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- . Jf News Digest Monday, September 20,1999 Page 2 More troops to arrive in E. Timor DILI, Indonesia (AP) - The com mander of the multinational peace keeping force promised East Timor’s terrorized population Sunday a new life “free of threat,” with his troops set to enter the province early Monday. As thousands of troops sailed toward Dili, Australian Maj. Gen. Peter Cosgrove toured streets devastat 3d by rampaging militias, passing :harred houses and buildings reduced to smoking ashes. “This is not a time for idle threats 3r words,” he said after meeting the Indonesian military commander of the territory. “This is a time for the force to arrive and to get about its tasks of helping to create a secure environ ment.” The announcement two weeks ago that 78.5 percent of East Timor’s vot srs approved a break with Indonesia led to a murderous rampage by pro Indonesia militias that drove more than 300,000 people from their homes and cost at least several hundred lives. The foreign intervention is a major humiliation for Indonesia, whose army had fought for nearly 25 years to put down separatist rebels. President B.J. Habibie’s decision to invite the peacekeepers a week ago has led to a nationalist backlash in Indonesia and has sent angry protest ers into the streets. Humanitarian aid to hundreds of thousands of refugees, some of them facing starvation, was to be the first priority of the U.N.-approved peace mission. The first combat troops in the 7,500-member force were due to arrive at 6:30 a.m. local time Monday (6:30 p.m. EDT Sunday) aboard a C 130 Hercules transport plane, begin ning a mission that Australian Prime Minister John Howard said was fraught with menace. By Monday afternoon, 2,500 Australian soldiers, helicopters and armored personnel carriers would be on the ground in Dili, said Maj. Gen. Kiki Syahnakri, commander of the Indonesian forces in East Timor. I <f-— This is a time for the force to arrive and to get about its tasks of helping to create a secure environment” Peter Cosgrove Australian major general Nine warships from Australia, Britain and New Zealand were sailing toward East Timor. About 250 Gurkhas, Nepalese fighters who serve in the British army and carry their trademark 13-inch kukri knives, also were to be among the first internation al troops. Cosgrove said the force would have 3,200 troops in East Timor with in a week. The mission will probably last several months before making way for a follow-up U.N. peacekeeping force, he said. Cosgrove flew from Darwin, the staging port in northern Australia where troops from a score of countries were assembling. He was greeted on the tarmac at Dili airport by Syahnakri, the Indonesian comman der, whom he met for 90 minutes to coordinate the deployment. Indonesian soldiers were posted every 200 yards along Cosgrove’s route as he went on a 20-minute tour. While Cosgrove toured the city, the few militiamen who have not left brandished machetes as families hur ried aboard crowded Indonesian navy vessels and rusty cargo ships. Bradley: statement on gays his ‘personal view* WASHINGTON (AP) - Bill Bradley said Sunday he did not con sult with military officials prior to elling a gay and lesbian magazine hat homosexuals should be permit :ed to serve openly in the military. “This is a statement of my per sonal views, my personal belief that ’ays should be allowed to serve open ly in the military,” the Democratic ^residential candidate said on ABC’s This Week.” In an interview with The \dvocate, released last week, the for mer New Jersey senator said gays also should be protected under the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Bradley also said he would not support a California ballot question [hat seeks to outlaw same-sex mar 'iages, although he said he remains opposed to such unions. He was asked in the wide-ranging \BC interview whether he consulted mth senior military officials about vhy they view the armed services iifferently from other areas of gov ernment where gays serve openly. Bradley said he did not and did not see a need to. Bradley said gay Americans should be allowed to serv e in the mil itary if they can serve the country as police officers, nuclear scientists, doctors and lawyers. “There have been gays in the mil itary as long as there’s been a mili tary. They’ve only had to hide,” he said. Bradley, who is challenging Vice President A1 Gore for the Democratic nomination, described the Clinton administration’s “don’t ask, don’t tell,” policy on gays in the military as a near failure. The 1993 policy allows homosexuals to serve in the military as long as they do not discuss their sexual orientation openly. Military superiors also cannot inquire about the sexual orientation of their troops. On other topics, Bradley said: ■ Illegal drug use by a presiden tial candidate mattered. “I do think that if someone violated the law, they should state whether they did or not,” said Bradley, who has used marijuana “but never cocaine.” ■ The booming economy was more responsible for substantial drops in the number of people on welfare than a 1996 reform law. Bradley said he would suggest fur ther improvements to the system later on in the campaign. Trfc^JST_ Questions? Comments? Editor: Josh Funk Ask ,or the appropriate section editor at Managing Editor: Sarah Baker (402) 472-2588 Associate News Editor: Lindsay Young or e'ma'l dn@uni.edu. Associate News Editor: Jessica Fargen Opinion Editor: MarkBaldridge General Manager: Daniel Shattil Sports Editor: Dave Wilson Publications Board Jessica Hofmann, A&E Editor: Liza Holtmeier Chairwoman: (402) 477-0527 Copy Desk Chief: Diane Broderick Professional Adviser: Don Walton, Photo Chief: Matt Miller (402) 473-7248 Design Chief: Melanie Falk Advertising Manager: Nick Partsch, Art Director: Matt Haney (402) 472-2589 Web Editor: Gregg Steams Asst. Ad Manager: Jamie Yeager Asst. Web Editor: Jennifer Walker Classifield Ad Manager: Mary Johnson Fax number: (402) 472-1761 World Wide Web: www.dailyneb.com The Daily Nebraskan (USPS 144-080) is published by the UNL Publications Board, Nebraska Union 20,1400 R St, Lincoln, NE 68588-0448, Monday through Friday during the academic year; weekly during the summer sessions.The public has access to the Publications Board Readers are encouraged to submit story ideas and comments to the Daily Nebraskan by calling (402) 472-2588. Subscriptions are $60 for one year. Postmaster: Send address changes to the Daily Nebraskan, Nebraska Union 20,1400 R St, Lincoln NE 68588-0448. Periodical postage paid at Lincoln, NE. ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 1999 THE DAILY NEBRASKAN laiks on future of KLA continue ■ NATO insists the Kosovo Liberation Army disband as deadline approaches. PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (AP) - NATO and the Kosovo Liberation Army were reported in intense discus sions Sunday in an effort to reach agreement on what will become of the former rebel army after the deadline for it to disband. NATObfficials insisted that the June agreement for the KLA to dis band by midnight Sunday remains in effect. But they acknowledged that unspecified problems prevented the two sides from signing an agreement on transforming the KLA into a 5,000 member civilian Kosovo Corps. The KLA wants the new organiza tion to become the nucleus of a new army of an independent Kosovo - something NATO has refused. NATO has insisted that the peace keepers must be the only armed force in Kosovo. The Russians and the Serbs - who consider the KLA terrorists responsible for attacks against Serb civilians - oppose any formula that might enable the KLA to continue with its same organizational structure under a different name. The transformation agreement was to have been signed Sunday morning by peacekeeping commander Gen. Mike Jackson and the KLA military commander, Gen. Agim Ceku, but the ceremony was canceled. And on Monday, NATO and the U.N. mission were to begin organizing the Kosovo Corps. The group was to help combat natural disasters and take on other humanitarian and civilian missions, such as firefighting and res cues. In a clear warning to the former rebels, NATO spokesman Lt. Col. Robin Clifford alluded to a former agreement to disband accepted by the KLA. He said Ceku must sign by mid night “because after that the KLA ceases to exist. So does its general staff.” Ceku’s staff told reporters the gen eral was unavailable to speak to the news media. A well-placed Albanian source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Ceku insisted KLA fighters be allowed to keep their uni forms and red-and-black emblems but that Jackson refused. The KLA was promised new uni forms for the Kosovo Corps but they would not be ready for months, the source said. The rebels also want assur ances they can retain a military-style command structure, the sources said. Hours before the midnight dead line, the two sides were still in what the sources described as difficult and intensive talks. Church goes on after shooting FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - Some walked hesitantly up the sun washed sidewalk. A few used sunglass es or veils to shield teary eyes. Still oth ers marched into the church with poker faces: heads high, eyes straight ahead. But come they did, clad in their Sunday best, to reclaim Wedgwood Baptist Church just days after a shoot ing rampage left eight dead and seven wounded. Over the front door hung a banner reading, “Let the Healing Begin.” Blood soaked the aisle and foyer carpet Wednesday night - so church officials had the Rigs torn up and hauled away. In their place, scarred cement flooring lined the aisles Sunday. And because splattered blood destroyed some of the pew cushions, entire sections of seating were uprooted. Rickety folding chairs replaced sections of wooden pews. The scars were evident - but shout ed prayers, spirited singing and clap ping hands rang off the high sanctuary ceiling. “Praise the Lord!” cried the Rev. A1 Meredith, taking the pulpit to waves of applause. Behind him, the choir stood in flowing crimson robes. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say we were having church today.” Packets of Kleenex were scattered throughout the sanctuary for the church’s first service since gunman Larry Gene Ashbrook burst into an evening vouth rally and opened fire. I World as# Nation Wmm> w v .: :'/M v.:* fvXr: :■:■£:<•:':• :;Xx%: ■ Datelines :i ■ Miami Tropical storms predicted in north, east Gulf Coast MIAMI (AP) - Foul weather building in the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday threatened to form Tropical Storm Harvey. Meanwhile. Hurricane Gert, with 130 mph winds, loomed as a threat to Bermuda. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center expected to post a storm warning or watch for the northern and eastern Gulf Coast later Sunday with a tropical depression circulating off the Florida coast with 35 mph winds. The syslem should come ashore north of Tampa, cross the Florida peninsula Tuesday and shoot into the Atlantic with 55 to 60 mph winds, said hurricane specialist Brian Jarvinen. ■ Spain At least 29 passengers die in bus accident in Spain LA MUELA, Spain (AP) - A passenger bus going on a three-day trip to the coast careened off a high way in northeastern Spain on Sunday, killing at least 29 people and injuring two dozen more, authorities said. All of the victims were Spaniards, although ages and identi ties were not immediately released, said Juan Carlos Cordoba, spokesman for the regional govern ment of Aragon. The accident occurred Sunday afternoon near the northeastern city of Zaragoza. The bus tumbled off the Nil highway and down into a ditch full of water. ■Atlantic City Miss America’s platform is to aid homeless veterans ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - The new Miss America, whose father is a disabled Vietnam veteran, said Sunday, a day after winning the crown, that she hopes to use her crown to spotlight homelessness among veterans. Heather Renee French, 24, of Maysville, Ky., a graduate design student who has done volunteer work for the Veterans; Administration, will campaign for; increased government assistance for: down-and-out veterans during her reign. - ■ Washington Clinton jokes he’s nation’s first black president WASHINGTON (AP) - President Clinton agrees with author Toni Morrison: he is - unofficially - the nation’s first black president. Clinton jokingly claimed that! distinction for himself Saturday night at the Congressional Black Caucus’ annual awards dinner. He said comedian Chris Tucker told him he’d like to see the Oval Office to prepare for an upcoming movie role as the nation’s first black president. “I didn’t have the heart to tel I him that I’ve already taken the position.’" Clinton said. In an October 1998 essay in The New Yorker magazine. Morrison said black Americans tended to be sympathetic to Clinton because his! impoverished childhood and person-! al struggles seemed to mirror many ; of their own experiences.