Study finds
European
police racist
LONDON (AP) — Some
police in Europe are contrib
uting to the “rising tide of
racist violence" instead of
turning it back. Amnesty In
ternational said in a report
released Wednesday.
The human rights organiza
tion, based in London, said
police are guilty of abuses
"ranging from racial insults
and threats of deportation to
severe beatings and other
forms of torture.”
"It is pitifully rare for these
officers to be brought to jus
tice for their behavior." it
said in a statement.
"In the present climate,
with racial attacks on the in
crease and racist groups
growing in size, that failure
to act is tantamount to con
doning racist crimes in socie
ty at large."
Amnesty said many vic
tims are foreigners, including
asylum-seekers. It cited ex
amples of abuse in France,
Germany. Italy, Greece.
Spain and Portugal where
“the race of the victim ap
pears to have been a factor.”
Amnesty said governments
must take action to curb po
lice racism by screening pro
spective police officers more
closely, providing better
training and dismissing po
lice who show racist atti
tudes.
Amnesty International
noted "several reports" of as
saults on asylum-seekers by
German police in 1902. It
said it had received reports
"of a raid on a hostel in
Granitz ... where people are
pulled from bed. beaten with
batons and punched." It said
the authorities are investigat
ing.
Rose Special mm
^ Feb. 3,4,5 only
FREE ROSE
(»*h pwcfcatt iiI a rind
Don't wait for
Valentine's Day...
\ Valentines love flowers
every day.
‘Eugtu'i flwtr ttont
THE UNIVERSITY FLORIST
W tKLIMRrMMnM
Russia commemorates Battle of Stalingrad
i! <1. i
WORLD
VOLGOGRAD. Russia
(AF) — With moun
tains of flowers and a
thunderous flyover by
military jets, Russia on
Tuesday commemorat
ed the 50th anniversa
ry of victory over the Nazis in the Battle of
Stalingrad
In this industrial river city, cal led Stalin
grad before dictator |osof Stalin died, it was
a day of emotional reunions of old veterans.
Communist outrage over the Soviet collapse,
and muted attempts to reconcile with a for
mer enemy.
A Russian honor guard laid more tlian 90
wreaths at the Eternal Flame that stands near
the old department store where Nazi Field
Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrendered on
Feb. 2, 1943, ending the 200-day brittle and
the German advance to the east.
The Battle of Stalingrad — a turning point
in World War II — remains a powerful sym
bol of the sacrifice that the Soviet republics
made during the war, which took the lives of
an estimated 26 million Soviet citizens.
More than 800.000 Germans and 1 million
Soviet soldiers and civilians died at Stalin
i
grad, which Adolf Hiller was determined to
take and Stalin to hold at all coats. Only
fl.000 German survivors made it home after
the war
Thousands of veterans displaying rows of
medals on their chests watched solemnly as
wreaths were presented by parliament
speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov, Vice President
Alexander Rutskoi. Defense Minister Pavel
Grachev and Yevgeny Shaposhnikov, mili
tary commander of the Commonwealth of
Independent States
At one point. Shaposhnikov was sur
rounded by a small group of veterans who
demanded to know why the military had al
lowed the Soviet Union to collapse.
"I could ask you the same question."
Shaposhnikov replied, and walked away.
Hundreds of pro-Communists. led by
hard-liners Sergei Baburin and Viktor
Alksnis. marched to the Eternal Flame be
neath red flags hearing the hammer and sick
le.
"We fought for the Soviet Union at Stalin
grad. and we will fight to restore the Soviet
Union," said Alexandra Ivanova.
President Boris Yeltsin did not attend, but
sent a message to German Chancellor Hel
The survivors of Stalingrad
have become the most
convincing advocates of
peace between our nations
and peoples.1
— Helmut Kohl,
German chancellor
mut Kohl He said Russia and Germany have
"embarked on the route of final and com
plete reconciliation, cooperation and part
nership"
Kohl echoed Yeltsin's message.
"1 feel especially encouraged by words
and gestures from veterans of both sides who
demand with special emphasis a closer co
operation Iietween liermans and Russians,"
Kohl said. "The survivors of Stalingrad have
become the most convincing advocates of
peace between our nations and peoples.”
Although German veterans were welcome
in Volgograd, they kept a low profile, hover
ing in the background.
a «<• •
m ui* • rt f o nans r <g
Hill not tin^pd byt your priifar ia
*
VISA
more
than Ai
not a misprint.
Visa, trt Everywhere You Want To Be.'