The announcement of a significant phase of the discoveries by two of Monday's winners at a meeting in 1986 ``elicited an avalanche of research activities in many different laboratories around the world,'' said the Nobel committee at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, which makes the awards. Its citation said that the research had led to new treatments for treating heart and lung diseases, shock and impotence. Ignarro ``discovered the principle that led to the use of Viagra as an anti-impotency drug,'' said Dr. Sten Orrenius, a professor of toxicology at the Karolinska Institute. Nitric oxide starts the process by which blood vessels in the penis widen to produce an erection. Nitric oxide, a chemical relative of the anesthetic gas nitrous oxide, is better known as a common air pollutant formed when nitrogen burns, such as in automobile exhaust fumes. But scientists now know it is distributed widely in the body. The discoveries honored on Monday were made largely during the 1980s at a time when scientists knew that bacteria produced nitric oxide but did not think it was important in animals and humans. The award committee said that ``this was the first discovery that a gas can act as a signal molecule in the organism.'' The discovery was startling because ``nitric oxide is totally different from any other known signal molecule and so unstable that it is converted to nitrate and nitrite within 10 seconds.'' Recipients of the Nobel Prize, including some who have lobbied for it for years, often profess surprise on learning of their award. This year's winners were refreshingly candid. Furchgott said he had planned to sleep late on Monday, a holiday, but was awakened at 5:30 at his home in Hewlett, N.Y. He said that he knew that previous Nobel prize winners had nominated him for the award, but that he still was ``somewhat surprised'' to receive it. ``I guess I had some good friends voting,'' Furchgott said. He said he could not get back to sleep. Murad said he had ``pondered the odds and thought that maybe I could win the prize, if not now maybe in a couple of years.'' He described the award as the culmination of a career and said that ``when it happens, it's incredible.'' Ignarro was traveling in Italy. Dr. Gerald Levey, the dean of UCLA, said ``we actually anticipated this day for about four years now.'' The three 1998 winners never worked together, ``but we talked a lot of shop talk at meetings,'' Furchgott said. Dr. Valentin Fuster, the president of the American Heart Association and the head of cardiology at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, said that ``the discovery of nitric oxide and its function is one of the most important in the history of cardiovascular medicine.'' Doctors have learned from the prize-winning research that in heart disease, the endothelium, or inner lining of arteries, makes less nitric oxide. Drugs like nitroglycerine, however, can help replenish stores of nitric oxide. Now, drug companies are trying to develop more powerful heart drugs based on newer knowledge of nitric oxide's role as a signal molecule. Researchers have also learned that nitric oxide produced in the endothelium rapidly spreads through cell membranes to the underlying muscle cells in arteries. Then it can shut off muscle contractions in the arteries, thus widening them and reducing blood pressure. Inhalation of nitric oxide gas has saved the lives of some people with certain lung diseases, particularly infants who have developed dangerously high pulmonary blood pressure. But regulating the amount of nitric oxygen inhaled is critical because too much can be lethal. Nitric oxide plays a harmful role in the collapse of the circulatory system, or shock, resulting from overwhelming microbial infections. Bacteria can release products that cause white blood cells to release enormous amounts of nitric oxide. As a result, blood pressure drops. Scientists are trying to develop drugs that can block production of nitric oxide in such infections. White blood cells also play a role in attacking cancerous cells. The gas can also induce a type of programmed cell death known as apoptosis. Scientists are studying nitric oxide's effects on the immune system to stop the growth of cancers. They are also exploring nitric oxide's possible role in regulating body temperature. Doctors are measuring the production of nitric oxide in the lungs and intestines to diagnose a number of ailments, including asthma and colitis, and are studying its role in menstruation. Nitric oxide formed in nerve cells spreads rapidly in all directions to activate cells in the vicinity and influence many functions, like behavior and the mobility of the intestinal tract. Nitric oxide is also being studied for its role in smell and memory. Nitric oxide's role is still unfolding; scientists have written thousands of scientific papers about it in recent years and have started a journal, Nitric Oxide. The Nobel committee cited Furchgott for performing in 1980 ``an ingenious experiment'' that showed that a drug, acetylcholine, widened blood vessels only if the inner layer, or endothelium, was intact. Furchgott concluded that blood vessels widen because the endothelial cells produce a signal molecule that he called EDRF, for endothelium-derived relaxing factor, which relaxes smooth muscle cells in blood vessels. Furchgott's findings ``led to a quest to identify the factor,'' the citation said. (OPTIONAL TRIM CAN BEGIN HERE) The citation did not refer to an accident in Furchgott's laboratory that played a major role in his discoveries. In 1995, in the Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Furchgott wrote that on May 5, 1978, in the first of a series of planned experiments on arteries from a rabbit, a technician did not follow directions correctly. The technician performed one step of the experiment before instead of after he was supposed to wash out a drug used in an earlier phase of the experiment. Furchgott expected that the arteries would contract. Instead, they relaxed. It was the first time he had seen the drugs under study produce such a reaction, and he used the insight to plan additional experiments. Furchgott omitted the technician's name in that paper and in another in 1996 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. On Monday, he said David Davidson was the technician. (OPTIONAL TRIM ENDS HERE) The committee cited Ignarro for concluding in 1986, from ``a brilliant series of analyses'' conducted independently of Furchgott, that EDRF was identical to nitric oxide. Furchgott said he and Ignarro made the announcement at the same symposium in 1986 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., but the papers were not published until 1998. Murad was cited for work conducted over the years while he worked at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., and Abbott Laboratories in Illinois. Murad said he felt fortunate to have heard Furchgott report his early work on EDRF in 1980. Murad showed that a gas could regulate important cellular functions and studied how nitroglycerin and related heart drugs led to the release of nitric oxide. (OPTIONAL TRIM CAN BEGIN HERE) In his early training at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Murad worked in the laboratory of Dr. Theodore Rall, who also trained another Nobel prize winner, Dr. Alfred Gilman of the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas. Gilman said in an interview that he believed Rall, now retired and living in Charlottesville, Va., was the first scientist to have trained two Nobel Prize winners. In addition, Rall worked with Dr. Earl Sutherland, who also won a Nobel Prize. In his early reseach years, Murad worked on a chemical known as cyclic guanosine monophosphate, which later turned out to be critical in the nitric oxide story. Murad's trainees referred to the early work as ``dumping experiments'' because all they could do in the laboratory at the time was crudely add various hormones and agents to slices of tissue, cell cultures. It took years to develop the more refined techniques that led to the understanding of nitric oxide's many roles in the body. But for many years, most of the scientific community was skeptical of the ability of a free radical like nitric oxide to activate an enzyme, Murad said in 1996 when he and Furchgott shared the Albert Lasker basic medical research award. (OPTIONAL TRIM ENDS HERE) The Nobel Prizes were created by the will of Alfred Nobel, whose invention of dynamite involved the use of nitroglycerine. The award committee noted an odd twist to this year's award. When Nobel developed chest pain from heart disease, it said, he refused to take the nitroglycerine his doctor prescribed because he knew it caused headache. Nobel dismissed nitroglycerine's benefit in the relief of chest pain. Nobel died in 1896. The prize that the three scientists will share is now worth $938,000.",
"When Alfred Nobel wrote the directions establishing a literature prize in his name, he chose an unclear word and scratched out a few letters. Questions about the prize have engaged and piqued the literary world ever since. A new chapter in the mystery will be written Thursday, when the Swedish Academy announces this year's winner of the world's most prestigious prize for writers. The prize focuses intense media attention on the Swedish capital and the clamor of journalists generally drowns out a question: Why does the world care so much about the literary choices of a handful of people in a quiet and remote country? Does the Nobel Prize really recognize the best? When asked that question, Swedish Academy permanent secretary Sture Allen smiled and said ``Look at the list of prizewinners!'' The answer obscures as much as it clarifies. On one hand, the Nobel Prize has recognized world-renowned writers such as Isaac Bashevis Singer and brought little-known wonders to light, such as Wislawa Szymborska. But the prize arguably also has honored the mediocre, heaping attention on those who would have been more fairly served by obscurity. Among them is the winner of the first prize in 1901, Sully Prudhomme. That choice was denounced by Sweden's leading literary light, August Strindberg, and a group of Swedes sent a letter to Leo Tolstoy apologizing for the Academy's slight in not choosing him. Arguments over the Academy's choices are inevitable, considering the instructions they were given. Nobel's will says the prize should recognize literature that works ``in an ideal direction.'' What, exactly, he meant by ``ideal** is unclear and the Academy's choices have reflected the confusion. The Academy has chosen to interpret the word to apply to works ranging from the good-hearted charm of Szymborska's poetry to the crushing hopelessness of Samuel Beckett's writings. When Nobel wrote the word ``ideal'' _ in Swedish ``idealisk** _ he superimposed the last couple of letters over previous one. Allen was so curious to understand Nobel's thoughts that he engaged a forensic expert to try to find out what the earlier letters were. The expert succeeded _ to a point. He found that the first word Nobel wrote was ``idealirad,'' a word that doesn't exist. Despite the inclarity around the edges, Allen said he is confident that the Academy's choices bolster Nobel's core idea that ``literature would be the basis for some kind of progress.'' About this year's choice, he won't say more than that: the Academy is bound to keep its deliberations secret. But observers love to speculate on who might win, even who's on the shortlist for the prize, this year worth 7.6 million kronor (about dlrs 974,000). Names that freuqently come up in the guessing include V.S. Naipaul, China's Bei Dao and Pa Kin, American poet John Ashbery, and Jose Saramago of Portugal.",
"There's room for a few more names on a 20th century honor roll of writers, and one will be added this week when the Swedish Academy announces the latest Nobel Literature laureate. Who is chosen and why stimulates animated conversation with readers as well as academics, critics and the authors themselves. This year's winner _ or, possibly, winners _ will be announced Thursday, the Academy disclosed Tuesday. ``The joke you hear is that it goes to people you never heard of,'' said Ian Jack, editor of London-based Granta literary magazine. But the Nobel, awarded most every year since 1901, also shines a light, usually deservedly, on wonderful writers few people have read, he added. His favorites include Trinidad-born V.S. Naipaul, though he's convinced Naipaul probably won't win because of his ``dark ... pessimistic'' and often scathing portrayals of post-colonial African culture. The academy keeps its deliberations secret. Who is considered seriously, even who's nominated, isn't disclosed. A writer's nationality, by the terms of the prize founder Alfred Nobel's will, is supposed to be irrelevant. Two can share the prize, though the last time that happened was 1974. Winners are expected to personally receive it: awards are not given posthumously. Looking at the process from afar, Harold Bloom, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, said the award committee has an unsettling record of selections that are ``nationally 'correct' and politically 'correct.''' The winners list is prestigious, he concedes, but by no means uniformly lustrous. ``Absolutely not! Outrageously not,'' he said in a telephone interview from New York. ``They include all kinds of fifth-raters. ... James Joyce never got one, for heaven's sake. Neither did Marcel Proust.'' Bloom's U.S. favorites include Cormac McCarthy, author of ``Blood Meridian''; Philip Roth, author of ``American Pastoral''; and John Ashbery, ``the best living poet.'' A review of recent winners may foreshadow this year's laureate. Seven of the past 10 were men _ does that favor a woman? Two of the past three were poets _ does that favor a prose writer? Four of the past 10 wrote in English, and the last three laureates are European. In comparison, only three Asian writers have ever won. ``Bei Dao is a personal favorite of mine,'' said Abe Harumasa, editor-in-chief of the Japanese literary magazine Bungei. ``The choice could be interpreted as being motivated partly by politics,'' given the poet's association with China's democracy movement, ``but it's clear he's a wonderful poet.'' Minoru Takeuchi, a professor of Chinese literature at Japan's prestigious Kyoto University, cited novelists Pa Kin and Xie Bing Xin as worthy. The latter is known for her portrayals of the struggles of Chinese women. China, which translates and publishes the works of many Nobel winners, ``desperately'' wants its first laureate, he added. Spain's Nobel hopes are pinned on Francisco Ayala, 92, winner of this year's renowned Prince of Asturias prize, said Jose Maria Martinez Cachero, an author, university professor and secretary of the jury that selected Ayala. Other presumed Latin candidates are Peru-born Mario Vargas Llosa, a member of the 200-year-old Royal Spanish Language Academy, Martinez Cachero said, and Portugal's Jose Saramago, whose works have been translated into more than 20 languages. For his part, Saramago, 75, said in a recent Associated Press interview that he's weary of speculation that this year, once again, he might win. ``Let's not get into that,'' he said. ``I just write.''",
"Three American researchers on Monday won the Nobel Medicine Prize for discovering how nitric oxide acts as a signal molecule in the cardiovascular system, a breakthrough with applications ranging from hardening of the arteries to impotence. The prestigious prize went to Robert F. Furchgott, Louis J. Ignarro and Ferid Murad. Furchgott is a pharmacologist at the State University of New York in Brooklyn, Ignarro is at University of California-Los Angeles and Murad is at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston. The citation by the Karolinska Institute said ``it was a senation that the simple, common air pollutant (nitric oxide), which is formed when nitrogen burns ... could exert important functions in the organism. '' Because of the research, ``we know today that nitric oxide acts as a signal molecule in the nervous system, as a weapon against infections and as a regulator of blood pressure.'' ``Signal transmission by a gas that is produced by one cell, penetrates through membranes and regulates the function of another cell represents an entirely new principle,'' the citation said. Understanding how nitric oxide transmits the signals has sparked research on a wide range of new drugs, including those that can be used in the treatment of heart problems, artherosclerosis, shock and impotence. The prize amount of 7.6 million kronor (dlrs 978,000) is divided equally among the three. Last year, the prize went to Stanley B. Prusiner of the University of California at San Francisco for his discovery of prions, the rogue proteins identified as causing Mad Cow Disease. Winners generally aren't known outside the medical community, although the list of laureates contains a few familiar names including Ivan Pavlov, tuberculosis pioneer Robert Koch, and DNA researchers Francis Crick and James Watson. Generally, they are researchers who have made discoveries that sound small on paper but carry large consequences. Among other well-known names to receive the prize is David Baltimore, although he shared the prize in 1975, long before becoming one of the world's most visible AIDS researchers. Alan Cormack of the United States and Sir Godfrey Hounsfield may not be familiar names, but what they won the prize for in 1979 is a term known by most patients: computer-assisted tomography _ or CAT scan. The medicine prize was the second of the six Nobels to be announced this year. Last Thursday, the literature prize went to Portuguese novelist Jose Saramago. The physics and chemistry prizes will be announced Tuesday, the economics prize on Wednesday and the peace prize on Friday. All the announcements are in Stockholm, except for the peace prize which is given in Oslo, Norway. The prizes are presented on Dec. 10, the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, the industrialist and inventor of dynamite whose will established the prizes.",
"Robert F. Furchgott, Louis J. Ignarro and Ferid Murad of the United States on Monday won the Nobel Medicine Prize. They were given the prize for their discoveries concerning nitric oxide as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system, according to the citiation from the Karolinska lnstitute. Furchgott is a pharmacologist at the State University of New York in Brooklyn, Ignarro is at University of California-Los Angeles and Murad is at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston. The citation said ``it was a senation that the simple, common air pollutant (nitric oxide), which is formed when nitrogen burns ... could exert important functions in the organism. '' Because of the research, ``we know today that nitric oxide acts as a signal molecule in the nervous system, as a weapon against infections and as a regulator of blood pressure.'' The prize amount of 7.6 million kronor (dlrs 978,000) is divided equally among the three. Last year, the prize went to Stanley B. Prusiner of the University of California at San Francisco for his discovery of prions, the rogue proteins identified as causing Mad Cow Disease. Winners generally aren't known outside the medical community, although the list of laureates contains a few familiar names including Ivan Pavlov, tuberculosis pioneer Robert Koch, and DNA researchers Francis Crick and James Watson. Generally, they are researchers who have made discoveries that sound small on paper but carry large consequences. Among other well-known names to receive the prize is David Baltimore, although he shared the prize in 1975, long before becoming one of the world's most visible AIDS researchers. Alan Cormack of the United States and Sir Godfrey Hounsfield may not be familiar names, but what they won the prize for in 1979 is a term known by most patients: computer-assisted tomography _ or CAT scan. The medicine prize was the second of the six Nobels to be announced this year. Last Thursday, the literature prize went to Portuguese novelist Jose Saramago. The physics and chemistry prizes will be announced Tuesday, the economics prize on Wednesday and the peace prize on Friday. All the announcements are in Stockholm, except for the peace prize which is given in Oslo, Norway. The prizes are presented on Dec. 10, the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, the industrialist and inventor of dynamite whose will established the prizes.",
"Portuguese novelist Jose Saramago, whose capricious vision includes a section of Europe breaking off and floating out to sea, on Thursday was named the winner of the 1998 Nobel Literature Prize. In its citation, the Swedish Academy said it gave the award to Saramago for work that ``with parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony continually enables us to apprehend an elusory reality.'' Saramago, 75, wrote his breakthrough novel in 1982, ``Baltasar and Blimunda.'' Perhaps his best-known work is ``The Stone Raft,'' in which the Iberian Peninsula breaks off from Europe for supernatural reasons and floats off into the Atlantic. That device allows him to comment ironically ``about the authorities and politicians, perhaps especially about the major players in power politics.'' Saramago's exuberant imagination and playfulness have made him one of Portugal's most popular contemporary novelists, and his works have been translated into more than 20 languages. In ``Blindness,'' his most recent work to be translated into English, a nameless man in a nameless country suddenly goes blind, and the affliction quickly spreads through the country _ grim tale of social collapse. In 1991's ``The Gospel According to Jesus Christ,'' God and the devli negotiate about evil, and Jesus tries to back out of his crucifixion. ``Saramago's idiosyncratic development of his own resonant style of fiction gives him a high standing ... he invokes tradition in a way that in the current state of things can be described as radical,'' the Academy said in the citation for the 7.6-million kronor (dlrs 978,000 prize). Saramago (pronounced sah-rah-MAH-go) is the fourth consecutive European to win the prestigious prize, and the first laureate to write in Portuguese. He had long been seen as one of the strongest potential candidates for the prize and the frequent media queries about his prospects contrasted with his quiet personality. ``I am skeptical, reserved, I don't gush, I don't go around smiling, hugging people, trying to make friends,'' he told The Associated Press in a recent interview. ``I just write.'' Saramago on Thursday had planned to leave Frankfurt, Germany, _ where he was attending the international book fair _ for his home in the Canary Islands. But Portuguese state radio said he was taken off the plane before departure and driven back to the fair, where a crowd wa waiting for him. The literature prize is one of five established by Alfred Nobel, the Swedish industrialist and inventor of dynamite. The prizes have been awarded since 1901; a sixth prize, in economics, was started in 1969. According to the terms of Nobel's will, the literature prize is to recognize writing that works ``in an ideal direction.'' How to interpret that term has been widely debated. The Nobel Prize over the years has been given to writers with world-views stretching from the bleak futility of Samuel Beckett's works to the vivid epics of Iceland's Halldor Laxness. The prize even has gone occasionally to writers who did not work in fiction or poetry, notably Winston Churchill and Bertrand Russell. Last year's prize went to Dario Fo, the Italian playwright whose work combines gut-busting comedy with acid social and political commentary. The 1996 winner was the Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska, as shy and delicate and Fo is boisterous. The Swedish Academy does not reveal who was nominated or who it considered on its shortlist. Nominations can be made by previous laureates, professors of history and literature, members of the Academy and presidents of some national authors' organizations. The Nobel Prize in Medicine winner will be announced Oct. 12, the physics and chemistry winners on Oct. 13, the economics laureate on Oct. 14 and the peace prize on Occt. 16. All the prize announcements are in Stockholm, except for the peace prize which is given in Oslo, Norway. All the prizes are presented on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death.",
"Jose Saramago, a 75-year-old Portuguese writer who took up literature relatively late in life and whose richly imaginative novels soon won him a following of loyal readers across Europe and vocal admirers in the United States, was awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Literature Thursday by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm. A tall, balding man whose large, tinted glasses often give him a mien of severity, Saramago is the first Portuguese-language writer _ and one of the first card-carrying Communists _ to become a Nobel Literature laureate. He is also the fourth successive European to win the prize, after Italy's Dario Fo in 1997, Poland's Wislawa Szymborska in 1996 and Ireland's Seamus Heaney in 1995. In its citation Thursday, the Swedish Academy praised Saramago ``who with parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony continually enables us once again to apprehend an elusory reality.'' Although Saramago discounts the influence of Latin American ``magical realism'' on his work, his novels often use the supernatural, allegorical, paradoxical and irrational as ways of addressing complex questions of faith and existence. Many of his novels are set against a backdrop of political or historical events, but it is his unwavering concern for individual fate that gives his fiction its distinctive voice and independent character. His best-known books, all published in the United States, are ``Baltasar and Blimunda,'' ``The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis,'' ``The Stone Raft'' and ``The History of the Siege of Lisbon.'' His latest book available in English, ``Blindness,'' in which all but one of his characters mysteriously become blind, was described as his ``symphonic new novel'' by Andrew Miller in The New York Times Book Review on Sunday. ``There is no cynicism and there are no conclusions, just a clear-eyed and compassionate acknowledgment of things as they are, a quality than can only honestly be termed as wisdom,'' Miller, himself a novelist, wrote. ``We should be grateful when it is handed to us in such generous measures.'' Saramago learned of his award Thursday at Frankfurt airport, where he was preparing to fly home via Madrid to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands after attending the Frankfurt Book Fair. Earlier this week, he participated in a round-table of Portuguese writers on the topic, ``Why I am still a Communist.'' He immediately returned to the fair where he was received with cheers and bouquets of roses. ``I am personally very happy for myself,'' he said. ``I am also happy for my country.'' Later he told a news conference: ``The Portuguese language had to wait 100 years for this. There have to be ways and means of protecting the language so that it does not become a museum, but is something that is alive. The writer's role is to protect it and work with it.'' The award was also celebrated in Lisbon, where President Jorge Sampaio described it as ``recognition of Portuguese culture,'' while the local Communist leader, Carlos Carvalho, saw it as a credit to his own party. ``As a member of our party,'' he noted solemnly, ``Saramago makes a great contribution to our ideals and to the struggle for social change.'' The laureate's fiction, though, is never overtly political. Saramago, whose body of work includes poetry, essays, plays and a journal as well as 10 novels, is unusual for having emerged as a major literary figure only at the age of 60. His novels have since been translated into 30 languages, selling particularly well in Portugal, Brazil, Spain, Italy and Germany. While he has not been well known in the United States, his novels have always been critically well received there. For all his late blooming, though, Saramago long dreamed of becoming a writer. Born into a family of rural laborers and raised in Lisbon, he was forced by poverty to leave school while a teen-ager and learn the trade of car mechanic. Yet he managed to publish a small novel at the age of 25. Later, he found work at a Lisbon publishing company, but the oppressive and censorial atmosphere of the Salazar dictatorship discouraged him from writing. It was only after Portugal's April 1974 revolution that Saramago felt free to find his voice. A member of the Portuguese Communist Party since 1969, he served as editor of a Lisbon newspaper, Diario de Noticias, during an 18-month period when the left looked likely to seize power in Portugal. But an anti-Communist backlash in November 1975 forced him out of the newspaper and he began translating French texts into Portuguese to make ends meet. In the late 1970s, he also turned to novels, publishing three in succession in 1977, 1978 and 1980. But it was in 1982, with ``Baltasar and Blimunda'' (``Memorial do Convento'' in Portuguese), that he achieved his international breakthrough. ``This is a rich, multifaceted and polysemous text that at the same time has a historical, a social and an individual perspective,'' the Swedish Academy noted Thursday. ``The insight and wealth of imagination to which it gives expression is characteristic of Saramago's work as a whole.'' Set in 18th-century Portugal during the Inquisition, the book tells of the baroque efforts of a war veteran, Baltasar, and a visionary, Blimunda, to escape to the heavens aboard a flying machine powered by human wills captured by the hypersensory Blimunda. This fantastic story takes place against the very real background of the tortuous construction of the massive Mafra Convent by thousands of men held in the grip of the Inquisition. When the novel was published in the United States in 1987, Irving Howe acclaimed it as ``brilliant'' in The New York Times Book Review. ``Mr. Saramago is constantly present as a voice of European skepticism, a connoisseur of ironies,'' Howe wrote. ``I think I hear in his prose echoes of Enlightenment sensibility, caustic and shrewd.'' In his next novel, ``The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis,'' which is also a homage to the great Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa, who appears in it as a ghost, Saramago sets his story in the early years of the Salazar dictatorship, with the tale following the romantic and sexual misadventures of a poet-physician. Writing in The New York Times, Herbert Mitgang called it ``a rare, old-fashioned novel _ at once lyrical, symbolic and meditative.'' Saramago, whose sense of literary freedom is evident in his unconventional punctuation and conflicting use of tenses, sought a different form of freedom in ``The Stone Raft,'' where he imagines the confusion unleashed when the Iberian peninsula suddenly breaks free from the rest of Europe and begins drifting toward the New World and threatens to collide with the Azores. To the delight of Britons, Gibraltar is left behind. Unsurprisingly, the bitter satire, ``The Gospel According to Jesus Christ,'' proved controversial, with God shown as using the innocently human Jesus to create a religion that has spawned violence and intolerance. When a Lisbon jury picked the book as Portugal's entry for a 1992 European literary prize, the country's conservative government vetoed the choice as blasphemous. It was then that Saramago decided to leave his small, crowded apartment in Lisbon for the relative solitude of Lanzarote. ``The History of the Siege of Lisbon,'' published in the United States last year, is a whimsical tale set in motion by the decision of a humble proofreader at a publishing house to insert the word ``not'' into a key passage in a standard history of Portugal. With this ``lunatic creative act,'' as Edmund White put it in The New York Times Book Review, he ``totally derails the national saga'' by affirming that the crusaders did not in fact help liberate 12th-century Lisbon from Moorish occupation. White ended his July 1997 review with a prescient remark. ``Word has it that Saramago is overdue for a Nobel Prize,'' he noted. ``No candidate has a better claim to lasting recognition than this novelist.'' With the recent publication of ``Blindness'' in the United States, only Saramago's latest novel, ``Todos os Nomes,'' or ``All the Names'' still awaits translation into English. In the tradition of Andre Gide and Julian Green, though, he has now embarked on his journals. The fourth volume of these ``Cadernos de Lanzarote'' was just published in Lisbon. Saramago will receive his Nobel Prize, worth the equivalent of $967,500 this year, at a ceremony in Stockholm on Dec. 10.",
"A day after winning the Nobel Prize for literature, Portuguese novelist Jose Saramago insisted that while he was delighted to win the award, it could just as easily have gone to many other Portuguese writers. ``I'm not the only one who deserved it'', said the first Portuguese-language author to obtain the prestigious award. ``There have been other Portuguse authors, like Fernando Pessoa, whose work would justify 1,000 Nobels'' Speaking at a packed press coference in Madrid, Saramago joked about how he heard he had won the prize from German air hostess at Frankfurt airport as he waited for a flight home to Spain's Canary Islands. The news left the 75-year-old writer no choice but to leave the airport and return to the city's book fair to meet the press and public. ``At that moment I was over the moon and returning to the book fair the only thing I was worried about was that the whole thing was an error,'' said Saramago. Dismissing the Vatican paper's disapproval Thursday of his achievment, Saramago, a known atheist, quipped that he was aware that ``the Pope had been among the jury, I wouldn't have won the prize.'' ``The Vatican is easily upset'', said Saramago, ``I think that the Vatican should keep its mind on its prayers and leave people alone''. Meanwhile in Portugal, where Saramago is scheduled to arrive on Tuesday, the delight at the Swedish Academy's award for Saramago was reflected in the daily papers, with even the country's three daily sports papers ample space to the event. The two leading dailies, Publico and Diario de Noticias, gave over their entire front pages to Saramago. Lisbon City Hall rushed out posters saying ``Congratulations Jose Saramago'' which were hung up around the capital during the night. Saramago was born into a poor, illiterate family in Azinhaga, a small town near Lisbon. He never finished university but continued to study part-time while supporting himself as a metalworker. ``Nothing in my life would have led one to think I'd win the Nobel Prize'', said Saramago. ``I wasn't born to win the Nobel. I didn't have my own books until I was 18.'' His first novel, published in 1947 _ ``Terra do Pecado,'' or ``Country of Sin'' _ was a tale of peasants in moral crisis. For the next 18 years, Saramago, a communist who opposed the 41-year conservative dictatorship of Antonio Salazar, published only a few travel and poetry books while he worked as a journalist. He returned to fiction only after Salazar's regime was toppled by a military uprising in 1974. Since the 1980s, his works have been translated into more than 20 languages. Regarding the future, Saramago said the book he is currently working on will be called ``The Cavern'' and deals with a modern version of myth of Plato and the cave."
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After years of civil war, Congo in October 1998 was again in turmoil as rebel forces fought to overthrow the government of President Kabila. The rebels, ethnic Tutsis, disenchanted members of Kabila's army and his political opponents, were said to be supported by Rwandan and Ugandan forces while Kabila was backed by Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Sudan and Ugandan rebels. At first the rebels advanced to the outskirts of the capital, Kinshasa, but foreign troops pushed them back to the extreme eastern part of the country. The rebels then launched a counter offensive but by mid-October it was not clear who would prevail. Likely ADF rebels attack Chiondo, Uganda, killing 6 civilians. Soldiers repel attack, killing 2 rebels. Anti-Kabila rebels start a web-site and post their mission statement in a media campaign. Congo Tutsi rebels meet resistance as they enter Kindu and adjacent strategic government airbase. Thousands of rebels in place for battle. After 3 days, battle not going well for rebels. Rebels shoot down jet; say soldiers on board. Government claims Kindu refugees on board; unconfirmed. Rebels and Rwandan allies push through government defenses at Kindu. Fighting subsides after rebel artillery strikes. Population suffers from rebellions and tribal conflict. Rebel groups, mostly Tutsis, but backed by Rawandas and Ugandans are fighting the Congolese government of President Kabila, who is accused of corruption and sowing dissent among Congo's 400 tribes. The government controls the western part of the country but the rebels are gaining in the east. Heavy fighting has occurred near the village of Kindu, which has an airfield critical for supplying government troops. Rebels shot down an airliner near there, killing all 40 aboard, which they say were soldiers but the airline says were civilians. The rebels have promised reforms and a revitalization of the economy; however, the war has increased tribal animosity. Civil strife, tribal rivalry and rebellion has given Congolese rebels control of 40 percent of Congo. The rebels are ethnic Tutsis, disenchanted members of President Kabila's army and opposition politicians. They are accused of being puppets to Uganda and Rwanda. They launched an attack in Kindu, the strategic town and airbase in eastern Congo used by government to halt their advances. Rebels downed a jetliner carrying 40 people from Kindu but fighting has subsided. They have taken their two-month campaign to the Internet to tell their side of the story. Kabila, refusing to negotiate with them, is accused of mismanagement and causing tribal divisiveness.
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"After a day of fighting, Congolese rebels said Sunday they had entered Kindu, the strategic town and airbase in eastern Congo used by the government to halt their advances. Etienne Ngangura, a rebel spokesman, said the rebel fighters were inside Kindu and had taken the adjacent, large airbase, 380 kilometers (235 miles) west of Goma, the rebel stronghold. ``We're in the town and the airport,'' Ngangura said. He offered no details and the report could not be confirmed independently. Rebel military sources said the fighting continued inside Kindu where the rebels were apparently meeting stiff resistance. The rebels _ ethnic Tutsis, disenchanted members of President Laurent Kabila's army and opposition politicians _ took up arms Aug. 2 accusing Kabila of mismanagement, corruption and creating division among Congo's 400 tribes. The rebels have targeted Kindu since late August, when they were forced to retreat from the outskirts of the capital, Kinshasa, after troops from Angola and Zimbabwe came to Kabila's aid. Troops moving south from Kisangani, the largest city under rebel control, and moving west, had made steady gains against Kindu, which the government apparently used to build up force for a planned counter-offensive. Apart from Kindu, Ngangura said rebel fighters took Buta, 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Kisangani and on the main road in northern Congo that links Sudan and the Central African Republic. Also on Sunday, Ngangura said the rebels took Bumba, 400 kilometers (250 miles) northwest of Kisangani. These reports could not be confirmed independently either. Rebel leaders said a victory at Kindu would confirm rebel strength, boost fighters' morale and perhaps persuade others to join them. The rebels want direct negotiations with Kabila. But the president has so far refused, accusing the rebels of being puppets of Rwanda and Uganda, which Kabila has accused of orchestrating the rebellion. The conflict in Central Africa has drawn in most of Congo's nine neighbors, and regional diplomatic initiatives have so far failed to stop it.",
"The bloody bandages of injured rebels trucked back to this rear base Wednesday offered evidence that the three-day battle for the strategic air base at Kindu was not going well for those fighting to oust Congolese President Laurent Kabila. It was impossible to say who had the upper hand in the battle for Kindu and its air base, which government forces have been using to launch airstrikes on eastern towns and to assemble ground troops. Rebel commander Richard Mondo said shelling and ground attacks, which began Monday, continued on Wednesday. Mondo said he was expecting air shipments of munitions to bolster the rebel offensive. On Wednesday, a truck unloaded a dozen wounded rebel fighters at Kalima, a small town 80 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of Kindu, serving as a rear base for the attack. Sweaty and weary, some limping and others bandaged, they waited to be airlifted to a hospital in Goma, the rebel stronghold 380 kilometers (235 miles) east, on the Rwandan border. The rebels _ a coalition of ethnic Tutsis, disenchanted soldiers in Kabila's army and opposition politicians _ faced stiff resistance. In Kinshasa, the Ministry of Defense said Tuesday that the Congolese Armed Forces, known as the FAC, had killed 18 rebels in warding off the attacks. ``Kindu is effectively in the hands of the FAC, which has now launched an offensive after defending its positions,'' said a ministry statement broadcast on state-run television. ``The civilians there are cooperating fully with the FAC as their counterparts did previously in Kinshasa,'' the capital. Rebel leaders hope the capture of Kindu will boost morale and demonstrate can carry their two-month rebellion into the rest of Congo, Africa's third-largest nation. The rebel victory would also open routes to Katanga and Eastern Kasai provinces, rich in copper and diamonds. The rebels targeted Kindu since late August, when they were forced to retreat their march from extreme western Congo to the outskirts of Kinshasa after Angola and Zimbabwe sent troops to bail out Kabila. Rebel commanders say their 2,000 fighters face an estimated 5,000 government troops, apparently reinforced by Sudanese soldiers. Sudan denies involvement in Congo. The rebels accuse Kabila of betraying the eight-month rebellion that brought him to power in May 1997 through mismanagement and creating divisions among Congo's 400 tribes.",
"Back in the golden years, Kasuku wa Ngeyo had a farm and was the head of a 25,000-strong farmers organization in the northeastern breadbasket of this central African nation. A quarter of a century later, the 56-year-old businessman who also ran hotels and a tourist camp is broke; the farmers group is a memory. Inter-tribal rivalry, looting soldiers, Rwandan refugees and two rebellions in as many years have wiped out half a million head of cattle here, slashed coffee and tea exports in half and turned Congo's bucolic eastern region of green pastures, sparkling volcanic lakes and snow-capped mountains into a war zone. ``Nobody is making money any more. People are surviving on a sack of beans. They are tired of insecurity and have little hope things will get better,'' said Kasuku, the son of an Italian settler and a Rwandan Tutsi refugee mother. On Aug. 2, Tutsis, political opponents, and disenchanted members of President Laurent Kabila's army took up arms, accusing Kabila of corruption, nepotism and fostering tribal strife. The war has split Africa's third-largest nation between the government-held west and south and rebel-controlled east, and no political settlement is in sight. Goma, a small trading post at the head of Lake Kivu in eastern Congo, is no longer the starting point for tourists trekking to see mountain gorillas. Today, its decaying buildings, empty shops and crumbling guest houses are home to rebel leaders, soldiers and people displaced by violence. The rebels have promised to revitalize the economy by reducing taxes to boost investment. They also say they will pay civil servants _ who haven't seen a paycheck in months or years _ and invite investors to buy tea and coffee farms and gold and diamond-mining concessions. But the war has also increased tribal animosity _ especially toward ethnic Tutsis, a tiny but highly successful minority in the eastern region. In 1990, the liberating effect of early political freedoms revived unresolved land disputes and led to clashes between the Rwandan Tutsis and Hutus _ who had settled in eastern Congo since the 1930s. Mai-Mai warriors _ armed youths from the Hunde and Nande tribes who accuse Tutsis of stealing their land, also joined the fighting. In 1994, nearly 1 million Rwandan refugees engulfed Goma, a town of 30,000. Among them were former Hutu soldiers and militiamen who took part in a 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda in which more than half a million Tutsis were killed. They brought anti-Tutsi ideology with them and sold weapons to Congolese tribes, who then joined in the persecution of Tutsi landowners and ranchers. ``People misunderstood political freedoms for anarchy,'' said Safari Ngezayo, a farmer and hotel owner. ``We tried to mediate between Tutsis and Hutus and other tribes, but how can you talk to people who have blood on their hands and genocide in their heads?'' In late 1996, Congolese Tutsis backed by Rwanda attacked the refugee camps, dislodged the Hutu fighters and forced most of the refugees back home across the border. After an eight-month rebellion backed by Rwanda and Uganda, dictator Mobutu Sese Seko fled in May 1997, and Kabila took power. He quickly changed the name of the country to Congo, from Zaire. Few people in northeastern Congo expected another rebellion so soon. ``I blame our politicians. Then I blame the foreign powers who kept meddling in our affairs. It is they who supported Mobutu and Kabila, and we are paying the interest,'' Kasuku said.",
"Congolese rebels have taken their two-month campaign to oust President Laurent Kabila to the Internet. ``We have to explain to the world audience who we are and what we're fighting for,'' rebel leader Ernest Wamba dia Wamba said on Friday. ``Besides, the (Kabila) government has been using the Internet to tell their side of the story.'' The 56-year-old history professor at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania said supporters of the Congolese Rally for Democracy in the United States have created a web site for the rebellion. The site _ www.prairienet.org/panafrican/cdm _ has been set up on the donor-supported Prairenet Community Network in eastern Illinois. The rebels are a coalition of ethnic Tutsis, disenchanted members of Kabila's army and political opponents who accuse Kabila of power-grabbing, mismanagement, corruption and sowing dissent among Congo's 400 tribes. After an initial lightning advance in the far west of Africa's third-largest nation, the rebels were stopped at the outskirts of the capital, Kinshasa, by troops from Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia, who are backing Kabila. Since then, the rebels have been confined to a chunk of territory in the extreme eastern part of the country where their rebellion was declared Aug. 2. Wamba said the rebels control 40 percent of Congo, an area of 15 million people. So far, Kabila has refused to negotiate with the rebels, accusing them of being the puppets of neighboring Rwanda and Uganda. Posting the rebel mission statement on the Internet is just part of the media campaign. Last week, Wamba dispatched two of his top aides to the United States and Europe to lobby for political support and raise public awareness about the conflict in Congo. ``World leaders, diplomats and are not familiar enough with our cause. They still talk about Tutsis leading the rebellion. Well, I'm not a Tutsi,'' Wamba said. Jacques Depelchin, the movement's vice president and a former lecturer at the University of California at Berkeley, met in Washington earlier this week with the U.S. special envoy in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa, Howard Wolpe and with congressmen, Wamba said.",
"Rebels attacked a village in western Uganda and killed six civilians before soldiers drove them off, a military spokesman said Thursday. The attack occurred overnight Wednesday in the village of Chiondo near Kasese, 270 kilometers (170 miles) west of the capital Kampala, said the spokesman, who identified himself only as Lt. Majera. Majera said the attackers were believed to be rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces who operate from bases in the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains that straddle the Uganda-Congolese border. He said the rebels likely fled back to their bases after the attack. Majera said the attackers avoided a nearby army post when they shot up the village. It was the gunfire that alerted the soldiers, he said, adding that they killed two of the assailants. The various rebel groups operating in the region often attack with knives or machetes, either to save on ammunition or because they don't have guns. He had no further details. Under an agreement earlier this year with Congo, Uganda sent troops into the neighboring country to flush out the ADF fighters. President Yoweri Museveni insists they will remain there until Ugandan security is guaranteed, despite Congolese President Laurent Kabila's protests that Uganda is backing Congolese rebels attempting to topple him. The anti-Kabila rebels claim the Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army, which operates in northern Uganda and enjoys support from Sudan, is fighting alongside Kabila's forces together with Sudanese soldiers. The government-owned daily New Vision reported Thursday that LRA leader Joseph Kony was badly wounded last week and is in hospital in Juba, the largest town still under government control in southern Sudan. The Sudan People's Liberation Army, which is fighting the government in Khartoum for autonomy for southern Sudan, has waged pitched battles with government troops in the past week as it moves on Juba, spokesmen for both sides say. New Vision quoted Ugandan Minister of State for Security Muruli Mukasa as saying Kony's largest camp at al-Gabelain, 38 kilometers (24 miles) south of Juba, was destroyed last week when the SPLA took control. Muruli said the LRA had been planning to bomb several sites in the Ugandan capital, including the Parliament building, state-run Radio Uganda, unidentified embassies and other public sites, the newspaper said.",
"A day after shooting down a jetliner, Congolese rebels and their Rwandan allies pushed Sunday through government defense lines, showing the confidence of a victor in a week-old battle for a strategic air base. Fighting in Kindu, 32 kilometers (20 miles) northeast of the Elila River bridge, died down after the rebels fired a barrage of artillery into the government-held quarters and the air base, four kilometers (two miles) away. Rebel commander Fino Kabangu Kalunga said the government forces, surrounded by 3,500 rebel troops from three directions, failed to respond to Sunday's attacks. Some troops reportedly retreated through a single road corridor leading out of the town. On Saturday, the rebels said they shot down a Congolese Boeing 727 which was attempting to land at Kindu air base with 40 troops and ammunition. In Kinshasa, the private Congolese Airlines, which owned the aircraft, said the victims were civilians fleeing fighting in Kindu. It was not possible to confirm independently either claim. Kalunga said the airport, although still under government control, was in effect unoperational because of the rebel surface-to-air-missiles deployed nearby. War-weary, physically exhausted and sweaty, hundreds of rebel troops and Rwandan soldiers marched through dense tropical forest went to reinforce their comrades at Kindu. After a week of battling for Kindu, rebel fighters had made little progress and failed to capture the town outright. The rebels see Kindu as a major prize in their two-month revolt against President Laurent Kabila, whom they accuse of mismanagement, corruption and warmongering among Congo's 400 tribes. Kabila has turned Kindu into a launching pad for a counteroffensive against rebel positions in eastern Congo. The conflict has drawn in many of Congo's neighbors. There are unconfirmed reports that troops from Chad and the Sudan are involved in defending Kindu. Kabila accuses Rwanda and Uganda _ former allies who installed him in power in May 1997 after an eight-month rebellion _ of sponsoring the new fighting. Both countries say they have legitimate security interests in eastern Congo and accuse Kabila of failing to rid the common border area of Rwandan and Ugandan rebels. Tanks, aircraft and troops from Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia are supporting Kabila. The assistance was essential in routing an early rebel offensive in the west that had reached the outskirts of Kinshasa in mid-August. The rebels say they now control one-third of Kindu and are poised to overrun the rest of the town. Under a scorching sun, the column of rebel reinforcements heading to Kindu sneaked through abandoned roadside hamlets. The silence of their march was interrupted only by the singing of crickets and the clanging of the bullet belts hanging around the soldiers' necks. Soldiers walked by empty huts made of mud and palm leaves. Some rested in the shade of the umbrella-shaped acacia trees. The soldiers stopped for the night at the bridge over the chocolate-colored Elila River, which guards the path to Kindu. There was no immediate comment on the latest developments from the government in Kinshasa, which claimed earlier in the week it was in control of the tarmac bridge.",
"Rebels in eastern Congo on Saturday said they shot down a passenger jet ferrying 40 government soldiers into a strategic airport facing a rebel assault. A Congo Airlines executive said the victims were civilians being evacuated from Kindu, about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) east of the capital, Kinshasa. Neither claim could be confirmed independently. Stavros Papaioannou, the president of the airline's management committee, said a missile hit the rear engine of the Boeing jet after the aircraft took off from Kindu airport. A rebel military commander, who requested anonymity, said the plane was carrying troops, although he did not explain how he knew this. He said the plane was shot down while approaching Kindu air base, where the rebels had deployed at least two surface-to-air missiles and more than 3,500 troops in preparation for a final assault on the government-held town. Alexis Tambwe Mwamba, one of rebel leaders, said from the rebel stronghold at Goma, 380 kilometers (235 miles) northeast of Kalima, that fighters had intercepted government radio messages in Kindu and knew in advance of the arrival of the aircraft. He said the government had been using the Boeing 727 to fly in troops and ammunition in Kindu for several days. Papaioannou, citing, 6th graf pvs",
"Congolese rebels have taken their two-month campaign to oust President Laurent Kabila to the Internet. ``We have to explain to the world audience who we are and what we're fighting for,'' rebel leader Ernest Wamba dia Wamba said on Friday. ``Besides, the (Kabila) government has been using the Internet to tell their side of the story.'' The 56-year-old history professor at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania said supporters of the Congolese Rally for Democracy in the United States have created a web site for the rebellion. The site _ www.prairienet.org/panafrican/cdm _ has been set up on the donor-supported Prairenet Community Network in eastern Illinois. The rebels are a coalition of ethnic Tutsis, disenchanted members of Kabila's army and political opponents who accuse Kabila of power-grabbing, mismanagement, corruption and sowing dissent among Congo's 400 tribes. After an initial lightning advance in the far west of Africa's third-largest nation, the rebels were stopped at the outskirts of the capital, Kinshasa, by troops from Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia, who are backing Kabila. Since then, the rebels have been confined to a chunk of territory in the extreme eastern part of the country where their rebellion was declared Aug. 2. Wamba said the rebels control 40 percent of Congo, an area of 15 million people. So far, Kabila has refused to negotiate with the rebels, accusing them of being the puppets of neighboring Rwanda and Uganda. Posting the rebel mission statement on the Internet is just part of the media campaign. Last week, Wamba dispatched two of his top aides to the United States and Europe to lobby for political support and raise public awareness about the conflict in Congo. ``World leaders, diplomats and are not familiar enough with our cause. They still talk about Tutsis leading the rebellion. Well, I'm not a Tutsi,'' Wamba said. Jacques Depelchin, the movement's vice president and a former lecturer at the University of California at Berkeley, met in Washington earlier this week with the U.S. special envoy in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa, Howard Wolpe and with congressmen, Wamba said.",
"A day after shooting down a jetliner carrying 40 people, rebels clashed with government troops near a strategic airstrip in eastern Congo on Sunday. Fighting for the town of Kindu in this vast West African nation subsided after rebels launched an artillery barrage into government-held buildings and the airfield, two miles (three kilometers) away. On Saturday, the rebels shot down a Congolese Boeing 727 over the Kindu airport. Rescue workers said there were no survivors from the downed plane, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported Sunday. Rebels said the airplane was carrying 40 troops and ammunition. In the capital, Kinshasa, the private Congolese Airlines, which owned the aircraft, said the victims were civilians fleeing fighting in Kindu. It was not possible to confirm either claim independently. Rebel commander Fino Kabangu Kalunga said surface-to-air missiles in the arsenal of his Congolese Democratic Coalition had prevented the government from landing aircraft at the airport. Kabangu Kalunga said 3,500 rebel troops and their Rwandan allies had closed in on government forces from three directions after a week of fighting. He said government troops did not launch a counterattack to Sunday's barrage, and some reportedly retreated on the one road leading out of town. The rebels say they now control one-third of Kindu, which the government has used as a staging area for a counteroffensive against rebel positions in the east. Rebels, who began their insurgency more than two months ago, accuse President Laurent Kabila of corruption, failing to carry out promised democratic reforms, and stirring up hatred among Congo's 400 tribes. Early in the conflict, rebels pushed far into the west, to the outskirts of Congo's capital. Then Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia intervened to help Kabila and drove the rebels back to their bases in eastern Congo. The conflict has drawn in many of Congo's neighbors. There are unconfirmed reports that troops from Chad and the Sudan are involved in defending Kindu. Kabila accuses Rwanda and Uganda _ former allies who installed him in power in May 1997 after an eight-month rebellion _ of sponsoring the rebels. Both countries say they have legitimate security interests in eastern Congo and accuse Kabila of failing to rid the common border area of Rwandan and Ugandan rebels.",
"Rebel commanders said Tuesday they were poised to overrun an important government-held air base in eastern Congo _ a battle that could determine the future of the two-month Congolese war. After trekking several hundred kilometers (miles) through dense tropical forest, thousands of rebel fighters have gathered 19 kilometers (11 miles) outside Kindu, where troops loyal to President Laurent Kabila have used an air base as a launching pad for offensives. If the rebels succeed in capturing Kindu, 380 kilometers (235 miles) west of Goma, the rebel headquarters, this will remove the last government stronghold in eastern Congo and pave the way for rebel advance into the mineral-rich southwest. A rebel defeat, on the other hand, would put the coalition of ethnic Tutsis, disenchanted members of the Congolese army and opposition politicians on the defensive and give a boost to Kabila's efforts to fend off the rebellion launched Aug. 2. Rebel commander Richard Mondo said troops had fired artillery rounds into Kindu Monday and early Tuesday, sending the population fleeing out of town. Advance units had crossed the Lualaba River from the north and were meeting stiff resistance in the town, he said. Since the assault on the town began at 3 a.m. (0100 GMT), at least 18 enemy soldiers were killed and 40 taken prisoner, Mondo said, adding the number was expected to rise. The rebels took casualties, too, but the number was not known. One rebel soldier was wounded in the stomach, he said. He said the large Kindu air base, 4 kilometers (2 miles) outside town, was deserted and no one appeared to be in control. ``Our soldiers are in the town and the fighting is continuing,'' rebel battalion commander Arthur Mulunda said in Kalima, 80 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of Kindu. There was no independent confirmation of the rebel claims. On Sunday, a spokesman in Goma boasted that Kindu was already under rebel control. In Kinshasa, government spokesman Didier Mumengi said Monday the Congolese army was firmly in control of Kindu. Mulunda's 1,500-strong battalion walked 240 kilometers (150 miles) Bukavu at the southern end of Lake Kivu to Kalima, which fell to the rebels Saturday with little resistance. The rebel fighters, clad in brand-new Rwandan-made dark green uniforms, rubber rain boots and toting Kalashnikov assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, said they were advancing slowly through the lush forest of palm trees and razor-sharp tall grass. ``We've been resting a lot. It took us two weeks to get here,'' Mondo said. The rebels are now using Kalima, a town with one main street, scattered houses and mud-and-brick huts, to supply troops with rice, cooking oil, drinking water and ammunition. A small, grass airstrip 8 kilometers (5 miles) away from Kalima is just barely long enough for the rebels' Russian-built Antonov AN-72 transport aircraft. The rebels have targeted Kindu since late August, when they were forced to retreat from the outskirts of Kinshasa after Angola and Zimbabwe sent troops to bail out Kabila. Rebels still control a string of towns in eastern Congo, including Kisangani, the country's third-largest city."
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"After a day of fighting, Congolese rebels said Sunday they had entered Kindu, the strategic town and airbase in eastern Congo used by the government to halt their advances. Etienne Ngangura, a rebel spokesman, said the rebel fighters were inside Kindu and had taken the adjacent, large airbase, 380 kilometers (235 miles) west of Goma, the rebel stronghold. ``We're in the town and the airport,'' Ngangura said. He offered no details and the report could not be confirmed independently. Rebel military sources said the fighting continued inside Kindu where the rebels were apparently meeting stiff resistance. The rebels _ ethnic Tutsis, disenchanted members of President Laurent Kabila's army and opposition politicians _ took up arms Aug. 2 accusing Kabila of mismanagement, corruption and creating division among Congo's 400 tribes. The rebels have targeted Kindu since late August, when they were forced to retreat from the outskirts of the capital, Kinshasa, after troops from Angola and Zimbabwe came to Kabila's aid. Troops moving south from Kisangani, the largest city under rebel control, and moving west, had made steady gains against Kindu, which the government apparently used to build up force for a planned counter-offensive. Apart from Kindu, Ngangura said rebel fighters took Buta, 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Kisangani and on the main road in northern Congo that links Sudan and the Central African Republic. Also on Sunday, Ngangura said the rebels took Bumba, 400 kilometers (250 miles) northwest of Kisangani. These reports could not be confirmed independently either. Rebel leaders said a victory at Kindu would confirm rebel strength, boost fighters' morale and perhaps persuade others to join them. The rebels want direct negotiations with Kabila. But the president has so far refused, accusing the rebels of being puppets of Rwanda and Uganda, which Kabila has accused of orchestrating the rebellion. The conflict in Central Africa has drawn in most of Congo's nine neighbors, and regional diplomatic initiatives have so far failed to stop it.",
"The bloody bandages of injured rebels trucked back to this rear base Wednesday offered evidence that the three-day battle for the strategic air base at Kindu was not going well for those fighting to oust Congolese President Laurent Kabila. It was impossible to say who had the upper hand in the battle for Kindu and its air base, which government forces have been using to launch airstrikes on eastern towns and to assemble ground troops. Rebel commander Richard Mondo said shelling and ground attacks, which began Monday, continued on Wednesday. Mondo said he was expecting air shipments of munitions to bolster the rebel offensive. On Wednesday, a truck unloaded a dozen wounded rebel fighters at Kalima, a small town 80 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of Kindu, serving as a rear base for the attack. Sweaty and weary, some limping and others bandaged, they waited to be airlifted to a hospital in Goma, the rebel stronghold 380 kilometers (235 miles) east, on the Rwandan border. The rebels _ a coalition of ethnic Tutsis, disenchanted soldiers in Kabila's army and opposition politicians _ faced stiff resistance. In Kinshasa, the Ministry of Defense said Tuesday that the Congolese Armed Forces, known as the FAC, had killed 18 rebels in warding off the attacks. ``Kindu is effectively in the hands of the FAC, which has now launched an offensive after defending its positions,'' said a ministry statement broadcast on state-run television. ``The civilians there are cooperating fully with the FAC as their counterparts did previously in Kinshasa,'' the capital. Rebel leaders hope the capture of Kindu will boost morale and demonstrate can carry their two-month rebellion into the rest of Congo, Africa's third-largest nation. The rebel victory would also open routes to Katanga and Eastern Kasai provinces, rich in copper and diamonds. The rebels targeted Kindu since late August, when they were forced to retreat their march from extreme western Congo to the outskirts of Kinshasa after Angola and Zimbabwe sent troops to bail out Kabila. Rebel commanders say their 2,000 fighters face an estimated 5,000 government troops, apparently reinforced by Sudanese soldiers. Sudan denies involvement in Congo. The rebels accuse Kabila of betraying the eight-month rebellion that brought him to power in May 1997 through mismanagement and creating divisions among Congo's 400 tribes.",
"Back in the golden years, Kasuku wa Ngeyo had a farm and was the head of a 25,000-strong farmers organization in the northeastern breadbasket of this central African nation. A quarter of a century later, the 56-year-old businessman who also ran hotels and a tourist camp is broke; the farmers group is a memory. Inter-tribal rivalry, looting soldiers, Rwandan refugees and two rebellions in as many years have wiped out half a million head of cattle here, slashed coffee and tea exports in half and turned Congo's bucolic eastern region of green pastures, sparkling volcanic lakes and snow-capped mountains into a war zone. ``Nobody is making money any more. People are surviving on a sack of beans. They are tired of insecurity and have little hope things will get better,'' said Kasuku, the son of an Italian settler and a Rwandan Tutsi refugee mother. On Aug. 2, Tutsis, political opponents, and disenchanted members of President Laurent Kabila's army took up arms, accusing Kabila of corruption, nepotism and fostering tribal strife. The war has split Africa's third-largest nation between the government-held west and south and rebel-controlled east, and no political settlement is in sight. Goma, a small trading post at the head of Lake Kivu in eastern Congo, is no longer the starting point for tourists trekking to see mountain gorillas. Today, its decaying buildings, empty shops and crumbling guest houses are home to rebel leaders, soldiers and people displaced by violence. The rebels have promised to revitalize the economy by reducing taxes to boost investment. They also say they will pay civil servants _ who haven't seen a paycheck in months or years _ and invite investors to buy tea and coffee farms and gold and diamond-mining concessions. But the war has also increased tribal animosity _ especially toward ethnic Tutsis, a tiny but highly successful minority in the eastern region. In 1990, the liberating effect of early political freedoms revived unresolved land disputes and led to clashes between the Rwandan Tutsis and Hutus _ who had settled in eastern Congo since the 1930s. Mai-Mai warriors _ armed youths from the Hunde and Nande tribes who accuse Tutsis of stealing their land, also joined the fighting. In 1994, nearly 1 million Rwandan refugees engulfed Goma, a town of 30,000. Among them were former Hutu soldiers and militiamen who took part in a 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda in which more than half a million Tutsis were killed. They brought anti-Tutsi ideology with them and sold weapons to Congolese tribes, who then joined in the persecution of Tutsi landowners and ranchers. ``People misunderstood political freedoms for anarchy,'' said Safari Ngezayo, a farmer and hotel owner. ``We tried to mediate between Tutsis and Hutus and other tribes, but how can you talk to people who have blood on their hands and genocide in their heads?'' In late 1996, Congolese Tutsis backed by Rwanda attacked the refugee camps, dislodged the Hutu fighters and forced most of the refugees back home across the border. After an eight-month rebellion backed by Rwanda and Uganda, dictator Mobutu Sese Seko fled in May 1997, and Kabila took power. He quickly changed the name of the country to Congo, from Zaire. Few people in northeastern Congo expected another rebellion so soon. ``I blame our politicians. Then I blame the foreign powers who kept meddling in our affairs. It is they who supported Mobutu and Kabila, and we are paying the interest,'' Kasuku said.",
"Congolese rebels have taken their two-month campaign to oust President Laurent Kabila to the Internet. ``We have to explain to the world audience who we are and what we're fighting for,'' rebel leader Ernest Wamba dia Wamba said on Friday. ``Besides, the (Kabila) government has been using the Internet to tell their side of the story.'' The 56-year-old history professor at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania said supporters of the Congolese Rally for Democracy in the United States have created a web site for the rebellion. The site _ www.prairienet.org/panafrican/cdm _ has been set up on the donor-supported Prairenet Community Network in eastern Illinois. The rebels are a coalition of ethnic Tutsis, disenchanted members of Kabila's army and political opponents who accuse Kabila of power-grabbing, mismanagement, corruption and sowing dissent among Congo's 400 tribes. After an initial lightning advance in the far west of Africa's third-largest nation, the rebels were stopped at the outskirts of the capital, Kinshasa, by troops from Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia, who are backing Kabila. Since then, the rebels have been confined to a chunk of territory in the extreme eastern part of the country where their rebellion was declared Aug. 2. Wamba said the rebels control 40 percent of Congo, an area of 15 million people. So far, Kabila has refused to negotiate with the rebels, accusing them of being the puppets of neighboring Rwanda and Uganda. Posting the rebel mission statement on the Internet is just part of the media campaign. Last week, Wamba dispatched two of his top aides to the United States and Europe to lobby for political support and raise public awareness about the conflict in Congo. ``World leaders, diplomats and are not familiar enough with our cause. They still talk about Tutsis leading the rebellion. Well, I'm not a Tutsi,'' Wamba said. Jacques Depelchin, the movement's vice president and a former lecturer at the University of California at Berkeley, met in Washington earlier this week with the U.S. special envoy in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa, Howard Wolpe and with congressmen, Wamba said.",
"Rebels attacked a village in western Uganda and killed six civilians before soldiers drove them off, a military spokesman said Thursday. The attack occurred overnight Wednesday in the village of Chiondo near Kasese, 270 kilometers (170 miles) west of the capital Kampala, said the spokesman, who identified himself only as Lt. Majera. Majera said the attackers were believed to be rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces who operate from bases in the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains that straddle the Uganda-Congolese border. He said the rebels likely fled back to their bases after the attack. Majera said the attackers avoided a nearby army post when they shot up the village. It was the gunfire that alerted the soldiers, he said, adding that they killed two of the assailants. The various rebel groups operating in the region often attack with knives or machetes, either to save on ammunition or because they don't have guns. He had no further details. Under an agreement earlier this year with Congo, Uganda sent troops into the neighboring country to flush out the ADF fighters. President Yoweri Museveni insists they will remain there until Ugandan security is guaranteed, despite Congolese President Laurent Kabila's protests that Uganda is backing Congolese rebels attempting to topple him. The anti-Kabila rebels claim the Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army, which operates in northern Uganda and enjoys support from Sudan, is fighting alongside Kabila's forces together with Sudanese soldiers. The government-owned daily New Vision reported Thursday that LRA leader Joseph Kony was badly wounded last week and is in hospital in Juba, the largest town still under government control in southern Sudan. The Sudan People's Liberation Army, which is fighting the government in Khartoum for autonomy for southern Sudan, has waged pitched battles with government troops in the past week as it moves on Juba, spokesmen for both sides say. New Vision quoted Ugandan Minister of State for Security Muruli Mukasa as saying Kony's largest camp at al-Gabelain, 38 kilometers (24 miles) south of Juba, was destroyed last week when the SPLA took control. Muruli said the LRA had been planning to bomb several sites in the Ugandan capital, including the Parliament building, state-run Radio Uganda, unidentified embassies and other public sites, the newspaper said.",
"A day after shooting down a jetliner, Congolese rebels and their Rwandan allies pushed Sunday through government defense lines, showing the confidence of a victor in a week-old battle for a strategic air base. Fighting in Kindu, 32 kilometers (20 miles) northeast of the Elila River bridge, died down after the rebels fired a barrage of artillery into the government-held quarters and the air base, four kilometers (two miles) away. Rebel commander Fino Kabangu Kalunga said the government forces, surrounded by 3,500 rebel troops from three directions, failed to respond to Sunday's attacks. Some troops reportedly retreated through a single road corridor leading out of the town. On Saturday, the rebels said they shot down a Congolese Boeing 727 which was attempting to land at Kindu air base with 40 troops and ammunition. In Kinshasa, the private Congolese Airlines, which owned the aircraft, said the victims were civilians fleeing fighting in Kindu. It was not possible to confirm independently either claim. Kalunga said the airport, although still under government control, was in effect unoperational because of the rebel surface-to-air-missiles deployed nearby. War-weary, physically exhausted and sweaty, hundreds of rebel troops and Rwandan soldiers marched through dense tropical forest went to reinforce their comrades at Kindu. After a week of battling for Kindu, rebel fighters had made little progress and failed to capture the town outright. The rebels see Kindu as a major prize in their two-month revolt against President Laurent Kabila, whom they accuse of mismanagement, corruption and warmongering among Congo's 400 tribes. Kabila has turned Kindu into a launching pad for a counteroffensive against rebel positions in eastern Congo. The conflict has drawn in many of Congo's neighbors. There are unconfirmed reports that troops from Chad and the Sudan are involved in defending Kindu. Kabila accuses Rwanda and Uganda _ former allies who installed him in power in May 1997 after an eight-month rebellion _ of sponsoring the new fighting. Both countries say they have legitimate security interests in eastern Congo and accuse Kabila of failing to rid the common border area of Rwandan and Ugandan rebels. Tanks, aircraft and troops from Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia are supporting Kabila. The assistance was essential in routing an early rebel offensive in the west that had reached the outskirts of Kinshasa in mid-August. The rebels say they now control one-third of Kindu and are poised to overrun the rest of the town. Under a scorching sun, the column of rebel reinforcements heading to Kindu sneaked through abandoned roadside hamlets. The silence of their march was interrupted only by the singing of crickets and the clanging of the bullet belts hanging around the soldiers' necks. Soldiers walked by empty huts made of mud and palm leaves. Some rested in the shade of the umbrella-shaped acacia trees. The soldiers stopped for the night at the bridge over the chocolate-colored Elila River, which guards the path to Kindu. There was no immediate comment on the latest developments from the government in Kinshasa, which claimed earlier in the week it was in control of the tarmac bridge.",
"Rebels in eastern Congo on Saturday said they shot down a passenger jet ferrying 40 government soldiers into a strategic airport facing a rebel assault. A Congo Airlines executive said the victims were civilians being evacuated from Kindu, about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) east of the capital, Kinshasa. Neither claim could be confirmed independently. Stavros Papaioannou, the president of the airline's management committee, said a missile hit the rear engine of the Boeing jet after the aircraft took off from Kindu airport. A rebel military commander, who requested anonymity, said the plane was carrying troops, although he did not explain how he knew this. He said the plane was shot down while approaching Kindu air base, where the rebels had deployed at least two surface-to-air missiles and more than 3,500 troops in preparation for a final assault on the government-held town. Alexis Tambwe Mwamba, one of rebel leaders, said from the rebel stronghold at Goma, 380 kilometers (235 miles) northeast of Kalima, that fighters had intercepted government radio messages in Kindu and knew in advance of the arrival of the aircraft. He said the government had been using the Boeing 727 to fly in troops and ammunition in Kindu for several days. Papaioannou, citing, 6th graf pvs",
"Congolese rebels have taken their two-month campaign to oust President Laurent Kabila to the Internet. ``We have to explain to the world audience who we are and what we're fighting for,'' rebel leader Ernest Wamba dia Wamba said on Friday. ``Besides, the (Kabila) government has been using the Internet to tell their side of the story.'' The 56-year-old history professor at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania said supporters of the Congolese Rally for Democracy in the United States have created a web site for the rebellion. The site _ www.prairienet.org/panafrican/cdm _ has been set up on the donor-supported Prairenet Community Network in eastern Illinois. The rebels are a coalition of ethnic Tutsis, disenchanted members of Kabila's army and political opponents who accuse Kabila of power-grabbing, mismanagement, corruption and sowing dissent among Congo's 400 tribes. After an initial lightning advance in the far west of Africa's third-largest nation, the rebels were stopped at the outskirts of the capital, Kinshasa, by troops from Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia, who are backing Kabila. Since then, the rebels have been confined to a chunk of territory in the extreme eastern part of the country where their rebellion was declared Aug. 2. Wamba said the rebels control 40 percent of Congo, an area of 15 million people. So far, Kabila has refused to negotiate with the rebels, accusing them of being the puppets of neighboring Rwanda and Uganda. Posting the rebel mission statement on the Internet is just part of the media campaign. Last week, Wamba dispatched two of his top aides to the United States and Europe to lobby for political support and raise public awareness about the conflict in Congo. ``World leaders, diplomats and are not familiar enough with our cause. They still talk about Tutsis leading the rebellion. Well, I'm not a Tutsi,'' Wamba said. Jacques Depelchin, the movement's vice president and a former lecturer at the University of California at Berkeley, met in Washington earlier this week with the U.S. special envoy in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa, Howard Wolpe and with congressmen, Wamba said.",
"A day after shooting down a jetliner carrying 40 people, rebels clashed with government troops near a strategic airstrip in eastern Congo on Sunday. Fighting for the town of Kindu in this vast West African nation subsided after rebels launched an artillery barrage into government-held buildings and the airfield, two miles (three kilometers) away. On Saturday, the rebels shot down a Congolese Boeing 727 over the Kindu airport. Rescue workers said there were no survivors from the downed plane, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported Sunday. Rebels said the airplane was carrying 40 troops and ammunition. In the capital, Kinshasa, the private Congolese Airlines, which owned the aircraft, said the victims were civilians fleeing fighting in Kindu. It was not possible to confirm either claim independently. Rebel commander Fino Kabangu Kalunga said surface-to-air missiles in the arsenal of his Congolese Democratic Coalition had prevented the government from landing aircraft at the airport. Kabangu Kalunga said 3,500 rebel troops and their Rwandan allies had closed in on government forces from three directions after a week of fighting. He said government troops did not launch a counterattack to Sunday's barrage, and some reportedly retreated on the one road leading out of town. The rebels say they now control one-third of Kindu, which the government has used as a staging area for a counteroffensive against rebel positions in the east. Rebels, who began their insurgency more than two months ago, accuse President Laurent Kabila of corruption, failing to carry out promised democratic reforms, and stirring up hatred among Congo's 400 tribes. Early in the conflict, rebels pushed far into the west, to the outskirts of Congo's capital. Then Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia intervened to help Kabila and drove the rebels back to their bases in eastern Congo. The conflict has drawn in many of Congo's neighbors. There are unconfirmed reports that troops from Chad and the Sudan are involved in defending Kindu. Kabila accuses Rwanda and Uganda _ former allies who installed him in power in May 1997 after an eight-month rebellion _ of sponsoring the rebels. Both countries say they have legitimate security interests in eastern Congo and accuse Kabila of failing to rid the common border area of Rwandan and Ugandan rebels.",
"Rebel commanders said Tuesday they were poised to overrun an important government-held air base in eastern Congo _ a battle that could determine the future of the two-month Congolese war. After trekking several hundred kilometers (miles) through dense tropical forest, thousands of rebel fighters have gathered 19 kilometers (11 miles) outside Kindu, where troops loyal to President Laurent Kabila have used an air base as a launching pad for offensives. If the rebels succeed in capturing Kindu, 380 kilometers (235 miles) west of Goma, the rebel headquarters, this will remove the last government stronghold in eastern Congo and pave the way for rebel advance into the mineral-rich southwest. A rebel defeat, on the other hand, would put the coalition of ethnic Tutsis, disenchanted members of the Congolese army and opposition politicians on the defensive and give a boost to Kabila's efforts to fend off the rebellion launched Aug. 2. Rebel commander Richard Mondo said troops had fired artillery rounds into Kindu Monday and early Tuesday, sending the population fleeing out of town. Advance units had crossed the Lualaba River from the north and were meeting stiff resistance in the town, he said. Since the assault on the town began at 3 a.m. (0100 GMT), at least 18 enemy soldiers were killed and 40 taken prisoner, Mondo said, adding the number was expected to rise. The rebels took casualties, too, but the number was not known. One rebel soldier was wounded in the stomach, he said. He said the large Kindu air base, 4 kilometers (2 miles) outside town, was deserted and no one appeared to be in control. ``Our soldiers are in the town and the fighting is continuing,'' rebel battalion commander Arthur Mulunda said in Kalima, 80 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of Kindu. There was no independent confirmation of the rebel claims. On Sunday, a spokesman in Goma boasted that Kindu was already under rebel control. In Kinshasa, government spokesman Didier Mumengi said Monday the Congolese army was firmly in control of Kindu. Mulunda's 1,500-strong battalion walked 240 kilometers (150 miles) Bukavu at the southern end of Lake Kivu to Kalima, which fell to the rebels Saturday with little resistance. The rebel fighters, clad in brand-new Rwandan-made dark green uniforms, rubber rain boots and toting Kalashnikov assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, said they were advancing slowly through the lush forest of palm trees and razor-sharp tall grass. ``We've been resting a lot. It took us two weeks to get here,'' Mondo said. The rebels are now using Kalima, a town with one main street, scattered houses and mud-and-brick huts, to supply troops with rice, cooking oil, drinking water and ammunition. A small, grass airstrip 8 kilometers (5 miles) away from Kalima is just barely long enough for the rebels' Russian-built Antonov AN-72 transport aircraft. The rebels have targeted Kindu since late August, when they were forced to retreat from the outskirts of Kinshasa after Angola and Zimbabwe sent troops to bail out Kabila. Rebels still control a string of towns in eastern Congo, including Kisangani, the country's third-largest city."
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The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was established to look into the human rights violations committed during the long struggle against white rule, released its final report. In what has been described as one of the most complete reports of its kind, the commission blames most of the atrocities on the former South African government. The ANC also came under fire for committing some atrocities during the struggle. Nelson Mandella's ex-wife, Winnie could be prosecuted for the part she played in such violations. Missing from the report was De Klerk, who threatened to sue if he was mentioned in connection with the atrocities. South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission headed by Desmond Tutu proposes amnesty to heal the wounds of the apartheid era. If those accused of atrocities confess, they will be given amnesty, if not, they will be prosecuted. The Commission's report said most human rights violations were by the former state through security and law enforcement agencies. The African National Congress, Inkatha Freedom Party, and Winnie Mandela's United Football Club also shared guilt. Former president de Klerk, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela, was not named as an accessory after the fact, since his threatened lawsuit would delay the report. South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, appointed to reconcile the sides involved in the crimes of the apartheid era, is releasing its final 2.5- year report. Its purpose is to identify those who committed gross violations of human rights. The report is to lay most of the blame for the violations on the State, but the ANC also shares blame. The program offers amnesty to the accused if they confess but execution if they refuse. The process has angered many people of all walks of life. De Klerk, Apartheid's last president, is not being implicated but he is suing to stop publication. Criminal cases are nonetheless expected to go on for six years. South Africa Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 3,500-page report on apartheid-era atrocities was issued on Oct 30. This report was intended to clear the air, grant amnesty to those who confessed, and begin the healing process. Those named for prosecution were warned before the release. Ex-prime minister de Klerk's name was removed. The ruling African National Congress remained. While the white government bore the brunt of the blame, several black movements were included. After the release many talked of a new amnesty period or a limited time to prosecute. Prosecutions could take 6 years; diverting judges, threatening elections, and slowing recovery.
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"A panel investigating apartheid-era atrocities said Wednesday it will not implicate the last apartheid president, F.W. de Klerk, in human rights abuses after he threatened a court challenge. De Klerk said he would sue to block the long-awaited final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was due for release Thursday. The man who helped negotiate the end of apartheid objected to a finding by the commission that he was ``an accessory after the fact'' to bombings in the 1980s of the headquarters of a church group and of a labor federation. Former Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the truth panel's chairman, said the commission needed time to prepare to fight the legal challenge, and would ``excise'' de Klerk's name from the report to avoid delaying its release. ``It upsets me deeply,'' Tutu said. ``We have been scrupulously fair to Mr. de Klerk and we reject the contention that we have been engaged in a vendetta against him. ``But we must and will respect the courts and his rights under the constitution. We fought hard for those rights and we can be proud in South Africa that Mr. de Klerk now shares in them,'' he said in a statement. ``All we are doing is postponing dealing with the matter,'' Tutu later told The Associated Press. ``The name will eventually appear after all the hoo-ha has died down.'' De Klerk, reached in London, said he could not comment before speaking with his lawyers because the matter was in the courts. The commission was charged with promoting reconciliation by laying bare apartheid's horrors. It has held hearings around the country for more than two years, listening to victims and perpetrators seeking amnesty. The release of the 3,500-page report represents a milestone for South Africa's transformation from white minority rule to democracy. De Klerk's challenge was only part of the storm of criticism prompted by leaks of the report. The African National Congress, the liberation movement that helped defeat apartheid and now runs the country, on Tuesday angrily rejected a finding that it too was guilty of human rights violations in its armed struggle. The report will be a broad and detailed summary of South Africa's human rights history, from 1960 to 1994, when all-race elections ended white minority rule. It will parcel out moral condemnations and recommend individual prosecutions. Other threatened legal challenges have led to fewer individuals being named as rights violators than planned, The Star of Johannesburg reported Wednesday. In commenting on the newspaper report, Tutu said that more than 400 people had been notified they would be implicated to give them a chance to respond. Only 15 successfully argued themselves out of the report, he said.",
"Criminal prosecutions for atrocities committed during the war against white rule could drag on for at least six years, a top prosecutor said Monday. Key figures implicated in human rights abuses by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission already are under investigation, the official, Jan d'Oliveira, told reporters. They include two unnamed generals in the apartheid state's security apparatus, President Nelson Mandela's ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and officials of the African National Congress, he said. The remarks by d'Oliveira, who recently was appointed a deputy national director of prosecutions, were the clearest signal yet that criminal cases would be brought against figures accused by the commission of gross human rights violations. The commission released its report Oct. 30. It chronicles the human rights abuses committed by apartheid governments and their operatives as well as by the African National Congress and others fighting the racist system. The issue of continuing prosecutions is significant. Many feel that dragging on criminal reckonings of the horrors of the apartheid era will only prolong bitterness and delay reconciliation. But supporters of prosecution feel that denying justice to the victims is a worse evil. On a practical level, highly public prosecutions of ANC figures could have an impact on national elections next year, when the party will seek to consolidate its hold on power. The panel's chairman, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, has called for a two-year time limit on prosecutions; d'Oliveira called the period ``wholly impractical.'' The prosecutor did not name the other targets. ``We have always worked on the principle of that we will prosecute the highest rank,'' he said. The commission has the ability to grant amnesty to those who admit their misdeeds and are found to have acted with political motives. The report said individuals who have not sought amnesty should be prosecuted. Madikizela-Mandela has not sought amnesty. The commission found her accountable for human rights violations committed by her bodyguards, who the report said killed and tortured suspected opponents. Madikizela-Mandela was convicted in 1991 of kidnapping and being an accessory to an assault on four young men. She was sentenced to six years in jail, but paid a dlrs 3,200 fine on appeal. The ANC official was among the most prominent anti-apartheid activists. The two generals were implicated during Truth Commission testimony. Prosecutors are ready to move forward pending the amnesty application of one.",
"The deal that South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission offered was simple enough: Confess your crimes, apply for amnesty and you will go free. If you don't come forward, you will be prosecuted. After more than two years of hearings into apartheid-era atrocities, the commission last week unveiled a 3,500-page report naming dozens of people it believes were up to their elbows in the gore but never applied for amnesty. So the prosecutions should begin soon, right? Not so fast. The study was barely in the hands of President Nelson Mandela before talk of new amnesty deals had begun. It seems that nearly all of South Africa's political parties _ including the ruling African National Congress _ have key officials who could end up in the dock because of the report. Suddenly, there is lots of talk about how the country can't withstand a round of politically divisive trials, and many political analysts here are betting that an agreement ``of mutual benefit'' is in the offing. Already, three major political parties are calling for some kind of new amnesty, and the ANC isn't closing the door. ANC spokesman Thabo Masebe said it was ``premature'' to talk of a general amnesty, but he acknowledged that the party was discussing an amnesty specifically tailored to violence by black South Africans against other blacks that littered the KwaZulu/Natal province with bodies during the late '80s and into the '90s. In choosing a truth commission rather than a Nuremberg-style trial with which to close out its brutal past, South Africa hoped for an idealistic reconciliation. People would come clean and receive true forgiveness. Society would then be able to move on, its wounds cleansed and healed. It was a model watched closely around the world by other societies wondering how to disentangle themselves from the grudges of a brutal past. But given the chance, hundreds of South Africa's perpetrators did not come forward. Commission officials themselves say they were frustrated by the lack of cooperation, however exhaustive their report may seem. It is perhaps too late, however, to press for more. Today's South Africa has urgent new problems to deal with _ unemployment, crime, white flight, too few schools and hospitals. So it may wind up settling for a more pragmatic reconciliation _ one that gives amnesty to the unrepentant simply because it's more practical for all concerned to move on. In recent years, truth commissions have gained popularity in many places, notably Chile, Argentina and El Salvador. But South Africa's _ the biggest and most powerful, able to grant amnesty and to subpoena witnesses _ was supposed to be the real test. Certainly the commission forced the nation to see the gruesome details of its past, as sobbing survivors and stone-faced torturers told of smashed genitals and near suffocations. And the commission's work added much to the knowledge about what happened in South Africa between 1960 and 1994. But it will be years before the effect of the commission can truly be judged. Has anyone really forgiven anyone else? Will vendettas persist? No one can",
"answer. One thing seems clear, however: Four years after South Africa held its first non-racial elections, a growing number of South Africans want to be done with the past. Raymond Louw, the publisher of a respected weekly newsletter, Southern Africa Report, says a new amnesty proposal could come up during the February session of Parliament, in time to remove the issue from next year's election campaigns. ``You simply can't have this country torn apart by prosecutions,'' he says. ``Everybody is going to be howling for an amnesty. They already are.'' Even as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the commission's chairman, delivered the report, he seemed to be anticipating a push for a new amnesty and arguing against it. He said such a move would be highly unfair to those who came forward. He suggested instead that there be a two-year time limit, after which anyone not indicted would in effect get amnesty. To be sure, there will be opposition to any proposals to limit prosecutions. More than a dozen human rights and victims advocacy groups have already banded together to condemn such proposals as ``unconscionable.'' The idea for a Truth Commission emerged as a compromise from the long negotiations that brought about South Africa's peaceful transition from a white supremacist state to a non-racial democracy. During the talks, the white National Party government pushed for a blanket amnesty, and the ANC refused. In the end, only about 250 former police officers came forward, most of them foot soldiers. And only two high National Party officials, former Law and Order Minister Adriaan Vlok and Police Commissioner Johan van der Merwe, confessed _ to roles in ordering bombings. In its report, the commission called the apartheid state the ``primary perpetrator'' of gross human rights violations and held such high ranking former officials as former President P.W. Botha, his former army chief, Georg Meiring, and the former intelligence chief, Niel Barnard, responsible. These men, and others of lower rank, have not applied for amnesty For the ANC, the most embarrassing prospect is the possible prosecution of Mandela's former wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who is accused in the report of taking part in a number of assaults and abductions. Lesser-known officials could face charges too. The ANC is held responsible for at least 76 deaths in KwaZulu/Natal. The ANC's problems are further complicated by its efforts to make peace with the largely Zulu-based Inkatha Freedom Party. Virtually no one from that party came forward to ask for amnesty. Yet the report found that Inkatha, working with the white government, was responsible for widespread slaughter in KwaZulu/Natal and in the townships around Johannesburg. Inkatha's leader, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, and many key party officials stand accused of fomenting a wide range of abuses. But prosecuting Chief Buthelezi could lead to new warfare in KwaZulu. Part of the reluctance to go forward with prosecutions may be the result of still another factor: The judicial system is already overwhelmed with rising crime and the evidence from the apartheid era is old. So why spend the time and the money? At the moment, only",
"one political party is opposed to any form of new amnesty _ the tiny but influential Democratic Party, a liberal group that was not involved in the violence. Its head, Tony Leon, says a new amnesty would only prove that ``the more thuglike your behavior, the more you get away with.'' But he concedes that his is a lonely voice. ``At this point,'' he says, ``there is little enthusiasm for anything but closing the book on the past.''",
"A panel probing apartheid-era abuses has accused the African National Congress of human rights violations, including torture and bomb attacks, the state broadcaster said Monday. The ANC, which led the struggle against white rule and now is in power, previously has acknowledged it was told to expect implication in right violations. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission will release its final report on 2 1-2 years of investigation on Thursday. The report was expected to place overwhelming blame for the era's abuses on white governments and their brutal security services. President Nelson Mandela's office received an advance copy on Monday ahead of the handover ceremony, when retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who chaired the comission, will present Mandela with the report. South African Broadcasting Corp. radio said it had been leaked a ``preliminary document'' which condemns the ANC as politically and morally responsible for gross human rights violations during and after the fall of apartheid. An ANC spokesman, Thabo Masebe, said he believed the news report referred to a commission letter sent in advance ``informing us of its intention to implicate the ANC in gross human rights violations.'' Commission officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Justice Minister Dullah Omar told journalists in Pretoria he had heard the news report, but would not comment. Former President F.W. de Klerk, meanwhile, plans to ask a court to prevent the Truth Commission report from implicating him in covering up state-sponsored terror. ``Obviously we will comply with the ruling of a court,'' Omar said, but added he would ``regret'' any court-ordered delay. The ANC was nervous enough about the report to request a meeting with commissioners earlier this month. The panel refused, to avoid appearing embarrassed. The party says the accusations against it likely would center on the planting of land mines on border farms, abuses at its military camps in Angola and bombings. Omar said he expected the report's conclusions to set off debate but added it would ``lay the basis for reconciliation.''",
"Torturers and bombers who carried out atrocities defending or fighting apartheid need counseling to ensure they do not repeat their crimes, an expert for South Africa's reconciliation body said Thursday. Addressing local and international experts, Charles Villa-Vicencio, research head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, said ignoring the psychological needs of those who carried out human rights abuses could alienate a potentially dangerous sector of society. ``We must give attention to the healing of perpetrators, not just for the sake of perpetrators, but for the sake of the nation as a whole,'' he said. The conference, organized by the Medical Research Council, is examining mental health issues raised by the Truth Commission, which is charged with probing crimes committed by all sides in the anti-apartheid struggle. As the commission prepares to hand over its final report at the end of the month, South Africans are examining its painful and traumatic exploration of their bloody past. With the power to grant amnesty to many who tortured, bombed or maimed innocent civilians, the process has at some stage angered people in nearly all walks of life. Many whites see the panel as favoring the black liberation movements, while many blacks accuse it of being too soft on former state officials, especially top ranking ministers. However, Villa-Vicencio appealed for tolerance in dealing with all those who have committed crimes, saying that the potential for wrongdoing existed in everyone. ``We all, the entire human race, carry with us the capacity for evil,'' he said. Many of Thursday's speakers touched on the figure of police death squad leader Eugene de Kock, who was given jail terms totaling more than 200 years after a killing spree that costs dozens of lives. De Kock has applied for amnesty for his crimes. Dan Stein, a specialist in neurobiology and stress disorders, said de Kock typified many killers from all sides in the conflict by his sheer ``banality of evil''. ``Many people have found him in interviews to be an ordinary, even likeable person,'' he said about the man whom subordinates dubbed ``Prime Evil.'' Ginn Fourie, a physiotherapist whose student daughter was gunned down by black activists in a 1993 attack on a Cape Town bar, said it was necessary to help those whose circumstances compelled them to do wrong. Struggling to control her tears, Fourie told delegates she had attended the amnesty hearings of her daughter's killers and supported their successful bid to be freed from long jail sentences. After describing how she hugged the three members of the black nationalist Pan-Africanist Congress and urged them to seek counseling together with their victims, Fourie earned a standing ovation from the 50-strong audience. ``We must take the initiative in understanding others and start the process of reconciliation and healing our broken land,'' she said, her voice shaking with emotion.",
"Following are excerpts from the final report issued by South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Thursday: PRIMARY FINDING On the basis of the evidence available to it, the primary finding of the Commission is that: The predominant portion of gross violations of human rights was committed by the former state through its security and law-enforcement agencies. Moreover, the South African state in the period from the late 1970's to early 1990's became involved in activities of a criminal nature when, amongst other things, it knowingly planned, undertook, condoned and covered up the commission of unlawful acts, including the extrajudicial killing of political opponents and others, inside and outside South Africa. In pursuit of these unlawful activities, the state acted in collusion with certain other political groupings, most notably the Inkatha Freedom Party (I.F.P.). . . . Certain members of the State Security Council (the state President, Minister of Defense, Minister of Law and Order, and heads of security forces) did foresee that the use of words such as ``take out,'' ``wipe out,'' ``eradicate,'' and ``eliminate'' would result in the killing of political opponents. They are therefore responsible for deliberate planning which caused gross violations of human rights. P.W. BOTHA During the period that he presided as head of state (1978-1989) according to submissions made to and findings made by the Commission, gross violations of human rights and other unlawful acts were perpetrated on a wide scale by members of the South African Defense Force, including: The deliberate unlawful killing and attempted killing of persons opposed to the policies of the Government, within and outside South Africa. The widespread use of torture and other forms of severe ill treatment against such persons. The forcible abduction of such persons where were resident in neighboring countries. Covert logistical and financial assistance to organizations opposed to the ideology of the A.N.C. and other liberation movements. . . . INKATHA The Commission finds that in 1986, the South African Defense Forces (S.A.D.F.) conspired with Inkatha to provide the latter with a covert, offensive paramilitary unit (or ``hit squad'') to be deployed illegally against persons and organizations perceived to be opposed to both the South African Government and Inkatha. The S.A.D.F. provided training, financial and logistical management and behind the scenes supervision of the trainees, who were trained by the Special Forces unit of the S.A.D.F. in the Caprivi Strip. The Commission finds furthermore that the deployment of the paramilitary unit in KwaZulu led to gross violations of human rights, including killing, attempted killing and severe ill treatment. The Commission finds the following people, among others, accountable for such violations: Mr. P. W. Botha, Gen. Magnus Malan, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi. . . . The A.N.C. While it was A.N.C. policy that the loss of civilian life should be ``avoided,'' there were instances where members of its security forces perpetrated gross violations of human rights in that the distinction between military and civilian targets was blurred in certain armed actions, such as the 1983 Church Street bombing of the South African Air Force headquarters. . . . In the course of the armed struggle, the A.N.C., through its security forces, undertook military operations which, though intended for military or security force targets, sometimes went awry for a variety of reasons, including poor intelligence and reconnaissance. The consequences in these cases, such as the Magoo's Bar and Durban Esplanade bombings, were gross violations of human rights in respect of the injuries to and loss of lives of civilians. Individuals who defected to the state and became informers and/or members who became state witnesses in political trials . . . were often labeled by the A.N.C. as collaborators and regarded as legitimate targets to be killed. The commission does not condone the legitimization of such individuals as military targets and finds that the extrajudicial killings of such individuals constituted gross violations of human rights. The commission finds that, in the 1980's in particular, a number of gross violations were perpetrated not by direct members of the A.N.C. or those operating under its formal command, but by civilians who saw themselves as A.N.C. supporters. In this regard, the Commission finds that the A.N.C. is morally and politically accountable for creating a climate in which such supporters believed their actions to be legitimate and carried out within the broad parameters of a ``people's war'' as enunciated by the A.N.C. A.N.C. CAMPS The Commission finds that suspected ``agents'' were routinely subjected to torture and other forms of severe ill treatment and that there were cases of such individuals being charged and convicted by tribunals without proper regard to due process, sentenced to death and executed. WINNIE MADIKIZELA-MANDELA The Commission finds that Ms. Madikizela-Mandela was central to the establishment and formation of the Mandela United Football Club, which later developed into a private vigilante unit. It is the Commission's view that Ms. Madikizela-Mandela was aware of the criminal activity and the disquiet it caused in the community, but chose deliberately not to address the problems emanating from the football club. The Commission finds that those who opposed Ms. Madikizela-Mandela and the Mandela United Football Club, or dissented from them, were branded as informers and killed. The Commission finds that Ms. Madikizela-Mandela . . . is accountable, politically and morally for the gross violations of human rights committed by the Mandela United Football Club. The Commission finds further that Mrs. Madikizela-Mandela herself was responsible for committing such gross violations of human rights. . . . BUSINESS Business was central to the economy that sustained the South African state during the apartheid years. Certain businesses, especially the mining industry, were involved in helping design and implement apartheid policies. The white agriculture industry benefited from its privileged access to land.",
"Facing a court challenge, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission said Wednesday that it would withhold, at least temporarily, the parts of its final report that implicate South Africa's last apartheid-era president, F.W. de Klerk, in illegal acts. De Klerk, 62, who helped negotiate the end of South Africa's white supremacist government and shared the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize with President Nelson Mandela for that work, had objected to a finding by the commission that he was ``an accessory after the fact'' in the bombings of the headquarters of a church group and of a labor federation in the 1980s. The chairman of the 17-member panel, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, said that although he took such action with ``great reluctance,'' the commission needed time to prepare to fight the legal challenge. He said it would take de Klerk's name out of 3,500-page report to avoid delaying its release Thursday. ``It upsets me deeply,'' he said in a statement. ``We have been scrupulously fair to de Klerk, and we reject the contention that we have been engaged in a vendetta against him.'' De Klerk's challenge was only part of the storm of criticism prompted by leaks about the report in the last few days. Within hours of the commission decision to withdraw its findings on de Klerk, it was facing the possibility of a new suit _ this time from the ruling African National Congress. The ANC also wants to block the commission findings about its conduct during the liberation struggle. A spokesman for the party, Thabo Masebe, said the party would seek an injunction in the morning before the report is officially handed over to Mandela. While the commission's report is expected to lay overwhelming blame on the former white government for atrocities, it has also found the ANC responsible for human-rights violations, including the torture and killing of spying suspects, bombings in civilian areas and the killing of political enemies, including members of the rival Zulu-based Inkhata Freedom Party. The decision on de Klerk seems certain to damage the commission's credibility. The panel, created as a way of putting South Africa's brutal past to rest without the expense and political divisiveness of trials, has caused controversy from the start. It has held more than 160 hearings throughout the country, listening to both victims and to perpetrators seeking amnesty. But many whites say the commission is on a witch hunt aiming to humiliate former government officials and Afrikaners in general. De Klerk has once before forced the commission officials to court and won an apology from them for calling him a liar. Some political analysts said Wednesday's events would only further the belief that the panel lacks impartiality. ``The withdrawal of the findings can't help but be seen as a lack of certainty on their side,'' said Sampie Terreblanche, an economist and political analyst at the University of Stellenbosch, who has supported the commission. ``Whether we like it or not, the whole report gets a knock from this.'' De Klerk's spokesman, David Steward, said the former president ``was very confident'' that he would win",
"when the case goes to trial in March. ``He is very happy to be in the courts now rather than dealing with the Truth Commission,'' Steward said. ``The fact that they agreed to withdraw creates the definite impression that they specifically concocted a case to involve Mr. de Klerk in a negative finding.'' The ANC has accused the commission of trying to ``criminalize'' the liberation struggle. ``Whatever the efforts to besmirch our struggle by denouncing it as a gross violation of human rights,'' the congress said in a statement. ``The ANC and the millions of people who were part of this struggle will always be proud of what they did to insure that, in the process of the destruction of a vile system, they did not themselves resort to vile methods of struggle on the basis that the means justified the end.'' There are probably few subjects that get South Africans more excited than the issue of the Truth Commission and whether it is a worthy cause or a waste of money. The events of the last few days have only added to the debate. For some, like Pal Martins, 34, a former member of the ANC's armed wing, the fact all sides of the political spectrum are in an uproar is a good thing. ``The mere fact that everyone is complaining means that the Truth Commission has done its work,'' he said. But others say that too many questions are being raised about the panel's competence. ``The whole affair is beyond the pale, a mockery of justice,'' said Roboy Vonholdt, a 56-year-old sheep and ostrich farmer who believes that the commission has been a theatrical act. ``We should all turn our backs on the past and move forward. We need them and they need us. Let's all make money and let good economic conditions prevail.'' The commission's report is supposed to be a broad and detailed summary of South Africa's human rights history, from 1960 to 1994, when elections open to all races ended white minority rule. It will parcel out moral condemnations and recommend individual prosecutions. While de Klerk was alone in court Wednesday challenging the commission, Tutu said Wednesday that other threatened legal challenges had led to fewer individuals being named as rights violators than originally planned. Tutu said that more than 400 people had been notified that they would be implicated to give them a chance to respond. Some 15 successfully argued themselves out of the report or could not be reached and were therefore deleted from the report, he said. The commission is required by law to give advance notification to anyone it intends to implicate in its report. The commission had been expected to say that although de Klerk did not order the bombings, he subsequently came to know that former Law and Order Minister Adriaan Vlok and Police Commissioner Johan van der Merwe had been involved, but failed to report his knowledge to the police. This could open him up to a criminal prosecution. De Klerk has not applied for amnesty in this matter or",
"any other. de Klerk has said that when he learned about the bombings, Vlok and Van der Merwe were already in the process of applying for amnesty, and he did not think it was necessary to report the matter.",
"The institution exploring apartheid's horrors will issue a report that finds the African National Congress shares blame for human rights violations as it struggled to overcome white rule. The 3,500-page report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission culminates more than two years of nationwide hearings. South African media released preliminary findings on Monday, three days before its official release on Thursday in Pretoria, the capital. The release of the document is a milestone in South Africa's transformation from white minority rule to democracy. The commission, which has the power to grant amnesty, was tasked with promoting reconciliation by laying bare the what and why of apartheid-era atrocities. With the ANC now in power and facing an election in mid-1999, a condemnation by the commission could prove damaging both to its electoral chances and moral standing. There has been no doubt that the report's overwhelming blame would be laid on white governments and their security forces during the years under scrutiny, 1960-1994. Indeed, news reports Monday said the Truth Commission would declare apartheid a crime against humanity and acknowledge that the ANC and the more radical Pan Africanist Congress were conducting a legitimate struggle against the former apartheid state. But in preliminary findings sent to the parties last month, the commission also said the two movements were ``morally and politically accountable'' for gross rights violations, South African Press Association and South African Broadcasting Corp. said. The preliminary finding said that despite ANC policy against killing civilians, the line between military and civilian targets had been blurred, SAPA said. It condemned the planting of landmines in rural areas, the execution of enemy agents, torture and mistreatment of ANC members in its exile camps and for killing political opponents. It said the party must accept responsibility for the activities of ANC Women's League president Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Nelson Mandela's former wife, and her Mandela United Football Club, accused of killings, torture and kidnappings. The commission also said the PAC was guilty of the deaths of civilians in its strategy in 1993 to drive white farmers off their land so it could be reclaimed by blacks. Justice Minister Dullah Omar, meeting journalists in Pretoria, would not comment on the news reports about condemnation of the ANC. ``I do expect various responses (to the report). I do not expect everyone to agree. It will lead to healthy debate,'' he said. He said that if the commissioners recommends prosecutions against anyone for abuses, it will be up to the national director of prosecutions to decide whether to proceed. The director is appointed by the government. The commission's work is designed ``to help us establish the rule of law in South Africa, and to establish the principle of accountability,'' Omar said. The ANC already has prepared the ground for a negative finding, saying weeks ago that the commission had warned that harsh judgments were in the offing. The ANC was nervous enough about the report to request a meeting with commissioners earlier this month. The panel refused, to avoid appearing biased. On Monday, it rejected ``with contempt'' suggestions ANC officials themselves had leaked the findings. Constand Viljoen, leader of the tiny right-wing Freedom Front, said the ANC had done so to give the commission credibility by making it more even-handed. Publicly, the party has long defended its actions as those committed during a ``just war.'' F.W. de Klerk, the last apartheid-era president, meanwhile, planned to ask a court to prevent the Truth Commission report from implicating him in covering up state-sponsored terror. ``Obviously we will comply with the ruling of a court,'' Omar said, but added he would ``regret'' any court-ordered delay.",
"The New York Times said in an editorial on Sunday, Nov. 1: The 3,500-page report of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, released on Thursday, is the most comprehensive and unsparing examination of a nation's ugly past that any such commission has yet produced. Drawing from the commission's own investigations and the testimony of hundreds of applicants for amnesty and 20,000 victims, the report is a detailed look at the crimes of the apartheid era, and blames successive white governments for the vast majority. It has fulfilled its mandate of telling the fullest truth possible, which is one reason that every political party in South Africa has denounced it. Besides accusing the government of assassinations and bombings, the report criticizes the Inkatha Freedom Party for its massacres and collaboration with security forces, and blames the African National Congress for the murder of civilians and other crimes. It singles out former President P.W. Botha, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the Inkatha leader, and Winnie Mandela, among others, for detailed treatment of their roles in political crimes. One major flaw in the report is the absence of a section accusing F.W. de Klerk, the last apartheid president, of knowing about several bombings after the fact and keeping silent. It was excised because de Klerk is suing the commission. The ANC also sued, unsuccessfully, to stop publication. The lawsuits are a disappointing sign that South Africa's political parties are not interested in an honest look at their past, nor in the free flow of information. The controversy has added to widespread complaints that the commission has not helped the process of reconciliation. This is wrong. True reconciliation _ which occurs when a society is no longer paralyzed by the past and people can work and live together _ cannot be based on silence. No society can be restored to health by papering over as much pain as South Africans have suffered. A noisy and informed debate about complicity in the crimes of the apartheid era is necessary, if uncomfortable. The report is only part of the Truth Commission's contribution to the healing process. The hearings themselves, which allowed victims of human rights violations to tell their stories in public, helped the country heal and opened the eyes of many whites to the unpleasant truth about apartheid. The amnesty process, while permitting many important criminals to escape justice, is allowing families to know exactly what happened to their loved ones in dozens of cases that would likely have never gone to trial in South Africa's fragile judicial system. The process of helping the victims with scholarships and other necessary aid goes on, although it will not be enough. No commission can transform a society as twisted as South Africa's was. But the Truth Commission is the best effort the world has seen, and South Africa is the better for it.",
"President Nelson Mandela acknowledged Saturday the African National Congress violated human rights during apartheid, setting him at odds with his deputy president over a report that has divided much of South Africa. The disagreement stems from Thursday's release of the report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on horrors committed during apartheid. Rather than act as a salve and an aid to reconciliation, the report has caused divisiveness, even among former comrades-in-arms who fought apartheid. As expected, the report called apartheid a ``crime against humanity.'' But it also blamed the ANC for gross human rights violations during its anti-apartheid struggle, saying the group tortured suspected spies and dissidents and killed innocent civilians with land mines and bombs. Some suspected traitors were killed in the ANC's camps abroad. Mbeki _ who became ANC president last year and will likely be elected South Africa's next president in 1999 when Mandela retires _ took a hard line Saturday against the report, and indicated all ANC members must do the same. ``No member, 5th graf, 1st Ld-Writethru"
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"A panel investigating apartheid-era atrocities said Wednesday it will not implicate the last apartheid president, F.W. de Klerk, in human rights abuses after he threatened a court challenge. De Klerk said he would sue to block the long-awaited final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was due for release Thursday. The man who helped negotiate the end of apartheid objected to a finding by the commission that he was ``an accessory after the fact'' to bombings in the 1980s of the headquarters of a church group and of a labor federation. Former Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the truth panel's chairman, said the commission needed time to prepare to fight the legal challenge, and would ``excise'' de Klerk's name from the report to avoid delaying its release. ``It upsets me deeply,'' Tutu said. ``We have been scrupulously fair to Mr. de Klerk and we reject the contention that we have been engaged in a vendetta against him. ``But we must and will respect the courts and his rights under the constitution. We fought hard for those rights and we can be proud in South Africa that Mr. de Klerk now shares in them,'' he said in a statement. ``All we are doing is postponing dealing with the matter,'' Tutu later told The Associated Press. ``The name will eventually appear after all the hoo-ha has died down.'' De Klerk, reached in London, said he could not comment before speaking with his lawyers because the matter was in the courts. The commission was charged with promoting reconciliation by laying bare apartheid's horrors. It has held hearings around the country for more than two years, listening to victims and perpetrators seeking amnesty. The release of the 3,500-page report represents a milestone for South Africa's transformation from white minority rule to democracy. De Klerk's challenge was only part of the storm of criticism prompted by leaks of the report. The African National Congress, the liberation movement that helped defeat apartheid and now runs the country, on Tuesday angrily rejected a finding that it too was guilty of human rights violations in its armed struggle. The report will be a broad and detailed summary of South Africa's human rights history, from 1960 to 1994, when all-race elections ended white minority rule. It will parcel out moral condemnations and recommend individual prosecutions. Other threatened legal challenges have led to fewer individuals being named as rights violators than planned, The Star of Johannesburg reported Wednesday. In commenting on the newspaper report, Tutu said that more than 400 people had been notified they would be implicated to give them a chance to respond. Only 15 successfully argued themselves out of the report, he said.",
"Criminal prosecutions for atrocities committed during the war against white rule could drag on for at least six years, a top prosecutor said Monday. Key figures implicated in human rights abuses by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission already are under investigation, the official, Jan d'Oliveira, told reporters. They include two unnamed generals in the apartheid state's security apparatus, President Nelson Mandela's ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and officials of the African National Congress, he said. The remarks by d'Oliveira, who recently was appointed a deputy national director of prosecutions, were the clearest signal yet that criminal cases would be brought against figures accused by the commission of gross human rights violations. The commission released its report Oct. 30. It chronicles the human rights abuses committed by apartheid governments and their operatives as well as by the African National Congress and others fighting the racist system. The issue of continuing prosecutions is significant. Many feel that dragging on criminal reckonings of the horrors of the apartheid era will only prolong bitterness and delay reconciliation. But supporters of prosecution feel that denying justice to the victims is a worse evil. On a practical level, highly public prosecutions of ANC figures could have an impact on national elections next year, when the party will seek to consolidate its hold on power. The panel's chairman, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, has called for a two-year time limit on prosecutions; d'Oliveira called the period ``wholly impractical.'' The prosecutor did not name the other targets. ``We have always worked on the principle of that we will prosecute the highest rank,'' he said. The commission has the ability to grant amnesty to those who admit their misdeeds and are found to have acted with political motives. The report said individuals who have not sought amnesty should be prosecuted. Madikizela-Mandela has not sought amnesty. The commission found her accountable for human rights violations committed by her bodyguards, who the report said killed and tortured suspected opponents. Madikizela-Mandela was convicted in 1991 of kidnapping and being an accessory to an assault on four young men. She was sentenced to six years in jail, but paid a dlrs 3,200 fine on appeal. The ANC official was among the most prominent anti-apartheid activists. The two generals were implicated during Truth Commission testimony. Prosecutors are ready to move forward pending the amnesty application of one.",
"The deal that South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission offered was simple enough: Confess your crimes, apply for amnesty and you will go free. If you don't come forward, you will be prosecuted. After more than two years of hearings into apartheid-era atrocities, the commission last week unveiled a 3,500-page report naming dozens of people it believes were up to their elbows in the gore but never applied for amnesty. So the prosecutions should begin soon, right? Not so fast. The study was barely in the hands of President Nelson Mandela before talk of new amnesty deals had begun. It seems that nearly all of South Africa's political parties _ including the ruling African National Congress _ have key officials who could end up in the dock because of the report. Suddenly, there is lots of talk about how the country can't withstand a round of politically divisive trials, and many political analysts here are betting that an agreement ``of mutual benefit'' is in the offing. Already, three major political parties are calling for some kind of new amnesty, and the ANC isn't closing the door. ANC spokesman Thabo Masebe said it was ``premature'' to talk of a general amnesty, but he acknowledged that the party was discussing an amnesty specifically tailored to violence by black South Africans against other blacks that littered the KwaZulu/Natal province with bodies during the late '80s and into the '90s. In choosing a truth commission rather than a Nuremberg-style trial with which to close out its brutal past, South Africa hoped for an idealistic reconciliation. People would come clean and receive true forgiveness. Society would then be able to move on, its wounds cleansed and healed. It was a model watched closely around the world by other societies wondering how to disentangle themselves from the grudges of a brutal past. But given the chance, hundreds of South Africa's perpetrators did not come forward. Commission officials themselves say they were frustrated by the lack of cooperation, however exhaustive their report may seem. It is perhaps too late, however, to press for more. Today's South Africa has urgent new problems to deal with _ unemployment, crime, white flight, too few schools and hospitals. So it may wind up settling for a more pragmatic reconciliation _ one that gives amnesty to the unrepentant simply because it's more practical for all concerned to move on. In recent years, truth commissions have gained popularity in many places, notably Chile, Argentina and El Salvador. But South Africa's _ the biggest and most powerful, able to grant amnesty and to subpoena witnesses _ was supposed to be the real test. Certainly the commission forced the nation to see the gruesome details of its past, as sobbing survivors and stone-faced torturers told of smashed genitals and near suffocations. And the commission's work added much to the knowledge about what happened in South Africa between 1960 and 1994. But it will be years before the effect of the commission can truly be judged. Has anyone really forgiven anyone else? Will vendettas persist? No one can answer. One thing seems clear, however: Four years after South Africa held its first non-racial elections, a growing number of South Africans want to be done with the past. Raymond Louw, the publisher of a respected weekly newsletter, Southern Africa Report, says a new amnesty proposal could come up during the February session of Parliament, in time to remove the issue from next year's election campaigns. ``You simply can't have this country torn apart by prosecutions,'' he says. ``Everybody is going to be howling for an amnesty. They already are.'' Even as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the commission's chairman, delivered the report, he seemed to be anticipating a push for a new amnesty and arguing against it. He said such a move would be highly unfair to those who came forward. He suggested instead that there be a two-year time limit, after which anyone not indicted would in effect get amnesty. To be sure, there will be opposition to any proposals to limit prosecutions. More than a dozen human rights and victims advocacy groups have already banded together to condemn such proposals as ``unconscionable.'' The idea for a Truth Commission emerged as a compromise from the long negotiations that brought about South Africa's peaceful transition from a white supremacist state to a non-racial democracy. During the talks, the white National Party government pushed for a blanket amnesty, and the ANC refused. In the end, only about 250 former police officers came forward, most of them foot soldiers. And only two high National Party officials, former Law and Order Minister Adriaan Vlok and Police Commissioner Johan van der Merwe, confessed _ to roles in ordering bombings. In its report, the commission called the apartheid state the ``primary perpetrator'' of gross human rights violations and held such high ranking former officials as former President P.W. Botha, his former army chief, Georg Meiring, and the former intelligence chief, Niel Barnard, responsible. These men, and others of lower rank, have not applied for amnesty For the ANC, the most embarrassing prospect is the possible prosecution of Mandela's former wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who is accused in the report of taking part in a number of assaults and abductions. Lesser-known officials could face charges too. The ANC is held responsible for at least 76 deaths in KwaZulu/Natal. The ANC's problems are further complicated by its efforts to make peace with the largely Zulu-based Inkatha Freedom Party. Virtually no one from that party came forward to ask for amnesty. Yet the report found that Inkatha, working with the white government, was responsible for widespread slaughter in KwaZulu/Natal and in the townships around Johannesburg. Inkatha's leader, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, and many key party officials stand accused of fomenting a wide range of abuses. But prosecuting Chief Buthelezi could lead to new warfare in KwaZulu. Part of the reluctance to go forward with prosecutions may be the result of still another factor: The judicial system is already overwhelmed with rising crime and the evidence from the apartheid era is old. So why spend the time and the money? At the moment, only one political party is opposed to any form of new amnesty _ the tiny but influential Democratic Party, a liberal group that was not involved in the violence. Its head, Tony Leon, says a new amnesty would only prove that ``the more thuglike your behavior, the more you get away with.'' But he concedes that his is a lonely voice. ``At this point,'' he says, ``there is little enthusiasm for anything but closing the book on the past.''",
"A panel probing apartheid-era abuses has accused the African National Congress of human rights violations, including torture and bomb attacks, the state broadcaster said Monday. The ANC, which led the struggle against white rule and now is in power, previously has acknowledged it was told to expect implication in right violations. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission will release its final report on 2 1-2 years of investigation on Thursday. The report was expected to place overwhelming blame for the era's abuses on white governments and their brutal security services. President Nelson Mandela's office received an advance copy on Monday ahead of the handover ceremony, when retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who chaired the comission, will present Mandela with the report. South African Broadcasting Corp. radio said it had been leaked a ``preliminary document'' which condemns the ANC as politically and morally responsible for gross human rights violations during and after the fall of apartheid. An ANC spokesman, Thabo Masebe, said he believed the news report referred to a commission letter sent in advance ``informing us of its intention to implicate the ANC in gross human rights violations.'' Commission officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Justice Minister Dullah Omar told journalists in Pretoria he had heard the news report, but would not comment. Former President F.W. de Klerk, meanwhile, plans to ask a court to prevent the Truth Commission report from implicating him in covering up state-sponsored terror. ``Obviously we will comply with the ruling of a court,'' Omar said, but added he would ``regret'' any court-ordered delay. The ANC was nervous enough about the report to request a meeting with commissioners earlier this month. The panel refused, to avoid appearing embarrassed. The party says the accusations against it likely would center on the planting of land mines on border farms, abuses at its military camps in Angola and bombings. Omar said he expected the report's conclusions to set off debate but added it would ``lay the basis for reconciliation.''",
"Torturers and bombers who carried out atrocities defending or fighting apartheid need counseling to ensure they do not repeat their crimes, an expert for South Africa's reconciliation body said Thursday. Addressing local and international experts, Charles Villa-Vicencio, research head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, said ignoring the psychological needs of those who carried out human rights abuses could alienate a potentially dangerous sector of society. ``We must give attention to the healing of perpetrators, not just for the sake of perpetrators, but for the sake of the nation as a whole,'' he said. The conference, organized by the Medical Research Council, is examining mental health issues raised by the Truth Commission, which is charged with probing crimes committed by all sides in the anti-apartheid struggle. As the commission prepares to hand over its final report at the end of the month, South Africans are examining its painful and traumatic exploration of their bloody past. With the power to grant amnesty to many who tortured, bombed or maimed innocent civilians, the process has at some stage angered people in nearly all walks of life. Many whites see the panel as favoring the black liberation movements, while many blacks accuse it of being too soft on former state officials, especially top ranking ministers. However, Villa-Vicencio appealed for tolerance in dealing with all those who have committed crimes, saying that the potential for wrongdoing existed in everyone. ``We all, the entire human race, carry with us the capacity for evil,'' he said. Many of Thursday's speakers touched on the figure of police death squad leader Eugene de Kock, who was given jail terms totaling more than 200 years after a killing spree that costs dozens of lives. De Kock has applied for amnesty for his crimes. Dan Stein, a specialist in neurobiology and stress disorders, said de Kock typified many killers from all sides in the conflict by his sheer ``banality of evil''. ``Many people have found him in interviews to be an ordinary, even likeable person,'' he said about the man whom subordinates dubbed ``Prime Evil.'' Ginn Fourie, a physiotherapist whose student daughter was gunned down by black activists in a 1993 attack on a Cape Town bar, said it was necessary to help those whose circumstances compelled them to do wrong. Struggling to control her tears, Fourie told delegates she had attended the amnesty hearings of her daughter's killers and supported their successful bid to be freed from long jail sentences. After describing how she hugged the three members of the black nationalist Pan-Africanist Congress and urged them to seek counseling together with their victims, Fourie earned a standing ovation from the 50-strong audience. ``We must take the initiative in understanding others and start the process of reconciliation and healing our broken land,'' she said, her voice shaking with emotion.",
"Following are excerpts from the final report issued by South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Thursday: PRIMARY FINDING On the basis of the evidence available to it, the primary finding of the Commission is that: The predominant portion of gross violations of human rights was committed by the former state through its security and law-enforcement agencies. Moreover, the South African state in the period from the late 1970's to early 1990's became involved in activities of a criminal nature when, amongst other things, it knowingly planned, undertook, condoned and covered up the commission of unlawful acts, including the extrajudicial killing of political opponents and others, inside and outside South Africa. In pursuit of these unlawful activities, the state acted in collusion with certain other political groupings, most notably the Inkatha Freedom Party (I.F.P.). . . . Certain members of the State Security Council (the state President, Minister of Defense, Minister of Law and Order, and heads of security forces) did foresee that the use of words such as ``take out,'' ``wipe out,'' ``eradicate,'' and ``eliminate'' would result in the killing of political opponents. They are therefore responsible for deliberate planning which caused gross violations of human rights. P.W. BOTHA During the period that he presided as head of state (1978-1989) according to submissions made to and findings made by the Commission, gross violations of human rights and other unlawful acts were perpetrated on a wide scale by members of the South African Defense Force, including: The deliberate unlawful killing and attempted killing of persons opposed to the policies of the Government, within and outside South Africa. The widespread use of torture and other forms of severe ill treatment against such persons. The forcible abduction of such persons where were resident in neighboring countries. Covert logistical and financial assistance to organizations opposed to the ideology of the A.N.C. and other liberation movements. . . . INKATHA The Commission finds that in 1986, the South African Defense Forces (S.A.D.F.) conspired with Inkatha to provide the latter with a covert, offensive paramilitary unit (or ``hit squad'') to be deployed illegally against persons and organizations perceived to be opposed to both the South African Government and Inkatha. The S.A.D.F. provided training, financial and logistical management and behind the scenes supervision of the trainees, who were trained by the Special Forces unit of the S.A.D.F. in the Caprivi Strip. The Commission finds furthermore that the deployment of the paramilitary unit in KwaZulu led to gross violations of human rights, including killing, attempted killing and severe ill treatment. The Commission finds the following people, among others, accountable for such violations: Mr. P. W. Botha, Gen. Magnus Malan, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi. . . . The A.N.C. While it was A.N.C. policy that the loss of civilian life should be ``avoided,'' there were instances where members of its security forces perpetrated gross violations of human rights in that the distinction between military and civilian targets was blurred in certain armed actions, such as the 1983 Church Street bombing of the South African Air Force headquarters. . . . In the course of the armed struggle, the A.N.C., through its security forces, undertook military operations which, though intended for military or security force targets, sometimes went awry for a variety of reasons, including poor intelligence and reconnaissance. The consequences in these cases, such as the Magoo's Bar and Durban Esplanade bombings, were gross violations of human rights in respect of the injuries to and loss of lives of civilians. Individuals who defected to the state and became informers and/or members who became state witnesses in political trials . . . were often labeled by the A.N.C. as collaborators and regarded as legitimate targets to be killed. The commission does not condone the legitimization of such individuals as military targets and finds that the extrajudicial killings of such individuals constituted gross violations of human rights. The commission finds that, in the 1980's in particular, a number of gross violations were perpetrated not by direct members of the A.N.C. or those operating under its formal command, but by civilians who saw themselves as A.N.C. supporters. In this regard, the Commission finds that the A.N.C. is morally and politically accountable for creating a climate in which such supporters believed their actions to be legitimate and carried out within the broad parameters of a ``people's war'' as enunciated by the A.N.C. A.N.C. CAMPS The Commission finds that suspected ``agents'' were routinely subjected to torture and other forms of severe ill treatment and that there were cases of such individuals being charged and convicted by tribunals without proper regard to due process, sentenced to death and executed. WINNIE MADIKIZELA-MANDELA The Commission finds that Ms. Madikizela-Mandela was central to the establishment and formation of the Mandela United Football Club, which later developed into a private vigilante unit. It is the Commission's view that Ms. Madikizela-Mandela was aware of the criminal activity and the disquiet it caused in the community, but chose deliberately not to address the problems emanating from the football club. The Commission finds that those who opposed Ms. Madikizela-Mandela and the Mandela United Football Club, or dissented from them, were branded as informers and killed. The Commission finds that Ms. Madikizela-Mandela . . . is accountable, politically and morally for the gross violations of human rights committed by the Mandela United Football Club. The Commission finds further that Mrs. Madikizela-Mandela herself was responsible for committing such gross violations of human rights. . . . BUSINESS Business was central to the economy that sustained the South African state during the apartheid years. Certain businesses, especially the mining industry, were involved in helping design and implement apartheid policies. The white agriculture industry benefited from its privileged access to land.",
"Facing a court challenge, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission said Wednesday that it would withhold, at least temporarily, the parts of its final report that implicate South Africa's last apartheid-era president, F.W. de Klerk, in illegal acts. De Klerk, 62, who helped negotiate the end of South Africa's white supremacist government and shared the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize with President Nelson Mandela for that work, had objected to a finding by the commission that he was ``an accessory after the fact'' in the bombings of the headquarters of a church group and of a labor federation in the 1980s. The chairman of the 17-member panel, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, said that although he took such action with ``great reluctance,'' the commission needed time to prepare to fight the legal challenge. He said it would take de Klerk's name out of 3,500-page report to avoid delaying its release Thursday. ``It upsets me deeply,'' he said in a statement. ``We have been scrupulously fair to de Klerk, and we reject the contention that we have been engaged in a vendetta against him.'' De Klerk's challenge was only part of the storm of criticism prompted by leaks about the report in the last few days. Within hours of the commission decision to withdraw its findings on de Klerk, it was facing the possibility of a new suit _ this time from the ruling African National Congress. The ANC also wants to block the commission findings about its conduct during the liberation struggle. A spokesman for the party, Thabo Masebe, said the party would seek an injunction in the morning before the report is officially handed over to Mandela. While the commission's report is expected to lay overwhelming blame on the former white government for atrocities, it has also found the ANC responsible for human-rights violations, including the torture and killing of spying suspects, bombings in civilian areas and the killing of political enemies, including members of the rival Zulu-based Inkhata Freedom Party. The decision on de Klerk seems certain to damage the commission's credibility. The panel, created as a way of putting South Africa's brutal past to rest without the expense and political divisiveness of trials, has caused controversy from the start. It has held more than 160 hearings throughout the country, listening to both victims and to perpetrators seeking amnesty. But many whites say the commission is on a witch hunt aiming to humiliate former government officials and Afrikaners in general. De Klerk has once before forced the commission officials to court and won an apology from them for calling him a liar. Some political analysts said Wednesday's events would only further the belief that the panel lacks impartiality. ``The withdrawal of the findings can't help but be seen as a lack of certainty on their side,'' said Sampie Terreblanche, an economist and political analyst at the University of Stellenbosch, who has supported the commission. ``Whether we like it or not, the whole report gets a knock from this.'' De Klerk's spokesman, David Steward, said the former president ``was very confident'' that he would win when the case goes to trial in March. ``He is very happy to be in the courts now rather than dealing with the Truth Commission,'' Steward said. ``The fact that they agreed to withdraw creates the definite impression that they specifically concocted a case to involve Mr. de Klerk in a negative finding.'' The ANC has accused the commission of trying to ``criminalize'' the liberation struggle. ``Whatever the efforts to besmirch our struggle by denouncing it as a gross violation of human rights,'' the congress said in a statement. ``The ANC and the millions of people who were part of this struggle will always be proud of what they did to insure that, in the process of the destruction of a vile system, they did not themselves resort to vile methods of struggle on the basis that the means justified the end.'' There are probably few subjects that get South Africans more excited than the issue of the Truth Commission and whether it is a worthy cause or a waste of money. The events of the last few days have only added to the debate. For some, like Pal Martins, 34, a former member of the ANC's armed wing, the fact all sides of the political spectrum are in an uproar is a good thing. ``The mere fact that everyone is complaining means that the Truth Commission has done its work,'' he said. But others say that too many questions are being raised about the panel's competence. ``The whole affair is beyond the pale, a mockery of justice,'' said Roboy Vonholdt, a 56-year-old sheep and ostrich farmer who believes that the commission has been a theatrical act. ``We should all turn our backs on the past and move forward. We need them and they need us. Let's all make money and let good economic conditions prevail.'' The commission's report is supposed to be a broad and detailed summary of South Africa's human rights history, from 1960 to 1994, when elections open to all races ended white minority rule. It will parcel out moral condemnations and recommend individual prosecutions. While de Klerk was alone in court Wednesday challenging the commission, Tutu said Wednesday that other threatened legal challenges had led to fewer individuals being named as rights violators than originally planned. Tutu said that more than 400 people had been notified that they would be implicated to give them a chance to respond. Some 15 successfully argued themselves out of the report or could not be reached and were therefore deleted from the report, he said. The commission is required by law to give advance notification to anyone it intends to implicate in its report. The commission had been expected to say that although de Klerk did not order the bombings, he subsequently came to know that former Law and Order Minister Adriaan Vlok and Police Commissioner Johan van der Merwe had been involved, but failed to report his knowledge to the police. This could open him up to a criminal prosecution. De Klerk has not applied for amnesty in this matter or any other. de Klerk has said that when he learned about the bombings, Vlok and Van der Merwe were already in the process of applying for amnesty, and he did not think it was necessary to report the matter.",
"The institution exploring apartheid's horrors will issue a report that finds the African National Congress shares blame for human rights violations as it struggled to overcome white rule. The 3,500-page report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission culminates more than two years of nationwide hearings. South African media released preliminary findings on Monday, three days before its official release on Thursday in Pretoria, the capital. The release of the document is a milestone in South Africa's transformation from white minority rule to democracy. The commission, which has the power to grant amnesty, was tasked with promoting reconciliation by laying bare the what and why of apartheid-era atrocities. With the ANC now in power and facing an election in mid-1999, a condemnation by the commission could prove damaging both to its electoral chances and moral standing. There has been no doubt that the report's overwhelming blame would be laid on white governments and their security forces during the years under scrutiny, 1960-1994. Indeed, news reports Monday said the Truth Commission would declare apartheid a crime against humanity and acknowledge that the ANC and the more radical Pan Africanist Congress were conducting a legitimate struggle against the former apartheid state. But in preliminary findings sent to the parties last month, the commission also said the two movements were ``morally and politically accountable'' for gross rights violations, South African Press Association and South African Broadcasting Corp. said. The preliminary finding said that despite ANC policy against killing civilians, the line between military and civilian targets had been blurred, SAPA said. It condemned the planting of landmines in rural areas, the execution of enemy agents, torture and mistreatment of ANC members in its exile camps and for killing political opponents. It said the party must accept responsibility for the activities of ANC Women's League president Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Nelson Mandela's former wife, and her Mandela United Football Club, accused of killings, torture and kidnappings. The commission also said the PAC was guilty of the deaths of civilians in its strategy in 1993 to drive white farmers off their land so it could be reclaimed by blacks. Justice Minister Dullah Omar, meeting journalists in Pretoria, would not comment on the news reports about condemnation of the ANC. ``I do expect various responses (to the report). I do not expect everyone to agree. It will lead to healthy debate,'' he said. He said that if the commissioners recommends prosecutions against anyone for abuses, it will be up to the national director of prosecutions to decide whether to proceed. The director is appointed by the government. The commission's work is designed ``to help us establish the rule of law in South Africa, and to establish the principle of accountability,'' Omar said. The ANC already has prepared the ground for a negative finding, saying weeks ago that the commission had warned that harsh judgments were in the offing. The ANC was nervous enough about the report to request a meeting with commissioners earlier this month. The panel refused, to avoid appearing biased. On Monday, it rejected ``with contempt'' suggestions ANC officials themselves had leaked the findings. Constand Viljoen, leader of the tiny right-wing Freedom Front, said the ANC had done so to give the commission credibility by making it more even-handed. Publicly, the party has long defended its actions as those committed during a ``just war.'' F.W. de Klerk, the last apartheid-era president, meanwhile, planned to ask a court to prevent the Truth Commission report from implicating him in covering up state-sponsored terror. ``Obviously we will comply with the ruling of a court,'' Omar said, but added he would ``regret'' any court-ordered delay.",
"The New York Times said in an editorial on Sunday, Nov. 1: The 3,500-page report of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, released on Thursday, is the most comprehensive and unsparing examination of a nation's ugly past that any such commission has yet produced. Drawing from the commission's own investigations and the testimony of hundreds of applicants for amnesty and 20,000 victims, the report is a detailed look at the crimes of the apartheid era, and blames successive white governments for the vast majority. It has fulfilled its mandate of telling the fullest truth possible, which is one reason that every political party in South Africa has denounced it. Besides accusing the government of assassinations and bombings, the report criticizes the Inkatha Freedom Party for its massacres and collaboration with security forces, and blames the African National Congress for the murder of civilians and other crimes. It singles out former President P.W. Botha, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the Inkatha leader, and Winnie Mandela, among others, for detailed treatment of their roles in political crimes. One major flaw in the report is the absence of a section accusing F.W. de Klerk, the last apartheid president, of knowing about several bombings after the fact and keeping silent. It was excised because de Klerk is suing the commission. The ANC also sued, unsuccessfully, to stop publication. The lawsuits are a disappointing sign that South Africa's political parties are not interested in an honest look at their past, nor in the free flow of information. The controversy has added to widespread complaints that the commission has not helped the process of reconciliation. This is wrong. True reconciliation _ which occurs when a society is no longer paralyzed by the past and people can work and live together _ cannot be based on silence. No society can be restored to health by papering over as much pain as South Africans have suffered. A noisy and informed debate about complicity in the crimes of the apartheid era is necessary, if uncomfortable. The report is only part of the Truth Commission's contribution to the healing process. The hearings themselves, which allowed victims of human rights violations to tell their stories in public, helped the country heal and opened the eyes of many whites to the unpleasant truth about apartheid. The amnesty process, while permitting many important criminals to escape justice, is allowing families to know exactly what happened to their loved ones in dozens of cases that would likely have never gone to trial in South Africa's fragile judicial system. The process of helping the victims with scholarships and other necessary aid goes on, although it will not be enough. No commission can transform a society as twisted as South Africa's was. But the Truth Commission is the best effort the world has seen, and South Africa is the better for it.",
"President Nelson Mandela acknowledged Saturday the African National Congress violated human rights during apartheid, setting him at odds with his deputy president over a report that has divided much of South Africa. The disagreement stems from Thursday's release of the report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on horrors committed during apartheid. Rather than act as a salve and an aid to reconciliation, the report has caused divisiveness, even among former comrades-in-arms who fought apartheid. As expected, the report called apartheid a ``crime against humanity.'' But it also blamed the ANC for gross human rights violations during its anti-apartheid struggle, saying the group tortured suspected spies and dissidents and killed innocent civilians with land mines and bombs. Some suspected traitors were killed in the ANC's camps abroad. Mbeki _ who became ANC president last year and will likely be elected South Africa's next president in 1999 when Mandela retires _ took a hard line Saturday against the report, and indicated all ANC members must do the same. ``No member, 5th graf, 1st Ld-Writethru"
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Eleven countries were to adopt a common European currency, the euro, on Dec. 31, 1998. In November and December there were various reactions. France made moves toward a pan-European equity market. Ten of the countries quickly cut interest rates causing fear of overheating in some economies. In Denmark, which had earlier rejected the euro, a majority was now in favor. And in faraway China, the euro was permitted in financial exchanges. Whatever the outcome, the euro's birthday, Dec. 31, 1998, would be an historical date. Some saw it as a step towards political union while others already considered themselves as citizens of Europe. Eleven European nations are forming a "Euro zone". Britain, Denmark, Sweden, and Greece are not part of it. Danes favor joining. The Euro became official for intergovernmental transfers on Dec 31, 1998, but bills and coins will not come until 2002. The Paris, London, and Frankfurt stock exchanges have formed an alliance. Euro nations cut interest rates and inflation fell to an average 0.9%. China has authorized use of the Euro in trade. The president of the European Central Bank warns that growth is slowing and that he plans to complete his term. The EU monetary action has given rise to the new mobile, multi-lingual, non-nationalistic European. France's offer to host a financial meeting for nine other European nations is seen as a precursor to a pan-European market. It shows how the new currency, the euro, is reshaping Europe financially. Eleven European nations lowered key interest rates in preparation for the conversion. China made trading in euro official Monday when it accepted its use in trade and finance starting Jan. 1. Denmark and Sweden may not join the euro for political reasons. Some smaller nations may become unstable from a growing inflation decline. A new generation, already cosmopolitan, won't be shocked. The head of the new European Central Bank will not step down at half term. On 1 Jan 1999, the euro, a currency serving 11 European nations, entered the world financial market. As time grew short, questions remained over the pan-European market. When the head--serving an 8-year term--of the European Central Bank, which governs the euro, expressed fear of a slowing economy, the nations simultaneously dropped interest rates, spurring the market. Annual inflation rates also were encouraging. Denmark, who along with Sweden and Britain eschewed the euro, was becoming interested. As a step to a unified Europe, the euro will well serve the new, mobile, multi-lingual, business generation and could portend an economic giant.
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"China made trading in the euro official Monday, announcing authorization for the European common currency's use in trade and financial dealings starting Jan. 1. The expected announcement from the central People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, carried by the official Xinhua News Agency, also authorized the opening of euro accounts. ``Financial institutions, enterprises and individuals in China can accept and use the euro in economic, trade and financial exchanges with 11 members of the European Union effective January 1, 1999,'' Xinhua reported. ``In addition, they can convert, use and open the euro accounts,'' it said. Chinese officials have said the government may convert a proportion of its dlrs 145 billion worth of foreign exchange reserves into the euro after the currency's Jan. 1 debut. The 11 countries launching the common currency are Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal.",
"The annual inflation rate in the 11 nations that adopt the euro as their shared currency on Jan. 1 fell to 0.9 percent in November, the European Union's statistics agency reported Wednesday. The fall continued the steady decline of inflation in the euro-zone over the past year. Annual inflation stood at 1 percent in October and 1.6 percent in November 1997, according to Eurostat's monthly report. In the 15 nation EU as a whole, inflation fell to 1 percent in November compared to 1.5 percent in the United States and 0.8 percent in Japan. Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Portugal, Finland, Ireland and Luxembourg are set to adopt the euro as a common currency at midnight on New Year's Eve. The latest figures may hint at trouble ahead for the euro-zone with significant increases over the year in Portugal and Ireland. With the European Central Bank setting a common interest rate for the whole bloc, some economists fear the low rate designed to boost core EU economies like France and Germany may bring overheating in smaller nations with faster growth. There was good news for Greece which was kept out of the euro-zone for failing to meet economic conditions for joining, including low inflation. It's rate was 3.9 percent in November down from 5 percent a year before. Greece hops to join the euro-zone in 2001. Denmark, Sweden and Britain decided to stay out of the euro for political reasons. Eurostat gave the following rates for November 1998, with November 1997 in brackets: Sweden, 0.1 (2.7); France, 0.2 (1.4); Germany, 0.6 (1.4); Austria, 0.5 (1.1); Luxembourg, 0.5 (1.5); Belgium, 0.6 (1.3 percent); Denmark, 1.1 (1.6); Netherlands, 1.5 (2.5); Finland, 0.9 (1.8); Britain, 1.4 (1.9); Spain, 1.4 (1.9); Italy, 1.7 (1.8); Portugal, 2.6 (1.9); Ireland, 2.2 (1.1); Greece, 3.9 (5).",
"Palm Pilot in one hand, cellular phone in the other, Jean-Marc Routiers, 26, was juggling business calls halfway between London and Paris. When his phone went dead as the high-speed Eurostar train pulled into the underwater tunnel that links England to the Continent, the London-based French banker loosened his Italian silk tie and introduced himself. ``I definitely describe myself as a European,'' he said in the fluent English he perfected working at an Australian bank. ``I may get sentimental when they play the Marseillaise, but for all the practical things, I see myself as a citizen of Europe. I like the lifestyle in France, but I don't make my living there.'' The year 1999 is the official start-up date of the euro, the common European currency that will unite 11 countries monetarily. But throughout Europe, a different kind of integration has already taken root. Routiers, who was spending a day in Paris to meet with his bank's French clients, is at the vanguard of a new generation of Europeans who do not have to brace themselves for a shock in the new year. Mobile, fluent in several languages and aggressively non-nationalistic, they are already living the kind of borderless, cosmopolitan existence that the single European currency is supposed to advance. They do not share their parents' memories of World War II or their parents' sense of national identity. ``People worry when they hear talk of a common European defense policy because it suggests that at the end of the day, we have one government,'' said Kleon Papadopoulos, a Greek banker based in London. ``Countries are afraid to lose their sovereignty, but I don't see it as a bad thing. If a government is good, stable and efficient, who cares if it is based in Berlin or Athens?'' Papadopoulos, 36, who studied business in the United States and Britain, could serve as a model for the new Europeans. He works for a Swiss bank in London, speaks Greek, English and French, and in the past year has traveled, among other places, to Belgium, the United States, Cuba, Switzerland and Italy. Like hundreds of thousands of other Europeans, he chose London _ and its busy financial markets _ as the best place to work. He said he does not feel as if he lives in England. He lives in London, the clubhouse of financial Europe. And membership has its privileges. Papadopoulos lives in the fashionable Knightsbridge area, drives a Porsche he bought in Brussels, and works out at the fashionable gym of the Carleton Towers. ``I went to the London School of Economics in 1984, and the only other `foreigners' I met were from the Middle East,'' he says. ``Now friends and co-workers are Italian, French, Greek, Spanish, German, even Russian. You feel it everywhere. The streets are jammed with foreigners. Not tourists _ people who live and work here.'' Baby-boomers in Europe often describe themselves as the 1968 generation, weaned on the protest and social turmoil that convulsed European societies 30 years ago. Less dramatic but equally significant was a 1968 law guaranteeing",
"freedom of movement within what were then the six countries of the Common Market. A Frenchman could work in Holland, an Italian could work in Germany without a permit. Back then some economists dourly predicted huge migrations, particularly of unskilled laborers moving from southern countries to the more prosperous north. Actually, as huge industries like steel shrank in the 1970s and '80s, so did the job opportunities for working-class Europeans. There are 15 countries within what is now the European Union, but only a small percentage of their citizens have moved to other countries, according to estimates prepared by Eurostat. Those who do mostly find jobs in the service industry as waiters, maids or garbage collectors. There are still legal barriers preventing most doctors, lawyers and academics from finding work in other countries. So far the European Union has been most profitably put to use by white-collar business executives who eagerly followed career opportunities across national borders, time zones and language barriers. Twenty-five years ago that kind of mobility was the preserve of a far smaller elite, the top executives of major companies or multinational corporations. Technology, from high-speed trains to the ever-evolving apparatus of business _ lap-top computers, cell phones, fax machines _ has made European mobility accessible to mid-level managers, young entrepreneurs and even students. Cable television, which allows Germans to watch Italian game shows or Swedes to watch French news programs, has spread the Zeitgeist to the masses. This year Superga, an Italian brand of sports clothes and shoes, opened a major advertising campaign with a series of magazine ads that show fashionable young people saucily cavorting with European leaders _ a leggy young woman pushes her bicycle up the steps of the Elysee Palace to greet President Jacques Chirac, a young man playfully sticks his tongue out the window of the plane of the former German chancellor, Helmut Kohl. ``This kind of ad would not have been possible five or 10 years ago,'' said Aldo Cernuto, executive creative director of the Milan office of Pirella Gottsche Lowe, an international advertising agency. ``Now European unification is on the TV all the time; it has seeped into people's unconscious. Even people who do not care about politics recognize the faces of a Tony Blair or Jacques Chirac. Ten years ago, very few people did.'' According to the European Union, Britain has twice as many EU citizens as France, but it is not the country with the highest concentration of residents from other European countries. According to estimates based on surveys prepared by Eurostat, nearly a third of the residents of tiny Luxembourg, which has low unemployment and a high standard of living, are from other European countries. Belgium, which has the European Commission and NATO headquarters, is second, with 5.4 percent. Paradoxically, perhaps, Britain, the one major European nation that has held off from joining the euro, is widely viewed as the nerve center of the new cosmopolitanism, headquarters for the New Europeans _ bankers and business executives drawn by London's financial district, a more flexible bureaucracy and the universality",
"of the English language. Perhaps just as surprisingly, London also serves as an example of another less obvious aspect of European cosmopolitanism _ the breakdown of certain social barriers. Studying abroad was once a privilege reserved to the sons and daughters of Europe's elite. Now the European Union has a 12-year-old scholarship program, called Socrates-Erasmus, that this year allowed 200,000 European university students _ 5 percent of the EU's entire university population _ to study in other countries within the Union for up to a year, free. In the last 20 years, business schools in Europe have multiplied, and most offer U.S.-style MBA programs that teach an American approach to business. This too has allowed a measure of meritocracy to creep into European business. ``Juergen Schrempp, the head of Daimler, started as a car mechanic,'' noted Stephen Szabo, a professor of European Affairs at the Johns Hopkins University School for International Studies in Washington. ``That would have been unthinkable in Germany 20 years ago.'' Social mobility, moreover, is fueled by movement. When people transfer to another country, they find it easier to shed the psychological or cultural trappings of home. ``I could never have the kind of job I have had I stayed in Paris,'' Routier explained. ``France is still very hierarchical. Bosses want to know where you went to school, what your father does. In London, none of that matters as long as you make money.'' Many Britons still view their country as weighed down by heavy class distinctions. For example, Tony Smith, 36, editor of several Portuguese magazines in Lisbon, seized an opportunity to study in Vienna 14 years ago, and never looked back. He has lived all over Europe, and is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, German, French and Serbo-Croatian. His father, a car mechanic, had not traveled out of Britain until 1992. Smith said he could never have succeeded as well had he stayed home. ``I didn't go to public schools or Oxbridge,'' he explained. ``I'm not saying its impossible, but it would have been much more difficult in England.'' Yet Continental Europeans who flock to London find themselves bypassing English society and joining a cosmopolitan world where birth and breeding do not matter as much. Ildiko Iliffe, 30, chose to work in London to escape the sexism she encountered on the Continent. Mrs. Iliffe, who is Hungarian, speaks fluent English, German, French and Italian, and met her Canadian husband, Roger Iliffe, 30, while both were attending the University of Bocconi business school in Milan in 1995. Like his wife, Iliffe speaks four languages and has lived and traveled all over the world. She works on the Eastern European desk of a British bank; he works for a major international consulting firm. Originally they planned to work in Italy, but Mrs. Iliffe said the prevailing attitude towards working women there made it impossible for her to find as good a job. ``I went to job interviews at Italian banks and they only asked me about my husband's job,'' she said with a grimace. ``And they made it clear that",
"they were afraid I would get pregnant and ask for maternity leave.'' Philippe Haspeslagh, 48, a professor at Insead, the prestigious international business school in Fontainebleau, outside Paris, called Mrs. Iliffe's choices cherry-picking _ choosing the best deal for herself. As he put it, ``If they cannot find what they want in one country, they can pick up and seek it elsewhere.'' Twenty-five years ago, Haspeslagh was a pioneer when he did the same thing. A Belgian who studied business at Harvard, he lives and teaches in France and does consulting work all over Europe, from Sweden to the Czech Republic. The message on his cell phone is in three languages _ French, Flemish and English. His students, a generation behind him, see nothing exceptional in his transnationalism. These Europeans form an advance guard that is still relatively small in numbers, but experts say they carry a disproportionate influence on their societies. ``In Germany, for example, it is the business people who are pushing ahead with change and pulling politicians along behind them kicking and screaming,'' Szabo said. ``They are looking at a larger market and feel the competitive pressures of globalization. Politicians are responding to a domestic constituency. They are answering to an international one.''",
"In a surprise move, nations adopting the new European currency, the euro, dropped key interest rates Thursday, effectively setting the rate that will be adopted throughout the euro zone on Jan. 1. Ten of the 11 countries adopting the euro dropped their interest rate to 3 percent. Italy dropped to 3.5 percent from 4 percent. The coordinated move was a key step in preparing for economic union. Setting a common interest rates had been a particularly contentious issue as center-left governments in Germany and France pressed for lower rates to help boost growth and cut unemployment, a stubborn 10.9 percent in the euro zone. European Central Bank chief, Wim Duisenberg, gave no hint of the rate cuts during a speech in Brussels earlier Thursday, instead suggesting that governments should reform rigid labor markets to create jobs. In Germany, the biggest economy in the future euro-zone, central bankers cut the key interest rate to 3 percent from 3.3 percent. Rates before the cuts had varied throughout the future currency zone, from 3.69 percent in Ireland to 3.2 percent in Austria. The European Central Bank said in a statement from its Frankfurt headquarters that the move was decided during a meeting Tuesday of its the policy-making governing council. The governing council comprises the 11 heads of national central banks plus a six-member directorate, including the bank president Duisenberg. ``The joint reduction in interest rates has to be seen as a de facto decision on the level of interest rates with which the (bank) will start ... monetary union,'' the statement said, adding the 3-percent rate would be maintained ``for the foreseeable future.'' In Germany, central bank president Hans Tietmeyer said the move reflected the worsening outlook for European economies, and wasn't a capitulation to political pressure Finance Minister Oskar Lafontaine. ``It's not a dramatic step. It wasn't in response to political pressure,'' Tietmeyer said, referring to Germany's cut. ``The coordinated rate cut could lead to a reduction in the current pessimism and a reduction in financial market turbulence,'' he said. But Tietmeyer, head of the bank on which the ECB is modeled, promised that the rate cut does not signal the start of a volatile monetary policy. ``It's not a shift from the Bundesbank's steady-hand policy,'' he said. Growth in Europe has been hit by the Asian and Russian economic crises and turbulence on international financial markets. Duisenberg has said growth in the euro area countries next year will be about 2.5 percent, lower than the 3 percent predicted earlier.",
"In his most candid remarks yet on the economy, European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg said Friday that growth appears to be slowing in the 11 countries adopting the EU common currency _ or euro _ on Jan. 1. Despite an area-wide survey that suggested ``a moderation in the pace of growth,'' Duisenberg said domestic demand will continue to boost the economy. He pointed also to a gradual improvement in labor market conditions as supporting growth, as well as interest-rate cuts toward the 3.3 percent level of the euro-zone's lowest rate countries. Duisenberg, who spoke at an event in London, said the Dec. 1 and Dec. 22 meetings of the Central Bank's policy-making body will gauge the outlook for inflation and the EU economy. The bank, which will set monetary policy for the currency bloc, has been under pressure from politicians to keep interest rates low to help boost growth and create jobs. While inflation is at its lowest levels in decades _ just 1 percent in the euro-zone _ unemployment in the 11 nations remains stubbornly high at 10.9 percent.",
"Europe's dream of monetary union becomes reality Thursday when 11 nations irrevocably lock their currencies together to form the euro and create an economic giant whose boundaries stretch from beyond the Arctic Circle to the shores of the Mediterranean. The euro's birth is being hailed as a historic turning point in international finance and is arguably the greatest single step in the drive to create a united Europe from the ruins of World War II. ``This Dec. 31, 1998, will be one of the great dates in the history of the 20th century,'' French Finance Minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn, told France Info radio. ``It's the beginning of a new era.'' On what Europeans are calling ``E-day,'' economic and finance ministers from the 11 nations will huddle at European Union headquarters to agree to the rates at which German marks, Italian lire and the rest are absorbed into euro. Strauss-Kahn said the euro would likely be worth 6.56 to 6.57 French francs.",
"Wim Duisenberg, the head of the new European Central Bank, said in an interview published Wednesday that he won't step down after completing half his term as earlier agreed. ``I had hoped you wouldn't ask me that question. The answer is no,'' Duisenberg told the Le Monde daily, which had asked him if he would step down after four years on the job. Duisenberg was named this spring as head of the new European Central Bank, which will govern the policies of the euro, the new single currency which goes into effect Jan. 1. France surprised its euro partners by proposing its central banker, Jean-Claude Trichet, at the last minute for the job Duisenberg was expected to secure easily. Although he was elected easily, Duisenberg agreed to step down after four years of his eight year term although he has since said no such ``gentleman's agreement'' exists. Duisenberg told Le Monde, a newspaper that fervently has backed the euro, that the the introduction of the new currency is the most ``significant'' step so far toward European unification. However, he said that he would like to see further political integration, especially in the area of foreign tax and social policies.",
"Making their first collective decision about monetary policy, the 11 European nations launching a common currency on Jan. 1 cut interest rates Thursday in a surprise move that won market confidence. Ten of the 11 countries joining European economic union dropped their key interest rate to 3 percent, with Portugal making the most significant plunge, from 3.75 percent. Austria made the smallest cut, from 3.2 percent. The exception was Italy, which cut from 4 to 3.5 percent. It is expected to drop to the common rate by the time the euro is launched. Unifying the interest rate is a critical step in laying the groundwork for monetary union, and analysts generally expected rates to settle at around the level of Germany's, 3.3 percent before the cut, now 3 percent. However, interest rate levels had become a contentious political issue with center-left governments in Germany and France pushing for rate cuts to help spur growth and combat unemployment, stuck at 10.9 percent in the nations adopting the euro. The head of the European Central Bank that will set monetary policy for the euro nations, Wim Duisenberg, again on Thursday suggested governments should reform rigid labor markets to create jobs, and not pressure him to cut rates. The remarks in Brussels _ before the cuts were made _ gave no hint that a rate drop was imminent, but made clear his resistance to political pressure was as strong as ever. So strong, in fact, that Dutch Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm said he had feared the bank would delay the decision. ``What had been feared was that, in order to prove its independence, the ECB would go against its own analysis and would wait longer, which would have been nonsensical,'' Zalm said. Hans Tietmeyer, who runs the German Bundesbank on which the ECB is modeled, hinted the rate cut was designed to boost confidence in the new currency, dampened by global economic crises and Europe's worsening outlook. ``The coordinated rate cut could lead to a reduction in the current pessimism and a reduction in financial market turbulence,'' Tietmeyer said. The cuts seemed to have the desired impact. Frankfurt's main index closed up 2.1 percent, while France's was up 1.8 percent. The cuts also boosted markets in Spain, Belgium, Italy and even Britain, which is not among the nations launching the euro. ``The reaction is, `Oh good, they're doing a little bit to prop up the euro economy.' But confidence has taken quite a hit across Europe recently, and I think further action from the ECB will be needed next year, maybe down to 2.5 percent,'' James Mitchell, senior London-based strategist with Nomura. An economist at the Banque Bruxelles Lambert, Liesbeth Van de Craen, said the cuts were timely. ``We are clearly headed for a slowdown,'' she said. Until recently, Europe's economies had held out relatively well against damage from Asia and Russia's economic crises and unstable financial markets. But just two days ago, Duisenberg painted the bleakest picture yet of Europe's economies, warning growth will likely slow to 2.5 percent next year from earlier expectations of 3 percent. The rate cuts may help. By making it cheaper to borrow money, rate cuts can lead to more investment and new businesses, making it less worthwhile to save and inducing people to spend. That expands the economy. The 11 countries launching the euro are Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal.",
"Struggling to avoid being sidelined in the Continent-wide equities market promised by Europe's soon-to-be-introduced single currency, French authorities said Thursday that the Paris stock exchange would join an alliance between London and Frankfurt that is seen as the precursor of a pan-European market. The Bourse in Paris also announced that it would play host to a meeting Nov. 27 of nine other European exchanges to discuss ``the steps and conditions needed to create a unifying and competitive pan-European equity market.'' The two announcements show how the introduction of the currency, the euro, is reshaping Europe's financial landscape, requiring Europeans to think in Continental rather than national terms in finance and business. And it suggested that exchange authorities in Paris, ruffled by the announcement in July of a ``strategic alliance'' between the London Stock Exchange and the Deutsche Borse in Frankfurt, had not only abandoned an effort to set up a rival market but were also seeking to gain the initiative by organizing the Nov. 27 gathering. Some doubt remained, however, about the timing and technicalities of the French entry into the alliance. Foreign Minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn said, ``Paris is joining this alliance with the creation from January 1999 of a joint company.'' However, officials in London and Frankfurt _ who welcomed the idea in principle _ declined to say whether the timing and the arrangements were as far advanced as Strauss-Kahn implied. ``I'm afraid I can't confirm anything like that,'' a spokeswoman at the London Stock Exchange said. ``The appearances are well ahead of the reality at this point,'' said an American banker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Not only that, the notion of a Europe-wide exchange raises technical questions about the compatibility not just of trading systems but also of the regulations governing stock market operations in the countries that will use the euro beginning in January. That has led some analysts to forecast that a pan-European exchange could not be up and running before 2000. ``There are an awful lot of issues to be resolved,'' the American banker said. The euro is to be introduced for electronic trading of equities, bonds and futures and for intergovernmental transfers. Notes and coins _ the pocket money that shoppers and travelers will carry _ will be introduced only in 2002. Initially, the currency will group 11 European nations in a euro zone, leaving Britain, Denmark, Sweden and Greece on the outside. With its concentration of banking and trading, however, London is expected to continue as the main market center. The prospect has heightened pressure for consolidation among exchanges. Stock market officials in Milan, Madrid, Amsterdam and Brussels have indicated they would be interested in joining the London-Frankfurt alliance, which will initially create a single point of liquidity for trading in British and German blue-chip issues. The London exchange estimates that a pan-European stock exchange would group together companies with a market capitalization of $5.5 trillion, compared with $8.7 trillion on the New York Stock Exchange. The Paris Bourse, the third largest of the European exchanges and the last major holdout toward a pan-European market, said that it had also invited officials from exchanges in Zurich and Stockholm to attend the Nov. 27 meeting. A spokeswoman said officials from the London Stock Exchange would be at the meeting. Also Thursday, the New York Mercantile Exchange and the International Petroleum Exchange here acknowledged that they were considering a merger that would bring together the two biggest energy futures markets. Discussions began in July, and the exchanges have formed a working group to study a merger. They already cooperate in the development of a system intended to coordinate after-hours electronic trading.",
"Two days before the new euro currency goes into effect for 11 European Union members, a growing number of Danes believe their country should take part, according to a poll published Tuesday. The survey by the Megaphone polling institute said 54 percent of the 1,009 people surveyed favor Denmark's participation, while 36 percent oppose that. The remaining 10 percent were undecided. The poll, conducted Dec. 18-22, was broadcast by TV2 channel. Denmark is one of four EU countries staying out of the monetary union for the time being. After voters in 1992 rejected the Maastricht treaty that established the system, Denmark won opt-out clauses. The treaty then was approved. Danish voters traditionally have been lukewarm supporters of the EU. Although many politicians support the unified currency, they have been wary about bringing the issue to voters again. A poll published last October showed 46 percent of Danes favored the single currency, while 44 percent were opposed. It would take another national referendum for Denmark to adopt the new currency. The government has said it has no plans to hold a referendum before the year 2001."
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"China made trading in the euro official Monday, announcing authorization for the European common currency's use in trade and financial dealings starting Jan. 1. The expected announcement from the central People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, carried by the official Xinhua News Agency, also authorized the opening of euro accounts. ``Financial institutions, enterprises and individuals in China can accept and use the euro in economic, trade and financial exchanges with 11 members of the European Union effective January 1, 1999,'' Xinhua reported. ``In addition, they can convert, use and open the euro accounts,'' it said. Chinese officials have said the government may convert a proportion of its dlrs 145 billion worth of foreign exchange reserves into the euro after the currency's Jan. 1 debut. The 11 countries launching the common currency are Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal.",
"The annual inflation rate in the 11 nations that adopt the euro as their shared currency on Jan. 1 fell to 0.9 percent in November, the European Union's statistics agency reported Wednesday. The fall continued the steady decline of inflation in the euro-zone over the past year. Annual inflation stood at 1 percent in October and 1.6 percent in November 1997, according to Eurostat's monthly report. In the 15 nation EU as a whole, inflation fell to 1 percent in November compared to 1.5 percent in the United States and 0.8 percent in Japan. Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Portugal, Finland, Ireland and Luxembourg are set to adopt the euro as a common currency at midnight on New Year's Eve. The latest figures may hint at trouble ahead for the euro-zone with significant increases over the year in Portugal and Ireland. With the European Central Bank setting a common interest rate for the whole bloc, some economists fear the low rate designed to boost core EU economies like France and Germany may bring overheating in smaller nations with faster growth. There was good news for Greece which was kept out of the euro-zone for failing to meet economic conditions for joining, including low inflation. It's rate was 3.9 percent in November down from 5 percent a year before. Greece hops to join the euro-zone in 2001. Denmark, Sweden and Britain decided to stay out of the euro for political reasons. Eurostat gave the following rates for November 1998, with November 1997 in brackets: Sweden, 0.1 (2.7); France, 0.2 (1.4); Germany, 0.6 (1.4); Austria, 0.5 (1.1); Luxembourg, 0.5 (1.5); Belgium, 0.6 (1.3 percent); Denmark, 1.1 (1.6); Netherlands, 1.5 (2.5); Finland, 0.9 (1.8); Britain, 1.4 (1.9); Spain, 1.4 (1.9); Italy, 1.7 (1.8); Portugal, 2.6 (1.9); Ireland, 2.2 (1.1); Greece, 3.9 (5).",
"Palm Pilot in one hand, cellular phone in the other, Jean-Marc Routiers, 26, was juggling business calls halfway between London and Paris. When his phone went dead as the high-speed Eurostar train pulled into the underwater tunnel that links England to the Continent, the London-based French banker loosened his Italian silk tie and introduced himself. ``I definitely describe myself as a European,'' he said in the fluent English he perfected working at an Australian bank. ``I may get sentimental when they play the Marseillaise, but for all the practical things, I see myself as a citizen of Europe. I like the lifestyle in France, but I don't make my living there.'' The year 1999 is the official start-up date of the euro, the common European currency that will unite 11 countries monetarily. But throughout Europe, a different kind of integration has already taken root. Routiers, who was spending a day in Paris to meet with his bank's French clients, is at the vanguard of a new generation of Europeans who do not have to brace themselves for a shock in the new year. Mobile, fluent in several languages and aggressively non-nationalistic, they are already living the kind of borderless, cosmopolitan existence that the single European currency is supposed to advance. They do not share their parents' memories of World War II or their parents' sense of national identity. ``People worry when they hear talk of a common European defense policy because it suggests that at the end of the day, we have one government,'' said Kleon Papadopoulos, a Greek banker based in London. ``Countries are afraid to lose their sovereignty, but I don't see it as a bad thing. If a government is good, stable and efficient, who cares if it is based in Berlin or Athens?'' Papadopoulos, 36, who studied business in the United States and Britain, could serve as a model for the new Europeans. He works for a Swiss bank in London, speaks Greek, English and French, and in the past year has traveled, among other places, to Belgium, the United States, Cuba, Switzerland and Italy. Like hundreds of thousands of other Europeans, he chose London _ and its busy financial markets _ as the best place to work. He said he does not feel as if he lives in England. He lives in London, the clubhouse of financial Europe. And membership has its privileges. Papadopoulos lives in the fashionable Knightsbridge area, drives a Porsche he bought in Brussels, and works out at the fashionable gym of the Carleton Towers. ``I went to the London School of Economics in 1984, and the only other `foreigners' I met were from the Middle East,'' he says. ``Now friends and co-workers are Italian, French, Greek, Spanish, German, even Russian. You feel it everywhere. The streets are jammed with foreigners. Not tourists _ people who live and work here.'' Baby-boomers in Europe often describe themselves as the 1968 generation, weaned on the protest and social turmoil that convulsed European societies 30 years ago. Less dramatic but equally significant was a 1968 law guaranteeing freedom of movement within what were then the six countries of the Common Market. A Frenchman could work in Holland, an Italian could work in Germany without a permit. Back then some economists dourly predicted huge migrations, particularly of unskilled laborers moving from southern countries to the more prosperous north. Actually, as huge industries like steel shrank in the 1970s and '80s, so did the job opportunities for working-class Europeans. There are 15 countries within what is now the European Union, but only a small percentage of their citizens have moved to other countries, according to estimates prepared by Eurostat. Those who do mostly find jobs in the service industry as waiters, maids or garbage collectors. There are still legal barriers preventing most doctors, lawyers and academics from finding work in other countries. So far the European Union has been most profitably put to use by white-collar business executives who eagerly followed career opportunities across national borders, time zones and language barriers. Twenty-five years ago that kind of mobility was the preserve of a far smaller elite, the top executives of major companies or multinational corporations. Technology, from high-speed trains to the ever-evolving apparatus of business _ lap-top computers, cell phones, fax machines _ has made European mobility accessible to mid-level managers, young entrepreneurs and even students. Cable television, which allows Germans to watch Italian game shows or Swedes to watch French news programs, has spread the Zeitgeist to the masses. This year Superga, an Italian brand of sports clothes and shoes, opened a major advertising campaign with a series of magazine ads that show fashionable young people saucily cavorting with European leaders _ a leggy young woman pushes her bicycle up the steps of the Elysee Palace to greet President Jacques Chirac, a young man playfully sticks his tongue out the window of the plane of the former German chancellor, Helmut Kohl. ``This kind of ad would not have been possible five or 10 years ago,'' said Aldo Cernuto, executive creative director of the Milan office of Pirella Gottsche Lowe, an international advertising agency. ``Now European unification is on the TV all the time; it has seeped into people's unconscious. Even people who do not care about politics recognize the faces of a Tony Blair or Jacques Chirac. Ten years ago, very few people did.'' According to the European Union, Britain has twice as many EU citizens as France, but it is not the country with the highest concentration of residents from other European countries. According to estimates based on surveys prepared by Eurostat, nearly a third of the residents of tiny Luxembourg, which has low unemployment and a high standard of living, are from other European countries. Belgium, which has the European Commission and NATO headquarters, is second, with 5.4 percent. Paradoxically, perhaps, Britain, the one major European nation that has held off from joining the euro, is widely viewed as the nerve center of the new cosmopolitanism, headquarters for the New Europeans _ bankers and business executives drawn by London's financial district, a more flexible bureaucracy and the universality of the English language. Perhaps just as surprisingly, London also serves as an example of another less obvious aspect of European cosmopolitanism _ the breakdown of certain social barriers. Studying abroad was once a privilege reserved to the sons and daughters of Europe's elite. Now the European Union has a 12-year-old scholarship program, called Socrates-Erasmus, that this year allowed 200,000 European university students _ 5 percent of the EU's entire university population _ to study in other countries within the Union for up to a year, free. In the last 20 years, business schools in Europe have multiplied, and most offer U.S.-style MBA programs that teach an American approach to business. This too has allowed a measure of meritocracy to creep into European business. ``Juergen Schrempp, the head of Daimler, started as a car mechanic,'' noted Stephen Szabo, a professor of European Affairs at the Johns Hopkins University School for International Studies in Washington. ``That would have been unthinkable in Germany 20 years ago.'' Social mobility, moreover, is fueled by movement. When people transfer to another country, they find it easier to shed the psychological or cultural trappings of home. ``I could never have the kind of job I have had I stayed in Paris,'' Routier explained. ``France is still very hierarchical. Bosses want to know where you went to school, what your father does. In London, none of that matters as long as you make money.'' Many Britons still view their country as weighed down by heavy class distinctions. For example, Tony Smith, 36, editor of several Portuguese magazines in Lisbon, seized an opportunity to study in Vienna 14 years ago, and never looked back. He has lived all over Europe, and is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, German, French and Serbo-Croatian. His father, a car mechanic, had not traveled out of Britain until 1992. Smith said he could never have succeeded as well had he stayed home. ``I didn't go to public schools or Oxbridge,'' he explained. ``I'm not saying its impossible, but it would have been much more difficult in England.'' Yet Continental Europeans who flock to London find themselves bypassing English society and joining a cosmopolitan world where birth and breeding do not matter as much. Ildiko Iliffe, 30, chose to work in London to escape the sexism she encountered on the Continent. Mrs. Iliffe, who is Hungarian, speaks fluent English, German, French and Italian, and met her Canadian husband, Roger Iliffe, 30, while both were attending the University of Bocconi business school in Milan in 1995. Like his wife, Iliffe speaks four languages and has lived and traveled all over the world. She works on the Eastern European desk of a British bank; he works for a major international consulting firm. Originally they planned to work in Italy, but Mrs. Iliffe said the prevailing attitude towards working women there made it impossible for her to find as good a job. ``I went to job interviews at Italian banks and they only asked me about my husband's job,'' she said with a grimace. ``And they made it clear that they were afraid I would get pregnant and ask for maternity leave.'' Philippe Haspeslagh, 48, a professor at Insead, the prestigious international business school in Fontainebleau, outside Paris, called Mrs. Iliffe's choices cherry-picking _ choosing the best deal for herself. As he put it, ``If they cannot find what they want in one country, they can pick up and seek it elsewhere.'' Twenty-five years ago, Haspeslagh was a pioneer when he did the same thing. A Belgian who studied business at Harvard, he lives and teaches in France and does consulting work all over Europe, from Sweden to the Czech Republic. The message on his cell phone is in three languages _ French, Flemish and English. His students, a generation behind him, see nothing exceptional in his transnationalism. These Europeans form an advance guard that is still relatively small in numbers, but experts say they carry a disproportionate influence on their societies. ``In Germany, for example, it is the business people who are pushing ahead with change and pulling politicians along behind them kicking and screaming,'' Szabo said. ``They are looking at a larger market and feel the competitive pressures of globalization. Politicians are responding to a domestic constituency. They are answering to an international one.''",
"In a surprise move, nations adopting the new European currency, the euro, dropped key interest rates Thursday, effectively setting the rate that will be adopted throughout the euro zone on Jan. 1. Ten of the 11 countries adopting the euro dropped their interest rate to 3 percent. Italy dropped to 3.5 percent from 4 percent. The coordinated move was a key step in preparing for economic union. Setting a common interest rates had been a particularly contentious issue as center-left governments in Germany and France pressed for lower rates to help boost growth and cut unemployment, a stubborn 10.9 percent in the euro zone. European Central Bank chief, Wim Duisenberg, gave no hint of the rate cuts during a speech in Brussels earlier Thursday, instead suggesting that governments should reform rigid labor markets to create jobs. In Germany, the biggest economy in the future euro-zone, central bankers cut the key interest rate to 3 percent from 3.3 percent. Rates before the cuts had varied throughout the future currency zone, from 3.69 percent in Ireland to 3.2 percent in Austria. The European Central Bank said in a statement from its Frankfurt headquarters that the move was decided during a meeting Tuesday of its the policy-making governing council. The governing council comprises the 11 heads of national central banks plus a six-member directorate, including the bank president Duisenberg. ``The joint reduction in interest rates has to be seen as a de facto decision on the level of interest rates with which the (bank) will start ... monetary union,'' the statement said, adding the 3-percent rate would be maintained ``for the foreseeable future.'' In Germany, central bank president Hans Tietmeyer said the move reflected the worsening outlook for European economies, and wasn't a capitulation to political pressure Finance Minister Oskar Lafontaine. ``It's not a dramatic step. It wasn't in response to political pressure,'' Tietmeyer said, referring to Germany's cut. ``The coordinated rate cut could lead to a reduction in the current pessimism and a reduction in financial market turbulence,'' he said. But Tietmeyer, head of the bank on which the ECB is modeled, promised that the rate cut does not signal the start of a volatile monetary policy. ``It's not a shift from the Bundesbank's steady-hand policy,'' he said. Growth in Europe has been hit by the Asian and Russian economic crises and turbulence on international financial markets. Duisenberg has said growth in the euro area countries next year will be about 2.5 percent, lower than the 3 percent predicted earlier.",
"In his most candid remarks yet on the economy, European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg said Friday that growth appears to be slowing in the 11 countries adopting the EU common currency _ or euro _ on Jan. 1. Despite an area-wide survey that suggested ``a moderation in the pace of growth,'' Duisenberg said domestic demand will continue to boost the economy. He pointed also to a gradual improvement in labor market conditions as supporting growth, as well as interest-rate cuts toward the 3.3 percent level of the euro-zone's lowest rate countries. Duisenberg, who spoke at an event in London, said the Dec. 1 and Dec. 22 meetings of the Central Bank's policy-making body will gauge the outlook for inflation and the EU economy. The bank, which will set monetary policy for the currency bloc, has been under pressure from politicians to keep interest rates low to help boost growth and create jobs. While inflation is at its lowest levels in decades _ just 1 percent in the euro-zone _ unemployment in the 11 nations remains stubbornly high at 10.9 percent.",
"Europe's dream of monetary union becomes reality Thursday when 11 nations irrevocably lock their currencies together to form the euro and create an economic giant whose boundaries stretch from beyond the Arctic Circle to the shores of the Mediterranean. The euro's birth is being hailed as a historic turning point in international finance and is arguably the greatest single step in the drive to create a united Europe from the ruins of World War II. ``This Dec. 31, 1998, will be one of the great dates in the history of the 20th century,'' French Finance Minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn, told France Info radio. ``It's the beginning of a new era.'' On what Europeans are calling ``E-day,'' economic and finance ministers from the 11 nations will huddle at European Union headquarters to agree to the rates at which German marks, Italian lire and the rest are absorbed into euro. Strauss-Kahn said the euro would likely be worth 6.56 to 6.57 French francs.",
"Wim Duisenberg, the head of the new European Central Bank, said in an interview published Wednesday that he won't step down after completing half his term as earlier agreed. ``I had hoped you wouldn't ask me that question. The answer is no,'' Duisenberg told the Le Monde daily, which had asked him if he would step down after four years on the job. Duisenberg was named this spring as head of the new European Central Bank, which will govern the policies of the euro, the new single currency which goes into effect Jan. 1. France surprised its euro partners by proposing its central banker, Jean-Claude Trichet, at the last minute for the job Duisenberg was expected to secure easily. Although he was elected easily, Duisenberg agreed to step down after four years of his eight year term although he has since said no such ``gentleman's agreement'' exists. Duisenberg told Le Monde, a newspaper that fervently has backed the euro, that the the introduction of the new currency is the most ``significant'' step so far toward European unification. However, he said that he would like to see further political integration, especially in the area of foreign tax and social policies.",
"Making their first collective decision about monetary policy, the 11 European nations launching a common currency on Jan. 1 cut interest rates Thursday in a surprise move that won market confidence. Ten of the 11 countries joining European economic union dropped their key interest rate to 3 percent, with Portugal making the most significant plunge, from 3.75 percent. Austria made the smallest cut, from 3.2 percent. The exception was Italy, which cut from 4 to 3.5 percent. It is expected to drop to the common rate by the time the euro is launched. Unifying the interest rate is a critical step in laying the groundwork for monetary union, and analysts generally expected rates to settle at around the level of Germany's, 3.3 percent before the cut, now 3 percent. However, interest rate levels had become a contentious political issue with center-left governments in Germany and France pushing for rate cuts to help spur growth and combat unemployment, stuck at 10.9 percent in the nations adopting the euro. The head of the European Central Bank that will set monetary policy for the euro nations, Wim Duisenberg, again on Thursday suggested governments should reform rigid labor markets to create jobs, and not pressure him to cut rates. The remarks in Brussels _ before the cuts were made _ gave no hint that a rate drop was imminent, but made clear his resistance to political pressure was as strong as ever. So strong, in fact, that Dutch Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm said he had feared the bank would delay the decision. ``What had been feared was that, in order to prove its independence, the ECB would go against its own analysis and would wait longer, which would have been nonsensical,'' Zalm said. Hans Tietmeyer, who runs the German Bundesbank on which the ECB is modeled, hinted the rate cut was designed to boost confidence in the new currency, dampened by global economic crises and Europe's worsening outlook. ``The coordinated rate cut could lead to a reduction in the current pessimism and a reduction in financial market turbulence,'' Tietmeyer said. The cuts seemed to have the desired impact. Frankfurt's main index closed up 2.1 percent, while France's was up 1.8 percent. The cuts also boosted markets in Spain, Belgium, Italy and even Britain, which is not among the nations launching the euro. ``The reaction is, `Oh good, they're doing a little bit to prop up the euro economy.' But confidence has taken quite a hit across Europe recently, and I think further action from the ECB will be needed next year, maybe down to 2.5 percent,'' James Mitchell, senior London-based strategist with Nomura. An economist at the Banque Bruxelles Lambert, Liesbeth Van de Craen, said the cuts were timely. ``We are clearly headed for a slowdown,'' she said. Until recently, Europe's economies had held out relatively well against damage from Asia and Russia's economic crises and unstable financial markets. But just two days ago, Duisenberg painted the bleakest picture yet of Europe's economies, warning growth will likely slow to 2.5 percent next year from earlier expectations of 3 percent. The rate cuts may help. By making it cheaper to borrow money, rate cuts can lead to more investment and new businesses, making it less worthwhile to save and inducing people to spend. That expands the economy. The 11 countries launching the euro are Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal.",
"Struggling to avoid being sidelined in the Continent-wide equities market promised by Europe's soon-to-be-introduced single currency, French authorities said Thursday that the Paris stock exchange would join an alliance between London and Frankfurt that is seen as the precursor of a pan-European market. The Bourse in Paris also announced that it would play host to a meeting Nov. 27 of nine other European exchanges to discuss ``the steps and conditions needed to create a unifying and competitive pan-European equity market.'' The two announcements show how the introduction of the currency, the euro, is reshaping Europe's financial landscape, requiring Europeans to think in Continental rather than national terms in finance and business. And it suggested that exchange authorities in Paris, ruffled by the announcement in July of a ``strategic alliance'' between the London Stock Exchange and the Deutsche Borse in Frankfurt, had not only abandoned an effort to set up a rival market but were also seeking to gain the initiative by organizing the Nov. 27 gathering. Some doubt remained, however, about the timing and technicalities of the French entry into the alliance. Foreign Minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn said, ``Paris is joining this alliance with the creation from January 1999 of a joint company.'' However, officials in London and Frankfurt _ who welcomed the idea in principle _ declined to say whether the timing and the arrangements were as far advanced as Strauss-Kahn implied. ``I'm afraid I can't confirm anything like that,'' a spokeswoman at the London Stock Exchange said. ``The appearances are well ahead of the reality at this point,'' said an American banker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Not only that, the notion of a Europe-wide exchange raises technical questions about the compatibility not just of trading systems but also of the regulations governing stock market operations in the countries that will use the euro beginning in January. That has led some analysts to forecast that a pan-European exchange could not be up and running before 2000. ``There are an awful lot of issues to be resolved,'' the American banker said. The euro is to be introduced for electronic trading of equities, bonds and futures and for intergovernmental transfers. Notes and coins _ the pocket money that shoppers and travelers will carry _ will be introduced only in 2002. Initially, the currency will group 11 European nations in a euro zone, leaving Britain, Denmark, Sweden and Greece on the outside. With its concentration of banking and trading, however, London is expected to continue as the main market center. The prospect has heightened pressure for consolidation among exchanges. Stock market officials in Milan, Madrid, Amsterdam and Brussels have indicated they would be interested in joining the London-Frankfurt alliance, which will initially create a single point of liquidity for trading in British and German blue-chip issues. The London exchange estimates that a pan-European stock exchange would group together companies with a market capitalization of $5.5 trillion, compared with $8.7 trillion on the New York Stock Exchange. The Paris Bourse, the third largest of the European exchanges and the last major holdout toward a pan-European market, said that it had also invited officials from exchanges in Zurich and Stockholm to attend the Nov. 27 meeting. A spokeswoman said officials from the London Stock Exchange would be at the meeting. Also Thursday, the New York Mercantile Exchange and the International Petroleum Exchange here acknowledged that they were considering a merger that would bring together the two biggest energy futures markets. Discussions began in July, and the exchanges have formed a working group to study a merger. They already cooperate in the development of a system intended to coordinate after-hours electronic trading.",
"Two days before the new euro currency goes into effect for 11 European Union members, a growing number of Danes believe their country should take part, according to a poll published Tuesday. The survey by the Megaphone polling institute said 54 percent of the 1,009 people surveyed favor Denmark's participation, while 36 percent oppose that. The remaining 10 percent were undecided. The poll, conducted Dec. 18-22, was broadcast by TV2 channel. Denmark is one of four EU countries staying out of the monetary union for the time being. After voters in 1992 rejected the Maastricht treaty that established the system, Denmark won opt-out clauses. The treaty then was approved. Danish voters traditionally have been lukewarm supporters of the EU. Although many politicians support the unified currency, they have been wary about bringing the issue to voters again. A poll published last October showed 46 percent of Danes favored the single currency, while 44 percent were opposed. It would take another national referendum for Denmark to adopt the new currency. The government has said it has no plans to hold a referendum before the year 2001."
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Kofi Annan talked with Gadhafi in Libya on bringing the 1988 Pan Am bombing suspects to trial. He thinks it will happen soon. Libya agrees to a trial in a 3rd country. The West demands any sentence be served in Scotland. Libya insists on a Libyan jail. Libya claims Gadhafi doesn't have authority to give up the suspects. The UN bans air travel to and from Libya to force the turning over of the suspects. Gadhafi traveled by car to visited Tunisia. Annan had UN clearance to fly to Libya. Qatar reaffirms its support for Libya. Louis Farrakhan visits Libya but the US bars him from accepting Libyan money. Ceremonies were held on the bombing's 10th anniversary. UN sanctions barring air travel force Gadhafi to travel by land to visit Tunisia. Farrakhan visits Gadhafi and urges the UN to lift sanctions imposed to force the hand over of 2 1988 Pan Am bombing suspects. UN Secretary General Annan goes to Libya for talks aimed at bringing the suspects to trial. Annan thinks an arrangement could be made soon. Libya is serious and ready to find a solution. Libya agrees to the suspects being tried by Scottish judges in the Netherlands, but wants them jailed in Libya if convicted. The U.S. and Britain insist on British prison. Qatar supports Libya's position. U.S. and British leaders vow to bring the suspects to justice. On the eve of the 10th anniversary of the 1988 downing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, there is hope that the Libya suspects might soon be brought to trial. UN General Secretary Kofi Annan has met with Libyan officials and an agreement in principle has been reached on the need for a trial. Libya seeks assurances that the trial will not be politicized. Libya has been under a UN flight ban since 1992 in an effort to get them to turn over the suspected bombers for trial by Scottish authorities. The citizens of Lockerbie marked the anniversary of the bombing with a memorial service. The UN, US,and Britain continue to press Libya to turn over the two Libyans accused of the Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. Libya has agreed to a trial for the two by a Scottish court in the Netherlands, but if found guilty, insists they be jailed in Libya, not Scotland as Britain wants. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has visited Libya to urge the turnover of the two. Libyan leader Moammar Qadhafi feels the pressure of sanctions against his country, but has the support of neighboring Tunisia, Qatar, and US Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan. People in the US and British Isles attended special services marking the 10th anniversary of the bombing.
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"TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) _ U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan left for Libya Saturday to hold talks aimed at putting two suspects on trial for the 1988 Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie. Annan's one-day, 2nd graf pvs",
"After meeting Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in a desert tent, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he thinks an arrangement for bringing two suspects to trial in the bombing of a Pan Am airliner could be secured in the ``not too distant future.'' Annan's comments came Saturday after he and Gadhafi failed to agree on handing over Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah, who are suspected in the 1988 bombing that killed 270 people. On Sunday, state-run Libyan Radio quoted an unnamed official in the Foreign Liaison Secretariat, which is the equivalent of a foreign ministry, as saying that ``a solution to this crisis is within reach.'' He credited Annan's talks with Omar al-Muntasser, Libya's foreign minister, who met with Annan in Sirte before Annan went on to talks with Gadhafi. Sirte is 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of the Libyan capital Tripoli. The official spoke of ``fruitful talks'' but gave no details. The broadcast was monitored by the British Broadcasting Corp. Also Sunday, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said in an interview with the BBC that he had spoken with Annan on Sunday and was ``very encouraged by what he tells me.'' He added: ``I think you could sum up our mood as one of qualified optimism.'' Britain would like to see the two suspects in custody by Dec. 21, the 10th anniversary of the Pan Am bombing. But Cook said Britain will not budge on the demand by Washington and London that the suspects serve any sentence in a Scottish jail. Libya has asked that any prison terms be served in the Netherlands or Libya. Annan spoke to reporters in Tripoli after the meeting with Gadhafi and later when he arrived back at this Tunisian island, where he had begun the day of diplomacy that lasted nearly 15 hours. The 60-year-old Annan is trying to get Libya to go along with a U.S.-British plan to try the two suspects before a panel of Scottish judges in the Netherlands for the 1988 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. ``The talks have been fruitful and positive,'' Annan said in Tripoli. ``Libya has confirmed its seriousness and readiness to find a solution to the Lockerbie problem. ``Libya has also agreed to a trial in a third country and believes that it ought to be possible to find answers to all other outstanding issues,'' he said. ``So I hope that in the not too distant future we will be able to give the families good news,'' he added, referring to the relatives of victims who have lobbied extensively for a trial. Annan left Jerba on Sunday for the United Arab Emirates, where he will attend a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a federation of six Arab Gulf states. In Washington, James Foley, a State Department spokesman, said the United States is awaiting a briefing from Annan but is ``disappointed'' that Libya has not complied with U.N. Security Council resolutions. ``Compliance means turnover of the two suspects for trial,'' Foley said. ``It's been almost 10 years since the Pan Am 103 tragedy, this has gone on for far too long.'' The meeting with Gadhafi took place after Libya's official news agency, JANA, reported that Annan might not be able to meet with the Libyan leader because Gadhafi was ``in the desert.'' U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said Annan was taken on an hour's trip into the desert in a four-wheel drive vehicle to meet with Gadhafi in a tent with a roaring fire outside. Earlier, Libyan media suggested that Gadhafi had no authority to hand over the suspects _ an indication he was giving himself room in case he decides against giving up the two men wanted by the United States and Britain. JANA indicated a decision on handing over the two suspects would have to be approved by some 500 grassroots national committees before being considered by the Parliament. Libyan radio reported that the Parliament had been called to meet Tuesday in Sirte but did not say whether the Lockerbie issue would be discussed. Annan flew into Libya aboard a special plane from Jerba after receiving clearance from the U.N. Sanctions Committee. Libya has been under U.N. sanctions since 1992 for its refusal to hand over the two suspects. The U.N. sanctions ban air travel in and out of the country but do not cover oil exports, Libya's economic lifeblood.",
"With the mournful lament of bagpipes and prayers of healing, the people of Lockerbie paid tribute to the 270 people killed when a bomb brought Pan Am Flight 103 crashing down on this tiny town 10 years ago Monday. The hundreds who packed Dryfesdale Parish Church heard messages from British Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President Bill Clinton, who renewed their vows to punish the culprits who hid the bomb in a suitcase on Dec. 21, 1988. But they also heard quiet sobs that echoed throughout the century-old church as a few moments of silence were observed before the bagpiper blew her lament. ``In the lives that were lost, some very young, there was meaning and achievement,'' the Rev. David Almond told the gathering of about 600 people, which included 60 family members of those who perished. ``Our task in commemoration is to continue that meaning and to build on that achievement.'' The congregation heard the children of the local elementary school sing a tribute, ``Let There be Love,'' as well as a message from the queen. ``We pray on this anniversary that the families will find solace together in quiet remembrance across the world,'' the queen's message said. In a separate service in London's Westminster Abbey, attended by Blair, Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II, hundreds listened as one-by-one the names of the 259 passengers and 11 of Lockerbie's own residents were read out as a candle was lit for each. Simultaneous services were also held at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia and in Syracuse, New York, which lost 35 college students in the crash. Each service began at 7:03 p.m. (1903 GMT), the moment when the plane disappeared from the radar screen above Scotland. ``This was a very positive, emotional day,'' Bert Ammerman of River Vale, New Jersey, whose brother Thomas died in the crash, said after the service. He said the people of Lockerbie have ``proven over the past 10 years that good intentions can overcome evil.'' Earlier in the day, Prince Philip, the queen's husband, laid a wreath in Lockerbie's cemetery, where the town's Roman Catholic parish priest at the time of the crash spoke to about 200 victims' relatives and townspeople about the ``ticking bomb'' of justice. ``Ten years ago, for you and for us, a bomb was ticking,'' the Rev. Pat Keegans told the crowd, many of them visibly moved. ``Be assured of this _ there is another bomb ticking _ the irresistible bomb of justice and truth. ``Be certain that our wreath-laying today is not a symbolic gesture. It is a declaration that we will not rest until we have justice and truth, until all who are responsible for your deaths are held accountable,'' he said. Two Libyan suspects have been indicted in connection with the bombing, but have not yet been turned over for trial. Last week, Libya's Parliament gave its conditional approval for a trial in the Netherlands by a Scottish court, but said some obstacles remained. The plane had just reached its cruising altitude of 31,000 feet (9,400 kms), 42 minutes after taking off from London's Heathrow Airport for New York, when it exploded in the night sky. The aircraft was felled by a small amount of high explosives smuggled on in a portable radio hidden inside a suitcase, which made its way as checked baggage from Malta to Frankfurt, Germany, and then to London.",
"Louis Farrakhan, the leader of a U.S. Muslim group, met with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi on Sunday and congratulated him on his recovery from a hip injury, state-run Libyan radio reported. Improved health will enable Gadhafi to ``carry on his leading role in the service of Islamic causes in the world,'' Farrakhan was quoted as saying by the radio, monitored by the British Broadcasting Corp. Later, state-run television showed Gadhafi _ dressed in a brown robe and holding a cane _ meeting Farrakhan at his ceremonial tent in the Libyan capital, Tripoli. The broadcast was monitored in Cairo. Gadhafi underwent surgery last July after injuring his hip, reportedly while exercising. The visit was Farrakhan's fifth to Libya in the past three years. The leader of the U.S.-based Nation of Islam most recently visited in December 1997. It was not immediately clear how Farrakhan arrived in Libya or how long he would stay. Most visitors arrive by ferry from Malta or travel overland from Egypt or Tunisia; U.N. sanctions imposed in 1992 ban air travel to and from the country. Farrakhan repeatedly has urged an end to the sanctions, which were imposed to try to force Gadhafi to surrender two Libyans wanted in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jetliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people. Citing the sanctions and U.S. regulations, the Treasury Department prohibited Farrakhan from accepting a dlrs 250,000 prize he was awarded by Gadhafi in September 1996 for human rights work. The Treasury also barred his group from accepting Gadhafi's offer of a dlrs 1 billion gift for Nation of Islam activities. His Nation of Islam is a black nationalist group that says it is guided by the Koran. It is not considered a true Muslim sect by others who practice Islam. Farrakhan's message to America's black community is one of self-reliance, discipline, spirituality and separatism. Over the years, he has said that whites and blacks should live separately, that Jews are ``bloodsuckers'' who have a ``gutter religion,'' and that whites are ``subhuman.'' He accuses news media of taking his comments out of context.",
"Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi began a surprise visit to neighboring Tunisia on Monday, his first known trip since injuring his hip in July. Col. Gadhafi, whose country is under a U.N. air embargo, arrived by land for ``a visit of brotherhood and rest'' at the invitation of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, an official statement said. Tunisian television did not show the Libyan leader but said he met with Ben Ali and several government ministers in a desert oasis at Tozeur, 400 kms (240 miles) south of Tunis, where foreign leaders are entertained. Officials, however, did not give the duration or full itinerary of Gadhafi's visit. The trip was not announced in advance, though Ben Ali extended the invitation to Gadhafi when he visited Libya in August. Gadhafi was first driven to Gabes, 365 kms (200 miles) south of Tunis, after crossing the border at Ras Jedir where he was met by Interior Minister Ali Chaouch, officials said. It was Gadhafi's first known trip abroad since he broke a bone near his hip while exercising and underwent surgery in July, officials have said. The Libyan leader last visited Tunisia in January 1996, when he met Ban Ali in the southern town of Medenine. Since 1992, Libya has struggled with U.N. Security Council sanctions that ban direct flights to and from the country. The move was aimed at forcing Gadhafi to surrender two Libyans wanted in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am passenger plane over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people. The council has agreed to suspend the sanctions once Libya turns the men over for a trial by Scottish judges according to Scottish law in the Netherlands, under a U.S.-British proposal. Gadhafi has offered to hand them over but demands any sentences be served in Dutch or Libyan prisons.",
"Libya's justice minister on Wednesday said the two suspects in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jetliner should not become victims of Western politics when they go on trial. ``We want to be sure that the only aim of the trial is to show the truth ... and that it is held without a political or security background,'' Justice Minister Mohammed Belgasim al-Zuwiy said. He was addressing the General People's Congress, or Parliament, which opened a debate that will decide the fate of the two men who are wanted in connection with the Dec. 21, 1988 bombing. A total of 270 people on board and on ground were killed when the jetliner blew up over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. Libya has accepted in principle to a trial before a panel of Scottish judges in the Netherlands. But the hand over of the suspects has been held up over Libya's demand for a guarantee that the two men, if convicted, will be jailed in Libya. The United States and Britain insist that the two suspects serve their prison term in Britain. The Parliament meeting, expected to last five days, is being held in the northern coastal town of Sirte and was broadcast live on national television. Libyan media have suggested that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi does not have the authority to hand over the suspects and that any decision would have to be approved by the Congress. ``Our argument is that since this is an exceptional trial, therefore this exception should include serving the jail term in Libya, maybe under U.N. supervision,'' al-Zuwiy said. He said Libya is seeking the guarantees from the West to ensure that the trial will be ``honest, just .. and without loopholes that (would) leave our citizens in illegal, unjust and inappropriate circumstances.'' Opening the debate, Foreign Minister Omar al-Muntasser gave the background to the controversy since the Security Council imposed sanctions on Libya in 1992 to force it to hand over the Lockerbie suspects for trial. The sanctions include a ban on air travel from and to Libya, restricting diplomatic personnel and banning the purchase of oil equipment. Al-Zuwiy, the justice minister, said the two suspects will have the right to an appeal in the same court if it finds them guilty. On Saturday, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan met with Gadhafi to iron out the details. No agreement was reached but Annan said Libya is expected to reach a decision soon.",
"After meeting Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in a desert tent, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he thinks an arrangement for bringing two suspects to trial in the bombing of a Pan Am airliner could be secured in the ``not too distant future.'' Annan's comments came Saturday after he and Gadhafi failed to agree on handing over Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah, who are suspected in the 1988 bombing that killed 270 people. Annan spoke to reporters in the Libyan capital of Tripoli after the meeting and again later when he arrived back at this Tunisian island, where he had begun his 15-hour stretch of diplomacy. The 60-year-old Annan is trying to get Libya to go along with a U.S.-British plan to try the two suspects before a panel of Scottish judges in the Netherlands for the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. ``The talks have been fruitful and positive,'' Annan said in Tripoli. ``Libya has confirmed its seriousness and readiness to find a solution to the Lockerbie problem. ``Libya has also agreed to a trial in a third country and believes that it ought to be possible to find answers to all other outstanding issues,'' he said. ``So I hope that in the not too distant future we will be able to give the families good news,'' he added, referring to the relatives of victims who have lobbied extensively for a trial. On Sunday, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. that ``I think you could sum up our mood as one of qualified optimism.'' He said he spoke with Annan on Sunday and was ``very encouraged by what he tells me.'' But Cook said Britain will not budge on the demand by Washington and London that the suspects serve any sentence in a Scottish jail. Annan said he was tired after arriving back in Jerba. He left Sunday for a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a federation of six Gulf states, which begins Monday in the United Arab Emirates. In Washington, James Foley, a State Department spokesman, said the United States is awaiting a briefing from Annan but is ``disappointed'' that Libya has not complied with U.N. Security Council resolutions. ``Compliance means turnover of the two suspects for trial,'' Foley said. ``It's been almost 10 years since the Pan Am 103 tragedy, this has gone on for far too long.'' State-run Libyan Radio quoted an unnamed official in the Foreign Liaison Secretariat, which is the equivalent of a foreign ministry, as saying Sunday that ``a solution to this crisis is within reach.'' Annan's meeting with Gadhafi took place after Libya's official news agency, JANA, initially reported that Annan might not be able to meet with the Libyan leader because Gadhafi was ``in the desert.'' U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said Annan was taken on an hour's trip into the Libyan desert in a four-wheel drive vehicle to meet with Gadhadi in a tent with a roaring fire outside. Earlier, Libyan media suggested that Gadhafi had no authority to hand over the suspects _ an indication he was giving himself room in case he decides against giving up the two men wanted by the United States and Britain. JANA indicated a decision on handing over the two suspects would have to be approved by some 500 grassroots national committees before being considered by the Parliament. Libyan radio reported that the Parliament had been called to meet Tuesday in Sirte, 250 miles (400 kilometers) east of Tripoli, but did not say whether the Lockerbie issue would be discussed. Annan flew into Libya aboard a special plane from Jerba after receiving clearance from the U.N. Sanctions Committee. Libya has been under U.N. sanctions since 1992 for its refusal to hand over the two suspects. The U.N. sanctions ban air travel in and out of the country but do not cover oil exports, Libya's economic lifeblood. The Netherlands was chosen as a venue after Libya proposed a trial in a neutral country. But a disagreement has arisen because Libya wants the suspects jailed in the Netherlands or Libya if convicted, but the United States and Britain insist they be imprisoned in Scotland.",
"Secretary General Kofi Annan said Wednesday he was extending his North African tour to include talks with Libyan authorities. The remark was made without elaboration at a news conference in Algiers hours before his arrival in Tunis, his final scheduled stop on a tour aimed at unblocking plans for a U.N. referendum on the disputed Western Sahara. During his visit to Tunis, Annan is to meet with authorities here to discuss ``major regional and international issues and the various initiatives aimed at solving unresolved problems,'' according to the local press. A Western diplomat, speaking in Algiers on condition of anonymity, said Annan would travel to Libya on Saturday to meet with authorities there on the 1988 Pan Am bombing that has led to U.N. sanctions against Libya. Annan's trip to Tunisia is scheduled to end Friday, according to the official program. The discrepancy in the timing could not be immediately clarified. The U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions in 1992, including a flight ban, to try to force Libya to hand over two suspects in the bombing that killed 270 people. The sanctions ban flights to and from the country. Neighboring Tunisia provides a land route for those traveling to Libya from the region. A week ago, before leaving for North Africa, Annan held out the possibility of a Libyan trip -- but only to help close a deal to try the two suspects. A Libyan legal team has been meeting regularly with Annan's legal counsel to discuss a U.S.-British proposal to try the suspects in the Netherlands according to Scottish law and using Scottish judges. Annan had said last week that he had hoped for a breakthrough in the case by the end of November. He said then that a trip to Libya ``to bring the issue finally to closure ... has not been excluded.'' During his Algerian stay,",
"Qatar's foreign minister, Sheik Hamad bin Jassem bin Jaber Al Thani, met Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in the desert on Saturday, Libya's official television reported. The television, monitored in Cairo, did not say where the meeting took place, but it showed Gadhafi, dressed in a muddy brown gown and matching cap, receiving the Qatari minister in a tent. Al Thani handed Gadhafi a letter that reaffirmed Qatar's support for Libya ``in its just position toward the so-called Lockerbie case,'' the television said, referring to Libya's objections to the U.N. sanctions imposed in 1992 to press it to hand over two Libyans wanted for the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie that left 270 people dead. The television gave no other details about the visit.",
"TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) _ U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived in Libya Saturday for talks aimed at bringing to trial two Libyan suspects in the 1988 Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. Annan's one-day visit to meet with Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi followed reports in the Libyan media that Gadhafi had no authority to hand over the suspects. This position would indicate that Gadhafi is giving himself enough diplomatic room in the event he decides against giving up the suspects. Annan flew aboard a special plane from the Tunisian resort island of Jerba after receiving a clearance from the U.N. Sanctions Committee to make the flight. A Libyan official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Annan had arrived in the country but refused to give details. Libyan media, controlled by the government, did not report on the visit in a sign that the subject is of great sensitivity. It was not known where Annan will meet with Gadhafi but diplomats said Friday the meeting will likely take place in the northern coastal town of Sirte, 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of the Libyan capital of Tripoli. Libya has been under U.N. sanctions since 1992 for its refusal to hand over the two alleged intelligence agents, Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah. They are accused by the United States and Britain of blowing up a Pan Am airliner over the Scottish village of Lockerbie on Dec. 21, 1988. All 259 people aboard the Boeing 747 and 11 people on ground were killed. A Libyan legal team has been meeting regularly with Annan's legal counsel to discuss a U.S.-British proposal to try the suspects in the Netherlands according to Scottish law and using Scottish judges. Dutch authorities say they have made arrangements to hold the trial at Camp Zeist, a former air force base near Utrecht. On Friday, Annan said the U.N. team ``has done some good work on the Lockerbie dossier.'' ``We will try to resolve some problems and to find solutions together _ once and for all,'' Annan said. But in an apparent bid to distance the Libyan leader from a decision on the suspects, Libya's official news agency JANA said Friday that Gadhafi ``is neither president nor prime minister nor foreign minister, but only the leader of the Libyan revolution.'' ``As such, Col. Gadhafi is not empowered to sign an agreement,'' the report said. JANA suggested that a decision on handing over the suspects would have to be approved by some 500 grassroots national committees before being decided by the Parliament. The Netherlands was chosen as a venue for the trial after Libya itself proposed the trial be held in a third country. Since then a new hurdle has cropped up over the imprisonment of the suspects, if convicted. Libya wants them jailed in the Netherlands or Libya, but the United States and Britain say they should be imprisoned in Scotland and refuse to negotiate the issue. The U.N. sanctions on Libya do not cover oil exports, Libya's economic lifeblood. They ban air travel to and from the country and arms sales. Some Libyan assets abroad have also been frozen. But many African countries have defied the air ban and their leaders have flown in and out of Libya."
] |
[
"TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) _ U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan left for Libya Saturday to hold talks aimed at putting two suspects on trial for the 1988 Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie. Annan's one-day, 2nd graf pvs",
"After meeting Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in a desert tent, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he thinks an arrangement for bringing two suspects to trial in the bombing of a Pan Am airliner could be secured in the ``not too distant future.'' Annan's comments came Saturday after he and Gadhafi failed to agree on handing over Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah, who are suspected in the 1988 bombing that killed 270 people. On Sunday, state-run Libyan Radio quoted an unnamed official in the Foreign Liaison Secretariat, which is the equivalent of a foreign ministry, as saying that ``a solution to this crisis is within reach.'' He credited Annan's talks with Omar al-Muntasser, Libya's foreign minister, who met with Annan in Sirte before Annan went on to talks with Gadhafi. Sirte is 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of the Libyan capital Tripoli. The official spoke of ``fruitful talks'' but gave no details. The broadcast was monitored by the British Broadcasting Corp. Also Sunday, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said in an interview with the BBC that he had spoken with Annan on Sunday and was ``very encouraged by what he tells me.'' He added: ``I think you could sum up our mood as one of qualified optimism.'' Britain would like to see the two suspects in custody by Dec. 21, the 10th anniversary of the Pan Am bombing. But Cook said Britain will not budge on the demand by Washington and London that the suspects serve any sentence in a Scottish jail. Libya has asked that any prison terms be served in the Netherlands or Libya. Annan spoke to reporters in Tripoli after the meeting with Gadhafi and later when he arrived back at this Tunisian island, where he had begun the day of diplomacy that lasted nearly 15 hours. The 60-year-old Annan is trying to get Libya to go along with a U.S.-British plan to try the two suspects before a panel of Scottish judges in the Netherlands for the 1988 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. ``The talks have been fruitful and positive,'' Annan said in Tripoli. ``Libya has confirmed its seriousness and readiness to find a solution to the Lockerbie problem. ``Libya has also agreed to a trial in a third country and believes that it ought to be possible to find answers to all other outstanding issues,'' he said. ``So I hope that in the not too distant future we will be able to give the families good news,'' he added, referring to the relatives of victims who have lobbied extensively for a trial. Annan left Jerba on Sunday for the United Arab Emirates, where he will attend a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a federation of six Arab Gulf states. In Washington, James Foley, a State Department spokesman, said the United States is awaiting a briefing from Annan but is ``disappointed'' that Libya has not complied with U.N. Security Council resolutions. ``Compliance means turnover of the two suspects for trial,'' Foley said. ``It's been almost 10 years since the Pan Am 103 tragedy, this has gone on for far too long.'' The meeting with Gadhafi took place after Libya's official news agency, JANA, reported that Annan might not be able to meet with the Libyan leader because Gadhafi was ``in the desert.'' U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said Annan was taken on an hour's trip into the desert in a four-wheel drive vehicle to meet with Gadhafi in a tent with a roaring fire outside. Earlier, Libyan media suggested that Gadhafi had no authority to hand over the suspects _ an indication he was giving himself room in case he decides against giving up the two men wanted by the United States and Britain. JANA indicated a decision on handing over the two suspects would have to be approved by some 500 grassroots national committees before being considered by the Parliament. Libyan radio reported that the Parliament had been called to meet Tuesday in Sirte but did not say whether the Lockerbie issue would be discussed. Annan flew into Libya aboard a special plane from Jerba after receiving clearance from the U.N. Sanctions Committee. Libya has been under U.N. sanctions since 1992 for its refusal to hand over the two suspects. The U.N. sanctions ban air travel in and out of the country but do not cover oil exports, Libya's economic lifeblood.",
"With the mournful lament of bagpipes and prayers of healing, the people of Lockerbie paid tribute to the 270 people killed when a bomb brought Pan Am Flight 103 crashing down on this tiny town 10 years ago Monday. The hundreds who packed Dryfesdale Parish Church heard messages from British Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President Bill Clinton, who renewed their vows to punish the culprits who hid the bomb in a suitcase on Dec. 21, 1988. But they also heard quiet sobs that echoed throughout the century-old church as a few moments of silence were observed before the bagpiper blew her lament. ``In the lives that were lost, some very young, there was meaning and achievement,'' the Rev. David Almond told the gathering of about 600 people, which included 60 family members of those who perished. ``Our task in commemoration is to continue that meaning and to build on that achievement.'' The congregation heard the children of the local elementary school sing a tribute, ``Let There be Love,'' as well as a message from the queen. ``We pray on this anniversary that the families will find solace together in quiet remembrance across the world,'' the queen's message said. In a separate service in London's Westminster Abbey, attended by Blair, Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II, hundreds listened as one-by-one the names of the 259 passengers and 11 of Lockerbie's own residents were read out as a candle was lit for each. Simultaneous services were also held at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia and in Syracuse, New York, which lost 35 college students in the crash. Each service began at 7:03 p.m. (1903 GMT), the moment when the plane disappeared from the radar screen above Scotland. ``This was a very positive, emotional day,'' Bert Ammerman of River Vale, New Jersey, whose brother Thomas died in the crash, said after the service. He said the people of Lockerbie have ``proven over the past 10 years that good intentions can overcome evil.'' Earlier in the day, Prince Philip, the queen's husband, laid a wreath in Lockerbie's cemetery, where the town's Roman Catholic parish priest at the time of the crash spoke to about 200 victims' relatives and townspeople about the ``ticking bomb'' of justice. ``Ten years ago, for you and for us, a bomb was ticking,'' the Rev. Pat Keegans told the crowd, many of them visibly moved. ``Be assured of this _ there is another bomb ticking _ the irresistible bomb of justice and truth. ``Be certain that our wreath-laying today is not a symbolic gesture. It is a declaration that we will not rest until we have justice and truth, until all who are responsible for your deaths are held accountable,'' he said. Two Libyan suspects have been indicted in connection with the bombing, but have not yet been turned over for trial. Last week, Libya's Parliament gave its conditional approval for a trial in the Netherlands by a Scottish court, but said some obstacles remained. The plane had just reached its cruising altitude of 31,000 feet (9,400 kms), 42 minutes after taking off from London's Heathrow Airport for New York, when it exploded in the night sky. The aircraft was felled by a small amount of high explosives smuggled on in a portable radio hidden inside a suitcase, which made its way as checked baggage from Malta to Frankfurt, Germany, and then to London.",
"Louis Farrakhan, the leader of a U.S. Muslim group, met with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi on Sunday and congratulated him on his recovery from a hip injury, state-run Libyan radio reported. Improved health will enable Gadhafi to ``carry on his leading role in the service of Islamic causes in the world,'' Farrakhan was quoted as saying by the radio, monitored by the British Broadcasting Corp. Later, state-run television showed Gadhafi _ dressed in a brown robe and holding a cane _ meeting Farrakhan at his ceremonial tent in the Libyan capital, Tripoli. The broadcast was monitored in Cairo. Gadhafi underwent surgery last July after injuring his hip, reportedly while exercising. The visit was Farrakhan's fifth to Libya in the past three years. The leader of the U.S.-based Nation of Islam most recently visited in December 1997. It was not immediately clear how Farrakhan arrived in Libya or how long he would stay. Most visitors arrive by ferry from Malta or travel overland from Egypt or Tunisia; U.N. sanctions imposed in 1992 ban air travel to and from the country. Farrakhan repeatedly has urged an end to the sanctions, which were imposed to try to force Gadhafi to surrender two Libyans wanted in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jetliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people. Citing the sanctions and U.S. regulations, the Treasury Department prohibited Farrakhan from accepting a dlrs 250,000 prize he was awarded by Gadhafi in September 1996 for human rights work. The Treasury also barred his group from accepting Gadhafi's offer of a dlrs 1 billion gift for Nation of Islam activities. His Nation of Islam is a black nationalist group that says it is guided by the Koran. It is not considered a true Muslim sect by others who practice Islam. Farrakhan's message to America's black community is one of self-reliance, discipline, spirituality and separatism. Over the years, he has said that whites and blacks should live separately, that Jews are ``bloodsuckers'' who have a ``gutter religion,'' and that whites are ``subhuman.'' He accuses news media of taking his comments out of context.",
"Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi began a surprise visit to neighboring Tunisia on Monday, his first known trip since injuring his hip in July. Col. Gadhafi, whose country is under a U.N. air embargo, arrived by land for ``a visit of brotherhood and rest'' at the invitation of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, an official statement said. Tunisian television did not show the Libyan leader but said he met with Ben Ali and several government ministers in a desert oasis at Tozeur, 400 kms (240 miles) south of Tunis, where foreign leaders are entertained. Officials, however, did not give the duration or full itinerary of Gadhafi's visit. The trip was not announced in advance, though Ben Ali extended the invitation to Gadhafi when he visited Libya in August. Gadhafi was first driven to Gabes, 365 kms (200 miles) south of Tunis, after crossing the border at Ras Jedir where he was met by Interior Minister Ali Chaouch, officials said. It was Gadhafi's first known trip abroad since he broke a bone near his hip while exercising and underwent surgery in July, officials have said. The Libyan leader last visited Tunisia in January 1996, when he met Ban Ali in the southern town of Medenine. Since 1992, Libya has struggled with U.N. Security Council sanctions that ban direct flights to and from the country. The move was aimed at forcing Gadhafi to surrender two Libyans wanted in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am passenger plane over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people. The council has agreed to suspend the sanctions once Libya turns the men over for a trial by Scottish judges according to Scottish law in the Netherlands, under a U.S.-British proposal. Gadhafi has offered to hand them over but demands any sentences be served in Dutch or Libyan prisons.",
"Libya's justice minister on Wednesday said the two suspects in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jetliner should not become victims of Western politics when they go on trial. ``We want to be sure that the only aim of the trial is to show the truth ... and that it is held without a political or security background,'' Justice Minister Mohammed Belgasim al-Zuwiy said. He was addressing the General People's Congress, or Parliament, which opened a debate that will decide the fate of the two men who are wanted in connection with the Dec. 21, 1988 bombing. A total of 270 people on board and on ground were killed when the jetliner blew up over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. Libya has accepted in principle to a trial before a panel of Scottish judges in the Netherlands. But the hand over of the suspects has been held up over Libya's demand for a guarantee that the two men, if convicted, will be jailed in Libya. The United States and Britain insist that the two suspects serve their prison term in Britain. The Parliament meeting, expected to last five days, is being held in the northern coastal town of Sirte and was broadcast live on national television. Libyan media have suggested that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi does not have the authority to hand over the suspects and that any decision would have to be approved by the Congress. ``Our argument is that since this is an exceptional trial, therefore this exception should include serving the jail term in Libya, maybe under U.N. supervision,'' al-Zuwiy said. He said Libya is seeking the guarantees from the West to ensure that the trial will be ``honest, just .. and without loopholes that (would) leave our citizens in illegal, unjust and inappropriate circumstances.'' Opening the debate, Foreign Minister Omar al-Muntasser gave the background to the controversy since the Security Council imposed sanctions on Libya in 1992 to force it to hand over the Lockerbie suspects for trial. The sanctions include a ban on air travel from and to Libya, restricting diplomatic personnel and banning the purchase of oil equipment. Al-Zuwiy, the justice minister, said the two suspects will have the right to an appeal in the same court if it finds them guilty. On Saturday, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan met with Gadhafi to iron out the details. No agreement was reached but Annan said Libya is expected to reach a decision soon.",
"After meeting Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in a desert tent, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he thinks an arrangement for bringing two suspects to trial in the bombing of a Pan Am airliner could be secured in the ``not too distant future.'' Annan's comments came Saturday after he and Gadhafi failed to agree on handing over Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah, who are suspected in the 1988 bombing that killed 270 people. Annan spoke to reporters in the Libyan capital of Tripoli after the meeting and again later when he arrived back at this Tunisian island, where he had begun his 15-hour stretch of diplomacy. The 60-year-old Annan is trying to get Libya to go along with a U.S.-British plan to try the two suspects before a panel of Scottish judges in the Netherlands for the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. ``The talks have been fruitful and positive,'' Annan said in Tripoli. ``Libya has confirmed its seriousness and readiness to find a solution to the Lockerbie problem. ``Libya has also agreed to a trial in a third country and believes that it ought to be possible to find answers to all other outstanding issues,'' he said. ``So I hope that in the not too distant future we will be able to give the families good news,'' he added, referring to the relatives of victims who have lobbied extensively for a trial. On Sunday, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. that ``I think you could sum up our mood as one of qualified optimism.'' He said he spoke with Annan on Sunday and was ``very encouraged by what he tells me.'' But Cook said Britain will not budge on the demand by Washington and London that the suspects serve any sentence in a Scottish jail. Annan said he was tired after arriving back in Jerba. He left Sunday for a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a federation of six Gulf states, which begins Monday in the United Arab Emirates. In Washington, James Foley, a State Department spokesman, said the United States is awaiting a briefing from Annan but is ``disappointed'' that Libya has not complied with U.N. Security Council resolutions. ``Compliance means turnover of the two suspects for trial,'' Foley said. ``It's been almost 10 years since the Pan Am 103 tragedy, this has gone on for far too long.'' State-run Libyan Radio quoted an unnamed official in the Foreign Liaison Secretariat, which is the equivalent of a foreign ministry, as saying Sunday that ``a solution to this crisis is within reach.'' Annan's meeting with Gadhafi took place after Libya's official news agency, JANA, initially reported that Annan might not be able to meet with the Libyan leader because Gadhafi was ``in the desert.'' U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said Annan was taken on an hour's trip into the Libyan desert in a four-wheel drive vehicle to meet with Gadhadi in a tent with a roaring fire outside. Earlier, Libyan media suggested that Gadhafi had no authority to hand over the suspects _ an indication he was giving himself room in case he decides against giving up the two men wanted by the United States and Britain. JANA indicated a decision on handing over the two suspects would have to be approved by some 500 grassroots national committees before being considered by the Parliament. Libyan radio reported that the Parliament had been called to meet Tuesday in Sirte, 250 miles (400 kilometers) east of Tripoli, but did not say whether the Lockerbie issue would be discussed. Annan flew into Libya aboard a special plane from Jerba after receiving clearance from the U.N. Sanctions Committee. Libya has been under U.N. sanctions since 1992 for its refusal to hand over the two suspects. The U.N. sanctions ban air travel in and out of the country but do not cover oil exports, Libya's economic lifeblood. The Netherlands was chosen as a venue after Libya proposed a trial in a neutral country. But a disagreement has arisen because Libya wants the suspects jailed in the Netherlands or Libya if convicted, but the United States and Britain insist they be imprisoned in Scotland.",
"Secretary General Kofi Annan said Wednesday he was extending his North African tour to include talks with Libyan authorities. The remark was made without elaboration at a news conference in Algiers hours before his arrival in Tunis, his final scheduled stop on a tour aimed at unblocking plans for a U.N. referendum on the disputed Western Sahara. During his visit to Tunis, Annan is to meet with authorities here to discuss ``major regional and international issues and the various initiatives aimed at solving unresolved problems,'' according to the local press. A Western diplomat, speaking in Algiers on condition of anonymity, said Annan would travel to Libya on Saturday to meet with authorities there on the 1988 Pan Am bombing that has led to U.N. sanctions against Libya. Annan's trip to Tunisia is scheduled to end Friday, according to the official program. The discrepancy in the timing could not be immediately clarified. The U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions in 1992, including a flight ban, to try to force Libya to hand over two suspects in the bombing that killed 270 people. The sanctions ban flights to and from the country. Neighboring Tunisia provides a land route for those traveling to Libya from the region. A week ago, before leaving for North Africa, Annan held out the possibility of a Libyan trip -- but only to help close a deal to try the two suspects. A Libyan legal team has been meeting regularly with Annan's legal counsel to discuss a U.S.-British proposal to try the suspects in the Netherlands according to Scottish law and using Scottish judges. Annan had said last week that he had hoped for a breakthrough in the case by the end of November. He said then that a trip to Libya ``to bring the issue finally to closure ... has not been excluded.'' During his Algerian stay,",
"Qatar's foreign minister, Sheik Hamad bin Jassem bin Jaber Al Thani, met Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in the desert on Saturday, Libya's official television reported. The television, monitored in Cairo, did not say where the meeting took place, but it showed Gadhafi, dressed in a muddy brown gown and matching cap, receiving the Qatari minister in a tent. Al Thani handed Gadhafi a letter that reaffirmed Qatar's support for Libya ``in its just position toward the so-called Lockerbie case,'' the television said, referring to Libya's objections to the U.N. sanctions imposed in 1992 to press it to hand over two Libyans wanted for the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie that left 270 people dead. The television gave no other details about the visit.",
"TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) _ U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived in Libya Saturday for talks aimed at bringing to trial two Libyan suspects in the 1988 Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. Annan's one-day visit to meet with Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi followed reports in the Libyan media that Gadhafi had no authority to hand over the suspects. This position would indicate that Gadhafi is giving himself enough diplomatic room in the event he decides against giving up the suspects. Annan flew aboard a special plane from the Tunisian resort island of Jerba after receiving a clearance from the U.N. Sanctions Committee to make the flight. A Libyan official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Annan had arrived in the country but refused to give details. Libyan media, controlled by the government, did not report on the visit in a sign that the subject is of great sensitivity. It was not known where Annan will meet with Gadhafi but diplomats said Friday the meeting will likely take place in the northern coastal town of Sirte, 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of the Libyan capital of Tripoli. Libya has been under U.N. sanctions since 1992 for its refusal to hand over the two alleged intelligence agents, Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah. They are accused by the United States and Britain of blowing up a Pan Am airliner over the Scottish village of Lockerbie on Dec. 21, 1988. All 259 people aboard the Boeing 747 and 11 people on ground were killed. A Libyan legal team has been meeting regularly with Annan's legal counsel to discuss a U.S.-British proposal to try the suspects in the Netherlands according to Scottish law and using Scottish judges. Dutch authorities say they have made arrangements to hold the trial at Camp Zeist, a former air force base near Utrecht. On Friday, Annan said the U.N. team ``has done some good work on the Lockerbie dossier.'' ``We will try to resolve some problems and to find solutions together _ once and for all,'' Annan said. But in an apparent bid to distance the Libyan leader from a decision on the suspects, Libya's official news agency JANA said Friday that Gadhafi ``is neither president nor prime minister nor foreign minister, but only the leader of the Libyan revolution.'' ``As such, Col. Gadhafi is not empowered to sign an agreement,'' the report said. JANA suggested that a decision on handing over the suspects would have to be approved by some 500 grassroots national committees before being decided by the Parliament. The Netherlands was chosen as a venue for the trial after Libya itself proposed the trial be held in a third country. Since then a new hurdle has cropped up over the imprisonment of the suspects, if convicted. Libya wants them jailed in the Netherlands or Libya, but the United States and Britain say they should be imprisoned in Scotland and refuse to negotiate the issue. The U.N. sanctions on Libya do not cover oil exports, Libya's economic lifeblood. They ban air travel to and from the country and arms sales. Some Libyan assets abroad have also been frozen. But many African countries have defied the air ban and their leaders have flown in and out of Libya."
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42
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duc04-test-29
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Hurricane Mitch approached Honduras on Oct. 27, 1998 with winds up to 180mph a Category 5 storm. It hit the Honduran coast on Oct. 28 bringing downpours that forced large-scale evacuations. On Nov. 1 Nicaragua announced collapse of a drenched volcano crater killing about 2,000. By then Mitch's winds were down to 30mph, but as disaster reports poured in the death toll finally exceeded 10,000 and half a million left homeless. The European Union, international relief agencies, Mexico, the U.S., Japan, Taiwan, the U.K. and U.N. sent financial aid, relief workers and supplies. Pope John Paul II appealed to "all public and private institutions" to help. Honduras braced as category 5 Hurricane Mitch approached. Slow-moving Mitch battered the Honduran coast for 3 days. Honduran death estimates grew from 32 to 231 in the first days, to 6,076, with 4,621 missing. About 2,000 were killed in Nicaragua, 239 in El Salvador, 194 in Guatemala, 6 in southern Mexico and 7 in Costa Rica. The EU approved 6.4 million ecu in aid to Mitch's victims. The Pope appealed for aid. The US boosted aid to $70 million. A id workers struggled to reach survivors in danger. Hurricane winds, rain and floods caused massive damage to homes, businesses, roads and bridges. Latest reports estimate over 10,000 killed in Central America. Hurricane Mitch, category 5 hurricane, brought widespread death and destruction to Central American. Especially hard hit was Honduras where an estimated 6,076 people lost their lives. The hurricane, which lingered off the coast of Honduras for 3 days before moving off, flooded large areas, destroying crops and property. The U.S. and European Union were joined by Pope John Paul II in a call for money and workers to help the stricken area. President Clinton sent Tipper Gore, wife of Vice President Gore to the area to deliver much needed supplies to the area, demonstrating U.S. commitment to the recovery of the region. A category 5 storm, Hurricane Mitch roared across the northwest Caribbean with 180 mph winds across a 350-mile front that devastated the mainland and islands of Central America. Although the force of the storm diminished, at least 8,000 people died from wind, waves and flood damage. The greatest losses were in Honduras where some 6,076 people perished. Around 2,000 people were killed in Nicaragua, 239 in El Salvador, 194 in Guatemala, seven in Costa Rica and six in Mexico. At least 569,000 people were homeless across Central America. Aid was sent from many sources (European Union, the UN, US and Mexico). Relief efforts are hampered by extensive damage.
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[
"At least 231 people have been confirmed dead in Honduras from former-hurricane Mitch, bringing the storm's death toll in the region to 357, the National Emergency Commission said Saturday. Mitch _ once, 2nd graf pvs",
"Nicaraguan Vice President Enrique Bolanos said Sunday night that between 1,000 and 1,500 people were buried in a 32-square mile (82.88 square-kilometer) area below the slopes of the Casita volcano in northern Nicaragua. That is in addition to least another 600 people elsewhere in the country, Bolanos said.",
"Aid workers struggled Friday to reach survivors of Hurricane Mitch, who are in danger of dying from starvation and disease in the wake of the storm that officials estimate killed more than 10,000 people. Foreign aid and pledges of assistance poured into Central America, but damage to roads and bridges reduced the amount of supplies reaching hundreds of isolated communities to a trickle: only as much as could be dropped from a helicopter, when the aircraft can get through. In the Aguan River Valley in northern Honduras, floodwaters have receded, leaving a carpet of mud over hundreds of acres (hectares). In many nearby villages, residents have gone days without potable water or food. A 7-month-old baby died in the village of Olvido after three days without food. Residents feared more children would die. ``The worst thing, the saddest thing, are the children. The children are suffering, even dying,'' said the Rev. Cecilio Escobar Gallindo, the parish priest. A score of cargo aircraft landed Thursday at the normally quiet Toncontin airport in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa, delivering aid from Mexico, the United States, Japan and Argentina. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, intended to visit Nicaragua on Friday to learn more about the hurricane's impact, The Carter Center in Atlanta announced. ``We hope this visit will help call attention to the suffering and humanitarian need this disaster has created,'' Carter said in a statement. U.S. President Bill Clinton requested a ``global relief effort'' to help Central America and boosted U.S. emergency aid to dlrs 70 million. Clinton is dispatching a delegation next week led by Tipper Gore, wife of Vice President Al Gore, to deliver some of the supplies destined for Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton added Nicaragua and Honduras to a trip she plans to the region beginning Nov. 16. Taiwan said today it will donate dlrs 2.6 million in relief to Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. The four countries are among a dwindling number of nations that recognize Taiwan, which China claims is a breakaway province. Two British ships that were in the area on an exercise were on their way to Honduras to join relief efforts, the Defense Ministry said Friday. ``It's a coincidence that the ships are there but they've got men and equipment that can be put to work in an organized way,'' said International Development Secretary Clare Short. Nicaragua said Friday it will accept Cuba's offer to send doctors as long as the communist nation flies them in on its own helicopters and with their own supplies. Nicaraguan leaders previously had refused Cuba's offer of medical help, saying it did not have the means to transport or support the doctors. Nicaragua's leftist Sandinistas, who maintained close relations with Fidel Castro during their 1979-90 rule, had criticized the refusal by President Arnoldo Aleman's administration.",
"Hurricane Mitch paused in its whirl through the western Caribbean on Wednesday to punish Honduras with 120-mph (205-kph) winds, topping trees, sweeping away bridges, flooding neighborhoods and killing at least 32 people. Mitch was drifting west at only 2 mph (3 kph) over the Bay Islands, Honduras' most popular tourist area. It also was only 30 miles (50 kms) off the coast, and hurricane-force winds stretched outward 105 miles (165 kms); tropical storm-force winds 175 miles (280 kms). That meant the Honduran coast had been under hurricane conditions for more than a day. ``The hurricane has destroyed almost everything,'' said Mike Brown, a resident of Guanaja Island which was within miles (kms) of the eye of the hurricane. ``Few houses have remained standing.'' At its, 4th graf pvs",
"Honduras braced for potential catastrophe Tuesday as Hurricane Mitch roared through the northwest Caribbean, churning up high waves and intense rain that sent coastal residents scurrying for safer ground. President Carlos Flores Facusse declared a state of maximum alert and the Honduran military sent planes to pluck residents from their homes on islands near the coast. At 0900 GMT Tuesday, Mitch was 95 miles (152 kilometers) north of Honduras, near the Swan Islands. With winds near 180 mph (289 kph), and even higher gusts, it was a Category 5 monster _ the highest, most dangerous rating for a storm. The 350-mile (560-kilometer) wide hurricane was moving west at 8 mph (12 kph). ``Mitch is closing in,'' said Monterrey Cardenas, mayor of Utila, an island 20 miles (32 kilometers) off the Honduran coast. ``And God help us.'' Mitch posed no immediate threat to the United States, forecasters said, but was expected to remain in the northwest Caribbean for five days. The U.S. National Weather Service in Miami said Mitch could weaken somewhat, but warned it would still remain ``a very dangerous hurricane capable of causing catastrophic damage.'' The entire coast of Honduras was under a hurricane warning and up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain was forecast in mountain areas. The Honduran president closed schools and public offices on the coast Monday and ordered all air force planes and helicopters to evacuate people from the Islas de la Bahia, a string of small islands off the country's central coast. The head of the Honduran armed forces, Gen. Mario Hung Pacheco, said 5,000 soldiers were standing by to help victims of the storm, but he warned the military could not reach everyone. ``For that humanitarian work, we would need more than 300 Hercules C-137 planes,'' he said. ``Honduras doesn't have them.'' A hurricane warning was also in effect for the Caribbean coast of Guatemala. In Belize, a hurricane watch was in place and the government also closed schools and sent workers home early Monday. Panic buying stripped bread from the shelves of some stores and some gasoline stations ran dry. Coastal Belize City was hit so hard by Hurricane Hattie in 1961 that the country built a new capital inland at Belmopan. Mexico mobilized troops and emergency workers Monday on the east coast of the Yucatan peninsula, which was also under a hurricane watch, and Cuba said it had evacuated 600 vacationers from the Island of Youth. Jerry Jarrell, the weather center director, said Mitch was the strongest hurricane to strike the Caribbean since 1988, when Gilbert killed more than 300 people. In La Ceiba, on Honduras' northern coast, people stood in long lines at filling stations Monday to buy gasoline under a steady rain. Maria Gonzalez said she needed the gas to cook with when her firewood gets wet. Still, she bought only 37 cents worth _ all she could afford. ``I have six children, and we live in a riverbed,'' she said. ``If it gets really bad, we'll go to the church and see what the architect of the world has in store for us.'' Swinwick Jackson, a fisherman on Utila, had tied up his boats and was taking his family to stay with a relative on higher ground. National police spokesman Ivan Mejia said the Coco, Segovia and Cruta rivers all overflowed their banks Monday along Honduras' eastern coast. ``Frightened people are moving into the mountains to search for shelter,'' he said. In El Progreso, 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa, the army evacuated more than 5,000 people who live in low-lying banana plantations along the Ulua River, said Nolly Soliman, a resident. Before bearing down on Honduras, Mitch swept past Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Rain squalls flooded streets in the Jamaican capital, Kingston, and government offices and schools closed in the Caymans, a British colony of 28,000 people. The strongest hurricane to hit Honduras in recent memory was Fifi in 1974, which ravaged Honduras' Caribbean coast, killing at least 2,000 people.",
"Pope John Paul II appealed for aid Wednesday for the Central American countries stricken by hurricane Mitch and said he feels close to the thousands who are suffering. Speaking during his general audience, the pope urged ``all public and private institutions and all men of good will'' to do all they can ``in this grave moment of destruction and death.'' Hurricane Mitch killed an estimated 9,000 people throughout Central America in a disaster of such proportions that relief agencies have been overwhelmed. Among those attending the audience were six Russian cosmonauts taking a special course in Italy. As a gift, they gave John Paul a spacesuit.",
"BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union on Tuesday approved 6.4 million European currency units (dlrs 7.7 million) in aid for thousands of victims of the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch in Central America. EU spokesman Pietro Petrucci said the funds will be used to provide basic care such as medicine, food, water sanitation and blankets to thousands of people whose homes were destroyed by torrential rains and mudslides. The aid will be distributed in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala which have most suffered from Mitch's deadly passage, the EU executive Commission said in a statement. Officials in Central America estimated Tuesday that about 7,000 people have died in the region. The greatest losses were reported in Honduras, where an estimated 5,000 people died and 600,000 people _ 10 percent of the population _ were forced to flee their homes after last week's storm. El Salvador's National Emergency Committee listed 174 dead, 96 missing and 27,000 homeless. But its own regional affiliate in San Miguel province reported 125 dead there alone. Guatemala reported 100 storm-related deaths. The latest EU aid follows an initial 400,000 ecu (dlrs 480,000). the EU approved for the region on Friday. The full 6.8 million ecu (dlrs 8.18 million) will be channeled through humanitarian groups working in the region.",
"Hurricane Mitch cut through the Honduran coast like a ripsaw Thursday, its devastating winds whirling for a third day through resort islands and mainland communities. At least 32 people were killed and widespread flooding prompted more than 150,000 to seek higher ground. Mitch, once among the century's most powerful hurricanes, weakened today as it blasted this Central American nation, bringing downpours that flooded at least 50 rivers. It also kicked up huge waves that pounded seaside communities. The storm's power was easing and by 1200 GMT, it had sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph), down from 100 mph (160 kph) around midnight and well below its 180 mph (290 kph) peak of early Tuesday. After remaining virtually stationary for more than a day, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Thursday the center of the 350-mile-wide (560-kilometer-wide) storm had moved slightly to the south but remained just off the Honduran coast. Hurricane-force winds whirled up to 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the center, with rain-laden tropical storm winds extending well beyond that. Caught near the heart of the storm were the Bay Islands, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) off Honduras' coast and popular with divers and beachcombers. ``The hurricane has destroyed almost everything,'' said Mike Brown, a resident of Guanaja Island, 20 miles (32 kilometers) off the coast. ``Few houses have remained standing.'' Honduran officials said 14 people had died on that small island alone, and at least nine had died elsewhere in the country. More than 72,000 people had been evacuated to shelters. Nine other deaths had been reported elsewhere in the region by early Thursday _ more than a day after Mitch drifted to just off the coast and seemed to park there. An American was thrown from his boat south of Cancun, Mexico, on Monday and was presumed dead. Eight others died in Nicaragua in flooding. Honduran officials said more than 200 towns and villages had been isolated by the storm, left without power, telephones or clean drinking water. Agriculture Minister Pedro Arturo Sevilla said crucial grain, citrus and banana crops had been damaged ``and the economic future of Honduras is uncertain.'' Rain-swollen rivers knocked out bridges and roads, isolating La Ceiba, a coastal city of 40,000 people located 80 miles (128 kilometers) from the Bay Islands. About 10,000 residents fled to crowded shelters in schools, churches and firehouses. While supplies of food and gasoline seemed to hold up, drivers worried about the coming days formed long lines to fill their tanks at gas stations and some supermarkets took measures to limit panic buying. La Ceiba officials appealed for pure water for those in shelters and some residents set out plastic buckets to collect rainwater. Only a few hotels and offices with their own generators had electricity. Wind-whipped waves almost buried some houses near the shore. People evacuated low-lying houses by wading through chest-deep water with sodden bags of belongings on their heads. In neighboring Belize, most of the 75,000 residents of coastal Belize City had left by Wednesday, turning the country's largest city into a ghost town. Police and soldiers patrolled the streets, and a few people wandered amid the boarded-up houses. The cable television company was broadcasting only The Weather Channel. With the storm seemingly anchored off Honduras, officials in Mexico to the north eased emergency measures on the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, where hundreds of people remained in shelters as a precaution Wednesday night. More than 20,000 tourists had abandoned Cancun and nearby resort areas, leaving hotels at about 20 percent of capacity. Houston accountant Kathy Montgomery said that she and her friend Nina Devries had tried to leave Cancun but found all the flights full. ``It's been horrible,'' said Montgomery, as she and her friend drank cocktails at an outdoor restaurant. ``We couldn't go out on a boat, we couldn't go snorkeling. ``Even Carlos' N Charlie's and Senor Frog's are closed,'' she said dejectedly, referring to two restaurants. ``Some vacation.'' The U.S. Agency for International Development sent two helicopters each to Belize and Honduras to help in search, rescue and relief efforts. At its peak, Mitch was the fourth-strongest Caribbean hurricane in this century, behind Gilbert in 1988, Allen in 1980 and the Labor Day hurricane of 1935.",
"Better information from Honduras' ravaged countryside enabled officials to lower the confirmed death toll from Hurricane Mitch from 7,000 to about 6,100 on Thursday, but leaders insisted the need for help was growing. President Carlos Flores declared Hurricane Mitch had set back Honduras' development by 50 years. He urged the more than 1.5 million Hondurans affected by the storm to help with the recovery effort. ``The county is semi-destroyed and awaits the maximum effort and most fervent and constant work of every one of its children,'' he said. In the capital, Tegucigalpa, Mexican rescue teams began searching for avalanche victims. Honduran doctors dispensed vaccinations to prevent disease outbreaks in shelters crammed with refugees. As of Thursday, Mitch had killed 6,076 people in Honduras _ down from officials' earlier estimate of 7,000. The numbers of missing dropped from an estimated 11,000 to 4,621, Government Minister Delmer Urbizo said. ``We have more access to places affected by the storm,'' Urbizo explained. ``Until now, we have had a short amount of time and few resources to get reliable information.'' In Nicaragua, around 2,000 people were killed, most of those swept away when a volcano crater lake collapsed a week ago. El Salvador reported 239 dead; Guatemala said 194 of its people had been killed. Six people died in southern Mexico and seven in Costa Rica. Aid groups and governments have called for other countries to send medicine, water, canned food, roofing materials and equipment to help deliver supplies. In Washington on Thursday, President Bill Clinton ordered dlrs 30 million in Defense Department equipment and services and dlrs 36 million in food, fuel and other aid be sent to Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. The White House also said Clinton was dispatching Tipper Gore, wife of Vice President Al Gore, to Central America on a mission to show the U.S. commitment to providing humanitarian relief. Hillary Rodham Clinton also will travel to the region, visiting Nicaragua and Honduras on Nov. 16. She later will stop in El Salvador and Guatemala before continuing on to Haiti and the Dominican Republic for a visit that had been canceled due to Hurricane Georges, which struck the Caribbean in October. Mitch, which sat off the Honduran coast for several days last week, destroyed scores of Central American communities before moving northwest. The weakened storm crossed southern Florida on Thursday, damaging mobile homes and buildings and injuring at least seven people. Countries overwhelmed by the storm's devastation have only just begun to calculate the damage. Honduran authorities still don't know how many shelters have been set up across the Central American country. Surveyors have yet to evaluate roughly 10 percent of the most affected areas _ the departments of Cortes, Atlantida, Colon and Yoro in the north, southern Choluteca and Valle, and the central department of Francisco Morazan, which includes the capital. Numbers still can vary wildly. The estimated number of homeless dropped from 580,000 to 569,000 Thursday. Mitch damaged or destroyed at least 90 bridges on major highways, including most spans on Highway 5, the main north-south route, officials said. Urbizo said Honduran officials hoped the scale of need in next-door Nicaragua wouldn't overshadow Honduras' plight. ``Our problem is that all of the country has been affected,'' he said. Thursday's relief operations paled in comparison to the scope of the disaster. A total of 14 helicopter relief missions were delivering aid to stricken towns, said Col. Roger Antonio Caceres of the government's Operation Mitch emergency response task force. ``We can manage with the number of aircraft we have because there is little to distribute,'' Caceres said. More help was on the way. Mexico was sending 700 tons of food, 11 tons of medicine, at least 12 helicopters, four cargo planes and 475 soldiers to help in relief operations. The United States committed 19 Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters, two C-27 aircraft and one C-130 cargo plane. France said it was sending 250 rescue workers to Central America, along with a ship loaded with construction material and equipment. The U.N. World Food Program said Thursday it was diverting ships, some already at sea, to rush their cargoes of donated food to Central America. It also was pulling food from warehouses at its base in Rome, probably for delivery by emergency relief flights, spokesman Trevor Rowe said. ``We're trying to move food as fast as possible to help people as soon as possible,'' Rowe said. Searches for the missing continued, and some decomposed bodies, once found, were being buried in common graves. About 100 victims had been buried around Tegucigalpa, Mayor Nahum Valladeres said. In the flood-ravaged Tegucigalpa neighborhood of Nueva Esperanza, Mexican military rescuers loaded search dogs on their backs and forded a muddy river to look for people believed buried in a 200-foot (60-meter) avalanche that occurred last Friday. Dozens of homes were swept into the river. ``This is the first place we've been'' with the dogs, Honduran army Maj. Freddy Diaz Celaya said. ``From here we'll continue searching downriver.'' Concerned that crowded shelter conditions could produce outbreaks of hepatitis, respiratory infections and other ailments, the Health Ministry announced an inoculation campaign, especially for children. Doctors volunteering at a shelter housing 4,000 people at Tegucigalpa's Polytechnic Development Institute said they'd heard of the campaign but had yet to receive word or medicines from the Health Ministry. ``We have to vaccinate the children,'' said Dr. Mario Soto, who has treated at least 300 children at the shelter for diarrhea, conjunctivitis and bacterial infections.",
"In Honduras, at least 231 deaths have been blamed on Mitch, the National Emergency Commission said Saturday. El Salvador _ where 140 people died in flash floods _ declared a state of emergency Saturday, as did Guatemala, where 21 people died when floods swept away their homes. Mexico reported one death from Mitch last Monday. In the Caribbean, the U.S. Coast Guard widened a search for a tourist schooner with 31 people aboard that hasn't been heard from since Tuesday. By late Sunday, Mitch's winds, once near 180 mph (290 kph), had dropped to near 30 mph (50 kph), and the storm _ now classified as a tropical depression _ was near Tapachula, on Mexico's southern Pacific coast near the Guatemalan border. Mitch was moving west at 8 mph (13 kph) and was dissipating but threatened to strengthen again if it moved back out to sea."
] |
[
"At least 231 people have been confirmed dead in Honduras from former-hurricane Mitch, bringing the storm's death toll in the region to 357, the National Emergency Commission said Saturday. Mitch _ once, 2nd graf pvs",
"Nicaraguan Vice President Enrique Bolanos said Sunday night that between 1,000 and 1,500 people were buried in a 32-square mile (82.88 square-kilometer) area below the slopes of the Casita volcano in northern Nicaragua. That is in addition to least another 600 people elsewhere in the country, Bolanos said.",
"Aid workers struggled Friday to reach survivors of Hurricane Mitch, who are in danger of dying from starvation and disease in the wake of the storm that officials estimate killed more than 10,000 people. Foreign aid and pledges of assistance poured into Central America, but damage to roads and bridges reduced the amount of supplies reaching hundreds of isolated communities to a trickle: only as much as could be dropped from a helicopter, when the aircraft can get through. In the Aguan River Valley in northern Honduras, floodwaters have receded, leaving a carpet of mud over hundreds of acres (hectares). In many nearby villages, residents have gone days without potable water or food. A 7-month-old baby died in the village of Olvido after three days without food. Residents feared more children would die. ``The worst thing, the saddest thing, are the children. The children are suffering, even dying,'' said the Rev. Cecilio Escobar Gallindo, the parish priest. A score of cargo aircraft landed Thursday at the normally quiet Toncontin airport in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa, delivering aid from Mexico, the United States, Japan and Argentina. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, intended to visit Nicaragua on Friday to learn more about the hurricane's impact, The Carter Center in Atlanta announced. ``We hope this visit will help call attention to the suffering and humanitarian need this disaster has created,'' Carter said in a statement. U.S. President Bill Clinton requested a ``global relief effort'' to help Central America and boosted U.S. emergency aid to dlrs 70 million. Clinton is dispatching a delegation next week led by Tipper Gore, wife of Vice President Al Gore, to deliver some of the supplies destined for Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton added Nicaragua and Honduras to a trip she plans to the region beginning Nov. 16. Taiwan said today it will donate dlrs 2.6 million in relief to Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. The four countries are among a dwindling number of nations that recognize Taiwan, which China claims is a breakaway province. Two British ships that were in the area on an exercise were on their way to Honduras to join relief efforts, the Defense Ministry said Friday. ``It's a coincidence that the ships are there but they've got men and equipment that can be put to work in an organized way,'' said International Development Secretary Clare Short. Nicaragua said Friday it will accept Cuba's offer to send doctors as long as the communist nation flies them in on its own helicopters and with their own supplies. Nicaraguan leaders previously had refused Cuba's offer of medical help, saying it did not have the means to transport or support the doctors. Nicaragua's leftist Sandinistas, who maintained close relations with Fidel Castro during their 1979-90 rule, had criticized the refusal by President Arnoldo Aleman's administration.",
"Hurricane Mitch paused in its whirl through the western Caribbean on Wednesday to punish Honduras with 120-mph (205-kph) winds, topping trees, sweeping away bridges, flooding neighborhoods and killing at least 32 people. Mitch was drifting west at only 2 mph (3 kph) over the Bay Islands, Honduras' most popular tourist area. It also was only 30 miles (50 kms) off the coast, and hurricane-force winds stretched outward 105 miles (165 kms); tropical storm-force winds 175 miles (280 kms). That meant the Honduran coast had been under hurricane conditions for more than a day. ``The hurricane has destroyed almost everything,'' said Mike Brown, a resident of Guanaja Island which was within miles (kms) of the eye of the hurricane. ``Few houses have remained standing.'' At its, 4th graf pvs",
"Honduras braced for potential catastrophe Tuesday as Hurricane Mitch roared through the northwest Caribbean, churning up high waves and intense rain that sent coastal residents scurrying for safer ground. President Carlos Flores Facusse declared a state of maximum alert and the Honduran military sent planes to pluck residents from their homes on islands near the coast. At 0900 GMT Tuesday, Mitch was 95 miles (152 kilometers) north of Honduras, near the Swan Islands. With winds near 180 mph (289 kph), and even higher gusts, it was a Category 5 monster _ the highest, most dangerous rating for a storm. The 350-mile (560-kilometer) wide hurricane was moving west at 8 mph (12 kph). ``Mitch is closing in,'' said Monterrey Cardenas, mayor of Utila, an island 20 miles (32 kilometers) off the Honduran coast. ``And God help us.'' Mitch posed no immediate threat to the United States, forecasters said, but was expected to remain in the northwest Caribbean for five days. The U.S. National Weather Service in Miami said Mitch could weaken somewhat, but warned it would still remain ``a very dangerous hurricane capable of causing catastrophic damage.'' The entire coast of Honduras was under a hurricane warning and up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain was forecast in mountain areas. The Honduran president closed schools and public offices on the coast Monday and ordered all air force planes and helicopters to evacuate people from the Islas de la Bahia, a string of small islands off the country's central coast. The head of the Honduran armed forces, Gen. Mario Hung Pacheco, said 5,000 soldiers were standing by to help victims of the storm, but he warned the military could not reach everyone. ``For that humanitarian work, we would need more than 300 Hercules C-137 planes,'' he said. ``Honduras doesn't have them.'' A hurricane warning was also in effect for the Caribbean coast of Guatemala. In Belize, a hurricane watch was in place and the government also closed schools and sent workers home early Monday. Panic buying stripped bread from the shelves of some stores and some gasoline stations ran dry. Coastal Belize City was hit so hard by Hurricane Hattie in 1961 that the country built a new capital inland at Belmopan. Mexico mobilized troops and emergency workers Monday on the east coast of the Yucatan peninsula, which was also under a hurricane watch, and Cuba said it had evacuated 600 vacationers from the Island of Youth. Jerry Jarrell, the weather center director, said Mitch was the strongest hurricane to strike the Caribbean since 1988, when Gilbert killed more than 300 people. In La Ceiba, on Honduras' northern coast, people stood in long lines at filling stations Monday to buy gasoline under a steady rain. Maria Gonzalez said she needed the gas to cook with when her firewood gets wet. Still, she bought only 37 cents worth _ all she could afford. ``I have six children, and we live in a riverbed,'' she said. ``If it gets really bad, we'll go to the church and see what the architect of the world has in store for us.'' Swinwick Jackson, a fisherman on Utila, had tied up his boats and was taking his family to stay with a relative on higher ground. National police spokesman Ivan Mejia said the Coco, Segovia and Cruta rivers all overflowed their banks Monday along Honduras' eastern coast. ``Frightened people are moving into the mountains to search for shelter,'' he said. In El Progreso, 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa, the army evacuated more than 5,000 people who live in low-lying banana plantations along the Ulua River, said Nolly Soliman, a resident. Before bearing down on Honduras, Mitch swept past Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Rain squalls flooded streets in the Jamaican capital, Kingston, and government offices and schools closed in the Caymans, a British colony of 28,000 people. The strongest hurricane to hit Honduras in recent memory was Fifi in 1974, which ravaged Honduras' Caribbean coast, killing at least 2,000 people.",
"Pope John Paul II appealed for aid Wednesday for the Central American countries stricken by hurricane Mitch and said he feels close to the thousands who are suffering. Speaking during his general audience, the pope urged ``all public and private institutions and all men of good will'' to do all they can ``in this grave moment of destruction and death.'' Hurricane Mitch killed an estimated 9,000 people throughout Central America in a disaster of such proportions that relief agencies have been overwhelmed. Among those attending the audience were six Russian cosmonauts taking a special course in Italy. As a gift, they gave John Paul a spacesuit.",
"BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union on Tuesday approved 6.4 million European currency units (dlrs 7.7 million) in aid for thousands of victims of the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch in Central America. EU spokesman Pietro Petrucci said the funds will be used to provide basic care such as medicine, food, water sanitation and blankets to thousands of people whose homes were destroyed by torrential rains and mudslides. The aid will be distributed in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala which have most suffered from Mitch's deadly passage, the EU executive Commission said in a statement. Officials in Central America estimated Tuesday that about 7,000 people have died in the region. The greatest losses were reported in Honduras, where an estimated 5,000 people died and 600,000 people _ 10 percent of the population _ were forced to flee their homes after last week's storm. El Salvador's National Emergency Committee listed 174 dead, 96 missing and 27,000 homeless. But its own regional affiliate in San Miguel province reported 125 dead there alone. Guatemala reported 100 storm-related deaths. The latest EU aid follows an initial 400,000 ecu (dlrs 480,000). the EU approved for the region on Friday. The full 6.8 million ecu (dlrs 8.18 million) will be channeled through humanitarian groups working in the region.",
"Hurricane Mitch cut through the Honduran coast like a ripsaw Thursday, its devastating winds whirling for a third day through resort islands and mainland communities. At least 32 people were killed and widespread flooding prompted more than 150,000 to seek higher ground. Mitch, once among the century's most powerful hurricanes, weakened today as it blasted this Central American nation, bringing downpours that flooded at least 50 rivers. It also kicked up huge waves that pounded seaside communities. The storm's power was easing and by 1200 GMT, it had sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph), down from 100 mph (160 kph) around midnight and well below its 180 mph (290 kph) peak of early Tuesday. After remaining virtually stationary for more than a day, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Thursday the center of the 350-mile-wide (560-kilometer-wide) storm had moved slightly to the south but remained just off the Honduran coast. Hurricane-force winds whirled up to 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the center, with rain-laden tropical storm winds extending well beyond that. Caught near the heart of the storm were the Bay Islands, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) off Honduras' coast and popular with divers and beachcombers. ``The hurricane has destroyed almost everything,'' said Mike Brown, a resident of Guanaja Island, 20 miles (32 kilometers) off the coast. ``Few houses have remained standing.'' Honduran officials said 14 people had died on that small island alone, and at least nine had died elsewhere in the country. More than 72,000 people had been evacuated to shelters. Nine other deaths had been reported elsewhere in the region by early Thursday _ more than a day after Mitch drifted to just off the coast and seemed to park there. An American was thrown from his boat south of Cancun, Mexico, on Monday and was presumed dead. Eight others died in Nicaragua in flooding. Honduran officials said more than 200 towns and villages had been isolated by the storm, left without power, telephones or clean drinking water. Agriculture Minister Pedro Arturo Sevilla said crucial grain, citrus and banana crops had been damaged ``and the economic future of Honduras is uncertain.'' Rain-swollen rivers knocked out bridges and roads, isolating La Ceiba, a coastal city of 40,000 people located 80 miles (128 kilometers) from the Bay Islands. About 10,000 residents fled to crowded shelters in schools, churches and firehouses. While supplies of food and gasoline seemed to hold up, drivers worried about the coming days formed long lines to fill their tanks at gas stations and some supermarkets took measures to limit panic buying. La Ceiba officials appealed for pure water for those in shelters and some residents set out plastic buckets to collect rainwater. Only a few hotels and offices with their own generators had electricity. Wind-whipped waves almost buried some houses near the shore. People evacuated low-lying houses by wading through chest-deep water with sodden bags of belongings on their heads. In neighboring Belize, most of the 75,000 residents of coastal Belize City had left by Wednesday, turning the country's largest city into a ghost town. Police and soldiers patrolled the streets, and a few people wandered amid the boarded-up houses. The cable television company was broadcasting only The Weather Channel. With the storm seemingly anchored off Honduras, officials in Mexico to the north eased emergency measures on the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, where hundreds of people remained in shelters as a precaution Wednesday night. More than 20,000 tourists had abandoned Cancun and nearby resort areas, leaving hotels at about 20 percent of capacity. Houston accountant Kathy Montgomery said that she and her friend Nina Devries had tried to leave Cancun but found all the flights full. ``It's been horrible,'' said Montgomery, as she and her friend drank cocktails at an outdoor restaurant. ``We couldn't go out on a boat, we couldn't go snorkeling. ``Even Carlos' N Charlie's and Senor Frog's are closed,'' she said dejectedly, referring to two restaurants. ``Some vacation.'' The U.S. Agency for International Development sent two helicopters each to Belize and Honduras to help in search, rescue and relief efforts. At its peak, Mitch was the fourth-strongest Caribbean hurricane in this century, behind Gilbert in 1988, Allen in 1980 and the Labor Day hurricane of 1935.",
"Better information from Honduras' ravaged countryside enabled officials to lower the confirmed death toll from Hurricane Mitch from 7,000 to about 6,100 on Thursday, but leaders insisted the need for help was growing. President Carlos Flores declared Hurricane Mitch had set back Honduras' development by 50 years. He urged the more than 1.5 million Hondurans affected by the storm to help with the recovery effort. ``The county is semi-destroyed and awaits the maximum effort and most fervent and constant work of every one of its children,'' he said. In the capital, Tegucigalpa, Mexican rescue teams began searching for avalanche victims. Honduran doctors dispensed vaccinations to prevent disease outbreaks in shelters crammed with refugees. As of Thursday, Mitch had killed 6,076 people in Honduras _ down from officials' earlier estimate of 7,000. The numbers of missing dropped from an estimated 11,000 to 4,621, Government Minister Delmer Urbizo said. ``We have more access to places affected by the storm,'' Urbizo explained. ``Until now, we have had a short amount of time and few resources to get reliable information.'' In Nicaragua, around 2,000 people were killed, most of those swept away when a volcano crater lake collapsed a week ago. El Salvador reported 239 dead; Guatemala said 194 of its people had been killed. Six people died in southern Mexico and seven in Costa Rica. Aid groups and governments have called for other countries to send medicine, water, canned food, roofing materials and equipment to help deliver supplies. In Washington on Thursday, President Bill Clinton ordered dlrs 30 million in Defense Department equipment and services and dlrs 36 million in food, fuel and other aid be sent to Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. The White House also said Clinton was dispatching Tipper Gore, wife of Vice President Al Gore, to Central America on a mission to show the U.S. commitment to providing humanitarian relief. Hillary Rodham Clinton also will travel to the region, visiting Nicaragua and Honduras on Nov. 16. She later will stop in El Salvador and Guatemala before continuing on to Haiti and the Dominican Republic for a visit that had been canceled due to Hurricane Georges, which struck the Caribbean in October. Mitch, which sat off the Honduran coast for several days last week, destroyed scores of Central American communities before moving northwest. The weakened storm crossed southern Florida on Thursday, damaging mobile homes and buildings and injuring at least seven people. Countries overwhelmed by the storm's devastation have only just begun to calculate the damage. Honduran authorities still don't know how many shelters have been set up across the Central American country. Surveyors have yet to evaluate roughly 10 percent of the most affected areas _ the departments of Cortes, Atlantida, Colon and Yoro in the north, southern Choluteca and Valle, and the central department of Francisco Morazan, which includes the capital. Numbers still can vary wildly. The estimated number of homeless dropped from 580,000 to 569,000 Thursday. Mitch damaged or destroyed at least 90 bridges on major highways, including most spans on Highway 5, the main north-south route, officials said. Urbizo said Honduran officials hoped the scale of need in next-door Nicaragua wouldn't overshadow Honduras' plight. ``Our problem is that all of the country has been affected,'' he said. Thursday's relief operations paled in comparison to the scope of the disaster. A total of 14 helicopter relief missions were delivering aid to stricken towns, said Col. Roger Antonio Caceres of the government's Operation Mitch emergency response task force. ``We can manage with the number of aircraft we have because there is little to distribute,'' Caceres said. More help was on the way. Mexico was sending 700 tons of food, 11 tons of medicine, at least 12 helicopters, four cargo planes and 475 soldiers to help in relief operations. The United States committed 19 Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters, two C-27 aircraft and one C-130 cargo plane. France said it was sending 250 rescue workers to Central America, along with a ship loaded with construction material and equipment. The U.N. World Food Program said Thursday it was diverting ships, some already at sea, to rush their cargoes of donated food to Central America. It also was pulling food from warehouses at its base in Rome, probably for delivery by emergency relief flights, spokesman Trevor Rowe said. ``We're trying to move food as fast as possible to help people as soon as possible,'' Rowe said. Searches for the missing continued, and some decomposed bodies, once found, were being buried in common graves. About 100 victims had been buried around Tegucigalpa, Mayor Nahum Valladeres said. In the flood-ravaged Tegucigalpa neighborhood of Nueva Esperanza, Mexican military rescuers loaded search dogs on their backs and forded a muddy river to look for people believed buried in a 200-foot (60-meter) avalanche that occurred last Friday. Dozens of homes were swept into the river. ``This is the first place we've been'' with the dogs, Honduran army Maj. Freddy Diaz Celaya said. ``From here we'll continue searching downriver.'' Concerned that crowded shelter conditions could produce outbreaks of hepatitis, respiratory infections and other ailments, the Health Ministry announced an inoculation campaign, especially for children. Doctors volunteering at a shelter housing 4,000 people at Tegucigalpa's Polytechnic Development Institute said they'd heard of the campaign but had yet to receive word or medicines from the Health Ministry. ``We have to vaccinate the children,'' said Dr. Mario Soto, who has treated at least 300 children at the shelter for diarrhea, conjunctivitis and bacterial infections.",
"In Honduras, at least 231 deaths have been blamed on Mitch, the National Emergency Commission said Saturday. El Salvador _ where 140 people died in flash floods _ declared a state of emergency Saturday, as did Guatemala, where 21 people died when floods swept away their homes. Mexico reported one death from Mitch last Monday. In the Caribbean, the U.S. Coast Guard widened a search for a tourist schooner with 31 people aboard that hasn't been heard from since Tuesday. By late Sunday, Mitch's winds, once near 180 mph (290 kph), had dropped to near 30 mph (50 kph), and the storm _ now classified as a tropical depression _ was near Tapachula, on Mexico's southern Pacific coast near the Guatemalan border. Mitch was moving west at 8 mph (13 kph) and was dissipating but threatened to strengthen again if it moved back out to sea."
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Prospects were dim for resolution of the political crisis in Cambodia in October 1998. Prime Minister Hun Sen insisted that talks take place in Cambodia while opposition leaders Ranariddh and Sam Rainsy, fearing arrest at home, wanted them abroad. King Sihanouk declined to chair talks in either place. A U.S. House resolution criticized Hun Sen's regime while the opposition tried to cut off his access to loans. But in November the King announced a coalition government with Hun Sen heading the executive and Ranariddh leading the parliament. Left out, Sam Rainsy sought the King's assurance of Hun Sen's promise of safety and freedom for all politicians. Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen rejects demands of 2 opposition parties for talks in Beijing after failing to win a 2/3 majority in recent elections. Sihanouk refuses to host talks in Beijing. Opposition parties ask the Asian Development Bank to stop loans to Hun Sen's government. CCP defends Hun Sen to the US Senate. FUNCINPEC refuses to share the presidency. Hun Sen and Ranariddh eventually form a coalition at summit convened by Sihanouk. Hun Sen remains prime minister, Ranariddh is president of the national assembly, and a new senate will be formed. Opposition leader Rainsy left out. He seeks strong assurance of safety should he return to Cambodia. Cambodia King Norodom Sihanouk praised formation of a coalition of the Countries top two political parties, leaving strongman Hun Sen as Prime Minister and opposition leader Prince Norodom Ranariddh president of the National Assembly. The announcement comes after months of bitter argument following the failure of any party to attain the required quota to form a government. Opposition leader Sam Rainey was seeking assurances that he and his party members would not be arrested if they return to Cambodia. Rainey had been accused by Hun Sen of being behind an assassination attempt against him during massive street demonstrations in September. Cambodian elections, fraudulent according to opposition parties, gave the CPP of Hun Sen a scant majority but not enough to form its own government. Opposition leaders fearing arrest, or worse, fled and asked for talks outside the country. Han Sen refused. The UN found evidence of rights violations by Hun Sen prompting the US House to call for an investigation. The three-month governmental deadlock ended with Han Sen and his chief rival, Prince Norodom Ranariddh sharing power. Han Sen guaranteed safe return to Cambodia for all opponents but his strongest critic, Sam Rainsy, remained wary. Chief of State King Norodom Sihanouk praised the agreement.
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"Cambodia's ruling party responded Tuesday to criticisms of its leader in the U.S. Congress with a lengthy defense of strongman Hun Sen's human rights record. The Cambodian People's Party criticized a non-binding resolution passed earlier this month by the U.S. House of Representatives calling for an investigation into violations of international humanitarian law allegedly committed by Hun Sen. Events mentioned in the resolution include Hun Sen's coup last year against his co-prime minister, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, and his violent crackdown in September against anti-government demonstrations. A copy of the resolution has since been submitted to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. ``The CPP would like to launch an appeal to U.S. senators to wisely and realistically consider this draft resolution and give justice to the CPP, Hun Sen and the Cambodian people by not approving it,'' the party said in a statement. It defended Hun Sen's ouster of Ranariddh as a proper response to the prince's attempts at the time to negotiate the defections of senior Khmer Rouge rebels. It also repeated claims that the prince's party had moved rebel soldiers into Phnom Penh, a contention that remains unproved. The killings of nearly 100 of Ranariddh's supporters documented by U.N. human rights workers in the aftermath of the coup were dismissed by the CPP as mostly fabrications meant to distort the political situation. Ranariddh and his core supporters did not return to Cambodia until a few months before an election in July this year that the ruling party narrowly won. Ranariddh and his opposition ally, Sam Rainsy, refused to accept the election results, alleging widespread intimidation and fraud by the CPP. When their claims were dismissed by a Hun Sen-friendly court, they rallied their supporters into the streets of Phnom Penh. After two weeks of tolerating the demonstrations, Hun Sen ordered a violent crackdown that resulted in the deaths of at least four protesters. U.N. human rights workers later discovered more than 20 bodies _ many bearing signs of torture _ in and around the capital, prompting speculation that the death toll could be much higher. The ruling party supported the police action in its statement, noting that public property was damaged by protesters and that grenades were thrown at Hun Sen's home after Sam Rainsy suggested in a speech that the U.S. government should fire cruise missiles at Hun Sen. The opposition claims the grenade attack was staged as an excuse to begin the crackdown. ``The leaders of illegal demonstrations are the ones who must bear responsibility for the consequences deriving from the protest,'' the CPP said Tuesday, referring to the deadly violence as ``minor incidents.'' The ruling party also reminded the United States that Washington supported a Cambodian exile government dominated by the brutal Khmer Rouge in the 1980s. The Khmer Rouge was responsible for the deaths of as many as 2 million people during the guerrilla group's 1975-79 rule of Cambodia. After a series of border clashes, the Khmer Rouge was ousted from power by an invading Vietnamese army that set up a surrogate Cambodian communist government later led by Hun Sen. The ruling party accused U.S. policy-makers of not taking timely action to save the Cambodian people from the Khmer Rouge. ``They must not make unjust accusations against those who led the struggle to liberate the people from genocide,'' it added.",
"Cambodia's bickering political parties broke a three-month deadlock Friday and agreed to a coalition government leaving strongman Hun Sen as sole prime minister, King Norodom Sihanouk announced. In a long-elusive compromise, opposition leader Prince Norodom Ranariddh will become president of the National Assembly resulting from disputed elections in July, even though Hun Sen's party holds a majority of 64 seats in the 122-member chamber. Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party dropped insistence on a joint assembly chairmanship shared by Ranariddh and party boss Chea Sim, the current speaker. It was one of the main stumbling blocks in months of discord. Instead, Sihanouk announced, the constitution will be modified to create a new Senate, which Chea Sim will head. Chea Sim will still serve as acting head of state during the king's frequent absences from the country. ``The major political crisis in the country has been resolved and the political deadlock facing the nation has also come to an end,'' the king said in his statement. The Senate will initially be appointed by the king. The agreement did not say how many seats there would be, nor how they would be divided. The parties will hammer out details later. Pok Than, one of Ranariddh's negotiators, said the Senate would serve a mostly advisory role to the assembly. The senior Senate leaders will join those of the assembly, the prime minister and the country's top two Buddhist monks in a delicate balance of power on the council that will choose Cambodia's next king after Sihanouk dies. The two parties said that the assembly would convene again Nov. 25. The agreement came surprisingly quickly following Ranariddh's return Thursday from Thailand, where he had been holed up with other opposition figures for weeks amid fears for their safety if they stayed in Cambodia. The deal should allow rapid formation of a government between the CPP and Ranariddh's royalist FUNCINPEC to allow international donors and businesses to again operate in the poverty-stricken country, which is in desperate need of aid. It could also hasten Cambodia's entry into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, put on hold last year after Hun Sen deposed Ranariddh as co-prime minister in a bloody coup. Earlier, as both sides arrived at the Royal Palace for a second day of meetings, Sihanouk said they had agreed in principle to form a coalition and made ``important concessions.'' The king, the sole force in Cambodian politics able to broker a deal, pressured both sides to reach agreement before he leaves Saturday for medical treatment in Beijing. Sihanouk reported that Hun Sen responded positively to a request by Ranariddh for five of his key supporters to receive political pardons. All five were convicted of political crimes by courts that are widely seen as loyal to Hun Sen. The king has powers to grant pardons, but has awaited agreement from Hun Sen in politically sensitive cases. Former battlefield enemies, the CPP and FUNCINPEC have been at loggerheads since the CPP narrowly won parliamentary elections in July. The vote failed to put an end to instability that followed last year's coup. The CPP fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to form a government alone. Ranariddh's party and opposition ally Sam Rainsy held back their support, claiming the CPP won due to fraud and intimidation. The opposition organized protests in Phnom Penh seeking Hun Sen's ouster that were violently dispersed. Sam Rainsy, under investigation by a Phnom Penh court for his role in the demonstrations, has remained abroad. His 15 seats in the 122-seat assembly are irrelevant to forming a working government.",
"King Norodom Sihanouk on Tuesday praised agreements by Cambodia's top two political parties _ previously bitter rivals _ to form a coalition government led by strongman Hun Sen. In a short letter sent to news agencies, the king said he had received copies of cooperation agreements signed Monday that will place Hun Sen and his Cambodian People's Party in firm control of fiscal and administrative functions in the government. ``The protocol on cooperation between the CPP and FUNCINPEC will certainly bring peace and progress to our nation and people,'' Sihanouk wrote. Uncompromising enemies just a few months ago, Hun Sen and FUNCINPEC President Prince Norodom Ranariddh agreed Nov. 13 to form a government at a summit convened by Sihanouk. The deal, which will make Hun Sen prime minister and Ranariddh president of the National Assembly, ended more than three months of political deadlock that followed a July election narrowly won by Hun Sen. Key to the agreement was the formation of a Senate as the upper house of Parliament, to be led by CPP President Chea Sim, the outgoing head of the National Assembly. Sihanouk, recalling procedures used in a past government, suggested Tuesday that he should appoint the first two members of the upper house. The remaining senators, he said, should be selected by a method agreed upon by the new government and the National Assembly. Hun Sen said Monday that the CPP and FUNCINPEC had agreed that the Senate would be half as large as the 122-seat National Assembly. Other details of the Senate, including how much power it will be given in the promulgation of legislation, have yet to be ironed out by the two parties.",
"King Norodom Sihanouk has declined requests to chair a summit of Cambodia's top political leaders, saying the meeting would not bring any progress in deadlocked negotiations to form a government. Cambodian leader Hun Sen's ruling party and the two-party opposition had called on the monarch to lead top-level talks, but disagreed on its location. ``Papa will not preside over any summit meeting between the three parties, whether it is held in Phnom Penh or Beijing, because such a meeting will certainly achieve no result,'' Sihanouk wrote in an Oct. 17 letter to his son, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, leader of the senior opposition FUNCINPEC party. A copy of the letter was obtained Thursday. In it, the king called on the three parties to make compromises to end the stalemate: ``Papa would like to ask all three parties to take responsibility before the nation and the people.'' Hun Sen used Thursday's anniversary of a peace agreement ending the country's civil war to pressure the opposition to form a coalition government with his party. ``Only those who want to prolong the anarchy and instability prevent efforts to set up a new government,'' Hun Sen said in a televised speech marking the anniversary of the 1991 Paris Peace Accords. Hun Sen's party won 64 of the 122 seats in parliament in July's national election, but not the two-thirds majority necessary to form a government on its own. Opposition parties led by Ranariddh and former finance minister Sam Ram Rainsy have refused to enter into a coalition with Hun Sen until their allegations of election fraud have been thoroughly investigated. International monitors said the election was relatively free and fair. Hun Sen said his current government would remain in power as long as the opposition refused to form a new one. Ranariddh and Sam Rainsy have remained outside the country since the Sept. 24 ceremonial convening of parliament. Citing Hun Sen's threats to arrest opposition politicians following two alleged attempts on his life, Ranariddh and Sam Rainsy have said they do not feel safe negotiating inside the country and asked the king to chair the summit at his residence in Beijing. Hun Sen has rejected the opposition's reservations, saying it would be inappropriate to hold a summit outside the country. Negotiations so far have proved fruitless except for the opening of parliament after a Sept. 22 summit led by the king. Hun Sen implied Thursday that the opposition failed to follow through on promises made at the summit. ``If those results are strictly respected, there seems no reason to hold another summit,'' Hun Sen said in a speech on the anniversary of the 1991 Paris Peace Accords. Sihanouk is reportedly set to fly to Beijing next month to receive medical treatment from his Chinese doctors. The 75-year-old monarch suffers from a variety ailments and periodically makes extended trips to Beijing. He was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1993, but it has since gone into remission. In September, thousands of people filled the streets of Phnom Penh to protest against the alleged election fraud. Hun Sen ordered police to break up the demonstrations. At least four demonstrators were killed by police, but the discovery of more than 20 bodies in the aftermath has prompted speculation that the death tally could be much higher. In his speech, Hun Sen blamed the violence on opposition leaders, saying the demonstrations instigated social and economic chaos.",
"Cambodian leader Hun Sen on Friday rejected opposition parties' demands for talks outside the country, accusing them of trying to ``internationalize'' the political crisis. Government and opposition parties have asked King Norodom Sihanouk to host a summit meeting after a series of post-election negotiations between the two opposition groups and Hun Sen's party to form a new government failed. Opposition leaders Prince Norodom Ranariddh and Sam Rainsy, citing Hun Sen's threats to arrest opposition figures after two alleged attempts on his life, said they could not negotiate freely in Cambodia and called for talks at Sihanouk's residence in Beijing. Hun Sen, however, rejected that. ``I would like to make it clear that all meetings related to Cambodian affairs must be conducted in the Kingdom of Cambodia,'' Hun Sen told reporters after a Cabinet meeting on Friday. ``No-one should internationalize Cambodian affairs. It is detrimental to the sovereignty of Cambodia,'' he said. Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party won 64 of the 122 parliamentary seats in July's elections, short of the two-thirds majority needed to form a government on its own. Ranariddh and Sam Rainsy have charged that Hun Sen's victory in the elections was achieved through widespread fraud. They have demanded a thorough investigation into their election complaints as a precondition for their cooperation in getting the national assembly moving and a new government formed. Hun Sen said on Friday that the opposition concerns over their safety in the country was ``just an excuse for them to stay abroad.'' Both Ranariddh and Sam Rainsy have been outside the country since parliament was ceremonially opened on Sep. 24. Sam Rainsy and a number of opposition figures have been under court investigation for a grenade attack on Hun Sen's Phnom Penh residence on Sep. 7. Hun Sen was not home at the time of the attack, which was followed by a police crackdown on demonstrators contesting Hun Sen's election victory. The Sam Rainsy Party, in a statement released Friday, accused Hun Sen of being ``unwilling to make any compromise'' on negotiations to break the deadlock. ``A meeting outside Cambodia, as suggested by the opposition, could place all parties on more equal footing,'' said the statement. ``But the ruling party refuses to negotiate unless it is able to threaten its negotiating partners with arrest or worse.''",
"Cambodian leader Hun Sen has guaranteed the safety and political freedom of all politicians, trying to ease the fears of his rivals that they will be arrested or killed if they return to the country. The assurances were aimed especially at Sam Rainsy, leader of a vocally anti-Hun Sen opposition party, who was forced to take refuge in the U.N. offices in September to avoid arrest after Hun Sen accused him of being behind a plot against his life. Sam Rainsy and the 14 members of parliament from his party have been holed up overseas for two months. But a deal reached between Hun Sen and his chief rival, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, on forming a new government last week has opened the door for their return. In a letter to King Norodom Sihanouk _ the prince's father and Cambodia's head of state _ that was broadcast on television Tuesday, Hun Sen said that guarantees of safety extended to Ranariddh applied to all politicians. His assurances come a week before the first session of Cambodia's new parliament, the National Assembly. Sam Rainsy said Wednesday that he was unsatisfied with the guarantee. He said it contained indirect language and loopholes that suggest he and his Sam Rainsy Party members are still under threat of arrest from Hun Sen's ruling party. ``It should be easy for them to say, `Rainsy and the SRP members of the assembly have no charges against them and will not be arrested,''' the opposition leader said in a statement. ``But instead they make roundabout statements, full of loopholes that can easily be exploited by a legal system that is completely in their control.'' Ranariddh told reporters Wednesday that he believed it was safe for Sam Rainsy in Cambodia. Speaking upon his return from a brief stay in Bangkok, the prince said he would soon meet with Hun Sen to discuss the apportioning of ministries in the new coalition government. Last week, Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party and Ranariddh's FUNCINPEC party agreed to form a coalition that would leave Hun Sen as sole prime minister and make the prince president of the National Assembly. The deal assures the two-thirds vote in parliament needed to approve a new government. The men served as co-prime ministers until Hun Sen overthrew Ranariddh in a coup last year. ``I think Hun Sen has got everything. He's got the premiership and legitimacy through the election and recognition from his majesty the king. I don't think there is any benefit for Hun Sen to cause instability for our country,'' Ranariddh said. The prince also said that his top general, Nhek Bunchhay, would not be given back his previous position as the second-ranking general in the Cambodian military's general staff. Nhek Bunchhay's outnumbered forces in the capital put up tough but unsuccessful resistance to last year's coup.",
"Cambodian politicians expressed hope Monday that a new partnership between the parties of strongman Hun Sen and his rival, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, in a coalition government would not end in more violence. Hun Sen and Ranariddh, co-prime ministers in a coalition formed in 1993 after a landmark U.N.-sponsored election, often clashed over power-sharing and the integration of guerrilla fighters from the crumbling Khmer Rouge. Their arguments turned bloody last year when Hun Sen ousted Ranariddh in a coup. The prince fled Cambodia and did not return until a few months before elections in July. Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party narrowly won the polls, but a strong second-place finish by Ranariddh's FUNCINPEC gave the royalist party leverage in post-election negotiations. After a three-month impasse, they agreed last week to a coalition deal that will make Hun Sen sole prime minister and Ranariddh president of the National Assembly. ``This will not be a repetition of 1993 because there will not be two prime ministers,'' said Hun Sen aide Prak Sokhon, who attended last week's summit. ``When we had two prime ministers, everything moved very slowly and decisions were made more politically than technically.'' Ranariddh said Saturday that the two parties agreed to keep the ministries of interior and defense under co-ministers. Senior FUNCINPEC official Ahmad Yahya revealed Monday that it was also agreed that the CPP would control the foreign affairs and finance portfolios. FUNCINPEC will take justice and information. The parties are to form working groups this week to divide remaining government posts and draft a constitutional amendment to form a new Senate. Hun Sen and Ranariddh are scheduled to meet Nov. 23 _ two days before parliament reopens _ to review the results of the working groups and give their final approval, Ahmad Yahya said. Their ability to repair their relationship and work together will be the key to a stable coalition. ``I consider this a remarriage,'' Ahmad Yahya said. ``They have to be careful with the way they work and what they say. They will have to compromise to achieve results.'' Ranariddh's ally, Sam Rainsy, whose party placed a distant third in the election, was left out of last week's deal. Sam Rainsy, a virulent critic of Hun Sen, and his party's 14 other members of parliament have remained outside Cambodia since September amid fears for their security. In a letter to King Norodom Sihanouk released Monday, Sam Rainsy complained that Hun Sen had not responded to his queries on security, making it unsafe for his people to return for the reconvening of parliament. Sam Rainsy said he had been told by Ranariddh that his party and former Khmer Rouge guerrillas had been implicated by Hun Sen in a rocket attack on the Sept. 24 opening of parliament. Authorities have called it an assassination attempt on Hun Sen. A police general investigating the attack said Monday that likely suspects have been identified, but he would not reveal names or their political affiliation.",
"Cambodia's two-party opposition asked the Asian Development Bank Monday to stop providing loans to the incumbent government, which it calls illegal. Negotiations to form the next government have become deadlocked, and opposition party leaders Prince Norodom Ranariddh and Sam Rainsy are out of the country following threats of arrest from strongman Hun Sen. Hun Sen complained Monday that the opposition was trying to make its members' return an international issue. Hun Sen's ruling party narrowly won a majority in elections in July, but the opposition _ claiming widespread intimidation and fraud _ has denied Hun Sen the two-thirds vote in parliament required to approve the next government. Meanwhile, it says, the old government is holding power illegally. Ranariddh and Sam Rainsy renewed their international lobbying campaign against the old government Monday in a letter to ADB President Mitsuo Sato calling for the bank to stop lending money to it. ``We respectfully advise the Asian Development Bank not to provide any new loans to the current regime in Cambodia,'' the two party leaders wrote. ``At best the current regime could be considered a caretaker government as it has not been approved by the National Assembly.'' After a meeting between Hun Sen and the new French ambassador to Cambodia, Hun Sen aide Prak Sokhonn said the Cambodian leader had repeated calls for the opposition to return, but expressed concern that the international community may be asked for security guarantees. ``There have been reports that there is an attempt to internationalize the return of those members of parliament on the excuse of security problems,'' Prak Sokhonn said. ``Some (opposition politicians) have wanted the United Nations to help guarantee a safe return for them.'' The U.N. secretary-general's representative office in Phnom Penh provided monitors to opposition politicians after they returned to Cambodia to participate in the July election. The monitoring ended Sept. 30. ``Our office has not received any official request for that operation to be started up again,'' U.N. diplomat Jonathan Prentice said Monday in reaction to Prak Sokhonn's statement. The opposition has insisted that any further talks on the next government must take place outside the country, but the ruling party has rejected allegations of intimidation and recently guaranteed opposition members' safety inside the country. Diplomatic efforts to revive the stalled talks appeared to bear fruit Monday as Japanese Foreign Affairs Secretary of State Nobutaka Machimura said King Norodom Sihanouk has called on Ranariddh and Sam Rainsy to return to Cambodia. Less than two weeks after abandoning hope that he could influence the parties to reach a compromise, Sihanouk is now ``strongly interested'' in presiding over a summit meeting of the three party leaders in Cambodia, Machimura said.",
"Worried that party colleagues still face arrest for their politics, opposition leader Sam Rainsy sought further clarification Friday of security guarantees promised by strongman Hun Sen. Sam Rainsy wrote in a letter to King Norodom Sihanouk that he was eager to attend the first session of the new National Assembly on Nov. 25, but complained that Hun Sen's assurances were not strong enough to ease concerns his party members may be arrested upon their return to Cambodia. Hun Sen announced a government guarantee Wednesday of all politicians' safety and their right to conduct political activities ``in accordance with the laws in force.'' Sam Rainsy, who earlier called Hun Sen's statement ``full of loopholes,'' asked Sihanouk for his help in obtaining a promise from Hun Sen that all members of the Sam Rainsy Party were free from prosecution for their political activities during and after last July's election. Sam Rainsy, a staunch critic of Hun Sen, was forced to take refuge in a U.N. office in September to avoid arrest after Hun Sen accused him of being behind a plot against his life. The alleged assassination attempt came during massive street demonstrations organized by the opposition after Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party narrowly won the election. The opposition, alleging widespread fraud and intimidation, refused to accept the results of the polls. Fearing for their safety, Sam Rainsy and his then-ally Prince Norodom Ranariddh led an exodus of opposition lawmakers out of Cambodia after parliament was ceremonially opened in late September. Ranariddh, whose FUNCINPEC party finished a close second in the election, returned last week and struck a deal with Hun Sen to form a coalition government. The agreement will make Hun Sen prime minister and Ranariddh president of the National Assembly. The two parties have formed three working groups to hammer out details of the agreement, including the establishment of a Senate to be the upper house of parliament. Sok An, representing Hun Sen's party, said Friday that one working group had completed its work on a joint political platform to be implemented by the new government. The platform is said to emphasize administrative, economic and judicial reforms, but Sok An would not reveal details, saying Hun Sen would announce it when he presents his Cabinet choices to the National Assembly.",
"Cambodia's leading opposition party ruled out sharing the presidency of Parliament with its arch foe Saturday, insisting it alone must occupy the top position in the legislative body. Disputes over the presidency have been a major stumbling block in talks between the two-party opposition bloc and the Cambodian People's Party to form a new government. Cambodian leader Hun Sen, who heads the CPP, has offered to share the legislature's top job with the royalist FUNCINPEC party of Prince Norodom Ranariddh in order to break the impasse. The prince's party, in a statement dated Friday and seen Saturday, said such a scenario was unconstitutional. ``Co-sharing anything with the CPP means surrendering full power to them. Furthermore, such a proposal is unconstitutional,'' the faxed statement said. The royalist party also rejected Hun Sen's calls to hold bilateral talks, insisting that Ranariddh's main ally Sam Rainsy also be included. ``No party with seats at the National Assembly should be left out if transparency and a check and balance system is to be used in government,'' the statement said, adding that the Sam Rainsy Party should also be given chairmanship of one of the national assembly's nine commissions. Noting that FUNCINPEC allowed the CPP to hold the presidency despite its win in the 1993 general elections, the statement said it was now its turn to take the post. In the most recent elections, held in July, Hun Sen's party collected 64 of the 122 parliamentary seats, but was short of the two-thirds majority needed to set up a new government. Fearing arrest, many opposition members of Parliament left Cambodia after the ceremonial opening of the National Assembly on Sep. 24. A series of negotiations to forge a new government have failed. The talks have been complicated by the CPP-FUNCINPEC quarrel over the Parliament's top job. Hun Sen's party recently called on Ranariddh to return to the negotiation table and said it was willing to make an ``appropriate concession'' to break the deadlock over forming a government. FUNCINPEC has demanded from Hun Sen written guarantees for the safety of its members and activities as a precondition for re-entering negotiations."
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"Cambodia's ruling party responded Tuesday to criticisms of its leader in the U.S. Congress with a lengthy defense of strongman Hun Sen's human rights record. The Cambodian People's Party criticized a non-binding resolution passed earlier this month by the U.S. House of Representatives calling for an investigation into violations of international humanitarian law allegedly committed by Hun Sen. Events mentioned in the resolution include Hun Sen's coup last year against his co-prime minister, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, and his violent crackdown in September against anti-government demonstrations. A copy of the resolution has since been submitted to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. ``The CPP would like to launch an appeal to U.S. senators to wisely and realistically consider this draft resolution and give justice to the CPP, Hun Sen and the Cambodian people by not approving it,'' the party said in a statement. It defended Hun Sen's ouster of Ranariddh as a proper response to the prince's attempts at the time to negotiate the defections of senior Khmer Rouge rebels. It also repeated claims that the prince's party had moved rebel soldiers into Phnom Penh, a contention that remains unproved. The killings of nearly 100 of Ranariddh's supporters documented by U.N. human rights workers in the aftermath of the coup were dismissed by the CPP as mostly fabrications meant to distort the political situation. Ranariddh and his core supporters did not return to Cambodia until a few months before an election in July this year that the ruling party narrowly won. Ranariddh and his opposition ally, Sam Rainsy, refused to accept the election results, alleging widespread intimidation and fraud by the CPP. When their claims were dismissed by a Hun Sen-friendly court, they rallied their supporters into the streets of Phnom Penh. After two weeks of tolerating the demonstrations, Hun Sen ordered a violent crackdown that resulted in the deaths of at least four protesters. U.N. human rights workers later discovered more than 20 bodies _ many bearing signs of torture _ in and around the capital, prompting speculation that the death toll could be much higher. The ruling party supported the police action in its statement, noting that public property was damaged by protesters and that grenades were thrown at Hun Sen's home after Sam Rainsy suggested in a speech that the U.S. government should fire cruise missiles at Hun Sen. The opposition claims the grenade attack was staged as an excuse to begin the crackdown. ``The leaders of illegal demonstrations are the ones who must bear responsibility for the consequences deriving from the protest,'' the CPP said Tuesday, referring to the deadly violence as ``minor incidents.'' The ruling party also reminded the United States that Washington supported a Cambodian exile government dominated by the brutal Khmer Rouge in the 1980s. The Khmer Rouge was responsible for the deaths of as many as 2 million people during the guerrilla group's 1975-79 rule of Cambodia. After a series of border clashes, the Khmer Rouge was ousted from power by an invading Vietnamese army that set up a surrogate Cambodian communist government later led by Hun Sen. The ruling party accused U.S. policy-makers of not taking timely action to save the Cambodian people from the Khmer Rouge. ``They must not make unjust accusations against those who led the struggle to liberate the people from genocide,'' it added.",
"Cambodia's bickering political parties broke a three-month deadlock Friday and agreed to a coalition government leaving strongman Hun Sen as sole prime minister, King Norodom Sihanouk announced. In a long-elusive compromise, opposition leader Prince Norodom Ranariddh will become president of the National Assembly resulting from disputed elections in July, even though Hun Sen's party holds a majority of 64 seats in the 122-member chamber. Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party dropped insistence on a joint assembly chairmanship shared by Ranariddh and party boss Chea Sim, the current speaker. It was one of the main stumbling blocks in months of discord. Instead, Sihanouk announced, the constitution will be modified to create a new Senate, which Chea Sim will head. Chea Sim will still serve as acting head of state during the king's frequent absences from the country. ``The major political crisis in the country has been resolved and the political deadlock facing the nation has also come to an end,'' the king said in his statement. The Senate will initially be appointed by the king. The agreement did not say how many seats there would be, nor how they would be divided. The parties will hammer out details later. Pok Than, one of Ranariddh's negotiators, said the Senate would serve a mostly advisory role to the assembly. The senior Senate leaders will join those of the assembly, the prime minister and the country's top two Buddhist monks in a delicate balance of power on the council that will choose Cambodia's next king after Sihanouk dies. The two parties said that the assembly would convene again Nov. 25. The agreement came surprisingly quickly following Ranariddh's return Thursday from Thailand, where he had been holed up with other opposition figures for weeks amid fears for their safety if they stayed in Cambodia. The deal should allow rapid formation of a government between the CPP and Ranariddh's royalist FUNCINPEC to allow international donors and businesses to again operate in the poverty-stricken country, which is in desperate need of aid. It could also hasten Cambodia's entry into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, put on hold last year after Hun Sen deposed Ranariddh as co-prime minister in a bloody coup. Earlier, as both sides arrived at the Royal Palace for a second day of meetings, Sihanouk said they had agreed in principle to form a coalition and made ``important concessions.'' The king, the sole force in Cambodian politics able to broker a deal, pressured both sides to reach agreement before he leaves Saturday for medical treatment in Beijing. Sihanouk reported that Hun Sen responded positively to a request by Ranariddh for five of his key supporters to receive political pardons. All five were convicted of political crimes by courts that are widely seen as loyal to Hun Sen. The king has powers to grant pardons, but has awaited agreement from Hun Sen in politically sensitive cases. Former battlefield enemies, the CPP and FUNCINPEC have been at loggerheads since the CPP narrowly won parliamentary elections in July. The vote failed to put an end to instability that followed last year's coup. The CPP fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to form a government alone. Ranariddh's party and opposition ally Sam Rainsy held back their support, claiming the CPP won due to fraud and intimidation. The opposition organized protests in Phnom Penh seeking Hun Sen's ouster that were violently dispersed. Sam Rainsy, under investigation by a Phnom Penh court for his role in the demonstrations, has remained abroad. His 15 seats in the 122-seat assembly are irrelevant to forming a working government.",
"King Norodom Sihanouk on Tuesday praised agreements by Cambodia's top two political parties _ previously bitter rivals _ to form a coalition government led by strongman Hun Sen. In a short letter sent to news agencies, the king said he had received copies of cooperation agreements signed Monday that will place Hun Sen and his Cambodian People's Party in firm control of fiscal and administrative functions in the government. ``The protocol on cooperation between the CPP and FUNCINPEC will certainly bring peace and progress to our nation and people,'' Sihanouk wrote. Uncompromising enemies just a few months ago, Hun Sen and FUNCINPEC President Prince Norodom Ranariddh agreed Nov. 13 to form a government at a summit convened by Sihanouk. The deal, which will make Hun Sen prime minister and Ranariddh president of the National Assembly, ended more than three months of political deadlock that followed a July election narrowly won by Hun Sen. Key to the agreement was the formation of a Senate as the upper house of Parliament, to be led by CPP President Chea Sim, the outgoing head of the National Assembly. Sihanouk, recalling procedures used in a past government, suggested Tuesday that he should appoint the first two members of the upper house. The remaining senators, he said, should be selected by a method agreed upon by the new government and the National Assembly. Hun Sen said Monday that the CPP and FUNCINPEC had agreed that the Senate would be half as large as the 122-seat National Assembly. Other details of the Senate, including how much power it will be given in the promulgation of legislation, have yet to be ironed out by the two parties.",
"King Norodom Sihanouk has declined requests to chair a summit of Cambodia's top political leaders, saying the meeting would not bring any progress in deadlocked negotiations to form a government. Cambodian leader Hun Sen's ruling party and the two-party opposition had called on the monarch to lead top-level talks, but disagreed on its location. ``Papa will not preside over any summit meeting between the three parties, whether it is held in Phnom Penh or Beijing, because such a meeting will certainly achieve no result,'' Sihanouk wrote in an Oct. 17 letter to his son, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, leader of the senior opposition FUNCINPEC party. A copy of the letter was obtained Thursday. In it, the king called on the three parties to make compromises to end the stalemate: ``Papa would like to ask all three parties to take responsibility before the nation and the people.'' Hun Sen used Thursday's anniversary of a peace agreement ending the country's civil war to pressure the opposition to form a coalition government with his party. ``Only those who want to prolong the anarchy and instability prevent efforts to set up a new government,'' Hun Sen said in a televised speech marking the anniversary of the 1991 Paris Peace Accords. Hun Sen's party won 64 of the 122 seats in parliament in July's national election, but not the two-thirds majority necessary to form a government on its own. Opposition parties led by Ranariddh and former finance minister Sam Ram Rainsy have refused to enter into a coalition with Hun Sen until their allegations of election fraud have been thoroughly investigated. International monitors said the election was relatively free and fair. Hun Sen said his current government would remain in power as long as the opposition refused to form a new one. Ranariddh and Sam Rainsy have remained outside the country since the Sept. 24 ceremonial convening of parliament. Citing Hun Sen's threats to arrest opposition politicians following two alleged attempts on his life, Ranariddh and Sam Rainsy have said they do not feel safe negotiating inside the country and asked the king to chair the summit at his residence in Beijing. Hun Sen has rejected the opposition's reservations, saying it would be inappropriate to hold a summit outside the country. Negotiations so far have proved fruitless except for the opening of parliament after a Sept. 22 summit led by the king. Hun Sen implied Thursday that the opposition failed to follow through on promises made at the summit. ``If those results are strictly respected, there seems no reason to hold another summit,'' Hun Sen said in a speech on the anniversary of the 1991 Paris Peace Accords. Sihanouk is reportedly set to fly to Beijing next month to receive medical treatment from his Chinese doctors. The 75-year-old monarch suffers from a variety ailments and periodically makes extended trips to Beijing. He was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1993, but it has since gone into remission. In September, thousands of people filled the streets of Phnom Penh to protest against the alleged election fraud. Hun Sen ordered police to break up the demonstrations. At least four demonstrators were killed by police, but the discovery of more than 20 bodies in the aftermath has prompted speculation that the death tally could be much higher. In his speech, Hun Sen blamed the violence on opposition leaders, saying the demonstrations instigated social and economic chaos.",
"Cambodian leader Hun Sen on Friday rejected opposition parties' demands for talks outside the country, accusing them of trying to ``internationalize'' the political crisis. Government and opposition parties have asked King Norodom Sihanouk to host a summit meeting after a series of post-election negotiations between the two opposition groups and Hun Sen's party to form a new government failed. Opposition leaders Prince Norodom Ranariddh and Sam Rainsy, citing Hun Sen's threats to arrest opposition figures after two alleged attempts on his life, said they could not negotiate freely in Cambodia and called for talks at Sihanouk's residence in Beijing. Hun Sen, however, rejected that. ``I would like to make it clear that all meetings related to Cambodian affairs must be conducted in the Kingdom of Cambodia,'' Hun Sen told reporters after a Cabinet meeting on Friday. ``No-one should internationalize Cambodian affairs. It is detrimental to the sovereignty of Cambodia,'' he said. Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party won 64 of the 122 parliamentary seats in July's elections, short of the two-thirds majority needed to form a government on its own. Ranariddh and Sam Rainsy have charged that Hun Sen's victory in the elections was achieved through widespread fraud. They have demanded a thorough investigation into their election complaints as a precondition for their cooperation in getting the national assembly moving and a new government formed. Hun Sen said on Friday that the opposition concerns over their safety in the country was ``just an excuse for them to stay abroad.'' Both Ranariddh and Sam Rainsy have been outside the country since parliament was ceremonially opened on Sep. 24. Sam Rainsy and a number of opposition figures have been under court investigation for a grenade attack on Hun Sen's Phnom Penh residence on Sep. 7. Hun Sen was not home at the time of the attack, which was followed by a police crackdown on demonstrators contesting Hun Sen's election victory. The Sam Rainsy Party, in a statement released Friday, accused Hun Sen of being ``unwilling to make any compromise'' on negotiations to break the deadlock. ``A meeting outside Cambodia, as suggested by the opposition, could place all parties on more equal footing,'' said the statement. ``But the ruling party refuses to negotiate unless it is able to threaten its negotiating partners with arrest or worse.''",
"Cambodian leader Hun Sen has guaranteed the safety and political freedom of all politicians, trying to ease the fears of his rivals that they will be arrested or killed if they return to the country. The assurances were aimed especially at Sam Rainsy, leader of a vocally anti-Hun Sen opposition party, who was forced to take refuge in the U.N. offices in September to avoid arrest after Hun Sen accused him of being behind a plot against his life. Sam Rainsy and the 14 members of parliament from his party have been holed up overseas for two months. But a deal reached between Hun Sen and his chief rival, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, on forming a new government last week has opened the door for their return. In a letter to King Norodom Sihanouk _ the prince's father and Cambodia's head of state _ that was broadcast on television Tuesday, Hun Sen said that guarantees of safety extended to Ranariddh applied to all politicians. His assurances come a week before the first session of Cambodia's new parliament, the National Assembly. Sam Rainsy said Wednesday that he was unsatisfied with the guarantee. He said it contained indirect language and loopholes that suggest he and his Sam Rainsy Party members are still under threat of arrest from Hun Sen's ruling party. ``It should be easy for them to say, `Rainsy and the SRP members of the assembly have no charges against them and will not be arrested,''' the opposition leader said in a statement. ``But instead they make roundabout statements, full of loopholes that can easily be exploited by a legal system that is completely in their control.'' Ranariddh told reporters Wednesday that he believed it was safe for Sam Rainsy in Cambodia. Speaking upon his return from a brief stay in Bangkok, the prince said he would soon meet with Hun Sen to discuss the apportioning of ministries in the new coalition government. Last week, Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party and Ranariddh's FUNCINPEC party agreed to form a coalition that would leave Hun Sen as sole prime minister and make the prince president of the National Assembly. The deal assures the two-thirds vote in parliament needed to approve a new government. The men served as co-prime ministers until Hun Sen overthrew Ranariddh in a coup last year. ``I think Hun Sen has got everything. He's got the premiership and legitimacy through the election and recognition from his majesty the king. I don't think there is any benefit for Hun Sen to cause instability for our country,'' Ranariddh said. The prince also said that his top general, Nhek Bunchhay, would not be given back his previous position as the second-ranking general in the Cambodian military's general staff. Nhek Bunchhay's outnumbered forces in the capital put up tough but unsuccessful resistance to last year's coup.",
"Cambodian politicians expressed hope Monday that a new partnership between the parties of strongman Hun Sen and his rival, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, in a coalition government would not end in more violence. Hun Sen and Ranariddh, co-prime ministers in a coalition formed in 1993 after a landmark U.N.-sponsored election, often clashed over power-sharing and the integration of guerrilla fighters from the crumbling Khmer Rouge. Their arguments turned bloody last year when Hun Sen ousted Ranariddh in a coup. The prince fled Cambodia and did not return until a few months before elections in July. Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party narrowly won the polls, but a strong second-place finish by Ranariddh's FUNCINPEC gave the royalist party leverage in post-election negotiations. After a three-month impasse, they agreed last week to a coalition deal that will make Hun Sen sole prime minister and Ranariddh president of the National Assembly. ``This will not be a repetition of 1993 because there will not be two prime ministers,'' said Hun Sen aide Prak Sokhon, who attended last week's summit. ``When we had two prime ministers, everything moved very slowly and decisions were made more politically than technically.'' Ranariddh said Saturday that the two parties agreed to keep the ministries of interior and defense under co-ministers. Senior FUNCINPEC official Ahmad Yahya revealed Monday that it was also agreed that the CPP would control the foreign affairs and finance portfolios. FUNCINPEC will take justice and information. The parties are to form working groups this week to divide remaining government posts and draft a constitutional amendment to form a new Senate. Hun Sen and Ranariddh are scheduled to meet Nov. 23 _ two days before parliament reopens _ to review the results of the working groups and give their final approval, Ahmad Yahya said. Their ability to repair their relationship and work together will be the key to a stable coalition. ``I consider this a remarriage,'' Ahmad Yahya said. ``They have to be careful with the way they work and what they say. They will have to compromise to achieve results.'' Ranariddh's ally, Sam Rainsy, whose party placed a distant third in the election, was left out of last week's deal. Sam Rainsy, a virulent critic of Hun Sen, and his party's 14 other members of parliament have remained outside Cambodia since September amid fears for their security. In a letter to King Norodom Sihanouk released Monday, Sam Rainsy complained that Hun Sen had not responded to his queries on security, making it unsafe for his people to return for the reconvening of parliament. Sam Rainsy said he had been told by Ranariddh that his party and former Khmer Rouge guerrillas had been implicated by Hun Sen in a rocket attack on the Sept. 24 opening of parliament. Authorities have called it an assassination attempt on Hun Sen. A police general investigating the attack said Monday that likely suspects have been identified, but he would not reveal names or their political affiliation.",
"Cambodia's two-party opposition asked the Asian Development Bank Monday to stop providing loans to the incumbent government, which it calls illegal. Negotiations to form the next government have become deadlocked, and opposition party leaders Prince Norodom Ranariddh and Sam Rainsy are out of the country following threats of arrest from strongman Hun Sen. Hun Sen complained Monday that the opposition was trying to make its members' return an international issue. Hun Sen's ruling party narrowly won a majority in elections in July, but the opposition _ claiming widespread intimidation and fraud _ has denied Hun Sen the two-thirds vote in parliament required to approve the next government. Meanwhile, it says, the old government is holding power illegally. Ranariddh and Sam Rainsy renewed their international lobbying campaign against the old government Monday in a letter to ADB President Mitsuo Sato calling for the bank to stop lending money to it. ``We respectfully advise the Asian Development Bank not to provide any new loans to the current regime in Cambodia,'' the two party leaders wrote. ``At best the current regime could be considered a caretaker government as it has not been approved by the National Assembly.'' After a meeting between Hun Sen and the new French ambassador to Cambodia, Hun Sen aide Prak Sokhonn said the Cambodian leader had repeated calls for the opposition to return, but expressed concern that the international community may be asked for security guarantees. ``There have been reports that there is an attempt to internationalize the return of those members of parliament on the excuse of security problems,'' Prak Sokhonn said. ``Some (opposition politicians) have wanted the United Nations to help guarantee a safe return for them.'' The U.N. secretary-general's representative office in Phnom Penh provided monitors to opposition politicians after they returned to Cambodia to participate in the July election. The monitoring ended Sept. 30. ``Our office has not received any official request for that operation to be started up again,'' U.N. diplomat Jonathan Prentice said Monday in reaction to Prak Sokhonn's statement. The opposition has insisted that any further talks on the next government must take place outside the country, but the ruling party has rejected allegations of intimidation and recently guaranteed opposition members' safety inside the country. Diplomatic efforts to revive the stalled talks appeared to bear fruit Monday as Japanese Foreign Affairs Secretary of State Nobutaka Machimura said King Norodom Sihanouk has called on Ranariddh and Sam Rainsy to return to Cambodia. Less than two weeks after abandoning hope that he could influence the parties to reach a compromise, Sihanouk is now ``strongly interested'' in presiding over a summit meeting of the three party leaders in Cambodia, Machimura said.",
"Worried that party colleagues still face arrest for their politics, opposition leader Sam Rainsy sought further clarification Friday of security guarantees promised by strongman Hun Sen. Sam Rainsy wrote in a letter to King Norodom Sihanouk that he was eager to attend the first session of the new National Assembly on Nov. 25, but complained that Hun Sen's assurances were not strong enough to ease concerns his party members may be arrested upon their return to Cambodia. Hun Sen announced a government guarantee Wednesday of all politicians' safety and their right to conduct political activities ``in accordance with the laws in force.'' Sam Rainsy, who earlier called Hun Sen's statement ``full of loopholes,'' asked Sihanouk for his help in obtaining a promise from Hun Sen that all members of the Sam Rainsy Party were free from prosecution for their political activities during and after last July's election. Sam Rainsy, a staunch critic of Hun Sen, was forced to take refuge in a U.N. office in September to avoid arrest after Hun Sen accused him of being behind a plot against his life. The alleged assassination attempt came during massive street demonstrations organized by the opposition after Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party narrowly won the election. The opposition, alleging widespread fraud and intimidation, refused to accept the results of the polls. Fearing for their safety, Sam Rainsy and his then-ally Prince Norodom Ranariddh led an exodus of opposition lawmakers out of Cambodia after parliament was ceremonially opened in late September. Ranariddh, whose FUNCINPEC party finished a close second in the election, returned last week and struck a deal with Hun Sen to form a coalition government. The agreement will make Hun Sen prime minister and Ranariddh president of the National Assembly. The two parties have formed three working groups to hammer out details of the agreement, including the establishment of a Senate to be the upper house of parliament. Sok An, representing Hun Sen's party, said Friday that one working group had completed its work on a joint political platform to be implemented by the new government. The platform is said to emphasize administrative, economic and judicial reforms, but Sok An would not reveal details, saying Hun Sen would announce it when he presents his Cabinet choices to the National Assembly.",
"Cambodia's leading opposition party ruled out sharing the presidency of Parliament with its arch foe Saturday, insisting it alone must occupy the top position in the legislative body. Disputes over the presidency have been a major stumbling block in talks between the two-party opposition bloc and the Cambodian People's Party to form a new government. Cambodian leader Hun Sen, who heads the CPP, has offered to share the legislature's top job with the royalist FUNCINPEC party of Prince Norodom Ranariddh in order to break the impasse. The prince's party, in a statement dated Friday and seen Saturday, said such a scenario was unconstitutional. ``Co-sharing anything with the CPP means surrendering full power to them. Furthermore, such a proposal is unconstitutional,'' the faxed statement said. The royalist party also rejected Hun Sen's calls to hold bilateral talks, insisting that Ranariddh's main ally Sam Rainsy also be included. ``No party with seats at the National Assembly should be left out if transparency and a check and balance system is to be used in government,'' the statement said, adding that the Sam Rainsy Party should also be given chairmanship of one of the national assembly's nine commissions. Noting that FUNCINPEC allowed the CPP to hold the presidency despite its win in the 1993 general elections, the statement said it was now its turn to take the post. In the most recent elections, held in July, Hun Sen's party collected 64 of the 122 parliamentary seats, but was short of the two-thirds majority needed to set up a new government. Fearing arrest, many opposition members of Parliament left Cambodia after the ceremonial opening of the National Assembly on Sep. 24. A series of negotiations to forge a new government have failed. The talks have been complicated by the CPP-FUNCINPEC quarrel over the Parliament's top job. Hun Sen's party recently called on Ranariddh to return to the negotiation table and said it was willing to make an ``appropriate concession'' to break the deadlock over forming a government. FUNCINPEC has demanded from Hun Sen written guarantees for the safety of its members and activities as a precondition for re-entering negotiations."
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Turkey's Prime Minister Yilmaz was ousted by a no-confidence vote in Parliament over allegations of interfering in a bank privatization and having mob ties. Ecevit, a former prime minister, was asked to form a new government. He was unable to win the support of Ciller for a secular coalition. Refusing any alliance with the Islamic Virtue Party, Ecevit turned to President Demirel to find another solution. Demirel was expected to turn to a widely trusted lawmaker to form Turkey's next government. New premier-designate Erez got backing from 2 key secular parties as he tried to form a broad-based secular coalition that would include some from the Virtue Party. Following charges that he interfered in a privatization contract and helped a businessman with mob ties, Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz was forced to resign. President Demeril asked Bulent Ecevit, former three-time prime minister from the 1970s and champion of Turkish Cypriot rights, to form a new government. After three weeks, Ecevit was unable to secure the support of the Center-Right Party. At issue was the participation of the Islamic Virtue Part in the secular government, Ecevit returned his mandate and Demeril named Valim Erez as prime minister designate. Erez was in talks with the Virtue Party over possible cabinet seats. Turkish PM Yilmaz was forced to step down due to mob ties and claims of state bank privatization tampering. President Demirel asked highly respected 3-time former PM Bulent Ecevit to form a new majority government. A split between parliament's center left and right is longstanding. Ecevit distrusted Yilmaz and Ciller but brought in Yilmaz's party and wooed Ciller's. She wouldn't join unless Islamic Virtue were included, which the secular parties resisted. After a 3-week effort, Ecevit gave up rather than include Virtue. Yalim Erez tried next and won the backing of 2 key secular parties. He will talk to Ciller and run Turkey until the April 18 election. For more than a month, Turkish politicians have been trying to form a new government. The last prime minister was voted out after charges of corruption and mob ties. Longtime politician and three-time prime minister, Ecevit, tried for two weeks to form a coalition, which would satisfy the staunchly secular military. He failed when he could not get the support of both center-right parties. The president then asked a member of Parliament to form an interim coalition government to serve until the April election. Erez attained center-right support if he sticks to secular principles, but he may be forced to give some Cabinet seats to the Islamic Virtue Party.
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"Bulent Ecevit, who was asked to form a new government Wednesday, is a former prime minister best remembered for ordering an invasion of Cyprus in 1974 that made him an overnight hero at home. The invasion, after a short-lived coup by supporters of union with Greece, has led to the division of the island. Throughout the years, Ecevit, 73, has remained a strong defender of the cause of the Turkish Cypriots ``As long as Turkey lives, we won't allow the oppression and subordination of Turkish Cypriots at the hands of Greek Cypriots,'' he said in July 1997 during the 23rd anniversary celebrations of the invasion. Ecevit, who was prime minister three times since 1974, has over the years shed some of the socialist idealism he was known for in the 70s. During his tenure as deputy prime minister in a 17-month government that was toppled last week over a corruption scandal, he gave his backing to the liberal policies of the center-right-led coalition. He often said he was carrying out a duty to bring a stable government and spare Turkey from crisis - a reference to tensions between a previous Islamic-led government and the secular military. Though never a Marxist, Ecevit was in his early years viewed with suspicion by big business for espousing socialism based on heavy government social benefits and a strong role for the state sector in the economy. Recently, however, he has helped the government keep on good terms with the IMF, which ordered a strict curb on public spending, and approved a number of state sell-offs. Under his leadership in the 70's, ties with the United States were tense. He has also expressed concern over a U.S.-led multinational force based in Turkey that monitors a no-fly zone over Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq. He argues it it is helping create a Kurdish state. His frequent visits to Iraq to meet with President Saddam Hussein have in turn raised suspicion in Washington. Despite a short alliance with an Islamic party in 1974, he is a staunch defender of Turkey's secular traditions and pushed for a crackdown on Islamic radicalism. Ecevit was born in Istanbul in 1925, to an intellectual family and studied literature at a prestigious American-run high school. He has taken some courses at Harvard University. A former journalist, he entered politics in 1957, rising to the leadership of the Republican People's Party in 1972, becoming prime minister in 1974, briefly in 1977 and again in 1978-79. He was barred from politics in the years that followed a 1980 military coup. He was imprisoned three times for carrying on with political activities despite the ban, mainly through his wife of 51 years, Rahsan, who formed the Democratic Left Party in 1985 and led it until a democratic reform in 1987 allowed Ecevit back into politics. In corruption-tainted Turkish politics, he remains known as the leader with the cleanest slate. Not even his alliance with Yilmaz who was ousted for alleged ties to the mob and rigging the privatization of a bank, tarnished his image.",
"The chances for a new, strictly secular government in Turkey faded Wednesday when a potential coalition partner insisted on giving the Islamic party a share of power. The military, self-appointed guardians of Turkey's secular system, is adamantly opposed to the inclusion of Islamic Virtue, the largest party in parliament. Premier-designate Bulent Ecevit needs Turkey's two-center right parties to hammer together a secular coalition, but Tansu Ciller, the ex-premier who commands 99 votes in parliament, rebuffed him Wednesday. Ecevit already has the support of her arch-rival, outgoing Premier Mesut Yilmaz, head of the other center-right party. But Mrs. Ciller said Wednesday she would not join forces with Yilmaz, whose government collapsed Nov. 25 over a mafia scandal. Instead, she reiterated her demand for a government that would include Virtue. ``We do not oppose Mr. Ecevit's premiership. We will support him, but only if all parties represented in Parliament are included,'' Mrs. Ciller said. It was not clear what Ecevit's next move would be. He might try to form a fragile minority coalition. He might also admit defeat and return the task of forming the government to President Suleyman Demirel. Demirel could then choose any member of parliament to head the government until elections in April.",
"A week after the Turkish government fell in a corruption scandal, President Suleyman Demirel on Wednesday asked a veteran left-wing politician known for his personal honesty, Bulent Ecevit, to form a new government. Ecevit, who served as prime minister three times in the 1970s, said he would immediately begin working to fashion a government that could command a majority in the faction-ridden Parliament. He also suggested that although Parliament has set April 18 as the date for a new election, he might seek to remain in power for a longer period. ``It is wrong to see this government as simply an election government,'' he said. ``There are problems that will not wait until an election.'' Military commanders, who hold ultimate power in Turkey, have quietly told senior political figures, including Demirel, that they do not want a quick election. They fear it will produce a Parliament just as divided as the present one, perhaps with the Islamic-oriented Virtue Party as the largest bloc. The commanders are also hoping to exclude two of the country's leading politicians, outgoing Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and former Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, neither of whom they trust, from posts in the new government. Ecevit must now try to build a government that includes their center-right parties but not them as individuals. In a meeting this week the country's senior policy-making body, the National Security Council, in which military officers have a strong say, set three priorities for the coming months. It said that whatever government emerges from forthcoming negotiations should dedicate itself to fighting religious fundamentalism, Kurdish nationalism and criminal gangs that have infiltrated the state apparatus. Among Ecevit's immediate challenges will be to resolve a political crisis with Italy that broke out last month when the Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan was arrested in Rome and then asked for political asylum there. Turkey wants Ocalan sent here for trial, but Italy says it cannot extradite him as long as Turkey retains the death penalty. Ecevit (pronounced EH-che-vit) is among the few senior Turkish politicians who favors the abolition of capital punishment. Together with Demirel, Ecevit is often cited by Turks who complain about the continued dominance of a geriatric political elite here. He is 73 and has been in politics for most of his adult life. Early in his career Ecevit emerged as a spokesman for Turkey's downtrodden masses. Perhaps more than any other figure, he legitimized social democratic ideology in a climate where leftist sympathies were often considered subversive. At the same time, however, he has shown himself to be a fierce nationalist. He was prime minister when Turkey sent troops to occupy northern Cyprus in 1974 and is still considered a hard-liner on Cyprus. He is also uncompromising in his opposition to Kurdish nationalism. During his terms as prime minister in the 1970s, Ecevit successfully undermined efforts to move Turkey toward membership in the European Union, then called the European Economic Community. He considered it an instrument of capitalist exploitation. Ecevit has also disturbed the United States by flirting with anti-Western ideologies. In the early 1990s, during an interval when he worked as a journalist, he traveled to Iraq and wrote a series of articles favorable to Saddam Hussein. He recently called for better relations between Turkey and Iraq, and maintains some of the anti-imperialist positions and suspicion of capitalism that he developed in the 1960s. The Democratic Socialist Party, which Ecevit heads, is a closely held family fiefdom. He and his wife carefully screen applicants for membership and veto those whose personal loyalty to Ecevit is suspect. ``During his terms as prime minister in the '70s, Ecevit did not appear to be a consensus builder,'' said Ilter Turan, a professor of political science at Bilgi University in Istanbul. ``It seems that nowadays he is more accommodating, so from that perspective he may not be bad choice.'' ``On many issues that Turkish society is encountering now, he represents an orientation which does not seem to be totally in tune with the times,'' Turan said. ``That would include his position on issues like privatization, integrating Turkey more fully into the international system, and the devolution of central authority. He has failed to grasp where the world is heading. He looks at and analyzes the world in categories that are no longer useful or appropriate.'' Almost alone among Turkish politicians, Ecevit lives modestly and has avoided any hint of personal or financial scandal. He speaks fluent English, and his reading tastes run to poetry and intellectual journals such as The New York Review of Books. He has translated the works of T.S. Eliot into Turkish and published several volumes of his own poems.",
"Opposition parties lodged no-confidence motions Wednesday against Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz after allegations he interfered in the privatization of a bank and helped a businessman linked to a mobster. Yilmaz' minority government could go down if the the small, center-left Republican Party, which usually gives him the majority he needs in parliament, votes against him. The leader of the Republicans, Deniz Baykal, urged Yilmaz to resign. But the premier vowed Wednesday to stay on, saying he was the victim of a conspiracy. ``This is a plot and it can't be a reason for a resignation,'' Yilmaz said, adding that he intended to continue the ``struggle against organized crime.'' Afterward, Baykal said the Republicans would support a no-confidence motion. The leader of the Democratic Turkey Party, Husamettin Cindoruk, said his party might withdraw from the governing coalition. He said the party would announce its decision Thursday. The political turmoil sent the Istanbul stock market plunging 14.9 percent.",
"ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz on Wednesday faced intense pressure to step down after allegations that he interfered in a privatization contract and helped a businessman linked to a mobster secure loans. Deniz Baykal, leader of the center-left Republican party whose backing in parliament helps Yilmaz's minority government, said he would withdraw his support unless the premier resigned immediately. Two opposition parties threatened to press for a motion to censure the government. The allegations were made by businessman Korkmaz Yigit, who claimed that Yilmaz and Gunes Taner, the economy minister, had encouraged him to buy the state-run bank Turkbank, offering him loans from other state banks to ensure that his offer was the highest bid. Yigit's allegations were carried Tuesday night on two of his TV channels which showed a videotape he had made to explain his version of the story before his detention Monday evening for questioning about the bidding. Yigit bought the bank at a public auction in August for dlrs 600 million. The government suspended the privatization last month after a lawmaker released an audio tape of a conversation supposedly between Yigit and mobster Alaattin Cakici. On that earlier tape, Cakici was heard assuring Yigit that he will fend off rival bidders. It was not clear who made the tape, which got into the hands of an opposition deputy. Yigit claimed Yilmaz and Taner were aware of Cakici's involvement in the bidding for the bank but urged him nevertheless to go ahead with the bidding. Yilmaz has said that an intelligence report revealing Yigit's ties with Cakici only reached him after Yigit won the tender. Yigit said the premier had also encouraged him to buy mass-circulation national newspaper Milliyet, apparently to ensure the paper's backing to his center-right Motherland party in elections next year. Milliyet's sale to Yigit was canceled after the scandal. Cakici was arrested in France in August. Turkey has requested his extradition. Last month State Minister Eyup Asik resigned after allegations he had been in close contact with Cakici.",
"President Suleyman Demirel appeared likely to turn to some widely trusted lawmaker to form Turkey's next government, after a veteran politician abandoned efforts Monday to persuade bickering political leaders to support him in a pro-secular coalition. Bulent Ecevit of the Democratic Left Party failed in a 3-week-old attempt to form a government that could command a majority of votes in Parliament. ``It is now clear that no party leader can form a government that can win a vote of confidence,'' former Premier Mesut Yilmaz said after talks with Demirel. ``We have told the president that we will not hamper the appointment of a deputy of Parliament.'' With party leaders unable to overcome differences, the new premier-designate would most probably be affiliated to a party but be trusted enough by other parties to follow an independent line. Parliament Speaker Hikmet Cetin has been suggested as a likely candidate. The new appointment would be made within days, Yilmaz told reporters. Demirel consulted Turkey's party leaders immediately after Ecevit gave up. Most declared themselves in favor of a government led by a lawmaker. Only center-right leader Tansu Ciller said she wanted a government led by a party leader, and made clear she was willing to take on the task. Turkey's parliament is split by longstanding animosity between its center-left and center-right parties. Yilmaz led the last government, which collapsed in November amid allegations he had ties to organized crime and interfered with the sale of a state bank. By tradition, Demirel should then have asked the leader of Parliament's largest party to form a new government. But Demirel broke with custom to keep the Islamic-oriented Virtue Party from power. Turkey's staunchly secular military opposes the return of an Islamic-led government. Modern Turkey has had only one Islamic-led government, formed after 1995 elections, and the military pressured it from power for failing to stick to the country's secular traditions. Ecevit refused even to consult with the leader of the Virtue Party during his efforts to form a government.",
"After failing to bring together political rivals in a coalition, Premier-designate Bulent Ecevit announced Saturday that he was returning his mandate to the Turkish president. In a statement reported by the Anatolia news agency, Ecevit said he would see President Suleyman Demirel Monday morning. Ecevit, a veteran leftist, was called on to form a cabinet over two weeks ago after Mesut Yilmaz' coalition government collapsed in a no-confidence vote in Parliament. Deputies accused Yilmaz, who has since been serving as acting premier, of entertaining ties with the mob and tampering with the sale of a state bank. Refusing any alliance with the pro-Islamic Virtue Party, Turkey's largest party in Parliament, Ecevit was unable to create a political alliance strong enough to survive a confidence vote in the deeply divided legislature. Ecevit tried in vain to form a coalition government with two rival center-right wing parties -- one led by Yilmaz, the other by former Prime Minister Tansu Ciller. Ecevut's alternate efforts to make a minority coalition with outside backing for his Democratic Left Party from Parliament also failed. Demirel will now have to either ask someone else to try to form a government or wait until Jan. 10, when the constitution allows him to appoint a caretaker cabinet to lead the country to parliamentary elections, now scheduled for April. Such a cabinet would not have to face a confidence vote. Or Demirel could choose to leave the current caretaker government, headed by Yilmaz, in power until the elections.",
"Parliament convened Thursday to vote on whether to move toward a no-confidence motion that could bring down the government over an organized crime scandal. Thursday's vote to put the motion on the agenda will be an indication of the government's chances of survival, which are said to be extremely slim. If approved, the legislature will debate the motions on Monday and hold the no-confidence vote Wednesday. The opposition accuses Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz of having ties to organized crime and tampering with the privatization of a state bank. He denies the charges. ``Ousting the government from power will open the way for the struggle against gangs,'' said Lutfu Esengun, a deputy from the Islamic Virtue Party, which presented one of the three no-confidence motions to Parliament. On Wednesday, 6th graf pvs",
"Turkey's latest premier-designate got the backing of two key secular parties Monday in his efforts to form a broad-based, coalition government, on condition that his government stick to Turkey's secular principles. The Islamic-oriented Virtue Party, however, withheld immediate support for Yalim Erez. News reports said Virtue was holding out for a number of Cabinet seats that reflected its standing as the largest party in parliament. ``We are neither saying `yes' nor saying `no' at this point,'' Virtue leader Recai Kutan said. Erez denied that the two had discussed Cabinet posts. Erez, an independent lawmaker, is trying to form a coalition government that would include Cabinet members from several parties, including Virtue. The coalition would run the country only until parliamentary elections set for April. Erez took over efforts to form a government last week after veteran leftist Bulent Ecevit gave up, unable to convince Turkey's bickering center-left and center-right parties to join him in a coalition that excluded the Islamic-oriented party. Erez opened talks with various party leaders on Monday. He got support from center-right leader Mesut Yilmaz, who said his party supported Erez as long as he had Ecevit's backing. ``As long as our sensitivity toward the secular, democratic regime is taken into account, we will do our best to help form the new government and ensure it gets a vote of confidence,'' Ecevit said after his own talks with Erez. Turkey's strongly secular military is opposed to any deal that would bring Virtue to power. It pressured Virtue's predecessor, the Welfare Party, out of power last year. Erez is supposed to talk Tuesday to center-right Tansu Ciller and to Deniz Baykal, who leads a center-left party. ``I am more and more optimistic after every meeting,'' Erez told reporters after meeting with the party leaders. Turkey has been trying to form a new government since a coalition government led by Yilmaz collapsed last month over allegations that he rigged the sale of a bank. Yilmaz is now acting premier.",
"Premier-designate Bulent Ecevit said Thursday he would persist in the difficult task of convincing a key party leader to join forces in a secular coalition. Ecevit, who was asked to form a new government Wednesday, desperately needs the support of the 99 deputies of ex-premier Tansu Ciller's center-right party. Ecevit, a veteran leftist, already has the support of another center-right party led by Mesut Yilmaz, whose government collapsed last week under the weight of a mafia scandal. Mrs. Ciller has not said if she would back an Ecevit-led government and her long-standing rivalry with Yilmaz makes Ecevit's job of coalition-building difficult. ``I don't give up that easily, neither do I lose hope that easily,'' Ecevit told his parliamentary group Thursday. Mrs. Ciller could lose grassroot support if she stands in the way of a new government, political columnist Ertugrul Ozkok wrote Thursday in daily Hurriyet. ``This could put her at odds with her classic support base.'' Ecevit was expected to meet with Yilmaz on Thursday, and other party leaders Friday. Turkey's secular parties are under pressure to join forces to keep the Islamic Virtue Party out of power. Virtue is the largest party in Parliament, but the all-powerful military is fiercely opposed to an Islamic-led government."
] |
[
"Bulent Ecevit, who was asked to form a new government Wednesday, is a former prime minister best remembered for ordering an invasion of Cyprus in 1974 that made him an overnight hero at home. The invasion, after a short-lived coup by supporters of union with Greece, has led to the division of the island. Throughout the years, Ecevit, 73, has remained a strong defender of the cause of the Turkish Cypriots ``As long as Turkey lives, we won't allow the oppression and subordination of Turkish Cypriots at the hands of Greek Cypriots,'' he said in July 1997 during the 23rd anniversary celebrations of the invasion. Ecevit, who was prime minister three times since 1974, has over the years shed some of the socialist idealism he was known for in the 70s. During his tenure as deputy prime minister in a 17-month government that was toppled last week over a corruption scandal, he gave his backing to the liberal policies of the center-right-led coalition. He often said he was carrying out a duty to bring a stable government and spare Turkey from crisis - a reference to tensions between a previous Islamic-led government and the secular military. Though never a Marxist, Ecevit was in his early years viewed with suspicion by big business for espousing socialism based on heavy government social benefits and a strong role for the state sector in the economy. Recently, however, he has helped the government keep on good terms with the IMF, which ordered a strict curb on public spending, and approved a number of state sell-offs. Under his leadership in the 70's, ties with the United States were tense. He has also expressed concern over a U.S.-led multinational force based in Turkey that monitors a no-fly zone over Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq. He argues it it is helping create a Kurdish state. His frequent visits to Iraq to meet with President Saddam Hussein have in turn raised suspicion in Washington. Despite a short alliance with an Islamic party in 1974, he is a staunch defender of Turkey's secular traditions and pushed for a crackdown on Islamic radicalism. Ecevit was born in Istanbul in 1925, to an intellectual family and studied literature at a prestigious American-run high school. He has taken some courses at Harvard University. A former journalist, he entered politics in 1957, rising to the leadership of the Republican People's Party in 1972, becoming prime minister in 1974, briefly in 1977 and again in 1978-79. He was barred from politics in the years that followed a 1980 military coup. He was imprisoned three times for carrying on with political activities despite the ban, mainly through his wife of 51 years, Rahsan, who formed the Democratic Left Party in 1985 and led it until a democratic reform in 1987 allowed Ecevit back into politics. In corruption-tainted Turkish politics, he remains known as the leader with the cleanest slate. Not even his alliance with Yilmaz who was ousted for alleged ties to the mob and rigging the privatization of a bank, tarnished his image.",
"The chances for a new, strictly secular government in Turkey faded Wednesday when a potential coalition partner insisted on giving the Islamic party a share of power. The military, self-appointed guardians of Turkey's secular system, is adamantly opposed to the inclusion of Islamic Virtue, the largest party in parliament. Premier-designate Bulent Ecevit needs Turkey's two-center right parties to hammer together a secular coalition, but Tansu Ciller, the ex-premier who commands 99 votes in parliament, rebuffed him Wednesday. Ecevit already has the support of her arch-rival, outgoing Premier Mesut Yilmaz, head of the other center-right party. But Mrs. Ciller said Wednesday she would not join forces with Yilmaz, whose government collapsed Nov. 25 over a mafia scandal. Instead, she reiterated her demand for a government that would include Virtue. ``We do not oppose Mr. Ecevit's premiership. We will support him, but only if all parties represented in Parliament are included,'' Mrs. Ciller said. It was not clear what Ecevit's next move would be. He might try to form a fragile minority coalition. He might also admit defeat and return the task of forming the government to President Suleyman Demirel. Demirel could then choose any member of parliament to head the government until elections in April.",
"A week after the Turkish government fell in a corruption scandal, President Suleyman Demirel on Wednesday asked a veteran left-wing politician known for his personal honesty, Bulent Ecevit, to form a new government. Ecevit, who served as prime minister three times in the 1970s, said he would immediately begin working to fashion a government that could command a majority in the faction-ridden Parliament. He also suggested that although Parliament has set April 18 as the date for a new election, he might seek to remain in power for a longer period. ``It is wrong to see this government as simply an election government,'' he said. ``There are problems that will not wait until an election.'' Military commanders, who hold ultimate power in Turkey, have quietly told senior political figures, including Demirel, that they do not want a quick election. They fear it will produce a Parliament just as divided as the present one, perhaps with the Islamic-oriented Virtue Party as the largest bloc. The commanders are also hoping to exclude two of the country's leading politicians, outgoing Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and former Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, neither of whom they trust, from posts in the new government. Ecevit must now try to build a government that includes their center-right parties but not them as individuals. In a meeting this week the country's senior policy-making body, the National Security Council, in which military officers have a strong say, set three priorities for the coming months. It said that whatever government emerges from forthcoming negotiations should dedicate itself to fighting religious fundamentalism, Kurdish nationalism and criminal gangs that have infiltrated the state apparatus. Among Ecevit's immediate challenges will be to resolve a political crisis with Italy that broke out last month when the Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan was arrested in Rome and then asked for political asylum there. Turkey wants Ocalan sent here for trial, but Italy says it cannot extradite him as long as Turkey retains the death penalty. Ecevit (pronounced EH-che-vit) is among the few senior Turkish politicians who favors the abolition of capital punishment. Together with Demirel, Ecevit is often cited by Turks who complain about the continued dominance of a geriatric political elite here. He is 73 and has been in politics for most of his adult life. Early in his career Ecevit emerged as a spokesman for Turkey's downtrodden masses. Perhaps more than any other figure, he legitimized social democratic ideology in a climate where leftist sympathies were often considered subversive. At the same time, however, he has shown himself to be a fierce nationalist. He was prime minister when Turkey sent troops to occupy northern Cyprus in 1974 and is still considered a hard-liner on Cyprus. He is also uncompromising in his opposition to Kurdish nationalism. During his terms as prime minister in the 1970s, Ecevit successfully undermined efforts to move Turkey toward membership in the European Union, then called the European Economic Community. He considered it an instrument of capitalist exploitation. Ecevit has also disturbed the United States by flirting with anti-Western ideologies. In the early 1990s, during an interval when he worked as a journalist, he traveled to Iraq and wrote a series of articles favorable to Saddam Hussein. He recently called for better relations between Turkey and Iraq, and maintains some of the anti-imperialist positions and suspicion of capitalism that he developed in the 1960s. The Democratic Socialist Party, which Ecevit heads, is a closely held family fiefdom. He and his wife carefully screen applicants for membership and veto those whose personal loyalty to Ecevit is suspect. ``During his terms as prime minister in the '70s, Ecevit did not appear to be a consensus builder,'' said Ilter Turan, a professor of political science at Bilgi University in Istanbul. ``It seems that nowadays he is more accommodating, so from that perspective he may not be bad choice.'' ``On many issues that Turkish society is encountering now, he represents an orientation which does not seem to be totally in tune with the times,'' Turan said. ``That would include his position on issues like privatization, integrating Turkey more fully into the international system, and the devolution of central authority. He has failed to grasp where the world is heading. He looks at and analyzes the world in categories that are no longer useful or appropriate.'' Almost alone among Turkish politicians, Ecevit lives modestly and has avoided any hint of personal or financial scandal. He speaks fluent English, and his reading tastes run to poetry and intellectual journals such as The New York Review of Books. He has translated the works of T.S. Eliot into Turkish and published several volumes of his own poems.",
"Opposition parties lodged no-confidence motions Wednesday against Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz after allegations he interfered in the privatization of a bank and helped a businessman linked to a mobster. Yilmaz' minority government could go down if the the small, center-left Republican Party, which usually gives him the majority he needs in parliament, votes against him. The leader of the Republicans, Deniz Baykal, urged Yilmaz to resign. But the premier vowed Wednesday to stay on, saying he was the victim of a conspiracy. ``This is a plot and it can't be a reason for a resignation,'' Yilmaz said, adding that he intended to continue the ``struggle against organized crime.'' Afterward, Baykal said the Republicans would support a no-confidence motion. The leader of the Democratic Turkey Party, Husamettin Cindoruk, said his party might withdraw from the governing coalition. He said the party would announce its decision Thursday. The political turmoil sent the Istanbul stock market plunging 14.9 percent.",
"ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz on Wednesday faced intense pressure to step down after allegations that he interfered in a privatization contract and helped a businessman linked to a mobster secure loans. Deniz Baykal, leader of the center-left Republican party whose backing in parliament helps Yilmaz's minority government, said he would withdraw his support unless the premier resigned immediately. Two opposition parties threatened to press for a motion to censure the government. The allegations were made by businessman Korkmaz Yigit, who claimed that Yilmaz and Gunes Taner, the economy minister, had encouraged him to buy the state-run bank Turkbank, offering him loans from other state banks to ensure that his offer was the highest bid. Yigit's allegations were carried Tuesday night on two of his TV channels which showed a videotape he had made to explain his version of the story before his detention Monday evening for questioning about the bidding. Yigit bought the bank at a public auction in August for dlrs 600 million. The government suspended the privatization last month after a lawmaker released an audio tape of a conversation supposedly between Yigit and mobster Alaattin Cakici. On that earlier tape, Cakici was heard assuring Yigit that he will fend off rival bidders. It was not clear who made the tape, which got into the hands of an opposition deputy. Yigit claimed Yilmaz and Taner were aware of Cakici's involvement in the bidding for the bank but urged him nevertheless to go ahead with the bidding. Yilmaz has said that an intelligence report revealing Yigit's ties with Cakici only reached him after Yigit won the tender. Yigit said the premier had also encouraged him to buy mass-circulation national newspaper Milliyet, apparently to ensure the paper's backing to his center-right Motherland party in elections next year. Milliyet's sale to Yigit was canceled after the scandal. Cakici was arrested in France in August. Turkey has requested his extradition. Last month State Minister Eyup Asik resigned after allegations he had been in close contact with Cakici.",
"President Suleyman Demirel appeared likely to turn to some widely trusted lawmaker to form Turkey's next government, after a veteran politician abandoned efforts Monday to persuade bickering political leaders to support him in a pro-secular coalition. Bulent Ecevit of the Democratic Left Party failed in a 3-week-old attempt to form a government that could command a majority of votes in Parliament. ``It is now clear that no party leader can form a government that can win a vote of confidence,'' former Premier Mesut Yilmaz said after talks with Demirel. ``We have told the president that we will not hamper the appointment of a deputy of Parliament.'' With party leaders unable to overcome differences, the new premier-designate would most probably be affiliated to a party but be trusted enough by other parties to follow an independent line. Parliament Speaker Hikmet Cetin has been suggested as a likely candidate. The new appointment would be made within days, Yilmaz told reporters. Demirel consulted Turkey's party leaders immediately after Ecevit gave up. Most declared themselves in favor of a government led by a lawmaker. Only center-right leader Tansu Ciller said she wanted a government led by a party leader, and made clear she was willing to take on the task. Turkey's parliament is split by longstanding animosity between its center-left and center-right parties. Yilmaz led the last government, which collapsed in November amid allegations he had ties to organized crime and interfered with the sale of a state bank. By tradition, Demirel should then have asked the leader of Parliament's largest party to form a new government. But Demirel broke with custom to keep the Islamic-oriented Virtue Party from power. Turkey's staunchly secular military opposes the return of an Islamic-led government. Modern Turkey has had only one Islamic-led government, formed after 1995 elections, and the military pressured it from power for failing to stick to the country's secular traditions. Ecevit refused even to consult with the leader of the Virtue Party during his efforts to form a government.",
"After failing to bring together political rivals in a coalition, Premier-designate Bulent Ecevit announced Saturday that he was returning his mandate to the Turkish president. In a statement reported by the Anatolia news agency, Ecevit said he would see President Suleyman Demirel Monday morning. Ecevit, a veteran leftist, was called on to form a cabinet over two weeks ago after Mesut Yilmaz' coalition government collapsed in a no-confidence vote in Parliament. Deputies accused Yilmaz, who has since been serving as acting premier, of entertaining ties with the mob and tampering with the sale of a state bank. Refusing any alliance with the pro-Islamic Virtue Party, Turkey's largest party in Parliament, Ecevit was unable to create a political alliance strong enough to survive a confidence vote in the deeply divided legislature. Ecevit tried in vain to form a coalition government with two rival center-right wing parties -- one led by Yilmaz, the other by former Prime Minister Tansu Ciller. Ecevut's alternate efforts to make a minority coalition with outside backing for his Democratic Left Party from Parliament also failed. Demirel will now have to either ask someone else to try to form a government or wait until Jan. 10, when the constitution allows him to appoint a caretaker cabinet to lead the country to parliamentary elections, now scheduled for April. Such a cabinet would not have to face a confidence vote. Or Demirel could choose to leave the current caretaker government, headed by Yilmaz, in power until the elections.",
"Parliament convened Thursday to vote on whether to move toward a no-confidence motion that could bring down the government over an organized crime scandal. Thursday's vote to put the motion on the agenda will be an indication of the government's chances of survival, which are said to be extremely slim. If approved, the legislature will debate the motions on Monday and hold the no-confidence vote Wednesday. The opposition accuses Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz of having ties to organized crime and tampering with the privatization of a state bank. He denies the charges. ``Ousting the government from power will open the way for the struggle against gangs,'' said Lutfu Esengun, a deputy from the Islamic Virtue Party, which presented one of the three no-confidence motions to Parliament. On Wednesday, 6th graf pvs",
"Turkey's latest premier-designate got the backing of two key secular parties Monday in his efforts to form a broad-based, coalition government, on condition that his government stick to Turkey's secular principles. The Islamic-oriented Virtue Party, however, withheld immediate support for Yalim Erez. News reports said Virtue was holding out for a number of Cabinet seats that reflected its standing as the largest party in parliament. ``We are neither saying `yes' nor saying `no' at this point,'' Virtue leader Recai Kutan said. Erez denied that the two had discussed Cabinet posts. Erez, an independent lawmaker, is trying to form a coalition government that would include Cabinet members from several parties, including Virtue. The coalition would run the country only until parliamentary elections set for April. Erez took over efforts to form a government last week after veteran leftist Bulent Ecevit gave up, unable to convince Turkey's bickering center-left and center-right parties to join him in a coalition that excluded the Islamic-oriented party. Erez opened talks with various party leaders on Monday. He got support from center-right leader Mesut Yilmaz, who said his party supported Erez as long as he had Ecevit's backing. ``As long as our sensitivity toward the secular, democratic regime is taken into account, we will do our best to help form the new government and ensure it gets a vote of confidence,'' Ecevit said after his own talks with Erez. Turkey's strongly secular military is opposed to any deal that would bring Virtue to power. It pressured Virtue's predecessor, the Welfare Party, out of power last year. Erez is supposed to talk Tuesday to center-right Tansu Ciller and to Deniz Baykal, who leads a center-left party. ``I am more and more optimistic after every meeting,'' Erez told reporters after meeting with the party leaders. Turkey has been trying to form a new government since a coalition government led by Yilmaz collapsed last month over allegations that he rigged the sale of a bank. Yilmaz is now acting premier.",
"Premier-designate Bulent Ecevit said Thursday he would persist in the difficult task of convincing a key party leader to join forces in a secular coalition. Ecevit, who was asked to form a new government Wednesday, desperately needs the support of the 99 deputies of ex-premier Tansu Ciller's center-right party. Ecevit, a veteran leftist, already has the support of another center-right party led by Mesut Yilmaz, whose government collapsed last week under the weight of a mafia scandal. Mrs. Ciller has not said if she would back an Ecevit-led government and her long-standing rivalry with Yilmaz makes Ecevit's job of coalition-building difficult. ``I don't give up that easily, neither do I lose hope that easily,'' Ecevit told his parliamentary group Thursday. Mrs. Ciller could lose grassroot support if she stands in the way of a new government, political columnist Ertugrul Ozkok wrote Thursday in daily Hurriyet. ``This could put her at odds with her classic support base.'' Ecevit was expected to meet with Yilmaz on Thursday, and other party leaders Friday. Turkey's secular parties are under pressure to join forces to keep the Islamic Virtue Party out of power. Virtue is the largest party in Parliament, but the all-powerful military is fiercely opposed to an Islamic-led government."
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The government suit against Microsoft is the most aggressive antitrust case in a quarter century. The heart of the case is the Internet browser battle between Microsoft and Netscape. Microsoft says that its Internet Explorer is an integral part of its Windows system, the industry dominant operating system. Microsoft, it is argued, has told computer manufacturers that if they want Windows, they must forgo Netscape. The Justice Department and 20 states are joined in the action brought under the Sherman Antitrust Act. Microsoft's chairman, Bill Gates, usually seen as a visionary is portrayed in much darker tones in the trial. Business rivals are seeking to break Microsoft Corp.'s monopoly on computer operating systems. The Government and 20 states have filed an anti-trust suit against Microsoft, invoking the Sherman Anti-trust Act of 1890. The suit began with a Microsoft vs Netscape battle over browser software but now extends far beyond that aiming at Microsoft's overall aggressive anti-competitive conduct. The effort is extensive but inconsistent because of the ambiguity of anti-trust laws, especially the Sherman Act. The Government is examining Microsoft's financial records and painting a dark image of its Chairman Bill Gates. An unpublished book may be crucial to the trial. In 1998 the Justice Department filed a civil suit against Microsoft to change its 9-year pattern of anti-competitive conduct. Bill Gates appears a schemer ready to crush competitors by any means. He uses Microsoft's clout to squelch internet competition. A 1996 Netscape complaint over browsers was central to the case, which grew to include Intel, IBM, Sun, Apple, AOL, and Intuit. Microsoft was ordered to let Justice examine its records and sought a trial delay. An unpublished book provided evidence. The 1890 Sherman Anti-Trust Act centered on Standard Oil and was intended to protect consumers, but its wording is broad and rulings have been ambiguous. The Justice Department and 20 states filed a suit against Microsoft for violation of the Sherman Act, charging it illegally tried to use its dominance as the provider of Windows, the industry standard operating system, to stifle competition in other areas. At the heart of the case are Microsoft's contracts with computer manufacturers that prohibit them from substituting Netscape's Navigator browser for Microsoft's Internet Explorer, but Justice also alleges Microsoft exhibited a broad pattern of anti-competitive conduct with numerous other software companies. Microsoft says that Windows and its browser is one tool that offers immediate consumer benefit.
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"The case of United States vs. Microsoft Corp., the government's most aggressive move against a monopolist in almost 25 years, is playing out against a century of antitrust laws so broadly worded and court rulings so ambiguous that both sides are citing the same rulings to support their opposing arguments. Whatever the outcome of the trial, scheduled to begin Monday in U.S. District Court in Washington, an almost certain appeal will leave to the Supreme Court the task of bringing legal order to 100 years of clashing antitrust doctrines. The case focuses on Microsoft's Windows, the operating system that controls about 90 percent of all personal computers sold today. The government says its objective is to curb illegal monopolistic business practices that threaten to render large parts of the economy vulnerable to the vicissitudes of a single company. Microsoft asserts that the case is intended to give the government control over which features can be added to Windows. However grand the economic stakes, the legal dispute is narrow. The government says that Microsoft's contracts with computer manufacturers and with companies that provide access to the Internet illegally stifle competition. The contracts prohibit manufacturers from substituting Netscape Communications Corp.'s Navigator browser for Microsoft's Internet Explorer. They also prohibit them from removing from the Windows main screen, or desktop, links to sites on the World Wide Web run by Microsoft or its partners. Microsoft's contracts with companies that connect people to the Internet and with businesses that sell goods and services on the Web require favored treatment for Internet Explorer over Navigator in exchange for links on the Windows desktop. In the wake of the lawsuit, Microsoft has voluntarily dropped some of these requirements, though it could reinstate them at will. Microsoft says that its contracts are legal because they produce tangible benefits for customers, including easier Internet access. The Justice Department says that the bundling of Explorer with Windows 95 and the inclusion of the browser as part of Windows 98 amount to ``tying,'' an illegal practice that forces customers of one product to purchase another. The contracts with manufacturers and Internet services are illegal, the government says, because they are intended not only to create a monopoly in the browser market but to protect Microsoft's existing monopoly in operating systems. The latter threat is key, according to the Justice Department. Browsers have the potential, like an operating system, to act as a software platform on which other programs run. So contracts intended to drive browsers out of the market would also insulate the Windows monopoly. Many antitrust experts say the problem facing the Justice Department is that the courts have provided no clear definition of tying and no clear guidelines for determining when contracts are illegally exclusionary. Professor Lawrence White of New York University, who was chief economist of the Justice Department's antitrust division in the early 1980s, says that the courts treat tying as an unusual practice when in fact it is ubiquitous. No one, he said, ``would challenge the right of manufacturers to tie erasers to the tip of pencils,",
"tires to an automobile or buttons to shirts.'' His point, shared widely among economists, is that some tying benefits consumers if, for example, it results in products that are easier to use or enables a company to recover development costs. But tying can be bad if it locks in monopoly power. The courts, White says, have not offered enough guidance for distinguishing good tying from bad, which is the nub of the legal dispute. Microsoft says it needs only to show that bundling Windows and Explorer passes what might be called a ``gross'' consumer benefits test _ that it offers an immediate benefit, whether or not it causes long-term damage to competition and, therefore, ultimately to consumers. The Justice Department says that Microsoft's practices must clear a higher hurdle: yielding ``net'' consumer benefits that are immediate and large enough to balance possible long-term harm to competition. So which test of consumer benefits satisfies antitrust laws? The simple answer is that no one knows for sure, which is why both sides can reasonably cite the same cases without fear of embarrassment. Consider a 1985 case, Aspen Skiing Co. vs. Aspen Highlands Skiing Corp., and a 1951 case, Lorain Journal Co. vs. United States. In the first, Aspen Skiing, the owner of three major ski runs in Aspen, Colo. _ the monopolist _ had for years sold a ticket in cooperation with Aspen Highlands, a competitor, that gave skiers access to both companies' runs. When Aspen Skiing unilaterally canceled the agreement, its rival's revenues shriveled and the rival sued. The Supreme Court ruled that Aspen Skiing had violated antitrust laws because there was no evidence its action helped consumers. In the Lorain Journal case, the only local newspaper in Lorain, Ohio, refused to sell advertising to companies that advertised on a new radio station. Here, too, the Supreme Court ruled that the exclusionary practice did nothing to benefit consumers. Indeed, in Aspen Skiing, the court even forced the monopolist to do business with its rival, a precedent that augurs well for the Justice Department, which seeks to force Microsoft to install Netscape's browser alongside its own. But Charles Rule, a legal consultant to Microsoft, says that in both cases the courts threw out exclusionary practices only because they offered no consumer benefit. The courts, he argues, never pounced on practices that resulted in lower prices or better products or service. Nor did the courts in either case call for balancing immediate benefits against hypothetical long-term harm. Rule argues that Microsoft's practices produce demonstrable consumer benefits. Besides, he says, unlike the actions taken by The Lorain Journal or Aspen Skiing, Microsoft's contracts do not prevent consumers from installing Netscape's browser or from using the Web sites of Microsoft's rivals. In truth, though, neither case answered what consumer benefit test should apply to product design. In Jefferson Parish Hospital District No. 2 et al. vs. Hyde, another case cited by both sides, the Supreme Court in 1984 recognized that surgeons and anesthesiologists provide an integrated service. Yet, the court said, a hospital with monopoly power would",
"still not be allowed to force surgical patients to use its panel of anesthesiologists if consumers wanted to purchase the two services separately. That principle could undercut Microsoft's defense that the functional interdependence of Windows and Explorer requires bundling. But Microsoft will point to a strong concurring opinion that called for a tougher standard for the government to meet when it alleges tying. Microsoft will also draw support from several court rulings that allowed IBM to change the design of its computers in ways that made it hard for vendors to attach peripheral equipment. But perhaps Microsoft's best argument is that nowhere has the government identified a single case in which the courts explicitly called for throwing out a tied product on the basis of a balancing test. The courts, Microsoft will emphasize, steer clear of redesigning technically sophisticated products. The Justice Department's rejoinder is to note that the sole purpose of antitrust law is to protect consumers, so it makes no sense to bless practices that provide a dollar's worth of benefits today but, by stamping out competition, drive prices up by $1,000 tomorrow. The Justice Department will ask the court to at least insist that monopolists use the least exclusionary means possible to achieve whatever services they provide customers. Experts agree that the courts will subject Microsoft's restrictive contracts with Internet companies to a balancing test. But exactly how the court will decide whether consumers are helped or hurt is up for grabs. A balancing test would have the courts weigh the immediate benefits to consumers of one-click access to Internet sites and of features of a bundled Windows-Explorer package versus the harm over time of diminished competition in the markets for browsers and operating systems. But a test that makes good sense in theory can prove fiendishly difficult to use in practice. ``Balancing tests are impossibly difficult and arbitrary,'' said Rep. Thomas Campbell, R-Calif., who is a former law professor at Stanford University. ``The practical effect of balancing is to hand defendants like Microsoft almost certain victory.'' Microsoft argues _ and many antitrust experts agree _ that the courts have in fact gravitated away from a balancing test toward a simpler ``predation'' test for exclusionary contracts. Under this standard, a contract is illegal only if it is intended to drive out competition and thus to pave the way for a monopolist to raise prices later. Microsoft will have an easier time defending itself against a charge of predation, which amounts to victimizing its customers, than it would defending itself against a charge that its bundled product does consumers slightly more harm than good. The antitrust record, says William Baxter, who headed the antitrust division under President Reagan, is littered with ``contradictory, ambiguous and sometimes nonsensical'' verdicts. He and other legal experts agree that if nothing else, that record leaves plenty of legal leeway for the Supreme Court, should it hear the Microsoft case, to stiffen the spine of the antitrust law.",
"The legal tool that the government is using in its assault on Microsoft Corp. _ the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 _ is brief, vague and malleable. The combination has meant that this bedrock statute of antitrust policy has been at turns toothless and powerful over the years, depending on the politics and economics of the day as interpreted by the courts. Sponsored by Sen. John Sherman, an Ohio Republican who was the younger brother of the Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman, the act was passed as a nod to a popular backlash against the rise of the industrial trusts in oil, steel and railroads. Farmers, laborers and small-business owners _ sizable voting groups _ resented the trusts as vehicles of concentrated power. But the trusts, large national holding corporations, were viewed by many others as engines of modernization and industrialization. Economists at the time opposed the Sherman Act, and the law that Congress passed was a vaguely worded compromise. No one knew what impact it would have, but one senator, quoted in Matthew Josephson's ``The Robber Barons,'' explained that nearly everyone agreed that ``something must be flung out to appease the restive masses.'' The act's two key provisions, Sections 1 and 2, mention ``conspiracy,'' ``restraint of trade'' and ``attempt to monopolize.'' Yet while the Sherman Act is now interpreted as the Magna Carta of competition, it never uses the term. After it was passed, critics of the trusts derided the ``impenetrable'' language of the Sherman Act and called it the Swiss Cheese Act. But by the early 1900s, the political climate had changed. The growing antagonism for the trusts, especially as income gaps widened, was tapped by an avowed trustbuster, Theodore Roosevelt, who became president in 1901. ``The Sherman Act has always been an elastic piece of social legislation, used to attack perceived exploitation and the aggregation of power,'' said Eleanor Fox, a professor at the New York University Law School. The model trust _ and the principal target of the trustbusters _ was Standard Oil. Shrewdly, Roosevelt made a distinction between good trusts, which thrived because of their superior efficiency, and bad trusts, which grew not as the result of inevitable economic forces but because of unfair business practices. Throughout the 1880s and '90s, Standard Oil's rivals had complained about the company and the business practices of its founder, John D. Rockefeller. But during those years, the price of kerosene _ burned to light the nation's homes _declined steadily. So Standard Oil, it could could reasonably be argued, was an ``enterprising monopoly.'' In the early 1900s, though, Standard Oil raised prices in the United States to prop up its profits at a time it was engaged in a price war against Royal Dutch/Shell in Europe, where Standard Oil did face genuine competition. When consumers were hurt by the Standard Oil monopoly, popular support for antitrust action against the company swelled, encouraged by Roosevelt and his successor, William Howard Taft. The federal suit against Standard Oil was filed in 1906, and the Supreme Court approved the breakup of the company in 1911. Standard Oil and the Microsoft case, historians observe, have some common themes. Both were dominant companies of their day, and Bill Gates, the Microsoft chairman, has been called a modern Rockefeller. ``But there is no presidential involvement and there is no real consumer dissatisfaction in the Microsoft case,'' said Ron Chernow, author of ``Titan,'' a best-selling biography of Rockefeller. ``And Rockefeller,'' Chernow added, ``never went through the kind of honeymoon period of widespread public adulation and favorable press coverage as Bill Gates has had.''",
"Will it matter to consumers that Bill Gates isn't a nice guy? Until last week, most Americans thought of Gates, the chairman of the Microsoft Corp., as a genius and innovator. A nerd perhaps _ but also a self-styled visionary who almost single-handedly unlocked the power of the personal computer. Monday, however, in a Washington courtroom, the Justice Department began painting a different, darker portrait of Gates. In an antitrust suit brought by the department and 20 states, the man whose company commands a 97 percent share of the market for personal computer operating systems is being depicted as a Nixonian schemer who will go to almost any length to crush his competition. Product innovation, the suit argues, is not a sufficient weapon for Gates. Flashing back and forth between snippets of Gates' videotaped deposition and e-mail messages he had sent that contradicted his testimony, the government sought to establish a pattern of threats and offers of payments by the Microsoft chairman. It also sought to cast Gates as an obsessed man who feared the tiny Netscape Communications Corp. and its potential threat to his domination of the market for Internet browsers, the software used to navigate the World Wide Web. Gates was portrayed by Justice Department litigator David Boies as a schoolyard bully who rides roughshod over the computer industry with a crudeness that is in stark contrast to his popular image as a benevolent dictator and high-technology guru. According to a document presented by Boies, for example, Gates asked America Online executives in 1996: ``How much do we need to pay you'' to damage Netscape? ``This is your lucky day.'' The implication, Boies said, was that the amount was irrelevant, and that Microsoft, with its deep pockets and market dominance, makes as many ``offers you can't refuse'' as needed to achieve its goals. Microsoft officials are closely watching market surveys for any hint that the new image of a bare-knuckled Gates might be detracting from the company's world-famous brand name, but they insist that the public will continue to draw a distinction between allegations of anticompetitive business tactics and the company's software. ``Despite what you're reading in the press, people judge us by our products,'' said Mich Matthews, head of Microsoft's corporate public-relations office. ``Our experience is that people vote with their pocketbooks.'' So far, consumers are casting positive votes. Last week Microsoft reported quarterly profits of $1.52 billion, a stunning 58 percent increase over the level a year earlier. Despite the record profits, some marketing experts say that if the public comes to view Gates as a Rockefeller-style robber baron, his company and its brand name may suffer. ``When you have a company with such a visible chief executive, the CEO is really the driver of the brand,'' said David Aaker, a brand marketing expert at the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley. ``There is no question this is going to affect Microsoft's brand recognition.'' Already there are early warning signals, as political cartoons in newspapers across the country bashed Gates last week. One showed him holding a globe and saying, ``If you don't play my way, I'll take my ball and go home''; another portrayed the Microsoft chairman standing next to a henchman dangling someone from a window while a Microsoft secretary says to a caller, ``I'm sorry, but Mr. Gates is busy teaching a competitor about Windows.'' But some industry analysts believe the new view of a Bill Gates who knows how to play hardball may not be such a bad thing for his company. The he-said, she-said round of e-mail messages being dragged out in court cases both in Washington and in Silicon Valley, where Microsoft is locked in a legal battle with its archrival, Sun Microsystems Inc., is viewed by some as little different from the exaggerated trash talking that goes on in professional sports. ``It's like taking what Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan say to each other on the ball court'' and turning it into something more sinister than it really is, said Paul Andrews, co-author with Stephen Manes of ``Gates'' (Doubleday, 1993). Indeed, there is evidence that the darker view of Gates and his company has so far taken root only in the District of Columbia and in Silicon Valley, where the computer industry has long felt the impact of Gates' tactics, and where bitterness and distrust of Microsoft are deep. In the rest of the country, Gates continues to enjoy great popularity. Two weeks ago, while speaking before a crowd of almost 7,000 students at Indiana University, a questioner who asked about the Justice Department's suit was roundly booed. BILL GATES, WHIPPING BOY c.1998 N.Y. Times News Service Is Bill Gates a high-tech Machiavelli, Public Enemy No. 1 or a threat to the known universe? All three, judging from the numerous political cartoons that popped up in newspapers across the country last week. From Chattanooga to Boston, cartoonists took delight in demonizing Gates, who is facing an unexpected public relations challenge as Microsoft's antitrust trial unfolds in Washington. Other cartoons ran the gamut from the predictable (a worker, pointing to an aquarium in which a large fish is gobbling up smaller ones, saying to some visitors, ``Welcome to Microsoft's research and development department'') to the weird (a dweebish man hunched in front of a computer screen staring at the words: ``Our beloved leader, Mr. Gates, is under attack. Leave your possessions. Go to the desert. Await the spaceship''). And that was just Week One of the trial. Stay tuned.",
"A federal judge Friday pushed back the starting date of the antitrust trial against Microsoft Corp. by four days, to Oct. 19, while also ordering the company to comply with the Justice Department's request to examine Microsoft's financial records. Microsoft argued that allowing ``an army of government attorneys to come in and make demands will make it very difficult for us to remain in business.'' But after winning assurances from government lawyers that they would make only narrow, targeted searches of the records, Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered Microsoft to open the database for perusal. Microsoft had asked that the trial be delayed several more months to prepare a defense against what it said was a last minute broadening of the case by the Justice Department, which had added new evidence. Last month, the government said that in the process of preparing for the trial it had discovered that Microsoft tried to persuade Apple Computer not to market its Quicktime multimedia software to Windows customers. On Thursday, the Justice Department and 20 states added two new people to their witness list to testify about Microsoft dealings with Apple and with Sun Microsystems. Avi Tevanian, a former Apple executive, was added to the witness list in part to describe Microsoft's proposal, which Microsoft denies ever having made. The other new witness was James Gosling, a Sun executive who led the development of Java, an Internet programming language that Microsoft sees as a potential threat to the company's dominance of the software market. The government is charging that Microsoft took illegal steps to prevent Java from gaining wide acceptance. To counter that, Microsoft named two new witnesses Friday, Robert Muglia, a senior Microsoft executive who has worked with Sun, and Chris Engstrom, an executive who handled some of Microsoft's dealings with Apple. At the same time, John Warden, Microsoft's lawyer, argued that the new allegations had no place in the case. The Justice Department, Warden told the judge, was ``trying to turn this into something approximating a plenary monopoly case like the IBM case.'' ``It becomes clearer and clearer and clearer with each new filing that they are trying to turn this into a broader case,'' he said. ``You can't have this bait-and-switch in which they file a complaint alleging A, B, C, and then talk about the whole alphabet three times over.'' As a result, Warden said, Microsoft wanted, at a minimum, another two-week delay, even though ``a more normal schedule'' would have the trial start next year. The judge did not respond. Instead he entered an order setting the Oct. 19 trial date. Late Friday, Microsoft entered a formal motion asking for another two-week delay. A response is expected next week.",
"In the summer of 1995, a whiff of revolution was in the air in Silicon Valley. The Internet offered a new deal in computing, a fresh opportunity for entrepreneurs to try to break Microsoft Corp.'s firm grip on the personal computer software business. Leading the challenge was Netscape Communications Corp., whose software for browsing the World Wide Web had ignited the Internet boom. Netscape chairman James Clark spoke boldly of attacking Microsoft head-on. He borrowed imagery from the movie ``Star Wars,'' referring to Microsoft as the Death Star and Netscape as the leader of a rebel alliance. Microsoft answered with a vengeance. It dispatched hundreds of programmers to work on a competing browser and poured many millions of dollars into marketing it. It prodded computer makers and others to distribute its browser, folded the browser into its industry-dominant Windows operating system and gave the browser away free _ a campaign intended to ``cut off their air supply,'' as a senior Microsoft executive described it. But not only competitors like Netscape have encountered Microsoft's force. Microsoft's partners, its corporate customers and professional investors who finance new ventures have all collided with it. A close look at Microsoft's no-holds-barred push into the Internet software business offers a window into the ways the company uses its market muscle to influence the behavior of virtually every player in the industry. Some of the cases recounted here figure prominently in the suit brought by the Justice Department and 20 states, scheduled to go to trial this month, charging that Microsoft at times went too far _ and violated antitrust laws. Regardless of the legal outcome, previously unreported details about incidents in the suit and the other examples provide a more complete picture of Microsoft in action. _ When Compaq Computer Corp. considered loading Netscape's browser instead of Microsoft's on its personal computers, Microsoft threatened to stop selling its Windows operating system to Compaq. The company quickly changed its mind. _ After Spyglass Inc. began supplying Microsoft with its early browser technology, Microsoft announced that it would give away its browser free. The timing came as a rude surprise to its partner Spyglass. The company lost most of its revenues almost overnight, as the technology, which it had also been licensing to companies besides Microsoft, suddenly became available free. _ When America Online Inc., which competes fiercely with Microsoft's online service and electronic commerce divisions, went shopping for browser technology, Microsoft made an offer that was too good to pass up: If America Online used Microsoft's browser as the main one for its millions of subscribers, Microsoft would give America Online prime placement on the desktop screen of all personal computers using Windows. _ When Intel Corp. began developing its own Internet software, Microsoft complained. Intel, the leading maker of the microprocessors that serve as the electronic brains on most personal computers running Windows, pulled back. The chip maker decided that its lucrative hand-in-glove partnership with Microsoft took priority. _ Microsoft's reach in computing has become so pervasive that nearly every year now, Silicon Valley's top venture capitalists",
"meet privately with a team of top Microsoft executives to learn about the company's plans. The goal, one venture investor observed, was to ``stay out of the way of the steamroller.'' Microsoft adamantly denies that it has broken any laws in these or similar situations. The company plays the game of business hard, and its executives acknowledge that without apology. Yes, Microsoft says, rivals may suffer and partners may be irritated occasionally. But the company insists its actions are guided by its main corporate goal of bringing new technology inexpensively and conveniently to the millions of people who use its software. Most people in the computer industry say that living in Microsoft's world means routinely making accommodations to it. Microsoft's power emanates from its near-monopoly on the market for personal computer operating systems, the master control programs that run computers. ``Because it owns the operating system, Microsoft is the essential utility of the information age,'' said James Moore, president of Geopartners Research Inc., a technology consulting firm. ``It acts as a kind of gatekeeper to the pipeline of computing innovation, sitting there and deciding whether to help some innovation or slow it down.'' For months, Microsoft and Netscape had talked on and off, circling each other warily. But the event that would define them as unflinching rivals was a meeting on June 21, 1995, in a second-floor conference room at Netscape's headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. That meeting, according to the Justice Department and 20 states suing Microsoft, was the high-tech equivalent of the storied gatherings in smoke-filled railroad cars that inspired passage of the nation's antitrust laws a century ago. On that day, they say, Microsoft made Netscape an illegal offer to divvy up the market for Internet browsing software, a collusion pact that Netscape rejected. Microsoft replies that the prosecutors are misinterpreting a routine meeting in the software business and that the company has never tried to divide the browser market. Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman and principal strategist, did not attend the Mountain View gathering, but he consulted by telephone with the Microsoft team. Two people who did attend that June meeting have been named as witnesses in the trial scheduled to begin next week: Netscape president James Barksdale and Daniel Rosen, Microsoft's general manager of new technology. In the trial, the government will contend that Microsoft presented Netscape with an all-or-nothing offer, according to people who have been questioned in the federal investigation. Relying heavily on notes taken in the meeting by Netscape executive vice president Marc Andreessen and on the testimony of Barksdale, prosecutors are expected to assert that the Microsoft proposal had several elements, both incentives and requirements. Microsoft, according to the people questioned by the government, would invest in Netscape, taking a 15 to 20 percent stake, give Netscape technical information and fine-tune Microsoft's operating systems so that Netscape's software would run better on Windows. In return, the people say, Netscape would give Microsoft a seat on its board, license its technology to Microsoft, give Microsoft advance knowledge of its product-development efforts and not make a",
"browser for the next generation of the Microsoft operating system, Windows 95, which was shipped two months after the June 1995 meeting. And Microsoft, the people added, did what it has always denied it does _ used access to its technology as a powerful lever in business negotiations, by offering Netscape preferential access to the Windows ``application program interfaces,'' or APIs, the links that enable other companies' programs to run smoothly on the Windows operating system. By turning down the deal, Netscape, they say, would not have that preferred access to Microsoft technology _ a threat that Microsoft fiercely denies making. Barksdale, Netscape's 55-year-old chief executive, told a colleague that the encounter with Microsoft in June 1995 was ``the damnedest meeting I've ever attended in 35 years in business.'' Had Netscape accepted Microsoft's offer, it would have had Microsoft's money and its endorsement. Netscape would have also been free to sell its browser for use in earlier versions of Windows and for use on other operating systems like Apple's Macintosh and Unix, a powerful system used mainly in corporations and research labs. ``But if we had licensed our technology to Microsoft and stepped aside, the best we could have hoped for was becoming a company with sales of $100 million or so and hoping to be bought out by Microsoft,'' said Clark, a former computer scientist at Stanford University who founded Silicon Graphics Inc., a computer graphics pioneer, before starting Netscape. ``We didn't start Netscape for that.'' For any company, a meeting with Microsoft is often a charged affair. Every computing device from keyboards to disk drives, and every software program from games to browsers, must mesh smoothly with Microsoft's Windows operating system. This is necessary to make computers reliable and easier to use, but it also gives Microsoft its role as the industry's gatekeeper. And since Microsoft itself makes all manner of software products beyond the operating system, other companies are put in the uneasy position of requiring Microsoft's cooperation to be able to compete against it. And in the software industry, where every program is rendered in the digital code of 1's and 0's, the lines that divide competition and cooperation are often blurred. The talk about that line at the Microsoft-Netscape meeting focused on the division between the operating system _ the ``platform,'' in computer terms _ and the application programs, sometimes called ``solutions,'' that run on top of the operating system. The government suit states that in sworn testimony, Chris Jones, a Microsoft manager who attended the meeting, ``admitted that Microsoft `absolutely' intended to persuade Netscape not to compete.'' Microsoft reads Jones' testimony very differently, as evidence mainly of the company's clarifying its position. If Netscape stayed on the applications or solutions side of the operating system, the two companies could be partners, Microsoft said. But if Netscape tried to become a player in the platform space, they would compete. Microsoft released portions of the Jones deposition in September as evidence that the government had quoted the Microsoft manager out of context. Q. Do you recall any discussion",
"about a desire of anybody on the part of Microsoft who was participating to be able to persuade or influence Netscape not to compete? A. Absolutely. But again, persuade in the sense of force or persuade in the sense of, hey, we think we can have a great business relationship together. Later in the deposition, a Justice Department lawyer asked Jones whether any of the Microsoft executives intended to suggest that ``there would be any consequences to Netscape or its business if Netscape chose to go in the platform direction you've described earlier as opposed to the solutions direction.'' Jones replied: ``The conversation was something like the following: `We're in the platform business. We're going to invest heavily in this part of the platform because we feel it's critical to our technologies. That's a done deal.' And we're asking them: `What is your business? Is your business platforms or solutions? If it's platforms, we're in the platforms business. We're competing.''' Microsoft portrays such comments as innocuous statements of fact. But to Netscape, the same remarks could be taken as a warning, if not a threat. This is because Internet browsing software had the potential to become an alternative platform to the Windows operating system. The browser, sitting on top of the operating system, could supplant Windows as the main desktop screen on users' machines and the main layer of programming for starting other software applications. In addition, Netscape's browser could serve as a powerful platform for distributing and running Java, an Internet programming language developed by Sun Microsystems Inc., a Microsoft rival. In technical terms, Netscape's upstart platform could replace Microsoft's APIs as the essential utility of computing. Indeed, Andreessen had boasted in public of Netscape's ambition to relegate Microsoft's Windows to so much software plumbing underneath the browser. By the June meeting, Microsoft certainly viewed Netscape as a serious potential challenger to Windows, the corporate crown jewel. On May 26, 1995, in an internal memo, ``The Internet Tidal Wave,'' Gates wrote: ``A new competitor `born' on the Internet is Netscape. Their browser is dominant with 70 percent usage share, allowing them to determine which network extensions will catch on.'' Netscape's strategy, Gates wrote, was to ``move the key API'' into the browser ``to commoditize the underlying operating system.'' THE BROADER INQUIRY: GOVERNMENT SEES ARM-TWISTING The federal government and the states have recently broadened their allegations against Microsoft by adding evidence that it tried to bully Intel, Apple Computer Inc. and other companies to squelch competition. They say that like the Netscape meeting the new evidence fits a pattern of behavior by Microsoft, which has repeatedly tried to limit competition by strong-arming competitors and partners. One episode that fits the pattern, the prosecutors contend, was an effort by Microsoft to pressure Intel to shelve the development of multimedia and Internet software and to limit its cooperation with Netscape. Intel's main business is making the microprocessor chips that act as the electronic brains of most of the computers that run the Windows operating system. Indeed, the fortunes of Intel and Microsoft are so",
"closely aligned that the two companies are sometimes referred to as a single, powerful entity, ``Wintel.'' But Intel also employs hundreds of software engineers, mainly at its Intel Architecture Labs in Hillsboro, Ore. And while Intel and Microsoft are partners, they have also had their conflicts, typically over the direction and pace at which certain innovations should be introduced into the personal computer industry, which they dominate together. Federal and state investigators have focused on Microsoft's strong reaction to work being done by Intel's software engineers _ a sentiment expressed in no uncertain terms during a meeting at Intel's Santa Clara, Calif., headquarters on Aug. 2, 1995. The contentious session was attended by several executives from Intel and Microsoft, including Gates and Intel chairman Andrew Grove. An internal Intel memo stated that Gates made ``vague threats'' about supporting Intel's competitors and that he was ``livid'' about Intel's ``investments in the Internet and wanted them stopped.'' Later, Intel did pull back from its multimedia and Internet software development. Steven McGeady, an Intel vice president who attended the August 1995 meeting, is scheduled to appear as a witness for the government. Microsoft replies that the government's accounts of meetings like those with Netscape and Intel are fanciful distortions, created by using a biased selection of documents and witnesses. The government's case, Microsoft asserts, betrays an utter failure to accept the computer-industry reality that Microsoft routinely meets with companies to make sure their software and equipment will work well with Windows. Sometimes the talks, Microsoft says, go on to include further levels of cooperation like licensing technology or a Microsoft investment, as the company discussed with Netscape. In the trial, Microsoft is expected to argue its advance in the browser market was the result of its own business acumen and Netscape's missteps. To document Netscape's errors, Microsoft issued a subpoena last month and obtained the unpublished manuscript of a new book, ``Competing on Internet Time: Lessons From Netscape and Its Battle With Microsoft,'' which is based on hundreds of interviews with current and former Netscape executives. The book does chronicle the mistakes made by Netscape. But its authors, Michael Cusumano of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management and David Yoffie of the Harvard Business School, think Microsoft is hardly blameless. ``Microsoft's take-no-prisoners strategy backfired, all but inviting retaliation from competitors, the government and even customers,'' Yoffie said. Emphasizing that he was offering no legal judgment, Yoffie added, ``I think Microsoft could have achieved 90 percent of what it did without crossing the line as much as it did.'' THE SPYGLASS LINK: REWARDS AND PERILS OF A PARTNERSHIP On April 6, 1994, Gates and 20 Microsoft executives gathered for a daylong retreat not far from the company's headquarters in Redmond, Wash. The subject was the Internet and how it might revolutionize the computer software business. Few concrete plans were made that day, but Microsoft executives insist that a direction was set. ``Our vision from the outset was to unite the two worlds of the Windows desktop and the Internet,'' said Steven Sinofsky, a",
"Microsoft executive who attended the meeting. Yet Microsoft badly trailed Netscape in the browser field. To hasten its entry, Microsoft licensed its early browsing software from Spyglass Inc. of Naperville, Ill. The first meeting between the two companies was initiated by Spyglass in April 1994. At the time, it was a tiny company and eager to do a deal with Microsoft. Spyglass was selected as the commercial licensee for browser technology developed by the National Center for Supercomputing at the University of Illinois. In the summer of 1994, Douglas Colbeth, president of Spyglass, met with Clark of Netscape at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. The two men talked in the United Airlines Red Carpet Room, reserved for business-class passengers, and Colbeth recalled Clark telling him, ``We're going to take Microsoft head-on.'' At the time, Colbeth recalled thinking to himself, ``Great, now Microsoft will really want to license from me.'' Today, he noted: ``Remember, we were a company with a couple dozen people and almost no money in the bank. Netscape had Jim Clark, with his money and reputation, and big-time venture capital backing from Silicon Valley. Netscape had a very different agenda.'' By July 1994, Microsoft had become quite interested in the Spyglass technology, Colbeth says, and the two companies signed their first licensing agreement the following December. Microsoft, Colbeth recalls, always told him that it would eventually fold browser technology into its operating system, but its timing was accelerated by Netscape's rapid rise. ``Microsoft was initially hoping to charge for the browser,'' Colbeth said. But on Dec. 7, 1995, Gates declared that Microsoft would not only deeply integrate its browser into Windows but would give it away. The announcement caught the industry, even Colbeth, by surprise. At the time, Spyglass had licensed its technology to 82 other companies, including IBM and Digital Equipment, for use in their software products _ a licensing revenue stream of about $20 million a year. As a result of Microsoft's move, Spyglass saw those revenues vanish within a year, as smaller Internet software companies went out of business and big customers shifted to Microsoft's free browser. Spyglass slashed its payroll and scrambled into new niches of the software industry to replace its lost sales, which it succeeded in doing eventually. ``Whenever you license technology to Microsoft, you have to understand it can someday build it itself, drop it into the operating system and put you out of that business,'' Colbeth said. THE NONOPTION COMPAQ: SUDDENLY SEES THE LIGHT Well into 1996, Netscape's share of the browser market continued to rise, while Microsoft made little headway, even though its browser was free. Industry analysts and trade magazines agreed that Netscape's browser was the clear technical leader. In April 1996, Netscape's Navigator was used by 87 percent of people browsing the Web, compared with 4 percent using Microsoft's Internet Explorer, according to Zona Research. So the biggest personal computer maker, Compaq, thought it made sense to give customers Netscape's browser instead of Microsoft's. But Microsoft would not stand for that _ and Compaq had no choice but to",
"give in. In June 1996, Compaq wanted not only to load the more popular Netscape browser on its machines but also to remove the icon for Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which was delivered to the computer maker with Windows 95. Microsoft informed Compaq that if it removed Internet Explorer, the computer maker would lose its license for Windows, said Stephen Decker, Compaq's director of software procurement, in testimony to federal investigators. The ultimatum from Microsoft was delivered bluntly in a letter headed, ``Notice of Intent to Terminate License Agreement.'' Faced with being denied the essential operating system, Compaq quickly reversed course and kept the Internet Explorer icon. Microsoft asserts that Windows and Internet Explorer are a single product and that Microsoft alone defines what is in the product. Nothing in its contracts, Microsoft adds, prohibits computer makers from including competing technologies. While the cutoff letter Microsoft sent to Compaq seems an unnecessarily hardball tactic when dealing with its largest corporate customer, Microsoft chief operating officer Bob Herbold insists that ``to take one letter here or one snippet of e-mail there to try to portray Microsoft as an arrogant company is unfair.'' Noting that a Compaq executive is a witness for Microsoft, Herbold said, ``We are totally dependent on tremendous relationships with key companies like Compaq.'' At Netscape, however, the Compaq episode was a watershed. ``That was the singular act that got me going to the Justice Department,'' Barksdale recalled. Barksdale said he regarded Microsoft's tactic of forcing Compaq to buy its browser as a condition of obtaining an essential product, the Windows operating system, as ``an illegal act and absolute proof that Microsoft was a monopolist.'' After investigating the incident, the Justice Department and the states agreed with Barksdale that Microsoft was illegally tying the sale of one product to another. Microsoft replies that it has a long history of adding new features to its operating system. And from the outset, Microsoft says, it intended that Windows and its Internet Explorer browser would be seamlessly integrated, as they are now in Windows 98. Thus, Microsoft insists, there is no product-tying violation of antitrust laws. In a separate case, a federal appeals court sided with Microsoft, upholding the principle that the company could put whatever it wanted to in its operating system and declare it a single product. But in June 1996, when Compaq wanted to offer the Netscape product instead of Microsoft's browser, most industry experts viewed the browser and operating system as two different software programs. ``It took a long time for the integration strategy to play out,'' said a former senior Microsoft researcher. ``Back then, integration was basically bolting a browser onto Windows.'' THE `BALANCING ACT': AMERICA ONLINE TOSSES IN TOWEL America Online chairman Stephen Case refers to dealing with Microsoft as ``a delicate balancing act.'' That balance swung sharply from the fall of 1995 to the spring of 1996, when Microsoft used the lure of giving America Online a featured place on the Windows desktop as the ultimate bargaining chip. To gain access to computing's most coveted real estate, America",
"Online agreed to make Microsoft's Internet Explorer the main browser for its online subscribers, who now number more than 13 million. Yet throughout 1995, as Microsoft prepared to introduce Windows 95, the most significant improvement ever in its operating system, Case was knocking on the door of the Justice Department. His complaint was that Microsoft was going to place its new online service, Microsoft Network, a direct competitor to America Online, prominently on the desktop screen of Windows 95, which was introduced in August. This bundling tactic of using the industry-dominant operating system to market Microsoft Network, or MSN, Case argued, gave Microsoft an unfair advantage in the young but fast-growing online business. The Justice Department listened and investigated. But ultimately, the government decided against taking any action. At America Online's headquarters in Vienna, Va., Microsoft was both feared and loathed at the time. America Online had a designated ``Microsoft watcher,'' a young M.B.A. who tracked its adversary's every move. Above the desk in his small, windowless office was a picture of Gates. Beneath the picture, in large block letters, were the words ``THE ENEMY.'' Though America Online was the clear leader in the online services business, it had ample reason to worry about an all-out assault by a rival as rich and aggressive as Microsoft. When he had visited the Microsoft headquarters a couple of years earlier, Case recalled, Gates had bluntly assessed Microsoft's options by saying he could buy 20 percent of America Online, all of it or enter the online business on his own and ``bury you.'' A threat or merely a statement of the facts? ``A bit of both,'' Case said recently. ``But he was mainly articulating what everybody at that meeting kind of intuitively understood.'' Yet by 1996, Microsoft and America Online found they had reason to cooperate. With the exploding popularity of the Internet's World Wide Web, the conventional online companies, like America Online and Compuserve, had to provide their customers Internet access as well as their own services. America Online had its own browser, but to keep pace with the rapidly advancing technology it made sense to do a deal with Netscape or Microsoft. For both software companies, a deal with America Online, which had 5 million subscribers at the time, could mean a big surge in browser use and market share. Netscape seemed the natural partner for America Online, since both companies were Microsoft rivals. On March 11, America Online did announce that it would buy Netscape technology, but it was a standard licensing deal based on a payment-for-use formula. The next day, America Online announced a more significant deal with Microsoft making its browser the default technology _ the browser America Online subscribers would use unless they specifically asked for Netscape's Navigator. To win the deal, Microsoft offered to give America Online a start-up icon on the Windows desktop _ precisely the kind of equal treatment on the main Windows screen that Case had asked the Justice Department to require of Microsoft. ``After we agreed to its Internet Explorer browser, Microsoft allowed us",
"to be bundled on the Windows desktop,'' Case said. ``It was an example of Microsoft's pragmatic side.'' The pragmatic decision was that the paramount corporate goal was to increase browser market share to protect the mainstay software business. As a result, its new online service, MSN, would have to sacrifice an important marketing advantage over its main rival, America Online. ``It was Bill's decision,'' said former MSN general manager Russell Siegelman, referring to Gates. ``He sent me e-mail on it. He said he didn't think it would hurt MSN that much. I disagreed with him.'' To other Microsoft executives, Gates expressed a different view of the likely impact on MSN. He told senior vice president Brad Silverberg that putting America Online on the Windows desktop would amount to ``putting a bullet through MSN's head,'' according to a deposition taken by the Justice Department. In the antitrust suit, the government asserts that the America Online deal shows how Microsoft used the power of its Windows monopoly to give it an edge in the browser war against Netscape. David Colburn, a senior vice president of America Online who took part in the browser negotiations with Microsoft, is a witness for the government. Today, Microsoft has overhauled its Internet strategy to focus mainly on building popular special-interest Web sites in fields like travel, personal finance, automobile retailing and news. And it is putting these sites, along with e-mail and search features, in an all-in-one site that uses the name MSN.com. ``I still regard Microsoft as a primary threat,'' Case observed. ``Microsoft has a history of getting it right in the long run, and there's no reason to think it won't in this business as well. We will always be in Microsoft's cross hairs.'' THE LESSON: DON'T CONFRONT A STEAMROLLER At Netscape's headquarters in Silicon Valley, the strategy today is one of avoiding head-to-head competition with Microsoft whenever possible. ``Don't do something that is in Microsoft's path _ that's the lesson learned,'' observed Clark, the Netscape chairman. Silicon Valley's venture capitalists, the investors who finance so many of the nation's high-tech startups, generally follow the Netscape formula these days. Yet that still leaves ample room to prosper. For while competing directly with Microsoft is dangerous, the software industry as a whole is an engine of wealth creation, job generation and technical innovation. And there is an ambivalent side to the venture community's relationship with Microsoft. For if a start-up cannot steer clear of Microsoft entirely, the favored option is to be bought out by Microsoft, which has scooped up many fledgling companies as a way of acquiring promising technology and people. ``Microsoft understands start-up innovation and how to co-opt start-up innovation better than any other high-tech company,'' said James Breyer, managing partner of Accel Partners, a venture capital firm. As Microsoft has grown, it has come to be seen not merely as a competitor but as a force of nature that shapes the business environment, like a weather front. ``Microsoft is incredibly pervasive,'' said Stewart Alsop, a partner with New Enterprise Associates, a venture capital firm",
"in Menlo Park, Calif. At the board meetings of the companies in which his firm has invested, two issues always come up, he said: ``One is the price of the company's stock, and the other is what Microsoft is going to do.'' In the last few years, Microsoft has offered its guidance during almost yearly meetings between senior Microsoft executives and leading venture capitalists. The meetings are part of Microsoft's effort to improve its sometimes prickly relations with Silicon Valley. ``We work hard to provide clarity about where we're going and where we're not going,'' said Greg Maffei, Microsoft's chief financial officer. Last year's conference took place in October at the Quadrus office building on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, the Wall Street of high-tech venture investing. Maffei led a team of five Microsoft executives who appeared before a group of 40 venture capitalists, one of whom stood and asked the question that seemed to be on the minds of many of his peers: ``How do I invest in a company that stays out of the way of the steamroller?'' Maffei, recalled one person who attended the meeting, stood up and delivered a brief lecture on businesses that Microsoft was likely to avoid. His list included specialized software for manufacturing, human resources management, computer-aided design and others. But, this person noted, broad swaths of the industry appeared to be designated as off limits _ including new software platforms that might compete with Microsoft's personal computer operating system. At one point, Ruthann Quindlen, a partner with Institutional Venture Partners, leaned over to Vinod Khosla, a co-founder of Sun Microsystems and a partner at the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and said quietly, ``I guess that leaves us washing machines and toasters.''",
"Shortly before the government filed its antitrust suit against Microsoft Corp. in May, Joel Klein, the assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's antitrust division, met with a Silicon Valley executive. The executive recalls telling Klein that unless a case went beyond the Internet browser market, it would have little effect on Microsoft's power to stifle competition across the computer industry. Klein replied that he understood the computer executive's concerns. But he said time was running short and the strongest evidence in hand involved Microsoft's battle against Netscape Communications Corp. in the market for the so-called browser software used for navigating the Internet. ``This is a Netscape case,'' the executive recalls Klein saying. But five months later, the case that the government is bringing to trial on Monday extends well beyond Netscape and the browser war to embrace what it described in a recent court filing as ``a broad pattern of anti-competitive conduct'' by Microsoft. Netscape, the government insists, is still a prime example of the pattern _ but only one of several examples. The 12-person witness list for the Justice Department and 20 states suing Microsoft reflects the new evidence added to the case since May. James Barksdale, Netscape's president and chief executive, will appear first, but he will be followed by executives representing a cross section of the nation's high-technology companies including Intel, IBM, Sun Microsystems, Apple Computer, America Online and Intuit. In bringing a more ambitious, complicated case to trial than the one it filed in May, the government has chosen a high-risk strategy. The law states that new evidence can be added to a suit after it is filed, but not new charges. And so, in his federal courtroom in Washington, U.S.District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson could decide to rule out some of the new evidence as ranging too far afield from the original suit. But if the government wins its broadened case, the court-ordered remedies would no doubt be far tougher on Microsoft. In May, the government's suggested steps amounted to equal treatment for Netscape's browser and Microsoft's browser. But the government recently asked that the judge hold a separate hearing on remedies, if it wins the case. The remedies under consideration now include more basic changes in Microsoft's business practices _ perhaps even a breakup of the company _ intended to loosen Microsoft's grip on computing. That would be precisely the kind of sweeping reform that Microsoft's foes would applaud. ``The government has doubled the bet and doubled the stakes,'' said David Yoffie, a professor at the Harvard business school who is co-author of the book, ``Competing on Internet Time: Lessons From Netscape and Its Battle With Microsoft.'' Meanwhile, in the Microsoft camp, the government's strategy is dismissed as a desperate act _ taken after a court ruling in June that threatened to undermine the antitrust suit. That ruling came in a separate case, involving the interpretation of the consent decree that Microsoft signed with the Justice Department in 1995. In the June ruling, a federal appeals court said that Microsoft could bundle its",
"browser with its industry-standard Windows operating system and call them one product. The appeals-court ruling would seem to undercut the assertion in the government's current antitrust case that the browser and the operating system were two separate products, bundled together and given away in an effort to thwart competition in the browser market. ``With the appeals-court ruling in June, the government lost the heart of its case,'' said Charles Rule, a former senior official in the Justice Department, who is now a consultant to Microsoft. ``So it has taken a blunderbuss approach of scrambling to throw everything it can find _ even evidence the Justice Department has had for years _ into the gun barrel and see what hits.'' The June appellate ruling did shake the prosecution team. But mostly it strengthened the hand of those within the Justice Department who had been urging that the case be broadened, according to people who have worked on the investigation. At the same time, they say, new evidence was coming in as the investigation moved ahead and prosecutors raced to meet the accelerated trial schedule approved by the court. Speed was a priority from the outset, they say. The Justice Department and the states filed their suit in May to move before Microsoft's new operating system, Windows 98, was introduced in June. While not seeking to block the release of Windows 98, government lawyers wanted to get to the the courtroom as early as possible as PC makers and computer users adopt this latest version of Microsoft's Windows operating system, which functions as the central nervous system for more than 90 percent of personal computers sold. The key allegations, government lawyers note, have not changed since May _ namely, that Microsoft illegally used its market power in operating systems to defend its monopoly position and to try to extend into new markets. ``But the only thing that was wrapped up in a bow in time for the May filing was the browser,'' said one person who worked on the case. ``The real game plan was always to get a broader case.'' What is more, one person noted, the prosecution team was not at full strength until shortly before the suit was filed. David Boies, a renowned courtroom litigator and a former partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore who successfully defended IBM in its 13-year confrontation with the government, was named as special counsel for the Justice Department last December. But Boies, who left Cravath last year, did not start working full-time for the Justice Department until mid-April, because he was still finishing private cases for his own firm, Boies & Schiller. The antitrust suit filed in May leaned heavily on the Netscape story, mentioning Microsoft's main rival in the browser market some 130 times in the complaint and a supporting memorandum. But it also prominently mentioned Microsoft's tactics against Sun Microsystems, creator of Java, an Internet programming language, and cited it as an ``example'' of Microsoft's behavior. ``It was crafted as a template that could be added to without much stretching,'' one person involved",
"in the case said. And so, as new evidence piled up and seemed to fit into a pattern, Klein step by step approved the widening of the case, the person said. And that explains, the person continued, how it is that evidence that has been in the hands of the Justice Department for years has been added to the case since May; only after gathering new evidence did it become apparent that the older material fit the pattern of the current case. For example, the government has added the contention that Microsoft pressured Intel Corp., the big microchip maker and a close partner of Microsoft, to curb its development efforts in multimedia and Internet software because they might conflict with Microsoft's plans. The government contends that the arm-twisting occurred at meetings between the two companies three years ago, especially one on Aug. 2, 1995, which was attended by Andrew Grove, the Intel chairman, and Bill Gates, the Microsoft chairman. Part of the government's evidence in the Intel-Microsoft episode is copies of the handwritten notes taken by Steven McGeady, an Intel vice president who attended the meetings, and a memo written by him on Aug. 28, 1995. The memo, still under court seal, said that Gates ``made vague threats'' and was ``livid'' about Intel's investments in the Internet ``and wanted them stopped.'' A handwritten note, also under court seal, quotes Paul Maritz, a Microsoft executive, as saying that Netscape is their ``common enemy'' and that Intel's role should be to ``fill in stuff in and around Microsoft's strategy.'' These documents were sent by Intel to the Justice Department's office in San Francisco in November 1995, in response to a Civil Investigative Demand _ a civil subpoena _ served on Intel on Nov. 10, 1995. On its own, the Intel material was intriguing, but it became part of the antitrust suit only as other evidence surfaced, one person close to the case said. The government is contending that Microsoft also tried to urge Apple to stop selling its Quicktime multimedia software in the Windows market and tried to convince Real Networks Inc. to pull back in the market for so-called streaming software. The government case has also broadened, people involved in the case say, as more witnesses from the industry have been increasingly willing to testify. ``In the beginning, most people in the industry believed that the government would lose and Microsoft would retaliate if they came forward,'' one person said. ``But as the strength of our case was perceived to improve, more people were willing to come forward, and things snowballed. You get Intel, it's easier to get Apple and so on.''",
"The government's antitrust scrutiny of Microsoft, the world's largest independent software company, has spanned Republican and Democratic administrations and involved hundreds of government lawyers and investigators. But it has by no means been an example of consistent, coordinated public policy. Nor, by all accounts, of politics. Instead, like the software industry itself, the government's pursuit of Microsoft has taken leaps, hit dead ends and evolved in ways no one could have controlled or predicted back when it started in 1989. It was in November of that year, on a hot afternoon at a computer-industry convention in Las Vegas, Nev., that Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman, looked like he'd been dragged to the news conference with a senior executive from IBM _ which at the time dominated Microsoft and the entire computer industry. The two companies _ IBM, then the leading maker of personal computers and Microsoft, the leader in PC operating system software _ were collaborating on the design and marketing of a new operating system called OS/2. But Microsoft was also beginning to sell a competing product, Windows. The industry trade press was full of worried articles: which system was going to become the new standard? With Gates standing uncomfortably at his side, James Cannavino, an IBM divisional president, said that the two companies wanted to ``clear the air.'' OS/2 was the future, he said. As for Windows, he added, it would remain a niche product for under-equipped computers. Windows, he asserted, would never receive all the advanced features of OS/2. Gates certainly did not look happy. But he did not disagree. The news conference got little attention, just a few articles deep inside newspapers and trade publications. But a few weeks later, Norris Washington, a senior antitrust lawyer with the Federal Trade Commission, happened to read one of those articles, in Byte magazine. ``IBM and Microsoft have now defined their unified vision of graphical operating environments,'' the article said, ``and it looks sort of like a U.S. economic model,'' divided into lower-, middle- and upper-class products. As Washington saw it, IBM and Microsoft were colluding to divide the operating-system market _ a potential violation of antitrust law. Soon the FTC staff opened an investigation of Microsoft and IBM And since that small first step, Microsoft has been under unrelenting scrutiny from federal antitrust investigators for a constantly evolving series of allegations and charges, month after month, year after year, for the last nine years. Now comes the antitrust trial scheduled to begin on Monday, with a multiplicity of charges woven of threads drawn from more than a dozen different investigative inquiries during that nine-year span. Microsoft, today the most feared company in the software business and carrying a stock-market value of nearly $234 billion, presents a huge and highly visible antitrust target. Yet, while the company's allies ask, ``What is the Clinton administration's political agenda in going after Microsoft?'' the answer seems to be there is none. In interviews, more than a dozen current and former senior antitrust officials _ whether friends of the government or of Microsoft _ all say",
"the Justice Department's antitrust suit is a natural outgrowth of the previous investigations. As for politics, all the officials agreed that the antitrust division operates independent of the administration's political considerations. Charles Rule was the assistant attorney general who headed the antitrust division during the Bush administration, and he is now a Washington lawyer who serves as an adviser and advocate for Microsoft. ``When I was there,'' Rule said of his Justice days, ``the White House was punctilious in terms of never getting involved in whatever we decided to do. There was no communication between antitrust and other branches of government.'' Asked if he believed that policy had changed under the Clinton administration, he said: ``Not really. I've seen nothing to suggest it.'' Joel Klein heads the antitrust division now, and in an interview dealing with his division's role in the Clinton administration's technology policy, not specifically relating to the Microsoft case, he said: ``There is no statutory restriction, but as a practical matter, civil and criminal prosecutions are invariably carried out without any political contact.'' Klein said, by way of examples, that he might discuss merger cases involving military or aviation industries with the Defense Department or Transportation Department. ``But never the White House,'' he said. ``For a significant case, we might call the White House and say `An hour from now we are going to hold a press conference.' '' ``The last time there was any interference,'' he added, ``was the Dita Beard-ITT case.'' Mrs. Beard, a lobbyist for ITT Corp., was accused in 1972 of having written a memo saying that a $400,000 donation to the Republican National Convention had ``gone a long way'' toward settling antitrust suits brought against the company by the Nixon administration's Justice Department. The authenticity of the memo was never proved, and Mrs. Beard always denied writing it. In any case, Klein says, ``since Watergate, it's been immaculate.'' In the case of Microsoft, neither President Clinton nor Vice President Al Gore has ever volunteered a comment. In answer to a question during a news conference in May, just before the suit was filed, Clinton said: ``I have taken the view that I should not comment on matters within the Justice Department. At this time, I do not think I should depart from that policy on this case, even though it obviously will have a big impact on an important sector of our economy. But I have to say, based on what I know to date, I have confidence in the way the antitrust division in the Justice Department has handled the matter.'' Since then, Clinton has said nothing else about the case, publicly at least. And Gore, who generally represents the administration on technology issues, has never commented at all. In Rule's opinion, the administration would be foolish to involve itself, even if it were politically acceptable to do so. ``It would be a little odd for the administration to push the Justice Department in this suit,'' he said. ``It would be a policy mistake and a political mistake. I would be hard pressed",
"to explain why they would do that.'' Taking sides in the highly charged technology world is dangerous, particularly since the Democrats rely on Silicon Valley companies for political donations and support. In fact, the present and former government officials all said the suit was simply a natural extension of the inquiries conducted during the last nine years. They began at the FTC. Soon after Washington read that article in Byte, the FTC staff opened an investigation of the Windows-OS/2 question. But as has happened so often in the following years, turns in the market made the initial inquiry irrelevant. Microsoft abandoned its agreement with IBM, and Windows quickly grew to be the industry standard, while OS/2 remained a cipher. But as that issue faded, once government investigators began looking at Microsoft they found other things that troubled them. In 1991 Washington, who still works for the FTC, informed Microsoft that the investigation was being expanded. The agency, his letter said, was now trying to determine whether Microsoft was using its dominant position in operating-systems software to stifle competition in other areas. That general idea lies at the heart of the present suit. One former senior FTC official said the commission staff had confidence in the case but realized that the Reagan-era commissioners, who had to approve any suit, might have a different view. ``We knew the commission might have difficulty with a monopolization case,'' the former official said. ``They hadn't brought a case in years.'' And in fact, in 1993 the commission voted 2-2 on the question of whether to file formal charges. The deadlock served as a dismissal. Then, a few months later, the Justice Department decided to pick up the case. ``It was farther along than most cases we got,'' recalled Robert Litan, a former senior official in the Justice Department's antitrust division who is now at the Brookings Institution. ``Usually a case would be two or three people complaining and a few documents,'' he said. ``But this was a fully researched record. They gave us the files and briefed us on what they had done.'' The Justice Department lawyers picked up the same thread. ``The general idea behind our inquiry,'' Litan said, ``was that they should not be allowed to use their monopoly in operating systems to cement a monopoly in other areas.'' In 1995, Microsoft and the government reached a consent agreement in which the company promised to stop forcing PC makers to buy one copy of a Microsoft operating system for every computer sold _ instead of one for every computer on which the operating system, MS-DOS or Windows, was installed. The company also agreed to stop tying the sale of one software product to the sale of another. The charges in the present suit are similar in many ways. Even with the agreement, the government investigations continued. That same year, Justice Department investigators showed up at the offices of Netscape Communications Corp. for the first time to ask questions about their next line of inquiry. ``America Online had been complaining,'' a senior Netscape executive recalled, ``because",
"Microsoft was bundling the Microsoft Network,'' a competing online service, ``with Windows.'' Once more, market forces overtook the investigation. The Microsoft Network never grew particularly popular while America Online prospered and grew. But, not surprisingly, new complaints filled the void. In May 1995, Anne Bingaman, the assistant attorney general who headed the antitrust division, remarked: ``We get complaints about Microsoft all the time. We have become a kind of Microsoft complaints center. And we take them very seriously.'' In 1996, Netscape's first complaint arrived. In a letter to the Justice Department, Netscape said that Microsoft was using its dominance in personal-computer operating systems to force or persuade computer makers to favor Microsoft's browser, used to explore the World Wide Web, over the one marketed by Netscape. The next year the Justice Department formally charged Microsoft with violating the consent agreement by tying sales of Windows to installation of the company's Web browser on new computers. ``It seemed like a slam-dunk violation of the consent decree,'' a natural extension of that case, recalled Litan, who had left the department by then. A Federal District Court judge agreed, but an Appeals Court panel overturned that ruling this summer. In the meantime, last May the Justice Department and 20 state attorneys general filed their new suit against Microsoft, which is scheduled for trial on Monday. It contends that Microsoft has engaged in bundling, tying and other predatory behavior similar in many ways to the numerous previous allegations and investigations of the last nine years. ``A good part of this case is just Round II of the case we dealt with in Round I,'' in the early in the 1990s, Litan said. Or, as the former senior FTC official put it, ``there's certainly a common thread that runs all the way through here.'' But through the years that thread has been twisted, pulled and spun by hundreds of different hands.",
"Microsoft Corp. has said that material in an unpublished book by two business school professors will be a crucial part of its defense in the antitrust trial scheduled to begin next week. But judging from an advance copy of the manuscript, the Justice Department and 20 states that are suing the software giant will find support for their arguments in the book as well. To cite one example, Microsoft contends that its industry-standard Windows operating system and its Internet Explorer browser are a single integrated product. In its suit, the government asserts that they are two separate products that Microsoft bundled together to get an unfair edge over its rival, Netscape Communications Corp., in the market for software used to browse the Internet's World Wide Web. In ``Competing on Internet Time: Lessons from Netscape and Its Battle with Microsoft,'' the authors, Michael A. Cusumano of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management and David B. Yoffie of the Harvard business school, quote a Microsoft executive as saying that only with the third version of Microsoft's browser was it integrated with Windows. Microsoft hurried its first browser offerings into the market, the book says, in its race to catch up with Netscape, then took a more ambitious approach with Internet Explorer 3.0, which was introduced in August 1996. In that version it changed its software design to use programming modules, or components, that could be put together and rearragned like building blocks. In the book, Ben Slivka, a Microsoft general manager, is quoted as saying, ``IE 3.0 was the key thing because we did the componentized browser,'' He added, ``We really made Internet Explorer part of the Windows platform.'' The timing could be legally significant because in its suit the government cites as evidence requests before August 1996 by personal computer makers that wanted to load Netscape's browser on their machines instead of Microsoft's browser. Microsoft denied the requests, insisting its browers and Windows were a single, integrated product. Microsoft's legal team obtained an early manuscript of the new book last month, by issuing a subpoena to a Netscape executive who was given a confidential copy by the authors to review. Microsoft has also sought the transcripts of 44 current and former Netscape employees interviewed by the authors. A federal judge in Boston last week denied Microsoft access to that research materials, but the company may appeal the ruling. The new book, published by the Free Press imprint of Simon & Schuster, is being hurried into print so it can be shipped within days of the start of the Microsoft trial on Oct. 19. But already, a few quotes from Netscape executives have leaked out. The authors decided to send the complete manuscript to The New York Times and three other news organizations Monday, so that the material could be read in context. Microsoft intends to use material from the book as evidence that Netscape's troubles resulted largely from its own missteps rather than from any alleged predatory practices by Microsoft. The book does detail where Netscape stumbled, shifting its strategy too often and running into obstacles in its software development efforts. In private antitrust suits, the argument that the competitor was his own worst enemy is an established defense. But legal experts say that defense may well be far less effective in a federal case in which the government is seeking court-mandated changes in Microsoft's business practices rather than the monetary damages that are the goal of plaintiffs in private cases. ``It seems to me that this debate over Netscape's mistakes is a total sideshow,'' said Robert Litan, a former senior official in the Justice Department's antitrust division, who is now at the Brookings Institution. ``But Microsoft has a big legal team, and it seems they are working on every defense they can find.'' The book quotes a former Netscape executive, Ram Shriram, as saying the company bungled a chance to win a sizable share of the browser business from America Online Inc. But that was a second-chance to do a deal with America Online, the leading online service. The government's case focuses on an earlier deal in March 1996, when America Online chose Internet Explorer as its preferred browser; in that bargain Microsoft agreed to place a startup icon for the online service on the main Windows desktop screen _ the prime real estate in computing. For a book entitled ``Competing on Internet Time,'' it is intriguing that one of its central themes is that Netcape got too wedded to the notion that the Internet revolution would change everything quickly. Microsoft, by contrast, stuck to its three-year planning horizon that enabled the company, the authors write, to ``mesh its short-run tactical plans with a broader strategic view of how to win the war.'' The book quotes Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's president, as saying, ``The fact of the matter is that customers can't take cataclysmic change every three months. The organization also can't. You can ship products quickly. But you can't say, `Oh, we have a radically new strategy' every three months.''",
"Following is the text of the first two sections of the Sherman Act, as passed by Congress in 1890. As the foundation on which federal antitrust law has been built, the act has been amended several times _ elevating the crime to a felony, increasing the fines and prison terms for individuals and setting fines for corporations convicted of violating it. In the case of Microsoft, the government has invoked the Sherman Act to file a civil suit that seeks to change the company's business practices, not a criminal suit that seeks financial penalties. An Act to Protect Trade And Commerce Against Unlawful Restraints and Monopolies: Section 1. Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is hereby declared to be illegal. Every person who shall make any such contract or engage in any such combination or conspiracy, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court. Section 2. Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade of commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court.",
"The case of United States vs. Microsoft Corp., the government's most aggressive move against a monopolist in almost 25 years, is playing out against a century of antitrust laws so broadly worded and court rulings so ambiguous that both sides are citing the same rulings to support their opposing arguments. Whatever the outcome of the trial, scheduled to begin Monday in U.S. District Court in Washington, an almost certain appeal will leave to the Supreme Court the task of bringing legal order to 100 years of clashing antitrust doctrines. The case focuses on Microsoft's Windows, the operating system that controls about 90 percent of all personal computers sold today. The government says its objective is to curb illegal monopolistic business practices that threaten to render large parts of the economy vulnerable to the vicissitudes of a single company. Microsoft asserts that the case is intended to give the government control over which features can be added to Windows. However grand the economic stakes, the legal dispute is narrow. The government says that Microsoft's contracts with computer manufacturers and with companies that provide access to the Internet illegally stifle competition. The contracts prohibit manufacturers from substituting Netscape Communications Corp.'s Navigator browser for Microsoft's Internet Explorer. They also prohibit them from removing from the Windows main screen, or desktop, links to sites on the World Wide Web run by Microsoft or its partners. Microsoft's contracts with companies that connect people to the Internet and with businesses that sell goods and services on the Web require favored treatment for Internet Explorer over Navigator in exchange for links on the Windows desktop. In the wake of the lawsuit, Microsoft has voluntarily dropped some of these requirements, though it could reinstate them at will. Microsoft says that its contracts are legal because they produce tangible benefits for customers, including easier Internet access. The Justice Department says that the bundling of Explorer with Windows 95 and the inclusion of the browser as part of Windows 98 amount to ``tying,'' an illegal practice that forces customers of one product to purchase another. The contracts with manufacturers and Internet services are illegal, the government says, because they are intended not only to create a monopoly in the browser market but to protect Microsoft's existing monopoly in operating systems. The latter threat is key, according to the Justice Department. Browsers have the potential, like an operating system, to act as a software platform on which other programs run. So contracts intended to drive browsers out of the market would also insulate the Windows monopoly. Many antitrust experts say the problem facing the Justice Department is that the courts have provided no clear definition of tying and no clear guidelines for determining when contracts are illegally exclusionary. Professor Lawrence White of New York University, who was chief economist of the Justice Department's antitrust division in the early 1980s, says that the courts treat tying as an unusual practice when in fact it is ubiquitous. No one, he said, ``would challenge the right of manufacturers to tie erasers to the tip of pencils,",
"tires to an automobile or buttons to shirts.'' His point, shared widely among economists, is that some tying benefits consumers if, for example, it results in products that are easier to use or enables a company to recover development costs. But tying can be bad if it locks in monopoly power. The courts, White says, have not offered enough guidance for distinguishing good tying from bad, which is the nub of the legal dispute. Microsoft says it needs only to show that bundling Windows and Explorer passes what might be called a ``gross'' consumer benefits test _ that it offers an immediate benefit, whether or not it causes long-term damage to competition and, therefore, ultimately to consumers. The Justice Department says that Microsoft's practices must clear a higher hurdle: yielding ``net'' consumer benefits that are immediate and large enough to balance possible long-term harm to competition. So which test of consumer benefits satisfies antitrust laws? The simple answer is that no one knows for sure, which is why both sides can reasonably cite the same cases without fear of embarrassment. Consider a 1985 case, Aspen Skiing Co. vs. Aspen Highlands Skiing Corp., and a 1951 case, Lorain Journal Co. vs. United States. In the first, Aspen Skiing, the owner of three major ski runs in Aspen, Colo. _ the monopolist _ had for years sold a ticket in cooperation with Aspen Highlands, a competitor, that gave skiers access to both companies' runs. When Aspen Skiing unilaterally canceled the agreement, its rival's revenues shriveled and the rival sued. The Supreme Court ruled that Aspen Skiing had violated antitrust laws because there was no evidence its action helped consumers. In the Lorain Journal case, the only local newspaper in Lorain, Ohio, refused to sell advertising to companies that advertised on a new radio station. Here, too, the Supreme Court ruled that the exclusionary practice did nothing to benefit consumers. Indeed, in Aspen Skiing, the court even forced the monopolist to do business with its rival, a precedent that augurs well for the Justice Department, which seeks to force Microsoft to install Netscape's browser alongside its own. But Charles Rule, a legal consultant to Microsoft, says that in both cases the courts threw out exclusionary practices only because they offered no consumer benefit. The courts, he argues, never pounced on practices that resulted in lower prices or better products or service. Nor did the courts in either case call for balancing immediate benefits against hypothetical long-term harm. Rule argues that Microsoft's practices produce demonstrable consumer benefits. Besides, he says, unlike the actions taken by The Lorain Journal or Aspen Skiing, Microsoft's contracts do not prevent consumers from installing Netscape's browser or from using the Web sites of Microsoft's rivals. In truth, though, neither case answered what consumer benefit test should apply to product design. In Jefferson Parish Hospital District No. 2 et al. vs. Hyde, another case cited by both sides, the Supreme Court in 1984 recognized that surgeons and anesthesiologists provide an integrated service. Yet, the court said, a hospital with monopoly power would",
"still not be allowed to force surgical patients to use its panel of anesthesiologists if consumers wanted to purchase the two services separately. That principle could undercut Microsoft's defense that the functional interdependence of Windows and Explorer requires bundling. But Microsoft will point to a strong concurring opinion that called for a tougher standard for the government to meet when it alleges tying. Microsoft will also draw support from several court rulings that allowed IBM to change the design of its computers in ways that made it hard for vendors to attach peripheral equipment. But perhaps Microsoft's best argument is that nowhere has the government identified a single case in which the courts explicitly called for throwing out a tied product on the basis of a balancing test. The courts, Microsoft will emphasize, steer clear of redesigning technically sophisticated products. The Justice Department's rejoinder is to note that the sole purpose of antitrust law is to protect consumers, so it makes no sense to bless practices that provide a dollar's worth of benefits today but, by stamping out competition, drive prices up by $1,000 tomorrow. The Justice Department will ask the court to at least insist that monopolists use the least exclusionary means possible to achieve whatever services they provide customers. Experts agree that the courts will subject Microsoft's restrictive contracts with Internet companies to a balancing test. But exactly how the court will decide whether consumers are helped or hurt is up for grabs. A balancing test would have the courts weigh the immediate benefits to consumers of one-click access to Internet sites and of features of a bundled Windows-Explorer package versus the harm over time of diminished competition in the markets for browsers and operating systems. But a test that makes good sense in theory can prove fiendishly difficult to use in practice. ``Balancing tests are impossibly difficult and arbitrary,'' said Rep. Thomas Campbell, R-Calif., who is a former law professor at Stanford University. ``The practical effect of balancing is to hand defendants like Microsoft almost certain victory.'' Microsoft argues _ and many antitrust experts agree _ that the courts have in fact gravitated away from a balancing test toward a simpler ``predation'' test for exclusionary contracts. Under this standard, a contract is illegal only if it is intended to drive out competition and thus to pave the way for a monopolist to raise prices later. Microsoft will have an easier time defending itself against a charge of predation, which amounts to victimizing its customers, than it would defending itself against a charge that its bundled product does consumers slightly more harm than good. The antitrust record, says William Baxter, who headed the antitrust division under President Reagan, is littered with ``contradictory, ambiguous and sometimes nonsensical'' verdicts. He and other legal experts agree that if nothing else, that record leaves plenty of legal leeway for the Supreme Court, should it hear the Microsoft case, to stiffen the spine of the antitrust law."
] |
[
"The case of United States vs. Microsoft Corp., the government's most aggressive move against a monopolist in almost 25 years, is playing out against a century of antitrust laws so broadly worded and court rulings so ambiguous that both sides are citing the same rulings to support their opposing arguments. Whatever the outcome of the trial, scheduled to begin Monday in U.S. District Court in Washington, an almost certain appeal will leave to the Supreme Court the task of bringing legal order to 100 years of clashing antitrust doctrines. The case focuses on Microsoft's Windows, the operating system that controls about 90 percent of all personal computers sold today. The government says its objective is to curb illegal monopolistic business practices that threaten to render large parts of the economy vulnerable to the vicissitudes of a single company. Microsoft asserts that the case is intended to give the government control over which features can be added to Windows. However grand the economic stakes, the legal dispute is narrow. The government says that Microsoft's contracts with computer manufacturers and with companies that provide access to the Internet illegally stifle competition. The contracts prohibit manufacturers from substituting Netscape Communications Corp.'s Navigator browser for Microsoft's Internet Explorer. They also prohibit them from removing from the Windows main screen, or desktop, links to sites on the World Wide Web run by Microsoft or its partners. Microsoft's contracts with companies that connect people to the Internet and with businesses that sell goods and services on the Web require favored treatment for Internet Explorer over Navigator in exchange for links on the Windows desktop. In the wake of the lawsuit, Microsoft has voluntarily dropped some of these requirements, though it could reinstate them at will. Microsoft says that its contracts are legal because they produce tangible benefits for customers, including easier Internet access. The Justice Department says that the bundling of Explorer with Windows 95 and the inclusion of the browser as part of Windows 98 amount to ``tying,'' an illegal practice that forces customers of one product to purchase another. The contracts with manufacturers and Internet services are illegal, the government says, because they are intended not only to create a monopoly in the browser market but to protect Microsoft's existing monopoly in operating systems. The latter threat is key, according to the Justice Department. Browsers have the potential, like an operating system, to act as a software platform on which other programs run. So contracts intended to drive browsers out of the market would also insulate the Windows monopoly. Many antitrust experts say the problem facing the Justice Department is that the courts have provided no clear definition of tying and no clear guidelines for determining when contracts are illegally exclusionary. Professor Lawrence White of New York University, who was chief economist of the Justice Department's antitrust division in the early 1980s, says that the courts treat tying as an unusual practice when in fact it is ubiquitous. No one, he said, ``would challenge the right of manufacturers to tie erasers to the tip of pencils, tires to an automobile or buttons to shirts.'' His point, shared widely among economists, is that some tying benefits consumers if, for example, it results in products that are easier to use or enables a company to recover development costs. But tying can be bad if it locks in monopoly power. The courts, White says, have not offered enough guidance for distinguishing good tying from bad, which is the nub of the legal dispute. Microsoft says it needs only to show that bundling Windows and Explorer passes what might be called a ``gross'' consumer benefits test _ that it offers an immediate benefit, whether or not it causes long-term damage to competition and, therefore, ultimately to consumers. The Justice Department says that Microsoft's practices must clear a higher hurdle: yielding ``net'' consumer benefits that are immediate and large enough to balance possible long-term harm to competition. So which test of consumer benefits satisfies antitrust laws? The simple answer is that no one knows for sure, which is why both sides can reasonably cite the same cases without fear of embarrassment. Consider a 1985 case, Aspen Skiing Co. vs. Aspen Highlands Skiing Corp., and a 1951 case, Lorain Journal Co. vs. United States. In the first, Aspen Skiing, the owner of three major ski runs in Aspen, Colo. _ the monopolist _ had for years sold a ticket in cooperation with Aspen Highlands, a competitor, that gave skiers access to both companies' runs. When Aspen Skiing unilaterally canceled the agreement, its rival's revenues shriveled and the rival sued. The Supreme Court ruled that Aspen Skiing had violated antitrust laws because there was no evidence its action helped consumers. In the Lorain Journal case, the only local newspaper in Lorain, Ohio, refused to sell advertising to companies that advertised on a new radio station. Here, too, the Supreme Court ruled that the exclusionary practice did nothing to benefit consumers. Indeed, in Aspen Skiing, the court even forced the monopolist to do business with its rival, a precedent that augurs well for the Justice Department, which seeks to force Microsoft to install Netscape's browser alongside its own. But Charles Rule, a legal consultant to Microsoft, says that in both cases the courts threw out exclusionary practices only because they offered no consumer benefit. The courts, he argues, never pounced on practices that resulted in lower prices or better products or service. Nor did the courts in either case call for balancing immediate benefits against hypothetical long-term harm. Rule argues that Microsoft's practices produce demonstrable consumer benefits. Besides, he says, unlike the actions taken by The Lorain Journal or Aspen Skiing, Microsoft's contracts do not prevent consumers from installing Netscape's browser or from using the Web sites of Microsoft's rivals. In truth, though, neither case answered what consumer benefit test should apply to product design. In Jefferson Parish Hospital District No. 2 et al. vs. Hyde, another case cited by both sides, the Supreme Court in 1984 recognized that surgeons and anesthesiologists provide an integrated service. Yet, the court said, a hospital with monopoly power would still not be allowed to force surgical patients to use its panel of anesthesiologists if consumers wanted to purchase the two services separately. That principle could undercut Microsoft's defense that the functional interdependence of Windows and Explorer requires bundling. But Microsoft will point to a strong concurring opinion that called for a tougher standard for the government to meet when it alleges tying. Microsoft will also draw support from several court rulings that allowed IBM to change the design of its computers in ways that made it hard for vendors to attach peripheral equipment. But perhaps Microsoft's best argument is that nowhere has the government identified a single case in which the courts explicitly called for throwing out a tied product on the basis of a balancing test. The courts, Microsoft will emphasize, steer clear of redesigning technically sophisticated products. The Justice Department's rejoinder is to note that the sole purpose of antitrust law is to protect consumers, so it makes no sense to bless practices that provide a dollar's worth of benefits today but, by stamping out competition, drive prices up by $1,000 tomorrow. The Justice Department will ask the court to at least insist that monopolists use the least exclusionary means possible to achieve whatever services they provide customers. Experts agree that the courts will subject Microsoft's restrictive contracts with Internet companies to a balancing test. But exactly how the court will decide whether consumers are helped or hurt is up for grabs. A balancing test would have the courts weigh the immediate benefits to consumers of one-click access to Internet sites and of features of a bundled Windows-Explorer package versus the harm over time of diminished competition in the markets for browsers and operating systems. But a test that makes good sense in theory can prove fiendishly difficult to use in practice. ``Balancing tests are impossibly difficult and arbitrary,'' said Rep. Thomas Campbell, R-Calif., who is a former law professor at Stanford University. ``The practical effect of balancing is to hand defendants like Microsoft almost certain victory.'' Microsoft argues _ and many antitrust experts agree _ that the courts have in fact gravitated away from a balancing test toward a simpler ``predation'' test for exclusionary contracts. Under this standard, a contract is illegal only if it is intended to drive out competition and thus to pave the way for a monopolist to raise prices later. Microsoft will have an easier time defending itself against a charge of predation, which amounts to victimizing its customers, than it would defending itself against a charge that its bundled product does consumers slightly more harm than good. The antitrust record, says William Baxter, who headed the antitrust division under President Reagan, is littered with ``contradictory, ambiguous and sometimes nonsensical'' verdicts. He and other legal experts agree that if nothing else, that record leaves plenty of legal leeway for the Supreme Court, should it hear the Microsoft case, to stiffen the spine of the antitrust law.",
"The legal tool that the government is using in its assault on Microsoft Corp. _ the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 _ is brief, vague and malleable. The combination has meant that this bedrock statute of antitrust policy has been at turns toothless and powerful over the years, depending on the politics and economics of the day as interpreted by the courts. Sponsored by Sen. John Sherman, an Ohio Republican who was the younger brother of the Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman, the act was passed as a nod to a popular backlash against the rise of the industrial trusts in oil, steel and railroads. Farmers, laborers and small-business owners _ sizable voting groups _ resented the trusts as vehicles of concentrated power. But the trusts, large national holding corporations, were viewed by many others as engines of modernization and industrialization. Economists at the time opposed the Sherman Act, and the law that Congress passed was a vaguely worded compromise. No one knew what impact it would have, but one senator, quoted in Matthew Josephson's ``The Robber Barons,'' explained that nearly everyone agreed that ``something must be flung out to appease the restive masses.'' The act's two key provisions, Sections 1 and 2, mention ``conspiracy,'' ``restraint of trade'' and ``attempt to monopolize.'' Yet while the Sherman Act is now interpreted as the Magna Carta of competition, it never uses the term. After it was passed, critics of the trusts derided the ``impenetrable'' language of the Sherman Act and called it the Swiss Cheese Act. But by the early 1900s, the political climate had changed. The growing antagonism for the trusts, especially as income gaps widened, was tapped by an avowed trustbuster, Theodore Roosevelt, who became president in 1901. ``The Sherman Act has always been an elastic piece of social legislation, used to attack perceived exploitation and the aggregation of power,'' said Eleanor Fox, a professor at the New York University Law School. The model trust _ and the principal target of the trustbusters _ was Standard Oil. Shrewdly, Roosevelt made a distinction between good trusts, which thrived because of their superior efficiency, and bad trusts, which grew not as the result of inevitable economic forces but because of unfair business practices. Throughout the 1880s and '90s, Standard Oil's rivals had complained about the company and the business practices of its founder, John D. Rockefeller. But during those years, the price of kerosene _ burned to light the nation's homes _declined steadily. So Standard Oil, it could could reasonably be argued, was an ``enterprising monopoly.'' In the early 1900s, though, Standard Oil raised prices in the United States to prop up its profits at a time it was engaged in a price war against Royal Dutch/Shell in Europe, where Standard Oil did face genuine competition. When consumers were hurt by the Standard Oil monopoly, popular support for antitrust action against the company swelled, encouraged by Roosevelt and his successor, William Howard Taft. The federal suit against Standard Oil was filed in 1906, and the Supreme Court approved the breakup of the company in 1911. Standard Oil and the Microsoft case, historians observe, have some common themes. Both were dominant companies of their day, and Bill Gates, the Microsoft chairman, has been called a modern Rockefeller. ``But there is no presidential involvement and there is no real consumer dissatisfaction in the Microsoft case,'' said Ron Chernow, author of ``Titan,'' a best-selling biography of Rockefeller. ``And Rockefeller,'' Chernow added, ``never went through the kind of honeymoon period of widespread public adulation and favorable press coverage as Bill Gates has had.''",
"Will it matter to consumers that Bill Gates isn't a nice guy? Until last week, most Americans thought of Gates, the chairman of the Microsoft Corp., as a genius and innovator. A nerd perhaps _ but also a self-styled visionary who almost single-handedly unlocked the power of the personal computer. Monday, however, in a Washington courtroom, the Justice Department began painting a different, darker portrait of Gates. In an antitrust suit brought by the department and 20 states, the man whose company commands a 97 percent share of the market for personal computer operating systems is being depicted as a Nixonian schemer who will go to almost any length to crush his competition. Product innovation, the suit argues, is not a sufficient weapon for Gates. Flashing back and forth between snippets of Gates' videotaped deposition and e-mail messages he had sent that contradicted his testimony, the government sought to establish a pattern of threats and offers of payments by the Microsoft chairman. It also sought to cast Gates as an obsessed man who feared the tiny Netscape Communications Corp. and its potential threat to his domination of the market for Internet browsers, the software used to navigate the World Wide Web. Gates was portrayed by Justice Department litigator David Boies as a schoolyard bully who rides roughshod over the computer industry with a crudeness that is in stark contrast to his popular image as a benevolent dictator and high-technology guru. According to a document presented by Boies, for example, Gates asked America Online executives in 1996: ``How much do we need to pay you'' to damage Netscape? ``This is your lucky day.'' The implication, Boies said, was that the amount was irrelevant, and that Microsoft, with its deep pockets and market dominance, makes as many ``offers you can't refuse'' as needed to achieve its goals. Microsoft officials are closely watching market surveys for any hint that the new image of a bare-knuckled Gates might be detracting from the company's world-famous brand name, but they insist that the public will continue to draw a distinction between allegations of anticompetitive business tactics and the company's software. ``Despite what you're reading in the press, people judge us by our products,'' said Mich Matthews, head of Microsoft's corporate public-relations office. ``Our experience is that people vote with their pocketbooks.'' So far, consumers are casting positive votes. Last week Microsoft reported quarterly profits of $1.52 billion, a stunning 58 percent increase over the level a year earlier. Despite the record profits, some marketing experts say that if the public comes to view Gates as a Rockefeller-style robber baron, his company and its brand name may suffer. ``When you have a company with such a visible chief executive, the CEO is really the driver of the brand,'' said David Aaker, a brand marketing expert at the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley. ``There is no question this is going to affect Microsoft's brand recognition.'' Already there are early warning signals, as political cartoons in newspapers across the country bashed Gates last week. One showed him holding a globe and saying, ``If you don't play my way, I'll take my ball and go home''; another portrayed the Microsoft chairman standing next to a henchman dangling someone from a window while a Microsoft secretary says to a caller, ``I'm sorry, but Mr. Gates is busy teaching a competitor about Windows.'' But some industry analysts believe the new view of a Bill Gates who knows how to play hardball may not be such a bad thing for his company. The he-said, she-said round of e-mail messages being dragged out in court cases both in Washington and in Silicon Valley, where Microsoft is locked in a legal battle with its archrival, Sun Microsystems Inc., is viewed by some as little different from the exaggerated trash talking that goes on in professional sports. ``It's like taking what Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan say to each other on the ball court'' and turning it into something more sinister than it really is, said Paul Andrews, co-author with Stephen Manes of ``Gates'' (Doubleday, 1993). Indeed, there is evidence that the darker view of Gates and his company has so far taken root only in the District of Columbia and in Silicon Valley, where the computer industry has long felt the impact of Gates' tactics, and where bitterness and distrust of Microsoft are deep. In the rest of the country, Gates continues to enjoy great popularity. Two weeks ago, while speaking before a crowd of almost 7,000 students at Indiana University, a questioner who asked about the Justice Department's suit was roundly booed. BILL GATES, WHIPPING BOY c.1998 N.Y. Times News Service Is Bill Gates a high-tech Machiavelli, Public Enemy No. 1 or a threat to the known universe? All three, judging from the numerous political cartoons that popped up in newspapers across the country last week. From Chattanooga to Boston, cartoonists took delight in demonizing Gates, who is facing an unexpected public relations challenge as Microsoft's antitrust trial unfolds in Washington. Other cartoons ran the gamut from the predictable (a worker, pointing to an aquarium in which a large fish is gobbling up smaller ones, saying to some visitors, ``Welcome to Microsoft's research and development department'') to the weird (a dweebish man hunched in front of a computer screen staring at the words: ``Our beloved leader, Mr. Gates, is under attack. Leave your possessions. Go to the desert. Await the spaceship''). And that was just Week One of the trial. Stay tuned.",
"A federal judge Friday pushed back the starting date of the antitrust trial against Microsoft Corp. by four days, to Oct. 19, while also ordering the company to comply with the Justice Department's request to examine Microsoft's financial records. Microsoft argued that allowing ``an army of government attorneys to come in and make demands will make it very difficult for us to remain in business.'' But after winning assurances from government lawyers that they would make only narrow, targeted searches of the records, Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered Microsoft to open the database for perusal. Microsoft had asked that the trial be delayed several more months to prepare a defense against what it said was a last minute broadening of the case by the Justice Department, which had added new evidence. Last month, the government said that in the process of preparing for the trial it had discovered that Microsoft tried to persuade Apple Computer not to market its Quicktime multimedia software to Windows customers. On Thursday, the Justice Department and 20 states added two new people to their witness list to testify about Microsoft dealings with Apple and with Sun Microsystems. Avi Tevanian, a former Apple executive, was added to the witness list in part to describe Microsoft's proposal, which Microsoft denies ever having made. The other new witness was James Gosling, a Sun executive who led the development of Java, an Internet programming language that Microsoft sees as a potential threat to the company's dominance of the software market. The government is charging that Microsoft took illegal steps to prevent Java from gaining wide acceptance. To counter that, Microsoft named two new witnesses Friday, Robert Muglia, a senior Microsoft executive who has worked with Sun, and Chris Engstrom, an executive who handled some of Microsoft's dealings with Apple. At the same time, John Warden, Microsoft's lawyer, argued that the new allegations had no place in the case. The Justice Department, Warden told the judge, was ``trying to turn this into something approximating a plenary monopoly case like the IBM case.'' ``It becomes clearer and clearer and clearer with each new filing that they are trying to turn this into a broader case,'' he said. ``You can't have this bait-and-switch in which they file a complaint alleging A, B, C, and then talk about the whole alphabet three times over.'' As a result, Warden said, Microsoft wanted, at a minimum, another two-week delay, even though ``a more normal schedule'' would have the trial start next year. The judge did not respond. Instead he entered an order setting the Oct. 19 trial date. Late Friday, Microsoft entered a formal motion asking for another two-week delay. A response is expected next week.",
"In the summer of 1995, a whiff of revolution was in the air in Silicon Valley. The Internet offered a new deal in computing, a fresh opportunity for entrepreneurs to try to break Microsoft Corp.'s firm grip on the personal computer software business. Leading the challenge was Netscape Communications Corp., whose software for browsing the World Wide Web had ignited the Internet boom. Netscape chairman James Clark spoke boldly of attacking Microsoft head-on. He borrowed imagery from the movie ``Star Wars,'' referring to Microsoft as the Death Star and Netscape as the leader of a rebel alliance. Microsoft answered with a vengeance. It dispatched hundreds of programmers to work on a competing browser and poured many millions of dollars into marketing it. It prodded computer makers and others to distribute its browser, folded the browser into its industry-dominant Windows operating system and gave the browser away free _ a campaign intended to ``cut off their air supply,'' as a senior Microsoft executive described it. But not only competitors like Netscape have encountered Microsoft's force. Microsoft's partners, its corporate customers and professional investors who finance new ventures have all collided with it. A close look at Microsoft's no-holds-barred push into the Internet software business offers a window into the ways the company uses its market muscle to influence the behavior of virtually every player in the industry. Some of the cases recounted here figure prominently in the suit brought by the Justice Department and 20 states, scheduled to go to trial this month, charging that Microsoft at times went too far _ and violated antitrust laws. Regardless of the legal outcome, previously unreported details about incidents in the suit and the other examples provide a more complete picture of Microsoft in action. _ When Compaq Computer Corp. considered loading Netscape's browser instead of Microsoft's on its personal computers, Microsoft threatened to stop selling its Windows operating system to Compaq. The company quickly changed its mind. _ After Spyglass Inc. began supplying Microsoft with its early browser technology, Microsoft announced that it would give away its browser free. The timing came as a rude surprise to its partner Spyglass. The company lost most of its revenues almost overnight, as the technology, which it had also been licensing to companies besides Microsoft, suddenly became available free. _ When America Online Inc., which competes fiercely with Microsoft's online service and electronic commerce divisions, went shopping for browser technology, Microsoft made an offer that was too good to pass up: If America Online used Microsoft's browser as the main one for its millions of subscribers, Microsoft would give America Online prime placement on the desktop screen of all personal computers using Windows. _ When Intel Corp. began developing its own Internet software, Microsoft complained. Intel, the leading maker of the microprocessors that serve as the electronic brains on most personal computers running Windows, pulled back. The chip maker decided that its lucrative hand-in-glove partnership with Microsoft took priority. _ Microsoft's reach in computing has become so pervasive that nearly every year now, Silicon Valley's top venture capitalists meet privately with a team of top Microsoft executives to learn about the company's plans. The goal, one venture investor observed, was to ``stay out of the way of the steamroller.'' Microsoft adamantly denies that it has broken any laws in these or similar situations. The company plays the game of business hard, and its executives acknowledge that without apology. Yes, Microsoft says, rivals may suffer and partners may be irritated occasionally. But the company insists its actions are guided by its main corporate goal of bringing new technology inexpensively and conveniently to the millions of people who use its software. Most people in the computer industry say that living in Microsoft's world means routinely making accommodations to it. Microsoft's power emanates from its near-monopoly on the market for personal computer operating systems, the master control programs that run computers. ``Because it owns the operating system, Microsoft is the essential utility of the information age,'' said James Moore, president of Geopartners Research Inc., a technology consulting firm. ``It acts as a kind of gatekeeper to the pipeline of computing innovation, sitting there and deciding whether to help some innovation or slow it down.'' For months, Microsoft and Netscape had talked on and off, circling each other warily. But the event that would define them as unflinching rivals was a meeting on June 21, 1995, in a second-floor conference room at Netscape's headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. That meeting, according to the Justice Department and 20 states suing Microsoft, was the high-tech equivalent of the storied gatherings in smoke-filled railroad cars that inspired passage of the nation's antitrust laws a century ago. On that day, they say, Microsoft made Netscape an illegal offer to divvy up the market for Internet browsing software, a collusion pact that Netscape rejected. Microsoft replies that the prosecutors are misinterpreting a routine meeting in the software business and that the company has never tried to divide the browser market. Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman and principal strategist, did not attend the Mountain View gathering, but he consulted by telephone with the Microsoft team. Two people who did attend that June meeting have been named as witnesses in the trial scheduled to begin next week: Netscape president James Barksdale and Daniel Rosen, Microsoft's general manager of new technology. In the trial, the government will contend that Microsoft presented Netscape with an all-or-nothing offer, according to people who have been questioned in the federal investigation. Relying heavily on notes taken in the meeting by Netscape executive vice president Marc Andreessen and on the testimony of Barksdale, prosecutors are expected to assert that the Microsoft proposal had several elements, both incentives and requirements. Microsoft, according to the people questioned by the government, would invest in Netscape, taking a 15 to 20 percent stake, give Netscape technical information and fine-tune Microsoft's operating systems so that Netscape's software would run better on Windows. In return, the people say, Netscape would give Microsoft a seat on its board, license its technology to Microsoft, give Microsoft advance knowledge of its product-development efforts and not make a browser for the next generation of the Microsoft operating system, Windows 95, which was shipped two months after the June 1995 meeting. And Microsoft, the people added, did what it has always denied it does _ used access to its technology as a powerful lever in business negotiations, by offering Netscape preferential access to the Windows ``application program interfaces,'' or APIs, the links that enable other companies' programs to run smoothly on the Windows operating system. By turning down the deal, Netscape, they say, would not have that preferred access to Microsoft technology _ a threat that Microsoft fiercely denies making. Barksdale, Netscape's 55-year-old chief executive, told a colleague that the encounter with Microsoft in June 1995 was ``the damnedest meeting I've ever attended in 35 years in business.'' Had Netscape accepted Microsoft's offer, it would have had Microsoft's money and its endorsement. Netscape would have also been free to sell its browser for use in earlier versions of Windows and for use on other operating systems like Apple's Macintosh and Unix, a powerful system used mainly in corporations and research labs. ``But if we had licensed our technology to Microsoft and stepped aside, the best we could have hoped for was becoming a company with sales of $100 million or so and hoping to be bought out by Microsoft,'' said Clark, a former computer scientist at Stanford University who founded Silicon Graphics Inc., a computer graphics pioneer, before starting Netscape. ``We didn't start Netscape for that.'' For any company, a meeting with Microsoft is often a charged affair. Every computing device from keyboards to disk drives, and every software program from games to browsers, must mesh smoothly with Microsoft's Windows operating system. This is necessary to make computers reliable and easier to use, but it also gives Microsoft its role as the industry's gatekeeper. And since Microsoft itself makes all manner of software products beyond the operating system, other companies are put in the uneasy position of requiring Microsoft's cooperation to be able to compete against it. And in the software industry, where every program is rendered in the digital code of 1's and 0's, the lines that divide competition and cooperation are often blurred. The talk about that line at the Microsoft-Netscape meeting focused on the division between the operating system _ the ``platform,'' in computer terms _ and the application programs, sometimes called ``solutions,'' that run on top of the operating system. The government suit states that in sworn testimony, Chris Jones, a Microsoft manager who attended the meeting, ``admitted that Microsoft `absolutely' intended to persuade Netscape not to compete.'' Microsoft reads Jones' testimony very differently, as evidence mainly of the company's clarifying its position. If Netscape stayed on the applications or solutions side of the operating system, the two companies could be partners, Microsoft said. But if Netscape tried to become a player in the platform space, they would compete. Microsoft released portions of the Jones deposition in September as evidence that the government had quoted the Microsoft manager out of context. Q. Do you recall any discussion about a desire of anybody on the part of Microsoft who was participating to be able to persuade or influence Netscape not to compete? A. Absolutely. But again, persuade in the sense of force or persuade in the sense of, hey, we think we can have a great business relationship together. Later in the deposition, a Justice Department lawyer asked Jones whether any of the Microsoft executives intended to suggest that ``there would be any consequences to Netscape or its business if Netscape chose to go in the platform direction you've described earlier as opposed to the solutions direction.'' Jones replied: ``The conversation was something like the following: `We're in the platform business. We're going to invest heavily in this part of the platform because we feel it's critical to our technologies. That's a done deal.' And we're asking them: `What is your business? Is your business platforms or solutions? If it's platforms, we're in the platforms business. We're competing.''' Microsoft portrays such comments as innocuous statements of fact. But to Netscape, the same remarks could be taken as a warning, if not a threat. This is because Internet browsing software had the potential to become an alternative platform to the Windows operating system. The browser, sitting on top of the operating system, could supplant Windows as the main desktop screen on users' machines and the main layer of programming for starting other software applications. In addition, Netscape's browser could serve as a powerful platform for distributing and running Java, an Internet programming language developed by Sun Microsystems Inc., a Microsoft rival. In technical terms, Netscape's upstart platform could replace Microsoft's APIs as the essential utility of computing. Indeed, Andreessen had boasted in public of Netscape's ambition to relegate Microsoft's Windows to so much software plumbing underneath the browser. By the June meeting, Microsoft certainly viewed Netscape as a serious potential challenger to Windows, the corporate crown jewel. On May 26, 1995, in an internal memo, ``The Internet Tidal Wave,'' Gates wrote: ``A new competitor `born' on the Internet is Netscape. Their browser is dominant with 70 percent usage share, allowing them to determine which network extensions will catch on.'' Netscape's strategy, Gates wrote, was to ``move the key API'' into the browser ``to commoditize the underlying operating system.'' THE BROADER INQUIRY: GOVERNMENT SEES ARM-TWISTING The federal government and the states have recently broadened their allegations against Microsoft by adding evidence that it tried to bully Intel, Apple Computer Inc. and other companies to squelch competition. They say that like the Netscape meeting the new evidence fits a pattern of behavior by Microsoft, which has repeatedly tried to limit competition by strong-arming competitors and partners. One episode that fits the pattern, the prosecutors contend, was an effort by Microsoft to pressure Intel to shelve the development of multimedia and Internet software and to limit its cooperation with Netscape. Intel's main business is making the microprocessor chips that act as the electronic brains of most of the computers that run the Windows operating system. Indeed, the fortunes of Intel and Microsoft are so closely aligned that the two companies are sometimes referred to as a single, powerful entity, ``Wintel.'' But Intel also employs hundreds of software engineers, mainly at its Intel Architecture Labs in Hillsboro, Ore. And while Intel and Microsoft are partners, they have also had their conflicts, typically over the direction and pace at which certain innovations should be introduced into the personal computer industry, which they dominate together. Federal and state investigators have focused on Microsoft's strong reaction to work being done by Intel's software engineers _ a sentiment expressed in no uncertain terms during a meeting at Intel's Santa Clara, Calif., headquarters on Aug. 2, 1995. The contentious session was attended by several executives from Intel and Microsoft, including Gates and Intel chairman Andrew Grove. An internal Intel memo stated that Gates made ``vague threats'' about supporting Intel's competitors and that he was ``livid'' about Intel's ``investments in the Internet and wanted them stopped.'' Later, Intel did pull back from its multimedia and Internet software development. Steven McGeady, an Intel vice president who attended the August 1995 meeting, is scheduled to appear as a witness for the government. Microsoft replies that the government's accounts of meetings like those with Netscape and Intel are fanciful distortions, created by using a biased selection of documents and witnesses. The government's case, Microsoft asserts, betrays an utter failure to accept the computer-industry reality that Microsoft routinely meets with companies to make sure their software and equipment will work well with Windows. Sometimes the talks, Microsoft says, go on to include further levels of cooperation like licensing technology or a Microsoft investment, as the company discussed with Netscape. In the trial, Microsoft is expected to argue its advance in the browser market was the result of its own business acumen and Netscape's missteps. To document Netscape's errors, Microsoft issued a subpoena last month and obtained the unpublished manuscript of a new book, ``Competing on Internet Time: Lessons From Netscape and Its Battle With Microsoft,'' which is based on hundreds of interviews with current and former Netscape executives. The book does chronicle the mistakes made by Netscape. But its authors, Michael Cusumano of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management and David Yoffie of the Harvard Business School, think Microsoft is hardly blameless. ``Microsoft's take-no-prisoners strategy backfired, all but inviting retaliation from competitors, the government and even customers,'' Yoffie said. Emphasizing that he was offering no legal judgment, Yoffie added, ``I think Microsoft could have achieved 90 percent of what it did without crossing the line as much as it did.'' THE SPYGLASS LINK: REWARDS AND PERILS OF A PARTNERSHIP On April 6, 1994, Gates and 20 Microsoft executives gathered for a daylong retreat not far from the company's headquarters in Redmond, Wash. The subject was the Internet and how it might revolutionize the computer software business. Few concrete plans were made that day, but Microsoft executives insist that a direction was set. ``Our vision from the outset was to unite the two worlds of the Windows desktop and the Internet,'' said Steven Sinofsky, a Microsoft executive who attended the meeting. Yet Microsoft badly trailed Netscape in the browser field. To hasten its entry, Microsoft licensed its early browsing software from Spyglass Inc. of Naperville, Ill. The first meeting between the two companies was initiated by Spyglass in April 1994. At the time, it was a tiny company and eager to do a deal with Microsoft. Spyglass was selected as the commercial licensee for browser technology developed by the National Center for Supercomputing at the University of Illinois. In the summer of 1994, Douglas Colbeth, president of Spyglass, met with Clark of Netscape at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. The two men talked in the United Airlines Red Carpet Room, reserved for business-class passengers, and Colbeth recalled Clark telling him, ``We're going to take Microsoft head-on.'' At the time, Colbeth recalled thinking to himself, ``Great, now Microsoft will really want to license from me.'' Today, he noted: ``Remember, we were a company with a couple dozen people and almost no money in the bank. Netscape had Jim Clark, with his money and reputation, and big-time venture capital backing from Silicon Valley. Netscape had a very different agenda.'' By July 1994, Microsoft had become quite interested in the Spyglass technology, Colbeth says, and the two companies signed their first licensing agreement the following December. Microsoft, Colbeth recalls, always told him that it would eventually fold browser technology into its operating system, but its timing was accelerated by Netscape's rapid rise. ``Microsoft was initially hoping to charge for the browser,'' Colbeth said. But on Dec. 7, 1995, Gates declared that Microsoft would not only deeply integrate its browser into Windows but would give it away. The announcement caught the industry, even Colbeth, by surprise. At the time, Spyglass had licensed its technology to 82 other companies, including IBM and Digital Equipment, for use in their software products _ a licensing revenue stream of about $20 million a year. As a result of Microsoft's move, Spyglass saw those revenues vanish within a year, as smaller Internet software companies went out of business and big customers shifted to Microsoft's free browser. Spyglass slashed its payroll and scrambled into new niches of the software industry to replace its lost sales, which it succeeded in doing eventually. ``Whenever you license technology to Microsoft, you have to understand it can someday build it itself, drop it into the operating system and put you out of that business,'' Colbeth said. THE NONOPTION COMPAQ: SUDDENLY SEES THE LIGHT Well into 1996, Netscape's share of the browser market continued to rise, while Microsoft made little headway, even though its browser was free. Industry analysts and trade magazines agreed that Netscape's browser was the clear technical leader. In April 1996, Netscape's Navigator was used by 87 percent of people browsing the Web, compared with 4 percent using Microsoft's Internet Explorer, according to Zona Research. So the biggest personal computer maker, Compaq, thought it made sense to give customers Netscape's browser instead of Microsoft's. But Microsoft would not stand for that _ and Compaq had no choice but to give in. In June 1996, Compaq wanted not only to load the more popular Netscape browser on its machines but also to remove the icon for Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which was delivered to the computer maker with Windows 95. Microsoft informed Compaq that if it removed Internet Explorer, the computer maker would lose its license for Windows, said Stephen Decker, Compaq's director of software procurement, in testimony to federal investigators. The ultimatum from Microsoft was delivered bluntly in a letter headed, ``Notice of Intent to Terminate License Agreement.'' Faced with being denied the essential operating system, Compaq quickly reversed course and kept the Internet Explorer icon. Microsoft asserts that Windows and Internet Explorer are a single product and that Microsoft alone defines what is in the product. Nothing in its contracts, Microsoft adds, prohibits computer makers from including competing technologies. While the cutoff letter Microsoft sent to Compaq seems an unnecessarily hardball tactic when dealing with its largest corporate customer, Microsoft chief operating officer Bob Herbold insists that ``to take one letter here or one snippet of e-mail there to try to portray Microsoft as an arrogant company is unfair.'' Noting that a Compaq executive is a witness for Microsoft, Herbold said, ``We are totally dependent on tremendous relationships with key companies like Compaq.'' At Netscape, however, the Compaq episode was a watershed. ``That was the singular act that got me going to the Justice Department,'' Barksdale recalled. Barksdale said he regarded Microsoft's tactic of forcing Compaq to buy its browser as a condition of obtaining an essential product, the Windows operating system, as ``an illegal act and absolute proof that Microsoft was a monopolist.'' After investigating the incident, the Justice Department and the states agreed with Barksdale that Microsoft was illegally tying the sale of one product to another. Microsoft replies that it has a long history of adding new features to its operating system. And from the outset, Microsoft says, it intended that Windows and its Internet Explorer browser would be seamlessly integrated, as they are now in Windows 98. Thus, Microsoft insists, there is no product-tying violation of antitrust laws. In a separate case, a federal appeals court sided with Microsoft, upholding the principle that the company could put whatever it wanted to in its operating system and declare it a single product. But in June 1996, when Compaq wanted to offer the Netscape product instead of Microsoft's browser, most industry experts viewed the browser and operating system as two different software programs. ``It took a long time for the integration strategy to play out,'' said a former senior Microsoft researcher. ``Back then, integration was basically bolting a browser onto Windows.'' THE `BALANCING ACT': AMERICA ONLINE TOSSES IN TOWEL America Online chairman Stephen Case refers to dealing with Microsoft as ``a delicate balancing act.'' That balance swung sharply from the fall of 1995 to the spring of 1996, when Microsoft used the lure of giving America Online a featured place on the Windows desktop as the ultimate bargaining chip. To gain access to computing's most coveted real estate, America Online agreed to make Microsoft's Internet Explorer the main browser for its online subscribers, who now number more than 13 million. Yet throughout 1995, as Microsoft prepared to introduce Windows 95, the most significant improvement ever in its operating system, Case was knocking on the door of the Justice Department. His complaint was that Microsoft was going to place its new online service, Microsoft Network, a direct competitor to America Online, prominently on the desktop screen of Windows 95, which was introduced in August. This bundling tactic of using the industry-dominant operating system to market Microsoft Network, or MSN, Case argued, gave Microsoft an unfair advantage in the young but fast-growing online business. The Justice Department listened and investigated. But ultimately, the government decided against taking any action. At America Online's headquarters in Vienna, Va., Microsoft was both feared and loathed at the time. America Online had a designated ``Microsoft watcher,'' a young M.B.A. who tracked its adversary's every move. Above the desk in his small, windowless office was a picture of Gates. Beneath the picture, in large block letters, were the words ``THE ENEMY.'' Though America Online was the clear leader in the online services business, it had ample reason to worry about an all-out assault by a rival as rich and aggressive as Microsoft. When he had visited the Microsoft headquarters a couple of years earlier, Case recalled, Gates had bluntly assessed Microsoft's options by saying he could buy 20 percent of America Online, all of it or enter the online business on his own and ``bury you.'' A threat or merely a statement of the facts? ``A bit of both,'' Case said recently. ``But he was mainly articulating what everybody at that meeting kind of intuitively understood.'' Yet by 1996, Microsoft and America Online found they had reason to cooperate. With the exploding popularity of the Internet's World Wide Web, the conventional online companies, like America Online and Compuserve, had to provide their customers Internet access as well as their own services. America Online had its own browser, but to keep pace with the rapidly advancing technology it made sense to do a deal with Netscape or Microsoft. For both software companies, a deal with America Online, which had 5 million subscribers at the time, could mean a big surge in browser use and market share. Netscape seemed the natural partner for America Online, since both companies were Microsoft rivals. On March 11, America Online did announce that it would buy Netscape technology, but it was a standard licensing deal based on a payment-for-use formula. The next day, America Online announced a more significant deal with Microsoft making its browser the default technology _ the browser America Online subscribers would use unless they specifically asked for Netscape's Navigator. To win the deal, Microsoft offered to give America Online a start-up icon on the Windows desktop _ precisely the kind of equal treatment on the main Windows screen that Case had asked the Justice Department to require of Microsoft. ``After we agreed to its Internet Explorer browser, Microsoft allowed us to be bundled on the Windows desktop,'' Case said. ``It was an example of Microsoft's pragmatic side.'' The pragmatic decision was that the paramount corporate goal was to increase browser market share to protect the mainstay software business. As a result, its new online service, MSN, would have to sacrifice an important marketing advantage over its main rival, America Online. ``It was Bill's decision,'' said former MSN general manager Russell Siegelman, referring to Gates. ``He sent me e-mail on it. He said he didn't think it would hurt MSN that much. I disagreed with him.'' To other Microsoft executives, Gates expressed a different view of the likely impact on MSN. He told senior vice president Brad Silverberg that putting America Online on the Windows desktop would amount to ``putting a bullet through MSN's head,'' according to a deposition taken by the Justice Department. In the antitrust suit, the government asserts that the America Online deal shows how Microsoft used the power of its Windows monopoly to give it an edge in the browser war against Netscape. David Colburn, a senior vice president of America Online who took part in the browser negotiations with Microsoft, is a witness for the government. Today, Microsoft has overhauled its Internet strategy to focus mainly on building popular special-interest Web sites in fields like travel, personal finance, automobile retailing and news. And it is putting these sites, along with e-mail and search features, in an all-in-one site that uses the name MSN.com. ``I still regard Microsoft as a primary threat,'' Case observed. ``Microsoft has a history of getting it right in the long run, and there's no reason to think it won't in this business as well. We will always be in Microsoft's cross hairs.'' THE LESSON: DON'T CONFRONT A STEAMROLLER At Netscape's headquarters in Silicon Valley, the strategy today is one of avoiding head-to-head competition with Microsoft whenever possible. ``Don't do something that is in Microsoft's path _ that's the lesson learned,'' observed Clark, the Netscape chairman. Silicon Valley's venture capitalists, the investors who finance so many of the nation's high-tech startups, generally follow the Netscape formula these days. Yet that still leaves ample room to prosper. For while competing directly with Microsoft is dangerous, the software industry as a whole is an engine of wealth creation, job generation and technical innovation. And there is an ambivalent side to the venture community's relationship with Microsoft. For if a start-up cannot steer clear of Microsoft entirely, the favored option is to be bought out by Microsoft, which has scooped up many fledgling companies as a way of acquiring promising technology and people. ``Microsoft understands start-up innovation and how to co-opt start-up innovation better than any other high-tech company,'' said James Breyer, managing partner of Accel Partners, a venture capital firm. As Microsoft has grown, it has come to be seen not merely as a competitor but as a force of nature that shapes the business environment, like a weather front. ``Microsoft is incredibly pervasive,'' said Stewart Alsop, a partner with New Enterprise Associates, a venture capital firm in Menlo Park, Calif. At the board meetings of the companies in which his firm has invested, two issues always come up, he said: ``One is the price of the company's stock, and the other is what Microsoft is going to do.'' In the last few years, Microsoft has offered its guidance during almost yearly meetings between senior Microsoft executives and leading venture capitalists. The meetings are part of Microsoft's effort to improve its sometimes prickly relations with Silicon Valley. ``We work hard to provide clarity about where we're going and where we're not going,'' said Greg Maffei, Microsoft's chief financial officer. Last year's conference took place in October at the Quadrus office building on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, the Wall Street of high-tech venture investing. Maffei led a team of five Microsoft executives who appeared before a group of 40 venture capitalists, one of whom stood and asked the question that seemed to be on the minds of many of his peers: ``How do I invest in a company that stays out of the way of the steamroller?'' Maffei, recalled one person who attended the meeting, stood up and delivered a brief lecture on businesses that Microsoft was likely to avoid. His list included specialized software for manufacturing, human resources management, computer-aided design and others. But, this person noted, broad swaths of the industry appeared to be designated as off limits _ including new software platforms that might compete with Microsoft's personal computer operating system. At one point, Ruthann Quindlen, a partner with Institutional Venture Partners, leaned over to Vinod Khosla, a co-founder of Sun Microsystems and a partner at the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and said quietly, ``I guess that leaves us washing machines and toasters.''",
"Shortly before the government filed its antitrust suit against Microsoft Corp. in May, Joel Klein, the assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's antitrust division, met with a Silicon Valley executive. The executive recalls telling Klein that unless a case went beyond the Internet browser market, it would have little effect on Microsoft's power to stifle competition across the computer industry. Klein replied that he understood the computer executive's concerns. But he said time was running short and the strongest evidence in hand involved Microsoft's battle against Netscape Communications Corp. in the market for the so-called browser software used for navigating the Internet. ``This is a Netscape case,'' the executive recalls Klein saying. But five months later, the case that the government is bringing to trial on Monday extends well beyond Netscape and the browser war to embrace what it described in a recent court filing as ``a broad pattern of anti-competitive conduct'' by Microsoft. Netscape, the government insists, is still a prime example of the pattern _ but only one of several examples. The 12-person witness list for the Justice Department and 20 states suing Microsoft reflects the new evidence added to the case since May. James Barksdale, Netscape's president and chief executive, will appear first, but he will be followed by executives representing a cross section of the nation's high-technology companies including Intel, IBM, Sun Microsystems, Apple Computer, America Online and Intuit. In bringing a more ambitious, complicated case to trial than the one it filed in May, the government has chosen a high-risk strategy. The law states that new evidence can be added to a suit after it is filed, but not new charges. And so, in his federal courtroom in Washington, U.S.District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson could decide to rule out some of the new evidence as ranging too far afield from the original suit. But if the government wins its broadened case, the court-ordered remedies would no doubt be far tougher on Microsoft. In May, the government's suggested steps amounted to equal treatment for Netscape's browser and Microsoft's browser. But the government recently asked that the judge hold a separate hearing on remedies, if it wins the case. The remedies under consideration now include more basic changes in Microsoft's business practices _ perhaps even a breakup of the company _ intended to loosen Microsoft's grip on computing. That would be precisely the kind of sweeping reform that Microsoft's foes would applaud. ``The government has doubled the bet and doubled the stakes,'' said David Yoffie, a professor at the Harvard business school who is co-author of the book, ``Competing on Internet Time: Lessons From Netscape and Its Battle With Microsoft.'' Meanwhile, in the Microsoft camp, the government's strategy is dismissed as a desperate act _ taken after a court ruling in June that threatened to undermine the antitrust suit. That ruling came in a separate case, involving the interpretation of the consent decree that Microsoft signed with the Justice Department in 1995. In the June ruling, a federal appeals court said that Microsoft could bundle its browser with its industry-standard Windows operating system and call them one product. The appeals-court ruling would seem to undercut the assertion in the government's current antitrust case that the browser and the operating system were two separate products, bundled together and given away in an effort to thwart competition in the browser market. ``With the appeals-court ruling in June, the government lost the heart of its case,'' said Charles Rule, a former senior official in the Justice Department, who is now a consultant to Microsoft. ``So it has taken a blunderbuss approach of scrambling to throw everything it can find _ even evidence the Justice Department has had for years _ into the gun barrel and see what hits.'' The June appellate ruling did shake the prosecution team. But mostly it strengthened the hand of those within the Justice Department who had been urging that the case be broadened, according to people who have worked on the investigation. At the same time, they say, new evidence was coming in as the investigation moved ahead and prosecutors raced to meet the accelerated trial schedule approved by the court. Speed was a priority from the outset, they say. The Justice Department and the states filed their suit in May to move before Microsoft's new operating system, Windows 98, was introduced in June. While not seeking to block the release of Windows 98, government lawyers wanted to get to the the courtroom as early as possible as PC makers and computer users adopt this latest version of Microsoft's Windows operating system, which functions as the central nervous system for more than 90 percent of personal computers sold. The key allegations, government lawyers note, have not changed since May _ namely, that Microsoft illegally used its market power in operating systems to defend its monopoly position and to try to extend into new markets. ``But the only thing that was wrapped up in a bow in time for the May filing was the browser,'' said one person who worked on the case. ``The real game plan was always to get a broader case.'' What is more, one person noted, the prosecution team was not at full strength until shortly before the suit was filed. David Boies, a renowned courtroom litigator and a former partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore who successfully defended IBM in its 13-year confrontation with the government, was named as special counsel for the Justice Department last December. But Boies, who left Cravath last year, did not start working full-time for the Justice Department until mid-April, because he was still finishing private cases for his own firm, Boies & Schiller. The antitrust suit filed in May leaned heavily on the Netscape story, mentioning Microsoft's main rival in the browser market some 130 times in the complaint and a supporting memorandum. But it also prominently mentioned Microsoft's tactics against Sun Microsystems, creator of Java, an Internet programming language, and cited it as an ``example'' of Microsoft's behavior. ``It was crafted as a template that could be added to without much stretching,'' one person involved in the case said. And so, as new evidence piled up and seemed to fit into a pattern, Klein step by step approved the widening of the case, the person said. And that explains, the person continued, how it is that evidence that has been in the hands of the Justice Department for years has been added to the case since May; only after gathering new evidence did it become apparent that the older material fit the pattern of the current case. For example, the government has added the contention that Microsoft pressured Intel Corp., the big microchip maker and a close partner of Microsoft, to curb its development efforts in multimedia and Internet software because they might conflict with Microsoft's plans. The government contends that the arm-twisting occurred at meetings between the two companies three years ago, especially one on Aug. 2, 1995, which was attended by Andrew Grove, the Intel chairman, and Bill Gates, the Microsoft chairman. Part of the government's evidence in the Intel-Microsoft episode is copies of the handwritten notes taken by Steven McGeady, an Intel vice president who attended the meetings, and a memo written by him on Aug. 28, 1995. The memo, still under court seal, said that Gates ``made vague threats'' and was ``livid'' about Intel's investments in the Internet ``and wanted them stopped.'' A handwritten note, also under court seal, quotes Paul Maritz, a Microsoft executive, as saying that Netscape is their ``common enemy'' and that Intel's role should be to ``fill in stuff in and around Microsoft's strategy.'' These documents were sent by Intel to the Justice Department's office in San Francisco in November 1995, in response to a Civil Investigative Demand _ a civil subpoena _ served on Intel on Nov. 10, 1995. On its own, the Intel material was intriguing, but it became part of the antitrust suit only as other evidence surfaced, one person close to the case said. The government is contending that Microsoft also tried to urge Apple to stop selling its Quicktime multimedia software in the Windows market and tried to convince Real Networks Inc. to pull back in the market for so-called streaming software. The government case has also broadened, people involved in the case say, as more witnesses from the industry have been increasingly willing to testify. ``In the beginning, most people in the industry believed that the government would lose and Microsoft would retaliate if they came forward,'' one person said. ``But as the strength of our case was perceived to improve, more people were willing to come forward, and things snowballed. You get Intel, it's easier to get Apple and so on.''",
"The government's antitrust scrutiny of Microsoft, the world's largest independent software company, has spanned Republican and Democratic administrations and involved hundreds of government lawyers and investigators. But it has by no means been an example of consistent, coordinated public policy. Nor, by all accounts, of politics. Instead, like the software industry itself, the government's pursuit of Microsoft has taken leaps, hit dead ends and evolved in ways no one could have controlled or predicted back when it started in 1989. It was in November of that year, on a hot afternoon at a computer-industry convention in Las Vegas, Nev., that Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman, looked like he'd been dragged to the news conference with a senior executive from IBM _ which at the time dominated Microsoft and the entire computer industry. The two companies _ IBM, then the leading maker of personal computers and Microsoft, the leader in PC operating system software _ were collaborating on the design and marketing of a new operating system called OS/2. But Microsoft was also beginning to sell a competing product, Windows. The industry trade press was full of worried articles: which system was going to become the new standard? With Gates standing uncomfortably at his side, James Cannavino, an IBM divisional president, said that the two companies wanted to ``clear the air.'' OS/2 was the future, he said. As for Windows, he added, it would remain a niche product for under-equipped computers. Windows, he asserted, would never receive all the advanced features of OS/2. Gates certainly did not look happy. But he did not disagree. The news conference got little attention, just a few articles deep inside newspapers and trade publications. But a few weeks later, Norris Washington, a senior antitrust lawyer with the Federal Trade Commission, happened to read one of those articles, in Byte magazine. ``IBM and Microsoft have now defined their unified vision of graphical operating environments,'' the article said, ``and it looks sort of like a U.S. economic model,'' divided into lower-, middle- and upper-class products. As Washington saw it, IBM and Microsoft were colluding to divide the operating-system market _ a potential violation of antitrust law. Soon the FTC staff opened an investigation of Microsoft and IBM And since that small first step, Microsoft has been under unrelenting scrutiny from federal antitrust investigators for a constantly evolving series of allegations and charges, month after month, year after year, for the last nine years. Now comes the antitrust trial scheduled to begin on Monday, with a multiplicity of charges woven of threads drawn from more than a dozen different investigative inquiries during that nine-year span. Microsoft, today the most feared company in the software business and carrying a stock-market value of nearly $234 billion, presents a huge and highly visible antitrust target. Yet, while the company's allies ask, ``What is the Clinton administration's political agenda in going after Microsoft?'' the answer seems to be there is none. In interviews, more than a dozen current and former senior antitrust officials _ whether friends of the government or of Microsoft _ all say the Justice Department's antitrust suit is a natural outgrowth of the previous investigations. As for politics, all the officials agreed that the antitrust division operates independent of the administration's political considerations. Charles Rule was the assistant attorney general who headed the antitrust division during the Bush administration, and he is now a Washington lawyer who serves as an adviser and advocate for Microsoft. ``When I was there,'' Rule said of his Justice days, ``the White House was punctilious in terms of never getting involved in whatever we decided to do. There was no communication between antitrust and other branches of government.'' Asked if he believed that policy had changed under the Clinton administration, he said: ``Not really. I've seen nothing to suggest it.'' Joel Klein heads the antitrust division now, and in an interview dealing with his division's role in the Clinton administration's technology policy, not specifically relating to the Microsoft case, he said: ``There is no statutory restriction, but as a practical matter, civil and criminal prosecutions are invariably carried out without any political contact.'' Klein said, by way of examples, that he might discuss merger cases involving military or aviation industries with the Defense Department or Transportation Department. ``But never the White House,'' he said. ``For a significant case, we might call the White House and say `An hour from now we are going to hold a press conference.' '' ``The last time there was any interference,'' he added, ``was the Dita Beard-ITT case.'' Mrs. Beard, a lobbyist for ITT Corp., was accused in 1972 of having written a memo saying that a $400,000 donation to the Republican National Convention had ``gone a long way'' toward settling antitrust suits brought against the company by the Nixon administration's Justice Department. The authenticity of the memo was never proved, and Mrs. Beard always denied writing it. In any case, Klein says, ``since Watergate, it's been immaculate.'' In the case of Microsoft, neither President Clinton nor Vice President Al Gore has ever volunteered a comment. In answer to a question during a news conference in May, just before the suit was filed, Clinton said: ``I have taken the view that I should not comment on matters within the Justice Department. At this time, I do not think I should depart from that policy on this case, even though it obviously will have a big impact on an important sector of our economy. But I have to say, based on what I know to date, I have confidence in the way the antitrust division in the Justice Department has handled the matter.'' Since then, Clinton has said nothing else about the case, publicly at least. And Gore, who generally represents the administration on technology issues, has never commented at all. In Rule's opinion, the administration would be foolish to involve itself, even if it were politically acceptable to do so. ``It would be a little odd for the administration to push the Justice Department in this suit,'' he said. ``It would be a policy mistake and a political mistake. I would be hard pressed to explain why they would do that.'' Taking sides in the highly charged technology world is dangerous, particularly since the Democrats rely on Silicon Valley companies for political donations and support. In fact, the present and former government officials all said the suit was simply a natural extension of the inquiries conducted during the last nine years. They began at the FTC. Soon after Washington read that article in Byte, the FTC staff opened an investigation of the Windows-OS/2 question. But as has happened so often in the following years, turns in the market made the initial inquiry irrelevant. Microsoft abandoned its agreement with IBM, and Windows quickly grew to be the industry standard, while OS/2 remained a cipher. But as that issue faded, once government investigators began looking at Microsoft they found other things that troubled them. In 1991 Washington, who still works for the FTC, informed Microsoft that the investigation was being expanded. The agency, his letter said, was now trying to determine whether Microsoft was using its dominant position in operating-systems software to stifle competition in other areas. That general idea lies at the heart of the present suit. One former senior FTC official said the commission staff had confidence in the case but realized that the Reagan-era commissioners, who had to approve any suit, might have a different view. ``We knew the commission might have difficulty with a monopolization case,'' the former official said. ``They hadn't brought a case in years.'' And in fact, in 1993 the commission voted 2-2 on the question of whether to file formal charges. The deadlock served as a dismissal. Then, a few months later, the Justice Department decided to pick up the case. ``It was farther along than most cases we got,'' recalled Robert Litan, a former senior official in the Justice Department's antitrust division who is now at the Brookings Institution. ``Usually a case would be two or three people complaining and a few documents,'' he said. ``But this was a fully researched record. They gave us the files and briefed us on what they had done.'' The Justice Department lawyers picked up the same thread. ``The general idea behind our inquiry,'' Litan said, ``was that they should not be allowed to use their monopoly in operating systems to cement a monopoly in other areas.'' In 1995, Microsoft and the government reached a consent agreement in which the company promised to stop forcing PC makers to buy one copy of a Microsoft operating system for every computer sold _ instead of one for every computer on which the operating system, MS-DOS or Windows, was installed. The company also agreed to stop tying the sale of one software product to the sale of another. The charges in the present suit are similar in many ways. Even with the agreement, the government investigations continued. That same year, Justice Department investigators showed up at the offices of Netscape Communications Corp. for the first time to ask questions about their next line of inquiry. ``America Online had been complaining,'' a senior Netscape executive recalled, ``because Microsoft was bundling the Microsoft Network,'' a competing online service, ``with Windows.'' Once more, market forces overtook the investigation. The Microsoft Network never grew particularly popular while America Online prospered and grew. But, not surprisingly, new complaints filled the void. In May 1995, Anne Bingaman, the assistant attorney general who headed the antitrust division, remarked: ``We get complaints about Microsoft all the time. We have become a kind of Microsoft complaints center. And we take them very seriously.'' In 1996, Netscape's first complaint arrived. In a letter to the Justice Department, Netscape said that Microsoft was using its dominance in personal-computer operating systems to force or persuade computer makers to favor Microsoft's browser, used to explore the World Wide Web, over the one marketed by Netscape. The next year the Justice Department formally charged Microsoft with violating the consent agreement by tying sales of Windows to installation of the company's Web browser on new computers. ``It seemed like a slam-dunk violation of the consent decree,'' a natural extension of that case, recalled Litan, who had left the department by then. A Federal District Court judge agreed, but an Appeals Court panel overturned that ruling this summer. In the meantime, last May the Justice Department and 20 state attorneys general filed their new suit against Microsoft, which is scheduled for trial on Monday. It contends that Microsoft has engaged in bundling, tying and other predatory behavior similar in many ways to the numerous previous allegations and investigations of the last nine years. ``A good part of this case is just Round II of the case we dealt with in Round I,'' in the early in the 1990s, Litan said. Or, as the former senior FTC official put it, ``there's certainly a common thread that runs all the way through here.'' But through the years that thread has been twisted, pulled and spun by hundreds of different hands.",
"Microsoft Corp. has said that material in an unpublished book by two business school professors will be a crucial part of its defense in the antitrust trial scheduled to begin next week. But judging from an advance copy of the manuscript, the Justice Department and 20 states that are suing the software giant will find support for their arguments in the book as well. To cite one example, Microsoft contends that its industry-standard Windows operating system and its Internet Explorer browser are a single integrated product. In its suit, the government asserts that they are two separate products that Microsoft bundled together to get an unfair edge over its rival, Netscape Communications Corp., in the market for software used to browse the Internet's World Wide Web. In ``Competing on Internet Time: Lessons from Netscape and Its Battle with Microsoft,'' the authors, Michael A. Cusumano of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management and David B. Yoffie of the Harvard business school, quote a Microsoft executive as saying that only with the third version of Microsoft's browser was it integrated with Windows. Microsoft hurried its first browser offerings into the market, the book says, in its race to catch up with Netscape, then took a more ambitious approach with Internet Explorer 3.0, which was introduced in August 1996. In that version it changed its software design to use programming modules, or components, that could be put together and rearragned like building blocks. In the book, Ben Slivka, a Microsoft general manager, is quoted as saying, ``IE 3.0 was the key thing because we did the componentized browser,'' He added, ``We really made Internet Explorer part of the Windows platform.'' The timing could be legally significant because in its suit the government cites as evidence requests before August 1996 by personal computer makers that wanted to load Netscape's browser on their machines instead of Microsoft's browser. Microsoft denied the requests, insisting its browers and Windows were a single, integrated product. Microsoft's legal team obtained an early manuscript of the new book last month, by issuing a subpoena to a Netscape executive who was given a confidential copy by the authors to review. Microsoft has also sought the transcripts of 44 current and former Netscape employees interviewed by the authors. A federal judge in Boston last week denied Microsoft access to that research materials, but the company may appeal the ruling. The new book, published by the Free Press imprint of Simon & Schuster, is being hurried into print so it can be shipped within days of the start of the Microsoft trial on Oct. 19. But already, a few quotes from Netscape executives have leaked out. The authors decided to send the complete manuscript to The New York Times and three other news organizations Monday, so that the material could be read in context. Microsoft intends to use material from the book as evidence that Netscape's troubles resulted largely from its own missteps rather than from any alleged predatory practices by Microsoft. The book does detail where Netscape stumbled, shifting its strategy too often and running into obstacles in its software development efforts. In private antitrust suits, the argument that the competitor was his own worst enemy is an established defense. But legal experts say that defense may well be far less effective in a federal case in which the government is seeking court-mandated changes in Microsoft's business practices rather than the monetary damages that are the goal of plaintiffs in private cases. ``It seems to me that this debate over Netscape's mistakes is a total sideshow,'' said Robert Litan, a former senior official in the Justice Department's antitrust division, who is now at the Brookings Institution. ``But Microsoft has a big legal team, and it seems they are working on every defense they can find.'' The book quotes a former Netscape executive, Ram Shriram, as saying the company bungled a chance to win a sizable share of the browser business from America Online Inc. But that was a second-chance to do a deal with America Online, the leading online service. The government's case focuses on an earlier deal in March 1996, when America Online chose Internet Explorer as its preferred browser; in that bargain Microsoft agreed to place a startup icon for the online service on the main Windows desktop screen _ the prime real estate in computing. For a book entitled ``Competing on Internet Time,'' it is intriguing that one of its central themes is that Netcape got too wedded to the notion that the Internet revolution would change everything quickly. Microsoft, by contrast, stuck to its three-year planning horizon that enabled the company, the authors write, to ``mesh its short-run tactical plans with a broader strategic view of how to win the war.'' The book quotes Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's president, as saying, ``The fact of the matter is that customers can't take cataclysmic change every three months. The organization also can't. You can ship products quickly. But you can't say, `Oh, we have a radically new strategy' every three months.''",
"Following is the text of the first two sections of the Sherman Act, as passed by Congress in 1890. As the foundation on which federal antitrust law has been built, the act has been amended several times _ elevating the crime to a felony, increasing the fines and prison terms for individuals and setting fines for corporations convicted of violating it. In the case of Microsoft, the government has invoked the Sherman Act to file a civil suit that seeks to change the company's business practices, not a criminal suit that seeks financial penalties. An Act to Protect Trade And Commerce Against Unlawful Restraints and Monopolies: Section 1. Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is hereby declared to be illegal. Every person who shall make any such contract or engage in any such combination or conspiracy, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court. Section 2. Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade of commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court.",
"The case of United States vs. Microsoft Corp., the government's most aggressive move against a monopolist in almost 25 years, is playing out against a century of antitrust laws so broadly worded and court rulings so ambiguous that both sides are citing the same rulings to support their opposing arguments. Whatever the outcome of the trial, scheduled to begin Monday in U.S. District Court in Washington, an almost certain appeal will leave to the Supreme Court the task of bringing legal order to 100 years of clashing antitrust doctrines. The case focuses on Microsoft's Windows, the operating system that controls about 90 percent of all personal computers sold today. The government says its objective is to curb illegal monopolistic business practices that threaten to render large parts of the economy vulnerable to the vicissitudes of a single company. Microsoft asserts that the case is intended to give the government control over which features can be added to Windows. However grand the economic stakes, the legal dispute is narrow. The government says that Microsoft's contracts with computer manufacturers and with companies that provide access to the Internet illegally stifle competition. The contracts prohibit manufacturers from substituting Netscape Communications Corp.'s Navigator browser for Microsoft's Internet Explorer. They also prohibit them from removing from the Windows main screen, or desktop, links to sites on the World Wide Web run by Microsoft or its partners. Microsoft's contracts with companies that connect people to the Internet and with businesses that sell goods and services on the Web require favored treatment for Internet Explorer over Navigator in exchange for links on the Windows desktop. In the wake of the lawsuit, Microsoft has voluntarily dropped some of these requirements, though it could reinstate them at will. Microsoft says that its contracts are legal because they produce tangible benefits for customers, including easier Internet access. The Justice Department says that the bundling of Explorer with Windows 95 and the inclusion of the browser as part of Windows 98 amount to ``tying,'' an illegal practice that forces customers of one product to purchase another. The contracts with manufacturers and Internet services are illegal, the government says, because they are intended not only to create a monopoly in the browser market but to protect Microsoft's existing monopoly in operating systems. The latter threat is key, according to the Justice Department. Browsers have the potential, like an operating system, to act as a software platform on which other programs run. So contracts intended to drive browsers out of the market would also insulate the Windows monopoly. Many antitrust experts say the problem facing the Justice Department is that the courts have provided no clear definition of tying and no clear guidelines for determining when contracts are illegally exclusionary. Professor Lawrence White of New York University, who was chief economist of the Justice Department's antitrust division in the early 1980s, says that the courts treat tying as an unusual practice when in fact it is ubiquitous. No one, he said, ``would challenge the right of manufacturers to tie erasers to the tip of pencils, tires to an automobile or buttons to shirts.'' His point, shared widely among economists, is that some tying benefits consumers if, for example, it results in products that are easier to use or enables a company to recover development costs. But tying can be bad if it locks in monopoly power. The courts, White says, have not offered enough guidance for distinguishing good tying from bad, which is the nub of the legal dispute. Microsoft says it needs only to show that bundling Windows and Explorer passes what might be called a ``gross'' consumer benefits test _ that it offers an immediate benefit, whether or not it causes long-term damage to competition and, therefore, ultimately to consumers. The Justice Department says that Microsoft's practices must clear a higher hurdle: yielding ``net'' consumer benefits that are immediate and large enough to balance possible long-term harm to competition. So which test of consumer benefits satisfies antitrust laws? The simple answer is that no one knows for sure, which is why both sides can reasonably cite the same cases without fear of embarrassment. Consider a 1985 case, Aspen Skiing Co. vs. Aspen Highlands Skiing Corp., and a 1951 case, Lorain Journal Co. vs. United States. In the first, Aspen Skiing, the owner of three major ski runs in Aspen, Colo. _ the monopolist _ had for years sold a ticket in cooperation with Aspen Highlands, a competitor, that gave skiers access to both companies' runs. When Aspen Skiing unilaterally canceled the agreement, its rival's revenues shriveled and the rival sued. The Supreme Court ruled that Aspen Skiing had violated antitrust laws because there was no evidence its action helped consumers. In the Lorain Journal case, the only local newspaper in Lorain, Ohio, refused to sell advertising to companies that advertised on a new radio station. Here, too, the Supreme Court ruled that the exclusionary practice did nothing to benefit consumers. Indeed, in Aspen Skiing, the court even forced the monopolist to do business with its rival, a precedent that augurs well for the Justice Department, which seeks to force Microsoft to install Netscape's browser alongside its own. But Charles Rule, a legal consultant to Microsoft, says that in both cases the courts threw out exclusionary practices only because they offered no consumer benefit. The courts, he argues, never pounced on practices that resulted in lower prices or better products or service. Nor did the courts in either case call for balancing immediate benefits against hypothetical long-term harm. Rule argues that Microsoft's practices produce demonstrable consumer benefits. Besides, he says, unlike the actions taken by The Lorain Journal or Aspen Skiing, Microsoft's contracts do not prevent consumers from installing Netscape's browser or from using the Web sites of Microsoft's rivals. In truth, though, neither case answered what consumer benefit test should apply to product design. In Jefferson Parish Hospital District No. 2 et al. vs. Hyde, another case cited by both sides, the Supreme Court in 1984 recognized that surgeons and anesthesiologists provide an integrated service. Yet, the court said, a hospital with monopoly power would still not be allowed to force surgical patients to use its panel of anesthesiologists if consumers wanted to purchase the two services separately. That principle could undercut Microsoft's defense that the functional interdependence of Windows and Explorer requires bundling. But Microsoft will point to a strong concurring opinion that called for a tougher standard for the government to meet when it alleges tying. Microsoft will also draw support from several court rulings that allowed IBM to change the design of its computers in ways that made it hard for vendors to attach peripheral equipment. But perhaps Microsoft's best argument is that nowhere has the government identified a single case in which the courts explicitly called for throwing out a tied product on the basis of a balancing test. The courts, Microsoft will emphasize, steer clear of redesigning technically sophisticated products. The Justice Department's rejoinder is to note that the sole purpose of antitrust law is to protect consumers, so it makes no sense to bless practices that provide a dollar's worth of benefits today but, by stamping out competition, drive prices up by $1,000 tomorrow. The Justice Department will ask the court to at least insist that monopolists use the least exclusionary means possible to achieve whatever services they provide customers. Experts agree that the courts will subject Microsoft's restrictive contracts with Internet companies to a balancing test. But exactly how the court will decide whether consumers are helped or hurt is up for grabs. A balancing test would have the courts weigh the immediate benefits to consumers of one-click access to Internet sites and of features of a bundled Windows-Explorer package versus the harm over time of diminished competition in the markets for browsers and operating systems. But a test that makes good sense in theory can prove fiendishly difficult to use in practice. ``Balancing tests are impossibly difficult and arbitrary,'' said Rep. Thomas Campbell, R-Calif., who is a former law professor at Stanford University. ``The practical effect of balancing is to hand defendants like Microsoft almost certain victory.'' Microsoft argues _ and many antitrust experts agree _ that the courts have in fact gravitated away from a balancing test toward a simpler ``predation'' test for exclusionary contracts. Under this standard, a contract is illegal only if it is intended to drive out competition and thus to pave the way for a monopolist to raise prices later. Microsoft will have an easier time defending itself against a charge of predation, which amounts to victimizing its customers, than it would defending itself against a charge that its bundled product does consumers slightly more harm than good. The antitrust record, says William Baxter, who headed the antitrust division under President Reagan, is littered with ``contradictory, ambiguous and sometimes nonsensical'' verdicts. He and other legal experts agree that if nothing else, that record leaves plenty of legal leeway for the Supreme Court, should it hear the Microsoft case, to stiffen the spine of the antitrust law."
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Prior to his appointment as foreign minister by Israeli Prime Minister Natanyahu in 1998, seasoned warrior Ariel Sharon announced that if appointed, he would not shake hands with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The remark fit Sharon's long history of unyielding bellicosity towards Palestine. When he was appointed some thought that Netanyahu was placating Israel's far right wing while striving for peace. Others saw it as a move to scuttle the peace effort. Arab commentary deemed the appointment "tantamount to disaster" and "the bullet of mercy" to the peace process. Peace talks in the U.S. were in the offing with the outcome in doubt. Appointment of Ariel Sharon as Foreign Minister by PM Netanyahu does not bode well for the peace process. His appointment is surprising in that the two have differed on withdrawal from Palestinian territory and is seen as an effort to placate the right. Sharon, 70, is an unapologetic warrior on the battlefield and in partisan politics. He brings heavy baggage: right-wing intransigence and responsibility for failing to prevent the killings of 460 unarmed Palestinians in refugee camps during the Lebanon incursion. Sharon has said that he will not shake Arafat's hand and his appointment is seen as a "bullet of mercy" for the Middle East peace process. Ariel Sharon was named Israeli foreign minister just weeks before a scheduled peace summit in the US, aimed at negotiating an Israeli withdrawal from 13% of the West Bank. Arabs reacted strongly and said the hard-line, right-wing, warrior and former defense minister would kill any progress for a settlement in the mid-East. Many blame Sharon for a 1982 massacre of Palestinian civilians at refugee camps in Lebanon. Others believed his appointment was an effort to placate the far right and gain their support for the Netanyahu government and the concessions necessary for the peace process. Sharon vowed not to shake Yasser Arafat's hand. In a move widely viewed as an effort to placate the far right as he moves to withdraw from more West Bank land, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu named hardliner Ariel Sharon foreign minister and chief peace negotiator. Sharon, a military leader with legendary victories in the 1967 and 1973 Mideast wars, is infamous in the Arab world as the defense minister in the 1982 invasion of Lebanon during which Lebanese Christian militiamen, Israeli allies, slaughtered hundreds of unarmed Palestinians. His appointment as lead negotiator was denounced as a "disaster" in the Lebanese press and "a bullet of mercy to the peace process" in a Syrian paper.
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"Ariel Sharon's appointment as the Israeli foreign minister serves as ``the bullet of mercy'' for the Middle East peace process, an official Syrian newspaper said Saturday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu named Sharon foreign minister on Friday, effectively putting the hard-liner in charge of negotiating Israel's final borders with the Palestinians. Many Arabs know Sharon for his role in Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon. An Israeli tribunal looking into the invasion found him indirectly responsible for the massacre of hundreds of Palestinian refugees by Christian Lebanese militiamen at two Beirut camps. ``Sharon's appointment as foreign minister is a bullet of mercy to the (peace) process, which has stopped on all tracks,'' said Tishrin, which often speaks for the Syrian government. Peace talks between Syria and Israel broke off more than two years ago. Syria and the previous Israeli government had reached an informal agreement on a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967. But Netanyahu's government rejected that agreement, saying it was never completed. Netanyahu has sent ``a clear message to all those who are deluding themselves _ and betting on Israel (to) change its anti-peace stand _ to give up their illusions,'' the paper said.",
"Ariel Sharon's appointment as the Israeli foreign minister serves as ``the bullet of mercy'' for the Middle East peace process, an official Syrian newspaper said Saturday. In Beirut, Lebanese newspapers denounced the appointment as a ``disaster'' for peace. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu named Sharon foreign minister on Friday, effectively putting the hard-liner in charge of negotiating Israel's final borders with the Palestinians. Many Arabs know Sharon for his role in Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon. An Israeli tribunal looking into the invasion found him indirectly responsible for the massacre of hundreds of Palestinian refugees by Christian Lebanese militiamen at two Beirut camps. ``Sharon's appointment as foreign minister is a bullet of mercy to the (peace) process, which has stopped on all tracks,'' said Tishrin, which often speaks for the Syrian government. Peace talks between Syria and Israel broke off more than two years ago. Syria and the previous Israeli government had reached an informal agreement on a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967. But Netanyahu's government rejected that agreement, saying it was never formalized. Netanyahu has sent ``a clear message to all those who are deluding themselves _ and betting on Israel (to) change its anti-peace stand _ to give up their illusions,'' the paper said. Lebanon's peace talks with Israel also have been suspended for more than two years pending progress in Syrian-Israeli negotiations. The independent An-Nahar newspaper quoted Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri as asking, ``Does the Israeli government really want peace as it is trying to delude the world?'' In a front page comment, Sahar Baasiri, said ``The mere announcement that he (Sharon) will lead negotiations (with Arabs) is tantamount to disaster.''",
"The New York Times said in an editorial on Saturday, Oct. 10: Just days before heading to the United States for critical negotiations with Palestinian leaders, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu jolted the Middle East peace effort with the appointment of Ariel Sharon as Israeli foreign minister. The most optimistic reading is that Sharon, long an implacable foe of the Palestinians, is prepared to make peace with them and then sell it to the Israelis who are most opposed. Unfortunately, he is also capable of wrecking the entire peace effort. Much will depend on whether Netanyahu can control his strong-willed aide, a goal that has eluded other Israeli leaders. Like a political typhoon, Sharon has roared across Israeli life for better than three decades as a brilliant military commander, a reckless defense minister and an ardent conservative, often leaving destruction in his wake. He still bears the burden of his role in the massacre of hundreds of Palestinians by Christian militiamen in Lebanon in 1982. An Israeli inquiry found he was indirectly responsible for the killings at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. As a leader of the most conservative wing of the Likud party, Sharon can help Netanyahu hold together his shaky Cabinet during potentially decisive negotiations with Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader. That will be fine if Sharon is willing to play a constructive role in the peace talks himself. But such behavior is not likely to be the first impulse of a man who has famously said he would never shake hands with Arafat. Since Netanyahu has designated Sharon as his chief negotiator, the new foreign minister will soon have the opportunity to act more responsibly. The first order of business when the two sides get together next week outside Washington is to wrap up negotiations over the further withdrawal of Israeli forces from the West Bank coupled with security guarantees from the Palestinians. Sharon can show statesmanship by helping Netanyahu close this deal, even though it is opposed by the Israeli settlers whose cause Sharon has long championed. Success in these talks would clear the way for the last and most difficult negotiations about a permanent settlement, including the shape and status of a Palestinian state and the future of Jerusalem. If Sharon ever hopes to overcome the shame of Sabra and Shatila, he must become a force for peace in the Middle East.",
"Brief biography of Ariel Sharon, named Israel's foreign minister: ___ 1928: Born in Kfar Mallal in British-ruled Palestine. 1948 Mideast war: Fights as junior officer, wounded three times. 1953: Forms elite commando unit ``101'' and leads it on raids against Palestinian guerrillas who had been attacking Israeli border villages. 1956 Sinai campaign: Commands a parachute brigade that is dropped behind enemy lines, captures a key pass and cuts off Egyptian army's retreat. 1967 Mideast war: Commands an armored division that breaks through into central Sinai Peninsula. 1973 Mideast war: Commands a division that crosses the Suez Canal, turning the tide of the war on the Egyptian front. 1977: Elected to parliament and appointed minister of agriculture in the government of Menachem Begin. 1981: Defense minister in Begin government. 1982-83: Invades Lebanon in June 1982 to drive out PLO guerrillas, but is held indirectly responsible for Lebanese Christian militiamen's September 1982 massacre of hundreds of Palestinian civilians in the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps south of Beirut. As a result, Sharon resigns as defense minister and holds only second-rank posts for next 15 years. 1984-90: Serves as trade minister in national unity government headed by Yitzhak Shamir of Likud and Shimon Peres of Labor. 1990-92: Serves as housing minister, presiding over settlement drive in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. 1996: Named infrastructure minister in Netanyahu government. Oct. 9, 1998: Netanyahu appoints him foreign minister, places him in charge of negotiations with the Palestinians, marking his return to the center of Israeli politics and world political arena.",
"Ariel Sharon, the hawkish former general tipped to be Israel's next foreign minister, said in an interview published Sunday that if he gets the job, he won't shake the hand of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Sharon, who opposes ceding West Bank land to the Palestinians, is being considered for the government's No. 2 post. In it, he would be a pivotal figure in reaching a final peace settlement with the Palestinians. ``Even if I will be appointed foreign minister and run the negotiations, I won't shake Yasser Arafat's hand,'' Sharon was quoted as saying in the Yediot Ahronot daily. The newspaper said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is close to making a decision on the appointment. Netanyahu himself has been acting foreign minister since the post was vacated in January by David Levy, a moderate who opposed Netanyahu's hardline negotiating strategy with the Palestinians. Sharon's appointment would signal a toughening of Israel's positions and could further strain relations with Arab neighbors. Sharon is the general who led Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon, and a former housing minister who strengthened Jewish settlement in territories Israel captured from Syria, Jordan and Egypt in the 1967 Mideast war. Sharon told the Haaretz newspaper he would accept the foreign minister's job if he were allowed to ``act to strengthen the country.''",
"Ariel Sharon has a law degree, and fancies himself a farmer. But for more than three decades his role in Israeli public life has been that of an unapologetic warrior, first on the battlefield and later in the bare-knuckled combat of domestic partisan politics. With his blunt tongue, barrel chest and bar-scrapper's demeanor, Sharon at 70 is to his many critics here a caricature of right-wing intransigence. To his equally numerous admirers he is a living symbol of unrelenting dedication to Israel's national survival. Still conveying physical vigor within an impressively expanding frame, he remains pugnacious to a fault. Both his friends and foes would agree that the new foreign minister is not a natural diplomat. A Zionist underground operative as a teen-ager and an infantry commander wounded in the 1948 war of independence, Sharon has fought, and fought memorably, in virtually every major military engagement in his country's history. He commanded the legendary armored division that crossed and seized control of the Sinai in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. He returned to active service after a three-month retirement to lead Israel's badly outgunned armored divisions to victory, again in the Sinai, in the war of 1973. As defense minister in 982, Sharon led Israel's invasion of Lebanon, defying international condemnation with unrelenting artillery assaults on Beirut neighborhoods and Palestinian refugee camps believed by the Israeli high command to be Palestine Liberation Organization redoubts. To some, both in Israel and abroad, Sharon's Lebanese incursion will forever be associated with the massacres by Lebanese Christian Phalangists, allies of the Israelis, of a reported 460 unarmed Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. In an official inquiry in Jerusalem and in a subsequent libel trial he brought in New York, Sharon was seen to have effectively refuted charges that he knew of and condoned the Phalangists' attacks beforehand. But the government investigating commission held that his failure to prevent the killings constituted grounds for his dismissal from the Defense Ministry. Since the 1982 invasion, Israel has been mired in an unpopular open-ended occupation of southern Lebanon, an operation with constant casualties among young inductees for which Sharon is still often blamed. To many Israelis, however, the Lebanese incursion was ultimately a risk worth taking, as it succeeded in crushing the PLO militarily and driving its forces far from Israel's borders. The PLO's defeat at Sharon's hands in Lebanon led eventually to its renunciation of armed warfare against Israel and embrace of the peace negotiation process for which Sharon as Foreign Minister will now be responsible. In civilian life he proved as savvy a political operator as he was a military strategist, helping to break Labor's hold on the Knesset and making himself an indispensable binding force within successive fractious Likud coalitions. His investiture as foreign minister next week will mark his sixth Cabinet appointment in 21 years. He previously held the agriculture and defense portfolios under Prime Minister Menachem Begin, trade and housing in Yitzhak Shamir's government, and national infrastructure _ essentially, a settlements support directorate _ in the administration of Benjamin Netanyahu. As a key member of the ``inner cabinet'' in Begin's first government, Sharon began the construction and systematic expansion of new Israeli housing developments throughout the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Galilee area territories occupied by Israel since 1967, a policy that he and his opponents alike would agree remains his signal domestic political achievement. At 70, Sharon remains one of the great polarizing fixtures of Israeli political life. An acerbic critic of the other leading soldier-politician of his generation, Yitzhak Rabin, Sharon attacked the Oslo peace accords as ``terrible and dangerous'' and condemned Rabin's negotiating partner, Yasser Arafat, as a ``war criminal.'' He angrily opposed any diplomatic discussions of the return of even an internationally demilitarized Golan Heights to Syria. A secular Jew in the manner typical of his generation of native-born Israelis, Sharon became an outspoken and effective defender of new Orthodox Jewish settlements in the predominantly Palestinian areas of the West Bank, cementing his position as a bridge between the traditional secular right and the new militant religious factions within the Likud coalition.",
"A senior Palestinian negotiator says the success of a peace summit this week near Washington depends on a clear-cut ``yes'' from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to an American initiative. ``It is time to deliver,'' Saeb Erekat told reporters Sunday night after a meeting of the Palestinian Cabinet. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat met Jordan's Crown Prince Hassan in Amman Monday to brief him on talks with U.S. officials on breaking the deadlock in the negotiations with Israel. Palestinians also were expressing growing unease over the naming of hawkish former Israeli general Ariel Sharon as Netanyahu's foreign minister. Sharon, whose appointment last week was widely seen as a bid to keep far-right allies from toppling Netanyahu's government, has been quoted as saying he would refuse to shake the hand of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. ``It's worrisome,'' Erekat said. Previously, the Palestinian leadership had said the appointment was an internal Israeli affair. Monday was a Jewish holiday and there was no immediate Israeli comment on summit prospects. However, the Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot said over the weekend that Netanyahu's hard-line Cabinet, due to meet Tuesday, was balking at agreeing to an American-authored plan for an Israeli pullback in the West Bank. Erekat said the Palestinians hope the four-day summit, set to begin Thursday outside the U.S. capital, would mark the end of a long round of meetings and the start of implementation of accords. ``It depends on Mr. Netanyahu. If he says `yes' to the American initiative and stops attempts to change the references of the interim agreement, we will reach an agreement in no time,'' Erekat said. At the table is a U.S plan for an Israeli troop withdrawal from 13 percent from the West Bank. The Palestinians accepted the plan, which includes security conditions they must fulfill.",
"Ariel Sharon's appointment as the Israeli foreign minister serves as ``the bullet of mercy'' for the Middle East peace process, an official Syrian newspaper said Saturday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu named Sharon foreign minister on Friday, effectively putting the hard-liner in charge of negotiating Israel's final borders with the Palestinians. Many Arabs know Sharon for his role in Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon. An Israeli tribunal looking into the invasion found him indirectly responsible for the massacre of hundreds of Palestinian refugees by Christian Lebanese militiamen at two Beirut camps. ``Sharon's appointment as foreign minister is a bullet of mercy to the (peace) process, which has stopped on all tracks,'' said Tishrin, which often speaks for the Syrian government. Syrian-Israel peace talks broke off more than two years ago. Syria and the previous Israeli government had reached an informal agreement on a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967. But Netanyahu's government rejected that agreement, saying it was never completed. Netanyahu has sent ``a clear message to all those who are deluding themselves _ and betting on Israel (to) change its anti-peace stand _ to give up their illusions,'' the paper said.",
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed Ariel Sharon, a hawkish former defense minister, to be Israeli foreign minister on Friday in an effort to placate the far right as he moves closer to turning over more West Bank land to the Palestinians. With his appointment, Sharon, 70, an ardent advocate for Jewish settlements in the West Bank, is expected to quell domestic opposition to the concessions that Netanyahu is supposedly prepared to make at a peace summit conference in the Washington area next week. For months, Sharon, who is currently the minister of national infrastructures, has maintained that redeploying Israeli troops from more than an additional 9 percent of the West Bank would be a ``national disaster.'' In assuming the role of foreign minister, however, he would be forced to abandon his public opposition to Netanyahu's decision to withdraw from another 13 percent of the Palestinian territory _ even if he votes against the accord. Sharon will be drawn directly into the issue, since Netanyahu has appointed him to direct the final status talks with the Palestinians, which would follow the signing of an interim peace agreement. Last week Sharon told an Israeli newspaper that, negotiations or not, he would never shake the hand of Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, whom he has long disdained. Palestinian leaders and Israeli leftists were divided in their reactions, in similar ways. Some professed to be aghast, and some, like Nabil Sha'ath, the Palestinian transportation minister, said they were willing to ``forget history'' if Sharon's appointment provided Netanyahu the political backbone to sign a deal. In Washington, White House and State Department officials pledged to work closely with Sharon and emphasized that the personnel in an Israeli government are an internal affair. ``Arik Sharon is the most fitting person in the state of Israel for the position of foreign minister,'' Netanyahu said, using his nickname. ``He brings with him rich experience, creativity, proven working ability and I think that he well knows both the wounds and damages of war as well as the fruits of peace. ``Sharon has never hidden his beliefs,'' he continued, ``and his words have influenced the way that the redeployment will be carried out if not its extent.'' In a nod to Sharon, Netanyahu has decided on a new location for the nature reserve that would constitute 3 percent of the West Bank land. It was supposed to be in the Judean desert near Israel's eastern border, which Sharon argued would pose a strategic security risk. Instead, it was decided on Thursday that the nature reserve would instead be on the slopes of the Hebron hills, much closer to existing Jewish settlements. Many Israeli political observers believe that Netanyahu has eviscerated his right-wing opposition with this appointment, signaling that he genuinely intends to bring home a peace agreement. ``Who is the right wing now if Sharon is in the foreign ministry and negotiating with the Palestinians?'' asked Uzi Benziman, an editorial board member of the newspaper Haaretz and author of a critical biography of Sharon. ``It will be just the settlers and some",
"real hard-liners who don't comprise more than 15 percent of public opinion. So it's really quite an intelligent move, suggesting that Netanyahu means business in trying to get an agreement.'' But the Palestinians took the news hard, and read it differently. ``I think it's a clear-cut message from Bibi,'' Saeb Erekat, a lead negotiator for the Palestinians, said, using Netanyahu's nickname. ``I imagine people will try to explain Netanyahu's intentions as trying to get the support of the right. What he is trying to do is make peace with the right wing at the expense of making peace with us. It means he wants to continue on the path of non-negotiations, because he wants to continue to be prime minister at any cost.'' Sharon declined to be interviewed Friday because his appointment must still be approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday, an approval that is expected. An aide, Raanan Gisin, said Sharon accepted the position so that he could ``stem the tide of dangerous developments and contribute to fighting the risks facing Israel.'' A retired general who fought in every Israeli war, Sharon, 70, is a leading figure of the Likud Party who has done much battle with the Likud prime minister. At the most recent party convention, he said that Netanyahu didn't know his right hand from his left, which the prime minister dismissed Friday as a comment made ``in the height of political arguments.'' And when Netanyahu first formed his Cabinet in 1996, the fact that he did not give Sharon a senior position caused an 11th-hour crisis before the swearing-in ceremony. Sharon retreated to his family farm in the Negev, and David Levy, who had been named foreign minister, said he would not serve unless Sharon was given a post. Netanyahu then created a Cabinet job, the minister of infrastructures, especially for Sharon. Levy resigned in January after a lengthy power struggle with the prime minister, and since then Netanyahu has been serving as his own foreign minister. Sharon, a member of the old guard, has a complicated political past, highlighted by a string of military victories, and checkered, to many, by his indirect role, as defense minister, in the Lebanese Christian Phalangist massacre of unarmed civilians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon in 1982. Many Israelis, even those who despise his politics, see him as a strong, experienced figure who knows his mind and who is capable of being moderate when he has power. Friday afternoon, the right-wing political establishment nearly universally applauded the appointment. Uzi Landau, who is a Likud hard-liner, said he was relieved to hear confirmed what has been a rumor for weeks. ``I feel more safe about the negotiations if Minister Sharon is directly involved,'' said Landau, who heads the Parliament's security and foreign affairs committee. ``Undoubtedly it will facilitate the situation for the prime minister to show the right that Arik Sharon is identified with the program, so therefore they can live with it.'' Right before the announcement was made, leaders of the National Religious Party, who had threatened to",
"bring down the government, changed their combative tone. They emerged mollified from meetings with Netanyahu late Thursday, saying they would leave the government intact. Still, they would not connect their change of heart to the nomination of Sharon. ``Appointing Sharon is a political step we like very much,'' said Shaul Yahalom, the minister of transportation and a leader of the National Religious Party. ``But it will have no effect on how we see the peace agreement. Our concern there is on whether any of the 160 Jewish settlements are endangered.'' The appointment of Sharon comes against a backdrop of violence that has erupted this week. Friday, a 19-year-old Israeli soldier, Michal Adato, was stabbed to death by a Palestinian man as she got off a bus in her hometown, the settlement of Tomer in the Jordan Valley. Netanyahu reported that he had received a sympathy note from Arafat, who condemned the attack. Also Friday, in the continuing clashes between Palestinian youths and soldiers in the divided city of Hebron, 32 Palestinians were lightly injured by rubber bullets after the funeral of a Palestinian protester shot dead on Thursday. After Netanyahu made the announcement Friday, an Israeli reporter introduced a question by stating that Netanyahu had diminished the political threat from the right wing by appointing Sharon. ``Are you willing to sign on that?'' Netanyahu said. ``I do not know that. I do know one thing that when you are dependent on the vote of one or two people you can never know what will be.'' He was referring to his razor-thin majority in parliament _ which some analysts perceive to be his key motivator in appointing Sharon. ``More than anything else, this reflects the political weakness of Netanyahu,'' said Yaron Ezrahi, a leading intellectual and critic of the prime minister. ``He has recognized that the next redeployment is inevitable if he doesn't want to be seen as contributing to the wave of political violence that would follow a failure. But he doesn't have the domestic political power to carry out the big decision on his own.''",
"Ariel Sharon's appointment as the Israeli foreign minister serves as ``the bullet of mercy'' for the Middle East peace process, an official Syrian newspaper said Saturday. In Beirut, Lebanese newspapers denounced the appointment as a ``disaster'' for peace. Many Arabs know Sharon for his role in Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon. An Israeli tribunal looking into the invasion found him indirectly responsible for the massacre of hundreds of Palestinian refugees by pro-Israeli Christian Lebanese militiamen at two Beirut camps. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu named Sharon foreign minister on Friday, effectively putting the hard-liner in charge of negotiating Israel's final borders with the Palestinians. The appointment ``is a bullet of mercy to the (peace) process, which has stopped on all tracks,'' said Tishrin newspaper, which often speaks for the Syrian government. It said Netanyahu has sent ``a clear message to all those who are deluding themselves'' into thinking that Israel will change its anti-peace stand. Syrian-Israeli peace talks broke off more than two years ago. Syria and the previous Israeli government had reached an informal agreement on a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967. But Netanyahu's government rejected that agreement, saying it was never completed. Lebanon's peace talks with Israel also have been suspended for more than two years pending progress in Syrian-Israeli negotiations. The independent An-Nahar newspaper quoted Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri as saying: Sharon's appointment makes Lebanon and most world states ask: ``Does the Israeli government really want peace as it is trying to delude the world?'' An-Nahar's columnist, Sahar Baasiri, said in a front-page comment: `The mere announcement that he (Sharon) will lead negotiations (with Arabs) is tantamount to disaster.'' ``The man is a hero of Arab defeats; he is the firmest believer in the expansion of the land of Israel and in resolving the Palestinian problem at the expense of Jordan. He is a liar,'' Baasiri wrote. The conservative Ad-Diyar newspaper said in a front-page comment: ``The history of Ariel Sharon is known. He has called for burning Beirut, annexing the Golan, occupying the (West) Bank and slaughtering and displacing the Arabs everywhere.''"
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"Ariel Sharon's appointment as the Israeli foreign minister serves as ``the bullet of mercy'' for the Middle East peace process, an official Syrian newspaper said Saturday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu named Sharon foreign minister on Friday, effectively putting the hard-liner in charge of negotiating Israel's final borders with the Palestinians. Many Arabs know Sharon for his role in Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon. An Israeli tribunal looking into the invasion found him indirectly responsible for the massacre of hundreds of Palestinian refugees by Christian Lebanese militiamen at two Beirut camps. ``Sharon's appointment as foreign minister is a bullet of mercy to the (peace) process, which has stopped on all tracks,'' said Tishrin, which often speaks for the Syrian government. Peace talks between Syria and Israel broke off more than two years ago. Syria and the previous Israeli government had reached an informal agreement on a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967. But Netanyahu's government rejected that agreement, saying it was never completed. Netanyahu has sent ``a clear message to all those who are deluding themselves _ and betting on Israel (to) change its anti-peace stand _ to give up their illusions,'' the paper said.",
"Ariel Sharon's appointment as the Israeli foreign minister serves as ``the bullet of mercy'' for the Middle East peace process, an official Syrian newspaper said Saturday. In Beirut, Lebanese newspapers denounced the appointment as a ``disaster'' for peace. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu named Sharon foreign minister on Friday, effectively putting the hard-liner in charge of negotiating Israel's final borders with the Palestinians. Many Arabs know Sharon for his role in Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon. An Israeli tribunal looking into the invasion found him indirectly responsible for the massacre of hundreds of Palestinian refugees by Christian Lebanese militiamen at two Beirut camps. ``Sharon's appointment as foreign minister is a bullet of mercy to the (peace) process, which has stopped on all tracks,'' said Tishrin, which often speaks for the Syrian government. Peace talks between Syria and Israel broke off more than two years ago. Syria and the previous Israeli government had reached an informal agreement on a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967. But Netanyahu's government rejected that agreement, saying it was never formalized. Netanyahu has sent ``a clear message to all those who are deluding themselves _ and betting on Israel (to) change its anti-peace stand _ to give up their illusions,'' the paper said. Lebanon's peace talks with Israel also have been suspended for more than two years pending progress in Syrian-Israeli negotiations. The independent An-Nahar newspaper quoted Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri as asking, ``Does the Israeli government really want peace as it is trying to delude the world?'' In a front page comment, Sahar Baasiri, said ``The mere announcement that he (Sharon) will lead negotiations (with Arabs) is tantamount to disaster.''",
"The New York Times said in an editorial on Saturday, Oct. 10: Just days before heading to the United States for critical negotiations with Palestinian leaders, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu jolted the Middle East peace effort with the appointment of Ariel Sharon as Israeli foreign minister. The most optimistic reading is that Sharon, long an implacable foe of the Palestinians, is prepared to make peace with them and then sell it to the Israelis who are most opposed. Unfortunately, he is also capable of wrecking the entire peace effort. Much will depend on whether Netanyahu can control his strong-willed aide, a goal that has eluded other Israeli leaders. Like a political typhoon, Sharon has roared across Israeli life for better than three decades as a brilliant military commander, a reckless defense minister and an ardent conservative, often leaving destruction in his wake. He still bears the burden of his role in the massacre of hundreds of Palestinians by Christian militiamen in Lebanon in 1982. An Israeli inquiry found he was indirectly responsible for the killings at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. As a leader of the most conservative wing of the Likud party, Sharon can help Netanyahu hold together his shaky Cabinet during potentially decisive negotiations with Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader. That will be fine if Sharon is willing to play a constructive role in the peace talks himself. But such behavior is not likely to be the first impulse of a man who has famously said he would never shake hands with Arafat. Since Netanyahu has designated Sharon as his chief negotiator, the new foreign minister will soon have the opportunity to act more responsibly. The first order of business when the two sides get together next week outside Washington is to wrap up negotiations over the further withdrawal of Israeli forces from the West Bank coupled with security guarantees from the Palestinians. Sharon can show statesmanship by helping Netanyahu close this deal, even though it is opposed by the Israeli settlers whose cause Sharon has long championed. Success in these talks would clear the way for the last and most difficult negotiations about a permanent settlement, including the shape and status of a Palestinian state and the future of Jerusalem. If Sharon ever hopes to overcome the shame of Sabra and Shatila, he must become a force for peace in the Middle East.",
"Brief biography of Ariel Sharon, named Israel's foreign minister: ___ 1928: Born in Kfar Mallal in British-ruled Palestine. 1948 Mideast war: Fights as junior officer, wounded three times. 1953: Forms elite commando unit ``101'' and leads it on raids against Palestinian guerrillas who had been attacking Israeli border villages. 1956 Sinai campaign: Commands a parachute brigade that is dropped behind enemy lines, captures a key pass and cuts off Egyptian army's retreat. 1967 Mideast war: Commands an armored division that breaks through into central Sinai Peninsula. 1973 Mideast war: Commands a division that crosses the Suez Canal, turning the tide of the war on the Egyptian front. 1977: Elected to parliament and appointed minister of agriculture in the government of Menachem Begin. 1981: Defense minister in Begin government. 1982-83: Invades Lebanon in June 1982 to drive out PLO guerrillas, but is held indirectly responsible for Lebanese Christian militiamen's September 1982 massacre of hundreds of Palestinian civilians in the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps south of Beirut. As a result, Sharon resigns as defense minister and holds only second-rank posts for next 15 years. 1984-90: Serves as trade minister in national unity government headed by Yitzhak Shamir of Likud and Shimon Peres of Labor. 1990-92: Serves as housing minister, presiding over settlement drive in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. 1996: Named infrastructure minister in Netanyahu government. Oct. 9, 1998: Netanyahu appoints him foreign minister, places him in charge of negotiations with the Palestinians, marking his return to the center of Israeli politics and world political arena.",
"Ariel Sharon, the hawkish former general tipped to be Israel's next foreign minister, said in an interview published Sunday that if he gets the job, he won't shake the hand of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Sharon, who opposes ceding West Bank land to the Palestinians, is being considered for the government's No. 2 post. In it, he would be a pivotal figure in reaching a final peace settlement with the Palestinians. ``Even if I will be appointed foreign minister and run the negotiations, I won't shake Yasser Arafat's hand,'' Sharon was quoted as saying in the Yediot Ahronot daily. The newspaper said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is close to making a decision on the appointment. Netanyahu himself has been acting foreign minister since the post was vacated in January by David Levy, a moderate who opposed Netanyahu's hardline negotiating strategy with the Palestinians. Sharon's appointment would signal a toughening of Israel's positions and could further strain relations with Arab neighbors. Sharon is the general who led Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon, and a former housing minister who strengthened Jewish settlement in territories Israel captured from Syria, Jordan and Egypt in the 1967 Mideast war. Sharon told the Haaretz newspaper he would accept the foreign minister's job if he were allowed to ``act to strengthen the country.''",
"Ariel Sharon has a law degree, and fancies himself a farmer. But for more than three decades his role in Israeli public life has been that of an unapologetic warrior, first on the battlefield and later in the bare-knuckled combat of domestic partisan politics. With his blunt tongue, barrel chest and bar-scrapper's demeanor, Sharon at 70 is to his many critics here a caricature of right-wing intransigence. To his equally numerous admirers he is a living symbol of unrelenting dedication to Israel's national survival. Still conveying physical vigor within an impressively expanding frame, he remains pugnacious to a fault. Both his friends and foes would agree that the new foreign minister is not a natural diplomat. A Zionist underground operative as a teen-ager and an infantry commander wounded in the 1948 war of independence, Sharon has fought, and fought memorably, in virtually every major military engagement in his country's history. He commanded the legendary armored division that crossed and seized control of the Sinai in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. He returned to active service after a three-month retirement to lead Israel's badly outgunned armored divisions to victory, again in the Sinai, in the war of 1973. As defense minister in 982, Sharon led Israel's invasion of Lebanon, defying international condemnation with unrelenting artillery assaults on Beirut neighborhoods and Palestinian refugee camps believed by the Israeli high command to be Palestine Liberation Organization redoubts. To some, both in Israel and abroad, Sharon's Lebanese incursion will forever be associated with the massacres by Lebanese Christian Phalangists, allies of the Israelis, of a reported 460 unarmed Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. In an official inquiry in Jerusalem and in a subsequent libel trial he brought in New York, Sharon was seen to have effectively refuted charges that he knew of and condoned the Phalangists' attacks beforehand. But the government investigating commission held that his failure to prevent the killings constituted grounds for his dismissal from the Defense Ministry. Since the 1982 invasion, Israel has been mired in an unpopular open-ended occupation of southern Lebanon, an operation with constant casualties among young inductees for which Sharon is still often blamed. To many Israelis, however, the Lebanese incursion was ultimately a risk worth taking, as it succeeded in crushing the PLO militarily and driving its forces far from Israel's borders. The PLO's defeat at Sharon's hands in Lebanon led eventually to its renunciation of armed warfare against Israel and embrace of the peace negotiation process for which Sharon as Foreign Minister will now be responsible. In civilian life he proved as savvy a political operator as he was a military strategist, helping to break Labor's hold on the Knesset and making himself an indispensable binding force within successive fractious Likud coalitions. His investiture as foreign minister next week will mark his sixth Cabinet appointment in 21 years. He previously held the agriculture and defense portfolios under Prime Minister Menachem Begin, trade and housing in Yitzhak Shamir's government, and national infrastructure _ essentially, a settlements support directorate _ in the administration of Benjamin Netanyahu. As a key member of the ``inner cabinet'' in Begin's first government, Sharon began the construction and systematic expansion of new Israeli housing developments throughout the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Galilee area territories occupied by Israel since 1967, a policy that he and his opponents alike would agree remains his signal domestic political achievement. At 70, Sharon remains one of the great polarizing fixtures of Israeli political life. An acerbic critic of the other leading soldier-politician of his generation, Yitzhak Rabin, Sharon attacked the Oslo peace accords as ``terrible and dangerous'' and condemned Rabin's negotiating partner, Yasser Arafat, as a ``war criminal.'' He angrily opposed any diplomatic discussions of the return of even an internationally demilitarized Golan Heights to Syria. A secular Jew in the manner typical of his generation of native-born Israelis, Sharon became an outspoken and effective defender of new Orthodox Jewish settlements in the predominantly Palestinian areas of the West Bank, cementing his position as a bridge between the traditional secular right and the new militant religious factions within the Likud coalition.",
"A senior Palestinian negotiator says the success of a peace summit this week near Washington depends on a clear-cut ``yes'' from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to an American initiative. ``It is time to deliver,'' Saeb Erekat told reporters Sunday night after a meeting of the Palestinian Cabinet. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat met Jordan's Crown Prince Hassan in Amman Monday to brief him on talks with U.S. officials on breaking the deadlock in the negotiations with Israel. Palestinians also were expressing growing unease over the naming of hawkish former Israeli general Ariel Sharon as Netanyahu's foreign minister. Sharon, whose appointment last week was widely seen as a bid to keep far-right allies from toppling Netanyahu's government, has been quoted as saying he would refuse to shake the hand of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. ``It's worrisome,'' Erekat said. Previously, the Palestinian leadership had said the appointment was an internal Israeli affair. Monday was a Jewish holiday and there was no immediate Israeli comment on summit prospects. However, the Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot said over the weekend that Netanyahu's hard-line Cabinet, due to meet Tuesday, was balking at agreeing to an American-authored plan for an Israeli pullback in the West Bank. Erekat said the Palestinians hope the four-day summit, set to begin Thursday outside the U.S. capital, would mark the end of a long round of meetings and the start of implementation of accords. ``It depends on Mr. Netanyahu. If he says `yes' to the American initiative and stops attempts to change the references of the interim agreement, we will reach an agreement in no time,'' Erekat said. At the table is a U.S plan for an Israeli troop withdrawal from 13 percent from the West Bank. The Palestinians accepted the plan, which includes security conditions they must fulfill.",
"Ariel Sharon's appointment as the Israeli foreign minister serves as ``the bullet of mercy'' for the Middle East peace process, an official Syrian newspaper said Saturday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu named Sharon foreign minister on Friday, effectively putting the hard-liner in charge of negotiating Israel's final borders with the Palestinians. Many Arabs know Sharon for his role in Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon. An Israeli tribunal looking into the invasion found him indirectly responsible for the massacre of hundreds of Palestinian refugees by Christian Lebanese militiamen at two Beirut camps. ``Sharon's appointment as foreign minister is a bullet of mercy to the (peace) process, which has stopped on all tracks,'' said Tishrin, which often speaks for the Syrian government. Syrian-Israel peace talks broke off more than two years ago. Syria and the previous Israeli government had reached an informal agreement on a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967. But Netanyahu's government rejected that agreement, saying it was never completed. Netanyahu has sent ``a clear message to all those who are deluding themselves _ and betting on Israel (to) change its anti-peace stand _ to give up their illusions,'' the paper said.",
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed Ariel Sharon, a hawkish former defense minister, to be Israeli foreign minister on Friday in an effort to placate the far right as he moves closer to turning over more West Bank land to the Palestinians. With his appointment, Sharon, 70, an ardent advocate for Jewish settlements in the West Bank, is expected to quell domestic opposition to the concessions that Netanyahu is supposedly prepared to make at a peace summit conference in the Washington area next week. For months, Sharon, who is currently the minister of national infrastructures, has maintained that redeploying Israeli troops from more than an additional 9 percent of the West Bank would be a ``national disaster.'' In assuming the role of foreign minister, however, he would be forced to abandon his public opposition to Netanyahu's decision to withdraw from another 13 percent of the Palestinian territory _ even if he votes against the accord. Sharon will be drawn directly into the issue, since Netanyahu has appointed him to direct the final status talks with the Palestinians, which would follow the signing of an interim peace agreement. Last week Sharon told an Israeli newspaper that, negotiations or not, he would never shake the hand of Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, whom he has long disdained. Palestinian leaders and Israeli leftists were divided in their reactions, in similar ways. Some professed to be aghast, and some, like Nabil Sha'ath, the Palestinian transportation minister, said they were willing to ``forget history'' if Sharon's appointment provided Netanyahu the political backbone to sign a deal. In Washington, White House and State Department officials pledged to work closely with Sharon and emphasized that the personnel in an Israeli government are an internal affair. ``Arik Sharon is the most fitting person in the state of Israel for the position of foreign minister,'' Netanyahu said, using his nickname. ``He brings with him rich experience, creativity, proven working ability and I think that he well knows both the wounds and damages of war as well as the fruits of peace. ``Sharon has never hidden his beliefs,'' he continued, ``and his words have influenced the way that the redeployment will be carried out if not its extent.'' In a nod to Sharon, Netanyahu has decided on a new location for the nature reserve that would constitute 3 percent of the West Bank land. It was supposed to be in the Judean desert near Israel's eastern border, which Sharon argued would pose a strategic security risk. Instead, it was decided on Thursday that the nature reserve would instead be on the slopes of the Hebron hills, much closer to existing Jewish settlements. Many Israeli political observers believe that Netanyahu has eviscerated his right-wing opposition with this appointment, signaling that he genuinely intends to bring home a peace agreement. ``Who is the right wing now if Sharon is in the foreign ministry and negotiating with the Palestinians?'' asked Uzi Benziman, an editorial board member of the newspaper Haaretz and author of a critical biography of Sharon. ``It will be just the settlers and some real hard-liners who don't comprise more than 15 percent of public opinion. So it's really quite an intelligent move, suggesting that Netanyahu means business in trying to get an agreement.'' But the Palestinians took the news hard, and read it differently. ``I think it's a clear-cut message from Bibi,'' Saeb Erekat, a lead negotiator for the Palestinians, said, using Netanyahu's nickname. ``I imagine people will try to explain Netanyahu's intentions as trying to get the support of the right. What he is trying to do is make peace with the right wing at the expense of making peace with us. It means he wants to continue on the path of non-negotiations, because he wants to continue to be prime minister at any cost.'' Sharon declined to be interviewed Friday because his appointment must still be approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday, an approval that is expected. An aide, Raanan Gisin, said Sharon accepted the position so that he could ``stem the tide of dangerous developments and contribute to fighting the risks facing Israel.'' A retired general who fought in every Israeli war, Sharon, 70, is a leading figure of the Likud Party who has done much battle with the Likud prime minister. At the most recent party convention, he said that Netanyahu didn't know his right hand from his left, which the prime minister dismissed Friday as a comment made ``in the height of political arguments.'' And when Netanyahu first formed his Cabinet in 1996, the fact that he did not give Sharon a senior position caused an 11th-hour crisis before the swearing-in ceremony. Sharon retreated to his family farm in the Negev, and David Levy, who had been named foreign minister, said he would not serve unless Sharon was given a post. Netanyahu then created a Cabinet job, the minister of infrastructures, especially for Sharon. Levy resigned in January after a lengthy power struggle with the prime minister, and since then Netanyahu has been serving as his own foreign minister. Sharon, a member of the old guard, has a complicated political past, highlighted by a string of military victories, and checkered, to many, by his indirect role, as defense minister, in the Lebanese Christian Phalangist massacre of unarmed civilians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon in 1982. Many Israelis, even those who despise his politics, see him as a strong, experienced figure who knows his mind and who is capable of being moderate when he has power. Friday afternoon, the right-wing political establishment nearly universally applauded the appointment. Uzi Landau, who is a Likud hard-liner, said he was relieved to hear confirmed what has been a rumor for weeks. ``I feel more safe about the negotiations if Minister Sharon is directly involved,'' said Landau, who heads the Parliament's security and foreign affairs committee. ``Undoubtedly it will facilitate the situation for the prime minister to show the right that Arik Sharon is identified with the program, so therefore they can live with it.'' Right before the announcement was made, leaders of the National Religious Party, who had threatened to bring down the government, changed their combative tone. They emerged mollified from meetings with Netanyahu late Thursday, saying they would leave the government intact. Still, they would not connect their change of heart to the nomination of Sharon. ``Appointing Sharon is a political step we like very much,'' said Shaul Yahalom, the minister of transportation and a leader of the National Religious Party. ``But it will have no effect on how we see the peace agreement. Our concern there is on whether any of the 160 Jewish settlements are endangered.'' The appointment of Sharon comes against a backdrop of violence that has erupted this week. Friday, a 19-year-old Israeli soldier, Michal Adato, was stabbed to death by a Palestinian man as she got off a bus in her hometown, the settlement of Tomer in the Jordan Valley. Netanyahu reported that he had received a sympathy note from Arafat, who condemned the attack. Also Friday, in the continuing clashes between Palestinian youths and soldiers in the divided city of Hebron, 32 Palestinians were lightly injured by rubber bullets after the funeral of a Palestinian protester shot dead on Thursday. After Netanyahu made the announcement Friday, an Israeli reporter introduced a question by stating that Netanyahu had diminished the political threat from the right wing by appointing Sharon. ``Are you willing to sign on that?'' Netanyahu said. ``I do not know that. I do know one thing that when you are dependent on the vote of one or two people you can never know what will be.'' He was referring to his razor-thin majority in parliament _ which some analysts perceive to be his key motivator in appointing Sharon. ``More than anything else, this reflects the political weakness of Netanyahu,'' said Yaron Ezrahi, a leading intellectual and critic of the prime minister. ``He has recognized that the next redeployment is inevitable if he doesn't want to be seen as contributing to the wave of political violence that would follow a failure. But he doesn't have the domestic political power to carry out the big decision on his own.''",
"Ariel Sharon's appointment as the Israeli foreign minister serves as ``the bullet of mercy'' for the Middle East peace process, an official Syrian newspaper said Saturday. In Beirut, Lebanese newspapers denounced the appointment as a ``disaster'' for peace. Many Arabs know Sharon for his role in Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon. An Israeli tribunal looking into the invasion found him indirectly responsible for the massacre of hundreds of Palestinian refugees by pro-Israeli Christian Lebanese militiamen at two Beirut camps. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu named Sharon foreign minister on Friday, effectively putting the hard-liner in charge of negotiating Israel's final borders with the Palestinians. The appointment ``is a bullet of mercy to the (peace) process, which has stopped on all tracks,'' said Tishrin newspaper, which often speaks for the Syrian government. It said Netanyahu has sent ``a clear message to all those who are deluding themselves'' into thinking that Israel will change its anti-peace stand. Syrian-Israeli peace talks broke off more than two years ago. Syria and the previous Israeli government had reached an informal agreement on a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967. But Netanyahu's government rejected that agreement, saying it was never completed. Lebanon's peace talks with Israel also have been suspended for more than two years pending progress in Syrian-Israeli negotiations. The independent An-Nahar newspaper quoted Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri as saying: Sharon's appointment makes Lebanon and most world states ask: ``Does the Israeli government really want peace as it is trying to delude the world?'' An-Nahar's columnist, Sahar Baasiri, said in a front-page comment: `The mere announcement that he (Sharon) will lead negotiations (with Arabs) is tantamount to disaster.'' ``The man is a hero of Arab defeats; he is the firmest believer in the expansion of the land of Israel and in resolving the Palestinian problem at the expense of Jordan. He is a liar,'' Baasiri wrote. The conservative Ad-Diyar newspaper said in a front-page comment: ``The history of Ariel Sharon is known. He has called for burning Beirut, annexing the Golan, occupying the (West) Bank and slaughtering and displacing the Arabs everywhere.''"
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As the U.S. government pressed its antitrust case against Microsoft Corp. in November 1998, America Online (AOL) proposed an alliance with Netscape Communications and Sun Microsystems. The three-pronged deal promised to provide on-line services, Internet software and electronic commerce. AOL was to buy Netscape and forge a partnership with Sun, benefiting all three and giving technological independence from Microsoft. Microsoft lawyers argued unconvincingly that AOL's purchase of Netscape would undermine the government's antitrust case, based in large part on Netscape's complaint. It remained to be seen whether AOL could achieve a vast virtual mall. As the government continued to press its anti-trust suit against Microsoft, AOL has begun negotiations to purchase Netscape. Netscape is at the heart of the antitrust suit. Netscape alleges that Microsoft marketing practices, packaging its Internet Explorer in its operating system denied market opportunities to Netscape. The AOL deal, a three-way negotiation between AOL, Sun Microsystems and Netscape, would combined three Microsoft rivals. AOL is counting on the Netscape purchase to allow it to expand its internet Market by helping business operate on the internet in an effort to join Media and technology. America Online became the leading force in cyberspace for individuals to exchange e-mail and check the latest news. AOL saw a bright day ahead as a company that could provide online services, Internet software, and electronic commerce. To position itself better in this growing market, AOL sought to buy Netscape and work an alliance with Sun Microsystems. Netscape has faltered because of the ubiquity of the Microsoft Windows operating system requiring its browser. Microsoft argued that a vibrant technology market and rising stock prices undercut antitrust charges against it. At the trial the government presented thousands of e-mails supporting its case. In a bid to become a leader in the lucrative cyberspace economy, AOL will buy Netscape and set up a partnership with Sun. The venture will let AOL offer corporations end-to-end services, including servers, software, and accessibility to consumers. Eventually, AOL hopes to capitalize on the production of cheap devices offering Internet access to more homes. News of the deal helped push the Dow Jones to a new high. Meanwhile, Microsoft, accused by the Justice Department of using its operating system dominance to squelch competition in the browser market, claims the deal shows the software industry is healthy and that Netscape needs no government protection.
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"America Online Inc. wants to become the ``next Microsoft'' in two promising information-age fields where Microsoft Corp. is just another company _ the Internet media business and electronic commerce. With its proposed purchase of Netscape Communications Corp., AOL, the nation's largest dial-up online service with more than 14 million subscribers, hopes to take a significant step toward that ambitious goal. If the $4 billion deal is completed _ the companies had not reached a final agreement as of Monday night _ AOL would acquire a leading Internet brand and enlarge its wired audience by absorbing the millions who regularly visit Netscape's popular NetCenter site on the World Wide Web. ``Acquiring Netscape would really enhance America Online's role as the premier Internet media company,'' said James F. Moore, president of Geopartners Inc., a consulting firm. ``America Online is assembling the kind of audience numbers that will convince people the Internet is becoming a mainstream media.'' In the new media business, as in traditional media like television or newspapers, eyeballs translate into advertising revenue. But what really intrigues media executives and consumer marketers about the new media _ news, entertainment and services rendered in computer code _ is that it is inherently a two-way medium with which people can interact with the tap of a key or the click of a mouse button The interaction that advertisers and marketers want to see, of course, is buying. And it is the potential for exploiting an instant, direct connection to consumers that has fueled all the recent optimism about electronic commerce. Today, companies are selling everything from books to baby clothes over the Internet. Most companies have not progressed beyond the experimentation stage, but there are a handful of encouraging success stories like Amazon.com, the on-line bookstore. By 2003, Forrester Research Inc., whose business is analyzing trends in cyberspace, projects that Internet commerce could reach $3.2 trillion, or 5 percent of all sales worldwide. AOL is at the forefront of this convergence of media and commerce converge, and integration reflected in the lineage of its leaders. Steve Case, the chairman, was once a new-product manager for Pepsico's Pizza Hut chain, while Robert Pittman, the president, is a former MTV executive. Microsoft is also investing heavily in new media and electronic commerce. It has an online service, MSN, which competes with AOL, as well as information-and commerce Web sites that focus on travel, cars and real estate. It also owns Sidewalk, a network of local sites that list movies, restaurants and stores in cities around the country including Seattle and New York. Its MSNBC Internet news service is half of a joint venture with NBC. Microsoft is expected to be a formidable competitor in the media-and-commerce business. It has no shortage of bright people and it has more money than any rival. Besides deep pockets, Microsoft has the built-in advantage in any computer-based medium because its Windows operating system runs more than 90 percent of personal computers sold today. Its control of the Windows desktop gives it the most valuable piece of commercial real estate in the",
"information age. In theory, at least, owning that desktop screen should help Microsoft steer consumers to its online offerings _ an issue that is key to the government's antitrust suit against Microsoft. But so far, Microsoft has started slowly in the fields of Internet media and electronic commerce. ``Microsoft may want to, but it does not dominate these new markets,'' said Richard Shaffer, a principal of Technologic Partners, a research firm. ``America Online recognizes that the big opportunity is in these emerging growth businesses like electronic commerce instead of trying to take Microsoft on head-on.'' Still, if the Netscape deal is completed, AOL will also find itself in the software business in a way it has never been in the past. Netscape is known as the pioneer in the commercial development of software used to navigate the World Wide Web. Microsoft saw the browser software as a direct threat to its industry dominance and pursued that market aggressively, bundling its own browser with its Windows and giving it away free _ tactics that have been challenged by the government. But Netscape no longer generates revenues from its browser, which it now also distributes for free, but from the sale of heavy-duty software sold to corporations. Much of this software is used as the technological ``back office'' for electronic commerce _ used in building Web sites and processing transactions. A surprising element in the proposed deal is that AOL intends to hold onto Netscape's corporate software business instead of selling it off to an established software company. ``America Online just doesn't have credibility in that market,'' observed Michael A. Cusumano, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management. Executives close to AOL explain the decision as the need to provide full-line offerings for electronic commerce, from corporate Web site to the computer screens of consumers. But AOL has decided it needs help to preserve and strengthen Netscape's corporate software business. To do that, it has brought in Sun Microsystems Inc. in a side deal, which has complicated the transaction considerably. AOL, according to executives close to the proposed deal, will own Netscape, but it will have a joint marketing and development partnership with Sun. As part of the deal, AOL will agree to purchase about $300 million worth of Sun's computers for its service, while Sun will apparently agree to purchase sizeable amounts of Netscape software, which Sun's sales force must sell. Still, AOL and Sun have a longer-term objective as well _ one that promises to place them in more direct conflict with Microsoft. For nearly a year, William J. Raduchel, Sun's chief strategist, has been working closely with AOL, according to Sun executives. A former Harvard economics professor who taught Scott McNealy, the Sun chairman, Raduchel has focused on Sun's Internet programming technologies, called Java and Jini, both of which are seen as potential threats to Microsoft's dominance. By combining Sun's technology prowess with AOL's powerful consumer brand, the Sun executives say, there is the potential for a kind end-run around Microsoft's grip on desktop computing. In",
"its research laboratories, Sun has been working on a stripped-down network computer _ a simple-to-use information appliance, which could cost as little as $200 or be given away as part of a subscription service. The concept is that AOL's Internet media and electronic commerce services could be delivered to many more homes than today because many people still shun the expense and difficulty of using a personal computer. The appliance would be mainly a receiver and screen, with most of the computing power residing on vast central computers serving up information as users request by tapping a few buttons. Sun's technological specialty is this kind of centralized ``network'' computing. If the long-term AOL-Sun vision ever materialized _ certainly a three-to-five year bet, at the least _ it could give both companies a boost and technological independence from Microsoft.",
"Microsoft Corp. argued in federal court Monday that the proposed acquisition of Netscape Communications Corp. by America Online seriously undermined the government's antitrust suit against the software giant. ``From a legal standpoint, this proposed deal pulls the rug out from under the government,'' William Neukom, Microsoft's senior vice president for legal affairs, said Monday morning on the courthouse steps. The reasoning behind this assertion, Microsoft says, is that the proposed deal demonstrates that Netscape and the larger software industry are healthy and vibrant _ even with all of the illegal and anti-competitive practices alleged in the government's suit. But David Boies, the government's lead attorney, said all of that was irrelevant. ``Whatever the deal ends up being _ if there ends up being a deal _ is not going to remove any of the obstacles that Microsoft has placed in the path of competition in this industry,'' he said. Michael Lacovara, a Microsoft lawyer who was questioning a government witness, economist Frederick Warren-Boulton, suggested to him during the trial Monday that the proposed acquisition undermined Warren-Boulton's argument, that Microsoft seems headed toward obtaining a monopoly in Internet browser software to match the one it apparently holds in operating systems. After all, about 22 percent of Americans who use the Internet reach it through America Online. And at present AOL uses Microsoft's Web browser, Internet Explorer, as the service's default choice. In exchange for that, Microsoft places an AOL advertisement and Internet link in Windows 98. Lacovara asked the witness whether, once AOL's service contract expires in January, he would ``expect AOL to continue to distribute Microsoft software.'' Yes, Warren-Boulton responded. ``It is not at all clear to me that AOL's incentive to do this is changed by this proposed merger with Netscape.'' He noted that America Online officials had said their need to be among the online services featured in Windows forced them to accept Microsoft terms _ establishing Internet Explorer as the default choice. Lacovara then asked Warren-Boulton the question that lay under his entire cross-examination of the witness _ and Microsoft's larger assertion Monday about the proposed Netscape-AOL deal. ``Surely this combination,'' he asked, ``tells you something about the nature of competition in the software industry?'' Warren-Boulton's answer was probably not the one Lacovara had been after. ``To the extent that this potential merger is the result of Microsoft's actions with these exclusive contracts and other actions,'' he said, ``it is unfortunate to see the disappearance of a firm like Netscape, the brightest, newest star.'' Warren-Boulton's purpose on the stand for the government is to establish that Microsoft does have a monopoly in operating-system software; more than 90 percent of the world's computers use a Microsoft operating system. That is the foundation under most of the government's case since federal antitrust law forbids certain behavior by a monopolist that would be legal for a firm that faces healthy competition. Through repeated, often circumlocutious questioning, Lacovara tried to make the case that Microsoft's overwhelming market share was ephemeral. The software industry is so vibrant and fast moving, he suggested, that Microsoft could be toppled from its position at any moment _ a point of view the company encourages among its employees. On Friday and Monday, Lacovara repeatedly pointed out that other companies are placing other operating systems on the market, and some software companies _ principally Microsoft's greatest rivals _ are writing software for these new systems. But Warren-Boulton argued that ``the existence of these fringe competitors in the operating system market does not mean in any way that Microsoft does not have monopoly power.'' On Monday afternoon, Lacovara made an issue of the success Apple Computer Co. is having selling its new iMac computer. He entered into evidence an Apple news release issued last month showing, among other things, that 12.5 percent of the people buying Apple's new iMac computer had previously owned a Windows machine. Apple computers use a different operating system, Mac-OS.",
"America Online built itself into the most potent force in cyberspace largely by appealing to families with chatty teen-agers who want to flirt online and adults looking for an easy way to send electronic mail while checking the weather and sports scores. Now, the company has to get serious if it is to win the hearts and minds of corporate executives in pin-stripe suits. Nearly lost in the complexity of America Online's deal to buy Netscape Communication Corp. is America Online's announcement that it will enter an entirely new market: working behind the computer screen to help companies open and operate online stores. Netscape already has created software that made it a player in providing support for what is already known as electronic commerce. But America Online now says it has ambitions to offer a much wider array of software, consulting and services for online merchants. ``Most companies that sell to consumers realize that they need to get into the e-commerce space,'' said America Online president Robert Pittman in a news conference Tuesday. ``We see a major business in offering them an end-to-end solution.'' The market is big and growing bigger by the day. Forrester Research estimates that $325 million will be spent this year on electronic commerce software and another $5.3 billion on services that range from graphic design to the turn-key operation of entire online stores. By 2002, Forrester estimates, the combined market for electronic commerce services and software should top $35 billion. ``E-commerce services are the silver bullet that will enable companies to be able to take advantage of the true business opportunities on the Web,'' said Traci Gere, an analyst at International Data Corp. ``The market is growing very rapidly, but it is very fragmented.'' Analysts say the leader today in e-commerce services is IBM, which has a full line of offerings from sophisticated software products to hand-holding consulting. Other competitors include well-known information technology consulting companies such as Andersen Consulting, the spin-off from the Arthur Andersen accounting firm; Electronic Data Systems, which runs computer systems for big companies, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, which offers accounting and consulting separately but under one umbrella. Software companies like Microsoft and Netscape sell packaged programs, typically with little or no consulting to help customers use them. There are also plenty of new companies that have sprouted up to provide electronic commerce services. Some, like Agency.Com and Organic Online, started basically as advertising and design firms. Others, including U S Web and Viant, have emphasized programming and consulting. In fact, those two strains are blurring together, as exemplified by U S Web's pending merger with CKS Group. America Online argues that its advantage in this increasingly crowded bazaar is its ability to combine a broad subscriber base of about 15 million customers with Netscape software, plus hardware from Sun Microsystems, which has joined in America Online's venture into electronic commerce engineering. ``This is the first time anyone has put a true end-to-end solution that starts with the silicon and ends with the audience,'' said Barry Schuler, America Online's president for interactive services. ``We start with Sun's line of servers, then the commerce tools to build a store, the support services to process orders and then a deal for online real estate that can drive the traffic.'' Despite the advantages Netscape and Sun bring, analysts say that America Online faces a variety of problems in its new quest. Chief among them is whether it can appear to have the consistency, focus and follow-through that corporate customers demand. ``AOL is not the first company that comes to my mind when it comes to business-quality software,'' said Robert Chatham, a senior analyst with Forrester Research. Its decision to keep Netscape as a separate unit and offer electronic commerce services in partnership with Sun will not enhance its credibility, Chatham said. ``America Online doesn't look like a homogenous vendor,'' he added. ``It looks like customers will have to tangle with a menage a trois of AOL, Netscape and Sun.'' Nor have Internet service providers and other telecommunications-oriented companies shown much evidence, Ms. Gere of International Data said, that they are capable of offering the highly specific customized services that big corporate clients demand. ``Telecommunications companies that try to do things efficiently for a large number of customers have not been able to offer customized one-to-one relationships,'' she said. Pittman said that America Online had been driven to the e-commerce business because companies that approached it wanting to sell their goods needed more help than simply advertising online. ``We are finding people who are expert in running bricks-and-mortar stores are limited by their infrastructure,'' he said. ``They have an online store, but their square footage is too small.'' Even before the Netscape deal, America Online was moving to provide some electronic commerce software and services. It has been rewriting the software that lets companies open online stores to be based on universally accepted Internet standards rather than the specific computer language used only on America Online. This new software, which now will be combined with Netscape's online store services, will be available for companies to use both on America Online and on the Internet. Similarly, it has developed a service that lets users create a file with their credit card numbers and shipping address so they can make online purchases without retyping all that information each time. America Online is working to offer it _ for a fee _ to stores on the broader Internet. There is a wide range of services that are incorporated in electronic commerce. These include high-end strategy consulting to help companies decide whether and how to sell online without hurting their traditional sale in stores. There are all sorts of computer systems to be developed, ranging from the online stores themselves to connecting those sites to a company's existing inventory and accounting systems.",
"America Online is on the verge of agreeing to purchase Netscape Communications Corp., the Internet pioneer at the center of the government's antitrust suit against Microsoft Corp., executives involved in the talks said Sunday. The proposed deal is a complex, three-way transaction involving AOL, Netscape and Sun Microsystems Inc. AOL, the leading on-line service with more than 14 million subscribers, would acquire Netscape's popular site on the World Wide Web and its software business. But as part of the deal, AOL would also enter into a joint marketing and development partnership with Sun Microsystems to strengthen Netscape's other business of selling to large corporations the heavy-duty software needed to serve up Web pages and other Internet technologies to many thousands of users at the same time. The purchase, an exchange of AOL shares for Netscape stock, is valued at roughly $4 billion. A completed deal could be announced as soon as Monday morning. But executives involved in the talks cautioned Sunday night that some details remained to be negotiated. The Netscape deal, if consummated, would realign three businesses at the forefront of the modern economy _ on-line services, Internet software and electronic commerce. It would strengthen two of Microsoft's leading rivals, AOL and Sun Microsystems. At the same time, however, it would subsume Netscape, an Internet software maker once regarded as the most serious challenger to Microsoft's dominance of the personal computer software market. Netscape, founded in 1994, has struggled over the last 18 months under an assault from Microsoft. Its Navigator was the runaway leader in the market for the browser software used to navigate the World Wide Web. But Microsoft, responding to the Internet revolution, entered the market aggressively, quickly matching the quality of Netscape's technology and then bundling the Microsoft browser, Internet Explorer, into its industry-standard Windows operating system and giving it away free. Earlier this year, Netscape announced layoffs and started distributing Navigator for free as well, as Microsoft steadily gained in the browser market. Since then, Netscape has focused mainly on two businesses _ advertising and transaction fees from its Netcenter Web site and selling industrial-strength software to corporations that are building their own Internet sites on which to conduct electronic commerce. AOL believes it has the expertise to increase revenues from Netscape's Web site and, helped by Sun's programmers and vast corporate sales force, to accelerate Netscape's software sales as well, executives involved in the negotiations said. Sun's version of Unix, Solaris, is among the most popular operating systems for the large, powerful computers that run Netscape's server software. ``This deal would insure that the fundamental elements of Netscape survive within bigger companies that can drive its technologies forward,'' said David B. Yoffie, a professor at the Harvard business school and co-author with Michael A. Cusumano of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology of a recent book, ``Competing on Internet Time: Lessons from Netscape and Its Battle with Microsoft.'' The impact of the deal, if any, on the government's antitrust suit against Microsoft is uncertain. It does appear to support a key theme of Microsoft's defense _ namely, that it operates in a fast-moving industry where corporate alliances shift all the time. Thus, Microsoft argues, antitrust policy should tread gently. But the deal, government officials insist, should have no direct effect on the current case. ``No matter how much the alliances shift, it doesn't affect the central fact of Microsoft's monopoly and how it has used and abused its market power to protect its monopoly,'' said David Boies, the Justice Department's lead trial lawyer in the Microsoft case. Executives representing Netscape, AOL and Sun Microsystems are government witnesses at the Microsoft trial. And the serious merger talks between Netscape Chief Executive Officer James Barksdale and AOL Chairman Steve Case began about a month ago, or just after the start of the Microsoft trial, according to people close to the talks. Industry analysts suggest that the companies may have been emboldened to take stronger anti-Microsoft steps based partly on the perception that the antitrust case would weaken Microsoft. And representatives of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm regarded as a power broker among Microsoft's rivals, sit on the boards of Netscape, Sun and AOL.",
"The outcome of the Microsoft antitrust case may be a long way off, but one thing is already clear: This is the first major e-mail trial. The government's prosecution and Microsoft Corp.'s defense, to a striking degree, are legal campaigns waged with electronic messages. The human testimony often pales next to the e-mail evidence. On the stand or in videotaped testimony, the people being questioned shrug, mumble and forget. The e-mail is alive with ideas and competitive zeal, punctuated with profanity and exclamation points. The second week of the trial ended with the prosecutors being frustrated because a lengthy cross-examination by Microsoft's lead lawyer left no time for the government to show several hours of a videotaped deposition of Bill Gates, the Microsoft chairman. With a new witness, an executive of Apple Computer Inc., taking the stand Monday, it is uncertain when the Gates tape will be played. The Justice Department and the 20 states suing Microsoft believe that the tape will strengthen their case because it shows Gates saying he was not involved in plans to take what the government alleges were illegal steps to stifle competition in the Internet software market. The Gates videotape, said David Boies, the Justice Department's trial lawyer, offers an ``opportunity to judge Gates' credibility.'' But the Gates credibility gap, if there is one, becomes an issue not because of the videotape but because his taped remarks can be compared and contrasted with the e-mail he wrote and received. The e-mail record, the government insists, shows Gates waist-deep in plotting the anti-competitive deals and bullying tactics that he denies or professes to have never heard of in his taped deposition. If his machinations are central to the government's case, why not summon Gates to the trial? ``The government does not need to put Gates on the stand, because we have his e-mail and memoranda,'' Stephen Houck, a lawyer for the states, told the court. The Microsoft legal team has for months been preparing its e-mail defense. First, Microsoft argues, anything that looks damaging is taken out of context. ``I urge your honor,'' John Warden, Microsoft's lead lawyer, told Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, ``to view with considerable skepticism the crazy quilt of e-mail fragments that seem to form the core of the government's case.'' But Microsoft has also mounted an e-mail counterattack, culled from the millions of messages it obtained by subpoena from competitors in pretrial discovery. Warden's cross-examination ritual is to present a government witness with an internal e-mail from his company and then pose a declaration as a question. These interrogations have two refrains: Isn't it true your company does exactly what you are accusing Microsoft of doing, and isn't it true that Microsoft prevailed not because it is a predatory monopolist but because of its superior technology? Microsoft is accused of trying to prod companies to stay out of its way. So last week, for example, Warden produced e-mail from Stephen Case, the chairman of America Online, suggesting a partnership with Netscape Communications Corp. in which both companies would focus on their respective strengths.",
"That division of labor, Case wrote, would be the best way to achieve the goal that Marc Andreessen, Netscape's cofounder, described in an earlier e-mail as beating ``the Beast From Redmond that wants to see us both dead'' _ a reference to Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, Wash. Printouts of e-mail are just another form of written communication. By the 1920s, as typewriters became common, typed memoranda started to be used in court cases. From the 1950s through the 1980s, legal experts say, there was an explosion of documentation fueled by the new technologies of electric typewriters, photocopying and fax machines, and then personal computers. And e-mail, they add, has played an important role in legal inquiries for years, like the Iran-contra case in the 1980s when e-mail found in Oliver North's computer proved crucial. But the Microsoft case is the result of a sweeping government antitrust investigation of a high-technology company where e-mail has supplanted the telephone as the most common instrument of communication. ``E-mail has just revolutionized investigations of this kind,'' one senior Justice Department official said. While under investigation, Microsoft has handed over to the government an estimated 30 million documents, mostly e-mail. In the trial, the two sides have submitted about 3,000 exhibits, mainly e-mail. And in their e-mail, people often communicate more frankly and informally than when writing a letter or a report _ tap it out, punch a button and it's gone into cyberspace. But e-mail communication is documentary evidence, which in legal cases provides a rich, contemporaneous record of what people were thinking and planning at the time. It can be a sharp contrast to formal oral testimony, so often coached by lawyers and crafted by selective memory. ``The e-mail record certainly makes the I-don't-recall line of response harder to sustain,'' said Robert Litan, a former senior official in the Justice Department's antitrust division who is now at the Brookings Institution. It can also be powerful ammunition for pointing to contradictions in testimony. And that is what the government will do in attacking Gates' credibility with his videotaped deposition, taken over three days in August. The government offered a glimpse of that strategy on the first day of the trial. It showed a few brief clips of a point in the deposition when Gates was asked about a meeting on June 21, 1995, at which, the government alleges, Microsoft offered to divide the browser market with Netscape and to make an investment in the company, which is its chief rival in that market. In the taped deposition, Gates says he recalled being asked by one of his subordinates whether he thought it made sense to invest in Netscape. He said that he was asked about it after the June 1995 meeting and replied, ``I didn't see that as something that made sense.'' But in an e-mail on May 31, 1995, Gates urged an alliance with Netscape. ``We could even pay them money as part of the deal,'' he wrote, ``buying a piece of them or something.'' The contradiction between Gates' deposition and his e-mail, though, does",
"not of itself speak to the issue of whether Microsoft made an illegal offer to Netscape. To be sure, it is what Microsoft did _ not what it said in e-mail communications _ that counts most. ``But once the e-mail that looks bad gets in the record, you end up doing what Microsoft's lawyers are going to spend much of this trial doing _ trying to explain it away,'' said Stephen Axinn, a leading antitrust litigator with the firm Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider in New York.",
"The New York Times said in an editorial for Wednesday, Nov. 25: America Online's effort to acquire Netscape and set up a partnership with Sun Microsystems is a reminder of how rapidly the corporate landscape can change in fast-moving technical fields. But it does not lessen the need for the Justice Department to vigorously pursue its antitrust suit against Microsoft, the dominant player in software. The department has presented solid evidence that Microsoft has used its monopoly in operating systems to muscle rivals and partners so as to head off competition in other software realms. The Internet has risen so quickly as an information medium that only four years ago, in his book ``The Road Ahead,'' Bill Gates scarcely mentions it. In addition, only a couple of years ago America Online, the world's biggest online service, was having so much trouble getting rid of the bugs in the system it was widely derided as ``America On Hold.'' Now Microsoft has moved so aggressively into the Internet that the Justice Department is accusing it of predatory behavior, and America Online has rocketed forward to make deals with other Internet players. In its antitrust suit against Microsoft, the federal government charges that the company has illegally bundled its own browser with its Windows operating system to smother Netscape's chances of marketing its browser. Now in the corridors outside the antitrust trial Microsoft's lawyers maintain that Netscape has found a new partner in America Online and has no need of protection from the government. But it could be as easily argued that Microsoft has bludgeoned Netscape into dissolution, forcing a distress sale to America Online. Nor is it clear that customers of America Online will choose Netscape's browser as a vehicle for buying and selling on the Internet. Even in its newly musclebound form, America Online remains dependent on Microsoft's good will for favorable placement of an AOL icon on the main desktop screen. It may be that, years hence, America Online, Netscape and Sun will put together an alternative means to the Internet through telephone lines, cables or the like. But until that day, fairness requires Justice Department action to insure that Microsoft not use its current position to thwart consumer choice. Only when companies know they can get their products to the consumer will they have the incentive to innovate and turn the Internet into the revolutionary medium it promises to be.",
"Envisioning a thoroughly networked world in which the World Wide Web is a limitless marketplace of information, entertainment, products and services, America Online Inc. Tuesday laid out the details of its agreement to buy the Netscape Communications Corporation for $4.2 billion. By moving quickly toward what both companies have recently come to see as the inevitable convergence of technology and media, America Online hopes that it will secure a solid lead in a battle already joined by giants like the Microsoft Corp. and the International Business Machines Corp. to transform the greater part of cyberspace into a vast virtual mall. Part of that vision rests on an alliance with Sun Microsystems that America Online negotiated as part of the deal. Sun not only brings a cyber-savvy sales force to the effort but, even more importantly, a strong technology partner in developing Netscape's industrial-strength software for running Internet sites. Sun is indeed a technology heavyweight. It owns the Java programming language specially designed for Internet applications, and Solaris, among the most popular commercial operating systems for the powerful computers that big corporations use to serve up Internet services like the World Wide Web, e-mail and retail transactions. It also manufactures a highly respected line of powerful computers based on its own microprocessor chips. But for America Online _ and for the big Internet players against which it will compete _ the real potential gold mine lies further down the road, perhaps five years away, when people will venture on line for information or shopping not only from personal computers but from inexpensive Internet appliances costing $200 each, or maybe included free as part of a subscription service, just as some cellular phones are now. Today, being wired remains a comparatively elitist activity _ an estimated 25 percent of American households had access to the Internet last year, and 5 percent of households bought merchandise on line. But the executives at America Online and Netscape hope that their deal will accelerate the timetable for the day when the Net is ubiquitous, when people will tap into the World Wide Web from appliance-like devices, pagers, cell phones, television set-top boxes or computers as routinely as they use the telephone today. ``A new generation of Internet devices to be able to deliver our service anywhere is a key part of what this deal is about in the long run,'' said Stephen M. Case, 40, the chairman of America Online. For the present, however, the idea is to make America Online, the nation's leading online service, the standard way to get onto the Internet, the executives explained. Netscape, the Internet pioneer, is a crucial part of that effort, they said. There is no assurance that this vision of the technological future will prove accurate or, even if it does, that the America Online-Netscape combination will lead the way. Still, the long-range game plan helps explain what brought America Online and Netscape together. And the ability of the companies' executives to sell that vision to Netscape's whiz-kid programmers in particular will determine whether the merger succeeds. Netscape's headquarters",
"in Mountain View, Calif., is likely become a prime target for Silicon Valley headhunters. As is the case with any software company, Netscape's key asset is its talented programmers, and many of these code hackers may be reluctant to work for America Online, which still has a reputation as a middle-brow service catering to online newcomers, known derisively as ``newbies.'' Stock options and other financial incentives will be tailored to try to keep Netscape employees on board. ``But these people want to change the world, and we've got to be clear that joining with America Online, along with the Sun component, really is a bigger opportunity for us,'' said Marc Andreessen, the 26-year-old cofounder of Netscape who led a team of young programmers from the supercomputing center at the University of Illinois to Silicon Valley to start the Internet software company in 1994. ``This ought to be the preeminent Internet company over the next decade,'' Andreessen declared, speaking from a cell phone on a streetcorner in Palo Alto, Calif. For his part, Andreessen, a Netscape executive vice president, will become Netscape's chief technology officer for the next three or four months, until the merger is completed. His new job at America Online has not yet been determined, but it is likely to be chief technology officer of the combined company as well, an America Online executive said. Already, according to one Netscape board member, Andreessen has delivered a 12-page single-spaced memorandum to Case, setting out his view of the technological road map the new company should follow into the future, emphasizing the opportunities for electronic commerce in an environment in which most people are linked to the Internet. Netscape, populated with computing sophisticates, and America Online, known as an on-ramp to the Internet for the technologically challenged, seem a corporate odd couple. But the two companies, its executives explained, had been evolving toward each other for more than a year. In a telephone interview from America Online's headquarters in Dulles, Va., Case described Netscape as an enterprise that had ``morphed itself'' from a company dependent on sales of its software used to browse the World Wide Web _ and ``in Microsoft's cross-hairs'' _ into a business that relied on advertising and other revenues from its popular Netcenter Web site and from selling software to corporations to handle electronic commerce. The Netscape transformation was largely a reaction to Microsoft's competitive assault on its browser business _ a central element in the government's antitrust suit against Microsoft. Microsoft bundled its browser into its industry-standard Windows operating system, and gave away the browser for free. The government alleges these steps were part of a pattern of anticompetitive practices, while Microsoft maintains the moves were intended mainly to benefit consumers. Early this year, after laying off workers and suffering a large loss last year, Netscape announced that it would also distribute its browser for free. It seems to have stabilized its business around its new model. Netscape announced Tuesday that it earned $2.7 million on revenues of $162 million in its fourth fiscal quarter, which ended",
"in September. Yet America Online has also changed in the last couple of years, moving well beyond its reputation as an online service for beginners. It now has an Internet chat service and runs its own all-in-one site on the Web, known as a ``portal,'' which includes e-mail, Internet searching, news, entertainment and online shopping. ``America Online has really changed from a closed online service for novice users to an Internet media and technology company with a diverse set of brands,'' Andreessen said. ``These two companies have been moving in the same direction, and the fit is a good one.''",
"America Online is on the verge of agreeing to purchase Netscape Communications Corp., the Internet pioneer at the center of the government's antitrust suit against Microsoft Corp., executives involved in the talks said Sunday. The proposed deal is a complex, three-way transaction involving AOL, Netscape and Sun Microsystems Inc. AOL, the leading on-line service with more than 14 million subscribers, would acquire Netscape's popular site on the World Wide Web and its software business. AOL would also enter into a joint marketing and development partnership with Sun Microsystems to strengthen Netscape's other business of selling to large corporations the heavy-duty software needed to serve up Web pages and other Internet technologies to many thousands of users at the same time. The purchase, an exchange of AOL shares for Netscape stock, is valued at roughly $4 billion. A completed deal could be announced as soon as Monday morning. But executives involved in the talks cautioned Sunday night that some details remained to be negotiated. The Netscape deal, if consummated, would realign three businesses at the forefront of the modern economy _ on-line services, Internet software and electronic commerce. It would strengthen two of Microsoft's leading rivals, AOL and Sun Microsystems. At the same time, however, it would end the independent existence of Netscape, an Internet software maker once regarded as the most serious challenger to Microsoft's dominance of the personal computer software market. Netscape, founded in 1994, has struggled over the last 18 months under an assault from Microsoft. Its Navigator was the runaway leader in the market for the browser software used to navigate the World Wide Web. But Microsoft, responding to the Internet revolution, entered the market aggressively, quickly matching the quality of Netscape's technology and then bundling the Microsoft browser, Internet Explorer, into its industry-standard Windows operating system and giving it away free. Eventually, Microsoft's browser technology caught up to Netscape's. Earlier this year, Netscape announced layoffs and started distributing Navigator for free as well, as Microsoft steadily gained in the browser market. Since then, Netscape has focused mainly on two businesses _ advertising and transaction fees from its Netcenter Web site and selling industrial-strength software to corporations that are building their own Internet sites on which to conduct electronic commerce. AOL believes it has the expertise to increase revenues from Netscape's Web site and, helped by Sun's programmers and vast corporate sales force, to accelerate Netscape's software sales as well, executives involved in the negotiations said. Among large corporations, Sun's version of Unix, Solaris, is among the most popular operating systems for the powerful computers that run Netscape's server software. The much smaller Netscape would be placed under the wing of AOL and Sun Microsystems. The three companies had combined revenues of more than $12.4 billion last year. Microsoft, by comparison, had revenues of more than $14 billion. ``This deal would insure that the fundamental elements of Netscape survive within bigger companies that can drive its technologies forward,'' said David B. Yoffie, a professor at the Harvard business school and co-author with Michael A. Cusumano of the Massachusetts Institute",
"of Technology of a recent book, ``Competing on Internet Time: Lessons from Netscape and Its Battle with Microsoft.'' The impact of the deal, if any, on the government's antitrust suit against Microsoft is uncertain. It does appear to support a key theme of Microsoft's defense _ namely, that it operates in a fast-moving industry where corporate alliances shift all the time. Thus, Microsoft argues, antitrust policy should tread gently. But the deal, government officials insist, should have no direct effect on the current case. ``No matter how much the alliances shift, it doesn't affect the central fact of Microsoft's monopoly and how it has used and abused its market power to protect its monopoly,'' said David Boies, the Justice Department's lead trial lawyer in the Microsoft case. Executives representing Netscape, AOL and Sun Microsystems are government witnesses at the Microsoft trial. And the serious merger talks between Netscape Chief Executive Officer James Barksdale and AOL Chairman Steve Case began about a month ago, or just after the start of the Microsoft trial, according to people close to the talks. Industry analysts suggest that the companies may have been emboldened to take stronger anti-Microsoft steps based partly on the perception that the antitrust case would weaken Microsoft. And representatives of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm regarded as a power broker among Microsoft's rivals, sit on the boards of Netscape, Sun and AOL. Still, executives involved in the talks said that the timing of the proposed deal was unrelated to the antitrust trial. Nor should it, one person noted, be regarded as ``a single-minded attempt to circle the wagons against Microsoft.'' Indeed, AOL, according to one person close to the talks, plans to keep Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser as the default choice on its on-line service. One of the government's allegations in the antitrust suit is that Microsoft won out over Netscape as the main browser for AOL because Microsoft used its Windows monopoly as a bargaining chip. To win the browser deal, Microsoft offered AOL prime real estate on the Windows desktop, the main screen on more than 90 percent of personal computers sold today. Staying with Microsoft's browser can be seen as proof that AOL still regards placement on the Windows desktop as crucial, as well as a careful step to avoid undermining one of the allegations in the government's case. For AOL, the Netscape purchase would accelerate its evolution toward the Internet. At present, its flagship on-line service is a hybrid _ to its own proprietary service, it has added a gateway to the World Wide Web. In addition, for consumers who do not subscribe to AOL's dial-up service, it also has its own Web site, aol.com, which attracts about 24 million visitors a month, according to Media Metrix/Relevant Knowledge, a market research firm. Its big Web site offers a wide range of information, entertainment, Internet chat and e-mail, a leading example of the all-in-one sites that have become known as portals. Netscape's Netcenter traffic has slipped a bit in recent months, to under 16",
"million visitors a month, but it, too, is a major portal. Together, they should be a huge player in the intensifying portal battle for viewers and resulting advertising revenues. Yahoo is the current leader among portal sites with more than 25 million monthly visitors, while Microsoft's site attracts more than 20 million a month. Though known as a new-media company for consumers, AOL is also interested in boosting its electronic commerce business with the Netscape purchase. AOL has recently done work with Eastman Kodak, American Greetings and other companies, not only promoting their products to on-line subscribers but also building the Internet infrastructure of software to conduct electronic commerce. AOL notes projections like a recent one from Forrester Research Inc., which predicted that worldwide Internet commerce could reach as high as $3.2 trillion by 2003, or 5 percent of global sales. Sun Microsystems, analysts say, could be a strong partner for AOL in the market for Internet commerce software. Sun is a corporate software company with a sales force of several thousand. As it moves increasingly to Internet technology, AOL should prove an excellent partner for Sun in terms of developing and using Sun's Java, an Internet programming language. And while Netscape's browser no longer generates revenue on its own, it is a distribution channel for Java technology. Having Netscape's browser safely in the hands of a friendly company is of strategic importance for Sun, since Microsoft owns the alternative in the browser market. AOL is expected pay little, if any, premium over Netscape's stock price on Friday, executives close to the deal said, since Netscape shares have more than doubled in the last month. In the last week alone, Netscape's stock has jumped about $12, or nearly 45 percent, following reports that it was discussing a possible partnership with AOL. The stock closed Friday at $39.1875, up $2.625. AOL's shares gained $1.50 Friday, closing at $84.875.",
"America Online built itself into the most potent force in cyberspace largely by appealing to families with chatty teen-agers who want to flirt online and adults looking for an easy way to send electronic mail while checking the weather and sports scores. Now, the company has to get serious if it is to win the hearts and minds of corporate executives in pin-stripe suits. Nearly lost in the complexity of America Online's deal to buy Netscape Communication Corp. is America Online's announcement that it will enter an entirely new market: working behind the computer screen to help companies open and operate online stores. Netscape already has created software that made it a player in providing support for what is already known as electronic commerce. But America Online now says it has ambitions to offer a much wider array of software, consulting and services for online merchants. ``Most companies that sell to consumers realize that they need to get into the e-commerce space,'' said America Online president Robert Pittman in a news conference Tuesday. ``We see a major business in offering them an end-to-end solution.'' The market is big and growing bigger by the day. Forrester Research estimates that $325 million will be spent this year on electronic commerce software and another $5.3 billion on services that range from graphic design to the turn-key operation of entire online stores. By 2002, Forrester estimates, the combined market for electronic commerce services and software should top $35 billion. ``E-commerce services are the silver bullet that will enable companies to be able to take advantage of the true business opportunities on the Web,'' said Traci Gere, an analyst at International Data Corp. ``The market is growing very rapidly, but it is very fragmented.'' Analysts say the leader today in e-commerce services is IBM, which has a full line of offerings from sophisticated software products to hand-holding consulting. Other competitors include well-known information technology consulting companies such as Andersen Consulting, the spin-off from the Arthur Andersen accounting firm; Electronic Data Systems, which runs computer systems for big companies, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, which offers accounting and consulting separately but under one umbrella. Software companies like Microsoft and Netscape sell packaged programs, typically with little or no consulting to help customers use them. There are also plenty of new companies that have sprouted up to provide electronic commerce services. Some, like Agency.Com and Organic Online, started basically as advertising and design firms. Others, including U S Web and Viant, have emphasized programming and consulting. In fact, those two strains are blurring together, as exemplified by U S Web's pending merger with CKS Group. America Online argues that its advantage in this increasingly crowded bazaar is its ability to combine a broad subscriber base of about 15 million customers with Netscape software, plus hardware from Sun Microsystems, which has joined in America Online's venture into electronic commerce engineering. ``This is the first time anyone has put a true end-to-end solution that starts with the silicon and ends with the audience,'' said Barry Schuler, America Online's president for interactive services. ``We start",
"with Sun's line of servers, then the commerce tools to build a store, the support services to process orders and then a deal for online real estate that can drive the traffic.'' Despite the advantages Netscape and Sun bring, analysts say that America Online faces a variety of problems in its new quest. Chief among them is whether it can appear to have the consistency, focus and follow-through that corporate customers demand. ``AOL is not the first company that comes to my mind when it comes to business-quality software,'' said Robert Chatham, a senior analyst with Forrester Research. Its decision to keep Netscape as a separate unit and offer electronic commerce services in partnership with Sun will not enhance its credibility, Chatham said. ``America Online doesn't look like a homogenous vendor,'' he added. ``It looks like customers will have to tangle with a menage a trois of AOL, Netscape and Sun.'' Nor have Internet service providers and other telecommunications-oriented companies shown much evidence, Ms. Gere of International Data said, that they are capable of offering the highly specific customized services that big corporate clients demand. ``Telecommunications companies that try to do things efficiently for a large number of customers have not been able to offer customized one-to-one relationships,'' she said. Pittman said that America Online had been driven to the e-commerce business because companies that approached it wanting to sell their goods needed more help than simply advertising online. ``We are finding people who are expert in running bricks-and-mortar stores are limited by their infrastructure,'' he said. ``They have an online store, but their square footage is too small.'' Even before the Netscape deal, America Online was moving to provide some electronic commerce software and services. It has been rewriting the software that lets companies open online stores to be based on universally accepted Internet standards rather than the specific computer language used only on America Online. This new software, which now will be combined with Netscape's online store services, will be available for companies to use both on America Online and on the Internet. Similarly, it has developed a service that lets users create a file with their credit card numbers and shipping address so they can make online purchases without retyping all that information each time. America Online is working to offer it _ for a fee _ to stores on the broader Internet. There is a wide range of services that are incorporated in electronic commerce. These include high-end strategy consulting to help companies decide whether and how to sell online without hurting their traditional sale in stores. There are all sorts of computer systems to be developed, ranging from the online stores themselves to connecting those sites to a company's existing inventory and accounting systems. There are creative services that include graphic design, media buying, customer list analysis and other marketing and promotional efforts. And there are operational services that involve actually maintaining the big servers that users connect to when they use the online stores that display catalogs, take orders and process payments. America Online, Schuler said,",
"will emphasize services that relate to marketing rather than back-office functions. ``We will consult on how to merchandise and sell online,'' he said. ``We understand the consumer piece of the puzzle.'' Some competitors worry that America Online's electronic commerce services may simply be a device to sell its software and hardware. ``The challenge is to prove that clients are getting the best possible solution for their business,'' said Robert Gett, the chief executive of Viant. ``If they offer AOL and Netscape and Sun, their answer is a bit tainted.'' Netscape does have an expanding force of about 700 people who provide consulting and custom programming. But they have been most competitive, Gett said, in competing for nuts-and-bolts projects rather than the more lucrative assignments to develop and carry out a full-fledged strategy on the Web. ``They say, `Who knows our software better than Netscape?''' Gett said. ``We help customers decide which platform is best for them.'' But America Online argues that the combined might of it, Netscape and Sun is just what the business needs. ``We always believed that commerce, that is buying goods and services, is the huge revenue stream of the future,'' Schuler said. ``We have only seen the tiniest tip of the iceberg.''",
"Stock prices vaulted to record levels Monday, furthering a recovery that as recently as two months ago seemed nearly unthinkable. ``I thought we were in the most serious correction since 1990, but I never thought or wrote that the bull market was over,'' said Byron Wien, U.S. equity strategist at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. ``Now it seems all of that is behind us.'' The Dow Jones industrial average rose 214.72 points, or 2.34 percent, to 9,374.27. The record is the first since July 17, when the Dow closed at 9,337.97. Since Aug. 31, when the Dow stood at 7,539.07 after a steep slide, the blue-chip gauge has risen more than 24 percent. For the year, the Dow is up 18.54 percent and has a chance of rising more than 20 percent for a fourth consecutive year, something never accomplished before. Broader averages also climbed. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index set a record, rising 24.66 points, or 2.12 percent, to 1,188.21. The Nasdaq composite index did not reach a new high but posted the biggest percentage gain Monday, rising 49.21 points, or 2.55 percent, to 1,977.42. And the Russell 2000 index of smaller-company issues gained 3.86 points, or nearly 1 percent, to 398.15. Monday's action was energized by a daily record for the number of mergers and acquisitions valued at $1 billion or more. The merger announcements not only prompted investors to change estimates of how much companies were worth but also indicated coming declines in the outstanding shares of stock. ``This may be a supply-demand story, where demand for stocks is rising and the supply of stock is reduced as one company after another merges,'' said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer at First Albany Corp. ``The flow of money into mutual funds is fairly strong, and there is pressure on managers to put that money to work.'' Two deals seemed to be catalysts for broad swaths of stocks. News that Bankers Trust may be close to accepting an $8.9 billion offer from Deutsche Bank of Germany heightened interest in financial-services and bank stocks. And word that America Online may acquire Netscape Communications for $4 billion in stock powered Internet and other technology stocks to even loftier valuations. Among financial companies, J.P. Morgan gained 6 1/16, to 115 11/16. American Express was up 4 3/8, to 108 15/16. Merrill Lynch jumped 4 3/8, to 76. And Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette rose 3 9/16, to 42}. Netscape was the most active stock Monday, gaining 2}, to 41 15/16. America Online gained 4 3/8, to 89\\. Other Internet stocks also surged, and analysts said the group, which has seen meteoric gains in recent weeks, was ripe for a steep correction. Yahoo and Amazon.com both became $200 stocks on Monday. Yahoo rose 30 7/16, to 221 7/16. And Amazon.com gained 37 3/8, to 218. ``The performance of the Internet stocks is an unsettling sign,'' Wien said. Still, more-established technology shares also had a very good day. IBM rose 7, to 166 5/8. Microsoft jumped 5 9/16, to 119 3/16. And Intel closed at 113 9/16, up 1{. After Monday's big price moves, Wien said that according to his calculations, stocks were about 10 percent overvalued. By contrast, in the middle of July the market was 20 percent overvalued, he said. Nonetheless, the market's recovery, which has been buttressed by three cuts in interest rates by the Federal Reserve Board, has left many longtime Wall Street hands grasping for historical parallels. ``At this point we are in new ground,'' said Laszlo Birinyi, who heads his own market research firm. ``At the beginning of the year, I said my target for the Dow was 10,000 by the end of 1998. If anyone had asked when the market went through what now looks like a corrective blip, I would have said my new target would have been about 9,000. I am surprised the 10,000 figure came back on the table'' for this year."
] |
[
"America Online Inc. wants to become the ``next Microsoft'' in two promising information-age fields where Microsoft Corp. is just another company _ the Internet media business and electronic commerce. With its proposed purchase of Netscape Communications Corp., AOL, the nation's largest dial-up online service with more than 14 million subscribers, hopes to take a significant step toward that ambitious goal. If the $4 billion deal is completed _ the companies had not reached a final agreement as of Monday night _ AOL would acquire a leading Internet brand and enlarge its wired audience by absorbing the millions who regularly visit Netscape's popular NetCenter site on the World Wide Web. ``Acquiring Netscape would really enhance America Online's role as the premier Internet media company,'' said James F. Moore, president of Geopartners Inc., a consulting firm. ``America Online is assembling the kind of audience numbers that will convince people the Internet is becoming a mainstream media.'' In the new media business, as in traditional media like television or newspapers, eyeballs translate into advertising revenue. But what really intrigues media executives and consumer marketers about the new media _ news, entertainment and services rendered in computer code _ is that it is inherently a two-way medium with which people can interact with the tap of a key or the click of a mouse button The interaction that advertisers and marketers want to see, of course, is buying. And it is the potential for exploiting an instant, direct connection to consumers that has fueled all the recent optimism about electronic commerce. Today, companies are selling everything from books to baby clothes over the Internet. Most companies have not progressed beyond the experimentation stage, but there are a handful of encouraging success stories like Amazon.com, the on-line bookstore. By 2003, Forrester Research Inc., whose business is analyzing trends in cyberspace, projects that Internet commerce could reach $3.2 trillion, or 5 percent of all sales worldwide. AOL is at the forefront of this convergence of media and commerce converge, and integration reflected in the lineage of its leaders. Steve Case, the chairman, was once a new-product manager for Pepsico's Pizza Hut chain, while Robert Pittman, the president, is a former MTV executive. Microsoft is also investing heavily in new media and electronic commerce. It has an online service, MSN, which competes with AOL, as well as information-and commerce Web sites that focus on travel, cars and real estate. It also owns Sidewalk, a network of local sites that list movies, restaurants and stores in cities around the country including Seattle and New York. Its MSNBC Internet news service is half of a joint venture with NBC. Microsoft is expected to be a formidable competitor in the media-and-commerce business. It has no shortage of bright people and it has more money than any rival. Besides deep pockets, Microsoft has the built-in advantage in any computer-based medium because its Windows operating system runs more than 90 percent of personal computers sold today. Its control of the Windows desktop gives it the most valuable piece of commercial real estate in the information age. In theory, at least, owning that desktop screen should help Microsoft steer consumers to its online offerings _ an issue that is key to the government's antitrust suit against Microsoft. But so far, Microsoft has started slowly in the fields of Internet media and electronic commerce. ``Microsoft may want to, but it does not dominate these new markets,'' said Richard Shaffer, a principal of Technologic Partners, a research firm. ``America Online recognizes that the big opportunity is in these emerging growth businesses like electronic commerce instead of trying to take Microsoft on head-on.'' Still, if the Netscape deal is completed, AOL will also find itself in the software business in a way it has never been in the past. Netscape is known as the pioneer in the commercial development of software used to navigate the World Wide Web. Microsoft saw the browser software as a direct threat to its industry dominance and pursued that market aggressively, bundling its own browser with its Windows and giving it away free _ tactics that have been challenged by the government. But Netscape no longer generates revenues from its browser, which it now also distributes for free, but from the sale of heavy-duty software sold to corporations. Much of this software is used as the technological ``back office'' for electronic commerce _ used in building Web sites and processing transactions. A surprising element in the proposed deal is that AOL intends to hold onto Netscape's corporate software business instead of selling it off to an established software company. ``America Online just doesn't have credibility in that market,'' observed Michael A. Cusumano, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management. Executives close to AOL explain the decision as the need to provide full-line offerings for electronic commerce, from corporate Web site to the computer screens of consumers. But AOL has decided it needs help to preserve and strengthen Netscape's corporate software business. To do that, it has brought in Sun Microsystems Inc. in a side deal, which has complicated the transaction considerably. AOL, according to executives close to the proposed deal, will own Netscape, but it will have a joint marketing and development partnership with Sun. As part of the deal, AOL will agree to purchase about $300 million worth of Sun's computers for its service, while Sun will apparently agree to purchase sizeable amounts of Netscape software, which Sun's sales force must sell. Still, AOL and Sun have a longer-term objective as well _ one that promises to place them in more direct conflict with Microsoft. For nearly a year, William J. Raduchel, Sun's chief strategist, has been working closely with AOL, according to Sun executives. A former Harvard economics professor who taught Scott McNealy, the Sun chairman, Raduchel has focused on Sun's Internet programming technologies, called Java and Jini, both of which are seen as potential threats to Microsoft's dominance. By combining Sun's technology prowess with AOL's powerful consumer brand, the Sun executives say, there is the potential for a kind end-run around Microsoft's grip on desktop computing. In its research laboratories, Sun has been working on a stripped-down network computer _ a simple-to-use information appliance, which could cost as little as $200 or be given away as part of a subscription service. The concept is that AOL's Internet media and electronic commerce services could be delivered to many more homes than today because many people still shun the expense and difficulty of using a personal computer. The appliance would be mainly a receiver and screen, with most of the computing power residing on vast central computers serving up information as users request by tapping a few buttons. Sun's technological specialty is this kind of centralized ``network'' computing. If the long-term AOL-Sun vision ever materialized _ certainly a three-to-five year bet, at the least _ it could give both companies a boost and technological independence from Microsoft.",
"Microsoft Corp. argued in federal court Monday that the proposed acquisition of Netscape Communications Corp. by America Online seriously undermined the government's antitrust suit against the software giant. ``From a legal standpoint, this proposed deal pulls the rug out from under the government,'' William Neukom, Microsoft's senior vice president for legal affairs, said Monday morning on the courthouse steps. The reasoning behind this assertion, Microsoft says, is that the proposed deal demonstrates that Netscape and the larger software industry are healthy and vibrant _ even with all of the illegal and anti-competitive practices alleged in the government's suit. But David Boies, the government's lead attorney, said all of that was irrelevant. ``Whatever the deal ends up being _ if there ends up being a deal _ is not going to remove any of the obstacles that Microsoft has placed in the path of competition in this industry,'' he said. Michael Lacovara, a Microsoft lawyer who was questioning a government witness, economist Frederick Warren-Boulton, suggested to him during the trial Monday that the proposed acquisition undermined Warren-Boulton's argument, that Microsoft seems headed toward obtaining a monopoly in Internet browser software to match the one it apparently holds in operating systems. After all, about 22 percent of Americans who use the Internet reach it through America Online. And at present AOL uses Microsoft's Web browser, Internet Explorer, as the service's default choice. In exchange for that, Microsoft places an AOL advertisement and Internet link in Windows 98. Lacovara asked the witness whether, once AOL's service contract expires in January, he would ``expect AOL to continue to distribute Microsoft software.'' Yes, Warren-Boulton responded. ``It is not at all clear to me that AOL's incentive to do this is changed by this proposed merger with Netscape.'' He noted that America Online officials had said their need to be among the online services featured in Windows forced them to accept Microsoft terms _ establishing Internet Explorer as the default choice. Lacovara then asked Warren-Boulton the question that lay under his entire cross-examination of the witness _ and Microsoft's larger assertion Monday about the proposed Netscape-AOL deal. ``Surely this combination,'' he asked, ``tells you something about the nature of competition in the software industry?'' Warren-Boulton's answer was probably not the one Lacovara had been after. ``To the extent that this potential merger is the result of Microsoft's actions with these exclusive contracts and other actions,'' he said, ``it is unfortunate to see the disappearance of a firm like Netscape, the brightest, newest star.'' Warren-Boulton's purpose on the stand for the government is to establish that Microsoft does have a monopoly in operating-system software; more than 90 percent of the world's computers use a Microsoft operating system. That is the foundation under most of the government's case since federal antitrust law forbids certain behavior by a monopolist that would be legal for a firm that faces healthy competition. Through repeated, often circumlocutious questioning, Lacovara tried to make the case that Microsoft's overwhelming market share was ephemeral. The software industry is so vibrant and fast moving, he suggested, that Microsoft could be toppled from its position at any moment _ a point of view the company encourages among its employees. On Friday and Monday, Lacovara repeatedly pointed out that other companies are placing other operating systems on the market, and some software companies _ principally Microsoft's greatest rivals _ are writing software for these new systems. But Warren-Boulton argued that ``the existence of these fringe competitors in the operating system market does not mean in any way that Microsoft does not have monopoly power.'' On Monday afternoon, Lacovara made an issue of the success Apple Computer Co. is having selling its new iMac computer. He entered into evidence an Apple news release issued last month showing, among other things, that 12.5 percent of the people buying Apple's new iMac computer had previously owned a Windows machine. Apple computers use a different operating system, Mac-OS.",
"America Online built itself into the most potent force in cyberspace largely by appealing to families with chatty teen-agers who want to flirt online and adults looking for an easy way to send electronic mail while checking the weather and sports scores. Now, the company has to get serious if it is to win the hearts and minds of corporate executives in pin-stripe suits. Nearly lost in the complexity of America Online's deal to buy Netscape Communication Corp. is America Online's announcement that it will enter an entirely new market: working behind the computer screen to help companies open and operate online stores. Netscape already has created software that made it a player in providing support for what is already known as electronic commerce. But America Online now says it has ambitions to offer a much wider array of software, consulting and services for online merchants. ``Most companies that sell to consumers realize that they need to get into the e-commerce space,'' said America Online president Robert Pittman in a news conference Tuesday. ``We see a major business in offering them an end-to-end solution.'' The market is big and growing bigger by the day. Forrester Research estimates that $325 million will be spent this year on electronic commerce software and another $5.3 billion on services that range from graphic design to the turn-key operation of entire online stores. By 2002, Forrester estimates, the combined market for electronic commerce services and software should top $35 billion. ``E-commerce services are the silver bullet that will enable companies to be able to take advantage of the true business opportunities on the Web,'' said Traci Gere, an analyst at International Data Corp. ``The market is growing very rapidly, but it is very fragmented.'' Analysts say the leader today in e-commerce services is IBM, which has a full line of offerings from sophisticated software products to hand-holding consulting. Other competitors include well-known information technology consulting companies such as Andersen Consulting, the spin-off from the Arthur Andersen accounting firm; Electronic Data Systems, which runs computer systems for big companies, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, which offers accounting and consulting separately but under one umbrella. Software companies like Microsoft and Netscape sell packaged programs, typically with little or no consulting to help customers use them. There are also plenty of new companies that have sprouted up to provide electronic commerce services. Some, like Agency.Com and Organic Online, started basically as advertising and design firms. Others, including U S Web and Viant, have emphasized programming and consulting. In fact, those two strains are blurring together, as exemplified by U S Web's pending merger with CKS Group. America Online argues that its advantage in this increasingly crowded bazaar is its ability to combine a broad subscriber base of about 15 million customers with Netscape software, plus hardware from Sun Microsystems, which has joined in America Online's venture into electronic commerce engineering. ``This is the first time anyone has put a true end-to-end solution that starts with the silicon and ends with the audience,'' said Barry Schuler, America Online's president for interactive services. ``We start with Sun's line of servers, then the commerce tools to build a store, the support services to process orders and then a deal for online real estate that can drive the traffic.'' Despite the advantages Netscape and Sun bring, analysts say that America Online faces a variety of problems in its new quest. Chief among them is whether it can appear to have the consistency, focus and follow-through that corporate customers demand. ``AOL is not the first company that comes to my mind when it comes to business-quality software,'' said Robert Chatham, a senior analyst with Forrester Research. Its decision to keep Netscape as a separate unit and offer electronic commerce services in partnership with Sun will not enhance its credibility, Chatham said. ``America Online doesn't look like a homogenous vendor,'' he added. ``It looks like customers will have to tangle with a menage a trois of AOL, Netscape and Sun.'' Nor have Internet service providers and other telecommunications-oriented companies shown much evidence, Ms. Gere of International Data said, that they are capable of offering the highly specific customized services that big corporate clients demand. ``Telecommunications companies that try to do things efficiently for a large number of customers have not been able to offer customized one-to-one relationships,'' she said. Pittman said that America Online had been driven to the e-commerce business because companies that approached it wanting to sell their goods needed more help than simply advertising online. ``We are finding people who are expert in running bricks-and-mortar stores are limited by their infrastructure,'' he said. ``They have an online store, but their square footage is too small.'' Even before the Netscape deal, America Online was moving to provide some electronic commerce software and services. It has been rewriting the software that lets companies open online stores to be based on universally accepted Internet standards rather than the specific computer language used only on America Online. This new software, which now will be combined with Netscape's online store services, will be available for companies to use both on America Online and on the Internet. Similarly, it has developed a service that lets users create a file with their credit card numbers and shipping address so they can make online purchases without retyping all that information each time. America Online is working to offer it _ for a fee _ to stores on the broader Internet. There is a wide range of services that are incorporated in electronic commerce. These include high-end strategy consulting to help companies decide whether and how to sell online without hurting their traditional sale in stores. There are all sorts of computer systems to be developed, ranging from the online stores themselves to connecting those sites to a company's existing inventory and accounting systems.",
"America Online is on the verge of agreeing to purchase Netscape Communications Corp., the Internet pioneer at the center of the government's antitrust suit against Microsoft Corp., executives involved in the talks said Sunday. The proposed deal is a complex, three-way transaction involving AOL, Netscape and Sun Microsystems Inc. AOL, the leading on-line service with more than 14 million subscribers, would acquire Netscape's popular site on the World Wide Web and its software business. But as part of the deal, AOL would also enter into a joint marketing and development partnership with Sun Microsystems to strengthen Netscape's other business of selling to large corporations the heavy-duty software needed to serve up Web pages and other Internet technologies to many thousands of users at the same time. The purchase, an exchange of AOL shares for Netscape stock, is valued at roughly $4 billion. A completed deal could be announced as soon as Monday morning. But executives involved in the talks cautioned Sunday night that some details remained to be negotiated. The Netscape deal, if consummated, would realign three businesses at the forefront of the modern economy _ on-line services, Internet software and electronic commerce. It would strengthen two of Microsoft's leading rivals, AOL and Sun Microsystems. At the same time, however, it would subsume Netscape, an Internet software maker once regarded as the most serious challenger to Microsoft's dominance of the personal computer software market. Netscape, founded in 1994, has struggled over the last 18 months under an assault from Microsoft. Its Navigator was the runaway leader in the market for the browser software used to navigate the World Wide Web. But Microsoft, responding to the Internet revolution, entered the market aggressively, quickly matching the quality of Netscape's technology and then bundling the Microsoft browser, Internet Explorer, into its industry-standard Windows operating system and giving it away free. Earlier this year, Netscape announced layoffs and started distributing Navigator for free as well, as Microsoft steadily gained in the browser market. Since then, Netscape has focused mainly on two businesses _ advertising and transaction fees from its Netcenter Web site and selling industrial-strength software to corporations that are building their own Internet sites on which to conduct electronic commerce. AOL believes it has the expertise to increase revenues from Netscape's Web site and, helped by Sun's programmers and vast corporate sales force, to accelerate Netscape's software sales as well, executives involved in the negotiations said. Sun's version of Unix, Solaris, is among the most popular operating systems for the large, powerful computers that run Netscape's server software. ``This deal would insure that the fundamental elements of Netscape survive within bigger companies that can drive its technologies forward,'' said David B. Yoffie, a professor at the Harvard business school and co-author with Michael A. Cusumano of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology of a recent book, ``Competing on Internet Time: Lessons from Netscape and Its Battle with Microsoft.'' The impact of the deal, if any, on the government's antitrust suit against Microsoft is uncertain. It does appear to support a key theme of Microsoft's defense _ namely, that it operates in a fast-moving industry where corporate alliances shift all the time. Thus, Microsoft argues, antitrust policy should tread gently. But the deal, government officials insist, should have no direct effect on the current case. ``No matter how much the alliances shift, it doesn't affect the central fact of Microsoft's monopoly and how it has used and abused its market power to protect its monopoly,'' said David Boies, the Justice Department's lead trial lawyer in the Microsoft case. Executives representing Netscape, AOL and Sun Microsystems are government witnesses at the Microsoft trial. And the serious merger talks between Netscape Chief Executive Officer James Barksdale and AOL Chairman Steve Case began about a month ago, or just after the start of the Microsoft trial, according to people close to the talks. Industry analysts suggest that the companies may have been emboldened to take stronger anti-Microsoft steps based partly on the perception that the antitrust case would weaken Microsoft. And representatives of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm regarded as a power broker among Microsoft's rivals, sit on the boards of Netscape, Sun and AOL.",
"The outcome of the Microsoft antitrust case may be a long way off, but one thing is already clear: This is the first major e-mail trial. The government's prosecution and Microsoft Corp.'s defense, to a striking degree, are legal campaigns waged with electronic messages. The human testimony often pales next to the e-mail evidence. On the stand or in videotaped testimony, the people being questioned shrug, mumble and forget. The e-mail is alive with ideas and competitive zeal, punctuated with profanity and exclamation points. The second week of the trial ended with the prosecutors being frustrated because a lengthy cross-examination by Microsoft's lead lawyer left no time for the government to show several hours of a videotaped deposition of Bill Gates, the Microsoft chairman. With a new witness, an executive of Apple Computer Inc., taking the stand Monday, it is uncertain when the Gates tape will be played. The Justice Department and the 20 states suing Microsoft believe that the tape will strengthen their case because it shows Gates saying he was not involved in plans to take what the government alleges were illegal steps to stifle competition in the Internet software market. The Gates videotape, said David Boies, the Justice Department's trial lawyer, offers an ``opportunity to judge Gates' credibility.'' But the Gates credibility gap, if there is one, becomes an issue not because of the videotape but because his taped remarks can be compared and contrasted with the e-mail he wrote and received. The e-mail record, the government insists, shows Gates waist-deep in plotting the anti-competitive deals and bullying tactics that he denies or professes to have never heard of in his taped deposition. If his machinations are central to the government's case, why not summon Gates to the trial? ``The government does not need to put Gates on the stand, because we have his e-mail and memoranda,'' Stephen Houck, a lawyer for the states, told the court. The Microsoft legal team has for months been preparing its e-mail defense. First, Microsoft argues, anything that looks damaging is taken out of context. ``I urge your honor,'' John Warden, Microsoft's lead lawyer, told Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, ``to view with considerable skepticism the crazy quilt of e-mail fragments that seem to form the core of the government's case.'' But Microsoft has also mounted an e-mail counterattack, culled from the millions of messages it obtained by subpoena from competitors in pretrial discovery. Warden's cross-examination ritual is to present a government witness with an internal e-mail from his company and then pose a declaration as a question. These interrogations have two refrains: Isn't it true your company does exactly what you are accusing Microsoft of doing, and isn't it true that Microsoft prevailed not because it is a predatory monopolist but because of its superior technology? Microsoft is accused of trying to prod companies to stay out of its way. So last week, for example, Warden produced e-mail from Stephen Case, the chairman of America Online, suggesting a partnership with Netscape Communications Corp. in which both companies would focus on their respective strengths. That division of labor, Case wrote, would be the best way to achieve the goal that Marc Andreessen, Netscape's cofounder, described in an earlier e-mail as beating ``the Beast From Redmond that wants to see us both dead'' _ a reference to Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, Wash. Printouts of e-mail are just another form of written communication. By the 1920s, as typewriters became common, typed memoranda started to be used in court cases. From the 1950s through the 1980s, legal experts say, there was an explosion of documentation fueled by the new technologies of electric typewriters, photocopying and fax machines, and then personal computers. And e-mail, they add, has played an important role in legal inquiries for years, like the Iran-contra case in the 1980s when e-mail found in Oliver North's computer proved crucial. But the Microsoft case is the result of a sweeping government antitrust investigation of a high-technology company where e-mail has supplanted the telephone as the most common instrument of communication. ``E-mail has just revolutionized investigations of this kind,'' one senior Justice Department official said. While under investigation, Microsoft has handed over to the government an estimated 30 million documents, mostly e-mail. In the trial, the two sides have submitted about 3,000 exhibits, mainly e-mail. And in their e-mail, people often communicate more frankly and informally than when writing a letter or a report _ tap it out, punch a button and it's gone into cyberspace. But e-mail communication is documentary evidence, which in legal cases provides a rich, contemporaneous record of what people were thinking and planning at the time. It can be a sharp contrast to formal oral testimony, so often coached by lawyers and crafted by selective memory. ``The e-mail record certainly makes the I-don't-recall line of response harder to sustain,'' said Robert Litan, a former senior official in the Justice Department's antitrust division who is now at the Brookings Institution. It can also be powerful ammunition for pointing to contradictions in testimony. And that is what the government will do in attacking Gates' credibility with his videotaped deposition, taken over three days in August. The government offered a glimpse of that strategy on the first day of the trial. It showed a few brief clips of a point in the deposition when Gates was asked about a meeting on June 21, 1995, at which, the government alleges, Microsoft offered to divide the browser market with Netscape and to make an investment in the company, which is its chief rival in that market. In the taped deposition, Gates says he recalled being asked by one of his subordinates whether he thought it made sense to invest in Netscape. He said that he was asked about it after the June 1995 meeting and replied, ``I didn't see that as something that made sense.'' But in an e-mail on May 31, 1995, Gates urged an alliance with Netscape. ``We could even pay them money as part of the deal,'' he wrote, ``buying a piece of them or something.'' The contradiction between Gates' deposition and his e-mail, though, does not of itself speak to the issue of whether Microsoft made an illegal offer to Netscape. To be sure, it is what Microsoft did _ not what it said in e-mail communications _ that counts most. ``But once the e-mail that looks bad gets in the record, you end up doing what Microsoft's lawyers are going to spend much of this trial doing _ trying to explain it away,'' said Stephen Axinn, a leading antitrust litigator with the firm Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider in New York.",
"The New York Times said in an editorial for Wednesday, Nov. 25: America Online's effort to acquire Netscape and set up a partnership with Sun Microsystems is a reminder of how rapidly the corporate landscape can change in fast-moving technical fields. But it does not lessen the need for the Justice Department to vigorously pursue its antitrust suit against Microsoft, the dominant player in software. The department has presented solid evidence that Microsoft has used its monopoly in operating systems to muscle rivals and partners so as to head off competition in other software realms. The Internet has risen so quickly as an information medium that only four years ago, in his book ``The Road Ahead,'' Bill Gates scarcely mentions it. In addition, only a couple of years ago America Online, the world's biggest online service, was having so much trouble getting rid of the bugs in the system it was widely derided as ``America On Hold.'' Now Microsoft has moved so aggressively into the Internet that the Justice Department is accusing it of predatory behavior, and America Online has rocketed forward to make deals with other Internet players. In its antitrust suit against Microsoft, the federal government charges that the company has illegally bundled its own browser with its Windows operating system to smother Netscape's chances of marketing its browser. Now in the corridors outside the antitrust trial Microsoft's lawyers maintain that Netscape has found a new partner in America Online and has no need of protection from the government. But it could be as easily argued that Microsoft has bludgeoned Netscape into dissolution, forcing a distress sale to America Online. Nor is it clear that customers of America Online will choose Netscape's browser as a vehicle for buying and selling on the Internet. Even in its newly musclebound form, America Online remains dependent on Microsoft's good will for favorable placement of an AOL icon on the main desktop screen. It may be that, years hence, America Online, Netscape and Sun will put together an alternative means to the Internet through telephone lines, cables or the like. But until that day, fairness requires Justice Department action to insure that Microsoft not use its current position to thwart consumer choice. Only when companies know they can get their products to the consumer will they have the incentive to innovate and turn the Internet into the revolutionary medium it promises to be.",
"Envisioning a thoroughly networked world in which the World Wide Web is a limitless marketplace of information, entertainment, products and services, America Online Inc. Tuesday laid out the details of its agreement to buy the Netscape Communications Corporation for $4.2 billion. By moving quickly toward what both companies have recently come to see as the inevitable convergence of technology and media, America Online hopes that it will secure a solid lead in a battle already joined by giants like the Microsoft Corp. and the International Business Machines Corp. to transform the greater part of cyberspace into a vast virtual mall. Part of that vision rests on an alliance with Sun Microsystems that America Online negotiated as part of the deal. Sun not only brings a cyber-savvy sales force to the effort but, even more importantly, a strong technology partner in developing Netscape's industrial-strength software for running Internet sites. Sun is indeed a technology heavyweight. It owns the Java programming language specially designed for Internet applications, and Solaris, among the most popular commercial operating systems for the powerful computers that big corporations use to serve up Internet services like the World Wide Web, e-mail and retail transactions. It also manufactures a highly respected line of powerful computers based on its own microprocessor chips. But for America Online _ and for the big Internet players against which it will compete _ the real potential gold mine lies further down the road, perhaps five years away, when people will venture on line for information or shopping not only from personal computers but from inexpensive Internet appliances costing $200 each, or maybe included free as part of a subscription service, just as some cellular phones are now. Today, being wired remains a comparatively elitist activity _ an estimated 25 percent of American households had access to the Internet last year, and 5 percent of households bought merchandise on line. But the executives at America Online and Netscape hope that their deal will accelerate the timetable for the day when the Net is ubiquitous, when people will tap into the World Wide Web from appliance-like devices, pagers, cell phones, television set-top boxes or computers as routinely as they use the telephone today. ``A new generation of Internet devices to be able to deliver our service anywhere is a key part of what this deal is about in the long run,'' said Stephen M. Case, 40, the chairman of America Online. For the present, however, the idea is to make America Online, the nation's leading online service, the standard way to get onto the Internet, the executives explained. Netscape, the Internet pioneer, is a crucial part of that effort, they said. There is no assurance that this vision of the technological future will prove accurate or, even if it does, that the America Online-Netscape combination will lead the way. Still, the long-range game plan helps explain what brought America Online and Netscape together. And the ability of the companies' executives to sell that vision to Netscape's whiz-kid programmers in particular will determine whether the merger succeeds. Netscape's headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., is likely become a prime target for Silicon Valley headhunters. As is the case with any software company, Netscape's key asset is its talented programmers, and many of these code hackers may be reluctant to work for America Online, which still has a reputation as a middle-brow service catering to online newcomers, known derisively as ``newbies.'' Stock options and other financial incentives will be tailored to try to keep Netscape employees on board. ``But these people want to change the world, and we've got to be clear that joining with America Online, along with the Sun component, really is a bigger opportunity for us,'' said Marc Andreessen, the 26-year-old cofounder of Netscape who led a team of young programmers from the supercomputing center at the University of Illinois to Silicon Valley to start the Internet software company in 1994. ``This ought to be the preeminent Internet company over the next decade,'' Andreessen declared, speaking from a cell phone on a streetcorner in Palo Alto, Calif. For his part, Andreessen, a Netscape executive vice president, will become Netscape's chief technology officer for the next three or four months, until the merger is completed. His new job at America Online has not yet been determined, but it is likely to be chief technology officer of the combined company as well, an America Online executive said. Already, according to one Netscape board member, Andreessen has delivered a 12-page single-spaced memorandum to Case, setting out his view of the technological road map the new company should follow into the future, emphasizing the opportunities for electronic commerce in an environment in which most people are linked to the Internet. Netscape, populated with computing sophisticates, and America Online, known as an on-ramp to the Internet for the technologically challenged, seem a corporate odd couple. But the two companies, its executives explained, had been evolving toward each other for more than a year. In a telephone interview from America Online's headquarters in Dulles, Va., Case described Netscape as an enterprise that had ``morphed itself'' from a company dependent on sales of its software used to browse the World Wide Web _ and ``in Microsoft's cross-hairs'' _ into a business that relied on advertising and other revenues from its popular Netcenter Web site and from selling software to corporations to handle electronic commerce. The Netscape transformation was largely a reaction to Microsoft's competitive assault on its browser business _ a central element in the government's antitrust suit against Microsoft. Microsoft bundled its browser into its industry-standard Windows operating system, and gave away the browser for free. The government alleges these steps were part of a pattern of anticompetitive practices, while Microsoft maintains the moves were intended mainly to benefit consumers. Early this year, after laying off workers and suffering a large loss last year, Netscape announced that it would also distribute its browser for free. It seems to have stabilized its business around its new model. Netscape announced Tuesday that it earned $2.7 million on revenues of $162 million in its fourth fiscal quarter, which ended in September. Yet America Online has also changed in the last couple of years, moving well beyond its reputation as an online service for beginners. It now has an Internet chat service and runs its own all-in-one site on the Web, known as a ``portal,'' which includes e-mail, Internet searching, news, entertainment and online shopping. ``America Online has really changed from a closed online service for novice users to an Internet media and technology company with a diverse set of brands,'' Andreessen said. ``These two companies have been moving in the same direction, and the fit is a good one.''",
"America Online is on the verge of agreeing to purchase Netscape Communications Corp., the Internet pioneer at the center of the government's antitrust suit against Microsoft Corp., executives involved in the talks said Sunday. The proposed deal is a complex, three-way transaction involving AOL, Netscape and Sun Microsystems Inc. AOL, the leading on-line service with more than 14 million subscribers, would acquire Netscape's popular site on the World Wide Web and its software business. AOL would also enter into a joint marketing and development partnership with Sun Microsystems to strengthen Netscape's other business of selling to large corporations the heavy-duty software needed to serve up Web pages and other Internet technologies to many thousands of users at the same time. The purchase, an exchange of AOL shares for Netscape stock, is valued at roughly $4 billion. A completed deal could be announced as soon as Monday morning. But executives involved in the talks cautioned Sunday night that some details remained to be negotiated. The Netscape deal, if consummated, would realign three businesses at the forefront of the modern economy _ on-line services, Internet software and electronic commerce. It would strengthen two of Microsoft's leading rivals, AOL and Sun Microsystems. At the same time, however, it would end the independent existence of Netscape, an Internet software maker once regarded as the most serious challenger to Microsoft's dominance of the personal computer software market. Netscape, founded in 1994, has struggled over the last 18 months under an assault from Microsoft. Its Navigator was the runaway leader in the market for the browser software used to navigate the World Wide Web. But Microsoft, responding to the Internet revolution, entered the market aggressively, quickly matching the quality of Netscape's technology and then bundling the Microsoft browser, Internet Explorer, into its industry-standard Windows operating system and giving it away free. Eventually, Microsoft's browser technology caught up to Netscape's. Earlier this year, Netscape announced layoffs and started distributing Navigator for free as well, as Microsoft steadily gained in the browser market. Since then, Netscape has focused mainly on two businesses _ advertising and transaction fees from its Netcenter Web site and selling industrial-strength software to corporations that are building their own Internet sites on which to conduct electronic commerce. AOL believes it has the expertise to increase revenues from Netscape's Web site and, helped by Sun's programmers and vast corporate sales force, to accelerate Netscape's software sales as well, executives involved in the negotiations said. Among large corporations, Sun's version of Unix, Solaris, is among the most popular operating systems for the powerful computers that run Netscape's server software. The much smaller Netscape would be placed under the wing of AOL and Sun Microsystems. The three companies had combined revenues of more than $12.4 billion last year. Microsoft, by comparison, had revenues of more than $14 billion. ``This deal would insure that the fundamental elements of Netscape survive within bigger companies that can drive its technologies forward,'' said David B. Yoffie, a professor at the Harvard business school and co-author with Michael A. Cusumano of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology of a recent book, ``Competing on Internet Time: Lessons from Netscape and Its Battle with Microsoft.'' The impact of the deal, if any, on the government's antitrust suit against Microsoft is uncertain. It does appear to support a key theme of Microsoft's defense _ namely, that it operates in a fast-moving industry where corporate alliances shift all the time. Thus, Microsoft argues, antitrust policy should tread gently. But the deal, government officials insist, should have no direct effect on the current case. ``No matter how much the alliances shift, it doesn't affect the central fact of Microsoft's monopoly and how it has used and abused its market power to protect its monopoly,'' said David Boies, the Justice Department's lead trial lawyer in the Microsoft case. Executives representing Netscape, AOL and Sun Microsystems are government witnesses at the Microsoft trial. And the serious merger talks between Netscape Chief Executive Officer James Barksdale and AOL Chairman Steve Case began about a month ago, or just after the start of the Microsoft trial, according to people close to the talks. Industry analysts suggest that the companies may have been emboldened to take stronger anti-Microsoft steps based partly on the perception that the antitrust case would weaken Microsoft. And representatives of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm regarded as a power broker among Microsoft's rivals, sit on the boards of Netscape, Sun and AOL. Still, executives involved in the talks said that the timing of the proposed deal was unrelated to the antitrust trial. Nor should it, one person noted, be regarded as ``a single-minded attempt to circle the wagons against Microsoft.'' Indeed, AOL, according to one person close to the talks, plans to keep Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser as the default choice on its on-line service. One of the government's allegations in the antitrust suit is that Microsoft won out over Netscape as the main browser for AOL because Microsoft used its Windows monopoly as a bargaining chip. To win the browser deal, Microsoft offered AOL prime real estate on the Windows desktop, the main screen on more than 90 percent of personal computers sold today. Staying with Microsoft's browser can be seen as proof that AOL still regards placement on the Windows desktop as crucial, as well as a careful step to avoid undermining one of the allegations in the government's case. For AOL, the Netscape purchase would accelerate its evolution toward the Internet. At present, its flagship on-line service is a hybrid _ to its own proprietary service, it has added a gateway to the World Wide Web. In addition, for consumers who do not subscribe to AOL's dial-up service, it also has its own Web site, aol.com, which attracts about 24 million visitors a month, according to Media Metrix/Relevant Knowledge, a market research firm. Its big Web site offers a wide range of information, entertainment, Internet chat and e-mail, a leading example of the all-in-one sites that have become known as portals. Netscape's Netcenter traffic has slipped a bit in recent months, to under 16 million visitors a month, but it, too, is a major portal. Together, they should be a huge player in the intensifying portal battle for viewers and resulting advertising revenues. Yahoo is the current leader among portal sites with more than 25 million monthly visitors, while Microsoft's site attracts more than 20 million a month. Though known as a new-media company for consumers, AOL is also interested in boosting its electronic commerce business with the Netscape purchase. AOL has recently done work with Eastman Kodak, American Greetings and other companies, not only promoting their products to on-line subscribers but also building the Internet infrastructure of software to conduct electronic commerce. AOL notes projections like a recent one from Forrester Research Inc., which predicted that worldwide Internet commerce could reach as high as $3.2 trillion by 2003, or 5 percent of global sales. Sun Microsystems, analysts say, could be a strong partner for AOL in the market for Internet commerce software. Sun is a corporate software company with a sales force of several thousand. As it moves increasingly to Internet technology, AOL should prove an excellent partner for Sun in terms of developing and using Sun's Java, an Internet programming language. And while Netscape's browser no longer generates revenue on its own, it is a distribution channel for Java technology. Having Netscape's browser safely in the hands of a friendly company is of strategic importance for Sun, since Microsoft owns the alternative in the browser market. AOL is expected pay little, if any, premium over Netscape's stock price on Friday, executives close to the deal said, since Netscape shares have more than doubled in the last month. In the last week alone, Netscape's stock has jumped about $12, or nearly 45 percent, following reports that it was discussing a possible partnership with AOL. The stock closed Friday at $39.1875, up $2.625. AOL's shares gained $1.50 Friday, closing at $84.875.",
"America Online built itself into the most potent force in cyberspace largely by appealing to families with chatty teen-agers who want to flirt online and adults looking for an easy way to send electronic mail while checking the weather and sports scores. Now, the company has to get serious if it is to win the hearts and minds of corporate executives in pin-stripe suits. Nearly lost in the complexity of America Online's deal to buy Netscape Communication Corp. is America Online's announcement that it will enter an entirely new market: working behind the computer screen to help companies open and operate online stores. Netscape already has created software that made it a player in providing support for what is already known as electronic commerce. But America Online now says it has ambitions to offer a much wider array of software, consulting and services for online merchants. ``Most companies that sell to consumers realize that they need to get into the e-commerce space,'' said America Online president Robert Pittman in a news conference Tuesday. ``We see a major business in offering them an end-to-end solution.'' The market is big and growing bigger by the day. Forrester Research estimates that $325 million will be spent this year on electronic commerce software and another $5.3 billion on services that range from graphic design to the turn-key operation of entire online stores. By 2002, Forrester estimates, the combined market for electronic commerce services and software should top $35 billion. ``E-commerce services are the silver bullet that will enable companies to be able to take advantage of the true business opportunities on the Web,'' said Traci Gere, an analyst at International Data Corp. ``The market is growing very rapidly, but it is very fragmented.'' Analysts say the leader today in e-commerce services is IBM, which has a full line of offerings from sophisticated software products to hand-holding consulting. Other competitors include well-known information technology consulting companies such as Andersen Consulting, the spin-off from the Arthur Andersen accounting firm; Electronic Data Systems, which runs computer systems for big companies, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, which offers accounting and consulting separately but under one umbrella. Software companies like Microsoft and Netscape sell packaged programs, typically with little or no consulting to help customers use them. There are also plenty of new companies that have sprouted up to provide electronic commerce services. Some, like Agency.Com and Organic Online, started basically as advertising and design firms. Others, including U S Web and Viant, have emphasized programming and consulting. In fact, those two strains are blurring together, as exemplified by U S Web's pending merger with CKS Group. America Online argues that its advantage in this increasingly crowded bazaar is its ability to combine a broad subscriber base of about 15 million customers with Netscape software, plus hardware from Sun Microsystems, which has joined in America Online's venture into electronic commerce engineering. ``This is the first time anyone has put a true end-to-end solution that starts with the silicon and ends with the audience,'' said Barry Schuler, America Online's president for interactive services. ``We start with Sun's line of servers, then the commerce tools to build a store, the support services to process orders and then a deal for online real estate that can drive the traffic.'' Despite the advantages Netscape and Sun bring, analysts say that America Online faces a variety of problems in its new quest. Chief among them is whether it can appear to have the consistency, focus and follow-through that corporate customers demand. ``AOL is not the first company that comes to my mind when it comes to business-quality software,'' said Robert Chatham, a senior analyst with Forrester Research. Its decision to keep Netscape as a separate unit and offer electronic commerce services in partnership with Sun will not enhance its credibility, Chatham said. ``America Online doesn't look like a homogenous vendor,'' he added. ``It looks like customers will have to tangle with a menage a trois of AOL, Netscape and Sun.'' Nor have Internet service providers and other telecommunications-oriented companies shown much evidence, Ms. Gere of International Data said, that they are capable of offering the highly specific customized services that big corporate clients demand. ``Telecommunications companies that try to do things efficiently for a large number of customers have not been able to offer customized one-to-one relationships,'' she said. Pittman said that America Online had been driven to the e-commerce business because companies that approached it wanting to sell their goods needed more help than simply advertising online. ``We are finding people who are expert in running bricks-and-mortar stores are limited by their infrastructure,'' he said. ``They have an online store, but their square footage is too small.'' Even before the Netscape deal, America Online was moving to provide some electronic commerce software and services. It has been rewriting the software that lets companies open online stores to be based on universally accepted Internet standards rather than the specific computer language used only on America Online. This new software, which now will be combined with Netscape's online store services, will be available for companies to use both on America Online and on the Internet. Similarly, it has developed a service that lets users create a file with their credit card numbers and shipping address so they can make online purchases without retyping all that information each time. America Online is working to offer it _ for a fee _ to stores on the broader Internet. There is a wide range of services that are incorporated in electronic commerce. These include high-end strategy consulting to help companies decide whether and how to sell online without hurting their traditional sale in stores. There are all sorts of computer systems to be developed, ranging from the online stores themselves to connecting those sites to a company's existing inventory and accounting systems. There are creative services that include graphic design, media buying, customer list analysis and other marketing and promotional efforts. And there are operational services that involve actually maintaining the big servers that users connect to when they use the online stores that display catalogs, take orders and process payments. America Online, Schuler said, will emphasize services that relate to marketing rather than back-office functions. ``We will consult on how to merchandise and sell online,'' he said. ``We understand the consumer piece of the puzzle.'' Some competitors worry that America Online's electronic commerce services may simply be a device to sell its software and hardware. ``The challenge is to prove that clients are getting the best possible solution for their business,'' said Robert Gett, the chief executive of Viant. ``If they offer AOL and Netscape and Sun, their answer is a bit tainted.'' Netscape does have an expanding force of about 700 people who provide consulting and custom programming. But they have been most competitive, Gett said, in competing for nuts-and-bolts projects rather than the more lucrative assignments to develop and carry out a full-fledged strategy on the Web. ``They say, `Who knows our software better than Netscape?''' Gett said. ``We help customers decide which platform is best for them.'' But America Online argues that the combined might of it, Netscape and Sun is just what the business needs. ``We always believed that commerce, that is buying goods and services, is the huge revenue stream of the future,'' Schuler said. ``We have only seen the tiniest tip of the iceberg.''",
"Stock prices vaulted to record levels Monday, furthering a recovery that as recently as two months ago seemed nearly unthinkable. ``I thought we were in the most serious correction since 1990, but I never thought or wrote that the bull market was over,'' said Byron Wien, U.S. equity strategist at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. ``Now it seems all of that is behind us.'' The Dow Jones industrial average rose 214.72 points, or 2.34 percent, to 9,374.27. The record is the first since July 17, when the Dow closed at 9,337.97. Since Aug. 31, when the Dow stood at 7,539.07 after a steep slide, the blue-chip gauge has risen more than 24 percent. For the year, the Dow is up 18.54 percent and has a chance of rising more than 20 percent for a fourth consecutive year, something never accomplished before. Broader averages also climbed. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index set a record, rising 24.66 points, or 2.12 percent, to 1,188.21. The Nasdaq composite index did not reach a new high but posted the biggest percentage gain Monday, rising 49.21 points, or 2.55 percent, to 1,977.42. And the Russell 2000 index of smaller-company issues gained 3.86 points, or nearly 1 percent, to 398.15. Monday's action was energized by a daily record for the number of mergers and acquisitions valued at $1 billion or more. The merger announcements not only prompted investors to change estimates of how much companies were worth but also indicated coming declines in the outstanding shares of stock. ``This may be a supply-demand story, where demand for stocks is rising and the supply of stock is reduced as one company after another merges,'' said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer at First Albany Corp. ``The flow of money into mutual funds is fairly strong, and there is pressure on managers to put that money to work.'' Two deals seemed to be catalysts for broad swaths of stocks. News that Bankers Trust may be close to accepting an $8.9 billion offer from Deutsche Bank of Germany heightened interest in financial-services and bank stocks. And word that America Online may acquire Netscape Communications for $4 billion in stock powered Internet and other technology stocks to even loftier valuations. Among financial companies, J.P. Morgan gained 6 1/16, to 115 11/16. American Express was up 4 3/8, to 108 15/16. Merrill Lynch jumped 4 3/8, to 76. And Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette rose 3 9/16, to 42}. Netscape was the most active stock Monday, gaining 2}, to 41 15/16. America Online gained 4 3/8, to 89\\. Other Internet stocks also surged, and analysts said the group, which has seen meteoric gains in recent weeks, was ripe for a steep correction. Yahoo and Amazon.com both became $200 stocks on Monday. Yahoo rose 30 7/16, to 221 7/16. And Amazon.com gained 37 3/8, to 218. ``The performance of the Internet stocks is an unsettling sign,'' Wien said. Still, more-established technology shares also had a very good day. IBM rose 7, to 166 5/8. Microsoft jumped 5 9/16, to 119 3/16. And Intel closed at 113 9/16, up 1{. After Monday's big price moves, Wien said that according to his calculations, stocks were about 10 percent overvalued. By contrast, in the middle of July the market was 20 percent overvalued, he said. Nonetheless, the market's recovery, which has been buttressed by three cuts in interest rates by the Federal Reserve Board, has left many longtime Wall Street hands grasping for historical parallels. ``At this point we are in new ground,'' said Laszlo Birinyi, who heads his own market research firm. ``At the beginning of the year, I said my target for the Dow was 10,000 by the end of 1998. If anyone had asked when the market went through what now looks like a corrective blip, I would have said my new target would have been about 9,000. I am surprised the 10,000 figure came back on the table'' for this year."
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Liberal Russian lawmaker Galina Starovoitova was gunned down in St. Petersburg. Her aide was seriously wounded. She was a parliament member, aide to Yeltsin and Democratic Choice party leader. She was to run for president in 2000. She is the 1st woman politician killed since Stalin's time. Her slaying may be a watershed event. Yeltsin will run the investigation. She was said to have had uncompromising dedication to democracy. Police found some evidence, but after the aide regained consciousness and talked, several suspects were arrested in raids. Hundreds mourned her. She was honored as a martyr at her funeral and was to be buried alongside Russian heroes. Galina Starovoitova, founder of Russia's democratic movement and outspoken reformist member of parliament's lower house, was murdered and her press aide injured. She tried to run for president in 1996 but was barred on technicalities. She planned to run again in 2000. Her death appeared a contract killing. She campaigned against corruption and had many enemies. The hundreds of political killings in Russia are rarely prosecuted. Other St. Petersburg figures attacked recently include a banker, finance official, and parliamentary aide. Her killing brought outrage and wide mourning Yeltsin led the investigation. She was buried among Russia's national heroes. Galina Starovoitova, a liberal Russian lawmaker, doctor, mother, grandmother and Presidential hopeful, was mourned as a martyr and buried beside other heroes in St. Petersburg. She had been shot four days earlier by two, still unknown, assailants. Her press aide, also shot, was recovering under heavy guard. The death looked like a contract killing, all too common now in Russia. Yeltsin said he would lead the investigation. Suspects were taken in, but none has been arrested. A champion of democracy, her allies feared she had too many enemies, both Communists and gangsters, and blamed her foes in the Duma. Her death brought outrage in Russia and the world. Galina Starovoitova, a leader of the reformist Russian's Democratic Choice party and a member of the Duma, was killed and an aide, Ruslan Linkov, wounded in an attack in St. Petersburg. Several suspects were arrested; however, the murder is still unsolved. Ms. Starovoitova, a Yeltsin ally and a champion of democracy, had said that she would run for president in 2000. The crime appears to have been a contract killing, the latest of many in St. Petersburg. Anatoly Chubais and other supporters have charged the Communists were behind the attack, but without evidence. Former Russian prime ministers as well as commoners attended Ms. Starovoitova's funeral.
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"A liberal lawmaker who planned to run for president in Russia's next elections was shot to death Friday in St. Petersburg, police said. Galina Starovoitova, a member of the lower house of Russia's parliament from the reformist party Democratic Russia, was attacked the entry way of an apartment building, police said. A neighbor found the body in a pool of blood late Friday night and called an ambulance, they said. The Interfax news agency said her aide, Ruslan Linkov, was also seriously injured. Starovoitova, 52, tried to run for president in the 1996 elections but her registration was turned down for technical reasons. She had said she would run again in 2000. She served as President Boris Yeltsin's aide on ethnic issues and was on the human rights committee of the USSR's Supreme Soviet. Born in the Ural Mountains city of Chelyabinsk, Starovoitova was trained as a psychologist and later received a doctorate in history. She was divorced and had one son, according to Who's Who in Russia. There have been several attacks on prominent figures in St. Petersburg recently. A finance official was attacked earlier this week, a top banker was killed last week, and an aide to Russia's parliament speaker was shot in the head last month.",
"In modern Russia, the crime was so common as to be mundane. Two thugs, armed with machine pistols and silencers, stalked and killed a powerful figure, then slipped away into the night. Police vowed to catch them and politicians expressed outrage. Usually, that would be the end of the story. This time, though, the figure shot was one of the most prominent and popular women in Russian politics, a prospective presidential candidate with friends in the highest reaches of the Kremlin. As outrage mounted Sunday, it seemed clear that the killing of Galina Starovoitova was not going to be treated as a routine crime, and some said it might turn out to be a watershed event in Russian politics. ``This is impossible to tolerate any longer,'' said Grigory Yavlinsky, the leader of Yabloko, another reform-oriented party. ``We must stop feeling powerless before the increasingly cheeky scum. We cannot go on living as though everything is running as usual.'' Starovoitova, a member of parliament and a leader of the liberal Russia's Democratic Choice party, was walking up the stairs of her apartment building in St. Petersburg with a young aide Friday evening. A team of assailants _ police believe it was a man and a woman _ appeared behind them and opened fire. Starovoitova, shot three times in the head, collapsed and died instantly, authorities said. The aide, 27-year-old Ruslan Linkov, was critically wounded, but managed to telephone a news agency reporter before losing consciousness. Police have recovered two guns, and are hoping that Linkov can provide a description of the killers. He had regained consciousness but still could not speak Sunday. Although it was still not clear who killed Starovoitova or why, the killing had all the earmarkings of a contract hit _ a remarkably common crime in post-Soviet Russia. Most of the killings involve business deals and the corruption that has swamped the government and the economy. Until now, the most notorious of the killings was that of popular television host Vladislav Litsyev, who was shot outside his Moscow home in 1995. But there have been hundreds of others. St. Petersburg has been especially plagued. Last year, the city's deputy governor was gunned down on a central St. Petersburg street. In the past two months alone, hitmen have claimed the lives of a legislative aide, a high-ranking city official and a prominent banker. So deeply has the toxin infected Russian society that President Boris Yeltsin ordered an investigation last week into reports that his Federal Security Service _ the domestic successor to the KGB _ had ordered the death of Boris Berezovsky, the nation's most prominent businessman and the head of the Commonwealth of Independent States. There is no indication that anyone attempted to carry out an assassination of Berezovsky. But Yeltsin's order was the equivalent of U.S. President Bill Clinton ordering an investigation into whether the FBI was plotting to kill Microsoft chairman Bill Gates. Yet, as remarkable as that news was, it has been vastly overshadowed by the death of Starovoitova. Television news since her death has carried reports of little else. Reaction has poured in from virtually every important figure in the country, and from surrounding nations. Yeltsin, calling her ``my comrade,'' declared that he would personally oversee the investigation into her death. There was, in much of the reaction to Starovoitova's death, the sense that a line had been crossed. Perhaps it was because she was a woman, perhaps because she elicited impassioned support, or perhaps because people are simply fed up. But, in more characteristic fashion, her death also led to a round of political finger-pointing. Colleagues of Starovoitova declared _ without any apparent evidence _ that her Communist foes in the Duma, the lower house of parliament, were the most likely culprits in her death. Historian Dmitry Likachyov, one of the nation's most revered and trusted figures, said her killing seemed to signal the ``outburst of a new Red Terror.'' By late Saturday, the name-calling had gone so far that Interior Minister Sergei Stepashin called a news conference to say there was no evidence that the Communist speaker of the Duma, Gennady Seleznyov, was involved in the killing. Seleznyov went on television to say he was saddened by her death. ``But,'' he added, ``I would not like the deputies who sat on the same bench with Galina Starovoitova in the State Duma ... to turn this into a political show.'' It is too early to know where the recriminations and political maneuvering will lead. For now, the only thing certain is the Starovoitova has become the latest in a long line of Russian martyrs.",
"The New York Times said in an editorial on Monday, Nov. 23: The Russian reform movement has produced few leaders with an uncompromising dedication to democracy. Galina Starovoitova was one, and her murder in St. Petersburg on Friday was a terrible loss for Russia. In a bleak season of economic collapse and political timidity, the killing can only heighten fears that Russia is slipping into an ugly era of intolerance and political violence. Initial evidence suggests that the killing was a political assassination. Ms. Starovoitova was gunned down in the lobby of her apartment building, shot three times in the head, typical of Russian contract killings. She was a member of the Russian parliament and a recently declared candidate for governor of the region around St. Petersburg. In recent weeks she had spoken out forcefully against political extremism, denounced the anti-Semitic statements of a Communist parliamentarian and was campaigning aggressively against financial corruption in the St. Petersburg municipal government. Ms. Starovoitova's activities were fully in character with a career built around principles of liberty, tolerance and the rule of law. She championed democracy and human rights long before they became politically acceptable in Moscow, and courageously stood by Boris Yeltsin and other reformers as Russia struggled to find a new political course when the Soviet Union disintegrated. An ethnographer by training, Ms. Starovoitova proved to be a skillful and effective politician. She first gained national attention a decade ago when she set aside her academic work about the ethnic history of Leningrad and ran successfully for a seat in the Soviet parliament from Armenia, a startling victory for a Russian. She later represented St. Petersburg in the Russian legislature. Ms. Starovoitova was a woman of irrepressible energy and infectious enthusiasm. But her good humor and quick smile belied a steely commitment to combat the corruption and ethnic divisions that she correctly considered to be the enemies of Russian democracy. The least Yeltsin can do is to hunt down her killers and bring them to trial. That would be the exception in a nation where political violence is rarely prosecuted. Her countrymen can honor her memory by following her example.",
"A liberal lawmaker who planned to run for president in Russia's next elections was killed Friday in St. Petersburg, a news report said. Galina Starovoitova, a member of the lower house of Russia's parliament from the reformist party Democratic Russia, was attacked in an apartment building along with her aide, Ruslan Linkov, the Interfax news agency reported. Linkov was seriously injured, it said. The report gave no other details. A police spokesman in St. Petersburg would not comment on the report. Starovoitova, 52, tried to run for president in the 1996 elections but her registration was turned down for technical reasons. She had said she would run again in 2000. She served as President Boris Yeltsin's aide on ethnic issues and was on the human rights committee of the USSR's Supreme Soviet. Born in the Ural Mountains city of Chelyabinsk, Starovoitova was trained as a psychologist and later received a doctorate in history. She was divorced and had one son, according to Who's Who in Russia. There have been several attacks on prominent figures in St. Petersburg recently. A finance official was attacked earlier this week, a top banker was killed last week, and an aide to Russia's parliament speaker was shot in the head last month.",
"A liberal lawmaker who planned to run for president in Russia's next elections was killed Friday in St. Petersburg, a news report said. Galina Starovoitova, a member of the lower house of Russia's parliament from the reformist party Democratic Russia, was attacked in an apartment building along with her aide, the Interfax news agency reported. It gave no other details. Starovoitova tried to run for president in the 1996 elections but her registration was turned down for technical reasons. She had said she would run again in 2000. There have been several attacks on prominent figures in St. Petersburg in recent months.",
"A slain Russian lawmaker was honored Tuesday as a martyr to democratic ideals in a stately funeral service in which anger mingled freely with tears. Afterward, Galina Starovoitova was to be buried alongside some of Russia's greatest national heroes. The stirring tribute to Starovoitova, a feisty liberal whose killing remains a mystery, was indicative of the depth of national feeling over her death. ``To stop us, they want to scare us. They will never succeed,'' former Deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Chubais said at the funeral for Starovoitova. ``We will fulfill the goals she sacrificed her life for.'' Hundreds of people, including many of the country's most prominent political figures, packed the grand Marble Hall of St. Petersburg's Ethnography Museum for the funeral. An open casket, cloaked with black ribbons and flanked by a military honor guard, stood at the head of the hall. At the end of the service, mourners passed grimly past it as classical music played. Outside, several thousand more mourners stood in the cold, waiting for the service to end so they could file in and pay their respects. ``Ordinary people should honor her memory, and make sure this never happens again,'' said one man, Vadim Olshevsky, the manager of a construction company. But, he added bitterly, ``There's little hope of that in our country.'' Among speakers at the service were former Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and Yuri Yarov, President Boris Yeltsin's first deputy chief of staff, who represented the president at the service. Former Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko was also present. Yeltsin, who has said he will personally oversee the investigation into Starovoitova's killing, was in a Moscow hospital, recovering from pneumonia. ``The shooting in St. Petersburg is a grim lesson for the whole of Russia,'' Yarov said. ``Irrespective of real motives for that murder, a crime of this magnitude is a political act, and society should know all the truth about it.'' One national television channel turned over its daylong programming to funeral coverage and a memorial tribute. Newspapers carried page after page of coverage of her death. Her political party, Russia's Democratic Choice, called on all Russians to turn out their lights in her memory for three minutes at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Starovoitova was initially going to be buried in a simple cemetery in the St. Petersburg suburb where her family lives. But as outrage mounted over her killing, the government announced that she would be interred in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in the city's center following the funeral at the Ethnography Museum. Among those buried at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery are the composers Peter Tchaikovsky and Modest Mussorgsky and the author Fyodor Dostoevsky. Starovoitova was shot to death Friday evening as she and an aide scaled the stairs to her apartment in St. Petersburg. The aide, 27-year-old Ruslan Linkov, was seriously wounded, but has been able to provide some description of the shooting to police. Acting on his information, investigators rounded up several suspects, officials said Monday. But a detective later said that investigators had learned nothing ``serious'' from Linkov, according to the Interfax news agency, and there were no further details about whether the suspects were still in custody. Igor Kozhevnikov, head of investigations for the Interior Ministry, told Interfax on Tuesday that he was confident the case would be solved. ``It will take time,'' he said, but added that investigators ``have tips, they have something to work on.'' Authorities are acting on the assumption that Starovoitova's death was a contract hit, a common event in post-Soviet Russia. Russian politicians and newspapers have speculated wildly about political motives for the killing, but police have said they have no idea why someone would have wanted her dead. Police said someone fired shots at the apartment of a member of the St. Petersburg legislature Monday night, Interfax said. No one was hurt. It was not clear whether the shooting was related to Starovoitova's death.",
"A badly wounded aide to a murdered lawmaker regained consciousness Monday and was talking to police, who later arrested several suspects in raids around the city, officials said. Galina Starovoitova, 52, a leader of the liberal Russia's Democratic Choice party, was shot dead by unidentified assailants on the stairs of her apartment building in St. Petersburg on Friday night. The killing of such a prominent politician has caused an uproar in Russia and prompted calls from all sides for a crackdown on the country's growing lawlessness. Scores of business leaders and others have been gunned down in recent years in contract killings that are almost never solved. The lawmaker's aide, 27-year-old Ruslan Linkov, was in a ``clear'' mind Monday, testifying to investigators, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. Special police armed with assault rifles were standing guard at the door of his hospital room. Acting on information from the aide, police carried out raids and rounded up several suspects, officials said. There were no further details. Linkov was critically wounded in the head during the attack and later rushed to a hospital where he underwent surgery during the weekend. Liberal leaders charged _ without any concrete evidence _ that Starovoitova's Communist foes in the Duma, the lower house of parliament, were the most likely culprits. Over the weekend, Interior Minister Sergei Stepashin even had to call a news conference to say there was no evidence that the Communist speaker of the Duma, Gennady Seleznyov, was involved in the killing. Seleznyov responded in kind on Monday, suggesting that the ``extremists from democratic organizations'' might have staged the murder in order to win local elections set for Dec. 6, the Interfax news agency reported. The speaker also threatened to file a libel suit against a St. Petersburg newspaper, which Starovoitova edited. The newspaper recently accused Seleznyov of setting up an illegal fund to finance a presidential bid and other shady activities. Seleznyov, who has said he might run for president in 2000, denied the newspaper's allegations on Friday, calling them an ``outright slander.'' Starovoitova's murder had all the traits of a contract murder, an increasingly common crime in Russia. Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov on Monday used Starovoitova's killing as an occasion to lambast the government for its inability to contain soaring crime. ``That's a result of the (government's) catastrophic policy aimed at the destruction of the state and the nation,'' he said. Starovoitova, of the reformist party Democratic Russia, tried to run for president in 1996 but her registration was turned down for technical reasons. She had said she would run again in 2000. She served as President Boris Yeltsin's aide on ethnic issues in 1991-92 _ the only woman in his immediate circle _ and later joined the Russian parliament as one of the most vocal defenders of liberal reforms. Yeltsin called Starovoitova a ``comrade'' and said he would personally monitor the investigation into her killing. Starovoitova remarried earlier this year and had one son and a grandson. She is scheduled to be buried on Tuesday at the Nikolskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg.",
"A liberal lawmaker who planned to run for president in Russia's next elections was shot to death Friday in St. Petersburg, police said. Galina Starovoitova, a member of the lower house of Russia's parliament from the reformist party Democratic Russia, was attacked the entry way of an apartment building, police said. A neighbor found the body in a pool of blood late Friday night and called an ambulance, they said. The Interfax news agency said her aide, Ruslan Linkov, was also seriously injured. Starovoitova, 52, tried to run for president in the 1996 elections but her registration was turned down for technical reasons. She had said she would run again in 2000. She served as President Boris Yeltsin's aide on ethnic issues and was on the human rights committee of the USSR's Supreme Soviet. Born in the Ural Mountains city of Chelyabinsk, Starovoitova was trained as a psychologist and later received a doctorate in history. She was divorced and had one son, according to Who's Who in Russia. There have been several attacks on prominent figures in St. Petersburg recently. A finance official was attacked earlier this week, a top banker was killed last week, and an aide to Russia's parliament speaker was shot in the head last month.",
"Mourners bearing flowers and candles gathered Sunday outside the house on Griboyedova Canal where a Russian legislator, Galina Staravoitova, was shot to death on Friday night. A key witness, Ruslan Linkov, 27, Mrs. Staravoitova's press aide, was reported to be regaining consciousness in a heavily guarded hospital ward where he was taken with gunshot wounds to the head and neck. The police say the two were attacked in the stairwell of Mrs. Staravoitova's building by two assailants, one of them a young woman. The attackers reportedly fled through a back entrance to a waiting car. Two guns were found at the scene. Friends and relatives say Mrs. Staravoitova, a founder of Russia's democratic movement, had received death threats, but the motive for the killing remains unclear. ``The choice of the target suggests a well-thought out plan,'' said Sergei Kozyrev, vice president of the Russian Association of Scientific Societies and a Staravoitova supporter. ``To kill a woman _ a woman in politics _ that has not happened in Russia since Stalin's time.'' Setting aside past feuds, local democratic groups said Sunday that they would unite in coming elections to the St. Petersburg city council, combining their forces against what they say are criminals who have invaded local politics. At a gathering Sunday night in Moscow, Yegor Gaidar, a former Russian prime minister and a close ally of Mrs. Staravoitova, bitterly rejected suggestions that Russia should adopt extraordinary security measures to stem the rise in political crime.",
"Hundreds of people gathered Saturday to mourn the shooting death of one of Russia's most prominent women, a potential presidential candidate whose killing was widely considered to be politically motivated. President Boris Yeltsin said he would personally assume control over the investigation into the killing of Galina Starovoitova, who was gunned down Friday night as she climbed the stairs to her apartment. An aide was also shot and critically wounded. The shooting occurred in a building along St. Petersburg's atmospheric Griboedova Canal, site of another notorious Russian crime _ the murder that was the central event in Fyodor Dostoevsky's 19th century masterpiece, ``Crime and Punishment.'' Like that fictional crime, which shone a light on social ferment in the St. Petersburg of its day, the death of Starovoitova was immediately seized upon as a seminal event in the Russia of the late 1990s. ``It is one of the black pages in our modern history,'' Vladimir Putin, director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) told the Interfax news agency. ``It doesn't do much to improve our reputation, the reputation of the country as a whole.'' Starovoitova, 52, was an outspoken deputy in the lower house of parliament who inspired strong feelings from both her friends and enemies. A leader of the liberal Russia's Democratic Choice party, she was planning to run for president in 2000. Those close to her speculated about who might have wanted her dead, with some naming various prominent politicians as potential culprits. ``Whose path did she cross? The answer is simple: communists and gangsters,'' said former Deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Chubais. ``These are the two kinds of people in whose way she was standing.'' Putin, whose agency is in charge of the investigation, cautioned that there was still no evidence that her death was a political assassination. Interior Minister Sergei Stepashin did not speculate about the motive for the crime, but told reporters that it was being investigated under a criminal code section that covers terrorism. Arriving at the St. Petersburg airport from Moscow, he said: ``I brought with me a team of experienced investigators. I think we will clear it up soon.'' Yeltsin sent a telegram to Gennady Seleznyov, chairman of parliament's lower house, the State Duma, promising that the ``contractors and executors of the murder will be found and severely punished,'' The president also sent a telegram to Starovoitova's family, in which he called her ``one of the most vivid figures in Russian politics,'' who ``consistently upheld the lofty ideals of freedom and democracy.'' More than 200 people gathered in St. Petersburg's Palace Square to remember Starovoitova. People hugged quietly as they listened to speeches by her fellow politicians and friends. The small stage was adorned with red roses, yellow carnations and photographs of the deputy with various people, including the late Russian physicist and dissident, Andrei Sakharov. ``We are united today by pain, which is bigger than politics,'' said Viktor Krivulin, a poet and candidate for the regional legislature. ``Politics, as I felt during the past night, has become the art of spitting on the soul.'' Others at the gathering said they were sure that Starovoitova was killed by those who disliked her outspoken views. ``She had too many enemies,'' said Galina Markelova, an aide to the lawmaker. She said Starovoitova had received many threats in the past. ``It was doubtless a political murder,'' added Vitaly Milonov, the chairman of the Young Christian Democrats. Police said two men followed Starovoitova and her aide, Ruslan Linkov, 27, and shot them on the stairs of her building Friday evening. Linkov was shot twice. He regained consciousness after a five-hour operation at the Military Medical Academy, but remained in critical condition in intensive care. A pistol with a silencer and and automatic rifle were found at the scene, ITAR-Tass said. A funeral is scheduled for Tuesday in the settlement of Gorelovo, near St. Petersburg."
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"A liberal lawmaker who planned to run for president in Russia's next elections was shot to death Friday in St. Petersburg, police said. Galina Starovoitova, a member of the lower house of Russia's parliament from the reformist party Democratic Russia, was attacked the entry way of an apartment building, police said. A neighbor found the body in a pool of blood late Friday night and called an ambulance, they said. The Interfax news agency said her aide, Ruslan Linkov, was also seriously injured. Starovoitova, 52, tried to run for president in the 1996 elections but her registration was turned down for technical reasons. She had said she would run again in 2000. She served as President Boris Yeltsin's aide on ethnic issues and was on the human rights committee of the USSR's Supreme Soviet. Born in the Ural Mountains city of Chelyabinsk, Starovoitova was trained as a psychologist and later received a doctorate in history. She was divorced and had one son, according to Who's Who in Russia. There have been several attacks on prominent figures in St. Petersburg recently. A finance official was attacked earlier this week, a top banker was killed last week, and an aide to Russia's parliament speaker was shot in the head last month.",
"In modern Russia, the crime was so common as to be mundane. Two thugs, armed with machine pistols and silencers, stalked and killed a powerful figure, then slipped away into the night. Police vowed to catch them and politicians expressed outrage. Usually, that would be the end of the story. This time, though, the figure shot was one of the most prominent and popular women in Russian politics, a prospective presidential candidate with friends in the highest reaches of the Kremlin. As outrage mounted Sunday, it seemed clear that the killing of Galina Starovoitova was not going to be treated as a routine crime, and some said it might turn out to be a watershed event in Russian politics. ``This is impossible to tolerate any longer,'' said Grigory Yavlinsky, the leader of Yabloko, another reform-oriented party. ``We must stop feeling powerless before the increasingly cheeky scum. We cannot go on living as though everything is running as usual.'' Starovoitova, a member of parliament and a leader of the liberal Russia's Democratic Choice party, was walking up the stairs of her apartment building in St. Petersburg with a young aide Friday evening. A team of assailants _ police believe it was a man and a woman _ appeared behind them and opened fire. Starovoitova, shot three times in the head, collapsed and died instantly, authorities said. The aide, 27-year-old Ruslan Linkov, was critically wounded, but managed to telephone a news agency reporter before losing consciousness. Police have recovered two guns, and are hoping that Linkov can provide a description of the killers. He had regained consciousness but still could not speak Sunday. Although it was still not clear who killed Starovoitova or why, the killing had all the earmarkings of a contract hit _ a remarkably common crime in post-Soviet Russia. Most of the killings involve business deals and the corruption that has swamped the government and the economy. Until now, the most notorious of the killings was that of popular television host Vladislav Litsyev, who was shot outside his Moscow home in 1995. But there have been hundreds of others. St. Petersburg has been especially plagued. Last year, the city's deputy governor was gunned down on a central St. Petersburg street. In the past two months alone, hitmen have claimed the lives of a legislative aide, a high-ranking city official and a prominent banker. So deeply has the toxin infected Russian society that President Boris Yeltsin ordered an investigation last week into reports that his Federal Security Service _ the domestic successor to the KGB _ had ordered the death of Boris Berezovsky, the nation's most prominent businessman and the head of the Commonwealth of Independent States. There is no indication that anyone attempted to carry out an assassination of Berezovsky. But Yeltsin's order was the equivalent of U.S. President Bill Clinton ordering an investigation into whether the FBI was plotting to kill Microsoft chairman Bill Gates. Yet, as remarkable as that news was, it has been vastly overshadowed by the death of Starovoitova. Television news since her death has carried reports of little else. Reaction has poured in from virtually every important figure in the country, and from surrounding nations. Yeltsin, calling her ``my comrade,'' declared that he would personally oversee the investigation into her death. There was, in much of the reaction to Starovoitova's death, the sense that a line had been crossed. Perhaps it was because she was a woman, perhaps because she elicited impassioned support, or perhaps because people are simply fed up. But, in more characteristic fashion, her death also led to a round of political finger-pointing. Colleagues of Starovoitova declared _ without any apparent evidence _ that her Communist foes in the Duma, the lower house of parliament, were the most likely culprits in her death. Historian Dmitry Likachyov, one of the nation's most revered and trusted figures, said her killing seemed to signal the ``outburst of a new Red Terror.'' By late Saturday, the name-calling had gone so far that Interior Minister Sergei Stepashin called a news conference to say there was no evidence that the Communist speaker of the Duma, Gennady Seleznyov, was involved in the killing. Seleznyov went on television to say he was saddened by her death. ``But,'' he added, ``I would not like the deputies who sat on the same bench with Galina Starovoitova in the State Duma ... to turn this into a political show.'' It is too early to know where the recriminations and political maneuvering will lead. For now, the only thing certain is the Starovoitova has become the latest in a long line of Russian martyrs.",
"The New York Times said in an editorial on Monday, Nov. 23: The Russian reform movement has produced few leaders with an uncompromising dedication to democracy. Galina Starovoitova was one, and her murder in St. Petersburg on Friday was a terrible loss for Russia. In a bleak season of economic collapse and political timidity, the killing can only heighten fears that Russia is slipping into an ugly era of intolerance and political violence. Initial evidence suggests that the killing was a political assassination. Ms. Starovoitova was gunned down in the lobby of her apartment building, shot three times in the head, typical of Russian contract killings. She was a member of the Russian parliament and a recently declared candidate for governor of the region around St. Petersburg. In recent weeks she had spoken out forcefully against political extremism, denounced the anti-Semitic statements of a Communist parliamentarian and was campaigning aggressively against financial corruption in the St. Petersburg municipal government. Ms. Starovoitova's activities were fully in character with a career built around principles of liberty, tolerance and the rule of law. She championed democracy and human rights long before they became politically acceptable in Moscow, and courageously stood by Boris Yeltsin and other reformers as Russia struggled to find a new political course when the Soviet Union disintegrated. An ethnographer by training, Ms. Starovoitova proved to be a skillful and effective politician. She first gained national attention a decade ago when she set aside her academic work about the ethnic history of Leningrad and ran successfully for a seat in the Soviet parliament from Armenia, a startling victory for a Russian. She later represented St. Petersburg in the Russian legislature. Ms. Starovoitova was a woman of irrepressible energy and infectious enthusiasm. But her good humor and quick smile belied a steely commitment to combat the corruption and ethnic divisions that she correctly considered to be the enemies of Russian democracy. The least Yeltsin can do is to hunt down her killers and bring them to trial. That would be the exception in a nation where political violence is rarely prosecuted. Her countrymen can honor her memory by following her example.",
"A liberal lawmaker who planned to run for president in Russia's next elections was killed Friday in St. Petersburg, a news report said. Galina Starovoitova, a member of the lower house of Russia's parliament from the reformist party Democratic Russia, was attacked in an apartment building along with her aide, Ruslan Linkov, the Interfax news agency reported. Linkov was seriously injured, it said. The report gave no other details. A police spokesman in St. Petersburg would not comment on the report. Starovoitova, 52, tried to run for president in the 1996 elections but her registration was turned down for technical reasons. She had said she would run again in 2000. She served as President Boris Yeltsin's aide on ethnic issues and was on the human rights committee of the USSR's Supreme Soviet. Born in the Ural Mountains city of Chelyabinsk, Starovoitova was trained as a psychologist and later received a doctorate in history. She was divorced and had one son, according to Who's Who in Russia. There have been several attacks on prominent figures in St. Petersburg recently. A finance official was attacked earlier this week, a top banker was killed last week, and an aide to Russia's parliament speaker was shot in the head last month.",
"A liberal lawmaker who planned to run for president in Russia's next elections was killed Friday in St. Petersburg, a news report said. Galina Starovoitova, a member of the lower house of Russia's parliament from the reformist party Democratic Russia, was attacked in an apartment building along with her aide, the Interfax news agency reported. It gave no other details. Starovoitova tried to run for president in the 1996 elections but her registration was turned down for technical reasons. She had said she would run again in 2000. There have been several attacks on prominent figures in St. Petersburg in recent months.",
"A slain Russian lawmaker was honored Tuesday as a martyr to democratic ideals in a stately funeral service in which anger mingled freely with tears. Afterward, Galina Starovoitova was to be buried alongside some of Russia's greatest national heroes. The stirring tribute to Starovoitova, a feisty liberal whose killing remains a mystery, was indicative of the depth of national feeling over her death. ``To stop us, they want to scare us. They will never succeed,'' former Deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Chubais said at the funeral for Starovoitova. ``We will fulfill the goals she sacrificed her life for.'' Hundreds of people, including many of the country's most prominent political figures, packed the grand Marble Hall of St. Petersburg's Ethnography Museum for the funeral. An open casket, cloaked with black ribbons and flanked by a military honor guard, stood at the head of the hall. At the end of the service, mourners passed grimly past it as classical music played. Outside, several thousand more mourners stood in the cold, waiting for the service to end so they could file in and pay their respects. ``Ordinary people should honor her memory, and make sure this never happens again,'' said one man, Vadim Olshevsky, the manager of a construction company. But, he added bitterly, ``There's little hope of that in our country.'' Among speakers at the service were former Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and Yuri Yarov, President Boris Yeltsin's first deputy chief of staff, who represented the president at the service. Former Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko was also present. Yeltsin, who has said he will personally oversee the investigation into Starovoitova's killing, was in a Moscow hospital, recovering from pneumonia. ``The shooting in St. Petersburg is a grim lesson for the whole of Russia,'' Yarov said. ``Irrespective of real motives for that murder, a crime of this magnitude is a political act, and society should know all the truth about it.'' One national television channel turned over its daylong programming to funeral coverage and a memorial tribute. Newspapers carried page after page of coverage of her death. Her political party, Russia's Democratic Choice, called on all Russians to turn out their lights in her memory for three minutes at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Starovoitova was initially going to be buried in a simple cemetery in the St. Petersburg suburb where her family lives. But as outrage mounted over her killing, the government announced that she would be interred in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in the city's center following the funeral at the Ethnography Museum. Among those buried at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery are the composers Peter Tchaikovsky and Modest Mussorgsky and the author Fyodor Dostoevsky. Starovoitova was shot to death Friday evening as she and an aide scaled the stairs to her apartment in St. Petersburg. The aide, 27-year-old Ruslan Linkov, was seriously wounded, but has been able to provide some description of the shooting to police. Acting on his information, investigators rounded up several suspects, officials said Monday. But a detective later said that investigators had learned nothing ``serious'' from Linkov, according to the Interfax news agency, and there were no further details about whether the suspects were still in custody. Igor Kozhevnikov, head of investigations for the Interior Ministry, told Interfax on Tuesday that he was confident the case would be solved. ``It will take time,'' he said, but added that investigators ``have tips, they have something to work on.'' Authorities are acting on the assumption that Starovoitova's death was a contract hit, a common event in post-Soviet Russia. Russian politicians and newspapers have speculated wildly about political motives for the killing, but police have said they have no idea why someone would have wanted her dead. Police said someone fired shots at the apartment of a member of the St. Petersburg legislature Monday night, Interfax said. No one was hurt. It was not clear whether the shooting was related to Starovoitova's death.",
"A badly wounded aide to a murdered lawmaker regained consciousness Monday and was talking to police, who later arrested several suspects in raids around the city, officials said. Galina Starovoitova, 52, a leader of the liberal Russia's Democratic Choice party, was shot dead by unidentified assailants on the stairs of her apartment building in St. Petersburg on Friday night. The killing of such a prominent politician has caused an uproar in Russia and prompted calls from all sides for a crackdown on the country's growing lawlessness. Scores of business leaders and others have been gunned down in recent years in contract killings that are almost never solved. The lawmaker's aide, 27-year-old Ruslan Linkov, was in a ``clear'' mind Monday, testifying to investigators, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. Special police armed with assault rifles were standing guard at the door of his hospital room. Acting on information from the aide, police carried out raids and rounded up several suspects, officials said. There were no further details. Linkov was critically wounded in the head during the attack and later rushed to a hospital where he underwent surgery during the weekend. Liberal leaders charged _ without any concrete evidence _ that Starovoitova's Communist foes in the Duma, the lower house of parliament, were the most likely culprits. Over the weekend, Interior Minister Sergei Stepashin even had to call a news conference to say there was no evidence that the Communist speaker of the Duma, Gennady Seleznyov, was involved in the killing. Seleznyov responded in kind on Monday, suggesting that the ``extremists from democratic organizations'' might have staged the murder in order to win local elections set for Dec. 6, the Interfax news agency reported. The speaker also threatened to file a libel suit against a St. Petersburg newspaper, which Starovoitova edited. The newspaper recently accused Seleznyov of setting up an illegal fund to finance a presidential bid and other shady activities. Seleznyov, who has said he might run for president in 2000, denied the newspaper's allegations on Friday, calling them an ``outright slander.'' Starovoitova's murder had all the traits of a contract murder, an increasingly common crime in Russia. Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov on Monday used Starovoitova's killing as an occasion to lambast the government for its inability to contain soaring crime. ``That's a result of the (government's) catastrophic policy aimed at the destruction of the state and the nation,'' he said. Starovoitova, of the reformist party Democratic Russia, tried to run for president in 1996 but her registration was turned down for technical reasons. She had said she would run again in 2000. She served as President Boris Yeltsin's aide on ethnic issues in 1991-92 _ the only woman in his immediate circle _ and later joined the Russian parliament as one of the most vocal defenders of liberal reforms. Yeltsin called Starovoitova a ``comrade'' and said he would personally monitor the investigation into her killing. Starovoitova remarried earlier this year and had one son and a grandson. She is scheduled to be buried on Tuesday at the Nikolskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg.",
"A liberal lawmaker who planned to run for president in Russia's next elections was shot to death Friday in St. Petersburg, police said. Galina Starovoitova, a member of the lower house of Russia's parliament from the reformist party Democratic Russia, was attacked the entry way of an apartment building, police said. A neighbor found the body in a pool of blood late Friday night and called an ambulance, they said. The Interfax news agency said her aide, Ruslan Linkov, was also seriously injured. Starovoitova, 52, tried to run for president in the 1996 elections but her registration was turned down for technical reasons. She had said she would run again in 2000. She served as President Boris Yeltsin's aide on ethnic issues and was on the human rights committee of the USSR's Supreme Soviet. Born in the Ural Mountains city of Chelyabinsk, Starovoitova was trained as a psychologist and later received a doctorate in history. She was divorced and had one son, according to Who's Who in Russia. There have been several attacks on prominent figures in St. Petersburg recently. A finance official was attacked earlier this week, a top banker was killed last week, and an aide to Russia's parliament speaker was shot in the head last month.",
"Mourners bearing flowers and candles gathered Sunday outside the house on Griboyedova Canal where a Russian legislator, Galina Staravoitova, was shot to death on Friday night. A key witness, Ruslan Linkov, 27, Mrs. Staravoitova's press aide, was reported to be regaining consciousness in a heavily guarded hospital ward where he was taken with gunshot wounds to the head and neck. The police say the two were attacked in the stairwell of Mrs. Staravoitova's building by two assailants, one of them a young woman. The attackers reportedly fled through a back entrance to a waiting car. Two guns were found at the scene. Friends and relatives say Mrs. Staravoitova, a founder of Russia's democratic movement, had received death threats, but the motive for the killing remains unclear. ``The choice of the target suggests a well-thought out plan,'' said Sergei Kozyrev, vice president of the Russian Association of Scientific Societies and a Staravoitova supporter. ``To kill a woman _ a woman in politics _ that has not happened in Russia since Stalin's time.'' Setting aside past feuds, local democratic groups said Sunday that they would unite in coming elections to the St. Petersburg city council, combining their forces against what they say are criminals who have invaded local politics. At a gathering Sunday night in Moscow, Yegor Gaidar, a former Russian prime minister and a close ally of Mrs. Staravoitova, bitterly rejected suggestions that Russia should adopt extraordinary security measures to stem the rise in political crime.",
"Hundreds of people gathered Saturday to mourn the shooting death of one of Russia's most prominent women, a potential presidential candidate whose killing was widely considered to be politically motivated. President Boris Yeltsin said he would personally assume control over the investigation into the killing of Galina Starovoitova, who was gunned down Friday night as she climbed the stairs to her apartment. An aide was also shot and critically wounded. The shooting occurred in a building along St. Petersburg's atmospheric Griboedova Canal, site of another notorious Russian crime _ the murder that was the central event in Fyodor Dostoevsky's 19th century masterpiece, ``Crime and Punishment.'' Like that fictional crime, which shone a light on social ferment in the St. Petersburg of its day, the death of Starovoitova was immediately seized upon as a seminal event in the Russia of the late 1990s. ``It is one of the black pages in our modern history,'' Vladimir Putin, director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) told the Interfax news agency. ``It doesn't do much to improve our reputation, the reputation of the country as a whole.'' Starovoitova, 52, was an outspoken deputy in the lower house of parliament who inspired strong feelings from both her friends and enemies. A leader of the liberal Russia's Democratic Choice party, she was planning to run for president in 2000. Those close to her speculated about who might have wanted her dead, with some naming various prominent politicians as potential culprits. ``Whose path did she cross? The answer is simple: communists and gangsters,'' said former Deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Chubais. ``These are the two kinds of people in whose way she was standing.'' Putin, whose agency is in charge of the investigation, cautioned that there was still no evidence that her death was a political assassination. Interior Minister Sergei Stepashin did not speculate about the motive for the crime, but told reporters that it was being investigated under a criminal code section that covers terrorism. Arriving at the St. Petersburg airport from Moscow, he said: ``I brought with me a team of experienced investigators. I think we will clear it up soon.'' Yeltsin sent a telegram to Gennady Seleznyov, chairman of parliament's lower house, the State Duma, promising that the ``contractors and executors of the murder will be found and severely punished,'' The president also sent a telegram to Starovoitova's family, in which he called her ``one of the most vivid figures in Russian politics,'' who ``consistently upheld the lofty ideals of freedom and democracy.'' More than 200 people gathered in St. Petersburg's Palace Square to remember Starovoitova. People hugged quietly as they listened to speeches by her fellow politicians and friends. The small stage was adorned with red roses, yellow carnations and photographs of the deputy with various people, including the late Russian physicist and dissident, Andrei Sakharov. ``We are united today by pain, which is bigger than politics,'' said Viktor Krivulin, a poet and candidate for the regional legislature. ``Politics, as I felt during the past night, has become the art of spitting on the soul.'' Others at the gathering said they were sure that Starovoitova was killed by those who disliked her outspoken views. ``She had too many enemies,'' said Galina Markelova, an aide to the lawmaker. She said Starovoitova had received many threats in the past. ``It was doubtless a political murder,'' added Vitaly Milonov, the chairman of the Young Christian Democrats. Police said two men followed Starovoitova and her aide, Ruslan Linkov, 27, and shot them on the stairs of her building Friday evening. Linkov was shot twice. He regained consciousness after a five-hour operation at the Military Medical Academy, but remained in critical condition in intensive care. A pistol with a silencer and and automatic rifle were found at the scene, ITAR-Tass said. A funeral is scheduled for Tuesday in the settlement of Gorelovo, near St. Petersburg."
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Concern over the health of President Boris Yeltsin has led many Russians to question his ability to govern. He has had multiple bypass surgery and is susceptible to respiratory ailments. Periods of illness have caused him to cancel foreign trips and on some travels, he was unable to attend all official functions. He is politically weakened, leaving others to grapple with Russia's economic crisis. Russia's constitutional court was to hold hearings on whether Yeltsin could seek a third term under their two term limitations since part of his first term was under the Soviet constitution. That appears to be moot point since he has said he will not run again. President Boris Yeltsin's health has become a matter of great concern to the Russian leadership. The concern began in 1996 when he had a heart attack followed by bypass surgery. Illness has often sidelined him during his seven years in power. He recently cut short a trip to Central Asia because of a respiratory infection and he later canceled two out-of-country summits. This revived questions about his ability to lead Russia through any crisis. Yeltsin refuses to admit he is seriously ill and his condition is kept secret, even the cause for burns on his hands. Russia's leaders are calling for his resignation and question his legal right to seek reelection. President Boris Yeltsin had a heart attack in 1996, followed by multiple bypass surgery. Doctors say his health is more or less normal but secrecy increases conjecture. The cause of minor burns on his hand were not disclosed. On a trip to Uzbekistan he walked stiffly, stumbled, rambled and seemed confused. Ceremonies were canceled and the trip ended a day early because of his bronchitis and a 99.3F fever. He was treated with antibiotics and ordered to bed but went to the office anyway. Calls that he turn over power were revived. He says he will not run again. He canceled an upcoming trip to Austria and sent PM Primakov in his place to an Asian summit. Russian President Yeltsin's health was a hot topic in October. First he burned his hand. Next, in Central Asia, he cancelled public appearances and appeared disoriented. The trip was shortened due to a "respiratory infection". He was ordered to rest and take antibiotics. He then cancelled his trip to the Asian Summit. Although stoutly defended by his family, many Russians, including former supporters, suspect he is sicker, question his ability to do his job, and want him to resign. He has a history of health problems including heart bypass surgery. The court was to judge on whether he could serve a third term, but he already has said he will not run.
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"Doctors ordered Russian President Boris Yeltsin to cut short his Central Asian trip because of a respiratory infection and he agreed to return home Monday, a day earlier than planned, officials said. Yeltsin was suffering from tracheobronchitis, had a fever of 37.4 Celsius (99.3 Fahrenheit) and was being treated with antibiotics, the president's doctors told the Interfax news agency. Yeltsin was to fly back to Moscow late Monday, rather than on Tuesday as scheduled, but was going ahead with talks, including a meeting with Kazak President Nursultan Nazarbayev. He planned to move up all his scheduled meetings before returning home, aides said. The 67-year-old, 3rd graf pvs",
"President Boris Yeltsin stayed home Tuesday, nursing a respiratory infection that forced him to cut short a foreign trip and revived concerns about his ability to govern. Yeltsin was spending the day at his Gorky-9 country residence just outside Moscow, and will probably not go into the office all week, his spokesman, Dmitry Yakushkin, told reporters. However, Yeltsin's condition was stable, Yakushkin said. Doctors insisted Monday that Yeltsin fly home from Central Asia a day ahead of schedule because he was suffering from an upper respiratory infection and had a mild fever of 37.4 Celsius (99.3 F). They said Yeltsin was being treated with antibiotics and there were no plans to hospitalize him. Yeltsin, 67, has a history of health problems, including quintuple heart bypass surgery two years ago, so whenever he gets sick there is a flurry of speculation about his ability to function. Yeltsin insists he has no major illness and plans to serve out the remaining two years of his term. Yakushkin, his spokesman, reiterated Tuesday there was no talk about an early resignation. ``It's not being discussed,'' he said. ``I am personally against such a resignation because I think it would only bring peril to the nation.'' Yakushkin and other aides sought to play down the seriousness of Yeltsin's illness. ``Don't panic, Dad is OK,'' Yeltsin's daughter Tatiana Dyachenko, who is his official image adviser, told the Kommersant business newspaper. Yakushkin said Yeltsin's personal doctor, Sergei Mironov, confirmed that the president was suffering from a respiratory infection known as tracheal bronchitis and that ``his condition is stable.'' ``He must stay in bed like any other person,'' Yakushkin said. ``However, knowing the president's character, he is certain to start working with documents and making phone calls to Russian politicians as well as foreign leaders in view of the current situation in Kosovo.'' But the Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper said in a front-page editorial Tuesday that Yeltsin's condition suggests he is suffering from something worse than a cold. It said his absence from the Kremlin during the current economic crisis ``amounts to a state catastrophe'' and called on Yeltsin to immediately surrender most of his powers to Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov. A Communist lawmaker also called for ``an urgent medical check ... on the Russian president's health'' to determine whether he is fit to remain in office, the Interfax news agency said. ``Yeltsin's obvious inability to perform his functions is damaging Russian state authority, as power is being misused by the clique close to the president,'' said Viktor Ilyukhin, chairman of parliament's security committee. The health of the president, who is also commander-in-chief of the Russian military, ``is a direct threat to the country's national security and a factor of serious concern regarding Russia's nuclear weapons,'' he said. Other newspapers gave a detailed description of Yeltsin's weaknesses and his erratic behavior on the trip to the former Soviet republics of Uzbekistan and Kazakstan _ his first foray abroad since a visit to Britain in May. The president appeared stiff and stumbled when he arrived Sunday in Uzbekistan's capital of Tashkent. He had to be supported by Uzbek President Islam Karimov and canceled his other public events. At a state dinner on Sunday, Yeltsin made rambling remarks, expressing his satisfaction with local ``facilities and stores'' he never inspected, the daily Kommersant reported. On Monday, ``the president didn't seem to understand that he wasn't in Moscow,'' Kommersant said, saying he called aides and spoke as though they were late for work at the Kremlin. He turned up more than an hour late for talks with Uzbek officials, making some incoherent remarks interrupted by a bad cough and abruptly cutting short a scheduled news conference.",
"Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who is still recuperating from his latest illness, has canceled a trip to an Asian summit next month, his office said Friday. Government sources said the president has also called off a visit to Austria later this month, but the Kremlin said those plans were still going forward. Yeltsin has decided to send Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov to the November summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum in Kuala Lumpur because it deals mostly with financial issues, Yeltsin's office said. But sources in Primakov's office said the cancellation was due to concerns about how the long flight might effect the president's health. The president has been suffering from bronchitis and a cold this week, which forced him to cut short a visit to Central Asia on Monday. He was spending Friday at a country home outside Moscow after defying the orders of his doctors and working in the Kremlin for the past two days. Aides said the president's condition was ``satisfactory.'' Yeltsin is still planning to go to Vienna for an Oct. 27-28 summit of European nations, the president's office said. In another development, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, considered a potential presidential candidate, said Thursday that he wouldn't exclude the possibility of Yeltsin's resignation for health reasons. In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp., he stopped short of calling on Yeltsin to step down. But Luzhkov has always been supportive of Yeltsin and had never before questioned the president's health or ability to govern. ``According to our constitution, the president himself has to say he is not able to work,'' Luzhkov said in an interview with the BBC in Moscow. ``And because of (Yeltsin's) poor health, he is no longer able to give the country as much time as it demands.'' Luzhkov's spokesman Mikhail Solomentsev refused to elaborate on the statement. Yeltsin has a long history of health problems, including a heart bypass surgery two years ago. Each new ailment rekindles speculation about his fitness to govern. The president and his doctors say Yeltsin has no serious health problems and will serve out the final two years of his term.",
"President Boris Yeltsin's doctors have pronounced his health ``more or less normal,'' his wife Naina said in an interview published Wednesday. Mrs. Yeltsin told the Argumenty i Fakty weekly that she hesitated even to touch on her husband's health ``when there is so much conjecture on this topic.'' Still, she noted that he had regular medical check-ups. ``The doctors say now: Everything is more or less normal,'' Mrs. Yeltsin declared. The 67-year-old Yeltsin's health has long been a concern, and the worry has been amplified by the secrecy surrounding his condition. Yeltsin suffered from heart disease during the 1996 presidential election and had a heart attack, followed by multiple bypass surgery, in the months after his victory. Mrs. Yeltsin expressed understanding for Russians who took part Wednesday in protests for unpaid wages. She also said that criticism of the president was normal, though it was offensive when it focused on anything other than his professional performance, such as his age. ``It seems to me ... that people expected a miracle from him,'' Mrs. Yeltsin said. ``But surely you can't curse a person for not being a magician.'' Mrs. Yeltsin refuted rumors that her family would leave Russia after Yeltsin leaves office in 2000 as ``absolute nonsense.'' ``I think we'll live like all normal people. At least it will be calmer than it is now.''",
"President Boris Yeltsin has suffered minor burns on his right hand, his press office said Thursday. Asked about small bandages that were visible on Yeltsin's hand during an awards ceremony, the press office said the president had sustained small burns. It did not say what had caused them.",
"Russia's Constitutional Court opened hearings Thursday on whether Boris Yeltsin can seek a third term. The issue was controversial earlier this year when Yeltsin refused to spell out his intentions and his aides insisted he had the legal right to seek re-election. It has lost some of its urgency, as Yeltsin has grown physically and politically weaker and has said he will not run again. The Russian Constitution has a two-term limit for presidents. But Yeltsin's aides say his first term, from 1991 to 1996, does not count because it began six months before the Soviet Union collapsed and before the current constitution took effect. Communists and other Yeltsin opponents in parliament's lower house, the State Duma, disagreed and appealed to the Constitutional Court in February. While the case has been waiting to be heard, events have overtaken it. Yeltsin has flatly said he will not seek another term, and the opposition has concentrated its efforts on demanding an early resignation, riding a wave of popular discontent over the economic crisis. The call for Yeltsin to step down was backed by many participants in a nationwide labor action earlier this month that attracted about 1 million people. Yeltsin's growing health problems would also seem to rule out another election campaign. A respiratory infection forced him to cut short a trip to Central Asia earlier this week. On Wednesday, parliament's upper chamber, the Federation Council, voted on a resolution calling on Yeltsin to resign, but it failed narrowly. Even if had passed, the move would have had no legal consequences, but it highlighted growing anti-Yeltsin sentiments in the chamber made up of powerful regional leaders, most of whom have been loyal to the president. Mikhail Mityukov, the presidential representative on the Constitutional Court, said Thursday that Yeltsin would ignore calls for an early resignation. ``The president is a strong person, and he has been through far more difficult political situations,'' Mityukov said, according to the Interfax news agency.",
"Weakened by a cold yet animated, President Boris Yeltsin defied doctors' orders and quashed rumors he is seriously ill by showing up unexpectedly at the Kremlin on Wednesday. Still, his appearance didn't silence the growing number of calls for his resignation. Hours after he returned to work, the generally pro-Yeltsin upper house of parliament fell just 11 votes short of passing a motion urging him to step down over his social welfare policies. Yeltsin, 67, has a respiratory infection that forced him to cut short his first foreign visit in months on Monday. Whenever Yeltsin falls ill, speculation arises about his ability to govern. This time, however, the prospect of him leaving office has aroused less panic, since he has largely faded from the limelight in recent months and left his government to grapple with Russia's economic crisis. ``There will be no turmoil if Yeltsin leaves the political arena. The government is already in charge, (Prime Minister Yevgeny) Primakov is strong enough and has the support of the security services,'' said Yevgeny Volk, director of the Moscow office of the U.S.-based Heritage Foundation. ``Everyone knows Yeltsin is ailing and is politically weakened,'' he said. Yeltsin has a history of health problems, and underwent heart bypass surgery in 1996. Still, he insists he has no major illnesses and plans to serve out the remaining two years of his term. ``I can't even sneeze'' without someone making a fuss about it, he joked with Primakov during a meeting Wednesday. In the Kremlin, Yeltsin discussed developments in Kosovo with Primakov, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev, Russian news agencies said. Yeltsin looked wan and tired and walked stiffly, but he was smiling, gesturing animatedly and joking with his ministers. The start of the meeting was shown on Russian television. Primakov said afterward that Yeltsin waved his hand dismissively ``when we reminded him that he should stay in bed during his illness'' and said of his doctors: ``Don't listen to them.'' The upper house of parliament was busy voting on a motion saying he should resign. The vote in the Federation Council, which is made up of regional leaders, was 79 to 18 in favor, Russian news agencies reported. It did not pass because it required a simple majority of 90 votes. The motion carries no legal weight, but it reflects growing anti-Yeltsin sentiment in a chamber that has generally supported him. The prime minister reiterated Wednesday that Yeltsin has no plans to resign or call early elections. ``There is no reason for rocking the boat and demanding anyone's resignation,'' Primakov said, according to the Interfax news agency. ``What happens to the anti-crisis steps if elections are held now?'' Yeltsin's resignation is highly unlikely. If he were to step down or die, Primakov would take power and elections would have to be held within three months. Many Russians view Yeltsin with increasing pity. ``I feel for him. He's clearly not a healthy person,'' film director Vladimir Khotinenko was quoted as saying by the daily Kommersant. ``It's time for him to step aside.'' Doctors ordered the president to stay in bed Tuesday and his spokesman, Dmitry Yakushkin, had said Yeltsin would not be in the office all week. Yeltsin stumbled and had to be supported during his visit to Central Asia on Sunday and Monday. He canceled most of his public engagements, except for a state dinner at which he made rambling remarks and a news conference that he abruptly cut short.",
"President Boris Yeltsin, on his first trip out of Russia since this spring, canceled a welcoming ceremony in Uzbekistan on Sunday because he wasn't feeling well, his spokesman said. Yeltsin appeared stiff and stumbled during another public ceremony after he arrived in Tashkent, the capital of this Central Asian nation, and had to be supported by Uzbek President Islam Karimov. But the two later held a one-on-one summit as scheduled. The trip is Yeltsin's first high-profile foray since an economic crisis swamped his country in August. The 67-year-old president, whose health has often sidelined him during his seven years in power, has spent most of the last two months out of the limelight and out of the Kremlin, holding meetings in his country home outside Moscow. His last foreign trip was to Britain in May, when he attended a summit of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations. During his visits to Uzbekistan and Kazakstan this week, Yeltsin is expected to discuss improving Russia's relations with the two former Soviet republics, whose economies have suffered residual effects of the crisis that hit Russia after it devalued its currency in August and defaulted on some of its debt. On Sunday, Yeltsin had been scheduled to lay wreaths at a monument to Alisher Naboi, an 16th century Uzbek poet, and salute an Uzbek honor guard, but both ceremonies were canceled. ``This week was extremely tense. (Yeltsin) was affected by a difficult flight and the end of a difficult week,'' Yeltsin's chief spokesman, Dmitry Yakushkin, told a news conference. ``He has a cold. He was coughing when we spoke.'' It was sunny and about 14 degrees C (57 degrees F) in Tashkent on Sunday. Yakushkin said Yeltsin's schedule Monday may also change depending on how he feels. Yeltsin and Karimov later met at a government residence outside Tashkent and signed several agreements on fighting smuggling and other crime and expanding cultural ties. The two sides are expected to sign economic agreements Monday. Later Monday, Yeltsin is to go to Kazakstan, where he and Kazak President Nursultan Nazarbayev are expected to sign agreements on economic, science and technical cooperation and on combating drug trafficking. Last week, Yeltsin said he also planned to discuss the situation in Afghanistan with his Uzbek and Kazak counterparts. Russia and the two republics fear an influx of refugees and weapons from Afghanistan, and possibly a spillover of fighting that has wracked the country. Yeltsin was accompanied by Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev, Finance Minister Mikhail Zadornov, officials from the Federal Border Guard Service, the State Customs Committee, the Defense Ministry, and the Russian Academy of Sciences.",
"Russia's Constitutional Court opened hearings Thursday on whether Boris Yeltsin can seek a third term. The issue was controversial earlier this year when Yeltsin refused to spell out his intentions and his aides insisted he had the legal right to seek re-election. It has lost some of its urgency, as Yeltsin has grown physically and politically weaker and has said he will not run again. The court will take at least a week to consider the issue, the Interfax news agency reported. The Russian Constitution has a two-term limit for presidents. But Yeltsin's aides say his first term, from 1991 to 1996, does not count because it began six months before the Soviet Union collapsed and before the current constitution took effect. Communists and other Yeltsin opponents in parliament's lower house, the State Duma, disagreed and appealed to the Constitutional Court in February. While the case has been waiting to be heard, events have overtaken it. Yeltsin has flatly said he will not seek another term, and the opposition has concentrated its efforts on demanding an early resignation, riding a wave of popular discontent over the economic crisis. The call for Yeltsin to step down was backed by many participants in a nationwide labor action earlier this month that attracted about 1 million people. Yeltsin's growing health problems would also seem to rule out another election campaign. A respiratory infection forced him to cut short a trip to Central Asia earlier this week. On Wednesday, parliament's upper chamber, the Federation Council, voted on a resolution calling on Yeltsin to resign, but it failed narrowly. Even if had passed, the move would have had no legal consequences, but it highlighted growing anti-Yeltsin sentiments in the chamber made up of powerful regional leaders, most of whom have been loyal to the president. Mikhail Mityukov, the presidential representative on the Constitutional Court, said Thursday that Yeltsin would ignore calls for an early resignation. ``The president is a strong person, and he has been through far more difficult political situations,'' Mityukov said, according to Interfax.",
"Russian President Boris Yeltsin cut short a trip to Central Asia on Monday due to a respiratory infection that revived questions about his overall health and ability to lead Russia through a sustained economic crisis. Yeltsin's premature return to Moscow also prompted doubts about his capacity to respond decisively in the Kosovo crisis, in which Russia has been leading a campaign to forestall airstrikes. Moscow's NTV station said it was a crucial time for Russia, when ``presidential decisions'' are needed. There was no indication that Yeltsin's illness would sideline him for any length of time, and aides said the president would maintain his schedule for the rest of the week. But after a series of health problems in recent years, including heart bypass surgery in 1996, every new ailment unleashes a flurry of speculation about the president's ability to function. The president insists he has no major health problems and will serve out the remaining two years of his term. Yeltsin's aides said the president was taking antibiotics to ward off a bout of bronchitis and a mild fever of 37.4 Celsius (99.3 Fahrenheit). There were no plans to hospitalize Yeltsin, who arrived in Moscow late Monday night from Almaty, Kazakstan, a day earlier than planned."
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"Doctors ordered Russian President Boris Yeltsin to cut short his Central Asian trip because of a respiratory infection and he agreed to return home Monday, a day earlier than planned, officials said. Yeltsin was suffering from tracheobronchitis, had a fever of 37.4 Celsius (99.3 Fahrenheit) and was being treated with antibiotics, the president's doctors told the Interfax news agency. Yeltsin was to fly back to Moscow late Monday, rather than on Tuesday as scheduled, but was going ahead with talks, including a meeting with Kazak President Nursultan Nazarbayev. He planned to move up all his scheduled meetings before returning home, aides said. The 67-year-old, 3rd graf pvs",
"President Boris Yeltsin stayed home Tuesday, nursing a respiratory infection that forced him to cut short a foreign trip and revived concerns about his ability to govern. Yeltsin was spending the day at his Gorky-9 country residence just outside Moscow, and will probably not go into the office all week, his spokesman, Dmitry Yakushkin, told reporters. However, Yeltsin's condition was stable, Yakushkin said. Doctors insisted Monday that Yeltsin fly home from Central Asia a day ahead of schedule because he was suffering from an upper respiratory infection and had a mild fever of 37.4 Celsius (99.3 F). They said Yeltsin was being treated with antibiotics and there were no plans to hospitalize him. Yeltsin, 67, has a history of health problems, including quintuple heart bypass surgery two years ago, so whenever he gets sick there is a flurry of speculation about his ability to function. Yeltsin insists he has no major illness and plans to serve out the remaining two years of his term. Yakushkin, his spokesman, reiterated Tuesday there was no talk about an early resignation. ``It's not being discussed,'' he said. ``I am personally against such a resignation because I think it would only bring peril to the nation.'' Yakushkin and other aides sought to play down the seriousness of Yeltsin's illness. ``Don't panic, Dad is OK,'' Yeltsin's daughter Tatiana Dyachenko, who is his official image adviser, told the Kommersant business newspaper. Yakushkin said Yeltsin's personal doctor, Sergei Mironov, confirmed that the president was suffering from a respiratory infection known as tracheal bronchitis and that ``his condition is stable.'' ``He must stay in bed like any other person,'' Yakushkin said. ``However, knowing the president's character, he is certain to start working with documents and making phone calls to Russian politicians as well as foreign leaders in view of the current situation in Kosovo.'' But the Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper said in a front-page editorial Tuesday that Yeltsin's condition suggests he is suffering from something worse than a cold. It said his absence from the Kremlin during the current economic crisis ``amounts to a state catastrophe'' and called on Yeltsin to immediately surrender most of his powers to Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov. A Communist lawmaker also called for ``an urgent medical check ... on the Russian president's health'' to determine whether he is fit to remain in office, the Interfax news agency said. ``Yeltsin's obvious inability to perform his functions is damaging Russian state authority, as power is being misused by the clique close to the president,'' said Viktor Ilyukhin, chairman of parliament's security committee. The health of the president, who is also commander-in-chief of the Russian military, ``is a direct threat to the country's national security and a factor of serious concern regarding Russia's nuclear weapons,'' he said. Other newspapers gave a detailed description of Yeltsin's weaknesses and his erratic behavior on the trip to the former Soviet republics of Uzbekistan and Kazakstan _ his first foray abroad since a visit to Britain in May. The president appeared stiff and stumbled when he arrived Sunday in Uzbekistan's capital of Tashkent. He had to be supported by Uzbek President Islam Karimov and canceled his other public events. At a state dinner on Sunday, Yeltsin made rambling remarks, expressing his satisfaction with local ``facilities and stores'' he never inspected, the daily Kommersant reported. On Monday, ``the president didn't seem to understand that he wasn't in Moscow,'' Kommersant said, saying he called aides and spoke as though they were late for work at the Kremlin. He turned up more than an hour late for talks with Uzbek officials, making some incoherent remarks interrupted by a bad cough and abruptly cutting short a scheduled news conference.",
"Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who is still recuperating from his latest illness, has canceled a trip to an Asian summit next month, his office said Friday. Government sources said the president has also called off a visit to Austria later this month, but the Kremlin said those plans were still going forward. Yeltsin has decided to send Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov to the November summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum in Kuala Lumpur because it deals mostly with financial issues, Yeltsin's office said. But sources in Primakov's office said the cancellation was due to concerns about how the long flight might effect the president's health. The president has been suffering from bronchitis and a cold this week, which forced him to cut short a visit to Central Asia on Monday. He was spending Friday at a country home outside Moscow after defying the orders of his doctors and working in the Kremlin for the past two days. Aides said the president's condition was ``satisfactory.'' Yeltsin is still planning to go to Vienna for an Oct. 27-28 summit of European nations, the president's office said. In another development, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, considered a potential presidential candidate, said Thursday that he wouldn't exclude the possibility of Yeltsin's resignation for health reasons. In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp., he stopped short of calling on Yeltsin to step down. But Luzhkov has always been supportive of Yeltsin and had never before questioned the president's health or ability to govern. ``According to our constitution, the president himself has to say he is not able to work,'' Luzhkov said in an interview with the BBC in Moscow. ``And because of (Yeltsin's) poor health, he is no longer able to give the country as much time as it demands.'' Luzhkov's spokesman Mikhail Solomentsev refused to elaborate on the statement. Yeltsin has a long history of health problems, including a heart bypass surgery two years ago. Each new ailment rekindles speculation about his fitness to govern. The president and his doctors say Yeltsin has no serious health problems and will serve out the final two years of his term.",
"President Boris Yeltsin's doctors have pronounced his health ``more or less normal,'' his wife Naina said in an interview published Wednesday. Mrs. Yeltsin told the Argumenty i Fakty weekly that she hesitated even to touch on her husband's health ``when there is so much conjecture on this topic.'' Still, she noted that he had regular medical check-ups. ``The doctors say now: Everything is more or less normal,'' Mrs. Yeltsin declared. The 67-year-old Yeltsin's health has long been a concern, and the worry has been amplified by the secrecy surrounding his condition. Yeltsin suffered from heart disease during the 1996 presidential election and had a heart attack, followed by multiple bypass surgery, in the months after his victory. Mrs. Yeltsin expressed understanding for Russians who took part Wednesday in protests for unpaid wages. She also said that criticism of the president was normal, though it was offensive when it focused on anything other than his professional performance, such as his age. ``It seems to me ... that people expected a miracle from him,'' Mrs. Yeltsin said. ``But surely you can't curse a person for not being a magician.'' Mrs. Yeltsin refuted rumors that her family would leave Russia after Yeltsin leaves office in 2000 as ``absolute nonsense.'' ``I think we'll live like all normal people. At least it will be calmer than it is now.''",
"President Boris Yeltsin has suffered minor burns on his right hand, his press office said Thursday. Asked about small bandages that were visible on Yeltsin's hand during an awards ceremony, the press office said the president had sustained small burns. It did not say what had caused them.",
"Russia's Constitutional Court opened hearings Thursday on whether Boris Yeltsin can seek a third term. The issue was controversial earlier this year when Yeltsin refused to spell out his intentions and his aides insisted he had the legal right to seek re-election. It has lost some of its urgency, as Yeltsin has grown physically and politically weaker and has said he will not run again. The Russian Constitution has a two-term limit for presidents. But Yeltsin's aides say his first term, from 1991 to 1996, does not count because it began six months before the Soviet Union collapsed and before the current constitution took effect. Communists and other Yeltsin opponents in parliament's lower house, the State Duma, disagreed and appealed to the Constitutional Court in February. While the case has been waiting to be heard, events have overtaken it. Yeltsin has flatly said he will not seek another term, and the opposition has concentrated its efforts on demanding an early resignation, riding a wave of popular discontent over the economic crisis. The call for Yeltsin to step down was backed by many participants in a nationwide labor action earlier this month that attracted about 1 million people. Yeltsin's growing health problems would also seem to rule out another election campaign. A respiratory infection forced him to cut short a trip to Central Asia earlier this week. On Wednesday, parliament's upper chamber, the Federation Council, voted on a resolution calling on Yeltsin to resign, but it failed narrowly. Even if had passed, the move would have had no legal consequences, but it highlighted growing anti-Yeltsin sentiments in the chamber made up of powerful regional leaders, most of whom have been loyal to the president. Mikhail Mityukov, the presidential representative on the Constitutional Court, said Thursday that Yeltsin would ignore calls for an early resignation. ``The president is a strong person, and he has been through far more difficult political situations,'' Mityukov said, according to the Interfax news agency.",
"Weakened by a cold yet animated, President Boris Yeltsin defied doctors' orders and quashed rumors he is seriously ill by showing up unexpectedly at the Kremlin on Wednesday. Still, his appearance didn't silence the growing number of calls for his resignation. Hours after he returned to work, the generally pro-Yeltsin upper house of parliament fell just 11 votes short of passing a motion urging him to step down over his social welfare policies. Yeltsin, 67, has a respiratory infection that forced him to cut short his first foreign visit in months on Monday. Whenever Yeltsin falls ill, speculation arises about his ability to govern. This time, however, the prospect of him leaving office has aroused less panic, since he has largely faded from the limelight in recent months and left his government to grapple with Russia's economic crisis. ``There will be no turmoil if Yeltsin leaves the political arena. The government is already in charge, (Prime Minister Yevgeny) Primakov is strong enough and has the support of the security services,'' said Yevgeny Volk, director of the Moscow office of the U.S.-based Heritage Foundation. ``Everyone knows Yeltsin is ailing and is politically weakened,'' he said. Yeltsin has a history of health problems, and underwent heart bypass surgery in 1996. Still, he insists he has no major illnesses and plans to serve out the remaining two years of his term. ``I can't even sneeze'' without someone making a fuss about it, he joked with Primakov during a meeting Wednesday. In the Kremlin, Yeltsin discussed developments in Kosovo with Primakov, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev, Russian news agencies said. Yeltsin looked wan and tired and walked stiffly, but he was smiling, gesturing animatedly and joking with his ministers. The start of the meeting was shown on Russian television. Primakov said afterward that Yeltsin waved his hand dismissively ``when we reminded him that he should stay in bed during his illness'' and said of his doctors: ``Don't listen to them.'' The upper house of parliament was busy voting on a motion saying he should resign. The vote in the Federation Council, which is made up of regional leaders, was 79 to 18 in favor, Russian news agencies reported. It did not pass because it required a simple majority of 90 votes. The motion carries no legal weight, but it reflects growing anti-Yeltsin sentiment in a chamber that has generally supported him. The prime minister reiterated Wednesday that Yeltsin has no plans to resign or call early elections. ``There is no reason for rocking the boat and demanding anyone's resignation,'' Primakov said, according to the Interfax news agency. ``What happens to the anti-crisis steps if elections are held now?'' Yeltsin's resignation is highly unlikely. If he were to step down or die, Primakov would take power and elections would have to be held within three months. Many Russians view Yeltsin with increasing pity. ``I feel for him. He's clearly not a healthy person,'' film director Vladimir Khotinenko was quoted as saying by the daily Kommersant. ``It's time for him to step aside.'' Doctors ordered the president to stay in bed Tuesday and his spokesman, Dmitry Yakushkin, had said Yeltsin would not be in the office all week. Yeltsin stumbled and had to be supported during his visit to Central Asia on Sunday and Monday. He canceled most of his public engagements, except for a state dinner at which he made rambling remarks and a news conference that he abruptly cut short.",
"President Boris Yeltsin, on his first trip out of Russia since this spring, canceled a welcoming ceremony in Uzbekistan on Sunday because he wasn't feeling well, his spokesman said. Yeltsin appeared stiff and stumbled during another public ceremony after he arrived in Tashkent, the capital of this Central Asian nation, and had to be supported by Uzbek President Islam Karimov. But the two later held a one-on-one summit as scheduled. The trip is Yeltsin's first high-profile foray since an economic crisis swamped his country in August. The 67-year-old president, whose health has often sidelined him during his seven years in power, has spent most of the last two months out of the limelight and out of the Kremlin, holding meetings in his country home outside Moscow. His last foreign trip was to Britain in May, when he attended a summit of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations. During his visits to Uzbekistan and Kazakstan this week, Yeltsin is expected to discuss improving Russia's relations with the two former Soviet republics, whose economies have suffered residual effects of the crisis that hit Russia after it devalued its currency in August and defaulted on some of its debt. On Sunday, Yeltsin had been scheduled to lay wreaths at a monument to Alisher Naboi, an 16th century Uzbek poet, and salute an Uzbek honor guard, but both ceremonies were canceled. ``This week was extremely tense. (Yeltsin) was affected by a difficult flight and the end of a difficult week,'' Yeltsin's chief spokesman, Dmitry Yakushkin, told a news conference. ``He has a cold. He was coughing when we spoke.'' It was sunny and about 14 degrees C (57 degrees F) in Tashkent on Sunday. Yakushkin said Yeltsin's schedule Monday may also change depending on how he feels. Yeltsin and Karimov later met at a government residence outside Tashkent and signed several agreements on fighting smuggling and other crime and expanding cultural ties. The two sides are expected to sign economic agreements Monday. Later Monday, Yeltsin is to go to Kazakstan, where he and Kazak President Nursultan Nazarbayev are expected to sign agreements on economic, science and technical cooperation and on combating drug trafficking. Last week, Yeltsin said he also planned to discuss the situation in Afghanistan with his Uzbek and Kazak counterparts. Russia and the two republics fear an influx of refugees and weapons from Afghanistan, and possibly a spillover of fighting that has wracked the country. Yeltsin was accompanied by Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev, Finance Minister Mikhail Zadornov, officials from the Federal Border Guard Service, the State Customs Committee, the Defense Ministry, and the Russian Academy of Sciences.",
"Russia's Constitutional Court opened hearings Thursday on whether Boris Yeltsin can seek a third term. The issue was controversial earlier this year when Yeltsin refused to spell out his intentions and his aides insisted he had the legal right to seek re-election. It has lost some of its urgency, as Yeltsin has grown physically and politically weaker and has said he will not run again. The court will take at least a week to consider the issue, the Interfax news agency reported. The Russian Constitution has a two-term limit for presidents. But Yeltsin's aides say his first term, from 1991 to 1996, does not count because it began six months before the Soviet Union collapsed and before the current constitution took effect. Communists and other Yeltsin opponents in parliament's lower house, the State Duma, disagreed and appealed to the Constitutional Court in February. While the case has been waiting to be heard, events have overtaken it. Yeltsin has flatly said he will not seek another term, and the opposition has concentrated its efforts on demanding an early resignation, riding a wave of popular discontent over the economic crisis. The call for Yeltsin to step down was backed by many participants in a nationwide labor action earlier this month that attracted about 1 million people. Yeltsin's growing health problems would also seem to rule out another election campaign. A respiratory infection forced him to cut short a trip to Central Asia earlier this week. On Wednesday, parliament's upper chamber, the Federation Council, voted on a resolution calling on Yeltsin to resign, but it failed narrowly. Even if had passed, the move would have had no legal consequences, but it highlighted growing anti-Yeltsin sentiments in the chamber made up of powerful regional leaders, most of whom have been loyal to the president. Mikhail Mityukov, the presidential representative on the Constitutional Court, said Thursday that Yeltsin would ignore calls for an early resignation. ``The president is a strong person, and he has been through far more difficult political situations,'' Mityukov said, according to Interfax.",
"Russian President Boris Yeltsin cut short a trip to Central Asia on Monday due to a respiratory infection that revived questions about his overall health and ability to lead Russia through a sustained economic crisis. Yeltsin's premature return to Moscow also prompted doubts about his capacity to respond decisively in the Kosovo crisis, in which Russia has been leading a campaign to forestall airstrikes. Moscow's NTV station said it was a crucial time for Russia, when ``presidential decisions'' are needed. There was no indication that Yeltsin's illness would sideline him for any length of time, and aides said the president would maintain his schedule for the rest of the week. But after a series of health problems in recent years, including heart bypass surgery in 1996, every new ailment unleashes a flurry of speculation about the president's ability to function. The president insists he has no major health problems and will serve out the remaining two years of his term. Yeltsin's aides said the president was taking antibiotics to ward off a bout of bronchitis and a mild fever of 37.4 Celsius (99.3 Fahrenheit). There were no plans to hospitalize Yeltsin, who arrived in Moscow late Monday night from Almaty, Kazakstan, a day earlier than planned."
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Indonesia invaded the former Portuguese territory of East Timor in 1975 and annexed it in 1976. By late 1998 while East Timorese called for independence and accused Indonesian troops of yet another massacre of civilians, Portugal cut off talks with Indonesia. Internationally, Taiwan was timid fearing antagonizing Indonesia, Australians protested against training Indonesian military who might be assigned to East Timor, and fifteen European Union leaders endorsed Portugal's call for a referendum on East Timor's future. A U.N. enjoy saw a peaceful solution as distant, but sensed a "newfound taste for compromise." The future of the former Portuguese island colony East Timor is in doubt. Indonesia invaded it in 1975 and later annexed it, but not recognized by the UN. East Timor's spiritual leader, Bishop Carlos Belok the 1996 Nobel Peace laureate, has reported killings by Indonesian troops. Portugal has accused Indonesia of failing to reduce its military presence in East Timor. Australia and Taiwan are reluctant to antagonize Indonesia on this issue. Violence has also occurred in Jakarta and west Timor. The UN has a plan for East Timor and Indonesia is offering a small measure of autonomy, but few observers express hope for a favorable outcome for the talks. After Portugal left East Timor, Indonesia invaded and annexed it. Rebels have waged a small war since 1975. The UN doesn't recognize Indonesian claims. UN talks, suspended by Portugal, were revived after Suharto's ouster. The EU urges a permanent UN presence and an E. Timor referendum on its future. Taiwan denied entry to an E. Timor Nobelist independence advocate. E. Timor mosques were set fire to avenge attacks on majority Christian churches. Australia trained Indonesian officers to monitor human rights. Indonesian troop attacks on unarmed E. Timor civilians are claimed. Indonesia and E. Timor are said to be compromising but a solution is still distant. The UN envoy, brokering a solution for the fate of East Timor, is hopeful that both sides have softened their positions and Indonesia and Portugal will resume talks. Debate centers on having a referendum and the extent of final Timorese control. Talks had ended last month and several incidents have occurred, with dead, wounded and missing reported, and mosques and churches destroyed. Since 1975, East Timor, a mainly Christian, former Portuguese colony, has been occupied by, the mostly Muslim, Indonesia. Recently the European Union supported Portugal's position, while Pacific nations, especially, Australia and Taiwan, try not to antagonize Indonesia.
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"Protesters on Sunday urged Australian military leaders to identify Indonesian army officers trained here to allow closer monitoring of human rights abuses in East Timor. The Australian military holds joint training exercises with Indonesian troops, including the elite commando units accused ot atrocities in East Timor. In Queensland, about 100 activists gathered outside the Canungra Land Warfare Center, south of Brisbane, to mark the 23rd anniversary of the Indonesian invasion of East Timor. ``It is a peaceful protest against Australia training Indonesian soldiers,'' spokesman Jason McLeod said. The protesters wanted Australia to cut all military ties with Indonesia despite Defence Minister John Moore's recent announcement that joint exercises would resume, he said. ``The Australian government has repeatedly refused to allow the Indonesians trained here to be identified,'' McLeod said. ``But we are demanding they be named along with their unit and battalion number because this will allow closer monitoring of human rights issues,'' he said. McLeod said 40,000 East Timorese were killed by Japanese soldiers for protecting Australian commandos during World War II. ``When they finally left the country the Australians distributed leaflets saying they would never forget the people of East Timor,'' he said. The protesters wanted to remind Australia's current soldiers of that pledge. After Portugal abandoned its former colony in East Timor in 1975, Indonesia invaded it and annexed it the following year. The United Nations refuses to recognize the annexation as legitimate; Australia is one of the few nations that recognizes Indonesian sovereignty over East Timor.",
"Representatives of exiled East Timorese pro-independence groups said Friday that Indonesian troops attacked unarmed civilians in a village in the disputed Southeast Asian territory, killing one East Timorese and wounding 22 others. The attack took place Tuesday near Cailaco in East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, according to a statement issued by the pro-independence Christian Democratic Union of East Timor. Placido dos Santos, a 28-year-old farmer, was tortured and killed by the Indonesian military during the attack, the statement claimed. Jose Pau Lelo, 38, Rosito Borges, 35, and Leao Soares, 50, were in a coma due to injuries they sustained in the attack, according to the statement which cited resistance sources in East Timor's capital Dili. The statement, released in the Portuguese capital Lisbon, also said 19 men were wounded, eight seriously, and 26 others were missing. The names, ages and occupations of the villagers were listed. There was no independent confirmation of the attack, and Indonesian officials were was not immediately available for comment. Indonesia invaded East Timor in Dec. 1975, following Portugal's colonial rule, and annexed it a month later. Indonesian troops have since then been fighting a small band of pro-independence guerillas. Roque Rodrigues, a Lisbon spokesman for the National Council of Timorese Resistance, said he also had corroborated the report with six sources inside East Timor and said he had ``no reasons to doubt the truth'' of the statement. The United Nations, which is brokering talks between Lisbon and Jakarta over the territory's political future, still regards Portugal as the administering power in East Timor. The half-island territory lies some 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) southeast of Jakarta.",
"JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - As a U.N. envoy trotted toward an Indonesian army helicopter, East Timorese protesters spilled onto the runway tarmac and shouted their anger at nervous soldiers. Sent to make peace in Indonesian-controlled East Timor, Jamsheed Marker's recent hasty departure from the troubled territory signaled how easily tensions there can boil over. Yet Marker, who is visiting Indonesia to promote a U.N.-designed blueprint for autonomy in the former Portuguese colony, said Monday that both sides in the bitter conflict were displaying a newfound taste for compromise. In an interview with The Associated Press, Marker admitted that a peaceful solution remains distant. But in a big step forward, he said, many separatist activists were no longer pressing for an immediate vote on independence. ``They don't want independence tomorrow,'' said Marker, who was interviewed in a Jakarta hotel suite after his trip to East Timor. In other progress, Indonesia and Portugal will send diplomats to open ``interest'' sections in each other's capitals next month. Formal diplomatic relations, however, will not be resumed. Also in January, the two countries are scheduled to embark on a new round of U.N.-sponsored peace talks in New York. Turmoil has plagued East Timor ever since Indonesian troops invaded in 1975, unleashing a separatist rebel war and the resentment of a population pummeled by human rights abuses. Talks were revived earlier this year after the ouster of authoritarian President Suharto, but differences remain over a definition of autonomy that would suit all parties. Separatists want it to be transitional, while Indonesia is offering East Timorese partial control of their affairs in exchange for international recognition of its sovereignty. Jakarta wants to handle foreign, defense and financial affairs. Fears are widespread that more unrest in East Timor could derail the negotiations. On Monday, Marker voiced his concern in a meeting with East Timor's jailed rebel chief, Xanana Gusmao. ``I said there was a lot of tension in East Timor and that he and his people ought to do everything they can to reduce it,'' said Marker, a former Pakistani ambassador to the United Nations. Tempers flared but there was no violence during protests timed for Marker's weekend trip to Dili, the seaside capital of the half-island territory of 800,000 people. On Sunday, separatist protesters tore down a fence at the commercial airport and pushed past soldiers with automatic rifles as they tried in vain to speak to Marker as he left. During a visit last year, Indonesian soldiers killed two pro-independence demonstrators outside a hotel where Marker was staying. Activists have alleged that Indonesia secretly ferried troops into East Timor in spite of pledges to reduce the number. Marker said Jakarta had advised him of troop rotations and that U.N. staff were monitoring the situation. Marker was scheduled to talk with Indonesian President B.J. Habibie on Tuesday and will leave Indonesia on Wednesday to prepare for another batch of meetings in the New Year. ``If you ask me... `Do you have a solution?' then the answer is, `I don't,''' he said. ``But I think there are ways of getting there and the first thing is to have peace and quiet.''",
"Taiwan's Foreign Ministry on Thursday blamed ``administrative negligence'' for an incident in which Nobel Peace Prize winner Josi Ramos-Horta was left stranded at the airport for hours after being refused entry. Opposition supporters alleged the incident Wednesday night was politically motivated. Ramos-Horta is an advocate of independence for Indonesian-controlled East Timor, and newspapers reported Taiwan had formerly barred him to avoid antagonizing Indonesia. But Ramos-Horta's previous persona non grata status had been ordered lifted by the Foreign Ministry in August, leaving no reason why he should have been refused entry by airport immigration when he came to town Wednesday night, ministry spokesman Roy Wu told a news conference. ``This incident accentuated the problem with administrative relations, it needs to be improved. ... It's a fact,'' Wu told a news conference. Ramos-Horta had a rough time Wednesday night. Immigration officials would not let him in, then he tried to catch a flight out but missed the plane. Eventually, the Foreign Ministry intervened and let Ramos-Horta enter Taiwan. He went only as far as the airport hotel. Conflicting reports indicate Ramos-Horta was stuck at the airport for between four and seven hours. Ramos-Horta was carrying a Portuguese passport, which should have permitted him visa-free entry to Taiwan for up to 14 days, newspapers said. The opposition Democratic Progressive Party alleged Ramos-Horta had been refused entry because he planned to speak on behalf of Chen Shui-bian's campaign to be re-elected as mayor of Taipei. Chen is Taiwan's most prominent DPP politician. ``This sort of incident shows that Taiwan is just not qualified to be called a democratic nation,'' DPP Secretary-General Chiu Yi-jen told a news conference. Ramos-Horta sought to play down the incident before leaving town Thursday. ``I don't want to make a big problem out of it. I have been to many countries. The only countries that don't allow me in would be countries like Iraq, Iran,'' he told reporters before catching an afternoon flight to attend a conference in Australia. Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and annexed it the following year. The United Nations does not recognize Indonesian claims to East Timor.",
"Indonesia on Tuesday denied claims that its troops massacred more than 40 East Timorese recently, and criticized Portugal for suspending U.N.-sponsored talks over the future of the troubled territory. Foreign Minister Ali Alatas questioned whether Portugal truly wanted to settle the problem of East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, the official Antara news agency reported. Portugal suspended the talks with Indonesia in New York last week following reports of a massacre of dozens of East Timorese rebels in a series of clashes with Indonesian troops. East Timor's spiritual leader, Roman Catholic Bishop Carlos Belo, has said that between 30 and 40 people were reportedly killed near the villages of Alas and Same, 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Dili, East Timor capital. The 1996 Nobel Peace Prize winner said that so far, only 11 bodies had been identified. Alatas said the claims of a massacre were not true. ``The Portuguese delegation, without checking the truth of the information, decided to temporarily suspend the ongoing dialogue,'' Antara quoted Alatas as saying. The New York-based group Human Rights Watch said some deaths had occurred in fights between rebels and Indonesian forces. However, it could not confirm claims that dozens of people had been killed. Alatas said it was the third time that Portugal had unilaterally suspended talks over East Timor since 1986. Based on this, Alatas said, Indonesia was skeptical about Portugal's sincerity, Antara reported. In response, Portugal's Foreign Ministry accused Indonesia of breaking promises to reduce its military presence in East Timor and called for a permanent U.N. mission in the disputed territory. ``Unfortunately, Indonesia has increased its deployment and the brutality of its military actions in East Timor,'' said ministry spokesman Horacio Cesar. Meanwhile, about 500 students ended their noisy but peaceful rally outside the office of East Timor's governor in Dili Tuesday after receiving promises that the reported killings would be investigated. In a dialogue with the students' representatives, Governor Abilio Osorio Soares and military chief Col. Suhartono Suratman agreed to set up a team to make a thorough investigation. The group earlier had spent one night occupying the provincial Parliament and vowed to stay at the governor's office. The students also demanded a total withdrawal of Indonesian soldiers from East Timor. Meanwhile, an unidentified man, believed to be a rebel, was reported to have shot and wounded Izildo Pereira, a civilian, in Baucau, 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of Dili. Izildo, 30, who was shot Sunday, was being treated at a military hospital in Dili. Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and annexed it the following year. The United Nations, however, does not recognize Indonesia's claim. Before being suspended, the talks centered on an Indonesian offer to give East Timor autonomy in return for international recognition of Indonesian sovereignty there.",
"Representatives of exiled East Timorese pro-independence groups said Friday that Indonesian troops attacked unarmed civilians in a village in the disputed Southeast Asian territory, killing one East Timorese and wounding 22 others. The report could not be independently confirmed, and Indonesian officials were not immediately available for comment. The attack took place Tuesday near Cailaco in East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, according to a statement issued by the pro-independence Christian Democratic Union of East Timor. Placido dos Santos, a 28-year-old farmer, was tortured and killed by the Indonesian military during the attack, the statement, which cited resistance sources in East Timor's capital, Dili. The statement, released in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, also said that 22 people were injured and 26 were missing. The names, ages and occupations of the villagers were listed. Roque Rodrigues, a Lisbon spokesman for the National Council of Timorese Resistance, another pro-independence group, said he had corroborated the report with six sources inside East Timor and said he had ``no reasons to doubt the truth'' of the statement. The United Nations, which is brokering talks between Lisbon and Jakarta over the territory's political future, still regards Portugal as the administering power in East Timor. The half-island territory lies some 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) southeast of Jakarta.",
"Representatives of exiled East Timorese pro-independence groups said Friday that Indonesian troops attacked unarmed civilians in a village in the disputed Southeast Asian territory, killing one East Timorese and wounding 22 others. The report could not be independently confirmed, and Indonesian officials were not immediately available for comment. The attack took place Tuesday near Cailaco in East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, according to a statement issued by the pro-independence Christian Democratic Union of East Timor. Placido dos Santos, a 28-year-old farmer, was tortured and killed by the Indonesian military during the attack, the statement, which cited resistance sources in East Timor's capital, Dili. The statement, released in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, also said that 22 people were injured and 26 were missing. The names, ages and occupations of the villagers were listed. Roque Rodrigues, a Lisbon spokesman for the Socialist Party of Timor, another pro-independence group, said he had corroborated the report with six sources inside East Timor and said he had ``no reasons to doubt the truth'' of the statement. The United Nations, which is brokering talks between Lisbon and Jakarta over the territory's political future, still regards Portugal as the administering power in East Timor. The half-island territory lies some 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) southeast of Jakarta.",
"Bent on revenge for earlier attacks on churches, mobs set fire to four mosques in West Timor Monday after a protest and strike by thousands of Christians degenerated into a riot, the military and a Muslim leader said. A rampaging crowd also burned down a market and a Muslim school. Troops and riot police patrolled the streets. There were no immediate reports of serious injuries or arrests as fighting between Muslims and Christians continued after dark, said a military officer who spoke by telephone on condition of anonymity. The violence in the Christian-dominated city of Kupang was in retaliation for the burning and ransacking of 22 churches by Muslim mobs in the capital, Jakarta, on Nov. 22, when 14 people were killed. Islamic leaders urged Indonesia's Muslim majority not to retaliate with more violence. Adurrahman Wahid, head of Indonesia's largest Muslim grouping, the 30 million-member Nahdlatul Ulama, accused provocateurs of whipping up religious strife when the sprawling Southeast Asian nation is trying to head toward democracy. ``I hope Muslims ... are not deceived by such provocations,'' said Wahid, who has been pushing for religious unity. West Timor shares the same island as troubled East Timor, a former Portuguese territory dominated by Roman Catholicism and invaded by Indonesia in 1975. Christians, mostly Protestants, dominate Kupang, about 1,875 kilometers (1,172 miles) southeast of the Indonesian capital. However, a sizable Muslim minority also lives there. The Kupang riot broke out after thousands of Christians staged a peaceful strike and street protest against the Jakarta church attacks. Most offices and shops were closed in the city of 120,000, the capital of East Nusa Tenggara province, whose governor called for calm. Organizers of Monday's strike had called for a non-violent ``day of mourning.'' However, residents said fires broke out in three mosques after rival gangs pelted each other with rocks. Indonesia is the world's most populous Islamic nation. About 90 percent of Indonesia's 202 million people are Muslims, with the rest following Christian, Hindu, Buddhist or other faiths. Religious diversity based on a belief in God is enshrined in the national philosophy, known as Pancasila, adopted when Indonesia declared independence from Dutch colonial rule in 1945. The upsurge in religious violence follows months of riots and protests in many parts of Indonesia. Social tensions in the sprawling Southeast Asian nation have intensified as it grapples with its worst economic crisis in decades. There is also political turmoil as students protesters demand greater democracy after 32 years of authoritarian rule by former President Suharto, who was forced to quit following deadly riots in May. Ismalil Hasan Metareum, head of the Muslim-dominated opposition United Development Party, urged his followers not to hit back. More than 100,000 party supporters filled a sports stadium in Jakarta Sunday at the opening of a four-day convention. Religious strife erupted recently in the eastern part of the main island of Java, where more than 150 people, many of them Islamic clerics, have been murdered, apparently by rival Muslim groups. Many of the dead were accused of practicing black magic.",
"In a decision welcomed as a landmark by Portugal, European Union leaders Saturday backed calls for a referendum to decide the fate of East Timor, the former Portuguese colony occupied by Indonesia since 1975. ``A definitive solution to the East Timor question will not be possible without free consultation to establish the real will of the East Timorese people,'' the 15 EU leaders said in statement after their year-end summit. Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama said the statement marked the first time the EU had backed Lisbon's call for the East Timorese to vote on whether to opt for independence or remain under Indonesian rule. Indonesia has resisted such calls for a referendum and maintains thousands of troops to keep order in the half-island territory. The EU statement also urged Indonesia to bring about a ``real and substantial reduction'' in troop levels and called for the establishment of a permanent U.N. presence in East Timor. The leaders repeated a demand that Indonesia release jailed Timorese rebel leader Xanana Gusmao, and all political prisoners. Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 as Portugal prepared to grant independence, and annexed it the following year. The United Nations does not recognize Indonesian rule.",
"Protesters on Sunday urged Australian military leaders to identify Indonesian army officers trained here to allow closer monitoring of human rights abuses in East Timor. The Australian military holds joint training exercises with Indonesian troops, including the elite commando units accused ot atrocities in East Timor. In Queensland, about 100 activists gathered outside the Canungra Land Warfare Center, south of Brisbane, to mark the 23rd anniversary of the Indonesian invasion of East Timor. ``It is a peaceful protest against Australia training Indonesian soldiers,'' spokesman Jason McLeod said. The protesters wanted Australia to cut all military ties with Indonesia despite Defence Minister John Moore's recent announcement that joint exercises would resume, he said. ``The Australian government has repeatedly refused to allow the Indonesians trained here to be identified,'' McLeod said. ``But we are demanding they be named along with their unit and battalion number because this will allow closer monitoring of human rights issues,'' he said. McLeod said 40,000 East Timorese were killed by Japanese soldiers for protecting Australian commandos during World War II. ``When they finally left the country the Australians distributed leaflets saying they would never forget the people of East Timor,'' he said. The protesters wanted to remind Australia's current soldiers of that pledge. After Portugal abandoned its former colony in East Timor in 1975, Indonesia invaded it and annexed it the following year. The United Nations refuses to recognize the annexation as legitimate; Australia is one of the few nations that recognizes Indonesian sovereignty over East Timor."
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"Protesters on Sunday urged Australian military leaders to identify Indonesian army officers trained here to allow closer monitoring of human rights abuses in East Timor. The Australian military holds joint training exercises with Indonesian troops, including the elite commando units accused ot atrocities in East Timor. In Queensland, about 100 activists gathered outside the Canungra Land Warfare Center, south of Brisbane, to mark the 23rd anniversary of the Indonesian invasion of East Timor. ``It is a peaceful protest against Australia training Indonesian soldiers,'' spokesman Jason McLeod said. The protesters wanted Australia to cut all military ties with Indonesia despite Defence Minister John Moore's recent announcement that joint exercises would resume, he said. ``The Australian government has repeatedly refused to allow the Indonesians trained here to be identified,'' McLeod said. ``But we are demanding they be named along with their unit and battalion number because this will allow closer monitoring of human rights issues,'' he said. McLeod said 40,000 East Timorese were killed by Japanese soldiers for protecting Australian commandos during World War II. ``When they finally left the country the Australians distributed leaflets saying they would never forget the people of East Timor,'' he said. The protesters wanted to remind Australia's current soldiers of that pledge. After Portugal abandoned its former colony in East Timor in 1975, Indonesia invaded it and annexed it the following year. The United Nations refuses to recognize the annexation as legitimate; Australia is one of the few nations that recognizes Indonesian sovereignty over East Timor.",
"Representatives of exiled East Timorese pro-independence groups said Friday that Indonesian troops attacked unarmed civilians in a village in the disputed Southeast Asian territory, killing one East Timorese and wounding 22 others. The attack took place Tuesday near Cailaco in East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, according to a statement issued by the pro-independence Christian Democratic Union of East Timor. Placido dos Santos, a 28-year-old farmer, was tortured and killed by the Indonesian military during the attack, the statement claimed. Jose Pau Lelo, 38, Rosito Borges, 35, and Leao Soares, 50, were in a coma due to injuries they sustained in the attack, according to the statement which cited resistance sources in East Timor's capital Dili. The statement, released in the Portuguese capital Lisbon, also said 19 men were wounded, eight seriously, and 26 others were missing. The names, ages and occupations of the villagers were listed. There was no independent confirmation of the attack, and Indonesian officials were was not immediately available for comment. Indonesia invaded East Timor in Dec. 1975, following Portugal's colonial rule, and annexed it a month later. Indonesian troops have since then been fighting a small band of pro-independence guerillas. Roque Rodrigues, a Lisbon spokesman for the National Council of Timorese Resistance, said he also had corroborated the report with six sources inside East Timor and said he had ``no reasons to doubt the truth'' of the statement. The United Nations, which is brokering talks between Lisbon and Jakarta over the territory's political future, still regards Portugal as the administering power in East Timor. The half-island territory lies some 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) southeast of Jakarta.",
"JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - As a U.N. envoy trotted toward an Indonesian army helicopter, East Timorese protesters spilled onto the runway tarmac and shouted their anger at nervous soldiers. Sent to make peace in Indonesian-controlled East Timor, Jamsheed Marker's recent hasty departure from the troubled territory signaled how easily tensions there can boil over. Yet Marker, who is visiting Indonesia to promote a U.N.-designed blueprint for autonomy in the former Portuguese colony, said Monday that both sides in the bitter conflict were displaying a newfound taste for compromise. In an interview with The Associated Press, Marker admitted that a peaceful solution remains distant. But in a big step forward, he said, many separatist activists were no longer pressing for an immediate vote on independence. ``They don't want independence tomorrow,'' said Marker, who was interviewed in a Jakarta hotel suite after his trip to East Timor. In other progress, Indonesia and Portugal will send diplomats to open ``interest'' sections in each other's capitals next month. Formal diplomatic relations, however, will not be resumed. Also in January, the two countries are scheduled to embark on a new round of U.N.-sponsored peace talks in New York. Turmoil has plagued East Timor ever since Indonesian troops invaded in 1975, unleashing a separatist rebel war and the resentment of a population pummeled by human rights abuses. Talks were revived earlier this year after the ouster of authoritarian President Suharto, but differences remain over a definition of autonomy that would suit all parties. Separatists want it to be transitional, while Indonesia is offering East Timorese partial control of their affairs in exchange for international recognition of its sovereignty. Jakarta wants to handle foreign, defense and financial affairs. Fears are widespread that more unrest in East Timor could derail the negotiations. On Monday, Marker voiced his concern in a meeting with East Timor's jailed rebel chief, Xanana Gusmao. ``I said there was a lot of tension in East Timor and that he and his people ought to do everything they can to reduce it,'' said Marker, a former Pakistani ambassador to the United Nations. Tempers flared but there was no violence during protests timed for Marker's weekend trip to Dili, the seaside capital of the half-island territory of 800,000 people. On Sunday, separatist protesters tore down a fence at the commercial airport and pushed past soldiers with automatic rifles as they tried in vain to speak to Marker as he left. During a visit last year, Indonesian soldiers killed two pro-independence demonstrators outside a hotel where Marker was staying. Activists have alleged that Indonesia secretly ferried troops into East Timor in spite of pledges to reduce the number. Marker said Jakarta had advised him of troop rotations and that U.N. staff were monitoring the situation. Marker was scheduled to talk with Indonesian President B.J. Habibie on Tuesday and will leave Indonesia on Wednesday to prepare for another batch of meetings in the New Year. ``If you ask me... `Do you have a solution?' then the answer is, `I don't,''' he said. ``But I think there are ways of getting there and the first thing is to have peace and quiet.''",
"Taiwan's Foreign Ministry on Thursday blamed ``administrative negligence'' for an incident in which Nobel Peace Prize winner Josi Ramos-Horta was left stranded at the airport for hours after being refused entry. Opposition supporters alleged the incident Wednesday night was politically motivated. Ramos-Horta is an advocate of independence for Indonesian-controlled East Timor, and newspapers reported Taiwan had formerly barred him to avoid antagonizing Indonesia. But Ramos-Horta's previous persona non grata status had been ordered lifted by the Foreign Ministry in August, leaving no reason why he should have been refused entry by airport immigration when he came to town Wednesday night, ministry spokesman Roy Wu told a news conference. ``This incident accentuated the problem with administrative relations, it needs to be improved. ... It's a fact,'' Wu told a news conference. Ramos-Horta had a rough time Wednesday night. Immigration officials would not let him in, then he tried to catch a flight out but missed the plane. Eventually, the Foreign Ministry intervened and let Ramos-Horta enter Taiwan. He went only as far as the airport hotel. Conflicting reports indicate Ramos-Horta was stuck at the airport for between four and seven hours. Ramos-Horta was carrying a Portuguese passport, which should have permitted him visa-free entry to Taiwan for up to 14 days, newspapers said. The opposition Democratic Progressive Party alleged Ramos-Horta had been refused entry because he planned to speak on behalf of Chen Shui-bian's campaign to be re-elected as mayor of Taipei. Chen is Taiwan's most prominent DPP politician. ``This sort of incident shows that Taiwan is just not qualified to be called a democratic nation,'' DPP Secretary-General Chiu Yi-jen told a news conference. Ramos-Horta sought to play down the incident before leaving town Thursday. ``I don't want to make a big problem out of it. I have been to many countries. The only countries that don't allow me in would be countries like Iraq, Iran,'' he told reporters before catching an afternoon flight to attend a conference in Australia. Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and annexed it the following year. The United Nations does not recognize Indonesian claims to East Timor.",
"Indonesia on Tuesday denied claims that its troops massacred more than 40 East Timorese recently, and criticized Portugal for suspending U.N.-sponsored talks over the future of the troubled territory. Foreign Minister Ali Alatas questioned whether Portugal truly wanted to settle the problem of East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, the official Antara news agency reported. Portugal suspended the talks with Indonesia in New York last week following reports of a massacre of dozens of East Timorese rebels in a series of clashes with Indonesian troops. East Timor's spiritual leader, Roman Catholic Bishop Carlos Belo, has said that between 30 and 40 people were reportedly killed near the villages of Alas and Same, 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Dili, East Timor capital. The 1996 Nobel Peace Prize winner said that so far, only 11 bodies had been identified. Alatas said the claims of a massacre were not true. ``The Portuguese delegation, without checking the truth of the information, decided to temporarily suspend the ongoing dialogue,'' Antara quoted Alatas as saying. The New York-based group Human Rights Watch said some deaths had occurred in fights between rebels and Indonesian forces. However, it could not confirm claims that dozens of people had been killed. Alatas said it was the third time that Portugal had unilaterally suspended talks over East Timor since 1986. Based on this, Alatas said, Indonesia was skeptical about Portugal's sincerity, Antara reported. In response, Portugal's Foreign Ministry accused Indonesia of breaking promises to reduce its military presence in East Timor and called for a permanent U.N. mission in the disputed territory. ``Unfortunately, Indonesia has increased its deployment and the brutality of its military actions in East Timor,'' said ministry spokesman Horacio Cesar. Meanwhile, about 500 students ended their noisy but peaceful rally outside the office of East Timor's governor in Dili Tuesday after receiving promises that the reported killings would be investigated. In a dialogue with the students' representatives, Governor Abilio Osorio Soares and military chief Col. Suhartono Suratman agreed to set up a team to make a thorough investigation. The group earlier had spent one night occupying the provincial Parliament and vowed to stay at the governor's office. The students also demanded a total withdrawal of Indonesian soldiers from East Timor. Meanwhile, an unidentified man, believed to be a rebel, was reported to have shot and wounded Izildo Pereira, a civilian, in Baucau, 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of Dili. Izildo, 30, who was shot Sunday, was being treated at a military hospital in Dili. Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and annexed it the following year. The United Nations, however, does not recognize Indonesia's claim. Before being suspended, the talks centered on an Indonesian offer to give East Timor autonomy in return for international recognition of Indonesian sovereignty there.",
"Representatives of exiled East Timorese pro-independence groups said Friday that Indonesian troops attacked unarmed civilians in a village in the disputed Southeast Asian territory, killing one East Timorese and wounding 22 others. The report could not be independently confirmed, and Indonesian officials were not immediately available for comment. The attack took place Tuesday near Cailaco in East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, according to a statement issued by the pro-independence Christian Democratic Union of East Timor. Placido dos Santos, a 28-year-old farmer, was tortured and killed by the Indonesian military during the attack, the statement, which cited resistance sources in East Timor's capital, Dili. The statement, released in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, also said that 22 people were injured and 26 were missing. The names, ages and occupations of the villagers were listed. Roque Rodrigues, a Lisbon spokesman for the National Council of Timorese Resistance, another pro-independence group, said he had corroborated the report with six sources inside East Timor and said he had ``no reasons to doubt the truth'' of the statement. The United Nations, which is brokering talks between Lisbon and Jakarta over the territory's political future, still regards Portugal as the administering power in East Timor. The half-island territory lies some 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) southeast of Jakarta.",
"Representatives of exiled East Timorese pro-independence groups said Friday that Indonesian troops attacked unarmed civilians in a village in the disputed Southeast Asian territory, killing one East Timorese and wounding 22 others. The report could not be independently confirmed, and Indonesian officials were not immediately available for comment. The attack took place Tuesday near Cailaco in East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, according to a statement issued by the pro-independence Christian Democratic Union of East Timor. Placido dos Santos, a 28-year-old farmer, was tortured and killed by the Indonesian military during the attack, the statement, which cited resistance sources in East Timor's capital, Dili. The statement, released in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, also said that 22 people were injured and 26 were missing. The names, ages and occupations of the villagers were listed. Roque Rodrigues, a Lisbon spokesman for the Socialist Party of Timor, another pro-independence group, said he had corroborated the report with six sources inside East Timor and said he had ``no reasons to doubt the truth'' of the statement. The United Nations, which is brokering talks between Lisbon and Jakarta over the territory's political future, still regards Portugal as the administering power in East Timor. The half-island territory lies some 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) southeast of Jakarta.",
"Bent on revenge for earlier attacks on churches, mobs set fire to four mosques in West Timor Monday after a protest and strike by thousands of Christians degenerated into a riot, the military and a Muslim leader said. A rampaging crowd also burned down a market and a Muslim school. Troops and riot police patrolled the streets. There were no immediate reports of serious injuries or arrests as fighting between Muslims and Christians continued after dark, said a military officer who spoke by telephone on condition of anonymity. The violence in the Christian-dominated city of Kupang was in retaliation for the burning and ransacking of 22 churches by Muslim mobs in the capital, Jakarta, on Nov. 22, when 14 people were killed. Islamic leaders urged Indonesia's Muslim majority not to retaliate with more violence. Adurrahman Wahid, head of Indonesia's largest Muslim grouping, the 30 million-member Nahdlatul Ulama, accused provocateurs of whipping up religious strife when the sprawling Southeast Asian nation is trying to head toward democracy. ``I hope Muslims ... are not deceived by such provocations,'' said Wahid, who has been pushing for religious unity. West Timor shares the same island as troubled East Timor, a former Portuguese territory dominated by Roman Catholicism and invaded by Indonesia in 1975. Christians, mostly Protestants, dominate Kupang, about 1,875 kilometers (1,172 miles) southeast of the Indonesian capital. However, a sizable Muslim minority also lives there. The Kupang riot broke out after thousands of Christians staged a peaceful strike and street protest against the Jakarta church attacks. Most offices and shops were closed in the city of 120,000, the capital of East Nusa Tenggara province, whose governor called for calm. Organizers of Monday's strike had called for a non-violent ``day of mourning.'' However, residents said fires broke out in three mosques after rival gangs pelted each other with rocks. Indonesia is the world's most populous Islamic nation. About 90 percent of Indonesia's 202 million people are Muslims, with the rest following Christian, Hindu, Buddhist or other faiths. Religious diversity based on a belief in God is enshrined in the national philosophy, known as Pancasila, adopted when Indonesia declared independence from Dutch colonial rule in 1945. The upsurge in religious violence follows months of riots and protests in many parts of Indonesia. Social tensions in the sprawling Southeast Asian nation have intensified as it grapples with its worst economic crisis in decades. There is also political turmoil as students protesters demand greater democracy after 32 years of authoritarian rule by former President Suharto, who was forced to quit following deadly riots in May. Ismalil Hasan Metareum, head of the Muslim-dominated opposition United Development Party, urged his followers not to hit back. More than 100,000 party supporters filled a sports stadium in Jakarta Sunday at the opening of a four-day convention. Religious strife erupted recently in the eastern part of the main island of Java, where more than 150 people, many of them Islamic clerics, have been murdered, apparently by rival Muslim groups. Many of the dead were accused of practicing black magic.",
"In a decision welcomed as a landmark by Portugal, European Union leaders Saturday backed calls for a referendum to decide the fate of East Timor, the former Portuguese colony occupied by Indonesia since 1975. ``A definitive solution to the East Timor question will not be possible without free consultation to establish the real will of the East Timorese people,'' the 15 EU leaders said in statement after their year-end summit. Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama said the statement marked the first time the EU had backed Lisbon's call for the East Timorese to vote on whether to opt for independence or remain under Indonesian rule. Indonesia has resisted such calls for a referendum and maintains thousands of troops to keep order in the half-island territory. The EU statement also urged Indonesia to bring about a ``real and substantial reduction'' in troop levels and called for the establishment of a permanent U.N. presence in East Timor. The leaders repeated a demand that Indonesia release jailed Timorese rebel leader Xanana Gusmao, and all political prisoners. Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 as Portugal prepared to grant independence, and annexed it the following year. The United Nations does not recognize Indonesian rule.",
"Protesters on Sunday urged Australian military leaders to identify Indonesian army officers trained here to allow closer monitoring of human rights abuses in East Timor. The Australian military holds joint training exercises with Indonesian troops, including the elite commando units accused ot atrocities in East Timor. In Queensland, about 100 activists gathered outside the Canungra Land Warfare Center, south of Brisbane, to mark the 23rd anniversary of the Indonesian invasion of East Timor. ``It is a peaceful protest against Australia training Indonesian soldiers,'' spokesman Jason McLeod said. The protesters wanted Australia to cut all military ties with Indonesia despite Defence Minister John Moore's recent announcement that joint exercises would resume, he said. ``The Australian government has repeatedly refused to allow the Indonesians trained here to be identified,'' McLeod said. ``But we are demanding they be named along with their unit and battalion number because this will allow closer monitoring of human rights issues,'' he said. McLeod said 40,000 East Timorese were killed by Japanese soldiers for protecting Australian commandos during World War II. ``When they finally left the country the Australians distributed leaflets saying they would never forget the people of East Timor,'' he said. The protesters wanted to remind Australia's current soldiers of that pledge. After Portugal abandoned its former colony in East Timor in 1975, Indonesia invaded it and annexed it the following year. The United Nations refuses to recognize the annexation as legitimate; Australia is one of the few nations that recognizes Indonesian sovereignty over East Timor."
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In early October 1998 Turkey moved 10,000 troops to the Syrian border accusing its neighbor of harboring Kurdish rebels and their leader Abdullah Ocalan. Syria denied the charges and blamed Turkey's belligerence on its military alliance with Israel. As the dispute threatened to ignite the whole volatile region, Egypt's President Mubarak launched a mediation effort soon joined by Iran and Jordan. Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Sudan, Lebanon and Greece voiced support for Syria, but all called for a diplomatic solution. Israel did not take sides urging diplomatic talks and insisting that Israeli-Turkish military cooperation played no role in the crisis. Tensions between Syria and Turkey increased as Turkey sent 10,000 troops to its border with Syria. The dispute comes amid accusations by Turkey that Syria helping Kurdish rebels based in Syria. Kurdish rebels have been conducting cross border raids into Turkey in an effort to gain Kurdish autonomy in the region. Egyptian President Mubarek has been involved in shuttle diplomacy to the two states in an effort to defuse the situation and Iraq also has offered to mediate the dispute between the two countries. Although Israel has tried to demonstrate its neutrality, Lebanon has charged That Israel is the cause of the tensions between Syria and Turkey. Tensions rose between Syria and Turkey over claims that Syria harbored Kurdish rebels, Turkey's growing ties with Israel, and Turkish dams on the Euphrates. Turkey sent 10,000 troops to the Syrian border. Israel declared non-involvement and limited border exercises. Egypt's President traveled to Syria and Turkey to mediate. Jordan urged the interests of the region and offered to mediate, as did Iran. Lebanon denied harboring Kurds, sided with Syria and blamed Israel for tensions, but urged peace. Greece said Turkey undermined stability but urged neighbors to get along. The Saudis, Yemen and Sudan supported Syria but urged peace. Assad was to visit Turkey. On October 1, Turkey moved 10,000 troops toward the Syrian border, and later sent jets along--possibly across--the border. Turkey warned Syria it could no longer tolerate Syria's sheltering Kurdish rebels in Syria and Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. Fighting with Kurdish rebels began in 1984. The Syrian denial included claims that Turkey was taking water and had a strategic alliance with Israel. Egypt, then Iran and Jordan, sought to defuse the situation and find a diplomatic solution for the two Muslim nations. Greece, predictably, chided Turkey, while Israel denied involvement and limited its military activities along the Syrian border.
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"Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met here Sunday with Syrian President Hafez Assad to try to defuse growing tension between Syria and Turkey. Mubarak left after the two-hour meeting without speaking to reporters. Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said before their departure that Mubarak ``backs dialogue for solving disputes and not military power and threats.'' Egypt's Middle East News Agency quoted Moussa as saying that Arab support for Syria should not be read in Ankara as animosity toward Turkey. The agency also quoted Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Sharaa as saying that Egypt and Syria ``agreed on the graveness of the situation and that it should be dealt with diplomatically and not through confrontation or threats.'' Al-Sharaa said he hoped Mubarak's trip to Turkey would achieve results. Turkey's Foreign Ministry said Mubarak was expected in Ankara, possibly on Monday. The talks in Damascus came as Turkey has massed forces near the border with Syria after threatening to eradicate Kurdish rebel bases in the neighboring country. In a show of force on Friday, Turkish jets buzzed the Syrian frontier, a Turkish daily reported. Mubarak had made an unannounced trip to Riyadh on Saturday to get backing from King Fahd of Saudi Arabia for his mediation efforts. Egypt, the Arab world's largest country with 60 million people, frequently tries to mediate Arab and Muslim disputes. ``We have to stop the tension and contain it, and military threats should stop,'' Mubarak told Egyptian reporters on Saturday. ``I am ready to exert every effort in this direction in Damascus and Ankara.'' Moussa said Mubarak had consulted by phone on Saturday with Assad and also conveyed a message to Turkish President Suleyman Demirel through Turkey's ambassador to Egypt, Yasser Yakis. Turkey long has accused Syria of sheltering Kurdish rebels, who have been fighting since 1984 for more autonomy for the Kurdish population in southeastern Turkey. Syria denies sheltering Kurdish fighters. Late last week, Turkey sent 10,000 troops into northern Iraq to hit bases that Turkish Kurds use for their uprising. For its part, Syria has accused Turkey of forming military alliances with Israel that threaten Arab security and undermine Syria's bargaining position in peace talks with the Jewish state. Damascus also accuses Turkey of building a series of dams on the Euphrates River that threaten to reduce Syria's water supply. Editorials in the Arab world called on both sides to show restraint. In Baghdad, the newspaper Babil, published by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's son Odai, reported the Turkish incursion into Iraq. ``The region cannot bear another conflict nor an increase in the present tensions,'' Babil said in an editorial. ``The Turkish buildup does not serve anybody as much as it will harm Turkey and Syria and other parties in the region.'' The English-language Egyptian Gazette said in an editorial on Sunday that ``the Syrians, understandably, harbor the belief that Turkey is being manipulated by its new-found ally, Israel, to pounce,'' with the dispute over Kurdish rebels being a pretext. Israel, for its part, said it does not want to become involved in any military confrontation between Syria and Turkey. ``We have no part in this tension,'' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters in Jerusalem on Sunday. ``We have taken steps to reassure Syria.''",
"Iran has offered to mediate between Syria and Turkey in the deepening dispute over Kurdish rebel bases and plans to dispatch envoys to the two countries, the Tehran Times reported Monday. Egypt already has launched a mediation effort to try to prevent a military confrontation over Turkish allegations that Syria is harboring Turkish Kurdish rebels. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak held talks Sunday with Syrian President Hafez Assad in Damascus and was expected to visit Turkey later this week. Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi made the offer of mediation in a telephone conversation with his Syrian counterpart, Farouk al-Sharaa, on Sunday, said the paper, which is close to the Foreign Ministry. It did not say when Iran planned to send its emissaries. Tensions between Turkey and Syria, Iran's closest Arab ally, have escalated in recent days. Ankara has sent troops to its border with Syria, prompting fears of an attack. There have been unconfirmed reports of Turkish jets violating Syria airspace near the border. Turkish President Suleyman Demirel warned Damascus on Sunday that Turkey would not allow its neighbor to continue sheltering Kurdish rebels. Syria denies the allegation. Turkey long has accused Syria of providing refuge to Kurdish rebels, who have been fighting since 1984 for more autonomy for the Kurdish population in southeastern Turkey. For its part, Syria has accused Turkey of forming military alliances with Israel that threaten Arab security and undermine Syria's bargaining position in peace talks with the Jewish state. Turkey's military alliance with Israel has been condemned by Iran. Syria also has accused Turkey of threatening its supply of water by building dams on the Euphrates River.",
"Lebanon on Monday denied it is harboring Kurdish rebels and blamed Israel for the rising tension between Syria and Turkey. President Elias Hrawi traveled to Damascus Monday for a summit meeting with President Hafez Assad to show Lebanon's support for Syria. He called for a ``diplomatic dialogue'' to defuse the tension, said Assad's spokesman Jubran Kourieh. Prime Minister Rafik Hariri said his country backs Syria in the dispute, which was triggered Sunday when Turkish President Suleyman Demirel warned Damascus that his country would not allow its neighbor to continue sheltering Kurdish rebels. Syria denied the allegation. Ankara has sent troops to its border with Syria, prompting fears of an attack. The Turkish daily Milliyet speculated Sunday hat Turkey could stage pinpoint attacks in the Syrian-controlled Bekaa Valley of eastern Lebanon, where Turkey says rebels of Abdullah Ocalan's Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK, maintain camps. Lebanese Foreign Minister Faris Bweiz denied Monday that Kurdish rebels were based in his country. ``The Turkish authorities fully know that measures had been taken in Syria and Lebanon more than 1 1/2 years ago to stop the activities of any PKK member,'' Bweiz said at a news conference. Ocalan in recent years was believed to shuttle between the Bekaa Valley and neighboring Syria. ``We stand by Syria's side, especially in its call for resolving disputes with Turkey in the framework of a peaceful dialogue,'' the Lebanese prime minister said in an interview with An-Nahar daily. Hariri said Turkey's military moves were the product of its newly forged military alliance with Israel. ``The Turkish threats are the first outcome of the Turkish-Israeli strategic alliance,'' Hariri was quoted as saying. The Lebanese press also accused Israel of inflaming the tensions. ``It is brilliant Israeli intelligence versus absolute Turkish folly,'' wrote Talal Salman, publisher of the leftist newspaper As-Safir. Israeli officials had no immediate comment because it is the Sukkot holiday and all government offices are closed. Since the Syrian-Turkish crisis began, Israeli defense minister Yitzhak Mordechai has said Israel is not a party to it and that the Israeli-Turkish military coooperation is not directed against any third state. Meanwhile, Syria's Assad received messages of support from Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz and from the leaders of Yemen and Sudan, said Syria's official news agency, SANA. The Arab leaders called for diplomatic solution to the crisis.",
"Signaling it does not want to be involved in any potential military confrontation between Syria and Turkey, Israel is limiting routine exercises along its own border with Syria. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also stressed Israel's hands-off approach to the escalating dispute between Damascus and Ankara. ``We have no part in this tension,'' Netanyahu told reporters in Jerusalem on Sunday. ``We have taken steps to reassure Syria.'' Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai instructed the army to limit military maneuvers along Israel's border with Syria to avoid giving any impression Israel is poised to act. ``Israel is not interested in confrontation with Syria, but rather in finding ways to renew talks,'' Mordechai's office quoted him Sunday as saying. Turkey amassed, 4th graf pvs",
"Turkey has sent 10,000 troops to its southeastern border with Syria amid growing tensions between the two neighbors, newspapers reported Thursday. The daily Milliyet quoted eyewitnesses as saying they saw convoys of armored vehicles approaching the 600-kilometer (375-mile) border; the daily Cumhuriyet said around 10,000 troops were being deployed. Defense Minister Ismet Sezgin denied any troop movement along the border, but said Turkey's patience was running out. President Suleyman Demirel was harsher during parliament's opening session Thursday. ``I declare to the world that we retain our right to counter Syria, which has not given up its hostile attitude despite all our warnings and peaceful approaches,'' he said. Turkey accuses Syria of harboring Turkish Kurdish rebels fighting for autonomy in Turkey's southeast; it says rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan lives in Damascus. Relations are also strained by the growing military and diplomatic ties between Turkey and Israel, which Damascus claims destabilizes the region.",
"Lebanon on Monday denied it is harboring Kurdish rebels and blamed Israel for the rising tension between Syria and Turkey. President Elias Hrawi traveled to Damascus Monday for a summit meeting with President Hafez Assad to show Lebanon's support for Syria. Prime Minister Rafik Hariri said his country backs Syria in the dispute which was triggered Sunday when Turkish President Suleyman Demirel warned Damascus that his country would not allow its neighbor to continue sheltering Kurdish rebels. Syria denied the allegation. Ankara has sent troops to its border with Syria, prompting fears of an attack. The Turkish daily Milliyet speculated Sunday that Turkey could stage pinpoint attacks in the Syrian-controlled Bekaa Valley of eastern Lebanon, where Turkey says rebels of Abdullah Ocalan's Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK, maintain camps. Lebanese Foreign Minister Faris Bweiz said Monday there were no Kurdish rebels based in his country. ``The Turkish authorities fully know that measures had been taken in Syria and Lebanon more than a 1{ ago to stop the activities of any PKK member,'' Bweiz told a news conference. ``We stand by Syria's side, especially in its call for resolving disputes with Turkey in the framework of a peaceful dialogue,'' He said. Ocalan in recent years was believed to shuttle between the Bekaa Valley and neighboring Syria. Hariri said in an interview with An-Nahar daily that Turkey's military moves were the product of its newly forged military alliance with Israel. ``The Turkish threats are the first outcome of the Turkish-Israeli strategic alliance,'' Hariri was quoted as saying. The Lebanese press also accused Israel of inflaming the tensions. ``It is brilliant Israeli intelligence versus absolute Turkish folly,'' wrote Talal Salman, publisher of the leftist newspaper As-Safir.",
"Iran has offered to mediate between Syria and Turkey in the deepening dispute over Kurdish rebel bases and will dispatch envoys to the two countries, the Tehran Times reported Monday. Egypt already has launched a mediation effort to try to prevent a military confrontation over Turkey's allegations that Syria is harboring Turkish Kurdish rebels. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak held talks Sunday with Syrian President Hafez Assad in Damascus and was expected to visit Turkey later this week. Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi made the mediation offer Sunday in a telephone conversation with his Syrian counterpart, Farouk al-Sharaa, said the paper, which is close to the Foreign Ministry. It did not say when Iran planned to send its emissaries. Tensions between Turkey and Syria, Iran's closest Arab ally, have escalated in recent days. Ankara has sent troops to its border with Syria, prompting fears of an attack. There have been unconfirmed reports of Turkish jets violating Syria airspace near the border. Turkish President Suleyman Demirel warned Damascus on Sunday that Turkey would not let its neighbor continue sheltering Kurdish rebels. Syria denies the allegation. Turkey long has accused Syria of providing refuge to Kurdish rebels, who have been fighting since 1984 for more autonomy for the Kurdish population in southeastern Turkey. For its part, Syria has accused Turkey of forming military alliances with Israel that threaten Arab security and undermine Syria's bargaining position in peace talks with the Jewish state. Turkey's military alliance with Israel has been condemned by Iran. Syria also has accused Turkey of threatening its supply of water by building dams on the Euphrates River. In Jordan, Crown Prince Hassan urged Demirel in a telephone call to ``exert all efforts to resolve the crisis without resorting to military confrontation,'' said Information Minister Nasser Judeh. Judeh said Hassan, who is acting as regent in King Hussein's absence, also told Demirel that Jordan was ``ready to provide any assistance'' to help resolve the dispute.",
"Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met here Sunday with Syrian President Hafez Assad to try to defuse growing tension between Syria and Turkey. Mubarak left after the two-hour meeting without speaking to reporters. But Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa, who accompanied him on the trip, said before their departure that Mubarak ``backs dialogue for solving disputes and not military power and threats.'' Egypt's Middle East News Agency quoted Moussa as saying that Arab support for Syria should not be read in Ankara as animosity toward Turkey. The agency also quoted Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Sharaa as saying that Egypt and Syria ``agreed on the graveness of the situation and that it should be dealt with diplomatically and not through confrontation or threats.'' Al-Sharaa said he hoped Mubarak's trip to Turkey would achieve results. Turkey's Foreign Ministry said Mubarak was expected in Ankara, possibly on Monday. The talks in Damascus came as Turkey has massed forces near the border with Syria after threatening to eradicate Kurdish rebel bases in the neighboring country. In a show of force on Friday, Turkish jets buzzed the Syrian frontier, a Turkish daily reported. Mubarak had made an unannounced trip to Riyadh on Saturday to get backing from King Fahd of Saudi Arabia for his mediation efforts. Egypt, the Arab world's largest country with 60 million people, frequently tries to mediate Arab and Muslim disputes. ``We have to stop the tension and contain it, and military threats should stop,'' Mubarak told Egyptian reporters on Saturday. ``I am ready to exert every effort in this direction in Damascus and Ankara.'' Moussa said Mubarak had consulted by phone on Saturday with Assad and also conveyed a message to Turkish President Suleyman Demirel through Turkey's ambassador to Egypt, Yasser Yakis. Turkey long has accused Syria of sheltering Kurdish rebels, who have been fighting since 1984 for more autonomy for the Kurdish population in southeastern Turkey. Syria denies sheltering Kurdish fighters. Late last week, Turkey sent 10,000 troops into northern Iraq to hit bases that Turkish Kurds use for their uprising. For its part, Syria has accused Turkey of forming military alliances with Israel that threaten Arab security and undermine Syria's bargaining position in peace talks with the Jewish state. Damascus also accuses Turkey of building a series of dams on the Euphrates River that threaten to reduce Syria's water supply. Editorials in the Arab world called on both sides to show restraint. In Baghdad, the newspaper Babil, published by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's son Odai, reported the Turkish incursion into Iraq. ``The region cannot bear another conflict nor an increase in the present tensions,'' Babil said in an editorial. ``The Turkish buildup does not serve anybody as much as it will harm Turkey and Syria and other parties in the region.'' The English-language Egyptian Gazette said in an editorial on Sunday that ``the Syrians, understandably, harbor the belief that Turkey is being manipulated by its new-found ally, Israel, to pounce,'' with the dispute over Kurdish rebels being a pretext. Israel, for its part, said it does not want to become involved in any military confrontation between Syria and Turkey. ``We have no part in this tension,'' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters in Jerusalem on Sunday. ``We have taken steps to reassure Syria.''",
"Greece on Monday warned that mounting tension between Turkey and Syria could lead to ``tragic results'' if not dealt with in its early stages. ``Sources of tension are being created in our region,'' government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said. ``We will have to deal with these sources from their birth, because they may develop out of control and we will be led to tragic results.'' Greece accused Turkey of undermining the whole region's stability through its stand-off with Syria over the alleged harboring of Kurdish rebels. ``Sadly, the tone of certain countries is not constructive,'' Reppas said. ``Turkey in particular ... repeatedly dynamites every effort'' for the creation of a climate of regional stability. Turkish troops have reportedly massed on the frontier with Syria, while Ankara has indicated its readiness for cross-border raids to eradicate what it claims are guerrilla bases harboring Kurdish rebels. Syria has denied the charge. In the past, Turkish officials have also accused Greece of harboring Kurdish rebels and running guerrilla training camps. Athens denied the charge, and no evidence has been found to support the accusations. Relations between Greece and neighboring Turkey are rarely cordial. The two NATO allies are at odds over a variety of issues, and have twice reached the brink of war in the past 11 years over the Aegean Sea. But as neighbors, countries in the region must learn to get along, Reppas stressed. ``No one can change geographical facts,'' he said. ``As we live in this region of the world ... we have to strive for good friendly relations and cooperation.''",
"As Turkey kept up warlike rhetoric against Damascus, Egypt on Sunday began shuttle democracy between the two neighbors to avoid a military confrontation over Turkish Kurdish bases in Syria. Turkish President Suleyman Demirel said that Turkey was in a position of self-defense and had suffered for many years from Damascus' sheltering of the autonomy-seeking rebels. Some 10,000 Turkish troops were deployed this week on the Turkish-Syrian border, news reports said. Damascus denies that it is supporting the rebels, who wage cross-border raids from camps in Iraq, Iran and Syria. ``This situation is serious,'' Demirel said. ``I am not only warning Syria, I am warning the world. This cannot continue.'' He did not elaborate and it was unclear whether Demirel was warning of a possible military confrontation. But several military and civilian leaders here have said that if diplomacy fails, the military would be charged with solving the issue. ``Our patience has run out. We are determined to take all necessary measures if we don't see any response to our goodwill,'' the commander of Turkish land forces, Gen. Atilla Ates, said last week. Milliyet daily speculated Sunday that Turkey could stage pinpoint attacks in the Syrian-controlled Bekaa valley of Lebanon, where Turkey says the rebels have bases. Another report claimed the Turkish army had been put on alert. But Defense Minister Ismet Sezgin insisted Sunday that war was the last resort. ``I don't believe it will come to that,'' he said. The war in Turkey's southeast waged by rebels seeking autonomy for the country's large Kurdish minority, has killed some 37,000 people since 1984. In an attempt to the ease tension that many fear may spill over into the entire Middle East, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met with his Syrian counterpart Hafez Assad in Damascus. Egypt's Middle East News Agency quoted Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Sharaa as saying that Egypt and Syria ``agreed on the graveness of the situation and that it should be dealt with diplomatically and not through confrontation or threats.'' Al-Sharaa said he hoped Mubarak's trip to Turkey this week would be fruitful. Jordan, which cautioned Syria and Turkey to take into consideration the higher interests of the region, offered to mediate. Fueling tension between the two countries are Turkey and Israel's expanding military and diplomatic ties. Syria claims the ties are a threat to the Arab world, and on Saturday, Damascus again accused Turkey of plotting with Israel to undermine Syria. ``We have no part in this tension,'' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday. ``We have taken steps to reassure Syria.'' Israel has also instructed its army to limit military maneuvers along its border with Syria to avoid giving any impression that Israel is poised to act. On Sunday, the Arab League called on Turkey to end its military cooperation with Israel. Syria and Turkey have a long history of disagreements. Damascus is concerned by Ankara's plans to build dams on the Euphrates River, a key source of water for Syria, while Turkey accuses Syria of having aspirations over a Turkish border province, Hatay, which has a sizable Arab population."
] |
[
"Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met here Sunday with Syrian President Hafez Assad to try to defuse growing tension between Syria and Turkey. Mubarak left after the two-hour meeting without speaking to reporters. Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said before their departure that Mubarak ``backs dialogue for solving disputes and not military power and threats.'' Egypt's Middle East News Agency quoted Moussa as saying that Arab support for Syria should not be read in Ankara as animosity toward Turkey. The agency also quoted Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Sharaa as saying that Egypt and Syria ``agreed on the graveness of the situation and that it should be dealt with diplomatically and not through confrontation or threats.'' Al-Sharaa said he hoped Mubarak's trip to Turkey would achieve results. Turkey's Foreign Ministry said Mubarak was expected in Ankara, possibly on Monday. The talks in Damascus came as Turkey has massed forces near the border with Syria after threatening to eradicate Kurdish rebel bases in the neighboring country. In a show of force on Friday, Turkish jets buzzed the Syrian frontier, a Turkish daily reported. Mubarak had made an unannounced trip to Riyadh on Saturday to get backing from King Fahd of Saudi Arabia for his mediation efforts. Egypt, the Arab world's largest country with 60 million people, frequently tries to mediate Arab and Muslim disputes. ``We have to stop the tension and contain it, and military threats should stop,'' Mubarak told Egyptian reporters on Saturday. ``I am ready to exert every effort in this direction in Damascus and Ankara.'' Moussa said Mubarak had consulted by phone on Saturday with Assad and also conveyed a message to Turkish President Suleyman Demirel through Turkey's ambassador to Egypt, Yasser Yakis. Turkey long has accused Syria of sheltering Kurdish rebels, who have been fighting since 1984 for more autonomy for the Kurdish population in southeastern Turkey. Syria denies sheltering Kurdish fighters. Late last week, Turkey sent 10,000 troops into northern Iraq to hit bases that Turkish Kurds use for their uprising. For its part, Syria has accused Turkey of forming military alliances with Israel that threaten Arab security and undermine Syria's bargaining position in peace talks with the Jewish state. Damascus also accuses Turkey of building a series of dams on the Euphrates River that threaten to reduce Syria's water supply. Editorials in the Arab world called on both sides to show restraint. In Baghdad, the newspaper Babil, published by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's son Odai, reported the Turkish incursion into Iraq. ``The region cannot bear another conflict nor an increase in the present tensions,'' Babil said in an editorial. ``The Turkish buildup does not serve anybody as much as it will harm Turkey and Syria and other parties in the region.'' The English-language Egyptian Gazette said in an editorial on Sunday that ``the Syrians, understandably, harbor the belief that Turkey is being manipulated by its new-found ally, Israel, to pounce,'' with the dispute over Kurdish rebels being a pretext. Israel, for its part, said it does not want to become involved in any military confrontation between Syria and Turkey. ``We have no part in this tension,'' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters in Jerusalem on Sunday. ``We have taken steps to reassure Syria.''",
"Iran has offered to mediate between Syria and Turkey in the deepening dispute over Kurdish rebel bases and plans to dispatch envoys to the two countries, the Tehran Times reported Monday. Egypt already has launched a mediation effort to try to prevent a military confrontation over Turkish allegations that Syria is harboring Turkish Kurdish rebels. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak held talks Sunday with Syrian President Hafez Assad in Damascus and was expected to visit Turkey later this week. Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi made the offer of mediation in a telephone conversation with his Syrian counterpart, Farouk al-Sharaa, on Sunday, said the paper, which is close to the Foreign Ministry. It did not say when Iran planned to send its emissaries. Tensions between Turkey and Syria, Iran's closest Arab ally, have escalated in recent days. Ankara has sent troops to its border with Syria, prompting fears of an attack. There have been unconfirmed reports of Turkish jets violating Syria airspace near the border. Turkish President Suleyman Demirel warned Damascus on Sunday that Turkey would not allow its neighbor to continue sheltering Kurdish rebels. Syria denies the allegation. Turkey long has accused Syria of providing refuge to Kurdish rebels, who have been fighting since 1984 for more autonomy for the Kurdish population in southeastern Turkey. For its part, Syria has accused Turkey of forming military alliances with Israel that threaten Arab security and undermine Syria's bargaining position in peace talks with the Jewish state. Turkey's military alliance with Israel has been condemned by Iran. Syria also has accused Turkey of threatening its supply of water by building dams on the Euphrates River.",
"Lebanon on Monday denied it is harboring Kurdish rebels and blamed Israel for the rising tension between Syria and Turkey. President Elias Hrawi traveled to Damascus Monday for a summit meeting with President Hafez Assad to show Lebanon's support for Syria. He called for a ``diplomatic dialogue'' to defuse the tension, said Assad's spokesman Jubran Kourieh. Prime Minister Rafik Hariri said his country backs Syria in the dispute, which was triggered Sunday when Turkish President Suleyman Demirel warned Damascus that his country would not allow its neighbor to continue sheltering Kurdish rebels. Syria denied the allegation. Ankara has sent troops to its border with Syria, prompting fears of an attack. The Turkish daily Milliyet speculated Sunday hat Turkey could stage pinpoint attacks in the Syrian-controlled Bekaa Valley of eastern Lebanon, where Turkey says rebels of Abdullah Ocalan's Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK, maintain camps. Lebanese Foreign Minister Faris Bweiz denied Monday that Kurdish rebels were based in his country. ``The Turkish authorities fully know that measures had been taken in Syria and Lebanon more than 1 1/2 years ago to stop the activities of any PKK member,'' Bweiz said at a news conference. Ocalan in recent years was believed to shuttle between the Bekaa Valley and neighboring Syria. ``We stand by Syria's side, especially in its call for resolving disputes with Turkey in the framework of a peaceful dialogue,'' the Lebanese prime minister said in an interview with An-Nahar daily. Hariri said Turkey's military moves were the product of its newly forged military alliance with Israel. ``The Turkish threats are the first outcome of the Turkish-Israeli strategic alliance,'' Hariri was quoted as saying. The Lebanese press also accused Israel of inflaming the tensions. ``It is brilliant Israeli intelligence versus absolute Turkish folly,'' wrote Talal Salman, publisher of the leftist newspaper As-Safir. Israeli officials had no immediate comment because it is the Sukkot holiday and all government offices are closed. Since the Syrian-Turkish crisis began, Israeli defense minister Yitzhak Mordechai has said Israel is not a party to it and that the Israeli-Turkish military coooperation is not directed against any third state. Meanwhile, Syria's Assad received messages of support from Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz and from the leaders of Yemen and Sudan, said Syria's official news agency, SANA. The Arab leaders called for diplomatic solution to the crisis.",
"Signaling it does not want to be involved in any potential military confrontation between Syria and Turkey, Israel is limiting routine exercises along its own border with Syria. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also stressed Israel's hands-off approach to the escalating dispute between Damascus and Ankara. ``We have no part in this tension,'' Netanyahu told reporters in Jerusalem on Sunday. ``We have taken steps to reassure Syria.'' Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai instructed the army to limit military maneuvers along Israel's border with Syria to avoid giving any impression Israel is poised to act. ``Israel is not interested in confrontation with Syria, but rather in finding ways to renew talks,'' Mordechai's office quoted him Sunday as saying. Turkey amassed, 4th graf pvs",
"Turkey has sent 10,000 troops to its southeastern border with Syria amid growing tensions between the two neighbors, newspapers reported Thursday. The daily Milliyet quoted eyewitnesses as saying they saw convoys of armored vehicles approaching the 600-kilometer (375-mile) border; the daily Cumhuriyet said around 10,000 troops were being deployed. Defense Minister Ismet Sezgin denied any troop movement along the border, but said Turkey's patience was running out. President Suleyman Demirel was harsher during parliament's opening session Thursday. ``I declare to the world that we retain our right to counter Syria, which has not given up its hostile attitude despite all our warnings and peaceful approaches,'' he said. Turkey accuses Syria of harboring Turkish Kurdish rebels fighting for autonomy in Turkey's southeast; it says rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan lives in Damascus. Relations are also strained by the growing military and diplomatic ties between Turkey and Israel, which Damascus claims destabilizes the region.",
"Lebanon on Monday denied it is harboring Kurdish rebels and blamed Israel for the rising tension between Syria and Turkey. President Elias Hrawi traveled to Damascus Monday for a summit meeting with President Hafez Assad to show Lebanon's support for Syria. Prime Minister Rafik Hariri said his country backs Syria in the dispute which was triggered Sunday when Turkish President Suleyman Demirel warned Damascus that his country would not allow its neighbor to continue sheltering Kurdish rebels. Syria denied the allegation. Ankara has sent troops to its border with Syria, prompting fears of an attack. The Turkish daily Milliyet speculated Sunday that Turkey could stage pinpoint attacks in the Syrian-controlled Bekaa Valley of eastern Lebanon, where Turkey says rebels of Abdullah Ocalan's Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK, maintain camps. Lebanese Foreign Minister Faris Bweiz said Monday there were no Kurdish rebels based in his country. ``The Turkish authorities fully know that measures had been taken in Syria and Lebanon more than a 1{ ago to stop the activities of any PKK member,'' Bweiz told a news conference. ``We stand by Syria's side, especially in its call for resolving disputes with Turkey in the framework of a peaceful dialogue,'' He said. Ocalan in recent years was believed to shuttle between the Bekaa Valley and neighboring Syria. Hariri said in an interview with An-Nahar daily that Turkey's military moves were the product of its newly forged military alliance with Israel. ``The Turkish threats are the first outcome of the Turkish-Israeli strategic alliance,'' Hariri was quoted as saying. The Lebanese press also accused Israel of inflaming the tensions. ``It is brilliant Israeli intelligence versus absolute Turkish folly,'' wrote Talal Salman, publisher of the leftist newspaper As-Safir.",
"Iran has offered to mediate between Syria and Turkey in the deepening dispute over Kurdish rebel bases and will dispatch envoys to the two countries, the Tehran Times reported Monday. Egypt already has launched a mediation effort to try to prevent a military confrontation over Turkey's allegations that Syria is harboring Turkish Kurdish rebels. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak held talks Sunday with Syrian President Hafez Assad in Damascus and was expected to visit Turkey later this week. Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi made the mediation offer Sunday in a telephone conversation with his Syrian counterpart, Farouk al-Sharaa, said the paper, which is close to the Foreign Ministry. It did not say when Iran planned to send its emissaries. Tensions between Turkey and Syria, Iran's closest Arab ally, have escalated in recent days. Ankara has sent troops to its border with Syria, prompting fears of an attack. There have been unconfirmed reports of Turkish jets violating Syria airspace near the border. Turkish President Suleyman Demirel warned Damascus on Sunday that Turkey would not let its neighbor continue sheltering Kurdish rebels. Syria denies the allegation. Turkey long has accused Syria of providing refuge to Kurdish rebels, who have been fighting since 1984 for more autonomy for the Kurdish population in southeastern Turkey. For its part, Syria has accused Turkey of forming military alliances with Israel that threaten Arab security and undermine Syria's bargaining position in peace talks with the Jewish state. Turkey's military alliance with Israel has been condemned by Iran. Syria also has accused Turkey of threatening its supply of water by building dams on the Euphrates River. In Jordan, Crown Prince Hassan urged Demirel in a telephone call to ``exert all efforts to resolve the crisis without resorting to military confrontation,'' said Information Minister Nasser Judeh. Judeh said Hassan, who is acting as regent in King Hussein's absence, also told Demirel that Jordan was ``ready to provide any assistance'' to help resolve the dispute.",
"Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met here Sunday with Syrian President Hafez Assad to try to defuse growing tension between Syria and Turkey. Mubarak left after the two-hour meeting without speaking to reporters. But Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa, who accompanied him on the trip, said before their departure that Mubarak ``backs dialogue for solving disputes and not military power and threats.'' Egypt's Middle East News Agency quoted Moussa as saying that Arab support for Syria should not be read in Ankara as animosity toward Turkey. The agency also quoted Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Sharaa as saying that Egypt and Syria ``agreed on the graveness of the situation and that it should be dealt with diplomatically and not through confrontation or threats.'' Al-Sharaa said he hoped Mubarak's trip to Turkey would achieve results. Turkey's Foreign Ministry said Mubarak was expected in Ankara, possibly on Monday. The talks in Damascus came as Turkey has massed forces near the border with Syria after threatening to eradicate Kurdish rebel bases in the neighboring country. In a show of force on Friday, Turkish jets buzzed the Syrian frontier, a Turkish daily reported. Mubarak had made an unannounced trip to Riyadh on Saturday to get backing from King Fahd of Saudi Arabia for his mediation efforts. Egypt, the Arab world's largest country with 60 million people, frequently tries to mediate Arab and Muslim disputes. ``We have to stop the tension and contain it, and military threats should stop,'' Mubarak told Egyptian reporters on Saturday. ``I am ready to exert every effort in this direction in Damascus and Ankara.'' Moussa said Mubarak had consulted by phone on Saturday with Assad and also conveyed a message to Turkish President Suleyman Demirel through Turkey's ambassador to Egypt, Yasser Yakis. Turkey long has accused Syria of sheltering Kurdish rebels, who have been fighting since 1984 for more autonomy for the Kurdish population in southeastern Turkey. Syria denies sheltering Kurdish fighters. Late last week, Turkey sent 10,000 troops into northern Iraq to hit bases that Turkish Kurds use for their uprising. For its part, Syria has accused Turkey of forming military alliances with Israel that threaten Arab security and undermine Syria's bargaining position in peace talks with the Jewish state. Damascus also accuses Turkey of building a series of dams on the Euphrates River that threaten to reduce Syria's water supply. Editorials in the Arab world called on both sides to show restraint. In Baghdad, the newspaper Babil, published by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's son Odai, reported the Turkish incursion into Iraq. ``The region cannot bear another conflict nor an increase in the present tensions,'' Babil said in an editorial. ``The Turkish buildup does not serve anybody as much as it will harm Turkey and Syria and other parties in the region.'' The English-language Egyptian Gazette said in an editorial on Sunday that ``the Syrians, understandably, harbor the belief that Turkey is being manipulated by its new-found ally, Israel, to pounce,'' with the dispute over Kurdish rebels being a pretext. Israel, for its part, said it does not want to become involved in any military confrontation between Syria and Turkey. ``We have no part in this tension,'' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters in Jerusalem on Sunday. ``We have taken steps to reassure Syria.''",
"Greece on Monday warned that mounting tension between Turkey and Syria could lead to ``tragic results'' if not dealt with in its early stages. ``Sources of tension are being created in our region,'' government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said. ``We will have to deal with these sources from their birth, because they may develop out of control and we will be led to tragic results.'' Greece accused Turkey of undermining the whole region's stability through its stand-off with Syria over the alleged harboring of Kurdish rebels. ``Sadly, the tone of certain countries is not constructive,'' Reppas said. ``Turkey in particular ... repeatedly dynamites every effort'' for the creation of a climate of regional stability. Turkish troops have reportedly massed on the frontier with Syria, while Ankara has indicated its readiness for cross-border raids to eradicate what it claims are guerrilla bases harboring Kurdish rebels. Syria has denied the charge. In the past, Turkish officials have also accused Greece of harboring Kurdish rebels and running guerrilla training camps. Athens denied the charge, and no evidence has been found to support the accusations. Relations between Greece and neighboring Turkey are rarely cordial. The two NATO allies are at odds over a variety of issues, and have twice reached the brink of war in the past 11 years over the Aegean Sea. But as neighbors, countries in the region must learn to get along, Reppas stressed. ``No one can change geographical facts,'' he said. ``As we live in this region of the world ... we have to strive for good friendly relations and cooperation.''",
"As Turkey kept up warlike rhetoric against Damascus, Egypt on Sunday began shuttle democracy between the two neighbors to avoid a military confrontation over Turkish Kurdish bases in Syria. Turkish President Suleyman Demirel said that Turkey was in a position of self-defense and had suffered for many years from Damascus' sheltering of the autonomy-seeking rebels. Some 10,000 Turkish troops were deployed this week on the Turkish-Syrian border, news reports said. Damascus denies that it is supporting the rebels, who wage cross-border raids from camps in Iraq, Iran and Syria. ``This situation is serious,'' Demirel said. ``I am not only warning Syria, I am warning the world. This cannot continue.'' He did not elaborate and it was unclear whether Demirel was warning of a possible military confrontation. But several military and civilian leaders here have said that if diplomacy fails, the military would be charged with solving the issue. ``Our patience has run out. We are determined to take all necessary measures if we don't see any response to our goodwill,'' the commander of Turkish land forces, Gen. Atilla Ates, said last week. Milliyet daily speculated Sunday that Turkey could stage pinpoint attacks in the Syrian-controlled Bekaa valley of Lebanon, where Turkey says the rebels have bases. Another report claimed the Turkish army had been put on alert. But Defense Minister Ismet Sezgin insisted Sunday that war was the last resort. ``I don't believe it will come to that,'' he said. The war in Turkey's southeast waged by rebels seeking autonomy for the country's large Kurdish minority, has killed some 37,000 people since 1984. In an attempt to the ease tension that many fear may spill over into the entire Middle East, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met with his Syrian counterpart Hafez Assad in Damascus. Egypt's Middle East News Agency quoted Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Sharaa as saying that Egypt and Syria ``agreed on the graveness of the situation and that it should be dealt with diplomatically and not through confrontation or threats.'' Al-Sharaa said he hoped Mubarak's trip to Turkey this week would be fruitful. Jordan, which cautioned Syria and Turkey to take into consideration the higher interests of the region, offered to mediate. Fueling tension between the two countries are Turkey and Israel's expanding military and diplomatic ties. Syria claims the ties are a threat to the Arab world, and on Saturday, Damascus again accused Turkey of plotting with Israel to undermine Syria. ``We have no part in this tension,'' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday. ``We have taken steps to reassure Syria.'' Israel has also instructed its army to limit military maneuvers along its border with Syria to avoid giving any impression that Israel is poised to act. On Sunday, the Arab League called on Turkey to end its military cooperation with Israel. Syria and Turkey have a long history of disagreements. Damascus is concerned by Ankara's plans to build dams on the Euphrates River, a key source of water for Syria, while Turkey accuses Syria of having aspirations over a Turkish border province, Hatay, which has a sizable Arab population."
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James Carville complained that fellow Democrats didn't join his war against Speaker Newt Gingrich leading up to the congressional elections of 1998. Gingrich had led the impeachment inquiry against President Clinton in the House. When, contrary to all predictions, the Democrats gained five seats in the House and held their own in the Senate, Republicans enlisted in Carville's cause, blaming Gingrich for the election results. Gingrich battled fiercely as Rep. Livingston rallied forces against him, but ultimately Gingrich accepted defeat agreeing to cede the speakership and his seat in the House. He blamed his defeat on blackmail by Republican cannibals. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has announced that he will not seek re-election to the post when the vote comes up on November 18th. He also announced that he would be leaving the House when his current term as Speaker expires in January. This announcement comes on the heels of a poor Republican showing in the mid-term elections. Although the Republicans retained a majority in the House, the Margin of Republican control shrank in the face of Democratic gains. Gingrich had been seen as the man who led the Republicans our of the doldrums into control of the House and the Senate. Most Democrats, except for former Clinton strategist James Carville, were hesitant to attack Speaker Newt Gingrich as the 1998 elections approached. Republicans were expected to add to their majority in Congress. However, Republicans lost seats in both the House and Senate. Republicans became disenchanted with the Gingrich "vision" and blamed him for the losses. An active campaign began to replace Gingrich as Speaker with Louisiana Congressman Robert Livingston as the main actor. After a losing struggle to maintain his position, Gingrich resigned as Speaker. House Republicans then turned their attention to impeachment proceedings of President Clinton. The 1998 election ended the political career of Newt Gingrich, who had become Speaker in 1994, leading a conservative, issue-driven, GOP majority. In Oct Democrats were urged to go after him. Although both houses retained a narrowed GOP majority, Newt, with his combativeness and Impeachment-fixation, was blamed for the failures by both wings of his party. The 1998 winners were Gore, Clinton, and moderates. Newt's issues seemed dead in the booming economy and old Democratic loyalists ignored Clinton's morals and returned to the fold. As fellow Republicans jockeyed for his positions, Newt resigned as Speaker on Nov 6 and also decided to leave his House seat.
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"Stunned by the Democratic resurgence in the mid-term elections, congressional Republicans tore into each other Wednesday over who was to blame for their failure to make the traditional opposition party gains in an off-year election. The soul-searching and recriminations _ and a possibility of congressional leadership challenges _ came as election results showed that Republicans had been unable to increase their 55-45 hold over the Senate and that Democrats had picked up five seats in the House. The Democratic surge marked the first time since 1934 that the president's party had gained seats in a midterm election, and it whittled the Republican House majority down to a mere six votes. The Democratic victories were even more remarkable in a political year marked by the months-long scandal over President Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky. The Republicans' new 223-211 majority (assuming a Democrat leading in Oregon holds on to win), with one independent, amounted to the smallest congressional majority since the Republican-controlled Congress of 1953, the last time Republicans controlled the House until they captured it again in 1994. With attention now shifting to the House Judiciary Committee and its impeachment inquiry, Rep. Henry Hyde told fellow Republicans on the panel in a conference call Wednesday that the only witness Republicans were likely to call would be the independent counsel, Kenneth Starr. Hyde, the chairman, told lawmakers he hoped to have the committee vote on possible articles of impeachment by Thanksgiving, an act that would take the issue out of his hands and put it into Gingrich's. Committee Democrats declined comment Wednesday until they could discuss Hyde's plan among themselves. Trying to put the best face on the results, Speaker Newt Gingrich said in Marietta, Ga., that the Republicans still held onto the House for three elections in a row for the first time since the election of 1932. But furious rank and file Republicans burned up the phone lines to each other, discussing whether to mount leadership challenges in both chambers in the next few weeks. ``We've got to reach out and have more than southern white males running the Washington Republican Party,'' said Rep. Joe Scarborough, a conservative from Florida. He said that Republicans this year had been left without any accomplishments to run on. ``We need an agenda first of all,'' he said. ``We went an entire calendar year without an agenda.'' Rep. Chris Shays, a moderate from Connecticut called the election a devastating loss and said simply, ``There are going to be major changes in our leadership. All segments of our party want to see change.'' At the White House, Clinton called the election results a vindication of his party's policies. ``If you look at all the results,'' he said, ``they are clear and unambiguous. The American people want their business, their concerns, their children, their families, their future addressed here. That's what the messag e of the election was.'' One of the first difficult questions now facing Congress is how to proceed with the impeachment inquiry in the face of public resistance to removing Clinton from office, and with",
"a Republican majority now so slim that it is almost certain that the 218 votes required for impeachment cannot be assembled. In a public statement released Wednesday, Hyde said ``The Committee continues to have a clear constituional duty to complete its work in a fair and expeditious manner. Our duty has not changed becasue the constitution has not changed.'' But Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., said the election results guaranteed that impeachment will fail. ``I think any serious effort to remove President Clinton from office is effectively over,'' he said. ``It is simply for Newt Gingrich and Trent Lott to decide on an exit strategy.'' From the other side of the aisle, Rep. Rick Lazio, a Long Island Republican, said, ``The inquiry should be wrapped up expeditiously, fairly and it ought to be resolved in the immediate future.'' For the past year, Republicans struggled to keep control of the House with a 228-207 majority and to find consensus among their party's competing factions. With their numbers reduced, the Republican leadership will need to carry out a tortuous balancing act to unite a hard-core conservative faction that wants a more aggressive social agenda with a bloc of moderates who want their party to return to the center. Any small Republican faction will now have enormous leverage. The new arithmetic of the House may even lead to Democrats' and moderate Republicans' forming ad hoc majorities on issues, taking control away from Republican leaders. Already seeing some of the possibilities, Rep. Peter King of Long Island, N.Y., said northeastern Republicans would be strengthened. ``It gives us much more leverage with the leadership and makes it easier to protect New York,'' he said. ``It's going to weaken the position of the strident conservatives and the anti-northeast conservatives.'' Just two weeks ago, Gingrich had foreseen election gains ranging from 10 seats to more than 40. Seeming uncharacteristically uncertain Wednesday, he said he had trouble accounting for the results. ``Things were happening out there that none of us fully understand--neither party in my judgment,'' he said. Taking his share of the blame for his party's losses, the Georgia Republican said he had misjudged how the public would recoil from the Clinton scandal as amplified in the modern media world and how the scandal would drown out other Republican themes. ``I mean I totally underestimated the degree to which people would just get sick of 24-hour-a day talk television and talk radio and then the degree to which this whole scandal became just sort of disgusting by sheer repetition,'' he said. ``And as a result I think we probably underestimated the need to really aggressively push a much stronger message about cutting taxes and saving Social Security, winning the war on drugs, reforming education and national defense.'' Majority Leader Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi also admitted mistakes, saying his party had not presented a clear enough message in the final 96 hours of the campaign. He also conceded that Congress' final scramble to pass a $500 billion budget bill hurt his party. ``One of this lessons for Republicans out of",
"this is that we need to listen more carefully to the people and we need to have a clear understanding and concise message that we do apply across the nation,'' he said in Washington. Both Lott and Gingrich said Republicans would put an emphasis next year on tax-cutting and shoring up the Social Security system. Even as the two leaders spoke, their angry rank-and-file lawmakers were making phone calls trying to assess whether to mount challenges against the Republican leaders who have steered the Congress since the Republican's assumed control four years ago. One senior Republican staffer said the House had become a ``tinderbox'' of intrigue. Scarborough said, ``The long distance charges in Washington offices probably are going through the roof today. Everybody's calling everybody. Everybody recognizes that something's terribly wrong with the direction of Washington Republicans when Republican governors are doing so well in New York, Massachusetts, Florida and Texas.'' And while Gingrich has not gone out of his way to identify himself with the Republican campaign's last-minute ad blitz attacking President Clinton, his caucus knows he is responsible. Gingrich has faced down an uprising before, foiling a coup attempt against him by disgruntled conservatives and some of his own leadership team in the summer of 1997. Any move to remove him remains a long-shot. But with House leadership elections now set for mid-November, Republicans said this time the dissatisfaction in their caucus had crossed ideological lines to moderates like Shays as well. ``We got shellacked,'' said Rep. Christopher Cannon, a conserative from Utah. ``We beat ourselves because we had no agenda.'' Republicans were discussing possible challenges to Gingrich, his second-in-command, Rep. Dick Armey, and other members of the senior leadership team. Some were envisioning trying to run an entire new ticket headed by Rep. Bob Livingston, the Appropriations Committee chairman from Louisiana and including Rep. Steve Largent, an Oklahoma conservative. Asked whether Tuesday's election results could cost him the speakership, Gingrich said, ``I'm not particularly concerned.'' Republicans close to him said they expected the anger to dissipate. In the Senate, where leadership races take place in early December, some Republicans were talking of mounting challenges against mid-level leadership figures. Several senators expressed particular pique toward the re-election chairman, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who poured party dollars and much of his own time into trying to defeat the Democratic champion of campaign finance overhaul, Russell Feingold of Wisconsin. Feingold won in a close race. Some lawmakers on Wednesday approached Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska to see if he would replace McConnell. Hagel confirmed he had talked to more than eight senators, and was considering whether to challenge McConnell. Hagel lambasted the Republican leadership for the election outcome. ``This is a big loss for us,'' he said. ``We squandered a very historic opportunity last night. To just break even is a loss.'' Most incumbents coasted to victory Tuesday night. But some will not be returning. Five House Republicans were defeated: Vince Snowbarger of Kansas, Bill Redmond of New Mexico, Jon Fox of Pennsylvania, Mike Pappas of New Jersey, and Rick White",
"of Washington. One Democrat also lost his re-election bid _ Rep. Jay Johnson of Wisconsin. The new House members include 17 Republicans and at least 22 Democrats. David Wu, a Democrat was leading Molly Bordonaro, a Republican in the race for one House seat in Oregon, but the final victory announcement was not expected until Friday after absentee ballots are counted. Unlike the self-proclaimed ``revolutionaries'' of the Republican class of 1994, many of the newly elected members are career politicians who rose through the ranks of local and state government. Three of the Democrats are the sons of former lawmakers, Mark Udall of Colorado, son of Morris Udall who represented Arizona; Tom Udall of New Mexico, son of the other Udall brother, Stewart, a former Congressman and Secretary of the Interior, and Charlie Gonzalez, who o won the Texas seat of his father, Henry.",
"Stunned by the Democratic resurgence in the mid-term elections, congressional Republicans tore into each other Wednesday over who was to blame for their failure to make the traditional opposition party gains in an off-year election. The soul-searching and recriminations _ and a possibility of congressional leadership challenges _ came as election results showed that Republicans had been unable to increase their 55-45 hold over the Senate and that Democrats had picked up five seats in the House. The Democratic surge marked the first time since 1934 that the president's party had gained seats in a midterm election, and it whittled the Republican House majority down to a mere six votes. The Democratic victories were even more remarkable in a political year marked by the months-long scandal over President Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky. The Republicans' new 223-211 majority (assuming a Democrat leading in Oregon holds on to win), with one independent, amounted to the smallest congressional majority since the Republican-controlled Congress of 1953, the last time Republicans controlled the House until they captured it again in 1994. With attention now shifting to the House Judiciary Committee and its impeachment inquiry, Rep. Henry Hyde told fellow Republicans on the panel in a conference call Wednesday that the only witness Republicans were likely to call would be the independent counsel, Kenneth Starr. Hyde, the chairman, told lawmakers he hoped to have the committee vote on possible articles of impeachment by Thanksgiving, an act that would take the issue out of his hands and put it into Gingrich's. Committee Democrats declined comment Wednesday until they could discuss Hyde's plan among themselves. Trying to put the best face on the results, Speaker Newt Gingrich said in Marietta, Ga., that the Republicans still held onto the House for three elections in a row for the first time since the election of 1932. But furious rank and file Republicans burned up the phone lines to each other, discussing whether to mount leadership challenges in both chambers in the next few weeks. ``We've got to reach out and have more than southern white males running the Washington Republican Party,'' said Rep. Joe Scarborough, a conservative from Florida. He said that Republicans this year had been left without any accomplishments to run on. ``We need an agenda first of all,'' he said. ``We went an entire calendar year without an agenda.'' Rep. Chris Shays, a moderate from Connecticut called the election a devastating loss and said simply, ``There are going to be major changes in our leadership. All segments of our party want to see change.'' At the White House, Clinton called the election results a vindication of his party's policies. ``If you look at all the results,'' he said, ``they are clear and unambiguous. The American people want their business, their concerns, their children, their families, their future addressed here. That's what the message of the election was.'' One of the first difficult questions now facing Congress is how to proceed with the impeachment inquiry in the face of public resistance to removing Clinton from office, and with a",
"Republican majority now so slim that it is almost certain that the 218 votes required for impeachment cannot be assembled. In a public statement released Wednesday, Hyde said ``The Committee continues to have a clear constitutional duty to complete its work in a fair and expeditious manner. Our duty has not changed because the constitution has not changed.'' But Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., said the election results guaranteed that impeachment will fail. ``I think any serious effort to remove President Clinton from office is effectively over,'' he said. ``It is simply for Newt Gingrich and Trent Lott to decide on an exit strategy.'' From the other side of the aisle, Rep. Rick Lazio, a Long Island Republican, said, ``The inquiry should be wrapped up expeditiously, fairly and it ought to be resolved in the immediate future.'' For the past year, Republicans struggled to keep control of the House with 228 seats and to find consensus among their party's competing factions. With their numbers reduced, the Republican leadership will need to carry out a tortuous balancing act to unite a hard-core conservative faction that wants a more aggressive social agenda with a bloc of moderates who want their party to return to the center. The Democrats held 206 seats, and one was held by an indepenndent. Any small Republican faction will now have enormous leverage. The new arithmetic of the House may even lead to Democrats' and moderate Republicans' forming ad hoc majorities on issues, taking control away from Republican leaders. Already seeing some of the possibilities, Rep. Peter King of Long Island, N.Y., said northeastern Republicans would be strengthened. ``It gives us much more leverage with the leadership and makes it easier to protect New York,'' he said. ``It's going to weaken the position of the strident conservatives and the anti-northeast conservatives.'' Just two weeks ago, Gingrich had foreseen election gains ranging from 10 seats to more than 40. Seeming uncharacteristically uncertain Wednesday, he said he had trouble accounting for the results. ``Things were happening out there that none of us fully understand--neither party in my judgment,'' he said. Taking his share of the blame for his party's losses, the Georgia Republican said he had misjudged how the public would recoil from the Clinton scandal as amplified in the modern media world and how the scandal would drown out other Republican themes. ``I mean I totally underestimated the degree to which people would just get sick of 24-hour-a day talk television and talk radio and then the degree to which this whole scandal became just sort of disgusting by sheer repetition,'' he said. ``And as a result I think we probably underestimated the need to really aggressively push a much stronger message about cutting taxes and saving Social Security, winning the war on drugs, reforming education and national defense.'' Majority Leader Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi also admitted mistakes, saying his party had not presented a clear enough message in the final 96 hours of the campaign. He also conceded that Congress' final scramble to pass a $500 billion budget bill hurt",
"his party. ``One of this lessons for Republicans out of this is that we need to listen more carefully to the people and we need to have a clear understanding and concise message that we do apply across the nation,'' he said in Washington. Both Lott and Gingrich said Republicans would put an emphasis next year on tax-cutting and shoring up the Social Security system. Even as the two leaders spoke, their angry rank-and-file lawmakers were making phone calls trying to assess whether to mount challenges against the Republican leaders who have steered the Congress since the Republican's assumed control four years ago. One senior Republican staffer said the House had become a ``tinderbox'' of intrigue. Scarborough said, ``The long distance charges in Washington offices probably are going through the roof today. Everybody's calling everybody. Everybody recognizes that something's terribly wrong with the direction of Washington Republicans when Republican governors are doing so well in New York, Massachusetts, Florida and Texas.'' And while Gingrich has not gone out of his way to identify himself with the Republican campaign's last-minute ad blitz attacking President Clinton, his caucus knows he is responsible. Gingrich has faced down an uprising before, foiling a coup attempt against him by disgruntled conservatives and some of his own leadership team in the summer of 1997. Any move to remove him remains a long-shot. But with House leadership elections now set for mid-November, Republicans said this time the dissatisfaction in their caucus had crossed ideological lines to moderates like Shays as well. ``We got shellacked,'' said Rep. Christopher Cannon, a conservative from Utah. ``We beat ourselves because we had no agenda.'' Republicans were discussing possible challenges to Gingrich, his second-in-command, Rep. Dick Armey, and other members of the senior leadership team. Some were envisioning trying to run an entire new ticket headed by Rep. Bob Livingston, the Appropriations Committee chairman from Louisiana and including Rep. Steve Largent, an Oklahoma conservative. Asked whether Tuesday's election results could cost him the speakership, Gingrich said, ``I'm not particularly concerned.'' Republicans close to him said they expected the anger to dissipate. In the Senate, where leadership races take place in early December, some Republicans were talking of mounting challenges against mid-level leadership figures. Several senators expressed particular pique toward the re-election chairman, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who poured party dollars and much of his own time into trying to defeat the Democratic champion of campaign finance overhaul, Russell Feingold of Wisconsin. Feingold won in a close race. Some lawmakers on Wednesday approached Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska to see if he would replace McConnell. Hagel confirmed he had talked to more than eight senators, and was considering whether to challenge McConnell. Hagel lambasted the Republican leadership for the election outcome. ``This is a big loss for us,'' he said. ``We squandered a very historic opportunity last night. To just break even is a loss.'' Most incumbents coasted to victory Tuesday night. But some will not be returning. Five House Republicans were defeated: Vince Snowbarger of Kansas, Bill Redmond of New Mexico, Jon Fox",
"of Pennsylvania, Mike Pappas of New Jersey, and Rick White of Washington. One Democrat also lost his re-election bid _ Rep. Jay Johnson of Wisconsin. The new House members include 17 Republicans and at least 22 Democrats. David Wu, a Democrat was leading Molly Bordonaro, a Republican in the race for one House seat in Oregon, but the final victory announcement was not expected until Friday after absentee ballots are counted. Unlike the self-proclaimed ``revolutionaries'' of the Republican class of 1994, many of the newly elected members are career politicians who rose through the ranks of local and state government. Three of the Democrats are the sons of former lawmakers, Mark Udall of Colorado, son of Morris Udall who represented Arizona; Tom Udall of New Mexico, son of the other Udall brother, Stewart, a former congressman and secretary of the Interior, and Charlie Gonzalez, who won the Texas seat of his father, Henry.",
"House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who orchestrated the Republican revolution of recent years and is overseeing the impeachment inquiry into President Clinton, was driven from office Friday by a party that swiftly turned on him after its unexpected losses in Tuesday's midterm elections. Catching virtually everyone on Capitol Hill by surprise, Gingrich announced Friday night in two conference calls to other Republicans that he would not seek re-election as Speaker in the Nov. 18 vote and would leave Congress altogether when his term expires in January. ``This will give us a chance to purge some of the poison that is in the system,'' Gingrich said, according to a party aide who listened to one of the calls. Gingrich's resignation was a stunning reversal for one of the most combative and personally confrontational politicians in America. He made his name a decade ago by bringing down one Democratic speaker, Jim Wright, and continued his assaultive style through Tuesday's elections with last-minute commercials reminding voters of the Clinton scandal. His reflexive pugilistic response was evident even Friday night. In his second conference call, according to several people who listened, Gingrich blamed House conservatives for his downfall. Although it was their revolutionary zeal he harnessed to take control of Congress in 1994, they have become his most bitter critics in the last two years of his tumultuous speakership. Friday night he called them cannibals who had ``blackmailed'' him into quitting. Rep. Michael P. Forbes, R-N.Y., said: ``Newt said all those who had marginalized the Republican Party had engaged in cannibalism. He said, `Refer to the clips.' He's blaming others.'' Another Republican described the conference call this way: ``He started off very statesmanlike, but then you could see the anger building. When someone asked him why he was leaving, he said, `A handful of members have blackmailed the conference.' He said, `They're hateful.' And he said, `They're cannibals.''' Gingrich announced his move just hours after Rep. Robert L. Livingston of Louisiana announced he was running for speaker, putting himself forward as a pragmatist and a manager. After the Gingrich calls, Rep. Bill Archer of Texas announced he was considering his own run for speaker. Livingston and Archer are chairmen of the two most powerful committees in the House. In a statement Gingrich said, ``The Republican conference needs to be unified, and it is time for me to move forward.'' He said he hoped his colleagues would pick a successor ``who can both reconcile and discipline, who can work together and communicate effectively.'' Referring to his wife, he told his colleagues he was resigning from Congress because ``Marianne and I are tired. We need time off to get to know each other again.'' He also acknowledged his own knack for bringing negative attention to himself and his party. ``If I stay,'' he told his colleagues Friday night, ``my controversial nature would overshadow any successes we might have,'' an understatement to those who recalled his suggestion two years ago that he forced a shutdown of the government because he was miffed about having to sit in the back of Air Force One on a trip with President Clinton. According to another Republican who took notes, Gingrich said of his resignation: ``There is a lot of bitterness amongst some of the members. So long as I am around, I will always be a target in the news media, which would mean we would never be able to get our message out.'' Clinton said: ``Newt Gingrich has been a worthy adversary leading the Republican Party to a majority in the House and joining me in a great national debate over how best to prepare America for the 21st century. Despite our profound differences, I appreciate those times we were able to work together in the national interest, especially Speaker Gingrich's strong support for America's continuing leadership for freedom, peace and prosperity in the world.'' Many Republicans took the opportunity to portray Gingrich as a visionary. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert of New York said that during the first conference call, ``there was shock and surprise and strong expressions of appreciation for leading us to the Promised Land.'' His supporters said Gingrich had the votes to win the election to nominate a speaker, which is to be conducted by secret ballot. But, they agreed, the party's slim, six-vote majority meant every vote would be a battle. Kenneth Duberstein, a former official in the Reagan administration, said, ``I have no doubt he had the votes to be speaker, but I'm not sure he had the votes to govern.'' He said that because of the deep rifts in the party, Gingrich would not have been able to implement his plans. In an unusually biting reaction, Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, the Democratic leader, said he hoped that Gingrich's resignation would clear the fierce partisan air that he had fostered. ``I hope that whoever succeeds Newt Gingrich as speaker will immediately begin the process of repairing the damage that was wrought on this institution over the last four years,'' Gephardt said. House Republicans predicted that Gingrich's resignation would set off a more wide-ranging and hectic scramble to replace him than had been anticipated. ``There will be a lot of pretenders to the throne who will test the waters,'' said Boehlert, who had supported Gingrich for re-election as speaker. ``There won't be any shortage of candidates.''",
"The presidential campaign of 2000 began Wednesday, like it or not. The millennial election will be fought on a political playing field whose rough outlines, if not its exact boundaries, were drawn by the voters in Tuesday's elections, which delivered a crushing disappointment to the giddy hopes of the Republicans and an unexpected elixir to the recently ailing Democrats. President Clinton called it an ``astonishing'' triumph of issues over investigations and said the Democrats had won so many major victories ``because they had a clear message.'' Republicans agreed. Of course the next 18 months will bring many surprises and many reversals of fortune. But the election results offered important guidelines. Tuesday was a great day for Vice President Al Gore, for at least three reasons. He worked furiously and successfully in the last ten days before the balloting to persuade Democratic loyalists not to stay home and sulk, appearing on behalf of no fewer than 224 candidates, according to his office. A moderate within the spectrum of his own party, he watched moderates win crucial elections, notably in the California gubernatorial race, where Lt. Gov. Gray Davis, a cautious pragmatist like Gore, won a smashing victory. The returns _ an even break in the Senate and a Democratic gain of five in the House of Representatives _ also made the impeachment of President Clinton less likely. And the better shape Clinton is in as his term ends, the better chance Gore, his sidekick for six years now, stands in the presidential nomination process and, ultimately, the election. But California voters also complicated the nominating process and set Gore strategists to work on tactics to uncomplicate it, because he and they consider the state absolutely central to his presidential aspirations. In a referendum in 1996, California adopted a primary system under which Republicans, Democrats and independent voters would all receive the same ballot, with candidates of all parties listed. That violates the rules of both major parties, and a measure on the ballot Tuesday, Proposition 3, would have rescinded the 1996 change. But it failed, raising the possibility that California's March 7 primary will be a mere political popularity poll, with convention delegates chosen in caucus or convention _ a nightmare. Tuesday was a bad day for the Republican right. High-profile right-wingers lost across the country, from Attorney General Dan Lungren in the California governor's race to Sen. Lauch Faircloth, denied re-election in North Carolina, to Rep. Mark Neumann of Wisconsin, who failed in a Senate race despite a huge spending advantage over Sen. Russell Feingold, to Ellen Sauerbrey in Maryland, who proved unable on her second try to prevail over an unpopular Democratic governor, Parris Glendening. Both conservatives and moderates in the party said the Republicans had to get back to basics. Even Speaker Newt Gingrich conceded that the results ``should sober every Republican'' and called for new strategic thinking. ``If you make it a referendum on a president with a 67 per cent approval rating, as they tried to do, you shouldn't be surprised if the election goes against you,'' said",
"Gov. Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania, a moderate whose promoters mention him weekly as a possible vice-presidential nominee. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, a conservative who tends to steer away from divisive social issues, won re-election with 68 per cent of the vote. He is studying the possibility of a presidential race, but before he or any other Republican nominee can hope to win, he said in an interview Wednesday, congressional Republicans and their leaders need to learn some lessons. ``I just hope this debacle is a wake-up call for our people,'' he said. ``You've got to be for something _ smaller government, better education, something. We're seen as the party that's against everything.'' Polls taken late in this year's campaign bore McCain out. They showed that the Republicans are no longer identified with issues that were once their electoral bread and butter, such as low taxes and law and order. Tuesday was also a fresh demonstration, for anyone who needed one, of the political utility of pitching a tent big enough for almost everyone. Black politicians in North Carolina, Maryland and California reported that their fears of an indifferent black turnout had proved groundless. Black votes proved indispensable to a considerable number of hard-pressed Democratic candidates, especially where they felt their interests directly threatened. The figures on Hispanic voting, assembled from exit polls and from the candidates' own precinct analyses, showed dramatic differences. In California, where the outgoing Republican governor, Pete Wilson, had played the anti-immigration card with a vengeance, both major Democratic candidates _ Davis and Sen. Barbara Boxer, who won re-election after trailing in early polls _ cleaned up among Hispanic voters. He took 78 percent, she 72. But both of the Bush brothers, Jeb in Florida and George W. in Texas, took more than half the Hispanic vote in their highly successful gubernatorial campaigns. So did McCain. Jeb Bush is married to a Hispanic woman, he and his brother both speak Spanish fluently and frequently, and Senator McCain has long espoused Hispanic causes. Both George W. Bush and McCain will draw strength, if they decide to run, from their proven ability to appeal to Hispanic voters, as well as their general electoral strength. George W. Bush took 69 percent of the vote in Texas, where a Democrat sat in the governor's chair only four years ago, and which has the second-largest bloc of electoral votes. Florida has the fourth-largest. Governor Bush of Texas uttered a rallying cry for the moderates. ``A leader who is compassionate and conservative,'' he said in his victory speech, ``can erase the gender gap and open the Republican party to new faces and new voices.'' But figures on the right saw things differently. James Dobson, a leading religious broadcaster, said that Republicans had fared poorly because Gingrich and Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, the majority leader, had caved in to the president on the budget and de-emphasized social issues such as abortion and flag desecration. He called all but explicitly for the ouster of Gingrich. Likewise, the millionaire publisher Steve Forbes, another probable candidate in",
"2000, said the leadership ``will have a lot to answer for.'' Tuesday proved the potency of education as an issue, and suggested that it will emerge as a major theme of the 2000 campaign. Clinton, in his limited involvement in the campaign, and Gore, in his extensive participation, both stressed Democratic programs to build more schools and hire more teachers. Almost a quarter of California voters _ and there are now almost twice as many voters in California as in any other state _ named education as their most pressing concern. Elsewhere, Democrats won the governorships of Alabama and South Carolina against the odds, partly by emphasizing their rivals' opposition to lotteries that will help to pay for schools. In Iowa, a Democrat was elected governor for the first time since 1969 on a platform that featured the dilapidated condition of the state's schools and a promise to remedy it. Tuesday demonstrated the overriding importance of money in modern American politics. Feingold, one of the principal backers of campaign-finance reform, survived to fight another day, but so did opponents of reform. And the returns in House races, showing that all but six of 401 members who sought re-election had won, underlined once again how hard it is, under the present system, for a challenger to raise enough money to compete effectively. The difficulties of raising money may doom many would-be presidential candidacies. Gore will have what he needs, as will Bush, Forbes and former Gov. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee. But how many others will? Finally, Tuesday delivered an indecisive message about impeachment. Close to two-thirds of voters nationwide told exit pollsters that they intended to send no message about Clinton, but they made it clear in response to other questions that they disliked the House inquiry into the president's alleged misdeeds and wanted to see it end. In only two states, Kansas and Nebraska, did a majority of voters say they favored even a congressional censure of Clinton, a much milder form of punishment advocated by many Clinton backers. Some Republicans said privately that there should be no hearings at all in the Clinton matter, and some Democrats began talking about a deal, the equivalent of a plea bargain that would bring the matter to an early close. Nevertheless, Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee said they needed to press ahead with the Constitutional process that the House has set in motion. Among those taking that view were Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia, a fierce foe of the president, and Rep. Mary Bono of California, whose tone has been more muted. But Rep. David Dreier of California, the incoming Rules Committee chairman, said that ``the election has played a role in ensuring that one of us has a desire to drag that out.''",
"A week after the White House and congressional Democrats disavowed his ``war'' on Speaker Newt Gingrich, James Carville, President Clinton's former campaign strategist and chief outside defender, put forth a new battle cry Wednesday: He will not be muzzled. Not only that, but Carville went beyond his customary denunciations of Gingrich and the Republicans and, in an interview, trained his fire on leaders in his own party for not being sufficiently aggressive four weeks before Election Day. ``My sense of frustration is that I believe the Democrats have a much better chance of doing much better than anyone expects,'' Carville said. ``And I don't think anyone's emerging to try to pull it together. Everybody ought to be pushing, the leadership in the Congress, the White House, the DNC. We ought to hammer Gingrich every day. How can you take the Congress back if you don't make a case against the people who are running it? I have never heard of a strategy like that.'' Sounding increasingly agitated, he went on: ``The only people left to be activated in this election are Democrats. The right wing, they're bouncing off the walls. They're going out to vote.'' Rep. Dick Gephardt, the minority leader, complained to Erskine Bowles, the White House chief of staff, after Carville appeared on the NBC News program ``Meet the Press'' on Sept. 27 and declared, ``Cpl. Cue Ball Carville will be rolling into battle against Newt Gingrich.'' The concern among House Democrats, one expressed by some White House officials as well, was that Carville's vitriol would make the Democrats appear overly partisan and could be especially damaging to Democrats in marginal districts who do not want to appear too easy on the president. But on Wednesday, Carville was anything but timid. ``If Gephardt people think they've quieted me down,'' he said, ``I'm not quieted.'' Carville said he told officials at the White House, ``Don't waste your breath about calling me and telling me not to say this.'' Carville insisted that he would rather do battle with Republicans than with his fellow Democrats. ``If they want to fight with me, they can,'' he said. ``I'm going to fight with the Republicans.'' Yet he could not help but ridicule his party. Asked to describe the Democrats' strategy for the election, Carville said, ``If there is one, no one's shared it with me.''",
"A struggle for control of the House is under way, with Rep. Robert Livingston conducting a telephone campaign that could lead to him running against Newt Gingrich as speaker. But Gingrich's counter-campaign has given some members pause about ousting him. At the same time, a small band of Republicans vowed on Thursday that they would not vote to re-elect Gingrich under any circumstances, a move that, because of the Republicans' shrunken House majority, could tie the party in knots for months. Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz., said: ``I personally have made the decision that I cannot vote for Newt Gingrich for speaker in January, and there are six others who have told me they feel the same way, seven people who just will not, and it takes six to deadlock the vote.'' Fury at the speaker has boiled over since Tuesday's elections, when Republicans suffered a net loss of five seats in the House. They blamed Gingrich, the party's chief strategist. But many were already angry at him for what they said was his failure to articulate a clear message for the party going into the elections and for a messy budget process that gave President Clinton a political edge and contradicted Republican principles of fiscal conservativism by containing massive amounts of spending for local projects. House Republicans are to meet Nov. 18 to vote by secret ballot for their leaders. Whoever wins the Republican nomination for speaker must stand for election by the full House in January. Even if Gingrich wins the secret ballot, he could be denied re-election as speaker in January if Salmon and at least five others refuse to vote for him. Because the Republicans now control the House by only 12 seats, it would take just six votes against Gingrich to deny him a majority. With such a chaotic and unacceptable prospect looming, Livingston told Gingrich that he should step aside for the good of the party, Republican officials said. The officials said that Livingston spoke to Gingrich shortly after the election returns but also before the election, reflecting Livingston's earlier displeasure with the speaker over the budget process. Several Republicans said that both Livingston, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee and one of the few members with the stature to stand for speaker, and Gingrich were working the phones on Thursday in a struggle for votes. Livingston has said nothing publicly about a challenge to Gingrich, but several members and aides said on Thursday that he would announce his intentions, possibly as soon as Friday, only after he had determined if he could win. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., was one of several members who spoke with Livingston on Thursday. ``He told me he's making a number of phone calls, that he's gotten a very positive response about running for speaker, and he'll decide within the next 48 hours,'' King said. ``He won't do it till he has his ducks in a row, and right now a lot of people are still loyal to the speaker,'' said an aide to a Republican who, like many others, is trying",
"to straddle the line between fealty to a speaker who may retain power and encouragement to a challenger who offers a salve to an embattled party. Many Republicans immediately blamed Gingrich for the party's losses on Tuesday. Talk quickly emerged the next day of a slate of candidates to oppose Gingrich and his lieutenants. The list of possible candidates for leadership positions included Rep.e Steve Largent of Oklahoma, who talked with Livingston on Thursday about challenging Gingrich, Republican officials said, speaking on the condition that their names not be reported. Those officials said that Largent told Livingston that he wanted to run with him on a ticket and that he would challenge Rep. Dick Armey, the majority leader. But, these officials said that if Livingston did not challenge Gingrich, Largent would run for speaker instead. Other names were floated Wednesday for leadership posts. They included Reps. David McIntosh of Indiana for speaker and Jennifer Dunn of Washington as conference chairman. Added to the mix on Thursday was the name of Rep. Christopher Cox, a California conservative. As a sign of the uncertainty prevailing among House members on Thursday, Rep. Henry Hyde, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee and one of the House's most venerable members, rebuffed a chance to endorse Gingrich as speaker. Hyde said that Gingrich bore responsibility for the party's losses Tuesday. ``Leadership takes credit when things go right,'' he said. ``They ought to take the blame when things go wrong.'' Asked if Gingrich should remain speaker, Hyde said: ``I rather think he will, but that remains to be seen.'' The energy that many vented publicly on Wednesday as anger toward Gingrich seemed devoted on Thursday to intense internal political calculations about whether Livingston could succeed in toppling Gingrich and whether he should succeed. While many support him as a veteran who understands the House and has shown shrewd political skills in managing the massive federal budget, others are reviving images of the Louisianan as a hot-head who gave the party a bad name during the government shutdown two years ago and who tends toward arm-flailing in heated moments. One conservative leader said that he and his allies had reservations about Livingston because he was ``obsessed'' about trying to keep social issues out of the budget process. The budget, he said, ``has been a vehicle for conservatives over the years to add restrictions on federal money for abortion and other things you can't get through the Senate or past a presidential veto. If Livingston is the challenger, I doubt that will cause a rallying of the real conservatives in Congress.'' Some moderates said they were prepared to support him. Rep. Marge Roukema, R-N.J., said, ``I would be amenable to Livingston.'' Still, she cautioned, ``I'm not after Newt. But it's wrong not to sit down and seriously look at our options.'' Ken Johnson, an aide to Rep. W.J. (Billy) Tauzin, R-La., said that his boss was ``emblematic'' of the confusion among the broad base of House Republicans. ``Billy has been loyal to both Speaker Gingrich and Dick Armey, and he's still",
"loyal to them, but he also wants to hear what they have to say before committing to them in the next election,'' Johnson said. ``Everyone is asking the same question: Can we refocus the message and re-energize our base without re-aligning the leadership?'' Salmon said his refusal to support Gingrich no matter what was based on Gingrich's track record of ``one failed strategy after another,'' including the impeachment process and the pork-laden budget. With the challenge under way, Gingrich has been trying to show members that he is responsive to their concerns. After an election night in which he portrayed the Republicans as victorious even as they lost seats, the next day he took ``responsibility'' for the losses. In another move, Gingrich has indicated that he is willing to cede control over the party's congressional campaign committee, allowing the whole House to select its members. Gingrich is also making strong personal appeals to Republicans. Said one top House aide: ``He'll get support. How much? Only his own vote-counters know.''",
"An intense struggle for control of the House is underway, with Rep. Bob Livingston conducting a telephone campaign to replace Rep. Newt Gingrich as speaker and Gingrich fighting with a counter-campaign that has given some members pause about ousting him. At the same time, a small band of Republicans vowed on Thursday that they would not vote to re-elect Gingrich under any circumstances, a move that, because of the Republicans' shrunken House majority, could tie the party in knots for months because it could throw the speakership to a Democrat. Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz., said: ``I personally have made the decision that I cannot vote for Newt Gingrich for speaker in January, and there are six others who have told me they feel the same way, seven people who just will not, and it takes six to deadlock the vote.'' Fury at the speaker has boiled over since Tuesday's elections, when Republicans suffered a net loss of five seats in the House. They blamed Gingrich, the party's chief strategist. But many were already angry at him for what they said was his failure to articulate a clear message for the party going into the elections and for a messy budget process that gave President Clinton a political edge and contradicted Republican principles of fiscal conservativism by containing massive amounts of pork spending. House Republicans are to meet Nov. 18 to vote by secret ballot for their leaders. Whoever wins the party's nomination for speaker then stands for election by the full House in January. Even if Gingrich wins the secret ballot, he could be denied re-election as speaker in January if Salmon and at least five others refuse to vote for him. Because the Republicans now control the House by only 12 seats, it would take just six votes against Gingrich to deny him a majority and allow Democrats to potentially elect one of their own as speaker. With such a chaotic and unacceptable prospect looming, Livingston told Gingrich that he should step aside for the good of the party, according to Republican officials. The officials said that Livingston spoke to Gingrich shortly after the disastrous election returns but also before the election, reflecting Livingston's earlier displeasure with the speaker over the budget process. Several Republicans said that both Livingston, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee and one of the few members with the stature to stand for speaker, and Gingrich were working the phones on Thursday in a struggle for votes. Livingston has said nothing publicly about a challenge to Gingrich, but several members and aides said on Thursday that he would announce his intentions, possibly as soon as Friday, after he had determined if he could win. ``He won't do it 'til he has his ducks in a row, and right now a lot of people are still loyal to the speaker,'' said an aide to a Republican who, like many others, is trying to straddle the line between fealty to a speaker who may retain power and encouragement to a challenger who offers a salve to an embattled party.",
"This is what Newt Gingrich is supposed to do well. The planning. The strategy. The big picture. The vision. His vision brought the GOP to the majority in Congress in 1994 and made him the first Republican House Speaker in 40 years. But by his own admission, Gingrich's vision seems to have blurred this time around, costing Republicans a net of five seats in Tuesday's election and leaving the party's narrow governing majority even narrower. The disappointing election results also left Gingrich open to a fractious challenge for his post as speaker. Members and aides said Wednesday that a fury at the speaker had bubbled up overnight and that some members were trying to organize a slate of candidates to replace Gingrich and his leadership team when House Republicans convene on Nov. 18 to select their leaders for next year. As Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., put it, ``When a company's stock price goes down, it's usually the CEO who gets fired.'' Top Republican aides, speaking anonymously, were even blunter. ``People were very angry last night,'' one aide said. ``Today it's a mixture of seething and dismay. It's just ugly. And Newt knows it. His career is on the line.'' Another aide said, ``Most people are really angry with Newt, and no one knows what to do with it. But some are dipping their toe in the water and seeing what the temperature is.'' A possible slate could contain the names of Reps. Robert L. Livingston of Louisiana to replace Gingrich, Steve Largent of Oklahoma to replace Dick Armey of Texas as majority leader, and Jennifer Dunn of Washington to replace John A. Boehner of Ohio as conference chairman. Rep. David M. McIntosh of Indiana is also said to be considering a run for speaker, but it was not clear whether he would be part of any slate. Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, the majority whip, was said to be secure. Armey bluntly acknowledged the scramble going on in the wings to oust the leadership. Told on ``Nightline'' that there were Republicans after his head, Armey replied: ``They're welcome to it if they're big enough to take it.'' Publicly, Gingrich has expressed confidence about keeping his job as speaker. But he has been grim-faced over the last 24 hours and closeted himself Wednesday with his top strategists making calls to shore up his support among members. ``He looks like the victim of an accident,'' said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., who supports Gingrich. ``He's very somber in tone.'' The question, as it always is with Gingrich, is how many members are prepared to rebel against his leadership. In the past, no more than a couple of dozen members have openly expressed their dissatisfaction with him, and a coup attempt last year fizzled for lack of support. ``I'm hoping more people will understand the need for a serious reassessment this year,'' said Rep. Charles T. Canady, R-Fla., who said he had hoped for a challenge to the speaker after the 1996 elections, when the Republicans also lost seats. ``The reality is this: Our majority keeps shrinking,'' Canady said. ``If it shrinks any more, it will be gone.'' But Gingrich has built support among moderates, and some perceived the election as a repudiation of the conservatives. Rep. Sherwood L. Boehlert, R-Utah, said the results showed that this was the right direction for the party. ``To maintain our majority, we've got to moderate some of our views,'' Boehlert said. Thomas Mann, a Congressional scholar at the Brookings Institution, said that moderates supported Gingrich in part because no appealing alternative had emerged. ``They know he sees the broader world and is prepared to moderate if it makes sense,'' Mann said. ``Newt's gone out of his way to support the moderates. He's nurtured a relationship with them.'' But Mann and others said that anger has been building at Gingrich for several reasons, including his signing on to a budget deal last month that seemed to capitulate to President Clinton, not offering a clear legislative agenda for Republicans and not communicating a clear political message. ``We are most defined by who we hate'' said Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind. ``But voters are more sophisticated than that, and Republicans better have something to say about where we're going.'' The anger grew in the last few days when the speaker approved a $10-million anti-Clinton advertising campaign that allowed Democrats to turn the election into a referendum on Gingrich, who has never been nearly as popular with the public as Clinton has been. As if only slowly absorbing the implications of the loss, the speaker seemed unable at a news conference here Wednesday morning to pinpoint why the party suffered a net drop of five seats in the House. As late as Tuesday afternoon, he was predicting a net pickup of between 10 and 30. ``Until we look at it better, I frankly don't understand all the things that happened yesterday,'' he said, ``and I'm not sure anybody else in the country does either.'' But he said Republicans should have ``maniacally focused'' on a basic message of cutting taxes, saving Social Security and preventing drug abuse, and campaigned aggressively on those themes. He contrasted the lack of focus this year with the Contract With America that proved so successful in 1994. ``People thought we stood for something pretty big,'' he said. But Gingrich also seemed aware of the mounting concern about his leadership, repeatedly casting the election results as a victory for his leadership team because Republicans had stayed in the majority for three elections in a row for the first time in 70 years. He also suggested that those who would challenge him have little support. ``The people who normally are quoted on this are people who would in fact take the party to a narrower base,'' Gingrich said, referring to the periodic eruptions of concern among conservatives about his leadership. ``I'd like to see who it was that had a plan that they were confident over the last 60 days would have been more successful and why they didn't share it.''",
"Just four years ago, it was a good bet that Newt Gingrich would be the pivotal figure in U.S. politics at the turn of the millennium. Seemingly overnight he had taken a moribund minority party and turned it into a pumped-up, issue-driven House majority. With a promise to balance the budget, end welfare and represent more conservative social values, he appeared to have rearranged the political map for Congress just as Ronald Reagan had done for the presidency. But Gingrich's leadership is now so shaky that even if he maintains his hold on the speaker's office, he is in danger of marginalization. A change this dramatic suggests something far more profound than a miscalculation about election tactics. What looked like one of the major realignments in U.S. political history might turn out to have been nothing but a temporary shift. The Gingrich revolution was fueled by anger, a revolt of white working-class Americans against what they perceived as a Democratic bias in favor of blacks and other minorities, and a middle-class rejection of the politics of big government and big deficits. They were the same resentments that Ronald Reagan had exploited so successfully. But old political habits and a moribund Republican leadership allowed the Democrats to retain control of Congress throughout the 1980s, and turned Reagan's economic program into an undisciplined tax-cutting spree that created prosperity along with huge budget gaps. Gingrich's attention-grabbing rhetoric, energy and talent for political organization finally took Reagan's formula for success to the congressional elections in 1994. But once in power, he ran head on into Bill Clinton, whose political instincts were even better. The president co-opted parts of the Contract With America, particularly the balanced budget and welfare reform. He adapted the Republican social message into a call for things like school uniforms and television rating systems, which symbolized more responsibility and parental control without supporting government intrusion into private lives. The Republican right's genuine contempt for Clinton was based in part on the well-known flaws in the president's character. But it was mainly a reaction to the ease with which he had diverted what was supposed to be the flood tide of their revolution. They expected that the genuine successes of Gingrich's first year in office would lead to still larger victories for minimal government and taxes, unfettered free enterprise and a return to conservative Christian values. But the public was happy to be led in another direction, and focus on the concerns of aging baby boomers about health care and Social Security. The government that was seen as the enemy when the issues were budgetary once again looked like a potential ally. Back in 1994, both parties were so stunned by the sudden change in their congressional fortunes that they may have overestimated what it all meant. In particular they may not have realized how quickly good economic times, a drop in crime and national welfare reform could blunt the power of race in U.S. politics. The Democrats had become literally a minority party as white voters resentfully identified their policies with cities, blacks and immigrants. But last week union workers and Catholics returned to the Democratic fold. Without race as a wedge issue, the solid black Democratic vote became a powerful advantage in key states. Blacks, women and Latinos angry at Republican anti-immigration initiatives were the winning coalition in California, North Carolina and New York. The speaker was right to say this was ``not the election we expected.'' There may indeed be a Republican majority in America, but it appears to resemble the Republicanism of Dwight Eisenhower rather than Newt Gingrich _ pro-business, wary of debt and with an inherent distaste for bringing up messy social issues like abortion. The Republicans who have begun talking about ``compassionate conservatism'' and ``the politics of inclusion'' may be peddling political mush, but they peddled it to victory on Tuesday. The congressional Republican Party's long sojourn in the wilderness of the House minority may have left it too accustomed to opposition to figure out what it can be for, and too attached to the politics of anger to make sense of a nation in the mood for moderation. Gingrich has suggested that his mistake was to let the Republicans drift along on the politics of impeachment when they should have been ``almost maniacally focused'' on things like tax cuts. But looking maniacal is what got them into trouble in the first place. Winning control of Congress after so many years was very tough for Gingrich in 1994. But it will be ten times tougher to forge a politics that does not depend on rage.",
"Stunned by the Democratic resurgence in the mid-term elections, congressional Republicans tore into each other Wednesday over who was to blame for their failure to make the traditional opposition party gains in an off-year election. The soul-searching and recriminations _ and a possibility of congressional leadership challenges _ came as election results showed that Republicans had been unable to increase their 55-45 hold over the Senate and that Democrats had picked up five seats in the House. The Democratic surge marked the first time since 1934 that the president's party had gained seats in a midterm election, and it whittled the Republican House majority down to a mere six votes. The Democratic victories were even more remarkable in a political year marked by the months-long scandal over President Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky. The Republicans' new 223-211 majority (assuming a Democrat leading in Oregon holds on to win), with one independent, amounted to the smallest congressional majority since the Republican-controlled Congress of 1953, the last time Republicans controlled the House until they captured it again in 1994. With attention now shifting to the House Judiciary Committee and its impeachment inquiry, Rep. Henry Hyde told fellow Republicans on the panel in a conference call Wednesday that the only witness Republicans were likely to call would be the independent counsel, Kenneth Starr. Hyde, the chairman, told lawmakers he hoped to have the committee vote on possible articles of impeachment by Thanksgiving, an act that would take the issue out of his hands and put it into Gingrich's. Committee Democrats declined comment Wednesday until they could discuss Hyde's plan among themselves. Trying to put the best face on the results, Speaker Newt Gingrich said in Marietta, Ga., that the Republicans still held onto the House for three elections in a row for the first time since the election of 1932. But furious rank and file Republicans burned up the phone lines to each other, discussing whether to mount leadership challenges in both chambers in the next few weeks. ``We've got to reach out and have more than southern white males running the Washington Republican Party,'' said Rep. Joe Scarborough, a conservative from Florida. He said that Republicans this year had been left without any accomplishments to run on. ``We need an agenda first of all,'' he said. ``We went an entire calendar year without an agenda.'' Rep. Chris Shays, a moderate from Connecticut called the election a devastating loss and said simply, ``There are going to be major changes in our leadership. All segments of our party want to see change.'' At the White House, Clinton called the election results a vindication of his party's policies. ``If you look at all the results,'' he said, ``they are clear and unambiguous. The American people want their business, their concerns, their children, their families, their future addressed here. That's what the message of the election was.'' One of the first difficult questions now facing Congress is how to proceed with the impeachment inquiry in the face of public resistance to removing Clinton from office, and with a",
"Republican majority now so slim that it is almost certain that the 218 votes required for impeachment cannot be assembled. In a public statement released Wednesday, Hyde said ``The Committee continues to have a clear constitutional duty to complete its work in a fair and expeditious manner. Our duty has not changed because the constitution has not changed.'' But Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., said the election results guaranteed that impeachment will fail. ``I think any serious effort to remove President Clinton from office is effectively over,'' he said. ``It is simply for Newt Gingrich and Trent Lott to decide on an exit strategy.'' From the other side of the aisle, Rep. Rick Lazio, a Long Island Republican, said, ``The inquiry should be wrapped up expeditiously, fairly and it ought to be resolved in the immediate future.'' For the past year, Republicans struggled to keep control of the House with 228 seats and to find consensus among their party's competing factions. With their numbers reduced, the Republican leadership will need to carry out a tortuous balancing act to unite a hard-core conservative faction that wants a more aggressive social agenda with a bloc of moderates who want their party to return to the center. The Democrats held 206 seats, and one was held by an indepenndent. Any small Republican faction will now have enormous leverage. The new arithmetic of the House may even lead to Democrats' and moderate Republicans' forming ad hoc majorities on issues, taking control away from Republican leaders. Already seeing some of the possibilities, Rep. Peter King of Long Island, N.Y., said northeastern Republicans would be strengthened. ``It gives us much more leverage with the leadership and makes it easier to protect New York,'' he said. ``It's going to weaken the position of the strident conservatives and the anti-northeast conservatives.'' Just two weeks ago, Gingrich had foreseen election gains ranging from 10 seats to more than 40. Seeming uncharacteristically uncertain Wednesday, he said he had trouble accounting for the results. ``Things were happening out there that none of us fully understand--neither party in my judgment,'' he said. Taking his share of the blame for his party's losses, the Georgia Republican said he had misjudged how the public would recoil from the Clinton scandal as amplified in the modern media world and how the scandal would drown out other Republican themes. ``I mean I totally underestimated the degree to which people would just get sick of 24-hour-a day talk television and talk radio and then the degree to which this whole scandal became just sort of disgusting by sheer repetition,'' he said. ``And as a result I think we probably underestimated the need to really aggressively push a much stronger message about cutting taxes and saving Social Security, winning the war on drugs, reforming education and national defense.'' Majority Leader Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi also admitted mistakes, saying his party had not presented a clear enough message in the final 96 hours of the campaign. He also conceded that Congress' final scramble to pass a $500 billion budget bill hurt",
"his party. ``One of this lessons for Republicans out of this is that we need to listen more carefully to the people and we need to have a clear understanding and concise message that we do apply across the nation,'' he said in Washington. Both Lott and Gingrich said Republicans would put an emphasis next year on tax-cutting and shoring up the Social Security system. Even as the two leaders spoke, their angry rank-and-file lawmakers were making phone calls trying to assess whether to mount challenges against the Republican leaders who have steered the Congress since the Republican's assumed control four years ago. One senior Republican staffer said the House had become a ``tinderbox'' of intrigue. Scarborough said, ``The long distance charges in Washington offices probably are going through the roof today. Everybody's calling everybody. Everybody recognizes that something's terribly wrong with the direction of Washington Republicans when Republican governors are doing so well in New York, Massachusetts, Florida and Texas.'' And while Gingrich has not gone out of his way to identify himself with the Republican campaign's last-minute ad blitz attacking President Clinton, his caucus knows he is responsible. Gingrich has faced down an uprising before, foiling a coup attempt against him by disgruntled conservatives and some of his own leadership team in the summer of 1997. Any move to remove him remains a long-shot. But with House leadership elections now set for mid-November, Republicans said this time the dissatisfaction in their caucus had crossed ideological lines to moderates like Shays as well. ``We got shellacked,'' said Rep. Christopher Cannon, a conservative from Utah. ``We beat ourselves because we had no agenda.'' Republicans were discussing possible challenges to Gingrich, his second-in-command, Rep. Dick Armey, and other members of the senior leadership team. Some were envisioning trying to run an entire new ticket headed by Rep. Bob Livingston, the Appropriations Committee chairman from Louisiana and including Rep. Steve Largent, an Oklahoma conservative. Asked whether Tuesday's election results could cost him the speakership, Gingrich said, ``I'm not particularly concerned.'' Republicans close to him said they expected the anger to dissipate. In the Senate, where leadership races take place in early December, some Republicans were talking of mounting challenges against mid-level leadership figures. Several senators expressed particular pique toward the re-election chairman, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who poured party dollars and much of his own time into trying to defeat the Democratic champion of campaign finance overhaul, Russell Feingold of Wisconsin. Feingold won in a close race. Some lawmakers on Wednesday approached Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska to see if he would replace McConnell. Hagel confirmed he had talked to more than eight senators, and was considering whether to challenge McConnell. Hagel lambasted the Republican leadership for the election outcome. ``This is a big loss for us,'' he said. ``We squandered a very historic opportunity last night. To just break even is a loss.'' Most incumbents coasted to victory Tuesday night. But some will not be returning. Five House Republicans were defeated: Vince Snowbarger of Kansas, Bill Redmond of New Mexico, Jon Fox",
"of Pennsylvania, Mike Pappas of New Jersey, and Rick White of Washington. One Democrat also lost his re-election bid _ Rep. Jay Johnson of Wisconsin. The new House members include 17 Republicans and at least 22 Democrats. David Wu, a Democrat was leading Molly Bordonaro, a Republican in the race for one House seat in Oregon, but the final victory announcement was not expected until Friday after absentee ballots are counted. Unlike the self-proclaimed ``revolutionaries'' of the Republican class of 1994, many of the newly elected members are career politicians who rose through the ranks of local and state government. Three of the Democrats are the sons of former lawmakers, Mark Udall of Colorado, son of Morris Udall who represented Arizona; Tom Udall of New Mexico, son of the other Udall brother, Stewart, a former congressman and secretary of the Interior, and Charlie Gonzalez, who won the Texas seat of his father, Henry."
] |
[
"Stunned by the Democratic resurgence in the mid-term elections, congressional Republicans tore into each other Wednesday over who was to blame for their failure to make the traditional opposition party gains in an off-year election. The soul-searching and recriminations _ and a possibility of congressional leadership challenges _ came as election results showed that Republicans had been unable to increase their 55-45 hold over the Senate and that Democrats had picked up five seats in the House. The Democratic surge marked the first time since 1934 that the president's party had gained seats in a midterm election, and it whittled the Republican House majority down to a mere six votes. The Democratic victories were even more remarkable in a political year marked by the months-long scandal over President Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky. The Republicans' new 223-211 majority (assuming a Democrat leading in Oregon holds on to win), with one independent, amounted to the smallest congressional majority since the Republican-controlled Congress of 1953, the last time Republicans controlled the House until they captured it again in 1994. With attention now shifting to the House Judiciary Committee and its impeachment inquiry, Rep. Henry Hyde told fellow Republicans on the panel in a conference call Wednesday that the only witness Republicans were likely to call would be the independent counsel, Kenneth Starr. Hyde, the chairman, told lawmakers he hoped to have the committee vote on possible articles of impeachment by Thanksgiving, an act that would take the issue out of his hands and put it into Gingrich's. Committee Democrats declined comment Wednesday until they could discuss Hyde's plan among themselves. Trying to put the best face on the results, Speaker Newt Gingrich said in Marietta, Ga., that the Republicans still held onto the House for three elections in a row for the first time since the election of 1932. But furious rank and file Republicans burned up the phone lines to each other, discussing whether to mount leadership challenges in both chambers in the next few weeks. ``We've got to reach out and have more than southern white males running the Washington Republican Party,'' said Rep. Joe Scarborough, a conservative from Florida. He said that Republicans this year had been left without any accomplishments to run on. ``We need an agenda first of all,'' he said. ``We went an entire calendar year without an agenda.'' Rep. Chris Shays, a moderate from Connecticut called the election a devastating loss and said simply, ``There are going to be major changes in our leadership. All segments of our party want to see change.'' At the White House, Clinton called the election results a vindication of his party's policies. ``If you look at all the results,'' he said, ``they are clear and unambiguous. The American people want their business, their concerns, their children, their families, their future addressed here. That's what the messag e of the election was.'' One of the first difficult questions now facing Congress is how to proceed with the impeachment inquiry in the face of public resistance to removing Clinton from office, and with a Republican majority now so slim that it is almost certain that the 218 votes required for impeachment cannot be assembled. In a public statement released Wednesday, Hyde said ``The Committee continues to have a clear constituional duty to complete its work in a fair and expeditious manner. Our duty has not changed becasue the constitution has not changed.'' But Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., said the election results guaranteed that impeachment will fail. ``I think any serious effort to remove President Clinton from office is effectively over,'' he said. ``It is simply for Newt Gingrich and Trent Lott to decide on an exit strategy.'' From the other side of the aisle, Rep. Rick Lazio, a Long Island Republican, said, ``The inquiry should be wrapped up expeditiously, fairly and it ought to be resolved in the immediate future.'' For the past year, Republicans struggled to keep control of the House with a 228-207 majority and to find consensus among their party's competing factions. With their numbers reduced, the Republican leadership will need to carry out a tortuous balancing act to unite a hard-core conservative faction that wants a more aggressive social agenda with a bloc of moderates who want their party to return to the center. Any small Republican faction will now have enormous leverage. The new arithmetic of the House may even lead to Democrats' and moderate Republicans' forming ad hoc majorities on issues, taking control away from Republican leaders. Already seeing some of the possibilities, Rep. Peter King of Long Island, N.Y., said northeastern Republicans would be strengthened. ``It gives us much more leverage with the leadership and makes it easier to protect New York,'' he said. ``It's going to weaken the position of the strident conservatives and the anti-northeast conservatives.'' Just two weeks ago, Gingrich had foreseen election gains ranging from 10 seats to more than 40. Seeming uncharacteristically uncertain Wednesday, he said he had trouble accounting for the results. ``Things were happening out there that none of us fully understand--neither party in my judgment,'' he said. Taking his share of the blame for his party's losses, the Georgia Republican said he had misjudged how the public would recoil from the Clinton scandal as amplified in the modern media world and how the scandal would drown out other Republican themes. ``I mean I totally underestimated the degree to which people would just get sick of 24-hour-a day talk television and talk radio and then the degree to which this whole scandal became just sort of disgusting by sheer repetition,'' he said. ``And as a result I think we probably underestimated the need to really aggressively push a much stronger message about cutting taxes and saving Social Security, winning the war on drugs, reforming education and national defense.'' Majority Leader Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi also admitted mistakes, saying his party had not presented a clear enough message in the final 96 hours of the campaign. He also conceded that Congress' final scramble to pass a $500 billion budget bill hurt his party. ``One of this lessons for Republicans out of this is that we need to listen more carefully to the people and we need to have a clear understanding and concise message that we do apply across the nation,'' he said in Washington. Both Lott and Gingrich said Republicans would put an emphasis next year on tax-cutting and shoring up the Social Security system. Even as the two leaders spoke, their angry rank-and-file lawmakers were making phone calls trying to assess whether to mount challenges against the Republican leaders who have steered the Congress since the Republican's assumed control four years ago. One senior Republican staffer said the House had become a ``tinderbox'' of intrigue. Scarborough said, ``The long distance charges in Washington offices probably are going through the roof today. Everybody's calling everybody. Everybody recognizes that something's terribly wrong with the direction of Washington Republicans when Republican governors are doing so well in New York, Massachusetts, Florida and Texas.'' And while Gingrich has not gone out of his way to identify himself with the Republican campaign's last-minute ad blitz attacking President Clinton, his caucus knows he is responsible. Gingrich has faced down an uprising before, foiling a coup attempt against him by disgruntled conservatives and some of his own leadership team in the summer of 1997. Any move to remove him remains a long-shot. But with House leadership elections now set for mid-November, Republicans said this time the dissatisfaction in their caucus had crossed ideological lines to moderates like Shays as well. ``We got shellacked,'' said Rep. Christopher Cannon, a conserative from Utah. ``We beat ourselves because we had no agenda.'' Republicans were discussing possible challenges to Gingrich, his second-in-command, Rep. Dick Armey, and other members of the senior leadership team. Some were envisioning trying to run an entire new ticket headed by Rep. Bob Livingston, the Appropriations Committee chairman from Louisiana and including Rep. Steve Largent, an Oklahoma conservative. Asked whether Tuesday's election results could cost him the speakership, Gingrich said, ``I'm not particularly concerned.'' Republicans close to him said they expected the anger to dissipate. In the Senate, where leadership races take place in early December, some Republicans were talking of mounting challenges against mid-level leadership figures. Several senators expressed particular pique toward the re-election chairman, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who poured party dollars and much of his own time into trying to defeat the Democratic champion of campaign finance overhaul, Russell Feingold of Wisconsin. Feingold won in a close race. Some lawmakers on Wednesday approached Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska to see if he would replace McConnell. Hagel confirmed he had talked to more than eight senators, and was considering whether to challenge McConnell. Hagel lambasted the Republican leadership for the election outcome. ``This is a big loss for us,'' he said. ``We squandered a very historic opportunity last night. To just break even is a loss.'' Most incumbents coasted to victory Tuesday night. But some will not be returning. Five House Republicans were defeated: Vince Snowbarger of Kansas, Bill Redmond of New Mexico, Jon Fox of Pennsylvania, Mike Pappas of New Jersey, and Rick White of Washington. One Democrat also lost his re-election bid _ Rep. Jay Johnson of Wisconsin. The new House members include 17 Republicans and at least 22 Democrats. David Wu, a Democrat was leading Molly Bordonaro, a Republican in the race for one House seat in Oregon, but the final victory announcement was not expected until Friday after absentee ballots are counted. Unlike the self-proclaimed ``revolutionaries'' of the Republican class of 1994, many of the newly elected members are career politicians who rose through the ranks of local and state government. Three of the Democrats are the sons of former lawmakers, Mark Udall of Colorado, son of Morris Udall who represented Arizona; Tom Udall of New Mexico, son of the other Udall brother, Stewart, a former Congressman and Secretary of the Interior, and Charlie Gonzalez, who o won the Texas seat of his father, Henry.",
"Stunned by the Democratic resurgence in the mid-term elections, congressional Republicans tore into each other Wednesday over who was to blame for their failure to make the traditional opposition party gains in an off-year election. The soul-searching and recriminations _ and a possibility of congressional leadership challenges _ came as election results showed that Republicans had been unable to increase their 55-45 hold over the Senate and that Democrats had picked up five seats in the House. The Democratic surge marked the first time since 1934 that the president's party had gained seats in a midterm election, and it whittled the Republican House majority down to a mere six votes. The Democratic victories were even more remarkable in a political year marked by the months-long scandal over President Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky. The Republicans' new 223-211 majority (assuming a Democrat leading in Oregon holds on to win), with one independent, amounted to the smallest congressional majority since the Republican-controlled Congress of 1953, the last time Republicans controlled the House until they captured it again in 1994. With attention now shifting to the House Judiciary Committee and its impeachment inquiry, Rep. Henry Hyde told fellow Republicans on the panel in a conference call Wednesday that the only witness Republicans were likely to call would be the independent counsel, Kenneth Starr. Hyde, the chairman, told lawmakers he hoped to have the committee vote on possible articles of impeachment by Thanksgiving, an act that would take the issue out of his hands and put it into Gingrich's. Committee Democrats declined comment Wednesday until they could discuss Hyde's plan among themselves. Trying to put the best face on the results, Speaker Newt Gingrich said in Marietta, Ga., that the Republicans still held onto the House for three elections in a row for the first time since the election of 1932. But furious rank and file Republicans burned up the phone lines to each other, discussing whether to mount leadership challenges in both chambers in the next few weeks. ``We've got to reach out and have more than southern white males running the Washington Republican Party,'' said Rep. Joe Scarborough, a conservative from Florida. He said that Republicans this year had been left without any accomplishments to run on. ``We need an agenda first of all,'' he said. ``We went an entire calendar year without an agenda.'' Rep. Chris Shays, a moderate from Connecticut called the election a devastating loss and said simply, ``There are going to be major changes in our leadership. All segments of our party want to see change.'' At the White House, Clinton called the election results a vindication of his party's policies. ``If you look at all the results,'' he said, ``they are clear and unambiguous. The American people want their business, their concerns, their children, their families, their future addressed here. That's what the message of the election was.'' One of the first difficult questions now facing Congress is how to proceed with the impeachment inquiry in the face of public resistance to removing Clinton from office, and with a Republican majority now so slim that it is almost certain that the 218 votes required for impeachment cannot be assembled. In a public statement released Wednesday, Hyde said ``The Committee continues to have a clear constitutional duty to complete its work in a fair and expeditious manner. Our duty has not changed because the constitution has not changed.'' But Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., said the election results guaranteed that impeachment will fail. ``I think any serious effort to remove President Clinton from office is effectively over,'' he said. ``It is simply for Newt Gingrich and Trent Lott to decide on an exit strategy.'' From the other side of the aisle, Rep. Rick Lazio, a Long Island Republican, said, ``The inquiry should be wrapped up expeditiously, fairly and it ought to be resolved in the immediate future.'' For the past year, Republicans struggled to keep control of the House with 228 seats and to find consensus among their party's competing factions. With their numbers reduced, the Republican leadership will need to carry out a tortuous balancing act to unite a hard-core conservative faction that wants a more aggressive social agenda with a bloc of moderates who want their party to return to the center. The Democrats held 206 seats, and one was held by an indepenndent. Any small Republican faction will now have enormous leverage. The new arithmetic of the House may even lead to Democrats' and moderate Republicans' forming ad hoc majorities on issues, taking control away from Republican leaders. Already seeing some of the possibilities, Rep. Peter King of Long Island, N.Y., said northeastern Republicans would be strengthened. ``It gives us much more leverage with the leadership and makes it easier to protect New York,'' he said. ``It's going to weaken the position of the strident conservatives and the anti-northeast conservatives.'' Just two weeks ago, Gingrich had foreseen election gains ranging from 10 seats to more than 40. Seeming uncharacteristically uncertain Wednesday, he said he had trouble accounting for the results. ``Things were happening out there that none of us fully understand--neither party in my judgment,'' he said. Taking his share of the blame for his party's losses, the Georgia Republican said he had misjudged how the public would recoil from the Clinton scandal as amplified in the modern media world and how the scandal would drown out other Republican themes. ``I mean I totally underestimated the degree to which people would just get sick of 24-hour-a day talk television and talk radio and then the degree to which this whole scandal became just sort of disgusting by sheer repetition,'' he said. ``And as a result I think we probably underestimated the need to really aggressively push a much stronger message about cutting taxes and saving Social Security, winning the war on drugs, reforming education and national defense.'' Majority Leader Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi also admitted mistakes, saying his party had not presented a clear enough message in the final 96 hours of the campaign. He also conceded that Congress' final scramble to pass a $500 billion budget bill hurt his party. ``One of this lessons for Republicans out of this is that we need to listen more carefully to the people and we need to have a clear understanding and concise message that we do apply across the nation,'' he said in Washington. Both Lott and Gingrich said Republicans would put an emphasis next year on tax-cutting and shoring up the Social Security system. Even as the two leaders spoke, their angry rank-and-file lawmakers were making phone calls trying to assess whether to mount challenges against the Republican leaders who have steered the Congress since the Republican's assumed control four years ago. One senior Republican staffer said the House had become a ``tinderbox'' of intrigue. Scarborough said, ``The long distance charges in Washington offices probably are going through the roof today. Everybody's calling everybody. Everybody recognizes that something's terribly wrong with the direction of Washington Republicans when Republican governors are doing so well in New York, Massachusetts, Florida and Texas.'' And while Gingrich has not gone out of his way to identify himself with the Republican campaign's last-minute ad blitz attacking President Clinton, his caucus knows he is responsible. Gingrich has faced down an uprising before, foiling a coup attempt against him by disgruntled conservatives and some of his own leadership team in the summer of 1997. Any move to remove him remains a long-shot. But with House leadership elections now set for mid-November, Republicans said this time the dissatisfaction in their caucus had crossed ideological lines to moderates like Shays as well. ``We got shellacked,'' said Rep. Christopher Cannon, a conservative from Utah. ``We beat ourselves because we had no agenda.'' Republicans were discussing possible challenges to Gingrich, his second-in-command, Rep. Dick Armey, and other members of the senior leadership team. Some were envisioning trying to run an entire new ticket headed by Rep. Bob Livingston, the Appropriations Committee chairman from Louisiana and including Rep. Steve Largent, an Oklahoma conservative. Asked whether Tuesday's election results could cost him the speakership, Gingrich said, ``I'm not particularly concerned.'' Republicans close to him said they expected the anger to dissipate. In the Senate, where leadership races take place in early December, some Republicans were talking of mounting challenges against mid-level leadership figures. Several senators expressed particular pique toward the re-election chairman, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who poured party dollars and much of his own time into trying to defeat the Democratic champion of campaign finance overhaul, Russell Feingold of Wisconsin. Feingold won in a close race. Some lawmakers on Wednesday approached Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska to see if he would replace McConnell. Hagel confirmed he had talked to more than eight senators, and was considering whether to challenge McConnell. Hagel lambasted the Republican leadership for the election outcome. ``This is a big loss for us,'' he said. ``We squandered a very historic opportunity last night. To just break even is a loss.'' Most incumbents coasted to victory Tuesday night. But some will not be returning. Five House Republicans were defeated: Vince Snowbarger of Kansas, Bill Redmond of New Mexico, Jon Fox of Pennsylvania, Mike Pappas of New Jersey, and Rick White of Washington. One Democrat also lost his re-election bid _ Rep. Jay Johnson of Wisconsin. The new House members include 17 Republicans and at least 22 Democrats. David Wu, a Democrat was leading Molly Bordonaro, a Republican in the race for one House seat in Oregon, but the final victory announcement was not expected until Friday after absentee ballots are counted. Unlike the self-proclaimed ``revolutionaries'' of the Republican class of 1994, many of the newly elected members are career politicians who rose through the ranks of local and state government. Three of the Democrats are the sons of former lawmakers, Mark Udall of Colorado, son of Morris Udall who represented Arizona; Tom Udall of New Mexico, son of the other Udall brother, Stewart, a former congressman and secretary of the Interior, and Charlie Gonzalez, who won the Texas seat of his father, Henry.",
"House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who orchestrated the Republican revolution of recent years and is overseeing the impeachment inquiry into President Clinton, was driven from office Friday by a party that swiftly turned on him after its unexpected losses in Tuesday's midterm elections. Catching virtually everyone on Capitol Hill by surprise, Gingrich announced Friday night in two conference calls to other Republicans that he would not seek re-election as Speaker in the Nov. 18 vote and would leave Congress altogether when his term expires in January. ``This will give us a chance to purge some of the poison that is in the system,'' Gingrich said, according to a party aide who listened to one of the calls. Gingrich's resignation was a stunning reversal for one of the most combative and personally confrontational politicians in America. He made his name a decade ago by bringing down one Democratic speaker, Jim Wright, and continued his assaultive style through Tuesday's elections with last-minute commercials reminding voters of the Clinton scandal. His reflexive pugilistic response was evident even Friday night. In his second conference call, according to several people who listened, Gingrich blamed House conservatives for his downfall. Although it was their revolutionary zeal he harnessed to take control of Congress in 1994, they have become his most bitter critics in the last two years of his tumultuous speakership. Friday night he called them cannibals who had ``blackmailed'' him into quitting. Rep. Michael P. Forbes, R-N.Y., said: ``Newt said all those who had marginalized the Republican Party had engaged in cannibalism. He said, `Refer to the clips.' He's blaming others.'' Another Republican described the conference call this way: ``He started off very statesmanlike, but then you could see the anger building. When someone asked him why he was leaving, he said, `A handful of members have blackmailed the conference.' He said, `They're hateful.' And he said, `They're cannibals.''' Gingrich announced his move just hours after Rep. Robert L. Livingston of Louisiana announced he was running for speaker, putting himself forward as a pragmatist and a manager. After the Gingrich calls, Rep. Bill Archer of Texas announced he was considering his own run for speaker. Livingston and Archer are chairmen of the two most powerful committees in the House. In a statement Gingrich said, ``The Republican conference needs to be unified, and it is time for me to move forward.'' He said he hoped his colleagues would pick a successor ``who can both reconcile and discipline, who can work together and communicate effectively.'' Referring to his wife, he told his colleagues he was resigning from Congress because ``Marianne and I are tired. We need time off to get to know each other again.'' He also acknowledged his own knack for bringing negative attention to himself and his party. ``If I stay,'' he told his colleagues Friday night, ``my controversial nature would overshadow any successes we might have,'' an understatement to those who recalled his suggestion two years ago that he forced a shutdown of the government because he was miffed about having to sit in the back of Air Force One on a trip with President Clinton. According to another Republican who took notes, Gingrich said of his resignation: ``There is a lot of bitterness amongst some of the members. So long as I am around, I will always be a target in the news media, which would mean we would never be able to get our message out.'' Clinton said: ``Newt Gingrich has been a worthy adversary leading the Republican Party to a majority in the House and joining me in a great national debate over how best to prepare America for the 21st century. Despite our profound differences, I appreciate those times we were able to work together in the national interest, especially Speaker Gingrich's strong support for America's continuing leadership for freedom, peace and prosperity in the world.'' Many Republicans took the opportunity to portray Gingrich as a visionary. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert of New York said that during the first conference call, ``there was shock and surprise and strong expressions of appreciation for leading us to the Promised Land.'' His supporters said Gingrich had the votes to win the election to nominate a speaker, which is to be conducted by secret ballot. But, they agreed, the party's slim, six-vote majority meant every vote would be a battle. Kenneth Duberstein, a former official in the Reagan administration, said, ``I have no doubt he had the votes to be speaker, but I'm not sure he had the votes to govern.'' He said that because of the deep rifts in the party, Gingrich would not have been able to implement his plans. In an unusually biting reaction, Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, the Democratic leader, said he hoped that Gingrich's resignation would clear the fierce partisan air that he had fostered. ``I hope that whoever succeeds Newt Gingrich as speaker will immediately begin the process of repairing the damage that was wrought on this institution over the last four years,'' Gephardt said. House Republicans predicted that Gingrich's resignation would set off a more wide-ranging and hectic scramble to replace him than had been anticipated. ``There will be a lot of pretenders to the throne who will test the waters,'' said Boehlert, who had supported Gingrich for re-election as speaker. ``There won't be any shortage of candidates.''",
"The presidential campaign of 2000 began Wednesday, like it or not. The millennial election will be fought on a political playing field whose rough outlines, if not its exact boundaries, were drawn by the voters in Tuesday's elections, which delivered a crushing disappointment to the giddy hopes of the Republicans and an unexpected elixir to the recently ailing Democrats. President Clinton called it an ``astonishing'' triumph of issues over investigations and said the Democrats had won so many major victories ``because they had a clear message.'' Republicans agreed. Of course the next 18 months will bring many surprises and many reversals of fortune. But the election results offered important guidelines. Tuesday was a great day for Vice President Al Gore, for at least three reasons. He worked furiously and successfully in the last ten days before the balloting to persuade Democratic loyalists not to stay home and sulk, appearing on behalf of no fewer than 224 candidates, according to his office. A moderate within the spectrum of his own party, he watched moderates win crucial elections, notably in the California gubernatorial race, where Lt. Gov. Gray Davis, a cautious pragmatist like Gore, won a smashing victory. The returns _ an even break in the Senate and a Democratic gain of five in the House of Representatives _ also made the impeachment of President Clinton less likely. And the better shape Clinton is in as his term ends, the better chance Gore, his sidekick for six years now, stands in the presidential nomination process and, ultimately, the election. But California voters also complicated the nominating process and set Gore strategists to work on tactics to uncomplicate it, because he and they consider the state absolutely central to his presidential aspirations. In a referendum in 1996, California adopted a primary system under which Republicans, Democrats and independent voters would all receive the same ballot, with candidates of all parties listed. That violates the rules of both major parties, and a measure on the ballot Tuesday, Proposition 3, would have rescinded the 1996 change. But it failed, raising the possibility that California's March 7 primary will be a mere political popularity poll, with convention delegates chosen in caucus or convention _ a nightmare. Tuesday was a bad day for the Republican right. High-profile right-wingers lost across the country, from Attorney General Dan Lungren in the California governor's race to Sen. Lauch Faircloth, denied re-election in North Carolina, to Rep. Mark Neumann of Wisconsin, who failed in a Senate race despite a huge spending advantage over Sen. Russell Feingold, to Ellen Sauerbrey in Maryland, who proved unable on her second try to prevail over an unpopular Democratic governor, Parris Glendening. Both conservatives and moderates in the party said the Republicans had to get back to basics. Even Speaker Newt Gingrich conceded that the results ``should sober every Republican'' and called for new strategic thinking. ``If you make it a referendum on a president with a 67 per cent approval rating, as they tried to do, you shouldn't be surprised if the election goes against you,'' said Gov. Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania, a moderate whose promoters mention him weekly as a possible vice-presidential nominee. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, a conservative who tends to steer away from divisive social issues, won re-election with 68 per cent of the vote. He is studying the possibility of a presidential race, but before he or any other Republican nominee can hope to win, he said in an interview Wednesday, congressional Republicans and their leaders need to learn some lessons. ``I just hope this debacle is a wake-up call for our people,'' he said. ``You've got to be for something _ smaller government, better education, something. We're seen as the party that's against everything.'' Polls taken late in this year's campaign bore McCain out. They showed that the Republicans are no longer identified with issues that were once their electoral bread and butter, such as low taxes and law and order. Tuesday was also a fresh demonstration, for anyone who needed one, of the political utility of pitching a tent big enough for almost everyone. Black politicians in North Carolina, Maryland and California reported that their fears of an indifferent black turnout had proved groundless. Black votes proved indispensable to a considerable number of hard-pressed Democratic candidates, especially where they felt their interests directly threatened. The figures on Hispanic voting, assembled from exit polls and from the candidates' own precinct analyses, showed dramatic differences. In California, where the outgoing Republican governor, Pete Wilson, had played the anti-immigration card with a vengeance, both major Democratic candidates _ Davis and Sen. Barbara Boxer, who won re-election after trailing in early polls _ cleaned up among Hispanic voters. He took 78 percent, she 72. But both of the Bush brothers, Jeb in Florida and George W. in Texas, took more than half the Hispanic vote in their highly successful gubernatorial campaigns. So did McCain. Jeb Bush is married to a Hispanic woman, he and his brother both speak Spanish fluently and frequently, and Senator McCain has long espoused Hispanic causes. Both George W. Bush and McCain will draw strength, if they decide to run, from their proven ability to appeal to Hispanic voters, as well as their general electoral strength. George W. Bush took 69 percent of the vote in Texas, where a Democrat sat in the governor's chair only four years ago, and which has the second-largest bloc of electoral votes. Florida has the fourth-largest. Governor Bush of Texas uttered a rallying cry for the moderates. ``A leader who is compassionate and conservative,'' he said in his victory speech, ``can erase the gender gap and open the Republican party to new faces and new voices.'' But figures on the right saw things differently. James Dobson, a leading religious broadcaster, said that Republicans had fared poorly because Gingrich and Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, the majority leader, had caved in to the president on the budget and de-emphasized social issues such as abortion and flag desecration. He called all but explicitly for the ouster of Gingrich. Likewise, the millionaire publisher Steve Forbes, another probable candidate in 2000, said the leadership ``will have a lot to answer for.'' Tuesday proved the potency of education as an issue, and suggested that it will emerge as a major theme of the 2000 campaign. Clinton, in his limited involvement in the campaign, and Gore, in his extensive participation, both stressed Democratic programs to build more schools and hire more teachers. Almost a quarter of California voters _ and there are now almost twice as many voters in California as in any other state _ named education as their most pressing concern. Elsewhere, Democrats won the governorships of Alabama and South Carolina against the odds, partly by emphasizing their rivals' opposition to lotteries that will help to pay for schools. In Iowa, a Democrat was elected governor for the first time since 1969 on a platform that featured the dilapidated condition of the state's schools and a promise to remedy it. Tuesday demonstrated the overriding importance of money in modern American politics. Feingold, one of the principal backers of campaign-finance reform, survived to fight another day, but so did opponents of reform. And the returns in House races, showing that all but six of 401 members who sought re-election had won, underlined once again how hard it is, under the present system, for a challenger to raise enough money to compete effectively. The difficulties of raising money may doom many would-be presidential candidacies. Gore will have what he needs, as will Bush, Forbes and former Gov. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee. But how many others will? Finally, Tuesday delivered an indecisive message about impeachment. Close to two-thirds of voters nationwide told exit pollsters that they intended to send no message about Clinton, but they made it clear in response to other questions that they disliked the House inquiry into the president's alleged misdeeds and wanted to see it end. In only two states, Kansas and Nebraska, did a majority of voters say they favored even a congressional censure of Clinton, a much milder form of punishment advocated by many Clinton backers. Some Republicans said privately that there should be no hearings at all in the Clinton matter, and some Democrats began talking about a deal, the equivalent of a plea bargain that would bring the matter to an early close. Nevertheless, Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee said they needed to press ahead with the Constitutional process that the House has set in motion. Among those taking that view were Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia, a fierce foe of the president, and Rep. Mary Bono of California, whose tone has been more muted. But Rep. David Dreier of California, the incoming Rules Committee chairman, said that ``the election has played a role in ensuring that one of us has a desire to drag that out.''",
"A week after the White House and congressional Democrats disavowed his ``war'' on Speaker Newt Gingrich, James Carville, President Clinton's former campaign strategist and chief outside defender, put forth a new battle cry Wednesday: He will not be muzzled. Not only that, but Carville went beyond his customary denunciations of Gingrich and the Republicans and, in an interview, trained his fire on leaders in his own party for not being sufficiently aggressive four weeks before Election Day. ``My sense of frustration is that I believe the Democrats have a much better chance of doing much better than anyone expects,'' Carville said. ``And I don't think anyone's emerging to try to pull it together. Everybody ought to be pushing, the leadership in the Congress, the White House, the DNC. We ought to hammer Gingrich every day. How can you take the Congress back if you don't make a case against the people who are running it? I have never heard of a strategy like that.'' Sounding increasingly agitated, he went on: ``The only people left to be activated in this election are Democrats. The right wing, they're bouncing off the walls. They're going out to vote.'' Rep. Dick Gephardt, the minority leader, complained to Erskine Bowles, the White House chief of staff, after Carville appeared on the NBC News program ``Meet the Press'' on Sept. 27 and declared, ``Cpl. Cue Ball Carville will be rolling into battle against Newt Gingrich.'' The concern among House Democrats, one expressed by some White House officials as well, was that Carville's vitriol would make the Democrats appear overly partisan and could be especially damaging to Democrats in marginal districts who do not want to appear too easy on the president. But on Wednesday, Carville was anything but timid. ``If Gephardt people think they've quieted me down,'' he said, ``I'm not quieted.'' Carville said he told officials at the White House, ``Don't waste your breath about calling me and telling me not to say this.'' Carville insisted that he would rather do battle with Republicans than with his fellow Democrats. ``If they want to fight with me, they can,'' he said. ``I'm going to fight with the Republicans.'' Yet he could not help but ridicule his party. Asked to describe the Democrats' strategy for the election, Carville said, ``If there is one, no one's shared it with me.''",
"A struggle for control of the House is under way, with Rep. Robert Livingston conducting a telephone campaign that could lead to him running against Newt Gingrich as speaker. But Gingrich's counter-campaign has given some members pause about ousting him. At the same time, a small band of Republicans vowed on Thursday that they would not vote to re-elect Gingrich under any circumstances, a move that, because of the Republicans' shrunken House majority, could tie the party in knots for months. Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz., said: ``I personally have made the decision that I cannot vote for Newt Gingrich for speaker in January, and there are six others who have told me they feel the same way, seven people who just will not, and it takes six to deadlock the vote.'' Fury at the speaker has boiled over since Tuesday's elections, when Republicans suffered a net loss of five seats in the House. They blamed Gingrich, the party's chief strategist. But many were already angry at him for what they said was his failure to articulate a clear message for the party going into the elections and for a messy budget process that gave President Clinton a political edge and contradicted Republican principles of fiscal conservativism by containing massive amounts of spending for local projects. House Republicans are to meet Nov. 18 to vote by secret ballot for their leaders. Whoever wins the Republican nomination for speaker must stand for election by the full House in January. Even if Gingrich wins the secret ballot, he could be denied re-election as speaker in January if Salmon and at least five others refuse to vote for him. Because the Republicans now control the House by only 12 seats, it would take just six votes against Gingrich to deny him a majority. With such a chaotic and unacceptable prospect looming, Livingston told Gingrich that he should step aside for the good of the party, Republican officials said. The officials said that Livingston spoke to Gingrich shortly after the election returns but also before the election, reflecting Livingston's earlier displeasure with the speaker over the budget process. Several Republicans said that both Livingston, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee and one of the few members with the stature to stand for speaker, and Gingrich were working the phones on Thursday in a struggle for votes. Livingston has said nothing publicly about a challenge to Gingrich, but several members and aides said on Thursday that he would announce his intentions, possibly as soon as Friday, only after he had determined if he could win. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., was one of several members who spoke with Livingston on Thursday. ``He told me he's making a number of phone calls, that he's gotten a very positive response about running for speaker, and he'll decide within the next 48 hours,'' King said. ``He won't do it till he has his ducks in a row, and right now a lot of people are still loyal to the speaker,'' said an aide to a Republican who, like many others, is trying to straddle the line between fealty to a speaker who may retain power and encouragement to a challenger who offers a salve to an embattled party. Many Republicans immediately blamed Gingrich for the party's losses on Tuesday. Talk quickly emerged the next day of a slate of candidates to oppose Gingrich and his lieutenants. The list of possible candidates for leadership positions included Rep.e Steve Largent of Oklahoma, who talked with Livingston on Thursday about challenging Gingrich, Republican officials said, speaking on the condition that their names not be reported. Those officials said that Largent told Livingston that he wanted to run with him on a ticket and that he would challenge Rep. Dick Armey, the majority leader. But, these officials said that if Livingston did not challenge Gingrich, Largent would run for speaker instead. Other names were floated Wednesday for leadership posts. They included Reps. David McIntosh of Indiana for speaker and Jennifer Dunn of Washington as conference chairman. Added to the mix on Thursday was the name of Rep. Christopher Cox, a California conservative. As a sign of the uncertainty prevailing among House members on Thursday, Rep. Henry Hyde, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee and one of the House's most venerable members, rebuffed a chance to endorse Gingrich as speaker. Hyde said that Gingrich bore responsibility for the party's losses Tuesday. ``Leadership takes credit when things go right,'' he said. ``They ought to take the blame when things go wrong.'' Asked if Gingrich should remain speaker, Hyde said: ``I rather think he will, but that remains to be seen.'' The energy that many vented publicly on Wednesday as anger toward Gingrich seemed devoted on Thursday to intense internal political calculations about whether Livingston could succeed in toppling Gingrich and whether he should succeed. While many support him as a veteran who understands the House and has shown shrewd political skills in managing the massive federal budget, others are reviving images of the Louisianan as a hot-head who gave the party a bad name during the government shutdown two years ago and who tends toward arm-flailing in heated moments. One conservative leader said that he and his allies had reservations about Livingston because he was ``obsessed'' about trying to keep social issues out of the budget process. The budget, he said, ``has been a vehicle for conservatives over the years to add restrictions on federal money for abortion and other things you can't get through the Senate or past a presidential veto. If Livingston is the challenger, I doubt that will cause a rallying of the real conservatives in Congress.'' Some moderates said they were prepared to support him. Rep. Marge Roukema, R-N.J., said, ``I would be amenable to Livingston.'' Still, she cautioned, ``I'm not after Newt. But it's wrong not to sit down and seriously look at our options.'' Ken Johnson, an aide to Rep. W.J. (Billy) Tauzin, R-La., said that his boss was ``emblematic'' of the confusion among the broad base of House Republicans. ``Billy has been loyal to both Speaker Gingrich and Dick Armey, and he's still loyal to them, but he also wants to hear what they have to say before committing to them in the next election,'' Johnson said. ``Everyone is asking the same question: Can we refocus the message and re-energize our base without re-aligning the leadership?'' Salmon said his refusal to support Gingrich no matter what was based on Gingrich's track record of ``one failed strategy after another,'' including the impeachment process and the pork-laden budget. With the challenge under way, Gingrich has been trying to show members that he is responsive to their concerns. After an election night in which he portrayed the Republicans as victorious even as they lost seats, the next day he took ``responsibility'' for the losses. In another move, Gingrich has indicated that he is willing to cede control over the party's congressional campaign committee, allowing the whole House to select its members. Gingrich is also making strong personal appeals to Republicans. Said one top House aide: ``He'll get support. How much? Only his own vote-counters know.''",
"An intense struggle for control of the House is underway, with Rep. Bob Livingston conducting a telephone campaign to replace Rep. Newt Gingrich as speaker and Gingrich fighting with a counter-campaign that has given some members pause about ousting him. At the same time, a small band of Republicans vowed on Thursday that they would not vote to re-elect Gingrich under any circumstances, a move that, because of the Republicans' shrunken House majority, could tie the party in knots for months because it could throw the speakership to a Democrat. Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz., said: ``I personally have made the decision that I cannot vote for Newt Gingrich for speaker in January, and there are six others who have told me they feel the same way, seven people who just will not, and it takes six to deadlock the vote.'' Fury at the speaker has boiled over since Tuesday's elections, when Republicans suffered a net loss of five seats in the House. They blamed Gingrich, the party's chief strategist. But many were already angry at him for what they said was his failure to articulate a clear message for the party going into the elections and for a messy budget process that gave President Clinton a political edge and contradicted Republican principles of fiscal conservativism by containing massive amounts of pork spending. House Republicans are to meet Nov. 18 to vote by secret ballot for their leaders. Whoever wins the party's nomination for speaker then stands for election by the full House in January. Even if Gingrich wins the secret ballot, he could be denied re-election as speaker in January if Salmon and at least five others refuse to vote for him. Because the Republicans now control the House by only 12 seats, it would take just six votes against Gingrich to deny him a majority and allow Democrats to potentially elect one of their own as speaker. With such a chaotic and unacceptable prospect looming, Livingston told Gingrich that he should step aside for the good of the party, according to Republican officials. The officials said that Livingston spoke to Gingrich shortly after the disastrous election returns but also before the election, reflecting Livingston's earlier displeasure with the speaker over the budget process. Several Republicans said that both Livingston, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee and one of the few members with the stature to stand for speaker, and Gingrich were working the phones on Thursday in a struggle for votes. Livingston has said nothing publicly about a challenge to Gingrich, but several members and aides said on Thursday that he would announce his intentions, possibly as soon as Friday, after he had determined if he could win. ``He won't do it 'til he has his ducks in a row, and right now a lot of people are still loyal to the speaker,'' said an aide to a Republican who, like many others, is trying to straddle the line between fealty to a speaker who may retain power and encouragement to a challenger who offers a salve to an embattled party.",
"This is what Newt Gingrich is supposed to do well. The planning. The strategy. The big picture. The vision. His vision brought the GOP to the majority in Congress in 1994 and made him the first Republican House Speaker in 40 years. But by his own admission, Gingrich's vision seems to have blurred this time around, costing Republicans a net of five seats in Tuesday's election and leaving the party's narrow governing majority even narrower. The disappointing election results also left Gingrich open to a fractious challenge for his post as speaker. Members and aides said Wednesday that a fury at the speaker had bubbled up overnight and that some members were trying to organize a slate of candidates to replace Gingrich and his leadership team when House Republicans convene on Nov. 18 to select their leaders for next year. As Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., put it, ``When a company's stock price goes down, it's usually the CEO who gets fired.'' Top Republican aides, speaking anonymously, were even blunter. ``People were very angry last night,'' one aide said. ``Today it's a mixture of seething and dismay. It's just ugly. And Newt knows it. His career is on the line.'' Another aide said, ``Most people are really angry with Newt, and no one knows what to do with it. But some are dipping their toe in the water and seeing what the temperature is.'' A possible slate could contain the names of Reps. Robert L. Livingston of Louisiana to replace Gingrich, Steve Largent of Oklahoma to replace Dick Armey of Texas as majority leader, and Jennifer Dunn of Washington to replace John A. Boehner of Ohio as conference chairman. Rep. David M. McIntosh of Indiana is also said to be considering a run for speaker, but it was not clear whether he would be part of any slate. Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, the majority whip, was said to be secure. Armey bluntly acknowledged the scramble going on in the wings to oust the leadership. Told on ``Nightline'' that there were Republicans after his head, Armey replied: ``They're welcome to it if they're big enough to take it.'' Publicly, Gingrich has expressed confidence about keeping his job as speaker. But he has been grim-faced over the last 24 hours and closeted himself Wednesday with his top strategists making calls to shore up his support among members. ``He looks like the victim of an accident,'' said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., who supports Gingrich. ``He's very somber in tone.'' The question, as it always is with Gingrich, is how many members are prepared to rebel against his leadership. In the past, no more than a couple of dozen members have openly expressed their dissatisfaction with him, and a coup attempt last year fizzled for lack of support. ``I'm hoping more people will understand the need for a serious reassessment this year,'' said Rep. Charles T. Canady, R-Fla., who said he had hoped for a challenge to the speaker after the 1996 elections, when the Republicans also lost seats. ``The reality is this: Our majority keeps shrinking,'' Canady said. ``If it shrinks any more, it will be gone.'' But Gingrich has built support among moderates, and some perceived the election as a repudiation of the conservatives. Rep. Sherwood L. Boehlert, R-Utah, said the results showed that this was the right direction for the party. ``To maintain our majority, we've got to moderate some of our views,'' Boehlert said. Thomas Mann, a Congressional scholar at the Brookings Institution, said that moderates supported Gingrich in part because no appealing alternative had emerged. ``They know he sees the broader world and is prepared to moderate if it makes sense,'' Mann said. ``Newt's gone out of his way to support the moderates. He's nurtured a relationship with them.'' But Mann and others said that anger has been building at Gingrich for several reasons, including his signing on to a budget deal last month that seemed to capitulate to President Clinton, not offering a clear legislative agenda for Republicans and not communicating a clear political message. ``We are most defined by who we hate'' said Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind. ``But voters are more sophisticated than that, and Republicans better have something to say about where we're going.'' The anger grew in the last few days when the speaker approved a $10-million anti-Clinton advertising campaign that allowed Democrats to turn the election into a referendum on Gingrich, who has never been nearly as popular with the public as Clinton has been. As if only slowly absorbing the implications of the loss, the speaker seemed unable at a news conference here Wednesday morning to pinpoint why the party suffered a net drop of five seats in the House. As late as Tuesday afternoon, he was predicting a net pickup of between 10 and 30. ``Until we look at it better, I frankly don't understand all the things that happened yesterday,'' he said, ``and I'm not sure anybody else in the country does either.'' But he said Republicans should have ``maniacally focused'' on a basic message of cutting taxes, saving Social Security and preventing drug abuse, and campaigned aggressively on those themes. He contrasted the lack of focus this year with the Contract With America that proved so successful in 1994. ``People thought we stood for something pretty big,'' he said. But Gingrich also seemed aware of the mounting concern about his leadership, repeatedly casting the election results as a victory for his leadership team because Republicans had stayed in the majority for three elections in a row for the first time in 70 years. He also suggested that those who would challenge him have little support. ``The people who normally are quoted on this are people who would in fact take the party to a narrower base,'' Gingrich said, referring to the periodic eruptions of concern among conservatives about his leadership. ``I'd like to see who it was that had a plan that they were confident over the last 60 days would have been more successful and why they didn't share it.''",
"Just four years ago, it was a good bet that Newt Gingrich would be the pivotal figure in U.S. politics at the turn of the millennium. Seemingly overnight he had taken a moribund minority party and turned it into a pumped-up, issue-driven House majority. With a promise to balance the budget, end welfare and represent more conservative social values, he appeared to have rearranged the political map for Congress just as Ronald Reagan had done for the presidency. But Gingrich's leadership is now so shaky that even if he maintains his hold on the speaker's office, he is in danger of marginalization. A change this dramatic suggests something far more profound than a miscalculation about election tactics. What looked like one of the major realignments in U.S. political history might turn out to have been nothing but a temporary shift. The Gingrich revolution was fueled by anger, a revolt of white working-class Americans against what they perceived as a Democratic bias in favor of blacks and other minorities, and a middle-class rejection of the politics of big government and big deficits. They were the same resentments that Ronald Reagan had exploited so successfully. But old political habits and a moribund Republican leadership allowed the Democrats to retain control of Congress throughout the 1980s, and turned Reagan's economic program into an undisciplined tax-cutting spree that created prosperity along with huge budget gaps. Gingrich's attention-grabbing rhetoric, energy and talent for political organization finally took Reagan's formula for success to the congressional elections in 1994. But once in power, he ran head on into Bill Clinton, whose political instincts were even better. The president co-opted parts of the Contract With America, particularly the balanced budget and welfare reform. He adapted the Republican social message into a call for things like school uniforms and television rating systems, which symbolized more responsibility and parental control without supporting government intrusion into private lives. The Republican right's genuine contempt for Clinton was based in part on the well-known flaws in the president's character. But it was mainly a reaction to the ease with which he had diverted what was supposed to be the flood tide of their revolution. They expected that the genuine successes of Gingrich's first year in office would lead to still larger victories for minimal government and taxes, unfettered free enterprise and a return to conservative Christian values. But the public was happy to be led in another direction, and focus on the concerns of aging baby boomers about health care and Social Security. The government that was seen as the enemy when the issues were budgetary once again looked like a potential ally. Back in 1994, both parties were so stunned by the sudden change in their congressional fortunes that they may have overestimated what it all meant. In particular they may not have realized how quickly good economic times, a drop in crime and national welfare reform could blunt the power of race in U.S. politics. The Democrats had become literally a minority party as white voters resentfully identified their policies with cities, blacks and immigrants. But last week union workers and Catholics returned to the Democratic fold. Without race as a wedge issue, the solid black Democratic vote became a powerful advantage in key states. Blacks, women and Latinos angry at Republican anti-immigration initiatives were the winning coalition in California, North Carolina and New York. The speaker was right to say this was ``not the election we expected.'' There may indeed be a Republican majority in America, but it appears to resemble the Republicanism of Dwight Eisenhower rather than Newt Gingrich _ pro-business, wary of debt and with an inherent distaste for bringing up messy social issues like abortion. The Republicans who have begun talking about ``compassionate conservatism'' and ``the politics of inclusion'' may be peddling political mush, but they peddled it to victory on Tuesday. The congressional Republican Party's long sojourn in the wilderness of the House minority may have left it too accustomed to opposition to figure out what it can be for, and too attached to the politics of anger to make sense of a nation in the mood for moderation. Gingrich has suggested that his mistake was to let the Republicans drift along on the politics of impeachment when they should have been ``almost maniacally focused'' on things like tax cuts. But looking maniacal is what got them into trouble in the first place. Winning control of Congress after so many years was very tough for Gingrich in 1994. But it will be ten times tougher to forge a politics that does not depend on rage.",
"Stunned by the Democratic resurgence in the mid-term elections, congressional Republicans tore into each other Wednesday over who was to blame for their failure to make the traditional opposition party gains in an off-year election. The soul-searching and recriminations _ and a possibility of congressional leadership challenges _ came as election results showed that Republicans had been unable to increase their 55-45 hold over the Senate and that Democrats had picked up five seats in the House. The Democratic surge marked the first time since 1934 that the president's party had gained seats in a midterm election, and it whittled the Republican House majority down to a mere six votes. The Democratic victories were even more remarkable in a political year marked by the months-long scandal over President Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky. The Republicans' new 223-211 majority (assuming a Democrat leading in Oregon holds on to win), with one independent, amounted to the smallest congressional majority since the Republican-controlled Congress of 1953, the last time Republicans controlled the House until they captured it again in 1994. With attention now shifting to the House Judiciary Committee and its impeachment inquiry, Rep. Henry Hyde told fellow Republicans on the panel in a conference call Wednesday that the only witness Republicans were likely to call would be the independent counsel, Kenneth Starr. Hyde, the chairman, told lawmakers he hoped to have the committee vote on possible articles of impeachment by Thanksgiving, an act that would take the issue out of his hands and put it into Gingrich's. Committee Democrats declined comment Wednesday until they could discuss Hyde's plan among themselves. Trying to put the best face on the results, Speaker Newt Gingrich said in Marietta, Ga., that the Republicans still held onto the House for three elections in a row for the first time since the election of 1932. But furious rank and file Republicans burned up the phone lines to each other, discussing whether to mount leadership challenges in both chambers in the next few weeks. ``We've got to reach out and have more than southern white males running the Washington Republican Party,'' said Rep. Joe Scarborough, a conservative from Florida. He said that Republicans this year had been left without any accomplishments to run on. ``We need an agenda first of all,'' he said. ``We went an entire calendar year without an agenda.'' Rep. Chris Shays, a moderate from Connecticut called the election a devastating loss and said simply, ``There are going to be major changes in our leadership. All segments of our party want to see change.'' At the White House, Clinton called the election results a vindication of his party's policies. ``If you look at all the results,'' he said, ``they are clear and unambiguous. The American people want their business, their concerns, their children, their families, their future addressed here. That's what the message of the election was.'' One of the first difficult questions now facing Congress is how to proceed with the impeachment inquiry in the face of public resistance to removing Clinton from office, and with a Republican majority now so slim that it is almost certain that the 218 votes required for impeachment cannot be assembled. In a public statement released Wednesday, Hyde said ``The Committee continues to have a clear constitutional duty to complete its work in a fair and expeditious manner. Our duty has not changed because the constitution has not changed.'' But Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., said the election results guaranteed that impeachment will fail. ``I think any serious effort to remove President Clinton from office is effectively over,'' he said. ``It is simply for Newt Gingrich and Trent Lott to decide on an exit strategy.'' From the other side of the aisle, Rep. Rick Lazio, a Long Island Republican, said, ``The inquiry should be wrapped up expeditiously, fairly and it ought to be resolved in the immediate future.'' For the past year, Republicans struggled to keep control of the House with 228 seats and to find consensus among their party's competing factions. With their numbers reduced, the Republican leadership will need to carry out a tortuous balancing act to unite a hard-core conservative faction that wants a more aggressive social agenda with a bloc of moderates who want their party to return to the center. The Democrats held 206 seats, and one was held by an indepenndent. Any small Republican faction will now have enormous leverage. The new arithmetic of the House may even lead to Democrats' and moderate Republicans' forming ad hoc majorities on issues, taking control away from Republican leaders. Already seeing some of the possibilities, Rep. Peter King of Long Island, N.Y., said northeastern Republicans would be strengthened. ``It gives us much more leverage with the leadership and makes it easier to protect New York,'' he said. ``It's going to weaken the position of the strident conservatives and the anti-northeast conservatives.'' Just two weeks ago, Gingrich had foreseen election gains ranging from 10 seats to more than 40. Seeming uncharacteristically uncertain Wednesday, he said he had trouble accounting for the results. ``Things were happening out there that none of us fully understand--neither party in my judgment,'' he said. Taking his share of the blame for his party's losses, the Georgia Republican said he had misjudged how the public would recoil from the Clinton scandal as amplified in the modern media world and how the scandal would drown out other Republican themes. ``I mean I totally underestimated the degree to which people would just get sick of 24-hour-a day talk television and talk radio and then the degree to which this whole scandal became just sort of disgusting by sheer repetition,'' he said. ``And as a result I think we probably underestimated the need to really aggressively push a much stronger message about cutting taxes and saving Social Security, winning the war on drugs, reforming education and national defense.'' Majority Leader Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi also admitted mistakes, saying his party had not presented a clear enough message in the final 96 hours of the campaign. He also conceded that Congress' final scramble to pass a $500 billion budget bill hurt his party. ``One of this lessons for Republicans out of this is that we need to listen more carefully to the people and we need to have a clear understanding and concise message that we do apply across the nation,'' he said in Washington. Both Lott and Gingrich said Republicans would put an emphasis next year on tax-cutting and shoring up the Social Security system. Even as the two leaders spoke, their angry rank-and-file lawmakers were making phone calls trying to assess whether to mount challenges against the Republican leaders who have steered the Congress since the Republican's assumed control four years ago. One senior Republican staffer said the House had become a ``tinderbox'' of intrigue. Scarborough said, ``The long distance charges in Washington offices probably are going through the roof today. Everybody's calling everybody. Everybody recognizes that something's terribly wrong with the direction of Washington Republicans when Republican governors are doing so well in New York, Massachusetts, Florida and Texas.'' And while Gingrich has not gone out of his way to identify himself with the Republican campaign's last-minute ad blitz attacking President Clinton, his caucus knows he is responsible. Gingrich has faced down an uprising before, foiling a coup attempt against him by disgruntled conservatives and some of his own leadership team in the summer of 1997. Any move to remove him remains a long-shot. But with House leadership elections now set for mid-November, Republicans said this time the dissatisfaction in their caucus had crossed ideological lines to moderates like Shays as well. ``We got shellacked,'' said Rep. Christopher Cannon, a conservative from Utah. ``We beat ourselves because we had no agenda.'' Republicans were discussing possible challenges to Gingrich, his second-in-command, Rep. Dick Armey, and other members of the senior leadership team. Some were envisioning trying to run an entire new ticket headed by Rep. Bob Livingston, the Appropriations Committee chairman from Louisiana and including Rep. Steve Largent, an Oklahoma conservative. Asked whether Tuesday's election results could cost him the speakership, Gingrich said, ``I'm not particularly concerned.'' Republicans close to him said they expected the anger to dissipate. In the Senate, where leadership races take place in early December, some Republicans were talking of mounting challenges against mid-level leadership figures. Several senators expressed particular pique toward the re-election chairman, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who poured party dollars and much of his own time into trying to defeat the Democratic champion of campaign finance overhaul, Russell Feingold of Wisconsin. Feingold won in a close race. Some lawmakers on Wednesday approached Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska to see if he would replace McConnell. Hagel confirmed he had talked to more than eight senators, and was considering whether to challenge McConnell. Hagel lambasted the Republican leadership for the election outcome. ``This is a big loss for us,'' he said. ``We squandered a very historic opportunity last night. To just break even is a loss.'' Most incumbents coasted to victory Tuesday night. But some will not be returning. Five House Republicans were defeated: Vince Snowbarger of Kansas, Bill Redmond of New Mexico, Jon Fox of Pennsylvania, Mike Pappas of New Jersey, and Rick White of Washington. One Democrat also lost his re-election bid _ Rep. Jay Johnson of Wisconsin. The new House members include 17 Republicans and at least 22 Democrats. David Wu, a Democrat was leading Molly Bordonaro, a Republican in the race for one House seat in Oregon, but the final victory announcement was not expected until Friday after absentee ballots are counted. Unlike the self-proclaimed ``revolutionaries'' of the Republican class of 1994, many of the newly elected members are career politicians who rose through the ranks of local and state government. Three of the Democrats are the sons of former lawmakers, Mark Udall of Colorado, son of Morris Udall who represented Arizona; Tom Udall of New Mexico, son of the other Udall brother, Stewart, a former congressman and secretary of the Interior, and Charlie Gonzalez, who won the Texas seat of his father, Henry."
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S. Korea says N. Korea may be producing plutonium in at least one underground site. Satellite photos show a possible nuclear complex. If it is, it will strain U.S.-N. Korean relations and stop aid. The U.S. wants a delegation to check the site. N. Korea wants huge payment for inspection. A recent missile test firing over Japan, N. Korean incursions into the south, and the suspicious site are major causes for concern. The U.S. demands full access to the site and warns N. Korea not to waste a chance for lasting peace on the peninsula. N. Korea says the U.S. is pushing it to the brink of war over demands for inspections and talks. The meeting of the US, China, and the two Koreas in Geneva appeared to ease tension on that Asian peninsula. However, indications of a revived North Korean nuclear program clouded President Clinton's "economics and security" Asian trip. North Korea's economy is bad, malnutrition widespread, yet the country maintains a 1.1 million military force. Past US food and fuel aid to that country has been based on it not promoting a nuclear program. The US policy on Iraq is the removal of Saddam Hussein. Now, apparently the US supports dumping PM Mahathir Mohamed in Malaysia. President Clinton visited US troops at Osan Air Base in South Korea on his Asian trip. North Korea agreed to receive a U.S. delegation to discuss concerns about an underground site feared to house a nuclear weapons program. South Korea supports the U.S. and calls for full access to the site by U.S. inspectors. North Korea denies the concerns and proposes a $300 mil payment to visit the site. President Clinton in Seoul cautioned North Korea to focus on diplomacy, not nuclear ambitions. North Korea has threatened war against U.S. if the dispute comes to blows. The issue threatens to jeopardize North and South Korean peace talks to improve relations. A recent U.S. official's visit toi North Korea revealed serious economic problems. In August, US intelligence found a underground construction site near North Korea's nuclear complex. North Korea, suffering a devastating famine, claims the site is civilian and offered an inspection for a $300 million payment. This follows their August missile launch and suggests they are reneging on the 1994 agreement to end nuclear development in exchange for US aid. Clinton discussed these developments with allies during his November trip to Asia. He warned US troops in South Korea of increased danger, but has not directly attacked Kim Chong-il. North Korea has begun its militant posturing as the date to discuss this construction with the US nears.
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"North Korean news media on Thursday said the communist nation's military is on full alert for war with the United States if a dispute over nuclear inspections comes to blows. The North's official Korean Central News Agency reported that North Korean soldiers and people of all walks of life were ``on full alert for war.'' North Korea typically sends out belligerent rhetoric, especially when it enters high-stake talks with Washington. The United States and North Korea are set to resume talks Friday about inspections of an underground North Korean site suspected of being used to produce nuclear weapons. KCNA broadcasts brimmed with anti-American saber-rattling. ``Our People's Army will blow up the U.S. territory as a whole'' if the United States starts a war on the divided Korean Peninsula, Vice Defense Minister Jong Chang Ryol was quoted as saying Thursday. The general staff of the North Korean military accused Washington on Wednesday of pushing the situation in Korea to the ``brink of war'' by demanding inspections and talks aimed at preventing Pyongyang from developing nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. ``Under the prevailing touch-and-go situation, the Korean People's Army is now bracing itself for a fight against the U.S. imperialist aggressors,'' KCNA quoted Jong as saying. The agency also quoted various party officials, plant managers, even museum curators as pledging a ``thousandfold revenge'' or vowing to arm themselves with the ``spirit of human bombs and of suicidal attack.'' Washington demands unconditional inspections of the North's underground project. But North Korea asked Washington to pay dlrs 300 million for the right to inspect the site. Concerns that North Korea was developing long-range missiles capable of striking all of Japan and parts of the United States escalated when North Korea fired a rocket on Aug. 31. Believed to be a test of its Taepo Dong missile, the rocket flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean. The North's 1.1 million-strong military is the world's fifth largest. It forms the backbone of the North Korean government, with leader Kim Jong Il ruling the country as the head of the military.",
"A congressman who visited remote parts of North Korea last week said Saturday that the food and health situation there was desperate and deteriorating, and that millions of North Koreans might have starved to death in the last few years. The congressman, Tony Hall, D-Ohio, who has had a longtime interest in world hunger, passed through Tokyo on his return to the United States and showed photographs he had taken of North Korean children with patchy hair, protruding bones, open sores and other signs of severe malnutrition. Hall also brought back a bag of what officials called ``substitute food'' being distributed by a government food station: dried leaves and straw, so coarse that even cattle would normally turn away. ``They grind it into powder and make it into noodles,'' Hall said. The noodles have no nutrition and are indigestible, leaving people holding their aching stomachs, he said. North Korea has admitted that it is facing serious economic difficulties, but there have been sharply diverging assessments of how serious these are. Some visitors with the United Nations and other organizations have said that the food situation seems to be a bit better now than a year or two ago. Hall said that the divergence might have arisen because in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, life did seem to be slightly better than during his three previous trips to North Korea. But in rural areas where foreigners are not often allowed to visit, he added, the overall situation is worse than ever. Based on visits to four hospitals, Hall also emphasized that public health care had declined sharply. In one hospital, assistants were holding down a patient while surgeons conducted a stomach operation without electric lights or anesthesia. Ordinary North Koreans are suffering, in part, because their government's hard-line policies have alienated would-be donors and aid agencies. The United Nations has repeatedly appealed for relief aid for North Korea, but the latest appeal has raised less than one-third of the target. In September, Doctors Without Borders announced that it was pulling its staff of 13 from North Korea because it feared that its aid was going to the politically connected rather than to the most needy. North Korea does not release mortality figures or health statistics, but Hall said that the United Nations had gathered and would soon release data indicating that 30 percent of North Korean children under age 2 are acutely malnourished and that 67 percent of all children are physically stunted. Hall said he thought that overall at least 1 million people had died and that the total was probably closer to 3 million. In an indication of the seriousness with which professional demographers view the situation, the U.S. Bureau of the Census recently published estimates suggesting that North Korea's population peaked in 1995 at 21.55 million and has since fallen to 21.23 million this year. That would be a decline of 320,000 over three years, a period when North Korea's population would have been expected to grow by about 925,000 people, based on the population growth rate of the early 1990s. Nicholas Eberstadt, an American specialist on North Korean population figures, says that there simply is not enough hard information for him to estimate the death toll from the famine. But he notes one political tidbit: North Korea's constitution stipulates that there should be one delegate to the country's ``people's assembly'' for every 30,000 citizens. This year's assembly did not expand as previous ones did, but rather had just 687 delegates, the same as the previous assembly held in 1990. While Eberstadt counsels caution, that could mean that North Korea's population, after eight years in which it had been expected to add several million people, is now back to 20.6 million people or fewer. The United States has been supplying grain to North Korea, but strains are growing over a secret underground complex in the North that some experts worry may be the heart of a new nuclear weapons program. The United States warned last week that the ``agreed framework'' that is the basis for its relations with North Korea will be in jeopardy unless the North lets American experts visit the underground complex and resolve their doubts. North Korea has said that it will show off the complex only if Washington promises that if the complex is not a nuclear one, it will pay for ``vilifying us and impairing our prestige.'' Washington refuses to pay, and North Korea is warning that the standoff could lead the agreement to fall apart. ``Their shameless and wicked demand is an open infringement upon our sovereignty and wanton interference in our internal affairs,'' declared North Korea's leading newspaper, Rodong Sinmun.",
"In a green aviator jacket and black cap, President Clinton spent Sunday visiting American troops stationed in South Korea. He promoted a private, sang birthday greetings to a sergeant major and described the threats to his hopes for peaceful engagement with North Korea. ``Lately, signs of danger have intensified,'' Clinton said in an address to airmen here, standing before a gunmetal gray F-16 and A-10 parked nose-to-nose. ``So we must remain vigilant. And thanks to you, we are.'' For all his eagerness to talk about information-age economic dangers like quicksilver currency flows, Clinton has returned again and again during his five-day trip to Japan and South Korea to the old-style regional military threat posed by North Korea. The subject consumed most of his meetings with President Kim Dae-jung of South Korea on Saturday and formed the backdrop for his visits with the troops Sunday. ``It's kind of tense around here,'' said John Kelley, a 26-year-old airman from Wisconsin, describing life on this base. ``You know you're only four minutes away from a missile.'' In his speech, Clinton pointed to recent North Korean missile tests, incursions into the south and a mysterious underground site that may be a nuclear weapons installation as signs of the potential threat. And he compared North Korea to Iraq, saying that North Korea was ``also a major concern'' because of its chemical and biological weapons. Until North Korea ``fully commits itself to a constructive role on this peninsula,'' he said, ``we must remain ready.'' Clinton restated his support for Kim's policy of engagement with North Korea, though, saying that there were ``some hopeful signs'' to justify it. He pointed to talks that began over the summer between the American military command in Korea and the North Korean military to prevent problems along the demilitarized zone between the south and north. Clinton planned to leave South Korea early Monday and return to Washington Monday night, after paying a visit to Guam. On a bright but icy afternoon, Clinton was warmly received here by soldiers in camouflage and black boots, some of whom waited almost three hours, shifting from foot to foot and rubbing their hands. The official crowd estimate was only 3,500, but the turnout seemed even smaller. The base, about 30 miles south of Seoul, is one of two major American airfields in Korea, housing 7,500 airmen. Others who wanted to see the president were bused in from sites that are hours away. Before flying here by helicopter, Clinton attended church on an Army base in Seoul, then visited a firing range just 12 miles from the demilitarized zone. In a brief ceremony there, he promoted Matt Prickett of West Liberty, Ohio, from private first class to specialist. And he led the troops in a round of ``Happy Birthday'' for Sgt. Maj. Charles Thomas of Wilson, N.C., who turned 45 on Sunday. ``It definitely caught me off guard,'' Thomas said.",
"SEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ U.S. President Bill Clinton won South Korea's support Saturday for confronting North Korea over a suspected nuclear site, and he warned the North's communist leaders not to squander a chance to achieve lasting peace on the peninsula. President Kim Dae-jung, appearing with Clinton at a news conference, pledged to ``spare no effort in supporting the U.S. endeavor'' to resolve the nuclear question. He called for full access for U.S. inspectors at a North Korean underground facility and said the North must not develop missiles. On the first of two days in South Korea, Clinton also held a roundtable discussion with business leaders to hear their prescriptions for putting the nation's economy back on track. Economics and security are Clinton's twin themes on a five-day Asia trip that began in Japan. Clinton acknowledged that U.S. intelligence officials are not yet certain that the suspicious underground construction project in North Korea is nuclear related. But he said the North risks closing the door on cooperation if it refuses a U.S. inspection of the site. On the first of two days in South Korea, Clinton also held a roundtable discussion with business leaders to hear their prescriptions for putting the nation's economy back on track. Economics and security are Clinton's twin themes on a five-day Asia trip that began in Japan. Clinton acknowledged that U.S. intelligence officials are not yet certain that the underground construction project in North Korea is nuclear related. But he said the North risks closing the door on cooperation if it refuses a U.S. inspection of the site. ``It raises a strong suspicion,'' Clinton said at a joint news conference with Kim at the Blue House, the presidential mansion overlooking the capital. ``We need access to it.'' The foundation of U.S. efforts to ease North Korea's decades-long hostility toward the South is a 1994 ``agreed framework'' in which the North halted its nuclear weapons program in exchange for a Western commitment to build modern nuclear energy sources there. That deal would be shattered if the suspect site turned out to be a clandestine nuclear project. Kim, who has moved South Korea to a ``sunshine'' policy of engaging North Korea on cultural and economic fronts, was firm in saying his government supports Clinton on the nuclear issue. In meetings this week in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, U.S. officials were rebuffed in their request to see the suspicious site, which American intelligence officials fear could be a secret effort to revive the North's nuclear weapons program. ``We must require full access and ways to ascertain the nature and the purposes of the construction site,'' Kim said. ``If it is, in fact, proven that it is nuclear related, we should demand immediate close down.'' He also said the North must limit its missile development, citing the ``great shock'' in Japan when the North Koreans test-fired a missile its way Aug. 31. U.S. spy satellite photos show thousands of workers digging a massive complex. U.S. special envoy Charles Kartman on Friday retracted an assessment he made Thursday that there was ``compelling evidence'' that North Korea is building an underground nuclear facility. In a statement distributed by the U.S. embassy here today, Kartman said instead, ``There is strong information that makes us suspicious, but we lack conclusive evidence that the intended purpose of the underground site is nuclear related and, if so, what type of nuclear facility it might be.'' Kim said his government would support U.S. efforts to resolve the nuclear question. The North Koreans have denied the underground construction site has any nuclear purpose, and have proposed a dlrs 300 million payment for allowing inspections. Clinton rejected the idea of compensation. Directing his remarks at North Korea, Clinton noted the significance of a new tourism deal that is bringing South Koreans to the North on cruise ships _ an arrangement touted by Kim as a sign the North may be opening up to its 1950s Korean War enemy. ``Nothing could ever be put into that hole in the ground, given our defense partnership here, that would give the North Koreans as much advantage, as much power, as much wealth, as much happiness, as more of those ships going up there full of people from here,'' Clinton said. In his meeting with Korean community and business leaders at Seoul's National Folklore Museum, Clinton praised South Korea's progress in recovering from its financial crisis. On a darker note, he mentioned recent tensions over Asian steel exports to the United States, which have skyrocketed this year at great cost to the domestic U.S. steelmakers. Japanese steel is the biggest problem, but South Korean steel exports also are on the rise. Clinton said the U.S. economy could tolerate increased imports _ if they are not concentrated in just a few industries, and if the result is that the Asian economies begin to recover. ``We have to be sensitive if the price of doing that is to basically erase'' an entire sector of the U.S. economy, Clinton said.",
"A South Korean lawmaker said Friday communist North Korea could be producing plutonium and could have more secret underground nuclear facilities than already feared. Without naming his source, Rep. Kim Deog-ryong of the Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee said he had ``information'' that two underground facilities captured on U.S. spy satellite photos may be nuclear plants. He said in a Parliament session that one of them is believed to already be producing plutonium and the other would be able to produce enough for 10 nuclear bombs starting around 2004. If true, the assertion paints a worse picture of suspected North Korean nuclear activity than already made public. Kim said he asked the government's Unification Ministry about the issue earlier this week and was suspicious of its answer. ``It was not sufficient or sincere, so I came to suspect that the government is trying to hide the truth,'' Kim said in a seven-page press release. U.S. and South Korean officials said in August they had detected a huge underground construction site on a mountainside 40 kilometers (25 miles) northeast of Yongbyon, the country's main nuclear complex. The United States has said it suspects the construction is nuclear-related, though it has no evidence. North Korea has denied it. Kim, a lawmaker from the main opposition Grand National Party, said there may actually be two underground facilities not far from the Yongbyon complex. It was activity at Yongbyon that prompted the United States to negotiate a 1994 accord promising development of two light-water reactors and fuel-oil shipments if North Korea would halt nuclear weapons development. At the time, North Korea was believed to have made enough plutonium for one or two atomic bombs. The Yongbyon complex, which houses a 500-megawatt laboratory nuclear reactor, has been frozen under the 1994 accord. Kim said Friday that one new facility is already operating and the other is under construction and will be operational in four to six years. ``We estimate that the reactor will go on-line in 2002 or 2003, enabling the production of enough plutonium to build one nuclear weapon within six to 12 months,'' Kim said. ``North Korea would be able to make sufficient plutonium to make eight to 10 nuclear weapons every year after that.'' North Korea has said the underground construction is for civilian use and not nuclear-related. It has offered to open the facility to U.S. inspectors, but says Washington must pay compensation if the facility is been proven to be for civilian use.",
"This city has always kept an unwritten list of foreign leaders _ dictators, unfriendly authoritarians and consistently annoying allies _ who it thinks can make an enormous contribution to peace, security or America's agenda by taking early retirement, at a minimum. In the 1950s, the leftist leaders of Iran and Guatamala made the Top 10, in the '60s it was populated by Diem and Sukarno and other Southeast Asians. President Richard M. Nixon and his advisers infamously agreed at a secret meeting in the '70s that the best way to deal with the government of Salvador Allende Gossens in Chile was to ``make the economy scream.'' Diplomatic etiquette, though, has usually discouraged shouting America's enemies list from the White House rooftop. After all, foreign policy isn't about personalities, right? But last week, driven by frustration, or anxiety, or perhaps the lure of sounding tough for cameras, the Clinton administration piped up, twice. In very different situations, in opposite corners of the world, the United States spoke loudly because it can't find a stick. Sunday, hours after he called off an attack on Iraq, Clinton finally volunteered the obvious, that the focus of U.S. policy toward Iraq is the removal of President Saddam Hussein _ what Clinton called supporting the ``forces of change in Iraq.'' No matter that covert efforts to do just that have failed miserably. The bigger surprise came Monday, when polite-to-a-fault Al Gore used his visit to Malaysia for an Asian economic summit meeting to throw U.S. support behind protesters calling for ``reformasi,'' the code word on the streets of Kuala Lumpur for dumping Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed. He has long been a burr in Washington's side, denouncing America, its currency traders and its Jews. He recently imprisoned his Western-thinking finance minister, Anwar Ibrahim, who has suddenly become Asia's most visible jailed dissident. But Mahathir is no Saddam, not by a long shot. Gore's aides insist that his speech was a call for reform, not a demand that Mahathir step down. But it wasn't interpreted that way. The New Zealanders called it ``megaphone diplomacy.'' The Malaysian government called it ``disgusting'' and an ``interference in internal affairs.'' Predictably, executives of several U.S. companies that have flocked to Kuala Lumpur told the Malaysians that Gore was rude, while assuring Washington that he had uttered words that needed to be said. Whatever the wisdom of the Gore's words, they raised the question of what it takes these days for the world's most powerful nation to begin publicly suggesting that it's time for a nettlesome leader to go. Because there is no official list, there are no real criteria for getting on it. Some leaders mysteriously escape mention, like Kim Jong Il of North Korea. President Clinton is spending the weekend on the Korean Peninsula, staring across the demilitarized zone at a dangerous state that everyone suspects is attempting to break out of its 1994 agreement to freeze its nuclear weapons projects, in return for billions in Western energy aid. Yet Washington has never called on the starving North Koreans to revolt against Kim's repressive regime. His government, taking a page out of the Saddam playbook, suggested last week that if the United States really wants to look at a mountain tunnel that the Pentagon believes is a nuclear installation in the making, it should write a check for another $300 million. No one even called for Kim's removal when, a few months ago, he lobbed a three-stage missile over Japan just to show he knew how. ``The rules for calling for the end of a regime are pretty murky,'' said Richard Feinberg, a professor at the University of California at San Diego who served in the Clinton administration's first term. ``When they really want to push someone out, it is because that country is part of a larger strategic concern at the time. But the country itself usually doesn't have great strategic weight'' _ it's another matter to call for a change of leadership in Beijing or Moscow _ ``and it helps if there is some kind of domestic opposition that we can point to.'' Clinton's call for Saddam's ouster last weekend created barely a ripple because, after all, he is a proven murderer and an avid stockpiler of anthrax and plutonium (even if Brent Scowcroft, who was President George Bush's national security adviser, insisted last week that Saddam nowadays is simply ``an irritant, an annoyance, a pest and a problem, but not a threat to the region at the moment''). Mahathir, however, is far more complex case. He's a prime example of how opposing Washington's political and economic agenda for an interconnected world can move a leader from the list of authoritarians whom Washington tolerates to the list of authoritarians who have outlived their usefulness. Like other Asian strongmen _ Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines and Suharto of Indonesia come to mind _ he was useful when the fear was that Malaysia would become a communist domino. But he also seemed eminently tolerable long after the Cold War was over. He has never been accused of enormous corruption. He turned his country into a model of competitiveness, and Malaysia became the exemplar of the ``big emerging markets'' that Clinton's Commerce Department touted until things went sour last year. Sure, he was always prickly. But he is no terrorist or killer _ U.S. companies have flocked to his country, and say they want to stay _ and his iron control over political discourse is no stronger than in neighboring Singapore. Just this summer, U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin paid him an ostensibly friendly, if strained, visit and made no reference to human rights. That all changed when Ibrahim was arrested and beaten in jail. He has long been an advocate of the Western-style solutions to economic turmoil _ more openness, more freedom _ and the protest movement against Mahathir only surfaced once he was in jail. Gore leapt on that opportunity _ particularly striking because, in the case of Indonesia earlier this year, it took the administration months to come to the conclusion that President Suharto had to go. He went.",
"North Korea has demanded that the United States pay hundreds of millions of dollars for the right to inspect a huge underground center that U.S. intelligence analysts fear houses a nuclear-weapons program, Clinton administration officials said Wednesday. The United States rejected the request during meetings this week in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, between North Korean officials and a U.S. government delegation. ``As we expected, the North Koreans brought up the issue of compensation, and we flatly rejected it,'' said State Department Spokesman James Rubin. Asked how much money the North Koreans had demanded, Rubin said payment of the fee was ``so not on as a possibility that I don't care to get into the figures.'' Other administration officials said the fee would have been hundreds of millions of dollars; one put it at $300 million. The North Koreans have denied that the complex, which is being built on a mountainside about 25 miles northeast of Yongbyon, the former North Korean nuclear research center, is intended to be used for a nuclear weapons program. They have repeatedly said U.S. inspectors could visit the site as long as Washington agreed to pay a large fee in compensation for what the North Koreans describe as the administration's slander. The North Korean representative at the United Nations, Kim Chang Guk, said last week that the United States could inspect the site ``on condition that when it is confirmed not to be a nuclear facility, the United States should pay compensation for slandering and defaming my country.'' U.S. intelligence agencies fear that by building the complex, North Korea may have decided to abandon a four-year-old agreement with the United States in which North Korea pledged to give up its nuclear weapons program in exchange for billions of dollars in aid. The U.S. delegation, led by Charles Kartman, President Clinton's special envoy on North Korean issues, left Pyongyang on Wednesday after 12 hours of negotiations over three days with a team from the North Korean Foreign Ministry. The talks ended as Clinton began a trip to Asia that will include a visit to South Korea, where the issue of the North Korean construction site is expected to be among the major topics discussed with President Kim Dae-jung. Rubin said the U.S. delegation to North Korea had pressed for access to the site. ``We told them that access to the site is essential,'' he said. ``We've expected that this would be difficult, and we told the North Koreans, as we've said before, that verbal assurances, as they are wont to give, are simply unacceptable.'' U.S. officials have said the construction of the underground site may not yet have technically violated the accord, because there is no evidence that North Korea has begun pouring cement for a new reactor or a reprocessing plant to convert nuclear waste to bomb-grade plutonium. But if the United States determines that North Korea has revived its nuclear program, Rubin said, ``it would go against the entire letter and spirit of the objectives of the agreement, and it would affect the viability of the agreement.'' The administration has expressed growing concern over North Korea's intentions after several provocative acts, including the underground construction near Yongbyon and the test firing last August of a missile over Japan. Last week Clinton named former Defense Secretary William Perry to review U.S. policy toward North Korea. Administration officials say Perry is being asked to study ways to salvage the 1994 nuclear agreement with North Korea, which had been among the administration's proudest achievements in foreign policy.",
"SEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ U.S. President Bill Clinton won South Korea's support Saturday for confronting North Korea over a suspected nuclear site, and he warned the North's communist leaders not to squander an historic chance to make a lasting peace on the peninsula. President Kim Dae-jung, appearing with Clinton at a news conference, pledged that his government would ``spare no effort in supporting the U.S. endeavor'' to resolve the nuclear question. He called for full access for U.S. inspectors at a North Korean underground facility and said the North must constrain its development and exports of missiles. On the first of two days in South Korea, Clinton also held a roundtable discussion with business leaders to hear their prescriptions for putting the nation's economy back on track. Economics and security are Clinton's twin themes on a five-day Asia trip that began in Japan. Clinton acknowledged that U.S. intelligence officials are not yet certain that the suspicious underground construction project in North Korea is nuclear related. But he said the North risks closing the door on cooperation if it refuses a U.S. inspection of the site. ``It raises a strong suspicion,'' Clinton said at a joint news conference with Kim at the Blue House, the presidential mansion overlooking the capital. ``We need access to it.'' The foundation of U.S. efforts to ease North Korea's decades-long hostility toward the South is a 1994 ``agreed framework'' in which the North halted its nuclear weapons program in exchange for a Western commitment to build modern nuclear energy sources there. That deal would be shattered if the suspect site turned out to be a clandestine nuclear project. And that, in turn, would jeopardize preliminary North-South peace talks that could produce a treaty to replace the shaky armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953. Kim, who has moved South Korea to a ``sunshine'' policy of engaging North Korea on cultural and economic fronts, firmly said his government supports Clinton on the nuclear issue. ``We must require full access and ways to ascertain the nature and the purposes of the construction site,'' Kim said. ``If it is, in fact, proven that it is nuclear related, we should demand immediate close down.'' He also said the North must limit its missile development, citing the ``great shock'' in Japan when the North Koreans test-fired a missile its way Aug. 31. In a dinner toast, Kim said that despite tensions, ``North Korea is cautiously but noticeably taking measures to increase interaction and cooperation between the South and the North.'' And Clinton saluted Seoul's battle against Asia's economic woes. ``I believe Asia will emerge from this present crisis more prosperous, more stable, more democratic _ thanks in no small measure to Korea's example.'' After the state dinner, Clinton made a surprise late-night stop at a concert at the Sejong Culture Center where his younger brother, Roger, and his band were performing. The president listened to songs off stage before his brother introduced the president as ``a very special person.'' The audience of 2,000 people stood and applauded. In meetings this week in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, U.S. officials were rebuffed in their request to see the suspicious underground site, which American intelligence officials fear could be a secret effort to revive the North's nuclear weapons program. U.S. spy satellite photos show thousands of workers digging a massive complex. U.S. special envoy Charles Kartman said Thursday after the Pyongyang talks that there was ``compelling evidence'' of an underground nuclear facility. But in a statement distributed by the U.S. Embassy here Saturday, Kartman backtracked, saying instead that the United States lacks ``conclusive evidence'' the site is a nuclear facility. ``There is strong information that makes us suspicious, but we lack conclusive evidence that the intended purpose of the underground site is nuclear related and, if so, what type of nuclear facility it might be,'' Kartman said, offering a ``clarification'' of his earlier remarks. Kim said his government would ``spare no effort in supporting the U.S. endeavor'' to resolve the nuclear question. The North Koreans have denied the underground construction site has any nuclear purpose, and it has demanded a dlrs 300 million payment for proving that. In remarks in Tokyo on Friday, Clinton rejected the idea of compensation. Directing his remarks at North Korea, Clinton noted the significance of a new tourism deal that is bringing South Koreans to the North on cruise ships _ an arrangement touted by Kim as a sign the North may be opening up to its 1950s Korean War enemy. To risk that kind of cooperation _ and progress with America on other issues _ by stonewalling on the suspected nuclear site is contrary to the North's long-term interests, he said. ``Nothing could ever be put into that hole in the ground, given our defense partnership here, nothing could ever be put in that hole in the ground that would give the North Koreans as much advantage, as much power, as much wealth, as much happiness, as more of those ships going up there full of people from here,'' Clinton said. To underscore the U.S. military commitment to South Korea, Clinton was scheduled to venture out of the capital on Sunday to visit U.S. Army troops at a training range north of Seoul. He also planned to address American troops at Osan Air Base from a U-2 spy plane hangar.",
"President Clinton made an unusual, direct appeal to North Korea on Saturday to set aside any nuclear ambitions in favor of strengthening ties to South Korea and the United States. The appeal came during a meeting with reporters at which he also counseled patience over Iraq's refusal to comply with a request from weapons inspectors. ``I think it's important that we not overreact here on the first day,'' Clinton said in response to reports that Iraq had balked at a request by U.N. inspectors for documents on its weapons program. But, speaking at a joint appearance with South Korean President Kim Dae Jung, Clinton called the requested documents ``quite important'' and said Iraq had ``some affirmative obligations'' to help weapons inspectors. Aides to Clinton denied that his comments represented any softening toward Iraq. They said that because the situation was still developing and the president was preparing for meetings with Kim he had not been briefed in detail on Iraq's resistance when he appeared before reporters Saturday. National Security Adviser Sandy Berger said the administration was consulting with other members of the U.N. Security Council about the matter. If Iraq fails to meet its obligations under U.N. resolutions, he said, ``We obviously are prepared to act.'' Last weekend, Clinton called off a strike against Iraq minutes before it was to begin, delayed his departure for Asia to monitor the crisis and said that U.S. forces remained poised to strike if Iraq reneged on its agreement to let U.N. weapons inspectors do their work. In his appearance with Kim, the president addressed a handful of questions that ranged from North Korea to Indonesia to whether the Congress should punish him over the Lewinsky scandal. Before leaving Washington for this five-day trip to Japan, Korea and Guam, he drew a parallel between the governments of Iraq and North Korea, saying, ``We must be no less concerned by North Korea's weapons activities.'' The Clinton administration is urgently seeking to inspect a vast construction site in North Korea that it believes may be the beginnings of a nuclear weapons plant. Saturday, Clinton called that site, together with North Korea's test firing in August of a missile over Japan, ``cause for deep concern.'' But the Clinton administration is trying a very different approach toward North Korea than toward Iraq, partly at the urging of Kim, who is pursuing a ``sunshine policy'' of engagement with the North. As Clinton and Kim delivered prepared statements and answered questions Saturday, Clinton became most animated in describing what he called ``a very beautiful picture'' that he happened to spot after turning on his hotel television on arriving in Seoul on Friday night: film of a cruise ship recently permitted to carry South Koreans on a tour into the North. ``I ask the North Koreans to think about this,'' he said, arguing that Kim's policy of engagement with the North presented them with a great opportunity. ``Nothing could ever be put in that hole in the ground that would give the North Koreans as much advantage, as much power, as much wealth,",
"as much happiness as more of those ships going up there full of people from here.'' The Clinton administration fears that the construction site may be evidence that North Korea has abandoned a 1994 pledge to the United States to give up its nuclear weapons program in exchange for billions of dollars in aid. The North Koreans have denied that the complex is intended to help build nuclear weapons. But they have demanded that the United States pay $300 million to inspect it, a request rejected this week by a U.S. delegation to Pyongyang, the North Korean capital. The new complex is being built on a mountainside about 25 miles northeast of Yongbyon, the former North Korean nuclear research center. Kim continued Saturday to emphasize his hopes for a new opening toward North Korea. But he said, ``We will not tolerate any possible attempt of North Korea to proliferate nuclear weapons, missiles and other weapons of mass destruction.'' The Clinton administration plans to resume negotiating with North Korea over inspecting the site in December. In addition to strategies for easing the Asian financial crisis, Clinton discussed North Korea during a visit to Tokyo on Thursday and Friday. The subject of North Korea consumed most of his two hours of meetings with Kim here Saturday at the Blue House, which contains the Korean president's office and home. The administration has been criticized in Congress and in this region for letting its policy on North Korea drift, but Clinton called that policy a ``clear-eyed mix'' of diplomacy and deterrence. He said that so far the 1994 agreement had worked, because without it ``North Korea already would have produced a sizable amount of weapons-grade plutonium.'' Under pressure from congressional critics, Clinton last week appointed William Perry, his former defense secretary, to review his policy on North Korea. On other matters, Clinton declined to criticize the government of Indonesia for using force to crack down on protesters there, saying that he did not ``have enough facts at this moment to give you the right answer.'' But he said he hoped there would be ``no backsliding'' in Indonesia. Clinton followed his appearance with Kim with a visit to the National Folk Museum here, where he conducted an hourlong conversation with six Korean academics, businessmen and union leaders about the troubled state of Korea's economy and its impact on the society. He attended a state dinner Saturday night, before stopping by a concert where his brother, Roger, a musician, happened to be performing. Clinton repeatedly congratulated Kim for his efforts at economic reform, noting that interest rates had fallen here and the currency had stabilized. But he also pressed Kim during their private meetings to restructure the five huge conglomerates, or chaebols, that account for some 40 percent of the Korean economy. In describing the leaders' conversation, Berger called restructuring the chaebols ``perhaps the most serious remaining problem in the South Korean economy.'' Clinton said during the economic forum Saturday afternoon that he felt impatient about South Korea's failure to act on the chaebols. It may be necessary",
"to proceed slowly with the restructuring, he said, ``but they should begin.'' On Sunday, Clinton plans to visit some of the 37,000 American troops stationed here.",
"North Korea has agreed to receive a U.S. delegation next month to discuss American concerns about the construction of a vast underground complex that is widely feared to house a nuclear weapons program, the State Department said on Wednesday. The delegation, led by Charles Kartman, will press for access to the site, which American intelligence agencies believe could be the centerpiece of an effort to revive a frozen nuclear arms program. ``We've made clear to the North Koreans that any attempt by North Korea to pursue a nuclear weapons development program would be unacceptable,'' the State Department spokesman, James Rubin, said. The talks in Pyongyang, the capital, he added, ``are aimed at completely satisfying U.S. concerns about the suspect construction.'' American intelligence agencies fear that building the complex could be an effort to break out of a four-year-old pact in which North Korea pledged to give up its nuclear-weapons program in exchange for billions of dollars in aid from the United States, South Korea and Japan. American officials have said spy satellites have recently photographed thousands of North Koreans around the huge site 25 miles northeast of Yongbyon, the nuclear center where North Korea was believed to have stockpiled enough plutonium before the 1994 accords to build six or more bombs. Although they have not explained exactly why the government is building the complex, North Korean officials have denied that it would be used to develop nuclear weapons. The official North Korean press agency said last week that the government was building ``civilian underground structures on which any `doubt' cannot be cast'' and suggested that American officials would be allowed to inspect the complex if they pressed for access. ``If the U.S. side persists in inspecting our underground structures,'' the press agency said, ``we can show it to them.'' Rubin said the United States had received no formal assurances that Kartman, the American special envoy for Korean nuclear issues, and his delegation would be allowed to inspect the site on the trip, which is to begin on Nov. 16. ``We are beginning a discussion with them in which we will demand access,'' Rubin said. ``The history of the U.S.-North Korea discussions involves usually a lengthy discussion process before there is agreement to our requirements. So we are not expecting to walk in one day and be able to have access the next.'' The trip was announced as signs grow about a relative warming of relations between the United States and North Korea. Representatives of the United States, China and the two Koreas met recently in Geneva and agreed to steps to reduce tension on the Korean Peninsula. In September the United States pledged to provide an additional 300,000 tons of grain to North Korea, which has for years been crippled by severe food shortages. In addition the White House disclosed that the United States would provide more heavy fuel oil promised to North Korea under the 1994 agreement, despite concerns that North Korea may intend to revive its nuclear program. American officials have said the activity near Yongbyon may not yet have technically violated the accord, because there is no evidence that North Korea has begun pouring cement for a new reactor or a reprocessing plant to convert nuclear waste to bomb-grade plutonium."
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"North Korean news media on Thursday said the communist nation's military is on full alert for war with the United States if a dispute over nuclear inspections comes to blows. The North's official Korean Central News Agency reported that North Korean soldiers and people of all walks of life were ``on full alert for war.'' North Korea typically sends out belligerent rhetoric, especially when it enters high-stake talks with Washington. The United States and North Korea are set to resume talks Friday about inspections of an underground North Korean site suspected of being used to produce nuclear weapons. KCNA broadcasts brimmed with anti-American saber-rattling. ``Our People's Army will blow up the U.S. territory as a whole'' if the United States starts a war on the divided Korean Peninsula, Vice Defense Minister Jong Chang Ryol was quoted as saying Thursday. The general staff of the North Korean military accused Washington on Wednesday of pushing the situation in Korea to the ``brink of war'' by demanding inspections and talks aimed at preventing Pyongyang from developing nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. ``Under the prevailing touch-and-go situation, the Korean People's Army is now bracing itself for a fight against the U.S. imperialist aggressors,'' KCNA quoted Jong as saying. The agency also quoted various party officials, plant managers, even museum curators as pledging a ``thousandfold revenge'' or vowing to arm themselves with the ``spirit of human bombs and of suicidal attack.'' Washington demands unconditional inspections of the North's underground project. But North Korea asked Washington to pay dlrs 300 million for the right to inspect the site. Concerns that North Korea was developing long-range missiles capable of striking all of Japan and parts of the United States escalated when North Korea fired a rocket on Aug. 31. Believed to be a test of its Taepo Dong missile, the rocket flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean. The North's 1.1 million-strong military is the world's fifth largest. It forms the backbone of the North Korean government, with leader Kim Jong Il ruling the country as the head of the military.",
"A congressman who visited remote parts of North Korea last week said Saturday that the food and health situation there was desperate and deteriorating, and that millions of North Koreans might have starved to death in the last few years. The congressman, Tony Hall, D-Ohio, who has had a longtime interest in world hunger, passed through Tokyo on his return to the United States and showed photographs he had taken of North Korean children with patchy hair, protruding bones, open sores and other signs of severe malnutrition. Hall also brought back a bag of what officials called ``substitute food'' being distributed by a government food station: dried leaves and straw, so coarse that even cattle would normally turn away. ``They grind it into powder and make it into noodles,'' Hall said. The noodles have no nutrition and are indigestible, leaving people holding their aching stomachs, he said. North Korea has admitted that it is facing serious economic difficulties, but there have been sharply diverging assessments of how serious these are. Some visitors with the United Nations and other organizations have said that the food situation seems to be a bit better now than a year or two ago. Hall said that the divergence might have arisen because in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, life did seem to be slightly better than during his three previous trips to North Korea. But in rural areas where foreigners are not often allowed to visit, he added, the overall situation is worse than ever. Based on visits to four hospitals, Hall also emphasized that public health care had declined sharply. In one hospital, assistants were holding down a patient while surgeons conducted a stomach operation without electric lights or anesthesia. Ordinary North Koreans are suffering, in part, because their government's hard-line policies have alienated would-be donors and aid agencies. The United Nations has repeatedly appealed for relief aid for North Korea, but the latest appeal has raised less than one-third of the target. In September, Doctors Without Borders announced that it was pulling its staff of 13 from North Korea because it feared that its aid was going to the politically connected rather than to the most needy. North Korea does not release mortality figures or health statistics, but Hall said that the United Nations had gathered and would soon release data indicating that 30 percent of North Korean children under age 2 are acutely malnourished and that 67 percent of all children are physically stunted. Hall said he thought that overall at least 1 million people had died and that the total was probably closer to 3 million. In an indication of the seriousness with which professional demographers view the situation, the U.S. Bureau of the Census recently published estimates suggesting that North Korea's population peaked in 1995 at 21.55 million and has since fallen to 21.23 million this year. That would be a decline of 320,000 over three years, a period when North Korea's population would have been expected to grow by about 925,000 people, based on the population growth rate of the early 1990s. Nicholas Eberstadt, an American specialist on North Korean population figures, says that there simply is not enough hard information for him to estimate the death toll from the famine. But he notes one political tidbit: North Korea's constitution stipulates that there should be one delegate to the country's ``people's assembly'' for every 30,000 citizens. This year's assembly did not expand as previous ones did, but rather had just 687 delegates, the same as the previous assembly held in 1990. While Eberstadt counsels caution, that could mean that North Korea's population, after eight years in which it had been expected to add several million people, is now back to 20.6 million people or fewer. The United States has been supplying grain to North Korea, but strains are growing over a secret underground complex in the North that some experts worry may be the heart of a new nuclear weapons program. The United States warned last week that the ``agreed framework'' that is the basis for its relations with North Korea will be in jeopardy unless the North lets American experts visit the underground complex and resolve their doubts. North Korea has said that it will show off the complex only if Washington promises that if the complex is not a nuclear one, it will pay for ``vilifying us and impairing our prestige.'' Washington refuses to pay, and North Korea is warning that the standoff could lead the agreement to fall apart. ``Their shameless and wicked demand is an open infringement upon our sovereignty and wanton interference in our internal affairs,'' declared North Korea's leading newspaper, Rodong Sinmun.",
"In a green aviator jacket and black cap, President Clinton spent Sunday visiting American troops stationed in South Korea. He promoted a private, sang birthday greetings to a sergeant major and described the threats to his hopes for peaceful engagement with North Korea. ``Lately, signs of danger have intensified,'' Clinton said in an address to airmen here, standing before a gunmetal gray F-16 and A-10 parked nose-to-nose. ``So we must remain vigilant. And thanks to you, we are.'' For all his eagerness to talk about information-age economic dangers like quicksilver currency flows, Clinton has returned again and again during his five-day trip to Japan and South Korea to the old-style regional military threat posed by North Korea. The subject consumed most of his meetings with President Kim Dae-jung of South Korea on Saturday and formed the backdrop for his visits with the troops Sunday. ``It's kind of tense around here,'' said John Kelley, a 26-year-old airman from Wisconsin, describing life on this base. ``You know you're only four minutes away from a missile.'' In his speech, Clinton pointed to recent North Korean missile tests, incursions into the south and a mysterious underground site that may be a nuclear weapons installation as signs of the potential threat. And he compared North Korea to Iraq, saying that North Korea was ``also a major concern'' because of its chemical and biological weapons. Until North Korea ``fully commits itself to a constructive role on this peninsula,'' he said, ``we must remain ready.'' Clinton restated his support for Kim's policy of engagement with North Korea, though, saying that there were ``some hopeful signs'' to justify it. He pointed to talks that began over the summer between the American military command in Korea and the North Korean military to prevent problems along the demilitarized zone between the south and north. Clinton planned to leave South Korea early Monday and return to Washington Monday night, after paying a visit to Guam. On a bright but icy afternoon, Clinton was warmly received here by soldiers in camouflage and black boots, some of whom waited almost three hours, shifting from foot to foot and rubbing their hands. The official crowd estimate was only 3,500, but the turnout seemed even smaller. The base, about 30 miles south of Seoul, is one of two major American airfields in Korea, housing 7,500 airmen. Others who wanted to see the president were bused in from sites that are hours away. Before flying here by helicopter, Clinton attended church on an Army base in Seoul, then visited a firing range just 12 miles from the demilitarized zone. In a brief ceremony there, he promoted Matt Prickett of West Liberty, Ohio, from private first class to specialist. And he led the troops in a round of ``Happy Birthday'' for Sgt. Maj. Charles Thomas of Wilson, N.C., who turned 45 on Sunday. ``It definitely caught me off guard,'' Thomas said.",
"SEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ U.S. President Bill Clinton won South Korea's support Saturday for confronting North Korea over a suspected nuclear site, and he warned the North's communist leaders not to squander a chance to achieve lasting peace on the peninsula. President Kim Dae-jung, appearing with Clinton at a news conference, pledged to ``spare no effort in supporting the U.S. endeavor'' to resolve the nuclear question. He called for full access for U.S. inspectors at a North Korean underground facility and said the North must not develop missiles. On the first of two days in South Korea, Clinton also held a roundtable discussion with business leaders to hear their prescriptions for putting the nation's economy back on track. Economics and security are Clinton's twin themes on a five-day Asia trip that began in Japan. Clinton acknowledged that U.S. intelligence officials are not yet certain that the suspicious underground construction project in North Korea is nuclear related. But he said the North risks closing the door on cooperation if it refuses a U.S. inspection of the site. On the first of two days in South Korea, Clinton also held a roundtable discussion with business leaders to hear their prescriptions for putting the nation's economy back on track. Economics and security are Clinton's twin themes on a five-day Asia trip that began in Japan. Clinton acknowledged that U.S. intelligence officials are not yet certain that the underground construction project in North Korea is nuclear related. But he said the North risks closing the door on cooperation if it refuses a U.S. inspection of the site. ``It raises a strong suspicion,'' Clinton said at a joint news conference with Kim at the Blue House, the presidential mansion overlooking the capital. ``We need access to it.'' The foundation of U.S. efforts to ease North Korea's decades-long hostility toward the South is a 1994 ``agreed framework'' in which the North halted its nuclear weapons program in exchange for a Western commitment to build modern nuclear energy sources there. That deal would be shattered if the suspect site turned out to be a clandestine nuclear project. Kim, who has moved South Korea to a ``sunshine'' policy of engaging North Korea on cultural and economic fronts, was firm in saying his government supports Clinton on the nuclear issue. In meetings this week in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, U.S. officials were rebuffed in their request to see the suspicious site, which American intelligence officials fear could be a secret effort to revive the North's nuclear weapons program. ``We must require full access and ways to ascertain the nature and the purposes of the construction site,'' Kim said. ``If it is, in fact, proven that it is nuclear related, we should demand immediate close down.'' He also said the North must limit its missile development, citing the ``great shock'' in Japan when the North Koreans test-fired a missile its way Aug. 31. U.S. spy satellite photos show thousands of workers digging a massive complex. U.S. special envoy Charles Kartman on Friday retracted an assessment he made Thursday that there was ``compelling evidence'' that North Korea is building an underground nuclear facility. In a statement distributed by the U.S. embassy here today, Kartman said instead, ``There is strong information that makes us suspicious, but we lack conclusive evidence that the intended purpose of the underground site is nuclear related and, if so, what type of nuclear facility it might be.'' Kim said his government would support U.S. efforts to resolve the nuclear question. The North Koreans have denied the underground construction site has any nuclear purpose, and have proposed a dlrs 300 million payment for allowing inspections. Clinton rejected the idea of compensation. Directing his remarks at North Korea, Clinton noted the significance of a new tourism deal that is bringing South Koreans to the North on cruise ships _ an arrangement touted by Kim as a sign the North may be opening up to its 1950s Korean War enemy. ``Nothing could ever be put into that hole in the ground, given our defense partnership here, that would give the North Koreans as much advantage, as much power, as much wealth, as much happiness, as more of those ships going up there full of people from here,'' Clinton said. In his meeting with Korean community and business leaders at Seoul's National Folklore Museum, Clinton praised South Korea's progress in recovering from its financial crisis. On a darker note, he mentioned recent tensions over Asian steel exports to the United States, which have skyrocketed this year at great cost to the domestic U.S. steelmakers. Japanese steel is the biggest problem, but South Korean steel exports also are on the rise. Clinton said the U.S. economy could tolerate increased imports _ if they are not concentrated in just a few industries, and if the result is that the Asian economies begin to recover. ``We have to be sensitive if the price of doing that is to basically erase'' an entire sector of the U.S. economy, Clinton said.",
"A South Korean lawmaker said Friday communist North Korea could be producing plutonium and could have more secret underground nuclear facilities than already feared. Without naming his source, Rep. Kim Deog-ryong of the Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee said he had ``information'' that two underground facilities captured on U.S. spy satellite photos may be nuclear plants. He said in a Parliament session that one of them is believed to already be producing plutonium and the other would be able to produce enough for 10 nuclear bombs starting around 2004. If true, the assertion paints a worse picture of suspected North Korean nuclear activity than already made public. Kim said he asked the government's Unification Ministry about the issue earlier this week and was suspicious of its answer. ``It was not sufficient or sincere, so I came to suspect that the government is trying to hide the truth,'' Kim said in a seven-page press release. U.S. and South Korean officials said in August they had detected a huge underground construction site on a mountainside 40 kilometers (25 miles) northeast of Yongbyon, the country's main nuclear complex. The United States has said it suspects the construction is nuclear-related, though it has no evidence. North Korea has denied it. Kim, a lawmaker from the main opposition Grand National Party, said there may actually be two underground facilities not far from the Yongbyon complex. It was activity at Yongbyon that prompted the United States to negotiate a 1994 accord promising development of two light-water reactors and fuel-oil shipments if North Korea would halt nuclear weapons development. At the time, North Korea was believed to have made enough plutonium for one or two atomic bombs. The Yongbyon complex, which houses a 500-megawatt laboratory nuclear reactor, has been frozen under the 1994 accord. Kim said Friday that one new facility is already operating and the other is under construction and will be operational in four to six years. ``We estimate that the reactor will go on-line in 2002 or 2003, enabling the production of enough plutonium to build one nuclear weapon within six to 12 months,'' Kim said. ``North Korea would be able to make sufficient plutonium to make eight to 10 nuclear weapons every year after that.'' North Korea has said the underground construction is for civilian use and not nuclear-related. It has offered to open the facility to U.S. inspectors, but says Washington must pay compensation if the facility is been proven to be for civilian use.",
"This city has always kept an unwritten list of foreign leaders _ dictators, unfriendly authoritarians and consistently annoying allies _ who it thinks can make an enormous contribution to peace, security or America's agenda by taking early retirement, at a minimum. In the 1950s, the leftist leaders of Iran and Guatamala made the Top 10, in the '60s it was populated by Diem and Sukarno and other Southeast Asians. President Richard M. Nixon and his advisers infamously agreed at a secret meeting in the '70s that the best way to deal with the government of Salvador Allende Gossens in Chile was to ``make the economy scream.'' Diplomatic etiquette, though, has usually discouraged shouting America's enemies list from the White House rooftop. After all, foreign policy isn't about personalities, right? But last week, driven by frustration, or anxiety, or perhaps the lure of sounding tough for cameras, the Clinton administration piped up, twice. In very different situations, in opposite corners of the world, the United States spoke loudly because it can't find a stick. Sunday, hours after he called off an attack on Iraq, Clinton finally volunteered the obvious, that the focus of U.S. policy toward Iraq is the removal of President Saddam Hussein _ what Clinton called supporting the ``forces of change in Iraq.'' No matter that covert efforts to do just that have failed miserably. The bigger surprise came Monday, when polite-to-a-fault Al Gore used his visit to Malaysia for an Asian economic summit meeting to throw U.S. support behind protesters calling for ``reformasi,'' the code word on the streets of Kuala Lumpur for dumping Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed. He has long been a burr in Washington's side, denouncing America, its currency traders and its Jews. He recently imprisoned his Western-thinking finance minister, Anwar Ibrahim, who has suddenly become Asia's most visible jailed dissident. But Mahathir is no Saddam, not by a long shot. Gore's aides insist that his speech was a call for reform, not a demand that Mahathir step down. But it wasn't interpreted that way. The New Zealanders called it ``megaphone diplomacy.'' The Malaysian government called it ``disgusting'' and an ``interference in internal affairs.'' Predictably, executives of several U.S. companies that have flocked to Kuala Lumpur told the Malaysians that Gore was rude, while assuring Washington that he had uttered words that needed to be said. Whatever the wisdom of the Gore's words, they raised the question of what it takes these days for the world's most powerful nation to begin publicly suggesting that it's time for a nettlesome leader to go. Because there is no official list, there are no real criteria for getting on it. Some leaders mysteriously escape mention, like Kim Jong Il of North Korea. President Clinton is spending the weekend on the Korean Peninsula, staring across the demilitarized zone at a dangerous state that everyone suspects is attempting to break out of its 1994 agreement to freeze its nuclear weapons projects, in return for billions in Western energy aid. Yet Washington has never called on the starving North Koreans to revolt against Kim's repressive regime. His government, taking a page out of the Saddam playbook, suggested last week that if the United States really wants to look at a mountain tunnel that the Pentagon believes is a nuclear installation in the making, it should write a check for another $300 million. No one even called for Kim's removal when, a few months ago, he lobbed a three-stage missile over Japan just to show he knew how. ``The rules for calling for the end of a regime are pretty murky,'' said Richard Feinberg, a professor at the University of California at San Diego who served in the Clinton administration's first term. ``When they really want to push someone out, it is because that country is part of a larger strategic concern at the time. But the country itself usually doesn't have great strategic weight'' _ it's another matter to call for a change of leadership in Beijing or Moscow _ ``and it helps if there is some kind of domestic opposition that we can point to.'' Clinton's call for Saddam's ouster last weekend created barely a ripple because, after all, he is a proven murderer and an avid stockpiler of anthrax and plutonium (even if Brent Scowcroft, who was President George Bush's national security adviser, insisted last week that Saddam nowadays is simply ``an irritant, an annoyance, a pest and a problem, but not a threat to the region at the moment''). Mahathir, however, is far more complex case. He's a prime example of how opposing Washington's political and economic agenda for an interconnected world can move a leader from the list of authoritarians whom Washington tolerates to the list of authoritarians who have outlived their usefulness. Like other Asian strongmen _ Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines and Suharto of Indonesia come to mind _ he was useful when the fear was that Malaysia would become a communist domino. But he also seemed eminently tolerable long after the Cold War was over. He has never been accused of enormous corruption. He turned his country into a model of competitiveness, and Malaysia became the exemplar of the ``big emerging markets'' that Clinton's Commerce Department touted until things went sour last year. Sure, he was always prickly. But he is no terrorist or killer _ U.S. companies have flocked to his country, and say they want to stay _ and his iron control over political discourse is no stronger than in neighboring Singapore. Just this summer, U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin paid him an ostensibly friendly, if strained, visit and made no reference to human rights. That all changed when Ibrahim was arrested and beaten in jail. He has long been an advocate of the Western-style solutions to economic turmoil _ more openness, more freedom _ and the protest movement against Mahathir only surfaced once he was in jail. Gore leapt on that opportunity _ particularly striking because, in the case of Indonesia earlier this year, it took the administration months to come to the conclusion that President Suharto had to go. He went.",
"North Korea has demanded that the United States pay hundreds of millions of dollars for the right to inspect a huge underground center that U.S. intelligence analysts fear houses a nuclear-weapons program, Clinton administration officials said Wednesday. The United States rejected the request during meetings this week in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, between North Korean officials and a U.S. government delegation. ``As we expected, the North Koreans brought up the issue of compensation, and we flatly rejected it,'' said State Department Spokesman James Rubin. Asked how much money the North Koreans had demanded, Rubin said payment of the fee was ``so not on as a possibility that I don't care to get into the figures.'' Other administration officials said the fee would have been hundreds of millions of dollars; one put it at $300 million. The North Koreans have denied that the complex, which is being built on a mountainside about 25 miles northeast of Yongbyon, the former North Korean nuclear research center, is intended to be used for a nuclear weapons program. They have repeatedly said U.S. inspectors could visit the site as long as Washington agreed to pay a large fee in compensation for what the North Koreans describe as the administration's slander. The North Korean representative at the United Nations, Kim Chang Guk, said last week that the United States could inspect the site ``on condition that when it is confirmed not to be a nuclear facility, the United States should pay compensation for slandering and defaming my country.'' U.S. intelligence agencies fear that by building the complex, North Korea may have decided to abandon a four-year-old agreement with the United States in which North Korea pledged to give up its nuclear weapons program in exchange for billions of dollars in aid. The U.S. delegation, led by Charles Kartman, President Clinton's special envoy on North Korean issues, left Pyongyang on Wednesday after 12 hours of negotiations over three days with a team from the North Korean Foreign Ministry. The talks ended as Clinton began a trip to Asia that will include a visit to South Korea, where the issue of the North Korean construction site is expected to be among the major topics discussed with President Kim Dae-jung. Rubin said the U.S. delegation to North Korea had pressed for access to the site. ``We told them that access to the site is essential,'' he said. ``We've expected that this would be difficult, and we told the North Koreans, as we've said before, that verbal assurances, as they are wont to give, are simply unacceptable.'' U.S. officials have said the construction of the underground site may not yet have technically violated the accord, because there is no evidence that North Korea has begun pouring cement for a new reactor or a reprocessing plant to convert nuclear waste to bomb-grade plutonium. But if the United States determines that North Korea has revived its nuclear program, Rubin said, ``it would go against the entire letter and spirit of the objectives of the agreement, and it would affect the viability of the agreement.'' The administration has expressed growing concern over North Korea's intentions after several provocative acts, including the underground construction near Yongbyon and the test firing last August of a missile over Japan. Last week Clinton named former Defense Secretary William Perry to review U.S. policy toward North Korea. Administration officials say Perry is being asked to study ways to salvage the 1994 nuclear agreement with North Korea, which had been among the administration's proudest achievements in foreign policy.",
"SEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ U.S. President Bill Clinton won South Korea's support Saturday for confronting North Korea over a suspected nuclear site, and he warned the North's communist leaders not to squander an historic chance to make a lasting peace on the peninsula. President Kim Dae-jung, appearing with Clinton at a news conference, pledged that his government would ``spare no effort in supporting the U.S. endeavor'' to resolve the nuclear question. He called for full access for U.S. inspectors at a North Korean underground facility and said the North must constrain its development and exports of missiles. On the first of two days in South Korea, Clinton also held a roundtable discussion with business leaders to hear their prescriptions for putting the nation's economy back on track. Economics and security are Clinton's twin themes on a five-day Asia trip that began in Japan. Clinton acknowledged that U.S. intelligence officials are not yet certain that the suspicious underground construction project in North Korea is nuclear related. But he said the North risks closing the door on cooperation if it refuses a U.S. inspection of the site. ``It raises a strong suspicion,'' Clinton said at a joint news conference with Kim at the Blue House, the presidential mansion overlooking the capital. ``We need access to it.'' The foundation of U.S. efforts to ease North Korea's decades-long hostility toward the South is a 1994 ``agreed framework'' in which the North halted its nuclear weapons program in exchange for a Western commitment to build modern nuclear energy sources there. That deal would be shattered if the suspect site turned out to be a clandestine nuclear project. And that, in turn, would jeopardize preliminary North-South peace talks that could produce a treaty to replace the shaky armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953. Kim, who has moved South Korea to a ``sunshine'' policy of engaging North Korea on cultural and economic fronts, firmly said his government supports Clinton on the nuclear issue. ``We must require full access and ways to ascertain the nature and the purposes of the construction site,'' Kim said. ``If it is, in fact, proven that it is nuclear related, we should demand immediate close down.'' He also said the North must limit its missile development, citing the ``great shock'' in Japan when the North Koreans test-fired a missile its way Aug. 31. In a dinner toast, Kim said that despite tensions, ``North Korea is cautiously but noticeably taking measures to increase interaction and cooperation between the South and the North.'' And Clinton saluted Seoul's battle against Asia's economic woes. ``I believe Asia will emerge from this present crisis more prosperous, more stable, more democratic _ thanks in no small measure to Korea's example.'' After the state dinner, Clinton made a surprise late-night stop at a concert at the Sejong Culture Center where his younger brother, Roger, and his band were performing. The president listened to songs off stage before his brother introduced the president as ``a very special person.'' The audience of 2,000 people stood and applauded. In meetings this week in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, U.S. officials were rebuffed in their request to see the suspicious underground site, which American intelligence officials fear could be a secret effort to revive the North's nuclear weapons program. U.S. spy satellite photos show thousands of workers digging a massive complex. U.S. special envoy Charles Kartman said Thursday after the Pyongyang talks that there was ``compelling evidence'' of an underground nuclear facility. But in a statement distributed by the U.S. Embassy here Saturday, Kartman backtracked, saying instead that the United States lacks ``conclusive evidence'' the site is a nuclear facility. ``There is strong information that makes us suspicious, but we lack conclusive evidence that the intended purpose of the underground site is nuclear related and, if so, what type of nuclear facility it might be,'' Kartman said, offering a ``clarification'' of his earlier remarks. Kim said his government would ``spare no effort in supporting the U.S. endeavor'' to resolve the nuclear question. The North Koreans have denied the underground construction site has any nuclear purpose, and it has demanded a dlrs 300 million payment for proving that. In remarks in Tokyo on Friday, Clinton rejected the idea of compensation. Directing his remarks at North Korea, Clinton noted the significance of a new tourism deal that is bringing South Koreans to the North on cruise ships _ an arrangement touted by Kim as a sign the North may be opening up to its 1950s Korean War enemy. To risk that kind of cooperation _ and progress with America on other issues _ by stonewalling on the suspected nuclear site is contrary to the North's long-term interests, he said. ``Nothing could ever be put into that hole in the ground, given our defense partnership here, nothing could ever be put in that hole in the ground that would give the North Koreans as much advantage, as much power, as much wealth, as much happiness, as more of those ships going up there full of people from here,'' Clinton said. To underscore the U.S. military commitment to South Korea, Clinton was scheduled to venture out of the capital on Sunday to visit U.S. Army troops at a training range north of Seoul. He also planned to address American troops at Osan Air Base from a U-2 spy plane hangar.",
"President Clinton made an unusual, direct appeal to North Korea on Saturday to set aside any nuclear ambitions in favor of strengthening ties to South Korea and the United States. The appeal came during a meeting with reporters at which he also counseled patience over Iraq's refusal to comply with a request from weapons inspectors. ``I think it's important that we not overreact here on the first day,'' Clinton said in response to reports that Iraq had balked at a request by U.N. inspectors for documents on its weapons program. But, speaking at a joint appearance with South Korean President Kim Dae Jung, Clinton called the requested documents ``quite important'' and said Iraq had ``some affirmative obligations'' to help weapons inspectors. Aides to Clinton denied that his comments represented any softening toward Iraq. They said that because the situation was still developing and the president was preparing for meetings with Kim he had not been briefed in detail on Iraq's resistance when he appeared before reporters Saturday. National Security Adviser Sandy Berger said the administration was consulting with other members of the U.N. Security Council about the matter. If Iraq fails to meet its obligations under U.N. resolutions, he said, ``We obviously are prepared to act.'' Last weekend, Clinton called off a strike against Iraq minutes before it was to begin, delayed his departure for Asia to monitor the crisis and said that U.S. forces remained poised to strike if Iraq reneged on its agreement to let U.N. weapons inspectors do their work. In his appearance with Kim, the president addressed a handful of questions that ranged from North Korea to Indonesia to whether the Congress should punish him over the Lewinsky scandal. Before leaving Washington for this five-day trip to Japan, Korea and Guam, he drew a parallel between the governments of Iraq and North Korea, saying, ``We must be no less concerned by North Korea's weapons activities.'' The Clinton administration is urgently seeking to inspect a vast construction site in North Korea that it believes may be the beginnings of a nuclear weapons plant. Saturday, Clinton called that site, together with North Korea's test firing in August of a missile over Japan, ``cause for deep concern.'' But the Clinton administration is trying a very different approach toward North Korea than toward Iraq, partly at the urging of Kim, who is pursuing a ``sunshine policy'' of engagement with the North. As Clinton and Kim delivered prepared statements and answered questions Saturday, Clinton became most animated in describing what he called ``a very beautiful picture'' that he happened to spot after turning on his hotel television on arriving in Seoul on Friday night: film of a cruise ship recently permitted to carry South Koreans on a tour into the North. ``I ask the North Koreans to think about this,'' he said, arguing that Kim's policy of engagement with the North presented them with a great opportunity. ``Nothing could ever be put in that hole in the ground that would give the North Koreans as much advantage, as much power, as much wealth, as much happiness as more of those ships going up there full of people from here.'' The Clinton administration fears that the construction site may be evidence that North Korea has abandoned a 1994 pledge to the United States to give up its nuclear weapons program in exchange for billions of dollars in aid. The North Koreans have denied that the complex is intended to help build nuclear weapons. But they have demanded that the United States pay $300 million to inspect it, a request rejected this week by a U.S. delegation to Pyongyang, the North Korean capital. The new complex is being built on a mountainside about 25 miles northeast of Yongbyon, the former North Korean nuclear research center. Kim continued Saturday to emphasize his hopes for a new opening toward North Korea. But he said, ``We will not tolerate any possible attempt of North Korea to proliferate nuclear weapons, missiles and other weapons of mass destruction.'' The Clinton administration plans to resume negotiating with North Korea over inspecting the site in December. In addition to strategies for easing the Asian financial crisis, Clinton discussed North Korea during a visit to Tokyo on Thursday and Friday. The subject of North Korea consumed most of his two hours of meetings with Kim here Saturday at the Blue House, which contains the Korean president's office and home. The administration has been criticized in Congress and in this region for letting its policy on North Korea drift, but Clinton called that policy a ``clear-eyed mix'' of diplomacy and deterrence. He said that so far the 1994 agreement had worked, because without it ``North Korea already would have produced a sizable amount of weapons-grade plutonium.'' Under pressure from congressional critics, Clinton last week appointed William Perry, his former defense secretary, to review his policy on North Korea. On other matters, Clinton declined to criticize the government of Indonesia for using force to crack down on protesters there, saying that he did not ``have enough facts at this moment to give you the right answer.'' But he said he hoped there would be ``no backsliding'' in Indonesia. Clinton followed his appearance with Kim with a visit to the National Folk Museum here, where he conducted an hourlong conversation with six Korean academics, businessmen and union leaders about the troubled state of Korea's economy and its impact on the society. He attended a state dinner Saturday night, before stopping by a concert where his brother, Roger, a musician, happened to be performing. Clinton repeatedly congratulated Kim for his efforts at economic reform, noting that interest rates had fallen here and the currency had stabilized. But he also pressed Kim during their private meetings to restructure the five huge conglomerates, or chaebols, that account for some 40 percent of the Korean economy. In describing the leaders' conversation, Berger called restructuring the chaebols ``perhaps the most serious remaining problem in the South Korean economy.'' Clinton said during the economic forum Saturday afternoon that he felt impatient about South Korea's failure to act on the chaebols. It may be necessary to proceed slowly with the restructuring, he said, ``but they should begin.'' On Sunday, Clinton plans to visit some of the 37,000 American troops stationed here.",
"North Korea has agreed to receive a U.S. delegation next month to discuss American concerns about the construction of a vast underground complex that is widely feared to house a nuclear weapons program, the State Department said on Wednesday. The delegation, led by Charles Kartman, will press for access to the site, which American intelligence agencies believe could be the centerpiece of an effort to revive a frozen nuclear arms program. ``We've made clear to the North Koreans that any attempt by North Korea to pursue a nuclear weapons development program would be unacceptable,'' the State Department spokesman, James Rubin, said. The talks in Pyongyang, the capital, he added, ``are aimed at completely satisfying U.S. concerns about the suspect construction.'' American intelligence agencies fear that building the complex could be an effort to break out of a four-year-old pact in which North Korea pledged to give up its nuclear-weapons program in exchange for billions of dollars in aid from the United States, South Korea and Japan. American officials have said spy satellites have recently photographed thousands of North Koreans around the huge site 25 miles northeast of Yongbyon, the nuclear center where North Korea was believed to have stockpiled enough plutonium before the 1994 accords to build six or more bombs. Although they have not explained exactly why the government is building the complex, North Korean officials have denied that it would be used to develop nuclear weapons. The official North Korean press agency said last week that the government was building ``civilian underground structures on which any `doubt' cannot be cast'' and suggested that American officials would be allowed to inspect the complex if they pressed for access. ``If the U.S. side persists in inspecting our underground structures,'' the press agency said, ``we can show it to them.'' Rubin said the United States had received no formal assurances that Kartman, the American special envoy for Korean nuclear issues, and his delegation would be allowed to inspect the site on the trip, which is to begin on Nov. 16. ``We are beginning a discussion with them in which we will demand access,'' Rubin said. ``The history of the U.S.-North Korea discussions involves usually a lengthy discussion process before there is agreement to our requirements. So we are not expecting to walk in one day and be able to have access the next.'' The trip was announced as signs grow about a relative warming of relations between the United States and North Korea. Representatives of the United States, China and the two Koreas met recently in Geneva and agreed to steps to reduce tension on the Korean Peninsula. In September the United States pledged to provide an additional 300,000 tons of grain to North Korea, which has for years been crippled by severe food shortages. In addition the White House disclosed that the United States would provide more heavy fuel oil promised to North Korea under the 1994 agreement, despite concerns that North Korea may intend to revive its nuclear program. American officials have said the activity near Yongbyon may not yet have technically violated the accord, because there is no evidence that North Korea has begun pouring cement for a new reactor or a reprocessing plant to convert nuclear waste to bomb-grade plutonium."
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Italy's Communist Refounding Party rejected Prime Minister Prodi's proposed 1999 budget. Loss of the party's support put his 2.5-year coalition at risk. The proposed budget was needed to meet terms for the Jan. 1 switch to the euro currency. Prodi met with President Scalfaro and Parliament, trying to save his government. The break with Prodi divided the Refounding party. Prodi lost a confidence vote and was toppled from power. He will stay as caretaker until a new government is formed. Scalfaro must decide whether to hold new elections or to ask Prodi or someone else to forge a new majority. He is talking with political leaders, trying to reach a consensus. Communist Refounding Party vote against proposed deficit-cutting 1999 budget in Italy's Parliament could destabilize the government. The defection imperils the future of the center-left coalition led by Premier Prodi. His 2-1/2-year-old alliance was the longest serving of 55 governments in Italy since WWII. Prodi. who appealed to Parliament to save the government with a confidence vote, lost the vote and fell from power. The break with Prodi's party also divided Refounding. Prodi stays as caretaker premier while President Scalfaro decides either to hold new elections or to force Prodi or someone else to form a new coalition out of the 40 parties in Italy. Italy's Communist Refoundation Party rejected PM Prodi's deficit-cutting budget for insufficient job stimulation. Italy needed to reduce its deficit to participate in the euro, a unifying desire that largely held together Prodi's 2.5-year gov't, the 55th since WWII. The rejection divided communists, whose 34 votes Prodi's coalition needed for a majority. A confidence vote lost by 1 vote, from a member of Prodi's own party. Italy's political instability clouded decisions on NATO's use of Italian air bases in strikes on Kosovo. Prodi resigned but Italy's president asked him to stay as caretaker until either early elections were called or he named a new PM. Despite support from a breakaway faction of the far-left Communist Refounding Party, Italy's Prime Minister Romano Prodi lost a vote of confidence in Parliament, 313 - 312. The crisis was triggered when the Refounding Party rejected the government's 1999 budget. A respected economist with a fragile center-left coalition, Prodi was in office for 30 months, instituting fiscal reforms that qualified Italy for membership in the euro plan. Prodi was asked to remain as caretaker prime minister; however, as such, he will have difficulty passing the budget (necessary before joining the euro on 1 Jan.) or getting approval for actions related to the Kosovo crisis.
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"By one vote, Premier Romano Prodi's center-left coalition lost a confidence vote in the Chamber of Deputies Friday, and he went to the presidential palace to resign. President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro must now decide whether to call early elections or to ask Prodi or someone else to try to forge a new majority. The vote in the lower chamber of Parliament 313 against the confidence motion brought by the government to 312 in favor. ``I'm not bitter,'' Prodi said immediately after his government went down. The swing vote came from Prodi's own coalition, a defecting deputy from Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini's tiny Italian Renewal party. The Communist, 6th graf prv",
"By one vote, a defector from its own ranks, Premier Romano Prodi's center-left coalition, Italy's second-longest serving government since World War II, lost a confidence vote Friday in the Chamber of Deputies. Prodi immediately offered his resignation to President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, who asked him to stay on as caretaker premier while the head of state decides whether to call early elections or ask someone else to be premier. The vote, 3rd graf prv",
"By only one vote, the center-left prime minister of Italy, Romano Prodi, lost a confidence vote in Parliament Friday and was toppled from power. The collapse of his government after two and a half years, the second-longest tenure since World War II, suggested that the chronic political instability that marked Italy for decades had sprung back to life. Though obliged to tender his resignation, Prodi will remain in charge as a caretaker prime minister until a new government is formed. He may get a second chance to form a new majority, but even if he does, negotiations to that end could take days and even weeks, clouding decisions on such urgent issues as the crisis in Kosovo. NATO military planners preparing for possible air strikes against Yugoslavia had expected to use key air bases in Italy. In his weakened position, Prodi will have difficulty persuading Parliament to approve NATO strikes. He will have similar problems passing the 1999 budget, which is necessary before Italy can cut its lending rates, a requirement for joining the single European monetary unit, the euro, on Jan. 1. Immediately after Friday's vote of 313-312, in a tense and at times raucous session, Prodi met with President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro to submit his resignation and discuss his options. In the coming days Scalfaro will consult with dozens of other leaders to ascertain whether Prodi has enough lingering support to try to form a new government. If not, the president is expected to turn to another political leader. If no compromise is found, Italy could be plunged into early elections. But parties of all political stripes may be reluctant to push things that far, for opinion polls suggest that voters are no more enamored of the center-right opposition parties than they are of the governing majority. Prodi, an economist, is admired by his Western allies as a down-to-earth leader who vowed to tame Italy's bloated economy and reckless government borrowing and actually lived up to his pledge. By raising taxes, lowering interest rates and reducing the deficit, Italy met the requirements for membership in the euro last spring, a feat that only a year before was considered impossible by German and French economists. Prodi was helped by a healthy global economy and a rare consensus among industrialists, labor unions and taxpayers, who feared that exclusion from the euro would condemn Italy to Third World status. But his fiscal discipline was not followed by reform of a political system that is inherently fragile. There are more than 40 parties in Italy, and the government's efforts to amend the constitution to introduce a two-party system failed. ``Unless the Italian political system changes, Italy is condemned to political instability,'' said Sergio Romano, a former diplomat and political science professor. ``The country needs stability and credibility, and that will never happen as long as the government is hanging from a thread.'' In 1996 Prodi won with a patchwork quilt of center-left factions mostly made up of Catholic moderates and leftists. He relied on a fringe Marxist group, the Communist Refounding Party, for a majority in the lower house. And that alliance, fragile from the beginning, finally frayed to the breaking point this week. The hard-line leader of Communist Refounding, Fausto Bertinotti, said his party would vote against the 1999 budget and would also end its 28-month-old pact with the center-left coalition. That position drove the moderate wing of Communist Refounding, worried that a vote against Prodi would open the doors to a center-right government, to split away. But the 20-odd deputies who defied Bertinotti were not enough to squeeze Prodi through. ``I am not bitter,'' Prodi said moments after his defeat. ``Even today I received a lot of support.'' In the end the coup de grace was delivered by one of his own, a member of the coalition. ``They have won by the treachery of one single person,'' Sergio Mattarella, a deputy in Prodi's coalition, angrily told reporters, referring to Silvio Liotta, a member of the Italian Renewal Party. Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini, who heads that party, said Liotta would be expelled. Prodi has often said he would not govern with any other majority than the center-left one that elected him in 1996. But throughout his tenure, he was forced to seek temporary alliances to push through major policy decisions. He struggled to the last to try to keep his original majority intact. On Thursday, in an effort to woo more moderate Communists to his side, the prime minister, a staunch ally of the United States, warned that he would oppose a NATO strike aimed at stopping Serbian violence in Kosovo unless the U.N. Security Council approved the attack. Washington maintains that NATO does not need a new U.N. resolution to order a strike.",
"Premier Romano Prodi said Monday he would appeal directly to Parliament to save Italy's second-longest government since World War II, threatened with collapse by the defection of its Communist ally. The address to Parliament was expected Wednesday, followed perhaps by Friday by the vote of confidence that will determine whether Prodi's 2 1/2-year-old, center-left alliance stands or falls. Prodi's far-left ally, the Communist Refoundation Party, provoked the crisis by withdrawing its support over the weekend and saying it would not vote for his deficit-cutting 1999 budget, which is key to Italy's participation in the European common currency. Prodi has said he would call a confidence vote if he lost the Communists' support. ``I've always acted with coherence,'' Prodi said before a morning meeting with President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro on the crisis. ``I've never changed strategy and I don't want to do political gymnastics.'' The break with Prodi's government divided Refoundation. Armando Cossutta, leader of the moderate wing, resigned as party president Monday. He said the party's desertion of Prodi was ``wrong and dangerous,'' but at the same time promised to follow the party line. ``We are in a very complicated political crisis which could lead to early elections,'' Cossutta told reporters Monday. ``And with the divisions in the left, this would mean a victory for the right.'' If the crisis comes to a confidence vote and Prodi loses, he would offer his resignation. Once he does that, it is up to Scalfaro to decide what to do. He could ask Prodi or someone else to form a new government or he could call elections 2 1/2 years early, something most analysts think unlikely. Working in Prodi's favor is the fact that few parties think they would stand to gain by early elections, including the Communist Refoundation. There was speculation Prodi would reopen negotiations that would win back the communists' grudging support, as he has managed to do in the past. Prodi's government has held together this long in large part because of the widely shared desire to see Italy qualify for participation in the 1999 debut of Europe's common currency, the euro. That happened earlier this year _ leaving the disparate allies without so clear a reason to stay together. Prodi leads Italy's 55th government since World War II. He has outlasted all but Bettino Craxi, who served 3{ years in two back-to-back stints from 1983 to 1987. Refoundation is not part of Prodi's center-left coalition, but the government needs its 34 votes to muster a majority in the lower house. It has been a difficult ally from the outset. It broke with Prodi over NATO expansion earlier this year and on sending troops into Albania last year. Prodi was even forced to resign a year ago after a bitter battle over spending cuts linked to the euro. The crisis was resolved, and Prodi returned to work, after he made steep concessions and promised a 35-hour work week.",
"Italy's Communists on Sunday voted to withdraw support for Premier Romano Prodi's 2 1-2-year-old coalition, a move expected to trigger the collapse of one of the country's longest-lived postwar governments. Prodi had said he would call a confidence vote if the Communists yanked support. The coalition has a majority without the Communists in the Senate, but has depended on them for passage of key legislation in the Chamber. MORE",
"It is autumn in Italy, the birds are going south, and so it seems could the Italian government, as the bonds of compromise and political opportunism that bind a small leftist party to the government came undone Sunday. The latest threat to the government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi came after delegates to a two-day conference of the Communist Refounding Party voted to reject the government's proposed 1999 budget, imperiling the future of the center-left coalition. Officials in the prime minister's office said Sunday night that Prodi would meet on Monday with President Oskar Luigi Scalfaro to discuss the political turbulence, though not to offer his resignation. If the Communist Refounding's parliamentary deputies abide by the resolution, which passed by a vote of 188-112, it will destabilize Italy's government at a time when the outcome of the recent election in Germany has already injected a note of uncertainty into the future of European economic and fiscal policy. Mauro Zani, a spokesman for the Democratic Party of the Left, the main party in Prodi's coalition, called the decision by Communist Refounding a ``misfortune for the entire country.'' Passage of the budget, he said, is essential ``to avoid disaster.'' Prodi's coalition is a loose alliance of the former Communists, known as the Democratic Party of the Left, and Prodi's moderate Catholic-oriented followers. It is supported by Communist Refounding, a fringe group of hard-line leftists who broke with the mainstream Communists after they overhauled the party following the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe. Despite frequent shocks, the alliance has held since 1996, glued together mainly by the desire to meet the fiscal requirements to allow Italy to adopt the single European currency. As the Jan. 1 date approaches for the introduction of the new money, the euro, Italy must cut its key lending rates to bring them in line with those of bigger European neighbors, like Germany. A rate cut by the Italian central bank is generally thought to hinge on passage of the budget bill. If the bill is not passed, negative signals would be sent to global financial markets that are already upset because of the financial crises in Asia, Russia and Latin America. On Sunday, Prodi's backers were still hoping that a sufficient number of Communist Refounding deputies would break ranks and back the budget when it comes up for a vote in Parliament later this week. If that fails, a centrist group that rescued Prodi in June under similar circumstances and that is led by former President Francesco Cossiga announced it would support the budget, thus at least assuring parliamentary passage. Communist Refounding and its mercurial leader, Fausto Bertinotti, have pushed Prodi to the brink twice before. The party forced him to offer his resignation last year over proposed budget cuts, but then backpeddled after the party's rank and file protested. In June, the hard-line leftists again refused to follow the prime minister, that time in a Parliament vote for NATO expansion, but the government muddled through with the help of Cossiga's party. But one of the leaders of that centrist group, Clemente Mastella, said Sunday that it would not support the government generally, leaving the future of Prodi's coalition highly uncertain.",
"Three days after the collapse of Premier Romano Prodi's center-left government, Italy's president began calling in political leaders Monday to try to reach a consensus on a new government. Following the talks, which are expected to last several days, President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro could ask Prodi to try again with a new majority. He could also name a new premier, or appoint a government of technocrats. If Scalfaro feels no candidate is capable of mustering a majority, he could call early elections. Because the president cannot dissolve Parliament during the last six weeks of his term, elections would have to be scheduled by December. Scalfaro has named Prodi as caretaker premier for the interim. Prodi's far-left ally, Communist Refoundation, provoked the crisis when it withdrew support for the government over the 1999 deficit-cutting budget, which it said did not do enough to stimulate job creation. Despite help from a breakaway faction of the Communists, who on Sunday formed a new party, Prodi lost Friday's vote of confidence by a single vote. Prodi has said he won't take the job back unless his new government could stick to the policies of its old one, an unlikely scenario given the divided Parliament. An alternative to Prodi could be Massimo D'Alema, leader of the Democrats of the Left, the largest party in Prodi's coalition. In the case of a so-called ``technical'' government, the names of Treasury Minister Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini have been circulated. A government of technicians would get Italy through the volatile period of approving the 1999 budget and the launch of the common European currency, the euro, in January 1999. Prodi presided over cost cuts that got Italy into the debut of the European Monetary Union, outlasting all but one other post-World War II Italian government in the process.",
"Premier Romano Prodi battled Tuesday for any votes freed up from a split in a far-left party, but said he will resign if he loses a confidence vote expected later this week. ``We must respect the will of the voters. If we win the confidence vote, we will go ahead, otherwise we will pass the baton,'' Prodi told a news conference closing a two-day French-Italian summit in Florence. Prodi's center-left government, Italy's second-longest since World War II, was threatened with collapse by the defection of its Communist ally. The premier will address Parliament Wednesday, followed perhaps by Friday by the vote of confidence that will determine whether the 2 1/2-year-old, center-left alliance stands or falls. The Communist Refoundation Party provoked the crisis by withdrawing its support over the weekend and saying it would not vote for his deficit-cutting 1999 budget. But the break with Prodi's government divided Refoundation. Armando Cossutta, leader of the moderate wing, resigned as party president Monday, saying the party's hardline stance was ``wrong and dangerous.'' Prodi was hoping to profit from the break. Politicians have said Prodi is now four votes short of the 316 votes needed for a majority in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house. The government has a majority in the Senate even without Refoundation's support. After his meetings with French leaders, Prodi warned that the political difficulties threaten the progress the country is making in cleaning up its public finances. Prodi's government has held together this long in large part because of the widely shared desire to see Italy qualify for the 1999 debut of Europe's common currency, the euro. It qualified earlier this year _ leaving the disparate allies without so clear a reason to stay together. As it is, Prodi has outlasted all but Bettino Craxi, who served 3{ years in two back-to-back stints from 1983 to 1987. Prodi's is Italy's 55th government since World War II.",
"Italian politics have long been enlivened by baroque feuds and shifting alliances. And that time-honored tradition may have won the embattled government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi a momentary reprieve. A leader of Italy's hard-line Marxist faction, known as the Communist Refounding Party, resigned Monday in protest over his party's decision to reject the government's 1999 budget and imperil Prodi's slender majority in Parliament. ``Prodi must realize that his majority no longer exists,'' said Armando Cossuta, chairman of the Communist Refounding Party, a fringe group that broke with mainstream Communists after they overhauled the party following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. ``Nevertheless we should do everything possible, until the last minute, to save this government and avoid this crisis.'' Cossuta was clearly unwilling to join the most hard-line wing of his party in withdrawing support from Prodi and risk being branded as having torpedoed the first leftist Italian government in 50 years. But the leader of the Communist Refounding Party in Parliament, Fausto Bertinotti, seems to have no such compunctions. On Friday, he told journalists that he was not worried about forcing new elections that could return the right to power. ``Sometimes you have to take one step back in order to take two steps forward,'' he said with a shrug. Until now, however, the communist rank and file have disagreed with that view. When Bertinotti forced Prodi to offer his resignation last year over proposed budget cuts, the rank and file protested, and he was forced to backpedal. Prodi met Monday with President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro and coalition leaders to devise a strategy. He is expected to go to Parliament on Wednesday to open debate on the crisis and seek enough votes for the budget. Without it, the Italian central bank is unlikely to cut its key lending rates, something Italy must do to get in line with Germany and other bigger European neighbors before the introduction Jan. 1 of the single European currency, the euro. But even if he gathers enough votes to pass the budget, Prodi could still be left without a majority. After two and a half years in office, his government is the second-longest in the postwar era. But the fragile center-left coalition has held together mostly because Italians were united for the last two years in an effort to reduce spending, inflation and government borrowing to meet the requirements for membership in the euro plan. Once that goal was achieved last spring, dissension quickly revived. Prodi's backers are hoping that enough members of the Communist Refounding Party will break ranks and follow Cossutta to save the coalition. If not, Prodi is faced with two unappetizing choices. He can resign and seek new elections, which carry the risk of bringing the opposition to power. Or he could seek to form a new majority without the Communists by seeking an alliance with the small center-right party of Francesco Cossiga. Cossiga's party came to Prodi's rescue in June, when the hard-line leftists refused to back Prodi on NATO expansion. But Prodi has repeatedly said he will govern only with the center-left majority that elected him in 1996. Cossiga also suggested to reporters Monday that he would not welcome any invitations to join a coalition led by Prodi. ``We wouldn't want this majority to get stained like Monica Lewinsky's dress,'' he said.",
"By one vote, Premier Romano Prodi's center-left coalition lost a confidence vote in the Chamber of Deputies Friday, and he went to the presidential palace to resign. President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro must now decide whether to call early elections or to ask Prodi or someone else to try to forge a new majority. The vote in the lower chamber of Parliament 313 against the confidence motion brought by the government to 312 in favor. ``I'm not bitter,'' Prodi said immediately after his government went down. The swing vote came from Prodi's own coalition, a defecting deputy from Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini's tiny Italian Renewal party. The Communist, 6th graf prv"
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"By one vote, Premier Romano Prodi's center-left coalition lost a confidence vote in the Chamber of Deputies Friday, and he went to the presidential palace to resign. President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro must now decide whether to call early elections or to ask Prodi or someone else to try to forge a new majority. The vote in the lower chamber of Parliament 313 against the confidence motion brought by the government to 312 in favor. ``I'm not bitter,'' Prodi said immediately after his government went down. The swing vote came from Prodi's own coalition, a defecting deputy from Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini's tiny Italian Renewal party. The Communist, 6th graf prv",
"By one vote, a defector from its own ranks, Premier Romano Prodi's center-left coalition, Italy's second-longest serving government since World War II, lost a confidence vote Friday in the Chamber of Deputies. Prodi immediately offered his resignation to President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, who asked him to stay on as caretaker premier while the head of state decides whether to call early elections or ask someone else to be premier. The vote, 3rd graf prv",
"By only one vote, the center-left prime minister of Italy, Romano Prodi, lost a confidence vote in Parliament Friday and was toppled from power. The collapse of his government after two and a half years, the second-longest tenure since World War II, suggested that the chronic political instability that marked Italy for decades had sprung back to life. Though obliged to tender his resignation, Prodi will remain in charge as a caretaker prime minister until a new government is formed. He may get a second chance to form a new majority, but even if he does, negotiations to that end could take days and even weeks, clouding decisions on such urgent issues as the crisis in Kosovo. NATO military planners preparing for possible air strikes against Yugoslavia had expected to use key air bases in Italy. In his weakened position, Prodi will have difficulty persuading Parliament to approve NATO strikes. He will have similar problems passing the 1999 budget, which is necessary before Italy can cut its lending rates, a requirement for joining the single European monetary unit, the euro, on Jan. 1. Immediately after Friday's vote of 313-312, in a tense and at times raucous session, Prodi met with President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro to submit his resignation and discuss his options. In the coming days Scalfaro will consult with dozens of other leaders to ascertain whether Prodi has enough lingering support to try to form a new government. If not, the president is expected to turn to another political leader. If no compromise is found, Italy could be plunged into early elections. But parties of all political stripes may be reluctant to push things that far, for opinion polls suggest that voters are no more enamored of the center-right opposition parties than they are of the governing majority. Prodi, an economist, is admired by his Western allies as a down-to-earth leader who vowed to tame Italy's bloated economy and reckless government borrowing and actually lived up to his pledge. By raising taxes, lowering interest rates and reducing the deficit, Italy met the requirements for membership in the euro last spring, a feat that only a year before was considered impossible by German and French economists. Prodi was helped by a healthy global economy and a rare consensus among industrialists, labor unions and taxpayers, who feared that exclusion from the euro would condemn Italy to Third World status. But his fiscal discipline was not followed by reform of a political system that is inherently fragile. There are more than 40 parties in Italy, and the government's efforts to amend the constitution to introduce a two-party system failed. ``Unless the Italian political system changes, Italy is condemned to political instability,'' said Sergio Romano, a former diplomat and political science professor. ``The country needs stability and credibility, and that will never happen as long as the government is hanging from a thread.'' In 1996 Prodi won with a patchwork quilt of center-left factions mostly made up of Catholic moderates and leftists. He relied on a fringe Marxist group, the Communist Refounding Party, for a majority in the lower house. And that alliance, fragile from the beginning, finally frayed to the breaking point this week. The hard-line leader of Communist Refounding, Fausto Bertinotti, said his party would vote against the 1999 budget and would also end its 28-month-old pact with the center-left coalition. That position drove the moderate wing of Communist Refounding, worried that a vote against Prodi would open the doors to a center-right government, to split away. But the 20-odd deputies who defied Bertinotti were not enough to squeeze Prodi through. ``I am not bitter,'' Prodi said moments after his defeat. ``Even today I received a lot of support.'' In the end the coup de grace was delivered by one of his own, a member of the coalition. ``They have won by the treachery of one single person,'' Sergio Mattarella, a deputy in Prodi's coalition, angrily told reporters, referring to Silvio Liotta, a member of the Italian Renewal Party. Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini, who heads that party, said Liotta would be expelled. Prodi has often said he would not govern with any other majority than the center-left one that elected him in 1996. But throughout his tenure, he was forced to seek temporary alliances to push through major policy decisions. He struggled to the last to try to keep his original majority intact. On Thursday, in an effort to woo more moderate Communists to his side, the prime minister, a staunch ally of the United States, warned that he would oppose a NATO strike aimed at stopping Serbian violence in Kosovo unless the U.N. Security Council approved the attack. Washington maintains that NATO does not need a new U.N. resolution to order a strike.",
"Premier Romano Prodi said Monday he would appeal directly to Parliament to save Italy's second-longest government since World War II, threatened with collapse by the defection of its Communist ally. The address to Parliament was expected Wednesday, followed perhaps by Friday by the vote of confidence that will determine whether Prodi's 2 1/2-year-old, center-left alliance stands or falls. Prodi's far-left ally, the Communist Refoundation Party, provoked the crisis by withdrawing its support over the weekend and saying it would not vote for his deficit-cutting 1999 budget, which is key to Italy's participation in the European common currency. Prodi has said he would call a confidence vote if he lost the Communists' support. ``I've always acted with coherence,'' Prodi said before a morning meeting with President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro on the crisis. ``I've never changed strategy and I don't want to do political gymnastics.'' The break with Prodi's government divided Refoundation. Armando Cossutta, leader of the moderate wing, resigned as party president Monday. He said the party's desertion of Prodi was ``wrong and dangerous,'' but at the same time promised to follow the party line. ``We are in a very complicated political crisis which could lead to early elections,'' Cossutta told reporters Monday. ``And with the divisions in the left, this would mean a victory for the right.'' If the crisis comes to a confidence vote and Prodi loses, he would offer his resignation. Once he does that, it is up to Scalfaro to decide what to do. He could ask Prodi or someone else to form a new government or he could call elections 2 1/2 years early, something most analysts think unlikely. Working in Prodi's favor is the fact that few parties think they would stand to gain by early elections, including the Communist Refoundation. There was speculation Prodi would reopen negotiations that would win back the communists' grudging support, as he has managed to do in the past. Prodi's government has held together this long in large part because of the widely shared desire to see Italy qualify for participation in the 1999 debut of Europe's common currency, the euro. That happened earlier this year _ leaving the disparate allies without so clear a reason to stay together. Prodi leads Italy's 55th government since World War II. He has outlasted all but Bettino Craxi, who served 3{ years in two back-to-back stints from 1983 to 1987. Refoundation is not part of Prodi's center-left coalition, but the government needs its 34 votes to muster a majority in the lower house. It has been a difficult ally from the outset. It broke with Prodi over NATO expansion earlier this year and on sending troops into Albania last year. Prodi was even forced to resign a year ago after a bitter battle over spending cuts linked to the euro. The crisis was resolved, and Prodi returned to work, after he made steep concessions and promised a 35-hour work week.",
"Italy's Communists on Sunday voted to withdraw support for Premier Romano Prodi's 2 1-2-year-old coalition, a move expected to trigger the collapse of one of the country's longest-lived postwar governments. Prodi had said he would call a confidence vote if the Communists yanked support. The coalition has a majority without the Communists in the Senate, but has depended on them for passage of key legislation in the Chamber. MORE",
"It is autumn in Italy, the birds are going south, and so it seems could the Italian government, as the bonds of compromise and political opportunism that bind a small leftist party to the government came undone Sunday. The latest threat to the government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi came after delegates to a two-day conference of the Communist Refounding Party voted to reject the government's proposed 1999 budget, imperiling the future of the center-left coalition. Officials in the prime minister's office said Sunday night that Prodi would meet on Monday with President Oskar Luigi Scalfaro to discuss the political turbulence, though not to offer his resignation. If the Communist Refounding's parliamentary deputies abide by the resolution, which passed by a vote of 188-112, it will destabilize Italy's government at a time when the outcome of the recent election in Germany has already injected a note of uncertainty into the future of European economic and fiscal policy. Mauro Zani, a spokesman for the Democratic Party of the Left, the main party in Prodi's coalition, called the decision by Communist Refounding a ``misfortune for the entire country.'' Passage of the budget, he said, is essential ``to avoid disaster.'' Prodi's coalition is a loose alliance of the former Communists, known as the Democratic Party of the Left, and Prodi's moderate Catholic-oriented followers. It is supported by Communist Refounding, a fringe group of hard-line leftists who broke with the mainstream Communists after they overhauled the party following the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe. Despite frequent shocks, the alliance has held since 1996, glued together mainly by the desire to meet the fiscal requirements to allow Italy to adopt the single European currency. As the Jan. 1 date approaches for the introduction of the new money, the euro, Italy must cut its key lending rates to bring them in line with those of bigger European neighbors, like Germany. A rate cut by the Italian central bank is generally thought to hinge on passage of the budget bill. If the bill is not passed, negative signals would be sent to global financial markets that are already upset because of the financial crises in Asia, Russia and Latin America. On Sunday, Prodi's backers were still hoping that a sufficient number of Communist Refounding deputies would break ranks and back the budget when it comes up for a vote in Parliament later this week. If that fails, a centrist group that rescued Prodi in June under similar circumstances and that is led by former President Francesco Cossiga announced it would support the budget, thus at least assuring parliamentary passage. Communist Refounding and its mercurial leader, Fausto Bertinotti, have pushed Prodi to the brink twice before. The party forced him to offer his resignation last year over proposed budget cuts, but then backpeddled after the party's rank and file protested. In June, the hard-line leftists again refused to follow the prime minister, that time in a Parliament vote for NATO expansion, but the government muddled through with the help of Cossiga's party. But one of the leaders of that centrist group, Clemente Mastella, said Sunday that it would not support the government generally, leaving the future of Prodi's coalition highly uncertain.",
"Three days after the collapse of Premier Romano Prodi's center-left government, Italy's president began calling in political leaders Monday to try to reach a consensus on a new government. Following the talks, which are expected to last several days, President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro could ask Prodi to try again with a new majority. He could also name a new premier, or appoint a government of technocrats. If Scalfaro feels no candidate is capable of mustering a majority, he could call early elections. Because the president cannot dissolve Parliament during the last six weeks of his term, elections would have to be scheduled by December. Scalfaro has named Prodi as caretaker premier for the interim. Prodi's far-left ally, Communist Refoundation, provoked the crisis when it withdrew support for the government over the 1999 deficit-cutting budget, which it said did not do enough to stimulate job creation. Despite help from a breakaway faction of the Communists, who on Sunday formed a new party, Prodi lost Friday's vote of confidence by a single vote. Prodi has said he won't take the job back unless his new government could stick to the policies of its old one, an unlikely scenario given the divided Parliament. An alternative to Prodi could be Massimo D'Alema, leader of the Democrats of the Left, the largest party in Prodi's coalition. In the case of a so-called ``technical'' government, the names of Treasury Minister Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini have been circulated. A government of technicians would get Italy through the volatile period of approving the 1999 budget and the launch of the common European currency, the euro, in January 1999. Prodi presided over cost cuts that got Italy into the debut of the European Monetary Union, outlasting all but one other post-World War II Italian government in the process.",
"Premier Romano Prodi battled Tuesday for any votes freed up from a split in a far-left party, but said he will resign if he loses a confidence vote expected later this week. ``We must respect the will of the voters. If we win the confidence vote, we will go ahead, otherwise we will pass the baton,'' Prodi told a news conference closing a two-day French-Italian summit in Florence. Prodi's center-left government, Italy's second-longest since World War II, was threatened with collapse by the defection of its Communist ally. The premier will address Parliament Wednesday, followed perhaps by Friday by the vote of confidence that will determine whether the 2 1/2-year-old, center-left alliance stands or falls. The Communist Refoundation Party provoked the crisis by withdrawing its support over the weekend and saying it would not vote for his deficit-cutting 1999 budget. But the break with Prodi's government divided Refoundation. Armando Cossutta, leader of the moderate wing, resigned as party president Monday, saying the party's hardline stance was ``wrong and dangerous.'' Prodi was hoping to profit from the break. Politicians have said Prodi is now four votes short of the 316 votes needed for a majority in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house. The government has a majority in the Senate even without Refoundation's support. After his meetings with French leaders, Prodi warned that the political difficulties threaten the progress the country is making in cleaning up its public finances. Prodi's government has held together this long in large part because of the widely shared desire to see Italy qualify for the 1999 debut of Europe's common currency, the euro. It qualified earlier this year _ leaving the disparate allies without so clear a reason to stay together. As it is, Prodi has outlasted all but Bettino Craxi, who served 3{ years in two back-to-back stints from 1983 to 1987. Prodi's is Italy's 55th government since World War II.",
"Italian politics have long been enlivened by baroque feuds and shifting alliances. And that time-honored tradition may have won the embattled government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi a momentary reprieve. A leader of Italy's hard-line Marxist faction, known as the Communist Refounding Party, resigned Monday in protest over his party's decision to reject the government's 1999 budget and imperil Prodi's slender majority in Parliament. ``Prodi must realize that his majority no longer exists,'' said Armando Cossuta, chairman of the Communist Refounding Party, a fringe group that broke with mainstream Communists after they overhauled the party following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. ``Nevertheless we should do everything possible, until the last minute, to save this government and avoid this crisis.'' Cossuta was clearly unwilling to join the most hard-line wing of his party in withdrawing support from Prodi and risk being branded as having torpedoed the first leftist Italian government in 50 years. But the leader of the Communist Refounding Party in Parliament, Fausto Bertinotti, seems to have no such compunctions. On Friday, he told journalists that he was not worried about forcing new elections that could return the right to power. ``Sometimes you have to take one step back in order to take two steps forward,'' he said with a shrug. Until now, however, the communist rank and file have disagreed with that view. When Bertinotti forced Prodi to offer his resignation last year over proposed budget cuts, the rank and file protested, and he was forced to backpedal. Prodi met Monday with President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro and coalition leaders to devise a strategy. He is expected to go to Parliament on Wednesday to open debate on the crisis and seek enough votes for the budget. Without it, the Italian central bank is unlikely to cut its key lending rates, something Italy must do to get in line with Germany and other bigger European neighbors before the introduction Jan. 1 of the single European currency, the euro. But even if he gathers enough votes to pass the budget, Prodi could still be left without a majority. After two and a half years in office, his government is the second-longest in the postwar era. But the fragile center-left coalition has held together mostly because Italians were united for the last two years in an effort to reduce spending, inflation and government borrowing to meet the requirements for membership in the euro plan. Once that goal was achieved last spring, dissension quickly revived. Prodi's backers are hoping that enough members of the Communist Refounding Party will break ranks and follow Cossutta to save the coalition. If not, Prodi is faced with two unappetizing choices. He can resign and seek new elections, which carry the risk of bringing the opposition to power. Or he could seek to form a new majority without the Communists by seeking an alliance with the small center-right party of Francesco Cossiga. Cossiga's party came to Prodi's rescue in June, when the hard-line leftists refused to back Prodi on NATO expansion. But Prodi has repeatedly said he will govern only with the center-left majority that elected him in 1996. Cossiga also suggested to reporters Monday that he would not welcome any invitations to join a coalition led by Prodi. ``We wouldn't want this majority to get stained like Monica Lewinsky's dress,'' he said.",
"By one vote, Premier Romano Prodi's center-left coalition lost a confidence vote in the Chamber of Deputies Friday, and he went to the presidential palace to resign. President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro must now decide whether to call early elections or to ask Prodi or someone else to try to forge a new majority. The vote in the lower chamber of Parliament 313 against the confidence motion brought by the government to 312 in favor. ``I'm not bitter,'' Prodi said immediately after his government went down. The swing vote came from Prodi's own coalition, a defecting deputy from Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini's tiny Italian Renewal party. The Communist, 6th graf prv"
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Exxon and Mobil consider merger. Partnerships already formed. Oil prices are lowest in 12 years and future exploration will be costly. The new company would be largest in the US and put back together pieces of Standard Oil, a monopoly broken up by courts. Experts mixed on merger's advantages. It would be an anti-trust test, since companies are involved in many facets of the business, require the sale of large units. Refinery workers, others would lose jobs. There is an upswing in corporate mergers, pushed by bull market and recognition that it's hard to increase revenue internally. Merger anticipation sent stocks higher in oil, internet and computers. Exxon and Mobil discuss combining business operations. A possible Exxon-Mobil merger would reunite 2 parts of Standard Oil broken up by the Supreme Court in 1911. Low crude oil prices and the high cost of exploration are motives for a merger that would create the world's largest oil company. As Exxon-Mobil merger talks continue, stocks of both companies surge. The merger talks show that corporate mergers are back in vogue. Antitrust lawyers, industry analysts, and government officials say a merger would require divestitures. A Mobil employee worries that a merger would put thousands out of work, but notes that his company's stock would go up. In a move considered unthinkable a few years ago, Exxon Corp. and Mobile Corp, have entered into negotiations which could result in a merger of the two companies. Such a merger, should it occur, would form the world's largest oil company and the largest U.S. company, placing it above Wal-Mart. The merger, and talks like it among other oil companies, is being prompted By low petroleum prices and high production costs. Talks of a merger have sent the price of stocks of both companies soaring. The merger could prompt anti-trust action and the merging companies would have to divest themselves of some interests. Mobile workers fear a merger will cost them jobs. Exxon Corp and Mobil Corp are reported to be discussing a business merger. Other oil companies have merged to compensate for low oil prices and increasing costs of oil exploration in more remote areas. The mergers are consistent with a trend in corporate marriages that is changing U.S. economic history. The mergers are pushing stocks up and the Exxon-Mobil merger could benefit consumers and lead to further savings. Some people believe the merger would require selling of large corporate pieces and put thousands out of work. If the companies merge, it would be the largest U.S. company and bigger than the world's largest oil company, Royal Dutch/Shell Group.
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"News that Exxon and Mobil, two giants in the energy patch, were in merger talks last week is the biggest sign yet that corporate marriages are back in vogue. Even before that combination came to light, deal-making was fast and furious. On Monday alone, $40.4 billion in corporate acquisitions were either announced or declared imminent. Driving the resurgence in mergers is a roaring stock market, the recognition by major corporations that it is getting harder to increase revenues internally and growing confidence among market players that the economy will not plunge into a recession next year. There are also industry-specific issues, like low crude-oil prices that are driving oil giants into one another's arms. But for investors, mega-marriages are not where the real money is to be made. Rather, it is among smaller companies, whose still-depressed stock prices are luring bigger acquirers with stocks that again are near their peaks. If Exxon buys Mobil at close to current prices, deals this month will have a total value of more than $140 billion _ off from April's peak of $244 billion but three times the volume in September, when the stock market was falling. Which industries are likely to witness the most mergers? Tom Burnett, director of Merger Insight, an institutional investment advisory firm in New York, says more deals are a certainty in energy, which is suffering from low crude-oil prices. Burnett also says health care executives are finding it tougher than ever to lift earnings. But smaller companies may be a better way to play the takeover game. Charles LaLoggia, editor of the Special Situation Investor newsletter in Potomac, Md., said: ``Some of the premiums in high-profile mergers aren't so great anymore. The values are in small-cap stocks.'' Another reason is that deals involving smaller-cap candidates are less likely to incur the wrath of antitrust regulators. LaLoggia reckons that the odds of picking takeover winners increase if an investor focuses on companies already partially owned by another. In the energy sector, Houston Exploration qualifies, he says; the oil and gas driller is 66 percent owned by Keyspan Energy. He also believes more deals are imminent among drug chains and supermarkets. Longs Drug Stores and Drug Emporium, he says, remain acquisition candidates, though neither is controlled by another concern. In supermarkets, LaLoggia likes the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., 55 percent owned by Tengelmann Group of Germany. Another pick is Smart and Final, an operator of warehouse-style stores that is 55 percent owned by the U.S. subsidiary of Groupe Casino, France's largest supermarket chain. ``Both A&P and Smart and Final are trading at just about book value,'' LaLoggia said. Takeovers typically occur above book value. Finally, he recommends National Presto Industries, a maker of housewares and electrical appliances, which is trading near $39, close to its low for the year. The company has $30 a share in cash on its balance sheet, no debt and a dividend yield of 5 percent. After last month's announced acquisition of Rubbermaid by the Newell Co., LaLoggia thinks National Presto could find itself in an acquirer's cross-hairs.",
"It was new highs again for the Standard & Poor's 500-stock and Nasdaq composite indexes Friday as anticipation of a new wave of mergers and a general rush by investors to join the equity rebound pushed stocks up. Oil stocks led the way as investors soaked up the news of continuing talks between Exxon and Mobil on a merger that would create the world's largest oil company. Internet and computer stocks also rallied, helped in part by the announcement on Tuesday of America Online's purchase of Netscape Communications in a three-way deal involving Sun Microsystems. At the same time, Germany's Deutsche Bank and Bankers Trust are scheduled to formally announce their merger on Monday. ``There is no question that the merger euphoria is the headline,'' said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer at the First Albany Corp. ``But the flow into mutual funds is also strong.'' Exxon rose 1 11/16, to 74], while Mobil jumped 7|, to 86. Chevron, reflecting the bounce that other oil companies got from the merger news, climbed 5\\, to 85|. Exxon and Chevron, along with IBM, which rose 3\\, to 170, were the main drivers of the Dow Jones industrial average. It climbed 18.80 points, or two-tenths of a percent, to 9,333.08. It now stands just 41 points short of the record it set Monday and up 1.9 percent for the week. Mobil, along with Exxon, Chevron, IBM and Microsoft, which rose 3 13/16, to 128 1/16, were the power behind the S & P. It climbed 5.46 points, or five-tenths of a percent, to 1,192.33, a new high, the second of the week. It jumped 2.5 percent in the last five trading days. Cisco Systems, up 2 15/16, to 80; MCI Worldcom, up 1 11/16, to 62 7/16; Sun Microsystems, up 4|, to 80], and Microsoft pushed the Nasdaq index to its first new high since July 20. The technology-heavy index finished 31.23 points, or 1.57 percent, higher, at 2,016.44. It was up 4.6 percent for the week. Whether Friday's gains will stick will not be known before Monday. It was a shortened trading session, with the New York Stock Exchange closing at 1 p.m., and trading volume, at 257 million shares, made it the lightest day of the year. In the bond market, which also closed early because of the Thanksgiving weekend, the price of the 30-year Treasury bond rose 11/32, to 101 12/32. The bond's yield, which moves in the opposite direction from the price, fell to 5.16 percent from 5.18 percent on Wednesday. Long-term and short-term yields all slipped lower this week despite new economic data that indicated the economy was stronger in the third quarter than expected and seems to be moving along at a good pace in the current quarter. This small recovery in the face of stronger growth is probably because new inflation numbers show that prices are in check and analysts are still forecasting that the economy will begin to slow down next year. Many analysts have noted during the eight-week stock market rally, in which the Nasdaq composite index jumped 42 percent, that investors were buying again even though major financial problems around the world _ including a slumping Asia, a weakening Latin America and a troubled Russia _ have not been resolved. Johnson said he thought that investors, inspired by the Federal Reserve's three interest rate cuts in two months and by the new stimulus package in Japan, assume that these problems will be solved. ``Investors are looking over the valley and they like what they see,'' he said. But he worries that the financial crisis, which began in Thailand in July 1997 and was intensified by the effective default of Russia in August, will not go away quickly. ``It seems that in every financial crisis, everybody gets the impression that the storm has passed,'' Johnson said. ``But it is never that easy.''",
"They have been downsized, cut back and re-engineered. So when the 900 or so remaining blue-collar workers here at Mobil's largest domestic refinery, out of about 1,500 a decade ago, heard last week that their company was discussing a possible merger with Exxon, it was like a siren warning them that an already suspect valve might be about to blow. ``I think it's a terrible thing,'' said Dick Mabry, a refinery operator, as he emerged in the plant's artificial twilight from the main gate after his 12-hour shift ended at 4:30 on Sunday morning. He stopped to rub eyes rimmed with red, but on this topic his bedtime could be delayed. ``It's a revival of the Standard Oil Company. It's going to put 20 or 30 thousand people out of work. I think the Justice Department should step in and stop it.'' Ernest Lewis, whose overalls bore a ``Big E'' patch appropriate to his scale, added his uh-huh's. The latest evidence of where things were heading hulked right nearby, he said, glancing over at a new power plant likely to be operated by an outside company without the unions that now man the refinery's generators. But if the Mobil Corp. has to be sold, Lewis said, noting the gains in his company stock holdings, a buyer as solid and large as the Exxon Corp. might be the least of all evils. ``If we merged with Chevron, we'd be Moron,'' he added. A growing American economy that can make a billionaire out of someone with an unproven idea for Internet marketing is still sloughing off workers in older industries, in petroleum as much as any. Those here point to the tote board by the Beaumont plant's brick headquarters, that they say shows they have already handled 171 million barrels out of 130 million planned for the full year. But the numbers that matter even more are the ones like 89.9, 88.9, even 81.9, on nearby gas stations _ the lowest prices, after inflation, since the Depression. Which is why Mobil and Exxon are considering combining into the world's largest oil company. Some people close to the talks cautioned that no deal would be considered by their boards until at least Tuesday, maybe Wednesday. And that is why, beginning last Wednesday evening, the phone at the home of Jimmy Herrington, the president of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Local 4-243 rang without stop. No, he didn't know about that merger talk on television, said Herrington, who also works full-time producing lubricants. He had asked some Mobil managers, in a meeting earlier this month, about all the rumors, but they said they had heard nothing. Oil industry analysts say that the first targets of a combined company's efforts to cut billions of dollars in annual costs would be the office staff and the professionals, like geologists and engineers, in the field. One company's accountants could almost do the work for two. But the crews here fully expect that an Exxon or any other buyer would ask yet again whether the refinery could turn more",
"crude oil into gasoline, motor oil and other products with even fewer people. Union leaders raise the prospect that Exxon would have to sell the refinery. Antitrust regulators, they say, are bound to notice that Exxon has refineries an hour's drive in one direction and three hours in the other, along a Gulf of Mexico crescent that forms the petrochemical industry's home. The Beaumont plant, a steaming, humming chemistry set lining the Neches River off the Gulf, has become the prime provider of livelihoods here since it was built almost under the spray of the nearby Spindletop gusher. With mounting overtime that can stretch a shift to 16 hours or more, workers regularly make $55,000 or $65,000 a year. ``People go there to retire there,'' Herrington said, as he drove around the plant's fenced periphery. Lewis, in his 17th year, is a third-generation employee. But his nephew laboring here too is the exception. The workers streaming to and from the plant before dawn are mostly balding or going gray, a sign that for a full generation the refinery has been more concerned about how to get rid of workers than how to attract them. The cutbacks have, so far, come through attrition, with retirements often encouraged by incentives. But the plywood sheets covering the windows of most of the fast food places and gas stations around Herrington's union hall advertise that the best times are long gone. His members chafe at the experts who come in from Wall Street to question the justification for every person's job. In tiring and dangerous tasks, they question the elimination of most relief laborers in favor of covering vacations and sickness with overtime (although some like the extra pay, and they say the plant has become safer over the years). They complain about the growing numbers of outside contractors taking over formerly unionized tasks. But with many workers choosing to invest at least some retirement savings in Mobil stock, a 1990s ethos is gaining. Some share credit with the plant's management for the efficiency measures they agree are necessary for true job security. Some take the attitude that every company is always for sale. ``They will not be too concerned about what we feel about it,'' said Sam Salim, one of the electrical plant workers whose future is uncertain. ``But if they fork out $60 billion? I'd look it over.'' With most Mobil executives saying as little as possible for now, calls on Sunday to the local plant manager and a company spokesman did not elicit a peep. Union leaders, however, are already squawking. ''I don't believe creating new monopolies is the way to prop up the industry,'' said Robert Wages, a former refinery operator himself and now the union's president, by telephone Saturday. Nevertheless, with admirable foresight the union negotiated a clause in last November's three-year contract extension guaranteeing that any company buyer would have to keep to its terms. Many members, who typically came to work after high school, are already molding the oil companies' latest exploits into case studies fit for rapacious MBA's.",
"``They're the biggest,'' said Bobby Whisneant, an assistant operator in the gasoline and lubrication oil units, referring to Exxon. He was coming, early on Sunday morning, through a plant gate whose white canopy seems borrowed from a self-service station. ``So they go buy the second biggest. That's one way to get rid of the competition. I just hope it's not something like the 80s _ buying companies and scrapping them.'' Or something like the Robber Baron era a century before, said Mabry, another operator. ``Didn't the teachers teach us all through school that the Standard Oil Company would never come back? Remember that?'' he said, looking to his friend, Lewis, the Big E, for agreement. ``But I better shut up. I still work for Mobil.'' ``Used to,'' Lewis said.",
"Exxon Corp. and Mobil Corp. have held discussions about combining their business operations, a person involved in the talks said Wednesday. It was unclear Wednesday whether talks were continuing. If the companies were to merge, it would create the largest U.S. company in terms of revenue. A possible merger was reported separately by both The Financial Times of London and Bloomberg News. The reported talks between Exxon, whose annual revenue exceeds that of General Electric Co., and Mobil, the No. 2 U.S. oil company, came as oil prices sank to their lowest in almost 12 years. A combined company would be bigger than Royal Dutch/Shell Group, the world's largest oil company by revenue. Financial terms of the discussions could not be determined Wednesday. Neither Exxon or Mobil would comment. Any union would reunite two parts of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust, which was broken up by the Supreme Court in 1911. Exxon was then known as Standard Oil of New Jersey, and Mobil consisted of two companies: Standard Oil of New York and Vacuum Oil. As oil prices have plummeted to levels last seen in the mid-1980s, oil companies have been under pressure to cut costs. Exxon, which has a market value of $176.7 billion, and Mobil, which has a market value of $61.1 billion, both have histories of being fiercely independent, and both have already cut back on staff and made themselves lean to survive even during a prolonged period of low oil prices. But this has been a particularly unsettling year for the oil industry, and there is little prospect that crude oil prices will recover soon. Consequently, chief executives of most oil companies have had to swallow their pride and look for suitable partners. This summer, British Petroleum announced an agreement to buy Amoco Corp. for $48.2 million, creating the world's third-largest oil company and prompting analysts to predict even more widespread consolidation. ``It showed that megamergers are doable,'' said Adam Sieminski, an analyst for BT Alex. Brown. He added, however, that any combination between Exxon and Mobil would not be an easy match because Mobil has been known for being a proud company that has said in the past that it would not want to merge. Exxon, he added, is a ``well-run company that likes to grow its own businesses.'' He added that the heads of both companies, Lee Raymond, the chairman of Exxon, which is based in Irving, Texas, and Lucio Noto, the chairman, president and chief executive of Mobil, which is based in Fairfax, Va., are different personalities. ``It will not be easy,'' he said of combining the two far-flung companies, which have vast networks of refineries and gas stations that overlap in the United States and Europe. ``If you offer enough money you can make anything happen,'' he added. Both companies are under pressure to find new fields of oil to help them survive in the long term. Like other oil companies, they had hoped to quickly tap into the vast reserves of Russia. Even though they were prepared to spend billions, they have",
"held back because of the political and economic crisis in Russia and great reluctance by Russian officials and oil companies to give up control of vast fields. Thus they have had to fall back on exploration areas of their own such as the deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico as well as West Africa and parts of Asia. Such exploration is very expensive, and even when a big field is discovered, platforms costing $1 billion or more are required to bring the it into production. Oil prices have been under pressure for more than a year, falling more than 40 percent from the $20-a-barrel level because of growing inventories of petroleum and declining Asian demand caused by the economic crisis there. On Wednesday, crude oil for January delivery fell 29 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $11.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, close to the 12-year low of $11.42 reached on June 15. Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and some other oil-producing nations, notably Mexico, have tried to stem the price drops with pledges to cut back on production. But those pledges have not always been honored, and rallies in the oil market this year have proven short-lived. OPEC members on Wednesday continued their discussion on extending their production cutbacks, and an agreement is expected as early as Thursday. In the spring, OPEC agreed to reduce production by 2.6 million barrels a day, about 3 percent of the daily world supply of 74 million barrels. The main result of that agreement appears to have been to keep oil prices from falling below $10 a barrel. Washington regulators said Wednesday that they had not been notified about the Exxon-Mobil discussions. The Federal Trade Commission is still reviewing British Petroleum's pending purchase of Amoco. An Exxon-Mobil deal would be certain to receive several months' worth of scrutiny by the commission, which would review how much of the industry the combined company would control. Analysts and investment bankers were split about the logic of a potential deal. Some pointed to difficulties that the companies could face if they were combined. ``If you asked me if Exxon needed to be bigger, the answer is probably no,'' said Garfield Miller, president of Aegis Energy Advisors Corp., a small independent investment bank based in New York. ``It is hard to say that there is anything in particular to gain.'' In particular, Miller said, the two companies have enormous similarities in their domestic refining and marketing businesses. ``They really do overlap quite a bit,'' he said. ``You really do wonder what is the benefit of all that redundancy.'' Another investment banker in the energy business, speaking on the condition of anonymity, also questioned the rationale for the discussed merger. ``When you look at the BP-Amoco deal, you can rationalize it,'' the banker said. ``But none of those reasons apply to an Exxon-Mobil deal.'' But Amy Jaffe, an energy research analyst with the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, said the combination of the two companies would be logical, in part because",
"it would give them greater influence in bidding for development projects in the Middle East. ``This is a deal that makes sense,'' Ms. Jaffe said. ``With this combined company, there is no project that would be too big.'' Ms. Jaffe said the proposed deal would provide each company with assets in areas where it had little influence. ``There are a lot of complementary assets where they are not redundant,'' she said. She said that Exxon, for example, has a strong presence in Angola, while Mobil does not. And Mobil has significant assets in the Caspian Sea and Nigeria, where Exxon is weak.",
"Exxon Corp. and Mobil Corp. have held discussions about combining their business operations, a person involved in the talks said Wednesday. It was unclear Wednesday whether talks were continuing. If the companies were to merge, it would create the largest U.S. company in terms of revenue. A possible merger was reported separately by both The Financial Times of London and Bloomberg News. The reported talks between Exxon, whose annual revenue exceeds that of Wal-Mart and General Electric, and Mobil, the No. 2 U.S. oil company, come as oil prices have sunk to their lowest in almost 12 years. A combined company would be bigger than Royal Dutch/Shell Group, the world's largest oil company by revenue. Financial terms of the discussions could not be determined Wednesday. Neither Exxon or Mobil would comment. Any union would reunite two parts of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust, which was broken up by the Supreme Court in 1911. Exxon was then known as Standard Oil of New Jersey, and Mobil consisted of two companies: Standard Oil of New York and Vacuum Oil. Both Exxon, which has a market value of $176.7 billion, and Mobil, which has a market value of $61.1 billion, have a history of being fiercely independence. Both have already cut back on staff and made themselves lean in order to survive long periods when oil prices are low. But this has been a particularly unsettling year for the oil industry, and there is little prospect that crude oil prices will recover soon. Consequently, chief executives of most oil companies have had to swallow their pride and look for suitable partners. This summer, British Petroleum announced a $48.2 billion agreement to buy Amoco Corp., creating the world's third-largest oil company and prompting analysts to predict even more widespread consolidation. ``It showed that megamergers are doable,'' said Adam Sieminski, an analyst for BT Alex. Brown. He added, however, that a combination between Exxon and Mobil would not be an easy match because Mobil has been known for being a proud company that has said in the past that it would not want to merge. Exxon, he added, is a ``well run company that likes to grow its own businesses.'' He added that the heads of both companies, Lee Raymond, the chairman of Exxon, which is based in Irving, Texas, and Lucio Noto, the chairman, president and chief executive of Mobil, which is based in Fairfax, Va., are different personalities. ``It will not be easy,'' he said of combining the two far-flung companies, which have vast networks of refineries and gas stations that overlap in the United States and Europe. ``If you offer enough money you can make anything happen,'' he added. Both companies are under pressure to find new fields of oil to help them survive in the long term. Like other oil companies, they had hoped to quickly tap into the vast reserves of Russia. Even though they were prepared to spend billions, they have held back because of the political and economic crisis in Russia and great reluctance by Russian officials and oil",
"companies to give up control of vast fields. Thus they have had to fall back on their own exploration areas such as the deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico and West Africa. Such exploration is very expensive, and even when large fields are found it often takes platforms costing $1 billion to bring the oil into production. Oil prices have been under pressure for more than a year, falling more than 40 percent from the $20-a-barrel level because of growing inventories of petroleum and declining Asian demand caused by the economic crisis there. On Wednesday, crude oil for January delivery fell 29 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $11.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, close to the 12-year low of $11.42 reached on June 15. Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and some other oil-producing nations, notably Mexico, have tried to stem the price drops with pledges to cut back on production. But those pledges have not always been honored, and rallies in the oil market this year have proven short-lived. OPEC members on Wednesday continued their discussion on extending their production cutbacks, and an agreement is expected as early as Thursday. In the spring, OPEC agreed to reduce production by 2.6 million barrels a day, about 3 percent of the daily world supply of 74 million barrels. The main result of that agreement appears to have been to keep oil prices from falling below $10 a barrel. Washington regulators said Wednesday that they had not been notified about the Exxon-Mobil discussions. The Federal Trade Commission is still reviewing British Petroleum's pending purchase of Amoco. An Exxon-Mobil deal would be certain to receive several months' worth of scrutiny by the commission, which would review how much of the industry such a merger would control. Analysts and investment bankers were split about the logic of the possible merger. Some pointed to difficulties that the companies could face if they were combined. ``If you asked me if Exxon needed to be bigger, the answer is probably no,'' said Garfield Miller, president of Aegis Energy Advisors Corp., a small independent investment bank based in New York. ``It is hard to say that there is anything in particular to gain.'' In particular, Miller said, the two companies have enormous similarities in their domestic refining and marketing businesses. ``They really do overlap quite a bit,'' he said. ``You really do wonder what is the benefit of all that redundancy.'' Another investment banker in the energy business, speaking on the condition of anonymity, also questioned the rationale for the discussed merger. ``When you look at the BP-Amoco deal, you can rationalize it,'' the banker said. ``But none of those reasons apply to an Exxon-Mobil deal.'' But Amy Jaffe, an energy research analyst with the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, said the combination of the two companies would be logical, in part because it would give them greater influence in bidding for projects in Middle Eastern countries. ``This is a deal that makes sense,'' Ms. Jaffe said. ``With this combined company,",
"there is no project that would be too big.'' In addition, Ms. Jaffe said, the merger would provide each company with new oil and gas assets in areas of the world where they had little influence. ``There are a lot of complimentary assets where they are not redundant,'' she said. She said that Exxon, for example, has a strong presence in Angola, while Mobil does not. And Mobil has significant assets in the Caspian Sea and Nigeria, where Exxon is weak.",
"Times are tough in the oil patch. Still, it boggles the mind to accept the notion that hardship is driving profitable Big Oil to either merge, as British Petroleum and Amoco have already agreed to do, or at least to consider the prospect, as Exxon and Mobil are doing. Oil companies of all stripes are getting squeezed by low petroleum prices and the high capital costs of exploration. Given the exotic locales of the most promising untapped fields, it seems unlikely that exploration will get cheaper. And with West Texas crude trading at around $12 a barrel, it seems a safe bet that oil won't be selling for $100 a barrel by the turn of the century _ something analysts were predicting during the oil price run-up of the early 1980s. Philip Verleger Jr., publisher of Petroleum Economics Monthly and a senior adviser to the Brattle Group, a Cambridge, Mass., consulting firm, spent some time late last week talking about Mobil, Exxon and the changing dynamics of the oil business. Following are excerpts from the conversation: Q. There is a lot of focus on the antitrust aspects of an Exxon-Mobil deal. Do you see any problems? A. Let me say right off that I don't think this is a done deal. I think it is far from that. But if it were to happen, I don't see many problems. BP Amoco is the perfect end-to-end merger, one in which there is little or no overlap with the company you are merging with. Exxon-Mobil comes close. The first issue is competition in local markets. The only possible problem area there is on the West Coast, but both companies are pretty small players there. If there is a reason this merger might get extra attention, it will be because Exxon and Mobil have not been terribly friendly toward either the Clinton administration's or the European Union's positions on global warming. Q. Why are you skeptical about the deal? A. Well, Mobil has been trying to get bigger. They had talks with Amoco. They wanted to buy Conoco. But I don't understand where Lucio Noto, Mobil's chief executive, fits into this. That could be an impediment to an agreement, because in a merger I don't think he has a place, and he has been a very strong leader. Q. Mobil is the country's second-biggest oil company, behind Exxon. Why do they need to get bigger? A. In the first decade of the next century, the really big exploration opportunities will be very capital intensive, and only companies with the deepest pockets will be able to stay in the game: Royal Dutch, Exxon and BP Amoco. Companies of Mobil's size are probably marginal players. Q. That suggests Mobil has been harder hit than Exxon by the downturn in prices. A. From 1988 to 1996, Exxon's exploration and production expenditures rose 8 percent. Mobil's rose 14 percent. But Mobil's expenditures were much more sensitive to the price elasticities of oil than Exxon's. They were pushing the envelope, and when prices fell they had to cut back. Exxon has tried to build a very large presence systematically, without paying much attention to month-to-month or even year-to-year fluctuations in oil prices. They are brutally efficient. Q. Earlier this month the Energy Department said oil prices would stay soft for nearly a decade. Do you agree? A. You know, every time I see forecasts that go out that far I want to go out and buy stock in oil companies. I think we are going to see low oil prices for six months to a year. It is conceivable we could go into the next century with oil at $5 a barrel, depending on what happens to the world economy. During that period, we are going to see a substantial reduction in investment in exploration and production, leading to a reduction in supply coming out of non-OPEC countries. That will strengthen the hands of the OPEC countries. And when the Asian economies start growing again, that will lead to a good deal higher oil prices, say $20 a barrel, in the next 18 months. Q. The number of oil companies is going to shrink in coming years, regardless, isn't it? A. We are probably heading toward a world in which there are no more than five or six big oil companies, possibly eight. There is really no precedent for having as many big players as we have in the oil business in this modern society. Q. Do you think oil stocks are a good investment? A. I think oil companies are still a worthwhile investment, but it is not a place where an investor should plan on making money over the next 9 to 12 months. And it is an area where investors need to be careful, because in that period there will be a good deal of consolidation among smaller companies.",
"The boards of Exxon Corp. and Mobil Corp. are expected to meet Tuesday to consider a possible merger agreement that would form the world's largest oil company, a source close to the negotiations said Friday. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said ``the prospects were good'' for completing an agreement. Exxon and Mobil confirmed Friday that they were discussing ways to combine. They cautioned, however, that no agreement had been reached and there was no assurance they would reach one. The statement sent the stock of both companies surging, suggesting investors believe the companies will combine. Shares of Exxon, the biggest U.S. oil company, rose $1.6875, or 2.3 percent, to $74.375. Shares of Mobil, the No. 2 U.S. oil company, rose $7.625, or 9.7 percent, to $86. Some analysts said that if the two giants reached an agreement, it was likely to be in the form of a takeover by Exxon of Mobil. Exxon is far larger and financially stronger. Analysts predicted that there would be huge cuts in duplicate staff from both companies, which employ 122,700 people. Adam Sieminski, an oil analyst for BT Alex. Brown, said that the companies would probably make cuts to save about $3 billion to $5 billion a year. Sieminski and other analysts said Exxon would have to offer a premium of about 15 to 20 percent over its price prior to Monday, when serious speculation of an Exxon takeover of Mobil first circulated and sent Mobil shares up sharply. They said the transaction would probably be an exchange of Mobil shares for Exxon shares. Based on Mobil's $75.25 share price a week ago, a takeover of the company would be worth about $70 billion. The merger discussions come against a backdrop of particularly severe pressure on Lucio Noto, the chairman, president and chief executive of Mobil, to find new reserves of oil and natural gas and to keep big projects profitable at a time of a deep decline in crude oil prices. ``This is one of the most intelligent chief executives in the business and a man of considerable ability but he inherited some serious structural problems in his company,'' said J. Robin West, the chairman of Petroleum Finance Co., a consulting group to the energy industry based in Washington. He said that Mobil's prime assets include the Arun natural gas field in Indonesia, one of the largest in the world, which has contributed up to one-third of Mobil's profits for years but is beginning to run down. The field, in production since 1977, supplies liquefied natural gas to Japan and Korea. Although Mobil under Noto has moved quickly to cut costs and muscle its way into promising new areas such as Kazakhstan, where it is a partner in a joint venture to develop the huge Tengiz oil field, the payoff from such ventures is many years away. Other companies face similar strains. ``The challenge is to replace their crown jewels and grow in an increasingly competitive environment,'' West said. Noto has not been shy about sitting down with other companies such as British Petroleum and Amoco this year to see if a combination made sense. Although Exxon chairman Lee Raymond heads a much stronger and bigger company than Mobil, he has not been immune to the strains on the global petroleum business. Those strains intensified this year when Russia's economic collapse raised the risks of Exxon's extensive exploration venture in that country. Exxon has also been more of a follower than a leader in huge projects in the deep offshore fields, where major finds have been made near West Africa and in the Gulf of Mexico.",
"Whether or not the talks between Exxon and Mobil lead to a merger or some other business combination, America's economic history is already being rewritten. In energy as in businesses like financial services, telecommunications and automobiles, global competition and technology have made unthinkable combinations practical, even necessary. Oil companies like Exxon Corp. and Mobil Corp. have an additional pressure, one unthinkable less than two decades ago. Crude oil prices have fallen sharply, plunging 40 percent just this year to levels, adjusted for inflation, not seen since before the first oil embargo 25 years ago. As such, the oil companies, having spent years cutting their costs, are desperate for further savings in order to continue operating profitably with such low prices. Exxon and Mobil are the two largest, strongest competitors to emerge from the nation's most famous antitrust case, the 1911 breakup of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust. Now they face a Royal Dutch/Shell Group that is larger than either of them. They will also confront a British Petroleum PLC made far more potent in the United States by its agreement this summer to buy Amoco Corp. for $48.2 billion. Industry executives say further deals on this scale are inevitable. Executives at both companies did not return calls Thursday for comment on the talks, and it was unclear Thursday night what the outcome might be. But if Exxon and Mobil agree to become one, antitrust regulators are likely to be cautious about putting back together much of what they long ago broke apart. Even so, most oil industry analysts contend that improved efficiency from combining giant energy companies would do more to lower costs than the more concentrated ownership of gas stations and refineries would do to raise them. ``The ultimate beneficiary of all this will be the consumer,'' said Daniel Yergin, the chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates. If Exxon and Mobil ultimately do combine, the costs could prove heaviest for energy industry employees. Analysts say that of the about 80,000 global employees at Exxon, based in Irving, Texas, and the more than 40,000 at Mobil, in Fairfax, Va., thousands would be likely to lose their jobs. Exxon, with Lee R. Raymond, and Mobil, with Lucio A. Noto, both have chief executives who have been preoccupied with the humbling accommodations that low oil prices have made necessary. Oil companies were everybody's favorite targets during the trust-busting era early this century and again during the Arab oil embargoes of the 1970s. Now they seem especially vulnerable as demand weakens in much of the world, especially in economically troubled Asia, weighing further on already depressed prices. ``They're pitiful, helpless giants,'' said Ronald Chernow, the author of ``Titan,'' a biography of John D. Rockefeller, Standard Oil's founder. As such, these giants are compelled to continue cutting costs and spreading the risks of their huge, expensive international projects that are needed to develop oil reserves needed for the next century. Mobil, with $58.4 billion in sales last year, might seem large enough to undertake anything. But in competing for rights to develop huge natural gas",
"fields in Turkmenistan, a former Soviet republic, Mobil was unable to match Shell's offer to build a pipeline for $1 billion or more. Oil companies have decided that they cannot count on a rebound in oil prices to revive their fortunes any time soon. Earlier this month, the Energy Department predicted that the collapse of Asian demand would continue to depress oil prices for nearly a decade, and by as much as $5.50 a barrel in the year 2000. And Thursday, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries put off until March any decision on extending their oil production cutbacks to prop up prices. Moreover, improving technology for exploration and production and the opening of new regions to development have added to the already huge supply of oil that is on hand now. In response, many energy companies have already begun a new wave of cutbacks in their staffs and operations. To further reduce costs, companies like Mobil are forming partnerships that stop short of full mergers. Two years ago, Mobil agreed to combine its European refining and marketing operations with British Petroleum's, resulting in annual savings of about $500 million. Shell and Texaco then formed a refining partnership in the United States. In the face of these partnerships, said Amy Jaffe, an energy analysts with the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy in Houston, ``if you're an Exxon, how do you compete?'' Though Mobil and Exxon might have high concentrations of gas stations in certain areas of the United States, analysts say they have far more competition at the pump than before oil prices collapsed in the 1980s. Thousands of convenience stores now also sell gasoline produced by a variety of refining companies, and foreign national oil companies, like Venezuela's, sell their supplies through acquired companies like Citgo. Under Noto, Mobil has been hunting for ways of becoming large and lean enough to survive. He took the lead in the deal with British Petroleum and has considered buying up smaller companies. And he has made it clear that corporate or personal pride would never block a deal. In the European agreement with British Petroleum, Mobil's red flying horses have come down from the fronts of many gas stations, while the green and yellow BP logos have gone up. As major oil companies team up, said John Hervey, an analyst with Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, ``If the price is right, egos will not get in the way.'' In the past, Mobil reportedly had further talks with British Petroleum about other combinations, as well as talks with Amoco about forming an American refining venture. The company was also interested in Conoco Inc. when DuPont Co. began looking to divest itself of that oil and gas business. But no deals were reached. More recently, there was speculation on Wall Street that Mobil had been talking with Chevron Corp. British Petroleum purchase of Amoco put more pressure on Noto to seek a deal, Hervey said. ``I don't think this whole thing would have started if British Petroleum had not pulled the trigger,'' he said.",
"The British Petroleum-Amoco deal, progressing quickly since the August announcement towards an expected $2 billion in annual savings, has put even companies as large as Exxon on the spot. There, Raymond has so far concentrated more on making his operations more efficient than on finding allies. Though Royal Dutch/Shell's financial resources are greater than Exxon's, some analysts say Exxon still has the size and soundness to absorb a company of Mobil's size. Only the largest oil companies can afford to take advantage of today's best opportunities. Finding new fields in the deep waters off the coast of West Africa or in the Gulf of Mexico can require platforms costing $1 billion or more. Producing oil in the states of the former Soviet Union has taken more time and money than many investors anticipated. In September, Noto was among the American executives invited by a Saudi leader visiting Washington to greatly step up investments in his country, too. Noto spent from 1977 to 1985 in Saudi Arabia himself, building up Mobil operations including a huge refinery. But any new partnerships with the Saudis might require both Mobil's connections and Exxon's capital. Back when Standard Oil organized its operations by state, Exxon was Standard Oil of New Jersey, while Mobil was Standard Oil of New York. Even after the Standard Oil monopoly was broken up, they remained for several years in the same building in Manhattan. Chernow, the Rockefeller biographer, noted that two pieces of the Standard Oil trust are already likely to be united. British Petroleum bought Standard Oil of Ohio in the 1970s, and Amoco was once Standard Oil of Indiana. The break-up of Standard Oil and the resulting competition has often been cited as a precedent for the current antitrust action against Microsoft. Chernow sees no reason why allowing an Exxon acquisition of Mobil to go through should suggest more leniency for Microsoft. ``Exxon would not be obviously larger than its leading competitors, the way Microsoft is,'' he said. In the energy business today, he added, ``there are other large dinosaurs that stalk that particular jungle.''",
"Exxon and Mobil, the nation's two largest oil companies, confirmed Friday that they were discussing a possible merger, and antitrust lawyers, industry analysts and government officials predicted that any deal would require the sale of important large pieces of such a new corporate behemoth. Those divestitures would further reshape an industry already undergoing a broad transformation because of the low price of oil. But the mergers and other corporate combinations are also beginning to create a new regulatory climate among antitrust officials, one that may prove particularly challenging to Exxon and Mobil. Although the companies only confirmed that they were discussing the possibility of a merger, a person close to the discussions said the boards of both Exxon and Mobil were expected to meet Tuesday to consider an agreement. Shares of both surged on the New York Stock Exchange. Oil exploration and drilling interests would not necessarily present antitrust problems in an Exxon-Mobil merger because competition in those areas is brisk. But in retailing and marketing operations, an Exxon-Mobil combination would be ``like Ford merging with General Motors, Macy's with Gimbels,'' said Stephen Axinn, an antitrust lawyer in New York who represented Texaco in its acquisition of Getty more than a decade ago. In the United States, the deal would come under the purview of the Federal Trade Commission, which under the Clinton administration has examined large corporate mergers with a vigor not seen since the 1970s. The agency has blocked a number of proposed mergers, such as the $4 billion combination of Staples and Office Depot, the two largest office supply discounters, and two deals involving the four largest drug wholesalers. On the other hand it has approved other big mergers, such as Boeing's $14 billion acquisition of McDonnell Douglas. The agency's analysis of an Exxon-Mobil combination, a senior official said Friday, will turn on how it might resemble John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil trust before it was dismantled by the Supreme Court in 1911. ``The big antitrust issue is whether, by a merger or alliance, they will be able to get the competition of one another off their backs, particularly against the background of BP-Amoco and Shell-Texaco,'' said Eleanor M. Fox, a professor at the New York University School of Law and an antitrust expert. ``It may be that we are looking at a consolidation on the world level that looked like the consolidation on the national level 100 years ago.'' The Federal Trade Commission recently approved a significant joint venture between Shell and Texaco after the venture agreed to sell a refinery and divest some retailing operations in Hawaii and California. It is also considering the proposed $54 billion merger of British Petroleum and Amoco and will now have to re-examine that combination in light of the new talks between Exxon and Mobil. ``In the past, when there have been two mergers involving the same industry, the government has considered them together in deciding how to deal with them,'' said Terry Calvani, a former commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission whose clients now include Chevron. But coming in the aftermath of the Shell-Texaco and BP-Amoco deals, a combination of Exxon and Mobil, which have significantly overlapping retail and refinery businesses in the United States and Europe, poses questions that antitrust officials have not confronted since the 1980s. ``It's a real test case,'' said Frederick Leuffer, a senior energy analyst at Bear Stearns. ``If the FTC let this one go through without major divesting, then everything would be fair game. Why couldn't GM merge with Ford?'' While the 1911 breakup of Standard Oil is viewed by Washington officials and industry executives as ancient history, Exxon and Mobil have become the dominant rivals in some retailing and refining markets, and in the production of lubricants and petrochemicals. Leuffer said he believed divestitures necessary in this case ``could be so large that they are deal-breakers.'' Other analysts and lawyers, while disagreeing that the required divestitures could kill the deal, said the companies would nonetheless have to shed significant operations and that they expected challenges to be raised by a broad spectrum of constituents, including competitors, customers and state officials. ``These are not absolute obstacles,'' said John Hervey, an analyst at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette. In the past, when two big oil companies have merged, aggressive attorneys general from the states have almost always become involved in raising questions because of the high visibility of the local gas station. ``When a state attorney general drives by and sees four stations on a corner and two of them are Mobil and Exxon, they are certain to raise questions,'' Axinn said. Exxon and Mobil have significant concentrations of retailing and marketing concerns in the Northeast, the Southwest and the West Coast, where they also have big refining operations. Because the two companies are involved in everything from exploration and shipping to refining and retailing, the meaning of the deal for consumers will take months for the regulators to sort out. The regulators examining such a transaction would dissect each business, determine whether its market is global, national or more local, and determine whether the combined entity has too high a concentration of the business in those areas. Experts agreed that the regulators are most likely to permit Exxon and Mobil to keep their exploratory and oil production businesses because those areas are already highly competitive and a merger would not result in higher prices. Hervey said those markets are already so fragmented that the combined market share of major American and European oil companies is only 17 percent.",
"Times are tough in the oil patch. Still, it boggles the mind to accept the notion that hardship is driving profitable Big Oil to either merge, as British Petroleum and Amoco have already agreed to do, or at least to consider the prospect, as Exxon and Mobil are doing. Still, Big Oil and small oil are getting squeezed by low petroleum prices and the high capital costs of exploration. Given the exotic locales of the most promising, untapped fields, it seems unlikely that exploration will get cheaper. And with West Texas crude trading at around $12 a barrel, it seems a safe bet oil that won't be selling for $100 a barrel by the turn of the century _ a price some analysts in the early 1980s were predicting it would reach. Philip K. Verleger Jr., publisher of Petroleum Economics Monthly and a senior adviser to the Brattle Group, a Cambridge, Mass., consulting firm, spent some time late last week talking about Mobil, Exxon and the changing dynamics of the oil business. Following are excerpts from the conversation: Q. (italics)There is a lot of focus on the antitrust aspects of an Exxon-Mobil deal. Do you see any problems?(end italics) A. Let me say right off that I don't think this is a done deal. I think it is far from that. But if it were to happen, I don't see many problems. BP Amoco is the perfect end-to-end merger, one in which there is little or no overlap with the company you are merging with. Exxon-Mobil comes close. The first issue is competition in local markets. The only possible problem area there is on the West Coast, but both companies are pretty small players there. If there is a reason this merger might get extra attention, it will be because Exxon and Mobil have not been terribly friendly toward either the Clinton administration's or the European Union's positions on global warming. Q. (italics)Why are you skeptical about the deal?(end italics) A. Well, Mobil has been trying to get bigger. They had talks with Amoco. They wanted to buy Conoco. But I don't understand where Lucio Noto, Mobil's chief executive, fits into this. That could be an impediment to an agreement, because in a merger I don't think he has a place, and he has been a very strong leader. Q. (italics)Mobil is the country's second-biggest oil company, behind Exxon. Why do they need to get bigger?(end italics) A. In the first decade of the next century, the really big exploration opportunities will be very capital intensive, and only companies with the deepest pockets will be able to stay in the game: Royal Dutch, Exxon and BP Amoco. Companies of Mobil's size are probably marginal players. Q. (italics)That suggests Mobil has been harder hit than Exxon by the downturn in prices.(end italics) A. From 1988 to 1996, Exxon's exploration and production expenditures rose 8 percent. Mobil's rose 14 percent. But Mobil's expenditures were much more sensitive to price elasticities of oil than Exxon's. They were pushing the envelope, and when prices fell they had to cut back. Exxon has tried to build a very large presence systematically, without paying much attention to month-to-month or even year-to-year fluctuations in oil prices. They are brutally efficient. Q. (italics)Earlier this month the Energy Department said oil prices would stay soft for nearly a decade. Do you agree?(end italics) A. You know, every time I see forecasts that go out that far I want to go out and buy stock in oil companies. I think we are going to see low oil prices for six months to a year. It is conceivable we could go into the next century with oil at $5 a barrel, depending on what happens to the world economy. During that period, we are going to see a substantial reduction in investment in exploration and production, leading to a reduction in supply coming out of non-OPEC countries. That will strengthen the hands of the OPEC countries. And when the Asian economies start growing again that will lead to a good deal higher oil prices, say $20 a barrel, in the next 18 months. Q. (italics)The number of oil companies is going to shrink in coming years, regardless, isn't it?(end italics) A. We are probably heading toward a world in which there are no more than five or six big oil companies, possibly eight. There is really no precedent for having as many big players as we have in the oil business in this modern society. Q. (italics)Do you think oil stocks are a good investment?(end italics) A. I think oil companies are still a worthwhile investment, but it is not a place where an investor should plan on making money over the next 9 to 12 months. And it is an area where investors need to be careful, because in that period there will be a good deal of consolidation among smaller companies."
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"News that Exxon and Mobil, two giants in the energy patch, were in merger talks last week is the biggest sign yet that corporate marriages are back in vogue. Even before that combination came to light, deal-making was fast and furious. On Monday alone, $40.4 billion in corporate acquisitions were either announced or declared imminent. Driving the resurgence in mergers is a roaring stock market, the recognition by major corporations that it is getting harder to increase revenues internally and growing confidence among market players that the economy will not plunge into a recession next year. There are also industry-specific issues, like low crude-oil prices that are driving oil giants into one another's arms. But for investors, mega-marriages are not where the real money is to be made. Rather, it is among smaller companies, whose still-depressed stock prices are luring bigger acquirers with stocks that again are near their peaks. If Exxon buys Mobil at close to current prices, deals this month will have a total value of more than $140 billion _ off from April's peak of $244 billion but three times the volume in September, when the stock market was falling. Which industries are likely to witness the most mergers? Tom Burnett, director of Merger Insight, an institutional investment advisory firm in New York, says more deals are a certainty in energy, which is suffering from low crude-oil prices. Burnett also says health care executives are finding it tougher than ever to lift earnings. But smaller companies may be a better way to play the takeover game. Charles LaLoggia, editor of the Special Situation Investor newsletter in Potomac, Md., said: ``Some of the premiums in high-profile mergers aren't so great anymore. The values are in small-cap stocks.'' Another reason is that deals involving smaller-cap candidates are less likely to incur the wrath of antitrust regulators. LaLoggia reckons that the odds of picking takeover winners increase if an investor focuses on companies already partially owned by another. In the energy sector, Houston Exploration qualifies, he says; the oil and gas driller is 66 percent owned by Keyspan Energy. He also believes more deals are imminent among drug chains and supermarkets. Longs Drug Stores and Drug Emporium, he says, remain acquisition candidates, though neither is controlled by another concern. In supermarkets, LaLoggia likes the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., 55 percent owned by Tengelmann Group of Germany. Another pick is Smart and Final, an operator of warehouse-style stores that is 55 percent owned by the U.S. subsidiary of Groupe Casino, France's largest supermarket chain. ``Both A&P and Smart and Final are trading at just about book value,'' LaLoggia said. Takeovers typically occur above book value. Finally, he recommends National Presto Industries, a maker of housewares and electrical appliances, which is trading near $39, close to its low for the year. The company has $30 a share in cash on its balance sheet, no debt and a dividend yield of 5 percent. After last month's announced acquisition of Rubbermaid by the Newell Co., LaLoggia thinks National Presto could find itself in an acquirer's cross-hairs.",
"It was new highs again for the Standard & Poor's 500-stock and Nasdaq composite indexes Friday as anticipation of a new wave of mergers and a general rush by investors to join the equity rebound pushed stocks up. Oil stocks led the way as investors soaked up the news of continuing talks between Exxon and Mobil on a merger that would create the world's largest oil company. Internet and computer stocks also rallied, helped in part by the announcement on Tuesday of America Online's purchase of Netscape Communications in a three-way deal involving Sun Microsystems. At the same time, Germany's Deutsche Bank and Bankers Trust are scheduled to formally announce their merger on Monday. ``There is no question that the merger euphoria is the headline,'' said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer at the First Albany Corp. ``But the flow into mutual funds is also strong.'' Exxon rose 1 11/16, to 74], while Mobil jumped 7|, to 86. Chevron, reflecting the bounce that other oil companies got from the merger news, climbed 5\\, to 85|. Exxon and Chevron, along with IBM, which rose 3\\, to 170, were the main drivers of the Dow Jones industrial average. It climbed 18.80 points, or two-tenths of a percent, to 9,333.08. It now stands just 41 points short of the record it set Monday and up 1.9 percent for the week. Mobil, along with Exxon, Chevron, IBM and Microsoft, which rose 3 13/16, to 128 1/16, were the power behind the S & P. It climbed 5.46 points, or five-tenths of a percent, to 1,192.33, a new high, the second of the week. It jumped 2.5 percent in the last five trading days. Cisco Systems, up 2 15/16, to 80; MCI Worldcom, up 1 11/16, to 62 7/16; Sun Microsystems, up 4|, to 80], and Microsoft pushed the Nasdaq index to its first new high since July 20. The technology-heavy index finished 31.23 points, or 1.57 percent, higher, at 2,016.44. It was up 4.6 percent for the week. Whether Friday's gains will stick will not be known before Monday. It was a shortened trading session, with the New York Stock Exchange closing at 1 p.m., and trading volume, at 257 million shares, made it the lightest day of the year. In the bond market, which also closed early because of the Thanksgiving weekend, the price of the 30-year Treasury bond rose 11/32, to 101 12/32. The bond's yield, which moves in the opposite direction from the price, fell to 5.16 percent from 5.18 percent on Wednesday. Long-term and short-term yields all slipped lower this week despite new economic data that indicated the economy was stronger in the third quarter than expected and seems to be moving along at a good pace in the current quarter. This small recovery in the face of stronger growth is probably because new inflation numbers show that prices are in check and analysts are still forecasting that the economy will begin to slow down next year. Many analysts have noted during the eight-week stock market rally, in which the Nasdaq composite index jumped 42 percent, that investors were buying again even though major financial problems around the world _ including a slumping Asia, a weakening Latin America and a troubled Russia _ have not been resolved. Johnson said he thought that investors, inspired by the Federal Reserve's three interest rate cuts in two months and by the new stimulus package in Japan, assume that these problems will be solved. ``Investors are looking over the valley and they like what they see,'' he said. But he worries that the financial crisis, which began in Thailand in July 1997 and was intensified by the effective default of Russia in August, will not go away quickly. ``It seems that in every financial crisis, everybody gets the impression that the storm has passed,'' Johnson said. ``But it is never that easy.''",
"They have been downsized, cut back and re-engineered. So when the 900 or so remaining blue-collar workers here at Mobil's largest domestic refinery, out of about 1,500 a decade ago, heard last week that their company was discussing a possible merger with Exxon, it was like a siren warning them that an already suspect valve might be about to blow. ``I think it's a terrible thing,'' said Dick Mabry, a refinery operator, as he emerged in the plant's artificial twilight from the main gate after his 12-hour shift ended at 4:30 on Sunday morning. He stopped to rub eyes rimmed with red, but on this topic his bedtime could be delayed. ``It's a revival of the Standard Oil Company. It's going to put 20 or 30 thousand people out of work. I think the Justice Department should step in and stop it.'' Ernest Lewis, whose overalls bore a ``Big E'' patch appropriate to his scale, added his uh-huh's. The latest evidence of where things were heading hulked right nearby, he said, glancing over at a new power plant likely to be operated by an outside company without the unions that now man the refinery's generators. But if the Mobil Corp. has to be sold, Lewis said, noting the gains in his company stock holdings, a buyer as solid and large as the Exxon Corp. might be the least of all evils. ``If we merged with Chevron, we'd be Moron,'' he added. A growing American economy that can make a billionaire out of someone with an unproven idea for Internet marketing is still sloughing off workers in older industries, in petroleum as much as any. Those here point to the tote board by the Beaumont plant's brick headquarters, that they say shows they have already handled 171 million barrels out of 130 million planned for the full year. But the numbers that matter even more are the ones like 89.9, 88.9, even 81.9, on nearby gas stations _ the lowest prices, after inflation, since the Depression. Which is why Mobil and Exxon are considering combining into the world's largest oil company. Some people close to the talks cautioned that no deal would be considered by their boards until at least Tuesday, maybe Wednesday. And that is why, beginning last Wednesday evening, the phone at the home of Jimmy Herrington, the president of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Local 4-243 rang without stop. No, he didn't know about that merger talk on television, said Herrington, who also works full-time producing lubricants. He had asked some Mobil managers, in a meeting earlier this month, about all the rumors, but they said they had heard nothing. Oil industry analysts say that the first targets of a combined company's efforts to cut billions of dollars in annual costs would be the office staff and the professionals, like geologists and engineers, in the field. One company's accountants could almost do the work for two. But the crews here fully expect that an Exxon or any other buyer would ask yet again whether the refinery could turn more crude oil into gasoline, motor oil and other products with even fewer people. Union leaders raise the prospect that Exxon would have to sell the refinery. Antitrust regulators, they say, are bound to notice that Exxon has refineries an hour's drive in one direction and three hours in the other, along a Gulf of Mexico crescent that forms the petrochemical industry's home. The Beaumont plant, a steaming, humming chemistry set lining the Neches River off the Gulf, has become the prime provider of livelihoods here since it was built almost under the spray of the nearby Spindletop gusher. With mounting overtime that can stretch a shift to 16 hours or more, workers regularly make $55,000 or $65,000 a year. ``People go there to retire there,'' Herrington said, as he drove around the plant's fenced periphery. Lewis, in his 17th year, is a third-generation employee. But his nephew laboring here too is the exception. The workers streaming to and from the plant before dawn are mostly balding or going gray, a sign that for a full generation the refinery has been more concerned about how to get rid of workers than how to attract them. The cutbacks have, so far, come through attrition, with retirements often encouraged by incentives. But the plywood sheets covering the windows of most of the fast food places and gas stations around Herrington's union hall advertise that the best times are long gone. His members chafe at the experts who come in from Wall Street to question the justification for every person's job. In tiring and dangerous tasks, they question the elimination of most relief laborers in favor of covering vacations and sickness with overtime (although some like the extra pay, and they say the plant has become safer over the years). They complain about the growing numbers of outside contractors taking over formerly unionized tasks. But with many workers choosing to invest at least some retirement savings in Mobil stock, a 1990s ethos is gaining. Some share credit with the plant's management for the efficiency measures they agree are necessary for true job security. Some take the attitude that every company is always for sale. ``They will not be too concerned about what we feel about it,'' said Sam Salim, one of the electrical plant workers whose future is uncertain. ``But if they fork out $60 billion? I'd look it over.'' With most Mobil executives saying as little as possible for now, calls on Sunday to the local plant manager and a company spokesman did not elicit a peep. Union leaders, however, are already squawking. ''I don't believe creating new monopolies is the way to prop up the industry,'' said Robert Wages, a former refinery operator himself and now the union's president, by telephone Saturday. Nevertheless, with admirable foresight the union negotiated a clause in last November's three-year contract extension guaranteeing that any company buyer would have to keep to its terms. Many members, who typically came to work after high school, are already molding the oil companies' latest exploits into case studies fit for rapacious MBA's. ``They're the biggest,'' said Bobby Whisneant, an assistant operator in the gasoline and lubrication oil units, referring to Exxon. He was coming, early on Sunday morning, through a plant gate whose white canopy seems borrowed from a self-service station. ``So they go buy the second biggest. That's one way to get rid of the competition. I just hope it's not something like the 80s _ buying companies and scrapping them.'' Or something like the Robber Baron era a century before, said Mabry, another operator. ``Didn't the teachers teach us all through school that the Standard Oil Company would never come back? Remember that?'' he said, looking to his friend, Lewis, the Big E, for agreement. ``But I better shut up. I still work for Mobil.'' ``Used to,'' Lewis said.",
"Exxon Corp. and Mobil Corp. have held discussions about combining their business operations, a person involved in the talks said Wednesday. It was unclear Wednesday whether talks were continuing. If the companies were to merge, it would create the largest U.S. company in terms of revenue. A possible merger was reported separately by both The Financial Times of London and Bloomberg News. The reported talks between Exxon, whose annual revenue exceeds that of General Electric Co., and Mobil, the No. 2 U.S. oil company, came as oil prices sank to their lowest in almost 12 years. A combined company would be bigger than Royal Dutch/Shell Group, the world's largest oil company by revenue. Financial terms of the discussions could not be determined Wednesday. Neither Exxon or Mobil would comment. Any union would reunite two parts of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust, which was broken up by the Supreme Court in 1911. Exxon was then known as Standard Oil of New Jersey, and Mobil consisted of two companies: Standard Oil of New York and Vacuum Oil. As oil prices have plummeted to levels last seen in the mid-1980s, oil companies have been under pressure to cut costs. Exxon, which has a market value of $176.7 billion, and Mobil, which has a market value of $61.1 billion, both have histories of being fiercely independent, and both have already cut back on staff and made themselves lean to survive even during a prolonged period of low oil prices. But this has been a particularly unsettling year for the oil industry, and there is little prospect that crude oil prices will recover soon. Consequently, chief executives of most oil companies have had to swallow their pride and look for suitable partners. This summer, British Petroleum announced an agreement to buy Amoco Corp. for $48.2 million, creating the world's third-largest oil company and prompting analysts to predict even more widespread consolidation. ``It showed that megamergers are doable,'' said Adam Sieminski, an analyst for BT Alex. Brown. He added, however, that any combination between Exxon and Mobil would not be an easy match because Mobil has been known for being a proud company that has said in the past that it would not want to merge. Exxon, he added, is a ``well-run company that likes to grow its own businesses.'' He added that the heads of both companies, Lee Raymond, the chairman of Exxon, which is based in Irving, Texas, and Lucio Noto, the chairman, president and chief executive of Mobil, which is based in Fairfax, Va., are different personalities. ``It will not be easy,'' he said of combining the two far-flung companies, which have vast networks of refineries and gas stations that overlap in the United States and Europe. ``If you offer enough money you can make anything happen,'' he added. Both companies are under pressure to find new fields of oil to help them survive in the long term. Like other oil companies, they had hoped to quickly tap into the vast reserves of Russia. Even though they were prepared to spend billions, they have held back because of the political and economic crisis in Russia and great reluctance by Russian officials and oil companies to give up control of vast fields. Thus they have had to fall back on exploration areas of their own such as the deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico as well as West Africa and parts of Asia. Such exploration is very expensive, and even when a big field is discovered, platforms costing $1 billion or more are required to bring the it into production. Oil prices have been under pressure for more than a year, falling more than 40 percent from the $20-a-barrel level because of growing inventories of petroleum and declining Asian demand caused by the economic crisis there. On Wednesday, crude oil for January delivery fell 29 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $11.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, close to the 12-year low of $11.42 reached on June 15. Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and some other oil-producing nations, notably Mexico, have tried to stem the price drops with pledges to cut back on production. But those pledges have not always been honored, and rallies in the oil market this year have proven short-lived. OPEC members on Wednesday continued their discussion on extending their production cutbacks, and an agreement is expected as early as Thursday. In the spring, OPEC agreed to reduce production by 2.6 million barrels a day, about 3 percent of the daily world supply of 74 million barrels. The main result of that agreement appears to have been to keep oil prices from falling below $10 a barrel. Washington regulators said Wednesday that they had not been notified about the Exxon-Mobil discussions. The Federal Trade Commission is still reviewing British Petroleum's pending purchase of Amoco. An Exxon-Mobil deal would be certain to receive several months' worth of scrutiny by the commission, which would review how much of the industry the combined company would control. Analysts and investment bankers were split about the logic of a potential deal. Some pointed to difficulties that the companies could face if they were combined. ``If you asked me if Exxon needed to be bigger, the answer is probably no,'' said Garfield Miller, president of Aegis Energy Advisors Corp., a small independent investment bank based in New York. ``It is hard to say that there is anything in particular to gain.'' In particular, Miller said, the two companies have enormous similarities in their domestic refining and marketing businesses. ``They really do overlap quite a bit,'' he said. ``You really do wonder what is the benefit of all that redundancy.'' Another investment banker in the energy business, speaking on the condition of anonymity, also questioned the rationale for the discussed merger. ``When you look at the BP-Amoco deal, you can rationalize it,'' the banker said. ``But none of those reasons apply to an Exxon-Mobil deal.'' But Amy Jaffe, an energy research analyst with the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, said the combination of the two companies would be logical, in part because it would give them greater influence in bidding for development projects in the Middle East. ``This is a deal that makes sense,'' Ms. Jaffe said. ``With this combined company, there is no project that would be too big.'' Ms. Jaffe said the proposed deal would provide each company with assets in areas where it had little influence. ``There are a lot of complementary assets where they are not redundant,'' she said. She said that Exxon, for example, has a strong presence in Angola, while Mobil does not. And Mobil has significant assets in the Caspian Sea and Nigeria, where Exxon is weak.",
"Exxon Corp. and Mobil Corp. have held discussions about combining their business operations, a person involved in the talks said Wednesday. It was unclear Wednesday whether talks were continuing. If the companies were to merge, it would create the largest U.S. company in terms of revenue. A possible merger was reported separately by both The Financial Times of London and Bloomberg News. The reported talks between Exxon, whose annual revenue exceeds that of Wal-Mart and General Electric, and Mobil, the No. 2 U.S. oil company, come as oil prices have sunk to their lowest in almost 12 years. A combined company would be bigger than Royal Dutch/Shell Group, the world's largest oil company by revenue. Financial terms of the discussions could not be determined Wednesday. Neither Exxon or Mobil would comment. Any union would reunite two parts of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust, which was broken up by the Supreme Court in 1911. Exxon was then known as Standard Oil of New Jersey, and Mobil consisted of two companies: Standard Oil of New York and Vacuum Oil. Both Exxon, which has a market value of $176.7 billion, and Mobil, which has a market value of $61.1 billion, have a history of being fiercely independence. Both have already cut back on staff and made themselves lean in order to survive long periods when oil prices are low. But this has been a particularly unsettling year for the oil industry, and there is little prospect that crude oil prices will recover soon. Consequently, chief executives of most oil companies have had to swallow their pride and look for suitable partners. This summer, British Petroleum announced a $48.2 billion agreement to buy Amoco Corp., creating the world's third-largest oil company and prompting analysts to predict even more widespread consolidation. ``It showed that megamergers are doable,'' said Adam Sieminski, an analyst for BT Alex. Brown. He added, however, that a combination between Exxon and Mobil would not be an easy match because Mobil has been known for being a proud company that has said in the past that it would not want to merge. Exxon, he added, is a ``well run company that likes to grow its own businesses.'' He added that the heads of both companies, Lee Raymond, the chairman of Exxon, which is based in Irving, Texas, and Lucio Noto, the chairman, president and chief executive of Mobil, which is based in Fairfax, Va., are different personalities. ``It will not be easy,'' he said of combining the two far-flung companies, which have vast networks of refineries and gas stations that overlap in the United States and Europe. ``If you offer enough money you can make anything happen,'' he added. Both companies are under pressure to find new fields of oil to help them survive in the long term. Like other oil companies, they had hoped to quickly tap into the vast reserves of Russia. Even though they were prepared to spend billions, they have held back because of the political and economic crisis in Russia and great reluctance by Russian officials and oil companies to give up control of vast fields. Thus they have had to fall back on their own exploration areas such as the deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico and West Africa. Such exploration is very expensive, and even when large fields are found it often takes platforms costing $1 billion to bring the oil into production. Oil prices have been under pressure for more than a year, falling more than 40 percent from the $20-a-barrel level because of growing inventories of petroleum and declining Asian demand caused by the economic crisis there. On Wednesday, crude oil for January delivery fell 29 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $11.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, close to the 12-year low of $11.42 reached on June 15. Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and some other oil-producing nations, notably Mexico, have tried to stem the price drops with pledges to cut back on production. But those pledges have not always been honored, and rallies in the oil market this year have proven short-lived. OPEC members on Wednesday continued their discussion on extending their production cutbacks, and an agreement is expected as early as Thursday. In the spring, OPEC agreed to reduce production by 2.6 million barrels a day, about 3 percent of the daily world supply of 74 million barrels. The main result of that agreement appears to have been to keep oil prices from falling below $10 a barrel. Washington regulators said Wednesday that they had not been notified about the Exxon-Mobil discussions. The Federal Trade Commission is still reviewing British Petroleum's pending purchase of Amoco. An Exxon-Mobil deal would be certain to receive several months' worth of scrutiny by the commission, which would review how much of the industry such a merger would control. Analysts and investment bankers were split about the logic of the possible merger. Some pointed to difficulties that the companies could face if they were combined. ``If you asked me if Exxon needed to be bigger, the answer is probably no,'' said Garfield Miller, president of Aegis Energy Advisors Corp., a small independent investment bank based in New York. ``It is hard to say that there is anything in particular to gain.'' In particular, Miller said, the two companies have enormous similarities in their domestic refining and marketing businesses. ``They really do overlap quite a bit,'' he said. ``You really do wonder what is the benefit of all that redundancy.'' Another investment banker in the energy business, speaking on the condition of anonymity, also questioned the rationale for the discussed merger. ``When you look at the BP-Amoco deal, you can rationalize it,'' the banker said. ``But none of those reasons apply to an Exxon-Mobil deal.'' But Amy Jaffe, an energy research analyst with the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, said the combination of the two companies would be logical, in part because it would give them greater influence in bidding for projects in Middle Eastern countries. ``This is a deal that makes sense,'' Ms. Jaffe said. ``With this combined company, there is no project that would be too big.'' In addition, Ms. Jaffe said, the merger would provide each company with new oil and gas assets in areas of the world where they had little influence. ``There are a lot of complimentary assets where they are not redundant,'' she said. She said that Exxon, for example, has a strong presence in Angola, while Mobil does not. And Mobil has significant assets in the Caspian Sea and Nigeria, where Exxon is weak.",
"Times are tough in the oil patch. Still, it boggles the mind to accept the notion that hardship is driving profitable Big Oil to either merge, as British Petroleum and Amoco have already agreed to do, or at least to consider the prospect, as Exxon and Mobil are doing. Oil companies of all stripes are getting squeezed by low petroleum prices and the high capital costs of exploration. Given the exotic locales of the most promising untapped fields, it seems unlikely that exploration will get cheaper. And with West Texas crude trading at around $12 a barrel, it seems a safe bet that oil won't be selling for $100 a barrel by the turn of the century _ something analysts were predicting during the oil price run-up of the early 1980s. Philip Verleger Jr., publisher of Petroleum Economics Monthly and a senior adviser to the Brattle Group, a Cambridge, Mass., consulting firm, spent some time late last week talking about Mobil, Exxon and the changing dynamics of the oil business. Following are excerpts from the conversation: Q. There is a lot of focus on the antitrust aspects of an Exxon-Mobil deal. Do you see any problems? A. Let me say right off that I don't think this is a done deal. I think it is far from that. But if it were to happen, I don't see many problems. BP Amoco is the perfect end-to-end merger, one in which there is little or no overlap with the company you are merging with. Exxon-Mobil comes close. The first issue is competition in local markets. The only possible problem area there is on the West Coast, but both companies are pretty small players there. If there is a reason this merger might get extra attention, it will be because Exxon and Mobil have not been terribly friendly toward either the Clinton administration's or the European Union's positions on global warming. Q. Why are you skeptical about the deal? A. Well, Mobil has been trying to get bigger. They had talks with Amoco. They wanted to buy Conoco. But I don't understand where Lucio Noto, Mobil's chief executive, fits into this. That could be an impediment to an agreement, because in a merger I don't think he has a place, and he has been a very strong leader. Q. Mobil is the country's second-biggest oil company, behind Exxon. Why do they need to get bigger? A. In the first decade of the next century, the really big exploration opportunities will be very capital intensive, and only companies with the deepest pockets will be able to stay in the game: Royal Dutch, Exxon and BP Amoco. Companies of Mobil's size are probably marginal players. Q. That suggests Mobil has been harder hit than Exxon by the downturn in prices. A. From 1988 to 1996, Exxon's exploration and production expenditures rose 8 percent. Mobil's rose 14 percent. But Mobil's expenditures were much more sensitive to the price elasticities of oil than Exxon's. They were pushing the envelope, and when prices fell they had to cut back. Exxon has tried to build a very large presence systematically, without paying much attention to month-to-month or even year-to-year fluctuations in oil prices. They are brutally efficient. Q. Earlier this month the Energy Department said oil prices would stay soft for nearly a decade. Do you agree? A. You know, every time I see forecasts that go out that far I want to go out and buy stock in oil companies. I think we are going to see low oil prices for six months to a year. It is conceivable we could go into the next century with oil at $5 a barrel, depending on what happens to the world economy. During that period, we are going to see a substantial reduction in investment in exploration and production, leading to a reduction in supply coming out of non-OPEC countries. That will strengthen the hands of the OPEC countries. And when the Asian economies start growing again, that will lead to a good deal higher oil prices, say $20 a barrel, in the next 18 months. Q. The number of oil companies is going to shrink in coming years, regardless, isn't it? A. We are probably heading toward a world in which there are no more than five or six big oil companies, possibly eight. There is really no precedent for having as many big players as we have in the oil business in this modern society. Q. Do you think oil stocks are a good investment? A. I think oil companies are still a worthwhile investment, but it is not a place where an investor should plan on making money over the next 9 to 12 months. And it is an area where investors need to be careful, because in that period there will be a good deal of consolidation among smaller companies.",
"The boards of Exxon Corp. and Mobil Corp. are expected to meet Tuesday to consider a possible merger agreement that would form the world's largest oil company, a source close to the negotiations said Friday. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said ``the prospects were good'' for completing an agreement. Exxon and Mobil confirmed Friday that they were discussing ways to combine. They cautioned, however, that no agreement had been reached and there was no assurance they would reach one. The statement sent the stock of both companies surging, suggesting investors believe the companies will combine. Shares of Exxon, the biggest U.S. oil company, rose $1.6875, or 2.3 percent, to $74.375. Shares of Mobil, the No. 2 U.S. oil company, rose $7.625, or 9.7 percent, to $86. Some analysts said that if the two giants reached an agreement, it was likely to be in the form of a takeover by Exxon of Mobil. Exxon is far larger and financially stronger. Analysts predicted that there would be huge cuts in duplicate staff from both companies, which employ 122,700 people. Adam Sieminski, an oil analyst for BT Alex. Brown, said that the companies would probably make cuts to save about $3 billion to $5 billion a year. Sieminski and other analysts said Exxon would have to offer a premium of about 15 to 20 percent over its price prior to Monday, when serious speculation of an Exxon takeover of Mobil first circulated and sent Mobil shares up sharply. They said the transaction would probably be an exchange of Mobil shares for Exxon shares. Based on Mobil's $75.25 share price a week ago, a takeover of the company would be worth about $70 billion. The merger discussions come against a backdrop of particularly severe pressure on Lucio Noto, the chairman, president and chief executive of Mobil, to find new reserves of oil and natural gas and to keep big projects profitable at a time of a deep decline in crude oil prices. ``This is one of the most intelligent chief executives in the business and a man of considerable ability but he inherited some serious structural problems in his company,'' said J. Robin West, the chairman of Petroleum Finance Co., a consulting group to the energy industry based in Washington. He said that Mobil's prime assets include the Arun natural gas field in Indonesia, one of the largest in the world, which has contributed up to one-third of Mobil's profits for years but is beginning to run down. The field, in production since 1977, supplies liquefied natural gas to Japan and Korea. Although Mobil under Noto has moved quickly to cut costs and muscle its way into promising new areas such as Kazakhstan, where it is a partner in a joint venture to develop the huge Tengiz oil field, the payoff from such ventures is many years away. Other companies face similar strains. ``The challenge is to replace their crown jewels and grow in an increasingly competitive environment,'' West said. Noto has not been shy about sitting down with other companies such as British Petroleum and Amoco this year to see if a combination made sense. Although Exxon chairman Lee Raymond heads a much stronger and bigger company than Mobil, he has not been immune to the strains on the global petroleum business. Those strains intensified this year when Russia's economic collapse raised the risks of Exxon's extensive exploration venture in that country. Exxon has also been more of a follower than a leader in huge projects in the deep offshore fields, where major finds have been made near West Africa and in the Gulf of Mexico.",
"Whether or not the talks between Exxon and Mobil lead to a merger or some other business combination, America's economic history is already being rewritten. In energy as in businesses like financial services, telecommunications and automobiles, global competition and technology have made unthinkable combinations practical, even necessary. Oil companies like Exxon Corp. and Mobil Corp. have an additional pressure, one unthinkable less than two decades ago. Crude oil prices have fallen sharply, plunging 40 percent just this year to levels, adjusted for inflation, not seen since before the first oil embargo 25 years ago. As such, the oil companies, having spent years cutting their costs, are desperate for further savings in order to continue operating profitably with such low prices. Exxon and Mobil are the two largest, strongest competitors to emerge from the nation's most famous antitrust case, the 1911 breakup of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust. Now they face a Royal Dutch/Shell Group that is larger than either of them. They will also confront a British Petroleum PLC made far more potent in the United States by its agreement this summer to buy Amoco Corp. for $48.2 billion. Industry executives say further deals on this scale are inevitable. Executives at both companies did not return calls Thursday for comment on the talks, and it was unclear Thursday night what the outcome might be. But if Exxon and Mobil agree to become one, antitrust regulators are likely to be cautious about putting back together much of what they long ago broke apart. Even so, most oil industry analysts contend that improved efficiency from combining giant energy companies would do more to lower costs than the more concentrated ownership of gas stations and refineries would do to raise them. ``The ultimate beneficiary of all this will be the consumer,'' said Daniel Yergin, the chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates. If Exxon and Mobil ultimately do combine, the costs could prove heaviest for energy industry employees. Analysts say that of the about 80,000 global employees at Exxon, based in Irving, Texas, and the more than 40,000 at Mobil, in Fairfax, Va., thousands would be likely to lose their jobs. Exxon, with Lee R. Raymond, and Mobil, with Lucio A. Noto, both have chief executives who have been preoccupied with the humbling accommodations that low oil prices have made necessary. Oil companies were everybody's favorite targets during the trust-busting era early this century and again during the Arab oil embargoes of the 1970s. Now they seem especially vulnerable as demand weakens in much of the world, especially in economically troubled Asia, weighing further on already depressed prices. ``They're pitiful, helpless giants,'' said Ronald Chernow, the author of ``Titan,'' a biography of John D. Rockefeller, Standard Oil's founder. As such, these giants are compelled to continue cutting costs and spreading the risks of their huge, expensive international projects that are needed to develop oil reserves needed for the next century. Mobil, with $58.4 billion in sales last year, might seem large enough to undertake anything. But in competing for rights to develop huge natural gas fields in Turkmenistan, a former Soviet republic, Mobil was unable to match Shell's offer to build a pipeline for $1 billion or more. Oil companies have decided that they cannot count on a rebound in oil prices to revive their fortunes any time soon. Earlier this month, the Energy Department predicted that the collapse of Asian demand would continue to depress oil prices for nearly a decade, and by as much as $5.50 a barrel in the year 2000. And Thursday, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries put off until March any decision on extending their oil production cutbacks to prop up prices. Moreover, improving technology for exploration and production and the opening of new regions to development have added to the already huge supply of oil that is on hand now. In response, many energy companies have already begun a new wave of cutbacks in their staffs and operations. To further reduce costs, companies like Mobil are forming partnerships that stop short of full mergers. Two years ago, Mobil agreed to combine its European refining and marketing operations with British Petroleum's, resulting in annual savings of about $500 million. Shell and Texaco then formed a refining partnership in the United States. In the face of these partnerships, said Amy Jaffe, an energy analysts with the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy in Houston, ``if you're an Exxon, how do you compete?'' Though Mobil and Exxon might have high concentrations of gas stations in certain areas of the United States, analysts say they have far more competition at the pump than before oil prices collapsed in the 1980s. Thousands of convenience stores now also sell gasoline produced by a variety of refining companies, and foreign national oil companies, like Venezuela's, sell their supplies through acquired companies like Citgo. Under Noto, Mobil has been hunting for ways of becoming large and lean enough to survive. He took the lead in the deal with British Petroleum and has considered buying up smaller companies. And he has made it clear that corporate or personal pride would never block a deal. In the European agreement with British Petroleum, Mobil's red flying horses have come down from the fronts of many gas stations, while the green and yellow BP logos have gone up. As major oil companies team up, said John Hervey, an analyst with Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, ``If the price is right, egos will not get in the way.'' In the past, Mobil reportedly had further talks with British Petroleum about other combinations, as well as talks with Amoco about forming an American refining venture. The company was also interested in Conoco Inc. when DuPont Co. began looking to divest itself of that oil and gas business. But no deals were reached. More recently, there was speculation on Wall Street that Mobil had been talking with Chevron Corp. British Petroleum purchase of Amoco put more pressure on Noto to seek a deal, Hervey said. ``I don't think this whole thing would have started if British Petroleum had not pulled the trigger,'' he said. The British Petroleum-Amoco deal, progressing quickly since the August announcement towards an expected $2 billion in annual savings, has put even companies as large as Exxon on the spot. There, Raymond has so far concentrated more on making his operations more efficient than on finding allies. Though Royal Dutch/Shell's financial resources are greater than Exxon's, some analysts say Exxon still has the size and soundness to absorb a company of Mobil's size. Only the largest oil companies can afford to take advantage of today's best opportunities. Finding new fields in the deep waters off the coast of West Africa or in the Gulf of Mexico can require platforms costing $1 billion or more. Producing oil in the states of the former Soviet Union has taken more time and money than many investors anticipated. In September, Noto was among the American executives invited by a Saudi leader visiting Washington to greatly step up investments in his country, too. Noto spent from 1977 to 1985 in Saudi Arabia himself, building up Mobil operations including a huge refinery. But any new partnerships with the Saudis might require both Mobil's connections and Exxon's capital. Back when Standard Oil organized its operations by state, Exxon was Standard Oil of New Jersey, while Mobil was Standard Oil of New York. Even after the Standard Oil monopoly was broken up, they remained for several years in the same building in Manhattan. Chernow, the Rockefeller biographer, noted that two pieces of the Standard Oil trust are already likely to be united. British Petroleum bought Standard Oil of Ohio in the 1970s, and Amoco was once Standard Oil of Indiana. The break-up of Standard Oil and the resulting competition has often been cited as a precedent for the current antitrust action against Microsoft. Chernow sees no reason why allowing an Exxon acquisition of Mobil to go through should suggest more leniency for Microsoft. ``Exxon would not be obviously larger than its leading competitors, the way Microsoft is,'' he said. In the energy business today, he added, ``there are other large dinosaurs that stalk that particular jungle.''",
"Exxon and Mobil, the nation's two largest oil companies, confirmed Friday that they were discussing a possible merger, and antitrust lawyers, industry analysts and government officials predicted that any deal would require the sale of important large pieces of such a new corporate behemoth. Those divestitures would further reshape an industry already undergoing a broad transformation because of the low price of oil. But the mergers and other corporate combinations are also beginning to create a new regulatory climate among antitrust officials, one that may prove particularly challenging to Exxon and Mobil. Although the companies only confirmed that they were discussing the possibility of a merger, a person close to the discussions said the boards of both Exxon and Mobil were expected to meet Tuesday to consider an agreement. Shares of both surged on the New York Stock Exchange. Oil exploration and drilling interests would not necessarily present antitrust problems in an Exxon-Mobil merger because competition in those areas is brisk. But in retailing and marketing operations, an Exxon-Mobil combination would be ``like Ford merging with General Motors, Macy's with Gimbels,'' said Stephen Axinn, an antitrust lawyer in New York who represented Texaco in its acquisition of Getty more than a decade ago. In the United States, the deal would come under the purview of the Federal Trade Commission, which under the Clinton administration has examined large corporate mergers with a vigor not seen since the 1970s. The agency has blocked a number of proposed mergers, such as the $4 billion combination of Staples and Office Depot, the two largest office supply discounters, and two deals involving the four largest drug wholesalers. On the other hand it has approved other big mergers, such as Boeing's $14 billion acquisition of McDonnell Douglas. The agency's analysis of an Exxon-Mobil combination, a senior official said Friday, will turn on how it might resemble John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil trust before it was dismantled by the Supreme Court in 1911. ``The big antitrust issue is whether, by a merger or alliance, they will be able to get the competition of one another off their backs, particularly against the background of BP-Amoco and Shell-Texaco,'' said Eleanor M. Fox, a professor at the New York University School of Law and an antitrust expert. ``It may be that we are looking at a consolidation on the world level that looked like the consolidation on the national level 100 years ago.'' The Federal Trade Commission recently approved a significant joint venture between Shell and Texaco after the venture agreed to sell a refinery and divest some retailing operations in Hawaii and California. It is also considering the proposed $54 billion merger of British Petroleum and Amoco and will now have to re-examine that combination in light of the new talks between Exxon and Mobil. ``In the past, when there have been two mergers involving the same industry, the government has considered them together in deciding how to deal with them,'' said Terry Calvani, a former commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission whose clients now include Chevron. But coming in the aftermath of the Shell-Texaco and BP-Amoco deals, a combination of Exxon and Mobil, which have significantly overlapping retail and refinery businesses in the United States and Europe, poses questions that antitrust officials have not confronted since the 1980s. ``It's a real test case,'' said Frederick Leuffer, a senior energy analyst at Bear Stearns. ``If the FTC let this one go through without major divesting, then everything would be fair game. Why couldn't GM merge with Ford?'' While the 1911 breakup of Standard Oil is viewed by Washington officials and industry executives as ancient history, Exxon and Mobil have become the dominant rivals in some retailing and refining markets, and in the production of lubricants and petrochemicals. Leuffer said he believed divestitures necessary in this case ``could be so large that they are deal-breakers.'' Other analysts and lawyers, while disagreeing that the required divestitures could kill the deal, said the companies would nonetheless have to shed significant operations and that they expected challenges to be raised by a broad spectrum of constituents, including competitors, customers and state officials. ``These are not absolute obstacles,'' said John Hervey, an analyst at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette. In the past, when two big oil companies have merged, aggressive attorneys general from the states have almost always become involved in raising questions because of the high visibility of the local gas station. ``When a state attorney general drives by and sees four stations on a corner and two of them are Mobil and Exxon, they are certain to raise questions,'' Axinn said. Exxon and Mobil have significant concentrations of retailing and marketing concerns in the Northeast, the Southwest and the West Coast, where they also have big refining operations. Because the two companies are involved in everything from exploration and shipping to refining and retailing, the meaning of the deal for consumers will take months for the regulators to sort out. The regulators examining such a transaction would dissect each business, determine whether its market is global, national or more local, and determine whether the combined entity has too high a concentration of the business in those areas. Experts agreed that the regulators are most likely to permit Exxon and Mobil to keep their exploratory and oil production businesses because those areas are already highly competitive and a merger would not result in higher prices. Hervey said those markets are already so fragmented that the combined market share of major American and European oil companies is only 17 percent.",
"Times are tough in the oil patch. Still, it boggles the mind to accept the notion that hardship is driving profitable Big Oil to either merge, as British Petroleum and Amoco have already agreed to do, or at least to consider the prospect, as Exxon and Mobil are doing. Still, Big Oil and small oil are getting squeezed by low petroleum prices and the high capital costs of exploration. Given the exotic locales of the most promising, untapped fields, it seems unlikely that exploration will get cheaper. And with West Texas crude trading at around $12 a barrel, it seems a safe bet oil that won't be selling for $100 a barrel by the turn of the century _ a price some analysts in the early 1980s were predicting it would reach. Philip K. Verleger Jr., publisher of Petroleum Economics Monthly and a senior adviser to the Brattle Group, a Cambridge, Mass., consulting firm, spent some time late last week talking about Mobil, Exxon and the changing dynamics of the oil business. Following are excerpts from the conversation: Q. (italics)There is a lot of focus on the antitrust aspects of an Exxon-Mobil deal. Do you see any problems?(end italics) A. Let me say right off that I don't think this is a done deal. I think it is far from that. But if it were to happen, I don't see many problems. BP Amoco is the perfect end-to-end merger, one in which there is little or no overlap with the company you are merging with. Exxon-Mobil comes close. The first issue is competition in local markets. The only possible problem area there is on the West Coast, but both companies are pretty small players there. If there is a reason this merger might get extra attention, it will be because Exxon and Mobil have not been terribly friendly toward either the Clinton administration's or the European Union's positions on global warming. Q. (italics)Why are you skeptical about the deal?(end italics) A. Well, Mobil has been trying to get bigger. They had talks with Amoco. They wanted to buy Conoco. But I don't understand where Lucio Noto, Mobil's chief executive, fits into this. That could be an impediment to an agreement, because in a merger I don't think he has a place, and he has been a very strong leader. Q. (italics)Mobil is the country's second-biggest oil company, behind Exxon. Why do they need to get bigger?(end italics) A. In the first decade of the next century, the really big exploration opportunities will be very capital intensive, and only companies with the deepest pockets will be able to stay in the game: Royal Dutch, Exxon and BP Amoco. Companies of Mobil's size are probably marginal players. Q. (italics)That suggests Mobil has been harder hit than Exxon by the downturn in prices.(end italics) A. From 1988 to 1996, Exxon's exploration and production expenditures rose 8 percent. Mobil's rose 14 percent. But Mobil's expenditures were much more sensitive to price elasticities of oil than Exxon's. They were pushing the envelope, and when prices fell they had to cut back. Exxon has tried to build a very large presence systematically, without paying much attention to month-to-month or even year-to-year fluctuations in oil prices. They are brutally efficient. Q. (italics)Earlier this month the Energy Department said oil prices would stay soft for nearly a decade. Do you agree?(end italics) A. You know, every time I see forecasts that go out that far I want to go out and buy stock in oil companies. I think we are going to see low oil prices for six months to a year. It is conceivable we could go into the next century with oil at $5 a barrel, depending on what happens to the world economy. During that period, we are going to see a substantial reduction in investment in exploration and production, leading to a reduction in supply coming out of non-OPEC countries. That will strengthen the hands of the OPEC countries. And when the Asian economies start growing again that will lead to a good deal higher oil prices, say $20 a barrel, in the next 18 months. Q. (italics)The number of oil companies is going to shrink in coming years, regardless, isn't it?(end italics) A. We are probably heading toward a world in which there are no more than five or six big oil companies, possibly eight. There is really no precedent for having as many big players as we have in the oil business in this modern society. Q. (italics)Do you think oil stocks are a good investment?(end italics) A. I think oil companies are still a worthwhile investment, but it is not a place where an investor should plan on making money over the next 9 to 12 months. And it is an area where investors need to be careful, because in that period there will be a good deal of consolidation among smaller companies."
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After the bombing of U.S. embassies in East Africa the U.S. on Aug. 20, 1998 made missile attacks on an Al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan and on a pharmaceutical plant in Sudan tenuously linked to Osama bin Laden. In September the U.S. initiated legal action against a Sudanese arrested in Germany and in November charges were prepared against six men including bin Laden. The U.S. had, in support of its case, documentary evidence and a cooperative former senior aide of bin Laden. Meanwhile, authorities reported bin Laden agents active in Bangladesh and the Balkans and the Taliban government of Afghanistan proclaimed bin Laden "a man without sin. Evidence shows Sudanese factory bombed by US is linked to bin Laden. US prosecutors ask for an extension to extradite a bin Laden lieutenant. FBI questions witnesses of Nairobi embassy blast, preparing for trial of 6 suspects. The Taliban says the US is using bin Laden as an excuse to attack Afghanistan. Goal of US August raid there was to kill bin Laden and his aides. The Taliban declares bin Laden a free man, with no proof of anti-US terror. 2 arrested for articles inciting Taliban-style revolt in Bangladesh. Bin Laden cell is in Albania and elsewhere in Europe. Bin Laden aide informs for the US. East African bin Laden cell has security woes in '97. In the aftermath of the almost simultaneous bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa, much has been learned of the terrorist network put together and financed by Saudi billionaire Osama bin Laden. Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the bombings and U.S. cruise missile attack against a supposed terrorist camp in Afghanistan shortly after the bombings was an attempt not only to disrupt the terrorist network but to get bin Laden himself. As the investigation into the bombings continues, more is being learned from seized computers and top aides turned informants. Bin Laden remains in Afghanistan by permission of the Taliban. Following the bombings of the embassies in Africa, the US began a full-scale assault on Osama bin Laden. Attacked were a chemical plant in the Sudan and a camp in Afghanistan where he was believed to be, creating an assassination opportunity. Evidence was gathered from a captured computer and an in-law who defected. Suspects were identified and the FBI began to build a case in New York. Extradition of a suspect from Germany was sought. Reactions from Islamic nations varied: Afghanistan promised him safe haven; more liberal Bandladesh arrested pro-Taliban reporters; Albania feared it was an infiltration center for the rest of Europe, including Kosovo.
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"Police arrested two journalists and charged them with writing articles to encourage Muslim youths to stage an Islamic revolution in Bangladesh after the Taliban model in Afghanistan, a police officer said Thursday. Mufti Abdul Hye and Manzoor Ahmed, editors at ``Jago Mujahid'' or ``Wake Up Mujahid,'' a monthy magazine published from Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital, were jailed for a month shortly after their arrest on Wednesday. They were arrested under a 1974 law that allows police to detain any one for offenses related to national security, the officer said on condition of anonymity. Those arrested need not be taken to court for trial for up to three months. Police seized copies of the newspaper for reproducing a foreign newspaper interview of Afghanistan-based Saudi billionaire Osama Bin Laden, who has been accused by the United States of masterminding bombing attacks on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August. Under Taliban rules women may not study or work outside their houses, and all kinds of light entertainment including music are banned. Men must grow beards of a certain length and criminals are subjected to amputations and public executions Even though Bangladesh is a predominantly Muslim country, it is governed by secular laws. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's liberal government hasn't recognized the Taliban government in Afghanistan.",
"Albania says it has uncovered a terrorist network operated by Osama Bin Laden, the Islamic fundamentalist accused of masterminding the August embassy bombings in Africa, and that it's members have infiltrated other parts of Europe, The Sunday Times reported. The newspaper quoted Fatos Klosi, the head of Shik, the Albanian intelligence service, as saying that Bin Laden's network had sent units to fight in Kosovo, the neighboring Serbian province. ``Egyptians, Saudi Arabians, Algerians, Tunisians, Sudanese and Kuwaitis _ they come from several different organizations,'' Klosi was quoted as telling The Sunday Times. He said he believed terrorists had already infiltrated other parts of Europe from bases in Albania through a traffic in illegal immigrants, who have been smuggled across the Mediterranean to Italy in huge numbers. Interpol believes more than 100,000 blank Albanian passports were stolen in riots last year, providing ample opportunity for terrorists to acquire false papers, the newspaper said. Apparent confirmation of the Bin Laden's activities came earlier this month during the murder trial of Claude Kader, 27, a French national and self-confessed member of Bin Laden's Albanian network, the newspaper said. Kader claimed during the trial that he had visited Albania to recruit and arm fighters for Kosovo, and that four of his associates were still at large. Bin Laden is believed to have established an Albanian operation in 1994 after telling the government that he was head of a wealthy Saudi humanitarian agency wishing to help in Albania, the newspaper reported.",
"If Osama bin Laden ever stands trial in New York for the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Africa and other acts of terror, it is already clear who prosecutors will call as a chief witness: One of his senior aides who has been talking to U.S. investigators for two years. The government has identified the aide in court papers with the pseudonym CS-1, saying the person pleaded guilty to terrorism charges in a secret proceeding in U.S. district court in Manhattan. According to the government, the informant worked closely with bin Laden from 1989 to 1996, a period when prosecutors assert that bin Laden was ordering deadly attacks on U.S. soldiers in Somalia and elsewhere. From the court papers filed in the investigation of the embassy bombings in East Africa in August, it is clear that the informant has provided crucial information to federal investigators. They have cited the source in the papers filed to support the extradition of two associates of bin Laden who are under arrest in Germany and Britain. Bin Laden, a Saudi exile, is thought to be living in Afghanistan. The source is also the basis for many of the significant charges in the indictment against bin Laden himself, including the assertion that he directed the attacks on U.S. soldiers in Somalia and that he attempted to obtain nuclear weapons. It is not known whether the source is in custody somewhere, or hiding under government protection. As recently as 11 days ago, records show, the source swore to a 5-page affidavit before a New York notary summarizing his allegations against bin Laden. Government officials adamantly declined to say anything about the identity of CS-1, which stands for ``confidential source.'' But at least one operative of bin Laden's group in East Africa concluded more than a year ago that he knew the identity of a crucial turncoat: Sidi Tayyib, a businessman who was married to one of bin Laden's relatives. The operative's concerns were inflamed by a report in a British newspaper that Tayyib was cooperating with Saudi and U.S. authorities. In an August, 1997 article, The Daily Telegraph said Tayyib had been in custody in Saudi Arabia since May and had given intelligence officials details of bin Laden's bank accounts and businesses. The news of Tayyib's possible defection, the East African operative wrote in a report apparently intended for the group's commanders, ``almost made me explode. ``An important man with close links to'' bin Laden ``seems to have fallen into the enemy's hands, and we have to take all the appropriate security precautions against that,'' the operative, Haroun Fazil, wrote in his summary of security concerns. Fazil has since been charged in the embassy attacks and remains at large. The report was typed on a computer seized last year by Kenyan authorities, according to a government filing last week in U.S. district court in Manhattan. Thus far, U.S. prosecutors have charged at least six members of bin Laden's organization with terrorist activities or conspiracy. In one recent filing, they said their case will in part be ``based on the testimony'' of the confidential source, suggesting that the informant has agreed to testify at any trial of bin Laden or his associates. The arrangement appears to have resulted from a plea bargain in which the source is cooperating in hopes of receiving a lesser sentence. There is no indication that the source has yet been sentenced and it seems likely that sentencing would take place after the investigation and ensuing trials are complete. In the affidavit prepared last week, the source acknowledged pleading guilty to terrorism charges in the United States and said they stemmed from attacks on U.S. targets, which were not specifically identified. The source described taking ``an oath of allegiance'' to follow bin Laden's orders, and gave a detailed account of bin Laden's group, including its history and inner workings. The source told of private statements by bin Laden to other al Qaeda members, encouraging them to attack U.S. troops and other citizens stationed in the Middle East and Africa. ``I either heard these statements myself,'' the source said, ``or I read them or learned of them from other al Qaeda members.'' The government has also said in other court papers that the source helped identify bin Laden's signature on a 1996 document urging Muslims to kill Americans. Tayyib's whereabouts are unknown and he could not be reached for comment.",
"The Taliban's chief justice accused the United States on Wednesday of looking for an ``excuse'' to launch another missile attack on his war-shattered homeland. And that excuse is Osama bin Laden, the man Washington calls Enemy No. 1 and blames for the Aug. 7 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa, Justice Noor Mohammed Saqib said an interview with The Associated Press. On Aug. 20 the United States retaliated by firing Tomahawk missiles at suspected terrorist camps in eastern Afghanistan, killing 26 people. According to U.S. intelligence sources, the camps were being used to train members of bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist group. ``America is looking for an excuse to fire more rockets on our dear Afghanistan and that excuse is bin Laden,'' Saqib said. Washington, which has posted a dlrs 5 million reward for bin Laden's arrest, hasn't ruled out further attacks on Afghanistan. Saqib, who heads a judicial inquiry established by the Taliban to investigate the terrorism charges against bin Laden, says the United States has become insecure. ``America fears its shadow ... in every part of the world it is afraid and sees every danger connected to bin Laden,'' he said in an interview in the Afghan capital of Kabul. In Afghanistan, bin Laden is considered an honored guest by his Taliban hosts. They cite Afghan tradition, which demands the host guarantee his guest protection. So far Saqib says he has no evidence of bin Laden's involvement in terrorist activities. The Taliban have refused to turn over bin Laden to the United States, but they say if there is evidence they will try him under Islamic law. In the 90 percent of Afghanistan ruled by the Taliban a harsh brand of Islamic justice has been imposed, including the death penalty. ``We want good relations with the United States and all Muslim and non-Muslim countries, but they have to respect our ways,'' he said. Saqib said his inquiry will wind up on Nov. 20 and if there is no evidence against bin Laden the case will be closed _ at least for the Taliban. ``Bin Laden is not a sinful man ... America has been silent ... they have given no evidence,'' he said. ``It is too shameful for America who is now seen by all that world to have no reason to go after bin Laden.''",
"MUNICH, Germany (AP) _ U.S. prosecutors have asked for a 20-day extension to provide Germany with paperwork necessary to extradite a top lieutenant of Saudi terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden, officials said Saturday. Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, 40, of Sudan, has been jailed since his arrest near Munich on Sept. 16 by Bavarian authorities acting on a U.S. warrant. Under German law, U.S. officials have 40 days after the arrest to turn over supporting evidence so a German court can rule on their extradition request. A Bavarian Justice Ministry spokesman, Gerhard Zierl, said U.S. authorities a few days ago asked the court hearing the case for an extra 20 days to provide the necessary material. Quoting unidentified Bavarian law enforcement sources, Focus newsmagazine reported Saturday that the evidence turned over so far was not very strong. The magazine said much of it was based on the testimony of an FBI informant, a former bin Laden associate, who made only vague connections between Salim and terrorist activities. Zierl declined to comment on the report, but said U.S. authorities probably asked for more time just a precautionary measure. U.S. authorities charge Salim helped finance, train and arm members of a terrorist organization, including the alleged bombers of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. A criminal complaint unsealed Sept. 25 in U.S. District Court in New York charges him with murder conspiracy and use of weapons of mass destruction.",
"One of the clear but unstated objectives of last August's raid on Afghanistan was to kill Osama bin Laden and as many of his lieutenants as possible, administration officials now acknowledge. According to the officials, White House lawyers conducted a secret review in the months before the attack and concluded that such operations are legal under U.S. and international law. The officials said the raid was timed so that more than 70 cruise missiles would hit bin Laden's camps at the moment when the Central Intelligence Agency believed he would be meeting there with his chief operatives. A 1976 executive order bars anyone working for the U.S. government from plotting or carrying out assassinations. But officials said the White House legal opinion drafted before the Afghan strike asserts that the president has authority to target the ``infrastructure'' of terrorist groups that are attacking Americans. A top U.S. counterterrorism official said this week that the infrastructure of bin Laden's group is mostly ``human.'' ``As we said from the time of the Aug. 20 strike, the objective was to disrupt the training, organization and infrastructure of the bin Laden terrorist network at the Khost camps,'' said David C. Leavy, a spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House. Targeting infrastructure, officials acknowledged, can also mean destroying the leadership of a terrorist group. ``Command and control of an enemy is a justifiable target,'' Leavy said. Senior administration officials said they never discussed killing bin Laden in their planning sessions. His death, they said in interviews after the attack, would simply have been a side benefit. U.S. intelligence officials say they now believe that bin Laden was in the camp on the day of the attack, but he appears to have left unscathed before the missiles hit. Officials said there were reports that at least one of his senior lieutenants may have died in the attack, and that total casualties in the complex were between 50 and 100. Administration spokesmen have drawn a distinction between attempting to kill a specific person like bin Laden and attacking a group of people who command a terrorist organization. Administration officials have denied since August that the raid was intended to kill bin Laden, a Saudi exile who has been charged by federal prosecutors with leading a global war against U.S. interests. He has been linked to the Aug. 7 bombing of two U.S. embassies in East Africa. But a less subtle explanation was offered on Oct. 13 by Defense Secretary William Cohen, who said during a visit to Saudi Arabia that the United States had been ``going after'' bin Laden and his colleagues. ``We weren't quite successful,'' Cohen continued, ``but we sent a message.'' Kenneth Bacon, the Pentagon spokesman, said the secretary had not retracted his statements. The Los Angeles Times recently reported that the administration believed that it had a legal right to use deadly force against terrorist leaders. Bin Laden's organization was a significant concern for the Clinton administration even before the bombing of the U.S. embassies in East Africa. Last spring, officials said, U.S. intelligence considered a daring raid into Afghanistan to capture the Saudi exile. Officials said that at roughly the same time, the White House drafted the legal justification for military attacks against a terrorist leadership. That review, officials said, provided the legal basis in August to fire cruise missiles into the meeting at which it was believed bin Laden and his lieutenants would be gathered. The review, by the National Security Council, was the basis for saying this operation did not violate the presidential order banning assassinations. That ban was imposed by President Ford in 1975, after congressional investigators uncovered evidence that the CIA had plotted to assassinate Fidel Castro, the Cuban leader, and others. The order said: ``No person employed by, or acting on behalf of the United States government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, assassination.'' While it is, on its face, a sweeping and unqualified ban, it has been subject to interpretation and intense debate over the years. In 1986, the Reagan administration responded to a terrorist attack against U.S. soldiers in Germany with a bombing raid on Libya. The targets included the residence of the Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi. And in the Gulf War, U.S. forces used powerful bombs in an attempt to kill Saddam Hussein, the president of Iraq. The legal review conducted by the White House would appear to provide a precedent for future operations in similar circumstances.",
"The United States has obtained new evidence to link the owner of a Sudanese factory destroyed in a U.S. cruise missile strike last month to a terrorist group backed by Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind of the bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa, according to U.S. intelligence officials. The evidence, the officials said last week, shows that Salih Idris, the owner of Al Shifa pharmaceutical plant in Khartoum, has had financial dealings with members of Islamic Jihad, an Egypt-based group responsible for the assassination there of President Anwar Sadat in 1981. Islamic Jihad, in turn, receives money and sponsorship from bin Laden and has been absorbed into his terror network, the officials added. This evidence was uncovered after the United States destroyed Idris' factory in a missile attack following the bombing of the U.S. embassies, the officials said. A spokesman for Idris denied the accusations, saying Idris had no ties either to bin Laden or to any Islamic terrorist groups. In a statement provided by Tim Pendry, his London-based adviser, Idris said: ``I have absolutely no relationship with any Islamic terrorist organization anywhere in the world. I have never met Mr. bin Laden, I have never spoken with him, I have never had any financial or business relationship with him, nor knowingly with anyone acting as his agent.'' U.S. officials say they have also received new reports of an increase in the Iraqi presence in Sudan since the missile attack. Officials said they were not certain what the Iraqis were now doing in Khartoum. But intelligence agents previously obtained evidence that the manager of the Shifa plant made frequent trips to Iraq, where he visited the head of the chemical weapons program. In addition, a soil sample that the CIA clandestinely took at the Shifa plant showed the presence of a chemical used in the production of VX nerve gas, a process used only by Iraq. The new evidence comes as President Clinton faces attack over his decision to strike the Shifa plant. Some State Department and CIA officials have objected to the decision, arguing that it was based on tenuous evidence of a connection between the plant and bin Laden. The criticism is also based on the suspicion that the United States has poor data on Sudan, as the CIA station there has been closed since 1995 and the entire U.S. Embassy since 1996. In addition, more than 100 intelligence reports from a CIA informer in Sudan were withdrawn in January 1996 because they proved to be fabrications. That year a second informer warned of several terrorist threats, including one against Anthony Lake, then the national security adviser, but his reports proved impossible to confirm. Senior administration officials say that at the time of the cruise missile strike they had evidence of Sudan's involvement with bin Laden in a chemical weapons program, but no direct evidence linking the Shifa plant directly to that effort. Now they say that the new evidence against Idris has confirmed their initial suspicions about Al Shifa. At the time of the Aug. 20 cruise missile attack, Clinton administration officials acknowledge, they did not know that Idris owned the Shifa factory. The CIA, which had begun to scrutinize the plant 18 months earlier, believed the plant's ownership was irrelevant. ``What we knew about the ownership was that a lot of it couldn't be reliably established,'' said one senior U.S. intelligence official. Still, after the missile strike, when Idris was publicly identified as the owner, U.S. intelligence began to investigate his possible connections to chemical weapons and terrorism. A Sudanese expatriate who now lives in Jidda, Saudi Arabia, Idris, 46, was previously a senior manager of the National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia. He bought the Shifa plant in March. Officials say U.S. intelligence has received reports that Idris launders money for international Islamic groups, and that he also has a stake in a company in Sudan that is 40 percent owned by the Military Industrial Corporation, a government entity that the United States says controls Sudanese chemical weapons development. Bin Laden has helped finance the Military Industrial Corp. in his effort to use Sudan as a base for chemical weapons production, and talked to Sudanese leaders about testing poisonous gases against U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia, according to U.S. intelligence. But Pendry denied that Idris owned any businesses with the Military Industrial Corp. U.S. intelligence officials declined to provide details about the reports of Idris' financial dealings with members of Islamic Jihad. But they said that Islamic Jihad had now been consolidated into bin Laden's terrorist campaign.",
"NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) _ FBI agents this week began questioning relatives of the victims of the Aug. 7 U.S. Embassy bombing as well as the seriously injured on request of the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York, a U.S. official said Thursday. The blast at the embassy building in downtown Nairobi killed 213 people, 12 of them Americans, and injured 5,400. In an nearly simultaneous bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam in neighboring Tanzania, 11 people were killed and 85 were injured, none of them Americans. The official, who could not be further identified, said the questioning was aimed at gathering recorded testimony to be used by the prosecution in the pre-sentencing phase of the trials of the six men indicted in connection with the attack. Wadih El Hage, Mohamed Sadeek Odeh and Mohamed Rashed Daoud Al-'Owhali are being held by the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York. All three have pleaded innocent. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed is a fugitive. Saudi exile Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of a conspiracy to attack U.S. targets around the world, and Muhammad Atef, the alleged military commander of bin Laden's terrorist organization, Al-Qaeda, were charged in a separate 238-page indictment with murder and conspiracy in the bombings. Bin Laden is believed to be living in Afghanistan. U.S. law provides for the trial in the United States of those charged in terror attacks against American citizens, even if carried out on foreign soil.",
"Sometime in the summer of 1997, an operative for Osama bin Laden sat down at his personal computer in a hideaway in Kenya. He was worried, he wrote in an angry dispatch, about the security of the ``East Africa network'' of bin Laden, the Saudi exile accused of masterminding a worldwide terrorist conspiracy against Americans. The organization, the author complained, had declared war against the United States, yet he had learned of that only from the news media. The writer, who federal authorities believe was Haroun Fazil, who was to become one of the central suspects in the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi a year later, noted with alarm British press reports about the arrest of an aide to bin Laden. Striking almost bureaucratic tones, he said he was worried that ``an important man with close links'' to bin Laden, seemed to have ``fallen into the enemy's hands.'' He said the Americans were breathing down the necks of his associates in Nairobi and that he had to take precautions. ``The cell is at 100 percent danger,'' the operative warned. The letter, an extraordinary bit of digital evidence in a cloak-and-dagger case, was retrieved from a computer in a house where Fazil had been staying, according to papers filed in U.S. District Court in New York City. The papers said the computer was seized in August 1997 in a raid by Kenyan authorities that was attended by an FBI agent. The documents did not make clear whether the FBI had translated and read the document before or after the bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Aug. 7 of this year. The timing is potentially important because there have been mounting questions since the bombings about whether the United States adequately followed up warnings of a possible terrorist attack on American targets in Kenya. Officials of the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office in New York City refused to say Tuesday night at what point FBI agents learned of the computer file, nor would they make any other comment. Fazil eluded American investigators after the bombing as he traveled from Kenya to his home in the Comoros Islands and then to the Middle East. He remains a fugitive. The dispatch provides a remarkable insight into the workings of a terrorist network in the twilight of the 20th century. The author talks of how he and his fellow operatives follow events on CNN and use the Internet to communicate. He refers to himself as the media information officer of the East Africa cell and complains that he is not being kept in the loop on big decisions. Along the way, in an almost casual fashion, the document seems to confirm two of the central charges of the federal case against bin Laden: That he had planted a terrorist cell in Nairobi and that his operatives carried out another of the crimes laid at bin Laden's door by federal authorities _ the attacks on American soldiers in Somalia in 1993 and 1994. The writer of the document",
"warned that the followers of bin Laden, whom he referred to as ``the sheik,'' had ``become America's primary target.'' He said his comrades in East Africa ``should know that there is an American-Kenyan-Egyptian intelligence activity in Nairobi aiming to identify the names and residences of the members who are associated with the sheik since America knows well that the youth who lived in Somalia and were members of the sheik's cell are the ones who killed Americans in Somalia.'' ``They know that since Kenya was the main gateway for those members, there must be a center in Kenya,'' he wrote, concluding: ``We are really in danger.'' The government has asserted that one of Fazil's duties was to prepare and transmit reports to bin Laden and his top lieutenants. Federal authorities said that Khalid al Fawwaz, a London-based associate of bin Laden, directed Fazil to ``report periodically to bin Laden about the ``security'' situation of the cell. Fawwaz, who served as an informal press spokesman for bin Laden in London, was arrested by British authorities in September after the embassy bombings. He has denied any connection to terrorist activities. A translation of the report was part of a package of documents American prosecutors have sent to Britain to support the extradition of Fawwaz for trial in New York. It is not clear from the materials whether the report in the computer was forwarded to bin Laden. The documents, which were initially filed in secret, include a federal complaint that accuses Fawwaz of conspiring with bin Laden to kill Americans overseas. A second count charges him with soliciting others to do so. The report made clear that the organization was being run on a shoestring. Its author wrote that his mother has fallen ill, and that he would like to return to his homeland for a visit. ``What do you think? Keep in mind we only have $500.'' He repeatedly expressed his fears of American intelligence, which he believed was in the midst of a worldwide search for bin Laden and his associates. ``There is a war and the situation is dangerous,'' he said. He wrote that American forces kidnapped anyone who threatened the national security or American citizens. The author noted with alarm a recent CIA operation in which a man accused of shooting agency employees had been lured across the border in Pakistan and returned to the United States for trial. According to federal authorities, Fazil went on to play a pivotal role in the bombing of the Nairobi embassy. Prosecutors assert that he rented the villa where the bomb was assembled and surveyed the embassy's security precautions. On Aug. 7, they charge, Fazil drove a pickup truck to the embassy, leading the way for a vehicle carrying the bomb that killed more than 200 people, including 12 Americans. The author of the report said that he stood ready to ``fight the forces of atheism and dictators who wreaked havoc on earth.'' He said that the group did not have to inform its Nairobi-based operatives of all its global plans, but they",
"needed enough warning to go ``underground for a while'' if authorities intensified the pressure in Nairobi. ``We, the East Africa cell members, do not want to know about the operations plans,'' he wrote, `` since we are just implementers.''",
"The man accused of orchestrating the U.S. embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya was declared a free man Friday in Afghanistan, where he has lived for years with the permission of the hard-line Islamic Taliban militia. The Taliban, who control about 90 percent of Afghanistan, on Friday closed their three-week inquiry into allegations that Osama bin Laden is waging a war of terror against the United States. ``It's over, and America has not presented any evidence,'' Afghanistan's chief justice, Noor Mohammed Saqib, told The Associated Press in an interview at the Supreme Court building in the Afghan capital, Kabul. ``Without any evidence, bin Laden is a man without sin. ... He is a free man.'' The Taliban have told bin Laden, however, that political activity is banned and he has agreed to respect that, the Taliban information minister said in a statement Friday. The minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, also disputed U.S. assertions that bin Laden is a rich man, saying the Saudi dissident has had his foreign assets frozen, a claim not immediately corroborated."
] |
[
"Police arrested two journalists and charged them with writing articles to encourage Muslim youths to stage an Islamic revolution in Bangladesh after the Taliban model in Afghanistan, a police officer said Thursday. Mufti Abdul Hye and Manzoor Ahmed, editors at ``Jago Mujahid'' or ``Wake Up Mujahid,'' a monthy magazine published from Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital, were jailed for a month shortly after their arrest on Wednesday. They were arrested under a 1974 law that allows police to detain any one for offenses related to national security, the officer said on condition of anonymity. Those arrested need not be taken to court for trial for up to three months. Police seized copies of the newspaper for reproducing a foreign newspaper interview of Afghanistan-based Saudi billionaire Osama Bin Laden, who has been accused by the United States of masterminding bombing attacks on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August. Under Taliban rules women may not study or work outside their houses, and all kinds of light entertainment including music are banned. Men must grow beards of a certain length and criminals are subjected to amputations and public executions Even though Bangladesh is a predominantly Muslim country, it is governed by secular laws. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's liberal government hasn't recognized the Taliban government in Afghanistan.",
"Albania says it has uncovered a terrorist network operated by Osama Bin Laden, the Islamic fundamentalist accused of masterminding the August embassy bombings in Africa, and that it's members have infiltrated other parts of Europe, The Sunday Times reported. The newspaper quoted Fatos Klosi, the head of Shik, the Albanian intelligence service, as saying that Bin Laden's network had sent units to fight in Kosovo, the neighboring Serbian province. ``Egyptians, Saudi Arabians, Algerians, Tunisians, Sudanese and Kuwaitis _ they come from several different organizations,'' Klosi was quoted as telling The Sunday Times. He said he believed terrorists had already infiltrated other parts of Europe from bases in Albania through a traffic in illegal immigrants, who have been smuggled across the Mediterranean to Italy in huge numbers. Interpol believes more than 100,000 blank Albanian passports were stolen in riots last year, providing ample opportunity for terrorists to acquire false papers, the newspaper said. Apparent confirmation of the Bin Laden's activities came earlier this month during the murder trial of Claude Kader, 27, a French national and self-confessed member of Bin Laden's Albanian network, the newspaper said. Kader claimed during the trial that he had visited Albania to recruit and arm fighters for Kosovo, and that four of his associates were still at large. Bin Laden is believed to have established an Albanian operation in 1994 after telling the government that he was head of a wealthy Saudi humanitarian agency wishing to help in Albania, the newspaper reported.",
"If Osama bin Laden ever stands trial in New York for the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Africa and other acts of terror, it is already clear who prosecutors will call as a chief witness: One of his senior aides who has been talking to U.S. investigators for two years. The government has identified the aide in court papers with the pseudonym CS-1, saying the person pleaded guilty to terrorism charges in a secret proceeding in U.S. district court in Manhattan. According to the government, the informant worked closely with bin Laden from 1989 to 1996, a period when prosecutors assert that bin Laden was ordering deadly attacks on U.S. soldiers in Somalia and elsewhere. From the court papers filed in the investigation of the embassy bombings in East Africa in August, it is clear that the informant has provided crucial information to federal investigators. They have cited the source in the papers filed to support the extradition of two associates of bin Laden who are under arrest in Germany and Britain. Bin Laden, a Saudi exile, is thought to be living in Afghanistan. The source is also the basis for many of the significant charges in the indictment against bin Laden himself, including the assertion that he directed the attacks on U.S. soldiers in Somalia and that he attempted to obtain nuclear weapons. It is not known whether the source is in custody somewhere, or hiding under government protection. As recently as 11 days ago, records show, the source swore to a 5-page affidavit before a New York notary summarizing his allegations against bin Laden. Government officials adamantly declined to say anything about the identity of CS-1, which stands for ``confidential source.'' But at least one operative of bin Laden's group in East Africa concluded more than a year ago that he knew the identity of a crucial turncoat: Sidi Tayyib, a businessman who was married to one of bin Laden's relatives. The operative's concerns were inflamed by a report in a British newspaper that Tayyib was cooperating with Saudi and U.S. authorities. In an August, 1997 article, The Daily Telegraph said Tayyib had been in custody in Saudi Arabia since May and had given intelligence officials details of bin Laden's bank accounts and businesses. The news of Tayyib's possible defection, the East African operative wrote in a report apparently intended for the group's commanders, ``almost made me explode. ``An important man with close links to'' bin Laden ``seems to have fallen into the enemy's hands, and we have to take all the appropriate security precautions against that,'' the operative, Haroun Fazil, wrote in his summary of security concerns. Fazil has since been charged in the embassy attacks and remains at large. The report was typed on a computer seized last year by Kenyan authorities, according to a government filing last week in U.S. district court in Manhattan. Thus far, U.S. prosecutors have charged at least six members of bin Laden's organization with terrorist activities or conspiracy. In one recent filing, they said their case will in part be ``based on the testimony'' of the confidential source, suggesting that the informant has agreed to testify at any trial of bin Laden or his associates. The arrangement appears to have resulted from a plea bargain in which the source is cooperating in hopes of receiving a lesser sentence. There is no indication that the source has yet been sentenced and it seems likely that sentencing would take place after the investigation and ensuing trials are complete. In the affidavit prepared last week, the source acknowledged pleading guilty to terrorism charges in the United States and said they stemmed from attacks on U.S. targets, which were not specifically identified. The source described taking ``an oath of allegiance'' to follow bin Laden's orders, and gave a detailed account of bin Laden's group, including its history and inner workings. The source told of private statements by bin Laden to other al Qaeda members, encouraging them to attack U.S. troops and other citizens stationed in the Middle East and Africa. ``I either heard these statements myself,'' the source said, ``or I read them or learned of them from other al Qaeda members.'' The government has also said in other court papers that the source helped identify bin Laden's signature on a 1996 document urging Muslims to kill Americans. Tayyib's whereabouts are unknown and he could not be reached for comment.",
"The Taliban's chief justice accused the United States on Wednesday of looking for an ``excuse'' to launch another missile attack on his war-shattered homeland. And that excuse is Osama bin Laden, the man Washington calls Enemy No. 1 and blames for the Aug. 7 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa, Justice Noor Mohammed Saqib said an interview with The Associated Press. On Aug. 20 the United States retaliated by firing Tomahawk missiles at suspected terrorist camps in eastern Afghanistan, killing 26 people. According to U.S. intelligence sources, the camps were being used to train members of bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist group. ``America is looking for an excuse to fire more rockets on our dear Afghanistan and that excuse is bin Laden,'' Saqib said. Washington, which has posted a dlrs 5 million reward for bin Laden's arrest, hasn't ruled out further attacks on Afghanistan. Saqib, who heads a judicial inquiry established by the Taliban to investigate the terrorism charges against bin Laden, says the United States has become insecure. ``America fears its shadow ... in every part of the world it is afraid and sees every danger connected to bin Laden,'' he said in an interview in the Afghan capital of Kabul. In Afghanistan, bin Laden is considered an honored guest by his Taliban hosts. They cite Afghan tradition, which demands the host guarantee his guest protection. So far Saqib says he has no evidence of bin Laden's involvement in terrorist activities. The Taliban have refused to turn over bin Laden to the United States, but they say if there is evidence they will try him under Islamic law. In the 90 percent of Afghanistan ruled by the Taliban a harsh brand of Islamic justice has been imposed, including the death penalty. ``We want good relations with the United States and all Muslim and non-Muslim countries, but they have to respect our ways,'' he said. Saqib said his inquiry will wind up on Nov. 20 and if there is no evidence against bin Laden the case will be closed _ at least for the Taliban. ``Bin Laden is not a sinful man ... America has been silent ... they have given no evidence,'' he said. ``It is too shameful for America who is now seen by all that world to have no reason to go after bin Laden.''",
"MUNICH, Germany (AP) _ U.S. prosecutors have asked for a 20-day extension to provide Germany with paperwork necessary to extradite a top lieutenant of Saudi terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden, officials said Saturday. Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, 40, of Sudan, has been jailed since his arrest near Munich on Sept. 16 by Bavarian authorities acting on a U.S. warrant. Under German law, U.S. officials have 40 days after the arrest to turn over supporting evidence so a German court can rule on their extradition request. A Bavarian Justice Ministry spokesman, Gerhard Zierl, said U.S. authorities a few days ago asked the court hearing the case for an extra 20 days to provide the necessary material. Quoting unidentified Bavarian law enforcement sources, Focus newsmagazine reported Saturday that the evidence turned over so far was not very strong. The magazine said much of it was based on the testimony of an FBI informant, a former bin Laden associate, who made only vague connections between Salim and terrorist activities. Zierl declined to comment on the report, but said U.S. authorities probably asked for more time just a precautionary measure. U.S. authorities charge Salim helped finance, train and arm members of a terrorist organization, including the alleged bombers of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. A criminal complaint unsealed Sept. 25 in U.S. District Court in New York charges him with murder conspiracy and use of weapons of mass destruction.",
"One of the clear but unstated objectives of last August's raid on Afghanistan was to kill Osama bin Laden and as many of his lieutenants as possible, administration officials now acknowledge. According to the officials, White House lawyers conducted a secret review in the months before the attack and concluded that such operations are legal under U.S. and international law. The officials said the raid was timed so that more than 70 cruise missiles would hit bin Laden's camps at the moment when the Central Intelligence Agency believed he would be meeting there with his chief operatives. A 1976 executive order bars anyone working for the U.S. government from plotting or carrying out assassinations. But officials said the White House legal opinion drafted before the Afghan strike asserts that the president has authority to target the ``infrastructure'' of terrorist groups that are attacking Americans. A top U.S. counterterrorism official said this week that the infrastructure of bin Laden's group is mostly ``human.'' ``As we said from the time of the Aug. 20 strike, the objective was to disrupt the training, organization and infrastructure of the bin Laden terrorist network at the Khost camps,'' said David C. Leavy, a spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House. Targeting infrastructure, officials acknowledged, can also mean destroying the leadership of a terrorist group. ``Command and control of an enemy is a justifiable target,'' Leavy said. Senior administration officials said they never discussed killing bin Laden in their planning sessions. His death, they said in interviews after the attack, would simply have been a side benefit. U.S. intelligence officials say they now believe that bin Laden was in the camp on the day of the attack, but he appears to have left unscathed before the missiles hit. Officials said there were reports that at least one of his senior lieutenants may have died in the attack, and that total casualties in the complex were between 50 and 100. Administration spokesmen have drawn a distinction between attempting to kill a specific person like bin Laden and attacking a group of people who command a terrorist organization. Administration officials have denied since August that the raid was intended to kill bin Laden, a Saudi exile who has been charged by federal prosecutors with leading a global war against U.S. interests. He has been linked to the Aug. 7 bombing of two U.S. embassies in East Africa. But a less subtle explanation was offered on Oct. 13 by Defense Secretary William Cohen, who said during a visit to Saudi Arabia that the United States had been ``going after'' bin Laden and his colleagues. ``We weren't quite successful,'' Cohen continued, ``but we sent a message.'' Kenneth Bacon, the Pentagon spokesman, said the secretary had not retracted his statements. The Los Angeles Times recently reported that the administration believed that it had a legal right to use deadly force against terrorist leaders. Bin Laden's organization was a significant concern for the Clinton administration even before the bombing of the U.S. embassies in East Africa. Last spring, officials said, U.S. intelligence considered a daring raid into Afghanistan to capture the Saudi exile. Officials said that at roughly the same time, the White House drafted the legal justification for military attacks against a terrorist leadership. That review, officials said, provided the legal basis in August to fire cruise missiles into the meeting at which it was believed bin Laden and his lieutenants would be gathered. The review, by the National Security Council, was the basis for saying this operation did not violate the presidential order banning assassinations. That ban was imposed by President Ford in 1975, after congressional investigators uncovered evidence that the CIA had plotted to assassinate Fidel Castro, the Cuban leader, and others. The order said: ``No person employed by, or acting on behalf of the United States government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, assassination.'' While it is, on its face, a sweeping and unqualified ban, it has been subject to interpretation and intense debate over the years. In 1986, the Reagan administration responded to a terrorist attack against U.S. soldiers in Germany with a bombing raid on Libya. The targets included the residence of the Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi. And in the Gulf War, U.S. forces used powerful bombs in an attempt to kill Saddam Hussein, the president of Iraq. The legal review conducted by the White House would appear to provide a precedent for future operations in similar circumstances.",
"The United States has obtained new evidence to link the owner of a Sudanese factory destroyed in a U.S. cruise missile strike last month to a terrorist group backed by Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind of the bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa, according to U.S. intelligence officials. The evidence, the officials said last week, shows that Salih Idris, the owner of Al Shifa pharmaceutical plant in Khartoum, has had financial dealings with members of Islamic Jihad, an Egypt-based group responsible for the assassination there of President Anwar Sadat in 1981. Islamic Jihad, in turn, receives money and sponsorship from bin Laden and has been absorbed into his terror network, the officials added. This evidence was uncovered after the United States destroyed Idris' factory in a missile attack following the bombing of the U.S. embassies, the officials said. A spokesman for Idris denied the accusations, saying Idris had no ties either to bin Laden or to any Islamic terrorist groups. In a statement provided by Tim Pendry, his London-based adviser, Idris said: ``I have absolutely no relationship with any Islamic terrorist organization anywhere in the world. I have never met Mr. bin Laden, I have never spoken with him, I have never had any financial or business relationship with him, nor knowingly with anyone acting as his agent.'' U.S. officials say they have also received new reports of an increase in the Iraqi presence in Sudan since the missile attack. Officials said they were not certain what the Iraqis were now doing in Khartoum. But intelligence agents previously obtained evidence that the manager of the Shifa plant made frequent trips to Iraq, where he visited the head of the chemical weapons program. In addition, a soil sample that the CIA clandestinely took at the Shifa plant showed the presence of a chemical used in the production of VX nerve gas, a process used only by Iraq. The new evidence comes as President Clinton faces attack over his decision to strike the Shifa plant. Some State Department and CIA officials have objected to the decision, arguing that it was based on tenuous evidence of a connection between the plant and bin Laden. The criticism is also based on the suspicion that the United States has poor data on Sudan, as the CIA station there has been closed since 1995 and the entire U.S. Embassy since 1996. In addition, more than 100 intelligence reports from a CIA informer in Sudan were withdrawn in January 1996 because they proved to be fabrications. That year a second informer warned of several terrorist threats, including one against Anthony Lake, then the national security adviser, but his reports proved impossible to confirm. Senior administration officials say that at the time of the cruise missile strike they had evidence of Sudan's involvement with bin Laden in a chemical weapons program, but no direct evidence linking the Shifa plant directly to that effort. Now they say that the new evidence against Idris has confirmed their initial suspicions about Al Shifa. At the time of the Aug. 20 cruise missile attack, Clinton administration officials acknowledge, they did not know that Idris owned the Shifa factory. The CIA, which had begun to scrutinize the plant 18 months earlier, believed the plant's ownership was irrelevant. ``What we knew about the ownership was that a lot of it couldn't be reliably established,'' said one senior U.S. intelligence official. Still, after the missile strike, when Idris was publicly identified as the owner, U.S. intelligence began to investigate his possible connections to chemical weapons and terrorism. A Sudanese expatriate who now lives in Jidda, Saudi Arabia, Idris, 46, was previously a senior manager of the National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia. He bought the Shifa plant in March. Officials say U.S. intelligence has received reports that Idris launders money for international Islamic groups, and that he also has a stake in a company in Sudan that is 40 percent owned by the Military Industrial Corporation, a government entity that the United States says controls Sudanese chemical weapons development. Bin Laden has helped finance the Military Industrial Corp. in his effort to use Sudan as a base for chemical weapons production, and talked to Sudanese leaders about testing poisonous gases against U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia, according to U.S. intelligence. But Pendry denied that Idris owned any businesses with the Military Industrial Corp. U.S. intelligence officials declined to provide details about the reports of Idris' financial dealings with members of Islamic Jihad. But they said that Islamic Jihad had now been consolidated into bin Laden's terrorist campaign.",
"NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) _ FBI agents this week began questioning relatives of the victims of the Aug. 7 U.S. Embassy bombing as well as the seriously injured on request of the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York, a U.S. official said Thursday. The blast at the embassy building in downtown Nairobi killed 213 people, 12 of them Americans, and injured 5,400. In an nearly simultaneous bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam in neighboring Tanzania, 11 people were killed and 85 were injured, none of them Americans. The official, who could not be further identified, said the questioning was aimed at gathering recorded testimony to be used by the prosecution in the pre-sentencing phase of the trials of the six men indicted in connection with the attack. Wadih El Hage, Mohamed Sadeek Odeh and Mohamed Rashed Daoud Al-'Owhali are being held by the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York. All three have pleaded innocent. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed is a fugitive. Saudi exile Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of a conspiracy to attack U.S. targets around the world, and Muhammad Atef, the alleged military commander of bin Laden's terrorist organization, Al-Qaeda, were charged in a separate 238-page indictment with murder and conspiracy in the bombings. Bin Laden is believed to be living in Afghanistan. U.S. law provides for the trial in the United States of those charged in terror attacks against American citizens, even if carried out on foreign soil.",
"Sometime in the summer of 1997, an operative for Osama bin Laden sat down at his personal computer in a hideaway in Kenya. He was worried, he wrote in an angry dispatch, about the security of the ``East Africa network'' of bin Laden, the Saudi exile accused of masterminding a worldwide terrorist conspiracy against Americans. The organization, the author complained, had declared war against the United States, yet he had learned of that only from the news media. The writer, who federal authorities believe was Haroun Fazil, who was to become one of the central suspects in the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi a year later, noted with alarm British press reports about the arrest of an aide to bin Laden. Striking almost bureaucratic tones, he said he was worried that ``an important man with close links'' to bin Laden, seemed to have ``fallen into the enemy's hands.'' He said the Americans were breathing down the necks of his associates in Nairobi and that he had to take precautions. ``The cell is at 100 percent danger,'' the operative warned. The letter, an extraordinary bit of digital evidence in a cloak-and-dagger case, was retrieved from a computer in a house where Fazil had been staying, according to papers filed in U.S. District Court in New York City. The papers said the computer was seized in August 1997 in a raid by Kenyan authorities that was attended by an FBI agent. The documents did not make clear whether the FBI had translated and read the document before or after the bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Aug. 7 of this year. The timing is potentially important because there have been mounting questions since the bombings about whether the United States adequately followed up warnings of a possible terrorist attack on American targets in Kenya. Officials of the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office in New York City refused to say Tuesday night at what point FBI agents learned of the computer file, nor would they make any other comment. Fazil eluded American investigators after the bombing as he traveled from Kenya to his home in the Comoros Islands and then to the Middle East. He remains a fugitive. The dispatch provides a remarkable insight into the workings of a terrorist network in the twilight of the 20th century. The author talks of how he and his fellow operatives follow events on CNN and use the Internet to communicate. He refers to himself as the media information officer of the East Africa cell and complains that he is not being kept in the loop on big decisions. Along the way, in an almost casual fashion, the document seems to confirm two of the central charges of the federal case against bin Laden: That he had planted a terrorist cell in Nairobi and that his operatives carried out another of the crimes laid at bin Laden's door by federal authorities _ the attacks on American soldiers in Somalia in 1993 and 1994. The writer of the document warned that the followers of bin Laden, whom he referred to as ``the sheik,'' had ``become America's primary target.'' He said his comrades in East Africa ``should know that there is an American-Kenyan-Egyptian intelligence activity in Nairobi aiming to identify the names and residences of the members who are associated with the sheik since America knows well that the youth who lived in Somalia and were members of the sheik's cell are the ones who killed Americans in Somalia.'' ``They know that since Kenya was the main gateway for those members, there must be a center in Kenya,'' he wrote, concluding: ``We are really in danger.'' The government has asserted that one of Fazil's duties was to prepare and transmit reports to bin Laden and his top lieutenants. Federal authorities said that Khalid al Fawwaz, a London-based associate of bin Laden, directed Fazil to ``report periodically to bin Laden about the ``security'' situation of the cell. Fawwaz, who served as an informal press spokesman for bin Laden in London, was arrested by British authorities in September after the embassy bombings. He has denied any connection to terrorist activities. A translation of the report was part of a package of documents American prosecutors have sent to Britain to support the extradition of Fawwaz for trial in New York. It is not clear from the materials whether the report in the computer was forwarded to bin Laden. The documents, which were initially filed in secret, include a federal complaint that accuses Fawwaz of conspiring with bin Laden to kill Americans overseas. A second count charges him with soliciting others to do so. The report made clear that the organization was being run on a shoestring. Its author wrote that his mother has fallen ill, and that he would like to return to his homeland for a visit. ``What do you think? Keep in mind we only have $500.'' He repeatedly expressed his fears of American intelligence, which he believed was in the midst of a worldwide search for bin Laden and his associates. ``There is a war and the situation is dangerous,'' he said. He wrote that American forces kidnapped anyone who threatened the national security or American citizens. The author noted with alarm a recent CIA operation in which a man accused of shooting agency employees had been lured across the border in Pakistan and returned to the United States for trial. According to federal authorities, Fazil went on to play a pivotal role in the bombing of the Nairobi embassy. Prosecutors assert that he rented the villa where the bomb was assembled and surveyed the embassy's security precautions. On Aug. 7, they charge, Fazil drove a pickup truck to the embassy, leading the way for a vehicle carrying the bomb that killed more than 200 people, including 12 Americans. The author of the report said that he stood ready to ``fight the forces of atheism and dictators who wreaked havoc on earth.'' He said that the group did not have to inform its Nairobi-based operatives of all its global plans, but they needed enough warning to go ``underground for a while'' if authorities intensified the pressure in Nairobi. ``We, the East Africa cell members, do not want to know about the operations plans,'' he wrote, `` since we are just implementers.''",
"The man accused of orchestrating the U.S. embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya was declared a free man Friday in Afghanistan, where he has lived for years with the permission of the hard-line Islamic Taliban militia. The Taliban, who control about 90 percent of Afghanistan, on Friday closed their three-week inquiry into allegations that Osama bin Laden is waging a war of terror against the United States. ``It's over, and America has not presented any evidence,'' Afghanistan's chief justice, Noor Mohammed Saqib, told The Associated Press in an interview at the Supreme Court building in the Afghan capital, Kabul. ``Without any evidence, bin Laden is a man without sin. ... He is a free man.'' The Taliban have told bin Laden, however, that political activity is banned and he has agreed to respect that, the Taliban information minister said in a statement Friday. The minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, also disputed U.S. assertions that bin Laden is a rich man, saying the Saudi dissident has had his foreign assets frozen, a claim not immediately corroborated."
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Britain caused international controversy and Chilean turmoil by arresting former Chilean dictator Pinochet in London for Spain's investigation of Spanish citizen deaths under Pinochet's 17-year rule of torture and political murder. Claims are Pinochet had diplomatic immunity, extradition is international meddling or illegal because Pinochet is not a Spanish citizen, also his crimes should be punished. Spain and Britain, big Chilean investors, fear damage to economic relations and let courts decide extradition. The Swiss haven't investigated Pinochet accounts despite a Spanish request. Pinochet is shielded from details, said too sick to be extradited. Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet has been arrested in London at the request of the Spanish government. Pinochet, in London for back surgery, was arrested in his hospital room. Spain is seeking extradition of Pinochet from London to Spain to face charges of murder in the deaths of Spanish citizens in Chile under Pinochet's rule in the 1970s and 80s. The arrest raised confusion in the international community as the legality of the move is debated. Pinochet supporters say that Pinochet's arrest is illegal, claiming he has diplomatic immunity. The final outcome of the extradition request lies with the Spanish courts. Pinochet arrested in London on Oct. 16 at a Spanish judge's request for atrocities against Spaniards in Chile during his rule. Castro, Chilean legislators and Pinochet's lawyers protested and claimed he had diplomatic immunity. His wife asked for his release because he was recovering from recent back surgery. Pinochet visited Thatcher before his surgery. The British and Spanish governments defended the arrest, saying it was strictly a legal matter. The EC president hoped Pinochet would stand trial. None of his Swiss accounts have been frozen yet. The Swiss government also asked for his arrest for the 1977 disappearance of a Swiss-Chilean student. On Oct. 16, 1998 British police arrested former Chilean dictator Pinochet on a Spanish warrant charging murder of Spaniards in Chile, 1973-1983. Fidel Castro denounced the arrest. The Chilean government protested strongly. While the British government defended the arrest, it and the Spanish government took no stand on extradition of Pinochet to Spain, leaving it to the courts. Chilean legislators lobbied in Madrid against extradition, while others endorsed it. Then new charges were filed for crimes against Swiss and French citizens. Pinochet's wife and family pleaded that he was too sick to face extradition. As of Oct. 28 the matter was not resolved.
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"The Spanish and British governments appeared Wednesday to be seeking shelter from the political storm brewing over the possible extradition of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet to Spain. ``Despite everything that has been written, this is not a decision for the British government or the Spanish government,'' British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in an interview published by a Spanish newspaper on Wednesday. In a similar vein, Spanish Foreign Ministry spokesman Joaquin Perez said Wednesday: ``The government should not have any opinion about the extradition.'' British police, acting on an international arrest warrant from Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon on Friday, detained the ailing general in the London clinic where he was recovering from back surgery. The detention and the possible extradition of Pinochet to Spain to stand trial for genocide, terrorism and torture during his 17-year dictatorship was warmly welcomed by human rights activists worldwide. But it sparked protests from the Chilean government, and fears it could damage economic relations. In 1997, seven years after Pinochet left power, Spain was the biggest single investor in Chile, followed closely by Britain. Blair quoted in the El Mundo newspaper said that Pinochet's detention was unrelated to his government's so-called Ethical Foreign Policy, apparently ignoring pressure from leftists within his Labor party to support moves to prosecute the former dictator. ``This is about two legal systems united by an extradition treaty but nobody seems to understand this,'' he said. Blair added that should Home Secretary Jack Straw would use only strictly legal criteria and act ``as if he were a judge,'' should he be required to make a decision on an extradition request from Spain. The tone of the British Prime Minister's first public comment on the issue contrasted sharply with Sunday's emotional statement from influential Trade Secretary Peter Mandelson who said most Britons would find diplomatic immunity for Pinochet ``gut-wrenching.'' The European extradition convention gives Garzon 40 days to present a formal extradition request to the British authorities via the Spanish government. But while Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar has promised his government would rubber stamp the process if it reaches his desk, he appears to be hoping he will never have to do so. Public prosecutors from Spain's National Court have appealed the judicial investigations into human rights abuses in Chile and Argentina that underpin Garzon's arrest warrant. ``Depending on the result of the appeals it is possible that it (the extradition request) will never reach the government so perhaps the government will never have to pronounce on it,'' Aznar was quoted as saying in Wednesday's edition of the Madrid newspaper El Pais. The appeals argue that crimes committed during Pinochet's 1973-1990 dictatorship are none of Spain's business, and should be left to the Chilean or international courts. A ruling on the appeals is expected next week, and a decision in their favor would nullify Garzon's extradition attempt.",
"Europe's top official said Friday that he hoped former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet would be extradited to Spain to be tried for crimes committed during his 17-year rule. ``Sometimes it should be made clear that crimes, wherever they take place, cannot be left unpunished,'' European Commission President Jacques Santer said. Pinochet was detained by British police in London on Oct. 16 by request of a Spanish magistrate as a first step toward his extradition to stand trial for genocide and terrorism. ``The dictatorship caused great suffering and sent many citizens into exile,'' Santer said, referring to the 1973-90 Pinochet regime. Santer was speaking to reporters in the northern Spanish city of Oviedo where he was due to receive the Prince of Asturias Prize for social science _ one of the eight annual prizes named after the heir to the Spanish throne. Meanwhile, a Spanish newspaper reported Friday that Pinochet is not fully aware of his predicament. Daily El Mundo said the ailing retired general's family and aides have been shielding him from the details for fear he would fly into a rage that would kill him. Pinochet was detained in the London clinic while recovering from back surgery. El Mundo said its reporter accompanied Chilean politicians seeking his release during a visit to the clinic Thursday. The reporter said he talked briefly to Pinochet's wife, Lucia Hiriart, and daughter Veronica. ``If Augusto knew the truth, he would have an attack of rage and die,'' El Mundo quoted Hiriart as saying to others while waiting for permission from Scotland Yard to visit her husband on the eighth floor of the clinic. She said she was particularly concerned because he is also suffering from a urinary infection, heart problems and diabetes, the newspaper reported. El Mundo reported that the family had asked police guards to stand outside the former dictator's room and keep out of sight. The paper said the room lacked television, radio or telephone. According to the report Pinochet was informed of the arrest order from two policemen, but is convinced it was a mistake and that he is protected by diplomatic immunity. Meanwhile, a Chilean television station reported Friday that a Chilean army officer close to Pinochet told the former military chief about his situation after flying to London Thursday. TV13 reported that the unidentified officer said Pinochet reacted calmly to the news imparted ``as one soldier to another.''",
"As his lawyers in London tried to quash a Spanish arrest warrant for Gen. Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean dictator, efforts began in Geneva and Paris to have him extradited. In London, where Pinochet has been under arrest in a clinic for the last 10 days, a phalanx of British lawyers argued before the High Court of Justice that the arrest order sent from Spain was illegal because the general, 82, is not a Spanish citizen. They also maintained that as a former head of state, the general had diplomatic immunity for actions taken while in office. His lawyer, Clive Nicholls, said that if a bid to extradite the general succeeded, by the same token Queen Elizabeth II could be extradited to Argentina to face trial for the death of Argentine soldiers in the Falklands war in 1982. On the opposing side, Alun Jones, a British government lawyer acting as prosecutor in the case, defended the Spanish warrant, which led to the general's detention in London. The prosecutor argued that the the right-wing general was responsible for killing at least 4,000 people and had set out ``to destroy a national group _ Chilean nationals who did not share his ideological values.'' After hearing the arguments in a court crowded with Chilean exiles in the public gallery, Lord Bingham, Britain's senior judge, said the court was expected to decide the matter on Tuesday. The Chilean air force has sent an ambulance plane to Britain in hope of the general's early release. But efforts to prevent that gathered strength elsewhere in Europe. In Geneva, a public prosecutor, Bernard Bertossa, said Monday that he had issued a warrant for Pinochet's arrest in connection with the kidnapping and presumed death of a Swiss-Chilean citizen in 1977. Bertossa said he had opened a judicial investigation in response to a complaint by the widow of the victim, Alexei Jaccard, who was 25 when he was tortured in Chile and subsequently disappeared. The prosecutor said he was asking the Swiss federal government to seek Pinochet's extradition from Britain to face trial in Geneva. At the same time in Paris Monday, the families of three French citizens, of whom two disappeared and one was killed in Chile during the 1973-90 dictatorship, filed suit in a French court. In addition, a human rights group in Paris said Monday that it had filed a suit with a Paris court on behalf of Anne Marie Pesle, whose father, Etienne Pesle, disappeared in Chile in 1973. In Madrid, Baltasar Garzon, the Spanish investigating magistrate who first obtained Pinochet's arrest in London, said he had formally requested the governments of Switzerland and Luxemburg to block bank accounts held by the general. Court officials in Madrid said Garzon wanted any accounts blocked with a view to their possible use later as compensation to relatives of victims. In London, British officials keep insisting that Pinochet's case will be decided by the courts and not politically, yet the issue has stirred intense political activity both in Britain and in Chile. Supporters and opponents of the dictator have traveled to the London clinic where he is being held. From Chile have come six right-wing senators, the deputy foreign minister, aides and legal experts who file in and out of the private clinic in central London. From Europe have come dozens of longtime opponents of the general who were forced into exile after his 1973 coup against the elected Socialist president, Salvador Allende Gossens. The exiles, along with others, stand daily outside the clinic holding up photographs of missing relatives and shouting anti-Pinochet slogans. On occasion there have been shouting matches between the two sides. ``He is ill, and in a few days he will be 83,'' Mariano Fernandez, Chile's deputy foreign minister, said after visiting Pinochet who had minor surgery for a back ailment. After his surgery on Oct. 9, the general was arrested by Scotland Yard during the night of Oct. 16. The diplomatic and judicial entanglements that ensued now involve at least five governments. The political and legal imbroglio could end if Britain's home secretary, Jack Straw, decides that the general should be released on ``compassionate grounds'' because of his age and failing health. Last week he said that in exercising his powers under the 1989 Extradition Act, he would consider whether the offenses are of a ``political character'' and he would take into account ``any compassionate circumstances.''",
"Britain has defended its arrest of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, with one lawmaker saying that Chile's claim that the former Chilean dictator has diplomatic immunity is ridiculous. Chilean officials, meanwhile, issued strong protests and sent a delegation to London on Sunday to argue for Pinochet's release. The former strongman's son vowed to hire top attorneys to defend his 82-year-old father, who ruled Chile with an iron fist for 17 years. British police arrested Pinochet in his bed Friday at a private London hospital in response to a request from Spain, which wants to question Pinochet about allegations of murder during the decade after he seized power in 1973. Pinochet had gone to the hospital to have a back operation Oct. 9. ``The idea that such a brutal dictator as Pinochet should be claiming diplomatic immunity I think for most people in this country would be pretty gut-wrenching stuff,'' Trade Secretary Peter Mandelson said in a British Broadcasting Corp. television interview Sunday. Home Office Minister Alun Michael acknowledged Sunday that Pinochet entered Britain on a diplomatic passport, but said, ``That does not necessarily convey diplomatic immunity.'' The Foreign Office said only government officials visiting on official business and accredited diplomats have immunity. Pinochet has been a regular visitor to Britain, generally without publicity. His arrest this time appeared to reflect a tougher attitude toward right-wing dictators by Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labor Party government, which replaced a Conservative Party administration 18 months ago and promised an ``ethical'' foreign policy. However, Michael Howard, a Conservative spokesman and former Cabinet minister, said he was concerned that Pinochet was arrested as a result of pressure from Labor lawmakers and lobby groups. Chilean President Eduardo Frei criticized the arrest, saying the Spanish magistrate's arrest order was tantamount to not recognizing Chile's institutions. ``Spain also lived under an authoritarian for 40 years and many of its present institutions are inherited from that regime,'' Frei said in Porto, Portugal, where he was attending the Ibero-American Summit. ``Would a Chilean court be allowed to start a trial for abuses that occurred under the Spanish authoritarian regime (of Francisco Franco)?'' Frei asked. ``It is only for Chilean courts to try events that occurred in Chile.'' Franco's reign ended in 1975. Pinochet's family issued a statement Sunday calling the arrest ``an insult'' and thanking the Chilean government, rightist politicians and the military for their support. In London, police guards were deployed Sunday outside the London Clinic, where Pinochet is believed to still be a patient. About 100 Chilean demonstrators pleased with the arrest gathered outside, chanting and waving placards bearing faded black and white portraits with the caption ``Disappeared in Chile.'' Across the Atlantic, the Chilean capital of Santiago was the scene of dueling demonstrations Sunday, reflecting the long-standing division of public opinion over Pinochet. The rallies were mostly peaceful, although riot police used tear gas and water cannons on some pro-Pinochet protesters trying to break through police lines into the British embassy on Sunday evening. No arrests or injuries were reported. The envoy sent to London to argue for Pinochet's release, Santiago Benadava, would offer only diplomatic advice, said Chilean Foreign Minister Jose Miguel Insulza. Any legal defense would be up to Pinochet's family. Pinochet's son, Augusto, said the family would hire ``the best legal team available in London.'' Several right-wing Chilean politicians, including some who held posts in the Pinochet regime, also were flying to London to show their support to their former boss. Under extradition laws, Spain has 40 days from last Friday to formally apply for extradition. The final decision lies with British Home Secretary Jack Straw. There was no immediate word on when Pinochet would be questioned. But police sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said questioning was not expected for a week or two. Pinochet has been widely accused of running a ruthless regime marked by disappearances and deaths of political opponents. His arrest was prompted by applications last week to question him by two Spanish judges investigating human rights violations. One of them, Baltasar Garzon, also wants to question Pinochet about the disappearances of Chilean dissidents in Argentina. The arrest warrant, however, referred only to questioning about allegations that he killed Spaniards in Chile between 1973 and 1983. In Chile, seven Spaniards have been identified as missing or dead under the Pinochet regime, including two Catholic priests and a U.N. official. According to a Chilean government report, a total of 4,299 political opponents died or disappeared during Pinochet's term. Pinochet, commander-in-chief of the Chilean army until March, has immunity from prosecution in Chile as a senator-for-life under a new constitution that his government crafted. He is also covered under an amnesty for crimes committed before 1978 _ when most of the human rights abuses took place.",
"Cuban President Fidel Castro said Sunday he disagreed with the arrest in London of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, calling it a case of ``international meddling.'' ``It seems to me that what has happened there (in London) is universal meddling,'' Castro told reporters covering the Ibero-American summit being held here Sunday. Castro had just finished breakfast with King Juan Carlos of Spain in a city hotel. He said the case seemed to be ``unprecedented and unusual.'' Pinochet, 82, was placed under arrest in London Friday by British police acting on a warrant issued by a Spanish judge. The judge is probing Pinochet's role in the death of Spaniards in Chile under his rule in the 1970s and 80s. The Chilean government has protested Pinochet's arrest, insisting that as a senator he was traveling on a diplomatic passport and had immunity from arrest. Castro, Latin America's only remaining authoritarian leader, said he lacked details on the case against Pinochet, but said he thought it placed the government of Chile and President Eduardo Frei in an uncomfortable position while Frei is attending the summit. Castro compared the action with the establishment in Rome in August of an International Criminal Court, a move Cuba has expressed reservations about. Castro said the court ought to be independent of the U.N. Security Council, because ``we already know who commands there,'' an apparent reference to the United States. The United States was one of only seven countries that voted against creating the court. ``The (Pinochet) case is serious ... the problem is delicate'' and the reactions of the Chilean Parliament and armed forces bear watching, Castro said. He expressed surprise that the British had arrested Pinochet, especially since he had provided support to England during its 1982 war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands. Although Chile maintained neutrality during the war, it was accused of providing military intelligence to the British. Castro joked that he would have thought police could have waited another 24 hours to avoid having the arrest of Pinochet overshadow the summit being held here. ``Now they are talking about the arrest of Pinochet instead of the summit,'' he said. Pinochet left government in 1990, but remained as army chief until March when he became a senator-for-life.",
"The British and Spanish prime ministers said Sunday that the fate of former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet is in the hands of their judicial authorities and they will not interfere. ``Both myself and Mr. Aznar agree this is not a matter for us to discuss,'' British Prime Minister Tony Blair said, referring to Spanish leader Jose Maria Aznar. ``I've avoided commenting on that judicial process and I don't intend to do so.'' Aznar made similar comments when he meet journalists on the margin of a European Union summit in this Alpine lakeside resort. Pinochet is under arrest in a London hospital where he'd gone for back surgery. He was detained on a warrant from a Spanish magistrate seeking to extradite him on charges of genocide, terrorism and torture during his 1973-90 rule. The Chilean government has urged Britain to release Pinochet on humanitarian grounds, and argued that as a senator, he is entitled to diplomatic immunity. Aznar dismissed reports that the bid to try Pinochet will damage Spain's relations with Latin America. ``It's important we don't talk nonsense about this issue. This is stupid.''",
"The wife of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet appealed for his release, saying he is too sick to be extradited to Spain to face charges of genocide. ''This is very painful for our family,'' a tearful Lucia Pinochet told reporters late Friday outside the private London Clinic, where her husband is under arrest as he recuperates from back surgery. 'I would like to ask for compassion for a person who is very, very, very, ill.'' Pinochet, 82, had surgery Oct. 9 for a herniated disc, a painful spinal disorder which had hindered his movement. He was arrested Oct. 16 at the instigation of a Spanish magistrate seeking to extradite him on charges of genocide, terrorism and torture. The Spanish warrant cited 94 victims, but could be broadened to include some 3,000 people who were killed or disappeared during his 17-year-rule. Chile argues that Pinochet must be released because as a senator he enjoys diplomatic immunity _ and because he is in poor health. Unconfirmed media reports in Chile this week indicated that Pinochet, who has worn a pacemaker for years and is diabetic, also has a urinary tract infection. There have also been reports that he is suffering from depression. In a separate attempt to block his extradition, lawyers for the former strongman went to court Friday to argue that British police acted illegally in accepting the Spanish warrant. The case resumes Monday. Pinochet ruled from 1973 until 1990 but remained army commander until last March. Then, he moved to congress as a senator for life, as permitted by the constitution his regime drafted.",
"Margaret Thatcher entertained former Children dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet at her home two weeks before he was arrested in his bed in a London hospital, the ex-prime minister's office said Tuesday, amid growing diplomatic and domestic controversy over the move. Pinochet, who has vowed to fight attempts to extradite him to Spain on allegations of murder, genocide and torture, had drinks with Lady Thatcher and her husband, Denis, in their home in London's elite Belgravia district four days before he was hospitalized for back surgery performed Oct. 9. ``She regarded it as a private meeting,'' said Mark Worthington, spokesman for the Lady Thatcher, Conservative Party prime minister from 1979-90. The 82-year-old Pinochet was arrested Friday at a Spanish magistrate's request. In Conservative government days, Pinochet was welcomed on regular visits that included tea with the prime minister. He was the only Latin American leader to support Britain in its 1982 war against Argentina to reclaim the Falkland Islands. Pinochet and Lady Thatcher also implemented similar brands of right-wing economics. The current visit is Pincohet's first since Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labor Party administration was elected 18 months ago, ending 18 years of Conservative Party rule. Chile's ambassador delivered a formal protest to the Foreign Office on Monday, saying Britain has violated Pinochet's diplomatic immunity. He arrived last month on a diplomatic passport and is also a senator-for-life in Chile, which protects him from prosecution there. Pinochet's 17-year-rule was marked by torture and other human rights abuses against political opponents in which, the Chilean government has said, 4,299 people were killed or vanished. He remained Chilean army commander-in-chief until March. The magistrate broadened his charges Monday to include killings of Chileans as well as Spaniards, and genocide _ for which there is no diplomatic immunity. Chilean Ambassador Mario Artaza, himself an exile during Pinochet's rule, said Chile had a duty to protect a citizen with diplomatic immunity and senator status. ``We are not protecting the dictator of the '70s,'' Artaza said in a British Broadcasting Corp. radio interview Tuesday. ``What we are fighting for and discussing with the (British) government is the special situation of a senator in our transition who many people do not understand and many people don't like.'' ``We're not discussing his record during his period of dictatorship, that the present government does not support at all,'' added the ambassador. A Chilean specialist in international law was traveling to London for further meetings with British officials, Artaza said. Pinochet, expected to be hospitalized for perhaps two more weeks faces a long battle through British courts to avoid extradition, questioning by two Spanish judges who instigated the proceedings, and an appearance at London's Bow Street magistrate's court. British Conservative Party lawmakers accuse the Labor government of ``gesture'' politics and pandering to the party's left-wing.",
"The Swiss government has ordered no investigation of possible bank accounts belonging to former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, a spokesman said Wednesday. Weekend newspaper reports in Spain said a Spanish judge who ordered Pinochet's arrest has issued a petition aimed at freezing any accounts the 82-year-old general might have in Luxembourg and Switzerland. But government spokesman Achille Casanova said no accounts have so far been frozen in Switzerland and no investigation order has been given to federal banking authorities. Pinochet has been held at a London clinic since his arrest earlier this month. Spanish magistrate Baltasar Garzon is seeking his extradition on charges of genocide, torture and terrorism during his 17-year rule which ended 1990. On Monday, Switzerland also requested Pinochet's arrest and extradition on charges of murder, kidnapping and torture. The move followed a criminal complaint filed in Geneva last week by the widow of Alexis Jaccard, a student of Swiss-Chilean dual nationality who disappeared in May 1977. Swiss authorities said the Spanish effort to extradite Pinochet should be given priority. A Spanish request for legal assistance from Switzerland, made Friday, has been passed on to Geneva authorities. No details have been given of the content of the Spanish request.",
"A delegation of Chilean legislators lobbying against the possible extradition of Augusto Pinochet to Spain to face trial, warned Thursday that Chile was on the brink of political turmoil. ``There is a climate of division, confrontation and instability in Chile,'' parliamentary deputy Alberto Espina told reporters in Madrid after meeting the Chilean ambassador. Pinochet was arrested in London on Oct. 16 at the instigation of Spanish magistrate Baltasar Garzon who is seeking to extradite the former dictator on charges of genocide, terrorism and torture. In Chile, the detention triggered both celebrations by relatives of victims of Pinochet's 1973-1990 regime and protests from the retired general's supporters. Espina also warned that the issue was damaging relations between Chile Spain and Britain. Spain was the biggest single investor in Chile last year, followed closely by Britain. The deputy arrived in Madrid late Wednesday accompanied by the senators Jovino Movoa and Julio Lagos. The delegation is an offshoot of a larger group of Chilean parliamentarians currently protesting the detention in London on behalf of the opposition parties Independent Democratic Union and the National Renovation Party. Espina, Movoa and Lagos were hoping to talk to officials from the Spanish Foreign Ministry and other government representatives. ``All we ask is that Spain stops meddling in our internal affairs,'' Espina said, arguing that Chilean problems should be dealt with by Chilean courts. ``We stopped being a Spanish colony 188 years ago and we have no intention of becoming one again,'' he added. Government spokesman Josep Pique said Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar had no plans to meet the delegation, the state-owned news agency EFE reported. Aznar has promised his government will rubber stamp a formal extradition request to the British government if asked to do so by the judicial authorities. But the extradition attempt could be annulled by legal challenges in Spain well before the deadline for presenting it in Britain. The deadline is set for November 25th _ coincidentally Pinochet's 83rd birthday. On Thursday the head prosecutor from the National Court set in motion appeals against several rulings made by Judge Garzon related to Pinochet's detention in the London clinic where he was recovering from back surgery. The court's plenary is expected to meet next week to decide on an earlier challenge of the Spanish judicial investigations into human rights abuses in Chile and Argentina that underpin Garzon's arrest warrant. A ruling that the investigations are outside the jurisdiction of Spanish law would made any extradition request difficult. The decision is likely to hang on how genocide and terrorism are interpreted, as these crimes are specifically mentioned in the Spanish legal code."
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"The Spanish and British governments appeared Wednesday to be seeking shelter from the political storm brewing over the possible extradition of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet to Spain. ``Despite everything that has been written, this is not a decision for the British government or the Spanish government,'' British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in an interview published by a Spanish newspaper on Wednesday. In a similar vein, Spanish Foreign Ministry spokesman Joaquin Perez said Wednesday: ``The government should not have any opinion about the extradition.'' British police, acting on an international arrest warrant from Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon on Friday, detained the ailing general in the London clinic where he was recovering from back surgery. The detention and the possible extradition of Pinochet to Spain to stand trial for genocide, terrorism and torture during his 17-year dictatorship was warmly welcomed by human rights activists worldwide. But it sparked protests from the Chilean government, and fears it could damage economic relations. In 1997, seven years after Pinochet left power, Spain was the biggest single investor in Chile, followed closely by Britain. Blair quoted in the El Mundo newspaper said that Pinochet's detention was unrelated to his government's so-called Ethical Foreign Policy, apparently ignoring pressure from leftists within his Labor party to support moves to prosecute the former dictator. ``This is about two legal systems united by an extradition treaty but nobody seems to understand this,'' he said. Blair added that should Home Secretary Jack Straw would use only strictly legal criteria and act ``as if he were a judge,'' should he be required to make a decision on an extradition request from Spain. The tone of the British Prime Minister's first public comment on the issue contrasted sharply with Sunday's emotional statement from influential Trade Secretary Peter Mandelson who said most Britons would find diplomatic immunity for Pinochet ``gut-wrenching.'' The European extradition convention gives Garzon 40 days to present a formal extradition request to the British authorities via the Spanish government. But while Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar has promised his government would rubber stamp the process if it reaches his desk, he appears to be hoping he will never have to do so. Public prosecutors from Spain's National Court have appealed the judicial investigations into human rights abuses in Chile and Argentina that underpin Garzon's arrest warrant. ``Depending on the result of the appeals it is possible that it (the extradition request) will never reach the government so perhaps the government will never have to pronounce on it,'' Aznar was quoted as saying in Wednesday's edition of the Madrid newspaper El Pais. The appeals argue that crimes committed during Pinochet's 1973-1990 dictatorship are none of Spain's business, and should be left to the Chilean or international courts. A ruling on the appeals is expected next week, and a decision in their favor would nullify Garzon's extradition attempt.",
"Europe's top official said Friday that he hoped former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet would be extradited to Spain to be tried for crimes committed during his 17-year rule. ``Sometimes it should be made clear that crimes, wherever they take place, cannot be left unpunished,'' European Commission President Jacques Santer said. Pinochet was detained by British police in London on Oct. 16 by request of a Spanish magistrate as a first step toward his extradition to stand trial for genocide and terrorism. ``The dictatorship caused great suffering and sent many citizens into exile,'' Santer said, referring to the 1973-90 Pinochet regime. Santer was speaking to reporters in the northern Spanish city of Oviedo where he was due to receive the Prince of Asturias Prize for social science _ one of the eight annual prizes named after the heir to the Spanish throne. Meanwhile, a Spanish newspaper reported Friday that Pinochet is not fully aware of his predicament. Daily El Mundo said the ailing retired general's family and aides have been shielding him from the details for fear he would fly into a rage that would kill him. Pinochet was detained in the London clinic while recovering from back surgery. El Mundo said its reporter accompanied Chilean politicians seeking his release during a visit to the clinic Thursday. The reporter said he talked briefly to Pinochet's wife, Lucia Hiriart, and daughter Veronica. ``If Augusto knew the truth, he would have an attack of rage and die,'' El Mundo quoted Hiriart as saying to others while waiting for permission from Scotland Yard to visit her husband on the eighth floor of the clinic. She said she was particularly concerned because he is also suffering from a urinary infection, heart problems and diabetes, the newspaper reported. El Mundo reported that the family had asked police guards to stand outside the former dictator's room and keep out of sight. The paper said the room lacked television, radio or telephone. According to the report Pinochet was informed of the arrest order from two policemen, but is convinced it was a mistake and that he is protected by diplomatic immunity. Meanwhile, a Chilean television station reported Friday that a Chilean army officer close to Pinochet told the former military chief about his situation after flying to London Thursday. TV13 reported that the unidentified officer said Pinochet reacted calmly to the news imparted ``as one soldier to another.''",
"As his lawyers in London tried to quash a Spanish arrest warrant for Gen. Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean dictator, efforts began in Geneva and Paris to have him extradited. In London, where Pinochet has been under arrest in a clinic for the last 10 days, a phalanx of British lawyers argued before the High Court of Justice that the arrest order sent from Spain was illegal because the general, 82, is not a Spanish citizen. They also maintained that as a former head of state, the general had diplomatic immunity for actions taken while in office. His lawyer, Clive Nicholls, said that if a bid to extradite the general succeeded, by the same token Queen Elizabeth II could be extradited to Argentina to face trial for the death of Argentine soldiers in the Falklands war in 1982. On the opposing side, Alun Jones, a British government lawyer acting as prosecutor in the case, defended the Spanish warrant, which led to the general's detention in London. The prosecutor argued that the the right-wing general was responsible for killing at least 4,000 people and had set out ``to destroy a national group _ Chilean nationals who did not share his ideological values.'' After hearing the arguments in a court crowded with Chilean exiles in the public gallery, Lord Bingham, Britain's senior judge, said the court was expected to decide the matter on Tuesday. The Chilean air force has sent an ambulance plane to Britain in hope of the general's early release. But efforts to prevent that gathered strength elsewhere in Europe. In Geneva, a public prosecutor, Bernard Bertossa, said Monday that he had issued a warrant for Pinochet's arrest in connection with the kidnapping and presumed death of a Swiss-Chilean citizen in 1977. Bertossa said he had opened a judicial investigation in response to a complaint by the widow of the victim, Alexei Jaccard, who was 25 when he was tortured in Chile and subsequently disappeared. The prosecutor said he was asking the Swiss federal government to seek Pinochet's extradition from Britain to face trial in Geneva. At the same time in Paris Monday, the families of three French citizens, of whom two disappeared and one was killed in Chile during the 1973-90 dictatorship, filed suit in a French court. In addition, a human rights group in Paris said Monday that it had filed a suit with a Paris court on behalf of Anne Marie Pesle, whose father, Etienne Pesle, disappeared in Chile in 1973. In Madrid, Baltasar Garzon, the Spanish investigating magistrate who first obtained Pinochet's arrest in London, said he had formally requested the governments of Switzerland and Luxemburg to block bank accounts held by the general. Court officials in Madrid said Garzon wanted any accounts blocked with a view to their possible use later as compensation to relatives of victims. In London, British officials keep insisting that Pinochet's case will be decided by the courts and not politically, yet the issue has stirred intense political activity both in Britain and in Chile. Supporters and opponents of the dictator have traveled to the London clinic where he is being held. From Chile have come six right-wing senators, the deputy foreign minister, aides and legal experts who file in and out of the private clinic in central London. From Europe have come dozens of longtime opponents of the general who were forced into exile after his 1973 coup against the elected Socialist president, Salvador Allende Gossens. The exiles, along with others, stand daily outside the clinic holding up photographs of missing relatives and shouting anti-Pinochet slogans. On occasion there have been shouting matches between the two sides. ``He is ill, and in a few days he will be 83,'' Mariano Fernandez, Chile's deputy foreign minister, said after visiting Pinochet who had minor surgery for a back ailment. After his surgery on Oct. 9, the general was arrested by Scotland Yard during the night of Oct. 16. The diplomatic and judicial entanglements that ensued now involve at least five governments. The political and legal imbroglio could end if Britain's home secretary, Jack Straw, decides that the general should be released on ``compassionate grounds'' because of his age and failing health. Last week he said that in exercising his powers under the 1989 Extradition Act, he would consider whether the offenses are of a ``political character'' and he would take into account ``any compassionate circumstances.''",
"Britain has defended its arrest of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, with one lawmaker saying that Chile's claim that the former Chilean dictator has diplomatic immunity is ridiculous. Chilean officials, meanwhile, issued strong protests and sent a delegation to London on Sunday to argue for Pinochet's release. The former strongman's son vowed to hire top attorneys to defend his 82-year-old father, who ruled Chile with an iron fist for 17 years. British police arrested Pinochet in his bed Friday at a private London hospital in response to a request from Spain, which wants to question Pinochet about allegations of murder during the decade after he seized power in 1973. Pinochet had gone to the hospital to have a back operation Oct. 9. ``The idea that such a brutal dictator as Pinochet should be claiming diplomatic immunity I think for most people in this country would be pretty gut-wrenching stuff,'' Trade Secretary Peter Mandelson said in a British Broadcasting Corp. television interview Sunday. Home Office Minister Alun Michael acknowledged Sunday that Pinochet entered Britain on a diplomatic passport, but said, ``That does not necessarily convey diplomatic immunity.'' The Foreign Office said only government officials visiting on official business and accredited diplomats have immunity. Pinochet has been a regular visitor to Britain, generally without publicity. His arrest this time appeared to reflect a tougher attitude toward right-wing dictators by Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labor Party government, which replaced a Conservative Party administration 18 months ago and promised an ``ethical'' foreign policy. However, Michael Howard, a Conservative spokesman and former Cabinet minister, said he was concerned that Pinochet was arrested as a result of pressure from Labor lawmakers and lobby groups. Chilean President Eduardo Frei criticized the arrest, saying the Spanish magistrate's arrest order was tantamount to not recognizing Chile's institutions. ``Spain also lived under an authoritarian for 40 years and many of its present institutions are inherited from that regime,'' Frei said in Porto, Portugal, where he was attending the Ibero-American Summit. ``Would a Chilean court be allowed to start a trial for abuses that occurred under the Spanish authoritarian regime (of Francisco Franco)?'' Frei asked. ``It is only for Chilean courts to try events that occurred in Chile.'' Franco's reign ended in 1975. Pinochet's family issued a statement Sunday calling the arrest ``an insult'' and thanking the Chilean government, rightist politicians and the military for their support. In London, police guards were deployed Sunday outside the London Clinic, where Pinochet is believed to still be a patient. About 100 Chilean demonstrators pleased with the arrest gathered outside, chanting and waving placards bearing faded black and white portraits with the caption ``Disappeared in Chile.'' Across the Atlantic, the Chilean capital of Santiago was the scene of dueling demonstrations Sunday, reflecting the long-standing division of public opinion over Pinochet. The rallies were mostly peaceful, although riot police used tear gas and water cannons on some pro-Pinochet protesters trying to break through police lines into the British embassy on Sunday evening. No arrests or injuries were reported. The envoy sent to London to argue for Pinochet's release, Santiago Benadava, would offer only diplomatic advice, said Chilean Foreign Minister Jose Miguel Insulza. Any legal defense would be up to Pinochet's family. Pinochet's son, Augusto, said the family would hire ``the best legal team available in London.'' Several right-wing Chilean politicians, including some who held posts in the Pinochet regime, also were flying to London to show their support to their former boss. Under extradition laws, Spain has 40 days from last Friday to formally apply for extradition. The final decision lies with British Home Secretary Jack Straw. There was no immediate word on when Pinochet would be questioned. But police sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said questioning was not expected for a week or two. Pinochet has been widely accused of running a ruthless regime marked by disappearances and deaths of political opponents. His arrest was prompted by applications last week to question him by two Spanish judges investigating human rights violations. One of them, Baltasar Garzon, also wants to question Pinochet about the disappearances of Chilean dissidents in Argentina. The arrest warrant, however, referred only to questioning about allegations that he killed Spaniards in Chile between 1973 and 1983. In Chile, seven Spaniards have been identified as missing or dead under the Pinochet regime, including two Catholic priests and a U.N. official. According to a Chilean government report, a total of 4,299 political opponents died or disappeared during Pinochet's term. Pinochet, commander-in-chief of the Chilean army until March, has immunity from prosecution in Chile as a senator-for-life under a new constitution that his government crafted. He is also covered under an amnesty for crimes committed before 1978 _ when most of the human rights abuses took place.",
"Cuban President Fidel Castro said Sunday he disagreed with the arrest in London of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, calling it a case of ``international meddling.'' ``It seems to me that what has happened there (in London) is universal meddling,'' Castro told reporters covering the Ibero-American summit being held here Sunday. Castro had just finished breakfast with King Juan Carlos of Spain in a city hotel. He said the case seemed to be ``unprecedented and unusual.'' Pinochet, 82, was placed under arrest in London Friday by British police acting on a warrant issued by a Spanish judge. The judge is probing Pinochet's role in the death of Spaniards in Chile under his rule in the 1970s and 80s. The Chilean government has protested Pinochet's arrest, insisting that as a senator he was traveling on a diplomatic passport and had immunity from arrest. Castro, Latin America's only remaining authoritarian leader, said he lacked details on the case against Pinochet, but said he thought it placed the government of Chile and President Eduardo Frei in an uncomfortable position while Frei is attending the summit. Castro compared the action with the establishment in Rome in August of an International Criminal Court, a move Cuba has expressed reservations about. Castro said the court ought to be independent of the U.N. Security Council, because ``we already know who commands there,'' an apparent reference to the United States. The United States was one of only seven countries that voted against creating the court. ``The (Pinochet) case is serious ... the problem is delicate'' and the reactions of the Chilean Parliament and armed forces bear watching, Castro said. He expressed surprise that the British had arrested Pinochet, especially since he had provided support to England during its 1982 war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands. Although Chile maintained neutrality during the war, it was accused of providing military intelligence to the British. Castro joked that he would have thought police could have waited another 24 hours to avoid having the arrest of Pinochet overshadow the summit being held here. ``Now they are talking about the arrest of Pinochet instead of the summit,'' he said. Pinochet left government in 1990, but remained as army chief until March when he became a senator-for-life.",
"The British and Spanish prime ministers said Sunday that the fate of former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet is in the hands of their judicial authorities and they will not interfere. ``Both myself and Mr. Aznar agree this is not a matter for us to discuss,'' British Prime Minister Tony Blair said, referring to Spanish leader Jose Maria Aznar. ``I've avoided commenting on that judicial process and I don't intend to do so.'' Aznar made similar comments when he meet journalists on the margin of a European Union summit in this Alpine lakeside resort. Pinochet is under arrest in a London hospital where he'd gone for back surgery. He was detained on a warrant from a Spanish magistrate seeking to extradite him on charges of genocide, terrorism and torture during his 1973-90 rule. The Chilean government has urged Britain to release Pinochet on humanitarian grounds, and argued that as a senator, he is entitled to diplomatic immunity. Aznar dismissed reports that the bid to try Pinochet will damage Spain's relations with Latin America. ``It's important we don't talk nonsense about this issue. This is stupid.''",
"The wife of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet appealed for his release, saying he is too sick to be extradited to Spain to face charges of genocide. ''This is very painful for our family,'' a tearful Lucia Pinochet told reporters late Friday outside the private London Clinic, where her husband is under arrest as he recuperates from back surgery. 'I would like to ask for compassion for a person who is very, very, very, ill.'' Pinochet, 82, had surgery Oct. 9 for a herniated disc, a painful spinal disorder which had hindered his movement. He was arrested Oct. 16 at the instigation of a Spanish magistrate seeking to extradite him on charges of genocide, terrorism and torture. The Spanish warrant cited 94 victims, but could be broadened to include some 3,000 people who were killed or disappeared during his 17-year-rule. Chile argues that Pinochet must be released because as a senator he enjoys diplomatic immunity _ and because he is in poor health. Unconfirmed media reports in Chile this week indicated that Pinochet, who has worn a pacemaker for years and is diabetic, also has a urinary tract infection. There have also been reports that he is suffering from depression. In a separate attempt to block his extradition, lawyers for the former strongman went to court Friday to argue that British police acted illegally in accepting the Spanish warrant. The case resumes Monday. Pinochet ruled from 1973 until 1990 but remained army commander until last March. Then, he moved to congress as a senator for life, as permitted by the constitution his regime drafted.",
"Margaret Thatcher entertained former Children dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet at her home two weeks before he was arrested in his bed in a London hospital, the ex-prime minister's office said Tuesday, amid growing diplomatic and domestic controversy over the move. Pinochet, who has vowed to fight attempts to extradite him to Spain on allegations of murder, genocide and torture, had drinks with Lady Thatcher and her husband, Denis, in their home in London's elite Belgravia district four days before he was hospitalized for back surgery performed Oct. 9. ``She regarded it as a private meeting,'' said Mark Worthington, spokesman for the Lady Thatcher, Conservative Party prime minister from 1979-90. The 82-year-old Pinochet was arrested Friday at a Spanish magistrate's request. In Conservative government days, Pinochet was welcomed on regular visits that included tea with the prime minister. He was the only Latin American leader to support Britain in its 1982 war against Argentina to reclaim the Falkland Islands. Pinochet and Lady Thatcher also implemented similar brands of right-wing economics. The current visit is Pincohet's first since Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labor Party administration was elected 18 months ago, ending 18 years of Conservative Party rule. Chile's ambassador delivered a formal protest to the Foreign Office on Monday, saying Britain has violated Pinochet's diplomatic immunity. He arrived last month on a diplomatic passport and is also a senator-for-life in Chile, which protects him from prosecution there. Pinochet's 17-year-rule was marked by torture and other human rights abuses against political opponents in which, the Chilean government has said, 4,299 people were killed or vanished. He remained Chilean army commander-in-chief until March. The magistrate broadened his charges Monday to include killings of Chileans as well as Spaniards, and genocide _ for which there is no diplomatic immunity. Chilean Ambassador Mario Artaza, himself an exile during Pinochet's rule, said Chile had a duty to protect a citizen with diplomatic immunity and senator status. ``We are not protecting the dictator of the '70s,'' Artaza said in a British Broadcasting Corp. radio interview Tuesday. ``What we are fighting for and discussing with the (British) government is the special situation of a senator in our transition who many people do not understand and many people don't like.'' ``We're not discussing his record during his period of dictatorship, that the present government does not support at all,'' added the ambassador. A Chilean specialist in international law was traveling to London for further meetings with British officials, Artaza said. Pinochet, expected to be hospitalized for perhaps two more weeks faces a long battle through British courts to avoid extradition, questioning by two Spanish judges who instigated the proceedings, and an appearance at London's Bow Street magistrate's court. British Conservative Party lawmakers accuse the Labor government of ``gesture'' politics and pandering to the party's left-wing.",
"The Swiss government has ordered no investigation of possible bank accounts belonging to former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, a spokesman said Wednesday. Weekend newspaper reports in Spain said a Spanish judge who ordered Pinochet's arrest has issued a petition aimed at freezing any accounts the 82-year-old general might have in Luxembourg and Switzerland. But government spokesman Achille Casanova said no accounts have so far been frozen in Switzerland and no investigation order has been given to federal banking authorities. Pinochet has been held at a London clinic since his arrest earlier this month. Spanish magistrate Baltasar Garzon is seeking his extradition on charges of genocide, torture and terrorism during his 17-year rule which ended 1990. On Monday, Switzerland also requested Pinochet's arrest and extradition on charges of murder, kidnapping and torture. The move followed a criminal complaint filed in Geneva last week by the widow of Alexis Jaccard, a student of Swiss-Chilean dual nationality who disappeared in May 1977. Swiss authorities said the Spanish effort to extradite Pinochet should be given priority. A Spanish request for legal assistance from Switzerland, made Friday, has been passed on to Geneva authorities. No details have been given of the content of the Spanish request.",
"A delegation of Chilean legislators lobbying against the possible extradition of Augusto Pinochet to Spain to face trial, warned Thursday that Chile was on the brink of political turmoil. ``There is a climate of division, confrontation and instability in Chile,'' parliamentary deputy Alberto Espina told reporters in Madrid after meeting the Chilean ambassador. Pinochet was arrested in London on Oct. 16 at the instigation of Spanish magistrate Baltasar Garzon who is seeking to extradite the former dictator on charges of genocide, terrorism and torture. In Chile, the detention triggered both celebrations by relatives of victims of Pinochet's 1973-1990 regime and protests from the retired general's supporters. Espina also warned that the issue was damaging relations between Chile Spain and Britain. Spain was the biggest single investor in Chile last year, followed closely by Britain. The deputy arrived in Madrid late Wednesday accompanied by the senators Jovino Movoa and Julio Lagos. The delegation is an offshoot of a larger group of Chilean parliamentarians currently protesting the detention in London on behalf of the opposition parties Independent Democratic Union and the National Renovation Party. Espina, Movoa and Lagos were hoping to talk to officials from the Spanish Foreign Ministry and other government representatives. ``All we ask is that Spain stops meddling in our internal affairs,'' Espina said, arguing that Chilean problems should be dealt with by Chilean courts. ``We stopped being a Spanish colony 188 years ago and we have no intention of becoming one again,'' he added. Government spokesman Josep Pique said Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar had no plans to meet the delegation, the state-owned news agency EFE reported. Aznar has promised his government will rubber stamp a formal extradition request to the British government if asked to do so by the judicial authorities. But the extradition attempt could be annulled by legal challenges in Spain well before the deadline for presenting it in Britain. The deadline is set for November 25th _ coincidentally Pinochet's 83rd birthday. On Thursday the head prosecutor from the National Court set in motion appeals against several rulings made by Judge Garzon related to Pinochet's detention in the London clinic where he was recovering from back surgery. The court's plenary is expected to meet next week to decide on an earlier challenge of the Spanish judicial investigations into human rights abuses in Chile and Argentina that underpin Garzon's arrest warrant. A ruling that the investigations are outside the jurisdiction of Spanish law would made any extradition request difficult. The decision is likely to hang on how genocide and terrorism are interpreted, as these crimes are specifically mentioned in the Spanish legal code."
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Terrorists bombed the US embassy in Nairobi, killing 213, 12 of them Americans. A near simultaneous bombing of the embassy in Dar es Salaam killed 11, but no Americans. An editorial accused the State Department of ignoring threat warnings. Three suspects in custody in New York have been denied outside contact and their lawyers charge that the jail conditions are inhumane. A federal grand jury has indicted Osama bin Laden with conspiracy in the bombings. Bin Laden is in Afghanistan, out of the reach of US authorities and protected by the Taliban. German police receive d possible threat against the US embassy there. Local and U.S. authorities who are questioning victims for evidence are investigating terrorist bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Three suspects are in custody in New York. They have filed complaints about restrictions and about unsatisfactory conditions in the jail. There is evidence that the State Department ignored warnings. Osama bin Laden was indicted for terrorism and for conspiring in the bombings. The Taliban has declared him a free man in Afghanistan and says the U.S. is using him as an excuse for missile attacks. An Islamic group threatens retaliation if he is arrested. A threat against the U.S. embassy in Bonn seems unfounded. In Oct and Nov 1998, the US was pursuing Osama bin Laden and his associates as suspects in the Aug bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The attacks killed 224 and injured 5,485. The US had ignored a warning of the Kenya attack 9 months earlier. Two men were arrested in Tanzania. One was under arrest in Germany. Two were in a New York City jail, virtually held incommunicado, awaiting trial. Bin Laden and his military commander also were indicted. Two $5 million rewards were offered. Bin Laden was believed to be in Afghanistan where the Taliban government called him an honored guest and said the US presented no proof that he was a terrorist. Seven men have been arrested for the Aug. 7 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Two, Rashid Saleh Hemed and Mustafa Mahmoud Said Ahmed, are in jail in Tanzania. Mohammed Saddiq Odeh and Mohamed Rashed Daoud al' Owhali are being held in isolation in a facility in New York. Three other suspects are being sought. Osama bin Laden was indicted on 238 counts in connection with the blasts that killed over 200 people and wounded over 5400. The U.S. announced a $5 million reward each for information leading to the capture or conviction of bin Laden, who is living in Afghanistan under Taliban protection, and Muhammed Atef, a chief lieutenant.
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"The Taliban's chief justice accused the United States on Wednesday of looking for an ``excuse'' to launch another missile attack on his war-shattered homeland. And that excuse is Osama bin Laden, the man Washington calls Enemy No. 1 and blames for the Aug. 7 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa, Justice Noor Mohammed Saqib said an interview with The Associated Press. On Aug. 20 the United States retaliated by firing Tomahawk missiles at suspected terrorist camps in eastern Afghanistan, killing 26 people. According to U.S. intelligence sources, the camps were being used to train members of bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist group. ``America is looking for an excuse to fire more rockets on our dear Afghanistan and that excuse is bin Laden,'' Saqib said. Washington, which has posted a dlrs 5 million reward for bin Laden's arrest, hasn't ruled out further attacks on Afghanistan. Saqib, who heads a judicial inquiry established by the Taliban to investigate the terrorism charges against bin Laden, says the United States has become insecure. ``America fears its shadow ... in every part of the world it is afraid and sees every danger connected to bin Laden,'' he said in an interview in the Afghan capital of Kabul. In Afghanistan, bin Laden is considered an honored guest by his Taliban hosts. They cite Afghan tradition, which demands the host guarantee his guest protection. So far Saqib says he has no evidence of bin Laden's involvement in terrorist activities. The Taliban have refused to turn over bin Laden to the United States, but they say if there is evidence they will try him under Islamic law. In the 90 percent of Afghanistan ruled by the Taliban a harsh brand of Islamic justice has been imposed, including the death penalty. ``We want good relations with the United States and all Muslim and non-Muslim countries, but they have to respect our ways,'' he said. Saqib said his inquiry will wind up on Nov. 20 and if there is no evidence against bin Laden the case will be closed _ at least for the Taliban. ``Bin Laden is not a sinful man ... America has been silent ... they have given no evidence,'' he said. ``It is too shameful for America who is now seen by all that world to have no reason to go after bin Laden.''",
"The man accused of orchestrating the U.S. embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya was declared a free man Friday in Afghanistan, where he has lived for years with the permission of the hard-line Islamic Taliban militia. The Taliban, who control about 90 percent of Afghanistan, on Friday closed their three-week inquiry into allegations that Osama bin Laden is waging a war of terror against the United States. ``It's over, and America has not presented any evidence,'' Afghanistan's chief justice, Noor Mohammed Saqib, told The Associated Press in an interview at the Supreme Court building in the Afghan capital, Kabul. ``Without any evidence, bin Laden is a man without sin. ... He is a free man.'' The Taliban have told bin Laden, however, that political activity is banned and he has agreed to respect that, the Taliban information minister said in a statement Friday. The minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, also disputed U.S. assertions that bin Laden is a rich man, saying the Saudi dissident has had his foreign assets frozen, a claim not immediately corroborated.",
"A federal district judge agreed Tuesday to review complaints by lawyers for three men arrested after the bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa that their jail conditions in Manhattan are unconstitutional and inhumane. Judge Leonard Sand of U.S. District Court in Manhattan said he had received an eight-page letter from lawyers for two of three defendants in custody in Manhattan. The lawyers complained that their clients were being held in total isolation for almost 24 hours a day in a unit called 10 South, the most restrictive holding area in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan. The defendants are allowed only brief periods of exercise in a barren room, called the rat cage, a defense lawyer, Michael Young, wrote in the letter. A second lawyer, Leonard Joy, concurred with the views in the letter, which was made public Tuesday. In agreeing to review the conditions, Sand said, ``Certainly it has to be addressed, that is, the condition of confinement for all of the defendants.'' The judge made his comments in the first hearing in the bombing case since last week's indictment by a federal grand jury of Osama bin Laden, who the authorities believe was the mastermind of the embassy attacks. Bin Laden remains at large and is believed to be living in Afghanistan under the protection of the Taliban, the Islamic fundamentalist movement that rules that country. In discussing conditions at the Manhattan jail, the lawyers said that two of the defendants have not been able to call their families, while the third has been allowed to make only one phone call. The lawyers added that the defendants cannot have visitors, write letters, or receive mail or books. The skirmishing continued in court. ``I cannot give my client a dictionary,'' a third lawyer, Bruce McIntyre, who represents Wadih el Hage, told the judge. El Hage has been charged with conspiring to kill Americans abroad and has been described by the government as a former personal secretary to bin Laden. The two other defendants in court Tuesday _ Mohammed Saddiq Odeh and Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-'Owhali _ have each been charged with separate counts of murder in the deaths of more than 200 people in the embassy attacks in Kenya and Tanzania on August 7. All three men have pleaded not guilty. Patrick Fitzgerald, an assistant U.S. attorney, told the judge that the government would have a response by Friday, and his comments suggested that the government will be prepared to make some modifications in the restrictions.",
"German police raided several locations near Bonn after receiving word of a terrorist threat against the U.S. Embassy, but no evidence of a planned attack was found, officials said Wednesday. Police, including agents of an elite anti-terrorist unit, checked several suspects during raids in an industrial zone and other sites Tuesday, but no arrests were made, said Eva Schuebel, spokeswoman for the Federal Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe. The agency said it had received ``credible information'' that Middle East terrorists had stockpiled arms and explosives at the sites, but none were found. The agency's investigation is continuing, Schuebel said. ``For now, we can no longer speak of an immediate threat to the U.S. Embassy,'' she said. The embassy had no comment. Security was tightened at U.S. installations worldwide after the Aug. 7 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Saudi dissident Osama Bin Laden is wanted by U.S. officials for those attacks. A suspected top aide of bin Laden, Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, is jailed in Germany pending a U.S. extradition request, raising concern about reprisals on German soil. U.S. authorities charge Salim helped finance, train and arm members of a terrorist organization, including the alleged bombers of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. In September, German police stepped up security at the U.S. consulate in Hamburg after receiving a tip about a possible threat.",
"Police and soldiers on Friday blocked off the street in front of a house where members of a terrorist gang are believed to have assembled the bomb that blew up the U.S. Embassy, killing 11 people. Wearing gloves and masks, detectives from the Tanzanian Criminal Investigation Division could be seen searching the yard of the house that is surrounded by a high fence. Residents, who were questioned Thursday by Tanzanian police and FBI agents, told reporters Friday there were four regular visitors to the house. They all came at night and used a white 1989 Suzuki Samuri, which is in police custody. Two men, Tanzanian Rashid Saleh Hemed and Egyptian Mustafa Mahmoud Said Ahmed, have been formally charged by a Tanzanian magistrate in the Aug. 7 embassy bombing. Police are looking for two other suspects identified Ahmad Khalfan, a Tanzanian of Omani origin and Fahad, a Kenyan of Yemeni origin. A relative of Hemed told The Associated Press the house in the Bungoni neighborhood of Ilala district had been rented by Ahmad Khalfan. The house is south of the center of Dar es Salaam and about 6.5 kilometers (4 miles) southwest of the embassy building. The relative, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said in addition to Khalfan, the three other visitors to the house were Fahad, Ahmed and Hussein. He did not furnish second names for them, and it was not clear whether Ahmed was the same Egyptian charged in the Dar es Salaam bombing. Residents said police showed them photographs, but they were not able to identify them because it was always dark when they arrived and left. But all were able to identify the Suzuki vehicle. Officials believe a 1987 Nissan Atlas refrigerator truck actually carried the bomb into the embassy compound. It has been identified by its chassis, all that remains. There has been speculation that two men in the Suzuiki used a remote control device to detonate the bomb. A nearly simultaneous attack in neighboring Kenya killed 213 people, including 12 Americans, at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi. U.S. authorities have charged four people in connection with the Nairobi blast. Three are in custody in New York, and a fourth is a fugitive. Mohamed Sadeek Odeh, one of the three men in custody in the United States for the Nairobi bombing, told police in Pakistan where he was arrested after arriving from Nairobi Aug. 7 that Ahmad Khalfan was a member of the group responsible for the bombing in Dar es Salaam. According to the same Pakistani police sources, Odeh identified Fahad as being involved in the Nairobi embassy bombing.",
"Federal prison officials have cut off virtually all communications for two men being held in Manhattan in the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. A federal prison official said Monday that the government moved under a rarely used federal rule that allows prison officials to limit an inmate's contacts to prevent future ``acts of violence and terrorism.'' A spokesman for the federal prosecutor's office declined to say whether the authorities foresaw further threats of terrorism. But the law allows officials to impose restrictions where they believe there is ``a substantial risk'' that an inmate's communications ``could result in death or serious bodily injury.'' Under the provision, approved by the Justice Department, prison officials may segregate prisoners from other inmates, and cut off their correspondence, visits, interviews with the news media and use of the telephone. It was not clear yesterday which of these restrictions would be applied to the two bombing suspects, Mohamed Saddiq Odeh and Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-'Owhali. The rule does permit communications with their lawyers. A Bureau of Prisons official in Washington confirmed that the two men are joining a group of about six inmates throughout the country being held under the restrictions. The total population of federal prisons exceeds 108,000 inmates. Others similarly restricted include Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, the Egyptian cleric convicted in the conspiracy to blow up landmarks in New York, and Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, convicted of masterminding the World Trade Center bombings in 1993. Michael A. Young, the lawyer representing Odeh, said he was ``somewhat concerned because these are pretrial defendants, after all.'' ``You can't punish them in advance of any determination of whether they are guilty or innocent,'' he said. Leonard F. Joy, al-'Owhali's lawyer, said his initial impression is that some of the restrictions could hinder his ability to represent his client.",
"The New York Times said in an editorial on Monday, Oct. 26: Since the deadly bombing of two American embassies in Africa in August, there has been a troubling accumulation of evidence that the State Department inexplicably ignored warnings of possible terrorist attacks against the installations. The latest and most disturbing account suggests that nine months before the truck bombing in Kenya, the department received a detailed description of the planned attack but did little to strengthen security at the embassy. The pattern of negligence demands examination by the Clinton administration and Congress. Shortly after the bombing, the department acknowledged that the American ambassador in Kenya, Prudence Bushnell, had earlier recommended that the embassy be moved to a safer location. Her advice was rejected. On Friday, Raymond Bonner and James Risen of The New York Times reported that an Egyptian now believed to have been directly involved in the bombings outlined the Kenya plot to American intelligence officials last November. Mustafa Mahmoud Said Ahmed's account was so specific _ he said terrorists were planning to detonate a truck bomb in the embassy's underground garage _ that it called for more than a temporary increase in security. Unhappily, it was discounted, even thought to be a ruse to lure the embassy into new security measures that terrorists could monitor and defeat. The logic of this is hard to fathom, and harder still to explain to relatives of the Americans and Kenyans killed in an attack nearly identical to the plan Ahmed described. Since the bombings, the department has been quick to close embassies temporarily if attacks seem imminent. It would be interesting to know if the intelligence behind those decisions was any more credible than Ahmed's warning. No one at the State Department is happy with the department's handling of security matters, but the tendency to blame limited funding and bureaucratic inertia is disheartening. Of course, additional money would have made it possible to harden defenses at more embassies, and Congress has now added to the security budget. But more decisive leadership in the department could have assured preventive steps were taken in East Africa.",
"An Islamic militant group on Thursday threatened to retaliate if Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden is arrested, and described Washington's No. 1 enemy as a ``hero'' to Muslims worldwide. Bin Laden, believed to be in Afghanistan, and a top aide were indicted Wednesday by a U.S. District Court in the U.S. embassy bombings in Africa and are accused of conspiring to kill Americans outside the United States. The State Department also announced a reward of up to dlrs 5 million for bin Laden's capture. ``It is a challenge to the entire Muslim world ... Bin Laden is a hero of the Muslim world,'' said Omar Warsi, a leader of Pakistan's militant Sunni Muslim group, Sipah-e-Sahaba, or Guardians of the Friends of the Prophet. ``If anything happens to him, America will be responsible.'' Many Sipah-e-Sahaba followers are fighting in neighboring Afghanistan alongside the Taliban army, which rules 90 percent of Afghanistan and has imposed a strict version of Islamic law in those areas. Warsi's group is well-armed with everything from machine guns to rocket launchers. In Pakistan, it has been blamed in killings of hundreds of Shiite Muslims, whom the group reviles as non-Muslims based on a centuries-old dispute over who was the proper successor to the Prophet Mohammed. Harakat-ul-Ansar, a Pakistan-based organization labeled a terrorist group by the United States, said, however, that foreigners in Pakistan ``have nothing to fear from us.'' Harakat is considered a strong supporter of bin Laden, and several Harakat followers were killed in the U.S. missile attack on alleged bin Laden terror sites in Afghanistan. ``What the United States does is their business,'' said Abdul Bassit, a Harakat follower. He added, however, that the United States should know bin Laden ``is a good Muslim, and all the Muslim world thinks he is a good Muslim.'' The Taliban say bin Laden is a respected guest who will not be extradited. However, they have set up a judicial inquiry to accept evidence of bin Laden's involvement in terrorist activity and have promised to prosecute him if the evidence warrants it. Washington blames bin Laden's group, al Qaeda, for the Aug. 7 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people, including 12 Americans, and injured an estimated 5,000 people. The United States retaliated Aug. 20, firing Tomahawk cruise missiles at suspected bin Laden training camps in eastern Afghanistan. At least 26 people were killed, but damage to the area was not considered extensive. The U.S. Embassy in Pakistan evacuated nonessential staff and family members prior to the August bombing of Afghanistan, fearing retaliation. While some embassy workers are back, their dependents and about 30 percent of the staff have not been allowed to return. Embassy officials said no fresh security warnings followed Wednesday's indictment. Security measures already in place include cement barricades blocking the road leading to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad and razor-sharp barbed wire topping the brick-walled compound. In the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, on the border with Afghanistan, the U.S. consulate is surrounded by barbed wire and protected by an armored personnel carrier and dozens of armed police.",
"A federal grand jury in Manhattan returned a 238-count indictment Wednesday charging the Saudi exile Osama bin Laden with conspiring to bomb two U.S. embassies in Africa in August and with committing acts of terrorism against Americans abroad. Government officials immediately announced that they were offering two rewards of $5 million each for information leading to the arrest or conviction of bin Laden and another man charged Wednesday, Muhammad Atef, who was described as bin Laden's chief military commander. Bin Laden is believed to be living in Afghanistan under the protection of the Taliban, the Islamic fundamentalist movement that rules that country. Atef's whereabouts are unknown. Prosecutors also unsealed an earlier indictment, issued in June, that included similar but less detailed charges against bin Laden. That indictment was returned before the embassy bombings and was the result of a two-year investigation into his activities in Somalia and Saudi Arabia, as well as reports that he had connections to a circle of Islamic militants in Brooklyn. The new indictment, which supersedes the June action, accused bin Laden of leading a vast terrorist conspiracy from 1989 to the present, in which he was said to be working in concert with governments, including those of Sudan, Iraq and Iran, and terrorist groups, to build weapons and attack American military installations. But the indictment gives few details of bin Laden's alleged involvement in the embassy attacks. The indictment does not, for example, specify whether prosecutors have evidence that bin Laden gave direct orders to those who carried out the attacks. Nothing in the document indicates why the original indictment was kept secret for months, but the secret charges were returned about the time that American officials were plotting a possible raid into Afghanistan to arrest bin Laden. Mary Jo White, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, said, ``It's very common to have sealed indictments when you're trying to apprehend those who are indicted.'' Both indictments offer new information about bin Laden's operations, including one deal he is said to have struck with Iraq to cooperate in the development of weapons in return for bin Laden's agreeing not to work against that country. No details were given about whether the alleged deal with Iraq led to the development of actual weapons for bin Laden's group, which is called Al Qaeda. The government said Wednesday that bin Laden's group had used private relief groups ``as conduits for transmitting funds'' for Al Qaeda. The groups were not identified. Prosecutors also said bin Laden's group had conducted internal investigations of its members and their associates, trying to detect who might be acting as informants, and had killed those who had been suspected of collaborating with ``enemies of the organization.'' The government indicated earlier that its knowledge of bin Laden's activities stemmed in part from the cooperation of one such informant, who it said Wednesday had worked for bin Laden, transporting weapons and explosives, helping to buy land for his training camps and assisting in running his finances. While the June indictment against bin Laden suggested that the government had a great deal of knowledge of his dealings in the months before the embassy attacks, the new charges are an indication of how quickly the government has worked to solve the embassy attacks, which occurred just three months ago. Ms. White said bin Laden was charged with ``plotting and carrying out the most heinous acts of international terrorism and murder.'' Citing the more than 250 people killed in the embassy attacks and the more than 1,000 wounded, she added, ``In a greater sense, all of the citizens of the world are also victims whenever and wherever the cruel and cowardly acts of international terrorism strike.'' The investigation of bin Laden is continuing, said Ms. White and Lewis D. Schiliro, assistant director of the FBI in New York, whose agents have fanned out around the world to look into the embassy attacks. ``Our investigative strategy is clear,'' Schiliro said. ``We will identify, locate and prosecute all those responsible, right up the line, from those who constructed and delivered the bombs to those who paid for them and ordered it done.''",
"NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) _ FBI agents this week began questioning relatives of the victims of the Aug. 7 U.S. Embassy bombing as well as the seriously injured on request of the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York, a U.S. official said Thursday. The blast at the embassy building in downtown Nairobi killed 213 people, 12 of them Americans, and injured 5,400. In an nearly simultaneous bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam in neighboring Tanzania, 11 people were killed and 85 were injured, none of them Americans. The official, who could not be further identified, said the questioning was aimed at gathering recorded testimony to be used by the prosecution in the pre-sentencing phase of the trials of the six men indicted in connection with the attack. Wadih El Hage, Mohamed Sadeek Odeh and Mohamed Rashed Daoud Al-'Owhali are being held by the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York. All three have pleaded innocent. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed is a fugitive. Saudi exile Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of a conspiracy to attack U.S. targets around the world, and Muhammad Atef, the alleged military commander of bin Laden's terrorist organization, Al-Qaeda, were charged in a separate 238-page indictment with murder and conspiracy in the bombings. Bin Laden is believed to be living in Afghanistan. U.S. law provides for the trial in the United States of those charged in terror attacks against American citizens, even if carried out on foreign soil."
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[
"The Taliban's chief justice accused the United States on Wednesday of looking for an ``excuse'' to launch another missile attack on his war-shattered homeland. And that excuse is Osama bin Laden, the man Washington calls Enemy No. 1 and blames for the Aug. 7 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa, Justice Noor Mohammed Saqib said an interview with The Associated Press. On Aug. 20 the United States retaliated by firing Tomahawk missiles at suspected terrorist camps in eastern Afghanistan, killing 26 people. According to U.S. intelligence sources, the camps were being used to train members of bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist group. ``America is looking for an excuse to fire more rockets on our dear Afghanistan and that excuse is bin Laden,'' Saqib said. Washington, which has posted a dlrs 5 million reward for bin Laden's arrest, hasn't ruled out further attacks on Afghanistan. Saqib, who heads a judicial inquiry established by the Taliban to investigate the terrorism charges against bin Laden, says the United States has become insecure. ``America fears its shadow ... in every part of the world it is afraid and sees every danger connected to bin Laden,'' he said in an interview in the Afghan capital of Kabul. In Afghanistan, bin Laden is considered an honored guest by his Taliban hosts. They cite Afghan tradition, which demands the host guarantee his guest protection. So far Saqib says he has no evidence of bin Laden's involvement in terrorist activities. The Taliban have refused to turn over bin Laden to the United States, but they say if there is evidence they will try him under Islamic law. In the 90 percent of Afghanistan ruled by the Taliban a harsh brand of Islamic justice has been imposed, including the death penalty. ``We want good relations with the United States and all Muslim and non-Muslim countries, but they have to respect our ways,'' he said. Saqib said his inquiry will wind up on Nov. 20 and if there is no evidence against bin Laden the case will be closed _ at least for the Taliban. ``Bin Laden is not a sinful man ... America has been silent ... they have given no evidence,'' he said. ``It is too shameful for America who is now seen by all that world to have no reason to go after bin Laden.''",
"The man accused of orchestrating the U.S. embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya was declared a free man Friday in Afghanistan, where he has lived for years with the permission of the hard-line Islamic Taliban militia. The Taliban, who control about 90 percent of Afghanistan, on Friday closed their three-week inquiry into allegations that Osama bin Laden is waging a war of terror against the United States. ``It's over, and America has not presented any evidence,'' Afghanistan's chief justice, Noor Mohammed Saqib, told The Associated Press in an interview at the Supreme Court building in the Afghan capital, Kabul. ``Without any evidence, bin Laden is a man without sin. ... He is a free man.'' The Taliban have told bin Laden, however, that political activity is banned and he has agreed to respect that, the Taliban information minister said in a statement Friday. The minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, also disputed U.S. assertions that bin Laden is a rich man, saying the Saudi dissident has had his foreign assets frozen, a claim not immediately corroborated.",
"A federal district judge agreed Tuesday to review complaints by lawyers for three men arrested after the bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa that their jail conditions in Manhattan are unconstitutional and inhumane. Judge Leonard Sand of U.S. District Court in Manhattan said he had received an eight-page letter from lawyers for two of three defendants in custody in Manhattan. The lawyers complained that their clients were being held in total isolation for almost 24 hours a day in a unit called 10 South, the most restrictive holding area in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan. The defendants are allowed only brief periods of exercise in a barren room, called the rat cage, a defense lawyer, Michael Young, wrote in the letter. A second lawyer, Leonard Joy, concurred with the views in the letter, which was made public Tuesday. In agreeing to review the conditions, Sand said, ``Certainly it has to be addressed, that is, the condition of confinement for all of the defendants.'' The judge made his comments in the first hearing in the bombing case since last week's indictment by a federal grand jury of Osama bin Laden, who the authorities believe was the mastermind of the embassy attacks. Bin Laden remains at large and is believed to be living in Afghanistan under the protection of the Taliban, the Islamic fundamentalist movement that rules that country. In discussing conditions at the Manhattan jail, the lawyers said that two of the defendants have not been able to call their families, while the third has been allowed to make only one phone call. The lawyers added that the defendants cannot have visitors, write letters, or receive mail or books. The skirmishing continued in court. ``I cannot give my client a dictionary,'' a third lawyer, Bruce McIntyre, who represents Wadih el Hage, told the judge. El Hage has been charged with conspiring to kill Americans abroad and has been described by the government as a former personal secretary to bin Laden. The two other defendants in court Tuesday _ Mohammed Saddiq Odeh and Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-'Owhali _ have each been charged with separate counts of murder in the deaths of more than 200 people in the embassy attacks in Kenya and Tanzania on August 7. All three men have pleaded not guilty. Patrick Fitzgerald, an assistant U.S. attorney, told the judge that the government would have a response by Friday, and his comments suggested that the government will be prepared to make some modifications in the restrictions.",
"German police raided several locations near Bonn after receiving word of a terrorist threat against the U.S. Embassy, but no evidence of a planned attack was found, officials said Wednesday. Police, including agents of an elite anti-terrorist unit, checked several suspects during raids in an industrial zone and other sites Tuesday, but no arrests were made, said Eva Schuebel, spokeswoman for the Federal Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe. The agency said it had received ``credible information'' that Middle East terrorists had stockpiled arms and explosives at the sites, but none were found. The agency's investigation is continuing, Schuebel said. ``For now, we can no longer speak of an immediate threat to the U.S. Embassy,'' she said. The embassy had no comment. Security was tightened at U.S. installations worldwide after the Aug. 7 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Saudi dissident Osama Bin Laden is wanted by U.S. officials for those attacks. A suspected top aide of bin Laden, Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, is jailed in Germany pending a U.S. extradition request, raising concern about reprisals on German soil. U.S. authorities charge Salim helped finance, train and arm members of a terrorist organization, including the alleged bombers of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. In September, German police stepped up security at the U.S. consulate in Hamburg after receiving a tip about a possible threat.",
"Police and soldiers on Friday blocked off the street in front of a house where members of a terrorist gang are believed to have assembled the bomb that blew up the U.S. Embassy, killing 11 people. Wearing gloves and masks, detectives from the Tanzanian Criminal Investigation Division could be seen searching the yard of the house that is surrounded by a high fence. Residents, who were questioned Thursday by Tanzanian police and FBI agents, told reporters Friday there were four regular visitors to the house. They all came at night and used a white 1989 Suzuki Samuri, which is in police custody. Two men, Tanzanian Rashid Saleh Hemed and Egyptian Mustafa Mahmoud Said Ahmed, have been formally charged by a Tanzanian magistrate in the Aug. 7 embassy bombing. Police are looking for two other suspects identified Ahmad Khalfan, a Tanzanian of Omani origin and Fahad, a Kenyan of Yemeni origin. A relative of Hemed told The Associated Press the house in the Bungoni neighborhood of Ilala district had been rented by Ahmad Khalfan. The house is south of the center of Dar es Salaam and about 6.5 kilometers (4 miles) southwest of the embassy building. The relative, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said in addition to Khalfan, the three other visitors to the house were Fahad, Ahmed and Hussein. He did not furnish second names for them, and it was not clear whether Ahmed was the same Egyptian charged in the Dar es Salaam bombing. Residents said police showed them photographs, but they were not able to identify them because it was always dark when they arrived and left. But all were able to identify the Suzuki vehicle. Officials believe a 1987 Nissan Atlas refrigerator truck actually carried the bomb into the embassy compound. It has been identified by its chassis, all that remains. There has been speculation that two men in the Suzuiki used a remote control device to detonate the bomb. A nearly simultaneous attack in neighboring Kenya killed 213 people, including 12 Americans, at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi. U.S. authorities have charged four people in connection with the Nairobi blast. Three are in custody in New York, and a fourth is a fugitive. Mohamed Sadeek Odeh, one of the three men in custody in the United States for the Nairobi bombing, told police in Pakistan where he was arrested after arriving from Nairobi Aug. 7 that Ahmad Khalfan was a member of the group responsible for the bombing in Dar es Salaam. According to the same Pakistani police sources, Odeh identified Fahad as being involved in the Nairobi embassy bombing.",
"Federal prison officials have cut off virtually all communications for two men being held in Manhattan in the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. A federal prison official said Monday that the government moved under a rarely used federal rule that allows prison officials to limit an inmate's contacts to prevent future ``acts of violence and terrorism.'' A spokesman for the federal prosecutor's office declined to say whether the authorities foresaw further threats of terrorism. But the law allows officials to impose restrictions where they believe there is ``a substantial risk'' that an inmate's communications ``could result in death or serious bodily injury.'' Under the provision, approved by the Justice Department, prison officials may segregate prisoners from other inmates, and cut off their correspondence, visits, interviews with the news media and use of the telephone. It was not clear yesterday which of these restrictions would be applied to the two bombing suspects, Mohamed Saddiq Odeh and Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-'Owhali. The rule does permit communications with their lawyers. A Bureau of Prisons official in Washington confirmed that the two men are joining a group of about six inmates throughout the country being held under the restrictions. The total population of federal prisons exceeds 108,000 inmates. Others similarly restricted include Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, the Egyptian cleric convicted in the conspiracy to blow up landmarks in New York, and Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, convicted of masterminding the World Trade Center bombings in 1993. Michael A. Young, the lawyer representing Odeh, said he was ``somewhat concerned because these are pretrial defendants, after all.'' ``You can't punish them in advance of any determination of whether they are guilty or innocent,'' he said. Leonard F. Joy, al-'Owhali's lawyer, said his initial impression is that some of the restrictions could hinder his ability to represent his client.",
"The New York Times said in an editorial on Monday, Oct. 26: Since the deadly bombing of two American embassies in Africa in August, there has been a troubling accumulation of evidence that the State Department inexplicably ignored warnings of possible terrorist attacks against the installations. The latest and most disturbing account suggests that nine months before the truck bombing in Kenya, the department received a detailed description of the planned attack but did little to strengthen security at the embassy. The pattern of negligence demands examination by the Clinton administration and Congress. Shortly after the bombing, the department acknowledged that the American ambassador in Kenya, Prudence Bushnell, had earlier recommended that the embassy be moved to a safer location. Her advice was rejected. On Friday, Raymond Bonner and James Risen of The New York Times reported that an Egyptian now believed to have been directly involved in the bombings outlined the Kenya plot to American intelligence officials last November. Mustafa Mahmoud Said Ahmed's account was so specific _ he said terrorists were planning to detonate a truck bomb in the embassy's underground garage _ that it called for more than a temporary increase in security. Unhappily, it was discounted, even thought to be a ruse to lure the embassy into new security measures that terrorists could monitor and defeat. The logic of this is hard to fathom, and harder still to explain to relatives of the Americans and Kenyans killed in an attack nearly identical to the plan Ahmed described. Since the bombings, the department has been quick to close embassies temporarily if attacks seem imminent. It would be interesting to know if the intelligence behind those decisions was any more credible than Ahmed's warning. No one at the State Department is happy with the department's handling of security matters, but the tendency to blame limited funding and bureaucratic inertia is disheartening. Of course, additional money would have made it possible to harden defenses at more embassies, and Congress has now added to the security budget. But more decisive leadership in the department could have assured preventive steps were taken in East Africa.",
"An Islamic militant group on Thursday threatened to retaliate if Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden is arrested, and described Washington's No. 1 enemy as a ``hero'' to Muslims worldwide. Bin Laden, believed to be in Afghanistan, and a top aide were indicted Wednesday by a U.S. District Court in the U.S. embassy bombings in Africa and are accused of conspiring to kill Americans outside the United States. The State Department also announced a reward of up to dlrs 5 million for bin Laden's capture. ``It is a challenge to the entire Muslim world ... Bin Laden is a hero of the Muslim world,'' said Omar Warsi, a leader of Pakistan's militant Sunni Muslim group, Sipah-e-Sahaba, or Guardians of the Friends of the Prophet. ``If anything happens to him, America will be responsible.'' Many Sipah-e-Sahaba followers are fighting in neighboring Afghanistan alongside the Taliban army, which rules 90 percent of Afghanistan and has imposed a strict version of Islamic law in those areas. Warsi's group is well-armed with everything from machine guns to rocket launchers. In Pakistan, it has been blamed in killings of hundreds of Shiite Muslims, whom the group reviles as non-Muslims based on a centuries-old dispute over who was the proper successor to the Prophet Mohammed. Harakat-ul-Ansar, a Pakistan-based organization labeled a terrorist group by the United States, said, however, that foreigners in Pakistan ``have nothing to fear from us.'' Harakat is considered a strong supporter of bin Laden, and several Harakat followers were killed in the U.S. missile attack on alleged bin Laden terror sites in Afghanistan. ``What the United States does is their business,'' said Abdul Bassit, a Harakat follower. He added, however, that the United States should know bin Laden ``is a good Muslim, and all the Muslim world thinks he is a good Muslim.'' The Taliban say bin Laden is a respected guest who will not be extradited. However, they have set up a judicial inquiry to accept evidence of bin Laden's involvement in terrorist activity and have promised to prosecute him if the evidence warrants it. Washington blames bin Laden's group, al Qaeda, for the Aug. 7 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people, including 12 Americans, and injured an estimated 5,000 people. The United States retaliated Aug. 20, firing Tomahawk cruise missiles at suspected bin Laden training camps in eastern Afghanistan. At least 26 people were killed, but damage to the area was not considered extensive. The U.S. Embassy in Pakistan evacuated nonessential staff and family members prior to the August bombing of Afghanistan, fearing retaliation. While some embassy workers are back, their dependents and about 30 percent of the staff have not been allowed to return. Embassy officials said no fresh security warnings followed Wednesday's indictment. Security measures already in place include cement barricades blocking the road leading to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad and razor-sharp barbed wire topping the brick-walled compound. In the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, on the border with Afghanistan, the U.S. consulate is surrounded by barbed wire and protected by an armored personnel carrier and dozens of armed police.",
"A federal grand jury in Manhattan returned a 238-count indictment Wednesday charging the Saudi exile Osama bin Laden with conspiring to bomb two U.S. embassies in Africa in August and with committing acts of terrorism against Americans abroad. Government officials immediately announced that they were offering two rewards of $5 million each for information leading to the arrest or conviction of bin Laden and another man charged Wednesday, Muhammad Atef, who was described as bin Laden's chief military commander. Bin Laden is believed to be living in Afghanistan under the protection of the Taliban, the Islamic fundamentalist movement that rules that country. Atef's whereabouts are unknown. Prosecutors also unsealed an earlier indictment, issued in June, that included similar but less detailed charges against bin Laden. That indictment was returned before the embassy bombings and was the result of a two-year investigation into his activities in Somalia and Saudi Arabia, as well as reports that he had connections to a circle of Islamic militants in Brooklyn. The new indictment, which supersedes the June action, accused bin Laden of leading a vast terrorist conspiracy from 1989 to the present, in which he was said to be working in concert with governments, including those of Sudan, Iraq and Iran, and terrorist groups, to build weapons and attack American military installations. But the indictment gives few details of bin Laden's alleged involvement in the embassy attacks. The indictment does not, for example, specify whether prosecutors have evidence that bin Laden gave direct orders to those who carried out the attacks. Nothing in the document indicates why the original indictment was kept secret for months, but the secret charges were returned about the time that American officials were plotting a possible raid into Afghanistan to arrest bin Laden. Mary Jo White, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, said, ``It's very common to have sealed indictments when you're trying to apprehend those who are indicted.'' Both indictments offer new information about bin Laden's operations, including one deal he is said to have struck with Iraq to cooperate in the development of weapons in return for bin Laden's agreeing not to work against that country. No details were given about whether the alleged deal with Iraq led to the development of actual weapons for bin Laden's group, which is called Al Qaeda. The government said Wednesday that bin Laden's group had used private relief groups ``as conduits for transmitting funds'' for Al Qaeda. The groups were not identified. Prosecutors also said bin Laden's group had conducted internal investigations of its members and their associates, trying to detect who might be acting as informants, and had killed those who had been suspected of collaborating with ``enemies of the organization.'' The government indicated earlier that its knowledge of bin Laden's activities stemmed in part from the cooperation of one such informant, who it said Wednesday had worked for bin Laden, transporting weapons and explosives, helping to buy land for his training camps and assisting in running his finances. While the June indictment against bin Laden suggested that the government had a great deal of knowledge of his dealings in the months before the embassy attacks, the new charges are an indication of how quickly the government has worked to solve the embassy attacks, which occurred just three months ago. Ms. White said bin Laden was charged with ``plotting and carrying out the most heinous acts of international terrorism and murder.'' Citing the more than 250 people killed in the embassy attacks and the more than 1,000 wounded, she added, ``In a greater sense, all of the citizens of the world are also victims whenever and wherever the cruel and cowardly acts of international terrorism strike.'' The investigation of bin Laden is continuing, said Ms. White and Lewis D. Schiliro, assistant director of the FBI in New York, whose agents have fanned out around the world to look into the embassy attacks. ``Our investigative strategy is clear,'' Schiliro said. ``We will identify, locate and prosecute all those responsible, right up the line, from those who constructed and delivered the bombs to those who paid for them and ordered it done.''",
"NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) _ FBI agents this week began questioning relatives of the victims of the Aug. 7 U.S. Embassy bombing as well as the seriously injured on request of the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York, a U.S. official said Thursday. The blast at the embassy building in downtown Nairobi killed 213 people, 12 of them Americans, and injured 5,400. In an nearly simultaneous bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam in neighboring Tanzania, 11 people were killed and 85 were injured, none of them Americans. The official, who could not be further identified, said the questioning was aimed at gathering recorded testimony to be used by the prosecution in the pre-sentencing phase of the trials of the six men indicted in connection with the attack. Wadih El Hage, Mohamed Sadeek Odeh and Mohamed Rashed Daoud Al-'Owhali are being held by the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York. All three have pleaded innocent. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed is a fugitive. Saudi exile Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of a conspiracy to attack U.S. targets around the world, and Muhammad Atef, the alleged military commander of bin Laden's terrorist organization, Al-Qaeda, were charged in a separate 238-page indictment with murder and conspiracy in the bombings. Bin Laden is believed to be living in Afghanistan. U.S. law provides for the trial in the United States of those charged in terror attacks against American citizens, even if carried out on foreign soil."
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The New York Yankees prevailed in the sixth game of the American League playoffs to win over the Cleveland Indians and advanced to their second World Series play in three years. In the National League, the San Diego Padres won its series over the Atlanta Braves to ensure its place in the World Series. Enthusiasm is high on both sides as 650 padres fans shaved their heads in a radio promotion raffle for a ticket to the games. Yankees Chuck Knoblauch, worried about errors in the playoffs, was greeted with a standing ovation as the first game opened. Knoblauch, along with teammate Martinez cinched the first game with homerun hits in the 7th inning. The San Diego Padres, excited about the prospect of winning the NLCS playoff and of playing the Yankees in the World Series, have gone bonkers. Some 680 shaved their heads for a raffle to win playoff skybox seats. NY fans, however, are subdued about the Yankees prospects of a collective batting slump (namely by Knoblauch and Martinez), Strawberry's surgery recovery, record-setter Williams' team loyalty, and the memory of the fallibility of umpires. The Yankees have a edge in pitching and defense, and their record of excellence encouraged everyone to expect victory. In fact in the Series opener, Knoblauch and Martinez power-hit the Yankees to a win. The Yankees won the 1st game of the 1998 World Series when Chuck Knoblauch and Tino Martinez redeemed themselves after an early error and a bad batting season. The Yankees had the best defense in baseball and set a League record for season wins. Among Yankee players, Darryl Strawberry sat out after cancer surgery and best League batter Bernie Williams considered leaving the team next year. The World Series' importance grew after the introduction of league championships and 2-layered playoffs. Imperfect umpires can get in the way of play and make wrong calls. Widely diverse San Diego fans were excited to have the Padres in the first World Series since 1984. Star second baseman Chuck Knoblauch and power hitter Tino Martinez were the heroes in the Yankees' win over the Padres in Game 1 of the 1998 World Series. Knoblauch, who had made a game-losing error in Game 2 of the ALCS, hit a three-run homer off reliever Donne Wall in the seventh inning to tie the score, 5-5. Martinez, who is batting a puny.187 in post-season play with the Yankees, later hit a grand slam. Ace pitcher Kevin Brown, viewed by many as the Padres' best hope for a series upset, had started the game. The Yanks, hoping for a second title in the last three years, are playing without Darryl Strawberry who underwent cancer surgery on Oct. 3 .
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"The New York Times said in an editorial on Saturday, Oct. 17: It is fitting that this most memorable of baseball seasons should conclude with a World Series that opens Saturday night in Yankee Stadium, the aging but still grand cathedral of the sport. Bedecked in bunting and banners, the revered ballpark always elevates the game with its aura of history and accomplishment. That makes it the perfect venue for part of a championship series that will determine whether the 1998 Yankees are one of the greatest teams of the modern era, or just a talented squad that owned the regular season but folded in the World Series. New Yorkers are a boisterous, boastful bunch, and the patter of the city this week has been loud and arrogant, or so it must seem to anyone venturing here from San Diego to root for the Padres. The word on the sidewalks and in the subways is that the Padres don't measure up against the Yankees. Sure, they have lethal starting pitchers in Kevin Brown and Andy Ashby, and one of the game's best closers in Trevor Hoffman, not to mention prolific hitters like Tony Gwynn and Greg Vaughn, who is hobbling but still dangerous. But how is that a match for the Yankees' World Series starting rotation of David Wells, Orlando Hernandez, David Cone and Andy Pettitte, bullpen flamethrower Mariano Rivera, plus the deepest batting order in baseball? Yet the truth is that Yankees fans are terrified the team will crumple. Baseball fans, even Yankee fans, can spend a lifetime waiting to see a home team of historic caliber, and this Yankee team will not reach that sanctified status unless it ends its record-setting season by winning the World Series. The doubts keep creeping up. The team was pitiful at the plate through most of the playoffs. Tino Martinez, the top run producer, has been in a numbing slump. Bernie Williams, the American League batting champ, hit well in the pennant series against the Cleveland Indians, but has seemed distracted by personal matters. Shane Spencer, the rookie slugging sensation of September, hasn't turned out to be the new Mr. October. Pettitte has been struggling since August. The curious thing about this team, which won more games during the regular season than any team in American League history, is how quiet and unobtrusive it can be. It sports no dominant superstar, no swaggering clubhouse leader, no one who seems to belong in New York. So when the Yankees start to drift on the field, fans tend to fear the team might simply fade away. Until the Indians surged temporarily ahead in the playoffs, the Yankees had faced no serious test of resiliency all season. New Yorkers can already taste that ticker-tape parade up Broadway. But behind every mighty cheer at the stadium Saturday night will lurk the fear that when the curtain falls on the season, an unheralded and unlegendary team from San Diego will be the one that is remembered.",
"The last time they were seen on the field at Yankee Stadium, they were inadvertently influencing the outcome of the game that sent the Cleveland Indians home and the Yankees to the World Series. That's not to say the umpires will mess up in the World Series, but they have shown they are eminently capable of interfering with the natural progression of postseason games. All right, so Ted Hendry won't be in the World Series; the umpires' collective bargaining agreement with the leagues does not allow an umpire to work both a league championship series and the World Series. Joe Brinkman won't be here either, even though the agreement does allow for an umpire to work both a division series and the World Series. The three American League umpires who are on the six-man World Series crew did work in the first round of the playoffs. One of them, Richie Garcia, will be the crew chief and behind the plate in Saturday night's opener at Yankee Stadium. Gene Budig, the AL president, Friday called Garcia, a 24-year veteran, one of the league's ``most respected umpires.'' But after Saturday night, Garcia will move to right field Sunday night for Game 2. Now why does that combination sound familiar, Richie Garcia and right field? Ah yes, the last time Garcia worked a post-season series at Yankee Stadium, he was the umpire in Game 1 of the league championship series two years ago when a young fan from New Jersey _ no name, please; he has been over-glorified enough _ reached over the fence and caught Derek Jeter's fly ball just as Tony Tarasco, Baltimore's right fielder, prepared to catch it. Garcia ruled no interference, that it was a home run, then said oops after watching a television replay clearly showing interference. Too late. The call helped the Yankees win the first game and set the tone for the series. ``Even though he made a mistake, you know you have the best out there,'' a baseball official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said. That knowledge comes as small consolation to the Orioles. Budig, too, acknowledged that umpires, like players and managers, aren't perfect. ``Major league umpires are skilled at what they do, but they are human,'' he said in a telephone interview. ``Day in and day out they do a very good job for Major League Baseball. Rounds one and two have been difficult, but that happens from time to time.'' The umpires were so human in the American League playoffs that it happened from time to time to time to time. The Cleveland Indians suffered the brunt of the fallibility of the umpires. ``We had a highlight reel of umpires getting knocked down by baseballs,'' general manager John Hart said after the Indians' final game against the Yankees. ``The umpires didn't lose the game for us, but we had our share of controversies in two playoff series with umpires.'' In the division series against Boston, Brinkman, the plate umpire, was so bad with his calls on pitches and plays at the plate that he immediately provoked disputes that led to his ejecting of Mike Hargrove, the Indians' manager, three pitches into Game 2, and Dwight Gooden, their starting pitcher, 19 pitches later. Hendry was right or wrong, depending on one's point of view, for his noncall of interference on Travis Fryman in the 12th inning of Game 2 of the ALCS. That ruling went in favor of the Indians. Little else did. In Game 4, Jeter was stealing second in the fifth inning when the on-target throw from Sandy Alomar Jr. hit Jim McKean, who jumped to try to get out of the way but instead kicked the ball into right field. A batted ball, Omar Vizquel's line drive, struck Hendry in Game 6. But the worst call of Game 6 was Hendry's on a force play at second base. Hendry called Bernie Williams safe, ruling that Vizquel's foot came off the base before he caught the ball. Members of the Yankees indicated Friday that they, too, thought the call was wrong. ``I don't know,'' Williams said when asked what he thought, ``but I'll take it. It was a big play.'' But did he think he was out? ``I'd rather not comment about that,'' he said. ``It will stir a lot of controversy. I don't want to get into that.'' When a player believes he was safe, he says so and doesn't worry about any subsequent controversy. If Williams was implying that he thought he was out, another member of the Yankees said he had no doubt that Williams was out. ``I wasn't sure at first,'' this uniformed member of the team said, ``but when I saw it was Hendry, I said uh-oh. I also thought Omar is so smooth you'd think he wouldn't come off the bag. Then I saw the replay. He was out.'' The game today is faster than it used to be, this observer said. The umpires have to be sharper. Maybe Garcia, Dale Scott and Tim Tschida from the American League, and Jerry Crawford, Dana DeMuth and Mark Hirschbeck from the National League, will be as sharp as an 18th century French guillotine in these four to seven games. Leonard Coleman, the NL president, said he thought his umpires were first-rate in the division and league series and added that he has ``three splendid umpires'' working the World Series. Budig said: ``The World Series crew is proven and first-rate. We have total confidence in them.'' The umpires should let the players make the errors and the managers the bad decisions. Then everyone will talk about the players and managers and not the umpires.",
"Chuck Knoblauch and Tino Martinez were as popular as squeegee men a week ago, the speculation rampant that one or the other or both might be exiled if the Yankees' historic year crumbled in the post-season. Two big hits in the midst of a big inning changed all that Saturday night in Game 1 of the World Series. The Yankees trailed San Diego, 5-2, in the seventh inning, but Knoblauch hit a three-run home run to tie the score, and five batters later, Martinez smashed a grand slam. The seven-run explosion rocketed the Yankees to a 9-6 victory in the opener of the four-of-seven-game series, before 56,712 at Yankee Stadium. Orlando Hernandez will pitch against Andy Ashby in Game 2 Sunday night at the Stadium. Beyond seizing the advantage in the series, the Yankees were able to neutralize the Padres' ace, Kevin Brown, driving him from the mound in the seventh. Brown, seen by many as San Diego's best hope for a World Series upset, will not pitch again until Game 4, at the earliest. Brown was pitching with a three-run lead after the top of the fifth, when Tony Gwynn and Greg Vaughn banged back-to-back homers. One out into the seventh, however, Jorge Posada hit a single, and Brown walked Ricky Ledee. Brown, who had thrown a whopping 64 pitches in the first three innings, went out, and the reliever Donne Wall came in to face Knoblauch. This is what the Yankees have done all season, force a starter from the game in the middle innings, before exploiting a middle reliever. Knoblauch, of course, had earned notoriety for his gaffe in the Game 2 of the American League Championship Series against Cleveland, standing and waiting for an interference call as the ball rolled to a stop behind him and the decisive run scored. The Yankees came back to win the series, however; Knoblauch got a reprieve and talked about how much the experience had helped him. Facing Wall with a one-ball, no-strike count, Knoblauch had to duck under a runaway fastball. Two balls, no strikes. Wall had to throw a strike, Knoblauch swung hard and lifted a high fly down the left-field line. Off the bat, it did not look like much. But it kept carrying, Vaughn drifting back in left and looking up, to see the ball disappear into the stands. Tie game. Yankee Stadium shook. Knoblauch rounded the bases, crossed home plate and thrust both arms into the air, yelling to the crowd, like a hyped Olympic weightlifter who had just successfully hoisted a half-ton. He stomped around the dugout, his helmet on, teammates banging on him happily. When Derek Jeter singled, nobody really noticed. Wall left the game, and Mark Langston took over. Paul O'Neill flied out, and after Jeter advanced on a wild pitch, Bernie Williams was intentionally walked. Chili Davis drew a walk. Bases loaded, once more, with Martinez coming to the plate, with exactly one run batted in in his first 76 career at-bats in league championship and World Series games. With the count two",
"balls and two strikes, Langston threw a pitch near the outside corner that he thought should have been a strike. Instead, Garcia called it a ball. Langston glared, snapping at the return throw. Langston and Martinez and everyone on the field now understood that with the bases loaded and a 3-2 count, Langston would have to throw what players refer to as a cookie _ a tasty pitch over the middle. Martinez ate up this cookie. The ball soared into the upper deck in right field, lifting three years of post-season misery off the back of the Yankees' first baseman, a grand slam. The crowd called out Martinez from the dugout again. Like Knoblauch, Martinez pumped both arms, and later the crowd would chant his name, and Martinez would wave his cap. San Diego's lead was long gone. The Yankees had taken a 2-0 lead over Brown in the second inning, forcing him to throw 32 pitches in the second. They loaded the bases with a single and two walks, and Ledee, the rookie left fielder who is playing because none of Torre's left fielders have been hitting, pulled a sinking fastball down the right field line with two outs. The fans along the foul line stood, some waving to push the ball fair with the body English, and the ball landed on the line, skipping off the wall as two runners scored. The Yankees had the early edge, they had jumped on Brown, and they had their best pitcher on the mound. San Diego's Chris Gomez led off the second inning with a blooper over shortstop, the ball falling in for a single. Quilvio Veras flied to right, Gwynn grounded out and Gomez took second, bringing Vaughn to the plate. David Wells got ahead in the count, no balls and two strikes, with a change-up and a fastball, before trying to run a fastball inside on Vaughn, who hit 50 home runs during the regular season. Vaughn attacked the pitch: a line drive that landed in the second deck, foul all the way, but a frightening mistake. Jorge Posada, the Yankees' catcher, jogged to the mound to re-think the strategy, perhaps to remind Wells of the conventional wisdom: you must pitch Vaughn on the outer edge of the plate. Posada returned to the plate, called for an outside fastball, Wells threw. Vaughn's swing was short and quick, the ball making a click sound off the bat, like a well-struck golf ball, before carrying over the wall in right-center field. Tie game. Wells retired the first two batters in the fifth inning, before jamming Veras with an inside fastball. Veras' bat snapped on contact, but it was enough to send a looper into short center field, a single. Gwynn stepped in, having hit a single in his first two at-bats, and looked for a sign from the third base coach Tim Flannery. With a runner on first, he likes to try to pull a ball through the right side of the infield. Wells fired a fastball, Gwynn turned on the pitch and",
"ripped it, a line drive that crashed off the facing of the upper deck in right field. The Padres jumped from the dugout, celebrating, as Wells turned away, disgusted, asking for a new baseball. He got one, delivered another fastball, and Vaughn slugged this deep into the left field stands. Two pitches, two home runs, the first back-to-back home runs allowed by Wells since April 30. San Diego led, 5-2, and Yankee Stadium was silent. It would not stay that way.",
"The moment of truth for Chuck Knoblauch came in the bottom of the first inning when his name was announced at Yankee Stadium for the first time since he neglected to chase down that memorable loose ball last Wednesday. There were no boos. It was a very warm ovation. They liked him. They really liked him. Knoblauch exhaled. Knoblauch had emphasized before the game that he was concerned about winning and rumbling into the World Series, not about the fans. But it surely made Knoblauch feel at home when he realized that the fans had forgiven him. Victories, more than time, had healed the malice toward Knoblauch and he could play second base without earplugs. When the Yankees defeated the Indians, 9-5, in Game 6 on Tuesday night to advance to their second World Series in three years, Knoblauch was easily the most relieved player on the field. The awful mistake that he had made in Game 2 would be forgotten. The Yankees had won the pennant, and Knoblauch was celebrating as much as anyone. ``To have them act like that toward me was tremendous,'' said Knoblauch, about the response that he received. ``It was a great feeling, and it really helped me out.'' Knoblauch was wearing a cap that declared the Yankees champions of the American League in 1998; Champagne dripped off the brim as he spoke. He did not look up, but continued to talk about how he had learned a lot by being vilified after making a mistake that Little Leaguers are expected not to make. ``Just to face things and take it like a man and answer all the questions, although they're tough,'' Knoblauch said. ``You see what you're made of when you have to bounce back from something like that. That's basically what I learned.'' If the Yankees had lost the ALCS, even some of Knoblauch's teammates had said that he would be branded as the villain for failing to pursue the ball that glanced off Travis Fryman's back while he was running outside the baseline. Knoblauch had argued with the umpire while the go ahead run scored from first and the Indians won, 4-1. Now Knoblauch can watch television and read the newspapers again without getting queasy. ``That's huge for him,'' David Cone said. ``That's huge for me. I let them back into the game, and that would have been a tough one if they would have come back and beat us. And Knobbie, I'm sure he's feeling a lot better now.'' Knoblauch, who had two hits in five at-bats, was working on his second bottle of Champagne five minutes after reporters were allowed into the clubhouse. He flashed the sort of smile that he had not shown too much recently and, now that the Yankees are in the World Series, Knoblauch should expect to be teased often about his mistake. ``Maybe if we go all the way, we'll do that,'' Derek Jeter said. ``I don't know what I'll say, but I'll think of something good.''",
"A strong sign that this city is going bonkers for the Padres came Friday morning when 680 fans agreed to shave their heads for a radio promotion raffle in return for a 1-in-680 chance at skybox tickets for post-season play. ``This was more a show of support for the team than it was for the one ticket,'' said Tommy Sablan, producer of the ``Jeff and Jer'' show. ``It was symbolic of the efforts of the bald Padres _ Tony Gwynn, Wally Joyner, Greg Vaughn, Jim Leyritz. About a thousand people showed up _ men, women and children. We had 10 barbers and 20 hairdressers and it took six hours for the lines to either get buzzed or straight-razored. ``We were shocked at the turnout. But this is a bandwagon town. `Buy the ticket on the day of the concert' type public. You'll see an even bigger bandwagon on Monday when they've won and then hopefully we play the Yankees and it's a real World Series.'' After the Padres beat the Braves, 3-0, in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series on Thursday night in Atlanta to take a two-game lead in the four-of-seven-game series, San Diego fans began gearing up for a shot at the World Series in more traditional ways. It would be the team's first World Series appearance since 1984, and in the downtown business district Friday, marquees and banners read ``Go Padres'' and a lunch-hour rally was attended by several hundred fans. The Padres set an attendance record of 2,555,901 this season, up a half-million from last year and nearly a million and a half from three years ago. It stemmed in part from an effort by John Moores, the Padres owner, and Larry Lucchino, the team's president, to put family entertainment in the park after they bought the team in December 1994. ``This is a more diversified group of fans than I saw in Atlanta,'' Lucchino said. ``Their crowd seemed yuppified. We're proud of our three generations of families who come to the games.'' Donna McMahon, a 63-year-old homemaker from La Jolla, has been a fan since she was 10 and the Pacific Coast League Padres played at Lane Field near the harbor. She would take a streetcar after school to meet her father, and he would buy bleacher seats. Later, she brought her four children to Jack Murphy Stadium for the National League Padres when 2,500 people was a crowd. Now, she brings her grandchildren to a sold-out Qualcomm Stadium. ``There are different groups in the stands,'' she said, ``the upper class, the middle class, the business person, the beer-drinking fan, the children, all of the Mexican fans from across the border. We are true fans _ all of us.'' San Diego Mayor Susan Golding agrees, while also giving credit to the balmy weather. ``Padre fans are a cross-section from all over the county,'' she said. ``Downtown, suburban, rural, east, north, ranchers and farmers to high-tech engineers, yuppies to the new kids _ the X generation. A lot from across the border. The Padres are extremely popular in Tijuana. We do have the perfect weather for a long baseball season. Playing in the World Series in October has got to be better than in New York.'' Carlos Carrion, who was born in San Diego and has been a baseball fan for 25 years, brings his 10- and 8-year-old sons to the stadium. ``This is a great chance to let my children see the players work,'' Carrion said. ``They can look up to these guys and understand their character and their work ethic.'' The Padres ticket office estimates that on average, more than 15,000 fans in the 65,000-seat stadium are Latin Americans from San Diego, Baja California or the state of Sonora. The Padres have the first major league baseball souvenir store in Tijuana.",
"Talk about high expectations. It's not just the man from Tampa who has them anymore. Knowing their baseball as well as they do, everybody in the Joe Torre family passed up tickets for the divisional series and the league championship series as just so much parsley on the plate of life. ``The pressure was on to get to the World Series, so I can see all those people,'' Torre, the Yankees' manager, was saying before New York went out to play the here-we-are, let's-go-for-it San Diego Padres in the Stadium Saturday night. Now that the Yankees are in the Series, their Florida-based owner and their fans and they themselves can see nothing more appropriate than four more victories. Anything less than 125 would feel like emptiness. But why should the Yankees be any different from the six teams that already fell off the bus to this World Series? The gloom and doom in the six other cities will not compare to the letdown that would grip New York and the owner's insatiable little heart should the Yanks come up short. The three-tiered playoff system has practically turned baseball into football, where the survival-of-the-fittest mentality produces one exalted Super Bowl champion and a league full of chumps and losers, condemned to a nether world of Parcells-like demons kicking them in their sore spots for eternity. The World Series used to be a short and sweet reward for excellence, but that was when there were eight teams per league, and the winners met in daylight in early October. Even if the Yankees clubbed my poor Brooklyn Dodgers into submission once again, well, there was always next year. But in 1969, baseball began league championship series, and in 1995 it began a two-layered playoff system. The World Series is still different, which is why we should all resist the babble of ``post-season records'' flung at us by the hyperactive computers and the hyperactive broadcasters from the dozens of different networks that carry baseball. The World Series is still a competition between one league that encourages pitchers to be athletes and another league relatively devoid of strategy. Somehow the ``playoffs'' leave just about everybody feeling inadequate. Think about it. The Houston Astros are going around feeling they cannot perform in the post-season. The Texas Rangers are sulking because they had the best hitting in the league and could hardly touch Yankee pitching when it counted. In Chicago, the glory of winning a special playoff for the wild-card spot and Sammy Sosa's 66 home runs has been pre-empted. The very city that beat the Cubs for the 1969 eastern title held a parade for Sosa Saturday in the canyons where Lindbergh and John Glenn and the 1969 Mets were once hailed. Speaking of indignity, there are the Red Sox, whose occasional qualification for the playoffs is merely a signal that nothing good can come of it. In Atlanta, the team of the '90s has won exactly one World Series, and now it is up to management to keep repeating that: ``The main goal is to get to the Series. This is a recorded announcement. This is a recorded announcement. This is a recorded announcement.'' In Cleveland, the fans had to live with the phrase ``Nineteen forty-eight!'' being chanted at the Indians in the Bronx as the Yankees put the Indians out of misery. That leaves the Padres as the only team with virtually nothing to lose. This can be good, or it can be bad. Bruce Bochy, the manager, a reserve on the 1984 San Diego World Series team, has said: ``A lot of the players on that team said, looking back, we wish we would have had a little different attitude instead of just saying, `Hey, we are in the World Series.' And this year, I think you will see the players out there playing to win.'' Torre recalled being the underdog in 1996, but he said his Yankees felt they could beat the Braves. ``I am sure that is the way the Padres feel right now, that maybe other people aren't predicting a lot for them, but I am sure they are for themselves,'' Torre said. ``I think getting here is where the pressure is,'' Torre added. ``You want to win, but getting to the World Series is so tough after playing 162 games and getting into post-season and then having to fight, bite and scratch and everything else to get here.'' Torre continued: ``You don't think about in spring training that we want to go and win the World Series. You want to get to the World Series. Then you get there, well, you have played well enough and won enough games, then of course, we want to win. ``As far as legitimizing our season _ I hate to even think in negative terms, but if San Diego happens to win the World Series, sure it takes a little bit of the luster off what we have accomplished by getting here, but I think that was our goal, initially.'' The key word in that sentence is ``initially.'' The Yankees built an insatiable demand for more victories _ and World Series tickets in the Torre family. While they're at it, the Yankees had better win the whole thing. They are a victim of their own excellence.",
"As Bernie Williams starts what could be his final series with the Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium Saturday night, he wants to do it with a free mind. Free of worrying about his extremely uncertain future and an undisclosed personal matter that has made this post-season as perplexing as it has been pleasing. But it is not easy to keep the mind uncluttered. Williams does not know if he will sign with the Yankees and return to center field next season, because he wants to test free agency. There is a good chance the Yankees will not offer him the most lavish contract, so Williams might be forced to decide between the fattest paycheck and a new situation in the baseball city of his choice or a pretty fat paycheck and a familiar situation in the Bronx. Scott Boras, Williams' agent, compared his client with players in the $10 million-a-year bracket last season, so that price tag has surely escalated after Williams won the American League batting title with a .339 average while drilling 26 homers and knocking in 97 runs. Williams was asked if he agreed with the theory that other teams will outbid the Yankees. ``I do not know,'' said Williams, who has been aloof during this post-season, but has declined to discuss why. ``And I'm thinking about this a little more than I would like to. I would like to keep my focus on the series.'' It is not an issue Williams or the Yankees wants to study Saturday or in the coming days, because the team is four victories away from a championship. Still, it is an issue that hovers over the Yankees as ominously as the owner George Steinbrenner hovers over general manager Brian Cashman. ``It's a tough thing,'' Cashman said about balancing the excitement of being in the World Series with the reality of trying to re-sign Williams. ``You know the ugliness of the future is right in front of you.'' Although Williams has been adamant about not discussing the future, he relented slightly Friday. When a reporter asked him what the reasons would be for staying with the Yankees, Williams' answer included an escape clause. ``Just the fact that I've been here my whole career,'' Williams said. ``That has a lot to do with it. The relationships that I've come to know during the years, I think it would be very hard, but not impossible, to start from scratch somewhere else.'' Williams continued: ``But I think the reality of the game in this day and age is things happen. You can't really write things in stone that they're going to happen. People get traded. People become free agents and go to other teams. I have to make a decision really thinking about all the people I'm accountable for.'' When Williams was asked what better situation could a player have than being the center fielder for the Yankees, winning a batting crown and being in the World Series, the 30-year-old was stumped. ``Wow, that's pretty good right there,'' Williams said. ``It's funny you mention that, because I really haven't thought about any of that. I think, at some point in the off season, I was going to sit down and think, wow, it wasn't a bad year at all.'' While Cashman would not discuss financial matters, another Yankee official said the team will not offer Williams as much as $12 million a year _ unless Steinbrenner gets generous after a possible championship. It is more likely that the Yanks would offer Williams in the $10 million-a-year range. ``I'd hate to have to speculate on something at this point,'' Cashman said. ``We'll give it our best effort to sign him at a level that we're comfortable with. Hopefully, that will be enough. Then we'll have a marriage. If not, we'll have a divorce.'' While Williams has earned the right to become a free agent and pursue the contract he wants in the city he wants, he has interesting choices to make. When a reporter asked Williams how he would respond to someone who suggested that he accept less from the Yankees to remain in a city where he is popular, where he likes his teammates and manager, and where the team has been in the post-season for four straight years, he did not hesitate to answer. ``My response to that would be it's not the time right now to start thinking about that,'' Williams said. ``If I start thinking about that, it'll distract me to what I need to do in the World Series.'' Williams then talked about how the Yankees are at the end of a remarkable season and how he did not want his situation to disrupt that. But, with Williams' status uncertain, he was asked if the next four to seven games would be bittersweet, since he could be ending a 13-year association with the Yankees. ``I don't want to talk about that,'' Williams said. ``I'm going to have a lot of fun out there. I'm going to go all out.'' Then Williams walked away from the interview.",
"Hours after Darryl Strawberry was released from Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center Friday, he spoke happily about being able to play with his two young children, joked about eating a small amount of chicken and potatoes and sounded relieved to be at home in Fort Lee, N.J., instead of in a hospital. ``I'm really feeling good,'' said Strawberry, in a telephone interview. ``It's nice to be home with the kids and to just kick back. That's all that I'm going to do. This feels good.'' Strawberry, who underwent surgery to remove a cancer from his colon on Oct. 3, said he will remain in New Jersey for another 10 or 12 days before returning home to Rancho Mirage, Calif. The 36-year old outfielder, who lost a significant amount of weight from his 215-pound frame, said he does not have enough strength to attend any of the World Series games and is content watching his teammates play the Padres on television. ``My heart is with them,'' said Strawberry, who spoke to several Yankees after they won the American League championship. ``I'm just going to relax at home and watch the game. I'm looking forward to it. I may not be there, but it'll feel like I am.'' Paul O'Neill echoed the sentiments of many Yankees by saying, ``Everything we're going through is game. This is his life. Any time we get some good news about Darryl it's uplifting. We're all praying for him.'' Since cancerous cells were found in one of the 36 lymph nodes removed from his abdomen during the operation, Strawberry said doctors told him he will need six months of chemotherapy treatment once he returns to California. The 36-year-old outfielder said doctors told him he will need one treatment of at least one hour a week. ``I was never scared,'' said Strawberry. ``I was more emotional than anything. At the time of it, I had played for a while with this. I wanted to keep playing because I knew we were going to get into the World Series.'' At that point, Strawberry stopped and laughed, probably because the Yankees had made it to the World Series as he expected. ``I wanted to be there because that's what you play for,'' said Strawberry. ``I don't think that I was ever scared. It's something that I wanted to deal with head on. I talked to Eric Davis about the chemo. He said it's not as bad as some people say.'' Although the discovery of cancer in one lymph node proved that the cancer had spread, Strawberry remained optimistic about his future and said, ``It didn't worry me. I got all the information from the doctors. One out of 36 is good. It wasn't spreading. It didn't run off and get crazy like cancer can.'' When Strawberry was released from the hospital in a wheelchair Friday, a few hundred fans who had congregated chanted, ``Darryl, Darryl.'' Strawberry, who struggled not to cry, hugged a few nurses, thanked everyone for supporting him, then rose from the wheelchair and carefully entered a car. ``Wow, I never thought this day would come,'' Strawberry said. ``But it has.'' Unlike David Wells, Saturday night's starter in the World Series who predicted the Yankees would throttle the Padres in five games, Strawberry refused to make a prediction about whether he will soon be getting his third World Series ring. But Strawberry, who is still hopeful about returning to play in 1999, sounded very confident in the 1998 Yankees, who are wearing his number 39 on the back of their caps as inspiration. ``They look really good,'' said Strawberry.'' It's not going to be easy, but I think they're ready. The best thing about making it to the World Series is you know you don't have to go anywhere else after that. You've made it to that point and then you go do the best you can do. That's what it's all about.''",
"A new shipment of bats arrived for Tino Martinez on Friday, and he massaged the handles to make sure they were thin enough, knocked on the barrels and listened for a certain sound and swung them slowly again and again. Martinez was so excited about the fresh bats, he reacted like a Little Leaguer who was wielding an aluminum bat for the first time. ``You were saving the World Series trees until now, right?'' Martinez said to the representative from the bat company. ``These are from World Series trees, aren't they?'' Martinez could joke about the bats being specially designed for the World Series because the Yankees began their quest for a second title in the past three years when they play host to the San Diego Padres in Game 1 at Yankee Stadium Saturday night. Major leaguer players who were watching on television could not imitate David Letterman and joke about World Series wood. Even though Martinez has struggled with numerous bats during the post-season, he could joke because the Yankees are still alive for the title. Martinez is still alive. For now, Martinez, the power hitter who has mostly been missing in action, could joke around. For now. ``You always get a fresh start in the post-season because it's game to game,'' said Martinez. ``If you win, you've got another game the next day so you forget about the bad at-bats. It's easier to do that in post-season because your next at-bat could be the biggest at-bat of the season.'' Normally, having Martinez at the plate for the biggest at-bat of the season would be a pleasing sight to the Yankees. But not when the calendar flips to October. Martinez has experienced another frustrating post-season. He is 5 for 30 with 10 strikeouts, no homers and only 1 run batted in for a hitting-starved team that has batted .229 while still winning 7 of 9 post-season games because of superior pitching. Can the Yankees continue to win if Martinez, their most valuable run producer, is a sometime singles hitter? ``We've just gotten through two good series,'' said Paul O'Neill. ``The Yankees won those series. You don't focus on one guy. You focus on winning. The whole team won.'' As much as Joe Torre talked about Martinez needing one line-drive hit to get him in a groove, the 30-year-old first baseman is in a career drought in the post-season. Since joining the Yankees, Martinez is 20 for 107 (.187) with one homer and 4 RBI in 29 post-season games. Those are puny statistics, especially for a player who has driven in 381 runs in 455 regular season games over the last three years. ``I would guess that Tino would have a great series,'' O'Neill said. ``Baseball has a way of evening things out. You have a bad series, you come back and have a great series. In the season, that's easier to do. In the post-season, it gets tougher.'' It cannot get much tougher for Martinez, who was dropped from fifth to sixth in the order during the American League Championship Series against the Cleveland Indians and will remain in that spot until further notice. Martinez has blamed his paucity of production on impatience and on trying to do too much. He has sometimes flailed at poor pitches during hitter's counts of 3-1 and 2-0, instead of working the count, and he has admitted that his previous failures in the post-season have caused him to pursue the obviously unattainable five-run homer. Actually, Martinez has already made some alterations, and he has reached base 7 times in his last 10 plates appearances on a double, a single, a hit-by-pitch and 4 walks. It is not enough to pacify George Steinbrenner, but it is something for him to cling to. Until last night, anyway, when Martinez had to face Kevin Brown, a nasty right-hander who had retired him in 30 of 34 career at-bats. ``If I was getting good pitches and missing them, then I'd say I have a bad swing working,'' said Martinez. ``But I've been swinging at bad pitches. Right now, I've just got to be patient and wait.'' The Yankees will wait with him. They have to. In the 1996 World Series, Torre started Cecil Fielder over Martinez at first in Games 3, 4 and 5. It was a difficult decision because Martinez had paced the team in RBI while Fielder did not join the Yankees until July 31. But the Yankees grabbed all three games so it worked. Torre does not have such an attractive replacement this season in Luis Sojo. So the Yankees will stay with Martinez, for better or worse, while he tries to stay positive and finally produce. ``It's the World Series,'' said Martinez. ``You got to go out there and have fun with it. Big games are all big games. You want to go out there and enjoy that game and try to do your best to win that game. You don't think that you might lose that day.''",
"YANKEES Pitching The starting pitching enabled the Yankees to advance past Cleveland in the American League Championship Series. David Wells is 7-1 in his career in the postseason and he should have an additional edge against a Padres' lineup that is generally less effective against left-handed pitching. Orlando Hernandez has four terrific pitches, pitched seven shutout innings in the pivotal Game 4 of the ALCS and earned the start in Game 2 of this series. David Cone should benefit from six days' worth of rest when he starts Game 3, as well as being able to pitch in warm Southern California. Mariano Rivera's stuff might be as good as it has been all year, and Mike Stanton continues to be a dominant postseason pitcher. Reasons for concern: the erratic Andy Pettitte, who needs a home-plate umpire to call strikes on pitches low and away, and Jeff Nelson, who lost his command in his last brief outing. Offense There were signs in the ALCS that the offense is coming out of its collective slump _ Chuck Knoblauch is getting on base consistently, Derek Jeter is back to driving the ball to right field and through the middle, Bernie Williams had three hits in Game 6, and Scott Brosius has been a consistent force at the bottom of the lineup. But the Yankees do have holes: Chili Davis will be hard-pressed to catch up to the fastballs of Kevin Brown and Andy Ashby, and Tino Martinez's postseason funk is a problem. The Yankees could use a contribution from Jorge Posada, who will start in Games 1 and 2 and may get a chance to drive pitches low in the strike zone, where he can hit with power. Defense The Yankees have the best defense in baseball, excellent up the middle with Jeter and Knoblauch, and at third with Brosius. Nobody's really taken advantage of the fact that Williams has a poor arm in center field, but rest assured that Ken Caminiti, Steve Finley and Greg Vaughn will try. The Indians did expose the fact that the Yankees' pitchers have trouble preventing baserunners from stealing from second to third base. Baserunning The Yankees run well as they take extra bases, particularly Paul O'Neill, Brosius, Jeter and Knoblauch going first-to-third; Williams can make mistakes. The Yankees probably won't be able to steal against Kevin Brown, who has an effective slide step, but they could be aggressive against Andy Ashby, or the combination of Sterling Hitchcock and Jim Leyritz. PADRES Hitting Except for Jim Leyritz, no one in the San Diego lineup is particularly hot or particularly frightening at the moment. Tony Gwynn hasn't been as consistent as he usually is, Ken Caminiti and Greg Vaughn have been streaky. But the Padres are a veteran team capable of putting the ball in play, getting runners on base and then moving them along, and so long as they are getting exceptional pitching, that's all they really need. Quilvio Veras, the leadoff hitter, is adept at drawing walks and Steve Finley, who has become more pull conscious in the",
"last two years, could try to take aim at the right field stands in Yankee Stadium. Vaughn's power could be a factor if the Yankees' pitchers don't jam him enough to keep him from leaning over the plate. Pitching Kevin Brown is the best pitcher in this series, capable of winning three games if necessary, should Padres manager Bruce Bochy choose to start him in Games 1, 4 and 7. But at some point, San Diego will need a big outing from either Andy Ashby or Sterling Hitchcock. When Ashby's right, he's hitting the corners with his sinking fastball and his slider, and when his command is suspect, he gets pounded. Hitchcock used his split-fingered fastball to great effectiveness against right-handed batters in the first two rounds of the playoffs, but the Yankees' left-handed hitters may cause him some concern. San Diego's middle relief is the weakest aspect of the team, with Randy Myers and Mark Langston from the left side (the stuff of each has waned). But if a lead can be delivered into the hands of closer Trevor Hoffman, he'll keep it. Defense They mostly catch the ball and avoid mistakes, though they are unspectacular. Shortstop Chris Gomez and the second baseman Veras are adept at turning double plays, and Caminiti won a Gold Glove at third base last year; Wally Joyner has good hands at first; the center fielder Steve Finley is extremely quick in tracking down base hits and returning the ball to the infield. Tony Gwynn's range is better toward the right field line, not nearly as good on balls hit in the gaps. The Yankees will be able to run on the arm of Vaughn in left field. Baserunning Veras can steal bases (24) this year, and Finley can in a tight spot, as well. In general, however, the Padres are a slow, plodding team, though Caminiti and Vaughn are good at going first-to-third, and Gwynn won't make mistakes on the bases. PITCHING TO THE PADRES Quilvio Veras: A switch-hitter who has more power right-handed; should try to pitch him down-and-in with breaking balls when he's hitting right-handed, jam him with fastballs when he's batting left-handed. Steve Finley: A left-handed hitter who likes to pull the ball. Left-handers like David Wells can beat him with breaking balls low and outside. Tony Gwynn: When he's hot, he's impossible. When he's not hitting well, he can be anxious early in the count, and he should be fed breaking balls out of the strike zone. Greg Vaughn: Big-time power on anything high and over the plate. Because he likes to pull the ball, you must pitch him on the outer edge, occasionally jamming him to keep him honest. Ken Caminiti: More power right-handed, a better hitter left-handed. These days, he's a good lowball hitter and can be beat by fastballs up in the zone. Wally Joyner: With runners on base, he'll try to jump on a fastball early in the count. Is not a strong hitter and can be jammed. Chris Gomez: Like Derek Jeter, likes to hit pitches",
"inside out, to right field and through the middle. He can hit with power if you make a mistake with a breaking ball. Ruben Rivera: An impatient hitter who will chase pitches out of the strike zone. Carlos Hernandez: Looks for the first-pitch fastball in the upper half of the strike zone. Can struggle against breaking balls. Jim Leyritz: No apparent holes right now, can hit fastballs in and away. Best bet is to get ahead in the count and try to get him to chase breaking balls. PITCHING TO THE YANKEES Chuck Knoblauch: Hard throwers like to jam him with fastballs because he stands on top of the plate, which is why he gets hit so often. Derek Jeter: Sometimes he has a tendency to chase pitches at his feet, but if you don't get the ball in far enough, he can hammer the ball over the wall in right. Paul O'Neill: The Yankees' best pure hitter, he sometimes will chase fastballs up and away, particularly after there is one strike. Bernie Williams: A switch-hitter who has trouble resisting chest-high fastballs. When he lays off them, he is a much better hitter, and he did this in the last game of the Cleveland series. Chili Davis: Has a great eye and will work a pitcher deep into a count, but he can be overpowered with fastballs above his belt. Cheats some now to get his bat started, making him vulnerable to off-speed pitches. Tino Martinez: Nothing seems right at the moment. Is anxious and chases pitches out of the strike zone when he falls behind in the count, and isn't taking advantage of mistakes when they're made. Scott Brosius: A great breaking ball hitter, but he can also drive a fastball a long way when he anticipates, as Cleveland's Charles Nagy now knows. Jorge Posada: When batting left-handed, he fares very poorly against splitters, curveballs and sliders. Ricky Ledee: Like all young hitters, he has a tendency to expand the strike zone and chase pitches out of the strike zone after falling behind in the count. Kevin Brown likely will attack him aggressively. SATURDAY'S PITCHERS Kevin Brown: Best sinking fastball in the game (91-93) mph, a four-seam fastball of 95-97 mph to throw high in the strike zone, a slider that breaks down and away from right-handed batters, and a forkball that dives at 88-89 mph. Holds runners well. David Wells: Aggressive, aggressive, aggressive, challenging hitters with fastballs. His curveball can be exceptional, and his changeup has improved. Throw strikes: Allowed as many home runs (29) as walks (29), but has not allowed a three-run homer or a grand slam all year."
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"The New York Times said in an editorial on Saturday, Oct. 17: It is fitting that this most memorable of baseball seasons should conclude with a World Series that opens Saturday night in Yankee Stadium, the aging but still grand cathedral of the sport. Bedecked in bunting and banners, the revered ballpark always elevates the game with its aura of history and accomplishment. That makes it the perfect venue for part of a championship series that will determine whether the 1998 Yankees are one of the greatest teams of the modern era, or just a talented squad that owned the regular season but folded in the World Series. New Yorkers are a boisterous, boastful bunch, and the patter of the city this week has been loud and arrogant, or so it must seem to anyone venturing here from San Diego to root for the Padres. The word on the sidewalks and in the subways is that the Padres don't measure up against the Yankees. Sure, they have lethal starting pitchers in Kevin Brown and Andy Ashby, and one of the game's best closers in Trevor Hoffman, not to mention prolific hitters like Tony Gwynn and Greg Vaughn, who is hobbling but still dangerous. But how is that a match for the Yankees' World Series starting rotation of David Wells, Orlando Hernandez, David Cone and Andy Pettitte, bullpen flamethrower Mariano Rivera, plus the deepest batting order in baseball? Yet the truth is that Yankees fans are terrified the team will crumple. Baseball fans, even Yankee fans, can spend a lifetime waiting to see a home team of historic caliber, and this Yankee team will not reach that sanctified status unless it ends its record-setting season by winning the World Series. The doubts keep creeping up. The team was pitiful at the plate through most of the playoffs. Tino Martinez, the top run producer, has been in a numbing slump. Bernie Williams, the American League batting champ, hit well in the pennant series against the Cleveland Indians, but has seemed distracted by personal matters. Shane Spencer, the rookie slugging sensation of September, hasn't turned out to be the new Mr. October. Pettitte has been struggling since August. The curious thing about this team, which won more games during the regular season than any team in American League history, is how quiet and unobtrusive it can be. It sports no dominant superstar, no swaggering clubhouse leader, no one who seems to belong in New York. So when the Yankees start to drift on the field, fans tend to fear the team might simply fade away. Until the Indians surged temporarily ahead in the playoffs, the Yankees had faced no serious test of resiliency all season. New Yorkers can already taste that ticker-tape parade up Broadway. But behind every mighty cheer at the stadium Saturday night will lurk the fear that when the curtain falls on the season, an unheralded and unlegendary team from San Diego will be the one that is remembered.",
"The last time they were seen on the field at Yankee Stadium, they were inadvertently influencing the outcome of the game that sent the Cleveland Indians home and the Yankees to the World Series. That's not to say the umpires will mess up in the World Series, but they have shown they are eminently capable of interfering with the natural progression of postseason games. All right, so Ted Hendry won't be in the World Series; the umpires' collective bargaining agreement with the leagues does not allow an umpire to work both a league championship series and the World Series. Joe Brinkman won't be here either, even though the agreement does allow for an umpire to work both a division series and the World Series. The three American League umpires who are on the six-man World Series crew did work in the first round of the playoffs. One of them, Richie Garcia, will be the crew chief and behind the plate in Saturday night's opener at Yankee Stadium. Gene Budig, the AL president, Friday called Garcia, a 24-year veteran, one of the league's ``most respected umpires.'' But after Saturday night, Garcia will move to right field Sunday night for Game 2. Now why does that combination sound familiar, Richie Garcia and right field? Ah yes, the last time Garcia worked a post-season series at Yankee Stadium, he was the umpire in Game 1 of the league championship series two years ago when a young fan from New Jersey _ no name, please; he has been over-glorified enough _ reached over the fence and caught Derek Jeter's fly ball just as Tony Tarasco, Baltimore's right fielder, prepared to catch it. Garcia ruled no interference, that it was a home run, then said oops after watching a television replay clearly showing interference. Too late. The call helped the Yankees win the first game and set the tone for the series. ``Even though he made a mistake, you know you have the best out there,'' a baseball official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said. That knowledge comes as small consolation to the Orioles. Budig, too, acknowledged that umpires, like players and managers, aren't perfect. ``Major league umpires are skilled at what they do, but they are human,'' he said in a telephone interview. ``Day in and day out they do a very good job for Major League Baseball. Rounds one and two have been difficult, but that happens from time to time.'' The umpires were so human in the American League playoffs that it happened from time to time to time to time. The Cleveland Indians suffered the brunt of the fallibility of the umpires. ``We had a highlight reel of umpires getting knocked down by baseballs,'' general manager John Hart said after the Indians' final game against the Yankees. ``The umpires didn't lose the game for us, but we had our share of controversies in two playoff series with umpires.'' In the division series against Boston, Brinkman, the plate umpire, was so bad with his calls on pitches and plays at the plate that he immediately provoked disputes that led to his ejecting of Mike Hargrove, the Indians' manager, three pitches into Game 2, and Dwight Gooden, their starting pitcher, 19 pitches later. Hendry was right or wrong, depending on one's point of view, for his noncall of interference on Travis Fryman in the 12th inning of Game 2 of the ALCS. That ruling went in favor of the Indians. Little else did. In Game 4, Jeter was stealing second in the fifth inning when the on-target throw from Sandy Alomar Jr. hit Jim McKean, who jumped to try to get out of the way but instead kicked the ball into right field. A batted ball, Omar Vizquel's line drive, struck Hendry in Game 6. But the worst call of Game 6 was Hendry's on a force play at second base. Hendry called Bernie Williams safe, ruling that Vizquel's foot came off the base before he caught the ball. Members of the Yankees indicated Friday that they, too, thought the call was wrong. ``I don't know,'' Williams said when asked what he thought, ``but I'll take it. It was a big play.'' But did he think he was out? ``I'd rather not comment about that,'' he said. ``It will stir a lot of controversy. I don't want to get into that.'' When a player believes he was safe, he says so and doesn't worry about any subsequent controversy. If Williams was implying that he thought he was out, another member of the Yankees said he had no doubt that Williams was out. ``I wasn't sure at first,'' this uniformed member of the team said, ``but when I saw it was Hendry, I said uh-oh. I also thought Omar is so smooth you'd think he wouldn't come off the bag. Then I saw the replay. He was out.'' The game today is faster than it used to be, this observer said. The umpires have to be sharper. Maybe Garcia, Dale Scott and Tim Tschida from the American League, and Jerry Crawford, Dana DeMuth and Mark Hirschbeck from the National League, will be as sharp as an 18th century French guillotine in these four to seven games. Leonard Coleman, the NL president, said he thought his umpires were first-rate in the division and league series and added that he has ``three splendid umpires'' working the World Series. Budig said: ``The World Series crew is proven and first-rate. We have total confidence in them.'' The umpires should let the players make the errors and the managers the bad decisions. Then everyone will talk about the players and managers and not the umpires.",
"Chuck Knoblauch and Tino Martinez were as popular as squeegee men a week ago, the speculation rampant that one or the other or both might be exiled if the Yankees' historic year crumbled in the post-season. Two big hits in the midst of a big inning changed all that Saturday night in Game 1 of the World Series. The Yankees trailed San Diego, 5-2, in the seventh inning, but Knoblauch hit a three-run home run to tie the score, and five batters later, Martinez smashed a grand slam. The seven-run explosion rocketed the Yankees to a 9-6 victory in the opener of the four-of-seven-game series, before 56,712 at Yankee Stadium. Orlando Hernandez will pitch against Andy Ashby in Game 2 Sunday night at the Stadium. Beyond seizing the advantage in the series, the Yankees were able to neutralize the Padres' ace, Kevin Brown, driving him from the mound in the seventh. Brown, seen by many as San Diego's best hope for a World Series upset, will not pitch again until Game 4, at the earliest. Brown was pitching with a three-run lead after the top of the fifth, when Tony Gwynn and Greg Vaughn banged back-to-back homers. One out into the seventh, however, Jorge Posada hit a single, and Brown walked Ricky Ledee. Brown, who had thrown a whopping 64 pitches in the first three innings, went out, and the reliever Donne Wall came in to face Knoblauch. This is what the Yankees have done all season, force a starter from the game in the middle innings, before exploiting a middle reliever. Knoblauch, of course, had earned notoriety for his gaffe in the Game 2 of the American League Championship Series against Cleveland, standing and waiting for an interference call as the ball rolled to a stop behind him and the decisive run scored. The Yankees came back to win the series, however; Knoblauch got a reprieve and talked about how much the experience had helped him. Facing Wall with a one-ball, no-strike count, Knoblauch had to duck under a runaway fastball. Two balls, no strikes. Wall had to throw a strike, Knoblauch swung hard and lifted a high fly down the left-field line. Off the bat, it did not look like much. But it kept carrying, Vaughn drifting back in left and looking up, to see the ball disappear into the stands. Tie game. Yankee Stadium shook. Knoblauch rounded the bases, crossed home plate and thrust both arms into the air, yelling to the crowd, like a hyped Olympic weightlifter who had just successfully hoisted a half-ton. He stomped around the dugout, his helmet on, teammates banging on him happily. When Derek Jeter singled, nobody really noticed. Wall left the game, and Mark Langston took over. Paul O'Neill flied out, and after Jeter advanced on a wild pitch, Bernie Williams was intentionally walked. Chili Davis drew a walk. Bases loaded, once more, with Martinez coming to the plate, with exactly one run batted in in his first 76 career at-bats in league championship and World Series games. With the count two balls and two strikes, Langston threw a pitch near the outside corner that he thought should have been a strike. Instead, Garcia called it a ball. Langston glared, snapping at the return throw. Langston and Martinez and everyone on the field now understood that with the bases loaded and a 3-2 count, Langston would have to throw what players refer to as a cookie _ a tasty pitch over the middle. Martinez ate up this cookie. The ball soared into the upper deck in right field, lifting three years of post-season misery off the back of the Yankees' first baseman, a grand slam. The crowd called out Martinez from the dugout again. Like Knoblauch, Martinez pumped both arms, and later the crowd would chant his name, and Martinez would wave his cap. San Diego's lead was long gone. The Yankees had taken a 2-0 lead over Brown in the second inning, forcing him to throw 32 pitches in the second. They loaded the bases with a single and two walks, and Ledee, the rookie left fielder who is playing because none of Torre's left fielders have been hitting, pulled a sinking fastball down the right field line with two outs. The fans along the foul line stood, some waving to push the ball fair with the body English, and the ball landed on the line, skipping off the wall as two runners scored. The Yankees had the early edge, they had jumped on Brown, and they had their best pitcher on the mound. San Diego's Chris Gomez led off the second inning with a blooper over shortstop, the ball falling in for a single. Quilvio Veras flied to right, Gwynn grounded out and Gomez took second, bringing Vaughn to the plate. David Wells got ahead in the count, no balls and two strikes, with a change-up and a fastball, before trying to run a fastball inside on Vaughn, who hit 50 home runs during the regular season. Vaughn attacked the pitch: a line drive that landed in the second deck, foul all the way, but a frightening mistake. Jorge Posada, the Yankees' catcher, jogged to the mound to re-think the strategy, perhaps to remind Wells of the conventional wisdom: you must pitch Vaughn on the outer edge of the plate. Posada returned to the plate, called for an outside fastball, Wells threw. Vaughn's swing was short and quick, the ball making a click sound off the bat, like a well-struck golf ball, before carrying over the wall in right-center field. Tie game. Wells retired the first two batters in the fifth inning, before jamming Veras with an inside fastball. Veras' bat snapped on contact, but it was enough to send a looper into short center field, a single. Gwynn stepped in, having hit a single in his first two at-bats, and looked for a sign from the third base coach Tim Flannery. With a runner on first, he likes to try to pull a ball through the right side of the infield. Wells fired a fastball, Gwynn turned on the pitch and ripped it, a line drive that crashed off the facing of the upper deck in right field. The Padres jumped from the dugout, celebrating, as Wells turned away, disgusted, asking for a new baseball. He got one, delivered another fastball, and Vaughn slugged this deep into the left field stands. Two pitches, two home runs, the first back-to-back home runs allowed by Wells since April 30. San Diego led, 5-2, and Yankee Stadium was silent. It would not stay that way.",
"The moment of truth for Chuck Knoblauch came in the bottom of the first inning when his name was announced at Yankee Stadium for the first time since he neglected to chase down that memorable loose ball last Wednesday. There were no boos. It was a very warm ovation. They liked him. They really liked him. Knoblauch exhaled. Knoblauch had emphasized before the game that he was concerned about winning and rumbling into the World Series, not about the fans. But it surely made Knoblauch feel at home when he realized that the fans had forgiven him. Victories, more than time, had healed the malice toward Knoblauch and he could play second base without earplugs. When the Yankees defeated the Indians, 9-5, in Game 6 on Tuesday night to advance to their second World Series in three years, Knoblauch was easily the most relieved player on the field. The awful mistake that he had made in Game 2 would be forgotten. The Yankees had won the pennant, and Knoblauch was celebrating as much as anyone. ``To have them act like that toward me was tremendous,'' said Knoblauch, about the response that he received. ``It was a great feeling, and it really helped me out.'' Knoblauch was wearing a cap that declared the Yankees champions of the American League in 1998; Champagne dripped off the brim as he spoke. He did not look up, but continued to talk about how he had learned a lot by being vilified after making a mistake that Little Leaguers are expected not to make. ``Just to face things and take it like a man and answer all the questions, although they're tough,'' Knoblauch said. ``You see what you're made of when you have to bounce back from something like that. That's basically what I learned.'' If the Yankees had lost the ALCS, even some of Knoblauch's teammates had said that he would be branded as the villain for failing to pursue the ball that glanced off Travis Fryman's back while he was running outside the baseline. Knoblauch had argued with the umpire while the go ahead run scored from first and the Indians won, 4-1. Now Knoblauch can watch television and read the newspapers again without getting queasy. ``That's huge for him,'' David Cone said. ``That's huge for me. I let them back into the game, and that would have been a tough one if they would have come back and beat us. And Knobbie, I'm sure he's feeling a lot better now.'' Knoblauch, who had two hits in five at-bats, was working on his second bottle of Champagne five minutes after reporters were allowed into the clubhouse. He flashed the sort of smile that he had not shown too much recently and, now that the Yankees are in the World Series, Knoblauch should expect to be teased often about his mistake. ``Maybe if we go all the way, we'll do that,'' Derek Jeter said. ``I don't know what I'll say, but I'll think of something good.''",
"A strong sign that this city is going bonkers for the Padres came Friday morning when 680 fans agreed to shave their heads for a radio promotion raffle in return for a 1-in-680 chance at skybox tickets for post-season play. ``This was more a show of support for the team than it was for the one ticket,'' said Tommy Sablan, producer of the ``Jeff and Jer'' show. ``It was symbolic of the efforts of the bald Padres _ Tony Gwynn, Wally Joyner, Greg Vaughn, Jim Leyritz. About a thousand people showed up _ men, women and children. We had 10 barbers and 20 hairdressers and it took six hours for the lines to either get buzzed or straight-razored. ``We were shocked at the turnout. But this is a bandwagon town. `Buy the ticket on the day of the concert' type public. You'll see an even bigger bandwagon on Monday when they've won and then hopefully we play the Yankees and it's a real World Series.'' After the Padres beat the Braves, 3-0, in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series on Thursday night in Atlanta to take a two-game lead in the four-of-seven-game series, San Diego fans began gearing up for a shot at the World Series in more traditional ways. It would be the team's first World Series appearance since 1984, and in the downtown business district Friday, marquees and banners read ``Go Padres'' and a lunch-hour rally was attended by several hundred fans. The Padres set an attendance record of 2,555,901 this season, up a half-million from last year and nearly a million and a half from three years ago. It stemmed in part from an effort by John Moores, the Padres owner, and Larry Lucchino, the team's president, to put family entertainment in the park after they bought the team in December 1994. ``This is a more diversified group of fans than I saw in Atlanta,'' Lucchino said. ``Their crowd seemed yuppified. We're proud of our three generations of families who come to the games.'' Donna McMahon, a 63-year-old homemaker from La Jolla, has been a fan since she was 10 and the Pacific Coast League Padres played at Lane Field near the harbor. She would take a streetcar after school to meet her father, and he would buy bleacher seats. Later, she brought her four children to Jack Murphy Stadium for the National League Padres when 2,500 people was a crowd. Now, she brings her grandchildren to a sold-out Qualcomm Stadium. ``There are different groups in the stands,'' she said, ``the upper class, the middle class, the business person, the beer-drinking fan, the children, all of the Mexican fans from across the border. We are true fans _ all of us.'' San Diego Mayor Susan Golding agrees, while also giving credit to the balmy weather. ``Padre fans are a cross-section from all over the county,'' she said. ``Downtown, suburban, rural, east, north, ranchers and farmers to high-tech engineers, yuppies to the new kids _ the X generation. A lot from across the border. The Padres are extremely popular in Tijuana. We do have the perfect weather for a long baseball season. Playing in the World Series in October has got to be better than in New York.'' Carlos Carrion, who was born in San Diego and has been a baseball fan for 25 years, brings his 10- and 8-year-old sons to the stadium. ``This is a great chance to let my children see the players work,'' Carrion said. ``They can look up to these guys and understand their character and their work ethic.'' The Padres ticket office estimates that on average, more than 15,000 fans in the 65,000-seat stadium are Latin Americans from San Diego, Baja California or the state of Sonora. The Padres have the first major league baseball souvenir store in Tijuana.",
"Talk about high expectations. It's not just the man from Tampa who has them anymore. Knowing their baseball as well as they do, everybody in the Joe Torre family passed up tickets for the divisional series and the league championship series as just so much parsley on the plate of life. ``The pressure was on to get to the World Series, so I can see all those people,'' Torre, the Yankees' manager, was saying before New York went out to play the here-we-are, let's-go-for-it San Diego Padres in the Stadium Saturday night. Now that the Yankees are in the Series, their Florida-based owner and their fans and they themselves can see nothing more appropriate than four more victories. Anything less than 125 would feel like emptiness. But why should the Yankees be any different from the six teams that already fell off the bus to this World Series? The gloom and doom in the six other cities will not compare to the letdown that would grip New York and the owner's insatiable little heart should the Yanks come up short. The three-tiered playoff system has practically turned baseball into football, where the survival-of-the-fittest mentality produces one exalted Super Bowl champion and a league full of chumps and losers, condemned to a nether world of Parcells-like demons kicking them in their sore spots for eternity. The World Series used to be a short and sweet reward for excellence, but that was when there were eight teams per league, and the winners met in daylight in early October. Even if the Yankees clubbed my poor Brooklyn Dodgers into submission once again, well, there was always next year. But in 1969, baseball began league championship series, and in 1995 it began a two-layered playoff system. The World Series is still different, which is why we should all resist the babble of ``post-season records'' flung at us by the hyperactive computers and the hyperactive broadcasters from the dozens of different networks that carry baseball. The World Series is still a competition between one league that encourages pitchers to be athletes and another league relatively devoid of strategy. Somehow the ``playoffs'' leave just about everybody feeling inadequate. Think about it. The Houston Astros are going around feeling they cannot perform in the post-season. The Texas Rangers are sulking because they had the best hitting in the league and could hardly touch Yankee pitching when it counted. In Chicago, the glory of winning a special playoff for the wild-card spot and Sammy Sosa's 66 home runs has been pre-empted. The very city that beat the Cubs for the 1969 eastern title held a parade for Sosa Saturday in the canyons where Lindbergh and John Glenn and the 1969 Mets were once hailed. Speaking of indignity, there are the Red Sox, whose occasional qualification for the playoffs is merely a signal that nothing good can come of it. In Atlanta, the team of the '90s has won exactly one World Series, and now it is up to management to keep repeating that: ``The main goal is to get to the Series. This is a recorded announcement. This is a recorded announcement. This is a recorded announcement.'' In Cleveland, the fans had to live with the phrase ``Nineteen forty-eight!'' being chanted at the Indians in the Bronx as the Yankees put the Indians out of misery. That leaves the Padres as the only team with virtually nothing to lose. This can be good, or it can be bad. Bruce Bochy, the manager, a reserve on the 1984 San Diego World Series team, has said: ``A lot of the players on that team said, looking back, we wish we would have had a little different attitude instead of just saying, `Hey, we are in the World Series.' And this year, I think you will see the players out there playing to win.'' Torre recalled being the underdog in 1996, but he said his Yankees felt they could beat the Braves. ``I am sure that is the way the Padres feel right now, that maybe other people aren't predicting a lot for them, but I am sure they are for themselves,'' Torre said. ``I think getting here is where the pressure is,'' Torre added. ``You want to win, but getting to the World Series is so tough after playing 162 games and getting into post-season and then having to fight, bite and scratch and everything else to get here.'' Torre continued: ``You don't think about in spring training that we want to go and win the World Series. You want to get to the World Series. Then you get there, well, you have played well enough and won enough games, then of course, we want to win. ``As far as legitimizing our season _ I hate to even think in negative terms, but if San Diego happens to win the World Series, sure it takes a little bit of the luster off what we have accomplished by getting here, but I think that was our goal, initially.'' The key word in that sentence is ``initially.'' The Yankees built an insatiable demand for more victories _ and World Series tickets in the Torre family. While they're at it, the Yankees had better win the whole thing. They are a victim of their own excellence.",
"As Bernie Williams starts what could be his final series with the Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium Saturday night, he wants to do it with a free mind. Free of worrying about his extremely uncertain future and an undisclosed personal matter that has made this post-season as perplexing as it has been pleasing. But it is not easy to keep the mind uncluttered. Williams does not know if he will sign with the Yankees and return to center field next season, because he wants to test free agency. There is a good chance the Yankees will not offer him the most lavish contract, so Williams might be forced to decide between the fattest paycheck and a new situation in the baseball city of his choice or a pretty fat paycheck and a familiar situation in the Bronx. Scott Boras, Williams' agent, compared his client with players in the $10 million-a-year bracket last season, so that price tag has surely escalated after Williams won the American League batting title with a .339 average while drilling 26 homers and knocking in 97 runs. Williams was asked if he agreed with the theory that other teams will outbid the Yankees. ``I do not know,'' said Williams, who has been aloof during this post-season, but has declined to discuss why. ``And I'm thinking about this a little more than I would like to. I would like to keep my focus on the series.'' It is not an issue Williams or the Yankees wants to study Saturday or in the coming days, because the team is four victories away from a championship. Still, it is an issue that hovers over the Yankees as ominously as the owner George Steinbrenner hovers over general manager Brian Cashman. ``It's a tough thing,'' Cashman said about balancing the excitement of being in the World Series with the reality of trying to re-sign Williams. ``You know the ugliness of the future is right in front of you.'' Although Williams has been adamant about not discussing the future, he relented slightly Friday. When a reporter asked him what the reasons would be for staying with the Yankees, Williams' answer included an escape clause. ``Just the fact that I've been here my whole career,'' Williams said. ``That has a lot to do with it. The relationships that I've come to know during the years, I think it would be very hard, but not impossible, to start from scratch somewhere else.'' Williams continued: ``But I think the reality of the game in this day and age is things happen. You can't really write things in stone that they're going to happen. People get traded. People become free agents and go to other teams. I have to make a decision really thinking about all the people I'm accountable for.'' When Williams was asked what better situation could a player have than being the center fielder for the Yankees, winning a batting crown and being in the World Series, the 30-year-old was stumped. ``Wow, that's pretty good right there,'' Williams said. ``It's funny you mention that, because I really haven't thought about any of that. I think, at some point in the off season, I was going to sit down and think, wow, it wasn't a bad year at all.'' While Cashman would not discuss financial matters, another Yankee official said the team will not offer Williams as much as $12 million a year _ unless Steinbrenner gets generous after a possible championship. It is more likely that the Yanks would offer Williams in the $10 million-a-year range. ``I'd hate to have to speculate on something at this point,'' Cashman said. ``We'll give it our best effort to sign him at a level that we're comfortable with. Hopefully, that will be enough. Then we'll have a marriage. If not, we'll have a divorce.'' While Williams has earned the right to become a free agent and pursue the contract he wants in the city he wants, he has interesting choices to make. When a reporter asked Williams how he would respond to someone who suggested that he accept less from the Yankees to remain in a city where he is popular, where he likes his teammates and manager, and where the team has been in the post-season for four straight years, he did not hesitate to answer. ``My response to that would be it's not the time right now to start thinking about that,'' Williams said. ``If I start thinking about that, it'll distract me to what I need to do in the World Series.'' Williams then talked about how the Yankees are at the end of a remarkable season and how he did not want his situation to disrupt that. But, with Williams' status uncertain, he was asked if the next four to seven games would be bittersweet, since he could be ending a 13-year association with the Yankees. ``I don't want to talk about that,'' Williams said. ``I'm going to have a lot of fun out there. I'm going to go all out.'' Then Williams walked away from the interview.",
"Hours after Darryl Strawberry was released from Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center Friday, he spoke happily about being able to play with his two young children, joked about eating a small amount of chicken and potatoes and sounded relieved to be at home in Fort Lee, N.J., instead of in a hospital. ``I'm really feeling good,'' said Strawberry, in a telephone interview. ``It's nice to be home with the kids and to just kick back. That's all that I'm going to do. This feels good.'' Strawberry, who underwent surgery to remove a cancer from his colon on Oct. 3, said he will remain in New Jersey for another 10 or 12 days before returning home to Rancho Mirage, Calif. The 36-year old outfielder, who lost a significant amount of weight from his 215-pound frame, said he does not have enough strength to attend any of the World Series games and is content watching his teammates play the Padres on television. ``My heart is with them,'' said Strawberry, who spoke to several Yankees after they won the American League championship. ``I'm just going to relax at home and watch the game. I'm looking forward to it. I may not be there, but it'll feel like I am.'' Paul O'Neill echoed the sentiments of many Yankees by saying, ``Everything we're going through is game. This is his life. Any time we get some good news about Darryl it's uplifting. We're all praying for him.'' Since cancerous cells were found in one of the 36 lymph nodes removed from his abdomen during the operation, Strawberry said doctors told him he will need six months of chemotherapy treatment once he returns to California. The 36-year-old outfielder said doctors told him he will need one treatment of at least one hour a week. ``I was never scared,'' said Strawberry. ``I was more emotional than anything. At the time of it, I had played for a while with this. I wanted to keep playing because I knew we were going to get into the World Series.'' At that point, Strawberry stopped and laughed, probably because the Yankees had made it to the World Series as he expected. ``I wanted to be there because that's what you play for,'' said Strawberry. ``I don't think that I was ever scared. It's something that I wanted to deal with head on. I talked to Eric Davis about the chemo. He said it's not as bad as some people say.'' Although the discovery of cancer in one lymph node proved that the cancer had spread, Strawberry remained optimistic about his future and said, ``It didn't worry me. I got all the information from the doctors. One out of 36 is good. It wasn't spreading. It didn't run off and get crazy like cancer can.'' When Strawberry was released from the hospital in a wheelchair Friday, a few hundred fans who had congregated chanted, ``Darryl, Darryl.'' Strawberry, who struggled not to cry, hugged a few nurses, thanked everyone for supporting him, then rose from the wheelchair and carefully entered a car. ``Wow, I never thought this day would come,'' Strawberry said. ``But it has.'' Unlike David Wells, Saturday night's starter in the World Series who predicted the Yankees would throttle the Padres in five games, Strawberry refused to make a prediction about whether he will soon be getting his third World Series ring. But Strawberry, who is still hopeful about returning to play in 1999, sounded very confident in the 1998 Yankees, who are wearing his number 39 on the back of their caps as inspiration. ``They look really good,'' said Strawberry.'' It's not going to be easy, but I think they're ready. The best thing about making it to the World Series is you know you don't have to go anywhere else after that. You've made it to that point and then you go do the best you can do. That's what it's all about.''",
"A new shipment of bats arrived for Tino Martinez on Friday, and he massaged the handles to make sure they were thin enough, knocked on the barrels and listened for a certain sound and swung them slowly again and again. Martinez was so excited about the fresh bats, he reacted like a Little Leaguer who was wielding an aluminum bat for the first time. ``You were saving the World Series trees until now, right?'' Martinez said to the representative from the bat company. ``These are from World Series trees, aren't they?'' Martinez could joke about the bats being specially designed for the World Series because the Yankees began their quest for a second title in the past three years when they play host to the San Diego Padres in Game 1 at Yankee Stadium Saturday night. Major leaguer players who were watching on television could not imitate David Letterman and joke about World Series wood. Even though Martinez has struggled with numerous bats during the post-season, he could joke because the Yankees are still alive for the title. Martinez is still alive. For now, Martinez, the power hitter who has mostly been missing in action, could joke around. For now. ``You always get a fresh start in the post-season because it's game to game,'' said Martinez. ``If you win, you've got another game the next day so you forget about the bad at-bats. It's easier to do that in post-season because your next at-bat could be the biggest at-bat of the season.'' Normally, having Martinez at the plate for the biggest at-bat of the season would be a pleasing sight to the Yankees. But not when the calendar flips to October. Martinez has experienced another frustrating post-season. He is 5 for 30 with 10 strikeouts, no homers and only 1 run batted in for a hitting-starved team that has batted .229 while still winning 7 of 9 post-season games because of superior pitching. Can the Yankees continue to win if Martinez, their most valuable run producer, is a sometime singles hitter? ``We've just gotten through two good series,'' said Paul O'Neill. ``The Yankees won those series. You don't focus on one guy. You focus on winning. The whole team won.'' As much as Joe Torre talked about Martinez needing one line-drive hit to get him in a groove, the 30-year-old first baseman is in a career drought in the post-season. Since joining the Yankees, Martinez is 20 for 107 (.187) with one homer and 4 RBI in 29 post-season games. Those are puny statistics, especially for a player who has driven in 381 runs in 455 regular season games over the last three years. ``I would guess that Tino would have a great series,'' O'Neill said. ``Baseball has a way of evening things out. You have a bad series, you come back and have a great series. In the season, that's easier to do. In the post-season, it gets tougher.'' It cannot get much tougher for Martinez, who was dropped from fifth to sixth in the order during the American League Championship Series against the Cleveland Indians and will remain in that spot until further notice. Martinez has blamed his paucity of production on impatience and on trying to do too much. He has sometimes flailed at poor pitches during hitter's counts of 3-1 and 2-0, instead of working the count, and he has admitted that his previous failures in the post-season have caused him to pursue the obviously unattainable five-run homer. Actually, Martinez has already made some alterations, and he has reached base 7 times in his last 10 plates appearances on a double, a single, a hit-by-pitch and 4 walks. It is not enough to pacify George Steinbrenner, but it is something for him to cling to. Until last night, anyway, when Martinez had to face Kevin Brown, a nasty right-hander who had retired him in 30 of 34 career at-bats. ``If I was getting good pitches and missing them, then I'd say I have a bad swing working,'' said Martinez. ``But I've been swinging at bad pitches. Right now, I've just got to be patient and wait.'' The Yankees will wait with him. They have to. In the 1996 World Series, Torre started Cecil Fielder over Martinez at first in Games 3, 4 and 5. It was a difficult decision because Martinez had paced the team in RBI while Fielder did not join the Yankees until July 31. But the Yankees grabbed all three games so it worked. Torre does not have such an attractive replacement this season in Luis Sojo. So the Yankees will stay with Martinez, for better or worse, while he tries to stay positive and finally produce. ``It's the World Series,'' said Martinez. ``You got to go out there and have fun with it. Big games are all big games. You want to go out there and enjoy that game and try to do your best to win that game. You don't think that you might lose that day.''",
"YANKEES Pitching The starting pitching enabled the Yankees to advance past Cleveland in the American League Championship Series. David Wells is 7-1 in his career in the postseason and he should have an additional edge against a Padres' lineup that is generally less effective against left-handed pitching. Orlando Hernandez has four terrific pitches, pitched seven shutout innings in the pivotal Game 4 of the ALCS and earned the start in Game 2 of this series. David Cone should benefit from six days' worth of rest when he starts Game 3, as well as being able to pitch in warm Southern California. Mariano Rivera's stuff might be as good as it has been all year, and Mike Stanton continues to be a dominant postseason pitcher. Reasons for concern: the erratic Andy Pettitte, who needs a home-plate umpire to call strikes on pitches low and away, and Jeff Nelson, who lost his command in his last brief outing. Offense There were signs in the ALCS that the offense is coming out of its collective slump _ Chuck Knoblauch is getting on base consistently, Derek Jeter is back to driving the ball to right field and through the middle, Bernie Williams had three hits in Game 6, and Scott Brosius has been a consistent force at the bottom of the lineup. But the Yankees do have holes: Chili Davis will be hard-pressed to catch up to the fastballs of Kevin Brown and Andy Ashby, and Tino Martinez's postseason funk is a problem. The Yankees could use a contribution from Jorge Posada, who will start in Games 1 and 2 and may get a chance to drive pitches low in the strike zone, where he can hit with power. Defense The Yankees have the best defense in baseball, excellent up the middle with Jeter and Knoblauch, and at third with Brosius. Nobody's really taken advantage of the fact that Williams has a poor arm in center field, but rest assured that Ken Caminiti, Steve Finley and Greg Vaughn will try. The Indians did expose the fact that the Yankees' pitchers have trouble preventing baserunners from stealing from second to third base. Baserunning The Yankees run well as they take extra bases, particularly Paul O'Neill, Brosius, Jeter and Knoblauch going first-to-third; Williams can make mistakes. The Yankees probably won't be able to steal against Kevin Brown, who has an effective slide step, but they could be aggressive against Andy Ashby, or the combination of Sterling Hitchcock and Jim Leyritz. PADRES Hitting Except for Jim Leyritz, no one in the San Diego lineup is particularly hot or particularly frightening at the moment. Tony Gwynn hasn't been as consistent as he usually is, Ken Caminiti and Greg Vaughn have been streaky. But the Padres are a veteran team capable of putting the ball in play, getting runners on base and then moving them along, and so long as they are getting exceptional pitching, that's all they really need. Quilvio Veras, the leadoff hitter, is adept at drawing walks and Steve Finley, who has become more pull conscious in the last two years, could try to take aim at the right field stands in Yankee Stadium. Vaughn's power could be a factor if the Yankees' pitchers don't jam him enough to keep him from leaning over the plate. Pitching Kevin Brown is the best pitcher in this series, capable of winning three games if necessary, should Padres manager Bruce Bochy choose to start him in Games 1, 4 and 7. But at some point, San Diego will need a big outing from either Andy Ashby or Sterling Hitchcock. When Ashby's right, he's hitting the corners with his sinking fastball and his slider, and when his command is suspect, he gets pounded. Hitchcock used his split-fingered fastball to great effectiveness against right-handed batters in the first two rounds of the playoffs, but the Yankees' left-handed hitters may cause him some concern. San Diego's middle relief is the weakest aspect of the team, with Randy Myers and Mark Langston from the left side (the stuff of each has waned). But if a lead can be delivered into the hands of closer Trevor Hoffman, he'll keep it. Defense They mostly catch the ball and avoid mistakes, though they are unspectacular. Shortstop Chris Gomez and the second baseman Veras are adept at turning double plays, and Caminiti won a Gold Glove at third base last year; Wally Joyner has good hands at first; the center fielder Steve Finley is extremely quick in tracking down base hits and returning the ball to the infield. Tony Gwynn's range is better toward the right field line, not nearly as good on balls hit in the gaps. The Yankees will be able to run on the arm of Vaughn in left field. Baserunning Veras can steal bases (24) this year, and Finley can in a tight spot, as well. In general, however, the Padres are a slow, plodding team, though Caminiti and Vaughn are good at going first-to-third, and Gwynn won't make mistakes on the bases. PITCHING TO THE PADRES Quilvio Veras: A switch-hitter who has more power right-handed; should try to pitch him down-and-in with breaking balls when he's hitting right-handed, jam him with fastballs when he's batting left-handed. Steve Finley: A left-handed hitter who likes to pull the ball. Left-handers like David Wells can beat him with breaking balls low and outside. Tony Gwynn: When he's hot, he's impossible. When he's not hitting well, he can be anxious early in the count, and he should be fed breaking balls out of the strike zone. Greg Vaughn: Big-time power on anything high and over the plate. Because he likes to pull the ball, you must pitch him on the outer edge, occasionally jamming him to keep him honest. Ken Caminiti: More power right-handed, a better hitter left-handed. These days, he's a good lowball hitter and can be beat by fastballs up in the zone. Wally Joyner: With runners on base, he'll try to jump on a fastball early in the count. Is not a strong hitter and can be jammed. Chris Gomez: Like Derek Jeter, likes to hit pitches inside out, to right field and through the middle. He can hit with power if you make a mistake with a breaking ball. Ruben Rivera: An impatient hitter who will chase pitches out of the strike zone. Carlos Hernandez: Looks for the first-pitch fastball in the upper half of the strike zone. Can struggle against breaking balls. Jim Leyritz: No apparent holes right now, can hit fastballs in and away. Best bet is to get ahead in the count and try to get him to chase breaking balls. PITCHING TO THE YANKEES Chuck Knoblauch: Hard throwers like to jam him with fastballs because he stands on top of the plate, which is why he gets hit so often. Derek Jeter: Sometimes he has a tendency to chase pitches at his feet, but if you don't get the ball in far enough, he can hammer the ball over the wall in right. Paul O'Neill: The Yankees' best pure hitter, he sometimes will chase fastballs up and away, particularly after there is one strike. Bernie Williams: A switch-hitter who has trouble resisting chest-high fastballs. When he lays off them, he is a much better hitter, and he did this in the last game of the Cleveland series. Chili Davis: Has a great eye and will work a pitcher deep into a count, but he can be overpowered with fastballs above his belt. Cheats some now to get his bat started, making him vulnerable to off-speed pitches. Tino Martinez: Nothing seems right at the moment. Is anxious and chases pitches out of the strike zone when he falls behind in the count, and isn't taking advantage of mistakes when they're made. Scott Brosius: A great breaking ball hitter, but he can also drive a fastball a long way when he anticipates, as Cleveland's Charles Nagy now knows. Jorge Posada: When batting left-handed, he fares very poorly against splitters, curveballs and sliders. Ricky Ledee: Like all young hitters, he has a tendency to expand the strike zone and chase pitches out of the strike zone after falling behind in the count. Kevin Brown likely will attack him aggressively. SATURDAY'S PITCHERS Kevin Brown: Best sinking fastball in the game (91-93) mph, a four-seam fastball of 95-97 mph to throw high in the strike zone, a slider that breaks down and away from right-handed batters, and a forkball that dives at 88-89 mph. Holds runners well. David Wells: Aggressive, aggressive, aggressive, challenging hitters with fastballs. His curveball can be exceptional, and his changeup has improved. Throw strikes: Allowed as many home runs (29) as walks (29), but has not allowed a three-run homer or a grand slam all year."
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In Chechnya, 3-5 people a week, many of them children, are hurt by land mines. The heads of 4 kidnapped foreign telephone engineers were found in Chechnya. The hostages were decapitated during a failed rescue attempt. Their bodies are missing. One kidnapper was arrested. The EU condemned the slayings. The Chechen vice president showed a video of 1 of the hostages saying they all were British spies. He refused to answer questions about the video. A Chechen prosecutor investigating the kidnappings was himself abducted. A French UN official, held hostage for 10 months, was freed unharmed in an operation at the Chechen border in which 3 kidnappers were killed. Chechnya's independence war against Moscow has caused the death of innocent people. Many died accidentally from explosives left behind by the Russians. Hundreds, mostly foreigners, are being taken for ransom, some of whom have been killed. The European Union is condemning the deaths of four kidnapped foreigners, three Briton, one New Zealander, whose heads were found near a remote village. Chechen police are searching for the beheaded bodies. A Chechen tape earlier showed one of the men admitting he was a British spy. Rebels also kidnapped the Chechen prosecutor investigating the deaths. He was later freed, as was a UN official and a Russian soldier. Violence, deaths and kidnappings continue to plague the former Russian state of Chechnya two years after its independence. Exploding landmines are a weekly occurrence. Criminal bands are blamed for the kidnappings, usually for ransom and rarely deadly. However, four UK Telecom engineers, hinted to be spies, were beheaded during a botched Chechen rescue attempt and their heads displayed along a road. Britain and the European Union expressed outrage and sought Russian intervention. The Chechen prosecutor was then abducted. The prosecutor and a Russian soldier were subsequently freed and the Russians rescued a French UN official at the border with Chechnya. Chechnya's top prosecutor, Mansur Tagirov, was abducted from Grozny, but released the next day. Tagirov was investigating the slaying of four kidnapped foreigners. The victims, all telephone linemen employed by the British firm Granger Telecom, were beheaded in a bungled rescue attempt. Their heads were found near the city; the search for the bodies continues. The Chechen Vice President showed a tape of one of the hostages, Peter Kennedy, during a news conference in which he claimed they were spies sent to Chechnya by the British to monitor phone calls; however, another official discounted the tape's value. Kidnapping for ransom is common in Chechnya.
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[
"Chechen police were searching Wednesday for the bodies of four kidnapped foreigners who were beheaded during a botched attempt to free them. The deaths _ and the ostentatious display of the heads by killers _ prompted neighboring Russian regions to close off roads into Chechnya, and caused an outpouring of outrage and lament from Russian and foreign officials. Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov said Wednesday that one alleged kidnapper had been arrested and authorities gleaned enough information to launch a rescue operation for the hostages, three Britons and a New Zealander. But during the rescue attempt the kidnappers panicked and decapitated the captives, Maskhadov said, according to Russian media reports. ``A concrete criminal group was identified, an organizer of the abductions was arrested and an approximate location of the hostages was determined,'' Maskhadov said in a statement. The severed heads of the four men were found lined up along a highway Tuesday outside Chechnya's capital Grozny, and hundreds of Chechen law enforcement officers were searching for the bodies Wednesday. ``We will take all necessary steps to solve this horrible crime,'' said Maskhadov, who has been unable to restore law and order in Chechnya since being elected last year. The victims _ Britons Peter Kennedy, Darren Hickey, and Rudolf Petschi, and New Zealand's Stanley Shaw _ were identified by their former bodyguard. They had been abducted by unidentified gunmen Oct. 3 in Grozny. ``He was just making a career for himself,'' Hickey's sister Deborah, 21, said Wednesday, fighting back tears. ``He was fantastic with electrics and all that sort of stuff.'' The family had expected 26-year-old Hickey to be back at his parents' pub in Thames Ditton, England, by Christmas. ``Everything was going right, everyone was very optimistic'' that the hostages would be rescued, she told Britain's ITV. ``The people that have done this to him, they deserve exactly the same back.'' The men, pickup 9th pvs",
"One of four foreigners beheaded by kidnappers in Chechnya claimed in a videotape shown today that he and his fellow hostages were British spies. The tape was played by Chechen Vice President Vakha Arsanov at a news conference in Grozny. He refused to answer questions about it, including where or when it was filmed and how or why the government had it. The four men, all wearing heavy beards, looked haggard. One, Peter Kennedy, claimed they had been sent to Chechnya by the British secret service to monitor telephone conversations. Their mission was to gather information to stop the spread of Islamic extremism in the region, he said in Russian. It was not known whether he was speaking under duress. The severed heads of the four hostages were found lined up Tuesday along a highway outside Chechnya's capital, Grozny. Chechen security forces were still searching today for the bodies. The government has said it was trying to rescue the men at the time of their deaths, which have outraged Britain and Russia. But its possession of the tape was likely to increase suspicions of a government link in the frequent kidnappings in Chechnya since it won de facto independence from Russia in a 1994-96 war. Most hostages have been released unharmed, though dozens remain in captivity. Kennedy and his three colleagues _ Darren Hickey and Rudolf Petschi of Britain and Stanley Shaw of New Zealand _ were employees of Britain's Granger Telecom. They were reportedly setting up a mobile phone network in Chechnya when they were abducted by unidentified gunmen Oct. 3 in Grozny. In the tape, Kennedy claimed they were using the equipment to monitor phone calls. Asked about the spying allegation, British Ambassador to Russia Andrew Wood said, ``We don't comment on these things in general but any reasonable analysis would show we have no wish to spy on Chechen territory.''",
"A French United Nations official who was kidnapped in southern Russia more than 10 months ago was set free Saturday and flown to U.N. headquarters in Geneva. Vincent Cochetel, 37, who headed the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in the North Ossetia region, was seized by three masked gunmen in the regional capital Vladikavkaz on Jan. 29. Cochetel was freed about two minutes into the predawn operation on the border between the republics of Chechnya and Ingushetia, but a longer firefight broke out between the kidnappers and Russian security forces, the Interfax news agency said. Cochetel was unharmed, but he said three of the kidnappers had been killed. In footage of the operation broadcast by Russia's NTV television station, Cochetel was shown lying face-down, hand-cuffed, behind a white van. Russian security officers in masks and camouflage stood over him protectively, then dragged him away as gunfire erupted and bullets bounced off the van. Two security officers were slightly injured during the operation, Interior Ministry spokesman Alexander Mikhailov said, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency. No ransom was paid for Cochetel's release, Mikhailov said. Cochetel was flown aboard a chartered jet to Moscow, where he was met by French Ambassador Hubert Colin de Verdiere and U.N. officials. He left Saturday evening for Geneva, where his family and colleagues were awaiting him at U.N. headquarters, said Vera Sobolyeva, UNHCR spokeswoman in Moscow. Speaking briefly, 6th graf pvs",
"Chechen authorities found the decapitated heads of four kidnapped foreigners Tuesday along a highway near a remote village after a two-month search in the breakaway region in southern Russia. An Associated Press reporter saw the severed heads near the village of Assinovskaya, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Grozny, the Chechen capital. He did not see any sign of the bodies. The heads were lined up on a piece of cloth along a main highway across southern Russia, NTV television reported. The heads were identified as those of the four abducted foreigners by Umar Makhauri, who had been a bodyguard assigned to the four when they were abducted Oct. 3 by unidentified gunmen in Grozny. He said the bodies had not been found. But Chechen government officials at the scene said four bodies had been found without giving further details. Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov said in Grozny that the bodies of four men had been recovered. The hostages _ Britons Peter Kennedy, Darren Hickey, and Rudolf Petschi, and New Zealand's Stanley Shaw _ were engineers. They were working for Granger Telecom, a British telephone company, installing 300,000 telephone lines across Chechnya. Maskhadov said Chechen officials had caught one of the captors Monday and he told police where the hostages were being held. But that information reached the other captors, who decided to kill their captives, the ITAR-Tass news agency quoted Maskhadov as saying. The chief executive of Granger Telecom, Ray Verth, said Tuesday that Chechen authorities had mounted a rescue attempt Monday night that went ``tragically wrong.'' No other details were available. He said the company had ``opened a dialogue with the kidnappers and received confirmation that the hostages were alive as recently as last week.'' ``Their murder is an appalling and barbaric act and our thoughts go out to the families to whom we offer our deepest condolences. We are a small tightly-knit company and everyone here is in a state of shock,'' Verth said outside company headquarters in Weybridge, south of London, where flags were flying at half-mast. Spokesmen at the British and New Zealand embassies in Moscow said they were checking on reports the four men had been killed, but could not comment. The British Foreign Ministry in London said it was investigating urgently reports that bodies had been found. Chechen acting First Vice Premier Turpal Atgeriyev, who is heading the investigation into the killings, said authorities had several suspects in the abduction, but have failed to make any progress, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency. Eamon Hickey, the father of one of the missing men, said he heard the news and was hoping it would not be confirmed. ``There is so much rumor and counter-rumor coming from out there that we don't know what to think. Obviously we are hoping and praying that it does not turn out to be true,'' he said at his home in England. Chechen authorities had been searching for the missing men for the past two months. British officials said they had not received any ransom demand for the missing men. Maskhadov said the deaths of the four men were a major blow to Chechnya and its efforts to gain international recognition of its independence. He blamed the rash of abductions in Chechnya to unidentified ``outside forces'' and their Chechen henchmen. ``I am ready to answer before my people and the whole world for what happened,'' he was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. Hostage-takings, usually for ransom, have become common in Chechnya since the end of the breakaway republic's two-year war for independence from Russia in 1996. But victims are rarely killed. Since the beginning of 1998, 176 people have been kidnapped in the North Caucasus region of Russia, including dozens of foreigners, and 90 of them released, officials have said.",
"A truck blew up when it drove over a land mine in breakaway Chechnya on Friday, killing two people and injuring two others, a news agency said. In another mine explosion, a tractor driver was killed Thursday in the republic, the Interfax news agency reported, citing Chechnya's security officials. Chechnya's ambulance service said that three to five people are hospitalized every week with injuries from mine explosions, Interfax reported. It did not say how many people are killed. Many of the victims are children, who dig the ground to look for ammunition left over from Chechnya's two-year independence war against Moscow. Russia withdrew its troops in 1996. Chechnya considers itself an independent state, although no country, including Russia, has recognized its independence.",
"A French United Nations official kidnapped in southern Russia more than 10 months ago has been freed and was flown to Moscow Saturday, news reports reported. Vincent Cochetel, 37, who headed the regional office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in North Ossetia, was seized by three masked gunmen in the region's capital of Vladikavkaz on Jan. 29. According to the Interfax news agency, Cochetel was freed early Saturday in an operation conducted by the Russian Interior Ministry and the regional security forces of the north Caucasus. He was flown to Moscow and was waiting for a special plane to take him to Geneva, Switzerland, NTV television news said. It was unclear where Cochetel was held, in the breakaway republic of Chechnya or in North Ossetia. ``He was liberated on the border,'' Alexander Dzasokhov, the president of North Ossetia, told NTV. French President Jacques Chirac spoke to President Boris Yeltsin by telephone and thanked him for Russia's part in freeing Cochetel, the Kremlin press service said. His release came four days after the severed heads of four foreign hostages were found in Chechnya when a government rescue attempt apparently went wrong. Chechen security forces are still searching for the men's bodies. Chechnya's top prosecutor, who was investigating the killings and was apparently kidnapped Thursday, was also released Saturday, Interfax said. Mansur Tagirov vanished Thursday evening while returning to Chechnya's capital city Grozny from a small village nearby, news reports said. Tagirov was investigating the deaths Britons Peter Kennedy, Darren Hickey, and Rudolf Petschi, and Stanley Shaw of New Zealand. They had been abducted by unidentified gunmen Oct. 3 in Grozny. Their heads were found Tuesday on a highway about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Grozny. Since Chechnya's two-year war of independence against Russia ended in 1996, hundreds of people have been kidnapped in the breakaway republic and neighboring regions by armed gangs who are mostly motivated by ransom. Dozens of people are currently held captive. A Russian soldier taken hostage during the war was released Friday after a year of efforts to free him, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. Alexei Novikov had been seized in February 1996. Only a handful of soldiers kidnapped during the war are still in captivity.",
"Assailants have abducted Chechnya's top prosecutor, who was investigating the killings of four kidnapped foreigners, officials said Friday. Mansur Tagirov vanished Thursday evening while returning to Chechnya's capital city Grozny from a small village nearby, news reports said. Officials at the prosecutor's office said unidentified attackers seized Tagirov, and authorities speculated it was the work of an armed band seeking the release of one of its members from prison. Tagirov was investigating the deaths of four foreigners whose severed heads were found Tuesday lined up by a roadside in the breakaway Russian republic. The victims _ Peter Kennedy, Darren Hickey and Rudolf Petschi of Britain and Stanley Shaw of New Zealand _ were abducted Oct. 3 by unidentified gunmen in Grozny. It was not clear if there was any link between Tagirov's abduction and his investigation into the killings of the four men. Meanwhile, Chechen Deputy Prime Minister Turpal Atgeriyev said authorities had arrested a man who confessed to kidnapping the four foreigners. The suspect was identified as Apti Abitayev, the ITAR-Tass news agency said. Chechen security forces were searching Friday for additional suspects as well as the bodies of the four foreigners. Atgeriyev said he did not place any value in a videotape that showed one of the four victims saying he was spying for Britain. ``There are certain methods that might force a person to confess to any crime,'' Atgeriyev said. The videotape, shown Thursday by Chechnya's vice president, showed hostage Peter Kennedy claiming that the four men had been sent to Chechnya to listen in on phone conversations in the breakaway republic. Chechen officials refused to answer any questions about the tape, including where or when it was filmed and how the government got it. It was not known if Kennedy spoke under duress. Britain's Embassy in Moscow was trying to obtain the tape, spokesman Michael Haddock said Friday. Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov will allow British government agents to come to Chechnya to investigate the killing, Atgeriyev said, according to the Interfax news agency. Since Chechnya's two-year independence war with Russia ended in 1996, feuding gangs have waged bloody turf wars. Hundreds of people have been kidnapped, mostly for ransom. Meanwhile, a Russian soldier taken hostage during the war was released after a year of efforts to free him, ITAR-Tass said Friday. Alexei Novikov was seized in February 1996. Only a handful of soldiers kidnapped during the war are still in captivity. The report gave no details of his release.",
"The European Union Wednesday condemned the slaying of four foreign hostages in Chechnya and said it would raise the issue with Russia's foreign minister. In a statement, EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Hans van den Broek ``condemned in the strongest terms the senseless killing of the four hostages.'' Van den Broek said the EU was determined to see remaining hostages in Chechnya released unharmed. He planned to discuss the killings with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, who is in Brussels for talks at NATO. The severed heads of the hostages _ three Britons and a New Zealander _ were found Tuesday. The men, who were working to restore phone services in the breakaway Russian republic, had been abducted by gunmen in October.",
"A French United Nations official kidnapped in southern Russia more than 10 months ago has been freed and was flown to Moscow Saturday, news reports reported. Vincent Cochetel, 37, who headed the regional office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in North Ossetia, was seized by three masked gunmen in the region's capital of Vladikavkaz on Jan. 29. According to the Interfax news agency, Cochetel was freed early Saturday in an operation conducted by the Russian Interior Ministry and the regional security forces of the north Caucasus. He was flown to Moscow and was waiting for a special plane to take him to Geneva, Switzerland, NTV television news said. It was unclear where Cochetel was held, in the breakaway republic of Chechnya or in North Ossetia. ``He was liberated on the border,'' Alexander Dzasokhov, the president of North Ossetia, told NTV. French President Jacques Chirac spoke to President Boris Yeltsin by telephone and thanked him for Russia's part in freeing Cochetel, the Kremlin press service said. His release came four days after the severed heads of four foreign hostages were found in Chechnya when a government rescue attempt apparently went wrong. Chechen security forces are still searching for the men's bodies. Chechnya's top prosecutor, who was investigating the killings and was apparently kidnapped Thursday, was also released Saturday, Interfax said. Mansur Tagirov vanished Thursday evening while returning to Chechnya's capital city Grozny from a small village nearby, news reports said. Tagirov was investigating the deaths Britons Peter Kennedy, Darren Hickey, and Rudolf Petschi, and Stanley Shaw of New Zealand. They had been abducted by unidentified gunmen Oct. 3 in Grozny. Their heads were found Tuesday on a highway about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Grozny. Since Chechnya's two-year war of independence against Russia ended in 1996, hundreds of people have been kidnapped in the breakaway republic and neighboring regions by armed gangs who are mostly motivated by ransom. Dozens of people are currently held captive. A Russian soldier taken hostage during the war was released Friday after a year of efforts to free him, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. Alexei Novikov had been seized in February 1996. Only a handful of soldiers kidnapped during the war are still in captivity.",
"Chechen police were searching Wednesday for the bodies of four kidnapped foreigners who were beheaded during a botched attempt to free them. The deaths _ and the ostentatious display of the heads by killers _ prompted neighboring Russian regions to close off roads into Chechnya, and caused an outpouring of outrage and lament from Russian and foreign officials. Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov said Wednesday that one alleged kidnapper had been arrested and authorities gleaned enough information to launch a rescue operation for the hostages, three Britons and a New Zealander. But during the rescue attempt the kidnappers panicked and decapitated the captives, Maskhadov said, according to Russian media reports. ``A concrete criminal group was identified, an organizer of the abductions was arrested and an approximate location of the hostages was determined,'' Maskhadov said in a statement. The severed heads of the four men were found lined up along a highway Tuesday outside Chechnya's capital Grozny, and hundreds of Chechen law enforcement officers were searching for the bodies Wednesday. ``We will take all necessary steps to solve this horrible crime,'' said Maskhadov, who has been unable to restore law and order in Chechnya since being elected last year. The victims _ Britons Peter Kennedy, Darren Hickey, and Rudolf Petschi, and New Zealand's Stanley Shaw _ were identified by their former bodyguard. They had been abducted by unidentified gunmen Oct. 3 in Grozny. ``He was just making a career for himself,'' Hickey's sister Deborah, 21, said Wednesday, fighting back tears. ``He was fantastic with electrics and all that sort of stuff.'' The family had expected 26-year-old Hickey to be back at his parents' pub in Thames Ditton, England, by Christmas. ``Everything was going right, everyone was very optimistic'' that the hostages would be rescued, she told Britain's ITV. ``The people that have done this to him, they deserve exactly the same back.'' The men, pickup 9th pvs"
] |
[
"Chechen police were searching Wednesday for the bodies of four kidnapped foreigners who were beheaded during a botched attempt to free them. The deaths _ and the ostentatious display of the heads by killers _ prompted neighboring Russian regions to close off roads into Chechnya, and caused an outpouring of outrage and lament from Russian and foreign officials. Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov said Wednesday that one alleged kidnapper had been arrested and authorities gleaned enough information to launch a rescue operation for the hostages, three Britons and a New Zealander. But during the rescue attempt the kidnappers panicked and decapitated the captives, Maskhadov said, according to Russian media reports. ``A concrete criminal group was identified, an organizer of the abductions was arrested and an approximate location of the hostages was determined,'' Maskhadov said in a statement. The severed heads of the four men were found lined up along a highway Tuesday outside Chechnya's capital Grozny, and hundreds of Chechen law enforcement officers were searching for the bodies Wednesday. ``We will take all necessary steps to solve this horrible crime,'' said Maskhadov, who has been unable to restore law and order in Chechnya since being elected last year. The victims _ Britons Peter Kennedy, Darren Hickey, and Rudolf Petschi, and New Zealand's Stanley Shaw _ were identified by their former bodyguard. They had been abducted by unidentified gunmen Oct. 3 in Grozny. ``He was just making a career for himself,'' Hickey's sister Deborah, 21, said Wednesday, fighting back tears. ``He was fantastic with electrics and all that sort of stuff.'' The family had expected 26-year-old Hickey to be back at his parents' pub in Thames Ditton, England, by Christmas. ``Everything was going right, everyone was very optimistic'' that the hostages would be rescued, she told Britain's ITV. ``The people that have done this to him, they deserve exactly the same back.'' The men, pickup 9th pvs",
"One of four foreigners beheaded by kidnappers in Chechnya claimed in a videotape shown today that he and his fellow hostages were British spies. The tape was played by Chechen Vice President Vakha Arsanov at a news conference in Grozny. He refused to answer questions about it, including where or when it was filmed and how or why the government had it. The four men, all wearing heavy beards, looked haggard. One, Peter Kennedy, claimed they had been sent to Chechnya by the British secret service to monitor telephone conversations. Their mission was to gather information to stop the spread of Islamic extremism in the region, he said in Russian. It was not known whether he was speaking under duress. The severed heads of the four hostages were found lined up Tuesday along a highway outside Chechnya's capital, Grozny. Chechen security forces were still searching today for the bodies. The government has said it was trying to rescue the men at the time of their deaths, which have outraged Britain and Russia. But its possession of the tape was likely to increase suspicions of a government link in the frequent kidnappings in Chechnya since it won de facto independence from Russia in a 1994-96 war. Most hostages have been released unharmed, though dozens remain in captivity. Kennedy and his three colleagues _ Darren Hickey and Rudolf Petschi of Britain and Stanley Shaw of New Zealand _ were employees of Britain's Granger Telecom. They were reportedly setting up a mobile phone network in Chechnya when they were abducted by unidentified gunmen Oct. 3 in Grozny. In the tape, Kennedy claimed they were using the equipment to monitor phone calls. Asked about the spying allegation, British Ambassador to Russia Andrew Wood said, ``We don't comment on these things in general but any reasonable analysis would show we have no wish to spy on Chechen territory.''",
"A French United Nations official who was kidnapped in southern Russia more than 10 months ago was set free Saturday and flown to U.N. headquarters in Geneva. Vincent Cochetel, 37, who headed the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in the North Ossetia region, was seized by three masked gunmen in the regional capital Vladikavkaz on Jan. 29. Cochetel was freed about two minutes into the predawn operation on the border between the republics of Chechnya and Ingushetia, but a longer firefight broke out between the kidnappers and Russian security forces, the Interfax news agency said. Cochetel was unharmed, but he said three of the kidnappers had been killed. In footage of the operation broadcast by Russia's NTV television station, Cochetel was shown lying face-down, hand-cuffed, behind a white van. Russian security officers in masks and camouflage stood over him protectively, then dragged him away as gunfire erupted and bullets bounced off the van. Two security officers were slightly injured during the operation, Interior Ministry spokesman Alexander Mikhailov said, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency. No ransom was paid for Cochetel's release, Mikhailov said. Cochetel was flown aboard a chartered jet to Moscow, where he was met by French Ambassador Hubert Colin de Verdiere and U.N. officials. He left Saturday evening for Geneva, where his family and colleagues were awaiting him at U.N. headquarters, said Vera Sobolyeva, UNHCR spokeswoman in Moscow. Speaking briefly, 6th graf pvs",
"Chechen authorities found the decapitated heads of four kidnapped foreigners Tuesday along a highway near a remote village after a two-month search in the breakaway region in southern Russia. An Associated Press reporter saw the severed heads near the village of Assinovskaya, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Grozny, the Chechen capital. He did not see any sign of the bodies. The heads were lined up on a piece of cloth along a main highway across southern Russia, NTV television reported. The heads were identified as those of the four abducted foreigners by Umar Makhauri, who had been a bodyguard assigned to the four when they were abducted Oct. 3 by unidentified gunmen in Grozny. He said the bodies had not been found. But Chechen government officials at the scene said four bodies had been found without giving further details. Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov said in Grozny that the bodies of four men had been recovered. The hostages _ Britons Peter Kennedy, Darren Hickey, and Rudolf Petschi, and New Zealand's Stanley Shaw _ were engineers. They were working for Granger Telecom, a British telephone company, installing 300,000 telephone lines across Chechnya. Maskhadov said Chechen officials had caught one of the captors Monday and he told police where the hostages were being held. But that information reached the other captors, who decided to kill their captives, the ITAR-Tass news agency quoted Maskhadov as saying. The chief executive of Granger Telecom, Ray Verth, said Tuesday that Chechen authorities had mounted a rescue attempt Monday night that went ``tragically wrong.'' No other details were available. He said the company had ``opened a dialogue with the kidnappers and received confirmation that the hostages were alive as recently as last week.'' ``Their murder is an appalling and barbaric act and our thoughts go out to the families to whom we offer our deepest condolences. We are a small tightly-knit company and everyone here is in a state of shock,'' Verth said outside company headquarters in Weybridge, south of London, where flags were flying at half-mast. Spokesmen at the British and New Zealand embassies in Moscow said they were checking on reports the four men had been killed, but could not comment. The British Foreign Ministry in London said it was investigating urgently reports that bodies had been found. Chechen acting First Vice Premier Turpal Atgeriyev, who is heading the investigation into the killings, said authorities had several suspects in the abduction, but have failed to make any progress, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency. Eamon Hickey, the father of one of the missing men, said he heard the news and was hoping it would not be confirmed. ``There is so much rumor and counter-rumor coming from out there that we don't know what to think. Obviously we are hoping and praying that it does not turn out to be true,'' he said at his home in England. Chechen authorities had been searching for the missing men for the past two months. British officials said they had not received any ransom demand for the missing men. Maskhadov said the deaths of the four men were a major blow to Chechnya and its efforts to gain international recognition of its independence. He blamed the rash of abductions in Chechnya to unidentified ``outside forces'' and their Chechen henchmen. ``I am ready to answer before my people and the whole world for what happened,'' he was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. Hostage-takings, usually for ransom, have become common in Chechnya since the end of the breakaway republic's two-year war for independence from Russia in 1996. But victims are rarely killed. Since the beginning of 1998, 176 people have been kidnapped in the North Caucasus region of Russia, including dozens of foreigners, and 90 of them released, officials have said.",
"A truck blew up when it drove over a land mine in breakaway Chechnya on Friday, killing two people and injuring two others, a news agency said. In another mine explosion, a tractor driver was killed Thursday in the republic, the Interfax news agency reported, citing Chechnya's security officials. Chechnya's ambulance service said that three to five people are hospitalized every week with injuries from mine explosions, Interfax reported. It did not say how many people are killed. Many of the victims are children, who dig the ground to look for ammunition left over from Chechnya's two-year independence war against Moscow. Russia withdrew its troops in 1996. Chechnya considers itself an independent state, although no country, including Russia, has recognized its independence.",
"A French United Nations official kidnapped in southern Russia more than 10 months ago has been freed and was flown to Moscow Saturday, news reports reported. Vincent Cochetel, 37, who headed the regional office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in North Ossetia, was seized by three masked gunmen in the region's capital of Vladikavkaz on Jan. 29. According to the Interfax news agency, Cochetel was freed early Saturday in an operation conducted by the Russian Interior Ministry and the regional security forces of the north Caucasus. He was flown to Moscow and was waiting for a special plane to take him to Geneva, Switzerland, NTV television news said. It was unclear where Cochetel was held, in the breakaway republic of Chechnya or in North Ossetia. ``He was liberated on the border,'' Alexander Dzasokhov, the president of North Ossetia, told NTV. French President Jacques Chirac spoke to President Boris Yeltsin by telephone and thanked him for Russia's part in freeing Cochetel, the Kremlin press service said. His release came four days after the severed heads of four foreign hostages were found in Chechnya when a government rescue attempt apparently went wrong. Chechen security forces are still searching for the men's bodies. Chechnya's top prosecutor, who was investigating the killings and was apparently kidnapped Thursday, was also released Saturday, Interfax said. Mansur Tagirov vanished Thursday evening while returning to Chechnya's capital city Grozny from a small village nearby, news reports said. Tagirov was investigating the deaths Britons Peter Kennedy, Darren Hickey, and Rudolf Petschi, and Stanley Shaw of New Zealand. They had been abducted by unidentified gunmen Oct. 3 in Grozny. Their heads were found Tuesday on a highway about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Grozny. Since Chechnya's two-year war of independence against Russia ended in 1996, hundreds of people have been kidnapped in the breakaway republic and neighboring regions by armed gangs who are mostly motivated by ransom. Dozens of people are currently held captive. A Russian soldier taken hostage during the war was released Friday after a year of efforts to free him, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. Alexei Novikov had been seized in February 1996. Only a handful of soldiers kidnapped during the war are still in captivity.",
"Assailants have abducted Chechnya's top prosecutor, who was investigating the killings of four kidnapped foreigners, officials said Friday. Mansur Tagirov vanished Thursday evening while returning to Chechnya's capital city Grozny from a small village nearby, news reports said. Officials at the prosecutor's office said unidentified attackers seized Tagirov, and authorities speculated it was the work of an armed band seeking the release of one of its members from prison. Tagirov was investigating the deaths of four foreigners whose severed heads were found Tuesday lined up by a roadside in the breakaway Russian republic. The victims _ Peter Kennedy, Darren Hickey and Rudolf Petschi of Britain and Stanley Shaw of New Zealand _ were abducted Oct. 3 by unidentified gunmen in Grozny. It was not clear if there was any link between Tagirov's abduction and his investigation into the killings of the four men. Meanwhile, Chechen Deputy Prime Minister Turpal Atgeriyev said authorities had arrested a man who confessed to kidnapping the four foreigners. The suspect was identified as Apti Abitayev, the ITAR-Tass news agency said. Chechen security forces were searching Friday for additional suspects as well as the bodies of the four foreigners. Atgeriyev said he did not place any value in a videotape that showed one of the four victims saying he was spying for Britain. ``There are certain methods that might force a person to confess to any crime,'' Atgeriyev said. The videotape, shown Thursday by Chechnya's vice president, showed hostage Peter Kennedy claiming that the four men had been sent to Chechnya to listen in on phone conversations in the breakaway republic. Chechen officials refused to answer any questions about the tape, including where or when it was filmed and how the government got it. It was not known if Kennedy spoke under duress. Britain's Embassy in Moscow was trying to obtain the tape, spokesman Michael Haddock said Friday. Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov will allow British government agents to come to Chechnya to investigate the killing, Atgeriyev said, according to the Interfax news agency. Since Chechnya's two-year independence war with Russia ended in 1996, feuding gangs have waged bloody turf wars. Hundreds of people have been kidnapped, mostly for ransom. Meanwhile, a Russian soldier taken hostage during the war was released after a year of efforts to free him, ITAR-Tass said Friday. Alexei Novikov was seized in February 1996. Only a handful of soldiers kidnapped during the war are still in captivity. The report gave no details of his release.",
"The European Union Wednesday condemned the slaying of four foreign hostages in Chechnya and said it would raise the issue with Russia's foreign minister. In a statement, EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Hans van den Broek ``condemned in the strongest terms the senseless killing of the four hostages.'' Van den Broek said the EU was determined to see remaining hostages in Chechnya released unharmed. He planned to discuss the killings with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, who is in Brussels for talks at NATO. The severed heads of the hostages _ three Britons and a New Zealander _ were found Tuesday. The men, who were working to restore phone services in the breakaway Russian republic, had been abducted by gunmen in October.",
"A French United Nations official kidnapped in southern Russia more than 10 months ago has been freed and was flown to Moscow Saturday, news reports reported. Vincent Cochetel, 37, who headed the regional office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in North Ossetia, was seized by three masked gunmen in the region's capital of Vladikavkaz on Jan. 29. According to the Interfax news agency, Cochetel was freed early Saturday in an operation conducted by the Russian Interior Ministry and the regional security forces of the north Caucasus. He was flown to Moscow and was waiting for a special plane to take him to Geneva, Switzerland, NTV television news said. It was unclear where Cochetel was held, in the breakaway republic of Chechnya or in North Ossetia. ``He was liberated on the border,'' Alexander Dzasokhov, the president of North Ossetia, told NTV. French President Jacques Chirac spoke to President Boris Yeltsin by telephone and thanked him for Russia's part in freeing Cochetel, the Kremlin press service said. His release came four days after the severed heads of four foreign hostages were found in Chechnya when a government rescue attempt apparently went wrong. Chechen security forces are still searching for the men's bodies. Chechnya's top prosecutor, who was investigating the killings and was apparently kidnapped Thursday, was also released Saturday, Interfax said. Mansur Tagirov vanished Thursday evening while returning to Chechnya's capital city Grozny from a small village nearby, news reports said. Tagirov was investigating the deaths Britons Peter Kennedy, Darren Hickey, and Rudolf Petschi, and Stanley Shaw of New Zealand. They had been abducted by unidentified gunmen Oct. 3 in Grozny. Their heads were found Tuesday on a highway about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Grozny. Since Chechnya's two-year war of independence against Russia ended in 1996, hundreds of people have been kidnapped in the breakaway republic and neighboring regions by armed gangs who are mostly motivated by ransom. Dozens of people are currently held captive. A Russian soldier taken hostage during the war was released Friday after a year of efforts to free him, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. Alexei Novikov had been seized in February 1996. Only a handful of soldiers kidnapped during the war are still in captivity.",
"Chechen police were searching Wednesday for the bodies of four kidnapped foreigners who were beheaded during a botched attempt to free them. The deaths _ and the ostentatious display of the heads by killers _ prompted neighboring Russian regions to close off roads into Chechnya, and caused an outpouring of outrage and lament from Russian and foreign officials. Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov said Wednesday that one alleged kidnapper had been arrested and authorities gleaned enough information to launch a rescue operation for the hostages, three Britons and a New Zealander. But during the rescue attempt the kidnappers panicked and decapitated the captives, Maskhadov said, according to Russian media reports. ``A concrete criminal group was identified, an organizer of the abductions was arrested and an approximate location of the hostages was determined,'' Maskhadov said in a statement. The severed heads of the four men were found lined up along a highway Tuesday outside Chechnya's capital Grozny, and hundreds of Chechen law enforcement officers were searching for the bodies Wednesday. ``We will take all necessary steps to solve this horrible crime,'' said Maskhadov, who has been unable to restore law and order in Chechnya since being elected last year. The victims _ Britons Peter Kennedy, Darren Hickey, and Rudolf Petschi, and New Zealand's Stanley Shaw _ were identified by their former bodyguard. They had been abducted by unidentified gunmen Oct. 3 in Grozny. ``He was just making a career for himself,'' Hickey's sister Deborah, 21, said Wednesday, fighting back tears. ``He was fantastic with electrics and all that sort of stuff.'' The family had expected 26-year-old Hickey to be back at his parents' pub in Thames Ditton, England, by Christmas. ``Everything was going right, everyone was very optimistic'' that the hostages would be rescued, she told Britain's ITV. ``The people that have done this to him, they deserve exactly the same back.'' The men, pickup 9th pvs"
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On the eve of China's signing the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in October 1998, police detained Chinese human rights advocate Qin Yongmin for questioning. Eight weeks after signing the ICCPR, Chinese police arrested Qin and an associate in the China Democracy Party (CDP), Xu Wenli, without stating charges. Another CDP leader already in custody, Wang Youcai, was accused of "inciting the overthrow of the government". Qin and Wang went to trial in December for inciting subversion. Police pressure on potential defense attorneys forced the accused to mount their own defenses. Xu Wenli had not yet been charged. Although China was expected to sign a key U.N. human rights treaty, it continues to question and arrest political dissidents. Qin Yongmin was arrested following his attempt to form a human rights monitoring group. Fellow dissident Xu Wenli was arrested for trying to form an opposition party. Another dissident flew China for the U.S. to avoid arrest. In making the arrests, China has charged that the dissidents have threatened national security. Facing trial, Xu Wenli and Qin Yongmin were unable to obtain legal counsel. Qin Youngmin, attempting to defend himself, was cut off several times by the judge in a trial lasting just over two hours. China continues to arrest dissidents even as it prepares to sign a UN human rights treaty and to host the first visit by a British PM in seven years. The dissident China Democracy Party believes it is legal to challenge the communists' power monopoly, but the PRC cites a "grab-bag" section of the criminal code making almost any political activity illegal. The US has protested the arrests. Two dissidents, Qin Yongmin and Wang Youcai must defend themselves at trail since lawyers have been dissuaded from assisting them. Other dissidents continue to be harassed and arrested. One dissident, Yao Zhenxian, was released from a labor camp and fled to New York. China arrested an activist on the eve of signing an international human rights agreement. It arrested an activist against official corruption and refused a monitoring group permission to operate. The China Democracy Party was founded during Clinton's visit to China. Founders were arrested for harming national security, sparking protests. One activist fled to NY. The arrests and speedy trials showed China's resolve to prevent opposition to the Communist Party. Defendents were prevented from getting lawyers so defended themselves. Their trials lasted only two hours each. The judge cut off one defendent's arguments and a US official was barred from a trial.
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"China's government said Thursday that two prominent dissidents arrested this week are suspected of endangering national security _ the clearest sign yet Chinese leaders plan to quash a would-be opposition party. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao refused to specify what laws were broken or how Xu Wenli and Qin Yongmin endangered the state. A third leading advocate of the China Democracy Party who has been in custody for a month, Wang Youcai, was accused of ``inciting the overthrow of the government,'' the Hong Kong-based Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China reported. All three men could face up to life in prison if convicted of the harshest measures under China's vague state security law. The ruling Communist Party has resorted to the law to silence dissent since it went into effect last year. The arrests of Xu and Qin at their homes Monday night and the accusations against them and Wang were the sharpest action Chinese leaders have taken since dissidents began pushing to set up and legally register the China Democracy Party in June. Xu and Qin were ``suspected of involvement in activities endangering state security'' and their ``behavior breached relevant provisions of the criminal laws of the People's Republic of China,'' Zhu said at a twice-weekly briefing. Police in Hangzhou city notified Wang's wife Wednesday that charges have already been submitted to prosecutors, bringing him a step closer to trial, the Information Center said. Xu and Qin are influential figures in the dissident community, having started their campaign for change 20 years ago in the seminal Democracy Wall movement. Wang was a student leader in the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy demonstrations. Both have served time in prison. Xu spent 12 years in jail, much of it in solitary confinement. Since dissidents began organizing and trying to legally register the China Democracy Party, police have harassed and briefly detained more than two dozen members, but until now the government had not leveled such politically charged allegations. The Communist Party has never allowed another political party to form since it took power in 1949. In Washington on Wednesday, White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said the United States deplored the arrests and said the dissidents' peaceful political activities were fundamental human rights that all governments should protect. U.S. officials conveyed their concerns to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and urged that Xu and Qin be released immediately. Zhu criticized the United States for condemning the arrests, saying that ``no country, including the United States, should interfere in China's internal affairs.'' China in October signed a key U.N. treaty on civil and political rights that guarantees freedom of expression and freedom of association. It was the 17th international human rights treaty China has signed. Zhu told reporters there was ``absolutely no contradiction at all'' between China's support for these treaties and its arrests of the two dissidents.",
"In response to criticism from home and abroad, Chinese officials broke their silence Wednesday to defend their arrest this week of a prominent dissident who was trying to form an opposition political party. ``Xu Wenli is suspected of involvement in activities damaging to national security and has violated relevant criminal codes of the People's Republic of China,'' said a statement from the Foreign Ministry, which on Tuesday declined to comment on the arrest. The sudden arrest on Monday night of Xu, as well as several other activists involved with him in trying to form the China Democratic Party, set off strong protests from human rights groups, other Chinese dissidents and Washington. ``We view his detention for peacefully exercising fundamental freedoms guaranteed by international human rights instruments as a serious step in the wrong direction,'' State Department spokesman James P. Rubin said in Washington on Tuesday. U.S. officials in Beijing urged the government to release Xu and asked for clarification as to the exact nature of his crime. China signed the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights with great fanfare in October, and Xu's arrest is seen by human rights groups as a test of the nation's commitment to its tenets. Dissidents in and out of China rose to Xu's defense, with more than a dozen activists around the country announcing that they would begin fasts in support of Xu and another leader of the China Democratic Party, Qin Yongmin, who was arrested in his home in Wuhan on Monday. Almost 200 dissidents signed a letter to the Chinese government protesting the detentions, said the Information Center for Human Rights and Democratic Movement in Hong Kong. Three other Democratic Party organizers were also detained on Monday, although two of them were released early Wednesday. But the two more prominent dissidents, Xu and Qin, are likely to face a much longer haul since both have been charged with ``criminal acts.'' Xu's wife, He Xintong, said Wednesday night that she had still not been informed of the specific charge against her husband, although she surmised from the aggressive behavior of the arresting officers that the sentence ``could be long.'' Qin's family was told that he was charged with ``plotting to subvert the government,'' a crime that for serious offenses commands sentences of three years to life. In the Chinese criminal code, this charge comes under a grab-bag section called ``threatening state security,'' which makes almost any political activity that questions or hampers the authority of the Communist Party illegal, from ``violent or nonviolent activities aimed at overthrowing the government authorities,'' to ``activities designed to change the basic nature of the state.'' Xu's and Qin's trouble almost certainly stems from their efforts to gain recognition for the China Democratic Party, a loose network of pro-democracy activists in more than a dozen cities around China that was formed this year. In the last six months they have become increasingly aggressive and defiant in their attempts to register the party with the government, submitting repeated applications even after local authorities had declared the concept of an opposition party illegal. They say the Chinese Constitution does not specifically forbid the formation of new political parties, although there have been no new parties since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. In fact, the by-laws of the China Democratic Party are fairly tame; they carefully acknowledge the central role of the Communist Party, but also support free speech and free elections for public officials. ``My husband thought the time was right to begin working to form a new party, since China recently signed the covenant on human rights,'' Ms. He said. In September, a few Democratic Party members got some slightly encouraging signals from local governments, which initially accepted their applications to form a social organization to develop a party. But in recent weeks, as organizers like Xu became more insistent and defiant, harassment by the police increased. ``All this past week we felt something was going to happen,'' Ms. He said. ``It seemed that anyone who came to visit us was later detained for a while. And there have been a lot more cars from the Public Security Bureau parked outside than is usual.''",
"The separate trials of two prominent democracy advocates for inciting subversion of the state opened Thursday morning, with the families of both defendants protesting their inability to hire defense lawyers. The trial in the eastern city of Hangzhou of Wang Youcai, 32, founder of the China Democracy Party, which is now suppressed, was in session for just two hours and 10 minutes. It appears to be finished, although the court did not announce a decision or say when it would. ``I don't know what happens from here,'' said Wang's wife, Hu Jiangxia, who was one of three relatives allowed to attend the trial. ``I don't hold much hope,'' she added in a telephone interview. Wang, who spent two years in prison after the 1989 student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, was accused of organizing a political party that sought to overturn Communist Party rule and of colluding with foreign enemies of the state. He could face five years or more in prison. Since all the lawyers his family approached were intimidated by security agents, Ms. Hu said, Wang tried to mount his own defense Thursday morning after prosecutors laid out their case. But the judge frequently interrupted him and cut him off after half an hour, saying he was not responding to the specific facts of the case, she added. Wang argued that his activities were legal under China's constitution and under an international covenant on political rights that China has signed, Ms. Hu said. In the central city of Wuhan, the trial on similar charges of Qin Yongmin, 45, a veteran dissident, also continued for something over two hours. It will apparently be continued, said Qin's father, Qin Qingguo, since the session ended after the prosecution presented its charges. In that case, too, prospective lawyers had been intimidated or detained, family members said. The elderly father's request to the court Thursday morning for a postponement was ignored, so he and one of the defendant's brothers stayed outside the court building in protest, leaving another brother inside. ``We didn't feel there was any reason to observe the trial because if Qin Yongmin did not have a defense attorney, then as far as we were concerned the proceedings were meaningless,'' the father said by telephone. The U.S. Embassy asked to observe the trials. When an embassy official arrived at the court in Hangzhou Thursday morning, he was told that there were no seats available and instead waited outside, greeting Ms. Hu when she emerged, shaken, from the brief trial.",
"Police detained and questioned the organizer of a group set up by dissidents to monitor official corruption and told him the group's activities must cease, a human rights group said Thursday. Police in Xinyang, in central China's Henan province, took An Jun away Wednesday afternoon and held him until past midnight for questioning about the group's members, said the Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China. Police wanted a list of members with their work and home addresses, a demand An Jun refused for fear of getting them into trouble, the Hong Kong-based Information Center said. Corruption Watch, founded by nine dissidents in seven provinces, now has nearly 100 members, the center said. It applied last month to the government to register officially, but received no response, the center added. The police officers who questioned An Jun said that without official permission, the group must cease its activities, the center said. Rampant official corruption is a major public gripe in China. The Information Center said Corruption Watch had already received reports of graft in its first month of operation. In a separate report, the center said that an official in the Sichuan provincial government refused Thursday to accept an application by three dissidents to form a branch of a would-be opposition group, the China Democracy Party. Groups of dissidents in cities across China have attempted to register the group, as required by law, but authorities have rejected those applications. Signaling that the Communist Party's 49-year-old ban on opposition groups remains intact, police have detained and questioned many dissidents associated with the group.",
"Hours before China was expected to sign a key U.N. human rights treaty and host British Prime Minister Tony Blair, police hauled a prominent human rights campaigner in for questioning Monday. Qin Yongmin's latest run-in with the authorities came as he tried for the second time in a week to legally register a human rights monitoring group. Qin said a civil affairs official in the Hubei provincial capital of Wuhan accused him of engaging in illegal activities. The police came soon after he returned home. ``As I'm sending this statement, the Wuhan Public Security Bureau is again taking me away,'' Qin said in a hastily scrawled message on the bottom of the typed statement faxed to reporters. Qin, detained briefly two weeks ago, was questioned for about three hours before being released and threatened with prosecution if he persisted in trying to set up his China Human Rights Observer. Qin hoped the harassment would stop after China signs the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but he said if local authorities don't observe the treaty ``we will unswervingly push ahead with protecting human rights to the last.'' China plans to sign the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on Monday at the United Nations. By the time the ink is dry, Blair should be landing in Beijing on Tuesday morning for the first visit by a British prime minister in seven years. The treaty is supposed to guarantee freedoms of speech and assembly. But even after China signs, the treaty would not come into force until ratified by the legislature, which may attach reservations effectively nullifying some provisions. Blair has vowed to discuss differences over human rights with Chinese leaders. His visit has drawn appeals from dissidents and an international press freedom group urging him to persuade Chinese leaders to free political prisoners. In an open letter, three dissident said that while Chinese leaders say they respect human rights principles, in law and practice the government allows rights abuses and persecution of dissidents. Thousands of political prisoners are believed to remain in Chinese prisons, labor camps or detention centers, said the letter, a copy of which was released by the Hong Kong-based Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China. The letter called for the release of Shi Binhai, a journalist who compiled a popular book on political change; Fang Jue, a businessman who called openly for political reform; and other imprisoned activists. Paris-based Reporters Without Borders urged Blair to call for the release of Gao Yu, Liu Xiaobo and Liu Jingsheng. The three are among 13 journalists imprisoned ``simply for attempting to practice their profession,'' it said in a statement.",
"A Chinese dissident fleeing a new round of arrests of democracy activists in Shanghai arrived here Wednesday and announced that he and other opponents of the Chinese government plan a demonstration Thursday at the United Nations to protest the crackdown. The dissident, Yao Zhenxian, who was released in April from a Chinese labor camp, is a leader of the China Democracy Party, which was formed in June during President Clinton's visit to China. Speaking through an interpreter at Kennedy International Airport, Yao, 44, said little about why he had left Shanghai, except that he and his younger brother, Yao Zhenxiang, 38, had been sent to a labor camp in 1996 on a ``trumped-up charge'' of publishing pornography. The younger Yao, who is also a prominent figure in the China Democracy Party, is scheduled for release in April. Last week the Chinese government arrested 10 members and sympathizers of the China Democracy Party, one of whom, Wang Youcai, is to go on trial Dec. 17. ``The Chinese government feels it expanded too quickly,'' Yao said at the airport, referring to his party. Washington gave Yao a special visa, which expires in February. Dr. Wang Bingzhang, 50, an adviser to the overseas committee of the party, said later that Yao had left China for personal and political reasons. ``They were scared all the time,'' he said, referring to Yao's wife, Yu Yingzhang, and daughter, Yao Yiting, 14, who accompanied him. ``The family had a terrible life, especially the daughter. Secret agents followed them all the time.'' The family trading business, which was 12 years old, was shuttered by the government in 1996, said Wang, a former surgeon in Beijing, ``so they had no way of living.'' In addition, after Yao made organizational trips to several provinces, democracy activists urged him to go abroad, Wang said. ``They wanted him to tell the truth about what is really happening in China and to call on the whole world to pay attention,'' Wang said. Beatrice Laroche, liaison at the United Nations for Human Rights in China, a New York-based group, said the China Democracy Party was a growing presence in some of China's most populous provinces, including Sichuan. ``But their most vocal leaders have all recently been detained,'' she added. Ms. Laroche said the Yao brothers, especially the younger man, won prominence by helping to finance predecessors of the China Democracy Party with money from the family business before it was closed by the government.",
"One leader of a suppressed new political party will be tried on Dec. 17 on a charge of colluding with foreign enemies of China ``to incite the subversion of state power,'' according to court documents given to his wife on Monday. The decision to try the leader, Wang Youcai, a founder of the China Democracy Party, with unusual speed suggests how serious the Communist authorities are in their campaign to destroy the fledgling party and silence dissidents who had begun to speak out over the last year. The charges that Wang faces, in a trial that will almost certainly be secret and quick, could bring a sentence of five years or more. Wang, 32, has been imprisoned in his home city, Hangzhou in eastern China, for a month, but was not formally arrested until Nov. 30. On that day two prominent dissidents, both promoters of the new party, were detained. One, Qin Yongmin, 45, of the central city of Wuhan, and the other, Xu Wenli, 55, of Beijing, are being held on suspicion of subversive activities. Detailed charges have not been filed. Wang was a student leader in the pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989. After the army had crushed the movement, Wang was arrested and served two years in prison. Qin and Xu became known as democracy advocates in the late 1970s. Qin was imprisoned for eight years. In 1993 he was put in a labor camp for two years. Xu spent 12 years in prison. When President Clinton visited in the spring, Wang announced the formation of the Democracy Party. He and other dissidents hoped that China's new friendship with the United States and its decision to sign a global covenant on political and civil rights would give them room to promote political alternatives. After Clinton returned home Wang was detained, warned and released, only to be re-arrested as authorities began what now appears to be a major crackdown on dissent. Monday, Wang's wife, Hu Jiangxia, was handed the bill of prosecution, according to the Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in Hong Kong. Wang is charged with helping draft a party manifesto that states, in part, ``Only by establishing an opposition party can we be rid of this despotism.'' That is cited as grounds for the subversion charge, the information center said. In addition to detailing Wang's organizing activities, the prosecutors charge that he colluded with enemies of the state abroad, making his crime far more serious under Chinese law. He used e-mail to send 18 copies of the party's founding documents abroad, met with a member of a subversive foreign organization and received money from foreign sources to buy a computer, the indictment reportedly says.",
"China's central government ordered the arrest of a prominent democracy campaigner and may use his contacts with exiled Chinese dissidents to charge him with harming national security, a colleague said Wednesday. Two Beijing police officers spent 30 minutes telling Zha Jianguo to stop trying to set up a political opposition party. Underscoring the warning, they said his colleague, Xu Wenli, won't be released soon and may be charged for having links to ``reactionary groups,'' Zha said. Xu and another influential dissident, Qin Yongmin, were arrested Monday night in police raids in two cities that delivered the sternest blow so far to a five-month campaign to establish the China Democracy Party and challenge the ruling Communist Party's monopoly on power. Qin was arrested for plotting to overthrow the government, a crime that could land him in jail for life. A third Democracy Party advocate, Wang Youcai, already in custody for a month, was also formally arrested Monday although his family has not been informed of the charges. Zha, who helped Xu organize would-be party members in Beijing and the nearby port of Tianjin, said police officers told him Xu's arrest was ordered by the central government, not Beijing police. He took the police reference to ``reactionary groups'' to mean exiled dissidents in the United States. Under China's vague State Security Law, such links may also be punishable by up to life in prison. Zha pledged to work with dissidents in China and exiles in the United States to campaign ``to save Xu Wenli.'' On Wednesday, 190 dissidents from around the country demanded in an open letter that the government release Xu, Qin and Wang Youcai, saying the arrests run counter to U.N. human rights treaties China has signed over the past 14 months. The authorities ``are deceiving and cheating international public opinion while on the other hand they are suppressing and persecuting domestic political dissidents,'' said the letter faxed to foreign news agencies. In Washington, White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said the United States deplored the detention and arrests of Xu and Qin. ``We believe the peaceful political activities of this kind and other forms of peaceful expression that they've been involved in are fundamental human rights that should be protected by all governments,'' Lockart said. ``We call on the Chinese government to assure the protection in these cases of Mr. Xu and Mr. Qin.'' State Department spokesman James P. Rubin said U.S. officials conveyed their concerns to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and urged that Xu be released immediately. U.S. officials received confirmation Wednesday that Xu is being detained on suspicion of ``having conducted activities damaging to China's national security,'' Rubin said. He said he had no information from Chinese authorities about Qin or Wang. Two other democracy party supporters taken into custody in central Wuhan city along with Qin _ Chen Zhonghe and Xiao Shichang _ were released Wednesday morning, said He Xintong, Xu Wenli's wife. She added that police questioned the pair about the party as well as Qin's human rights monitoring organizations. Qin and Xu are towering figures in China's persecuted dissident community. Their activism dates to the seminal Democracy Wall movement of the 1970s. Wang was a student leader in 1989's influential Tiananmen Square democracy movement. All have spent time in prison, Xu for 12 years, much of it in solitary confinement. Xu's wife said she does not know where he is being held and, in her 20-year experience with the authorities, believes they are unlikely to tell her. Released in 1993, Xu picked up his campaigning for political change soon after his parole ended last year. He has tried to use China's nascent legal system and the international treaties it signed to push for reform. ``My husband is innocent and there's nothing he can be criticized for,'' said his wife, He Xintong. ``They're going to have to expend a lot of effort to make him a criminal.''",
"Protesting the lack of a defense lawyer, the father of a prominent dissident is to seek a delay in his son's subversion trial, scheduled to start on Thursday in the central city of Wuhan. The defendant is Qin Yongmin, 45, a democracy advocate who has spent 10 years in prison and labor camps and has recently promoted an alternative, non-Communist political party. In a telephone interview Wednesday evening, his father, Qin Qinguo, 76, said that before the trial begins, he plans to hand the court a written plea for postponement. If the plea is ignored, he said he will walk out. ``I wouldn't be able to stand it,'' the father, a retired steelworker, said, citing his frail health and high blood pressure. Under China's code of criminal procedure, a defendant has the right to a defense lawyer. But in this case, the elder Qin said, some lawyers he approached declined to take the case, while others were warned by security officials not to get involved. The father said he did not agree with his son's political tactics but now he felt he had no choice but to protest his treatment. Qin Yongmin was arrested on Nov. 30, only hours after his mother died of a stroke. ``He wasn't even allowed to attend the funeral,'' Qin Qinguo said. ``And now he's not allowed to find a lawyer.'' On Thursday morning, a few hundred miles to the east in the city of Hangzhou, Wang Youcai, 33, is to go on trial on similar charges of inciting subversion. He, too, has no defense lawyer. Wang was a leader of student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989 and served two years in prison after they were put down by military force. As the founder of the suppressed new political party, the China Democracy Party, he publicly announced its charter in June during President Clinton's visit to China. Scores of people around the country began to champion the new party, hopeful that closer ties between China and the United States, and China's signing of the international covenant on political and civil rights, would mean a looser political climate. But the party was soon declared illegal and many adherents were detained, at least temporarily. Wang now faces charges that could land him in prison for five years or more. A third veteran dissident and promoter of the new party, Xu Wenli, has been detained for weeks in Beijing and is expected to face similar subversion charges. In the last two days, at least 10 Democracy Party members or supporters in the Hangzhou area have been detained by the police and others have had their phone lines cut, reported the Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China, based in Hong Kong.",
"With attorneys locked up, harassed or plain scared, two prominent dissidents will defend themselves against charges of subversion Thursday in China's highest-profile dissident trials in two years. Qin Yongmin's and Wang Youcai's families were running out of options Wednesday to help the pair, leading organizers of a budding opposition political party. Qin's family pleaded for a postponement at Wuhan's Intermediate People's Court, but court officials denied the request. Police have detained one lawyer and threatened another, and subtler pressures have been used on others, family members said. Given the interference, Wang Youcai's wife assumes he will be convicted. ``Whether he has a lawyer or not, whatever he says, the government has already decided,'' Hu Jiangxia said. Qin and Wang will be tried separately, in cities 500 kilometers (300 miles) apart and in proceedings attended only by family and a few observers selected by the courts. Qin, 44, and Wang, 31, are accused of inciting the subversion of state power, apparently for helping to organize the China Democracy Party. They face from 10 years to life imprisonment if convicted under the harshest aspects of the law. By moving against Qin, Wang and the China Democracy Party, the ruling Communist Party appears to be signaling its determination to crush challenges to its monopoly on power. Authorities have detained or questioned more than 30 people associated with the party in a 17-day-old crackdown. Qin, a democracy campaigner for 20 years, and Wang, a student leader of the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy movement, are among the most active and influential members of China's dissident community. A third prominent member of the dissident community, Xu Wenli, was also arrested in the crackdown, but not yet charged. To prevent displays of solidarity outside Wang's trial, police have detained at least ten dissidents in the eastern city of Hangzhou, a Hong Kong-based rights group reported. The Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China said many more are missing and believed to be in custody. To prosecute Wang, authorities violated the minimal rights guaranteed suspects under Chinese law and ignored court orders, his wife said. ``Even the judge asked me to hire a lawyer, but while I was doing this, some people were doing things to stop me,'' Hu Jiangxia said. During one meeting with a potential defense attorney, a police official stormed in and said, ```Don't do anything for them. Don't take this case. Whoever takes the case, you can't win,''' Hu recounted. Four law firms refused to take Qin's case, his brother Qin Xiaoguang said. The Information Center said one lawyer who initially agreed to represent Qin on Monday went missing for four hours and then called Qin's family to withdraw. Dispirited by the harsh treatment, Qin's family argued over whether to attend the trial. Qin Xiaoguang said he and his father have decided to stay away to protest the unfairness, but another brother will go. Three dissidents from northeastern China sent an open letter to China's legislature and the Supreme People's Court appealing for fair trials, the Information Center said. It added that authorities violated China's own laws by not ensuring Wang and Qin have adequate representation. The letter was the latest in a string of petitions demonstrating the appeal of both Wang and Qin and the idea of the China Democracy Party. Since Wang publicly announced in June that he and others in Hangzhou were setting up the party, dissidents in at least 14 provinces and cities have set up party branches. Authorities have refused their applications to register the party as required by law. Wang and Qin are the most well-known dissidents China has put on trial since Tiananmen Square student leader Wang Dan in 1996. He was convicted of subversion and served less than two of an 11-year sentence. In return for his release, he agreed to go into exile."
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"China's government said Thursday that two prominent dissidents arrested this week are suspected of endangering national security _ the clearest sign yet Chinese leaders plan to quash a would-be opposition party. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao refused to specify what laws were broken or how Xu Wenli and Qin Yongmin endangered the state. A third leading advocate of the China Democracy Party who has been in custody for a month, Wang Youcai, was accused of ``inciting the overthrow of the government,'' the Hong Kong-based Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China reported. All three men could face up to life in prison if convicted of the harshest measures under China's vague state security law. The ruling Communist Party has resorted to the law to silence dissent since it went into effect last year. The arrests of Xu and Qin at their homes Monday night and the accusations against them and Wang were the sharpest action Chinese leaders have taken since dissidents began pushing to set up and legally register the China Democracy Party in June. Xu and Qin were ``suspected of involvement in activities endangering state security'' and their ``behavior breached relevant provisions of the criminal laws of the People's Republic of China,'' Zhu said at a twice-weekly briefing. Police in Hangzhou city notified Wang's wife Wednesday that charges have already been submitted to prosecutors, bringing him a step closer to trial, the Information Center said. Xu and Qin are influential figures in the dissident community, having started their campaign for change 20 years ago in the seminal Democracy Wall movement. Wang was a student leader in the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy demonstrations. Both have served time in prison. Xu spent 12 years in jail, much of it in solitary confinement. Since dissidents began organizing and trying to legally register the China Democracy Party, police have harassed and briefly detained more than two dozen members, but until now the government had not leveled such politically charged allegations. The Communist Party has never allowed another political party to form since it took power in 1949. In Washington on Wednesday, White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said the United States deplored the arrests and said the dissidents' peaceful political activities were fundamental human rights that all governments should protect. U.S. officials conveyed their concerns to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and urged that Xu and Qin be released immediately. Zhu criticized the United States for condemning the arrests, saying that ``no country, including the United States, should interfere in China's internal affairs.'' China in October signed a key U.N. treaty on civil and political rights that guarantees freedom of expression and freedom of association. It was the 17th international human rights treaty China has signed. Zhu told reporters there was ``absolutely no contradiction at all'' between China's support for these treaties and its arrests of the two dissidents.",
"In response to criticism from home and abroad, Chinese officials broke their silence Wednesday to defend their arrest this week of a prominent dissident who was trying to form an opposition political party. ``Xu Wenli is suspected of involvement in activities damaging to national security and has violated relevant criminal codes of the People's Republic of China,'' said a statement from the Foreign Ministry, which on Tuesday declined to comment on the arrest. The sudden arrest on Monday night of Xu, as well as several other activists involved with him in trying to form the China Democratic Party, set off strong protests from human rights groups, other Chinese dissidents and Washington. ``We view his detention for peacefully exercising fundamental freedoms guaranteed by international human rights instruments as a serious step in the wrong direction,'' State Department spokesman James P. Rubin said in Washington on Tuesday. U.S. officials in Beijing urged the government to release Xu and asked for clarification as to the exact nature of his crime. China signed the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights with great fanfare in October, and Xu's arrest is seen by human rights groups as a test of the nation's commitment to its tenets. Dissidents in and out of China rose to Xu's defense, with more than a dozen activists around the country announcing that they would begin fasts in support of Xu and another leader of the China Democratic Party, Qin Yongmin, who was arrested in his home in Wuhan on Monday. Almost 200 dissidents signed a letter to the Chinese government protesting the detentions, said the Information Center for Human Rights and Democratic Movement in Hong Kong. Three other Democratic Party organizers were also detained on Monday, although two of them were released early Wednesday. But the two more prominent dissidents, Xu and Qin, are likely to face a much longer haul since both have been charged with ``criminal acts.'' Xu's wife, He Xintong, said Wednesday night that she had still not been informed of the specific charge against her husband, although she surmised from the aggressive behavior of the arresting officers that the sentence ``could be long.'' Qin's family was told that he was charged with ``plotting to subvert the government,'' a crime that for serious offenses commands sentences of three years to life. In the Chinese criminal code, this charge comes under a grab-bag section called ``threatening state security,'' which makes almost any political activity that questions or hampers the authority of the Communist Party illegal, from ``violent or nonviolent activities aimed at overthrowing the government authorities,'' to ``activities designed to change the basic nature of the state.'' Xu's and Qin's trouble almost certainly stems from their efforts to gain recognition for the China Democratic Party, a loose network of pro-democracy activists in more than a dozen cities around China that was formed this year. In the last six months they have become increasingly aggressive and defiant in their attempts to register the party with the government, submitting repeated applications even after local authorities had declared the concept of an opposition party illegal. They say the Chinese Constitution does not specifically forbid the formation of new political parties, although there have been no new parties since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. In fact, the by-laws of the China Democratic Party are fairly tame; they carefully acknowledge the central role of the Communist Party, but also support free speech and free elections for public officials. ``My husband thought the time was right to begin working to form a new party, since China recently signed the covenant on human rights,'' Ms. He said. In September, a few Democratic Party members got some slightly encouraging signals from local governments, which initially accepted their applications to form a social organization to develop a party. But in recent weeks, as organizers like Xu became more insistent and defiant, harassment by the police increased. ``All this past week we felt something was going to happen,'' Ms. He said. ``It seemed that anyone who came to visit us was later detained for a while. And there have been a lot more cars from the Public Security Bureau parked outside than is usual.''",
"The separate trials of two prominent democracy advocates for inciting subversion of the state opened Thursday morning, with the families of both defendants protesting their inability to hire defense lawyers. The trial in the eastern city of Hangzhou of Wang Youcai, 32, founder of the China Democracy Party, which is now suppressed, was in session for just two hours and 10 minutes. It appears to be finished, although the court did not announce a decision or say when it would. ``I don't know what happens from here,'' said Wang's wife, Hu Jiangxia, who was one of three relatives allowed to attend the trial. ``I don't hold much hope,'' she added in a telephone interview. Wang, who spent two years in prison after the 1989 student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, was accused of organizing a political party that sought to overturn Communist Party rule and of colluding with foreign enemies of the state. He could face five years or more in prison. Since all the lawyers his family approached were intimidated by security agents, Ms. Hu said, Wang tried to mount his own defense Thursday morning after prosecutors laid out their case. But the judge frequently interrupted him and cut him off after half an hour, saying he was not responding to the specific facts of the case, she added. Wang argued that his activities were legal under China's constitution and under an international covenant on political rights that China has signed, Ms. Hu said. In the central city of Wuhan, the trial on similar charges of Qin Yongmin, 45, a veteran dissident, also continued for something over two hours. It will apparently be continued, said Qin's father, Qin Qingguo, since the session ended after the prosecution presented its charges. In that case, too, prospective lawyers had been intimidated or detained, family members said. The elderly father's request to the court Thursday morning for a postponement was ignored, so he and one of the defendant's brothers stayed outside the court building in protest, leaving another brother inside. ``We didn't feel there was any reason to observe the trial because if Qin Yongmin did not have a defense attorney, then as far as we were concerned the proceedings were meaningless,'' the father said by telephone. The U.S. Embassy asked to observe the trials. When an embassy official arrived at the court in Hangzhou Thursday morning, he was told that there were no seats available and instead waited outside, greeting Ms. Hu when she emerged, shaken, from the brief trial.",
"Police detained and questioned the organizer of a group set up by dissidents to monitor official corruption and told him the group's activities must cease, a human rights group said Thursday. Police in Xinyang, in central China's Henan province, took An Jun away Wednesday afternoon and held him until past midnight for questioning about the group's members, said the Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China. Police wanted a list of members with their work and home addresses, a demand An Jun refused for fear of getting them into trouble, the Hong Kong-based Information Center said. Corruption Watch, founded by nine dissidents in seven provinces, now has nearly 100 members, the center said. It applied last month to the government to register officially, but received no response, the center added. The police officers who questioned An Jun said that without official permission, the group must cease its activities, the center said. Rampant official corruption is a major public gripe in China. The Information Center said Corruption Watch had already received reports of graft in its first month of operation. In a separate report, the center said that an official in the Sichuan provincial government refused Thursday to accept an application by three dissidents to form a branch of a would-be opposition group, the China Democracy Party. Groups of dissidents in cities across China have attempted to register the group, as required by law, but authorities have rejected those applications. Signaling that the Communist Party's 49-year-old ban on opposition groups remains intact, police have detained and questioned many dissidents associated with the group.",
"Hours before China was expected to sign a key U.N. human rights treaty and host British Prime Minister Tony Blair, police hauled a prominent human rights campaigner in for questioning Monday. Qin Yongmin's latest run-in with the authorities came as he tried for the second time in a week to legally register a human rights monitoring group. Qin said a civil affairs official in the Hubei provincial capital of Wuhan accused him of engaging in illegal activities. The police came soon after he returned home. ``As I'm sending this statement, the Wuhan Public Security Bureau is again taking me away,'' Qin said in a hastily scrawled message on the bottom of the typed statement faxed to reporters. Qin, detained briefly two weeks ago, was questioned for about three hours before being released and threatened with prosecution if he persisted in trying to set up his China Human Rights Observer. Qin hoped the harassment would stop after China signs the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but he said if local authorities don't observe the treaty ``we will unswervingly push ahead with protecting human rights to the last.'' China plans to sign the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on Monday at the United Nations. By the time the ink is dry, Blair should be landing in Beijing on Tuesday morning for the first visit by a British prime minister in seven years. The treaty is supposed to guarantee freedoms of speech and assembly. But even after China signs, the treaty would not come into force until ratified by the legislature, which may attach reservations effectively nullifying some provisions. Blair has vowed to discuss differences over human rights with Chinese leaders. His visit has drawn appeals from dissidents and an international press freedom group urging him to persuade Chinese leaders to free political prisoners. In an open letter, three dissident said that while Chinese leaders say they respect human rights principles, in law and practice the government allows rights abuses and persecution of dissidents. Thousands of political prisoners are believed to remain in Chinese prisons, labor camps or detention centers, said the letter, a copy of which was released by the Hong Kong-based Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China. The letter called for the release of Shi Binhai, a journalist who compiled a popular book on political change; Fang Jue, a businessman who called openly for political reform; and other imprisoned activists. Paris-based Reporters Without Borders urged Blair to call for the release of Gao Yu, Liu Xiaobo and Liu Jingsheng. The three are among 13 journalists imprisoned ``simply for attempting to practice their profession,'' it said in a statement.",
"A Chinese dissident fleeing a new round of arrests of democracy activists in Shanghai arrived here Wednesday and announced that he and other opponents of the Chinese government plan a demonstration Thursday at the United Nations to protest the crackdown. The dissident, Yao Zhenxian, who was released in April from a Chinese labor camp, is a leader of the China Democracy Party, which was formed in June during President Clinton's visit to China. Speaking through an interpreter at Kennedy International Airport, Yao, 44, said little about why he had left Shanghai, except that he and his younger brother, Yao Zhenxiang, 38, had been sent to a labor camp in 1996 on a ``trumped-up charge'' of publishing pornography. The younger Yao, who is also a prominent figure in the China Democracy Party, is scheduled for release in April. Last week the Chinese government arrested 10 members and sympathizers of the China Democracy Party, one of whom, Wang Youcai, is to go on trial Dec. 17. ``The Chinese government feels it expanded too quickly,'' Yao said at the airport, referring to his party. Washington gave Yao a special visa, which expires in February. Dr. Wang Bingzhang, 50, an adviser to the overseas committee of the party, said later that Yao had left China for personal and political reasons. ``They were scared all the time,'' he said, referring to Yao's wife, Yu Yingzhang, and daughter, Yao Yiting, 14, who accompanied him. ``The family had a terrible life, especially the daughter. Secret agents followed them all the time.'' The family trading business, which was 12 years old, was shuttered by the government in 1996, said Wang, a former surgeon in Beijing, ``so they had no way of living.'' In addition, after Yao made organizational trips to several provinces, democracy activists urged him to go abroad, Wang said. ``They wanted him to tell the truth about what is really happening in China and to call on the whole world to pay attention,'' Wang said. Beatrice Laroche, liaison at the United Nations for Human Rights in China, a New York-based group, said the China Democracy Party was a growing presence in some of China's most populous provinces, including Sichuan. ``But their most vocal leaders have all recently been detained,'' she added. Ms. Laroche said the Yao brothers, especially the younger man, won prominence by helping to finance predecessors of the China Democracy Party with money from the family business before it was closed by the government.",
"One leader of a suppressed new political party will be tried on Dec. 17 on a charge of colluding with foreign enemies of China ``to incite the subversion of state power,'' according to court documents given to his wife on Monday. The decision to try the leader, Wang Youcai, a founder of the China Democracy Party, with unusual speed suggests how serious the Communist authorities are in their campaign to destroy the fledgling party and silence dissidents who had begun to speak out over the last year. The charges that Wang faces, in a trial that will almost certainly be secret and quick, could bring a sentence of five years or more. Wang, 32, has been imprisoned in his home city, Hangzhou in eastern China, for a month, but was not formally arrested until Nov. 30. On that day two prominent dissidents, both promoters of the new party, were detained. One, Qin Yongmin, 45, of the central city of Wuhan, and the other, Xu Wenli, 55, of Beijing, are being held on suspicion of subversive activities. Detailed charges have not been filed. Wang was a student leader in the pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989. After the army had crushed the movement, Wang was arrested and served two years in prison. Qin and Xu became known as democracy advocates in the late 1970s. Qin was imprisoned for eight years. In 1993 he was put in a labor camp for two years. Xu spent 12 years in prison. When President Clinton visited in the spring, Wang announced the formation of the Democracy Party. He and other dissidents hoped that China's new friendship with the United States and its decision to sign a global covenant on political and civil rights would give them room to promote political alternatives. After Clinton returned home Wang was detained, warned and released, only to be re-arrested as authorities began what now appears to be a major crackdown on dissent. Monday, Wang's wife, Hu Jiangxia, was handed the bill of prosecution, according to the Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in Hong Kong. Wang is charged with helping draft a party manifesto that states, in part, ``Only by establishing an opposition party can we be rid of this despotism.'' That is cited as grounds for the subversion charge, the information center said. In addition to detailing Wang's organizing activities, the prosecutors charge that he colluded with enemies of the state abroad, making his crime far more serious under Chinese law. He used e-mail to send 18 copies of the party's founding documents abroad, met with a member of a subversive foreign organization and received money from foreign sources to buy a computer, the indictment reportedly says.",
"China's central government ordered the arrest of a prominent democracy campaigner and may use his contacts with exiled Chinese dissidents to charge him with harming national security, a colleague said Wednesday. Two Beijing police officers spent 30 minutes telling Zha Jianguo to stop trying to set up a political opposition party. Underscoring the warning, they said his colleague, Xu Wenli, won't be released soon and may be charged for having links to ``reactionary groups,'' Zha said. Xu and another influential dissident, Qin Yongmin, were arrested Monday night in police raids in two cities that delivered the sternest blow so far to a five-month campaign to establish the China Democracy Party and challenge the ruling Communist Party's monopoly on power. Qin was arrested for plotting to overthrow the government, a crime that could land him in jail for life. A third Democracy Party advocate, Wang Youcai, already in custody for a month, was also formally arrested Monday although his family has not been informed of the charges. Zha, who helped Xu organize would-be party members in Beijing and the nearby port of Tianjin, said police officers told him Xu's arrest was ordered by the central government, not Beijing police. He took the police reference to ``reactionary groups'' to mean exiled dissidents in the United States. Under China's vague State Security Law, such links may also be punishable by up to life in prison. Zha pledged to work with dissidents in China and exiles in the United States to campaign ``to save Xu Wenli.'' On Wednesday, 190 dissidents from around the country demanded in an open letter that the government release Xu, Qin and Wang Youcai, saying the arrests run counter to U.N. human rights treaties China has signed over the past 14 months. The authorities ``are deceiving and cheating international public opinion while on the other hand they are suppressing and persecuting domestic political dissidents,'' said the letter faxed to foreign news agencies. In Washington, White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said the United States deplored the detention and arrests of Xu and Qin. ``We believe the peaceful political activities of this kind and other forms of peaceful expression that they've been involved in are fundamental human rights that should be protected by all governments,'' Lockart said. ``We call on the Chinese government to assure the protection in these cases of Mr. Xu and Mr. Qin.'' State Department spokesman James P. Rubin said U.S. officials conveyed their concerns to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and urged that Xu be released immediately. U.S. officials received confirmation Wednesday that Xu is being detained on suspicion of ``having conducted activities damaging to China's national security,'' Rubin said. He said he had no information from Chinese authorities about Qin or Wang. Two other democracy party supporters taken into custody in central Wuhan city along with Qin _ Chen Zhonghe and Xiao Shichang _ were released Wednesday morning, said He Xintong, Xu Wenli's wife. She added that police questioned the pair about the party as well as Qin's human rights monitoring organizations. Qin and Xu are towering figures in China's persecuted dissident community. Their activism dates to the seminal Democracy Wall movement of the 1970s. Wang was a student leader in 1989's influential Tiananmen Square democracy movement. All have spent time in prison, Xu for 12 years, much of it in solitary confinement. Xu's wife said she does not know where he is being held and, in her 20-year experience with the authorities, believes they are unlikely to tell her. Released in 1993, Xu picked up his campaigning for political change soon after his parole ended last year. He has tried to use China's nascent legal system and the international treaties it signed to push for reform. ``My husband is innocent and there's nothing he can be criticized for,'' said his wife, He Xintong. ``They're going to have to expend a lot of effort to make him a criminal.''",
"Protesting the lack of a defense lawyer, the father of a prominent dissident is to seek a delay in his son's subversion trial, scheduled to start on Thursday in the central city of Wuhan. The defendant is Qin Yongmin, 45, a democracy advocate who has spent 10 years in prison and labor camps and has recently promoted an alternative, non-Communist political party. In a telephone interview Wednesday evening, his father, Qin Qinguo, 76, said that before the trial begins, he plans to hand the court a written plea for postponement. If the plea is ignored, he said he will walk out. ``I wouldn't be able to stand it,'' the father, a retired steelworker, said, citing his frail health and high blood pressure. Under China's code of criminal procedure, a defendant has the right to a defense lawyer. But in this case, the elder Qin said, some lawyers he approached declined to take the case, while others were warned by security officials not to get involved. The father said he did not agree with his son's political tactics but now he felt he had no choice but to protest his treatment. Qin Yongmin was arrested on Nov. 30, only hours after his mother died of a stroke. ``He wasn't even allowed to attend the funeral,'' Qin Qinguo said. ``And now he's not allowed to find a lawyer.'' On Thursday morning, a few hundred miles to the east in the city of Hangzhou, Wang Youcai, 33, is to go on trial on similar charges of inciting subversion. He, too, has no defense lawyer. Wang was a leader of student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989 and served two years in prison after they were put down by military force. As the founder of the suppressed new political party, the China Democracy Party, he publicly announced its charter in June during President Clinton's visit to China. Scores of people around the country began to champion the new party, hopeful that closer ties between China and the United States, and China's signing of the international covenant on political and civil rights, would mean a looser political climate. But the party was soon declared illegal and many adherents were detained, at least temporarily. Wang now faces charges that could land him in prison for five years or more. A third veteran dissident and promoter of the new party, Xu Wenli, has been detained for weeks in Beijing and is expected to face similar subversion charges. In the last two days, at least 10 Democracy Party members or supporters in the Hangzhou area have been detained by the police and others have had their phone lines cut, reported the Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China, based in Hong Kong.",
"With attorneys locked up, harassed or plain scared, two prominent dissidents will defend themselves against charges of subversion Thursday in China's highest-profile dissident trials in two years. Qin Yongmin's and Wang Youcai's families were running out of options Wednesday to help the pair, leading organizers of a budding opposition political party. Qin's family pleaded for a postponement at Wuhan's Intermediate People's Court, but court officials denied the request. Police have detained one lawyer and threatened another, and subtler pressures have been used on others, family members said. Given the interference, Wang Youcai's wife assumes he will be convicted. ``Whether he has a lawyer or not, whatever he says, the government has already decided,'' Hu Jiangxia said. Qin and Wang will be tried separately, in cities 500 kilometers (300 miles) apart and in proceedings attended only by family and a few observers selected by the courts. Qin, 44, and Wang, 31, are accused of inciting the subversion of state power, apparently for helping to organize the China Democracy Party. They face from 10 years to life imprisonment if convicted under the harshest aspects of the law. By moving against Qin, Wang and the China Democracy Party, the ruling Communist Party appears to be signaling its determination to crush challenges to its monopoly on power. Authorities have detained or questioned more than 30 people associated with the party in a 17-day-old crackdown. Qin, a democracy campaigner for 20 years, and Wang, a student leader of the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy movement, are among the most active and influential members of China's dissident community. A third prominent member of the dissident community, Xu Wenli, was also arrested in the crackdown, but not yet charged. To prevent displays of solidarity outside Wang's trial, police have detained at least ten dissidents in the eastern city of Hangzhou, a Hong Kong-based rights group reported. The Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China said many more are missing and believed to be in custody. To prosecute Wang, authorities violated the minimal rights guaranteed suspects under Chinese law and ignored court orders, his wife said. ``Even the judge asked me to hire a lawyer, but while I was doing this, some people were doing things to stop me,'' Hu Jiangxia said. During one meeting with a potential defense attorney, a police official stormed in and said, ```Don't do anything for them. Don't take this case. Whoever takes the case, you can't win,''' Hu recounted. Four law firms refused to take Qin's case, his brother Qin Xiaoguang said. The Information Center said one lawyer who initially agreed to represent Qin on Monday went missing for four hours and then called Qin's family to withdraw. Dispirited by the harsh treatment, Qin's family argued over whether to attend the trial. Qin Xiaoguang said he and his father have decided to stay away to protest the unfairness, but another brother will go. Three dissidents from northeastern China sent an open letter to China's legislature and the Supreme People's Court appealing for fair trials, the Information Center said. It added that authorities violated China's own laws by not ensuring Wang and Qin have adequate representation. The letter was the latest in a string of petitions demonstrating the appeal of both Wang and Qin and the idea of the China Democracy Party. Since Wang publicly announced in June that he and others in Hangzhou were setting up the party, dissidents in at least 14 provinces and cities have set up party branches. Authorities have refused their applications to register the party as required by law. Wang and Qin are the most well-known dissidents China has put on trial since Tiananmen Square student leader Wang Dan in 1996. He was convicted of subversion and served less than two of an 11-year sentence. In return for his release, he agreed to go into exile."
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In October 1998 amid worldwide financial crises, particular concern focused on Russia where economic meltdown was exacerbated by conflicted politics. President Yeltsin's latest Prime Minister, Primakov, was supported by Communists and when word leaked out that a Communist economic program was under consideration, Yeltsin denounced it. Primakov then assured the public that "there is no program," suggesting that there would not be until the International Monetary Fund (IMF) came forth with a massive loan. IMF demanded a sound economic program before approving loan payment. Meanwhile neighboring Ukraine felt economic effects of the IMF-Primakov standoff. As world finance an banking representatives met in Washington, the economic news continued to be bleak. IMF officials had predicted had predicted a banner year, but stocks continued to slide worldwide and the DOW probably would record its worst third quarter loss in eight years. Russia and Ukraine have been especially hard hit by the crisis. In Russia, Prime Minister Primakov had no plan to solve the problem as the economy continued to Suffer. Postal service was threatened as the Post Office could not pay its bills. President Kuchma of Ukraine called for changes in market reform even as the Parliament turned down a bill to restore lost savings. Fifteen months of world economic turmoil are threatening political stability. Lowering Federal Reserve interest rates is not countering the crisis. IMF is worried about the turndown in Japan, economic meltdown in Russia, depression in Indonesia, and anxiety about Latin America where investors are pulling out. IMF critics say it needs to understand national politics better and focus on social issues. Russia's economic confusion is upsetting the US. Russia is considering hard currency controls, demanding IMF loans and will not end government privatization. Ukraine, affected by Russia, is trying to save its fast-developing money system and keep investors. Early October was fraught with economic woes as the International Monetary Fund prepared for its annual meeting. The IMF faces criticism for ignoring the social costs of its actions and being a pawn to Western demands. A small cut in US interest rates lowered markets worldwide. Russia, whose economy collapsed in August, was looking for a cure--possibly instituting Soviet-style measures. Key issues were stopping dollars from leaving the country and getting foreign investment end IMF loans. The postal service was in chaos, owing everyone. Demonstrations were expected. The Ukraine also struggled, especially to keep banks working. An IMF loan was on the way.
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"Ukraine's parliament on Friday refused to approve President Leonid Kuchma's decree establishing a state fund to compensate people for savings lost in banks. Deputies voted 240-47 to prepare a revised version of the decree and debate it later in the month. They must consider the decree by Oct. 10, or else it automatically takes effect under the constitution. Leftist factions, which voted against the proposed legislation, said it would not fully guarantee the return of savings lost during the financial instability that has recently hit Ukraine. The fund Kuchma proposed to establish would have accumulated money in a special National Bank account and repay people in case the bank they kept their savings in went bankrupt or became insolvent. Although the decree provided for compensation of deposits amounting only to 500 hryvna (dlrs 147 at the current exchange rate), its authors said it would cover more than 90 percent of Ukrainians who keep their money in banks. The measure was meant to prevent mass withdrawals of deposits that most Ukrainian banks have already experienced as people, scared by the fall of the national currency and the turmoil in neighboring Russia, started to stock up on food, clothing and household goods. Government officials say that Ukrainians have recently withdrawn at least 10 percent of the 3 billion hryvna (dlrs 882 million) they deposited in banks.",
"Russia's new prime minister picked an unusual way to reassure the nation Thursday. After two weeks of deliberations he announced that he still had no plan to rescue the country from its economic crisis. ``I want to repeat once more _ there is no program,'' Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov said. ``It has yet to be worked out.'' In most nations such a statement might provoke alarm. But Primakov was seeking to calm an anxious public that was worried that the Kremlin's cure could be worse than the disease. It is not as if Russians do not have something to be concerned about. Thursday Primakov convened a meeting of top aides to try to hammer out a strategy for overcoming the economic woes. A main item on the agenda was the plan drafted by Yuri Maslyukov, a Communist and the government's senior policy maker on economic issues. It did not take long for Maslyukov's plan to hit the street. A newspaper, Kommersant Daily, published it in full Thursday morning. Not surprisingly Maslyukov's plan calls for a greater state role in the economy, including controls on hard currency. A new State Bank for Reconstruction and Development would be established using the ``nationalized assets'' of failed commercial banks. Wages and pensions would be paid in two months, and the minimum wage would be indexed to inflation. There would be huge tax cuts, a combination that suggested that the government was committed to printing additional money. The exchange rate of the ruble would be set by the central bank, based on changes in inflation and the balance of payments. Maslyukov's plan also implies that Russians would be able to buy dollars at exchanges through the country. It stipulates that hard currency could enter the country only with special authorization. Exporters would be required to sell most of their hard currency reserves. That is an allusion to currency controls that sent shock waves through the Russian public. Russians have come to treat the dollar as a second currency, and many people have squirreled away dollars as a hedge against inflation. ``It is an obvious stupidity,'' Otto Latsis, a commentator with the newspaper Noviye Izvestiya, said. ``People won't give their dollars away. They will go to the black market if they need to.'' Yegor Gaidar, the former prime minister who favors free markets, said the plan was a ``war against the dollar'' and predicted that it would lead to a shortage of imports. As the criticism grew, Primakov rushed to distance himself from the talk of currency controls. ``The rumors of the state's becoming a monopolist on the inflow of hard currency into the country is nonsense,'' he said, asserting that the document published by Kommersant Daily was just one of six possible plans. Primakov may be opposed to wildly unpopular currency controls. He may be worried that the plan would would set off the panic buying of dollars, further depressing the ruble. Or he may simply be trying to keep his distance from Maslyukov's plan while Russia tries to wrangle its next disbursement, $4.3 billion, from the International Monetary Fund. The particulars could be modified, but many people following the maneuvering say they believe that it represents the basic thrust of the government's thinking. Primakov has called for greater state regulation and an expansion of the money supply, two themes of Maslyukov's plan. The plan also has many similarities with the plan presented to the government by Gorbachev-era advisers. ``We think it is close to being a final document,'' said the United Financial Group, a Russian investment business. It is unclear how long Primakov can carry on without spelling out a detailed strategy. The ousted tax chief, Boris Fyodorov, has argued that the IMF should not provide further aid until Primakov has taken tough measures to build a free market. Primakov has, however, sought to turn that logic on its head, arguing that his government's economic strategy will depend on the fund's willingness to provide aid. His aim appears to be to pressure the fund by implying that it will be the fund's fault if Russia is forced to default on its loans or take draconian measures at home. Or as Primakov put it Thursday, without the fund's money, Russia will have to impose ``unpopular measures.''",
"If the Communist Party has its way _ and it has been planning for months _ millions of Russians will take to the streets on Wednesday for some of the biggest demonstrations in years. But now that Communists or politicians with the Communist stamp of approval are running the country and its economy the question is what the marchers will be demonstrating against. President Boris Yeltsin and his economic advisers were easy targets two months ago. But Yeltsin seems but a shadow of himself today, and his advisers are gone. The Communists, who have undergone a sort of resurgence by playing on the discontent, are working hard to cast themselves as outsiders in the government that they help run _ and to keep the focus of the protests on Wednesday on Yeltsin and his policies. Even that strategy may backfire, however, because discontent over Yeltsin does not necessarily translate into support for his predecessors. An adviser to the Communist Party leader, Gennadi Zyuganov, made headlines not long ago when he called the new government bourgeois. The characterization was striking, because the new prime minister, Yevgeny Primakov, was one of Zyuganov's top choices for the post. The deputy prime minister in charge of the economy, Yuri Maslyukov, is a Communist Party figure who once headed Gosplan, the infamous central-planning program that helped bring the Soviet Union to ruin. ``We don't have slogans that are aimed against the government,'' the first secretary of the Moscow Communist Party committee, Alexander Kuvayev, said in a recent interview. ``All the slogans are aimed against the president and the economic course of the country. Only the president can fully be blamed for the course that has brought the country to this situation.'' Anger over Russia's fate, and their own, is drawing some Russians back to Soviet-style slogans and old-style hostility toward capitalism. The ardently pro-Communist newspaper Sovietskaya Rossiya devoted most of its front page on Thursday to what it said were the results of a contest among readers for protest slogans. The entries ranged from catchy to kitschy, from, ``Legislator, official, banker _ study the Constitution; the exam is Oct. 7,'' to, `` Imperialist! Help Russia return the exported capital, and we will pay the debts at once.'' Russia has seen nothing approaching this sort of economic chaos and despair since 1993, when hyperinflation swept the economy. There is no real way of knowing whether the latest travails will produce huge and ugly crowds or small, peaceful ones. A deputy editor and political analyst at a newsweekly, Itogi, Masha Lipman, said the situation was not unlike that of 1993, when Yeltsin sought, and won, a popular mandate in a referendum. He used it to dissolve the Communist-dominated Parliament and increase his own power. That led to an autumn showdown, the shelling of Parliament by tanks and the total defeat, for the time being, of Yeltsin's legislative opponents. ``You can interpret this demonstration as a Communist mandate, but I don't think they will act like Yeltsin,'' Ms. Lipman said. ``Support for the Communists is at its smallest level, maybe 20 percent.'' In a survey of 1,714 people that was released last week the All-Russian Public Opinion Center said that nearly half the population supported the idea of demonstrations against Yeltsin, but that barely one-tenth were likely to participate in any way. ``Nobody is interested in any sort of struggle,'' Yuri Levada, who heads the center, said in an interview. ``This is mainly a general expression of a great wave of distrust of authorities, mainly the president. He's the great scapegoat for all our sins.'' There seems to be little enthusiasm for demonstrations of any sort. Only a few thousand people turned out Sunday for the fifth anniversary of the shelling of Parliament and Yeltsin's subsequent triumph over the Communists. The Communist Party and the Federation of Independent Russian Unions, a leftist organization that says it is the main sponsor of the protests, predict that 9 million Russians will participate on Wednesday. The government has vowed to keep order without resorting to force. But it is concerned enough that it has summoned 11,000 police officers to patrol Moscow and 6,000 military troops to intervene if violence erupts. Protests since 1993 have generally been tepid, a deep-seated feeling here. Some demonstrations last week, more or less practice runs, hinted at similarly dampened marches this year.",
"President Boris Yeltsin would respond strongly to any effort to prohibit Russians from buying foreign currencies, believing the move would be like bringing another Iron Curtain down on the country, his spokesman said Friday. ``The president clearly understands that such a ban would be a clear violation of our rights ... that would mean a return to the Iron Curtain in everyday life,'' said presidential spokesman Dmitry Yakushin. The remarks came after media reports of a government economic plan in the works that would prohibit Russians from buying U.S. dollars and other foreign currencies, and institute other strict economic controls, rolling back seven years of reforms. Though government officials say such a plan is only one of six possibilities, Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov warned Thursday that he might be forced to take ``unpopular'' measures to rescue the Russian economy if it does not receive the next installment in a dlrs 22.6 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. Central Bank Chairman Viktor Gerashchenko and Finance Minister Mikhail Zadornov flew to Washington on Friday for negotiations with the IMF over the dlrs 4.3 billion installment. IMF officials have said they want the Russian government to come up with a sound economic program before the loan is given, and have made it clear that currency controls and boosting the money supply by printing rubles are not acceptable. But Primakov said that the country's plan would be dependent on the IMF loan, not the other way around. No short-term economic plan will be known for another three weeks, long after the IMF is set to make its decision, said First Deputy Prime Minister Vadim Gustov. A draft version of the government's fourth-quarter budget would rely heavily on the IMF loan, the Kommersant newspaper said. Without the loan, the government would have to engage in major deficit spending. Calls for Soviet-style controls _ part of the plan drafted by First Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Maslyukov and leaked to the press _ have apparently created a rift within the Cabinet. The plan drew heavy criticism from Zadornov, and Gerashchenko called the idea of banning foreign currency sales ``a mad idea.'' Meanwhile, Russia's stock market dropped by 5 percent to 38.8 Friday, but trading was so light the downward move meant little. The stock market has continued to fall since the crisis hit Aug. 17. And tax collection was down in September, the result of the collapse in Russia's banking system, said Alexander Pochinok, head of the government's finance and credit department. Revenues totaled 14.3 billion rubles (dlrs 875 million), 700 million rubles (dlrs 43 million) less than expected. The government wants to reverse this trend by raising taxes for oil and gas companies, but the idea is expected to meet sharp resistance in the lower house of Russia's parliament, which wants to cut tax rates, Pochinok said.",
"Wall Street extended a global stock selloff Thursday with the Dow industrials tumbling more than 200 points for a second straight day. The Dow Jones industrial average, which plunged 237.90 points on Wednesday, fell an additional 210.09, or by 2.7 percent, to close at 7,632.53. Broader market indicators also sank sharply in heavy trading. Bank and technology stocks were particularly hard hit. The selling spree, amid worries about shrinking corporate profits and fears of new financial crises, left the Dow 18.3 percent, or more than 1,700 points, below the all-time high of 9,337.97 reached on July 17. It was getting closer to the low of 7,400 that was reached during trading Sept. 1, before Wall Street's best-known indicator began a comeback bid that brought it above 8,100 as recently as Monday. The Dow's 12.4 percent slide in the third quarter, which ended Wednesday, was its worst quarterly performance in eight years. It now is 3.5 percent below where it began this year. Stock prices earlier plunged in Asia, with Tokyo shares falling 1.6 percent to a new 12-year low, and shares were falling sharply in Europe, where Germany's central bank left interest rates unchanged. Blue chips in London sank 3.1 percent to close at new lows for the year, while the key index in Frankfurt, Germany, closed down 5.5 percent and the main indicator in Paris was off 5 percent. The selloff in stocks has sent a flood of money into U.S. Treasury securities, a traditional haven in times of uncertainty. Yields on 30-year Treasury bonds fell further below 5 percent Thursday, reaching levels unseen for long-term government bonds since 1967. Traders were alarmed to see prices on the New York Stock Exchange nosedive 2.9 percent on Wednesday, even though the Federal Reserve had lowered a key interest rate one-quarter percentage point on Tuesday. Some traders were disappointed that the cut was not deeper amid fears a go-slow approach would not do enough to counter the economic crises that have swept through Asia and Russia and are threatening Latin America. ``The smaller-than-expected lowering of interest rates by the U.S. Federal Reserve has a chain reaction,'' said Lee Won-ho, an analyst at Samsung Securities Co. in Seoul, South Korea, where the main stock index fell by 1.5 percent. ``It is affecting Wall Street, the Japanese market, ours and others.'' The managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Michel Camdessus, on Thursday said the Fed made the right decision in cutting rates and that global powers now must push for stronger growth to offset steep recessions in Asia and Russia. Asked why stock markets, particularly in the United States, have reacted so negatively to the Fed rate cut, Camdessus said he believed confidence will soon be restored, especially if financial leaders show resolve in their discussions over the next week. There also are worries about where the next financial market crisis may erupt after last week's dlrs 3.6 billion private bailout of Long-Term Capital Management LP of Greenwich, Connecticut. In addition, investors worldwide worry that the downturn on Wall Street could signal a possible slowdown in economic growth _ a bad omen for the many foreign companies dependent on exports to the huge U.S. market. ``There's a psychological impact overall, but there's also a direct impact on companies like Sony and TDK which derive a high percentage of their earnings from overseas markets,'' said Pelham Smithers, a stock strategist in Tokyo at ING Baring Securities (Japan) Ltd. A new survey in Japan said confidence among small- and medium-sized businesses about the economy plunged to its worst level since the Bank of Japan began the quarterly samplings in 1967.",
"In a season of crashing banks, plunging rubles, bouncing paychecks, failing cropsand rotating governments, maybe it is not the ultimate insult. But the nation that bore Tolstoy and Chekhov, and still regards a well-written letter as a labor of love, is buckling a little this week, because it can no longer wish good health to Baba Anya in Omsk. The Post Office is broke. In 60 of the country's 89 statelike regions, more than 1,000 mail cars have been sidetracked, many stuffed with up to 18 tons of letters, newspapers and parcels. The state Railway Ministry refuses to carry more mail until the Post Office makes good on some 210 million rubles in old bills _ about $13 million in today's dollars, or $35 million in dollars six weeks ago. Air mail, which amounts to one of every four or five letters, was also suspended at one of Moscow's major airports until this week, when the Post Office coughed up 5 million rubles for old bills. A second airport is still demanding 3 million rubles for past-due debts. So much mail is backed up that post offices in Moscow and elsewhere have simply stopped accepting out-of-town mail, except for areas that can be easily reached by truck. Delivery schedules have fallen weeks, and perhaps months, behind. ``The situation is really extraordinary,'' said Vladimir Sherekhov, the deputy chief of mail service administration in the government's Communications Committee. ``We've never had anything like this before.'' Maybe the Post Office has been lucky. Extraordinary is the rule elsewhere in Russia. Until Friday, the lower house of Parliament was preparing to sue the government for failure to provide soap, heat, toilet paper and copy-machine paper in the legislature's monumental downtown offices. It turned out that politicians had exhausted their funds by cutting short their recess and returning to address the nation's economic crisis. Earlier in the week, officials said Russia's Arctic shipping routes may close next month because half the nation's icebreakers are in disrepair and there is no money to fix them. The oldest of the ships is so ancient that its nickname is Granny. Such anecdotal evidence that Russia is losing its wheels, like one of its old, ill-maintained Volga sedans, is everywhere. But oddly, real signs of public distress are not particularly common, perhaps because the system rarely seems to shed a part as big as a postal system. If the U.S. Postal Service is increasingly a pipeline for sweepstakes notices and bills, the Russian Post Office still holds a special place in the national conversation. Russians still write letters to each other, frequently and fervently, and many in remote regions get their news through the mail. Millions use the mails to ship canned goods and other provisions to needy relatives and friends in faraway areas, an especially vital service in winter. And in the last few years, the Post Office has become a vehicle for a growing mail-order trade in books, clothes and other catalog items not readily available outside big cities. Exactly why all this has rumbled to a halt is in some dispute. What is clear is that the Post Office and the Railway Ministry both suffer from what ails every Russian venture, private and public alike: Nobody pays his bills. The state Railway Ministry complains that it is continually stiffed by customers who believe the railroads are honor-bound to carry freight whether they are paid or not. The government has specified nearly 40 categories of freight which the railroads must carry for next to nothing. Among the biggest deadbeats are the ``power ministries'' _ the military and interior departments _ which did not pay during Soviet times and feel little need to pay now. ``It's a psychology formed during the socialist period,'' said Tatiana Pashkova, the deputy spokeswoman for the ministry, ``and the same situation exists with the Post Office. We've been in dispute for a very long time. Always we try to understand their differences. But we can't carry cargo for free.'' No kidding, says the Post Office: It, too, is owed 200 million rubles by government agencies, and is barred from raising rates even though freight costs are outstripping revenues. Moreover, the Post Office is also required by the government to carry some forms of mail, such as pension checks, at reduced rates. Officials at the state Communications Department say they also suspect an ulterior motive in the railroads' actions: a struggle to dominate the thriving mail-order business. ``Here's competition between us and the railroads for the delivery of parcels, and I think decisions made by the railroads are mainly explained by this competition,'' Sherekhov said. ``They blame us for carrying some commercial cargoes instead of mail.'' The Railways Ministry's spokeswoman, Ms. Pashkova, said such ``commercial cargoes'' are indeed a problem, but only because the railroads know that the Post Office has already gotten cash to transport the packages. The railroads are still waiting for their share of that money, she said. In the meantime, the situation has come to a boil. In late September the railroads cut mail service in and out of Moscow, effectively decapitating the postal system and forcing officials to draft a fleet of trucks to move letters in and out of the city. Hundreds of empty and full rail cars have clogged some local yards to the point where moving cars into position for unloading has become difficult. At last count, 39 loaded cars were awaiting service at one yard. And customers are getting angry. ``We've gotten all kinds of complaints,'' said Viktor Salikov, a deputy in the Communications Department's mail shipping center. ``People are even coming to us, searching for mail that was sent weeks ago.''",
"When the world's finance ministers and central bankers gathered last year in Hong Kong, they nervously congratulated each other for containing _ at least for the moment _ a nasty financial brush fire in Asia. In a year's time, many predicted in hallway chatter, the troubles in Thailand and Indonesia would look like a replay of Mexico in 1995 _ a rough bump in the road for a world enjoying remarkable prosperity. Talk about bad market calls. Twelve months later, as the same financial mandarins clog Washington with their limousines and glide through endless receptions at the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, just about everything that could have gone wrong in the world economy has: the worst downturn in Japan since World War II, economic meltdown in Russia, a depression in Indonesia that is plunging 100 million people below the poverty line, and deep fears over what happens next in Latin America. What makes this year's IMF meeting most remarkable, though, is that the harshest criticisms are directed at the monetary fund itself, and, by extension, at the U.S. Treasury, which is viewed as the power behind the IMF. This year, in place of confident predictions, there are mutual recriminations. Arguments are breaking out over whether the true culprits were crony capitalists and weakened leaders like Russian President Boris Yeltsin, or huge investors who poured money into the world's emerging markets with reckless abandon in the mid-1990s and panicked in the past twelve months. Whatever the reason, one reality prevails: Hundreds of billions of dollars have fled from economies on four continents _ seeking the safest havens possible, often in the United States _ and the money is not returning anytime soon. And the subtext of every seminar on capital flows and every conclave of nervous ministers will be some painfully blunt questions: Can this be stopped? Or is the world headed for a global recession? Fifty-three years ago the IMF was created after the Bretton Woods conference which sought to stabilize the world economy and secure the peace after World War II. Now it is under attack from all sides, charged not only with worsening a bad situation by misjudging the economics, but with being politically tone-deaf in some of the most volatile capitals in the world, from Jakarta, Indonesia, to Moscow. For the first time, there are disturbing questions about whether the institution itself is still capable, financially or politically, of containing the kind of economic contagion that caught the world unaware. Once, the IMF's critics were largely found in Africa and South Asia, were the fund was often viewed as arrogant; today they include Wall Street's biggest players and top officials in the most powerful economies of Asia and Europe. Only a few _ including former Secretary of State George Schultz and members of Congress who are increasingly suspicious of all international institutions _ are talking about scrapping the IMF altogether. But almost everyone is talking about creating a ``new financial architecture'' that can do what the old one clearly cannot: smother financial",
"wildfires before they leap around the globe. President Clinton, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and other leaders, after months of silence, have edged into the debate, in some cases wresting the issue for the first time from their finance ministers and central banks. Their fear, their advisers say, is that 15 months of financial turmoil are now threatening political stability. Such concerns have turned this year's meeting into a tumbled mass of worries and a groping for short and long-term solutions. The Japanese, the French, the Southeast Asians are all arriving in Washington with different diagnoses of what went wrong, and different solutions about how to set it right. The United States has its own set of plans, a mix of suggestions to force more disclosure of financial data in countries around the world and to impose more American-style financial standards and regulation. Meanwhile, an ideological argument is breaking out over whether the world should slow down a long march toward more free and open markets _ a strategy pressed by the Clinton administration for the past six years. Others argue that it is unwise to start rebuilding the hospital while the patients are still on the operating tables. ``Last year the standard answer that all of us were given came down to this: `We have the IMF and the World Bank, and they know best,''' Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas said over breakfast in Washington the other day, reflecting on how the crisis turned 30 years of astounding growth in his country into an overnight depression. ``Then they said everything that went wrong was our fault,'' he said. ``But now, now I think people know that much of the problem came from the outside, and we need something better.'' And the IMF itself is beginning to fight back, an awkward role for an institution dominated by Ph.D. economists who are unaccustomed to being openly challenged. ``Every place you turn you read the same story, that we came in, that we made things worse,'' said Stanley Fischer, the deputy managing director of the fund, who was born in Northern Rhodesia _ now Zambia _ and became chairman of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's economics department before taking a job that has now put him in the center of the financial storm. ``We frequently get the blame, some of it well-deserved,'' he said. ``But it is politically convenient for governments around the world to cry, `The IMF made us do it,' and pin their mistakes on us. That's fine. We'd rather be loved, but more than that we'd like to be effective.'' MISCALCULATIONS, POLITICS AND SAFETY NETS On a steaming January day, Michel Camdessus, the IMF's top official, slipped into Jakarta to the private residence of President Suharto and sat down for a four-hour meeting to tick off, line by line, the huge reforms Indonesia would have to implement in return for tens of billions of dollars in emergency aid. Two previous deals had collapsed when Suharto ignored the fund's conditions, so Camdessus insisted that he strike a deal directly with Suharto, then",
"Asia's longest-serving leader. It was a meeting of men who knew different worlds of power politics: Suharto rose as a general in central Java, and Camdessus had detonated mines in Algeria for the French army before entering the French Treasury on his way to becoming head of France's central bank. ``It was all there,'' a senior IMF official recalled. ``He was told he had to dismantle the national airplane project, the clove monopoly, all the distribution monopolies.'' At one point, Camdessus looked at the impassive Suharto and said, ``You see what this means for your family,'' a reference to their vast investments in the country's key industries. ``He said, `I called in my children, and they all understand.''' But within months, that exchange in Jakarta came to symbolize the IMF's twin troubles: Its inability to understand and reckon with the national politics of countries in need of radical reform, and its focus on economic stabilization rather than the social costs of its actions. Suharto had no intention of fulfilling the agreement. It was, one of his former Cabinet members said, ``a delaying move that was obvious to everyone except Camdessus.'' Perhaps one reason why the IMF sometimes appears tone-deaf is that its senior staff is almost entirely composed of Ph.D. economists. There are few officials with deep experience in international politics, much less the complexities of Javanese culture that were at work in Indonesia. Historically, experts in politics and security have gravitated to the United Nations, development experts to the World Bank, and economists to the IMF _ creating dangerous gaps in a crisis like this one. As a result, the fund had only a rudimentary understanding of what would happen if its demands were met and all Indonesia's state monopolies were quickly dissolved. While that system lined the pockets of the Suhartos and their friends, it also distributed food, gasoline and other staples to a country that stretches for 3,000 miles over thousands of islands. To help balance the budget, the fund demanded a quick end to expensive subsidies that keep the price of food and gasoline artificially low. But that, combined with the huge currency devaluation that sparked the crisis, resulted in high prices and shortages that fueled riots that continue to this day, as millions of Indonesians lose their jobs. The IMF _ unintentionally, its officials insist _ also sped Suharto's resignation, insisting on the elimination of ``crony capitalism,'' code words for removing the Suharto family from the center of the economy. Ultimately, that may prove to be Indonesia's salvation, if the new government can contain the rioting against the ethnic Chinese minority _ whose money is desperately needed to save the country's fast-shrinking economy. ``It is worth noting,'' Fischer said this week, ``that our programs in Asia _ in Indonesia, Korea and Thailand _ only took hold after there was a change in government.'' Nonetheless, the Indonesia experience has revived the argument that the IMF is so focused on stabilizing banks and currencies, on preventing capital flight and freeing up markets, that it is blind to the social",
"costs of its actions. Among the toughest critics has been its sister institution, the World Bank, whose main charge is alleviating poverty. ``You've seen the tension almost every day,'' one senior World Bank official said recently. The bank has gone to extraordinary lengths in recent months to differentiate its role from that of the fund, and to announce a tripling of aid to the poorest in the countries hit by the economic chaos. Even U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has joined the argument, warning in a speech at Harvard recently that ``if globalization is to succeed, it must succeed for poor and rich alike. It must deliver rights no less than riches. It must be harnessed to the cause not of capital alone, but of development and prosperity for the poorest of the world.'' IMF officials say they are changing strategies when they see they are exacting too great a social cost. ``It's a very difficult formula to get exactly right,'' Fischer said in August, as Russia was teetering and the IMF was sending in $4.8 billion in aid that was rapidly wasted. ``You need enough discipline to send the right message to the markets and keep investors from fleeing. But you need enough leeway to keep people from suffering more than they otherwise would.'' In recent months, he noted, the IMF has allowed more spending to sustain subsidies for basic goods for longer periods in Indonesia, Korea and elsewhere. ``There is a new flexibility at the IMF'' a senior Indonesian official concluded recently. ``It is a lot better.'' A U.S. PAWN, OR A RUNAWAY AGENCY? The Clinton administration admits that the IMF has many failings, many of them on display this year. But it insists that the world has gone through global financial crises without an IMF once before in this century _ and the result was the 1930s. ``I have no doubt the situation over the past year would have been much worse _ with greater devaluations, more defaults, more contagion, and greater trade dislocations _ without the program agreed with the IMF and the finance it has provided,'' Deputy Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers told Congress last week. Many Republicans and some Democrats are unconvinced. Even though the Senate has overwhelmingly approved an $18 billion contribution to the fund to help it fight new crises, the House defeated that measure two weeks ago. The fund's last hope of getting the money, which will free up nearly $100 billion in contributions from other nations waiting for the United States to act, will come when the House and Senate try to resolve their budget differences in a conference committee in the next 10 days. A rejection, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin insists, would send a message around the world that the United States is turning its back on the one institution charged with restoring economic stability. Everywhere else in the world, though, politicians and businessmen insist that one of the biggest problems with the IMF is that, contrary to the view of Congress, it acts as the U.S. Treasury's lap dog. Ask in",
"Jakarta or Moscow, and the response is the same: The IMF never ventures far without looking back for the approving nod of its master. When the United States weighs in, however, is when the IMF is called on to rescue a country in deep trouble. Only then does the IMF _ and the U.S. Treasury _ have the leverage to extract commitments in return for billions in aid. In theory, the U.S. influence is limited: It has an 18.5 percent vote in the fund. Germany, Japan, France and Britain have about 5 percent each. But in practice the United States usually gets its way, exercising its influence behind the scenes, often in interactions between Fischer and Summers. The two met when Fischer was on the MIT faculty and Summers was a graduate student taking one of his classes, later becoming a colleague at MIT. Each served as chief economist of the World Bank. It was Summers who was instrumental in placing Fischer in the fund's no. 2 job, and these days they talk constantly. ``It's usually a warm relationship,'' Fischer said this summer. ``Remember, this is a job where you cannot turn to outsiders for advice _ you can't call the chief economist at a Wall Street firm, or even many of your academic friends, because so many of the issues are confidential.'' The Treasury's relations with Camdessus are often more strained as he plays the role of world diplomat, traveling the globe and trying to coax along political leaders. The tensions were obvious from the start of the Asia crisis. The fund made little secret of its displeasure that the United States was not offering direct aid to Thailand, a major U.S. ally, as a sign of support and confidence. Mindful of the backlash in Congress when Mexico was bailed out with U.S. money, that was the last thing the Treasury planned to do. Summers, in turn, thought the fund was not forcing the Thais to implement its reform commitments rigorously enough or disclose their true financial picture. Within the U.S. government there was other dissension: The State and Defense Departments felt the United States should do more for Thailand, but backed off when the Treasury asked if they would like to pony up some aid out of their own budgets. There were other conflicts. When Japan used the last IMF meeting to propose setting up a $100 billion ``Asia Fund'' _ one that would exclude the United States and would probably offer aid under much more relaxed conditions than the IMF does. Rubin called up Camdessus at breakfast one morning and told him that the Japanese proposal would undercut the IMF's authority. ``We've just had a dispute with Michel,'' Rubin reported to his aides as he returned to his orange juice and croissant. One of them shot back: ``And it's only 8 a.m.'' Camdessus backed down at Rubin's insistence and walked away from money that Asia could have used. Japan says it will be back with a similar proposal this weekend, this time for a $30 billion fund. Camdessus has",
"also rankled U.S. officials with statements that amounted to cheerleading to reassure the markets _ sometimes in the face of the facts. In June, with Russia on its way to collapse, Camdessus declared that ``contrary to what markets and commentators are imagining'' about the slow collapse of Russia's economy, ``this is not a crisis. This is not a major development.'' The bailouts of Russia and South Korea were prime examples of how Washington muscles into the IMF's turf as soon as major U.S. strategic interests are involved. Last Christmas, as South Korea slipped within days of running out of hard currency to pay its debts in December, it sent a secret envoy, Kim Kihwan, to work out a rescue package. ``I didn't bother going to the IMF,'' Kim recalled recently. ``I called Summers' office at the Treasury from my home in Seoul, flew to Washington and went directly there. I knew that was how this would get done.'' Within days the Treasury dispatched David Lipton, its most experienced veteran of emergency bailouts, who is leaving his post as undersecretary for international affairs this month, to shadow the IMF staff's negotiations with the government in Seoul. Fischer was displeased. ``To make a negotiation effective, it has to be clear who has the authority to do the negotiating,'' he said. WHO LOST RUSSIA? The pattern was repeated this summer, when the United States raced to put together a $17 billion package for Russia. The IMF's staff in Moscow declared that Russia needed no money at all _ it just needed to enact policies that would restore confidence in investors. The Americans and Germans came to a different conclusion. Soon after, U.S. officials gathered in the White House situation room to consider what might happen to Russia if the ruble was devalued and market reforms collapsed and to push the IMF to come up with emergency money. So the fund began assembling a last-ditch program to prop up a country that had resisted its reform plans for seven years. Camdessus, though, was still hesitant, questioning whether the IMF should risk its scarce resources in Russia. ``We had to pull Michel along,'' a senior Treasury official recalled. As it turned out, Camdessus' instincts were right while the approach championed by Rubin and Summers proved disastrously wrong. The first installment of that payment _ $4.8 billion _ was wasted, propping up the currency long enough, in the words of one IMF official, ``to let the oligarchs get their money out of the country.'' Then Yeltsin reversed his commitments, let the ruble devalue anyway, began printing money with abandon and fired virtually every reformer in his government _ resulting in a collapse of the IMF agreements and the indefinite suspension of its aid program. Now, inside the IMF and on Capitol Hill, there are recriminations over ``who lost Russia.'' Publicly, Fischer argues that ``there are no apologies owed for what we attempted in Russia.'' But some IMF officials complain privately that they let Rubin and Summers run roughshod over them, striking a deal that fell apart within weeks",
"as the Russian parliament rebelled and Yeltsin backed away from his commitments. Summers responds that the United States ``took a calculated risk'' because ``it was vastly better that Russia succeed than not succeed.'' The Russian collapse touched off new rounds of economic contagion, with investors fleeing Latin America, and triggering huge losses in hedge funds like Long Term Capital, the Greenwich, Conn., investment firm that needed to be rescued by Wall Street powerhouses whose money it had invested. ``Russia was a turning point,'' said Robert Hormats, the vice chairman of Goldman, Sachs & Co. ``It made the world realize that some countries can fail, even if the IMF and the Treasury intercede. And that changed the perception of risk.'' Now, as the countries meet to face a future that the IMF has warned could be very bleak, they need to reverse those perceptions, or watch countries slowly starve for lack of capital. The emerging markets are calling for controls on short term investments. The French want a stronger IMF. The Americans say the answer is more disclosure, so that investors are better warned, and tougher regulation. ``These are usually nice, quiet meetings; everyone very polite,'' a top U.S. official said earlier this week. ``Not this year.''",
"President Leonid Kuchma called Friday for ``corrections'' to Ukraine's program of market reforms, but pledged that reforms would continue. Kuchma did not elaborate in his comments to a group of Ukrainian economists, saying only that the changes were necessary because of the country's economic problems. Kuchma urged the economists to come up with recommendations before a national meeting of economists in November, the Interfax news agency reported. Ukraine has suffered economic problems since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and it has been especially hard hit by the financial crisis in neighboring Russia, its main trading partner. The Russian crisis has hurt bilateral trade, caused the Ukrainian currency to fall and led to a withdrawal of investors from Ukraine. In recent months, Kuchma has implemented some economic reforms by decree, prompting the International Monetary Fund to release the first installment of a long-awaited dlrs 2.2 billion loan. Many reforms, however, remain stalled. National Bank chairman Viktor Yushchenko was in Washington this week for consultations with IMF officials. Yushchenko has warned that the bank would not spend its dwindling reserves to support the hryvna currency, but has avoided comments on the currency in recent days. Kuchma met Friday with Yushchenko, Prime Minister Valery Pustovoitenko and other senior officials to discuss ways to stabilize the hryvna. The government's press service said they focused on possible ways to keep the hryvna under 3.5 to the U.S. dollar through the end of the year. The hryvna has been trading at 3.4 to the dollar in recent days but trading has been limited. There are wide expectations in Ukraine that the hryvna will fall even further, and Ukrainians have been stocking up on food, clothing and household goods to save their fast-devaluing money.",
"The United States is disappointed by the economic confusion within the new Russian government of Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, said Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Friday, and she warned Russia about the dangers of an anti-Western policy. In her first comprehensive review of U.S.-Russian relations since Primakov was confirmed as prime minister last month, Albright said Washington was ``deeply concerned'' about Russia's direction and did not think the crisis there would soon abate. ``We have heard a lot of talk in recent days about printing new money, indexing wages, imposing price and capital controls and restoring state management of parts of the economy,'' she told the U.S.-Russia Business Council in Chicago. ``We can only wonder if some members of Primakov's team understand the basic arithmetic of the global economy.'' While praising Primakov, once her counterpart when he was foreign minister, as a pragmatist able to cooperate on key issues with Washington, she had harsh words of warning for him. ``Our initial reaction to some of the direction he's going in has not been particularly positive,'' she said, adding, ``The question now is whether that cooperation can continue.'' The United States must keep up its aid to Russia but is adjusting it to promote the building of democracy and student exchanges as well as arms control, Albright said. Washington does not favor more direct aid. ``More big bailouts are not by themselves going to restore investor confidence in Russia,'' she said. ``In the long run, the gap between Russia's needs and its resources must be met not by foreign bailouts but by foreign investment.'' Albright sharply criticized as self-defeating the ``many voices in Russia who want to shift the emphasis in Russia's interaction with America and our allies from one of partnership to one of assertiveness, opposition and defiance for its own stake.'' Russia could not stand alone in the world, she said, and the United States' ability ``to help Russians help themselves will go from being merely very, very difficult to being absolutely impossible.'' At the same time, she said, Washington would not ``assume the worst, for there are still plenty of people in Russia who will fight against turning back the clock.'' And she urged the world _ and American critics _ to ``be patient with the workings of the democratic process in Russia'' and ``not start each day by taking a census of reformers in the Kremlin,'' a census that American officials themselves promoted before President Boris Yeltsin dismissed the previous government. While Moscow may continue to oppose any NATO use of force against Serbian forces in the southern province of Kosovo, Albright said, NATO must be prepared to act regardless.",
"Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov said Saturday that the economic crisis would not bring an end to the government's program of privatizing state property. ``Privatization will be accomplished for growth of production, growth of investment and growth of production effectiveness through renewal of major funds,'' Primakov said during a meeting of Western businessmen. ``We shall conduct privatization so that it serves the interests of the people, the state, and business,'' he said, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency. Primakov reassured the businessmen, members of the prime minister's consultive council on foreign investment in Russia, that the government had no plans to ban the circulation of U.S. dollars in Russia. But, he said, the government would take steps to staunch the flow of dollars from Russia. Responding to media reports of a government economic plan that would prohibit Russians from buying U.S. dollars and other foreign currency, Primakov said the reports ``absolutely do not correspond to reality,'' ITAR-Tass quoted him as saying. He said there was no need to regulate the influx of dollars into Russia, but the government should take steps to prevent what he called ``the dollar drain.'' Russian companies stashed about dlrs 2.5 billion outside the country in September alone, the Interfax news agency reported Friday, quoting central bank figures. Primakov said foreign investors are ``the force'' that will help Russia to minimize its losses from the current economic crisis. ``We are very much interested in foreign investments, especially in ones that go into the real production sector,'' Primakov said, according to Interfax. ``We need a continuous dialogue with foreign investors, without whom it will be difficult for us to overcome the current difficulties.'' He said Russia wanted long-term investments. ``Foreign capital has been coming to the country via short-term operations,'' Primakov said. This, he said, ``is not to our liking or yours.'' Viktor Gerashchenko, the central bank chairman, said on Friday that the government must act to stem the flow of dollars from Russia. Gerashchenko and Finance Minister Mikhail Zadornov were in Washington Saturday for the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund, where they plan to spell out the measures Russia is taking to bail out its finance system. Russia wants the IMF to release the second dlrs 4.3 billion installment of a loan that was approved in July, a month before the country's economy crashed and the government effectively defaulted on its foreign loans. IMF officials have said they want the Russian government to come up with a sound economic program before the installment is given, and have made it clear that currency controls and boosting the money supply by printing rubles are not acceptable."
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"Ukraine's parliament on Friday refused to approve President Leonid Kuchma's decree establishing a state fund to compensate people for savings lost in banks. Deputies voted 240-47 to prepare a revised version of the decree and debate it later in the month. They must consider the decree by Oct. 10, or else it automatically takes effect under the constitution. Leftist factions, which voted against the proposed legislation, said it would not fully guarantee the return of savings lost during the financial instability that has recently hit Ukraine. The fund Kuchma proposed to establish would have accumulated money in a special National Bank account and repay people in case the bank they kept their savings in went bankrupt or became insolvent. Although the decree provided for compensation of deposits amounting only to 500 hryvna (dlrs 147 at the current exchange rate), its authors said it would cover more than 90 percent of Ukrainians who keep their money in banks. The measure was meant to prevent mass withdrawals of deposits that most Ukrainian banks have already experienced as people, scared by the fall of the national currency and the turmoil in neighboring Russia, started to stock up on food, clothing and household goods. Government officials say that Ukrainians have recently withdrawn at least 10 percent of the 3 billion hryvna (dlrs 882 million) they deposited in banks.",
"Russia's new prime minister picked an unusual way to reassure the nation Thursday. After two weeks of deliberations he announced that he still had no plan to rescue the country from its economic crisis. ``I want to repeat once more _ there is no program,'' Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov said. ``It has yet to be worked out.'' In most nations such a statement might provoke alarm. But Primakov was seeking to calm an anxious public that was worried that the Kremlin's cure could be worse than the disease. It is not as if Russians do not have something to be concerned about. Thursday Primakov convened a meeting of top aides to try to hammer out a strategy for overcoming the economic woes. A main item on the agenda was the plan drafted by Yuri Maslyukov, a Communist and the government's senior policy maker on economic issues. It did not take long for Maslyukov's plan to hit the street. A newspaper, Kommersant Daily, published it in full Thursday morning. Not surprisingly Maslyukov's plan calls for a greater state role in the economy, including controls on hard currency. A new State Bank for Reconstruction and Development would be established using the ``nationalized assets'' of failed commercial banks. Wages and pensions would be paid in two months, and the minimum wage would be indexed to inflation. There would be huge tax cuts, a combination that suggested that the government was committed to printing additional money. The exchange rate of the ruble would be set by the central bank, based on changes in inflation and the balance of payments. Maslyukov's plan also implies that Russians would be able to buy dollars at exchanges through the country. It stipulates that hard currency could enter the country only with special authorization. Exporters would be required to sell most of their hard currency reserves. That is an allusion to currency controls that sent shock waves through the Russian public. Russians have come to treat the dollar as a second currency, and many people have squirreled away dollars as a hedge against inflation. ``It is an obvious stupidity,'' Otto Latsis, a commentator with the newspaper Noviye Izvestiya, said. ``People won't give their dollars away. They will go to the black market if they need to.'' Yegor Gaidar, the former prime minister who favors free markets, said the plan was a ``war against the dollar'' and predicted that it would lead to a shortage of imports. As the criticism grew, Primakov rushed to distance himself from the talk of currency controls. ``The rumors of the state's becoming a monopolist on the inflow of hard currency into the country is nonsense,'' he said, asserting that the document published by Kommersant Daily was just one of six possible plans. Primakov may be opposed to wildly unpopular currency controls. He may be worried that the plan would would set off the panic buying of dollars, further depressing the ruble. Or he may simply be trying to keep his distance from Maslyukov's plan while Russia tries to wrangle its next disbursement, $4.3 billion, from the International Monetary Fund. The particulars could be modified, but many people following the maneuvering say they believe that it represents the basic thrust of the government's thinking. Primakov has called for greater state regulation and an expansion of the money supply, two themes of Maslyukov's plan. The plan also has many similarities with the plan presented to the government by Gorbachev-era advisers. ``We think it is close to being a final document,'' said the United Financial Group, a Russian investment business. It is unclear how long Primakov can carry on without spelling out a detailed strategy. The ousted tax chief, Boris Fyodorov, has argued that the IMF should not provide further aid until Primakov has taken tough measures to build a free market. Primakov has, however, sought to turn that logic on its head, arguing that his government's economic strategy will depend on the fund's willingness to provide aid. His aim appears to be to pressure the fund by implying that it will be the fund's fault if Russia is forced to default on its loans or take draconian measures at home. Or as Primakov put it Thursday, without the fund's money, Russia will have to impose ``unpopular measures.''",
"If the Communist Party has its way _ and it has been planning for months _ millions of Russians will take to the streets on Wednesday for some of the biggest demonstrations in years. But now that Communists or politicians with the Communist stamp of approval are running the country and its economy the question is what the marchers will be demonstrating against. President Boris Yeltsin and his economic advisers were easy targets two months ago. But Yeltsin seems but a shadow of himself today, and his advisers are gone. The Communists, who have undergone a sort of resurgence by playing on the discontent, are working hard to cast themselves as outsiders in the government that they help run _ and to keep the focus of the protests on Wednesday on Yeltsin and his policies. Even that strategy may backfire, however, because discontent over Yeltsin does not necessarily translate into support for his predecessors. An adviser to the Communist Party leader, Gennadi Zyuganov, made headlines not long ago when he called the new government bourgeois. The characterization was striking, because the new prime minister, Yevgeny Primakov, was one of Zyuganov's top choices for the post. The deputy prime minister in charge of the economy, Yuri Maslyukov, is a Communist Party figure who once headed Gosplan, the infamous central-planning program that helped bring the Soviet Union to ruin. ``We don't have slogans that are aimed against the government,'' the first secretary of the Moscow Communist Party committee, Alexander Kuvayev, said in a recent interview. ``All the slogans are aimed against the president and the economic course of the country. Only the president can fully be blamed for the course that has brought the country to this situation.'' Anger over Russia's fate, and their own, is drawing some Russians back to Soviet-style slogans and old-style hostility toward capitalism. The ardently pro-Communist newspaper Sovietskaya Rossiya devoted most of its front page on Thursday to what it said were the results of a contest among readers for protest slogans. The entries ranged from catchy to kitschy, from, ``Legislator, official, banker _ study the Constitution; the exam is Oct. 7,'' to, `` Imperialist! Help Russia return the exported capital, and we will pay the debts at once.'' Russia has seen nothing approaching this sort of economic chaos and despair since 1993, when hyperinflation swept the economy. There is no real way of knowing whether the latest travails will produce huge and ugly crowds or small, peaceful ones. A deputy editor and political analyst at a newsweekly, Itogi, Masha Lipman, said the situation was not unlike that of 1993, when Yeltsin sought, and won, a popular mandate in a referendum. He used it to dissolve the Communist-dominated Parliament and increase his own power. That led to an autumn showdown, the shelling of Parliament by tanks and the total defeat, for the time being, of Yeltsin's legislative opponents. ``You can interpret this demonstration as a Communist mandate, but I don't think they will act like Yeltsin,'' Ms. Lipman said. ``Support for the Communists is at its smallest level, maybe 20 percent.'' In a survey of 1,714 people that was released last week the All-Russian Public Opinion Center said that nearly half the population supported the idea of demonstrations against Yeltsin, but that barely one-tenth were likely to participate in any way. ``Nobody is interested in any sort of struggle,'' Yuri Levada, who heads the center, said in an interview. ``This is mainly a general expression of a great wave of distrust of authorities, mainly the president. He's the great scapegoat for all our sins.'' There seems to be little enthusiasm for demonstrations of any sort. Only a few thousand people turned out Sunday for the fifth anniversary of the shelling of Parliament and Yeltsin's subsequent triumph over the Communists. The Communist Party and the Federation of Independent Russian Unions, a leftist organization that says it is the main sponsor of the protests, predict that 9 million Russians will participate on Wednesday. The government has vowed to keep order without resorting to force. But it is concerned enough that it has summoned 11,000 police officers to patrol Moscow and 6,000 military troops to intervene if violence erupts. Protests since 1993 have generally been tepid, a deep-seated feeling here. Some demonstrations last week, more or less practice runs, hinted at similarly dampened marches this year.",
"President Boris Yeltsin would respond strongly to any effort to prohibit Russians from buying foreign currencies, believing the move would be like bringing another Iron Curtain down on the country, his spokesman said Friday. ``The president clearly understands that such a ban would be a clear violation of our rights ... that would mean a return to the Iron Curtain in everyday life,'' said presidential spokesman Dmitry Yakushin. The remarks came after media reports of a government economic plan in the works that would prohibit Russians from buying U.S. dollars and other foreign currencies, and institute other strict economic controls, rolling back seven years of reforms. Though government officials say such a plan is only one of six possibilities, Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov warned Thursday that he might be forced to take ``unpopular'' measures to rescue the Russian economy if it does not receive the next installment in a dlrs 22.6 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. Central Bank Chairman Viktor Gerashchenko and Finance Minister Mikhail Zadornov flew to Washington on Friday for negotiations with the IMF over the dlrs 4.3 billion installment. IMF officials have said they want the Russian government to come up with a sound economic program before the loan is given, and have made it clear that currency controls and boosting the money supply by printing rubles are not acceptable. But Primakov said that the country's plan would be dependent on the IMF loan, not the other way around. No short-term economic plan will be known for another three weeks, long after the IMF is set to make its decision, said First Deputy Prime Minister Vadim Gustov. A draft version of the government's fourth-quarter budget would rely heavily on the IMF loan, the Kommersant newspaper said. Without the loan, the government would have to engage in major deficit spending. Calls for Soviet-style controls _ part of the plan drafted by First Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Maslyukov and leaked to the press _ have apparently created a rift within the Cabinet. The plan drew heavy criticism from Zadornov, and Gerashchenko called the idea of banning foreign currency sales ``a mad idea.'' Meanwhile, Russia's stock market dropped by 5 percent to 38.8 Friday, but trading was so light the downward move meant little. The stock market has continued to fall since the crisis hit Aug. 17. And tax collection was down in September, the result of the collapse in Russia's banking system, said Alexander Pochinok, head of the government's finance and credit department. Revenues totaled 14.3 billion rubles (dlrs 875 million), 700 million rubles (dlrs 43 million) less than expected. The government wants to reverse this trend by raising taxes for oil and gas companies, but the idea is expected to meet sharp resistance in the lower house of Russia's parliament, which wants to cut tax rates, Pochinok said.",
"Wall Street extended a global stock selloff Thursday with the Dow industrials tumbling more than 200 points for a second straight day. The Dow Jones industrial average, which plunged 237.90 points on Wednesday, fell an additional 210.09, or by 2.7 percent, to close at 7,632.53. Broader market indicators also sank sharply in heavy trading. Bank and technology stocks were particularly hard hit. The selling spree, amid worries about shrinking corporate profits and fears of new financial crises, left the Dow 18.3 percent, or more than 1,700 points, below the all-time high of 9,337.97 reached on July 17. It was getting closer to the low of 7,400 that was reached during trading Sept. 1, before Wall Street's best-known indicator began a comeback bid that brought it above 8,100 as recently as Monday. The Dow's 12.4 percent slide in the third quarter, which ended Wednesday, was its worst quarterly performance in eight years. It now is 3.5 percent below where it began this year. Stock prices earlier plunged in Asia, with Tokyo shares falling 1.6 percent to a new 12-year low, and shares were falling sharply in Europe, where Germany's central bank left interest rates unchanged. Blue chips in London sank 3.1 percent to close at new lows for the year, while the key index in Frankfurt, Germany, closed down 5.5 percent and the main indicator in Paris was off 5 percent. The selloff in stocks has sent a flood of money into U.S. Treasury securities, a traditional haven in times of uncertainty. Yields on 30-year Treasury bonds fell further below 5 percent Thursday, reaching levels unseen for long-term government bonds since 1967. Traders were alarmed to see prices on the New York Stock Exchange nosedive 2.9 percent on Wednesday, even though the Federal Reserve had lowered a key interest rate one-quarter percentage point on Tuesday. Some traders were disappointed that the cut was not deeper amid fears a go-slow approach would not do enough to counter the economic crises that have swept through Asia and Russia and are threatening Latin America. ``The smaller-than-expected lowering of interest rates by the U.S. Federal Reserve has a chain reaction,'' said Lee Won-ho, an analyst at Samsung Securities Co. in Seoul, South Korea, where the main stock index fell by 1.5 percent. ``It is affecting Wall Street, the Japanese market, ours and others.'' The managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Michel Camdessus, on Thursday said the Fed made the right decision in cutting rates and that global powers now must push for stronger growth to offset steep recessions in Asia and Russia. Asked why stock markets, particularly in the United States, have reacted so negatively to the Fed rate cut, Camdessus said he believed confidence will soon be restored, especially if financial leaders show resolve in their discussions over the next week. There also are worries about where the next financial market crisis may erupt after last week's dlrs 3.6 billion private bailout of Long-Term Capital Management LP of Greenwich, Connecticut. In addition, investors worldwide worry that the downturn on Wall Street could signal a possible slowdown in economic growth _ a bad omen for the many foreign companies dependent on exports to the huge U.S. market. ``There's a psychological impact overall, but there's also a direct impact on companies like Sony and TDK which derive a high percentage of their earnings from overseas markets,'' said Pelham Smithers, a stock strategist in Tokyo at ING Baring Securities (Japan) Ltd. A new survey in Japan said confidence among small- and medium-sized businesses about the economy plunged to its worst level since the Bank of Japan began the quarterly samplings in 1967.",
"In a season of crashing banks, plunging rubles, bouncing paychecks, failing cropsand rotating governments, maybe it is not the ultimate insult. But the nation that bore Tolstoy and Chekhov, and still regards a well-written letter as a labor of love, is buckling a little this week, because it can no longer wish good health to Baba Anya in Omsk. The Post Office is broke. In 60 of the country's 89 statelike regions, more than 1,000 mail cars have been sidetracked, many stuffed with up to 18 tons of letters, newspapers and parcels. The state Railway Ministry refuses to carry more mail until the Post Office makes good on some 210 million rubles in old bills _ about $13 million in today's dollars, or $35 million in dollars six weeks ago. Air mail, which amounts to one of every four or five letters, was also suspended at one of Moscow's major airports until this week, when the Post Office coughed up 5 million rubles for old bills. A second airport is still demanding 3 million rubles for past-due debts. So much mail is backed up that post offices in Moscow and elsewhere have simply stopped accepting out-of-town mail, except for areas that can be easily reached by truck. Delivery schedules have fallen weeks, and perhaps months, behind. ``The situation is really extraordinary,'' said Vladimir Sherekhov, the deputy chief of mail service administration in the government's Communications Committee. ``We've never had anything like this before.'' Maybe the Post Office has been lucky. Extraordinary is the rule elsewhere in Russia. Until Friday, the lower house of Parliament was preparing to sue the government for failure to provide soap, heat, toilet paper and copy-machine paper in the legislature's monumental downtown offices. It turned out that politicians had exhausted their funds by cutting short their recess and returning to address the nation's economic crisis. Earlier in the week, officials said Russia's Arctic shipping routes may close next month because half the nation's icebreakers are in disrepair and there is no money to fix them. The oldest of the ships is so ancient that its nickname is Granny. Such anecdotal evidence that Russia is losing its wheels, like one of its old, ill-maintained Volga sedans, is everywhere. But oddly, real signs of public distress are not particularly common, perhaps because the system rarely seems to shed a part as big as a postal system. If the U.S. Postal Service is increasingly a pipeline for sweepstakes notices and bills, the Russian Post Office still holds a special place in the national conversation. Russians still write letters to each other, frequently and fervently, and many in remote regions get their news through the mail. Millions use the mails to ship canned goods and other provisions to needy relatives and friends in faraway areas, an especially vital service in winter. And in the last few years, the Post Office has become a vehicle for a growing mail-order trade in books, clothes and other catalog items not readily available outside big cities. Exactly why all this has rumbled to a halt is in some dispute. What is clear is that the Post Office and the Railway Ministry both suffer from what ails every Russian venture, private and public alike: Nobody pays his bills. The state Railway Ministry complains that it is continually stiffed by customers who believe the railroads are honor-bound to carry freight whether they are paid or not. The government has specified nearly 40 categories of freight which the railroads must carry for next to nothing. Among the biggest deadbeats are the ``power ministries'' _ the military and interior departments _ which did not pay during Soviet times and feel little need to pay now. ``It's a psychology formed during the socialist period,'' said Tatiana Pashkova, the deputy spokeswoman for the ministry, ``and the same situation exists with the Post Office. We've been in dispute for a very long time. Always we try to understand their differences. But we can't carry cargo for free.'' No kidding, says the Post Office: It, too, is owed 200 million rubles by government agencies, and is barred from raising rates even though freight costs are outstripping revenues. Moreover, the Post Office is also required by the government to carry some forms of mail, such as pension checks, at reduced rates. Officials at the state Communications Department say they also suspect an ulterior motive in the railroads' actions: a struggle to dominate the thriving mail-order business. ``Here's competition between us and the railroads for the delivery of parcels, and I think decisions made by the railroads are mainly explained by this competition,'' Sherekhov said. ``They blame us for carrying some commercial cargoes instead of mail.'' The Railways Ministry's spokeswoman, Ms. Pashkova, said such ``commercial cargoes'' are indeed a problem, but only because the railroads know that the Post Office has already gotten cash to transport the packages. The railroads are still waiting for their share of that money, she said. In the meantime, the situation has come to a boil. In late September the railroads cut mail service in and out of Moscow, effectively decapitating the postal system and forcing officials to draft a fleet of trucks to move letters in and out of the city. Hundreds of empty and full rail cars have clogged some local yards to the point where moving cars into position for unloading has become difficult. At last count, 39 loaded cars were awaiting service at one yard. And customers are getting angry. ``We've gotten all kinds of complaints,'' said Viktor Salikov, a deputy in the Communications Department's mail shipping center. ``People are even coming to us, searching for mail that was sent weeks ago.''",
"When the world's finance ministers and central bankers gathered last year in Hong Kong, they nervously congratulated each other for containing _ at least for the moment _ a nasty financial brush fire in Asia. In a year's time, many predicted in hallway chatter, the troubles in Thailand and Indonesia would look like a replay of Mexico in 1995 _ a rough bump in the road for a world enjoying remarkable prosperity. Talk about bad market calls. Twelve months later, as the same financial mandarins clog Washington with their limousines and glide through endless receptions at the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, just about everything that could have gone wrong in the world economy has: the worst downturn in Japan since World War II, economic meltdown in Russia, a depression in Indonesia that is plunging 100 million people below the poverty line, and deep fears over what happens next in Latin America. What makes this year's IMF meeting most remarkable, though, is that the harshest criticisms are directed at the monetary fund itself, and, by extension, at the U.S. Treasury, which is viewed as the power behind the IMF. This year, in place of confident predictions, there are mutual recriminations. Arguments are breaking out over whether the true culprits were crony capitalists and weakened leaders like Russian President Boris Yeltsin, or huge investors who poured money into the world's emerging markets with reckless abandon in the mid-1990s and panicked in the past twelve months. Whatever the reason, one reality prevails: Hundreds of billions of dollars have fled from economies on four continents _ seeking the safest havens possible, often in the United States _ and the money is not returning anytime soon. And the subtext of every seminar on capital flows and every conclave of nervous ministers will be some painfully blunt questions: Can this be stopped? Or is the world headed for a global recession? Fifty-three years ago the IMF was created after the Bretton Woods conference which sought to stabilize the world economy and secure the peace after World War II. Now it is under attack from all sides, charged not only with worsening a bad situation by misjudging the economics, but with being politically tone-deaf in some of the most volatile capitals in the world, from Jakarta, Indonesia, to Moscow. For the first time, there are disturbing questions about whether the institution itself is still capable, financially or politically, of containing the kind of economic contagion that caught the world unaware. Once, the IMF's critics were largely found in Africa and South Asia, were the fund was often viewed as arrogant; today they include Wall Street's biggest players and top officials in the most powerful economies of Asia and Europe. Only a few _ including former Secretary of State George Schultz and members of Congress who are increasingly suspicious of all international institutions _ are talking about scrapping the IMF altogether. But almost everyone is talking about creating a ``new financial architecture'' that can do what the old one clearly cannot: smother financial wildfires before they leap around the globe. President Clinton, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and other leaders, after months of silence, have edged into the debate, in some cases wresting the issue for the first time from their finance ministers and central banks. Their fear, their advisers say, is that 15 months of financial turmoil are now threatening political stability. Such concerns have turned this year's meeting into a tumbled mass of worries and a groping for short and long-term solutions. The Japanese, the French, the Southeast Asians are all arriving in Washington with different diagnoses of what went wrong, and different solutions about how to set it right. The United States has its own set of plans, a mix of suggestions to force more disclosure of financial data in countries around the world and to impose more American-style financial standards and regulation. Meanwhile, an ideological argument is breaking out over whether the world should slow down a long march toward more free and open markets _ a strategy pressed by the Clinton administration for the past six years. Others argue that it is unwise to start rebuilding the hospital while the patients are still on the operating tables. ``Last year the standard answer that all of us were given came down to this: `We have the IMF and the World Bank, and they know best,''' Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas said over breakfast in Washington the other day, reflecting on how the crisis turned 30 years of astounding growth in his country into an overnight depression. ``Then they said everything that went wrong was our fault,'' he said. ``But now, now I think people know that much of the problem came from the outside, and we need something better.'' And the IMF itself is beginning to fight back, an awkward role for an institution dominated by Ph.D. economists who are unaccustomed to being openly challenged. ``Every place you turn you read the same story, that we came in, that we made things worse,'' said Stanley Fischer, the deputy managing director of the fund, who was born in Northern Rhodesia _ now Zambia _ and became chairman of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's economics department before taking a job that has now put him in the center of the financial storm. ``We frequently get the blame, some of it well-deserved,'' he said. ``But it is politically convenient for governments around the world to cry, `The IMF made us do it,' and pin their mistakes on us. That's fine. We'd rather be loved, but more than that we'd like to be effective.'' MISCALCULATIONS, POLITICS AND SAFETY NETS On a steaming January day, Michel Camdessus, the IMF's top official, slipped into Jakarta to the private residence of President Suharto and sat down for a four-hour meeting to tick off, line by line, the huge reforms Indonesia would have to implement in return for tens of billions of dollars in emergency aid. Two previous deals had collapsed when Suharto ignored the fund's conditions, so Camdessus insisted that he strike a deal directly with Suharto, then Asia's longest-serving leader. It was a meeting of men who knew different worlds of power politics: Suharto rose as a general in central Java, and Camdessus had detonated mines in Algeria for the French army before entering the French Treasury on his way to becoming head of France's central bank. ``It was all there,'' a senior IMF official recalled. ``He was told he had to dismantle the national airplane project, the clove monopoly, all the distribution monopolies.'' At one point, Camdessus looked at the impassive Suharto and said, ``You see what this means for your family,'' a reference to their vast investments in the country's key industries. ``He said, `I called in my children, and they all understand.''' But within months, that exchange in Jakarta came to symbolize the IMF's twin troubles: Its inability to understand and reckon with the national politics of countries in need of radical reform, and its focus on economic stabilization rather than the social costs of its actions. Suharto had no intention of fulfilling the agreement. It was, one of his former Cabinet members said, ``a delaying move that was obvious to everyone except Camdessus.'' Perhaps one reason why the IMF sometimes appears tone-deaf is that its senior staff is almost entirely composed of Ph.D. economists. There are few officials with deep experience in international politics, much less the complexities of Javanese culture that were at work in Indonesia. Historically, experts in politics and security have gravitated to the United Nations, development experts to the World Bank, and economists to the IMF _ creating dangerous gaps in a crisis like this one. As a result, the fund had only a rudimentary understanding of what would happen if its demands were met and all Indonesia's state monopolies were quickly dissolved. While that system lined the pockets of the Suhartos and their friends, it also distributed food, gasoline and other staples to a country that stretches for 3,000 miles over thousands of islands. To help balance the budget, the fund demanded a quick end to expensive subsidies that keep the price of food and gasoline artificially low. But that, combined with the huge currency devaluation that sparked the crisis, resulted in high prices and shortages that fueled riots that continue to this day, as millions of Indonesians lose their jobs. The IMF _ unintentionally, its officials insist _ also sped Suharto's resignation, insisting on the elimination of ``crony capitalism,'' code words for removing the Suharto family from the center of the economy. Ultimately, that may prove to be Indonesia's salvation, if the new government can contain the rioting against the ethnic Chinese minority _ whose money is desperately needed to save the country's fast-shrinking economy. ``It is worth noting,'' Fischer said this week, ``that our programs in Asia _ in Indonesia, Korea and Thailand _ only took hold after there was a change in government.'' Nonetheless, the Indonesia experience has revived the argument that the IMF is so focused on stabilizing banks and currencies, on preventing capital flight and freeing up markets, that it is blind to the social costs of its actions. Among the toughest critics has been its sister institution, the World Bank, whose main charge is alleviating poverty. ``You've seen the tension almost every day,'' one senior World Bank official said recently. The bank has gone to extraordinary lengths in recent months to differentiate its role from that of the fund, and to announce a tripling of aid to the poorest in the countries hit by the economic chaos. Even U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has joined the argument, warning in a speech at Harvard recently that ``if globalization is to succeed, it must succeed for poor and rich alike. It must deliver rights no less than riches. It must be harnessed to the cause not of capital alone, but of development and prosperity for the poorest of the world.'' IMF officials say they are changing strategies when they see they are exacting too great a social cost. ``It's a very difficult formula to get exactly right,'' Fischer said in August, as Russia was teetering and the IMF was sending in $4.8 billion in aid that was rapidly wasted. ``You need enough discipline to send the right message to the markets and keep investors from fleeing. But you need enough leeway to keep people from suffering more than they otherwise would.'' In recent months, he noted, the IMF has allowed more spending to sustain subsidies for basic goods for longer periods in Indonesia, Korea and elsewhere. ``There is a new flexibility at the IMF'' a senior Indonesian official concluded recently. ``It is a lot better.'' A U.S. PAWN, OR A RUNAWAY AGENCY? The Clinton administration admits that the IMF has many failings, many of them on display this year. But it insists that the world has gone through global financial crises without an IMF once before in this century _ and the result was the 1930s. ``I have no doubt the situation over the past year would have been much worse _ with greater devaluations, more defaults, more contagion, and greater trade dislocations _ without the program agreed with the IMF and the finance it has provided,'' Deputy Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers told Congress last week. Many Republicans and some Democrats are unconvinced. Even though the Senate has overwhelmingly approved an $18 billion contribution to the fund to help it fight new crises, the House defeated that measure two weeks ago. The fund's last hope of getting the money, which will free up nearly $100 billion in contributions from other nations waiting for the United States to act, will come when the House and Senate try to resolve their budget differences in a conference committee in the next 10 days. A rejection, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin insists, would send a message around the world that the United States is turning its back on the one institution charged with restoring economic stability. Everywhere else in the world, though, politicians and businessmen insist that one of the biggest problems with the IMF is that, contrary to the view of Congress, it acts as the U.S. Treasury's lap dog. Ask in Jakarta or Moscow, and the response is the same: The IMF never ventures far without looking back for the approving nod of its master. When the United States weighs in, however, is when the IMF is called on to rescue a country in deep trouble. Only then does the IMF _ and the U.S. Treasury _ have the leverage to extract commitments in return for billions in aid. In theory, the U.S. influence is limited: It has an 18.5 percent vote in the fund. Germany, Japan, France and Britain have about 5 percent each. But in practice the United States usually gets its way, exercising its influence behind the scenes, often in interactions between Fischer and Summers. The two met when Fischer was on the MIT faculty and Summers was a graduate student taking one of his classes, later becoming a colleague at MIT. Each served as chief economist of the World Bank. It was Summers who was instrumental in placing Fischer in the fund's no. 2 job, and these days they talk constantly. ``It's usually a warm relationship,'' Fischer said this summer. ``Remember, this is a job where you cannot turn to outsiders for advice _ you can't call the chief economist at a Wall Street firm, or even many of your academic friends, because so many of the issues are confidential.'' The Treasury's relations with Camdessus are often more strained as he plays the role of world diplomat, traveling the globe and trying to coax along political leaders. The tensions were obvious from the start of the Asia crisis. The fund made little secret of its displeasure that the United States was not offering direct aid to Thailand, a major U.S. ally, as a sign of support and confidence. Mindful of the backlash in Congress when Mexico was bailed out with U.S. money, that was the last thing the Treasury planned to do. Summers, in turn, thought the fund was not forcing the Thais to implement its reform commitments rigorously enough or disclose their true financial picture. Within the U.S. government there was other dissension: The State and Defense Departments felt the United States should do more for Thailand, but backed off when the Treasury asked if they would like to pony up some aid out of their own budgets. There were other conflicts. When Japan used the last IMF meeting to propose setting up a $100 billion ``Asia Fund'' _ one that would exclude the United States and would probably offer aid under much more relaxed conditions than the IMF does. Rubin called up Camdessus at breakfast one morning and told him that the Japanese proposal would undercut the IMF's authority. ``We've just had a dispute with Michel,'' Rubin reported to his aides as he returned to his orange juice and croissant. One of them shot back: ``And it's only 8 a.m.'' Camdessus backed down at Rubin's insistence and walked away from money that Asia could have used. Japan says it will be back with a similar proposal this weekend, this time for a $30 billion fund. Camdessus has also rankled U.S. officials with statements that amounted to cheerleading to reassure the markets _ sometimes in the face of the facts. In June, with Russia on its way to collapse, Camdessus declared that ``contrary to what markets and commentators are imagining'' about the slow collapse of Russia's economy, ``this is not a crisis. This is not a major development.'' The bailouts of Russia and South Korea were prime examples of how Washington muscles into the IMF's turf as soon as major U.S. strategic interests are involved. Last Christmas, as South Korea slipped within days of running out of hard currency to pay its debts in December, it sent a secret envoy, Kim Kihwan, to work out a rescue package. ``I didn't bother going to the IMF,'' Kim recalled recently. ``I called Summers' office at the Treasury from my home in Seoul, flew to Washington and went directly there. I knew that was how this would get done.'' Within days the Treasury dispatched David Lipton, its most experienced veteran of emergency bailouts, who is leaving his post as undersecretary for international affairs this month, to shadow the IMF staff's negotiations with the government in Seoul. Fischer was displeased. ``To make a negotiation effective, it has to be clear who has the authority to do the negotiating,'' he said. WHO LOST RUSSIA? The pattern was repeated this summer, when the United States raced to put together a $17 billion package for Russia. The IMF's staff in Moscow declared that Russia needed no money at all _ it just needed to enact policies that would restore confidence in investors. The Americans and Germans came to a different conclusion. Soon after, U.S. officials gathered in the White House situation room to consider what might happen to Russia if the ruble was devalued and market reforms collapsed and to push the IMF to come up with emergency money. So the fund began assembling a last-ditch program to prop up a country that had resisted its reform plans for seven years. Camdessus, though, was still hesitant, questioning whether the IMF should risk its scarce resources in Russia. ``We had to pull Michel along,'' a senior Treasury official recalled. As it turned out, Camdessus' instincts were right while the approach championed by Rubin and Summers proved disastrously wrong. The first installment of that payment _ $4.8 billion _ was wasted, propping up the currency long enough, in the words of one IMF official, ``to let the oligarchs get their money out of the country.'' Then Yeltsin reversed his commitments, let the ruble devalue anyway, began printing money with abandon and fired virtually every reformer in his government _ resulting in a collapse of the IMF agreements and the indefinite suspension of its aid program. Now, inside the IMF and on Capitol Hill, there are recriminations over ``who lost Russia.'' Publicly, Fischer argues that ``there are no apologies owed for what we attempted in Russia.'' But some IMF officials complain privately that they let Rubin and Summers run roughshod over them, striking a deal that fell apart within weeks as the Russian parliament rebelled and Yeltsin backed away from his commitments. Summers responds that the United States ``took a calculated risk'' because ``it was vastly better that Russia succeed than not succeed.'' The Russian collapse touched off new rounds of economic contagion, with investors fleeing Latin America, and triggering huge losses in hedge funds like Long Term Capital, the Greenwich, Conn., investment firm that needed to be rescued by Wall Street powerhouses whose money it had invested. ``Russia was a turning point,'' said Robert Hormats, the vice chairman of Goldman, Sachs & Co. ``It made the world realize that some countries can fail, even if the IMF and the Treasury intercede. And that changed the perception of risk.'' Now, as the countries meet to face a future that the IMF has warned could be very bleak, they need to reverse those perceptions, or watch countries slowly starve for lack of capital. The emerging markets are calling for controls on short term investments. The French want a stronger IMF. The Americans say the answer is more disclosure, so that investors are better warned, and tougher regulation. ``These are usually nice, quiet meetings; everyone very polite,'' a top U.S. official said earlier this week. ``Not this year.''",
"President Leonid Kuchma called Friday for ``corrections'' to Ukraine's program of market reforms, but pledged that reforms would continue. Kuchma did not elaborate in his comments to a group of Ukrainian economists, saying only that the changes were necessary because of the country's economic problems. Kuchma urged the economists to come up with recommendations before a national meeting of economists in November, the Interfax news agency reported. Ukraine has suffered economic problems since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and it has been especially hard hit by the financial crisis in neighboring Russia, its main trading partner. The Russian crisis has hurt bilateral trade, caused the Ukrainian currency to fall and led to a withdrawal of investors from Ukraine. In recent months, Kuchma has implemented some economic reforms by decree, prompting the International Monetary Fund to release the first installment of a long-awaited dlrs 2.2 billion loan. Many reforms, however, remain stalled. National Bank chairman Viktor Yushchenko was in Washington this week for consultations with IMF officials. Yushchenko has warned that the bank would not spend its dwindling reserves to support the hryvna currency, but has avoided comments on the currency in recent days. Kuchma met Friday with Yushchenko, Prime Minister Valery Pustovoitenko and other senior officials to discuss ways to stabilize the hryvna. The government's press service said they focused on possible ways to keep the hryvna under 3.5 to the U.S. dollar through the end of the year. The hryvna has been trading at 3.4 to the dollar in recent days but trading has been limited. There are wide expectations in Ukraine that the hryvna will fall even further, and Ukrainians have been stocking up on food, clothing and household goods to save their fast-devaluing money.",
"The United States is disappointed by the economic confusion within the new Russian government of Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, said Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Friday, and she warned Russia about the dangers of an anti-Western policy. In her first comprehensive review of U.S.-Russian relations since Primakov was confirmed as prime minister last month, Albright said Washington was ``deeply concerned'' about Russia's direction and did not think the crisis there would soon abate. ``We have heard a lot of talk in recent days about printing new money, indexing wages, imposing price and capital controls and restoring state management of parts of the economy,'' she told the U.S.-Russia Business Council in Chicago. ``We can only wonder if some members of Primakov's team understand the basic arithmetic of the global economy.'' While praising Primakov, once her counterpart when he was foreign minister, as a pragmatist able to cooperate on key issues with Washington, she had harsh words of warning for him. ``Our initial reaction to some of the direction he's going in has not been particularly positive,'' she said, adding, ``The question now is whether that cooperation can continue.'' The United States must keep up its aid to Russia but is adjusting it to promote the building of democracy and student exchanges as well as arms control, Albright said. Washington does not favor more direct aid. ``More big bailouts are not by themselves going to restore investor confidence in Russia,'' she said. ``In the long run, the gap between Russia's needs and its resources must be met not by foreign bailouts but by foreign investment.'' Albright sharply criticized as self-defeating the ``many voices in Russia who want to shift the emphasis in Russia's interaction with America and our allies from one of partnership to one of assertiveness, opposition and defiance for its own stake.'' Russia could not stand alone in the world, she said, and the United States' ability ``to help Russians help themselves will go from being merely very, very difficult to being absolutely impossible.'' At the same time, she said, Washington would not ``assume the worst, for there are still plenty of people in Russia who will fight against turning back the clock.'' And she urged the world _ and American critics _ to ``be patient with the workings of the democratic process in Russia'' and ``not start each day by taking a census of reformers in the Kremlin,'' a census that American officials themselves promoted before President Boris Yeltsin dismissed the previous government. While Moscow may continue to oppose any NATO use of force against Serbian forces in the southern province of Kosovo, Albright said, NATO must be prepared to act regardless.",
"Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov said Saturday that the economic crisis would not bring an end to the government's program of privatizing state property. ``Privatization will be accomplished for growth of production, growth of investment and growth of production effectiveness through renewal of major funds,'' Primakov said during a meeting of Western businessmen. ``We shall conduct privatization so that it serves the interests of the people, the state, and business,'' he said, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency. Primakov reassured the businessmen, members of the prime minister's consultive council on foreign investment in Russia, that the government had no plans to ban the circulation of U.S. dollars in Russia. But, he said, the government would take steps to staunch the flow of dollars from Russia. Responding to media reports of a government economic plan that would prohibit Russians from buying U.S. dollars and other foreign currency, Primakov said the reports ``absolutely do not correspond to reality,'' ITAR-Tass quoted him as saying. He said there was no need to regulate the influx of dollars into Russia, but the government should take steps to prevent what he called ``the dollar drain.'' Russian companies stashed about dlrs 2.5 billion outside the country in September alone, the Interfax news agency reported Friday, quoting central bank figures. Primakov said foreign investors are ``the force'' that will help Russia to minimize its losses from the current economic crisis. ``We are very much interested in foreign investments, especially in ones that go into the real production sector,'' Primakov said, according to Interfax. ``We need a continuous dialogue with foreign investors, without whom it will be difficult for us to overcome the current difficulties.'' He said Russia wanted long-term investments. ``Foreign capital has been coming to the country via short-term operations,'' Primakov said. This, he said, ``is not to our liking or yours.'' Viktor Gerashchenko, the central bank chairman, said on Friday that the government must act to stem the flow of dollars from Russia. Gerashchenko and Finance Minister Mikhail Zadornov were in Washington Saturday for the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund, where they plan to spell out the measures Russia is taking to bail out its finance system. Russia wants the IMF to release the second dlrs 4.3 billion installment of a loan that was approved in July, a month before the country's economy crashed and the government effectively defaulted on its foreign loans. IMF officials have said they want the Russian government to come up with a sound economic program before the installment is given, and have made it clear that currency controls and boosting the money supply by printing rubles are not acceptable."
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