European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 16, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Saturday May 16, 1987 the stabs and stripes Page 9 Sinatra accepts a act award amid outcry los Angeles a Frank Sina tra saying he had no need to explain himself accepted an award from the local a act chapter despite protests Over his performances in South Africa. Sinatra accepted the 1967 life achievement award a a banquet thurs Day night. Outside scores of demons traitors quietly marched carrying such signs i support cultural mercenaries and Sinatra apartheid if my lifetime More than half Century lived in the spotlight of Public life if those to plus years arc not enough to show my covenant on the Issue of civil rights i no not going to waste my time. Defending the obvious or itemizing a laundry list of my deeds to Benefit the brotherhood of Man the 71 year old entertainer said. Speaking to about 1,000 people attend ing a j30tf-a-Plaie fund Raiser for the local National association for the advancement of coloured people Sinatra condemned South Africa and called South african president p. W. Bogia a Sinatra is on a . Blacklist for per forming in Sun City a resort in one of South Africa s so called tribal Home lands in 1981. The . Blacklist is protest against South Africa s so Stem of racial segregation called apartheid. Ron Wilkins chairman of the cultural Boycott committee of Unity in action said Sinatra had been singled out be cause the Singer had lured other enter la inert to perform in South Africa. Bernard Waller of the los Angeles free South Africa movement said his group had Uken out a full Page advertisement in the new York times protest ing the award. Backing Sinatra were performers Sammy Davis or. And Stevie wonder who attended the banquet along with motown records founder Berry cordyjr., actor Gregory Peck and Sinatra s daughter Tina. However two people who had Bee scheduled to receive honors from the a act chapter refused to attend in pro Funk Sinatra talks with former boxing Champ sugar Ray Robinson before n cell Long Bis a act award thursday. Test of Sinatra s award. To Honor Frank Sinatra is to Dishon or the Black Community said financier Danny Bakewell who was to have been honoured As businessman of the year. California assemblywoman Maxine Waters refused an award that Wouldhave recognized her support of divestiture of . In veil men t in South Africa. National a act executive director Benjamin Hooks publicly distanced him self from the Issue saying the award i being presented in the name of the los Angeles Branch not the National chapter president Raymond Johnson or. Defended the award. There has been a lot of misinformation about this Man s views and the things thai he has done Johnson said. Frank Sinatra has been a longtime sup Porter of the civil rights movement. He has publicly condemned South Africa s system of racial separation and has made what can Only be called significant out cries against segregation discrimination and threatened to release Gas Over Cyprus British cypriot police arrest 5 in blackmail plot Nicosia Cyprus a police Friday arrested a woman Here in connection with a bizarre plot to release deadly fas Over Cyprus unless the govern ment paid the extortionists j \ 5 million police com Mander Frixos Yiangou announced. The arrest of Thecla Andrea Cha Louma 21, came the Day after Scotland Yard s anti terrorist squad arrested her sister Kuti Kouppari and three men including Koup Parris husband in London after a two month investigation of the plot. Yiangou identified two of the men As London born Panos Koup Parris a 35-year-old businessman and his brother Jason he told a news conference i Nicosia that More arrests were possible. The five suspects of greek cypriot origin All face charge of demanding Money by menace he said. The police chief said the threat to unleash Clouds of dioxin a toxic Gas Over Nicosia and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean Island was first made in a letter signed by commander Nemo of Force a Eure a previously unknown group. The letter was sent from London on March 23 to Cyprus president Spyros Kyprianou. He said the blackmailers claimed the dioxin would be released by radio controlled devices operate remotely through satellite and computer he did not elaborate. So far he said no dioxin Gas has been found on the Island which has been divided into greek and turkish cypriot sectors since 1974, when Turkey invaded and seized the Northern part of the Island. In mild doses dioxin can cause skin problems but larger amounts can Lead to heart liver and Centra nervous system damage. Dioxin has been used in chemical warfare and was the Poison released from a disinfectant Plant in he Northern italian town of Steveso on july 10, 1976, in the world s first toxic Gas disaster. Yiangou said no Money was handed Over to the gang. The police chief said the cypriots initially suspected the five Page threat was a student hoax. But the wording of the letter suggested the involvement of scientific experts and electronic Engi neers he said. Yiangou flew to London in March to coordinate with Scotland Yard which mounted an investigation codename operation drifter. Police sources said it involved surveil Lance and wiretaps. A Man identifying himself As commander Nemo telephoned Kyprianou s presidential Palace at 2 . April 1 but did not get through to anyone in authority the police chief said. But without elaborating he said that a woman her face masked by a Scarf Ater left an envelope for Nemo at the Airport at Warnaca South of Nicosia. The envelope contained a round trip air ticket from Warnaca to Manchester England about s8d Anci an excess baggage ticket for a package weighing about 20 pounds Abdul inc weight of is 5 million in Small Bills Yiangou noted. He said the ticket had been bought earlier by a Man whose head was bandaged except for one Eye and his Mouth. The Man told the ticket clerk he had been badly scratched by a cat. The ticket and excess baggage payment Cost 762 Cyprus pounds nearly $ 1,500. We did t think hoaxers would spend that kind of Money he said. On april 2, s Man identifying himself As of m16. Britain s Agency telephoned cypriot authorities claiming that the British knew of Force Majerc which he said was a dangerous authorities established there was no col Digsby in m16 but played along with the Bluff hoping to smoke the gang out Yiangou said. He said Digsby became overconfident and sent a Man to the Cyprus High commission in London to collect Scotland Yard arrested the Man and picked up the other suspects later. Police believe commander Nemo and Digsby were the same Man. But Yiangou declined to say whether the gang s Mastermind was among the five people arrested. Government spokesman Petros Vos carides said authorities in the breakaway Republic of Northern Cyprus the turkish held sector of the Island were not informed of the Gas threat during the investigation. But if there bad been indications that the Black mailers would carry out their threat we would have informed them he noted. Venezuelan bus crash Kihs 23 Caracas Venezuela a Al least 23 people died and another 19 were severely injured thursday when a speeding bus smashed into a Bridge railing and plunged into the River below in Eastern Venezuela authorities said. The bus with 52 passengers was headed cast when the Accident occurred about 30 Miles East of Caracas. The bus skidded on the wet Road and crashed against a Bridge railing and then fell into a shallow River below gov. Edmundo Sanchez said it virtually Lew Anci All that was left were just a bundle of
