Voice of America, 99-06-27

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From: The Voice of America <gopher://gopher.voa.gov>

CONTENTS

[01] KOSOVO SERBS ATTACKED (L-ONLY) BY PHILIP SMUCKER (ORAHOVAC, KOSOVO)

[02] KOSOVO-SONG BY TIM BELAY (TIRANA)

[03] PAPADOPOULOS OBIT (L-ONLY) BY SCOTT BOBB (ISTANBUL)

[04] PAPADOPOULOS OBIT (L-ONLY) BY SCOTT BOBB (ISTANBUL)

[01] KOSOVO SERBS ATTACKED (L-ONLY) BY PHILIP SMUCKER (ORAHOVAC, KOSOVO)

INTRO: ALBANIAN REVENGE ATTACKS AGAINST SERBS CONTINUED ACROSS WESTERN KOSOVO OVER THE WEEKEND. SERB CIVILIANS ACCUSED NATO PEACEKEEPERS OF IGNORING THEIR PLIGHT. PHILIP SMUCKER REPORTS FROM THE WESTERN TOWN OF ORAHOVAC.

TEXT: SERB CIVILIANS IN THIS WINE-PRODUCING REGION IN WESTERN KOSOVO SAY THAT ALBANIAN REBELS ARE KIDNAPPING AND KILLING MEMBERS OF THEIR COMMUNITY. BUT NATO OFFICIALS SAY MANY OF THE SERBIAN ACCOUNTS TURN OUT TO BE WRONG OR EXAGGERATED WHEN THEY ARE INVESTIGATED.

WESTERN HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIALS SAY THEY HAVE DOCUMENTED MURDERS AND ABDUCTIONS ACROSS WESTERN KOSOVO IN RECENT DAYS. THE U S-BASED HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH SAID OVER THE WEEKEND THAT IT HAD DOCUMENTED ALBANIAN REBEL INVOLVEMENT IN FIVE MURDERS, FOUR ABDUCTIONS AND FOURTEEN DETENTIONS IN WESTERN KOSOVO.

BUT DUTCH NATO OFFICERS INTERVIEWED IN ORAHOVAC SUNDAY SAID THAT THE SERBIAN TALES OF KIDNAPPING HAVE OFTEN PROVEN FALSE. DUTCH MAJOR MARCEL VAN WEERD SAID THAT NATO TROOPS HAD TRIED TO RESPOND QUICKLY TO ALL SERBIAN COMPLAINTS OF ABDUCTIONS.

ANOTHER DUTCH OFFICER SAID THE ORAHOVAC WINE-PRODUCING REGION WAS "AS SAFE AS AMSTERDAM."

IN CONSTRAST, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH SAID WITNESSES HAD RECOUNTED TO ITS INVESTIGATORS HOW ALBANIAN MEN WEARING K-L-A UNIFORMS KIDNAPPED SERBIAN CIVILIANS.

ISMET TARA, ONE OF THE KLA'S TOP REGIONAL COMMANDERS DENIED THAT HIS SOLDIERS HAD BEEN INVOLVED IN REVENGE ATTACKS BUT SAID THAT THERE WERE ISOLATED INCIDENTS OF ALBANIANS ATTACKING SERBS WHICH WERE DIFFICULT TO PREVENT.

NEAR THE WESTERN CITY OF PEC, ALBANIAN VILLAGERS SET A SERBIAN VILLAGE ON FIRE SUNDAY AFTER LOOTING IT. ITALIAN PEACEKEEPERS, WHO HAD TRIED EARLIER IN THE WEEK TO EXTINGUISH SOME SIMILAR FIRES WATCHED THE ATTACK AND DID NOTHING, ACCORDING TO WITNESSES.

WITH SERBIAN SECURITY FORCES NOW WITHDRAWN FROM THE PROVINCE, ANARCHY HAS BROKEN OUT IN MANY DISTRICTS ACROSS KOSOVO. SERB, GYPSY AND EVEN ALBANIANS SUSPECTED OF BEING SYMPATHETIC TO THE OLD SERBIAN REGIME HAVE BECOME KOSOVO'S LATEST VICTIMS.

AN ORAHOVAC SERB, MILICA BOZIVIC, SAID HER HUSBAND, PANTA, HAD BEEN TAKEN AWAY BY TWO ALBANIAN REBELS SHE NEW WELL. SHE NAMED THEM AS FADUSH AMDOZI AND RAMADA BUGARI.

MRS. BOZIVIC BROKE DOWN IN TEARS AS SHE RECOUNTED FINDING HER HUSBANDS BODY, TURNED BLUE, AFTER TRAVELLING INTO THE WOODS WITH A NATO K-FOR ESCORT. (SIGNED)
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27-Jun-99 4:30 PM EDT (2030 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

[02] KOSOVO-SONG BY TIM BELAY (TIRANA)

INTRO: ALBANIA'S ANNUAL "SONGS OF THE SEASON" FESTIVAL SATURDAY INCLUDED A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO THE VICTIMS OF THIS YEAR'S UNREST IN KOSOVO. TIM BELAY REPORTS FROM THE ALBANIAN CAPITAL CITY OF TIRANA.

TEXT: /// SONG ACT, FADE... ///

THE SONG IS CALLED "VICTIMS OF KEVAR," NAMED AFTER AN ALBANIAN VILLAGE IN MONTENEGRO, BUT INTENDED AS A WAY TO RECOGNIZE ALL THE ALBANIANS WHO HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES IN BALKAN WARS.

THE VERY WELL-KNOWN VOCALIST AND COMPOSER FROM PRISTINA, KOSOVO, HAS MADE TIRANA HIS HOME FOR THE PAST THREE-MONTHS. THIRTY-NINE-YEAR-OLD NAIM KRASNIQI HAS BEEN LIVING THE LIFE OF THE REFUGEE, RENTING AN APARTMENT TO ESCAPE YUGOSLAVIA'S ARMED FORCES.

ALBANIA NORMALLY INVITES KOSOVAR ARTISTS TO ITS ANNUAL FESTIVAL, NOW IN ITS 15TH YEAR. IT USUALLY TAKES PLACE IN THE SPRING, BUT IS BEING HELD A LITTLE LATER THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF ORGANIZATIONAL PROBLEMS RELATING TO THE MASSIVE REFUGEE INFLUX.

MR. KRASNIQI SAYS THE SONG LOOKS BACK TO THE EVENTS OF WORLD WAR TWO AND ALL THAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE.

HE SAYS THE SONG IS ABOUT THE BAD LUCK AND VIOLENCE IN 1943 IN THE VILLAGE OF KEVAR THAT HAS CONTINUED TO THE PRESENT TIME. HE SAYS THIS IS WHY HE IS PRESENTING THIS SONG AT THE FESTIVAL.

THE BIG QUESTION FOR THE UNITED NATIONS, NATO, AND THE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS WORKING FOR PEACE IN KOSOVO IS WHETHER ETHNIC ALBANIANS AND SERBS IN KOSOVO WILL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE LIVING SIDE BY SIDE. MR. KRASNIQI SAYS IT MIGHT BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR ETHNIC ALBANIANS TO LIVE WITH THOSE WHO HAVE VICTIMIZED THEIR NEIGHBORS.

HE SAYS FOR ALBANIAN FAMILIES THAT HAVE EXPERIENCED TRAGEDIES, IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND A WAY FOR THEM TO LIVE TOGETHER WITH THE SERBS. HE SAYS THEY HAVE TO SEE WHAT WILL HAPPEN. THAT IS VERY DIFFICULT.

THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE FESTIVAL, ALFRED KACINARI, SAYS ALBANIA HAS BEEN ABLE TO EXCHANGE MUSIC FREELY WITH THE KOSOVARS ONLY SINCE THE THE FALL OF COMMUNISM IN 1991. HE SAYS THE SINGER, NAIM KRASNIQI, CAME FROM KOSOVO TO ESCAPE THE SERBS, AND HE IS WELCOME IN ALBANIA, ADDING THAT THE ALBANIANS HAVE GIVEN HIM THE CHANCE TO LIVE AND TO SING.

[03] PAPADOPOULOS OBIT (L-ONLY) BY SCOTT BOBB (ISTANBUL)

INTRO: THE FORMER PRESIDENT OF GREECE, GEORGE PAPADOPOULOS, HAS DIED AT THE AGE OF EIGHTY YEARS ON SUNDAY. THE CAUSE OF DEATH WAS NOT ANNOUNCED IMMEDIATELY, BUT THE FORMER DICTATOR HAD BEEN IN FAILING HEALTH FOR SEVERAL YEARS. V-O-A'S CORRESPONDENT SCOTT BOBB REPORTS ON THE CAREER OF THE CONTROVERSIAL GREEK LEADER.

TEXT: THE LATE MR. PAPADOPOULOS WAS ONE OF THE LAST REMAINING MEMBERS OF THE MILITARY JUNTA THAT RULED GREECE FROM 1967 TO 1974. HE MASTERMINDED THE COUP DETAT THAT OVER THREW THE CIVILIAN GOVERNMENT AFTER YEARS OF POLITICAL INSTABILITY. UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP GREECE EXPERIENCED A SERIES OF CONFRONTATIONS - THE SCARS OF WHICH IT STILL BARES TODAY.

MR. PAPDOPOULOS ABOLISHED A MONARCHY AND DECLARED GREECE A REPUBLIC WITH HIMSELF AS PRESIDENT. HE INSTALLED A RIGHT-WING DICTATORSHIP THAT TOLERATED LITTLE POLITICAL DISSENT OR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION. HIS GOVERNMENT IMPRISONED HUNDREDS OF LEFTISTS LEADERS AND INTELLECTUALS AND FORCES THOUSANDS OF OTHERS INTO EXILE. FOR A TIME IT BANNED LONG HAIR AND MINISKIRTS.

FOLLOWING A FAILED COUP ATTEMPT IN 1973, MR. PAPADOPOULOS LIFTED MARSHAL LAW AND LAUNCHED POLITICAL REFORMS. BUT THESE ANGERED RIGHT-WING ELEMENTS AND HE WAS OVERTHROWN BY HIS MILITARY POLICE CHIEF IN 1973, AFTER A PERIOD OF STUDENT UNREST.

THE NEW REGIME COLLAPSED IN 1974 AFTER PLOTTING A MILITARY TAKE OVER OF CYPRUS, AIMED AT UNITING THE MEDITERRANEAN ISLAND WITH GREECE. THE PLOT CAUSED TURKEY -- A REGIONAL RIVAL -- TO OCCUPY PART OF THE ISLAND, LEADING TO A PARTITION AND THE PRESENCE OF U-N PEACE KEEPERS WHO REMAIN TODAY. THE CONFRONTATION OVER CYPRUS REMAINS A MAJOR OBSTACLE TO NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS BETWEEN GREECE AND TURKEY.

BORN TO A SCHOOL TEACHER IN SOUTHERN GREECE, YOUNG PAPADOPOULOS FOUGHT IN WORLD WAR II AND WITH GREEK NATIONALIST FORCES AGAINST THE COMMUNIST IN THE CIVIL WAR OF THE LATE 1940'S. HE MADE A REPUTATION AS A FIERCE ANTI-COMMUNIST. THAT EARNED HIM FRIENDS IN THE WEST DURING THE COLD WAR, BUT LATER CAUSED PROBLEMS BECAUSE OF THE REPRESSION IT FOSTERED.

TWO YEARS AFTER HIS OVERTHROW, MR. PAPDOPOULOS WAS CONVICTED OF TREASON AND SENTENCED TO DEATH. THE SENTENCE WAS SUBSEQUENTLY REDUCED TO LIFE IN PRISON AND THE AGING LEADER SPENT THE REST OF HIS LIFE IN A HEAVILY GUARDED WING OF A PRISON NEAR ATHENS (SIGNED)
NEB/SB/ENE-T/PT
27-Jun-99 4:15 PM EDT (2015 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

[04] PAPADOPOULOS OBIT (L-ONLY) BY SCOTT BOBB (ISTANBUL)

INTRO: THE FORMER PRESIDENT OF GREECE, GEORGE PAPADOPOULOS, HAS DIED AT THE AGE OF EIGHTY YEARS ON SUNDAY. THE CAUSE OF DEATH WAS NOT ANNOUNCED IMMEDIATELY, BUT THE FORMER DICTATOR HAD BEEN IN FAILING HEALTH FOR SEVERAL YEARS. V-O-A'S CORRESPONDENT SCOTT BOBB REPORTS ON THE CAREER OF THE CONTROVERSIAL GREEK LEADER.

TEXT: THE LATE MR. PAPADOPOULOS WAS ONE OF THE LAST REMAINING MEMBERS OF THE MILITARY JUNTA THAT RULED GREECE FROM 1967 TO 1974. HE MASTERMINDED THE COUP DETAT THAT OVER THREW THE CIVILIAN GOVERNMENT AFTER YEARS OF POLITICAL INSTABILITY. UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP GREECE EXPERIENCED A SERIES OF CONFRONTATIONS - THE SCARS OF WHICH IT STILL BARES TODAY.

MR. PAPDOPOULOS ABOLISHED A MONARCHY AND DECLARED GREECE A REPUBLIC WITH HIMSELF AS PRESIDENT. HE INSTALLED A RIGHT-WING DICTATORSHIP THAT TOLERATED LITTLE POLITICAL DISSENT OR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION. HIS GOVERNMENT IMPRISONED HUNDREDS OF LEFTISTS LEADERS AND INTELLECTUALS AND FORCES THOUSANDS OF OTHERS INTO EXILE. FOR A TIME IT BANNED LONG HAIR AND MINISKIRTS.

FOLLOWING A FAILED COUP ATTEMPT IN 1973, MR. PAPADOPOULOS LIFTED MARSHAL LAW AND LAUNCHED POLITICAL REFORMS. BUT THESE ANGERED RIGHT-WING ELEMENTS AND HE WAS OVERTHROWN BY HIS MILITARY POLICE CHIEF IN 1973, AFTER A PERIOD OF STUDENT UNREST.

THE NEW REGIME COLLAPSED IN 1974 AFTER PLOTTING A MILITARY TAKE OVER OF CYPRUS, AIMED AT UNITING THE MEDITERRANEAN ISLAND WITH GREECE. THE PLOT CAUSED TURKEY -- A REGIONAL RIVAL -- TO OCCUPY PART OF THE ISLAND, LEADING TO A PARTITION AND THE PRESENCE OF U-N PEACE KEEPERS WHO REMAIN TODAY. THE CONFRONTATION OVER CYPRUS REMAINS A MAJOR OBSTACLE TO NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS BETWEEN GREECE AND TURKEY.

BORN TO A SCHOOL TEACHER IN SOUTHERN GREECE, YOUNG PAPADOPOULOS FOUGHT IN WORLD WAR II AND WITH GREEK NATIONALIST FORCES AGAINST THE COMMUNIST IN THE CIVIL WAR OF THE LATE 1940'S. HE MADE A REPUTATION AS A FIERCE ANTI-COMMUNIST. THAT EARNED HIM FRIENDS IN THE WEST DURING THE COLD WAR, BUT LATER CAUSED PROBLEMS BECAUSE OF THE REPRESSION IT FOSTERED.

TWO YEARS AFTER HIS OVERTHROW, MR. PAPDOPOULOS WAS CONVICTED OF TREASON AND SENTENCED TO DEATH. THE SENTENCE WAS SUBSEQUENTLY REDUCED TO LIFE IN PRISON AND THE AGING LEADER SPENT THE REST OF HIS LIFE IN A HEAVILY GUARDED WING OF A PRISON NEAR ATHENS (SIGNED)
NEB/SB/ENE-T/PT
27-Jun-99 4:15 PM EDT (2015 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

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