THURSDAY, MARCH 7. 2002
STATE NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 5A
Philippine captures extremists' relatives
The Associated Press
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines — A southern Philippine mayor said yesterday that his followers seized eight relatives of Muslim extremist rebels in a bid to force them to swap an American couple and a Filipino nurse that they have as hostages.
Mayor Sakib Salajin of Maluso town on Basilian island near Zamboanga said his followers had taken custody of four men and four women "so that we will have some bargaining power."
"Our target now is we want to rescue the hostages," he said. "If we don't get them now, they will just grow stronger."
Salajin said the guerrillas' relatives were taken from their homes recently.
The Abu Sayyaf guerrillas have been holding American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham of Wichita,
Kan., and Filipino nurse Ediborah Yap in the jungles of Basilan for more than nine months now.
Regional Philippine military spokesman Maj. Noel Detoyato condemned the seizure of the relatives of the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas.
He said he hadn't spoken to Salajin to confirm the incident and didn't mention any possible legal action against him.
"We will tell them this is not right," Detoyato said. "We cannot correct a wrong thing by another wrong thing."
Martin Burnham's mother, Oreta, said the family would not comment on the latest development.
The Philippines and the United States have launched a joint counter-terrorism military exercise aimed at wiping out the Abu Sayyaf, which has been linked to the al-Qaida terror network.
The 660-strong U.S. contingent includes 160 special forces soldiers deployed to Basilian to observe Filipino soldiers on the front-lines. They are armed for self-defense only.
Some special forces soldiers have been deployed to Philippine military units operating in Maluso, where Salajin said the hostages and their captors have recently been sighted.
Meanwhile, the military is processing at least 44 members of the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front who surrendered on Basilan late Tuesday.
The group turned over 20 high-powered firearms to an army detachment in Lamitan and were brought to an army camp in Isabela, capital of Basilan, yesterday, said Maj. Noel Detoyato, a spokesman for the military's southern Command.
Evidence could be be dismissed in Johnson County murder case
The Associated Press
OLATHE — Evidence found during the search that turned up the bodies of two women in barrels on John E. Robinson Sr.'s Kansas farm should be thrown out, his lawyers say.
The evidence found June 3, 2000, was conducted under an illegally obtained search warrant, the defense asserts in a motion filed Monday in Johnson County District Court.
Robinson, 58, is charged with capital murder of the two women found in the barrels on his Linn County farm, and with killing another woman, whose body has never been
found, in Johnson County. Prosecutors in Cass County, Mo., also charged Robinson in the deaths of three women whose bodies were found in barrels there.
"All stages of the proceedings were fraught with legal error to the detriment of Mr. Robinson's rights," the defense wrote of the preparation and execution of the search warrant.
The motion said the Johnson County judge who issued the warrant did not have jurisdiction in Linn County, and neither he nor police had probable cause for the search.
Also, the officers who performed the search, from the Overland Park and Lenexa police departments and the Johnson County sheriff's office, did not have authority in Linn County, the motion contends.
Further, many items seized in the search were not listed in the warrant request. The prosecution cannot use these items as evidence unless it proves they are legally admissible, the defense motion said.
Robinson's attorneys say the case has gotten too much media attention for him to get a fair trial in the county.
Judge John Anderson III was expected to rule on the motion by the end of the week.
Olathe pays settlement in speech case
OLATHE — The city of Olathe has agreed to pay a police officer more than $146,000 to settle charges it violated his free-speech rights.
The Associated Press
Sgt. Dennis Beach agreed to retire on April 1 as part of the settlement.
The settlement will be paid in a lump sum of $75,000 and in installments totaling $71,080 over the next ten years.
City officials said the settlement would save the city money because it would come from the state's Guarantee Fund Board, which is a state agency that provides insurance settlements when an insurance company cannot.
The city would have had to pay the cost of going to trial.
City Manager Michael Wilkes said to do so would be financially irresponsible. "If we demanded that the insurance company continue with litigation, it could result in us placing tax dollars at risk." Wilkes said.
Beach filed the federal lawsuit in May 1999, alleging that Assistant City Manager Susan Sherman, then acting city manager, and former police Chief Phil Major had punished him for exercising his right to free speech.
Another former city employee, police Capt. John Bunker, had uncovered an impropriety on the part of Major in late 1997. In mid-1998, Major made a public admission of misusing police equipment and soon was asked to resign. Before he resigned, Major authorized investigations into both Bunker and Beach for alleged department policy violations.
Major was unavailable for comment and has declined to comment in the past.
Beach claimed the city punished him for speaking against the former chief and for siding with the Fraternal Order of Police on issues related to department morale, staffing and pay.
In late January, the city settled a similar lawsuit with Bunker for $325,000.
Sand Volleyball
- Managers meeting on Sunday, March 10 at 7:30 p.m. in 156 Robinson
- Officials meeting on Sunday, March 10 at 8:00 p.m. in 156 Robinson
- Entries open on Monday, April 1, entries close on Friday April 5,and play begins on Tuesday April 9.
Wrestling Tournament
- Managers meeting on Sunday, March 10 at 7:00 p.m. in 156 Robinson
Ultimate Frisbee
For more information, contact Recreation Services at 864-3546
The University of Kansas • School of Fine Arts • Led Center and Security Benefit Group present
in Bigsmörgåsbørdwünderwerk
Tuesday
March 12, 2002
7:00 p.m.
The Lied Center of Kansas
This one-of-a-kind show presents a cornucopia of abused opera, dance, comic intrigues and visual gimmickry.
DON'T MISS IT!
起
I