The Battalion
Monday •June 30,1991
Albanians vote for parliament amid threats, violence
Citizens urged to stay off streets after voting; police anticipate more violence once results become knom
TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Gunfire rippled
through the capital Sunday night after So
cialists claimed victory in Albania’s parlia
mentary elections. But official results
weren’t expected until Monday and their
Democratic rivals contested the claim.
The elections — marred by shootings
around the country and by gunmen men
acing voters, burning ballots and pressur
ing polling officials—were aimed at steer
ing Albania toward recovery after months
of chaos.
Albanians overcame fears of mayhem
and ventured to the polls, taking a key step
in re-establishing order. One party official
was killed in a voting-related attack.
The election was aimed at restoring
calm in a country controlled in places by
armed groups.
Protests over failed investment schemes
exploded in the spring into armed insur
rection across the country — much of it
aimed against Berisha. Albanians looted
hundreds of thousands of guns from gov
ernment armories; more than 1,500 people
have been killed since March.
Voters were nervous that violence could
erupt any time — especially as polling sta
tions closed and reports about unofficial
election results began to dribble out.
“We are very grateful that you are here, but
we will have nightmares until the results are
known,” Tirana voter Rufie Disha told Cather
ine Lalumiere, head of the 500 election ob
servers dispatched by the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Anticipating bloodshed once results be
come known, police patrolled the capital’s
streets in armored personnel carriers. Se
curity forces were on alert.
Plain-clothes agents gathered outside
President Sali Berisha’s office. “Maybe they
are preparing for their last breath,” Social
ist Party spokesperson Kastriot Island said.
Crowds several hundred-strong were
gathered outside the Socialist and Democ
ratic Party headquarters.
Socialist leader Fatos Nano told re
porters late Sunday night that his party had
won control of the 155-seat unicameral par
liament. He said his estimates were based
on the reports of Socialist members of local
electoral commissions.
“We will control two-thirds of the parlia
ment for sure,” Nano said. “It is significant,
because of this Albania has definitely shut
off a critical past.”
A Democratic Party spokesperson said
that it was impossible for the Socialists to
be making such claims, since results have
not been announced and its own early in
formation indicated several run-off elec
tions would be needed.
Unusually heavy gunfire rippled through
Trirana as radio stations issued conflicting
election results.
The sometimes violent rivalry between
Berisha’s Democrats and the Socialist-led
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opposition has consumed the countryaii
added to the overall chaos. Berisha andli
main political rivals agreed on the electii
rules and date only a month ago.
Most polling stations closed at 6p.m
though some stayed open later. First resi
were expected Monday.
Seven hundred foreign observers werlfifg
monitoring the vote, protected by a 7,001
member Italian-led multinational forctlltl
that arrived here 2 1/ 2 months ago.
“So far, there have been no serious re
ports from our patrols,” said ft
spokesperson, Col. Giovanni Bernardi.
But around this Balkan nation of 3.2 mi
lion people, Europe’s poorest country, reporo
of violence and voter intimidation abounded
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Girl killed in crowd
at German concert
DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) —A crowd of 60,000 pushed
toward the stage during a punk rock concert, crushing a 16-
year-old girl to death in front and injuring 300 others.
At least 30 people remained hospitalized Sunday with bruis
es and broken bones after the late-night concert, police said.
The girl who was killed had traveled to the concert with her
mother and brother from the Dutch town of Kerkrade, about 40
miles away, said fire department spokesperson Hans-Juergen
Leineweber. Her name was not released.
She was among dozens of injured passed to the sidelines to
rescue workers at Duesseldorf’s soccer stadium.
About 20 minutes into the concert — by German band Toten
Hosen — the crowd began pushing so hard toward the stage
that the band stopped playing and the lead singer pleaded with
his fans to back away.
Water was sprayed on the front rows and the floodlights at
the stadium were turned on to better treat the injured, Leinewe
ber said. About 400 rescue workers and 15 emergency doctors
were called in to help.
The spokesperson said the band offered to quit playing. But
concert organizers said they feared more problems if the per
formance was stopped.
Dozens abandon volcano-stricken Caribbean island
SALEM, Montserrat (AP) — With hugs and
handshakes, dozens of people said farewell to
loved ones Sunday when a hastily arranged ferry
service reconnected volcano-stricken Montserrat
to the rest of the world.
The Caribbean island had been virtually cut off
since Wednesday, when the Soufriere Hills vol
cano erupted with avalanches of fiery debris that
killed at least nine people and forced Montserrat’s
lone airstrip and main pier to close. The victims
were the first fatalities of the volcano, which be
came active two years ago.
Men, women and children piled their belong
ings into two ships at Carr’s Bay for the two-hour
journey to Antigua.
Many had been trapped on this British colony
during visits. Others were leaving for good.
“It’s hard to start a new life, to start everything
fresh,” said Ellen Peters, whose family was fleeing
the island. A teddy bear sat atop her suitcases piled
on the pier.
Montserrat’s population of 11,000 had already
dwindled to 6,000 since the volcano became ac
tive in 1995. With the eruption, the volcano has
nearly halved the area where people can live safe
ly on this 7-by-11 mile island.
Hundreds of people had already taken advan
tage of a British government program to help
them resettle in Britain. Others decided to stay.
“I would love to leave but I can’t. I got to get
myself set up first,” said George Ryan, who was
seeing off relatives at the pier.
^ ^ It’s hard to start a new
life, to start everything fresh.”
Ellen Peters
Montserrat resident
Beyond, the British destroyer HMS Liverpool
lay at anchor, its crew assisting in recovery efforts.
Foreign Office Minister Baroness Symons was to
arrive on the island Sunday evening to meet with
local and British officials.
Sailors were ready, if needed, to erect shelters
for some of the 1,000 to 1,500 people displaced
by Wednesday’s eruption. About 780 people
have lived in temporary housing for more than
a year.
A helicopter from the Liverpool and chop
pers from Barbados, Trinidad and the Montser
rat Volcano Observatory searched for 19 people
still missing Sunday. More than 50 peoplehav
been pulled to safety in harnesses filing from 3 sta|
the helicopters because the ground was too hoi
to land.
For the first time since Wednesday, rescuers con
ducted a house-to-house search in three villages
ring the 3,000-foot volcano. In other areas, volcanic kg f
ash up to 15 feet deep was still too hot to approach.
Entire villages were wiped out by the mix of $U
rock, ash and gas.
The deaths occurred in an area declared off-
limits more than a year ago. Dozens of people,
however, returned to tend to farm plots andani
mals. Some had simply tired of living in over
crowded shelters in churches and schools.
“You’ve got to take chances,” said Peter
Hogan, one of the lucky ones. Hogan, 50, was
tending his plot in Brambles Village when an ygi
avalanche raced down the slope, igniting homes 3r ,[
and scraping the earth clear. dentsi
“I have nothing but the clothes 1 got on,” he said stcoif
Authorities have struggled to keep up with terunl
blows dealt by the unpredictable mountain.An Itierel
ash flow on Saturday ignited vegetation near a fed in t
new hospital in the southern capital, Plymouth,
evacuated in 1996. Further flows could engulf jpr
the town, where the rice mill, main pier
gasoline storage tanks are located.
I
Housing
Continued from Page 1
Although taller dorms would pro
vide more beds, buildings over four
stories require an elevator, an expen
sive addition to the cost of construct
ing a building, Sasse said.
“The primary reason [elevators
are not used] is purely financial,”
Sasse said. “A smaller dorm also al
lows for a greater sense of commu
nity among residents.”
Eric Williams, RHA president and a
senior biomedical science major, said
he is familiar with complaints from
on-campus students.
“One thing I’ve heard a lot is that
there are no kitchens available,”
Williams said.
Alyson Brubaker, a senior agricul
tural economics major, lived on cam
pus for three years and was president
of her dorm. Brubaker currently is liv
ing off campus.
“I liked living on campus because
of the people, but I like conveniences
like having a kitchen off campus,”
Brubaker said.
Plans are being made for apart
ment-style halls, which will have
kitchen areas.
Sasse said students also protest not
being allowed to have more than two
major appliances in a dorm room.
“The electrical systems in our
residence halls are unable to handle
several appliances from each
room,” Sasse said. “There would be
constant blackouts of power if every
student could have as many appli
ances as they wished.”
Appliances such as toaster ovens
and hot plates are prohibited for safe
ty reasons, he said.
Students in balcony-style resi
dence halls are unable to move their
furniture, which Williams said they
also complain about. Balcony halls are
scheduled to undergo complete reno
vations, including replacement of the
dorms’ immovable furniture.
Although students have com
plaints about on-campus housing,
they find many positive aspects of on-
campus living.
“Everyone I have talked to [who
moved off campus after living on
campus] said they missed two
things,” Williams said.
First, they miss the conve
nience. Students like being able to
get up five minutes before a class
and still make it on time. Second,
they miss the social aspect.”
Mir
Continued from Page 1
In case they did not already know, the men were told
by a TV reporter that they had become the most popu
lar guys in the world.
“I wish it hadn’t been that way,” Tsibliyev responded.
The director of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration’s shutde-Mir program, Frank Culbert
son, was heartened by the animated conversation.
“That’s a good sign that they feel like things are get
ting more under control,” Culbertson said. “Basically,
what you have is a slowly increasing level of comfort on
board and on the ground that things are returning to
more normal operations.”
Mir’s aluminum hull was pierced when a cargo ship
slammed into the station on Wednesday. The impact was
so great that the crew felt and heard the bang, and then
Mixed emotions mark Hong Kong exchange
heard the sound of precious air being sucked away.
It took the men at least eight minutes — possibly as
long as 20 minutes — to disconnect power cables and
cut research-data lines running between the ruptured
Spektr lab module and the rest of the station, and to seal
the hatch. Because Mir’s newest, most-used solar pan
els are located on Spektr, the station immediately was
reduced to half-power.
Cosmonaut Alexander Lazutkin said despite all his
preflight training, nothing could have prepared him for
such an emergency. He said his brain went into auto
matic mode and he did what he had do without stop
ping to think.
After four days of recharging Mir’s remaining solar
batteries, the crew finally managed to turn on five or six
gyroscopes, which had been shut down after the acci
dent because of insufficient power. The automatic gy
roscopes are the preferred way to steer the station be
cause they use hardly any fuel.
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong headed into its
last day as a British colony Monday with China
pledging to preserve its autonomy, Britain offering
some royal pomp and rival camps gearing up for
marathon celebrations and protest rallies.
“The mood is expectant, it is excited, it is a lot of con
flicting emotions,” said U.S. Consul General Richard
Boucher Monday morning as the city made final prepa
rations for the gala of festivities that will mark the end
of 156 years of colonial rule at midnight.
Dozens of top foreign officials are in town, setting off
a flurry of diplomatic activity, including early-morning
talks between Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and
British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook.
China, which regards the return of its territory
with pride, was staging celebrations of its own.
Chinese streamed by the tens of thousands to Bei
jing’s Tiananmen Square to take pictures of a huge sign
saying “Celebrate the Return of Hong Kong” or to view
the clock counting the seconds until midnight tonight.
Leaving Beijing for Hong Kong, President Jiang
Zemin renewed China’s vow to preserve the free
doms and capitalist vigor that have made Hong
Kong an economic powerhouse.
“We will firmly ... safeguard the Hong Kong res
idents’ rights and freedoms in accordance with the
law,” China’s official news agency, Xinhua, quoted
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Jiang as saying before he departed. Jiang was at
riving later Monday, the first Communist Chinese ^
president ever to visit Hong Kong. cePri
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We will firmly... safeguard \l
the Hong Kong residents’ right
and freedoms in accordance
with the law.”
Jiang Zemin
China president
Last hurrahs were the order of the day for the de
parting colonial government.
Chris Patten, the last British governor, was to de
part Government House for the last time Monday
afternoon after saying goodbye to the staff and
bringing down the Union Jack.
Six hours after the handover, China is bringingin
4,000 troops by ships, helicopters and armored ve
hides. Britain has protested, saying armored per
sonnel carriers in urban areas will alarm people.
Hotel
Continued from Page 1
Hobbs said this is unfair to hotels
like the Hilton, which must pay for
its conference center at all times.
“The city’s response is that we
could use the conference center too,
but our own conference center is not
used much of the time,” Hobbs said.
Hobbs said the city has not re
searched the market to see if
there is a need for a hotel/confer
ence center in the Northgate area.
“They have not done a feasi
bility study on hotel or conven
tion rent,” Hobbs said. “This in
cludes size, correct spot, need
and traffic study. I’ve always be-
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lieved let the market dictate whal f atTln
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in view
is built.”
The Hotel/Motel Association
submitted the petition to the cit)'
June 11, but it was rejected be
cause it did not have printed vot
er registration numbers.
The Hotel/Motel Associatioi
plans to submit another petitioi
this week.
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^ #
Local radio news from the newsroom of
campus and community news
8:04 a.m. Monday through Friday
during NPR Morning Edition
on KAMU-FM 90.9
College Station/Bryan
WHAT’S IT LIKE AT THE PLASMA CENTER?
To the staff of the Plasma Center,
1 would like to start by saying thank
you to each and every employee for making the
past three years enjoyable in a professional,
efficient and courteous environment. As a
donor since 1993, I have been more than satis
fied with every aspect of your operation, which
allows myself and others to contribute what we
can to community service, all the while being
serviced by diligent, but relaxed, workers.
Everyone at the Plasma Center, from those
behind the front counter to the phlebotomists
to the supervisors, have made great efforts to
insure that each donor feels hygienically safe,
as well as keeping the atmosphere light.
Like most, I started coming to the
Plasma Center for monetary reasons, but I
soon developed acquaintances that appealed to
me almost as much as the original need for
money, enabling me to look forward to each
donation, not only for my wallet’s sake but also
to see my friends. Like I commented to some
one recently, talking to people at the Plasma
Center was like getting mail from a far-off
friend that you don’t get to do much with, but
who you can talk to as often as you write. For
those acquaintances and for your continual
services. I would like to thank all of those I’ve
come to know and appreciate over the past
three years - Emily, and Tracy, Heath, and
Marty, Ada and Josie, etc... more I can’t
remember or those who have gone on to better
things.
So, as I graduate from this great
University, I bid you all a fond farewell and
strong commendations on such a successful
blend of quality medical practice and friendly
service. Thank you all and have a great sum
mer. Thanks, C.L
BiQLorjrAT.S
THE PLASMA CENTER
700 E. University Dt
268-6050
4223 Wellborn Ra-
846-8855
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