European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 12, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 28 news briefs sergeant gets 3 years for sex crime convictions Kaiserslautern West Germany is a 34-year-old platoon sergeant was found guilty wednesday by a general court martial of two sex related charges. He was sentenced to three years in jail. After a two Day trial the sergeant was convicted of sodomy and having committed inde cent acts with his daughter who was under 16 years old. The offences took place Between july 1987 and March 1988 in the Vogel Weh housing area a 21 St support come spokesman said thursday. The sergeant who was assigned in Kaiserslautern will spend his prison term in fort leaven Worth Kan. He also was demoted to the lowest enlisted Grade and received a bad conduct Dis charge. In addition the platoon sergeant must forfeit All pay and allowances. The stars and stripes is withholding the name of the convicted Man to protect the identity of the victim. Canadian forces take custody of murder suspect Lahr West Germany Canadian forces Europe has taken custody of an  Corporal arrested two months ago in Hungary in connection with the stabbing death there of a 20-year old Canadian woman. The Soldier Cpl. Christian Pepin of 1st in Royal 22nd regt at Canadian forces base Lahr arrived wednesday in Frankfurt on a civilian Airliner a forces spokesman said. Military police escorted Pepin from the Airport to Lahr. Pepin will remain in confinement at Lahr pending the outcome of an investigation into the june 3 death of Antonette Charest the daughter of another forces member assigned to Lahr. Police also Are investigating Pepin s alleged absence from duty without leave starting May 30, the spokesman said. 3rd  go s son Dies Sid syndrome suspected Frankfurt West Germany the 47 Day old son of a 3rd  div Soldier died wednesday morning apparently of sudden in Fant death syndrome a division spokeswoman said thursday. Lionel a. Martinez was found by his parents spec. Noel Martinez of co a 54th support in and Lillian Martinez not breathing and without a visible pulse at their off base apartment near Frankfurt at 4 15 a.m., said Dixie Baker Mengistu. The infant was immediately rushed to Frankfurt regional medical Center where he was pronounced dead by a military doctor she said. A full autopsy will be performed to con firm the cause of death Baker Mengistu said. Friday August 12,1988 Senate oks Contra Aid plan Washington a democrats forced their plan to Aid Nicaragua s Contra rebels through the sen ate on wednesday but failed to tempt president Rea Gan and Senate republicans to join them in a bipartisan coalition and defuse what could become an explosive election year Issue. The 49-47 largely party line vote approved the democratic package which provides $27 million in non lethal humanitarian Aid to the contras and establishes a process by which Congress could approve the release of $16.3 million in stockpiled  to the contras later this year. Voting for it were sen. Lloyd Bentsen a Texas the democratic vice presidential candidate and 48 other democrats. No Republican voted in the majority. Vot ing against the package were four democrats and 43 republicans. Revival of Contra Aid has yet to be taken up in the House where democrats have an even larger majority. The Senate package is to be attached to a defense appropriations measure already passed by the House and it will be up to a conference committee to decide How to Deal with the Issue before it ultimately comes up again in both the Senate and the House when the conference report is considered. The partisan nature of the Senate vote also marked the failure of a Long period of negotiations aimed at forming a Broad bipartisan coalition behind  Aragyan policy. Sen. David Boren d-okla., called the vote a tragically missed  no matter How Many Miles one walks you still can t get some people to agree said Senate majority Leader Robert c. Byrd d-w.va., in a bitter and angry speech moments before the vote. You can inscribe your name in blood on a Shaft of Marble and they still won t believe you Byrd said of his attempts to convince republicans that democrats were sincere in pursuing a process that could Lead to the resumption of  shipments to the contras. They won t listen to reason he said. They Are suspicious of everybody. They Are paranoid. I can t understand that kind of person in the United states  Byrd said he had expected a signal by the White House accepting the democratic plan after the 57-39 defeat of a rival proposal offered by Senate Republican Leader Bob Dole of Kansas which would have made $16.3 million in stockpiled and already authorized military Aid immediately available to the contras. I m sick and tired of a White House that has no steel in its guts Byrd said. Budget from Page 1 measure endorsed thursday on a voice vote by the Senate As part of the defense spending Bill. No similar measure was part of the companion Bill approved by the House two months  Senate provision orders a major review of . Overseas commitments a limit on american troop deployments to Japan and South Korea and a ceiling on spending for . Military personnel stationed Over seas. The last provision requires the allies to pay the difference if deployment costs of . Troops Rise above 1988  of both parties have been increasingly vocal in recent months in their Calls for More help from America s allies particularly Japan and the euro Pean members of the 16-nation North Atlantic treaty organization. We need help and we need to let our allies know that said Johnston. Later the Senate gave voice vote approval to a amendment by sen. David Pryor d-ark., providing strict new reporting requirements for private Consul Tants to the Pentagon and defense contractors. The amendment requires consultants to Register much As lobbyists for foreign nations must now do and detail All their clients and contracts. The measure considered by the Senate was an appropriation Bill which contains Money to pay for pro Grams spelled out by separate authorization legislation in the two step congressional budget process. The Bill Reagan rejected was the authorization Mea sure which proposed $299.5 billion for the Pentagon for the fiscal year starting oct. 1. Hike from Page 1 military pay raise was added to  the outcome of the upcoming defense appropriations conference will not affect the military raise the staffer said because of a 1967 Law that says military pay hikes must be at least equal to increases Given to Federal civilians. Since the Treasury Bill is the undisputed Means for setting the civilian raise lawmakers must at least match the 4.1 percent increase for the military. The House Senate conference on the Treasury Bill appropriated Only enough Money to cover 2 percent of the civilian pay raise and directed that the remaining 2.1 percent be absorbed from the budgets of each fed eral Agency. The 1989 raise which will Cost $4 billion will in crease the salary of the highest paid career civil servant from $77,500 to $80,775, the Senate staffer said. Excluded from the raise were 5,000 top officials including members of Congress Federal judges directors of major agencies and Cabinet secretaries Deputy secretaries and under secretaries. Aside from the military pay raise All other defens provisions including personnel initiatives weapons programs and operations and maintenance projects Are Uncertain because of the authorization Bill veto. Congressional staffers Are bemoaning the administration s action for what Many consider to be a purely partisan Effort to boost vice president George Bush selection Campaign. In vetoing the measure which provided less Money for the strategic defense initiative than Reagan requested the president accused the democrats of weakening the nation s defense. Lawmakers were hopeful of passing All defense legis lation by the Start of the new fiscal year on oct. 1,something they have been unable to do for the past few years. But because of the veto and the looming month Long congressional recess the chances of Congress meeting that deadline once again look doubtful. Things were just going too smoothly lamented Ahouse Den cratic staffer. Now we re probably going to end up with a big catch All continuing Resolution to keep the Pentagon running into the new fiscal year until we can resolve things. It s ironic that president Reagan has criticize Congress for resorting to continuing resolutions in each of the past two years and then he does something to cause the same situation to happen again this year the staffer said. Incident from Page 1 the Philippines and Are in a refugee Camp there. The newspaper quoted some of the survivors As saying they killed and ate some of their fellow passengers to stay alive after they encountered the Dubu que on june 9. Two of the victims reportedly died of starvation but three others allegedly were murdered through drowning and then eaten. Some survivors alleged that the Dubu que refused to take them aboard eve though their boat was disabled and they were dying of exposure and starvation. Instead the ship gave them food and water and left them because it was on a dangerous  the refugees Are claiming that by june9, there was one dead refugee aboard the motor was not working they were Drifting for 19 Days people had died of exposure hunger and thirst said Rob Ert Cooper representative of the . High commission on refugees in Manila. He added that the great majority of deaths occurred after the encounter with the Dubuque. Navy regulations Call for . Warships to extend humanitarian assist Ance As needed in such circumstances. In the Case of an a seaworthy vessel Adverse weather or other special Circum stances the refugees May be embarked and transported to the Navy ship s next port of Call the regulations state. Cooper said 52 refugees survived 37 Days at sea but 58 people died during the South China sea crossing which began May 22 when the group left the Mekong Delta town of Ben tre aboard a 35-foot wooden boat. Its engine failed two or three Days later. The Navy said in a statement tuesday that when the Dubuque in route to the persian Gulf encountered the Vietnam Ese vessel the Craft was judged to be i seaworthy condition and was under  the  Dubuque gave the refugees food water and navigational charts be fore resuming transit to the Indian Ocean the Navy said. If the allegations prove True it would be the first time the . Navy had failed to give adequate help to a group of Boa people since they began fleeing after the fall of South Vietnam to the communists in 1975, Cooper said. Balian 48, a native of los Angeles won a Silver Star for heroism in Vietnam in 1966 while a Young lieutenant