Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 31, 1995, Winnipeg, Manitoba A Winnipeg free press May editorials editor John 6977044 Small step for Mexico Mexico stepped cautiously toward a change of government on sunday when the perpetual ruling party and the conservative opposition split a pair of elections for state the continuing electoral Potency of the ruling institutional revolutionary party Pri despite its weak Leader its failed economic policy and its systematic corruption that change is still a Long Way Pri candidate Victor Cervera Pacheco narrowly won election As governor of the Southeastern state of defeating Luis Correa Mena of the National action party in pan candidate Vicente Fouque Cadawas elected with a Toto one Lead Over Pris Ignacio Vazquez if the opposition cannot do better than that when the government and the country Are in Cata strophic its chances of defeating the Pri at the next presidential election in 2000 Are far from the Pri economic pol icy of privatization and rapid growth through foreign investment produced jobs and reason ably stable prices during the presidential term of Carlos Rural revolt in Chiapas and a series of political murders in 1994 Shook investor Confidence and the speculative Bubble mexicans Are now living with rapidly rising rapidly rising unemployment and a devalued failure of the free Market policy should have benefited the socialist democratic revolutionary which continues to advocate Price government ownership of Industry and repudiation of foreign but theard fared poorly in last years presidential election and its candidates were Only fringe participants in the Yucatan and Guanajuato state mexicans have Long experience with state control of the Economy and they show Little interest in trying it the pan has supported the Broad outlines of the Pri eco nomic the free Market policy is not at the moment working Well for but no one is offering mexicans a better mexicans Learned during the Yucatan and Guanajuato campaigns that the chief of staff of former president Sali Nas has a Long and torrid love affair with a woman closely connected to a major cocaine trafficking transcriptions of their phone Calls Are now in Public a few Days before the state the son of a prominent Pri politician who is also a wealthy businessman was caught trying to smuggle 12 suitcases of Ivory ocelot Coats and other contraband into the country at Mexico City dramatizing the close links Between the ruling party and the shakier Side of yet even with fresh living proof that the ruling party is connected to drug traffickers and Yucatan voters did not switch to the pan has five More years to build the Case for a change of but the Pri also has five More years to re store its the Economy is Likely to improve As the Century draws to a the opposition is unlikely to come up with better scandals than this years High flying lovers and ocelot the state elections Are encouraging for but the Pri is still master of the Back to sleep that darned Pesky so must feel councillor Rick who breezed into a meeting of the Parks and culture committee on monday with an instant solution to youth crime in not just any mind but a curfew based on one in where 11yearolds Are to be in by 16yearolds by and 17yearolds by for Rea sons they Are All allowed out again at 5 it is an exhaustive giving detailed descriptions of what constitutes Public How police should phrase charges and where to detain it also provides for Are allowed out in emergencies to fetch or escape Boychuk had barely finished speaking when his proposal was shot police chief Dale no had to inform Boychuk that the charter of rights and freedoms protects canadians from discrimination on the basis of age and also guarantees the right to among other things the Liberty to be outdoors at is not he believes a fact finding Mission to Toledo is in no leading the a simple Call to reveals the Law is ignored by everyone except who complain it has created a Mountain of paper work and changed Boychuk revealed that youths had been tipping garbage cans in Transcona late at had a curfew been in those cans would not have been his can was saved when a Barking dog scared off the the Barking also woke Boychuk if Only he would go Back to Winnipeg free press Winnipeg free press est 1872 Winnipeg Tribune esl 1890 Rudy Duncan Mcmonagle executive editor John Dafoe editorial Page editor directors Verne Kalichuk human resources Stephan Majorki operations Perry Nixdorf Glenn 01995 Winnipeg free a division of newspapers division of Thomson newspapers company limited published seven Days a week at 1355 Mountain Manitoba r2x pm 6977000 a Menf Ber of the Manitoba press Council Israel nears the Rubicon by Jerome Washington Post while Media attention has focused on recent tensions impeding the Israel palestinian peace negotiations have qui etly crossed a line of major historical importance the israeli government has offered a specific proposal for the creation of a palestinian that what palestinian officials Are and top officials in the israeli foreign ministry have not denied with last weeks decision by the israeli government to suspend the planned expropriation of land in East the peace process has once again weathered a crisis and can re turn to the planned expropriations have obscured the Progress that is now being made toward resolving the to be the obstacles Are still enormous most the weak Ness of political leaders on both sides and the virulent opposition of right Wing israelis and islamic but even As important breakthroughs Are occurring in the stalled negotiations Between Israel and Syria Over the Golan it is not inconceivable that within the next six weeks we could see an Israel palestinian agreement on palestinian and within the next 18 the emergence of a palestinian state that would be Sovereign in Gaza and exercise administrative control Over West Bank after months of fruitless Neotia in March the israeli and Palestin Ian negotiators set for themselves a july 1 deadline for negotiating the processes of palestinian elections and israeli redeployment from population centres in the West last in the Shadow of the crisis that almost brought Down the govern israeli and palestinian negotiators were remarkably the israeli Media reported that elections could occur this Joel the foreign ministry be Gal adviser who played a key role in the Oslo said that election negotiations May be completed even be fore july largely unreported by the Media is an even bigger Story according to palestinian sources at the highest the israeli government secretly offered the palestinians sovereignty Over and the want ing turned it i spoke with both israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres and Plo chairman Yasser Arafat in Early trying to interest them in an idea for Locking in further Progress toward a permanent settlement before the 1996 israeli the idea was to follow palestinian elections and israeli redeployment from population centres in the West Bank with near term creation of a palestinian state with sovereignty Over Gaza and an interim treaty agreement would freeze or limit Settle ment Peres was appropriately noncommittal and go talk to the and let us know if they Are i saw to my he said that the israelis had already offered the palestinians a state in the israeli was linked to the palestinians agreeing to put off for an indefinite period of time the redeployment of israeli troops in the West Bank and the expansion of palestinian the palestinians turned it Down in More recent the israeli press questioned prime minister Yitzhak Rabin about the possibility of a palestinian state in linked to a delay in the expansion of palestinian autonomy in the West Rabin if it would be i dont see any problem in i dont believe that any palestinian will accept Rabin characterized what appears to be an actual palestinian re zip photo Rabin is he preparing israeli Public opinion for a major change suggesting that Arafat account is indeed accurate an offer was put on the when questioned about this by the israeli Peres there Are All sorts of but Only those presented in documents bind the More the palestinian press reported that the palestinian authority announced its official rejection of an offer of a palestinian state in what appears to have happened is that the israeli at a very High made an offer in discus Sions with the it probably was not in the offer was untre and the palestinians rejected it out of on one level the offer was count deepening palestinian suspicions about israels ultimate willingness to withdraw from West Bank Arafat interpreted the proposal As an expression of an israeli desire to bring Jordan Back into the West Bank As an alternative to palestinian thus Gaza first would come to mean Gaza the episode served As a Way for the israeli government to Cross a line it had never crossed before to state that it would some where within the occupied a palestinian some israeli commentators seeking to figure out Why the govern ment would make such an unrealistic offer to the palestinians have suggested that the target was not the pal but the israeli the it is was seeking to acclimate the israeli Public to the idea of a palestinian whatever the that seems to have been the the righting called attention to the significance of rabins but Given the Gaza context and the palestinian reject there was Little Public the historic significance should not be overlooked for the first time since the in partition Resolution of an israeli government has accepted the idea of a palestinian Jerome Segal is o research scholar at the University of Maryland Centre for International and Security Happy times at reunion on the Roo a to Tiv Remc it my n w by does it give me a warm glow to contemplate my neighbors roof it began Early on a saturday last month when i looked out of my Kitchen window while having break fast and beheld an amazing sight Young and old As i Learned later from 15 to 64 years of age assembled on the roof and attacking the they were removing the shingles for a new along the style of the old fashioned bees of the Pioneer Days when neighbors helped each other to raise barns or build houses destroyed by or pitched in to Harvest a crop because of illness in a it was quite a cast of characters my a Young Bob and Shauna Agnew their parents bobs brother Pat his sister Clare Doherty and husband Tim cousins Travis and Beau All were originally from Morden except of Langdon North with a Nice slogan on his car License plate discover the peace Garden Tims american speech provided banter for the roof Val Werier he Calls a roof a b with a says i periodically looked out of my Kitchen window and marvelled at their Industry and perseverance in spite of a Chilly Day with winds gusting to 45 kilo part of their fun on the roof was identifying songs on the All drove in from Morden except from seven who is an underwater welder for Manitoba he is a weight a Handy pastime for the roofing Pat would slap a heavy bundle of shingles Over his climb up the ladder and heave it onto the a Carpenter by acclaimed As Crew brought along the Power saunas looked after her infant granddaughter Amy while Shauna worked on the i was so Shauna i had never been on a roof but i wanted to be up there 4 she pulled out the old and Laid the wore Garden gloves and came away with a Batch of kicks on her neither weather nor mishaps held them Basil bobs stretched a ligament and repaired to the House periodically to apply ice and then was up again on the the work was rough and dirty there were two layers of the one underneath about 45 years so Brittle it Bill saunas cleared out All the old including the nails and pieces that scattered in the it took three trips to the dump in his Halfton truck to get rid of the Only on third of the work had been done the first Day and the forecast prompted them to cover the roof with says Shauna we listened All night to it flapping hoping it would hold and it at All were at except for the two dads who commuted to Morden and arrived the family worked to Sunset to Complete the they had a great time getting to Gether for hot the big breakfasts of eggs and the finale was a grand Din Ner including an 18pound Turkey pre pared by and homemade buns and dessert prepared by bobs there still talking about the i really love those says says Basil it was a great family says Shauna in this Day and age it sure is Nice to know we can count on our family for help and the spirit too was the togetherness of people from Small says Bob if we did this in wed have 10 friends helping no now they have plans for another Bee next year to put new siding on their if its a convenient another brother a teacher at Berens will the agnews saved but there was much More than that the Bonds of a family and the knowledge that such ties Are Strong and vibrant and so Basic to a healthy As a neigh i was touched by these were were says Bob of the ;