The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, March 23, 1992, Image 1
1 'actice Hxperiei 3rill Field, formation. Special sp itics, and peaking ■30 p m. i 3719 (eve ire f' n 9' 7 p.m, r Casey ir 1992 3-12. Posi Senate, Cl A. 9 a.m mitted to Tti tier than ffn date. lA'e im ti the contact on serv/'cetlii admissions t : There isn ave question Partly cloudy with highs in the mid-70s Even honesty (from Congress) would be a nice change of pace -Jon DeShazo Battalion columnist Page 11 Health Tips: Beutel Health Center offers advice on use of caffeine Longhorns extend SWC lead after two victories over A&M Page 2 The Battalion Vol. 91 No. 114 College Station, Texas 'Serving Texas A&M since 1893" 12 Pages Monday, March 23, 1992 to ease Tatarstan's fears, reaffirms tie to Yeltsin Ruler seeks KAZAN, Russia (AP) — Tatarstan's president, in seeking to allay fears that his region's overwhelming vote for indepen dence could help splinter the Russian Federation, said Sunday he will move swiftly to reaffirm ties with Boris Yeltsin's government. "Our first step will be to announce a tighter union with Russia, to strengthen and intensify ties, to create new relations with a reformed Russia/' President Mintimer Shaimiyev said in an interview with The Associated Press. He spoke a day after citizens of the re gion voted nearly 2-1 in favor of declar ing Tatarstan a sovereign state. The referendum raised fears that the so-called "autonomous republic" of 3.7 million people would secede from Russia, starting a process that could unravel the Federation's patchwork of ethnic home lands. The Russian government has refused to accept the Tatarstan referendum, which was declared unconstitutional by a Rus sian court and strongly opposed by Yeltsin. Shaimiyev said previously that the re- gioi|, 500 miles east of Moscow, was sim ply trying to gain control of its oil and other natural resources to benefit its own people. He contended Sunday that the referen dum could save Russia — rather than de stroy it — if Yeltsin's government took the opportunity to grant real autonomy to territories that have been autonomous in name only. Tatarstan's prime minister, Mukhamat Sabirov, said in a separate interview Sun day that "it is impossible to maintain the unity of Russia by force." The only way to preserve the Russian Federation is for Moscow to negotiate new relationships with its constituent ter ritories, he said. A Tatar separatist leader, Marat Mu- lyukov, told reporters Sunday that Tatarstan should now receive diplomatic recognition, join the United Nations and become a full-fledged member of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The huge Russian republic, stretching across 11 time zones from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, dwarfs and completely encircles Tatarstan — a territory the size of West Virginia. . But Russian leaders fear that if Tatarstan tries to break away, so will many of the 16 other "autonomous" re ions — such as Karelia on the Finnish order, Tuva on the Chinese border and Yakutia in eastern Siberia. Vint iat cross Met t Texas and lev said the i rulers terms in the Gulf a: subtropical here it trig id. El Nino star he coming Jet crashes in storm; at least 13 people die Pilot aborts takeoff, plane slides into bay rt so it mar fleets of El\ said. tl sa] vvever, renf|ij I. "Whfim >n is stjfl : a) ways re ■ now close ies and we vl bright sii back from re ased with w >dy involved >tor] g control of zer is nob NEW YORK (AP) - A USAir commuter jet carrying 47 people crashed in a snowstorm Sunday after an aborted takeoff from La Guardia Airport, coming to rest partly in the waters of Flushing Bay. Police said at least 13 people were killed. An eyewitness said the plane left the ground, then fell back and burst into a "huge fireball" before sliding part way into the water. Radio reports said rescue divers were in the water for sur vivors. USAir Flight 405, bound for Cleveland carrying 47 passengers and four crew members, skidded down the runway at about 9:30 p.m., said fire department spokesman Jerry Sanford. The plane caught fire and was half submerged in the water, he said. Police Department Lt. Robert Nardoza confirmed eight people were dead. Survivors, many of them burned, were being taken to hospitals. Snow had been falling since about 5 p.m. The aircraft was an F-28 4000 commuter jet, USAir spokesman John Bronson said in a tape- recorded message. Witness Patrick Silver said the plane lifted off briefly, then slammed back down onto the run way, bursting into flames. "It catapulted three or four times before it went into the wa ter," Silver said. "It lit up the liv ing room. It was a huge fireball." Federal Aviation Administra tion spokesman Fred Farrar de scribed the plane as a "relatively small two-engine jet with both en gines on the rear of the fuselage." It was the second time in three years a plane has skidded off a runway at La Guardia. Both times they were USAir flights. On Sept. 20, 1989, USAir Flight 5050 bound for Charlotte, N.C., skidded off the end of a runway into the East River and broke into several pieces in an aborted take off. Two people were killed in that accident. Clinton defends wife, integrity Democratic candidates launch assault; Brown attacks opponent's credibility BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) - Democratic presidential front-run ner Bill Clinton defended his wife and his integrity Sunday as he and rival Jerry Brown dueled over the airwaves and across Connecticut in preparation for their first head- to-head showdown. Clinton kept his focus on Presi dent Bush, saying Connecticut and other states that rely heavily on military work were "about to be blindsided" by defense cuts be cause Bush had no plan for con verting to a civilian economy. "No other nation would con sider the kinds of cuts we are about to have in defense without a plan for what these people will be able to do," the Arkansas gover nor told a community meeting in Bridgeport, an impoverished city that filed for bankruptcy last year. But during a national televi sion appearance, Clinton was pep pered with questions about his in tegrity, and Brown used a separate television interview and his later events to attack Clinton. Brown said Clinton's Arkansas administration "will go down in the history books for what not to do in American politics. It either comes out now or George Bush and his samurai warriors make mincemeat of Mr. Clinton." Clinton, interviewed on NBC's "Meet the Press," dismissed such suggestions. "I have been subjected to at tacks in the press that are unprece dented for anybody running for president," Clinton said. "I don't have any reservations about the strength of my character or my ability to be president." Both Democrats headed from New York television studios to a day of campaigning in Connecti cut, including a joint appearance at a church anti-violence rally with Jesse Jackson — where Jackson was greeted with chants of "Run Jesse Run" by the predominantly black audience. Jackson stole the show from the Democratic candidates, lead ing a spirited sermon in which he denounced the grip of drugs, vio lence and decaying families on America's inner cities. Floating heads Craig Sicola (left) and Brian Tripplehorn swim Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park. They across the Rio Grande River just below Santa swam across the river to get to Mexico. Re-election team stresses repairing president's image WASHINGTON (AP) - Presi dent Bush's re-election team sees a race against Democrat Bill Clinton as a battle against a resilient candi date with untapped vulnerabili ties. But first, the campaign has to shore up the president's faltering image. Campaign officials insist that Clinton's emergence as Bush's likely opponent will not change Bush's primary campaign strategy for several weeks. "Our approach is going to be to focus on the president and his record and his plans," said Charles Black, a top Bush strate gist. That does not mean re searchers are not gathering infor mation on Clinton. "It's really a race to see who can define themselves first . . . then you can start defining the other guy," said aides. With the persistent "protest vote" dogging him in primaries, the Bush team is well aware it must do a better job of portraying Bush as capable of pulling the na tion out of economic doldrums. At the same time, the president is expected to underscore subtly his areas of accomplishment in un spoken contrast with Clinton's perceived shortcomings — i.e. for eign policy leadership. "We have in mind to do that at some point," said Black. "We don't need to specifically reference him. If we do our job, it doesn't matter what he does." Bush used that approach against GOP primary rival Patrick Buchanan. Without mentioning his opponent's name, he railed against the perils of protectionism and attacked bigotry in general, highlighting two of Buchanan's weak points. i. ith him a 81 3 rt unity’ ie t heir budA just talk- other bo" allenge 1 ' ‘ • kids son 1 -o. He (» i ze me, 50 ayp<; Bryan- 1 - 01 to the unt someW Grocery store plans to 'check out' By Alysia Woods The Battalion One of four AppleTree gro cery stores in the area will check out its last customer this Satur day as the store permanently closes its doors. The store, located on 1010 Texas Avenue in Bryan, is one of several stores in a chain owned by AppleTree Markets, Inc. The decision, which was made by store executives in Houston, reflected a combina tion of factors said Dan Feldman, assistant store manager for the College Station AppleTree. "It had to do with the lease agreement and, also, the overall condition of the store," he said. The building is owned by Weingarten's, a chain that housed a Weingarten's store there before leasing the building to AppleTree. Feldman said the recent openings of other grocery stores in the area, such as Randall's, Al bertson's and H.E.B. Pantry Foods, probably did not help matters. "You could definitely tell a difference when they came to town," he said. There are approximately 40 employees at the store. Most will be transferred to the other three stores in the area, Feldman said. Two stores are located in Bryan and one is in College Station. "They'll take care of them," he said. Mada Tyer has worked at the location for thirty years, when it was Weingarten's and through the change to AppleTree. Tyer, a cashier, said the employees who have been there the longest will have a stronger chance of getting an equivalent position in another AppleTree store. "It's sad to see the store close and I've worked with these peo ple a long time," she said. "We'll just have to see what works out." Bush, Kohl end informal talks U.S., German leaders agree to open global trade discussions WASHINGTON (AP) - Presi dent Bush and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl wrapped up a week end of infor mal talks Sun day by reiterat ing their re solve to break the deadlock on global trade talks. Kohl said a new General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade is "of paramount im portance for the world economy." "Obviously, when we talk about compromise, it means both sides have to move," Kohl said in alluding to the U.S.-European dis pute over agricultural subsidies. Kohl said he hopes the new global trading rules can be com pleted "at the very latest by the end of April." The two leaders, in a two-day retreat at Camp David, also re viewed the troubles inside the for mer Soviet Union. "We agreed that as Russia and other new democracies adopt re form programs, we and the rest of the G-7 (Group of Seven) coun tries should take the lead in ex panding financial support through the international financial institutions," Bush said. Kohl said they discussed a co ordinated Western approach to provide "self-help" to Central and Eastern Europe. Noting relief packages that the United States and Germany have extended to the former Soviet states. Kohl said, "Obviously we cannot go on doing this kind of thing indefinitely." The six-year-old trade talks have been hung up on disputes between the United States and the European Community over Euro pean agricultural subsidies. Helmut Kohl