Voice of America, 99-07-28

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

CONTENTS

[01] KOSOVO FUNERAL (L-ONLY) BY TIM BELAY (PRISTINA)

[02] KOSOVO - SERBS (L-ONLY) BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)

[03] BALKAN RECONSTRUCTION (L ONLY) BY RON PEMSTEIN (BRUSSELS)

[04] ALBRIGHT / KOSOVO (L) BY NICK SIMEONE (ROME)

[05] NATO COMMANDER REPLACED (L-ONLY) BY JIM RANDLE (TOKYO)

[06] NATO COMMANDER REPLACED (L-UPDATE) BY JIM RANDLE (SEOUL)

[07] CLINTON - CLARK (S) BY DAVID GOLLUST (WHITE HOUSE)

[08] CLINTON-SARAJEVO ONITER (L) BY DAVID GOLLUST (WHITE HOUSE)

[09] MONTENEGRO MONEY (L ONLY) BY BARRY WOOD (WASHINGTON)

[10] U.S. - RUSSIA WRAP (L) BY DEBORAH TATE (WHITE HOUSE)

[11] FRENCH SANCTIONS (L) BY JULIAN NUNDY (PARIS)

[12] GERMAN GOVERNMENT (L ONLY) BY SUZANNE KELLY (BERLIN)

[13] N-Y ECON WRAP (S & L) BY BRECK ARDERY (NEW YORK)

[14] WEDNESDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ANDREW GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)

[15] EDITORIAL: TURKEY FIGHTS TERRORISM

[01] KOSOVO FUNERAL (L-ONLY) BY TIM BELAY (PRISTINA)

INTRO: Several hundred people attended funeral services Wednesday (today) for the 14 unarmed Kosovar Serbs who were gunned down last week (July 23) as they returned home from farming. Tim Belay has this report from Pristina.

TEXT: (Opens with natural sound.fade under.) Five Orthodox priests held the services on an outdoor volleyball court in the village of Gracko. The victims, all males, were fatally shot Friday night as they were returning from a field where they had been harvesting hay. A few of the several hundred mourners were treated for heat exhaustion while women who lost husbands and sons mourned in the background.

[02] KOSOVO - SERBS (L-ONLY) BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)

INTRO: The U-N Refugee Agency, U-N-H-C-R, says the massacre of 14 Serb farmers in Kosovo has not provoked a mass exodus of Serbs out of the province. But, as Lisa Schlein reports from Geneva, the agency says that since the incident, tensions and fears have increased and efforts to protect minority residents of Kosovo from reprisal attacks have taken on a new urgency.

TEXT: The U-N refugee agency says Serbs remaining in Kosovo and those who have fled to other parts of Serbia face a troubling and uncertain future. It describes the Serbs as living in a state of limbo.

U-N-H-C-R spokesman Kris Janowski says the Serbs are not welcome anywhere. He says some Serbs are moving out of Kosovo and into other parts of Serbia or Montenegro. At the same time, other Serbs are moving back into Kosovo. Around 260 Serbs reportedly came back from Belgrade and Kraljevo Saturday. They were escorted by K-FOR peacekeepers. The Yugoslav Red Cross reports another 200 Serbs are to return this week. Mr. Janowski says Yugoslav authorities are not forcing the Serbs to return home.

[03] BALKAN RECONSTRUCTION (L ONLY) BY RON PEMSTEIN (BRUSSELS)

INTRO: More than 100 countries and international organizations have pledged a little more than two- billion dollars to help the refugees returning to Kosovo. Ron Pemstein in Brussels reports on the first donor conference sponsored by the European Union and the World Bank.

TEXT: Not all of the money pledged at this conference is new money. The United States has already announced its pledge of 500-million dollars, Japan has pledged 200-million, Germany will contribute 190-million, and the European Union as a whole is pledging 160-million. The European Union estimates the costs just to repair burned and damaged houses in Kosovo will exceed one- billion dollars, but expects if the refugees make their own repairs, the international expense can be reduced. There also are costs to repair water and electric lines as well as to re-build Kosovo's hospitals and schools. The two-billion dollars pledged at the first donor's conference will be used to cover the initial costs of reconstruction as well as to meet the budgetary deficits of the United Nations agencies working in Kosovo. The funds also will be used to cover Kosovo's immediate basic needs as identified by the United Nations agencies. Christiaan Poortman is the World Bank's country director for Southeast Europe.

[04] ALBRIGHT / KOSOVO (L) BY NICK SIMEONE (ROME)

INTRO: Italy and the United States say they are concerned about the slow pace of re-building civilian institutions in Kosovo. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and her Italian counterpart Lamberto Dini met in Rome Wednesday to discuss Kosovo's future ahead of a meeting of Western leaders in Sarajevo later in the week to consider ways to enhance stability across the Balkans. Correspondent Nick Simeone has details.

TEXT: Italy and the United States, key NATO partners in the war over Kosovo, want to accelerate reconstruction efforts in Kosovo at a time when NATO peacekeepers are under severe strain just trying to keep law and order. Last week's murder of fourteen Serb civilians underscored just how volatile the situation is and how stretched NATO troops are to ensure the safety of civilians. Secretary of State Albright will make a day-long visit to Kosovo Thursday but stopped off in Rome to discuss the future of the province with Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini. Both voiced concern about how long it is taking to restore normal life to the Serb province.

[05] NATO COMMANDER REPLACED (L-ONLY) BY JIM RANDLE (TOKYO)

INTRO: The United States is replacing the general who led NATO forces in the conflict with Yugoslavia over Kosovo. General Wesley Clark will leave his post in April -- after a series of disputes with Pentagon officials over the conduct of the war. V-O-A's Defense Department correspondent Jim Randle reports.

TEXT: Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon says Defense Secretary William Cohen is not punishing General Clark and will ask the White House to offer him an appointment as an ambassador. In an interview in Tokyo, Mr. Bacon portrayed the change as a normal rotation - but General Clark will serve less than three years. Commanders often serve for four. General Clark was a Rhodes Scholar and is portrayed by some other officers as something of a maverick. During the NATO air campaign, he tried to get the Pentagon to send in more aircraft and to take the politically unpopular step to prepare for a ground campaign. General Clark will be replaced by Air Force General Joe Ralston, who is currently the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff -- the second highest post in the U-S military. General Ralston was nominated to be the top officer in the U-S Military, but withdrew his bid to be the Chairman after he was embarrassed by a minor sex scandal. Mr. Bacon says General Ralston is a "proven warrior" who also has the strong diplomatic skills needed to deal with the sometimes-conflicting interests of the 19 NATO allies. The reshuffling of top generals will also see the commander of U-S and United Nations Forces in Korea, John Tilelli, replaced by General Thomas Schultz. General Tilelli has been leading troops in Korea since 1996. He served two tours in Vietnam and lead troops in the Persian Gulf war. He has several decorations for valor. The reshuffling comes as Defense Secretary William Cohen is in Japan on his way to visit troops in Korea. (signed) Neb/jr/jo/plm 28-Jul-1999 02:18 AM LOC (28-Jul-1999 0618 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

[06] NATO COMMANDER REPLACED (L-UPDATE) BY JIM RANDLE (SEOUL)

INTRO: The United States is replacing the general who led NATO forces in the Kosovo conflict. General Wesley Clark will leave his post in April after a series of disputes with Pentagon officials over the conduct of the war. V-O-A's Jim Randle reports, General Clark urged Washington to hit Yugoslavia harder, sooner and to make serious plans for a ground campaign.

TEXT: At a news conference in Tokyo, Defense Secretary William Cohen said he is not punishing General Clark, but plans to replace him with Air Force General Joe Ralston anyway.

[07] CLINTON - CLARK (S) BY DAVID GOLLUST (WHITE HOUSE)

INTRO: The White House is vigorously denying suggestions that NATO Commander General Wesley Clark is being replaced because of differences with the administration over the conduct of the Kosovo war. V- O-A's David Gollust reports from the White House. Text: The White House is confirming that General Clark is to be replaced ahead of schedule. But President Clinton's spokesman, Joe Lockhart, says it would be "ridiculously wrong" to suggest that he is being removed from the NATO job as punishment for advocating an aggressive approach in the campaign against Yugoslavia. The Washington Post reported that the NATO chief had been "abruptly" informed Tuesday that he would be leaving his job next April. The Post says the decision followed tension between General Clark and the Pentagon over the general's advocacy of using stronger force in the Kosovo war and for urging preparations for a ground invasion. Mr. Lockhart, however, said President Clinton has the highest regard for General Clark and what he called his "invaluable" work in the Kosovo crisis. Both the White House and Pentagon said his replacement was part of a normal rotation of senior officers, and that he was asked to leave a few months early to accommodate the needs of his designated successor, General Joseph Ralston, now the vice chairman of the military Joint Chiefs of Staff. (signed) NEB/DAG/rrm 28-Jul-1999 11:25 AM LOC (28-Jul-1999 1525 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

[08] CLINTON-SARAJEVO ONITER (L) BY DAVID GOLLUST (WHITE HOUSE)

INTRO: President Clinton is preparing to leave Washington today (Thursday) to join some 40 other world leaders in an international conference in Sarajevo aimed at speeding reconstruction in Balkan countries and their economic integration with the rest of Europe. V-O-A's David Gollust reports from the White House: Text: What's being called the Stability Pact Summit will be attended by the Group of Eight and European Union along with leaders of Balkan and Southeast European countries with the exception of Serbia. It is a follow-up to this week's donor conference in Brussels that raised two billion dollars in pledges to help rebuild Kosovo, and it is aimed at drawing up a longer-term strategy for uplifting the war-torn region and tying it closer, economically, with the rest of Europe. But Clinton National Security Adviser Sandy Berger says that Serbia cannot benefit from such a program unless there is a change of leadership in Belgrade:

[09] MONTENEGRO MONEY (L ONLY) BY BARRY WOOD (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: Economist Steve Hanke of Johns Hopkins University is advising Montenegro president Milo Djukanovic to abandon the Yugoslav currency and establish an independent, sound money for Montenegro - the smaller, junior partner with Serbia in the Yugoslav federation. V-O-A's Barry Wood spoke to Mr. Hanke about a currency board system for Montenegro.

TEXT: Mr. Hanke says Montenegro is seeking to completely redefine its relationship to Serbia within Yugoslavia. The issue, he says, is broader than just a new money, but the currency is fundamentally important. He says Montenegro is seeking economic independence from Belgrade. And that the go-ahead on a new money could come within the next few weeks. During a visit to V-O-A, Mr. Hanke said the currency he envisages for Montenegro would be even stronger than the recently introduced -- and so far, successful convertible marka in Bosnia-Hezegovina.

[10] U.S. - RUSSIA WRAP (L) BY DEBORAH TATE (WHITE HOUSE)

INTRO: The United States and Russia have agreed to open talks next month in Moscow on a new round of cuts in their nuclear weapons arsenals. The announcement came at the end of a day of meetings between President Clinton, Vice President Gore and Russian Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin here in Washington. Correspondent Deborah Tate reports from the White House. Text: The talks on a new Start Three nuclear arms treaty will begin next month even though the Russian Duma has yet to approve the 1993 Start Two treaty. Speaking at a joint news conference with the Prime Minister, Vice President Gore renewed the administration's call on the Duma to move forward with ratification. But with the Russian Parliament still angered by Nato's bombing campaign over Yugoslavia, Mr. Gore acknowledged lawmakers may not be in any hurry to approve Start Two.

[11] FRENCH SANCTIONS (L) BY JULIAN NUNDY (PARIS)

INTRO: As the United States plans to introduce 100- percent taxes on some European foods Thursday in retaliation for Europe's ban on American beef produced with hormones, French farmers have begun a series of protest actions. Julian Nundy reports from Paris.

TEXT: Almost inevitably, the first target chosen by French farmers was a McDonald's fast-food restaurant. About 150 farmers invaded a McDonald's in the southwestern city of Auch Tuesday and sat down to eat their own picnic. They posted up stickers with slogans like "No to the American diktat" or "No hormones in the country of foie gras." Instead of eating a Big Mac hamburger, the French farmers ate foie gras and other regional delicacies. Foie gras is, alongside French truffles, Dijon mustard and roquefort cheese, on a list of food that will be subject to a 100-percent American tax. This is in reprisal for Europe's refusal to import American beef raised with growth hormones. The World Trade Organization in Geneva backs the sanctions, arguing that Europe has not come up with scientific evidence that American beef really does present a health risk to the consumer. The countries most affected by the American measures are France, Denmark, Germany and Italy. In France, foie gras, truffles and mustard producers say they do not expect much impact on their sales. Only makers of roquefort cheese, used in the United States on pizzas and in a sauce accompanying steak in a recipe made popular by General Norman Schwarzkopf, the 1991 Gulf War commander, say they fear real losses because of the sanctions. A day ahead of the new measures, Jack Greenberg, the chief executive of McDonald's, told the daily Le Monde he regretted the emotional tone that the issue has provoked. At its worst, the American Agriculture Secretary, Dan Glickman, accused French Agriculture Minister Jean Glavany of being "insulting" for claiming that America has what the French minister called "the worst food in the world." (signed) NEB/JN/ENE/gm 28-Jul-1999 12:31 PM LOC (28-Jul-1999 1631 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

[12] GERMAN GOVERNMENT (L ONLY) BY SUZANNE KELLY (BERLIN)

INTRO: The German government has held its last cabinet meeting in the Rhineside city of Bonn. As Suzanne Kelly reports from the new German capital, Berlin, the government's move, and the end of an era, are nearly complete.

TEXT: Most of the German government ministries have already arrived to set up their offices in Berlin. The German Parliament held its last meeting in Bonn last month before packing up. And now Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's cabinet has also held its last meeting in the small riverside town of Bonn which has served as Germany's capital since the end of World War Two. The Chancellor's cabinet will not meet again until late August, but that meeting will be in the cabinet's new home in an old East German government building where former communist dictator Erich Honecker once worked. The move from Bonn to Berlin has been a controversial one in a country still haunted by its past. Opponents say the shift of power could ruin the small and quiet town of Bonn. Others say the haunting memories of the past will influence and change the government in Germany. But Mr. Schroeder has done all he could since being elected last September to step up the move, saying that once the government is back in Berlin, a new "Berliner Republic" will flourish. (signed) NEB/SK/JWH/gm 28-Jul-1999 13:58 PM LOC (28-Jul-1999 1758 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

[13] N-Y ECON WRAP (S & L) BY BRECK ARDERY (NEW YORK)

INTRO: Stock prices in the United States were mixed today (Wednesday), but traders were encouraged by the lack of news from the Chairman of the U-S Central Bank. V-O-A Correspondent Breck Ardery reports from New York.

TEXT: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 10- thousand-972, down seven points. The Standard and Poor's 500 index closed at 13-hundred-65, up two points. The NASDAQ index gained one percent. Analysts say traders were generally pleased with the Senate testimony of Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the U- S Central Bank. He basically reiterated his comments of last week that the Central Bank will move forcefully to prevent inflation.

[14] WEDNESDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ANDREW GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: The editorial columns of the nation's newspapers (this Wednesday) are commenting on Chinese issues. There is also concern about the safety of Serbs in Yugoslavia's Kosovo province after the killing of 14 Serbian farmers; thoughts about the Northern Ireland peace process; and a new controversy hounding Vice President Al Gore's presidential campaign. Lastly, rioting at a rock music concert brings expressions of concern for the future of such events. Now, here is a sampling of comment from ____________ in today's Editorial Digest.

TEXT: Secretary of State Madeleine Albright comes in for some criticism from Maine's "Portland Press Herald" for her handling of the latest dispute between mainland China and Taiwan.

VOICE: Ms. Albright's scolding of Taiwan in talks with her Chinese counterpart earlier this week is offensive to democracies around the world. Who gives the American secretary of state the right to say Taiwan's President Lee Teng-hui hasn't `explained' enough why is country henceforth will deal with China on a `state-to-state' basis? Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan's denouncing [Mr.] Lee as a `troublemaker,' and warning the United States that it should be `very careful not to say anything' to encourage Taiwanese independence, is similarly obnoxious. [Mrs.] Albright and [Mr.] Tang . forget one thing: The future of Taiwan is up to the people of Taiwan to decide, not the major powers on either side of the Pacific Ocean.

TEXT: But according to the "The Chicago Tribune," what it describes as Mr. Lee's "posturing has been ill-considered, even dangerous." Voice: Despite repeated protests from friends and foes alike, Taiwan President Lee . continues to insist that Taiwan and China should be considered as equal states. . as unwise as that [his statement] was diplomatically, it was also, in an odd way, grand. This was democracy in the Republic of China on Taiwan.

TEXT: Moving to the issue of Chinese repression of a religious movement called Falun Gong which claims to have millions of adherents in China, "The New York Times'criticizes the Beijing government's actions.

VOICE: In a step recalling Maoist political re- education campaigns, Beijing has sent 12-hundred officials belonging to the Falun Gong spiritual movement to special schools to study Communist literature and recant their allegiance to the group. That is disturbing behavior from a Chinese leadership that proclaims its commitment to economic reform and modernization and that signed the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights . Beijing's repression may only deepen public disenchantment with the authorities.

TEXT: In Europe, the murder of 14 Serb farmers in the war-torn province of Kosovo continue to evoke outrage from the U-S Press. The Pacific island evening daily, "The Honolulu Star-Bulletin," says "NATO must protect [the] Kosovo Serb minority, adding that the killing:

VOICE: . has underlined in blood the fact that the NATO victory has not brought true peace to Kosovo. It would be dreadfully naive to believe this conflict ended with the Yugoslav military pullout.

TEXT: Ohio's "Akron Beacon Journal' adds:

VOICE: The ambush of 14 farmers at work is a brazen crime, a challenge to the authority of the peacekeeping forces, carried out in utter defiance of both NATO and the United Nations. . The horror at Gracko, the worst single attack on Serbs since the war ended, can only reinforce their contention that there can be no safety for them under the international arrangements.

TEXT: As regards the collapse of the Good Friday peace plan negotiated by former U-S Senator George Mitchell in Northern Ireland a year ago, "The Chicago Tribune" writes:

VOICE: Fifteen months ago, .[Mr.] Mitchell was reaping acclaim for his role in forging a peace agreement in Northern Ireland. Six weeks from now, `he'll try to save it from the scrap heap . when a review' of the shaky Good Friday Agreement . is scheduled. . That meeting . will serve as a bellwether for the future of the accord --,and the prospects of long-term peace in the embattled British province.

TEXT: Domestically, Vice President Al Gore's troubled presidential campaign has hit another snag after it was revealed that more than 14-and-one-half billions of liters of water was released into the Connecticut River to make sure his canoe did not get grounded during a photographic shoot with the media on a short campaign stop. "The Daily Oklahoman" quotes an angry environmental official in its critical editorial.

VOICE: They won't release the water for the fish when we ask them to, but somehow they find themselves able to release it for a politician,' John Kassel, director of neighboring Vermont's Department of Natural Resources, told the "Washington Times."

TEXT: And in the West, where water is a precious commodity, "The Colorado Springs [Colorado] Gazette" added to the derision:

VOICE: Political buffs [historians / observers] will recall the flak [criticism] Vice President Al Gore took on a Denver visit three years ago when the city's water chief ordered an additional 363-million liters of water released into the South Platte River so it looked more majestic as [Mr.] Gore mugged [posed] for cameras at the river's edge. It just happened again - - last week on a whistle stop [brief trip] in New Hampshire. Water was released Into the Connecticut River so [Mr.] Gore's canoe wouldn't get stuck. A smart-aleck might observe if our vice president can't part the waters, at least he can make them rise. . But can he do the same in the polls?

TEXT: The announcement by the police that a man working as a laborer in California's Yosemite National Park has confessed to the murders of four women during the past several months, causes "The San Francisco Chronicle" to wonder: "Are There More Victims And is Yosemite Safe?"

VOICE: The chilling statement by confessed killer Cary Stayner that he has murdered four women since February should be a warning to F-B- I agents that there may even be more victims. . F-B-I agents had interviewed [Mr.] Stayner about the three [earlier] murders, but released him for lack of evidence. For weeks agents have been reassuring the public that the suspects in the Sund-Pelosso [earlier murder] case had been arrested. Not smart. . the public is casting a gimlet eye at agents who allowed [Mr.] Stayner to remain free to kill again.

TEXT: on that note, we conclude this sampling of comment from the editorial pages of Wednesday's daily papers.
NEB/ANG/KL 28-Jul-1999 12:27 PM LOC (28-Jul-1999 1627 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

[15] EDITORIAL: TURKEY FIGHTS TERRORISM

THIS IS THE ONLY EDITORIAL BEING RELEASED FOR BROADCAST 07/29/99. Anncr: The Voice of America presents differing points of view on a wide variety of issues. Next, an editorial expressing the policies of the United States Government: Voice: The long arm of the Turkish law reached into Europe this month, as special forces grabbed Cevat Soysal and brought him back to Ankara to face criminal charges. The Turkish government claims Soysal is the Kurdistan Workers' Party's number two leader in Europe. The terrorist group, also known as the P-K-K, denies it. The Kurdistan Workers' Party has been fighting the Turkish state for the past fifteen years. Whatever his rank, the capture of Soysal, following that of P-K-K leader Abdullah Ocalan earlier this year and Semdin Sakik last year, shows the Turkish authorities are determined that law and order shall prevail in Turkey. While Turkey's large Kurdish minority has grievances, there is no excuse for the campaign of terror the P-K-K has waged. Ocalan himself, at his trial last month, admitted to being directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of ordinary people. With his death sentence on appeal, he has called on his followers to lay down their arms and work with the agencies of the Turkish state to resolve the Kurdish question. As a representative democracy with a parliament and law courts, Turkey has institutions that can consider cultural policies, notably pertaining to language, that are of great concern to its large Kurdish population. Bombs and violence, however, will not serve those who wish to affect such policies. Anncr: That was an editorial expressing the policies of the United States Government. If you have a comment, please write to Editorials, V-O-A, Washington, D-C, 20547, U-S-A. You may also comment at www-dot-voa-dot-gov-slash- editorials, or fax us at (202) 619-1043. 28-Jul-1999 16:07 PM LOC (28-Jul-1999 2007 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

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