Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 28, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba 4 Winnipeg free press tuesday april 28, 1981 Belfast police officer with riot gun poised takes shelter behind his land Rover which is beside a bus destroyed by rioters. Belfast families stockpiling food get ready for trouble if Sands Dies Catholic protestant groups warn Belfast a families in Bel fast s Battle scarred roman Catholic districts Are stockpiling food Medicine and other essentials As guerrilla Leader Bobby Sands now in the 59th Day of his hunger strike moves closer to death. The Irish Republican army the outlawed organization to which Sands be Longs has circulated leaflets through out Falls Road Ardoyne Bally Murphy and other Catholic strongholds urging people to prepare for trouble if Sands Dies. In the protestant bastions of East Belfast and the Shankill which neigh Bors the Falls militant groups such As the Ulster defence association say they Are planning to defend their areas from Ira attack. British Security chiefs in this prov Ince torn by sectarian violence believe the Ira s siege preparations Are in tended to kindle fear and provoke confrontation. Officials at the Maze prison near Belfast reported that Sands condition continued to deteriorate. He began the hunger strike March 1 demanding Polit ical prisoner status for Ira jailed guerrillas who had the special status until 1976. The British say to give in would give undue recognition to the Ira s terrorist struggle to end British Rule in the province and reunite it with the mostly Catholic Irish Republic. Protestant paramilitary organizations fear that Catholic rioting generated by Sands fast will spill Over into their districts. Andy Tyrie self styled supreme com Mander of the Ulster defence association maintained that protestant Para military groups were preparing Only for defence. But other protestant sources reported that death squads which have killed six Republican activists in recent months were ready to protestant militiaman slain by Northern Ireland guerrillas continued from Page i if the government abdicates its Paisley said Northern Ireland s one million protestants will have to defend the police rounded up 20 of Sands leading supporters yesterday and were holding them under the prevention of terrorism act. This permits detention for a week without the filing of specific charges. A Booby trap bomb in a truck Mon Day in Belfast killed 28-year-old consta ble Gary Martin and injured three other policemen. The Irish National liberation army a faction of the Ira said it planted the bomb in a hijacked truck. The explosion occurred As the police were checking the truck. In London prime minister Margaret Thatcher consulted members of her Cabinet but gave no indication of re treating from her policy of no conces Sions to terrorism. Police tightened Security around 10 Downing St., her official residence and office and at other government buildings. Authorities feared violence in Londonderry Northern Ireland s second largest City after the funeral today of a 15-year-old Catholic Paul Witters who was hit in the Eye by a plastic Bullet during an anti British riot 10 Days ago. The youth died saturday. 14-year sentence Sands 27, serving a 14-year sentence for possessing arms but elected to parliament in a special election april 9, has consumed Only water since he first refused food. Prison doctors debated taking him to the military Wing of Musgrave Hospital 25 Kilometres from the Maze saying he could be Given better care there if he decides to Call off his fast. Basil Cardinal Hume the roman Catholic archbishop of Westminster and Britain s senior Catholic prelate condemned Sands s hunger strike after a visit to Londonderry. The hunger strike to death is a form of violence and surely cannot be condoned by the Church As being in Accord with god s he said. Sands started his fast to further the Ira s Long standing demand for the its imprisoned members to be classified As political prisoners instead of common criminals. However three members of the Irish parliament who visited him april 20 reported he no longer used the words political status in his de mands. They said he wants prison conditions for jailed guerrillas changed to give them the right to Wear civilian clothes do no prison work associate freely and receive one visit each week. British officials say these Are the same conditions offered guerrillas from 1972 to 1976 when terrorists were Given Spe Cial category political status. Wipe out the the Falls Road heartland of Ira Militancy has been a main Battle ground in the bloodletting in which at least people have been killed and More than wounded. The District s Grimy Walls Are co Vered by anti British Graffiti and slogans supporting Sands and three guerrillas who have joined the hunger strike. Police and military patrols weave in and out of the mean streets in Grey Armor plated land rovers. Sharp shooters in bulletproof vests sit with carbines at the ready their eyes sweeping rooftops and windows for snipers. As they pass Young catholics hurl bricks and paint. Few hopeful on either Side there Are few optimists left on either Side. Sammy Duddy the Uda s chief spokesman told the associated press if Sands Dies there will be blood and guts All Over the place. The guns will come out but we Are ready for Catholic sources reported that Mili Tants in Divis Flats a fortress like six Storey apartment Complex off the Falls Road and an Ira stronghold Are stockpiling hundreds of gasoline bombs. Most of the province s catholics and one million protestants oppose violence but few Are Brave enough to say so publicly. What can you asked Jimmy Sullivan a 40-year-old unemployed Catholic with seven children who lives in Falls Road. I be known fellas that spoke their mind about the provos and they All ended up knee capped or beaten to pulp. All we can do is Pray but i fear the to Kneecap is to cripple someone by shooting him in the Knees. My a Calls for inquest in youth s death continued from Page 1 in an interview yesterday Parasiuk charged that the West Kildonan area Hospital s emergency room lacked Ade quate staff including specialist nurses and anaesthetists to Deal with certain cases. Sarna died As a result of cuts to his jugular vein and to a major artery in his neck. We Don t know if the time lost in the Transfer caused the death. But obviously if he s Cut in the jugular vein time is of the Parasiuk said adding an inquest should determine whether time was a contributing Factor in the death. Attorney Genera Gerry Mercier said he would investigate whether his department deemed an inquest Neces sary. Health minister l. R. Bud Sher Man also said he would find out Why the youth was transferred to Hsc and whether the seven Oaks Hospital s emergency room was fully operation Al. Later Parasiuk said the Lack of Ade quate staffing was directly related to the government s tight budget policy and would have an Impact on How Well future emergency patients Are treated at the Hospital. He said the inquest should also Deal with the whole question of emergency care at Winnipeg s suburban hospitals and Why some cases Are shuffled to Hsc. Seven Oaks is supposed to be a full hedged Hospital that can Deal with Parasiuk said. He said people in All suburban areas believe local hospitals can Deal with emergencies. I think people would feel shortchanged if they knew certain cases had to be moved to Hsc he said. What is an emergency department supposed to Deal with. I thought it was supposed to Deal with everything. I Don t think emergencies should have to be passed he said. Jake Enns a supervisor with the Winnipeg ambulance service said the youth was taken to seven Oaks for preliminary treatment and then moved to Hsc in accordance with regulations set by the medical standards commit tee. Enns said the youth was moved be cause the Hsc is better equipped to Deal with major trauma cases. He explained that when an Accident victim is picked up he his taken to the nearest Hospital where if necessary the patient is stabilized before being taken to the Hsc. Rail study urges stiffer regulations Toronto up the Federal government should demand that danger Ous goods be carried in special trains that would run within specific route time and Speed limits an Ontario study group on rail policy recommended today. And the Federal government should require that trains carrying dangerous cargoes such As toxic chemicals be rerouted around population centres the study group s final report suggested. The report released today after a year Long study by the group chaired by Margaret Scrivener conservative map for the Toronto Riding of St. David contains 200 recommendations including 22 devoted to rail safety and emergency planning. Prepared in the aftermath of the 1979 freight train derailment in nearby Mississauga that forced local Resi dents to flee their Homes the report says railways should install More safety monitoring devices along main lines. When such detectors indicate faulty railway equipment that information should be acted upon promptly. That recommendation echoed but was t As Strong As one contained earlier this year in a Federal report into the Mississauga disaster written by or. Justice Samuel Grange of the Ontario supreme court. Grange urged that hot Box detectors be installed in the rail bed at least every 30 Kilometres in Urban areas where chemical carrying trains regularly travel. And he recommended that All cars on trains carrying dangerous cargo be equipped with safer roller bearings in order to prevent hot Box derailments. The Mississauga derailment was caused by a hot Box railway jargon for an Over heated friction bearing that made the train s wheels seize and eventually Fly off resulting in the derailment of 24 cars the explosion of several propane tankers and the re lease of lethal chlorine into the Atmo sphere. The report said that derailments in Canada now occur twice As frequently As they did a decade ago that Colli Sions Between trains almost doubled in frequency from 1978 to 1979 and that an increase in the construction of Grade separations probably accounts for a decrease during the last few years in the number of accidents at level Cross Ings. Ontario should insist that the Federal government get on with its commit ment for Grade separation and in crease its funding Levels for the pro Gram the report said. It also was critical of the Canadian transport commission s failure to fully use its Power to enforce safety Stan Dards. The full responsibility for the safety inspection and regulation of railways should be assumed by the transport commission the report recommended. The transport commission s heavy Reliance on railway self regulation for safety improvements is possibly a re sult of an inadequate budget an insufficient number of inspectors and a Lack of comprehensive minimum Stan Dards needed to ensure a uniform level of rail safety. The Ontario report also recommended an upgrading of rail systems in corridors where dangerous goods Are transported the tracking of both regu Lar and special movements of highly toxic chemicals by the railways and the use of Independent auditors to re port on the adequacy of safety systems and procedures. Speedy agreement unlikely on Power Grid for Prairies continued from Page 1 included in the ministerial contingent from Manitoba yesterday were labor minister Ken Macmaster and Energy minister Don Craik. As various other topics Are discussed agriculture min ister Jim Downey Mercier and finance minister Brian Ranson also will be brought into the discussions. Saskatchewan Premier Allan Blakeney All but extinguished any Hopes for a speedy agreement on the Western Power Grid yesterday when he said far More time is needed to study the proposal. The Grid which would see Mani Toba exporting megawatts of hydroelectric Power to Alberta and 500 megawatts to Saskatchewan is also included on the Agenda. He said some of the proposals included in the package were received Only last week and our accountants and our engineers and our environmental peo 1 pie will need to put them through the wringer before a final decision is made. Manitoba and Alberta already have agreed on major aspects of the Grid proposals including the thorny Issue of pricing. But Saskatchewan is still Uncertain what pricing formula trans Mission line route and Type of Sale should be negotiated. Blakeney said he Hopes the Confer ence May produce an understanding on How Best to proceed with the discus Sions on the Grid. . S Bill Bennett uses Back of Young fan to sign autograph As Premier Sterling Lyon looks on. Sudbury businessman object of Canada wide Hunt haslem escaped killer Sudbury ont. Up a Man who lived As a successful Sudbury business Man for More than 10 years is the object of a Canada wide manhunt today after police yesterday Learned he is an escaped murderer from an Ohio Penitentiary. Victor Benjamin 40, slipped away from authorities during a car Chase last thursday and police believe he Proba Bly had an intricate escape plan ready for the Day his time ran out in Sud Bury. He s got a Good head on said a detective working on the Case. He s no Benjamin s troubles began Jan. 2, 1980, when he called police to report the robbery of a Safe and 13 Gold bars from one of his businesses. Police recovered the Safe with the door drilled open but the Gold Worth at least is still missing. Two months later Benjamin was charged with theft and mischief in misleading an officer in an investigation. His fingerprints were circulated among Law enforcement agencies and the Fri alerted regional police to his True identity. On thursday police set out to arrest Benjamin at his Home in nearby Copper Cliff. But As they drove into town the Man sped away in his Cream col ored Corvette a Symbol of the Suc Cess he had achieved since walking away from a minimum Security Penitentiary in Columbus Ohio in 1969. During the Chase he leaped from the car and fled Down an Alley leaving his common Law wife behind the wheel. Unaware that Benjamin had left the vehicle police pursued the car and stopped it. Police said no charges have been Laid against the woman Susan Boyuk 31, because they believe she did t know Benjamin was a fugitive. He had told her he was from some where in Ontario and his parents were killed when he was a child she said. Meanwhile Benjamin s estranged wife Mary has joined forces with Boyuk to keep his television and com Puter businesses afloat. The two Are friends and share a Mutual respect for Benjamin. We Are standing Boyuk said. And we will try to keep the businesses she described her Lover s departure As being like a death. But i Don t think wherever he s living you will Ever have to worry about him harming anyone. He is not a violent Benjamin was known As William haslem when sentenced to life imprisonment after pleading guilty to the second degree murder of Sam Caputo in Beachwood Ohio on feb. Son of a Cleveland policeman has Lem was 25 when tried for Caputo s murder in october 1966. He was charged with first degree murder but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. Haslem told police he shot Caputo in self defence during an argument be tween the two after a night of drinking. Caputo was shot twice in the head and four times in the Back and Side. Police said they believe the shooting was Over a Large sum of Money one Man owed the other. Police also both were linked to organized crime. A police search of a Chesterland Ohio Home rented by haslem at the time uncovered a Cache of burglar tools High Speed drills and cutting torches. Haslem who would have been Eligi ble for parole after serving 10 years walked away from the prison in March 1969. Police have not been Able to Trace his movements from Ohio to Sudbury. He s sort of a loner and did t seem to mix with a Detec Tive said. Bill Tuttle an advertising Salesman for a local radio station said there was no indication he had any kind of criminal record. In a nutshell he was a loner and fairly ;