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DISTRIBUTE FREELY-                             WEEK OF 7/22/951INFO/GENERAL INFO ON INEWS DAILY - INEWS@AOL.COM5TO REACH EDITOR ------------------ INEWSEDIT@AOL.COM'CLICK THE \INDEX\\ BUTTON FOR THE MENUK\CLICK HERE FOR FREE TRIAL SUBSCRIPTION TO INEWS DAILY VIA E-MAIL\SUBINFO\.UNITED STATES,USA.LATIN AMERICA,LATIN AMERICA.EUROPE,EUROPE.RUSSIA  FORMER REPUBLICS,CIS.ASIA,ASIA.AFRICA,AFRICA.MIDDLE EAST,MIDDLE EAST.PACIFIC STATES,PACIFIC .INEWS DAILY FREE TRIAL,SUBINFOUNITED STATES        \BOOKS\BOOKS\+        \FEATURES-CURRENT EVENTS\FEATURES\/        \FINANCIAL-ECONOMY-BUSINESS\FINANCIAL\        \MEDICINE\MEDICINE\        \POLITICS\POLITICS\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUBOOKS-   \"TRINITY FIELDS" BY BRADFORD MORROW\116\"   \"DANCE OF A FALLEN MONK"\117\@   \"ONE NATION UNDER A GROOVE: MOTOWN & AMERICAN CULTURE"\118\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUFEATURES-CURRENT EVENTS8   \AMERICAN PHYSICIST CREATE A NEW STATE OF MATTER\54\'   \LESS PERIL FOR THE OZONE LAYER\55\   \AMERICAN DIGEST\56\"   \U.S. AGRICULTURAL ROUNDUP\57\   \COMPUTER DIGEST\58\)   \THE POPE'S PAPAL LETTER ON WOMEN\59\*   \JACKSONVILLE ELECTS BLACK SHERIFF\60\   \NAACP CONVENTION\61\(   \NY "NEWSDAY" CEASES PUBLICATION\62\   \U.S. TERRORISM ALERT\63\4   \ADMISTRATION CONSIDERS ANTI-TOBACCO ACTIONS\64\D   \REPORT ON TOBACCO INDUSTRY DOCUMENTS ON ADDITION AND CANCER\65\   \CITY OR SUBURB\66\'   \RACIAL LENDING PRACTICES STUDY\67\2   \'ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE' ON THE INTERNET\68\G   \TUSKEGEE AIRMEN COMMEMORATE ANNIVERSARY OF END OF WORLD WAR II\69\#   \CARRYING CONCEALED WEAPONS\70\   \THE CARING INSTITUTE\71\&   \SAN FRANCISCO: BLUES FESTIVAL\72\   \MUSIC NOTES\73\,   \SEATTLE MICROBREWERIES LESS IS MORE\74\)   \NEW YORK CITY CRIME RATES PLUNGE\75\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENU1             \CLICK HERE FOR MORE SELECTIONS\M1\E   \RESIDENTS OF FENCED-IN LOW-INCOME HOUSING SAY VIOLENCE ENDED\76\<   \SOME UNUSUAL NEWS IN THE GRIM, VICIOUS WAR ON DRUGS\77\;   \VISITING INTELLECTUALS DISCUSS RELIGION IN AMERICA\78\$   \HOWARD UNIVERSITY'S DILEMMA\79\(   \PLUTONIUM STORAGE SECURITY RISK\80\%   \TAPE RECORDING INVENTOR DIES\81\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUFINANCIAL-ECONOMY-BUSINESS(   \U.S. GOVERNMENT SUGAR SUPPORTS\119\2   \NEW YORK CITY COMMODITY EXCHANGES MOVING\120\,   \FIRST CHICAGO BANK/NBD BANK MERGER\121\,   \NEW LEGISLATION FUELS BANK MERGERS\122\E   \U.S. BANK REGULATORS SEEK BETTER WAYS TO GAUGE MARKET RISKS\123\E   \LACK OF FAST TRACK SEEN HAMPERING U.S. ON HEMISPHERIC TRADE\124\D   \HIGHER PAY, PRODUCTIVITY FOUND AT U.S. EXPORTING COMPANIES\125\C   \KODAK URGES JAPAN TO RECONSIDER POSITION ON FILM BARRIERS\126\)   \CONSUMER PRICES INCH UP IN JUNE\127\8   \U.S. INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION UP SLIGHTLY IN JUNE\128\*   \GLOBAL MANUFACTURING COMPETITORS\129\8   \UNITED AIRLINES EMPLOYEE TAKE-OVER ANNIVERSARY\130\G   \GRAIN PROCESSOR ADM INVESTIGATED BY FBI, EXEC. TURNS INFORMER\131\#   \PNC/MIDLANTIC BANK MERGER\132\D   \TECHNOLOGY SALES TO JAPAN DROPPING DESPITE TRADE AGREEMENT\133\:   \U.S. UNEMPLOYMENT RATE DECLINES SLIGHTLY IN JUNE\134\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENU	MEDICINEI   \ENLISTING GENETICS TO COMBAT THE MOST COMMON CAUSE OF BLINDNESS\170\%   \NEW WHOOPING COUGH VACCINES\171\"   \THE DANGERS OF PET BIRDS\172\(   \ALCOHOL EFFECTS WOMEN'S HEARTS\173\   \MEDICAL BRIEFS\174\3   \ESTROGEN REPLACEMENT & BREAST CANCER RISK\175\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENU	POLITICS@   \MEMBERS OF SENATE PETITION CHINA FOR RELEASE OF HARRY WU\1\   \CONGRESS WACO HEARINGS\2\   \CONGRESS-WEEK IN REVIEW\3\-   \WOULD-BE NATIONS AND ASPIRING PEOPLES\4\2   \MILITIAS, HOUSE HEARINGS, AND CONSPIRACIES\5\;   \INTERVIEW: FORMER SOVIET BLOC MEMBERS ENTERING NATO\6\H   \AMERICA'S LARGEST VIETNAM VET ORGANIZATION AGAINST NORMALIZATION\7\0   \CLINTON REJECTS INTELLIGENCE BUDGET CUTS\8\   \VIETNAM VET CONGRESSMEN\9\5   \SENATE TO DEBATE U.N. WITHDRAWAL FROM BOSNIA\10\D   \D'AMATO EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER U.S. ROLE IN MEXICAN BAILOUT\11\C   \U.S. EDITORIAL OPINION ROUNDUP: BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA WORSENS\12\H   \U.S. EDITORIAL OPINION ROUNDUP: THE RELEASE OF AUNG SAN SUU KYI\13\A   \CLINTON SAYS BASE CLOSINGS REASSESSMENT IS NOT POLITICAL\14\K   \PENTAGON SAYS 80,000 TROOPS MAY BE NEED TO EVACUATE UN FROM BOSNIA\15\   \SENATE/MIDDLE EAST AID\16\@   \U.S. EDITORIAL OPINION ROUNDUP: THE JAILING OF HARRY WU\17\6   \CONGRESS SETS-UP TAX SYSTEM REFORM COMMISSION\18\*   \CHRISTOPHER TO MAKE FAR EAST TRIP\19\!   \CONGRESS' VIETNAM DEBATE\20\7   \NEW YORK GOVERNOR PATAKI ON GOVERNMENT REFORMS\21\%   \CONGRESS TV VIOLENCE HEARING\22\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENU1             \CLICK HERE FOR MORE SELECTIONS\M2\7   \U.S. TO MOVE QUICKLY TO BRING CHILE INTO NAFTA\23\-   \JOURNALIST CALLS FOR IMMIGRATION BAN\24\@   \U.S. OPINION ROUNDUP: VIETNAM RECOGNITION-END OF AN ERA\25\F   \KISSINGER URGES BIPARTISANSHIP, COOPERATION IN FOREIGN POLICY\26\A   \ADMINISTRATION SUPPORTS EXTENSION OF U.S. COPYRIGHT TERM\27\3   \HELMS, FEINGOLD WANT MFN FOR CHINA REVOKED\28\@   \DOLE SAYS U.N. MUST IMMEDIATELY PREPARE TO LEAVE BOSNIA\29\@   \MUCH CONGRESSIONAL WORK TO BE DONE BEFORE AUGUST RECESS\30\2   \NO DECISION ON FIRST LADY'S TRIP TO CHINA\31\=   \ALLIES, UNITED NATIONS CONSIDER NEXT STEPS IN BOSNIA\32\C   \DOLE, LIEBERMAN, HELMS URGE LIFTING OF BOSNIA ARMS EMBARGO\33\;   \HOUSE PANEL APPROVES BILL TO EXPAND CUBA SANCTIONS\34\I   \REPUBLICANS SAY U.S. SHOULD USE BEIJING CONFERENCE TO PROTEST WU\35\<   \LIVINGSTON WARNS AGAINST PRESIDENTIAL VETO STRATEGY\36\2   \GINGRICH MOVES TO SAVE ENDANGERED ANIMALS\37\K   \FOREIGN PRESS REACTION: VIETNAM NORMALIZATION: A HEALTHY NEW LEAF?\38\2   \WIFE OF HARRY WU APPEALS TO NEWT GINGRICH\39\.   \HOUSE UNOFFICIAL HEARINGS ON MILITIAS\40\@   \GINGRICH SAYS U.S. SHOULD TAKE STRONG ACTION IN WU CASE\41\'   \CONGRESS PASS FOREIGN AID BILL\42\%   \PROFILE: SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN\43\:   \SENATE PRESSURED TO HOLD PUBLIC PACKWOOD HEARINGS\44\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENU1             \CLICK HERE FOR MORE SELECTIONS\M3\>   \PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY ON SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE\45\+   \HELMS ISSUES STATEMENT ON HARRY WU\46\0   \LAKE, LORD BRIEFING ON VIETNAM DECISION\47\H   \CONGRESSIONAL, FORMER MILITARY LEADERS WHO SUPPORT VIETNAM TIES\48\<   \HOUSE VOTES CUT IN FISCAL 1996 FOREIGN AID SPENDING\49\+   \SENATE ACTION ON REGULATORY REFORM\50\9   \SUPREME COURT CHRONOLOGY: CHURCH/STATE SEPARTION\51\,   \CLINTON SPEAKS ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM\52\#   \BOSNIA: TO WITHDRAW OR NOT\53\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENULATIN AMERICA'   \BRAZIL SEIZE WEAPONS SHIPMENT\154\J   \COLOMBIAN COURT ORDERS COMPENSATION TO MASSACRE VICTIMS FAMILIES\155\.   \ARGENTINA/FRANCE DIPLOMATIC TENSIONS\156\8   \ARGENTINE PROVIENCE PRPARES FOR SUSTERITY PLAN\157\I   \GUATEMALA ARMY BLOCKS HARBURY'S ATTEMPT TO EXCAVATE HER HUSBAND\158\!   \HAITIAN POLITICAL UPSET\159\$   \PANAMA TRAFFIC/ENVIRONMENT\160\B   \BRAZIL TRIES TO END AUTOMATIC WAGE INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS\161\7   \COSTA RICAN EDUCATORS PROTEST NEW PENSION LAW\162\D   \REPORT OF ANTI-DRUG OPERATION RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN BOLIVIA\163\:   \MEXICAN JUDGE LINKED TO A MURDERED JUDGE RESIGNS\164\1   \SENATE DEBATES MERIT OF HAITI ELECTIONS\165\A   \OAS ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION ISSUES REPORT ON HAITI\166\C   \BRAZIL PRIVATIZATION AUCTION OF A PUBLIC ELECTRIC COMPANY\167\#   \BRAZIL EDUCATION PROBLEMS\168\L   \MEXICAN JUDGE ORDER RELEASE OF 2 SUSPECTS IN COLOSIO ASSASSINATION\169\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUEUROPE    \WHAT'S NEXT IN BOSNIA?\135\,   \SREBRENICA: A HUMANITARIAN TRAGEDY\136\   \U.N. BOSNIA OPTIONS\137\   \BOSNIA REFUGEES\138\%   \EAST EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS\139\,   \CHIRAC ON BOSNIA AND NUCLEAR TESTS\140\-   \CZECH GOVERNMENT ENDS WAGE CONTROLS\141\3   \PADDY ASHDOWN ON BRITAIN'S ROLE IN BOSNIA\142\B   \BRITAIN BRING WWII WAR CRIMES CHANGES ON 84-YEAR-OLD MAN\143\0   \EU PROPOSES END TO ALL BORDER CONTROLS\144\    \SLOVAKIA PRIVATIZATION\145\9   \FRENCH OIL FIRM REPORTEDLY SIGNS DEAL WITH IRAN\146\I   \FOREIGN PRESS: NUCLEAR TESTS: FRANCE EXCITES; WHAT ABOUT CHINA?\147\J   \FOREIGN PRESS: SAFE HAVEN SREBRENICA-WHERE'S THE REACTION FORCE?\148\B   \U.S. EDITORIAL OPINION ROUNDUP: FRANCE VERSUS GREENPEACE\149\+   \POLISH MASS PRIVATIZATION PROGRAM\150\!   \WORLD POPULATION REPORT\151\3   \EAST EUROPEAN CAPITAL MARKETS PERFORMANCE\152\0   \BILLIONAIRE GEORGE SOROS/SLOVAKIA FEUD\153\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENURUSSIA/FORMER SOVIET REPUBLICS7   \CHECHEN ENVOY REPORTS PROGRESS IN PEACE TALKS\187\=   \YELTSIN AIDES DOWNPLAY FEARS ABOUT YELTSIN'S HEALTH\188\"   \UKRAINE CHOLERA OUTBREAK\189\6   \LITTLE REACTION IN RUSSIA TO YELTSIN ILLNESS\190\    \UKRAINE MOVES WESTWARD\191\D   \UKRAINIAN DEFENSE MINISTER FAVORS UNHURRIED NATO EXPANSION\192\   \RUSSIAN ECONOMY\193\'   \UKRAINE MINING LABOR TENSIONS\194\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUASIA;   \CALL TO END TRAFFICKING OF NEPALESE WOMEN TO INDIA\98\)   \EAST ASIA-PACIFIC WEEK-IN-REVIEW\99\D   \PHILIPPINES MOVE TO PHASE OUT EXPORTATION OF WOMEN WORKERS\100\.   \AUNG SAN SUU KYI SPEAKS TO THE PRESS\101\,   \BURMA/AUNG SAN SUU KYI: WHAT NEXT?\102\#   \CHINA'S BIRTH DEFECTS LAW\103\;   \HONG KONG PUBLIC OPINION POLL ON CHINA TRANSITION\104\1   \SRI LANKAN REBELS LAUNCH COUNTER-ATTACK\105\+   \RED CROSS PREPARES TO LEAVE BURMA\106\#   \HONG KONG BUSINESS BRIEFS\107\I   \NEW THAI PRIME MINISTER ACCUSED OF VOTE BUYING/DRUG TRAFFICKING\108\-   \CHINESE COMMUNISTS AND NATIONALISTS\109\;   \SRI LANKA DENIES IT INTENTIONALLY BOMBED A CHURCH\110\B   \CHINA DEMANDS THAT U.S. TAKE ACTION TO IMPROVE RELATIONS\111\G   \CHINA WILL NOT ALLOW RELIGIOUS MATERIAL AT WOMEN'S CONFERENCE\112\?   \CHINA MAY HOLD A TRIAL OF AMERICAN HARRY WU IN SECRET\113\<   \CHINA WARNS GINGRICH/HOUSE NOT TO RECOGNIZE TAIWAN\114\(   \VIETNAM'S AGRICULTURAL REFORMS\115\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUAFRICA5   \BOUTROS-GHALI HOLDS TALKS WITH JONAS SAVIMBI\82\H   \SUDAN SAYS IT WILL NOT GO TO WAR WITH EGYPT OVER BORDER DISPUTE\83\G   \3 JOURNALISTS AMONG 40 CONVICTED IN SECRET NIGERIAN COUP TRIAL\84\<   \HINDU INFLUENCE IN SOUTH AFRICAN APARTHEID STRUGGLE\85\   \CHAD CEASEFIRE\86\2   \NIGERIA HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES INVESTIGATION\87\>   \GENERAL AIDEED'S DECALRED GOVERNMENT SEEKS LEGITIMACY\88\G   \SOGLO MAKES CONTINUED CASE FOR AID TO NATIONS THAT DEMOCRATIZE\89\'   \AFRICAN EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES\90\"   \CAMEROON NEWSPAPER STRIKE\91\   \SIERRA LEONE FIGHTING\92\A   \MORE SOUTH AFRICAN APARTHEID ERA "DIRTY TRICKS" REVEALED\93\K   \INVESTORS WORRIED OVER A DIMINISHED NATIONAL PARTY IN SOUTH AFRICA\94\D   \40 NIGERIAN CONVICTED BY SECRET TRIBUNAL OF PLOTTING A COUP\95\:   \NIGERIAN RULER LIFTS BAN ON INFLUENTIAL NEWSPAPER\96\&   \SOUTH AFRICAN LABOR AGREEMENT\97\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUMIDDLE EASTH   \SYRIA ACCUSED OF VIOLATING HUMAN RIGHTS OF POLITICAL OPPONENTS\176\L   \FOUNDER OF BANNED ALGERIAN ISLAMIC SALVATION FRONT KILLED IN PARIS\177\8   \ISRAELI RABBIS UGRE SOLDIERS TO DISOBEY ORDERS\178\A   \ISRAEL'S MOST FAMOUS PRISONER HAS A DRAMATIC COURT DATE\179\&   \ISRAEL/PALESTINIAN AGREEMENT\180\!   \JORDAN ELECTION RESULTS\181\F   \IRAQI BIOLOGICAL ARMS PROGRAM SETS BACK LIFTING OF SANCTIONS\182\G   \IRANIAN REBELS CLAIM 3 MEMBERS WERE KILLED IN BAGHDAD BY IRAN\183\D   \CONTROVERSY ARISES FROM ISRAELI/HEZBOLLAH EXCHANGE OF FIRE\184\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUPACIFIC,   \ANTI-NUCLEAR BASTILLE DAY PROTESTS\185\:   \RAINBOW WARRIOR LEAVES VICINITY OF MURUROA ATOLL\186\   ---------------<   MEMBERS OF SENATE PETITION CHINA FOR RELEASE OF HARRY WU   VICTOR BEATTIE   WASHINGTON@   Nearly two-thirds of the 100-member U.S. Senate is demandingAChina immediately release Chinese-American human rights activistBHarry Wu. Lawmakers petitioned the Chinese embassy in Washington,Bthe Clinton Administration called on Beijing to release Mr. Wu as,a step toward repairing strained relations:B   The lawmaker's appeal to Chinese premier Li Peng was presented@to the charge d'affaires who is the ranking Chinese diplomat in<Washington after Beijing recalled its ambassador. BilateralArelations have soured since the United States approved a private5visit last month by Taiwan's President Lee Teng-Hui.@   Mr. Wu was arrested June 19th as he tried to enter China. He?is charged with illegal entry and espionage and could face thedeath penalty.A   Some U.S. lawmakers are threatening to revoke China's trading?privileges approved for another year by President Clinton last@month. Mr. Clinton could veto such legislation but a two-thirds;majority in both houses of Congress could override a veto.A   U.S. State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns also dismissed=Chinese Foreign Minister Qian qichen's contention the United7States is to blame for current bilateral difficulties:9   "Both countries are responsible for the nature of theBrelationship and for whatever progress we're going to make in theArelationship. The Chinese government is specifically responsibleAto remove a number of problems in that relationship, notably thedetention of Harry Wu."@   Mr. Burns says Mr. Wu was warned about the risks of entering9China where he earlier had served a 19-year prison term.   ---------------   ---------------   CONGRESS WACO HEARINGS   PAULA WOLFSON   CONGRESS=   The city of Waco, Texas was once known as a rather sleepy@southwestern town, the kind of place that conjures up images ofAcowboys and cattle, farm fields and small rural churches. But in@early 1993, the national spotlight was thrown on Waco., And the<city and the United States would never be the same. A tenseAstand-off between federal agents and members of a religious cultAturned bloody. More than two years later, the Waco raid is still3sparking political fireworks in the U.S. Congress.A   Members of the Branch Davidian sect had a name for their Waco@compound. They called it ranch apocalypse. On April 19th, 1993,Bit became a fireball and then a rubble of burnt bodies, scraps ofmetal, and ash.@   Federal officials who gave the orders to go after the Branch@Davidians admit mistakes were made. But they say members of theAcult were stockpiling weapons and ammunition. And their evidence;indicates that when federal agents fired tear gas into the:compound, the cult responded by setting a suicidal blaze.>   For Clinton Administration, officials it was a blow and anBembarrassment. For members of some extremist groups Waco became a1flagrant example of a government out of control.@   Organizations representing gun owners soon joined the chorus<of criticism. So did some members of conservative religious?groups who did not necessarily agree with the teachings of the>Branch Davidians, but felt a dangerous precedent was set when6ranch apocalypse became the target of federal agents.@   A round of Congressional hearings was held after the tragedy;in Waco. But when Republicans took control of the national?legislature in January they announced plans for a new inquiry.@Congressman Bill Zeliff of New Hampshire, who will co-chair thehearings, says:@   "All I am trying to do is ask the questions, get the answersand close the books."A   Mr. Zeliff says years after the Waco tragedy, the facts stillAhave not been presented to the American public. He says he has a@thick file of letters and phone messages urging congress to getthe full story on Waco:A   "And all we are saying is, let's talk about it. Let's ask theBquestions. We don't have anything to hide. Let's not be afraid of;the truth because the American people are a very forgiving>people. If mistakes were made by the agencies involved, let's?come clean with the American people and go about our business.,Let's make sure this doesn't happen again."A   But Democrats see the matter in starkly different terms. TheyAsay the Republicans are not looking for answers, but rather, are7looking for a way to make the administration look bad.A   Charles Schumer of New York says the new hearings on Waco are$being driven by political concerns:A   "I have nothing against holding hearings on Waco. I have saidAthat from the beginning. And if there is new evidence that ought@to come out, by all means it should. If these hearings are even@an impartial review of all the other hearings and all the otherBreports, that would be fine, too. Unfortunately, however, I think:there is a real danger that these hearings could become a	circus."A   It is unclear if any major revelations will come out of these@hearings. Lawmakers involved in the inquiry were granted access>recently to presidential papers dealing with the Waco tragedy8and, according to Mr. Zeliff, they learned nothing new.?   The hearings will last eight days and explore the events in@Waco in chronological order, from the original arrest warrants,=through the negotiation process, the raid, the fire, and the@aftermath. The witnesses will include agents from the Bureau of=Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, attorneys who represented theABranch Davidians, experts in religious cults, and members of the:Waco fire rescue team. The last person to testify will beattorney General Janet Reno.   ---------------   ---------------   CONGRESS-WEEK IN REVIEW   PAULA WOLFSON   CONGRESSB   The U.S. Congress is dividing its attention these days between*foreign affairs and domestic legislation.A   The escalating crisis in Bosnia is likely to move centerstagethis week in the U.S. Senate.<   Republican leader Robert Dole has indicated he may bring:legislation to the floor designed to end the Bosnian arms@embargo. A similar measure passed the House early last month as,part of a wide-ranging foreign policy bill.8   In both chambers, there is also likely to be further@discussion in the days ahead of President Clinton's decision to?normalize relations with Vietnam. Congress cannot overturn the=change in policy. But the legislature does control the money@needed to turn words into reality. And Senator Dole makes clearCongress will not sit idly by:8   "Congress must approve any additional funds for U.S.>diplomatic operations in Vietnam. The Senate must confirm anyAU.S. ambassador to Vietnam. Any further improvement in relations>will require action by Congress, granting most favored nation?status, or beginning any operations by the Export-Import Bank,>the overseas private investment corporation, or the trade anddevelopment agency."=   Reaction to the president's announcement on July 11th was>mixed and highly emotional. Those lawmakers who served in the;military during the Vietnam War were especially outspoken.=Several sided with Mr. Dole in criticizing the decision. But@some, like Democrat Pete Peterson of Florida, a former prisoner9of war in Vietnam, agreed with the president's decision:7   "It is time for resolution. The time has passed for8retribution. I firmly believe the time has come for the*normalization of relations with Vietnam.">   President Clinton announced his decision on Vietnam on theBsame day the House approved a 12 billion dollar foreign aid bill.?The legislation is one of a series of spending bills that must+clear the legislature in the coming weeks.<   These bills are expected to dominate debate in the houseAchamber this week. In committee action, members of the judiciary@and government reform panels will open a new set of hearings on:the 1993 raid by government agents on the Branch Davidian?compound in Waco, Texas. Meanwhile, the Senate will launch yet?another inquiry into the complicated web of events surrounding=president Clinton's dealings with the failed Whitewater landdevelopment company.   ---------------   ---------------)   WOULD-BE NATIONS AND ASPIRING PEOPLES
   ED WARNER   WASHINGTON?   The number of nations is growing in the world, and more are8yet to come. While awaiting nationhood or at least some?international recognition of their existence, many peoples are;turning for help to "The Unrepresented Nations and PeoplesOrganization" (UNPO).B   Acheh. Chuvash. Gagauzia. Komi. Mapuche. Udmurt. The names are@not familiar to the world at large, but they soon may be. These8are peoples in various parts of the globe who aspire to@nationhood or to a greater role in the states they inhabit. All6are members of "the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples3Organization," which helps them reach their goals.A   UNPO as the organization is known serves groups who presently5do not qualify for assistance at other internationalAorganizations, which, like the United Nations, deal largely withAestablished nation states. Julie Berriault, exective director of@the Americas coordination office of UNPO, says her organizationhelps worthy aspiring peoples:;   "It provides a legitimate international forum for these;nations and peoples, minorities, occupied nations and also>provides services for them; in other words, assistance at theAU.N. to get their voices heard, assistance here in Washington on@Capitol Hill (congress) and with the State Department, again toBget their voices heard. The principle of the organization is thatBit is founded on non-violence, and the members have to sign on to>finding non-violent methods to prevent conflicts that they're#currently in from growing larger."A   Julie Berriault says UNPO aims to head off minority conflicts@before they become violent. Sometimes this seems to work, as inAthe case of the Crimean Tatars; sometimes not, as can be seen inBChechnya. Preventive diplomacy, she says, depends considerably on%the attitude of the powers involved.=   Who gets to join UNPO is not easily decided. A group must=prove it is genuinely representative of a particular people.@Where factions are involved with no one clearly in charge, UNPO;may arrange a coalition membership until representation isclarified.@   Helping a minority within a state can offend the government.AThis has happened with China, which objects to UNPO's assistance
to Tibet.;   Menelaos Tzelios, under secretary general for UNPO, who0represents the Greek minority in Albania, says:>   "The objective of the Greek minority in Albania is for the?Albanian government to respect the bilateral and internationalBagreements that Albania has signed. What we would like to have is@the right to enjoy our cultural identity, to have our religion,7our language - education mainly, and our participationAproportionally in the local government, especially in the policeand the judicial system."@   Mr. Tzelios is also involved in other UNPO programs that are=sure to keep it functioning as long as peoples have pride of2place and ancestry and want the world to know it.   ---------------   ---------------.   MILITIAS, HOUSE HEARINGS, AND CONSPIRACIES   ADAM PHILLIPS   WASHINGTON>   This week The U.S. House of Representatives will begin twoAseparate hearings on the April 1993 shootout between federal law<enforcement agents and members of the armed Branch Davidian=religious group at Waco, Texas. Eighty members of the group,@including many children, and several federal agents were killed>in the shootout and an ensuing fire that destroyed the BranchDavidian compound.9   Some critics allege that the raid was part of ongoing<conspiracy by the U.S. government to abridge constitutionalBprotections, such as the right to bear arms. Others claim members:of the religious sect brought the disaster on themselves.@   The Congress has already conducted one investigative hearing@on the 50-day standoff between government agents and the BranchADavidians. During that inquiry, the government insisted that theAJustice Department, headed by Attorney General Janet Reno, acted?properly when it ordered the raid, but admitted to mistakes in%the way the assault was carried out.@   Still, some militia groups that staunchly defend their rightAto bear arms, and others, claim that the disaster in Waco proves9that the federal government is increasingly overreachingconstitutional bounds.@   Jim Fyfe (fife) is a professor of criminal justice at Temple@University, a former police officer, and the author of the book@"Above the Law: Police and the Excessive Use of Force." He does?not believe in a grand conspiracy, but understands the growing=concerns about heightened police and government power in theUnited States:A   "Well, I think it was cowboy law enforcement that had nothing>to do with a conspiracy, but it had to do with some folks who=have an overly aggressive view of their work and who I thinkAbadly served the attorney general. But I don't see anything like=a conspiracy there. I think there is a concern in the United=States with the availability of weapons and of more and more?exotic and potent weapons. And the law enforcement people have;adopted the same sorts of tactics, in trying to locate and=confiscate those as they've done with drugs. And some of the9tactics that our law enforcement people have been using,=especially where guns are concerned, give citizens reason to@believe that the government may be a little bit out of control,@and [this,] unfortunately, fueled the sentiment that there is aconspiracy afoot.":   The two House of Representatives subcommittees who areAinvestigating the Waco raid have different focuses. One panel isBconcerned with crime, because of the deaths of the federal agents?and growing threats posed by gun rights advocates like private9militia groups and the Branch Davidians. The other House:sub-committee is overseeing government reform. This is anAoutgrowth of a widespread political concern among Americans thatAthe power of the federal government needs to be reduced overall.@   Political sociologist Martin Lipset is a professor of public?policy at the George Mason University in Virginia and a senior@fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in Palo?alto, California. Asked whether he became more concerned aboutBthe actions of the federal government or the rightwing extremists-following the Waco incident Lipse responded:A   "Well, I think the paramilitary groups, the extremists groupsAthat seem to have arisen all around the country on the right, is@the most immediate, the biggest concern, and particularly since we don't know much about them."@   Even those who favor gun control recognize that stubborn gun=rights advocates like the militias, and even hunters, have aBstrong constitutional argument in their favor when they quote the?second amendment to the Bill of Rights. This amendment says "aBwell regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a freeBstate, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not beinfringed."B   Still, Jim Fyne believes there may be limits to this right, asthere are with others:B   "The second amendment is one of the ten amendments in the Bill?of Rights, and virtually every right guaranteed in the Bill of>Rights is subject to some limits. So you have a right to free>speech, but Americans can't yell "fire" in a crowded theater.BThey have a right to be free from unreasonable search except thatBin emergencies, police can conduct unreasonable searches, or what@would be otherwise thought of as unreasonable searches. And theAreal question here, I think, is one of balance. The individual'sBright to bear arms: Should that be subject to limits based on theAamount of danger the individual may be presenting to the society;or the potential for danger that an individual presents to
society?">   Mr. Lipset of George Mason and Stanford universities notes<that the militia movement's constitutional argument is much4easier to disseminate today, given the explosion of?communications, like computer networks, desktop publishing andcable television:?   "Twenty-five or 30 years ago, I think most people got their>information and their editorial views from a relatively small;number of outlets, and finding extremist views was kind of@difficult to do, frankly. And that has changed a lot. You know,>years ago, for example, it would have been very difficult forBsecond amendment advocates, people who say that we should have noBrestrictions on our right to bear arms, it was very difficult for>them to get an audience. And that's no longer true. There are<lots of talk shows where their views are aired and hear and
reinforced."A   Most Americans do not dress up in combat fatigues and conductBprivate military training against the day when they might have toAdefend themselves against the government, as many militia groups8do. Still, according to Mr. Lipset, the anti-governmentAsentiments that the militia groups express is firmly rooted in a>historical and political heritage that less extreme Americans?also share. He adds that as the Republican-controlled Congress=prepares to conduct new hearings on the Waco incident, it is#acutely aware of this politically:A   "Americans are the most opposed to state power of any country;in the world, certainly any developed country. And so this@anti-statism of the militia, of the extreme right, is very much<an aspect, a consequence of the American tradition. [Thomas?]Jefferson said that 'government is best which governs least.'9and that value is still a dominant value in the U.S. the<Republican party, which just captured Congress, is the mostAanti-statist major party in the world. There's no party like it,@except small parties in other parts of the world. ConservativesAin other parts of the world tend to be statist. This pressure on?Americans to enforce the laws themselves and enforce it on the<government is one which is different from other countries."B   The U.S. Congress will be looking at that same issue next week@when it renews its investigation of the 1993 government raid onBthe armed Branch Davidian religious compound in Waco, Texas, that9left more than 80 people dead, including several federal
officers.   ---------------   ---------------7   INTERVIEW: FORMER SOVIET BLOC MEMBERS ENTERING NATO   ROBERT REILLY   WASHINGTON?   The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, is one of theAmost successful alliances in history. For nearly half a century,?it protected western Europe from an expansionist Soviet Union.BToday that threat no longer exists. In 1994, NATO established the>partnership for peace. This initiative is designed to promote;military and political cooperation between NATO and former@Soviet-bloc countries. For many, it is expected to be the first"step toward full NATO membership.>   Joseph Kruzel is deputy assistant secretary of defense forBEuropean and NATO affairs; William Odom directs national security=studies at the Hudson Institute and formerly headed the U.S.ANational Security Agency; and Paul Goble is director of research>at the Jamestown Foundation. He previously served in the U.S.<State Department and is a longtime specialist on Russia andEastern Europe.=   Reilly: Mr. Kruzel, let me begin with you, if I may. NATOBapproved the partnership for peace program a year and a half ago.<Is it living up to expectations so far? What is its currentstatus?9   Kruzel: I think it has exceeded expectations. We have<twenty-six members of the partnership; fourteen of them are=actively involved in this planning and review process; about@eighteen of them have officers assigned to NATO headquarters orBworking in the coordination cell at Mons, [Belgium]. We had three=exercises in 1994. We're going to have eleven exercises this7year, even more in the years beyond. If you go to NATOAheadquarters or to Mons, you see Poles and Hungarians and CzechsBactively involved in the work of the alliance. We have a lot moreBto do but I would say given the glacial pace at which governments@usually operate, we've done a lot in the first eighteen months.B   Reilly: General Odom, are you pleased with the partnership for>peace? Is it meeting expectations and fulfilling the need forsecurity in Europe?A   Odom: Let me say that I agree with the points that Joe Kruzel>made about some of the progress at the operational level he's>discussing and since we're into this program we might as well@make the best of it. I personally think that it was a bad idea.@It's a bad idea because it gives an excuse to those who want toAoppose expansion of NATO to pose that as an alternative. It also8confuses a lot of people about where our priorities are@strategically in the east. It puts them all on the same status.AWe saw the problems that created with Russia's interest in this.>So while there are some very positive consequences of some ofAthese exercises, I think there are down sides [negative aspects]?to the partnership for peace that we should not lose sight of,0particularly in light of the larger NATO goals.;   Reilly: Let me ask Paul Goble. Isn't there a need for a>transitional program such as the partnership for peace before!full NATO membership is granted?9   Goble: A transitional program is fine and I think theApartnership for peace has made an important contribution. But as>Bill Odom suggests, it has also gotten in the way of thinking?about the security issue in Europe. NATO is not a club, it's a9defense alliance. It was created not only to deal with aAthreatening Soviet Union, which as you say no longer exists, butBalso with a fundamental security problem brought on by geography.ABetween Berlin and Moscow there is a range of weak states. Twice9in this century already that's where war has begun. NATO?expansion eastward as fast as it can be arranged is one way of@coping with that security vacuum between two capitals of two of/the most important countries in the continent.6   Reilly: At the times when those wars began, we had8totalitarian states in Germany and in the Soviet union.=   Goble: One of the things that's said all the time is that@democracies don't go to war against each other. This is held upBas an absolute principle. The problem is it's not a statistically:significant one. In the world today, there are only sevenAcountries that have been continuously democratic for one hundred9years. We can't predict with any accuracy what kind of a?government will be in Moscow or indeed elsewhere over the next<decade or so. We're just beginning the process of change in;Russia. The revolution is far from over, there are lots of?disturbing signs that things may not turn out the way we want.A   Reilly: Precisely. And one of the critics of the expansion ofANATO, Dr. Kruzel, suggests that the expansion of NATO will bring@about a threat in Russia that does not exist now by undermining>democratic developments and playing into the hands of certainBnationalists who say we [Russians] are considered an enemy by the(west. How do you answer that criticism?@   Kruzel: I say the Russians should take full advantage of theApartnership for peace. They have signed the partnership. Foreign?Minister Kozyrev said at the last meeting of NATO ministers in=Noordwijk just a few weeks ago that Russia would be activelyBinvolved in the partnership for peace. If they are, they will see?the new NATO. They will see that NATO no longer is a threat to>Russia, if it ever was. They will see these countries workingAtogether cooperatively to reshape European security environment.BThat is the way they will understand that NATO enlargement is not9a threat to them but indeed a benefit to all of European>security. Bob, can I come back to my colleagues over here who>have raised a curious objection to the partnership for peace?>Both of them are serious military analysts and they have both9said that NATO is not a club, NATO is a serious militaryBorganization. That means that NATO, if it's going to be a seriousAmilitary organization, has to prepare for new members and has to>have these new members prepared to accept the obligations and@responsibilities of membership. That's what the partnership for?peace is doing everyday. If we didn't have this, if we waved a=magic wand and brought these countries in, NATO would not be=ready to accept new members and these countries would not be=ready to make their contributions. This gradual evolutionary?process enlarges the transatlantic community in the right way.A   Odom: I'd like to respond to that. In the first place, in the:past we've taken countries in without preparation at all.4   Kruzel: That was then. That was in the cold war.@   Odom: We took them in 1949 with virtually no preparation for@it, so I think that's a red herring. The large point here [is],Awhat should you do instead of partnership for peace? You need an@all-European security structure and you need to satisfy genuineARussian security interests. I think they can be satisfied, and a5number of Russians I think understand this. The OSCEA[Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe] needs to be=upgraded and let me be specific. It can't act now because it:looks like the U.N. general assembly. It needs a security;committee with a few key great power members, like Russia,BGermany, France, the U.S., Britain. And it should have rules that<if there is a consensus in that committee, it can act. Then@Russia has a role to play in all European security and that canBbe built to deal with things right now that I think you're trying;to do under partnership for peace, but there's no sense ofBpriority. Then there's no need to expand NATO very far. It shouldBtake in a very limited number of members for the very reasons youApointed out. We can't take in all of Eastern Europe, but I thinkBwe could take in three rather quickly, and that needs to be done.BThe reason that needs to be done is not only the issues that Paul;just mentioned about the probable changes in some of theseBgovernments or the possibility of that, but to ensure an umbrella@under which democratic systems and market economies can developBeffectively. People tend to lose sight of the fact that when NATOBwas formed in 1949, most of the arguments in Europe for it had to<do with creating a security context for internal reasons inAFrance and Germany and the Benelux countries. Russia wasn't even=mentioned in the French debate, only slightly in the British>debate. NATO was designed primarily to get old warring ethnic groups and states to cooperate.B   Reilly: Let me ask that fundamental question about the purposeBof NATO today. Has it lost its major role as a defensive alliance@since its principal threat, the Soviet Union, no longer exists,6and indeed is its purpose now to quell ancient tribal1animosities? Dr. Kruzel, do you agree with that?>   Kruzel: We have not yet reached the point where we can say=that for all of time, external threats have disappeared fromAEuropean security. There are residual threats there, and NATO as@a collective defense alliance is the mechanism for preparing toAdefend against them. It's also more broadly in the post-cold war@world a mechanism for multi-nationalizing security obligations.=It is the way that countries learn a common set of operating;procedures that will allow them either in total or in some?coalition of willing states to take a body operating standardsAand procedures to some military operation anywhere in the world,not just in Europe.@   Goble: The end of the cold war did not repeal either history=or geography. While we can hope for the best in all of these>countries, the fact is that many of these countries feel very>threatened, and countries that feel threatened tend to behaveAbadly and that tends to spiral. We may be able to say Estonia orAPoland should not feel threatened by a Russia that we've decidedAis democratic, but the reality is that both Poles and Estonians,@not to mention others in Eastern Europe, feel that Russia still?constitutes a threat. Given that that is their judgment, given?the security vacuum and the failure to articulate a new set of=parameters for NATO and to allow a large gray area to emergeBbecause we don't really want to make a lot of decisions just now,@that is leading some of these countries to go off in directions@which will exacerbate the security problem for Russia, and that;plays off Russian insecurities to the extent that a Polish<government could decide that Russia is a real threat to it,Awhether we think that or not, and then could behave accordingly.8One way they might behave would be to become incredibly?concessionary to Moscow. Another way, however, would be in the:direction of a more radical nationalism. Extending a NATO>guarantee over those countries, just as it worked in 1949 andAthereafter, is a way of preventing either of those eventualities?from happening. It has nothing to do with keeping the Russiansout per se.B   Reilly: I want to ask one practical question before we run out@of time. President Clinton has made very clear, the question is@no longer if new states will join NATO, they will. The question8is when and how? Are we any closer to a decision there?>   Kruzel: We're not going to answer that question. We're not9going to give these countries a checklist or calendar or>time-table. Part of the reason for that is because it dependsAvery much on the actions of these states. The real nightmare forANATO I think, would be to expand the alliance, admit a new stateAand to wake up the next morning and to find this state going off@in some totalitarian direction. We want these states to show us>before they join our security community that they are able toAcontribute to collective defense, but even more importantly thatBthey share our values. That they are democratic states, that they>have market economies, that they have civilian control of theAmilitary. You see the partnership for peace working every day. IAjust came back with secretary of defense Perry from Warsaw. They@told us, "here's what we're doing to prepare ourselves for NATOBmembership." It would bring tears to your eyes to see how eagerly@they are working in this interim period to make themselves NATO@worthy and NATO ready. If they were in, I don't think they'd be5working as hard as they are to solve these problems.?   Odom: Let me point out by those standards we would not havelet Germany into NATO.?   Kruzel: Bill, that was in the cold war when we faced a verydifferent situation.:   Odom: We face a situation now that's in some ways more<complicated than the cold war. Let me point out that in the?inter-war period, a competitive diplomacy took place, one thatAhad its lineal antecedents in the nineteenth century and earlier?in the Balkans. But when these states were freed up in Eastern=Europe after 1919, the British, the French, the Germans, the7Russians all competed there. Now, the patterns of that@competitive diplomacy are already reappearing, and if NATO does>not assert itself over a limited number of states to break upBthat competition, I don't care what favorable report you get from;a stop in Warsaw, they will be swept aside by these larger>competitive forces. I've already talked to many East European@officials who want to know why certain west European powers areBcultivating them against the Germans and against the Russians and@so forth. I've had Russians tell me that filling that vacuum is@very important objectively for Russian security and, therefore,;the longer we wait on this, the more likely it is that the@positive developments you can point to will not hold up againstthese larger forces.@   Kruzel: The Poles are working hard to prepare themselves forBNATO membership. They have made their strategic choice, they have=cast their lot with the west. NATO has made its choice. NATO@enlargement is inevitable, it's going to happen and we're going9to do this the right way. I don't find any complaints orBcriticism in Warsaw or any place else in Central Europe about the>partnership for peace now. As they understand this, it is the?path for those interested in it, towards NATO membership. Once:they understand that, they are hard at work now preparing!themselves to join the alliance.A   Reilly: Since there is no sense of imminent threat in centralor Eastern Europe...A   Goble: There is. The countries between Berlin and Moscow haveBnot only been subject to the intense diplomatic competition amongAWest Europeans and the Russians for influence, but they have had=to listen to a variety of Russian politicians and, let us beBhonest, Russian officials talking about denying western access toBthese regions, about a special role, a sphere of influence. While:we can usually point to other Russian statements that are@different, the reality is that an official sitting in Warsaw orBTallinn or Kiev or Prague is hearing those kinds of things and is@frightened. Of course these countries are going to cooperate in@the partnership for peace. It is, from their point of view, theBbest they can do and indeed the surest way ultimately to get intoBNATO. But that could be swept aside, as General Odom suggests, by<much larger forces. We have watched in the last five years,Bdramatic changes in this region. I don't think anybody would wantBto bet that the next five years are suddenly going to be an even,>smooth path. I think we're going to see a lot more changes. IBthink the countries in the region expect it and precisely becauseAof that sense of insecurity, there needs to be some extension of4a security environment before things go really bad.9   Kruzel: There already is. Partnership for peace is an@extension of this environment. We have provided these countries7with an opportunity to breathe NATO air, to learn NATOBprocedures. In fact, to have something as a partnership for peace>member that's very much like the article four that binds NATO@allies to each other. They don't have a security guarantee, but?they already have a penumbra of security cast over them. If weAhad any sense that these states were in imminent peril, we couldAextend NATO like that. There is not that sense of imminent perilBand there's no reason to rush a process that is serious and needs%to be prepared for in the right way.A   Odom: I don't know what the right way means in that sense. IfBthe right way is delay, I see no reason for it. I would encourageAyou also not to just talk to the defense ministry in Warsaw, but@talk to the foreign ministry and look at the pressures they are=under from Russia when they deal with the Ukraine. Poland is=right back in the position it was in the 1930s where it gets@caught going both ways on this. And that has made Germans stand>up and say, "if you leave us as the east-most partner in this<arrangement, you will find us inextricably drawn into deals>either for or against relations with Russia at the expense of>East Europeans." Those old patterns are felt very strongly inAGermany, the Russians are pushing them and the idea that you can>give another three to four years for that development and not6expect it to get worse, strikes me as somewhat naive.@   Reilly: Germany is supporting the partnership for peace, Dr.Kruzel?   Kruzel: Enthusiastically.   ===============A   Joseph Kruzel, deputy assistant secretary of defense; William@Odom from the Hudson Institute; and Paul Goble of the JamestownFoundation.   ---------------   ---------------D   AMERICA'S LARGEST VIETNAM VET ORGANIZATION AGAINST NORMALIZATION   JANE KELLY   WASHINGTON>   America's largest Vietnam veterans organization is unhappy>with President Clinton's decision to normalize relations withBVietnam.  The group is worried the move will cool efforts to find2U.S. soldiers un-accounted for in Southeast Asia.@   The Vietnam Veterans of America organization says it wants aAfull accounting of all those who are listed as missing in actionor were prisoners of war.B   The group's president, James Brazee, says the VVA's mission issimple:B   "We have an obligation to the family members and to those that?are still missing to make sure that every single American that(can be accounted for is accounted for."?   The Pentagon says about 2,200 troops are unaccounted for inAall of Southeast Asia. In Vietnam, about 1,600 servicemen remain	missing.=   Mr. Brazee says he is concerned the decision to normalize>relations with Vietnam will divert attention from the missingAmericans:B   "We realize and are worried that over the passage of time thatAthe resolve of the United States government to see this issue to"a conclusion will begin to wane."@   Mr. Brazee says his group is working closely with Vietnamese6veterans to account for missing troops on both sides.>   He says an information exchange effort called the veteransAinitiative has produced positive results. In the past two-years,>Mr. Brazee reports the VVA has uncovered information that mayAhelp resolve the fate of 23 Americans listed as missing. He says=the VVA has given the Vietnamese information that could help,account for seven-thousand of their troops.B   The 45,000 member Vietnam Veterans Association says government?to government relations have not resolved the missing veterans:issue. The group will return to Vietnam in a few weeks to:continue, what it calls, its people-to-people initiative.   ---------------   ---------------,   CLINTON REJECTS INTELLIGENCE BUDGET CUTS   DAVID BORGIDA   WHITE HOUSE?   President Clinton is rejecting proposed cuts in funding for<U.S. intelligence services, arguing they still serve a realApurpose in the post-cold war world. His comments came as he paidAtribute to employees at the Central Intelligence Agency during a0visit to their headquarters outside Washington.B   New CIA director John Deutch is reassessing the priorities and4resources of the agency in the post-cold war world.7   But President Clinton made clear in a speech at CIA?headquarters Friday critics are wrong when they say the agencyserves little purpose now:A   "Today, because the cold war is over, some say that we should8and can step back from the world and that we don't needBintelligence as much as we used to, that we ought to severely cut?the intelligence budget. A few have even urged us to scrap theAcentral intelligence service. I think these views are profoundly?wrong. I believe making deep cuts in intelligence during peace<time is comparable to cancelling your health insurance whenyou're feeling fine.":   Morale at the CIA has been low in the aftermath of theAhighly-publicized arrest and conviction of CIA employee AldridgeAAmes, who admitted spying for years for the former Soviet Union.?   President Clinton's message to agency employees was direct,@the Ames scandal was an exception that should not tarnish theirreputation:?   "It's important that we don't minimize the damage that Ames:did or the changes that need to be made to prevent future@scandals. But Aldridge Ames was a terrible exception to a proudtradition of service."@   Agency director Deutch, who took over in May, wants to alter>the intelligence service's priorities, spending more time and@money on gathering information for U.S. military operations and<on spying on international terrorists and drug traffickers.B   After making his speech at CIA headquarters, President ClintonBwas taken for a tour to see first-hand its array of sophisticatedtechnology.   ---------------   ---------------   VIETNAM VET CONGRESSMEN   PAULA WOLFSON   CONGRESSB   A majority of the members of the U.S. House of Representatives@came of age during the Vietnam War. Their reaction to President>Clinton's announcement that he would normalize relations withAVietnam was mixed. That was especially true for those who foughtBin the conflict. Five Vietnam veterans shared their thoughts withtheir colleagues in the House.:   They sat around the witness table in the International;Relations Committee hearing room in their dark suits, each<wearing the small red and gold lapel pin of a United States
congressman.>   Once they wore the uniforms of American servicemen as they=navigated the skies and waterways of Vietnam, or slowly made@their way through rice paddies and villages. The memories neverfaded away.=   Sam Johnson was shot down over Vietnam in 1966. The Texas=Republican is opposed to the normalization of relations with	Vietnam:A   "I spent seven years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. I agreeAthe time has come for the war to end. And I am fully prepared to?allow the United States to engage in relations with Vietnam ifBthey simply turn over their records which they admit to having on6all POWs and MIAs and allow us to investigate withoutrestrictions."@   Pete Peterson sits next to Sam Johnson at the witness table.AThey share a common history. Mr. Peterson was also a pilot and aBprisoner of war. And when the Florida Democrat speaks of Vietnam, he speaks with a sense of loss:=   "Obviously, I am emotional about this because I hurt withBhaving lost hundreds of my own friends who did not come back. But>I know that hate and recrimination does not solve a problem."@   Congressman Peterson admits the wounds of war have been slowto heal, but heal they must:7   "It is time for resolution. The time has passed for@retribution. I firmly believe the time for the normalization of"relations with Vietnam has come."@   One man with memories of a prison camp says, open an embassyin Vietnam, another says no.<   The split also exists among those who fought and avoidedAcapture. Republican Jim Kolbe of Arizona served on a patrol boatAin the Mekong Delta. His Republican colleague Wayne Gilchrest of@Maryland was once a young marine. Both consider Sam Johnson andBPete Peterson to be heroes. And both support diplomatic relationswith Vietnam.9   "We can never forget the pain of war" says Mr. Kolbe.-Congressman Gilchrest finished that thought:<   "There are many tragic stories and a lot of sadness fromAVietnam. Part of the healing process is for people not to forget>the past but to make a better future for our children. Let usBallow the young people of America and the young people of Vietnam@to work together and insure a better future for all the world."<   Across the witness table, Duke Cunningham looked on withBdisbelief. He was one of the most decorated pilots of the VietnamWar:=   "I am not questioning the motivation of my two RepublicanBcolleagues. But to give you an example of their political agenda,Bboth of them voted and said it was OK to burn the American flag."<   His voice cracks as he speaks of Vietnam. The California?Republican says it is difficult for him to even talk about thewar:?   "This is not political for me. It is a right and a wrong. IAremember holding my friends that died in my arms. I remember theBbrutalities the (north) Vietnamese conducted against not only our3POW's, but our troops and the Vietnamese as well."A   For years, the Vietnam War divided America. The normalizationBof relations is seen by some observers as an opportunity to start:anew, and close the book on a painful period in America's=history. But for these Vietnam veterans in the United States@congress, the decision to raise a U.S. flag in Hanoi has proven&almost as divisive as the war itself.   ---------------   ---------------0   SENATE TO DEBATE U.N. WITHDRAWAL FROM BOSNIA   JIM MALONE
   SENATE:   Support appears to be growing in the U.S. Senate for aBwithdrawal of United Nations forces from Bosnia-Herzegovina and aAlifting of the arms embargo against Bosnia. The Senate is likely to debate this issue next week.9   The fall of the safe area of Srebrenica seems to have=galvanized opposition in the Senate to the U.N. peacekeepingAoperation in Bosnia. Several lawmakers have expressed outrage in=recent days over what they regard as a failed United NationsAmission. Republican John McCain said on the floor of the Senate,Ait is time for the west to take a new tack (or new direction) inopposing the Bosnian Serbs:;   "Mr. President, we have crossed the line from danger to>humiliation. We have crossed the line from attempts to do the*right thing to degradation and dishonor."<   Senator McCain supports a resolution sponsored by Senate?majority leader Bob Dole which calls for the withdrawal of allBU.N. forces from Bosnia and a lifting of the arms embargo so thatAthe Bosnian Muslims can defend themselves. If the United Nations>and the Europeans decide to end the peacekeeping mission, theBUnited States is prepared to send up to 25,000 American troops tohelp with the evacuation.@   Senator McCain is already warning the Bosnian Serbs that any?attacks on Americans would bring strong congressional pressure"for swift and fierce retaliation::   "If the Bosnian Serbs harm Americans while this rescue@operation is going on, I suggest the most punishing air strikes<imaginable and going as far away as Belgrade if necessary."?   But some lawmakers are urging their colleagues not to press>for military action in the heat of emotion. Senate Democratic@leader Tom Daschle believes the arms embargo eventually will be<lifted, though he hopes it is done in concert with the NATO@allies. But Senator Daschle says several senators are concerned;that a pledge to lift the arms embargo and arm the Bosnian?Muslims could infuriate the Bosnian Serbs just as American and@allied forces are involved in an evacuation operation on behalf"of the U.N. forces now in Bosnia:>   "How do we explain to our allies if large numbers of these@(UN) troops are slaughtered prior to the time they are removed?@What do we say to our allies in that case? What do we say if we@(the US) have troops on the ground, we have lifted the embargo,Aas we are removing them and large numbers of American troops areBslaughtered? What explanation do we have with that? So I think it?is very important for us to be deliberate, to be as thoughtful4and as objective as we can, as difficult as it is."A   Senator Dole's resolution calls for a lifting of arms embargoAafter the withdrawal of U.N. forces. Senator Daschle says he and@others may offer amendments during the debate designed to lower=the risk of American forces becoming enmeshed in the Bosnian
conflict.   ---------------   ---------------?   D'AMATO EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER U.S. ROLE IN MEXICAN BAILOUT   JIM MALONE
   SENATEB   Clinton Administration officials told Congress Friday that the=financial bailout plan for Mexico is succeeding. But severalAlawmakers continue to express concerns that the United States is>taking on too much responsibility in helping restore economicconfidence in Mexico.>   The economic situation in Mexico was the focus of a Senate@Banking Committee hearing. Committee chairman Al D'Amato, a New=York Republican, says he is concerned that Mexico is quickly<draining the 20-billion dollars in credit made available by9President Clinton earlier this year through the exchange6stabilization fund to help shore up the Mexican peso.@   So far, Mexico has drawn twelve and one-half billion dollars?from the 20-billion dollar total in the exchange fund. SenatorBD'Amato says American taxpayers have been stuck paying off a debt?triggered last year by global speculators buying up short-term>Mexican government notes known as tesobonos. He says the U.S.?financial help has done little so far to stabilize the Mexican	economy:;   "Sophisticated investors saw an opportunity to get highAyields, high returns. How is it that the American people now areBhaving to pay off their investment that otherwise would have goneAsour? I think that the real crisis is one of political stability>and maturity in that area and this rescue package of rescuingAprivate investors I do not believe even begins to address that."?   But Clinton Administration officials disagree, arguing that>Mexico has made significant strides in recent months with the?help of the United States and the International Monetary Fund.@U.S. treasury Secretary Robert Rubin told members of the Senate@Banking Committee that inflation is down in Mexico and that the6crisis of confidence about Mexico has subsided in theinternational community:7   "There has been substantial progress in Mexico. TheAstabilization program has gained very significant ground. Mexico9continues to face substantial challenges but we are very;encouraged by the progress achieved to date and have every>expectation that we will get repaid in full. The objective of;promoting United States exports, jobs, the security of our2borders, in our judgment, is being accomplished."?   Senator D'Amato says he favors blocking the remaining sevenBand one-half billion dollars earmarked for Mexico in the exchange?stabilization fund, noting that the second ten-billion dollarsBwas to be used only for what are called unforeseen contingencies.BHe also wants the International Monetary Fund to take the lead onthe Mexican bailout.@   Senator D'Amato also criticized administration officials for>past statements which, in his view, repeatedly painted a much?more positive picture of the Mexican economy than was actually>the case. Administration officials counter that they have not>misled the American public about the severity of the economic(situation in Mexico over the past year.   ---------------   --------------->   U.S. EDITORIAL OPINION ROUNDUP: BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA WORSENS   ANDREW N. GUTHRIE   WASHINGTON<   The situation in parts of Bosnia-Herzegovina continue to<deteriorate, as Bosnian Serb forces press their campaign of=ethnic cleansing against Muslims in United Nations-protected9areas, this after the fall of Srebrenica. U.S. newspaperBeditorial writers are both enraged and frustrated by these latestdevelopments.=   News accounts from Bosnia on Friday, supplied after these?editorials were written, do not sound good. U.N. officials are;expressing serious concern over the safety of thousands ofABosnian Muslim refugees so far unaccounted for after the fall of@Srebrenica. Most of them are men and older boys, that is, males:of fighting age, separated from their wives, mothers, andBfamilies by the Serbs earlier this week after they took the town,&brushing aside Dutch UN peacekeepers.<   Many U.S. dailies are leading their editorial pages with?comments on the fall of Srebrenica and what they feel it means=for the future of Bosnia. "The Atlanta Constitution" writes:@   "The U.N. 'safe zones' in Bosnia-Herzegovina were never moreAthan a flimsy facade. The Bosnian Serbs have proved as much withAtheir ruthless seizure of Srebrenica, a town that was supposedly?under the United Nations' wing [protection]. The Serbs may nowAmove to capture two more U.N. 'protectorates,' Zepa and Gorazde.>The Srebrenica outrage has U.N. diplomats and western leadersBwringing their hands, as usual. But it's clear that the only hope?to curb the Bosnian Serbs' ravenous appetite is through force.<and the Bosnian Muslims are the only ones willing, and withAadequate weaponry, perhaps able, to do that job. If Bosnia is toAacquire enough artillery and tanks, the United Nations must lift<its arms embargo, a break that Bosnia has needed for a longtime."=   The nation's largest tabloid newspaper, New York's "Daily@News", is even more fatalistic than "The Atlanta Constitution":@   "With the fall of the supposed 'safe haven' of Srebrenica toABosnian Serbs, the United Nations' peacekeeping mission has, forBall practical considerations, ceased to exist. Unable to 'keep' a=nonexistent peace, the only real question now is how and how@quickly to withdraw the 23-thousand-member international force.BAmericans should brace themselves, for any honest answer involvesU.S. troops.";   From that comment one might ask, "what about NATO", the>European defense organization set up years ago to counter the8Soviet Red Army? Well forget it, says "the PhiladelphiaInquirer":B   "... NATO has already shown itself to be a eunuch in this war,Band its conduct isn't likely to change. NATO forces, including up>to 25,000 U.S. troops, are committed to help the peacekeepersAmake their exit, and the Serbs will probably corner the alliance>into promising not to strike as the price of letting the U.N.?forces leave quietly. having covered themselves with dishonor,@NATO and the United Nations have little choice but to accede toBsuch a deal. the day marking the fall of Srebrenica will be added,to history's collection of days of infamy."B   "The Oregonian" in Portland sees some similarities between the=Serbs taking U.N. peacekeepers hostage in Bosnia and China's@arrest and detention of Chinese-born U.S. citizen Harry Wu. The@paper says they are similar cases of unacceptable behavior with5which the world must deal, or face the consequences.@   "The United States, which keeps talking about the need for a@truly global approach to international issues faces a challenge7sweeping enough for the most wide-ranging geostrategicBthinking...The Chinese have seized an American citizen, Harry Wu,Band charged him with acts that could carry the death penalty.  AtAthe same time, the Bosnian Serbs have seized a group of Dutch UN9peacekeepers to use as human shields in their seizure of=Srebenica.  In very different languages, the Chinese and theBSerbs are telling the United States and the world the same thing:BPeople who think they can get away with anything will try it.  In:any vision of a stable future world, it is essential that@countries and groups believe that cooperation will be rewarded,Band violations will have consequences. In China and Bosnia, those<expectations have dissolved; China and Bosnia would be good places to try to rebuild them."=   Still on the west coast, "The San Francisco Chronicle" is;concerned about how the United States might respond to the?Bosnian situation, and warns Washington: "Don't act alone...":A   "The criminal 'ethnic cleansing' of the Muslim 'safe area' of<Srebrenica by Serbian forces surely represents a major moveBtoward the end game of the United Nation's humiliating experience<in Bosnia. As the Serbian war machine crushes on toward theBultimate prize of Sarajevo, an echo of the battle will resound inAWashington next week when Senate majority leader Bob Dole bringsBto a vote his proposal for unilaterally lifting the arms embargo,Bwhich would necessitate a U.N. withdrawal.  If that CongressionalAscenario comes to pass, we may be looking not at an endgame, but=at a whole new chapter of a spreading, bloodier war. But theAworst possible response would be a unilateral, partisan AmericanAaction to salve our conscience at the expense of others' lives.";   Finally, back across the country to the northeast, "The?Portland [Maine] Press Herald" expects recent events in Bosnia!will lead only to more violence:@   "America and the rest of the world are seeing the results ofBtheir refusal to stop naked aggression in Bosnia. They should get;used to it. They will see more. The Bosnian Serbs who haveAoverrun Srebrenica won't stop there. The sad truth is that there<is no reason they should. Having made complete fools of the>United Nations, NATO, the European Union and, yes, the United>States, why should they stop now?  Zepa, another 'safe haven'B14-point-five kilometers from Srebrenica now is under attack, andBits Ukrainian peacekeepers threatened. Thus does the west pay the=price of its inaction, and every land-coveting despot in theworld receive instruction."   ---------------   ---------------C   U.S. EDITORIAL OPINION ROUNDUP: THE RELEASE OF AUNG SAN SUU KYI   ANDREW N. GUTHRIE   WASHINGTON<   There was a watershed event in Burma this week, when theBmilitary junta which has been running that southeast Asian nation?for years unexpectedly released from house arrest Aung San SuuAKyi, the woman most associated with democratic government there.>U.S. papers were quick to comment on the news, as we hear nowfrom?   Many U.S. editorial page editors wondered aloud whether theBrelease of Aung San Suu Kyi signals any sort of relaxation of the?strict military dictatorship which has gripped Burma since the>generals took power years ago. Suu Kyi had seemed destined to@become the country's prime minister until the military annulledBher democracy party's victory in free elections in 1990. We begin>our sampling of opinion in the U.S. southwest, with this from"The Dallas morning News":<   "It would be tempting to congratulate politicians, human:rights activists and journalists around the world for theBunconditional release of Burmese political dissident Aung San SuuBKyi but in all fairness, the focus of praise must be Aung San Suu>Kyi herself. Her story goes well beyond enduring six years ofAhouse arrest. It is the story of one individual who stood up for@democracy in the face of brutal oppression by a military junta.BAs President Clinton noted in his own statement upon her release,Bher release alone is not the issue. Other human rights issues [inBurma] must be addressed."<   In New England, "The Boston Globe" was also pleased, andAagreed with "The Dallas Morning News" that her release is only abeginning:A   "Upon learning that Burma's military junta had released NobelBPeace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi after six years of detention,AArchbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa said it was his happiestAday since the apartheid regime let Nelson Mandela out of prison.BArchbishop tutu's analogy was fitting. The junta that rules Burma=The State Law and Order Restoration Council, known as SLORC,?equals or surpasses anything known in South Africa. Efforts to;isolate the junta must continue as the colonels permit the?Burmese to retrieve legitimate, representative government. The8world can be certain that Suu Kyi will demand no less."?   From the same city, Boston, "The Christian Science Monitor"=expressed "cautious hope" that things are changing in Burma:A   "Where does Burma's democracy movement go from here? Will itsAmost revered figure, winner of the Nobel peace prize in 1991, be?able to continue contacts with colleagues and build democratic<structures within the country? In a meeting with reporters,@[Mrs.] Suu Kyi indicated a willingness to work with the current8government.  What is clear is Suu Kyi's freedom and the,possibility her voice will again be heard."A   However, in California, "The San Francisco Chronicle" is wary?of the military junta in Rangoon, and is reserving judgment on&the long-range impact of this action:=   "In the renewed hope that Suu Kyi's release may lead to a=political opening for the coalition of democratic and ethnic@minority forces she represents, It should not be forgotten that:the dictatorship has shown few other signs of cleaning up@[improving] its ghastly human rights record, which continues to@include the imprisonment and torture of democracy advocates and>the forced impressment of peasants as military porters in the$continuing war against minorities.">   While calling the Burmese democracy leader's release "good5news", "The New York Times" goes on to editorialize:=   "The end of Suu Kyi's detention must be followed by otherAsteps toward democracy before Myanmar [burma] is deemed eligibleAfor loans from multilateral institutions or closer ties with the?United States. It is too soon to welcome Yangon [Rangoon] back into the democratic community."<   In the Midwest, the region's largest daily, "The Chicago&Tribune", picks up on the same theme::   "It would be even more heartening if Suu Kyi's releaseBprefigured a larger change, a decision by the Burmese generals to>yield the power they have held for more than 30 years and let>their people have the democracy they have shed blood for. But>that change does not seem to be in the cards [in the offing],@yet.  But just as they could not keep Suu Kyi confined forever,;the generals will find it impossible to suppress democracyforever in Myanmar (Burma)."@   Finally, in the nation's capitol, "The Washington Post" addsthis:<   "...Suu Kyi possesses to an unchallenged degree what her;erstwhile captors utterly lack, the legitimacy that can beBbestowed only by genuine popular choice. The best thing the junta>can do for the country they have misruled and looted for many1years is to allow the people of Burma to speak."   ---------------   ---------------<   CLINTON SAYS BASE CLOSINGS REASSESSMENT IS NOT POLITICAL   DAVID BORGIDA   WHITE HOUSE=   President Clinton says his reassessment of an independent?commission's base closing recommendation is based on economic,>not political considerations. The president, who has (not yet@announced publicly whether he will accept the recommendation to<close 79 military bases) (just announced he will accept the>recommendation to close 79 bases), made his comments during a<brief White House appearance to push Congress to reform the nation's social welfare system.A   Ever since the independent commission recommended closing the9bases last month, the political spotlight has focused on:California, already hard-hit by reductions in the defense9industry. As a result of this latest round of commissionBrecommendations, thousands of jobs would be lost at the McClellan;air force base there, hardly a welcome development for the@Clinton-gore 1996 re-election campaign, which desperately needs%the huge state's 54 electoral votes.>   As the president has reassessed proposals from the Defense;Department to transfer lost jobs to other bases around theAcountry and to the private sector, there has been criticism from>Republicans, who accuse the president of politicizing what is'supposed to be a non-partisan process.;   Thursday the president erupted in frustration about the@charges, saying he deeply resents suggestions he is reassessing*the recommendation for political reasons.?   Pounding the podium for emphasis he explained his thinking,3first about job loss in California, then in Texas:B   "Now you tell me that my concern over that economic situation,@when their unemployment rate is eight and a half per cent, they>have borne over 50 per cent of the burden of the job loss, is@political! My concern in San Antonio, Texas, where one decisionBcould virtually wipe out the Hispanic middle class, is political,>when there was another alternative that the Pentagon said wasBbetter for national security. I am tired of these arguments about;politics. My political concern is the political economy ofAAmerica, and what happens to the people in these communities and are they being treated fairly.":   Still, political pressure on the president to look for=specific ways to compensate California for job loss has beenBintense, with its influential congressional delegation arguing itAhas withstood more than its share of economic problems recently,including flood damage.<   During his presidency, President Clinton has traveled toBCalifornia more than any other state, as clear a signal as any he=appreciates how valuable those 54 electoral votes are to his
re-election.   ---------------   ---------------F   PENTAGON SAYS 80,000 TROOPS MAY BE NEED TO EVACUATE UN FROM BOSNIA   DAVID SWAN   PENTAGONB   The Pentagon says it could take 80,000 NATO troops to evacuate?U.N. peacekeepers from Bosnia-Herzegovina if a pullout becomesBnecessary.  The fall of the so-called safe zone at Srebrenica has4stepped up pressure on the United Nations to leave.A   The Defense Department estimates 70 to 80,000 allied soldiers>may be needed to move the U.N. protection force and its heavyAequipment out of Bosnia. This is at least ten-thousand more thanprojected earlier.?   However, Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon says no more American@troops would join the mission beyond those already pledged, and?while UNPROFOR (UN protection force) has suffered humiliation, withdrawal could be even worse:B   "The alternative to UNPROFOR could involve putting 25,000 U.S.=troops into that theater to help extract the U.N. forces. ItBcould be difficult, it could be done in very tough conditions, it@could be done at times under fire, its not something we want todo."B   For now at least, Mr. Bacon says no American forces are moving:into place to help peacekeepers pull out. Officials say aBdecision on whether to withdraw from Bosnia must be made soon, to7complete the massive, months-long operation by winter.?   The United Nations says it hopes to sustain the mission but@some U.S. lawmakers and other western officials say this may nolonger be possible.   ---------------   ---------------   SENATE/MIDDLE EAST AID   JIM MALONE
   SENATEA   Clinton Administration officials are stressing the importance?of economic development in Gaza and the West Bank as a crucial?part of securing any longterm peace accord in the middle east.7Officials from the State Department and the Agency for6International Development briefed members of a Senate>subcommittee (Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs) Thursday.A   Administration officials and lawmakers are in clear agreement<that the best way to secure lasting benefits from any peace;agreement between Israel and the Palestinians is to ensure3economic development and longterm economic growth.?   The chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Near Eastern and<South Asian Affairs, Republican Hank Brown (Colorado), saysAdelivering on the promise of economic prosperity is essential toBbuilding longterm confidence in the peace process, especially for(Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank:;   "One of the factors that is essential to overcoming the@terrible violence that has ensued is to make sure that economic=development follows those peace accords. A growing, thrivingBeconomy can not only undermine terrorism, but can bring about the@promise of a new life that all of the residents of that area sodesperately hopes for.":   But U.S. officials caution that the long-awaited peace@dividend expected in the wake of the signing of the declaration:of principles between Israel and the Palestine liberationBorganization is not yet being reflected in economic conditions inGaza and the West Bank.B   Margaret Carpenter is an assistant administrator with the U.S.<Agency for International Development. She says slow foreignAinvestment, border closures and high unemployment have increased>frustration among Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. SheBemphasizes job creation as a major priority for the United States>and other international donors seeking to stimulate the local	economy::   "Certainly (international) donor funded infrastructureAprojects will create some jobs but they are not going to be long?term jobs, for the most part. They will probably be short termAjobs. So we need to take a long term perspective and look at the5areas where we can create permanent jobs in Gaza for@Palestinians, whether it is with Palestinian capital or foreign
capital.">   The United States has pledged five-hundred million dollars9worth of assistance to the Palestinians over five years.B   Christopher Finn, the executive vice president of the OverseasBPrivate Investment Corporation, says OPIC has pledged 125-million?dollars over five years to help American companies who want to=invest in Gaza and the West Bank. In ten days he will lead aAdelegation of fourteen companies to the region looking to investAin tourism, agri-business, building and construction and energy.BHe says these are areas which could provide the type of longterm,?secure jobs which all parties agree are essential to sustainedeconomic development.   ---------------   ---------------;   U.S. EDITORIAL OPINION ROUNDUP: THE JAILING OF HARRY WU   ANDREW N. GUTHRIE   WASHINGTON=   It has been almost a month now (6/19) since Chinese human:rights activist Harry Wu, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was@detained and then arrested by Chinese authorities as he entered>the country from Kazakhstan. Almost since the day of Mr. Wu's<arrest, and China's announcement that he would be tried forBespionage, U.S. papers have been denouncing it in their editorial	columns.B   Even before his arrest, Harry Wu was making headlines with his=crusading for improved human rights in China. He even risked@arrest on one occasion by traveling back to his homeland with aAhidden camera to expose conditions in Chinese slave labor camps,Bwhere he had spent 19 years as a dissident. some of his videotapeBwas broadcast on the well-known CBS news program "Sixty Minutes."=Mr. Wu has also testified before the U.S. Congress regarding;China's human rights policies. Now, his arrest has furtherBcomplicated the already strained relations between Washington and=Beijing, and many American newspapers have joined the almostBuniversal denunciation of the Chinese action.  "The Boston Globe"writes4   "Coming at a time when u-s-chinese relations areBdeteriorating, [Mr.] Wu's detention has been treated prudently by=Washington as a problem that cannot be allowed to get out of?control. Caught between Beijing bosses anxious about a loomingApower struggle and congressional hawks itching [anxious] to make<an issue of the mistreatment of a U.S. citizen, the Clinton=administration has wisely tried to obtain [Mr.] Wu's releaseBthrough normal diplomatic procedures. Governments rarely show the=courage of a Harry Wu; the least they can do is not abet his
enemies."<   "The Washington Post" has watched the escalating Chinese<actions concerning Mr. Wu's detention and later arrest withmounting concern. Now it says:>   "With the filing of criminal charges against Harry Wu, the?Chinese government has taken a difficult but manageable single>case and transformed it into a test of the whole relationship=between the United States and China. Just why Beijing has so:overreacted, whether out of foreign policy brinksmanship,Bpolitical infighting or whatever, is uncertain. But it is a grave?choice, and it compels Americans to focus more sharply on what?they wish their connection to China to be.  To the extent that>the Chinese government continues to operate in a totalitarian@mode, constant trouble looms. This is the message of Harry Wu."B   In the Midwest, "The St. Louis Post-Dispatch" lauds Mr. Wu for>his efforts, then expresses concern over where the U.S.-Chinarelationship is heading:?   "A former Chinese dissident who spent 19 years in prison in@his native country, Mr. Wu is a dedicated advocate on behalf ofAhuman rights.  Almost singlehandedly, he has exposed the Chinese@practice of using forced prison labor to make goods for export;Blikewise, he has shown that Chinese prisoners have been killed so@their vital organs can be 'harvested' (for transplant). ... TheAChinese-American relationship, while valuable for commercial andAstrategic reasons, is becoming one of the most problematic since=the end of the cold war. Part of the reason is a conflict of>values. The United States believes in the essential rights ofBindividuals; the Chinese believe in the absolute authority of thestate."<   "The New York Times" is also very concerned, calling the8Chinese move a "cruel miscalculation", and adding this:=   "The Clinton Administration rightly warns Beijing that it<risks gravely damaging relations should it persist. That isAstrong diplomatic language. But the administration's reaction is8moderate compared to that in Congress, where Mr. Wu has@frequently testified in recent years and has made many friends.>China will not be able to bully and bluster its way past this?issue as it has with too many human rights issues in the past. Beijing must release Harry Wu."@   In California, "The Los Angeles Times" tries to penetrate to@the heart of the matter about worsening relations, and comes upwith this analysis:?   "[Mr.] Wu's arrest must be viewed in the context of rapidlyBdeteriorating Sino-American relations amid a power struggle among=Chinese officials seeking to succeed the ailing leader, Deng@Xiaoping. [Mr.] Wu was seized two days after China recalled itsAambassador to Washington to protest the Clinton Administration's>decision to allow the president of Taiwan to visit the United@States. the tension between Washington and Beijing has produced=economic fallout, despite the administration's controversialBdecision last year to give favored tariff status to Chinese goods7even though Beijing has a sorry record of human rights7violations. clearly, the two nations have some arduous/fence-mending [repairing of relations] to do.">   "The Miami Herald" is adamant about Mr. Wu's safety, whileAsuggesting that an ineffective U.S. China policy through several@administrations is also somewhat to blame for the present stateof affairs:>   "U.S./China relations have been lopsided for years, thanksAlargely to a combination of soft pedaling and mixed signals fromAWashington. First, President Bush responded to the 1989 massacre=at Tiananmen Square by dispatching his Secretary of State toAclink glasses with the butchers. Then, after roundly criticizingBthe bush policy, President Clinton promptly adopted it, bestowingAmost favored nation trading status on the unrepentant Chinese in?1993. He renewed that status again last month. Beijing plainly;takes these messages as signs of weakness and confusion, areasonable interpretation.<   "It has clamped down repeatedly on Chinese dissidents at;moments perfectly chosen to embarrass Washington. Mr. Wu's@arrest, though spectacularly more provocative than any previous3act, is nonetheless consistent with that pattern."(   Finally from "The Washington Times":@   "What are we to do about the latest deliberate nose-thumbingA[insults] coming in our direction from China? The arrest in June@of human rights activist Peter H. (Harry) Wu couldn't have beenAmore disrespectful, of the principles of decency that govern the@civilized world, as well as directly of the United States. It's@perfectly clear why Mr. Wu is a thorn in the side of China. And=there's never been any doubt about precisely how the Chinese>government deals with thorns. But this particular thorn is an<American thorn, entitled to the fullest protection American@citizenship bestows. The Beijing government needs to understand;that its actions are unacceptable. And once we convey that.message, we have to back it up. [Support it]"   ---------------   ---------------1   CONGRESS SETS-UP TAX SYSTEM REFORM COMMISSION   ANDREW BAIRD   WASHINGTONA   The U.S. Congress has established a new commission to explore;the possibility of changing the U.S. tax system which many<citizens believe to be unfair, complex, and time-consuming.A   The National Commission on Economic Growth and Tax Reform wasAset up by Congress to examine the federal tax code. Many experts>say the system is too complex and that its cost of compliance<ranges from 75 to 200 billion dollars dollars, out of total=federal budget of more than one-and-a-half trillion dollars.@   The tax code, they say, marries high marginal tax rates withBthousands of pages of rules, regulations, and red tape. But other=experts caution that the current code's complexity is due to9certain social goals which the nation wishes to achieve.=   In recent testimony before the commission, Joe Slemrod, a?professor of economics at the University of Michigan, says one@reason for the tax code's complexity is progressivity, that is,=people with higher incomes pay a higher percentage in taxes:<   "We require tax liability to be tied to how well off theBfamily is. And that requires measuring either income, consumptionAor wealth and it starts to be complicated. We also fine tune theAtax liability for a variety of reasons according characteristics@of individuals. And we also use the tax system to fine tune the<economy by subsizing particular activities, and necessarily(putting penalties on other activities."@   Despite the caution of some experts, Capitol Hill is buzzing?with the prospect of a massive tax overhaul following the 1996Aelections. The driving force behind several new tax proposals is7to promote savings over consumption, and to reduce taxcomplexity.@   One system being debated is a flat tax, which simply taxes a>set percentage of an individual's income. A flat tax proposal@with a 17 percent rate is being backed by House majority leaderRichard Armey.A   There is also the U-S-A tax, or consumed income tax, which is@being sponsored by senators Pete Domenici of New Mexico and SamANunn of Georgia. This plan basically taxes income that is spent,Awhile exempting that which is saved. Once an individual's income?is determined, it is taxed at a 19, 27, or 40 percent rate. An>element of this plan is a new business tax which would tax 11&percent of a company's gross profits.?   Another possibility is some form of a national retail sales<tax. This would basically be a consumption tax similar to a@value-added tax. Under the plan, taxes are levied on most goodsAat the point of purchase. The tax rate again would be 17 percent5and would affect all goods except food and medicine.=   All of these proposals would lower the cost of compliance@dramatically. The question is whether they would be politically>acceptable. Professor Joe Slemrod says that a national retailBsales tax would require a tax rate too high for many Americans toaccept.?   "The rate of retail sales tax that we would need to replaceBour current income tax, probably about 25 percent, would be much,Bmuch higher than any state levies. In fact, in history, only fiveBcountries had operated retail sales taxes over 10 percent and two?of them, Norway and Sweden, decided to switch to a value-addedtax."?   Clearly, a big political struggle looms over a national tax=overhaul. The National Commission on Economic Growth and Tax@Reform plans to hold a series of meetings around the country to=get the views of Americans outside of Washington and says it>wants to provide a ready forum for debate on perhaps the most-important U.S. economic issue of the decade.   ---------------   ---------------%   CHRISTOPHER TO MAKE FAR EAST TRIP   LAURI NEFF   STATE DEPARTMENT=   The U.S. State Department has announced that secretary ofBState Warren Christopher will begin a ten-day tour of Asia at theBend of the month. The focus of the trip is his final destination:8Vietnam, with which the United States has restored fulldiplomatic ties.?   Mr. Christopher, the first U.S. secretary of state to visit8Vietnam since 1970, will formalize the establishment of4u-s/Vietnamese relations by opening a U.S. embassy.A   State Department spokesman Nick Burns says the secretary will>also press the Vietnamese for a full accounting for the 2,200>U.S. servicemen listed officially as missing from the VietnamWar:?   "He will engage the Vietnamese leadership in discussions on>many issues including the POW/MIA (prisoner of war/missing in=action) issue, economic relations, regional security issues,&human rights and counter narcotics. "9   The Asia tour begins with a stop in Brunei, where theAsecretary will meet with foreign ministers of the Association of7Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN. While in Brunei, Mr.BChristopher is expected to hold bi-lateral talks with his Chinese:counterpart to discuss such issues as the imprisonment of1Chinese-American human rights activist Harry Wu.B   Mr. Christopher will also visit Malaysia and he will travel to9Cambodia, the first visit to that country by an AmericanSecretary of State since 1955.   ---------------   ---------------   CONGRESS' VIETNAM DEBATE   PAULA WOLFSON   CONGRESS=   Emotions are high in the United States Congress following;President Clinton's announcement Tuesday on Vietnam. Irate?Republicans turned a House hearing into a diatribe against hisBdecision to normalize relations, putting administration officialson the defensive.B   The House International Relations Committee wasted no time. OnBthe morning after the president's announcement, chairman Benjamin3Gilman opened a hearing on relations with Vietnam.A   Mr. Gilman is a staunch opponent of the change in policy. The>New York Republican is threatened to bring legislation to the@floor of the House that would withhold funds to open an embassy>and expand trade ties until there is a full accounting of all$Americans still missing in Vietnam:@   "Millions of Americans are concerned the president's actions@amount to rewarding a former battlefield adversary, even though8it has reneged on promises of cooperation. At best, the<president's announcement yesterday, many of us believe, was>premature and it could lead to legislation barring the use ofBfederal funds to establish or maintain diplomatic relations or to.advance our economic relations with Vietnam."B   Mr. Gilman's opposition was echoed by a number of conservative;Republicans. Among them was Sam Johnson of Texas, a formerprisoner of war in Vietnam:@   "I think that President Clinton by his actions yesterday did9not convey the message that America will stand strong on5principle and support those who served our country.">   Administration officials at the hearing faced a barrage of>questions. Assistant Secretary of State Winston Lord tried to:assure members of the committee that the normalization ofArelations is likely to enhance the search for information on themissing Americans:A   "The Vietnamese prime minister yesterday in their response to=the president's announcement pledged again continuing utmostBcooperation by Vietnam on this issue. We will make sure that they>live up to their word and we believe that we can do this even2more effectively after the president's decision."=   Only a handful of Democrats on the committee attended theBhearing. A spokesman for the minority party downplayed the notionBof an organized boycott. He said many committee members had other>commitments and felt the hearing would be little more than an?opportunity for outraged Republicans to make their views knownBone more time before a crowd of reporters and television cameras.?   But although there was a great deal of anger in the hearing@room, there was also a sense of resignation on the part of someAmembers. Republican Toby Roth of Wisconsin acknowledged there isno turning back:<   "It could be argued the president's action yesterday was=somewhat inevitable. One by one, other governments, even our>allies in Vietnam, have accepted the situation and the United?States was left almost alone. And our leverage was diminished.>The issue now is what does our government do to normalize the:situation and what kind of leverage do we have on the MIAquestion."B   Mister Roth said many American families still feel the pain ofBthe Vietnam conflict, and the war will not be over until the fateBof their missing loved ones is known. He said it is now up to the?Clinton Administration to prove its change in policy will work4and can provide the answers those families deserve.   ---------------   ---------------2   NEW YORK GOVERNOR PATAKI ON GOVERNMENT REFORMS   ADAM IDLEBERG   WASHINGTON@   The upswing in conservative politics in the United States isBnot limited to the federal government alone. It is also prevalent=on the level of state government, and no state reflects this=trend better than New York, through the government reduction;programs spearheaded by Republican Governor George Pataki.=   Since George Pataki took office six months ago, defeating?welknown incumbent Democrat Mario Cuomo, he has taken steps toBreform the structure of New York's government. Mr.Pataki has moveAaway from what he identified as "outright social mayhem fosteredBby intrusive government" and towards the "restoration of New York/as a breeding ground of hope and opportunity.":   Speaking before a Washington audience Wednesday at the?Heritage Foundation, a conservative research group, Mr. PatakiBoutlined how New York state has been instrumental in reducing the?size of government. He also described how he has brought about?the reform of the state's welfare and criminal justice system,,plus expanding the educational opportunity.<   Governor Pataki's goals are similar to the vision of theARepublican majority in the U.S. Congress, who are in the processAof approving a budget that would eliminate many federal programs?and agencies and turn the burden of responsibility over to thestates. according to Pataki:@   "When we're talking here in Washington about devolution, and?returning power and decision-making ability to the states, notBjust in environmental areas, but in all the areas. It's a conceptBthat we welcome. We want the burden on our shoulders. We want the=ability to make decisions and tailor the programs to fit ourBunique circumstances in New York, as other governors do as well."=   Mr. Pataki says that as the rest of the United States was9recovering from the economic recession in 1991, New York1continued to lose jobs. The state was losing its<business-friendly attitude, and as a result, companies wereBpicking up and moving their operations elsewhere. To combat this,>Governor Pataki and the legislature used a combination of tax:cuts and cost-cutting measures to make New York look more&attractive to prospective businesses.<   For example, income taxes for this year have been cut 25?percent, and other taxes, such as container and property gains,tax, have either been reduced or abolished.B   "It's not just a matter of dollars and cents; it's the message<government sends to employers and businesses. I believe the?message we are now sending is business-friendly, one that says?New York understands that higher taxes and more spending meansfewer jobs and less growth."=   Governor Pataki says the results of his reforms have been@astounding. Companies such as Kodak and IBM have announced they;will keep large parts of their operations in New York, and<others, like soft-drink manufacturer Pepsi, are planning to3expand their production facilities into the state.>   In order to change what Mr. Pataki calls "a failed welfare@system," guidelines to qualify for welfare assistance had to be8strengthened. Able-bodied recipients who refuse to find@employment, and parents who don't make the effort to send their@children to school will be denied. Pregnant teenagers must stayAat home rather than setting up welfare housing; the incentive to<move to New York state in order to receive welfare has beenAremoved; and a crackdown on fraudulent claims for assistance hasbeen launched.@   Mr. Pataki feels these reforms on welfare will send a strong	message:A   "Behind our reforms then is a message that is the opposite ofAthat sent by the old welfare system and its cycle of dependency.BThis new message reaffirms our common belief in the importance ofAkeeping families intact, in values like hard work and individualAresponsibility and in the sense of pride and self worth to which every human being is entitled."B   Governor Pataki has also restructured the states soft criminalBjustice system in what he says allowed criminals to get off easy.?The death penalty, which had been vetoed for eighteen straight<years, was reinstated shortly after he took office. Violent?criminals can no longer get early release or work release, andArepeat offenders face new sentencing laws that will require them4to serve at least 85 percent of their prison terms.:   Mr. Pataki says the state of education in New York has?worsened greatly since his childhood days. He says when people@think of New York schools, they think of huge union salaries, aAlarge administrative bureaucracy, low test scores and disruptive>classrooms. He says the main problem in the past has been the=government excluding the role of the parents and students in)creating determining educational policy:B   "The attempt to micromanage education from albany has meant an7education system that too often serves the purposes of=bureaucrats and special interests groups but not parents and.students. We've moved to reverse this trend."@   Mr. Pataki's main goal to improve education is to centralizeBaccountability in the system with the governor, and to reduce the+size of the state's education bureaucracy.>   The success or failure of Governor George Pataki's reformsBwill become apparent over the next few years. He has a vision forAnew york state that is being shared by the conservative majority?in the U.S. Congress. That vision is to introduce reforms thatBwill reduce the size of what the lawmakers see as a large central@government, returning power to the states and allowing all U.S.>citizens to have an equal opportunity to achieve the Americandream.   ---------------   ---------------    CONGRESS TV VIOLENCE HEARING
   DON HENRY   WASHINGTON>   Congress Wednesday resumed its on-again off-again struggle?with how to control the amount of violence on TV entertainment5programs viewed by children. The battle features theBconstitutional right of freedom of speech on the one side and the@belief that televised violence stimulates real-life violence onthe other.@   Starting in 1952 in the House of Representatives and 1954 in?the Senate, Congress every few years has been holding hearings@about the impact of televised violence, especially on children.A   Veteran Senator Ernest Hollings of South Carolina has been inAon most of the Senate hearings, and he says Congress has let the@entertainment industry get off the hook each time with promises3to impose a form of self-censorship the next year:;   "And every time we have one of these hearings, the same?opponents appear and they state: "Give us till January." Well,?we've had over 40 Januaries and you can see where we are. From>the January (delay) last given back in 1993, the record would<show that the violence (on t-v) has increased 41 per cent."@   Now Senator Hollings is urging his colleagues to pass a billAthat would prohibit networks and the cable industry from showingAviolent programming at times of the day when children are likely0to comprise a substantial part of the audience.B   His bill would direct the Federal Communications Commission to>determine the definition of violent programming and the hours@when it is permitted. Stiff fines and license forfeitures couldbe applied to violators.?   But at a hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee, chairmanBLarry Pressler of South Dakota said although he hates TV violence,he opposes what might amount to censorship:A   "Much of what passes for entertainment is simply salacious or@grossly violent material, which cheapens human life. It is high@time that industry leaders accept responsibility to change this?situation. I don't want America's children exposed to needless@violence and filth. But I part company with those who prescribegovernment censorship. "?   Senator Pressler suggested parents already can control what>their children see on television by simply turning it off. He=said parental control could be even easier if the House goes?along with a bill approved last month by the Senate that would@require all new TV sets to contain a choice chip, also called a'V-chip, the "V" standing for violence.>   Such TV sets could be programmed by parents to prevent anyBtelevision show with a violence rating code from appearing on theBscreen. The industry would have a year to institute such a rating:system. If it could not reach agreement, a presidentially*appointed commission would do the rating.<   Opponents of the V-chip concept say it has several major@flaws. For one, they say children will easily figure out how to?outwit their parents in this high-technology screening method.:Secondly, they say any rating commission could be seen as=intruding on free speech. But most of all, they say too many"parents would not bother with it.B   Congressman Edward Markey, a V-chip backer, concedes that lack>of parental oversight is a major problem. He says millions of7children spend many hours alone at home, especially inBsingle-parent families, and millions more watch TV for hours evenwhen their parents are home:=   "The television has become an electronic teacher for many>children, but what it teaches to young children is scary. The?average child has seen eight thousand murders and 100 thousand=acts of violence by the time he or she is leaving elementary	school."?   The Massachusetts legislator wants the House to endorse the@violence chip idea, but he also says he likes Senator Hollings'8call for a safe haven period of no violent programming.=   The debate is cutting sharply across party lines, as both>liberals and conservatives try to find secure footing on what7most agree is a slippery slope between free speech and&responsible TV entertainment content.@   Some, including Democrat Paul Simon and Republican Bob Dole,Bsay the industry should get one more chance to voluntarily reduce(graphically violent and sexual content.?   But Ernest Hollings, a senator for nearly 30 years, says heAdoes not want to see another January come and go without change.<And this time, Congressional observers say, some form of TV7violence control bill stands a good chance of passage.   ---------------   ---------------2   U.S. TO MOVE QUICKLY TO BRING CHILE INTO NAFTA   CHRIS SIMKINS   NEW YORKB   A senior U.S. trade official said Wednesday that, in an effort>to expand growth in global trade, the United States will move:quickly to bring Chile into the North American Free TradeAgreement (NAFTA).8   U.S. trade official Charlene Barshefsky says Chile's>membership in, NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement=would support efforts to generate more U.S. trade with other>Latin American countries. Speaking to the Americas Society, a=private New York-based organization, Ms. Barshefsky said the=Clinton Administration would like to link all Latin AmericanAmarkets by establishing a free trade area throughout the westernhemisphere:A   "This is a notion that has been kicked around (discussed) for?a long time. In reading the autobiography of Ulysses S. Grant,>there is mention of free trade in our own hemisphere. So this$issue has been around a long time.">   Ms. Barshefsky, the U.S. deputy trade representative, said?Chile's past political turmoil has not affected efforts by the=Clinton administration to win U.S. Congressional support forAChile's entry into NAFTA, joining the United States, Canada, andMexico::   "There is a very deep reservoir of support for Chilean>accession in the Congress. It is no wonder if you look at the@Chilean economy and what has been accomplished in the last five@or six years. And if you were looking at a means of encouraging>and supporting market-driven economics in countries and macroAeconomics stability, Chile has got to be your top pick certainly"in our (the western) hemisphere."@   Analysts say Chile's economy, driven by more than 15 billion:dollars in exports of copper, iron, wood and agricultural>products, is the fourth most important emerging market of theAworld's developing countries. U.S. trade officials say they will@begin negotiations with Canada and Mexico on Chile's membership@in NAFTA on July 24th. Trade analysts say Chile's participationAin the trade agreement would be an important factor in launching?negotiations to establish a free trade area of the Americas bythe year 2005.   ---------------   ---------------(   JOURNALIST CALLS FOR IMMIGRATION BAN   MERCEDES SPROUSE   NEW YORKB   American journalist Peter Brimelow (brim-low) Wednesday called@on Congress to temporarily ban entry to immigrants until, as he@put it, the United States takes control of its borders. He made>his suggestion while discussing his controversial new book on
immigration.@   In his book "Alien nation," Peter Brimelow warns the current>U.S. immigration policy is driving a wedge through the United=States. Himself a British immigrant, Mr. Brimelow argues the=United States cannot continue to admit millions of legal and@illegal immigrants if Americans wish to maintain their standard!of living and national identity:A   "I think there should be a moratorium on immigration. I think;illegal immigration should be stopped. I think the illegal-immigrants who are here should be deported."A   Mr. Brimelow is an editor of the business magazine, "Forbes,"?and the conservative publication, "National Review." He traces:burgeoning U.S. immigration to the liberalization of such8policies in the mid 1960s. He says immigrants and their>descendants will make up two-thirds of U.S. population growth=during the 1990s, and, thereafter, will supply virtually allpopulation growth.@   Mr. Brimelow argues the United States stands at the brink of=what he describes as an impending ethnic revolution with new;arrivals altering the nation's historic ethnicity. He saysBimmigration has become a class issue and says massive immigrationBprovides no rational economic benefits to the nation. He suggests<the addition of many unskilled immigrants detracts from thenational economic potential:A   "The experience of the 1900s is that where you have unskilled8immigrants, they tend to have less-skilled children andBless-skilled grandchildren. It's quite wrong to think that people?come in and go from being peddlers to rocket scientists in twogenerations."<   Mr. Brimelow cites Japan as an example of a country that?heavily restricts immigration yet has catapulted itself to the?ranks of the economic superpowers. He suggests that is because9Japan does not accept unskilled laborers from developing'countries in Latin America and Africa:A   "If you think that immigration is a good thing, it works both8ways. In fact, these third world countries need skilledBimmigrants of a type that might go there. The answer is of course?very illuminous on the Mexican side. You have to get a tourist<visa for which you have to show financial assets. You go inAperson to the ministry in Mexico City and you apply to become an>immigrant to Mexico. If you have not been accepted in the six1months of your tourist visa, you have to leave."@   Critics have called Mr. Brimelow's proposals racist, radical@and naive, citing studies indicating U.S. immigrants contributeAmore in taxes and wealth creation than they take from government
services.<   Peter Brimelow's controversial book, "Alien Nation," hasAtriggered discussion of U.S. immigration policies at a time when@legislators are looking at ways to reform U.S. immigration law.   ---------------   ---------------;   U.S. OPINION ROUNDUP: VIETNAM RECOGNITION-END OF AN ERA   ANDREW N. GUTHRIE   WASHINGTONA   The painful, divisive period of American history known as theAVietnam War era was moved put further into the past Tuesday whenBPresident Clinton formally announced that the United States wouldBextend full diplomatic recognition to the republic of Vietnam. As@expected, there were dozens, if not more, editorial comments in=Wednesday's papers, from one end of the nation to the other.B   For days, U.S. editorial writers have been discussing the pros<and cons of establishing formal ties between Washington and@Hanoi, with the majority favoring it. Now that it has happened,?most of the papers are giving an enthusiastic endorsement. The>largest daily west of the Mississippi River, "The Los AngelesTimes" wrote:B   "It was time to move on. Twenty years had passed since the end<of a war that saw a devastated Vietnam lose millions of its:people, more than 50,000 American lives taken and tens of<thousands protesting in U.S. streets. [President] Clinton's=action reflects a bipartisan effort. The Bush Administration<started the process four years ago, telling Hanoi it had toBrelease prisoners from its re-education camps, leave Cambodia andBprovide a full accounting of the Americans once held as prisoners>of war and those missing in action. Vietnam did so, and [Mr.]BClinton wisely heeded suggestions from advisers such as Secretary@of State Warren Christopher to start a new chapter in relationsbetween the two countries.">   On the east coast, "New York Newsday" also agrees with theAmove, but is concerned about what it feels is partisan political(criticism of the president's decision:"A   "Pointed criticism of the rapprochement with our former enemy>by Senate majority leader Bob Dole, Republican of Kansas, andAother Republicans seems designed to curry favor with disgruntledAveterans' groups and to feed on the irreconcilable sense of loss<felt by families of servicemen still missing from that war.AExploiting those sentiments makes for cheap politics opportunismmasquerading as principle.">   In the Midwest, one of the nation's largest tabloids, "The>Chicago Sun-Times", called the decision "unpopular, bold, andcorrect." Adding:@   "There are good reasons, economic, diplomatic, humanitarian,;for recognizing Vietnam. An American trade embargo against?Vietnam was lifted in February, 1994, but full diplomatic tiesBwill enhance the ability of U.S. firms to successfully compete in@the burgeoning Asian sphere. Politically, a stable Vietnam will<help balance the growth of China and Japan. In human terms,=normalizing relations will help the hundreds of thousands of@Vietnamese refugees who fled to the United States after the war?ended in 1975. These people, most now U.S. citizens, have beenAblocked from families and roots. For too long Vietnam has been a=painful wound in our national memory. It's time to move on."@   In Florida, "The Miami Herald" says President Clinton closedB"a searing chapter of U.S. foreign policy" with the announcement,Band adds this comment on the people who agreed with and dissentedfrom that decision:?   "Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona for six years a=prisoner of war in Vietnam, strongly supports normalization.AConversely, representative Sam Johnson, Republican of Texas, who9once shared a POW cell with Mr. McCain, strongly opposes>normalization. In a way, they mirror the nation's conflicting@emotions about the Vietnam War. But beyond emotion and domestic>politics lies a work taking a measure of America's ability to:adapt and provide continued global economic and political9leadership. Mr. Clinton showed that leadership by acting0forthrightly in this country's best interests."B   The "Denver Post" takes the position that, although prevailing<wisdom is the U.S. "lost" the Vietnam War, it has "won" thepeace:A   "Vietnam is the only war the U.S. ever lost, even though U.S.<forces won every major battle they fought there yet if U.S.Bobjectives in that struggle are analyzed in the light of history,<many have been achieved. And closer ties between the United<States and Vietnam may achieve even more. If the problem of?Chinese expansionism is substituted for the outdated notion of@monolithic communism, a united Vietnam has proven to be exactly>the cofferdam [large earthen dam] against Chinese imperialism2that the U.S. fought to build in Southeast Asia.";   In Pennsylvania, "The Philadelphia Inquirer" suggested:@   "The time is right for all Americans, including the families@of veterans still missing or presumed dead in Vietnam, to 'bindAup old wounds,' in the words of President Clinton, and 'let this0moment be a time to heal and a time to build.'"=   Finally, from the nation's largest tabloid, "The New York
Daily News":A   "There is no denying that Vietnam is unique. The mere mention<of the world conjures up the bitter debate that divided the<country as nothing has since the civil war. [Mr.] Clinton'sAresistance to the war adds to the complications. Which is why he=surrounded himself yesterday with military officers past and>present, including several vets now serving in Congress. Duly@covered, the president managed to strike exactly the right note8when, sounding a bit like Abraham Lincoln at his second>inaugural, he said: 'this moment offers us the opportunity to;bind up our own wounds. Recognition will not erase the MIAB[missing in action] issue. But neither will the honored memory ofAthe missing and dead be enhanced by continuing to shun an entire	nation."   ---------------   ---------------A   KISSINGER URGES BIPARTISANSHIP, COOPERATION IN FOREIGN POLICY#   WENDY S. ROSS AND ANDREW ABRAMS   WASHINGTON=   Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger told the Senate=Foreign Relations Committee July 13 that it is important forACongress and the administration to work together in a bipartisan%way to solve foreign policy matters.?   "The national interest of the United States does not change;every four years; foreign leaders judge our country by its@insight and its constancy," he said, but "we have, as a nation,,failed" in recent years to show continuity.?   "The administration has not given a conceptual lead and has@too often subordinated foreign policy to domestic politics, and@the Congress has sought to micromanage foreign policy -- a task:for which it is not organized," Kissinger told the panel.=   He said, however, that he supports the proposal by SenateAForeign Relations Committee chair, Jesse Helms, to abolish three?foreign affairs agencies and consolidate what remains of theirBfunctions in the State Department.  This proposal is seen by some*as an attempt by Congress to micromanage.B   Kissinger was the panel's first witness in a planned series of?hearings on foreign policy goals for the year 2000 and beyond.AHis testimony centered primarily on U.S. relations with Asia andBEurope, but he said he would return at another session to discussother areas of the world.B   Discussing Asia, Kissinger, who had just returned from a visit<to Beijing, said he was concerned by the state of relations?between the United States and China.  He said the two are on aB"collision course" and open conflict with China "would tempt both/countries to organize Asia against the other."B   America and China, he said, should have a parallel interest inAequilibrium in Asia, but at the moment relations between the twoAare in a "free fall," which poses a danger for the rest of Asia.@   The immediate cause of the problem, he said, is the grantingBby the United States of a visa to Taiwan's President Li Teng-hui.B   But that issue, Kissinger said, would not have taken on such aAdimension had the visit "not been the culmination of a series of@U.S. actions perceived in Beijing as unilateral and high-handed7abrogations of existing agreements over recent years."@   Similarly, the arrest by China of American citizen and human;rights activist Harry Wu is interpreted in Washington as a=deliberate challenge to its human rights concerns, Kissinger<said.  He said he had spoken with Chinese leaders about the?wisdom of releasing Wu, but he urged the United States to giveChina time to reflect on this.B   Kissinger called for "a moratorium on further unilateral stepsAin Washington  by both the Congress and the executive branch and>an end to invective from Beijing and pressures from Taiwan topermit a calm reassessment."?   He urged the administration to define what it understands a?"one China" policy to be, and he called on Congress to stop ad@hoc measures and seek a joint course with the administration onpolicy toward China.@   Taiwan, he said, "should think again before pressing America=on a course that, in the end may isolate Taiwan totally; andABeijing should end its invective and take seriously issues about@which Americans feel deeply, such as the fate of Harry Wu, as a2prelude to resumed negotiations with Washington."?   "All sides should step back from the brink before it is too/late and irreparable damage is done," he said.6   Discussing European policy, Kissinger stressed the@significance of avoiding an isolationist role on the continent.?   The former secretary of state said he does not think Russia3should be invited to join NATO.  He criticized theAadministration's effort "to build Europe from east to west basedBon Russia, rather than from west to east and based on the nationsbordering the North Atlantic.=   Kissinger proposed the formation of a North Atlantic FreeBTrade Area for manufactured goods and services, with negotiations@on agriculture to follow.  He said such a grouping would foster5cooperation among the nations of the North Atlantic.B   He said as Russia's economy develops "associate membership for@it in such a free trade area would be a distinct possibility --much more so than in NATO."9   Kissinger said, in answer to a question about Russian?President Boris Yeltsin's health problems, that "we cannot tie>our future to one man." He said Yeltsin "is governing more orBless by decree" and is "engaged in fairly violent acts."  The key=to good Russian-American relations, he said, "is for Russian,troops to stay within their own territory."A   Kissinger avoided an expressed statement on Bosnian policy in=his written testimony but, in response to questions, he said>"Bosnia was mishandled from the beginning.  It shouldn't have;been created as a state because it had no ethnic identity.A  "I believe we should have resisted 'ethnic cleansing' from the?beginning before the situation reached its present proportion.It might have worked."   ---------------   ---------------<   ADMINISTRATION SUPPORTS EXTENSION OF U.S. COPYRIGHT TERM   JEANNE HOLDEN   WASHINGTON>   The Clinton Administration supports passage of a bill that?would extend the term of U.S. copyright protection for authors>and bring U.S. copyright law into conformity with that of theEuropean Union.<   Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky and@Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Patents andATrademarks Bruce Lehman told a House Judiciary subcommittee JulyA13 that the principle reason the Clinton administration supports@the "Copyright Term Extension Act of 1995" is to harmonize U.S."law with the European Union (EU).<   The EU is the largest single market for copyrighted U.S.@works, said Lehman.  Harmonization will increase the protectionBU.S. copyright holders receive in the EU as well as in the UnitedStates, he said.?   In 1993 the EU passed a directive that required each of its@member states to provide copyright protection for authors for a@term of life-plus-70 years by July 1, 1995.  But a provision inAthe directive explicitly requires each member state to implement?"the rule of the shorter term," which prohibits a member stateAfrom protecting a work originating outside the EU for the entire<life-plus-70 year term unless the country in which the work?originated also provides protection for a term of life-plus-70years.A   "Thus," Lehman explained, "U.S. copyright owners will only beBprotected for a term of life-plus-50 years in the EU, while their=EU counterparts will be protected for a term of life-plus-70@years in the EU -- unless the U.S. copyright term is extended.">   Lehman and Barshefsky pointed out that passage of the billAwill benefit the U.S. economy because the United States is a net)exporter to the EU of copyrighted works.@   "Given the preponderant balance in the U.S. favor in U.S.-EU@trade in copyrighted works, an additional 20 years of copyright?protection on both sides of the Atlantic would add more to theBrevenue flows headed from the EU to the U.S. than it would to the>monies we would be required to pay out to Europe," Barshefsky:explained.  She noted that the Motion Picture Association@estimates that term extension would result in a modest increase?of revenues from international sources of less than $1 millionBper year by 2000, rising more dramatically to $160-200 million by2020.?   Lehman noted that some opponents of the bill suggest that aAcopyright extension will harm the public, saying that works that;have entered the public domain after the term of copyright>protection has expired are cheaper and more widely available.ABut, he said, the evidence shows that once a work falls into the?public domain, it is neither cheaper nor more widely available#than those protected by copyright.B   A copyright-term extension would provide copyright owners with@more time in which to exploit their works, resulting in greater=financial rewards, Lehman said.  This in turn, he suggested,@would encourage authors to create more new works for the public
to enjoy.<   Lehman said he agreed with the statement of subcommittee@chairman Carlos J. Moorehead that copyright conformity provides=certainty and simplicity in international business dealings.<   In addition, Lehman said that a 20-year extension of the?copyright term "will encourage copyright owners to restore and>digitize works that are about to fall into the public domain.<This will ensure that many celebrated works are preserved."B   Marybeth Peters, Register of Copyright and Associate LibrarianBfor Copyright Services of the Library of Congress also spoke July@13 to the House Subcommittee in favor of the bill.  Peters said?her office supports the term extension because of "the need toBharmonize copyright terms throughout the world and the acceptance9that life plus 70 will sometime in the future become theAinternational norm, and (2) as a leading creator and exporter ofAcopyrighted works, the United States should not wait until it isAforced to increase the term; rather it should set an example forother countries."@   Peters noted that the Copyright Office opposes the provision=in the bill that would add 10 years to the term of copyright?protection of unpublished works.  Lehman commented that before71978 unpublished works were not protected and that the/administration supports the bill as it stands.<   A copyright is an exclusive right conferred by law for a>specified period of time to reproduce an original literary or:artistic work fixed in any tangible medium of expression.BCopyright protection means that certain uses of a work are lawful8only if made with authorization of the copyright owner.A   The U.S. term of copyright protection for works made for hire:is already longer than the EU term of protection so these@copyright holders would not gain additional years of protectionin the EU market.   ---------------   ---------------.   HELMS, FEINGOLD WANT MFN FOR CHINA REVOKED
   SENATE<   Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Jesse Helms andASenator Russell Feingold, a Democratic member of the panel, have@introduced a resolution disapproving President Clinton's June 2Aannouncement renewing most-favored-nation (MFN) trade status forChina for another year.>   "We remain convinced that the broadest possible engagement=with China offers the best opportunity over the long term to=ensure that China abides by internationally-accepted norms,"Clinton said.A   The resolution has been referred to the Finance Committee forAa vote. If the committee does not act within a certain time, the@resolution is automatically discharged to the full Senate for avote.@   A similar resolution earlier was introduced in the House andAreferred to the House Ways and Means Committee.  On June 20 thatAcommittee recommended disapproval of the resolution by a vote of@27 to 7.  The full House now will vote on the matter.  Both the>Senate and House would have to approve measures rejecting theApresident's decision to renew MFN for China in order to overturn
that policy.?   Helms and Feingold July 11 circulated a letter asking other8senators to co-sponsor their resolution of disapproval.B   The letter says China's recent arrest of American human rights?activist Harry Wu on "trumped-up charges of espionage" is "yet@another example of China's deteriorating record on human rights3a record which calls out for a decisive reaction.":   The letter contends "there is no evidence that MFN has/influenced Beijing to improve its human rights?policies....Continued extension of MFN and expanded U.S.-ChinaBtrade have not led to political liberalization, despite the hopesof us all."@   Helms and Feingold recalled that earlier this year, the U.S.Bthreatened to impose $1,000 million in sanctions against China to<retaliate against software piracy violations by state-owned>companies.  "The threat succeeded, and we achieved our goals.8We urge the Congress to take human rights violations as9seriously, and revoke MFN this year," the senators said.>   In a related development, Helms was slated to meet July 13Awith Ching Lee Wu, wife of the human rights activist detained inChina.   ---------------   ---------------;   DOLE SAYS U.N. MUST IMMEDIATELY PREPARE TO LEAVE BOSNIA
   SENATE?   Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, in a July 13 speech on theBfloor of the Senate, said the present policy in Bosnia has led to9a "colossal failure" with the fall of Srebrenica and theBcontinuing Serbian attacks against two other U.N.-designated safehavens.<   Dole said the United Nations must begin preparations for>withdrawal from Bosnia immediately.  He said he would support?"the use of U.S. forces, if they are necessary," but under thefollowing strict conditions:   -- unified NATO command;;   -- robust rules of engagement which provide for massive-retaliation if any U.S. forces are attacked;@   -- ensuring that all necessary measures are taken to protect=U.S. and NATO personnel from likely threats from any source,including Serbia;0   -- not risking U.S. lives to save equipment;=   -- agreement from U.S. allies to lift the arms embargo onBosnia.?   "The U.N. forces must withdraw and the arms embargo must be;lifted," Dole said.  "The United States cannot continue to<subsidize and support a U.N. mission that serves largely to>supervise ethnic cleansing and aggression.  The United States>must exercise leadership and support the fundamental right ofself-defense," he said.A   Commenting on reports that the administration is working with@the allies to withdraw U.N. forces from the eastern enclaves in>Bosnia and redeploy them in central Bosnia and Sarajevo, Dole4said such a strategy "would be redefining failure."   ---------------   ---------------;   MUCH CONGRESSIONAL WORK TO BE DONE BEFORE AUGUST RECESS   WASHINGTONA   House Republican leaders July 12 told Republican members that>they still plan to start the summer recess August 4, but that=before then all 13 appropriations bills must pass the House.A   So far, fewer than five have passed.  This means that members@are to expect to work late at night and even on some Saturdays,2Republican Conference Chairman John Boehner said.?   "We plan to get them (appropriations bills) finished and weBwill do everything we can to preserve the August recess," Boehnersaid.?   The Senate has also set August 4 as its target recess date,=but Majority Leader Bob Dole has been warning that that date>could slip by a week if lawmakers do not make progress in keyareas.   ---------------   ----------------   NO DECISION ON FIRST LADY'S TRIP TO CHINA   WHITE HOUSEA   White House press secretary McCurry said no decision has beenBmade on a trip by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton to China, and@no final decision on the U.S. delegation to the U.N. conference!in Beijing on the role of women.@   Mrs. Clinton's trip "had not been decided even prior to some9of the more rocky (recent) developments in the bilateral8relationship between the United States and the People's@Republic," he said.  "There will be many factors weighed by the@First Lady's staff and by others here at the White House beforeAany decision is made on that.  The delegation itself is still in the process of being composed."=   On a related matter, Ching-lee Chen, wife of human rights<activist Harry Wu, conferred with National Security Adviser>Anthony Lake on the detention of her husband in China.  Wu, a@U.S. citizen, is charged with espionage, apparently in relation<to earlier visits which exposed prison conditions in China.;McCurry said Lake conveyed President Clinton's "unwavering6position that Mr. Wu should be released immediately."A   McCurry told a questioner Wu's detention would be "weighed asBa factor" in determining whether Mrs. Clinton travels to Beijing.   ---------------   --------------8   ALLIES, UNITED NATIONS CONSIDER NEXT STEPS IN BOSNIA   STATE DEPARTMENTB   The decision to take further action in response to the July 11Boverrunning of the enclave of Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia by the@Bosnian Serb forces "must rest with both the United Nations and@with those countries that have troops on the ground," the State.Department spokesman Nicholas Burns declared.@   Richard Holbrooke, assistant secretary of state for European@and Canadian affairs, was meeting late July 12 with Carl Bildt,?the European Union's negotiator for the former Yugoslavia, and?political directors of the British, French, German and Russian@foreign ministries in London to plot a future course of action.@Meanwhile, the U.N. Security Council was meeting in New York todeal with the Bosnian crisis.6   Burns condemned the Bosnian Serb action, saying it:demonstrated little regard for human life and decency and7denounced it as a flagrant violation of United Nations
resolutions.=   There was continued fighting around the two other easternBenclaves -- Zepa and Gorazde -- on July 12.  Both have been under$attack for the past couple of days.:   The United Nations, and the international community in=general, have the task of trying to deal with the very greatAproblems that have resulted from the fall Srebrenica, especiallyBthe "tens of thousands of refugees who are without food and waterBand are in a very precarious situation," the spokesman said.  The<Bosnian Serbs have said they plan to shift thousands of the=refugees to a football stadium about five kilometers east ofASrebrenica, he noted.  They are also continuing to hold 36 Dutchpeacekeepers captive.@   "There has to be some kind of international decision," BurnsBsaid, about the important question of "how does the internationalAcommunity respond to yesterday's events where an enclave that it8was pledged to protect was not protected successfully."B   "We need to have very good conversations with our allies aboutBwhat that response will be," he said, but he would not anticipate=what that decision will be -- either the decision of France,BBritain and the Netherlands, who are the major troop contributing<allies to the U.N. force in Bosnia, or the decision of U.N.)Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali.A   "We do have to live in the world of reality, not the world of@illusions," he answered reporters who asked about Congressional7proposals for lifting the arms embargo against Bosnia.:   He rejected the idea that the United States should get@involved militarily and seek a military solution to the BosnianBconflict.  "That proposal, we believe, would not have the support=of the American people, much less the American Congress," heAsaid.  Nor, he added, should the United Nations Protection Force@(UNPROFOR) be withdrawn, leaving the various factions in Bosnia to fight out their differences.?   "It would lead to an intensification of the fighting, would=cause more bloodshed for the afflicted people of the region,Awould kill the almost moribund peace process," Burns warned, andAit would lead to an increase in the number of refugees who would@be left with no one to help them because the United Nations and@the major troop contributing countries would leave, if the armsembargo was lifted.?   The remaining option is to strengthen UNPROFOR, Burns said,Badding: "The Rapid Reaction Force may or may not be the way to doBthat.  We think it can be a way to make UNPROFOR more effective."BKeeping UNPROFOR in Bosnia, he noted, would also provide a direct>humanitarian channel to help people with food and shelter andwater and medicine.A   "It is far preferable for us to continue along current lines,Ahowever imperfect or frustrating it may be, than to adopt eitherBof these other two options, one of which clearly has no chance of9being implemented and the other clearly would worsen the situation," the spokesman said.=   "This is not a perfect option, but we have to live in theAworld of reality," he said.  "We have to deal with the situation?as it is, and we believe that this option is far preferable to=the calamity that would be unleashed were unilateral lift to=occur," Burns said.  "That's our very firm position today in&looking at the events in Srebrenica."B   One vehicle to make UNPROFOR more effective would be to deploy7"a Rapid Reaction Force that has some teeth," he said.A   The spokesman underscored U.S. concern about possible Bosnian@Serb mistreatment of the refugees from Srebrenica.  "Given past@practice, we do have a number of concerns about the capacity of=the inclination of the Bosnian Serb forces to treat well andjustly captives," he said.>   "In 1991 and 1992, they displayed for all the world to see?brutal tendencies towards people they had taken captive.  They=should not repeat those very grave and serious mistakes now.BThey should treat these people well.  We are not standing idly by>and ignoring this problem," Burns said.  "...We are sending a=public message today to the Bosnian Serbs that they have the9humanitarian responsibility to treat these people well."<   Burns dismissed as "far-fetched" the suggestion that the:Bosnian Serbs would be willing to begin negotiations on a<political settlement if they seize all three of the easternBenclaves.  "I think they have clearly shown that they are seeking$a military solution here," he said.B   The Contact Group's map and plan, offered last year as a basis;for negotiation, remains on the table, he said.  While the>situation has "dramatically changed" in the last 24 hours, he@said, "that does not reduce our interest in ultimately seeing a'political resolution to this problem."   --------------   -------------->   DOLE, LIEBERMAN, HELMS URGE LIFTING OF BOSNIA ARMS EMBARGO
   SENATEB   Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic sent a letter to Senate@Majority Leader Bob Dole July 11 urging the U.S. Senate to voteAto lift the arms embargo on the Bosnian government so its peoplecan defend themselves.B   Dole issued a press release July 11 containing the text of the?letter. He said he and Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman hadBtalked earlier that day by phone with Silajdzic, who gave them an@up-to-the minute account of the Serbs' seizure of the U.N. safehaven Srebrenica.;   "Will all six safe areas have to be overrun" before the=Clinton administration and others declare the United Nations@mission a failure? Dole asked.  "It is time to end this farce,">he said.  "It is time to let the Bosnians do what the U.N. is>unwilling to do for them.  The Bosnians are willing to defend>themselves -- it is up to us to make them able by lifting thearms embargo."B   In his letter, Silajdzic pointed out that "helpless civilians"@are being exposed to "massacre and genocide."  He said "attacks=are also underway against the other safe areas in Bosnia andBHerzegovina," and that is why "it is extremely important that the;American Senate votes to lift the arms embargo" on Bosnia.A   Lieberman said what happened in Srebrenica "just reaffirms myBbelief that we ought to get the United Nations out of there.  You?can't keep a peace where none exists.  And we ought to finallyAgive the Bosnians the arms with which to defend themselves.  TheAonly way to stop force -- and that's what the Serbs are using --is with more force."B   Dole's office reported that the majority leader plans to bringAto the floor of the Senate later this week a modified version of.his and Lieberman's bill to lift the embargo.@   In a July 12 statement, Senator Jesse Helms, chairman of theASenate Foreign Relations Committee, said "the fall of Srebrenica@exposes the farce that the U.N. presence in Bosnia has become."B   The U.N. mission in Bosnia, he said, "has moved beyond failure<-- it is now helping the Serbs in their illegal conquest of;Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Clinton administration's continuedArefusal to withdraw the U.N. mission, lift the arms embargo, and?support the Bosnian Muslims puts the U.S. into the position ofAhaving blundered into an unintended alliance with the Serbs," hesaid.A   Helms said the United States should provide the government of>Bosnia-Herzegovina with "the arms, intelligence and training"Bneeded to break the siege of Sarajevo, regain Srebrenica and takeBback the territory "illegally conquered and seized by the Serbs."B   In a statement, House Republican Representative Susan MolinariBalleged that "the Serbs can't be trusted to do what is right, and@neither can the U.N.  Their culpability is almost equal at thispoint," she said.   --------------   --------------6   HOUSE PANEL APPROVES BILL TO EXPAND CUBA SANCTIONS
   SENATEB   By a vote of 28-9, the House International Relations Committee>July 11 approved legislation intended to promote democracy in>Cuba by tightening international sanctions against the islandnation.B   The measure is sponsored by Republican Dan Burton, chairman of%the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee.@   It seeks to encourage democratic elections in Cuba and urges@the international community to refrain from entering into trade1with Cuba and from offering aid to that country.?   Under the measure, the United States would withhold foreign@aid from any state in the former Soviet Union that sends aid to@Cuba for military and intelligence facilities.  U.S. assistanceBwithheld would be the equivalent dollar amount of aid provided toCuba.?   The legislation also seeks to punish foreign companies that;purchase properties or factories in Cuba expropriated from;Cuban-Americans by Fidel Castro's regime.  Under the bill,Aforeign companies that trade in expropriated properties would beAsubject to lawsuits in U.S. courts. Cuban-Americans who were not>U.S. citizens when their properties were confiscated would be.able to seek damages from these corporations.A   The House Ways and Means Committee must still approve some of?the bill's trade provisions before it can move to the floor ofBthe House, but Burton said he anticipates no objections from thatBcommittee.  He said he hopes the measure can be considered by the6full House before the congressional recess in August.B   The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is working on a similarbill.   --------------   ---------------D   REPUBLICANS SAY U.S. SHOULD USE BEIJING CONFERENCE TO PROTEST WU   WASHINGTON=   Republican congressional leaders July 13 sent a letter toAPresident Clinton urging him to announce that, "as long as HarryAWu is detained in China," the United States will not participateB"at any level or in any fashion" in the United Nations Conference#on Women in Beijing in September.";   "It would be wholly inappropriate to participate in anyAinternational conference in the People's Republic of China while>an American citizen is being unjustly detained by the Chinese government," the letter states.B   Signatories of the letter are Senate Majority leader Bob Dole,@House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Senate Foreign Relations CommitteeAChair Jesse Helms, House International Relations Committee Chair>Ben Gilman, and Helsinki Commission co-chairs Senator AlfonseAD'Amato and Representative Chris Smith, who also is chair of the>House International Operations and Human Rights Subcommittee.?   Later Dole issued a separate statement saying that the U.S.?relationship with China "is at a critical crossroads -- at the@lowest point in years, and the list of disputed issues is long:?proliferation, human rights, Taiwan and trade." Dole also said<that he shared the concern over the dangers of a full-scale;confrontation expressed by former Secretary of State Henry.Kissinger at a July 13 congressional hearing.A   "But just as we must not casually move toward a conflict that?serves neither country, we cannot remain silent in the face of>outrageous conduct," Dole said. "The most fundamental duty ofAgovernment is to protect the rights of its citizens -- and HarryBWu is an American citizen. I urge the Chinese to release Harry Wu5and remove this latest flashpoint in our relations."   ---------------   ---------------7   LIVINGSTON WARNS AGAINST PRESIDENTIAL VETO STRATEGY   WASHINGTON?   Responding to White House veto threats, the chairman of theBHouse Appropriations Committee has called on President Clinton to=work more closely with Congress as fiscal year 1996 spending/bills proceed through the legislative process.A   "Mr. President, I recommend that you begin working with us on<our remaining bills and that you recognize you will have to<accept actions that must be taken to accomplish the desires?expressed by the American people last November," the Louisiana2Republican warned in a July 13 letter to Clinton.;   Regarding bills already passed by the House, LivingstonBsuggested the president get involved with the Senate: "Failure to@do that (work with Congress); to take the stand-back, hands-off=approach you suggest, which says you will begin negotiationsBafter you have vetoed our bills, holds out little hope to me that<yours is a desirable approach to the problem you propose to	create."=   Livingston said he was "reluctant to take such a negativeBview, but in light of our experience with your negotiators on the?rescission bill where...they were unable to come to closure onAthe proposals they presented, I'm left with no other position totake."B   Clinton June 7 vetoed a fiscal year 1995 rescissions bill that7would have cut millions of dollars from monies alreadyBappropriated by Congress. A replacement rescissions bill was then:introduced in the House and approved June 29 by a vote ofA276-151. That legislation became stalled in the Senate, however,?after two Democratic Senators objected to the depth of some of
the cuts.@   Livingston's letter follows a warning July 11 by White House=Chief of Staff Leon Panetta that Clinton would likely veto a<number of appropriations bills if presented to him in their>current form. Panetta urged Congress to speed the legislative8process to allow time to work out compromises and avoid?confrontation when the current fiscal year comes to a close atAthe end of September. "Let's not try to have a last-minute crash<here where they (the Republicans) try to push through theirApriorities at the very last hour and somehow force the presidentBto somehow accept their priorities or else face a shutdown in thegovernment," Panetta said.   ---------------   ----------------   GINGRICH MOVES TO SAVE ENDANGERED ANIMALS   WASHINGTON<   The House of Representatives voted 132-to-289 July 13 to=oppose an amendment to the Interior Appropriations bill thatBwould have struck from the bill $800,000 to continue U.S. efforts<to save large animals facing extinction in Asia and Africa.;   Saving the funds undoubtedly was helped by Speaker Newt:Gingrich, who came to the floor to speak on behalf of theBthreatened mammals. It is very rare for a speaker to take part infloor debate.@   Gingrich, an animal lover who in the past helped the Atlanta?zoo get two rhinos, said "for this tiny amount of money we are@helping maintain an effort on behalf of some large mammals, all8of which are severely threatened and all of which could?disappear, literally be gone, (and we would be) unable to everagain find them in the wild.";   The money appropriated in the bill to help preservation?efforts is "symbolically important, in part, for the signal it@sends to people, particularly in Africa and Asia, about whether9or not the United States is prepared to reach out and behelpful," Gingrich said.A   Gingrich, the leader of the effort in Congress to balance theAfederal budget, said, "We have proven we are committed to fiscal@conservatism. This is a very tiny, very good series of programs=which are not only important for ourselves, but which send a=signal" to countries in Africa and Asia that have suppressed:poaching of these animals, whose hides and tusks are very;valuable, in order to sustain these species for posterity.   ---------------   ---------------F   FOREIGN PRESS REACTION: VIETNAM NORMALIZATION: A HEALTHY NEW LEAF?   WASHINGTON<   Foreign media analysts in every geographic region and of@varied political stripes praised the Clinton administration forBtaking the "dramatic" and "courageous"--some said "overdue"--stepAof announcing the U.S. would recognize Vietnam.  Overwhelmingly,=editorialists commended the U.S., and particularly President>Clinton, for finally laying to rest the trauma of the Vietnam?War.  A typical comment came from economic Les Echos of Paris,@which acknowledged the "psychological and traumatic sensitivity=pervasive in the United States" regarding Vietnam.  Moscow's;reformist youth Komsomolskaya Pravda declared, "Unlike hisApredecessors (Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon), Clinton will go@down in history as a positive figure" because of this decision.@Many papers noted the opposition of families of Americans still?missing or unaccounted for, though a few also pointed out that=Vietnam had suffered far heavier losses during the conflict.>Several accused Mr. Clinton's domestic opponents of political@grandstanding.  What, asked daily-of-record La Nacion in Buenos=Aires, "would Senator Dole have said if George Bush had been(giving the press conference yesterday?"@   Numerous East Asian commentators expressed the hope that theAU.S. move would herald a new era of peace and stability in Asia.AA number of writers in other countries pointed out that pressure<from U.S. businesses, worried about losing out to Asian andBEuropean competitors,  were most influential in tipping the scale@toward U.S. recognition of Hanoi.  Quite a few writers stressed>the irony that the domino which finally quashed the remaining7enmity between Washington and Hanoi was American-styleAcapitalism.  New Delhi's top-circulation Indian Express observedBthat "Uncle Sam has returned to Hanoi--not to confront Marx...butBto court Mammon, who is the most visible deity in Vietnam today."?   Among those citing strategic reasons for the normalization,Bmany papers pointed to Vietnam's imminent inclusion in ASEAN, butBmost observed that Washington seemed interested in grooming Hanoi?to counter Beijing's increasing power and influence.  Even the@official Chinese press offered relatively objective assessments;of American motives for normalization, although Shanghai'sACommunist Party Jiefang Daily did discern that "the intention tocontain China is obvious."B   A few writers cautioned the U.S. not to try to impose its viewBof human rights on Hanoi, or at least to wait until the honeymoon>period had elapsed.  Indonesian writers said that rather thanBfocusing on the painful MIA issue, the two parties should discuss/"war reparations as a way to rebuild Vietnam."@   India's independent Economic Times asserted that the "tragic?errors" the U.S. made in Vietnam are relevant for current U.S.Apolicy toward the Islamic world, arguing that "just as there was7no monolithic Communism there is no monolithic Islamic%fundamentalist or extremist threat."J   This report is based on 135 commentaries from 32 countries, July 8-14.   EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC-   JAPAN:  "Beyond The Post-Vietnam War Era"B   Top-circulation, moderate Yomiuri remarked (7/13), "We welcome?the normalization of ties and hope it will add to stability in?Southeast Asia....  However, the decision was made possible in@part because the Clinton administration gave Vietnam due credit:for its efforts to resolve pending issues between the two@nations.  It is fair to say that the United States has now leftBthe past behind and is looking to the future.  Clinton's decisionBalso reflects growing calls from U.S. business to expand economic>ties with Vietnam....  However, it is not surprising that theBUnited States acted now, in light of moves by China in connection>with the territorial dispute over the Spratly Islands...whichalso involves Vietnam."$   "End Of Long Nightmare For U.S."=   Liberal Asahi (7/13) wrote, "Whoever the president of the@United States might be, it was certainly not a politically easyBdecision to restore U.S. ties with Vietnam in light of prevailingAU.S. public and congressional reaction to Vietnam....  China mayBbecome alarmed about the normalization of U.S.-Vietnam ties.  But?as long as the U.S.-Vietnam relationship adds to stability andBeconomic development in Asia, it will also serve the interests ofChina."(   "U.S.-Vietnam--More Asian Stability":   Conservative Sankei held (7/12), "We strongly hope theAnormalization of U.S.-Vietnam ties will help contribute to peace@and stability in Asia.  President Clinton's lifting in FebruaryAof U.S. trade sanctions against Vietnam...apparently was a giantAstep toward restoring the U.S.-Vietnam relationship.  The United=States and Vietnam opted for improving ties because it would>serve the political interests of the two countries:  the 'DoiBMoi' open-door economic policy for Vietnam and the U.S. policy to6expand trade in order to create more jobs at home and=reinvigorate the economy.  The normalization of U.S.-VietnamBrelations may also serve as a deterrent against a China which hasBcontinued its military buildup in the Asia-Pacific region.... The>normalization of ties...will also provide Hanoi with a strong!(U.S.) deterrent against China."0   CHINA:  "Comprehensive Diplomatic Relations"A   The official Legal Daily (7/13) held, "Although in the UnitedAStates there exists strong forces to oppose the establishment ofAcomprehensive diplomatic relations with Vietnam, nevertheless, aAdesire to normalize relations with Vietnam is the general trend.8Clinton strongly hoped to complete the establishment of=diplomatic relations with Vietnam in order to gain political@capital and increase his chances for re-election.  The media in@Washington stated that because of Clinton's behavior during theAVietnam War, he was at a certain political risk in declaring the<establishment of diplomatic relations with Vietnam.  But if>Clinton refused to normalize relations with Vietnam, he would/probably pay an even greater political price."   "Something Is Up"<   Shanghai's official Communist Party Jiefang Daily (7/13)Aremarked, "The political reasons...cannot be ignored.   "Vietnam?will officially join ASEAN this month and thus will become theBsecond largest member nation of the Southeast Asian alliance. The@United States wants to make use of Vietnam's important position=to strengthen its influence in Southeast Asia.  U.S. Senator;McCain said point-blank:  'The establishment of diplomaticBrelations with Vietnam is a part of our containment strategy with9respect to China.'...  The intention to contain China is
obvious.">   AUSTRALIA:  "Something Missing In U.S.-Vietnam Trade Deal"@   The regional West Australian (7/14) commented, "The move has@angered veterans' groups who say their former foe is hiding the>fate of missing U.S. servicemen and genocide....  Mr. Clinton:said he lifted the crippling embargo only after "tangible;progress" on finding remains....  There is another reason:Bdollars and cents....  The Asian Wall Street Journal reported Mr.=Clinton was under increasing pressure to normalize relations9quickly with a big push from a coalition of more than 70companies and trade groups."   "A War's End"@   The liberal Sydney Morning Herald (7/13) commented, "Despite>the slowness to grant full diplomatic recognition, the United>States has of course been making gradual preliminary moves in>recent years....  At the same time, U.S. businesses have been:actively exploring opportunities in Vietnam.  The crucialAdifference now is that MFN status...will open the way to greaterAU.S. investment in Vietnam.  Australia and other countries which<have long had full diplomatic relations with Vietnam shouldwelcome the U.S. move.")   "Clinton's Overdue Ties With Vietnam"B   The national, conservative Australian (7/13) held, "Though the8issue of missing U.S. service personnel, along with the>president's war record, still touch a raw nerve in the UnitedAStates, the first priority ought to be the national interests ofAVietnam and the United States, and stability in the Asia-PacificAregion....  Vietnam has been isolated and punished by the UnitedStates for...too long."   "Canberra Welcomes Links"@   The Sydney Morning Herald (7/13) held, "Vietnam is poised to>play a major role in the Asia-Pacific region, with the United?States normalizing diplomatic relations and the ASEAN ready to=welcome Hanoi to its ranks next month.  Analysts in Canberra?suggest Vietnam's new role could influence political reform in=that country and increase pressure on Hanoi to end its humanrights abuses."%   "Pressure From American Business"<   The Australian Broadcasting Corporation's national radioAcurrent affairs program "AM" said (7/12), "One of the main spursAfor America's actions has been pressure from American businesses>which have been losing out badly to Japan, Taiwan, Europe and>even Australia in gaining a foothold into the ever increasing;trade and investment opportunities opening up in Vietnam."3   "U.S. Aims To Sideline China With Vietnam Link"=   The business-oriented Australian Financial Review's Hanoi@correspondent (7/12) commented,  "Twenty years after the end of:the Vietnam War, the United States is courting its formerBarchenemy as a counterweight to China's increasingly powerful andAerratic role in Southeast Asia.  Coupled with Vietnam's entry to?ASEAN at the end of the month, President Clinton's decision to9establish full relations with Vietnam will be seen as an<important shift in regional politics, with China being left"isolated by these new alliances.">   CAMBODIA:  "Cambodia Greeted News Warmy, For Its Own Sake"@   The English-language tabloid Cambodia Daily (7/14-16) topped:its front page with an article saying, "Cambodia, largely@forgotten as a key player in the United States' long and bitter@war with neighboring Vietnam, has welcomed the establishment of>full diplomatic ties between Washington and Hanoi.  Vietnam's8tiny and oft-trod-upon neighbor to the west greeted the@announcement...warmly, but as much for its own sake as for thatAof Vietnam."  The paper then quoted a local academic as stating,<"With recognition from the United States and as a member of9ASEAN, all that Cambodia once feared about Vietnam as an8aggressor will be gone.  They will have commitments andBresponsibilities to uphold that will not allow that.  These are ablessing for Cambodia."0   HONG KONG:  "Talking To Vietnam Makes Sense"7   Washington correspondent Paul Godfrey filed for the6independent, English-language Eastern Express (7/14),?"With...Christopher due to head a U.S. delegation to the ASEAN>regional security forum and post-ministerial conference earlyAnext month...talking to Vietnam makes sense in terms of enhacing@U.S. influence in the region.  Others believe the move has even:broader strategic implications as a counterbalance to the?phenomenal growth in China's economic and military power, even?though Beijing has heartily endorsed normalization between theUnited States and Vietnam."   "Ties With No Strings"B   The leading, independent, English-language South China Morning<Post declared (7/13), "Mr. Clinton's announcement should beAuniversally welcomed--not only for the hopes it raises of ending?decades of bitterness between the United States and one of theBregion's most populous nations, but also as a welcome sign of the@importance Washington attaches to engagement with Asia-Pacific.@It would be a tragedy were it to become needlessly mired in the1controversy surrounding relations with Beijing."'   "U.S.-Vietnam Ties Full of Promise"=   The independent English-language Hongkong Standard (7/11)Aheld, "Establishing full diplomatic relations with Hanoi will be@good for America and good for the world.  And about time, too."8   "U.S., Vietnam to Establish Diplomatic Relationship"<   Leading pro-PRC Ta Kung Pao (7/12) held, "At a time when;Sino-U.S. relations are cooling down...Bill Clinton is too;impatient to wait to announce that America and Vietnam areBestablishing full diplomatic relations....  Having already played<a leading role in the whole Asia-Pacific region, the UnitedAStates, in the wake of the end of the Cold War...has gone so far?as to regard the success achieved by China through its [policy@of] opening to the outside and reforming, [as having made it] a@potential enemy of America.  "The United States has been makingAtroubles for [China] by every possible means.  Its intention has=been to contain China, and to obstruct China's development."1   "U.S.-Vietnam Ties And Theory Of Containment">   The independent Sing Pao Daily News (7/12) opined, "In all:fairness, the United States does hope to develop a better8relationship with China, and has tried hard to maintain<[Sino-U.S.] high-level contacts.  Dialogue [between the twoAnations] is an example of this.  Nevertheless, the United States@has stopped withdrawing its troops from the Asia-Pacific region<and is actively developing military and economic links with@ASEAN.  Actually, it is preparing itself for two eventualities,Aand to prevent China from becoming increasingly powerful withoutoutside interference."D   "Behind The Establishment Of US-Vietnam Diplomatic Relationship"B   The Taiwanese-owned United Daily News (7/12) held, "It is true<that Bill Clinton made the decision to establish diplomaticArelations with Vietnam under pressure from the business sector's@lobbying.  But it might also have been planned for...[the next]Aelection.  Fundamentally speaking...the United States should not@isolate Vietnam any more....  That is also an important step in>establishing a new order in Asia.  Nevertheless, if America's@eagerness to establish diplomatic relations represents a bid to?contain and encircle China, that will be yet another erroneous:'Vietnam policy.'  That would not only do nothing to helpAestablish a new order in Asia, but would be sufficient to damagepeace in Asia."&   INDONESIA:  "U.S. Ties With Hanoi"B   The leading, independent, English-language Jakarta Post (7/14)<commented, "Washington seems to believe that the Vietnamese>leaders will be easier to talk to (than in the past)....  ButAbefore Clinton tries to make his dream of turning Vietnam into aAcountry molded after those of Eastern Europe today, or before heBeven thinks about pointing a finger at the human rights record in=Vietnam, he will have to recognize...that the Vietnamese areBnationalists first and Communists second.  The Vietnamese leaders<will certainly not fail to once again...resist any possible?pressures from Washington in their future bilateral relations.<Rather than expecting the improbable, Washington had better:realize that paying a considerable amount of money in war<reparations to Vietnam is probably going to be the best way!toward cementing workable ties."/   "War Reparations For Vietnam Should Follow"?   Leading, independent Kompas commented (7/13), "The question@remains as to whether operations to locate MIAs are appropriate@as political leverage, considering that Vietnam lost some three@million people....  It is now that the issue of war reparations@for Vietnam emerges...although Hanoi has not yet given priority>to the issue....  We think that the two parties should follow?normalization with a discussion of war reparations as a way torebuild Vietnam.".   "Prospects For U.S.-Vietnam Normalization"<   Kompas (7/10) held, "From the regional perspective, this?normalization appears as a 'message' to Communist China, which9has recently displayed its intent to take a dominant, or@hegemonic, role in the Asia-Pacific.   "President Clinton wants@to demonstrate that he supports Vietnam, the country whose arms6have often been 'twisted' by its big brother, China."&   "U.S., Vietnam On Their Honeymoon">   Business-oriented Bisnis Indonesia (7/13) remarked, "It is7predicted that U.S. investments will increase, both in8capital-intensive sectors--in particular, oil fields in:Vietnamese waters--as well as in labor-intensive sectors.@Vietnamese workers are known for hard work and low salaries, in?contrast to Indonesian workers.  Normalization of U.S.-Vietnam?relations may affect U.S. investment in Indonesia should Hanoi,provide greater incentives than Indonesia."!   "U.S.-Vietnam Reconciliation"@   Islamic-oriented Pelita (7/13) commented, "Most important is?the increased prospect for U.S. investment in Vietnam....  ForBASEAN, U.S.-Vietnam normalization is positive, because the United;States will be more receptive to Vietnamese partnership in?ASEAN.... Normalization demonstrates that the United States is9escalating its role in Asia, particularly economically.";   MALAYSIA:  "U.S. Finally Establishes Ties With Vietnam"B   Government-influenced Sin Chew Jit Poh (7/13) commented:  "The>establishing of diplomatic ties ...may have positive bearings=on...this region, but many think America is using Vietnam to7constrain China....  With Vietnam becoming a member ofAASEAN...(and).. Christopher's scheduled meeting with the foreign=ministers of this grouping...(and)...at a time when ASEAN is>expanding to cover Indochina, U.S. proactive participation in9regional affairs will ensure its influence and will give8opportunity for the new framework of the ASEAN-centeredBAsia-Pacific order take shape and grow... Both (the United States1and Vietnam)..come out as winners in this deal."D   PHILIPPINES:  "U.S. Improved Chances To Get Full MIA Accounting";   An editorial in the conservative Philippine Star (7/14)=opined, "It took 20 years, but...Americans finally exorcized:enough of the demons spawned by a lost war and normalizedArelations with Vietnam....  In normalizing relations with Hanoi,;Washington actually improved its chances of getting a fullAaccounting of over 1,600 American soldiers who remain missing inAaction or as suspected of being prisoners of war in Vietnam.  It@also backed with concrete action to remain commited to securityBin East Asia...  The normalization of ties between Washington and@(Hanoi) is seen by many as a counterweight to the growing might
of Beijing."!   "U.S. Is Back:  For Business"@   The independent Malaya (7/13) said, "Clinton made no mention2of strategic and economic issues when he made the>announcement.... But there should be no mistake.  Business is<America's business....  Japan is aggressive in investing inAVietnam.  The streets of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh cities are choked@with motorcycles.  Billboards advertise practically nothing but@television and the latest electronic goods.  All made in Japan,@of course.  The United States cannot concede such a potentially@huge market and investment outlet to global competitors for the?sentimental reason that it was whipped by Hanoi...a generationAago.   "Clinton has to take the risk of being accused of selling,out the...Americans...who died in Vietnam.",   SINGAPORE:  "Breaking With Unhappy Past";   The pro-government Straits Times (7/14) held, "There isBspeculation about the impact (of U.S. normalization with Vietnam):on Sino-U.S. ties.  Some American strategists fear that a@Washington-Hanoi rapprochement might rankle Beijing; others see@Vietnam as a strategic counterweight to China.  While the firstBcalculation may underestimate China's political savvy, the second=does not speak too highly of American diplomatic maturity or9ability to learn from past mistakes.  While a strong and?prosperous Vietnam would obviously be a major regional player,:attempts to use this against China would not promote U.S.Ainterests or Asian stability.  Nor, for that matter, would it be:rewarding for the Americans to try to tag on human rights7conditions or social clauses to the new relationship."1   SOUTH KOREA:  "Normalization And North Korea"<   Conservative Segye Ilbo (7/13) maintained, "In its view,@Vietnam will do service as a counter for China, whose hegemonicBdesires keep growing.  In the upcoming presidential election, the=Vietnam case can be taken as a foreign policy feat....  This?occasion offers something for North Korea to bear in mind:  inBorder to realize normalization, Vietnam had to cooperate fully on4the MIA issue and other regional security matters."   "Economy, Top Priority"=   Independent Dong-A Ilbo (7/12) remarked, "We see economic<calculation as the main focus of the normalization.  MutualAinterests in regional geopolitics, countering China for example,also played a crucial role."6   "New Security-Economy Structure In Southeast Asia"=   According to moderate Hankook Ilbo (7/12), "The immediateAsignificance of U.S.-Vietnam normalization lies in the fact that>they are finally moving beyond their long-standing animosity.<Normalization's long-term consequence will be shifts in the/security-economy structure of Southeast Asia."+   THAILAND:  "U.S.-Vietnam Normalization"A   Elite Matichon (7/14) judged, "The normalization of relations@will benefit both economies....  The past animosity between theAUnited States and Vietnam provides a good lesson for other worldApowers as well as countries aspiring to liberate themselves from?foreign domination....  Today's world has transcended the ColdBWar period....  To learn from past experiences and...cooperate in/developing mutual economies is better by far."    "Wounds Have Finally Healed">   The independent, English-language Nation (7/13) held, "TheAAmerican leader finally stopped running...confronted the Vietnam<dilemma and made a politically risky decision to renew tiesBbetween the United States and its former...foe.  And for that, he?deserves credit.  Despite their emotional power, the MIA issue>and U.S. demands that remaining cases of American soldiers be@resolved were nothing more than a pretext for punishing VietnamBfor winning the war." "Clinton Bows To The Inevitable In Vietnam"2   The lead editorial in the largest circulation,BEnglish-language Bangkok Post (7/10) said, "In truth, the war mayBnever end for many, but the exchange of ambassadors between Hanoi"and Washington is significant....B   "It had been clear for some time that only U.S domestic issues:were holding up the inevitable.  With Mr. Clinton winning>non-partisan political support, only small groups opposed the<move.  Few governments believe it is necessary to endorse aBnation's political system in order to recognize its citizens.  It:is fitting that Vietnam is joining ASEAN at the same time?Washington and Hanoi are establishing relations.  With all theBformer battlefields of the Vietnam War now peaceful, it is proper=that all parties to the former war establish new relations."
   EUROPE$   FRANCE:  "An Interesting Debate"<   Economic La Tribune (7/13) observed, "A very interesting;debate will take place about Vietnam between Congress, the@Clinton administration and large American companies.  President>Clinton will need the support of the industrial and financial9lobby to convince Congress, which opposes the commercial:implementation of a political normalization, reviving the&divisions caused by the Vietnam war."   "Washington And Hanoi"=   Conservative Le Figaro (7/12) opined, "The demands of theBveterans were drowned out by the pressure of American businessmen;who do not want to let the Japanese quietly invade a trade	market."+   "Bill Clinton:  'Good Morning Vietnam'"A   Influential Liberation (7/12) remarked, "The decision was not:easy to make for Bill Clinton, essentially because of its?uncertain political cost....  The most spectacular support for>Bill Clinton might come from George Bush, who has scheduled a!trip to Vietnam next September."/   "Upcoming Normalization:  Hanoi-Washington"B   Economic Les Echos (7/10) remarked, "For two-and-a-half years,?President BIll Clinton made progress despite the psychologicalAand traumatic sensitivity pervasive in the United States....  InAHanoi, patience is also the rule.  It has been admitted once and9for all that the normalization was no longer a matter ofAbilateral discussions, but an American domestic problem....  AndBshould Bill Clinton ever decide to give up on this issue, Vietnam:has already said that it would continue to cooperate with
Washington.">   BRITAIN:  "Good Deed, Wrong Reason--Really Aimed At China"@   The liberal Guardian editorialized (7/14), "Some U.S. policyBmakers, and many more analysts, point to worsening relations with@China as the really critical factor.  Washington, they say, now?seeks stronger ties to Vietnam as a counterweight to Beijing's@regional power.  A good decision has been taken even if for the>wrong reasons and Vietnam is no longer to be punished for itsAtemerity 20 years ago in defeating the world's first superpower.@"Welcoming the decision in Hanoi, prime minister To Vo Van KictAquietly observed that while the United States is concerned about?its more than 1,600 soldiers listed as missing in action, someB300,000 Vietnamese soldiers are still not accounted for. But that+is another perspective and another story."+   GERMANY:  "The American Trauma Remains"@   Right-of-center Die Welt (7/13) of Berlin held, "In reality,:Bill Clinton's offer of peace is part of a foreign policy@strategy which his Secretary of State Warren Christopher dubbed='go west, America' a couple of years ago....  In truth, thisBstrategy is in ruins.  Clinton's peace is not only a conciliatory>gesture toward Vietnam but also an aggressive and provocative@move toward China. Clinton's move toward Asia, which he used toAlaunch his foreign policy course two years ago, has now ended in@no-man's land.  His relations with Japan, North Korea and China<have reached a low point.  Seen against his background, his>gesture to Vietnam seems almost like an act of foreign policyBdesperation....  The truth about Vietnam is a painful, bitter andBslowly emerging phenomenon.  There is therefore reason to believeBthat the Vietnam trauma will outlast the war and Clinton's latestgesture of peace."   "End Of Hostilities"A   Left-of-center Frankfurter Rundschau (7/13) opined, "The time=was ripe.  The establishment of diplomatic relations betweenAWashington and Hanoi will mean the conclusion of the Vietnam warAand create a new element of stability in Asia.  Vietnam had long?pressed for this to happen.  It is to Clinton's credit that he?has now taken this step.  He has overcome fierce political and<emotional resistance and demonstrated that he is capable of9taking action in the foreign policy field.  This may not<eliminate America's Vietnam trauma, but it will improve thechances of finding a cure."   "Just Like Beijing"A   Right-of-center Frankfurter Allgemeine (7/13) observed, "Just?like Beijing, Hanoi is ruled by a communist, one-party system.?Just like the Chinese, Vietnam ruthlessly locks up critics and?violates human rights.  Will Washington apply as much pressureBfor the release of these 'prisoners of conscience' as it has donefor those in China?"#   "Embracing Yesterday's Enemies"=   Josef Joffe commented in centrist Sueddeutsche Zeitung of<Munich (7/13), "Historical irony has dictated that 20 years;'after Saigon,' America has won the war after all....  TheAgreatest irony is the 'original domino' Vietnam.  For years now,Awild capitalism has been spreading here, and the old ideological?den of iniquity Ho-Chi-Min City (nee Saigon) is once again theAsecret capital.  Hanoi has been seeking recognition, investment,@trade and even strategic cooperation from Washington for years.:And this fits in very well with the line being pursued by>draft-dodger Bill Clinton.  The two old enemies have (withoutBadmitting the fact) a new, common adversary:  China, the emergent8superpower.  Twenty years on, the object of yesterday's9containment has become tomorrow's partner in a policy ofcontainment."   "Overdue Recognition"B   An editorial in right-of-center Rheinische Post of Duesseldorf>and right-of-center Badische Neueste Nachrichten of KarlsruheBsaid (7/12), "As important as the question of MIAs and POWs still?is, with his quick action, Bill Clinton saved a delicate topicAfrom being talked to death in the upcoming presidential electionAcampaign.  Vietnam would not have deserved this....  The earlierAthe Americans return to normality, the sooner they can establish:good economic and political relations for the hundreds of;thousands of dead and maimed napalm victims and defoliated&forests, if this is possible at all.""   "Change Through Rapprochement"?   Centrist General-Anzeiger (7/12) of Bonn said, "From a U.S.Bpoint of view, an economically and militarily strong Vietnam is aBcounterweight to China in Southeast Asia.  Vietnam in turn should?feel safer regarding the big neighbor in the north if it knows=that the United States is on its side.  There is no longer a;Soviet Union which could play this role.  With the belatedBrecognition of Vietnam, President Clinton has now shown the POWs,-MIAs and their relatives his final respect.",   RUSSIA:  "Clinton To Go Down In History"B   Stanislav Kucher noted in reformist youth Komsomolskaya Pravda=(7/13), "Unlike his predecessors (Lyndon Johnson and RichardANixon), Clinton will go down in history as a positive figure who<acknowledged that the U.S. invasion of Vietnam was a tragic?mistake....  There are no political or public organizations in9Vietnam which would now be opposed to renewed diplomatic#relations with the United States."   "Economic Motives"?   Ivan Shomov commented in reformist Segodnya (7/12), "In itsBdesire to recognize Vietnam anew, Washington was driven by not so>much political as economic motives....  U.S. business is only>beginning a battle for Vietnam.... (Which) leads observers toAforetell the coming of an early honeymoon between Washington andHanoi."$   "Clinton Is The Right President"A   Fyodor Lukyanov noted in Segodnya (7/8), "Clinton is just theBkind of president it takes to have the Vietnam issue settled onceand for all."*   ITALY:  "A Tough, But Right, Decision"=   Washington correspondent Ennio Caretto wrote in centrist,:top-circulation Corriere della Sera (7/12) : "In a solemn<ceremony, Clinton, the former pacifist who escaped military>service, asked an audience of Vietnam veterans to collaborateBwith the former enemy....  For the President, accused of avoidingBservice in Vietnam, it was not an easy decision.  His adversariesAcriticized him until the last minute....But Clinton did not show?the slightest hesitation....It was the support of a handful of@Vietnam veteran Congressional leaders and of the business world>which enabled Clinton to take the big step." "Opposition FromIsolationists";   Furio Colombo commented in left/liberal, influential La9Repubblica (7/12), "Those who are reacting negatively to@Clinton's announcement about Vietnam are the same who recommend=some distance and indifference toward world affairs in every@other field of American life and politics.  In other words, the>new American right....  The electoral campaign (which will be=basically a referendum on Clinton) is not far away.  Why has9Clinton decided to 'open' to Vietnam now?  For once, the:political calculation of Clinton--who is often accused of@impulsiveness and sometimes retreats on his decisions--seems to>take into account with care and even with astuteness AmericanBcontradictions....  Clinton's gesture was probably wise.  Opening>to Vietnam through diplomatic recognition means allowing manyAwounds to heal, means finding news, tracing links, making travel%possible between the two countries."   AUSTRIA:  "Long Overdue"<   Prestigious, conservative Die Presse held (7/14), "AfterBtwo-thirds of his time in office has elapsed, Bill Clinton cannot?point to many foreign policy successes.  Recently, however, heAscored one (prepared by his predecessor):  The reconciliation of>the United States with Vietnam, including the establishing of9diplomatic relations....  This has been long overdue....A   "Still, the Vietnam trauma will keep the Americans busy.  Not@only because the problem of the unaccounted-for persons has not?been solved yet, or because Clinton's 'Vietnam objection' will<continue to be a topic; but rather because American foreignApolicy would be unthinkable without the fear of a 'new Vietnam.'BThe superpower's conflict management (keyword Bosnia or the fearsAof the Haiti mission) will probably forever be influenced by the	trauma."(   BELGIUM:  "Embargo Was Hurting U.S.";   Foreign affairs writer Catherine Vuylsteke concluded inBsocialist De Morgen (7/13), "It took until late last year for the@embargo against Vietnam to be lifted.  That embargo appeared to;be damaging to the United States, in particular.  American:companies were sorry to see how firms from Japan, Taiwan,BSingapore and Europe won the prizes while they had to stay on the;sidelines. The normalization of relations will be ratified@formally next month....but the partygoers are not waiting until?then:  On the grounds of the former U.S. Embassy, they offered many toasts yesterday already."   "The War is Really Over"B   Socialist La Wallonie (7/10) remarked, "Vietnam is impatiently<awaiting the normalization of diplomatic relations with the@United States, 20 years after the war, and its last step towardAits return on the international scene....  Vietnam is anxious toBattract American know-how, capital and equipment into key sectors=such as petrol and energy, banking and finance, aeronautics,@computers and telecommunications.  It also hopes to obtain from?the United States the 'Most Favored Nation' status which would.open the U.S. market to Vietnamese products.""   CANADA:  "Recognizing Vietnam">   The leading Globe and Mail (7/13) held, "The president did;what none of his predecessors would do:  "He extended full:recognition to a country from which the United States had?withdrawn, defeated and humiliated, at great cost in blood and@treasure....  It could also be said that in opening to Vietnam,=it was asserting its geopolitical interests, enhancing humanArights in Vietnam, and seeking billions in contracts in a market?other nations are rapidly developing....  Mr. Clinton can take>credit for what may emerge as one of his administration's few%bold initiatives in foreign policy."4   "An End At Last To CLinton's Specter Of Vietnam"<   Frederic Wagniere commented in French-language La Presse@(7/12), "For President Clinton, this is an opportunity to bring;an end to this Vietnam business, a situation that has been?haunting his political life because he openly opposed the war.7Many Republicans are still condemning him for that....@Nevertheless, many senators and veterans of Vietnam support theBpresident's position....  It is...essential for the United StatesAto offer another choice to the Vietnamese, and to try to preventAthe establishment of a Japanese economic bloc that would include=all of Southeast Asia.  The Vietnamese choice on a model for?economic development could also become a choice on a politicalAregime.... The timing would therefore be very bad for the United?States or any other country that would decide not to have wide6ranging and open contacts with the leaders of Hanoi."4   SLOVENIA:  "Great Little Wars And Wounded Souls"B   Left-of-center Republika (7/12) held, "It is the former Soviet9Union's fault that American presidents one after another=disregarded George Washington's warning about the dangers of=intervention in European colonialism.  Without the Communist>empire, Truman would have not financed...the French forces in>Vietnam...and Kennedy would not have believed McNamara...that:every war could be won with decisiveness.  After Vietnam,BAmericans know that they are not omnipotent.  The American wounds>from Vietnam are so deep that diplomatic relations with Hanoi9could have been established only by a president from the@Democratic Party, which opposed the Vietnam War more decisivelyBthan the Republican Party....  Twenty years after the bitter U.S.;defeat, the situation is different....  Is an impoverished=Vietnam, which eagerly expects Coca Cola, McDonald's, Calvin:Klein and Microsoft, really the winner of the war betweenCommunism and capitalism?":   SPAIN:  "Clinton Acting Calmly, Confronting Criticism"<   According to liberal-left El Pais (7/12), "Bill Clinton,Adisguising the discomfort he feels defending his foreign policy,@claimed a few hours before he addressed the nation [to announce<the resuming of diplomatic relations with Vietnam] that his5personal history had not influenced his decision....;   "The United States is one of the last Western powers to=normalize relations with a Vietnam under Communist rule, but7which, like China, is taking gigantic steps toward the;establishment of a market economy.  On the other hand, the?measure [diplomatic relations] is not unanimously supported inBthe United States and it is possible that the Republican majority@will not approve the funds to build a future embassy...and thatBBob Dole will use the excuse of the still-open wounds to harm the presidency as much as possible.A   "Everything considered, Clinton has acted calmy in taking theAdecision to defend the interests of his country and confront the5criticism which this war will provide domestically."?   SWEDEN:  "Human Rights Record Must Not Be Lost In Ovations">   An editorial in conservative Svenska Dagbladet (7/13) heldAthat the establishing of relations is "a natural continuation of@the Vietnam politics which Bill Clinton has followed until now.<In 1994, the United States abolished the trade boycott with>Vietnam....  Free enterprise is now flourishing in the former@planned economic dictatorship.  Vietnam is one of the countries<in the world where the economy is rapidly growing.  But the>criticism of insufficient respect for human rights mustn't belost in the ovations."   SOUTH ASIA   INDIA:  "Back To Vietnam"B   The independent Indian Express (7/14) held, "Two decades after?the lost war, Uncle Sam has returned to Hanoi--not to confront;Marx, who is after all only a rarely uttered slogan in theAmarket-place, but to court Mammon, who is the most visible deityBin Vietnam today....  President Clinton's Lincoln act--'a time to9heal and a time to build'--apart, what characterizes the=formalization of U.S.-Vietnam diplomatic relationship is theBtriumph of economically rewarding pragmatism over the detritus of>history.  This defining moment also marks the end of Cold Warlegacy....<   "Apart from the economic aspect, making up with Hanoi isBWashington's way of containing China.  If China and Japan are notAalways accommodating, the United States seems ready to cultivate:future dragons--even if it means keeping painful memories!separate from thriving markets."   "Burying The Hatchet"5   The independent Hindu (7/14) opined, "The Clinton@administration seems to have realized that normalization of itsBrelations with Hanoi would be the first major step for generating@a flow of U.S. investments into Vietnam....  The 20 years which?have rolled away since its withdrawal from that country should?have brought about some heart-searching in Washington....  TheAUnited States could now make amends by accelerating the economic5development of Vietnam through massive investments."   "U.S. Triumphs In Vietnam"4   The independent Economic Times (7/14) held, "The@re-establishment of U.S. diplomatic ties with Vietnam calls forAcelebration.... Together with...Clinton's clinching of the North>American Free Trade Agreement and his warm enthusiasm for the?Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC), it constitutes*his chief foreign policy success so far."$   "Pragmatic Move Buries The Past"1   The influential Times Of India opined (7/13),?"America-watchers may choose to interpret the normalization of>relations between the United States and its once reviled foe,AVietnam, as a triumph of realpolitik.   "Nevertheless, PresidentBClinton will be justified in claiming to have achieved what years?of passionate national debate and soul-searching could not....8The U.S. recognition of Vietnam is proof that pragmaticBconsiderations of increased trade with a fast growing economy andArealization that Vietnam is a major factor in countervailing the;growing power of China have won over sentimentality and an;emotional approach.... The pressure from the U.S. business?houses...was no doubt a crucial factor.  The United States may%also be sending a message to China."   "Good morning, Vietnam"-   The independent Pioneer commented (7/13),B"President...Clinton's courageous decision to normalize ties withBVietnam represents a triumph of common sense over the strangeholdAof lobby politics....  It goes to...Clinton's credit that he has=been able to...proceed forward in a forthright manner on theBpolitical, strategic and economic fronts....  Clinton...was under;duress from the American business lobby which urged him toBjettison the emotional baggage upon seeing others snapping up theAlucrative business on offer in Vietnam.  Moreover, the AmericansBare still groping for a way to contain China, and...Clinton hopesBthis entente with Hanoi will help in no small measure toward thisend."   "Wisdom After Four Decades"<   K. Subrahmanyam judged in the independent Economic TimesB(7/12), "The United States now recognizes that Vietnam is a major@market and that strengthening Vietnam would help to countervailBthe growing military power of China....  The Americans could haveAavoided a lot of costs to themselves in men and material if theyBhad not been driven by the obsession that Vietnamese were Chinese
pawns....@   "This history of U.S.-Vietnamese relationship and the tragic<errors committed in them with such high costs to the UnitedAStates have relevance for today's U.S. policy toward the Islamic>world and individual Islamic countries....  The United States@needs to carry out a careful costs and benefits analysis of its=policy toward Iraq, Iran and Pakistan.  Just as there was no4monolithic Communism there is no monolithic Islamic@fundamentalist or extremist threat....  A predictable policy of>obsession to achieve certain well advertised goals deprives a?country of flexibility and tactical advantages of surprise and8initiative....  In a polycentric world such a policy is8counter-productive.  A timely realization by the United?Statesabout the real nature of Sino-Vietnamese relations couldBhave enabled it to disengage itself and allow them to countervailAeach other.  That lesson applies to the situation in the Islamicworld today."?   BANGLADESH:  "We Have Something To Learn From This Example"?   In the opinion of conservative Islamic Sangram (7/12), "The@most surprising event in recent times is that the United StatesAis going to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam....  The@event seems to us a bit unusual because this kind of diplomaticApragmatism was never in our intellectual consideration.  Once we>fight against someone, our intellectuals...always try to keep=alive the hostility to achieve their political ends....  TheAUnited States needs to have relations with China and Vietnam nowAto face Japan's economic power.  We think that we have something:to learn for our reconstruction and development from this<example.  Because we are as aware of our partisan political;interest as we are ignorant about our economic interests."#"Vietnam:  A Model To Be Followed"B   Pro-opposition, Awami League organ Banglar Bani (7/10) opined,<"The influence of those who were resisting establishment of=diplomatic or even commercial relations with Vietnam has now?diminished.  American observers and investigators have visited@Vietnam's so-called jails and concentration camps and found theAallegations against Vietnam false.  No American troops have been>held in Vietnam's jails and Vietnam did not provide any false=information regarding POWS.  As a result, the allegations onAwhich the State Department's policy were based, have been proved&useless and [politically] motivated."   MIDDLE EAST%   SAUDI ARABIA:  "A Good Beginning"?   The English-language Riyadh Daily (7/10), commented, "It isAobvious that the Clinton administration has played a key role in?bringing Vietnam into the comity of nations.  The lifting of a>trade embargo early last year has led to the establishment of@liaison offices, which in turn have helped address the issue of>American servicemen listed missing in Vietnam.  While it willBtake time to heal old wounds, the move to normalize relations canbe seen as a good beginning."   "Hanoi Question"=   The English-language Arab News (7/9) opined, "Perhaps the@Vietnam issue will once again engender fierce debate in AmericaBabout the war.  If so, Clinton should stand by his principles andBreiterate the fact that he 'opposed and despised' the war.  Then,@hopefully, Vietnam veterans will have the courage to admit thatBthey equally despised the war. America made a mistake in Vietnam.ATragically, thousands of innocent American soldiers and innocentAVietnamese citizens died as a result of the mistake.  Diplomatic@recognition of Hanoi will never bring those lives back.  But it0is the most reasonable move to make right now."   LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN    ARGENTINA:  "Double Message"A   Emilio Corbiere, a columnist for business El Cronista (7/13),Bcompared the Vietnam opening to the continued quarantine of Cuba.AHe stated that "the United States has two antagonistic positionsBover the same question...it is renewing diplomatic relations with@Communist archenemy Vietnam (it lifted the embargo a year ago),?(while) thinking of widening the blockade against Cuba, also aCommunist regime.",   "Time Appears To Have Healed The Wounds"?   Daily-of-record La Nacion (7/13) asked about Senator Dole's>criticism, "What would Dole have said if George Bush had been@giving the press conference yesterday?...  Bush had anticipated>that he would look for ways to normalize diplomatic relations1with Hanoi if he were to be re-elected in 1992."   BRAZIL:  "Healed Wound,"@   Center-right O Estado de Sao Paulo said (7/13), "Clinton won@over resistance, but did not win over the opposition.... "Time,?the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the euphoria of the Gulf<War helped to decisively heal the wounds opened in American<society. Moreover, the United States has two more pragmatic=reasons to establish relations with Hanoi.  The first is theAopening of the Vietnamese market....  The second is that Vietnam<has always worked as means of containing China, its secularArival.  Now that Beijing is showing notable levels of growth andBmodernization, while it stills acts erratically in the U.S. eyes,?it is in Washington's interest that Vietnam be strengthened to@counterbalance Chinese influence in Southeast Asia.  Once again<economics and geopolitics speak louder than anti-Vietnamese,feelings that still bother many Americans."   "The Market Forces Won Out">   Liberal Folha de Sao Paulo observed (7/13), "[Twenty years=after the war,] the United States may still be the same, butAVietnam has changed:  Hanoi repudiated socialism in 1989 and theAnation has become a paradise for foreign investors.  Ironically,?not only defeated nations, like Germany and Japan, adopted theAAmerican model, but also the one nation that defeated the United?States, the legendary Vietnam [did so].  Nothing could be more;symbolic of the turnabout that has turned the world upsideAdown....  Reestablishment of relations between the United States?and Vietnam attests that the war was not decided in the Mekong>River nor in the U.S. Midwest, but in the devilishness of the	market."F   CUBA:  "How Can U.S. Restore Ties With Vietnam But Not With Cuba?"A   Official Radio Havana commented (7/14),  "Vietnam, like Cuba,Aa socialist country led by a Communist Party, needs to normalize=its international relations....  The only difference betweenAVietnam and Cuba is the distance that separates each nation fromU.S. territory.@   "Cuba and the United States are not separated by a huge debtAof blood....  There is, however, a huge debt of unfair political<domination which has inflicted serious economic, social andBpolitical injury on the Cuban people.  How can Washington explain>this difference between these relations and ours?  How can it=restore and maintain relations with Vietnam, the PRC and the:DPRK, and not with Cuba, a small neighboring country that?represents no threat to the United States?...  It must be very@difficult for the U.S. government to respond to these questions!without cynicism and hypocrisy."9   EL SALVADOR:  "Normalization Between Ancient Enemies"7   Since the end of the Cold War, argued conservative,@second-leading La Prensa Grafica (7/11), "there have been clear?indications of normalization between ancient enemies.  Such isAthe case with...the complex peace process between Israel and the<Arab countries....  Not less symbolic is the re-starting of<bilateral relations between the United States and Vietnam.".   HONDURAS:  "World Trade Driving The Peace"B   In the view of conservative El Heraldo (7/13), "As much as theAwar industries provided impetus to the war (in Vietnam), now the@globalization of world trade is driving the peace.  In reality,=Vietnam now has a flourishing economy without abandoning its?one-party, marxist form of government....   "The United States@lost the old war, and for this reason does not want to lose the>new one.  President Clinton understands this clearly, and hasAjust announced the normalization of relations between Washington=and Hanoi; something unthinkable in the decade of the 1970s.>Effectively, the world is changing, and whoever does not heed this is left on the sidelines."
   AFRICA   NIGERIA:  "Ironic"B   The partly government-owned Daily Times (7/12), opined, "It isBironic that Bill Clinton, who dodged the Vietnam War, is about to:close its chapter of hatred....  Security around the U.S.<president should be beefed up from the day he announces theBopening of the U.S. embassy in Vietnam....  Those maimed from the>war, and those who have never believed that the United States?lost a war to a developing nation, would be reaching for their>arms and ammunition to prevent what they would only have overtheir dead bodies."5   SOUTH AFRICA:  Vietnam:  U.S. Buries The Hatchet"@   The liberal, independent Argus (7/14) remarked, "When Saigon:fell...the United States suffered not only an ignominiousAmilitary defeat but the start of 20 years of embittered domesticBdebate and recrimination over its role in the Vietnam war.  It isBa debate which has pervaded every aspect of public life, dividingAAmericans against one another...when President Clinton announcedBformal diplomatic recognition of Vietnam...he triggered a wave of?outrage and denunciation.  He also drew praise for his courage:and leadership....  The greatest benefit to flow from Mr.?Clinton's bold decision could well prove to be the blessing of%reconciliation in American society."
   "Welcome";   The liberal, independent Star (7/14) judged, "Clinton's:decision...has been widely welcome as timely, if not longAoverdue.  Indeed, Vietnam was looking like America's nemesis andBhealing the wounds of that embarrassing war...was not going to be<achieved by punishment.  One has to spare a thought for the=families of...American soldiers still missing in Vietnam but@note...that the politics of reconciliation...have achieved some@co-operation from Hanoi....  Hanoi has been making a successful>return to the world community in recent years....  The United8States could not have held off a moment longer....  The8recognition of Vietnam will add stability to the regiongenerally."   ---------------   ----------------   WIFE OF HARRY WU APPEALS TO NEWT GINGRICH   PAULA WOLFSON   CONGRESSA   The wife of a Chinese-American human rights activist arrestedAby the Beijing government is in Washington, urging strong action>by the United States to free her husband. Ching Lee Wu made a0personal appeal to House speaker Newt Gingrich.A   Harry Wu was a frequent visitor to Capitol Hill, meeting with;lawmakers to share the latest information on abuses in theAChinese prison system. Now, his wife is urging lawmakers to helpsave his life.=   Mr. Wu was taken into custody in June while crossing intoAChina, and on Saturday he was formally arrested and charged withAespionage. Speaker Gingrich says it is further prove the Chinese>government can not be trusted and there can be no business asusual with Beijing:@   "It is important for somebody in this country to signal that:we have many policy options other than worrying about the@feelings of the Beijing dictatorship and that, in fact, we takeAvery seriously what they are doing and we have many alternativesto our current relationship."A   Ching Lee Wu also hopes to meet with President Clinton duringBher brief stay in Washington. She told reporters in the speaker'sAoffice she believes the administration will do all it can to winher husband's release.   ---------------   ---------------)   HOUSE UNOFFICIAL HEARINGS ON MILITIAS   JANE BERGER   WASHINGTONB   Democrats in the House of Representatives have held unofficial;hearings on the militia movement in the United States. TheBDemocrats accused their Republican colleagues of playing politics@with an issue linked to the bombing last April in Oklahoma City"that killed more than 150 people.;   The militia movement in the United States only began toAreceive widespread public attention after the bombing last April;of a federal office building in Oklahoma City. The two men@arrested in connection with the blast have been linked to armed>right-wing militia groups that share a strong dislike for thefederal government.A   Some militia members have also blamed federal officials for a?51-day confrontation in 1993 with an obscure religious sect inAWaco, Texas. Federal agents attempted to end the standoff with aBtear gas assault on the sect's compound, but the structure caught7fire and more than 80 adults and children were killed.:   Congressman Charles Schumer, who organized the militia@hearings, charged that his Republican colleagues have scheduled7hearings on the Waco incident to embarrass the Clinton=Administration, but have refused to call hearings that would;expose the links between their party and dangerous militia?groups. Congressman Schumer said he invited the Republicans to.attend the session, but they did not respond:@   "This total lack of interest shows that the GOP (Republican)Aleadership is either out of touch with the fears of the AmericanBpeople or afraid to accept the radical fringe of their own party.>Many in the Republican party have simply become mealy-mouthed@mollifiers of militias. Next week begins eight days of hearingsBon ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) and FBI (Federal?Bureau of Investigation) abuses, supposed abuses, at Waco. And:still, deafening silence on the hearings about militias.";   Witnesses at the hearing described numerous attempts by@militia groups to threaten and harass local, state, and federal=officials, particularly in western states. Most of them said9militia members share philosophical beliefs ranging fromAopposition to taxes and federal land management to a belief that=the United Nations is trying to take over the United States.@   Debra Cottell is a state legislator in Montana who sponsored@legislation to make it a crime to threaten public officials and@their families. She said militia members accused her of treasonand threatened her children::   "No one person should ever be allowed to further their=political agenda through the threats of violence. Our public>officials must be free to vote in the best interests of their@constituents. Once I agreed to sponsor this bill, I also becameBthe target of several individuals who were upset with me for whatBthey said, that I was harassing militia. One man, of many, called>me a traitor and threatened to kill my children. Why my seven9year old son should have to feel fear because as a state.legislator I sponsored a bill, I don't know."?   Other witnesses said militia groups are strongly opposed to@environmental laws and gun regulation, as well as the state andBfederal court system. Bill Wasmuth is the executive director of a?group that monitors the militia movement in western states. He@linked some of the militias to white supremacist, neo-nazi, and6anti-semitic groups, and also to right wing Christianorganizations:A   "It (the militia movement) provides a welcoming home to those:who believe that to be white and to be Christian is to be>superior to others, and who believe that somehow this countryBreally belongs a little bit more specially to them. I submit that;the underlying philosophy of racism in the militia, slash,<Christian patriot movement, and its ties to white supremacyBpresent a serious threat to civil rights justice in this country.?Not only does it threaten physical harm to individuals, but it>creates a certain climate in some communities, a climate that<excludes whole groups of people from participating in those3communities with a sense of comfort and fairness."B   The U.S. Senate recently held a day of hearings on the militia@movement, but Democrats charged that the forum simply permitted?militia members to espouse their right-wing radical views. The>Democrats pledged to hold further hearings to look at how the>militias are funded and whether legislation is needed to curbtheir activities.   ---------------   ---------------;   GINGRICH SAYS U.S. SHOULD TAKE STRONG ACTION IN WU CASE   PAULA WOLFSON   CONGRESS=   The speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives says theAUnited States should take strong action to protest the arrest of?Harry Wu, the Chinese-American human rights activist jailed bythe Beijing government.>   Mr. Gingrich spoke in clear, measured tones. But his angercame through:@   "There are a lot of members of this Congress who are shockedBand appalled that the Beijing government would arrest an American>citizen and raise the kind of totally phony charges they have@raised. And I think they need to understand that we also have aAcapability of being very tough and there is a point beyond whichthey can't push us either."B   Harry Wu is a familiar figure on Capitol Hill. He has appeared@many times before Congressional committees to share evidence of>abuses in the Chinese prison system. Last month, he was taken=into custody while crossing into China. And Saturday, he wasBformally arrested on espionage charges that could carry the death	penalty.;   His wife, Ching Lee Wu, rushed to Washington from their=California home to urge the U.S. government to press for his<release. She found a receptive ear in the speaker's office.A   "We have many alternatives to our current relationship," saidAGingrich. "They have a net 30 billion dollar balance of payments?surplus, hard currency they earn from us. We have in fact beenBvery very reasonable and very very tolerant and they are behavingAin a way that is not tolerable and to arrest an American citizenis not acceptable."B   Mr. Gingrich said there is support in Congress for tough steps?against the Chinese government. And he hinted that trade could&become the American weapon of choice:B   "There are many many things we can do to make life much harder;for the Chinese government, including closing the American	market."B   But the ultimate decision on a response to the arrest of Harry?Wu rests with President Clinton, not the speaker of the House.AMr. Gingrich said he has discussed the matter with the president/and the administration is genuinely concerned.@   Ching Lee Wu has asked to meet with Mr. Clinton, and speaker<Gingrich said he believes the meeting will take place. When=reporters asked her if she is optimistic about her husband'sArelease, she said simply "I am always hopeful...And I will never
give up."   ---------------   ---------------"   CONGRESS PASS FOREIGN AID BILL   PAULA WOLFSON   CONGRESS>   The U.S. House of Representatives has passed (by a vote of=333-89) a 12 billion dollar foreign aid budget for 1996. The=measure won easy approval even though debate on the bill was5disrupted time and time again by partisan wrangling.B   The House was originally expected to pass the foreign aid bill<in late June. Instead, it finally cleared on July eleventh.?   The problem was not the bill itself. For several weeks, itsBfate was tied to partisan warfare over a totally unrelated issue,0a dispute over seats on an important committee.A   Ironically, this foreign aid budget was the result of complexBnegotiations between Republicans and Democrats and it came to the@House floor with wide support. Arguments put forward during theBdebate seemed well thought-out, with many members citing detailedAresearch, as well as offering reflections on their own visits toaid-recipient countries.;   The bill dramatizes the new budget realities at work inACongress. Twelve billion dollars is set aside for foreign aid inA1996, that is one-point-six billion dollars less than the budgetfor the current fiscal year.B   The deepest cuts are in development programs and contributionsBto multilateral lending institutions, such as the World Bank. AidAto support the Egyptian-Israeli peace process remains untouched.AAnd a special fund is established in the bill to make sure money?is available to help provide food and medicine for the world'sneediest children.@   During the final few hours of debate, lawmakers talked aboutBthe fighting in the former Yugoslavia and human rights in Africa.BThey overwhelming approved an amendment linking U.S. sanctions on Serbia to conditions in Kosovo.@   Among those who spoke out for the measure was Democrat EliotEngel of New York:B   "Until Milosevic, the leader of Serbia, gives Kosovo the right<to self-determination, ends human rights violations, allows9international monitors to return and permits the elected@government of Kosovo to carry out its mandate as representative9of the people of Kosovo, we should not lift sanctions onBelgrade."@   Lawmakers also endorsed language urging the State Department@to monitor human rights conditions in Ethiopia and to take them*into account when allocating foreign aid.@   The measure was introduced by Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee of?Texas. Her district was once represented by Mickey Leland, who:was killed in a plane crash while investigating hunger in'Ethiopia. On the House floor she said:=   "I rise to offer an amendment that strives to improve theAconditions in this poverty-stricken land. It is, yes, to applaudBthe progress that has been made. But it is to acknowledge that we@do have a moral commitment in this nation to be able to join in>with out allies and our friends and to encourage them to move towards human rights progress."=   Ms. Jackson-Lee's amendment was passed easily. But a much=stronger measure by Democrat Harold Volkmer of Missouri thatAcould have had a major affect on U.S. aid to Kenya was withdrawnBin the face of strong opposition. Mr. Volkmer said all assistance?should be cut off unless the White House proves such aid is in,the national interest of the United States:>   "In Kenya you have some improvement in human rights, but I>think they have a long way to go. We still have serious human#rights problems persisting there."B   Opponents, like Republican Benjamin Gilman of New York, argued?successfully that despite its problems, Kenya's government has8played a vital role in the distribution of humanitarian;assistance during times of crisis in Ethiopia and Somalia.A   Mr. Gilman, the chairman of the House International Relations?committee, said a cut-off of aid would do more harm than good:>   "The United States has had a strong bilateral relationshipBwith Kenya for many years, including during the cold war. We have?cooperated with Kenya on a number of issues from military base=rights to humanitarian relief efforts in the horn of Africa.?While Kenya's human rights record has deteriorated recently, I<don't believe we should disengage from Kenya at this time."A   Most of the controversial amendments to the bill were debated@before Congress adjourned in late June for the independence day@holiday recess. Among other things, lawmakers approved a slight7cut in aid to Turkey, and they rejected a move to lift?restrictions on assistance to Azerbaijan. Consideration of the,foreign aid budget now moves to the Senate.   ---------------   ---------------    PROFILE: SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN   JIM MALONE
   SENATEB   Many members of Congress say that President Clinton's decision=to formally recognize Vietnam would be politically much more@difficult without the support of Republican Senator John McCain@of Arizona. Senator McCain spent nearly six years in Hanoi as a?prisoner of war after his fighter jet was shot down over NorthVietnam in 1967.<   On Monday, Senator McCain's office in the Russell Senate;Office Building was brimming with activity as sEnate aides?scurried to answer phone calls, many of them from constituentsBangry about his decision to support formal diplomatic recognitionof Vietnam.B   At one point, an obviously upset woman at the other end of the?phone line could be heard screaming at one of Senator McCain's7young aides, questioning how the senator could supportAnormalizing diplomatic relations with a country that for so longBwas an enemy of the United States. The staffer, too young perhaps?to recall or fathom the devastating impact that the war had on>American society, could do little to soothe the woman's rage.?   Meanwhile, a few meters away Senator McCain seemed calm and2assured about his decision to support the ClintonAadministration's move to extend formal diplomatic recognition to	Vietnam.9   "Most Americans support improvement of relations withAVietnam," said McCain.  "Obviously, there are some who feel much@more intense about the issue than others. But I think that most3Americans would like to put this issue behind us."9   Senator McCain has broken with many of his Republican?colleagues on the Vietnam issue. Fellow Republican Senator Bob?Smith, who like Senator McCain also served in Vietnam, opposes?diplomatic recognition, arguing that the Vietnamese have still@not done enough to account for missing American servicemen fromthe war. Says Smith:8   "Now some say, well, if we normalize or declare fullBdiplomatic relations, we will get all that information. That is a<risk I am not prepared to take. I think the Vietnamese have8usually been more forthcoming when we have hung tough."A   Senator Smith and Senate majority leader Bob Dole will push a;Senate resolution soon objecting to normalizing relations.ASenator McCain and Democrat John Kerry, another Vietnam veteran,:will offer a resolution in support of the administration.@   Senator McCain's support for President Clinton is especially=crucial given the controversy about Mr. Clinton's efforts toAavoid military service during the Vietnam War. Several lawmakers>say the support of a former war hero and prisoner of war like>Senator McCain provides the president with credibility on the,issue which he might not achieve otherwise.B   As for Senator McCain, he says he seldom thinks about his days>as a captive. He is more concerned with moving ahead to a new?relationship with Vietnam and healing old wounds in the UnitedStates:@   "I have spent the last 20 years trying to heal the wounds ofAthe Vietnam War. When I came back from prison I saw an extremelyAdivided nation. And I think by moving forward in this process we?can continue to heal the wounds which we found (that) upon the>publication of the (former defense Secretary Robert) McNamara>book are barely beneath the surface in American society and I@think it is time that we healed those wounds for the benefit of@everyone who was involved in that war, either for it or againstit."   ---------------   ---------------5   SENATE PRESSURED TO HOLD PUBLIC PACKWOOD HEARINGS   JIM MALONE
   SENATE>   Pressure appears to be building in the U.S. Senate to holdBpublic hearings in the ethics case against Republican Senator Bob:Packwood who stands accused of sexually harassing several;different women over a twenty-year span beginning in 1969.?   Five women members of the Senate have written to the Senate<ethics committee urging that public hearings be held in theBPackwood case. Among them is California Democrat Dianne Feinstein=who says the reputation of the Senate will suffer unless the$ethics committee hearings are open:<   "I think that it is all-important that there be a public?hearing on this subject so that people can make a decision for@themselves whether these incidents did in fact represent sexualharassment or they did not."@   The ethics committee consists of three Republicans and three9Democrats and it takes a majority vote to approve public>hearings. So far at least two Democrats on the committee have?said they favor public hearings while the others have not madetheir positions known.9   Republican Senator Trent Lott says many lawmakers areAconcerned about the impact of the Packwood case on the Senate as<a whole but he also notes that some Republicans oppose open
hearings:?   "We do worry about what impact it does have on the image of@the Senate. We always have to be concerned about that. But that;sort of cuts both ways. If you do not have a hearing underBcertain circumstances, it could be a problem for you or if you doBit could be a problem. They (the ethics committee) are just going9to have to weigh that in the ethics committee and make adecision."A   An ethics committee report in May accused Senator Packwood ofB18 instances of sexual misconduct, including grabbing and kissing?female staff members. The Oregon Republican met privately with<the ethics committee two weeks ago and the committee is now<deciding what the next step will be. Senator Packwood faces?sanctions ranging from a rebuke to outright expulsion from theSenate.   ---------------   ---------------9   PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY ON SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE
   DON HENRY   WASHINGTON@   As Congress looks for ways to cut spending to help eliminate@budget deficits, a nationwide survey released Tuesday indicates<old-age pensions and subsidized health care for the elderly>should not be dramatically reduced. Most adult Americans fromBage-18 believe Social Security and Medicare programs are vital to(the financial independence of retirees.>   Pollster Madelyn Hochstein, surrounded by large charts andBgraphs, told a Washington news conference results of a major poll:conducted in 1985 and a poll this year are what she callsastonishingly similar:7   "In 1995 support for phasing out social security isBessentially no different and no higher than it was in '85, and as1you can see it is incredibly low at 11-percent."@   In fact, the head of the polling firm DYG says 96-percent ofAall respondents consider social security, the government pensionBplan, to be essential to retirement income, if only as a fallbackAfor those high-earning workers who do not expect to have to relyon it.@   Medicare was not included in the big survey of 1985, but was>in this year's poll. It showed 92-percent said the governmentAsubsidized health plan for the elderly is the only way to insure.older Americans can get adequate health care.A   In fact, Medicare and social security were at the bottom of a?list of 10 major government programs the poll respondents saidthey would favor cutting.>   Congressional Republicans and the White House have come up=with deficit-reduction plans that would significantly reduce?anticipated Medicare payments during the rest of the 1990's. AAfew members of Congress also have said reductions may have to beAmade in social security benefits in order to balance the budget.B   Ms. Hochstein says the new opinion survey indicates the public;thinks social security and Medicare benefits are fair, and9represent a commitment to the elderly that should not be
undercut:B   "Social security and Medicare are perceived to be fair in manyAdifferent ways. Some examples that come out in the data are that9changes would be considered to be unfair, that we have a>commitment to older people, and the idea that change would beAunfair is cited by 87-percent for social security and 85-percentfor Medicare."<   She says the poll results show there is a big difference?between fairness and economic reality. She says there is clearBgrowth the past decade in support for trimming back, although notAeliminating, benefits for the elderly. Whereas only about one in@10 favored cutbacks in 1985, up to 40-percent now think program=reductions may be necessary to assure the nation's financialstability.>   Ms. Hochstein says there is a surprising lack of knowledge:among the public about what Medicare covers. The American<Association of Retired Persons, the huge organization whichBcommissioned the survey, says one of its goals will be to educate?its 33-million members about both Medicare and social security
benefits.?   Ms. Hochstein says what is understood clearly is both older@Americans and their children realize lifestyles have changed soAmuch most families can no longer afford to take in their elderly"parents or help them financially.@   Thus she says, Americans from age 18 believe old-age pension?and health benefits are needed to help the elderly achieve and!maintain financial independence.   ---------------   ---------------&   HELMS ISSUES STATEMENT ON HARRY WU
   SENATEB   Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms issued@a statement July 10 in response to China's announcement that it;was charging 58-year-old American Harry Wu with espionage.?   Wu, a human rights activist, was imprisoned for 19 years inAChina prior to his emigration to the United States.  The Chinese?government informed the U.S. Embassy in Beijing July 8 that Wu=had been arrested and was to be charged with serious crimes.;   "The Chinese government should carefully reconsider its<trumped-up charges against a fine and decent man, Harry Wu.ABeijing may think it has nothing to lose by lashing out at HarryBWu, but the Chinese leaders need to understand that Sino-American2relations today are tenuous at best," Helms said.=   "Harry Wu is a close and personal friend of mine and many:other United States Senators.  He is strongly admired and>supported in both Congress and the administration.  All of us:know that China has arrested Harry Wu, not because he has<violated any law, but in retaliation for Harry's efforts to@inform the Congress and the American people of China's shameful1record of human rights abuses," Helms explained.?   "No senator and no representative takes lightly the Chinese@government's abuse of this man in retribution for his testimony9before Congress.  The Chinese leaders should know, in noBuncertain terms, that if they refuse to release Harry Wu, or harm?him in any way, the consequences for China will be very grave.=   "I call on the Chinese government to drop the charade andArelease Harry Wu.  China's relations with the United States hangin the balance," Helms said.   ---------------   ---------------+   LAKE, LORD BRIEFING ON VIETNAM DECISIONB   President Clinton's decision to establish diplomatic relations@with Vietnam will help draw that country "into an Asia in which@we are supporting stability and democracy and freedom and human;rights," says national security adviser Tony Lake, "and we=believe that it will encourage also freedom and human rightswithin Vietnam."B   Speaking at a White House briefing shortly after the presidentBannounced the establishment of relations, Lake said the step willAalso extend into economic relations.  "There will, obviously, beAtrade," he said.  "We have established an interagency group that=will be examining the various legal questions involved...and2other ways in which we can encourage that trade."@   He called the decision "the best way before us to pursue our>central goal" regarding prisoner-of-war and missing-in-action@issues: "that is, the fullest possible accounting of all of the4Americans who did not return from the Vietnam War."A   Winston Lord, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and>Pacific affairs; Hershel Gober, deputy secretary of veterans'?affairs; and James Wold, deputy assistant secretary of defense<who follows POW/MIA issues, also took part in the briefing.>   Asked how the Vietnam decision affects U.S. relations withAChina, Lord noted that China has spoken in favor of establishing=friendly U.S.-Vietnamese relations "so I imagine China wouldBwelcome it....There is not a China motive behind our move today.".   Following is a transcript of the briefing.   (begin transcript)A   LAKE: Let me just give you some background and some points of:emphasis. First of all, as many of you know who have been@covering this, the president had contemplated this decision now>for some time.  He made the final decision this weekend.  One<reason we did it today was that we wanted to wait until theACongress was back in session, so that we could both have members:of Congress here, as we did, and so that those members of?Congress who might disagree would have an opportunity to voicethat disagreement.A   We believe that we have the support certainly of most membersBof the Congress.  This was based on a unanimous recommendation by>the president's senior advisors, and over the weekend General>Shalikashvili polled the Joint Chiefs and they were unanimous(also in their support of this decision.B   You'll see at the back of the packet statements that were sentAto us by a number of former officials including various military;commanders in support of the president's decision as well.>   Let me emphasize a few points in substance.  First of all,=this decision the president deeply believes, we all believe,Brepresents the best way before us to pursue our central goal, andAthat is the fullest possible accounting for all of the Americans)who did not return from the Vietnam War.@   Let me emphasize also that this is not a reward for what hasBbeen done so far.  We have been pleased with the cooperation thatAwe have been receiving from the government in Hanoi, but this isBnot done; there is much more to be done; and we believe that this is the best way to get it done.=   We think that evidence for that fact is what has happened?since the lifting of the embargo in February 1994.  There were?those then who said that this would let the Vietnamese off the@hook and that there would not be further cooperation.  In fact,.we have made further progress in that period.9   Since February '94, various sets of remains have been>returned, 85 total.  And of those, 29 have been identified as?Americans and, as the president noted, those remains have beenAreturned to the families.  We believe that another 40 to 50 sets9of remains will be identified during the course of 1995.@   We have also recently received a report concerning 79 of theA81 pending so-called special remains cases, and that's described;in your packet. Let me emphasize that that report does not?resolve those cases, but it does provide us with leads that we?can follow up on.  And since February 1994, although mostly in@the period -- the few months after that, we have determined the@fate of 18 so-called discrepancy cases, i.e., cases in which we@know that the Americans were alive when they were on the ground2and cannot determine what happened to them since.;   So we think that, as after the embargo, the strategy isAworking, and this is another step in pursuing that strategy.  We9also believe that this step is very much in our nationalAinterest.  It will help to draw Vietnam into an Asia in which we=are supporting stability and democracy and freedom and human@rights.  And we believe that it will encourage also freedom andhuman rights within Vietnam.@   As the president implied, at least -- or actually stated, we?will extend this into our economic relationships.  There will,>obviously, be trade. We have established an interagency groupAthat will be examining the various legal questions involved withBregard to, for example, Ex-Im or OPIC, and other ways in which we@can encourage that trade.  Those issues have not been resolved,Band the president will be getting the advice from his advisers aswe work that through.;   We have not made a decision to extend more aid.  We are?annually providing some $2 million to $3 million -- I think itAwas $3 million over this year, approximately -- humanitarian aidBto Vietnam.  That includes prosthetics, it includes aid to street?child dren, it includes disaster assistance, for example, whenBthere are floods.  As I have said, we have not made a decision toincrease that aid level.B   The president, before he made his announcement, met first withAa group of members of Congress, senators and representatives whoBhad been active on the issue and who stood with him on the stage;@thanked them for their work on this issue; gave them the creditBthat they very richly deserved for this day.  Before that, he met=with the leaders of veterans organizations and the League of>Families, and at that meeting he emphasized to them, first ofAall, that we do consider this a process, this is another step in@the process; that he remains committed to the pledge he made toBkeep this issue at the center of our concerns.  And he asked them<to remain engaged to work with us and to participate in theAdelegation, presidential delegation, that we would be sending toAVietnam later this year.  And I'm happy to say that they pledged?to stay involved and to work with us.  That is not to say that:they, all of them, agreed with this decision.  There is aAtactical difference with a number of them. But they did say theywill continue to work with us.>   GOBER: Tony about said it all.  He gave you the backgroundBbrief; you've got the information there.  I am privileged to haveBled -- been a leader of three presidential delegations to Vietnam9since the beginning in 1993 -- '94 and '95.  And as Tony@indicated, over the years we have seen increased cooperation on;the part of the Vietnamese.  We are still pushing for more%results.  We will continue to do so.A   The meetings with the veterans groups, to expand a little bitAon that, they were part of the president's delegation in 1994 --Awell, actually, '93-'94, and they'll go back with us again later=this year.  There are a lot of differences, but what is goodAabout it is they -- we can disagree on the way to accomplish theBmission, but we must never forget the mission, and the mission is@to obtain as full accounting as possible. And we take that veryseriously.?   Our meetings in Vietnam on our past delegation in May -- we7met with the highest level of Vietnamese officials and=reemphasized to them how important this was to the people ofAAmerica.  And it may be confusing to some people why we place soAmuch emphasis on returning those men that served in Vietnam, but@we think they understand it.  We will continue to push for more&results, full accounting as possible.>   I'll tell you right now probably the most productive thing*would just be to take questions from you.B   QUESTION: Mr. Lord, can you address the issue of MFN, OPIC and<Ex-Im -- when will they get that, and what type of economic support are being talked about?@   LORD: As the president indicated and Mr. Lake elaborated, we>now will be examining this on a systematic basis.  So I can't?give you any timetable or even any assurance what will happen.?   With diplomatic relations you make legally possible certain>steps -- or possibly possible -- subject to other conditions,@other steps.  And so we're going to examine the legal frameworkBas well as the appropriateness of moving on some of these fronts.@And, of course, we'll be in close contact with the Congress andothers on these issues.B   Q: Will you move on any of these fronts before the interagencycommission?>   LORD: There's no announcement today about moving on any of@these fronts. We're going to have to look at the whole picture.B   Q: But could you explain just in principle how it works now --=I mean, do you go ahead and appoint an ambassador -- and how/quickly that could happen, that type of thing?=   LORD: Essentially, I think you will see a response out of>Hanoi -- there's a time difference -- in a few hours in which>they will -- I don't want to speak for them, but I think it's<safe to assume they will welcome this step.  So, in effect,<according to the lawyers, once both sides have expressed an=intention to establish diplomatic relations, in effect takeshold.B   But as the president mentioned, the secretary of state will be@traveling to Vietnam.  We're still working out the exact dates.?This would be after his meetings at Brunei at the beginning of=August.  And I think we envision some exchange of documents.:This won't require laborious negotiations.  It's more the;symbolism in formalizing what has happened today which, ofcourse, is the key event.B   And as far as ambassadors, both -- I think the Vietnamese will:also indicate their intentions on ambassadors, and as theBpresident says, the search will now go underway to see who shouldhead up our embassy.@   Q: To any of you gentlemen -- you say that you've received a<comprehensive report saying 79 of 81 pending special cases,@special remains cases, will help you out a great deal.  Are you<satisfied now, at this time, that the Vietnamese government?unilaterally is doing everything it can and is not withholding)any more information about POWs or MIAs?=   WOLD: We are satisfied with the progress to date that the>Vietnamese have demonstrated.  Indeed, on the special remainsBcases -- discrepancy cases -- we will continue to press them very!hard on each one of those cases.@   Q: So, in other words, they still have information that theyare withholding from you?@   WOLD: I don't know that they're withholding information, but<we believe that they have information and that they will beAforthcoming in the months to come.  The process is in place, and3they have demonstrated their willingness and their.forthcomingness on the turnover of documents.A   Q: And they've not been forthcoming up until this point?  I'mjust wondering why that is.@   WOLD: I would disagree.  I think they have been forthcoming.A   GOBER: Let me answer a little bit of that.  You know, when weAwere there in 1994, we asked them to establish document teams to?go into the Ministry of the Interior which controls the policeBthere and has a great deal of power, and the Ministry of NationalBDefense.  They did establish those teams.  And the documents that?we received, over 200 pages of documents when we were there in<May, was a result -- some of the work was a result of that.@   I think that what they're doing -- and we feel good about itAbecause they're going into the provinces and they're starting to?get documents, because many of those documents would be at the<province level.  You know, like the state capitols -- their<provinces are like our states. So I think, as Jim said, the@process is in effect, and we hope to see continued results from@it.  And we will continue to remind them that, as the president>said, that's still our number one concern is the MIA problem.?   And so -- that doesn't answer your question fully.  I think.that they are trying to find these documents.=   Q: Could you please outline a little bit what is changing<strategically by that commission in that part of the world?@   LORD: Let me emphasize again what the president and Mr. LakeAemphasized. This decision was taken on the criterion of progress?toward the fullest possible accounting.  Now, as the president<and Lake also mentioned, obviously there are other American@interests.  And we believe this will further those interests as@well, now that the criteria the president set out have been met5in terms of sufficient progress on the key question.B   So Asia is a very dynamic region.  We have tremendous security;and economic interests in the region.  We think one of the>benefits of this move will be to forward those interests, and>that will be one of the objectives of Secretary Christopher's?trip to the region, in general, and to Vietnam, in particular.B   So, regional security, geopolitical factors, economic factors,?promotion of human rights, promotion of our efforts to control@the flow of narcotics -- all of these issues, we think, will beAadvanced by this step today by the president and by our expanded>presence in Hanoi.  In short, I think, it helps our strategic?position in Asia.  But this is a benefit that flows from it --Bthe primary criteria where the progress made on the MIA question.>   Q: You keep referring to security interests.  Is there any;hint of military cooperation between the United States and	Vietnam?=   LORD: Only in a sense of going after to the MIA question.AThere our militaries have cooperated very closely.  But, no, not@in other respects.  What I'm talking about is regional security;dialogues.  As you may know, they have these yearly at theAforeign minister level, and they've had, a couple of months ago,Aat the senior officials level. Vietnam is part of that dialogue,:as is Russia, China, Japan, ASEAN, Canada, Australia, NewZealand, Korea and so on.B   Q: Have there been any visits to the old facilities at CameronBay?<   LORD: Only in the search for MlAs which is an example of@sensitive military areas, like Haiphong Harbor and Cameron Bay,Awhich the Vietnamese, with our encouragement, have opened up for.inspection for MlAs.  But no strategic talks.?   Q: The Republicans are talking about cutting off funding in@the next budget for any actions that would formalize -- towards>normalization. What can they do to interfere with what you'retrying to do??   LORD: First of all, there are many Republicans, and you sawBmany standing up with the president today in that room, who would-disagree with that.  So it's not monolithic.=   Secondly, we'll have to see how this plays out on CapitolBHill.  And I know one of the resolutions is suggesting that.  But@I think there are other resolutions that are more positive, and"we would hope they would prevail.@   Q: But if they won't -- if they do cut off funding, what can"they do? How much interference --B   LORD: Well, I really don't want to speculate on a hypotheticalBsituation.  I'd rather wait and see.  But we made very clear, theApresident has, why this is in the U.S. national interest, and we>are confident that a majority in the Congress, as well as the#American people will support that.?   Q: How will this decision affect U.S. relations with China?:   LORD: Well, we would certainly not see this in any wayAdirectly related to China in a sense that this would be taken asAa grand strategy with respect to China.  That is not our intent.ASo I would imagine China would welcome it.  They've indicated inBthe past we should establish friendly relations with Vietnam.  So@we'll have to see -- you'd have to ask them that question.  But3there is not a China motive behind our move today.A   Q: Mr. Lord, you've spoken today about documents and remains.<Does the U.S. government now believe that there are no live!Americans being kept in Vietnam?:   LORD: Why don't I have Mr. Wold address that question.:   WOLD: The government cannot say that there are no liveAAmericans. However, all of the live study investigations and all=the evidence that we have available to us does not -- is not@suggestive that there are alive Americans remaining anywhere inSoutheast Asia.   (end transcript)   ---------------   ---------------C   CONGRESSIONAL, FORMER MILITARY LEADERS WHO SUPPORT VIETNAM TIES   WASHINGTON<   Following are excerpts of statements provided by several:members of Congress and former military leaders following9President Clinton's July 11 decision to establish formal#diplomatic relations with Vietnam:?   Alexander Haig, Jr., former secretary of state and general:=   "I...support the opening of diplomatic relations with the>conviction that we will learn more about the POW issue with a>more normal presence in the country.  In sum, in my view, theBopening of relations with Hanoi meets the political, economic and*security interests of the United States.".   Harold Brown, former secretary of defense:;   "President Clinton is right to normalize relations withBVietnam, both in the interests of U.S. foreign policy and to find?out all we can about those servicemen still missing in action.>We must not forget the Vietnam War or its lessons, but twentyAyears later it is time to look to a new future, in East Asia andelsewhere."=   Senator John Kerry (Democrat of Massachusetts), decorated=veteran and former head of Vietnam Veterans Against the War:B   "Today the President has taken a courageous and historic step.AThe establishment of diplomatic relations with Vietnam concludes8the final chapter of our painful and wrenching national=involvement in Southeast Asia....  The time has come to lookAforward and to pursue the interests that we have in Vietnam, andthe region, today.<   "Our paramount interest is accounting for those American8servicemen still missing in action....  I supported theAPresident's decision last year to lift the trade embargo because?I believed it would accelerate the accounting process.  And it>did.  I support the step he has taken here today because I am=convinced it will encourage even greater cooperation on thiscritical issue."A   "Finally, I believe that our strategic and economic interestsBin Southeast Asia, as well as our ability to promote human rights?in Vietnam, will be strengthened by placing our relations with*Vietnam on a normal, diplomatic footing."@   Senator John McCain (Republican of Arizona), former prisonerof war in Vietnam:=   "I support the President's decision today to restore full>diplomatic relations with Vietnam.  This would not be an easyAdecision for any President to make.  President Clinton has shown.courage and honor in his resolve to do so....?   "I should also note that Admiral Jeremiah Denton, my acting<Senior Ranking Officer at the Hanoi Hilton and a courageousAresister, as well as my dear friend Ev Alvarez, the longest heldAPOW in Vietnam, join me and many other former POWs in supporting,the restoration of diplomatic relations....A   "Vietnam, which will become a full member of ASEAN later this@month, is an increasingly responsible player in Southeast AsianAaffairs.  An economically viable Vietnam, acting in concert with@its neighbors, will help the region resist dominance by any one;power.  That is a development which is clearly in the best#interests of the United States....A   "Vietnam's human rights record needs substantial improvement.@We should make good use of better relations with the Vietnamese@to help advance in that country a decent respect for the rights	of man.":   Senator Frank Murkowski (Republican of Alaska), memberCommittee on Veterans Affairs:=   "I support the President's decision because I continue to=believe, and the evidence supports, that increased access to@Vietnam leads to increased progress on the (POW/MIA) accounting
issue....;   "Recognizing Vietnam does not mean forgetting our MIAs.BRecognizing Vietnam does not mean that we agree with the policiesAof the Government of Vietnam.  But it does help us promote basicAAmerican values such as freedom, democracy, human rights and themarket place....@   "Establishing diplomatic relations should also advance otherAimportant U.S. goals.  A prosperous, stable and friendly Vietnam=integrated into the international community will serve as an=important impediment to Chinese expansionism.  Normalization@should offer new opportunities for the United States to promote?respect for human rights in Vietnam. Finally, competitive U.S.>businesses which have entered the Vietnamese market after the@lifting of the trade embargo will have greater success with the>full faith and confidence of the U.S. government behind them.@   "...I think the time has come to treat Vietnam as a country,not a war.":   Representative Douglas Peterson (Democrat of Florida):<   "It is now time to move forward in our relationship with?Vietnam:  to continue progress on MIA accounting; to encourage>progress on human rights; to move Vietnam successfully from aAcommand economy to a market economy; and to deal better with the2complexities of security challenges in East Asia.B   "It is no longer acceptable simply to seek retribution for the@past. Now is the time for us to work towards resolution for the'future.  It is the right thing to do.";   Ambassador William Crowe, U.S. Ambassador to the United7Kingdom, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff::   "The President has taken a bold and timely decision in?establishing diplomatic relations with Vietnam.  I support himunequivocally.B   "I served in Vietnam.  Men and women who were close to me gaveAtheir lives there in the service of their country.  I will never?forget them, and this nation will forever remember their noblesacrifice.@   "Twenty years later, it is time to recognize that the nature<of our relationship with Vietnam must change to reflect newBglobal realities. Serious progress has been made in obtaining theAfullest possible accounting of our prisoners and missing in war.&These efforts must and will continue.A   "The President has taken a wise and difficult decision, and Istand with him unreservedly."   ---------------   ---------------7   HOUSE VOTES CUT IN FISCAL 1996 FOREIGN AID SPENDING   THOMAS EICHLER   WASHINGTON;   The House of Representatives has approved a fiscal 1996<foreign aid spending bill that would cut both bilateral and?multilateral U.S. assistance over the year starting October 1.4   The legislation, which must be reconciled with aAyet-to-be-completed Senate bill, would reduce U.S. contributions@to the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA)Aand bilateral assistance to Eastern Europe and the former Soviet<Union.  It also would reduce general development assistance	funding.?   The measure passed easily in the House July 11 by a vote of@333 to 89. The White House has indicated its concern about some>of the cuts in the House bill, and its intention to work with>Congress as the measure moves further through the legislative
processs.B   Total fiscal 1996 foreign aid spending under the House measureBwould be $11,924 million, $1,600 million below the 1995 level and;$2,900 million below the Clinton administration's request.1   Among other provisions, the House bill would:?   -- prohibit funding for family-planning groups that support#      abortions, even where legal.+   -- limit aid to Russia to $195 million.B   -- limit aid to Turkey because of alleged human rights abuses.:   -- block any lifting of the embargo against Serbia and>      Montenegro until Serbia ends excessive control over the      province of Kosovo.A   -- prohibit aid to Ethiopia pending progress on human rights.?   -- maintain military and economic assistance for Israel and      Egypt at current levels=   -- $3,000 million for Israel and $2,100 million for Egypt0      to support the Middle East peace accords.?   The following table's figures for the House bill reflect an;attempt to capture the budgetary effects of numerous floor=amendments to the original legislation, but are not official"Appropriations Committee numbers:<FISCAL 1996 FOREIGN AID APPROPRIATIONS BILL PASSED BY HOUSE(Selected items)=Agency or program                    Appro-   Admin.   House<                                     priated  request  bill<                                     1995     1996     1996=                                    (in millions of dollars)BILATERAL ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE&Agency for International Development:;Child survival and disease pgm. fund  --       --      593;Development assistance fund          840    1,300      655;Population, development assistance   450       --       --;Development Fund for Africa          802      802      528;International disaster assistance    170      200      200;Debt restructuring                     7       26        7%Other bilateral economic assistance:;Economic Support Fund              2,349    2,494    2,300;International fund for Ireland        20       --       20;Assistance for Eastern Europe        359      480      324;Assistance for the NIS               843      788      580;African Development Foundation        17       17       11;Inter-American Foundation             31       32       20;Peace Corps                          220      234      210Department of State:;International narcotics control      105      213      113;Migration and refugee assistance     671      671      671;Refugee settlement assistance          6       --        5%U.S. Emergency Refugee and Migration;Assistance Fund                       50       50       50;Anti-terrorism assistance             15       15       17!MULTILATERAL ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE;World Bank                            23       28       23;International Development Assn.    1,175    1,368      575;Global Environment Facility           90      110       50;Inter-American Development Bank       28       26       26;Fund for Special Operations           21       21       --;Asian Development Bank                --       13       13;Asian Development Fund               167      304       99;African Development Fund              62      127       --!European Bank for Reconstruction;and Development                       69       82       69International Monetary FundEnhanced Structural Adjustment;Facility                              25       25       --!EXPORT AND INVESTMENT ASSISTANCE;Export-Import Bank                   782      780      742Overseas Private Invest. Corp.;(including offsetting fees)          -93      -97      -87;Trade and Development Agency          45       67       40;International Finance Corporation     69       68       68#Enterprise for the Americas Multi-;lateral Investment Fund               75      100       70;GRAND TOTAL, including military   13,537   14,774   11,924   ---------------   ---------------&   SENATE ACTION ON REGULATORY REFORM   JIM MALONE
   SENATE>   The U.S. Senate has begun debate on a proposal which would:limit the ability of the federal government to impose new0regulations on private industry and businesses.<   Senate Republicans are pushing a bill that would sharply>curtail the authority of the federal government to impose newBregulations on the private sector, part of last year's Republican@campaign promise to get government off of the backs of ordinary8citizens. (Ease the burden of government requirements).@   The regulatory reform effort is being led by Senate majorityAleader Bob Dole and would require government agencies to perform>cost-benefit analysis before issuing any new regulations. The@idea is to cut back on the booming number of regulations in theAareas of health, safety and the environment which many lawmakers=complain are strangling small businesses in bureaucratic red<tape. Senate Democrats are offering what they see as a moremoderate alternative.?   Senator Dole says his bill will reduce regulation costs for5small businesses but would still maintain health and6environmental safeguards, which most Americans favor:A   "Americans pay more in regulatory costs than they do to Uncle3Sam (the federal government) through income taxes.7Over-regulation costs the American family an estimated:six-thousand dollars a year. I believe that we can ensure?regulations that both promote important goals like food safety,and also minimize costs wherever possible."8   But opponents of the Republican bill charge that the>regulatory reform effort is one of the biggest threats yet toenvironmental safeguards.@   Democrats like Senator Byron Dorgan (North Dakota) warn thatBthe Republican plan would weaken regulations on air pollution and=meat inspection, among others, and poses a health and safetythreat to the American public:@   "I think these regulations make sense. Now, (we) are talkingBabout regulations for safety, health, the environment. Not all of>them, not every one of them, but the bulk of the direction of:what we were doing with regulation makes a lot of sense.">   The regulatory debate is expected to take some time in theBsenate, full of complex legal twists and numerous amendments. TheBHouse of Representatives has already approved a Republican reformBplan as part of its Republican contract with America. The Clinton?Administration has indicated a likely presidential veto if the:Republican regulation plan is ultimately approved by both
chambers.   ---------------   ---------------4   SUPREME COURT CHRONOLOGY: CHURCH/STATE SEPARTION<   The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that;"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment ofAreligion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."  There haveAbeen a number of court cases concerning the separation of church?and state in the United States, reflecting changes in attitudeBthroughout the years.  Following is a chronology of major events:   1995:   In Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of University ofBVirginia, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that by refusing to provide<a student group with funds for its Christian magazine, Wide?Awake, while subsidizing nonreligious publications at the sameAtime, the university violated the group's speech rights.  Ronald@Rosenberger, a former student, had sought $5,800 from a studentAactivities fund on campus to publish the magazine. Supporters of@a strong separation between church and state said the court had@betrayed core democratic principles that have helped the United9States transcend religious divisions, while Conservative>Christians hailed the ruling as a major victory for religious	freedom.A   In Capitol Square Review v. Pinette, the Supreme Court said a@privately sponsored cross in a public forum does not breach the@constitutional requirement for separations of church and state,@and ruled 7-2 that the state of Ohio was wrong to bar the white?supremist Ku Klux Klan from putting up a large wooden cross inBfront of the state capitol building. State officials had objected=to the three-meter-high cross even though they had allowed aBChristmas tree and a Jewish menorah to be displayed, arguing that7these items had cultural significance beyond religion.   1994@   In Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School DistrictAv. Grumet, the Supreme Court decided 6-3 against the creation of<a special school district in New York to facilitate secular@educational services for handicapped Hasidic Jews.  Earlier the?state legislature constituted the village as a separate schoolBdistrict empowered to operate a secular public school system, but<the system chose to leave most of the students in parochial@schools and in the public system only created a secular specialBeducation program for handicapped students.  The court ruled that@the creation of such a district affronted the First Amendment's?establishment clause, which prohibits government from favoringone religion over another.   1992<   In Lee v. Weisman, the Supreme Court held 5-4 that it is=unconstitutional for a public secondary school to include an>invocation and benediction by a clergyman in its commencement<ceremony.  The case involved a 14-year-old student, Deborah>Weisman, and her father, Daniel, who had brought suit against<Robert Lee, principal of the Nathan Bishop Middle School inProvidence, Rhode Island.   1990@   In Employment Division, Oregon Department of Human Resources<v. Smith, the Supreme Court held 5-4 that the free exerciseBclause provided no protection for the use of peyote, a controlled>substance, in the religious ceremonies of the Native American;Church.  Two drug counselors in Oregon had lost their jobs?because they used peyote in the ceremonies of their church and9then had been denied unemployment benefits by the state.   1988@   In Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association,@the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of constructing a road forBlogging purposes in a region of a California national forest that=had been challenged by several Indian tribes that deemed theAregion to be sacred and used only for religious ceremonies.  The:court held that even if it is assumed that the road "will9virtually destroy the Indians' ability to practice their?religion, the Constitution simply does not provide a principle,that could justify upholding legal claims."   1985<   In Wallace v. Jaffree, the Supreme Court by a 6-3 margin;struck down an Alabama statute mandating a daily moment of=silence in the public schools for purposes of "meditation or@voluntary prayer," on the grounds that it had been adopted withBan illegitimate legislative purpose.  It said the legislature had<enacted the statute "for the sole purpose of expressing the+state's endorsement of prayer activities."   1983A   In Marsh v. Chambers, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that it was?constitutional for the Nebraska state legislature to open each8legislative day with a prayer by a chaplain paid by the?state.  The court stated in this instance that the practice of;legislative prayer was "deeply embedded in the history andtradition of this country."   19826   In Larkin v. Grendel's Den, the Supreme Court heldAunconstitutional by an 8-1 margin a Massachusetts statute givingAchurches a veto power over the issuance of liquor licenses.  The>statute provided that liquor licenses could not be issued for@enterprises located within 165 meters of a church or school "if:the governing body of such church or school filed written;objection."  In this case, a church near Harvard Square in:Cambridge had objected to the issuance of a license to an@adjacent restaurant, even though 25 other establishments within%the same zone already were licensed.   1981:   In Thomas v. Review Board, Indiana Employment SecurityBCommission, the Supreme Court by an 8-1 margin required the state@to grant unemployment compensation benefits to an individual, a@Jehovah's Witness, who interpreted the Bible to forbid him from=accepting work on an armaments production line and who, as aconsequence, quit his job.@   In United States v. Lee, the Supreme Court unanimously ruledAthat an Amish employer was not exempt from paying the employer'sBportion of Social Security taxes, noting that while the religious>beliefs of the Amish specifically oppose support for a public8system of social insurance, "mandatory participation is<indispensable to the fiscal vitality of the social security	system."B   In Heffron v. International Society for Krishna Consciousness,?Inc., the Supreme Court upheld 5-4 a regulation imposed on the<distribution and sale of literature and the solicitation of=donations on behalf of the Krishna religion at the Minnesota?State Fair.  The regulation required the organization to limitAits activities to pre-assigned rented booths, while it wanted to)move freely throughout the fair grounds.   1980>   In Stone v. Graham, the Supreme Court by a 5-4 margin heldBunconstitutional a Kentucky statute which required that a copy ofAthe Ten Commandments, purchased with private funds, be posted on0the wall of each public classroom in the state.   1963@   In Abington School District v. Schempp, and in the companion?case Murray v. Curlett, the Supreme Court voting 8-1 held that=government-sponsored devotional activities in public schoolsBconstitute an establishment of religion in violation of the FirstAAmendment to the Constitution, and disallowed the reading of theBible in class.   1962>   In Engel v. Vitale, by a 6-1 vote the Supreme Court barred:prayers in public schools as an improper establishment of=religion, reflecting a perspective that believes "a union of;government and religion tends to destroy government and to?degrade religion."  The case involved a requirement of a local>school board in New York that at the beginning of each school9day, students recite a prayer that had been composed and<recommended for use by the New York State Board of Regents.   1940=   In Cantwell v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court unanimously>reversed the convictions of three Jehovah's Witnesses who had>been distributing pamphlets in New Haven, Connecticut and had@been arrested for violating a state law prohibiting individuals9"from soliciting money for any cause" without a license.   1925>   High school teacher John Scopes was convicted of violatingBstate law against teaching the theory of evolution in his biology:class in Dayton, Tennessee.  The so-called "Monkey Trial"=attracted world attention, and two years later the Tennessee3State Supreme Court overturned Scopes' conviction.   ---------------   ---------------'   CLINTON SPEAKS ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM   DEBORAH TATE   WHITE HOUSE9   As Republican lawmakers seek an amendment to the U.S.Bconstitution that would allow prayer in public schools, PresidentBClinton is arguing that such a move is not necessary. Mr. Clinton;is ordering that the government inform the nation's schoolAsystems that the law already permits students to pray and engage3in other voluntary religious activities at school.:   President Clinton has signed an order that directs theADepartment of Education and the attorney general to offer public;schools guidance over the next few months on what forms of0religious expression are allowed under the law.8   Some observers say the move is aimed at undercutting;Republican Congressional efforts to craft a constitutional=amendment allowing organized prayer in the public schools, a)charge administration officials dismiss.@   While drawing the line at organized prayer, Mr. Clinton says;the first amendment to the constitution already allows for@voluntary prayer and other non-compulsary religious activities:A   "The first amendment does not require students to leave their?religion at the schoolhouse door. We wouldn't want students to=leave the values they learn from religion at the schoolhouse?door. We wouldn't want students to leave the values they learnAfrom religion, like honesty and sharing and kindness, behind the@schoolhouse door, and re-inforcing those values is an important!part of every school's mission."@   The president spoke outside Washington to students at a highBschool named for James Madison, one of the authors of the Bill of,Rights, which includes the first amendment.:   His guidance to public schools includes administration>interpretations of constitutional protections on the right of?students to distribute religious literature and wear religious8attire to school, including yarmulkes and head scarves.:   It was one of a series of recent speeches in which the:president discussed moral values and responsibility. SomeBobservers say he is responding to a more conservative mood in the0country ahead of his re-election bid next year.   ---------------   ---------------   BOSNIA: TO WITHDRAW OR NOT   PAMELA TAYLOR   WASHINGTON4   Once again, NATO jets have struck rebel Serbs inABosnia-Herzegovina, this time around the northern Muslim enclave:of Srebrenica. A similar airstrike in May, near Sarajevo,=prompted the Serbs to shoot down a U.S. jet fighter and take@hundreds of U.N. peacekeepers hostage. The pilot was rescued by@U.S. Marines and a hostage release was negotiated by the United=Nations. U.N. officials in the area said the deal included a@promise of no more air strikes in exchange for a Serb guarantee>of no further hostage incidents. Then the Serbs detained someBDutch peacekeepers around Srebrenica. Tuesday's air strikes, some>analysts believe, is part of a new, more muscular approach to>Bosnia by the international community. Talk of evacuating the?vulnerable U.N. peacekeepers has faded in recent weeks. It hasBbeen replaced by calls for more aggressive action, whether in the@form of air strikes or the new European 'rapid reaction force',;whose primary mission would be to protect peacekeepers andhumanitarian convoys.A   U.S. naval and marine forces have been anchored off the coast?of Bosnia in the Adriatic Sea for more than one month now. The<12,000 strong force, half the number originally promised by@Washington, was sent there to be in position should an order be@given to help evacuate U.N. peacekeepers. Instead, U.S. Marines<found themselves involved in the dramatic rescue of an F-16<fighter pilot (Scott O'Grady) shot down by Serb forces over?Bosnia. It was a glimpse of what the U.S. military can do whencalled upon to act.>   President Clinton and his policymakers have tried to steerAclear of actions they fear could lead to putting American troopsAon the ground in Bosnia. A contingent of about 100 U.S. soldiers?recently arrived in the Croatian port of split on the Adriatic=coast, but their role will be limited to providing logisticsBassistance for the new European reaction force. President Clinton@has pledged 15 million dollars from the Pentagon budget to helppay for the force.>   Administration officials say they hope the presence of the6rapid reaction force will make the withdrawal of U.N.@peacekeepers unnecessary. Should the peacekeepers be withdrawn,@many say, there would be renewed calls to lift the arms embargoAagainst Bosnia, something President Clinton does not want to do.@Senate Republican leader and presidential candidate Robert Dole>says he will introduce a bill calling on the United States to6unilaterally lift the embargo next week. The House of?Representatives has voted in favor of a lift. If passed by theBSenate, President Clinton says he will veto the bill so as not to4compromise the enforcement of other U.N. sanctions.B   William Durch, a specialist in U.N. peacekeeping operations at@the Henry Stimpson Center in Washington, believes assisting the9new European reaction force is the best option presentlyavailable to the U.S.:=   "My understanding is, according to statements made by theBState Department that the U.S. is willing to provide, in addition@to close air support, communications and some equipment for the@troop contributors and some intelligence - they're committed to<providing strategic air lift and sea lift. And 100 American;people on the ground at the main U.N. supply point doesn'tAsurprise me as a front-end contingent to supervise the lift of 6to 8 thousand troops."7   Those troops will come from Britain, France and the?Netherlands and may eventually number up to ten-thousand. In a>controversial decision late last month, the German governmentBalso agreed to commit support troops to assist the reaction force?or to help in an eventual withdrawal. Although nominally underBthe command of the U.N., leaders of the new reaction force insist@they will not be subject to the veto of civilian officials such:as Yasushi Akashi, head of the U.N. mission to the formerYugoslavia.<   Most U.S. military analysts believe that withdrawing the@peacekeepers would be a costly and logistical nightmare but one=they must nonetheless prepare for. The NATO withdrawal plan,=approved in June, talks about a worst case scenario in which@actual evacuation would take more than five months to complete.>   For more than a year now, the U.S. Army in Europe has been?training for possible Bosnia duty under two specific scenarios@designated by the Clinton administration. The first would be as?part of a peacekeeping force once a durable truce is in place,@and the second, as part of a NATO operation to cover a complete>U.N. withdrawal. Last month, a U.S. special forces in Germany<underwent three weeks of intensive training in the woods ofBbavaria in preparation for possible duty in Bosnia. U.S. soldiers@were cast in the roles of peacekeepers, Muslims and Serbs for a@realistic, though make-believe, troop evacuation. the exercise,@known as operation mountain shield, included such contingencies>as recovering a downed aircraft crew, coping with belligerent:civilians, or even mothers begging to have their childrenevacuated.@   Colonel William Taylor (retired), vice-president of militaryAstudies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in:Washington, says such exercises are simply sound military9planning in the absence of a clear political or military(directive from Washington or elsewhere:A   "We have got to prepare for any emergency because there is no?strategy, the military doesn't know how it might be committed.@There are lots of recommendations but the military is preparing?for every possible contingency. It's not the kind of situation;you want. If you can get a clear statement of strategy andBpolicy, you can go ahead and train your people for specific types@of missions. But right now, the military doesn't want a mission?of peacekeeping in Bosnia. They are training for peace making.@And that is, if we're called in, we're going to go in - whether;its extracting the U.N. protection forces, whether it's an?additional call to support the European rapid reaction force -.whatever it is, they're training for combat."A   Colonel Taylor and Bill Durch agree such preparation does notBnecessarily mean an evacuation from Bosnia has been decided upon.According to Bill Durch:?   "To the extent there are training maneuvers going on within?NATO for that contingency I would personally view it merely asAcontingency planning and having something ready if its necessary=but not something that is imminent. My guess is they will at;least give what they're calling the U.N. reaction force or@reserve force a chance to work first and see what the reactions4of the locals are before they do anything drastic.";   Bill Durch thinks the international community has neverAseriously considered a complete U.N. withdrawal from Bosnia, but:continues to threaten it as a way to pressure the warring
factions:@   "This reaction force is an effort on the part of Britain andAFrance in particular to shore up the status quo rather than as aAwedge either for something more dramatic or to actually pull theAforce out. I think the general idea is to buy time and space for<all of the sides to realize there isn't a feasible militaryAsolution to this thing and that they will therefore have to turn@seriously to a political accord. I don't detect any groundswell?of political or military support here or elsewhere in NATO for?roaring in with guns blazing and flags flying into Bosnia. The?U.N. thinks it would take half a million people to do it. That*estimate hasn't changed much in 3 years.";   Many analysts believe it is also in the interest of theAwarring factions to keep the peacekeepers in place. Barry Posen,Aa professor of political science in the defense and arms control?program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston>qualifies this however. He says the Serbs may not be so happy about a stronger U.N. presence:@   "The Serbs have an interest in the United Nations staying in?Bosnia if the U.N. is relatively weak and if the forces aren't>particularly active. If U.N. forces get a lot stronger, which?ostensibly they will do and become much more active, much moreBaggressive, then its possible the Serbian interests could change.<They have an interest in a weak U.N. staying in Bosnia. TheBMuslim interest is the reverse. The Muslims have an interest in aAstrong U.N. staying in Bosnia but a very weak U.N. might be more!trouble than its worth to them."B   Professor Posen says the signs now point toward a strengthened:U.N. position. And Bill Durch agrees that a stronger U.N./presence would not be good news for the Serbs:@   "If after the U.N. takes a tougher approach to defending its@supply convoys to get them in to, say, Sarajevo, if the BosnianBSerbs attack those convoys and there's a tit-for-tat exchange and@then the United Nations calls for close air support, the United@States has said it will provide close air support to the United>Nations. It hasn't forsaken that agreement. So if the Bosnian?Serbs push the U.N. too far, it is at least conceivable, underBthis more muscular arrangement with the British, French and DutchBforces that the U.S. (planes under NATO command) could be invitedAin and provide significant close air support that could be quite damaging to the Bosnian Serbs."8   But Bill Durch says there are also signs the Bosnian>government may not be all that happy about a more active U.N.?force because it could interfere with the new offensive it has>begun in central Bosnia. Norman Cigar (see-gar), professor ofBnational security studies at the Marine Corps School in Quantico,>Virginia told a recent conference on Bosnia (sponsored by theBU.S. Institute of Peace), that both Serb and Muslim-led forces in?Bosnia are roughly equivalent at the moment. He says the Serbs;have the advantage in weapons, the Muslims in manpower. He3predicts troop morale will be the deciding factor:>   "The Bosnian army commitment level is considerably higher.9They have more volunteers than weapons and that's always4revealing. It's improving as a fighting force, more<professionalized, better organized. They've set up division@organizations, better staff, planning, better training. They'veAgot more arms! Some more arms, they're light arms in general. By@smuggling, by buying even from some Serbs, by capture, by local:manufacture. It's made some difference but not a decisive
difference.";   MIT professor Barry Posen thinks the Muslim forces have:recently acquired some heavier weapons through Croatia inAviolation of the arms embargo imposed on the whole of the formerYugoslavia:=   "There have been a lot of Muslim offenses in the last few@months, some of them have gone well and they couldn't have goneAwell if the Muslims didn't have some heavy weaponry. So my guess>is the Muslims are reasonably well armed in light weapons and@some heavier kinds of weapons but they don't have a lot of what>we would call offensive weapons capability which would be theAheavier kinds of artillery, tanks and armored fighting vehicles.?That's what's missing from the Muslim inventory. So this means>they're in a pretty good position to defend most of what theyAhave left. But they're not in great shape to take land back fromBthe Serbs given that the Serbs are tactically competent on ground9that favors the defender and have much greater stocks ofweaponry.">   Professor Cigar says the Bosnian Serbs, on the other hand,have serious morale problems:>   "The assumption is that morale is very high, commitment is@very high. I think compelling evidence shows otherwise. I thinkBthere is a low propensity in the Bosnian Serb army to take risks.BIts been very difficult to convince the average Serb to fight and:die in concrete terms for what some have seen in terms of<territorial control. There's been a flight of young BosnianASerbs. That's been a major problem. Desertions have been a major@problem. Even in areas not directly affected by the war, people>want to avoid the draft. There have been periodic roundups of?Bosnian Serbs in Serbia, in Montenegro - people have been sentback (to the battlefront)"?   Professor Cigar says 46 percent of the Bosnian Serb officerAcorps have left, creating a serious leadership vacuum. There are:also reports that Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic isBrefusing to allow draft-age male refugees into the country, while>authorities round up young Serbs already there and sends them;back to battlefields in Bosnia and Croatia. And, there are>indications Mr. Milosevic continues to play a key role in the@separate but related secessionist Serb conflicts in both BosniaBand Croatia. He recently appointed a senior federal army officer,>General Mile Mrksic [mee-leh murk-shich], as commander of the>Serb army in the breakaway Krajina region of Croatia. General@Mrksic was commander of the army brigade that played a key role@in the Serb destruction of the ancient Croatian city of Vukovar	in 1991.A   Brad Kesic, a Balkan analyst with the Irex Research iNstitute>in Washington, thinks President Milosevic is sending a strong;message to Croatia, which appears to be preparing for more,attacks on rebel Serb positions in Krajina:A   "To me its very clear it's a signal being sent to Croatia andAthe Croatian government because the Croatian government has been:raising publicly threats of launching attacks against the?Krajina. I think this is a signal that unlike what happened in;Western Slavonia, that Yugoslavia and Serbia have a directBinterest in Krajina, in the Knin region as well as in sector east5in Slavonia. He's also sending it (a message) to the>international community which is 'don't take me for granted'.=Right now the negotiating process has come to a standstill.">   The negotiating process actually came to a standstill only?weeks ago when a diplomatic effort broke down to get President<Milosevic to recognize Bosnia-Herzegovina in exchange for aAlifting of U.N. economic sanctions against Yugoslavia. President@Milosevic refused, Mr. Kesic says, because Washington would notBagree to his demand for a complete guarantee that sanctions would>not be re-imposed at some later date. Shortly afterwards, the@United Nations Security Council voted instead to ease sanctions;for another few months, continuing the relaxation begun in?October 1994. The decision to begin easing sanctions was taken@following assurances from President Milosevic that Belgrade was6not assisting the Bosnian Serbs, either militarily or9economically. Recently, however, there have been several<indications that Belgrade's assistance to both the Serbs in+Krajina and those in Bosnia is continuing.?   However, Mr. Kesic disagrees with those who think President:Milosevic still harbors a dream of uniting all Serbs in a"greater Serbia":B   "He hasn't abandoned his basic motivating goal and that was to>create some type of unified state entity between the Serbs inAvarious parts of the former Yugoslavia but I think his vision is?much different than the vision in let's say, Pale (the Bosnian<Serb headquarters) and the vision in Knin (the Krajina Serb?headquarters) and that this doesn't necessarily mean he has in>mind this 'greater Serbia' that everybody talks about because>there could be such a thing as a 'smaller Yugoslavia', a rumpAYugoslavia which would be greater than the current Yugoslavia ofSerbia and Montenegro."B   Some western analysts interpret this semantic adjustment as an:indication President Milosevic may be prepared to abandon=incorporating parts of Bosnia and Krajina into this "smaller=Yugoslavia" as the price for ending the fighting and gettingeconomic sanctions lifted.B   This, says Barry Posen, is why the west continues to negotiate=with President Milosevic, hoping to convince him to exercise@whatever influence he has to bring the warring Serb forces backto the negotiating table:<   "Everything depends upon the extent to which the SerbianAmilitary organizations in Bosnia and Croatia (Krajina areas) can:call on help from Serbia proper. And here we see a lot of?newspaper stories that suggest there is a lot of assistance ofBone kind or another, including people, including officers, comingBfrom Serbia proper. And therefore its a little tricky judging the?actual manpower relationships between the groups in dispute in<Bosnia. Now there's been a lot of newspaper coverage lately?Bosnian Serb morale has somehow suffered. And my guess is thatBafter several years of war with no obvious military end in sight,Asome of the Serbian soldiers are starting to have some questions@about the war. But that having been said, I think its prematureBto assume that Serbian military morale is going to crack soon andAthat this is going to cause wholesale defeat of the Serbian armyin Bosnia."A   In the meantime, says professor Posen, the Muslim-led Bosnian=army is taking no chances and has made the decision to go italone against the Serbs.B   This self-reliance and isolation has not only created a fierceBand disciplined army but some analysts, like Barry Posen, who sayBsit has also finally created a hardline Islamic government in theheart of Europe:=   "The Serbs stress the Islamic role in arming the Muslims,Bwhich is a fact. I mean there's been a lot of Muslim support fromBoutside Bosnia for the Bosnian Muslims. But the Serbs stress thisAand invoke the language of 'jihad' (holy war) mainly to mobilize=their own people because this is a very evocative historical<image that speaks to long fights of Serbian people with the@ottoman (Turkish) empire and they're trying to get their people>fired up to fight. So this is a set of historical images that@have a lot of mobilizing power for them and that's why they use?them. They also suspect that there is some generalized fear ofBMuslim fundamentalism throughout Europe, which is true, that they;can also tap into (exploit) so this is a game of political
propaganda."@   Separate diplomatic efforts by the United States, Russia and=the European Union (EU) to get the stalled peace talks going>again have broken down. The latest was by European envoy Carl<Bildt who reporters in Sarajevo he didn't think the warring;factions do not appear to be ready for peace, and that the@situation is likely to become more complicated in the immediatefuture.>   Colonel Taylor says he is not surprised the Europeans have?finally decided to take the lead, both diplomatically and with?the reaction force, given the lack of leadership by the United$States in the foreign policy arena:A   "Foreign policy is the executive prerogative of the president<of the United States. He has the mandate and the leadershipBresponsibility. He (President Clinton) has not taken it. There isAso much confusion about what our national interests are and what?our strategy ought to be that Congress and the U.S. public areAdivided over where we ought to go. It is a lapse of leadership."B   Meanwhile, the international community continues to debate whoBshould lead and who should follow, whether or not to withdraw the@peacekeepers or lift embargoes, with whom they should negotiate@and with whom they should not. And finally, whether or not moreair strikes may be necessary.   ---------------   ---------------3   AMERICAN PHYSICIST CREATE A NEW STATE OF MATTER   DAVID MCALARY   WASHINGTONA   U.S. physicists have created an entirely new state of matter,>one predicted 70 years ago by Indian physicist Satyendra NathABose and German-American physicist Albert Einstein. In doing so,<they have achieved the lowest temperature ever produced, in@essence, almost freezing atoms in their tracks.  Bringing atoms:to a near standstill like this creates matter with unique2properties, unlike anything else found in nature.<   Using a high technology trap of laser beams and magnets,Bscientists in Boulder, Colorado, have captured thousands of atoms<in a gas of the element rubidium, herding them out of their@normal independent, colliding state and rounding them up into a(super atom behaving as a single entity.=   They slowed the atoms until their temperature was just 20=billionths of a degree above absolute zero. Absolute zero isBminus 273 degrees celsius, the temperature at which atomic motion@stops. At just above this point, the extremely chilled rubidium*atoms became very sluggish and condensed.A   But co-discoverer Eric Cornell of the U.S. National Institute>of Standards and Technology says they did not coalesce into a<liquid or solid, as you might expect when a gas is chilled:=   "They're so far apart on the atomic scale of things, they>never get a chance to glob together [unite] into a droplet orBanything like that. They stay separate in a gas, but in a special'ultra-cold, all-together sort of gas.":   Massachusetts Institute of Technology atomic physicist8Wolfgang Ketterle ['keh-ter-leh] calls the work a major>breakthrough, the achievement of ultimate control over atoms:5   "What is important about that is that at such low@temperatures, atoms start behaving in a different way. They are>coherent, which means all the atoms are vibrating in concert.<They are kind of indistinguishable atoms all doing the sameAthing, all being in the same state. That's a marvelous property."That's a new property for atoms."B   Mr. Ketterle and other physicists have been racing toward this9same goal for the last 15 years. But Mr. Cornell and hisBcolleagues report in the journal "Science" [July 14th issue] that.they became the first to do it in early June.@   To accomplish this feat, the researchers began with a gas of@room temperature rubidium atoms. One of the associates, Michael?Anderson, says they first slowed the atoms in a bombardment of=light particles called photons from six intense laser beams:A   "There are lasers coming from all directions and there's thisBhailstorm of photons, and in any direction that the atom tries toBmove it always feels a force to push it back, and in that way the&atoms become trapped at that center."A   Once the atoms were optically trapped, the lasers were turned=off and the atoms kept in place by a magnetic field. FurtherBcooling occurred by evaporation, with the hottest, most energetic.atoms flying away. According to Eric Cornell:A   "Because they are in sort of a well, the colder they are, youAcan think of them as little ball bearings moving around inside a?coffee cup, and the colder they are, the slower they're moving:and the more they sit near the bottom of the coffee cup.">   Success had eluded the Colorado researchers for years whenAthey had used just the laser beam trapping method alone, just asAother teams failed by using only the magnetic trapping technique?combined with evaporation cooling. The genius was in combining0them to bring about the record low temperature.?   When physicists Bose and Einstein envisioned such matter in>the 1920s, they could not predict its properties or behavior.BCo-discoverer Carl Wieman ['wy-man] of the University of Coloradosays they are still unknown:;   "It's a little hard to pin down in normal terms, partly@because it's unlike anything that you're going to ever run into:in real life. We're, of course, scrambling around to make@measurements of how it behaves. Right now, we don't really knowall that well how it behaves.":   Nevertheless, scientists like Wolfgang Ketterle at theAMassachusetts Institute of Technology foresee important uses forBsuch tightly bound groups of atoms in a gaseous form. He compares:them to laser light, in which condensed photons propagate<together rather than scattering as they do in normal light:=   "If you have a laser beam, the spot size to which you canBfocus is much, much smaller. Similarly, things like that might beAdeveloped with atoms. If you have a coherent atoms, you might be7able to focus those atoms to a very, very small spot."=   The applications could include making finer semiconductor>circuits to reduce the size of electronic equipment, or usingBatom clusters to probe the surfaces of matter. The near stillness<of the atoms could also allow scientists to study them more:closely to learn more about their fundamental properties.   ---------------   ---------------"   LESS PERIL FOR THE OZONE LAYER   DAVID MCALARY   WASHINGTONB   A team of U.S, British, and Australian scientists reports that<atmospheric levels of an industrial chemical destroying the@earth's protective ozone layer is declining. This is a sign theAatmosphere's condition is improving, thanks to an eight-year-oldinternational agreement.<   For the past few years, scientists have noticed that the:atmospheric buildup of ozone-depleting compounds has beenAslowing, continuing to grow, but ever less quickly. Now, for the?first time, they have measured an actual drop in levels of one*major ozone destroyer, methyl chloroform.B   One of the members of the international team reporting this in?the journal "Science" [July 14th issue] is atmospheric chemistAderek Cunnold [kuh-'nold] of the Georgia Institute of Technologyin Atlanta, who says:?   "Industry has decreased production of methyl chloroform, soAthe amount that is being released into the atmosphere is now not@as much as that which is being destroyed, so the concentrationsare decreasing."?   the decline is the result of a 1987 international agreement?called the Montreal protocol. It imposes a cutoff next year on>production of methyl chloroform, a dry cleaning agent, and of?chlorofluorocarbons, or CFC's, which are used in refrigerants,>aerosols, and foam packaging. Many nations have already begun>producing substitutes that are considered less harmful to the
ozone layer.<   These chlorine compounds have caused this segment of theBatmosphere to thin dramatically over the years, leading to winter?ozone holes over the Antarctic and similar ones each year over?the arctic. Ozone's density is important because the higher it>is, the better it screens the sun's ultraviolet rays that are<believed to cause skin cancer, cataracts, and other harmful	effects.;   A chemist at the U.S. atmospheric and ocean agency NOAA>['no-uh], AR Ravishankara ['rah-vee-shahn-'kah-rah], says the3message of the methyl chloroform finding is clear:B   "The Montreal protocol works. It should not come as a surprise;that it works, but it's actually very nice to see that the@controls that were placed on methyl chloroform are reflected inthe atmosphere."B   The reason this chemical has diminished so quickly is that itsAlife in the atmosphere is short, only five years. By comparison,?CFC's remain 10 to 20 times longer. Yet Mr. Ravishankara notesBthat even they are just a few years from halting their growth andstarting to decline:?   "If this is happening with methyl chloroform as expected onAtime scales as expected, and the controls go fully into force in?a year or two by various parties, the CFC concentration should@also go down in the future. And if everything goes according toBplan, if there is strict adherence to the protocol, we should see=the ozone hole disappear in the middle of the next century."B   Measuring the amount of methyl chloroform has allowed the U.S,BBritish, and Australian scientists to estimate the abundance of aAnaturally occurring atmospheric chemical which destroys it. ThisAcompound is called the hydroxyl radical, and it is very friendlyAto the ozone layer. The happy conclusion is that there is 20 per5cent more of this atmospheric cleanser than thought.@   Mr. Ravishankara says this has positive implications for the>use of CFC substitutes which also fall victim to the hydroxyl	radical:=   That means that many of the CFC substitutes, for example,?would also be removed faster. That means they will be a little@bit more ozone-friendly than we thought before. So the currencyBby which you measure the potential of all these chemicals, called@ozone depletion potential, they will be slightly less than whatwe thought.@   This is important for environmental policymakers who have to>establish acceptable levels for the CFC replacements. As "The<Washington Post" newspaper reports, the immediate practical@effect of knowing there is 20 per cent more hydroxyl radical in?the atmosphere is that several of these new gases once thought6unacceptable are now acceptable in the United States.   ---------------   ---------------   AMERICAN DIGEST
   DAN NOBLE   WASHINGTON=   Marketing to the Hispanic community in the United States,3stores for smokers, and, housing Olympic athletes.   ===============>   A Chilean immigrant, married to an Argentinean, is helping@American companies to reach the growing and profitable Hispanic@market in the United States. Isabel Valdes heads the Los Altos,>California-based Hispanic Market Connections. She started thecompany, in a garage, 1985.B   Ms Valdes' firm conducts market research for such companies as:Honda, General Foods and Citibank. It's been described by8Hispanic business magazine as "a major force behind theAmaturation of Hispanic market research in America." The New YorkAState Federation of Hispanic Chambers of Commerce recently cited.Isabel Caldes as "businesswoman of the year."<   The award-winning marketing executive told the Christian=Science Monitor that "my company has always grown because my<clients have pushed me to succeed." But Ms. Valdes told the=Christian Science Monitor that "American companies are stillBusing the same, dated stereotypes when advertising to the rapidly>growing Hispanic community." One manufacturer, she talked to,Adescribed the Hispanic-American market as one with little money.AThe fact is, she says is that the Hispanic community in the U.S.(already is a 240 billion dollar market.?   Isabel Valdes tells clients that "the United States has the>fourth largest Hispanic population in the world (24 million),(behind Mexico, Colombia and Argentina."=   She adds that to attract this specialized market she uses:special techniques. She says that "Hispanics are visually>oriented. With Hispanic people, if they don't see the product@visually they will not make the connection because some of them'cannot read the words on the product."   ===============>   There are very few places where American smokers can enjoy>their habit. No smoking rules now apply on domestic airlines,@many offices and in a growing number of restaurants and stores.;But there is at least one place where cigarette lovers are9finding a haven: The Smokers Hub in Waterford, Michigan.A   The Wall Street Journal says that there are approximately 200?cigarette stores, like the hub, which specialize in cigarettes<and other smoking products. According to the newspaper, "at;Smokers Hub, employees quietly encourage customers to take=advantage of the fact that they can smoke in the store." TheBstores, reports the journal "provide a kind of oasis. These days,@many supermarkets, drugstores and convenience stores stock onlyBbest-selling brands, enforce no-smoking rules and keep cigarettes9behind the counter or locked up to prevent shoplifting.">   Ruth Butler, one of the customers at the Smokers Hub, says>that she's, in her words, "so sick of being the dirty guy. We&ought to have some rights somewhere."B   According to the Journal, "the cigarettes-only stores now make@up 5% to 8% of the estimated 50 billion dollar retail cigarette@market, up from about 3% last year. The new retailing format isexpected to grow."   ===============>   The opening of the 1996 summer Olympics games won't be for?another year. But, communities in and around Atlanta, Georgia,Bwhere the games will be held, have already started competing. TheBNew York Times reports that dozens of cities within a five to six?hour radius of Atlanta are trying to attract teams to train intheir communities.7   For example, the Ukranian Olympic Team will come to=Carrollton, Georgia, west of Atlanta. The Times says that it>happened this way: "Tommy knew Leah, whose husband, Love, ran@track in college where his coach was Mel, whose lawyer is Bill,?who is married to Laryssa, who is originally from Ukraine." It6is, what the newspaper calls "the southern version of@networking," which helped Carrollton get the Ukrainians to staythere.>   According to the newspaper, "whether it is Hendersonville,@North Carolina, where the New Zealand swimming team will train,Bor Albany, Georgia, where the small Belize team will work out, orBTupelo, Mississippi, where the Croatian teams will limber up, the<motivation seems the same: The desire to participate in the@spirit of the games and parade their communities before part of?the distant world."  In the case of Croatia, Tupelo had as the@town's representative Stan Gusich, "a Croatian-American who had>15-years' experience with southern ways." Mr. Gusich told the8times that "the Croats told us that everybody sent them5invitations, but the key was that Tupelo sent them aCroatian-American.";   Gainesville, Georgia, a city of 18,000 has a new boxing8gymnasium. The facility has been chosen as the training?headquarters for teams from American samoa, equatorial Guinea,=Fiji, Tanzania, Tonga and Uganda. Ernie Gates, co-founder of>Gainesville's Gold Rush Boxing Club, which serves many of theAregion's poor, black and Hispanic young men, says that "a lot of>these countries have small teams and don't have the money forAother facilities." Mister gates says that the athletes will live:with the residents and will probably be fed free in local
restaurants.B   In fact, teams from 37-countries have already signed contracts<to train in area communities. But with close to 200-nations?expected to participate in the games, it means a lot more work9for the Georgia olympic training alliance in the state's+department of industry, trade and tourism.   ---------------   ---------------   U.S. AGRICULTURAL ROUNDUP
   ROB SIVAK   WASHINGTONA   A heat wave in the American Midwest is taking a heavy toll on>livestock; Congress and the White House wrangle over new foodAsafety regulations; The U.S. agriculture secretary says the U.S.@and Canada still have some thorny farm trade issues to resolve;ABudget-cutting congressional lawmakers say farm export promotionsubsidies have got to go.=   A record-breaking heat wave has seared the American great7plains and Midwest for most of this week, with daytime=temperatures reaching above 38 degrees celsius from Texas toBNorth Dakota. The hot weather has put a strain on everyone trying>to keep cool. But it's also caused the deaths of thousands of>cattle. County extension director Don Baker said Thursday the;cattle in his state of Iowa have been especially hard hit:B   "The latest estimate I have heard is 25 hundred cattle lost in<about a two-county area. There are other counties that haveBlosses, also. The reason of course is the combination of heat and1humidity, and the lack of air movement or wind."9   Even as volunteer firefighters are being called in byBproducers to hose down their heat-stressed herds, rendering plant@operators are being asked to help with the disposal of the dead@animals. Most of the victims, said Mr. Baker, have been feedlot8steers near their market weights of between 500 and 600kilograms:=   "Disposal of them is going to be part of the problem. The?rendering plants are picking them up just as fast as they can,Bbut they of course have limitations. Some are going to be burying>them. There are restrictions and limitations on how many, andBwhere they can be buried and this type of thing. That is going to6be something of a problem for some of the producers."A   Don Baker said producers with market-ready herds will be hurtAby the sudden losses. Across the country, the week-long heatwave?has cost them an estimated two million dollars so far. But Mr.>Baker said it is unlikely the heat-related cattle deaths will:have any impact on consumer meat supplies or beef prices.   ===============>   The debate over how to improve the safety of the U.S. food;supply continued this week. U.S. agriculture Secretary DanBGlickman on Wednesday said mandatory microbial tests and improved7slaughterhouse monitoring systems, part of the ClintonAAdministration's proposed meat inspection plan, are essential to=reducing the widespread problem of food-borne illness in the:United States. Mr. Glickman told a food industry group in8Washington he is unhappy with the recent vote (6/28) byBcongressional lawmakers to delay those meat inspection proceduresfor another year:@   "Many of them claim that the delay is necessary because theyBhave not had a fair opportunity to participate in the rule-making>process. Now, the fact is that we held many public briefings,>scientific conferences. This has been around a long period oftime."A   Secretary Glickman told his audience he plans to hold his own?series of hearings soon on the food safety issue, and but whenBasked if is he willing to negotiate a deal with the meat industry<on food safety regulations, the agriculture secretary said,;emphatically, no. Mr. Glickman likened that to the Federal;Aviation Administration negotiating engine safety with theairline industry:<   "The FAA (the Federal Aviation Administration) would not?negotiate how to conduct engine inspections with the airlines.0The public interest has to be dealt with here."<   U.S. secretary of agriculture Dan Glickman. In a relatedAdevelopment, the U.S. agriculture department announced this week=it is collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control andBPrevention to gather new data on the extent of food borne illnessin the United States.@   In his address to the food industry group, Mr. Glickman also=expressed concern about continued tensions in the farm tradeBbetween the United States and Canada. Mr. Glickman was commenting@on a preliminary report released last week by the ten-month old=Canadian-U.S. joint commission on grains, which, among otherArecommendations, calls for an end to subsidized grain exports byBboth nations. Secretary Glickman said the report leaves uncertain?the fate of U.S. imposed tariff-style quotas on Canadian grain;imports into the United States, quotas which expire in midSeptember:@   "I don't know if we are going to be able to get an extension@of the tariff-rate quotas. I suspect the real meat of the issueAwill come down towards sometime in September when a judgment has@to be made about Canadian grain flowing into the United States,Aand how much it will be, and whether there will be any effort to>manage that, perhaps short of a tariff-rate quota extension."A   Trade tensions between the U.S. and Canada flared last Sunday<in a new cross-border fishing dispute. Hundreds of Canadian?fishing boats were reported to have surrounded a 500 passenger>Alaskan ferry in Prince Rupert Harbor, near southern Alaska'sBcoastal border with British Colombia. The fishers were reportedly?protesting Alaska's veto of a us-Canadian deal to regulate the<1995 salmon-fishing season. Alaska plans to let its fishersAharvest nearly a quarter million chinook, less than U.S. fishers<had hoped for, but a figure 40 percent higher than Canadianscientists recommend.>   The Canadian boats blared their horns and blocked the U.S.:ferry about 300 meters from the dock, and passengers saidBprotesters threw eggs and beer cans at the ferry. A spokesman for;the British Columbia fisheries survival coalition said the<protest was designed to show support for Canadian fisheries?minister Brian Tobin, who met this week on the west coast withAU.S. officials. During an interview on Canada's "Sunday edition"BTV program, which aired last Sunday, Alaska Governor Tony KnowlesAsaid the state's fishers will take a total of 175 million salmonAthis year, which he called a sustainable level. Governor KnowlesBalso accused Canadian fisheries minister Tobin of using political:rhetoric in the dispute at the expense of sound fisheriesmanagement.   ===============<   Democratic Congressman Charles Schumer of New York and a?coalition of house lawmakers and public interest groups told a:Capitol Hill news briefing this week they are introducingBlegislation to kill a major agricultural subsidy. The 10-year-oldAfederal program was designed to help U.S. food companies developBnew international markets for their products. Congressman SchumerAsaid the U.S. agriculture department's Market Promotion Program,>or MPP, was a bad idea at the time Congress authorized it, to4curry the California agribusiness vote, he charged.=   Now, one and a quarter billion dollars later, CongressmanASchumer said taxpayer subsidies for wealthy U.S. fruit, nut, and'wine companies are an even worse idea:;   "Over the past ten years, MPP grants have gone to giantAcorporations and agribusinesses that routinely spend millions ofAdollars of their own money to advertise. Seventy million dollars:in MPP grants have gone to Sunkist. Forty million to Blue;Diamond. Sunsweet, twenty million. Gallo, sixteen million.APillsbury, ten million. M&M, Mars, Hershey, and Nestle got seven;million. And a little company that makes hamburgers called%McDonald's got one million dollars."A   Congressman Schumer told reporters he has nothing against anyBof these companies or their products, which he said "help Americatick":A   "But it is simply wrong for corporations that grace the pages>of fortune magazine to receive taxpayer handouts, especially,Aespecially, especially, at a time when we are cutting the budgeteverywhere else."5   The New York democrat's sentiments were echoed by=newly-elected Republican Congressman Frank Lobiando. He said@bi-partisan support for killing the market promotion program is;building because of the painful budget-cutting process nowunderway in Washington:=   "To me, this is a rather easy decision to make. This is a?program that has no place in the federal government. These areAcorporations that are well-established and well-able to fend for>themselves. And I want to do everything I can to join with my7colleagues to make sure that this worthless program is
eliminated."?   It might be an uphill battle, nonetheless. U.S. agriculture;department officials staunchly defend the market promotion6program as an important factor in America's currently6record-breaking farm export performance, with steady,>double-digit percentage gains in the value added exports mostAheavily promoted with MPP funds. Officials also note that the 859million dollars now being spent on U.S. market promotion@subsidies is less than what the European Union spends each year=promoting a single export commodity, wine. Indeed, most U.S.Blawmakers appear to favor the MPP, having voted earlier this year:to give the subsidy program a 25 million-dollar increase.   ---------------   ---------------   COMPUTER DIGEST
   DAN NOBLE   WASHINGTON@   Using the Internet to make high-tech financial transactions,Athe growth of electronically-prepared business newsletters, moreAAmerican women are using computer networks, and, a computer chip,to block violent programming on television.
   CYBERCASHA   The Wall Street Journal reports that two companies, cybercash=incorporated, and the Checkfree Corporation, are expected to>announce plans "to jointly develop a system for safely making?financial transactions over the Internet." Checkfree, based in>Columbus, Ohio, "already has some 250,000 customers who write@checks with intuit incorporated's quicken computer software and8other money-management programs, and then pay the billsAelectronically." These customers will now be able to use Reston,>Virginia-headquartered cybercash's technology "for encrypting@financial information to send credit-card numbers of electroniccash over the Internet."   NEWSLETTERS@   A study conducted by Northwestern University's Medill SchoolAof Journalism, in Evanston, Illinois, finds that "in the history;of publishing, there may be no greater nor, paradoxically,@lesser-known success story than the newsletter industry's rapid@evolution, market acceptance, and extreme profitability." These9four to eight-page publications focus exclusively on the>interests of specific groups and industries. The topics rangeBfrom "electric vehicles to urban planning and public relations to=health-care reform." The Christian Science Monitor says thatB"total revenues for the 8,000 to 10,000 for-profit newsletters in>North America exceed $2 billion." According to the newspaper,Anewsletter publishers "are riding the trends sweeping publishing@and other industries: steady fragmentation into specialties and@the growing popularity of personal computers, the Internet, and<other technology." Jim Sinkinson, a former president of theBNewsletter Publishers Association says that in the future he sees4more fragmentation of markets, "a greater degree ofBspecialization, and a higher need for information." The Christian>Science Monitor notes that today, "while the vast majority of>newsletters are distributed through the mail, 1 in four firms,obtain them on-line," directly to computer.   WOMEN ON THE NET=   More women are using the Internet. USA Today reports that?"although conventional wisdom has long put the ratio of men to=women on-line at 9 to 1, a survey out last month (June) from;Matrix Information & Directory Services, of Austin, Texas,?suggests a ratio closer to 2 to 1." Now, on the net there "are?compilations of women's health resources, databases devoted to=women in politics, (and) reviews of feminist films. Women go>online to work, to join support groups and just to have fun.">Eileen Mullin, managing editor of Webweek Magazine, says that>"women should realize that having online access means they'reempowering themselves."   THE V-CHIP@   The U.S. House of Representatives is considering legislation@to "require television manufacturers to include a chip to block@violent shows in all new sets." Using the device, parents would@be allowed to decide whether or not their youngsters could viewAcertain programs. The U.S. Senate included a similar requirement@"as part of a sweeping telecommunications bill that passed lastAmonth."  On Monday, President Clinton endorsed the concept. But,Areports the New York Times, "broadcasters have been fighting the8idea, arguing that it would be tantamount to governmentBcensorship and would not be effective." Senator Larry Pressler, a;Republican from South Dakota, and chairman of the commerceBcommittee, says that "censorship and mandates are not the answer.AParents," he continues, "should assert the responsibility to use@technologies already available to keep harmful programming fromtheir children."   ---------------   ---------------$   THE POPE'S PAPAL LETTER ON WOMEN   DEBORAH COOPER   WASHINGTON@   This week, pope John Paul the second released a papal letter:apologizing to women for past discrimination in the Roman>Catholic Church. The 19-page letter acknowledged a dismissiveBattitude toward women and condemned sexual violence. But the holy?father also reaffirmed the church's traditional stance barring=women from the priesthood. And he maintained that aborting aBfetus that resulted from rape is a sin, even though the woman, in@the Pope's words, "is not to be blamed." American Catholics are4commenting on the implications of the papal letter.>   Rita Greenwald is the president of the National Council ofBCatholic Women. She says that the Pope's letter represents a step5forward in the Catholic Church's treatment of women:?   "For me, it was a very wonderful letter. He was showing his?affirmation once again by calling attention to the dignity and@equality of women. In his letter, I think for the first time he>was offering an apology for the many times throughout history@where women were not recognized for the many contributions they>have made to society throughout the world. So I saw this as a?very positive statement, showing that he was in solidarity and?sympathy with women. This is something that women often do not?hear. It's very important that this document is widely read soAthat it filters down to the local level so that the women in the9pew come to know what the holy father has said to them.">   But Sister Maureen Fiedler, co-director of Catholics speak<out, argues that the papal letter does not show a change in+Vatican policy toward women in the church:B   "Theologically, there is no breakthrough at all in the letter.BIn fact, it's much of the same thing that he said before repeated=in slightly softer and more positive language. He refuses to?ordain women. He refuses to recognize their moral adulthood in>making decisions in the areas of sexuality and reproduction."8   The Roman Catholic nun says the Pope's letter simply=reiterates the traditional church attitudes regarding women:B   "The writing on women here is very stereotypical. He still hasBwomen limited in the home, in certain roles that have always been;the stereotypes of women. He hasn't broken through the old.anthropology, if you will, of men and women.":   Sister Fiedler says the papal letter can prove useful,=however, by heightening awareness of issues such as violencetoward women:?   "I would hope it would lead some priests to actually preachBabout that subject in their Sunday service. I think that would beAa positive thing. Having traveled in Latin America, where I knowBthe women's movement has focused on the issue of violence againstBwomen, and in other parts of the world where it's very focused on@that issue, it could be more helpful there, perhaps, then here.<I'm glad to see some of the underlining about that issue inhere."?   Ultimately, however, Sister Fiedler feels there will not be9full equality of the sexes in the church until women are:ordained. The ordination controversy, according to SisterBFiedler, stems from a theological disagreement with the Pope over%the intended roles of men and women:?   "He goes into the story of the creation of man and woman inBgenesis and he talks about woman being the helpmate of man. Well,;that's a theology and a philosophy of woman that makes her>secondary to man. What he needs to get acquainted with is the@theology of mutuality whereby either men or women are complete,:whole human beings in and of themselves and each one is a=helpmate for the other, in life and in all aspects of life."@   But Rita Greenwald of the National Council of Catholic Women>argues that women already have a unique and important role toplay within the church:A   "It is living their life in witness to their faith. That is a<tremendous contribution. We also ask our women, through ourBprograms, to serve within the church by using the gifts that they have in service to the church."A   Rita Greenwald says that the Pope's letter will have positiveAimplications for women in the church through its acknowledgementof their efforts:<   "He points out the importance, he calls attention to allBwomen: Women who are mothers, women who work, he just going right=across society, calling attention to women from all walks of>life. Having worked with women for many years, I'm very aware=that many women do not feel that they are recognized for the@contributions that they make. It isn't that they're out looking<for congratulations or acknowledgement, but they need to beacknowledged as women."?   But Sister Maureen Fiedler says her organization, Catholics@Speak Out, is already discussing ways to protest what they feel<is the Pope's inadequate response to current conditions forwomen:?   "We've talked about the possibility of a 'return to sender'Acampaign where women would take the text of the letter, stamp it>'return to sender,' and say, 'write back when you're ready to
ordain us.'"?   The papal letter comes several weeks in advance of the U.N.<Conference on women scheduled for September in Beijing. The=Vatican came under attack at a U.N. Population conference in6Cairo last year by refusing to accept language in the<conference's document referring to abortion. Some observers<believe the timing of the the Pope's letter, which outlinesAseveral positions acceptable to most women's rights activist, is=intended to set a more positive tone for the Beijing women'sconference.   ---------------   ---------------%   JACKSONVILLE ELECTS BLACK SHERIFF   MARILYN SILVEY   WASHINGTONA   A black American man who decided to be a police officer after@listening to detective stories on the radio as a child has beenAelected sheriff of a large southern city. Marilyn silvey reports<that the election is being called a civil rights milestone.A   Jacksonville, the largest city in the southern American state?of Florida, has a checkered (mixed) history of race relations.7But Jacksonville citizens have just voted in the first<African-American sheriff to be elected in the state in thisBcentury. The new sheriff, who will head the police department, isBNat Glover, a former city police officer. He says he is proud forseveral reasons:>   "The historical component is certainly significant and I'm@proud of that, but what I'm most proud of is being a citizen ofAJacksonville, Florida. You know, Jacksonville has been perceived?as a town with racial problems, but I knew and realized early,?that if I could get my message out, and kept my qualifications?out there, that the citizens of Jacksonville would consider me=seriously as a candidate, and that's exactly what happened.">   Americans in most communities are worried about increasing@crime. Mr. Glover says he intends to emphasize more cooperation/between citizens and law enforcement officers::   "Law enforcement (officers) for too long have told the=communities throughout this country, 'law enforcement is our@business so let us handle it.' but, in fact, law enforcement isBall of our business, and I think we can get everybody involved inAlaw enforcement, not only the law enforcement end of it, but thepreventive end of it as well.";   Mr. Glover says Jacksonville's citizens, especially the<minority citizens -are demanding safer streets and more law3enforcement, and he intends to meet their demands.   ---------------   ---------------   NAACP CONVENTION   PAUL FRANCUCH   CHICAGO;   The National Association for the Advancement of Colored<People, the "NAACP", held its 86th annual convention in theBMidwest city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, this past week. And whileBrecent court decisions which appear to imperil civil rights gains<were high on the discussion agenda, much of the talk at the?convention centered on the organization's financial condition.@   An audit by the accounting firm of coopers and Lybrand shows<the nation's oldest civil rights organization has failed to=effectively monitor its costs and that several expenses lackaccountability.?   The NAACP is burdened by a nearly four-million dollar debt,Aand the audit shows that some former leaders of the organization=often spent its money lavishly on themselves, rather than on!efforts to further civil rights.>   Those mentioned in particular include former NAACP leaders>William Gibson, Benjamin Chavis and Benjamin Hooks. The audit;report speaks of credit card charges for personal airplaneAtickets, for the use of limousines to shuttle them to functions,@for luxury hotel room accommodations and other lavish expenses.B   Mr. Chavis resigned under pressure as leader of the NAACP last=year after a former assistant filed a sexual harassment suit;against him. That suit was settled using more than 300,000@dollars from NAACP funds. Dr. Gibson was narrowly defeated this>past February in a bid to retain his leadership of the NAACP,@losing to Myrlie Evers-Williams, a former advertising executive<and the first black woman to serve as a director on the LosAngeles board of public works.?   Mrs. Evers-Williams is also the widow of slain NAACP leaderBMedgar Evers. His killer was convicted of the crime some 30 years=after the slaying, thanks largely to the persistence of Mrs.7Evers-Williams in bringing the accused man to justice.7   Since taking over the leadership of the NAACP, Mrs.@Evers-Williams has succeeded in raising contribution pledges to<the organization, however its expenses still overshadow its?income. Staff levels at the organization's headquarters in the?east coast city of Baltimore Maryland are being trimmed to cut8costs. The convention in Minneapolis this past week was?threatened because hotel operators were alarmed by outstanding:hotel debts left after last year's convention in Chicago.9   There is hope within the National Association for the@Advancement of Colored People that Mrs. Evers-Williams will end=the financial mismanagement so the organization can re-focus@efforts on civil rights issues. Recent Supreme Court rulings on>Congressional redistricting, the policy known as "affirmativeBaction" designed to correct prior racial injustice, and on schoolBdesegregation have served as a rallying cry for the organization.=And the NAACP says it will focus efforts on registering someBseven million African Americans who are eligible to vote and urge8them to cast ballots in next year's national elections.   ---------------   ---------------#   NY "NEWSDAY" CEASES PUBLICATION   BRECK ARDERY   NEW YORK7   New York "Newsday," one of four New York City daily>newspapers, is ceasing publication after a 10-year battle forprofitability.@   The Times Mirror company, which owns "Newsday" announced the>New York City paper will cease publication with this Sunday's>(7/9) edition the last. The decision ends a 10-year effort toBestablish New York "Newsday" as a viable competitor to the "Post"Aand the "Daily News,'" the two other daily tabloid newspapers in
New York.@   Analysts say that, during its 10-year life, "Newsday" lost aAcumulative total of about 100 million dollars. Newspaper critics?generally had praise for "Newsday" but it never gained a large?circulation. Part of the problem, they say, is that the paper,Aalthough a tabloid, was a much more serious publication than its@rivals. Many potential "Newsday" readers also read the New York<"Times" and did not have the time or interest for two dailynewspapers.A   The decision to shut down the New York "Newsday" will have noBeffect on the original Long Island "Newsday," the very successful@suburban paper which is also owned by the Times Mirror company.   ---------------   ---------------   U.S. TERRORISM ALERT   LAURI NEFF   STATE DEPARTMENTB   U.S. officials are linking a pro-Iranian Lebanese group to the*terrorist alert issued for South America.;   U.S. officials, who asked not to be identified, say the;terrorist threat reported for South America comes from theBpro-Iranian Lebanese group, Hezbollah. And there are reports that:U.S. targets in Argentina may be the focus of the threat.;   Argentine officials, meanwhile, say they are beefing up?security especially in and around U.S. diplomatic missions andinstallations.<   The comments come after the State Department said it had>information that Middle Eastern terrorists may be planning an@attack against an unspecified U.S. target in South America this@month. The department gave no specific country or date, and did-not say who they believe the terrorists are.B   Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a car bombing at a JewishAcommunity center in Buenos Aires one year ago that killed nearlyA90 people. Several suspects in a 1992 car bombing at the Israeli>embassy in the Argentine capital have also been linked to thepro-Iranian group.?   Hezbollah is also believed to have a training base near the@borders of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, home to thousands of#Lebanese, Jordanians and Iranians.A   In Lebanon, Hezbollah often launches guerrilla attacks, in anAeffort to force Israel out of its self-declared security zone insouthern Lebanon.   ---------------   ---------------/   ADMISTRATION CONSIDERS ANTI-TOBACCO ACTIONS   DEBORAH TATE   WHITE HOUSE@   President Clinton says he supports greater government actionBto try to prevent young people from smoking. His comments come as?administration officials say the White House is discussing new>anti-tobacco proposals with the food drug administration. But?such proposals could have difficult political implications forthe president.=   The food and drug administration (FDA) has concluded that@nicotine, a key ingredient in cigarettes, is a drug. The agency:is seeking White House approval for new limits on tobacco:advertising and curbs on cigarette sales to young people.A   At the White House, officials confirm they are discussing theproposals with the FDA.<   President Clinton, however, says he has not received any@recommendation from the agency, but says he agrees in principleBabout the need for stricter regulations aimed at preventing youngpeople from smoking:A   "My concern is apparently what the FDA's concern is, and thatBis the impact of cigarette smoking seems to be going up among our?young people and certainly among certain groups of them. And I@think we ought to do more about that than is being done and I'mwilling to do that."B   But the issue is a politically sensitive one for the presidentfor two reasons.>   First, the Republican-led Congress is seeking to roll backregulations on industry.=   Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich immediately:criticized the FDA's plan, saying it represents a case of?government interference in business. He says the FDA 'has lost>its mind', as he put it, in targetting tobacco companies at aBtime when the use of illegal drugs like heroin and cocaine are onthe rise in the United States.?   But there is a more important reason for the issue to be so;politically charged. Tobacco is key to the economy of some:southern states, which will be important to Mr. Clinton'sre-election effort next year.@   Lawmakers from tobacco-growing states are angered by the FDA<proposals. Republican Congressman Howard Coble says, in his>words, he is annoyed by efforts to make it seem like there is!something illegal about tobacco.?   Tobacco companies are also, naturally, not pleased with the:proposals. The tobacco giant Philip Morris says it agrees9children should not smoke, but says it has already taken8voluntary steps to restrict cigarette access to minors.<   But the FDA does have support for its proposals from the@influential American Medical Association, which says some threeBmillion people world-wide die prematurely from diseases linked to:smoking. The American Heart Association and American Lung>Association also endorse the proposals, citing the dangers of	smoking.   ---------------   ---------------?   REPORT ON TOBACCO INDUSTRY DOCUMENTS ON ADDITION AND CANCER   PAUL FRANCUCH   CHICAGO;   The Chicago-based American Medical Association Thursday>released results of an extensive review of documents obtained;both anonymously and by Congressional subpoena from one ofBAmerica's leading tobacco companies. The documents, says the AMA,>show the company withheld research data gathered 30 years agoAshowing cigarette smoking leads to nicotine addiction and causescancer.?   The report takes up the entire issue of next week's "Jama",Bthe Journal of the American Medical Association. It analyses someAfour thousand pages of documents both sent anonymously last yearBto a University of California professor and documents obtained byACalifornia Congressman Henry Waxman. All the documents came from@"Brown and Williamson Tobacco Company," the American subsidiary)of the British-American Tobacco Company.9   The California professor who got the anonymously-sentBdocuments is Stanton Glantz ("glance"), who has spent years doing:research on the effects of smoking. Professor Glantz toldBreporters at a briefing at the AMA's headquarters in Chicago thatAthe documents prove Brown and Williamson knew long ago about the,detrimental health effects of its products:>   "People have felt for years that the tobacco industry knewAnicotine was addictive, that they knew smoking caused cancer and@other diseases, because that's what the truth is. But there hadBreally been no clear documentation of this before these documents
arrived."@   Professor Glantz says he was impressed by the quality of the=tobacco research which he calls years ahead of anything elsebeing done at the time:=   "By the early (19)60s, they were routinely discussing theBaddictive nature of tobacco smoke, of nicotine. It was taken as a@given. And it wasn't until 1988, about 25 years later, that the;surgeon general finally recognized nicotine as addictive."A   Professor Glantz says the documents show Brown and Williamson=Tobacco had considered sharing its research with the federal=government's office of the surgeon general, which during the;1960s began formulating warnings about the health risks of@smoking. But Mr. Glantz says company lawyers put an end to thatidea:;   "At the same time that they were doing this work, theirBlawyers were becoming more and more concerned about the liabilityAthat they would entail if any of this very high quality research8were to become public. And they developed a complex and@sophisticated strategy of routing their scientific work through?the legal department as a way of then claiming attorney-client<privilege and attorney word product as a way of refusing toBdisclose this information to the public, to the government and to
the courts."<   The American Medical Association says some three million@people around the world die early deaths due to diseases linkedAto smoking, and that the habit adds substantially to the cost of=health care. The AMA wants the federal government to tighten?curbs on sale of cigarettes to youngsters and limit promotions=aimed at making kids familiar with various cigarette brands.B   In responding to the American Medical Association allegations,>brown and Williamson issued a statement saying the documents,Bwhich the company claims were stolen, amount to nothing more than@an attempt by the AMA, in the words of the company, to "advance@its stated mission to eliminate smoking." The company calls the>medical journal report a "rehash of allegations" and that the?documents "do not provide a complete picture." That prompted aresponse by professor Glantz:A   "If these documents are somehow not representative, I suggest?Brown and Williamson open their books and make everything they?have available. And in fact, I think all the tobacco companies3should. And then people can judge for themselves."@   The American Medical Association is calling upon the federal7government to hasten efforts to guarantee a smoke-freeBenvironment in public facilities and where people work. While notAcalling for a ban on cigarettes, which the AMA says could not beAenforced, it does call for a "dramatic increase" in excise taxes<on tobacco to help pay for rising medical expenses. And the?physicians group urges the government to prevent the export of%American tobacco to other countries.   ---------------   ---------------   CITY OR SUBURB   ZLATICA HOKE   WASHINGTONA   City or suburb? Maybe even the country? The American dream is@still within reach for those who want a house, a car and a yard>for their children. But others prefer what they see as a more2exciting life in the city. To live today and why.A   The stereotype image of middle-class American life-style is a=single family home in the suburbs. And indeed many Americans;refuse to live in the city. Deidra Doyle from Annandale, a=Washington D.C. Suburb in Virginia expresses what many feel:A   "I think that the city is a kind of a...hostile place. People-have a tendency to stay more to themselves."B   But a city dweller in the United States does not agree and may?be equally horrified of living in the suburbs. Jeffrey VinnickAlives with his wife and two children in an apartment building inBa residential area of Washington D.C. He recalls what it was like;living in what he calls a "faceless suburb" outside Miami,	Florida:A   "I was very struck by how homogenous it all seemed to be, howAit was one small development after another and none of them with@any particular character. The landmarks for a neighborhood were@the shopping centers and what stores were in them. There was noAreal core to any of the areas that I knew down in Florida except=the heart of Miami which really is a city in its own right."A   Jeffrey Vinnick says what he likes about living in Washington?is that he can walk to a food store, cafe and video rental and)can get almost anywhere by bus or metro.7   However, to most Americans as well as newly arrived@immigrants, the American dream of owning a home, a car and some;land is so important that they are willing to give up city>attractions. And many say that prefer a quiet neighborhood or#even isolation when they get home.<   Kenneth Thomas Jackson, professor of history at Columbia;University in New York City, and author of the book titled@"Crabgrass Frontier: Suburbanization of the United States" says=more people are able to buy a home in the United States thananywhere in the world:?   "I think that's part of the idea of the dream - if you workAhard in the United States, you can get that house. You can driveByour car and you can get the house. And to a lot of people that's<really what they want. And the idea of getting together andBenjoying the conviviality and the tumble and the tide of the city?is not as attractive to them as having the house and the car.">   Kenneth Thomas Jackson says the automobile industry in theBbeginning of this century enabled a more rapid suburbanization in'America than in the rest of the world.B   Shelley Poticha of Calthorpe Associates, an urban planning and?architecture consultant firm in San Francisco, California saysBthe automobile industry and relatively cheap gasoline also led to8a new pattern of development which discouraged walking:7   "Since World War II that pattern has really changed?substantially. We really got very much more auto oriented. The>street car system declined and the way that we got around wasAexclusively by car and so that allowed huge new areas of land to>be opened up for development. And that also led to a very new=pattern of development that was based on neighborhoods whereBinstead of walking to main street, like our traditional towns, it-was very much - drive to a shopping center!"@   Shelley Poticha says the overgrowth of suburban areas causesBnumerous problems. She cites, for example, air pollution from car=exhaust in the suburbs around Phoenix, Arizona, and economic=problems in some parts of California where, she says, people9cannot get to their jobs in a reasonable amount of time.A   But if people cannot get to their jobs, maybe jobs can get toAthem. So, in the last 20 to 30 years many corporations, shoppingAmalls, doctor's offices and manufacturing plants have moved from9the cities to the suburbs. Professor Jackson of ColumbiaAUniversity says this has created a new kind of metropolitan areathat has no core.@   Germantown in suburban Maryland is an example. The town does@not have a main street, or a townhall or a central city square.?But young couples in need of a home don't seem to mind. Victor<Kubli and his wife Lina bought a town house in a Germantown>community when they got married 5 years ago. Mr. Kubli admits?that it would be nice to have a cafe in the community where he*lives, but he looks on the positive side:B   "I can go out on the deck in the back and I can look for quite?a while without my sight being interrupted. Yet if I go in theBfront and want to say 'hi' or make a comment to a neighbor, there<is the social interaction that I always would miss if I wasBliving in a real country where there is a vast separation betweenthe homes."?   Like most Americans Victor Kubli grew up in the suburbs andBhas not spent much time in the city. He says he finds cities likeANew York and Washington D.C. Too expensive, too tiring, polluted@and not safe for children. And his office is located in another7Washington suburb so he never has to go into the city.>   Professor Kenneth Thomas Jackson and urban planner ShelleyAPoticha say a growing number of people in such new neighborhoods?may spend their entire life without visiting the nearest city.>They agree that more and more people live in isolation in the:faceless new suburbs with no common areas and the nearest%entertainment area a car-drive away.=   A number of people are trying to reverse the trend towardAsuburban sprawl. Ms Poticha says there is a movement underway to?design suburbs to be like old cities with main streets, corner<shops, sidewalks and other areas where people will meet andBsocialize. People buy what is offered, she says and they get used@to it. But she says there is more and more evidence that, given<the choice, Americans would opt to live in a community that6offers both a good home and a better quality of life.   ---------------   ---------------"   RACIAL LENDING PRACTICES STUDY   PAUL FRANCUCH   CHICAGO>   A new study just released Wednesday by the Federal Reserve:Bank of Chicago suggests while race is seldom a factor inBdetermining who gets home mortgage loans, some evidence of racial;discrimination occurs among borrowers who have poor creditArecords. The study further suggests banks reassess their lendingpractices.A   The study by Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago chief researcher<William Hunter examines data gathered by the Boston FederalAReserve Bank that suggests while people with good credit records>have no trouble getting loans, regardless of race, blacks and?Hispanics with bad records are denied loans at a significantlyhigher rate than whites.B   Mr. Hunter told reporters in Chicago the problem may be due to>what he describes as a lack of cultural affinity between loanBofficers who are white and applicants who are members of minority8groups. While federal law prohibits race as a factor in?determining who gets a loan, Mr. Hunter says the data from theAextensive Boston study suggests white bankers are sometimes moreAwilling to dig further into the credit backgrounds of white loan?applications who appear to be bad risks. That extra background=search often results in loan approvals. Mr. Hunter says manyAbanks are becoming sensitive to this kind of discrimination, andare taking measures to end it:B   "Banks should be more pro-active in making sure that they haveAdiversified lending staffs. There are lots of evidence out there8in the literature that (for) different, non-traditional@borrowers, you may not be able to use the same factors in everyAcase to judge good credits. So you want to be sensitive to those=factors. I think banks are making a good effort to do that."A   The Federal Reserve Bank economist says banks are giving loan@officers sensitivity training and are testing their officers by<sending make-believe applicants in for loans to see how thebankers treat them.6   The refined examination of the Boston data will be@supplemented with data being collected by the 11 other regional@banks in the Federal Reserve system. The Federal Reserve is the#central bank of the United States.B   William Hunter says while banks appear to be making efforts to=end discrimination in granting loans, the Justice Department>should continue monitoring compliance of federal fair lendingAstandards and take strong action when evidence of discrimination8exists. He adds the Federal Reserve studies of possible<discrimination in granting loans may prove useful to policy0makers in formulating new laws and regulations.   ---------------   ---------------   'ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE' ON THE INTERNET   HELAINE MICHAELS   WASHINGTON:   There is an ongoing myth in the United States that the8American Theater is dead or dying, but cybersurfing the7theatrical content on the Internet proves this to be a=pessimistic rumor.  In fact, there is so much information on=theater, it would take a very long time to visit every site.@   First we clicked on Netscape, one of many programs to browse@on the Internet, and typed the word "theater" in the query box.8It makes no difference how you spell it -- "theatre" or@"theater," a huge menu of choices appears on the screen.  There:are many theatrical companies throughout the world on theBInternet, but concentrating on American theater, we found a havenof activities.=   When we think of theater in the U.S., the first city that9comes to mind is New York, i.e. Broadway.  We clicked on@"Broadway Playbill" and along with articles on actors and other=backstage stories, we were given a complete listing of shows9currently playing, along with information on location of>theaters, ticket prices, casts, etc.  In addition, there wereAvarious articles on what shows were currently in rehearsal, what;shows were currently being cast, and other gossipy bits of=information. Also included were street maps indicating where@theaters were located, and information on how to order tickets.@Some theaters even offered graphics indicating interior seatingarrangements.:   Broadway, however, does not have a monopoly on what is;considered good theater in the U.S.  There are college and@regional theaters that offer quality productions of new and oldBAmerican plays, Shakespeare, Shaw, Wilde, and other great masters>of the drama.  Information on these, too, can be found on the
Internet.:   "The Theater Central Web Page Table of Contents" lists8Theatrical Contacts, Resources (Lists, Sites, and OtherAResources), Playwrights, Plays, and Literature, Current Theater,8Professional Companies and Calendars, Regional Theater,BScholastic-Based Groups, Other Theater Groups, Academic Programs,3Shows and Performances, Magazines, and Newsgroups.B   We clicked on "Professional Companies and Calendars" and found;a list of regional theaters, which included:  The Alliance;Theater Company, Atlanta, Georgia; The Alabama Shakespeare?Festival, Montgomery, Alabama; The American Repertory Theater,9Cambridge, Massachusetts; The Artists Repertory Theater,:Portland, Oregon, The Barnstormers Theater, Tamworth, NewBHampshire, The Darkhorse Theater, Nashville, Tennessee; The Alley9Theater, Houston, Texas; The FAHRENHEIT Theater Company,ACincinnati, Ohio; The Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, California;:The McCarter Theater, Princeton, New Jersey; The San Jose@Children's Musical Theater, San Jose, California; TheatreWorks,>San Francisco, California, and The Wings Theater Company, NewYork, New York.>   We chose to click on "An On-line Source of Houston TheaterAInformation" because of the fine reputation of the Alley Theater=in Houston.  The Alley is one of the big regional all-EquityArepertory theaters in the U.S., with Broadway-caliber actors and>production crews.  They do a ten-play season on two differentBstages.  Also in Houston is the University of Houston's School ofBTheater, which does a four-play season.  Their home page tells us>that tickets are "really cheap" for the quality of acting andAproduction values one gets.  They say that their productions are6a little uneven, but the best compare to professionalAproductions.  They have a huge budget and lots of free labor, so=the sets and costumes are amazing.  They boast, and for good>reason, that Jose Quintero teaches directing there and EdwardAAlbee teaches playwriting, and they both do projects every year.8They also claim that the student actors are "fabulous."A   Some other U.S. universities on the Net are The University of=South Florida Theater Department, The University of VirginiaBDrama Department, Portland State University Department of TheaterAArts, and The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Theater Arts:Department.  We also found the home page of The Princeton>University (New Jersey) Triangle Club.  A poem describing the#club welcomes viewers to the page:A   "It is colorful; it is sweaty. It seems easygoing; it demands@hard work and repetitive practice. It is exhilarating; often it?forces young men to harsh realizations. It is creative; it hasBits formulas and its shortcuts. It is vital and spirited; it is a@long series of grumbles and complaints. It is self-perpetuating!eternal motion; it is vestigial.B   It is the Triangle Club; it is unique." -- Donald Marsden '64,The Long Kickline?   Triangle is the oldest college musical-comedy troupe in the=U.S. and is the only college group which creates an originalBmusical comedy each year and then performs it on a national tour.@The club has the luxury of being housed in Princeton's McCarter:Theater, winner of the Special Tony Award for Outstanding?Regional Theater for the 1993-1994 season. Each fall, the clubAperforms two shows on the Saturday night of Freshman OrientationBWeek, showcasing some of its greatest songs and sketches and someof its previous spring show.A   Triangle's home page also offered its history:  The Princeton@College Dramatic Association produced its first student-written<musical, Po-ca-hon-tas, in 1891; it changed its name to theBTriangle Club shortly thereafter, in 1893.  Nearly each and every=year since, the club has created an original musical.  EarlyBTriangle highlights included a performance of the 1913 show, "TheAPursuit of Priscilla," for President Woodrow Wilson at the White@House.  The 1935 show, "Stags at Bay," featured the song, "EastBof the Sun (and West of the Moon)," written by Brooks Bowman '36,?which became the most popular and longest lasting national hit=ever to come out of Triangle.  The song has been recorded by@Frank Sinatra, and continues to provide the club with royalties:each year.  The 1948 show, "All in Favor," was televised,Abecoming the first college show to appear on the then new mediumBof television.  With the advent of Princeton coeducation in 1969,<Triangle productions finally featured women playing women'sroles.?   The club boasts a long list of alumni who have graduated toBeminence in the creative arts.  Some of the more notable of these@include Booth Tarkington, 1893; F. Scott Fitzgerald '17; Joshua3Logan '31; James Stewart '32, and Jose Ferrer '34.@   Another interesting site we visited was The Offstage TheaterACompany in Charlottesville, Virginia.  Their home page indicated=that they are a company who performs plays in the setting ofBwhich the play takes place. In other words, if the play is set in?a furniture store, the play is performed in a furniture store.AOffstage announced that they were seeking plays with settings in<front of a log cabin, a gymnasium, a bar, and various otherBlocales.  They invited aspiring playwrights to send short one-act>plays via e-mail or their post office address.  Also on their;menu was a sample one-act play, written by a University ofAVirginia professor of drama, which they had previously produced.?   For those seeking employment in the theater, a good site toBclick on is the "Directory of Theater Professionals."  This is an<alphabetical list of people seeking employment or advice inBfields ranging from stagehand to lighting designer.  Those on the<list primarily interested in acting provided their resumes.AThere were opportunities for directors, playwrights, puppeteers,:and even street clowns.  Some individuals were requesting>information on very specialized aspects of theater like stage>combat, and we also learned a new term --  hoplology. A young@woman from Johnstown, Pennsylvania indicated on the "Directory">that she was a doctoral candidate in theatrical hoplology andAinvited netsurfers to ask her what this term meant.  We e-mailedAher and she responded that hoplology is a branch of anthropology=-- it is the study of human conflict and comes from the word"hoplite."A   The hoplites were Greek warriors.  "What that actually means,@as far as my work in theatrical hoplology goes, is that I studyAhuman behavior in situations of conflict in the context of theirAspecific culture.  Then, I apply that to the stage.  So, for the@playwright, it's a series of tools to be used when looking at aBcharacter's belief system and cultural identity, and out of that,@seeing how they would respond in situations of conflict, either/physical or otherwise," she further explained.@   We truly found much more than we expected on U.S. theater on?the Internet.  It was interesting to see what so many regionalBand college theaters were doing, but it was astounding to witness?how both theater professionals and aspiring professionals werecommunicating with each other.   --------------   ---------------B   TUSKEGEE AIRMEN COMMEMORATE ANNIVERSARY OF END OF WORLD WAR II   MARILYN SILVEY   WASHINGTON@   This year marks the 50th anniversary of the end of World War@II. Among the American veterans who are reminiscing about their?roles in the war are members of a group known as the "TuskegeeAAirmen," the first African-American flyers in the United States.=   Although the U.S. Army took its first steps toward racial<integration early in World War II, some segregated programs?continued. One was the army's aviation program, begun in 1941,@that trained pilots at the all-black Tuskegee Army Air Field inAAlabama, in the U.S. south. The 673 Tuskegee single-engine pilot6graduates, established as a segregated unit - built a<distinguished flying combat record. But they simultaneously<fought two enemies, Nazi Germany and international bigotry.A   The bigotry was so widespread, former Tuskegee Airman Colonel=Harry Sheppard Recalls, that the U.S. Army had difficulty in)placing the pilots after they graduated:>   "The coastal command of the United States air corps didn'tAwant us. And that comprised all of the locations from Maine down>to the Caribbean, anti-submarine patrol and protection of the>ports and convoy coverge; the coastal command didn't want us.<Britain didn't want us in the British Isles either, nor did?Denmark want us in Denmark or greenland or Iceland. France was/the only place that was willing to accept us."<   But Colonel Sheppard says the Tuskegee Airmen had both a@cohesion and a fighting spirit that kept them going in the faceAof discrimination. Another veteran of the group, Broadus Butler,Aagrees that these factors led to the black pilots overcoming the;obstacles against them. He says the men were determined toperform well:@   "And (we) actually proved ourselves to be better, because ifAyou look at the record which we posted and the educational level?of the personnel in our group, it was really as high or higher?than any other unit in the military services of World War II."B   That record, which included never losing a bomber in more thanAtwo thousand missions, was heralded (publicized) by the vigorousBblack newspapers of the time, as well as by such organizations as@the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.A   Colonel Sheppard says the record helped overcome the existing?racial stereotypes in the United States, especially within the
military:A   "We were accepted as men among men, finally. By and large, weAwere accepted as a unit that was performing and performing well,>in spite of some of the malicious reports that were sent back?trying to get rid of us, after we had been established. But we?found the relationships among our counterparts very pleasant.":   Every "old soldier" has lifelong memories. For Colonel?Sheppard, one unforgettable moment was the first time he saw aBplane get hit by anti-aircraft fire, and he knew that 11 men were@instantly killed. Mr. Butler recalls watching the leader of theATuskegee Airmen, then-Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, Junior, receive?a high award, the distinguished Flying Cross  from his father,AGeneral Benjamin O. Davis, Senior, the first black American army=general. In later years, retired lieutenant General Benjamin?Davis, Junior, became an official in the federal department of<transportation, and designed the surveillance system now in:effect at U.S. commercial airports which is credited withstopping airplane hijackings.@   Other nationally-known former Tuskegee Airmen include former@mayors Coleman Young of Detroit and Tom Bradley of Los Angeles,Band Percy Sutton, former manager of the borough of Long Island inNew York City.=   The United States military was desegregated in 1948. Many@African-Americans have had distinguished military careers, most=recently, General Colin Powell, former chairman of the jointchiefs of staff.B   Tuskegee airman Colonel Harry Sheppard, who served 33 years in=the military, says the integration of the military proceeded@faster than did social conditions in many parts of the country,@especially the south, which made some assignments difficult forblack soldiers:@   "The communities were 15 to 20 years behind, with hostility,>so the servicemen had difficulties quartering (housing) their9families and taking care of them, until such time as the communities began to catch up.">   But he says the racial progress in American society in the?past 50 years makes the earlier problems faced by the TuskegeeAirmen all worth the struggle:;   "Every moment of discomfort and the things that we wentAthrough were entirely worthy of our efforts, our contributions."<   According to most history books, the so-called "Tuskegee@Experiment" proved that black men could fly modern aircraft and>could conduct highly successful combat operations. HistoriansAalso give credit to the African-American pilots for helping lead;the way in the civil rights progress of the entire nation.   ---------------   ---------------   CARRYING CONCEALED WEAPONS   CARRIE L. KIRBY   WASHINGTONB   "Leave your gun at the door." Saloons in the old American west:posted such signs outside their doors. In 27 U.S. states,:modern-day stores, banks and restaurants may one day feelBcompelled to make the same request. In that many states, citizens?may legally carry a gun hidden under their clothing. A move toBrelax concealed weapons laws is gathering momentum, with Virginia$the latest state to change its law.A   Earlier this month, [on July third], people packed Virginia'sAcourthouses and police stations, they stood in long lines to get?permits to carry concealed weapons. The permits are expensive,;they cost 120 dollars, and getting them is time-consuming:@Applicants have to have their fingerprints taken, pass a course?in gun safety, and answer a lot of questions about their legalBand mental-health histories. But thousands of people were willingBto go through the process. Two applicants in Arlington, Virginia,
explain why:?   "I feel it's my constitutional right to carry a gun if I so>choose", says one applicant. " And if it's necessary to get aBpermit to exercise my constitutional right, then that's what I'lldo." Another says:>   "I think that anybody should have the right to do whatever@they want as long as it doesn't hurt somebody else, and I think>that carrying arms doesn't hurt somebody else. It's a comfort>level that I currently don't have, although if I wished to, IAcould carry a gun visually, visible, sort of in a plastic bag in@my little hand, but that's sort of goofy, I don't think anybodyreally wants to do that.">   The second amendment to the U.S. constitution says "...The8right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not beAinfringed." And some Americans say that bearing arms is the only>way to stay safe in what they feel is an increasingly violent;society. But other Virginians watched the rush for permits?nervously, afraid that allowing more people to carry concealed#weapons will lead to more killing.B   Law enforcement officials are also split over the issue. While>some see the added work to fingerprint applicants as the onlyAdrawback to the new law, Arlington County sheriff's deputy David3Feliciano [fuh-lee-see-awn-oh] has other concerns:@   "I myself and a couple of the other deputies are against it.7For the case that, for us, when we first come into the<department, we have to go through a heavy psychological andAbackground check And it will make it a lot more difficult for us.out here anybody could be carrying a weapon."B   Police major Bill Brown of Fairfax County, Virginia, says this;new law could lead to more violent settlements of ordinary
disputes:9   "We would hate to see what would normally be a verbalBaltercation, let's say in a parking lot over a parking space or a6traffic altercation, escalate to the use of weapons.">   Virginia is the sixth state to relax its weapons laws this?year. Last year, four other states changed their laws to allow=law-abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons, and similar:legislation is still pending in a number of states. UntilArecently in most states, someone had to convince a judge that heAor she really needed to carry a concealed weapon in order to get7a permit. In urban areas, permits were seldom granted.A   But then the nationwide organization of gun owners called the;National Rifle Association stepped into the picture with aBforceful lobbying campaign, encouraging state governments to passAthe legislation. Widespread Republican victories in 1994 elected=more conservative governors and legislators receptive to the?NRA's message, according to Chip Walker, an NRA spokesman. Mr.;Walker says the freedom to conceal weapons is important to
citizens:?   "Typically when people carry weapons visibly, it creates an?unwanted disturbance. Frequently the police are called, and it>creates a disturbance, and it's not very effective. And also,<carrying firearms for people is a very personal matter. And?people will carry firearms for years and no one will ever knowBthat they've ever been carrying a gun. And for many people that'sobviously very important."B   But Michael Beard, executive director of the Coalition to Stop>Gun Violence, says that the sweep of new laws does not result.from people's desire to carry concealed guns:B   "I think it's strictly because of the lobbying campaign of theBNational Rifle Association, that's playing on fear. Americans areAvery frightened, Americans feel that crime and violence is worse?than it really is in our society, there's this great fear, andBpeople feel the need to have something to protect themselves, andBthe NRA's been able to convince a lot of people that a handgun isBa way to protect themselves, when in reality it's a way of makingsociety more dangerous."@   Although there's been a rush for concealed-weapon permits inAthese states, gun sales are not up. And officials are predicting=that only one to four percent of adults will obtain permits.=   Supporters of relaxing concealed weapons laws say it will=reduce crime. They point to Florida, where the homicide rate<dropped 22 percent after that state began issuing concealedweapon permits in 1987.@   But a study by the University of Maryland found that in four?of five cities monitored, gun-related homicides increased when%concealed weapons laws were relaxed.@   Although the National Rifle Association has three-and-a-half<million members who are often vocal about the rights of gun;owners, its agenda is not always passed. Relaxed concealed>weapons legislation failed in California, Colorado, Illinois,?Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri and New Mexico. In fact, this year?Illinois made it a felony [serious crime] to illegally carry aBgun. In addition, Michael Beard points out, gun control laws haveAtightened in other ways. Assault weapons, bullets that penetrate<bullet-resistant vests, and guns that cannot be detected byBsecurity metal detectors have been banned. Some cities, including<Washington, DC, have prohibited the manufacture and sale of
handguns.A   The United States is now almost evenly divided between statesAthat issue permits allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons,@and those that do not. Both supporters and opponents agree thatAstatistics involving gun crimes will be watched closely over the@next few months to see if the new laws are making a difference,and if so, what kind.   ---------------   ---------------   THE CARING INSTITUTE   CHANA SCHOENBERGER   WASHINGTON@   Is caring for others an outdated idea? Not to the volunteersBat the Caring Institute in Washington, D.C. While politicians and?clergymen warn of the decline of values in America, the Caring;Institute, a non-profit organization in Washington, DC, is@working to promote community service and concern toward others.@Through the annual caring awards and other programs, the caring>institute aims to fill the growing moral vacuum that prompted@brothers Val and Bill Halamandaris to found the organization in@1985. Bill Halamandaris, the Caring Institute's president since1989, says:A   "The creation of the Caring Institute came as a result of theAperception that we needed to reorient our society and the belief=that society had come to focus more and more on materialism.BThese things are not bad but they are not what life is all about,;certainly not the essence of America. So we thought it was?important to highlight those things that speak to the heart of;our society, and caring for us is the essence of America.">   Every December, the Caring Institute presents the national?caring awards to honor the most caring and committed people inAAmerica. Ten adult and ten young people are chosen each year outAof hundreds of nominees from all over the country. The selectionBprocess goes on throughout the year as volunteers try to identify<those nominees whose service projects have had the greatestimpact on their community.?   Melissa Helmbrecht, a student at the American University inAWashington, DC, is a former national caring award recipient. She<says she began volunteering at a shelter in her hometown ofOrlando, Florida:B   "My mom took me to volunteer because I had failed 9th and 10thAgrade and she thought that by volunteering I might find out thatAmy life wasn't so bad, that people had it a lot worse than I did>and maybe I would turn things around that way because she had<tried everything else. And I went to volunteer and I walkedBthrough the front door of the shelter and this little girl, about@4 years old, came up to me and she tugged on my pants and asked?me to come out and play with her. And she pulled out this book@that had a bunch of maps in the back and she pointed to the map@and she said 'this is America and this is the bus station whereAthe people live.' and a light bulb went on in my head and I said@this is really a shame. When I was four years old I was playingAdolls in my room with my big canopy bed and I had a dinner on myBtable every night and I didn't even know what a bus station was.">   Her experiences at the shelter moved Melissa Helmbrecht to.devote more of her time to community service:=   "I started a volunteer club at my school, and it involved?every student from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade in communityAservice and I volunteered for four years with battered women andchildren."9   In addition to the national caring awards, the caringBinstitute sponsors several other programs to encourage service toBothers.  Melissa Helmbrecht is now the president of Youthcan, the7network of former young adult caring award recipients:?   "Now there's been 50 young adult recipients of the national@caring award and all the young adult recipients do something inAtheir own community, individually. We figure that if we can makeBa difference on our own, then 50 brains working together can make1a bigger difference than we could individually.":   Youthcan, like most of the Caring Institute's outreach?programs, is designed to get young people involved in service.@Bill Halamandaris talks about the art of caring poster contest,:one of several service-oriented competitions for studentssponsored by the organization:@   "There we simply ask kids from the first grade on up to giveBus an illustration that depicts caring. What does it mean to you?8Why is it important? Where does that thought take you?">   The winning artists have drawn many facets of caring, from=happy families to people of different races shaking hands tosmiling trees.B   Heather Moss, an intern at the Caring Institute, describes herfavorite poster:A   "It's a picture of god's hands with little angels coming down@and helping these people that are in the streets that are poor.@It gives you a lot of hope. You do see a lot of those people on?the streets who are sad and lonely and these little angels areAhelping them, they're saying there is hope, there's ways you canBcome back. And it says 'do unto others.' that's an important partof our lives."@   All the winning entries in the student poster contest are on>display at the Frederick Douglass Museum and Hall of Fame for>Caring Americans, which the institute operates. The museum is@located in two adjoining townhouses which were originally owned-by the famous African-American abolitionist.?   Kathleen Brown, director of public relations for the cAringBInstitute, says Douglass' life was consistent with the values theinstitute tries to promote:=   "He advocated and eventually found himself able to speak,@write, and really turn the tide against slavery in this country7through his powerful writings and through his powerfulBpresentation that this was a great injustice and that all men andwomen are created equal."?   In addition to the restored home of Douglass located on theBfirst floor, the museum features portraits and biographies of all=the national caring award winners. To better reach its young?visitors, the museum is working with the Disney corporation toAdevelop a multi-media component to the displays. Also on exhibit>are the award-winning submissions from the annual photography"contest. Kathleen Brown explains:=   "This is a gallery dedicated to the winners of the CaringBInstitute's photography contest. We run a contest each year where@we ask photographers, of course, amateur photographers, to send@in an image of caring. People come up with delightful examples,@very touching examples. Everything from a young boy helping his=grandmother walk across the lawn toward a picnic ground to aAcouple of people who are helping to fit a young, 3-year-old girlwith a prosthesis device."=   Visitors to the museum can also see an historical exhibit>depicting caring people from as early as the time of Moses topresent day caregivers.>   The message of the hall of fame for caring Americans, says@caring Institute president Bill Halamandris, is that service toAothers can help not only the community, but also the individual.@Mr. Halamandris says that the institute meets a growing need intoday's society:A   "There's a broad sense in this society certainly that we need@to be more caring, we need to focus on helping each other, thatBwe have become too self-centered, too materialistic. That wave, IAthink, is going to continue to ride and grow and hopefully we'llBbe able to put together a network around the world that makes the@point that we're all in this together.  We are indeed brothers,@we need each other, we need to focus on helping each other, andAif we don't do that there's not much that can be done for any ofAus. Caring is what this country's always been about. A good partAof the reason we've always been as successful as we have been in>the world is because of our reflection of that value, because<we're oriented towards helping each other and because we're@oriented towards service. So all of that is certainly true as a@society, but as individuals we know that the best way for us to1find our own happiness is in service to others."<   To Melissa Helmbrecht, who says volunteering changed herBoutlook on life, community service is the solution to many of the(problems that America's teenagers face:>   "I think a lot of young adults are lost today because they;don't know where they fit in. And I think that if they get@involved in community service, they'll find a place, it'll help?their self esteem. It's a better option to do something better1with your life than to turn to drugs and gangs."@   For the volunteers at the Caring Institute, this is just the)kind of idea they are trying to promote.   ---------------   ---------------!   SAN FRANCISCO: BLUES FESTIVAL   DOUG LEVINE   WASHINGTON, D.C.B   Every year in late September, the city of San Francisco gets a@major case of the blues. In fact, it gets an entire festival of?blues. Since 1973, the nation's longest-running blues festivalAhas paid tribute to one of America's richest musical traditions.=   He plays guitar with one hand, with his teeth, behind his?back, between his legs, upside-down on his neck with both legs?sticking straight up, and sometimes while somersaulting acrossBthe stage. His name is David Kearny, but most know him as "Guitar>Shorty." These acrobatic stunts have made him an overwhelmingAfavorite at the San Francisco Blues Festival. Shorty began using?an extended guitar chord for more mobility while performing on8the blues circuit in the 1950's. Shorty says his flashy2showmanship was inspired by the late guitar slim:B   "I saw slim during his finale and he would take the guitar andAgo to the edge of the stage. His valet, which was his chauffeur,?and (slim) would get on his shoulders, then he'd take him downBthrough the crowd. And when he got to the end of the building, heAwould get off the guy's shoulders and he would come back runningAwith the guitar and lay down on the floor and kick his heels up.@When you're young you'll try anything, so I said, 'if he can dothat, I can thrown in flips.'"9   The annual two-day San Francisco Blues Festival draws9thousands of fans to the great meadow at Fort Mason Park:overlooking the San Francisco Bay and Golden Gate bridge.BFestival founder and producer Tom Mazzolini says the meadow is an"ideal setting for this blues jam:B   "I don't think we would want to be any bigger because it stays<intimate. It's a perfect setting and about a perfect figure<(attendance) for an event like this. It isn't so much about=attendance, but more about tradition and it's more about the3music. And it's really a lot about San Francisco."@   The San Francisco Blues Festival typically showcases some of=the area's finest blues talent. Traditional blues singer and:steel guitarist Del Ray from nearby Davenport, California3describes San Francisco as a magnet for the blues:B   "I think that audiences on the west coast are very educated to>the blues. I think that we have a huge native blues communityBhere in oakland and San Francisco proper. There's a lot of peopleAthat came up from the south back in the '40's, so there's a real>background of blues players. Then there's a lot of revivalistA(traditional) guitar players and people that have discovered theBblues that are the next generation coming up. And we live here. IBlive about an hour down the coast. And I think that this festival:has just been the one that's brought that music back into
popularity."A   West coast harmonica veteran Charlie Musselwhite is a regular=at the blues festival. Musselwhite credits San Francisco for'giving the blues a worldwide presence:B   "A lot of people here came from other places and there's a lot>of influences involved here. The blues itself is just getting?more to where as people travel around the world...I mean, I've@run into harmonica players in Brazil, China, Japan and all over=Europe, and you learn that people are finding out about eachother."B   Local blues fans say the festival gets better and better every?year. San Francisco resident Ron Spinhoven, who first attended:the festival in 1984, says the city is undergoing a bluesresurgence:@   "Ever since I've lived here, there's always been a number ofBclubs that play blues. Right now it seems like it's stronger than>it's ever been. I used to see people like Charlie MusselwhiteBplaying in little clubs in San Francisco and have maybe a hundred?people, or fifty to a hundred people show up at the shows. AndAnow Charlie Musselwhite is doing quite well and it's good to seethat."B   The 23rd annual San Francisco Blues Festival on September 23rd=and 24th will feature John Lee Hooker, Little Milton, Junior?Wells, Hank Ballard and Joe Louis Walker, as well as the usual%lineup of the city's top blues acts.   ---------------   ---------------   MUSIC NOTES   MARY MORNINGSTAR   WASHINGTON0   MUSIC NOTES FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 16-22, 1995   POP NUMBER ONE HITS:H   1955 - Bill Haley & His Comets "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock"=   1965 - The Rolling Stones "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction".   1975 - Wings "Listen to What the Man Said")   1985 - Duran Duran "A View to a Kill"   1995 - TLC "Waterfalls"   MUSIC NEWS:A   On July 17th, Cuban-born pop singer Jon Secada will take over?the role of Danny Zuko in the Broadway production of "Grease."<Secada replaces actor Adrian Zmed and is scheduled for what+producers describe as "an indefinite run.";   Last week, Neil Young scored his highest album debut in?twenty-three years with "Mirror Ball." The new hard rock album=entered Billboard's top 200 chart at number 5, making it hisAsecond-highest charting solo collection behind 1972's "Harvest,"which peaked at number one.>   On July 18th, RCA Records will release Bruce Hornsby's new@album, "Hothouse." The collection features guest appearances by2Bela Fleck, grateful dead guitarist Jerry Garcia,<rhythm-and-blues vocalist Chaka Khan and jazz guitarist Pat:Metheny. Hornsby recorded the album at his home studio in!historic Williamsburg, Virginia.:   Rhino Records will release the complete "Wizard of Oz"=soundtrack on July 18th. The double CD contains 82 digitallyAremastered tracks, including some previously unreleased material4and Herbert Stothart's Academy Award-winning score.   NEW ALBUM RELEASES:A   New albums scheduled for release on July 18th include: "Raoul?and the Kings of Spain" by Tears for Fears on Mercury Records;<"Live at the Apollo 1995" by James Brown on Scotti Brothers>Records; "Hothouse" by Bruce Hornsby on RCA Records; "Because:They Can" by Nelson on DGC Records; "Hidden Treasures" by>Megadeth and the soundtrack to "Clueless" on Capitol Records;<"Carved in Stone" by Vince Neil on Warner Brothers Records;@"Bette of Roses" by Bette Midler on Atlantic Records; "DreamingAof You" by Selena on EMI Latin Records; "Reflections" by After 7<on Virgin Records; the soundtrack to "Waterworld" and "Love;Lessons" by Tracy Byrd on MCA Records; "Shameless" by Judy?Collins on Mesa/Bluemoon Records; "Life Down Here on Earth" byBKevin Welch on Dead Reckoning Records; "Tennessee Plates" by MarkACollie on giant Records; "Restless" by Shelby Lynne on MagnatoneARecords; and "For the Love of Music" by Lionel Hampton on Mojazz	Records.   MUSIC IN THE PRESS:>   Pop music record producer Phil Spector is making headlines>again after 15 years of virtual retirement. In the 1960's, heAsupervised such projects as the Crystals' "He's a Rebel" and the?Ronettes' "Be My Baby." Spector's last full production project;was the Ramones' 1980 album, "End of the Century." The Los:Angeles Times reports that the artist he's chosen for his@comeback is French-Canadian singer Celine Dion. An associate ofASpector says the reason he decided to produce her new collectionBis, "he just really likes her voice." Dion is recording the album%at Ocean Way Studios in Los Angeles.   BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK:>   On July 18th, singer Martha Reeves will celebrate her 54th@birthday. She was the leader of the popular 1960's vocal group,AMartha & The Vandellas, which recorded such hits as "Heat Wave,"?"Dancing in the Street" and "Jimmy Mack." In 1972, Reeves left#the group to pursue a solo career.=   Singer Kim Carnes will turn 50 on July 20th. Carnes beganBperforming in the late 1960's with the the new Christy minstrels.BShe later launched a solo career and in the early 1980's recordedBtwo top five singles, a duet with Kenny Rogers titled "Don't FallAin Love with a Dreamer" and "Bette Davis Eyes," which spent nineweeks at number one.A   On July 20th, country singer Radney Foster will celebrate his>36th birthday. During the late 1980's, the Texas native began>performing in the popular duo Foster & Lloyd. In 1992, Foster>embarked on a successful solo career, and has appeared on the=charts with such hits as "Just Call Me Lonesome" and "NobodyAWins." His latest album is entitled "Labor of Love" and contains,Radeny's current single, "Willin' to Walk."@   Eagles member Don Henley will turn 49 on July 22nd. He began>his musical career in the late 1960's as the drummer in LindaARonstadt's band. In 1971, Henley helped form the Eagles, a group>which recorded the number one songs "Best of my Love," "Hotel;California" and "Heartache Tonight." Henley pursued a soloArecording career following the band's breakup in 1982. Among hisAbiggest chart hits are "Dirty Laundry," "The Boys of Summer" andA"The end of the Innocence." Henley is on a reunion tour with the7Eagles, which Pollstar magazine currently ranks as theBhighest-grossing concert tour so far this year. Next week, HenleyAwill join an all-star list of performers at the Newport Rhythm &=Blues Festival in Rhode Island to benefit the rhythm & BluesFoundation.   TOUR DATES/INFORMATION:A   Pop singer Carly Simon will kick off her first tour in nearlyB15 years on July 19th in Canandaigua, New York. She warmed up forAthe tour by playing several small club dates. Now that Simon has<her severe problems with stage fright under control, she is:scheduled to perform in larger theaters and amphitheatersthroughout the U.S.?   New Jersey rock group Bon Jovi will launch a North American@tour on July 21st at Jones Beach in New York. The 39-city tour,<which runs through October 8th, includes dates in the U.S.,<Mexico and Canada. Bon Jovi's latest release, "These Days,"@debuted last week on Billboard's top 200 albums chart at number9.   FACTS FROM THE PAST:B   7/16/72 - Smokey Robinson performed for the last time with The@Miracles. He helped form the Motown group in 1955 and, over theAnext two decades, recorded such hits as "Shop Around," "I Second<That Emotion" and "The Tears of a Clown." After leaving TheAMiracles, Robinson pursued a successful solo career. In 1987, he@was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame, and two years,later, won the living legends Grammy award.@   7/16/76 - Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina ended their six-yearBassociation to pursue solo recording interests. The duo's biggest;hit was the 1972 top five single, "Your Mama Don't Dance."B   7/17/59 - Jazz singer Billie Holiday died of cardiac arrest atBage 44. Her most popular recordings include "God Bless The Child"@and "Lover Man," which received Grammy hall of fame awards. TheA1972 film "Lady Sings the Blues" was based on her life. In 1987,<Holiday posthumously received a Grammy lifetime achievementaward.>   7/18/80 - Singer-songwriter Billy Joel held the number oneAposition on Billboard's top pop LP chart with "Glass Houses." AtAthe same time, he occupied the top spot on the pop singles chartBwith "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me." Three other songs from theLP became top 40 hits.B   7/20/65 - Bob Dylan's first major hit, "Like a Rolling Stone,"@was released. The song climbed to number 2 on the chart and wasBfollowed by other successes, including "Rainy Day Women Number 12& 35" and "Lay Lady Lay."B   7/21/71 - Carole King's "Tapestry" album went gold (unit salesBof 500,000). The album was number one in the United States for 15>weeks and spent a total of 292 weeks on the LP chart. It alsoAbrought her four Grammy awards and produced several hit singles,0including the number one song, "It's Too Late."A   7/22/77 - During a concert in Cohasset, Massachusetts, singerBTony Orlando announced his departure from dawn. The group debuted>on the pop charts in 1970 with the top five single "Candida."BNumerous other hits followed, including the number one songs "Tie@a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Ole Oak Tree" and "He Don't Love You(Like I Love You)."   ---------------   ---------------'   SEATTLE MICROBREWERIES LESS IS MORE   BARBARA SCHOETZAU   NEW YORKA   In the business world, the Pacific northwest city of Seattle,AWashington, is known as the home of the world's largest aircraft?maker, the Boeing company, and Microsoft, the biggest computerBsoftware company in the world. But Seattle is also on the cutting+edge of a new industry where less is more.@   Seattle has been a leader in the microbrewery industry since?the business took off in the United States in the early 1980s.AToday, Washington state boasts at least 20 breweries, about half>of which are found in the Seattle area. To a novice like thisBreporter the question occurs: What makes beer from a microbreweryAdifferent from other beers? I posed this question to Nelson Jay,Bthe public relations director for Red Hook Ale, one of the oldest>and largest microbreweries in the northwest. The key, he told0says, is producing fresh, non-pasturized beers:B   "You can pick up a bottle of Red Hook and find the date on theBside of it. The date reflects 11 weeks from the date of bottling.@So if you truly are interested in good beer, you always want toAdrink a fresh beer. Freshest is the best. Unlike wine, beer doesnot improve with age."?   Equally important to beer connoisseurs, Nelson Jay says, isBadherence to German purity laws permitting only four ingredients.A   "There is not a group of German brewing police that patrol to>make sure you are subscribing to the barley, hops, water, andByeast recipe, but that is the spirit of the law that we subscribe<to. We use the finest brewing ingredients. The best barley.BLocally or regionally grown hops, water and yeast. That is prettytraditional."8   In the early 1980s, Seattle had the somewhat dubious@distinction of being the city with the highest per capita draft@beer consumption in the nation, a fact that helped convince Red@Hook's founders there was a future in brewing a fresh, Europeanstyle beer.>   The beer became so popular that Red Hook moved to a larger>location in 1988 and increased its production. Because of the?surging popularity of beers made by microbreweries, many smallAbrewers like Red Hook have grown beyond the technical definition#of microbrewery. According to Jay:@   "What started as microbrewing for us was an old transmission@shop in a garage. We have expanded to significant output and weBare now considered a regional craft brewery or regional specialty@brewery. The definition of micro is about 15 thousand barrels a=year. One does not measure production in terms of bottles or>cases. It is measured in barrels. In 1982, when we opened, we?brewed one thousand barrels of beer. Last year at Red Hook, we%brewed 93 thousand barrels of beer.";   But demand continues to outstrip production. Last monthA(June), the first bottles came off the line of Red Hook's second;plant, a state-of-the-art facility in Woodinville, just 32>kilometers east of downtown Seattle. The Woodinville plant is5capable of turning out 450 bottles of beer a minute.A   At a time when the consumption of alcohol and national brandsBof beer is down, the microbreweries or handcrafted beer companies?are soaring. Some small breweries have grown by as much as twohundred percent.>   "My feeling is that the beer drinking consumer's education>level has gone up substantially in the last five years," saysBJay.  "They are actually demanding a higher quality product. They@are willing to pay more for a premium product and to drink less
of that."A   Interest in the whole idea of handcrafted beers has grown and=many breweries find themselves becoming tourist attractions.>   It is no accident that rural Woodinville was chosen as the@location for Red Hook's new plant. Red hook's neighbors are two?of the best-known wineries in Washington state, Chateau Sainte>Michelle and Columbia. Together, the three businesses hope toBcreate a haven to attract tourists who want to get off the beaten2track (away from common sites). According to Jay:B   "The move to Woodinville for Red Hook had a lot to do with the?neighbors. Great supporters of the tourist trade. I think they?offer a lot of education not just in wine but in the northwest?and really offering an alternative to established sight-seeingAlandmarks that you might find in the skyline of Seattle. WhetherAyou are interested in drinking a glass of wine or beer is beyondBvisiting the chateau or Columbia or Red Hook. You can come to any?of the spots and sit down on the grounds, have a picnic, enjoy2the out of doors. Very northwesty in that sense."=   There are now more than 500 craft breweries in the United>States. While several distribute nationally, most rely on theBloyalty of local beer drinkers. Next year, Red Hook will find outBif the beer that is the toast of the northwest can win fans along?the eastern seaboard when it opens a plant in the northeasternstate of New Hampshire.   ---------------   ---------------$   NEW YORK CITY CRIME RATES PLUNGE   CAROLYN WEAVER   NEW YORK=   Figures just released in New York show the city's rate of9serious crime has fallen to its lowest level since 1970.<   All together, serious crime in New York City,  including:murder, robbery, assault, and auto theft,  fell more thanA18-percent during the first half of 1995. Police statistics showAthe sharpest decline in murders, which fell more than 30-percent)during the first six-months of the year.A   According to a New York Times report, that makes New York the8only major American city with a decreasing murder rate.@   There were no murders in some parts of the city, such as the=upper west and upper east sides, and 40-percent fewer in the$crime-plagued borough of the Bronx.B   Thomas Repetto is president of the Citizens' Crime Commission,@a private group. He calls the crime drop amazing and attributes it to more aggressive policing:B   "For one thing, New York City added seven-thousand officers to@its police force, that is quite an increase of over 20-percent.?And those officers have been employing a number of strategies,@such as community policing, they have been going after the drugBdealers, the gunmen, youth crime, street disorder. The cumulativeAeffect of this is really something to behold. Now, that does notAmean we are complacent here. We still feel we have a long way to:go, but we are on the right track here in New York City."B   Not all serious crimes declined equally. While auto theft fellB25-percent, and robberies 22-percent, the number of rapes dropped?only one-percent from last year. Shooting injuries declined by930-percent, while felony assaults fell just six-percent.;   On the streets of Manhattan, four New Yorkers expressedBcontradictory opinions about whether crime has been getting worse or better, or staying the same:;   "I am a cab driver, so I see it. It is getting better."A   "I have not noticed any change. I read about it, I hear about%it on the news, but personally, no."A   "In my opinion, it has been getting worse, not better. I have@seen my neighborhood deteriorate slowly, with drugs and crime."@   "I feel pretty safe. Now maybe I am a little naive, but I doBnot walk around feeling awfully afraid about doing what I have todo."=   Robert Louden, a former New York City police officer, now<directs the Criminal Justice Center at John Jay College. He@agrees the falling crime rate reflects better policing. He says4another reason could be changing drug use patterns:=   "There appears to be a downward trend in the use of crack@[cocaine], which seemed to be a real driver of violent criminalAactivity during the last many years. And if that is born out and;continues in the statistics, I think that is going to be afactor, too."?   Experts say if the present trend continues, 1995 may be New+York's most peaceful year in a generation.?   New York officials are elated about the latest figures, and@mayor Rudolph Giuliani plans to discuss them in meetings aroundBthe city. New York's crime rate began to fall in 1991 after MayorBGiuliani's predecessor, Mayor David Dinkins, took more police out?of their cars and assigned them to walking neighborhood beats.   ---------------   ---------------@   RESIDENTS OF FENCED-IN LOW-INCOME HOUSING SAY VIOLENCE ENDED   JERRY STILKIND   SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICOA   "Things are a lot quieter now; there isn't the violence there<used to be," the 34-year-old mother said in her two-bedroom@apartment in a low-income government housing project surrounded/by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire.@   There is now only one street open into the project of three-9and four-story buildings containing 508 apartments and aBguardhouse is there and the police admit only residents and theirinvited guests.>   The same kind of drastic measures have been taken the past@year and a half in 67 other low-income projects with a total of<21,000 families on this U.S. commonwealth in the Caribbean.@   Pedro Rossello, the commonwealth's governor, said a level of:violence and drug use never seen before made such drasticmeasures necessary.B   "Crime and drug abuse are not new.  What is new is the scale,"Bhe told a recent drug workshop for foreign journalists sponsored.A   Life in many of the low-income projects had become chaotic asAdrug pushers took over streets and playgrounds to sell narcotics@to residents of the projects and anyone else who cared to driveBor walk by.  Violence between rival gangs of pushers and by usersAlooking for money to buy drugs began plaguing Puerto Rico in thelate 1980s.@   Strategically located between Colombia, South America, whereAdrug "cartels" control the cocaine trade, and the United States,?the largest market for illegal narcotics, Puerto Rico became aAmajor transshipment point for illegal drugs in the 1980s as U.S.@police cracked down on smuggling routes that went directly into the southeastern United States.@   "The 10 percent of drugs that remained behind in Puerto Rico$was creating havoc," Rossello said.@   Manuel Marquez, assistant special agent in charge of the FBIB(Federal Bureau of Investigation) on Puerto Rico, said there wereBabout 1,000 murders involving guns in 1994, with about 80 percent1of those fatalities related to drug use or sale.A   "We had to create a strong hand against crime," Rossello, who#took office in January 1993, said.B   Under the campaign against drugs and crime, the National Guard?(a military unit) is called in to help police patrol a housingBproject, erect a fence and build a guardhouse if officials decide=that is the only way they might be able to end the violence.;   The National Guard then leaves and representatives of a<16-agency program called "Quality of Life" takes over.  TheAintegrated program works with drug addicts, high school dropouts@and the unemployed.  A committee of residents is formed to helpmanage the project.6   "I have to say a lot of money is invested in these<interventions.  It's a massive display of state resources,"BSecretary of Housing Carlos Vivoni said.  He estimated the annualcost is about $60 million.A   Maria Gonzalez, the mother who likes what has happened in her@project, said she doesn't mind living within a fenced-off area.A"It doesn't bother me.  It's much better now because there isn'tthe violence and the drugs."B   Six members of the Residents' Council met with the journalistsBfrom 34 countries in the USIA workshop and Puerto Rican officials#at the project's community center.@   The council members said that most of the violence that used@to exist came from rival gangs outside of the project trying to'establish the area as their territory.:   The integrated state program has led to more community@activities for youngsters, which along with preventing students?from dropping out of school has helped so far to stabilize theproject, they said.A   "The community is now living under better conditions," one ofthe woman leaders said.   ---------------   ---------------7   SOME UNUSUAL NEWS IN THE GRIM, VICIOUS WAR ON DRUGS   JERRY STILKIND   WASHINGTON?   Even as the grim and unrelenting war against drugs seems toBgrind on forever, there has been some unusually pitiful, alarmingand triumphant news recently.?   Pitiful because a 24-year-old mother allegedly took cocaineAand then breast fed her two-month-old girl, who died because the>narcotic produces a toxic substance in the milk, according to=police in Puerto Rico, a U.S. commonwealth in the Caribbean.2Police charged the mother with murder in mid-May.B   Pedro Toledo, the commonwealth police chief, said that this isBthe first such charge ever made by Puerto Rican officials and may?be a first in the United States.  The woman denied ever taking	cocaine.=   Alarming because police in Poland and Slovakia in Central?Europe seized about 216 kilograms of cocaine, 100 kilograms ofAheroin and 8 metric tons of hashish -- all record or near-record@confiscations in the region -- in separate drug operations latein May.A   The size of the shipments is further evidence that drug gangs;are opening up new routes in Eastern and Central Europe toBsmuggle heroin and cocaine into Western Europe, according to U.S.officials.@   Triumphant because special police in Colombia, South AmericaAfinally arrested in July Jose Santacruz Londono, a co-founder ofAthe world's largest cocaine cartel.  The other founder, GilbertoBRodriguez Orejuela, had been arrested in his home town of Cali inJune.:   Another tactical victory came in June when U.S. agentsAarrested three former U.S. government attorneys and 56 others in:the United States on charges of helping Rodriguez collect;thousands of millions of dollars for smuggling hundreds ofBthousands of tons of cocaine into the United States for more than
a decade.A   More than half of all the cocaine produced is consumed in the@United States and perhaps 80 percent of that amount is smuggled<in by Rodriguez's cartel.  U.S. officials hope, but are not?certain, that the recent arrests will seriously crimp not onlyAthe smuggling but also the financial arrangements that "launder"<the money from drug sales through banks and other financialAintermediaries to convert the cash into what seems like proceedsfrom legitimate businesses.?   Puerto Rico, strategically located not far from Colombia or;the United States, has become one of the main stops in the?smuggling of illegal drugs into the United States and a center8for "laundering" the money from the trade, according tocommonwealth officials.=   But in making Puerto Rico a major way station in the late?1980s for the shipment of drugs, the drug "cartels" also saw aAprofit in spreading cocaine use throughout the island.  Murders,Athefts, burglaries and the disintegration of whole neighborhoods>in San Juan and other cities on the island were the result oftheir success.A   "We suffer from a great, violent crime problem.  And about 80;percent of the crime is related to drugs," Manuel Marquez,@assistant special agent in charge of the FBI (Federal Bureau ofBInvestigation) on the island, said at a workshop sponsored by theBU.S. Information Agency for 34 journalists from around the world.@   Earlier, when the workshop was in Washington, U.S. officials?told the journalists that countries that thought they would be9spared internal drug problems because they would only be*transshipment points were sadly mistaken.A   Puerto Rico was the example for the workshop of the crime andBviolence that could afflict an area selected by drug traders as aAtransshipment point.  It is also a case study of how violent and>expensive it becomes to deal with drug use and smuggling oncethey are established.B   "Crime and drug abuse are not new.  What is new is the scale,"?Pedro Rossello, the commonwealth's governor, told the workshopfor journalists.?   He said that his government had to take unusual measures toBcombat the drug trade and the violence that accompanied it.  Such@measures have included calling out military units to cordon off968 government-subsidized housing projects for low-income0residents that were being used by drug pushers.A   Then a fence was erected around each project and a guard post4built at an entrance so that only residents with an3identification card and their guests could get in.@   "We moved into communities where terror was the order of theBday," Carlos Vivoni, the secretary of housing, told the workshop.?   Sixteen commonwealth agencies were then brought together to;form in each project an integrated job, education and drugBtreatment program called "Quality of Life" in order to get at the#causes of crime and narcotics use.6   "I have to say a lot of money is invested in these>interventions," Vivoni said.  He estimated the annual cost at@about $40 million for the integrated agency program and another4$20 million for the National Guard and police work.=   A visit by the workshop to one of the projects and randomAtalks with residents indicated that they approved of the massiveBintervention. "See that basketball court.  We can play on it when@we like now.  It used to be that the pushers would tell us when=we could play and when they would be using the court to sell*drugs," a young man said in an interview.B   The two-week-long workshop had gone to San Juan after stopping?in the southern U.S. city of Atlanta at a conference of mayorsBand non-profit groups calling for a "renewed commitment" to fight>drug use.  It is local government and police officials in theBUnited States who are closest to the problems created by drug use5and sales and have the most responsibility to react.=   The conference organizers were concerned that much of the=country may be tiring of the fight against drugs.  "The drugBproblem is so pervasive and there seems to be no light at the endBof the tunnel.  So, many people are perhaps becoming weary," said Mayor Bill Campbell of Atlanta.<   Paul Jellinek, vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson;Foundation, which funds many community anti-drug programs,?asserted at a panel discussion during the Atlanta meeting that?the public is becoming frustrated because of a perception thatAlittle progress is being made in halting the illegal importation-of drugs and their use in the United States.;   Government officials and community organizations at the@conference conceded that there have been ups and downs in their@fight against drug use.  "I thought 10 years ago we were making?progress.  Then crack cocaine appeared and its cost was so low;that it became widespread in the cities.  It decimated thecities," Campbell said.A   But progress seemed to return in the late 1980s as the number6of people using drugs began decreasing.  However, oneAdiscouraging note in this trend is that the number of youngsters<trying drugs has started to go back up -- 13 percent of all>13-year-old's reported in surveys using dope at least once in$1994 compared to 7 percent in 1992.A   One way to target youngsters is through a coordinated program@that works with schools, church groups, civic organizations andAelected officials at the community level, according to Jellinek.<   "We need to go into the community to pull all the pieces<together," he said at a panel discussion.  Many groups were@already involved in fighting drugs at the local level but theirBimpact was not as great as it could have been because they didn't+know about each other's work, he asserted.?   The Johnson Foundation announced in 1989 it would sponsor aA$50 million program to integrate local anti-drug efforts.  About>330 communities prepared proposals for how they would use the=money and 14 were selected for what was called the "FightingBack" program.=   The winning communities prepared proposals that showed anBunderstanding of their drug use and sale problems, set priorities?for action and indicated how they would implement their plans.A   Dr. Anderson Spickard, national director of the program, saidAthat one lesson from the program is that it works better when itBinvolves a whole small city rather than a neighborhood in a largeurban center.B   The funding will end soon and the 14 communities are searching?for ways to continue "Fighting Back," he said.  Panelists fromBother organization said there are government and foundation fundsAavailable for more modest efforts such as forming a coalition of.business, government and civic organizations.@   The more than 100 mayors at the conference were worried that@Congress would cut back on federal support for several kinds of?programs, including what they believe to be already inadequate)funds for drug-addict treatment centers.<   Nevertheless, the local officials had come to Atlanta toBorganize an "American Cities Against Drugs" that they hoped would>reenergize the fight against drugs.  The alternatives of just?giving up or legitimatizing narcotics would lead to a horrific(future, Campbell and other mayors said.@   "I have to believe that (conferences and anti-drug programs)3makes a difference.  You cannot give up," he said.   ---------------   ---------------6   VISITING INTELLECTUALS DISCUSS RELIGION IN AMERICA   ANDREI ILLIAS   WASHINGTON:   "The biggest problem today is the fact that people areAdeserting religion," said Adel Al-Rashed, deputy managing editorAof "Al-Ittihad," an Arabic newspaper.  "Adhering to religion has>become superficial, and this has led to animosity between theBfollowers of Islam, Christianity and Judaism."  Adel Al-Rashed is?part of a nine-member visitors' group from the Middle East and@North Africa exploring the "Role of Religion in America," under-the auspices of the U.S. Information Agency.8   The International Visitors Program group, made up of=professors, journalists, and religious leaders from Algeria,AEgypt, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan, United Arab Emirates,Aand the West Bank, will interact with Americans on religious andAsocial issues during their visit, which runs from July 3 to July28.5   Participants spent the first week of the six-part?cross-country excursion, which will take its nine visitors and;two translators from the East Coast to major cities in the>Midwest and on the West Coast and then back again, in meetingBwith various religious and political organizations in Washington,D.C.B   Hasni Ould Lefghih, instructor of philosophy at the University@of Nouakcchott in Mauritania, said his primary ambition for his@first visit to America was to "receive an accurate image of theAUnited States and to give an accurate image of Islam in return."?He added that his country and Islam are often misunderstood bythe American public at large.?   A number of the group, including first-time visitor Mohamad9Younes, the religious affairs editor and deputy chief ofA"Al-Ahram" newspaper in Egypt, said they thought of Americans as?a secular population.  "What was interesting for me was that IBfound out they [Americans] were religious people, but before thisAtrip I and many other people in the Arab world thought Americans"were not religious," Younes said.9   Al-Rashed said that although strides had been made inBincreasing dialogue between the West and the Islamic world, there>were still many hurdles to be overcome.  An equal effort from=both sides is needed for more significant steps to be taken.@"Americans need to learn about the essence of Islam and need to>distinguish between the behavior of some Muslims and the trueAIslam," he said.  "Negative behavior comes from the followers of<other religions and not just Islam.  When the Oklahoma CityBbombing occurred the finger was immediately pointed at Muslims as%if Muslims were behind every crime."8   Dr. Abu Qariballa, a professor at the Omuram Islamic9University in Sudan, who obtained his Ph.D. in educationAadministration from Penn State University, said he also hoped to>improve relations between the U.S. and Islam, but warned that?many American misconceptions about Muslims were formed through?movies and the media.  "For Americans to understand Islam they;should stay away from the media because the media gives an incorrect impression of Islam.":   "The principal difference," Lefghih said, "is that our>religion [Islam] was never separated from power; our religionBintervenes in government at a popular level.  Religion is present>everywhere and we cannot act or take a decision at any level,:from the individual to the state, unless it conforms withreligious thought.";   "[In America] representatives of religious institutions=support the separation of church and state, Al-Rashed added.BThis means that in America there is a separation between politics@and religion and that religion is left up to the individual.  I:think this leads U.S. policy to transcend religion in its"relationship with other peoples."8   Belhadj Cherifi, professor of Arabic language at the8University of Algiers, believes that modern society andAtechnology can be reconciled with traditional religious beliefs.?"We see, naturally, Muslims in America who, with the knowledgeAthey have acquired in this country, have tied together religious teachings with modern society."<   Younes predicted that more cooperation and understandingBbetween believers in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism were neededAto solve the problems of international conflict, the environment@and drugs.  "Our religion encourages us to keep a dialogue with?other religions....To believe in Islam we must also believe in2the Christian and the Jewish religions," he said.   ---------------   ---------------   HOWARD UNIVERSITY'S DILEMMA   RODRICK MURRAY   WASHINGTON7   Howard University, one of the most prominent of the<traditionally black colleges and universities in the UnitedStates, is facing hard times.@   During the past five years Howard University has seen a drop>in student enrollment and faculty. The drop in enrollment has:several causes. Some prospective students decide to go to;mainstream integrated schools or other traditionally blackBcolleges where they may be less encumbered the schools' financial@problems. Some students decide not to attend college altogether*because of the lack of financial support.>   Howard University is a private school in the U.S. capital,BWashington, DC. About 55 percent of howard's budget has come fromAthe U.S. government. As the U.S. government tries to balance its=books, howard's budget is also threatened. Observers say the<university could lose nearly 200 million dollars of federalfunds.@   Facing the prospects of austerity, Howard administrators say<they are confident they will receive a fair hearing and the:continued strong support of the Congress. Former Virginia<governor and Howard University trustee Douglas Wilder says:B   "Howard University, like every other entity that is looking to?the federal government, has to justify its existence. The case.can and will be made for that justification."B   The head of the American Association of University Professors,BJames E. Perly, also spoke about howard's prospects for U.S. aid:A   "I think it is a severe threat to Howard University and if it?were to result in significant cut backs in the programs at the>university, it would be a travesty. I would be very upset. ItAdoes not have state support for its mission. It is a treasure of?the nation and to withdraw funding from it arbitrarily, and at8the last minute, represents a threat to one of our fine"institutions of higher learning."?   Howard's financial stress has been heightened by retirement@benefits given to parting executives of the university and alsoattributed to mismanagement.@   An investigation into the large retirement payments began inA1991 and was completed March 1994. A report of the investigationBstated that four departing Howard University officials received aBtotal of more than one-point-seven million dollars of benefits inAaddition to the standard retirement package. These payments were>made during the administration of James Cheek, president fromB1969 to 1989, and his successor, Franklyn Jenifer, who headed the?school from 1989 to 1994. Mr. Jenifer was one of the officials!who received a retirement bonus.@   Interim president Joyce Ladner is grappling with a projected?25 million dollar deficit by dismissing 400 employees. Some inBthe school's administration said that this was something that had4to be done, while others felt it to be unnecessary.?   Denise Moore, a recent graduate degree candidate, objected:A   "I don't think it has benefited Howard. I think it has causedAmore problems. Sure it may have helped the budget, but I see the;quality of service that now we as students and faculty areBreceiving. I don't think it is pulling us together. It is pulling<us apart and making us discouraged. I don't think I want to@encourage someone to come to Howard and come into all this mess0(problems) I have dealt with while I was here."A   Into this budget crisis, steps still another leader. Incoming<President Patrick Swygert is preparing his plans to put theAschool on the road to recovery. Many consider to Howard a worthy<cause, a great institution of higher learning that has well,served many thousands of African Americans.   ---------------   ---------------#   PLUTONIUM STORAGE SECURITY RISK   DAVID MCALARY   WASHINGTON@   A U.S. panel of experts says large excess stocks of U.S. and=Russian weapons plutonium pose a clear and present danger to@international security. The panel urges the two nations to take=quick action to change military plutonium into forms that nolonger present security risks.@   A special committee of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences9says the hope of U.S. and Russian nuclear arms reductionBagreements is accompanied by danger. Tens of thousands of nuclear@weapons to be dismantled over the next decade contain about 100Bmetric tons or more of plutonium and hundreds of tons of enriched	uranium.A   The panel warns it is urgent for the two governments to agreeBto render these materials unusable for military purposes. It saysBthis would reduce the risk that they will be stolen in Russia and;demonstrate to the world that arms reductions are real andirreversible.A   Committee chairman John Holdren, a professor of energy at theAUniversity of California at Berkeley, notes that plutonium posesAspecial difficulties because, unlike enriched uranium, it cannot9be easily altered to a form unusable in nuclear weapons.@Furthermore, its use as a nuclear power reactor fuel is not noweconomically competitive:>   "Managing, securing, and accounting for those materials is>going to be a monumental job, especially given that a ball ofAplutonium about the size of an orange, weighing a few kilograms,'is sufficient to make a nuclear bomb.":   After considering several alternatives, the academy of@sciences committee recommends what it says are the two fastest,@cheapest, and surest ways of making plutonium secure. One would>process it into fuel for use in nuclear reactors by mixing it<with uranium. This is done by electric utility companies in:Europe and Japan, and could be adopted by U.S. commercial,reactors without significant modifications.<   The other method, called vitrification, would immobilize/plutonium by turning it into heavy glass logs.@   In both, plutonium would become a form of highly radioactiveBwaste and as inaccessible for weapons use as spent plutonium fromnuclear power reactors is.@   But both processes face obstacles. The committee says mixingBplutonium with uranium might face opposition in the United States@because this might create new environmental, safety, and health=hazards unless strict standards are met. There are technicalAuncertainties with vitrification since it has never been done onAa large scale. And the staff director of the academy of sciences9study, Matthew Bunn, says Russia opposes this method for@safeguarding plutonium because the material could never be usedfor energy production:?   "The Russians have been absolutely clear. The most colorfulBway they put it to me once was comparing vitrification to, quote,+"flushing gold down the toilet," unquote."=   Because of these hurdles, the National Academy of ScienceApanel calls for pursuing the two options simultaneously to raise=the chances that at least one will be operational within tenyears.@   The committee estimates that it would cost the United States?and Russia between 500 million and two billion dollars each to=dispose of its plutonium in these ways. But to chairman JohnHoldren, that is a bargain::   "The costs of doing so are not high in relation to the;security stakes or in relation to the amounts of money the>country is accustomed to spend to protect itself from nuclearthreats to its security."B   Whatever options are chosen, says Mr. Holdren, it is essentialAthat the United States and Russia carry out equivalent plutonium,disposition programs on a similar schedule.   ---------------   ---------------    TAPE RECORDING INVENTOR DIES   NANCY STEINBACH   WASHINGTON;   American inventor Marvin Camras last week in the middleAwestern state of Illinois. He was seventy-nine years old. Mister:Camras is known as the father of magnetic tape recording.@   Mister Camras started working with magnetic recording in the:late nineteen-thirties, when he was a student. He built aBmagnetic recording device for a family member who wanted to be an?opera singer. The device used a wire to record sounds. A shortAtime later he discovered that making recordings on magnetic tape>greatly eased the work of cutting and storing the recordings.8   The work Mister Camras was doing was observed by his@professors at what is now the Illinois Institute of Technology.AThey offered him a job at the university's research institute toAdevelop his invention. Mister Camras worked and taught there formore than fifty years.:   In nineteen-forty-four he was given a patent, or legal@ownership, for his method of magnetic recording. This invention:directly led to the development of modern tape recorders.;   In time, mister Camras was given more than five-hundred=patents for inventing and improving technology for audio and@video recording and computer information storage. Mister Camras>developed the magnetic substance used to cover the surface ofAtapes for video and cassette recording devices, computers and on5the devices that hold the information for computers.:   President George Bush recognized Mister Camras work in@nineteen-ninety when he awarded the inventor the National Medalof Technology.@   Ray Dolby is the chairman of Dolby Laboratories, the company?that makes noise reduction devices for recording equipment. HeAsays the ideas Mister Camras explored and designed are important6parts in all tapes and recorder designs in use today.   ---------------   ---------------0   BOUTROS-GHALI HOLDS TALKS WITH JONAS SAVIMBI   LAWRENCE BAFTLETT
   LUANDA@   The secretary general of the United Nations, Boutros BoutrosAGhali, held talks with Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi at hisAheadquarters in the central highlands town of Bailundo Saturday.AThe two men told journalists later, they believed that a lasting@peace has finally come to a country at war for nearly 20 years.@   Jona Savimbi said the peace process is., in his words, goingBwell. It is strong. Mr. Savimbi, leader of the national union forBthe total independence of Angola, UNITA, said the presence of the=U.N. secretary general was testimony to the stability of theBcountry. Mr. Boutros Ghali was equally happy. He said he believed>the peace process was irrevocable, suggesting that he did notAfear a collapse similar to that of Angola's last peace accord in>1992, when Mr. Savimbi refused to accept that he had lost the
election.=   The secretary general said the political will existed for?reconciliation in a country which became a battleground during>the cold war. With Washington backing Mr. Savimbi, and MoscowBsupporting Jose Eduardo Dos Santos.. Earlier, Mr. Boutros flew in=through the heavily guarded airport near Bailundo to visit a=battalion of Uruguayan peacekeepers,. The first of more than<seven thousand in the country before the end of August. The>others will come from Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Romania, and9Zimbabwe, with Britain, Portugal and Argentina providinglogistical support.   ---------------   ---------------C   SUDAN SAYS IT WILL NOT GO TO WAR WITH EGYPT OVER BORDER DISPUTE   KIM REID	   CAIROB   President Omar Hassan Al Bashir of Sudan says his country will?not go to war with Egypt over the disputed Halaib border area.@   Speaking on Sudanese state television, President Bashir saidBSudan will not resort to arms to settle the long-standing dispute@on the Halaib border separating the two countries along the RedSea.B   Egyptian and Sudanese border police have clashed in the HalaibAarea in recent weeks following allegations from Egypt that Sudan@was involved in the assassination attempt on Egyptian President@Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa in June. Sudan has complained thatAEgypt has moved several hundred troop reinforcements into Halaib;and has expelled some Sudan security forces from the area.?   At one point in the war of words between the two countries,=Sudanese officials threatened to block off parts of the nile+river before the waters flowed into Egypt.?   Now, however, Sudan is taking a more conciliatory approach.@The country's foreign minister, on a visit to the gulf state of@Qatar, suggested the international court of justice be named to)arbitrate the border dispute with Egypt.   ---------------   ---------------B   3 JOURNALISTS AMONG 40 CONVICTED IN SECRET NIGERIAN COUP TRIAL   PURNELL MURDOCK   ABIDJAN@   Three well-known journalists are believed to be among the 40>people convicted in an alleged coup plot against the NigerianAmilitary government. Former military ruler Olusegun Obasanjo and<his former deputy Shehu Yar'adua were also convicted in thesecret trial.A   Details of the people convicted and the sentences handed them>by the secret tribunal remain unclear. But the New York-basedACommittee to Protect Journalists says "Sunday Magazine" reporterAChris Anyanwu, Ben Charles Obi of "Weekend Classique" and GeorgeBMbah of "Tell" magazine were among those convicted in the allegedcoup plot.:   In a letter to military ruler General Sani Abacha, the=journalists' rights organization demanded the convictions be!thrown out and the men released.:   The Nigerian government has refused to name the peopleAconvicted or the sentences they received. It has also refused to=answer questions regarding the fate of former military ruler8Olusegun Obasanjo and his former deputy Shehu Yar'adua.A   Speculation surrounding the two men's fate has been mounting.AUnconfirmed news reports say General Obasanjo has been sentencedBto 25 years in prison. The same reports say his deputy received aBlife prison term. Sentences for the remaining suspects range from+various prison terms to the death penalty.>   Diplomats, human rights groups and pro-democracy activistsAcondemned the convictions in the secret tribunal. Some diplomats@say the sentences will further damage Nigeria's image. Britain,>the former colonial power in Nigeria, has warned that NigeriaBcould be barred from the upcoming summit in Auckland, New Zealand0of the commonwealth of former British colonies.;   The secrecy of the trial has also outraged human-rightsBorganizations, who fear those receiving the death penalty will be>summarily executed without their identities ever being known.5   However the Nigerian government has brushed aside?international criticism, saying the secret military court is aAlegacy of British colonial rule. The government also said it hasBacted in accordance with Nigerian laws. A military spokesman said;the sentences are being reviewed by the provisional ruling	council.@   The secret trial is just one in a series of events that have@deepened the political crisis in Nigeria since the annulment ofAthe 1993 presidential election that would have restored civilianrule in the country.B   Last year, Moshood Abiola, the man widely believed to have wonAthe presidential election, was arrested and charged with treason?for proclaiming himself president in defiance of the military.?His arrest sparked violent protests that crippled the nation's<economy. General Abacha has promised to hold new elections,7though he has not indicated when they will take place.   ---------------   ---------------7   HINDU INFLUENCE IN SOUTH AFRICAN APARTHEID STRUGGLE   WILLIAM EAGLE   WASHINGTON?   A conference of Hindu scholars and religious leaders during@the past week in South Africa has surfaced a Hindu influence in0the struggle against apartheid in that country.8   About 600 Hindu saints, priests and scholars from 389countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, and Botswana, wereArepresenting about 730 million Hindus globally. President NelsonBMandela told a Sunday rally that Hindu thinking had had an impact/on him and South Africa's liberation movement.B   Professor Rambhajun Sitaram (rahm'-bah-jahn sit'-ah-rahm), whoBleads the Department of Indian Language Studies at the University>of Durban [Destville], evaluated President Mandela's remarks:@   "In his biography, there is acknowledgement about how he wasAinfluenced by Hindu sacred literature while he was imprisoned at?Robbin Island. There were so many Hindu inmates with him, they@could not have failed to wield influence. The very strong moralAviewpoint of Hinduism is you have to live a compassionate decentBlife so you are determining a better quality of life for yourselfin the future. "?   Delegates from the global Hindu community hammered out more>than 40 resolutions, many aimed at strengthening Hindu unity.B   Krish Gokool [goe'-kool], a conference spokesman and community?leader in Durban, says hundreds of thousands of South Africa's=Hindus clung to their values through the trials of apartheid
governments:@   "Because of the restrictions on people visiting, the learned?swamis from India were denied access to South Africa. We couldBnot have the teachings from these people. But although there were>sanctions during apartheid, Hindu rituals were maintained and<people who visited were surprised we had maintained all thepractices in this country. "=   The Hindu conference proposed a development trust fund to6expand Hindu access to scripture and other materials.=   Krish Gokool says the fund also may be a tool for gaining@followers through better living standards, an approach that hasworked in the past:B   "When people were down and out, they were then lent assistance@to pay rent and buy foods. The majority of the conversions took@place in the poorest sections of the community where there were-financial difficulties and family problems."<   The Hindu conference also called for governments to pass<religious harmony laws, recently a human rights issue where;governments enforce legislation to prohibit blasphemy. TheBdelegates called U.N. protection of Hindu's fundamental rights in"Pakistan, Bangladesh and Kashmir.=   Conference delegates also called for greater equality forwomen.@   Hindu theologians say their faith contributed to the rebirthBof South Africa and they hope to help bring justice and democracyto the world.   ---------------   ---------------   CHAD CEASEFIRE   PURNELL MURDOCK   ABIDJAN;   Chadian prime minister Koibla Fjimasta has called for a>general ceasefire in Chad and invited warring factions in the/country to help develop a workable peace plan.=   In an address broadcast on state radio Wednesday, Chadian?prime minister Koibla Djimasta said the government is ready to?discuss any ideas chad's warring factions might have that will>restore peace to the war-torn country. He said the governmentBwelcomes their input in devising a peace plan and urged the armed&factions to take part in peace talks.;   The prime minister called for a ceasefire to take placeAimmediately throughout the country, though he did not say how it=applied to the Chadian army, which is fighting some one halfAdozen armed factions throughout the vast Central African nation.=Chad has been in an almost constant state of civil war since"independence from France in 1960.:   President Idriss Deby took power in 1990 and legalized=political parties in 1991 to lead Chad to democracy. But the@transition has been hampered by problems, including controversyAover the conduct of a voter census, which is holding up progresstowards elections.@   Elections were originally scheduled for last April, but wereBpostponed until later this year. Mr. Koibla did not give any date;for presidential or legislative elections during his radioAaddress, nor did the prime minister announce a new timetable forBa re-run of the abandoned voter registration exercise already onemonth behind schedule.   ---------------   ----------------   NIGERIA HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES INVESTIGATION   PURNELL MURDOCK   ABIDJANB   A team of human rights advocates representing the commonwealth?of former British colonies has begun it investigation of human5rights abuses in Nigeria. The investigation comes as>international concern grows about the fate of former militaryAruler Olusegun Obasanjo and his former deputy Shehu Yar'adua who4are facing conspiracy charges in a secret tribunal.B   The fact-finding team sent by the New Delhi-based Commonwealth@Human Rights Initiative is being led by former Canadian foreign?minister Flora MacDonald. Mrs. MacDonald says so far, the team>has not uncovered human rights abuses because it has not been@given access to political detainees. But she says the situationin Nigeria is tense:=   "I do find that there is a lot of disquiet in the country=among ordinary people who simply don't know what is going tohappen next.">   Nigeria has been in crisis since the scrapping of the 1993Bpresidential elections. The self-declared winner, Moshood Abiola,Bhas been in detention since June 1994. The present government has@been accused of human rights abuses, including the detention of:political opponents and suppression of an ethnic minority@struggle in Ogoniland in the oil-producing southeastern region.@   Mrs. MacDonald says members of the commonwealth have pledged;to uphold human rights. She says for that reason, there isAconcern among the former British colonies about the situation in	Nigeria:?   "Anyone like us coming in is bound to to be concerned about?the fact that free and fair elections that were held two years>ago were annulled, that the person who certainly was reported@from all sources to have won that election has been imprisoned.?Those are the things that concern us and we want to be able to>see whether or not any of this can be changed, whether or not7commonwealth pressure can hope to affect some change.">   Mrs. MacDonald says the outcome of the team's fact-finding?mission will influence Nigeria's position in the commonwealth.ABritain has already threatened that Nigeria could be barred from0this year's commonwealth summit in New Zealand.7   The commonwealth human rights investigation follows>international concern about the fate of some 25 civilians and@military officers being tried in a secret military tribunal for;alleged involvement in a plot to overthrow the government.7Nigeria has come under sharp criticism for the secrecy?surrounding the trial. But government officials have dismissed>the criticism as unnecessary, saying it is not the first such'court case in the West African nation.   ---------------   ---------------9   GENERAL AIDEED'S DECALRED GOVERNMENT SEEKS LEGITIMACY   ALEX BELIDA   NAIROBI<   Allies of Somali faction-leader Mohamed Farah Aideed are=vigorously defending the legitimacy of the government formed!under his leadership last month.>   General Aideed's government has not been recognized by any9other country and the delegation it sent to last month's@Organization of African Unity summit meeting in Addis Ababa was$not allowed to take Somalia's seat.8   Officials of that delegation maintain the Aideed-led@government is both broad-based and representative. Jama Mohamed@Ghalib, who is its foreign minister, tells reporters in NairobiAthe international community should respect what he claims is thewill of the Somali people:;   "General Aideed has been the choice of the overwhelmingAmajority of the Somali movements and we submit the international=community (should) accept and respect the will of the Somali	people.";   Mr. Ghalib bristles at news media reports that describeBGeneral Aideed as Somalia's self-styled or self-appointed leader.?He maintains the general was the unanimous choice of delegates2from 15 of Somalia's 16 main political movements.A   Western officials still have serious doubts. They say most ofBthe movements have splintered into pro-and-anti Aideed sub-groups@and only Aideed supporters took part in the conference that led>to formation of his government. They also note some political=figures traditionally regarded as leading representatives of>various movements did not participate in the deliberations atall.@   These western officials, speaking on condition of anonymity,>reject suggestions by General Aideed's allies they are simply@opposed to the general and therefore unwilling to recognize hisBclaim to power. They say even governments believed to be close to:the faction leader, like that of Ethiopia, are adopting a;wait-and-see attitude, to see if General Aideed can govern
anything.?   Representatives of the Aideed cabinet insist they do have a@program for running Somalia. They say their top priority is theBrestoration of security, including the disarming of militias, the=dismantling of roadblocks and checkpoints and a crackdown on
banditry.?   But reports from the capital, Mogadishu, and elsewhere make?clear violence continues. General Aideed's rivals scoff at the>notion that he and his backers can take effective measures tobring about peace.@   General Aideed's chief rival remains north Mogadishu faction;leader Ali Madhi Mohamed, who has long regarded himself as?Somalia's interim president. General Aideed is also opposed by>his former top financial backer, Asman Hassan Ali Atto, whose=supporters claim they ousted General Aideed as leader of his+Somali national alliance group last month.:   Somalia has been without an internationally-recognizedAgovernment since the overthrow of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in@1991. Following continued fighting between rival militias and aAdevastating famine, international peacekeeping troops intervened<a year later to try to restore order. Those troops and U.N.?civilian officials withdrew earlier this year after failing to/promote reconciliation and a peace settlement.   ---------------   ---------------B   SOGLO MAKES CONTINUED CASE FOR AID TO NATIONS THAT DEMOCRATIZE   JIM FISHER-THOMPSON   WASHINGTONA   Indicating that he understood Americans were in a mood to cut@foreign assistance, visiting Beninese President Nicephore SogloAmade a case for continuing aid to nations, like Benin, which are>actively democratizing while making painful efforts to reformtheir economies.A   Speaking at a news conference at the National Press Club July>14, Soglo stressed that "we need more freedom [democracy]" inAAfrica "to help build our economies. One of the main reasons for?us coming here, and other countries are doing the same thing,"?Soglo told journalists, is to explain Benin to people here who?are unfamiliar with Africa. Most Americans know the difference:"between Japan and Burma, between France and [the former]BYugoslavia," he said, but "when you talk about Africa, they don'thave the same knowledge."@   Soglo, who worked as a World Bank official in Washington for;nine years before winning his nation's first free and open=presidential election in 1991, said that a prime goal of his>visit was to show Americans that Benin is not a "basket case"((failure) politically and economically.=   The "U.S. has to balance its budget. No one denies that,"BSoglo stated. But "the issue is to know how [and] who is going to	suffer."<   In this regard, he observed that it is easier to include:Africa in the category of failures because the image mostBAmericans have of Africa is that of crises like Liberia, Somalia,?and Rwanda. Therefore, he said, the question Americans ask is,1"Are we going to pour money into a basket case?"?   But "you have another Africa too," Soglo said, and "that isBthe reason I am here. "Twenty-two out of 50 nations in Africa are;moving in the right direction" and are actively pursuing a=democratic course and economic liberalization, he added, and;these deserve continued support on their road to peace andprosperity.A   Benin in the past four years, he said, has, through elections>and fairly rigid adherence to structural adjustment programs,8stabilized itself politically and economically. This isBespecially important for attracting foreign investment -- another<prime reason for his trip, he said -- because "when someone@brings his money to invest, he wants peace and stability -- andBenin has that."8   In meetings he had with President Clinton, other topBgovernment officials, and leading members of Congress, Soglo said@that he told them: "You have to do more for Africa -- there has@already been aid for Latin America and Asia; now it is time for	Africa."B   For fiscal year 1995 (October 1, 1994, to September 30, 1995),;total U.S. assistance to Africa amounts to $1,118 million,Aincluding $802 million in the Development Fund for Africa (DFA),@$276 million in food aid, and $31.8 million in foreign disasterassistance.B   The House of Representatives recently passed an appropriations-bill that cut the DFA by about $140 million.A   Soglo, who said he was "confident" about the overall progressBof the continent, said that with "good policies, good management,/and investment, you can change the situation."   ---------------   ---------------"   AFRICAN EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES   HILLETEWORK MATHIAS   WASHINGTON>   Africa's higher education entered the 1990's with numerous<challenges. Campuses are run-down, classes are overcrowded,>teachers are underpaid, and books are out-dated. As a result,Bmany African intellectuals have gone to western countries seekingbetter academic opportunities.A   During the colonial era, access to higher education was quiteAlimited for Africans. And at the time of independence during theA1960's, sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa, had just sixAuniversities. According to UNESCO (The United Nation's Education;and Scientific Organization), Ghana had only 90 universityBgraduates, Sierra Leone 72, Malawi 29, Zaire 16 and Burundi none.@   Ali Mazrui is a prominent Kenyan historian. He says colonial%education policy was discriminatory:=   "Many colonial policy makers were also afraid of educated;Africans as agitators and trouble-makers and were inclined@therefore to be very selective on the subject they took and the@nature of education they received. And that affected many of us=who are educated under those conditions. I would have been a@lawyer by first preference but the colonial masters at the time4sought African lawyers were purely trouble makers."A   In the 1970's, however, Africa began to see a rapid expansionAin the number of universities. According to UNESCO, universities=increased to more than one hundred by the end of the 1980's.@Enrollment also grew from some 300 thousand students in 1980 to&about half a million ten years later.A   Nevertheless, the continent still lags far behind the rest of8the world in the percentage of its population attending?universities. William Saint is an education specialist for the@World Bank. He attributes problems of Africa's higher educationto a number of factors:?   "It was a mixture of inappropriate economic policies duringBthe late 70's and 80's which produced economic stagnation in many:countries and undercut the capacity to support universityBdevelopment. It was also due to a very rapid growth in university@student enrollments which far exceeded governments' capacity toBplan for and finance a rapidly expanding system. And it is due toAsome extent to limited vision and poor management within many ofthe institutions themselves."=   But others say Africans alone are not responsible for the?economic ills of the continent. They argue that western powers=should take the bulk of the blame. Nigerian-born Pai Obanya,Bdirector of UNESCO regional office for education in Africa, says:@   "The policies have been dictated by outside advisers. And ofBcourse all along, there has been conditionalities. You accept theBadvice I gave you or I withdraw the help I'm giving you. When the?mistakes come, they become Africa's mistakes. Those people who<are still suffering from inequalities should be allowed the@opportunity to analyze and solve their own problems themselves.@It is true mistakes have been made from within. But I think the$mistake from outside is even more."=   Analysts say the situation was compounded by the economic?crisis of the 1980's. They say reduced foreign aid and falling@personal incomes have worsened the quality of higher education.BToday, some of Africa's first-class institutions are on the verge>of collapse. The internationally known Makerere University in;Uganda is one of them. A World Bank study says half of the?positions at Makerere are vacant because a university lecturer;earns about 19 dollars a month. In Dakar, some 20 thousand>students crowd lecture halls that were originally planned for35-hundred.A   Coupled with the issue of finance is the question of academic:freedom. Kenyan professor Mazrui says African leaders are7insensitive to the needs of scholars. He cites his ownexperience:;   "I've done a major international television series, the?Africans: Their triple heritage. And yet to the present day it=has not been shown in my country. If I still lived in Kenya,?presumably I wouldn't have been able to make such a television<series at all. So there is a sense in which our capacity to<express ourselves as scholars and intellectuals is severelyAlimited by governments that are inadequately appreciative of the=importance of academic freedom and intellectual creativity.">   Professor Mazrui also says African politicians tend to see@universities as breeding grounds for political discontent. Some;scholars say the result is a brain drain that some African@politicians may be contributing to rather than help to reverse.<   For about 30-years, the World Bank has been an important;source of funding for Africa. In the late 1980's, the bankAintroduced structural adjustment programs (SAP). They called forAspending cuts, including educational budgets. The bank suggested>costly perks such as free student housing, health and welfare@services be eliminated. It said the money would be better spent on expanding primary education.?   William Saint,  a senior education specialist for the World@Bank, says Africans, themselves, should take the lead to tackleproblems of higher education:>   "My suggestion will be for African universities to developBstrategic plans for the 21st century which are rooted in nationalBrealities and national needs. The next step is to build consensus:first within the university, among staff and students and@secondly beyond the university particularly with government butAalso with other stake holders and families in general around the<strategic goals and strategic actions. The third step is to:develop financial support for the strategic plans and the,management capacity to carry them through."@   However, others argue economically-depressed Africans cannot=do much by themselves. Nigerian-born Pai Obanya, director of<UNESCO's regional office for education in Africa, says both>Africans and international financial institutions should takecorrective measures:?   "I think African governments also have to make adjustments.?Whether we have financial problems or not, sound management of>the little we have is a precondition. But no development in aAtrue sense is also possible without education. So, there have toAbe question of adjustment within adjustment. That is, within theBoverall context of structural adjustment, they still have to give;emphasis to the social sector to be able to get out of the<problems Africa is facing now of underdevelopment and otherrelated issues."B   The World Bank argues African governments should not depend on?public funding to run universities. William Saint of the World8Bank says universities should diversify their financialresources:?   "What we find in Africa is most families accord a very high<priority for education. What is interesting is that in manyBcountries, graduates from secondary school are then provided upon:admission into the university with a relatively cost-free:education. As the system has grown and become financiallyAunsustainable, they cannot continue to depend almost exclusivelyBon governments as is often the case now. They need to develop new>sources of income and certainly student contributions are onepotentially sizable source."8   Some African governments have already adopted modest?university fees. But most are caught in the middle. If they do?not charge, they cannot operate the institutions without majorAforeign aid. If they do charge, few people may be able to affordBit. At Makerere University in Uganda, talk of fees caused violentstudent protests last year.A   Another persistent problem is student or teacher strikes that<automatically force universities across Africa to close for<months. In Kenya, the University of Nairobi and three other>universities were shut down last year by the government after@university professors demanded to form a union. Also in Zambia,@the democratically-elected government closed the university andBfired professors last year for participating in a strike for backpay.B   Despite government crackdowns, however, some suggest academics<should not give up their fight. Kenyan-born Ali Mazrui is aBprofessor of African history and politics at the State University@of New York. He calls upon African academics to wage a two-fold
struggle:B   "One level is things which can be done by academics themselves:within universities, they should do them. There are major>revisions within the syllabuses that can be done by ourselves@without alarming the government and we don't do them because we>are not adequately interested in major changes. And secondly,<those that can't be done without major shifts in government<policy, they should fight for them the way Kenyan academicsAattempted to fight for the right to form a union. Now it is true>not all strikes succeed but nevertheless that is the route totake."?   Deterioration in higher education threatens the continent'sAdevelopment. Many analysts say efforts to ease the crisis shouldcontinue by all concerned.   ---------------   ---------------   CAMEROON NEWSPAPER STRIKE   WILLIAM EAGLE   WASHINGTON=   Most of Cameroon's independent newspapers are silent this>week, by choice, in order to protest what they say is growinggovernment censorship.<   At least eleven of Cameroon's 15 independent papers have;suspended publication. They're protesting what they say is@renewed censorship, arbitrary seizures and physical assaults on=journalists and newspaper vendors. The protesting papers areApooling their resources to operate at least one paper during the<strike. Proceeds will help defray the expenses of a planned&lawsuit against the censorship board.@   Many of these newspapers are located in Doula among them: Le<Messanger, Generation, Challenge Hebdo, Maloko, La NouvelleBIndependent, Ouest Echoes, Perspectives Hebdo, Le Temps, Galaxie,and La SentinelleB   Mr. Patrice Ndedi-Panda [n-day-dee' pahn-dah] is the publisher?of Galaxie newspaper in Douala. He says the government accuses:many of the papers of "troubling" the Cameroonian public:B   "When the president of the republic delivered a speech on JuneBfirst, Galaxie offered an analysis of the discourse. We concluded?some of the economic projects the president announced could beBdone and other things could not. That's because the InternationalAMonetary Fund had not given it's approval [to what the president@wanted to do], and Cameroon is in debt. [The government] wanted@us to say everything the president said was right, but we can't>do that. The government got angry and seized our papers. Each;time we want to do a critical analysis of the government's"policies, they seize our papers.">   Mr. Ndedi-Panda says the government has seized Galaxie six@times in six weeks. With that kind of harassment, he says, it's=hard to stay afloat. Contributing to the problem is that the?declining value of the CFA franc has made newsprint from south>Africa and Europe more expensive. Some independent papers mayeven go out of business.?   The government has closed one paper, the Perspective Hebdo,<for three months, and detained the publisher of another, Le=Nouvel Independant, for insulting a government official. Mr.9Ndzana Seme [n-zah'-nah seh-may'] allegedly offended theASecretary of State for internal security., Who had him arrested.,Formal charges have not yet been presented.A   The protesting papers seek Mr. Seme's release. They also warn@that a bill before parliament will maintain censorshop and will@compel private papers to publish government communiques free ofAcharge. The protesting papers would prefer the adoption of a law&guaranteeing the rights of the press.B   Mr. Ebokem Fomenky [eh-boe'-kem foe-men'-kay] is the editor of:the government-owned Cameroon Tribune in Yaounde. He says#censorship in Cameroon is minimal:?   "Objectively, the press in Cameroon is quite free. You only?need to look at the headlines of the papers on the newsstands.>Censorship today is not a big issue. It's true there is a law@which says all the papers printed in Cameroon should [pass by aAgovernment censor], but in practice, what happens is most papersBgo straight to print, and they are only requested to bring issues@after printing. They by-pass the law. I have not seen anyone in-Cameroon punished for publishing his paper."9   Last August, media professionals and non-governmental<organizations met to discuss press freedom in Cameroon. The@participants proposed that parliament pass a bill to officially>scrap press censorship. This week's striking journalists hope&they can draw attention to the cause.   ---------------   ---------------   SIERRA LEONE FIGHTING   PURNELL MURDOCK
   BIDJAN@   Sierra Leone government forces say they have killed at least=150 rebels of the Revolutionary United Front in two separate:raids on rebel-held villages in the south of the country.B   Military officials in Bo township, some 170 kilometers east ofAthe capital, Freetown, say the counter-offensive strikes against<Revolutionary United Front rebels were the largest and most7tactically efficient since the start of the civil war.9   Military sources say armed troops backed by tanks andBhelicopter gunships attacked rebel strongholds near Bo Monday. It@was the second time within one week that the army had inflicted=heavy casualties on the rebels. State radio reported a largeBnumber of rebels were killed in an army raid last week in Selinah#township, also in the Bo district.B   Government troops, helped by private South African commandoes,Ahave gone on the counter-offensive against rebels forces after a<series of rebel strikes brought the war nearer the capital,
Freetown.B   Sierra Leone's five-year-old civil war has caused the death of>at least 10,000 people and displaced nearly 40 percent of thepopulation.   ---------------   ---------------<   MORE SOUTH AFRICAN APARTHEID ERA "DIRTY TRICKS" REVEALED   MALLORY SALESON   JOHANNESBURG?   Revelations of so-called dirty tricks during South Africa's>apartheid era, particularly the years just before last year'sBelections, continue to emerge. The latest allegations are getting$closer to senior political leaders.B   South African deputy president FW De Klerk has again sought to;distance himself from so-called dirty tricks that included<political assassination during the dying days of apartheid.9   Reports say Mr. De klerk was briefed about all covert=operations during the last four years of his presidency. The<latest allegations have already prompted some calls for hisimmediate resignation.<   Retired police commissioner Johan Van Der Merwe told theB"Sunday Times" newspaper then president De Klerk and other senior9ministers were fully aware of a secret projects campaignAestablished in 1990 to discredit opponents of apartheid. He saidAthe secret campaign was authorized by the president while Mr. De>klerk and other senior National Party politicians began peace@negotiations with the African National Congress. He said Mr. DeBklerk himself appointed a cabinet committee to oversee the secret'projects and report to him personally.>   Mr. De Klerk said he accepts responsibility for the secret>campaign, as far as it operated within certain guidelines. He?again denied knowledge of political murders and other criminalAactivities that have come to light in connection with the secretBprojects. He blamed rogue elements within the security forces for@illegal actions, and claimed elements with their own agenda had<tried to undermine his political efforts. He has blamed the6police for deceiving the country's political leaders.>   The initial revelations of the secret projects came from a>former security policeman who leaked (made public) a judicial:document to the media and who has been telling his story,:including his involvement in dirty tricks operations. His@revelations have added to other secrets of the past regime that=have come to light through judicial investigations and court0cases involving murder, torture, and blackmail.=   More secret and criminal activities are likely to come toBlight once the Government of National Unity establishes its truthAand reconciliation commission to investigate human rights abuses>of the past. The commission will also decide whether to grant>amnesty to those who confess their crimes. The "Sunday Times">said in its editorial the truth of what happened is likely to;seep bit-by-bit from former security agents, tedious court7trials, and sudden confessions that will prompt mutual@recriminations. The editorial added it promises to be a painful	process.   ---------------   ---------------F   INVESTORS WORRIED OVER A DIMINISHED NATIONAL PARTY IN SOUTH AFRICA   YEHEYES WUHIB   WASHINGTON:   South Africa today presents investors with the classic?emerging market trade-off: The fear of the unknown, versus thelure of the undiscovered.;   President Nelson Mandela recently said that the AfricanBNational Congress (ANC) will rule by itself as the majority partyAafter the next scheduled elections. According to many observers,9the 1999 election could bring about the departure from a;governing role of the National Party (NP) headed by deputypresident FW De Klerk.9   This scenario has some investors worried. However theAexecutive director of the U.S./South African Business Council in<Washington, Daniel O'Flattery says the concern of investors8should be directed not at the National Party's eventual>departure, but at President Nelson Mandela's own longevity inoffice:A   "He has of course announced that he will not run for election>in 1999, and even though he finishes his term, which everyone?hopes and expects he will, the question looms as to what comesafter Mandela."A   Mr. O'Flattery says investors want to be sure that there will@be continuity in government, in regulatory policies, and in the=investment environment. He points out that there is a policyBconsensus among the South African corporate community, government9and the civil service, that foreign investment is indeed@desirable. Even in the area of labor relations, which accordingBto Mr. O'Flattery is rather fractious at the moment, labor unions?in South Africa are recognizing that their long term interests9lie in fashioning a climate where investors can succeed.@   Whitney Schnideman is director of the working group on SouthAand Southern Africa at the Center of Strategic and International8Studies at Georgetown University in Washington. He says<investment will flow into any country if there is politicalAstability. He believes nation-building is progressing remarkablywell in South Africa::   "The political climate is very good. The government of>national unity is quite vibrant, feeling their way quite well>along the path of democracy. It is not an easy process, but I@think the society at large has confidence in the ability of the?government to administer the country in a genuinely democratic
fashion."B   Dr. Schnidman adds that in the past year President Mandela has=consistently sought to insure that South Africa maintain its7place as an active player in the international market.=   However, unlike US/South Africa Business Council director@O'Flattery, Dr. Schnidman stresses that the new South Africa isAnot a one man show. He says everything does not depend on NelsonBMandela being in the presidency and that there is a broad pool ofBtalented and able people in government today who will continue to*form the nucleus of the post Mandela era.:   He believes that continuity guarantees the security ofAinvestment. According to Dr. Schnidman, South Africa is a market?that is being looked at actively not only by U.S. and European0companies, but also by Asian countries as well.A   Justin Beckett is president of New Africa Fund, which invests<in the stocks of African companies as well as multinationalAcorporations doing business in Africa. His company was the firstBAmerican investment firm to set up shop in South Africa after theBlifting of sanctions. Mr. Beckett says the growth potential of an8emerging market, combined with the sophistication of anAestablished market, means South Africa represents an exceptionalinvestment situation:=   "Right now South Africa represents over 55% of the entireAcontinent's economic might, and over 85% of the entirecontinents=stock market capacity. So to that end anyone that invests in5Africa will have a huge investment in South Africa."B   Will all this investments help improve the lives of the blacks7who make up more than eighty percent of South Africa'sApopulation? Mr. Beckett says it gradually will. According to Mr.=Beckett right now international companies like Coca Cola and=Pepsi Cola, BMW and Chrysler (automobiles), Nike (shoes) and@McDonald's (fast food) are all about selling their products andAmaking a profit. However, in the final analysis, Mr.Beckett says@in South Africas emerging market, success is not a matter of an?individual company succeeding, it is a matter of countries andpeople succeeding.   ---------------   ---------------?   40 NIGERIAN CONVICTED BY SECRET TRIBUNAL OF PLOTTING A COUP   PURNELL MURDOCK   ABIDJAN:   A secret military tribunal in Nigeria has convicted 40Acivilians and military officers, including former military ruler:General Olusegun Obasanjo, of conspiring to overthrow themilitary government.9   Speaking in the commercial capital, Lagos, governmentAspokesman Fred Chijuka said 40 of the 51 known suspects received;various sentences. He said seven people were acquitted and?released on Thursday and an eighth person was being held whilehis case awaited appeal.<   General Chijuka refused to give details about the people@convicted, or the sentences handed down. He gave only the names@of the 11 people acquitted and told reporters to draw their ownBconclusion regarding the outcome for the remaining people chargedin the alleged coup plot.;   The military spokesman also refused to answer questionsBregarding former military ruler General Olusegun Obasanjo and hisformer deputy Shehu Yar'adua.@   Speculation surrounding the fate of General Obasanjo and his@former deputy have been mounting. Unconfirmed news reports said<the former military ruler has been sentenced to 25 years in=prison and that Shehu Yar'adua has been sentenced to life inprison.@   The secret trial began after the government announced it hadBuncovered a plot to overthrow military ruler General Sani Abacha.ACritics have said there was no coup plot and that General Abacha?simply wanted an excuse to round up opponents to silence them.@   The secrecy surrounding the trials has outraged human-rights>activists around the world and drawn sharp criticism from the:international community. Among the concerns is that those@receiving the death sentence will be summarily executed without8their identities ever being known. However the NigerianAgovernment has brushed aside that criticism, saying the trial isin accordance with its laws.@   More than 117 people have been executed over coup charges inNigeria since 1976.   ---------------   ---------------5   NIGERIAN RULER LIFTS BAN ON INFLUENTIAL NEWSPAPER   PURNELL MURDOCK   ABIDJANB   Nigeria military ruler General Sani Abacha has lifted a ban on@the influential "Guardian" newspaper after receiving an apology4from publishers for any offenses committed by them.?   The order to lift the ban on the guardian newspaper came 11<months after the original ban was placed on the influential;publication. Publishers of the guardian and members of the?newspaper proprietors association of Nigeria met with military=leader General Sani Abacha Thursday in an effort to have the:publishing house re-opened. After offering an apology for?perceived offenses committed by the publishers, General Abachaagreed to lift the ban.>   Guardian newspaper editor Emeka Izeze said the apology wasBnecessary for getting the ban lifted. But he said it did not meanBthe newspaper will retreat from its policy of reporting accurate,unbiased news.A   Political observers welcomed the move to re-open the guardian?though there is still concern about a new regulation requiring>news media to re-register with the government. Critics of the=regulation say it is an attempt to blackmail the independent=press. The military government says the order is intended to8punish publishers who refuse to properly register their8publications in compliance with government regulations.A   The move to re-open the guardian, which is considered by manyBNigeria's most influential newspaper, also comes as critics decryAwhat they call a clampdown on the press. The government recentlyBextended a ban on two other widely-read newspapers, "Concord" and4"The Punch." Those papers were shut down last June.B   The Nigerian government has often accused the press of writingAinflammatory articles, and has within the past six months closed8down a number of news publications, arresting scores ofAjournalists. General Abacha has appealed to Nigerian journalists;to show restraint and caution in their reporting and to do?nothing to undermine the security and stability of the nation.BThe guardian newspaper was banned last August and had its initial;six-month prohibition extended last February for a similarperiod.@   Editors at the newspaper said they hope to have the Guardian1on the newsstands within the next several weeks.   ---------------   ---------------!   SOUTH AFRICAN LABOR AGREEMENT   MALLORY SALESON   JOHANNESBURGA   Organized labor and big business in South Africa have reachedAagreement on most of the critical issues for new labor relationsAlegislation, which is expected to be approved by parliament thisyear.;   Labor analysts have expressed optimism the agreement byBorganized labor, big business, and the government on far-reachingAlegislation will encourage stability in labor relations in South=Africa. A few outstanding issues will be negotiated over the0weekend and will likely be completed by Monday.@   The most critical issue, that of centralized bargaining, has=been resolved, with agreement that it can take place only byAmutual agreement. Centralized bargaining will not be compulsory,Aas labor had demanded. Business won agreement that strikes would@have to be preceded by a strike ballot. And labor won agreementAthat farmworkers will have the right to stage industrial action,8including strikes, a right they were previously denied.>   The agreement was hailed by all sides as a step forward inBlabor relations. Labor minister Tito Mboweni, who helped push theBprocess along through compromise proposals, welcomed the package.@He said it will lead to closer cooperation between business andlabor:9   "We're going to see, therefore, development of a more>cooperative relationship between business and the trade union>movement, which I think augers very well for this country, it@augers well for investment, it augers well for job creation, it>augers well for economic growth. It augers well for peace andstability.">   The protracted negotiating process had created uncertainty=inside and outside the country, particularly among potentialBinvestors. Mr. Mboweni said the latest agreement should go a long=way to ease that situation. At the same time, he said no one:should be naive and expect a perfect relationship betweenbusiness and labor:@   "There will always be differences between capital and labor.9It is in the nature of a market economy. But what we are?providing here is a sophisticated, progressive mechanism which@will seek to manage that relationship, not solve it, manage theBrelationship between capital and labor in a manner which benefits*both parties and the country as a whole."A   Labor analysts said the outcome of the negotiations was never=really in doubt, adding that the legislation turned out justabout as they expected.>   Labor consultant Andrew Levy said the most important thing<about the negotiations was the process itself. The proposed<legislation took months of painstaking negotiation that, atBtimes, was deadlocked, with both labor and business accusing each?other of bad faith. Mr. Levy said the process was a victory in@that the parties overcame their harsh words to reach agreement.B   Mr. Levy and other analysts said they expect more stresses andBstrains when the government seeks compromise from both parties on8such issues as wage restraints, affirmative action, and>deregulation of small business. But they said the process hasAcontributed toward establishing cohesion in labor relations, andis a good omen for the future.   ---------------   ---------------6   CALL TO END TRAFFICKING OF NEPALESE WOMEN TO INDIA   CHRIS SIMKINS   NEW YORK<   A U.S. based human rights organization has called on the>governments of Nepal and India to do more to stop the illegalBtrafficking of young Nepalese women to work in brothels in India.@   According to Human Rights Watch, thousands of young NepaleseBwomen are being lured or forced to become prostitutes and work inBbrothels in some of India's largest cities. A report by the human?rights group says there has been a significant increase in theBforceable trafficking of Nepalese woman to work as prostitutes inBBombay and New Delhi. Jeannine Guthrie, one of the authors of theAHuman Rights Watch study, says the women from Nepal were trickedinto going to India::   "They were lured from their villages in Nepal by local@recruiters, sometimes relatives or neighbors, and sold for very=small amounts of money to brokers who then delivered them to@brothels in India where they were sold again for between 15,000<and 40,000 rupees which is about 500 to 1,300 dollars. That@purchase price then became a debt the girls were forced to work;off which is a process that can last almost indefinitely."A   The study suggests half of the 100,000 prostitutes working in;Bombay sex hotels are from Nepal and that half of them are@infected with the HIV virus that causes AIDS. The report, basedAlargely on interviews with young Nepalese women, finds that many;of them were forced to live in the brothels and were under>constant surveillance to make sure they could not escape. The>women also reported they were raped or beaten for refusing tohave sex with customers.?   According to media reports cited by human rights observers,Bthe Indian government has indicated that one-quarter of the womenBworking in Indian brothels were 16 years old. A representative of?the Indian mission to the United Nations in New York would not@comment on the Human Rights Watch report. Jeannine Guthrie says?the only way to curb the flow of forcible trafficking of women:from Nepal is to place tighter controls along the border:?   "We are asking both countries to be much more aggressive in=their border checks. I have seen the border crossing betweenBNepal and India and because it is an open border there is a greatAdeal of traffic back and forth. It is very important that borderBofficials on both sides are trained to recognize and look out for potential trafficking victims."A   Human Rights Watch observers say that in Nepal, border police?are still being bribed to allow traffickers to transport girlsBinto India. The human rights organization is calling on delegatesBto the upcoming United Nations conference on women in China (nextAmonth) to study the problem. In addition, the organization wantsBthe government of India to aggressively investigate and prosecuteAthose responsible for illegally bringing in women from Nepal and+operating prostitution rings within India.   ---------------   ---------------$   EAST ASIA-PACIFIC WEEK-IN-REVIEW   DON BENSON   WASHINGTON@   Burma's most famous dissident, Aung San Suu Kyi, is released>after six years of house arrest, President Clinton normalizes;ties with Vietnam, and Thailand gets a new prime minister.>   Burma's ruling military council this week freed opposition<leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, after?holding her under house arrest for six years. Ms. Aung San Suu@Kyi says there were no conditions to her release. She spent her?first week of freedom by meeting with diplomats, reporters and:her political colleagues. The military leadership did notAannounce to the Burmese public that it had released Aung San SuuBKyi, the daughter of Burmese independence hero Aung San. But word?spread fast after it was announced on overseas radio. Ms. AungASan Suu Kyi said she will take her time to decide what direction=her activities should take. But she also said she intends to2speak out about conditions in her native country.   ================   President Clinton this week formally announced the UnitedBStates is beginning the process of normalizing ties with Vietnam.@The announcement came about a year and a-half after Mr. Clinton@lifted the longstanding economic embargo against Hanoi. He said@the Vietnamese had kept their promise to help the United StatesAtry to locate missing servicemen from the Indochina war. SeveralBprominent U.S. senators who served in the military during the warBsupported the president's decision. But others said Hanoi has not<done enough on the issue of missing servicemen. Some of the>families of the missing also said they wish the president had?waited. Mr. Clinton said Secretary of State Warren Christopher;will go to Vietnam next month to discuss bilateral issues.   ===============>   Thailand got a new prime minister this week. He is veteran>politician Banharn Silpa-Arch, whose Chart Thai party won the@most seats in the July general elections. Former prime ministerAChuan Leekpai called the election after his five-party coalition@lost one of its key members. Mr. Chuan's Democrat party came in8second in the elections. The new prime minister heads aAseven-party coalition that holds 233 seats in the 391-seat lowerBhouse of parliament. His cabinet is expected to be named in a few@days. Mr. Banharn has spent 20 years in parliament. He is known$as a master of political patronage.   ================   In South Korea, officials this week doubled the number of?people thought to be missing from the collapse of a departmentAstore two weeks ago. The number of missing is now more than 400.AAuthorities said the discrepancy happened because rescue workers>kept an additional list that was not included in the original@estimate. The confirmed death toll in the store collapse is nowBmore than 250. Angry relatives of the dead and missing accuse theBgovernment of trying to cover up the extent of the tragedy, which:is blamed on shoddy construction and disregard for safetystandards.   ===============B   France marked Bastille Day this week, the French national day.@And in the South Pacific, there were demonstrations against the>decision in Paris to resume nuclear tests in that region. The=largest demonstration was in Sydney, Australia, where 15,000?protesters marched from the town hall to the French consulate.BTwo thousand people gathered at the French ambassador's residence?in Wellington, New Zealand, and threw eggs and flour at people?who attended a luncheon there. French President Jacques Chirac@has rejected appeals to cancel the nuclear tests, which are setto begin in September.   ===============>   Chinese President Jiang Zemin began a trip to Germany this9week, amid a heavy police presence to deter trouble fromBdemonstrators. Human rights protesters complained that Germany isAignoring China's poor rights record in the push to make businessBdeals. German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said relations cannotAhinge solely on questions of human rights. But he said the issue8would be discussed. The two sides later signed economic2agreements worth more than three billion dollars.   ===============A   China and the United States exchanged more words this week inBtheir worsening relationship. China is still upset about the June?visit of Taiwan's president to the United States. It called onBPresident Clinton to publicly re-state the U.S. one-China policy.?The White House said there was no reason for Mr. Clinton to do@that. It said the U.S. policy has not changed. But it said that>requests for U.S. visits by Taiwanese officials in the futureAwill be considered on a case-by-case basis. Washington has asked:for high-level talks on the issue, but China has refused.B   On another matter, the United States continued to call for the=release of Chinese-American dissident Harry Wu, who has been?charged with espionage in China. His wife called in the United;States for a boycott of the upcoming international women'sconference in Beijing.   ---------------   --------------->   PHILIPPINES MOVE TO PHASE OUT EXPORTATION OF WOMEN WORKERS   MARIE ORARA
   MANILA?   The Philippine government has approved a program that would>phase out the deployment of Filipino women abroad as domestic;helpers and entertainers. The move came after a Philippine@commission investigating working conditions of Filipino migrant=workers released its final report and recommendations to thepresident.;   In response to the report on Filipino overseas workers,@President Fidel Ramos appointed several high ranking government,officials to carry out its recommendations.A   The 300 page report urged President Ramos to eventually bring>to an end the deployment of women as domestic workers abroad,9especially in the Middle East where there have been manycomplaints of abuse.A   The commission also recommended the government prevent female=Filipinos from going to countries such as Japan, as dancers.@During the three-month investigation, the officials looked into@allegations that many Filipinas were being hired as dancers and later forced into prostitution.@   The hanging of a Filipina maid in Singapore in March brought?the plight of Filipino migrant workers into the foreground andBprompted the investigation of the working conditions of FilipinosAoverseas. Many Filipinos believe the domestic worker was wronglyBconvicted of the 1991 killing of another maid and a four year-oldSingaporean boy.=   But analysts say the case alone is not what has caused an=uproar in the country. Anger about the treatment of overseasBworkers has been slowly boiling among Filipinos. In recent years,@Filipinos have seen frequent media reports cataloguing the poor?working conditions, withholding of payments and physical abuse"that overseas workers can suffer.?   Official reports say there are more than three and one half6million Filipinos working in more than 100 countries.<Non-governmental organizations that provide support to manyBoverseas workers put the number at five to six million. More than:half are estimated to be women. Almost two million of the9Filipinos abroad are thought to be undocumented workers.=   The commission on Filipino migrant workers also urged the<government to create a separate official body to manage and?process the large number of Filipinos applying to work abroad.A   Local civic action groups say it has been common practice forAmany recruitment agencies to charge exorbitant fees to Filipinos>desperate for the higher salaries that can be found overseas.   ---------------   ---------------(   AUNG SAN SUU KYI SPEAKS TO THE PRESS   DAN ROBINSON   RANGOON@   Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi says a majority of?people in Burma want a genuine democratic government. The 1991BNobel Peace Prize laureate, released on July 10th from nearly sixyears of house arrest.:   Exhausted after a week of media interviews, three newsBconferences and impromptu talks with well-wishers in front of her?home, Aung San Suu Kyi is still stressing two main themes. SheAsays there is still widespread support for democracy, but at theAsame time emphasized the need for Burmese to compromise and work@together for the good of the country on what she says will be a#long, hard road towards democracy.@   In her first statement after her release this week, she saidAthe authorities and people of Burma have more in common than did8blacks and whites in South Africa before majority rule:=   "The white and black people of South Africa were very far=apart. They were different races, and basically of different@cultures and because of the practice of apartheid, there was no>way in which they could come together at all. Here, we're allABurmese. Some Burmese who believe in democracy, and some Burmese?who don't. The majority of the Burmese believe in democracy. IBdon't think you can deny that with such proof as the elections of1990."A   Aung San Suu Kyi said the road to democracy will not be easy,9but she urges Burmese to remain committed to that cause:=   "It won't come easily. I've said that all the time, but I9think there is no reason why we shouldn't get that if we?persevere and if we go about it the right way, because this isAwhat the great majority of the people want, and I do believe the,will of the people is very, very powerful."A   Aung San Suu Kyi says that at one point in 1994, she felt the<United States was not doing enough to support the democracyBcause. However, now she says U.S. support appears to be stronger.=   Two U.S. Congressional staffers visiting Rangoon met with7Aaung San Suu Kyi Friday. They briefed her on proposed:legislation calling for sanction against Burma if furtherAprogress towards democracy is not made.  She declined to specifyAwhat kind of advice she gave, saying only that she expressed herBopinions. But in her news conference, she described as very tough?legislation imposed by Republican senator Mitch mcconnell. She?said it remained to be seen if there was further progress thatmight lead him to reconsider.@   On other topics during her news conference, Aung San Suu Kyi>said she hopes compromises can be reached that would make theAmilitary controlled national convention guarantee democracy. She;said the National League for Democracy, which won the 1990?election permitted by the military, should not return to being@the party it was in 1989, but in her words, "the party it oughtto be in 1995."@   Asked about foreign investment in Burma, heavily promoted by9the military government, she said she had not yet made a?judgment, however she said she believes that nothing, not evenAeconomic development, can justify sacrificing political freedom.>   Finally, Aung San Suu Kyi said that although she had never=thought about it, it would be in her words, "really nice" ifAother Nobel Peace Prize winners could come and see her in Burma.   ---------------   ---------------&   BURMA/AUNG SAN SUU KYI: WHAT NEXT?   DAN ROBINSON   RANGOON;   Observers in the Burmese capital Rangoon say the ruling:military government is watching closely the impact of its>decision to free democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house=arrest.  Aung San Suu Kyi has sounded a conciliatory note inAstatement since her release but it remains to be seen what stepsshe can or will take next.B   Most observers agree that the military government or state law>and order restoration council felt confident enough about its>control to free Aung San Suu Kyi. Analysts say that while theBdecision to free her was probably the subject of heated debate atAsome point, the military also saw clear advantages in terms withBits relationships with neighbors in Southeast Asia and with other?governments. The impact was visible in the United States where=Republican Senator Mitch mcconnell of Kentucky said he would=delay although not cancel plans to introduce legislation for5tough sanctions against Burma's military government.B   In free-spirited sessions with foreign news media, the 50 year@old daughter of Burma's independence hero has stressed the need@for compromise and spoken of a desire to work with the militaryAto forge a new future for Burma. Asked how long it might take toBbring about at least an on-surface transfer of power to civilians<she was especially cautious. High expectations she said canalways lead to disappointment:A   "That sort of situation I don't believe in, people are always@saying 'in how many years, in how many years?', does it matter,as long as we get there?">   However Aung San Suu Kyi has also indicated her discomfort>with the national convention the military has run since 1993.AResponding to a question about the military's aim of maintainingAwhat it calls a leading role in national politics, she said thatAit was not the original intention of the democracy movement when
it began.@   Military officials have apparently said nothing more to AungASan Suu Kyi since delivering the notice of her release and until?she consults fully with the members of her National League forADemocracy, which won an election in 1990, there is no indicationany talks will take place.?   Diplomats say it is not yet clear how much flexibility AungASan Suu Kyi will have. Her tremendous popularity was evident the@first time she stood at her gate to address Burmese gathered in&heavy rain to catch a glimpse of her.B   Observers say they do not think her conciliatory messages willBnecessarily reduce her public appeal or effectiveness as the main<voice for democratic aspirations. As for relations with the:military, diplomatic sources say the fact that she is the?daughter of Burma's independence hero, General Aung San, gives6her added flexibility with Burma's military generals.A   In comments to the media, she said the military should have a=role that is, in her words, consistent with the honor of theBcountry, the honor of the army, and the well-being of the people.BAnd, she said, we will have to work out what that role is. As oneBanalyst puts it, the big question in coming weeks and months will@be whether the military is willing to take further steps to sitdown and negotiate further.?   Observers believe the junta will be watching closely to seeAhow the country reacts to Aung San Suu Kyi's freedom, especially>if she decides to travel outside of Rangoon. And they say the@lack of any new gestures toward her at this point by the ruling@junta is not particularly surprising. But it is on the national7convention that most speculation appears to center. In>adjournment until October, the convention is described by the1military as the basis of a new developed nation.:   National reconsolidation is the new term coined by the?military to describe the future after a new constitution is inBplace. However, since it began the convention has involved mostlyBhand-picked candidates. Elected politicians from 1990 were either$imprisoned or forced to flee Burma.:   In her remarks this week, Aung San Suu Kyi said that aBconvention is good provided it is run on the right principles. AsAfor this particular convention she added, 'I have reservations.'<   Observers say Aung San Suu Kyi and her colleagues in the@National League for Democracy have time until the convention isAscheduled to reconvene to determine their position and attitude.BAnalysts say among the objectives Aung San Suu Kyi could focus on=in coming months would be the release of remaining politicalBprisoners, specially elected members of parliament from 1990, and:convincing the military that a change in direction of the3convention would not be damaging to its interests.   ---------------   ---------------   CHINA'S BIRTH DEFECTS LAW   DAVID MCALARY   WASHINGTON@   A leading western medical journal has attacked a new ChineseBlaw intended to reduce the number of babies born with physical ormental defects.B   China's new law on maternal and infant health care took effect;June first and aims to relieve the burden of disability to?society. Out of more than one billion Chinese, an estimated 52million are disabled.@   The law obligates couples to undergo premarital examinationsAfor serious genetic diseases, some infectious diseases, and what>it calls relevant mental disorders. If the problem is serious;enough, long term contraception or female sterilization isBrequired to enforce that a couple is childless. Otherwise, peoplewill not be allowed to marry.B   In an editorial, Saturday's (July 15th) edition of the BritishAjournal "The Lancet" says it objects to the measure on moral andAmedical grounds. It charges that the law concerns the well-being@of the state rather than the citizens whose interests the stateis there to protect.A   The "Lancet" editorial predicts that the eugenics law will beAexpensive to carry out, yet ineffective because people will findBways around it. It says resources would be better spent educatingAyoung girls in healthy maternity and child rearing practices and=in giving iodine supplements to reduce what it calls China's+endemic cretinism (or mental retardation).B   The Chinese embassy in Washington made no one available for an"official response to the article.>   "The Lancet" notes that China's population burden is high,>more than one-fifth of the world's people. It also points out9that the Beijing government's overall goal is fewer, buthealthier babies.B   The journal concedes it is perilous to impose western morality
on China.9   But it also quotes a recent World Health Organization=pronouncement that coercion in reproductive health is wrong.   ---------------   ---------------5   HONG KONG PUBLIC OPINION POLL ON CHINA TRANSITION   MAX RUSTON
   HONG KONG9   An opinion pole in Hong Kong indicates growing publicAdissatisfaction with both the Chinese and British governments as>the territory prepares for its transition to Chinese rule twoByears from now.  The trend appears to have been fueled by the twoAsides' public disputes over political reforms and infrastructure
projects.B   According to researcher Michael Degolyer, dissatisfaction with@Beijing and London has been growing steadily since he began hisBpublic opinion surveys more than two years ago. Mr. Degolyer, theAdirector of the Hong Kong Transition Project, a research unit in*the territory's Baptist University, says:?   "It seems as though also the degree of satisfaction dealing;with each other is very low. Only one person in five being=satisfied with either the Chinese dealing with the Hong Kong@government or the Hong Kong government dealing with the Chinese=government. So this long period of dispute has had a toll on%satisfaction with both governments."<   Mr. Degolyer outlined his latest findings in a speech toBbusiness leaders in Hong Kong. His surveys show a consistent rise>in public concern over living standards, personal freedom andApolitical stability among the territory's six-million residents.>They show that 70 percent of the population feels Beijing and=London should listen to public opinion in the territory when/settling issues affecting people's livelihood.<   Chinese and British officials say their highest priority=during the final two years leading up to the hand-over is toBmaintain confidence in the territory. They are reported worried a:drop in confidence could lead to an outflow of investment;capital, from which Hong Kong's economy might not recover.<   Under the 1984 Sino-British agreement on the transfer of@sovereignty, China pledged not to change the territory's way of@life for 50 years after the hand-over. China continues to offerBthat pledge. However some Hong Kong residents and legislators sayAthey are worried changes in China's leadership and other factors9could make it difficult for Beijing to keep its promise.   ---------------   ---------------+   SRI LANKAN REBELS LAUNCH COUNTER-ATTACK   MICHAEL DRUDGE
   NEW DELHI?   In Sri Lanka, Tamil rebels have counter-attacked government@troops in the guerrillas' northern stronghold, killing at least/40 soldiers and shooting down a fighter plane.:   Tamil separatist guerrillas have unleashed a ferocious;counter-attack on government troops on the northern Jaffna9Peninsula, where the army has mounted a major offensive.<   Sri Lankan military spokesmen report heavy casualties inBFriday's battle near the Jaffna towns of Alavetti and Sandilipai.@The Tamil rebels also shot down an air force fighter plane that.was bombing and strafing guerrilla positions.?   This is the strongest rebel response since the armed forces@began a major offensive on Jaffna Sunday. The army has moved to:within six kilometers of Jaffna city and the military has?occupied about half of the northern peninsula, the base of the"Liberation Tigers of Tamil eelam.A   Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been displaced by theBfighting. The International Committee of the Red Cross says about?150 civilians have been killed and 350 wounded. The casualties?include scores of women and children killed when the air forcebombed a church.=   The fighting has been the fiercest since the Tamil Tigers;pulled out of peace talks and broke a cease-fire in April.?   Military officials say the objective of the offensive is to9force the rebels back to the bargaining table. But rebelBspokesmen say they will not negotiate from a position of military
weakness.;   The guerrillas want a separate homeland for Sri Lanka's@tamils, who make up about one-fifth of the island's population.=More than 30 thousand people have been killed in 12 years of
fighting.   ---------------   ---------------%   RED CROSS PREPARES TO LEAVE BURMA   DAN ROBINSON   RANGOONB   After her release from house arrest earlier this week, Burmese@democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi urged Burma's military rulers;to free remaining political prisoners. While international@attention continues to focus on the unexpected events involvingAAung San Suu Kyi, representatives of the International Red CrossBcontinue to make preparations to leave Burma after failing to getAthe military government to agree to proper conditions for accessto prisons.?   Outside Aung San Suu Kyi's residence, which she has not yet>left since her release, a crowd of curious onlookers, foreign@media, street vendors, and probably Burmese intelligence agentsstands in the steady rain.=   Several kilometers away, in a house near one of Rangoon's9major intersections. Expatriate and Burmese staff of the>International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) are busy withpreparations to close up shop.B   Last month, the ICRC announced it would leave Burma because of>the refusal of the military government to agree to recognizedconditions for prison access.B   For two years, the ICRC had been trying to gain full access toAprisoners in more than 30 jails in Burma. A key objective, and a@standard part of the ICRC agenda in countries around the world,>was to have private meetings with prisoners. Friedrun Medert,+Rangoon-based delegate for the ICRC, says:A   "These procedures are, in short, that we want, to see all theAprisoners, we want to see all the prisons, we want to be able toArepeat the visits and we want to be able to draw up lists of the?prisoners we see. In turn we guarantee full confidentiality ofBour findings and we will only report to the detaining authorities<with the aim of establishing a humanitarian dialogue so the>conditions of detention and treatment of the prisoners can beimproved."B   The lack of progress on the prison access issue since 1994 led9to more criticism of Burma's military by several foreign9governments, among them the United States and Australia.B   In April, the ruling junta denied it was refusing to cooperate<and said it had sent a counter-proposal on what it called a8memorandum of understanding. However, an official media@commentary rejected what it called intervention in matters that/are within the domestic jurisdiction of Burma.A   In mid-june, a letter from the head of the ICRC was delivered8to the ruling military council outlining the failure of9negotiations. A few days later, two key junta officials,?including the powerful head of intelligence lieutenant generalKhin nyunt, met with the ICRC.=   The outcome was negative, specifically on the question ofBprivate visits with prisoners. Soon after, the ICRC reported that?efforts to persuade the ruling state law and order restoration9council to reconsider had been in vain and announced itswithdrawal from Burma.?   Friedrun Medert says it is not for her to judge why RangoonAauthorities rejected Red Cross conditions. She adds that the RedBCross always made clear to authorities that it was more concernedBabout conditions of detention and treatment of nameless prisoners0than with the special case of Aung San Suu Kyi.?   There appears to be little reason to hope that the military?government will change its mind. Again, ICRC delegate Friedrun
Medert says:@   "We will be pulling out by the end of July, but we have told@and repeated to the authorities that we are ready to resume the>dialogue if they so wish. Our regional delegation in Delhi is;ready to talk to the authorities, is ready to come back toAMyanmar (Burma) at any time and find out whether the authoritiesAhave changed their position and whether there is any possibilityof progress."?   Friedrun Medert says the frequency of future ICRC visits to>Burma will depend on developments. For now, she projects thatAICRC officials based in India, which has jurisdiction for Burma,might come every three months.>   As a result of the Red Cross departure, an ICRC orthopedic;project begun in the mid-1980's will be handed over to theMyanmar Red Cross society.   ---------------   ---------------   HONG KONG BUSINESS BRIEFS   MAX RUSTON
   HONG KONG;   Researchers in Hong Kong are calling for new efforts to8prevent skilled workers and executives from leaving theBterritory, as it prepares for its transfer to Chinese rule in twoyears.:   The vice president of the Hong Kong Institute of Human=Resources Management, Sara Tang, says more than six thousand@people emigrated from Hong Kong last year. While that number is?not, in itself, a cause for worry, Ms. Tang says Hong Kong and=China should take notice and cooperate in efforts to prevent?skilled workers and executives from moving to other countries.>   She says a study of 187 companies shows an alarmingly high=number of experienced employees and teachers are among thoseAleaving Hong Kong. She says in the corporate world, this results?sometimes in less experienced employees being promoted to fill5new vacancies at high levels, before they are ready.A   There has been concern about a brain drain in Hong Kong since@1984, when Chinese and British negotiators reached agreement onBthe 1997 transfer of sovereignty. Thousands of migrants return to8work in the territory each year, after securing foreign;passports. However, Ms. Tang says it is still facing a netoutflow of skilled workers.=   In other business news, the territory's largest financialBinstitution, Hong Kong Bank, has announced plans to relocate some;employees and operations to China over the next two years.=Analysts say the move should help the bank escape escalatingAlabor and living costs in Hong Kong, and increase its ability to;respond quickly to any relaxation of rules restricting the&activities of foreign banks in China.A   A senior executive says the bank's China trade office will be@transferred to Shanghai or Beijing over the next two years. His?statements follow an announcement that certain data processingBoperations will be transferred to the southern city of Guangzhou,-the closest major Chinese city to Hong Kong.>   Real estate prices in Hong Kong make it one of the world'sBmost expensive places to live and do business. Although its laborAforce includes a large sector of well educated workers, analystsBsay clerical and data processing work can be done at a lower cost
in China.=   Over the last decade, this phenomenon has resulted in theBtransfer of thousands of factories from Hong Kong to China, where?laborers are eager to work for a fraction of the wages paid inthe territory.   ---------------   ---------------C   NEW THAI PRIME MINISTER ACCUSED OF VOTE BUYING/DRUG TRAFFICKING   DAVID BUTLER   BANGKOK>   In Thailand, a veteran politician whose party won the mostAseats in a general election early this month was appointed prime@minister Thursday. The new prime minister's party is tainted by:charges of vote-buying and allegations of links with drug
trafficking.=   At his palace in central Bangkok, King Bhumipol Adulyadej<signed the royal command appointing Chart Thai party leader'Banharn Silpa-Archa as prime minister.?   Mr. Banharn and leaders of the six other parties in his new;coalition government were not present at the ceremony, but@gathered, in splendid white official uniforms, at Mr. Banharn'sBangkok home.;   Mr. Banharn has said he expects to name his new cabinetAline-up within three days of his appointment. The process, which@began immediately after the election, involves intense haggling4over which parties and individuals get which posts.B   The Chart Thai, or Thai nation, party won 92 seats, edging out=the Democrat party of outgoing Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai,which won 86 seats.A   The seven-party coalition commands a strong 233-seat majorityin the chamber.@   Prime Minister Banharn, who is 62, made a fortune in Bangkok@construction and chemical companies. He has lavished his wealth?on his home province of Suphanburi, 100-kilometers north of ofBBangkok, building roads, bridges and hospitals, some of which arenamed after him.>   In the past two elections he won more votes than any other?candidate in the country. He is nicknamed "Mobile ATM" for his-habit of handing out cash to his supporters.=   The party was widely accused of vote-buying in the recent?election. Days before the election, police raided a house in a=province in northeastern Thailand, the poorest region of the=country, and confiscated 440-thousand dollars and Chart Thaicampaign material.@   Mr. Banharn's most serious image-problem stems from the factAthat two of the party's leaders have been denied visas to travel8to the United States because of alleged links with drug
traffickers.A   Published reports say one of the two, Narong Wongwan, will be<satisfied if his faction is represented in the cabinet. TheBother, Vatana Asavahame, is thought to be still holding out for a
cabinet job.B   Mr. Banharn was first elected to parliament from Suphanburi in91976. During the past 15-years, he has served in various=governments as agriculture, finance, industry, interior, and'transport and communications minister.A   In those posts he built a reputation as a quick learner and agood manager.   ---------------   ---------------'   CHINESE COMMUNISTS AND NATIONALISTS   STEPHANIE HO   BEIJING7   Since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, the@nationalists and the communists have mostly regarded each otherAas bitter enemies. However, despite decades of hostility, one of>the founders of the nationalist party is still revered on the>communist mainland, while another major nationalist figure is@being treated in a more positive light; especially for his roleduring the war against Japan.?   Irony is abundant in communist China and perhaps nowhere is?this more evident than at the well-maintained mausoleum of Sun@Yat-Sen, an early Chinese revolutionary and one of the founders"of the Chinese Nationalist Party.?   The gleaming white mausoleum sits on a hillside overlooking@Nanjing and is a popular pilgrimage site for both Taiwanese andmainland Chinese.>   Although the country has been ruled by communists for more7than 45 years, the symbol on the flag of the communistAgovernment's arch-rival, Taiwan, is openly visible in and aroundthe mausoleum.>   Mosaic renderings of the nationalist flag's white sun on aAblue field dominate the two domes inside the main memorial hall,=above a huge seated statue of Sun Yat-Sen and a marble cryptunder which he is buried.>   Scores of Chinese families and tourists shuffle reverentlyBthrough the hall, dodging the jabbing mops of cleaning women, who<work furiously to maintain the hall's immaculate whiteness.A   The memorial hall was built shortly after Sun Yat-Sen died in@1925 and appears to have survived relatively unscathed from the=fury of the red guards during the cultural revolution, whichlasted from 1966 to 1976.;   When asked why mainlanders also still revere Dr. Sun, aAleading figure for the Nationalist Party, one Nanjing cab driver?says it is Dr. Sun's democratic ideas that helped forge modernChina.>   Meanwhile, one area where China's communist rulers seem toAhave some ambivalence is in how to view Chiang Kai-Shek, who led@the nationalists during the war against Japan and the civil warwith the Chinese communists.A   Although the communists traditionally portray the nationalistAleader as a villain, his likeness is included in a revolutionary2heroes wax museum that opened near the mausoleum.;   Also not far away is a mansion in the hills that ChiangAKai-Shek built for his wife when they were living in Nanjing. AsBat the mausoleum, there are nationalist flags in abundance at theAhouse, waving from the front of the Chiang's vintage black Buick;limousine and hanging behind Chiang Kai-Shek's desk in the	library.?   For less than 50 cents each, tourists are permitted to snap?photos in various places of the house, on the Chiangs' bed, inBtheir limousine or sitting behind Chiang's desk. Even the private6bathrooms are open and on display for public viewing.;   The communists are far from hailing the nationalists as7heroes. However, the relative openness with which this:complicated period is being presented indicates a growing?flexibility in how to interpret the twists and turns of modernChinese history.=   And, if Taiwan and China can overcome recent setbacks and>continue talking about reunification, this trend is likely to	persist.   ---------------   ---------------5   SRI LANKA DENIES IT INTENTIONALLY BOMBED A CHURCH   MICHAEL DRUDGE
   NEW DELHIA   Roman Catholic authorities in Sri Lanka are appealing for theBmilitary to stop attacking civilian areas after 65 people died inAa church that was bombed. The Sri Lankan army is carrying out an/offensive against Tamil separatist guerrillas.B   The Catholic bishop of the northern Jaffna Peninsula is urging>President Chandrika Kumaratunga to order a halt to bombing of=civilian zones during a military drive against Tamil rebels.A   The appeal follows an attack on a Catholic church near Jaffna?city Sunday. The International Committee of the Red Cross saysAthe air force bombed the church, killing 65 people, including 13babies.<   In his letter, Bishop Thomas Savundranayagam says he has=concluded the attack was deliberate because the military hadAurged civilians to take refuge in churches, schools and temples.?   A copy of the letter was sent to pope John Paul the second,Awho has expressed sorrow over the loss of life and urged renewed2talks to end Sri Lanka's 12-year ethnic conflict.A   President Kumaratunga has ordered the military to investigate
the bombing.B   Military spokesmen say 18 soldiers have died and 101 have beenAwounded in the first four days of the offensive, while 11 rebelshave been killed.?   The spokesmen say two main columns of army troops linked up@Wednesday about six kilometers north of Jaffna city to completephase one of the operation.?   The government has issued no civilian casualty figures, but>the Red Cross says about 150 civilians have died and 350 haveAbeen wounded, while hundreds of thousands have fled their homes.<   The Tamil Tigers claim more than 200 civilians have been9killed, but the rebels have made no mention of guerrillacasualties.   ---------------   ---------------<   CHINA DEMANDS THAT U.S. TAKE ACTION TO IMPROVE RELATIONS   GIL BUTLER   BEIJING9   China continues to demand what Beijing officials call@"concrete actions" by the United States to improve relations it@says have been damaged by allowing Taiwan's president to visit.<   For weeks, Chinese officials have been saying the United;States is responsible for the chill in relations. They sayBWashington must take concrete actions to remedy the problem. But,:so far, there has been no public definition of what thoseconcrete actions should be.<   The "New York Times", in its Thursday editions, quotes a>senior foreign ministry official as saying, before high-level:meetings can resume, at a minimum, President Clinton must<publicly reaffirm there is only one China and that Taiwan's>President Li deng-hui will not be allowed to visit the UnitedStates again.B   China has insisted allowing a private visit by Mr. Li severely<damaged Sino-American relations by departing from the three:agreements China says form the basis of the relationship.?   At a foreign ministry news briefing, spokesman Shen guofang@was repeatedly asked if reaffirmation of the one-China policy a1ban on future Li visits would repair the damage:A   "If President Clinton does come out, on the record, and state>there is only one China and, if he says President Li Deng hui>will never be allowed to visit the United States again, would;that satisfy China? (Shen) very good question. (Chinese) IAbelieve so long as the U.S. side not only made its commitment as?defined in the three joint communiques,in words, but also take@concrete actions or earnest deeds to honor such commitments can3then the China/U.S.relations come back to normal."@   But the Chinese definition of concrete action is still vague;and Mr. Shen repeated it is up to America to identify whatconcrete actions are needed.?   The New York Times report also said other Chinese officials=have hinted American human rights activist Harry Wu could be@released, after his formal investigation is complete. Mr. Wu is>accused of obtaining Chinese state secrets and giving them toBforeign institutions. At the foreign ministry news briefing, Shen?Guofang urged the United States to be patient and wait for theresults of the investigation.   ---------------   ---------------A   CHINA WILL NOT ALLOW RELIGIOUS MATERIAL AT WOMEN'S CONFERENCE   STATE DEPARTMENT=   China will host the United Nations Conference on Women inBSeptember, and the spokesman emphasized that all those who attend:should be allowed to express themselves freely, including@bringing a Bible or Koran or other personal religious book intoChina with them.B   Some political figures, including House Speaker Newt Gingrich,;have suggested the conference should be moved out of China8because of Chinese restrictions on religious materials.A   State Department spokeman Nicholas Burns pointed out that the>sites of U.N. conferences are decided on a regional basis and=when the United Nations had to decide where to hold the U.N.@Conference on Women, it was clear that it would be in Asia. TheBonly Asian country to volunteer to host the conference was China,	he said.=   "We are only two months away from this conference," BurnsAsaid. "It does not seem to us to be practical to think that thisconference can now be moved."A   The United States will send a delegation, he said, describing?the conference as "an important conference about the future ofwomen around the world."A   "All of the American participants should feel free to expressBthemselves freely and to express themselves certainly religiously?if they wish to bring Bibles, if they wish to bring Korans, if@any delegate wishes to bring any religious book," the spokesman@said. "China has undertaken an obligation to the United Nations>and to all the participants in the conference in holding thisBconference to respect the human rights of the participants and to@allow them freedom of expression. And it would be illogical and@unreasonable to assert that Americans could not bring Bibles toan international conference.">   He said the United States "will be reminding China and the@United Nations of the importance of all participants having the;right to express themselves freely, including in religiousAterms." Burns added: "We're confident that China will live up to7these obligations that are so clear as a host for this
conference."   ---------------   ---------------9   CHINA MAY HOLD A TRIAL OF AMERICAN HARRY WU IN SECRET   GIL BUTLER   BEIJING@   China has left open the possibility of trying American human@rights activist Harry Wu behind closed doors. A Chinese foreign=ministry spokesman says it depends, in part, on what kind of8state secrets he is charged with obtaining. Mr. Wu is a?campaigner against prisoner abuse in China and was detained by Chinese authorities last month.@   Much of the regular foreign ministry news briefing was taken?up with questions about Harry Wu, or Wu Hongda, as the ChineseBcall him. Mr. Wu was detained June 19th, as he attempted to enter%China at its border with Kazakhstan.;   After several weeks of being held incommunicado, he was>formally charged last Saturday with illegally entering China;Avisiting areas closed to foreigners; and obtaining state secretsfor foreign institutions.@   Although he was asked repeatedly, foreign ministry spokesman=Shen Guofang declined to give details of the charges againstAHarry Wu, saying the case is still under judicial investigation.<   A reporter asked Mr. Shen how Mr. Wu could be accused of<taking state secrets, because he has reported solely on the@treatment of prisoners and China says his information is false.@The spokesman replied the state secrets he is accused to taking8do not deal with China's prisons. He also left open thepossibility of a closed trial:B   "On the question of whether the trial will be held publicly or?not, I think this is a decision to be made in the light of theAdevelopments of the investigation and in the light of what state!secret is included in the case."@   The Wu case has led to calls in the U.S. Congress for action;to be taken against China for its detention of an American citizen in these circumstances.<   Shen Guofeng suggests, because it is a criminal case, it@should not affect China's most-favored-nation trading status or.its overall relations with the United States:@   "The case of Mr. Wu Hongda is a criminal case and has little6linkage to MFN treaty status or Sino/U.S. relations."@   Monday, Harry Wu was visited at a prison in Wuhan in central?China, by U.S. consul General Arturo Macias. Speaking behind a<glass partition, through a telephone monitored by a Chinese@official, Mr. Wu said he was healthy and had not been beaten or
tortured.?   As to when U.S. diplomats will be allowed to see him again,Aforeign ministry spokesman Shen says the United States will have+to make a request for additional meetings.   ---------------   ---------------6   CHINA WARNS GINGRICH/HOUSE NOT TO RECOGNIZE TAIWAN   STEPHANIE HO   BEIJING?   China has warned U.S. Congressmen who support Taiwan not to?make efforts aimed at recognizing the island as an independent@nation.  The Chinese foreign ministry reacted Tuesday to recent>pro-Taiwan comments made by Newt Gingrich, the speaker of theU.S. House of Representatives.?   As it has done repeatedly in recent weeks, China once again?defended its claim to Taiwan, which has been controlled by theAnationalist government since the end of the Chinese civil war in1949.@   At a regular news briefing Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministryAspokesman Shen guofang said any attempts to recognize the islandare doomed to fail.A   Speaking through an interpreter, Mr. Shen specifically warned<U.S. lawmakers not to take hasty actions that could further0exacerbate the already-strained bilateral ties:>   "We would like to caution U.S. politicians to take a long,Astrategic perspective in the handling of the Taiwan question and9Sino/U.S. relations, so as to facilitate a return of theAbilateral relations to the right course, as defined by the threejoint communiques."A   In a television interview Sunday, House speaker Newt Gingrich9said the United States should formally recognize Taiwan,?regardless of the state of U.S. relations with China. However,?Congressman Gingrich added it would be wrong to isolate China.A   The Chinese foreign ministry spokesman warned Tuesday, if the=issue is not handled carefully, it could have wider negativeimpact:9   "We have said many times that the Taiwan question, if=mishandled, will lead to a turbulent situation in the Taiwan=straits, which will cause serious consequences for Sino/U.S.@relations and to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific regionand the world at large.">   Taiwan has been one of the key issues at the center of the@recent decline in Sino-American relations. The current downturnAfollows China's strong negative reaction to the U.S. decision in9May to allow Taiwanese President Lee Teng-Hui to make an$unofficial visit the United States.   ---------------   ---------------"   VIETNAM'S AGRICULTURAL REFORMS
   ROB SIVAK   WASHINGTONA   U.S. President Bill Clinton's announcement this week that theBUnited States is resuming diplomatic ties with its old adversary,BVietnam, focuses new attention on the social and economic changesAwhich have swept the communist-ruled Asian country in the twenty9years since the end of the Vietnam War. An internationalAeconomist back from a recent trip to Hanoi says some of the mostAdramatic changes can be found in Vietnam's booming farm economy.B   In the two decades since North Vietnam's military triumph over9the US-backed forces of South Vietnam, the re-united but:physically shattered nation has traveled a hard road. The>communist-led country of more than 70 million people has been8shunned by most western governments, diplomatically andAeconomically. But recently, as Hanoi has moved to liberalize its@economic policies and offered conciliatory gestures to the U.S.;and western lending institutions, the domestic climate hasBchanged. Vietnam's doors are open now to business, investment and<international aid, and the United States, since lifting its<embargo last year, has already become the country's leading
investor.?   One of the clearest signs of Vietnam's economic resurgence,?and political reform, is its agricultural sector, according to6Raisuddin Ahmed. He is a Bangladeshi economist at theBWashington-based International Food Policy Research Institute, or>IFPRI, who traveled to Hanoi ealier this year to discuss farm?policy reform ideas with Vietnamese government officials. Over@the past 5 years, says Mr. Ahmed, state-run collectivized farmsAhave given way to private farms producing food for free markets.BAnd the country's farm economy is growing by leaps and bounds, he9says, driven largely by Vietnam's booming rice industry:A   "Rice is the most important crop, and in fact, in some sense,Ait signifies the progress in agriculture as a whole. Vietnam wasBa net importer of rice about seven or eight years ago, but within=these last eight years they have become surplus producers of@rice. At present they are exporting about two million tons, the6second largest exporter of rice on the world market."B   Mr. Ahmed says Vietnam's rice-driven farm economy, now growing@at the impressive rate of about 4 percent per year, was spurred>in particular by the government's adoption in 1988 of what it<calls "domoy" or "liberalization." The economist says Hanoi@established a family-based agricultural production system whoseBmost important tenet was a major departure from marxist doctrine:>   "The first important item of liberalization is the private<ownership of farming land. They have given land to familiesAinstead of to the previous collective system of farming. And theBold collective system has become limited to the task of providing:services to individual farmers. So far as the farmers areBconcerned, they have freedom to grow whatever they want. They can>sell the product on the open market. Initially there was some?control of prices but now the prices have also been completelyAfreed, and it is the market forces that determine the price. The=supply and demand forces. And the profit motive is working."A   Mr. Ahmed notes, too, that Vietnamese farmers have been quick@to exploit recent advances in plant breeding technology. That's@included hardier, higher-yielding rice varieties made available;to them over the past five years by the International Rice1Research Institute, or Irri, in the Philippines:<   "And before that, they had access to Chinese technology.@Chinese rice production technology was very developed. In fact,5they (the Chinese) also had access to IRRI and other@international technological development systems. So Vietnam, in>agricultural technology, whatever isolation they experienced,/they have come up very fast to close the gap."B   But the IFPRI economist says there are questions about whether?Hanoi can sustain its current pace of agricultural growth. One=issue of concern, Mr. Ahmed notes, is that even in Vietnam's>successfully privatized, market-based rice industry, some old)command-style economic policies persist::   "The export of rice, which is very important for price@supports, is still controlled by the government. The government@still maintains certain distribution structures in the urban as>well as the rural areas, the retail sales. The government has4shops for selling rice. Definitely, this government@participation, side-by-side with the private market, introduces?what I would call distortions in the market, and that has some.implications for disincentives to producers."B   Mr. Ahmed says the purpose of his visit to Hanoi was to advise@the government, in association with the Asian Development Bank,@on ways to gradually withdraw from the agricultural marketplace@and leave it to private entrepreneurs. The IFPRI economist says=Hanoi is determined to turn its farm economy into a powerful?engine of development, and to speed the day when Vietnam joins6Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and the region's other=fast-growing economies as the newest of the so-called "asian>tigers." That day is probably just a few years away, says Mr.AAhmed, now that Vietnam's long international isolation nears itsend.   ---------------   ---------------'   "TRINITY FIELDS" BY BRADFORD MORROW   NANCY BEARDSLEY   WASHINGTON@   On July 16, 1945, the first atomic test bomb was exploded at=what's become known as the Trinity Site, in the southwestern=American state of New Mexico. Three weeks later, U.S. forces=dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima andANagasaki, bringing World War II to an end. As Americans mark the?fiftieth anniversary of that first atomic test, they are still?debating whether the bomb was a political necessity or a moral@outrage, unjustifiable on any grounds. Among the latest to take>up the controversy is American author Bradford Morrow. In his=third novel, "Trinity Fields," he explores the impact of the<atomic bomb on the American generation that was born in itsshadow.A   Like many Americans who grew up in the 1950s, Brad Morrow was@raised on fears that a nuclear war could break out at any time.BBut his childhood left him with a special interest in the history>of Los Alamos, New Mexico, the top-secret community where the9atomic bomb was created. Brad Morrow's father also had aAsecretive job, working for an aerospace company in Colorado, and;his family often took sightseeing trips to neighboring New<Mexico. A few years ago he was back in New Mexico, visiting@Chimayo, long a favorite site for religious pilgrimages. It was@there that he says he saw the twinkling lights of Los Alamos in7the distance, and the idea for his new novel was born:@   "The fact that Chimayo, which is this little Spanish mission?down in a valley that been sacred for thousands of years, that>that is 25 miles away from this super high tech, quite hidden?place, that these two places would be so near sort of struck aBchord and got me going about love, hate, the obvious dichotomies,>peace, war, high tech, low tech, magic and physics. So that'sreally how it began."=   In "Trinity Fields," Brad Morrow tells the story of Brice?McCarthy and his best friend Kip Calder, sons of men who beganBworking at Los Alamos in the early days of the Manhattan Project,?the program to build the atomic bomb. The two boys are born on@the same day in 1944, into a newly created community unlike anyother on earth:@   "We were known as the hill people," writes Morrow. "We lived>in an embryo of hiddenness and generally kept to ourselves upBthere in the Jemez mountains during the last years of the war. ToAhold the outside world at bay, our community was cordoned off byBfences that ran up and down the long lengths of the finger mesas.;Men on horses rode the perimeters, studying the Cliffs forBunusual movements, poring over the canyons down where the AnasaziAIndians used to make their homes. No one left or entered without?showing a pass to the guard at the gate. None of our movements:was unmonitored...In a way we were all children, from the@geniuses who walked among us down to the kids who ice-skated on>Ashley pond. We were, in the end, protected from everyone butourselves."@   Brice and Kip grow up sharing everything, including a commonAsense of guilt over the nuclear age their fathers helped create.;But their shared legacy eventually pushes them in oppositeAdirections: Kip goes off to fight in the Vietnam War, volunteers@for covert action in Laos, and disappears for some two decades.@Brice becomes an anti-war protestor, then a lawyer, and marriesthe woman kip left behind.=   Brad Morrow believes World War II and the Vietnam War areBlinked in ways many people don't realize, and he wanted the lives*of his characters to reflect those links:B   "The sense that America could not get into a war without being<the good guys was fused with World War II into our nationalBconsciousness, and I think that's why were so shocked in the lateA60s and early 70s by Vietnam. We had ourselves in a quagmire andAwe weren't used to this in terms of our greater national psyche.;So the two wars certainly in this novel are interconnectedAbecause the boys are born in the shadow of one and come to their?own maturity in the bright ugly light of the next war, leaving?Korea aside. And many of the boys who went off to Vietnam were?children of men who had had some involvement in World War II."B   "Trinity Fields" ends where it begins, with Kip and Brice backBin New Mexico taking the first steps towards reconciliation. BradBMorrow says his own thinking changed in the course of writing the:novel, as he interviewed both Vietnam veterans and former@anti-war protestors. And while he says he would still be on the?side of the protestors, he developed a better understanding ofAthose who fought. He also gained new insights into the pressures@faced by those who worked at Los Alamos. In fact, he notes they?were among the first to warn of the perils of the atomic bomb:>   "Robert Oppenheimer, Leo Szilard (zil-ard) and some of the>other physicists had foreseen problems as early as 1936, even@earlier. If a self sustaining chain reaction could be produced,@there was going to be trouble, unless it could be harnessed forBenergy or good uses. But as it says in the novel, they were asked>to do something; they did it. It was partly out of scientific?curiosity. You had the single greatest community of physicists@together at one place at one time on earth opening up whole new<worlds of atomic geography, and this one horrific byproduct@happened to come out of it. And the notion at the time was that@it would stop other killing; it would bring things to a quicker@conclusion. And there will never be any resolution to that. Thearguments will always go on.">   There have also been heated arguments over how to mark the)fiftieth anniversary of the atomic bomb.@   Brad Morrow says he's observed that anniversary the best way>he knows how with his novel, and he wishes more writers wouldAaddress the issue. While Americans will never reach a consensus,1he believes it's vital they continue the debate.   ---------------   ---------------   "DANCE OF A FALLEN MONK"   DEBORAH COOPER   WASHINGTONA   "There does come a time as in my life as this book shows, youBare invited to get to the inside of religion, not stick with thisBobservance, this legalistic, juridical approach. That's why I sayAin the preface to this book, this is not a book about me, it's abook about a path."B   Author George fowler describes his spiritual journey searchingfor inner peace.@   A 17-year vow of silence as a Trappist monk, excommunicationBfrom the Catholic Church for marrying a nun, and a lifetime questAfor spirituality that ends outside organized religion, these are<the twists and turns of one man's life as documented in his"memoir, "Dance of a Fallen Monk.">   When George Fowler became a Trappist monk 45 years ago, heBvowed never to leave the Utah monastery. After 17 years, not onlyAdid he leave the rigid life of the monastery, within a few yearsAhe was married to a former Catholic nun, excommunicated from hisAchurch, and on his way to a new kind of spiritualism outside all@organized religions. The former monk, now a newspaper columnistBand meditation advisor, talks about what he calls the "twists andturns" of his spiritual life:>   "I needed, which I did not have as a small child, I needed;some outfit to come along and give me some basic spiritual?dimensions, some basic principles. Catholicism did that with a@vengeance. I would never have made it as say a bible thumper or9fundamentalist, anti-intellectual. But Catholicism, veryAfundamentalist, but with intellectual context, had answers and Ijump at that."B   It was as a sailor in the Philippines that George Fowler had a>personal crisis. He feared he was destroying his life throughAalcohol and carousing. Desperate to turn his life around, he met>another sailor who had recently converted to Catholicism. Two>months later he was baptized a Roman Catholic. After the navyBcame four years in a Catholic men's college and a life of silence<in the Trappist monastery. After 17 years, Mr. Fowler asked?permission to leave the abbey and was sent to San Francisco to?study. But this experiment with the outside world which he had?not seen in nearly two decades proved to be a real test of hisreligious commitment.B   "So now I had very faithfully kept a vow of celibacy. I didn't@have any kind of sex, personal or otherwise for 22 years. But IAhad to face there were now not only women around me which hadn'tBbeen since I went to submarine service, but also there were women?with perfumes next to me in classes, in the dining room. And I;was eating again. In the monastery we only ate once a day.BSuddenly I was eating again and eating spiced food. My body began?to awaken and I had to face celibacy. And there was a question<for a long time. I was so frightened, not frightened, but I@didn't know how to act around women. I was comfortable with men>because I had been around them for many years. 'so am I gay?'Bthat was a big question and then there was the question, 'ok, I'mBnot gay but what kind of relationship do I have with women. Can I<have her as a friend or may I even besides loving the wholeBworld, may I love one individual intimately even. And so I had to=come to terms with that. And then even after that was solved7there was the question 'well, gee if I love one person>individually, marry one woman in other words, that's going toAcost me not only my priesthood, but my church. And the fallacy I@made, and this was the final breakthrough to freedom I believe,>not to wholeness yet, but to real freedom, 'no, if I lose the?blessings of the church and the smile of the Pope that doesn'tBmean I'm going to lose god. That was a confusion in my mind as itis in many Catholics minds."@   "I finally realized, no, I could be free, and I could marry,?and I could love, I could engage my body in that love, I couldBlive as a person out in the world and I wouldn't forfeit anything:I had learned in mediation. I wouldn't forfeit any of may?spirituality. And then I found one day years later, but it wasBjust such a confirmation, Buddha said every man - he said man but@he meant persons - should be a monk for awhile. But he said not?forever. You see because he has stages of life. One of them is?you go off and you get your stuff together, exactly what I hadBdone. And then you come out and you raise a family. I came out to>late for that. But come out, raise a family and then you have3your contemplative old age. That's exactly right."$   Cooper: Where are you right now?>   Fowler: "I really find it hard to believe where I am rightBnow. I'm in such a place and have been for some years. There have;been a number of fantastic mystical experiences which have?confirmed what has happened to me and I think my friends would:say I'm pretty imperturbable and I do live in peace and I:sometimes have an 'is this me, is this me' type of thing.;   "Let me read you just one little paragraph of the book.@Somebody asked me could I sum up what the point of the book is.?And this is it. Now remember, this is a guy who from neurotic,=ultraconservative observance to the nth [ultimate] degree of@Catholicism and then breaking free gradually, and then for timeAin rather silly fashion attacking churches, which isn't my point?at all which I quickly realized. But here's where it is today.@   "Religion has become for me and can be for all, not a matter@of observance, much less frenetic logistics, but one of fire in?the heart, deep understanding in the mind, unimaginable fun in=the spirit, that's been the finding of every mystic in every@world religion. It's what religion itself is all about and it's?been the teaching of every spiritual master in human history."?   "So that's my criticism of organized religions. It tends to@keep people down to the 'little infantile do as your told, shut?up and you'll get rewarded later.' I say 'baloney.' later will?take care of itself if we take care of now. Taking care of now@means among other things we respect the environment. This worldBis not despicable. There's no trace of a place for sexism, or for@chauvinism, or for racism, any of that stuff. We're all part ofBthe outpressing of the eternal being. And all of the masters, and>I've spent all of my adult life studying the world religions,9when you get beyond the individual story forms, the mythAstructures and and so forth, they all are saying the same thing,that we are part of the one.@   "We used to laugh at men for wearing skirts in Scotland, nowBwe call them kilts and respect them for it, make movies about it.AWe used to laugh at women wearing pants in China. Now we call itBslacks and everybody wears them. We used to laugh at the cuisines@of other countries. But now we appreciate plurality everywhere.>We're just beginning to appreciate the plurality in religions?where no matter what the story they tell, everybody's reachingAfor the divine, for the ultimate being and they're finding them.;   "The divine being can't go anywhere, because where ever9there's a where it's there, already there. It can't gain@anything. It's already what it would gain. The one thing it can@do is enjoy itself in unnumbered ways of being. The whole point@is to remember who your are, what you are and join the dance of$the cosmos, join the dance of god."B   Cooper: You speak of the inner side of religion, spirituality,Ameditation and dance which you just referred to. Can you explain
that better?B   Fowler: "If indeed god can't go anywhere. If the eternal being?can't go anywhere, can't gain anything, what can it do? It can?just enjoy itself. That's what the mystic tradition has called;'dance,' dance of god. So in meditation when we get beyond@feeling our total duty is just to obey, our total duty is to be<infantile, our total duty is to obey and keep quiet and get>rewarded later. When we come back to the present moment where>life is, where instant by instant we are receiving existence,@come back and be conscious of that, what Buddhists say 'awake,'?as Jesus said 'the kingdom of heaven is within you,' he didn't>say 'could be' or 'maybe,' he said 'is.' when we come back toBthat present moment, we find 'goodness gracious, my fear is gone,Bmy anxiety is gone, now I can join the dance of god.' and that is:one realization as my book shows. It's a process. It's anunfolding process.?   "There are 93 million people in America (and about the sameAproportions studies have shown in England and I suppose the restAof the world) for whom intuitively there's more to religion than=just observance. It's time we respected the environment, notBbecause we're told we should, but from interior principles. So my>point is to talk to those people for whom the churches aren't>working, and if churches are sincere they should be glad that>they're characters like me that can speak to these people and:bring them to peace, and to joy and to closeness to god."?   Cooper: In one of the final chapters of your book, it's the?chapter entitled 'beyond stories', you talk about spirituality<being at the heart of all world religions. How is that so?"B   Fowler: "When humankind in its pre-vocal days had moved around?at least part of the earth, they developed separate languages,>they developed separate cuisines, separate clothing, separate@architectures, separate ways of subsisting. They also developed>separate ways of explaining what happened to grandma when she@died, where did the baby come from, 'what is this feeling in myAheart I have for you?' the person I fall in love with, all theseAspiritual things. They started saying what's the full meaning ofAthis? So they had a few gurus, special people, who broke throughBto that realization more. They said, 'how can I explain this? HowBcan I share this? I'll think of story and tell it and people will@understand.' so they composed these myths, these story forms to9illustrate a spiritual content, a deeper reality. So the<spiritual side is when you get beyond the story to what thecontent was.">   Cooper: Meditation. You started meditating as a very youngAman, and you started meditating because of another young man whoBappears throughout your life in one way or another. Tell us about?that young man and tells about the importance of meditation infinding your spiritual way.B   Fowler: "When I was barely into my senior year in high school,Aat the bottom of the barrel, having left home, living along in a<very small town in Montana, I was introduced to a young man>called Datus, and Datus was a thoughtful person, a non-church<goer, a broad reader, eight years my senior. He had already<graduated for some years from college. We became very, very?close. Not gay, but very, very close, and had a closeness that@today would be interpreted as being gay. But that was not where@we were at. And he gave me my first, it didn't last when I went@to the navy later after his death, I lost it, but he gave me my<first experience with what real personal integrity and selfArecognition from spiritual realization comes from. I really am a?valid unit of god, and no human thought, feeling or experienceBcan qualify that. That's an incredible realization he gave me. My=first glimpse of that. Much like later when I read pascal, I:didn't understand him, very little of him, but I knew the=realization, the answers were there. Datus helped me realize>there was something to be gained in meditation. And basicallyBfrom that time on with almost no exceptions, I have meditated and?it's really paid off. I call him my first guru, he really was.*And that was the last thing he intended."A   Cooper: "What do you mean when you tell about your experiencewith the 'touch of God.'?=   Fowler: "We can think about god all day and we should. WeBshould think about our philosophy of life. Where do we come from?<What's the nature of the universe? What's the nature of the>cosmos? What did this teacher say? What's this tradition say?@What does this story form mean, etc? But those are thoughts andBthat's wonderful. It opens us up to much broader horizons, a much=bigger cosmos. But the experience of god, which you call theBtouch of god, is the gap between thoughts. Where we suddenly haveBan inner 'ah-ha, I get it.' it's as if a hummingbird flew past us@in the bright sun and we're sitting there in a dank room. It asBif a curtain opens. But it's not for another thought. It's for anBexperience that once a person has even for a nanosecond, they are%never the same. They're on the way."   ---------------   ---------------:   "ONE NATION UNDER A GROOVE: MOTOWN & AMERICAN CULTURE"   BERNIE BERNARD   WASHINGTONA   Motown Records, the label founded in 1960 by Berry Gordy Jr.,<made stars of The Temptations, Diana Ross and The Supremes,BMichael Jackson and Stevie Wonder, among many others. "One Nation<Under a Groove: Motown & American Culture" is a new book by=Gerald Early that explores Motown from a sociological angle.?   Author Gerald early decided to expand a magazine article he=had written into a book entitled "One Nation Under A Groove:@Motown & American Culture." A cultural analyst by nature, earlyBwanted to look at what forces brought Motown into being and study,the impact it had on America of the 1960's.@   Record label founder and African American entrepreneur Berry?Gordy Jr. Was able to successfully marry rhythm-and-blues with?pop, as he set out to package his young black artists in a pop>veneer. The Motown philosophy was embodied in Gordy's slogan,>"the sound of young America." In the 1960's, Motown's musical>approach paralleled the efforts toward an integrated American@society, and even helped energize the civil rights movement. InBhis book, Gerald early emphasizes that the rise of a well-defined8black public taste helped support the growth of Motown"A   "Motown needed a number of institutions to help bring it intoBexistence. I'm talking about public schools, where a lot of these@kids learned about music. There were also charm schools, record@shops, the growth of black radio, all those things happening inBthe black community in the 1950's that helped Motown develop. The?black community in northern cities had reached a certain levelBwhere you had enough of a talent pool in many of these cities and@enough institutions developing this talent that Motown was ableto come into existence."A   In the pages of "One Nation Under a Groove: Motown & AmericanBCulture," author Gerald Early shows how Motown became a victim ofBits own success. Although the label's last big acts of the 1970's<were the Jacksons and the commodores, Motown started losingAseveral of its major artists. Berry Gordy could no longer afford@to match the bids of other record companies. With the departureAof Michael Jackson and Marvin Gaye, Motown found it difficult to1attract new talent. Instead, the label relied onAmulti-million-dollar sales by key artists such as Diana Ross and<Stevie Wonder. In the 1990's, Motown entered a new era with@groups such as Boyz II Men, but the label has never matched itsBsuccess of decades past. However, the so called Motown "sound" is@still heard every day on American radio stations. Author Gerald@Early explains why Motown remains legendary, and why it's still!familiar to several generations:6   "The music keeps occurring in commercials, in film=soundtracks, and so forth. The music keeps living. There are?still several artists today who are associated with Motown whoAare still recording and still active artists and still producing<hits, Michael Jackson being one. But there's just something$mythical about the company itself.";   Gerald Early is director of African American studies at?Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. His latest work,A"One Nation Under A Groove: Motown & American Culture," has just3been released to book stores in the United States.   ---------------   ---------------"   U.S. GOVERNMENT SUGAR SUPPORTS   LINDA CASHDAN   WASHINGTONB   The support the U.S. government offers its beet and cane sugarAfarmers may be coming to an end. Budget-conscious Republicans inBCongress say the sugar program costs too much. Powerful corporate>sugar buyers, like Cola-Cola and Nabisco, have teamed up with<consumers to protest the high prices the U.S. sugar program9forces them to pay. Environmentalists contend cane sugar?production in the U.S. south is destroying fragile ecosystems.<   These diverse groups that normally disagree on politicalAissues have banded together in an alliance they are calling "The<Coalition to end Welfare for Big Sugar," and the U.S. sugar;program is facing its first serious challenge in 50 years.B   Sugar growers, on the other hand, have mounted a huge campaignAto counter the opposition, charging, among other things, that as9many as 420,000 U.S. farm jobs would be lost if the U.S.0government stops subsidizing its sugar farmers.6   Tom hammer is the president of the Sweetener UsersBAssociation, which represents the companies who buy sugar, and is?therefore interested in lowering sugar prices. Mr. Hammer saysAgovernment subsidies are keeping U.S. sugar prices eight cents aApound above the world price of sugar, costing U.S. consumers and1industries millions of extra dollars every year:?   "The way the sugar program operates today is the government@sets the absolute volume of sugar that can be sold. It controls=the total amount of imports. It sets shares to the pound forBevery foreign supplier. And then it turns to the domestic sellers@and sets a domestic quota and sets the total share in volume to@the pound that each processor can sell. It is, according to the:council of economic advisors to the president, in fact, a@cartel-like restriction and cartels are designed to keep prices=high and that's exactly what this program does and does verywell."A   Luther Markwart is chairman of the American Growers Alliance,?which represents U.S. beet and cane sugar farmers. "GovernmentBsupports do not raise sugar prices," Mr. Markwart counters, "theystabilize prices":A   "We had quotas from 1933 until 1973. Then we went without any=kind of a policy for two years, and what we found was pricesAskyrocketed, because we're one of the largest consumers of sugar?in the world, and when you don't have a stabilizing policy, it=injures consumers when prices sky rocket. And then when they?plunge, they often plunge below the cost of production for our=farmers and that puts them out of business, and then you get@skyrocketing prices again. And the (US) Congress said: 'this isBridiculous. There's no reason to hurt both consumers and farmers.@Let's put stability in this thing,' so they came back and we've,had a policy in place now since late 1981.">   Mark Hammer argues the U.S. sugar program does not provide?stability, but rather creates excess, an excess of profits forBU.S. sugar growers. How else, he asks, would you explain the fact?that in most parts of the United States sugar growers make sixAtimes per hectare what U.S. grain farmers make, despite the fact<that world grain prices are higher than world sugar prices??   Luther Markwart says that's a faulty comparison, since very5few people these days pay the world price for sugar:?   "Most of the sugar, 75 percent of the sugar produced in theAworld, is consumed in its own country at its own domestic price.?About another ten percent is sold under bilateral contracts atAthe purchasing country's price, and then whatever is left reallyAhas no home. They're going to throw it away, feed it to animals,?store it. What they (sugar growers) simply do is put it out onBthe market, because they've already made their money. They put itBon the market to turn sugar into cash, and so they simply dump itBout there, well below the cost of production, and that's what the*big users are comparing to sugar prices."=   Abolish supports for American sugar farmers, Mr. Markwart@contends, and the beneficiaries will not be American consumers.=The real beneficiaries will be sugar farmers in the EuropeanAUnion who enjoy larger subsidies than American sugar farmers and9who are presently dumping their excess on world markets.>   Wrong, Mr. Hammer says. If the United States abolishes its>costly supports, the European Union will abolish its program,too:>   "Countries all around the world have been moving away from>government quotas and supports and subsidies. That's been the=hallmark of the last 15 to 20 years in trade, and in all but<sugar, the United States has been at the head of the parade=leading that, saying that we should get away from governmentAsubsidies, and quotas and involvement in agriculture, because weAshould allow the economies of scale and comparative advantage to<work. That's what we do on meat and vegetables and grains."@   It makes no sense, Mark Hammer insists, for the country that@prides itself on stimulating competition to pay efficient sugar@growers and inefficient sugar growers the same amount for theircrops.   ---------------   ---------------,   NEW YORK CITY COMMODITY EXCHANGES MOVING   BRECK ARDERY   NEW YORK@   Two of the oldest commodities exchanges in New York City are=moving to the state of New Jersey. The decision reflects theBfierce competition between New York and New Jersey for businesses
and jobs.@   The New York Cotton Exchange and the Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa=Exchange have signed an agreement to build a new trading and>office complex in Jersey City, which is located on the Hudson&River, directly across from New York.?   The exchanges have outgrown their current facilities at NewBYork City's World Trade Center. They have been negotiating a move=with both the city and officials in the state of New Jersey.?Joseph O'Neill, president of the cotton exchange said that, in5the end, "New Jersey's offers were more attractive."A   In addition to unspecified financial help in building the newAfacility, New Jersey also offered total exemption from any sales>taxes. In New York, businesses must pay eight and one quarter.percent tax on office supplies and equipment.:   The two exchanges have long histories as New York City>institutions. The Cotton Exchange was founded in 1870 and the*Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange in 1882.B   The two exchanges employ about five thousand people. But sinceAjersey city is so close to New York, the exchanges' new locationAis not expected to force workers to change their residences. The:move is not considered to be a serious blow to New York's	economy.@   However, the move is symbolic of a trend in recent years for@many businesses to move away from New York City in an effort to@escape high taxes and general urban problems. Although New YorkAwill lose two exchanges, it will retain the New York commoditiesBand the mercantile exchanges which have agreed to move to anothercity office building.   ---------------   ---------------&   FIRST CHICAGO BANK/NBD BANK MERGER   BRECK ARDERY   NEW YORK<   In another sign of consolidation in the American banking;industry, the First Chicago Corporation announced a merger4Wednesday with with the NBD Bank, based in Detroit.?   The deal will create the seventh-largest bank in the United;States and the largest in the nation's Midwest region. The;combined company will have assets in excess of 120-billion<dollars. The new bank is expected to save about 200-million;dollars in annual operating costs as a result of increasedefficiency.A   The value of the transaction between First Chicago and NBD is@about five-point-three-billion dollars and will be accomplishedby an exchange of stock.?   The announcement of the First Chicago/NBD merger reflects a@continuing trend of consolidation in the U.S. banking industry.?Monday, the PNC Bank of Pittsburgh, (in the eastern U.S. stateBof) Pennsylvania, announced the purchase of the Midlantic Bank ofB(in the eastern U.S. state of) New Jersey for about three-billionBdollars. Last month (6-19) the First Union Bank of North CarolinaBmerged with the First Fidelity Bank, based in Newark, New Jersey.@   Banking industry analysts have said for many years there are?too many banks in the United States and the consolidation will=help the industry become more efficient and competitive with*non-banking financial services companies.   ---------------   ---------------&   NEW LEGISLATION FUELS BANK MERGERS   PAUL FRANCUCH   CHICAGO?   The wave of big bank mergers in the United States continues<with the announcement Wednesday two major Midwest Banks are@combining operations. First Chicago, the First National Bank of<Chicago, and NBD, the former National Bank of Detroit, will>become the largest bank holding company in the central UnitedStates.A   First Chicago, the country's 10th-largest bank, has long beenArumored a takeover or merger target. While most other major U.S.Abanks have been busy spreading across state lines, merging with,;or buying-up smaller banks and savings institutions, First@Chicago has focused its operations in the greater Chicago area.?   Detroit-based NBD has been busy adding new bank branches inAseveral Midwest states and in Florida. NBD also has a network of=branches in metropolitan Chicago. The new merger will likely@force the closing of several of those branches as a cost-saving	measure.;   New federal legislation is opening the way for banks to<operate nationwide, rather than in separate states or small@regions of the country, as had been the case. That has led to a?wave of big bank mergers. While the new nationwide banking law=does not take effect until October first, large bank holding7companies have been racing to merge and acquire choice>properties, signing deals that take effect after the law goes
into effect.<   Several bank analysts thought First Chicago would be the<target of North Carolina-based Nations Bank, which has been=particularly aggressive in expanding its holdings, but First@Chicago was an expensive target. Its attractiveness lies in itsBstrong business banking operations, extensive Chicago bank branch<network, and its large national credit card business. First0Chicago also operates several offices overseas.9   In the quickly-changing rankings of U.S. banks, First<Chicago/NBD corporation, as the new holding company will beBcalled, becomes the nation's seventh largest. The company will be@headquartered in Chicago, a city which has numerous independent>banks industry analysts predict will become targets of future/acquisition by out-of-state holding companies.>   California's large bank of America is entering the Chicago:market in a way which is becoming a common method of bank?expansion. Bank of America will operate a network of automatic?teller machines and small, limited-service branches located in8pharmacies and grocery supermarkets. Banks find this an;economical way to expand nationally without the expense of'building large, full-service branches.:   First Chicago Bank made national news recently when it;announced it would charge a fee to some customers with lowAaccount balances, if they made too many visits to teller windows;to conduct transactions, rather than use automated banking
machines.B   The move prompted rival banks to capitalize on First Chicago'sAnegative publicity, some banks offered to pay customers to use a;teller window. But the charge for teller services is being<watched by other big banks, and if customers accept it, thepractice may spread.   ---------------   ---------------?   U.S. BANK REGULATORS SEEK BETTER WAYS TO GAUGE MARKET RISKS   JON SCHAFFER   WASHINGTONA   U.S. federal bank regulators plan to issue a proposed rule on?new capital requirements for banks that, if adopted, will help8them reduce potential disruptions in financial markets.;   U.S. Comptroller of the Currency Eugene Ludwig said the@proposal, which introduces a "standardized" model for measuring?market risk, was developed, in part, by the Basle Committee on?Bank Supervision.  He said this new effort reflects concern in=the United States about the huge growth in technological and>computer advances as well as the growth in kinds of financial%products and services banks provide.<   Ludwig unveiled the new proposal during a July 13 speech;before a conference on foreign banks in the United States.?Details of the proposal will be made available within the next8few days after it is published in the Federal Register.8   Ludwig said that over the last few weeks the leading?industrial countries have accelerated their efforts to improveBbank regulations following last month's Halifax Economic Summit's*directive to intensify work in this area.;   In Halifax the leaders of the Group of Seven industrial@nations urged closer cooperation between the Basle Committee on:Banking Supervision and the International Organization of<Securities Commissions, and called for a report on possibleAsolutions to problems in financial regulation to be presented at$next year's annual Economic Summit.B   "The globalization of financial activities has led inescapably7to the need for greater communication, cooperation andAcoordination among supervisors of banks in different countries,"ALudwig said.  "The comments we receive on our proposed rule willBbe an important part of our discussions on this topic at the next+Basle committee meeting in mid-September."@   At the same banking meeting, William McDonough, president of=the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, predicted that foreign=banks would soon begin to see a significant reduction in theBburden and duplication of supervisory efforts in their U.S.-basedoperations.@   Beginning June 1, 1997, both foreign and domestic banks will?be allowed to create branches by merger across state lines, headded.@   McDonough stressed that the United States continues to be anAattractive market to foreign financial service providers because?of its commitment to national treatment, which accords foreign@banking institutions the same rights and privileges as domestic:institutions in participating in U.S. financial services.@   "The national treatment policy followed by the United States<is premised on the belief that open and competitive marketsAstrengthen all market participants and thereby provide both cost@and quality benefits to the banking institutions themselves andtheir customers," he said.=   But he cautioned that the mood for keeping U.S. financialmarkets may be changing.<   "Our nation feels strongly that this is the right way toBachieve fairness in the financial marketplace for all competitors=and U.S. political leaders recently have raised the issue of?reciprocity in the policy of national treatment by others," hesaid.?   McDonough refused to comment on the status of internationalBfinancial service negotiations that are scheduled to end in three?weeks, but whose results could influence the degree of foreignBaccess in U.S. financial markets.  The Clinton administration has=said it may restrict certain foreign banking, securities and9insurance operations in the U.S. market unless other key9countries agree to open their markets more fully to U.S.financial services.   ---------------   ---------------?   LACK OF FAST TRACK SEEN HAMPERING U.S. ON HEMISPHERIC TRADE   BRUCE ODESSEY   WASHINGTON=   Lack of fast-track negotiating authority could eventuallyAhamper progress toward a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA),a U.S. trade official says.@   The official, who asked not to be identified, said in a July?12 interview that lacking such authority would snarl more than;just U.S. negotiations for accession of Chile to the North'American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).;   He made the remarks a few days after the June 30 DenverAmeeting where ministers from 34 participating Western Hemisphere=countries pushed forward the process started at the DecemberASummit of the Americas in Miami, where country leaders agreed ona goal of an FTAA by 2005.?   In Denver the ministers set up seven working groups to makeBreports to the next ministerial meeting, scheduled for March 1996>in Colombia, and agreed to set up four more working groups inMarch.9   "All of the work of the working groups would continue@certainly through March of '96 without the United States having%fast track," the U.S. official said.B   "What fast track would enable us to do would be to bring Chile?into the NAFTA sooner rather than later and provide additionalBcredibility for the United States in the entire FTAA process," hesaid.A   Under fast track, Congress must vote only to accept or reject<a negotiated trade agreement within certain time limits and=without amendment.  The latest grant of fast-track authorityexpired in December 1993.9   Approval by the Republican-led Congress for a Clinton<administration request for new fast-track authority remainsuncertain.<   "Certainly those countries that would be interested in a>free-trade agreement with the United States would be somewhat?frustrated by our lack of fast track," the U.S. official said.?"The U.S. ability to lead would be inhibited by a lack of fasttrack.B   "And clearly with the goal of having the FTAA by the year 2005Bwe need to begin free-trade negotiations, negotiations that would5require us to have fast track fairly soon," he said.?   In Denver, he said, the ministers decided not to choose yet?among the various paths toward an FTAA, including expansion of=existing agreements like NAFTA and Mercosur among Argentina,Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.A   "There is no need 10 years from the final construction of the@FTAA to try to achieve consensus on a final path," the officialBsaid.  "That is, it's recognized at this point we're all going to1improve on the current agreements on the region.B   "At some point there's going to have to be an agreement on ...;convergence of the paths, but ministers really felt it was1premature to try to do that at Denver," he said.9   The Clinton administration is deciding now which U.S.?government agency would have primary responsibility in each of9the seven working groups. The groups are: market access,9investment, customs procedures, rules of origin, product8standards and technical barriers to trade, sanitary and<phytosanitary measures, and interests of smaller economies.7   The U.S. official said the Office of the U.S. Trade8Representative (USTR) would likely take the lead on the!smaller-economies working group.@   "It's an important issue and it has broad implications so we5would probably take the lead," he said.  The ClintonAadministration has opposed any assumption of special preferences#for smaller economies in the FTAA.B   The United States agreed to delay until March starting working=groups on intellectual property rights, services, government:procurement and competition policy, areas of special U.S.
interest.B   "We would have preferred working groups established now in all9the areas and we wanted to make sure that countries were"comfortable with the process...."   ---------------   --------------->   HIGHER PAY, PRODUCTIVITY FOUND AT U.S. EXPORTING COMPANIES   WASHINGTON?   U.S. companies that export pay higher wages and benefits to=their workers than companies that do not, a new report says.A   The report, "Why Exports Really Matter," was released July 139by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).  The?Institute for International Economics  performed the study for4NAM, pulling together results from earlier studies.B   According to the report, the average worker at an average U.S.=exporting plant earned 15-percent higher wages and one-third5higher non-wage benefits than a worker at an averagenon-exporting plant.A   Even comparing exporting and non-exporting plants in the same<industry and same location, the report found workers in the@former earning higher wages (7.4 percent for production workers=and 5.4 percent for non-production workers) and 12.7-percent*higher benefits than those in the latter.>   The report found that productivity at exporting plants wasB30-50 percent higher than that at non-exporting plants.  It found@that job stability and corporate growth were both higher at theformer than at the latter.B   Moreover, the report said the results applied as much to small0and medium-sized companies as to big companies.<   Report co-author David Richardson, a Syracuse UniversityBeconomics professor, told reporters one result that surprised him=was that it was not the amount of exports that led to betterAcompany performance, but simply a company's commitment to become=an exporter that led to more competitive business practices.@   Richardson said exporting plants also face some higher risks@than non-exporting plants, especially those selling in volatile<foreign markets.  On average, though, he said, the benefitsoutweigh the risks.;   Exports have become more important to the U.S. economy,?accounting for 12.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in@1994, up from 7.2 percent in 1985.  More importantly, from 1985Athrough 1994 growth in exports has accounted for 32.5 percent oftotal GDP growth.   ---------------   --------------=   KODAK URGES JAPAN TO RECONSIDER POSITION ON FILM BARRIERS   JON SCHAFFER   WASHINGTON?   Eastman Kodak Company says that the Japanese government can<easily take unilateral action to defuse another potentially<damaging trade dispute between Japan and the United States.B   "We are not seeking sanctions -- we are seeking actions," saidAAlan Wolff, a former deputy U.S. trade representative (USTR) who9now, with the law firm Dewey Ballantine, is charged with>spearheading an unfair Section 301 trade case against Japan's/consumer photographic film and paper industry.?   Wolff, speaking before a trade group July 12, said the case?against the Japanese government and Fuji film is unique in the@quantity of evidence gathered to document unfair Japanese tradepractices.@   The company issued a near 300-page study to USTR documenting5decades of exclusionary business practices in Japan.A   U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor announced July 3 that:there is enough evidence of anti-competitive practices to?initiate the Section 301 case.  Investigation of the complaintAand consultations between the two governments could take up to aAyear.  U.S. Republican and Democratic congressional leaders have&said they support the Kodak position.@   Wolff said that if the Japanese Fair Trade Commission (JFTC)@wanted to clamp down on these practices, it could do so quicklyBbecause it already has the information to act.  Instead, he said,=the JFTC's tolerance of the current structure is part of the	problem.B   Kodak claims that Fuji Photo Film controls an exclusive supply=relationship with all of the leading wholesalers of consumer<photographic products.  These wholesalers, in turn, exert a@strong influence on the distribution channels for consumer film@down to the retail level.  It further says that Fuji controls aAnetwork of photo processing laboratories that serve as a captive(market for consumer photographic paper.A   Through a number of schemes manipulated within this structureA-- cash payments to wholesalers and retailers, distributor group?boycotts and exclusion of outsiders -- Fuji and its affiliatedAdealers have been able to keep film prices within Japan at about=twice the world level, Wolff said.  Meanwhile, Kodak film isAavailable in only about 15 percent of the retail outlets sellingfilm in Japan.:   Kodak claims that Japanese market barriers in consumer=photographic film and paper have cost it an estimated $5,600?million in potential export sales since the mid-1970s and have8fostered the dumping of Fuji film in the United States.A   Wolff said that before Kodak decided to request a Section 301<action it was regarded by the Japanese government as a U.S.?success story because it had 8 percent of the Japanese market.BNow, he said, the Japanese government says that Kodak just hasn't#tried hard enough to expand sales.A   These arguments fall flat, says Sandy Masur of Eastman Kodak.AShe points out that over the last ten years the company invested?$750 million to expand Japanese sales, changed the tone of the?film to conform to Japanese consumer preferences, and has beenBactively involved in promoting its product through sponsorship ofJapanese sports events.A   Meanwhile, Kodak's share of the market in most other parts of0the world exceeds 40 percent, the company says.=   "It's a market we take very, very seriously," Masur said.>"This is an important case for Eastman Kodak.  We do not want:sanctions.  We want an early resolution to this problem."   --------------   ---------------#   CONSUMER PRICES INCH UP IN JUNE   WASHINGTON?   Consumer prices rose just 0.1 percent in June, the smallest>increase in seven months, according to the U.S. Department ofLabor..;   Falling clothing and entertainment prices and continued4moderate food cost increases offset high energy and;transportation costs, the department reported July 14. The<0.1-percent rise was the smallest gain since last November.BConsumer prices rose 0.3 percent in May and 0.4 percent in April.A   On a seasonally adjusted basis, the most volatile portions of>the index, food and energy, rose 0.1-percent and 0.5-percent,Brespectively, repeating May's gains in these areas. A 0.5-percent;increase in energy costs marks the third straight month ofmounting energy prices.?   Excluding food and energy, the "core" rate of inflation was>0.2 percent for the second consecutive month, compared to 0.4?percent in May and 0.3 percent in April. The core rate was 3.6@percent on an annual basis over the first half of 1995 compared to 2.6 percent for all of 1994.;   The Labor Department report portrays food and energy asAlargely moderating factors during 1995, mirroring a pattern that@has lasted for the last four years.The department also reported<that housing costs rose 0.2 percent in June, transportation<climbed 0.4 percent and medical care increased 0.3 percent.<Increases in transportation reflected a 8.4-percent hike in?airline rates in June. Airline rates have climbed 20.4-percent?thus far this year. Gasoline, another factor in transportation?costs, rose 0.4 percent in June, the third consecutive monthlyincrease..   ---------------   ---------------2   U.S. INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION UP SLIGHTLY IN JUNE   WASHINGTON?   Industrial production registered its first increase in fiveBmonths in June reflecting gains in both mining and manufacturing,&the Federal Reserve reported July 14.B   Output at the nation's factories, mines and utilities rose 0.1<percent last month after falling 0.1 percent in May. June's<increase was the first since a 0.3-percent gain in January.>   June's performance offered a mixed picture of the nation's<industries. Gains in durable goods production barely offset:declines in nondurable goods. And while production at the2nation's mines was up, utilities production fell.?   Durable goods manufacturing grew by 0.3 percent in June and.nondurable manufacturing fell by 0.2 percent.A   Output of motor vehicles and parts remained at about the same5rate, after having fallen for the past three months.<   Output declines in such nondurable manufactured goods as@clothing, paper products and energy products were about matched9by gains in the production of food, tobacco and chemical$products, the Federal Reserve said.B   Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve said that the operating rate of;U.S. industry fell for the fifth consecutive month to 83.5Bpercent, its lowest level since February 1994. The operating rate>is closely watched by monetary authorities as an indicator of=inflationary pressures. As it declines, it suggests that the9economy can grow without creating undue price pressures.@   The total industrial production index in June stood at 121.0Bpercent of its 1987 average, 2.5 percent above its level one yearago.2   A summary of key figures is listed as follows:INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION>Percent change from the preceding month, seasonally adjusted,Aandpercent change from 12 months before, not seasonally adjusted6                  Monthly percent change:   June '94-5                 Mar.   Apr.   May   June   June '952Total            -0.1   -0.7  -0.1    0.1     2.52Manufacturing     0.0   -0.8  -0.2    0.1     3.12  Durable         0.1   -0.9  -0.3    0.3     4.72  Nondurable     -0.2   -0.6  -0.1   -0.2     1.22Mining           -0.4    0.6  -0.2    1.0     0.82Utilities        -0.3   -0.4   0.6   -0.9    -2.5CAPACITY UTILIZATION=Percent of capacity, seasonally adjusted; percent change forcapacity growth6                                             Capacity6                                               growth7                  March   April  May   June   June'94-7                  1995    1995   1995  1995    June'953Total Industry    84.9    84.1   83.7  83.5    3.33Manufacturing     84.4    83.4   83.0  82.7    3.73Mining            89.9    90.4   90.2  91.1   -0.13Utilities         87.1    86.7   87.1  86.2    1.4   ---------------   ---------------$   GLOBAL MANUFACTURING COMPETITORS   DINA WEINSTEIN   NEW YORK=   A study by a leading U.S. consulting firm finds that most@western European business executives regard Asia as their chiefcompetitor.B   More than half the European manufacturing executives surveyed,@54 percent, said Asia is the chief source of their competition.>Michael Fradette, an official of the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu>consulting firm, says the 500 senior executives surveyed fromBcompanies in France, Italy, Sweden, Germany and Britain view Asiaas a powerful competitor:@   "Asia has twice the growth rate in gross domestic product of9the European market. As a result, their markets are veryAattractive, to not only themselves, but also they've grown to be>very powerful competitors. And the fact that they've had such?fierce competition for export markets has made them very, very&strong as manufacturing enterprises."B   Of the European executives who regard Asia as the major sourceBof manufacturing competition, nearly half see China as their most>feared competitor, followed by Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.@   The study shows that as recently as two years ago, EuropeansAwere mainly focused on their own 10 to 12 nation market. Half ofAthe European executives in the new survey say they are concerned;about competition within the European Union, while only 28Bpercent believe the main threat will come from North America. Mr.;Franette is surprised that Europeans do not consider North#Americans very strong competitors:=   "We feel the North American competitors are formidable inBtheir own right. That is not the view of the Europeans. They viewBthe Germans as being the strongest of the EC (European Community)countries as a competitor:@   "Mr. Fradette says U.S. and European companies have not been<as aggressive in world markets as the so-called Asian tiger=nations.  Including Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. Those9countries, he says, have experienced fast growth, have aAtremendous manufacturing base and aggressively go after regionaland global markets."A   And what the study showed was that both the Americans and the<Europeans are now saying, "we better start looking at these>global markets and we have got to really start to become much>better global competitors, if we are going to have success inthose markets."=   The Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu report says Eastern European8countries, including the Czech Republic and Poland, are?struggling with infrastructure problems and the slow growth oftheir regional market:>   "We think that they will become very good competitors overBtime, but it is going to be a while before you see them emerge inBthe world stage because of the fact that there is just still some7uncertainty about the stability of those governments."<   The Deloite Touche Tohmatsu study finds western European=manufacturers rapidly changing their business priorities andadapting to world markets.   ---------------   ---------------2   UNITED AIRLINES EMPLOYEE TAKE-OVER ANNIVERSARY   PAUL FRANCUCH   CHICAGOA   It was one year ago Wednesday that employees of Chicago-based>United Airlines took controlling interest in the company. The>agreement, which traded five-year's worth of wage and benefit?concessions valued at nearly five billion dollars, resulted in=the largest employee corporate buyout in U.S. history. Since9then, the nation's largest airline has been flying high.=   After what seemed like endless wrangling and maneuvering,@stockholder's of United's parent "UAL Corporation" approved the<plan last year giving a 55 percent controlling share of the=company to employees, largely from the airline's two largest?trade unions representing pilots and mechanics. The new owners;hired a former auto company executive, Gerald Greenwald ofChrysler, to run the company.@   A combined spirit of cooperation and a upturn in the airline?business resulted in United posting a profit last year for thefirst time in five years.@   The pilots union spearheaded the employee buy-out, and union:spokesman Kevin Dohm (pron: "Dome") says he's "pleasantlyBsurprised" how cooperative relations have been between managementand labor:>   "We have an open-door policy with management. The dialogue<between the union and management has just been outstanding.=Management and pilots have been getting together and solving9problems which have been facing this company for years."B   Mr. Dohm says United's pilots helped develop with management a=special shuttle service along the U.S. west coast, which hasenjoyed moderate success:=   "The company came to us and we sat down and we showed the=company the best possible combinations of ways of flying the=shuttle and maximizing the available pilots for that type of8flying. And it seems to be working out just fantastic."@   The past year has not only seen a turnaround financially forAUnited, but the airline has been hiring new employees while most?other major U.S. carriers have been trimming staffs. United is>also adding new aircraft, including the new Boeing 7-7-7 jet,>while some other airlines have been content with refurbishing%older planes in order to save money.>   Financial analysts are mixed about United Airlines' future@under employee ownership. Some believe the next downturn in the?economy may force United to cut costs which will hurt the good8working relationship between the unions and management.=   But airline analyst Jack Hunter of "Rothschild Investment5Advisers" says for the moment, United is doing well:B   "Nothing but going in the right direction, the arrow is reallyBpointed there. I think the management team that Mr. Greenwald has9set up between all the employees is working in the rightBdirection. It would just be tremendous if they could ever get the?flight attendants on board because that's the contact with the	public."B   United's flight attendants are the only major group who stayed<out of the employee buy-out. Some analysts believe they may@eventually join before the current five-year agreement expires.>Business policy analyst Frank Cassell, a retired professor atANorthwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management,@agrees that participation of flight attendants in the company'sAownership is important. A good attitude by attendants helps keep@full-fare business passengers flying with a particular airline.<But Mr. Cassell says the ownership plan faces many hurdles:B   "It's too early to tell because they're only one year into the=five-year experiment. And the experience with profit-sharing>programs going all the way back to the heyday of the 1920s isBthat it takes several years to find out whether they will work ornot."@   The key is for workers to stay with the plan, says professorACassell, and so far it is working. But a real test may come when;United Airlines faces a particularly bad business year. If<employees can whether that storm, then analysts believe the%ownership plan may become permanent.   ---------------   ---------------A   GRAIN PROCESSOR ADM INVESTIGATED BY FBI, EXEC. TURNS INFORMER   PAUL FRANCUCH   CHICAGO?   The world's biggest processor of maize, or corn, may be the?subject of a federal investigation into possible price-fixing.@The story is making headlines here in the United States, but at;the moment, the company involved is saying nothing for therecord.A   The company is Decatur Illinois-based Archer Daniels Midland,?located about 250 kilometers southwest of Chicago. The company?which bills itself the "supermarket to the world" is the prime@subject of a federal government investigation into the nation's?corn processors. Monday's editions of the newspaper, the "Wall?Street Journal," report that a top executive at Archer DanielsBMidland, or "ADM", for short, became a government informant aboutAthree years ago, secretly taping hundreds of conversations aboutAprice-fixing with people in agribusiness both here in the UnitedStates and abroad.>   Archer Daniels Midland says it has no comment on the "Wall>Street Journal" story. Nor was the ADM executive named in theBnewspaper, identified as Mark Whitacre, commenting on the report.?   After news of the investigation was rumored late last week,8stock prices for ADM dropped to a nearly ten-month low.0   The stock continued trading lower on Monday.B   The "Journal" article also reported that another ADM executiveAleft the company late last week in the wake of the investigation@because he was troubled by the way the company was handling the?federal probe. The executive, identified as Howard Buffett, is@the son of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, named just last?week by "Forbes" magazine as the second most wealthy person in?the world. Mr. Buffett was an assistant to ADM chairman Dwayne>Andreas. A receptionist at Mr. Andreas' office confirmed that=Howard Buffett had left ADM, but she would say nothing more.>   ADM recently acknowledged that it is the target of federal>investigators who are looking into another sector of its foodBbusiness. That antitrust investigation centers on food additives,>such as citric acid and a sweetener called high-fructose cornsyrup.   ---------------   ---------------   PNC/MIDLANTIC BANK MERGER   CHRIS SIMKINS   NEW YORKA   One of the largest U.S. financial services organizations, theBPNC Bank corporation, announced Monday it will buy Midlantic Bank?of New Jersey in a deal that will create the 11th largest bank&holding company in the United States.>   PNC Bank of Pittsburgh says it will buy Midlantic Bank for?three billion dollars or 55 dollars a share in stock. At a New<York City news conference Thomas O'Brien, president of PNC,>explained the company's motive for purchasing Midlantic Bank:<   "We are a company that spreads all the way across to the?western part of Kentucky. We spent a lot of money and a lot of>time building a major infrastructure of support to be able to=deliver products and services to our customers. We need more@customers and that is one of the reasons we wanted to have more?significance in Philadelphia and the New Jersey market place.";   PNC's acquisition of Midlantic will make PNC the second=largest bank in New Jersey and in the Philadelphia area with=combined assets of nearly 79 billion dollars. Midlantic Bank?currently has more than 300 bank branch offices in New Jersey.@Garry Scheuring, president of Midlantic said his company agreed>to merger because of PNC's strength in corporate and consumer	banking:B   "We serve some 650,000 households, 65,000 small businesses and@we bring them a good product line with strong service. But whenAwe asked them, as we do from time to time, what they want to buy@next it is right out of the product book that PNC has. While we>(Midlantic) were developing some of those and could have overBtime, this is a far faster and more efficient way to bring really:the best services available to our strong customer base."B   While not disclosing specific numbers, officials of both banks@said once the merger is completed, at the end of the year, some>jobs will be eliminated and bank branches closed. News of the?merger caused Midlantic stock to jump more than nine dollars a=share to 51 dollars. Four years ago Midlantic stock was only@worth three dollars a share. The bank merger is the latest in a?trend among U.S. financial institutions that are attempting to<cut costs by consolidating operations and sharing marketing
expenses.   ---------------   --------------->   TECHNOLOGY SALES TO JAPAN DROPPING DESPITE TRADE AGREEMENT   PEGGY HU   WASHINGTON@   The Japanese government has not increased its procurement ofBforeign telecommunications products and services despite promises@to do so, company officials said at a July 6 briefing sponsored/by the American Electronics Association (AEA).9   In sections concerning telecommunications and medical=technology negotiated last October, the U.S.-Japan Framework>Agreement requires the Japanese government to involve foreign@suppliers early in the budget planning and procurement process,<identify all evaluation factors in the bidding process, use@international standards, and increase opportunities for foreign=companies to subcontract in Japan, AEA President Bill Archeynoted.:   However, Japan appears to be trying to prevent foreign>companies from marketing new technologies -- such as personal@handyphone services (PHS) -- by claiming the companies who dealBin them are private sectors ones and therefore are not covered bythe agreement, he continued.A   Archey also expressed concerns about Japan's plans to require?all companies selling products containing software to register@their quality systems with the Japan Accreditation Board (JAB),?explaining that the proposed audit and monitoring requirementsBcould drive up the cost of software development by 20 percent and-would constitute a non-tariff trade barrier.B   Arnold Brenner, an executive vice president for Motorola Inc.,@said first quarter earnings data from U.S. technology companiesAproject a drop in Japanese government sales from last year, from(4 percent of the market to 3.3 percent.A   "We are not talking about the Japanese government going ahead>and forcing private companies to buy from foreign companies,"Bsaid Brenner. "This is government procurement; government has 100;percent control of it.  There's no excuse (for the drop in	sales)."?   Currently the U.S. has 40 percent of the telecommunications@market worldwide but less than 10 percent of the total Japanese=market. Government procurements account for approximately 80Dpercent of the total Japanese market.   Brenner said U.S. companies?would like to have 15-16 percent of the Japanese market by theByear 2000; however, Japan has not officially agreed to this goal.@   Japan's attempt to exclude PHS from the agreements also sets=an unwelcome precedent for other areas of technology and for<other countries, according to Paul Wondrasch, AT & T's vice(president for international operations.;   "Our concern goes well beyond just PHS and a $1 billion?opportunity; it really is the precedent-setting nature of thisBkind of action that causes us concern and an issue that we'd like?to raise," he said.  "If, indeed, new technology or new growthBmarkets fall outside the scope of this agreement by virtue of how>a company constructs its evolution... the entire agreement isdiluted even further."A   The speakers expressed hope that these issues of registration@requirements, sales, and market access will be addressed at the:mid-year reviews of the telecommunications section of the/U.S.-Japan Framework Agreement July 13 and 14.A   "If you're going to have a really meaningful dialogue, you're@going to talk about more than just how many meetings you've had<with a variety of suppliers," said Brenner.  "You've got to?effectively talk about getting at the heart of that agreement,-and that's a substantial increase in sales."   ---------------   ---------------4   U.S. UNEMPLOYMENT RATE DECLINES SLIGHTLY IN JUNE   WASHINGTON?   U.S. payroll employment rose at a moderately strong pace in<June and unemployment declined slightly to 5.6 percent, the=lowest rate since March, according to the U.S. Department ofLabor.@   Payroll employment rose by 215,000, with services industriesAaccounting for over half the increase, adding 114,000 jobs afterAnearly stagnating for two months, said the Labor Department July7.;   "The labor market appeared stronger in June than in the@previous two months," Katharine G. Abraham, Commissioner of the,Bureau of Labor Statistics, told reporters.>   The apparent strength of job growth contrasted with recent=indicators showing a slowing economy.  These indicators wereBsufficient to convince the U.S. Federal Reserve on July 6 to moveDto reduce interest rates for the first time in three years.     TheAFederal Reserve ordered actions to lower the federal funds rates:-- the rate at which banks lend money to each other -- byBone-quarter point to 5.75 percent.  Major banks across the United=States followed the Federal Reserve action by lowering their
prime rates.@   President Clinton said the June employment report showed the=continued success of his administration's policies to create@jobs.  "Today's employment report shows that since the start ofAour administration, the economy has created 7 million jobs, with=over 92 percent of them created in the private sector," saidBClinton, in a statement released by the White House.  To continue=that progress, said Clinton, his administration would remain=committed to a "broadbased economic strategy to reward work,?balance the budget, open markets for American goods, invest in@education and training, target tax cuts to help families invest@in their futures, and take serious steps to health reform whileprotecting Medicare.";   Joseph E. Stiglitz, chairman of the Council of Economic>Advisers, said "the employment report is a welcome sign that,<while too many working families are struggling, the current.economic slowdown is likely to be temporary."B   Commissioner Abraham conceded that at least part of the reason>for the size of the job growth recorded in June was that fiveAweeks had passed between the June survey and the previous one in+May, rather than the customary four weeks.8   In addition to the increases in the services sector,@construction employment also rose in June, following two months7of job losses.  Drier weather contributed to the gain.A   Manufacturing employment, however, continued to decline, with>widespread losses totalling more than 104,000 during the pastAthree months, noted Abraham.  "Only the industrial machinery and>electronics industries within manufacturing have continued to@grow over this period," she said. The factory workweek edged up?one-tenth of an hour in June, returning to the April levels of41.5 hours.!   MAJOR LABOR MARKET INDICATORSA   Seasonally adjusted data on civilian employment, not counting6members of armed forces.  Labor force, employment andAunemployment in thousands, unemployment rate as percent of laborforce.=                 1st qtr  2nd qtr      Apr.     May     June=                    1995     1995     1994     1994     1994HOUSEHOLD SURVEY=Labor force      132,318  132,139  132,737  131,811  131,869=Employment       125,012  124,625  125,072  124,319  124,485=Unemployment       7,306    7,514    7,665    7,492    7,384=Unemployment rate    5.5      5.7      5.8      5.7      5.6ESTABLISHMENT SURVEYNonfarm payroll=  employment     116,078  116,351  116,310  116,264  116,479   ---------------   ---------------   WHAT'S NEXT IN BOSNIA?   ERICA BENIS   WASHINGTON?   The Bosnian Serbs' seizure of Srebrenica, one of six United?Nations protected enclaves in Bosnia, is seen in the west as a@possible turning point in the three-year-old ethnic conflict. A?revision of the international community's effort in the formerBYugoslavia could have two far-reaching consequences: A pullout of<the United Nations 40,000d-member peacekeeping force, and aAunilateral end to the arms embargo against Bosnia-Herzegovina bythe United States.A   Talking with reporters at the White House Thursday, President>Clinton said that the deteriorating situation in Bosnia could;jeopardize the United Nations mission there. Unless we can?restore the integrity of the U.N. mission, the president said,"obviously, its days are numbered.B   In a televised interview, defense Secretary William Perry saidAthat what to do next in Bosnia is a choice of difficult options.?And that those who want to do something about it fall into twocategories:=   "Those who simply want to pull out and get out of it, andBthey're willing to let the humanitarian disaster to continue. And@those who understand that to try to really change the situation;there we'll have to send in hundreds of thousand of ground	troops."8   In the U.S, Republican lawmakers argue that the U.N.?peacekeeping mission in Bosnia has failed and cannot be saved.BFrance, meanwhile, has called on the United States and Britain to@join it immediately in military operations to save other United=Nations "safe zones" from the fate of Srebrenica. Or, FranceAsays, it will pull its four-thousand peacekeepers out of Bosnia.?   Defense Secretary Perry says the United States is trying to@develop a common position around the French suggestion. He says;the rapid reaction force of about 12,000 troops armed with?artillery, attack helicopters and other equipment would make adifference:B   "It is essential that we move quickly, the United Nations move@quickly, the French, the British and the Dutch move quickly, toAestablish the so-called rapid reaction force. They decided aboutAa month ago to send that force in, precisely to protect the U.N.>forces from this kind of an attack. They're in the process ofAputting that force in, but it's not now in place. It won't be inplace until early in August."@   Mr. Perry says the United States' first objective is to helpAthe Europeans send in the rapid reaction force to strengthen the%U.N. protection force on the ground:?   "If that fails, and if the contributing nations to the U.N.?decide to pull out, then we are committed to help them in that?withdrawal. My contacts with my counterparts, the ministers of@defense in Britain, France, the Netherlands, all agree with ourAview that the U.N. forces are playing a vital humanitarian role,Bthat it's important to keep them in there and that we should work+to strengthen them, not to pull them out."B   Senate majority leader Bob Dole of Kansas, a candidate for theARepublican presidential nomination and the administration's most@vocal critic, says the only sensible course of action now is toAlift the arms embargo and allow the Bosnian government to defend>its people. He also says he is prepared to support the use ofBAmerican soldiers, under a unified NATO command, to help with the4withdrawal of U.N. peacekeeping forces from Bosnia:@   "If it's a NATO effort, not a United Nations effort, if it'sAdirected under strict and robust rules of engagement, if in fact-we take every precaution to take all the Sam<(surface-to-air-missile) sites and anything else that might@threaten American troops, then I would support the president in<his efforts to rescue members of the protection forces, not7equipment, but members of the U.N. protection forces."=   Allied commanders met recently aboard a U.S. navy ship to=discuss NATO plans for a fullscale U.N. withdrawal. The NATOAevacuation plan, known as operation determined effort, calls for<up to 25,000 American troops in an allied force of about 60@thousand, the biggest allied military operation in Europe sinceWorld War II.A   David Hannay is the outgoing British ambassador to the United=Nations. He says that lifting the arms embargo on Bosnia andBpulling out the U.N. troops looks more like a reaction of despairrather than a sound policy:B   "Bosnia is the worst crisis in post-cold war Europe and it hasBthe potential to get a lot worst, hence the key importance of the?containment factor. It really would be bad news for all of us,<bad news for Europe, bad news for the United States if this=fighting spread back into Croatia spread on down into Kosovo@where the Albanian populations are very restive, into Macedonia+and there are many wider risks than that."<   With Srebrenica now under the Bosnian Serbs' control and@nearby Zepa, another U.N.-protected enclave, coming under heavy@pressure, it is becoming even less clear how the United Nations@troops could protect themselves and protect the remaining "safeareas" in the near future.   ---------------   ---------------&   SREBRENICA: A HUMANITARIAN TRAGEDY   PAMELA TAYLOR   WASHINGTON?   The fall of the U.N. protected enclave of Srebrenica to the@Bosnian Serbs has created a new dilemma for the United Nations,@this time a humanitarian one. More than thirty-thousand Muslims>are reported to have fled to a nearby U.N. compound manned by?Dutch peacekeepers. Now the Serbs are rounding up the refugees8and preparing to forcibly expel them to areas of Bosnia)controlled by the Muslim-led government.?   The ethnic cleansing of Srebrenica is all but complete. TheBprevious inhabitants of the eastern enclave are camped out in the?open, without water, sanitation or food. Ron Redmond, a former;U.S. envoy to the region, and now spokesman for the UnitedANations high commissioner for refugees, or U.N.H.C.R, in Geneva,>describes the situation some fear is a tragedy in the making:?   "They've spent all night out there with no cover at all. If?they've had any food at all it would have been a meager ration?because the Dutch soldiers have been giving them what they canAbut they don't have much themselves. Now they've been sitting in=the hot sun all day long with no shade and no shelter. TheseApeople are hungry. We've only been able to provide them with 1/3Bof the food they require over the past few months so they're in avery, very miserable state."?   Mr. Redmond says the Bosnian Serb civilian authorities have?granted permission for a U.N. relief convoy to enter the area.ABut as he pointed out, it's not the civilians who call the shotsin Serb-held Bosnia.A   Kris Janowski, U.N.H.C.R spokesman in Sarajevo, points up the+dilemma facing humanitarian organizations:=   "As long as we have no permission from the Serbs to reachBthose refugees, we will not be able to help them. We will be able>to help them only as soon as they make it out of Bosnian Serb?controlled territory to territory which is accessible to us. I@will keep trying, asking for convoys, especially asking for the@medical evacuation of those wounded, but everything essentially?depends on whether the Serbs allow us to do it or not. We have?contingency plans in all these places to be able to help those@people once they arrive there, but we would act in helping them=move only if we were asked by the Bosnian government and the<Bosnian government actually wants the U.N. to reinstate the(pocket rather than bus the people out."?   Relief officials say Bosnian Serb forces have begun loading>Muslim refugees onto buses and trucks in the area outside theAU.N. compound at Potocari [pohtoh-chari]. But Kris Janowski says*some of the young men are being detained:B   "Men over 16 have been rounded up for some kind of questioning@and taken to a nearby Serb village. And also we have reports of@the Serbs getting trucks to take those people out of that area,?possibly to central Bosnia. I've no idea where they are going.:We've only heard reports that the Serbs are trucking them2somewhere but we've no idea where they're going."B   U.N. officials fear the draft age men could be forced to taken>to the front lines to dig battle trenches, which has been the>fate of hundreds of young Muslims and Croats during this war.>Representatives from another humanitarian organization in the8Srebrenica area, Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans@Frontieres), say the Serbs appear to be forcibly separating the9men from the women and children. Anne Gibert (gee-bear).1Spokeswoman for the organization in Paris, says:?   "Women and children are being taken by bus somewhere but we>don't know where. Our team saw that the Serbs taking away the@women and the children. The separation from their men was very,>very difficult. The children were crying and so on. They wereAtaken away by bus but we don't know for the moment exactly wherethey are going.">   Another scenario of ethnic cleansing, detention, or worse,Bwas something the international community had hoped to prevent byAplacing the predominantly Muslim enclaves under U.N. protection.@But U.N.H.C.R spokesman Ron Redman says there are renewed fearsit is happening again:B   "There are indications that these people could be taken to theBfront lines and possibly forcibly expelled across the front lines?into Bosnian government territory somewhere in the area around@the town of Kladan. It certainly looks like ethnic cleansing toAus. These people may be facing expulsion across the front lines,=its happened to many people in northern Bosnia and elsewhereBduring the war and it may very well be the fate these people willface as well."B   Meanwhile, the Bosnian government has expressed disgust at the?ineffectiveness of the NATO air strike on Monday which hit two?Bosnian Serb tanks but were unable to stop the Serb advance on=Srebrenica. A third air raid was called off when the Bosnian@Serbs threatened the lives of some detained Dutch peacekeepers.   ---------------   ---------------   U.N. BOSNIA OPTIONS   ELAINE JOHANSON   UNITED NATIONSA   The United Nations, for the moment, appears to have ruled out@the use of force in Bosnia-Herzegovina to halt the Serb advance?on the eastern Muslim enclaves. The Security Council had asked@Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to consider his options;for dealing with the new situation and choose whichever hethought best.B   The U.N. secretary-general dismissed calls, mostly from Paris,Afor a military option. He charted a course of diplomacy instead.@The secretary-general quickly named the U.N. negotiator for the>former Yugoslavia, Thorvald Stoltenberg, his special envoy to-Bosnia and sent him off to Paleto negotiate.A   United Nations officials are extra sensitive these days, ever>since Srebrenica fell to the Bosnian Serbs. A spokesman hotly=denied a news report at week's end apparently misquoting the@secretary-general saying he would use force in Bosnia if he had@the resources. Diplomacy, reporters were told, is his first andpreferred option.@   Analysts note the military conquest of a U.N. protected area<exposed with more drama than usual the weakness of the U.N.Bmandate in Bosnia. Lightly armed peacekeepers, theoretically ableAto use force if threatened, have been getting mixed signals fromBthe political center in New York. U.N. officials say the Security=Council has woven a tangled web over three years of debates,<resolutions and statements. Russia, the guardian of Serbian>interests, still works hard at keeping international military@action to a minimum. The Europeans, sniping politically at each other, lack a unified position.?   The secretary-general's top military advisor, Dutch general?Frank Van Kappen, says U.N. soldiers were not to blame for thefall of Srebrenica:A   "This was not the U.N. taking up their skirts and running. We<actually tried to stop them. We really tried to the maximum@extent of our leash. We really tried to stop them. But you must=recognize we are not there for a war-fighting mission. We're<there with peacekeeping troops...And we had an overwhelming	attack."?   General Van Kappen also argues the Security Council did not>send the peacekeepers into the so-called safe areas to defendAthem. He says the enclaves were established by agreement between:the opposing sides. U.N. troops are acting, in effect, as6overseers, their numbers too small for anything else:A   "We must not forget that we were in the safe areas because of>two reasons: A Security Council resolution, but also it was a:negotiated result between the warring factions. The SerbsBrecognized the enclaves. Now they apparently decided to disregard6it and invade it and we are not sure what they want."@   The Bosnian government now says there's nothing left to rely;on but its own army. The Bosnian ambassador told reportersAgovernment forces will defend Zepa, Gorazde and other safe areas>the Serbs might try to seize. For diplomats here, that soundsBlike a prescription for more disaster, more heart-rending stories<of desolate civilians weeping over lost family and friends.6   But the U.N. mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina remainsBemphatically and largely a humanitarian operation. At the moment,7the Security Council is making no move to change that.   ---------------   ---------------   BOSNIA REFUGEES   DOUGLAS ROBERTS
   GENEVAB   Bosnian Serb forces have now virtually completed the expulsion9of civilians from the eastern enclave of Srebrenica. ButBofficials of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees say hundreds?and perhaps thousands of Muslim men are being held prisoner bythe Serbs.B   At least 14,000 women, children and old people from Srebrenica:have already reached Bosnian government territory after a'harrowing trek across the front lines.A   U.N.H.C.R officials say the flow is continuing. But spokesman;Ron Redmond said there are few men among the exhausted andterrified refugees:A   "Judging from the noticeable absence of males among those who9have crossed the front lines, it does indeed appear that/thousands of men are going to be kept behind.">   Mr. Redmond said hundreds and possibly thousands of males,Asome as young as 12, are being held in a football stadium in theBSerb town of Bratunac, a few kilometers north of Srebrenica. Both@U.N.H.C.R and the International Red Cross have sought access to?the prisoners, but Serb commanders have rejected the requests.B   Mr. Redmond also said some of the refugees arriving in Bosnian>government territory have reported atrocities by Serb forces:@   "A woman interviewed by U.N.H.C.R staff yesterday last night?said that her husband was murdered in front of her. His throatAwas slit. And she also reported seeing eight other male bodies."<   Most of the arriving refugees are being taken to a U.N.-@controlled airbase in the northern town of Tuzla. U.N.H.C.R hasAdispatched convoys loaded with shelter materials, food and other:supplies. But Mr. Redmond stressed that the airbase lacks?infrastructure and is too exposed to offer more than temporaryshelter for the refugees.=   The Bosnian government, outraged by the U.N.'s failure to?prevent the fall of Srebrenica, initially refused to cooperateAwith U.N. efforts to care for the refugees. But Mr. Redmond said<Sarajevo has now agreed to make accommodations available in8municipality buildings in Tuzla and other nearby towns.9   U.N. officials are describing the ethnic cleansing of@Srebrenica as one of the largest mass movements of people since;the Bosnian war began more than three years ago. And theirBgreatest fear now is that two other isolated Muslim pockets, Zepa>and gorazde, could also fall to Serb forces, sparking an evenlarger flow of refugees.@   Zepa is already under threat, and Mr. Redmond said U.N.H.C.R8officials in Gorazde also report a worsening situation:>   "They said there has been a lot of sniping. There has been@sporadic shelling, which is not out of the ordinary. But people;are absolutely terrified in Gorazde because they know whatAhappened to their compatriots in Srebrenica. And it is extremely<tense. People are weary, demoralized because they have onlyBreceived one convoy of food since May 20th, so they are extremelyhungry as well."9   Mr. Redmond said the fall of Srebrenica has created aBhumanitarian disaster. And if the other eastern enclaves are also>over-run by Serb forces, he added, it would become the U.N.'sworst humanitarian nightmare.   ---------------   ---------------   EAST EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS   BARRY WOOD
   PRAGUE=   Eastern Europe's stock markets failed to rally this week,<despite positive news on lower interest rates in the United@States. Only the Prague market registered a substantial advanceduring the past five days.@   The main market index in Prague was up Friday for the fourth=consecutive session. For the week, the index gained over two>percent, closing at 898. Trading volume Friday was 23-millionAdollars or 475-thousand shares. The biggest gains were in Tabak,?the tobacco company in which U.S. based Phillip Morris company@has a majority holding. The big insurer, Ceska Pojistovna, alsoregistered major advances.B   In Budapest, technical problems kept the market closed Friday.;For the week the exchange was up just two points to 1,778.ATraders say Hungarian trading is not active, as the market waitsfor corporate earning reports.@   In Warsaw, the index was down nearly two percent, closing atA8,471. The Polish market is up 50 percent from the low, set backBin April. The Polish market should soon begin to benefit from theAimplementation of the government's mass privatization program in@which more than 400 companies will be privatized and managed by915 large mutual funds. The program gets underway Monday.A   The smaller exchanges in the region experienced slow trading.;In Bratislava, Slovak stocks lost two percent on the week.BAnalysts say the market has not yet been affected by parliament's<cancellation this week of the popular voucher privatizationAprogram. The Slovak parliament is also implementing new controls<on stock trading. The Bratislava index was at a 1995 low atmid-week before recovering.A   In Slovenia, share prices dropped three percent. The 12 shareAindex hit a new all-time low of one-thousand-17. In Bulgaria the413 share market index lost less than a point at 64.   ---------------   ---------------&   CHIRAC ON BOSNIA AND NUCLEAR TESTS   JULIAN NUNDY	   PARIS:   France is urging its allies to take military action in@Bosnia-Herzegovina to head off a new round of ethnic cleansing.?French President Jacques Chirac also says France will withdrawBfrom the United Nations force in the former Yugoslavia unless the@international community takes action. Mr. Chirac is marking hisAfirst Bastille Day national holiday since he was elected head ofstate two months ago.2   President Jacques Chirac says U.N. soldiers inBBosnia-Herzegovina risk becoming what he calls the accomplices ofBhuman rights violations if they are not given a mandate to defend>the security zones established by the United Nations. He saysBFrance has no intention of keeping troops on the ground in Bosnia$just to bear witness to atrocities.>   In the strongest reaction by France yet, the president has=called on France's allies to back what an official statement>describes as "a firm and limited military action." France has@been angered by the Bosnian Serbs' takeover of the safe area ofBSrebrenica on Tuesday. Immediately, France said it was willing toAtake part in a United Nations' effort to push the Serbs out. Mr.?Chirac, in a Bastille Day briefing to reporters, said the Serb?action amounts to humiliation for the international community.>   French officials privately acknowledge that Srebrenica has?been lost and say their new priority is to protect the town of;Gorazde where the United Nations has British and Ukrainian>troops. The officials say the French government is especially@disappointed with Britain's reluctance to back military action.>Britain and France are the main contributors to the new rapidAreaction force that is being created to give international peaceAefforts in the former Yugoslavia more muscle. Now, the officials<say, France wants an answer to its call for action within amatter of hours.@   Replying to questions on France's decision to resume nuclear>testing in the Pacific Ocean, Mr. Chirac recalled that it wasAFrancois Mitterrand, his socialist predecessor, who unilaterally@declared a moratorium on tests three years ago. Mr. Chirac says@Mr. Mitterrand did this at a time when France needed just eightAmore tests to gain the necessary information to simulate nuclear<explosions. Laboratory simulation enables nuclear powers to:develop new weapons without conducting actual explosions.>   Brushing aside protests from environmental groups, some of@France's European neighbors, and Australia and New Zealand, theAtwo countries that are nearest to France's test site, Mr. ChiracBsays French tests have never caused environmental damage. He saysBFrance expects to complete its final series of tests by next may.?Then, he says, it will be ready to sign the international testban treaty.   ---------------   ---------------'   CZECH GOVERNMENT ENDS WAGE CONTROLS   BARRY WOOD
   PRAGUE?   The Czech government has ended wage controls on the private=sector, a move that some economists fear will accelerate the4Czech Republic's ten percent annual inflation rate.=   The decision followed a lengthy cabinet meeting Wednesday<where the inflationary impact of the end to regulations wasstrongly debated.>   Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus in the past had opposed ending<wage controls, but now supports the move. He said after the>meeting that he expects the end of controls to result in wage.increases smaller than the rate of inflation.9   Trade unionists welcomed the move as did professional@associations. One editorialist praised the decision saying wage>controls were the worst element of the old communist economicsystem.B   The average Czech worker earns the equivalent of 280 dollars aAmonth. Highly trained teachers and doctors earn near the average9wage and both those professions are locked in tough wage;negotiations with the government. Manual workers in Prague.currently earn more than doctors or teachers.>   Finance Minister Ivan Kocarnik says the ending of controls>requires greater responsibility from private sector managers.ALike the prime minister, Mr. Kocarnik wants wage increases to be8linked to productivity gains. He expressed hope that an,inflationary jump in wages will be avoided.@   In private sector service professions, employers have had to?be creative in order to attract workers. Often, employees wereBgiven bonuses equal to their salaries as a means of circumventingBwage restrictions. Unemployment in the Czech capital is below two	percent.?   Relatively low wages combined with high quality output haveBbeen principal reasons why the Czech Republic has been successful@in attracting foreign investment. At the Skoda Volkswagen plant=near Prague, skilled workers earn 90 percent less than their@counterparts in Germany. VW managers say Czech productivity and,quality are at least as good as in Germany.   ---------------   ----------------   PADDY ASHDOWN ON BRITAIN'S ROLE IN BOSNIA   ANDRE DE NESNERA
   LONDONA   The Muslim enclave of Srebrenica, a U.N. protected safe area,Ais now under Bosnian Serb control. Its fall brings into question>the United Nations' role in Bosnia as many politicians wonder7whether it is time to withdraw U.N. troops from there.>   The Muslim enclave of Srebrenica was the first "safe area"Bcreated by the United Nations on April 16th, 1993. Ironically, it:is the first "safe haven" to fall to Bosnian Serb forces.A   It appears the United Nations has resigned itself to the factBit has lost Srebrenica, only French President Jacques Chirac saysBit is necessary to take it back. France has the largest number of<peacekeepers under U.N. control, followed by Great Britain.:   Paddy Ashdown is the leader of Britain's small LiberalADemocratic Opposition Party. He is an expert on military affairs@and travels to Bosnia regularly. Over the last few years he has visited Srebrenica eight times.A   Mr. Ashdown says by taking Srebrenica, the Bosnian Serbs used?classic military tactics. He says their aim was to relieve the@pressure put on them by the Bosnian Muslims outside Sarajevo byAattacking a place where the Muslims are vulnerable, in this caseSrebrenica:A   "The United Nations just happened to be there, in the middle,Bbut that is where they have got themselves. They (the U.N.) are a<pretty irrelevant factor in a war which both sides have nowBdecided they are going to fight out and the United Nations is not9going to interfere in that process, one way or another."@   Many experts here ask whether the fall of Srebrenica, one ofBthe U.N. designated safe havens, means the Bosnian Serbs will try?to take control of other Muslim enclaves. Mr. Ashdown says theAtwo other enclaves in the area, Zepa and Gorazde, are definitely	targets:>   "Zepa is a tiny enclave. It is really no more than a town,Bcompletely surrounded by the Serbs. The Serbs could take that out?when they wished and I would not be surprised if they do that.AGorazde is a much, much tougher nut to crack (eds note: Or place=for the Serbs to seize). It is still a big area. The Bosnian>troops in it probably number 16-thousand. They are relatively>well-armed and to take on Gorazde in the same way as you haveASrebrenica: It is not impossible, but it is not an easy thing to=do. It is also a bit too close to Sarajevo. If you wanted toAprotect your ring, the Serb ring around Sarajevo, you would wantAto use your troops for that rather than taking on hard nuts likegorazde. "@   The British politician says the United Nations' credibility,Balready at a low point, has been seriously damaged by the Bosnian@Serb action in Srebrenica. The Bosnian Serbs have also shrugged<off NATO air strikes. Mr. Ashdown says although air strikes>remain an option, they need to be used in great numbers to be=effective, which he says, the international community is not
ready to do.@   Mr. Ashdown says the United Nations has been inconsistent inits role in Bosnia:<   "The whole paradox of this whole affair is that from the@start, the United Nations said it would not takes sides againstBaggression and that is why it has failed. And when it has failed,Awhen it will have to pull out, everybody agrees the arms embargoA(against Bosnian Muslims) will then be lifted. So the U.N. wouldBnot takes sides and it failed in consequence, and when it failed,5it did take sides. It seems pretty illogical to me."@   Mr. Ashdown says the United Nations may have no other choice>but to withdraw, and the newly-created rapid deployment force1will definitely be used to help a U.N. pull-out.   ---------------   ---------------<   BRITAIN BRING WWII WAR CRIMES CHANGES ON 84-YEAR-OLD MAN   ANDRE DE NESNERA
   LONDONB   British police have charged an 84-year-old man with war crimes2stemming from his activities during World War II.B   Scotland Yard has charged Zzymon Serafinowicz with four counts@of murder between December 1941 and March 1942 in Nazi-occupied#byeloRussia, now known as Belarus.B   In each case, he is accused of the murder of an unknown Jew in=violation of the law and customs of war. Mr. Serafinowicz is@alleged to have commanded a local police unit in the Mir region+of byeloRussia at the time of the murders.A   Mr. Serafinowicz came to Britain as a refugee in 1947 and hasBbeen working as a carpenter in surrey, south of London, until his;retirement. He has previously been reported as denying anyinvolvement in the massacres.@   Mr. Serafinowicz is the first British resident to be charged8with war crimes under the 1991 War Crimes Act passed byAparliament after some of the most bitter debates in the House ofCommons' recent history.@   Under terms of the act, Attorney-General Nicholas Lyell must<approve prosecution. Last May Mr. Lyell told parliament theABritish government remains committed to prosecuting alleged Nazi?war criminals, despite the difficulties in producing evidence.@   Scotland Yard is said to be investigating 14 other suspects.   ---------------   ---------------*   EU PROPOSES END TO ALL BORDER CONTROLS   JOHN FRASER   BRUSSELS@   The European Commission has proposed an end to all remainingBcontrols at borders between the 15 nations in the European Union.1Britain has already threatened to veto the plan.;   European Union commissioner Mario Monti says that under>existing European law, there should already be no controls on>people moving from one EU nation to another. He says citizens:will never respect the union unless measures are taken to"dismantle the remaining barriers.>   The commissioner proposed two laws to make a frontier-freeEurope a reality.A   The first would allow everyone who is a legal resident in the;EU, including non-EU citizens, the right to cross from oneBcountry to another for a short period. The second would oblige EUBgovernments to end all remaining border controls, such as customsand passport checks.B   A safeguard clause would allow governments the temporary rightAto restore controls if there is a serious threat to public orderor public security.@   Commissioner Monti says EU governments will not be forced to<accept his proposals, and will have the right to veto them.?   He adds that he does not expect European governments to endBthe union's internal frontiers until certain safeguards have been=approved. These include the tightening of the e-u's external@frontier with the rest of the world, better cooperation betweenApolice and customs units in the 15 EU nations, and common asylumand visa rules.A   A British spokesman in Brussels says the EU proposals are not?acceptable, and his government will not hesitate to veto them.<   He says they conflict with the British government's firmBdetermination to maintain its border controls with other European>union countries. Britain believes these are necessary for theAfight against illegal immigration, drugs, rabies, and terrorism.9   However, commissioner Monti says he hopes the British<government will listen to what he calls logic and to public@opinion. He says every EU country is worried about security anddrugs.B   A seven-nation European accord to scrap border controls, known-as the Schengen treaty, is already in place.A   Its members are supposed to have already dropped all internal?frontier controls. However, France suspended implementation ofAthe Schengen accord, because it said that with no border checks,?vast quantities of drugs might be brought into France from the
Netherlands.   ---------------   ---------------   SLOVAKIA PRIVATIZATION   BARRY WOOD
   PRAGUE>   The Slovak parliament is preparing to approve a government;proposal to drastically scale back the country's principal=privatization program. Business confidence has declined amid5increasing worries about Slovakia's economic future.;   The past three months have not been easy for the SlovakAbusiness community. Foreign investment is generally staying awayBfrom the country while Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar is involvedAin disputes not only over privatization, but also over a nuclear9power plant, and perhaps most seriously, an increasingly@acrimonious feud with Slovakia's non-executive president MichalKovacs.A   The young and fragile Bratislava stock market has declined to>its lowest level of the year. And last week one of Slovakia'sBbiggest hard currency earners, the Slovnaft oil and petrochemical;group, was unable to successfully sell ownership shares to<private investors in Europe and North America. Instead, the?multi-lateral European development bank stepped in to purchase,the shares in order to avoid embarrassment.@   Experts say the suspension of the mass privatization programBthreatens to undo the substantial progress that Slovakia has madeBin developing a market economy. Begun before the Czech and SlovakArepublics split apart in 1993, the privatization program offered<citizens vouchers which they could use to bid for shares inprivatized state corporations.9   At first, in 1993, the program was so successful that@three-million Slovaks took part in buying more than two-billion?dollars of state assets. The second and final wave was to have<taken place last year, but was delayed because of politicalbickering.;   After Prime Minister Meciar emerged victorious from the<October first parliamentary election, he first modified the@program and has now dropped it entirely. Citizens are left with8vouchers that they purchased for a nominal fee that the-government says will be exchanged for bonds.9   But analysts say Mr. Meciar is equally opposed to the>investment funds which have played a vital role in developingSlovakia's capital markets.=   One broker says the prime minister's action in suspendingAvoucher privatization is a violation of international agreementsBprotecting investments. U.S. based financier George Soros says heBfears the suspension could diminish Slovakia's chances of gaining<admission to the European Union. Slovakia recently formally'applied for European Union membership.?   Unlike neighboring Hungary and the Czech Republic, Slovakia;has attracted relatively little foreign direct investment.?Bratislava also has a superb location for business since it is8only an hour's drive from the Austrian capital, Vienna.A   But despite setbacks, the Slovak economy for now continues toBperform well. Growth continues at a two to four percent rate, the9currency is strong, and foreign reserves have increased.   ---------------   ---------------3   FRENCH OIL FIRM REPORTEDLY SIGNS DEAL WITH IRAN   STATE DEPARTMENT=   State Department spokesman Nicholas said he was unable toBconfirm news reports that the French oil company Total has signedAa major deal with Iran replacing the U.S.-based firm Conoco as a%petroleum products customer of Iran.B   Conoco and its subsidiaries were banned from trading with Iran<under restrictions imposed earlier this year by the Clintonadministration.@   "We've seen reports of the deal," Burns said, adding that he:should withhold comment because the United States has not)confirmed it with the French government.B   "We've certainly made it clear to our friends in Europe and inBAsia that we think it is strongly inadvisable for them to promote=their own companies' economic involvement in Iran for a very;well-known reason," the spokesman reminded reporters.  "We@believe that Iran is intent on acquiring nuclear weapons and we@think the international community should make an effort to stop=Iran," he added.  "The United States has taken a very strong6leadership position on this and we'll continue that."   ---------------   ---------------C   FOREIGN PRESS: NUCLEAR TESTS: FRANCE EXCITES; WHAT ABOUT CHINA?   WASHINGTONB   Foreign commentators in all geographic regions continued their:strong and voluminous protests against France's announced=resumption of nuclear testing in the Pacific. Writers in theBPhilippines and Germany were particularly prolific and passionate>in their charge against what one called Mr. Chirac's "nuclear@autism." Others excoriated the new French president for showing<arrogance, insensitivity, disregard for the environment and?health of the South Pacific, and for steadfastly cleaving to a?wrong decision. Several writers--notably in Britain, Australia3and Germany--called for a boycott of French goods.9   Analysts overwhelmingly looked beyond narrow "French"?considerations and found the prospect of accepting any nuclearBtests by the declared nuclear powers to be a dangerous break with6the promises implicit in the recently renewed nuclear=Non-Proliferation Treaty. They argued that the greatest harmAwould be to the reputations of the developed countries, and thatAFrance was setting a bad example. Egyptian editorialists blasted<Paris for "betraying" its NPT vows; Indian, Bangladeshi andANepali writers unleashed a torrent of criticism and doubts about@the current balance of nuclear power. Conservative La Prensa of<Buenos Aires remarked that Mr. Chirac, trying to please the@French nationalist right, proved "that the passport to join theAfirst rank of nations is, once again, the bomb." The independent>Manila Times suggested that Third World nations could rightlyAquestion the sincerity of the nuclear powers that had pushed forBan indefinite NPT, given that right after the treaty's extension,BFrance, the United States and China were all found to be planning?or discussing nuclear tests, while the non-nuclear states haveBconscientiously abided by the pact. London's centrist IndependentBconcluded that Paris must see international relations in the 21st=century as based on nuclear deterrence, a prospect the paper?found frightful "at a time when there are scores of nations in?Africa and Asia dreaming of settling their quarrels with their<neighbors by rattling missiles." Singapore's pro-government?Straits Times lamented that there seem to be no sanctions that=can effectively curb adventurism by the nuclear "haves." Tel?Aviv's liberal Ha'aretz chided President Clinton for being too?soft with the French, warning that the experiences in "Somalia?and Bosnia would pale in comparison to his terrible failure tomake the world nuclear free."=   Taking a quite different tack, several Australian writers?downplayed the global significance of the French test decisionBand argued that a "nuclear-armed totalitarian China" was far more;dangerous than a "Gaullist France imbued with delusions of<grandeur." For their part, Indian writers were particularly8worried about press reports that Pakistan was acquiringBmedium-range ballistic missiles from China, and fretted that "forAall its vociferous utterances on the need to curb the trading ofApotentially dangerous weapons, the U.S. government cannot forego=its main object of maintaining good relations with China andAPakistan with an eye on promoting U.S. interests in the region."?Dailies in Pakistan, not surprisingly, dismissed this story as:"groundless," maintaining that "India's ambitious missile=program...is the real issue of concern for the states in herneighborhood and beyond.">   This report is based on 68 commentaries from 16 countries,June 16-July 6.   EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC3   AUSTRALIA:  "Chirac Betrays A French Tradition"A   The regional West Australian (6/29) opined, "President Chirac?seems incapable of comprehending that it is perfectly rational?for Australia, New Zealand and other Pacific nations to resist;totally unjustified nuclear testing in their region. Those?countries are not alone.... His offer to finance an Australian@scientific mission to Mururoa is a sop.... It will do little to?allay fears that the full effects of the test may not be clearfor generations."   "Giving The French Stick">   Melbourne's liberal Age (6/27) held, "Last month's nuclear:test by China and its defiant development of a long-range:offensive missile made scant impression on the AustralianBconsciousness, and excited no demonstrable outrage from the usualBanti-nuclear lobby groups. Yet Australia and global security have@potentially much more to fear from a nuclear-armed totalitarian;China than from a Gaullist France imbued with delusions ofgrandeur."'   "China Is The Main Regional Threat"?   A commentator in Melbourne's conservative Sunday Herald-Sun;(6/25) stated, "If there is any nation which might use its=nuclear weapons in the future, it is China.... So why are weAbelting far away France around the ears, and smiling indulgentlyat the Chinese?"C   INDONESIA:  "Does U.S. Ignores China's M-11 Sales To Pakistan?"@   Leading, independent Kompas (7/5) opined, "The United States<appears awkward.... In order not to appear to have a double:standard, (Washington) must be firm with Beijing. This isBunderstandable, as the United States is the mastermind behind the@MTCR (Missile Technology Control Regime).... At the very least,?the United States would view this (sale) as a violation of the>NPT. Furthermore, the United States would see this as anotherAexample of China's policy being so divergent from the U.S. line.<On the other hand, China keeps testing the United States toAdemonstrate American helplessness over the independent policy ofother nations.";   PHILIPPINES:  "It'll Take More Than Just A Pretty Face">   The independent Philippine Daily Inquirer commented (7/6),B"France could not have sent a more captivating envoy to blunt the=hostile reaction to its impending nuclear tests in the South<Pacific than Madame Margie Sudre, its minister of state for@foreign affairs in charge of Francophonie.... But it takes more?than diplomatic and attractive talent to convince Asia-Pacific%people that France needs new tests."8   "Can French Tests Go On Despite Worldwide Protests?"=   Continuing his criticism on France's decision to continue:nuclear testing, J.V. Cruz said in the independent ManilaAChronicle (7/5), "What Chirac has embarked upon, of course, is a@great big ego trip to remind his own people and the rest of theAworld that there's a new man as president of France and his nameBis Jacques Chirac. This is all that the forthcoming nuclear tests!in the South Pacific amount to."   "Pressure On France"<   The Philippine Daily Inquirer (7/1) said, "The new tests;signal Chirac's bid to reinforce France's claim as a major@European power at a time when the center of gravity of power in;Europe is shifting to unified Germany. While the tests are@intended to serve a domestic function for the Chirac presidencyBto massage French pride and grandeur, they are carried out at the;risk of causing environmental damage in the South Pacific.;France's insensitivity and arrogance are underlined by the>statements of the French authorities, who dismiss protests by@Australia and New Zealand, saying that the tests are not any ofAtheir businesses because Murorua atoll...is a French territory."   "Anniversary Gone Awry"7   The independent Manila Times (7/3) said, "The [NPT]@anniversary...was marked by the usual claims by the big nuclearApowers that they have...been taking steps to advance the treaty.>What the record shows, however, is that it is the non-nuclear7states which have been conscientious in abiding by the=agreement.... France, the United States and China are in theBvarious stages of planning, if not actually carrying out, nuclearBtests.... All these only make Third World nations skeptical about?the sincerity of the intentions of the United States and other2big powers who had pushed for an indefinite NPT."C   "French Testing Plan:  Utterly Reprehensible And Irresponsible"B   Columnist Nestor Mata wrote in the independent Manila StandardB(6/27), "For any government of any civilized society to insist on@conducting a nuclear test is already bad in itself, consideringBthe repercussions on our planet's fragile ecology. For the FrenchAgovernment to conduct such a nuclear test far, far away from theAshores of France, and right on the doorsteps of other countries,>is utterly reprehensible and irresponsible. Should the French>government--and M. Chirac--still choose to remain deaf to the8voice of the world, then they must be ready to face the=consequences. A defiant French government cannot stand up toBinternational indignation. Let's face it, the blunt truth is that<the world does not need France. It is France that needs theAworld. It is France that needs the world market for its industry;and agriculture. To survive in a highly competitive global@economy, France must be market-driven, must be sensitive to the@tastes, preferences, and value orientations of the countries of3the world. Or, is France prepared to go it alone?")   SINGAPORE:  "Putting Ban To The Test"A   The pro-government Straits Times (6/16) held, "It is all veryAdepressing. It proves once again that those countries which have@mastered nuclear technology for weapons building, and therefore>control of the ultimate menaces to mankind, can with impunity@exact right from might. There is no other reading to be made ofBthe sympathetic attitude of the Americans and other major Western=nations that the French tests--and by extension, the Chinese<tests which were resumed last month--are necessary before a<comprehensive test ban treaty (CTBT) can be signed.... BothAFrance and China are playing catch-up with the United States andBRussia.... There is no restraint or legal sanction to stop eitherAcountry from indefinite testing, in which event the CTBT will be6dragged out well beyond the target conclusion date of7end-1996.... Who is to stop them?... The three non-NPT?holdouts--Israel, India and Pakistan--will press on with theirAweapons programs. It will be harder to keep down North Korea....@"Iran and Iraq, meanwhile, are perennial nuclear probables. All<this must make nonsense of the NPT's avowed aim of reducingBnuclearization. This will be the ultimate censure for the French,but do they care? Must they?"(   EUROPE BRITAIN:  "Going Down A Bomb"=   The centrist Independent (7/3) editorialized, "With these@tests, France is signalling to the world that its conception of>international relations in the 21st century is one of nuclearBdeterrence. It is surely not merely a coincidence that the United=States has announced that it may soon restart nuclear tests.@Nothing could be more dangerous at a time when there are scoresBof nations in Africa and Asia dreaming of settling their quarrels?with their neighbors by rattling missiles.... If international<diplomatic and journalistic condemnation, the voices of the9protesters in Tahiti and the boycotts of French goods by=Australian consumers are not enough, we should hope that theBphysical courage of Greenpeace activists will succeed in changing@Mr. Chirac's mind just as they changed the mind of the board ofShell UK."    "Keep That Test Ban Promise"?   The independent weekly Economist (6/28) held, "In practice,Bhalting underground tests--testing is already banned under water,=in the atmosphere and outer spacewill neither disarm today's?nuclear powers nor deter determined proliferators, few of whom?have felt the need to test their bomb. And a comprehensive ban@itself carries risks. Nonetheless, the nuclear powers have much=to lose if they now poke holes in their test ban promise....>   "Whatever second thoughts the nuclear powers may now have,Atheir promise to conclude a comprehensive test ban was a part ofAthe bargain struck earlier this year with the non-nuclear states?for the indefinite extension of the NPT. This treaty, with its<attendant inspections and controls, is vital to the nuclear:powers' own efforts to halt the further spread of nuclear?weapons. If the nuclear powers now go back on their promise to?make the test ban properly comprehensive, other countries will@ask themselves why they should be kept--or help keep others--to>their non-nuclear promises. Tinkering with the test ban risks>detonating a political bombshell under the anti-proliferationcause."/   GERMANY:  "Pride Goeth Before The Big Bang">   Joachim Fritz-Vannahme opined in left-of-center weekly Die@Zeit (7/6) of Hamburg, "What a cynical sense for symbolism: TheAFrench nuclear tests will take place 50 years after the bomb wasBdropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and 10 years after the sabotageBattack on the Greenpeace ship 'Rainbow Warrior 1,' ordered by the@socialist government in Paris.... This is no longer an internal@affair. In the Pacific, France is probably trying to work out a=new French role for Europe. And this cannot leave any of the:neighbors mute or indifferent: Pride comes before the big	bang....A   "With his nuclear autism, French President Chirac is offering@a bad example. His nation became great because of its universal@ideas and principles, but how narrow-minded and shortsighted isAthis new special role France wants to play. During the EU summitAin Cannes, Jacques Chirac said that France should not create the>impression of forcing its views on others. "But the president?referred only to his European ambitions, which have decreased,Band not to his global policy affectations. Even though Chancellor=Kohl prefers to remain silent--Mururoa lies in the center of	Europe."#   "Stubbornly On The Wrong Track"6   Paris correspondent Hans-Hagen Bremer commented in>left-of-center Frankfurter Rundschau and centrist StuttgarterAZeitung (7/6), "Over the past few weeks, Chirac obviously talked?only to those people who share the same view. This is the onlyAreason why he stubbornly continues to sticks to his plan to testeight nuclear bombs....?   "But what is considered an example of steadfastness againstBdomestic and international protests is rather the incapability to=leave the wrong path on which he has embarked because of the?dependence on the advice of so-called military experts.... Now?ex-president Mitterrand...has criticized the nuclear policy of@his successor without mentioning him by name.... This criticism@will probably also not change his mind, but with his authority,@Mitterrand has given the global movement against French nucleartests a new momentum."   "Let The Camembert Go!">   Klaus-Peter Klingelschmitt commented in left-of-center Die=Tageszeitung of Berlin (7/1), "What is the sinking of an oilAplatform in the North Sea compared with eight nuclear explosionsBin the Pacific? A local environmental felony and not an attack on@the whole world.... France's example is already inducing others?to consider following suit. Bill Clinton is having his experts?consider whether to give in to the Pentagon's desire for freshBnuclear tests in the Nevada desert. After all, as a global power,AAmerica cannot be allowed to fall behind the Grand Nation in the field of nuclear technology....@   "Of course we will remain on good relations with the French.?But if Chirac and his nuclear henchmen refuse to listen, their>subjects must be made to feel our anger. The boycott of Shell@made the company back down over Brent Spar. A boycott of French=products would put more pressure on France's export-orientedBeconomy than it--and Chirac--could cope with. When Camembert from>Normandy goes off our supermarket shelves, when combat-provenBFrench vintners set fire to car tires in front of Chirac's palaceBand when unsold cars start piling up at Renault and Citroen--then?the Sun King will experience an eclipse. The consumer--the newpolitical force.".   "A Signal From The Other End Of The World">   Left-of-center Frankfurter Rundschau (7/1) observed, "ThisAtime the Aussies are serious.... Now Prime Minister Paul Keating>has halted military cooperation and suspended the purchase of:helicopters and training aircraft from the French companyADassault. This is a good move, since the order would have pumped?about 500 million Australian dollars into France's coffers....8The protests and boycotts should be the signal for evenBfarther-reaching action. A Greenpeace ship has already set courseAfor the South Pacific.... It is evident that only campaigns a la?'Brent Spar' can show multinational companies and power-hungry<politicians like Chirac the limits of their environmentally4damaging and therefore life- threatening policies."   "Playing With Human Lives"B   Centrist Bonner Express (7/1) held, "What does France--already=armed to the teeth--care about the fact that the cancer rateAamong islanders has risen rapidly since the beginning of nuclear8testing?... Why should Paris care about warnings of theAdisastrous effects of underwater nuclear testing? The main thing@is that a couple of generals can find out whether their weapons<really have the dreadful effect they want. Chirac can still9cancel the pointless tests. If he does not, he must face?accusations that military hardliners dictate his policies. And?even worse: If Chirac lets the explosions go ahead, he will beplaying with human lives."+   RUSSIA:  "Yeltsin To Follow G-7 Accord"=   Vladimir Abarinov held in reformist Segodnya (6/30), "The?United States claims that Pyongyang's nuclear program is at anAadvanced stage.... Having it substitute light-water reactors for@the current graphite ones is the best solution one can think ofAunder the circumstances.... Iran is only at the beginning of the?fatal road, so it has to be stopped. Though the Iranian regime<today gives the IAEA no trouble in perfoming its monitoringBfunctions, its reputation is such that even Russia cannot be sure@that, once they gain access to nuclear technology, the Iranians=will not break up with the IAEA, as the North Koreans did in?their time.... The question is whether or not the U.S. special?services succeed in digging up information (about the military"tilt of Iran's nuclear program)."   MIDDLE EAST?   EGYPT: "How Do Nuclear Countries Betray Vows to Non-NuclearCountries?"<   Opposition Al Wafd (6/29) held, "The French decision (to>resume nuclear testing) alone is not the biggest threat. What;raises more concern is talk in the United States and other<nuclear countries about 'exceptional nuclear tests.'... TheArational experts in the West warn that the retraction of nuclear=countries on their vows...will push non-nuclear countries toAquestion their commitment to banning their possession of nuclear<arms.... Strangely, France is no longer threatened from anyAdirection and the Cold War has ended. The de Gaulle and Napoleon@eras elapsed...and there are no longer blocs or camps laying in	ambush."   "Nuclear Threats"A   Columnist Samir Fouad Ramzi wrote in pro-government Al AkhbarA(6/23), "The resumption of nuclear testing by China...and France4is a violation of the vows they declared in the NPT<conference.... The situation is worsened by the news...that;Washington intends to resume nuclear testing in the coming>months.... The consecutive nuclear tests confirm that nuclear<countries are not committed to fulfilling their promises to>continue nuclear disarmament. This shows the soundness of the@positions of Egypt and the developing countries in opposing theindefinite extension of NPT.".   ISRAEL:  "Clinton Cannot Blow This Chance"?   Strategic analyst Reuven Pedatzur wrote in liberal Ha'aretz>(6/26), "The Chinese nuclear test was a snowball which got an?extra, and perhaps an unstoppable, push from President Chirac.8The reaction of the U.S. administration to all this was<particularly disappointing. "Instead of being firm with theAFrench, making them cancel their nuclear testing plan and in the?process saving the prospects of a global moratorium on nuclear>testing, Washington lost no time in joining the nuclear party=and, consequently, killed a policy which had done so much to:overcome the obstacles in the way of nuclear disarmament.>President Clinton is in the red on many international issues.<However, Somalia and Bosnia would pale in comparison to his2terrible failure to make the world nuclear free."   SOUTH ASIA   INDIA:  "Alarming Report"@   The independent Free Press Journal opined (7/5), "The reportBin the Washington Post about Pakistan acquiring more than 30 M-11Amedium-range ballistic missiles from China is highly disturbing,<to say the least, especially in view of the fact that these@missiles could, in future, be deployed with nuclear warheads to<threaten Indian cities.... China's...decision to supply the@deadly missiles to Pakistan does create a piquant situation for
India....?   "The Indian government cannot expect too much from the U.S.=government on this front because the latter's priorities areAdifferent. For all its vociferous utterances on the need to curbBthe trading of potentially dangerous weapons, the U.S. governmentAcannot forego its main object of maintaining good relations withBChina and Pakistan with an eye on promoting U.S. interests in theAregion.... It is highly unlikely that the Clinton administration<would confirm the missiles deal between China and Pakistan,@despite its intelligence reports quoted by the Washington Post,Bpurely because any official confirmation would necessarily resultBin Washington having to cut off billions of dollars of trade with>China and harming its intention to maintain a foothold in theregion through Pakistan."#   "Demonstration Of French Power"A   The independent Times Of India commented (7/4) in the context<of a long analysis on European security, "The resumption of>French nuclear tests [is] obviously intended to highlight the:politico-strategic primacy of France over the rest of the8countries of the European Union--particularly Germany."%   "Nuclear Games That Nations Play";   The independent Pioneer (7/1) ran defense expert SavitaAPande's comment that, "While...India has been one of the leading>proponents of a test ban since 1954, is that strong enough to5support it irrespective of the motive of its present@proponents?... A more pragmatic policy would call for reviewing>these issues rather than jumping onto the bandwagon merely to?prove disarmament intentions. While CTBT can be supported as aBstep toward global elimination of weapons it cannot be considered@an end in itself.... India would do well to wait and watch tillBevents take a decisive turn, conducive to its national interests.0Till then a 'go slow' would not be a bad idea."   "NPT:  Extension Blues"A   P.R. Chari opined in the pro-market economy Business Standard7(7/1), "The inequities of the NPT regime...reflect the6discrimination inherent in the power structure of the<international system.... The NPT has divided the world intoBnuclear-haves and have-nots. "It is primarily a non-proliferation@measure and not a prospectus for nuclear disarmament.... Of the=nuclear five, first China undertook a nuclear test within 72;hours of the NPT being indefinitely extended.... Not to beAoutdone, France has announced that it will conduct eight nuclear@tests before the end of 1996 in the South Pacific.... But it isAunlikely that the CTBT, whenever it is negotiated and finalized,<would not permit low-yield nuclear explosions up to defined=ceilings.... It should be clear that the five nuclear weapon9powers are not about to give up their nuclear status....>   "American non-proliferation policy in South Asia seeks 'toBcap, then, over time, reduce and finally eliminate the possession@of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery'....@The United States is clear about what it wants of India. But is?India clear what it could sacrifice for preserving its nuclear=autonomy, especially on the economic reforms front? The bombAlobby wants India to shed its nuclear ambiguity, deploy Prithvi,:resume the Agni tests, and renounce its sponsorship of UN@resolutions which commend an early conclusion off the CTBT, and>an agreement to ban fissile materials production for military?purposes. The government is hardly likely to take any of theseAhard decisions in a pre-election year. What seems more likely isAa further period of ambiguity, with the nuclear option remaining@unexpressed and unforeclosed. This would suit the United Statestoo."   "Looking Beyond The Agni"<   Brahma Chellaney wrote in the Indian Express (7/1), "The<Prithvi short-range ballistic missile has received a lot of:attention within and outside the country. However, from aBlong-term Indian strategic perspective, the Prithvi is one of theBleast significant of missile systems currently under development.@This is because it cannot help counter the multitude of missileAthreats India faces.... The expanding missile programs of China,BPakistan and other Asian states, as well as the Chinese transfers@of India-reachable missiles to Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan,=have added a sense of urgency to Indian missile planning....@   "When the missiles scientists need full political support to=translate their achievements into concrete national security@options, the government has lacked a clear strategic vision and@perhaps even the determination to push ahead.... Time is not on;India's side and it cannot afford to slow down its missile?program. New Delhi will remain a target of an expanding web of?export control on space, aerospace, missile and other advancedAtechnologies. Nor is there a likelihood of an improvement in its<external security environment in the foreseeable future....6   "The lack of a missile-deterrent force is the mainBvulnerability in Indian defenses.... In the absence of any global?movement toward missile disarmament, India, China and Pakistan;could regionally adopt missile-related confidence-building<measures, including prior notification of missile and space@flight tests, transparency in deployments and the establishment@of non-missile buffer zones along the borders; India and China,Aand Pakistan and India, could also sign bilateral pacts pledging;not to carry out missile attacks on population centers and@industrial and civilian installations.... But if such ideas are?not to go begging, like Indian proposals on nuclear confidence@building, New Delhi will first have to conclusively demonstrate>its technical capabilities and have its missile deterrence inplace."'   "Ambivalent French Nuclear Posture"=   Savita Pande remarked in the Hindustan Times (6/29), "The<French nuclear postures need to be looked into in the wider;context of its nuclear philosophy and strategy. The FrenchBnuclear planners have always anticipated that France might itselfBbe in need of an independent weapon of last resort.... For FranceBthe humiliation of the Second World War...created a much strongerAmotive for acquisition of nuclear technology. As an extension ofAthis desire for a major status symbol, nuclear weapons were also>a means to assert its independence from the United States....@   "Predicated on the assumption that a U.S. response could not@be guaranteed, the French nuclear force provided it existentialAdeterrence.... Since then, the French needs have hardly altered.?In the post-Cold War period Germany remains a concern with its@added economic power.... The French nuclear weapons are weaponsAof last resort--to be used only if the existence of the state isAendangered by a conventional or nuclear attack.... After all, itAwas under American pressure that France was forced to cancel the?reprocessing plant deal with Pakistan. However, if the Clinton@administration is optimistic about the French joining the CTBT,Ain case it is ready by 1996, not much pressure may be exerted on#France on the nuclear test issue."   "Think It Over, Sam"<   The Times Of India (6/26) held, "Latest reports from the:United States speak of...Chinese supply of components and9guidance systems for missiles to Iran and Pakistan.... A<go-stop-go policy in regard to such supplies of nuclear andAmissile technologies gives the Chinese leverage in internationalArelations in strategic areas of the world. Pakistan and Iran are9located in strategic areas.... Given all this, it is not@unnatural for India to be puzzled by the lack of rationality in<the U.S. demand that this country should stop producing andAdeploying Prithvi missile on the ground it would destabilize theBsituation. The harsh fact happens to be that India has to produce:and deploy missiles to stabilize a situation.... The U.S.Bobsession with Iran and its yielding to the blackmail of Pakistan>threatening to move closer to Iran make it very vulnerable to8Chinese pressure in the area obtained through supply of@components and guidance systems of missiles to these countries.>The United States has to think afresh on its strategy in thisarea."   "China's Way"A   The Indian Express (6/26) opined, "The Clinton administration=is certain to lose some sleep over China's shipments of M-11>missile parts and technology to Pakistan and Iran.... ChineseBviolations of the MTCR last year...invited a ban on U.S. sales toAChina of certain hightechnology items. It is now clear that such?limited action has had no deterrent effect on Beijing and that@full-scale sanctions under the MTCR will have to be considered.@Even if the Clinton administration were so inclined once again,Bthe soft option is precluded. Although the administration regards@Pakistan as a moderate Islamic state and therefore deserving of>special treatment, Iran is altogether another kettle of fish.=Washington...is bound to take a very serious view of China's9delivery of missile guidance systems and other sensitiveAequipment to a country whose policies the United States believes>are inimical to its interest in the Gulf. The Iran factor may8therefore provoke appropriate American action where the>China-Pakistan missile nexus failed to do despite its evidentBdestabilizing effect in the subcontinent.... "At no time have theBWestern powers been able to influence Beijing in significant ways@on nuclear issues.... A more convincing explanation for China's>assertiveness, which is causing concern in Asia and should in@Washington, is that its remarkable economic gains are giving it>the independent superpower status it always believed it couldclaim.")   PAKISTAN:  "U.S. -Pakistan Relations"@   Peshawar's liberal Frontier Post (7/5) held, "The Washington>Post...has again claimed that Pakistan obtained M-11 missilesAfrom China in violation of the Missile Technology Control Regime9(MTCR). It has further asserted that the White House wasBdeliberately ignoring evidence to this end and avoiding the issueBof possible imposition of sanctions against Pakistan as a part ofBthe effort to improve relations with the latter.... Both Pakistan?and China have firmly rejected the story as groundless.... The>U.S. administration, in any case, appears to be somewhat more<mindful of the actual situation...India's ambitious missile=program...is the real issue of concern for the states in her>neighborhood and beyond. Of particular concern to Pakistan isBIndia's short-range Prithvi missile capable of carrying a nuclear=warhead which can target most of the major urban centers andAsites of military significance in Pakistan. If a missile race inBthe sub-continent is to be avoided India will have to demonstrate<the necessary restraint. And it is in this context that the'United States can play a useful role."   "Motivated Propaganda">   The center-right Nation (6/24) opined, "The United States'=double standards are glaringly exposed in its molly-coddlingAIndia over the deployment of the Prithvi missile, which directly@threatens Pakistan's security. Is the United States prepared toArisk its interests in the huge Indian market to impose sanctionsAagainst New Delhi over its nuclear weapons and missile programs?=Such unabashed two-facedness has never restrained the United?States where its own interests are at stake, and if that means?principles have to be thrown out the window, so much the worse:for those principles. Pakistan has long experience of the7discriminatory policies of the United States under theAcountry-specific Pressler Amendment and [its] turning of a blind>eye to India's growing military might and nuclear and missileBcapability while Pakistan is singled out for harsh treatment when:it seeks to defend itself from the very real threat of an"aggressive India on its borders."+   "The Self-Appointed Custodian Of Peace"9   The radical Muslim (6/26) remarked, "The U.S. DefenseBDepartment spokesman seems to be worried about the possibility of>China or any other developed country transferring any missile@technology to Iran or Pakistan or for that matter to any MuslimBcountry. The philosophy behind this concern is that having gained:an initial advantage over the world in regard to military?technology, having armed itself to the teeth with a horrendousBarray of the most deadly weapons of mass destruction and also the;means to deliver these to any part of the world and havingAdemonstrated its ability to do so in Japan some fifty years ago,@now the United States is determined to prevent any other nation?acquiring comparable technology. The United States accepts the=European countries that have mastered advanced technology in?nuclear weapons and missile technology. It has decided that noAcountry of the Third World, especially, no Muslim country, shall<be permitted to acquire advanced technology to enable it to@bridge the widening gap between the advanced industrial nations?and the backward former colonial world, which should remain at>the mercy of the advanced countries." BANGLADESH: "The FrenchNuclear Test"@   Conservative Ittefaq (6/18) remarked, "The United States has@been trying...to stop North Korea's nuclear program. The FrenchBnuclear test...is nothing but an indirect insult to the developedAcountries. The protests made by the United States, Australia and>New Zealand have been very strong.... One cannot say that all@disputes and conflicts have ended following the collapse of the8Soviet Union. But the fear of a war...does not exist as@before.... The duty of the big powers is now to stop production<of nuclear and conventional weapons...and encourage warring>countries to resolve their disputes through negotiations. One>cannot ask for an end to war while keeping a large arsenal of
weapons."!   "Destroy All Nuclear Weapons"=   Anti-West Inqilab (6/16) held, "The possession of nuclear?weapons and a movement to stop proliferation are contradictoryBattitudes. The Western world is talking about peace while sittingAon a nuclear arsenal and is very active to ensure that the ThirdAWorld does not get access to nuclear weapons. The Western policy?is that the nuclear bomb is safe in the custody of white hands8but unsafe in brown hands. This policy is the principal<impediment toward disarmament.... The stock of bombs at the?disposal of Britain, the United States, South Africa, India or@Israel are the West's own weapons. So the slightest preparationBfor possession of this weapon by...Korea, Iraq, Iran, or PakistanAis not tolerable or acceptable to the West and its allies. There4lies the mockery of the West's disarmament policy.":   "NEPAL:  "Nuclear Club Oblivious To Global Sentiments"?   The independent Kathmandu Post commented (7/3), "The French@decision to resume nuclear tests in the South Pacific this year?certainly deserves the condemnation it has been receiving fromBall quarters.... What the fate of NPT will be in the wake of suchBa decision is anybody's guess.... The United States, it seems, is=also inexplicably set to launch its nuclear test in the near=future. The irony of the situation lies in the fact that the>United States opposes any new country from going nuclear. ButBitself has been refining its own weapons of mass destruction. The@very members of the nuclear club who have been pushing NPT down?the throats of some unwilling countries seem to have no qualms<about carrying on with their own nuclear testing. They seem!oblivious to global sentiments."   U.S.-China Strains"?   Independent Mahanagar (6/25) commented, "Lately, U.S.-China>relations are being strained because of the weapons and human>rights issues.... The United States is now raising objectionsBover the Chinese supply of missile parts to Iran and Pakistan....BRich nations want to control the production of weapons, but Third@World countries want to equip themselves with necessary weaponsBfor self-defense. Rich nations are also competing with each otherfor the sale of such weapons."   LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN   ARGENTINA:  "French Error"?   Conservative La Prensa said under the headline above (7/5),B"Chirac--perhaps worried about pacifying the ever-stronger French>nationalist right, has indicated, with these [nuclear] tests,=that the passport to join the first rank of nations is, onceagain, 'the bomb.'",   BRAZIL:  "The Brazilian Nuclear Program"A   Former army general Danilo Venturini remarked in center-rightBO Estado de Sao Paulo (6/26), "The evolution of the international@consensus, with the great nuclear powers constituting a type ofA'Club of Providers' demanded of us greater effort to develop our=own technology. This effort, begun in the 70's, was expandedAespecially in the 80's, as more and more tight restrictions were;established in the framework of bilateral and multilateral?relations. Initially of a technical nature, these restrictionsBlater took on political and economic motivations, with unilateral@changes in existing agreements. So, to those who saw and see usAwith apprehensive and suspicious eyes and to those who said 'no'@to our invitation to help us develop our nuclear technology, we>respectfully remind you...that we...are part of the Brazilian?people--a people desirous of proceeding in the building of the;future of the country, in the same tradition, historicallyAChristian and peaceful, in which Brazil was founded and exists."#   CHILE:  "The Atomic Aberration";   Christian Democrat-affiliated, centrist La Epoca (6/26)<editorialized, "Displaying little respect for internationalAagreements, environmental interests, pacifist movements, defense>accords and the bulk of past, negative experience, the French@government announced it will resume its atomic testing...in the5Mururoa atoll, its 'firing range' in the Pacific....?   "Chile's government must energetically reject this menacingAabuse of the Pacific with these tests--which it has already doneBin part--and promote a concerted, regional and continental actionBto persuade France of the negative consequences of its decision."
   AFRICA   NIGERIA:  "Nuclear Testing"=   Lagos's independent, pro-government Sunday Champion (7/2)=held, "We are not only dismayed but disappointed that France@recently made a turn-around and announced, to the consternation?of the world, that it will resume nuclear testing.... Whatever?the motivations, this reversal has already started throwing upAthe backlash effect we feared it would have, namely, opening the>floodgate of testings by other powers.... Already, the United<States, though insisting it was not propelled by the FrenchAinitiative, has said it too would resume the testing; Russia has:made it clear that if other powers resume the testing, it"reserved the right also to do so.:   "It ought to be clear to France now that its unpopular<decision and the likelihood of the decision being emulated,@coming soon after the nuclear powers cajoled other countries toBagree to an indefinite extension of the Non-Proliferation Treaty,?is most inauspicious. For those who have been most vocal about@the extension to now turn round to engage in nuclear activities?will create the impression that the moratorium was intended inAthe first place to deceive and fool the world. Secondly, it will<be tantamount to infidelity to the spirit and letter of theAtreaty. As such they will lack the moral authority to tell other+nations not to acquire the deadly weapon."   ---------------   ---------------D   FOREIGN PRESS: SAFE HAVEN SREBRENICA-WHERE'S THE REACTION FORCE?   WASHINGTON?   Commentators abroad railed against perceived UN and Western?reluctance to respond firmly to the Serb challenge near the UNA"safe" haven of Srebrenica, where Serb forces clashed with Dutch=peacekeepers guarding the entrance to the town and the Serbs@seized 30 Dutch troops. This latest event was seen by the media?as a new humiliation for the UN and its role in the Balkans. AAmajority of commentators said pressure for the withdrawal of the:UN forces was growing. Suggesting that international "war?weariness" is now the worst threat to Bosnia, London's liberal<Guardian saw this pressure building for a withdrawal of the?besieged UN Blue Helmets despite widespread apprehension as to;what the outcome might be: a wider war, or perhaps a total?victory for Serbia. There was no doubt, however, as to another@consequence of a UN withdrawal--a serious blow both to the UN's?prestige and to NATO's cohesiveness and sense of mission. Some@observers wondered why the much-publicized Rapid Reaction Force9(RRF) was not in evidence around the UN safe haven, with:conservative Le Figaro of Paris warning that, "unless the=(allied) governments react promptly, (the RRF) will become a<Rapid Withdrawal Force, only qualified to evacuate the BlueHelmets from Bosnia."?   Dutch media led with reports on the fighting in Srebrenica,>with editorialists agreeing that the UN mission in the formerBYugoslavia is at a crossroads and most urging a withdrawal of theADutch troops there. A variety of suggested courses of action wasBoffered. One writer called for air support cover to ensure a safeAexit of the Dutch troops and also to facilitate the introduction?of strengthened UN forces. Another journalist held that the UN<Blue Helmets must either prove they can protect the Bosnian<Muslims or the international community should lift the arms4embargo and allow the Muslims to defend themselves.@   Critics, who noted that President Clinton would be trying to:persuade Congressional leaders to support a continuing UN:presence in the Balkans, contended that U.S. policy thereBincreasingly will be influenced by the upcoming U.S. presidential@elections in 1996. Belgrade's independent weekly Nin maintained=that there will be "no radical moves by the United States in@Bosnia in the next 18 months" and that "Washington's new policy@can be expected only in January, 1997, when the prospective newBpresident comes into office." Other pundits, however, pointed outBthat, if the White House fails to stop Senator Robert Dole's pushBin Congress to lift the arms embargo against the Bosnian Muslims,Bit could precipitate action on the part of the U.S.--by involving3U.S. troops in assisting in a UN troop withdrawal.@   There was again a sense of frustration in the press that the@crisis was spiraling out of control. The "impossible" situation@continues to be aggravated further, they said, by the lack of aAreal strategy on the part of the world's leading powers, who are@allegedly more concerned with their own national interests thanthe pursuit of peace.D   This survey is based on 43 reports from 17 countries, July 4-11.   FORMER YUGOSLAVIA)   SERBIA-MONTENEGRO:  "Bosnia And U.S."@   Independent weekly Nin (7/10) carried an analysis of current<U.S. policy in the Balkans by Director of the Institute for;International Policy and Economy (IIPE) Predrag Simic, whoArecently returned from a trip to the United States: "The victory>of the Republicans in last year's Congressional elections and?strong pressure by the public have made Bosnia one of the most@sensitive issues in White House-Congressional relations.... The<suppositions are that there will be no radical moves by theBUnited States in Bosnia in the next 18 months, while Washington's:new policy can be expected only in January 1997, when the.potential new president comes into office....B   "Both U.S. parties are forced to compromise between rhetorical8support for the Muslims and a relatively limited direct@engagement in Bosnia. This kind of compromise has been found inAthe so-called 'lift and strike' strategy (lifting the embargo on?arms deliveries to Sarajevo and bombing of the Bosnian Serbs),@but last year's three crises (Sarajevo, Gorazde and Bihac), andAparticularly the latest hostage crisis, have shown the limits ofANATO's intervention. That is probably why U.S. political circlesBare placing their hopes in the two remaining means of pressure onAPale, lifting the arms embargo and the RRF, although the motives?of Democrats and Republicans for this two-pronged approach aretotally at odds."0   CROATIA:  "When The West Couldn't Care Less"@   Zagreb's pro-government Vjesnik (7/7) ran this commentary byARome correspondent Inoslav Besker under the headline above, "The?mystery that surrounds the role of the Rapid Reaction Force is=not a result of the deep, thoughtful, clever strategy of the6military wise men, but rather the obvious and painful?acknowledgement that the West does not have a strategy.... The@Americans dropped out of the Bosnian picture because Clinton is?now part of a minority and does not want to further weaken his<position in relation to the Congress on the eve of the next@election.... Therefore, Clinton decided to hire substitutes forAAmerica's sons--just as the rich would once send the children of>the poor to the front lines by hiring them as substitutes....>   "The whole mess, that includes UNPROFOR, UNCRO and RRF, is@just the final variable in the complete political confusion andBtotal division within the North Atlantic Alliance, in which there@is no consensus between a divided United States--a weak Clinton;and a not-strong-enough Gingrich--and an even more dividedEuropean Union."
   EUROPED   THE NETHERLANDS:  "Blue Helmets Still Protect Tens Of Thousands"B   An editorial in influential, liberal-left De Volkskrant (7/11)@observed, "The only thing that can be done now is to try to getAagreements to ensure that none of the parties will make a target@of the Blue Helmets. In this painful and humiliating situation,>there is one comforting aspect: Just by being there, the BlueAHelmets still prevent the fall of Srebrenica and protect tens of7thousands of people from being chased away or killed."(   "Time To Make An Important Decision"?   Calvinist-left Trouw (7/11) stressed, "The recent events in8the Muslim enclave Srebrenica once again make clear how?impossible the situation in these areas and how impossible the?situation of the Blue Helmets is.... The UN created these safeBareas to prevent lifting of the arms embargo.... The intervention>force set up to protect the UN Blue Helmets does not have themeans nor the mandate.<   "Without diminishing the humanitarian work that the BlueAHelmets have done in Bosnia, and are still doing, the time seemsAto be right for the UNSC and the members of the Contact Group to?make an important decision: They either meet their promise and=protect the Muslim population, or they allow that the MuslimBgovernment leader gets the arms to do so. They [choose to] cannotdo none of these two options."   "Air Support Required"A   Centrist Het Parool said (7/10), "Air support is the only way;to provide room to allow the Dutch troops to finally leaveBSrebrenica. The Dutch troops should leave not to leave the Muslim;population to themselves, but before they leave the new UN?troops, preferably enforced, should be there to take over, forAthe safe enclave must be able to count on effective protection."   "Dutch In Bosnia"@   Conservative, mass-circulation De Telegraaf observed (7/10),:"The death of a Dutch soldier in the so-called safe-havenASrebrenica and the attacks on Dutch observation posts should not@be considered only a regrettable incidents, they must influence?Dutch policy..... Having UN soldiers there is humanitarian....=Without the presence of the UN soldiers, terror and killings>would be more frequent. But even that task has its limits....BRisks are becoming too great.... The Serbs regard the UN soldiers?as enemies, the Muslims regard them as peeping Toms who are in	the way.A   "We may have international commitments, but can those be moreBimportant than the lives of the Dutch soldiers? Either parliament?demands an end to Dutch particpation or the UN mandate must beexpanded."7   BRITAIN:  "A Radical Change That NATO Must Address"@   The conservative tabloid London Evening Standard remarked inBan editorial (7/10), "The breach of the no-fly zone (NFZ) (by the@Bosnian Serbs) marks a radical change in the war, and one which?has to be addressed by NATO.... The main reason why the NFZ is<dangerous and difficult to enforce is that the Serbs have a=powerful radar system which allows the identification of theBflight paths of the monitoring NATO planes. And according to mostANATO analysts, that air defense system is run and organized from@Belgrade. But to identify the real involvement of Serbia in the=war would be to jeopardize the main thrust of our diplomaticBpolicy, which is based on the assumption that Serbia is genuinely@not involved in the war in Bosnia, despite substantial evidence?that, militarily, this is not the case. But the credibility of9NATO as well as the UN is at stake here. The NFZ must beBenforced, even if this means abandoning our policy of progressive&relaxation of sanctions on Belgrade."<   "Worst Threat To Bosnia:  Outside World's War Weariness"B   An editorial in the liberal Guardian (7/10) commented, "Bosnia@cries out once more for the world's attention: So bad indeed isAthe news that the president of the United States will discuss it>at dinner tonight. The clumsiness of Mr. Clinton's attempt to>signal his concern may jar--especially for the inhabitants of@Sarajevo who go hungry every night.... His aides insist that he=is summoming congressional leaders to the White House dinner8table in a serious attempt to persuade them that the UN8peacekeepers should stay. But the problem with opposingBwithdrawal is that everyone claims to be against it and then goeson to discuss it.>   "Yesterday the White House was floating simultaneously theBidea that if the UN peacekeepers cannot prove their effectiveness>within the next few weeks, then the withdrawal plan agreed by=NATO (and backed by U.S. troops) is almost certain to begin.@Washington's right to pronounce might be disputed since none ofBthe peacekeepers are American anyhow, but Mr. Clinton's real view6remains impenetrable--probably to himself as well....B   "The worst threat to Bosnia comes now from the vicarious sense@of war weariness felt not within the country but outside. There@is a massive yawn from diplomats and politicians impatient with:the problem, and from commentators with a short attentionBspan.... The irony is that the battallions will soon be there but;probably too late. The UN has finally acquired...the troop;strength and material to carry out its mandate only when a@pullout is on the agenda. Yet with the momentum now growing forBwithdrawal, its consequences are still regarded with apprehension@even by those who advocate it surreptitiously. (Newly appointedAUK Foreign Secretary) Rifkind...should know better than most howBmuch we have already invested in this enterprise--and the tragedyof letting it all slip away."&   FRANCE:  "Rapid Withdrawal Force?"A   Conservative Le Figaro's Patrick de Saint Exupery pointed out<(7/11), "The Rapid Reaction Force, which was supposed to be?operational on July 9, remains passive after the capture of 30@Blue Helmets in the Muslim enclave.... Today, Serb headquarters=knows that it has nothing to fear.... Unless the governments<react promptly, it (the RRF) will become a Rapid WithdrawalAForce, only qualified to evacuate the Blue Helmets from Bosnia."   "Come September">   In the opinion of Marc Ullmann on Radio Luxembourg (7/11),:"Things will probably speed up in Bosnia.... The American=political debate would be another reason for speeding up the@process. Public opinion in the United States is not profound on@the subject but thinks with some justification that the BosnianASerbs are the ugly aggressors and the Bosnian Muslims the gentleAvictims.... It seems obvious, that if the conflict is not solved4by September, it will then take on new dimensions."	   "War"<   Bernard Guetta opined on Radio France Inter (7/10), "The=Bosnian Serbs scoff at the world in general and at France in<particular. They may have pushed their limits too far. "The6problem is that, concurrently, the American Congress,=unilaterally, is anxious to vote for the lifting of the armsBembargo. If this motion goes through, if the White House does notAmanage to stop it, whether the Bosnian Serbs withdraw or not, itAends the role of the UN. Thus it is war, only war, which must beavoided at all costs."$   "UN Only An Illusion For Bosnia"=   Provincial La Presse de la Manche's (7/10) Jean Levallois>concluded, "Srebrenica is about to fall. Twenty Blue Helmets,Athen 30...have been taken hostage by the Serbs. In Bosnia, it isAmore obvious than ever that the UN is only an illusion. A tragic<illusion, since it brought hope which has turned into greatdisappointment."   "Credibility Of RRF"A   Influential Le Monde (7/6) opined, "Paris wants to assert the@credibility of the RRF in Bosnia. Time is getting short for theBinhabitants of the besieged city of Sarajevo, but that is not the>only reason why it has become urgent for Paris to restore the9credibility of its troops on the ground and show that UN?resolutions can be implemented. The urgency stems from all the=talk in the United States about lifting the embargo and thus&opening the way to the logic of war."   "Shelling Of Bihac">   Luc Lemonier commented on public France Inter radio (7/6):?"The shelling of the Muslim city of Bihac by the Bosnian Serbs@shows how those fighting fail to be convinced by the diplomatic8and military gesturing of the international community."2   GERMANY:  "What's A Rapid Reaction Force For?"@   National radio station Deutschlandfunk of Cologne aired this@(7/10), "In this remote corner of Bosnia, the United Nations is?demonstrating once again how it is possible to leave a UN safe7haven to its fate. When--if not now--would be a better=opportunity to show why a terribly expensive so-called RapidBReaction Force has been deployed?... Everyone is trying to pursue=his own vested interests at the expense of the suffering and;dying people of Bosnia.... The powerful have made not only>Srebrenica but the whole of Bosnia into their testing ground.>People are being made into guinea pigs--and the experiment is	lethal.".   "UN, NATO Might Not Be Bluffing This Time"@   Josef Joffe observed in centrist Sueddeutsche Zeitung (7/11)Bof Munich, "Anyone who wants to save the policies of the last few;years must prevent Srebrenica or any other safe haven from7falling at any cost. This price includes, however, the>willingness to use force. Nevertheless: NATO and UNPROFOR areAalready threatening air strikes. The Serbs would be well advisedAto halt their offensive as soon as possible. They cannot be sure5that the UN and NATO are merely bluffing this time."   "Only U.S. Could Help"<   Erich Rathfelder said in left-of-center Die TageszeitungA(7/11) of Berlin, "Only rapid and resolute action on the part of@the United States could still avert a catastrophe. But in spite?of the Bosnian government's cries for help, this does not seem%likely." "Withdrawal And Escalation"@   Regional radio Hessischer Rundfunk of Frankurt/Main remarkedA(7/8), "The withdrawal of the UN Blue Berets could mean the next?escalation for the Bundeswehr: If the U.S. Congress refuses to:provide ground troops to safeguard the UN withdrawal, theBBundestag will be forced to hold a fresh debate on the deploymentof German ground forces."   "Risk To NATO"B   According to Roman Arens in today's left-of-center FrankfurterARundschau (7/10), "If the intervention force prepares for a BlueBHelmet withdrawal, pressure in the United States to lift the armsembargo is bound to increase.?   "At the same time, the risks to NATO cohesion will increase=dramatically, since the Alliance will be thrown back into is9post-Communist identity crisis if it fails in Bosnia....@Milosevic is being rewarded for pretending to make moves toward?peace. In full knowledge that this is a trick, even the UnitedAStates has agreed to an extension of the eased sanctions: an actAof realpolitik for which there is no alternative.... The SerbianApresident started the war. It can only be ended via this cunningwarlord in sheep's clothing.""   "West Sticking To False Hopes">   An editorial in Sueddeutsche Zeitung (7/7) of Munich said,>"Only minimal attention is being paid to the fact that in the@so-called UN safe havens, children and the elderly are dying of@starvation because the UN claims the Serbs are not allowing aidBorganizations to get food to the besieged civilians.... Nobody is>bringing pressure to bear and there are not even any plans to8drop food supplies from the air, as was done last year.;   "The West prefers to get on with its own business. ManyApeople--particularly diplomats--have created a mental picture of@the Yugoslavia they would like it to be: Without starvation and>artillery barrages. This scenario includes a special role for>Serbian President Milosevic. He is supposed to bring peace to?Bosnia. To encourage him to do this, the UNSC has extended the=suspension of some sanctions on rump Yugoslavia. It did this?although it must know that Belgrade has by no means broken off=contact with the Bosnian Serbs--the precondition for lifting?sanctions last year.... (Milosevic) has shown that he likes to@gamble but is not prepared to seek peace. For the simple reason>that the West has nothing else to show for its efforts, it issticking to false hopes."   ITALY:  "UN Humiliation"@   Aldo Rizzo opined in centrist La Stampa (7/10), "The BosnianBtragedy is really entering a decisive phase, or at least facing a>drastic dilemma. From here to the end of August...the UN will>have to decide whether it still makes sense to keep in BosniaAmore than twenty thousand peacekeepers, every day more impotent,<more exposed to blackmail, or whether it would be better to@withdraw them.... It is a fact that things cannot continue likeAthis. Warnings and threats have had no results so far other than7to humiliate and even subject to ridicule the West and:international institutions." "West Has No Weapons Left ToPressure Pale"A   Elena Ragusin filed from Belgrade in financial Il Sole-24 Ore@(7/7), "France has announced that the Rapid Reaction Force will@be ready to intervene beginning tomorrow, but it seems unlikelyBthat the intervention of French, British and Dutch special forces<may end the siege in Sarajevo, given the extremely cautious>attitude adopted by the UN. Not even violations of the no-fly:zone are punished any more.... International diplomacy is=floundering in an attempt to find a political solution which?nobody seems able even to outline as people continue to die in?Bosnia.... After de facto surrendering to Karadzic's blackmail?following the capture of UN peacekeepers, and having committed=itself not to use force any more against Bosnian Serbs...theAWestern community finds itself without any weapons with which toexert pressure on Pale."!   "Hunger And Grenades Prevail":   A report from Zagreb in Rome's rightist Il Tempo (7/7)Bstressed, "Hunger and grenades continue to kill people in Bosnia,?where the wait-and-see policy and realpolitik of international<diplomacy seem to have prevailed over the recent upsurge ofFrench pride."   "Increasing Tension"=   Left, liberal, influential La Repubblica (7/6) said, "The@Bosnian conflict is increasing tension between the two sides ofAthe Atlantic. As days go by, the French can no longer hide their4anger toward the United States, accused of 'muddled5interference,' and are threatening to withdraw their:peacekeepers.... France, however, continues to pursue twoBobjectives for the time being: to deploy the rapid reaction force-and to loosen the vise that grips Sarajevo.""   RUSSIA:  "Moscow's Discontent"<   Maxim Yusin stated in reformist Izvestia (7/8), "Russian@diplomats believe Belgrade deserves to be rewarded by the world?community for its 'irreproachable behavior.'... Russia and the<West, which only recently pledged 'fruitful cooperation' inBBosnia, have increasingly been resorting to ultimatums, revealingAa total inability to take concerted action. The split inside the@Contact Group grows ever more menacing, as it damages hopes for'peace in Bosnia, fragile as they are."%   "RRF Gives Edge To London, Paris"?   Reformist, business-oriented Kommersant-Daily (7/8) pointed>out in a commentary by Andrei Smirnov, "Differences among theApeacekeepers show that certain countries more often than not useBinternational operations to secure their own interests.... HavingBa predominantly French and British rapid reaction force in BosniaAenables London and Paris, through the use of force, to influenceAevents as they see fit. A UN mandate for the RRF would hardly be>a barrier, since all orders would come from national military@commanders who, in defending 'their' peacekeepers, might ignore'alien diplomats' schemes.",   "International Community Hopeful, Still"@   Yelena Shchedrunova wrote for reformist Segodnya (7/7), "For8all the gravity of the current situation in Bosnia, the=international community is hopeful that the conflict will be?resolved peacefully.... "As the West is now confident that the?key to a settlement is in Belgrade, all its diplomatic efforts/have been concentrated on Slobodan Milosevic."2   BELGIUM:  "Pressure For Retreat Is Increasing"?   Christophe Lamfalussy commented in conservative Catholic La<Libre Belgique (7/11), "Having become masters in the art of?provocation, the Bosnian Serbs once more put the international?community against the wall.... If the Serbian forces wanted to?demonstrate the weakness of the UNPROFOR, they are succeeding.ABut then they should not be surprised that the retreat of 24,000(Blue Helmets will become inevitable....A   "The pressure in favor of retreat is increasing now that Bill:Clinton, who promised 25,000 men to support this delicateBoperation, is entering an electoral period.... The U.S. president;knows very well that the retreat operation will take time.8Bosnia's winter is sudden. A fast decision is required.B   "It is also probable that the Serbs are trying to test the RRF&even when it is not yet operational."   "What Next?"=   Chief editor Dirk Achten wrote in independent Catholic De>Standaard (7/10), "If things go on like this--and there is no@indication that the situation will change soon--the UN's effort?in Bosnia will die in powerlessness. For a variety of reasons:AEuropean division, American reticence and Russian resistance....@   "Will the Blue Helmets be capable of getting through anotherBwinter under such circumstances? Normally not, and everyone knows8that a withdrawal will be unavoidable if this situation@continues.... If it comes to a withdrawal, Belgian paratroopers@may be deployed, the (Belgian) government decided on Friday....AThe only possibility of deploying more troops is the large-scale<rescue and retreat of the UN Blue Helmets. Preparations are=gradually being made to actually carry out such a retreat. ABdecision is expected within the next few weeks. The main question>is: What next? What (will happen) after the UN has been hurt,?after NATO has been damaged and Europe frustrated, and with so>many thousands of people killed in Bosnia? (Will there be) an:explosion in the Balkans? Or (will there be) a triumphant	Serbia?"   "Dead End?"B   In addition to reports that the Belgian government will decide<on its short-term contribution to the Rapid Reaction Force,>Belgian coverage also included this commentary by Edouard Van@Velthem in independent Le Soir (7/7), "To judge from the strong9words, to observe his apparent determination, the FrenchApresident, Jacques Chirac, has turned the return to peace in the;former Yugoslavia into the first major test of his foreignpolicy....<   "A handful of 'boys' and dollars to support the RRF, the@obstinate refusal to commit themselves any further while openlyAsiding with the Bosnian government: There are reasons for allied<irritation with American policy.... "But the Europeans also7should submit to a test of conscience: It is their own=powerlessness which led Washington to develop some personal,<often questionable, ideas on the matter. And the increasing>pressure from Congress, in favor of lifting the arms embargo,@forces President Clinton into dangerous exercises of balance tosafeguard Western solidarity.@   "The only strategy which Paris and Washington really have in@common...is to make Yugoslavia recognize Bosnia-Herzegovina....?Today this initiative, which aimed at completely isolating the(Bosnian Serbs, has reached a dead end."   CANADA:  "Rapid Force?"@   In the opinion of French-language La Presse (7/5), "The hope@generated by the creation of the Rapid Reaction Force in Bosnia?is beginning to fall flat.... One month after its creation the=RRF has still not been deployed.... Meanwhile, the Serbs areAintensifying their siege of Sarajevo.... The Serbs don't believe9for a second that the Western powers are done with their>prevarication.... If the RRF ever gets to its destination, it=will help the Blue Helmets defend themselves.... The 'rapid'5soldiers will be better equipped, but their field of@activity--i.e. humanitarian assistance--will remain essentiallyBthe same. So long as we do not review this approach, we will onlyBperpetuate the absurdity of an operation that allows the Serbs to4use the international presence for their own ends."   NORWAY:  "Empty Threats"B   Social-Democratic Arbeiderbladet (7/11) judged, "The UN forces@have passively observed the safe areas developing into the mostAunsafe areas in Bosnia.... The world community is now witnessing>the result of a long-lasting policy of concessions. After the?last hostage action the UN chose to negotiate quietly with the?Serbs. Promises and concessions were given, and the Serbs haveAnow come back for more. There are no unambiguous answers for the?world community in Bosnia--except one: Empty threats undermine>the credibility of the UN and feed the aggressors' appetite."   MIDDLE EAST<   EGYPT:  "Has Bosnian Tragedy Become An Ordinary Affair?"A   Ossama El-Gammal wondered in pro-government Al-Akhbar (7/11),?"Has the Bosnian tragedy become an ordinary affair? Obviously,Athere is 'neutrality' that amounts to 'passivity' on the part of@international parties.... The UN has not determined the role ofBthe Rapid Reaction troops up to the present... Thus the people ofBSarajevo are holding out little hope for them.... The position of?international parties is irresolute.... We still remember that>NATO did not move except after the Serbs seized international	troops."'   "A Return To The Law Of The Jungle">   An editorial in Al-Akhbar (7/10) said, "It is not shamefulBthat the UN...admits the truth...that revealed to the whole worldBits inability to end an aggressive war.... The aggression against@the Muslim people of Bosnia has become a tragedy...implying the=return to the rule and law of the jungle. "The international?community, which boasts of being civilized, has been unable toAprotect a small nation from a barbarous invasion.... At the same?time, countries on which we had hung high hopes collaborate to@prevent the victim from obtaining arms!... Small countries haveAcome to realize that they cannot secure help from the UN and the;international community...and it is likely that they would>collect arms to be able to defend themselves.... Although theAinternational community has strong evidence on the crimes of the>aggressors and human rights violations...we have not seen anyBpositive step toward holding an international tribunal. Are we to1blame for demanding a review of the UN charter?")   TUNISIA:  "Future May Be Even Darker"A   Faouzi Snoussi wrote in independent, French-language Le TempsB(7/10), "The situation is just getting worse for Bosnian Muslims.@Their calls for a lifting of the arms embargo go unheeded. TheyBcan now only display their courage and war-making skills acquired?in the defense of their homeland. This war, which is widening,Boffers no good options; and the UN which demonstrated some (past)?effectiveness in Iraq, Libya, and Haiti, today looks powerless=and disinterested as the Serbs pursue their grim objectives.8   "The UN special envoy, the European mediator, the UN8protection force, and the Rapid Reaction Force have all?demonstrated their ineffectiveness. All of them, deployed by a>moribund UN organization shackled by financial hardship, wereBuseless. Now how can we break out of this vicious circle? Who has
a solution?"
   EAST ASIA.   CHINA:  "Rapid Reaction Force Faces Risks"A   Hu Xijin wrote in the official Communist Party People's Daily=(7/10), "Over one month has passed since EU nations Britain,@France, etc. declared that they would dispatch a Rapid Reaction@Force to Bosnia-Herzegovina. But the mission of these troops inBthe future is still not clear. With regard to their mission, eachBparty has a different view. It is not difficult to see that there5exist potential contradictions among these views....>   "The decision to send a Rapid Reaction Force was made in aAhurry by Britain and France. At that time, the problem they were/most concerned about was the hostage crisis in>Bosnia-Herzegovina. After the resolution of that problem, theARapid Reaction Force became the center of a whirlwind of various=problems. Confronted with the complicated and varied BosnianBsituation, people cannot but worry what kind of actions the RapidReaction forces will adopt."/   INDONESIA:  "U.S. Promises Are Merely Lies";   Muslim intellectual Republika's Taufan Hidayat assertedB(7/11), "In the initial stages of this imbalanced war, the United@States once bragged that no crisis could ever be solved withoutBU.S. intervention. The United States also encouraged expectations=for a Muslim Bosnia...as well as hopes for the withdrawal ofBSerbian troops from Bosnian land.... U.S. pledges vanished at theABudapest meeting with the EC, when President Clinton articulated@the U.S. stance, saying, 'Stop the war and make peace.'... ThisAstatement showed U.S. acceptance of the status quo as a starting@point for negotiations, even though Serbs controlled 80 percent?of Bosnian Muslim territory. "Clinton also appeared to call on?Bosnian Muslims to disarm and accept defeat. U.S. nonsense did>not end there. In order to promote a union between Bosnia and@Croatia, the United States even offered economic and diplomatic=assistance to Muslim Bosnia. U.S. promises are merely lies."   SOUTH ASIA"   INDIA:  "The Fiasco In Bosnia">   According to an analysis in the independent Pioneer (7/4),@"Threatened by Muslims, Serbs and Croats alike with terminationAof its seemingly impossible mission, UNPROFOR must prepare for a?precipitous and humiliating withdrawal from Bosnia.... WesternAconfusion still compounds the UN's predicament. UNPROFOR's pleas7to the Council for clarification of its mandate remain=unanswered. U.S. Permanent Representative Madeleine AlbrightBdenounced UN special envoy Yasuhi Akashi for his 'mild' letter toBBosnian Serb leader Karadzic...she demanded the mandate should be9'more robust.'... She perhaps sought to mollify majorityBRepublican sentiment against the $15 million that Clinton has set@aside for transport and equipment for the force, despite strong+Congressional opposition to funding it....@   "Being seen to champion the Muslims' cause is popular in theBUnited States, but gravely complicates the UN's efforts to appear9even-handed.... The United States has refrained from anyBcriticism of the Muslim offensive from June 15, to lift the siege;of Sarajevo. Perhaps Washington was not entirely averse to6prolongation of a conflict on Europe's doorstep which=demonstrates the EU's ineffectiveness and its dependence for:logistic support.... The latest direct Serb attacks on UN?premises and headquarters and near the U.S. Embassy seem to be5testing the West's will.... While the combatants areBunderstandably engaged in their own game of bluff to secure their@conflicting aims, the separate agendas of the major powers have;left the UN paralyzed. By uniting to call the bluff of the>combatants, who need the UN even as they rail against it, the@Council might yet endorse a redeployment along such lines as anagreed settlement may define."8   IRAN:  "Contact Group Seeks Own Interests In Bosnia"@   The official radio Tehran Voice of the Islamic Republic held;(7/5), "France and Britain, which until some time ago, had>threatened to pull their forces out of Bosnia, decided--in an6overt political shift, posing as protectors of the UN<peacekeepers--to bolster their military presence in Bosnia.BFollowing this measure, the Bonn government, too, which under theAGerman constitution was not allowed to deploy its troops outside>its frontiers, took a legal bill to the country's parliament.AAfter the bill was approved, Bonn issued an order on dispatching%its forces to Bosnia-Herzegovina....B   "Rivalry for dispatching troops from Germany, America, BritainAand France to Bosnia is continuing under conditions where famine@has already taken its toll on the lives of the besieged Muslims>and the capital city of Sarajevo is being pounded by the Serb@artillery units. Therefore, it must be said that bolstering theBmilitary presence of the Contact Group members does neither check?the current crisis nor disturb aggression as these states only0think about their own interests in the region."   ---------------   ---------------<   U.S. EDITORIAL OPINION ROUNDUP: FRANCE VERSUS GREENPEACE   ANDREW N. GUTHRIE   WASHINGTON=   To quote one of the most colorful baseball players of allAtime, Yankee catcher Yogi Berra, it was "deja vu all over again"Ain the South Pacific Sunday. French commandos stormed an unarmed@Greenpeace ship named the Rainbow Warrior II, which was sailing?to the French South Pacific island, Mururoa atoll, where Paris>plans to resume undersea nuclear testing later this year. The/incident has caused a furor in the U.S. press.?   The reason the incident appeared to be "deja vu" is that itBcame ten years to the day after French Secret Service agents blewBup the original Rainbow Warrior at dockside in New Zealand, where@it was protesting earlier French nuclear testing in the region.AThe ship sank, drowning a Portuguese Greenpeace photographer and?causing an uproar in France. The French government apologized,<fired the Secret Service chief, and paid reparations to the)environmental group for the lost vessel.=   Now, ten years later, France has again used what one U.S.Bdaily called "heavyhanded" methods to force the second Greenpeace;ship to sail away from the remote nuclear test area. While?President Jacques Chirac's announcement last month that FranceBwould resume nuclear testing drew sharp editorial criticism, this@latest incident has caused an even larger response. Tuesday's's=(7/11) "San Francisco Chronicle", calls the planned tests "aglobal disgrace":<   "In thumbing its gallic nose at a world that is ready to=abjure nuclear weapons testing, [Mr.] chirac's government is@doing more damage to the image of France as a proud independentApower in world affairs than can be compensated for by any amount?of nuclear strength showmanship.  The new French government of6President Chirac is making France into something of a=international pariah by its blind determination to conduct a<series of eight nuclear bomb tests in the South Pacific..."?   In New England, "The Boston Globe" is equally contemptuous:>   "The French daily "Infomatin" may have overstated the caseAslightly when it bemoaned its country's international image as a?'froggy bombing maniac,' but not by much. France's heavyhanded<raid on a Greenpeace protest ship in the South Pacific only@highlighted the folly of its decision to resume nuclear testing@in the first place.  [Mr.] chirac's announcement of more tests,=came as a vicious slap in the face not only to the islanders=whose waters France will pollute, but also to the diplomats,Apoliticians and average citizens around the world hoping to keep2the nuclear genie firmly stoppered in its bottle.@   Across town, however, the French found an ally, of sorts, inB"The Christian Science Monitor", which hearkened back to an earlyBAmerican conservationist and philosopher, Henry David Thoreau, inmaking this pronouncement:A   "We've previously criticized the French government's decisionAto resume nuclear testing.  Such resumption undercuts the effort@of the so-called nuclear club to persuade the rest of the worldBnot to acquire nuclear weapons...We agree with the general aim ofAGreenpeace...But, like Henry David Thoreau, Greenpeace should beBprepared to face the penalty for its acts. Protests of conscience=work best when the consequences are faced honestly. Jail for9Thoreau. Excommunication for Martin Luther. Ejection forBGreenpeace. Then, let public opinion continue to pressure Paris."A   However, in California, "The Los Angeles Times" is angry, and@begins by reminding readers of the first attack in New Zealand,;that led to the death of a Greenpeace photographer and the4sinking, at dockside, of the first Rainbow Warrior:<   "Now, with an unerring nose for bad PR, France has again>outraged the world, this time through an absurdly heavyhanded?operation to protect its newly revived nuclear testing programBagainst intrusion by Greenpeace. The commandos reportedly smashed?up parts of the ship and removed 11 crewmembers for a time. At?least there were no deaths, so Frenchmen on official duty willBnot again have to be shamed by manslaughter charges, as those who;sank the ship in New Zealand were. But once again there isinternational outrage.";   And in the U.S. south, Tuesday's "Atlanta Constitution"<headlined its editorial: "France Never Learned Its Lesson",adding:B   "This week France marked the anniversary of an ignominious day7in its recent history by roughing up the same group of@anti-nuclear protesters it victimized a decade ago. ConsideringAhow France...tainted its honor in that encounter, you'd think it=would have handled this week's confrontation with Greenpeace@environmentalists less brutishly. Sad to say, the government in@Paris is consistent to a fault. If these tests are so essentialAand such a negligible threat, as Paris maintains, why doesn't it8conduct them just off the coast of the French Riviera?"B   And with that rhetorical query from one of the largest dailies>in the south, we conclude this survey of comments on France's@latest encounter with the environmental organization GreenpeaceAprotesting a resumption of nuclear testing in the South Pacific.   ---------------   ---------------%   POLISH MASS PRIVATIZATION PROGRAM   BARRY WOOD
   PRAGUE?   After almost five years of debate, Poland next week will atAlast move ahead with its complicated mass privatization program.AAs in 1990, is to get loss-making state assets out of the public@sector and make individual Poles shareholders in the new market	economy.>   On Monday representatives of 15 newly established nationalBinvestment funds will meet in Warsaw and begin dividing ownership>shares in more than 400 Polish state enterprises. Many of the=funds have hired foreign portfolio managers to make critical?investment decisions. Each fund will initially manage about 30corporations.6   Hugh Stevenson is the Warsaw representative of theAInternational Finance Corporation, the World Bank affiliate that=has been closely involved with the Polish privatization. Mr.:Stevenson says all 27 million adult Poles will receive an:ownership share in each of the national investment funds:B   "They will have to pay a nominal charge, fee, which won't be aApurchase price. It will be an administrative fee, to acquire the=(ownership) certificate. And then the idea is that within 18Bmonths to two years those certificates will start to be traded onBthe stock exchange. So there will be a liquid market which peopleAcan then use to sell and buy their certificates in the differentfunds."@   The mass privatization program has been debated and modifiedBby six successive Polish governments. Critics say the plan is too@complicated, too bureaucratic, and excessively dominated by theAgovernment. Some critics warn of conflict of interest and fraud.>   Poland has lagged behind Hungary and the Czech Republic in@privatization. The former communists, who have been dominant inBthe last two governments, have been ambivalent about turning overBto individuals what are often regarded as national treasures. The;fact is that the majority of the 400 plus companies on the?privatization list have not attracted a great deal of interest@from foreign investors. Despite having a vibrant small business?sector, Poland's economy is still dominated by more than eightthousand state enterprises.?   The International Monetary Fund, which has been generous in>its praise of Poland's rapid economic growth, conditioned its@latest lending on the implementation of the mass privatization.?   Experts generally applaud the Polish government for finally?moving on the program. But they caution that under the present?timetable the privatization will continue to move with glacialspeed.   ---------------   ---------------   WORLD POPULATION REPORT   CHRISTINE FURNELL
   LONDON=   The United Nations Population fUnd has released an annualBreport that calls for continued action to curb population growth.=The fund's executive director, Nafis Sadik, says the central>themes this year are gender equality and reproductive health,;goals set at the world population conference in Cairo lastSeptember..   The world's population currently stands at>five-point-seven-billion, and could rise to between eight and$almost 12-billion by the year 2050.?   Dr. Sadik says if measures established at last year's CairoBworld population conference are achieved, population levels could%be stabilized at the lower estimate:?   "The Cairo conference agreed on a program of action with 20@year goals including expanded access to education, particularly=for girls, reduce infant and child mortality with particular?attention to gender disparity, reduction of maternal mortality>and universal access to quality reproductive health includingAfamily planning and sexual health services, empowerment of women>as the key to sustainable development and also to demographicstabilization."A   The report says there has been great progress during the past?30 years in lowering birth and death rates as well as reducing=infant mortality and increasing life expectancy. But it saysBthere continues to be great diversity in levels of progress amongcountries.@   Maternal death rates are still up to 50 times greater in the@developing world than in most developed countries. According toBthe report, one-third of illnesses among developing country women?of childbearing age is related to pregnancy, abortion, or HIV.A   Dr. Sadik says unsafe abortion continues to be a major threatAto the health of women. Worldwide there are more than 40-millionAabortions each year. Half that figure are performed under unsafe;conditions and account for about 67,000 preventable deaths
annually.<   The report notes that in many societies women have fewer@occupational choices and lower earnings than men, are prevented?from participating fully in economic and public life, and haveAlimited access to positions of influence both inside and outside
the home.B   Education is seen as a primary factor in breaking the cycle of8low status, poverty, and large families. Dr. Sadik saysBencouraging women below the age of 20 to delay childbearing is animportant step:@   "Married or not, young women below the age of 20 face higher=risks in pregnancy and childbirth than those who delay child?bearing until after that age. They are less likely to continue@their education and more likely to have lower paying jobs or be@jobless and they have a higher rate of separation and divorce."?   A key aim of the Cairo conference reiterated Tuesday by Dr.<Sadik was the call to all countries to provide reproductiveBhealth care and family planning through local doctors and clinics@no later than 2015 and to set targets to reduce death rates forinfants and mothers.A   Dr. Sadik says the international community has responded well;to recommendations made in Cairo. Major donor nations have@increased their contributions to the fund and a large number of<programs have been started to raise awareness of the issuesaddressed.9   At the Cairo population conference it was agreed thatA17-billion dollars be made available by the year 2000 increasing@to 21-point-seven-billion dollars by 2015. Developing countries3will meet up to two thirds of the cost themselves.   ---------------   ----------------   EAST EUROPEAN CAPITAL MARKETS PERFORMANCE   BARRY WOOD
   PRAGUE@   Financial markets for trading ownership shares in privatized<state corporations are new to the ex-communist countries of,Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.B   Where markets have opened in former East-bloc countries during7the past two years their performance has been erratic.>   It has been a roller coaster ride for investors in EasternAEurope and Russia. In what brokers call the wild east, prices in>just a few shares sometimes double and triple in a few weeks,"only to later fall precipitously.@   In 1993, Poland was the world's best performing stock market>with prices up an average of 800 percent. The Warsaw exchange>re-opened after a nearly 50 year closure only in 1991. But in@1994 Poland's stock market was down dramatically with prices in@most major stocks dropping by more than 50 percent. Now, as the<second half of 1995 begins, the Polish market is once again>getting hot. Prices are up nearly 20 percent in recent weeks.=   The Czech Republic has Eastern Europe's largest number ofAshares traded on its exchange. About 1,400 companies are traded,Abut trading volume is light. Despite having by most measures the=best performing economy in post-communist Europe, the PragueBStock Exchange is near its lowest level since it was re-opened in1993.:   Nigel Williams is an investment manager for the PragueBsubsidiary of Credit Anstalt, the big Austrian financial services?company. Mr. Williams says prices in Prague have fallen so low>that it is only a matter of time before the big international<investors return to the market. Mr. Williams says corporate6profits in the Czech Republic will rise as enterprise,restructurings produce the desired results:@   "Remember, companies here were still owned by the governmentBuntil July, 1993. So we're only two years into private ownership.@Managers are only now coming to grips with this transformation.>They're in the middle of it, and it isn't by any means over."6   The stock market in Russia is beginning to attract@international interest. The Moscow market is typically volatile>and trading irregularities abound. However the sheer size and8promise of the Russian economy is attracting investors,6particularly to the Russian and oil and gas industry.B   At the beginning of this year the Mexican financial crisis hadBa chilling effect on the emerging markets of Eastern Europe. But,Bsay the experts, confidence seems to be returning. And with stock=markets in New York, London, and Scandinavia trading at high@levels, it may be that the fragile, risky, and young markets of,the east will look increasingly attractive.   ---------------   ---------------*   BILLIONAIRE GEORGE SOROS/SLOVAKIA FEUD   BARRY WOOD
   PRAGUE?   The Slovak government is engaged in a feud with billionaireAinvestor and philanthropist George Soros, whose financial empireis based in New York.@   This is a dispute that began July first at the Crans Montana=Economic Forum in Switzerland. In remarks to the prestigious=business group, Mr. Soros warned of the danger of fascism in?Eastern Europe. He mentioned, by name, the leaders of Croatia,@Serbia, and Slovakia as being strong nationalists and advocatesBof local business. Mr. Soros said this is the classical recipe of	fascism.?   In Bratislava, the party of Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar,Bthe movement for a democratic Slovakia, demanded an apology. This=was refused. Now, the party is threatening to deny Mr. Sorosentry into Slovakia.?   In Bratislava, Mr. Soros issued a clarifying statement. TheAHungarian-born businessman said Prime Minister Meciar is harmingASlovakia by imprudent measures that could disqualify the countryAfrom gaining entry into the European Union. Mr. Soros complained@of what he calls Mr. Meciar's heavy-handed dealings with Slovak=radio and television, his dismantling of key elements of the>privatization program, and a proposed nationalistic educationlaw.B   Mr. Soros is active in Slovakia through his open society fund,Awhich promotes civic education, a free press, and tolerance. Mr.@Soros said he hopes Mr. Meciar will not take action against hisfund's operations in Slovakia.   ---------------   ---------------!   BRAZIL SEIZE WEAPONS SHIPMENT   GEORGE MEEK   RIO DE JANEIROA   Police in Brazil are questioning members of the Brazilian gun:collectors' association in Rio de Janeiro which ordered a>suspicious cargo of weapons. Police suspect the arms may have?been intended for the drug traffickers that control the city'sslums.?   Acting on a tip, Brazilian authorities discovered a two-ton>shipment of weapons at Rio de Janeiro's international airport<Thursday. The weapons came from China, by way of the UnitedStates.>   Customs officials say papers of the shipment are in order,@duly cleared by the army, so the guns should be released to the?Brazilian gun collectors' association. Police say the shipment?should not be released, because the so-called sporting weapons?include 275 new AK-47 Russian-made assault rifles, and a largequantity of pistols.?   It is the third large shipment the group has received. Army>officers say the weapons and ammunition in the shipment would,equip a full battalion for a week's combat.B   Police plan to question the 160 members of the gun collectors'3association about the intended use of the weapons.@   The association has its headquarters in the same building in:downtown Rio as the offices of the first military officer@publicly linked to arms trafficking. He is an air force reserve?officer, Colonel Latino Da Silva Fontes, who was arrested last>month on charges of selling 420 kilograms of weapons to rio'sdrug traffickers.A   In a separate incident last week, police seized a shipment of@ammunition being smuggled to Rio on a bus from Paraguay, but noarrests were made.9   Since last year, police and federal troops have triedAunsuccessfully to remove heavily armed drug traffickers from the>city slums. Some fearful and angry residents of the city have1stickers on their cars with a plea, Rio, disarm.   ---------------   ---------------D   COLOMBIAN COURT ORDERS COMPENSATION TO MASSACRE VICTIMS FAMILIES   GEORGE MEEK   RIO DE JANEIRO>   A Colombian court has ordered the government to pay nearly@500,000 dollars in compensation to relatives of 11 victims of abrutal massacre.B   Under pressure from human rights groups, Colombia has admitted=responsibility for the massacre of 107 alleged guerrillas byBparamilitary groups, drug traffickers, and soldiers. The slayingsBtook place in 1989 and 1990 in the southwestern town of Trujillo.A   Witnesses say the victims were tortured and killed, and their=bodies were cut up with chain saws and thrown into the Caucariver.A   Colombian President Ernesto Samper agreed in January that the@government should compensate the victims' relatives. Colombia'sBstate council, the country's highest administrative court, agreed=with lawyers for the relatives that 500,000 dollars was fair1compensation for the first group of 11 families.B   Additional settlements are expected to benefit families of theAother 96 victims. Criminal proceedings are underway against some7of the persons allegedly responsible for the massacre.   ---------------   ---------------(   ARGENTINA/FRANCE DIPLOMATIC TENSIONS   GEORGE MEEK   RIO DE JANEIRO8   France and Argentina have removed a thorn from theirBrelations, stemming from the unpunished murder of two French nuns@in Argentina. Reversing an earlier decision, France has decided:to invite the commander of the Argentine navy to Friday's reception marking Bastille Day.?   The French embassy in Buenos Aires says Admiral Jose Molina;has been invited to the party after all. France originallyBrefused to invite Admiral Molina because he said recently that anBArgentine naval officer, Captain Alfredo Astiz, has the necessary=moral qualities for promotion. France has convicted Astiz inAabsentia of the murder of two French nuns in 1977, and sentencedAhim to life in prison. The nuns, Leonie Duquet and Alice Dumont,:were allegedly dropped to their deaths in the sea from anBairplane during the Argentine military regime's bloody repressionof dissent.<   Although convicted in France, Astiz has been absolved inBArgentina under an amnesty for military crimes during the period.@Human rights groups say he was also responsible for killing twoAother women, including one of the founders of the activist group+known as the Mothers of the Plaza De Mayo.<   France's ambassador to Buenos Aires, Renaud Vignal, said>Thursday he decided to extend an invitation to Admiral Molina:after Argentine deputy Foreign Minister Fernando Petrella@retracted the admiral's comments about Astiz. Ambassador Vignal<says this resolves, in his words, the only small problem inFranco-Argentine relations.   ---------------   ---------------2   ARGENTINE PROVIENCE PRPARES FOR SUSTERITY PLAN   GEORGE MEEK   RIO DE JANEIRO;   Argentina's financially troubled province of Cordoba isBpreparing for belt-tightening (austerity) under its new governor,who was sworn in Wednesday.@   Governor Ramon Mestre plans to cut government salaries by 30@percent, something that does not sit well with workers who have%not received a paycheck since April.B   Cordoba received a loan of 70 million dollars from the centralAgovernment, which will help pay part of the overdue salaries andBpensions. But the province will have to pay the money back in twoBmonths if it does not sign an agreement with Buenos Aires to trim0its payroll and privatize provincial companies.A   During his campaign for election, Governor Mestre pledged not@to sell majority control in the companies. He repeated this vow<in his inaugural address, saying nobody can demand that the,people of Cordoba surrender their property.A   Governor Mestre wants civil servants to accept bonds for part9of their overdue pay, something they have refused to do.BProtesters demonstrated again before his inauguration. Last month:one of the demonstrations turned violent, resulting in 14*injuries and more than a hundred arrests.B   Cordoba is struggling under a short-term debt of more than one<billion dollars, and cannot get foreign credit unless it is"backed by the central government.;   Observers say part of the problem is political, because@Cordoba is in the hands of the radical Civic Union Party, whichAis in the opposition in the federal government. Governor Mestre,?elected in May, took office five months early because Governor=Eduardo Angeloz resigned, blaming President Carlos Menem for)frustrating Cordoba's economic recovery.:   In the province of Entre Rios, to the east of Cordoba,Alawmakers are considering issuing bonds and selling companies in<order to pay provincial employees. On Wednesday, protesterspelted the senators with eggs.   ---------------   ---------------C   GUATEMALA ARMY BLOCKS HARBURY'S ATTEMPT TO EXCAVATE HER HUSBAND   ERIN BRUMMETT   SAN JOSE@   Guatemalan military legal challenges are further delaying an?excavation at a remote army base, where a Guatemalan guerrillaAleader is believed buried. The American attorney who was married=to the rebel when he died, is preparing to step up political@pressure in pursuit of the excavation, which is part of a human8rights case that has attracted international attention.<   Digging was to start Thursday at the small northern armyAoutpost called Las Cabanas (in San Marcos department), one month4after military officials stopped a similar attempt.A   The excavation site was chosen after American lawyer JenniferAHarbury obtained information from the U.S. State Department. SheAbelieves her husband, Efrain Bamaca Velasquez, and perhaps other'Guatemalans may be buried at the base.A   The Guatemalan military claims Mr. Bamaca was killed during a@clash with troops in 1992. But Ms. Harbury and others say there@is strong evidence he was captured alive and then murdered. Ms.<Harbury's quest to find her husband has drawn international9attention and helped spark a U.S. investigation into the@activities of the Central Intelligence Agency in Guatemala. She@has been visiting Guatemala on and off since May to recover herhusband's remains.B   Ms. Harbury has a Guatemalan civilian court order to excavate.BThe army argues a military judge should have issued the order andBsays it is illegal for Ms. Harbury to witness the excavation. The>judge in the case denied the military challenge. But the army=appealed. Speaking from Guatemala City, Ms. Harbury says the=judge is about to receive the military appeal, but a furtherdelay is likely:?   "The problem is he (the judge) will receive it (the appeal)7just as he leaves town for about ten days to attend an>international legal meeting. So I think that (the appeal) was<probably intentional. We are just going to keep fighting itBthrough and I do have plans for what I am going to do in terms of?political pressure if they (the army) do not let us in (to the>army base) very quickly. Because what everybody is afraid of,Bincluding all of the civil rights groups, is that they will start2moving the bodies (believed buried at the base)."A   Ms. Harbury says she cannot give details on her plans because1her telephone conversations are being monitored.;   The government investigator (prosecutor or in Spaninsh:@Fiscal) in the case, Julio Arango, appears just as tenacious as?Ms. Harbury. Mr. Arango and his family are under death threats@and he recently escaped a gun attack. He says he will only giveup when he is dead.<   Last weekend, Ms. Harbury says three people close to her@situation and another prominent human rights case were attacked?and this time, one did not survive. He was an associate of Mr.?Arango. Ms. Harbury says the incidents show a very interesting	pattern:?   "So we see three people in the international spotlight (Ms.=Harbury, Mr. Arango and another human rights activist, KarenBFischer) who are okay and three people who were close to them who8are not okay, people who were just out (outside) of the<spotlight. So I think we were all three given warnings this
weekend."<   Ms. Harbury says she does not doubt the fortitude of the?Guatemalan court system, which she considers to be a very good>one. However the American attorney says it (the court system):does not exist in cases against the army because judicial%officials are threatened and killed.@   Ms. Harbury says Guatemalan government officials continue to9refuse to meet with her. She says she is talking to U.S.Aofficials in the country but feels they want to wait and see how(the Guatemalan legal process turns out.;   The U.S. embassy in Guatemala City says it continues to?support Ms. Harbury and U.S. officials have accompanied her to?the excavation site. U.S. officials say they are continuing toAseek assistance from Guatemalan authorities but must respect the,autonomy of the Guatemalan judicial system.   ---------------   ---------------   HAITIAN POLITICAL UPSET   JIM TEEPLE	   MIAMI9   In a major political upset, Haitian folk singer Manno?Charlamagne, has defeated Port-au-Prince mayor, Evans Paul who:was seeking re-election as mayor of Haiti's largest city.?   According to results released by Haiti's electoral council,@Manno Charlegmagne, defeated Evans Paul in a landslide, winningA45-percent of the vote to Mr. Paul's 18-percent. The rest of the,vote was divided among 18-other candidates.A   Mr. Charlegmagne a charismatic folk singer and self-described=communist is a close ally of Haiti's President Jean-Bertrand)Aristide who endorsed neither candidate.B   Mr. Charlemagne did not run as a candidate of any of the three?political parties which make up the Lavalas political movementBwhich Mr. Aristide closely identifies with. Instead, he ran as an@independent, spending much of the campaign in the United Statesand in Europe.B   Mr. Paul's party, the National Front for Change and Democracy,Aknown as the FNCD, has called for Haiti's June 25th elections to@be annulled citing massive irregularities in the balloting, and@the vote counting which followed. Other parties have joined the<FNCD, saying Haiti's electoral council also favored LavalasAcandidates. Officials of Haiti's electoral council, known as theCEP deny the charges.B   Lavalas has taken a commanding lead in the June 25th elections@whose results are only now being released. According to the the=CEP, Lavalas candidates have won the mayors races of each of<Haiti's nine departmental capitals. Lavalas candidates alsoBappear to be well on their way to achieving a majority in Haiti'sparliament and Senate.>   The election of Mr. Charlemagne as mayor of Port-au-Prince6however is a major triumph for Lavalas. Under Haiti's=constitution, Jean-Bertrand Aristide cannot run for a secondAconsecutive term as president. Evans Paul was widely regarded to<be the leading candidate to replace Mr. Aristide in Haiti's=up-coming presidential election, now scheduled for December.@However with his defeat, Mr. Paul's chances at becoming Haiti's(next president have been severely hurt.   ---------------   ---------------   PANAMA TRAFFIC/ENVIRONMENT   ERIN BRUMMETT   SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA8   A group of Panamanian environmental organizations isAprotesting the construction of a new highway through the capitalBthey say threatens the well-being of a protected tropical forest.>The new route is aimed at relieving traffic congestion in thebusy city.@   The environmentalists say time is running out for the plants:and animals that inhabit the metropolitan natural park, a<rainforest at the north edge of Panama city that covers 265Bhectares. The park is considered one of the world's few protected+tropical sites within a metropolitan area.;   A spokeswoman for an organization of private and publicBenvironmental groups in Panama, Esther De Adsett, says within theAnext two or three days, a Mexican construction firm (Pycsa) will>start work on the new route, which will serve as a toll road.?   But Ms. De Adsett says the highway will damage the park she7calls a living laboratory for students and scientists.=   She says the new route will cut off the park's plants and?animals from their only source of water during the dry season,the Curundu River.@   Ms. De Adsett says plans for the road, known as the VorredorBNorte, violate the 1985 law that created the metropolitan natural>park. The Panamanian legislature passed a modified version of<that law in April that allows for construction of the routethrough the park.>   The environmental groups had proposed building a road in a@different location but the government objected, saying it would<damage the plants and animals of the metropolitan park. TheBgovernment based its decision on an environmental impact study byBa conservation group (Ancon). Public works ministry officials are@quoted in recent press reports saying the project is lamentable?but any route would affect the park and the planned highway is'the least damaging to the environment.<   Ms. Adsett says environmentalists will carefully monitor;construction of the new road and be vigilant in efforts to*maintain the park's unusual biodiversity.@   She says frustrated environmentalists will continue in their>struggle to save the park, which is the only natural piece of9wilderness of its kind located in a Latin American city.B   Frustrated commuters and city government officials are looking1forward to smoother more rapid traffic patterns.   ---------------   ---------------<   BRAZIL TRIES TO END AUTOMATIC WAGE INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS   GEORGE MEEK   RIO DE JANEIROB   Brazil has encountered the first legal hurdle in its policy of=ending automatic wage adjustments for inflation. The SupremeACourt has issued a preliminary ruling delaying implementation oftwo elements of the policy.>   Pleased with the relative stability of the new currency it?introduced a year ago, the government decreed July first wagesBshould no longer be pegged to a cost of living index. They are to6be freely negotiated between employers and employees.=   The leftist democratic labor party challenged the plan inBcourt, saying it left workers at a disadvantage. Tuesday, Supreme@Court president Sepulveda Pertence suspended application of twoAprovisions of the plan until the full court can review them nextmonth.>   One suspended provision provides for the labor ministry to=appoint a mediator if management and workers cannot agree onAwages. Justice Pertence ruled the provision should be set aside,Abecause negotiations must be bilateral and voluntary. This means@the parties are free to go to court, without mediation, if theycannot reach agreement.7   The other provision temporarily set aside prohibitsAproductivity raises without objective proof of increased output.>Justice Pertence said this runs counter to the constitutionalBprovision guaranteeing labor's right to collective negotiation by@industry rather than by company. His ruling allows companies to8give productivity raises without special documentation.A   The government had no comment on the temporary ruling, except8to say court decisions are respected. Observers say the?government may re-write the challenged provisions to make themmore palatable to the court.A   In the meantime, opposition lawmakers have introduced several<changes in the program, which will be debated when Congress?reconvenes in August. Some want a trigger to increase wages if)inflation exceeds six-percent per month.=   With the legal and legislative challenges, the program isclearly not in its final form.   ---------------   ---------------1   COSTA RICAN EDUCATORS PROTEST NEW PENSION LAW   ERIN BRUMMETT   SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA9   Costa Rican educators are protesting the proposed new=education pension law and have called a national strike when;classes resume next week (July 17th). Teachers are seekingBsupport from other labor groups in opposition to the government's;austerity program, which is behind the pension adjustment.B   The proposal at the center of the dispute, in essence, reducesBthe government contribution to education retirement benefits. The>measure is part of efforts to cut back government spending in'order to reduce a huge budget deficit.B   Under the reform, the more income a teacher earns, the more he;or she pays into the retirement fund. Before, all teachers@contributed the same amount, a flat rate. Another change limits9the pension amount according to the average income of anBeducator's final five years of employment, regardless of the type;of job in which the teacher ultimately works. In the past,Ateachers who switched to higher paying non-education jobs before=retirement were able to receive pensions based on the highersalary.=   The law was approved by the legislature Sunday, despite a>weekend vigil at Congress by hundreds of educators. They feel;betrayed by lawmakers who have long been influenced by thepowerful education lobby.A   The political strength of Costa Rica's teachers may be tested<next week. Several education groups, including the National;Association of Educators [Span: La Association Nacional DeBEducadores] have called a national strike until their demands aremet.:   The association's secretary general, Ricardo GutierrezBBadilla, says the proposed law violates the constitutional rights?of educators, who deserve more for their years of service. Mr.AGutierrez says educators are not the only ones ready to walk off	the job.<   He says teachers are organizing with other workers for a<protest, starting Monday July 17th against the government's>economic policy, which is hurting citizens with high taxes, a?high cost of living, and increasing prices for fuel and public7services (such as electricity, water, transportation).A   Costa Rican education minister Eduardo Doryan hopes educatorsAwill not strike. He is defending the education pension reform as>a measure necessary to prevent the (education pension) system?from failing, adding the belief that most educators understandthat changes had to be made.@   Mr. Doryan says the proposed law is fair and looks after the&best interests of retiring educators.A   The government has initiated a publicity campaign (this week)9explaining the reasons for the education pension reform.@   It is not clear whether disgruntled teachers will accept the@explanation before classes resume next week. It does not appear>as though the government is willing to bend to the demands ofeducators.   ---------------   --------------->   REPORT OF ANTI-DRUG OPERATION RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN BOLIVIA   MERCEDES SPROUSE   NEW YORK6   in a report released Wednesday, The new York-based@organization, Human Rights Watch, says U.S. supported anti-drug8operations in Bolivia are creating human rights abuses.@   Human Rights Watch accuses Bolivian anti-narcotics police ofAimprisoning people without the possibility of pre-trial release.BThe group adds those people acquitted must remain in prison until@the Bolivian Supreme Court reviews the case. Human rights watchBsays in Bolivia's coca growing region anti-narcotics police enter<homes in the middle of the night to search, seize, or stealresidents' possessions.@   The rights group says complaints in Bolivia of serious human?rights violations, including torture, are rarely investigated,<and charges of human rights abuses by U.S. drug enforcementagents are left unanswered.@   Human Rights Watch says the United States is deeply involved?in funding, equipping, and training anti-narcotics missions in>Bolivia. The organization's associate counsel, Jamie Fellner,=calls for the United States to share responsibility with the9Bolivian government for abuses incurred during anti-drugoperations:8   "Our view is if there has to be a choice between the?efficiency of counter-narcotics efforts and human rights, thathuman rights has to prevail."<   The report says Bolivia has been largely free of serious?political violence and human rights abuses since the demise of=military rule in 1982. Human Rights Watch wants the Bolivian=government to reform anti-narcotics laws, set guidelines for;searches and seizure of possessions, and set up a civilian@commission to review abuses and oversee disciplinary proceduresfor law enforcement personnel.=   Bolivian consul general in New York Armando Fortun says aABolivian congress human rights commission currently investigates=anti-drug efforts and defends what he describes as the least<affluent producers. He adds Bolivian lawmakers are studyingAreforms of anti-narcotics laws, and says the Bolivian government=wants to meet with drug-producing and consuming countries to#coordinate anti-narcotics efforts.=   In Washington, a U.S. State Department official calls the4human rights watch report overplayed, but with goodrecommendations.   ---------------   ---------------4   MEXICAN JUDGE LINKED TO A MURDERED JUDGE RESIGNS   ERIN BRUMMETT   SAN JOSEA   The president of the Mexico City superior court has resigned,Bsaying he was obligated to clear his name after it was indirectlyBlinked to another judge who was killed in the capital three weeksago.?   When authorities found judge Abraham Polo Uscanga dead June?19th, they also found a letter by him saying, in his words, if=anything happens to me, check with Saturnino Aguero Aguirre.<   Until today, Mr. Aguero was president of the Mexico City?superior court. His slain colleague had earlier criticized Mr.BAguero as corrupt and resisted his (Mr. Aguero's) pressure to actagainst labor groups.=   In announcing his resignation, Mr. Aguero said he was the>victim of a defamation campaign. He was in his fourth term asBsuperior court president and had adamantly resisted stepping downbefore.?   Observers say the Aguero resignation could pave the way for=judicial reform in Mexico. In fact two years ago, Mr. Aguero9dismissed 70-percent of Mexico City's judicial force andappointed new judges.>   But the Mexican capital was on the verge of losing 95 moreBjudicial officials who themselves were threatening to quit if Mr.Aguero did not.   ---------------   ---------------+   SENATE DEBATES MERIT OF HAITI ELECTIONS   JIM MALONE
   SENATE@   U.S. lawmakers continue to debate the merits of last month's@parliamentary and local elections in Haiti. Problems associated=with those elections were the focus of a Senate subcommittee.western hemisphere affairs hearing Wednesday.B   Senate Republicans called for the hearing to get a full airing?of the procedural problems which occurred during the electionsBheld on June 25th. The problems ranged from long delays in voting?to untrained election workers to insufficient election ballots3and reports of ballots being changed or destroyed.?   Republican Senator John McCain (Arizona) noted the numerous<election problems detailed in a report by the International;Republican Institute, an arm of the Republican party which@monitored the elections along with numerous other internationalgroups:@   "The recent elections in Haiti do not define Haiti's destinyBbut the abuses and irregularities that rendered that election, in?the words of almost every observer, extremely chaotic, may, if?not corrected in the next elections, ultimately crush whatever=progress Haiti has made toward enlightened self-government."B   The president of the International Republican Institute, BruceBMcColm, says his observers recorded numerous examples of electionBirregularities throughout the country, including the discovery of2large stacks of missing voter registration cards:>   "We also found tally sheets and we also not only saw tally@sheets being changed, but there were others that were destroyed&if one party was ahead or the other."<   While most Republicans focused on what went wrong during>Haiti's elections, several Democrats insist that Haiti is not<being given enough credit for the peaceful way in which the>elections were carried out. Democrats like Senator Chris dodd?urge his colleagues not to focus too much on the negative. And@Democratic Congressman Jim Oberstar, who once taught English in>Haiti, says the United States has an obligation to help Haiti4overcome the deficiencies in its electoral process:B   "But one election does not a democracy make. One election does?not a republic make. We are looking at Haiti with white glovesBunder a microscope (or too closely) and we are subjecting them to)a standard that few countries can meet."B   Clinton Administration officials say they are determined to do8just that. The State Department's coordinator on Haiti,>ambassador James Dobbins, says he agrees with the descriptionAthat the Haitian elections were free, fair and fouled-up. But he<says the United States and other countries are committed toBworking with Haiti to correct the problems in time for runoff and(presidential elections later this year::   "This remedial action should, in our judgment, includeArerunning of some races, improved training and support for local@electoral officials and strengthened procedures for holding andcounting the vote."@   Ambassador Dobbins says the United States is also urging all:of Haiti's political parties to work toward resolving the	election;   problems and to remain active in the political process.   ---------------   ---------------;   OAS ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION ISSUES REPORT ON HAITI   WASHINGTON=   The Organization of American States Electoral ObservationAMission in Haiti says the June 25 election there has established<a foundation for progress towards "an increasingly peacefuldemocracy."=   The mission July 13 issued the first of two comprehensive;reports on the local and parliamentary elections in Haiti.A   The general conclusion was that the election "has established;a foundation which, although shaky, provides the basis forAfurther positive progress towards the continuing evolution of an+increasingly peaceful democracy in Haiti.":   The mission also expressed the hope that "all of those?involved in future elections will profit from the mistakes andAproblems which arose during the course of this election and will=continue to build on the positive aspects in the interest ofHaiti and its people."?   For the election, 293 international observers were deployedBthroughout Haiti before polling day. These observers were able to>visit a substantial number of BIV's (registration and polling?stations), "enough to provide us with a reasonable overview of9the process so that we can make an interim report on ourfindings," the report said.A   It identified a number of positive and negative factors which=impacted on the first round of the elections and offers some/recommendations for future elections in Haiti.=   On the positive side, the report recognized that with few2exceptions, electoral officials carried out theirAresponsibilities to the best of their abilities and demonstrated@"significant commitment despite difficulties at virtually every@stage of the process." It noted that a large number of Haitians>turned out and voted freely for the candidates and parties oftheir choice.?   It also noted the general success of voter registration andBthe environment of calm and non-violence throughout the electoralBperiod. The relatively low level of political-electoral violence,Athe report stated, "was noteworthy, given Haiti's violent past."A   In terms of negative impact, the report pointed to "an overly=complex electoral process with an unrealistically short time6frame," a lack of electoral experience among election>administrators, deficiencies in ballot box security, and "the>discovery that there were some inaccuracies in some ballots.";   These positives and negatives made it "a most difficult?election to evaluate," the report said. "It must be emphasized@that the opinion of the international community is of secondaryAimportance. Of primary consideration, is the ultimate acceptance6of this election as credible by the people of Haiti."5   Following is the Executive Summary of the report:   Executive Summary:   Earlier this year, the government of Haiti invited theASecretary General of the Organization of American States to send:an Electoral Observation Mission to the June 25 local and=legislative elections, In late April, the OAS fielded such a?Mission, as an extension of the activities of the MICIVIH, the@international Civilian Mission in Haiti (OAS/UN). The Mission'sAobservation activities will continue through the second round of0elections, currently scheduled for August 1995.B   Before polling day, June 25, 1995, 293 international observers;were deployed throughout Haiti. Reports from the observers>indicate that they were able to visit a substantial number of>BIV's, enough to provide us with a reasonable overview of theAprocess so that we could make an interim report on our findings,@   The report recognizes a number of positive factors which hadan impact on the process:?   -- with few exceptions, the electoral officials carried outAtheir responsibilities to the best of their abilities, some with@limited guidance and training, giving evidence of a significant@commitment despite difficulties at virtually every stage of the	process,A   -- the electoral structure, especially at the BED and the BECA(electoral district office) levels, was in place and functioning,relatively smoothly throughout the country,1   -- the general success of voter registration,>   -- the environment of calm and non-violence throughout the1electoral period -- this relatively low level of;political-electoral violence was noteworthy, given Haiti'sviolent past.@   -- the security presence provided a degree of comfort to the?population and the assistance provided by UNMIH (UN Mission in;Haiti) in the logistical aspect aspects of the process wasinvaluable,?   -- although there were initial delays on polling day at theABIV's (registration and polling stations), as the day progressed?it became evident that the process had significantly improved,and@   -- on polling day, a large number of Haitians turned out and=voted freely for the candidates and parties of their choice.7   In this report, we also have identified a number of?fundamental factors which impacted negatively on the electoral	process:B   -- an overly complex electoral process with an unrealistically      short time frame,8   -- a lack of electoral experience among the election      administrators,@   -- the difficult relationship that the political parties and>       candidates had with the CEP (the Provisional Electoral       Council),>   -- the discovery that there were some inaccuracies in some      ballots,>   -- the consequences of little or no training for electoral9      officials and political party representatives, and@   -- the deficiencies in ballot box security during voting and      transport.=   Given the strong positive aspects, as well as the serious<problems encountered, this was a most difficult election toAevaluate following the observation of the June 25th first round.<It must be emphasized that the opinion of the international@community is of secondary importance. Of primary consideration,?is the ultimate acceptance of this election as credible by thepeople of Haiti.;   The general conclusion of the OAS/Electoral ObservationMission is as follows:@   The OAS Electoral Observation Mission is of the opinion thatAthe election has established a foundation which, although shaky,=provides the basis for further positive progress towards the>continuing evolution of an increasingly peaceful democracy inBHaiti. It is hoped that all of those involved in future electionsBwill profit from the mistakes and problems which arose during the:course of this election and will continue to build on the;positive aspects in the interests of Haiti and its people.   ---------------   ---------------=   BRAZIL PRIVATIZATION AUCTION OF A PUBLIC ELECTRIC COMPANY   GEORGE MEEK   RIO DE JANEIRO@   Brazil has sold control of its first electric company in the>government's privatization program. The auction at the Rio De;Janeiro stock exchange brought in more than the government>expected. The government sold 51 percent of the shares of theAstate electric company in Espirito Santo, the state north of RioDe Janeiro.A   The buyer, a group of banks and state employee pension funds,>agreed to pay 390 million dollars for control of the company.?Two-thirds of the purchase price will be paid in cash, and the8rest in bonds. The price was 12 percent higher than thegovernment sought.?   During the sale, traffic in front of the Rio stock exchangeBwas blocked by student and union groups demonstrating against the
transaction.B   The Espirito Santo electric company is the first privatization>under President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who took office inAJanuary. The government hopes to sell 17 companies this year for"a total of seven billion dollars.   ---------------   ---------------   BRAZIL EDUCATION PROBLEMS   GEORGE MEEK   RIO DE JANEIRO;   Brazil, with the tenth largest economy in the world, isAadmitting it has some serious problems in the area of education.BAn official study indicates that two out of every three Brazilian3children who start primary school never finish it.A   The study shows high enrollment, but low completion. The goodAnews is that 88 percent of Brazil's children between the ages of@seven and 14 are attending school. The bad news is that only 33<percent of them finish the entire eight years. Those who do>finish take an average of nine and a half years for the eightAyear program, and high school teachers say they are often poorly
prepared.@   The study by the National Institute for Educational Research;and studies, published by the newspaper O Globo, says onlyABangladesh and Guinea Bisseau have lower school completion rates=than Brazil. Bolivia, South America's poorest country, has a9school completion rate almost twice as high as Brazil's.>   Within the huge country of Brazil there are great regional@differences in the quality of education. The worst situation isAin the northern and northeastern part of the country, where only.one student in seven finishes primary school.?   A high school physics teacher in Rio de Janeiro state named;Wagner, who asked that his last name not be used, says the*primary cause of the problem is economic:9   "A country that wants to develop has to invest in the<important areas for society, education, health. The country3doesn't give priority to investment in education."A   Money in education may not solve the problem, however. School@districts that spend the most per pupil do not necessarily havethe highest retention rates.A   Wagner says another aspect of the economic problem is that itAis financially impossible for many students to complete the full"eight years of primary schooling:@   "We live in a vicious cycle, poor quality education, and the@need for most people to drop out of school to work for survival;and to bring home income. This makes the situation worse."B   Some communities are experimenting with cash subsidies to poorAfamilies so their children can continue in school rather than go	to work.A   Wagner says even the children who stay in school are not well<taught, because books are outdated, and teachers are poorly8trained, poorly paid, and not current in their teachingtechniques:B   "Many spend the whole day working, so they don't have a chance?to recycle with refresher courses and new teaching techniques.?They end up passing on deficiencies and erroneous ideas to thestudents."B   Wagner says some of his high school students cannot add simpleBfractions, let alone master physics. This is confirmed by federal>tests, which show that less than one percent of seventh grade>students have mastered 80 percent of the required material inmathematics and science.@   It is a sobering challenge indeed for planners and educators$in South America's largest country.   ---------------   ---------------F   MEXICAN JUDGE ORDER RELEASE OF 2 SUSPECTS IN COLOSIO ASSASSINATION   ERIN BRUMMETT   SAN JOSEB   A Mexican judge, Alejandro Sosa Ortiz, has ordered the release7of two key suspects in the 1994 murder of ruling party<presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio. Some observers:speculate the move was made under political pressure. The@observers believe the government's investigation has suffered a
new setback.<   The government of President Ernesto Zedillo, the man whoBreplaced Mr. Colosio as the Institutional Revolutionary Party (orBPRI) candidate, appeared convinced the slaying in Tijuana was thework of conspirators.@   The convicted killer, Mario Aburto Martinez, is the only oneAof the five suspects originally detained who remains in custody.>He (Aburto) is serving a 45-year prison sentence. Another man7still under suspicion, Othon Cortes Vasquez is denyinginvolvement in the murder.@   The other suspects have been released for lack of sufficientAevidence, including the two most recently freed, Vicente Mayoraland his son, Rodolfo.;   Government prosecutors have appeared to waiver in their=theories about who was behind the Colosio murder. First they;believed it was the act of a lone gunman, then prosecutors=treated the killing as the result of a conspiracy. Later the>government returned to the single gunman theory, only to come%back to the suspicion of conspiracy.B   The apparent indecision is causing some observers to doubt the#strength of the government's case.B   Guillermo Samperio is a professor of culture and literature atAthe University of the Americas in Mexico City and he has written=a book about Mr. Colosio. Mr. Samperio suspects some sort of=intervention led to the judge's decision to free Vicente and4Rodolfo Mayoral, which he called a step back in theinvestigation.A   Mr. Samperio says this new step back in the investigation has=generated a sense of uncertainty in the country. He believes=there may be a systematic plan aimed at impeding the Colosioinvestigation.B   Over the weekend, opposition politicians called on the Mexican>government to look into the possibility that the judge in the<case is linked to hardline members of the ruling party. Mr.>Samperio is not ruling out the possibility that others may be#attempting to elude investigation.A   Professor Samperio says there is the impression of a possibleAsecret pact between the Mexican executive branch, former (ruling?party) President Carlos Salinas De Gortari, and other powerfulgroups in the country.A   The Mexican attorney general's office [Span: La Oficina De La=Procuraduria General De La Republica] says it will study the;decision to release the two key suspects, adding it has no?further comment due to the ongoing investigation. The attorney;general's office did say the judge in the case took actionappropriate to his authority.?   President Zedillo says his government is committed to using9all legal measures possible to resolve the Colosio case.   ---------------   ---------------C   ENLISTING GENETICS TO COMBAT THE MOST COMMON CAUSE OF BLINDNESS   LASZLO DOSA   WASHINGTONA   Ophthalmology professor Paul Sternberg of Emory University inAtlanta, says:@   "Macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss inAAmericans over age 60. It is a degenerative condition that leadsto loss of central vision.";   He and other scientists studying diseases of the retina@reported on their work at the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, meeting=of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.?   The retina, located in the back of the eye, converts images;from the eye's optical system into electrical impulses for@transmission via optic nerves to the brain. In fact, the retinais an extension of the brain.>   The central one-square-millimeter portion of the retina isBcalled the macula. It concentrates the nerve cells we use when we;read, sew, drive a car or engage in any activity requiring@precisely-focused vision. Abnormal growth of tiny blood vesselsBin the macula, common among the elderly, destroys central vision,>even though the peripheral vision may remain intact. In otherBwords, you can't see what is ahead of you when driving a car, but&you can tell what is on the sidewalk.@   As Doctor Sternberg notes, age-related macular degeneration,8as the disease is called, occurs in two distinct forms:>   "A more common, 'dry' form of the disease is a progressive@atrophy, thinning or deterioration of the tissue in the centralAportion of the eye that can lead to a slow vision loss. And then:there is the less common 'wet' form of the disease, whereAabnormal blood vessels grow underneath the retina which can leak<or bleed and lead to rather severe loss of central vision."A   The earliest sign of the disease may be a blurring of central>vision, a distortion. Some patients become aware of something=being wrong when they suddenly wake up with a severe loss of3vision, which, by then, may be difficult to treat.?   Since the precise cause of age-related macular degenerationAremains unknown, there is no proven treatment that might prevent=its onset. Nonetheless, researchers suspect that exposure toAsunlight over many years may have a possible role, especially in?the development of the wet, or exudative, form of the disease.A   Doctor Sheila West, of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore,Maryland, is looking at that:A   "At this point, I think it's fair to say that the results areBquite inconclusive. There have been some studies that have linked@exudative disease to chronic long-term sunlight exposure of the@kind that you would see with occupational exposure, rather than:normal population-based types of exposures. There is goodArationale for thinking, based on animal studies and others, that@sunlight exposure could be harmful. But I must say that at this point the data are not all in."A   As a precaution, doctor west urges people to wear sunglasses,Apreferably the kinds that wrap around on the sides to shield the.eyes both from direct and reflected sunlight.=   There is some indication that macular degeneration may beBprevented, or postponed, by diet. Even though the evidence so far=is inconclusive,, it appears that a diet rich in dark green,@leafy vegetables, such as spinach or collard greens, may have aprotective effect.@   Some people think that very large doses of vitamins may help@prevent macular degeneration. Doctor West is not so sure that'ssuch a good idea:@   "We do not have data at this point to suggest that we shouldBbe taking megadoses of vitamin or mineral supplements. One of the<reasons for that caution is data coming from cardiovascular6studies showing the potential for a harmful effect onAcardiovascular disease and cancer with the use of large doses ofbeta carotene."B   Beta carotene is a natural substance found in vegetables, such@as carrots or tomatoes. It's an important nutrient, but is onlyneeded in small doses.B   There is no treatment available for the most common, so-calledA"dry," form of age-related macular degeneration. Fortunately, in4most cases, it does not lead to severe vision loss.B   The less common but much more damaging variety of the disease,@the "wet" form of macular degeneration, is often treated with a<laser which is used to seal the newly-grown, abnormal bloodAvessels behind the retina. In early stages of the disease, laser<treatment may also be used to prevent its progression to an5advanced stage which could easily lead to blindness.;   Doctor David Guyer of Cornell University in New York isAworking on new imaging techniques that will allow doctors to see9exactly what they are doing when working with the highly9concentrated, coherent light beam produced by the laser.According to Doctor Guyer:>   "We've known for many years that laser photocoagulation is?beneficial for patients with abnormal blood vessel growth. TheBblood vessels can be destroyed by the laser. However, the problem?is that about 85 percent of the patients in our practice, when@they come to the doctor, they are not treatable. That's becauseBwe cannot image the abnormal blood vessels well enough to aim the,laser and destroy the blood vessel network.@   "In some cases there is too much blood over the blood vesselBand we cannot see the blood vessel and know where to treat. OtherAtimes, the blood vessel has grown into the center of the retina,Athe macula, and we know that if we destroy it with the laser, itwould cause too much damage.B   "The laser is like a gun. You can't shoot it if you don't knowBwhat you are aiming at. We need better imaging techniques, betterAmaps to know what we are shooting at, or we need new therapeutic5interventions such as new drugs, radiation, surgicalintervention.";   The laser burns a spot in the retina and the underlying?tissue. The burns shut down the abnormal blood vessels to stopAtheir leakage and bleeding, which can be damaging to the retina.AThe disadvantage is that by burning the blood vessels, the laser;also leaves a burn on the retina and creates a blind spot.A   Doctor Susan Bressler of Johns Hopkins University calls laser/treatment a tradeoff, the lesser of two evils:B   "In discussions with patients who have the wet form of macular@degeneration, we often say it's analogous to having gangrene ofBthe finger and amputating the finger to preserve the hand and thearm.?   "We are constantly searching for better means of treatment.8The problems of laser are that it is destructive, it isAsacrificing vision and it is establishing a permanent blind spot?that is not correctable with glasses. And, second, it does notAsafeguard against the return of the disease. In 50 to 80 percent=of individuals who are eligible for treatment, their problem%recurs with additional vision loss."B   Researchers in Ireland have found a new use for an old healing?tool to treat macular degeneration. Remembering that radiation>halts the abnormal growth and spreading of cancer cells, they>tried using low-level radiation to destroy the abnormal bloodvessels behind the retina.=   Radiation is not expected to stop the disease or undo theAdamage it has done. The rationale is that radiation inhibits theBgrowth of abnormal cells and thus prevents further damage.  Emory-University's Doctor Paul Sternberg explains:>   "It's affecting the endothelial cells, the cells that live@inside those rapidly evolving, growing blood vessels, and kills@them directly. But more likely, other things are also going on.AOne is that low levels of radiation can affect the production of<hormones which stimulate blood vessel growth. Low levels of<radiation prevent scar formation. Scar formation is part of?macular degeneration. Low levels of radiation may just preventthat from happening."?   Radiation treatment for age-related macular degeneration is;still in the experimental stage. Doctors are very cautious6because it is not without risks. One of the undesired<side-effects may be cataract formation. Also, radiation may8promote dryness of the eye, a rather painful condition.>   The most desirable approach to macular degeneration may beAdrug treatment. Its main advantage is that drugs can potentially?stop blood vessel growth without causing damage from lasers or@other types of surgery. Cornell University's Doctor David Guyer2is hopeful that drugs may, indeed, be the answer:B   "The beauty of a drug is that if we can find it, not only will@it reverse blood vessel growth, but hopefully could prevent theAproblem of recurrence and also be used to stop the blood vessels@from occurring in the beginning. You could find people with the?early form of the disease, give them a drug and try to prevent-the wet form of the disease from occurring."=   The problem, of course, is finding a drug that works. The>first major trial of a drug for macular degeneration has just>begun with the participation of 56 medical centers around theworld.>   Researchers are also looking at a natural substance calledBtissue plasminogen activator, or TPA. It helps the blood dissolve@clots. Heart attack victims are often injected with large doses?of synthetic TPA to remove obstructions from the arteries thatBdeliver blood to the heart muscle. Some scientists think that TPABmay be useful in getting rid of the abnormal blood vessels behindthe retina.<   As Emory University's Doctor Sternberg explains, medical?researchers experimenting with a variety of techniques to deal:with macular degeneration work under tremendous pressure:?   "There are 200,000 people per year who lose vision from the>advanced forms of macular degeneration, but at most, maybe 25<percent are eligible for treatments that exist, which meansA50-thousand, and more than half of them recur. So out of 200,000Bwe may be able to help eight to 12 percent. So clearly, something?needs to be done, if possible, to prevent them from getting tothese advanced stages."<   The best defense, it seems, is remaining healthy., doing<things that are healthy such as controlling blood pressure,Astopping smoking, having a healthy diet, wearing sunglasses, all?these things are likely to help protect against progression ofthis degenerative disease.>   Doctor Edwin Stone of the University of Iowa is one of the8pioneer researchers investigating genetic causes of eyedisorders:B   "We look for families affected with disorders that are similar?to the most common blinding diseases that face us today. AmongBthem are macular degeneration and glaucoma. For both of these two?conditions, there are definite hereditary components and there3are large families affected with these conditions.:   "By using techniques, one known as chromosomal linkage>analysis, one can look at a large family and actually map theAlocation of the affected gene. One can then use other techniques=to find the gene, itself and by finding the gene, one has at?least three ways in which one can benefit a patient if one canfind this gene."B   Glaucoma occurs when fluids that would normally drain from theAeye build up pressure which damages the optic nerve. That causes@a gradual loss of peripheral vision, making glaucoma the secondAleading cause of blindness in the United States, afflicting someone and a half million people.@   The cause of glaucoma, like that of macular degeneration, isBnot yet known. But it's suspected that at least one form of it is@genetic.  A few years ago, doctor stone was able to confirm the?genetic connection. The opportunity came when a patient copied?from the family bible a list of his relatives, going back fivegenerations, who had glaucoma.>   It turned out that the list represented one of the largest?families with glaucoma in the world, and doctor stone realizedBimmediately that this could be the basis for actually finding theBgene in that family. He and his colleagues examined 37 members of?the family and located a marker indicating the presence of theglaucoma gene in 21 of them.@   "Even though we don't have the gene at hand right now," says@Stone, "we can go into a family affected by juvenile chromosomeAone glaucoma and predict with over 99 percent accuracy whether aBchild has that gene or not. If a child has the gene, we know that>they have about a 90 percent chance of developing significant>glaucoma by the age of 25. If they don't have the gene, their@risk of glaucoma is down at the risk of the general population,which is about one percent.?   "What we've embarked on is a study in which we take all theBchildren from this family, study them genetically, identify thoseAwho are at that incredibly high risk of glaucoma and follow them@very carefully every six months with pressure monitoring and so<forth, being ready to intervene with aggressive therapy themoment the glaucoma arises."@   Only a tiny drop of blood or a few cells scraped from insideBthe mouth are needed to obtain a DNA sample. The genetic material?will reveal whether a young child is at risk for glaucoma. The@same may be true for age-related macular degeneration, once theAresponsible gene, or gene marker, has been identified. Accordingto Doctor Stone:@   "We are very hopeful that, because the disease takes 50, 60,B70 years to become manifest, that by altering the biochemistry ofBthe eye just a little bit, just by five percent or seven percent,Bwith a vitamin or some other relatively mild drug, that if we can@apply that treatment over the whole lifetime of the patient, we@could slow the disease down enough that it would push the onsetAof the disease back to, say, age 80, or age 85, or age 90, whichAwould make a tremendous impact on the amount of blindness caused>by the disease without really eradicating the disease at all.?   "The key here would be being able to go into the population?and identify people at age five or age ten who are going to beBaffected with the disease 50 years later. At present, in 1995, noBgenes are known that I believe are involved in what we would callBtypical macular degeneration. However there are at least 10 genes@known to cause different types of macular disease and a picture=is emerging of the types of genes we should be looking for."B   Doctor Stone is confident that in the next few years, at leastBone gene responsible for macular degeneration will be identified.>That would mean the prevention of blindness among hundreds ofthousands of elderly people.9   That is the fervent hope of Emory University's DoctorSternberg:A   "This is, for us as physicians, the most heartbreaking aspect<of macular degeneration. We see people who may be otherwiseBreasonably healthy, who can no longer see well enough to read, to=drive, to care for themselves. They lose their independence.AUnfortunately, every day, every week in our practice, we have to?be the ones that have to help families to adjust to this major:change in lifestyle that can be very destructive to their>self-image and their quality of life in their elderly years."B   There is one eye disease that is even more heart wrenching for@doctor and patient alike. It is called cytomegalovirus, or CMV,>retinitis, and it takes its victims from among AIDS patients.@Taking advantage of the patient's immune-compromised state, theAvirus causes severe damage to the retina and eventual blindness.B   Until now, about the only treatment for CMV retinitis has beenBwith antiviral drugs to bring the disease under control. However,@these treatments usually require long-term catheterization, andAare thus difficult and uncomfortable to administer. Doctor FirasBRahhal of the University of California at San Diego is working onAalternative treatments for CMV-retinitis that are more effective?in controlling the disease itself, and are much easier for the<patient to tolerate. He and his colleagues have found a new;antiviral agent which can be given either intravenously orBdirectly injected into the eye to treat the disease. According toDoctor Rahhal:B   "With a single injection of the drug, a minute quantity of the:drug directly into the eye, the disease can be put into a?quiescent state for a fairly extended period of time just fromAone injection. Now we are looking at whether we can put the drug=in an injection into the eye on a regular basis, at six-week<intervals, or some interval of time between injections, andAmaintain the disease in a quiescent state for an extended periodof time, or indefinitely."@   An important step toward maintaining the vision of countless8AIDS patients suffering from cytomegalovirus retinitis.   ---------------   ---------------   NEW WHOOPING COUGH VACCINES   DAVID MCALARY   WASHINGTONB   U.S. health officials say tests of three experimental vaccines;for whooping cough, or pertussis, have shown them to be as:effective as one currently in use, but to have fewer sideAeffects. This could help further speed the international declinein whooping cough.@   The World Health Organization estimates that there are still=50-million cases of pertussis each year, a highly contagiousAbacterial infection of the respiratory tract that causes violentAcoughing, difficulty breathing, vomiting, and a rapid drawing in!of air that sounds like a whoop.B   The disease kills about 350,000 unvaccinated people each year, primarily infants and children.=   Effective pertussis vaccines have been used for nearly 50?years, made from whole killed cells of the pertussis bacteria.@Although the current vaccine works well, it frequently leads to@minor side effects in babies such as fever, sore arms, swelling>at the injection site, and fussiness. Occasionally, there aremore serious side effects.?   As a result, some parents have been reluctant to have their@children immunized against whooping cough. The head of the U.S.;National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr.BAnthony Fauci ['fow-chee; first syllable as in "how"], says a fewAgovernments in the industrial world, such as Sweden, do not even@require or recommend the vaccination because of the discomfort:B   "There have been epidemics in those countries. That is tragic.<Those are illnesses and deaths that clearly could have beenAavoidable. When we live in 1995, in the age of having eliminated>the great scourges by vaccines, it's tragic not to make those>vaccines available to the infants and children of the world."A   Now, three new vaccines promise to change that situation. Dr.@Fauci's institute sponsored tests of them on 25,000 children inBSweden and Italy. The results show that they reduce the chance of?pertussis infection by about 85 per cent, a rate comparable to;the present vaccine, but lacking the adverse side effects.;   Dr. Fauci says this is a positive development for those%nations that avoid the immunization:?   "When you look at countries that not only don't mandate but<don't recommend pertussis [vaccine], now I think that theseBcountries are going to look at this and say there's no reason not%to recommend it, if not require it."@   The new vaccines are structurally different from the present?one because they are made from parts of the pertussis bacteria=cell, not a killed whole one. Most vaccines use whole cells,Beither killed or, if they are kept alive, weakened. This protectsBagainst transferring the disease while it still allows the immune=system to learn to recognize the organism to fend off future	attacks.A   In theory, however, using fewer parts of the bacteria for theBsame purpose is even safer. But they are worth little if they are?not as effective as a whole cell version. This is not the caseAwith the pertussis vaccines, and Dr. Fauci says they are furtherAproof that fragments of bacterial cells can work in inoculation:<   "What concept has been proven now is that a subunit of aAmicrobe can be quite protective. That's very important, not only*just for pertussis but for all vaccines."A   It is especially important in the search for an AIDS vaccine,=since it is considered extremely unsafe to inject whole AIDSBvirus cells into a person seeking immunity. The fear is that even;a killed or weakened live viral cell would communicate the	disease.A   As far as the whooping cough vaccine goes, a version like the@ones tested is already being used in Germany, Italy, and Japan.<Dr. Fauci says that while they await approval in the UnitedAStates and other countries, parents should continue to get theirBchildren inoculated with the current vaccine, even if it causes alittle distress.   ---------------   ---------------   THE DANGERS OF PET BIRDS   PETER H. KING   WASHINGTONB   U.S. public health and agriculture officials are worried about@the growing trade in illegally imported pet birds in the United@States. The problem is not just that the animals are improperlyAdocumented. Exotic birds often carry diseases that threaten both,the U.S. poultry industry and human health:8   Many Americans who buy pet birds today are unwitting@contributors to what government officials say is a major threat=to agriculture and public health, the illegal importation ofexotic bird species.=   Kendra Platt is with the U.S. Department of Agriculture'sAAnimal and Plant Health Inspection Service. She says these birds=are smuggled in from countries all over the world and bypass?government quarantines and disease-testing when they arrive at<U.S. ports. The USDA official says they can carry bacteria,Aviruses or parasites capable of decimating wild bird populationsBor wiping out commercial poultry flocks overnight. And Miss Platt8says the exotic birds pose health risks to humans, too:A   "The birds can also carry diseases that can make people sick,Asuch as a very virulent form of salmonella, and also a bacterial<disease called cidicosis [pron. Sid-ah-koh-sis], which is a#notifiable public health concern."9   The USDA's Kendra Pratt says there are certain things<consumers can watch for when buying a pet bird to determine?whether it's been illegally imported. One thing to note is its@price. If a bird is being sold for much less than it might seem?to be worth, that bird might not have been tested for disease.>Miss Pratt says there are other things U.S. consumers can do:A   "The key (step in guaranteeing) that a pet bird does not have:disease is to make sure that the bird is purchased from a<reputable dealer, and that the leg band from our quarantine.facility is either available or on the bird."@   If the bird does not pass those tests, says Ms. Platt, there?is a good chance it entered the country illegally. And in that:case, she warns, the risk it poses to people, poultry and=wildlife far outweighs any pleasure that feathered pet mightbring its new owner.   ---------------   ---------------"   ALCOHOL EFFECTS WOMEN'S HEARTS   DAVID MCALARY   WASHINGTON=   U.S. and Spanish doctors have found that alcohol abuse is@harder on women's hearts and bodies than it is on men's. Female;alcoholics do not even have to drink as much as their male.counterparts to have weak hearts and muscles.<   Researchers have known for many years that heavy alcohol@consumption causes the heart to degenerate and pump less blood.@But physicians at the Jefferson Medical College in PhiladelphiaBand the University of Barcelona note a dramatic difference in the?amount of alcohol necessary to cause this in women compared tomen.7   They report in "The Journal of the American Medical8Association" [July 12th issue] that the female and maleBalcoholics they studied suffered the same amount of heart damage,?even though the women consumed an average of only about 60 per6cent as much alcohol per person, adjusted for weight.B   Dr. Emanuel Rubin of Thomas Jefferson Medical College says the<same fraction of both groups, one third, had weakened heart,muscles, a condition called cardiomyopathy:<   "So it's clear that the women were more sensitive to the@effects of alcohol on the heart. And we found the same thing in7the muscles that move the body, the skeletal muscles."<   The result was based on tests of heart output and muscle@strength among 50 female and 100 male alcoholics treated at theBUniversity of Barcelona's hospital clinic over a two year period.B   Dr. Rubin and his colleagues also compared the amount of blood8the patients' hearts pumped out to their total lifetimeAconsumption of alcohol per kilogram of body weight. According toRubin:A   "The greater the lifetime dose of alcohol, the weaker was the?heart in men. The same thing held true for women. However, for@the same dose of alcohol, the effect was much greater in women.BSo that women who drink like male alcoholics will suffer the sameconsequences, but more so."=   A normal heart pumps about 60 to 70 per cent of its blood>volume with each beat. But Dr. Rubin says a heart weakened by@alcohol ejects a much lower percentage. In technical terms, itsejection fraction is less.@   After alcohol consumption for many years in large doses, the>fraction will go down to the point where a third (alcoholics)Ahave less than 55 per cent and quite a few will go down into theB30's [30 per cent range], and then we have people coming into the=emergency room with ejection fractions of 15 to 20 per cent.6They're in actual heart failure and some of them die.>   The findings of the U.S./Spanish study complement previous?research showing that women alcoholics are at greater risk for:developing liver disease and are more vulnerable to brain?shrinkage than men. Yet, scientists do not know why women havethis greater susceptibility.=   "It would be purely speculative," says Rubin.  "It may beBhormonal, it may be genetic, constitutional. Maybe there are even@some environmental factors. We don't know, and that's a subjectof further research."?   Dr. Rubin advises doctors to suspect alcoholism if they seeAyounger patients with heart damage but no obvious cause, such asBarteries clogged with fatty deposits, high blood pressure, or badheart valves.8   Another study in the Journal of the American Medical<Association reinforces the finding that quitting smoking by=middle age greatly reduces the risk of stroke later in life.?Investigators at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine in@London tracked 7,200 men aged 40 to 59 for an average of nearly
13 years.A   Based on an assessment of the men who suffered strokes during@the time, they write that former cigarette smokers showed lower;risk of stroke than current smokers, and the less they hadsmoked, the less the risk.8   The benefit of giving up tobacco entirely was rapid,Bespecially in light smokers. The London researchers say it showed"up within five years of quitting.   ---------------   ---------------   MEDICAL BRIEFS   JESSICA BERMAN   WASHINGTON>   U.S. Health officials are urging all pregnant women to get9tested for the AIDS virus to prevent transmission to the0developing fetus. U.S. Regulators are calling aAcholesterol-lowering drug a "lifesaver" and they're recommendingAits immediate use in treating heart patients. Researchers have a?theory about why stress is bad for your health. And people who>don't think they can drink a glass of milk because of gastricdistress might be surprised.   ===============<   All pregnant women should be offered a test to determineBwhether they are infected with the HIV virus that causes AIDS. So@says the United States public health service, which just issued?the recommendation. The call for widespread, voluntary testing?follows a recent study that found that pregnant women, treated?with the drug AZT, are much less likely to transmit the deadlyvirus to their offspring.B   The landmark study was published last year in the "New England@Journal of Medicine." Researchers found that HIV infected womenBtreated with AZT were two-thirds less likely to pass the virus on>to their babies. The investigators said that the best time to>begin administering therapy was in the 14th week of pregnancy=through delivery. Also, researchers say that newborns shouldBreceive the drug for the first six weeks of life. AZT appeared to/be well-tolerated by both infants and mothers.?   In addition to voluntary testing, the public health serviceAguidelines recommend that all test results be kept confidential.BThat way, women who test positive for the AIDS virus would not be?discriminated against or denied health insurance coverage. TheAonly exception would be if state laws require the information tobe made public.;   Worldwide, the World Health Organization estimates that@one-million children are infected with the AIDS virus, a number=the WHO predicts could climb to 10-million by the year 2000.?International health experts say that most infected youngsters3contract the virus from their mothers in the womb.B   In the American study, researchers found that AZT could reduce?the risk of AIDS transmission from about 25-percent to roughly=8-percent. Officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control9called the finding "an unprecedented breakthrough in HIVBprevention," adding that HIV testing should become a routine partof prenatal care.   ==============A   American doctors are urging their patients with heart disease>to get their cholesterol levels rechecked and, if need be, to>start taking a cholesterol-lowering drug. The push follows an<announcement by U.S. Regulators that at least one drug that8lowers serum (blood) cholesterol levels can save lives.B   A five-year study of 4,400 heart patients found that the drug,Azocor, cut the number of heart disease deaths by 42-percent. The>drug also significantly reduced the number of non-fatal heart5attacks. The finding prompted the U.S. Food and Drug@Administration to allow the drug's maker, Merck and Company, to?relabel zocor as the first anti-cholesterol drug to reduce therisk of death.B   Doctors have long considered lowering blood cholesterol levels@a way to stave off heart disease. But many physicians have beenAreluctant to prescribe cholesterol-lowering drugs to do the job.>The feeling has been that damage to arteries has already been;done, and a modified diet works as well as medication, but>without the side effects. But evidence has been mounting that@aggressively lowering serum cholesterol levels in heart disease;patients is critical to saving lives. And drugs, not diet,#produce the most dramatic results.A   In the zocor trial, diet alone resulted in a ten-percent drop<in so-called "bad" cholesterol levels. In comparison, zocor>forced levels down by 35-percent. There's evidence that other?drugs related to zocor would have the same, beneficial effect.>   Experts say that reducing serum cholesterol doesn't repair@existing damage to coronary arteries caused by plaque build-up.?But recent studies show that it may prevent clots from forming=out of those fatty deposits. There's no word yet on what the9benefits, if any, would be to a healthy person with high;cholesterol taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, like zocor.   =============B   Everyone knows that too much stress is bad for you. But beyondAbringing on fatigue and a tendency toward illness, doctors can't?tell you why stress is harmful. Now, some American researchersthink they know the answer.?   Researchers at the U.S. National Institute of Mental HealthBsay that stress produces a hormone called corticotropin-releasing<hormone, or CRH, that attaches itself to immune cells. This7binding stimulates the production of a protein, calledAtranscription factor, that helps viruses to multiply. This couldAexplain why people who are under a lot of stress are more likelyBto come down with a cold or flu or develop cold sores. CRH, which;is present in a part of the brain that controls stress and@emotion, acts as a messenger between the nervous system and thebody's immune responses.B   the American researchers published their theory in the medical>journal, "The lancet." The magazine editors wrote that if theAhunch is confirmed by other researchers, that could lead to lead9to ways to keep immune cells from binding with CRH, thus@preventing the fatigue and illness in overstressed individuals.8   More ominous than being laid low by a cold, the U.S.?Researchers believe that CRH may also switch on oncogenes, theAproteins that begin the process of cancer. But, so far, there is2no scientific evidence that stress causes cancer.   ===============?   An estimated three-quarters of people worldwide are lactose<intolerant. That means that they are missing an enzyme thatAallows them to digest lactose, a form of sugar found in milk and=other dairy products. But American researchers say that mostAlactose intolerant people could drink a single glass of milk per1day without developing gas, cramps and bloating.<   This is likely to come as a surprise to many millions of>lactose intolerant people, who claim that consuming even tiny;amounts of milk in coffee, tea or cereal causes great them?discomfort. Researchers at the (U.S.) Veterans Affairs Medical;Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota decided to test this out.8   The researchers recruited 30 volunteers who consider=themselves lactose intolerant. A simple breath test revealed9that, in fact, only 21 of them were. Nonetheless, all 30>participants were given a glass of milk to drink each morningAwith breakfast. The milk was fortified with the enzyme "lactase">to break down the milk sugar. The volunteers then rated theirBintestinal discomfort on a scale of zero to 5. The next week, the?volunteers drank a glass of ordinary milk, without lactase, at?breakfast time. Again, the researchers asked the volunteers to?rate their discomfort. It turned out that the ratings for both@weeks were identical, suggesting that much of the discomfort of?lactose intolerance is perceived and not actual. The study was4published in the "New England Journal of Medicine."<   The lead researcher says a lot of people aren't going to@believe the finding. Michael Leavitt thinks many people believe@they're lactose intolerant, when, in fact, they're not, because@of news stories about the condition. Doctor Leavitt also blamesBthe success of advertising for products that counteract digestivediscomfort caused by milk.   ---------------   ----------------   ESTROGEN REPLACEMENT & BREAST CANCER RISK   VALERIE GARTSEFF   WASHINGTON,D.C.A   A new study links long-term estrogen therapy to a higher risk?of breast cancer. This latest finding is forcing many women to@weigh more carefully the risks and benefits of hormone therapy.?   A new Harvard medical school study has found that women who@take hormone replacement therapy for more than five years after9menopause are at greater risk for breast cancer. Hormone;replacement therapy consists of taking estrogen alone or a9combination of estrogen and a second hormone, progestin.9   The new findings confirm what many scientists already?suspected, that adding the second hormone, progestin, does notBprotect against breast cancer, as it does against uterine cancer.?   In this latest study researchers examined about 70 thousandBpostmenopausal nurses who participated in the nurses health study4between 1978 and 1992. Brigham and Women's HospitalBepidemiologist Susan Hankinson is one of the investigators of the?study which was recently published in (the June 15th issue of)'"The New England Journal of Medicine."A   "We looked at current uses of estrogen alone, said Hankinson,>"and found that they had about a 30 percent increased risk of?breast cancer, and when we looked among women who were current;users of (female hormone) estrogen plus (a second hormone)Bprogestin, they had approximately a 40 percent increase in breast>cancer risk. so there appears to be no difference in terms of>estrogen or estrogen plus progestin's effect on breast cancerrisk."B   More breast cancer appeared in older women, ages 60 to 65, who?had used hormone therapy for five years or more. They had a 71Bpercent higher chance of breast cancer than women who didn't. But@stopping hormone therapy seemed to return women's higher breast4cancer risk back to normal. According to Hankinson:B   "We actually found that once they stopped taking hormones, theAelevated risk returned to that of a never-user after two to fouryears."<   The investigators also found that the risk of dying from<breast cancer was 45 percent higher in women among estrogen<users, giving more weight to estrogen being a direct cause.@   Most scientists agree that short-term hormone treatment, two@to three years, is safe to reduce the uncomfortable symptoms of>menopause. But now the potential long-term use of hormones to@prevent chronic diseases has become a more serious debate. This:latest study does not discuss the potentially significantAbenefits of long-term hormone therapy. Previous studies indicate@that hormone replacement therapy may greatly reduce the risk in9women of developing heart disease and osteoporosis - the bone-thinning disease of aging.<   Jacques Rossouw (pron: Roos-soh) project officer for the=Women's Health Initiative, tries to put this latest study in>perspective with 37 previous ones on the relationship betweenAhormones and breast cancer. Up to now, he says all those resultshave been contradictory:A   "These studies have not been consistent by any means. even ifAone pools all the data of all the studies, ever use of estrogen,>that is, if one ever used hormones post-menopausally, usually@(it) doesn't come out as significantly increasing breast cancer<risk. Some studies have shown, however, that with prolonged:exposure, that is eight to 10 years or more, the risk may9increase to some 23 to 30 percent, but those studies are=relatively few in number, so the data are not consistent forbreast cancer."?   Furthermore, Dr. Rossouw says previous findings are suspect@because they're based on epidemiological studies, observational>studies that examine how disease rates differ among women whoBtake hormones and those who don't. Other differences among women,?such as regular mammography screening for breast cancer, couldBalso account for varying disease rates. In contrast, he says, the:women's health initiative is conducting a nine-year study:involving 164 thousand women, 27 thousand of whom will be:involved in clinical trials that examine female hormones:;   "So what one needs is a clinical trial where a computer?assigns women to either hormones or no hormones, and all other<difference are equaled out, then one can truly see what the=effect of hormones would be, and that's why we are doing theAclinical trial, because the nurse' health study has just been an;observational (study) which we don't think can provide the?answer. That (the women's health initiative study) will answer6the basic question, that is, on balance, 'should mostBpostmenopausal women take these hormones or should they not,' andmake the decision."<   in other words, by the year 2005 we should know for sure>whether or not hormone therapy causes breast cancer. but what!should women do in the meantime?=   Dr. Hankinson says post-menopausal women have to evaluateBtheir own life styles, and medical and family histories, and maketheir decisions one by one:=   "Some of the factors that need to be considered include a=woman's own history of disease, and that's driven by her ownAfamily history of disease, her own disease risk factors, whetherBshe has hypertension or high cholesterol, if she's at high or low=risk of osteoporosis, she will be at higher risk if she wereBthin, sedentary and a smoker, for example. I think someone with a=strong family history of breast cancer really has to discuss?using post-menopausal hormones. It will also depend on her own1heart disease risk and risk of (bone) fracture."@   But Dr. Jacques Rossouw does not yet advise long-term use of>hormones unless the woman has a direct reason, such as family	history::   "Women who have osteoporosis, hormones prevent further@thinning of the bones, and they should certainly take them, and=in that case, it would be basically a life-long therapy, andBthose are the indications for hormones that we know work. And theAother indications to prevent heart disease, we don't know, and IApersonally don't think it's responsible to prescribe hormones to;prevent heart disease until we have hard data, or to avoid@hormones because you are afraid of breast cancer, we don't haveBhard data on that either. The risk reduction for heart disease of=40 to 50 percent is based purely on epidemiological studies,?which I've indicated are suspect. They can provide clues as to?what your should pursue as a promising treatment, and hormones=are a promising treatment, but it's not a proven treatment."A   The decision to begin long-term hormone therapy is one of the>most difficult health decisions for post-menopausal women. So@Brigham and Women's Hospital epidemiologist Susan Hankinson and?her colleagues are working on a report that will summarize all;the risks and benefits of taking post-menopausal hormones.   ---------------   ---------------B   SYRIA ACCUSED OF VIOLATING HUMAN RIGHTS OF POLITICAL OPPONENTS   BRIAN CAREY   NEW YORK@   A human rights organization has condemned Syria Saturday forAviolating the rights of political opponents. Human Rights Watch,@a private group, says in a new report that thousands of Syrians<have been imprisoned, tortured and harassed for non-violent<offenses which include exercising freedom of expression and
association.:   The rights group says Syria's state security court has=imprisoned Syrian citizens for openly expressing independentBpolitical beliefs. This persecution, says Human Rights Watch, has>been especially pronounced since 1992 when the security court?became active in an effort to give legitimacy to the continued?imprisonment of political prisoners. Political prisoners, says>Human Rights Watch, are often held in Syria for years without=trial, and when they are put on trial their defense has beenBshoddy. Human Rights Watch says it spoke with several individualsAwho claimed to have been tortured by the Syrian security forces.@The report says that these cases, when reported to the security<court, are often ignored. Abolishing the security court andBending torture are two of the 12 recommendations the report makesto the Syrian government.B   The rights report was published after representatives of humanArights watch made a seven week fact-finding trip to Syria. WhileBthey were allowed freedom of movement, the rights group says theyAwere not permitted to inspect prisons believed to hold politicalprisoners.<   Human Rights Watch also made recommendations to the U.S.9government and the European Union and its member states.;Christopher George, the executive director of Human RightsWatch/Middle East, says:@   "We make a very practical and specific recommendation to the=United States government and European governments which haveAdiplomats based in Damascus. We recommend that they attend these>trial sessions, they're a gold mine of information, that they=also, by observing the trials, demonstrate their concern for=human rights issues. There's heightened diplomatic politicalBactivity now. The U.S. government has an opportunity and leverage>and an obligation in its relations with Syria to urge them to=make these changes, to not completely neglect domestic human:rights issues in its efforts to resolve the conflict with	Israel.";   A spokesman for the Syrian embassy in Washington had no@comment on the new report, although Human Rights Watch says the4Syrian embassy denies much of what the report says.   ---------------   ---------------F   FOUNDER OF BANNED ALGERIAN ISLAMIC SALVATION FRONT KILLED IN PARIS   JULIAN NUNDY	   PARIS@   Gunmen in Paris have killed one of the founders of Algeria'sBbanned Islamic Salvation Front. They believe the assassination is'the work of extremist fundamentalists.>   The Muslim official, Abdel Baki Sahraoui, was shot dead atAevening prayers in the mosque where he was the imam in the north?of Paris. Mr. Shahraoui, who was 85 years old, said two months(ago that he had received death threats.A   Another man in the mosque who tried to pursue the two killerswas also killed.A   Paris police arrested a man a few hours later. The police say<they believe the extremist armed Islamic group, or GIA, was;involved. The GIA has claimed responsibility for a wave of=killings of foreigners in Algeria during the past two years.@   The police say Mr. Sahraoui, a well-known figure among Paris:Muslims, was a target because he favored dialogue between?fundamentalists and the Algerian government. The GIA has ruled<out any negotiation with Algeria's secular authorities. Mr.BSahraoui sought asylum in France after Algeria banned the IslamicSalvation Front in 1991.<   The French government has long feared that the strife in=Algeria might spread to the Algerian community in France. To=contain this threat, French police have rounded up dozens of?alleged Islamic militants during the past two years and exiledsome of them to Africa.   ---------------   ---------------2   ISRAELI RABBIS UGRE SOLDIERS TO DISOBEY ORDERS
   AL PESSIN
   JERUSALEMB   A group of Israeli rabbis has issued a ruling in effect urging=Israeli soldiers to disobey orders to withdraw from the WestBank.@   The ruling issued Wednesday says it is a violation of Jewish?law to participate in the dismantling of Israeli army bases or>settlements from the West Bank, which religious Jews consider>part of the Jewish homeland. The ruling says Israeli militaryAfacilities cannot be handed over to non-Jews because such a move+would endanger lives and the Jewish state.@   It is not clear just how big an impact the ruling will have.:There are no reliable statistics on how many soldiers are=religious, and there would be no way to know how many peoplewould follow the ruling.?   But the ruling has thrown another potential obstacle in the=way of the Israeli government's plans to withdraw from large:areas of the West Bank during the next two years. Israeli>settlers in the West Bank have staged an increasing series of@protests aimed at blocking the withdrawal. Senior army officersAsay any insubordination will be dealt with harshly, and they say<they can maintain discipline and carry out the government'sorders.   ---------------   ---------------;   ISRAEL'S MOST FAMOUS PRISONER HAS A DRAMATIC COURT DATE
   AL PESSIN
   JERUSALEM9   One of Israel's most famous prisoners, former nuclear8technician Mordechai Vanunu, had another dramatic courtAappearance Tuesday evening, but came away with only some of whathe was asking for.B   Police took extraordinary measures to try to prevent reportersAfrom even catching a glimpse of Vanunu, bringing him to court inAa van with painted windows and parking it just a few centimeters;from the building's entrance. But in spite of efforts by a?policeman who raised his arms and tried to block Vanunu's face;with a mobile telephone, photographers managed to snap hisBpicture and he shouted to reporters, "I will fight," before beingushered into the courthouse.<   Vanunu was asking for an easing of the conditions of hisBconfinement. On Tuesday, the court agreed to improve arrangementsBfor family visits and to allow him to have a computer and to make>two phone calls a month monitored by prison officials. But it=deferred judgment on his request for more contact with otherprisoners.B   Israel's intelligence service kidnapped Vanunu in Rome in 1986Band brought him to Israel for a secret trial. He was sentenced toA18 years in prison for giving information about Israel's nuclear=program to the "London Times" newspaper. Israel says he must@remain in prison, and his contacts must be strictly controlled,=because he still knows things which could harm the country's
security.   ---------------   ---------------    ISRAEL/PALESTINIAN AGREEMENT
   AL PESSIN
   JERUSALEMB   Israel and the Palestinian Authority have reached agreement onBthe transfer of power in eight spheres of civilian administration:throughout the West Bank. Israel and the Palestinians are>continuing to transfer such powers although they have not yet=reached agreement on the withdrawal of Israeli forces or theexpansion of full autonomy.9   The agreement was reported by Israeli and Palestinian?newspapers, and confirmed by the Israeli foreign ministry. The=reports say the accord covers local government, commerce andAindustry, labor affairs, agriculture, postal service, statisticsBand fuel and natural gas. Israel gave the Palestinians control ofAsix other areas nearly a year ago, including education, taxation
and tourism.>   The talks covering a total of about 40 spheres of civilian>power are generally held in Cairo, and officials had hoped toAbegin transferring more of those powers last month. These powers@handed over to the Palestinian Authority will extend beyond the>borders of full Palestinian autonomy, which is to be put into9effect in several West Bank cities in the coming months.?   The terms of that expansion of full autonomy, and a partial@withdrawal of Israeli forces on the West Bank, are the subjects6of a separate and more difficult set of negotiations.B   One aspect of those talks is how the Palestinians will enforceBtheir civilian authority in areas where the Palestinian police do@not operate. Such issues are to be settled by July 25th in what=is called an interim agreement, which is to remain in effectBuntil 1999, by which time a permanent agreement is supposed to beready.7   All of the talks were to be combined in large-scale@negotiations, involving perhaps 50 people from each side, which>were expected to be convened at a military base in Italy thisweek.@   Now, Israeli and Palestinian officials say the talks will beBheld in this region instead, perhaps in Egypt near the Israeli or?Gaza border (Taba or El Arish). The change reportedly resulted@from a desire by the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, to keepBthe negotiators close to home, and from pressure from Egypt which7was reported to be angered at being passed over as thenegotiation site.;   Meanwhile, a group of Israeli rabbis has thrown another@potential obstacle in the way of the Israeli government's plans@to withdraw from large areas of the West Bank over the next twoByears. The group issued a religious ruling Wednesday saying it is?a violation of Jewish law to participate in the dismantling of<Israeli army bases or settlements from the West Bank, whichAreligious Jews consider part of the Jewish homeland. The ruling,Ain effect, urges religious Israeli soldiers to disobey orders to
withdraw.:   There are claims that as many as 25 percent of IsraeliBsoldiers are religious, but the army says it has no statistics onAthe religious views of its soldiers. In any case, there would beBno way to know how many people would follow the ruling even amongBobservant Jews. Senior army officers say any insubordination willAbe dealt with harshly, and they say they can maintain discipline'and carry out the government's orders.@   But combined with an increasing series of protests by JewishAsettlers in the West Bank, the ruling serves as a fresh reminder?that any Israeli withdrawal will be fraught with problems. The-government says it is determined to proceed.   ---------------   ---------------   JORDAN ELECTION RESULTS   LAURIE KASSMAN	   CAIRO>   Jordanians went to the polls Tuesday to elect 259 new city?councils. Voting was extended into Wednesday in several places9and final results are not expected until late Wednesday.BPreliminary results in several key cities indicate serious lossesfor the Islamic Action Front.;   The Islamic Action Front managed to gain control of the>councils in the southern cities of Karak and Madaba, and fourBsmaller townships, but counted ballots show a drop in the party's5popularity. That follows a similar trend in the 1993@parliamentary elections when the Islamist movement lost several>seats. The group is the largest political bloc in parliament.A   In Zarqa, the Islamic party charged the government with fraudAand harassment, and pulled out of the poll an hour before voting>ended Tuesday. The area is considered one of its strongholds.A   Although most polls closed in Jordan, the voting was extendedBin several districts in Amman and another municipality because oftechnical problems.>   Jordan's city elections are being viewed as a barometer of<popularity for the Islamist movement and for Jordan's peace:treaty with Israel. Islamist candidates ran on a campaignAplatform opposing peace agreements or normalization with Israel.BThe party has led moves in parliament to block government efforts;to repeal laws that conflict with the nine-month-old peaceagreement.8   Government officials say the gains made by centrist,?pro-government candidates are a clear endorsement of the peace@process, despite Jordanian critics who complain they do not see any tangible benefits of peace.A   In other results, one woman has been elected mayor of a small=town and another women was elected leader of a city council.=Jordanians elected their first woman deputy to parliament in1993.@   More than four-thousand candidates representing 23 political&parties participated in the election.   ---------------   ---------------@   IRAQI BIOLOGICAL ARMS PROGRAM SETS BACK LIFTING OF SANCTIONS
   JUDY AITA   UNITED NATIONS>   Iraq's recent admission that it had an advanced biological=weapons program exacerbated Baghdad's problems with the U.N.:Security Council and apparently has caused the council toApostpone any possible consideration of lifting the five-year-oldoil embargo against Iraq.?   The focus of the Security Council's 26th periodic sanctionsAreview July 11 was the recent Iraqi admission to Ambassador Rolf>Ekeus, chairman of the U.N. Special Commission overseeing the@destruction of Iraqi weapons (UNSCOM), that it had an offensive<biological weapons program.  The council meanwhile rejected<Iraq's request for a delay in destroying outlawed ballisticweapons equipment.B   After the session Honduran Ambassador Gerardo Martinez Blanco,;president of the council, called in Iraqi Ambassador NizarBHamdoon to inform the envoy of the council's support for UNSCOM's>position that the equipment must be destroyed.  The presidentAalso expressed the council's hope that Iraq will cooperate fullyAwith UNSCOM and make the full, final, and complete disclosure on its biological weapons program.:   The Security Council also determined that Iraq has not>fulfilled its Gulf War cease-fire obligations sufficiently to>justify any change in the wide ranging economic sanctions the<council imposed almost five years ago, Martinez Blanco told2journalists waiting outside the council chambers.?   During the closed council meeting, Albright, the chief U.S.Adelegate to the U.N., told the council that "the Iraqi admission>is the first step in a long process of verification.  WhetherBthat process becomes shorter depends entirely upon Iraq.  It must=change its traditional approach to cooperation with UNSCOM."?   According to the text of Albright's remarks to the council,@which was released to journalists, the U.S. ambassador rejectedBIraq's assertion that the biological weapons program was begun in?1985 and that it had not begun to develop weapons to carry theagents.A   "In short, Iraq has a credibility problem not just because ofBits uninterrupted record of lying for four years," the ambassador@said. "Even with four years to think up a story, it has not yet-told a story that is internally consistent.":   Before UNSCOM can verify that Iraq has provided a full=disclosure of its biological weapons program, Albright said,B"Iraq must provide full access to the sites, equipment, documents:and personnel involved in the program.  Unless past Iraqi?practice changes, this will be a long and complex process withBIraq providing grudgingly only the information it believes UNSCOMalready knows."9   "It is no wonder that Iraq fails to be credible," theambassador said.@   "The Iraqi delegation that is telling members of the council9this week that it is prepared to answer all questions on?biological weapons is the very same delegation that two monthsBago strenuously denied to this council, to its own people, and in@written and televised interviews, that it ever had a biological!weapons program," Albright said.@   In a letter to the council on July 2, Ekeus reported that inAprivate meetings that included Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq@Aziz and other officials, Iraq "admitted for the first time the>offensive nature of its biological weapons program" including?that the research was begun in late 1985 at the Muthanna site,Awhere it also produced chemical weapons, and then transferred to;Salman Pak in early 1986.  "Until this statement, Iraq had=insisted that its military biological program was limited in>scope to defensive research and that no weapons or agents hadever been produced," he said.;   Iraq produced biological warfare agents at the al Hakam@facility in 1989 and 1990 and stored them there in concentrated?form until they were destroyed in October 1990 "in view of the'imminence of hostilities," Ekeus said.=   Iraq has promised to provide a complete disclosure of theAprogram by the end of 1995 with a first draft ready by mid-July;@at that time, Ekeus said, UNSCOM experts will visit Baghdad fortalks.=   Ekeus also reported that Iraq is refusing to destroy fiveBitems that are related to ballistic missiles with a range greater>than 150 kilometers, which must be destroyed according to thecease-fire agreement.1   "Iraq's refusal to destroy proscribed missile@capabilities...constitutes, in the commission's view, a failure@by Iraq to honor an obligation it has unconditionally accepted.AThat failure means that an action required of Iraq under section;of resolution 687 (1991) remains unfulfilled," Ekeus said.A   Albright said that the Iraqi refusal to destroy the ballistic=missile equipment "makes plain why UNSCOM must not close itsfiles in other areas."@   "In the missile area, rather than evading their obligations,2the Iraqis have decided to flout them," she said.B   British Ambassador David Hannay characterized Ekeus' report asAa "very important step" that has spotlighted a lot of unanswered2questions the special commission now must pursue.?   For example, Hannay said, "What became of all the equipmentBthat they used for research, production, and so on?  Why is there?still a denial of weaponization, which is a normal part of anyBprogram of this sort, particularly since they produced very large-amounts of the biological weapons material?"   ---------------   ---------------A   IRANIAN REBELS CLAIM 3 MEMBERS WERE KILLED IN BAGHDAD BY IRAN   LAURIE KASSMAN	   CAIROA   Iranian rebels in Baghdad say three members of the Mujahadeen=Khalq have been gunned down in the Iraqi capital. They blame<Iran. The incident comes a day after the Iranian opposition=claimed that Iranian forces had rocketed their rebel base at5Ashraf in northeastern Iraq near the Iranian border.B   A spokesman for the Mujahadeen Khalq told reporters in Baghdad?that gunmen killed three members of the group in an ambush and?high-speed car chase through the Iraqi capital. The spokesman,AFeridoun Soleimani, says one attacker was caught and turned over.to the Iraqi authorities. Two others escaped.B   Mr. Soleimani says the attackers used AK-47 assault rifles andArocket propelled grenades in the attack. He blames it on Iranianagents.?   Amnesty International, the London-based human rights group,Aoften has criticized Iran for trying to eliminate opponents both=at home and abroad. Iraq's foreign ministry called in Iran's<diplomat in Baghdad to complain about Sunday's cross-border&attack on the Iranian camp at Ashraf.?   Iran has long complained that Iraq allows Iranian rebels to>operate freely in its territory. The attacks come amid recentBefforts to improve relations which have been strained since theirBbloody eight-year war ended in 1988. The two countries have neversigned a peace treaty.   ---------------   --------------->   CONTROVERSY ARISES FROM ISRAELI/HEZBOLLAH EXCHANGE OF FIRE
   AL PESSIN
   JERUSALEMB   This past weekend's exchange of fire between Israeli forces in@Southern Lebanon and the Hezbollah guerrilla group has caused a<controversy in Israel. The issue might become part of talks=during the visit to the region this week by U.S. Middle Eastnegotiator Dennis Ross.B   It was Saturday when an Israeli tank commander in the occupiedAzone in Southern Lebanon ordered shell fire on the Lebanese town@of Nabatiyeh. Two teenaged girls were killed and several people@were injured. Hezbollah guerrillas responded by firing about 301katyusha rockets into northern Israel on Sunday.@   The Israeli army chief of staff said the Israeli tank attack>on Nabatiyeh had been a "human error." Prime Minister Yitzhak?Rabin called it an unnecessary mistake, and said such mistakesshould not happen.@   The weekend exchange of fire was just the latest in a series>of such incidents in recent weeks, in which several people on>both sides have been killed. An Israeli newspaper report says>Israeli officials will ask U.S. Middle East negotiator DennisBRoss to help ease the tension during his visit to the region this?week. Mr. Ross was in Israel on Monday and he goes to Syria on:Tuesday. Syria is one of the chief sponsors of Hezbollah.<   Israel and Hezbollah have been operating according to anAunderstanding brokered by the United States two years ago, whichAis designed to reduce the number of attacks on civilians on bothBsides. But the arrangement is violated frequently for military orApolitical reasons, or through retaliatory attacks by one side or>the other, or by mistake, as the Israelis claim in this case.<   Two weeks ago the Israeli commander in southern Lebanon,BGeneral Giora Inbar, told visiting foreign journalists his troops<are instructed not to fire into civilian areas. But he said@Hezbollah often operates in or very near villages and sometimes>civilians will get hit either because Hezbollah fighters hide8behind them or because Israeli soldiers make a mistake::   "We have some examples that our best soldiers had suchBmistakes. It happens. It's a war here. Now, the war is being held:between the civilian villages. It's not a military area."=   General Inbar says an Israeli pilot accidentally bombed a9Lebanese village a year ago, killing several people, and@resulting in katyusha attacks on northern Israel. He says there>was also an incident last year in which an Israeli soldier in7Southern Lebanon accidentally shelled an Israeli town.A   Israel says there has been a marked increase in the number ofBattacks by Hezbollah in recent months. Some officials believe theBincrease is related to peace negotiations, as Syria tries to keep:up pressure on Israel, and Hezbollah tries to improve itsAmilitary and political position in advance of any possible peaceaccord.@   Israeli press reports indicate senior military officers wereBangry at Sunday's criticism from the chief of staff and the primeBminister. They say soldiers must be free to defend themselves andBthat the Israeli army could seriously damage Hezbollah's fightingBability if it were given a freer hand. But the Israeli government?is reportedly more interested in easing the situation, perhaps,with help from the traveling U.S. diplomat.   ---------------   ---------------&   ANTI-NUCLEAR BASTILLE DAY PROTESTS   ROBIN POKE   CANBERRA?   Bastille Day, the day on which France celebrates the French>revolution, has been marked in Australia, New Zealand and the@South Pacific with huge protests against the decision by FranceAto resume nuclear testing at Mururoa atoll in the Pacific ocean..The biggest Australian protest was in Sydney.>   A march to the French consulate in Sydney attracted 15,000?people. A leading environmentalist, Peter Garrett, appealed toAthe government to send an unarmed naval vessel to the test site,@and to cancel the sale of uranium to France. A large crowd also=rallied in Melbourne, while in Adelaide, a lunch was held to@raise more than 50,000 dollars for a full page advertisement in;the Paris daily newspaper, Le Monde, protesting the French
decision.;   In Canberra, about one thousand protesters demonstrated;against Bastille Day celebrations being hosted by France'sBambassador to Australia, Dominic Girard.  The event was boycotted;by Australia's government ministers. Later, the ambassador<accepted a petition, signed by one-hundred thousand people,>appealing to France not to resume the tests. Elsewhere, trade9unions refused to work on French ships or service French
aircraft.=   Mr. Girard also warned New Zealand not to send any of its=ships to Mururoa atoll.  He said the New Zealand government,Bwhich is considering sending an unarmed naval vessel to the site,<knew its ships would not be permitted into the 20 kilometer;exclusion zone around the site, and that to do so would beagainst international law.<   The Rainbow Warrior II, owned by the international peace?movement, Greenpeace, was boarded by French commandoes earlier:this week as it attempted the same maneuver. The crew wasAdetained, but later freed. The vessel is presently on its way toAFrench Tahiti to join anti-nuclear and pro-independence proteststhere.A   Meanwhile, in New Zealand's capital, Wellington, two thousand?people protested, and attempted to deliver a load of manure toAthe French ambassador's residence during an official lunch. Eggs8and bags of flour were thrown at people arriving. As in:Australia, no government ministers attended the function.@   Large crowds also attended demonstrations in Fiji. About twoBand a half thousand protesters marched on the French ambassador's@residence in the capital, Suva, and presented a petition signedby 50-thousand.   ---------------   ---------------4   RAINBOW WARRIOR LEAVES VICINITY OF MURUROA ATOLL   RIYAZ KHAIYUM   SUVA, FIJI=   The Greenpeace vessel the Rainbow Warrior II has left theBvicinity of Mururoa atoll and set sail for Papeete in Tahiti. The@ship is to take part in protests against the French decision to-resume nuclear testing in the South Pacific.A   The Rainbow Warrior, which was boarded by French troops, then;released earlier this week, is now in international watersAoutside the nuclear test site and is due to arrive in Papeete bymidday Friday.B   Its arrival in Tahiti is expected to coincide with protests at=French embassies around the world against President Chirac's:decision to resume nuclear tests in September. Greenpeace@activists say the Rainbow Warrior will show solidarity with theATahitian opponents to the nuclear tests, who plan to demonstrate9on Bastille Day, the French independence day, July 14th.A   Two other protest vessels, the Vega and Bifrost have anchoredAin waters off the French test site. Greenpeace says three of itsAactivists landed by raft at Mururoa atoll and remain undetected.BFrench officials say they take the Greenpeace claim seriously and4are searching the test site and surrounding waters.=   Greenpeace says its protests will continue to increase atBMururoa and around the world. Thousands of people are expected toBmarch through the streets of the Fijian capital, Suva, on Friday,?in demonstrations against the French nuclear tests. And in NewAZealand, the government has announced it is seeking legal advice<on the issue of taking France to the international court of;justice to prevent nuclear testing in the South Pacific. ABsimilar application to the world court in 1973 by New Zealand and@Australia was unsuccessful, but New Zealand officials say it isworth the effort to try again.   ---------------   ---------------1   CHECHEN ENVOY REPORTS PROGRESS IN PEACE TALKS   ELIZABETH ARROTT
   MOSCOW>   The Chechen envoy to peace talks in Grozny says both sides?have found a way to resolve the talks' most troublesome issue,that of Chechen sovereignty.>   Chief Chechen negotiator Usman Imayev said both sides have;worked out a formula for resolving the issue of Chechnya'sBstatus. In comments carried by Russian news agencies, the Chechen?envoy also said only technical, as he put it, "insignificant",details must be worked out.B   Mr. Imayev told the Itar-Tass news agency he would not discuss4details of the formula with reporters at this time.@   Shortly after Mr. Imayev spoke, another Chechen envoy lashedBout at Russian delegates, saying they had presented new documentsBat the last moment which insisted Chechnya is part of Russia. TheARussian side countered by saying the documents did not present a substantially changed position.A   The question of Chechnya's status has been the main stumbling<block in the talks, which are nearing an end in the Chechen>capital, Grozny. Previously, the Chechen side insisted Moscow=recognize the small republic's independence right away while@Moscow said any discussion of Chechnya's status must wait until9after regional elections, scheduled for later this year.A   Mr. Imayev was speaking after a meeting with Chechen leaders,?who are in hiding in the south of the breakaway republic. Both<Russian and Chechen envoys have stressed the rebel leaders'@approval of a draft peace settlement is critical to the outcomeof the talks.9   But even as the talks appeared more likely to reach a=successful conclusion, both sides reported sporadic fighting@across the republic, further violations of a fragile ceasefire,in place since last month.=   The truce is part of the concessions granted by Moscow to>Chechnya in June when Chechen gunmen seized some one thousand;people hostage in the Russian town, Budennovsk. The gunmen<released the hostages in exchange for the ceasefire and theresumption of peace talks.?   Already, the two sides have agreed on new elections for the=southern republic, as well as preliminary plans for militaryBdisengagement. The Chechens, on paper, say they will begin laying?down their arms, while the Russians have given assurances theywill begin a troop withdrawal.>   Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Chechnya last5December to quell the republic's three-year claim of?independence. Estimates of those killed in the seven months of9fighting are as high as 25,000 people, mainly civilians.   ---------------   ---------------7   YELTSIN AIDES DOWNPLAY FEARS ABOUT YELTSIN'S HEALTH   ELIZABETH ARROTT
   MOSCOWB   Aides to Russian President Boris Yeltsin continue to play down=fears about Mr. Yeltsin's health. Speculation was heightened9about the seriousness of a heart ailment that struck thepresident on Tuesday.A   A statement by the president's press service says Mr. Yeltsin;continues to undergo treatment at the hospital where he is<staying and that he continues to carry out his presidentialduties.@   An aide to Mr. Yeltsin was also quoted as saying the KremlinBleader's condition is not dangerous, comments apparently aimed at@quelling speculation about the state of the president's health.>Mr. Yeltsin was rushed to the hospital Tuesday suffering from0what the Kremlin said was acute heart ischemia.?   Concerns grew when aides abruptly announced Friday that Mr.>Yeltsin was cancelling all major appointments for the next 10Bdays. The Kremlin said initially the president was keeping to hisoriginal schedule.B   Suspicion about the state of his health has been fueled by theAfact that all statements about Mr. Yeltsin's condition have come8from the government, not from the doctors treating him.?   Moreover, only one photograph of the hospitalized presidentBhas been released and it gives little indication of how alert Mr.=Yeltsin might be. The official Itar-Tass news agency picture<shows the president sitting at a desk, with eyes cast down.   ---------------   ---------------   UKRAINE CHOLERA OUTBREAK   PETER COLLINS
   MOSCOWB   Residents in Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkov, have beenBwithout a functioning sewage system for nearly three weeks and as>a result, water supplies have been severely rationed. To make;matters worse, cholera has now been discovered in the same-region, the second such outbreak in Ukraine.B   The sewage crisis in Kharkov began late last month, when heavy>rains damaged the city's main treatment facility. Hundreds of<thousands of tons of raw sewage flowed into several rivers,7including one that is the city's main source of water.@   Since then, water has been supplied to homes for a few hours?every two or three days. A fleet of 300 tanker trucks has been3pressed into service to distribute drinking water.A   Emergency crews assisted by European and American experts are?working to repair the damaged sewer treatment facility. A city0official said the system is old and inadequate.A   Local authorities have appealed to Kharkov's one and one-halfAmillion people to leave for their dachas (vacation homes) in the9countryside if possible, for the duration of the crisis.>Officials are also taking steps to prevent contaminated water@from flowing southward into Ukraine's densely populated Donbass$region and on into southern Russia.A   Meanwhile, cholera has been found in the Lopan River north of@Kharkov. No cases of the disease have been reported so far, andAthe outbreak is upstream from the break in the sewer system, butit could complicate matters.@   In southern Ukraine, a third person is reported to have died?from a separate outbreak of cholera in the Black Sea region ofMykolayiv.<   Epidemics of cholera, diphtheria and other diseases have?become more common in Russia, Ukraine, and other former Soviet@republics since the collapse of communism and the deteriorationof public services.   ---------------   ---------------0   LITTLE REACTION IN RUSSIA TO YELTSIN ILLNESS   PETER COLLINS
   MOSCOWB   Reaction to President Boris Yeltsin's hospitalization has beenAsurprisingly calm in Russia itself and around the world. But Mr.AYeltsin's illness with what is described as a mild heart ailment5has set off inevitable speculation about his future.<   Given that Russia has seen the collapse of communism, an@attempted coup, and tanks firing at parliament, all in the past=four years, the reaction to Mr. Yeltsin's illness has been a
surprise.A   Financial markets have not gone berserk. There is no panic in?the government. And there have been no visible attempts by Mr.=Yeltsin's rivals in or out of power to take advantage of thesituation.@   According to Alan Cooperman, the Moscow bureau chief for the-weekly magazine, U.S. News and World Report:;   "It's a sign not so much that Russia has built a stableBdemocracy, or a sign that Yeltsin no longer counts at all, it's a@sign that Yeltsin's standing has indeed faded, and most of all,;that there is someone ready to step in, and that is Viktor:Chernomyrdin, the prime minister, should Yeltsin's health2decline, or should he bow out of the elections. "/   What about 57-year-old Viktor Chernomyrdin?B   Until recently, the prime minister was seen as a competent but@colorless technocrat, loyal to Mr. Yeltsin, and by his account,Bnot much interested in politics. His stock had been rising slowly:until the recent hostage crisis in southern Russia. While>President Yeltsin was away in Canada at a summit meeting, Mr.BChernomyrdin grabbed the spotlight. He invited television cameras;into his office and began successful negotiations with the@Chechen hostage-takers. That led to a ceasefire in Chechnya and
peace talks.=   According to Michael McFaul of the Carnegie endowment forworld peace in Moscow:@   "He has started a peace process in Chechnya; he stood down a@vote (or defeated a vote) against his government in parliament,?doing that while holding negotiations with vice-President Gore'and founding his own political party.">   What Mr. Chernomyrdin does depends, of course, on what Mr.BYeltsin does. Will Mr. Yeltsin run for a second five-year term in@the elections set for next june? If he does, his health will no:doubt be a liability. Russians remember well the economicBstagnation under Leonid Brezhnev, when the Soviet leader's health@faded slowly over a decade. Mr. Yeltsin's popularity is already;in the single digits because of the depressed state of the4Russian economy and the disastrous war in Chechnya.1   So, will he run? according to Alan Cooperman:?   "That is indeed the big question, and no one knows that. My@sense always has been that Mr. Yeltsin is a power animal, powerBmatters more than anything else to him, and I don't sense that heAis the kind of person who would stand back and say, you know, my@health is not so great, I think I'll step aside and let someoneelse take over."A   So, Russia and the world wait to see what Mr. Yeltsin and his:doctors decide. For what it's worth, they say the Russian>president had a quiet night is ready and eager to get back towork.   ---------------   ---------------   UKRAINE MOVES WESTWARD
   ED WARNER   WASHINGTONB   While other republics of the former Soviet Union, appear to be=moving closer to Moscow, Ukraine is turning westward. It has?signed a trade agreement with the European Union and conducted@joint military exercises with the United States. As evidence of>warmer U.S. relations, the Ukrainian defense minister visitedWashington this week.?   Ukraine is intent on peace and neutrality, said its defenseAminister Valeriy Shmarov in a speech to the American Association@for the Advancement of Science in Washington this week. Gone is@the confrontation of the cold war years, he noted, and thus theneed for a big military:>   "We are persistently working on reform of the armed forcesAbecause the army we inherited from the Soviet union is a residue>of the huge military establishment committed to defending the=USSR. We had 750,000 servicemen in 1991. By the beginning ofA1995, we had only 450-thousand. During the current year, we plan8to reduce this number to 400,000, and we expect furtherreductions. "<   Defense minister Shmarov said Ukraine's biggest security9problem is not fear of external invasion but of internalBdisarray, in particular the nation's dire power shortage. Changes>in the armed forces have put more of a burden on the economy:?   "I have to admit that these are very complicated and costlyAefforts. It is a misperception to think a reduction of our armed?forces has a positive effect on our economy. At this point, itArequires a lot of additional money. So there is a great need forAcooperation and joint efforts and investment. Only in such a way,can we resolve the problems we are facing."A   Ronald Suny, professor of political science at the University<of Chicago, says the defense minister makes a great deal of<sense. As independent Ukraine evolves, he says he thinks it<should not try to throw its weight around as it once did by>supplying Azerbaijanis with arms in their war with Armenians.;   More recently, he says, Ukraine has been careful not to@provoke Moscow, for example, in dealing with the Crimea. At the<same time, it has pleased the west by giving up its nuclear@weapons and pledging to shut down the still dangerous Chernobylnuclear reactor.2   Ukraine, he says, has achieved a major reform:>   "By that I mean a stable government, one that can actually@give orders and have them carried out, that can then carry on a@program of democratization, market reform, creating rule by law@and so forth. The contrast with Russia is very great. There the@reforms have gone much further. The economy, of course, is muchBlarger. But in terms of state stability, in terms of rule by law,?in terms of curtailing crime, the situation seems in many ways;much worse than it does in Ukraine and some of the smallerrepublics."@   Professor Suny says the west now views Ukraine as a possible7counterweight to an increasingly unpredictable Russia::   "Up to quite recently, the Clinton Administration, forAunderstandable reasons, had what you might call a "Russia first"Apolicy. I think in the last half year, quarter year, that policy@seems to be shifting to some degree. The Clinton Administration?is interested in showing the non-Russian republics that it hasAtheir interests at heart as well. It's been fairly successful inAthis difficult act of balancing its policy toward Russia and its*policy toward the non-Russian republics."B   Professor Suny says keeping that balance will be difficult butcrucial in the years ahead.   ---------------   --------------->   UKRAINIAN DEFENSE MINISTER FAVORS UNHURRIED NATO EXPANSION   JACQUELYN S. PORTH   WASHINGTON?   Ukrainian Defense Minister Valeriy Shmarov says he does not@support those who wish to hurry the process of the expansion of/the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).?   During a six-day visit to Washington in July, the Ukrainian;official said enlargement of the Alliance should follow "a,gradual and steady process of development."?   Speaking through an interpreter at the American Association<for the Advancement of Science on July 10, Shmarov said his@country favors cooperation in all military aspects, but prefers=to pursue "soft expressions" of Alliance enlargement through@programs such as the Partnership for Peace (PFP).  He also said;Ukraine favors bilateral agreements and the opportunity to8participate in peacemaking and peacekeeping operations.@   Shmarov made his remarks in a briefing for security analystsAfrom the New Independent States (NIS) and the United States.  HeAmade the point that weapons plants in Ukraine are badly "in needBof conversion" to civilian uses.  In fact, part of the official's=U.S. trip was designed to give him an opportunity to talk to:California business leaders about how to convert militarytechnologies to civilian use.?   On the subject of international security, the official said=there are many unresolved problems because his country lacksA"tools and expertise."  Shmarov noted that Ukraine is facing the?challenge of formulating an independent international security@policy for the first time and will pursue its "declared neutral,status" and a "peaceful military doctrine."@   Ukraine has moved from supporting 750,000 military personnel?in 1991, the official said, to 450,000 this year.  That figureAwill drop further later in 1995 to 400,000, he said, noting that>he expects "further reductions" to follow thereafter.  At the>same time, the civilian defense minister pointed out that the;Ukrainian armed forces are also going through a structuralreorganization.=   Shmarov said his country is abiding by the Strategic Arms;Reduction Treaty, carrying out reductions according to the@Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty and expects toAfinalize its obligations under that treaty in November.  He said;Ukraine is "gradually and consistently reducing" offensive>weapons and those not directly tied to the country's military
doctrine.A   The official said the most pressing problem for Ukraine right>now is its shortage of power.  This is more serious, he said,0than "any threat of foreign military invasion."=   He spoke at length about science, noting that even thoughAUkraine is in a transitional period, it is still vital to engageAin the process of promoting science and the development of young@researchers.  Science is "a fairly well developed" field in hisAhomeland, the official said, pointing to particular achievementsin material science.9   Before departing Washington, Shmarov met with Defense?Secretary William Perry to discuss U.S. assistance to Ukraine,Aits efforts to demobilize Ukraine's Strategic Rocket Forces, and:the country's growing importance in the evolving Europeansecurity architecture.A   It was Shmarov's sixth meeting with Perry since the Ukrainian=became defense minister in the fall of 1994.  The Washington>visit was Shmarov's first official visit in the United Stateswith Perry.8   His U.S. visit also included a tour of U.S. military*installations in Kentucky and California.   ---------------   ---------------   RUSSIAN ECONOMY   PETER COLLINS
   MOSCOW@   Industrial production in Russia fell again in the first halfBof this year. But Russian analysts say the news really is not allbad.;   Russia's state committee for statistics says industrial@production fell by only three percent in the first half of 1995)compared with the same period last year.<   Although that means Russia's production is continuing to<shrink, the rate of decline was the smallest since the late1980's.@   By comparison, at this time last year, industrial production?was down nearly a quarter from the previous year. Overall, the=Russian economy has shrunk by one-half since the collapse ofcommunism four years ago.@   Government analysts here in Moscow are taking heart from the@slowing rate of decline, saying it is yet another sign that the?economy is bottoming out and is poised for an upswing in early1996.?   In a related development, the Russian ruble gained in value?Monday 30 points against the U.S. dollar, to close at 4,546 tothe dollar.B   The ruble has gained about 11 percent against the dollar since"reaching a low of 5,130 last May.B   In a sign of growing economic confidence, Russia declared last?week it will try to stabilize the ruble within a broad trading'range of 4,300 to 4,900 to the dollar.:   Foreign economists have long said there can be no real?progress and investment in Russia until inflation is tamed andthe ruble stabilized.   ---------------   ---------------!   UKRAINE MINING LABOR TENSIONS   MAXIM KNIAZKOV   WASHINGTON>   A mining strike is looming in Ukraine where government and@union representatives are in the midst of negotiations. EarlierBthis year union leaders in the Donbass mining region warned there?may be work stoppages unless the government addressed industryBneeds. Ukraine coal industry and labor representatives are in the/United States to study the U.S. coal industry.A   Statistics from Ukraine's ministry of the economy suggest the@coal industry is losing its competitive edge. The first quarter:of this year showed an almost 14-percent production drop.<Modernization of the Donbass mines has all but stopped. The;ministry says procurement of new mining equipment showed a&12-fold decrease during recent years.@   Chairman Yuliy Yoffe of Ukraine's presidential commission onAcoal industry restructuring is in the United States to study the?U.S. coal industry. He blames the crisis in Donbass in part on(the leadership of the old Soviet Union:;   "Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, there existed<proposals to shut down the coal mining region of Donbass in8Ukraine altogether. And for about 25 years prior to the?dissolution of the Soviet Union, there had been practically noBnew investments in the coal industry of Ukraine. Not a single new)mine was opened in that period of time.";   The prospects for Ukrainian miners deteriorated because=reforms were not begun. Mr. Yoffe says, for example, DonbassBminers still pay for social services in mining towns and the cost8of that responsibility bleeds the industry's resources:B   "The current price of coal in Ukraine now includes the cost ofBa whole array of social services as well as compensatory paymentsAto miners who have suffered injuries in the workplace. Those are<staggering amounts, particularly those earmarked for socialBservices. There exist whole cities completely underwritten by the@coal industry. And all those expenses are carried over into the(price of coal. This is just not right."?   Ukrainian newspaper accounts say Ukraine's coal industry isBpricing itself out of the market. Reports indicate that last year<Ukraine imported cheaper coal from Poland and Russia and is7expected to spend even more for import coal this year.;   Donbass miners demand government measures to remedy the:situation. Last May, more than 350 miner converged on theBUkrainian capital of Kiev and warned that an industry-wide strikeBwas was possible if the government did not pay wages withheld forAseveral months when the government was trying control inflation.B   The government promised help but instances of new labor unrest@have resurfaced in Donbass and local labor leaders have begun a>petition drive to seek the resignation of Ukrainian presidentLeonid Kuchma.B   Mikhail Volynets, chairman of the independent miners' Union ofBUkraine, says he deplores the recent labor unrest and he says hisunion opposes the strike:=   "In my opinion, we are witnessing here an attempt by some?forces to exploit the difficulties faced today by coal miners.AI'll be straightforward here in saying that those forces includeBcommunists and communist-oriented members of parliament. And they=are all being led by representatives of the state-controlledlabor."A   Mr. Yoffe, of the commission on coal mining, recalled that in?1989 a miners' strike was largely responsible for breaking theBbackbone of the communist system in the old Soviet Union althoughCi1t accomplished little for miners. He says proponents of a strikeBmay be being manipulated by those trying to stop economic reformsin Ukraine:B   "I want to use this opportunity to remind them that their 1989>strike was used by others. Now, there is a similar situation.BSome political parties and groups want to use miners' discontent,<a well-founded discontent, I should say, to their political?benefit. I think those honest and courageous people should notallow to be had once again.">   Earlier this month, President Leonid Kuchma reshuffled his@cabinet in an attempt to make his painful economic reforms more=palatable to workers, including miners. Roman Shpek has been=placed in charge of economic reform but some analysts say itAremains to be seen whether this measure will be enough to soothe;tensions in the disgruntled mining communities in Donbass.   ---------------    "CLIP" NEWS SERVICE0    INEWS DAILY IS NOW AVAILABLE THROUGH E-MAIL    FREE TRIAL8    LOW COST ROYALTY FREE REPRODUCTION RIGHTS AVAILABLE;   International News E-Wire Service (INEWS) is an English<language daily, covering news of the world.  INEWS provides;up-to-date and accurate world news.  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