European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 20, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 b the stars and stripes Friday september 20, 1991v corps Leader disputes Fletcher Maddox doubts Bias is institutional in army by Gary Pomeroy and Rosemary Sawyer staff writers Griesheim Germany a the commander of v corps disagrees with recent charges by the . Civil rights commission chairman that institutional discrimination exists in the army in Europe. It. Gen. David m. Maddox said thursday he also believes the army has no reason to feel embarrassed about its programs to Deal with racial discrimination. A fundamentally i m saying i Don t think the systems flawed Quot Maddox 53, told the stars and stripes on thursday in response to claims by civil rights Leader Arthur Fletcher. Quot he and i Are coming from very different Start Points a Maddox said. Quot he is being portrayed As believing that the system is not fair that we Are not dealing with discrimination and Are not properly caring for our people a Maddox said. A and i m coming from exactly the opposite. I think we  Fletcher visited Europe last month As a guest of the european Branch of the National association for the advancement of coloured people. During his visit he said he  of complaints from overseas schoolteachers Active duty service members civilian employees and their family members who claimed they had suffered discrimination. A report of his findings which he said were a mine and mine alone Quot was presented to members of the civil rights commission last week. Maddox acknowledged the army does t have a perfect record however. A i am not saying that there Are no problems in our units. That is not True a Maddox said. A but i honestly do believe that in the vast majority of cases. People will stand up and make it known and action is taken to go resolve it. And in the vast majority of cases the outcome is  the Only area Maddox thought needed improvement is the Speed with which soldiers complaints Are. Processed. Maddox also said he opposes Fletcher s View that the military s system of discipline and Justice is riddled with discrimination. He said when he reviews non judicial punishment or a general court martial Case the paperwork does no to cite color and he has never asked. A i think the problem that we be got is the society a problem a he said but the army s problem is not As great. And he said a a it a individual not  the 31-year army Veteran also believes the army a worldwide draw Down will be accomplished without regard to race. Fletcher said in his Maddox report a Blacks complained about disproportionate and More severe administration of disciplinary actions for offences in which other soldiers received lenient or no  since Force reduction Levels were announced military leaders have said service members with disciplinary problems would be the first to go. Overall Maddox said Fletcher a findings caught him a. By Surprise. He said a colonel on his staff had spent much of a Day in v corps with the civil rights Leader and a there were no negatives discussed at All in the whole  had problems been discussed the general said he would have been told. Maddox added that he doubled the colonels presence would have discouraged soldiers from complaining. Fletcher reported that during his two week visit of bases in Kaiserslautern Darmstadt Mannheim Mainz and Stuttgart he was surprised by military members who feared they would ruin their careers by talking with him. He said they also Felt making formal discrimination complaints could result in reprisals. Maddox said he has Quot some soldiers that very Well May be reluctant to make the complaint but 1 Tell you i be got a Heck of a lot that have no reluctance at All. None. Quot go Check with equal employment Opportunity equal Opportunity and inspector general and commanders and find out How Many people come in and say i be got a problem  after Fletcher s claims made news Maddox said he applied what he Calls his Quot roaming Quot leadership technique and spontaneously visited dining Halls to talk with soldiers. When asking a group of Black soldiers whether discrimination occurs in the army he said they told him that unfairness existed As it does in All walks of life. But they said it was not based on race. Acknowledging that it was a Small sampling Maddox said a i did not get feedback. That the image that is being presented by Fletcher is correct.�?�19 killed when two quakes shake Guatemala Guatemala City a two earthquakes rocked Guatemala on wednesday killing at least 19 people and injuring dozens when their houses collapsed on them. Landslides blocked the pan american Highway. The first measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale Shook much of the country shortly at Ter 4 . Wednesday and lasted about 10 seconds. A second less powerful quake measuring 4.0 on the Richter scale struck in the Early evening. The . Geological Survey in Golden colo., said the initial quake was entered about 25 Miles Southwest of Guatemala City. Local officials reported More than 12 Strong aftershocks. Reports of severe damage and deaths came from Pachuta about to Miles Southwest of the capital in the department of Chimal Venango. At least 13 people died in Pachuta and More than 00 were injured reported the guatemalan National emergency commission. The second quake was entered about 30 Miles West of the capital also in the department of Chimal Venango. Six other deaths were reported in the Village of san Lucas Toliman in the state of Solola about 75 Miles West of Guatemala City on the shores of Lake Altlan. A Man walks past the piles of rubble in Pachuta Guatemala where two earthquakes wednesday left at least 13 dead. Man held in Tunis after hijacking a italia Jet Tunis Tunisia apr a Lone Hijacker on thursday briefly commandeered an a italia jetliner flying from Rome with 137 people aboard but he w As arrested when the plane landed in Tunis its original destination. No one was reported harmed. Quot it s All Over. The plane will be returning to Rome shortly Quot said a italia spokeswoman Maria Bergamin. She said the Hijacker had left the plane and a i presume he was  an associated press photographer at the Airport said Security officers led the Hijacker from the plane after which the passengers disembarked. The airline confirmed that the passengers had left the plane. There was no immediate confirmation of the arrest from tunisian authorities. Bergamin said in Rome that she had no information on weapons used or the identity or nationality of the Hijacker. The aircraft was taken Over by the Hijacker about 30 minutes after it left Rome s Leonardo a Vinci Airport at 2 30 . On a 1-hour, 15-minute flight to Tunis the airline said. It said the hijacked Airliner was a twin in inc md-88 jetliner carrying 130 passengers and seven Crew members. After commandeering the plane the Hijacker demanded to be taken to Algeria. But algerian authorities would not allow the plane to land. In Tunis the plane taxied to a Remote part of the Airport and was surrounded by Security forces. A spokesman for the air traffic controllers office in Italy Enzo Picchioni. Said the Pilot contacted Rome by radio Only once after the takeover. Quot the Pilot said he was under threat a he said. Among the passengers was the Rome Delegate of the Palestine liberation organization Nemer Hammad according to Jamal Mohd a spokesman for Italy s Plo Ottice. Hammad was bound for Tunis to help prepare for a meeting of the Palestine National Council Mohd said. Airport sources in Rome said there were no special Security measures for a italia flights to Tunisia. Passengers and baggage Are subjected Only to the regular a Ray controls. The hijacking was the first for an a italia flight since september 1982 when a soviet immigrant forced a plane in route from Algiers to Rome to land in Sicily