Thursday, December 10,1998 Page 2
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ALL mvoLve (JLinton s mvoLvement with Lewinsky; Hyde presses for quick vote
WASHINGTON (AP) - In a his
toric drama played out in the shadow
of the Capitol, House Judiciary
Committee Republicans drew up four
proposed articles of impeachment
against President Clinton on
Wednesday. All cited his sexual rela
tionship with Monica Lewinsky and
the long campaign to cover it up.
Republicans cited Clinton on two
counts of perjury, one count of
obstruction of justice and one of
abuse of power - all adding up to
“high crimes and misdemeanors,” the
draft articles said. Rep. Henry Hyde,
R-Ill., the panel’s chairman, vowed to
press for a vote by week’s end.
Committee approval would set
the stage for a vote in die House next
week, thus making Clinton only the
second president in American history
to suffer the humiliation of. an
impeachment roll call in Congress.
Democrats countered the
Republican articles with a draft pro
posal to censure Clinton, citing him
for “reprehensible conduct with i
subordinate,” Lewinsky, and
demanding his signature on the
instrument of his censure.
“No person is above the law and
the president remains subject to crim
inal and civil penalties for this con
duct,” the Democratic proposal reads.
It does not accuse Clinton of peijury,
nor does it demand he pay a fine.
Beginning late today, the
Republican-controlled committee
• ■ ■■ . . -
will begin formal debate on the arti
cles of impeachment
The first article says Clinton
“willfully provided perjurious, false
and misleading testimony” to Starr’s
grand jury.
The second says Clinton “willful
ly provided perjurious, false and mis
leading testimony” iff a""deposition
Sunder oath before a federal judge in
the Paula Jones lawsuit.
The third alleges Clinton
obstructed justice by allegedly
encouraging Lewinsky to submit a
false affidavit; by encouraging her to
testify falsely in court and several
other actions. v
The fourth alleges Clinton “frivo
lously and corruptly” asserted execu
tive privilege in battling Starr’s inves
tigation, and thereby abused his offi
:ial power.
Hyde issued a letter to colleagues
urging them to withhold judgment for
now “in this most important matter.”
He spoke with reporters after
Rep. Amo Houghton, R-N.Y.,
declared publicly his intention to
oppose impeachment.
Houghton said he was doing so
because he was certain Clinton would
not be convicted in a Senate trial. “An
awful lot of people, in their heart of
hearts, would like to have another
option to just up or down impeach
ment,” he said of fellow lawmakers.
Houghton is one of 30 or so
Republicans whom the White House
and Democratic officials in Congress
have identified as holding the balance
of power on impeachment in the
House.
Violence erupts in West Bank; 87 injured
■ Netyanyahu, Arafat
discuss troubled peace
accord after recent attack.
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP)
- Enraged by Israel’s refusal to
release security prisoners,
Palestinians stoned Israeli troops
Wednesday in the most widespread
West Bank clashes in months. A 17
year-old was killed by Israeli gun
fireand scores of other Palestinians
were injured.
The violence came despite U.S.
appeals for calm and raised new
concerns that President Clinton’s
visit to the region next week is trig
gering unrest, rather than reassuring
Israelis and Palestinians about their
troubled peace accord, as was
intended.
Thousands of Palestinians fired
slingshots at helmeted Israeli sol
diers who responded with tear gas,
live rounds and rubber-coated steel
pellets.
In scenes reminiscent of the
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1987-93 Palestinian uprising,
which began exactly 11 years ago
Wednesday, streets were littered
with rocks and large overturned
garbage containers, and walls of
thick smoke from burning tires rose
in the air.
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat
and Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu traded new
recriminations Wednesday and said
they would not soften their posi
tions despite intensive U-S. efforts
to get the Mtf-fof-security accord
back on track.
Netanyahu has suspended
Israel’s troop withdrawal in the
West Bank and said that with the
Palestinians violating “every part
of the agreement,” he was not like
ly to change his views. A defiant
Arafat said he would not drop
demands that, as part of the agree
ment, Israel release Palestinians
jailed for anti-Israeli activities and
not just common criminals. “We
tell our heroes in the prisons we
win not close our eyes until we see
♦ Vl orn i .frAnt A -p ah-**' airan
- --~ *
Arafat told cheering support
ers.While Wednesday’s violent
protests outside most West Bank
towns appeared to have been
coordinated to some degree by
Arafat’s Fatah faction, the issue
touched a raw nerve in
Palestinian society and many
Palestinians joined in sponta
■ . ' t ’ :■ ; v :
neously. Nearly every family has
had members jailed by Israel in 30
years of occupation. «
. Assaf Barghouti, 21, who was
shot in the arm by Israeli troops
during clashes north of the town of
Ramallah, said he took to the
streets because his father has been
held for three years without charges
and his uncle has already served 21
years of a life term for an attack in
which Israelis were killed.
, “If Netanyahu does not release
the prisoners, this will Be the situa
tion every day,” Barghouti said
from his hospital bed. " ~
Barghouti’s grandfather; Salah,
74, dressed in a long brown robe,
said he backed the rioters. “I was
out there with them, collecting
rocks and giving them to the young
men,” he said.
A 17-year-old stone mason,
Jihad Iyad, died at Ramallah
Hospital after being shot in the
chest by Israeli troops. In
Jerusalem, Nasr Erekat, a 21-year
old university student and cousin of ,
chief Palestinian peace negotiators
Saeb Erekat, died of injuries suf
fered two days earlier. Both were to
be buried Thursday.
In all, 87 Palestinians were
injured Wednesday by rubber bul
lets and three by live rounds. Six
Israelis, including two soldiers and
two riot policemen, were hurt by
stones.
Injured Israeli
soldier charged
JERUSALEM (AP) - The Israeli army
decided Wednesday to court-martial a sol
dier whose beating by a Palestinian mob
shocked the country and froze the peace
process.
CpL Assaf Meyara, 19, will be charged
with not carrying a loaded weapon and
leavingbas base widKadpetmissioii.!,i'
However^ thier army'wrtf not Wing
charges against the young soldier for not
firing his M- Id rifle cm his attackers, who
smashed the windows of the car he was
traveling in, dragged him out and struck
him repeatedly in die head with chunks of
concrete.
The attack took place last week in the
West Bank town ofRamallah. In response,
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu suspended the Israeli troop
withdrawal in the West Bank.
The army spokesman’s office said a
soldier should have opened fire under such
circumstances. Meyara told investigators,
however, that he was unable to act because
he was incapacitated by one of the first
rocks striking his head.
The attackers also stole Meyara’s rifle
as he ran to safety. The pictures of Meyara
cowering under the Palestmian& and not
trying to fight back; touched off aiiational
debate over whether Israel iiad lost its mil
itary nerve. . ^ ^
*
LONDON (AP) - Gen. Augusto
Pinochet is fit to stand trial on charges
of genocide and Spain can start extra
dition proceedings against him,
Britain ruled Wednesday, delighting
human rights groups and setting the
83-year-old former Chilean dictator
up for a long legal battle.
Chile immediately withdrew its
ambassador in protest, and already
strained relations with Britain, a long
time ally, fell to a new low.
In announcing his decision, Home
Secretary Jack Straw rejected com
plaints that a judge who cast the key
vote in the 3-2 court ruling against
Pinochet was biased bescause he heads
the fund-raising arm of Amnesty
International.
“The Spanish request fonhis extra
dition will now be considered by the
courts,” Straw said.
Since Britain’s highest court ruled
Nov. 25 that Pinochet has no immuni
ty from arrest under English law,
Straw had been bombarded by pleas
from governments, lawyers* legisla-’*
tors, widows of victims of Chilean
police torture and widows of police
men slain by leftists.
Pinochet, who has not been seen in
public since his arrest while recuperat
ing from back surgery at a London
hospital, is scheduled to appear before
a London magistrate Friday. *
The decision means that Pinochet,
under armed guard at a mansion out
side London, faces months and possi
bly years of battles through British
courts fighting extradition.
Because of the expected crush of
interest, court officiate moved Friday’s
hearing - routine under extradition
law - from central London to
Belmarsh Magistrate’sCourt, 10 miles
from the coiter of the capital.
Pinochet’s lawyers may apply to a
judge today for an emergency review
of Straw’s decision on the grounds that
it is legally flawed.
In Chile, amid the joy of his oppo
nents and anger of supporters, there
Was concern that the crisis could
endanger the democracy, built on
compromise since Pinochet stepped
down in 1990 after 17 years in power -
with guarantees of itttmunity from
prosecution in his native land.
Thus, the Chilean government
wants Pinochet freed, although an offi
cial Chilean report says 3,197 people
were murdered or disappeared at the
hands of the secret police after he over
threw an elected Marxist, Salvador
Allende, who died during the coup.
Chilean President Eduardo Frei
said Wednesday that Chile would
appeal Straw’s decision.
In New Jersey, the father of a
woman killed in a bombing linked to
Pinochet expressed pleasure with the
British ruling.
“What should I say? It’s another
step in the righting of - how many - a
thousand wrongs?” said Murray
Karpen of West Orange, NJ.
“No one should be able to murder
with impunity.”
U.N. surprise inspection
halted by Iraqi officials
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) r Iraqi offi
cials blocked U.N. arms monitors from
at die Baghdad headquarters of die ruling
Baath Party, a key site in Saddam
Hussein’s government. U.N. officials;
immediately denounced die move.
The inspectors withdrew after an Iraqi
official demanded they first provide a
written declaration of what they were
looking for, the official Iraqi News
Agency said.
“This was an absolutely legal no
notice inspection and they blocked us,”
Richard Buder, head of the U.N. Special
Commission that oversees inspections,
told The Associated Press in New York.
Later Wednesday, however, an Iraqi
official suggested the standoff occurred
because of a mistake by an Iraqi escort in
The incident -which has the potential
to blow up into another U.N.-Iraq crisis -
came two days after Buder announced
that he was ordering the resumption of
surprise inspections. On Tuesday, the
TT am/1 am
iUJ^VV & VIJtVVU A* 01IV0 uuu vu
Wednesday, 10 more.
Justices balk at law to keep
gang members out of public
WAS^flNGTON(AP)-Amajorityof
. tyhijebeiog told
, gangs threaten “enormous evils,” voiced
doubts Wednesday about a Chicago law
aimed at preventing gang members and
their friends from hanging out in public.
“There is a concern here... for arbii
trariness of the police,” Justice Sandra
Day O’Connor said after being told the
anti-loitering law resulted in 45,000
arrests in the three years it was enfmced. ?
In all, six of the nine justices criticized
tlie sweeping power the 1992 ordinance
gave to police.
In a case watched by states and com-]
munities across the nation, the court must
decide by July whether the ordinance is
constitutional. State courts struck it down]
“Gang crime is different from most
every other form of criminal activity,” city
seeking the ordinance’s reinstatement]
“Streetgangs rely onlheir ability to terrorJ
ize the’Community.”
WWH commander honored
as four-star general by Clinton!
c -WASHINGTON (AP) - Preside^
Clinton on Wednesday made a four-star
general of Benjamin 0. Davis Jr., com-|
mander of the famed Tuskegee Airmen
who never lost a single bomber td
enemy fire during 200 escort missions
they perforated dining W>rld War II.
' . Davis ii “a herodh war, a leader ii
peace, a pibheer forfreedom, opportu
nity and basic human dignity,” Clinton
said. “He earned this honor a long time
ago.’
Clinton bestowed the honor on
Davis in a White House ceremony
attended by 20 of Davis’ Tuskegee-j
trained pilots and an array of military
brass, from Secretary of Defense
William Cohen to Veterans Affairs!
Secretary Togo West and the secretaries
of the Army and Air Force. \
Davis received his fourth star 28
years after he retired and 100 years
after his father - America’s first black
brigadier general - joined the Army. >
Davis’ supporters say today’s cere
mony finally corrects a glaring disser-i
vice to the leader whose lifetime of ser-j
vice embodies much of the modem his
tory of blacks in the military.