Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • Page 3

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL Monday, April 1, 1991 A3 Gorbachev Must Fix Economy To Survive, Senator Says THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Strikers Threaten To Flood Soviet Mines THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev will not remain in power unless he takes "dramatic steps" to move bis country toward a free economy, Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell predicted Sunday. The Maine Democrat, interviewed on NBC-TV's "Meet the Press," was asked, "Is Gorbachev helicopters will be shot down only "if they threaten U.S. forces or coalition forces." Mitchell, asked what U.S. policy' should be regarding Gorbachev and his challenger Boris Yeltsin, said," "Our national interest does not ride on any one government official, here or anywhere else. So, I think our policy ought to be supportive of the government reforms, encourag-; ing of the movement toward a free economy, but not placing all of our chips on one person or another." Mitchell said daily living is becoming "more difficult for almost' all Soviet citizens" as tne economy, deteriorates.

"Unless and until he makes the break and goes to a free economy and endures the short-term pain that that involves, I don't see how it is possible for the government to continue," he said. problem and the one from which they all stem is the economic slide of the Soviet Union." Mitchell also said U.S. forces must shoot down Iraqi helicopters that have been ravaging the rebellious populations of that nation. Although praising President Bush's general policy of nonintervention in the Iraqi civil wars as correct, Mitchell said: "I wish they would enforce the original policy of not permitting any aircraft, fixed wing or helicopters, to operate against the rebels. Mitchell's plea for action against the helicopters came after an anguished and confusing debate within the Bush administration over Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's blatant use of the helicopters- After several weeks of contradictory signals, the White House announced last week that Iraqi republic of Georgia crowded polling booths Sunday to cast ballots in an independence referendum.

If Georgians approve independence from the Soviet Union, as expected, they may heighten nationalist sentiment. The nationalism is hampering Gorbachev's efforts to hold the union together. An estimated 300,000 of the country's 1.2 million miners have joined the strike that began as a 24-hour walkout March 1. Their demands include the Gorbachev's resignation, new elections and doubled paychecks. Miners now earn an average of 375 rubles ($660) per month, 40 percent above the national norm.

Anatoly Malykhin, a strike leader from Kuznetsk, said the miners were "preparing to flood mines" to protest government inaction during the strike. Flooding can close mines permanently. It was unknown whether other region's miners were making the sabotage threat, however. MOSCOW Striking coal miners threatened Sunday to flood their mines unless Russian lawmakers met their demands, but the parliament remained preoccupied with a power struggle midway through special session. Speaker after speaker on the fourth day of the special session of Russian Congress of People's Deputies appealed for leaders to resolve the fate of Russian leader Boris Yeltsin or concentrate on pressing economic problems.

Opponents of Yeltsin, President Mikhail Gorbachev's chief rival, haven't mustered enough support for a no confidence vote. But his allies do not have the two-thirds majority needed to create a stronger presidency, an office Yeltsin seeks in a popular vote. Meanwhile, voters in the fractious southern going to make it?" "I don't think he will unless he takes the dramatic steps necessary to turn their economy around," Mitchell said. "He's got a host of Mitchell problems, but I think the biggest 'A 7 i) Insurgents, Iraq Forces Claim Gains In Fighting U.S. Keeps Withdrawal Schedule Up to 3,000 Troops Leave War Area Daily it iu.

in- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS i THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 11 it fa i 4 "A II THE ASSOCIATED PRESS f-' 5 NICOSIA, Cyprus Kurdish rebels said Iraqi forces backed by helicopter gunships, warplanes and artillery pounded two provincial capitals on Sunday but had not managed to capture the cities. Iraq, however, claimed it had chased the rebels out of the northern cities of Dohuk and Erbil, and said government troops were welcomed by cheering residents. It was impossible to verify either side's claims. The Kurdish rebellion flared in northeastern Iraq five weeks ago when the Persian Gulf War ended with a rout of Saddam Hussein's forces by the U.S.-led allied coalition. At the same time, Shiite Moslems revolted in the south.

Forces loyal to Saddam launched a major offensive last week against the Kurdish insurgents, who had captured nearly all of their historic homeland. Government troops on Thursday recaptured the oil center of Kirkuk, and on Sunday they appeared in complete control, Associated Press reporter Wafa Amr reported from the city. She said burned corpses, cars and trucks still littered the streets, and that many buildings were ravaged by shellfire and bullet holes. Iraqi authorities accused the rebels of going on a rampage of murder, looting and destruction while they held the city. The insurgents, however, have accused Saddam's troops of atrocities against civilians and appealed to the allies for help.

But the United States has said it will not intervene in the civil war, although it has shot down Iraqi military planes that have taken to the skies in a violation of the cease-fire terms. U.S. forces have not shot down helicopter gunships, however. The Iraqi News Agency said Sunday that the Baghdad government, in a message to U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, denounced what it called violations of its airspace by American and Saudi warplanes.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia The United States is trying to maintain its withdrawal of roughly 3,000 troops a day from the region while awaiting a permanent ceasefire, military officials said Sunday. More than one-quarter of the American troops have departed and the number remaining has already dropped to under 400,000 from a peak of 540,000, the U.S. Central Command said. The U.S. VII Corps, up to 100,000 troops, is in occupied Iraq.

It will remain until the United Nations approves a formal ceasefire, which could come as early as this week. The 1st Infantry Division, based at Fort Riley, and the 3rd Armored Division from Germany are patrolling the demarcation line established by a temporary cease-fire agreement on March 3. They would be withdrawn from Iraq within a matter of days after a permanent cease-fire is signed, according to Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, the commander of U.S. forces in the theater.

Officials here indicated that the Americans are anxious to get home to avoid being pulled into Iraq's civil war. Such involvement would carry the risk of casualties and could mean a drawn-out presence as an occupying force, These are seen by many in the military as the mistakes of Vietnam, and despite criticism from some circles, the Bush administration has refused to intervene to help the rebels. Thousands of civilians fleeing what they describe as Saddam Hussein's brutality in crushing the rebellion are pouring into the American-controlled area seeking food and medical care for their wounds. There has been no fighting between the Americans and Iraqis, who are eyeball-to-eyeball across the demarcation line. "I don't think the Iraqi army wants to start a war with us," said Maj.

Gen. Thomas G. Rhame, commander of the 1st Division. Mommy's Home At right, Army Spec. Hollie Vall-ance, 22, kissed her 7-week-old daughter goodbye last August before leaving for the Persian Gulf War in a photo that attracted national attention.

Above, Vallance embraces her husband, Tony Kirk, 27, and now 8-month-old daughter Cheyenne Raine Vallance-Kirk upon her return to Fort Benning's Lawson Army Airfield Saturday night. Cheyenne was born July 4, 1990. Since her mother's departure for Saudi Arabia seven weeks later, she has cut teeth, learned to crawl and Is trying to walk and talk. "She says 'Da Da' all the time," Kirk said proudly. And Ma Ma? "She said that a couple of times, but never in front of a lot of people," he said.

"She'll learn in time who her mother is." i -ft i I 10 AW 'V California Growers Shield Key Crops From Drought Budget Ax Falls On 1st Air Base CONTINUED FROM PAGE A1 in price and quality," said Ed Ang-stadt, president of the Grower-Shipper Vegetable Association. Though fruit trees are only in the blossoming stage now, most trees lilt i 1 Izzzytwl ran! Ml It) a-x "I I 1 I I ffclltl mmm-jr CONTINUED FROM PAGE A1 impact on the 1991 food supply. But national supermarket executives and federal officials, who deal with droughts, freezes and disease every year in one growing region or another, say the dry spell in California won't affect the abundance Americans expect at their grocery stores. First of all, the United States is unmatched as a country when it comes to growing and transporting food. Secondly, California has always depended on irrigation for farming and developed an extremely flexible system for getting water to crops and livestock and allocates most of its fresh water to that purpose.

Dairy cows, for example, are big water users. Not only do they drink 28 gallons of water a day and get washed with an additional 50 gallons daily, but they eat two of the thirstiest crops grown alfalfa and cotton seed. California is the second largest producer of milk in the country and its herds are the largest in the world. But Bob Feenstra, executive director of the state's Milk Producer Council, said: "We have an adequate water pool. We pump." David Ikari, branch chief for the state Bureau of Milk Stabilization, said there are plenty of crops that cows can eat besides alfalfa and cotton.

Before the rains even started, the fruit and vegetable growers were confident. "Retailers and consumers should expect only the normal fluctuations so people remaining packed to leave. Traffic lights on the base flashed faithfully, but there was no one left to obey them. The utilitarian barracks and office buildings appeared more stark without anyone milling around to soften their edges. "It feels like a ghost town.

It's dead. You go from 9,000 people to less than 100 that feels weird," said Master Sgt. Steve Campbell, among the last to leave. Four remaining airmen were to attend a midnight ceremony Sunday as the flag over Pease is lowered for the last time. Lt.

Col. Harry Mandrose plans a news conference this morning, his last act as base commander. "I'll show up here at midnight on the 31st. Probably cry," said retiring Sgt. Jim Raggiani on Sunday.

"I'll be here at 9:30 a.m. Monday for the commander's last speech and probably watch people drive off the base. I'll be saying, 'What the hell am I doing Pease is the first of 86 military" installations nationwide to close as a cost-saving measure for the federal government approved by Congress two years ago. The base will remain Bush's pit stop en route to his vacation home in Kennebunkport, Maine, with the New Hampshire Air National Guard operating and maintaining the airfield. Pease, which opened in 1956, has been home to the 509th Bombardment Wing, the successor of the 509th Composite Group of the Army Air Corps, which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945.

Pease has housed B-29, B-52 and B-47 bombers and has deployed KC-135 refueling tankers and FB-111 fighter-bombers. Eileen Foley, mayor of adjacent Portsmouth, said the loss to the local economy is far beyond the $340 million a year that the base cost the federal government. Two schools shut down because base children accounted for one-fourth the city's student body mm kindergarten through high school. Nearby get their water trom weus ana should be in decent shape, said Richard Matoian, director of government relations for the Grape and Tree Fruit League. Avocado growers have found their own way around the dry Groves are being thinned by cutting some trees down to four feet, which takes them out of production; for the year and requires less water, said Mark Affleck, president of the California Avocado Commis-.

sion. "The tree comes back strongly in two years and produces even more 1 fruit. This is our way of dealing with (the immediate) water cutbacks without taking trees out permanently," said Affleck. All this is not to say there won't be hardship. Some wells are pumping dry or bringing up brackish water because of lowered water tables, State and federal officials are talking about ways to improve California's water distribution system so the state's burgeoning urban population can live compatibly with the farm community.

And Congress is working on legislation that authorizes new well drilling and other assistance to improve distribution of water. As for those crunchy California almonds grown nowhere else in the country Hershey Foods Inc. says supplies are plentiful and it has no plan to drop the Almond from Almond Joy. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Sgt. Chris Davis packed his things last week at Pease Air Force Base in Newlngton, N.H.

Pease is the first installation to close under Defense Department budget cuts. Among them was Raggiani, 38, who was stationed at Pease for five years. "You're not too far from Boston, you got the ocean and you got the mountains. It's just an ideal assignment," he said. While Raggiani mourns, 26-year-old Sgt.

Chris Davis is glad to be leaving for a base closer to his Michigan home. Davis, base electrician in its final days, said closing was toughest on Pease civilians faced with the crippled job market of the regional recession. "They'll walk into a building and look around. They'll sigh, they'll shake their heads and walk away," he said. malls miss both business and good part-time employees from the base, Foley said.

"It just has been a very traumatic and dramatic experience for the whole city of Portsmouth and we're going to miss them," she said. The military personnel either retired or transferred to other bases. Pease was never as well-known nationally as some other Air Force bases. But Capt. Howard Snarr, who oversaw the closing, said Pease's location 60 miles north of Boston on New Hampshire's coast attracted more than the usual number of military "homesteaders," people who go to a base and stay there..