WORLD
Page 10
THE BATTALION
STUDENT TRAVEL
470 die in Uganda cult mass
www. statravel. com
Leaders In Crisis
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1-999-2000
Student Conference on National Affairs
Registration Deadline: March 17,2000
Late Registration: March 24, 2000
Current Speakers
Dr. Robert C*Mtvs; Former Director of the CIA
Senior Ihastor for Wetlgwoorf iiapti«t
C hurch in Fort Worth
l^rcsiiient of the Amer ican H
Kurdikh Relief Foundation
4k Registration Online at http://$cona.tamu.edu *
< )r C ome by our Tables at the MSC .V21-23/00
Registration Fee $20 for Texas A«&M Students
KANUNGU, Uganda (AP) -
Rutemba Didas heard what sounded
like an explosion, then saw black
smoke billowing from the brick struc
ture on a hilltop compound where
members of a religious cult had been
living for several years.
The fanner and his neighbors heard
screams coming from the chapel, but
they couldn’t get close to the new build
ing inside the compound where mem
bers of the Movement for the Restora
tion of Ten Commandments of God
lived in this remote corner of south
western Uganda.
Police said Sunday it may take them
a week to determine how many people
died in the Friday morning tire, but they
believe there were as many as 470 vic
tims — of mass suicide or mass murder.
“We did not see any person running
away. We really don't know what hap
pened to the leaders,” Didas said, stand
ing a short distance from where charred
bodies lay spread across the tloor of a
120-foot by 30-foot structure.
Circumstances surrounding the
deaths — who the dead were and how
the fire was started — remain foggy.
Little was known about the cult, al
though it appeared to incorporate Chris
tian beliefs and local fanners said it was
led by a former prostitute.
Syncretic Christian religious sects
are mushrooming across Africa as
many people become disillusioned with
the inability of politicians to improve
their lives. In one case, also in Uganda,
a sect turned into a guerrilla movement
that used claims of religious powers to
attract fighters.
In Kanungu, cult members locked
themselves in the chapel early Friday
and nailed doors and windows closed,
then sang for a few hours before dous
ing themselves in gasoline and paraffin
and setting themselves ablaze, said
David Sseppuuya, deputy editor-in-chief
of the government-owned New' Vision
newspaper, quoting investigators.
“According to an eyewitness on the
site, they came around and bid farewell
to the people and they heard that the
Virgin Mary would appear on Friday,
so they did expect to die on Friday,”
Sseppuuya said.
Didas said the cult was established
in 1994 by former prostitute Credonia
Mwerinde at her family’s compound.
He said members of the cult did not
socialize with others in the area and
communicated only by gesture, al
though they did sing and pray aloud. The
women wore white veils, and the men
wore black, green or red shirts, he said.
Local leaders said members of the
sect slaughtered their cattle and feasted
for a week before the fire, drinking a
large supply of soft drinks mid singing
religious songs, according to the inde
pendent newspaper The Monitor.
Cult members from inside and
outside the compound had been invit
ed to a ceremony Friday to inaugurate
the chapel, which had recently been
built by Mwerinde on the graves of
her parents, Didas said.
In other buildings on the com
pound, there were images of the Vir
gin Mary and several rosaries.
Didas, whose farm adjoins the
compound, said two men, one identi
fied as Joseph Kibweteere and the oth
er an unidentified Catholic priest,
were Mwerinde’s deputies. It was not
known if any of the three had died in
the blaze.
SUDAN
Area of
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UGANDA
Lake
Site of
murder/
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Kampala
7,
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Victoria
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Clinton visits South Asia, first in 22 year
NEW DELHI, India (AP) — President Clinton
opened the first visit by an American president to South
Asia in 22 years Sunday night, hoping to curb the nu
clear-weapon rivalry between India and Pakistan and
cool territorial tensions in “perhaps the most dangerous
place in the world today.”
Before his arrival, protesters in the capital burned an
effigy of the president. In the northern region of Kash
mir, police beat back separatists seeking to reach New
Delhi and draw attention to their cause.
Clinton stepped off Air Force One with his daugh
ter Chelsea on his arm, followed by his mother-in-law,
Dorothy Rodham. It was a cool night illuminated by a
full moon. Hillary Rodham Clinton stayed home to
campaign for a Senate seat.
Clinton’s six-day journey to India, Bangladesh and
Pakistan brought him to one of the poorest regions ofthe
world struggling with population growth, malnutrition,
illiteracy and poor health. Adding to the suffering, India
entered the new century with more A IDs cases than any
other nation — 4 million people are 111V positive.
In the capital, the protesters chanted, “Death to Bill
Clinton. Death to the imperialism of multinationals.”
While most Indians welcome Clinton’s visit, several na
tionalist and communist groups protest that he will push
American economic interests at India’s expense. In Kash
mir, Indian police lobbed tear gas against the separatists.
Clinton will spend most of his time in India — five
cities in five days — seeking a new relationship to re
place Cold War suspicions. He will take a side trip to
The president was to lay a wreath Mondayatam
ument honorine those killed in Bangladesh's rail'
“Death to Bill Clinton.
Death to the imperialism
of multinationals.
Rachael Rh
lollege Station
;er being char
1110,000 from
has Aggielan
Ingram, a 2
dependence from Pakistan that led to freedom inf ^ cre( jj t un
He also was to visit a rural village northwest of Dh ^ y ^
the capital, tour a girl's school and see the fluid
small-lending program that helps women
Searching for foreign policy achievements as!
presidency winds dow n, Clinton has been frustratal ;
trying to promote peace in the Middle EastandNoti ^
em Ireland. He faces huge obstacles, as well, in try
to narrow differences between India and Pakistan.
They have fought two w ars over the lasthalfceit jovered during
Indian protesters
Bangladesh at the start and make a short stop in mili
tary-ruled Pakistan on his way home.
White I louse officials say there is a possibility Clin
ton will stop in Geneva to meet Syrian President I lafez
al-Assad on March 26, but the chief of staff, John
Podesta, refused comment.
Clinton is the first U.S. president to visit Bangladesh,
a Muslim nation about the size of Wisconsin with 120
million people. I le planned to salute its efforts to com
bat poverty and build an inclusive democracy.
BY
iver SI 00,000,
shable by imp
years and
Aggieland <
jregg Baird sa
ry over rival claims for the 1 limalayan territoryofKi
mir. They clashed again last summer when Pakisa
based fighters seized mountain peaks inside India. 1
than 1,000 combatants died before Clinton pew
then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan tow
draw the forces.
Ignoring world pressure, India and Pakistant(
tested nuclear devices in 1998, dramatically height
ing the stakes of their old feud. Clinton acknowlei
the dimensions of the threat when he described tkJ
gion as “perhaps the most dangerous place in thew
today because of tensions over Kashmir and the
session of nuclear weapons.”
“We were c
Coi
ament
Registration:
March 20-28
Event Dates:
March 31-April 2
Entry Fee:
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Divisions:
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Classes:
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Location:
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Sports Center
Pope’s journey receives criticisni
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Holy Land awaits John Paul
II, whose millennium pilgrimage in the steps of Jesus will
take him across territory' riven by fresh and ancient hatreds,
among people desperate for an elusive peace.
From Monday, until he rests on the seventh day, the frail
and aged pope faces tasks of biblical proportions.
His schedule alone is grueling, from a stadium Mass in
Amman, Jordan, to final prayers at the site of Christ’s resur
rection in Jerusalem. He journeys from Bethlehem to Galilee
and twice to the Jordan River.
But Jews and Palestinians, and a world beyond, will be
scrutinizing every word or gesture for signs that he has some
thing specific in mind when calling for peace on earth.
The pope will visit with Israeli Prime Minister Fluid Barak,
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and the young Jordanian King
Abdullah 11, as well as the spiritual heads of Holy Land faiths.
Countless thousands will attend his prayers and ceremonies,
and press themselves, shouting and cheering, against crowd
harriers manned by security forces on nervous full alert.
Israel is deploying 18,000 police officers and 4, 1
diers, spending more than $8 million on "Operation
fr iend.” Pilgrims and tourists are expected to pump $50mil' ws computer la
lion into the national economy.
Some expect miracles from the mortal pontiff. Farmort
say they think his visit at least offers renewed hope forbei
ter relations among disparate people who share holy to
hardscabble ground.
At virtually every stop, bitter ironies shade the spiritual
joy. For instance, competition among Israel and its neighbor:
for scarce water has left the lower Jordan a bare muddy trick
le by the time it reaches the baptismal site that John
to visit on both banks.
“The water is so saline and polluted by the time it readi
es the Dead Sea it is only good for papal ceremonies,”
served Eran Feitelman, an Israeli environmental expert.
Although “Christian” is used often here as acollecliK
term, divisions remain among Roman Catholics, Orthodo'
churches, Protestants and countless others, not to
Jews and Muslims.
At least once
es major, prints
News in Brief
Ex-guerrillas win
majority in Congress
4&m\
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador
(AP) — Fortner leftist rebels-turned
politicians have for the first time
won a greater number of seats in
congress than the ruling party, ac
cording to final results from recent
elections.
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal an
nounced Saturday that the Farabun-
do Marti National Liberation Front
won 31 of the 84 contested seats in
March 12 elections for the country’s
single-house National Assembly.
The leftist party’s greatest tri
umph was in the capital, San Sal
vador, where FMLN Mayor Hector
Silva, a Boston-born gynecologist,
easily won re-election.
Altogether, the FMLN won 77 of
262 mayoral races, 60 percent
more than the 48 mayoral seats it
won in 1997. ARENA won 127 may-
oral seats, 34 less than the 161 it
took in 1997.
The tremor was centered at a
depth of about 50 miles, but the
agency said there was no dangers
of tsunami, or tidal waves, set off
by the quake.
The quake was most strongly
felt in a town of Nakayama, 192
miles north of Tokyo.
On Sunday, a 4.2 magnitude
tremor hit Niigata Prefecture, which
faces the Sea of Japan, about 160
miles northwest of Tokyo. There were
no reports of injuries or damages.
Japan is one of the world’s
most earthquake-prone nations as
it sits atop four tectonic plates,
slabs of land that move across the
earth’s surface.
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lent Senate to w
in Saturday’s vote.
An angry mob chased seniorpf
ty adviser Hsu Li-teh down the sfc | ln Septembe
walk, kicking, punching and
him with poles. They knockedhiin! ^
the ground, but he was able tosW Cantrell said.
up and scurry into the
The violence and chaos werer* y science maj
for Taiwan, where political
is almost unheard of and heat*
street protests have grown incteS
ingly rare as full democracy hast’
en root over the past decade,
The protest, which left several
pie with minor injuries, contra#
strongly with the tone of Chen# 1 ‘^rage amount
umphant first day as president
in the job, she f<
“I had a guy 1
lid. “When soi
... If we’re all
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She said CIS
Taiwan party
president resigns
China quiet aftei
Taiwan election
Earthquake hits
Japan, no injuries
TOKYO (AP) — A moderate
earthquake with a preliminary mag
nitude of 5.4 struck near the north
ern coast of Japan early Monday,
but there were no reports of dam
age or injuries.
The quake hit under the seabed
of the Pacific Ocean about 30
miles off the coast of rural Miyagi
Prefecture, or state, the Meteoro
logical Agency said.
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Storming
the Nationalist Party’s headquar
ters, a stone-throwing crowd de
manded — and got — President
Lee Teng-hui’s promise Sunday to
quit as the party’s leader, one day
after its humiliating election defeat.
Many of the thousands of pro
testers blamed Lee for fielding a
weak candidate who was trounced
by the opposition in Saturday’s
presidential election.
A crowd of about 3,000 chanted
“Step down president!” and sur
rounded the Nationalists’ head
quarters in downtown Taipei.
Some smashed the windows of
limousines bringing party mem
bers to the building for an emer
gency meeting with Lee to respond
to Vice President Lien Chan’s loss
BEIJING (AP)
threats, China’s government
eerily quiet after Taiwan’s election
restraint could be saying, “Let’st#
Beijing had laid out its
line to Taiwan before PresidjL
elect Chen Shui-bian’s victor^
urday: declare independence
indefinitely resist talks onuf
tion, and China might attack.
Chen’s Democratic Progress
Party favors independence!
wan, which has governed
since Chiang Kai-shek’s Natr
ists fled to the island ahead of _
Communist takeover of the ^
land in 1949.
Chen offered a softer stance 1
independence during his camp®.
saying no formal declarations
be necessary unless Taiwance
under attack.
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