01 2A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 26, 2002 NATION/WORLD Palestinians call off truce talks JERUSALEM (AP) - Palestinians called off talks set for yesterday to end a weeklong Israeli siege of Yasser Arafat's office in the West Bank town of Ramallah, complaining that Israel would not allow international negotiators to meet Arafat first. Israel maintained its grip on the ravaged com- pound while easing curfew restrictions in other parts of Ramallah, defying a U.N. Security Council resolu- tion and pressure from the United States, Europe and the Arab world to pull back. One consequence of the siege is a halt to efforts to reform Arafat's regime, said a top official, Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, is Arafat's deputy and has been mentioned as a possible prime minister if the Palestinians decide to appoint one to take over some of Arafat's duties in the framework of reforms. But Abbas said there can be no talk of reforms "while our president is under such cruel and unprece- dented aggression." Abbas told The Associated Press that he has been meeting with other reform-minded Palestinians, but they have discussed only how to end Israel's siege. Israel, Europe and the United States have joined many Palestinians in demanding reforms in Arafat's unwieldy and corrupt regime. Israel sent tanks and bulldozers into Arafat's com- pound last Thursday after a Palestinian suicide bomber blew up a Tel Aviv bus, killing himself and six other people. On Monday, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution demanding that Israel end the siege, pull its forces back toward the lines they held before vio- lence erupted two years ago, while condemning attacks on civilians and calling on the Palestinians to put those responsible for terror attacks on trial. Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said Israel cannot carry out the resolution "because the other part will not be fulfilled," charging that Palestinian security forces are not stopping militants from carry- ing out attacks. However, Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben- Eliezer, like Peres a member of the moderate Labor Party, set a different condition for ending the block- ade, demanding the surrender of 19 terror suspects in Arafat's office. "The rest are not important," he told Israel Radio. Israel has changed its demands several times, according to the Palestinians. Until Ben-Eliezer spoke, Israel was saying it would not withdraw from the compound until about 200 people holed up inside; surrender, among them 50 allegedly involved in attacks on Israelis, including Palestinian intelligence chief Tawfik Tirawi. Tirawi denied the allegations in an interview with the Israeli daily Maariv and vowed not to surrender. "Yasser Arafat and I will fight to the last minute," Tirawi said. Ben-Eliezer said talks were underway to resolve the standoff, but Palestinians canceled a meeting with Israeli officials set for yesterday because Israel refused to allow representatives of the so-called Quartet to meet with Arafat first. NEWS IN BRIEF YAMOUSSOUKRO, Ivory Coast U.S. forces rescue children in Africa American schoolchildren waving U.S. flags evacuated a rebel-held city under French military escort yesterday, as U.S. special forces landed in this West African nation to help rescue Westerners caught in its deadliest uprising. The convoy of 10 to 12 cars left rebel-held Bouake bound for Yamoussoukro, 40 miles to the south, where U.S. special forces in C-130s arrived hours earlier to receive them. The children swung American flags out windows of the cars as the con- voy headed to safety down the region's main road, after a new night of spo- radic gunfire outside the International Christian Academy. Many of the children wore T-shirts sporting American flags. Some of the youngsters leaned out the windows to yell "Vive la France!" at another French convoy headed the other way, into Bouake. About 100 American children ages 5 to 18 attend the mission boarding school in Bouake, intended for sons and daughters of missionaries based across Africa. Another 60 children also attend the school, which has a staff of 40, most of whom are American. About 100 well-armed French troops had moved into the whitewashed compound early yesterday, securing the school after rebel forces breached the walls two days earlier to fire out from its grounds. " Gunmen kill 7 at Karachi organization N b allowshospitals to refuse abortion V KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) - Gunmen entered the offices of a Christian welfare organization in the southern port city of Karachi on yesterday, tied workers to their chairs and shot each in the head, officials said. At least seven people were killed and another was critical- ly injured. The shooting was the latest in a string of violent attacks against Christians and Westerners, who have been increasingly targeted since Pakistani President Gen. Per- vez Musharraf's decision to crack down on Islamic extremist groups and join the U.S. war against the Taliban and al-Qaida in neighboring Afghanistan. "Today's incident shows that the government has failed to protect us," said Bishop Victor Mall, head of the Diocese Church of Pakistan in Multan, an area in Punjab province that has spawned a number of militant Muslim groups. "People in our community now feel more insecure," he said. "Our people are being killed." The killings took place at the third-floor offices of the Institute for Peace and Justice, or Idara-e- Amn-o-Insaf, a Pakistani Christian charity that does work in the city. Victims were tied up in chairs with their hands behind their backs and their mouths taped before being shot point-blank in the head, according to Karachi Police Chief Kamal Shah. All seven of the dead were Pak- istani Christians, contradicting ear- lier police reports that three of the victims were Muslim. One worker who survived the attack later died in a hospital, police said. It was not clear who was behind the attack. Shah said police found eight empty shell casings, one for each of those shot. He said five of the dead were found seated in a main room at the office, and the sixth was tied to a chair in the bathroom. He said police are questioning an office assistant who was tied up and beat- en by the attackers, but not shot. Police want to know how the gun- men got into the office, which had an electronic door that could only be opened from the inside. The office assistant has told police there were two gunmen involved in the shooting, Shah said. By late morning, hundreds of police had cordoned off the 13-story building in a central business dis- trict of Karachi. A female relative of one of the victims arrived at the office, sob- bing and beating herself in anguish before being led away by police. The House passed a bill yesterday that would let hospitals and insurance com- panies refuse to perform or pay for abortions without forfeiting Medicare and other federal funding. Anti-abortion activists hailed the 229-189 vote as a key action that would shield Catholic hospitals and other health providers that oppose abortion. Supporters of abortion rights accused conservatives of attempting to scale back women's access to the procedure. The debate provoked strong emotions among lawmakers. "The question before us is not the question of abortion," said Rep. Todd Akin, (R-Mo). "The question is whether we protect the various health care organiza- tions, whether we want to protect their right to have a choice, to even have an opinion." Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) countered: "This bill is not about religious free- dom or protecting the right of conscience. This bill is simply about making it harder for women." The Bush administration earlier in the day offered its support. I i Wanna go to the Biggest Party of the Year? WASHINGTON Effect of war on economy uncertain Th.e rising drumbeat of war against Iraq is taking 'a toll on the U.S. economy. Oil prices are climb- ing, consumer confidence is falling and Wall Street is suffering stom- ach-churning days. With the economy still struggling to emerge from last year's recession, there is growing concern that the potential adverse effects from a war with Iraq could push the country into another downturn. Much will depend, economists say, on how the fighting unfolds. A quick U.S. victory, they believe, would likely translate into a quick retreat in oil prices. And the end to the uncertainty over the war's outcome should help bolster consumer and business confidence. These developments probably would mean an invasion of Iraq would have little long-lasting effect on the U.S. recovery. WASHINGTON GOP collects $8 million at fundraiser President Bush raised at least $8 mil- lion last night for Republican Senate candidates, adding to a GOP fund-rais- ing lead that has left Senate Democrats at a 2-to-1 cash disadvantage heading into the final month before the election. The Republican reserves - roughly $34 million for the Senate GOP com- mittee and $42 million for the Repub- lican National Committee as September began - will let the party pump money into last-minute get-the- vote drives and advertising campaigns in tight races around the country that could decide control of Congress. Though Democrats control the Senate for the first time in three election cycles, party officials acknowledge they'll be forced to make tough choices down the stretch on where to spend money. "Could they (Republicans) go out and buy a lot more TV ads right in the last 10 days? Sure, they'd probably be able to," Democratic National Commit- tee chairman Terry McAuliffe said. WASHINGTON Homeland Security bill encounters snag The White House yesterday strongly denounced a proposed compromise on the Homeland Security Department bill, leaving the Senate tied in knots over President Bush's demand for more powers to hire, fire and deploy the pro- posed agency's workers. The proposal by Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) and Democratic Sens. John Breaux of Louisiana and Ben Nelson of Nebraska would reduce the president's existing ability to exempt workers from union agreements in matters of national security, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters. "The proposal is a rollback and a restriction at a time when the presi- dent needs flexibility and the authori- ty to fight terror," Fleischer said. "It has been described as a compromise. It is not." The proposal, which appeared to command enough votes to pass, would give Bush much of the flexibility he wants to set up a new personnel system. - Compileaffrom Daily wire reports. p The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $105. Winter term (January through April) is $110, yearlong (September through April) is $190. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscrip- tions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Colle- giate Press. ADDRESS: The Michigan Daily, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1327. 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