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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 11, 1994)
SS-n- NFWSDTGFST NebSkan Edited by Kristine Long I Tl I l f \ lj I ylV I t-J U 1 Tu..d«y, j.nu.ry 11,1994 NATO leaders making progress toward peace Former Warsaw Pact countries granted partial NATO membership BRUSSELS, Belgium—President Clinton and other NATO leaders agreed Monday to make their former Warsaw Pact rivals limited partners in the Western military alliance. But worries about Russian nationalism and frustra tion over Bosnia clouded the meeting. At the end of the opening NATO session, the leaders endorsed a U.S. “Partnership for Peace” proposal that will include East European na tions without granting them full membership, German spokesman Dieter Vogel said. “Our message to the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe has been equally consistent: we shall not leave you alone,” NATO Secretary-General Manfred Woerner said in an opening speech. “We care about your securi ty.” The alliance’s dilemma was how to forge closer military ties with eastern Europe, yet avoid antagonizing an unstable Russia. For now, NATO will propose only an inter im cooperation deal called “Partnership for Peace” for Poland, Hungary and other new democracies, rather than extending the security guarantees that would accompany full mem bership in the 16-nation North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Attending his first NATO summit, Clinton arrived early at alliance headquarters on the outskirts of Brussels for a private meeting with Woerner and a briefing with top allied com manders. Asked after the briefing if he was resisting air strikes in Bosnia while other allied leaders, particularly France and Belgium, were now calling for them, Clinton said: “That’s not accurate at all.” In his opening remarks, Woerner discussed NATO’s evolving role in the post Cold-War era. “We will allow no one and nothing to ma neuver our alliance into a false alternative: to have to choose between Russia and the other cooperation partners,” Woerner said. “Our message to Russia has been consistent and clear... ‘yes’ to an ever-closer partnership, with a democratic and reformist Russia-' no’ to any revival of expansionism.” Clinton urged the allies to help their neigh bors on the eastern half of the European conti nent. “We must not now let the Iron Curtain be replaced with a veil of indifference,” he said in a speech to a group of young Europeans at Brussels’ central square. He warned that “militant nationalists and demagogues” were resisting the push for free dom. Agreement calls for nuclear missiles to be dismantled in former Ukraine BRUSSELS, Belgium — President Clinton Monday announced completion of an agree ment that will remove all long-range nuclear missiles from the former Soviet republic of Ukraine.“This is a hopeful and historic break through,” the president said. The accord will dismantle the third-largest nuclear arsenal in the world - more than 1,000 warheads - and mark a major advance in the president’s drive to reverse the proliferation of nuclear weapons. It was concluded after long and difficult negotiations involving the United States, Ukraine and Russia. Clinton made the an nouncement after attending the opening round of a two-day NATO summit meeting. He congratulated both Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Ukrainian President Leonid M. Kravchuk for their“statesmanship” and said the three leaders would sign the pact on Friday in Moscow. He also plans a brief stop Wednes day night in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. Ukraine had hesitated to surrender the weap ons, a residue of Soviet power, while Russia retains a sizable arsenal. Promises of U.S. assistance and bargain pricedoil and gas deliveries from Russia helped overcome Ukraine’s resistance. Clinton said 176 intercontinental ballistic missiles and some 1,500 warheads aimed at the United States would be eliminated. “The issue of nuclear weapons in the former Soviet Union was the most important proliferation challenge facing the world,” he said. He also said that security in Europe had been enhanced by the agreement and NATO’s deci sion to gradually open the alliance to Eastern and Central European countries. Clinton said Russia was welcome to partic ipate and that the United States would continue to have a defense relationship with Russia. On the deal with Ukraine, Clinton said the only cost to the United States would be so cal led Nunn-Lugar fiinds designed to help coun tries get rid of their nuclear weapons. And, he said, Ukraine would be compensated for its enriched uranium through commercial chan nels. Clinton said he had no reason to doubt Kravchuk will be able todeliver on the commit ment by getting the accord ratified in the Rada, the Ukrainian parliament. Cleanup continues in Puerto Rican oil spill SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Coast Guardsmen and private con tractors were gaining the upper hand Monday on an oil spill that stained San Juan’s golden beaches and threatened disaster for its tourist industry. The Coast Guard reported Sun day that in the first 2 1 /2 days since a barge crunched into a coral reef 300 yards offshore, nearly 100,000 of the 750,000 gallons of oil dis gorged into the Atlantic had been recovered. Another 400,000 gallons in the vessel’s leaking tanks had been pumped into a salvage barge by midday Sunday. The pumps, with a capacity of28,000 gallons an hour, throbbed through the night. The Morris J. Berman, carrying 1.5 million gallons of oil to the Caribbean island of Antigua, struck the reef before dawn Friday after the tow chain to its tugboat snapped. Thick, sticky oil sullied six miles of the coast, much of it lined with hotels and luxury condominiums. An oily sheen spread across 20 square miles of ocean north and west of the barge. But officials from Puerto Rico’s tourism industry were grateful that the rest of the island escaped dam age. The director of the government tourism company said occupancy rates at four luxury hotels dropped from 95 to 55 percent on the first dayofthedisastcr. But Luis Fortuno said it was business as usual at other island hotels. The cleanup operation provided a spectacular show for Puerto Ricans and tourists, who watched from shore as helicopters hovered overhead and whipped along the shoreline. Workers scooped, skimmed and sopped the oil from beaches and lagoons. Pedro Rivera, general manager of Bunker Group of Puerto Rico, operatorof the barge, estimated the price tag for the cleanup at $1 million a day. Officials think the cleanup will take three weeks. AP Jury selection begins in Branch Davidian trial SAN ANTONIO, Tex. — Eighty potential jurors Monday faced the prospect of spending the next two months deciding the fate of 11 surviv ing Branch Davidians charged with murdering four federal agents at their compound near Waco. U.S. District Judge Walter Smith Monday morning began asking po tential jurors whether they personally were acquainted with possible wit nesses. Among the possible witnesses were Kathryn Schroeder, a Branch Da vidian who avoided a murder charge by agree ing to assist the government, and nu merous former members of dooms day prophet David Koresh’s rcligious group. Rocket Rosen, attorney for Davidians Kevin Whitecliff and Livingston Fagan, said former FBI director William Sessions may be called as a defense witness. Testimony was expected to begin by midweek. Prosecutors hope to prove murder and conspiracy charges with Schroeder’s testimony and a ware house full of evidence such as tape recordings of the Davidians and seized weapons. Defense lawyers are expected to use the government’s own findings to bolster its excessive force claim, in cluding a report that criticized the raid’s planners for flawed decision making. Prominent potential defense wit nesses besides Sessions are Stephen Higgins, who resigned as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms three days before that Sept. 30 report, and Attorney General Janet Reno. The trial is expected to last two months. If convicted, the defendants could be sentenced to life in prison. Teen files declaration against Michael Jackson SANTA MONICA, Calif. — The 13-year-old boy who accused Micha el Jackson of molesting him vividly described his alleged sexual encoun ters with the entertainer in a declara tion file in court Monday. The boy’s signed statement is the first to describe in his own words the sexual activity he says took place with Jackson. The entertainer has denied molesting the boy and has not been charged with any crime. A copy of the four-page statement was given to The Associated Press by the boy’s lawyer, Larry Feldman. The document was sealed after it was filed in court in connection with the boy’s lawsuit against Jackson. The tecn-agcrsaid in the statement signed Dec. 28 that he frequently shared a bed with the entertainer and that “Michael Jackson had sexual contact with me on many occasions.” The boy, who turns 14 on Tuesday, said Jackson showered him with gifts and trips and methodically seduced him over a fivc-month period starting last February. The allegations in the boy’s state ment mirror those made by Feldman last September when the civil lawsuit was filed in Superior Court. The lawsuit alleged that Jackson committed sexual battery, battery, seduction, willful misconduct, inten tional inflictionofcinotional distress, fraud and negligence. The lawsuit also demanded a jury trial, which has been scheduled for March 21, and unspecified monetary damages. Firefighters make progress on Australian forest blaze SYDNEY, Austral ia—Lower tem peratures and lighter winds Monday finally gave 10,000 weary firefighters a chance to goon the offensive against 136 forest fires blazing across south east Australia. Meanwhile, residents of suburbs of Sydney, Australia’s largest city, wept as they watched bulldozers de molish the blackened ruins of their houses. Until Monday, the fires had been so fierce for three days that fire fighters had no chance of putting them out and could only try to save lives and prop erty. With Monday’s belter weather conditions, many of the fires were contained or slowed. For the first time since Friday, Sydney was not blanketed in thick haze. Four people died, about 1.5 million acres of forest and grassland were scorched, and at least 185 homes were destroyed, and 30 other build ings were lost. L igh t rain fel 1 Monday, but i t wasn ’ t enough to put out the flames. Firefighters cut firebreaks and used helicopters to drop water on the fires. “We’ve been waiting for this op portunity for days,” said Bushfire Services Department spokesman Laurie Power. “But it’s not over yet. The crisis will start again if the weath er changes.” Meteorologists warned high tem peratures and gusty winds could re turn by the end of the week. Insurance companicscstimatcd the damage to homes at $68 million, plus $34 million lost in infrastructure and forests. Police suspect more than half the blazes were started by arsonists. So far 11 people have been arrested for lighting fires while there was a total fire ban. Two people have been charged with arson. If convicted they could be imprisoned for 25 years. Husband testifies against wife in part two of the Bobbitt trial MANASSAS, Va.—Outside, free samples of “Slice ‘N Weiners” were handed out. Inside, John Bobbitt de scribed to a jury how his wife cut off his penis. Bobbitt II began Monday. Bobbitt testified he “felt a couple of jerks” before his wife sliced off his penis with a kitchen knife. He told the jury of seven women and five men that he felt dizzy after the attack but tried to collect himself. “I knew I was bleeding real bad. I knew I had to get some help,” he said. With both hands pressing against his groin, he woke up a house guest. “I didn’t know how toexplain it to him,” he said. “It was kind of embarrass ing.” Earlier, defense attorney Lisa Kimler said in opening statements that Bobbitt “took away any control his wife had over herself’ after he raped her that night. Mrs. Bobbitt is charged with mali cious wounding for cutting off Bobbitt’s penis after he came home from a night of drinking June 23. If convicted, she could be sentenced to 20 years in prison. Her lawyers have argued she was driven by an “irresistible impulse” caused by prolonged abuse. At first, Kinder said, Mrs. Bobbitt believed her husband was “everything she thought she wanted in a man.” Within a month of their four-year marriage, she said, a pattern of sexual, physical and verbal abuse emerged. Bobbitt, who is seeking a divorce, contends his wife attacked him be cause she was angry over his plans to leave her. He was acquitted in No vember on a charge of marital sexual assault. With T-shirt vendors outside hawk ing wares that said “Revenge - How Sweet It Is" and “Cut Me a Break.” the jury was empaneled after Common wealth’s Attorney Paul E. Ebert and defense lawyer Blair Howard ques tioned a pool of 45 people for about three hours. Ebert asked whether the prospec tive jurors would be able to put aside the jokes they may have heard about the highly publicized case. “We’ve all heard those. I guess, but putting that aside, do you recog nize that this is a serious criminal matter?’’ Ebert said. All said they did. The trial is expected to last three days.