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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 2003)
AGGIELIFivoRLD iy, September 16,/ M BATTALION 5A Tuesday, September 16, 2003 owell views mass graves in Iraq, vows ‘never again’ By George Gedda THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HALABJA, Iraq — Standing tear rows of white grave markers, Secretary of State Colin Powell on donday honored 5,000 Iraqi (urds who died in a chemical weapons attack anti pledged such jrutality was gone along with Saddam Hussein. With relatives of victims landing before him, Powell aid: “I can't tell you that Carraba's lyrics a::|Saddam Hussein was a murder ous tyrant — you know that, nore power, buthaslWhat I can tell you is that what it-to-be-with-my-ffi tappened here in 1088 is never d version of “Hans going to happen again.” ional nd, A Scar a trusty acoustic es, and you havet? Mark, A Mission. I J music, the corne'- e most of the CO oard to adjust totf ge interesting and; ice to shine on I ke on the music. 3 makes Dashboac A few of the imiw .overs Go,"and‘He, j “Far From Hoirf ices and some is ig the CD definite, e been listening!: adjust, for the nw e done, there isnc el Chapman ormance ickpot at the Pairs' r Britney Spears® irs, belted outthref jular Rain nightclul ain co-owner Scot 1 up. “We wanted to 3 were shocked. Wo lasted 30 minutes tin get an up-close o each saved I arge extra for to film Britney, as gas for the boxing lane Mosley at tiis UC) (oratory ing Unit mitine Powell added that Saddam is ‘running and hiding. He’s going :o be running until we catch him NEWS IN BRIEF Economic forecast looking brighter WASHINGTON (AP) — Even though U.S. companies are reluctant to hire workers, the economy over the second half of this year is expected to grow at the fastest pace since 1999. That surprisingly upbeat prospect means that the Federal Reserve will see no need to cut interest rates at Tuesday’s meeting, private economists believe. In recent weeks, analysts have kept revising upward their economic forecasts, given a series of favorable government reports. Many analysts now believe the overall economy will expand at rates well above 4 percent in both the July- September period and the final three months of the year. “We are seeing very clear evidence of a strong pickup in activity this quarter,” said Lyle Gramley, a former Fed gover nor and now senior economic adviser at Schwab Washington Research Group, a financial services firm. Parents charged in death of little girl BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — The parents of a 21-month old girl who died in a hot truck were charged in connection with the death Monday and could face up to 20 years behind bars. The parents of Destiny Castillo — 24-year-old Luis Ernesto Castillo and 22-year- old Sor Juana Garcia — told police they were out partying Saturday night and forgot the girl was in the back seat of their truck when they returned home at 6:45 a.m. Sunday. They realized the child wasn’t in the house when they woke up later Sunday. They found her dead in the truck. “As soon as they woke up they both realized what hap pened,” Brownsville Police Sgt. Jimmie Manrrique said. Both were charged Monday with one count each of aban- doning-endangering a child i intent to return. They were at being held at the Cameron County Jail on $35,000 bond. Federal Court stalls California election SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court threw California’s tumultuous recall campaign into complete turmoil Monday, postponing the Oct. 7 election because several coun ties planned to use the punch- card ballots that made such a mess in Florida three years ago. The decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is cer tain to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, putting the jus tices in a position to influence yet another monumental elec tion. The three-judge panel did not set a new date for the recall election, but backed a sugges tion from the American Civil Liberties Union that the ballot ing be held during the March 2 presidential primary. "It is virtually undisputed that punch-card voting systems are significantly more prone to errors that result in a voter’s ballot not being counted than the other voting systems used in California,” judges wrote. or he dies.” After Powell dedicated a memorial and museum to com memorate the victims, women wearing black thrust bouquets of flowers toward him. Many in the audience wept, holding pic tures of family members killed in Halabja. The massacre on March 15, 1988, in this northeastern Iraqi city, seven miles from the Iranian border, has been cited repeatedly by President Bush as evidence of Saddam’s brutality. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld visited the site of another mass grave this month, in Mahaweel, where lie bodies of an estimated 3,100 Shiite Muslims, killed as Saddam’s forces smashed a rebellion after the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Despite the public high-level attention, human rights activists contend that for all the focus on the atrocities, the American response to the ipass graves has been slow, disorganized and inad equate. In particular, crucial evi dence for any possible criminal trials already has been destroyed. “It’s rather shocking, in fact, the investment ... of very, very little into this area — not only of the mass graves but everything the mass graves represent,” said Joe Stork of Human Rights Watch. Saddam’s government killed an estimated 300,000 Iraqis, said Sandy Hodgkinson, the top human rights official in the U.S.-led civilian administration. As many as 500 mass graves are spread across Iraq, and coalition authorities have received formal reports of 151 sites, Hodgkinson said. Much of the evidence has been destroyed, in part because of the anguished digging of rel atives looking for bodies of fam ily members at Mahaweel and other sites, human rights groups and coalition officials agree. Most of the known mass grave sites have not been secured by coalition forces, either because of a lack of guards or out of respect for relatives’ wishes, Hodgkinson said. The coalition is working to train guards for some sites, to begin issuing guidelines for foren sic examinations and to train Iraqis in correct forensic work, she said. Critics say it’s far too late after the fall of Baghdad. “I haven’t seen evidence of the level of resources and com mitment and personnel that would be required to help the Iraqis do this properly,” said Susannah Sirkin of Physicians for Human Rights. Forensic teams from human rights groups or coalition coun tries have not been able to visit, either, Hodgkinson said, because security remains uncertain. Interrfational tribunals handle prosecutions for atrocities in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. But here, the United States has insisted any trials be conducted by a new Iraqi legal system still being developed. Many human rights groups agree that Iraqis should lead the legal process, but international participation is crucial. U.S. criticized about mass graves Human rights activists say the American response to the mass graves has been slow, disorganized and inadequate. An estimated 300,000 Iraqis are buried in as many as 500 mass graves across Iraq. Coalition authorities have received formal reports of 151 sites. rtBadhdad IRAQ -•Mahaweel One of many mass grave sites around country \1 Kuvy SAUDI ARABIA wAr^a SOURCES: Associated Press On our team, your brightest ideas get noticed ey.com/us/careers Here, it’s merit we turn to. We’re not interested in how old you are or where you’re from. If your idea is good, it’s good. That’s why we’ll put you alongside teammates with the experience and knowledge to spot it. It’s your time to shine. =U Ernst & Young Quality In Everything We Do