AUGUST 9, 1999 VOL. 154 NO. 5

Milestones

By HANNAH BEECH

EARLY RETIREMENT ANNOUNCED. WESLEY CLARK, 54, abrasive American general who served as NATO's commander during the conflict earlier this year with Yugoslavia; in Washington. Clark will hang up his helmet next spring. Although he would have preferred to stay on until next summer, Pentagon brass were eager to keep Air Force Gen. Joseph Ralston, currently vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in uniform by offering him Clark's position.

DIED. FAIDON GIZIKIS, 82, former Greek President who broke away from his military junta colleagues and paved the way for a return to democracy; in Athens. In return for swearing in Constantine Caramanlis as the first post-dictatorship premier in 1974, the ex-general was shielded from prosecution while other ringleaders were convicted of treason.

DIED. SIMON MAHLATHINI NKABINDE, 62, rollicking South African singer who gave Zulu music global recognition through partnerships with pop stars Sting and Stevie Wonder; in Johannesburg. The gravel-voiced leader of the Mahotella Queens fused jazz, pop and traditional African rhythms in the free-spirited, jubilant Mbaqanga style that bloomed in the backstreets of black township Soweto.

DIED. WERNER HAFTMANN, 87, discerning German art historian whose 1954 Painting of the 20th Century remains a definitive reference guide for art students today; in Waakirchen, Germany. Haftmann was spurred into writing the tome after discovering that his countrymen knew little about modern art, which had been maligned as "degenerate" by the Nazis. The same impetus moved him to create the Documenta modern-art forum, which has been staged every four years since 1955 and has showcased luminaries like Picasso and Matisse.

DIED. RAUL MANGLAPUS, 80, devoted Philippine nationalist who helped overthrow strongman Ferdinand Marcos in 1986; in Manila. Manglapus served two stints as foreign minister--before and after the Marcos years--but it was his role in exile that most defined his career. After martial law was imposed in 1972, Manglapus fled to the U.S. and joined Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. in denouncing Marcos and lobbying for an end to U.S. economic and military assistance to the corrupt regime.

KILLED. NEELAN TIRUCHELVAM, 55, moderate Sri Lankan legislator and vice-president of the Tamil United Liberation Front party, by a suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber who threw himself on the parliamentarian's car and detonated a bomb; in Colombo. A Harvard-educated constitutional lawyer, the ethnic-Tamil Tiruchelvam played a key role in trying to find a political settlement to the 15-plus years of civil war between the island's majority Sinhalese and minority Tamil populations.

Time Capsule

In contrast to the original WOODSTOCK in 1969, last week's highly organized (and commercialized) music festival, held in Rome, New York, ended with arson, rioting and allegations of sexual assault.

"The Woodstock Music and Art Fair ... was billed by its youthful Manhattan promoters as 'An Aquarian Exposition' of music and peace. It was that and more--much more. The festival turned out to be history's largest happening. As the moment when the special culture of U.S. youth of the '60s openly displayed its strength, appeal and power, it may well rank as one of the significant political and sociological events of the age... There were no rapes, no assaults, no robberies and, as far as anyone can recall, not one single fight... In the end, even the police were impressed. Said Sullivan County Sheriff Louis Ratner: 'This was the nicest bunch of kids I've ever dealt with.'"

--TIME Aug. 29, 1969