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PAGE 2 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8,1996
Rebels in Zaire refuse to cease fighting
Tutsis reject any
American or European
aid in keeping the
peace until ruler
Mobutu is expelled
BUKAVU, Zaire (AP) — Rebels
who seized parts of eastern Zaire have
rejected an American or European role
in any peace-keeping force and
pledged to continue fighting until long
time ruler Mobutu Sese Seko is ousted.
Only soldiers from neighboring
African countries should take part in a
multinational force designed to bring
relief to more than 1 million refugees
trapped by the fighting, said rebel
leader Laurent Kabila.
“We have a cease-fire, and we have
offered to allow the international com
munity to set up the safe corridors they
want,” Kabila said.
Mobutu, meanwhile, gave his back
ing to the proposed peacekeeping mis
sion and the current cease-fire.
“Mobutu was very clear and very
categorical,” U.N, envoy Raymond
Chretien said after an hour-long meet
ing with the Zairian leader in Nice,
France, where the president has been
convalescing after prostate cancer
treatment.
“He said Zaire will do everything
possible to maintain this period of calm
so that this multinational force can
come and facilitate the gradual return
of the refugees,” Chretien said
Wednesday.
The U.N. envoy headed to central
Africa today on a peace mission, fly
ing first to Nairobi, Kenya’s capital.
Chretien, Canada’s ambassador to
the United States and a former ambas
sador to Zaire, said he accomplished
what he came to France for: A com
mitment from Mobutu to try to main
tain peace in Zaire so a multinational
force can go into the country as soon
as possible.
The United States and European
countries have been considering a re
quest from African leaders for a U.N.
sponsored force to set up safe havens
for Rwandan Hutu refugees in Zaire,
provide them with food and medical
aid, and escort them home to Rwanda.
A U.S. official in Washington,
speaking on condition of anonymity,
confirmed that the United States is
weighing a French proposal to send
American troops for logistical support.
Pena to step down
Tfomsportafion secretary among resigning officials
WASHINGTON (AP)—Trans
portation Secretary Federico Pena
has informed President Clinton that
he plans to leave the Cabinet, a se
nior administration official said
Thursday.
Four other Cabinet members
also are reportedly planning to
leave. They are Secretary of State
Warren Christopher, Commerce
Secretary Mickey Kantor, Energy
Secretary Hazel O’Leary and De
fense Secretary William Perry.
Pena faced criticism after com
ing to the defense of ValuJet in the
wake of its May 11 crash in Florida,
which department officials now ad
mit was a mistake. The airline was
later grounded, though it has since
returned to the skies.
A Transportation Department
official, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said that White House
Chief of Staff Leon Panetta had
asked Pena to stay on, but the
former Denver mayor wanted to
spend more time with his family.
Pena has two young daughters.
Pena has been secretary for three
years and nine months, making him
one of the longest serving cabinet
members.
Among those mentioned as pos
sible successors are William Daley,
brother of the mayor of Chicago,
and Federal Highway Administra
tor Rodney Slater, a close friend of
the president.
Medical marijuana limited
New drug law allows
doctor prescriptions
but means of obtaining
the substance are still
in question.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — As
celebratory marijuana smoke curled
from pipes and joints at the headquar
ters of Proposition 215, uncertainty
swirled around the future of
California’s newly approved medical
marijuana law.
Although the law allows doctors to
prescribe-marijuana for medical rea
sons, there is no mechanism for patients
to legally obtain it. The measure, and
a similar one passed in Arizona, is at
odds with U.S. drug laws.
“We still have a federal law that
says marijuana has no medical value,
and that it is against the law to grow it,
distribute it and prescribe it as medi
cine,” said retired Army Gen. Barry
McCaffrey, President Clinton’s drug
czar. “That’s a law. Not my law. That’s
the U.S. Congress’ law.”
McCaffrey said Wednesday he
planned to meet with Attorney General
Janet Reno and other officials to dis
cuss how the initiative, approved by
California voters 56 percent to 44 per
cent Tuesday, affects federal drug en
forcement efforts.
- The measure legalizes the cultiva
tion, possession and use of marijuana
for health reasons. In a separate refer
endum, Arizona agreed to allow doc
tors to prescribe the drug for seriousfy
ill patients.
« mm m
The Arizona measure spells out that
a doctor writing the prescription must
document that scientific research
shows that marijuana would help the
patient’s condition and must get a writ
ten second opinion first. The Califor
nia proposition says that patients only
need “written or oral permission” from
a doctor.
Backers hailed the initiatives as a
compassionate way of helping ease the
pain and suffering of people with
AIDS, cancer and other terminal ill
nesses.
The controversy didn’t bother Den
nis Peron, one of the leaders behind
the measure, who was still savoring the
victory Wednesday.
“People have smoked pot as medi
cine for thousands of years,” he said.
“It’s like we’ve taken the wisdom of
the past and brought it to the future.”
Steve Kubby of Squaw Valley, di
agnosed with abdominal cancer 20
years ago, said he already has a
doctor’s verbal permission to use mari
juana.
“I told my wife Monday night that
this is the last night I'll have to break
the law to get my medicine,” said
Kubby, 49.
The law technically went into ef
fect Wednesday, but because marijuana
is still illegal to sell, obtaining it is still
against the law.
“You can talk to your doctor today,”
said Dave Fratello, spokesman for the
Yes on 215 campaign. “But I can’t tell
you where to get it I can only tell you
you’re not subject to prosecution if it’s
prescribed.”
Mars surveyor begins mission
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)—
The Mars Global Surveyor rocketed
away Thursday an a 435 million-mile,
10-month journey to the Red Planet,
the Erst step in a decade-long explora
tion effort by NASA to determine
whether there was ever life on Mars.
The Delta rocket carrying the
spacecraft Masted off precisely at 50
seconds past noon, one day after strong
wind scuttled the first launch attempt.
Today, the weather was perfect.
“We are always relieved when we
see one get off the ground as nice ai
this one did,” NASA scientist Marie
Acuna said. “This is a very happy oc
casion.”
Less than an hour later, the Iasi
rocket engine fired and propelled the
Global Surveyor toward Mars at a
speed of24,000 mph. Launch control'
lers applauded and shook hands.
The Global Surveyor replaces a
Mars [nobe that mysteriously disap
peared three years ago.
Defeated delegates, ex-presidents
still lead distinguished careers
WASHINGTON (AP) — Build
houses for the poor. Teach U.S. for
eign policy. Become a diplomat. Go on
a speaking tour. And don’t forget
there’s always that presidential library
or those long-awaited memoirs.
That’s what sane ex-presidents and
White House wannabes have done af
ter their jobs of running the country oi
a campaign were history.
Here’s President Clinton, musing
on his after-Oval Office life: “I will
never seek office again—unless I gc
home and run for the school board
some day,” he said with a chuckle. He’s
got another four years to plan.
His vanquished Republican chal
lenger Bob Dole is thinking about his
future right now.
“I’m going to sit back for a few
days, and then I’m going to start stand
ing up for what I think is right for
America,” he said.
Among former presidents and
failed candidates, a notable few ovei
the years have boasted distinguished
careers beyond the White House —
when they weren’t too busy improving
their golf games.
• William Howard Thft was one 01
the most successful ex-presidents, be
coming chief justice of the Supreme
Court after he failed to win re-electior
in 1912. Historians say he was a bettei
justice than president.
• Sixth President John Quincy
Adams spent 17 years in the House of -
Representatives after he was defeated
for re-election in 1828.
• Jimmy Carter, defeated in 1980
largely for his failed foreign policy
amid the Iranian hostage crisis, was a
contender for the 1996 Nobel Peace
Prize for his globe-trotting peace ef
forts. The former president has been
busy with the Carter Center, estab
lished in 1982 to promote democracy
and resolve civil strife, and with groups
such as Habitat for Humanity, build
ing houses worldwide, including in his
native Georgia and in poorest Africa.
• Gerald Ford also has attached
himself to charitableorganizations, in
cluding the Betty Ford Center, the
Gerald R. Ford Foundation and the
American Cancer Society.
• George Bush, defeated for re-elec
tion in 1992, has remained a very pri
vate citizen, although he made a couple
of campaign appearances with Dole
this year. Mainly, he’s been chipping
away at his memoirs and traveling the
world to speak, often visiting foreign
leaders for private chats. He and his
wife, Barbara, raised more than $10
million for local and national charities
in 1995.
• Even Richard Nixon, who re
signed his second term in 1974 in dis
grace over Watergate, enjoyed a renais
sance as a respected elder statesman
before his death in 1994.
—
;
Money not an issue
as Doles move past
presidential campaign
WASHINGTON (AP) —
Bob Dole won’t have trouble
making ends meet as he moves
from 35 years of public service
into involuntary retirement.
Even though he frequently
invoked his humble Kansas ori
gins as he campaigned for presi
dent, the former Senate major
ity leader and his wife Elizabeth
have amassed a multimillion
dollar cushion.
In fact, Elizabeth Dole, 60,
is due to resume her $200,000
a-year job as president of the
American Red Cross in January.
She has been on an unpaid leave
during the campaign.
Dole became eligible for a
$107,000-a-year pension when
he resigned from the Senate last
June 11 to campaign full time.
Dole also receives a $ 18,300-a
year pension from the Army.
The Doles have combined
assets of about $4 million.
Cyclone ravages southeastern India
Storm kills at least 400; nothing left standing, chief minister says
HYDERABAD, India (AP) — A
cyclone struck southeastern India, kill
ing at least 400 people, destroying
10,000 homes and wrecking thousands
of acres of rice fields, officials said
today. At least 1,500 people were re
ported missing.
The storm, packing winds ap
proaching 100 mph, struck the coastal
state of Andhra Pradesh on Wednes
day night.
“Except for houses made of brick
and cement, nothing is standing there,”
the top state official, Chief Minister
Chandrababu Naidu, told reporters af
ter surveying the devastation by air
Thursday.
The storm wrenched power poles
from the earth and flooded roads and
train tracks, state chief secretary M.S.
Rajaji said.
The death toll could go even higher
as relief teams reach remote areas, of
ficials said. Telephone lines were
washed out and information from some
storm-hit areas was unavailable.
Many of the fatalities occurred
when the mud walls of houses col
lapsed on the victims. A few others
drowned in the flood waters, Rajaji told
a news conference.
A passenger ferry sank with 42
people on board in the Godavari River,
he said. There were no survivors. The
victims were traveling to a nearby vil
lage when the boat capsized in the
swollen river.
Worst hit was the coastal city of
Kakinada, 300 miles east of the state
capital, Hyderabad, where the storm
dumped 8.8 inches of rain.
With more rain in the forecast, the
government moved thousands of
people to schools and storm shelters
and. organized three relief camps to
feed the homeless.
US. envoy warns Serbian leader
for briefing indicted crime suspects
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP)
— A U.S. human rights envoy
warned Serbian President Slobodan
Milosevic on Thursday to comply
with extradition requests for war
( crime suspects orface further po
litical and economic isolation.
Assistant Secretary of State John
Shattuck said he told Milosevic
“that international financial assis
tance and access to the international
organizations... depends on much
more cooperation with the Interna
tional War Crimes Tribunal.”
Milosevic is considered a main
instigator of the Bosnian war.
Shattuck said he has provided ac
cess for foreign visitors to some
known Bosnian Serb war crime
massacres sites, like Srebrenica in
eastern Bosnia, and allowed the
opening of die tribunal’s office in
Belgrade this summer.
“But I made clear to him that
was not enough,” Shattuck said.
Shattuck reiterated that former
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan
Karadzic and his military com
mander, Gen. Ratko Mladic, must
be among those extradited. The two
head die list of 74 men indicted by
the U.N. war crimes tribunal in the
Hague.
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Editor: Doug Kouma
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