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Voice of America, 99-04-15Voice of America: Selected Articles Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Voice of America <gopher://gopher.voa.gov>CONTENTS
[01] KOSOVO WRAP WEDNESDAY (L-ONLY) BY JIM RANDLE (PENTAGON)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=CORESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-248115 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: THERE ARE CONFLICTING REPORTS ABOUT WHO ATTACKED A CONVEY OF ALBANIAN REFUGEES IN KOSOVO WEDNESDAY, KILLING 75 PEOPLE. SERB OFFICIALS BLAMED NATO WARPLANES AND -- FOR A WHILE -- NATO OFFICIALS BLAMED SERB TROOPS. BUT NOW NATO SAYS IT IS NOT SO SURE. V-O-A'S JIM RANDLE HAS THE LATEST ON THIS AND OTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN THE KOSOVO CRISIS. TEXT: SERBIAN TELEVISION PICTURES SHOWED DEAD AND INJURED PEOPLE BEING CARRIED ON TRACTORS, FARM WAGONS, AND IN A WHEELBARROW. IN A V-O-A INTERVIEW, A YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN SAID NATO WARPLANES ATTACKED A CONVOY OF ETHNIC ALBANIAN REFUGEES, KILLING DOZENS. PENTAGON SPOKESMAN KEN BACON FIRST SAID NATO PLANES ATTACKED A SERB MILITARY CONVOY, AND THAT ANGRY SERB SURVIVORS ATTACKED THE REFUGEES. BUT PENTAGON OFFICIALS NOW SAY THEY HAVE NO EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THAT CLAIM. AT NATO HEADQUARTERS, SPOKESMAN JAM JOOSTEN SAYS TOP OFFICIALS ARE BUSY INVESTIGATING THE INCIDENT AND INTERVIEWING PILOTS. //JOOSTEN ACTUALITY//THE PILOTS SAY THEY ATTACKS MAY HAVE CAUSED CIVILIAN CASUALTIES. WE THOROUGHLY INVESTIGATE ALL OUR MISSION DETAILS. AND ONCE THEY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED, WE WILL TELL YOU MORE. //END ACTUALITY//THE HEAD OF THE U-N WORLD FOOD PROGRAM, CATHERINE BERTINI, SAYS SHE IS WORRIED ABOUT THE HUNDRED OF THOUSANDS OF DISPLACED PEOPLE STILL HIDING IN KOSOVO. //BERTINI ACTUALITY//WE HAVE NO DIRECT INFORMATION ABOUT THEM. WE KNOW, HOWEVER, FROM MANY COMMENTS FROM REFUGEES, THAT THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE LIVING IN THE HILLS AND HIDING. WE'RE VERY CONCERNED BECAUSE THEY DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO ADEQUATE FOOD. //END ACTUALITY//SHE SAYS HER ORGANIZATION CONSIDERED PARACHUTING FOOD OUT OF CARGO PLANES INTO KOSOVO, BUT SERB AIR DEFENSES MAKE THAT TOO DANGEROUS. OTHER TOP U-N RELIEF OFFICIALS IN ALBANIA SAY THEY ARE WORKING TO PREVENT EPIDEMICS IN THE CROWDED CAMPS AND TRYING TO HELP CHILDREN DEAL WITH THE PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT OF THE VIOLENCE. ENDING THE VIOLENCE IS THE GOAL OF A PEACE INITIATIVE PUT FORWARD BY U-N SECRETARY-GENERAL KOFI ANNAN AND ENDORSED BY EUROPEAN UNION LEADERS. BUT THE E-U LEADERS ALSO REJECTED ANY COMPROMISE WITH YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC AND SAY NATO BOMBING WILL CONTINUE UNTIL YUGOSLAVIA MEETS INTERNATIONAL DEMANDS. // REST OPTIONAL //THE SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS HE IS TRYING TO BRING THE TWO SIDES TOGETHER. //ANNAN ACTUALITY//I'M IN TOUCH WITH QUITE A LOT OF GOVERNMENTS AND IN DAILY CONTACT, TRYING TO SEE HOW WE CAN MOVE THE PROCESS FORWARD AND TRY AND GET SOME RESULTS. IT IS DIFFICULT, IT IS DELICATE. I'M NOT SURE WE WILL SUCCEED. //END ACTUALITY//SECRETARY GENERAL ANNAN MET E-U LEADERS AT A SPECIAL SUMMIT IN BRUSSELS, WEDNESDAY. HE CALLED ON YUGOSLAVIA TO END REPRESSION OF ETHNIC ALBANIANS IN KOSOVO AND ALLOW REFUGEES TO RETURN HOME. HE URGED YUGOSLAVIA TO WITHDRAW ITS FORCES FROM KOSOVO AND PERMIT THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO VERIFY COMPLIANCE. THE ANNAN PLAN IS SIMILAR TO LONG-STANDING NATO DEMANDS.
(SIGNED)
[02] KOSOVO WRAP/THURSDAY (L-ONLY) BY JIM MALONE (WASHINGTON)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-248163 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: PRESIDENT CLINTON AND NATO LEADERS HAVE VOWED TO CONTINUE THEIR BOMBING CAMPAIGN AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA, DESPITE A TRAGIC ATTACK ON REFUGEES. NATO IS NOW TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THAT ACCIDENTAL BOMBING. CORRESPONDENT JIM MALONE HAS A WRAP-UP OF THURSDAY'S MAIN DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CONFLICT OVER KOSOVO. TEXT: SPEAKING TO A GROUP OF NEWSPAPER EDITORS IN SAN FRANCISCO, PRESIDENT CLINTON SAID NATO IS MORE UNITED NOW THAN WHEN THE BOMBING CAMPAIGN BEGAN FOUR WEEKS AGO. /// CLINTON ACT ///THE LEADERS OF EUROPE AND THE PEOPLE THEY REPRESENT ARE DETERMINED TO MAINTAIN AND INTENSIFY OUR ATTACKS UNTIL MR. MILOSEVIC'S FORCES LEAVE KOSOVO AND THE REFUGEES RETURN UNDER THE PROTECTION OF AN INTERNATIONAL FORCE, OR UNTIL HIS MILITARY IS WEAKENED TO THE POINT WHEN HE CAN NO LONGER KEEP HIS VISE-LIKE GRIP ON KOSOVO. /// END ACT ///NATO OFFICIALS CONFIRMED THURSDAY THAT ONE OF THEIR WARPLANES MISTAKENLY ATTACKED A CIVILIAN VEHICLE IN SOUTHWEST KOSOVO THE PREVIOUS DAY. ON WEDNESDAY, YUGOSLAV OFFICIALS REPORTED NATO ATTACKS ON TWO REFUGEE CONVOYS IN WHICH DOZENS OF CIVILIANS WERE KILLED OR WOUNDED. // OPT ///// PILOT ACT ///I MAKE A DECISION AT THAT POINT THAT THESE ARE THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR BURNING DOWN THE VILLAGES THAT I HAVE SEEN SO FAR. I ROLL IN, PUT MY [FIRING] SYSTEM ON THE LEAD VEHICLE AND EXECUTE A LASER-GUIDED BOMB ATTACK ON THAT VEHICLE, DESTROYING THE LEAD VEHICLE. /// END ACT ////// END OPT ///NATO SPOKESMAN JAMIE SHEA EXPRESSED REGET OVER THE LOSS OF LIFE IN THE INCIDENT. BUT HE ALSO SAYS THE TRAGIC MISTAKE WILL NOT DETER NATO FORCES FROM CONTINUING THE BOMBING CAMPAIGN IN YUGOSLAVIA. /// SHEA ACT ///WE HAVE TAKEN EVERY POSSIBLE PRECAUTION TO AVOID CAUSING HARM TO CIVILIANS. OUR "OPERATION ALLIED FORCE" WAS LAUNCHED TO SAVE CIVILIAN LIVES, NOT TO EXPEND THEM. /// END ACT ///YUGOSLAV OFFICIALS TOOK INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISTS TO THE SCENE OF THE REFUGEE ATTACK THURSDAY. A YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTRY OFFICIAL TOLD C-N-N THAT THE NATO BOMBING CAMPAIGN HAS ONLY SERVED TO UNIFY SERBIA. THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL DEPLORED THE ATTACK ON THE REFUGEES, BUT FELL SHORT OF YUGOSLAV DEMANDS FOR A FORMAL CONDEMNATION OF THE INCIDENT. MEANWHILE, A NEW STREAM OF REFUGEES HAS BEEN CROSSING THE BORDER FROM KOSOVO INTO MACEDONIA. THE UNITED NATIONS SAYS AS MANY AS 20-THOUSAND ADDITIONAL REFUGEES COULD TRY TO CROSS INTO MACEDONIA OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. MACEDONIA ALREADY HAS TAKEN IN ABOUT 125-THOUSAND ETHNIC ALBANIAN REFUGEES. /// REST OPT ///HERE IN WASHINGTON THURSDAY, MEMBERS OF CONGRESS PUT CLINTON ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS ON THE DEFENSIVE OVER THE CONFLICT IN KOSOVO. REPUBLICAN SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (OF ARIZONA) SAYS THE ADMINISTRATION HAS DONE A POOR JOB OF PREPARING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE FOR THE POSSIBLE USE OF U-S GROUND TROOPS IN KOSOVO. /// MCCAIN ACT ///BY REFUSING TO HOLD OPEN A CREDIBLE THREAT TO DO WHAT IS NECESSARY TO DEFEAT SERB FORCES, WE CAN ONLY EMBOLDEN THEM TO CONTINUE A PATTERN OF AGGRESSION AND ATROCITIES, THAT AFTER BOSNIA WE SWORE WOULD NOT BE REPEATED. /// END ACT ///OTHER LAWMAKERS OPPOSE THE USE OF GROUND FORCES AND WARN THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION AGAINST EXPANDING U-S MILITARY INVOLVEMENT IN THE CONFLICT. REPUBLICAN JAMES INHOFE (OF OKLAHOMA) IS A MEMBER OF THE SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE. /// INHOFE ACT ///I AM GOING TO DO EVERYTHING I CAN TO STOP US FROM GETTING INTO A PROTRACTED WAR. I AM GOING TO LOSE. IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. THE HANDWRITING IS ON THE WALL. /// END ACT ///ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS SOUGHT TO ASSURE LAWMAKERS THERE ARE NO PLANS AT PRESENT TO COMMIT U-S GROUND TROOPS. GENERAL HUGH SHELTON IS CHAIRMAN OF THE MILITARY JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF. /// SHELTON ACT ///THE AIR CAMPAIGN IS PROCEEDING. IT IS WORKING. I THINK THAT WE DO NEED TO GIVE IT MORE TIME. /// END ACT ///SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE ALBRIGHT AND DEFENSE SECRETARY
WILLIAM COHEN ALSO DEFENDED THE NATO BOMBING CAMPAIGN IN
TESTIMONY BEFORE CONGRESS. (SIGNED)
[03] KUKES SHELLING (L-ONLY) BY TIM BELAY (TIRANA)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-248153 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: THE BORDER POST WHERE MOST OF THE KOSOVAR REFUGEES HAVE CROSSED INTO ALBANIA WAS THE SCENE OF NEW SHELLING BY THE YUGOSLAV ARMY EARLY THURSDAY. TIM BELAY REPORTS FROM THE ALBANIAN CAPITAL, TIRANA. TEXT: THE ALBANIAN OFFICE OF THE O-S-C-E -- THE ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE -- SAYS YUGOSLAV FORCES FIRED MORTAR ROUNDS AT ONE-THIRTY AYEM (1:30 AM LOCAL TIME) NEAR A KUKES BORDER POST. AT LEAST ONE SHELL LANDED ON THE ALBANIAN SIDE. MILITARY ACTIVITY DURING THE NIGHT INCLUDED MACHINE GUN FIRE ON ANOTHER VILLAGE IN THE DISTRICT. NO INJURIES OR PROPERTY DAMAGE WERE REPORTED IN ANY OF THE INCIDENTS. THE O-S-C-E TEAM MONITORING ACTIVITY ALONG THE BORDER MOVED BACK TO THE TOWN OF KUKES DURING THE NIGHT AND RETURNED THURSDAY MORNING. ONLY A FEW REFUGEES WERE IN THE BORDER AREA AT THE TIME OF THE SHELLING. JUST 12 PEOPLE ENTERED ALBANIA AT THAT CROSSING DURING THE NIGHT. ALBANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER PASKAL MILO SAYS A WIDER CONFLICT IS ONE OF THE MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE GOVERNMENT OF SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC. /// MILO ACT IN ALBANIAN -- ESTABLISH AND UNDER ///HE SAYS ALBANIA HAS A LOT OF EVIDENCE WHICH SHOWS MR. MILOSEVIC IS USING THE TACTIC OF TRYING TO SPREAD THE CONFLICT SO HE CAN IMPOSE ON THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY HIS OWN SOLUTION FOR KOSOVO. THE ALBANIAN GOVERNMENT SAYS (SINCE THE START OF THE REFUGEE
CRISIS) UP TO FOUR-THOUSAND RESIDENTS OF VILLAGES IN THE KUKES
DISTRICT NEAR THE YUGOSLAV BORDER HAVE MOVED OUT OF THEIR HOMES
TO SAFER INTERIOR REGIONS OF THE COUNTRY. (SIGNED)
[04] KOSOVO/REGIONAL IMPACT BY LAURIE KASSMAN (LONDON)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT NUMBER=5-43120 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: THE NATO ALLIES SAY THREE WEEKS OF AIR STRIKES AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA ARE SERIOUSLY WEAKENING THE SERB MILITARY CAPABILITIES. BUT YUGOSLAVIA'S NEIGHBORS FEAR THE KOSOVO CRISIS WILL ALSO WEAKEN THE REGION'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. AS YET, THERE ARE NO RELIABLE ESTIMATES ON THE COSTS TO REBUILD. V-O-A LONDON CORRESPONDENT LAURIE KASSMAN TAKES A CLOSER LOOK AT THE ECONOMIC IMPACT FOR THE BALKANS IN THE WAKE OF THE AIR STRIKES. TEXT: NATO BOMBERS HAVE BLOWN UP AT LEAST TWO BRIDGES ACROSS THE DANUBE RIVER, THE ALLIES SAY, TO CUT OFF SUPPLY ROUTES FOR YUGOSLAVIA'S MILITARY. BUT THE DESTROYED BRIDGES ARE ALSO BLOCKING RIVER TRAFFIC VITAL TO TRADE IN AND AROUND THE BALKANS. DOZENS OF CARGO SHIPS ARE STRANDED ALL ALONG THE DANUBE, WHICH WINDS THROUGH THE REGION. ECONOMIC ANALYST AMER BISAT SAYS THAT IS JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG (START OF THE PROBLEM). MR. BISAT MONITORS CENTRAL EUROPEAN ECONOMIES FOR "SMITH BARNEY" INVESTORS IN LONDON /// BISAT ACT ///VARIOUS LINKS AND CHANNELS THROUGH WHICH THE REGION AS A WHOLE WILL BE IMPACTED, TRADE IS ONLY ONE OF THEM. THERE IS QUITE A BIT OF STRONG-PLAYED LINKAGE BETWEEN THE BALKAN COUNTRIES. BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, TRADE ROUTES THAT GO ELSEWHERE WILL ALSO BE IMPACTED BY THE CONFLICT IN KOSOVO. /// END ACT ///BESIDES THE DROP IN REGIONAL TRADE, FINANCIAL ANALYST BERND KLETT OF FRANKFURT'S "DEUTCHE BANK" SAYS THE CONFLICT IS SCARING OFF POTENTIAL INVESTORS IN SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE. /// KLETT ACT ///I FEAR THAT THE INVESTMENT CLIMATE WILL SUFFER. THIS WILL BE A BIG DISADVANTAGE FOR THESE COUNTRIES BECAUSE THEY URGENTLY NEED WESTERN TECHNOLOGICAL KNOW-HOW TO RESTRUCTURE AND MODERNIZE THEIR PRODUCTION CAPACITIES, TO FOSTER EXPORTS AND TO FOSTER ECONOMIC GROWTH AND BY FOSTERING ECONOMIC GROWTH, DIMINISHING THE HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT WHICH WE HAVE, UP TO NOW, IN THESE COUNTRIES. /// END ACT ///SMITH BARNEY'S AMER BISAT SAYS THE DETERIORATING INVESTMENT CLIMATE WILL ALSO HURT THE EVENTUAL RECONSTRUCTION OF YUGOSLAVIA WHERE NATO AIR STRIKES HAVE DAMAGED THE INFRASTRUCTURE -- AND IN KOSOVO PROVINCE, WHERE THE SERB MILITARY HAS ERADICATED WHOLE VILLAGES AND TOWNS. /// BISAT ACT TWO ///THE FIRST THING WE NEED TO DO IS ASSESS, EVENTUALLY, HOW LARGE THE DESTRUCTION OF THE YUGOSLAV ECONOMY IS AND HOW COSTLY IT IS GOING TO BE TO RECOVER IT. THE SECOND ... QUESTION, IS WILL THERE BE SUFFICIENT CAPITAL INFLOWS INTO YUGOSLAVIA IN ORDER TO REPAIR THE DESTROYED INFRASTRUCTURE? /// END ACT ///ECONOMISTS ALSO RAISE CONCERNS ABOUT THE ECONOMIC BURDEN FOR THE REGION'S POOREST STATES -- MACEDONIA AND ALBANIA -- WHICH NOW ARE CARING FOR TENS OF THOUSANDS OF KOSOVAR ALBANIAN REFUGEES. //OPT///// COOK ACT ///I BELIEVE THAT ONE OF THE VERY POSITIVE FEATURES THAT IS EMERGING FROM THIS CRISIS IS A NEW UNDERSTANDING WITHIN SOUTHEAST EUROPE OF THE NEED FOR GREATER REGIONAL COOPERATION BETWEEN THEM AND A GREATER UNDERSTANDING WITHIN THE EUROPEAN UNION OF THE NEED FOR US TO ACCELERATE OUR ECONOMIC TIES AND OUR ASSOCIATION AGREEMENTS WITH THE COUNTRIES OF THE REGION. /// END ACT /////END OPT//LIBERAL DEMOCRAT PADDY ASHDOWN IS AN OUTSPOKEN ADVOCATE FOR NATO'S TOUGH STAND AGAINST BELGRADE'S ASSAULT ON KOSOVO. HE TOLD V-O-A NEWS THAT PEACE IN KOSOVO IS CRUCIAL TO ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL STABILITY ON THE EUROPEAN UNION'S DOORSTEP. /// ASHDOWN ACT ///KOSOVO HAS TO BE A CENTERPIECE OF A BROADER BALKAN SETTLEMENT. BULGARIA, ROMANIA -- HIGHLY UNSTABLE STATES AT PRESENT. MACEDONIA IS A VERY NEW STATE, AND (AN) EXTREMELY UNSTABLE ONE. ALBANIA IS A POOR ONE. GREECE AND TURKEY WITH CLIENT STATES ON EITHER SIDE. RUSSIA ON THE OTHER SIDE WITH AN INTEREST IN THE SLAV PEOPLE AND PART OF THE ORTHODOX RELIGION. WE HAVE TO HAVE A BROAD SETTLEMENT OF THE WHOLE OF THE BALKANS. /// END ACT /////OPT///// THIRD BISAT ACT ///THE NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES IS GOING TO BE VERY LARGE. AND THE QUESTION IS WILL THAT BE OFFSET BY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE BY THE WEST. ALL INDICATIONS ARE THAT THE WEST APPEARS TO INCREASE ITS FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE SIGNIFICANTLY IN THAT REGION. THE PRIORITY FOR NOW IS TO ASSESS THE DAMAGE AND THEN TRY TO FIND THE RESOURCES TO COVER THAT DAMAGE. /// END ACT /////END OPT//NEB/LMK/PCF 15-Apr-99 9:35 AM EDT (1335 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America [05] NATO ATTACK / REFUGEES HIT (S) BY JIM RANDLE (PENTAGON)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-248137 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: NATO OFFICIALS SAY AN ALLIANCE WARPLANE APPARENTLY HIT CIVILIANS IN KOSOVO DURING AN AIR STRIKE WEDNESDAY. NATO SPOKESMAN JAMIE SHEA CALLED THE INCIDENT A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT. V-O-A'S JIM RANDLE REPORTS FROM THE PENTAGON. TEXT: NATO SPOKESMAN JAMIE SHEA SAYS THE PILOT ATTACKED WHAT HE BELIEVED TO BE MILITARY VEHICLES IN A CONVOY IN SOUTHWESTERN KOSOVO. MR. SHEA SAYS AN INVESTIGATION SHOWS THE PILOT HIT THE WRONG TARGET. /// SHEA ACT 29 ///THE NATO BOMB DESTROYED THE LEAD VEHICLE, WHICH WE NOW BELIEVE WAS A CIVILIAN VEHICLE. I AGAIN STRESS NATO DEEPLY REGRETS THE LOSS OF LIFE FROM THIS TRAGIC ACCIDENT. /// END ACT ///NATO OFFICIALS SAY YUGOSLAV POLICE OR MILITARY VEHICLES MAY HAVE BEEN IN OR AROUND THE CONVOY. THEY SAY THEY DO NOT KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE KILLED OR HURT, AND THEY ARE STILL INVESTIGATING THE INCIDENT. YUGOSLAV OFFICIALS SAID WEDNESDAY NATO ATTACKS ON TWO REFUGEE
CONVOYS IN KOSOVO CAUSED DOZENS OF CASUALTIES. (SIGNED).
[06] NATO KOSOVO (L) BY RON PEMSTEIN (BRUSSELS)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-248146 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: OFFICIALS AT NATO SAY THE ALLIANCE HAS TAKEN RESPONSIBILITY FOR AN ATTACK THAT KILLED SCORES OF CIVILIANS WEDNESDAY IN SERBIA'S KOSOVO PROVINCE. CORRESPONDENT RON PEMSTEIN REPORTS FROM NATO HEADQUARTERS, THE AMERICAN PILOT SAYS HE THOUGHT HE WAS ATTACKING A MILITARY VEHICLE. TEXT: FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE NATO BEGAN AIR STRIKES ON YUGOSLAVIA, THE VOICE OF A PILOT HAS BEEN HEARD EXPLAINING -- IN HIS OWN WORDS -- WHY HE ATTACKED THREE DARK-GREEN VEHICLES AFTER SEEING VILLAGES SET ON FIRE IN WESTERN KOSOVO. /// PILOT ACT ///I MAKE SEVERAL PASSES OVER THESE VEHICLES TO ENSURE THAT THEY ARE IN FACT MILITARY VEHICLES. I ROLL IN ON TWO PASSES TO GET A CLOSE LOOK, BOTH WITH MY EYEBALLS AND WITH MY TARGETING POD. AT THIS POINT, THIS IS 25-MINUTES INTO BUILDING THE WHOLE PICTURE OF THE DESTRUCTION THAT IS GOING FROM NORTH TO SOUTH INTO THE TOWN OF DJAKOVICA. AND I MAKE A DECISION AT THAT POINT THAT THESE ARE THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR BURNING DOWN THE VILLAGES THAT I HAVE SEEN SO FAR. /// END ACT ///THE AMERICAN PILOT IN THE F-16 JET LAUNCHED A LASER-GUIDED BOMB TOWARD THE LEAD VEHICLE AND DIRECTED A SECOND ATTACK ON THE OTHER TWO VEHICLES. THE PILOT THOUGHT HE HAD DONE HIS JOB PROPERLY TO INTERRUPT THE SERB EFFORT TO CLEAR KOSOVO OF ITS ALBANIAN POPULATION. IN ITS PRELIMINARY FINDINGS, NATO HAS NO ESTIMATE OF THE CIVILIAN CASUALTIES CAUSED BY THE BOMBING. YUGOSLAVIA SAYS 75 REFUGEES WERE KILLED. NATO SPOKESMAN JAMIE SHEA EXPRESSES THE ALLIANCE'S REGRET. /// SHEA ACT ///NATO DEEPLY REGRETS THE LOSS OF LIFE FROM THIS TRAGIC ACCIDENT. BUT I ALSO WANT TO STRESS THAT NO CONFLICT IN HUMAN HISTORY HAS EVER BEEN ACCIDENT-FREE OR WILL EVER BE. // OPT // WE CAN REDUCE THE RISKS OF ACCIDENTS BUT WE CANNOT ELIMINATE THEM ALTOGETHER. // END OPT // /// END ACT ///THE KILLING OF THE KOSOVO ALBANIAN REFUGEES IS THE SECOND FATAL ACCIDENT OF THE WEEK CAUSED BY NATO BOMBING. MONDAY, A NATO JET LAUNCHED A BOMB TOWARD A BRIDGE IN SOUTH SERBIA. AFTER THE BOMB WAS RELEASED, A PASSENGER TRAIN CAME ON THE BRIDGE AND WAS DESTROYED. AT LEAST 10 PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN THAT INCIDENT. SPOKESMAN SHEA SAYS THE ACCIDENTS WILL NOT STOP THE NATO AIR STRIKES ON YUGOSLAVIA. HE BLAMES YUGOSLAVIA FOR PUTTING THE REFUGEES ON THE ROAD IN THE FIRST PLACE. /// OPT // SECOND SHEA ACT ///WHY WAS A REFUGEE CONVOY ESCORTED BY SERB MILITARY VEHICLES ON THE PRIZREN-DJAKOVICA ROAD AT THREE O'CLOCK YESTERDAY AFTERNOON IN THE FIRST PLACE? WHY WERE NOT THE PEOPLE IN THEIR HOMES? AT THEIR JOBS GOING ABOUT THEIR NORMAL LIVES. WHY WERE THEY ON ROUTE TO THE BORDER? BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN FORCED FROM THEIR HOMES AND BECAUSE THEY WERE ON THEIR WAY TO JOINING THE 580-THOUSAND KOSOVAR ALBANIANS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN EXPELLED FROM KOSOVO. /// END ACT // END OPT ///BUT NATO'S EXPLANATIONS LEAVE SOME QUESTIONS OF THEIR OWN. THE AMERICAN PILOT TALKS ABOUT ATTACKING THREE UNIFORMLY SHAPED DARK GREEN VEHICLES NORTH OF DJAKOVICA. THE SERB TELEVISION PICTURES SHOW DAMAGED TRACTORS ON THE ROAD SOUTH OF DJAKOVICA. THERE HAD BEEN REPORTS OF YUGOSLAV AIRCRAFT IN THE AREA. NATO HAS NO INFORMATION ABOUT THOSE AIRCRAFT. // REST OPT //A NATO DIPLOMAT SAYS THE DEFENSE ALLIANCE MADE A MISTAKE WAITING
24-HOURS AFTER THE BOMBING TO TELL ITS VERSION OF THE ACCIDENT.
TOO MANY OTHER VERSIONS OF THE BOMBING OF THE REFUGEES WERE TOLD
IN TOO MANY OTHER TIME ZONES, HE SAYS, BEFORE NATO COULD GIVE ITS
PRELIMINARY FINDINGS. (SIGNED)
[07] NATO / KOSOVO (S UPDATE) BY RON PEMSTEIN (BRUSSELS)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-248147 CONTENT= VOICED AT: /// EDS: THIS REPORT UPDATES CR 2-248134 ///INTRO: NATO HAS TAKEN RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE BOMBING OF A CONVOY IN WESTERN KOSOVO THAT RESULTED IN THE DEATHS OF ALBANIAN REFUGEES. V-O-A'S RON PEMSTEIN AT NATO HEADQUARTERS REPORTS NATO SAYS THE INCIDENT WILL NOT STOP AIR STRIKES ON YUGOSLAVIA. TEXT: NATO PLAYED A RECORDING OF THE VOICE OF THE AMERICAN F-16 PILOT TO EXPLAIN HOW HE THOUGHT HE WAS TARGETING MILITARY TRUCKS ON A MISSION TO BURN THE HOUSES OF KOSOVO ALBANIANS. NATO HAS NO ESTIMATE OF HOW MANY REFUGEES DIED IN THE BOMBING IN WESTERN KOSOVO. SPOKESMAN JAMIE SHEA EXPRESSES NATO'S REGRET FOR THE ACCIDENT. /// SHEA ACT ///NATO DEEPLY REGRETS THE LOSS OF LIFE FROM THIS TRAGIC ACCIDENT. BUT I ALSO WANT TO STRESS THAT NO CONFLICT IN HUMAN HISTORY HAS EVER BEEN ACCIDENT FREE OR WILL EVER BE. /// END ACT ///MR. SHEA SAYS THE REFUGEES SHOULD HAVE BEEN HOME, NOT ON THE ROAD, AND BLAMES YUGOSLAVIA FOR EXPELLING THEM FROM KOSOVO. NATO SAYS IT PLANS TO CONTINUE ITS AIR STRIKES DESPITE THE
ACCIDENT. (SIGNED)
[08] KOSOVO REFUGEES S & L UPDATE BY JIM RANDLE (PENTAGON)DATE=4/14/99TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-248111 CONTENT= VOICED AT: /// RE-RUNNING W/UPDATE INFO ON CASUALTIES IN INTRO ///INTRO: PENTAGON OFFICIALS AND NATO COMMANDERS ARE NOW BACKING AWAY FROM STATEMENTS THAT SERB FORCES MAY HAVE ATTACKED A CONVOY OF ETHNIC ALBANIAN REFUGEES IN KOSOVO. SERB OFFICIALS SAY NATO BOMBS WRECKED THE CONVOY OF TRACTORS AND FARM CARTS, KILLING 75 PEOPLE. V-O-A'S JIM RANDLE REPOTS FROM THE PENTAGON WHERE OFFICIALS ARE WORKING TO CLEAR UP THE CONFUSION. TEXT: PENTAGON SPOKESMAN KEN BACON NOW SAYS HE DOES NOT KNOW WHO ATTACKED A GROUP OF KOSOVAR REFUGEES. BUT HE SAYS HE HAS NO EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT EARLIER NATO STATEMENTS THAT SERB TROOPS ANGERED BY A NATO AIR STRIKE ON A MILITARY CONVOY MAY HAVE ATTACKED THE KOSOVARS IN RETALIATION FOR THE NATO ATTACK. A SPOKESMAN FOR THE YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTRY TELLS V-O-A THAT NATO PLANES ATTACKED A LONG LINE OF TRACTORS AND FARM CARTS AND LEFT MANY DEAD AND INJURED NEAR THE TOWN OF DAKOVICA. PICTURES ON SERBIAN TELEVISION SHOW WRECKED FARM EQUIPMENT ALONG WITH DEAD AND INJURED PEOPLE THE SERBS SAY ARE VICTIMS OF THE NATO ATTACK. AT NATO HEADQUARTERS, SPOKESMAN JAN JOOSTEN SAYS TOP OFFICIALS ARE INVESTIGATING THE INCIDENT AND INTERVIEWING PILOTS WHO INSIST THEY ATTACKED A CONVOY OF SERB TROOPS. /// REST OPT FOR LONG ////// JOOSTEN ACT ///THE AIRCRAFT WERE FIRED ON BY ANTI AIRCRAFT ARTILLERY AND MAN-PORTABLE SURFACE TO AIR MISSILES. THE PILOTS SAY THEY ATTACKED ONLY MILITARY VEHICLES. I CAN NOT CONFIRM THAT THESE ATTACKS MAY HAVE CAUSE CIVILIAN CASUALTIES. WE THROUGHLY INVESTIGATE ALL OUR MISSION DETAILS. AND ONCE THEY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED, WE WILL TELL YOU MORE. /// END ACT ///NEB/PT 14-Apr-99 8:38 PM EDT (0038 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America [09] KOSOVO REFUGEES / U-S CHILDREN BY CANDACE WILLIAMS (WASHINGTON)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT NUMBER=5-43140 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: TWO KOSOVO ALBANIAN DEPORTEES ATTENDED A FORUM IN WASHINGTON THURSDAY TO DISCUSS THE EXPERIENCES OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN THE TROUBLED PROVINCE. AS V-O-A'S CANDACE WILLIAMS REPORTS, THEY ANSWERED SOME DIFFICULT QUESTIONS FROM A GROUP OF LOCAL STUDENT JOURNALISTS ASSIGNED TO THE STORY. TEXT: TWELVE-YEAR-OLD KENYON CHURCHWELL OPENED THURSDAY'S FORUM BY PRESENTING PANELISTS AFERDITA KELMENDI AND VJOSA DOBRUNA WITH THIS QUESTION. /// CHURCHWELL ACT ///HOW HAS YOUR EXPERIENCE DURING THIS CRISIS DIFFERED FROM YOUR CHILDREN'S AND OTHER YOUNG PEOPLE? AND, HOW WOULD YOU EXPLAIN THIS SITUATION TO CHILDREN? /// END ACT ///MS. KELMENDI, A JOURNALIST, RESPONDED WITH CAREFULLY CHOSEN WORDS. SPEAKING AT A NEWS MUSEUM OUTSIDE WASHINGTON, MS. KELMENDI SAID ETHNIC ALBANIAN CHILDREN HAVE EXPERIENCED WHAT SHE DESCRIBED AS APARTHEID BECAUSE OF THEIR ETHNICITY. /// FIRST KELMENDI ACT ///SERBIAN AUTHORITIES MAKE THE LIVES OF THE CHILDREN IN KOSOVO VERY DIFFICULT IN A WAY THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE THEIR OWN SCHOOLS, THEY DIDN'T HAVE THEIR OWN PLACES FOR PLAYING BASKETBALL OR SOMETHING AS ALL YOUNG PEOPLE WANT TO PLAY. THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE PLACES AS YOU HAVE HERE, SO THEIR LIVES WERE VERY, VERY AWFUL. /// END ACT ///MS. KELMENDI SAYS THE SITUATION IS DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN TO CHILDREN -- OR ANYONE ELSE IN GENERAL -- BECAUSE KOSOVO'S PROBLEMS DATE BACK CENTURIES. VJOSA DOBRUNA, A PEDIATRICIAN FROM PRISTINA, ECHOED SIMILAR SENTIMENTS. SHE SAYS KOSOVAR ALBANIAN CHILDREN HAVE BEEN TRAUMATIZED BY SEEING THEIR SERBIAN COUNTERPARTS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OPPORTUNITIES UNAVAILABLE TO THEM. /// FIRST DOBRUNA ACT ///TODAY'S SITUATION IS MUCH DIFFERENT, ESPECIALLY WHEN SCHOOLS WERE DIVIDED. WHEN CHILDREN, JUST BECAUSE THEY SPEAK A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE THAN SERBIANS, WERE MADE TO LEAVE SCHOOL BUILDINGS. AT THE SAME TIME, THEY WERE MADE TO LEAVE SPORTS FIELDS. THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANYMORE CINEMA TO GO TO. THEY WERE NO T-V'S IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGE, THERE WERE NO BOOKS IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGE, PRACTICALLY BROUGHT TO A COMPLETE APARTHEID IN OUR SOCIETY. /// END ACT ///ONE STUDENT JOURNALIST ASKED THE PANELISTS ABOUT THEIR FEELINGS TOWARD SERBIANS, GIVEN THE HOSTILITIES SPARKED BY THE MASS EXPULSION OF ETHNIC ALBANIANS FROM KOSOVO. DR. DOBRUNA SAID WHEN SHE WAS GROWING UP, SHE WAS TAUGHT TO BE TOLERANT OF PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS. BUT SHE SAYS THE KOSOVO CRISIS HAS CREATED AN ENVIRONMENT OF DISTRUST. PERHAPS ONE OF THE MOST POINTED QUESTIONS CAME FROM 13-YEAR-OLD NICOLE COHEN AT THE END OF THE SESSION. IT WAS DIRECTED AT MS. KELMENDI. /// COHEN ACT ///WOULD YOU BE SUPPORTIVE OF YOUR CHILDREN OR OTHER YOUNG FAMILY MEMBERS IF THEY DECIDED TO JOIN THE KOSOVO LIBERATION ARMY AND FIGHT ON BEHALF OF THE ETHNIC ALBANIANS' POPULATION? WHY OR WHY NOT? /// END ACT ///THE STUDENT WAS REFERRING TO THE ETHNIC ALBANIAN SEPARATISTS FIGHTING FOR INDEPENDENCE FOR KOSOVO. MS. KELMENDI SAYS SHE DOES NOT KNOW HOW SHE WOULD FEEL, SINCE KOSOVAR ALBANIANS ARE IN A STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL. /// SECOND KELMENDI ACT ///OUR CHILDREN ARE TOTALLY TERRIFIED. I AM TOTALLY TERRIFIED IN A WAY THAT I HAVE A BIG DILEMMA IN MY HEAD. WOULD I BECOME A REBEL? WOULD I RESPOND WITH VIOLENCE? WOULD I STAY AND WAIT FOR SOMEBODY TO KILL ME? I DON'T KNOW. THAT IS A BIG DILEMMA. /// END ACT ///MS. KELMENDI SAYS SHE COULD NOT MAKE THAT CHOICE FOR ANY CHILD OF HERS. SHE FEELS THE BIGGER LESSON IS LEARNING HOW TO RESOLVE CONFLICTS PEACEFULLY. MS. KELMENDI AND DR. DOBRUNA ARE BELIEVED TO BE THE FIRST TWO
DEPORTEES FROM KOSOVO TO ARRIVE IN THE UNITED STATES SINCE NATO
BOMBING BEGAN LAST MONTH. THEIR APPEARANCE AT THE FORUM CAME A
DAY AFTER THEY TESTIFIED BEFORE A SENATE PANEL ON THEIR
EXPERIENCES. (SIGNED)
[10] MACEDONIA/ RADUSA REFUGEE CAMP BY EVE CONANT (RADUSA)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=NEWS FEATURE NUMBER=5-43127 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: THE MACEDONIAN GOVERNMENT HAS ALREADY ACCEPTED OVER 130-THOUSAND ETHNIC ALBANIAN REFUGEES. MANY OF THE REFUGEE CAMPS IN MACEDONIA WERE SET UP BY NATO TROOPS AND INTERNATIONAL AIDE ORGANIZATIONS, BUT CORRESPONDENT EVE CONANT VISITED ONE CAMP, CALLED RADUSA ('RA-DOSHA), WHICH IS RUN BY THE MACEDONIAN GOVERNMENT. TEXT: AT FIRST, JOURNALISTS COULD NOT GET IN TO RADUSA. THE ONLY WAY TO GET A GLIMPSE OF LIFE IN THE MACEDONIAN-RUN CAMP WAS TO SPEAK ACROSS BARBED WIRE TO SOME OF THE ONE-THOUSAND ETHNIC ALBANIANS CAMPED OUT ON THE OTHER SIDE. NOW REPORTERS AND AIDE WORKERS ARE ALLOWED IN, AND IT IS CLEAR THAT CONDITIONS ARE FAR BELOW THOSE OF THE OTHER CAMPS. ///NAT SOUND WATER/WASHING -- UP AND UNDER///WOMEN STAND AROUND OPEN FAUCETS AND WASH THEIR CLOTHES AND BLANKETS WITH COLD WATER. BUT HALIME SOPI ('HA-LI-MAY 'SO-PEE), A MOTHER OF FOUR, SAYS SHE AND HER FAMILY HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO SHOWER FOR 10 DAYS. SHE SAYS SHE WANTS TO BE AT ANY OTHER CAMP THAN THIS ONE. ///ACT SOPI IN ALBANIAN -- IN FULL AND FADE UNDER/////OPT//INTERNATIONAL AIDE WORKERS WALKING AROUND THE CAMP ARE CONFUSED ABOUT JUST WHO IS RUNNING THE PLACE AND WHAT ROLE THEY WILL BE ALLOWED TO PLAY HERE. BOTH WESTERN AND MACEDONIAN AIDE WORKERS ARE TRYING TO IMPROVE THIS CAMP. THEY ARE LAYING ELECTRICAL CABLES AND THERE IS MORE FOOD THAN BEFORE. BUT FOKKO DE VREIJ (FO-CO DUH-'FRAY), A DOCTOR WITH THE CHARITY ORGANIZATION MEDECIN SANS FRONTEIRS, SAYS THIS REMOTE CAMP SHOULD BE CLOSED DOWN. ///DE VREIJ ACT///FROM A MEDICAL POINT OF VIEW, FROM A PUBLIC HEALTH POINT OF VIEW, THIS CAMP IS UNACCEPTABLE BECAUSE OF THE HYGIENE CONDITIONS, BECAUSE OF THE CROWDING. THERE'S HARDLY ANY SPACE IN BETWEEN TENTS AND REFERRAL HOSPITALS ARE JUST TOO FAR AWAY IN CASE OF EMERGENCY. ///END ACT///A YOUNG WOMAN COMES INTO HIS MEDICAL TENT COMPLAINING OF THROAT PAIN. BUT WITH THE HELP OF DR. DE VREIJ'S TRANSLATOR, THE CONVERSATION COVERS OTHER TOPICS. ///CONVERSATION ACT///WOMAN TALKING IN ALBANIAN TO TRANSLATOR IN ENGLISH: SHE WAS WITH HER HUSBAND AND HUSBAND WAS MURDERED. DOCTOR: WHEN DID YOU LEAVE YOUR PLACE IN KOSOVO? DOCTOR: OK -- I WILL HAVE A LOOK AT YOU. CAN YOU OPEN YOUR MOUTH? SAY "AH" --WHERE DOES IT HURT? (FADE OUT) ///END SECTION///IN MANY WAYS, DR. DE VREIJ HAS ALSO BECOME THE CAMP'S PSYCHOLOGIST. ///SECOND DE VREIJ ACT///WE SEE AN INCREASING NUMBER OF PEOPLE WITH MENTAL PROBLEMS. THEY COME HERE, PRESENT SOME VAGUE PHYSICAL COMPLAINTS AND WE TALK WITH THEM. THEY TELL THEIR STORY--ABOUT THE TERRIBLE THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED. ///END ACT///LIKE THE REFUGEES HERE AT RADUSA, THE DOCTOR LOOKS EXHAUSTED. IN
RECENT DAYS, SEVERAL THOUSAND MORE REFUGEES HAVE CROSSED INTO
MACEDONIA AND EACH DAY THEY BRING MORE STORIES ABOUT THE TERRIBLE
SIGHTS THEY'VE SEEN ON THE OTHER SIDE. (SIGNED)
[11] MACEDONIA/ RADUSA REFUGEE CAMP-UPDATE BY EVE CONANT (RADUSA)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=NEWS FEATURE NUMBER=5-43129 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: THE MACEDONIAN GOVERNMENT HAS ALREADY ACCEPTED OVER 130-THOUSAND ETHNIC ALBANIAN REFUGEES SINCE THE START OF THE KOSOVO CRISIS JUST OVER THREE WEEKS AGO. MANY OF THE REFUGEE CAMPS IN MACEDONIA WERE SET UP BY NATO TROOPS AND INTERNATIONAL AID ORGANIZATIONS. ONE CAMP, CALLED RADUSA ('RA-DOSHA), IS RUN BY THE MACEDONIAN GOVERNMENT AND ON THURSDAY TOOK IN SEVERAL HUNDRED MORE REFUGEES -- MANY OF WHOM WERE DESTINED FOR THE OTHER CAMPS, WHICH ARE ALREADY OVERPOPULATED. VOA CORRESPONDENT EVE CONANT HAS JUST VISITED THE RADUSA CAMP AND REPORTS ON CONDITIONS THERE. TEXT: AT FIRST, JOURNALISTS COULD NOT GET IN TO RADUSA. THE ONLY WAY TO GET A GLIMPSE OF LIFE IN THE MACEDONIAN-RUN CAMP WAS TO SPEAK ACROSS BARBED WIRE TO SOME OF THE ONE-THOUSAND ETHNIC ALBANIANS CAMPED OUT ON THE OTHER SIDE. NOW REPORTERS AND AID WORKERS ARE ALLOWED IN, AND IT IS CLEAR THAT CONDITIONS ARE FAR BELOW THOSE OF THE OTHER CAMPS. ///NAT SOUND WATER/WASHING -- UP AND UNDER///WOMEN STAND AROUND OPEN FAUCETS AND WASH THEIR CLOTHES AND BLANKETS WITH COLD WATER. BUT HALIME SOPI ('HA-LI-MAY 'SO-PEE), A MOTHER OF FOUR, SAYS SHE AND HER FAMILY HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO SHOWER FOR 10 DAYS. SHE SAYS SHE WANTS TO BE AT ANY OTHER CAMP THAN THIS ONE. ///ACT SOPI IN ALBANIAN -- IN FULL AND FADE UNDER/////OPT//INTERNATIONAL AID WORKERS WALKING AROUND THE CAMP ARE CONFUSED ABOUT JUST WHO IS RUNNING THE PLACE AND WHAT ROLE THEY WILL BE ALLOWED TO PLAY HERE. BOTH WESTERN AND MACEDONIAN AID WORKERS ARE TRYING TO IMPROVE THIS CAMP. THEY ARE LAYING ELECTRICAL CABLES AND THERE IS MORE FOOD THAN BEFORE. BUT FOKKO DE VREIJ (FO-CO DUH-'FRAY), A DOCTOR WITH THE CHARITY ORGANIZATION MEDECIN SANS FRONTEIRS, SAYS THIS REMOTE CAMP SHOULD BE CLOSED DOWN. ///DE VREIJ ACT///FROM A MEDICAL POINT OF VIEW, FROM A PUBLIC HEALTH POINT OF VIEW, THIS CAMP IS UNACCEPTABLE BECAUSE OF THE HYGIENE CONDITIONS, BECAUSE OF THE CROWDING. THERE'S HARDLY ANY SPACE IN BETWEEN TENTS AND REFERRAL HOSPITALS ARE JUST TOO FAR AWAY IN CASE OF EMERGENCY. ///END ACT///A YOUNG WOMAN COMES INTO HIS MEDICAL TENT COMPLAINING OF THROAT PAIN. BUT WITH THE HELP OF DR. DE VREIJ'S TRANSLATOR, THE CONVERSATION COVERS OTHER TOPICS. ///CONVERSATION ACT///WOMAN TALKING IN ALBANIAN TO TRANSLATOR IN ENGLISH: SHE WAS WITH HER HUSBAND AND HUSBAND WAS MURDERED. DOCTOR: WHEN DID YOU LEAVE YOUR PLACE IN KOSOVO? DOCTOR: OK -- I WILL HAVE A LOOK AT YOU. CAN YOU OPEN YOUR MOUTH? SAY "AH" --WHERE DOES IT HURT? (FADE OUT) ///END SECTION///IN MANY WAYS, DR. DE VREIJ HAS ALSO BECOME THE CAMP'S PSYCHOLOGIST. ///SECOND DE VREIJ ACT///WE SEE AN INCREASING NUMBER OF PEOPLE WITH MENTAL PROBLEMS. THEY COME HERE, PRESENT SOME VAGUE PHYSICAL COMPLAINTS AND WE TALK WITH THEM. THEY TELL THEIR STORY--ABOUT THE TERRIBLE THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED. ///END ACT///LIKE THE REFUGEES HERE AT RADUSA, THE DOCTOR LOOKS EXHAUSTED. IN
RECENT DAYS, SEVERAL THOUSAND MORE REFUGEES HAVE CROSSED INTO
MACEDONIA AND EACH DAY THEY BRING MORE STORIES ABOUT THE TERRIBLE
SIGHTS THEY'VE SEEN ON THE OTHER SIDE. (SIGNED)
[12] ALBANIA / BELLAMY BY CAROL PINEAU (WASHINGTON)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-248155 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: UNICEF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CAROL BELLAMY HAS JUST RETURNED FROM VISITING REFUGEES IN ALBANIA. SHE DESCRIBED THE SITUATION TO CAROL PINEAU. TEXT: UNICEF DIRECTOR CAROL BELLAMY SAYS THE REFUGEES ARE PHYSICALLY NOT IN BAD SHAPE, BUT THEY ARE PSYCHOLOGICALLY TRAUMATIZED BY THE SERBS' ETHNIC-CLEANSING CAMPAIGN. /// BELLAMY ACT ///I SAW PEOPLE FLOWING OVER THE BORDER, THEIR FACES BLANK, HALF OF THEM ARE CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 15. THEY HAD ALL THEIR IDENTIFICATION TAKEN AWAY. THEY HAD LEFT THEIR OWN COUNTRY, THEIR OWN HOMES, WITH VIRTUALLY ONLY THE CLOTHES ON THEIR BACKS. THEY ARE LIVING IN THE BACK OF THESE WAGONS THAT ARE ATTACHED TO THE ONLY THINGS THEY STILL HAVE, THEIR TRACTORS. THERE MAY BE 10 OR 15 PEOPLE IN THE BACK. THEY HAVE LOST SOME OF THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS, AND THEY ARE VIRTUALLY IN SHOCK. /// END ACT ///AID AGENCIES ARE FOCUSING ON PUTTING UP TEMPORARY SHELTERS, GETTING IN FOOD, ESSENTIAL MEDICINE, AND CLEAN WATER TO KEEP DISEASE FROM BREAKING OUT. MS. BELLAMY SAYS HEALTH IS ONLY ONE CONCERN. /// BELLAMY ACT ///OUR FIRST FOCUS WILL BE TO KEEP THE CHILDREN HEALTHY. AT THE SAME TIME WE ARE ALSO TRYING TO SET UP BOTH IN THE CAMPS AND IN THE AREAS WHERE PEOPLE ARE JUST OUT IN THE OPEN, PLAY GROUPS. IT IS SO IMPORTANT EVEN NOW TO TRY AND ENGAGE THEM, TO TRY AND REDUCE EVEN SLIGHTLY SOME OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL DAMAGE THAT IS ALREADY TAKING PLACE. /// END ACT ///MS. BELLAMY SAYS AID AGENCIES WERE OVERWHELMED BY THE CRISIS. SHE SAYS HER AGENCY AND OTHERS EXPECTED SOME REFUGEES, BUT THEY WERE NOT PREPARED FOR THE HUNDREDS-OF-THOUSANDS THAT FLOODED INTO ALBANIA, MACEDONIA, AND MONTENEGRO IN JUST THREE-WEEKS. SHE SAYS THE THE MAJOR AID AGENCIES ARE PERFORMING WELL NOW, AND REPORTS WORKING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT GROUPS HAS NEVER BEEN BETTER. MS. BELLAMY SAYS THE LONG-TERM SITUATION LOOKS DIRE. UNICEF AND
OTHER GROUPS HAVE NOT BEEN ALLOWED IN KOSOVO. MS. BELLAMY SAYS
UNICEF IS READY TO GO IN AS SOON AS SERB OFFICIALS GIVE AID
WORKERS ACCESS TO THE PROVINCE, BUT FOR NOW SHE SAYS THEY CAN
ONLY IMAGINE THE SITUATION FOR ETHNIC-ALBANIAN KOSOVARS WHO WERE
NOT ABLE TO LEAVE, AND INSTEAD HAD TO FLEE INTO THE HILLS.
(SIGNED)
[13] ALBANIA BORDER (L-ONLY) BY TIM BELAY (TIRANA)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-248144 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: THE U-S AMBASSADOR TO ALBANIA SAYS THIS WEEK'S CLASHES ALONG THE ALBANIA-YUGOSLAV BORDER ARE NOT INDICATIONS OF PLANS FOR AN INVASION BY THE YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT. TIM BELAY REPORTS FROM THE ALBANIAN CAPITAL OF TIRANA. TEXT: FOR THE PAST WEEK, THE YUGOSLAV ARMY HAS REPEATEDLY FIRED ARTILLERY OVER THE BORDER INTO ALBANIA'S NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TROPOJA. IN THE MOST SERIOUS SHELLING INCIDENT LAST SUNDAY, THREE PEOPLE WERE KILLED AND A DOZEN INJURED. TUESDAY, LIGHT INFANTRY TROOPS CROSSED INTO ALBANIA, BURNED HOMES, THEN PULLED BACK INTO YUGOSLAVIA AFTER ABOUT 90-MINUTES. BUT U-S AMBASSADOR MARISA LINO POINTS OUT ALBANIAN BORDER INCIDENTS INVOLVING YUGOSLAVIA BEGAN AS EARLY AS EIGHT-MONTHS AGO. /// LINO ACT ///THEY HAVE ESCALATED IN TERMS OF FREQUENCY AND MOST RECENTLY IN TERMS OF SEVERITY // OPT // ... ON THE KOSOVO SIDE THERE IS FIGHTING GOING ON. THE BORDER IS NOT A CLEARLY DEMARCATED -- I MEAN, THERE IS NOT A FENCE. // END OPT // THE TERRAIN THERE IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. THE FACT THAT THERE IS FROM TIME TO TIME SPILLOVER HAS BEEN A CONCERN, BUT IT HAS NOT BEEN SOMETHING THAT HAS LED US TO CONCLUDE THAT THERE IS SOMETHING MAJOR BREWING. /// END ACT ///BUT TUESDAY'S BORDER INCURSION WAS ENOUGH TO PROMPT A WARNING TO YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT SLOBODAN MILOSOVIC FROM SECRETARY OF STATE MADELINE ALBRIGHT -- WHO SAID ANY ATTEMPT TO BROADEN THE KOSOVO CONFLICT WOULD BE MET WITH WHAT SHE CALLED SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES. // REST OPT //THE ALBANIAN GOVERNMENT HAS REQUESTED 200-MILLION DOLLARS FROM
THE WORLD BANK, THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, AND THE EUROPEAN
COMMISSION TO HELP PAY THE COSTS OF THE REFUGEE CRISIS. NEITHER
U-S AMBASSADOR LINO NOR ANYONE ELSE IN THE INTERNATIONAL
COMMUNITY IS ABLE OR WILLING TO PREDICT HOW LONG THIS CRISIS WILL
LAST, OR WHAT THE ULTIMATE PRICE TAG WILL BE. (SIGNED)
[14] KOSOVO ALBANIAN POLITICS (L-ONLY) BY GIL BUTLER (TIRANA)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-248152 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: WHILE THE KOSOVO CRISIS CONTINUES TO UNFOLD, DEEP POLITICAL DIFFERENCES REMAIN WITHIN ALBANIA BETWEEN THE OPPOSITION "DEMOCRATIC" PARTY OF FORMER PRESIDENT SALI BERISHA AND THE RULING "SOCIALIST" PARTY. VOA'S GIL BUTLER IS IN TIRANA THE ALBANIAN CAPITAL -- AND HAS A REPORT ON THE CONTINUING DISPUTE. TEXT: THURSDAY'S EDITION OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY NEWSPAPER SAYS THE GOVERNMENT'S POLICIES HELP BELGRADE. IT ACCUSES IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES AT ALBANIAN PORTS OF DELIBERATELY DENYING ENTRY TO ARRIVING VOLUNTEERS FOR THE KOSOVO LIBERATION ARMY, WHO HAVE NOT BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THOSE IT TERMS "MARXIST LENINISTS." THE PAPERS SAYS THERE ARE TOO MANY MARXISTS IN THE HIGHER CIRCLES OF THE K-L-A. THE LEADER OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IS FORMER PRESIDENT SALI BERISHA, WHO EMPHATICALLY SUPPORTS THE NATO AIRSTRIKES, THOUGH HE BELIEVES EVENTUALLY NATO GROUND FORCES WILL BE NEEDED TO DEFEAT SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC. BUT HE IS SCATHING IN HIS ATTACKS ON THE ALBANIAN GOVERNMENT OF THE RULING SOCIALIST PARTY. HE SAYS THEY FAILED TO REINFORCE DEFENSES IN THE NORTHERN PARTS OF ALBANIA THAT ARE THREATENED BY SERB ATTACKS. ///BERISHA ACT///THE GOVERNMENT FOR MANY MONTHS HAS BEEN SAYING WE HAVE REINFORCED THE DEFENSE IN THE NORTH. (BUT) THERE IS NO TRUTH IN THIS STATEMENT. WE TOLD THE GOVERNMENT -- I TOLD THE PRIME MINISTER THREE MONTHS AGO AND I PROPOSED SOME VERY IMPORTANT STEPS TO BE TAKEN TO STRENGTHEN (DEFENSE). BECAUSE (I SAID) IT IS POSSIBLE (THAT) SERBS (WOULD) START SHELLING KUKES -- (IF SO) WHAT WOULD WE HAVE? THIS MAKES ME VERY SAD WITH THE GOVERNMENT. THE GOVERNMENT IS DOING ... INEFFICIENT WORK. ///END ACT/////OPT//MR. BERISHA'S PARTY DOES NOT TAKE PART IN ALBANIA'S PARLIAMENT, THOUGH IT HAS ABOUT ONE-THIRD OF THE SEATS. ALBANIAN (SOCIALIST) INTERIOR MINISTER PETRO KOCI SAYS IT IS TIME FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY TO TAKE ITS SEATS AND START ACTING AS A RESPONSIBLE OPPOSITION. ///KOCI ACT///I THINK THAT ... THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S NOT BEHAVING RESPONSIBLY, ACCORDING TO THE SITUATION ... THEY ARE TRYING ... TO USE KOSOVO FOR THEIR OWN PARTY INTERESTS AND SOMETIMES FOR THE INTERESTS OF THE LEADER OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY -- SALI BERISHA. BECAUSE THEY TRY TO SENSITIZE THE REFUGEES EVEN AGAINST THIS GOVERNMENT. /// END ACT/////OPT//THE TWO ENDS OF THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM HERE IN ALBANIA ARE UNITED
IN ONE THING: OPPOSITION TO YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT SLOBODAN
MILOSEVIC. BUT ACCORDING TO THE GOVERNMENT, THE OPPOSITION USES
THE KOSOVO SITUATION FOR ITS OWN ENDS. (SIGNED)
[15] CLINTON/KOSOVO (S) (CQ) BY DAVID GOLLUST (SAN FRANCISCO)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-248162 CONTENT= VOICED AT: /// EDS: RE-FILING W/ REVISED INTRO ///INTRO: PRESIDENT CLINTON SAYS AN ERRANT ATTACK BY NATO WAR PLANES THAT KILLED REFUGEES IN KOSOVO WAS REGRETTABLE, BUT IT WON'T PROMPT NATO TO ABANDON ITS AIR CAMPAIGN AGAINST YUGOSLAV FORCES. V-O-A'S DAVID GOLLUST REPORTS FROM SAN FRANCISCO. TEXT: MR. CLINTON SAYS THE AIRSTRIKE THAT KILLED CIVILIAN REFUGEES IN SOUTHERN KOSOVO WAS REGRETTABLE, BUT AN INEVITABLE PART OF A CONFLICT HE SAID WAS THRUST ON NATO BY YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC. IN A QUESTION-AND-ANSWER SESSION (THURSDAY) WITH NEWSPAPER EDITORS, MR. CLINTON SAID NATO PILOTS HAVE BENT OVER BACKWARDS [MADE EVERY POSSIBLE EFFORT] TO AVOID CIVILIAN CASUALTIES, AND BEEN REMARKABLY SUCCESSFUL. HE SAID THIS WEEK'S INCIDENT WILL BE EVALUATED, BUT THE ULTIMATE BLAME FOR THE DESTRUCTION IN KOSOVO RESTS WITH THE BELGRADE LEADERSHIP. /// CLINTON ACT ///I BELIEVE WHEN THE SCALES ARE WEIGHED, IT WILL BE OBVIOUS THAT THIS IS A RESULT OF MR. MILOSEVIC'S POLICIES. IF HE DOESN'T WANT THIS TO HAPPEN, HE OUGHT TO GET OUT OF KOSOVO, LET THE KOSOVARS COME HOME, AND LET PEOPLE COME IN THERE WHO CAN PROTECT THEM. /// END ACT ///THE PRESIDENT TOLD THE EDITORS HE STILL OPPOSES INDEPENDENCE FOR
KOSOVO, IN FAVOR OF MORE INTERDEPENDENCE FOR THE YUGOSLAV
PROVINCE IN AN ETHNICALLY-DIVERSE DEMOCRATIC REGION. (SIGNED)
[16] CLINTON/KOSOVO (L) BY DAVID GOLLUST (SAN FRANCISCO)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-248164 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: PRESIDENT CLINTON SAYS THE ERRANT NATO ATTACK THAT KILLED REFUGEES IN KOSOVO WEDNESDAY WAS REGRETTABLE, BUT IT WON'T PROMPT NATO TO ABANDON ITS AIR CAMPAIGN AGAINST YUGOSLAV FORCES. THE KOSOVO CRISIS DOMINATED MR. CLINTON'S APPEARANCE AT THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEWSPAPER EDITORS IN SAN FRANCISCO. V-O-A'S DAVID GOLLUST HAS A REPORT. TEXT: MR. CLINTON SAYS THE AIRSTRIKE THAT KILLED THE REFUGEES IN KOSOVO WAS REGRETTABLE, BUT AN INEVITABLE PART OF A CONFLICT HE SAID WAS THRUST ON NATO BY YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC. IN A QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION WITH NEWSPAPER EDITORS HERE, MR. CLINTON SAID NATO PILOTS HAVE BENT OVER BACKWARDS TO AVOID CIVILIAN CASUALTIES AND BEEN REMARKABLY SUCCESSFUL. HE SAID THE INCIDENT WILL BE EVALUATED, BUT THE ULTIMATE BLAME FOR THE DESTRUCTION IN KOSOVO RESTS WITH THE BELGRADE LEADERSHIP: ///CLINTON ACTUALITY////THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS FLYING AIRPLANES THIS FAST, DROPPING WEAPONS THIS POWERFUL, DEALING WITH AN ENEMY THIS PERVASIVE WHO IS WILLING TO USE PEOPLE AS HUMAN SHIELDS AND NEVER HAS THIS SORT OF TRAGIC THING HAPPEN. IT CANNOT BE DONE. I BELIEVE WHEN THE SCALES ARE WEIGHED, IT WILL BE OBVIOUS THAT THIS IS A RESULT OF MR. MILOSEVIC'S POLICIES. IF HE DOESN'T WANT THIS TO HAPPEN, HE OUGHT TO GET OUT OF KOSOVO, LET THE KOSOVARS COME HOME AND LET PEOPLE COME IN THERE WHO CAN PROTECT THEM. ///END ACT///IN A POLICY ADDRESS TO THE EDITORS' ASSOCIATION, MR. CLINTON SAID KOSOVAR GUERRILLAS ARE GAINING IN NUMBER, AND THE YUGOSLAV LEADER STANDS TO LOSE HIS GRIP ON KOSOVO IF HE CONTINUES TO RESIST NATO TERMS FOR A PEACE AGREEMENT. BUT HE ALSO SAID THE UNITED STATES OPPOSES INDEPENDENCE FOR KOSOVO, SAYING THE GEOGRAPHICAL BREAKDOWN OF BALKANS COUNTRIES WOULD ONLY MEAN MORE INSTABILITY: ///CLINTON ACTUALITY TWO///WHAT MANY KOSOVARS WANT IS INDEPENDENCE. THAT IS CERTAINLY UNDERSTANDABLE. AFTER WHAT THEY'VE BEEN THROUGH, IT'S ONLY NATURAL THAT SHOULD EQUATE SOVEREIGNTY WITH SURVIVAL. BUT I CONTINUE TO THINK IT IS NOT THE BEST ANSWER. KOSOVO LACKS THE RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE TO BE VIABLE ON ITS OWN. MOREOVER YUGOSLAVIA'S LONG-SUFFERING NEIGHBORS FEAR THAT AN INDEPENDENT KOSOVO WOULD BE UNSTABLE. AND THAT THE INSTABILITY ITSELF WOULD BE CONTAGIOUS. ///END ACT///INSTEAD OF INDEPENDENCE, MR. CLINTON SAID HE FAVORED MORE INTER-DEPENDENCE FOR KOSOVO AND OTHER AREAS IN A REGION OF MULTI-ETHNIC DEMOCRACIES. HE SAID THIS WILL REQUIRE A DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION IN SERBIA (YUGOSLAVIA'S DOMINANT REPUBLIC), BECAUSE ITS NEIGHBORS WILL NEVER BE SAFE WITH WHAT HE CALLED A "BELLIGERENT TYRANNY" IN THEIR MIDST. THE PRESIDENT URGED A MULTI-LATERAL RECOVERY AND AID EFFORT FOR
THE SOUTHERN BALKANS REGION AFTER THE KOSOVO CONFLICT ENDS. HE
ALSO STRESSED THAT THE UNITED STATES AND ITS ALLIES HAVE NO
QUARREL WITH THE SERB PEOPLE, WHO HE SAID ARE -- IN A SENSE --
ALSO VICTIMS OF THE KOSOVO TRAGEDY. (SIGNED)
[17] CLINTON/KOSOVO ONITER (S) BY DAVID GOLLUST (SAN FRANCISCO)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-248171 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: IN THE MIDWEST CITY OF DETROIT MICHIGAN, PRESIDENT CLINTON TODAY (FRIDAY) MEETS LEADERS OF PRIVATE GROUPS INVOLVED IN RELIEF OPERATIONS FOR KOSOVO REFUGEES. HE IS APPEALING NOT ONLY FOR MORE REFUGEE ASSISTANCE BUT ALSO A POST-WAR REBUILDING PROGRAM FOR THE SOUTHERN BALKANS. VOA'S DAVID GOLLUST REPORTS FROM SAN FRANCISCO. TEXT: ADDRESSING NEWSPAPER EDITORS HERE, MR. CLINTON LOOKED BEYOND THE CURRENT FIGHTING AND URGED A LONG-TERM AID PROGRAM TO ENCOURAGE A MULTI-ETHNIC AND DEMOCRATIC SOUTHERN BALKANS. THE PRESIDENT EXPRESSED UNDERSTANDING FOR THOSE SEEKING INDEPENDENCE FOR KOSOVO. BUT HE SAID THE BEST ANSWER IS REPLACING WHAT HE CALLED THE "BELLIGERENT TYRANNY" IN BELGRADE WITH A TOLERANT, INCLUSIVE DEMOCRACY, AND SAID THE RE-DRAWING OF BORDERS WOULD ONLY MEAN MORE INSTABILITY: ///CLINTON ACTUALITY///IF WE WERE TO CHOOSE THIS COURSE, WE WOULD SEE THE CONTINUOUS FISSIONING OF SMALLER AND SMALLER ETHNICALLY-BASED UNVIABLE STATES CREATING PRESSURES FOR MORE WAR, MORE ETHNIC CLEANSING, MORE OF THE POLITICS OF REPRESSION AND REVENGE. I BELEIVE THE LAST THING WE NEED IN THE BALKANS IS GREATER BALKANIZATION. ///END ACT///MR. CLINTON SAID THE REAL QUESTION IS NOT WHETHER KOSOVO WILL BE
PART OF SERBIA BUT WHETHER THEY AND OTHERS WILL BE PART OF A NEW
EUROPE. (SIGNED)
[18] CONGRESS / KOSOVO (L) BY PAULA WOLFSON (CAPITOL HILL)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-248156 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: U-S SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE ALBRIGHT SAYS THERE ARE NO QUICK OR EASY ANSWERS TO THE TURMOIL IN THE BALKANS, AND AMERICA'S COMMITMENT IS FOR THE LONG TERM. V-O-A'S PAULA WOLFSON REPORTS FROM CAPITOL HILL, WHERE MS. ALBRIGHT DISCUSSED THE SITUATION IN KOSOVO (TODAY/THURSDAY) WITH MEMBERS OF CONGRESS. TEXT: THE SECRETARY OF STATE SAYS AMERICA AND ITS ALLIES MUST LOOK BEYOND THE CURRENT TURMOIL IN THE BALKANS, AND COME UP WITH A STRATEGY TO STABILIZE THE REGION. SHE SAYS COUNTRIES THAT HAVE KNOWN ONLY POVERTY AND WAR DESERVE A CHANCE TO BECOME PART OF WHAT SHE CALLS THE CONTINENT'S MAINSTREAM. /// ALBRIGHT ACT ///THE CURRENT CRISIS HIGHLIGHTS THE NEED TO INTEGRATE THE BALKANS MORE FULLY INTO THE EURO-ATLANTIC COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES. WE HAVE MADE A START IN THIS DIRECTION. BUT ONE OUTCOME OF THE CURRENT FIGHTING MUST BE A COMPREHENSIVE, MULTI-YEAR, MULTI-NATIONAL APPROACH. WE DO NOT WANT THIS CONFLICT TO SERVE AS A PRELUDE TO OTHERS. /// END ACT ///SUCH A COMMITMENT WILL BE COSTLY, AND MEMBERS OF CONGRESS MUST APPROVE THE FUNDING. THE HOUSE AND SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEES WILL DRAFT THE NECESSARY LEGISLATION TO COVER MILITARY, DIPLOMATIC AND HUMANITARIAN COSTS RELATED TO THE KOSOVO OPERATION. THE FIRST STEP IS PASSAGE OF AN EMERGENCY SPENDING BILL, TO COVER EXPENSES UNTIL THE NEW FISCAL YEAR BEGINS IN OCTOBER. THE WHITE HOUSE IS EXPECTED TO ASK FOR APPROXIMATELY FOUR-BILLION DOLLARS. THE HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS PANEL CHAIRMAN, CONGRESSMAN BILL YOUNG, SAYS MORE IS NEEDED. // OPT ///// YOUNG ACT ///WE ARE STRETCHED VERY THIN. AND TODAY, AS WE INCREASE OUR INVOLVEMENT IN THE BALKAN REGION, WE ARE TAKING RESOURCES FROM OTHER AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY. /// END ACT ////// END OPT ///SECRETARY ALBRIGHT TOLD MR. YOUNG SHE BELIEVES THE MILITARY MUST HAVE THE ASSETS NECESSARY TO DO ITS JOB. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, SHE RAISED CONCERNS ABOUT PLANS IN CONGRESS TO CUT NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET FOR HER DEPARTMENT, WHILE RAISING DEFENSE SPENDING. /// SECOND ALBRIGHT ACT ///I AM PLANNING TO SPEAK OUT LOUDLY ON BEHALF OF THE DEFENSE BUDGET, BECAUSE WE BELIEVE IN IT. BUT I THINK WE ALSO NEED THOSE WHO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THE DEFENSE BUDGET TO SPEAK FOR THE FOREIGN-POLICY PART OF THE BUDGET: THE DIPLOMACY, THE STATE DEPARTMENT. WE CAN'T HAVE A HOLLOW DIPLOMACY, EITHER. /// END ACT ///THE HOUSE AND SENATE HAVE PUT OFF FORMAL DEBATE ON THE KOSOVO MISSION, EXCEPT FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE EMERGENCY FUNDING BILL BUT THAT IS NOT STOPPING MEMBERS OF CONGRESS FROM SUBMITTING PROPOSED LEGISLATION, AND MAKING THEIR VIEWS KNOWN. IN THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS, WOMEN IN CONGRESS ARE SEEKING EXTRA
MONEY TO HELP KOSOVAR REFUGEES RAPED BY SERBIAN FORCES. AND FOR
THE SECOND TIME IN A WEEK, A GROUP OF LAWMAKERS HAS SENT A LETTER
TO THE WHITE HOUSE, URGING PRESIDENT CLINTON TO PLAN FOR THE
POSSIBLE USE OF GROUND TROOPS. (SIGNED)
[19] KOSOVO / SENATE / TROOPS - L BY JIM RANDLE (PENTAGON)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-248159 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: SOME PROMINENT MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ARE URGING THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION TO DISPATCH THOUSANDS OF GROUND TROOPS TO KOSOVO. THEY SAY BOMBING ALONE WILL NOT FORCE YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC TO STOP ATTACKING ETHNIC ALBANIANS AND MEET OTHER INTERNATIONAL DEMANDS. BUT DEFENSE SECRETARY WILLIAM COHEN SAYS NOT ENOUGH OF NATO'S 19 NATIONS WOULD SUPPORT EXPANDING THE CURRENT WAR WITH YUGOSLAVIA. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT JIM RANDLE HAS THE STORY. TEXT: THE CALLS FOR GROUND TROOPS COME FROM MEMBERS OF THE SENATE WHO OFTEN LEAD THEIR COLLEAGUES ON MILITARY ISSUES. THESE INCLUDE ARIZONA REPUBLICAN AND WAR HERO, JOHN MCCAIN, THE RANKING DEMOCRAT ON THE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE CARL LEVIN AND COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN (REPUBLICAN) JOHN WARNER. SENATOR WARNER SAYS PUBLICLY REFUSING TO EVEN CONSIDER SENDING NATO TANKS, ARTILLERY, AND FOOT SOLDIERS INTO YUGOSLAVIA SENDS AN UNFORTUNATE SIGNAL OF WEAKNESS TO YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC. HE URGES PRESIDENT CLINTON AND NATO LEADERS TO AT LEAST BEGIN THE LENGTHY LOGISTICAL AND PLANNING PROCESS NEEDED TO PUT A POWERFUL GROUND FORCE IN POSITION. /// WARNER ACT ///I BELIEVE THAT POSITIONING NATO GROUND FORCES IN KEY LOCATIONS ON YUGOSLAVIA'S SERBIAN BORDER AS IS BEING DONE BY SMALL SCALE NOW, COULD LIMIT MILOSEVIC'S FREEDOM IN THE DISPOSITION OF HIS GROUND FORCES. TOGETHER WITH THE AIR CAMPAIGN, THIS COULD FORCE HIM TO PREPARE FOR A POSSIBLE GROUND ATTACK BY NATO FORCES. /// END ACT ///SENATOR WARNER SAYS IT COULD TAKE MONTHS TO GET NATO'S HEAVY MILITARY EQUIPMENT INTO PLACE AND HE SAYS THE ALLIANCE SHOULD GET STARTED RIGHT AWAY. HE SAYS A DECISION ON WHETHER OR NOT TO USE SUCH A LAND FORCE COULD BE MADE AT A LATER TIME. SENATOR WARNER SAYS IN THE MEANTIME, THE GROWING FORCE COULD PROTECT YUGOSLAVIA'S NEIGHBORS FROM SERB ATTACKS AND INTIMIDATION. BUT DEFENSE SECRETARY WILLIAM COHEN SAYS WASHINGTON SHOULD ACT IN KOSOVO ONLY THROUGH NATO. HE SAYS IT TOOK THREE QUARTERS OF A YEAR FOR WASHINGTON AND THE OTHER 18 ALLIANCE NATIONS TO AGREE TO THE CURRENT CAMPAIGN OF AIR ATTACKS. MR. COHEN SAYS THERE IS NO CONSENSUS IN THE ALLIANCE FOR A LAND CAMPAIGN THAT MIGHT BE MORE EFFECTIVE BUT WOULD CERTAINLY COST THE LIVES OF FAR MORE ALLIANCE TROOPS. //// COHEN ACT ////WE MIGHT HAVE STARTED A DEBATE ON THE NEED FOR EITHER PLANNING OR THE NEED FOR THE DEPLOYMENT OF GROUND FORCES. I THINK THERE IS A REASONABLE CHANCE WE MIGHT HAVE SEEN SOMETHING COMPARABLE TO SARTRE'S PLAY "NO EXIT" WHERE THE NATO MEMBERS WOULD HAVE DEBATED ENDLESSLY IN CONVERSATION AND NEVER TAKING ANY ACTION WHILE THE EXTERMINATION POLICY WAS TAKING PLACE ON AN INSTALLMENT BASIS ON THE PART OF MILOSEVIC. /// END ACT ///SECRETARY COHEN SAYS IT IS FAR TOO SOON TO GIVE UP ON THE NATO
AIR CAMPAIGN CURRENTLY POUNDING SERB MILITARY TARGETS ACROSS
YUGOSLAVIA. HE SAYS THAT CAMPAIGN IS HURTING SERB AIR DEFENSES,
HAS LIMITED THE FUEL AND MOBILITY OF SERB TROOPS IN KOSOVO AND
HURT SOLDIERS' MORALE. MR. COHEN SAYS THE CAMPAIGN WILL
INTENSIFY AND INSISTS THAT IT CAN WORK. (SIGNED)
[20] KOSOVO / COHEN S & L BY JIM RANDLE (PENTAGON)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-248151 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: U-S DEFENSE AND CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS SAY THEY DEEPLY REGRET THE NATO ATTACK THAT KILLED ETHNIC ALBANIAN REFUGEES IN KOSOVO WEDNESDAY. V-O-A'S JIM RANDLE REPORTS FROM WASHINGTON, WHERE DEFENSE SECRETARY WILLIAM COHEN IS EXPLAINING U-S POLICY IN THE BALKANS TO SOME CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES. TEXT: SECRETARY COHEN TOLD THE SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE THAT A NATO PILOT THOUGHT HE WAS ATTACKING A CONVOY OF MILITARY VEHICLES, BUT MADE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE AND HIT CIVILIANS INSTEAD. TELEVISION PICTURES SHOWED WRECKED FARM EQUIPMENT ALONG WITH DEAD AND INJURED PEOPLE THE SERBS SAID WERE VICTIMS OF THE NATO ATTACK. TOP YUGOSLAV OFFICIALS CALLED THE INCIDENT A DELIBERATE ATROCITY, A CHARGED STRONGLY DENIED BY MR. COHEN. /// COHEN ACT ///FOR HIM (YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC) TO TALK ABOUT ATROCITIES WHEN AN ERROR OCCURRED ON THE PART OF SOMEONE TRYING TO CARRY OUT A MISSION TO SAVE THEIR (THE REFUGEES) LIVES IS ONE OF THE MOST GROTESQUE STATEMENTS THAT I COULD CONCEIVE OF. /// END ACT ///NATO OFFICIALS SAY TROOPS LED BY YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC HAVE FORCED MORE THAN ONE MILLION ETHNIC ALBANIANS OUT OF THEIR HOMES IN KOSOVO, AND DRIVEN HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF THEM TO FLEE FOR THEIR LIVES TO NEIGHBORING NATIONS. /// REST OPT FOR LONG ///MR. COHEN ALSO TOLD SENATORS THAT THE THREE WEEK NATO BOMBING CAMPAIGN IS MAKING WHAT REAL PROGRESS. HE WARNED LAWMAKERS THAT AMERICAN PILOTS AND OTHERS COULD BE LOST IN A CAMPAIGN THAT WILL NOT BE "QUICK, EASY OR NEAT." SEVERAL SENATORS SAID IT IS A MISTAKE FOR NATO TO RULE OUT THE
USE OF GROUND TROOPS IN KOSOVO, BUT MR. COHEN SAID THERE IS NO
POLITICAL CONSENSUS IN NATO FOR GROUND OPERATIONS. HE SAID
PRESSING FOR SUCH ACTION MIGHT FRACTURE THE ALLIANCE, AND BLOCK
NATO ACTION IN ENDLESS AND FRUITLESS DEBATE. (SIGNED).
[21] BRITAIN / KOSOVO (L) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (LONDON)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-248130 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY ROBIN COOK SAYS HE WILL NOT COMMENT ON A BOMBING ATTACK IN KOSOVO THAT KILLED DOZENS OF REFUGEES UNTIL NATO FINISHES ITS INVESTIGATION. V-O-A CORRESPONDENT LAURIE KASSMAN REPORTS LONDON. TEXT: BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY COOK OFFERS HIS REGRETS FOR THE DEATHS OF REFUGEES IN THE NATO BOMBING ATTACK OF A MILITARY CONVOY. BUT HE SAYS HE CANNOT ACCEPT THE REACTION OF SERB LEADERS. /// COOK ACT ///HOW DARE THEY NOW PRODUCE CROCODILE (FAKE) TEARS FOR PEOPLE KILLED IN THE CONFLICT WHICH THEY THEMSELVES ARE RESPONSIBLE. /// END ACT ///MR. COOK REFUSES TO COMMENT ON WHAT MAY HAVE GONE WRONG ON THE BOMBING ATTACK UNTIL NATO'S INVESTIGATION IS COMPLETED. BUT THE FOREIGN SECRETARY CHALLENGES SERB LEADERS WHO HAVE RUSHED FOREIGN REPORTERS TO THE SITE IN KOSOVO TO LET THE JOURNALISTS ALSO VISIT 300 OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE PROVINCE. POINTING TO A DETAILED MAP OF KOSOVO, MR COOK SAYS THEY REPRESENT THE LOCATIONS OF ATROCITIES COMMITTED BY SERB MILITARY AND SPECIAL POLICE UNITS. ON THE DIPLOMATIC FRONT, MR. COOK SAYS GERMANY'S PEACE PROPOSAL DISCUSSED BY EUROPEAN UNION LEADERS ON WEDNESDAY DOES NOT CONTRADICT NATO'S FIVE CONDITIONS FOR PEACE. THE CONDITIONS INCLUDE BELGRADE'S REVERSAL OF THE ETHNIC CLEANSING IN KOSOVO AND THE SAFE RETURN OF KOSOVAR REFUGEES. /// COOK ACT ///IT IS NOT A PROPOSAL FOR A TRUCE TO ENABLE DIPLOMATIC INITIATIVES TO PROCEED. IT IS A PROPOSAL ON HOW WE MIGHT WIND DOWN THE MILITARY CAMPAIGN WHEN BELGRADE HAS ACCEPTED OUR OBJECTIVES AND WE HAVE MADE PROGRESS TO SECURING THOSE OBJECTIVES. /// END ACT ///MR. COOK ALSO WELCOMES THE NEW RUSSIAN PEACE INITIATIVE, WHICH
WILL BE LED BY FORMER PRIME MINISTER VICTOR CHERNOMYRDIN. HE
SAYS IT IS NOT IN RUSSIA'S INTEREST TO REMAIN ISOLATED FROM THE
INTERNATIONAL CONSENSUS CONDEMNING BELGRADE'S ACTIONS IN KOSOVO.
AND ONCE AGAIN, HE OFFERS BRITAIN'S ASSURANCE THAT NATO ACTIONS
IN KOSOVO DO NOT THREATEN RUSSIA' SECURITY. (SIGNED)
[22] RUSSIA/KOSOVO (L ONLY) BY PETER HEINLEIN (MOSCOW)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-248140 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: RUSSIA HAS CAUTIOUSLY ENDORSED GERMANY'S LATEST PROPOSAL FOR ENDING THE CONFLICT IN YUGOSLAVIA. V-O-A'S PETER HEINLEIN IN MOSCOW REPORTS THE KREMLIN'S NEWLY-NAMED SPECIAL ENVOY ON KOSOVO IS GETTING OFF TO A FAST START. TEXT: IN HIS FIRST FULL DAY ON THE JOB, PRESIDENT BORIS YELTSIN'S PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE ON KOSOVO -- VICTOR CHERNOMYRDIN -- SIGNALED A SOFTENING OF RUSSIA'S HARSH ANTI-NATO STANCE. AFTER MEETING GERMANY'S AMBASSADOR TO MOSCOW, THE FORMER RUSSIAN PRIME MINISTER TOLD REPORTERS A GERMAN PROPOSAL FOR A BRIEF HALT TO ALLIANCE AIR STRIKES MIGHT BE THE BASIS FOR A BROADER PEACE AGREEMENT. ///CHERNOMYRDIN ACT IN RUSSIAN, THEN FADE TO...///MR. CHERNOMYRDIN SAYS, "I DOUBT THAT ANY AGREEMENT COULD BE REACHED WHILE AIR STRIKES AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA CONTINUE." HE THEN ASKS: "HOW CAN WE PERSUADE THE SERBS OF ANYTHING WHEN MASSIVE STRIKES ARE GOING ON?" MR. CHERNOMYRDIN'S SELECTION AS THE LEADER OF RUSSIA'S DIPLOMATIC INITIATIVE ON KOSOVO CAME AS SOMETHING OF A SURPRISE TO KREMLIN OBSERVERS. NEWSPAPERS SAW THE APPOINTMENT MOSTLY AS A MOVE BY PRESIDENT YELTSIN TO COUNTERBALANCE THE GROWING INFLUENCE OF HIS CHIEF RIVAL, PRIME MINISTER YEVGENY PRIMAKOV. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, MR. CHERNOMYRDIN IS SEEN AS LESS HOSTILE TO THE WEST THAN MR. PRIMAKOV AND FOREIGN MINISTER IGOR IVANOV, WHO UNTIL NOW HAVE BEEN ON THE FRONT LINE OF MOSCOW'S KOSOVO POLICY-MAKING. MOREOVER, MR. YELTSIN TOLD REPORTERS HIS FORMER PRIME MINISTER IS SOMEONE WHO KNOWS LEADERS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE CONFLICT ON A FIRST NAME BASIS. ///YELTSIN ACT IN RUSSIAN, THEN FADE TO...///HE SAYS MR. CHERNOMYRDIN "...CAN TALK WITH PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC AND OTHERS LIKE NO ONE ELSE CAN. HE HAS KNOWN THEM FOR A LONG TIME AND HAS DONE BUSINESS WITH THEM MANY TIMES." THE RUSSIAN LEADER ADDED HE IS CERTAIN HIS ENVOY WILL BE ABLE TO RESOLVE WHAT HE CALLED "THIS PROBLEM WITH PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC." MR. CHERNOMYRDIN SEEMS EAGER TO GET DOWN TO BUSINESS, AND SAYS HE EXPECTS TO VISIT BELGRADE SOON. //REST OPT/////2ND CHERNOMYRDIN ACT IN RUSSIAN, THEN FADE TO...///BUT MR. CHERNOMYRDIN ADMITTED HE DOES NOT EXPECT A QUICK
SOLUTION. IN AN INTERVIEW WITH THE "KOMMERSANT" NEWSPAPER
THURSDAY, HE SAID, "WE HAVE TO ARM OURSELVES WITH PATIENCE, AND
STEADY OUR NERVES." (SIGNED)
[23] U-N/KOSOVO (L-ONLY) BY MAX RUSTON (UNITED NATIONS)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-248158 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL TODAY (THURSDAY) DEPLORED THE LOSS OF CIVILIAN LIVES IN KOSOVO AND CALLED FOR INTENSIFIED EFFORTS TO FIND A POLITICAL SOLUTION TO THE CONFLICT. V-O-A'S UNITED NATIONS CORRESPONDENT MAX RUSTON REPORTS. TEXT: THE COUNCIL HELD CLOSED-DOOR TALKS ON THE SITUATION IN KOSOVO AT THE REQUEST OF YUGOSLAVIA'S U-N MISSION. YUGOSLAVIA ASKED FOR THE MEETING TO PROTEST THE NATO BOMBING OF A CIVILIAN VEHICLE IN SOUTHWEST KOSOVO ON WEDNESDAY. COUNCIL PRESIDENT ALAIN DEJAMMET READ A BRIEF STATEMENT FROM THE COUNCIL. /// DEJAMMET ACT ///MEMBERS OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL DEPLORED THE TRAGIC EVENT WHICH LED TO THE LOSS OF CIVILIAN LIVES AND THEY AGREE WITH THE REACTION EXPRESSED BY THE SECRETARY-GENERAL YESTERDAY IN THAT REGARD. /// END ACT ///IN THE STATEMENT REFERRED TO BY THE COUNCIL, U-N SECRETARY-GENERAL KOFI ANNAN SAID THE TRAGEDY IS ONE MORE REASON WHY EFFORTS TO FIND A POLITICAL SOLUTION MUST BE INTENSIFIED. MR. ANNAN HAS URGED YUGOSLAV LEADER SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC TO
WITHDRAW HIS FORCES FROM KOSOVO AS A FIRST STEP TOWARDS ENDING
THE CONFLICT. HE SAYS IF YUGOSLAVIA DOES THAT, HE WILL ASK NATO
TO SUSPEND ITS AIR STRIKES. (SIGNED)
NEB/UN/MPR/LSF/PHW/JO
[24] KOSOVO / ARMING THE K-L-A BY ANDRE DE NESNERA (WASHINGTON)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT NUMBER=5-43138 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: AS NATO WARPLANES CONTINUE TO HIT YUGOSLAV MILITARY POSITIONS, WESTERN DEFENSE ANALYSTS AND POLICYMAKERS ARE LOOKING AT OTHER OPTIONS IN THE EVENT THE AIR CAMPAIGN DOES NOT FORCE YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC TO GIVE IN TO NATO DEMANDS FOR AUTONOMY FOR KOSOVO PROVINCE. IN THIS REPORT FROM WASHINGTON, CORRESPONDENT ANDRE DE NESNERA LOOKS AT THE IDEA OF ARMING THE KOSOVO LIBERATION ARMY. TEXT: THE K-L-A BEGAN AS A SHADOWY UNDERGROUND GROUP ADVOCATING INDEPENDENCE FOR KOSOVO'S ETHNIC ALBANIANS AND CAME TO PUBLIC ATTENTION WHEN IT BEGAN TARGETING SERB SECURITY FORCES IN THE YUGOSLAV PROVINCE. YUGOSLAV OFFICIALS BEGAN A SERIOUS CRACKDOWN ON THE GROUP LAST YEAR IN OPERATIONS THAT LEFT DOZENS OF CIVILIANS DEAD. THE K-L-A ALSO ESCALATED ITS ATTACKS. IT WAS THEN THAT THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY GOT INVOLVED, TRYING TO BROKER AN AGREEMENT THAT WOULD GIVE THE KOSOVARS AUTONOMY BUT PRESERVE YUGOSLAVIA'S BORDERS. THE DEAL SNAGGED WHEN BELGRADE REFUSED TO ACCEPT A NATO PEACEKEEPING FORCE IN KOSOVO. THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY BECAME AWARE OF THE EXISTENCE OF THE KOSOVO LIBERATION ARMY ABOUT A YEAR AGO. BUT OVERALL, IT STILL REMAINS A MYSTERY. WESTERN MILITARY ANALYSTS SAY IT IS DIFFICULT TO KNOW THE EXACT STRENGTH OF THE K-L-A. BUT BRYAN BENDER -- WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF FOR THE BRITISH PUBLICATION "JANE'S DEFENSE WEEKLY" -- DESCRIBES IT AS THE MOST SUCCESSFUL GUERRILLA INSURGENCY IN RECENT MEMORY. // BENDER ACT //THIS IS AN ORGANIZATION THAT REALLY WAS BORN ABOUT A YEAR AGO AND OVER THE COURSE OF THAT TIME HAS BECOME FAIRLY WELL ORGANIZED, FAIRLY WELL ARMED AND HAS PUT UP A DECENT FIGHT -- AT LEAST IN SOME BATTLES AGAINST SERB FORCES IN KOSOVO. AND THAT IS STILL GOING ON. // END ACT //U-S DEFENSE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS SAY THE K-L-A IS CONTINUING TO RECRUIT NEW MEMBERS. THEY EVEN POINT TO SOME EVIDENCE THE K-L-A IS TAKING THE INITIATIVE IN SOME PLACES IN KOSOVO AGAINST THE FORCES OF YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC. DURING AN APPEARANCE (THURSDAY) BEFORE THE SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE, DEFENSE SECRETARY WILLIAM COHEN HAD AN OPTIMISTIC ASSESSMENT OF THE K-L-A'S CHANCES. // COHEN ACT //MILOSEVIC MAY THINK HE HAS ELIMINATED THE K-L-A. HE HAS NOT. ACCORDING TO THE INTELLIGENCE REPORTS, SOME MEMBERS WERE KILLED, IN THE LOW HUNDREDS PERHAPS. BUT WE HAVE MANY MORE WHO HAVE BEEN RADICALIZED BY THE BRUTALITY CARRIED OUT BY MILOSEVIC'S FORCES. THEY WILL COME BACK STRONGER. AND HE WILL FIND HIMSELF HAVING TO CONFRONT A GUERRILLA FORCE THAT OVER A PERIOD OF TIME, WILL IN FACT, DEFEAT HIS ARMY. // END ACT //THE K-L-A HAS BEEN ABLE TO RECRUIT NOT ONLY YOUNG MEN FROM THE IMMEDIATE REGION SUCH AS ALBANIA -- BUT FROM THE BROADER ALBANIAN COMMUNITY. FOR EXAMPLE, EARLIER THIS WEEK, SEVERAL HUNDRED ALBANIAN AMERICANS LEFT TO TRAIN WITH THE K-L-A. SEVERAL MEMBERS OF CONGRESS SAY THE TIME HAS COME FOR ARMING THE K-L-A, ARGUING IT IS THE ONLY COUNTERBALANCE TO SERB FORCES ON THE GROUND IN KOSOVO. THEY SAY VARIOUS WEAPONS -- INCLUDING ANTI-TANK MISSILES -- SHOULD BE IMMEDIATELY AIRLIFTED TO THE GUERRILLA GROUP. BUT DEFENSE ANALYSTS SAY THE K-L-A IS RELATIVELY WELL ARMED, HAVING RECEIVED OVER THE YEARS WEAPONS STOLEN FROM ARSENALS IN ALBANIA. ADMIRAL LEIGHTON SMITH WAS IN CHARGE OF THE NATO AIR CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE BOSNIAN SERBS IN 1995. HE IS VEHEMENTLY OPPOSED TO SENDING WEAPONS TO THE KOSOVO LIBERATION ARMY. // SMITH ACT //THAT TO ME IS AN ABSOLUTELY INSANE IDEA, BECAUSE IT UNDERPINS A LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT KIND OF TRAINING IS REQUIRED FOR A PROFESSIONAL ARMY. YOU JUST CAN NOT GIVE THEM A BUNCH OF GUNS AND TANKS AND MORTARS AND ARTILLERY PIECES AND EXPECT THEM TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO OPERATE THEM. THAT IS A LONG PROCESS. IT IS A LONG AND DIFFICULT PROCESS TO TRAIN AN ARMY. THAT IS A GUERRILLA ARMY OVER THERE AND THEY HAVE GOT BASICALLY HAND WEAPONS AND ROCKET-PROPELLED GRENADES AND A FEW - PERHAPS - MORTARS. BUT IT TAKES A LONG TIME TO PUT TOGETHER AN ARMY AND TO TRAIN IT AND TO LET IT UNDERSTAND THE INCREDIBLE DIFFICULTIES WITH RESPECT TO SUPPORTING THAT VERY ARMY. SO JUST ARMING THE KOSOVO LIBERATION ARMY IS NOT THE ANSWER. // END ACT //ADMIRAL SMITH SAYS THOSE ADVOCATING SUCH A COURSE OF ACTION HAVE NOT THOUGHT ABOUT ALL THE RAMIFICATIONS AND PITFALLS. ANALYSTS SAY THE K-L-A REMAINS A SHADOWY GROUP WHOSE LEADERSHIP AND PURPOSE -- OTHER THAN INDEPENDENCE FOR KOSOVO -- IS NOT REALLY KNOWN. SOME REPORTS SAY THE K-L-A IS ESSENTIALLY MADE UP OF ISLAMIC EXTREMISTS -- AND ITS FINANCES COME FROM DRUG SMUGGLING. MICHAEL O'HANLON -- A DEFENSE ANALYST WITH THE (WASHINGTON-BASED) BROOKINGS INSTITUTION -- SAYS THE K-L-A SHOULD RECEIVE WEAPONS -- BUT ONLY AS PART OF AN OVERALL NATO MILITARY STRATEGY. // O'HANLON ACT //ARMING THE K-L-A ONLY MAKES SENSE IF YOU SEE IT AS PART OF A FIRST WAVE OF A BROADER NATO GROUND FORCE OPERATION. IF YOU DO THAT, THE K-L-A CAN PERHAPS FEND OFF THE SERBS FOR AWHILE WHILE WE ARE EN ROUTE AND HELP US ONCE WE GET THERE. BUT IF YOU GIVE THE K-L-A ARMS AND YOU SAY "OTHERWISE YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN," THEN I THINK YOU GIVE SERBIA A LEGITIMATE REASON TO KEEP UP THE ETHNIC CLEANSING, TO DENY THE K-L-A THE POPULATION BASE FROM WHICH IT WOULD DRAW ITS STRENGTH AND ITS COVER. AND YOU DO NOT WANT TO DO THAT. // END ACT //MANY ANALYSTS ARE QUICK TO POINT OUT ARMING THE K-L-A HAS NOT
BEEN APPROVED BY ANY OF THE MEMBER STATES NOR HAS IT EVEN BEEN
PUBLICLY DISCUSSED BY ANY OF THE NATO LEADERS. ANALYSTS SAY AT
THIS STAGE IT REMAINS JUST AN IDEA. (SIGNED)
[25] STRATEGIES FOR KOSOVO BY ED WARNER (WASHINGTON)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT NUMBER=5-43133 CONTENT= VOICED AT: WED., 4/14 /// REPEATING WITH CORRECT NUMBER ///INTRO: THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF NATO MAY NOT HAVE MUCH TO CELEBRATE, ACCORDING TO SPEAKERS AT A RECENT MEETING OF WASHINGTON'S BROOKINGS INSTITUTION (4/14). THEY SAID THE AIR CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE SERBS HAS FAILED AND CAN ONLY BE SALVAGED BY THE INTRODUCTION OF GROUND TROOPS TO KOSOVO. V-O-A'S ED WARNER REPORTS THEIR VIEWS, AND A PEACEFUL ALTERNATIVE PROPOSED BY ANOTHER ANALYST. TEXT: KOSOVO IS A DEFINING MOMENT FOR NATO, SAYS IVO DAALDER, A VISITING SCHOLAR FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND AT THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION. HOW THE CRISIS IS HANDLED WILL DETERMINE THE FUTURE OF THE ALLIANCE. SO FAR, HE SAYS, THE AIR ATTACK ON THE SERBS HAS BACKFIRED: /// DAALDER ACT ///HALF A MILLION REFUGEES LIVING IN SQUALOR, ANOTHER SEVEN-HUNDRED-THOUSAND KOSOVARS RUNNING FOR THEIR LIVES INSIDE KOSOVO, COUNTLESS MURDERS, SUMMARY EXECUTIONS, RAPES AND A VARIETY OF OTHER ATROCITIES THAT WE ARE ONLY BEGINNING TO HEAR ABOUT NOW DO NOT ADD UP TO SUCCESS. THEY ADD UP TO A MISERABLE FAILURE. /// END ACT ///NATO CAN RECOVER ONLY BY PUTTING GROUND FORCES IN KOSOVO, PROFESSOR DAALDER SAYS. IF THE ALLIANCE CAN NOT DEAL WITH A MINOR DICTATOR LIKE YUGOSLAVIA'S PRESIDENT SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC, WHAT CAN IT DO? GROUND TROOPS ARE A VIABLE OPTION, SAYS MICHAEL O'HANLON, WHO SPECIALIZES IN DEFENSE ISSUES AT BROOKINGS. ONE STRATEGY WOULD BE TO ESTABLISH A PROTECTED ENCLAVE IN KOSOVO. THAT WOULD REQUIRE FROM 30-THOUSAND TO 50-THOUSAND NATO TROOPS, OF WHICH HALF WOULD BE AMERICAN. MR. O'HANLON SAYS ESTABLISHING CONTROL OF SUCH AN ENCLAVE PROBABLY WOULD RESULT IN DOZENS OF DEATHS FOR NATO FORCES. HIS OWN PREFERENCE WOULD BE A MUCH LARGER FORCE TO LIBERATE MOST OF KOSOVO, LEADING PROBABLY TO INDEPENDENCE FOR THE REGION. THAT WOULD ENTAIL FROM 100-THOUSAND TO 125-THOUSAND TROOPS: /// O'HANLON ACT ///IF YOU START TALKING ABOUT THAT KIND OF FORCE, THE MAJORITY OF THOSE FORCES DO HAVE TO BE AMERICAN. THE EUROPEANS JUST DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH ABILITY TO MOVE FAST AND SUPPORT FORCES OVERSEAS -- AND EVEN ON THE FLANK OF EUROPE -- IN SHORT ORDER. SO THIS WOULD HAVE TO BE A U-S - LED OPERATION, WITH PROBABLY 50-THOUSAND TO 75-THOUSAND U-S TROOPS. I BELIEVE YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE READY FOR AS MANY KILLED AS WE HAD IN "DESERT STORM" [THE GULF WAR AGAINST IRAQ] -- HUNDREDS. /// END ACT ///THERE COULD BE A PEACEFUL SOLUTION TO KOSOVO, SAYS STEVE VAN EVERA, A PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AT THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. THAT WOULD MEAN LINKING KOSOVO TO BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA. PROFESSOR VAN EVERA BELIEVES THE DAYTON ACCORDS ARE FAILING, SINCE THE VARIOUS GROUPS IN BOSNIA REMAIN HOSTILE AND UNRECONCILED TO A MULTI-ETHNIC GOVERNMENT. ONLY NATO FORCES KEEP THEM FROM FIGHTING. SO HE ASKS, WHY NOT MAKE A TERRITORIAL SWAP WITH SERBIA? /// VAN EVERA ACT ///MY ANSWER WOULD BE TO REALIZE THAT WE HAVE TO REORGANIZE BOTH BOSNIA AND YUGOSLAVIA ON THE NATIONAL PRINCIPLE, AND ASK THE SERBS TO GIVE UP KOSOVO -- NEARLY ALL OF KOSOVO -- AND AT THE SAME TIME AGREE THAT THEY CAN INCORPORATE THE EASTERN HALF OF REPUBLIKA SRPSKA [THE SERBIAN PART OF BOSNIA] INTO SERBIA. THEIR WHOLE ARGUMENT HAS BEEN THAT THE SERB NATION SHOULD BE UNITED. WE SHOULD SAY TO THEM, "OK, GUYS, WE ACCEPT THAT, BUT YOU HAVE TO GIVE UP KOSOVO." /// END ACT ///PROFESSOR VAN EVERA SAYS THIS WOULD END THE MULTI-ETHNIC DREAM
FOR THE REGION, WHICH WOULD BE CLEARLY DIVIDED ALONG ETHNIC
LINES. BUT HE CONSIDERS PARTITION PREFERABLE TO FURTHER
SLAUGHTER. (SIGNED)
[26] KOSOVO ON CAMPUS BY MICHAEL LELAND (CHICAGO)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT NUMBER=5-43137 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: THE FOUR-WEEK-OLD NATO MILITARY CAMPAIGN AGAINST SERB-LED YUGOSLAVIA, AND THE ACCOMPANYING HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN THE COUNTRY'S KOSOVO PROVINCE, HAS TRIGGERED NUMEROUS RALLIES THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES. MANY ARE ORGANIZED BY SERB OR ETHNIC ALBANIAN GROUPS PROTESTING OR SUPPORTING THE NATO ACTION. BUT ONE RECENT RALLY IN CHICAGO FOCUSED INSTEAD ON THE ISSUE OF ETHNIC TENSIONS IN KOSOVO, AND ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD. MORE FROM V-O-A'S MICHAEL LELAND. TEXT: // CALL TO PRAYER ACT (ESTABLISH, FADE UNDER TEXT) // AS THE SUN SET ON THE CAMPUS OF NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, THE MUSLIM CALL TO PRAYER RANG OUT, AND A FEW DOZEN STUDENTS LINED UP ON THEIR RUGS FOR EVENING PRAYERS. AFTERWARDS, SOME OF THESE STUDENTS, ALONG WITH THOSE FROM OTHER CAMPUS GROUPS, ADDRESSED THE CROWD IN WHAT WAS BILLED AS A RALLY AGAINST GENOCIDE IN KOSOVO. BUT AS EDDIE CHEN OF THE CAMPUS ASIAN-AMERICAN ORGANIZATION POINTED OUT, IT WAS ALSO A RALLY AGAINST INTOLERANCE. // CHEN ACT //THIS IS ABOUT HUMANS. IT IS ABOUT EQUALITY, DIGNITY, RESPECT, ABOUT COMPASSION. THESE ARE INHERENT PRINCIPLES FOR ALL HUMANS. EVERY HUMAN IS DESERVING OF THESE PRINCIPLES. I CAN NOT IMAGINE THAT THESE ATROCITIES IN KOSOVO ARE HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. // END ACT //ISSAC FEDER OF NORTHWESTERN'S JEWISH STUDENT GROUP, URGED STUDENTS TO DO MORE THAN LISTEN TO SPEECHES, NOD AND AGREE. // FEDER ACT //WE ARE THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL NATION OF ACTION. OUR PARENTS' GENERATION EXACTED A CHANGE UPON THIS COUNTRY THAT WAS UNPRECEDENTED. SINCE THEN, WE HAVE BEEN DEEMED A PASSIVE AND EVEN CARELESS GENERATION. // END ACT //SECOND-YEAR MUSIC EDUCATION STUDENT KAY REILLY SAYS FINDING SOMETHING TO DO ABOUT THE SITUATION IN KOSOVO, OR ETHNIC INTOLERANCE ANYWHERE, IS A FRUSTRATING PROBLEM FOR HER. SHE SAYS SHE CAME TO THE RALLY HOPING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CRISIS. // REILLY ACT //PEOPLE KEEP TALKING ABOUT WHAT THEY THINK AND ABOUT THE FACTS AND THESE CLICHES -- NOT REALLY CLICHES -- BUT QUOTES AND STATEMENTS. THERE IS NOTHING ANYBODY HAS SAID THAT WE CAN DO. I WONDER. IT KIND OF WORRIES ME THAT I CAN NOT THINK OF ANYTHING THAT I CAN DO. // END ACT //LAW STUDENT OMAR HAYDAR IS ONE STUDENT WHO HAS BEEN DOING SOMETHING. HE WORKS WITH A GROUP CALLED THE KOSOVO TASK FORCE, WHICH TRIES TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE SITUATION IN THE BALKANS AND URGE AMERICANS TO PRESSURE THEIR ELECTED LEADERS TO SUPPORT THE ETHNIC ALBANIANS. // HAYDAR ACT //HOW COULD I LIVE WITH MYSELF, GOING TO CLASS EVERYDAY, SITTING IN THE LIBRARY STUDYING, WHILE TENS OF THOUSANDS ARE MASSACRED, RAPED, BRUTALIZED, REMOVED FROM THEIR HOMES? I WAS ALMOST TO THE POINT WHERE I WAS GOING TO ASK THE DEAN TO GIVE ME A LEAVE OF ABSENCE FROM THE LAW SCHOOL. // END ACT //// OPT //// OPT HOLMAN ACT //YOU CAN SPONSOR A WOMAN WHO IS REBUILDING HER LIFE IN RWANDA. THEY ARE ALSO BEGINNING A PROGRAM FOR WOMEN IN KOSOVO. IT COSTS 25-DOLLARS A MONTH TO HELP THEM (WOMEN) REBUILD, TO HELP THEM ASSIMILATE BACK INTO SOME SORT OF NORMAL LIFE. // END ACT // // END OPT //ORGANIZERS OF THE RALLY SPECIFICALLY TOLD SPEAKERS NOT TO ADDRESS THE NATO MILITARY ACTION, BUT MANY STUDENTS HAD OPINIONS ON THAT, AS WELL. ZAKI ANARWALA SAYS HE DOES NOT THINK THE NATO AIR STRIKES ARE THE BEST WAY TO RESOLVE THE MATTER, THOUGH HE SAYS RIGHT NOW, THEY SEEM TO BE THE ONLY WAY. // ANARWALA ACT //PERSONALLY, I THINK THE K-L-A (KOSOVO LIBERATION ARMY) SHOULD BE ARMED, AND THEY SHOULD BE THE ONES FIGHTING THIS BATTLE. BUT, IF THE REST OF THE WORLD DOES NOT LET THEM DO THAT, THEN WHATEVER MEANS IS NECESSARY TO STOP WHAT IS GOING ON HAS TO BE DONE. // END ACT //MOST OF THE SPEAKERS, AND MANY STUDENTS, SAID WHAT THEY FIND MOST
UPSETTING ABOUT THE KOSOVO CONFLICT IS THAT ON THE EVE OF THE
21ST CENTURY, THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE STILL BEING DRIVEN FROM
THEIR HOMES BECAUSE OF THEIR ETHNICITY. (SIGNED)
[27] TURKEY / ISLAMISTS / KURDS BY AMBERIN ZAMAN (DIYARBAKIR)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-248145 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: TURKEY'S ISLAMIST VIRTUE PARTY IS EXPECTED TO WIN SCORES OF PARLIAMENTARY SEATS IN THE THE KURDISH SOUTHEASTERN REGION IN NATIONAL ELECTIONS ON SUNDAY. AS AMBERIN ZAMAN REPORTS FROM THE SOUTHEASTERN PROVINCE OF DIYARBAKIR, THE PARTY IS SPREADING A MESSAGE OF RECONCILIATION BETWEEN TURKS AND KURDS. TEXT: AHMET BILGIN IS THE MAYOR OF DIYARBAKIR, THE LARGEST AND MOST POPULOUS CITY IN TURKEY'S MAINLY KURDISH SOUTHEAST REGION. HE WOULD LIKE TO BE RE-ELECTED IN THE ELECTIONS ON SUNDAY (APRIL 18TH). UNLIKE HIS MAIN RIVALS FROM THE PRO-KURDISH PEOPLE'S DEMOCRACY PARTY OR HADEP, MR. BILGIN, AN ETHNIC KURD, IS NOT -- AS HE PUTS IT -- CONCERNED WITH ETHNIC NATIONALISM OR POLITICAL IDEOLOGY. /// BILGIN ACT - IN TURKISH - FADE UNDER ///MR. BILGIN SAYS HIS MAIN JOB AS MAYOR IS TO SERVE THE PEOPLE, TO BUILD ROADS, SEWAGE SYSTEMS AND PARKS, NOT TO --IN HIS WORDS -- WASTE TIME PREACHING POLITICAL VIEWS. AT A SMALL SMOKY COFFEEHOUSE IN DIYARBAKIR'S MEVLANA HALIT NEIGHBORHOOD, MR. BILGIN REPEATS HIS VIEWS TO WILD APPLAUSE FROM LOCAL RESIDENTS. /// SOUND FROM COFFEEHOUSE - FADE UNDER ///HE IS PROMISING THEM MORE SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS AND ROADS. MANY BELIEVE HIM BECAUSE DURING MR. BILGIN'S FIVE YEARS IN OFFICE DIYARBAKIR HAS BECOME A MUCH CLEANER, GREENER, AND SAFER CITY. MEDENI TURK IS RUNNING ON VIRTUE'S TICKET TO BE ELECTED HEADSMAN OF THE MEVLANA HALIT NEIGHBORHOOD.. HE SAYS THE PROBLEMS LOCAL PEOPLE FACE ARE PRIMARILY ECONOMIC. KURDISH NATIONALISM HE SAYS IS NOT ON THE TOP OF PEOPLE'S AGENDA. /// TURK ACT - IN TURKISH - FADE UNDER ///MR. TURK SAY DIYARBAKIR'S PROBLEMS HAVE BEEN COMPOUNDED BY THE INFLUX OF KURDISH VILLAGERS FORCIBLY DISPLACED BY THE 15-YEAR CONFLICT BETWEEN GUERRILLAS OF THE SEPARATIST KURDISTAN WORKERS' PARTY AND TURKISH SECURITY FORCES. MOST, HE SAYS, HAVE NO STEADY EMPLOYMENT AND TENS OF MOUTHS TO FEED, SO THEY MAKE ENDS MEET DOING OCCASIONAL LABOR THAT PAYS BARELY ENOUGH TO BUY A FEW LOAVES OF BREAD. ALI ELBEY IS THE CHAIRMAN OF VIRTUE'S DIYABAKIR BRANCH. HE REJECTS HADEP'S CLAIMS THAT KURDS ARE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST BY THE TURKISH STATE. /// ELBEY ACT - IN TURKISH - FADE UNDER ///MR ELBEY POINTS TO THE LARGE NUMBER OF ETHNIC KURDS IN PARLIAMENT. HE SAYS TURKS AND KURDS ARE EQUAL BEFORE THE LAW. STILL, VIRTUE'S MESSAGE OF CONCILIATION IS NOT LIKELY TO HELP IT WIN ELECTIONS IN DIYARBAKIR. HADEP IS WIDELY EXPECTED TO SWEEP MANY OF THE MUNICIPALITIES HERE . ANALYSTS SAY THERE ARE SEVERAL REASONS FOR THIS. ONE IS THAT MANY VIRTUE MAYORS WERE REMOVED FROM OFFICE HERE ON
CORRUPTION CHARGES. SECONDLY, MANY KURDS SEE THESE ELECTIONS AS
AN OPPORTUNITY TO VOICE THEIR PROTEST AT THE GOVERNMENT'S
CONTINUED REFUSAL TO GRANT THEM CULTURAL RIGHTS SUCH AS ENDING
BANS ON BROADCASTING AND EDUCATION IN THE KURDISH LANGUAGE.
ANALYSTS AGREE THAT SUSTAINED STATE PRESSURE ON HADEP HAS MADE
THE PRO-KURDISH PARTY EVEN MORE POPULAR.
EVEN SO, HADEP IS NOT EXPECTED TO WIN THE MINIMUM 10 PERCENT OF
THE NATIONAL VOTE NEEDED TO SECURE SEATS IN THE TURKISH
PARLIAMENT. THIS IN TURN, MEANS THAT VIRTUE WHICH IS THE SECOND
MOST POPULAR PARTY IN THE KURDISH REGIONS WILL PICK UP DOZENS OF
PARLIAMENTARY SEATS THAT WOULD HAVE GONE TO HADEP. (SIGNED)
[28] NY ECON WRAP (S&L) BY ELAINE JOHANSON (NEW YORK)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-248170 CONTENT= VOICED AT: /// RE-RUNNING W/CORRECT NUMBER ////INTRO: STOCK PRICES IN THE UNITED STATES WERE MOSTLY UP TODAY (THURSDAY), WITH MONEY MOVING IN AND OUT OF THE BIG NAME STOCKS. VOA CORRESPONDENT ELAINE JOHANSON REPORTS FROM NEW YORK: TEXT: THE DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE CLOSED UP 51 POINTS -- ABOUT ONE-HALF OF ONE PERCENT -- AT 10 THOUSAND 462. THAT'S ANOTHER RECORD HIGH. THE STANDARD AND POOR'S 500 INDEX LOST FIVE POINTS, CLOSING AT 13 HUNDRED 22. AND THE NASDAQ (INDEX) BROKE THROUGH A TWO-DAY LOSING STREAK FOR A GAIN OF 14 POINTS. IT WAS A VERY VOLATILE, HIGH VOLUME SESSION. ANALYSTS SAY INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS SHIFTED THEIR MONEY FROM SECTOR TO SECTOR WITH NO CLEAR DIRECTION. THE WORLD'S TWO LARGEST AUTOMAKERS -- GENERAL MOTORS AND FORD -- REPORTED QUARTERLY EARNINGS WELL ABOVE WALL STREET EXPECTATIONS. //BEGIN OPT////SPINELLA ACT//FOR THE YEAR, YOU'RE GOING TO WIND UP SEEING AT LEAST 15 POINT EIGHT MILLION SALES, POSSIBLY AS MUCH AS 16 POINT TWO MILLION -- WHICH OBVIOUSLY WOULD BE A RECORD. //END ACT// //END OPT//ANALYSTS SAY THE BIG BOOST FOR THE AUTO INDUSTRY IS THE STRONG U-S ECONOMY, WHICH HAS RAISED DEMAND FOR VEHICLES. AUTOMAKERS FEEL THEY CAN RAISE PRICES A BIT AND SCALE BACK ON INCENTIVES. //REST OPT FOR LONG //EARNINGS WERE ALSO HIGHER THAN EXPECTED THIS PAST QUARTER AT AEROSPACE GIANT, BOEING. BOEING'S PROFITS SURGED NINEFOLD. LOWER COSTS AND RESEARCH SPENDING HELPED THE WORLD'S BIGGEST AIRPLANE MAKER REBOUND FROM A PRODUCTION BOTTLENECK (SLOWDOWN). THE RECESSION IN ASIA HURT BOEING SALES LAST YEAR. SOME ANALYSTS PREDICT ASIA WILL PULL OUT OF ITS TROUBLES BEFORE THIS YEAR IS OUT. DELTA, THE THIRD LARGEST AIR CARRIER IN THE UNITED STATES, SAID ITS PROFITS ROSE 11 PERCENT -- EASILY BEATING WALL STREET EXPECTATIONS. DELTA ALSO REPORTED HIGHER REVENUES AND A RECORD 25 MILLION PASSENGERS DURING THE QUARTER. IN TOYLAND -- MATTEL, THE WORLD'S BIGGEST TOYMAKER, REPORTED A NET EARNINGS LOSS FOR THE QUARTER OF 18-MILLION DOLLARS AND SAID IT WOULD CUT OVER THREE-THOUSAND JOBS -- MORE THAN 10 PERCENT OF ITS WORKFORCE. MATTEL IS THE MAKER OF THE POPULAR "BARBIE" DOLL. MEANWHILE, NUMBER TWO TOYMAKER -- HASBRO -- SAID ITS EARNINGS WERE UP A STRONG 75 PERCENT. HASBRO, OF COURSE, IS ASSOCIATED WITH "FURBY" AND THE "TELEBUBBIES." AND, AN UPDATE ON THE U-S INFILTRATION OF FRENCH CULTURE -- EURO DISNEY SAYS NEGOTIATIONS ARE CONTINUING WITH FRENCH AUTHORITIES ON A PLAN TO OPEN A SECOND THEME PARK IN FRANCE. DISNEY WOULD LIKE TO GET THE DEAL SIGNED AND SEALED QUICKLY. IT
WANTS TO OPEN THE NEW PARK IN THE YEAR TWO THOUSAND TWO -- THE
10TH ANNIVERSARY OF DISNEYLAND PARIS. (SIGNED)
NEB/NY/EJ/LSF/PHW/PT
[29] THURSDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ANDREW N. GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)DATE=04/15/99TYPE=U-S EDITORIAL DIGEST NUMBER=6-11241 TELEPHONE=619-3335 EDITOR=ASSIGNMENTS CONTENT= //// EDS: MATERIAL DATED AFTER 10 P-M EST ////INTRO: THIS IS THE DAY DREADED MORE THAN ANY OTHER BY MANY AMERICANS - - APRIL 15TH - - THE DAY FEDERAL -- AND MOST STATE INCOME TAXES ARE DUE. POST OFFICES IN MANY PLACES TRADITIONALLY STAY OPEN UNTIL MIDNIGHT FOR LAST MINUTE DEPOSIT OF THE ENVELOPES WHICH MUST BEAR A TODAY POSTMARK TO AVOID A PENALTY. THERE ARE PLENTY OF COMMENTS ON TAXES IN GENERAL IN TODAY'S EDITORIAL COLUMNS. OTHER ITEMS ATTRACTING ATTENTION ARE THE WAR IN THE BALKANS; THE SENTENCING FOR MURDER OF A MICHIGAN DOCTOR WHO PUBLICLY PRACTICED ASSISTED SUICIDE; MEXICO'S FINANCIAL HISTORY; THE FALLOUT ON NORTH KOREA FROM NATO'S BALKAN CAMPAIGN; AND SPECIAL COUNSEL KENNETH STARR RECOMMENDS THE DEATH OF THE ACT THAT EMPOWERED HIM TO INVESTIGATE THE PRESIDENT. NOW, HERE IS __________________ WITH SOME EXCERPTS AND A CLOSER LOOK IN TODAY'S EDITORIAL DIGEST. TEXT: THE THEME OF MANY EDITORIALS IS THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WASTES TOO MUCH OF THE TAX MONEY AMERICANS FAITHFULLY SEND IN. TAKE, FOR EXAMPLE, "THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE." VOICE: /// OPT /// IT'S APRIL 15TH, THE LEAST LOVED DAY ON THE CALENDAR, WHEN MILLIONS OF RELUCTANT BUT DUTIFUL CITIZENS RENDER THEIR SHARE OF THE NATION'S ONE-POINT-SIX-TRILLION-DOLLAR ANNUAL TAX BILL. /// END OPT /// THE PAIN OF FILING OUT I-R-S [INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE] FORMS IS EXCEEDED BY THE AGONY OF DELIVERING THE CHECK THAT WILL DISAPPEAR INTO THE GREAT MAW [EDITORS: UNCOMPLIMENTARY EXPRESSION FOR MOUTH] OF GOVERNMENT. SO IT'S HARDLY SURPRISING THAT 40 MILLION INDIVIDUAL TAXPAYERS (OUT OF 127) MILLION DELAY FILING UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE. TEXT: AS FAR AS "THE DETROIT NEWS" IS CONCERNED THE TIME IS RIPE FOR A TAX CUT, OR, AT THE VERY LEAST, A SIMPLIFIED TAX LAW. VOICE: THE VOICES OF BIG GOVERNMENT TELL US TAXPAYERS THAT WE DON'T NEED A FEDERAL TAX CUT. ... BUT IF YOU TOOK A POLL TODAY, WE SUSPECT AMERICANS MIGHT HAVE A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE - - FIRST, THAT THEY ARE OVERTAXED AND, SECOND, THAT THE ABSURDLY COMPLEX TAX CODE IMPOSES A GROTESQUE SORT OF TAX ON SOCIETY ALL BY ITSELF. MORE THAN HALF OF ALL TAXPAYERS PAY SOMEBODY ELSE TO HELP THEM PREPARE THEIR RETURNS. MANY OF THE REST MUST SPEND HOURS, DAY, EVEN WEEKS WRESTLING WITH THEIR OWN RETURNS - - FIVE-POINT-FOUR BILLION HOURS IN ALL ... /// OPT ///TEXT: JOINING THE CHORUS FOR A TAX CUT IS THE "SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS" WHICH NOTES: VOICE: ... FEDERAL TAXES ARE AT A PEACETIME HIGH AS A PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL ECONOMY. IN 1998, FEDERAL TAX RECEIPTS REACHED 20-POINT-FIVE PERCENT OF GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT, A RECORD, EXCEPT FOR ONE YEAR DURING WORLD WAR TWO. TEXT: PORTLAND'S "OREGONIAN" SEES IT DIFFERENTLY: VOICE: PEOPLE MAY NOT BE PAYING THEIR TAXES EXACTLY CHEERFULLY, BUT WITH MANY FOLKS FEELING A LESSER TAX BITE AND ENJOYING GROWING INCOME, THEY AREN'T DEMANDING TAX CUTS AT EXPENSE OF SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE OR GOVERNMENT SERVICES, EITHER. ... THIS TIME AROUND, PEOPLE HAVE GOOD REASON TO BE WARY OF ANY FEDERAL TAX CUT PROPOSAL, ESPECIALLY ONE THAT PRETENDS TO COME FROM THE PROJECTED BUDGET SURPLUS. /// END OPT ///TEXT: IN BOSTON, "THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR" IS TRYING TO ASSESS THE BALKAN WAR SO FAR, SUGGESTING: VOICE: THREE FULL WEEKS INTO NATO'S AIR CAMPAIGN AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA, IT'S TIME TO AGAIN TAKE STOCK. IS THE BOMBING WORKING? WHAT ABOUT THE REFUGEES? ARE DIPLOMATIC POSSIBILITIES BEING PURSUED? THERE'S NO DOUBT NATO'S AIR ATTACKS ARE TAKING A HEAVY TOLL ON YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC'S WAR MAKING ABILITY. BUT IT'S A SLOW PROCESS ... PLANS MUST BE READIED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL GROUND FORCE THAT WILL BE REQUIRED TO ENFORCE PEACE IN THE PROVINCE AND PREVENT CONTINUED ETHNIC CONFLICT. ... AS FOR DIPLOMACY, IT MUST ACCELERATE APACE WITH MILITARY ACTIONS. TEXT: HOWEVER, "THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE" ASKS: "EXACTLY WHAT ARE THE AIMS OF THE WAR IN KOSOVO NOW THAT THE ORIGINAL BOTTOM-LINE OBJECTIVE (IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RAMBOUILLET ACCORD) IS OFF THE TABLE? ... WHAT COMES NEXT IF THE AIR CAMPAIGN CANNOT BRING PEACE?" AND IN THE CAPITOL, "THE WASHINGTON POST" RECOILS, EDITORIALLY, FROM THE HORROR OF A REFUGEE COLUMN BEING ATTACKED FROM THE AIR. VOICE: ONE MORE HORRIFYING IMAGE FROM THE WAR ... CIVILIANS ATTACKED YESTERDAY AS THEY MADE THEIR PAINFUL WAY, ON TRACTOR AND CART, ALONG A RURAL ROAD. ... THE HEARTBREAKING PLIGHT OF THE EXPELLEES IS EVIDENT TO ALL. ... BUT THE TRAVAILS OF CIVILIANS TRAPPED INSIDE KOSOVO REMAIN ALL BUT INVISIBLE. ... PRESIDENT CLINTON HAS EXPRESSED DETERMINATION TO CONTINUE BOMBING UNTIL MR. MILOSEVIC GIVES WAY .... THE DETERMINATION IS WELL PLACED ... /// OPT ///TEXT: THERE IS MORE REACTION TO THE PRISON SENTENCE FOR MURDER, HANDED OUT IN A MICHIGAN COURTROOM TO DR. JACK KEVORKIAN, A U-S LEADER IN THE ASSISTED SUICIDE MOVEMENT FOR TERMINALLY ILL PEOPLE. ON NEW YORK'S LONG ISLAND, "NEWSDAY" SUMS UP ITS FEELING IN THIS EDITORIAL HEADLINE: "ASSISTING A SUICIDE IS ONE THING; COMMITTING MURDER DESERVES NO LESS THAN A PRISON TERM." "THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION" ADDS THIS EDITORIAL COMMENT. VOICE: JACK KEVORKIAN HAS A DESIRE FOR SELF-DESTRUCTION ALMOST AS STRONG AS THAT OF THE 'PATIENTS' HE HAS ASSISTED IN ... SUICIDE. THE LEGAL SYSTEM HAS NOW INDULGED HIM IN THAT DESIRE, HAVING SENTENCED [HIM] ... TO 10 TO 25 YEARS IN PRISON FOR THE SECOND-DEGREE MURDER OF THOMAS YOUK. AS A RESULT, IT IS VERY LIKELY HE WILL DIE IN PRISON. ... WHATEVER CREDIT [DR.] KEVORKIAN MIGHT DESERVE FOR ... FOCUSING PUBLIC ATTENTION ON A DIFFICULT SUBJECT [EDITORS: EUTHANASIA] ... IS OUTWEIGHED BY THE DAMAGE HE DID HIS OWN CAUSE. TEXT: TODAY'S "MIAMI HERALD" PUTS IT THIS WAY: VOICE: "[DR.] KEVORKIAN HIJACKED, THEN HIGHLIGHTED THIS UNRESOLVED DEBATE. IT SHOULDN'T GO AWAY BECAUSE HE DOES." /// END OPT ///TEXT: TODAY'S "DALLAS MORNING NEWS" WONDERS WHETHER HISTORY WILL REPEAT ITSELF, AND MEXICO'S ECONOMY WILL COLLAPSE AGAIN, AS IT HAS DONE EVERY SIX YEARS FOR THE PAST SEVERAL DECADES, COINCIDING WITH THE NATION'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. BUT THE PAPER SAYS CHANGES MAY WELL PREVENT ANOTHER FAILURE. VOICE: SINCE 1997, THE LOWER HOUSE OF ... CONGRESS HAS BEEN CONTROLLED BY THE OPPOSITION, WHICH MEANS GREATER SUPERVISION OF THE GOVERNMENT PURSE. AS A CONDITION OF THE AID IT RECEIVED AFTER THE 1994 CRASH, MEXICO HAS IMPOSED GREATER FISCAL DISCIPLINE AND MADE ITS FINANCES MORE TRANSPARENT. ... PRESIDENT ERNESTO ZEDILLO IS A SUPERB ECONOMIST. ... IN TRUTH, NO ONE CAN SAY WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN 2000. WITH LUCK AND GRACE, THE NATURAL LAW - - OR CURSE - - THAT AFFLICTS MEXICO MAY FINALLY BE REPEALED. /// OPT ///TEXT: STILL IN LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS, "THE LOS ANGELES TIMES" WATCHING VENEZUELA'S NEW GOVERNMENT, FEARS THINGS ARE BEGINNING TO LOOK MORE THAN A LITTLE DICTATORIAL IN CARACAS. VOICE: VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ, A CLASSIC LATIN CAUDILLO [EDS: STRONGMAN], WHO FAILED TWICE IN 1992 TO SEIZE POWER BY COUP D'ETAT BUT CAME BACK TEN WEEKS AGO TO WIN OFFICE IN A POPULAR LANDSLIDE, HAS EVERYTHING AN AUTOCRATIC RULER MIGHT WANT, BUT WANTS MORE. ... THE ARMY IS HIS AND ... THE PRESIDENT HAS A SQUADRON OF OPERATIVES TO MOBILIZE MOBS AND HARASS BRAVE JUDGES AND POLITICIANS WHO OPPOSE HIS PROGRAMS. ON TUESDAY, [PRESIDENT] CHAVEZ ...[ANNOUNCED] IT WOULD BE NECESSARY TO DISSOLVE THE SUPREME COURT AND CONGRESS IF HE WAS NOT GRANTED THE EXTRAORDINARY POWERS HE IS DEMANDING. ... WHEN HE TALKS OF NEEDING 10 TO 14 YEARS IN OFFICE TO ESTABLISH HIS REFORMS, THE CITIZENS ARE RIGHTFULLY DUBIOUS. /// END OPT ///TEXT: "THE FLORIDA TIMES-UNION" IN JACKSONVILLE IS WORRIED THAT NATO'S WAR IN YUGOSLAVIA WILL SO DEPLETE U-S MILITARY COFFERS AND TROOP STRENGTH THAT WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO HANDLE TROUBLE ON THE KOREAN PENINSULA. VOICE: IT'S AN OMINOUS SIGN THAT NORTH KOREA IS, IN THE WORDS OF THE WASHINGTON POST, 'REJOICING' AT THE NATO BOMBING CAMPAIGN AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA. THE POST QUOTES RUSSIAN RESEARCHERS WHO RECENTLY INTERVIEWED OFFICIALS OF THE PYONGYANG REGIME. NORTH KOREA'S LEADERS, THE ANALYSTS SAY, BELIEVE THE UNITED STATES WILL BE MORE 'FLEXIBLE IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD' WHILE IT IS PREOCCUPIED IN EUROPE. THAT WILL GIVE THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD UP THEIR MISSILE ARSENAL FURTHER, IN ADDITION TO WINNING DIPLOMATIC CONCESSIONS. /// OPT /// OPT ///TEXT: THERE'S QUITE A DEBATE GOING ON IN THIS COUNTRY OVER WHETHER THE INDEPENDENT COUNSEL LAW, UNDER WHICH KENNETH STARR INVESTIGATED PRESIDENT CLINTON IN THE WHITEWATER AND MONICA LEWINSKY MATTERS, SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO EXPIRE. "THE MIAMI HERALD" SAYS "LET THE LAW EXPIRE." "THE BOSTON GLOBE" SAYS, DESPITE MR. STARR'S TESTIMONY THAT IT SHOULD FEXPIRE, "WE ARE NOT PERSUADED" AND IN RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, "THE NEWS & OBSERVER" SAYS OF MR. STARR'S TESTIMONY: VOICE: HE MAKES SOME GOOD POINTS, BUT FIXING PROBLEMS WITH THE LAW WOULD BE A BETTER COURSE. /// END OPT ///TEXT: THAT CONCLUDES THIS SAMPLING OF COMMENT FROM SOME OF THE
NATION'S THURSDAY DAILY PAPERS.
[30] BRITAIN / PINOCHET (L) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (LONDON)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-248135 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: BRITAIN'S JUSTICE MINISTER HAS RULED THAT FORMER CHILEAN LEADER AUGUSTO PINOCHET CAN FACE EXTRADITION TO SPAIN ON CHARGES OF CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY. V-O-A CORRESPONDENT LAURIE KASSMAN IN LONDON REPORTS THE RULING OPENS THE WAY FOR A LONG LEGAL BATTLE. TEXT: BRITISH HOME SECRETARY JACK STRAW HAS RULED THAT THE EXTRADITION CASE AGAINST GENERAL PINOCHET CAN PROCEED. /// STRAW ACT ///I'VE CONSIDERED AFRESH THE ISSUES BEFORE ME RELATING TO HIS EXTRADITION. I'VE CONSIDERED ALL THE REPRESENTATIONS I'VE RECEIVED AND THEN TAKEN FULL ACCOUNT OF MY DUTIES UNDER THE LAW. I'VE DECIDED TO ISSUE AUTHORITY TO PROCEED IN RESPECT OF HIS EXTRADITION FOR REASONS SET OUT IN GREATER DETAIL IN A LETTER SENT TO THE PARTIES. /// END ACT ///THE EXTRADITION CASE IS DUE TO START AT THE END OF THE MONTH. A SPANISH JUDGE REQUESTED THE FORMER CHILEAN RULER'S EXTRADITION TO FACE CHARGES OF TORTURE, MURDER, AND THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THOUSANDS OF CHILEANS AND OTHER NATIONALS -- INCLUDING SPANIARDS DURING HIS 17-YEAR RULE. LAST MONTH, A PANEL OF BRITAIN'S HOUSE OF LORDS RULED THE EXTRADITION CASE COULD COVER ONLY ALLEGED CRIMES COMMITTED AFTER 1988 WHEN BRITAIN SIGNED THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ON TORTURE. THE SPANISH JUDGE THEN INCLUDED 40 NEW CASES AGAINST THE FORMER CHILEAN DICTATOR, MOST OF THEM DATED AFTER 1988. MR. PINOCHET WAS ARRESTED LAST OCTOBER WHILE RECOVERING FROM BACK SURGERY IN A LONDON CLINIC.. HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS HAVE WELCOMED THE LATEST RULING AGAINST GENERAL PINOCHET. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL ISSUED A STATEMENT CALLING THE EXTRADITION CASE AGAINST MR. PINOCHET A MILESTONE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW. MR. PINOCHET'S LAWYERS SAY THEY WILL APPEAL THE DECISION AND
FIGHT THE EXTRADITION. (SIGNED)
[31] CHILE/PINOCHET REACT (L-ONLY) BY JONATHAN FRANKLIN (SANTIAGO)DATE=4/15/99TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-248167 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: REACTION WAS GENERALLY RESTRAINED IN CHILE FOLLOWING THURSDAY'S DECISION BY BRITAIN'S JUSTICE MINISTER TO ALLOW SPAIN TO EXTRADITE FORMER CHILEAN DICTATOR AUGUSTO PINOCHET FROM BRITAIN. FROM SANTIAGO, JONATHAN FRANKLIN REPORTS. TEXT: AT THE PINOCHET FOUNDATION, SUPPORTERS OF THE DETAINED GENERAL NUMBERED IN THE DOZENS, NOT THE HUNDREDS AS IN PAST OCCASIONS WHEN THEY GATHERED TO AWAIT NEWS FROM LONDON ON THE FORMER DICTATOR'S FATE. INSTEAD OF ATTACKING FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS WITH PURSES AND POSTERS - AS THEY DID IN THE WAKE OF SEVERAL PREVIOUS JUDICIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS - THE CROWD WAS ORDERLY AND SUBDUED. THE OFFICIAL RESPONSE DELIVERED BY FOUNDATION PRESIDENT HERNAN BRIONES SOUNDED MORE LIKE A EULOGY THAN A CALL TO ARMS. WE EXPRESS OUR PROFOUND THANKS TO GENERAL PINOCHET, MR. BRIONES SAID. HE IS A DEDICATED SOLDIER WHO FOUGHT FOR HIS COUNTRY. OTHERS WELCOMED THE DECISION IN LONDON -- BUT NOTED MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE TO STRENGTHEN POLITICAL FREEDOM IN CHILE. MAGDA BECERRA, AN UNEMPLOYED 33-YEAR OLD SPENT THE DAY GATHERING SIGNATURES TO RELEASE THE ESTIMATED 80 POLITICAL PRISONERS STILL HELD IN CHILEAN PRISONS. ///INSERT BECERRA SPANISH ACT ACTUALITY///THEY FOUGHT FOR OUR FREEDOM AND WE WILL KEEP LOBBYING UNTIL THEY ARE FREED. DESPITE A CHANGING POLITICAL CLIMATE, THE COUNTRY IS STILL GOVERNED UNDER A CONSTITUTION CREATED BY THE MILITARY DURING THE 17-YEAR PINOCHET DICTATORSHIP. THE CONSTITUTION GRANTS A LARGE SHARE OF POWER TO THE COUNTRY'S SECURITY FORCES COMPARED TO THOSE IN OTHER NATIONS. ON WEDNESDAY, POLICE FORCES IN SANTIAGO RAIDED BOOKSTORES AND A PUBLISHING HOUSE TO CONFISCATE FRESHLY-PRINTED COPIES OF A BOOK CALLED: THE BLACK BOOK OF CHILEAN JUSTICE, WRITTEN BY JOURNALIST ALEJANDRA MATUS. THIS AFTER AUTHORITIES DECIDED THE BOOK WAS A THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY. THIS SHOWS THAT THE DECISION MADE IN LONDON WAS CORRECT, SAID
MARIA ELENA AMSEPPA, THE SPOKESWOMAN FOR PLANET PUBLISHING, WHICH
EDITED AND PUBLISHED THE BOOK. HOW CAN YOU TALK ABOUT BRINGING
GENERAL PINOCHET TO TRIAL IN CHILE WHEN WE CAN HARDLY EVEN
PUBLISH A BOOK ABOUT JUSTICE IN CHILE? (SIGNED)
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