Voice of America, 00-06-28

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

CONTENTS

[01] EUROPE / MERGERS (L-O) BY RON PEMSTEIN (BRUSSELS)

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

[03] WEDNESDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ANDREW GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)

[04] CLINTON - ARMENIA (L ONLY) BY DEBORAH TATE (WHITE HOUSE)

[05] CLINTON - NORTHERN IRELAND (L ONLY) BY DEBORAH TATE (WHITE HOUSE)

[01] EUROPE / MERGERS (L-O) BY RON PEMSTEIN (BRUSSELS)

INTRO: The European Union has followed the U-S Justice Department's move in prohibiting the merger of the giant American telecommunications firms, World-Com and Sprint. Ron Pemstein reports from Brussels the European Union acted even though the firms had decided to withdraw their notification to Europe of the merger.

TEXT: They may be two American telecommunications firms, but Europe sees their proposed merger as a threat to competition on the Internet. Mario Monti, the European Commissioner in charge of competition, made the announcement less than 24-hours after a similar move by the U-S Justice Department.

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

INTRO: U-S stock prices were higher today (Wednesday), as the U-S central bank - the Federal Reserve Board - announced it was leaving interest rates unchanged for now. But the market rally had less momentum than Wall Street was looking for. VOA correspondent Elaine Johanson reports from New York.

TEXT: Triple-digit gains by the "blue-chips" following the interest rate announcement fizzled quickly. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 23 points, closing fractionally higher at 10-thousand- 527. The Standard and Poor's 500 index edged up four points. The technology-weighted Nasdaq composite did better, closing two percent higher. Analysts say the Dow Industrials most likely were more deeply affected by the central bank's warning on inflationary pressures in the U-S economy. This keeps open the possibility that the "Fed" may not be finished raising rates this year. The latest on the economy shows factory orders for durable goods rose a stronger-than-expected six percent in May on robust demand for electronic equipment and automobiles. This contradicts recent data showing an economy that is starting to cool off.

[03] WEDNESDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ANDREW GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: The election in Zimbabwe that saw President Robert Mugabe's majority in parliament drastically reduced is a popular topic in today's U-S editorial columns. The cataloging of the Human Genome, the so- called instruction book for a human being, is also drawing much attention, as is a Supreme Court decision on the rights of those charged with crimes. As Elian Gonzalez prepares to return home, there is a good deal of comment on relations with Cuba. Vice President Gore gets attention, as does progress in the Irish peace process. Now, here with a closer look and some excerpts, is __________ and today's Editorial Digest.

TEXT: The main opposition party in Zimbabwe - the Movement for Democratic Change -- made huge inroads on the parliamentary majority of long-time strongman President Robert Mugabe in this past weekend's elections. The U-S papers are pleased and call on Mr. Mugabe to include opposition views in his governing. The Seattle [Washington State] Times says Zimbabwe's leader should heed the opposition voices.

VOICE: [President] Mugabe cannot draw much comfort from this situation. In the election campaign, he had portrayed the leaders and followers of the [opposition] as ...traitors determined to subvert his plan to redistribute confiscated white farms to landless peasants. The election results show otherwise. The [Movement for Democratic Change] emerged as a broad coalition of Zimbabweans frustrated by high unemployment, runaway inflation ... and a standard of living that has been in steady decline since the country's independence in 1980.

TEXT: The Chicago Tribune lauds the opposition's success this way:

VOICE: Democracy has a way of raising its voice above the terror and confusion of tyranny. It can't always shout down a dictator, but in Zimbabwe it has, at least, commenced to clear its throat. ... [The] vote ... was an unprecedented showing against a leader who has ruled with his party virtually unchallenged since independence from white-minority rule in 1980.

TEXT: The Sun in Baltimore hails the results as meaning Zimbabwe is "no longer a one-party state..." while Boston's Christian Science Monitor says its: "good news for the often-difficult evolution of Africa toward democracy." And in Texas, the Dallas Morning News says the ballot boxes' message is one of: "utter dissatisfaction with the autocratic reign of President Robert Mugabe."

TEXT: The big scientific news of the week, the unveiling of the almost complete map of genetic composition that creates a human being continues to draw awe and amazement, plus some concern, from editorialists. From the heartland of America, the Kansas City [Missouri] Star exclaims:

VOICE: Much cause for celebration is found in the recent announcement that a draft of the human genome the three-point-one billion subunits of D-N-A that contain instructions for human life -- is complete. ... But there is also a potential dark side to this discovery. We face countless ethical questions, from whether parents should order designed-gene babies to who should have access to an individual's genetic information.

TEXT: The Tulsa [Oklahoma] World knows it is a huge moment in science, but struggles to figure out how huge.

VOICE: Depending on who you listen to, the decoding of the human genome is the equivalent of landing man on the moon or the greatest scientific discovery in history. Either way, it's enough to take your breath away. ... [What] an exhilarating start to the 21st century.

TEXT: The Denver [Colorado] Post salutes the discovery also, but then warns:

VOICE: ... [It] also could create consumer nightmares as people are denied jobs, credit and insurance. ... The law is behind science terribly. The answer is ... for Congress and state legislatures ... to enact meaningful privacy laws.

TEXT: Searching for an appropriate analogy, the Chattanooga, Tennessee Free Press chooses the invention of the airplane.

VOICE: /// OPT /// On December 17th 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville Wright was able to stay aloft for 12 seconds in the first power-driven, controlled, "sustained" flight of an airplane. ... Who then could have predicted that today, less than a century later, millions of people would be crowding airports for jet flights around the globe ... /// END OPT /// We mention ... powered flight ... [as] a ... grossly inadequate comparative illustration of the wonders that may come ... from ... deciphering ... the human genetic code. ... it may lead to the marvelous conquest of many ... of the major diseases that plague mankind ... but as wonderful as that would be, it may only scratch the surface beneath which lie wonders we cannot even imagine today.

TEXT: But the Savannah Morning News warns of the down side of the discovery:

VOICE: ...tinkering with the human blueprint - - and acquiring the foresight that allows us to virtually predict what kind of person a fetus will be... also presents a host of potential abuses.... Today it's not unusual, for example, for fetuses with cleft palates to be aborted. Genome research would greatly expand the checklist and create more ethical and moral dilemmas.

TEXT: The other big domestic story involves a Supreme Court decision reaffirming the so-called "Miranda Warning." That is the advisory police must give to arrested people that they have the constitutionally granted right to remain silent. It is designed to stop police from coercing confessions from people against their will. California's San Jose Mercury News is pleased.

VOICE: Now we can exhale. For too long, there's been legal uncertainty over whether the protection derives from a person's Fifth Amendment right against self- incrimination or mere congressional laws. Monday the court ruled that it's a constitutional safeguard.

TEXT: But Salt Lake City's [Utah] Deseret News calls the decision "Ridiculous."

VOICE: Ridiculous? Yes, considering so many alternatives exist today to make sure a confession is not coerced. The Miranda warning may have "become part of our national culture," as Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote on behalf of the ... majority, but it also has allowed many guilty people to go free on a maddening technicality. ... As it was written 34 years ago, Miranda practically begs a suspect to remain silent.

TEXT: Elian Gonzalez could very well be going home to Cuba today. And in the editorial columns, there is plenty of comment on how relations between this country and Cuba have changed because of the young boy who was shipwrecked off the coast of the United States. The Chicago Tribune suggests:

VOICE: Elian Gonzalez won't notice the change when he gets back to Cuba. He's just a boy, after all. But the relationship between his homeland and his temporary home has changed irrevocably in the seven months he has been in the U-S. It's about time. Congressional opponents to any easing of the trade embargo with Cuba acknowledged defeat Tuesday as a deal was reached to allow the first direct shipments of American food in nearly four decades. This is a clear victory for U-S farm and business groups, which stand to benefit from increased trade.

TEXT: In Maine, the Portland Press Herald points out justification for the changes: VOICED: In the 1960s, when Cuba presented a threat not only to this country, but to others in the Western hemisphere, the policy didn't just make sense - - it worked. Today, however, it does neither. [President] Castro's revolution failed long ago, and the ongoing embargo hurts only the people trapped in a discredited economic and political system.

TEXT: Vice President Gore continues to draw attention, now that it appears he will not be subjected to an independent counsel investigating his fundraising during the last presidential campaign. However, Pennsylvania's Greensburg Tribune-Review is upset that most U-S media are ignoring another potential scandal in Mr. Gore's "closet."

VOICE: ... [Where] have the mainstream media been in reporting on a Gore oil deal that's not only slippery but downright slimy? Nowhere to be found. The Washington Times reported ... that the vice president's "push to privatize a federal oil field added tens of thousands of dollars to the value of oil stock owned by the Gore family, which has been further enriched by skyrocketing gasoline prices." ... The 1998 Occidental [Petroleum Company] deal is not Al Gore's first. And the Gore-Occidental nexus has been long and profitable - for both family and company.

TEXT: Lastly, praise for the latest breakthrough in the Northern Ireland peace process, the revealing by the Irish Republican Army guerillas of some hidden weapons caches to international observers. The Dallas Morning News says:

VOICE: The unprecedented and historic goodwill gesture should satisfy Protestants that the guerrilla group means to seek a peaceful solution to the conflict and give Protestants the confidence they say they need to fully implement all provisions of the 1998 Good Friday peace accord.

TEXT: On that note, we conclude this sampling of editorial comment from Wednesday's U-S press.
NEB/ANG/KL 28-Jun-2000 12:37 PM EDT (28-Jun-2000 1637 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

[04] CLINTON - ARMENIA (L ONLY) BY DEBORAH TATE (WHITE HOUSE)

INTRO: President Clinton and Armenian President Robert Kocharian met at the White House Tuesday to discuss prospects for ending Armenia's long running territorial dispute with neighboring Azerbaijan. Correspondent Deborah Tate reports from the White House. Text: Administration officials say Mr. Clinton told Mr. Kocharian he believes Armenia and Azerbaijan have the opportunity to end their bitter conflict over the mountainous enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh if they want to. Mr. Clinton assured his Armenian counterpart the United States would do its part to support a durable settlement. A cease-fire was signed in 1994, but disputes remain over independence claims by Nagorno-Karabakh, a mostly ethnic Armenian enclave located within Azerbaijan. The United States - which enjoys close ties with Armenia, and is home to a sizeable Armenian-American population - has been deeply involved in the search for an end to the dispute. The United States, Russia and France co-chair an Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe effort to find a settlement to the conflict. An OSCE team is to travel to the region next week. Mr. Clinton - who discussed Nagorno-Karabakh with Azerbaijan's President Heydar Aliyev in February - also used his 35-minute meeting with Mr. Kocharian to underscore the link between peace and economic reform. Fighting broke out in Nagorno-Karabakh in 1988 after the region's ethnic Armenian majority tried to break away from Azerbaijan's rule, when both states were still Soviet republics. Some 35-thousand died. Mr. Kocharian rose to power on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. He is a former leader of the enclave, and was elected Armenia's President in 1998 after the army forced his predecessor, Levon Ter-Petrosian, to resign. Military officials had suspected Mr. Ter- Petrosian was preparing a compromise with Azerbaijan. Stability in the region has become a priority for the United States, which supports a planned pipeline to carry Caspian sea oil, being extracted by U-S and European companies, across Azerbaijan to the Mediterranean at Ceyhan, Turkey.

[05] CLINTON - NORTHERN IRELAND (L ONLY) BY DEBORAH TATE (WHITE HOUSE)

INTRO: President Clinton is calling on all paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland with secret weapons stockpiles to follow the lead of the Irish Republican Army and allow inspections of the arms. Correspondent Deborah Tate reports from the White House. Text: Mr. Clinton used a wide-ranging White House news conference to praise this week's inspections of I-R-A weapons dumps by international envoys. He called the inspections a hopeful step in the Northern Ireland peace process.

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