European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 8, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday May 6, 1994the stars and stripes Page 5somalia victim s father blames Clinton by John f. Harris Washington Post Washington when his son was killed last october in a firelight in Somalia Jim Smith said he was deluged by questioners asking if he was angry at his son s death or if he thought anyone was to blame. At the time he told people the answer was  months later the nations Alten Tion has Long since shifted away from Somalia but Smith is trying to turn it Back eager to let people know that he has a changed his mind about the Fate of his son spec. James a Smith a 21-year-old army Ranger. A \ a a a a a a a v. Quot a a my songs death served absolutely no purpose a he said a the rangers had been betrayed and i am  the target of Smiths Wrath he made Clear at an emotional news conference Friday is president Clinton who Smith alleges assigned troops to an unsafe Mission without proper military support and has since tried to slip Loose from responsibility by pressuring fellow democrats in Congress against fully airing the mistakes in Somalia. A it is my firm belief that the death of my son be Laid at the Gate of the White House a said Smith himself an army Veteran who lost a leg because of a Vietnam combat injury. Smith and other parents who lost children in Somalia believe they have already succeeded in forcing Congress hand a Public hearing by the Senate armed services committee has been scheduled for thursday on How the peacekeeping Mission in Somalia went awry last oct 3 in a chaotic firefight that killed 18 Sery ice members on the streets of Mogadishu. The hearing was announced last week Only after the parents had declared that they were holding a news conference to protest the Lack of hearings. Arnold l. Punaro staff director for the armed services panel said that was merely coincidence. He said senators have not heard from Clinton it All about hearings but did hear from the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Gen. John m. Shalik Ash Vili who urged that the committee hold no hearings until after All . Troops had returned from Somalia at the end of March. This week is the first Opportunity for the hearing Punaro said but the scheduled session is far less than what Smith and his wife Caroline Are seeking. While the Senate panel is due to hear from two generals who were in Somalia it is not expected to explore fully the policy decisions that led to the oct 3 disaster. The Somalia Relief Mission was begun under president Bush but the Clinton administration was widely criticized for allowing the operation to expand from supplying food to Hunting for a warlord and constructing a new political order. After the october deaths former defense Secretary Les Aspin acknowledged that he had rejected a request to reinforce . Troops in Somalia with armoured support vehicles. A my son bled to death Over a three hour period As a Delta Force medic struggled to save his life a Smith said. A Armor would have made a difference in getting him away from the Battle to medical help. The Smiths who came Here from their Home in new Jersey for Friday s news conference argue that it was the Lack of military experience by the president and most of his top advisers that led them to mis read the risks in Somalia. John Wheeler a prominent Vietnam Veteran and an org Modr of fridays news conference said a study he has of current White House staff finds Only 8 percent of the men who were of military age during the Vietnam War actually served in the armed forces Wheeler a Leader in the Effort to build the Vietnam veterans memorial was a High profile Veteran Back ing Clinton in 1992 but has since become an adversary. South africans gearing up for i Johannesburg South Africa apr pomp and pageantry mixed with tight Security in South Kafri cars new multiracial democracy saturday As newly elected provincial Legislatures met for the first  new National parliament meets monday and is expected to name Nelson Mandela As the nations first Black president based on the 63 percent majority won by his african National Congress. Foreign dignitaries including . Secretary Gencur Al Boutros Boutros Ghali began arriving saturday for the inauguration. The ceremony tuesday in Pretoria a Long the seat of White minority Rule will be televised around the world. First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton vice president Al Gore and his wife Tipper also Are to attend. Mandela visited a jewish synagogue for Sabbath services saturday in Cape town and urged jews who had moved abroad in fear of Black Rule to come Back. A i want to assure you that either As a Community or a religious group you have no reason whatsoever to fear a government of National Unity a he told a cheering crowd outside after the service. Depriving Whites to Benefit Blacks a will not happen in my lifetime. It will not happen during the lifetime of the african National Congress a he said. A last month voters most of them Blacks casting ballots for the first time chose the National parliament and regional Legislatures in the nine provinces set up under a new interim Constitution. The Anc easily won a majority in six of the provincial races and grabbed the most votes a just shy of 50 percent a in another. Departing president . De Klerks National party won one province and the Zulu nationalist inkatha Freedom party won its stronghold in Kwa Zulu Natal province. All of the provincial Legislatures were to hold their first session saturday except Kwa Zulu Natal which will be opened by Zulu King Goodwill Zwy Alithini this Veek. They will be choosing  the Johannesburg civic Center the new legislature for the province that includes Johannesburg and Pretoria opened in a colourful display of flags and fancy dresses. Rigid Security measures were in place after police revealed a plot to kill Tokyo sex Wale an Anc official chosen provincial Premier at saturday s opening session. Armoured Security vehicles surrounded the Complex and police closely checked the luxury cars waiting to enter even using mirrors to look underneath each vehicle inside the new legislators and their guests filled the auditorium with the men dressed in suits and women Weating stylish hats and in some cases Bright african bandannas arid Long dresses. A a it a it seems unreal to me seeing All the flags said Nadine Gordimer the Nobel prize winning South african author a you be got democracy and the majority is in charge after living a lifetime under a regime that was totally antipathetic.�?�. Voyage the High Speed attack submarine Blueback passes Portland ore., along the Willamette River on thursday As it is towed on its last cruise. The Blueback one of the last diesel pow Rcd combat subs built by the . Navy in the 1950s, will be permanently berthed and on display at Portland a Oregon museum of science and Industry. Japanese minister envoys seek to limit damage Over Wii remarks Tokyo apr Japan a Justice minister resigned saturday three Days after he infuriated neighbouring nations by defending Japan s role in world War ii. But the anger Over his remarks seemed Likely to continue. With fed eyes Justice minister Shigeto Nagano announced his resignation and apologized at a Brief news conference for provoking Shock and anger in other asian nations. Nagano a world War ii Veteran and a former chief of staff of Japan a army was in office just 10 Days. Earlier in the Day Japan a ambassadors in China and South Korea visited top government officials to try to limit the fallout from the remarks. Nagano had said in an interview published wednesday that Japan was not an aggressor in the War during which it invaded China and much of Southeast Asia. He also called the infamous 1937 a rape of Nan King a fabrication. Historians in China and in the West Esti mate about 300,000 people were killed in the City now called Nanjing by invading japanese soldiers. Nagano a comments echoed what the japanese Public and soldiers were taught during the War years. Many older conservatives and the political right Wing espouse similar views. The remarks appeared to have erased much of the Good will gained by the previous prime minister Mori Hiro Hosokawa who apologized forthrightly for Japan a aggressive role in world War ii. The new administration under prime minister Tsutomu Hata who took office late last month is More conservative than Hosokawa a Cabinet Hata returned saturday from Europe where he said Japan is willing to take a More Active military role in International peacekeeping. He also called for the legacy of world War ii to be put aside by making Japan a permanent member of the . Security Council