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PAGE 2 WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 2,1996 Arafat, Netanyahu meet privately at summit Middle East leaders gather in Washington to resolve a faltering peace. By Babby Schweid Associated Press WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Pal estinian leader Yasser Arafat met face to-face over lunch Monday at the White House. The Mideast summit, hosted by President Clinton, was held against a backdrop of mistrust and violence. White House spokesman Mike McCurry, reporting on Clin tern’s sum mit talks on the faltering peace process and a spate of violence last week, said “it was clear they could work together and have the kind of dialogue that could resolve their differences.” The two feuding Middle East .lead ers also shook hands and exchanged pleasantries in the White House Roosevelt Room before a session with Clinton in the Oval Office. Even while registering a sharp change in the atmosphere from the gloom the administration projected before the summit, McCurry also said “they are not at the point yet that they are tabling proposals.” Clinton and King Hussein of Jor dan left the room so Netanyahu and Arafat could have their discussions in private, the White House official said. “A great deal of anger, frustration, suspicion had begun to permeate the atmosphere,” McCurry said. But over lunch, he said, “the discussions have gone a long way to re-establishing the notion of trust” that led Israel and the Palestinian Authority into interim settlements three years ago. The lunch was in the White House library, while Secretary of State War ren Christopher met across Pennsylva nia Avenue in Blair House with senior Israeli and Palestinian officials. Clinton was prepared to intervene, if asked, McCurry said, but added that the one-on-one approach is the best way to proceed. At the outset, no one-on-one en counter between Netanyahu and Arafat was planned. The White House said it would not disclose much about the talks while they are underway. The distrust between the two lead ers is so intense they are barely on speaking terms, a senior administration official said Monday at the State De partment. “We can help them, but we can’t make decisions for them,” said the of ficial. The summit arranged by Clinton is both unstructured and politically risky. There is no guarantee Netanyahu and Arafat will find a formula to end vio lence on the West Bank and in Gaza. If Clinton tries to push Netanyahu into concessions to the Palestinian Authority, he runs a political risk five weeks before the presidential election. If he pressures Arafat, he risks alienat ing the Arabs. “We are at a very difficult moment,” the White House spokesman cautioned. “We have not passed through the cri sis.” McCurry underscored Clinton was not applying pressure to Netanyahu. “Pressure does not work in the Middle East peace process; it never has,” he said. “What we have to do is to create understanding between parties,” the spokesman said. McCurry said Clinton’s conversa tion with Netanyahu was very warm. “It was clear from the body language of the two they enjoyed their conver sation,” he said. With the presidential election five weeks away, Republican candidate Bob Dole and GOP congressional leaders have urged Clinton not to back Netanyahu into a comer or to isolate the Israeli leader. McCurry also spoke warmly of Arafat, saying “the president has a great deal of respect for the chairman.” While giving few details, tho spokesman indicated Netanyahu’s pro posal for opai-ended Israeli-Palestin ian negotiations after the summit was taken up by Clinton. “There are a number of ideas ad vanced by all of the parties,” he said. “There are substantive discussions of that nature.” Supreme Court to decide on doctor-assisted suicides WASHINGTON (AP) — The Su preme Court agreed Tuesday to decide whether states may ban doctor-assisted suicides, setting the stage for a momen tous ruling on the “right to die.” Hie court said it will decide by July whether doctors can be barred from actually giving life-ending drugs to mentally competent, terminally ill pa tients who no longer want to live. The decision will come six years after the court recognized a constitutional right to refuse lifesaving treatment. Most states have such laws, but lower courts this year struck down as sisted-suicide bans imposed by New York and Washington state. By review ing those two rulings, the justices are expected to set national guidelines. “This is one of those watershed le gal issues that will be out there until the nation’s highest court makes a de cision,” Washington Attorney General Christine Gregoire said after learning of the court’s action. Susan Dunshee, president of Seattle’s Compassion in Dying group that successfully challenged the Wash ington law, said the court now has “an opportunity (to benefit patients through out the country.” The constitutional right to die was first recognized by the Supreme Court in 1990. Assuming that such a right exists, the justices said then that a ter minally ill person may refuse life-sus taining medical treatment. Just last year, however, the justices rejected a challenge by Dr. Jack Kevorkian to Michigan’s ban on as sisted suicide. One of Kevorkian’s lawyers and the prosecutors who three times tried un successfully to have him convicted of helping someone commit suicide said the lower court rulings will be over turned. “They took the two cases that sup paled Kevorkian’s view so they could overturn them,” Kevorkian attorney Geoffrey Fieger said. % “It is my prediction that the court will reverse (the New York and Wash ington) decisions and allow individual states to make political decisions based on policy rather than the Constitution,” prosecutor Richard Thompson said. The generally conservative high court may choose to overturn the ap peals courts’ rulings, said Howard Simon of the American Civil Liberties Union in Michigan. “There is just as much danger that they’re going to do violence to the rights of Americans as they are likely to protect the rights of Americans,” Simon said. Like abortion, the right to die is the kind of emotional powder keg the court tries hard to avoid. In fact, Justice Antonin Scalia told a college audience in Virginia last April that assisted suicide is not a question the Supreme Court should decide. “Why would you leave that to nine lawyers, for heaven’s sake?” Scalia asked students at Bridgewater College. “It’s better to let the people decide.” A month earlier, the 9th U.S. Cir cuit Court of Appeals had struck down the Washington law that barred doc tor-assisted suicide, ruling it violates due-process rights. In the New York case, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in April struck down two laws that barred doc tor-assisted suicide, ruling that they un constitutionally failed to treat people equally. It is discriminatory, the appeals court said, to refuse to let terminally ill patients end their lives with medi cation, yet allowing other dying pa tients to end their lives by granting their requests that life-support systems be disconnected. Both states appealed. Kaczynski indicted by grand jury Death penalty option to be explored by prosecutors WASHINGTON (AP) — Theodore Kaczynski, the math profes sor turned hermit, was indicted Mon day by a federal grand jury in the Unabomber mail borhb attack that killed an advertising executive in New Jersey in 1994. Already charged with seven other Unabomber bombings in five states, Kaczynski was named in three counts returned by a grand jury in Newark, NJ., in the Dec. 10, 1994, killing of adman Thomas J. Mosser. The Justice Department, which an nounced the action in Washington, said that it intends to prosecute the New Jersey indictment after completion of Kaczynski’s impending trial in Sacra mento, Calif. _ The 54-year-old former Berkeley math professor pleaded innocent in June to a 10-count federal indictment returned in California. It charged him with four bombings that killed com puter store owner Hugh Scrutton in 1985 and timber industry lobbyist Gil bert Murray in 1995 and maimed Uni versity of California geneticist Charles Epstein and Yale computer expert David Gelemter in 1993. _ Arrested by federal- agents at his remote Montana cabin last April 3 af ter an 1 8-year investigation, Kaczynski was charged by the grand jury in New ark with transporting the bomb that killed Mosser from Montana to San Francisco and then mailing it to Mosser’s home in North Caldwell, N J. When Mosser opened the package, it exploded. Like the charges in Sacramento, the first two counts in New Jersey carry a possible death penalty. The third New Jersey count carries a mandatory, con secutive sentence of 30 years in prison. Federal judge rejects Perots request; Reform Party still banned from debates WASHINGTON (AP)—A federal judge Monday rejected Ross Perot's bid to be included in Sunday’s presi dential debate, ruling that the court lackedjurisdiction over such events. U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan rejected efforts by Perot’s Rev form Party and the Natural Law Party for inunctions to force the Presiden tial Debate Commission to include their candidates in the two presiden tial debates. Hogan said the complaints belong with the Federal Election Commission. “Ibis court, and other courts, have ruled the FEC is bound by tfa cedures and must follow then ruled. Although Perot’s they would appeal, Hoga of the complaint dealt a _____ to Perot’s hopes of being included in Sunday’s debate in Hartford, Conn. Spending bill passed by Senate, president The $389 billion measure has money for education and drug-fighting programs. WASHINGTON (AP) — With just hours to spare Monday, the Sen ate passed and President Clinton signed a $389 billion spending bill for scores of federal agencies and a tightening of immigration laws, the Republican-led 104th Congress’ last major legislation. Clinton signed the measure two hours short of Tuesday’s start of the 1997 fiscal year, ensuring there would be no repeat of last year’s partial government shutdown when agencies’ spending authority lapsed. The catch-all bill, approved 84 15 by the Senate in early evening, contains $6.5 billion in extra money that Clinton demanded for educa tion, drug-fighting and other pro grams and pushes overall spending nearly as high as it was before Re publicans captured Congress two years ago. It also drops GOP-written immi gration provisions the White House argued were too severe, such as one barring federally paid AIDS care for illegal immigrants. In a signing statement, Clinton called the omnibus bill “good for America,” because it ensures sub stantial amounts of money for edu cation and training, environmental protection and law enforcement. “It moves us further toward our goal of a balanced budget while pro tecting our values and priorities— educating our children, providing a clean environment, fighting crime, protecting our families from drugs, and combating terrorism,” he said. However, the president said he was disappointed that the bill did not include one of his priorities, a ban on physician “gag rules” that would have given doctors in man aged-care programs the freedom to inform their patients of a wider range of medical treatment options. “Several states have passed similar legislation,” Clinton said, “and Congress should have reached agreement on this measure.” Republicans said the two-year Congress had stayed the budget-cut ting course the GOP had promised, even though the White House won extra spending in round-the-clock talks that ended at dawn Saturday. In an election-year drive to soften their image, Republicans used the legislation to restore spend ing for programs they had tried to cut since last year. . Republicans used much of the restored money for popular pro grams. FAX NUMBER: 472-1781 The Daly Nebraskan (USPS144-060) is published fay the UNL Publica tions Board, Nebraska Union 34,1400 R St.. Lincoln. NE 685864)148. 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