European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 09, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 28 a a the stars and Stripe wednesday january 9,1991 news briefs Cranston too ill to face ethics panel lawyer says Washington a California sen. Alan Cranston is too ill from radiation treatment Lor cancer to undergo Public questioning before the Senate s ethics committee his lawyer said tues Clay. William Taylor Illy Cranston a defense attorney in the Keating five Case said that Cranston was not Strong enough to undergo even a videotaped questioning and that the senator waived his rights to be examined in Public. He said the California democrats earlier statements to the panel in private sessions would have to stand As Cranston a defense against ethics accusations. A Cranston is one of five senators under invest gation by the ethics panel for allegations that they improperly intervened with Federal regulators on behalf of a major financial contributor failed savings and loan owner Charles i i. Keatingjr. A it is the physicians View that participating in any format of live testimony in this matter would not he consistent with what is necessary for senator Cranston a treatment a Taylor said a we have advised the committee he is not Able now to appear and testify. He waives his right to appear and testify before the committee makes its decision with regard to Hin ii Public transport urged during Berlin exercises Berlin a members of the Berlin military Community Are being urged to use Public transportation As the Community conducts Security training exercises. The training is being done to ensure that personnel depleted by deployments to operation desert shield can respond to a variety of cmdr agencies. A a number of special precautions will be taken during the which May inconvenience Community members but Are designed to ensure their safety in the event of an emergency a according to a command statement released tuesday. A a a a a a a a a a a a during the exercise parking will be prohibited at the Truman Plaza shopping area near the Clay Alice Headquarters and at other designated Sites. Community members May be asked to show two forms of identification to enter certain facile lies. They also May be asked to use alternate entrances or be delayed As Security personnel conduct random package and vehicle searches americans in Pakistan being advised to leave Washington a the state department tuesday urged americans who done to have. Pressing business in Pakistan to leave the country due to a unsettled conditions resulting from the persian Gulf crisis. A the department urged americans planning to visit Pakistan to put off their travel if they can. It said americans already in the country including non essential . Government personnel and their families should leave. The state department has issued similar advis ories in recent weeks for americans in Jordan and Sudan whose governments have tended to Side with Iraq since its aug. 2 invasion of Kuwait the advisory did not explain How the Gulf crisis could affect americans in Pakistan which is a kiember of the .-led coalition confronting Iraq in saudi Arabia. Saudi official denies report of defections by iraqi pilots d hah ran saudi Arabia apr saudi defense minister Prince Sultan on tuesday denied reports that iraqi aircraft Crews defected with their aircraft to saudi Arabia the official saudi press Agency reported. A . Military spokesman in saudi Arabia refused comment on the saudi governments denial. There was no immediate explanation for the contradiction Between sultans statement and mondays reports saying six iraqi helicopter pilots defected with their aircraft. The information monday came from an official saudi government release according to the . Military spokesman who requested anonymity. Quot. The saudi press Agency said Sultan answering reporters questions at a military graduation ceremony in Riyadh a categorically denied that any iraqi aircraft took Refuge in the kingdom of saudi a this highness described the report circulated by a number of Media apparatuses As baseless both in its parts and As a whole.�?�. The Agency gave no further details. A . Military spokesman in Washington said monday that six iraqi helicopter pilots flew their Craft to saudi Arabia and requested Asylum. Four of the aircraft landed at an airbase at Khanji about 10 Miles South of the kuwaiti Border in saudi Arabia according . Defense department spokesman Pete Williams. He added that two other helicopters ran out of fuel but landed safely in the saudi desert. Sources said the six pilots were challenged when they crossed into saudi airspace and requested Asylum. . Marines and Navy medics at a base 50 Miles from the kuwaiti Border were alerted at 11 42 . Monday and told that four hostile aircraft had crossed into saudi airspace. Sentries woke troops and told them of the Alert and to stand by for further orders. Several minutes later guards said that the aircraft were four iraqi helicopters that were apparently defecting. Friendly aircraft were escorting them to a saudi base the guards said. About 40 minutes later the marines were told that the Alert was Over and they could go Back to sleep. The defection would be the first major defection from Saddam Hussein a air Force since the persian Gilf crisis began in August. Hundreds of iraqi troops reportedly have defected. \ u . Military officials in saudi Arabia said the information about the originally provided to them by the saudis. The american officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said they were standing by the original statement and had no. Further information on the matter. A. / Vul however in Washington on tuesday Pentagon spokesman it. Col. Stuart Wagner said . Officials had not yet seen the helicopters. He said american authorities could not confirm the defections. Saudi arabian defense ministry and information ministry officials said they had no further information. The iraqi government had quickly denied reports of the defections. A what assures that this is untrue is that there were no iraqi air exercises at All today a information minister Latif Jassim said monday according to the official iraqi news Agency monitored in Cyprus contributing to this report Star and. Strip staff writer Rob. talk from Page 1. A a resented the a last Best chances for peace but in his latest comments on the 5-month-old persian Gulf crisis Aziz indicated Iraq also does not plan to Budge a without us. Concessions. Aziz said monday he did not think Iraq would quit the emirate by the deadline and predicted a War would be a bloody Long both the United states and Iraq seemed set in their positions. A French lawmaker said France and certain Arab countries should launch a peace initiative if the Baker Aziz talks failed. If the Geneva meeting is a but a supplementary closing europeans must not link themselves to this no dialogue Between americans and iraqis and spend our Days remaining inert while War and peace hang in the balance a said Michel Rauzelle. He is chairman of parliaments foreign relations committee and a close adviser to president Francois Mitterrand. He met last week with Saddam in Baghdad Mitterrand who also met with Baker tuesday has Long suggested the . Security Council resolutions do not bind France from seeking a diplomatic solution France last week proposed in conjunction with Germany its own peace initiative largely rejected at a meeting Friday of the european Community. Dumas reiterated tuesday however that France supports a linkage of iraqis withdrawal from Kuwait to a Middle East peace conference that would discuss among other issues israelis occupation of the West Bank and Gaza strip a i would remind you a Dumas said a France supports an International conference since 1983 on the israeli palestinian situation. So it is not a new but embassies in Baghdad weren to betting on peace. Some closed while others shredded documents and planned Overland evacuations if air routes Are dosed. Gas mask distribution was stepped up across the Region. Thousands of foreigners daily have been leaving Middle East nations such As Israel which Saddam has threatened to attack if War begins. And two airlines tuesday joined others suspending or reducing flights to the Middle East. A italia cancelled three of its seven flights a week to Tel Aviv Israel because of the Steep Rise in insurance premiums while philippine airlines said it was suspending All flights to the Middle East. Baker on monday seemed to agree with the assess a mint that chances for peace were slim speaking in London he said a i am less optimistic that we might achieve a peaceful. Solution than i was before after meetings in Paris Baker travelled to Bonn to Confer with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. He arrived tuesday night in Milan Italy where he will meet with foreign minister Gianni de Michelis France Italy and Germany have shown the most in to rest in offering Iraq incentives so Saddam could partially save face in surrendering Kuwait. / _ Saddam has tried to link the Gulf crisis with the palestinian question. On monday iraqis Deputy prime minister Taha Yas sin Ramadan said Iraq would insist that the Issue be discussed in Geneva. A Palestine should come first.,. It is the Core of All the problems in the area a he told a Aziz reiterated in an interview with lbs news that Israel would be a primary iraqi target in the event of War involved a in the hostilities from the very begin a. /. / some palestinian activists in israeli occupied lands have for Iraq and predict an escalation of their 3-year-old uprising if War Breaks out Between Iraq and the .-led multinational Force. Saddam on monday threatened to make the entire world a Battlefield. a from Page 1 Parish at a news conference pan am chairman Thomas g. Plaskett said the filing and financing meant the airline no longer was interested in merger talks with Twa chairman Carl Icahn which began late last year. Icahn had offered to buy pan am for $225 million in Cash and $150 million in debt securities but had attached a number of conditions Plaskett said he now had a a better Deal than anything he Icahn Ever talked in its latest quarterly earnings report pan am said it lost $29.1 million or 19 cents a share in the three months ended sept. 30. The airline lost $18 million or 12 cents a share in the same period a year ago. Pan am founded in the 1920s by Juan Trippe has struggled for years but survived by Selling assets a most recently prize London routes that it agreed to sell to. Healthier rival United airlines. The company was a Pioneer in International air. Travel. In 1935, it captured world attention when it inaugurated its China Clipper service the first air service across the Pacific. But in the 1980s, pan am was forced to sell its valued Pacific routes. Airline analysts have said the Root of pan am a troubles is in its Lack of a Strong Domestic route system. Pan am flies about 150,000 people Between Europe and the United states annually under its reduced military a reprogram Maassen said. A
