Argentina Jewish Bomb Trial
Begins, Iran Claims Innocence
Tw enty people accused o f in
volvem ent in a car bom b attack
on a Jew ish center in Buenos
Aires in 1994, which killed 86
people, is going on trial in the
Argentine capital. Those on trial
are not charged with carrying
o u t the attack - Argentina, Israel
and the United States have laid
the blame on Middle Eastern guer
rillas backed by Iran.
But Argentine prosecutors »ay
five o f those now going on trial,
including four form er police of
ficers, provided the attackers
w ith the stolen vehicle used in
the bom bing.
The defendants say they are
not guilty, w hile Iran has re
jected claim s that it w as in any
way involved in the attack.
CROSS-BORDER PROBE
Law yers on the case say that
it could shed light on the little-
know n world o f Islamic m ili
tants currently being investi
gated follow ing the recent at
tacks in America,
The authorities have not said
if their investigation is close to
finding those actually carried
out the attack, but have ac
know ledged the investigation
ex ten d s b ey o n d A rg e n tin a ’s
borders.
For at least six m onths more
than 1,200 w itnesses will give
evidence before a panel o f three
judges in a specially fortified
court.
Standing trial are 15 form er
Argentine police officers and
Venezuela’s Last Dictator
five civilians allegedly involved
in a stolen car ring.
The m ost serious charges are
against five people w ho are ac
cused o f know ingly providing a
van to the attackers, who then
packed it with explosives before
driving it into the com m unity
centre.
T h e b la st co m p le te ly d e
stroyed the seven-story build
ing o f the A rgentine Israeli M u
tual A id Association.
If found guilty o f supplying
the vehicle the four form er A r
gentine police officers and a car
salesm an face life in prison
A rgentina’s 300,000-strong
Jew ish com m unity is the big
gest in Latin A m erica and the
seventh largest in the world.
Juliette Becomes Major Hurricane
M E X IC O CITY (A P) H urri
cane Juliette was grow ing to
enorm ous proportions, but was
m o v in g slo w ly aw ay fro m
M ex ico ’s vulnerable Pacific
coast and was unlikely to a p
proach the U nited States.
The National Hurricane C en
ter in M iam i re p o rte d that
Juliette had sustained w inds o f
145 m ph, m aking it a very
strong Category 4 hurricane.
It was likely to gain even more
force later, forecasters said.
The storm w as located 275
m iles south o f M anzanillo and
was heading w est-northw est at
3 mph. Forecasters said the storm
could shift to a m ore northw est
track running parallel to the coast.
H u rric a n e -fo rc t w inds e x
tended outw ard up to 60 m iles
from the center, and tropical
sto rm -fo rc e w in d s e x te n d e d
outw ard up to 160 miles.
A hurricane w atch was in ef
fect from Lazaro Cardenas to
C abo Corrientes, a 250-m ile
stretch o f coastline beginning
155 m iles north o f the resort
city o f Acapulco.
A sm aller hurricane, Kiko,
was centered w ell out to sea,
m ore than 1,200 m iles west o f
M exico’s central Pacific coast.
It had m axim um su stain ed
w inds o f 75 m ph and w as
headed tow ard the w est-north
w est at about 9 mph.
C 4RA CA S, Venezuela (AP)
— Gen. M arcos Perez Jimenez,
V enezuela’s last m ilitary dicta
tor, died last T hursday. He
was 87.
Perez J im enez died o f a heart
attack in his home in M adrid,
Spain, w here he lived in self-
imposed exile, his daughter, Fior
P e re z J im e n e z , to ld lo c a l
G lobovision television. She
said his body w ill be crem ated
in Spain on Friday, and that she
hopes th e re m a in s w ill be
brought b ack to V enezuela
“some day.”
Perez Jimenez ruled Venezuela
from 1952 to 1958, when he was
ousted by a bloodless coup. The
coup ushered in 43 years o f unin
terrupted democratic rule — the
longest standing dem ocracy in
Latin America.
Bom in 1914 in the western state
o f Tachira, Perez Jimenez partici
pated in a military coup that ousted
the dictatorship o f Gen. Isaias
Medina Angarita in 1945, helping
to install the democratic govern
ment of President Romulo Gallegos.
But in 1948, he led a coup that
ousted Gallegos.
A junta of three military officers
ruled Venezuela until 1952, when
Perez Jimenez declared himself
president. His regime was backed
by a security force that silenced
opposition leader's by jailing them
and torturing them.
During his term he also created
grandiose public works, includ
ing a highw ay that connects
Caracas to the northern coast,
burrowing through the moun
tains that separate the city from
the Caribbean.
In 1957, Perez Jimenez was
elected for another fi ve-y ear term
in a vote w idely considered
fraudulent. But his regime had
lost much public support and a
clandestine movement to over
throw him, led by the Democratic
Action party, was taking force.
O nJanuary23,1958,apopular
uprising backed by the military
forced Perez Jimenez and his fam
ily to flee to the Dominican R e
public. He had lived in Madrid
since 1968.
U.S. Navy Begins Shelling on
Vieques Amid War Preparations
VIEQUES, Puerto Rico ( AP) A
U.S. destroyer fired shells at the
Vieques bombing range in the first
full-scale military exercises since
the United States declared war on
terrorism. Protesters cut through a
Navy fence and threatened anti
war demonstrations.
Most protesters had pledged to
stop their civil disobedience cam
paign of invading Navy lands in
favor o f peaceful vigils to show
solidarity with the Sept. 11 terror
attack victims, and to avoid raising
tensions as Washington prepares
for war.
B ut som e h a rd -lin e rs cut
through about 60 feet o f the Navy
fence around the training ground,
police on Vieques said. Opponents
have for years protested the live
bombing exercises on their island
of9,100 people.
The Navy said the exercises be
gan Monday morning with non
explosive 5-inch shells. From a hill,
reporters heard distant thuds and
watched smoke rise from the guns
of the USS The Sullivans.
Navy jets were expected to drop
inert bombs on the firing range on
the island’s eastern tip later in the
exercises.
In recent years, groups op
posed to the training have mobi
lized protesters to invade Navy
lands and be arrested for trespass
ing. But since the attacks, most
have decided to limit their opposi
tion to peaceful anti-war vigils,
protest leader Robert Rabin said.
The Navy has used the island to
train for every major U.S. conflict
over the last six decades.
Opponents say the exercises
harm the environm ent and the
health of the island’s 9,100 people,
accusations the Navy denies.
Preserving Afro-Cuban Dance
D o s familias unidas
en una sola celebración.
Talented Afro-Cuban Dance Performer Shares Her
Skills in an Effort to Perpetuate the Art Form
The Portland State
U n iv e rsity W orld
Dance Office is host
ing Teresita Perez, a
principal dancer and
educator for the world
ren o w n ed fo lk lo ric
group, Affo-Ctlba de
Matanza. She is the
world’s leading author
ity on Afro-Cuban folk
loric forms.
Perez will be hold
ing a w orkshop on
dance forms from her
native country, demon
strating the first as an
aesthetic and spiritual
source of inspiration
for the second. Topics
to be covered will in
clude orisha song and
dance, son, salsa, cha
cha and mambo.
All classes will fea
ture live percussion by
some of Portland’s hot
test musicians. She will
be at the Peter Stott
Center Rm. 207 at PSU,
from Oct. 2 - Nov. 22,
Tuesday and Thurs
days, 6 - 7:30 p.m. Call
503-725-5670.
Teresita Perez is dedicated to preserving the
integrity o f Cuban dance as well as presenting a
contemporary perspective.
photo by
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