Banner Graphic, Volume 21, Number 221, Greencastle, Putnam County, 22 May 1991 — Page 3

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RAJIV GANDHI Killed in political comeback bid

Winnie Mandela arrested at protest for release of political prisoners

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) Winnie Mandela and more than 200 other women were arrested today after scuffling with riot police during a demonstration to demand the release of political prisoners. Police bundled Mrs. Mandela, wife of African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela, and other activists into vans and took them to the main Johannesburg police station after the protest in the city center. BRIEF SCUFFLES broke out as police took away the women activists of the African National Congress, who had held an all night vigil. Other ANC women who gathered outside the police station

Shiites’ plight

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) The plight of Kurdish refugees in northern Iraq has diverted world attention from another grim product of post-Persian Gulf War rebellion: the suffering of Shiite Muslims in the south. Ruined cities, damaged mosques and shattered lives dominate the southern landscape, from the port of Basra through ancient settlements of the delta region to the holy Shiite shrines of Najaf and Karbala. TOWNS AND villages in the mountainous north suffered striking damage in the Kurdish revolt that began in the war’s aftermath. But losses of life and property appear much greater in the south, where Shiites rose up against Saddam Hussein. In Najaf and Karbala entire blocks were destroyed, left in piles of rubble. On other streets, stores are burned-out shells, scarred by machine-gun and rocket fire. In the port of Basra, once Iraq’s second-largest city, every government building was damaged or destroyed. Offices were looted and records burned. ABOUT TWO-THIRDS of electricity and water have been restored, but the water is still unhealthy due to a lack of purifying chlorine. Cases of water-borne diseases such as cholera are reported rampant. Thousands of Shiites are reported still hiding in the marshlands of the south, too fearful to return to their homes. “The world isn’t as concerned about the Shiites as they are about the Kurds,” Jassem Hassan, 33, who fled his home in Basra last month, told reporters in Iran. “IT’S BECAUSE THEY are Shia. No one cares about them,” said a Shiite woman in Baghdad, who like other Iraqis interviewed in the Iraqi capital asked not to be identified. The Shiites have failed to equal the Kurds in winning world attention in part because Shiite rebels were less organized than the Kurds, who have been around for decades and are acquainted with the art of public relations. Although tens of thousands of Shiites fled across the border into

Violence follows Gandhi’s death

NEW DELHI, India (AP) A dazed nation today began a week of mourning for former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, whose assassination at a campaign rally struck at the roots of India’s unruly democracy. “It is a serious threat to democracy. It is a shame for us,” said Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar. His government put police and troops on “red alert,” fearing violence could break out in reaction to Gandhi’s death. GANDHI, 46, WAS KILLED Tuesday night by a bomb police believe was hidden in a bouquet of flowers handed to him minutes after he arrived at the rally in southeastern Tamil Nadu state. After the attack, officials postponed further balloting until next month. Authorities declared a week of mourning and closed all government offices and schools. The streets of the capital were largely deserted today and most shops were closed today. The U.S. Embassy warned Americans to stay indoors. Six people were reported killed in violence nationwide. MORE THAN 200 WERE killed in the campaign violence leading up to the election. In Madras, 25 miles northeast of the remote town of Sriperambudur, where Gandhi was slain, angry crowds rampaged through the streets, looting shops, hurling stones and setting vehicles on fire. Gandhi’s family has dominated Indian politics for three generations, but he left no heir apparent in the Congress Party. Party officials were to meet today to pick a new leader. GANDHI BECAME PRIME minister in 1984 after his mother, Indira, was assassinated by Sikh bodyguards. His party ousted from power 18 months ago, Gandhi was trying to make a political comeback at the time of his death.

to demand Mrs. Mandela’s release were arrested after refusing to disperse. “Viva ANC,” the women chanted. Police said 205 women were arrested. Last week, Mrs. Mandela was sentenced to six years in prison after being found guilty of kidnapping and being an accessory to assault in connection with the 1988 abduction and beating of four young men. SHE HAD BEEN free on bail while her lawyers try to appeal the conviction. Following her arrest today, Mrs. Mandela appeared in court, where she was charged with resisting arrest and obstructing traffic. She was told to appear for a court hearing

overshadowed by Kurds

Iran, their exodus was dwarfed by that of hundreds of thousands of Kurds fleeing to frigid refugee camps along the borders of Turkey and Iran. “THE VOLUME OF the Kurds to Iran and Turkey was clear evidence of the tragedy of the Iraqi people in the north,” said Ayatollah Taqi Mudarressi, an Iraqi Shiite leader now based in Syria. The Kurdish flight also alarmed Western governments worried about the stability of Turkey, a NATO ally. Shiites also argue that they receive less Western sympathy because of the reputation of radical Shiite fundamentalism in Iran and Lebanon. “Westerners fear that the uprising in the south might be the continuance of the Islamic revolution in Iran. For this reason they ignore the uprising in the south,” Mudarressi said. HASSAN al-BAZZAZ, a University of Baghdad professor, said the two uprisings in the north and south that followed the gulf

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June 21 and released. After the magistrate left the court, Mrs. Mandela and ANC activists raised clenched fists, yelled slogans and sang an ANC song. “Viva ANC,” she yelled. EMERGING FROM the court to be greeted by some 100 cheering supporters, Mrs. Mandela said the ANC would continue mass action to force the government to free political prisoners. “This is only the beginning,” she said. Mrs. Mandela said she had been manhandled by police and suffered numerous bruises. “I have weals (welts) all over my body,” she told the crowd. Mrs. Mandela then returned to the police station, where the other arrested women were released after

War cease-fire were “completely different.” “The Kurdish question is a clear one, limited, and it’s been there since 1936,” said al-Bazzaz, who noted that the Kurds were relatively well-organized. “The south is another case,” he said. “We don’t see any movement, well-organized with a clear objective.” SHIITES COMPRISE nearly 60 percent of Iraq’s 17 million people. The Kurds make up about 20 percent, approximately the same proportion as the Arab Sunni Muslims who form the basis of support for President Saddam and his Arab Baath Socialist Party. Although millions of Iraqi Shiites make up the poorest class of society, they also traditionally are strongly represented in the upper classes, among intellectuals, artists and professionials. But there was no clear agreement among the Shiites of Iraq to set up an Islamic republic in the south like that in neighboring Iran, Shiites say.

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His party had been expected to win the most votes in the election, but fall short of a majority and form a coalition government His body was flown to New Delhi today for an autopsy and embalming, then taken to the home of his grandfather and independent India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. THE TEAK COFFIN, DRAPED in the orange, green and white flag of the Congress Party, was brought past surging crowds straining at police barriers outside Teen Murti House, now a museum. Gandhi’s Italian-born wife Sonia and the couple’s daughter, Priyanka, both dressed in mourning white, accompanied the body. Gandhi’s son, Rahul, has been studying in the United States and was en route home. Police fired tear gas shells and charged with canes to hold back mourners. “Rajiv Gandhi is immortal,” shouted scores of people who had managed to break into the museum. “We’ll kill his assassins,” shouted others. COMPLETELY COVERED BY the national flag, the body was kept on a raised platform in a small room. It was covered with rose petals and lilies. Incense sticks were placed at the four corners of the bier in keeping with Hindu custom. At the head was Gandhi’s portrait. Mrs. Gandhi sat impassively near the body wearing dark glasses as people filed past, some weeping loudly. At least 15 other people were killed in the attack that killed Gandhi. It occurred in the remote town of Sriperambudur, 25 miles southwest of the state capital of Madras, after he left his car and began walking toward a platform. GANDHI HAD BEEN ACCUSED of being aloof in past campaigns. This time he changed his style and traveled to small towns and villages throughout the

she talked to a police officer. NELSON MANDELA visited his wife at the police station after she was arrested. He said she had been bruised during the scuffles with police but was in good spirits. ANC leaders were on a 24-hour fast today to demand release of some 200 political prisoners in jails around South Africa. Several are reported to be in critical condition after going without food since May 1. THE GOVERNMENT and the ANC reached an agreement last year to free political prisoners by April 30. Although hundreds of prisoners have been released, the two sides have disagreed over definitions of political prisoners.

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country, asking people for their votes. No one claimed responsibility and no public accusations were leveled by officials, but speculation turned toward Sri Lankan Tamil separatists who long have found sanctuary among Indian Tamils in the area. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the largest Sri Lankan rebel group, issued a statement denying responsibility. IN 1987, GANDHI brokered a peace pact between Tamil rebels and the Sri Lankan government. The Tigers reneged on the pact and launched a guerrilla war against Indian peacekeeping troops who spent nearly three years in Sri Lankan trying to quell the Tigers. India, a country of 844 million people, also has been troubled by its own religious and ethnic extremism. First reports from witnesses said the bomb appeared to have been concealed in a basket of flowers sitting on the ground. But subsequent reports suggested that it was in a bouquet or garland that was presented to Gandhi. UNITED NEW OF INDIA quoted P. Chandra Sekharan, director of the government’s Forensic Science Laboratory, as saying preliminary analysis indicated the bomb could have been hidden in flowers carried by a member of a suicide squad. Sekharan noted that Gandhi’s lower legs were relatively unmarked while part of his face was blown away and his abdomen ripped open, United News said. A senior police official in Madras said a police inspector standing 30 feet away saw a young woman offer Gandhi a large bouquet just before the explosion.

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