European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 2, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday april 2, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 3beijing braces for anniversary of protests Nepi a police cordoned Opria Nansen Square until dusk n and i ret Rucks with Large water sunny stood by As authorities braced or protect Over last years crushed pro Chni Cracy movement. The extraordinary Security Pecau came Days after the government issued a document warning Beijing Citi a to avoid Tiana men Square from an11 to june 4. The two month Span encompasses a series of sensitive anniversaries marking the Rise and bloody crushing of last Springs demonstrations. The vast 100-acre Square was the site of student led protests by hundreds of thousands of people. A this just proves How terrified the leadership is a a chinese official said. Government fears of renewed unrest during the first anniversary of the protests have been heightened by recent facsimile messages and letters sent to Beijing offices by overseas dissidents who fled China after last june. The faxes urged Beijing residents to a take walks through Tiana men Square beginning april 1 to protest the killing of hundreds perhaps thousands when the army opened fire on demonstrators last june 3 and 4. Most of the Square was closed to pedestrians until Sunset sunday including the Central martyrs memorial and the spot North of the Monument where student protesters constructed a 40-foot-tall a goddess of democracy statue last May. The sensitive area was occupied from morning until late afternoon by uniformed marching bands and Young children wearing yellow Caps and the red scarves of the communist party a Young pioneers. The children shown standing in formation on state televisions evening news broadcast were taking part in organized activities to promote the upcoming asian games. Tiana men Square was under much heavier guard than usual with uniformed police stationed around the squares Eastern Border. Witnesses at Tiana men late Ltd it w s v s a Beijing policeman stops members of a lbs to camera Crew from filming in Tiana men Square on sunday. Saturday night saw police armed with ak-47 rifles positioned in front of the Monument and in the guardhouse around Mao tse Tungos mausoleum. Lookouts with binoculars were posted on surrounding roofs sunday. Two firetrucks equipped with water cannons were parked on the West and East sides of the Square one in an Alley across from the great Hall of the people where government leaders meet. Authorities deterred students at two universities from going to Tiana men by organizing Field trips to the great Wall a two hour drive Northwest of Beijing. One factory organized a similar Outing for its workers sources said. Chinese sources said the government might organize More activities such As sundays asian games promotion in Tiana men Square. The next major cause for official concern is qing Ming or a Clear Bright a a major chinese festival honouring the dead which Falls on april 5 this year. Families traditionally observe it by placing Flowers and food at ancestral Graves. In 1976, the festival was the spark of the so called april 5 incident when a spontaneous outpouring of sentiment for the popular Premier Zhou Menlai exploded into anti government riots put Down by police. The protests began with Floral offerings placed on the Steps of the martyrs Monument in Tiana men Square which later served As the Headquarters of the 1989 student led democracy  Valdez s $30 million repair Job nearing end san Diego not a a year after it was involved in the worst Oil spill in . History the Exxon Valdez is 70 percent repaired and four months from being sent Back to sea. The 30,000-ton Tanker is sitting on dozens of Concrete blocks in a dry Dock at the National steel amp shipbuilding co. Here like an immense project in a High school Auto shop. Three Hundred workers have been on double shifts since August repairing the damage that the 987-foot Tanker suffered when it went aground on a reef in Prince William sound Alaska on March 24, 1989, spilling nearly 11 million Gallons of crude Oil. A this repair has made shipbuilding history because of the difficulty of repairs made in the water before the ship was put in the dry Dock and because of its great size said Fred n. Hallett vice president of finance for the shipbuilding company which built the Tanker. The Yards workers feel partial to the Tanker. Although its Stern shows its Home port As Wilmington del., the Exxon Valdez was born in san Diego six years ago in the same dry Dock where the repairs Are being made. It was like your kid was coming Houie said Mike Richoux who helped build the $ 115 million Tanker and now helps repair it. Was hot a smooth Homecoming for the Tanker which is owned by exxonjppln8 co., a unit of Exxon corp. When the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Alaska its gashes More than 650 feet Long required replacing 30 percent of the Bow. Its Hull needed shoring up. Repairs were necessary on half of its two dozen Earth Day Renews efforts by new Day Twenty years after the first Earth Day Celebration put pollution High on the National Agenda environmental groups Are gearing up for a reprise of the original event aimed at unleashing a new surge of activism. The activities planned for april 22 Range from massive Media oriented rallies in Central Park and on the mall in Washington to hundreds of modest events promoting environmentalism at the grass roots level. The Overall goal is a a worldwide Public demonstration so overwhelming that it literally shakes the political leadership of the world out of its lethargy and galvanized it into a monumental cooperative Effort to Stop the deterioration of the planet a according to former sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin who fathered the first Earth Day and is working on this years Effort. Some activists admit a parallel goal a to break out of their isolation As a predominantly White Middle class movement and reignite a sense of passion following a decade of frustration and stalemate. A Earth Day is not an occasion for members of the Sierra club to talk to members of the Audubon society a said Denis Hayes chairman of Earth Day 1990, which is coordinating much of the Days activities. A a it a a time to pull in other people. Who historically have not thought of themselves As  Hayes organization the bigger of two groups promoting Earth Day has planned events in More than 1,200 . Communities and 132 countries according to executive director Christina Desser. She said that the biggest will be in the nations capital and in new York City where organizers have planned a morning a Earth Rise ceremony in times Square a Daylong environmental Street fair along a 17-Block stretch of sixth Avenue and an afternoon rally and concert in Central Park. Large rallies also Are planned in Boston Chicago Atlanta san Francisco and other cities with smaller scale events such As Beach and Park cleanups scheduled for Many other communities Desser said. Compartments. Its arrival at san Diego last july was delayed for three weeks after it was discovered that seven big steel plates were hanging Loose from its Flat Bottom and there was a Light 18-mile Slick around it. For All the fondness with which National steel workers regard the Valdez they also treat it As carefully As they would a Rattlesnake. A this is a dangerous ship a said Mike Clevenger a pipe fitter involved in the building and repairing of the Valdez. A the stresses involved in the damage and the repair can cause those steel plates to shake Loose. Everything we do is like new. We step Back and consider everything before we attack  by the end of the $30 million repair Job expected in Early july 3,000 tons of steel will have been replaced. The repair contract for the Valdez does not Call for safety improvements said Hallett of National steel. The Hull Section that has been rebuilt is still three quarters of an Inch thick All that will separate a cargo of 53 million Gallons of Oil from the Ocean. After the Valdez Accident the coast guard estimated that 60 percent of the Oil would not have spilled if the Tanker had had two hulls an inner and an outer one. Legislation pending in Congress would require the Oil Industry to use Only double hulled tankers. National steel officials say they could easily build a second Hull into the Valdez. A a it a technically feasible but Exxon Hasni to asked us to prepare  Hallett said. Carrie Chassin a spokeswoman for Exxon shipping co., said a double Hull would probably double the time and Cost of the repair. She said it would have made the ship a salvageable. The repair Job on the Valdez has turned into a Gold mine for the shipyard. The company handed out $4 million in profit sharing bonuses last month and has won a contract with the Navy to build three ships. And last month the Yard won a rare contract an order to build the first Large commercial Container ship built in the nation since the Exxon Valdez