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Voice of America, 99-09-26Voice of America: Selected Articles Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Voice of America <gopher://gopher.voa.gov>CONTENTS
[01] KOSOVO ARRESTS (L-ONLY) BY TIM BELAY (PRISTINA)DATE=9/25/1999TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-254323 CONTENT= VOICED AT: 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. //REST OPT//NEB/TB/ALW 25-Sep-1999 12:30 PM EDT (25-Sep-1999 1630 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America [02] I-M-F SUNDAY (L-O) BY BARRY WOOD (WASHINGTON)DATE=9/26/1999TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-254344 INTERNET=YES CONTENT= VOICED AT: 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)
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