Voice of America, 00-05-02

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

CONTENTS

[01] ALBRIGHT-SOUTHEAST EUROPE (L ONLY) BY BRECK ARDERY (UNITED NATIONS)

[02] CLARK KOSOVO (L) BY JIM RANDLE (STUTTGART, GERMANY)

[03] EMBATTLED ARMENIA BY ED WARNER (WASHINGTON)

[04] EUROPE / ECONOMIC SURVEY BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)

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

[06] TUESDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ANDREW GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)

[01] ALBRIGHT-SOUTHEAST EUROPE (L ONLY) BY BRECK ARDERY (UNITED NATIONS)

INTRO: U-S Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said today (Tuesday) the United States welcomes the new spirit of cooperation among many nations in southeastern Europe. VOA Correspondent Breck Ardery reports from New York.

TEXT: Noting that peace and stability in southeastern Europe is in the interest of the United States, Ms. Albright says the cooperation between Greece and Turkey and between Hungary and Slovenia as well as improved relations among other nations in the region are welcome. She says private sector investment in those nations will be the key to sustainable economic growth and urges them to continue economic and political reforms as a way to attract investment. Although generally optimistic, Ms. Albright observes that Serbia is left out of the widespread revival in the region but says that will not always be true.

[02] CLARK KOSOVO (L) BY JIM RANDLE (STUTTGART, GERMANY)

INTRO: The general who led NATO's 78-day bombing campaign during last year's Kosovo conflict says a few signs of ethnic tolerance are growing in the Serb province's scorched earth. V-O-A's Jim Randle reports General Wes Clark spoke on his last day as commander of U-S forces in Europe, right after an emotional visit to Kosovo.

TEXT: In his farewell speech, General Wes Clark said the NATO bombing campaign that drove Serb forces out of Kosovo, and the tens-of-thousands of international peacekeeping troops that followed, are changing some minds in the Serbian province.

[03] EMBATTLED ARMENIA BY ED WARNER (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: In Armenia's ongoing power struggle, President Robert Kocharian has dismissed two of his major opponents, the prime minister and the defense minister. On a trip to Moscow, they had just agreed to accept a Russian army division that is scheduled to withdraw from neighboring Georgia. This would add to the some 10-thousand Russian troops already in Armenia and heighten tensions between a pro-Moscow faction and one that leans westward. V-O-A's Ed Warner in Washington examines the internal disputes that keep Armenia in turmoil.

TEXT: On October 27 last year, five gunmen burst into the Armenian parliament and started shooting. Before they were finished, the prime minister, the parliament chairman and six other top officials lay dead. The assassins shouted that their "patriotic deed was a sacrifice for the nation." It has not helped the nation. With those murders, Armenia started unraveling, said its foreign minister, Vartan Oskanian, in a recent speech at the private Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington:

[04] EUROPE / ECONOMIC SURVEY BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)

INTRO: A U-N report says Europe's economic prospects are looking better than at any time in recent years. Lisa Schlein in Geneva says the study by the UN's Economic Commission for Europe predicts strong growth for many European countries.

TEXT: The report says that among the four major economies in western Europe, France and Britain are likely to experience the strongest economic growth. But it says growth also is accelerating in Germany and Italy, where the business climate improved markedly early this year. The report attributes western Europe's strong economic performance to several factors. These include the end of problems caused by the financial crises in southeastern Asia and in Russia, the continued strength of the U-S economy, and the drop in value of the single European currency, the Euro, which has made exports more competitive. Senior U-N economist Paul Rayment says countries should not ignore the potential problems of inflation. But, he says they will benefit more from getting their economies moving.

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

INTRO: U-S stock prices were lower today (Tuesday). Trading volume was relatively light again, with analysts noting a lack of conviction and fears about the economy on the part of investors. VOA correspondent Elaine Johanson reports from New York:

TEXT: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 80 points, three-quarters of one percent, closing at 10- thousand-731. The Standard and Poor's 500 index fell 22 points - one and one-half percent. And the Nasdaq composite dropped more than four percent. The Dow Jones came under pressure due to weakness in one of its major components. Shares of U-S long- distance phone carrier A-T and T fell over 14 percent. The company came in with first-quarter earnings in line with expectations, but then lowered its earnings estimates for the full year. This comes at a time when A-T and T is supposed to be expanding into an Internet and cable-TV company. Microsoft affected both the Dow and the Nasdaq markets. After a modest recovery Monday, Microsoft shares edged five percent lower.

[06] TUESDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ANDREW GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: Among the editorials in Tuesday's newspapers are comments about the Internet's effect on privacy and about the breakup of the huge U-S software company, Microsoft. There are also editorials on a looming telecommunications trade battle between Mexico and the United States; aid to Colombia; and the pending confrontation over the U-S Navy bombing range on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. Now, here with a closer look and some quotes is ____________ and today's U-S Editorial Digest.

TEXT: President Clinton is proposing new laws to protect the privacy of consumer's financial records. Today's Los Angeles Times is one of several papers watching developments.

VOICE: Information technology offers many benefits, from higher productivity to better medical care, but it comes at a price: the gradual loss of privacy. ... What consumers need is help from legislation that would give them some control over the use of the information already collected. ... President Clinton's ... proposal to strengthen the protection of consumers' financial privacy is the right measure.

TEXT: In Michigan, the Detroit Free Press offers a chilling example of how this free flow of personal information could be very detrimental.

VOICE: Suppose you go on-line to read about the drug AZT or about health care for pregnant women. Somewhere in cyberspace, somebody's software may flag you as a possible AIDS victim or a candidate for diapers and a crib. Do you want this information floating around where who-knows-who can access it? ... Internet privacy rules are an idea whose time has come. Any hint of regulating the Internet brings out the wailers who claim government intervention will cause the cyber-economy to collapse.... E-tailers are smart enough to make a buck without invading people's privacy without their consent.

TEXT: The San Francisco Chronicle disagrees, suggesting the president's proposal is a good idea and needs public support.

VOICE: The Clinton plan ... would require banks, insurers and securities firms to get your permission before sharing personal details about you among their subsidiaries. ... [Mr.] Clinton said ... "Your information doesn't belong to just anyone." Many Americans, upon learning of this enormous gap in privacy law, probably would agree wholeheartedly with [Mr.] Clinton.

TEXT: The day's other big domestic topic continues to be the debate over breaking up the computer software giant Microsoft into two or more separate companies. The Justice Department is planning such a move after a Federal Court found the huge Washington State firm guilty of anti-competitive practices. Today's Philadelphia Inquirer says that while Microsoft is clearly guilty as charged, breaking it up is a risky proposition with unknown consequences.

VOICE: Will it unleash torrents of innovation and customer bliss, or will it throw a wrench into the "new economy" at the most inopportune moment? The scary truth is: No one knows. ... Some economists and computer gurus will tell you that putting asunder what Bill Gates and company have wrought is the only solution to the monopolistic practices decried ... in a landmark ruling last month. ... Others scorn the proposal. They see a meddling agency and interventionist judge stupidly applying principles of old-style industrial economies to the dynamic "new economy." They view this antitrust remedy ... as little more than vengeful envy against Mr. Gates.

TEXT: In Florida, the St. Petersburg Times adds that while the idea of dividing the company in two may be the best solution, it warns the move is not:

VOICE: ... a panacea that will ensure competition in the computer arena for the long term. ... The judge may have to accept that the government has practical, if not legal, limits in shaping the market for digital products and services.

TEXT: Lastly, a plea from the Detroit News: "Don't Break Up Microsoft," because, the big Michigan daily says, market forces are already vastly reducing the big company's control of the software and operating systems industry.

VOICE: Such radical action supposedly will spur competition in a software industry cowed by Microsoft. In reality, the market is way ahead of the regulators. The dominance of Windows already is mitigated by a massive shift to Internet-based technologies for which there is furious competition.

TEXT: Turning to international topics, the Dallas Morning News says it's about time someone challenged Mexico's monopolistic telephone system, Telmex.

VOICE: The Clinton administration is threatening to sue Mexico in the World Trade Organization unless the country counters the monopolistic practices of its dominant telecommunications provider ... Good move... Opening Mexico to competition in telecommunications would benefit Mexican consumers and businesses with lower prices and improved service. And it would improve the climate for business, which today requires superior telecommunications links.

TEXT: Turning to recent developments in Columbia's war against drug trafficking and a 35-year-long insurgency, the New York Times is guardedly optimistic about President Pastrana's latest plan. The government in Bogota wants to hand over another safe- haven region to the country's second largest guerilla group.

VOICE: The plan would draw the group, the National Liberation Army, into Mr. Pastrana's peace talks for the first time. Colombians have learned not to expect too much from periodic negotiations, and a peace agreement is still a long shot. But the inclusion of the National Liberation Army provides the best chance in recent history to negotiate an end to the activities of a guerrilla army whose kidnappings and bombing of oil production facilities have terrorized Colombians. ... Perhaps Colombia's rebels are finally ready to negotiate in good faith.

TEXT: Today's Hartford [Connecticut] Courant is keeping a watchful eye on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques, where the U-S government is readying to forcibly evict protesters. The year-old controversy stems from an accidental death at a U-S Navy bombing range on the island, which has led to Puerto Rican demands that the range be closed. The Courant notes:

VOICE: For the second time in two weeks, the federal government has mobilized a team of U-S marshals and about one-thousand Marines to remove scores of protesters who have occupied the Navy bombing site in Vieques ... for more than a year. Last week, federal officials canceled the operation for fear of a violent confrontation with the demonstrators. They shouldn't back down again.

TEXT: Vice president Al Gore made a major foreign policy address Sunday, and several papers are welcoming the inclusion of foreign affairs into a presidential debate that many have criticized as far too shallow. The San Jose [California] Mercury News says of Mr. Gore's "forward engagement" policy:

VOICE: ... [Mr.] Gore made the case for selective intervention abroad, when America can be effective and is supported by allies. Regarding Russia and China, [Vice President] Gore termed them "vital partners" with whom we must be engaged ... He called unequivocally for establishing permanent normal trade relations with China and for admitting it to the World Trade Organization. The clarity was overdue and welcome.

TEXT: Lastly, the Omaha [Nebraska] World-Herald discusses how the new Russian security service, the F- S-B, is modeling itself on its predecessor, the K-G-B.

VOICE: It would be viewed as scandalous and unseemly if Germany's security agencies described themselves as the proud successors to the Gestapo and SS, Hitler's infamous instruments of state terror. ... In present- day Russia, on the other hand, the Federal Security Force, or F-S-B, is repeatedly signaling that it's proud to carry on the work of the K-G-B, the security agency responsible for inflicting many of the worst horrors of Soviet repression. /// OPT /// ... Most blatant of all is a remarkable coffee-table book ... the F-s-B has put out to market itself. The book is called "Lubyanka: From the History of the Fatherland's Counterintelligence Service." /// END OPT /// ... U-S leaders should be wary. With Russia's largest security agency trumpeting its admiration for the K-G- B, Americans can entertain legitimate doubts about the depth of the leadership's commitment to constructing a free society.

TEXT: On that note, we conclude this sampling of editorials from the pages of Tuesday's U-S press.
NEB/ANG/KL 02-May-2000 11:49 AM EDT (02-May-2000 1549 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

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