European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 29, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 28 the stars and stripes monday january 29,1990 East bloc briefs Modrow opens negotiations with opposition groups Berlin a communist Premier Han Modrow on sunday opened negotiations to re build his faltering government to include Mem Bers of the increasingly divided opposition. The talks aimed at seating a new Cabinet the fourth reshuffle in As Many months Fol Lowed a tumultuous weekend Congress by East Germany s largest opposition group new forum and a further splintering of the fracture pro democracy movement. The embattled Premier met late sunday at government guest House in East Berlin with representatives of the More than 12political groups seeking Cabinet seats. Modrow is hoping that by bringing in a broader representation of political forces the new Cabinet will gain Public Confidence and succeeding holding the nation together until free elections on May 6. Polish communists create leftist democratic party Warsaw Poland Dpi delegates at Pheuth and final Congress of the communist party voted overwhelmingly sunday to approve statute creating a leftist party that will attempt to break with the past and adopt democratic principles. After a Long Day of bitter debate 1,402 delegates approved statutes that will permit establishment within the party of groups or were Only six delegates opposed to the statutes and 37 abstentions. The statutes were a dramatic departure fro the traditional communist parly which rules from the lop and permits no internal debate once a decision is taken. The move is expected to encourage the three Way split that has already developed at the con Gress of the polish United workers party ppr into liberals pragmatists and a Small Core of hard liners. The delegates then began debate on the party name and its program which is expected to lean toward Western social democratic traditions. Protesters police clash for 5th Day in Yugoslavia prist1na. Yugoslavia a violent clashes Between ethnic albanian demonstrators and police in Yugoslavia s troubled province of Kosovo continued for the fifth Day sunday with police reporting gunfire in at least one instance. While no official casualty counts were Avail Able state run Media and police officials who declined to be identified said that up to six people died saturday in violent confrontations Between police and protesters. Independent albanian sources said that families of reported victims have claimed at least 12 deaths occurred. The six were killed saturday when riot police fired on thousands of albanian demonstrators Dur ing pro democracy protests that broke out in sever Al Kosovo towns witnesses and state Media said. Groups of serbs numbering up to 500, Assem bled sunday in several villages in Kosovo to Dis cuss ways of dealing with latest wave of unrest inthe troubled province. They believe the violence is directed against them the Media reported. Czech protesters demand immediate soviet pullout Prague Czechoslovakia a some20,000 people demonstrated in the Central czechoslovak City of Olomouc sunday for the immediate withdrawal of soviet troops the state ctr news Agency reported. The City holds one of the largest garrisons of soviet troops stationed in Czechoslovakia. Their withdrawal would free some 1,500 scarce apart ments in the area to said. Protesters presented a petition for the speedy withdrawal of troops to the Garrison s commander maj. Gen. Evgeni Meshcheryakov ctr reported. According to the news Agency he told the demonstrators that his troops were preparing to depart. However that withdrawal depends on the results of upcoming talks Between the soviet government and czechoslovak president Vaclav Navel in february and separate bilateral negotiations on troop withdrawals. . Now focusing on future of Panama Quayle says Panama City Panama a vice president Dan Quayle said sunday that the Issue of the . Military invasion was behind us and that it was Timeto focus on Panama s future. Quayle who travelled to Panama City with details of president Bush s $1 billion economic Aid package called the use of . Military Force to oust panamanian strongman Manuel Antonio Noriega a Correct and courageous decision by Bush. The invasion will not be of Long term consequence in a negative sense Quayle said on Abc to s this week with David obviously there arc concerns but this Issue of the invasion is behind us. The question that we focus on is where do we go from Here and How can we collectively work with this democratically elected government and their Pursuit of democracy the Bush recovery package includes loan guarantee thro go the Export import Bank and a variety of . Emergency Relief. The Aid is designed to help Panama pay its foreign debt stabilize its Economy and help businesses and other victims recover from the invasion and subsequent fighting. Quayle the highest ranking administration official to visit Panama since the dec. 20 invasion that toppled Noriega also said More . Troops would soon be withdrawn. Panamanians although supportive of the military action want to see the . Troops withdrawn As soon As possible Quayle said a senior official travelling with Quayle said the .Force would Likely be Cut from the current 17,000 to the pc invasion level of 13,000 within two weeks. Quayle said panamanians arc glad for what redid but now want to get Back to a Normal Way of at a photo session with Quayle panamanian Vic president Ricardo Arias Calderon said the country s new government looked to the United states for Helpin developing a modern police Force to replace the powerful panamanian defense forces that were Noriega s strength. On another matter during the to interview Quayle gave Assurance that the United states would Honor the Panama canal treaty and turn Over control of the canal in the year 2000. But he said if Noriega had remained in Power implementing the treaty would have been a very difficult Quayle arrived in Panama on saturday night from Honduras. He had met with the presidents of Costa Rica Venezuela Guatemala Honduras and Al Salva Dor As Well As the prime minister of Belize. He travels to Jamaica on monday. On sunday the vice president drove past bearded up stores and shops that had been looted during the invasion. Onlookers watched silently As his limousine passed but when the entourage slopped briefly at an outdoor Market a few Hundred bystanders greeted him with applause. Quayle handed out Silver ballpoint pens and Shook hands in the waterfront Market As people clustered around him. Social democratic incumbent winning in Saarland state vote Saa Brucken West Germany a Early election returns in Saarland state sunday pointed to resounding win for its social democratic governor Oskar Lafontaine. He is now expected to be confirmed As the party candidate in Federal elections in december. The Adf television network said the first return suggested that the social democratic party or spa had sharply expanded its absolute majority in the stale parliament by receiving 54.5 percent of the vote up 5.3 percent from the last balloting in 1985. The conservative Christian democratic Union the party of West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl was expected to lose nearly 4 percent for a new total of 34percent. Lafontaine s top challenger was Christian democratic candidate Klaus to pfc. The Christian democrats centrist partners in the Federal governing coalition the free democrats pos Ted a similar loss and were left with Only a fraction More than the 5 percent needed to enter the state parliament according to Adf predictions. Sunday s vote was the first local test in West Ger Many since Kohl s image was boosted by East Ger Many s opening of its Border. Lafontaine whose leftist party forms the main opposition in the Federal parliament had built up his National image while governing Saarland for the past five years. He already had the Blessing of social democratic chairman Hans Jochyn Vogl to take on Kohl in Decem Ber s National vote and is expected to receive the formal endorsement once sunday s result is officially confirmed. Early returns showed that the Ultra rightist republicans making their Saarland debut failed to Clear the 5 percent margin needed to enter the regional environmentalist greens running at about 2.5 percent also did not gain seats. Gorbachev from Page 1 say it May stage an attack at the same meeting on the party s constitutional monopoly on Power and demand a virtual apology for decades of totalitarian communist party Rule. The strength of either group is difficult to measure but the problems for Gorbachev who portrays himself As a centrist have mounted in recent weeks. The communist party in the Baltic Republic of Lithuania has broken with Moscow in a Campaign for Independence. Long simmering ethnic hatreds and territorial disputes have boiled Over into open warfare in the southwestern caucasus Region. Gorbachev ordered troops into the azerbaijani Capi Tal of Baku to crush an armed takeover by azerbaijani nationalists. Since the interview took place official shave announced the arrests of nationalist leaders. Shevardnadze said secession of republics would not Only cause military political and economic problems for the regions but could result in a major destabilization of the existing International it is in no one s interest to see this happen the foreign minister said. Shevardnadze s Home Republic of Georgia is among those with an Active nationalist movement. Shevardnadze who marked his 62nd birthday two weeks ago was practically unknown outside the soviet Union before Gorbachev plucked him from his Post a communist party chief in Georgia to replace Veteran foreign minister Andrei a. Gromyko shortly after Gorbachev Rose to Power in March 1985. With a warm smile and pensive manner Shevardnadze has reshaped the image of soviet foreign policy which had been Mold Dover three decades by Gromyko s Stony countenance. The interview in the foreign minister s office ranged from discussion of arms control issues and a preview of Shevardnadze s meeting next month with Secretary i of state James a. Baker Iii to his views on the unrest in the caucasus and the Independence movements in the Baltic republics. He defended the decision to Send troops into the republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia saying it was for the purpose of saving he said the out break of ethnic violence there was nothing Short of civil the decision he said does not correspond to either our internal convictions or to our sentiments in general because in principle we arc opposed to use of any Force anywhere. As the situation in that Region stabilizes we will gradually withdraw our forces from there he pledged. Asked if he had kept the United states informed of soviet military actions in the Region which is closed to foreign journalists Shevardnadze said there was no need for that because everything that s happening Down there is made Shevardnadze predicted that the most important event of this year will be the . Summit in june Between Gorbachev and president Bush. He expressed Confidence that he and Baker will make further Progress toward an agreement to Cut in half the two superpowers strategic nuclear arsenals. Shevardnadze and Baker meet in Moscow on feb. 7
