European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 14, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 a the stars and stripes thursday May 14, 1992inmates press their demands at Leavenworth fort Leavenworth Kan. Up some 1,400 prisoners at the maximum Security military prison Here said they would not comply with their work details wednesday until an official from Washington discusses their grievances a military spokesman said. It col. John head said the prisoners want More Access to parole and clemency As Well As More relaxed regulatory policies regarding smoking and movie selection. Quot these Are the usual things prisoners want a head said. He said the prisoners communicated their demand to see a Washington representative tuesday night. A nah the prisoners Are in their cells a head said. A there has been no  in a separate incident he said five inmates were Hurt one of them stabbed nine times in a fight monday. Head said the military prison houses inmates from the three branches of the armed forces who Are serving an average sentence of 14 years. All prisoners usually Are assigned work details inside or outside the prison he said. . Will not Send pilots to Friendly fire inquest by William Tuohy los Angeles times London a . Ambassador Raymond Seitz has rejected a request by the families of nine British serv ice members killed by american aircraft Friendly fire that . Pilots testify at an inquest in Britain. The fire from two . Air Force a los accidentally struck two British Warrior armoured personnel carriers during the operation desert storm Advance into Iraq on feb. 26,1991. Seitz told the soldiers relatives tuesday that it would serve no useful purpose to bring the pilots to Britain and that any hearing involving them could turn into a Media circus. Britain a tabloid press has been dramatizing the Story calling for the pilots to appear at the inquest which began last week in Oxford at the request of the victims families. A this is a very unhappy tragic event a Seitz said after meeting the mothers or two of the dead soldiers in Birmingham. A i know there is a wish that the pilots come Here. We have taken the position that they will not. It becomes daily More obvious that this is the Correct  the relatives have complained that they were Given conflicting statements by the British defense ministry and by the . Department of defense As to How the accidental deaths occurred. Their attorneys have referred to a staggering discrepancies Between the two official accounts. During the tuesday meeting Seitz asked the families to spare a thought for the feelings of the american pilots saying that to appear in court would Only a a compound their grief Over having accidentally killed nine of their allies. On monday the families sent an open letter to British defense minister Malcolm Rifkin and asked him to take up the matter with . Secretary of defense Dick Cheney during Rifkini a current trip to Washington. The department of defense submitted a 25-Page document to the inquiry containing statements from the pilots and others involved indicating that other . Planes in the area a on a Clear afternoon a had flown Over British troops without mistaking their vehicles for iraqis. The a-10 pilots said they saw a group of armoured vehicles and were told by spotter planes that they were iraqi tanks. Seeing no Allied markings on the vehicles they said they launched their air to ground Maverick missiles knocking out two warriors the British ground troops have maintained that their vehicles were marked with fluorescent panels for ready identification. The major discrepancy Between the British and american versions involves the information that the pilots received about their targets. The americans said that As they bore Down on what they believed to be advancing iraqi tanks they received nothing More than a Broad visual description of the target from a British Liaison officer. His description was similar to the Cluster of British vehicles they fired upon they said. They also said he did not provide them with a precise  adds four b-2s to total sets Price Cap by Art Pine los Angeles times Washington a House subcommittee agreed tuesday to Grant president Bush s request to add four More b-2s to the eventual stealth bomber total but set stringent Cost controls. In recommendations for the fiscal 1993 defense authorization Bill the armed services panel approved $4 billion in new spending toward the eventual Purchase of up to 20 of the controversial aircraft a rather than the 16 that Congress set As a Cap last year. But it did so Only on condition that the Cost does not exceed the department of defense a latest estimated Price tag of $44.4 billion for the 20. The condition Means that if the Cost increases beyond current projections the Pentagon will have to Settle for fewer planes. The subcommittees decision was expected to be endorsed promptly by the full armed services committee which was scheduled to vote wednesday on the defense authorization Bill for fiscal 1993, which begins oct. 1. The committee also was expected wednesday to recommend a total of $274.4 billion in Pentagon spending for the coming fiscal year a Cut of $6.0 billion from what Bush has proposed and about $3 billion less than the Senate wants the subcommittee s recommendation would authorize $4 billion for the b-2 program in fiscal 1993 a $2.7 billion for procurement and $1.3 billion for research and development. The subcommittees decision appeared to be a Compromise. Critics have complained that the b-2 was unnecessary and becoming Overly costly. On the other hand there has been growing concern in Congress that cutting defense programs too sharply might Worsen unemployment. Northrop already has announced that it will Lay off 1,500 of its 13,000 b-2 work by the. Rated that further cutbacks Are Likely. Ers by the end of this year and has Indi the company initially had hoped to build 132 b-2s. Tuesdays subcommittee action had been widely expected. The b-2 has been under fire for years with critics deeming it unnecessary in View of the soviet unions demise. Rescuers still trying to reach 15 in mine Plymouth Nova Scotia up a rescuers explored alternate underground routes wednesday after debris prevented them from reaching 15 trapped miners. Quot the extent of these blockages has been very disheartening to All concerned a company spokesman Bill Macculloch said. Eleven workers Are already known to have been killed in saturdays explosion and fire in the Curranh resources Westray mine. Workers have been pumping air into the mine Shaft in Hopes of providing oxygen to the miners who remain trapped and improved air Quality was allowing rescuers to move heavy equipment and set up Rescue operations lower in the mine. Officials said roofs have collapsed creating Many obstacles along the route to where the 15 miners Are believed to be in two separate locations. At their farthest Point of Advance company officials said rescuers were 500 feet from one group and 600 feet from the other. Quot they have discovered that this obstruction is signify Kintly More extensive than was first Thoi Loch said. A it has prevented Progress in drive. Two cantly More extensive than was first thought a Maccoul. Progress in this j  Rescue operations tuesday involved moving a fresh air bases farther Down the mine Shaft. The bases Are used As communication centers and the launching from which rescuers equipped with oxygen masks and tanks begin their trek on foot through the rubble arid debris. Eleven miners were found dead sunday near the site of the blast. The explosion knocked out Power and ventilation in the mine about 70 Miles Northeast of Halifax in the Canadian Peninsula province of Nova Scotia. Sailing tall the mexican ship Cuauhtemoc sails on tuesday out or Las Palmas Canary islands on its Way to puerto Rico and new York. The Craft is among nearly 200 tall ships competing in a regatta that commemorates the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus historic voyage in 1492