European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 12, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 24 the stars and stripes thursday july 12,1990gorbachev backs ukrainian As Moscow apr Mikhail s. Gorbachev on wednesday backed a top ukrainian official to be his communist party Deputy in an election against Yegor k. Migachev the candidate of traditionalists. A a. /. A speaking to the communist party a Congress the soviet Leader threw his support behind Vladimir Ivashko the 58-year-old ukrainian president and former party chief for the Post that Littva Strame responsibility for the party s Day to Day news briefs affairs. He expressed his conic Fenrir sad closeness to the Man he chose to run the Ukraine the soviet unions second largest Republic twist fall when party traditionalist Vladimir v. So Cherbitsky it tired. A a. A it is Hrip Orf amp it that these two people be close a Gorbachev said of the two top party leaders. On tuesday Gorbachev was overwhelmingly re elected to Lead the party but he cannot devote full attention to the Job because he also is Sovi Dud Aryeva 45, of proposed he Trisel As a candidate. In his Brief acceptance _ speech late tuesday Gorbachev promised to take a the most serious far reaching conclusions a from strident criticism levelled at him during the Congress. Earlier in the Day he ripped into his conservative critics. S a Yot afcan never go Back to yesterday by any path and no dictatorship solves anything a he told the delegates. Some 40 percent of the delegates Are party bureaucrats and some continue to raft the Eire districts As fiefdoms. A if any tsrthe�4elegates came to the Congress with the Hope of returning the party to old conditions comfortable or uncomfortable this is not a possibility a he said. Quot they were seriously  recalled to testify before . Grand jury Washington apr Oliver North made another appearance wednesday before a Federal grand jury investigating the Iran Contra affair. It is the former while House aides fifth appearance before the panel since june i. The grand jury is examining whether Reagan administration officials covered up aspects of the scandal from Congress. The grand jury also heard june 27 from North a former Boss then National Security adviser John Poindexter who was sentenced june 11 to six months in prison. Poindexter was convicted of covering up North a role in a secret Contra resupply Effort and concealing the . Role in a november 1985 shipment of Hawk missiles to Iran. As in past sessions Iran Contra prosecutor Craig Gillen went into one of the grand jury rooms at the . Courthouse minutes before North entered. Gillen works for Independent counsel Lawrence Walsh. Walsh a office is trying to determine the precise roles of president Reagan then vice president Bush and other administration aides in the scandal sources have  worked closely with former state department official Elliott Abrams and former Cia officer Alan Fiers in connection with the con tras. North also had Contact with Donald Gregg Bush a aide on National Security during the Iran Contra affair. North was found guilty of aiding and abetting an obstruction of Congress altering and destroying National Security Council documents and receiving an illegal gratuity. He and Poindexter arc appealing their convictions. North was placed on two years probation fined $ 150,000 and is performing 1,200 hours of Community service  Arabia signs pact to buy 315 Abrams tanks Washington up a saudi Arabia has signed a $3.1 billion arms agreement to buy 315 m-ia2 Abrams tanks the next generation . Tank designed specifically to defeat the soviet built t-72, the Pentagon announced. The defense department formally notified Congress last november of its intentions to sell saudi Arabia the tanks. Ian French ships to Rome apr Italy  will Send ships to Albania starting thursday ferry out More than 3,500 Asylum seekers who have holed up in Western european embassies there italia if authorities said wednesday. A. The first ship will leave the italian Porto Brindisi for Albania on thursday evening an Interior ministry spokesman said. V. It will bring out Many of the approximately 2,200> people who have packed the West German embassy since they Are in the worst condition a foreign ministry official said speaking on the usual ground Rule of anonymity. The ferry operation was organized through a intercession of a . Representative in Tirana the albanian capital. Italian authorities said wednesday that an Accord had been reached with the communist government and a now we Are talking about details of the operation. He added that authorities were afraid that if people knew the details of the operation albanians would Rush to get on Board fld a it would be a thing of biblical  officials said he ships will transport about 2,200 people from the West German embassy More than 800 from the italian embassy and about 540 from the French embassy. The other embassies lift Tirana had fewer people and would work out age amp ments individually with the albanian government the foreign ministry spokesman said. A. Scores albanians began entering the embassies on june. 2& in an Effort to escape Europe a last hard line communist bastion. Some dodged bullets As they scrambled Over embassy Walls. The first 51 Asylum seekers left the czechoslovak in Ubassy in Tirana of tuesday and flew to Prague on a plane Saint by czechoslovak president Vaclav Havel. Albanian Leader Ramiz Alia introduced some economic refer fat this year and began to improve ties with other com ties. The government has said it would consider Esth Shing relations with the United states. The turmoil at the pm baggies appeared to contribute to a shakeup saturday of Albania s ruling party politburo and Central committee. Several hard line offi rials associated with the late communist ruler Enver Hoxha were dismissed. Travel has been nearly impossible for most albanians for 45 years but the government recently decreed that All albanians Over 16 were entitled to a  from Page 1 Way Quot prospects for fundamental and Long term economic Aid could improve if the soviet Union comes to a substantial change in resources from military to civilian production and ends the support to those states which create regional  the last passage was a thinly disguised reference to Cuba. Brady told television network Abc that the soviets would Nave to implement these changes before the United states would be willing to extend direct economic assistance. European nations were fighting Bush a proposal to phase out $245 billion in farm subsidies Over the next decade contending that would eliminate the jobs of 3 million european Farmers. In addition to the United states the other countries participating in the three Days of talks in Bush a sweltering Hometown were Japan West Germany Britain France Italy and Canada. The Summit leaders agreed to help Moscow but could not develop a coordinated approach. They rejected Calls by West Germany France and Italy to put together a $ 15 billion Aid plan opting instead to order a study under the direction of the International monetary fund to assess what Aid would be of most use to the soviet  intercepts ship smuggling refugees Athens Greece apr Harbor authorities intercepted a ship South of Here wednesday carrying about 220 refugees from third world countries who reportedly were attempting to enter the country clandestinely. A private Athens radio station said that the vessel had come from Lebanon and that each refugee had paid $1,500 each for the trip to the greek Mainland where they were to have been smuggled ashore. Police sources said that the refugees would be interned at a , refugee Camp at Avrion. From Page 1 states continue to ease. The Senate panels cuts would be apportioned approximately As follows #40,000 from the army a 5.2 percent Cut from current strength of 744,000. The administration recommended a 17,000 Cut. A 22,000 from the Navy a 3.8 percent Cut from the current 591,000, compared to Cheney a proposed 6,000. A 34,000 from the air Force a 6 percent reduction from the current 545,000, compared to the administrations proposed 15,000. A 3,000 from the Marine corps a 1.6 percent Cut from current strength of 197,000, compared to Zero by the administration. A senior army official said that the 40,000-Man Cut advocated by the Senate panel a will Force us to Start ripping apart our no corps and will Lead to a turmoil and turbulence throughout the service. He said that army officials had determined that the service cannot out More than 35,000 troops a year without laying off so Kliors and officers delaying promotions and leaving units ser ply undermanned. Quot this is the kind of helter shelter cams we re trying to avoid. People and combat capability win pay a he said. The official said that lawmakers were taking the easy route of cutting soldiers who have no Strong political voice rather than a weapons system like the my tank which employs thousands of unionized workers and is built by the influential general dynamics corp. The Senate conventional forces panel that recommended continued purchases of the Mijs chaired by sen. Carl Levin a Mich. The tank is built by United Auto workers members at Sterling Heights Mich., and Lima  the past six years general dynamic contributed More than $46,000 to the it members of the Senate subcommittee. Levin who is up for re election this ear received the maximum allowable from the giant defense contractor a $10,000,Levin and other defenders of the my claim that it is essential to keep the tank line open to maintain americans military capacity in Case world tensions escalate. If forced to the defense department could accommodate larger personnel cuts than the reduction of 38,000 people recommended in the administrations budget Lor next year military officials have said. The acl Jve duty Rolls could be trimmed by As As 50,000  people in any one year without having to resort to involuntary separations and other Adverse actions Pentagon manpower chief Christopher Jehn told the stars and stripes recently. But that would still leave the Pentagon far Short of the goal set by Nunn