Voice of America, 99-12-01

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

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

CONTENTS

[01] KOSOVO SIX-MONTHS LATER BY NICK SIMEONE (WASHINGTON)

[02] ROMANIA-COHEN (L-ONLY) BY STEFAN BOS (BUDAPEST,HUNGARY)

[03] W-T-O A PRIMER BY BARRY WOOD (WASHINGTON)

[04] SEATTLE-WORLD TRADE (L) BY DAVID GOLLUST (SEATTLE)

[05] CLINTON-TRADE PROTESTS (L) BY DAVID GOLLUST (SEATTLE)

[06] NATO DEFENSE MINISTERS (L ONLY) BY RON PEMSTEIN (BRUSSELS)

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

[08] NORTHERN IRELAND (L UPDATE) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (LONDON)

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

[10] WEDNESDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ANDREW GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)

[01] KOSOVO SIX-MONTHS LATER BY NICK SIMEONE (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: It has been nearly six-months since the NATO war against Yugoslavia drove Serb forces from Kosovo, allowing hundreds-of-thousands of uprooted ethnic Albanians to return home. Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has been indicted for war crimes, but remains in power despite the efforts of his opponents at home and abroad. Correspondent Nick Simeone has been looking into how much progress Kosovo has made since then, and how an isolated President Milosevic has been managing to rule a country under sanctions.

TEXT: Six-months after the air-war over Yugoslavia, nearly a million Ethnic-Albanian refugees have been able to return home, before winter's first snowfall. But NATO and the Clinton administration admit a great deal more needs to be done. And hanging over Kosovo is the potential threat posed by Belgrade. Slobodan Milosevic's grip on the province may have been broken, but his grip on power has not. John Fawcett of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group just returned from a month in Kosovo where he saw evidence the Yugoslav leader continues to influence events in a region under NATO protection and U-N rule.

[02] ROMANIA-COHEN (L-ONLY) BY STEFAN BOS (BUDAPEST,HUNGARY)

INTRO: United States Defense Secretary William Cohen has urged southeastern Europe's defense leaders to cooperate in breaking the cycle of war and ethnic conflicts in the troubled Balkans. Stefan Bos reports from Budapest that Mr. Cohen made the remarks in Romania where he and Defence Ministers from seven southeastern European countries agreed to establish a joint military intelligence network, which will monitor potential hot spots in the region. Text: U.S. Defence Secretary William Cohen told Defence Ministers from ex-Communist states and other southeastern European countries that NATO's successful air campaign against Yugoslavia earlier this year was not enough to bring peace in the Balkans. Speaking in Bucharest Tuesday, Mr. Cohen urged his counterparts from Italy, Greece, Turkey, Romania, Slovenia, Albania, Macedonia and Bulgaria to work for peace in the Balkans---by strengthening democracy, promoting trade and supporting the region's integration into Europe. Mr. Cohen welcomed the establishment Tuesday of the first joint trans-atlantic military intelligence networks between the U.S. and southeastern European countries. The networks was set up to control and prevent new conflicts in the Balkans. Russia has questioned Washington's role in European affairs, because of reports that the U.S plans to develop a new military defense systems against a posssible nuclear missile attack on u-s soil. Moscow suggested that the system may lead to a new arms race with Russia, but Mr. Cohen said late Monday the defense system would not undermine European security. The u-s official also talked about European security issues with Romanian President Emil Constantinescu, who hopes that Romania will become a NATO-member within the next few years. Mr. Constantinescu said that security in southeastern Europe would mean security for the whole Europe. He noted that since the collapse of Communism a decade ago, seven independent states were created in the Balkans but four wars had occurred in the troubled region. Mr. Cohen was scheduled to leave Romania for a meeting in Hamburg, Germany, on Wednesday and to attend a two- day conference of NATO-Ministers in Brussels later this week. (Signed)
NEB/PT NEB/WTW/ 30-Nov-1999 20:12 PM EDT (01-Dec-1999 0112 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America

[03] W-T-O A PRIMER BY BARRY WOOD (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: The Geneva-based World Trade Organization was established in 1995. Its job is to promote freer trade through mutual reductions in tariffs and other trade barriers. In this primer, V-O-A's economics correspondent Barry Wood tells us that the origins of the W-T-O go back to the second world war.

TEXT: When the architects of the post-World War Two economic system met at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire in 1944, they envisaged creating three entities: The International Monetary Fund, The World Bank, and a world trade organization. While the Bank and the Fund did come into existence to rebuild Europe and regulate finance to avoid another world depression, the trade organization was blocked. Governments met in Havana in 1948 to create the trade body, but the U-S Congress was against it. Trade expert John Sewell of Washington's Overseas Development Council says that as a substitute, Western Europe, the United States and Latin America created the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the GATT.

[04] SEATTLE-WORLD TRADE (L) BY DAVID GOLLUST (SEATTLE)

INTRO: Seattle police have arrested more than 200 more demonstrators today (Wednesday) after violent protests disrupted Tuesday's opening of the World Trade Organization conference. President Clinton is going ahead with a busy schedule of W-T-O events despite the trouble. V-O-A's David Gollust has more from Seattle.

TEXT: With fellow protestors shouting slogans of support, scores of anti-W-T-O demonstrators were arrested and taken away on buses after they defied a police order and staged a sit-in protest near a downtown Seattle hotel where many W-T-O delegates were staying. The arrests were part of a crackdown ordered by Seattle authorities after protests took a violent turn Tuesday when some members of a crowd of about 40- thousand demonstrators broke store windows, set fire to garbage bins and disrupted the opening of the global trade conference. Seattle officials imposed an overnight curfew and brought in hundreds of state militiamen and police from outlying towns who enforced a no-protest zone in a several-square block area around the conference site. About seventy people were arrested Tuesday for vandalism and other offenses in an outburst that both protest organizers and authorities blamed on a small minority of radical activists. One protestor back on the streets Wednesday - Sarah Kerh, a community activist from Calgary Alberta, Canada - told V-O-A the vast majority of the marchers reject violent tactics:

[05] CLINTON-TRADE PROTESTS (L) BY DAVID GOLLUST (SEATTLE)

INTRO: White House officials say President Clinton intends to go ahead with his schedule of events at the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle Wednesday despite violent protests in the city that prompted a downtown curfew and a call-up of some state militiamen. V-O-A's David Gollust has more from Seattle.

TEXT: City officials declared a curfew zone that includes the downtown hotel where Mr. Clinton is staying during his two-day visit to Seattle. But officials traveling with the president say he does not intend to curtail a busy schedule here, which includes an address to trade ministers, and meetings with members of non-governmental organizations critical of the W-T-O. A Clinton spokesman said the president believes W-T-O protestors have legitimate views that deserve to be heard, and that the majority of the demonstrators acted responsibly. He said unfortunately a small minority used non-peaceful means to block access to trade events and destroy property, and their actions were wrong. The spokesman said despite the disruption of the ceremonial opening of the conference, the substantive work - on an agenda for a new round of global tariff- cutting negotiations - is going forward. Mr. Clinton says expansion of world trade is essential to maintain the United States' unprecedented economic boom. But he is mindful that labor unions and environmental groups- traditional allies of his Democratic Party - are among the W-T-O's more strident critics. In White House remarks before leaving for Seattle, Mr. Clinton said the W-T-O must become more transparent, with unions and environmentalists - among others - having a say in its decision-making:

[06] NATO DEFENSE MINISTERS (L ONLY) BY RON PEMSTEIN (BRUSSELS)

INTRO: The United States is urging NATO members to spend more on their own defense. Correspondent Ron Pemstein reports the call will be repeated during the NATO defense minister's regular winter meeting Thursday and Friday in Brussels.

TEXT: Defense Secretary William Cohen said (Wednesday) in Hamburg that Germany's defense spending is setting a bad example for NATO's new members -- Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. The United States feels all NATO members should spend about two-percent of their gross domestic product on defense. Despite protests from Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping, Germany's budget for next year shows a slight decline in defense spending. This leaves Europe's biggest country spending about one-and-one- half-percent of its gross domestic product on defense. The goal of two -percent defense spending has been difficult for NATO's new members, who have more pressing social needs than threats to their defense. Mr. Cohen will face questions at the defense minister's meeting about U-S plans for a limited missile defense system. A number of NATO countries agree with Russia that the system could damage the 1972 anti-ballistic missile treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union. NATO diplomats say Defense Secretary Cohen will emphasize that no American decision about deploying a limited missile defense will be made until the middle of next year -- so there is no need yet to re- negotiate the treaty. Mr. Cohen has already argued that the United States needs to prepare a defense for missile attacks from rogue nations and that the strategic balance between Russia and the United States will be preserved. The issue of defense spending also affects the European Union's plans to develop its own military force to be used in cases where the United States and other NATO members might not want to become involved. NATO officials say the European plans are too sketchy to be discussed in detail at the defense ministers' meeting. European leaders meet next week in Helsinki to approve plans for a rapid reaction force of about 60-thousand soldiers to be dispatched to crisis points, independent of NATO. U-S diplomats say when the Europeans develop firm plans a regular forum should be set up between NATO Secretary General George Robertson and his predecessor, Javier Solana. Mr. Solana now heads the European Union's defense policies. The two men already meet informally, but NATO officials say better communication will prevent duplication. The NATO ministers will meet Friday with the alliance's so-called -- partners. But the Russian defense minister is not expected to attend. NATO officials say the defense ministers are likely to criticize Russia's military action in Chechnya. NATO has added a partner. (Wednesday) The republic of Ireland became the 26th country to join NATO's "partnership for peace." The partnership is NATO's forum for maintaining political and military contacts with potential members and neutral countries. Irish Foreign Minister David Andrews says Ireland will never join NATO in line with its traditional neutrality. But Ireland is active in international peacekeeping and wants to train its soldiers with NATO. (SIGNED)
NEB/RDP/JWH/RAE 01-Dec-1999 11:48 AM EDT (01-Dec-1999 1648 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America

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

INTRO: Britain's Queen Elizabeth is due to sign the act that will transfer home rule powers to Northern Ireland as of midnight. Once that transfer is complete, the Irish Republican Army is supposed to name a go-between to work with the special disarmament commission. V-O-A Correspondent Laurie Kassman in London reports the I-R-A says it will keep its word but expresses anger over the hint of new deadlines from Ulster Unionists.

TEXT: Britain's top minister for Northern Ireland, Peter Mandelson, will find his responsibilities sharply reduced with the official transfer of home rule powers to Belfast on Thursday. But he told Parliament late Tuesday, he welcomes that prospect.

[08] NORTHERN IRELAND (L UPDATE) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (LONDON)

INTRO: Britain's Queen Elizabeth has approved a law that transfers home rule powers to Northern Ireland after 25 years of direct control from London. V-O-A Correspondent Laurie Kassman in London reports the action opens the way for the Irish Republican Army to name a representative to deal with the special commission on disarmament.

TEXT: One spoken word - Approved. One final signature - that of Queen Elizabeth. And the Act of Parliament passing power to Northern Ireland has become official. Prime Minister Tony Blair confirmed the news to the House of Commons Wednesday afternoon.

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

INTRO: Stock prices in the United States were higher today (Wednesday), after Tuesday's sell-off led by the technology sector. VOA correspondent Elaine Johanson reports from New York:

TEXT: The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 120 points, more than one percent, closing at 10-thousand- 998. The Standard and Poor's 500 index rose eight points to 13-hundred-97. The technology-dominated Nasdaq Composite gained one-half of one percent after dropping over two percent Tuesday. Inflation-watchers were heartened by signs that the U- S economy may finally be slowing. A new report shows U-S manufacturing grew at a slower pace in November for the second straight month and prices paid by factories fell from the highest level in four years. Wall Street now waits for key employment data to be released on Friday. The U-S bond market rallied briefly on the manufacturing news. But yields climbed back to six- point-three percent by day's end.

[10] WEDNESDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ANDREW GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: The World Trade Organization conference in Seattle continues to draw a good deal of attention in U-S newspaper editorial columns, as much for what the delegates are trying to discuss, as for the demonstrations in the streets. Another popular domestic topic is a new report that says tens of thousands of patients are killed in the United States each year by medical mistakes. Other subjects under discussion include a new act of repression in Iran; growing concerns about the administration of Yasser Arafat; a huge step toward peace in Northern Ireland, and a nation in mourning for a big, black and white Chinese bear that has left a significant void here in Washington. Now, here is _________ with a closer look, including some excerpts, in today's U-S Editorial Digest.

TEXT: To the Pacific Northwest first, where the region's largest daily, The Oregonian, in Portland, is disgusted with the violence overshadowing the trade talks at the W-T-O conference in neighboring Seattle, Washington.

VOICE: So what, precisely, was the point about world trade that demonstrators made by smashing the windows of a McDonald's restaurant, or spray painting "Barbie Kills" on a toy store in downtown Seattle? In fact, the vandalism and street violence that broke out at the World Trade Organization meeting Tuesday turned an important political and economic event into a disturbing circus. . The emotion, the violence, even the surreal sight of activists in sea-turtle costumes blocking rush-hour traffic, overwhelmed any hope this would be an occasion for a serious discussion about crucial trade, environmental and labor issues facing countries around the world.

TEXT: Today's Philadelphia Inquirer, after mentioning the protests, is calling for some changes - but not dramatic ones - in the way the W-T-O does business.

VOICE: One overdue change is ending the secrecy surrounding the W-T-O panels that determine trade rule violations. The Clinton administration wants to lift the veil so that interested groups - activists, the media and the public - can watch cases proceed. Sometimes a W-T-O panel just gets it wrong. For example, the W-T-O ruled against a U-S law that banned imported shrimp unless they had been caught with nets designed to protect sea turtles. Alas, critics have used this case and a few others to demonize the W-T-O as a threat to national sovereignty. That's overwrought. .. As trade barriers decline and exports grow, rich and poor nations alike will benefit. The challenge for each nation - which underlies this week's protests - is to make sure those benefits reach the average workers.

TEXT: The Washington Post adds an interesting thought to the discussion, suggesting that environmental issues have ended up at the W-T-O by default, although they are not basically trade issues. The Post suggests:

VOICE: . in the absence of a strong regulatory framework for the environment, disputes about animal conservation and air pollution have ended up at the W- T-O, putting the organization under great strain. The health of the W-T-O may turn out to require something like a world environmental organization.

TEXT: A new report suggesting that medical mistakes by doctors, nurses and others - mostly in hospitals - are causing almost 100-thousand deaths in this country each year, has leapt into the editorial columns a day after its publication. Says The New York Times:

VOICE: These frightening numbers have been known by medical researchers for at least a decade. The startling conclusion from the report is how easy it would be to correct many of the fatal errors. The Institute [of Medicine], an affiliate of the National Academy of Sciences, has now put its authority behind specific corrective measures. . The institute report calls for the federal government to help hospitals borrow good ideas that catch mistakes before they cause serious harm. That way hospital care might become as injury-free as airline travel.

TEXT: The Philadelphia Inquirer praises one of the many points made by the report:

VOICE: It's also clear that a lack of good data on medical mistakes has hampered solutions. So it follows that mandatory reporting of errors is needed, with confidentiality assured. More thorny will be decisions to spend more health-care dollars on safety targeting such bottom-line issues as staffing, equipment upgrades and other changes. ... The health- care industry can no longer tolerate what the Academy panel described as "stunningly high rates of medical errors."

TEXT: To the Middle East now, where several U-S dailies are upset at the latest turn of events in Iran, where yet another reformer has been silenced. Here is part of what Newsday on New York's Long Island says.

VOICE: The jailing of one of Iran's top reform politicians on the trumped-up charges of dissidence shows how threatened the ruling conservative clerics feel by the pressure for change bubbling under the rigid crust of the theocracy. Abdollah Nouri, a newspaper publisher, did nothing more nefarious than publish articles critical of Iranian government policies. [Mr.] Nouri, a supporter of moderate President Mohammad Khatami, has openly called for improved relations with the United States, recognition of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, free and open political debates in Iran and greater freedom of expression in the news media. .. Those beliefs were enough to get him five years in prison.. . if, despite this, reformists manage to make a decent showing in the upcoming elections, the ruling clerics will be shown the handwriting on the wall.

TEXT: The Los Angeles Times goes to what it sees as the heart of the complaint against Mr. Nouri, when it notes:

VOICE: Iran has become an increasingly younger country over the last two decades; a majority of Iranians have no memory of life before the Islamic revolution. The repression they know is imposed by the mullahs. Their generation was most responsible for electing [President] Khatami, and they remain the largest constituency favoring change. [Mr.] Nouri, on ample evidence, accused the reigning clergy of betraying the principles of the revolution by replacing one tyranny with another. Their response further demonstrated the truth of that charge.

TEXT: Still in the Middle East, there is more comment on allegations of corruption and mismanagement within Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority, and the fate of his accusers. The New York Times:

VOICE: . when 20 prominent Palestinian academics and political leaders signed a protest letter accusing Mr. Arafat's administration of "opening the door to . spreading corruption throughout Palestinian society," eight were jailed and two more held under house arrest. Eight other signers . face efforts to strip them of their parliamentary immunity. . One of Mr. Arafat's security officials [argued] that the middle of final-status negotiations was "not the right time to demand accountability." The truth is just the opposite.

TEXT: There is continuing praise in U-S editorial columns for the big strides the Northern Ireland peace process is making - with the naming of a new cabinet for the National Assembly. The New York Post calls the latest news "Amazing Events in Northern Ireland."

VOICE: The end of the Cold War set a lot of people to thinking in very different ways. The global map today looks markedly unlike the map of a decade ago - and even nations that maintained their former shapes are governed in vastly different ways: Think South Africa. It wasn't automatic that Ulster would evolve in largely the same direction - liberalization accompanied by sporadic violence as practitioners of the old way sought to maintain control of events . and, indeed it's not totally clear where Northern Ireland really is headed. . But there is no reason not to applaud the triumphs of the decade-plus since London and Dublin first hammered out the accords upon which the compromises of the hour are based.

TEXT: This is World AIDS Day, an event not so much to be celebrated, as to take stock in what is being done to combat the sexually transmitted disease that has reached epidemic proportions in Africa. The Miami Herald notes:

VOICE: Despite all that has been learned and applied, HIV / AIDS remains a fatal disease. After 18 years and billions of dollars, there is no vaccine to immunize against, nor any cure for it. Thus far, the best weapon against the disease, which has claimed 16- point-three million lives, is to change people's sexual attitudes and behavior. Anyone, anywhere can be a victim. But changing behavior requires motivating people. That's one of the goals of World AIDS Day - to increase awareness so that behaviors change.

TEXT: And lastly, more mourning for Hsing-Hsing, the giant panda at Washington's National Zoo, and, in the view of U-S-A Today, a diplomat too, who was euthanized this week, due to kidney failure.

VOICE: Mourners have left bouquets at the Washington home of a veteran diplomat, a well-mannered individual who made his name during Richard Nixon's opening with China, and who died Sunday after a long illness. O-K, so the diplomat was a giant panda. But he and his handsome breed - photogenic, great fundraisers, intimately tied to matters of state - form a political clan so charming and popular it rivals the Kennedys. . What's more, the panda spotlight has pushed conservation generally. Zoos are more concerned with learning to breed the species they keep, recently re- introducing to the wild the almost-extinct California condor, the red wolf and the Himalayan clouded leopard. .. It seems the dear, cuddly panda has been an ambassador for many causes. With luck, the next cause it assists will be its own.

TEXT: On that note, we conclude this sampling of editorial comment from Wednesday's U-S press.
NEB/ANG/JP 01-Dec-1999 11:38 AM EDT (01-Dec-1999 1638 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America

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