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_Nation & World__ Judge dismisses families' attempt to sue in U. S. by Estes Thompson Associated Press Greenville, N.C. — The relatives'of five Belgians killed when a Marine jet sliced ski gondola cables in Italy cannot seek recompense in the United States, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. U.S. District Court Judge Malcolm Howard did say, however, that the fam ilies had presented evidence of negligence by the United States. While sympathizing with the fami lies, Howard said their only recourse is through a NATO agreement — called Status of Forces Agreement — that gov erns civil and criminal legal activities of NATO troops in foreign countries. “To fail to apply the NATO SOFA to the claims asserted by plaintiffs would be to misapply the treaty, possibly causing unintended results, which could affect thousands of American service people,” Howard said in the 19-page decision. To allow the families to sue in the United States “could conceivably un dercut the treaty and create a cause of action for any overseas military accident. ... Such a result would severely impair the viability of the claims procedure pro vided for in the NATO SOFA.” Twenty people were killed when the accident occurred Feb. 3,1998, in Cav alese, Italy. The relatives’ attorney, Torrence Arm strong of Alexandria, Va., said he would appeal Howard’s decision to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. “I think the real tragedy is that the United States is not accepting responsi bility for this and is hiding behind the NATO agreement,” Armstrong said. The U.S. government has brought all the evidence, including the crumpled ski gondola, back to this country and will not return it to Italy for hearings, he said. In addition, it’s an eight- to 10-year process to seek compensation in Italy, he said. Armstrong mentioned that 11 months ago, President Clinton said the United States must shoulder reponsibility for the accidenL “The government has done just the opposite...,” he said. Armstrong had said he would seek $6 million to $6.5 million for each of the five victims if the case went to trial. At a hearing Thursday before Howard, Armstrong argued that while the acci dent occurred overseas, several problems occurred in the flight that had roots in the United States: A faulty radar altime ter wasn’t discovered and repaired on the EA-6B Prowler jet at its North Carolina air base; maps weren’t updated by a gov ernment agency to show the cable car strung about 370 feet above the moun tain valley; and the flight crew wasn’t properly trained for low-altitude moun tain flying. Howard rejected that argument, but said, “The court is convinced that plain tiffs have alleged facts, that if true, would establish negligence by the United States occurring in the United States before de ployment and were, therefore, not part of a force as defined by SOFA.” In December, the Italian Senate ap proved up to $2 million for each fami ly, with the U.S. government paying $ 1.5 million of each settlement. But Arm strong said last week the claims process hadn’t yet begun. " A military jury at Camp Lejeune ac quitted the jet’s pilot, Capt. Richard Ash by, of manslaughter, but he served sev eral months in prison and was dismissed from the Marine Corps for helping de stroy a videotape of the flight. The jet’s navigator, Capt. Joseph Schweitzer, also was dismissed from the Marines over the videotape. Chaiges were dropped against two back-seat crewmen. A Marine Corps investigation blamed the crash on the flight crew, based at Aviano, Italy, for flights over Bosnia. The crew’s home base was Cherry Point Ma rine Corps Air Station. Howard said in a previous written or der after the hearing last week that he hesitated to hold a trial when Congress could decide to make direct payments to the families. A proposal that would have paid $2 million to each family died in a congressional conference committee last year. British lawmakers pass bill to suspend Belfast's powers by Kristin Gazlay 'Associated Press London—Lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a bill Tuesday that would allow the British government to strip North ern Ireland’s fledgling administration of its powers this week — an emergency measure meant to prevent its total col lapse. The 352-11 House of Commons vote came after Britain’s Northern Ireland Sec retary Peter Mandelson warned that leg islators had no choice following the Irish Republican Army’s refusal to disarm in support of the province’s 1998 peace ac cord. There remained only one step before the bill passed to the upper House of Lords — a ceremonial final “reading” required under British law that doesn’t necessarily entail a recorded vote. The measure is expected to become law Thuis day once it goes through the House of Lords. The major Protestant party within the power-sharing Cabinet, the Ulster Union ists, agreed to form the four-party coalition — which includes the IRA linked Sinn Fein — only on condition that the IRA would begin to disarm. A disarmament commission’s report last week said the IRA had made no con crete commitments, triggering the cur rent crisis. Mandelson, who transferred consid erable responsibilities to the Belfast ad ministration only two months ago, said in these circumstances it was “clearly foreseeable” that the body “will simply fall apart” if powers weren’t immediately taken back. Earlier Tuesday, Sinn Fein leader Ger ry Adams directly appealed to Prime Min ister Tony Blair not to suspend the ad ministration’s powers, warning it would render any start to IRA disarmament im possible. As Martin McGuinness, a former IRA commander who is now Sinn Fein’s min ister for education in the Cabinet, looked on from the visitors’ gallery, Mandel son said those aiguing for the power-shar ing Cabinet to continue were offering “a false choice.” The reality, he said, was “between pause and bust.” “A pause in the operation of the in stitutions, far from seeing them lying in collapse, will preserve the institutions and allow them to be revived at a later date,” he said. Mandelson said he intended to use the bill’s powers to resume “direct rule” from London — the quasi-colonial form of government originally imposed in Northern Ireland in 1972 — on Friday. Adams also used a Commons room for a news conference. He, like McGuin ness, is an elected member of British Par liament, but can’t take part in debates be cause he refuses to take the oath of office, which would require him to pledge sup port to Queen Elizabeth n. “The Good Friday agreement is un der the greatest threat so far since it came into existence,” Adams said, accusing the British government of backing “a uni lateral deadline” sought by the Ulster Unionists. Later, in a radio interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. in Belfast, Adams sounded exasperated, claiming to have done all he could to win an IRA commitment to disarm. He wondered “what role I have to play as a messenger who continuously gets shot.” But others blamed Sinn Fein for not delivering on its end of a bargain struck in November under the mediation of American diplomat George Mitchell. In exchange for the Ulster Unionists’ accepting Sinn Fein as Cabinet colleagues, Sinn Fein declared for the first time that disarmament was “essential,” and the IRA opened negotiations with the province’s 3-year-old disarmament com mission. The Good Friday accord proposed that the IRA should completely disarm by May, but specified no starting point. The IRA has never accepted that goal. The Ulster Unionists plan to ballot grassroots members Saturday on whether to remain in the Cabinet. If they call for withdrawal, forming a new Cabinet would prove extremely difficult because it would require a new election in North ern Ireland. Given the rising Protestant hostility to cooperating with Sinn Fein, the Ul ster Unionists—previously able to com rnand support from only half the province’s Protestants — would proba bly suffer further losses. But the Cabinet’s senior Catholic minister, Seamus Mallon, warned that the looming suspension could prove per manent. He cited his personal experience in Northern Ireland’s only previous attempt to share power between Protestants and Catholics, a Cabinet that collapsed in 1974. Politicians back then had hoped that the Cabinet would soon resume op erations, he recalled. “It was resumed,” he said. “It took one quarter of a centu ry to resume it.” __ t Flag from page A4 house grounds.” Sen. Darrell Jackson, a black Demo crat who received a death-threat letter for his stance against the flag, said he couldn’t support the “avenue of flags” idea, either. “I’ve been talked to about it and I am not supporting it right now,” Jackson said. Also not going along is Sen. John Courson, R-Columbia, another flag sup porter involved in the negotiations. Courson in 1994 helped craft a failed bill called the Heritage Act that would have placed the flag at the Confederate soldier’s monument. A year later, lawmakers passed a law giving themselves sole power to remove the flag. “I think this issue can be resolved,” Courson said, waving a 2000 version of the Heritage Act from the Senate floor. “I think we can do it this year.” The speeches were prompted by a new bill filed by Sen. Dave Thomas, R Greenville, and other Upstate senators would create a park on Statehouse grounds honoring the Confederacy. McConnell and Courson said the on ly viable plan is the Confederate soldier’s monument, but Hodges, the NAACP and other flag opponents said that location would be too visible. ‘I think the (flag) issue can be resolved. I think we can do it this year.’ Sen. John Courson R-Columbia The NAACP is urging tourists to boy- ^ cott South Carolina to force down the flag, which it considers a racist symbol. Flag supporters say it honors Southern heritage. Senate President Pro Tern John Drummond, D-Ninety Six, said he was concerned about the climate the flag de bate was creating in South Carolina He had in his pocket the threaten ing letter to Jackson, a black Democrat from Hopkins, who has been vocal about wanting the flag removed. Other threats also have been made, he said. “That’s the climate we’re creating,” Drummond said. Excellent Selection Minutes from Columbia Friendly, Professional Staff Test drive a Ford Focus And receive a Free CD case