Newspaper Page Text
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JULY 22, 1999
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Report
Cheap weapons
- -
cause chaos in Africa
WASHINGTON
(AP) The introduction of cheap, easy to maintain
weapons into sub-Saharan Africa has had a “cata
strophic” effect on the continent’s politically fragile
countries, the State Department says.
“In some (African) countries, it is easier and cheaper
to buy an AK-47 than to attend a movie or provide a
decent meal,” the department says in a report issued
Tuesday as Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
delivered a major address on Africa policy.
The situation is partly responsible for the 11 major
conflicts in Africa, says the report.
“The proliferation oflight weapons, financed by cash,
diamonds or other commodities, did not cause Africa’s
wars, butit has prolonged them and made them more
lethal,” the study says.
In her New York speech, Albright. acknowledged
that the United States has been doing more to end
conflicts in Europe than in Africa and said more
resources must be tound to support peacekeeping,
reconstruction and reconciliation on the continent.
Albright, speaking at a convention of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People,
said the reason Europe has been getting a higher
priority than Africa is that the United Stateshas allies
in Europe to share the risks and costs of responding to
crises.
“In Africa, such resources are scarce,” she said. “But
that is no excuse for disengaging or giving up. Instead,
itisachallenge, as President Clinton has suggested, to
use thelessons of Kosovo tohelpusdobetterin Africa.”
After the speech, NAACP President Kweisi Mfume,
acriticof U.S. policyin Africa,said hewasglad Albright
addressed concerns about the relative neglect of Africa
and felt she was sensitive to views of black Americans.
But he said he still had concerns.
“The situation between Rwanda and Kosovo is just
the latest example of the problem mindset,” Mfume
said. “The problem is not her. It is the permanent
foreign policy mindset that we see situations in terms
of the East and the West. African nations are treated
differently.”
“rom page one
aid Congressman Jefferson.
The five-term House Memberis
hallenging incumbent Republi
an Mike Foster in this fall’s elec
.on. The otherwise popular gov
rnor has proven vulnerable due
) the most recent damaging rev
lation of his involvement with
x-Ku-Klux Klan leader David
Juke.
In the 1995 governor’s race,
‘oster admittedly paid Duke
152,000 for a mailinglist of Duke
upporters. Experts have called
he price, which averages out to
2 per name exorbitant,and some
uggest that Foster may have
ought Duke’s endorsement.
Jefferson, like many believes
hegovernor should apologize and
‘enounce Duke once and for all.
(et, Foster who claims he did not
vrong refuses to do either. “Loui
siana is a great state with many
yositives and this makes it look
ike it is involved in division and
late.
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AUGUSTA FOCUS
Mandela celebrates
birthday, anniversary
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa
(AP)Former President Nelson Mandela
celebrated his 81st birthday and first
wedding anniversary at home on Sun
day, June 18.
South African Press Association re
ported U.S. rock star Michael Jackson
joined a private lunch2on with Mandela’s
immediate family — about 40 people,
including children, grandchildren and
great-grandchildren.
Last year, Mandela capped his 80th
birthday by marrying Graca Machel, the
widow of a Mozambican president, in a
secret ceremony.
“You can’t really buy him anything,”
said Mandla Mandela, 25, one ofthe older
grandchildren. “All we can give him on a
day like this is our heart and our love.”
Mandelaretired as president after June
elections, citing his need to spend more
time with his family. He spent 27 yearsin
prison for his opposition to the apartheid
regime.
President Thabo Mbeki, elected inJune
as Mandela’s successor, praised
Mandela’s contribution to reconciliation
after apartheid ended in 1994.
“On this very special occasion, the whole
Another SIOO million
sought to fight AIDS abroad
WASHINGTON
(AP) Asserting the United States has a
“moral duty” todomoretofight AIDS, Vice
President Al Gore announced a new SIOO
million proposal to help Africa stop the
spread of the disease.
Gore, whose presidential campaign has
been dogged by AIDS activists, also re
leased anew study on the scope and the toll
of the HIV virus in Africa.
On Monday, the vice president, joined by
Archbishop Desmond Tutu,the Nobel Prize
winner from South Africa, announced new
proposals not included in the Clinton
administration’sfiscal 2000 budget tofight
AIDS in Africa.
Also at the event was Olivia Nantong, a
20-year-old from Uganda whose mother
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Former South African president
Nelson Mandela (L) turned 81 last
Sunday. Here Mandela is shown with
Archbishop Desmond Tutu at a recent
celebration in South Africa. AP Photo
country is reminded of the wonderful gift
he has given us all, of love and peace
amongall South Africans, black and white,
for which we are eternally indebted,”
Mbeki said in a statement.
succumbed to AIDS eight years ago. Gore
and Sandy Thurman, the administration’s
AIDS czar, stood by the sobbing Nantong
and whispered encouragement as she
thanked the U.S. government for support
ing a grass-roots group in Uganda that
took care of her when she was orphaned.
The spending proposals announced by
Goreincluded S4B million for AIDS educa
tion, counseling and testing, which in
volved a Defense Department program to
train African militaries how to provide
AIDS prevention training.
The remaining funds would be targeted
at home- and community-based care, car
ing for children orphaned by AIDS and
helping other countries build infrastruc
ture to confront the spread of AIDS.
737-5200
1760 Gordon Highway
At the beginning of the
Motor Mile
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Did the police lie?
From page one
reports, the youths were told to
kneel on the ground, handcuffed,
then told tolie on the ground while
authorities had guns drawn.
Afterdiscoveringthe 37-year-old
Williams was notinsidethe Acura,
deputies D.M. Adamson, Bill Wil
son and Mark Hammond, realiz
ingtheirerror, let the three youths
go. The incident occurred about
2:20 p.m.,according to Major Jody
Rowland of the sheriff’s office, who
called the events “unfortunate”
and said he told Walker, Boyd and
Green to file complaints in writ
ing.
Major Rowland also said the
youths “shook hands” with, the
officers and were “understanding”
about the misidentification. The
situation turned sour “by the time
it (occurrence) got back to the
parents,” he added. -
Jimmy Green is Brandon’s fa
ther and is disturbed his elemen
tary-age child experienced such
an ordeal at the hands of the
police.
“They (sheriff’s office) don’t know
what type of psychological dam
age thisis having on my son. He’s
11-years-old. Brandon has been
traumatized. Who knows how this
will affect him for the rest of his
life,” said Mr. Green, who for
merly worked as a security officer
for Wackenhut Services, Inc. at
the Savannah River Site and is
currently a lieutenant with Re
gent Security in Augusta.
“They train us to use minimum
force in situations like this. Not
maximum. They had their guns
drawn. Evenin training, weapons
can misfire and go off. Plus, they
didn’t make positiveidentification
in this case. And the boys didn’t
put up a chase. When the blue
lights came on, they immediately
pulled over and threw the keys
out, like they were instructed.
And, our boys weredrivinga 1996
Acura — a new car. The guy they
were looking for supposedly was
Councilman critical of sheriff
From page one
e s St
explained that he’s received a dis
proportionate numberofcomplaints
from residents wholivein the“ Va
lley” sector of Aiken county or city
of Aiken northsideresidentswhere,
on too many occasions, said the
councilman, 911 callsareleft unan
swered.
“It’s common practice for them
(sheriff's office) to under-police
places that are in lower economic
areas and aren’t high profile liv
ingareas.” Although hesaid blacks
typically live in lower economic
areas of the county, Hightower
alsodescribed the “Valley” orloca
tions in Clearwater, Bath or Lan
gley where a number of whites on
the lower economic status reside.
In comparing a situation earlier
this year, when Aiken Depart
ment of Safety officer Frank
Conoly was dismissed for an inci
dentinvolving an alleged attack of
two young black women,
Hightower said he is not expect
ing any major reprimands for
Sheriff's Sellers’ officers —the
ones who mistakenly detained
Brandon Green, 11; Derrick Boyd,
18 and Leroy Walker Jr, 19, on
the roadside near Beech Island,
Sunday, July 11.
Although calls to Sheriff Sellers
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National Hills Shopping Center © 2700 Washington Rd. * Augusta, Georgia 30909
Call Toll Free: (803) 441-01 11
riding in an older-model blue car.
And the guyis 37-years-old —not
11. Not a teenager.”
Mr. Green also blames the
sheriff's office for attempting a
cover-up, regarding how the blue
Acura was targeted for being
stopped. Specifically, he says he
believes Mrs. Williams never
pointed out to police that her son
wasridingin the car inhabited by
the three boys.
Mrs. Williams remains con
cerned, yet thankful the way
things developed that Sunday af
ternoon.
“Ibelieve they would havekilled
my child if he would have been
here. But I was more worried
because our grandchildren were
with us. They (cops) came pulling’
out shotguns. We all could have
been shot,” said a worried Mrs.
Williams. “They lied. I never told
them to go after those boys,” she
repeated. “Next thing I know, they
alljumped in their cars, speeding,
going after the boys.”
When asked why his deputies
chose to track down the Acura,
Major Rowland declined comment.
“If this goes to court, I'll tell the
judge she never told them any
thing like that,” said Rev. Will
iams, who said he was present
when his wife told police shewasn’t
sure about their son’s where
abouts. The couple is suffering
from physical ailments and Mrs.
Williams recently had brain sur
gery.
Rev. Williams pastors Webb
Grove Baptist Church in Beech
Island and St. John’s Baptist
Church in Jackson. He’s also a
longtime contributor to the
sheriff’s office and the S.C. State
Troopers Association, hesaid. He'll
now reconsider future donations,
he added. “I just don’t care to see
all those guns,” added the minis
ter.
Mr. Green said he’ll pursue le
gal action toward the sheriff’s of
fice and has contacted Augusta
attorney Shawn Hammond, Aiken
NAACP office and SLED for fu
ture guidance, he said.
were not returned to the Augusta
Focus, Major Jody Rowland re
ports to the sheriff and said ac
tions taken by deputies in the
case, havebeen “reviewed” even if
reprimands aren’t necessary; he
said.
“We're sorry for it, but nobody
got hurt and no damages were
done. It’s an inconvenience, but
there are no policy violations. Our
deputies arefaced with adaunting
task. They face the unknown and
theway everything added up, they
acted properly,” said the officer.
Major Rowland said he discussed
the situation with all three fami
lies, spoke with the sheriff and
mailed individual letters to each
family. He also described the
Beech Island-Petticoat Junction
area where yet-to-be captured
suspect, Elroy Williams, resides,
as a location “filled with drug ac
tivity.”
Although his council has no en
forcement powers, Hightower said
Sheriff Sellers’ budget must be
approved by his council member
ship. Hightower is a Democrat
and represents District 8. He'’s
also part of the contingent of so
cial activistswhohelped shed light
on racist practices occurring at
the now defunct Buffalo Room in
North Augusta in 1989.