European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 26, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday july 26, 1993 the stars and stripes Page 3. Worried italians Brace for truck strike Rome a the government sought sunday to Calm italians fearing a truck strike that could keep products from the shelves and leave Gas pumps dry As millions of vacationers take to the Road. An undetermined number of truckers idled their rigs sunday and threatened to stay off the Job for two weeks. Rai state television predicted that 75 percent of the Drivers would participate. Already Gas stations were reporting that they had run dry and Long lines formed at open stations. Some Drivers parked their cars in front saturday night and others crossed the Border into Switzerland to fill up. Highway police reported no incidents sunday evening and said they would pro vide escorts to truck Drivers who kept rolling. The strike could transform cities and bathing areas into so Many Little Paraje Vos without provisions the Milan daily corriere Delta Sera said in a front Page commentary sunday referring to the besieged capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The worries of citizens that Consumers needs won t be fully and punctually satisfied Are understandable but hot Justi fied said transportation minister Raf Faele Costa. Talks were scheduled today Between the Union and government. Thinking Small Romania keeps by Deedee Arrington Doke assistant City editor Bucharest Romania it was a Choice of by ing either a tank or 10,000 batteries to keep 3,000 tanks running. Faced with dwindling budget Power and inflation it. Gen. Niculae Spirou opted for the batteries. Spirou Romania s minister of National defense is. Not alone among military officials worldwide in being forced to make hard choices about his country s de sense and its maintenance in the aftermath of the cold War. But he believes that his budget this year the equivalent of $520 million pales in comparison with those of his european neighbors. I think it s the lowest defense budget in Europe Spirou said through an interpreter in his Bucharest of fice. Romania s current defense allotment represents about 10.1 percent of its National budget and about a third of what was set aside for defense in 1990, just Fol lowing the 1989 revolution that led to the overthrow of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Since the treaty on conventional armed forces in Europe was signed in november 1990, Romania has trimmed 26,000 slots from its troop strength through a combination of speeding retirements and leaving positions vacant. The final end strength is projected to be about 200,000, although no Date for that troop level was provided. Currently there Are 246,599 men and women in the romanian military. By judicious use of his comparatively thin budget Spirou said he has been Able to dedicate from 98 per cent to 100 percent of the funds necessary to buy food for his troops 80 percent of that needed for their cloth ing and 60 percent of the amount needed for training. On the other hand he has put Only 18 percent of what was initially proposed into investment and procure 2 Dodds teachers attend Nasa course Hampton a. Is two teachers with the military school system in Europe recently completed a workshop Here that was sponsored by Nasa and the National science teachers association. Michele Bouchard and Betty Tomlinson both with the department of defense dependents schools attended the two week workshop held at the Nasa Langley research Center for elementary school educators. Bouchard a second Grade teacher at Pinna Sens elementary school in Germany has taught for 15 years. She was the recipient of the 1992 presidential award for excellence in math and science teaching. Tomlinson who teaches second through sixth Grade at Schweinfurt elementary school in Ger Many has been teaching for 20 years. She has won an outstanding Reading teacher award from the Colorado Council of International Reading association. Both teachers competed with hundreds of others for one of 23 spots in the Nasa educational workshop for elementary school teachers. S4s Doede Arrington oof romanian it Gen. Niculae Spirou ment. Fortunately for Romania s lagging resources the end of the former Eastern european Alliance has not meant major changes in the country s defense strategy. It is a defensive military doctrine which considers we Don t have a certain enemy Spirou said. The country still plans to adhere to its policies of in dependence Spirou said not joining in wars outside its Borders not accepting foreign troops on romanian territory and predominant self sufficiency in providing its own defense equipment and weapons. Even As part of the Warsaw pact Romania maintained a certain distance and Independence from its Al lies. For instance when the former soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968 and called on pact members to participate Romania refused. It s our tradition that in Case of War the defense Effort is to be supported by the entire population that is Able to support it Spirou said. Common romanian support for the military is not limited to wartime several sources pointed out. Surveys romanian military statistics total number of troops ,.". In romanian armed forces 246,599 army air Force territorial air defense 173.266 49,957 combined Navy starting monthly pay v officers 55,080 Lei or about $75 Petty officers 49,275 Lei or about $67 noncommissioned officers 47,655 Lei or about $65 contract enlisted military 33,210 Lei or about $45. Compulsory service length required in Navy 18 months All other services 12 months Exchange rate used was 735 Lei Sias offered by the . Embassy Bucharest Romania on july 14. " starting rates do not include compensation offered Tor Price increases since june t. Is of romanian Public opinion commissioned by the . Information Agency have found More than 80 percent consider the military a stable institution with integrity. We have a saying in Romania one romanian explained. A girl will not marry a Man who has not been in the romanian  the romanian military remains the most stable element of our society Spirou said. Training for romanian forces since the country s emergence from the Shadow of the Warsaw pact has included a .-sponsored military to military Contact program. Among the More than 50 activities offered to Date through that program was a july 13-17 visit by a . European come team of military Public affairs professionals. They were accompanied by representatives from the stars and stripes and the american forces network. The .-romanian program s thrust Spirou said is helping the romanian forces evolve into a modern institution within a democracy. He characterized the activities carried out thus far As very  Libya reportedly proposed Deal to families of Lockerbie victims new York up the libyan government tried to strike a Deal with families of victims killed in the1988 bombing of pan am flight 103 Over Lockerbie Scotland it was reported sunday. The National Law journal said attorney Lee Kreindler who successfully represented the victims families in a civil suit for damages against the now defunct airline reported that he was approached through an american attorney practising in Germany Mary Praschma. The bombing killed 270 people. Kreindler said that under the proposal the libyan government would hand Over for criminal trial two libyans accused in the bombing to any nation other than the United states or Britain the two countries where the suspects were indicted. He said the Deal which he spurned outright also called for Libya to pay damages set in a separate civil action if it were found liable following conviction of the two suspects. The damages Kreindler said were to come out of an estimated $500 million in funds Frozen by the United states. The proposal was to use me and the families As pawns in the Effort to sanitize Libya Kreindler told the journal. I said immediately to her Praschma that i would not Deal with the libyans with a 10-foot  he said Praschma received the offer from the libyan ambassador to Greece who contacted her through a client. The Assumption was that the Deal came from the top " said Kreindler alluding to libyan Leader foam mar Qadhafi. The pan am Airliner in route from London to Newyork was flying Over Lockerbie on dec. 21,1988, when a bomb exploded on Board. Aj1259 people on the plane and another 11 on the ground were killed. In july 1992, pan am was found liable by a Federal court jury in Brooklyn and has since lost several appeals. It still has one unresolved Appeal before the 2nd . Circuit court of appeals in Manhattan. The United states and Britain have accused two alleged intelligence agents Abdel Basset Ali Al Maghrabi and Lamen Khalifa Fahimah of the bombing. The countries have demanded that the two libyan nationals be turned Over to them for trial but Tripoli has refused to surrender them. The . Security Council in 1992 voted to impose sanctions against Libya including an arms embargo and a halt to All air traffic to or from the North african nation until Libya complies with the demands