Voice of America, 99-11-26

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

CONTENTS

[01] FRANCE / YUGOSLAV PLOT (L ONLY) BY JULIAN NUNDY (PARIS)

[02] NORTHERN IRELAND (L-ONLY) BY LOURDES NAVARRO (LONDON)

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

[04] FRIDAY'S EDITORIALS BY JACK PAYTON (WASHINGTON)

[01] FRANCE / YUGOSLAV PLOT (L ONLY) BY JULIAN NUNDY (PARIS)

INTRO: France has denied Yugoslav allegations that French agents had plotted the assassination of Yugoslavia's President Slobodan Milosevic. Julian Nundy reports from Paris.

TEXT: The French foreign ministry first refused any comment on the Yugoslav charges that five French agents had been plotting to kill President Slobodan Milosevic. But then the ministry said it was "surprised" by the reports from Belgrade. A foreign ministry spokesman said the allegations, made public by the Yugoslav Information Ministry, were in his words -- "without foundation." In Belgrade, Information Secretary Goran Matic said that the five, all natives of Yugoslavia or former Yugoslav republics, belonged to an organization called "Pauk" or "spider" and acted on orders from Paris. He said they had four different plans worked out to kill the Yugoslav leader. He said at a news conference that France had been caught "red-handed." He said the leader of the group, named as Jugoslav Petrovic, had dual French and Yugoslav nationality and had been a member of French secret services for 10 years. The charges were unexpected since France, which considers Serbia a traditional ally, has been more conciliatory towards Belgrade than other Western countries. Despite this, France played an active role in the NATO bombings of Yugoslavia earlier this year to drive Serbian forces from the province of Kosovo. After the United States, France had the second biggest air force committed to the campaign. The Yugoslav information secretary said Mr. Petrovic said he had killed about 50 people on French orders.

[02] NORTHERN IRELAND (L-ONLY) BY LOURDES NAVARRO (LONDON)

INTRO: The Leader of the pro-British Ulster Unionist party, David Trimble, is predicting victory in a key vote set to take place in Northern Ireland Saturday. Mr. Trimble has been lobbying his party followers to support the latest peace package negotiated by U-S mediator George Mitchell. But, despite worries that peace in the troubled province hangs in the balance, Lourdes Navarro reports from London that the outcome is still far from certain.

TEXT: The vote will be put to the 858-member Ulster Unionist Council - the group of party leaders who must sanction any changes in the policy of Northern Ireland's biggest party. And the result will determine whether or not a joint Protestant and Catholic government will be elected two days later with Britain handing over power to it in early December. For that to happen, though, George Mitchell's plan requires the Ulster Unionists to accept sharing power with Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (I-R-A), before the I-R-A disarms. Until now, the protestant Ulster Unionists have refused to agree to be in a government with a party that is tied to an armed group.

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

INTRO: Stock prices in the United States were mixed today (Friday), with some selling pressure at the end of a shortened post-Thanksgiving Day (holiday) trading session. V-O-A correspondent Elaine Johanson reports from New York:

TEXT: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 19 points at 10-thousand-988. The industrials lost 15 points over the shorter trading week. The Standard and Poor's 500 index was fractionally down, closing at 14-hundred-16. And the Nasdaq Composite had another record closing, gaining less than one percent. Personal income and consumer spending in the United States rose more than expected in October. Analysts agreed this is a good sign for retailers, as the five- week holiday shopping season got underway Friday. On-line retailers were especially hopeful that their cyber-stores would attract more customers this year. Investors were hopeful, too -- driving up many E- commerce stocks. Amazon dot com traded over six percent higher.

[04] FRIDAY'S EDITORIALS BY JACK PAYTON (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: The global economy, its fairness and direction, comes in for comment in U-S newspapers on Friday as the United States enters the most important season of its own economic activity - the period between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Other topics drawing interest include political reform in Nigeria and criticism of U-S presidential candidate John McCain. Now here is _________________ with a sampling of what the newspapers are saying in today's editorial digest.

TEXT: Next week's world trade summit in Seattle, (in the western state of) Washington has many U-S newspaper columnists and editorial writers speculating on the state of the global economy and where it might be heading. Some note what they consider the failure of economic "globalization." Others voice concerns about a link between economic growth and pollution of the environment. Still others see the United States continuing as champion of the new, and increasingly global, economic order. A column in the Los Angeles Times of California sums up the economic dilemma this way:

VOICE: The global economy was supposed to improve living standards by lifting all boats (EDS: equalizing the distribution of wealth). Instead, it has been marked by a growing gap between rich and poor. Indeed, globalization has translated into a race to the bottom for many communities. As corporations move their operations around the world, workers, communities and entire countries are pitted against each other to see who will provide the lowest wages and the cheapest environment and social costs. . The critics . have united disparate voices and concerns around one broad proposition: Global corporations, markets and capital must be sufficiently controlled to protect the well being of the world's people and environment.

TEXT: So notes the Los Angeles Times. The Washington Post echoes this theme by predicting that next week's meeting in Seattle will have to consider the increasingly obvious linkage between economic subsidies, trade and environmental damage.

VOICE: In a whole range of industries, governments subsidize producers in ways that both distort trade and harm the environment. .Farmers across the developed world get government help to cultivate marginal land. This hurts the soil and discriminates against farmers in developing countries. Some oil- producing nations such as Mexico and Russia subsidize gasoline. This pollutes the air and discriminates against other oil-producing countries. The world's fishermen get a fifth of their income from direct or indirect subsidies. Small wonder that some fish species are in danger of extinction.

TEXT: But while the Washington Post calls on the U-S administration of President Clinton to do something about such subsidies at the Seattle gathering, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in Pennsylvania celebrates what it says is Washington's domination of the global economic stage. That domination was clear, says the Post-Gazette, at this past week's meeting of government leaders in Florence, Italy.

VOICE: Mr. Clinton was surrounded by a new generation of social democratic leaders who in varying degrees have been struggling to modernize their parties and carve a sensible "Third Way" between a worship of uncaring free markets and a worship of inefficient state interventions. British Prime Minister Tony Blair is the president's most slavish disciple. embracing the once un-Laborite belief that. what's good for business and the financial markets is good for the nation. On the continent, French and German leftist and center- left parties find it more difficult to abandon the old ways. But they are doing so, . prodded by their shameful double-digit unemployment rate and the glittering example of Mr. Clinton's triumph .

TEXT: Turning to other international issues, the New York Times welcomes what it says are encouraging developments in Nigeria since President Olusegun Obasanjo took office there.

VOICE: Mr. Obasanjo came to office with a deserved reputation as a reformer. In the 1970s, he headed the only military government in Nigeria's history to freely hand power to an elected successor. Later, under the harsh 1990s dictatorship of General Sani Abacha, he spent three years in prison for opposing government repression. But few expected a serious attack on corruption or serious investigation into the abuses of his military predecessors. .Since taking office six months ago, President Obasanjo has removed hundreds of corrupt military officers and government officials and brought legal claims against their business cronies that could permit the recovery of billions of stolen dollars. Corruption still plays too big a role in Nigerian political life, . But the change in Nigeria's ethical climate is pronounced.

TEXT: With that comment from the New York Times, we turn to U-S domestic politics - more specifically, recent criticism of John McCain, the Arizona senator seeking the Republican Party presidential nomination. The Anniston (Alabama) Star describes the criticism as "a disgusting whispering campaign . being orchestrated by opponents of Senator . McCain."

VOICE: It goes something like this: Senator McCain spent five years in a North Vietnamese prison camp . He was tortured and beaten and sank so low he tried twice to commit suicide. A man like that . who has been through that much trauma . has just got to have a screw lose someplace (EDS: become mentally unstable). What we see happening here is an attempt to take Senator McCain down a couple of notches. He is leading in the polls in New Hampshire (EDS: site of an important presidential primary election) and is threatening to take some steam out of George W. Bush (EDS: his main Republican rival). Hard to believe, though, that anyone would stoop this low. John McCain is one of those authentic American heroes. At any other time in history his war record would be his greatest asset. Here, in this age when money can buy office, his record is being used against him.

TEXT: With that view from the Anniston Star, we conclude this sampling of U-S editorial opinion.
NEB/JP/JO 26-Nov-1999 12:29 PM EDT (26-Nov-1999 1729 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

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