Voice of America, 99-08-17

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

CONTENTS

[01] YUGO FOOD NEEDS (L-ONLY) BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)

[02] BOSNIA FRAUD (L) BY NICK SIMEONE (WASHINGTON)

[03] RUSSIA / DAGESTAN (L-ONLY) BY PETER HEINLEIN (MOSCOW)

[04] WAR IN DAGESTAN BY ED WARNER (WASHINGTON)

[05] TURKEY - EARTHQUAKE (L-ONLY) BY AMBERIN ZAMAN (ANKARA)

[06] TURKEY / EARTHQUAKE RELIEF (L ONLY) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (LONDON)

[07] TURKEY / QUAKE S-O BY LAURIE KASSMAN (ISTANBUL)

[08] U.S.-QUAKE REACT (L) BY DAVID GOLLUST (WHITE HOUSE)

[09] U-S - QUAKE REACT (L-UPDATE) BY DAVID GOLLUST (WHITE HOUSE)

[10] N-Y ECON WRAP (S & L) BY BRECK ARDERY (NEW YORK)

[11] TUESDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ERIKA EVANS (WASHINGTON)

[01] YUGO FOOD NEEDS (L-ONLY) BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)

INTRO: The United Nations says more than three- quarters of a million people in Serbia and Montenegro will need food aid this year. But the joint assessment mission by the United Nations's World Food Program and the United Nation's Refugee Agency does not take into account the food and economic situation prevailing in Kosovo. Lisa Schlein in Geneva has this report.

TEXT: The World Food Program estimates the harvest this year in Yugoslavia will be 20 to 30-percent below average. But, it says this is not the biggest problem facing people in Serbia and Montenegro. The U-N agency says a lot of food is available on the market. But people can not afford to buy it. Christiane Berthiaume of the World Food Program says the Yugoslav economy has deteriorated and is expected to get even worse. She says inflation is rising by 15-percent every month. She says an average worker's salary is around 55-dollars a month. And, she says about 75-percent of a family's earnings goes to buy food.

[02] BOSNIA FRAUD (L) BY NICK SIMEONE (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: The top Western official in charge of running Bosnia suspects the country's Croat, Muslim and Serb leaders may have stolen as much as a billion dollars in money intended to help the country rebuild from three years of war. Correspondent Nick Simeone reports on a corruption situation described as widespread.

TEXT: The figure is staggering. About a billion dollars - or one fifth of all public money and aid from abroad donated to Bosnia since the end of the war there four years ago - can not be accounted for.

[03] RUSSIA / DAGESTAN (L-ONLY) BY PETER HEINLEIN (MOSCOW)

INTRO: Senior Russian officials say the fight against Islamic rebels in the southern republic of Dagestan could be over within days. But as V-O-A's Peter Heinlein reports from Moscow, the insurgents appear to be resisting all efforts to dislodge them.

TEXT: Russian army chief of staff General Anatoly Kvashnin says his troops are on schedule to smash the Dagestani insurgency by the end of the week, as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin predicted.

[04] WAR IN DAGESTAN BY ED WARNER (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: Russia is again at war in the Caucasus and predicting victory over the rebels challenging Moscow's authority. Whether they will hold out as stubbornly in Dagestan as they did in Chechnya remains to be seen. Correspondent Ed Warner provides contrasting views on the outlook for the war in this latest Russian attempt to keep its territory together.

TEXT: From Moscow's point of view, it cannot afford to lose the Caucasus, the pathway to Caspian Sea oil and to Russian influence in the Middle East and Central Asia. While Russia remains, it can block efforts by other powers like Turkey and Iran to become established in the Caucasus. But the area is hard to control from Moscow. Chechnya has slipped from its grasp, and now rebels in Dagestan have declared their independence, provoking another armed Russian intervention. Will it work better than the failed effort in Chechnya, which is now independent in everything but name? International consultant Enders Wimbush, vice president of International Strategy and Policy at Hicks and Associates, foresees failure:

[05] TURKEY - EARTHQUAKE (L-ONLY) BY AMBERIN ZAMAN (ANKARA)

INTRO: At least 150 people were killed and hundreds of others injured when a powerful earthquake measuring six point seven on the Richter Scale shook western and central Turkey early Tuesday. Amberin Zaman reports from Ankara.

TEXT: Turkish officials say the quake centered on the western industrial town of Izmit, some 90 kilometers away from Istanbul. The highest death toll was reported in Izmit where officials say at least 100 buildings collapsed. Turkish State Television showed hundreds of the towns residents looking dazed as they wandered through piles of rubble in their underwear. Rescue workers were shown digging out trapped victims under the debris of collapsed apartment buildings as their loved ones looked on. Hundreds of citizens flocked to local hospitals for treatment of injuries sustained during the quake. The towns of Adapazari and Sakarya were also severly affected by the quake and in Istanbul, the country's largest city, at least 100 buildings were reported to have collapsed. The quake was also felt in the capital, Ankara. Many fires were reported to have broken out including one at the country's largest petroleum refinery located in Izmit. Information about the extent of the damage remains largely unavailable however because of power outages and breakdowns in telephone lines in most of the struck areas. A crisis management center has been formed in Ankara to deal with the quake. The government appealed to citizens to stay clear of damaged buildings until the threat of aftershocks was well out of the way. (Signed)
NEB/AZ/PLM NEB/WTW/ 17-Aug-1999 02:52 AM EDT (17-Aug-1999 0652 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

[06] TURKEY / EARTHQUAKE RELIEF (L ONLY) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (LONDON)

INTRO: Rescue teams are searching for survivors after an earthquake measuring about seven on the Richter scale caused widespread damage (early Tuesday) in northwestern Turkey. More than 375-people were killed and several-thousand injured. The death toll is expected to rise. London Correspondent Laurie Kassman spoke with the Geneva-based International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies about relief operations.

TEXT: Top priority for Turkish relief teams is the search for survivors in the rubble. The massive tremor was centered in the Western industrial town of Izmet, on the Sea of Marmara. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies operational services chief John Watt says relief operations will focus on providing water, shelter, and medical help for the injured.

[07] TURKEY / QUAKE S-O BY LAURIE KASSMAN (ISTANBUL)

INTRO: .Northwestern Turkey is digging out from a massive earthquake on Tuesday -- which claimed more than two thousand lives. The death toll is expected to rise with more than 10-thousand people reported injured, many critically. Correspondent Laurie Kassman reports from Istanbul, international rescue teams are arriving to help search for survivors.

TEXT: Many residents of Istanbul spent the night camped outside on any available open space, in grassy parks and on the sidewalks. Most decided it was safer to spend the night outside rather than risk getting trapped inside in case another tremor hit. Make shift tents and blankets were spread in Taksim Square in the heart of the city's tourist area. International rescue teams with specially trained dogs have arrived to help search for survivors still trapped in the rubble. Many families living or visiting outside Turkey, who have not been able to reach their relatives by phone, have flown back to search for them. Dozens of buildings collapsed in Istanbul, but destruction is far more widespread in the industrial city of Izmit, the epicenter of the massive earthquake about 100 kilometers east of Istanbul. Hospitals and clinics are tending to more than 10-thousand injured, while rescue teams continue the search for more survivors. (Signed)
NEB/LK/TVM-T/JO 17-Aug-1999 19:38 PM EDT (17-Aug-1999 2338 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

[08] U.S.-QUAKE REACT (L) BY DAVID GOLLUST (WHITE HOUSE)

INTRO: The United States is offering aid and technical assistance to Turkey to help it deal with what President Clinton describes as a terrible crisis spawned by an earthquake (Tuesday). Correspondent David Gollust reports from the White House. Text: Energy Secretary Bill Richardson and the Chairman of the Military Joint Chiefs of Staff General Hugh Shelton were in Turkey at the time of the earthquake, and both have been in touch with Turkish authorities to discuss U-S assistance. President Clinton, who was briefed on the situation by National Security Adviser Sandy Berger, has authorized the release of emergency funds to the Turkish Red Crescent Society. He has also ordered a team of U-S search-and-rescue experts to Turkey to provide technical help in the search for dead and injured. At a White House event, Mr. Clinton said America's thoughts and prayers are with the earthquake victims and their families. He stressed U-S readiness to provide additional help to its longtime ally.

[09] U-S - QUAKE REACT (L-UPDATE) BY DAVID GOLLUST (WHITE HOUSE)

INTRO: The Clinton Administration is flying two teams of disaster experts to Turkey to help authorities there deal with Tuesday's earthquake, which President Clinton says has created a "terrible crisis." More from VOA's David Gollust at the White House. Text: The United States is sending a 70-member team of rescue workers from fire departments in Virginia and Florida -- along with specially trained dogs - to Turkey join in the hunt for earthquake survivors. A separate team of experts from the U-S Agency for International Development will coordinate U-S relief efforts with those of other countries, and determine what other help might be needed. At a White House event, President Clinton stressed America's long-standing ties with Turkey and said the nation's thoughts and prayers are with the earthquake victims and their families:

[10] N-Y ECON WRAP (S & L) BY BRECK ARDERY (NEW YORK)

INTRO: Stock prices in the United States were up today (Tuesday) on news that the inflation rate is still very modest. V-O-A Business Correspondent Breck Ardery reports from New York.

TEXT: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 11- thousand-117, up 70 points. The Standard and Poor's 500 index closed at 13-hundred-44, up 13 points. The NASDAQ index gained one percent. The government reported consumer prices in the United States rose three-tenths of one percent last month, in line with Wall Street estimates. U-S industrial production rose in July for the sixth straight month. And new housing construction rose almost six percent last month as strong job growth apparently limited the effects of higher mortgage interest rates. Analysts say the good economic news might have lifted stock prices even higher had it not been for last Friday's strong rally after July's wholesale price index came in below expectations. Many Wall Street veterans say stocks will likely fluctuate in a narrow range until after U-S central bank governors announce their decision on interest rates next Tuesday.

[11] TUESDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ERIKA EVANS (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: Russia's internal turmoil; the aftermath of the Iowa Republican straw poll; enforcing stronger labor laws in U-S textile industries; and a peaceful return for Columbine High School students are among today's most talked about issues in U-S editorials. Now here is _________with a closer look in today's Editorial Digest. Text: The fighting in Dagestan has brought renewed attention on Russian leader Boris Yeltsin for the apparent disarray of his government. The Washington Times in the U-S capital says that Russia's current woes should have been foreseen. Voice: Russia's armed conflict against rebels in southern Dagestan is an unfortunate, but perhaps inevitable, consequence of Mr. Yelstin's lack of internal control. The current conflict was predictable. .Apparently, Moscow's high profile decision to send 3,500 Russian troops to Kosovo was more pressing than Russia's internal security. Text: The Washington Times goes on to add that acting Prime Minister Vladimir Putin can not use the same approach in Dagestan that previous Russian governments have displayed in past conflicts. Voice: If the Russians respond with the same incompetent brutality they demonstrated in the Chechen conflict, then the troubles in the region could be just beginning. .Mr. Putin has said he will crush the rebellion in Southern Dagestan "in the shortest time". This is true to form but judging by the Russian army's record in Chechnya, it will be wishful thinking. In the meantime, his focus on the conflict will divert his attention away from another disaster in waiting - the Russian economy. Sounds like the center does not hold. Text: Domestically, U-S editorial writers are responding to the after effects of the Iowa Republican straw poll. The Los Angeles Times, in the state of California, remarks that the affair may have done nothing more than raise money for the Republican Party. Voice: .The real winner of the Iowa republican straw poll is... the Iowa Republican party, for snookering nine presidential candidates into spending millions of dollars to participate in a carnival event that means little or nothing to the 2000 election. .The event did little even to illuminate what candidates think, beyond the content of their stock speeches. (Republican presidential nominee George W.) Bush now needs to earn his front-runner status by debating the other candidates and talking about real issues such as Social Security, gun control and HMO reform. .If there was any message in [Iowa] for Bush it is that he will not win the nomination by default. He will have to work for it. Text: In Massachusetts, The Boson Globe is bringing some attention to U-S labor laws, as a landmark legal settlement in California courts guarantees the monitoring of labor practices at U-S apparel factories in the central Pacific. Voice: The settlement is a step toward focusing attention on the Northern Marinas, where loopholes in federal law allow textile companies to import foreign workers with no regard to immigration laws, and to pay them the local minimum wage, which at $3.05 an hour is $2.10 less than the federal figure. .Even with this private initiative, the federal government should improve its efforts to monitor the enforcement of labor laws. If "Made in the USA" is to mean anything, it ought to imply a commitment to this basic standard of pay. Text: Finally, with hope and a new found sense of peace, Columbine High School students returned to school yesterday after the brutal shooting rampage that took place in April of this year. The Denver Post, in the state of Colorado, had this to say: Voice: Going back to school and getting into the groove of things this fall will be difficult for all Columbine students.. We must now trust that school officials will make the school as safe as humanly possible - that they will notice the warning signs of violence and take seriously the problems of adolescence. We must now hand Columbine over to its students and let them repair themselves and their school as they see fit. .Columbine, we salute you, and we hope that you will be left alone to be a school - not like the one before tragedy struck - but a better one, a place to heal, and most of all, learn. Text: With that editorial, we conclude this sampling of comment from Tuesday's U-S newspapers.
NEB/ENE/KL 17-Aug-1999 12:42 PM EDT (17-Aug-1999 1642 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

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