Lögberg-Heimskringla - 21.01.1994, Blaðsíða 1

[ Lögbergl
neimsKringia
The lcelandic Weekly
Inside this week:
They shall not be forgotten...........................3
Curling update....................................... 4
Back to school in Gimli...............................5
lceland honours George Johnson........................5
Lögberg Stofnaö 14. janúar 1888
Heimskringla Stofnaö 9. september 1886
Crossword puzzle
7
1108. Árgangur Föstudagur 21. janúar 1994 Númer 1
108th Year Publications Mail Registration No. 1667 Friday, 21 January 1994 Number 1
lcelandic
News
Twenty-five over 100
years old
■ Twenty-five lcelanders are
now over 100 years old.
According to Morgunblaðið,
Valgerður Friðriksdóttir of
Akureyri is the oldest living
lcelander at 104 years. This is not
the highest number of centenari-
ans at one time in the country as
at one time they were over 30.
With the ever improving living
conditions and health care it can
be expected that by the turn of
the century the numbers of peo-
ple over 100 years old will reach
a record high.
Glacier on the move
■ Síðujökull, a part of the
Vatnajökull glacier, is on the
move these days pushing forward
some 100 meters each day.
Glacierologists are understand-
ably happy to witness this rarely
seen occurrence which is spectac-
ular in itself, resulting in wide and
deep ice canyons making the
glacier a dangerous place to
attempt to travel over and adven-
turers have been strongly advised
not to attempt any foolish ven-
tures to the glacier.
What caused this sudden
movement can only be speculat-
ed on, but heavy snowfalls in
recent years adding to the weight
at break off points is said to be
the most likely reason.
Reykjavfk, January 10, 1994
Rescue effort ends
in tragedy
■ The effort to rescue the fishing
vessel Bergvík, that ran aground
at Vöðluvík between Eskifjörður
and Neskaupstaður in the east of
lceland has ended in tragedy
when the rescue ship Goðinn ran
aground in extremely bad weath-
er that hit the area overnight.
Due to the heroic efforts of the
helicopter crew from the defence
forces, six men were lifted to safe-
ty, but unfortunately one life was
lost. The helicopters sent out
from Keflavík battled strong head
winds but, risking their own lives,
the pilots managed to reach the
area and carry the boat crew that
had sought safety by the wheel
house of the ship. Much effort
had gone into trying to get the
Bergvík off the shore and only
after many aborted attempts by
the coast guard, did the Goðinn,
that now had run aground itself,
come to the scene.
V Birgir
Reykjavík in Winter
by Birgir Brynjólfsson
es I am writing from
Iceland. I arrived here
December 21, just in
time for Christmas, on a cold
and cloudy morning. The
trip from Keflavík airport to
Reykjavík was slow going as
the roads were slippery and
traffic moved at a snail’s
pace.
The first impression, or
surprise, when I came out of
the Terminal Building, was
hearing broken Icelandic
spoken by people that obvi-
ously were not born in the
country which was evident,
not only by the accented
Icelandic, but by their for-
eign look. These were peo-
ple that had for one reason
or another, chosen Iceland
as their home. I should not
have noticed this, as I am
one that chose many years
ago to settle in a country far
from my birth place and
since then I have experi-
enced the multiculture of
possibly most countries of
the world. Yet it was a sur-
prise. I had not heard
accented Icelandic since I
was growing up in Reykjavík
and Danish people, who
somehow have always had
difficulty with the language,
were most noticeable. Do
not misunderstand me; I am
not criticizing these people.
It just came as a surprise,
although it shouldn’t have
since I was fully aware that
there has been an influx of
foreigners to Iceland as per-
manent residents. Even so, it
came as a cold shower in the
early hours of my arrival
date.
The days leading up to
Christmas were spent ex-
ploring the city, with great
A
wintery
view
across
the
Pond,
with
snow-
covered
Mt. Esja
in the
back-
ground.
interest in the buying habits
of the people. Of special
interest to me was the older
commercial part of Reyk-
javík because I had in my
working days in the city,
called on most of the stores
as a salesman. Much has
changed. Only a handful of
Continued on page 8
lceland and U.S. reach an agreement
Ameeting between govemment nego-
tiators from the U.S. and Iceland
Januaiy 4, regarding the future of the
U.S. forces in Iceland resulted in an agree-
ment. It had been a stated wish by both the
Pentagon and the U.S. State Department to
remove all fighter planes and other defence
planes from Iceland as cost saving measures
now considered safe since the Cold War had
cometoanend.
Icelanders were not satisfied with this
U.S. decision and pointed to the defence
agreement between the countries signed in
1951, where the U.S. govemment commits
itself to the defence of Iceland. The
Icelandic negotiators had politely pointed
out that if all defence forces were moved
from the countiy, it would be looked upon
as if the 1951 agreement was no longer
valid.
The change of heart by the U.S. govem-
ment may not be caused by that reality but
more likely because of recent election results
in Russia where rather disturbingly fanatic
individuals managed a convincing win.
In the new agreement reached in Januaiy
the U.S. commits to keep four F-15 fighter
planes (down from 12), and the number of
helicopters would remain unchanged from
what it was before. Some reduction of per-
sonnel will take place. It is rumoured that in
the future Icelanders will take active part in
operating the helicopters as they are used
much for rescue operations on the North-
Atlantic.
Submitted by Birgir Brynjóifsson