NATO targets ground forces
Airstrikes aim for supply lines;
Milosevic promises to rebuild
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) -
Aided by clearing skies, NATO struck
fuel depots, bridges and army barracks
throughout Yugoslavia on Monday, and
said it was taking particular aim at
Serbian ground forces accused of ter
rorizing ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
Yugoslav President Slobodan
Milosevic brushed off the continued
barrage, defiantly promising to rebuild
the bomb-damaged structures and
denouncing NATO “aggressors” and
“criminals.”
As night fell, air raid sirens sounded
{ again in Belgrade, likely heralding the
14th straight night of NATO bombard
ments. Two strong detonations were
heard late Monday in the northern city
of Novi Sad, Tanjug said.
President Clinton promised an
“undiminished, unceasing and unrelent
ing” air campaign, saying it would no
longer be enough for Milosevic to just
stop the killing. “A Kosovo denied its
freedom and devoid of its people is not
acceptable,” he said. “Our plan is to per
sist until we prevail.”
The 13 th day of NATO airstrikes
aimed to cut the Yugoslav military’s
lines of supply and transport - roads,
bridges, airports, fuel depots and com
mand centers.
Serb media said a bridge connecting
Kosovo with the neighboring republic
of Montenegro took a direct hit, and that
the Yugoslav air force command build
ing in a Belgrade suburb was targeted.
The better weather was little com
fort for the tens of thousands of refugees
who continued to pour out of Kosovo in
an exodus not seen in Europe for a half
century. The U.N. refugee agency said
the number of ethnic Albanians reach
ing neighboring states had reached
nearly 400,000.
Conditions remained dire at a
makeshift refugee camp at Blace,
Macedonia, on the border with Kosovo,
where thousands were living in shelters
of plastic and blankets in a muddy, fetid
no-man’s land.
“There are too many people in that
small Concentrated area for safety and
also for sanitation and health concerns,”
said Chris Thomas of the American Red
Cross.
The human tide has overwhelmed
Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro.
As of Monday, 239,000 refugees had
arrived in Albania, 120,000 in
Macedonia and 35,000 in Montenegro,
the U.N. High Commissioner for
Refugees said.
At least 831,000 of the 2 million
prewar Kosovo population have been
driven from their homes since the con
flict began in February 1998, NATO
spokesman Jamie Shea said.
NATO said relief flights carrying
200 tons of food and other emergency
supplies were scheduled into Albania
and Macedonia.
There was growing debate, howev
er, over plans for NATO nations includ
ing the United States to temporarily take
in tens of thousands of the refugees.
Albania, despite its own impover
ishment, said Monday it would not ask
others to take in the refugees who have
arrived there because dispersing them
outside the region would only help fur
ther Milosevic’s aims.
Hagel supports deploying
ground troops in Kosovo
OMAHA (AP) - Sen. Chuck
Hagel said most Nebraskans he has
heard from are opposed to U.S.
involvement in Kosovo, yet that is
not stopping the war veteran from
pressing for ground troops in the
region.
“When you are in a war, you are
in to win,” Hagel said Monday from
Washington, D.C., during his week
ly media conference call. “I don’t
think you should ever take off the
table any military option.”
Hagel said he has received
about 200 letters, telephone calls,
faxes or e-mail messages from con
stituents regarding Kosovo. He said
about 80 percent of those commu
nications express opposition to U.S.
involvement.
“In the end, I’ve got to do what I
think is right,” the Republican said.
“That means sometimes you are not
going to be that popular. I’m not
Washington has agreed to send 24
Apache helicopters, 2,600 troops and a
missile launching system to Albania to
give NATO the ability to directly attack
Serb troops and tanks in Kosovo, where
more than 2,000 people have died over
die past 13 months as Milosevic’s troops
aimed to crush ethnic Albanian sepa
ratists. Kosovo is a province in Serbia,
die main republic in Yugoslavia. “We’re
going after his tanks, his armored units,
his artillery, those forces on the ground
that are carrying out this horrific ethnic
cleansing. They are going to be targeted
worried about that.”
If most Nebraskans are upset
with his decision, Hagel said they
can elect a new senator in 2002,
when Hagel would be up for re
election. Hagel added that he has
not decided yet whether to seek a
second term.Hagel was critical of
the Clinton administration’s han
dling of the Kosovo situation. He
said the president was wrong to rule
out the qse of ground forces, and
accused Clinton of relying on pub
lic opinion polls while making war
decisions.
Sen. Bob Kerrey was not imme
diately available for comment
Monday.
Kerrey, a Democrat and
Vietnam veteran, has said that
ground troops were not a good
option because they would require
far too many resources and the out
come was too unpredictable.
now and taken out,” U.S. Defense
Secretary William Cohen promised on
Monday.
President Clinton announced a toll
free telephone number Monday that
people can call to donate money for eth
nic Albanians expelled from Kosovo.
The president asked for donations to
nongovernmental groups in the area try
ing to stanch the humanitarian crisis.
Clinton directed potential donors to a
toll-free number: 1-800-USAID
RELIEF - unwieldy at 15 digits, but up
and running Monday afternoon.
1 pleads guilty to Shepard death I
LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) - One of
two men charged in the killing of gay
college student Matthew Shepard
pleaded guilty Monday to murder,
admitting he tied the bleeding young
man to a wooden fence and left him
for dead on the prairie.
Russell Henderson, a 21-year-old
high school dropout and roofer,
avoided a trial and a possible death
sentence with his plea.
He was sentenced to two consecu
tive life terms and will not be eligible
for parole. His only hope for release
is a pardon.
Judy Shepard cried at the court
room podium while talking about her
son, then turned to Henderson: “I
hope you never experience another
day or night without experiencing the
terror, humiliation, the hopelessness
and helplessness that my son felt that
night.”
Authorities said Henderson and
Aaron McKinney, 21, posed as
I
«
I hope one day you will be able to find it in
your heart to forgive me.”
Russell Henderson
Shepard murderer
homosexuals and lured the 5-foot-2,
105-pound Shepard out of a bar last
October, kidnapped and pistol
whipped him and left him tied to a
fence in the cold. The 21-year-old
University of Wyoming student died
five days later at a hospital.
Although he pleaded guilty to
felony murder and kidnapping,
Henderson said his friend and co
defendant delivered the fatal blows.
He matter-of-factly recounted the
grisly beating and his attempts to
cover up his role, then asked forgive
ness from his and Shepard’s families.
“There is not a moment that goes
by that I don’t see what happened that
night,” he said. “I hope one day you
will be able to find it in your heart to
forgive me.”
Henderson said he tried to stop
the beating, but McKinney struck
him with a gun when he spoke up.
“Matthew looked really bad, so I told
(McKinney) to stop, he’s had
enough,” Henderson said.
McKinney will be tried in August
on first-degree murder, kidnapping
and aggravated robbery charges. He
could be sentenced to death.
Editor: Erin Gibson
Managing Editor: Brad Davis
Associate News Editor: Sarah Baker
Associate News Editor: Bryce Glenn
Assignment Editor: Lindsay Young
^ Opinion Editor: Cliff Hicks
Sports Editor: Sam McKewon
_ _ A&E Editor: Bret Schulte
Questions? Comments? Copy Desk Chief: TashaKelter
Ask for the appropriate section editor at (402) 472-2588 Asst Copy Desk Chief: Heidi White
ore-maildn@unl.edu. Photo Co-Chief: Man Miller
Photo Co-Chief: Lane Hickenbottom
Design Chief: Nancy Christensen
Art Director: Matt Haney
Web Editor: Gregg Steams
Asst Web Editor: Amy Burke
General Manager: Dan Shattil
Publications Board Jessica Hofmann,
Chairwoman: (402) 466-8404
Professional Adviser: Don Walton,
(402)473-7248
Advertising Manager: Nick Partsch,
ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT'1999 (402)472-2589
THE DAILY NEBRASKAN Asst. Ad Manager: Andrea Oeltjen
Classified Ad Manager: Mary Johnson
Sanctions
on Libya
suspended
CAMP ZEIST, Netherlands
(AP) - The United Nations suspend
ed sanctions against Libya on
Monday after Moammar Gadhafi
surrendered two suspected Libyan
intelligence agents for trial in the
1988 bombing of a Pan Am jet
The handover - hailed by
Clinton administration officials as a
victory against terrorism - ended ,
seven years of punishing sanctions
against Libya, and began what could
be a lengthy trial process in the
Netherlands.
“Now, at last, the road to justice
has begun,” President Clinton said.
The two Libyans were being
held at this former U.S. airbase,
awaiting arraignment under Scottish
law on charges of planting the suit
case bomb that blew up Pan Am
Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland,
killing 270 people, including 189
Americans.
Suspects Abdel Basset Ali al
Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa
Fhimah, accompanied by U.N. rep
resentative Hans Corell, landed at a
military airport earlier Monday near
The Hague. They were swiftly extra
dited to British custody in the
Netherlands.
Before leaving the Libyan capi
tal of Tripoli, the suspects said they
hoped to return to their families after
being found innocent
“We are confident in ourselves,”
said al-Megrahi, 46. “The days will
prove that what we are saying is
true.”
■ New York
Man accused of spreading
AIDS sentenced to jail
MAYVILLE (AP) - A man
accused of infecting least 13 young
women with the AIDS virus through
unprotected sex was sentenced
Monday to four to 12 years in prison.
Nushawn Williams, 22, struck a
plea bargain after only two victims
agreed to testify. Some of the other
women never came forward.
Investigators said Williams trad
ed drugs for sex with young women
and teens he approached in schools
and parks.
■ Washington, D.C.
Court rules passengers’
bags can be searched
The Associated Press (AP) -
Passengers’ personal belongings are
fair game when police officers
search a car for criminal evidence
against the driver, the Supreme Court
ruled Monday.
The 6-3 decision reinstated a
Wyoming drug conviction and
expanded the already considerable
police power to stop and search vehi
cles without a court warrant. Police
officials praised the ruling, but
defense lawyers condemned it.
■ Washington, D.C.
Pinsky given third term
as U.S. poet laureate
The Associated Press - Robert
Pinsky, who emphasizes that poetry
should be an integral part of every
day life, was given an unprecedented
third term Monday as America’s poet
laureate.
Pinsky, 58, is the country’s ninth
poet laureate since Congress created
the title in 1985.
Named to the one-year post in
1997, Pinsky, who also teaches cre
ative writing at Boston University,
has been especially active, appearing
in public and on television, in empha
sizing poetry’s role in everyday activ
ities.
■ Egypt
Iraqi opposition leaders
to discuss Hussein ouster
CAIRO (AP) - Iraqi opposition
leaders, under U.S. pressure to unite
to remove Saddam Hussein from
power, are planning to meet in
Britain this week, dissidents said
Monday.
But two of the main opposition
groups - the Supreme Council for
Islamic Revolution in Iraq and the
Iraqi Communist Party - said they
would not attend the meeting, the
first gathering since the Clinton
administration last year named Frank
Ricciardone to coordinate with the
Iraqi opposition groups.
■ Mexico
Accused killer ordered
to remain in prison
CUERNAVACA (AP) - A man
suspected of killing 137 people in
Mexico has been formally ordered to
remain in prison along with three
alleged accomplices.
A criminal court judge in
Cuernavaca, 35 miles south of
Mexico City, issued the orders
Sunday against Fernando Hernandez
Leyva and his alleged accomplices.
