Check-out What's New on HR-Net Read the Convention Relating to the Regime of the Straits (24 July 1923) Read the Convention Relating to the Regime of the Straits (24 July 1923)
HR-Net - Hellenic Resources Network Compact version
Today's Suggestion
Read The "Macedonian Question" (by Maria Nystazopoulou-Pelekidou)
HomeAbout HR-NetNewsWeb SitesDocumentsOnline HelpUsage InformationContact us
Monday, 23 December 2024
 
News
  Latest News (All)
     From Greece
     From Cyprus
     From Europe
     From Balkans
     From Turkey
     From USA
  Announcements
  World Press
  News Archives
Web Sites
  Hosted
  Mirrored
  Interesting Nodes
Documents
  Special Topics
  Treaties, Conventions
  Constitutions
  U.S. Agencies
  Cyprus Problem
  Other
Services
  Personal NewsPaper
  Greek Fonts
  Tools
  F.A.Q.
 

Voice of America, 00-07-25

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

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


CONTENTS

  • [01] TURKEY / LEGAL SYSTEM (L ONLY) BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)
  • [02] NY ECON WRAP (S&L) BY ELAINE JOHANSON (NEW YORK)
  • [03] TUESDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ANDREW GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)
  • [04] PROFILE: DICK CHENEY (UPDATE) BY DAVID SWAN (WASHINGTON)

  • [01] TURKEY / LEGAL SYSTEM (L ONLY) BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)

    DATE=7/25/2000
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-264781
    CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:

    INTRO: An international lawyer's group says Turkey's legal system falls short of international human rights standards and encourages torture. Lisa Schlein reports the study was conducted in November by the Geneva-based Center for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers.

    TEXT: The report is especially critical of what it calls the near total failure of Turkey's judicial system to investigate, prosecute, and punish police officers who commit acts of torture. It says police officers get away with torture because they are rarely prosecuted. And it says those who are, receive extremely light sentences. The director of the Center for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Mona Rishmawi, says there is what she calls a "blanket of impunity" because cases are not adequately investigated.

    /// RISHMAWI ACT ONE ///

    Cases are simply ignored. Allegations of torture are simply ignored. The judges do not look into them effectively, victims of torture are not submitted to prompt medical examination when they are in detention. The period of detention is quite long before they see their lawyers. Access to lawyers is not adequately guaranteed.

    /// END ACT ///

    Turkey's government denies the charges. But the jurists who investigated Turkey's legal system say they found what they consider convincing evidence of widespread and systematic torture in Turkey. They say they received a great deal of credible information from private human rights groups that torture is used as a tool for investigation and as a way to reinforce the power of police. The report says some of the torture techniques that are used include suspension by the hands and arms, electric shock, sleep deprivation, beatings, rape, and solitary confinement. Ms. Rishmawi says Turkey has taken some steps to redress the problem of torture. For example, the period of detention without access to a lawyer has been reduced from 30 to 10 days. But, she says the changes are not adequate.

    /// RISHMAWI ACT TWO ///

    Now we think 10 days are too long. It's a long enough period for torture to take place and not to be documented. Don't forget, that this is the period that the detainee does not have his lawyer and most of the time does not have access to medical examination.

    /// END ACT ///

    Ms. Rishmawi says the period of detention should be reduced to 48 hours. In a written response, the Turkish government accuses the jurists of having flagrantly exceeded their mandate. It says the report unfairly criticizes Turkey's justice system. Turkey's government also says a number of police officers have been prosecuted for torture and many investigations are underway. It says this indicates that Turkey is trying to eradicate such inhumane acts. (SIGNED) NEB/LS/JWH/ENE/KBK 25-Jul-2000 11:38 AM EDT (25-Jul-2000 1538 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America

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

    DATE=7/25/2000
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-264795
    CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:

    INTRO: U-S stock prices were moderately higher today (Tuesday) as investors turned cautious over the outlook for interest rates. In a return visit to Capitol Hill, Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress it would be premature to consider the credit-tightening process over, despite signs the U-S economy is slowing. VOA correspondent Elaine Johanson reports from New York.

    TEXT: The Dow Jones Industrial Average went up a modest 14 points to 10-thousand-699 - a fractional gain for the "blue-chips." The Standard and Poor's 500 index closed 10 points higher - less than one percent. The technology-weighted Nasdaq composite gained about 48 points - over one percent. The U-S economy may be slowing, but the latest data shows it is still vibrant. U-S consumer confidence bounced back this month. And sales of existing homes in June rose a surprising two-point-eight percent - a stronger-than-expected jump. Analysts say uncertainty over interest rates has investors a bit off-balance. Some experts anticipate the stock market will move mostly sideways for a while, until the August 22nd meeting of the U-S central bank.

    /// REST OPT ///

    Investment strategist Stuart Freeman says investors also are looking ahead to future corporate earnings in a slowing economy and not exactly thrilled about what they see. He says stock valuations need to come down more this year and that calls for some psychological adjustments in the investment community.

    /// FREEMAN ACT ///

    The economy is going to be fine. It's going to be growing more slowly. We're thinking a two and one-half to three percent rate next year, which is comfortable. We just have to get the valuations down a little bit so we can move forward next year as earnings do grow at a 10 to 12 percent pace, something in that order, versus the 18 or 25 percent we've seen in the last couple of quarters.

    /// END ACT ///

    A-T and T, the largest U-S long distance and cable- television company, reported an 18 percent jump in second quarter earnings. And it said forecasts for the third quarter are 10 percent below what A-T and T expects to earn. Number one U-S oil company Exxon Mobil had a stellar second quarter, beating even the highest estimates by analysts. It said its earnings more than doubled, rising to a record, as oil and natural gas prices surged. NEB/EJ/LSF/TVM/KBK 25-Jul-2000 17:09 PM EDT (25-Jul-2000 2109 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America

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

    DATE=7/25/2000
    TYPE=U-S EDITORIAL DIGEST
    NUMBER=6-11938
    EDITOR=ASSIGNMENTS
    TELEPHONE=619-3335
    INTERNET=YES CONTENT=

    INTRO: A preliminary report that clears the federal government of wrongdoing in the Waco, Texas standoff that ended in the deaths of members of a religious cult, and praise from every corner of the nation for a pair of U-S sports heroes, leads the editorial columns this Tuesday. There are other editorials on an attempt in the U-S congress to moderate the Cuban economic embargo; and efforts by officials in Philadelphia and Los Angeles to limit protestors at the Republican and Democratic party national conventions. The G-8 summit also draws comment; as does dealing with Saddam Hussein; and Russian rockets for North Korea. Now, here with a closer look and some excerpts is ___________ and today's Editorial Digest.

    TEXT: An interim report by former Missouri Senator John Danforth about the deaths of about 80 people from a religious cult outside Waco, Texas, in 1993 is drawing a lot of commentary. Most of the deaths occurred when a fire broke out after a 51-day standoff by federal law enforcement agents outside the compound, and there were accusations that the agents started the fire. The Milwaukee [Wisconsin] Journal Sentinel says:

    VOICE: ...[the] report ... may help dispel the cloud of doubt and ignorance hovering over that once-hellish site near Waco ... The report probably will not silence those who want to believe ... the government murdered those 80 people, despite all evidence to the contrary.

    TEXT: Fort Worth's [Texas] Star-Telegram hopes:

    VOICE: The latest Branch Davidian report should give us the resolve to accept it and move on. ...[However] The report properly takes the government to task for being less than forthright on some important questions ...

    TEXT: In Ohio, the Akron Beacon Journal says the conclusion... "provides needed credibility." While California's San Jose Mercury News says the "report should lay the government conspiracy theories to rest." The New York Times suggests the report did not examine whether the Federal Bureau of Investigation used poor judgement during the final assault on the compound, only whether it did anything illegal. The Times concludes:

    VOICE: The agents should have been ordered to starve the cult out and hold [Editors: refrain from using] the tanks and tear gas. Mr. [David, the cult leader] Koresh might still have orchestrated the same suicidal endgame, but the country would have been spared years of doubts about the wisdom and integrity of its government.

    ///OPT ///

    TEXT: The Chicago Tribune feels the majority of Americans will accept the Danforth report's findings, but not all.

    VOICE: For those confirmed in the belief that the federal government is the root of all evil, nothing short of a message from on high [Editors: "heaven"] ... would be convincing. But for the rest of us, for the sane, silent majority, the judgments of former Senator Danforth ... will be- -and should be - - decisive.

    /// END OPT ///

    TEXT: A pair of exceptional sports triumphs by two young American athletes over the weekend is being hailed in literally hundreds of editorials. Tiger Woods sensational victory in the British Open and Lance Armstrong's heroic second, consecutive victory in the grueling Tour de France bicycle race are on the minds of many. The Wall Street Journal is glad that pictures of sports glory and individual triumph dominated the weekend news.

    VOICE: It is hard to look at what Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong did and not merely gape. Winning professional golf's grand slam at 24 [years of age] or the Tour de France two years running seems superhuman. ... Ladies and gentlemen, this is transcendence...

    TEXT: Among the many editorialists searching for the right superlatives, is this writer at Missouri's St. Louis Post-Dispatch who says in part:

    VOICE: There is now no denying Mr. Woods the rarest compliment: He has risen above the entirety of his craft. As Mr. Woods was crowned king of the sport of kings in golf's hallowed cradle, his portrait - - a stark contrast to Scottish royalty - - shined as an inspiration to Americans. Mr. Woods is praised for breaking golf's color barrier. But it should be noted: He is n o t black. He is not Native American or Asian. He is not Caucasian. He is all of these. He is all of us. Mr. Woods is the consummate American...

    /// OPT ///

    TEXT: Chattanooga's Free Press reminds all that "... Tiger Woods is no "paper tiger." He's "for real." While The Detroit [Michigan] News says a comment Bobby Jones, another great golfer once made about the young, emerging superstar, Jack Nicklaus, now applies to Tiger even more so.

    VOICE: "He is playing a game with which I am not familiar."

    TEXT: The Houston Chronicle says it is totally fitting that these two men, and their incredible performances dominated not only the sports pages of Monday's papers, but also the front pages which, Chief Justice Earl Warren once said, "usually records nothing but man's failures."

    VOICE: Armstrong, whose well-documented recovery from testicular cancer made his victory in last year's Tour de France ... an inspirational story, took the feat to new heights with a repeat victory Sunday ... Woods, for his part, was in what the sports writers might tell us was a league of his own as he won the 129th British Open ... at Saint Andrews, Scotland, blowing away the best golfers in the world by eight shorts or more.

    ///END OPT ///

    TEXT: The U-S congress is moving to moderate the nation's four decades-long economic embargo against Cuba and the St. Louis [Missouri] Post-Dispatch is one of several papers encouraging passage.

    VOICE: Put simply, the embargo hasn't worked. In nearly four decades, it hasn't dislodged [President Fidel] Castro or prodded political or economic reform. It has inhibited the interchanges and contacts that might expose Cubans to a broader world.

    TEXT: While in Hawaii, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin agrees, suggesting: "Those [Cuban trade] restrictions belong to another period in history and should be abolished."

    TEXT: In domestic politics, a federal judge has overturned plans by the city of Los Angeles to unfairly restrict protestors at the forthcoming Democratic National Convention there, to the relief of The Los Angeles Times.

    VOICE: Allowing protesters closer to the action may indeed push up the cost of security for the convention and place a greater personnel burden on the Police Department. Balancing security needs with the right to free speech is one of the costs of hosting such an event.

    TEXT: As regards the just-completed G-8 summit conference on Okinawa, today's Chicago Tribune is somewhat skeptical of the new call to attack world poverty, suggesting:

    VOICE: .. a declaration that might mean more if they hadn't done the same thing a year ago at their summit meeting in Cologne. This is not to belittle the efforts of the Group of 8. ... But the gulf between words and action is still broad, /// OPT /// illustrating the substantial political and economic roadblocks that remain.

    /// END OPT ///

    TEXT: In Charleston, South Carolina, The Post and Courier is still concerned about Saddam Hussein's arms buildup in Iraq and the so-far futile United Nations efforts to re-establish an effective arms-monitoring agency there.

    VOICE: It is more important than ever to ensure that the U-N Security Council does not lift sanctions imposed on Saddam Hussein. The United States and Britain must block any attempt to remove safeguards preventing the Iraqi dictator from rearming. ... Richard Butler, the tough Australian diplomat who headed ... UNSCOM [the now disbanded U-N arms monitoring agency in Iraq]... reveals that Saddam has already begun to rearm and is preparing to deploy weapons he managed to keep hidden.

    TEXT: And on a somewhat related topic, the Chicago Tribune worries about the latest proposed from Moscow, that North Korea give up its long-range missile program if the existing missile powers agrees to launch North Korean space satellites.

    VOICE: The Clinton administration has been rightly skeptical so far, because this offer does, indeed, raise more questions than it answers.

    TEXT: That concludes this sampling of editorial comment from Tuesday's U-S press.
    NEB/ANG/PW 25-Jul-2000 11:40 AM EDT (25-Jul-2000 1540 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America


    [04] PROFILE: DICK CHENEY (UPDATE) BY DAVID SWAN (WASHINGTON)

    DATE=7/25/2000
    TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
    NUMBER=5-46716
    CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:
    /// EDS: RECASTS 5-46713 WITH NEW ACTUALITIES; FOR USE ANYTIME THROUGH GOP CONVENTION
    ///

    INTRO: Former U-S Defense Secretary Richard Cheney, who served in the cabinet under President Bush, is now his son's vice-presidential running mate. Texas Governor George W. Bush picked Mr. Cheney to join the Republican ticket in this year's battle for the White House. Unlike the governor, Mr. Cheney has already had a long Washington career. V-O-A's David Swan reports.

    TEXT: At age 59, Dick Cheney is older than Governor Bush -- and he says he did not expect to run for office again. After leaving the Pentagon in 1993, Mr. Cheney became chief of a large energy and construction company (Halliburton) in Texas. But a few months ago, he agreed to help the governor choose a running mate - and that experience changed his mind.

    /// CHENEY ACT ///

    As I worked alongside Governor Bush I heard him talk about his unique vision for our party and for our nation. I saw his sincerity. I watched him make decisions, always firm and always fair. And in the end I learned how persuasive he can be.

    /// END ACT ///

    Mr. Cheney first came to Washington in the late 1960s. After serving as chief of staff to President Gerald Ford, he was elected to Congress from his home state of Wyoming in 1978. Over the next decade he compiled a conservative voting record and rose to a party leadership post in the House (of Representatives). President Bush chose him to be defense secretary in 1989. Though he never served in the armed forces himself, Mr. Cheney was soon facing the biggest military crisis in years -- Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. The secretary was one of those who pressed for a full-scale ground war to drive the Iraqis out -- and early in 1991, was able to tell the American people the casualties were light.

    /// CHENEY ACT ///

    I think it would be accurate to say that generally we believe the campaign has gone extremely well to date.

    /// END ACT ///

    This background is perhaps Mr. Cheney's greatest political asset. Analysts say it could ease voters' doubts about Mr. Bush's lack of experience in national security. Republican Senator John McCain, who ran against Mr. Bush this year and was himself considered for the vice presidential slot, says the governor made the right choice.

    /// McCAIN ACT ///

    He has an incredibly important resume. He served as secretary of defense during one of the greatest military victories in history. He was chief of staff to President Ford so he certainly knows how the White House side works and of course he was a Republican leader in the House when I was there.

    /// END ACT ///

    But some analysts say Mr. Bush has made it appear that his father is running the campaign. Democratic critics are already turning their fire on Mr. Cheney's conservative views and his record in Congress. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle makes clear the party will try to portray Mr. Cheney as an extremist.

    /// DASCHLE ACT ///

    He's a man I think that generally is well liked but I would say I disagree with a vast number of his votes. He is probably as far right as anybody in the Republican party today.

    /// END ACT ///

    Others point out that Mr. Cheney was never known as an exciting speaker or campaigner. But as a respected member of his party's establishment, he can still help pull Republicans together for what seems likely to be a close race against the Democrats. (Signed)
    NEB/DS/TVM/JP 25-Jul-2000 16:34 PM LOC (25-Jul-2000 2034 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America
    Voice of America: Selected Articles Directory - Previous Article - Next Article
    Back to Top
    Copyright © 1995-2023 HR-Net (Hellenic Resources Network). An HRI Project.
    All Rights Reserved.

    HTML by the HR-Net Group / Hellenic Resources Institute, Inc.
    voa2html v2.03a run on Wednesday, 26 July 2000 - 0:08:33 UTC