Voice of America, 99-11-03

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

CONTENTS

[01] ARMENIA / POLITICS (L-ONLY) BY EVE CONANT (MOSCOW)

[02] ARMENIA / POLITICS (L-ONLY) BY EVE CONANT (MOSCOW)

[03] EASTERN ORTHODOX REVIVAL BY BARBARA SCHOETZAU (NEW YORK)

[04] NY ECON WRAP (S&L) BY ELAINE JOHANSON (NEW YORK)

[05] SERBIA OPPOSITION (L-ONLY) BY BARRY WOOD (WASHINGTON)

[06] U-S / SERB OPPOSITION (L-ONLY) BY KYLE KING (STATE DEPARTMENT)

[07] UNICEF / EASTERN EUROPE (L ONLY) BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)

[08] WEDNESDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ERIKA EVANS (WASHINGTON)

[01] ARMENIA / POLITICS (L-ONLY) BY EVE CONANT (MOSCOW)

INTRO: Armenian President Robert Kocharian has appointed Aram Sarkisian to be the country's new prime minister. V-O-A Moscow correspondent Eve Conant has this report.

TEXT: Armenia's new prime minister is the brother of Vazgen Sarkisian, the popular prime minister who was killed when nationalist gunmen broke into a parliament meeting and opened fire on lawmakers last week. Aram Sarkisian, age 38, is the director of a large cement factory and had kept a low political profile until now. His brother, a former Defense Minister who was a favorite of the country's military, was buried last Sunday along with the speaker of Armenia's parliament and six other lawmakers. The parliament murders shocked both Armenians and world leaders and left the country with two of its top three leaders dead. After the killings, Armenian President Robert Kocharian said his main task was to rebuild the country's government. Mr. Kocharian's spokesman, Bahe Gabrielen, confirmed the appointment of the new rime minister and also told V-O-A that Mr. Kocharian is expected to meet with Russian President Boris Yeltsin in Moscow Friday. He said the two leaders will discuss finding a settlement to Armenia's conflict with Azerbaijan over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

[02] ARMENIA / POLITICS (L-ONLY) BY EVE CONANT (MOSCOW)

INTRO: Armenian President Robert Kocharian has appointed Aram Sarkisian to be the country's new prime minister. V-O-A Moscow correspondent Eve Conant has this report.

TEXT: Armenia's new prime minister is the brother of Vazgen Sarkisian, the popular prime minister who was killed when nationalist gunmen broke into a parliament meeting and opened fire on lawmakers last week. Aram Sarkisian, age 38, is the director of a large cement factory and had kept a low political profile until now. His brother, a former Defense Minister who was a favorite of the country's military, was buried last Sunday along with the speaker of Armenia's parliament and six other lawmakers. The parliament murders shocked both Armenians and world leaders and left the country with two of its top three leaders dead. After the killings, Armenian President Robert Kocharian said his main task was to rebuild the country's government. Mr. Kocharian's spokesman, Bahe Gabrielen, confirmed the appointment of the new rime minister and also told V-O-A that Mr. Kocharian is expected to meet with Russian President Boris Yeltsin in Moscow Friday. He said the two leaders will discuss finding a settlement to Armenia's conflict with Azerbaijan over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

INTRO: The end of Communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union has spurred a revival of Orthodox Christian churches. But the challenges the Orthodox churches face vary from country to country. Correspondent Barbara Schoetzau reports from New York.

TEXT: The dramatic and often contrasting changes the Orthodox Christian churches of Eastern Europe have undergone reflect the distinctive history, culture and economic levels of the various countries that made up the Soviet empire. Veselin Kesich (vih sell'in kay sich) specializes in Serbian Church history and comparative religion at Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York State. He believes the Serbian church is the only institution in Serbia today that has any meaning to the population. The Serbian Orthodox Church, he says, tried to ease the ethnic conflicts in the former Yugoslavia as early as 1991.

[03] EASTERN ORTHODOX REVIVAL BY BARBARA SCHOETZAU (NEW YORK)

INTRO: Stock prices in the United States were up today (Wednesday). The trading session was dominated by technology and Internet stocks that have made huge gains lately. V-O-A correspondent Elaine Johanson reports:

TEXT: The Dow Jones Industrial Average struggled against late-day profit-taking, but managed to hang on to a small gain. It closed up 27 points at 10- thousand-609. The Standard and Poor's 500 index rose seven points to 13-hundred-54. But the big story was the technology-dominated Nasdaq index, which closed over three-thousand for the first time. The Nasdaq gained one and one-half percent for the day, setting a new record high.

[04] NY ECON WRAP (S&L) BY ELAINE JOHANSON (NEW YORK)

INTRO: Leaders of Serbia's democratic opposition say they are heartened by increased American efforts to bring democracy to their country. V-O-A's Barry Wood reports the delegation from the Alliance for Change met (Wednesday) in Washington with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and congressional leaders.

TEXT: Opposition leader Zoran Djindjic says the seven member delegation is pleased with the U-S commitment to ease economic sanctions once free elections take place in Serbia. Mr. Djindjic says that commitment from Secretary of State Albright is more than they had expected. Stojan Protic, a Belgrade law professor, says the Alliance for Change believes early national elections are the best way to oust Slobodan Milosevic from power.

[05] SERBIA OPPOSITION (L-ONLY) BY BARRY WOOD (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: The United States is promising to end its economic sanctions on Serbia as soon as free and fair elections are held. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright made the announcement following talks with key Serbian opposition leaders in Washington. From the State Department, VOA's Kyle King reports.

TEXT: The United States has previously said economic sanctions on Serbia would not be lifted until Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic is out of office. But after meeting with eight key opposition leaders at the State Department, Ms. Albright said simply holding free and fair elections would now be enough to do so.

[06] U-S / SERB OPPOSITION (L-ONLY) BY KYLE KING (STATE DEPARTMENT)

INTRO: A study by UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, finds serious problems for millions of children in the former Communist nations of central and eastern Europe and of the former Soviet Union. Lisa Schlein reports from Geneva.

TEXT: The study says the majority of the region's 150-million children are victims of shrinking economies, inadequate social welfare programs, and the spread of armed conflict. The UNICEF report acknowledges that life for children is improving in some countries of central and eastern Europe -- notably the Czech republic, Hungary, and Poland. But it says conditions for children are generally difficult in central Asia, the Caucuses, Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. UNICEF regional adviser Yuri Oksamitniy says these countries spend very little money on the welfare of children. As a result, he says the health of children and women has seriously deteriorated. And he says the region has infant mortality rates that are quite high.

[07] UNICEF / EASTERN EUROPE (L ONLY) BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)

INTRO: Many of the nation's editorials are reviving discussion on Serbia's relationship with democracy. Other topics of interest include: trade aid for poor nations, Indonesia's new president, and a respectful farewell to an American Football great. Now here with a closer look and some excerpts is _____________with today's Editorial Digest.

TEXT: A delegation of Serbia's democratic leaders is in Washington this week, and U-S commentaries are once again engaging in discussion over democratic opposition in the war-torn Yugoslav republic. "The Washington Post" holds the position that the proof of Serbia's failure is evident: Slobodan Milosevic remains in power.

VOICE: Although polls show that Mr. Milosevic is unpopular in his own country, unseating him is not likely to be easy. The indicted war criminal still controls the security forces and most media. Those who challenge him - at universities for example - lose their jobs and livelihoods. Many Serbs are so impoverished that politics by force has become secondary to the daily struggle to find food. .The Democratic opposition is not a sure bet, but it is a worthwhile one. The Balkans cannot be stable as long as Mr. Milosevic remains in power.

TEXT: "The Washington Times" questions the effectiveness of Western sanctions imposed on Serbia and whether they did more to strengthen Mr. Milosevic's power.

VOICE: It seemed like the right thing for Western nations to do. Place sanctions on food, oil and medical supplies to the Serbian nation controlled by a Hitleresque dictator, and sit back and wait till he retires or is defenestrated (thrown out) by his own people. But this is Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic with whom nations are dealing - a man for whom bomb sirens have served as campaign music. Now, over four months later, the Serbian people are cold and hungry, and rather than sending the majority of them to the streets in protest, the sanctions are causing the weakened people to curse the West.

TEXT: "The Washington Times" adds Mr. Milosevic will continue to gain ground so long as he can keep Serbians convinced he has no role in their suffering.

VOICE: Talented as he is in spinning his people into believing Serbia's ruin could never be his fault, Mr. Milosevic is using the disaster to increase his own power. .The United States cannot prevent Mr. Milosevic from inventing reasons to blame us (The United States) for Serbia's misery. When Serbia's people see Mr. Milosevic and his government becoming rich while they are starving, there will be no one left to blame but their own embittered leader.

TEXT: In other news, trade assistance for poor nations is the message from the "Los Angeles Times" in California. With modest legislation, the newspaper is convinced that developing nations can become self- reliant in the world's economy.

VOICE: For years now, Washington has been telling the world's poorest countries that trade, not aid, will lead them to riches. This was a good message, stressing as it did the need for developing countries to rely more on their own efforts than on handouts. But it also carried the promise that U-S markets would be open to exports from those countries. That is why Congress should enact a package of measures now before it to widen access to U-S markets for goods from Africa, the Caribbean basin, and central America. .The trade package would give developing countries a leg up in their climb out of poverty. It would also go a long way toward making the world trading system seem relevant to them.

TEXT: "The Chicago Tribune" comments admirably on Indonesia's new president, Abdurrahman Wahid as he attempts to make some much needed policy changes in the country.

VOICE: He is frail after suffering two strokes, and nearly blind, but Indonesia's new president (Adurrahman Wahid) has been admirably robust and forward-looking in setting policy during his first 10-days in power. The Muslim Cleric has plenty to prove to turn around the government legacy of corruption he inherited following 32- years of domination by former president Suharto. But Wahid's government has already acted quickly and commendably to set the right tone after the first free and contested election in the country's 54-year history. Indonesians can hold out justified hopes that a real transition to democracy is finally at hand.

TEXT: The U-S lost a great athlete this week. Walter Payton, an American Football champion, passed away Monday from complications of a rare liver disease. U- S editorials across the nation bid a final farewell to one of the nation's most celebrated competitors. The New York "Daily News" had this to say:

VOICE: He rushed for more yards than any other player in the game. But football-great Walter Payton leaves behind a much greater legacy. He leaves behind a time when sportsmen were gentlemen, off the field as well. His nickname - Sweetness - nicely sums up his character. In a sport overrun by spoiled brats and miscreants, where celebrating after every play has become the norm, Payton's spirit of dogged determination and quiet accomplishment is admirable. Sweetness. May he rest in peace.

TEXT: With that, we conclude our sampling of comment in today's U-S Editorial Digest.
NEB/ENE 03-Nov-1999 13:26 PM EDT (03-Nov-1999 1826 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

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