The Burlington Free Press from Burlington, Vermont • Page 16

6B Th Burlington (VI. I fr Presi, Sunday, June 19, 1988 Terrorists defy image of Middle East madmen tore down a perfectly eood building Whvwe build a perfectly Better one. about location. comer of Kennedy Drive and Hinesburg Road is now the hub of the fastest growing business center a good location for a tire store, but a perfectly. -prime location for a complex of businesses or medical practices that depend on gret and accessibility.

why we tore down the former Reilly Tire building to erect Kennedy at a 3'Story, 20,000 square foot professional office condominium building. suites are still availabk for sale or lease, form at Northshore Development, 658 4022, At Hinesburg Kennedy to It's all M3 Business i i 1 in, 4 The area's visibility Hinesburg, Quality Wheeler ANOTHER NORTHSHORE tfEVELOPMENT Where the week's business begins. Every Monday in the Free "Press. would encompass a number of Middle East nations. Floyd Clarke, an assistant director of the FBI's criminal investigative division, said members of the group have claimed responsibility for the 1982 assasination of Lebanese President-elect Bashir Gemayel.

George Terwilliger III, U.S. attorney for Vermont, said the trio's offenses represent "an attempt to import those techniques (of violence) into the United States." Younan's cousin, Auxiliary Bishop John Elya of the Melkite Greek Catholic Diocese in Massachusetts, freely admits that his relative is a member of the SSNP. But he said belonging to that party in Lebanon is like being a Republican in the United States. "The whole situation was kind of surprising," Elya said. "I don't think he had any criminal record when he came to Canada.

He had no criminal record in Lebanon. He was a party man, he carried arms. It was no secret." Elya said it was possible the families of the men in Lebanon had been threatened. Kabbani's father had a magazine distribution business that was too close to the fighting. The business was bombed and Kabbani was forced to interrupt a promising art career abroad to return home.

Younan's family in the town of Maghdousheh in southern Lebanon was shattered by civil war. His mother was kidnapped three years ago and hasn't been heard from since. A sister was killed in a bomb blast. "There must be some explanation. Sometimes there's more to it," Elya said.

"He may be under pressure. He may be threatened." It's difficult to determine the three fit into the Lebanese community of 60,000 in Montreal. According to information gleaned from court documents, the men's attorneys and others, Younan is a Montreal tailor with a wife and six children. Mourad and Kabbani also work in the Montreal textile business. In a letter written on Mourad's behalf, Archpriest Antony Gabriel of the St.

George Orthodox Church in Montreal said Mourad is respected for his integrity. "He came recently to the church to be married and it would seem rather incongruous for him to be making plans other than beginning a new life and a new family," he wrote. None of the three has granted interviews, and none has discussed his motives with federal investigators or prosecutors. So the key pieces of the puzzle may never be found. From page 1B They neither look the part nor acted with the military precision expected of such operations.

Georges Younan has a pot belly and receding hairline. He tried to shield his face from cameras when he was first brought into court, unlike those who crave the publicity for their cause. Walid Mourad is tall and lanky with a bushy mop of dark wavy hair. Walid Kabbani, at 36 the youngest of the three, is medium set and balding. "They're too old for field work.

They have children. They have wives. Their profiles don't fit," said Richard Gabriel, an expert on terrorism at St. Anselm's College in Manchester, N.H. Furthermore, he said their bungled operation seemed less like the work of hardened terrorists than the Keystone Kops.

"The government is trying to make them out as some sophisticated terrorists with some international links," said Younan's attorney, Art Anderson. "I haven't seen anything to support that. Their whole modus operandi indicates they're a bunch of bumbl-ers." Kabbani, Mourad and Georges Younan face sentencing Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Burlington. They were convicted in February of bringing a bomb into Vermont across the Canada border at Richford, Vt.

The trio was arrested on Oct. 23, 1987, after Richford Police Chief Richard Jewett stumbled upon Kabbani while on routine patrol. Kabbani was walking near the Canadian Pacific railroad tracks, carrying a black nylon bag. He was only 20 feet from a van carrying Younan and Mourad. Jewett gave directions to Younan and Mourad after they told him they were on their way to Boston.

The chief then gave Kabbani a ride to the border and left him in the custody of customs officials. On his drive back to Richford, Jewett remembered the black bag, which Kabbani no longer had. Jewett searched the area near the tracks and found the bomb under a pile of leaves. Since their arrest, the three have been held at the state's high-security prison in St. Albans.

Terrorism experts say they may never find out why Kabbani, Mourad and Younan tried to smuggle the bomb into Vermont. The U.S. government claims the three are affiliated with the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, which was founded in the fascist era of the 1930s and devoted to the formation of a "greater Syria" that Monday i When you buy one of our ultra-comfortable BenchCraft recliners, we'll give you a second one just like it. Absolutely FREE. For your father, parent, 1 r'N SOMEONE SPECIAL FOR FATHER'S DAY 4 PROJECT I '-If Buy one, give one FREE.

A double helping of comfort and value. THIS WEEK ONLY. rf VISA tf 'i Progressives divided by party-backing question i i i i grandparent, friend, anyone. Select from our four most popular styles and ease into the uxurious comfort that only BenchCraft offers. Ms'M 'f' tem, that you can develop a coalition based on honest political principles and you can win." Sanders added, "If we win in Washington, I'm confident that we will also win in Burlington and I think we are going to win in Burlington in any case." Jean Paul Harney, former leader of the Quebec New Democratic Party, which practices pro-gressive politics and was responsible for establishing free health care in Canada, said at the meeting that the future for a national third political party is bright.

"Change is bound to come. It's beginning to happen in the United States," Harney said. "The future belongs to social democracy. The world will be democratic. The world will be socialist or it will not be at all." 0 OMs'irir ALL MIDAS MUFFLERS Essex Junction 879-6888 South Burlington 864-4543 Barre 479-3291 i- 1 From page 1B Other Progressives disagreed.

"I think it's a mistake," said City Treasurer Jonathan Leopold, who maintained that if a candidate is able to build a consensus with Democrats and Republicans he or she should be allowed to do so. Leopold is considered one of three candidates likely to obtain the Progressive endorsement. The other two are Alderman Terry Bouricius, PC-Ward 2, and Community and Economic Development Director Peter Clavelle. Leopold, who has not decided whether to run for mayor, would run as an independent, which would be allowed under the guidelines. The guidelines also indicate that the endorsement will be given to the candidate that wins 66 percent of the vote within the coalition at a caucus in December, and only registered voters in Burlington will be allowed to vote.

Candidates for the endorsement will be allowed to use the Coalition's computer data base, publish articles in the Coalition's newsletter and participate in debates. The mayoral nomination was high on the agenda at the meeting because Progressives next year will face one of the toughest challenges in their history to retain political control of Burlington. They now hold six out of 13 seats on the Board of Aldermen and the mayor's seat. Mayor Bernard Sanders, the moving force behind the city's independent third party, reiterated at the meeting that he is not seeking a fifth term next year. Sanders, speaking of the Coalitions' accomplishements and making a pitch for his Congressional campaign, said, "What we togeth-; er have accomplished in Burlington and are going to accomplish in the state of Vermont is of national importance.

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