Vol. LXXXVIII, No. 14-S Saturday, May 20, 1978 Sixteen Pages Ann Arbor, Michigan Ten Cents French tr to rescue whites left in Zaire NEGOTIATIONS ARE NOW underway between residents of toe financially troubled Huron Towers Apartments and Department of Housing and Urban De- velopment officials regarding possible conversion of the twin towers into a cooperative. Chances good for Huron co-op By R. J. SMITH A group of Huron Tower residents at- tempting to convert the* apartment complex to a cooperative were given a boost Wednesday night'when they met with officials from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). A HUD representative announced that the agency will soon initiate an estimated $500,000 of repairs and renovations on the complex to be com- pleted before summer's end. HUD FORECLOSED on the complex earlier this year. The apartments, located at 2200 Fuller Rd. near North Campus, has been in deficit on its mor- tgage since it was built in 1962. Once the repairs are completed, HUD will negotiate to sell the complex, ac- cording to HUD representatives Pat Goray and Irving Beaupied. Members of the Concerned Residents Committee (CRC) of Huron Towers, which has lobbied for a co-op since last fall, appeared optimistic about their chances. "IT'S THE first time they've (HUD officials) come to a general meeting of ours," said CRC chairman Jonathan- Klein. "If I was a betting man, I'd say we'd have about a 75 to 80 per cent chance of pulling this off," added Klein. According to new federal regulations, HUD must consider selling to building residents when over 50per cent express inrstin esal~shing a o-op. This fal Klein organized a petition drive which resulted in over 80 per cent of the com- plex's residents calling for conversion to a co-op. "OUR BIGGEST problem is that there are a lot of people with lots of bucks - big bucks - in their pockets, who want to make one more buck off of this apartment complex," said Roger Willcox, president of TechniCoop, a firm hired by CRC to assist their effort. Under co-op management, each resident would have a vote in decisions concerning rent, levels of services See HURON, Page 14 TWO-CENT JUMP: Postage WASHINGTON (AP) - The i Postal Service approved a two-cent increase in first-class mailing rates r yesterday, refusing to consider fur- ther the Carter administration's f plea to retain present rates for in- dividual citizens, Effective May 29, the cost of mailing a first-class letter will jump from 13 cents to 15 cents for all Americans. ON THURSDAY evening, a three- member committee of the Postal Service's bard of governors ap- KINSHASA, Zaire (AP) - Four hun- dred French Foreign Legionnaires parachuted into the heart of rebel-held Kolwezi to rescue trapped foreigners yesterday and, according to the Zaire news agency, found 44 Europeans shot by the rebels. The report by the AZAP news agency could not be independently confirmed. It said the nationalities of the victims was not immediately determined. The term "European" is frequently applied to any white in black Africa. SOME 2,500 Belgians, French and other foreigners, including 14 Americans, about half of them missionaries, had been stranded behind rebel lines in the southern Zaire city. French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing said in Paris that 20 white hostages held by the rebels at a Kolwezi technical college had been freed. A report here from reliable sources said the French troops evacuated 30 to 40 Roman Catholic missionaries from their posts around Kolwezi. Giscard d'Estaing said, without elaborating, that the situation in Kolwezi was "very serious." In Brussels, the government said Belgian officials in Zaire also reported the situation was grave. BELGIAN PRIME Minister Leo Tin- demans said yesterday the government had ordered its estimated 1,000 Belgian paratroopers to Kolwezi from their staging area in Kamina,130 miles to the north. A South African radio report said the French paratroopers, with rear-line logistical support from the United States, had quickly retaken the city and secured a road to the airport, six miles rates rise parently had been unanimous in wanting to force a reconsideration by the Postal Rate Commission of its rejection last week of the citizens' rate. However, the board yesterday voted 4-2 against seeking to save the citizens' rate and then adopted the new rates by 5-1 vote. Under the citizens' rate proposal, the cost of a stamp would have been kept at 13 cents for individuals while rising to 16 cents for businesses. WITHIN HOURS of the decision, See POSTAGE, Pge 6 away, for the evacuation of foreigners. That unconfirmed report cited diplomatic sources in Zambia. AZAP reported the Foreign Legion forces encountered stiff resistance af- ter the air drop on Kolwezi, an impor- tant copper-mining city in mineral-rich Shaba Province. It said they were backed by air strikes by the Zairean air force. BUT AZAP said rebels were fleeing the city, and Zairean forces took up See FRENCH, Page 2 U. S.sa y s Cuba trained rebels WASHINGTON (AP)-The United States yesterday accused Cuba of using its troops stationed in Angola to train rebels who invaded Zaire. Cuba denied it. Amid renewed fighting in the Central African nation, the State Department also charged that the insurgents have been armed with Soviet weapons. THERE WAS NO immediate Soviet comment. State Department spokesman Thomas Reston said it is "our under- standing" that the "insurgents have been trained recently by Cubans in See U.S., Page 2 S - OLIVE R WENDELL' HOLMES When the postal rate hikes go into effect May 29, the Oirer Wendell Holmes stamp will frequently adorn first-class mail.