European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 9, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday january 9,1994 Pago 4 the stars and stripes press Case for Brussels Belgium it a with the Warsaw pact gone some in the West View nato As a quarrelsome directionless and costly irrelevance. But for nations recently freed from soviet domination the Western military Alliance Means Security a and they want in. / a Onato is the absolutely no. 1 organization a czech Deputy foreign minister Pavel Ratinka says. A it was thanks to nato that the soviet Union was  Ratinka joined defense specialists from Hungary and Poland in Brussels to press their Case for membership ahead of the two Day Summit of president Clinton and other North Atlantic treaty organization Lead a ers. A Quot. / nato is caught Between the Central and Eastern europeans increasingly forceful Calls for membership and Russia s opposition to any eastward expansion of the Alliance. What the nations of Central and Eastern Europe really want is a guarantee that if they Are attacked the United states and the Western european allies will fight to defend them. Eastern europeans concerns intensified last month with the Success of Vladimir a a Mirinovsky and his extreme nationalists in Russia s parliamentary elections. The support garnered by a Mirinovsky revived fears of russian intervention among Eastern europeans and increased their desire for Security guarantees from nato. But Western nations saw the election result As a warning against taking any Steps that could inflame expansionist sentiments in Russia. A i think we need to be extraordinarily careful that we do not by intent or worse yet inadvertently fuel those Ultra nationalistic feelings in Russia a . Army Gen. John m. Shalikashvil joint chiefs of staff chairman said. Poles czechs hungarians and others fear bowing to russian demands risks creating a dangerous Security vacuum nato from Paget Poland said his country welcomes the Prospect of joint military exercises with nato. A a we Are looking Forward to joint exercises with nato if Poland enters the pacts partnership for peace program a said maj. Krzysztof Szymanski of the National Security Bureau which coordinates Poland s military policy. _ Walesa a Strong advocate of natos Quick expansion did not explicitly agree to the plan though he did not reject it. Polish newspapers interpreted Walesa a attitude As reluctance to accept the nato partnership plan without a guarantee that at some Point in the future Poland will become a member of the Alliance. A this partnership will invite Europe a former communist states in Central and Eastern Europe As Well As states of the former soviet Union to take part in Rimli tary planning exercises and cooperation a vice president Al Gore said in a radio address saturday. A it creates an evolutionary process so that nato can help spread the blessings of peace to More of eur More gave saturdays weekly presidential radio address standing in for president Clemton who was attending his mothers funeral saturday. Die president was expected to return to Washington late saturday evening then begin a 10-Day Tnp that includes the nato Summit in Brussels and a meeting with russian president Boris  in  Shvili a offer was in line with the Clinton administration policy of going slowly on extending nato membership to the countries of the defunct Warsaw pact while trying to expand natos influence to that area once dominated by the soviet Union. But the partnership for peace plan has been much criticized by the East european countries for lacking any Concrete timetable for joining nato or even an Assurance that they will be granted membership. After a Day of talks in Warsaw with polish and other East european officials the Clinton administrations two special envoys Shalikashvil and Madeleine a a Albright the . Ambassador to the unite nations expressed new optimism that the partnership for peace proposal was gaining general  from Page 1 eventual peace plan in the War ravaged Region said the officials who demanded anonymity. A this Summit is fundamentally about the broader future of european Security a Robert Hunter the . Ambassador to nato said in an interview with the associated press. The Centrepiece of the conference is an american proposal a a partnership for peace a that will draw former adversaries in Eastern Europe closer but without granting them full membership. Under the plan nato forces would link up with East european units for peacekeeping missions in their Region. Nonetheless Hunter said a the Alliance has to take very seriously the situation in the former  he said he expected to see a fall the decisions and policies of the Alliance on the former Yugoslavia reconfirmed because there has been no  in Advance of the Summit . Secretary of state Warren Christopher arrived saturday morning to Confer with nato Secretary general Manfred Worner and . Gen. George Alfred Joulwan commander of natos european forces. On the former Yugoslavia Alliance officials said the United states and France teamed up to propose draft language for the final communique that sought to resolve their differences Over the Issue. Earlier it had appeared French demands for stronger action in Bosnia and Herzegovina by the allies in particular the United states would overshadow efforts to use the Summit to revamp the military Alliance in the Post cold War Era French foreign minister Alain Jupp said in recent Days that he wanted president Clinton and the other leaders a to take a Strong position to break the War machine in the former Yugoslavia. Paris also had renewed a Call for a .-backed military intervention after five More French peacekeepers were wounded by serbian artillery attacks on  from Page 1 intended to be optional Side trips costing passengers an extra $20. Schlucter insisted that the $666 scandinavian cruise for his family of four turned into a voyage of the damned and said he asked the owner for half his Money Back. His evidence is a top Tours brochure advertising a tour to Sweden and Denmark with Sweden in larger i tiers and a lengthy description on the Back about a morning excursion through the swedish City of Malmd. Colantonio admitted that she has re Sci cd complaints about the tour but she said refunding $20 per person for the optional City Tours is a fair  Soldier wrote an angry letter to his credit card company telling visa he won t pay a a not a  his Rcd it card receipt reads a top tour Schlucter mini cruise Sweden a the cruise sailed from dec. 28 to 30. A they just wiped out a whole country a said Schlucter a Cook with a Mannheim tank battalion who booked his family on the vacation a for which they paid a top Price of $189 for each of two adults and lower rates for their two sons Ages 8 and 5 a Between Christmas and new year s. A it does no to bother me that they might skip a City Here or a Castle there but to skip a whole country. A we gave them a Beautiful ship with Beautiful facilities a Colantonio said. A the ship changed the  also she said the travel brochure does not state How Long tourists will be Able to disembark in either Sweden or Denmark. A the ship still had the same itinerary. They did no to Send him to  travellers on whirlwind cruises need to be realistic about getting what they not informed about the change until after his family boarded the bus taking them to the Baltic port of Lubeck Germany. A o at Issue is the swedish City of Malmo a fishing and Industrial port on the Ore Sund a sound that separates Sweden from Denmark. Copenhagen the capital of Denmark lies on the opposite Shore of the sound 17 Miles away. Before changing its schedule the they just wiped out a whole country it does t bother me that they might skip a City Here or a Castle there but to skip a whole country army staff sgt. Dave Schlueter we gave them a Beautiful ship with Beautiful facilities. The ship changed the schedule. Brigitte Colantonio top Tours owner pay for Colantonio said. A thousands of people get a super value on these Tours a the top Tours owner said. Schlueter said his main problem is with the brochure that has Sweden in larger letters above Denmark. He said he May have decided against booking the cruise had he known there was no scheduled port Call in Sweden. He also is irked that an advertised Stopover in the German City of Hamburg was in reality a one hour shopping Stop at a local Toom Markt a German grocery and discount store with branches throughout the country which he describes As a similar to Kmart in the  the Silja line that operates the boat changed its schedule More than a month ago but Schlueter said he was Silja line would Dock at Malmd where top Tours passengers could disembark on their optional City Tours. After a few hours in Malmo the optional tour then would continue by hovercraft to Copenhagen spend several hours there then return by hovercraft to Malmo Harbor in time to meet the cruise ships 6 30 . Departure for its return voyage to Germany. The shipping line changed the port Call this Winter. It makes a Brief Stopover in Malmo a just Long enough to allow swedish passengers to disembark a and then anchors Tor the Reskof the afternoon in Copenhagen. The boat also now leaves Copenhagen around 4 ., which is after dark in the scandinavian wintertime but still 2yi hours earlier than the previous departure time from Malmd. Thus not enough time remains to tour both cities. The tour guide on dec. 29 compromised by passing out City maps Ana instructions on Bow to make hovercraft connections for passengers who still wished to go ashore at Malmd. Eighteen tourists including Schlueter his wife and two children opted to fend for themselves in Malmd Aniie eight other passengers chose to remain with the guide and sail on to Copenhagen. Because the hovercraft crosses the sound faster than the cruise ship it is possible to see Malmo briefly and still beat the ship to Copenhagen m order to meet the bus tour of the danish City. However tourists in Malmd had to go As standby passengers on the hovercraft a adding More suspense to their hurried self Tours a and several ended up taking a later hovercraft. A no one was lost from the tour but several passengers complained of having to pay their own hovercraft fare a about$5, Colantonio said that the tour guide a definitely should have Given them Money for the hovercraft and that each passenger on the tour will be refunded $20 for the City tour and about $5 to cover the Cost of the hovercraft fare. Another traveler on the cruise Ramstein a teacher buddy Leavitt said that a number of people on the tour weren to Happy about the change of schedule. A we made it to Sweden Only because we insisted a he said and those who missed the first hovercraft had a Long wait at the pier. But he said a i made sure i had a Good time All the time i was  pfc. Aaron Irvin a military policeman in Friedberg said he enc fed up having plenty of time to see Malmo because there Isnit much to see. Its not a big City a Colantonio agreed. A but it is