Ssirpu. News digest
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Bosnian factions consent
to precarious cease-fire
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina
— Bosnia’s warring factions signed
an unconditional cease-fire covering
the entire republic Tuesday, but it was
uncertain whether all had the will or
means to end months of bloodletting.
A Iso Tuesday, the Red Cross evacu
ated about a third of the estimated
6,(XX) people — Muslims, Croats and
Serbs — who have been trying to
abandon Sarajevo.
The agreement on a Bosnian cease
fire, which was to go into effect at
midnight Wednesday, was reached
during negotiations among military
commanders who have been meeting
for two weeks at the Sarajevo airport
on a plan to demilitarize the capital.
Several long-term trends argue for
an end to the fighting in Bosnia. These
include the approach of winter, in
creasing economic problems and dip
lomatic isolation in Serbia, and the
military losses and lack of supplies
and food on the Muslim side.
However, dozens of truces have
failed in Bosnia in the past— many
within hours — because top com
manders lack control over fighters in
We will stick to it. We have ordered our forces to
stick to what is written in the agreement.
-Muftic
Bosnian spokesman
the field.
At least 14,(X)0 people have been
killed in the fighting, which started
when Serbs rebelled after Muslims
and Croats voted for independence on
Feb. 29. Serbs, who made up about a
third of the republic’s prewar popula
tion, have captured about 70 percent
of Bosnia.
“We will slick to it,” Bosnian gov
ernment spokesman Kcmal Muflic
said as Serb artillery rounds landed
around the downtown presidency
building. “We have ordered our forces
to stick to what is written in the agree
ment.”
Serb interest in a truce could be
related to economic troubles and po
litical battles in Serb-dominated Yu
goslavia. Serbian President Slobodan
Milosevic has been widely blamed
for supporting the Bosnian Serb rebels.
Feeling threatened in the Dee. 20
elections, he might be pressing the
rebels to cool their aggression.
In Geneva, U.N. special envoy
Cyrus Vance and the European
Community’s representative, Lord
Owen, welcomed the agreement.
The Bosnian Serbs did not insist on
joining their territory with that of
their ethnic kin in neighboring Yugo
slavia, he said, but would insist on the
existence of internal borders within
Bosnia—based on current front lines
reached in the fighting.
Monday’s agreement “has been
signed by the Serbs, Muslims and
I HUNGARY
AP
U.N. representatives, together with
the Croatian Defense Council,” said
Serb Gen. Ratko Mladic, reached by
telephone in the Serb stronghold of
Pale, east of Sarajevo.
“Only the regular Croatian army
has not signed yet, but we ex peel them
to sign in a few days,” he said. Croatia
has denied persistent claims that sol
diers of its regular army arc involved
in the fighting.
Navy changes course; will accept gay sailor *
LOS ANGELES — The Pentagon
said Tuesday il will reinstate a gay
sailor, ending its defiance of an order
from a federal judge who is consider
ing whether the military’s ban on
homosexuals is unconstitutional.
The judge on Friday had issued a
temporary order that Keith Mcinhold,
30, of Palo Alto, be reinstated. But
when Mcinhold showed up Monday
at Moffett Naval Air Station south of
San Francisco, he was turned away.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge
Terry J. Halter Jr. in Los Angeles
reaffirmed his order and chided the
military for defying him.
“This is not a military dictatorship.
Il is not the former Soviet socialist
republic. Here, the rule of law applies
to the military . .. even to the com
mandcr-in-chicf,” Haller said.
Soon after Haller’s ruling, Penta
gon spokesman Pete Williams in
Washington said the Navy had agreed
to reinstate Mcinhold and will swear
him back into the Navy on Thursday.
Wednesday is a holiday, Veterans
Day.
“The sailor is supposed to show up
on Thursday, the oath of office will be
administered and he will be immedi
ately reinstated,” Williams said. “He
will pick up in his old job where he left
off.”
Citing the military’s ban on homo
sexuals, the Navy involuntarily but
honorably discharged Mcinhold in
August after he said on national tele
vision he was gay. He sued, claiming
the ban violated the Constitution’s
equal protection clause and provi
sions that prohibit punishment of a
particular class of people.
The ban on homosexuals look ef
fect during World War II. In recent
years an average of 1,500 military
personnel per year have been dis
charged because of it. But President
clcciClinton has said he favors lifting
the ban.
Hatter rejected a Navy offer that
would have reinstated Mcinhold but
fell short of restoring him to his posi
tion as a sonar crew instructor.
Mcinhold’s attorneys said they
considered Halter’s action a victory
even though it fell short of their re
quest for a finding of contempt.
“The real implication is that by 8
a.m. Thursday . . . Keith Mcinhold
will be the first admittedly homo
sexual in the armed forces,” said at
torney Christopher L. Rudd.
In court papers filed Tuesday, the
Justice Department argued that
Mcinhold had no longer in the Navy
and the judge didn’t have authority to
reinstate him.
Government lawyers argued that
the reinstatement order “flics in the
face of present military policy, rules
and regulations designed to promote
military order and discipline, morale
and combat effectiveness.”
On Monday, on the strength of
Hatter’s reinstatement order Friday,
Mcinhold showed up for work at
Moffett, wearing a civilian suit and
lie.
Official axed over
campaign search
of passport files
WASHINGTON—Seeking tocnd
a simmering political embarrassment,
President Bush on Tuesday dismissed
the State Department official who
initiated a pre-election search for pass
port records of Gov. Bill Clinton and
Ross Perot.
Bush telephoned Acting Secretary
of State Lawrence Eaglcburgcr and
accepted Eagleburgcr’s recommen
dation that Assistant Secretary of Stale
Elizabeth Tamposi be relieved of her
duties, department spokesman Rich
ard Boucher said.
Other officials said Bush’s call
was prompted by a story in Tuesday’s
editions of the Washington Post al
leging that, after searching files for
information on Clinton, department
officials looked for material on Perot
as well.
Eaglcburgcr ordered an investiga
tion Oct. 19 after press reports of the
search of Clinton’s files. It was later
disclosed a search of the files of
Clinton’s mother also had been or
dered.
Suspicions about the department’s
motives were heightened because the
Bush campaign escalated efforts to
discredit Clinton by citing his draft
history and his role as an anti-war
activist in Britain.
Perot’s press secretary Sharon
Holman had no comment, but the Post
quoted Perot as denouncing the search
as “a gross abuse of federal power.”
“Somebody ought to hold them
accountable for it,” Perot told the
Post.
In Little Rock, Ark., Clinton
spokesman George Slephanopoulos
said, “Clearly this is a matter of seri
ous concern. . . . There was a lot of
abuse of power during this election.”
“This is a good step,”
Slephanopoulos said of Tamposi’s
dismissal, but he added, “We need a
full report.”
Senate Foreign RclalionsCommii
tcc Chairman Claiborne Pell, D-R.I.,
said Eaglcburgcr assured him Tues
day that the State Department inspec
tor general was investigating both the
Clinton and Perot file searches and
promised that the full report would be
sent to the committee in a few days.
Clinton aides plot long-range Democratic strategies
li i ill kuln, Ark. — inc strategists
who helped Bill Clinton win the White House
arc now quietly sketching plans for a political
operation that would keep him there a full eight
years.
As Clinton himself concentrates on weighty
transition matters and devotes little attention to
shapinga White House political team, lop aides
plan to attend to the latter, bent on helping the
Democratic Parly build on its first national
victory in a dozen ycarsk
Key players in the effort arc sure to be those
who orchestrated Clinton’s winningcampaign:
communications H director George
' Stcphanopoulos, manager David Wilhelm, strat
egists James Carvillc and Paul Bcgala, pollster
Stanley Greenberg and fund-raiser Rahm
Emanuel.
Advisers try to build on victory, buy American cars
While they plot strategy, they’re shopping
lor new cars — a practical acknowledgement
that Clinton’s crew members dare not drive
foreign models once they’re in power in Wash
ington.
Slcphanopoulos, one of Clinton’s closest
aides and his most visible spokesman, is certain
to land in a senior White House position.
Wilhelm, who built Clinton’s organization
in crucial slates and often served as an emissary
to labor and other interest groups, is likely to
land either in the White House or at the Demo
cratic National Committee.
The outcome depends on whether Clinton
chooses to run his political operation from
inside the While House or through the party.
“David is the right hand lor politics,” said
one senior Clinton adviser. “Where he lands is
where the politics gel directed from."
Past presidents have tried it both ways.
Ronald Reagan turned first to campaign spokes
man Lyn Nof/.igcr and then other Republican
operatives to run a White House political team.
President Bush, on the other hand, installed
campaign manager Lee Atwater as Republican
Parly chairman and kept the nuls and boltsof his
political team at party headquarters. After
Atwater’s death, the Bush operation shifted to
the White House but was never as effective.
Carvillc, who directed Clinton’s daily strat
egy, has made il clear he wants no role in
government.
“1 wouldn’t live in a country that would
allow me to work in the government,” is a
favorite Carvillc line.
But he will serve as a senior adviser from the
outside when Clinton needs political advice.
“Il will be nice to have the president of the
United States call you in and say,‘James, what
do you think about this?*” he said.
Less clear is the role to be played by Carvi lie’s
partner, Bcgala. He worked for House Majority
Leader Richard Gephardt as a speech writer and
strategist, and colleagues promote him heavily
fora While House position. Wherever he lands,
Bcgala is certain to remain in Clinton’s polili*
cal inner circle.
Speaker says stereotypes hinder abuse laws
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Staff Reporter_
Laws that would al low women pro
tection against abuse in their own
homes have been stalled in Nebraska
because of society’s stereotypes, a
speaker said Tuesday.
Barbara Romo, a first-year student
in the College of Law, said, histori
cally, women have no redress when
battling abuse by a spouse.
Romo and four other women stu
dents from the University of Ncbraska
Lincoln College of Law spoke al a
forum titled, “Women and the Law,”
which was sponsored by the Women’s
Center.
The discussion focused on the is
sue of violence toward women in the
home, how the law pertained to such
acts and how women were affected by
the legal process.
Law professor Anna Shavers mod
Law students address self-defense issue
of violence toward women in the home
crated the 90-minulc session and the
five University students gave presen
tations focusing on women’s issues
pertaining to legal matters.
Romo spoke about the legal prob
lems of a self-defense ease a woman
would lace if her retaliation resulted
in the death of her husband.
U.S. courts recognize two types of
scenarios in this ease, Romo said: the
imminent threat and (he immediate
threat standards.
In the immediate self-defense sce
nario, the victim is trying to repel an
attack to avoid immediate harm.
The imminent standard applies
most commonly to women who have
endured years of abuse and who re
taliate during a lime when their lives
i
arc not immediately in danger, Romo
said. An example of this would be the
into the home and attacking the people
famous ease of the “Burning Bed,”
where a woman who had been abused
by her husband for years set fire to his
bed in his sleep, killing him.
She said Nebraska law ollcrcd no
protection for retaliatory action in the
imminent threat scenario.
Romo said acceptance of the
changes needed in the legal system
have been very slow, because of soci
ety- wide dental. -
When the Nebraska laws were
written to protect people against vio
lence in the home, they focused on
someone from the outside breaking
« ’ !
I
inside, not inter-spousal violence,
Romo said.
“These laws arc a result of society -
wide stereotypes,” she said. “Women
grow up in this society, and buy into
a lot of the stereotypes men do.”
The students spoke on similar is
sues. Kristine Brcnnicsgavcaprcscn
talion showcasing the historical evo
lution of inter-spousal abuse in the
legal system. Karen Ditsch talked
about non-verbal communication in
the courtroom for women, Elizabeth
Kosicr spoke on mediation’s effect on
Nebraska homes, and Lila Fornolf
discussed the controversy around a
new form of birth control.
The discussion was part of an on
going series of talks sponsored by the
Women’s Center: The next presenta
tion will be Thursday at 12:30 in the.
Nebraska Union, focusing on con
fronting sexual harassment on cam
pus.
