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Voice of America, 99-12-15
CONTENTS
[01] RUSSIA / CHECHNYA / O-S-C-E (L) BY PETER HEINLEIN (MOSCOW)
[02] NATO FOREIGN MINISTERS (L) BY RON PEMSTEIN (BRUSSELS)
[03] NY ECON WRAP (S & L) BY ELAINE JOHANSON (NEW YORK)
[04] YEARENDER: NATO CHALLENGES BY ANDRE DE NESNERA (WASHINGTON)
[01] RUSSIA / CHECHNYA / O-S-C-E (L) BY PETER HEINLEIN (MOSCOW)
DATE=12/15/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
NUMBER=2-257184
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: A senior Russian general says federal troops
could take control of the Chechen capital Grozny
within days. Soldiers are already moving into the
city, battling rebel forces in several districts. V-
O-A's Peter Heinlein in Moscow reports that hopes are
growing for direct negotiations between Russian and
Chechen leaders.
TEXT: Deputy Chief of Staff General Valery Manilov
told a gathering of foreign defense attaches in Moscow
the return of Grozny to federal control is imminent.
/// MANILOV ACT - IN RUSSIAN, FADE UNDER ///
He says the question of Grozny's liberation is just a
matter of days. The general added that "freeing" the
rest of Chechen territory would take a few more weeks.
Russian forces already control more than 50 percent of
the breakaway region.
In Grozny, meanwhile, ground fighting raged for a
second day amid the wreckage of bombed homes and
factories. The Associated Press quotes a Chechen
commander as saying rebel forces repulsed six Russian
attacks during clashes in the northern and
southeastern sectors of the city.
A Russian officer quoted by the French news agency
described the situation as "very difficult," and said
rebel fighters are well prepared to defend the city.
In another development, Chechen President Aslan
Maskhadov appealed for a meeting with the head of the
European security organization, the O-S-C-E, who is
visiting the region. O-S-C-E chief Knut Vollebaek
earlier said he was willing to mediate in talks
between the two sides.
But Moscow soundly rejected the suggestion. Deputy
Foreign Minister Alexander Avdeyev, travelling with
Mr. Vollebaek in the Russian-controlled region of
Chechnya, called such a meeting "unnatural."
/// AVDEYEV ACT - IN RUSSIAN - FADE UNDER ///
He says Russia does not need mediators, calling it
"an artificial formula." Mr. Avdeyev said before any
mediation can take place, there must be an invitation
from the government, adding "there will not be such
an invitation."
Russia's minister for emergency situations, Sergei
Shoigu, said he would be willing to hold direct talks
with President Maskhadov. But Foreign Ministry
spokesman Vladimir Rakhmanin says any such talks would
focus exclusively on humanitarian issues.
/// RAKHMANIN ACT ///
As I understand the situation, Minister Shoigu
was talking about negotiations with Mr.
Maskhadov regarding the civilian population that
is still left in Grozny. It's important to find
ways to let those people leave Grozny.
/// END ACT ///
Minister Shoigu told reporters there may be as many as
30-thousand civilians remaining in the capital, though
other estimates range as high as 50-thousand. Those
still there are said to be desperately short of food
and other necessities.
A Chechen commander was quoted Wednesday as saying
there are also at least seven-thousand rebel fighters
in the city.
There is no official estimate of the number of
troops Moscow has poured into the Chechen campaign,
but experts say the figure is well over 100-thousand.
(Signed)
NEB/PFH/JWH/KL
15-Dec-1999 13:20 PM EDT (15-Dec-1999 1820 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
[02] NATO FOREIGN MINISTERS (L) BY RON PEMSTEIN (BRUSSELS)
DATE=12/15/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
NUMBER=2-257187
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: NATO foreign ministers say they support the
European Union's plan to improve its military
capabilities during the next few years, but the
foreign ministers called for non-E-U members of NATO
to be involved in the decision making. V-O-A's Ron
Pemstein reports from NATO headquarters in Brussels.
TEXT: At this meeting, it was the foreign ministers
from Iceland, Norway and Turkey that asked for the
microphone. Their countries have been invited to take
part in a European Union plan for a rapid-reaction
force of 50-thousand to 60-thousand soldiers by the
year 2003. However, as non-members of the E-U, their
role in planning and decision making has been left
vague.
The 19 NATO foreign ministers called on the European
Union to find solutions satisfactory to all allies to
involve the non-members. They include six European
countries: Turkey, Iceland and Norway, and the new
NATO members -- Poland, Hungary, and the Czech
Republic.
NATO Secretary-General George Robertson says the
European Union needs to deliver on its commitments to
build up its military forces.
/// ROBERTSON ACT ///
Intentions are all very good and new
institutions are very useful, but it is results
that count. New and novel institutions will
not stop a crisis. They have to be connected
to real, relevant military capabilities. So the
key to effective crisis management is having and
keeping modern, up to date forces that can deal
with the kind of crisis that we will have to
face in Europe and indeed in the Euro-Atlantic
area.
/// END ACT ///
The E-U summit meeting last Friday in Helsinki agreed
that NATO is the main defense organization for its
members but they want a separate capability to act if
NATO and the United States do not want to be
involved.
// OPT // Turkish officials are concerned they would
be not be involved in planning a European military
operation but as NATO members, Turkey might be
involved later if NATO's intervention was needed. //
END OPT //
The NATO ministers also condemned Russia's threats
against unarmed civilians in Chechnya. Secretary
General Robertson says the pursuit of a military
solution undermines Russia's legitimate goals.
/// 2nd ROBERTSON ACT ///
What we are saying is that disproportionate
violence in our continent, at this time, is
simply not acceptable and that not only is it
unacceptable, it is unproductive and it is
contrary to the Russian self-interest. So we
ask simply that that advice be listened to,
because it is in the long-term interests of
Russia and the Russian people.
/// END ACT ///
The NATO ministers limited themselves to words. As
one NATO official says, "We do not have economic
sanctions and we are not in the business of issuing
empty threats." (Signed)
NEB/RDP/JWH/WTW
15-Dec-1999 14:34 PM EDT (15-Dec-1999 1934 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
[03] NY ECON WRAP (S & L) BY ELAINE JOHANSON (NEW YORK)
DATE=12/15/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
NUMBER=2-257194
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Stock prices in the United States were higher
today (Wednesday), and once again the trading session
was volatile. Over one billion shares changed hands
on the New York Stock Exchange for the second straight
day. V-O-A correspondent Elaine Johanson reports from
New York:
TEXT: The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 65
points, just over one-half of one percent, closing at
11-thousand-225. The Standard and Poor's 500 index
rose nine points. The Nasdaq composite gained more
than one percent, but fell short of another record
close after the big sell-off in technology on Tuesday.
The market was able to rally but it was tentative and
done mostly on the backs of a handful of big name
stocks.
Microsoft shares reached an all-time high after the
software giant announced it has finally completed work
on its "Windows 2000" operating system. Microsoft is
a component of the Dow Jones. It is also traded in
the Nasdaq market.
/// OPT ///
Analyst Al Goldman says stock market volatility is
expected at this time of year, but the overall look is
still upward:
/// GOLDMAN ACT ///
The market has been "backing and filling" (up
and down) for the last week. But this is a
normal, in our opinion, action for the market
this time of December and usually leads into a
good year end rally.
/// END ACT ///
/// END OPT ///
The U-S economy is still growing. A new report shows
industrial production was up three-tenths of one
percent in November.
/// REST OPT ///
Cisco shares fell after the number one maker of
computer networking systems warned of a slowing in
sales growth.
Meanwhile, Oracle stock soared to a new high after the
leading database software company reported quarterly
earnings rose 40 percent, surpassing even the most
optimistic predictions.
Exxon Mobil - the world's largest publicly owned oil
company - says it will cut almost 16-thousand jobs
over the next two years. This is seven-thousand more
jobs than Exxon and Mobil estimated when they
announced their merger last year.
Number one automaker General Motors has confirmed that
it submitted a preliminary proposal to Daewoo - South
Korea's second largest carmaker. G-M would like to
buy all of Daewoo's domestic and most of its
international operations.
General Motors has not made clear whether it would be
willing to assume Daewoo's debt. The South Korean
company escaped bankruptcy this year after its
creditors agreed to delay repayment of more than eight
billion dollars.
NEB/EJ/LSF/TVM/JP
15-Dec-1999 16:47 PM EDT (15-Dec-1999 2147 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
[04] YEARENDER: NATO CHALLENGES BY ANDRE DE NESNERA (WASHINGTON)
DATE=12/15/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
NUMBER=5-45010
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
/// Eds: This is the second yearender on NATO. The
first report (5-44986 issued 12-14) dealt solely with
its air campaign in Kosovo. ///
INTRO: This past year, the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization - or NATO - waged a war, elected a new
secretary-general and celebrated half a century of
existence. In this report, National Security
Correspondent Andre de Nesnera looks at the main
developments surrounding NATO in the past 12 months
and some of the challenges facing the alliance in the
months ahead.
TEXT: During most of 1999, NATO was at the forefront
of international news.
For 78 days, NATO planes hit targets in the Yugoslav
province of Kosovo - the western alliance's first
offensive military campaign against a sovereign state.
NATO's goal was to end what western officials
described as Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's
ethnic cleansing campaign against the Kosovar
Albanians.
This past year, the western alliance also expanded its
membership from 16 to 19 nations, taking in three
former Warsaw Pact states: Poland, Hungary and the
Czech Republic. NATO marked its 50th anniversary by
holding a summit meeting in Washington D-C and elected
former British Defense Secretary George Robertson as
its new Secretary-General, replacing Javier Solana -
who became Europe's first high representative for
Security and Foreign Policy.
Paul Beaver - senior analyst with the British
publication "Jane's Defense Weekly" - says Mr.
Robertson is the perfect choice for NATO's top job
because he is accepted by all sides and is seen as a
tough and pragmatic operator.
/// BEAVER ACT ///
He has, after all, had to suffer 25 years of the
Scottish Labor Party in the United Kingdom -
perhaps the most fractious and fractured
political party in Britain - and he has got
through that with flying colors. He has got
through Kosovo so well. He has struck up a very
good relationship with Bill Cohen, the U-S
defense secretary, with his French opposite
number, with his German opposite number, with
his Italian opposite number. They all respect
him.
/// END ACT ///
Western military analysts say Mr. Robertson faces
tough challenges at NATO's helm. One of his tasks in
the months ahead is to mend relations with Russia
following the Kosovo campaign. Moscow strongly
criticized NATO's military operation in the Yugoslav
province and broke off high-level contacts with the
western alliance as a result of the bombing. Russian
officials have also been very critical of NATO's
expansion eastward, seeing it as a direct threat to
the country's security.
In a recent V-O-A interview, Secretary Robertson made
clear he will work hard to ease tensions between NATO
and Russia stemming from Kosovo and enlargement.
/// ROBERTSON ACT ///
Russia's concerns are based in many ways on
misconceptions about NATO's role. NATO is not
interested in offensive capabilities. It is a
defense organization and always has been. And
therefore, by bringing in these new countries
into membership of the Atlantic Alliance, we
stabilize many of the areas around Russia's
borders. We have given a degree of certainty
and predictability to Russia's relations with
its neighbors. So I will seek to reassure
Russia that NATO enlargement has got benefits
for Russia in terms of that stability it will
produce. And I hope eventually they will see
there is reason in that, just as I believe they
have come to see that the last round of
enlargement did not produce any of the fears
they had anticipated.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Robertson says invitations to join NATO's next
round of expansion will probably be issued during the
alliance's summit meeting in 2002.
Analysts say in addition to Russia and enlargement,
the western alliance faces other challenges in the
years ahead. NATO expert George Perkovich says one of
those involves the exact role to be played by Europe
and the United States in an ever-expanding alliance.
/// PERKOVICH ACT ///
There is a tension growing between the United
States and France and Germany and other key NATO
actors - and that tension is around the U-S
effort, sometimes, to unilaterally dictate world
politics and policies and a growing resistance
and resentment toward that from the (European)
continent. So how that plays in NATO will be
very interesting. That is of a piece with the
American frustration with the European allies
for not spending enough money on defense and not
having defense forces that are compatible enough
with the U-S, to the point where the U-S feels
it has to do all the military work. And so
between those two sets of issues, there is a lot
of potential for tension and disharmony over the
coming years.
/// END ACT ///
In the V-O-A interview, Secretary Robertson made clear
Europe must bear more of the military burden - in his
words - to rebalance NATO and make the alliance much
more effective than it is today. (Signed)
NEB/ADEN/JP
15-Dec-1999 14:49 PM EDT (15-Dec-1999 1949 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
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