Voice of America, 98-02-16

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

CONTENTS

[01] CYPRUS ELECTION (L ONLY) BY CHRIS DRAKE (NICOSIA)

[02] CZECH / POLAND POL (L ONLY) BY ART CHIMES (PRAGUE)

[03] EURO STOCKS (S ONLY) BY JACK HUIZENGA (LONDON)

[04] NORTHERN IRELAND (L-ONLY) BY ANDRE DE NESNERA (LONDON)

[01] CYPRUS ELECTION (L ONLY) BY CHRIS DRAKE (NICOSIA)

INTRO: THE PRESIDENT OF CYPRUS, GLAFCOS CLERIDES, IS PREPARING TO FORM A NEW GOVERNMENT AFTER HIS RE-ELECTION VICTORY SUNDAY. MR. CLERIDES DEFEATED A FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER (GEORGE IACOVOU) BY A NARROW MARGIN AND SAID THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE ONE OF NATIONAL UNITY WITH THE OPPOSITION INVITED TO JOIN. BUT AS CHRIS DRAKE REPORTS FROM NICOSIA, THE MAIN TASK FACING MR. CLERIDES IS TO TRY TO REUNITE HIS COMMUNITY WITH TURKISH CYPRIOTS WHO HAVE LIVED SEPARATELY IN THE NORTH OF THE ISLAND SINCE A TURKISH INVASION IN 1974.

TEXT: PRESIDENT CLERIDES SENT A MESSAGE TO TURKISH CYPRIOTS LIVING JUST ACROSS THE BARBED WIRE BARRICADES THAT KEEP THIS ISLAND DIVIDED. HE PROMISED TO WORK WITH THEM FOR WHAT HE CALLS A "JUST AND VIABLE SETTLEMENT." BUT HE ADDED THAT BOTH COMMUNITIES SHOULD LOOK TO THE FUTURE AND NOT THE PAST.

THE TURKISH CYPRIOT LEADER, RAUF DENKTASH, REACTED WITH A REMINDER THAT THE INTERCOMMUNAL TROUBLES GO BACK NOT JUST TO 1974 WHEN CYPRUS WAS DIVIDED, BUT TO 1963. THAT WAS THE YEAR TURKISH CYPRIOTS LEFT THE GOVERNMENT AND THE UNITED NATIONS SENT IN A PEACEKEEPING FORCE TO HALT SPORADIC FIGHTING BETWEEN THE COMMUNITIES.

THAT U-N MANDATE WAS FOR SIX MONTHS. THE FORCE STILL IS HERE, ALMOST 35 YEARS LATER.

PRESIDENT CLERIDES, NOW 78, CAMPAIGNED ON THE GROUNDS THAT HIS LONG EXPERIENCE IS ESSENTIAL IF A SETTLEMENT IS TO BE FOUND. HE DID NOT NEED TO ADD THAT THIS IS DUE, IN PART, TO THE FACT THAT MR. DENKTASH IS A SIMILAR AGE AND THAT THE TWO HAVE BEEN POLITICAL SPARRING PARTNERS FOR MOST OF THEIR LIVES.

THAT SPARRING COULD DEVELOP INTO SOMETHING STRONGER -- RELATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO COMMUNITIES GETTING WORSE AS EACH FORGES STRONGER ECONOMIC AND MILITARY TIES WITH ITS CHIEF MAINLAND ALLY. SOME DIPLOMATS SAY PRIVATELY THAT THE MAJOR DIFFICULTY IN SOLVING THE CYPRUS PROBLEM IS THAT IT IS TIED TOO CLOSELY TO THE BITTER ARGUMENTS BETWEEN TWO NATO ALLIES, GREECE AND TURKEY.

OBSERVERS SAY THE TWO COMMUNITY LEADERS ARE FACING THEIR GREATEST CHALLENGE YET THIS YEAR. CYPRUS -- EFFECTIVELY MEANING THE GREEK CYPRIOT ADMINISTRATION -- STARTS MEMBERSHIP TALKS THIS YEAR WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION. ALSO, THE UNITED NATIONS HAS NAMED 1998 AS THE YEAR FOR A MAJOR PUSH FOR A FINAL SETTLEMENT OF THE CYPRUS PROBLEM.

NUMEROUS INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATS ARE READY TO ASSIST -- SEEING PEACE IN CYPRUS AS AN ESSENTIAL PREREQUISITE TO IMPROVING TIES BETWEEN GREECE AND TURKEY.

BUT DESPITE THE POST-ELECTION PROMISES, FEW PEOPLE HERE SEE MUCH CHANCE OF EARLY PROGRESS -- SUGGESTING INSTEAD THAT THE U-N MAY NEED TO BRING IN ADDITIONAL TROOPS TO MAINTAIN WHAT IS TECHNICALLY ONLY A LONG-STANDING CEASEFIRE BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES. (SIGNED)
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16-Feb-98 1:52 PM EST (1852 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

[02] CZECH / POLAND POL (L ONLY) BY ART CHIMES (PRAGUE)

INTRO: PRIME MINISTERS FROM POLAND AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC HAVE MET (MONDAY) FOR TALKS ON BILATERAL ISSUES AND MEMBERSHIP IN EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS. V-O-A CORRESPONDENT ART CHIMES HAS BEEN FOLLOWING THE TALKS FROM OUR CENTRAL EUROPE IN PRAGUE.

TEXT: CZECH PRIME MINISTER JOZEF TOSOVSKY AND POLISH PRIME MINISTER JERZY BUZEK SPENT SEVERAL HOURS DISCUSSING ECONOMIC ISSUES, ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS, AND THE PROCESS OF JOINING NATO AND THE EUROPEAN UNION.

THE TWO LEADERS AGREED RELATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES REMAIN GOOD DESPITE RECENT GOVERNMENT UPHEAVALS IN BOTH WARSAW AND PRAGUE.

MR. BUZEK TOOK OFFICE AFTER ELECTIONS IN SEPTEMBER WHEN POLISH VOTERS ELECTED A PARLIAMENT DOMINATED BY CENTER-RIGHT PARTIES, IN PLACE OF THE PREVIOUS LEFTIST GOVERNMENT. MR. TOSOVSKY'S CARETAKER GOVERNMENT WAS APPOINTED FOLLOWING THE COLLAPSE OF THE CENTER-RIGHT CZECH GOVERNMENT AMID A FUNDING SCANDAL IN THE CIVIC DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF FORMER PRIME MINISTER VACLAV KLAUS. MR. TOSOVSKY, THE FORMER CZECH CENTRAL BANK CHIEF, IS EXPECTED TO LEAD AN INTERIM GOVERNMENT UNTIL ELECTIONS LATER THIS YEAR.

THE TWO PRIME MINISTERS DISCUSSED FUTURE COOPERATION ON NATURAL DISASTERS AFTER THE TWO COUNTRIES WERE HIT HARD LAST YEAR BY CENTRAL EUROPE'S WORST FLOODING IN CENTURIES. THEY ALSO AGREED IN PRINCIPLE ON A PROJECT TO EXTEND NAVIGATION ON THE ODER RIVER.

THE TALKS TOOK PLACE AT A SERIES OF LOCATIONS ON BOTH SIDES OF THEIR COMMON BORDER (INCLUDING SMILOVICE, THE CZECH VILLAGE WHERE MR. BUZEK WAS BORN).

THIS WAS MR. TOSOVSKY'S FIRST OFFICIAL TRIP ABROAD SINCE BECOMING PRIME MINISTER LAST MONTH, TAKING HIM ABOUT 35-KILOMETERS INTO POLISH TERRITORY. (SIGNED)
NEB/ART/JWH
16-Feb-98 12:02 PM EST (1702 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

[03] EURO STOCKS (S ONLY) BY JACK HUIZENGA (LONDON)

INTRO: STOCK PRICES CLOSED HIGHER (MONDAY) IN TRADING IN EUROPE. V-O-A'S JACK HUIZENGA HAS THE CLOSING MARKET REPORT FROM LONDON.

TEXT: PRICES WERE UP ON ALL THREE MAJOR EUROPEAN EXCHANGES, DESPITE ANOTHER DOWN DAY IN ASIA.

THE BIGGEST INCREASE WAS IN PARIS. THE CAC-40 INDEX CLOSED UP MORE THAN 37-POINTS, ONE-AND-TWO-TENTHS PERCENT. IN LONDON, THE FOOTSIE-100 INDEX ROSE ALMOST 38-POINTS, ABOUT SEVEN-TENTHS PERCENT.

IN FRANKFURT, THE DAX INDEX ROSE ABOUT FOUR-TENTHS PERCENT IN FLOOR TRADING, THEN IN LATER COMPUTERIZED TRADING WENT UP 13-POINTS, ABOUT THREE-TENTHS PERCENT.

ON THE LONDON CURRENCY EXCHANGE, THE VALUE OF THE U-S DOLLAR ROSE AGAINST THE BRITISH POUND AND THE JAPANESE YEN. THE DOLLAR WAS DOWN A LITTLE AGAINST THE GERMAN MARK.
NEB/JWH/RAE
16-Feb-98 1:34 PM EST (1834 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

[04] NORTHERN IRELAND (L-ONLY) BY ANDRE DE NESNERA (LONDON)

INTRO: THERE ARE STRONG INDICATIONS THAT SINN FEIN -- THE POLITICAL WING OF THE IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY -- WILL BE EXPELLED, AT LEAST TEMPORARILY, FROM TALKS ON THE FUTURE OF NORTHERN IRELAND. V-O-A'S ANDRE DE NESNERA REPORTS FROM LONDON.

TEXT: POLITICAL TALKS ON THE FUTURE OF NORTHERN IRELAND RESUMED IN IRELAND'S CAPITAL, DUBLIN. BUT INSTEAD OF FOCUSING ON SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES SUCH AS FUTURE RELATIONS BETWEEN THE BRITISH PROVINCE AND THE IRISH REPUBLIC, NEGOTIATORS WERE FACED -- ONCE AGAIN -- WITH THE THORNY PROBLEM OF WHETHER TO EXPEL ONE OF THE PARTICIPANTS. THIS TIME, THE PARTY IN QUESTION WAS SINN FEIN, THE POLITICAL WING OF THE IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY. THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT FORMALLY ASKED FOR ITS EXPULSION AFTER SENIOR POLICE OFFICERS IN NORTHERN IRELAND LINKED THE I-R-A TO TWO RECENT KILLINGS IN BELFAST. IN A STATEMENT AFTER THE MURDERS, THE I-R-A SAID ITS JULY CEASEFIRE REMAINS INTACT -- BUT IT DID NOT DENY INVOLVEMENT IN THE KILLINGS.

BRITISH OFFICIALS SAY SINN FEIN -- BECAUSE OF ITS ASSOCIATION WITH THE I-R-A -- HAS BREACHED THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE TALKS WHICH COMMIT PARTICIPANTS TO USE EXCLUSIVELY PEACEFUL MEANS AND RENOUNCE VIOLENCE. BUT SINN FEIN PRESIDENT GERRY ADAMS REACTED ANGRILY TO THE BRITISH MOVE.

HAS THE SINN FEIN PARTY PLAYED A LEADERSHIP ROLE? HAS THE SINN FEIN PARTY TRIED TO CREATE THE CONDITIONS TO MAKE ALL OF THIS POSSIBLE AND HAS THE SINN FEIN PARTY IN ANY WAY DISHONORED ANY COMMITMENT WHICH OUR PARTY HAVE MADE INSIDE OR OUTSIDE THOSE TALKS? I DEFY ANY LEADER HERE IN THE IRISH PARLIAMENT, IN THE NORTH, IN BRITAIN OR IN THE U-S-A TO GIVE AN HONEST ANSWER TO THAT -- AND THE ANSWER, IF THEY ARE HONEST, HAS TO BE THAT WE HAVE DONE NOTHING EXCEPT CREATE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.

THERE IS A PRECEDENT FOR EXPELLING A PARTY FROM THE TALKS. LAST MONTH, A SMALL GROUP WAS TEMPORARILY EJECTED AFTER THE PRO-BRITISH PARAMILITARY GROUP IT REPRESENTS WAS HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR SEVERAL KILLINGS. SINCE THE EXPULSION, MURDERS ATTRIBUTED TO THAT TERRORIST ORGANIZATION HAVE STOPPED AND ITS POLITICAL REPRESENTATIVES ARE EXPECTED TO RETURN TO THE TALKS AT THE END OF THIS MONTH.

JOHN ALDERDICE IS LEADER OF NORTHERN IRELAND'S NON-SECTARIAN "ALLIANCE" PARTY. HE SAYS THE DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES SURROUNDING THE TALKS MUST BE ADHERED TO -- OTHERWISE THE INTEGRITY OF THE WHOLE NEGOTIATING PROCESS IS AT RISK.

THESE PRINCIPLES ARE IMPORTANT. THEY HAVE GOT TO BE HELD TO BECAUSE NOTHING OF VALUE WILL COME OUT OF THIS IF WE SIMPLY THROW THE PRINCIPLES TO THE WINDS AND WE CREATE SOME SORT OF SETTLEMENT AND SOME SORT OF SOCIETY BASED ON THE USE OF VIOLENCE, MURDER, AND DEATH. THAT IS NOT A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY, AND THAT IS WHAT I AM OUT TO BUILD.

MR. ALDERDICE SAYS DISCUSSING WHETHER OR NOT TO EXPEL THIS OR THAT PARTY TAKES UP VALUABLE TIME WHICH SHOULD BE DEVOTED TO NEGOTIATING IMPORTANT ISSUES. HE SAYS THE DELAY WILL MEAN NEGOTIATORS WILL HAVE TO REDOUBLE THEIR EFFORTS IF THEY ARE TO REACH AN AGREEMENT BY THE MAY DEADLINE SET BY THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. (SIGNED)
NEB/ADEN/JWH
16-Feb-98 1:32 PM EST (1832 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

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