Click on the link here for Audio Player – CBS World News Roundup – May 13, 1994 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection
News for this May 13th in 1994 started off with a celebration. The Israeli occupation of the West Bank town of Jericho had come to an end. Israeli troops were pulling out of the now self-ruled Palestinian town, based on the Gaza-Jericho Agreement between Israel and the PLO as a follow-up to the Oslo Accord, signed on May 4th.
For a time, everyone seemed happy and even an opinion poll conducted in Jerusalem showed the majority of Israelis would obey a Palestinian Police Officer. Things were looking up.
Meanwhile, U.S. forces were using landing sites in North Carolina and Puerto Rico to stage a mock invasion involving some 44,000 troops. Sources were quoted as saying this exercise, known as “Operation Agile Provider” was a run-up to an invasion of Haiti, although the Atlantic Command said it wasn’t so, even though the White House claimed a military option was still open with regards to Haiti. Former President Bush (Senior) urged Clinton drop his support of a military option as exiled former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was characterized as “risky”.
France was threatening to pull its peace-keepers out of Bosnia if an agreement on a common policy wasn’t reached. A ceasefire had been tenuously in place, with only a few (100 per day) violations being noted. There needed to be a more concrete and resolute policy toward the region if a real peace settlement could be achieved. The threat triggered an emergency meeting with foreign ministers over the situation.
The UN also reported new massacres were taking place in Rwanda with at least 88 students massacred in the government held town of Gikongoro in southern Rwanda.
On Capitol Hill for this day; President Clinton was keeping everyone in suspense over who his new Supreme Court nominee was. He said he wanted to make his choice known by the end of the day, but went to a Barbara Streisand concert instead. And everyone was left guessing for one more day.
As no doubt the rest of the world was, this 13th of May in 1994, as reported on The CBS World News Roundup.
