Voice of America, 99-11-15

Voice of America: Selected Articles Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] CLINTON-TURKEY (L) BY DEBORAH TATE (ANKARA)

[02] CLINTON - TURKEY (L UPDATE) BY DEBORAH TATE (ANKARA)

[03] CLINTON - TURKEY ONITER (L-ONLY) BY DEBORAH TATE (ANKARA)

[04] TURKEY QUAKE (L ONLY) BY AMBERIN ZAMAN (ANKARA)

[05] MACEDONIA ELECTION (L ONLY) BY BETH POTTER (SPLIT, CROATIA)

[06] U-N SREBRENICA REPORT (L-ONLY) BY BRECK ARDERY (UNITED NATIONS)

[07] U-N-BOSNIA PRESIDENTS (L-ONLY) BY BRECK ARDERY (UNITED NATIONS)

[08] RUSSIA / CHECHNYA (L) BY PETER HEINLEIN (MOSCOW)

[09] EDITORIAL: TIME FOR ELECTIONS IN SERBIA

[10] E-U - DEFENSE (L-ONLY) BY RON PEMSTEIN (BRUSSELS)

[11] E-U / CHECHNYA (L-ONLY) BY RON PEMSTEIN (BRUSSELS)

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

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

[14] MONDAY'S EDITORIALS BY NICK SIMEONE (WASHINGTON)

[01] CLINTON-TURKEY (L) BY DEBORAH TATE (ANKARA)

INTRO: President Clinton and Turkish President Suleyman Demirel have concluded talks in Ankara that touched on a broad range of issues, and included a candid assessment of Turkey's human-rights situation. Correspondent Deborah Tate reports from the Turkish capital. Text: Turkey has long been criticized by human-rights groups for allowing repression -- including torture -- against political opponents. In an appearance before reporters with Mr. Clinton after the talks, Mr. Demirel -- speaking through a translator -- bluntly acknowledged there is a problem.

[02] CLINTON - TURKEY (L UPDATE) BY DEBORAH TATE (ANKARA)

INTRO: President Clinton has issued a strong appeal to Turkey to improve its human rights record. Mr. Clinton, visiting Ankara, raised the issue in a meeting with President Suleyman Demirel and in a speech to Turkey's parliament. Correspondent Deborah Tate reports from Turkey's capital. Text: Mr. Clinton chose his words carefully in discussing the sensitive issue of human rights. In a speech to the Turkish parliament, Mr. Clinton praised the country's recent efforts to improve the situation -- from edicts banning torture to a new law protecting the rights of political parties. But he said more needs to be done -- especially in the area of freedom of expression.

[03] CLINTON - TURKEY ONITER (L-ONLY) BY DEBORAH TATE (ANKARA)

INTRO: President Clinton - traveling in Turkey - visits the western city of Izmit Tuesday, the area hardest hit in last August's devastating earthquake. Correspondent Deborah Tate has a preview.

TEXT: At a state dinner in Ankara on the eve of his visit to Izmit, Mr. Clinton pledged the United States would help Turkey rebuild from earthquake devastation.

[04] TURKEY QUAKE (L ONLY) BY AMBERIN ZAMAN (ANKARA)

INTRO: Survivors of Friday's massive earthquake in northwestern Turkey are still having trouble finding adequate shelter, three-days after losing their homes. Amberin Zaman in Ankara reports Turkish officials say at least 450-people died in the earthquake, the second major quake to strike Turkey in three months.

TEXT: Scores of survivors of Turkey's latest earthquake are struggling with freezing temperatures. They await tents and food three-days after the quake measuring seven-point-two on the Richter scale destroyed their homes. Those who were given tents say that they do not provide adequate protection against seasonal rain and cold. Both Turkish and international rescue workers are continuing to sift through the rubble for signs of survivors, as families implore them not to give up the search for loved ones still missing. The Turkish government has been widely praised for its swift response to Friday's quake, both in dispatching rescue teams and emergency supplies. The government was criticized for a belated reaction to the massive August 17th quake that claimed 17-thousand lives. The government has also been widely criticized for urging survivors of the August quake to move back into their homes. Many who did so were either killed or injured in the latest earthquake. Some Turkish newspapers charged the government had insisted the survivors return to their homes to avoid paying rent subsidies it had pledged for victims. As many as 600-thousand people are thought to have been left homeless by the August 17th quake. Many are living in flimsy tents, despite government pledges to provide winterized shelter by the end of October. Turkish officials say 700-buildings were either damaged or destroyed in Friday's earthquake, which was centered on the town of Duzce, about 170-kilometers east of Istanbul. A steady stream of survivors has been leaving the town with the few belongings they were able to retrieve -- many vowing never to return. (SIGNED)
NEB/AZ/JWH/RAE 15-Nov-1999 12:09 PM EDT (15-Nov-1999 1709 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America

[05] MACEDONIA ELECTION (L ONLY) BY BETH POTTER (SPLIT, CROATIA)

INTRO: A last-minute get-out-the-vote drive by ethnic Albanians in Macedonia apparently helped the country's deputy foreign minister Boris Trajkovski win the presidential election. But as Beth Potter reports, the opposition candidate is charging fraud.

TEXT: Macedonia's central election commission said the turnout in Sunday's second-round election was 70- percent. Mr. Trajkovski was declared the winner after a preliminary vote tally, leading Social Democratic candidate Tito Petkovski by an estimated 77-thousand votes of more than one-million cast. International election observers reported irregularities at a number of polling stations in western Macedonia and around Skopje, the capital. Western Macedonia is heavily populated by ethnic Albanians, a voter base courted by Mr. Trajkovski in recent weeks. Observers say they saw large scale "proxy" voting, or one person carrying identification for several other people and voting for them, and a few instances of multiple voting. The government election commission reported that in some areas, the number of ballots was larger than the number of registered voters.

[06] U-N SREBRENICA REPORT (L-ONLY) BY BRECK ARDERY (UNITED NATIONS)

INTRO: The United Nations today (Monday) released a report on the 1995 massacre at Srebrenica. The document says the United Nations has learned some important lessons from what it calls one of the worst war crimes in Europe since the end of World War Two. V-O-A Correspondent Breck Ardery reports from the United Nations.

TEXT: The report focuses on what led up to the events of July, 1995 when, during the Bosnian war, Serbian forces took Srebrenica and proceeded to massacre thousands of Bosnian Muslims. The U-N Security Council had declared Srebrenica one of several "safe" areas, but a small group of Dutch "peacekeeping" soldiers was unable to defend Srebrenica. The report blames serious misjudgments on the part of the United Nations, misjudgments which included an inability to recognize the "scope of evil" confronting the people of Srebrenica from Serb forces. The report says NATO air strikes should have been authorized to stop the Serb assault and that an arms embargo against Bosnia should have been lifted. The Srebrenica report, which was ordered by the U-N General Assembly, says the massacre carries some important lessons for the United Nations. One is that peacekeepers should never again be deployed into an area in which there is no peace agreement. Another is that so-called "safe areas" must be fully demilitarized or fully defended by a credible military deterrent. But the central lesson in the report is that a deliberate and systematic attempt to murder an entire people must be met decisively with all necessary means. Twenty-two hundred bodies have been recovered from mass graves at Srebrenica, but the Red Cross estimates more than seven thousand people are still "missing" and are presumed to have been murdered. (Signed) NEB/BA/LSF/TVM/gm 15-Nov-1999 15:29 PM EDT (15-Nov-1999 2029 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America

[07] U-N-BOSNIA PRESIDENTS (L-ONLY) BY BRECK ARDERY (UNITED NATIONS)

INTRO: All three members of Bosnia's joint presidency appeared before the United Nations Security Council today (Monday) to re-affirm their commitment to a fully integrated, multi-ethnic nation. At the United Nations, V-O-A Correspondent Breck Ardery reports the presidents also issued a declaration to strengthen Bosnia's national institutions.

TEXT: It was the first time that all three members of the Bosnian presidency, representing the Croats, Serbs, and Muslims, had ever appeared together in the Security Council. The three agreed that Bosnia's future is to be part of Europe, and that forces advocating ethnic hatred have no place in Bosnia. In addition, the Bosnia presidents reached agreement on what they call the "New York Declaration." A key point in the agreement is the establishment of a border service with a staff drawn equally from the three ethnic constituencies of Bosnia. Richard Holbrooke, the U-S ambassador to the United Nations, says the creation of a border service is vital to Bosnia's future as a nation.

[08] RUSSIA / CHECHNYA (L) BY PETER HEINLEIN (MOSCOW)

INTRO: President Boris Yeltsin has vowed to defend Russia's military offensive in Chechnya against a chorus of international criticism at this week's European security summit in Turkey. Correspondent Peter Heinlein in Moscow reports Mr. Yeltsin will lead a large Russian delegation to the meeting.

TEXT: President Yeltsin lashed out at Western criticism of the war in Chechnya. He told Kremlin reporters there would be no halt to the punishing military campaign as long as, in his words - a single terrorist remains on our territory. Mr. Yeltsin said he would personally lead Russia's delegation to the O-S-C-E summit beginning Thursday in Istanbul. He will be accompanied by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev, and several other senior officials, including the chief of the humanitarian effort attempting to help those fleeing the war zone. Meanwhile, international criticism of the conflict continues to mount.

[09] EDITORIAL: TIME FOR ELECTIONS IN SERBIA

THIS IS THE ONLY EDITORIAL BEING RELEASED FOR BROADCAST 11/16/99. Anncr: The Voice of America presents differing points of view on a wide variety of issues. Next, an editorial expressing the policies of the United States Government: Voice: The pressure for democratic change in Serbia is mounting. Recent polls suggest that seventy percent of Serbs want a new government. The people are tired of the corruption, arrogance and repression of the Slobodan Milosevic regime. In an effort to promote democratic change, the U.S. has announced that it will lift sanctions on Serbia if free local and national elections are held early. That could mean lifting the oil embargo and air-travel ban, among other sanctions isolating the country. U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright recently met with some members of the Serbian opposition to hear their views on additional ways to bring democratic change to Serbia. She announced U.S. support for a European-run pilot project to allow about five million dollars' worth of oil to be delivered this winter to the opposition-controlled cities of Nis [NEESH] and Pirot [PEER-rot]. The opposition is striving to bring peaceful change to Serbia. United, they have the resources to promote a platform of political and economic reform for Serbia. The people of Serbia need to know that the day they succeed in bringing democracy to their country is the day Serbia's isolation will end. Then they will be able to rejoin the mainstream of European political and economic life. Anncr: That was an editorial expressing the policies of the United States Government. If you have a comment, please write to Editorials, V-O-A, Washington, D-C, 20547, U-S-A. You may also comment at www-dot-voa-dot-gov-slash-editorials, or fax us at (202) 619-1043. 15-Nov-1999 13:49 PM EDT (15-Nov-1999 1849 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America

[10] E-U - DEFENSE (L-ONLY) BY RON PEMSTEIN (BRUSSELS)

INTRO: For the first time, European Union foreign ministers have met together with European Union defense ministers to discuss the possibilities for building an E-U defense force independent of NATO. As Ron Pemstein reports from Brussels, there is a long way to go.

TEXT: This initial meeting was to establish the political will to give the European Union its own military force capable of performing both military and civilian tasks that NATO does not want to do. There was a lot of discussion by the foreign and defense ministers to make their plans transparent to NATO since the European Union is likely for the short and medium term to need NATO's military equipment to act on its own. There were suggestions for a rapid deployment force of some 40- to 100-thousand soldiers who could quickly be assembled for some peacekeeping or humanitarian function. European Union members could decide whether or not to take part in a specific mission or whether non E-U members from NATO could participate such as Turkey or Norway. The European Union's defense coordinator, Javier Solana, says such a European force will have to be credible.

[11] E-U / CHECHNYA (L-ONLY) BY RON PEMSTEIN (BRUSSELS)

INTRO: European Union foreign ministers have condemned what they call Russia's use of indiscriminate force in Chechnya. But as V-O-A Correspondent Ron Pemstein reports from Brussels, the European Union's common foreign policy is proving stronger in language than in action.

TEXT: This was one of the first opportunities for the European Union to show its united voice in world affairs since the appointment of Javier Solana as its high representative. The rhetoric was strong -- the foreign ministers expressed deep concern at the Russian military campaign in Chechnya and condemned all disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force. As one E-U official says, "We don't condemn Russia all the time. However, the strong language in the statement is not backed by any action by the European Union or any threat of action. Instead, there is a suggestion that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe be allowed to open a branch office in Nazran, the capital of Ingushetia, near Chechnya. Finnish Foreign Minister Tarja Harlonen, speaking for the E-U foreign ministers, says sanctions can have an uncertain effect.

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

INTRO: In Northern Ireland, former U-S Senator George Mitchell is keeping peace hopes alive with expressions of confidence that Unionists and Republicans will break the deadlock over disarming Irish Republican Army paramilitaries. As V-O-A Correspondent Laurie Kassman reports from London, the dispute has prevented the formation of an all-party executive council to administer home rule powers.

TEXT: Mr. Mitchell says he is confident both sides will find a way to resolve their disputes over disarming paramilitaries.

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

INTRO: Stock prices in the United States were modestly down today (Monday) in lackluster trading, as investors wait for Tuesday's decision on U-S interest rates. V-O-A correspondent Elaine Johanson reports from New York:

TEXT: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost eight points, down a fraction, closing at 10-thousand-760. The Standard and Poor's 500 index dropped one point to 13-hundred-94. And the Nasdaq Composite Index also closed down a mere fraction. Trading was very cautious the day before the U-S central bank - the Federal Reserve Board -- decides whether to raise short-term interest rates for the third time this year. Analysts said Monday was a good time for investors to take a break, following last week's gains.

[14] MONDAY'S EDITORIALS BY NICK SIMEONE (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: Comments President Clinton made about his legacy and the Monica Lewinsky scandal -- as well as outrage over European business involvement in Sudan are drawing comment in American newspapers Monday. V- O-A's _______________ has a sampling in today's Editorial Digest.

TEXT: President Clinton recently told a reporter that by standing firm and not resigning this year after his impeachment for lying about sex with an intern, he was acting to preserve the Constitution. That comment left some observers, including "The Washington Times", wondering what he meant.

VOICE: Far from preserving the Constitution, the president subverted that very document, which he twice solemnly swore to uphold at his inaugurations. To be sure, Mr. Clinton managed to escape conviction in the Senate, owing to universal Democratic partisan support .Consider instead the sober, reflective judgement of Federal District Court Judge Susan Webber Wright, the president's former law student who fined him nearly 100-thousand dollars for his `contemptuous' conduct in the civil lawsuit brought by Paula Jones.

TEXT: The year-long Lewinsky scandal left Washington more polarized. That led to legislative fights between the White House and Congress that many blame for the defeat of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, as well as discord over the yet to be completed federal budget. "The San Francisco Chronicle" writes that Republicans might as well throw up their hands and admit that the President has again gained the upper hand in the battle over federal dollars.

VOICE: While Republicans had focused on the tax cut and protecting the social security surplus, Clinton had defined his priorities: "Deal with the big challenges first. Deal with the aging of America. Save social security. Save Medicare. Add a prescription drug benefit . and get America out of debt for the first time since 1835." He hardly got all he wanted, but he beat the G-O-P at its own game by making social security preservation and national debt reduction his own.

TEXT: "The Washington Post" is criticizing European firms for wanting to take part in oil projects in Sudan, scene of one of the world's longest running civil wars and a country with one of the worst human- rights records. For some companies, a recently completed oil pipeline is making the African nation a more attractive investment. In an editorial Monday, "The Post" writes that if it were not for what it calls -- this oil-inspired softness -- an end to the country's murderous civil war might just be conceivable.

VOICE: Western governments should present a united front in condemning Khartoum, not seize upon minor human-rights concessions as an excuse to warm relations . Europe's governments should warn their oil companies away also.

TEXT: And finally, the Internet has proven to be a useful tool for students. But the "Sacramento (California) Bee" writes that it is also becoming an invitation for plagiarism. So much so, that the Internet now has a site that instructors can use to check the authenticity of their students' work.

VOICE: One University of California professor snared 45 of his 320 neuro-biology students by using Plagiarism-dot-org, according to a report in the "San Francisco Chronicle". The professor . was surprised by the high number of cheaters because he had announced at the outset of the course that he would be using an Internet site to scan their papers.

TEXT: That is a sampling of issues receiving comment in American newspapers Monday.
NEB/NJS/RAE 15-Nov-1999 14:13 PM EDT (15-Nov-1999 1913 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America

Voice of America: Selected Articles Directory - Previous Article - Next Article