=r--=- NEWS DIGEST Nebraskan
PLO walks out of peace talks with Israel
TAB A, Egypt—The PLO walked
out of peace talks with Israel on Tues
day, accusing the Israelis of trying to
back out of an agreement to withdraw
from occupied lands.
Nabil Snaath, the PLO’s chief ne
gotiator, charged that Israel wants to
redeploy its troops rather than pull
them out of the occupied Gaza Strip
and the town of Jericho in the West
Bank.
Israel’s withdrawal plan, he said,
ran counter to the Sept. 13 Israel
Palestine Liberation Organization
agreement on Palestinian autonomy.
The Palestinian walkout was the
first major snag since negotiations
began three weeks ago on implement
ing the first phase of the autonomy
plan.
Both sides said they wanted to
resume the talks.
The talks in Taba are meant to
define how Israel will transfer some
powers to Palestinians in Gaza and
Jericho under terms of the Israel i
PLO accord.
Tuesday’s dispute grew from maps
and withdrawal plans the Israelis pre
sented Monday.
Jewish settlers waged four days of
violent protests in the occupied terri
tories beginning Friday.
The Sept. 13 autonomy agreement
called for Israel to start withdrawing
its troops from Gaza and Jericho by
Dec. 13, but gave it permission to
maintain security over Israeli settle
ments in the vacated territories.
“We feel that the Israeli interpreta
tion of that agreement is quite failing
to grasp the meaning of withdrawal
and its requirements,” Shaath said.
“The agreement provided for with
drawal by the Israeli forces from the
Gaza Strip and the Jericho area, and
not within the Gaza Strip and Jericho
area,” Shaath said in announcing the
suspension of the talks to reporters.
“This is a withdrawal agreement
and not a redeployment agreement,”
he added.
Israel’s chief negotiator, Maj. Gen.
Amnon Shahak, said the Israelis were
not presenting the Palestinians with
an ultimatum.
In Israel, Prime Minister Yitzhak
Rabin said he was certain the impasse
could be overcome, noting such diffi
cutties were expected since security
was involved.
He added: “We will not compro
mise on anything that is linked to the
security needs.”
Shaath said he was going to Tunis
to consult with Yasser Arafat, PLO
chairman. He suggested the Israelis
1 ikew ise consul t their leaders to “come
up with an interpretation that would
allow us to proceed smoothly.”
Shahak told a separate news con
ference that he saw no need for the
walkout. He said the Israeli formula
was “a logical plan that could be
discussed, was discussed, until the
moment they decided to go and have
consultations.”
The Israeli general described the
suspension as “the first obstacle, which
-44
We will not
compromise on
anything that Is
linked to the security
needs.
— Rabin, Israeli prime
minister
-ft
surely won’t be the last one or the
most difficult” in the negotiations.
On Dec. 13, Israeli troops are to
begin withdrawing and Palestinians
are to take over as administrators in
Gaza and Jericho.
IS0rnil!^L MK5H.
Photo by Jo* KoahoNafc/tAtoauka* S*ntin*i via AP
Wisconsin officials seek answers
MADISON, Wis. — Anticipat
ing the fervor of Wisconsin’s last
home game, officials arc ponder
ing quick fixes to avoid another
human pileup like the one that in
jured dozens of fans last Saturday.
Unbeaten Ohio State is at Camp
Randall Stadium this Saturday, and
a Wisconsin victory would give the
Badgers a shot at the Rose Bowl
and likely touch off an even more
enthusiastic post-game celebration
that that following last weekend’s
13-10 victory over Michigan.
Thousands of spectators last
Saturday flowed out of student sec
tions at game’s end, crushing front
row fans against fences. At least 69
jjeople were injured, seven critical
^ Eight remained hospitalized
Tuesday, one in serious condition.
The rest are listed as good to fair.
Most of the hospitalized suf
fered broken bones. Some of those
crushed under the mob lost con
sciousness.
Athletic director Pat Richter
proposed controlling access to the
student section to make sure only
ticket-holders get in. Chancellor
David Ward and state building in
spector Dan Murray said the stadi
um’s relaxed seating policy allows
people to migrate into the student
section to join friends, filling the
area beyond capacity.
Ward said UW engineering pro
fessors were studying whether struc
tural changes are needed.
“I am interested in how we can
improve fan welfare from a purely
physical sense,” Ward said.
Gov. Tommy G. Thompson
viewed twisted fence rails at the
foot of the bleachers and a toppled
chain-link fence closer to the play
ing field. He said he found nothing
leading him to fault security per
sonnel who shouted at the mob,
hoping to hold i t back as fans rushed
to join a field victory celebration.
“It doesn’t appear like there was
anything that could have been done
when you have that many students
pushing down,” he said.
Some students complained the
guards fronting the section kept
them from safety, pushing them
back into a pile of bodies.
Students who were shocked by
the injuries sought help from the
university’s 20 counselors, said
Dean of Students Mary Rouse.
“We expect to treat hundreds,
perhaps as many as 5,000 to 10,000
students for this,” Rouse said.
Football coach Barry Alvarez
said some players met with counse
lors. The crush lasted about 10
minutes while players joined po
lice in pulling victims from the
piieup.
Legislators talk ethics with constituents
By Steve Smith
Senior Reporter
State senators from Lancaster
County and about 75 of their constit
uents got together Tuesday for an
informal rap session tackling ethics
r legislation.
Sens. Chris Beutler, LaVon
Crosby, Carol Hudkins, DiAnna
Schimek, Jerome Warner and Don
Wesely spoke informally with the
crowd, which gathered at the East
Campus Unk>nrs Great Plains Ball
room.
“I’m here to listen, not speak,”
Beutler said.
Much of the evening’s debate cen
tered on conflict of interest in the
Nebraska Legislature. A conflict of
interest arises when a senator’s vote
on a bill could affect that senator
directly.
Beutler used hypothetical conflict
of interest situations to get audience
input.
“Suppose I’m a farmer, and I have
to vote on a bill that would exempt
state sales taxes on farm equipment.
Should 1 be allowed to vote on this
bill?”
About half of the audience mem
bers raised their hands.
“OK,” Beutler said. “Should I not
be allowed to vote for this bill?”
This time, the other half of the
room raised their hands.
“There’s our problem right there,”
he said. “We don’t know where you
draw the line. We never have all that
clearly.”
Jim MacFarland, who spoke on
behalf of Common Cause Nebraska,
said senators couldn't avoid conflict
of interest situations by not voting.
-“If you don’t vote, it’sa ‘no’ vote,”
he said. “It’s unfair to the senator.”
MacFarland said conflicts could
be avoided if the Legislature adopted
a policy to reduce the number of
votes needed to pass a bill by the
number of senators who had a con
flict.
Another focus of the two-hour dis
cussion was the “revolving door bill,"
which would prevent outgoing state
senators from immediately becom
ing lobbyists.
Schimek said the bill would keep
senators from lobbying the Legisla
ture for two years afler their last day
in office.
“There needs to be some sort of
lapse there,” she said.
The bill, which originally called
for senators to wait at least four years
to lobby, was amended in the last
legislative session to allow lobbying
after two years. It is among 190 other
bills in the first stage of debate.
NEWS BRIEFS
Officer accidentally shoots mental patient
DETROIT — An off-duty police making a pocket bulge, police said,
officer mistook a VCR remote control Johnson quickly turned around, and
for a gun and fatally shot a 21-year- Wheeler fired his ,45-caliber revolver
old mental patient in a school. when he saw what he thought was a
Officer Jimmie Wheeler told po- gun in Johnson’s hand, police said,
lice that when he got to Barber Ele- Johnson, who was picking up his
mentary School to pick up a cousin, girlfriend’s son at the school, had
several children said the man was been released recently from Aurora
carrying a gun, shouting profanities Hospital after a three-week stay, ac
and claiming he was going to “pop cording to his mother, Patricia Tyson,
somebody.” He had been diagnosed with paranoid
Wheeler found James Monroe schizophrenia, she said.
Johnson near the gymnasium, and Wheeler, 26, has been assigned to
told him to take out the object that was desk duty pending an investigation.
Maryland protesters seize college paper
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Pro
testers seized about 10,000 copies of
the student newspaper at the Univer
sity of Maryland, claiming they were
racist.
In place of the missing papers, the
protesters left a small computer-gen
erated sign that read: “Due to its racist
nature, tne Diamondback will not be
available today.... Read a book."
No one claimed responsibility for
the missing newspapers, which arc
distributed free. Campus police said
they were investigating. About 20,000
copies were distributed, and the uni
versity condemned the theft.
“Freedom of expression is a funda
mental value in our society and our
university,” said Gary M. Stephenson,
a campus spokesman.
Several students said the protest
probably stemmed from a general
perception that the Diamondback is
insensitive to blacks and other minor
ities on campus, rather than from any
particular article.
“A lot of black students have just
stopped reading the paper altogeth
er* said Jeneba K. Jalloh, president
of the African Student Association.
Blacks account for 11 percent of
the 23,300 undergraduates on the
College Park campus.
State wire
Tougher gun regulations sought
OMAHA—Fear of violence in the
schools and on the streets reached a
peak Tuesday as an Omaha handgun
control proposal was debated the day
after teachers said they no longer felt
safe in the classrooms.
Mayor PJ. Morgan has proposed
the city ban gun ownership by anyone
under age 21, require training for gun
owners and impose mandatory jail
sentences on people convicted of mis
demeanor gun crimes.
Earlier in the day, the head of a
statewide organization said anxiety
about school violence and student
discipline is not confined to Omaha.
The issue has the attention of teach
ers across the state and nation, said
Jim Griess, executive director of the
Nebraska State Education Associa
tion.
Griess cited recent incidents of
guns being found at schools in Ralston
and the Grand Island area.
“I don’t believe it ought to be the
role of public schools to supervise
juvenile delinquents,” Griess said.
He said his organization will sup
port any measure at any level that will
keep guns away from young people.
Students who endanger others
should be taken out of the schools
immediately by the court system, and
it should not be the schools’ responsi
bility to prove that the student is a
danger, he said.
U.S. Rep. PeterHoagland.D-Ncb.,
said he supported the mayorspropos
al and said action is needed on all
levels.
“We have had a rash of illegal gun
use by people under 21 in this city the
last couple of months that far exceeds
anything that I’ve experienced in my
lifetime,” he said.
Nebraskan
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