Serb leader refuses
to comply with NATO
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) -
President Slobodan Milosevic defied a
renewed threat of NATO attack
Wednesday, rejecting deployment of
foreign troops in Kosovo to police a
peace deal.
The statement after a four-hour
meeting Tuesday night with U.S. envoy
Christopher Hill, who arrived in from
Kosovo talks in Rambouillet, France,
left the status of those negotiations in
more doubt than ever.
Western sources at the talks in
France said Hill flew in to tell Milosevic
that if he doesn’t accept a Kosovo agree
ment by noon Saturday that calls for for
eign troops in Kosovo, he will suffer
NATO airstrikes.
But Milosevic, who has been
known to bow to diplomatic pressure at
the last moment, showed no signs of
doing so yet.
In a statement issued early
Wednesday by the official Tanjug news
agency, Milosevic said “our negative
stand on the presence of foreign troops
is not only the attitude of die leadership,
but also of all citizens of our country.”
The deployment of an international
force is a take-it-or-leave-it deal pro
posed by the United States and backed
by other powers at the conference out
side Paris. As many as 30,000 NATO
troops, including some 4,000American
soldiers, would be sent to Kosovo
immediately to police die agreement
Hill was dispatched to Belgrade
after U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright telephoned Milosevic to warn
him to accept the peace deal, including
the troops’ deployment, or face NATO
strikes. f
But Milosevic showed no more
willingness to do so than the Serbian
officials at the talks, which opened in
the H^-century French chateau Feb. 6.
His negotiators have said NATO troops
would jeopardize the sovereignty of
their country and vowed to fight against
the foreign “aggression.”
In his statement, Milosevic reiterat
ed the Serb stand that there can be no
independence for Kosovo and that all
ethnic communities in the province
should have the same rights, although
ethnic Albanians make up 90 percent of
the population.
“Our delegation in Rambouillet is
negotiating in good faith,” declared
Milosevic in a statement that seemed to
offer little hope the Serb delegation
would back down and sign the peace
deal.
International mediators, led by the
United States, have brought Serbs and
secessionist Albanians to the negotiat
ing table to end a conflict that has cost
an estimated 2,000 lives and left hun
dreds of thousands homeless in Kosovo,
in southern Serbia, the dominant of two
Yugoslav republics.
The Serbs were counting on Russia
to back up their rejection of foreign
troops, but a NATO source, speaking on
condition of anonymity, said the
Russians have told the 16-nation mili
tary alliance they are willing to go along
with a NATO deployment as part of a
three-year interim peace deal.
The source also said Russians may
eventually participate in a peacekeeping
operation, as they do in the NATO-led
force in Bosnia. The Russia-NATO
Permanent Joint Council is meeting in
Brussels, Belgium, on Wednesday to
discuss the issue.
Russian officials still oppose NATO
airstrikes against Yugoslavia in the
event the peace talks fail.
Meanwhile, NATO military plan
ning for deployment is virtually com
plete.
Advance troops could be in place in
Kosovo in a matter of hours with 6,000
to 8,000 more troops quickly following,
officials said. The first forces to arrive
will probably be 2,200 U.S. Marines
currently in the Mediterranean.
Plans for the deployment of the
main 28,000-man force are expected to
be finished by the end of the week.
Any American peacekeepers sent to
Kosovo would remain until a system of
self-rule is “up and running” and stabil
ity is restored, the Clinton administra
tion said Tuesday. However, other
administration officials said the aim is
to get the job done within three years.
72 Vietnamese refugees take
oath to become U.S. citizens
CITIZENS from page 1
After that, everyone in the audito
rium was asked to stand and say the
Pledge of Allegiance along with the
new citizens.
Lincoln High Principal Mike
Wortman, who also spoke, told the
newly inducted citizens that the loca
tion of the ceremony was uncommon
ly appropriate.
“It is fitting that this ceremony is
held in school, because as a citizen of
the United States, you will have a
great opportunity to receive an excel
lent education.”
Celine Roberson, a Lincoln High
faculty member who became a U.S.
citizen in 1972 and is originally from
China, told the group, “Let us work
together to make our chosen country
a better place for everyone.”
A reception followed the ceremo
ny in the high school cafeteria, where
new citizens could register to vote.
UNL sophomore Sang Van
Nguyen, was one of the 72 new U.S.
citizens.
Nguyen said he was happy that he
and his family were now U.S. citi
zens.
Now that he is a citizen, he said he
was going to immediately register to
vote and apply for a U.S. passport.
Editor: Erin Gibson Questions? Commoflts?
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Opinion Editor: Cliff Hicks
Sports Editor: Sam McKewon General Manager: DanShatril
A&E Editor: Bret Schulte PubUcationa Board Jessica Hofmann,
Copy Desk Chief: Tasha Kelter Chairwoman:. (402)466-8404
Asst Copy Desk Chief: Heidi White Professional Adviser Don Walton,
Photo Co-Chief: Matt Miller (402)473-7248
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Design Chief: Nancy Christensen (402) 472-2389
Art Director: Matt Haney Asst Ad Manager Andrea Oeltjen
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Asst Web Editor Amy Burke
Fax number: (402) 472-1761
World Wide Web: www.daiiyneb.com
The Daily Nebraskan (USPS144-060) is published by tneUNL Publications Board, Nebraska
Union 34,1400 RSI, Lincoln, NE 68588-0448, Monday through Friday during the academic year; ,
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ALL MATERIAL COPYRKaHT 1999
THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
.
Police see surge of drivers
failing to register vehicles
By Shane Anthony
Staff writer
Lincoln police issued 805 more
citations in 1998 for improper vehi
cle registration than they did last
year. N
At a press conference Tuesday,
Police ChiefTom Casady said police
issued 9,008 citations in 1998, com
pared to 8,203 in 1998. The “epi
demic” of improperly registered
vehicles is aggravating for taxpay
ers, he said, but some motorists may
find the risk of getting caught less
troublesome than paying for regis
tration.
“It’s expensive, obviously, to reg
ister a car,” he said. But fines for
improper registration are usually
very small, he said. “It takes an awful
lot of $25 tickets” to make registra
tion look like a better idea, he said.
Susan Ross, the assistant motor
vehicle supervisor for Lancaster
County, said the lowest fee a person
living in Lincoln could pay to regis
ter and license a car this year is $67,
plus a $3 fee for new license plates.
For trucks weighing fewer than five
tons, she said, the lowest amount
would be $87.50 plus the new
license fee.
Those figures apply only if the
1
vehicle is old enough to have no
property tax on it and it was not
newly purchased, she said. Anyone
purchasing a vehicle has to pay sales
tax, she said, and that number some
times shocks the new owner.
“I think there are a lot of people
these days who are buying vehicles
who don’t realize they’re going to
have to pay that much sales tax,” she
said.
Motorists living outside Lincoln
pay 4.5 percent sales tax, she said.
For those living in Lincoln, the rate is
6 percent. Lincoln residents must
also pay a $39 yearly wheel tax -
$58.50 for most trucks - that other
Lancaster County residents don’t
have to pay.
Ross said some people try to
avoid the higher sales tax rate and the
wheel tax by registering their vehicle
as if they lived in other counties, or
outside Lincoln.
Casady said police investigated
392 such cases last year. Other peo
ple never bother registering their
vehicles to avoid paying anything, he
said.
“If you stopped every vehicle
with no plates, you wouldn’t get very
far,” he said.
Casady encouraged people to
report drivers who have no licenses
or improper in transit signs.
“It would bother me to think my
neighbor avoided paying taxes,” he
said.
Ross said a vehicle must be reg
istered wherever it is stored 51 per
cent of the time - “where the car
sleeps.” But full-time students and
active military personnel can register
their vehicles at their permanent
addresses.
Vehicle registration is located at
625 N. 46th St. The building is open
from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For esti
mates or questions, call (402) 441
7497.
«
If you stopped every vehicle with no
plates, you wbuldn’t get very far.”
Tom Casadt
Lincoln police chief
Wesely makes moves to mayor’s office
■ The 20-year veteran
of the Legislature received
$7,500 in donations and
promised to open City Hall
to all citizens.
ByEricRineer
Staff writer
Don Wesely officially kicked off
his mayoral campaign Tuesday, call
ing for City Hall to be opened to the
average citizen - not just an exclusive
few.
Wesely, who retired a 20-year vet
eran of the Nebraska Legislature last
year, said he was excited about the
support he's seen for his campaign to
represent the common person in the
mayoral office.
“We’re going to open up City Hall
and invite all the people," said Wesely,
the lone Democrat in the race.
While Wesely addressed support
ers about his platform, several spon
sors handed him checks to show their
support
Donations included a $3,000
check by the Communications
Workers of America, a $500 check
from the Lincoln Central Labor
Union and a $4,000 check from the
local chapter of a firefighters union.
Wesely said he was encouraged by
the donations to his campaign.
“What a great start to the cam
paign,” he said. “It’s inspiring to have
that strong of support.”
Republican City Councilwoman
Cindy Johnson - Wesely’s main oppo
nent in the race - collected $10,000
from the Lincoln Chamber of
Commerce two months ago to help
begin her own campaign.
Wesely said one of his goals, if
elected, was to give firefighters
stronger support in order to ensure
better public safety.
Mike Spadt, President of the
International Association of
Firefighters in Lincoln, presented the
donation to Wesely.
“He’s the only one that has the
vision and the ability to guide the city
into the future,” Spadt said of Wesely.
“He’s a fair person, and all people will
have a voice when he’s in office.”
The temporary change of P Street
to a two-way thoroughfare, he said,
was an example of a select few people
in City Hall making an irrational deci
sion.
“You shouldn’t have to wait for
people to do a petition drive before the
city does something to change
things,” Wesely said.
Wesely also spoke about various
proposals by the city to develop in
areas su^h as Wilderness Park,
Steven’s Creek and Antelope Valley.
He called for a more thorough study
of those areas before moving forward
with development.
“We don’t want growth at any
cost,” Wesely said. “If we do it right,
the bity will not only grow bigger - it
will grow better.”
Wesely said his campaign kickoff
was long anticipated.
“I spent 20 years in die Legislature
waiting for this moment,” he said. “It's
time to bring the city together and
move it toward its future.”
Malcolm X museum may become reality
OMAHA (AP) - Construction
on a museum and learning center to
honor slain civil-rights leader
Malcolm X at the site of his parents’
home in Omaha could begin this
spring.
The project is under the direction
of Johnny Rodgers, president of the
Malcolm X Memorial Foundation
and a former Nebraska football star
who won the 1972 Heisman Trophy.
A builder has agreed to develop
financing for a geodesic dome to
house die memorial if the foundation
raises $25,000 to lay die base for the
dome, Rodgers said.
- Rodgers said formal fund-rais
ing will begin after plans are better
organized. He hopes the museum
can be completed by May 19, 2000,
the 75th anniversary of Malcolm X’s
birthday..
“It’s really dependent upon the
people,” Rodgers said. “If people
come together, they can make things
happen.”
The project has been planned for
almost 30 years.
The foundation owns about 10
acres near Malcolm X’s birth site, a
vacant lot identified by a historical
marker erected in 1987. It was the
first Nebraska state historical mark
er to honor a black person.
Rodgers said the timing is good
for a memorial to Malcolm X
because most people now recognize
him as an important leader in the
civil-rights movement and a role
model for youths.
Rodgers noted that the U.S.
Postal Service recently released a
stamp honoring Malcolm X. The 33
cent stamp, the 22n“ in the Postal
Service’s Black Heritage Series,
went on sale Jan. 21.
“We need to show some appreci
ation for our heroes, and he’s one of
them,” Rodgers said.
Malcolm X, also known as El
Haji Malik El-Shabazz, was bom
Malcolm Little at University
Hospital in Omaha on May 19,1925.
At the time, his parents - the Rev.
u
We need
to show some
appreciation for
our heroes,
and he’s one of
them.”
Johnny Rodgers
president of the Malcolm X
Memorial Foundation
Earl and Louise Little - lived at the
site of the planned memorial. The
home was condemned and torn
down in 1965, the same year
Malcolm X was assassinated in New
York.
The family moved to Milwaukee
when Malcolm X was 3 years old.
