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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 1999)
] Thursday, October 21,1999 _ Page 2 Protests mar Indonesia election JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - A revered but frail Islamic party leader won the first open presidential election in . Indonesia’s troubled history Wednesday, defeating the popular daughter of the country’s founding father and setting off a wave of violent protests by her disillusioned supporters. Abdurrahman Wahid comes to power as Indonesia grapples with its worst economic crisis in 30 years and continuing communal and separatist violence across this ethnically diverse archipelago of 210 million people. His election gives Islam unprecedented influence in the world’s largest Muslim nation. - - In the wake of the vote, gunshots rang throughout the capital, Jakarta. About 10,000 supporters ofWahid’s rival, Megawati Sukarnoputri, tried to march on Parliament, throwing rocks and gasoline bombs at police who stopped them with tear gas and warning shots. The clashes continued into the night before protesters drifted away. Gangs also roamed some streets and tried to hijack cars. At least one man was killed when a car exploded, injuring 18. A separate homemade bomb, hidden in a flower pot, injured five people at the city’s main traffic circle. A third bomb went off harmlessly in a street after Jakarta’s huge convention center was set on fire. Inside the heavily guarded Parliament, Wahid - who has suffered two strokes, is nearly blind and can bare ly walk - was supported by aides as he shuffled to a podium to make his inau gural speech calling for national unity. Although Wahid, 59, heads Indonesia’s largest Muslim organiza tion, he has long supported cooperation among faiths and continuing the separa tion between religion and government. Wahid, better known by his nickname, Gus Dur, is regarded as a voice of toler ance and democratic reform. “It will be a heavy task to create a peaceful and prosperous society in the future,” Wahid said in his first speech as president Until Wednesday, Megawati, the daughter of Indonesia’s first president had been regarded as the presidential a It will be a heavy task to create a peaceful and prosperous society in the future!' Abdurrahman Wahid Indonesia president-elect front runner. Her Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle won 34 percent of the vote in June elections, more than any other party. Wahid’s National Awakening Party won only 12 percent. However, Megawati’s candidacy failed because some conservative Muslims rejected the idea of a female president, and others claimed she lacked the vision and political savvy to build alliances with rivals. Initially, Wahid supported her campaign but late decid ed to go it alone after the two fell out over strategy. During Wednesday’s vote, thou sands of Megawati’s hopeful supporters clogged the streets. The mood turned dark with news of her defeat. Some cried; others resorted to violence. In Washington, President Clinton welcomed Indonesia’s presidential selection and the decision to end a quar ter-century of rule in East Timor, where a multinational force is trying to restore order after paramilitary forces went on a spree of burning, looting and intimida tion throughout the territory last month. With Wahid sworn in as Indonesia’s fourth head of state in 54 years of inde pendence, the focus turned to whom the assembly will choose Thursday as vice president Officials in Wahid’s party say he may well offer Megawati the vice presidency, a crucial post if he’s unable to fulfill his term. Clinton pushes for budget funds for teachers, police WASHINGTON (AP) - Budget talks between White House officials and lawmakers began Wednesday at the Capitol, with the administration brandishing President Clinton’s veto power in pushing for more money for teachers, police and foreign aid Ultimately, the political victor may be determined less by whose spending priorities are adopted than by whether Republicans can convince the public that they have kept their pledge not to tap Social Security surpluses. After a final deal, Democrats say they will win the day if the public is convinced Republicans broke their promise and spent Social Security funds after all. “Absolutely,” said Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. “It’s a win because it confirms what we have said all along... that they’re guilty of duplicity when it comes to the budget” Republicans say their fight is to keep Clinton from paying for added spending by using Social Security money. They say they will claim victo ry if they deliver. On the surface, Clinton wants sev eral billion dollars more than Congress has provided for teachers, police, for eign aid and other programs. The pres ident wants to kill provisions helping the oil, mining and other industries that the administration considers anti-envi ronmental, while Republicans want to give states more control over money for schools and other programs than Clinton prefers. Both sides agree that those disputes can be resolved and savings to pay for the extra spending will be found. Yet there is a politically more sig nificant dispute over whether the underlying spending bills - without Clinton’s requests for more money - tap the Social Security surpluses. With each side citing analyses by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, Democrats say the bills already eat into the pension system’s surpluses, using gimmicks like delayed spending to mask that fact Republicans say the final versions of the bills will not touch die Social Security money. Although the two sides have agreed not to use Social Security funds, they disagree over whether the underlying bills obey that principle. If that dispute persists when they complete their work, both parties will launch public relations blitzes: The GOP will say it honored the promise, and Democrats will contend Republicans broke it. Editor: Josh Funk Managing Editor: Sarah Baker Associate News Editor: Lindsay Young Associate News Editor: Jessica Fargen Opinion Editor: MarkBaldridge Sports Editor: Dave Wilson A&E Editor: Liza Holtmeier Copy Desk Chief: Diane Broderick Photo Chief: Lane Hickenbottom Design Chief: Melanie Falk Art Director: Matt Haney Web Editor: Gregg Stearns Asst Web Editor: Jennifer Walker Questions? Comments? Ask for the appropriate section editor at (402)472-2588 or e-mail dn@unl.edu. General Manager: Daniel Shattil Publications Board Jessica Hofmann, Chairwoman: (402) 477-0527 Professional Advisor: Don Walton, (402)473-7248 Advertising Manager: Nick Paitsch, (402)472-2589 Asst Ad Manager: Jamie Yeager ClassMIrid Ad Manager: Mary Johnson Fax number: (402) 472-1761 World Wide Web: www.dalyneb.com The Daly Nebraskan (USPS144-000) is published by tneUNL Publications Board, Nebraska Union 20,1400 RSL, Lincoln, NE 68588-0446, Monday through Friday during the academic year; weekly during the summer sessions.The pubfic has access to the Publications Board. Readers are encmraged to submit story ideas and comments to the Daily Nebraskan by calling 1 (402)472-2588. Subscriptions are $60 for one year. Postmaster: Send address changes to the Daly Nebraskan, Nebraska Union 20,1400 RSL, Lfocofo NE 685884)448. Periodical postage paid at Lincoln, NE. ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 1999 THE DAILY NEBRASKAN # Dole drops her bid for the presidency ■ The candidate said she wasn’t able to keep up with her competition’s bankrolls. WASHINGTON (AP) - Elizabeth Dole abandoned ho* bid to be America’s first woman president, giving up Wednesday in the shadow of Republican front-runner George W. Bush^ outsized bankroll. “The odds are overwhelming,” she told tearful supporters. “It would be futile to continue.” With a near-wistful nod to the his toric implications, President Clinton called Dole’s departure from the race “a loss to die Republican Party and a loss to the country that she couldn’t go for ward” because of finances. The fifth GOP candidate to drop out months before the first primaries, Dole left a field of seven, dominated by Bush. Allies buzzed about Dole’s prospects for second place oh any GOP ticket hoping to draw women voters. While Dole said emphatically she has not considered die vice presidency, she added, I m a long way from the twi light” Dole’s campaign attracted new vot ers - particularly young and profession al women - to the Republican Party. She finished strong in Iowa’s non-binding straw poll in August and displayed a practiced polish on the campaign trail. But she was unable to translate that into better poll rankings or fund raising. Though second place in many national polls - she hovered around 10 percent - she trailed Arizona Sen. John McCain in New Hampshire and lagged well behind Bush everywhere. After weeks of rumors that she would quit, Dole turned the talk to truth in a speech tinged with bitterness for the fortunes held by Bush and publisher Steve Forbes. Her schedule had her racing through 108 fund-raisers this year, but still she came up with just $5 million to Bush’s $56 million. She made up her mind alone on Sunday night, she said, during the five hour flight home from a Seattle cam paign stop. Appeals court overturns verdict in TrimeTime’ case RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A federal appeals court on Wednesday reversed a jury verdict that found ABC committed fraud in a hidden-camera expose of unsanitary conditions at Food Lion’s supermarkets. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, with a 2-1 ruling, threw out a $315,000judgment against ABC over a 1992 “PrimeTime Live” story. Two ABC reporters used false resumes to get jobs at a Food Lion store, then secretly videotaped employees for a story on food-handling practices that accused the grocery chain of selling rat gnawed cheese and rotting meat The report alleged that Food Lion employees ground out-of-date beef with new beef, bleached rank meat to remove its odor and redated products not sold before their expiration date. The jury that found ABC guilty of fraud under state law awarded the super market chain $5.5 million in punitive damages, but that was cut to $315,000 by a federal judge. Food Lion was also awarded $ 1,402 in compensatory damages for the cost of hiring the two ABC employees. Both ABC and Food Lion had appealed. The award stunned some because it appeared to open a new line of legal attack against the news media and hid den-camera journalism that did not cen ter on the veracity of the story. The appeals court disagreed with the jury’s finding that ABC engaged in a business deception in violation of the North Carolina Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, or UTPA. “However, the deception... did not harm the consuming public. Presumably, ABC intended to benefit die consuming public by letting it know about Food Lion’s food handling prac tices,” said the opinion by Judge M. Blaine Michael. ■ Antigua After Antigua hit, other islands prepare for Jose ST. JOHN’S (AP) - Hurricane Jose ripped roofs from houses, tore down a newly built church and flung debris through deserted streets Wednesday as it hit Antigua head-on and threatened a string of other Caribbean islands. Storm-weary islanders in neighboring St. Kitts, where a few homes remain roofless from last year’s devastating hurricane sea son, braced themselves as Jose bore down packing 100 mph winds and drenching rain. In a television broadcast, acting Prime Minister Sam Condor told the people of St. Kitts and Nevis to “prepare for the worst.” There was a strong chance the storm would not reach the U.S. East Coast, said meteorologist Michael Formosa. ■ California Handyman charged in Yosemite murder case MARIPOSA (AP) - Three months after he confessed to killing three women who were sightseeing in Yosemite National Park, motel handyman Cary Stayner was charged Wednesday with their mur ders. If convicted, Stayner, 38, could face the death penalty. FBI investigators said Stayner confessed in late July to killing Carole Sund, 42, her daughter Juli Sund, 15, and their Argentine friend Silvina Pelosso, 16, while the three were visiting the park in February. He confessed while being ques tioned in the beheading ofYosemite naturalist Joie Ruth Armstrong, 26. Stayner, who also said he killed Armstrong, has pleaded not guilty in that case. ■ Washington Exception for late-term abortions rejected WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate, re-opening an emotional debate on a bill that would ban some late-term abortions, rejected an alternative Wednesday that offered a broad exception for women whose pregnancies endan gered their health. Supporters of the stronger bill argued that the alternative, defeated by a 61-38 vote, would permit late term abortions in virtually any cir cumstance. Democrats contended the bill was unconstitutional and designed to boost GOP election prospects next year. ■ New York Teen poll: Extra security helps make schools safe NEW YORK (AP) - Half the teen-agers in a poll out Tuesday believe a murderous rampage like the killings at Columbine High School could happen in their school. However, 45 percent in The New York Times-CBS News Poll believe increased security made their school safe. In the nationwide telephone poll of 1,038 13- to 17-year-olds, 52 percent said they feared s Columbine-style attack could strike their school, despite addead security guards, cameras and other safety measures taken. - . i&y'M