Voice of America, 97-02-20

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

CONTENTS

[01] THURSDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ANDREW N. GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)

[02] EURO STOCKS (S ONLY) BY JACK HUIZENGA (LONDON)

[03] TURKEY / U-S ARMS (L) BY MAXIM KNIAZKOV (WASHINGTON)

[01] THURSDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ANDREW N. GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: THE DEATH OF CHINA'S LEADER DENG XIAOPING TOTALLY DOMINATES THE EDITORIAL SPACE IN THE MAJORITY OF U-S DAILY PAPERS THIS THURSDAY. HOWEVER A FEW OTHER TOPICS HAVE BEEN SQUEEZED IN AND THEY INCLUDE: SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE ALBRIGHT'S OVERSEAS TRIP; [BEGIN OPT] THE REPAIRS TO THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE; THE REMOVAL OF MEXICO'S DRUG CZAR [END OPT] AND KENNETH STARR'S PLANS TO LEAVE THE WHITEWATER INVESTIGATION. NOW, HERE WITH A CLOSER LOOK IS _____________________ AND TODAY'S U-S EDITORIAL DIGEST. [EDITORS NOTE: MR. DENG XIAOPING WAS 92 YEARS OLD WHEN HE DIED. HOWEVER, BECAUSE CHINESE CUSTOM SAYS THAT WHEN A BABY IS BORN THEY ARE ONE YEAR OLD, MANY CHINESE-ORIGINATED REPORTS WILL HAVE 93 AS HIS AGE.]

TEXT: THE FRONT PAGE OF VIRTUALLY EVERY MAJOR AMERICAN DAILY PAPER IS TAKEN UP WITH THE STORY OF [MR.] DENG'S PASSING. IN THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, FOR EXAMPLE, THE LEAD HEADLINE READS "THE END OF THE LONG MARCH." IN ITS LEAD STORY, THE CONSTITUTION SAYS IN PART:

VOICE: ".....[MR.] DENG'S DEATH USHERS IN A VAST GENERATIONAL SHIFT WITHIN THE WORLD'S LARGEST REMAINING COMMUNIST NATION. HIS LEGACY STRETCHED BACK TO THE BIRTH OF CHINA'S COMMUNIST REVOLUTION. BUT MOST IMPORTANT, [MR.] DENG WAS A PARTICIPANT IN THE LONG MARCH, THE 96-HUNDRED KILOMETER, CIVIL WAR RETREAT BY COMMUNIST TROOPS IN 1934 AND 1935. SURVIVORS FORMED THE CORE OF COMMUNIST LEADERSHIP FOR GENERATIONS. .....OVER HIS 18-YEAR-REIGN, [MR.] DENG ENDED COMMUNIST CHINA'S THREE DECADES OF ISOLATION, SHIFTED TWO THIRDS OF HIS NATION'S ECONOMY AWAY FROM STATE CONTROL, AND TRIPLED THE LIVING STANDARD OF THE NATION'S ONE-POINT-TWO-BILLION CITIZENS."

TEXT: IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST, THE OREGONIAN SAYS MR. DENG SHOULD BE REMEMBERED BY AMERICANS AS:

VOICE: "....THE CHINESE LEADER WHO PRESENTED THIS COUNTRY WITH SOME OF ITS GREATEST OPPORTUNITIES AND SOME OF ITS GREATEST PROBLEMS. THE OPPORTUNITIES WERE PRESENTED BY THE REFORM OF CHINA'S ECONOMIC SYSTEM, FOR WHICH [MR.] DENG WAS LARGELY RESPONSIBLE. THOSE REFORMS INCREASINGLY BRING CHINA INTO COMPETITION WITH THE WORLD'S OTHER INDUSTRIAL POWERS, EVEN AS THEY PRESENT THEM WITH A GIGANTIC POTENTIAL MARKET. THE PROBLEMS ARE THOSE CREATED BY THE FUNDAMENTAL MISUNDERSTANDING BY [MR.] DENG, AND OTHER CHINESE LEADERS, OF THE COROLLARIES OF THEIR ECONOMIC IDEAS."

[BEGIN OPT]

TEXT: MINNESOTA'S MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE REMEMBERS THE CHINESE LEADER BY QUOTING ONE OF HIS OWN SAYINGS.

VOICE: "'IT DOESN'T MATTER IF A CAT IS BLACK OR WHITE, AS LONG AS IT CATCHES MICE,' CHINA'S DENG XIAOPING IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE SAID IN THE EARLY 1980S. [MR.] DENG WAS REFERRING TO CHINA'S RETURN TO PRIVATE FARMING, BUT HE MIGHT AS WELL HAVE BEEN REFERRING TO HIMSELF. IN TWO DECADES AS HIS COUNTRY'S PARAMOUNT LEADER ..... [MR.] DENG SHOWED HIMSELF TO BE A CAT OF DISTINCTLY CONSERVATIVE STRIPE. AND YET HE WAS NEVERTHELESS ONE OF THE PRIME FORCES BEHIND CHINA'S MOVES TOWARD LIBERALIZATION. ..... ON BALANCE, [MR.] DENG LEFT BEHIND A MORE STABLE AND OPEN CHINA THAN HE ONE HE INHERITED."

TEXT: THE NEW YORK TIMES TALKS OF THE TYPE OF POWER MR. DENG HAD AND HOW THAT WILL NOW CHANGE IN THE NEW CHINA.

VOICE: "POWER IN CHINA REMAINS PERSONAL, AND LEADERSHIP REQUIRES A CAPACITY TO RALLY THE DISPARATE INTERESTS OF COMMUNIST PARTY BARONS, ARMY GENERALS, ECONOMIC TECHNOCRATS AND THE GENERAL POPULATION. MR. DENG, LIKE MAO ZEDONG, DID THIS THROUGH PERSONAL TIES FORGED OVER DECADES OF LEADERSHIP .... THAT REVOLUTIONARY GENERATION HAS NOW DEPARTED AND ITS SUCCESSORS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RULE THE SAME WAY. ..... THE WORLD WILL NOW LEARN WHETHER THE REGIME IT LEFT BEHIND IS CAPABLE OF LEADING CHINA TO A STABLE, PROSPEROUS AND PEACEFUL FUTURE."

TEXT: IN CALIFORNIA, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES MAKES A HISTORICAL CONTRAST.

VOICE: "[MR.] DENG ACHIEVED WHAT [MR.] MAO, WITH HIS HEEDLESSLY COCKEYED SCHEMES FOR THE RAPID FORCED DEVELOPMENT OF A HUGE AND BACKWARD LAND, COULD ONLY FEVERISHLY DREAM OF. [MR.] DENG SHAPED AND PRESIDED OVER THE POLICIES THAT BROUGHT CHINA INTO THE MODERN MAIN STREAM. ..... HE LAUNCHED THE PRAGMATIC ECONOMIC REFORMS THAT IN TIME BROUGHT PROSPERITY TO HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF CHINESE AND OPENED CHINA TO THE WORLD."

TEXT: HERE IN THE NATION'S CAPITOL, THE WASHINGTON POST NOTES:

VOICE: ".... HE ... LIVED A NOTABLE 20TH CENTURY LIFE: NOT MERELY COMING OUT A SURVIVOR IN CHINA'S POLITICAL WARS BUT TAKING A PART IN GREAT STRUGGLES TO MODERNIZE A VAST LAND. JUST HOW HIS LIFE WILL BE EVALUATED IN CHINA IS UNCERTAIN ...... ELSEWHERE, HE WILL PROBABLY BE REGARDED AS A REFORMER OF SUBSTANTIAL ACHIEVEMENT WHO, IN DEPARTING FROM ACTIVE POLITICAL LIFE SOME YEARS AGO, LEFT MUCH UNDONE."

TEXT: IN FLORIDA, THIS SUMMATION FROM THE MIAMI HERALD.

VOICE: "[MR.] DENG GAVE THE CHINESE PEOPLE ECONOMIC FREEDOM BUT DENIED THEM POLITICAL FREEDOM. THAT BASIC THIRST, UNLESS QUENCHED, YET MAY TURN [MR.] DENG'S CUP BITTER."

TEXT: TURNING BRIEFLY TO OTHER TOPICS, AND SECRETARY OF STATE ALBRIGHT'S MAJOR FOREIGN TRIP, THE BOSTON GLOBE CALLS THE MISSION IN MOSCOW "MISGUIDED, " REFERRING TO HER GOAL OF WINNING RUSSIAN ACCEPTANCE OF NATO EXPANSION.

VOICE: "BECAUSE THERE IS A RISK THAT NATO EXPANSION CAN TRIGGER IN RUSSIA THE ASCENDANCY OF A PARANOID NATIONALISM, THE WEST MUST TAKE INTO ACCOUNT BOTH THE RATIONAL AND THE IRRATIONAL OBJECTIONS. ..... [MRS.] ALBRIGHT'S OFFER OF NATO COOPERATION WITH RUSSIA IN EXCHANGE FOR NATO EXPANSION PUTS THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE. IF NATO-RUSSIAN COOPERATION WERE IMPLEMENTED NOW AND DEVELOPED FOR A FEW YEARS, NATO EXPANSION MIGHT EVENTUALLY BECOME AN UNCONTROVERSIAL WAY OF INSTITUTIONALIZING A NEW SECURITY ORDER IN EUROPE. ..... BUT .... TIMING IS EVERYTHING, AND IN RUSSIA'S PRESENT CONDITION, [MRS.] ALBRIGHT'S OFFER REMAINS PRACTICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO ACCEPT."

[BEGIN OPT]

TEXT: THERE IS ALSO GREAT JOY EXPRESSED BY, AMONG OTHERS, THE SUN IN BALTIMORE, OVER THE ASTRONAUTS REPAIRS OF THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE.

VOICE: "CONGRATULATIONS ARE DUE THE CREW OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY, WHO MADE THE RETRIEVAL, REPAIR AND UPGRADING OF THE HUBBLE APPEAR ROUTINE. THEY TIED THE RECORD FOR SPACE WALKS IN THE PROCESS, FIVE TIMES LEAVING THE SHUTTLE TO PERFORM TASKS ON THE HUBBLE. .....THE RESULTING IMAGES [FROM THE REPAIRED TELESCOPE] .... WILL BE OF OBJECTS AS THEY APPEARED IN SPACE MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO. SCIENTISTS USING THESE PICTURES FROM THE PAST WILL GAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE, DISTANT GALAXIES, STARS FORMING, COMETS FALLING."

TEXT: REACTING TO SPECIAL WHITEWATER INVESTIGATOR KENNETH STARR'S RESIGNATION, WHICH MAY TAKE EFFECT IN AUGUST, THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER CALLS IT "A DISGRACE," ADDING:

VOICE: "AS IT TURN OUT, THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE TO TRUTH AND JUSTICE IN THIS AFFAIR MAY BE MR. STARR'S UNWILLINGNESS TO SEE IT THROUGH TO THE END. WHEN YOU SIGN ON TO INVESTIGATE THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, HIS WIFE AND SOME OF THEIR CLOSEST ASSOCIATES,YOU'D BETTER SIGN ON FOR THE DURATION."

[BEGIN OPT]

TEXT: AND LASTLY, OF THE UNEXPECTED FIRING OF MEXICO'S ANTI-DRUG CZAR, A PREVIOUSLY RESPECTED ARMY GENERAL, TODAY'S LOS ANGELES TIMES LAMENTS:

VOICE: "EVERYONE IN MEXICO, FROM PRESIDENT "ERNESTO ZEDILLO DOWN, BELIEVED [GENERAL JESUS GUTIERREZ REBOLLO] ... WAS A TOUGH, HONEST MILITARY OFFICER. ..... NOW [GENERAL] GUTIERREZ'S ARREST ON SUSPICION OF TAKING BRIBES TO PROTECT THE JUAREZ CARTEL HAS RAISED SERIOUS CONCERNS ABOUT MEXICO'S ABILITY TO SHIELD ITS ANTI-DRUG FORCES FROM THE CORRUPTING POWER OF THE NARCO FORCES."

TEXT: ON THAT NOTE, WE CONCLUDE THIS BRIEF SAMPLING OF EDITORIAL COMMENT FROM THURSDAY'S U-S PRESS.
NEB/ANG/NL
20-Feb-97 10:28 AM EST (1528 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

[02] EURO STOCKS (S ONLY) BY JACK HUIZENGA (LONDON)

INTRO: SHARE PRICES WERE DOWN IN TRADING THURSDAY ON EUROPEAN MARKETS. V-O-A'S JACK HUIZENGA HAS THE CLOSING MARKET REPORT FROM LONDON.

TEXT: STOCK PRICES WERE BASICALLY UNCHANGED IN LONDON, BUT WERE OFF SHARPLY IN BOTH FRANKFURT AND PARIS. ANALYSTS SAID TRADERS IN GERMANY AND FRANCE APPARENTLY FELT THE MARKETS HAD RISEN ENOUGH -- AT LEAST FOR NOW IN LONDON, THE FOOTSIE-100 INDEX ENDED THE DAY OFF ONLY A LITTLE OVER ONE POINT. BUT THE DROPS WERE BIGGER ON THE OTHER MAJOR EUROPEAN MARKETS.

IN FRANKFURT, THE DAX-30 INDEX CLOSED DOWN ALMOST 33 POINTS -- ABOUT ONE-AND-TWO-TENTHS PERCENT. AND IN PARIS, THE CAC-40 INDEX FINISHED OFF ALMOST 20 POINTS -- ABOUT THREE-QUARTERS OF ONE PERCENT.

ON THE LONDON CURRENCY EXCHANGE, THE U-S DOLLAR GAINED A LITTLE IN VALUE AGAINST THE BRITISH POUND. BUT IT WAS DOWN AGAINST THE GERMAN MARK AND THE JAPANESE YEN.
NEB/JWH
20-Feb-97 1:23 PM EST (1823 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

[03] TURKEY / U-S ARMS (L) BY MAXIM KNIAZKOV (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: TURKEY'S DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HIS COUNTRY AND THE UNITED STATES FALLS SHORT OF DESIRED LEVELS. SPEAKING IN WASHINGTON THURSDAY, TURHAN TAYAN EXPRESSED PARTICULAR UNHAPPINESS ABOUT A STALLED U-S / TURKISH ARMS DEAL. V-O-A'S MAXIM KNIAZKOV HAS DETAILS.

TEXT: MR. TAYAN SAYS ANKARA IS CONCERNED BY WHAT HE CALLED ARTIFICIAL OBSTACLES ERECTED IN THE WAY OF TURKEY'S WISH TO BUY MODERN ATTACK HELICOPTERS AND WARSHIPS FROM THE UNITED STATES. HE SPOKE THROUGH AN INTERPRETER.

I WOULD LIKE TO CITE THE PROBLEMS PERTAINING TO THE TRANSFER OF PERRY-CLASS FRIGATES AND COBRA HELICOPTERS. THESE PROBLEMS CREATE CONCERN ON OUR PART.

THE U-S CONGRESS BLOCKED THE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR DEAL LAST YEAR FOLLOWING A TENSE STANDOFF BETWEEN TURKEY AND GREECE OVER A SMALL AEGEAN SEA ISLAND, WHICH NEARLY ENDED IN A SHOOTING WAR.

OPPONENTS OF THE DEAL HAVE ALSO EXPRESSED CONCERN TURKEY MIGHT USE THE HELICOPTERS IN ITS WAR AGAINST KURDISH SEPARATISTS, WHICH HAS ALREADY COST AN ESTIMATED 20-THOUSAND LIVES.

BRUSHING THESE CONCERNS OFF, MR. TAYAN CRITICIZED U-S HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES.

I WOULD LIKE TO REMIND OUR FRIENDS WHO BRING UP HUMAN RIGHTS ON EVERY PLATFORM WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF OUR FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM, THAT THE INNOCENT PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES IN TREACHEROUS ATTACKS ALSO HAD THE BASIC RIGHT TO LIFE.

THE LIST OF GRIEVANCES MR. TAYAN BROUGHT TO THE UNITED STATES ALSO INCLUDED LOSSES INCURRED BY TURKEY AS A RESULT OF THE U-N IMPOSED TRADE EMBARGO AGAINST IRAQ FROM ITS AUGUST 1990 INVASION OF KUWAIT.

THE FACT THAT NO EFFORT HAS BEEN MADE TO DATE TO COMPENSATE THE LOSS OF APPROXIMATELY 30 BILLION DOLLARS HAS DISTURBED THE BALANCE IN OUR RELATIONS AND CAUSED TURKEY TO SHOULDER ALL OF THE BURDEN HERSELF.

ANALYSTS SAY SIGNS OF UNEASE APPEARED IN U-S / TURKISH RELATIONS AFTER LAST YEAR'S COMING TO POWER OF PRIME MINISTER NECMETTIN ERBAKAN, THE LEADER OF AN ISLAMIST PARTY. MR. ERBAKAN MOVED TO IMPROVE RELATIONS WITH IRAN AND LIBYA -- WASHINGTON'S ARCHFOE'S. THE UNITED STATES ALSO RECENTLY CRITICIZED TURKEY FOR ESCALATING TENSION OVER CYPRUS. THIS, AFTER THE ISLAND'S GREEK CYPRIOT GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED PLANS TO PURCHASE AIR DEFENSE MISSILES FROM RUSSIA. TURKEY RESPONDED BY THREATENING TO ATTACK THE MISSILE SITES. (SIGNED)
NEB/MAX/LWM
20-Feb-97 6:21 PM EST (2321 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

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