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Ssfettw*— News Digest ^ee^ Thousands of Rwandan refugees overwhelm U.N. officials at tiny Tanzanian border camp NGARA, Tanzania — A handful of relief workers struggled Sunday to cope with 250,000 refugees who flooded into a camp in Tanzania, seek ing sanctuary from weeks ofbloodlet ting in Rwanda. Refugees spent the night huddled in the open, soaked by an intermittent rain that doused their campfires and left small children wailing in misery. United Nations officials were stunned by the number of people who left Rwanda, Tanzania’s northwest ern neighbor. In all, 250,000 Rwandans crossed the border in a 24 hour period Thursday and Friday in what the United Nations called the biggest, fastest exodus ever seen. Thousands ofrcfugecs wercstill trudg ing in the rain Sunday, walking the 10 miles from the frontier to the camp. “We went down to the border cross ing at about 4 or 5 o’clock Thursday afternoon on a routine check, and when we looked across the h ills on the other side of the river were streaming with people,” said Maureen Connolly, a U.N. High Commissioner for Refu gees emergency officer. In the face of a rebel advance into southeastern Rwanda, the Rwandan army fled without a fight and left the border unguarded for 24 hours - long enough for the massive exodus. The rebels scaled the border Saturday. Officials fear another 250,000 people could swarm into Tanzania if the border reopens. “It is quite a mess,” said Dr. Etienne Krug, the medical coordinator at the camp. “Two hundred and fifty thousand people is like a small city and we have nothing organized.” At least 100,000 people have been killed in nearly a month ofsavagery in Rwanda, and more than 1.3 million have fled their homes. The United Nations, the Interna tional Committee of the Red Cross and some private agencies already had between 30 and 40 staffers and supplics on hand in this small, remote Tanzanian town because of an earlier crisis in Burundi. But it wasn’t enough. BradlcyGucrran t of t he U.N. World Food Program said available food stocks, enough for 50,000 people for two weeks, will feed the expanded refugee population only two days. The first food distribution is sched uled Monday, and Guerranl predicted it would be “chaotic and disorderly” because of the huge number of people to be fed and the few rcl ief workers on hand to do it. A U.N. Official in Kigali, the capi tal, said militia gangs responsible for so much of the savagery in Rwanda arc withdrawing south from the capi tal aheadofadvancingTutsi-lcd rebels. Fighting in Rwanda began April 6 after President Juvenal Habyarimana and the lcadcrof Burundi - both Hutus - were killed in a suspicious plane crash in Kigali. U.N. efforts to mediate a cease-fire have been unsuccessful. Tanzanian President Ali Hassail Mwinyi said Sunday that Rwanda’s government and the rebels had agreed to meet Tuesday for peace talks, Tan zanian radio reported, monitored by the British Broadcasting Corp. Decrease in crime statistics won’t be a trend WASHINGTON — The number of murders rose 3 percent last year but violent crimes overall edged lower, the FBI reported Sunday, reflecting whatonccriminologist called thc‘‘lull before the crime storm.” Preliminary findings of the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, which com pile information on crimes reported to I aw enforcement agencies nationwide, found violent incidents declined 1 percent in 1993. Nearly 1.91 million violent crimes occurred, or roughly the same number as in 1991. There were 1.93 million violent crimes re ported in 1992. The 3 percent increase in murders in 1993 — after a year in which the number dropped by 3.8 percent — would reflect a total of about 24,500 slain. About 23,760 were killed in 1992, while a record 24,703 were slain the year before. The FBI provided only percentage changes, not national totals of crime incidents. Property crimes, meanwhile, dropped by 3 percent, the FBI said, to an estimated 12.1 million. That caused the overall number of reported crimes to fall by 3 percent, as property crimes account for about 87 percent of all reported crimes. The FBI said burglaries declined 6 percent, to about 2.8 million; larceny theft decreased 2 percent, to about 7.8 million, and motor vehicle theft dropped 4 percent, to 1.5 million. “This may be the last good report that we see in a long time,” said Jack Levin, professor of sociology and criminology at Northeastern Univer sity in Boston. “This is the lull before the crime storm that we’re going to have in this country the next decade.” The reason, he said, is that homi cides by juveniles as young as 14 and 15 years old arc on the rise. They arc in the leading edge of the mini-baby boom of children of the post-World War 11 baby boomers, a nd they haven ’ t yet reached the 18- to 24-year-old age group that traditionally commits the overwhelming majority of murders. he said. “They aren’t even there yet, but they’re committing homicide,” Levin said. “What arc they going todo for an encore?”, One of the worst aspects of the current murders is that many appear to be over trivial matters, said James Alan Fox, dean of criminal justice at Northeastern University. “What shocks the American public to the core is when they hear of a young boy in Miami killing a home less person over a piece of pizza, kids in California killing their best friend because they’re jealous of her hair,” Fox said. Rwanda j unrest Developments in Rwanda: 030 to 40 U.N. relief workers struggled Sunday to cope with 250,OCX) Rwandan refugees who found sanctuary at a camp, just 10 miles from the border in neighboring Tanzania near the town of Ngara. 0 The Rwandan army fled without a fight in the face of the rebel advance into southeastern Rwanda and left the border unguarded tor 24 hours. It was through this narrow window of time that the refugees crossed. Rebels have closed the border. An estimated 250,000 more refugees are poised to crosrif the border reopens. 0 Rwandans were blocked from going south into Burundi, Friday and turned southeast into Tanzania. The slaughter in southern Rwanda is reportedly even worse than in the capital, Kigali. AD Garagut^nomy connecting roads. * Mediterranean GAZA STFtfP ■ _ Sea jt ± sT ^ AP NelSraskan Ed'10f Night News Editors Chris Hein Managing Editor Anaie Brunkow HesSmLsinpe Assoc News Editors Jeffrey Robb DsveVIneLnt _ Rainbow Rowell Art Director James Mehsilng Opinion Page Editor Kara Morrison General Manager DsnShattll 9 _ Editor Deb McAdams Production Manager Katherine Polickv Copy Desk Editor Mike Lewis Advertising Manager Amy Strut hers Art a J*°nt ^d,,tK T*m p**rson Senior Acct. Exec Sheri Kraiewskl Arts & Entertainment Publications Board Chairman Doug Fiedler Editor Matt Woody 43fiJ>7R7 FAX NUMBER 472-1761 The Daily NebraskantUSPS 144 080) is published by the UNL Publications Board, Ne braska Union 34, 11400 H St., Lincoln, NE 68588 0448, Monday through Fnday during the academic year, weekly during summer sessions. a Readers are encouraged to submit story ideas and comments to the Daily Nebraskan bv phoning 472-1763 between 9 a m. and 5 p.m Monday through Fnday The public also has access to the Publications Board. For information, contact Doug Fiedler 436 6287 Subecnption price is $50 for one year Postmaster Send address changes to the Daily Nebraskan, Nebraska Union 34 1400 P St..Lincoln, NE 68588-0448 Secon^dasspostagi paid at Lincoln NE ' H ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 1994 DAILY NEBRASKAN • Arafat and Rabin to sign final agreement in Cairo Control of beaches and legal jurisdiction among minor disputes to be worked out CAIRO, Egypt— Israeli and PLO delegates opened their expected final round of talks on Palestinian autonomy Sunday, with both sides expressing confidence they would meet a Wednes day deadline. In Jerusalem, the Israeli Cabinet gave its approval for signing the agree ment for limited Palestinian self-rule in the occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank town of Jericho. Palestinian negotiatorNabil Shaath said PLO chief Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement had also accepted the agree ment, and the PLO’s executive com m ittec was expected to approve i t soon. Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin arc to sign the au tonomy agreement Wednesday at a ceremony in Cairo. They arc sched uled to meet Tuesday night to iron out any last-minute disputes. Maj.Gcn. Amnon Shahak,thcchicf Israeli delegate, brushed past report ers as he entered Sunday’s talks, said, “Wait until Wednesday - everything will be finished.” Palestinian negotiator Khalcd cl Qudra said the two sides were drafting the final wording of the agreement. “I think we’re near the end and I thir\k we’ll finish.” he said. The two sides have been negotiat ing for more than six months on how to implement the Sept. 13 agreement for IsraeHo withdraw from Gaza and Jericho. Under the accord, the Israelis were tostart withdrawing Dec. 13 and com plete the pullout by April 13. But the deadl inespassed with negotiators still argu ing over how broad the autonomy would be and how Jewish settlers would be protected in Gaza. When the scheduled signing was announced last Thursday, differences remained over control of territorial waters and beaches, the freeing of Palestinian prisoners, and jurisdic tion over lawbreakers. But both Is raeli and PLO negotiators said the disputes were mostly minor and could be worked out. Two disagreements have been set aside for Rabin and Arafat to resolve: how much land Israel will i»ivc un around Jericho and whether a uni formed Palestinian will be stationed on the bridge between Jordan and the West Bank near Jericho. Shaath, who heads the Palestinian delegation, returned Sunday afternoon from Tunis, headquarters of the Pal estine Liberation Organization. He said the PLO’s executive committee had not yet given its expected ap proval of the agreement because some members were late arriving in the Tunisian capital. Responding to criticism in Israel that the PLO is not ready to lake over running Gaza and Jericho, Shaath said members of committees that will handle the transfer of power would begin arriving in Cairo on Monday. “I think that once we arc ready and once we know exactly what we arc signing, we will be going in as soon as possible,” Shaath said. In Israel, officials expressed doubt that the Palestinians were prepared to take over. “We are concerned that they have not taken any practical measures what soever to take over,” Economics M in istcr Simon Shclreet said. “Our big gest worry is whether or not they arc ready.” Environment Minister Yossi Sarid said the army would pull out of au tonomous areas within fivcorsixdays of the signing. Up to 2.000 Palestin ian police arc expected to deploy there by Thursday. Palestinian sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said Palestin ian police may not be ready to deploy as rapidly as hoped. But Shaath said the police would begin moving into Gaza and Jericho “as soon as we sign.” Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev and Secretary of Slate War ren Christopher will attend Wednesday’s signing. GAO finds troops fail fitness tests CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas—Lax training has resulted in National Guard and military reserve troops not being physically fit for combat, a govern ment investigation has found. The March 23 report by the General Ac countingOfTicc, the investigative arm ofCongress, was obtained by the Cor pus Christi Caller-Times, the news paper reported Saturday. “We believe that the DOD (De partment of Defense) can no longer afford to continue lax oversight, per mitting the retentionof reservists who repeatedly fail fitness tests, allowing large numbers of reservists to go un tested, and creating a testing environ ment that allows failing scores to be changed to passing ones,” the GAO concluded. Earlier in March, a GAO investi gator told a House subcommittee that National Guard and reserve forces may be under-trained for emergency combat duty at a time when the Penta gon increasingly relies on them. “It became apparent during the Gulf War that Army National Guard combat brigades had significant train ing-related problems,” said Mark Gcbickc, a military ope rations expert. ThcGAOstudicd information from 35 reserve and National Guard units for the report cited by the Caller Times. Atone Navy unit visited by the GAO, eight reservists failed a recent fitness test, but three failures were changed to passing scores on paper work passed up the chain of com mand, the newspaper reported. ThcCallcr-Times has reported that some Texas National Guard soldiers who repeatedly failed tests were al lowed to remain in the service, while others who failed a lest once were denied a chance to retake it as regula tions allow. Lt. Col. Edmond Komandosky, spokesman for the Texas Guard, denied that there were widespread problems. “To the best of my knowledge, the physical fitness standards arc enforced according to the regulation,” he said.