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j Associated Press Net?raskan 2 Edited by Jennifer O Cilka Monday Aprj| 8 1991 U.S. drops food, supplies to Kurds NICOSIA, Cyprus - U.S. military planes on Sunday began airdropping food and supplies to freezing, starv ing Kurdish refugees in the snow covered mountains of northern Iraq, but the refugees’ desperation intensi fied. Turkey’s government-sponsored Anatolia news agency reported that Turkish soldiers opened fire Sunday on a group of refugees who forced their way across the border in search of food, wounding one of them. The agency gave no other details on the incident, which it said oc curred near the Turkish village of Isikveren. The report could not be independently confirmed. The United States warned Iraq on Sunday not to interfere with the refu gee relief, but President Bush repeated the U.S. intention to stay out of Iraq’s civil war. Meanwhile, Iraqi President Sad dam Hussein, in a speech a day after Iraq accepted stringent U.N. terms for a permanent cease-fire in the Persian Gulf war, praised his people’s “stead fastness” in the war against the allies. But Saddam did not mention the cease-fire terms, which will strip Iraq of much of its military might. The speech was carried by Baghdad radio. Insurgencies broke out in the north and south of Iraq after Saddam’s armies were routed by the allies in late Feb ruary. The Hood of refugees was trig gered when Saddam’s troops moved to crush the rebellions. Bush expressed hopes that inter national pressure would persuade Saddam to halt attacks on his own people. But the president insisted anew that the United States would not inter vene militarily. Although he had urged the Iraqi people to overthrow Saddam, Bush insisted he had not misled the rebels into believing the United States would take their side. “I will reassert I never in any way implied that the United States was going to use force beyond the man date of the United Nations,” Bush said in Houston. Hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled their homes and are seeking shelter in Iran and Turkey. The Inter national Committee of the Red Cross said Sunday that an estimated 400,000 refugees have already arrived in Iran. In a statement issued in Geneva, the Red Cross said the situation of the refugees in Iran was “drastically de teriorating” and promised to step up aid efforts. Iran made a rare appeal for inter national help on Sunday, saying it had been overwhelmed by the influx of refugees. The U.S. airdrop got under way with six C-130 planes Hying food and water to refugees inside the Turkish territory and in northern Iraq, said a spokesman at the Incirlik air base in southern Turkey. White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said the planes had dropped 72,000 pounds of supplies, and that the airdrops would continue for about 10 days. The U.S, aircraft, which returned safely to base, were accompanied by warplanes capable of defending them, the base spokesman said. Britain, Japan, France, Switzer land and a host of other nations joined the effort to help the refugees. Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani increased his country’s aid allocation for the refugees on its bor ders to $42 million. But Iran said Baker warns against Iraq interfering with Kurds’ relief ANKARA, Turkey - Secretary of Stale James Baker warned Iraq on Sunday not to interfere with an American airdrop of food, blan kets and clothing to Kurdish refu gees fleeing after the collapse of their rebellion. Baker flew here from Washing ton to dramatize U.S. concern for more than 500,000 homeless Kurds, only a fraction of whom would be helped by the Bush administration’s relief effort. Baker also intends to urge Presi dent Turgut Ozal to keep the Turk ish border open and Monday will visit a refugee camp in southeast Turkey, a few miles from the bor der. “My border is open,” Ozal said Sunday on ABC-TV’s “This Week With David Brinkley.” Ozal said the United Nations should turn northern Iraq into a sanctuary for the Kurds and that the allies should force Saddam Hussein to accept such an arrange ment if he resists. “I say we have to get these people to a location in Iraq controlled by the United Nations,” Ozal said, adding that Turkey would be will ing to contribute to a U.N. force. outside help was needed. Iran said it had taken in 580,000 Iraqis, mostly from the northern Kurdish provinces. It said 50,000 refugees had fled Saddam’s earlier crackdown on Shiite Muslim rebels in southern Iraq. Saddam’s troops have largely put down the rebellion in the south, but Tehran radio said heavy artillery fired by the Saddam’s Republican Guard echoed across the border overnight. Kuwaiti emir promises democracy, elections KUWAIT CITY - The emir of Kuwait, in his first public address since the allies ousted Iraqi occupation forces, pledged Sunday to restore parliamentary democracy and hold elections within a year. Sheik Jaber al- Ahmed al-Sabah, in a nation ally broadcast speech, also asked “Kuwait’s friends” to keep a presence in the emirate to help protect it. He did not mention any coun tries by name. In the 10-minute speech, he also said he would study the possibility of extending politi cal rights to women, who now have no vote. He did not mention the 1962 constitution, which he suspended in 1986 along with dissolving the National Assembly. The emir’s announcement came hours after the main Islamic fundamentalist movement demanded elections within six months. It also urged the emir to commit himself to reform. A coalition of opposition groups, including the fundamentalist Islamic Constitutional Movement, has demanded elections previously, without proposing a timetable. The fundamentalist group, in its communi que Sunday, had said the emir should declare his readiness to re-establish parliament in his national address. The emir has made an address annually to mark the final 10 days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The government had given no advance indication of what the emir would say this year, in his first major public address since the U.S.-led allies drove Iraqi troops from Kuwait on Feb. 27. U.S. official had said earlier that the emir was committed to some type of political re form. The Islamic Constitutional Movement said the government should restore the 1962 Constitution and choose a new Cabinet “based on competence, honesty in performance, and popularity.” The Cabinet resigned March 19, following intense criticism by many Kuwaitis over diffi culties restoring essential services after the Iraqi occupation. Neither the emir nor any other of ficial has indicated when a new govern ment might be named. The prime minister and at least some minis ters are expected to retain their posts when a new Cabinet is announced. But the fundamen talists demanded the ouster of those deemed responsible for the situation that led to Iraq’s invasion on Aug. 2. Their ouster is essential, the communiqud said, “to avoid things getting into a mess and falling into a political chaos as a result of arrogance.” The communique accused the government of failing to carry out political reforms prom ised in October during a meeting in Saudi Arabia that brought together Kuwaiti opposi tion leaders and die govemment-in-exile. The emir suspended the parliament and imposed censorship on the once freewheeling Kuwaiti press in 1986 after his family was accused of corruption and nepotism. Abdullah al-Nebari, a former Parliament member who leads the secular side of the opposition, said before the emir’s speech that the ruling family thus far had failed to recruit opposition leaders into the Cabinet. ‘‘They wanted to entice some opposition figures or figures friendly to opposition groups, in order to buy the silence of some groups,” al Ncbari said. “They didn’t succeed.” Quarters small for diplomats following fire MOSCOW (AP) - Eleven days after fire badly damaged the U.S. Embassy in the Soviet capital, American diplomats are working in makeshift quarters so cramped that some may be forced to move into a bowling alley. Some embassy employees are blaming U.S. officials for ig noring their warnings that the building was a fire hazard. And the embassy is investi gating what happened to some diplomatic papers and hundreds of dollars in cash reported to have disappeared during the March 28 blaze. The fire also adds fuel to the controversy over the eight-story, red-brick office tower that was built to house the new embassy — but was never occupied be cause it is riddled with Soviet listening devices. Some diplomats arc taking the trouble in stride. The Ameri can flag — dirtied and tattered from the firefighters’ foam and water — still flics from the mustard-colored embassy build ing on Tchaikovsky Street. Although the embassy is hard up for space because of the fire damage, it will “absolutely not” use the unoccupied new build ing, said Joe Hulings, minister counselor for management. First space emergency repair made CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A shuttle astronaut took a walk outside, shook a balky antenna and freed it Sunday in the first emergency repair ever made in space. “It’s free, it’s free, 1 can see it move, it’s free!” shouted a jubilant Jerry Ross as the antenna swung out from a giant scientific observatory. “Far out, good work," said Jay Apt, his fellow space walker. It was the first time in more than five years that any Americans had taken a space walk. The repair job made it possible to plan release of the $617 million Gamma Ray Observatory into orbit for about 6:30 p.m. EDT, 4 1/2 hours late, from the shuttle Atlantis. The time of re lease was not critical to the mission, as is the case when a planetary probe is involved. The observatory will record the high-energy radiations coming from some of the most violent processes in the universe for the next two years and perhaps longer. Gamma rays do not penetrate the atmosphere and cannot be detected on Earth. Flight directors decided to take advantage of Ross and Apt’s unex pected venture into the cargo bay and had them do some experiments that had been scheduled for a space walk on Monday. There were no changes in those plans. The astronauts, attached to the shuttle by a tether, practiced moving along a hand rail mounted to the left side of the cargo bay. Ross did somer saults while holding onto the rail and exercises that resembled pushups. He chuckled and laughed while doing his tricks. They also did small tests to meas ure how much effort it took, includ ing one in which Ross lifted Apt up and down several times from side to side. The platform he was standing on recorded the force applied. The tests were planned to help space station designers. The station, if approved by Congress, will be as sembled in space and require consid erable hand-on efforts by astronauts in space suits. The shuttle was 280 miles above the East Indies when the repair was made. The repair had been estimated to last more than an hour. Instead, the astronauts were in open space for only 17 minutes when Ross worked the antenna loose. >——-■—i President says tree-trade pact to create jobs in U.S., Mexico HOUSTON - President Bush said Sunday that a free-trade agreement between the United States and Mex ico “will create jobs and provide opportunities for citizens in both our countries.” But he conceded after brief talks with Mexican President Carlos Sali nas de Gortari that the administration has “a big selling job to do” to per suade congressional skeptics concerned about losing jobs to Mexico’s cheap labor market. Bush promised to w'ork tirelessly to fight for congressional approval for so-called fasi-track authority that would allow the administration to negotiate with Mexico on free trade with a guarantee that Congress would not amend whatever agreement was reached. Instead, Congress would approve or reject the package as negotiated between the governments. “The credibility of the United States as a trading partner is on the line here,” Bush said during a joint news conference with Salinas. Salinas sought to put to rest envi non menial concerns raised in the United Stales regarding Mexico’s lack of curbs on toxic pollution. Members of Con gress and others fear products enter ing the United Stales from Mexico would be contaminated and that U.S. industry will head south of the border to evade U.S. regulatory constraints. “We are committed to the clean environment,” Salinas said, pledging that any trade pact would be accom panied by “firm and stringent laws” on environmental protection. However, he conceded, “we have much to do still.” Nebraskan Editor Eric Planner 472- 1766 Managing Editor Victoria Ayotte Assoc News Editors Jana Pedersen Emily Rosenbaum Editorial Page Editor Bob Nelson Wire Editor Jennifer O'CHka Professional Adviser Don Walton 473- 7301 The Daily NebrasKan(USPS 144 080) is published by the UNL Publications Board, Ne braska Union 34, 1400 R St., Lincoln, NE, Monday through Friday during the academic year, weekly during summer sessions Readers are encouraged to submit story ideas and comments to the Daily Nebraskan by phoning 472-1763 between 9 a m. and 5 p ,n. Monday through Friday. The public also has access to the Publications Board For information, contact Bill Vobejda, 436 9993 Subscription price is $45 for one year Postmaster Send address changes to the Daily Nebraskan, Nebraska Union 34,1400 R St.,Lincoln, NE 68588 0446 Second class postage paid at Lincoln, NE ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 1991 DAILY NEBRASKAN