New help politics USSR's environment Rescue workers carry one of the estimated 170 victims of the disaster on the ferry Scandinavian Star Sunday afternoon, after the body was recovered from the still burning ship. Authorities suspect arson was involved. Over 170 dead as investiation of Norwegian LYSEKIL, Sweden (AP) - Po- Spokespers lice reached the midship cabins of a figures wer burned-out ferry yesterday and found changing,a ,families who died together at the might not b heart of the fire, the bodies of par- "We ma :ents lying over children in a desper- there were1 .ate attempt to save them. in such bad Inspector Leif Skoglund raised Btalrokopp,lerds the estimated death toll to 170 in the Bom e suspicious weekend blaze that de- team. stroyed the Norwegian North Sea In Britai ferry Scandinavian Star. He said one investigatio victim in every four may have been sea car ferr achild. man earlyy "It was incredible," he said, grop- people. Th ,ing for words to describe the scene. 297 people s"They are so badly burned." Wales, to R Police in Olso, Norway, said the A statem death toll could reach 200. B and I ship - . - -- -- - - - --- , - - - -C -- - - - -- AM by Karen Akerlof Daily News Editor The Soviet Union's environment may be a catastrophe, but as politi- cal and economic changes rock the country, they open doors to a strong environmental movement, said William Miller, president of the American Committee for U.S.-So- viet Relations. Miller spoke last night before a small audience at the Law School. Chris Miller, a first-year Law student, introduced his father as a board member for the Foundation for the Survival and Development of Humanity. The Soviet government granted the foundation the ability to operate in the USSR and incorporate Soviet organizations under their "umbrella" at a time when many Soviet environmental groups have had difficulty obtaining legal recog- nition, the elder Miller said. The foundation not only recog- nized political dissident Andrei Sakharov's environmental organiza- tion, but a Soviet Greenpeace chap- ter which the government had disal- lowed previously, Miller said. Sixteen percent of the Soviet Union is an environmental disaster, and the damage will be irreversible unless steps are taken soon, Miller said. He classified the areas around Chernobyl and the Aral Sea as the worst, but quoted numbers from a Soviet government report which indicated environmental damage is widespread. Thirteen percent of the country's land is irreversibly contaminated, an additional 16 percent of the land is ecologically unsafe and 40 percent of the population live in an unsafe at- mosphere, said Miller. "Every city in the Soviet Union has a water problem," Miller said,: and added that the Black Sea and Sea of Azov's beaches are polluted and: thus often inaccesible to bathers. Soviet law is beginning to rec- ognize citizens' environmental rights, Miller said. Though he said: Soviet environmental law began be-: fore President Mikhail Gorbachev's: administration, under Gorbachev the: Soviets are starting to "structure the government to deal with the prof-e lem" and have created a rough equiv- alent to the Environmental Protec- tion Agency. But government funding of then Soviet agency totaled only 200: 'The Soviet Union has done nothing of consequence to clean up their environment' - William Miller President of the American Comm. for. U.S.-Soviet Relations ferry on Arne Huuse said the re unreliable, constantly and a conclusive count e available for days. y never find out how may because some bodies are shape that not even den- may help," said Dr. Tom ader of the medical rescue In, police began an arson n of a fire on the Irish y Norrona that killed one yesterday and injured 32 e Norrona was carrying e from Milford Haven, osslare, Ireland. nent from the owners, the pping line of Dublin, said fire continues the fire started in two unoccupied sleeping cabins and arson was sus- pected. A possible link of the Scandina- vian Star fire to three ferry fires last year, including one in September that killed two Swedes, was being checked. Previous estimates that 500 pas- sengers and crew were aboard were largely guesswork and probably low, Skoglund said, since children under seven travel free and would not be listed. "There were a lot of families on board," he said. The fire started before dawn Sat- urday while the ferry was bound from Oslo to Frederikshavn, Den- mark. Most of the victims were Norwe- gians and Danes. Four British citi- zens and an American singer were among those missing and presumed dead. The American was identified as Ruth Rome, part of a seven-member song-and-dance troupe from New York City. "Things point clearly in the direc- tion of arson," said Magnar Aukrust, assistant police chief of Oslo. "One survivor has explained seeing a per- son putting fire to inflammable ma- terial." He did not provide details. Leila Freival, the Swedish justice minister, told reporters in Lysekil, a small port 240 miles from Stock- holm, that a joint Nordic inquiry commission would convene today in Oslo to investigate the fire. rubles, and Miller said the real envi- ronmental research takes place in Soviet academies and institutes. "The Soviet Union has done. nothing of consequence to clean up- their environment... It is a grim pic- ture on one hand," Miller said, "and' an exciting future on the other hand." The Environmental Law Society (ELS) and International Law Society sponsored the lecture as part of ELS's series of activities honoring Earth Week. 'City Council election winners take oath of office by Donna Woodwell Daily Faculty Reporter The Ann Arbor City Council swore in the winners of the April 2nd city wide elections at the Chan- nel 10 cable television station last night. Larry Hunter (D-First Ward), In- grid Sheldon (R-Second Ward), Liz Brater (D-Third Ward), Mark Ouimet (R-Fourth Ward) and Thais Anne Peterson (D-Fifth Ward) were sworn in. The council is now comprised of five Republicans and five Democrats. However, Republican mayor Gerald Jernigan gives the Re- publicans a majority vote. Peterson said the ceremony was "really very exciting. It felt very good to stand up there with my col- leagues." This is Peterson's first term as a City Council member. She stated the $28 million solid waste bond is the biggest issue fac- ing the council, saying, "I think we should be as careful spending the money as possible." The new bond - which will raise taxes an average of $100 per person - will generate funding to clean up Ann Arbor's ex- isting landfills, build a new city landfill and begin a comprehensive recycling program. Peterson said the council also faces the "normal problems one looks at in a city of Ann Arbor's age." She stressed the need to de- velop ways to pay for improvements in the city's aging infrastructure. Peterson also said fixing bridges and increasing parking availability would be among her major concerns during her two-year term. "The first thing we (the council) will do is sit down with the budget," she said. Since the Republicans no longer have the seven person major- ity needed to pass many proposals, Peterson said, "we are going to have to spend more time talking to one another for the seventh vote." Taking the oath for her second term in office, Sheldon said she is looking forward to her new term. "Not to have been re-elected would've been disappointing. In the first two years you only get your feet wet." Sheldon perceives many chal- lenges face the council in the com- ing year. Her agenda includes the ef- fective implementation of the solid waste bond, developing funding for affordable housing, zoning and fund- ing for the parks and open spaces program. Sheldon's plans also in- clude revising existing housing codes and improving the city's transportation and infrastructure. "The biggest stumbling block (to policy making) is time," Sheldon said. "Some use time as an excuse for not getting things done and I don't appreciate it." "The public has given a lot of trust to us and I don't want to betray that trust," Sheldon said. Council members Hunter, Brater, and Ouimet were unavailable for, comment. THE LIST What's happening in Ann Arbor today Japanese immigrants' son threatens to overtake favorite in Peruvian elections . Meetings LaGROC - The Lesbian and Gay Mens' Rights Organizing Com- mittee meets at 7:30 p.m. in Union 3100; 7 p.m. to set agenda Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry --weekly meeting at 6:30 p.m. in Hillel Women's Club Lacrosse - practice 4-6 p.m. at the Sports Coliseum (5th and Hill) UM Cycling - team meeting and rollers riding 6 p.m. in the Sports Coliseum Arab-American Anti- discrimination Committee - meeting at 7 p.m. in the Union (check board for room) Asian American Women's Journal - editors meeting at 5 p.m. in South Quad's Afro- American Lounge Ann Arbor Committee to Defend Abortion and Reproductive Rights (A2CDAR2) - new members meeting at 5:15 p.m., general body meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the Union Women's IssesCommission Speakers "Literature, Print Culture and Television Culture" - a lecture at 4 p.m. in the East Conference Room of Rackham "Perspective on the Ukraine" - Nikola Ryabchuk speaks at noon in the International Center "Islamic History in the Soviet Union- Archaeological Studies" - a slide presentation and discussion with Frederick T. Hiebert Frederick Busch - will be reading from his fiction at 4 p.m. in the Union Pendleton Room Furthermore ECB Peer Writing Tutors - available for help from 7-11 p.m. at the Angell and 611 Church St. computing centers Safewalk -the night-time safety walking service runs from 8 p.m.- 1:30 a.m. in Rm. 102 UGLi or call 936-1000 Northwalk - the north-campus night-time walking service runs from 8 p.m.-1:30 a.m. in Bursley 2333, or call 763-WALK Jean-Baptiste Barriere - computer music demonstration at 4 p.m. in 1524 Rackham "Did the Messiah Come 200 Years Ago?" - a taped lecture to be played at 7 p.m. in Room 126 East Quad America's Pop Collector, Robert C. Scull: Contemporary Art at Action - a film to be LIMA, Peru (AP) - Novelist Mario Vargos Llosa, once considered a sure bet to become Peru's next president, has found himself side tracked by the "Fujimori phe- nomenon." Alberto Fujimori, the son of Japanese immigrants and a political unknown until a month ago, forced the country's most famous novelist into a runoff and is now favored to win the presidency. Public opinion analysts say Fu- jimori's strong second-place finish in Sunday's election reflected Peru- vians' alienation from the traditional political parties and their desire for "miraculous, painless" solutions to the country's ills. "It was not a rational vote. It was a protest vote against the other can- didates," said Alfredo Torres, media director for APOYO, a market re- search firm. Fujimori, an agricultural engi- neer, received 29 percent of the vote Sunday to 33.9 percent for Vargas Llosa, according to unofficial re- turns. The writer needed a majority of the votes cast to avoid a runoff, which now most likely will take place in early June. Luis Alva Castro, candidate of the governing left-of-center Aprista Party, received 16.4 percent, Two Marxist candidates collected 11 per- cent of the vote between them. The remaining votes were divided among four minor candidates and blank and void ballots. Official results will not be avail- able for weeks. But the unofficial re- sults represented a slap in the face to Vargas Llosa, who campaigned hard for two years and as late as mid- February had more than 50 percent support in polls. Campaigning on a shoestring budget, Fujimori shot up from less than 1 percent in polls six weeks ago to nearly surpass Vargas Llosa. Vargas Llosa's campaign often seemed like a crusade. Running on a free-market platform, he harshly at- tacked the "collectivist" programs of President Alan Garcia and the pro- posals of leftist candidates. Many Peruvians blame Garcia for Peru's worst economic crisis of the century and the growing political vi- olence that is tearing apart this An- dean country of 22 million. Inflation is running at more than 2,000 percent annually. More than 10,000 people, most of them civil- ians, have died violently in a decade- long struggle between Shining Path guerrillas and security forces. Vargas Llosa was asking for a clear mandate from Peruvians to carry out radical reforms aimed at undoing two decades of socialist policies he blames for Peru's stagna- tion. Analysts say Peruvian voters, dismayed by two decades of eco- nomic decline and falling living standards, were looking for someone with "magical" solutions' to the country's problems. The spotlight fell on Fujimorn, they say, after voters in recent week began to fear the economic shocl therapy and harsh austerity measure advocated by Vargas Llosa. "No one likes to go to the dentist* even when his tooth hurts. And- that's what Vargas Llosa offered," Manuel d'Ornellas, editor of the Ex preso newspaper, wrote in a column yesterday. "Terrified by the government's disgraceful propaganda campaign. against the so-called shock, many people have fled Vargas Llosa's pro- posed surgery to take shelter in Fu jimori's oriental nirvana," d'Ornellas said. Public opinion analysts say Fu- jimori has awakened hopes in voters that he will be able to attract mas- sive Japanese aid and investment if elected. Sheriff uses billboards to nab drug dealers of MSA - meeting at 6:30 p.m. in 3909 Union Iranian Student Cultural Club - meeting at 7:45 p.m.. in the Michigan League TARDAA (Time and Relative Dimensions in Ann Arbor) - meeting at 8 p.m. in 2413 Mason Hall Indian And Pakistani American Students' Council ANDERSON, S.C. (AP) - An- derson County Sheriff Gene Taylor was only looking to catch drug deal- ers when he erected billboards promising to pay informants. Instead he's caught flak from his critics and a $40 million lawsuit. Billboards around the county which read, "Need Cash? Turn in a drug dealer," wrongly lure ordinary citizens into dangerous undercover Taylor, a former television reporter elected in January 1989. Anderson County, population 150,000, is on Lake Hartwell in northwestern South Carolina; its textile, high-tech and automobile-re- lated industries have attracted people to the area. Investigators have received about 10 calls a day since the first bill- board was erected in February. Most hicles and several thousand dollars from suspected dealers since the bill- boards were erected, Temple said. He declined to release arrest fig- ures until the program ends, but wouldn't say when that will be. "We'll stop the program when it looks like those that are interested are played out," Temple said. But all is not well with the bill- board program. An informant, Robin Pickens filed a $40 million lawsuit last: month alleging she received a frac- tion of the money promised her. She also charged that the sheriff failed to pay on the mortgage her house as promised.