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Voice of America, 99-09-10Voice of America: Selected Articles Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Voice of America <gopher://gopher.voa.gov>CONTENTS
[01] KOSOVO / MITROVICA (L-ONLY) BY TIM BELAY (PRISTINA)DATE=9/10/1999TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-253704 CONTENT= VOICED AT: //EDS: Check latest CN and update intro if needed. //INTRO: Violence continues in the northern Kosovo city of Mitrovica, where French peacekeepers are trying to prevent further clashes between ethnic Albanians and Serbs. Thursday, dozens of people were injured in the most serious confrontation in the city in weeks. Tim Belay reports from Pristina that the unrest comes in a climate of continued problems for minorities in the province. TEXT: NATO riot control troops were dispatched from the capital, Pristina, when fighting between ethnic Albanians and the Serbian population in Mitrovica threatened to overwhelm French peacekeepers. /// OPT ////// ACT MCNAMARA ////// END ACT ////// ACT MITCHELL ////// END ACT ///NNNN Source: Voice of America [02] SERBIAN LIMBO BY PAMELA TAYLOR (WASHINGTON)DATE=9/10/1999TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT NUMBER=5-44235 INTERNET=YES CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: Thousands of draft evaders who fled Serbia to avoid being forced to fight in Kosovo now find themselves with no place to go. Most face arrest if they return to Serbia, yet no NATO country has offered them sanctuary. VOA's Pamela Taylor has more in this report. TEXT: The United Nations Refugee agency (U-N-H-C-R) estimates more than 100 thousand people fled Serbia during the three months of the NATO bombing campaign. Most were women and children. But according to the Budapest-based Refugee Action Project, between fifteen and twenty thousand of them were draft evaders, most of whom crossed from Serbia into Hungary. These men have broken at least one law in Serbia. After the NATO bombing began, Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic got a law passed that prohibited all men between the ages of 16 and 65 from leaving the country. Under the law, Serb draft evaders could face up to 20 years in prison for giving a false address or refusing to respond to the draft call-up. American journalist Mark Schapiro says although the men are safe in Hungary, they are in what he calls a `terrible limbo'(terrible dilemma): // ACT ONE/SCHAPIRO //// END ACT //// ACT TWO/CEROVIC //// END ACT //// ACT THREE/CEROVIC //// END ACT ////ACT FOUR/CEROVIC //// END ACT //// ACT FIVE/SCHAPIRO//// END ACT //NEB/PAM/ENE/KL 10-Sep-1999 13:09 PM EDT (10-Sep-1999 1709 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America [03] THE ROMA: KOSOVO'S PEOPLE IN THE MIDDLE BY JUDITH LATHAM (WASHINGTON)DATE=9/10/1999TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT NUMBER=5-44236 INTERNET=YES CONTENT= NOT VOICED: /// ACTS IN S-O-D ///INTRO: When ethnic conflict in Kosovo first hit the headlines earlier this year, ethnic Albanians were being expelled in large numbers by Yugoslav army and Serb paramilitary forces. More recently, ethnic Albanians returning to Kosovo have been engaged in what are described as "revenge attacks" on Serbs and other non-Albanian minorities. One group in the province has been attacked by both Serbs and Albanians the Roma, or Gypsies. V-O-A's Judith Latham reports. TEXT: Many Balkan specialists say pre-war Kosovo was 90 percent ethnic Albanian and 10 percent ethnic Serb. But those numbers do not take into account Kosovo's minority groups - ethnic-Turks, Muslim Slavs, and the Roma. The European Roma Rights Center says more than 100 thousand Roma were in Kosovo when the war started, although that figure is disputed by others who say it should be much lower. A former law professor from Bulgaria who directs the European Roma Rights Center, Dimitrina Petrova [dee-mee-TREE-nah PET-troh-vah], says the Roma have been persecuted by both Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo. And she accuses international organizations of failing to protect them. /// PETROVA ACT ////// END ACT ///TEXT: The spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Kris Janowski, says international groups are trying to protect non- Albanian Kosovars, including the Roma. But, he says, it is a very hard job. /// JANOWSKI ACT ////// END ACT ///TEXT: U-N spokesman Kris Janowski says the Roma will have serious difficulty either returning to Kosovo or finding a permanent safe haven in neighboring countries. The European Roma Rights Center says when Serb forces expelled non-Serbs from Kosovo, many Roma were forced like their ethnic Albanian neighbors -- to seek refuge in Macedonia, Albania, or Montenegro. At the same time, Romani leaders acknowledge that some Roma cooperated with the Serbs. But now, they say, the Albanians are treating the Roma as if they were ALL Serb collaborators. The European Roma Rights Center says it has collected evidence of murders, beatings, abductions, rapes, and house burnings. (OPT) A field study by the European Roma Rights Center indicates that 80 percent of Kosovar Roma have been expelled or have fled. Researchers at the Center say that about half the Roma left Kosovo with the ethnic Albanians during the Serbian campaign of ethnic cleansing after the NATO bombing began. And then, with the advance of the KFOR troops, there was a counter-wave of ethnic cleansing by returning Albanians, driving even more of the Roma from Kosovo. According to the Center, about 20,000 Roma are now trapped in Kosovo, and the vast majority of those are internally displaced or have sought refuge in U-N- protected camps. (END OPT) Kosovar Albanian community leader and newspaper publisher Veton Surroi [VET-TAHN sir-ROY] has criticized ethnic Albanian attacks on Kosovo's Serbs and Roma. /// SURROI ACT ////// END ACT ///TEXT: Mr. Surroi calls those committing violence in the name of the Kosovar Albanian cause "criminal gangs," and he includes some members of the Kosovo Liberation Army in that description. He also rejects the goal of some Kosovar Albanians - the creation of an ethnically pure "Albanian" Kosovo. ///(OPT) /// SURROI ACT ////// END ACT///TEXT: Balkan experts say the suffering and
dislocation caused by the Kosovo conflict could take
decades to reverse, not least for the province's Roma
and other minorities, who are caught in the middle.
[04] UN - KOSOVO (L-ONLY) BY BARBARA SCHOETZAU (NEW YORK)DATE=9/10/1999TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-253714 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: At the United Nations today (Friday), the top U-N official for Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner (coosh nair), told the Security Council the U-N Interim Administration Mission for Kosovo is hampered by lack of infrastructure and the deep hatred between Kosovar Albanians and Serbs. Correspondent Barbara Schoetzau reports from New York. TEXT: Mr. Kouchner says the U-N mission in Kosovo is rebuilding from almost nothing against massive odds. He says the U-N mission has re-opened 400 schools serving about 100 thousand children. Some universities are also open again with Kosovar Albanians and Serbs attending on alternate days. The U-N mission has also restarted some public utilities such as electricity. But Mr. Kouchner says only one-sixth of the electricity needed for the winter season is currently available. //// KOUCHNER ACT //////// END ACT //////// KOUCHNER ACT //////// KOUCHNER ACT ////NNNN Source: Voice of America [05] RUSSIA / DAGESTAN (L-ONLY) BY EVE CONANT (MOSCOW)DATE=9/10/1999TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-253707 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: Russian troops captured one of several villages in Dagestan seized last Sunday by Islamic militants. V-O-A Moscow correspondent Eve Conant reports heavy fighting continues in other villages held by insurgents in Russia's southern Caucasus region. TEXT: Russian forces have regained control of the
village of Gamiyakh in western Dagestan, pushing ahead
in their efforts to rid the region of Islamic
insurgents. Hundreds of gunmen crossed into Dagestan
from neighboring Chechnya on Sunday and seized control
of several villages.
A spokesman for Dagestan's Interior Ministry said the
village had been cleared of fighters. He added that a
clean-up operation was underway to drive snipers out
of nearby mountains.
Interior Ministry officials say Russian troops are
also making progress in the Karamakhi region, but news
agencies report that Russian forces were driven back
by the militants. The militants are believed to be
well armed and still hold several villages in central
and southern Dagestan. Russia's Prime Minister,
Vladimir Putin, says the insurgents are supported by
international mercenaries.
Russian forces have been ordered to rid Dagestan of
the militants quickly, but many troops have complained
they lack the arms and manpower to do so.
On Friday, Prime Minister Putin urged Russians to, as
he put it, "not become hysterical" over the Russian
military's difficulty in quickly routing the
militants. He said government troops were acting
"according to plan" to rid southern Russia of the
insurgents. (Signed)
[06] TURKEY / QUAKE BY AMBERIN ZAMAN (GOLCUK, TURKEY)DATE=9/10/1999TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT NUMBER=5-44239 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: Some three weeks after a devastating earthquake struck northwest Turkey, thousands of survivors are being sheltered in tents. As winter approaches, many are questioning when they will once again resume their lives in proper housing. As Amberin Zaman reports from Golcuk, nobody seems to know. TEXT: Ismail Baris is a worried man. He is the mayor of Golcuk, a town on the Sea of Marmara, where Turkey's largest naval base is located and which was among the worst affected by the devastating earthquake that ripped through northwestern Turkey on August 17. Mr. Baris says there are 20-thousand people in his town who have been living in tents since their homes were destroyed by the seven-point-four magnitude (Richter scale) killer quake. /// ACT BARIS, IN TURKISH, ESTABLISH, FADE UNDER. ////// ACT AKCIOGLU, IN TURKISH, ESTABLISH FADE UNDER ////// ACT BARIS, IN TURKISH, FADE UNDER ///NEB/AZ/GE 10-Sep-1999 15:51 PM EDT (10-Sep-1999 1951 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America [07] E-U WELCOMES TURKEY IN WAKE OF QUAKEDATE=9/12/1999TYPE=EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-08445 CONTENT= THIS IS THE ONLY EDITORIAL BEING RELEASED
FOR BROADCAST 9/12/99.
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: Responding to the European Union's
invitation, Turkey's foreign minister Ismail Cem
will attend the E-U's next ministerial meeting, on
September 13th in Brussels. The process of
Turkey's applying for membership could be started
as early as December, at the E-U leaders' summit
in Helsinki, Finland.
Turkey's application to join the European Union
has been a matter of contention for many years.
As recently as 1997, the E-U blocked Turkey's
membership application, on the grounds that its
human rights record was not up to European
standards.
A further problem has been Greece's opposition.
On occasion, Greece and Turkey have nearly
resorted to arms over the island of Cyprus,
divided between Greek- and Turkish-speaking zones.
There are unresolved disputes over various Aegean
islands as well. But in the wake of last month's
earthquake in Turkey, the political ground in
Europe has shifted.
Turkish-Greek animosity seemed to be one of the
unchangeable facts of international relations.
But this perception did not prevent the Greeks
from responding with "Herculean efforts," as U.S.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright put it, to
the earthquake that struck Turkey last month. In
the wake of a tragedy whose toll exceeds fifteen
thousand lives, Greeks and Turks saw themselves as
neighbors, rather than neighborhood rivals. While
Greek rescue teams joined efforts in the
devastated areas of northern Turkey hit by the
quake, the Greek government joined its E-U
partners in approving emergency financial aid and
reconstruction loans. And the Turks sent
immediate aid when Athens was hit by an earthquake
this month.
While no doubt influenced by the poignant - and in
many cases heroic - examples of solidarity that
transcended traditional mistrust, Greece and the
other E-U nations are well aware that democracy
and the rule of law have made steady gains in
Turkey. Recently, for example, some Turkish
journalists detained for breaches of press
censorship laws were released by court order.
This is good news for both freedom of the press
and the independence of the judiciary in Turkey.
Turkey belongs in Europe's political and economic
union. Problems remain to be worked out, but
Turkey and the rest of Europe seem to be on the
way to a new and beneficial relationship.
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.
10-Sep-1999 12:42 PM EDT (10-Sep-1999 1642 UTC)
[08] N-Y ECON WRAP (S & L) BY BRECK ARDERY (NEW YORK)DATE=9/10/1999TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-253711 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: Stock prices in the United States were mixed today (Friday) but technology stocks were strong and the NASDAQ index closed at a record high. VOA Business Correspondent Breck Ardery reports from New York. TEXT: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 11- thousand-28, down 51 points. For the week the Industrial Average lost 50 points. The Standard and Poor's 500 index closed Friday at 13-hundred-51, up four points. The NASDAQ index closed at a record high 28 hundred 86. Wall Street was pleased with the latest U-S inflation figures. The so-called "core rate" of inflation in last month's wholesale price figures actually dropped by one-tenth of one percent. The "core" rate, which analysts concentrate on, eliminates the volatile food and energy sectors. Many traders believe the wholesale price figures may influence the U-S central bank to refrain from another interest rate increase. ///Rest opt for long //////Goldman act//////end act///NNNN Source: Voice of America [09] FRIDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ANDREW GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)DATE=9/10/1999TYPE=U-S EDITORIAL DIGEST NUMBER=6-11464 EDITOR=ASSIGNMENTS TELEPHONE=619-3335 CONTENT= INTRO: Editorials in Friday's U-S papers focus mainly on domestic topics. At issue is the appointment of a former senator to head an investigation of the government's 1993 assault on a religious cult in Waco, Texas and senator Bill Bradley's announcement that he will challenge Vice President Al Gore for the Democratic Party presidential nomination. International subjects drawing comments include the situation in East Timor and developments in the Middle East. Now, here is __________ with a closer look and some excerpts in today's Editorial Digest. TEXT: The U-S Attorney General, Janet Reno, has appointed former U-S Senator John Danforth of Missouri special investigator to probe the F-B-I's raid on a religious cult's farm complex outside Waco, Texas, in 1993. The complex burned to the ground, killing at least 80 people -- including children. Questions remain as to what role, if any, U-S law enforcement had in contributing to that fire and those deaths. Generally, the papers are pleased with Mr. Danforth's appointment. The Tulsa [Oklahoma] World says picking the former senator was "the right move," describing him as a "respected, evenhanded Republican." In Nebraska, The Omaha World-Herald adds: VOICE: [Senator] Danforth was an inspired choice. He brings all the imaginable tools to the job and has all the free reign needed to do it right. It will be a relief to see him in action. TEXT: In Texas, The Forth Worth Star-Telegram talks about the job ahead for the former Senator, who was also Missouri Attorney General. VOICE: The . investigation . must be narrowly focused . We've already suggested that one part of the investigation should be to gather a list of names of government officials who knew of the use of pyrotechnic canisters and either lied about it or kept silent. Every person whose name makes that list should be fired. Immediately. TEXT: The Star-Telegram is also strongly against a simultaneous congressional investigation, fearing that would be unnecessary and a costly duplication of effort. In the East, The New York Times calls Senator Danforth's selection "a promising development." The other major domestic development is the formal announcement by former New Jersey senator Bill Bradley that he is running for president. The Trenton Times in New Jersey's capital, says things have changed considerably from a few months ago, when Vice President Al Gore was considered a sure bet for the Democratic nomination. VOICE: Mr. Bradley . has shown surprising strength with his low-key, almost casual campaign . His staff is a talented one; his fund-raising efforts have been very successful, and polls now show that in New Hampshire, the first primary-election state, he has cut Mr. Gore's lead to single digits. Among other things, Mr. Bradley is riding a wave of national weariness with Bill Clinton and his travails, a weariness that, to Al Gore's misfortune, extends in part to the vice president. TEXT: And in the nation's capital, The Washington Post says The Bradley campaign has done better than expected on three key points: VOICE: It has amassed 12-million dollars from donors . it has assembled a competent staff . [and] Mr. Bradley is starting to do respectably in polls. TEXT: Overseas, there is still great concern about the violence and killing in East Timor, following August's independence referendum. The [Little Rock] Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is sharply critical of the United Nations handling of the situation, under a headline reading: "Chaos by design [rest in italics for emphasis] The U-N strikes again." VOICE: Whether the world is dealing with a homicidal type like Slobo [Slobodan Milosevic, President of Yugoslavia] or just a hapless one like Indonesia's President Habibi, the result is the same: chaos. And the U-N is left to make its usual futile gesture. The world is sending its sympathy and little else. /// OPT /// Did anybody really expect that, once East Timor chose independence, their old masters would led them depart in peace? Well, maybe the masterminds at the U-N did, which says everything one needs to know about their tenuous grasp on reality. /// END OPT /// TEXT: The Philadelphia Inquirer is equally upset at the hesitancy of the world community to step into the situation to save lives, noting: VOICE: Peacekeepers [are] overdue[:] [The] Global community may not have the luxury of deferring to Indonesia on aiding E. [East] Timor. . Indeed, Australia and other nations offering their soldiers mustn't wait forever for a formal invitation from Indonesia. . Total deference to "national sovereignty" isn't justified in a case where the world community has never recognized Indonesia's blood-stained claim (to East Timor). /// OPT ///TEXT: The Boston Globe agrees, writing under a headline reading: "Deadly delay in East Timor:" VOICE: In years to come the statesmen who are shirking their responsibility to save lives on East Timor will be remembered as ditherers or cynics. . not another day can be wasted placating an Indonesian regime responsible for a looming genocide in East Timor. /// END OPT ///TEXT: On the other side of the world, the prospect of an improving climate for peace in the Middle East, between Israel and the Palestinians, has coincided with a change in Israeli law in dealing with terrorist suspects. The Supreme Court has outlawed torture of prisoners, and The Chicago Tribune, calls the decision an "earthquake. VOICE: What critics portray as "torture" and defenders call "moderate physical pressure" has long been accepted as an indispensable weapon against Israel's Palestinian enemies. But the court said what should have been obvious: "A reasonable investigation is necessarily one free of torture, free of cruel, inhuman treatment and free of any degrading handling whatsoever." . The temptation to coerce suspects is certainly understandable . But the peril is not sufficient to justify a tool that deserves to be consigned to the darkest pages of history. Torture . yields unreliable confessions . fosters chronic abuses by security forces and it jeopardizes innocent as well as guilty suspects. TEXT: Thoughts from the Chicago Tribune. //OPT//VOICE: Improved relations . could be the silver lining in the cloud of earthquakes that have shaken the two countries. Turkey and Greece have given new meaning to giving aid and comfort to the enemy. Greece was among the first countries to send aid when the devastating earthquake shook western Turkey . August 17 [th] killing and injuring thousands. . And when an earthquake hit Greece . Tuesday, killing scores, injuring thousands and leaving many more unaccounted for, a team of rescuers from Turkey was the first group of foreigners to reach Athens. ..that is a truly extraordinary thing in light of the long history of animosity between the two countries. ///END OPT ///TEXT: On that note, we conclude this sampling of
editorial comment from Friday's U-S papers.
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