European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 20, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Page the stars and stripes Friday february 20,1987 american blames soviets for lie on mercenaries world today Manila. Philippines a a retired . Gener Al thursday denied he was recruiting mercenaries to help fight communist guerrillas in the Philippines an described such claim As the work of soviet disinformation agents. The stories about my association with any mercenaries is a lie retired maj. Gen. John k. Singlaub told the private Manila radio station Ezrh in a Tele phone interview from his Colorado Home. He said the . Embassy s report that he was Hunt ing for Gold and other treasures supposedly plundered from Southeast asian temples and buried in the Philippines during world War ii was an interesting Point of View Singlaub did not Ela Borac or say Why he has visited Manila for extended periods since last july except to say his activities were legitimate. He has met on occasion with military officers associated with former defense minister Juan Ponce in rile who has criticized president Corazon Aquino Speace overtures to communist rebels. Percsi denial spokesman Todoro Binigno said sing Laub left the country two Days ago. The Philadelphia inquirer sunday reported Singlaub was hiring Vietnam War veterans to train filipinos in unconventional warfare techniques for use against the rebels. Defense minister Rafael Lucio wednesday ipod re porters military intelligence agents were covering the retired american officer but had not found evidence he was involved in any illegal activity. He is not moving around Here As freely As he Ileto added apparently unaware that Singlaub was Back in the United slates. To the interview., Singlaub repeatedly said reports that he was bringing in mercenaries or had played Arole in last month s abortive coup attempt against Aquino were a total absolute lie perpetrated by the communists. He said there was a disinformation Campaign i Manila to discredit him in the Philippines where government and rebel forces have renewed hostilities Fol lowing the feb. 8 expiration of a 60-Day truce. When Singlaub was asked who might be responsible for the disinformation Campaign he replied i m not certain whether it s the soviet Union directly or one of their employees in Manila. I suspect the he said he worked to help nicaraguan rebels tight the marxist sandinista government in their Central american country and also was helping the govern ment of Al Salvador against communist insurgents. However he said he had no plans to help the philippine military. I Don t think they need it Singlaub said. Singlaub said he plans to return to the philippine some Day but has no definite plans. Asked if he would return o resume the purported treasure Hunt Singlaub said for whatever sow of to documentary criticizes local officials actions in chernobyl Moscow a soviet television wednesday took its closest look yet at the chernobyl nuclear Acci Dent and accused local officials of hiding the scale of be Accident from National authorities and the local population. The documentary warning gave soviet viewers aminul by minute account of the april 26, 1986, explosion and fire that ripped through chernobyl s no. 4reactor and sent a Cloud of radioactivity Over much of the world. Soviet officials have said 31 people died As a result of the Accident the worst in the history of nuclear Power. More than 100,000 residents were evacuated from areas around the Power station in the Northern Ukraine state run television has broadcast frequent report son measures taken to Cope with the chernobyl Acci Dent but the 80-Minule documentary wednesday waste most Complete look Ever. It said officials at the chernobyl Plant after inform ing the Kremlin of the reactor Accident began to Send reassuring reports that totally contradicted the serious situation. Authorities in the nearby town of Prip Yai distributed iodine tablets to prevent people from contracting cancer of the thyroid gland but did not instruct the to take other measures such As keeping children Home from school it said ukrainian officials waited nine Days to Tell the population what measures to take against radioactive contamination despite standing instructions on How 10 Deal with such an Accident the program said. It reported no one told policemen who were sent tothe evacuated area to Wear masks to avoid inhaling radioactive particles As is Standard practice. The communist party committee in Prip Yat Madean enormous Effort to organize an orderly evacuation the program said implying the local government coun cil proved incapable. Like previous accounts in the soviet press warn ing focused on the efforts of civilian workers and soldiers to decontaminate the evacuated zone around chernobyl and Seal the no. 4 reactor in a lomb of Concrete and steel. Chernobyl was a school for courage inc program said. But it also noted there had been people who panicked deserted or looted evacuated areas. It said the Accident was the result of the violation of regulatory norms not just by one person but by several working soviet officials have blamed inc Accident on worker carrying out unauthorized tests on the reactor warn ing echoing previous reports said top officials at the Plant had been fired and some stripped of party membership. It also said there would be a trial but gave no further details. Some of the documentary footage showed life re turning to Normal in areas that previously had been evacuated. But the program said Many people had left their Homes forever indicating radioactive contamination was worse than officials originally reported. Court orders Berlin Wall Walker expelled from East Germany Berlin a a court in East Berlin on thurs Day convicted a 69-year-old american of breaking Border Laws by walking atop the Berlin Wall an ordered him expelled from East Germany a . Official said. The court sentenced John runnings to is months imprisonment but then commuted that to a three Yea suspended sentence a . Embassy spokesman in East Berlin said. This Means he will be exp called and if he returns within a three year period he will immediately be subject to an 18-month prison sentence the spokesman said. Sources at the East Berlin slate court said running was set free immediately after the trial ended but the . Embassy spokesman said runnings was still in East Gentian custody. The spokesman said a . Embassy official observing the trial thursday said runnings was treated fairly and he did not protest or indicate he was dissatisfied with the verdict he s been warned in the past of the consequences. And now those consequences have become More Clear the spokesman said. Runnings a Seattle native was told 10 leave the country according to court sources who spoke to inc associated press on the condition they not renamed. They said he would be put into prison if be violate the East German Border again by carrying out another one of Bis protests on top of the Berlin Wall. China offers to lease space on its satellites peking a China offered wednesday to lease payload space on some satellites to of her countries for their own scientific research the official Xinhua news Agency reported from the United nations the offer was made at inc 24lh session of in scientific and technical subcommittee of the . Committee on inc peaceful uses of outer space Xinhua said. Other countries can lease space or even in whole payload on chinese exploration and experimentation satellites the report said. It did not provide any other details. . S labor Agency protests pension Scales Geneva Switzerland up staff Al in International labor organization staged a one Day strike thursday to protest losses in pensions caused by-. Financial cutbacks and the fall inthe . Dollar. The Ilo employs 1,600 people and is one of the biggest of the . Specialized agencies. About half of the staff is in the professional category on Dollar salaries. The others Are Gen eral service personnel paid in Swiss francs. Staff Union officials said pension paid in Dol Lara will be Cut by 25 percent because of . staff demanded a reversal of new pension Scales decided by the . General Assembly and guarantees against currency fluctuations for pensions calculated in dollars but paid out in Swiss francs. Speech by . Envoy target of greek protest Salonica Greece a several Hundred students marched to the . Consulate to pro test a lecture on arms control by . Ambassador Robert Seelcy. Students shouted out with Keeley and out with american murderers during the pro test wednesday but caused no damage a police spokesman said. Authorities earlier changed the site of Keeley lecture to the Satonica Trade fair after leftist Stu dents blocked the Entrance to the Salonica univer sity Campus where he had planned to speak. Keeley had been invited to speak by the Salo Nica University Law school. His lecture covered american views of East West relations and re cent soviet arms proposals an embassy official in Athens said. Ailing elephant angered by rumbling Tummy Newmarket England a Dickie the elephant suffering from hunger and a hernia smashed Down a boor and broke two window wednesday on the Way to the operating room Al an animal Hospital. It was a successful but unusual operation said surgeon Christopher Coltis who had dealt with a Zebra and a Tiger but never an elephant. Dickie a 7-Ycar-old female circus performer weighs a ton and had to go without food for a Day before being anaesthetized. The combination of hernia and a rumbling Lummy made Dickie mad said Polly Taylor who managed to Knock the patient out with a injection before More damage could be done britons attacked in Spain before soccer match Madrid Spain up two British soccer fans were knifed and one of them was seriously injured near the Santiago be Mabeu stadium wednesday hours before the Start of an eng land Spain match. Police said a group of youths pulled knives Onishe two As the britons stepped from a chartered bus singing songs in favor of the English wednesday police in two Northern Cit ies held is British soccer fans six on charges of vandalism and 12 others for allegedly trying Tothrow a ticket inspector off a train police and British Consul sources said
