Voice of America, 99-09-26

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

CONTENTS

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

[02] I-M-F SUNDAY (L-O) BY BARRY WOOD (WASHINGTON)

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

INTRO: United Nations civilian police in Kosovo are holding four ethnic Serbian men on suspicion of murder. Tim Belay reports from the provincial capital, Pristina, that the four were part of a convoy that was actually being protected by NATO peacekeeping forces.

TEXT: Ninety-one ethnic Serbs were on their way out of the southern Kosovo city of Orahovac (Friday) under a plan developed by the U-N refugee agency. When they were stopped at a checkpoint, four of the men were handed over to authorities after being identified as murder suspects. The incident is likely to focus attention on whether those who ask for protection to leave the province may also be responsible for war crimes in Kosovo. Peter Kessler, a local spokesman for the U-N refugee agency, says it is shameful for suspected criminals to use as a shield women and children with a legitimate reason to leave Kosovo. It was only two weeks ago that another spokesman for the refugee agency said they were conducting thorough background checks on people who want protection to get out of the province. Mr. Kessler says that while the U-N refugee agency has already helped some two-hundred members of ethnic minorities in Kosovo to leave the province safely, they are not a law enforcement agency and cannot be held accountable for the people who ask for this help.

[02] I-M-F SUNDAY (L-O) BY BARRY WOOD (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: Leading finance ministers from industrial and developing countries are meeting Sunday in Washington reviewing global economic concerns and discussing ways to prevent financial crises. V-O-A's Barry Wood reports.

TEXT: The twenty-two finance ministers who make up the International Monetary Fund's policy making committee are discussing debt relief for poor countries. The committee is being chaired by Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown. He says current debt initiatives have delivered too little relief too late and to too few countries. The ministers are finalizing details on a more generous plan that could ultimately reduce about 70 billion dollars of debt owed by the poorest countries, most of which are in Africa. Preventing financial crises is also a priority. On Saturday, finance ministers of the seven richest industrial countries created a new forum of 20 countries which will examine ways to streamline the financial system to prevent crises like the one that sent East Asia into recession two years ago. That group will hold its first meeting in Germany in December. The group will consist of the largest west European countries, the United States, Japan, Canada, and key developing countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America. Sunday's meeting comes in advance of the official opening of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. That gathering is a kind of financial trade fair that attracts over five thousand bankers and decision makers from all over the world. (SIGNED)
NEB/BDW/BK 26-Sep-1999 14:05 PM EDT (26-Sep-1999 1805 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

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