World & Nation
Page 12
The Battalion
Thursday, Apn'19,
Opposition to Yeltsin's reforms rises
Members of Russian parliament threaten to revoke president's special powers
jack to his
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian lawmakers ap
peared to be on the verge of revoking Presi
dent Boris Yeltsin's extraordinary powers on
Wednesday as momentum swung ba
opponents during a crucial
parliamentary session.
Yeltsin still has time to
lobby or compromise be
fore a possible vote today
to declare "dissatisfaction"
with his market reforms
and cancel his authority to
issue economic decrees
without legislative ap
proval.
The loss of his special
powers, granted by parlia
ment a year ago, would be
a severe blow to the reforms and could lead to
an overhaul of Yeltsin's cabinet.
"If the president loses his extraordinary
powers and his ability to lead the government,
the entire cabinet of course will resign," Vice
Premier Yegor Gaidar, the architect of the re-
Yeltsin
forms, told a meeting of Yeltsin supporters
Wednesday night.
"I'm afraid the odds are pretty good that
the president will lose his additional powers,"
said Gleb Yakunin, a lawmaker and Russian
Orthodox priest.
"You can see that a large part of these
deputies are still pro-Communist at heart,"
Yakunin said.
Yeltsin had seized the initiative in the 1,046-
member Congress of People's Deputies, domi
nated by former Communists, with a speech
Tuesday warning that a reduction in his pow
ers could "plunge the country into chaos."
He bolstered his support among Russian
hard-liners by countering Ukraine's claim to
the Black Sea fleet and by speeding up the for
mation of a separate Russian army.
In a corridor just outside the meeting hall,
Yeltsin supporters hung a hand-drawn picture
of a grenade with a pin in the shape of the
president's face.
If it were withdrawn, the grenade — labeled
"totalitarianism" and "anarchy" — would ex
plode.
But Yeltsin's opponents took the offensive
on Wednesday, forcing him to return to his
lonely seat in front of the parliament and listen
in silence as they accused him of reducing the
Russian people to poverty.
"Reformers who began the so-called shock
therapy must now learn two new (phrases):
first aid and resuscitation, because that is what
most of the population needs," said lawmaker
Valery Vorontsov.
Yeltsin's economic program has caused
prices to soar and "pushed millions of people
into poverty," Vorontsov said.
At the start of the session in the Grand
Kremlin Palace, Yeltsin left his chair, directly
under a huge Russian flag that covers a Com
munist-era portrait of Lenin.
Aides said he was attending an important
meeting of Russia's constitutional commission
in another wing of the former czar's palace.
But lawmakers voted 606 to 149 to ask him
to come back to hear their criticism.
Officials charge accountant with security fraud
WASHINGTON (AP) - A for
mer accountant at a Houston
chemical company, using inside
information about a planned
merger gleaned from his superi
ors' travel expenses, allegedly
made more than $670,000 in illegal
trading profits, officials charged
Wednesday.
Edward Ruggiero, former in
ternal audit supervisor at Vista
Chemical Co. — without admit
ting or denying wrongdoing —
agreed to give up $678,343 in al
leged illegal trading profits plus
interest to settle civil charges orig
inally brought last year by the Se-
Co
Ex-auditor agrees to pay over $600,000
to Securities and Exchange Commission
sion.
A friend of his, Christopher S.
Parker, also of Houston, agreed to
pay $198,156 to settle similar
charges brought by the SEC,
which bars individuals privy to
confidential corporate information
from trading on it before it be
comes public.
curities and Exchange Commis-
Meanwhile, a federal grand
jury in Houston returned a 39-
count fraud indictment against
both men stemming from their al
leged illegal trading activities.
The SEC alleged Ruggiero, a
certified public accountant, and
Parker made about $873,000 in il
legal trading profits by buying
Vista securities while possessing
confidential information about a
German energy company's
planned acquisition of the Hous
ton company.
Vista was acquired by a sub
sidiary of Essen, Germany-based
RWE AG.
According to the SEC, Ruggiero
allegedly used his position at
Vista to obtain the confidential in
formation by talking with Vista
executives and gleaning informa
tion from their travel and expense
reports about where they were go
ing and with whom they were
meeting.
In the criminal indictment,
Houston U.S. Attorney Ron
Woods said the pair was charged
with varying counts of securities
fraud and wire fraud. If convicted,
Parker faces a maximum penalty
of 105 years in prison and fines of
$5.2 million.
Labor party
may edge out
Conservatives
Polls indicate Parliament leans!
toward minority government
LONDON (AP) - Prime
Minister John Major and Labor
Party leader Neil Kinnock both
predicted
victory on
the eve of
Britain's na
tional elec
tions.
Today,
voters may
both
Major
prove
men wrong.
At the
end of a fre
netic three-
week cam
paign that scarcely altered the
opinion polls, Britain appeared
headed for a minority govern
ment that would end 13 years
of unshakable Conservative
Party rule.
Recent polls put Labor sup
port at 40 percent, a 2 -to 3-.
point edge over the Conserva
tives. Only the Liberal
Democrats, up 4 points to 20
percent, have gained signifi
cantly.
If neither of the big para
wins a majority in the Housel
Commons, Liberal Democrat
leader Paddy Ashdown'sf
for support is a commitment!
change the rules.
Ashdown wants to ab
the British system ofwinnel
takes-all in all 651 districtsaij
adopt a voting system thata
cates seats based oneachpal
ty's share of the national vote [
If the voting is as closeasb
polls indicate, the outcomes
not be known until Fridayaftrl
noon, w’hen the last three do;
districts are expected torepoc.l
Major, facing a loss oil 1
huge majority he inherited! 1
months ago from Margaiej
Thatcher, insisted he was "if
solutely stone-cold certain
winning a majority on Thu
day.
"If it were not forthedfel
culties and bruises that hi
been caused by recession,]
don't think there wouldbea:
doubt there would beam:
creased majority for the Cons
vatives," said Major.
Bush refuses to curtail political use of Air Force One
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush ad
ministration is scouring its operations to
stop unjustified "perks," but draws the
line at any suggestion the president cur
tail political use of Air Force One, Budget
Director Richard Darman said Wednes
day.
"The public is rightly disturbed about
some patterns it sees in Congress and the
executive branch," Darman said at a hear
ing of the Senate Appropriations subcom
mittee that oversees White House spend
ing.
But he said Americans draw a distinc
tion between Bush, who has a right to
"the dignity of the office," and lesser offi
cials "who are trying to act like presi
dents."
The subcommittee chairman. Sen. Den
nis DeConcini, D-Ariz., disputed a White
House practice of requiring reimburse
ment of the equivalent of first-class air
fare for political travel. The president's
specially modified Boeing 747 costs
$25,000 an hour to operate, he said.
"To me, there's something wrong,"
said DeConcini. "If the president uses this
and mixes politics with official business.
the politics has to pay the real cost."
‘ ?d t|
Darman defended the policy, however.
He said Bush, even when traveling for po
litical purposes, cannot escape his duties
as commander in chief and needs a coterie
of personnel and equipment. He does not
have the option of using commercial
flights, Darman noted.
Charging the Bush re-election cam
paign, or other candidates on whose be
half the president travels, the full cost of
Air Force One would be prohibitive and
ut the incumbent at a disadvantage to
is Democratic opponents, Darman con-
h
tended.
Then, in a dig at one Democratic con
tender, he asked, "Does Jerry Brown have
a regular job?"
Wednesday's hearing came in the
midst of a Washington frenzy over the
privileges of office:
— The General Accounting Office is
sued an audit that found two top admin
istration officials — Secretary of State
James A. Baker III and former White
House Chief of Staff John Sununu —
rolled up $774,000 in personal and politi
cal travel on military planes in two years.
but reimbursed taxpayers for less th:
percent of that cost.
— A House subcommitteeprepwi/to
a hearing Thursday on peiVs.lWtei
man. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa,said,"j
the White House does notcoopeia
these are not going to be very pleas:
hearings."
He said all officials shouldbem
aware of the costs of government to
they undertake, suggesting they mij
more conservative about trips il
knew the expense.
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Don’t miss our Girbaud Event this Saturday, April 11, from 1-3
p.m.! A live band will be performing in our men’s department.
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Dillard’s
Jury finds
2 policemei
not guilty
Verdict angers widoi
of shooting victim
SAN ANTONIO (AP)-Al!
eral jury has found two policed
and the city did not violate
constitutional rights of a mansl
to death after a high-speed
pressway chase.
A three-man, four-woman j:
ruled Tuesday that Patrol®
David Alonzo and DanielGs
giou did not use excessive ffij
Oct. 4, 1987, when theyfiredf
shots that killed Michael l.Kf
fus.
The shooting occurred at
end of a 10-mile chase involving
stolen pickup. Alonzo testified
opened fire when Kaulfus," :
was unarmed, made an
sive move with his hiddenrif 1
hand.
Georgiou joined in the shot
ing shortly thereafter.
The officers previously"'
cleared by internal police revii 11
and a county grand jury inves 1
gation.
Their relatives hugged thef'
patrolmen after the jury's verf
was read, while Kaulfus' wid'
appeared near tears.
"You know how I feel/' 5 ;
Tina Kaulfus. "I think
wrong.
The 28-year-old widow 55 ;
the fact the two officers fired'
times at her husband prove 5
was excessive force. Kaulfus'!^
ily was seeking $2.5 millio | 'j
damages from the city and
two officers.
SHOr > DILLARD'S MONDAY Tl IKOL'CI (SATURDAY 10-9; SUNDAY 12-6; POST OAK MALL, IIARVLY K< >AD AT l IIGIIWAY 6 BYI’ASS, COLLEGE STATION. DILLARD'S AND ALL MAIOR CREDIT CARDS WELCOME.
Jurors deliberated nearly se' 1
hours before reaching a decisi*
in the three-week-old trial.
Joe Mitchell, a Houston aW
ney representing plaintiffs, 551
he was disappointed andtha
decision had been made
whether to appeal the verdict
The defendants said they"®
relieved.
Vol. 9
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