European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 2, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                President Clinton helped bring Yitzhak Rabin left and Yasser Arafat together to sign a Mideast peace Accord. At right a bosnian croat prays for an end to  world order brings Hope unleashes anger by Charles j. Gans the associated press i Mages that were once unimaginable grabbed the headlines Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin shaking hands at the White House. Nelson Mandela and . De Klerk sharing the Nobel peace prize. In 1993, old conflicts from the Middle East to Cambodia moved closer to Resolution benefiting from superpower rivals turned friends. But the end of the East West standoff also unleashed Long suppressed ethnic and religious strife in the former soviet republics and Yugoslavia. In the Quot new world order Quot Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin were plagued by Domestic problems and less Able to shape world events than their predecessors at the White House and Kremlin. While the . And russian backed Middle East peace talks sputtered along it Israel and the Palestine liberation organization secretly negotiated their agreement on limited palestinian autonomy in the occupied territories. Arafat ostracized by moderate Arab states for supporting Iraq in the 1991 Gulf War made yet another comeback to be welcomed in Western capitals As a peacemaker. But palestinian militants and right Wing israeli settlers tried to undermine the Plo Israel Accord. In South Africa former enemies shared the Nobel peace prize for working peacefully to end apartheid and push their country to democracy. Mandela asked the world Community to lift economic sanctions ending decades of International isolation for South Africa. But Black and White extremists sought to derail the country s first multiracial elections set for next april. Despite rising Hopes for peace in some trouble spots there were armed conflicts in More than 20 countries mostly As a result of civil strife. Africa was the hardest hit continent with major conflicts raging in Angola Sudan Liberia and Burundi killing tens of thousands and displacing hundreds of thousands. There were fewer left Wing insurgencies but More religious conflicts. Islamic fundamentalists struggled to overthrow the governments of Egypt and Algeria. India experienced its worst hindu Muslim communal violence since Independence. Tensions Rose Between India and Pakistan Over Kashmir where Muslim militants pressed a Campaign for Independence. In sri Lanka peace talks Between the government and tamil secessionists were put on hold after the a assassination of president Ranasinghe pre Madasa by a suicide bomber. China kept a tight lid on dissent but Leader Deng Xiaoping s Call to set up a Market Economy triggered an economic Boom. But in the former soviet Union and Eastern Europe the drive toward democracy hit some roadblocks. The year began with the czechs and slovaks peacefully breaking up their 74-year-old confederation. Poland s anti Corrie unit president Lech Walesa fretted As voters frustrated by the hardships of economic Reform elected a leftist coalition including former communists. The bloodiest War in Europe since world War i continued to rage in the former Yugoslavia. A a defiant hard liner carries a White Flag As he leaves the scorched parliament building in Moscow. The United states Russia european Union formerly the european Community and the United nations All failed to end the carnage among muslims serbs and croats in Bosnia where More than 200,000 people were dead and More than 2 million left homeless. Unable to agree on a partition plan the warring bosnian factions tried to change the map on the Battlefield. Residents of besieged Sarajevo began their second Winter of  by hunger disease and serbian shelling. Moscow witnessed its worst political violence since the 1917 bolshevik revolution. Yeltsin dissolved the hard line legislature obstructing his reforms and had the army storm the parliament building. The russian president then scheduled a nationwide vote dec. 12 for a new parliament and Constitution a which introduced a new world figure and world threat. Vladimir a Mirinovsky s nationalistic right Wing views struck a chord with Many of his comrades and made his Liberal democratic party one of the top vote getters. Beset by problems at Home Yeltsin could not do much to halt strife in former soviet republics. Eduard Shevardnadze a world figure As soviet foreign minister found himself Leader of a disintegrating Georgia forced to flee for his life from abkhazian rebels. Christian Armenia and Muslim Azerbaijan fought Over the Region of Magorno Karabash Tajikistan in Central Asia was gripped by a civil War Between former communists and islamic forces that killed tens of thousands. The end of the soviet Empire left the United states to sole remaining superpower. But that did t help the new . President get his Way abroad. / the year began with . Warships off the const of Haiti to prevent a mass exodus by refugees. It ended with . Ships blockading the Caribbean nation to enforce a . Embargo after haitian military leaders reneged on an agreement to restore ousted president Jean Bertrand Aristide Saddam Hussein having outlasted George Bush continued to Challenge . Weapons inspectors and menace iraqi kurd and shiite muslims despite a . Continued on Page 20 saturday sunday january 1/2, 1994 the stars and stripes