TIME EUROPE
December 11, 2000, Vol. 156 No. 24
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Camp Zeist
Judges at the Lockerbie trial rejected an appeal to acquit one of the two Libyans accused of masterminding the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Defense lawyer Richard Keen had sought to have the case against Al-Amin Khalifa Fhimah thrown out for lack of evidence. But presiding judge Lord Sutherland said the testimony of a prosecution witness, entries in Fhimah's diary and his association with co-accused Abdel Basset Ali Al-Megrahi provided sufficient evidence for Fhimah to remain on trial.
Prague
Roma parliamentarians and elected representatives held their first-ever international congress in the Czech Republic to share information and discuss ways to improve Roma representation. According to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (O.S.C.E.), which organized the gathering jointly with the Czech Foreign Ministry, there are only five deputies of Roma origin in national parliaments in all of Europe. At the local level there are 20 Roma mayors and 400 councilors. Worldwide, there are an estimated 12 million Roma, most of whom live in Central and Eastern Europe.
Prijedor
Six U.N. police officers serving in Bosnia were ordered home because of "inappropriate behaviour" after a raid on three nightclubs. The six were accused of taking protection money from owners of bars in which 33 women, some as young as 14, were believed to be working in forced prostitution. Bosnia is a common destination for women from Eastern Europe who are so desperate for work that they accept offers of glamorous foreign travel and high-paying positions only to find themselves working as virtual slaves in bars and nightclubs. It is also a transit point for women being trafficked into Western Europe.
Senafe
The U.N. Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea opened the first land access route between the two warring Horn of Africa neighbors. The opening of the safe corridor comes ahead of the deployment of 4,200 U.N. peacekeeping troops. The mission is also negotiating the opening of an air access corridor, essential for medical evacuations and for resupply of equipment for the troops. After two years at war, Ethiopia and Eritrea signed a cessation of hostilities agreement last June. Both sides continue to disagree about where their border should be.
Jerusalem
Israeli police formed a highly visible presence on the city's streets in an effort to prevent violence on the first Friday of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The heightened security came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak put forward new proposals to revive peace talks, which were subsequently rejected by Palestinian leaders. Unable to defeat a bill that would have started the Knesset on the road to dissolution, Barak said he'd be ready for new elections — most likely in May — and would try to make the poll a referendum on his handling of the peace process.
Baghdad
In the latest move in its deepening dispute with the U.N., Iraq halted oil exports at midnight last Thursday. In doing so, Iraq was following through on its threat to halt supplies unless buyers paid a 50¢ a barrel surcharge into an Iraqi bank account, thus breaking U.N. sanctions. The U.S., together with several oil-exporting countries in the Middle East, pledged to compensate for any shortfall, but the extra output could take weeks to filter through. Iraq has been growing steadily more defiant of sanctions in recent months. Last week Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz again rejected new weapons inspection proposals.
Aden
Nearly two months after a suicide attack blasted a hole in the side of a U.S. warship, killing 17 sailors, the U.S. and Yemen have agreed to cooperate on the investigation into the bombing. U.S. officials publicly praised the deal signed in Aden last week, but privately were said to be frustrated by the limits it imposes. Under the terms of the agreement, U.S. investigators will be allowed to attend interrogation sessions with suspects but must submit all questions in writing to Yemeni investigators, who will in turn interrogate the suspects directly. According to Yemen's Prime Minister, the investigation has already pointed to involvement by Osama bin Laden, whom the U.S. accuses of masterminding the 1998 bombings of two of its embassies in Africa.
Beijing
China's Justice Minister, Gao Changli, left his post amid reports that he is under investigation for corruption. Chinese authorities said he left because of "health problems," which are commonly cited when officials are removed from their posts for misbehavior or because they have fallen out of favor. Authorities refused to confirm or deny rumors that Gao was being detained and questioned over allegations that he misused public property and funds. As part of a drive against corruption in the highest ranks of the Communist Party, dozens of senior officials have been charged and several executed.
Pyongyang
In the sixth such appeal since 1995, when chronic food shortages first triggered what the U.N. World Food Program has called a cycle of severe hunger in North Korea, the wfp is asking for more than 800,000 tons of food to be donated to the impoverished and isolated nation. Crop shortfalls caused by a series of natural disasters have devastated North Korea's collective agricultural system, killing an estimated 2 million citizens. The situation is so dire that many people have resorted to eating a mixture of twigs, bark and leaves, which provides little nutrition and can lead to complications like internal bleeding.
Tokyo
Construction firm Kajima Corp. agreed to pay Chinese laborers forced to work as slaves at its Hanaoka mine during World War II. Of the 986 workers brought from China to work at the site, more than 400 had died by the end of 1945. While not admitting legal responsibility, the firm will set up a $4.6 million fund, to be distributed through the Chinese Red Cross to survivors and their families. It is the first time that a compensation package has covered all the original victims or their surviving relatives and not just the 11 plaintiffs to the action, who brought the suit in 1995. The case may affect dozens of similar lawsuits.
Washington
Figures released by the U.S. Commerce Department showed a sharply slowing economy. The government reported an annual growth rate of just 2.4% in the third quarter of the year, compared to more than 5% in the previous quarter. Defying market expectations, personal income fell by .2% and consumer spending rose a mere .2% in October. The Labor Department reported that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose to its highest level in more than two years, indicating that the recent low unemployment rate of less than 4% was increasing. The slowdown is the result of the government's attempt at cooling America's red-hot economy through a series of interest rate rises.
Santiago
A Chilean judge ordered that former dictator General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte be placed under house arrest and stand trial on kidnapping and murder charges for offenses committed during his 17-year rule. Pinochet returned to Chile in March after more than a year under house arrest in Britain, where he fought extradition attempts by the Spanish government. He was allowed to go home only after British officials ruled he was unfit to stand trial. In a recent taped address on the occasion of his 85th birthday, Pinochet stated that he accepted "all the facts that they say the army and the armed forces did." He may still escape trial, though, if medical tests ordered a month ago find that he is insane or suffering from dementia.
São Paulo
A police commander accused of ordering the killing of 111 inmates at the Carandiru Detention Center in 1992 will face trial. Ubiratan Guimaraes, who is accused of murder, was the commanding officer of a squad that entered the prison to quell a riot at Latin America's biggest jail. An investigation found that many of the prisoners were shot at close range. If Guimaraes is found guilty, he could face a sentence of between 50 and 1,400 years. It would also open the way for another 100-plus members of the police force, some of whom are still on active duty, to be prosecuted. Human rights activists say that the trial is already a landmark in the fight to reverse a history of impunity for Brazilian officials accused of brutality.
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