UN\VERSIW or- HAWAll UB~~

arianas %riety;;~ Micronesia's Leading Newspaper Since 1972 b&) ews

By Ferdie de la Torre Variety News Staff

THE PUBLIC Defender's Office has decried the apparent neglect and lack of attention being given the agency by the past Adminis­tration. According to deputy public de­fender Harvey Palefsky, the PDO cUirently has no division director and that it has only three lawyers left to rnn the office.

Palefsky in an interview yester-

day noted that shortly after Danie I DeRienzo quit as chief public defender earlier this month, new public defender Christine Matson also subsequently stepped down.

"From five lawyers, we are now down to three lawyers. So obvi­ously the caseload of each lawyer in this office increased substan­tially," Palefsky said.

Palefsky said he and Assistant

Sablan appointed to CNMI's 902 mission

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Jesus R. Sablan

By Zaldy Dandan Variety News Staff

GOVERNOR Pedro P. Tenorio yesterday said he will name legislators, representa­tives from the private sector

and Lt. Gov. Jesus R. Sablan to the CNMI's panel when the so­-called Section 902consultations with the Clinton Administration resume.

Tenorio, in a media confer­ence, said he will come up with the names of the legislators and the private sector representatives after meeting with Sablan.

"(The CNMI panel) is going to be a group," the governor said. ··we want it to include rep­resentatives from (both houses of the Legislature), and we may also inv.ite members from the business sector."

'Iiie' White House and its al­lies in Congress remain con­vinced that federal immigration

Continued on page 20

Search for new COE to begin within NMI

By Laila C. Younis Variety News Staff

THE INITIAL search for a new CommissionerofEducation will start with candidates residing in the Commonwealth, Board of Education officials said yester­day.

This developed after a debate had enslled among members at yesterday's Board meeting as to how wide the scope of advertis­ing the COE vacancy should be given.

"We have enough people here in the CNMI who are qualified to take the position of Commis­sioner," said BOE Vice-Chair Thomas Pangelinan.

"Why should we look outside when we have the people here? This is part of self-governance and reliance on our own to exert, leadership.

"This dependency on having.

people coming in from the out­si<le should come to an end," he added.

BOE Chair Marja Lee Taitano supported her recommendation to extend the vacancy announce­ment .to Hawaii to "enlarge the pool of applicants."

"I agree that we do have people here th11t can do the job, how­ever, I also believe that we should reach out as far as possible and get as much applicants as we can," said Taitano.

Board member Anthony Pellegrino noted that "family ties and political affiliations of CNMI residents could hinder necessary work."

"From past experiences, it is clear that these things can get in the way of performance, and I would prefer someone who is not affiliated," said Pellegrino.

Conffnuea on page 10

~,~1[~~1ft1~~~:.~J.!~~~~] Public Defenders Wesley M. pending criminal and traffic cases. Bogdan and Masood Karirnipour '"I think the office has been ne-have to absorb the division's en- glected. Dan (DeRienzo) pushed tire caseload as a result of (among other things) during past DeRienzo and Matson's depar- administration for adequate ture. money to train lawyers, but noth-

Each of them, Palefsky said, is ing happened," he pointed out. currently handling almost 100 Although they have been doing

' their best. he said the lack of man­power puts pressure on their abil­ity to adequately defend or repre­sent their clients.

Palefsky pointed out that his biggest concern is that he was told by their administrator that they don't have enough funds right now to recruit any lawyers.

Continued on page 20

IL..:..L;;!!··· ~-~ -'="-="'---'-'--------' Resident Rep. Juan N. Babauta holds a plaque of appreciation awarded him by Whispering Palms School principal Marion Weindl yesterday. Babauta visited the school to donate books. He leaves today for Washington, D. C. Photo by Priscilla T. Castro

Legislature may pass own $4.5M 'piece-meal' budget

Diego T. Benavente

By Zaldy Dandan Variety News Staff

THE LEGISLATURE may pass this week a $4.6 million '"piece­meal" budget--for the Legislature and the Legislative Bureau.

House Speaker Diego T. Benavente (R-Sai pan) yesterday said that "after making all those belt tightening speeches," mem­bers of the Legislature, particu­larly senators, are now facing a

financial crisis due to a new con­stitutional amendment that. ironi­cally, raises the Legislature's bud­get ceiling.

""The Senate faces a Lirastic cut in its budget and the House needs to somehow accommodate the Senate's (needs)," he said.

Senate President Paul A. Manglona (R-Rota), in a separate interview, explained that under the legislative initiative ratified during the November elections, the nine-member Senate wi II get less funding than the 18-member House.

'"(This new constitutional pro­vision) requires that all members of the Legislature should have equal funding," Manglona said.

'"Previously, the funding was· equally split between the Senate and the House," he added, "but because the House has more mem­bers, it will have a greater propor­tion of what we 're getting now under the continuing resolution."

The CNMI go¥ernment has

been operating under the previ­ous fiscal year's level which, in the case of the Legislature, is $2.8 million--the amount set in 1985 as its annual budget ceiling.

With the ratification of the leg­islative initiative, which was in-

Continued on page 20

WEATHER OuTlook

Partly cloudy. skies with isolated showers

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2-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-TUESDAY- JANUARY 20, 1998

US warns China on Iran By ROBERT BURNS

BEIJING (AP)- In a pointed warn­ing, U.S. Defense Sem:tary Will­iam Cohen Monday toldChinathat providing weapons technology to h·:m could have a "damaging po­litical effect" on China's relations with the United States and the West.

Cohen made the statement late in a busy d:1y in which he also signed :1 U.S.-China agreement designed to avoid conflicts at sea and made an unprecedented visit to an air defense command head4uar­ters outside Beijing.

In a speech 10 the Academy of Military Scicrn:e, Cohen said De­fense Minister Gen. Chi Haotian assured him in a meeting earlier Monday that China would not ex­po11 anti-ship m1ise missiles or nuckar technology to ]ran. Presi­dent Jiang Zemin gave President Clinton the same :1ssurance last f:Iil.

·11,c Uni tcd States fears Iran cl:m­dc,ti nc ly is dc-.cloping a nuclear weapons capability and that it might

use Chinese-made anti-ship crnise missiles to disrnpt oil commerce in the Persian Gui f. acomluit for much of the West's oil imp011s.

.Cohen said a disrnption of the flow of oil from the Gulf would hu11 China, too.

"Should that disrnption occur through the use of weapon technol­ogy provided by China, it clearly wou Id also have a damaging politi­cal effect on China's relations with many countries around the world, including the United States," he said.

Cohen's aides had said before his :uTival in Beijing that one of the secreta1y 's goals was to get the Chinese to go beyond saying they had no intention of selling mor~ c111ise missiles to Iran to trans­frnrn thatintoafirm promise against any sales.

ln his assurance to Clinton at their meeting in Washington last October, Jian!:! had said China has ··110 intention:-: to sell more c111ise missiles to Iran. Iran already had

Alleged Guam drug trafficker arrested in the Philippines :'\IANILA, Philippines (AP) -Po­lice have an-cstcd:m Americ,m who has been hiding in the Philippines· for nearly four years to evade arrest for alkged heroin trafficking in Guam, officials said Monday.

Maivin Schaiff ofAgana, Guam, was an-ested on Hiday in Manila as he was about to leave for a central Philippine province, immigration officials said.

Immigration Commissioner Edgar Mendoza said Schaiff was unable to p,-esent his passpo1t or travel documents. He will be de­po1tedt0Guam, whe1eheiswanted by police authorities for alleged heroin trafficking, officials said.

Immigration intelligence chief Evaiisto Gana said the U.S. Drug

Enforcement Agency provided in­formation that led to Scharffs ar­n:sL Guam is a U.S. tenitory.

Schrnff fled to the Philippines in May l 994aftera U.S.DistrictCourt judge in Guam orde1ed his arrest in connection with heroin trafficking in the U.S. territory, Gana said.

Scharff could receive the death penalty or be sentenced to life in prison for the offense under U.S. laws, Gana said. He said Scharff will be deported to Guam as soon as the U.S. Embassy in Mani la issues his travel docu­ment.

Guam is in the western Pa­cific, about 1,600 miles (2,500 kilometers) east of the Philip­pines.

Jack Nicholson accepts his award from Madonna at the 55th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., Sunday. Nicholson won for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for "As Good as it Gets." AP

i mpo1ted some and made them operational.

In his b1ief reference to Chi's reaffornation of China's policy on am1s sales to Iran, Cohen did not elaborate on whether a more iron­clad promise was made.

His speech to the-militaiy acad­emy focused on encouraging China to be more open about its military capabilities and intentions.

He said China's willingness to

cooperate with the United States will largely detennine the future of security in Asia.

"We can work together toward our common interest, or we can work against each other," Cohen said. "111e United States will suc­ceed on either path."

Earlier, in a brief ceremony at Diaoyutai, agovemmentguesthouse complex, Chi and Cohen signed a militruy martime cooperation agree-

ment that is designed to avoid naval incidents in the Pacific.

Chi, the defense minister, said the accord "marked a new and sub­stantive progress in relations be­tween the two countries and be­tween the two militaries."

The two - Chi in his olive green uniform, Cohen in a dark business suit-clinked champagne glasses as cameras flashed and aides ex­changed smiles and handshakes.

US Defense Secretary William Cohen, right, toasts his Chinese counterpart Chi Haotian after th~y signed an agreement to formally establish a system for their navies to communicate at sea, at a ceremony in Diaoyutai in Beijing Monday. AP

Five US students raped in Guatemala, say police

By ALFONSO ANZUETO LOPEZ GUAIBMALA CITY (AP)- Five U.S. college students on an educa­tional tour of Guatemala were raped after their bus was ambushed by gun­men on a winding road in a hilly region known for banditry, police said Sunday.

Three staff members and 13 stu­dents from St. Mary's College were on a tour bus returning to Guatemala City Friday aftemoon. A pickup trnck stopped the bus and four men with semiautomatic weapons forced ev­e1yone into a nearby field, college spokesman Ton-e Meringolo said.

"1l1e bus was held down by four armed bandits who proceeded to rob eachofthcinclividuals,"hesaid.'11ien they sexually assaulted five of the women, all students."

The gunmen held the group for I 1/ 2 hours, the college said in a state­ment. Police said the attackoccuned

near Santa Lucia Cotzulmalguapa, oil a hilly road about 40 miles (65 kilometers) from the Guatemalan capital.

The region, where guerrillaactivi­tieswereonceoommon, hasareputa­lion for lawlessness and banditry. Guatemala has been shaken the past year or so by a wave of kidnappings, roadblock assaults and a surge in crime since the 36-year civil war ended.

Guatemalan authorities had two men, ages 37 and 24, in custody, an official in the criminal investigations unit of the natiomtl police told 111c Associated Press late Sunday on con­dition of anonymity.

ThestudenL~whowereraped we1-e treated in a Guatemala City hospital and returned to the United States Saturday night. The remaining stu­dentsretumed to Washington 'sDulles airpo1tSunday night and we1-e met by

the c.ollege' s president, acting pro­v ost and dean of students.

"Our first concern is for the well- · being of the students, faculty and their families," college president Jane Margaret O'Brien said earlier in a statement.

"We are heartbroken by this sense­less violent attack on our students and colleagues."

The college has been working with the State Department, which is treat­ing it witl1 "tl1e utmost urgency," Meringolo said.

The State Depaitrnentofficial said that the U.S. govemmem is working with Guatcmahm authorities.

The tour was sponso1-ed by the public four-ye:u·libentl:utscollegc in southem Mmyland. It w,t\ the third yem· tJ1at the college, which In~ 1,500 studenL~. had SJXlnsored an ,mtJ1ropo­logical tour to tJ1e Central Ame1ican nation.

Philippine stocks, pes·o strengthen . MAi'JILA, Philippines (AP)- Phil­ippine stocks rose sharply on Mon­day, buoyed by heavy foreign de­mand, traders said. TI1epesostrength­ened for an eighth day against the dollar.

Traders said the general positive sentiment sweeping market~ in Asia helped Manila sharesend with robust gains. The 30-shm-e Philippine Stock Exchange Index rose 95.26 points, or 5.7 percent, to I ,771.89, according to preliminaiy data On

Friday it fell 30.22 points, or I .8 percent

Shares of Philippine Long Dis­tance Telephone Co. rose 2.4 percent and topped the most actively traded list after it was announced that it and its U.S. countcrpmt, AT&T, have settled a dispute over how to sh:u-e revenues from intemational calls hm1dled by both caniers.

Also boosting investor sentiment in the local stock market was the peso's strong showing during morn-

ingb.iding.111epesoavcraged4 J .OJ 3 pesos pcrdollarat midday compmed to 41 .352 pesos on F1iday.

Calmer markets throughout Sou tJ1-cast Asia helped the peso achieve iL, eightJ1 day of gains against the dollm·, traders said.

Trnders said shots filed at the government's Energy Regulato1y I3om·d and a g1-enade explosion at the head office of Petron Corp., the country's largest oil company, did not affect tn1ding.

(,;

\'\

TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1998-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-3

age e By Zaldy Dandan Variety News Staff Legislature plans it to be a 'more credible' body ting a viable and credible mini­

mum wage rate for the islands. THE SENATE and the House of Representatives yesterday agreed on the creation of a joint special committee to recommend legis­lationaddressing federal concerns over local labor uml immigration policies, and lo set up a new wage review board that will have fed­enll participation.

In separate interviews, Senate President Paul A. Manglona (R-

Rota) and House Speaker Diego T. Benavente (R-Saipan) said the special committee will consider a "credible" mipimum wage policy, a possible cap on the number of alien workers and other proposals concerning garment-related is­sues.

Named to committee are Sens. Juan P. Tenorio (R-Saipan), David M. Cing (D-Tinian) and Ricardo

Ayuyu wants assurances on 'one-time' tax proposal·

ment representatives "to look at it ( tax s-:heme) in detail."

"In the spitit of coopemtion, our group will be more than willing to sit down and discuss the details of this new tax plw1," he said.

"I Ii kc to sec what the govern­ment is also doing in tc1111softrying lo save money."

S. Atalig (R-Rota), Reps. Karl T. Reyes (R-Saipan), David M. Apatang (R-Saipari) and Bennet Seman (R-Saipan).

The special committee, at the same time, will work closely with Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio'sadminis­tration, particularly on setting an overall cap on the numberofalien workers, which is now estimated to be 30,000, or more than half of the CNMI population.

[Tenorio earlier said the reduc­tion of the islands' alien workers is already ongoing due to the ef­fects of the Asian currency crisis, which is expected to continue in the next several years.

"Our economy is hurting and that will translate to a reduction of workers," he said yesterday.]

The new governor has vowed to work towards improving CNMI-federal relations, which have lately "source" due to the White House's "federal takeover" recommendation, and the previ­ous administration's ··confronta-

-..,... . (,

. •.·." ·" .

'

Paul A. Manglona

tional" stance. The special committee, more­

over, will form a new wage re­view board, which is expected to be "credible."

"'It's not impossible to create a credible wage review board whose findings arc acceptable lo Congress," Benavente said when asked what the new board could accomplish that the previous ones did not.

The previous boards, he added, failed to achieve the goal of set-

But this time, Manglona said the new board will have federal pa11icipation .

GovernorTenorioand the lead­ers of the Legislature have earlier expressed optimism that the CNMI and Washington, D.C. could work together in address­ing federal concerns over local labor and immigration policies.

The CNMI, they said, can implement the needed changes without the extension of federal immigration and minimum wage laws to the islands as proposed by · the White House and its allies in Congress.

There has been no change in this position despite the inaugu­ration of the Tenorio administra­tion and the recent visits of U.S. Interior Department's Insular Af­fairs Director Allen Stayman and U.S. Congressman George Millei­(D-Califomia).

Both remain convinced that lo­cal control over immigration and minimum wage should now end.

Jose C. Ayuyu

By Jojo Dass

Variety News Staff

A "ONE-TIME" surcharge tax on the business community should be done as a last n:sm1 and only if government c:ui :bsu1~ that such will not be used to fin:mcc public sector hi1ing, said Jose C Ayuyu. ncwly-i11,tal\cd head of the Saip:m Chamber of Commerce.

The Tcn01io administration and the Legislature are repoltedly con­sidc1ing imposing the tax scheme aftcrit wasofficiallyconfinnedthat the government coffers are empty.

But Ayuyu said government should first reduce cost by closing down redund:mt offices ru1d mini­mizing travels.

"'I think tl1e pri01ity rightnow is to

n.:duccthesizeofgovemmcnt They really need to have a study on the ertectivenessoftheirdepaitments,'' he said.

DPS to get help from kids in sting vs stores selling alcohol

Ayuyu, in a phone inte1vicw, also said that imposing the new tax scheme will be "ve1)' difficult" at this point in time whc1~ most busi­nesses me experiencing a slump in sales (See rdau:d stOI)').

"I don't \.mow if the (Ckunl:er) members crni stomach rniy tax in­c1-ea~." he said.

"A lot of compm1ies me not do­ing well now, suffering from slow sales."

Ayuyu neve1theless said the Chm11ber will meet with govern-

··wemenotagainstorforthis tax

pLm. We want to look at it in detail mid then we 'II make our decision after that," Ayuyu stressed.

'·If it is a tax to inciease govern­ment employees, definitely we won't favor it."

The bulk of the Commonwealth's estimated I 0,000 local workforce is ab­sorbed by the public sector. Reducing government's re­ported bloated .bureaucracy may · lead to a higher unemployment rate.

By Ferdie de la Torre Variety News Staff

THE DEPARTMENT of Pub­lic Safety is planning to uti­lize kids with its sting opera­tions this year against stores which are selling alcohol to minors.

Capt. Delbert Sablan, chief of DPS Traffic Section, told the Variety on Friday that they are working with the DPS Ju, venile Section and their legal counsel to finally implement the sting operations.

Sablan said· such program was supposedly be imple­mented late· last year, but was cancelled because of so many DPS activities.

'I HAVE A DREAM.' Members of the local African-American community pose for Variety during yesterday's observance of the Martin Luther King Day. The celebration was highlighted by an afternoon of music at the Ki/iii Beach. Pholo by Jojo Dass

Under the program, Sablan explained that they need funds and kids who will be pretend­ing as customers to purchase alcohol from stores.

"If we catch them selling alcohol to minors, the stores' license may be revoked," he said. "We need to get the kids volunteering and with their parents' consent."

Sablan said they will con­duct the operations at random throughout the year. About seven police officers will be assigned to the program.

'They have been doing it in the US mainland. So I didn't see any problem doing it here,'' he said.

Sablan said its zero toler­ance for people under 21 years old to buy and drink alcohol.

On the other hand, DPS asked the public to drive care­fully because some traffic signs were broken down brought about by the recent typhoon Keith.

Sablan said DPS and the De­partment of Public Works are slowly doing the repair of the signs.

Meanwhile, he added that DPS will be conducting more aggressive driving program this year.

·'Last year we.have only two on that. We are planning to do more this year," he said.

taWY°er·sues YumQls.over· iJ~~g~ffe.~~:'i~· -~~1:a.~4~.t ... ;~.~~j:1~

By Ferdie de la Torre Variety News Staff

A LA WYER yesterday sued the parents of a man accused of mur­der in Washington State for al­leged nonpayment of attorney's fee.

James S. Sirok asked the Su­perior Court to order defendants Billy Yumul and Remedios Pinau\a Yumul to pay $11,428.42 plus interest at I 2% per annum.

Sirak in the complaint s,1id the Yumul couple executed last Oct. 2 an attorney retainer's agreement with him to provide legal services and to represent .their son, Emerson P. Yumul, in a criminal ease.

Sirak said the services were in connection with the defense of Emerson's case pending in

Washington where he was charged with two counts of ag­gravated murder in the first de­gree and three counts of at­tempted murder in the first de­gree.

The lawyer stated that pursu­ant to the agreement, he pro­vided legal services to Emerson from Oc-l. 22, 1997 to Nov. 24. 1997.

Despite repeateJ Je111:111ds, Sirok said the Jefrmbnts re­fused to pay attorney's l'cc.

"As ,1 result of said bre:1ch of agreement and the failure and refusal by defendants to pay the amount owing to plain­tiff, defendants arc further li­able to plaintiff, for pre-judg­ment and post judgment inter­est and costs of this action," Sirok said.

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4-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-TUESDAY- JANUARY 20, 1998

Despite Teno call for less trip~

travel plans 'on course' By Laila C. Younis

Variety News Staff

THE MARIANAS Visitors Bureau would like to "stay on course" with its travel plans, despite the recent travel ban imposed by Governor Pedro P. Tenorio, according to a MVB official.

"We have to absolutely stay on course with the travel plans we have made for the next two months and that was clearly

·requested by the Managing Director," said MVB Market­ing Director Norman Berg.

"These promotional trips were planned months ah.ead and we can't simply cancel them. We would like to go ahead with our schedule in place," he said.

"If th!! government identi­fies sufficient funds and we use it wisely, we will be okay," he added.

In a Jetter to the Governor, MVB Managing Director Anicia Q. Tomokane stressed the "next several months will prove to be our most crucial in terms of future visitor arriv­als".

"We have already made preparations for· several off shore promotional events which we will be unable to

postpone or reschedule, as there are no alternate dates," said Tomokane.

"Booth spaces have already been paid for and consider­able pre-planning arrange­ments have already been co­ordinated and committed on

our part,,.. she said.

"I feel it is incumbent upon us to try to affect changes to our declining tourism count in our aggressive promotional stance," she noted.

"MVB cannot make any fur­ther cuts to our efforts with­out jeopardizing its mandated mi_ssion to promote tourism to the CNMI, nor do we waive MVB 's funding entitlement as established by law," she added.

Tomokane also pointed out that "maintaining the position of a premier tropical destina­tion does not come at a cheap price".

"It goes without saying that we have to protect our market share in light of the increasing competitive environments posed by other destinations," she said·:

According to Tomokane, the events are the .. Mainichi­Shimbun 'Evening in the Mar­velous Marianas' scheduled for Jan. 26, the DEMA '98 Diving Industry Travel Show scheduled for"Jan. 28-31, the Sapporo Snow Festival, the Tokyo Agent City Seminar for Feb. 24, the Japan Marine Div­ing Festival for Feb. 25-28, and the Osaka Agent City Seminar in conjunction with Sky Tours for March 19.

"With this in mind, we hum­bly request your reconsidera­tion of our on-ongoing efforrs and allow us to proceed ahead with our outlined plans," said Tomokane.

ISTHAT?NO, IT COULDN'T BE ...

IT IS!!!

"In the meantime, we will continue to focus our promo­tional and marketing efforts on the positives of the desti­nations, the reasons for visit­ing here and how to best moti­vate these markets," she said.

MVB is also scheduled to host a "Marketing and Promo­tions Overview of 1998" semi­nar for government officials and interested industry mem- Pedro P. Tenorio

bers on January 23, i 998 at the Hyatt Regency from 9:00 a.m. to 11 :00 a. m ..

"This marketing overview will afford the opportunity for our government officials and interested industry niembers concerned with the direction and quality of our largest in­dustry to meet and discuss in a open forum these topics," said

Tomokane.

PSS Central staff to be audited By Laila C. Younis

_ Variety News Staff ALl...PUBLlCSchoolSystemC.en­tral Office staff will soon undergo a "desk.audit", according to Board of Education chair Marja Lee Taitano.

"We will have deskaudits per­formed on the PSS Central Staff to see where wecail place people. where they are needed," said Taitano at a Board meeting yes­·terday.

"A desk audit is done to see a job description versus job per­formance. We need .to see if what is being performed is in line with the job," she said.

'The audits are part of an effort to streamline PSS and make it more effective," she added.

Taitano also pointed out that the "desk audits" will also go "system­wide". . "One of may goals and I hope

the Board adopts it, is to evaluate· system-wide. If we are short on money, we need to find ways to be effective," said Taitano.

"We are also looking at other innovative ways to reduce the cost of personnel, redU<;e the number of FTE's, and increase job perfor­mance," she said.

"We will start the audits as soon as

possible and we will be either ask­ing the BOE Personnel Committee to handle it or look into outside agencies," she added.

Taitanostressed that, financially, this a time of "bell tightening" for PSS and cost reduction measures have to be taken.

"We need to take a look at our­selves and tighten our bclL We need to do the best that we can," said Taitano.

"And occupying a desk is not the best that we can do. We need to be productive and that is why we have requested desk audits," she said.

Burglary and theft .conviction on Rota By Ferdie de la Torre Variety News Staff

A JURY has convicted Rota's Michael A.Jackson for breaking into a nightclub and stealing stereo equip­ment

During a trial on Rota, the jury rendered a verdict on Friday finding Jackson guilty of burglary and theft.

Associate Judge Edward ManibusanalsofoundJacksonguilty of criminal mischief.

The jury, however, acquitted the defendant to another count of bur­glary.

Court documents showed thatJ ack­son and two other defendants entered the Taga Rock Cafe on Rota and stole various items of stereo and musical instruments between March 17 and 18, 1997.

The suspects gained entry into the establishment by breaking the win­dow, rt".cords indicated.

On the san1e days, Jackson w,L, also accused of breaking into a r'esi­dence of one Rosita A. I-locog ,md stole v;uious drinks and foo<ls.

But the jury found no sufficient evidence linking Jackson to the later burglary incidenL

Jackson was represented by Jo­seph Horey. Assistant Atty. Gen. Aaron Wil lian1s prosecuted the case.

Sentencing was set on March 6 at IOa.m.

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1998 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-5

'Recession could trigger lay-offs'

.

HANMI: No ·reports of big hotels laying off w-orkers

By Aldwin R. Fajardo Variety News Staff

THE NORTHERN Mariana Is­lands is expected to experi­ence a higher unemployment rate as an eventual result of the economic slowdown, an economist said yesterday.

There were that uncon­firmed reports claimed some big companies on the island have already resorted to re­trenchment to cope with the recession.

Retrenchment refers to the cutting down or curtailment of expenses within a period of temporary economic activity through the suspension of employees.

The Northern Marianas is in for a bleak economy due to the slump in the tourism in­dustry brought about by the currency crisis in the Asian region, and the slowdown in the economies of Japan and Korea.

Previous reports claimed that tourist arrivals in the NM! have slumped due to the con­tinuous plunge of local cur­rencies against the US dollar. Since the Northern Marianas operates on US currency, the cost of going to the island or the mainland is the same.

This would mean that the capability of the Japanese or the Korean tourists to buy any tour packages will depend on the purchasing power of the Japanese yen and the Korean won.

Japanese and Korean trav­ellers have continuously topped the list of visitors on the island. · Employers, especially those whose businesses cater to the tourism sector, who have started feeling the pressure may find an immediate solu­tion from streamlining of em­ployees.

"Because of the recession, unemployment rate will prob­ably go up," economist Ed­ward Stephens Jr, of The Stephens Corp., told the Vari­ety.

He said some people wi II lose their jobs, though he did not specify what sector will be affected worst by the pre­dicted inactive economic ac­tivity in the CNMI.

Stephens said the duration or" the economic slowdown largely depends on how the CNMI policy m.akers react to

the recession. "As long as the CNMI busi­

ness environment stays friendly, the long-term out­look for the islands is still quite good," he said.

Asked about what he means by business-friendly environ­ment, Stephens said there is a need for the creation of a fa­vorable business and tax regu­latory policies.

He did not elaborate, he only said there is no way anyone can tell by how much a reces­sion, coupled with unfriendly business atmosphere, reduces the number of business activ­ity.

Stephens predicted last Sun­day that the Northern Marianas may experience an economic recession this year, citing several factors that will trigger a reduction in CNMI economic output.

Recession refers to a drop in or reduced economic activity.

By Aldwin R. Fajardo Variety News Staff

DESPITE the slowdown in the tourism industry, the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands yesterday said there are no reports of retrenchment among HANMI members. -HANMI spokesperson

Lynn Knight said not one among the 16 members of the hotel organization has reported any lay offs or plans to stream­line the number of:emloyees.

"Not in the large hotels. Nothing has been reported from among the (HANMI) members," Knight said when asked about unconfirmed reports of cost-cutting mea­sures among businesses in ihe tourism sector.

But Knight hinted a pos-

sible retrenchment among small hoiels, which are non­HANMI members.

"We can't speak for the non­HANMI members. There are small hotels which are not ac­credited with HANMI, and we don't kno',>f ... , " she told the Variety.

Knight said if there are lay offs happening among large hotels, the members may have done retrench­ment "privately".

"If there are (lay offs) they did not report it to HANMI," she added.

Meanwhile, unconfirmed re­ports claimed a shopping cen­ter has started setting up "economizing'-' measures by cutting down on the working hours of its employees from eight to six hours.

The Variety tried to verify

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At the same time, H.E.R.E Local 5 coordinato.r Vic Perez said there have been reports of retrenchment in a catering firm, which is among the union movement's organizing ef­forts.

Perez said the absence of an organized labor makes it easier for employers to sus­pend and terminate employ­ees, especially the non-resi­dent workers.

But he said large hotels have never really stopped hiring though he mentioned the possibility of the senior staff being terminated to be replaced with new hires.

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6-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-TUESDAY- JANUARY 20" 1998

Acting DOF chief mirrors Teno's 'open gov't' stand

By Aldwin R. Fajardo Variety News Staff

IF11ffiappointrnent of Finance Sec­retary father Calvo is any indication, the Northern Marianas' coffers will be in for a bener days.

Calvo, who has served the Commqnwealth's finance depart­ment for eight years, appears to mir­ror the new CNMI administration's adherence to the Open Government policy.

This wa, the impression made by Calvo among persons assigned to monitor the Department of Finance, after making herself available for in­terviews.

When asked what her priorities

would be, Calvo said since her ap­pointment is. temporary until such time Gov. Pedro P. Tcnoriocomes up with his cabinet list, she is limited to making sure that the DOF functions smoothly.

"My appointment was made to make sure that this department func­tions, and that the transition process runs smoothly," she said.

Calvo, whohasadegreeindevelop­ment economics from the Univer.;ity of Califomia in Davis, started as a financial analyst until she became the DOF's fmancial services manager.

But Calvo said she is bound to work on the goals of the new CNMI leadership regarding the financial as-

pects and capabilities of the govern­ment.

"I am not looking forward until the transition process is through and until the Governor comes up with his final list of cabinet officials," she told the Variety.

She added that the DOF is cur­rently putting financial reports to­getherwhich will be submitted to the Office of the Governor.

The DOF is in a critical position afterrecentreports claimed the CNMI government is bankrupt and its cof­fers are empty. The agency is also tasked in coming up with a new tax formula to salvage the Nrnthcm Marianas' ailing financial condition.

Gov't needs· to· match ·US relief funds By Zaidy Dandan Variety News Staff

TI!E CNMI government has diffi­culties locating the $500,000 needed to match federal relief funds forty­phoon victims. but Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio yesterday said a '"one-time"' surcharget.L\ will be imposed only as a ··1a,t rcsrnt.''

'There is now m1 immediate need for half a million dollars to match (Federal Emergency Management Agency) funds before they start issu­ing checks, and I like to see that happen,'" Tenorio said.

11ie governor, however. iuled out levying anew tax, at least until a new tax task force is cieated and has com­pleted reviewing and simplifying the current taX code.

A '"one-time"' surcharge tax is be­ing considered. he added, butonly as a Ja,,t resort.

Meanwhile, the typhoon victims are the priority, he said.

'"I like to see (them) get (relief),"

. . Teno1io said, ",md I'm now working wirJi rJic Finance Department to Oo­cate) the needed amount so we can immediately sign the agn::cmcnt with FEMA.""

11ie governor, at the same time, admitted that the tax cuts and pay hike bills signed into law by his predeces­sor will create more financial prob­lems for the government.

He said the pay hike for govern­ment employees alone will cost $12 million to $13 million a year, and an additional $3 million or $4 mi Ilion for the succeeding years.

"If we have no sources of revenues I don't know how we'll be able todo i~ .and that's why I'm asking for the understanding and cooperation of the people," he said.

'"I hope they realize we 're in no position now to continue spending public funds."

But Tenorio added that he will not ask for a repeal of the pay hike law, saying that government employees

are entitled to it. The law, he said, states rJ1at its

effectivity is subject to the availabil­ity of funds.

"Ifthe1e's no funds, I hope they'll understand, "Tenoiiosaid. adding that he would "like to see that every gov­emment employee continues to be employed."

Tenorio likewise appealed to government vendors and suppli­ers to give the government "a little more time" to pay its debts.

Citing the "financial uncer­tainty'' confronting the CNMI, the new governor earlier issued a memorandum restricting govern­ment paid off-island travel and contrncL, or personnel actions over $5,000.

The restrictions wi 11 be enforced during the next 60-days.

In signing the memo, Tenorio said once government's financial status is better known, the restric­tions may be lifted.

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Growth prospects not too rosy, says Ayuyu

By Jojo Dass Variety News Staff

WlTI-I !he reported slump being expeiienced by various business establishments apparently taking its toll on the economy, the Common­wealth may consider itself .. lucky" if it manages to post growth, no matter how minimal, this year.

ThiswasairedbyJoseC.Ayuyu, newly-installed head of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, who claimed there already is a "slow­down" in certain businesses in the CNMI.

'We will be lucky if we grow compared to 1997. I won't be sur­prised if we 1egister a negative growth this yeru,;.' said Ayuyu.

He said he Ila~ met with several entrepreneurs who have been giip­ing about slow sales.

A yuyu 'sclaimscame in the midst of a warning aired the other day by Edwrutl Stephens Jr., an economist who predicted rJ1at rJ1e Common­wealth may be headed for a reces- . sion this year.

The recession, according to Stephens, will be brought about by the weakening of the Japanese yen and the Korean won which in tum will trigger a domino effect that will go as far down as restaurants and retail stores. ·

Stephens noted that a tour to the Commonwealth, which U:ieS the strong us dollar for currency' has becomecostlyconsideringthatcur­rency devaluations in 11Iailand, In­donesia and the Philippines have made these tourist destinations cheaper.

"To some degree," said Ayuyu, "it (prediction) is already happen­ing."

"Unforn.mately, we have ve1y little control in the event~ that are al1eady taking place."

Ayuyu said the Commonwealth is "seeing a trend of less and less number of people visiting us."

"'Hus translates to less revenues." The bulk of CNMI's estimated

750,000 yearly tourists came from Japan ,md Korea

CRM gives two more projects extensions

By Rick Alberto Variety News Staff

TWO mrne hotel and resrnt projects have been granted an extension to commence construction by the Coastal Resources Management.

Lucky Resrnt Hotel, which is snagged by a land dispute, w,L, given until Feb. 24, or a six-month exten­sion, while rJie Obyan Beach Golf Course & Resort until May 20.

The CRM said the Lucky Reso1t Hotel should be completed in 24 months.

1hc 1eason for the extension granted to Obyan Beach Golf Course is to give it more time to implement a Habitat Conservation Plan comply with its Section 1 Opcrmit application to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

1he site for rJ1e 470.room Lucky project in San Antonio adjacent to rJic PacificlslandsOubisbeingclaimedby

rJic hei1, of tl1c late Vicente S. Mufi.~ ,tlrJiough tlic !mid is deemed public.

The land is now under litigation. mid the CNMI Development Ap­peals Bom·d has decided that the dis­pute be resolved fiN before actual constrnction of the project st,u1s ..

llic CRM still did not know wherJ1cr rJie issue has been resolved l:dore it set the new Feb. 24deadline.

11ic Oby:m project consist., of a 4(Xl-room hotel, an 18-holc golf course,,md three golf villa unit.,, wirJi provisions to const.rnct 47 more.

Oby,m 's habit.It conservation plm1 provides for rJie creation of mitiga­tion ponds with fringing wethu1d­type vegeu1tion.

·nie CRM had also grw1tcd pro jcct extension to some hotel project.,.

·niese include the expm1sio11 of Ocean View Hotel, whose pcnnit wa., extended to Dec. 16.

DOLi rules Chinese workers be awarded wages, damages

By Jojo Dass

Variety News Staff TIIE DEPARTMENT of Labor .uid Immigrntion has ruled that tlie 81 Chinese workers abandoned on the island by their employer be awm·ded a total of $1.2 million in salaiies and damages.

However, it was not immediately madccleru·exactly when the workers could receive the money as their em­ployer, JNJ Intemational, repicsented by a certain Jesus A. Santos mid Joe Son, we1c not present when govern­ment heard tlie case last Dec. 31.

Son has repo1tedly fled the Com­monwealth.

DOU, in case the employer re­mains adamant in releasing the money, may refer the case to the Attorney General's Office-which in tum, may file a case befo1e the courts regarding the matter.

Inadirective issued by Linn Asper, DOLi's Administrative Heming Of-

lice :iupcrvisor, gowmm.:nt also Lkcidcd that JNJ International, be pc1m.uicntly biUl<!d from fun.lier hir­ing nom<!sident workers in the Com­mon wealth.

'"RcsPJndcnts employed the 81 compla.imuiL, but failed to pmvidc work ... RespondcnL, shoulLI be or­dered to pay complairnmLs their sala-1ies forone yem·plus liquidated dam­ages," read Asper's ditecti vc penned J,m. 16.

"RcspondenLsshould befined$500 for each of the 81 complainanLs mid should be pe1manently baned from employing nomesidcnt workers," it added.

A total of$ I. I million is ordered awarded to the Chinese nationals to cover a yeru·'s salary and liquidated

· dam,1ges while another $40,500 was also imposed in fines for the workers.

The Chinese nationals, it will be iecalled, arrived on Saipan in Sept. last year.

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TUESDAY.JANUARY 20, 1998-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-7

Smrltation ·veurged By Aldwin R. Fajardo Variety News Staff DPHS asked by lawmaker to inspect conditions in the villages 12.3 million cases, and up to

3,900 deaths. Their costs in human illness were estimated at $6.5-$34. 9 billion annually.

THERE MAY be a need to con­duct a regular sanitation inspec­tion in various Saipan villages to prevent the spread of food-borne diseases, a legislator said;

Rep. David Apatang, in a letter to Acting Health Secretary Jo­seph Villagomez, said there seems to be an apparent lack of enforce­ment of minimal public health sanitation standards at the vari­ous villages.

"As I drive through the differ­ent villages in my precinct, I no­ticed the potential public hazards inherent in almost every village such as trash, open containers and other materials that could be breeding grounds for insects," Apatang said. ·

He said there is a need for the Department of Public Health to conduct weekly or monthly inspections at the vil­lage level, citing as alarming

Joseph Villagomez

l l

the proliferation of barbecue stands in various villages on the island.

"The proliferation of barbecue and food stands within the village proper should alert your sanita­tion staff to perform more village inspection," he added.

Apatang said vigilance is im­portant because the condition in how the food stands are con­structed, which he mentioned as without running water to provide adequate sanitation.

"Adequate protection from flies and rodents were not built into these food stands," he stressed.

The World Health Organiza­tion said its surveys indicate that foodbome diseases may be 300-350 times more frequent than the . reported cases tend to indicate.

The WHO said it is believed that hundreds of millions of poeple worldwide suffer from diseases caused by contaminated food.

The annual incidence of some 1.5 billion episodes of diarrhea in children under five years old, resulting in over three million deaths, is an indication of the scale of the problem since a significant proportion of diar-

rhea! disease cases are of foodborne origin, according to the WHO.

At the national level, the WHO said, epidemics of foodborne diseases affect both tourism and trade. CNMI's largest revenue-producing sector has remained the tour­ism industry.

In the United States, seven· foodborne pathogens, each year, cause an estimated 3.3-

Meanwhile, Apatang prom­ised that the 11th Legislature will extend financial ·help to the DPHS, if budgetary con­straints prevents "your sani­tation staff from carrying out their responsibility.

He stressed that foodborne and communicable diseases are prevented through proper sanitation inspections.

No deadly starfish oU.tbreak 1st Floor 3,100 sqf. COMMERCIAL SPACE By Rick Alberto

Variety News Staff THE FEARED outbreak of a deadly species of starfish in the Oby an Second Reef is un­founded, according to the find­ings of the CNMI Marine Monitoring Team.

The team went to the reef Thursday last week to investi­gate sightings of crown of thorns starfish reported by pri­vate divers.

Susan Burr, marine biolo­gist of the Division of Envi­ronmental Quality who heads the team, said some crown of thorns starfish were found but that the number was not enough to constitute an out-

break. Four team members-

Katllarine Miller of the CNMI Division of Fish and Wildlife and Martin Zeleznik, Albert Guerrero and Jack Olech, all of DEQ-did two five-minute dives in waters ranging from 50 feet to 80 feet deep.

"We covered a significant portion of the reef," Miller said, adding that they didn't see a lot of the feared starfish.

The crown of thorns star­fish, with poi.sonous spikes all over its body, eats corals and millions of them can devas­tate an entire reef; Burr said.

It was the first investigation made in the Obyan Second

GDDC warns against violations of ADAAG ; By Gerr R. Cayabyab, Jr.

Variety News Staff THE GOVERNOR's Devel­opmental Disabilities Coun­cil on Friday warned owners of public lodging establish­ment.s against non-compli­ance to the American's with Disabilities Act Accessi bil­ity Guidelines (ADAAG).

'In a news release, GDDC Executive Director Thomas J. Camacho noted how some owners of public lodging facillities violate ADAAG by inhibiting the rights of individuals with disabilities andtheir family members to services needed.

"The ADA prohibits dis­crimination by any public lodging facilities-. defined as any private entity that owns, leases. ( or leases to), or operates inns, hotels, mo­tels,' boarding houses, dorc

mitories, resorts and other similar places of transient lodging,'' Camacho said in a news release.

Camacho stressed that "the penalties for non-compliance or violation of the ADA can be costly if someone with a disability brings a private entity into a private suit."

"If the court permits, the U.S. Department of Justice can intervene once it is de­termined that the case is of general importance," Camacho noted.

Consequently, he sa.id, compliance with the ADA standards makes eligible businesses allowed for tax credit or tax deduction; po­tential investment in em-

. ployees with disabilities; and the creation of a market for individuals and tourists with disabilities. ·

In Case of Emf!rgency, Call 911

Reef. In 1969, however, this kind

of starfish affected the Saipan Lagoon.

''Although there is not enough (starfish) to consider an outbreak, .we' II keep an eye on it," Burr said.

Miller echoed Burr as she cited the need for caution.

Miller also said they have asked the help of Dr. Charles Birkeland of the University of Guam.

"At this time, we 're waiting to hear from him." she said.

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8-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-TUESDAY-JANUARY 20 1998

Fund 11rges caution on COLA By Gerr R. Cayabyab, Jr. Variety News Staff

Manglona suggests Apatang look at other issues first us to pay only up to 85 percent of the average annual salary JS a maximum benefit, with the a'ddition of the COLA, we exceed that," Manglona said.'

NMI RETIREMENT Fund Administrator Edward H. Manglona yesterday said that Rep. David M. Apa tang's (R­Saipan) call for all retirees to receive cost of living allow­ance is a noble idea but said other related issues should first he looked into.

In an interview, Manglona stressed that "connecting the COLA to earnings in the Fund's investments is not ap­propr.iate because earnings are derived from government em­

.ployees' contributions."

"Every active government employee makes contributions to the Fund. Those contribu­tions are invested for their benefits. We do not make in­vestments or contributions for employees to pay for retirees' COLA," Manglona explained.

So far, retirees under 55 years of age do not receive COLA.

Manglona also stressed that the COLA has to come from soine other source and not from the return on invest­ments.

"ROI's are not consistent. On an annual basis, the ROI's are depending on the market condition. We cannot rely on that," Manglona noted.

"In some years, we may ex­perience a lost. In other years, we may experience a gain."

"How can we pay COLA if we are going to rely on some­body else?s income?" Manglona rhetorically asked.

Manglona admitted that re­tirees deserve COLA.

However, he said, "when we apply COLA, we have to con-

. .

New seven-story commercial building to rise in Chalan Laulau ·

. . .

By Rick Alberto Variety News Staff

A SEVEN-STORY commer­cial-office building would soon domiJ'\ale the skyline along Chalan Pale Arnold Highway (Middle· Road) in Chalan Lau Lau.

The proposed building, owned by a local company, Pacifica Insurance Under­writers, will have two luxury penthouse units to be rented out.

Construction is scheduled to start Feb. l, b1:1t the public

hearing for the coastal permit application is to take place on Jan. 29, at the Oleai Elemen­tary School cafeteria, at 6:30

.p.m. "We are ready to begin con­

struction as soon as all per­mits and condtions have been met and complied with," said Norman T. Tenorio, chief ex­ecutive officer of Pacifica, in his letter to Coastal Resources Management acting Director Peter Barias. ·

The building, which is south cif the Garden Motel, will have

a unique feature in that it will incorporate the parking stalls inside, at the lower ground floor.

The upper ground floor wil house office spaces, while the second floor the Pacifica corporate offices.

The third to fifth floor will be rented out as office spaces.

The total space for rent will be 64,800 square feet.

The $4-million buildingis scheduled to be completed

. middle of .or late thi's year.

.Keep Sa.ipa,n., Clea,n., a,n.,d .Bea.u-L;ifu,l

NORTHERN MARIANAS HOUSING CORPORATION

PUBLIC NOTICE EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

Pursuant to Public Law 8-41, the Northern Marianas Housing Corporation (NMHC) Board of Directors hereby serves notice that the regular meeting of the Board, which recessed on December 30, 1997, will reconvene on Wednesday, January 21, 1998 at 11 :00 a.m., at the NMHC Conference Room in Garapan, Saipan. The Agenda follows, and the public is welcomed to attend.

AGENDA

l. CALL TO ORDER II. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Ill. SUGAR KING II HOUSING SUBDIVISION IV. PUBLIC HOUSING

A. Garapan Annex Subdivision_ B. Section 214 Litigation C. Vouchers for Annex I Tenants D. Tenants Engaged in Criminal Activities

V. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROJECTS VI. MPLT/NMHC $10 MILLION LOAN VII. DIVISION REPORTS VIII. OTHER MATTERS IX. ADJOURNMENT

Note: PL 8-41 allows Executive Sessions which may be called to discuss item(s) noted above.

JUAN S. TENORIO Chairman

David M. Apatang

sider that some retirees have already exceeded their aver­age annual salaries after COLA has been applied for so many years."

"Although the law requires

"There is this inconsistency in the statute, and we are go­ing to work on that."

Manglona stressed he wants to clear up the misperception of other public officials on the Fund's goals and perspectives.

"We want to improve ROI's for two reasons: For us to make available, enough money for each employee who contributes to the Fund; and at the same time, we also want to reduce government contributions to the Fund by helping pay the unfunded accrued liability from our ROl's," Manglona cited.

Actuarily, he said, improving ROI's may help reduce the government contributions if the Fund's RO I's are good.

Rota Mayor Benjamin T. Manglona receives a hug from his daughter Lillian M. Matsumoto moments after he was sworn in as the island's new local chief executive. · Pho10 by za1dy oandan

Scheduled power outage canceled THE COMMONWEALTH Utilities Corporation has can­celed a scheduled power out­age for last Sunday in south­ern Saipan.

The power outage was scheduled for 10:00 am for distribution feeders V and VI-most of the southern vil­lages.

The power would have re­mained off for As Lito and

Chalan Kanoa all day as crews worked to energize the new traffic lights on As Lito Road.

However, the utility will not complete the work, which in­cludes personnel overtime ex­penses, until the Department of Public Works guarantees payment, cue said in a news release.

The public will be informed when the project is rescheduled.

.,. __ · ,'

•: ,.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1998 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-9

US backs Rongelap cleanup By Gill Johnson For the Variety

MAJURO-A long-awaited return honie for exiled Marshall Island­ers moved a step closer with the transfer this week by the U.S. government of $8.3 million to the Rongelap Atoll Local Govern­ment for nuclear cleanup work.

The U.S. funding is earmarked for phase one resettlement activi­ties on Rongelap Island, which include building a base camp for workers, reopening the long­closed runway, and developing other infrastructure such as docks, water and power facilities that will support a cleanup operation and futureresettlementofthenow uninhabited atoll, said Rongelap Mayor James Matayoshi.

Recent scientific studies of

Rongelap indicate that the main island can be made habitable by limited scraping of contaminated soil and use of potassium fertil­izer to block the uptake of radio­active cesium by root crops such as coconut trees. Islands in the northern sector of this circular necklace of. more than 60 tiny coral islands are still too radioac­tive for safe habitation or food collection.

The phase one cleanup work will focus only on Rongelap Is­land because Rongelap does not have th

Nevertheless, the mayor said, "We want the U.S. govemmentto know that we are serious about cleanup and resettlement ·of Rongelap."

He is hopeful that the release of

New partners try to revive American Samoan paper APIA (Pacnews)-Twobusinessmen and a journalist have bought· 50% of American Samoa's troubled· weekly Samoa Journal. & Advertiserin an attempt to revive the territory's second newspaper.

Former managing director Robert Mathew King, whose family still owns the other 50%, said that director of telecommunications AlekiSene, former congressman Fofo Sunia and journalist Ryan Th<Jmpson are their new partf!ers. . Thompson, a former sul)ceditor of the American Samoa's other

n¢w~paJJ<;r, the daily SanJoa News, is the new managing editor.

the $8.3 million by the U.S. will allow the cleanup work to get on a fast track.

A formal groundbreaking cer­emony will likely be held in mid­summer, and a number of key U.S. officials from Washington, D.C. will be invited, said Matayoshi. In the meantime, however, once the RongelapCouncilgivesthegoahead, work is expected

Matayoshi noted that

Rongelapese will benefit directly from the phase one construction in that they will receive first pref­erence in hiring for the project.

Although the first phase work is actually expected to cost $9.6 million, the interest that will be earned from the -short-term in­vestment of the $8.3 million will likely cover the shortfall, Matayoshi said.

Aside from construction work

on Rongelap Island, the two-year first phase plan includes$ l .4mil­lion earmarked for"interim hous­ing" to be built on Majuro and Ebeye islands for the hundreds of Rongelap islanders who live in these two urban centers.

The focus of the phase one money, however, is on work needed to make it possible to safely resettle Rongelap, Matayoshi said.

The~js 11 possibility the publication's name might be changed: •. Santoa.fournal stopped publication a month ago, unable to climb

out ofthe financial difficulties which had led to it's temporary closurefotseveral months 13$tyear.

Golfing sensation Tiger Woods, center foreground, is surrounded by security as he walks to the first green followed by hundreds of fans during an exhibition game with three other golfers from Asia at the Mimosa Golf and Country Club northwest of Manila, Sunday. Woods, here for the first time, carded a 71, one under par to win by three strokes against his Filipino rival Felix Casas. AP

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Three top PNG MPs have withdrawn from NZ talks PORT MORESBY 9Pacnews)-Three senior Papua New Guinea MPs have withdrawn from the bipartisan team to the third round of Bougainville peace talks which was to start in Christchurch, New Zealand last week.

East Sepik Governor Sir Michael Somare, Central Gov­ernor Ted Diro and Pangu Pati Leader Chris Haiveta were not on the flight to New Zealand Sunday with Prime Minister Bill Skate, The National reported.

They were reported to have withdrawn in view of the government's "unclear policy approach to the current talks'·.

The three MPs could not be reached Sunday for comment. Skate was accompanied by Op­position Leader" Bernard Narakobi and government offi­cials on a Royal Australian Air Force jet.

The president of the self­styled Bougainville Interim Government and Supreme Com­mander of the BRA, Francis Ona, is also NOT attending this week's meeting of leaders in the Bougainville conflict in New Zealand.

This was confirmed by the chairman of the BIG, Joseph Kabui. who is leading the se­cessionist delegation at the

Fiji opposition leader shuns PM ambitions SUV A (Pacnews)-Fiji 's opposition leader, Jai Ram Reddy, says he has no interest in becoming Prime Minister.

However. he said he would be ready to serve in a multi­party cabinet, something that was "constitutionally", The Daily Post reported.

Reddy revealed that he has started talks with Prime Minis­ter Sitiveni Rabuka on the possibility of his National Federa­tion Party fighting the next general election jointly with the Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei.

The Opposition Leader told The Daily Post during a NFP workshop for the Southern Constituency Sunday at Tacirua that he was not interested in becoming Prime Minister, adding that he was quite happy just being what he was riow.

He told more than 200 delegates that "it's over 100 years that we've competed against Fijians politically and it has not· got us nowhere." ·

Later in the interview he said that Indians .and Fijians needed to change their attitudes towards one another and work together instead of being rivals.

meeting at Lincoln University. Kabui's delegation and-those

of the Bougainville Transitional Government Premier Gerard Sinato arrived in the Solomon Islands capital Honiara Sunday afternoon aboard two seperate RAAF Hercules planes.

They were joined by the Solomon Islands observer del­egation led by Prime Minister Bartholomew Ulufa 'alu and travelled to New Zealand aboard an Australian Air Force 707 jet.

Chinese trad~ . . .. . . ID.ISSIOll IS . .

Samoa-bound APIA (Pacnews)-A trade and economic delegation from China arrives in the Samoan capital Apia for a goodwill visit which will see the signing over of US $650 000 to the government for construc­tion of a school at Vaitele-uta.

Vaitele-uta, close to Apia is a heavily settled area by mostly ru­ral dwellers and people of Savaii island.

The settlement is poised to get denser with government announc­ing plans to subdivide a 150-acre block of state land in the area into quarter acre parcels to sell those who do not yet hold privately­owned land.

The Chinese trade mission will also visit projects that were fi­nanced by the Chinese govern­ment such as the national stadium and Apia Park.

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Fiji police to be sent to Vanuatu SUV A (Pacncws)-Fi ji is to send a 1 DO-strong police contingent to Vanuatu to help monitor a state of emergency there.

This comes after inform(ll talks between Fiji Police Commissioner Isikia Savua and his Vanuatu coun­terpart Peter Bong last Wednesday, The Fiji Times reported.

Savua has confirmed the discus­sions and that he would be sending a l 00-strmig contingent to the neighbouring archipelago.

Vanuatu Justice Minister father Walter Lini had confinned in a na­tionwide broadcast Friday that assis­tance had been sought from Fiji, France, Australia, New Zealand and the Solomon Islands.

Vanuatu police spokesman Pakoa Samuel said there was no official · request but the Police Commissioner had talks with his Fiji and Solomon Islands counterpart.

Fr Lini had accused 10 political and religious leaders of involvement in the riot which gripped Vanuatu last week.

Most of the politicians named are members of the opposition V anuaaku Pali, from which he was expelled in 1991 after serving as prime minister for 11 years.

But VP's deputy leader, Joe Natuman, has rejected the claims by Fr Lini saying the Justice Minister's radio address "was only adding fuel to the flame".

Fishermen's life insurance offered APIA (Pacnews)-The Samoa Life Insurance Corporation- will soon launch a new life insurance policy that will for the first time provide cover for fishermen out at sea.

General Manager of the insur­ance company Lealaiauloto Anise to Ah Ching says the policy will set up the maximum of I 0,000

tala (US $6,500), 2AP reported. Ah Ching says the new policy

will be higher compared to the normal ordinary policies because of the high risks involved.

2APsaysthehighnumberofpeople now involved in the fishing industry may have resulted in the insurance company devising a special poli.cy

· just for the fishermen.

Former Vanuatu PM forms his own party PORT VILA (Pacnews)-,­Former Vanuatu Prime Minister Maxime Carlot Korman has fonned a new political party.

The paity is a breakaway faction of the Union of Moderate Parties of most! y French-speaking Ni-V anuaUJ.

Carlot Korman announced the new party in a news release to the local media yesterday.

The party is called Ripabliken Paty Blong Vanuatu and Carlot Korman is its President.

The RPV will contest the com­ing March 6 general elections and

Carlot Korman is calling on his supporters to contact the party's new office in Port Vila to make preparation for the polls.

The formation of the party is the culmination of a bitter rivalry between CarlotKorman and UMP President, Prime Minister Serge Vohor.

The leadership rivalry has led to the dissolution of parliament by PresidentJean-Marie Leye and the calling of fresh elections half­way into the four-year term of the current parliament.

All taxis to be painted white APIA (Pacnews)-All taxis in Sa­moa are be painted white by March I, or have their licences removed.

Secretary of the Transport Con­trol Board (TCB) Tupuola Misi says this was agreed to by both the TCB, and the bus and taxi association.

Misi says having all taxis m white will be much easier for members of the public to recognise.

However, taxi drivers have complained about the costs in­volved in changing the colour of their vehicles.

Compulsory voting in Vanuatu recommended PORT VILA (Pacnews)­The outgoing chairman of the Vanuatu Electoral Commis­sion, Masing Lauru, has rec­ommended that a bill be pushed through parliament to make voting compulsory.

Lauru says such a legislation wou Id re promote an interest for voters to want to use their demo­cratic right to vote.

Lauru says results from the municipal elections in Port Vila have shown that less and less

people are bothering to cast their votes these days.

He suggests that this could be because people are fed up of po­litical parties and politicians not keeping the promises they make to the people.

Lauru warns the electoral of­fice to maintain its neutrality and make sure it is not exploited by politics.

He is being replaced by a Na­tional United Party politician Charles Bice.

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'Bong bong' joins party of ex-political foes

Marcos Jr. for governor MANILA, Philippines (AP) - The son of former strongman Ferdinand Marcos joined hands S'unday with formerpolitical foes to fight President Fidel Ramos' ruling party in general elections in May.

Marcos' son, Ferdimind Jr., and former anti-Marcos activists will run as candidates for LAMMP, the country's largest opposition party, which formally announced its contenders for president, vice president and Senate on Sunday.

During a rally attended by thou­sands at a seaside convention hall, Marcos smiled, shook hands and stood shoulder to shoulder with leaders of the "People Power" revolt that forced his father from power in 1986.

"Politics make strange bedfel­lows," Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said. 'This is a good example of tliat."

At least I 00,000candidates are expected to run for 17,340 na­tional and·local posts on May 11, including about a dozen politi­cians seeking to succeed Ramos whose six-year term ends in June.

The opposition party pro­claimed Vice President Joseph Estrada, a former movie star, as its presidential candidate and Sen. Edgardo Angara as its choice for vice president.

The party also announced candi­dates for 12 available seats in the 24-member Philippine senate.

MarcosJr.,popularlycalled''Bong Bong," is running for governor of the northernPhilippineprovinceoillocos Norte as "guest candidate" for the opposition party, LAMMP leaders

Ex-rebels to be hired to build southern bridges

MANILA,Philippines(AP)-Presi­dent Fidel Ramos has approved a programtohireformerMuslimguer­rillas to build cement b1idgesinsouth­em Philippine areas where they used to destroy them, officials said Sun­day.

Under a progr,1IT1 called "Peace Bridge," a total of 163 bridges are to be builtonMindanao Island by former rebels of the Moro National Libera­tion Front. who will be trained by Britishengineers,agovemmentstate­ment said.

The MNLF signed a peace accord with the Philippine government in September I 996, ending a 25-year separatist insunection that killed more than l 00,CXXl people and destroyed much public property, including bridges.

Its chief, Nur Misumi, has since been elected chainnan of a Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao and has asked for the construction of the bridges, the statement said.

Construction of the bridges will be completed over three years and will be funded by a foreign loan, the state­ment said.

Under another program, the gov­ernment has integrated thousands of former MNLF rebels into the country's military :md police forces after several months of training. .

said. The opposition party was formed

out of tpree opposition gmups last year to challenge the ruling Lakas­NUCD party in the May 11 polls.

Also running for congress under the party banner are Agapito Aquino and Teresa Aquino, younger sister and brother of anti-Marcos opposi­tion leader Benigno"Ninoy" Aquino, who wa~ assassinated by soldiers at the Manila international airport in 1983.

Opposition leaders had alleged at the time that Marcos ordered the kill­ing but tl1is has never been proven.

Aquino's killing triggered huge protests that culminated in the rumy­backed uprising that toppled Marcos in February 1986. Aquino's wife, Corazon, succeeded Marcos.

"Politics is the art of compromise. If you stick to what you want, you may not have so many adherents," said Agapito Aquino, 58, who is run­ning for a seat in congress.

Filipino children shout slogans as they march Saturday in suburban Quezon City to kick off the Global March Against Child Labor. The march which is in support of 250 mil/ion children worldwide who are forced to work for their survival, is a sea-land odyssey of child survivors and advocates who will travel from country to country to bring up the issue and will end up in Geneva. AP

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12-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-TUESDAY-JANUARY 20, 1998

UN envoy on Cambodia situation:

'Fair, free elections at risk' By ROBIN McDOWELL

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - A top United Nations envoy expressed concern Sun­day that Cambodia's general elections would be neither free nqr fair and said a large num­ber ·of international observers will be needed to monitor the polls.

Thomas Hammarberg, the U .N. secretary· general's envoy on human rights in Cambodia, said th~ government had to achieve "a great number of things" to ensure the elections will be conducted democrati­cally.

"Time is short," he said, noting the elections were set for July 26. Hammarberg spoke after arriving for a l 0-day visit.

Hammarberg has repeatedly called on the government to investigate the executions of troops loyal to the ousted prime min is ter, Prince N·orodom Ranariddh, and other acts of political violence. He said that to his knowledge the govern­ment has yet to follow up on its promises.

At least 43 of Ranariddh 's supporters were executed by troops loyal to the country's strongman Hun Sen in the weeks that preceded the July

5-6 coup, according to the U.N. Center for Human Rights in Phnom Penh.

"Six months have passed since the majority of these executions took place ... lack of investigations and prosecu­tions would have an effect on free and fair elections," he said, adding that all acts of political violence needed to be investigated.

He also called for access by all parties to the media, an atmosphere conducive to po­litical campaigning and inde­pendent status for a newly cre­ated election commission.

The nomination process for the National Election Com­mission has come under fire from monitoring groups with allegations of irregularities in the selection of members, in­cluding alleged bribes to one seat holder.

The Cambodian People's Party of Hun Sen, who is a co­prime minister in the govern­ment, is widely seen as having the power to ride roughshod over all opposition parties.

'.'My opinion is that there should be a great number of monitors to oversee the elec­tions," said Hammarberg, add­ing that monitors should be

able to speak Cambodian and that they would be needed to work in the provinces. Opposition leader .Sam Rainsy, who spoke with Hun Sen last Friday, told reporters that "Hun Sen said he would accept as many observers as there were people wil~ing to come ... he said no restrictions would be placed on them, they can go wherever they want."

Earlier, Ranarridh had sought 2,000 international monitors for the polls.

Phnom Penh's cash-strapped government has said it would seek dlrs 21 million in foreign aid to fund the elec­tions. Many international do­nors have said they would only assist the government if they believed the polls would be free and fair.

A European Union grant of $11.5 million to the govern­ment to hold elections was presented to the government this week with few pre-condi­tions demanded in exchange for the aid.

The international commu­nity has repeatedly called on the government to allow ex­iled politicians including Ranrariddh, who won the U.N. sponsored polls in 1993, to

A Cambodian soldier loyal to Second Prime Minister Hun Sen takes a position in a banker with his machine gun, south of O'Smach, last Thursday. Troops loyal to the ousted first prime minister, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, have doggedly clung onto their last remaining stronghold of O' Smach on the Thai border, despite repeated claims by Hun Sen's army that they could take the small mountaintop village in a matter of days.

. Filipino maids pra.y for an end to· __ -._ · bird flu, financi'al cri-sis

~ . . . . . . '

HONG KONG (AP) - Thou­sands of Filipino maids rallied in downtown Hong Kong Sunday to pray for an end to Asia's financial turmoil and the bird flu outbreak that has claimed six lives.

Carrying placards that read "The power of bird flu is no match to the power of the Lord Jesus," and "Fear not Hong Kong," the Filipinos enlivened a public park with traditional

dances, songs and prayers. ··we want to pray for Hong

Kong's well-being .... We are also part of Hong Kong," said Nancy Quijano from North Luzon, who has worked in the territory for 11 years.

Hong Kong is bracing for a difficult year ahead, with its economy battered by the cur­rency and stock market woes sweeping Asia.

A Filipino maid was among the six people killed by the bird flu, since the first case was reported last May.

There have been no new cases of the virus since the government slaughtered all the territory's 1.3 million chick­ens last month.

There are an estimated 135,000 Filipino maids in Hong Kong.

U.N. Secretary General's envoy on human rights in Cambodia Thomas Hammarberg talks to reporters upon his arrival at Phnom Penh airport on Sunday. The envoy expressed doubts that July elections will be free and fair.

return home to prepare for the polls. He has been in exile since the July coup.

The European Union also scaled down an earlier pro­posal of sending hundreds of international observers to monitor the elections to just over 30.

Several other foreign gov­ernments, including members of the Association of South­east Asian Nations, also ap­pear to be scaling down previ­ous pledges to send monitors for the Cambodian polls, in part due to the financial woes many are facing.

Sporadic prote·sts still/ continue in Indonesia JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP)­Military troops and police re­mained on full alert Sunday in two East Java districttowns fol­lowing a spate of lootings and protests against price hikes, po­lice said.

The dismembered head from a statue of an Indonesian police­man sits by his feet on a street median in Pamekasan. Police are on alert following sporadic rioting outside of the capital over rising food prices blamed on the economic crisis.. AP

Sporadic riots· continued . through Saturday night in __ Banyuwangi, about 850 kilo:.: meters (530 miles east of Jakarta)~ the first town hit early · last week by protests blamed on Indonesia's economic crisis.

On Sunday, protesters, many. wielding knives and sickles; de­manded shopkeepers to lower their prices on basic consumer goods such as rice, sugar and cooking oil, the Suara Pembaruan newspaper reported.

Gang members held up stores demanding free goods and threatening to kill shopkeepers if they protested, the paper said.

In Jember, a neighboring dis" trict, soldiers remained on alert after a shopping mall burned down Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the daily Kompas said the mobs in Srono looted a store and threw goods out onto the streets before being stopped by security personnel.

Prices have shot up in the past few months following a sharp drop in the value of rupiah, the Indonesian currency.

The local board of Nahdlatul Ulama, the largest Muslim or­ganizfflion in the country with about 30 million members, urged restraint and called on its members not to be provoked by_ false rumors leading to unrest. .

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14-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-TUESDAY-JANUARY 20. 1998

Sym.bolic mass· funeral set By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA

PALEMBANG, Indonesia (AP) -An earth-mover lowered more than I 00 mostly empty coffins on ropes into a huge grave on Sun­day in preparations for a mass funeral for victims of a Singaporean jetliner crash last ·month.

At least 800 people were ex­pected to attend the ceremony Monday, one month after a SilkAir Boeing 737-300 plunged into a river on Sumatra island, killing all \ 04 people aboard.

It wi1\ be a largely symbolic burial. The plane broke into small pieces on impact and divers and search boats recovered only hu­man remains, most of which could not be identified, from the murky, fast-flowing water of the Musi nver.

Families and SilkAir officials

agreed to put the unidentified body parts in _two of the .coffins, while some relatives have placed per­sonal belongings of their loved ones in others. The rest are empty.

Authorities have yet to deter­mine why the plane crashed Dec. 19 during a flight from Jakarta to Singapore.

The flight recorders were re­covered, and the U.S. National Transpmtation Safety Board is studying the data at its labs in Washington.

Crews were busy at the burial ground on Sunday beside a cem­etery on the outskirts in Palembang, a city about 50 kilo­meters (30 miles) south of the crash site.

Siren wailing, a police officer . on a motorcycle led coffin-bear­ing ambulances to the muddy grave, 26 meters by 13 meters (86

Guyana President Janet Jagan greets Sir Henry Forde the head of the Caricom mission visiting Georgetown Guyana Thursday. Protestors took to the streets this week when a high cour1 judge dismissed an opposition petition Monday to void President Jagan 's inauguration. AP

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Workers place a coffin along with more than 100 others in a huge grave in preparation for a mass funeral for victims of December's Silk Air Boeing 737-300 jetliner crash in Palembang, on Sumatra Island nor1hwest of Jakar1a Sunday. The coffins, mostly empty, will be par1 of Monday's symbolic burial tor the 104 people killed aboard the Singaporean airliner which plunged into the murky Musi river, leaving little remains of victims and the plane for searchers to find. AP

feet by 43 feet). With ropes and an earth-mover,

workers guided them into the pit and lined them up in rows on wooden runners. They paused for cigarettes and water in the sweltering heat.

Curious residents peered over the side, some shielding them­selves from the sun with umbrel­las. Laughing children clambered up a nearby mountain of dirt that was removed from the grave.

Carpenters hammered away at stands erected for the audi-

ence, and technicians tinkered with a sound system. .

"Burning of incense," read one sign in English for mourn­ers.

About 450 family members were expected to arrive in Palembang on special SilkAir flights.

Forensicexpe1ts identified body partsofonly six victims, which wi I I flown to their home coun­tries, said Rick Clements, spokesman for Sil kAir.

Relatives of three of them

have elected to hold separate funerals in their countries and were not given symbolic cof­fins.

But there will be a total of I 03 coffins in the grave, in­cluding two extra coffins with­out name plates that hold the unidentified human remains, Clements said.

Two victims whose remains were identified were from the United States. The others were from Germany, France, Malay­sia and Singapore.

Parties agree to new Guyana elections By BERT WILKINSON GEORGETOWN,

Guyana (AP) - The lead­ers of Guyana's main politi­cal parties have agreed to call new elections by 2000 and to overhaul the consti­tution in an attempt to bal­ance power in the racially divided nation.

President Janet Jagan and opposition leader Desmond Hoyte also agreed Saturday night to an outside audit of the Dec. 15 general elections and an end to street protests, which have paralyzed the South American country.

The seven-page accord was brokered by represen­tatives of the 15-member Caribbean Community who arrived last week amid huge demonstrations backed by Hoyte' s People's National Congress.

Hoyte has accused Jagan, the country's first U.S.­born leader, of rigging the vote to secure a second term for her People's Progres­sive Party.

He also sought to have her barred from taking office, charging the elections com­mission acted illegally when he declared Jagan victor be-

fore all the votes were counted.

The United States, Britain and Canada have recognized Jagan 's victory but urged both sides to agree to an audit of the vote to end the unrest.

The leaders have "sincerely committed themselves to a process conducive to closing fissures which have appeared in society," Henry Forde, a former Barbadian foreign min­ister and the lead Caricom negotiator, said Sunday.

He said the aim of the agree­ment was "to reduce tensions, promote harmony and lay the basis for political cooperation in a manner designed to re­store Guyana to a state of nor­malcy."

Under the agreement, the Caribbean Community will oversee an audit of the voting due to be completed in three months. The conclusions will be binding.

Meanwhile, the 65-seat Na-. tional Assembly will establish

a broad-based commission to overhaul the 1980 constitu­tion.

The constitution has been attacked by both parties for giving too much power to the president and for encouraging

racial divisions in Guyana. With the exception of the

president, Guyanese cast votes for a political party rather than specific candi­dates. The process increases the role of the parties, wpose supporters are divided along racial lines.

The commission has until July 1998 to complete its review, which will also in­clude ·changes in the elec­toral system. New elections must be called by early 2000.

Race is at the root of most conflicts in Guyana, a former British colony of 733,000 people.

The PPP draws support from the descendants of East Indians, who comprise the majority of Guyanese.

The PNC is backed by the descendants of African slaves, who comprise 40 per­cent of the population.

The PNC governed for 28 years until 1992, when inde­pendence leader Cheddi J agan won power in the country's first democratic elections.

Jagan died in office in March and his widow, 77-year-old Janet Jagan, swore to continue his legacy.

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1998 -MARIANAS VAR!ETY NEWS AND VIEWS-15

Severe hardship President-elect says IMF conditions 'an ordeal' short-term debts as four different

state-guaranteed bonds with ma­turities of one year, three years, five years and 10 years.

Kim Oae-jung

By PAUL SHIN SEOUL, South Korea (AP)­Reaching out to the people in a televised dialogue, President-elect Kim Dae-jung said Sunday the worst has yet to come in South Korea's struggle to overcome its economic problems.

"The real ordeal will begin from no\v on," Kim said in the first direct people-to-the-President­elect dialogue televised live on national networks. "Frankly speaking, we're just entering a dark IMF tunnel."

Layoffs and other hardships re­sulting from South Korea's eco­nomic collapse dominated the two-hourprogram,dubbed"Let's show the great potential of the South Korean people."

The dialogue was a campaign pledge of Kim, who was elected president on Dec. 18. It was pat­terned after the "town hall" meet­ings staged by American presi­dents.

Kim took questions mostly from seven select panelists represent­ing all walks oflife. He also took questions from 200 people on the studio floor and a few people in the streets.

Kim's term will not begin until Feb. 25, but he has already gotten heavily involved in efforts to pull the country out of its economic morass.

The President-elect said 1998 will be a "yearofharsh trials" and

predicted up to one million job layoffs and double-digit inflation.

While promising to strengthen the nation's skimpy social safety nets, he appealed to workers to ac­cept layoffs to save the country. He said layoffsarenecessarytolure back foreign investors who fled the coun­try.

"It's very much clear that in an em of a global economy, we can't sur­vive without foreign investment. We must change our attitude toward for­eign investment. Weshouldwelcome it," Kim said.

Parliament is in session to consider a layoff bill. But militant workers are threatening to stage nationwidestrikes if the bill is adopted.

Under current laws, layoffs are virtually impossible without the consent of labor unions.

"By allowing layoffs, we 'II lose 20 percent but save the other 80 percent. When the 80 percent get stronger, they will help hire back the 20percent who lost their jobs," he said.

The President-elect said lay­offs are a key to winning foreign lenders' rollovers of South Korea's short-term debt of$ 92 billion due within a year of less.

South Korea, Kim said, has won rollovers of some of its short­term debtsuntil March, but it could face more serious problems with­out a long-term solution to the problem. ·

A South Korean government delegation left Sunday to attend debt rollover and refinancing talks with about 40 international bank­ers in New York this week.

The talks are crucial to resolv­ing a crisis that has pushed South Korea's economy, once the world's 11th largest, to the brink of national default. The Interna­tional Monetary Fund granted the country a record$ 57 billion loan in December.

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The six-member delegation is led by Kim Yong-hwan, chair­man of the country's emergency economic committee. Its mem­bers include government officials

and aides to the President-elect. According to Seoul officials,

the New York talks will focus on a formula that would repackage about$ 35 billionofSouth Korea's

SouthKoreahasbasicallyacccpted the proposal except for its' 'extraordi­narily high" interestrntesof up to 12

rccnt a year, they said.

Wearing headband reading "Unite and Fight" workers shout anti-government slogans in unison during a rally against the government plans to introduce layoffs under the bailout agreement with the IMF at the Chongmyo Park in Seoul Saturday. AP

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16-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-TUESDAY- JANUARY 20 1998

Asia crisis 'benefits' US firms By SALLY JACOBSEN

NEW YORK (AP) - General Motors is gearing up to move into Indonesia.

Hewlett-Packard is talking to suppliers about using more Asian­made components in its high-tech

· goods. . And Dell Computer is trimming the price of a popular computer.

The Asian financial turbulence, which has buffeted the currency and stock markets of far-flung economies, may offerunexpected opportunities and benefits to American consumers and com­p:mies.

'The ·economic crisis in Asia has a silver lining," said Greg

·Iy',

Mastel of the Economic Strategy Institute in Washington.

Companies making goods in Asia to sell elsewhere may see sales soar, because with the region's currencies tumbling, products manufactured there will cost less.

Imported goods will be cheaper, which wi 11 help keep in­flation cool.

And with inflationary pressures subsiding, interest rates should remain low.

Other opportunities also may emerge from the gloom.

Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea, in exchange for multibillion-dollar rescue pack-

ages from international donors, must revamp their economies.

Trade barriers are likely to be tom down, allowing outsiders into their lucrative steel, auto and fi­nancial sectors.

The crisis provides "a historic opportunity for the United States to convince troublesome Asian trading partners to change their ways," said Mastel.

However, A_sian analyst Charles Morrison of the East-West Cen­ter in Honolulu cautions that "there is a danger in looking too narrowly" at any advantages of­fered by the crisis.

"Then, there will be kind of a backlash against us. There is a

Mrs. Anson Chan chief secretary for administration of the Hong Kong Government receives a proclamation from Aventura Mayor Arthur Snyder in Aventura, Fla., Friday at a cultural exchange to promote tourism to Hong Kong. AP

~JOSE ,~,BOl<I BABAUTA

is inviting all relatives and friends to kindly join !hem in prayers and intentions as they remember Joe, their beloved one on his First Death Anniversary.

Nightly rosary will be held at the !amity's residence in DandanlAirport-Road (behind Auntie Mag's Restaurant} beginning Saturday, January 24th at 7:00 p.m.

Daily masses will be of1ered at the following churches:

On January 24, Saturday, San Vicente, 6:00 p.m.; January 25, Sunday, San Jude, 10:00 a.m.; January 26, Monday, San Vicente, 6:00 p.m.; January 27, Tuesday, San Vicente, 6:00 p.m.; January 28, Wednesday, San Jude, 6:00 p.m.; January 29, Thursday, San Jude, 6:00 p.m.; January 30, Friday, San Vicente, 6:00 p.m.; January 31, Saturday, San Jude, 5:00 p.m.; February 01, Sunday, San Jude, 10:00 a.m.

On Saturday, January 31st, rosary will be said at 12:00 noon. The First Anniversary Mass of intention for the reposed soul of our beloved will be offered at San Jude at 5:00 p.m. and dinner will follow immediately after at the family's residence.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS. FROM THE FAMILY, -

GRACE & CHILOREN

simmering view that we welcome and gloat in it... without a realiza­tion of the tremendous dangers."

To be sure, the financial tur­moil that has swept through Asia since the summer poses great risks not only for tliat region but for the global economy as well.

A weak Asia, including Japan, the world's second-largest economy, could stifle economic growth in America, and that could lead to job losses, maybe even corporate closures.

Wall Street already has been rattled by fears Asia's woes will hurt profits of American companies.

Still, in the new global economy of increasingly interlinked-andhighly competitive - industries and finan­cial systems, there seems to be an upside for some to any downswing by others.

Dell Computer altrncted notice re­cently by clipping about 15 percent off the price of a pcpular computer, thanks to unexpectedly fast drops in prices for Asian-made components.

Hewlett-Packard, which makes personal computers, printers and medical devices, says it's talking lo suppliers about boosting the Asian­madecontentofi ts machines, from monitor tubes to memory <;hips.

he aim is to "pass some of those cost savings on to HP customers around the globe,'' said Hewlett­Packard spokesman Brad Whitworth.

Other companies are eager to gain a larger foothold in populous Asia with the expected easing of trade and otherrestrictions on for­eigners.

Moreover, with the nations' currencies reeJing, foreigners may be able to snap up local compa­nies at bargain prices.

General Motors wasted no time in expressing interest in Indone­sia after the nation's president, Suharto, under pressure from in­ternational donors, agreed to re­move tax breaks for its national car program.

The protectionist measures had kept foreign automakers at bay in the world's fourth most populous nation.

"We now stand ready to ... make further investments, including the introduction of new products, as market conditions become more favorable," said Donald T. Sullivan, president of GM's Asian and Pacific operations.

GM also is talking with Daewoo Motors and other South Korean companies about acquir­ing all or parts of theiroperations, said spokesman Mike Meyerand.

Citibank may take advantage of Thailand's decision to relax foreign ownership rules. The banking giant is consideiing a majority stake in First BangkokCityBank,thenation'ssev­enth largest, said spckesman Jack Monis.

Othercoiporations won't be too far behind. Before, "it was difficult for U.S. and European companies to go in and buy a stake in Indonesia, Thailand and Korea, and now that's changing," said Nariman Behravesh, chief international economist at Stan­dard and Poor's ORI in Lexing­ton, Massachusetts.

Britain's PM Blair to meet Sinn Fein

By Shawn Pogatchnik BELFAST,Northemlrcland (AP) - British Prime Minister TonyBlairwillmeetwithleadersof the IRA-allied Sinn Fein party Monday,justas negotiations begin onalawrnakingassemblyforNorth­emlreland-a proposal Sinn Fein bitterly opposes.

Sunday's announcement came as a renegade Protestant gang op­posed to the peace talks claimed responsibility for its fourth killing of a Catholic in three weeks.

A spokesman for Blair insisted that the meeting with Sinn Fein lerulerGerry Adamsandthe party's chief negotiator, Martin McGuinness,hadbeenplanneddays in advance.

The IRA' s 6-month-old truce, already under increasing pressure because of renewed terrorism by the outlawed Loyalist Volunteer Force, a Protestant paramilitary group, is e,q:ected to be fonnally reviewed by commanders within the next several weeks.

Sinn Fein appears even more troubled by the peacemaking plan that the British and Irish govern­ments presented to participants· in the peace talks in Belfast

Generally lauded by other par­ties, the plan called f orCatholic and Protestantpoliticians tosharepower in an assembly within Northern Ire-

Tony Blair

land. The governments said leaders of

the Belfast assembly should coop­erate with lawmakers from theirish Republic in a North-South council, promoting joint decision-making in areas such as tourism and agri­culture.

The plan deliberately left unclear whether the cross-border council should have powers to make deci­sions on its own, as Catholics want, or be subservient to the Northern Ireland assembly, as Protestants want

Sinn Fein, which seeks a unilcd Ireland, is opposed to establishing any government structures for Northemlrcland.

McGuinness said Sunday the · proposal for a new form of North­ern Ireland government "has gone downlikealeadballoon"withIRA suPJX)rters.

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1998 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VlEWS-17

Israel delays West Bank decision

Benjamin Netanyahu

By Hilary Appelman JERUSALEM (AP) -Israel's Cabinet put off a decision Sun­day on how much West Bank land to give the Palestinians, sending Prime Minister Ben­jamin Netanyahu to Washing­ton without firm guidelines for his talks with President Clinton.

Israeli officials were pleased by the delay, saying it gives Netanyahu room to maneuver in his meeting Tuesday with Clinton, who is pressing Israel to announce a swift and signifi­cant pullout from the West Bank.

Palestinian officials were an­gered, saying the non-decision shows Netanyahu has no inten­tion of actually carrying out the promised withdrawal and that he is only paying lip service to Israel's peace agreements with the Palestinians.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat told 5,000 angry sup-

porters in Gaza City that the Palestinians will set up a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, whatever Israel's po­sition.

"We are ready to sacri flee for Palestine with our souls and our blood," Arafat said, appar­ently alluding to the possibility of renewed violence. Referring to the 1987-93 uprising, he asked Israel's leaders: "Did you forget the intefadeh?"

The comments were sure to anger Israel, which has de­manded that Arafat suppress anti-Israel rhetoric by Palestin­ian officials and in the Palestin­ian media. But the remarks ex­pressed growing Palestinian de­spair at the chances for progress.

. "Netanyahu is going to Washington with nothing -no maps, no percentages. That means he doesn't want to imple­ment a redeployment at all, and this is unacceptable to us," top

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told The Associated Press.

Netanyahu defended the Cabinet action, saying any de­cision on the specific size of a pullout might have been re­jected out of hand by the Pales­tinians and Americans.·

"I prefer to explain privately to President Clinton our limita­tions and our flexibility within the existing limitations, and to

try together with him to advance the process in the best possible way," Netanyahu said.

"I'm sure that numbers will come up in this conversation -the Americans will raise them and we will respond."

"It's very hard for me to give away even one crumb of the land of Israel," Netanyahu added. "It's land that speaks to me. It's not a foreign land .... lt'sourland, it's the land of our

forefathers." Clinton is to meet with

Netanyahu on Tuesday, and two days later with Arafat.

In an apparent attempt lo tone down expectations, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told The Associated Press that she does not expect Netanyahu and Arafat to reach agreement while in Washington. But, she said, "It will be useful for them to hear the President's words."

A Russian Orthodox pilgrim is given a hand by an armed Israeli soldier as he gets out of the Jordan River at Qasr al-Yahud after celebrating the baptism ceremony of Epiphany Sunday. Qasr al-Yahud is traditionally believed to be the place where Jesus wa" • · · '· - - .-1 "v John the Baptist and in the present day lies in the West Bank. AP

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:·-::'. ,Iµ,ltlspllSliingt he nowjoins his: _ -_,•_.- - -.-.·_ -- _ ... <> : ')':!ll'entt+s. ? . . Gregorio G. Macaranas & Esperanza )

.. , Wife: <· ,,_ . ': ·•: : · PetraJglecias Macanaras - -. Daughter: : - __ Emili.a I. Macaranas ' Pare11t.s-1Ii-Law: · ·Jose & Maria Iglecias

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_ In-Laws: -_, .. - . __ -· .· Anal. & Francisco 'rorres, Concepcion L& Joaquin DLGue1Tero, Maria l . &PedmCam,acho, Luii; Nauta ..

. The love &blessing ;fhis memory will live in the hearts of his~ . Children & Spouses, Granchildren & Spouses, Great Grand Children • Richard I & Darlene P. .Macaranas (Richard & Jessica) • William I & Sue R. Macaranas (Biltina-Irene, Jessamine & Richard Atalig-Chad Joseph &

Sasha, William Jr., Joyce, Guy, Aupman, Tasi & Nuna) • Irene M. & Raymond Tupas (Catherine M. & Jess Sonoda, Jessemae, Jesserine, Jess Sibo, · Emily ~L, Walter & Michelle C. Macaranas-Francisco Andres, Andrew M., Sarah Jane T. & Eric Dubrall-Sevi Jean, Clarence, Lawrence & Sherrie T.)

• James·r. & Loida DLC. Macaranas (Dexter, Garcy, Robert, Patrick & Lora Jean) • Gilbert I. & Estella SN. Macaranas (Evelyn & Joseph Palacios-Erny Ann, Lesly Ann & Donovan

Borja-Ginella, Billy Dean & Daneserie, Lorna Lyn & Brent Borja-Bradley, Laila Pat, Lester, Andrew & Gilbert Jr. Howard I. & Margarita C. Macaranas (Jeffrey & Keilani S. ReyescKeith Jeffrey, Jasmine Keone, Kaine Jude & Keanue Austin, Charlene-Luis Andrew, Germaine Margaret Rose & Francisco, Naedeen-Enson, Sohn & Keone

• Anthony L& Cindy P. Macaranas (Tanya & JC) • Claudia I. Macaranas & George S. Delos Reyes (Vanessa Nicole M. Palacios & George Jr.)

.... : .. _ .__ -•··- :: Dailytosary islleing said at8:00 pm at the residence of Mr. & Mrs. Richard I. Macaranas in Chinatown, Garapan. Last respects maybifpaid onfriday, January 23rd at the residence of Mr. & Mrs. Richard I. Macaranas in Chinatown beginning at 8:00 am. Mass of Christian Burial. will beoffered,onthe same day at 4:00 pm at Kristo Rai Ch.urchin Gara pan. Interment will follow at the Mt. Carmel Cemetery.

· i1 · :-/:', 1, -' '. Diriner will he served i.nimecUately after the burial at the residence of Mr. & Mrs. Richard I. Macaranas. :./i-/:'. .. ~.·.·, .... :.~,:--···.-._: .... /:;:·./t.) ..... _ .. ~i.:'·;·r· ·· >--' ·,. ·.: . ···_,-/i·<, \\-~.: ........ :::.< .. !·., ··\:/ ,-:.·. • •

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18-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-TUESDAY- JANUARY 20 1998

US to push M.E. peace By Jim Abrams

WASHINGTON(AP)-Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu and Pales­tinian Y asser Arafat visit Wash­ington this week in what U.S. offi­cials said Sunday will be a crucial oppo1tunity to revive a Middle East peace process that has stagnated

for a year. "We don't want to raise hopes

prematurely, but I think getting a negotiating-track process going is going to be critically important," Bill Richardson, the U.S. ambassa­dor to the United Nations, said on "Fox News Sunday."

. Arafat and Netanyahu will meet separately with President Clinton to discuss the peace process, which has floundered over Israeli conten­tions that Arafat has done too little to control terrorism and Palestin­ian assertions that Israel has not lived up to promises to withdraw

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from West Bank territory. Israel's cabinet delayed any de­

cision Sunday on future West Bank withdrawals until after Netanyahu returns from his meeting Tuesday with Clinton. The cabinet also has issued a 12page·list of demands, mostly dealing with security, that it said the Palestinians would have to meet before Israel starts new with­drawals.

Netanyahu, interviewed on CNN'S ''Late Edition," stressed that the cabinet empowered him to discuss with Clinton future with­drawals ''subject to PLO compli­ance." He said the size and interim stepsofthewithdrawal was' 'some­thing I plan to take up with the president." The White House reportedty has been pushing for a withdrawat from 12 to 15 percent of the West Bank in the next pull­out.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, speaking on NBC's ''Meet the Press," acknowledged that "1997 was not a good year Israeli state. That, he said, would for the peace process" but said the

Bill Richardson

United States will work harder this year to get the parties together.

Clinton is "going to make his views known," atthough it's up to the Palestinian and Israeli leaders to made the decisions needed to get the peace talks back on track, Albright said.

Over the past year, "momentum has been lost and has gone out of the peace process," Clinton's national security adviser, Sandy Berger.added onABC's''ThisWeekwithSamand Cokie."''Andwe'reatavery,Ithink, critical time."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reviews Government docu­ments together with Cabinet Secretary Danny Naveh during a Jerusa­lem _G_abinet session Sunday. Israel's Cabinet on Sunday delayed any dec1swn on land al!ocat1on for the next West Bank withdraw/ until Netanyahu returns from a meeting with U.S. President Clinton on Tuesday. AP

Repori: ·_Iraq tesiea._antBi,~ .... LONDON (AP) - Iranian pris­oners of war died in agony when Iraq tested the deadly biological agent anthrax on them during the 1980s, The Sunday Times in Lon­don reported.

According to the newspaper, U.N. weapons inspectors, Iraqi dissidents and Israeli intelligence said the tests began during Iraq's eight-year war with Iran.

The Sunday Times quoted Is­raeli military intelligence sources assayingthatonone occasion, 10 Iranian prisoners of war were taken to an area near Iraq's border

· with Saudi Arabia, where they were lashed to posts and "left helpless as an anthrax bomb was exploded by remote control 15 yards away."

Phone calls by The Associated

Press to the Iraqi Embassy in London were not answered Sun­day.

Iraq repeatedly has said it has not conducted chemical and bio­logical weapons tests on humans. But it has acknowledged using animals in such tests before the United Nations ordered the weap­ons destroyed as a condition for ending the 1991 PersianGulfWar.

U.N. weapons inspectors be­lieve anthrax was one of the main toxins developed as part of Iraq's biological warfare program. The inspectors have accused Saddam's government of hiding the means to manufacture chemical and bio­logica.l agents.

Neither inspectors in New York nor Bahrain were available for comment on the report Sunday.

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1998 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-19

Uncertainty follows massacre By JAMAL HALABY

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) -Jordan's reputation as a secure and stable. country in a volatile region is being tarnished amid reports of foreign intrigue, assas­sination attempts and most re­cently, the gruesome butchery of six Iraqis in a hillside mansion, officials said.

Attack on Iraqi diplomats undermines Jordan's stability King Hussein himself was the target of numerous assas­sination attempts by pan-Arab nationalists who detested his moderation and pro-western style. In one instance in the early l 960s,

Jordanians are concerned that such attacks could undermine the kingdom's stability and dash hopes of increased foreign invest­ment that is desperately needed to help ease economic problems in the resource-barren land. · King Hussein, fearfu I that the situation could deteriorate, has ap­pealed for assistance from the West, especially from the United States, to beef up security forces.

Samir Mutawc, a state minister of information, warned that Jor­dan "wil I not allow its soil to become grounds for liquidation."

The recent record is not en­couraging.

On Saturday, masked attackers who spoke with Iraqi accents en­tered the hilltop villa of an Iraqi millionaire and slit the throats of the businessman and five of his guests, including an Iraqi diplo­mat and an Iraqi billionaire who reportedly owed the Iraqi leader­ship millions of dollars. Two employees were also killed.

In January, an Iraqi gunman opened fire on Rahim Taher, the

commercial adviser at the Iraqi Embassy in Amman. Taher es­caped.

In September, Israeli secret agents traveling with Canadian passports injected poison into the ear of a radical Palestinian leader as he w·alked down a street in Amman.

The agents were caught and an outrage King Hussein demanded the antidote from Israel as a con­dition for the repatriation of the agents.

The attacks are leading offi­cials to closely reviewing the open-door policy introduced un­der political reforms in l 989. That policy eliminated visa re­quirements for many citizens of Arab and Eastern European coun­tries and entry permits for Pales­tinian residents of the Gaza Strip.

The open door policy made it easier for some 500,000 Iraqis and Palestinians to flee to Jordan after Iraq's 1990 invasion of Ku­wait and the Gulf War which fol­lowed.

Some Iraqi dissidents and smug­glers have used Jordan as a base.

· Radical Palestinians, such as the Hamas movement, have a pres­ence in Jordan.

Security in the country, how­ever, is generally tight and vio­lent crime is rare. There is a strong police presence throughout the

capital. A !though radical groups and

smugglers are tolerated, they are closely monitored.

Political unrest and assassina­tions are not new to Jordan.

At one point in 1970, Palestin­ian guerrillas had such a strong presence in Jordan that they tried to overthrow King Hussein and form their own government in the

country. Troops loyal to King Hussein

battled the guc1Tillas for 17 days before restoring order. Many of the guerrillas fled to Syria.

In 1951, King Abdullah, Hussein's grandfather and founder of Jordan was shot and killed in Jerusalem by a Palestin­ian incensed at the monarch's plan to annex the West Bank.

Syrian-backed Palestinians put acid in King Hussein 'snose drops. The plot was foiled when the monarch knocked over the tainted medicine, which burned i, hole in the carpeting.

Jordanian police surrounding the house of the assassinated Iraqi diplomat Hikmet AI-Hajou in Amman on Sunday. A/-Hajou was slained along with his wife and six unidentified others by unknown assailants sometime Saturday night. AP

Iraqi gov't steps up weapons training us keeps hard. line stance on Iraqi threats . By WAIEL FALEH

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - As Iraq steps up preparations for a possible military confrontation over U.N. arms inspections, the chief international inspector is traveling to Baghdad for talks with Iraqi leaders.

Richard Butler's visit Monday comes at a time of renewed ten­sions between Iraq and the United States, the chief proponent of the

inspections. Iraqi officials, fearing an American military strike, urged residents Sunday to volun­teer for weapons training,

Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan accused the United States of''increasingitsaggressivestands'' to prolong U.N. economic sanc­tions.

"This is not acceptable to the Iraqi leadership or the Iraqi people and they both are ready for jihad to

Iraqi women who joined a para-military group on Sunday making a victory sign and holding guns to a call-to-arms by president Saddam Hussein. The newly established group is expected to start training on February 1, 1998. They will be supervised by the party and trained by the defense ministry. AP

lift the sanctions," he said, predict­ingthatonemillionmenand women of all ages would take part in the weapons training program.

Baghdad's 2 1/2-month dispute with the U.N.SecurityCouncilover arms inspections flared again last week when Iraqi authorities failed to provide the necessary escorts for an inspection team led by an Ameii­can, Scott Ritter. Baghdad accused Ritterof being a spy, an allegation he denied.

Inanapparentrcsponse to renewed tensions, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein told Baath Party officials Saturday to organize weapons training programs nationwide, citing what he said was a continuing mili,;;ry threat from the United States.

"The more people that enroll under the new program, the bet­ter," Saddam said during a 55-minute speech, broadcast on Iraqi state television on the seventh an­niversary of the Gulf War.

"Americans are continuing to harm our people, which requires a new method ofresponse," he said.

On Sunday, Iraq's Defense Min­istry urged "those who believe in Imq mid its unity to go to the neml!st branch of the Baath Party" to sign up for the training.

Despite the Irnqi leader's tl1reat to stop cooperating with weapons in­spectors, American officit~s have re­acted with reminde~ alxiut Iraq's obligation to live up to U.N. resolu­tions.

In Bahrain, Butler said Sunday his mission "will be finished when it's finished."

"It is in Iraq's hands. TI1e rea­son why it's taken so long is because of Iraq's norn:ompli­ance," he said.

The rums inspectors arc sup­posed to ce11ify that lraq has fulfilled Security Council reso­lutions to eliminate its weapons of mass desuuction. Only with thatce11ification, will U.N. sanc­tions- including a ban on Iraqi oil expo11s - be lifted.

Iraq insists it has met all its obligations underthe resolutions, adopted after Iraq's 1990 inva­sion of Kuwait.

But the weapons ins1~ctors have accused Saddam\ govern­ment of hiding weapons and 1he means to manufacture chcmic:il and biological agents.

TI1e dispute o;e1· the weapons inspections centers on so-called "sensitive sites" such as Saddam's presidential palaces, which Iraq insists aresymbolsof lraqi sovereignty that should be off-limits to the inspectors.

In October and November, 11:,q refused to allow inspections by Americans,sayingthey were spies helping to plm1 U.S. attacks.

The United Nations responded by pulling all its inspectors out oflraq, but the monitors returned three weeks later following Rus­sian mediation.

After its dispute witl1 Iraqi au­thorities last week, Ritter's terun left Baghdad Friday in what U.N. officials said was a scheduled de­parture, not a surrender to Iraqi pressure.

By Jim Abrams WASHINGTON (AP) - Re­sponding to Saddam Hussein's latest ultimatums, U.S. offi­cials stressed Sunday that Iraq not only must allow weapons inspections but must show a commitment to peace before crippling trade sanctions can end.

Republican leaders went furthe1·. They said it's time for the United States to issue its own ultimatum that the Iraqi president must either co­operate or face U.S. military retaliation.

··The burden of proof is on S:1Jdam llusscin ... Secn:tar: of State Madeleine .1\lb1·ight said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "The bottom line here is, is Saddam has self-isolated himself by not fulfilling the obligations that have been laid on him by the Security Coun­c ii. ..

Saddam, in a speech Saturday marking the seventh anniversary of the Gulf War. threatened to b,1r future U. N. weapons inspections if sanctions against Iraq an: not lifted. Widespread military train­ing of Iraqis was ordered.

Saddam's speech also came on the eve of a visit to Baghdad by chief U.N. arms inspector Rich­ard Butler.

Administration officials insisted the policy of applying diplomatic pressure through the United Na­tions is working.

·-

20-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-TUESDAY-JANUARY, 1998

Pope names 22 new cardinals By DANIEL J. WAKIN

VA TI CAN CITY (AP)- With an eye to his succession, Pope John Paul II on Sunday named 22 new cardinals, in­cluding Archbishop Francis Eugene George of Chicago, and the archbish­ops of Toronto, Mexico City, Vienna and Madrid.

The pope named another American prelate, Jan1es Francis Stafford, the fom1er archbishop of Denver and now head of the Vatican's council on the laity.

The pontiff made the announce­ment during his regular Sunday bless­ing from his window over St Peter's Square. He said tl1e prelates would formally be elevated at a ceremony Feb. 21.

Church leaders in Taiwan; Brazil; Tanzania; Lyon. France; Genoa and Palermo. Italy also were named cardi­nals, along with tile heads ofkey Vatican departments whose leaders tradition­ally receive tile red hat of a prince of the church.

Once the new cardinals are elevated, John Paul, 77, will have named I 07 of the 123 eminences eligible to vote for his successor. Cardinals must be under 80 years old to take part in the papal election, according to church rules. Toe concistory will be the seventil of John Paul's nearly 20-year pontificate.

As well as choosing popes, cardinals assist and advise the pontiff in govem- · ing the church a.,d hold top positions at the Vatican. All told, they will number 168.

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'Toe array of new cardinals, com­ing from various parts of the world, reflects in an eloquent way tile univer­sality of the church," John Paul said.

George, 60, took over tile United Slates' second-largest Romari Catho­lic archdiocese last year, replacing the popular Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, who died in November 1996. The Chi­cago-born George had tx:enarchbishop in Portland, Oregon.

Stafford caught the pope's eye when John Paul traveled to Denver, where Stafford was archbishop, in 1993 for World Youth Day. Stafford, 65, was Denver archbishop for IO years until 1996. One of a handful of American

archbishops in the curia, he heads the department that oversees the role oflay individuals in church affairs world­wide. Two of the new cardinals archbishops, Christoph Schoenborn of Vienna, and Dionigi Tettamanzi of Genoa, arc considered ''papabile," or candidates to become pope.

Unlike tile pope's last naming of cardinals, in 1994, the choices this time were less political and more intended to give the honor to those in positions nonnally assigned to cardinals.

Lasttime,thearchbishopofSarajevo was named cardinal, along with prel­ates from Albania, the Czech Republic, Vietnam arid Cuba

Other archbishops to receive red hats in February are: Aloysius Mattllew Ambrozic of Toronto; Norberto RiveraCarreraofMexicoCity; An­tonio Maria Rouco Varela of Madrid; Paul Shan Kuo-hsi of Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Serafim Fernandes de Araujo of Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Polycarp Pengo of Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania; Jean Ball and of Lyon; and Salvatore De

. Giorgi of Palermo. John Paul· also named Bishop

Adam Kozlowiecki, a Polish mis­sionary in Zambia who had been im­prisoned at the concentration camp in Dachau during World War II.

In tile Vatican, the pontiff honored the following archbishops who head departments:

•Jorge Arturo Medina Estevez, con­gregation for divine cult and sacra­ments;

•Alberto Bovone, congregation for saints;

•Dario Castrillon Hoyos, congrega­tion for the clergy;

•Lorenzo Antonetti, patrimony of the Holy See.

John Paul also said he was going beyond the limit of 120 voting car­dinals established by his predeces­sor, Paul VI, to honor three prelates deserving special merit.

Cuba: Pope won't improve US ties By John Rice

HAVANA (AP) - Cuban officials are almosteagertoinsist that Pope John Paul Il'sjoumey to Cuba this week is notlikelytoimprove38 yearsofhostile relations with the United States.

And they ridicule suggestions tilat the pontiffs five-day visit will produce changes on this socialist island.

"Many people have tried to politi­cize the visit and use it against the revolution," President Fidel Castro complained in a weekend television appearance.

Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, head of tile U.S. section of the Cuban For­eign Ministry. told The Associated Press that the pope's visit ''has nothing to do

Legislature . Continued from page 1

tended to benefit minority mem­bers, the Legislature's budget ceil­ing can now be set up to $6:9 million.

However, without a new bud­get passed for this fiscal year, the Senate and the House are still operating on a $2.8 million bud-

Sablan ... Continued from page 1 and minimum wage laws should now be extended to the islands, but Tenorio yesterday said he still has confidence in the negotiating process between the Common­wealth and federal governments as provided by Section 902 of the Covenant.

The Covenant established the CNMI in political union with the United States, and governs rela­tions between the two govern­ments.

PDO • • • Continued from page 1

Eventually, he said, when Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio appoints an act­ing public defender, the next thing to do is request the acting budget director for emergency appropria­tion.

"We are not asking for addi­tional staff right now, but to fill up the two vacant positions," he said.

Palefsky said since 1985, there are five lawyers in the office and no additional one was ever fielded.

with the bilateral conflict that Cuba has with the United States."

Some Cuban exiles in the United States -and even White House offi­cia1s-havesuggestedthepope,sched­uledtoarriveWednesday,mightsome­how inspire changes in Cuba

'There could in fact be positive results in having the Holy Father in Cuba able to talk about the importance the world attaches to human rights and to the need for relief of the suffering," White House spqkesman Mike McCurry said last week.

"And that discussion itself might empower those who believe there can be charige and might even touch the heart ofFidel Ca~tro." he said.

get, and may already be required to cut up this amount based on the "all-members-should-have­equal-funding" provision, which wou Id then lead to less funding for the Senate.

Still, according to Manglona, the "piecemeal" budget being considered by the Legislature will not reach the level allowed by the new constitutional amendment. .

"Our plan is to operate within the means we have now," he said.

"We like to see talks happen instead of confrontation," he added. "(This administration) has always felt that we can work closely with (Washington, D.C.) regarding many of the issues con­fronting us."

He said the new CNMI negoti­ating team will review the issues discussed by the panel fanned under then governor Froilan C. Tenorio, and decide whether to pursue them.

The governor added, however, that the current federal concerns over local immigration and mini-

He said DeRienzo had even rec­ommended to then Gov. Froilan Tenorio to have six lawyers in the office, but no budget was passed by the Legislature.

People in the CNMI who can­not afford to pay attorney's fees are guaranteed by the Constitu­tion to have legal services through the Public Defender's Office.

Palefsky said the Attorney General's Office, which grossly outnumbers PDQ in terms of staff, allows their lawyers to undergo professional training.

Although DeRienzo recom-

During his television appearance, Castro himself said many people think "the pope is coming to Cuba to meet witl1 that demon Castro in the last bastion ofcommunism,arid tile hope is that this will be the end of the Cuban revolution."

Search . . . Continued from page 1

Pangelinan shot back, saying that it "would not be fair" to place "family ties and political affilia­tions" as criteria.

"This is the way of life here. You cannot say we not going to hire someone because they have strong family or political ties," said Pangelinan.

"These ties are and can be used as positive. We should celebrate on the fact we have people who are capable of assuming these positions," he said.

Board members Esther S. Fleming and Frances H. Diaz agreed with Pangelinan, stressing on the availability of qualified candidates from within the Com-

mum wage practices will be con­sidered "priority" by the new panel.

"It's premature to say anything further until the team is orga­

. nized," he added. Wjth the exception of Froilan C.

Tenorio, CNMI governors usually appoint their lieutcnarit governor as headoftheCommonwealthpanel,as was the case in the 1980s during incumbent Governor Tenorio 's first two terms in office when the first 902 talks were held, and in the early 1990s during the administration of then governor Lorenzo I. DLGuerrero.

mended Palefsky as his repiace­ment, no one at present is offi- · cially in charge of the office since the new administration has yet to appoint one.

"No one is signing the purchase order ... everything is kind of 'on hold' here until someone is offi­cially appointed by the Governor's Office," he said.

Ifhe is appointed, Palefsky said his priority is "obviously to ad­dress the problem of staff short­age" and eventually push for ad­ditional positions.

He said another priority, which

But he said that since the end of the Cold War, the pope himself has be­come a consistent critic of capitalist societies, casting John Paul as a man whose concerns about poverty and in­equa1ity often mirror t.hose of social­ists.

monwealth. The Board did agree, however,

to change the salary description of the COE from "$48,000 to $70,000to only $70,000 plus ben­efits."

Also, the Board agreed to have the requirement for candidates to possess "five years in teaching experience and five years in ad­ministration". ·

"That way, we can have a total of 10 years of experience in both education and administrative work," said Pellegrino.

"It is not required to have the administration experience in edu­cation. The candidate could have five years in teaching and five years in hospital administration," he said. ·

The initial search will begin throughout this week and wi II end on February 28th.

Froilan Tenorio named his key aide Brenda Y. Tenorio--who also served in the staff of the CNMI panel in the l 980s--and lawyer Vicente Salas to the discussions.

But after President Clinton rec­ommended the extension of federal immigration and minimum wage laws to the islands, Tenorio suspended the talks last June.

Under discussion then were the possibility of denying U.S. citizen­ship to children born in the CNMI to alien parents, and the equally conten­tious issue of the CNMI's off, shore boundary.

is subject to the financial condi­tion of the government, is the need for adequate training for staff.

"The law is constantly chang­ing, we need to cope with the changes to develop our skills ... to

. be better lawyers so we can ad­equately represent our clients," he added.

Palefsky was deputy public de­fender in Montrose, Colorado until he was hired to work here last year. He served as an assis­tant public defender for Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia.

. ~

' I I; \'

I

TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1998 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-21

~tMarianas %riety-'~. DEADLINE: 12:00 noon the day prior to publication

NOTE: . If some reason your advertisement is incorrect, call us immediately to make the necessary corrections. The Marianas Variety News and Views is responsible only tor one incorrect insertion. We reserve the right to edit. refuse. reject or cancel any ad at any time. Classified Ads Section

Employment Wanted

01 WAITER, RESTAURANT-Sal­ary:$3.05-3.60 per hour Contact: SAIPAN HOTEL CORP. dba Hafadai Beach Hotel Tel. 234-6495(1/ 13)T69992

Q 1 MASON-Salary:$3.05 per hour 01 CIVIL ENGINEER-Salary:$1,210.00 per month Contact: SAIHON DEVELOPMENT, INC. Tel. 234-6832(1/13)T70000

02 COOK-Salary:$3.05-3.50 per hour 01 HOUSEKEEPING CLEANER-Sal­ary:$3.05 per hour 01 COOK HELPER-Salary:$3.05 per hour 01 WAITRESS-Salary:$3.05-3.25 per hour Contact: MODERN INVESTMENT, INC. dba Royal Restaurant Tel. 234-6832( 1 / 13)T69998

01 OPERATOR(OXYGEN/ACETYLEN MACHINE)-Salary:$3.05-4.25 per hour 01 COMMERCIAL CLEANER-Sal­ary:$3.05-4.25 per hour 02 ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT-Sal­ary:$3.05-4.25 per hour Contact: GAUDENCIO C. MACALINAO dba Unity Trade Service, Inc. Tel. 322-7461 ( t/13)T69994 .

01 PROJECT ENGINEER-Sal­ary:$4.00·6.00 per hour Contact: ROLAND G. JASTILLANA dba Arjay Construction Tel. 235-1629(1/ 13)T69984

01 ACCOUNTANT-Salary:$3.50-4.50 per hour Contact: BASIC CONSTRUCTION SUPPLY CORP. Tel. 234-8779(1/ 13)T69983

02 WAITRESS (N.C.)-Salary:S3.05 per hour Contact: ACTIVE CORPORATION dba Blue Lagoon Nightclub Tel. 233-4808(1/ 13)T25105

01 SALES'PERSON-Salary:S1 ,325.00 per month Contact: SAIPAN INDUSTRIAL GAS, ING. Tel. 322-5105(1/13)T25106

02 ACCOUNTANT·Salary:$3.50-6.50 per hour Contact: STANLEY L. MAR dba Stanley L. Mar Certified Public Accountant Tel. 235-8391 (1/t 3)T25107

01 ELECTRICIAN-Salary:$3.50-3.68 per hour 01 COOK-Salary:S3.05·3.20 per hour 01 ACCOUNTANT-Salary:S3.50-3.68 per hour 01 COOK HELPER-Salary:$3.05-3.20 per hour 01 AIR-CONDITIONING MECHANIC­Salary:$3.05-3.20 per hour 01 CASHIER-Salary:$3.05-3.20 per hour 01 WAITRESS, RESTAURANT-Sal­ary:S3.05 per hour 01 AIR-CONDITIONING MECHANIC­Salary:$3.05 per hour 01 AUTOMOBILE PAINTER-Sal­ary:$3.05 per hour 01 DISHWASHER-Salary:$3.05 per hour 02 PASTRY GOOK-Salary:$3.05 per hour 04 COOK (INTERNATIONAL)-Sal­ary:S3.05 per hour 04 WAITER, RESTAURANT-Sal­ary:S3.05 per hour 04 HOUSEKEEPING CLEANER-Sal­ary:$3.05 per hour 01 CASHIER-Salary:S3.05-3.20 per hour Contact: KAN PACIFIC SAIPAN, LTD. Tel. 322-4692(1/13)T70010

01 SPORTS INSTRUCTOR (DIVING)­Salary:$1 ,000.00-2,000.00 per month Contact: PRO-DIVE SAi PAN, INC. dba Pro-Dive Saipan Tel. 322-1277(1/ 13)125096

01 MACHINE OPERATOR (CEMENT)- . Salary:$5.00 per hour Contact: MICRONESIA CEMENT CO., INC. Tel. 322-3333 T69917

01 ENTERTAINER-Salary:S4.00 per hour Contact: NORMA J. DAILEY dba Nightengale Musico Co. Tel. 322-0378(1/20)T25145

01 MAINTENANCE REPAIRER (BUILDING)·Salary:$3.05-3.50 per hour Contact: FTD., LTD. Tel. 322-3366(1/ 20)125143

01 CARPENTER-Salary:$3.05 per hour 01 GEN. OPERATION MANAGER-Sal­ary:$1,000.00 per month Contact: SAIPAN ALUMINUM & GLASS CO. Tel. 233-2410(1/20)T25140

02 SECURITY GUARD-Salary:$3.05 per hour Contact: NENITA V. MARQUEZ dba NVM Ent. (Barriga Security) Tel.235-7564(1/20)T25139

01 SUPERVISOR (CIVIL ENGINEER)­Salary:$1,000.00-1,300.00 per month Contact: SHIMIZU CORPORATION Tel .. 234-5438/9(1/20)T25141

01 ENGINEER, SALES MECHANICAL­Salary:$1,500.00-2,000.00 per month Plus $120 .00 food allowance monthly 01 AIRCONDITIONING TECHNICIAN­Salary:$3.50-6.00 per hour

. Plus $120.00 toad allowance monthly 01 ELECTRICIAN (ELECTRICAL AP­PLIANCES REPAIR)-Salary:S3.50-6.00 per hour Plus $120.00 food allowance monthly Contact: CHONG'$ CORPORATION dba Chang's Corporation Tel. 234-6560(1/20)T70116 .

01 STENOGRAPHER-Salary:$4.00-10,00 per hour Contact: JOE HILL dba Hill Law Offices Tel. 234-6806(1/13)T25109

01 STORE MANAGER-Salary:S3.50 per hour Contact: ASKA CORPORATION dba Niko Market Tel. 322-2924(1/13)T25110

01 ASSISTANT MANAGER-Sal­ary:S2,500.00 per month 02 PHYSICAL THERAPIST-Sal­ary:$ 1,000 .. 00 per month 01 OPERATIONS MANAGER-Sal­ary:$2,500.00 per month Contact: HIS, INC. dba Masa Shiatsu Studio Tel. 233-2525(1/27)T70228

02 COOK-Salary:$3.05 per hour 01 WAITER-Salary:S3.05 per hour Contact: WILLA INTERNATIONAL LIM­ITED dba Hai Huang Restaurant Tel. 233-6688(213)T25242

01 BARTENDER-Salary:S750.00 per month Contact: SUNRA CORPORATION dba Cale De Mari Tel. 233-8181 (213)T25243

01 SUPERVISOR-Salary:S4.25 per hour Contact: PACIFIC OCEAN CORPORA­TION (Li.SA) dba Flower King Karaoke Tel. 233-8866(2/3)T25239

01 WAITRESS-Salary:S3.05 per llour Contact: PERFECT FANTASTIC COR­PORATION dba Momiji Karaoke Club Tel. 235-6706(2/3)T25240

02 DELIVERY. HELPER-Salary:S3.05 per hour Contact: TRANSAMERICA CORPORA­TION Tel. 234-1629(2/3)170316

01 ACCOUNTANT-Salary:S3.50-4.50 per hour Contact: TORRES REFRIGERATION, INC. Tel. 234·6098(2/3)T25250,

01 CARPENTER-Salary:S3.05 per hour 03 SECURITY GUARD-Salary:S3.05 per hour Contact: JOSEPH T. TORRES dba Courtney's Plaza Tel. 234-6098(2/ 3)T25249

02 ACCOUNTANT-Salary:$5.00-7.00 per hour Contact: PACIFIC ISLAND AVIATION, INC. Tel. 28B-7401(2/3)T70319

H4U!Hi

01 CHEF DE PARTIE-Salary:S3.50· 4.00 per hour Contact: AQUA RESORT CLUB SAIPAN CO., LTD. dba Aqua Resort Club (2/3)T70322

02 CARPENTER-Salary:$4.00 per hour Contact: PACIFIC SUBSEA SAIPAN INC. Tel. 322-7734(2/3)T25251

01 COOK-Salary:$3.30-3.50 per hour Contact: LSG LUFTHANSA SERVICE SAIPAN, INC. Tel. 234-8258(21 3)T25253

01 ABLE BODIES (SEAMAN)-Sal­ary:$3.05 per hour Contact: TUGS AND PILOTS, INC. Tel. 322-7788(2/3)T70323

01 COMPUTER OPERATOR-Sal­ary:$5.00 per hour Contact: J. scan MAGLIARI dba J. Scott Magliari, CPA Tel. 233-0456(2/ 3)T25246

01 CLEANER (COMMERCIAL)-Sal­ary:$3.05 per hour Contact: NEO FASHION INC. dba Neo Fashion Inc. Tel. 234-9642(2/3)T25254

01 BAKER HELPER-Salary:$4.50 per hour Contact: MEITETSU SHOPPING CEN­TER, INC. dba Meitetsu Mart/Penny's Meitetsu (Rota) Tel. 234-6230(2/ 3)T25255

01 BUILDING MAINTENANCE RE­PAIRER-Salary:$3.05 per hour Contact: PEDRO C./JUDY I. PANGELINAN dba P & J Ent. Tel. 234-8655(2/3)125257

STUDIO TYPE S370/month. utility excluded

Furnished, in Koblerville Quiel, single or couple only

Da -234-1233 • Eve-288-2222

WANTED We're looking for house (concrete)

For Rent w/1-BR or 2-BR preferably $350-$400/monlh & in Gara pan or

Chalan Laulau/San Jose Call: 235-5609

FOR SALE Five Draw Poker Machines

$7,500.00/0BO (Rota) Tel. 532-3532

Drink Don't Drive

Drive Don't Drink

WA· NT E D INSURANCE CLERK

Duties include assisting Underwriters on daily task as well as cuslorncrs acquiring insurance under Property and Casualty Dept. Experience preferred but will train the right person. Must have valid CNMI drivers license. Applications must'be submitted on or before January 27, 1998. (NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE) Pick up Applications at:

MoYLAN's INSURANCE UNDERWRITERS Amparo's Bldg. Chalan Laolao

Saipan. MP 96950

STOLEN PASSPORT The passport of HYUNHO PAEK was stolen in Susupe area including his purse. Any information regarding this matter please call at 235-2112

GARAGE -SALE Salurday, January 24-10:00AM-4:00PM

Please Call 288-6732 For location map

1987 PORSCHE CARRERA 33,C~O MILES • EXCELLENT SHAPE

CALL: 322· 1312 LEAVE MESSAGE

BE ·A LIFELONG LEARNER-READ.

IN '11 IE SUPERIOR COURT OF TllE COM~tflNWEAl:rl I OF TltE NORTI IERN

MARIANA ISl.t\'.\IDS

In the matter of the estate of FRANCISCA LAIROPl. Deceased. CIVIL ACTlON NO. 97-1234B

NOTICE OF HEARING

Date: January 27. 1998 Time: l :30 p.m. Judge; Miguel S. Demapan

Please lake nolice tl1al Petitioner's hearing for leuers of administration shall be heard on Tuesday, lhe 271h <lay of January. 1998 al the hour of I :30 o · clock p.m., in the above-en lilied court.

DATED this 18th day of December, 1997.

JOVJTAC. FLORES Clerk of Court

is/Deputy Clerk

Ill~~) Y (~1 .. 1~

· Give information of about crimes con,mi!!e-d ,f)

Call 234~7272 (PARA)

.. -

-

22-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-TUESDAY-JANUARY 20 1998

EEK & MEEK® by Howie Schneider 1i-1f: ~ I l£ASE.D Fro/.11}1.S ,~ COMPNJY

PEANUTS® by Charles M. Schulz

IF I HAD A DOG, WE COULD ROMP IN Tl-IE SNOW ..

0

STELLA \X!ILDER

I HAYE A DOG, AND WE NEVER ROMP IN THE SNOW .. ·GENERAL

PERSI-IING DOES NOT LIKE TO

SEE 1-115 OFFICERS ROMPING IN T~E-51'10W ..

o,.. _o -

YOUR BIRTHDAY By Stella Wilder Born today, you are a ralher

dramatic individual. insofar as you choose to do those things that are rarely done at all and which are sure to attract a great deal of attention to you. You are stvlish and always con­scious· of your audien~e; what you do you do as much for those who are watching you as you do for yourself, though your own enjoyment, learning and development is more im­portant. ultimately, lhan any kinJ of pleasure others may get from observir.g you at work. You have a knack for doing much and saying little.

You are sometimes too quick to fall in love - with people or with activities. In your youth, you may have jumped from one sport or hobby to the next in quick succession. cer­tain that the next would be the very one to which you could dedicate your entire life.

Also born on this date are: "Buzz" Aldrin, astronaut; George Burns, entertainer; Federico Fellini and David Lynch, directors.

To see wh;,H is in store for you tomorrow, find your birth­day and read the correspond­ing paragraph. Let your birth­day star be your daily guide.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 21 AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb.

18) - You must be sure to pace yourself today, or y·ou 'll find that you don't have

enough energy to last through one round of a strenuous ac­tivity.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)- You can be a little more aggressive today, and still not do anything that could rub anyone else the wrong way. Employ good manners and charm.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) - Today, you are not I ikely to be interested in those things that seem overly famil­iar or routine. You want the excitement of something new.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)- You can discover much about yourself and others to­day that you can put to imme­diate use in a new endeavor. Remain open to new ideas all day long.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) - The fact that you feel as though you've been there be­fore doesn't mean you can't reap all possible benefits from the activity at hand. Try!

CANCER (June 21-July 22) - You will find that you have far more energy than you had expected today. Even a late start isn't likely to keep you from getting things done.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -Pace is the key today, but there are times when slowing down is more important than speed­ing up. You will develop an instinct for fine.points.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) - You can rely on past expe-

riences to show you the way today without making you feel as though you're doing some­thing all over again.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-0ct. 22) - They say that practice makes perfect, but you may be· just lucky enough today to get something absolutely right the first time you try.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) - You are likely to re­ceive a long-distance message today that seems to have origi­nated close to home. Track down the source immediately.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)·- It is more fun to concentrate on quantity than quality today, but you're go­ing to have to keep things in the respectable level.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)- Yourego may need a boost, but you won't benefit from anything that anyone else does for you. You are going to have to do it for yourself.

BARBS BY PHIL PASTORET

Saying that something just couldn't happen to you is a way of tempting Providence to prove you wrong.

Deluxe dining: free extra sauce for the take-out chicken.

All keeping your fingers crossed will get you is cramps in your digits.

"Better late than never" applies lo most things, but not to root canal.

CROSSWORD PUZZLER ACROSS

1 Actors' org. 4 Arctic abode 9 Prohibit

12 Aunt, in Spain

13 Future plants 14 Before

(poetic) 15 Author­

Caldwell 17 Former

Minnesota Twins great

19 Comfort 20 Seabird 21 Kind of collar 23 nniest 27 Extinguish 29 "Now--

me down to sleep"

30 Symbol for cerium

31 Kind of curve 32 Celestial

visitor 34 He's Nash

Bridges

35 Between Va. and S.C.

36 Sharpen 37 Critics Siskel

and-39 Devil worship 42 King toppers 43 "Thanks -_,. 44 River in

Spain 46 -Penh 48 Cajole 51 Mr. Koppel 52 Angry 54 Lend an-55 "Chasing -" 56 Mr. Romero 57 Pitrher's stat

DOWN

1 Sault -Marie

2 Broadcast 3 Emitting

vapor 4 Egyptian

goddess 5 Hereditary

Answer to Previous Puzzle

1-20 © 1998 United Feature Syndicate

factors 6 Spike-? Hypolhetical

force B Kiss 9 "Uncle Miltie"

10 Metric

measure 11 Recent 16 Between

Colo. and Mo.

18 TV's McBeal or actress Sheedy

20 Strong wind 21 Paradises 22 Italian opera 24 Speechless

performers 25 Tally 26 Camp

shelters 28 Of money

management 33 ·step - -!" 34 Circuit device 36 Angel's

symbol 38 Reveal 40 Actress

Jessica-41 Conductor

Zubin-45 Lager 46 S.chool org. 47 Dress border 48 Existed 49 Sci.

workroom 50 Silkworm 53 Concerning

Kidsp~ SOLVE THE REBUS BY WRITING \...!) ... no IN THE NAMES OF THE PICTURE

CLUES AND ADDING OR SUBTRACTING THE LETTERS.

HON CAN YOU iE\...l.. YOUR. INSOMMIA 15

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1998 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-23

Pacers defeat Celtics The Celtics retired

Robert Parish's No. 00 at halftime, picking this game so Bird

Packers ... Continued from page 23

"There are cheeseheads every­where," added Patrick, a former resident of Wauwatosa, Wis. The two have been married J. 0 years; Erin calls herself a con­verted Packers fan.

Couples ... Continued from page 23

I 997 PGA rookie of the year with fellow American Stewart Cink· at 24-under.

Both shot 69. Couples, 38, who has been bothered by his back for the past four years, played just

Rota ... Continued from page 23

The game was delayed twice be­cause of the rain. Tinian won the game 54 to 39.

The rest of the weekend games were played at Mt. Carmel gym where Mt. Carmel varsity defeated the Rota varsity's basketball team iii a very thrilling game 60-58.

At the 2:00 p.m. Tinian topk on Marianas High School's team and was able to power their way to close 67-64 win.

In the last game played on Satur­day, Rota sailed past GCNMBA 69-36.

Most of the credit has to be given to the boys of the GCA/MBA for their willingness to meet this tournament's challenges given the

Youth ... Continued from page 23

Monday & Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 1 :00 to 3:00 p.m.

Until after February 21 the coaching will only continue on Mondays and Wednesdays only.

The coaching and games will be held at three age levels; 8 & 9

Ex .. . Continued from page 23·

again heard the rom-s of the Boston crowd.

The Indiana Pacers, who Bird now coaches, beat the Celtics I 03-96.

Bird'sretirementafterthe 1991-92 season broke up perhaps the best frontline in the history of 1he National Basketball Association.

Kevin McHale, now the Min-. nesota Timberwolves' vice presi­dent of basketball operations, re­tired after the 1992-93 season.

could be present But Bird, taking the parquet floor for the first time with another team, stole the spotlight from his former teammate.

He received a standing ovation when he came onto the floor before the game, another when he was intro­duced and another after a reel of his highlights was shown on the scoreboard.

They displayed a sign with the message of, "Send the Broncos to the glue factory."

Four buses with police es­cort whisked the team to its La Jolla hotel, the Sheraton Grande Torrey Pines on PGA Tour event.

Holmgren said he won't let his players golf.

I 5 events last year. A tie for fourth at the Mercedes Championships his best finish.

Instead of concentrating on his game in I 997 ,he turned his attention to hisfaiher, who had leukemia,and to his own girlfriend, Thais Bren, who has since recovered from breast cancer.

Couples' father, Tom, died last No­vember ..

fact that they only combined their resources a day or two before they were scheduled to play.

The last game of the tournament was the finale when Rota was trail­ing Tinian 58-60 with just a couple of seconds left to play in the game.

Rota's ball out-of-bounds with only enough time for one shot be­fore the game ending buzzer.

The ball was put into play, a pass to a three pointer and bang!! it was in the net.

The game was over and the Rota players were all over the court.

The rest of the season's CIF/PSS boy's basketball games will be played in the Ada Gym.

On Thursday, Mt. Carmel will play against Marianas High School. The Junior Varsity teams play at 4:30 and the Varsity team play at 5:30 p.m.

years old, IO & II years old, and 12 &13 years old.

Due to the low registration, the federation will only be using a 4-man or 5-man team format of play, depending on numbers of players who shows up.

The federation believes that this format will be exciting and fun for all players as each one has · greater opportunity to have con­tact with the ball and score goals.

Pmish stuck around for one more season before leaving

Boston as a free agent. On Sunday, lie thanked the fans for their backing through it all.

"You have supported me when I was playing well, when I wasn't playing well," he said. "When I was with another team, you still supported me unconditionally."

Retiring a player's number is considered an honor in American sports.

Parish himself retired after play­ing sparingly last season with the Chicago Bulls and winning his fourth NBA title.

Jalen Rose scored 20 points for Indiana, which won its fifth straight game. Ron Mercer led Boston with 21 points.

Birdplayed 13yearsfortheCeltics, won three NBA titles and had his No. 33retiredbytheteamonFeb.4, 1993. But he took over his homestate Pac­ers lastspringeven though the Celtics' job was open, saying he didn't want to tarnish his image in Boston with a potentially unpleasant rebuilding ef­fort

Bulls 106, Rockets 100 InChicago,MichaelJordanscored

45 points, including a pair of key 3-pointers in the final quarter, and the Chicago Bulls overcame a- spirited performance by Charles Barkley to beat the Houston Rockets.

Barkley, jawing, yapping and ex­changing barbs with his good friend Jordan, scored 35 points - 19 over his average - and had 14 rebounds for the Rockets, who have lost IO of their last 14 games.

Indiana Pacers' Rik Smits (45) scrambles with Boston Celtics' Antione Walker (8) during the first half of the Pacers 103-96 win in Boston Sunday. AP

The Rockets played without in­jured stars Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler and then lost guard Mario Elie with 6:54 left in the first half when he strained his leftshoulder after colliding under the basket with Scottie Pippen.

Sports briefs SGAJanuary

Tournament Set TifE Saipan Golfers Association is invitingallmemberstothefirstsched-uled "SGA January Club Touma-ment'' tomorrow at 6:51 am.

The tournament will be held at the Marianas Country Club in M3!])i. All interested players are asked to contact Ray Diazattel.322-6581 forreserva-tion.

Please be at MCC no later than 6: 15 am. for pairings.

Diaz also reminds all members to pay their annual dues either today or tomorrow.

Also, SGA now accepts applica-tions for new membership for this calendar year.

*** Little,Senior,Big Leagues

Meeting COACHES and managers of the Little League, Big League and Senior League are reminded that there is an important meeting for the upcoming '98 season on Jan. 21 at 6 p.m. at the Ada Gym Conference Room.

FormoreinformationcontactTony Rogolifoi at 234-100 I/ l 002.

*** RGA January Qualifier Set

THE first tournament this year of the Refalawasch Golfers Assa-ciation is set for this Sunday at the Marianas Country Club.

The tee-off time is I I a.m. and show time is IO a.m. The touma-ment is on a first-come-first-served basis.

All members are reminded to update their membership dues as they can't play if they haven't paid their dues.

Contact Chairman Joe Lizama or President Tony Rogolifoi at 234-1001/1002 about your membership dues. (P.T. Castro)

1997 SSA Men's Softball Night League Statistics Division ''B"

Compiled By Margaret B. Tenorio For the Variety

Division "B" First Round Team Won Lost JC Fadang 7 2 Mid Pac Sunrays 7 2 Laly4 6 3 Hustlers 5 4 G.R. Crew 5 4 Toyota Teks 4 5·

. Senyevins 4 5 Fielders I 4 5 Torres Ref. Freezers ·2 7 Men At Work 1 8 Top ten batters: Name: Team Ave. 1. J.J. Laniyo G.R. Crew .741 2. Wilfred Kaipat Laly4 -645 3. Jesse C. Mesa G.R. Crew .630 4. Felipe Celis Hustlers .621 5. Mike C. Leon Guerrero Toyota Teks .559 6. Albert Lizama Jr. ,Hustlers .552 7. Craig Sanchez G.R. Crew .533 a.Gonzalo Pangelinan Fielders .519 Isaac Cangco Men At Work .519 9. Mars Kileleman Sunrays .517 10. Paul Tenorio Fielders .500 Jose C. Camacho JC Fadang .500 Homerun: Wilfred Kaipat Laly 4 7 J.J. Laniyo G.R. Crew 7 Mike C. Leon Guerrero Toyota Tek's 5 Rick Villazon Senyevins 4 Stanley Laniyo Laly 4 4 Jesse C. Mesa G.R. Crew 4 Triples:

Fielders Paul Tenorio 4 ·Antonio Celis Hustlers 3 Helliew Kelly Senyevins 3 Mark A. Flores Fielders 3 Ben Cabrera Men At Work 3 Doubles: Mike C. Leon Guerrero Toyota Tek's 6 Edwin Kaipat Laly 4 6 Derrence (Jeff) Jack GR Crew 6 Albert Lizama, Jr. Hustlers 5 Jesus F. Hocog Hustlers 5 lnoske Yamada Senyevins 5 RBl's: Rick Villazon Senyevins 24 Wilfred Kaipat Laly 4 18 Jesse c_ Mesa GR Crew 17 J.J. Laniyo GR Crew 16 Most Runs: J.J. Laniyo GR Crew 16 Paul Tenorio Fielders 16 Eric Tudela Toyota Teks 15 RickV\llazon Senyevins 15 Helliew Kelly Senyevins 15

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24-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-TUESDAY- JANUARY 20, 1998

SPORTS Couples \\Tins Hope Classic

By KEN PETERS BERMUDA DUNES, California (AP) - Fred Couples, who has known· considerable physical and mental pain over the last four years, is a winner again on the golf course.

Putting aside the pain of an ar­thritic back and the stress of two recent personal tragedies, Couples beat fellow American Bruce Lietzke in a playoff Sunday at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. · It was his first victory in nearly two years.

Couples, one of the most popular players on the PGA Tour both with fans and with his fellow pros, bird­ied the 18th hole to catch Lietzke in regulation.

He birdied it again 20 minutes later to win on the first playoff hole.

The two had finished 90 holes at 28-under par. Lietzke lost his one­shot lead on the final hole of regu­lation when he left a 15-foot birdie try high of the cup.

Couples, who had hit his second shot onto the green of the par-5, 513-yard (469-meter) 18th, tapped in for a 4.

French-born Andrew Magee, tied with Lietzke for the lead heading into the final round and one shot behind going into the final hole, lipped out a 15-foot (4.5-meter) birdie try, costing him ·a spot in the playoff.

Playing No. 18 again, Couples hit his second shot into the gallery behind the green, got a free drop

Rota beats Tinian in school basketball

By Priscilla T. Castro Variety News Staff .

THE FIRST Annual CIF/PSS Interscholastic and inter-island basket­ball tournament kicked off to ·a shaky start when GCA wasn't able to field a boy's basketball team for the event's opener last Thursday.

GCA, Mt. Carmel Junior Varsity and Varsity baske_tball teams were scheduled to play in the tournament's opening games at the Ada Gym.

GCA forfeited both games but was nevertheless able to combine with MBA to field a team for the Saturday'·s game. . ·

On Saturday, Tinian High School and the newly organized GCA/ MBA boy's basketball teams played at the Oleai Elementary School basketball court for the first of the four games scheduled for that day.

It took an hour to dry off the court and set up the officials to get the

game started. Continued on· page 23

Fred Couples reacts to sinking a birdie putt on the first sudden-death playoff hole, the par-5 18th hole at Bermuda Dunes Country Club Sunday to win the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic by.one stroke over Bruce Lietzke. AP

and snuggled a 30-foot (9-meter) chip shot within 3 feet ( 1 meter) of the cup.

Lietzke, facing another critical 15-foot ( 4.5-meter) birdie try, once again left his putt on the high side of the hole.

Couples knocked his short putt into the center of the cup to win for the first time since The Players Championship in 1996.

The Hope was his 13th career victory.

Couples, who had not led the four-day tournament since briefly during the second round, shot a closing 6-under-par 66 as he came from three shots behind Lietzke.

Lietzke, trying to repeat as cham­pion of a tournament he won 17 years ago, finished with a 69.

Magee, who led two days and was tied with Lietzke at the top after four rounds.closed witha70,bytwostrokes his highest score of the five days.

Americans David Duval, with a 68, and Steve Jones, with a69,finished tied for fourth at 25-under.

Mark O'Meara, who made an early runwithfivebirdieson the front nine on Sunday before taking a double­bogey on No. 12, finished tied with

Continued on page 23

Packers land in San Diego By Amie Stapleton

SAN DIEGO (AP) - The Green Bay Packers touched down in San Diego on Sunday pledging that bliss

won't push aside business as they prepare to defend their NFL title against the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl.

The Northwest charter airliner had the words "Go Packers" on the side as it landed at San Diego International Airportabout3p.m.local time.A flag bearingaPackershelmet waved from a cockpit window as the plane taxied to the gate.

Defensive end Reggie White, the first player out of the plane, waved to .a crowd of about 100 well-wishers. Coach Mike Holmgren was the last off.

"We want to Jet them know that there's cheeseheads in San Diego," said Erin Duffey of Coronado, Calif., who was on hand with her husband, Patrick. -~------Continued on page 23

Ex-Celtics Parish's number '00' retired

By HOWARD ULMAN BOSTON (AP) - Larry Bird's team trailed by a point at halftime when Robert Parish's "00" was raised to the ceiling, the last of the Boston Celtics' so-called Big Three to have his number retired.

"All three of us were just saying,

By Priscilla T. Castro Variety News Staff

CNMI Youth Soccer Coaching Season has been slated for Jan. 26 at the Airport Field.

The opening day for the soccer season will be on February 28, at the also Airport Field.

ifwe were playing, Larry wouldn't be down by one point, he'd be up," Parish said Sunday.

But they're no longer playing, although they stood together at cen­ter court dressed in suits instead of green-and-white uniforms and

Continued on page 23

organizers. There only are a total of 55

players in all age groups that al­ready signed up.

In spite of the low numbers however, the association devel­

_oped a plan where players are given a chance to enjoy the game.

Mongolia's Kyokushuzan; right, shoves Takanonami out of the ring for an upset win and knocking Takanonami out of dent in his chances for promotion to Grand Champion Saturday, the seventh day of the 15-day New Year Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo. AP

The soccer season has been de­layed because there is quite a low number of players, according to

The coaching scheduled at the Airport Field will be at every

Continued on page 23

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