Beatrice Daily Sun from Beatrice, Nebraska • 6

1 Beatrice (Neb.) Daily Sun, Friday, February 16, 1990 A-6 state should enact What's a poor Marxist to do? inctitniinrK! which hclo or serve WASHINGTON The gun waiting period Washington Merry-go-round (Ml By Jack Anderson changes in Eastern Bloc politics have pitched the terrorist world into an identity crisis. Terrorist leaders who once identified themselves as "Marxists" to get money from the Soviets, now must be more circumspect. A case in point is Nayef Hawatmeh, a Palestinian terrorist who used to wear the Marxist label. But when we interviewed him in Damascus, he had changed his brand to "democratic." The 52-year-old leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine is slim and softspoken. He fashions himself as a sort of thinking-man's terrorist.

He only picks on Israel. He doesn't bother Americans. He condemns slop-piness and unnecessary violence among his fellow terrorists. And he apologizes when his own people get carried away. A secret State Department report described the Hawatmeh of more than a year ago as a "Doctrinaire Marxist who opposes hijacking, but advocates terrorism within Israel" and is "close to the USSR." Hawatmeh's current al- the military occupation," he said.

"But we are unable to carefully control the details of each operation." The most recent DFLP operation took place in 1988, when a Hawatmeh follower lob- bed "a molotov cocktail at a car carrying Israeli Industry and Trade Minister Ariel Sharon an advocate of force to put down the intifada. Sharon was not hurt. Hawatmeh doesn't do any of the dirty work himself. He sits in Damascus under the protection of Syrian President Hafez Assad, but doesn't take orders from his host. Assad tried to get Hawatmeh to denounce Arafat, but Hawatmeh resisted.

He admitted to us he has considered moving to Iraq if Assad gets too demanding. For a one-time Hawatmeh appears to have caught the democracy bug. His ultimate goal, he told us, is a democratic Palestinian state, following more the European par- liamcntary concept than the American model. Copyright, 1990, United Feature Syndicate, Inc. also the first to denounce the Pan Am (flight 103) operation.

This is well known on the international level. We are against such individual acts, against involving people who have nothing to do with. Middle East problems." The Pentagon profile of Hawatmeh and the DFLP cites as their most infamous act, the takeover of an Israeli school in Maalot in 1974. Some 27 Israelis were killed and 134 wounded. Hawatmeh now says the killing of civilians was a mistake, done against his orders.

The DFLP tried to seize 230 civilians in the same town five years later. Still Hawatmeh insists that his beef is with the Israeli military, not civilians. "We always plan to implement these operations against Israeli soldiers and those legiance is to Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yassir Arafat. Hawatmeh believes that he and other Palestinians will have their own state only through a "revolution of the masses," and he told us that the current intifada, or uprising on the West Bank, is just the revolution that the doctor ordered. Hawatmeh loathes being called a terrorist, probably because, as terrorists go, he is a moderate.

He pointed out that, "The DFLP was the only party from the beginning against hijacking planes, against hitting trains, against the famous Munich operation (at the; 1972 Olympics) and against all such kinds of operations. We were the first to denounce the Achille Lauro (ship hijacking) operation and A bill before the Legislature to require a seven-day waiting period before a handgun could be purchased in Nebraska seems like a promising step in the right direction. The bill received some big backing Wednesday in the form of Sarah Brady, wife of Jim Brady, former White House press secretary to President Reagan. Brady was shot in 1981 by John Hinckly in Hinckly's attempt to assassinate Reagan, and partially paralyzed. Mrs.

Brady, vice chair of Handgun Control came to Nebraska at the request of state Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha, who has dubbed his LB642 "the Nebraska Brady Bill," after similar federal legislation being sought. Mrs. Brady appeared with several state senators, U.S. Rep.

Peter Hoagland, Attorney General Robert Spire, Lincoln and Omaha police chiefs and Bill and Elizabeth Hotz of Omaha, whose 22-year-old son, Dan, was shot and killed in Washington last year. She said it was not her intent to ban handguns. "That's the most ridiculous argument made by the opposition. When we license drivers, that's not the first step to taking cars away," she said. Ashford said his bill isn't seeking a ban, but a way "to slow down the process" by which handguns get into the wrong hands.

Handgun Control Inc. is a Washington D.C.-based citizens organization working for passage of federal legislation to "keep handguns out of the wrong hands," Mrs. Brady said. She said that since the day her husband was shot, "more than 200,000 Americans have been killed with handguns and millions more have been victimized." That toll is too much to continue to pay. Ashford's bill should be passed and Nebraska should join the 25 or so other states that have similar waiting periods.

Does the Beatrice Board of Education really need a two-day retreat at an Omaha motel for planning the future? We think not. The motives behind the retreat are undoubtedly above-board. Such meetings can do a great deal of good for any organization. But is the success of the meeting linked to two days in Omaha at taxpayer expense? Last year's retreat cost the district $1,300, which is a min-iscule amount when compared to the entire district budget. However, there are local sites where a successful retreat with easier access for both board members and the public, if the public decided to attend.

While the local sites might not have the appeal of an Omaha motel, they would suffice for the board's needs at much lower costs. Al Koontz Ortega victory appears likely Robert Wagman I tega quickly arranged meetings with Catholic Cardinal Miguel Obando Bravo and Nicaragua's other .11 Roman Catholic bishops. All have been outspoken foes of the Sandinistas; the Sandinistas, in turn, have been antagonistic to the Catholic hierarchy Ortega and Obando Bravo emerged from the second of two closed meetings within four days to announce Ortega's pledge to release the 'political prisoners before the election. These include both contras and members of Somoza 's old National Guard. The cardinal also announced than certain, government restrictions the, would he, immediately.

The UNO has run a generally ineffectual campaign. Part of its problem is Chamorro's physical condition. An arthritis sufferer, she recently had surgery in the United States on both knees. She is forced to campaign in obvious pain from a scat on the back of a truck. Beyond this, observers generally agree that the UNO effort has been disorganized and badly hampered by lack of funds.

Taking advantage of a Nicaraguan law that allows foreign contributions to election campaigns, the U.S. Congress appropriated $9 million ($7.7 for an organization supporting the UNO and $1.1 for international observers to monitor the process). However, little of that money has reached the UNO. By law, half of the money must go to the national election commission as a "tax." Most of the rest is still sitting in the national bank. Former President Jimmy Carter, heading one observer organization here, says that the Sandinistas have promised to release the funds, but it is the sort of promise they have broken before.

Meanwhile, this money is being used as a major campaign issue by Oretga. He claims it shows that Chamorro's only backing is from the United States. He charges that the $9 million publicly appropriated is merely a smokescreen, and that the CIA is secretly financing the UNQ, The Sandinista government hitf also effectively thrown up other roadblocks to the UNO. The most obvious is the government's control of the country's only television station. Ortega is continually on TV screen while the UNO has Only been able to buy limited access at very high cost.

Also, the "official" U.S. congressional observer delegation, appointed by President Bush and headed by Sen. Richard Lugar, announced it was disbanding because three of its 20 members were denied visas. However, former President Carter says that his private observer group has had no Visa problems, and is experiencing "wonderful" co-operation. Copyright 1990 Newspaper Enterprise Assn.

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (NEA) On Feb. 25, the people of Nicaragua go to the polls for what will be a referendum on more than a decade of Sandinista rule. President Daniel Ortega and his government are confident of victory. Most outside observers here now feel certain Ortega will win and possibly win big. Ortega appears so far ahead of his U.S.-backed opponent, Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, 60, that he can afford to let the elections be honest and free.

While someproblems at the polls still seem inevitable, it is highly unlikely that there will be the kind of widespread fraud thati would allow Sandinista op-' ponents to charge that the election was stolen. Six months ago the election was a toss-up. Nicaragua's economy is in shambles and there are chronic shortages of most consumer goods. Further, there was widespread hatred of the universal draft system Ortega created to maintain Latin America's largest standing army. In Chamorro, 14 opposition parties combining as the United National Opposition (UNO) believed they had found the one figure who could unseat Ortega in a fair election.

The widow of a crusading newspaper publisher killed by agents of former dictator Anastasio Somoza, Chamorro is popular as are her campaign issues of ending the draft and restoring the economy. However, Ortega has proved to be a much abler politician and campaigner than anyone believed possible. Bright cam--paign posters of Ortega and his running mate, Sergio Ramirez, are everywhere, proclaiming the two to be "Los Mejores" "The Best." Other billboards show Ortega with a young child and bear the slogan, "Everything Will Be Better." A kinder, gentler Daniel Ortega has been especially effective on the stump. Gone is the military uniform and stern demeanor. Recently, dressed in sport shirt and jeans, he campaigned i from'f the- back of 3 pickup trudoEach top featured a stem-winder of a speech followed by Ortega wading into adoring crowds to shake hands and kiss babies.

Ortega's message is simple. He blames all of Nicaragua's problems on the United States. He says the country's economic miseries are caused by U.S. sanctions and that the U.S.-backed contras are why he must maintain such a large, expensive army. George Bush and Ronald Reagan seem to be his main targets, and the U.S.

invasion of Panama gave his campaign a tremendous lift. Ortega has proven even more adept in the political back rooms. Chamorro seemed to gain ground after promising to free Ncaragua's estimated 1,000 political prisoners. However, Or "They're congressional aides sent by the local congressman to make sure we don't close the base." Out of the Past By Carol Bradley Sun staff writer fS MY Cl'tenT'5 PsiTi 5 CaiWoT Be Lrlf n5- 'ToTesTFY WiTHoiTa I Jq were Alan Fiala, Mary Jo Lampc, Mary Harm an and Ray Goodcnough. 40 Years Ago Mr.

and Mrs. Alwin Lentz and Susan and the Rev. and Mrs. L.C. Lentz of Dcshler returned from a four-week trip to New Orleans and points in Florida.

Daily Sun Beatrice A Division of St suffer Communication! Inc. PRIZE WINNING NEWSPAPER 1988 Nibrukl Pru AModatioa (USPS 047-060) Friday, February 16, 1990 88th Year, No. 192 Established July 8, 1902 10 Years Ago The economic prospects for Beatrice and Gage County are "certainly not bad" and "probably pretty good," James R. Schmidt told those attending the Beatrice Chamber of Commerce's annual retail trade meeting. 20 Years Ago The Gage County Board of Supervisors approved bids for the county ambulance garage and sheriff's office.

Board members also gave their permission to the Dillcr Telephone Co. to build about 100 miles of underground telephone lines. 30 Years Ago Mrs. Lloyd Wright and Rankin Carstcns were made Honorary Life Members of the Beatrice PTA, for their service to the PTA, community and especially its youth. Four seniors at Bcaricc High School were named finalists in the 1959-60 competition of the National Merit Scholarship Corp.

Program and were awarded Certificates of Merit They Today In Nebraska February 16 1954 The Broken Bow City Council has adopted plans for a $20,000 street lighting addition that will bring the entire business district and approaches to Broken Bow under a modem mercury-vapor type light. The city had been a pioneer with ihc mercury vapor light. Published daily except Sunday and these holidays: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Publication office: 200 N. Seventh St.

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Alaska and Hawaii one year $173. NEWS COVERAGE If vou have a news tip, photo surarestion, complaint or Iff yoEi'iPB ovbp ill. iMm to mw So ctoe question about news coverage, call Managing Editor Allan Koontz or News Editor Diane vicars. If your cholesterol level exceeds 200, you could be at risk for heart disease. The risk is greater if you also smoke, are overweight, or have high blood pressure.

Check your cholesterol regularly. If it's over 200, Yuiil thoifSfw A numfi lo I've by make a pif stop at your doctor's. There you'll learn ways to reduce your risk and tune up your health, American Heart For information call (402)346-0771. MJ Association Nebraska Affiliate Kent Thomas Publisher LaVem SaathofT Circulation Manager Allan T. Koontz Managing Editor Steve Lindquist Production Supervisor Ronald W.

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