The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, November 06, 1998, Page 2, Image 2

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16,1998^_
LONDON (AP) - An attorney
representing a doctor who was tor
tured and sisters who lost a brother
during the dictatorship of Gen.
Augusto Pinochet urged die country’s
highest court Thursday to uphold his
arrest
Lawyer Ian Brownlie told the
House of Lords that a Spanish extradi
tion warrant on which Pinochet was
arrested Oct. 16 was “a hopeful open
ing in the wall of impunity” that has
surrounded the 82-year-old general.
The warrant accuses Pinochet of
I
presiding over genocide, torture and
kidnappings committed by his secret
police after he seized power of Chile
in 1973, toppling President Salvador
Allende, an elected Marxist
“English public policy is clearly
against recognizing immunity for
the torturous causing of deaths,"
Brownlie said.
He spoke on the second day of an
appeal against a British court’s deci
sion that Pinochet’s arrest was illegal
because his status as a former foreign
head of state affords him immunity
from prosecution.
Witnesses do not appear before the
House of Lords, and traditionally the
judges bear arguments only from
lawyers for the two opposing sides.
But the five judges gave Brownlie
permission to speak after lawyers rep
resenting die Spanish judge who insti
gated the arrest warrant and British
prosecutors closed their case.
Brownlie represents die two sisters
of William Beausire, a British stock
broker who vanished in 1975; and
Sheila Cassidy, a British doctor whose
s
torture in Chile in 1976 caused Britain
temporarily to cut diplomatic relations
with Pinochet’s military junta.
During the first two days of the
House of fiords hearing, lawyers for
die prosecution argued that England’s
1978 State Immunity Act, under
which the High Court quashed
Pinochet’s arrest, should he super
seded by international conventions
that Britain has signed onto.
The hearing was adjourned until
Monday, when Pinochet's lawyers
plan to begin arguing his case.
Isabel Allende, daughter of the late
Chilean President Salvador Allende,
whose government was toppled by
Pinochet in the 1973 coup, is in
London to urge Britain to help bring
Pinochet to justice.
Pinochet stepped down in 1990,
but remained commander in chief of
the army until March as part of com
promises in Chile’s transition to
democracy.
The former dictator remains under
police guard in a north London hospi
tal.
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U.N. official makes push for investigation in Kosovo
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -The president of die U.N. war crimes
tribunal called on die Security Council on Thursday to force Yugoslavia to
allow an investigation into alleged atrocities in Kosovo.
President Gabrielle Kirk McDonald made die appeal after Yugoslavia
refused late Wednesday to allow tribunal staff into the war-wracked
province. « •"
A tribunal team had been planning to start a weeklong mission Friday to
visit the sites of alleged atrocities and interview witnesses, but Yugoslav
authorities denied visas to the group.
She said the action was an example ofYugoslavia’s “utter disregard for
the norms of die international community.”
“Essentially, it has become a rogue state, one that holds the internation
al rule of law in contempt,” the Texas judge said.
Task force reaches agreement on sweatshop labor pact
NEW YORK (AP) - A White House task force that included Nike and '
Reebok and grew out of the Kathie Lee Gifford sweatshop scandal has
agreed to a pact that protects workers at overseas factories.
Human rights groups and a union sharply criticized the agreement -
which would still allow employees as young as 14 to work 60-hour weeks,
often for less than $ 1 a day.
President Clinton praised the deal, calling it a “historic step toward
reducing sweatshop labor around the world.”
Under the accord, American manufacturers pledge not to do business
with companies that use forced labor or require employees to work more
than 60 hours a week.
Mitch continues to do damage in Southern Florida
Miami (AP) - A revived Tropical Storm Mitch lashed Southern Florida
with heavy rain and wind Thursday, just weeks after the region endured the
wrath of Hurricane Georges.
Hardest hit were the Florida Keys, where tornadoes touched down, flip
ping mobile homes, ripping a motel roof off, destroying trees and snapping
power lines. One highway death was attributed to heavy storms.
The onetime hurricane had weakened significantly after killing at least
9,000 people during a rampage through Central America last week. But it
revived itself to tropical storm strength while plowing through die Gulf of
Mexico toward Florida.
By Wednesday, several tornadoes had touched down in Key Largo, and
one struck in Islamorada, said a spokeswoman for the Monroe County
Sheriff’s Office.
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Managing Editor: Chad Lorenz
Associate News Editor Bryce Glenn
Associate News Editor. Brad Davis
Editor KaseyKerber
Editor Cliff Hicks
Editor Sam McKewon
A&E Editor Bret Schulte
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DhrenioM Editor Jeff Randall <
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Ask for the appropriate section editor at
(402) 472-2588
or 04naNdne.iinl.edu.
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Union 34,1400 R St, Lincoln, NE 68588-0448, Monday through Friday duming the academic
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• ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT1998
THE DALY NEBRASKAN
Hyde offers impeachment solution
WASHINGTON (AP)—In a pos
sible response to American voters’ dis
missal of President Clinton’s impropri
eties, Judiciary Committee Chairman
Henry Hyde offered a way to more
quickly close the impeachment inquiry.
Hyde asked Clinton on Thursday to
answer 81 questions for the House
impeachment inquiry, including
whether he made “false and mislead
ing” statements under oath.
“The questions would have to be
answered under oath,” Hyde, R-Ill.,
said in a letter to Clinton. He added that
the answers “shall not be considered to
have any bearing or effect” on any other
legal actions that might be taken.
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■ “Do you admit or deny that you
gave false and misleading testimony
under oath in your deposition in the
case of Jones vs. Clinton when you
responded (once or twice) to the ques
tion, ‘Has Monica Lewinsky ever given
you any gifts?”’
■ “Do you admit or deny that when
asked on Jan. 17,1998, in your deposi
tion in the case of Jones vs. Clinton, if
you had ever given gifts to Monica
Lewinsky, you stated that you did not
recall, even though you actually had
knowledge of giving her gifts?...”
■ “Do you admit or deny you had
knowledge that any facts or assertions
contained in the affidavit exqputed by
Monica Lewinsky on Jan. 7,1998, in
the case of Jones vs. Clinton were not
true?”
Clinton also was asked about his
public statements. One question asked
about the truthfulness ofhis assertion in
January that “I never told anybody to
lie, not a single time, never”
The'questions weave through the
testimony of key figures in the
impeachment investigation, including
Lewinsky, presidential friend Vernon
Jordan, oval office secretary Betty
Currie and others.
If Clinton denies the statements of
other witnesses, Judiciary Committee
investigators “will have to prove than,
and that will take time,” said a
Republican committee official, speak
ing only on condition of anonymity.
“We’ll have to put on a case.”
PrpeMmtiiil nrpcc cpprptarv Tap
Lockhart said Clinton’s lawyers were
still digesting Hyde’s letter and had no
immediate comment
A number of questions concern die
frantic days after Clinton was exten
sively questioned about his relationship
with Lewinsky in a Jan. 17 deposition
for Paula Jones’ sexual harassment law
suit. The Clinton-Lewinsky story
became public Jan. 21.
Like a rapid-fire cross examination,
Hyde’s letter asked about a series of
contacts between Clinton and people
who ultimately wound up testifying
before a grand jury about Clinton’s
actions. Several questions ask if
Clinton admits or denies calling Currie
and Jordan.
In a new twist to the investigation,
Clinton was asked whether he had
knowledge that private investigator
Terry Lenzner “was contacted or
employed to make contact with or gath
er information about witnesses or
potential witnesses” in any case involv
ing Clinton.
The same question was asked using
the names of another investigator, Jack
Palladino, and Betsy Wright, a staff
member of Clinton’Ss while he was gov
ernor of Arkansas.
Lenzner was hired by Clinton’s
attorneys in connection with die Jones
case and also was used by the
Democratic National Committee to
investigate the source of some ques
tionable campaign donations. Palladino
was hired by Clinton’s 1992 presiden
tial campaign to investigate allegations
about Clinton’s relationships wife other
women.
ine president was aiso asitea
whether he made a “false and mislead
ing public statement” on Jan. 26 when J.
he gave Americans his now-famous
quote: “I did not have sexual relations
with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky.”
At a news conference in Chicago,
Hyde said die purpose of the questions
was to “narrow the issues and bring this
matter to a cfose more quickly.”
“The president is free to dispute, of |
course, whatever he wants. But by \
agreeing to those facts that he does not |
dispute, he will allow us to narrow the j
issues and bring this matter to a close 1
more quickly” Hyde said.
The chairman said he hoped to
wrap up the committee’s inquiry by the
end ofthe year with White House coop
eration. He said the results oflbesday’s
election wouldnot affect the commit
tee’s work.
Mitch s death tolls rise in Central America
. m
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP)
Health workers began a vaccination
campaign Thursday in crowded
Honduran shelters and slums ravaged
by Hurricane Mitch, while the country’s
president said the storm’s fury had set
back development by decades.
Officials estimated more than
10,000 people woe killed in the storm
that pummeled the Central American
coast for days last week.
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country's confirmed death toll down to
6,076 on Thursday after getting better
information from the ravaged country
side. Another 4,621 people were miss
ing. Earlier estimates had put the num
ber of dead at 7,000.
- Nicaragua, meanwhile, raised its
death toll to an estimated 4,000. The
bodies of victims from a massive mud
slide on the flanks of the Casitas vol
cano have been turning up in fields and
along rivers and shorelines, Nicaraguan
President Amoldo Aleman said.
El Salvador repented 239 dead and
Guatemala said 194 of its people had
been killed. Six people died in southern
Mexico and seven in Costa Rica
Honduran President Carlos Flores
urged the more than 1.5 million
Hondurans who lost loved ones, homes
and property to help in the recovery
effort
“The county is semi-destroyed and
awaits the maximum effort, and most
fervent and constant work of every one
of its children,” Flores said.
He said Mitch destroyed more than
60 percent of die country’s infrastruc
ture, setting back development by SO
years.
In the Honduran capital,
Tegucigalpa, Mexican rescue teams
began searching for avalanche victims,
and decomposed bodies were being
buried m common graves. About 100
victims had been buried around
Tegucigalpa, Mayor Nahum Valladeres
said.
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of Nueva Esperanza, Mexican military
rescuers carrying search dogs on their
backs crossed a muddy river to look for
people believed buried in a 200-foot
avalanche last Friday, when dozens of
homes were swept into the river.
The Health Ministry, concerned that
crowded shelter conditions could pro
duce outbreaks of hepatitis, respiratory
infections and other ailments,
announced an inoculation campaign,
especially for children.
In Washington, President Clinton
ordered $30 million in Defense
Department equipment and services
and $36 million in food, fuel and other
aid sent to Honduras, Nicaragua, El
Salvador and Guatemala.
The White House said Clinton was
sending Vice President A1 GoreTs wife, j
Tipper, on a mission to the region to
show the U.S. commitment to providing
humanitarian relief
Hillary Rodham Clinton also was to
travel to Nicaragua and Honduras on j
Nov. 16, and make stops in El Salvador j
and Guatemala before continuing on to
Haiti and toe Dominican Republic for a
visit canceled due to Hurricane • I
Georges, which struck the Caribbean in
October..
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Honduran coast for several days last j
week, destroying scores of Central
American communities before moving
northwest
Countries overwhelmed by the
storm’s devastation have only just begun
to calculate the damage. Honduran
authorities still don’t know how many
shelters have been set up.
Surveyors have yet to evaluate seme
of die most affected areas - the depart
ments of Cortes, Adantida, Colon and
Yoro in die north, southern Choluteca
and Valle, and the central department of
Francisco Morazan, which includes die
capital.
Numbers still can vary wildly. The
estimated number of homeless dropped
fr6m 580,000 to 569,000 Thursday.