*Group Calls Cambodia Voting Smooth *Ex-Khmer Rouge Arrested in Deaths *Clinton joins chorus of complaints on Japan *Bangladesh floods kill 242, threaten Dhaka dam *Deutsche Bank may have known of Nazi gold ---------------------------------------------------------- Group Calls Cambodia Voting Smooth By ROBIN McDOWELL Associated Press Writer PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) -- Voting at more than 90 percent of the country's polling stations ``went smoothly and without incident'' during recent parliamentary elections, Cambodia's biggest independent observer group said today. The Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia -- COMFREL -- said some serious violations had been reported by its observers during Sunday's polls, but the incidents were scattered and didn't appear to be part of a larger pattern. However, the group expressed serious concern about post-election violence and intimidation directed against members of opposition parties. The group issued its evaluation today as the country awaited full final vote results; an election official said today that those figures had been delayed by efforts to verify them. Partial numbers suggest that strongman Hun Sen's party handily beat the two leading opposition parties. A projection by COMFREL gives the ruling Cambodian People's Party 64 seats in the 122-seat National Assembly, the leading opposition group FUNCINPEC 43 seats, and its ally the Sam Rainsy Party 15 seats. The ruling party's projected parliamentary margin increased Friday after it was revealed that a new, little-known formula -- one that gives an added boost to the party with the most votes -- would be used to determine the allocation of seats. Opposition parties on Friday repeated their claims that Hun Sen's party had rigged the ballot. The FUNCINPEC party of Prince Norodom Ranariddh and the Sam Rainsy Party issued a joint statement saying they would accept the election's results ``when and if the serious irregularities reported'' were shown not to have altered its outcome. Scores of opposition party activists from rural areas have taken shelter in the FUNCINPEC and Sam Rainsy Party headquarters in Phnom Penh after being threatened by police and local authorities loyal to the Cambodian People's Party. COMFREL director Thun Saray said reports from the provinces of Takeo, Kampong Cham and Prey Veng said 29 political party activists had been threatened since the election. ``These incidents were mostly direct verbal threats but included other forms of intimidating behavior,'' he said. Thun Saray called on the government's National Election Committee to investigate charges of intimidation and complaints of serious violations in the voting and vote-counting processes. Opposition parties have threatened to boycott the National Assembly if their complaints were not heeded. In response, Hun Sen has vowed to change the constitution if need be. Hun Sen deposed Ranariddh as his co-premier in a violent coup a year ago, dismantling much of his political machine in the process. ------------------ Ex-Khmer Rouge Arrested in Deaths By KER MUNTHIT Associated Press Writer TAKHMAU, Cambodia (AP) -- A former Khmer Rouge general wanted for the abduction and killing of three Western tourists in 1994 has been arrested and will stand trial in Phnom Penh, Cambodian leader Hun Sen said today. Nuon Paet led a band of Khmer Rouge guerrillas who halted a train in 1994 and abducted three young Western tourists: David Wilson of Australia, Mark Slater of Britain and Jean-Michel Braquet of France. The guerrillas, holed up on rugged Vine Mountain in the southern province of Kampot, held three months of negotiations with the government before allegedly killing their captives. They were demanding money, watches, food and other items. Toward the end of the negotiations, the government launched an offensive in the area, further complicating the talks. The case has caused considerable controversy, especially in Australia, because it is believed by some that the Cambodian government mishandled the negotiations. Some critics also claimed that the Phnom Penh government has been aware of Nuon Paet's whereabouts but had been unwilling to apprehend him. ``This is a success for our national police,'' Hun Sen told reporters at his residence after briefing the ambassadors of France, Britain and Australia about the arrest. ``We asked those countries to send lawyers on behalf of those victims for the trial.'' Nuon Paet was detained by criminal police when his car was stopped on the road from Phnom Penh International Airport to the capital early today. He was taken to the Justice Police prison in the center of the capital. ``The sooner the trial takes place the better,'' said Hun Sen, who appeared relaxed and happy. According to Hun Sen, Nuon Paet had been ``active in the area between the Thai border and Pailin,'' smuggling cars from Thailand. Pailin is a former Khmer Rouge stronghold on Cambodia's western border. Sim Theng, a former Khmer Rouge division commander, told The Associated Press last year that Nuon Paet had disguised himself and attempted to defect along with the estimated 10,000 guerrillas who have laid down their arms since August 1996. The defections, initiated by high-ranking Khmer Rouge figure Ieng Sary, crippled the revolutionary movement and has given the country its best chance for peace in decades. The Khmer Rouge seized power in 1975 and killed as many as 2 million Cambodians in a bid to create a communist agrarian utopia. It battled successive central governments after it was overthrown in 1979 by a Vietnamese invasion. At least 10 foreigners have been taken hostage and subsequently killed by Khmer Rouge guerrillas since 1994. Only one, American Melissa Himes, escaped unharmed. ----------------------------- Clinton joins chorus of complaints on Japan By Janet Guttsman WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Clinton joined a chorus of U.S. complaints about Japan Friday, saying Tokyo needed to return to growth in order to help troubled economies across Asia. "It's going to be very difficult for Asia to recover unless its leading economy, Japan, leads the way," Clinton told reporters in a brief appearance in the White House Rose Garden. Clinton urged Japan to strengthen its banking system and stimulate its recession-hit economy. U.S. officials have long worried about what they see as Japan's inability to solve a raft of problems in its debt-laden financial sector and bring its economy, the second biggest in the world, back on a clear growth track. But their warnings have taken on an extra air of urgency since a new Japanese government took office this week. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, echoing comments from Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, said Friday that Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, who took his post Thursday, was running out of time. "I think he knows that he doesn't have a great deal of time," Albright told Reuters in an interview in Australia. "We are going to be watching very carefully." The Japanese economy, once hailed as a model for other Asian states, slipped into recession this year after seven years of sluggish growth. The U.S. economy, by contrast, remains strong. The Commerce Department Friday reported a 1.4 percent annualized growth rate in the second quarter, down from a revised 5.5 percent in the first quarter, but well above analysts' expectations. Washington, wary of its widening trade deficit, wants Tokyo to stimulate growth by boosting domestic demand rather than by exporting its way out of trouble. "It is especially important for Asia and for our economy that the new Japanese government move forward quickly and effectively to strengthen its financial system and stimulate and open its economy," Clinton said. Clinton said he expected to talk to Obuchi Saturday, and he noted that he had already worked with new Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa. "I welcome the election of the new prime minister, as well as the former prime minister..., Mr. Miyazawa, as the new finance minister," he said. "We want to work with them and we hope that this new government can find the keys to restore to the Japanese people, who have a great economy and great society, the growth that they deserve," he said. Miyazawa has promised six trillion yen in tax cuts and 10 trillion in extra spending and he has made clear that it may not be possible to rescue every Japanese bank, although he said he did not expect any of Japan's top 19 banks to fail. He also said he believed in letting markets decide the value of currency and stock levels. His comments, which prompted speculation that Japan was shifting to a policy of benign neglect for the yen, drove the Japanese currency lower. Washington has long said that the United States will intervene on foreign exchange markets "when it is appropriate" and will not intervene when it is not appropriate. Deputy Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers repeated that line Thursday, but added: "Intervention does have its place, but ultimately it is policy that is most important." ------------------------- Bangladesh floods kill 242, threaten Dhaka dam By Shehab Ahmed Nafa DHAKA (Reuters) - Floods sweeping Bangladesh have killed at least 242 people and destroyed the homes or disrupted the lives of millions, disaster control officials said on Friday. "Fifty-four more deaths were reported Friday," one official said of the floods triggered by two weeks of heavy rain which has hit 37 of the country's 64 administrative districts. Water Resources Minister Abdur Razzak, along with engineers, Friday inspected a dam in the capital Dhaka that had been threatened by rising flood water. The minister asked the Bangladesh Water Development Board to take all measures to plug any major leak or other damage to the Dhaka-Narayanganj-Demra (DND) embankment, official BSS news agency said. If breached, thousands of families would be washed away by water from the flooded Shitalakhya river, board officials said. More than 10 million people had been affected, including a million or more left marooned or homeless, the disaster control official said, adding that at least 242 people had died, many from water-borne diseases. Nearly a million people in and around Dhaka had been affected, with more than 37,000 evacuated to flood shelters. "Diseases, mostly diarrhea caused by people drinking polluted water or eating rotten food, have broken out in most of the affected districts and are taking their toll," one official said. Officials said at least 30 people had died of diarrhea and nearly 3,000 more had fallen sick across the country. The Red Cross Thursday issued a global appeal for $1.7 million in aid for Bangladesh's flood victims. Red Cross volunteers Friday distributed relief goods at Dhaka's Khilgaon flood shelter. Red Cross officials said people were in need of urgent medical attention and food supplies. "We have already provided $150,000 in emergency aid, which is going to feed some half a million people," said Bjorn Eder, head of a visiting Red Cross team. The government said it had deployed more than 2,000 medical teams to try to contain the diseases in the flooded districts. Monsoon floods hit Bangladesh every year, killing hundreds of people. The worst in recent history occurred in 1988, when more than 5,000 died. Although the flood situation has shown signs of improvement in the north, it remained critical in central Bangladesh, officials said. "Flood situation around the capital has become critical," Shamim Osman, a legislator from the ruling Awami League, told minister Razzak. Officials at the flood forecasting and warning center said Friday water levels at major rivers have dropped slightly as there had been no significant rainfall in the past few days. But they feared a fresh spell of rain next week. Sajedur Rahman, a senior meteorologist, had said the floods would continue until September but are not expected to be worse than the 1988 floods. Floods in 1988 virtually swamped the entire country, including Dhaka, forcing its international airport to shut for 13 days. --------------------------------- Deutsche Bank may have known of Nazi gold By Thomas Atkins FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's largest bank, Deutsche Bank, may have knowingly bought gold taken from concentration camp victims during World War Two, according to a report released Friday by an independent historic commission. In response, Deutsche Bank AG officials confirmed that the bank dealt in wartime central bank gold -- which included victims' gold -- but fell short of saying that bank officials knew about the gold's origin. "This gold business was normal business during the war," said Deutsche Bank spokesman Ronald Weichert. "Of course these transactions took place," he said. "The Deutsche Bank conformed to the system." In an official statement, Deutsche Bank said it "regrets most deeply injustices that occurred. "The detailed report with statements from historians shows the degree to which Deutsche Bank, in the course of its normal banking business, conducted gold transactions with the Reichsbank during the Nazi era," the Deutsche statement said. "Deutsche Bank fully acknowledges its moral and ethical responsibility for the darkest chapter of its history," the statement said. Lawyers representing Holocaust survivors, who have already filed an $18 billion class action lawsuit in New York against Dresdner Bank and Deutsche Bank, say the report fortifies their case. "It is a scathing report," said Michael Witti, a lawyer representing the survivors. "The report confirms that business was conducted with the Nazis' stolen gold." "It (the report) brings us good facts, underscores our demands, (and is) almost an acknowledgment of one part of our complaint," he told Reuters. According to the report, Deutsche Bank used branches in Austria and Turkey to facilitate the transfer and sales of gold purchased from the Reichsbank. Witti added that he would likely expand the class action suit to include a complaint against Commerzbank. The five members of the historic commission from Israel, the United States, Britain and Germany said Deutsche Bank bought 4,446 kilos of gold from Germany's wartime central bank, the Reichsbank, worth $5,001,750 at the time. Of that, 744 kilos was so-called Melmer Gold, which was taken from concentration camp victims' teeth, wedding rings, and personal jewelry, the report said. Most of the gold was confiscated from the central banks of countries Germany invaded during the war. Both Deutsche and Dresdner have rejected the class-action suit, saying independent historical research shows they did not know the origin of gold purchased during the Nazi era. German Jewish leader Ignatz Bubis also Friday criticized Deutsche Bank for taking part in a "pact of silence," calling on bank officials to be more forthcoming with historical researchers. "I want them to put everything on the table," he said. Bubis said he doubts claims that top banking officials did not know the origin of the Melmer gold. The commission's report includes no evidence that would have directly proved that Deutsche Bank officials knew some of the gold came from the bodies of concentration camp victims. The report concludes, however, that bank director Alfred Kurzmeyer, a Swiss citizen, and board member Hermann Abs, who was responsible for foreign dealings, very likely learned of the origin of the gold via direct contacts with the elite S.S. military corps. "No unequivocal record exists that Abs and other members of the board of directors had knowledge of the origin of the victims' gold that was purchased from the Reichsbank," the report said. "But Abs was in possession of far-reaching contacts and it is possible that he and perhaps other members of the board were aware of the existence of victims' gold," the report continued. "Based on that, it is possible they were aware that the gold was originally the property of the victims of Nazi Germany," it said. The German wartime economy needed gold to purchase hard currencies that were then used to buy materiel, including industrial commodities like wolfram and chromite. The Deutsche Bank purchases amounted to less than one percent of all Reichsbank gold sales, according to the report.
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