No evidence so far sarin gas used By MIKE BILLINGTON / UPI Pentagon Reporter WASHINGTON, June 17 (UPI) -- Pentagon sources said their investigators have found no evidence so far to support CNN claims that U.S. soldiers used deadly sarin gas to kill American defectors during the Vietnam War. CNN reported earlier this month that an elite commando team went into Laos in 1970 to kill between 12 and 20 U.S. defectors suspected of aiding the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong. Defense Secretary William Cohen ordered an immediate investigation into the charges. He gave investigators a month to conduct the probe. Pentagon sources said today that after 10 days of conducting interviews and searching records, they have not dredged up any evidence to support the television news network's allegations. Defense Department spokesman Ken Bacon confirmed that. He said that what investigators have found so far supports a theory that airplanes flying in support of a secret mission called "Operation Tailwind" actually dropped gas that causes people to vomit violently when exposed to it. Bacon also said that sarin gas "does not perform well" in hot, humid conditions such as exist in the Laotian jungles. Pentagon chemical warfare experts said today that because of that it is unlikely sarin gas was used during "Operation Tailwind." Pentagon sources also said they have been unable to find any evidence that the United States ever sent troops to kill American defectors. Defense Department records also dispute CNN's claims that there were between 12 and 20 defectors hiding in a Laotian village in 1970. The Pentagon's records show that only two soldiers defected during the Vietnam War. One returned to the U.S. where he was court martialed and imprisoned. The other was reported killed while serving with Vietnamese forces in Cambodia in late 1974 or early 1975. The Pentagon's records show that "Operation Tailwind" was actually a diversionary raid aimed at relieving pressure on another unit under attack. Bacon said, the Defense Department investigation still has three weeks to run. House Eases Citizenship for Hmong WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House Judiciary Committee voted today to make it easier for Hmong refugees who fought alongside U.S. forces during the Vietnam War to become citizens. Dozens of Hmong men wearing military camouflage outfits crowded into the committee room to watch the proceedings and applaud the vote. The legislation, approved 20-9, waives the English language requirement for Hmong who were recruited by the CIA in Laos for covert military actions. Supporters, led by Rep. Bruce Vento, D-Minn., argued that Hmong refugees in the United States have found it difficult to learn English because their language did not have a written form until recently. An understanding of English is necessary for permanent residents to be naturalized. The legislation sets a limit of 45,000 for those eligible for the waiver. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, chairman of Judiciary's immigration subcommittee, said that figure is well above the number of Hmong veterans and their immediate family members who would qualify, and that a limit was needed to prevent fraud in the program. He said the Lao Veterans of America were satisfied with the cap. Smith said the Hmong deserved help in becoming citizens because they "suffered catastrophic loss of life during the war and persecution afterwards." He said more than 100,000 Hmong refugees are in the United States. But Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind., said that while the Hmong joined Americans in a fight for freedom, granting a special waiver on citizenship requirements would create a "slippery slope" toward lowering standards for others seeking to become Americans. No date was set for the bill to come up for a vote in the full House. The Senate has not yet acted on the legislation. Helicopter Crashes in Laos Injuring Seven HANOI (June 15) XINHUA - Seven were injured in a Lao helicopter crash last week, Lao official news agency KPL reported Monday. KPL said the helicopter crashed at 10:00 a.m. last tuesday in regular survey and boundary demarcation between Laos and Thailand. After flying for 35 minutes and 30 metres away from the marker 3-36 at an altitude of 50 metres, the Russian-made Ka 32 aircraft had a technical problem when it was about to land. The crew members made efforts to guide the aircraft away from tall trees and made an emergency landing. JAPAN GRANTS AID TO LAOS FOR DEBT-RELIEF June 15 (Asia Pulse via COMTEX) -- (The following is a press release of the Japanese Foreign Ministry.) TOKYO, June 15 Asia Pulse - 1. The Government of Japan has decided to extend to the Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic a grant-in-aid of 146,321,000 yen for debt-relief. Notes to this effect were exchanged between the two governments on June 10 (Wed) in Vientiane. 2. The present grant-in-aid represents the capital and interest of those ODA loans that were actually repaid, among those contracted between the governments of Laos and Japan up to March 31, 1988, whose repayment fell due in the second half of FY1997. This constitutes one of Japan's debt relief measures. 3. The money donated by the present grant assistance will be used to purchase goods, etc. necessary for the economic development of Laos and its people's welfare. 4. The present grant-in-aid is being extended as part of Japan's grant assistance aimed at strengthening her friendly relations with developing countries. (Nikkei) Many Work To Save Mekong Dolphins By DENIS D. GRAY / Associated Press Writer KAMPI, Cambodia (AP) -- Once upon a time, a beautiful maiden forced by her parents to marry a slimy python leapt into the Mekong River. But her suicide bid failed. She was transformed into a dolphin. Only the aging still relate this legend, and only they remember the days when thousands of these creatures with a square, human-like face and perpetual smile plied Cambodia's waters. Today, this remote riverside village is one of the only places along the 4,200-kilometer (2,600-mile) Mekong where one still sees the aquatic mammals, emerging from deep pools before sunset to play and hunt along the water's surface. Although systematic surveys have yet to be conducted, experts believe no more than 100 of the Irrawaddy dolphins survive in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Diminishing in numbers everywhere, this dolphin species inhabits coastal and freshwater areas ranging from northern Australia to the Bay of Bengal. The bluish-grey animals grow to 2.75 meters (9 feet), living in groups of four to eight. "The fate of the dolphin is very symbolic of the whole problem of large-scale development of the Mekong," says Ian Baird, a Canadian who runs a grassroots project in southern Laos that promotes sustainable fishing. There are scattered reports of killings by drunk soldiers, fishermen angry the dolphins gobbled up too many fish in their area and superstitious villagers who regard them as evil water ghosts. During the mid-1970s, hundreds were slaughtered in Cambodia's Great Lake by the ultra-radical Khmer Rouge, who extracted oil from their skins, according to fisheries expert Touch Sieng Thana, who says just two were spotted earlier this year in the lake. But traditionally the dolphin was neither hunted nor its meat eaten. Some Cambodians believe they'll never catch another fish if they touch the animal. In Laos, fisherfolk tell of dolphins saving humans from the jaws of crocodiles. Dolphins have genearlly fallen victim to perils depleting one of the world's most bio-diverse river systems: use of explosives, electric shock, poison and gillnets for fishing, growing pollution and construction of dams. Choosing these enchanting, snub-nosed animals as a "flagship species," Baird, a Japanese conservation group and the Australia-based Community Aid Abroad hope to preserve both the dolphin and the Mekong's more than 1,000 other species. "Villagers know fish will soon disappear if explosives and electric shock continue to be used. But they don't know what to do," says Phong Choun, country director for the private Australian group, which works with 11 riverside villages to husband local resources. While admittedly difficult to stop the chief culprits -- the powerful military -- Phong Choun says his organization is helping villagers formulate local regulations. Caught a second time for illegal fishing methods, the guilty in one community are fined 50,000 riels (dlrs 14) multiplied their body weight in kilograms. "Save the dolphin" t-shirts have been distributed along with cartoons illustrating how the creatures can become entangled in nets or injured by propellers. Saving the Mekong's bounty is discussed in classrooms and village meetings. Baird, who is advising the Cambodia project, began a similar one five years ago among the islands and spectacular Khone Falls near the Laos-Cambodia frontier. Now, he says, some fishermen are close to tears when a dolphin accidentally perishes. "It's very indicative that the villagers want the survival of the dolphin," he says. "They see them as friends, and want them to be there for their children." Meanwhile, a group of Japanese businessmen, academics and wildlife experts are raising funds for a dolphin research center in this community 180 kilometers (112 miles) northeast of the capital Phnom Penh. Katsutoshi Shintani, member of the Human-Animal Bond for the 21st Century, said foreign researchers would come for limited stays but the center will be run by Cambodians. HAB21 was started by banker Keiichi Iwashige, who remembered watching dolphins as a youth off his native island of Kagoshima in southern Japan -- before pollution drove them away. Iwashige