Voice of America, 99-08-31

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

CONTENTS

[01] KOSOVO JUDGES (L-ONLY) BY TIM BELAY (MITROVICA)

[02] KOSOVO SCHOOLS BY TIM BELAY (PRISTINA)

[03] TURKEY QUAKE (L-O) BY AMBERIN ZAMAN (ANKARA)

[04] UNICEF - TURKEY (L O) BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)

[05] RUSSIA / DAGESTAN (L) BY EVE CONANT (MOSCOW)

[06] NORTHERN IRELAND (L-ONLY) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (LONDON)

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

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

[01] KOSOVO JUDGES (L-ONLY) BY TIM BELAY (MITROVICA)

INTRO: The head of the United Nations mission in Kosovo (Tuesday) has installed seven district judges and two prosecutors in the main northern city of the Yugoslav province. Tim Belay reports from Mitrovica on efforts to establish a new legal system amid a climate of easing ethnic tensions in one of Kosovo's trouble spots.

TEXT: Bernard Kouchner, the head of the United Nations provisional government in Kosovo, administered the oath of office to the members of the new court, which was then translated in the Albanian and Serbian languages.

[02] KOSOVO SCHOOLS BY TIM BELAY (PRISTINA)

INTRO: Schools in Kosovo officially open on Wednesday (tomorrow). Tim Belay is in the provincial capital, Pristina, with a look at the challenges of restarting the education system, following a decade of civil unrest and a 78-day war earlier this year.

TEXT: Students at the primary, secondary and university levels will spend the next two months finishing up the school year which was cut short last spring by the war. The new school year is not scheduled to begin until November. For the past decade, Kosovo has had what's called a parallel education system. Serbian students and ethnic Albanian children went to separate schools where lessons were taught in native tongues. The lead agency in helping to get Kosovo's schools up and running is UNICEF - the United Nations' agency for children and education. A spokesman for UNICEF's Kosovo mission, Penelope Lewis, says there were big differences in school conditions for Serb and Albanian students under the parallel system of education.

[03] TURKEY QUAKE (L-O) BY AMBERIN ZAMAN (ANKARA)

INTRO: Two earthquakes Tuesday shook northwestern Turkey, triggering panic among thousands of survivors of the devastating quake that ripped through the same region two-weeks ago. Amberin Zaman in Ankara reports no deaths or injuries were reported in the latest earthquakes that measured five-point-four and four- point-six on the Richter scale.

TEXT: According to Turkey's main observatory at Kandilli, the first tremor was the strongest to hit the country since just after the August 17th quake that destroyed tens-of-thousands of homes in cities throughout Turkey's industrial heartland. Panicked survivors of the earlier quake wept, fainted, and fled their tents amid fears of further death and destruction. The latest tremors were felt in Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, about 50-kilometers west of the quake zone. Fear was especially intense in Adapazari where the August 17th quake crumpled thousands of buildings into heaps of rubble, wiping away entire families. The local governor's office sought to calm residents with loudspeaker announcements, but traumatized residents paid little heed as they flooded the streets crying for help. The official death toll of the earlier quake is about 14-thousand, but is expected to rise sharply once clearing work is completed. As many as 30-thousand bodies are said to be under rubble carpeting the quake zone. Criticism continues to be heaped on the Turkish government for its sluggish response to the disaster, both in sending rescue teams and providing food and shelter for more than one-half-million people said to be rendered homeless by the quake. Estimates for the economic damage from the quake range from eight-billion to 40-billion dollars. As foreign aid continues to pour in, estimates keep being revised. Turkey's prime minister, Bulent Ecevit, will be seeking U-S financial assistance when he travels to Washington in September to meet with President Clinton. (SIGNED)
NEB/AZ/JWH/RAE 31-Aug-1999 08:46 AM LOC (31-Aug-1999 1246 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

[04] UNICEF - TURKEY (L O) BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)

INTRO: UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, is launching a counseling program in Turkey to help children and teachers recover from the traumatic effects of the country's devastating earthquake. Lisa Schlein in Geneva reports UNICEF says one of its chief tasks is to re-establish what it calls a sense of normality in the lives of the children.

TEXT: UNICEF says it will be working closely with a number of agencies and specialists who are experts in trauma counseling. It says its earthquake recovery program is not aimed just at children. It also is designed to help teachers, social workers, and health professionals come to terms with their grief. UNICEF says it is setting up centers in three of Turkey's worst hit areas -- Yalova, Sakarya, and Golcuk. UNICEF spokesman Patrick Mc Cormick says the agency will be working closely with the Turkish Psychologists Association to tackle the problem of traumatized children and adults. He says this will be done in a variety of ways.

[05] RUSSIA / DAGESTAN (L) BY EVE CONANT (MOSCOW)

INTRO: Russian troops are in the third-day of an offensive against Islamic militants who control several villages in the Karamakhi region of Dagestan. Correspondent Eve Conant in Moscow reports thousands of refugees have fled the region as government forces pound the villages with aircraft and artillery.

TEXT: Russian and Dagestani government forces are using helicopter gunships and heavy artillery to try to dislodge militant Muslims who imposed strict Islamic law in the region last year. The area, called Karamakhi, is considered the heart of Islamic fundamentalism in Dagestan. Since the imposition of Sharia law, residents are forbidden to listen to music or take photographs, and women are required to wear Islamic dress covering their face, arms, and legs. The villages had a total population of 10-thousand. Interior Ministry officials say up to eight-thousand refugees have fled the mountainous area, about 80- kilometers east of where federal forces fought Islamic militants earlier in August. This latest conflict is part of the government's efforts to stamp out Islamic militants in the volatile northern Caucasus region. Russian military officials are trying to minimize casualties by focusing on air attacks instead of employing ground troops. They also have set up a special telephone number for relatives of soldiers to check on their status. Here, a woman gives the operator the name of her son and the military unit he is fighting in.

[06] NORTHERN IRELAND (L-ONLY) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (LONDON)

INTRO: The Ulster Unionist party is calling on British Prime Minister Tony Blair to overrule a controversial decision by his Northern Ireland secretary regarding the paramilitary Irish Republican Army. Correspondent Laurie Kassman reports from London.

TEXT: Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble says Britain's Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Marjorie Mowlam, was wrong to decide that the I-R-A is still adhering to its two-year old cease-fire.

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

INTRO: Stock prices in the United States were mixed today (Tuesday) in extremely volatile trading. V-O-A Business Correspondent Breck Ardery reports from New York.

TEXT: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 10- thousand-829, down 84 points. The Standard and Poor's 500 index closed at 13-hundred-20, down three points. The NASDAQ index gained one percent. Stock prices plunged as a new inflation fear gripped traders. The Industrial Average was down more than 100 points after a survey (NAPM) of U-S manufacturers showed the prices paid by factories rose to their highest level in more than four years. But the initial shock at the figure seemed to wear off and bargain hunters entered the market as the session's last hour began with the Dow turning positve. But selling pressure again hit hard in the last few minutes of trading.

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

INTRO: Outrage and suspicion toward the United States government's handling of a siege at an armed religious cult farm outside Waco, Texas, continues to fill the editorial columns of the nation's press. Among the popular international topics are: the election in East Timor; disturbing trends in Venezuela; the forthcoming Indian election, and a global battle of good intentions over the use of the pesticide D-D-T. There is also a touching editorial from middle America praising the Thais for compassion over a wounded elephant. Now, here is ____________ with some excerpts and a closer look in today's Editorial Digest.

TEXT: Recent revelations that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (F-B-I) fired incendiary tear gas canisters into a building housing about 80-people under siege near Waco, Texas, six-years ago, has ignited outrage in the press. About 80-people, including 25-children, died in the fire at the Branch Davidian compound. For six-years the U-S government insisted it did not use incendiary devices, but now is changing its story. In Georgia, "The Atlanta Journal" tries to define the key question this way.

VOICE: If the F-B-I began the fire, either by accident or on purpose, the Davidian dead become martyrs of an out-of-control government. If the Davidians started the fire, their deaths, while still tragic, were the result of suicide.

TEXT: In the national daily, "USA Today", published in a Washington, D-C suburb, the editorial headline reads: "F-B-I incompetence keeps flames of Waco alive," while "The Boston Globe" says of the latest internal investigation:

VOICE: Because the F-B-I has not entirely outgrown the taint of the J. Edgar Hoover years, when the agency used illegal methods and blackmail to wield power, and because it has admitted to concealing part of the truth about Waco, the F-B-I cannot conduct a believable probe, and neither can [Attorney General Janet] Reno's Justice Department.

TEXT: "New York's Daily News" says "The heads of those responsible must roll," while "San Francisco's Chronicle" demands that "Waco Needs Answers." And in Florida, "The Orlando Sentinel" suggests:

VOICE: An independent body must conduct the new investigation. The Justice Department already had its turn, and now its credibility is in shambles.

TEXT: Overseas, the election in East Timor, part of the Indonesian archipelago, draws this editorial praise from New Jersey's capital, and "The Trenton Times".

VOICE: If apathetic Americans ever need inspiration to . vote (theoretically, they should not) they should take a look at what is happening half a world away in tiny East Timor. There, at great personal risk, East Timorese are flocking to the polls to vote on independence from Indonesia. . So far, under the watchful eye of United Nations observers, the balloting has taken place with few incidents. However, during the weeks leading up to the historic vote, armed thugs attacked East Timorese independence activists . in an attempt to scare them and their supporters away from the polls. . Incidents like these ought to wake up Americans to the reality that the democratic process which guarantees our freedom Can not be taken for granted.

TEXT: "The Detroit Free Press" adds this encouragement:

VOICE: While the actual results will not be known for about a week, the enthusiasm engendered by a free election should inspire anyone who embraces democratic concepts. .. The East Timorese seem to have embraced the notion that freedom to control their own destiny is worth the hardship independence will bring.

TEXT: Domestically, President Clinton continues to get editorial criticism for his offer of a pardon to 16 Puerto Rican terrorists in U-S jails the past 19- years. They were convicted of conspiracy in more than 130-bomb attacks during the late 1970's and early 80's as part of a campaign for Puerto Rican independence. "The Forth Worth Star-Telegram" says:

VOICE: Clemency for terrorists is a bad idea regardless of the motive. . the idea that President Clinton is willing to release convicted terrorists from prison while this country is encouraging a worldwide crackdown on such activities is disturbing. The thought that is might serve as a political ploy to garner votes for his wife's possible New York senatorial run is disgusting.

TEXT: There is concern also at the latest turn of events in Venezuela, where several U-S papers suggest, the new president is moving toward a left-wing, populist dictatorship. "The St. Petersburg Times" says the people should have seen this coming.

VOICE: Venezuelans can not claim to be surprised by President Hugo Chavez's contempt for their country's constitution. [Mr.] Chavez, a former lieutenant colonel in the Venezuelan army, was imprisoned after he led an unsuccessful coup . in 1992. When he ran for president last year, [Mr.] Chavez promised revolutionary change for a corrupt power structure that has left millions of Venezuelans in poverty despite the country's oil riches. [Mr.] Chavez is quickly delivering on that revolutionary promise -- but not in a manner that comforts those who value constitutional government in one of this hemisphere's most enduring democracies.

TEXT: In Denver, Colorado's "Rocky Mountain News" columnist Holger Jensen points out how the frustration of the common people in Venezuela has led to the present events.

VOICE: Venezuela pumps more oil than any country outside the Middle East. Yet half its 23-million people live in dire poverty. Venezuela also is Latin America's oldest democracy. While its neighbors were ruled by "caudillos," strongmen, it had an unbroken string of popularly elected governments for 41-years, dating back to 1958. Translation: Democracy funded by oil wealth did not fill Venezuelan bellies. /// OPT

TEXT: Turning to the subcontinent, the Indian elections, beginning within days, draw this comment from today's "Dallas Morning News".

VOICE: India, the most populous democracy, holds elections Sunday through October fifth. The Bharatiya Janata Party seems likely to return to power. If returned, then the party should behave more responsibly than during its first incarnation, which featured appeals to extreme Hindu nationalism. /// OPT /// After the party formed a government in the spring of 1998, it detonated . nuclear bombs, upsetting the balance of power in south Asia and hurting the world-wide push to ban nuclear weapons tests. In April, when it looked as if the government might fall, it tested a nuclear-capable missile in a desperate effort to keep popular support. The ploy failed. The government fell anyway. /// END OPT /// . Whoever wins should tolerate all religions and eschew nuclear politics. That's the kind of government . India deserves.

TEXT: A global, environmental debate, pitting public health officials against environmentalists, over a worldwide ban on the use of the pesticide D-D-T is gaining attention. Environmentalists note the highly toxic nature of D-D-T, banned in the U-S in 1972 after it dramatically reduced the bird population, while health officials say it is still needed in some areas to combat the malaria-carrying mosquito. `The San Francisco Chronicle" concludes its view this way:

VOICE: U-N negotiators must resolve this agonizing dilemma in favor of human health, but they should seek creative methods that eventually do away with D-D-T once and for all.

TEXT: From the Pacific-island evening daily, "The Honolulu Star-Bulletin", comes praise for the arrest last week of a leading Bosnia-Herzegovinian war crimes suspect.

VOICE: The arrest of the Bosnian-Serb army's top commander is a major step in the prosecution of war crimes in the former Yugoslav federation. General Momir Talic was secretly indicted last March by the special prosecutor of the United Nations war crimes tribunal. He was arrested last Wednesday while visiting Austria to attend a conference, and flown to The Hague, the home of the tribunal. . The arrest is a warning to Yugoslav leaders that they cannot evade justice.

TEXT: Lastly a heart-rending editorial from Omaha, Nebraska's "World Herald", praising the nation of Thailand for its concern over the fate of an elephant, badly hurt when she stepped on a landmine.

VOICE: The story of Motola the elephant, now apparently recovering well from surgery in Thailand, has been an instructive if troubling study in contrasts. On the one hand, there have been heroic human efforts to save her life after she stepped on a land mine. On the other, it was human behavior that led her to all this. . land mines . [are] among the most heinous of weapons in that they do not discriminate between soldiers and civilians, and they continue to kill decades after they were laid down. As Motola's case illustrates, even animals can be their victims. . Elephants' niche in Thai society is a curious one. They are generally loved to the point of reverence . But many of the methods used to train them are brutal, and the practice of drugging them to get more labor out of them is disgusting. Yet when Motola was injured and needed unprecedented surgery, Thais nationwide rallied to her aid. More than 100- thousand [dollars] has been donated to defray the cost of her care. . As we noted, it is a study in contrasts, underscoring some of the best and the worst in human nature.

TEXT: On that note, we conclude this sampling of comment from the editorial pages of Tuesday's U-S press.
NEB/ANG/RAE 31-Aug-1999 11:21 AM LOC (31-Aug-1999 1521 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

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