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.........................and the war on terror continues =
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Force ruled out in Russian siege
=20
=20
Families are facing an agonising wait for news =20
The Russian authorities have ruled out using force to end the =
siege at a school in North Ossetia.=20
More than 350 pupils and adults are now said to be held hostage - =
though relatives say the school in Beslan had about 1,000 pupils in =
total.=20
Hundreds of parents spent an agonising night outside the school, =
and correspondents say they are getting increasingly angry at the lack =
of news.=20
President Putin said the safety of the hostages was paramount.=20
Click here to see where the hostages are being held=20
"Our main task is to save the life and health of those who have =
ended up as hostages," he said, having cancelled a trip to Turkey to =
deal with the crisis.=20
Some of the hostages have reportedly been able to phone home, =
describing conditions in the school as tolerable.=20
REPORTED DEMANDS=20
Release of fighters from Ingushetia prisons=20
Withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya=20
Negotiations with top regional officials=20
Rebels' hostage history=20
Chechen terror haunts Russia =20
The head of the Russian security service in North Ossetia, said =
there was "no question" of opting for force at the moment.=20
"There will be a lengthy and tense process of negotiation," Valery =
Andreyev was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.=20
North Ossetia's Interior Minister Kazbek Dzantiyev said 12 =
civilians have been killed since the siege began on Wednesday morning, =
Russia's Itar-Tass news agency reported.=20
Negotiations=20
The hostage-takers began talking overnight to prominent =
paediatrician Lev Roshal, who helped negotiate the release of children =
during the siege of a Moscow theatre in 2002.=20
Mr Roshal said they refused offers to deliver food and water, but =
he was assured the children were fine. Telephone contact was severed at =
0300 (2300 GMT).=20
=20
In pictures: School siege =20
The BBC's Damian Grammaticas in Beslan said parents, red-eyed and =
anxious, spent most of the night around a military cordon set up some =
200 metres from the school.=20
As the wait continued with no news, tempers began to fray, he =
added. The parents appealed to President Putin to ensure the siege ended =
without bloodshed.=20
"We cannot go home and we will not leave. We will wait for an =
answer," a relative called Zalina told the Associated Press.=20
"We expect assistance from the authorities... We think that they =
have to help us. We cannot go home and leave our children there. They =
are innocent."=20
There was sporadic gunfire throughout the night.=20
Trip wires=20
Masked men and women, wearing bomb belts, burst into the school, =
whose pupils are aged seven to 18, at around 0930 local time (0530 GMT) =
on Wednesday.=20
RECENT DEADLY ATTACKS=20
31 Aug 2004 - Suicide bomb kills 10 at north Moscow train =
station=20
24 Aug 2004 - Two planes crash after leaving same Moscow =
airport, killing 89=20
May 2004 - Chechen president killed in blast at stadium in =
Grozny=20
Feb 2004 - Bomb attack kills at least 39 people on Moscow =
underground=20
Dec 2003 - Female suicide bomber kills five near Red Square =
It was the start of a new term, a day of celebration in Russia =
traditionally attended by parents.=20
The pupils, teachers and parents were herded into the gym. Up to =
50 children were reported to have escaped in the confusion.=20
Trip wires are believed to have been laid around the school, with =
the attackers threatening to blow it up if stormed by police.=20
Mr Dzantiyev was quoted as saying on Wednesday they threatened to =
kill 50 children for every fighter killed.=20
The hostage-takers are reported to have demanded the withdrawal of =
Russian troops from Chechnya and the release of Chechen rebels held in =
Ingushetia.=20
'International terrorism'=20
The Russian authorities are blaming what they call international =
terrorism, with suspicion falling on Chechen separatists, who have been =
fighting for independence from Moscow for the past decade.=20
Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov has denied that his forces =
are involved in the siege.=20
The UN Security Council - at a meeting on Wednesday - condemned =
the hostage takers "in the strongest terms".=20
The 15-member council demanded "the immediate and unconditional =
release of all hostages of the terrorist attack", at a session requested =
by Moscow.=20
The US called the siege "callous", and President George W Bush =
offered "support in any form", according to the Kremlin.=20
The school crisis came a day after a suspected suicide bombing in =
Moscow killed 10 people. Last week the mid-air explosions of two =
passenger planes left 89 dead.=20
=20
1 - Main entrance
2 - Area where gunfire began
3 - Hostages are being held in the school gym, which has =
reportedly been packed with explosives and mines
4 - Side entrance
5 - There have been reports of children being used as human =
shields at the back windows
6 - As the attack began a number of hostages hid in the =
boiler room and later escaped =20
=20
"PL" <pl@pandora.be> wrote in message =
news:83BZc.233920$je1.12207152@phobos.telenet-ops.be...
Posted on Thu, Sep. 02, 2004
=20
=20
DEMOCRATS
Push aims at luring Cuban voters
Democrats accelerate the push for Cuban-American voters, hiring =
Cuban
American National Foundation executive director Joe Garcia to spread =
the
Democratic agenda.
BY LESLEY CLARK
lclark@herald.com
=20
Joe Garcia, the public face of one of the most influential
Cuban-American groups in the country, is stepping down as executive =
director
of the Cuban American National Foundation to lead South Florida =
recruitment
efforts for a Democratic organization.
=20
The move comes as both parties step up their efforts to court =
the
massive Cuban-American voting bloc that has the potential to sway a =
close
election in Florida. President Bush is to share the stage tonight at =
the
Republican National Convention with his former housing secretary, Mel
Martinez, who, if elected, would be the first Cuban-American U.S. =
senator.
=20
But Garcia and officials with the Washington, D.C.-based New =
Democrat
Network, said his hiring underscores what polls show is an emerging
political division in a community traditionally viewed as staunchly
Republican.
=20
The New Democrat Network is an independent group that raises =
money in
support of moderate Democrats. In 2002 it launched a Hispanic outreach
effort to boost the party's standing among the fastest-growing group =
of
voters.
=20
Garcia, who starts immediately, will serve as a senior advisor =
to the
group's president, and will be responsible for developing a strategy =
to lure
more Cuban American and other Hispanics to the Democratic ticket.
=20
''This is a symbol of how the Cuban-American community is =
changing.
This is something that a few years ago no one would have thought =
possible,''
New Democrat Network President Simon Rosenberg said. ``We're putting =
up
competition for the Cuban vote.''
=20
Garcia, executive director of CANF since 2000, is no stranger to
politics. He lost a County Commission race to Miguel Diaz de la =
Portilla in
1993 and was appointed to the Public Service Commission by Democratic =
Gov.
Lawton Chiles.
=20
He said Wednesday that the community needs to broaden its =
approach
beyond the Republican Party.
=20
PARTY `LISTENING'
=20
''We should advocate for a better long-term Cuba policy with =
anyone
who will listen,'' Garcia said. ``The Democrats are listening.''
=20
Garcia's tenure at CANF included the defection of more than a =
dozen
members who split to found the rival Cuban Liberty Council, an =
unabashed
hard-line organization that the White House has sought to court.
=20
But moderates say Garcia is credited with making the Foundation
approachable to newer waves of Cuban exiles, who are at times at odds =
with
the historic exile community.
=20
FOUNDATION LEADER
=20
Foundation chairman Jorge Mas Santos hailed the move, suggesting =
it
would benefit Cubans to ensure they're represented by the Democratic =
party.
=20
''We don't want the extreme left of the Democratic Party to =
guide the
Cuba policy or thinking on Cuba,'' Mas Santos said. ``It is important =
to
keep all the bases covered because we don't know who is going to win =
in
November and we can't be so irresponsible as to put Cuba's fate in the =
hands
of one person or one party.''
=20
A poll released in June by the New Democrat Network suggests a
widening gap and some moderation in a community long viewed as =
monolithic.
According to the poll, Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry =
enjoyed a
commanding lead over President Bush among Cuban Americans born in the =
United
States and a decided edge among Cubans who arrived in the country =
after
1980.
=20
LARGEST GROUP
=20
The poll, though, showed Bush crushing Kerry among the largest =
-- and
most politically active and vocal -- group of Cuban-American voters: =
those
who arrived before the 1980 Mariel boatlift.
=20
Those voters backed Bush by more than 80 percent and the =
president
campaigned in Miami last week to shore up their support -- his first =
visit
to Miami since he sought to bolster his Cuban-American base by =
hardening the
U.S. line against Castro amid complaints that he had failed to live up =
to
his campaign promises.
=20
TOUGHER APPROACH
=20
Bush's tougher approach on Cuba has endeared the president to
hard-liners who had all but threatened to skip his reelection, but has
triggered a backlash from more moderate Cuban Americans who want to be =
able
to travel and support relatives in Cuba.
=20
Garcia and other Cuban-American leaders have suggested that the =
new
restrictions -- which cut travel to Cuba back from yearly to once =
every
three years -- will only end up hurting families.
=20
Those are the voters Garcia will likely pursue.
=20
''There is no question that our job is to make sure we have a =
credible
agenda that speaks to Hispanics,'' he said.
=20
Republicans who pushed for the strict restrictions questioned =
how
Garcia can sell Kerry, who has been accused of waffling on Cuba.
=20
''Joe Garcia is going to have a very tough time defending John =
Kerry's
terrible record on Cuba, particularly in comparison to President =
Bush's
proactive policies to hasten the regime's change,'' said Rep. David =
Rivera,
a Miami Republican who recently proposed getting even tougher on =
people who
travel to the island by taking away state benefits.
=20
ANTI-CASTRO EFFORTS
=20
Garcia said Bush hasn't been particularly effective in helping =
to oust
Castro.
=20
''I think what you're going to find is that we embrace a policy =
that
promotes civil society, that pushes for change,'' he said.
=20
Herald staff writer Elaine de Valle contributed to this report.
=20
=20
=20
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/9558472.htm
=20
=20
=20
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