W O R L D	Monday, July 27, 1998
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10 die in Khmer Rouge attack PHNOM PENH, July 26 — Khmer Rouge guerrillas attacked a village in northern Cambodia today, killing at least nine soldiers and a civilian just hours ahead of the country’s general election, officials said... MQM may sever ties with Sharif LONDON, July 26— The MQM, a coalition partner of the Pakistan Muslim League in the Sind Provincial Government, is considering parting ways with its ally, party sources said here...

Clinton likely to testify WASHINGTON, July 26— President Bill Clinton is likely to provide testimony in some form to a grand jury probing whether he committed perjury in denying a sexual affair with a former White House intern, sources said... Yeltsin sacks security service chief MOSCOW, July 25 — Russian President Boris Yeltsin fired the head of the Federal Security Service today and replaced him with a former KGB agent recently brought into the administration...

Raped, butchered for being Chinese from Vivian My name is Vivian and I am 18 years old. I have a little sister and brother, and we live in what is supposed to be a “secure” apartment in Jakarta.At 9.15 a.m. on May 14, a huge crowd had gathered outside. They screamed: “Let’s butcher the Chinese! Let’s eat pigs! Let’s have a party!”. .. Gaddafi's terms for trial LONDON, July 26— Libyan leader Moammer Gaddafi is not prepared to see the suspects in the Lockerbie airliner bombing tried only by Scottish judges following US and British concessions on the case, The Observer said today... 'Make monarchy symbolic' LONDON, July 26 — A high profile think-tank close to the British Labour Government has suggested stripping the royal family of its remaining political powers and giving it a purely symbolic role, it was reported...

10 die in Khmer Rouge attack PHNOM PENH, July 26 (AFP, Reuter, AP) — Khmer Rouge guerrillas attacked a village in northern Cambodia today, killing at least nine soldiers and a civilian just hours ahead of the country’s general election, officials said. Seven civilians and two soldiers were killed in the attack as well as one Khmer Rouge guerrilla, the national election committee said. The attack just two hours before the polls opened, occurred at Kong Vinh village, 11 km from Anlong Veng, was the first reported polling day violence, said Defence Minister Tea Banh. “They killed two government soldiers from division 23 and burnt some houses down,” he told AFP, adding that two guerrillas had been detained and voting in the area had gone on. The area was taken by government troops in March. “The election was conducted normally, everything has been solved,” the minister said. Remnants of the Khmer Rouge had threatened to disrupt the elections and on July 17 attacked a convoy of election officials distributing polling material, killing two guards and wounding five. “They were attempting to disrupt the election process,” said a diplomatic source. In the meantime, Cambodians swarmed polling stations to vote for a new leadership and put an end to festering tension following a bloody power struggle last year. For the first time, former Khmer Rouge guerrillas took part in a democratic vote. Foreign election observers predicted a high turnout and said the result could surprise strongman Hun Sen, widely accused of murdering opponents and intimidating voters to ensure he wins the first parliamentary elections since the UN.-organised polls in 1993. Polling stations closed on schedule at 4 p.m. (local time), but in Phnom Penh most had been empty since noon. So many people had arrived early some at daybreak, waiting in lines hundreds of people deep for the stations to open at 7 a.m. (local time) that the process was mostly over by lunch. Mr Stephen Solarz, a former US Congressman leading an independent US observation mission, said the tranquility could mask a devious manipulation that would affect the outcome.’’ Ballot boxes were to be transported to 1,100 communal centres and emptied for counting, but not all polling station officials knew where to go. Counting was scheduled to begin tomorrow and preliminary results announced later in the day. Poll watchers and polling station officials said the turnout had been high with most people keen to vote early. Meanwhile, analysts say that the elections would be an acid test for a hugely expensive United Nations peacekeeping operation that organised the last multiparty vote five years ago. The May 1993 polls staged by the 22,000-strong UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) were the first national elections ever organised by the world body. While widely criticised as a flawed operation, analysts say the mission succeeded in sowing the seeds of democracy in Cambodia and creating the environment for the latest election. But they say these fragile seeds could be scattered in the wind should this election, organised by the Cambodians themselves with only limited international assistance, fail to produce a stable government reflecting the will of the people. The superficial legacy of UNTAC, which grouped military units from as far afield as Ghana, Bulgaria and Australia, is evident in many parts of Cambodia, but it is most noticeable in the capital.

MQM may sever ties with Sharif LONDON, July 26 (PTI) — The MQM, a coalition partner of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) in the Sind Provincial Government, is considering parting ways with its ally, party sources said here. A five-member high-level MQM delegation arrived here last night for consultations with party founder Altaf Hussain to finalise whether or not to part ways with the PML and quit the Sind Government in protest against the continued repression against Mohajirs by state agencies in the region. The delegation flew in here after meeting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Karachi. The Rabta committee expressed its dissatisfaction over Mr Sharif’s response to the party call for a halt to the continued wave of arrests and detentions in the troubled city and other urban areas of Sind. The Rabta committee unanimously decided that the party should quit the Sind Provincial Government as there was no progress in removing the inaccessibility to certain areas and failure to involve the MQM in the law and order committee. Mr Altaf Hussain would hold two rounds of talks with the committee leaders before taking a final decision on severing ties with the PML, the sources said. If the MQM withdraws from the Sind Government, it would be a blow to the government.

Clinton likely to testify WASHINGTON, July 26 (Reuters) — President Bill Clinton is likely to provide testimony in some form to a grand jury probing whether he committed perjury in denying a sexual affair with a former White House intern, sources said. Independent counsel Kenneth Starr has escalated the pressure on Mr Clinton by issuing a subpoena requiring him to testify before the grand jury, which has been investigating his relationship with Monica Lewinsky and whether he applied pressure to convince her to lie about it under oath. “Hopefully something can be worked out,” a source said of efforts by Mr David Kendall, the President’s lead private attorney in the case, to reach a compromise with Mr Starr that would let Mr Clinton give his version of events without having to appear physically before jurors. Although Mr Clinton has resisted requests by Mr Starr that he voluntarily provide testimony, those close to him say the independent counsel’s use of a subpoena has changed the President’s approach. The White House publicly signalled a new willingness to reach an agreement on Friday after the subpoena was issued, according to sources yesterday. AFP adds: The subpoena compels President Clinton to testify in the case seeking to find out whether he had a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky, now 25. Legal scholars however disagree on whether a sitting us President can be forced to take the stand in a criminal investigation. Mr Clinton’s supporters say it is unconstitutional. The official, who declined to give his name, gave little detail on the subpoena, saying only that it was issued by a grand jury in the past days. The White House yesterday declined to comment on the report. “We are not having any comment regarding subpoenas,” White House spokesman Jim Kennedy told AFP. “I understand that report is out there. I don’t know the source.” “The only thing we’ve had to say is that Kendall, the President’s private lawyer, is in discussion with the independent counsel on how to provide information for the grand jury,” he said. “Those discussions are on-going.”

Yeltsin sacks security service chief MOSCOW, July 25 (AP) — Russian President Boris Yeltsin fired the head of the Federal Security Service today and replaced him with a former KGB agent recently brought into the administration. Russian news agencies said security chief Nikolai Kovalyov was replaced by Vladimir Putin, a former intelligence officer posted to Germany during the seventies who was recently appointed Mr Yeltsin’s First Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of relations with Russia’s regions. No reasons for the changes were given, but Mr Yeltsin had warned earlier today he was planning some hirings and firings. The Federal Security Service is the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB. Mr Yeltsin issued his warning after a meeting with Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko at a government resort in northwestern Russia where the President is vacationing. Decisions have been made,’’ Mr Yeltsin told reporters. Mr Yeltsin and Mr Kiriyenko discussed a variety of issues, including the situation in the breakaway region of Chechnya, whose President was the target of a failed car bomb attack, and Mr Kiriyenko’s meetings earlier in the week with US Vice-President Al Gore. Mr Yeltsin said they also talked about how Russia can repay international loans without harming the life and well-being of people. International lenders recently agreed to a new $ 17.1 billion loan, bringing Russia’s total bailout package to $ 22.6 billion. Mr Yeltsin signed a decree today specifying which Russian weapons can be sold to which countries, the Itar-Tass news agency said. The decree consists of a detailed list of military goods allowed for sale abroad and a list of states cleared for such deals. Meanwhile, Yeltsin has expressed support for Chechen leader Aslan Maskhadov who narrowly escaped an attempt in his life earlier this week. Mr Yeltsin ordered Mr Kiriyenko to meet the Chechen President next week to discuss measures to maintain law and order in the Caucasus republic, Moscow news agencies reported. Mr Maskhadov has blamed various foreign intelligence agencies for an assassination attempt in the Chechen capital Grozny that killed a bodyguard earlier Thursday.

Raped, butchered for being Chinese From Vivian MY name is Vivian and I am 18 years old. I have a little sister and brother, and we live in what is supposed to be a “secure” apartment in Jakarta. At 9.15 a.m. on May 14, a huge crowd had gathered outside. They screamed: “Let’s butcher the Chinese! Let’s eat pigs! Let’s have a party!” We live on the seventh floor and we got a call from a family on the third floor, saying the crowd had reached the second floor. We were all very frightened. We prayed and then we left our room and went upstairs to the top floor, as it was impossible to go down and escape. We got to the 15th floor and were surprised because some of the crowd were coming out of the elevators. We hurried into our friends’ room and locked the door tightly. We heard the crowd knock at the other rooms loudly and there were screams from women and girls. Our room was filled with fear. We realised they would come to us, so we spread throughout the room, hiding in the corners. We could hear girls of 10 or 12 years old screaming: “Mommy, mommy ... mom ... mom ... it hurts.” I didn’t know then that these little girls were being raped. After about half an hour, the noise diminished and we plucked up the courage to go out. The scene was indescribable. A lot of people, some of them young girls, were lying on the floor. “Oh my God, what has happened?” Seeing all of this, we cried and screamed and my little sister Fenny hugged our father hysterically. With our friends, a newly-wed couple, we started going downstairs. Reaching the 10th floor, we heard a scream for help. The scream was very clear and we decided to go down. But as we turned, we saw a lot of people. I saw a woman in her twenties being raped by four men. She tried to fight back but she was held down tightly. Realising the danger, we ran as hard as we could. But the mob caught Fenny. We tried to rescue her, but couldn’t do anything. There were about 60 of them. They tied us up with ripped sheets, myself, my father, my mother, Fenny, my brother Doni, Uncle Dodi and my Aunt Vera. They led us to a room. Uncle Dodi asked what they wanted, but they did not reply. They looked evil and savage. One of them grabbed Fenny roughly and dragged her to a sofa. I knew she was in great danger and I screamed but one of the mob slapped me in the face. My father, who also screamed, was hit with a piece of wood and he fainted. My mother had fainted when Fenny was dragged to the sofa. I could only pray. Uncle Dodi kept trying to stop them by offering money. His efforts were fruitless. In the end, five people raped Fenny. Before they raped her, they said: “Allahu Akbar” (an Islamic phrase in Arabic meaning “God is great”). They were ferocious and brutal. Not long after, nine men came to the room and grabbed me and my Aunt Vera. I passed out and everything went blank. I became conscious at around 5 or 6 p.m. My head hurt and I realised I had no clothes on. I cried and saw my family were still there. My father was hugging my mother and Doni. I also saw Uncle Dodi lying on the floor and Aunt Vera was crying over his body. I fainted again. The next day I was in the Pluit hospital. My father and mother were beside me. After four days’ treatment, my condition improved. With a sad look, my father told me then what had happened. After I fainted, seven people raped me. Repeatedly. A week ago, after I was released from the hospital, I was told everything that had happened. When Fenny was raped, she kept on fighting and so she was repeatedly slapped by her rapists. The last time she fought, Fenny spat at one of them. Offended, he grabbed knife and stabbed Fenny in the stomach over and over again. She died with blood all over her body. My father told me Uncle Dodi met the same fate, watched by Aunt Vera, who was also raped. “God, why should all of this happen? Where are you, God? Are you still alive?” My Aunt Vera now stays with her parents. She is in shock. Her face is blank and she refuses to eat. Almost every hour, my mother and I cry over these happenings. I can never forget. — The Guardian, London

Gaddafi's terms for trial LONDON, July 26 (AFP) — Libyan leader Moammer Gaddafi is not prepared to see the suspects in the Lockerbie airliner bombing tried only by Scottish judges following US and British concessions on the case, The Observer said today. Washington and London indicated last week that they would accept the two Libyans wanted for the 1988 destruction of a Pan-Am Boeing 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland, being tried in a third country, though under Scottish law. The concession follows Tripoli’s refusal to hand over the two men for trial in Scotland or the USA and the crumbling of the international air embargo imposed by the UN in retaliation. The Observer quoted “one senior figure close to Col Gaddafi as saying that, “we accept a Scottish chairman and Scottish legal procedure, but we do not believe it would be fair if all judges come from the country where the crime took place.” “Would two Scots accused of mass murder in Libya agree to appear before an all-Libyan bench?” The Observer said the Libyan leader was also demanding an immediate lifting of the 1992 ban on trade and commercial flights imposed by the UN Security Council and an assurance that the two suspects would not be questioned about other attacks. 'Make monarchy symbolic' LONDON, July 26 (AFP) — A high profile think-tank close to the British Labour Government has suggested stripping the royal family of its remaining political powers and giving it a purely symbolic role, it was reported. Among the recommendations in the report parts of which were leaked to a newspaper, are an end to the monarchy’s remaining constitutional powers, such as giving final assent to laws approved by parliament. The report, “Modernising the Monarchy”, by the Demos think-tank which was to have been published in September, also recommends scrapping the tradition of elected deputies. The monarch should no longer have the right to appoint a prime minister in the event of a hung parliament, where no party has a clear majority, Demos suggested. However, the pamphlet has provoked a fierce attack from the Opposition Conservative Party which has linked the report to British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Demos’s chief, Geoff Mulgan, is a member of Blair’s inner circle of advisers.

Global monitor Help pours in for Mayor TEHERAN: Newspapers have published expressions of support and calls for donations for Teheran’s reformist mayor, who was sentenced to five years in prison and heavily fined in what was widely seen as a political trial. Iran, a government newspaper run by moderates, published a bank account number for citizens to send donations for the $ 30,000 that Gholamhossein Karbaschi was ordered to pay after he was sentenced. Hamshahri, a newspaper that belongs to the municipality and was started by the 44-year-old mayor, published an emotional letter from Iran’s best known filmmaker, Mohsen Makhmalbaf. “I ask myself, how can I walk under the shade of the tree if the gardener who sowed it is in jail for the crime of planting it,” Makhmalbaf wrote. — AP Loan defaulters held ISLAMABAD: More than 12 politicians and industrialists were arrested on Saturday in a campaign to recover 150 billion Pakistani rupees (around $3 billion) from bank loan defaulters, the police said. Senator Islamabuddin Sheikh, who owes 65 million rupees (1.32 million dollars) to various commercial banks, was arrested at his residence in Islamabad. Owners and directors of a number of important industrial units were arrested in Karachi, Lahore, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Multan, Faisalabad and Sukkur. — AFP Honour for Lord Paul LONDON: Britain’s prestigious Buckingham University has decided to honour Lord Swraj Paul with an honorary degree of doctor of science in recognition of his “significant contribution to enterprise and initiative” early next year. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is the Chancellor of the university with students from about 80 countries. This is yet another honour for Lord Paul who was recently appointed the first ever Pro-Chancellor of London’s Thames Valley University. — PTI Greenpeace N-deal? LONDON: The environmental lobby group Greenpeace tried to buy a nuclear bomb in 1991 in a daring scheme to expose slack controls over nuclear weapons in the post-cold war era, a British daily reported. The former head of Greenpeace’s disarmament research unit, William Arkin, told the newspaper that he met several times with a Soviet officer who claimed he could provide a 360 kilogram nuclear device from Altengrabow, a Soviet base in the former East Germany 30 km from Berlin. Greenpeace was to pay the soldier $ 250,000 for the bomb. — AFP Nurse’s euthanasia MANTES-LA-JOLIE, (France): A nurse in a Paris-area hospital has admitted she was an angel of death who helped about 30 terminally ill patients to die. She tried to commit suicide after learning she was being investigated, officials said on Saturday. Francois-Quesnay Hospital decided to suspend the nurse, 30-year-old Ms Christine Malevre, after authorities put her under formal investigation for murder, one step short of being charged. The hospital Mantes-la-Jolie, West of Paris, announced in a statement that it was a civil party in the case. — AP Filmstar hurt ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani filmstar turned politician Musarrat Shaheen and several others were injured and later arrested when the police lathi-charged a rally here. Several hundred “Katchi Abadi” residents were marching towards the local court protesting against the recent demolition drive by the authorities, in a bid to check illegal possession of land. Several “katchi abadi’’ houses, specially those built on the green belt, had been demolished in the ongoing government drive. — PTI

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