Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.wpost From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: AROUND THE WORLD=From news services and staff reports=Briton Cleared In Iraq Date: Fri, 13 Nov 92 04:39:11 EST Message-ID: <25.1992Nov13.043912@AmeriCast.com> AROUND THE WORLD=From news services and staff reports=Briton Cleared In Iraq Arms Case< LONDON - A British businessman was cleared yesterday on charges of illegally exporting arms-making equipment to Iraq, after say- ing he would prove that the government knew about the sales. The acquittal of Keith Bailey, chief executive of BSA Tools, fol- lowed the collapse Monday of a case against three other British businessmen on similar charges. Prime Minister John Major, who has been pitched into a new crisis by revelations in the cases, tried to fend off opposition charges that he knew about the sales, which were worth more than $37 mil- lion. The sales took place in the late 1980s, when Margaret Thatcher was prime minister. Major was finance minister in her Cabinet and succeeded her in November 1990, shortly before the Persian Gulf War allies launched air strikes to drive Iraq from Kuwait. "Every parliamentary answer I have given or letter I have dispatched has been based on the position as I understood it to be," Major told the House of Commons. < U.N. to Expand in Angola< LUANDA, Angola - U.N. peace-keeping chief Marrack Goulding said the United Nations was ready to play a bigger role in Angola but warned that the country faced "a choice between war and dialo- gue." After meeting with arch-rivals President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi, Goulding said both men supported a greater U.N. role. But, he said, "we cannot act un- til they are ready to act" by reopening dialogue with each oth- er.< Goulding said he told dos Santos and Savimbi that the two sides had to meet and reach some sort of agreement on reviving a peace accord before Nov. 30, when hundreds of U.N. monitors of the peace process are due to leave.< < Massacre Anniversary< DILI, Indonesia - Mourners scattered flowers at Santa Cruz cemetery to mark last year's massacre by Indonesian soldiers of dozens of protesters for independence. Independence activists say 273 people were killed when the sol- diers opened fire on protesters in the cemetery a year ago. Human rights groups estimate the death toll at up to 200. Indonesia, which invaded East Timor in 1975 and later annexed it, said 50 people died. The government made no comment on the anniversary. In Washington, Rep. Tony P. Hall (D-Ohio) attacked as "totally outrageous" a remark about the massacre by East Timor's new Indonesian-appointed governor. Abilio Soares was quoted last week as saying, "In my opinion, there should have been more people killed. Why did only that number die? Why not all one thousand (protesters at the cemetery)?" < Colombian Chiefs Quit< BOGOTA, Colombia - The heads of the air force, army and navy unexpectedly resigned, four days after President Cesar Gaviria declared a military crackdown on Colombia's Marxist guerrillas. Interior Minister Humberto de la Calle refused to comment on the resignations, and officials at the presidential palace were not immediately available. The Defense Ministry described the resig- nations as "the most normal thing in the world," saying that armed forces promotions and retirements were usually announced around this time of year. But radio commentators said the exit had not been expected.< < Amnesty in Jordan< AMMAN, Jordan - King Hussein declared an amnesty in honor of his 58th birthday Saturday that will free 140 political and criminal prisoners, including two members of parliament sentenced Monday to 20 years of hard labor on sedition charges. Leith Shubeilat and Yaqoub Qarrash were convicted of belonging to a group allegedly linked to Iran that was trying to overthrow Hussein. Two shopkeepers convicted with them also will be freed. The convictions by a State Security Court, without a jury, angered the powerful Muslim Brotherhood.<02:20 11-13C9999----- Copyright 1992, The Washington Post. This story is from the Washington Post's Capitol Edition On-Line and is not to be ar- chived or redistributed. For more information, send-email to American Cybercasting Cor- poration (usa@AmeriCast.COM)