MonitoRadio Early Program; [1997-02-11]

This is Monitor Radio, the worldwide broadcast edition of the Christian Science Monitor on P .R .I. Public Radio International. I'm Steve Delaney. In Serbia, Parliament prepares to reinstate disputed election victories. Can the Balkans long buffeted by turmoil and ethnic conflicts settle political disputes peacefully? There's increasing evidence that the answer is yes. A new U .N. Secretary General and new promises debate over reform at the United Nations. It's a question of when people are ready to compromise. And right now the attitude in Washington is these are our demands, not negotiable, not for compromise. Plus carnival celebrations in Brazil and in the U .S. not all fun and games. We'll hear those stories end a lot more coming up in this half hour, but first this news. For the Christian Science Monitor, I'm Rex Crumb at the Monitor Radio News Desk. A state of emergency is expected to be declared today in the Southern Albanian port city of Valorra following two days of violence

between police and anti -government demonstrators. The city was tense today following a funeral march of 20 ,000 demonstrators for a man killed in rioting on Sunday. Michael Jordan has more from the Albanian capital, Toronto. Albanian military units will likely be called in soon to Florida to protect public buildings, roads and police officers. Anti -government demonstrating has reportedly left three dead and more than 110 injured. Sixteen of the injured have been police officers which prompted Prime Minister Alexander Mexty to propose a state of emergency Monday night. Parliamentarians debate the measure late into the night without reaching resolution. Violence erupted Sunday and escalated Monday as the protesters are blaming the government for not protecting them from pyramid investment schemes in which they lost hundreds of millions of dollars. They are demanding compensation and calling for the government's resignation. For the Christian Science Monitor, this is Michael Jordan in Tudana. The Serbian parliament is set to begin debate today on recognizing opposition victories

in local elections. Last week, President Slobodan Milosevic announced he would support the election results after weeks of pro -democracy demonstrations throughout Serbia. Mr. Milosevic had announced the November polls in which the opposition won control of Belgrade and several other cities. Opposition leaders say they will end the protests once parliament recognizes their victories and the decision becomes law. The jury in the OJ Simpson civil trial says the former football star must pay $25 million in punitive damages to the families of his ex -wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. Stephanie O 'Neill reports from Los Angeles. The punitive damages, which will be split equally between the Goldman family and the estate of Nicole Brown Simpson, were both applauded and jeered by onlookers outside the Santa Monica courthouse. Some spectators criticized the jury's decision as an impulsive and emotional one, but at a press conference after the damages were announced, one member of the jury told reporters that he and his colleagues labored over the decision. It's not a pleasant thought. This is not about

celebration. This is not about revenge. This is about justice and there's a big difference. It's not a happy day. The jury's decision puts to rest for now at least the legal saga that for the past two and a half years captured the attention of the United States and much of the world. For the Christian science monitor, I'm Stephanie O 'Neill in Los Angeles. Space Shuttle Discovery has lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida on a 10 -day mission to modernize the Hubble Space Telescope. The Dow Jones industrial average closed in New York on Monday at 6 ,800 -6 down 49 points. The Nika average in Tokyo was closed today because of a Japanese national holiday. This is monitor radio news on PRI, public radio international. The Peruvian government and Tupac Amaru rebels are supposed to hold talks today aimed at ending the country's two -month -long hostage crisis. It will be the first direct meeting between the rebels and the government since December 28th. The talks will be held in a house across from the Japanese ambassador's residence where the rebels are holding 72 hostages. Peruvian President Alberto

Fujimori says he hopes the talks will lead to a peaceful resolution of the standoff. President Bill Clinton will be on Capitol Hill today for face -to -face meetings with Republican congressional leaders on his proposed $1 .7 trillion budget. UPI's Carol Van Dam reports from the White House. The White House is downplaying what might be accomplished at today's meeting, saying President Clinton, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and House Speaker Newt Gingrich will have more on their plates than balancing the budget. The President will be prepared, obviously, to talk about the importance of a balanced budget agreement, but also items like campaign finance reform, education, clearly will be very high in the President's agenda. Though lots said he was gravely disappointed last week with the President's budget, both sides are talking more about bipartisan cooperation and less about partisan gridlock in these early days before the real budget negotiations get underway. No one believes the talks will reach a dead end as they did last year when two costly government shutdowns occurred and voters by and large blame to the Republicans. Carol Van Dam, the White House. Talks between American Airlines and its pilots union are

continuing in Washington in an effort to prevent a strike at the United States second largest air carrier. If a deal is not met by midnight Saturday, the pilots have threatened to ground the airline on the busy President's day weekend. The main issue is pay Americans, pilots want an 11 .5 percent increase over the next four years. The Colombian government has placed thousands of soldiers on alert to prevent rebel attacks during a nationwide strike today. Officials said they had information leftist rebels had planned attacks to go along with the strike. This is Montterradio News on PRI. This is Montterradio. I'm Steve

Delaney. In Serbia today, Parliament is meeting to consider a bill to reinstate disputed opposition victories in Belgrade and 13 other municipal elections. The November 17 results were quashed by Serbia's President Slobodan Milosevic and the ruling socialist. That move sparked weeks of mass protest on the streets of the capital city and prompted international criticism of the Milosevic government. Last week, the president reversed his nullification of the elections and granted the opposition its contested seats. But as Laura Rosen reports from Belgrade members of the opposition remain suspicious. On the eve of the Parliament's vote to recognize the opposition's election wins, democracy supporters gathered in downtown Belgrade's Republican Square last night for what could have been their final protest rally. Only a week ago, riot police attacked them with water cannons, tear gas and clubs, sending hundreds to the hospital. After 83 days of protest, demonstrators say they are more suspicious of the government than ever. Opposition leaders say Serbian President Slobodan

Milosevic has stolen not just votes, but money from the cities where the opposition should take power. They believe Milosevic intends to wage war against his political opponents by leaving their cities bankrupt and depriving them of access to tax money. Opposition leaders say if that happens, they will fight back by refusing to forward tax money from their cities to the central government. The opposition coalitions Zayedno won local elections in 14 cities, which account for 65 % of Serbia's population, but over 80 % of its tax revenues. Opposition leaders are also anticipating a fight over control of local television and radio stations. The ruling socialist party tried to transfer one local TV station from the opposition's control to the central government after the opposition took power in Kroga Yevts. A court decision and a violent confrontation between police and citizens in the town later returned TV Kroga Yevts to the opposition's city government. Opposition leaders promise more serious demonstrations. Its Belgrade's

local TV station, Studio B, is not left under the city's control. The opposition has planned a celebration tonight instead of a protest rally if Parliament votes for a law recognizing their election wins. Milosevic said yesterday that all 123 of his socialist party parliamentarians will vote for the law, but already 35 parliamentarians from the hardline Serbian radical party say they will vote against it. The opposition says it will boycott the parliament session as it has since election wins were annulled. For the Christian Science Monitor, this is Laura Rosen in Belgrade. If the opposition victories are recognized as expected, Belgrade will shift to non -communist municipal rule for the first time in half a century. And these gains will have been won through the ballot rather than through the bullet. The shift in power would follow weeks of demonstrations that have for the most part not been marked by violence, this in a region that has been racked by war. A long time observer of this part of the world is Chris Vich, the Balkan expert

at London's Royal Institute for International Affairs. Currently he's setting up a new independent publication to Yednik, the week in Zagreb, Croatia. Chris, do you think that the Serbian parliament's recognition of opposition victories will signal an end to the protest in Belgrade and to the opposition pressure? I think that the opposition is ready to stop street protests which have been getting difficult to maintain, but on the other hand the opposition will wait to see whether the government means what it's now saying it wants to do. Therefore it is possible that we will see a new roll of protests later on. The developments in Syria can be seen as a sign that the region is finding more peaceable ways to resolve political crises and yet just yesterday. Croats turned their guns on Muslims who would come to a cemetery in Mostar in Bosnia. That sort of mixed signals, isn't it? It is mixed signals. It shows that there are conflicts below the surface even where we have officially peace. As in Bosnia, various conflicts have been left unresolved and one of them is

indeed this potential conflict between the Croats and the Muslims in what is supposed to be a united federation of Croats and Muslims. There are extremists particularly on the Croats side who are wanting to obstruct the future integration of Bosnia who feel that their time is running out. This is an important factor here who feel that the political situation in Croatia is changing the President, President Tutman is gravely ill. He has been their great supporter. They had always hoped that they would be joined to Croatia. This may not now happen and therefore I think they are stepping up efforts to wreck the federation. On the Muslim side it has to be said there are also extreme elements who are trying to provoke the Croats. Perhaps they even have a conflict in which they think they would get sympathy of the world. So the situation is quite ugly but I still think that there will not be

a major war in the federation itself. No repetition in other words of the ugly war which happened in 1993. Chris, looking at the wider Balkan area in Bulgaria there are also anti -government demonstrations that seem to be carrying the day and in Albania the opposition is calling for protests and is going to the streets. Does this seem like the last gasp of the old regimes? Yes I think so and I think that the developments in Bulgaria are particularly encouraging because there the latest election, the presidential election was fair. It was then followed by opposition demonstrations in the streets protest against the economic collapse of the country. They have succeeded in producing a decision by the ruling party, the former communist. To have an election I consider this a great advance. Bulgaria is in a bad way economically but everybody is playing by the rules there and I think that if one looks at the whole picture indeed there are still very dark spots like in Albania but there is a lot of

unrest but it seems that the opposition seems to be getting round to talking with the government in order to prevent perhaps the emergence of a dictatorship and my last question mark is still unfortunately as to whether the regime in Serbia despite having conceded victories at the local level to the dissidents, to the opposition more than dissidents might still want to stay in power. So there is just this shadow of a possibility of violence there but I hope that perhaps even there we might see something more hopeful. Chris Vitch in Zagreb. Thank you very much. Thank you. Some US officials are reportedly saying they are disappointed with UN Secretary General Kofi Anand's early moves at reforming the United Nations. In defense of his boss, UN spokesman Fred Eckhart says Anand has accomplished a lot in his first five weeks in office and that more is going on than meets

the eye. Congress threatens to continue blocking payment of the United States $1 .6 billion debt to the UN unless significant form is implemented. One problem is there is no consensus on what significant reform is. Monitor Radio's Gene Hackland reports on what reform options are being considered. Secretary General Kofi Anand shares some common ground with UN critics in the United States. All agree the 185 member organization needs reform but the US and Anand have quite different ideas about what kind of change is needed. Jeff Laurenti is with the United Nations Association of the United States, a private research organization in New York. Indeed what has become clear is that when Oficial Washington talks about reform now it means a reduction in the UN workforce reduction in what the United Nations does. Reduction in the United Nations budgets, a reduction in the American assessment to pay for

our share of the United Nations costs. That is a far cry from what most countries see as reform. Most countries see reform as a revitalization, a redeployment of resources to get more done to strengthen the UN's capabilities. Anand has ordered a thorough review of the way the United Nations conducts its business and has already taken some initial steps to slim down its bureaucracy. In his own office, for instance, the Secretary General has eliminated several high -level advisory positions. UN officials say he's also looking at a pile of proposals for restructuring the overall organization. The World Peace Foundation in Cambridge, Massachusetts argues the UN could save about 50 percent of its current $1 .3 billion annual operating budget by getting rid of agencies that are either redundant, obsolete, or wasteful. Robert Rotberg heads the organization. He cites as one example, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine, an organization founded in 1948. It has assisted with the political

settlement of the Israeli Palestine conflict by providing temporary services to refugees from Palestine, but Palestinians now have their own authority. That's one example, and that could save some money. Another example is the special committee on the situation with regard to the implementation of the declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples. And I purposely read out the long title because it indicates the absurdity of keeping in business an organization where there are almost no colonies in the world. One change, the United States and the six other leading industrialized countries are pushing for is emerging of the United Nations three economic departments under a single organizational umbrella. Klovis Maksud served as the Arab League's ambassador to the United Nations during the 1980s. He agrees such consolidations make sense. The Secretary General can undertake initiatives of reorganization that would not undermine the functions of the agencies, but enhance them. But

building consensus and getting the necessary approval from the UN General Assembly for such plans is another matter. And an is aiming to have a reform package ready by late July or August, so that member stays can begin considering them soon after. UN spokesman Fred Eckert stresses there are no quick fixes when it comes to an organization as large as the UN. Give a time. This is a very politically complicated process that he does not have the authority to control. He's going to have to lead it. And right now, Annen faces a catch -22 situation. Key U .S. lawmakers, such as Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms, are demanding that reforms be implemented with specific targets before they'll pay even part of the money the U .S. owes the UN. But many UN watchers say it's unlikely the General Assembly will approve any reform plan, unless the U .S. first makes good on at least part of its debt. The

UN Association of the United States, Jeff Laurenti. It's a question of when people are ready to compromise. And right now, the attitude in Washington is, these are our demands, not negotiable, not for compromise. And I think that this thing will move along much faster once politicians in Washington who are used to compromising with each other all the time see international politics as a similar game. In an effort to promote further dialogue, Annen has invited a team of U .S. congressional staffers to the United Nations next week to discuss possible changes in the organization. The Secretary General is also expected to hold a press conference this Thursday to disclose more details of his reform plans. For the Christian Science Monitor, I'm Jean Hacklander at the United Nations in New York. It's 19 minutes past the hour. Coming up, Hackaway,

the sequence in masks, Carnival, or a Mardi Gras, is over for another year. We'll take a look at this year's festivities in Rio de Janeiro and New Orleans. An empty apartment buildings in the wealthy city of Geneva, Switzerland, prime targets for squatters, just ahead on monitor radio. This is monitor radio.

For centuries, many parts of the Christian world have preceded the season of Lent a time of fasting and abstinence, with a final indulgent and chaotic party. It's known as Carnival, or a Mardi Gras, an exuberant occasion that in most modern traditions includes floats, opulent costumes, and all manner of excess, usually involving dancing, feasting, drinking, flirting, and just plain uninhibited revelry. Over the years, both church and state authorities have developed their own accompanying traditions to try to maintain some control over the wild partying and to keep people safe. In Brazil and in New Orleans, those efforts continue. Lee Selvez has our first report from Rio de Janeiro. In the centuries old Carnival celebration, hundreds of thousands of people gather in the streets of Brazil for four days of folly. A more recent part of this tradition is the Ministry of Health AIDS Prevention Campaign to encourage everyone to remember to take along a condom. Critics say, although the government's television ads helped to get the word out about the AIDS virus, they say

two yearly campaign, one during Carnival and another during International AIDS Awareness Day, are not enough. This year, the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro has been marked by a new controversy in the cultural arena. One of Rio's famous Samba schools, Rosina, decided to break with tradition and pay tribute to a foreigner, Walt Disney. The decision caused indignation on the part of many Brazilians who complained that Carnival is a time to honor Brazilian culture. The Samba school, however, stuck to its choice and appeared on the avenue with Mickey, Minnie, Donald and the other Disney characters. To dispel some of the criticism, all floats had the image of Zacadiaca, the Brazilian parrot, created by Disney. In the end, the school was enthusiastically applauded by the more than 100 ,000 people who came to watch the parade. After four days of rubbery, Brazilians will take Ash Wednesday off to recuperate and start thinking about next year's parade. For the Christian Science Monitor, this is Lisa Elvis in Rio de Janeiro.

This is Gail De Lauder in New Orleans, where the big public celebration of Mardi Gras began in the 1870s. And this year's Carnival season has been cold and windy, but that hasn't kept the crowns from hitting the streets from Mardi Gras fun. The parades began a couple of weeks before that Tuesday, and they're put on by groups called Crews. And as tradition dictates, that's Crew with a K. There are crews for just about everyone. There are the old guard, society crews, also the new money crews that put on the glitzy night parades. And you even have truck parades, where families decorate flatbed trucks and dress up and homemade costumes. Also unique tuna whirlens and the Gulf Coast is a tradition of throwing things from floats. The most popular throws are long strands of fake pearls, also popular are plastic cups, which feature the crew's logo. The issue of crime is always a big concern during Mardi Gras, and even though New Orleans has one of the highest murder rates in the nation, Mardi Gras is a relatively safe affair, and this year is

no exception. New Orleans police get high marks for how they handle crowds. Another law enforcement agency step into help, such as Louisiana State Police. Local officials are expecting about a million people in downtown New Orleans for that Tuesday. Another million will be on hand for carnival celebrations in the suburbs. For the Christian Science Monitor, I'm Eild Water in New Orleans. Far from the exuberance of Carnival celebrations, both in spirit and in distance is the city of Geneva, Switzerland. A place renowned for its respectability and wealth, its industrious residents and its proper Protestant traditions. Recently, though, this model of Swiss sobriety has been shaken by an unexpectedly disruptive trend, squatting. Young people, mostly in their mid -to -late twenties, have been moving into and occupying empty apartment buildings. And as Oat Bennett Jones discovered, their targets are not ratty slums with peeling paint. The president of the town, and we have one squad here just in front of me, one squad on my left. We have two squad

there. Artis Shield Patano is a veteran Geneva squatter, and as a result, he says, he's lived in some remarkable apartments he could otherwise never have afforded. Yeah, very nice place. There's some place where I creep out with cable TV and maybe internet and maybe with the web, you know, you have some some squatters who have some some big lift. I'm remembering we have staying in this fabulous little building in the old town of Geneva, which, whereas a flat, are really expensive, you know. Sometimes you need to to squat and when you are arriving in the beautiful square, so you're happy, yeah. It's then you have fun. A group of squatters discuss which Swiss cities are the easiest to squat in. They say that Geneva is one of the most tolerant of all, and it's a view confirmed by Geneva Police spokesman Jacques Volary. At the moment, there are about 1000 squatters

in Geneva. In 91, the police created a special unit of three policemen. They follow the issue very closely, and from time to time, go to the building, which have been occupied to meet the squatters. In addition, they start maintaining permanent contact with property owners. They have become some kind of mediators between the different parties. A young squatter tackles the washing up, and there's plenty of it. She and 16 others have declared the apartment block they live in their own. They say that, like most other squatters in Geneva, they've had no problems with the police. Why not? Well, conservative Geneva member of Parliament Peter Chopreckens, that the identity of some squatters' parents may have something to do with it. We have a very liberal stand. Why? Because mainly it's our children.

I have a girl who was in this scene, so what have you? There were a lot of rather decent apartment buildings just unoccupied, and then our political and traditional management decided, let's integrate these people and if a land lord has a rehabilitation project which can be initiated tomorrow, then we take them out, but not before that. So while Professor Chopin and his colleagues in the Geneva establishment are busy with affairs of state, their children are living it up in the squatters. While some groups of squatters develop a reputation for playing a particular kind of music, others have radical political identities, but perhaps afraid of pushing

the city authorities, or maybe their parents too far, most squatters, like 23 -year -old teacher Veronique, say that they want to resist becoming too politicized. I don't think it's a political motivation, but for sure we are anti -property and left -wing, I don't know, we are against the army or against the police, I don't know what, but I don't think that here we are like a political group moving here, more like a group of friends who just took the place and live here, that's it. The Geneva authorities and squatters do seem to have found a way to peacefully coexist. In fact, it seems so easy to squat in this city, one wonders why anyone bothers paying any rent. For the Christian Science Monitor, this is Owen Bennett -Cherns in Geneva. You're listening to Monitor Radio, the worldwide broadcast edition of the Christian Science

Monitor. I'm Steve Delaney, it's 29 minutes past the hour. Support for Monitor Radio is provided by public radio stations across the U .S. and by the Christian Science Monitor. From writers around the globe, news and information in perspective. For subscription information, 1 -800 -456 -2220. This is Monitor Radio, the

worldwide broadcast edition of the Christian Science Monitor on PRI, Public Radio International. I'm Steve Delaney, reaction to a jury's order that O .J. Simpson must pay millions of dollars in punitive damages in his wrongful death trial. Some jury members reflect on what they've done. It's not a pleasant thought, this is not about celebration, this is not about revenge, this is about justice, and there's a big difference. It's not a happy day. What will be the legal and social legacy of both the civil and criminal Simpson trials to observers offer opinions? And today, President Clinton meets congressional leaders on their own turf on Capitol Hill. We'll hear those stories and a lot more coming up in this half hour, but first, this news. For the Christian Science Monitor, I'm Deborah Becker at the Monitor Radio News Desk. An estimated 20 ,000 people marched through the Southern Albanian city of Valorra today, mourning the first victim of a month of

rioting. The mourners carried the open coffin of the victim through the streets and some members of the crowds set the offices of the ruling party on fire. The demonstrators are protesting the collapse of fraudulent investment schemes. As the BBC's Joanna Robertson reports from Toronto, the protests have taken on an increasingly anti -government tone. It seems to be just following Monday in Toronto where there were quite a few political maneuvers. Three rather minor opposition parties who had been slightly vague about where they stood up until now did say that they wanted the government to resign and are removed within the parliament for a vote of no confidence in the government. And these are two quite important moves. The Albanian parliament today is debating a measure to declare a state of emergency in the city of Valorra. Today's session of Serbia's parliament is scheduled to vote to adopt a law that would recognize opposition victories in November's municipal elections. The government's failure to recognize the opposition victories sparked almost three months of

daily protests in Serbia. Laura Rosentt reports from Belgrade. Whatever the outcome of Tuesday's vote, opposition supporters vow to continue their daily street demonstrations until the decision becomes law. Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic said he expects all 123 of his socialist party parliamentarians to vote in favor of recognizing the opposition's election wins in 14 cities. Even if parliament passes the law, the opposition expects problems. Opposition leaders say the ruling socialists have left the town's bankrupt and will deprive them of means to collect tax revenues. They are also expecting a fight over control of local television and radio stations. Opposition leaders say the majority of the country's problems cannot be solved until Serbia gets rid of its socialist president. For the Christian science monitor, this is Laura Rosentt in Belgrade. The space shuttle discovery took off from the Kennedy Space Center and Florida today for a 10 -day mission. The seven member crew is scheduled to bring new equipment to the Hubble telescope during four scheduled spacewalks. Some jurors in the OJ Simpson civil trial say it was the former football

star's inconsistent testimony that led them to hold him responsible for the 1994 murders of his ex -wife Nicole and her friend Ronald Goldman. The jurors set punitive damages against Simpson at $25 million. The judge must decide if that's reasonable. Bosnia and Croats appear to have stepped up their evictions of Muslims in the divided city of Mostar today. An international police official says 26 Muslims will remove from their homes overnight and two NATO interpreters have been detained. Yesterday shooting broke out in Mostar killing one person. This is public radio international. Israel is set to release 31 female Palestinian prisoners today as part of a 1995 agreement with the PLO. They will be met in the West Bank town of Ramallah by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Monitor radio's Clay Scott reports from Jerusalem. Of the 31 women, 28 had been convicted by Israeli courts on security -related charges. A group

of Israelis whose family members were victims of Palestinian terrorist attacks failed Monday to reverse the high court's decision to free the women. Israel's previous government committed to releasing the prisoners in a 1995 agreement with the Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to honor that commitment as part of the Hebron deal signed last month with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Israeli President Ezra Weitzman had earlier offered to free all of the female prisoners with the exception of two being held on murder charges. But the rest of the women chose to remain in prison out of solidarity with those two. There are still about 5 ,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons. For the Christian day between the Peruvian government and the rebels holding 72 people hostage at the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima. For the first time since the standoff began eight weeks ago, a leading Tupac Amaru rebel will leave the ambassador's residence to attend the talks. Yesterday, rebel spokesmen said they will not drop their main demand that hundreds of their jail comrades be released in

exchange for the hostages. The Reverend Jesse Jackson is set to appear in court in Chicago today after spending the night in jail. Jackson was arrested yesterday during a protest at a white -owned construction company. He was demonstrating against the company's decision to terminate a subcontract with a black -owned trucking company. The company denies that any racial motive was involved. That's a summary of this hour's top stories. From monitor radio is made possible in part by the archer Daniels Midland company, maker of green giant harvest burgers, a soy protein -based cholesterol -free entree with 4 grams of fat, ADM, supermarket to the world. This is monitor radio. I'm Steve Delaney.

A jury in Santa Monica, California has written what may be the final chapter in the civil court version of one of the century's most compelling trials. Jurors in the OJ Simpson wrongful death civil trial have ordered him to pay a total of $25 million in punitive damages for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. That's in addition to the $8 .5 million in compensatory damages awarded to the Goldman family last week when the panel determined that Simpson was liable for both deaths. Stephanie O 'Neill was at the courthouse in Santa Monica when the jury spoke. Emotions ran high in the smaller than usual crowd of onlookers outside the Santa Monica courthouse after the jury announced its punitive damages in the OJ Simpson civil trial. While family members of murder victims Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman expressed quiet gratitude inside the court, Simpson supporters criticized the jury's decision. Spectator Morris Griffin called the $33 .5 million in compensatory and punitive damages an outrageous

unprecedented figure in American judicial history. The jurors to me showed me that they were not only impulsive but they were emotional in making their decision and to have the nerve and the audacity to let emotion go into your decision was wrong, was wrong. Another angry voice in the crowd echoed that opinion. I think it's ridiculous. I think it's still fitting. I think it's crazy. Outrageous. But just as loud were those who applauded the verdict. Among them, one of the more colorful and outspoken Simpson trial watchers Melrose Larry Greene. There is enough evidence to convict 500 people. Simpson should be on death row. This case has been open and closed case from day day one. Activist attorney and friend of the Brown family Gloria Allred was among those in attendance. Allred characterized the $25 million punitive damages award as fitting in the circumstances. The only way to look at whether it is a lot of money or not is to look at the reprehensibility of the conduct which most people

of good conscience would say that is very reprehensible to kill two human beings, one of them being the mother of your two young children. Plaintiff's attorney Mike Brewer, who represented Ronald Goldman's mother Sharon Rufo, said it was the jury's decision to find Simpson liable and not the money that marked the real victory. I think it's recognition that someone is responsible for her son's death and that that person has been held accountable. His life meant something and I think that's what this verdict tells. Tells her and should tell everyone else. The civil damages awards punctuate a two and a half year -long legal battle in which Simpson was acquitted by a criminal jury of the June 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. One of the eight civil trial jurors, willing to speak to reporters after the punitive damages award was announced, called the jury's decision very difficult. It's not a pleasant thought. This is not about celebration. This is not about revenge. This is about justice and there's a big difference. It's not a happy day. OJ Simpson, who has not attended court since the jury

found him liable, reportedly watched news reports of the jury's decision on a TV in a snack bar of a suburban golf course. Simpson's lawyers meanwhile are widely expected to ask that a mistrial be declared. For the Christian Science Monitor, I'm Stephanie O 'Neill in Santa Monica, California. The Simpson trials, criminal and civil have been argued at length and not just in the courtrooms of California, but also across the streets of America and on television programs around the world. A look at the legacy of this case from two observers who have followed it closely. Dennis Love of the Los Angeles Daily News and Robert Pugsley of the Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles. First, Bob Pugsley, the amount of damages is among the largest ever. What does that say about the significance of this case and how does it reflect on the 1995 acquittal in the criminal trial? Well, Steve, as many people have pointed out, they are two completely different trials, but this jury saw a lot of focused evidence. They saw Simpson, they did not believe him, and I think it's meant to send a signal to him in no uncertain terms that they didn't believe him and want him to pay for the two hideous deaths

for which they hold him responsible. 8 .5 million compensatory, another 25 million in punitives. The judge has the power to reduce, if he wishes, or he could pass it on to an appeals court. Dennis Love, the case itself had a polarizing effect on America in terms of different visions of what happened, held by most whites and by most blacks, and the criminal court acquittal simply solidified those differences. What impact do you believe the civil court jury has had on that polarizing issue? Well, it's interesting. Unlike the criminal trial verdict in Los Angeles, at least the town didn't spontaneously combust, like it seemed to two years ago, but frankly, it's a situation where a lot of people tend to view this as a revenge verdict, as opposed to a justice verdict. This is still a case that has very deep roots in terms of passion and fervor, anyone who was there at the verdict last week when the liable verdict was announced would have to tell you that

even though we're a long way removed from the actual murders and the criminal trial verdict, there's still a lot of passion involved. Dennis, one of the plaintiffs lawyers in this case has said that it's not likely that anyone will collect anything out of all this, except of course for the lawyers, and there have been stories that Simpson has managed to shield some of his money by taking it offshore, or that it's an untouchable pension funds. So was this about money, or was it about vindication, or as you might have suggested earlier, was it about revenge? It depends on who you talk to in this particular case, and the line of demarcation, so to speak, seems to run along the same lines as the criminal case. You can speak with people who characterize themselves as supporters of Simpson, and they will tell you that this was strictly about money, and this was strictly about being a repudiation of the criminal case. You can talk to those who characterize themselves as supporters of the plaintiffs, of people who

felt like that the criminal trial verdict was wrong, and that Simpson still needed to be held accountable, and they will say that even though, of course, money is at issue, this was about justice, this was about finally getting a jury of his peers to say that this man was responsible for the murders of Ron Goldman and the co -brown Simpson. You know, it's interesting in that those divisions are still there, and we can go back and forth about what the verdicts were really about, and it does seem to go along racial lines. People who think that the criminal trial verdict was wrong tend to think that this was a just and very necessary verdict, and those who thought the original verdict was sound and also proper, well, they think just exactly the opposite. If this criminal trial had been held under the judge who conducted the civil trial, and if the evidence had been presented in a manner that it was presented in the civil trial, would the criminal result have been different? I'd like to

think it would be the same result, but I must have misgivings and agree with Dennis on his skepticism about the division along racial lines. In the post verdict or post judgment press conference, I think one of the most pronounced individuals was the black woman who was an alternate juror, who basically expressed the same views that had been held by the majority of the black females who constituted the majority in the criminal jury, and by many in the black community. And she was totally unconvinced by the police. She thought, O .J. Simpson was innocent. There were multiple killers. I'm afraid that there's still a very deep division, and I'd like to believe the evidence explains the difference. I'm not really sure that it would. Dennis, people still argue over whether Bruno Hopkins really kidnapped the Lindbergh child and whether the Rosenbergs were guilty of treason as convicted. Will this ever go away or will it just drift into mythology alongside the Kennedy assassination and sit unsettled in the mind? You know, I think to a large degree, it already has drifted into mythology. People have very

closely held beliefs about this case. Sometimes when the evidence seems to suggest otherwise, I think that's going to continue. I think that people are going to carry their thoughts and police about that case with them just sort of into perpetuity. Dennis, love of the Los Angeles Daily News and Robert Pugsley of the Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles. Thank you both. Thank you. President Bill Clinton goes to Capitol Hill later today to meet with the leaders of Congress on their own turf. There had been expectations that the president's proposed budget would dominate the discussion, but now officials at the White House and at the Capitol are minimizing the budget issue, and as monitor radio's chief political correspondent Jim Kane reports, both sides are seeking publicly to emphasize other issues on which there is greater agreement. I would caution you against thinking this will be a session that focuses exclusively

on the budget. White House spokesman Mike McCurry yesterday sought to downplay the importance of the budget in today's meeting on Capitol Hill, as did Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott's office. Lott's press secretary said President Clinton and Vice President Gore would be joined by 10 members of Congress, all of whom hold top leadership positions. The chairman and ranking Democratic members of the House and Senate budget committees were not invited. Senate minority leader Tom Dash will agree that the session should not turn into a budget negotiation. And I don't think it will. I think it's too early for any negotiations with the president on the budget. What I'd like to see is the regular order of the budget committees taking up the agenda, dealing with the issues, trying to resolve our differences and then moving onto the floor and having the same debate there. So what will be discussed? The Senate Majority Leader's office says issues like education, crime and drugs, disposal of toxic and nuclear waste, tax relief, and to a limited extent, the budget are on the agenda. Mike McCurry says the White House has its own list of issues. The president will be prepared, obviously, to talk about the importance of a balanced budget agreement,

but also items like campaign finance reform, education clearly will be very high in the president's agenda. He'll be talking about health care for children, some of the proposals he's made in the state of the Union address. For now, the White House is happy enough that the Republicans in Congress have not simply rejected the president's budget proposal and may actually use it as a starting point in negotiating a plan they will eventually pass. For today's meeting on Capitol Hill, emphasis is on other areas where the president and congressional leaders believe they can make some progress. Both sides are trying to preserve the atmosphere of civility that has prevailed on Capitol Hill since the 105th Congress convened and which might not last if the two sides plunge into contentious budget negotiations right away. Senate Minority Leader Dashel. We're in a position to sit down at the same table with Republican and Democratic leadership to try to find the common ground on the agenda for the next couple of months. I think that's very encouraging and very positive. Mike McCurry at the White House yesterday continued driving home the theme of searching for common ground. The

effort here will be to explore areas in which we can come to some agreement on the bipartisan process that can exist to move these things forward. And the president was very encouraged that following the state of the Union address the bipartisan leadership reached out to him and said, please come to Capitol Hill, let's sit down and decide how we can move our common agenda forward. One clear indication that no serious negotiations are expected at this meeting is the fact that majority leader Lott's office expects the session to last only 30 to 45 minutes. But that brief meeting could help pave the way for much more difficult and substantial talks in the coming months. For the Christian Science Monitor, I'm Jim Kane in Washington. It's 11 minutes before the hour. Coming up Chicago Bulls rebounder Dennis Rodman takes the court again after a suspension for kicking a cameraman, but he'll be minus at least one fan. And disturbing implications of the Rodman affair, what America's infatuation with Black Athletes doesn't reveal about being Black or gifted or

American. That's just ahead. This is Monitor Radio, professional basketball's leading rebounder and show off, Dennis Rodman returns to the defending champion Chicago Bulls tonight. He has served an 11 game suspension for kicking a cameraman at court side last month. Rodman says he will donate his salary for the next 11 games to charity. So far, the incident has cost Rodman a place at the NBA All -Star Game

and more than a million dollars in lost pay and fines and a settlement with the cameraman. And as Jeff Brady reports from Phoenix, Oregon, Rodman's behavior has also cost the Chicago Bulls at least one fan. We have a great two place, a boycott of all Chicago Bulls shirts, a volleyball shirts, hats, games, season close season at our school. That is just the beginning of 11 -year -old Bobby Raffinsburgers letter to David Stern, Commissioner of the National Basketball Association. Bobby says the suspension stern needed out to Rodman was not stern enough. The disgusting actions of Mr. Rodman caught on film and played nationwide for several days are nothing more than a two -year -old throwing fit. He may be an NBA All -Star, but he can't be replaced. Bobby would like to make profiting from Rodman's notoriety more difficult. He got the idea for his boycott of the Bulls after his father Dick Raffinsburger saw a replay of Rodman kicking cameraman Eugene Amos. I made the comment that there'll be no more bull stuff in the house until this guy comes around and straightens up and

Bobby kind of ran with that and said he thought he could get a school behind it and basically that's where it takes off from there. All these people right here signed it, Michael Smith, Brett. About 70 students and teachers signed Bobby's petition to the NBA, including classmate Chris Galligan. I think they should suspend Dennis Rodman a little longer than they did or find him more money. Bobby's ban on the Bulls even extends to one of his heroes, Team Superstar Michael Jordan. He traded away a Michael Jordan trading card for one of the less coveted player and he's boxed up everything else he owns with Jordan's name and stored it in a closet until Rodman changes his way. Is there anything that Dennis Rodman could do to sort of redeem himself in your eye? He could retire or leave professional basketball, have someone else take his position. It's a little harsh isn't it? Yeah I guess but what he did to the cameraman is a little harsh. Bobby's dad concedes a boycott by a few dozen kids from Southern Oregon won't have much financial impact

on the Bulls. At least when Rodman returns to the court, Bobby Raffenskirger and a few of his friends will not be watching. For the Christian Science Monitor, I'm Jeff Brady in Phoenix, Oregon. On Sunday the Commissioner of the National Basketball Association said on national television that Dennis Rodman comes back with a clean slate and that the league did not impose on him, the requirement to get counseling for his behavior a lot first. Rodman has become a sort of lightning rod for the kind of criticism that obnoxious athletes often attract, especially black athletes according to sports scholar John Hoberman. He is made a study of the impact of high profile sports on black America and overall he finds the effect negative. Hoberman's book on his findings is called Darwin's Athletes, how sports has damaged black America and preserve the myth of race. Professor Hoberman, here's a man who headbutts a referee, kicks a cameraman, wears a wedding dress and does weird things to his body

and he is applauded for being a county self promoter. Are we collectively responsible for enshrining eccentricities or worse? I think Dennis Rodman is a creature of the advertising industry that to a very large extent these days serves as the unelected legislator of public morals and he has some surprising and prominent company that is to say the industry does. Jesse Jackson's reaction to the 11 game suspension of Dennis Rodman was to call for its early termination and to suggest that he was being in effect punished unfairly by a league that is of course run by whites. President Clinton downplayed Rodman's eccentricities sort of in effect lowering the mental health standards for all American adolescents when he described Rodman as a little bit different and the sort of person that a lot of kids look up to. That I think is a

very timid response on the part of our leading black and white leaders respectively with regard to the spectacle that is Dennis Rodman. It refuses to remember the history that informs us that Dennis Rodman in a way is a kind of a one -man minstrel show and that in a way the entire NBA has come down to that kind of a display of black eccentricities magnified by the media that is not going to do anything good for race relations in the United States. You're suggesting in this work that black intellectuals have not done very much to divert her hero worship and role model bonding away from athletes like Dennis Rodman or even other kinds of athletes who must behave into the pursuits of other kinds of excellence. What should they be doing? I think they should be standing up for the intellectual class as a whole and I think they should be out there recruiting black children into the intelligentsia into the cognitive elite

that it comes in a very very poor second to the glamour of the athletic world in the minds of many many children most disadvantageously in the minds of many black children. At the same time I would say that black men in general and very highly educated black men as well feel a very profound kind of bond with or loyalty to athletic achievement. In the book I ascribe this to the symbolic potency of the black athlete as a survivor contesting a white world. You say that it's only okay to be smart if you're also athletic. That's the way it works. In fact I have an African -American colleague at the University of Texas who told me that his eight -year -old went through exactly that experience. Sooner or later sooner probably we're going to face the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's arrival and in the National

League a breakthrough. Well Jackie Robinson was a genuine American hero. He stood up to the racism of the U .S. Army and then he stood up to the racist taunts of white major leaders after he was discharged from the Army. The problem with the Jackie Robinson legacy is that celebrating Jackie Robinson is simply too easy a way to let whites in particular off the hook so far as confronting what the sports world does to children in general and black children in particular who are tempted by an endless deluge of images emanating from the NBA or the Nike corporation or any other number of wealthy advertisers who in effect have bought the option on the image of the black male. We know that he is a guy who goes over hurdles and takes jump shots. He doesn't operate computers and he doesn't analyze foreign affairs and that is a big part of the educational tragedy of

African Americans. If that is a trap for the minds of young black people and indeed for the rest of us how do you disarm it or neutralize the unintended consequences of the celebration of black athleticism? I think the most appropriate answer at this point that I would offer is that black parents are going to have to become in effect neighborhood activists on behalf of educating their children better. You need real community organizing and people who are determined to win in this fateful war between American parents in general and the popular culture industry that wields such disproportionate power. John Hoberman has written Darwin's athletes how sport has damaged black athletes and preserved the myth of race. Thank you very much. Thank you. This is Monitor Radio, the worldwide broadcast service of the Christian Science Monitor. I'm Steve Delaney. Monitor Radio is made possible in part by Lexus Nexus helping legal

business and government professionals manage and use information more productively on the web at www .lexus -nexus .com