European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 8, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 b the stars and stripes wednesday May 8,1991iraqis from Page 1 afraid of angering saudi officials. A a we be had men get Down on their Knees and beat the ground because they thought they were being brought to a place where they would be free to move around and live a Normal life a said maj. Dave Mcguffey intelligence officer for the 2nd army div fwd which has been running the american Effort at Rafha. The Camp is encircled with concertina wire and refugees Are not allowed to leave once they be entered unless they wish to return to Iraq Mcguffey said. In the two Camps in Southern Iraq the refugees had been free to come and go. A there is a Mutual distrust Between the saudis and the iraqis a Mcguffey said. A the refugees done to want to be confined and controlled by the saudis and the saudis done to want iraqis roaming freely Aro Jid their 1 a a a a a a \. A a. Although the basis for that mistrust was compounded by the War it goes much deeper. Saudi Arabia is a sunni Muslim nation. Most of the refugees Are shiite muslims. The two factions have been at Odds for almost 1,300 years. In mid april saudi Arabia the United states and the United nations High commissioner for refugees agreed to move All refugees out of Southern Iraq and into a Camp in saudi Arabia said Santiago Romero the commissioners Deputy representative at . Headquarters in new York the plan was to move All the refugees before american forces left the area to protect them from the potential revenge of Saddam Hussein. A a a a a a a a a a a a a a Vav the saudi government Romero said in a Telephone interview from new York has promised that the refugees a Many Are doctors teachers and other professionals a Are treated with dignity while they Are in the country. Once they arrive however the refugees Are under control of the saudi military not a civilian Agency. Romero said there have been no official complaints about refugee treatment. The commission has not yet visited the refugees who fled Southern Iraq. The 2nd army div fwd along with a few French and saudi soldiers built the Rafha Camp and began processing refugees on april 25, Mcguffey said. . Air Force c-130s airlifted the last of More than 8,000 iraqis from the Safwan Iraq Camp to Rafha on monday. A a a. A a a a a a a i the 2nd army div fwd could hand Over total control of the Rafha Camp to the saudi government As Early As thursday. Saudi officials would not discuss their plans for the refugees after the americans leave. But the commander for the 2nd army div fwd Rig. Gen. Paul e. Blackwell said they have promised to improve conditions for the refugees. A the saudi arabian government plans to build a permanent Camp about 30 Kilometres 18 Miles Southeast of the present Campos location a Blackwell said. The saudis have said the permanent Camp should be ready in about five months and will have medical recreational and educational facilities. Construction has not begun Blackwell said. A although saudi soldiers Are regularly providing food and water for the refugees american soldiers said the saudis remain indifferent. A a it a like the iraqis Are the big bully on the Block who has lost a leg a said 1st it. John Kirby 2nd army div fwd. A a we re the saudis father telling them to be Nice to the bully because he a Hurt. But once the father turns his Back now Are you going to treat the Guy who a pushed you around for years a saudi soldiers regularly yell at the refugees Kirby said which frightens children and angers the iraqi men. Other soldiers said the saudis refuse to organize repairs to structures in the Camp and do not encourage proper Hygiene among the people. A staff sgt. Padrig Hogan of the 1st in 41st inf regt said that once when he asked a saudi Captain to interpret a refugees problem a the saudi told the Man to shut up and Stop asking another time Hogan said a a fight Between two refugees turned into a Brawl of about 10 men wielding boards and pipes. A there were two of us american soldiers trying to break it up. We did no to have any gear on a Hogan said. A things looked pretty hairy and we tried to get the saudis to help. They even come see what was going that fight ended without serious injuries. A we were Lucky a Hogan said. In new York Romero said the . Commission which is the Only International organization representing displaced people would look into any report of mistreatment. At the Rafha Camp however visitors Are not allowed and there Are no telephones Cheney from Page 1 of the persian Gulf War. Most of the divisions 1st brigade pulled out of Southern Iraq on tuesday with the remaining forces scheduled to leave by thursday Cheney we Arden a transition period now where we Are rapidly drawing Down those forces that were Here at the end of the War a Cheney said. But he added a there will be a continued presence for a period of time in Cheney stressed that a it is our intention to avoid any permanent Basing of . Forces on the ground in the ,. A 1,400-member . Peacekeeping Force in the Buffer zone was declared fully operational monday Clearing the Way for the Germany based 3rd army div to pull Back to its temporary Headquarters in Northern Kuwait. On monday the . Troops completed an Airlift of 8,211 iraqi refugees from a refugee Camp near Safwan in Southern Iraq. On tuesday the americans planned to make a one tinal sweep of the area for refugees said a senior Pentagon official travelling with Cheney. The official asked that he not be identified. Cheney is touring six Gulf nations to talk with government leaders about the future . Military role in the area. He predicted he would win approval for an expanded . Presence As a hedge against future threats to Gulf on monday said the Bush administration had no interest in keeping . Ground forces in the area permanently. But he stressed that regular . Ground and air exercises combined with expanded . Training of Gulf Arab forces would help deter the kind of crisis triggered by iraqis invasion of Kuwait last August. He said the Bush administration also wanted to put a Small a Forward Headquarters unit in the Region hold occasional Large scale amphibious Landing exercises by marines and store military equipment and supplies in the area. He also said he favored increased arms sales to some Gulf countries. In remarks to reporters aboard his air Force plane in route to the saudi capital Cheney cited the strategic importance of the Gulf a enormous Oil resources. A the value of the resources in the Gulf will Only increase in the years ahead and the temptations for others to acquire control Over those resources by illicit Means will increase Ana the United states has an interest in working with our friends in the Region to try to enhance Security and stability a he said. Cheney opened his Gulf tour in Riyadh by meeting with the saudi defense minister. A Cheney aide speaking on condition of anonymity said the defense Secretary made a detailed presentation on a broadened . Military role in the kingdom and in the Region. The aide declined to be specific but said no agreements were reached in the 75-Mmute from Page 1 proposed a state of emergency countrywide. President Franjo Tadjman who is from Croatia and Serbia a Leader Slobodan Milosevic held two meetings this Spring agreeing to resolve differences peacefully by summer. Events however appear to have spurt beyond their control. The clashes culminated monday in the killing of a Soldier when some 30,000 people attacked military guards at the National naval command in the Adriatic port of split. Another Soldier was injured in the attack. The defense minister Gen. Veljko Kadijevic declared the country at civil War and warned the army would open fire on any attackers. The defense ministry put troops on combat Alert and started calling up reservists. On tuesday Kadijevic a Deputy adm. Stane Brovet blamed croatian police for the death of the Soldier saying the 19-year-old private was felled by a burst of machine gun fire from a split police officer in camouflage. Both the dead and injured soldiers were from the Southern Republic of Macedonia where protesters demanded that local men serving in the army be kept out of ethnic conflict the official news Agency Tan Jug said. Windows of croatian firms were smashed in the macedonian capital Skopje it added. Ethnic serbs make up about 11 percent of the croatian republics 5 million people and have been in virtual rebellion against Tud Jmani a government since last lying in the Road prevented a food Convoy from reaching the predominantly croatian Village of Kij Evo in the serb dominated Krajina Region of Western Croatia for the second straight Day the official news Agency Tan Jug said tuesday. In nearby knit the serbs Center in Krajina 42 Miles North of split most stores and shops owned by croats were looted and virtually destroyed monday night. Thousands massed in knit for the burial of Vaso Peter a member of the self designated serb militia reported killed last week in a c an with croatian police officers. Serbs and croats Are traditional rivals but also have deep differences Over Yugoslavia a future. Pro Independence Croatia has repeatedly accused the military of seeking to Block its moves to secede or transform Yugoslavia. Hot Dusty bus ride terminates journey of Hope for refugees by Chuck Roberts Middle East Bureau Rafha saudi Arabia a a hot and Dusty bus ride across the desert was the final leg of a Long journey for 866 refugees each looking with Hope for a turn in their fortunes., a a a a. A a / a. Quot v a arriving on nine flights they were the last of 8,363 iraqis airlifted rom Safwan in Southern Iraq to Rafha saudi Arabia on monday in . Air Force c-130 cargo planes. The Airlift began april 28. The refugees came to saudi Arabia because they were afraid to remain in Safwan after . Troops withdraw from the demilitarized zone Between Iraq Ana Kuwait. Although Many of them were bused on monday to an overflow Camp they ultimately will move to a refugee Camp 20 Miles from Rafha. The Camp which will temo rarely be Home for 21,000 iraqis is surrounded by three strands of concertina wire. Its facilities include electric lights on wooden poles 200 toilets 200 showers and 14 water bags each holding 5,000 Gallons. Roads Are graded inside and outside the Camp. Once there the refugees Wilt not be allowed to leave. They will live in White or Brown tents As families groups or clans. Moving to the Middle of the desert did no to seem to bother an Industrial machinist on the bus. He left a Job in Baghdad that paid about $100 dollars a month for working 12 hours a Day seven Days a week. After fleeing to Kuwait to look for a better Job he was placed in prison for nearly two months because he did t have a work permit. He was sent to Safwan last week by the kuwaiti government. He now Hopes to immigrate to the United states or Canada and save Money for his Mother to come and live with him. Also seeking Freedom More than Security was a doctor from Baghdad who decided to go to the refugee Camp in Safwan while visiting his family in nearby Basra. A a Hope to get political Asylum to Canada or Australia a said the doctor who did not want his named used for fear that it would jeopardize his family. A i want to live free and change my \ he said he left a comfortable lifestyle in Iraq which he Felt did not make up for the Lack of personal Freedom. He is quite aware he May not achieve his goal. A sometimes i feel confident sometimes i think i do a great risk because in All my life i never shake such a decision. If i fail it is the end for a the machinist said he could not live in saudi Arabia because of his Christian Faith. But he said others on the bus were prepared to spend the rest of their lives in saudi Arabia if other countries would not accept them or if conditions never improved in Iraq. One Man said he was told that saudi Arabia would be like a second Home for him and that he was willing to resume his career As a businessman anywhere in saudi Arabia. Sitting behind him was a Young Man who looked out the window with wide eyes at the seemingly enc less Flat landscape. Nevertheless the bus bounced around As the Driver wandered off the desert Road in search of smoother ground a it feels Good to be Here a he said. A if i go Back to Safwan i will die there. I will stay in saudi Arabia. Its no _
