Cable Briefs

Press, 19 September 1980, Page 5

Cable Briefs

Turkish attacks Turkey’s six military rulers will swear themselves in today, suggesting that they do not intend to hand over to civilian rule immediately. The generals are to take an oath to the nation a week ago after seizing power in a bloodless coup. A police chief has been shot dead and a suspected Leftwing guerrilla leader killed in two separate incidents in Istanbul, the first resurgence of political killing since the coup. In the second attack the suspected Left-wing guerrilla Ictder was shot dead. The police said that Leftist, snipers killed him after he was taken by the police to the scene of an alleged earlier crime. — Ankara. Diplomats harassed Afghan security forces have started searching United States diplomatic Department has said. A spokesman said that the cars and restricting access to the embassy compound in Kabul where a Soviet soldier has sought asylum, the Stale United States had strong’v protested to Afghan authorities. The actions appeared to coincide with Soviet demands that the enlisted man be handed back, demands the United States has re-., jected.—Washington. ’ “]

Debendox cleared.... A Unit'd States Government advisory panel has concluded there is no reliable evidence that the morning-sickness drug Bendectin causes birth defects, but says further studies should be lade. The panel recommended that the Food and Drug Administration, which it advises, modify the prescription instructions for doctors so that it will be given out only in serious cases of nausea and vomiting. Produced by Richard-son-Merrill, the drug has been prescribed in the United States since 1956. in Canada and many other countries it is sold without a prescription under the name Debendox.—Washington.

Death sentences The Central African Criminal Court has pronounced a further death sentence in the retrial of associates of the ousted Emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa. Josephat Ayomokola, deputy armed forces chief of staff under Mr Bokassa, was sentenced to death for ordering troops to fire on students during demonstrations in January last year and for personally killing some of them. A number of people condemned to death last February are being retried after the Supreme Court quashed the verdicts last month, citing procedural irregularities. Among those sentenced again to death was a son-in-law of Bokassa, who was found guilty of poisoning — allegedly on Bokassa’s orders — the 10-day-old son of a major who had been executed as the mastermind of a failed assassination bid against Bokassa. — Bangui.

Docks peace plan A peace formula aimed at averting Monday’s threatened national docks strike was to- be put to the giant Transport and General Workers’ Union. The employers were confident that their plan, drawn up after six hours of talks, would solve the dispute, which centres on proposals to put 178 Liverpool dockers facing redundancy on the “temporary unattached register.” Government officials were believed, to have discussed increasing the loan from which, dockers will receive severance pay. The dockers’ leaders have repeatedly argued that they are concerned with keeping jobs, and not bigger redundancy payments.—London.