MonitoRadio Daily Program; [1988-01-07]

From Boston, this is Monitor Radio. I'm Clint Jones coming up on this Thursday, January 7th, is Moscow's series about pulling its troops out of Afghanistan by years in. Canadian warships steamed toward Puerto Rico, but are they really bound for Haiti? And the U .S. hockey team goes for the gold. We'll have those stories and more, but first Bob Dunn has a summary of today's news. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir will reportedly try to prevent a top United Nations official from touring the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. And Israeli television said Shamir won't meet with the official, but foreign minister Shimon Perez will. Earlier, the U .N. said under Secretary General Merrick Goulding was leaving for Israel today in connection with the U .N. Security Council resolution past last month. A resolution Israel has rejected. The measure strongly criticizes Israeli security practice in the occupied territories and calls for a U .N. report on the situation. Secretary of State Shultz today called the Soviet Union's pledge to leave Afghanistan by the end of the year desirable. But at a Washington News conference, Shultz said U .S. aid to the Afghan rebels

will continue in the meantime, as Aaron Cohen reports. Secretary Shultz wants a timetable from the Soviets, a step -by -step schedule of events leading up to complete withdrawal from Afghanistan. Shultz said there will be a continuing need for economic aid, but that military support from the U .S. is another subject. In fact, as far as support in the form of military equipment is concerned, as withdrawal proceeds and as it takes place, we hope in a peaceful atmosphere, then you don't have the need for that continued support and it would cease. Shultz said the United States would like to see an Afghanistan that rules itself, and that will accept millions of Afghan refugees living in Pakistan. For monitor radio, I'm Aaron Cohen in Washington. The Kremlin is apparently changing its views on leadership, past and future. An official paper in Czechoslovakia today quoted a Soviet official as saying multi -candidate elections could be extended to the national leadership of the Soviet Communist Party. To date, multi -candidate elections have been limited to the local level. The official also said lifetime

appointments to party job should be eliminated. Meanwhile, the Kremlin is erasing some visible tributes to one -time party chief -landed brush -known, now criticized for fostering complacency and stagnation. Yesterday, his name was stripped off a city, a Moscow neighborhood, and town squares. Snow and Arctic temperatures are still keeping much of the country in a deep freeze as Lawrence Belcy reports from Chicago. In Chicago, it got a little warmer today into the teens after 45 hours of consecutive zero and sub -zero temperatures. But in much of the southern half of the nation, the cold weather of the past few days has been quickly followed by snow, lots of it. A large storm has dumped about a foot of snow from Utah to Oklahoma, and covered areas as far as south as Texas. Oklahoma City and Lulurak -Ark and Saagat record accumulations, whilst no in Nashville, Tennessee kept schools closed and forced first -lady Nancy Reagan to cancel her trip there. A major oil spill in the Pittsburgh area continued flowing along the Ohio Mananga -Hila River system today, and communities in Ohio and West Virginia brace themselves for water shortages. In suburban Pittsburgh, life was slowly getting

back to normal, despite a few problems with a makeshift water supply line. The South Korean government is considering the release of hundreds of political prisoners, Daniel Snyder has our report. The Associated Press, citing an unnamed official of the ruling party, reported from Seoul today that hundreds of political prisoners may be released a week before the February 25th inauguration of President -elect Noe Tae -Woo. Mr. Noe promised an honesty for political prisoners before his election. However, Mr. Noe also stated that activists labeled as leftists subversives would not be released. Last June, following weeks of anti -government protest, he promised a similar release of prisoners. While hundreds were let out of jail, many remained. According to human rights organizations, more people have been arrested on political charges since then than were released. According to their account, an estimated 1 ,200 people are now jailed. The government

sources in Sri Lanka said today, rebel and government leaders are meeting secretly to negotiate a ceasefire between Tamil militants and Indian peacekeeping troops. The sources said the first goal of the talks is establishing a truce to coincide with a Tamil religious festival next week. The next step would be formation of an interim administration in Tamil -dominated areas of the country. I'm Bob Don, monitor radio. The White House said today it's optimistic that the eight -year -long guerrilla war in Afghanistan could end. Providing Moscow sets a date for withdrawing its troops from the country. Yesterday, Soviet Foreign Minister Edward Sheverd Nadza said Moscow hopes to pull its troops out of Afghanistan by the end of the year. However, Sheverd Nadza did not set a date for withdrawal. Joining me on the line from Geneva is Edward Girarday, who's been covering the war in Afghanistan for the Christian Science Monitor. And the White House seems to be downplaying the Soviets' talk about withdrawing. How do you read it? I think there is a possibility that they are sincere this time and that they do wish to leave. They want to leave in 12 months or less

that appears to what they're saying now. The Pakistanis and the Americans would like to see a shorter timetable because the Americans in particular don't want to give the Soviets any time to concentrate on hitting hard at the resistance during an interim withdrawal period. Where the Americans and other countries would have to cut off their supplies and finance through the guerrillas. But I think it is a possibility and it does seem to be happening now. Now, as you've suggested, this issue of aid, particularly USA to the Afghan rebels, is factored into all of this. What do you know about all of that? First of all, I don't think the US wants to be seen as undermining the resistance. They want to make the resistance realize they will back the month of the last minute possible. What they will try and do, I think, is continue supplying the resistance with finance and arms ammunition until the date, the cut -off date, which would be agreed upon after Geneva talks. This would give the resistance time to stockpile. This has already been happening. A lot of guerrilla groups haven't stockpiling inside Afghanistan. So it would give them enough military power

to continue fighting during a 12 -month interim period. Should the Soviets decide to really start striking hard at the resistance during the withdrawal period? The Soviets, of course, have been backing the government of Najibullah. Najibullah is reluctant to lose the Soviet military backing. And, in fact, is really completely dependent upon it. Now, we have chevred nods of making it clear that the Soviets would be willing to pull out before creating an acceptable transition government. Does this mean that the Soviets are willing to cut their losses and run from Afghanistan? Well, I think the Soviets have realized that the present Kabul regime cannot survive on its own. They've tried in the past to make it more popular. They've tried to persuade the various leaders in charge that they've got to broaden their public appeal. They have failed. There was this recent national reconciliation offer by Najibullah last year, but the communists still try to retain dominance. And as a result, the offer was rejected by most Afghans and the entire resistance. What the Soviets are now trying to do, I think, they would like to leave Afghanistan, but on conditions which will

not make it appear that they're losing the war, they also would like to retain some sort of regime in Kabul, which remains on friendly terms with the Soviet Union. If possible, they would like to see a pro -Soviet regime, but I think they realize that this is impossible. Also, the Afghan resistance has said they would not accept any Najibullah regime or any communist coalition government in Afghanistan in return for transitional government or in return for ceasefire. So, I think the Soviets now are trying to find some sort of way that they can withdraw without really seeming to lose the war. Well, it would certainly seem that after having lost up to 50 ,000 men and being involved in eight years of fighting like this, that the Soviets would be looking to come out of Afghanistan with something. The Soviets still want to show that they can retain some sort of military might inside Afghanistan. And this was seen recently with the efforts to break the Gorilla Siege at the provincial town of Holt in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border. This town was besieged by the Gorillas for nearly

eight years, and the Soviets used 20 ,000 of their own troops plus 20 ,000 Afghan government troops to break this siege last week. So, they didn't really achieve a victory, but they just wanted to show the Afghan Gorillas that they were still prepared to bring in heavy armor and really strike hard at the resistance. But the Soviets also want to retain other things, I think, they would like to retain some sort of in economic influence in Afghanistan. They would, of course, like to retain some of their military bases in Afghanistan. They have extremely important strategic ones in western Afghanistan, but I think there is little chance of this. So, what they might push for is some sort of economically rich or financial leverage on the Afghans, but I think many Afghans realize that even if the Soviets do leave, that they will have to live with the Soviet Union as a big brother neighbor, and they're quite willing to accept this, but they do want to have an independent Afghanistan and independent and non -aligned Afghanistan without the Soviet interference. Ed, thank you. Thanks very much. Correspondent Edward

Gerarday speaking with us from Geneva. Gerarday is the author of Afghanistan, the Soviet War. And it's possible a Soviet withdrawal agreement could be signed at the next round of talks between Pakistan and the Soviet -backed Afghan government. Those talks are scheduled for next month in Geneva. Three Canadian Navy vessels are steaming toward the Caribbean today. The two destroyers and a supply ship are expected to arrive at the U .S. Navy base at Roosevelt Road in Puerto Rico next Wednesday. The Canadian Defense Department says the three ships will participate in a U .S. Navy exercise. However, there's evidence that the ships may have another mission. They could be set on to Haiti, where violence disrupted the November 29 elections. New elections are scheduled in 10 days, and as Peter Benish reports from Toronto, the three Canadian warships may be used as part of a contingency plan to evacuate

Canadians and possibly Americans and other foreigners from Haiti. There are 2 ,300 Canadians in Haiti. Canada is a major aid and trade partner of many Caribbean countries and has longstanding ties with the Haitians. For example, the largest community of expatriotations lives in Montreal. The Canadian Navy dispatched the three ships on very short notice. Crews were recalled from New Year's leave, and sailors reported that they had loaded supplies ranging from disposable diapers to body bags. As the ships put to sea, Canadian defense officials and diplomatic spokesmen tried to play down the possibility of a Canadian lead evacuation. For example, the chief of the defense staff, General Paul Manson, warned that reports of Canadian ships going down to Haiti could contribute to the difficulty being faced in Haiti right now. But Canada's top naval officer, Vice Admiral Charles Thomas, confirmed that a contingency plan exists for evacuation and that the Navy would carry it out if asked. And Canada is in a

difficult position. As military experts point out, an evacuation plan needs to be kept as quiet as possible to avoid panicking Canadians, Americans, and other foreigners and to prevent a backlash against them by Haitian extremists. Nicholas Betham, director of the prestigious Strategic Analysis Group, based in Toronto, says that with the memory of the US invasion of Grenada still fresh in many Caribbean minds, Canada has several reasons for taking a lead role in a possible evacuation of foreigners from Haiti. One, we have a long -standing relationship with Haiti and rather than simply standing back and watching things go wrong and leaving it to others to execute their policies, better that we be involved in order to influence the outcome if things do go wrong. And it is the responsibility of the Canadian government to look after Canadian citizens. And I think that's particularly important in view of the fact that we see ourselves as having a considerable presence and influence in the Caribbean. And Betham says that the Canadian government is lucky that it has the help of the

US and the US military exercise to camouflage the Canadian task force and make it look like an ordinary practice operation. The Canadian Defense Department clearly hopes it doesn't need to put the contingency plan into effect. Chief of the Defense Staff General Manson said that the best solution would be for Canadians and by implication Americans and others seeing any risk of renewed violence in Haiti to get out by commercial airlines or any other means. For monitor radio, I'm Peter Benish in Toronto. Haiti shares the central Caribbean island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. But as Jeff White reports from Santo Domingo, the island is about all the Dominicans and Haitians have in common. Haiti's colonial conquerors were the French. The Dominican Republic was settled by the Spanish. The Haitians proclaimed their independence in 1804. The Dominicans did likewise 17 years later. But in 1822, Haiti invaded the Dominican Republic and ruled the country for the next 22 years until the Dominicans declared their independence once again.

Many Dominicans never forgave the Haitians for invading their country and some even looked for revenge. In 1937, Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo ordered the massacre of thousands of Haitians who were living in the Dominican Republic near the border. History professor Jesus de Yereas of the University of Santo Domingo says that event initiated a long -term campaign of discrimination. Since that period, the anti -Hation prejudice has strengthened. To the point where the worst thing one can think of within the Dominican mentality is to be Haitian. On the scale of human values, the Haitian is on the lowest level. Nevertheless, the Dominican Republic has long been a refuge for oppressed Haitians. Many opponents of the former Duvalier dictatorship went into exile in the Dominican Republic. When Duvalier fled Haiti in 1986, many of his supporters sought refuge across the border. And with all of the present unrest in Haiti, Haitians of all political persuasions have come to the Dominican Republic to escape the

violence. Then there are the economic refugees. The Dominican Republic is a very underdeveloped country, but it is still in much better shape than Haiti, the hemisphere's most impoverished nation. So hundreds of thousands of Haitians have come here legally or illegally to work in the sugarcane fields, or to perform other backbreaking labor that Dominicans don't want to do for wages that Dominicans would not accept. Here in the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo, there's an area known as Little Haiti, where hundreds of Haitians live and work. Some of them are here for political and others for economic reasons, but almost all of them say they feel uncomfortable. A Haitian teenager explained it this way. The people around here say it's okay to kill a Haitian, because the Haitian is a dog, the Haitian isn't a person, but this is wrong, because everyone has to be born somewhere. It's no one's

fault that they're a Haitian, right? Why do they have this attitude? Because we're black and we're ugly. That has to be it, right? There is a certain degree of racism. Most Dominicans are molotos, a mixture of black and white. Most Haitians, on the other hand, are almost pure black, the descendants of African slaves. Recently, Dominican President Joaquín Balaguer publicly warned against what he called the Haitianization of the Dominican Republic. Along other things, Balaguerre said, we are letting the Haitians take control of our country. This speech by Balaguerre sparked old anti - Haitian feelings. It came at a time of economic crisis in the Dominican Republic, and at a time when certain food items were becoming scarce. Public protests about the food shortages put tremendous pressure on the Dominican government. Professor Thayerius says the government needed an escape valve. And one very large escape valve is to dredge up the Haitian problem,

so that this stored up hatred, this accumulated collective neurosis, is once again turned against the Haitians. This is very dangerous. And the saddest thing about it is that it's an official position that comes from the very presidency of the Republic, and that it's being echoed in the chambers of Congress. Dominican Under Secretary of State for Foreign Relations Fabio Erreira denies that Balaguerre is promoting anti - Haitian discrimination. He says that in referring to Haitianization, the president was simply talking about the Haitian peasants practice of deforestation, which some of them are continuing when they come to the Dominican Republic. Erreira also says that his government is encouraging educational campaigns to improve Dominican's attitudes toward their Haitian neighbors. There has always been a lack of trust between bordering nations with different backgrounds. We're going to try to overcome that as much as possible to serve as an example. This island is too small for us to be fighting amongst ourselves. There's still a very long way to go to overcome all the

uneasiness that exists between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. But Dominicans and Haitians alike are hoping that a stable democratic government will soon emerge in Haiti, and they both agree that that would make mending the fences a lot easier. For monitor radio, I'm Jeff White in Santo Domingo. You're listening to Monitor Radio, the broadcast service of the Christian Science Monitor on American Public Radio. I'm Clint Jones. Even though the Iowa caucuses are only a matter of weeks away, and the presidential primary season begins in mid -February, the polls suggest that many Americans are not satisfied with the field of presidential candidates. Well, with that in mind, John Dillon, the Christian Science Monitor's chief political correspondent,

decided to ask a number of political experts to come up with a dream ticket. John has joined us from our studios in Washington. John, before we talk about who the experts would like to see on the presidential ticket, let me ask just how widespread this voter dissatisfaction is with the current field of candidates. Basically, about two -thirds of the Democratic voters would very much like to see someone else in the race who's not there now. The Republicans about one -third would like to see somebody in the race who's not there now. The reason for this is obvious. In the Republican Party, the two best -known names nationally, George Bush and Robert Dull, are already in the race. And so, Republican voters are obviously satisfied because they feel they have their best people in there. On the Democratic side, the best -known people, Governor Cuomo of New York, Senator Sam Nun of Georgia, Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey, former Governor Charles Rob of Virginia, have refused to get into the race. And so, what we have is a group of candidates with some exceptions, such as Jesse Jackson, who are not really

well -known nationally. And as a result, people not knowing them really can't work up too much enthusiasm about them. And at least the way things stand now, unless Cuomo were to jump in or Bill Bradley or Nun, as you've suggested, it looks like the Republicans might retain ownership of the White House. Well, yes, exactly. And so, we asked a number of experts to say just who it was they thought would be the natural ticket for the Democrats if they could choose anyone they wished in the whole country. And the most named person of all was really no surprise. It was Mario Cuomo of New York, followed closely by Sam Nun. What they said, though, for the most part was that it wasn't as simple as picking Mario Cuomo. What they thought was needed was some sort of north -south balance in which you would pull in a Mario Cuomo who would win the Northern Liberal ethnic vote, the vote that they feel the Democrats have the greatest chance of winning back from the Reagan Republicans this time. And then, as well, pulling in someone like a Sam Nun or a Charles Rob

to pick up the Southern White vote. And between those two, they felt that they could perhaps, there was at least a chance, resurrect the old Franklin D Roosevelt coalition, which would put them back into office. Now, as these experts did some dreaming, they were also coming up with Vice Presidential candidates, and many suggested a woman on the ticket, particularly on the Republican side. That's right. They feel that, well, first of all, they feel George Bush is probably the best, strongest candidate for the Republican Party. But to strengthen him, to make him as appealing as possible, they think a woman should be on the ticket with him, and they think probably the best prospect is Robert Dole's wife, Elizabeth Dole, who used to be the Secretary of Transportation. Well, when you asked these political experts to do some dreaming, did any of them come up with something really far -fatched? Well, yes, they did. In fact, Murr Field, the pollster in California, said that if he had his absolute dream ticket, it would be a 50 -year -old Ronald Reagan to head the Republican ticket. Stephen Hess, who's a scholar at Brookings Institution,

said that as long as he was dreaming, he would love to see a man who was recently considered a political career actor, Charlton Heston, because as he put it, I'd sure love to see the inaugural parade with all those chariots coming down Pennsylvania Avenue. Okay. Well, John, thank you very much. We appreciate it. Thank you. John Dillon, the Christian Science Monitor's Senior Political Correspondent, speaking with us from our studios in Washington. The U .S. hockey team, no comparisons, please, will have that story right after Bob Dunn updates the headlines. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir said he would not meet with a senior UN official traveling to the occupied territories. Vice President Bush spent part of a campaign day in Iowa attempting to quell fresh speculation about his knowledge of the Iran -Contra affair, but again refused to say what advice he gave the President on armed sales to Iran. East German President Eric Hanukkah began a two -day visit to Paris. It's the first

time an East German Hevostate has traveled to any of the three Western powers which control West Berlin. The nation's major retailers reported that holiday sales were better than many analysts expected, but not strong. On Wall Street today, the Dow lost 20 points in early trading, but finished the day up 14 points at 2051 .89. Volume on the big board told 175 million shares. I'm Bob Dunn, monitor radio. The United States Olympic hockey team continues its preparations for the winter games next month in Calgary. The team's grueling pre -Olympic schedule is winding down now, but six of Team USA's final eight games will be against Olympic teams from Canada and Sweden. Will Team USA perform another miracle like the 1980 squad, which won a gold medal, or will it flounder like the 1984 team? Well, naturally hockey fans will be making comparisons, but as George Hoffman reports from Chicago, members of the 1988 team rarely engage in such discussion.

Team USA is a quick skating, high -scoring aggregate that would very much like its own identity, but comparisons are human nature and the 1988 team knows it. Its coach, Dave Peterson, cringes at constant reminders of the 1980 and 1984 teams. We don't care. That's up to media fans. People have expectations. They want a gold medal in the 80, why not 88? It doesn't bother us if people talk about 80. It has nothing to do with us. What they did in the 80's history, our history is ahead of us. It starts on February 13th. That's when Team USA will begin its first Olympic test against Austria. In the meantime, Team USA has been barnstorming the country, facing off against teams from the NHL, the Soviet select B team and college squads. How will the USA fear in the upcoming games? Her Brooks, coach of the 80 team that stunned the world by winning the gold medal, says that due to a new playoff format, the 88 team

has an advantage over teams from the past. Well, it's going to be easier because the final four has been expanded to the final six. I'm not knocking anybody. That's just a fact. Now, how did that happen? First time in Olympic history that I know of. Was that ABC? It is widely believed that indeed, ABC was behind the move to expand the medal round in order to give the US team a better chance while hopefully improving the network's ratings. Either way, the ghosts of 80 and 84 are prevalent, and though they don't haunt the 88 team, they're there just the same. Scott Fusco is one of two members of the current team that competed in the 84 games. I think 84 was a disappointment, but it's the only thing to compare a style of play. I think we play a pretty similar style. All the teams in Calgary will play a pretty free well in style and as far as comparisons go, I don't think this team has a little more experience, a little bit older. And like I said before, a little more balance

and scoring. The US hockey team has a higher profile these days because of the dramatic success by the 1980 team at Lake Placid. But her Brooks downplays any pressure that his team success brought to the 84 team. There's no pressure and then it's a fun environment, but there's no pressure that 1980 created. I keep laughing at that when everybody said in 1984, oh my gosh, it was all a pressure 1980. I just think they courted the media. They did this partly because they had to because of needs for dollars. But then when it was all over, they had a good team that was well prepared by the coach and then they just had a bad tournament or that happens. What will happen at Calgary? Scott Fusco has his own expectations. We expect to make the matter round. We put this in the top six and then from there, it's a three game set. So if we make the matter round, we'll be happy at that point and then take those last three games one game at a time and see where the medals fall on. Since 1920, when hockey became a medal sport, the US has won

two gold, six silver and one bronze medal. The 88 team has high expectations and the winning a gold would seemingly be a long shot. The chances of bringing home a medal are better than they were four years ago. For Monitor Radio, I'm George Hoffman in Chicago. And that's Monitor Radio for Thursday, January 7th. If you have any questions or comments about our program, please write us. Our address is 1 Norway Street, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, or you can write to us and care of this station. Thanks for listening. We'll talk with you again tomorrow from Boston. I'm Clint Jones and this is the American Public Radio Network.