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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 27, 1992)
World & Nation Page 8 The Battalion Monday, April 27, Rebel factions fight over Kabul Congress considers Rival groups trade gunfire as residents mark war's end KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Rival rebels fought over Afghanistan's fallen capital on Sunday, and the followers of a moderate leader gained the upper hand with help from troops of the collapsed communist government. The Red Cross said it had treat ed 50 wounded rebels since the Muslim guerrillas swarmed into the capital by the thousands on Saturday, and that at least seven had died. With 14 years of civil war ap parently coming to an end, Kabul was jubilant and peaceful when the rebels began arriving, and ri val groups even cooperated in tak ing over government buildings. But by Saturday night the fight ing among the rebel factions be gan. Gunfire, rocket and tank shells shook the city of 1.5 million Sunday. The central bazaar, normally bustling, was nearly empty on the sunny day. By nightfall, streams of red tracers stitched the sky, and white and green flares flashed on the horizon. Most of the fighting was at the presidential palace and other strategic spots, and was between radical guerrillas under rebel lead er Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of the fundamentalist Hezb-e-Isla- mi, and those led by moderate commander Ahmed Shah Ma- sood, of the Jamiat-e-Islami. Masood's men, fighting along side remnants of the military, drove Hekmatyar's men from the presidential palace and some sub urbs of Kabul. But Hekmatyar still held the Interior Ministry building and pockets of the city with anti aircraft weapons. U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, whose plan to re store peace collapsed with Presi dent Najibullah's ouster earlier this month, pleaded for all sides to end the bloodshed. "Now is the time for healing. tolerance and forgiveness," he told reporters in Islamabad, Pak istan. Hekmatyar has demanded the formation of a strict Islamic state, and opposes Masood's vision of a moderate state in place of the old communist government. Most of the other rebel groups have allied with Masood, and their political leaders say the mili tary commander is in charge in Kabul until a multiparty interim government arrives from Pak istan. Rebel chieftain Sibghatullah Mojadidi, head of a 50-member commission of guerrilla comman ders, religious scholars and repre sentatives of the major parties, planned to leave for Kabul later Sunday to start the transition. Officials endorse outline of aid package Countries reach tentative agreement on economic assistance to former U.S.S.R. WASHINGTON (AP) - Finance officials from the world's seven richest industrial coun tries on Sunday endorsed the broad outlines of an economic assistance package for the former Soviet Union that could, over time, rival the Marshall Plan in its scope. The endorsement by the so-called Group of Seven countries — the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada — represented a victory for President Bush, who first unveiled the proposed $24 billion Western aid package for Russia earlier this month. In a joint communique issued late Sunday night, the officials said their countries were ready to provide up to $18 billion in individual aid to Russia and an additional $6 billion fund to stabilize the Russian currency, the ruble. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar, key architect of the Russian economic reforms, made a personal appeal for assistance during the afternoon Sunday. The finance officials spent 14 hours over two days discussing the Russian aid package and other issues facing the world economy. The meeting ran four hours longer than scheduled Sunday, but officials later said that it was not the Russian financing package but disagreement over policies needed to spur the sluggish world economy that caused the delay. In a statement on economic policy, the fi nance officials said they remained concerned that economic activity this year will be below potential and "inadequate to achieve a reduc tion in unemployment." The communique noted that global interest rates in many cases remained at high levels, a point Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady has been making for over a year. While stopping short of making specific commitments to cut interest rates, the commu nique did pledge efforts to boost growth in their nations and noted specifically that the de cline in the Japanese currency, the yen, was not contributing to the process of getting the world growing at a faster rate. Japanese finance officials had complained before the weekend meetings that they were unable to cut their interest rates further be cause such an action could put more down ward pressure on the yen. By specifically noting the yen's level, the fi nance officials apparently were signalling world currency markets that they would be ready to intervene by buying yen on the open market to support the Japanese currency should the need arise. On the question of aid to Russia, the com munique said finance officials from the United States and its allies "welcomed the reforms al ready undertaken in Russia." balanced budget bill WASHINGTON (AP) - Thanks to a few thousand bad checks at the House bank, a constitutional amendment to balance the federal budget looks like an idea whose time has come. "Because of the check bouncing scandal, members are trying to explain their position and this is the only ship afloat. They need something to go home with," says Rep. Robert Smith, R-Ore., a leader of the drive for the amendment. After years in which the pro posal has been headed off or narrowly defeated by its Demo cratic opponents, foes and sup porters of the measure say Congress seems likely to vote its approval this year. With Congress returning from a two-week Easter vaca tion Tuesday, support is grow ing for the measure, aided by lawmakers' desires to demon strate an ability to act in the wake of the publicity over more than 24,000 bad checks at the House bank. Even House Speaker Thomas Foley, D-Wash., an opponent, conceded last week that "my guess is the votes are there to pass it." Eliminating a deficit of $400 billion will require either large spending cuts or huge tax in creases or both. But, as critics point out, the amendment sim ply requires a balanced budget, leaving the politically sensitive tax and spending decisions for well into the future. The House Budget Core tee begins hearings on thepn posa! next week, and Hots and Senate votes could coraei early as May. An amendme Vol. 91 requires ratincation by 38ste after Congress gives its s; proval; the last one 18-year-olds the right to vole; 1971. Several versions of tl amendment are in circulate They all would require theps ident to submit a balancedfc get, something President Bid has never done, despite hisss;. port for the legislation. As T< TCA they all would make it diffe lollege for Congress to run a defidt It would forbid eachya: spending from exceedingip otiatir onside orrecti enues without a vote fi erns oi three-fifths majorities to Tax increases could on! proved by majorities of thee ssued t Allej uded e fire Congress, not just map plaints £ • ties of lawmakers actually if idents a The mg. The arguments on bothsa of the issue have changed litd since similar amendments^ just shy of the requiij| two-thirds majority inf House in 1990 and the Senates 1986. Democratic opponentsaip that a requirement for ah anced budget would leads Draconian slashes in needs government programs. They also say the measa could necessitate steep tans creases. That frightens busias groups like the U.S. Chamber! Commerce. BELG tard-lin reate a Be c lo Yi CLINIQUE SPRING GIFT Wait no more, it’s time to stop in, stock up and be rewarded with Six of the Best, yours with any 12.00 or more purchase of anything Clinique Now through Saturday, May 2, Clinique proves that some of the best things come in small packages. Six most wanted Clinique specialists in convenient travel sizes. Your bonus with any 12.00 or more Clinique purchase. Quick- Dissolve Makeup Solvent, Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion, Violet Light Daily Eye Treat, Raspberry Glace Different Lipstick, Daily Rinse and a hair brush. Clinique is allergy tested and 100% fragrance free. One bonus per customer, please, while supply lasts. SI IQI' DILLARD'S MONDAY Tl IROLGII SATURDAY 10-9; SUNDAY 12-6; POST OAK MAUL., I lAKVUY KOAD AT I IK',1 IWAY 6 BYPASS, COLLEGE STATION. DILLARD'S AND ALL VlAJOR CREDIT CARDS WELCOME. her six-r Austrian election eni The L nations t Serbian I loisting, rope to d Milos< with run-of"“ e,vo ' VIENNA, Austria than 10,0 sion of S Mace' run-off presidential electiopi las not called Sunday after no received the needed states b( ‘.which fe succeed controversial Presiie tfcoveh Kurt Waldheim. According to preliminary suits, the Social Democn! Rudolf Streicher led The V evic's p torn Sei |nd relin four candidates with 40.7pc® ^roatia. of the vote, and Thomas Klesti the conservative People's^ [rationii 111 had 37.2 percent. The two part have dominated Austrian since World War II. Austrians hope the selection 1 a new president will end then tion's international isolation^ cause of Waldheim's role witli German army during the war. Streicher and Klestil will be the ballot May 24. Both hope. .. win supporters of therighW VvOITl^ Freedom Party and envim ment-oriented Green party. Heide Schmidt, candidate- the Freedom Party, finished"! 1 16.4 percent of the vote,® Robert Jungk of the anti-E' 1 ' pean Community and pro-n® trality Greens had 5.7 percent. eats in th Muscovite! t ,hemh celebrate holy day The 5 iolence WASP buta Hi] Her tr ^ommitt tarings lominati resor lois and ejudici Politic lelieves t |e regard [to the Suj agregatic le civil ri "I saw MOSCOW (AP) - Joy< Muscovites crowded into can! lit churches Sunday to celeb Russian Orthodox Easter, and the first time in 74 years Krc 1111 bells pealed in Red Square in^ or of the holy day. Many Albanian Orthodox^ lievers also celebrated Eas’ 1 freely for the first time, bulbil shed in Bosnia-Herzegovinak many people home. The patriarch of theOrthody believers worlds Bartholomeos I, led a two-bc- service in Istanbul, Turkey,wbf the church's patriarchate isb- ed. "Hristos Anesti (HappyE®' er)," the patriarch, ingoldc^ monial robes and a crown, said; he blessed the faithful af! ; George Church. In Jerusalem, the holiday"' marked quietly by Eastern^ Christians at the Churchof^ Holy Sepulcher. The nafif streets of the ancient walledcfj were crowded with thousands" tourists, many of them Greek ft [Desert Tr, osing ra: thodox pilgrims. Evans l