European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 28, 1968, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 the stars and stripes sunday july 28,1968 hundreds of biafran kids died today by David Mazzarella Aba Biafra a hundreds some say thousands of children from whom the word peace has no meaning will die today in  of protein starvation they Are beyond saving either by a peaceful settlement of the nigerian civil War or by Mas Sive Relief supplies should these become a reality. Many adults mainly Nurs ing mothers and aged tribes men will die with the Young dying people can be found in any refugee Camp or Hospital in the West african Nightmare land that is  children Are the main victims. Some cannot stand. The sounds they make Are croaks or Low moans. Many Are already alone having lost their parents to famine or to Battle. If they had the Chance to drink milk and eat meat beyond the endurance of the Stom Ach they would refuse to do so. The protein deficiency disease called Kwash Yokor red Man plays cruel joke on people it has car ried to the Edge of death. They lose interest in everything and indifference replaces the aching desire for food they have craved for months. The refugees Are now said to total 4.6 million. The biafran head of state it. Col. Odimeg Iwu Ojukwu had estimated pub \ Lily that 1.7 million of them Are destitute. The number of deaths from malnutrition in Biafra is impossible to know. Estimates diverge widely. Red Cross officials said recently that 3,000 a Day were . Obi chief planning offi cer of Biafra s planning com Mission Calls that figure in credibly  roman Catholic priest deeply involved in Relief work guesses the figure is 300 per Day. But or. Herman Middlecoop a dutch doctor organizing re Lief in Biafra for the world Council of churches says about 6,000 biafran die each  is Little evidence of decisive fighting now in the year old civil War Between break away Biafra Nigeria s former Eastern territory and the Feder Al state. It is the Impact of famine that has attracted world Atten  War and the blockade by Nigeria s advancing army has Cut off most of the Normal food Supply to  Are cattle that the Eastern Region used to buy fro the North along with stockfish and salted fish from  that was imported from abroad is also lacking. Chick ens and goats Are in Short sup  Staples yams and Gam waiting to die this biafran child is just one of Many for whom there is no Hope of saving from starvation. A photo Japan s strict weapons Law kept gunshot murders to 45 last year by Leon Daniel Tokyo up there were45 murders by gunfire in Japan last year compared to 7,000 inthe United states. Japan which has a population half that of the United states also has one of the stiffest gun control Laws in the world. The most important provision of that Law is that Only police officers and a few others Are allowed to own handguns. Exceptions to that provision underline the strictness of the Law. The measure limits to 50the number of target shooters in International Competition who May own pistols but currently there Are Only nine registered by sportsmen. Masayoshi Sato senior superintendent of the National police Security Section said there were Only 11 robberies in which guns were involved throughout Japan last year. Sato said there were 81 Acci dents involving guns of All types in Japan last year. The unite states suffered More than 20,000 gun fatalities last year and an other 100,000 americans were wounded by gunfire. Sato said there Are 1,748 retail gun dealers in Japan All of whom Are licensed and strictly controlled. Japan also has strict control son Hunting guns and air rifles. At the end of last year License guns included 30,000 rifles 520, 000 shotguns and 260,000 air rifles. No person under 20 May Owna Hunting gun in Japan. In order to qualify for a Hunting gun License which must be renewed every five years a person mus take a Short course of study. Sato believes Japan s strict gun Law is the most important reason for the nation s Low num Ber of homicides and accidents caused by guns. Guns were introduced hereby the portuguese and the aver age japanese is still unfamiliar with firearms. Samurai warriors who poke each other with swords nightly on television i the japanese equivalent of West erns Doii t use them. Toy guns Are sold in depart ment stores but Sato said japanese kids Don t show anymore interest in them than they do in Model  police regulations Dis courage trigger Happy  May fire their weapons to protect themselves or innocent citizens from dangerous Crimi nals but they Seldom find them selves in such situations. A National police Agency Survey shows that 154,552 police men were armed As of March of last year. During the past 20 years japanese policemen fire their pistols in 3,167 cases. This resulted in 115 deaths and 315injuries. The figures include by standers As Well As  said that another reason the gun Law has been Success Ful is that there is nothing in the japanese Legal framework that says anything like ". The right of the people to keep and ear arms shall not be in  did not say so but to a japanese such a proposition might seem preposterous. From the cassava Root Are reasonably plentiful but do not contain sufficient  the fighting closed in around Biafra s ibo tribal heart land thousands of Farmers fled their land and packed into the villages of relatives or refugee Camps. There were no Harvest Sand the land was not prepared for fall crops. A doctor at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the biafran town of Umu Ahia or. Christian Weijk Man says the mortality rate among the estimated five Mil lion children left in biafran held territory is 5 to 10 percent per month. That s based on reports from refugee Camps hospitals and villages he  the rate probably will be double in August because of the further Lack of food and be cause of the weakened resist Ance of the people to other Dis  visits to a number of Hospi tals and refugee Camps showed that at least a few in each one were dying each Day from Mal nutrition. The 500-patient holy Ros Ary Hospital in eme kuku re ported an average of five deaths per Day among its 200 children alone. Queen Elizabeth s Hospi Tal said the death Rale among its 60 child patients was one or two a Day. The same reports came from several refugee Camps visited at random around Ikot Ekpene and Aba. If Only one person in each refugee Camp in Biafra died each Day the death rate would be More than 600 per Day. Not counted Are deaths in hospitals and in the crowded dirty villages where Aid is slow incoming. We Are getting 300 to 400outpatients a Day suffering from malnutrition says or.  of holy Rosary Hospital and they re the one who Are Well enough to walk to the Hospital. In the villages the situation is catastrophic. Each Side in the War blame the other for the starvation. Nigeria charges that Ojukwu shrewdly efficient propaganda machine is using his people spawns to win through Public opinion what Biafra has not Wonky War sovereignty. Biafra accuses Nigeria of har Boring Aims of genocide. Nigeria has offered to Opena land corridor to allow food in for the needy. But Biafra charges that this would mean repairing Bridges and roads an would allow the nigerian army to March in and gain military Victory. Biafra wants a massive air lift that does t touch Down in nigerian territory. But Nigeria says this is just a Way to bring in More arms disguised As re Lief supplies and has threatened to shoot Down any plane flying Over territory it controls. Stars and stripes x columns i i id i comment Rocky s aim hold Nixon on 1st ballot by Jack sell Washington a Nel son a. Rockefeller s strategy for capturing the Republican presidential nomination is based on holding Richard m. Nixon to the approximately 515 first ballot convention votes the new yorker now concedes to his chief rival. If this can be carried through Rockefeller supporters feel enough delegates now for Nixon will defect to California gov. Ronald Reagan to bring the new York governor within Range of Victory during or after the second ballot. A confidential report to Rockefeller supporters lists an optimistic 350 votes for the Newyork governor on the first round. It concedes 515 to Nixon of the 667 needed for Nomina Tion. It puts Reagan at 280 an lists 188 for favorite sons. This varies considerably with the figures cited publicly by sen. To Liston b. Morton,r-ky., at a boost Rockefeller news conference of six go senators wednesday. Morton former National go chairman and a vice chairman of the Rockefeller drive said Nixon has no More than 360 blood commit led Delegate who will stick with him. He put no figure on the Nixon first bal lot total but estimated 230 for Rockefeller and 180 for Reagan what May happen to the favorite sons however holds the key to the outcome. How Many of them would stand fast if Nixon topped the 500 Mark As the initial Ballotin progressed is something the new York governor s support ers can t  favorite sons May Bow out at state caucuses even be fore the convention opens. Oth ers could free their Delegate during the balloting particularly if it looked As though Nixon might be headed toward the winning  voiced the opinion that Nixon had peaked too Early inthe nomination drive As Fie said the then vice president Amin the 1960 general election con test Morton said to personally had talked to 75 delegates from a sections of the country that were supposed to be leaning to Ward Nixon but had been assured they Are going to remain uncommitted. European edition  James a Campbell Usa. Edi it. Col. F. & Michael jr., Usan. Deputy editon cow Mert Proctor. Manalang Elmer d. Frank. Production Man Henry 8. Up Tein. Circulation a min thai newspaper a an authorized publication of the department of Iao-u.8. Armed forces overseas. The Star and Stripe is published by my wander in chief . European command in support of the co"1"iantl St l a information programs of the department of Defene. Content of Tea Stripe do not necessarily reflect the official View of the . 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