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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 28, 1991)
ujgust^ **»Mog* WEATHER Forecast - Partly cloudy, high temperatures in the low 90s, BACK TO SCHOOL ISSUE LIFESTYLES Look for The Battalion's Music Review special edition on the first day of classes Monday, September 2 This Mortal Coil explores a more guitar-oriented sound with latest release, Blood. Page 13 SPORTS Volleyball team sets season in motion. Page 8 > Vol. 90 No. 185 USPS 045360 College Station, Texas "Serving Texas A&M since 1893" 20 Pages Wednesdays August 28,1991 China attempts to preserve last major Communist state r gets are: men<: ice of an a 'Pt. John- tral Patrol; ed in the, Ipock, if juvenile; wo mem a pair of houted a: : one of I baseball ll 8, of He; i BEIJING (AP) — China's aging hard line leaders are casting an uneasy eye about them in the wake of political upheaval in the Soviet Union that has left China the world's only major Communist power. Political analysts say the Chinese leadership faces no immediate threat of collapse because of relative economic prosperity, the absence of organized opposition and memories of the bloody crackdown on a pro-democracy movement in 1989. But from thriving cities to remote border regions, Chinese officials are working hard to bolster confidence in their authoritarian brand of socialism, which is being almost universally rejected around the world. "They are scared at the moment because the whole world is changing around them," said Danny Paau, a senior lecturer at Hong Kong Baptist College. "The rapid changes mean they cannot deny the necessity of reform and they are trying to find a way to change that ensures the party will not lose control in China." During a week of tumult in the Soviet Union — Mikhail Gorbachev's brief overthrow, his reinstatement, the ascendancy of Russian Federation President Boris Yeltsin, Gorbachev's resignation as party chief — China issued only terse, noncommital statements on the developments. After the hard-line coup failed, China merely noted that Gorbachev had regained control, and said it respected the will of the Soviet people. But in internal documents circulated in the past year, Chinese officials accused Gorbachev of betraying socialism by promoting reforms that led to the collapse of Communist governments in Eastern Europe. It was a visit by Gorbachev — and the worldwide attention it brought — that helped spur the student-led democracy protests in May and June of 1989, which were brutally put down by the army. On Monday, the front page of the Chinese Communist Party newspaper, the People's Daily, was dominated by remarks from Vice President Wang Zhen, who said China will not veer from socialism. "Facing the changing international situation, we need to further consolidate our socialist and Communist beliefs," the paper said in its report on Wang's visit to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, which borders the Soviet Union. Despite the leadership's tight grip on power, some Chinese intellectuals say the disintegration of the Soviet Communist Party gives them hope that similar changes eventually could come to China. "This is the greatest event in the 100- year history of the international Communist movement," said a Chinese intellectual, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of official punishment. See China/Page17 uvenile attack foil aackup oil larged wij ht, a gi ew beer ; They we ed with: mors, sal ned to k| se thev;i idercove: d for ml: ospitaM ollege State' Don Ball Ji ll. Location at 846-028’ |S benefittinj' intact Ction;: edMcDaw jublish the:' t'sUpism srerunotn 1 '- f you have: d derson n sh Emfe lition ti d that Mi Cyprus Iritain. KARL A.STOLLEISrfHE BATTALION Cleaning the garden Frank Ramirez and Travis Chappie, right, from landscape management, building Tuesday afternoon. They will replant the area wth a new design use picks and rakes to clear the large planters in front of the Academic within the next few days. A&M awaits 91- 92 budget certification By Chris Vaughn The Battalion Texas A&M begins the 1991-92 school year using last year's budget figures, while anxious administrators await State Comptroller John Sharp's certification of the recently passed budget. The Legislature passed a $59.4 billion statewide budget in mid- August, but Sharp must certify it before Gov. Ann Richards signs the bill into law. Until then, state agencies, including A&M, are operating with last year's numbers. In certifying the budget. Sharp ensures projected state expenditures will not exceed revenue brought in by the state since Texas has a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget each year. A&M, while not getting what it needs to keep up with inflation and growth, did receive more money than earlier predicted. Legislators eventually appropriated $198.3 million for the University, which is 4 percent more than last year but 2.2 percent less than what A&M needs to maintain all its current services. "We have done as well as w'e could expect given the difficult economy in the state," said University President William Mobley. "It could have been much worse. It still may be worse than what we know." Mobley refers to a series of "riders" attached to the budget whose impact has not been full)' estimated yet. For example, several riders could allow the state to recall 4.2 percent — about $7 million — of its appropriated revenue from A&M, which has administrators worried. "Until we get more specific feedback from the comptroller, we can't finish our internal budget, or at least we have to have a worst- case scenario budget," Mobley said. Robert Smith, A&M's vice president for finance and administration, said his office is working daily to get a bottom-line dollar amount, but he is preparing a budget based on the assumption that the 4.2 percent will not be available. "It is clear to us that when we get ready to do a final budget, we are going to have fewer dollars See Budget/Page17 staten« hat it * (ecretarf ithin4$: eadlock n ne^i Amerto id by" 5TU0 tch’or |y of eerstfN jiseas* 1 arch s' 1 ’ 0.00 Cease-fire collapses; civil war threatens Yugoslavia ^ Croatian president orders troop mobilization: EC rushes to stop war BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) - Croatia's president met with Yugoslav military leaders Tuesday in an apparent last- ditch effort to stop fighting in the republic from escalating into all-out war. Croatian officials said they were ready to call up all able-bodied men for militia duty in the fighting with federal troops and Serbian insurgents. In Belgium, meanwhile, the foreign ministers of the 12 nations in the European Community considered a proposal by France to make an effort to work out a cease-fire. At the same time, Germany and Italy urged the EC to recognize the independence of Croatia and Slovenia if the fighting persists. Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and his senior defense officials held talks on the Adriatic island of Brioni with the federal defense minister, Gen. Veljko Kadijevic, and the army chief of staff, Gen. Blagoje Adzic, a Serbian hard-liner. There were no immediate reports of any developments from the meeting. Croatian Deputy Premier Mato Granic said the government would order a full-scale mobilization of healthy men for military service. At least 256 people have died in fighting involving Croatian security forces, Serb guerrillas and federal soldiers since Croatia and Slovenia declared independence in tandem June 25. "Real war is being waged in a large part of Croatia," Granic told reporters in Zagreb, Croatia's capital. Granic said the government would take urgent measures, including general mobilization, so that "the burden of war could be shared by all citizens." He predicted a "long, defensive war." Serbia's deputy premier, Budimir Kosutic, said in Belgrade that his republic would take "adequate measures" in response to a general callup in Croatia. He didn't specify what he meant. Serbia is Yugoslavia's largest republic and opposes independence for neighboring Croatia because of its large Serb minority. Ethnic Serbs dominate the Yugoslav army, and Croats contend the army is aiding Serb rebels in the fighting, a charge the federal military denies. Foreign governments increasingly are accepting Croatian claims of army bias. Yugoslavia's eight-member collective presidency, nominal commander of the armed forces, met in Belgrade to discuss the fighting in Croatia. The commission it appointed to enforce a now failed Aug. 7 truce warned Tuesday that the fighting was spreading toward the central state of Bosnia-Hercegovina, which has a volatile ethnic mix of Muslims, Serbs World & Nation Jury selection begins in Gainsville murder case page 10 Iran steps up efforts to gain release of Hostages page 10 U.S. reaction to Balticsindependence pagell Gorgachev thretens to resign page 18 and Croats. About 600 parents broke into the Parliament of Bosnia-Hercegovina on Tuesday demanding that their sons be returned from duty with the federal army. Bosnia said no new recruits would go to the army until further notice. Croatian radio reported renewed clashes across Croatia from the Dalmatian hinterland of Krajina in the west to the Slavonia region in the east bordering Serbia. The army was involved in several clashes, Croatian radio said. The army confirmed some actions, but denied any fighting in Slavonia. Croatia's 600,000 Serbs, about 12 percent of the republic's population, say they intend to keep areas under their control if Croatia leaves the federation. Update: Yugoslav crackdown on Croatia BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) — The Yugoslav army attacked outgunned Croatian forces with tanks and attack planes on two fronts Monday, and Yugoslav news media reported at least seven people killed in the fighting. The leaders of secessionist Croatia, who are threatening a general mobilization to strengthen their security forces, said after an emergency session that President Franjo Tudjman may be given the power to rule by decree, said Hina, the Croatian news agency. Serb rebels in Croatia seemed to be making a major push — with army backing — to win control of territory before the threatened mobilization. The Serbs want their areas to remain part of Yugoslavia, which is increasingly dominated by Serbia, largest of the six Yugoslav republics. More than 200 people have died in clashes pitting Croatian militiamen against Serb guerrillas and federal soldiers since Croatia declared independence June 25, in tandem ‘ with Slovenia. The federal presidency ordered a cease-fire Aug. 7, but it j failed to hold. Irfan Ajanovic, a key member of the cease-fire monitoring commission, resigned in despair Monday, saying no truce was possible without the political will of Serbs and Croats. The continuing violence — and the ostensibly neutral federal army's growing intervention on behalf of Serbs — fed growing foreign sympathies for Croatia. Italy joined Germany on Monday in warning they would recognize the secession of Croatia and Slovenia if. the Yugoslav government failed to stop the fighting. Serbia's president, Slobodan Milosevic, said Serbia welcomed "well-intentioned" mediation bv other nations but would oppose the presence of foreign peacekeeping troops. mmmm