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Voice of America, 99-08-11Voice of America: Selected Articles Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Voice of America <gopher://gopher.voa.gov>CONTENTS
[01] KOSOVO - CRADDOCK (L-ONLY) BY JIM RANDLE (PENTAGON)DATE=8/11/1999TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-252702 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: The outgoing commander of U-S peackeepers in Kosovo says Russian troops serving in the U-S sector are the targets of bullets, grenades, homemade bombs - and a campaign of lies and prejudice. But U-S Army General John Craddock says his Russian colleagues are doing a good job in a difficult situation. V-O-A's Jim Randle reports. Text: General John Craddock commands about six thousand U-S soldiers in eastern Kosovo. They work with two thousand more Russian, Greek, and Polish troops. Their job is to stop renewed ethnic violence between ethnic Albanians and ethnic Serbs in Yugoslavia's Kosovo province. /// OPT ////// Craddock Act ////// End Act ///NEB/JR/TVM/JO 11-Aug-1999 18:11 PM EDT (11-Aug-1999 2211 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America [02] UNHCR / SERBS KOSOVO (L-ONLY) BY PHILIP SMUCKER (PRISTINA)DATE=8/11/1999TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-252690 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: U-N officials say they are alarmed at a pattern of systematic expulsion of the Serb minority in Kosovo. A spokesman for the U-N High Commissioner for Refugees said his agency is disturbed by the international community's inability either to identify or stop the perpetrators. Philip Smucker reports from Pristina. TEXT: The U-N refugee agency says it is increasingly alarmed by a pattern of attacks on Serbs in Kosovo. The U-N-H-C-R's spokesman in Kosho, Ron Redmond, said only one to two thousand Serbs remain in Pristine, once a city that held more than 30-thousand Serbian residents. He said there had been nine murders of Serb residents in Pristine during the past week. Mr. Redmond said that those who remained -- the elderly and the disabled -- are being targeted by extremists often engaged in a systematic campaign of expulsions. /// ACT REDMOND ////// END ACT //////ACT REDMOND//////END ACT///NEB/PS/GE/RAE 11-Aug-1999 12:42 PM EDT (11-Aug-1999 1642 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America [03] ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF KOSOVO WAR, PT 1: U-N BY ROSANNE SKIRBLE (WASHINGTON)DATE=8/10/1999TYPE=ENGLISH PROGRAMS FEATURE BALKANS TASK FORCE (INTERVIEW)
NUMBER=7-32520 INTRO: Shortly after the 78 day NATO bombing campaign against Yugoslavia, the United Nations Environment Program created the Balkans Task Force, a special commission to study the impact of war on the environment. Last month, in the first of three scheduled visits to the region, the U-N experts studied major industrial facilities targeted by NATO. In an interview following that ten-day mission, Balkans Task Force Director Pekka Haavisto of Finland told VOA's Rosanne Skirble that preliminary findings show damage from the bombing campaign presents a serious environmental problem. TAPE CUT INTERVIEW: PEKKA HAAVISTO/SKIRBLE (2:56) HAVISTO: There (have been) a lot of different chemicals released. For example in Pancevo (industrial complex), Novi-Sad (oil refinery), Karagujevac, which is the car factory town, in the ground of these industrial sites, (there are) some PCBs (toxic compounds), some mercury very hazardous substances on the ground. What is the risk for the future is that this can contaminate the ground water and of course through the ground water, it can come back to the drinking water and cause even further damage to human health." SKIRBLE: "How critical is it to begin to start to clean up now?" HAAVISTO: "It's very important, of course, that the environmental situation is taken care of in Kosovo and in Serbia. What concerns me personally quite a lot is (the) Serbian government already, I understand fully has started their own reconstruction work on some of their (bombed) sites - in oil refineries, in car factories and so forth. And, maybe the workers there don't know the environmental dangers that exist." SKIRBLE: "Is that message getting to the people of the region, living there that there may be severe problems with either their drinking water, or their food supply or whatever?" HAAVISTO: "On the positive side of this, there are some towns like Nis where the transformer station was targeted. People (there) were very afraid of two things. First of all they were afraid of radioactivity, this depleted uranium issue, and they were afraid of PCBs (toxic chemicals) released with the oil leakages from these transformers. And, we could assure them after the sample taking and testing that there was no radioactivity and no PCBs around in Nis. So, of course, people working in that transformer station and living in that town, of course were very thankful to us that we did this kind of independent assessment and could guarantee that there are no risks in the place that they are living. Then on the other hand, when we have been in places like Pancevo Kragujevac, we have actually warned people and also the owners of the factories that before you go through with the full reconstruction and cleaning up these places yourselves, you should be aware of the environment and health risks at these sites. And, maybe people don't know what PCBs are or what certain toxic chemicals are, so we had the possibility to inform them. Then at the end (of the mission) after tests on water and sediment samples of the Danube we (will be able to) say whether drinking water from some area should be avoided or not. We are not there yet." TEXT: Pekka Haavisto, former Finnish Environment
Minister and Chairman of the United Nations
Environment Program Balkans Task Force
speaking with VOA's Rosanne Skirble. The
Balkans Task Force will make its second visit
to the region in two weeks. (FYI: August 22).
The group plans to submit its assessment of
environmental damage from the war in the
Balkans to the United Nations Secretary
General by early October.
Tomorrow, Rosanne Skirble will have another
report on war related environmental damage in
the Balkans with special attention to what
non-government organizations are doing to aid
in monitoring and cleanup of the Danube River.
11-Aug-1999 12:27 PM EDT (11-Aug-1999 1627 UTC)
[04] U-N - TRIBUNAL PROSECUTOR (L - ONLY) BY MAX RUSTON (UNITED NATIONS)DATE=8/11/1999TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-252698 INTERNET=YES CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: Switzerland's Attorney-General was today (Wednesday) appointed chief prosecutor of the United Nations criminal tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. V-O-A's U-N correspondent Max Ruston has the story. TEXT: In a brief, formal meeting the U-N Security
Council unanimously supported the appointment of
Switzerland's Attorney-General Carla Del Ponte to head
the U-N criminal tribunals. Ms. Del Ponte was
nominated for the job last week by U-N Secretary-
General Kofi Annan. She will assume the post on
September 15, following the departure of Louise
Arbour, who is leaving the tribunal to join Canada's
Supreme Court.
As Switzerland's Attorney-General, Ms. Del Ponte has a
record of pursuing cases of money laundering,
organized crime, terrorism and arms trafficking. The
52 year old native of Lugano is known as a tough crime
fighter.
Ms. Del Ponte will act as prosecutor for two key U-N
tribunals. The tribunal for the former Yugoslavia,
located at the Hague, deals with atrocities committed
in Yugoslavia since 1991. The most prominent case now
before that tribunal is the indictment of Yugoslav
President Slobodon Milosevic and others allegedly
responsible for the crackdown on ethnic Albanians in
Kosovo.
The Rwanda Tribunal is based in Arusha, Tanzania. It
was set up to prosecute leaders of the 1994 Hutu-led
genocide of minority Tutsis in Rwanda. (Signed)
[05] RUSSIA / DAGESTAN (L) BY PETER HEINLEIN (MOSCOW)DATE=8/11/1999TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-252689 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: A council of Muslim clerics in Russia's southern republic of Dagestan has proclaimed a renegade Chechen warlord as their commander in what they are calling a holy war against Moscow's rule. Correspondent Peter Heinlein in Moscow reports casualties are mounting as Russia steps up its use of air power in a bid to quickly crush the insurgency. TEXT: Day-five of the battle for Dagestan saw hundreds of locals in the regional capital, Makhachkala, taking up arms and heading for the mountains to drive out insurgents who have captured several villages along the border with neighboring Chechnya. Russian television showed pictures of the volunteers. One could be heard saying -- only we Dagestanis can defend ourselves against the Chechens. There is no independent information about fighting in the remote and sparsely populated region, but both sides claimed (Wednesday) to have scored successes. Russia's Interior Minister Vladimir Rushailo said government forces had encircled the insurgents and would soon wipe them out. /// BASAYEV ACT - IN RUSSIAN - FADE UNDER ///NEB/PFH/JWH/RAE 11-Aug-1999 12:27 PM EDT (11-Aug-1999 1627 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America [06] N-Y ECON WRAP (S & L) BY BRECK ARDERY (NEW YORK)DATE=8/11/1999TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-252701 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: Stock prices in the United States were up strongly today (Wednesday) as inflation concerns eased. V-O-A Business Correspondent Breck Ardery reports from New York. TEXT: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 10- thousand-787, up 132 points, more than one percent. The Standard and Poor's 500 index closed at 13- hundred-two, up 20 points. The NASDAQ index gained three percent. Analysts say the rally was sparked by a combination of bargain-hunting after the recent sell-offs and an impression among some traders that recent inflation worries have been overdone. A report (Beige Book) from the U-S Central Bank says there are only scattered signs of wage increases and no broad inflationary pressures in the U-S economy. Many analysts saw that report as a positive sign as it comes less than two weeks before central bank governors meet to decide whether to raise interest rates to fight inflation. /// REST OPT ////// Morrison Act ////// End Act ///NNNN Source: Voice of America [07] WEDNESDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ANDREW GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)DATE=8/11/1999TYPE=EDITORIAL DIGEST NUMBER=6-11418 EDITOR=ASSIGNMENTS TELEPHONE=619-3335 CONTENT= INTRO: More U-S dailies are weighing in on the significance of the latest political shuffle at the Kremlin as we reach midweek in America. Other editorials are focused on a variety of topics, including: remembrances of the Watergate scandal on its 25th anniversary; the uncertain future of Yugoslavia's increasingly democratic Republic of Montenegro; the new king of Jordan, who is stirring up things in Amman; and celebrations over a rainfall in drought-stricken Arkansas. Now, here is _________ with a closer look and some excerpts in today's Editorial Digest. TEXT: The surprise firing this week of Russia's fourth prime minister in the past year and one half continues to draw the lion's share of attention in foreign-affairs editorials around the country. Far out in the Pacific, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin suggests: VOICE: The action seems to be a response to the formation of an opposition coalition to seek power in the presidential election next year. ... [Mr.] Yeltsin declared [his new Prime Minister-designate Vladimir] Putin his preferred candidate in next summer's presidential election, but that endorsement may have little value. Meanwhile, regional leaders have joined in forming a new political bloc in support of popular Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov. ... At this point [he] ... appears to be the clear favorite to succeed [Mr.] Yeltsin ... if the election is allowed to proceed. Any attempt by [Mr.] Yeltsin and the Russian oligarchy to interfere with that process would be a disastrous step backward. TEXT: In Ohio, the Akron Beacon-Journal laments: VOICE: The Yeltsin presidency has become a comedy of sorts. The ailing leader, a caricature of the man who bravely pushed Russia to abandon its failure in communism, periodically erupts -- blustering, governing by outburst, trying desperately to suggest that he remains in charge. If not for the Russian nuclear arsenal, the need for Russia to become a stable part of the international community, all of it would be funny. TEXT: The Boston Globe decries the selection of Mr. Putin as yet another Prime Minister without credentials in either economics or politics, which are desperately needed, while Maine's Portland Press Herald tries to figure out what is really behind the change. VOICE: By firing Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin and replacing him with Vladimir Putin, a former KGB agent, [Mr.] Yeltsin may have been shoring up his defenses against a thorough investigation of charges of corruption made against himself and members of his family. TEXT: And in Pennsylvania, the best the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette can say of the shuffle is: VOICE: The silver lining is that Mr. Yeltsin is not challenging the constitution under which he serves. Indeed, the president reaffirmed that elections for his successor will be held next July. /// OPT ///TEXT: Lastly, on this topic, The Fort Worth Star- Telegram rejects the idea that President Yeltsin is losing control of his mental faculties, suggesting: VOICE: [The] Russian leader may be crazy, but it may be the craziness of a fox. "Though this be madness, yet there is method in it" -[a line from] "Hamlet," Act Two, Scene Two. Anyone who was surprised by Russian President Boris Yeltsin's latest prime minister substitution must have a very low threshold of astonishment. ... Although the change might strike some as crazy, other knowledgeable observers of the Russian political scene suggest that [Mr.] Yeltsin is crazy like a fox. ... [that] he changes prime ministers to fit the needs of the moment and to play various political factions against one another. /// END OPT ///TEXT: Domestically, this week marks a painful anniversary for many Americans -- the 25th anniversary of Richard Nixon's resignation at the climax of the Watergate scandal. From New Hampshire, The Manchester Union Leader looks back: VOICE: One lesson he [Richard Nixon] vividly imparted -and perhaps it is not the worst of lessons-is that it is not wise to have overly much faith in the White House. // OPT // The lesson was taken so much to heart that Congress forgot its confidence in the system that worked and enacted measures that have sometimes proven bad ideas, such as the independent counsel law. // END OPT //TEXT: The Balkans is never totally out of the news or the commentaries these days, and today is no exception, as Newsday, on New York's Long Island, contemplates the fate of the last remaining Yugoslavian provincial republic, Montenegro. VOICE: Get ready to learn how to locate yet another corner of the Balkans bubbling over with nationalistic discontent: Montenegro. And get ready to listen to reasons why U-S troops under NATO command might yet become involved in Montenegro's defense -- if its overlord, Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, decides he can't abide one more desertion from the fractured Yugoslav federation. // OPT //TEXT: The latest incident on the subcontinent elicits this worried response from The New York Times. VOICE: Less than a month after India and Pakistan stepped back from a military clash in the Himalayan foothills of Kashmir, a new crisis has erupted in another tense border area. The latest episode involved the shooting down of a Pakistani military aircraft by an Indian jet fighter over the marshy desert region along India's western boundary with Pakistan. ... The incident shows the urgent need for the two nations to ease distrust and improve communications. TEXT: Turning to the Middle East, Jordan's new young King Abdullah is shaking things up around Amman by wearing disguises and mingling with the common people to uncover corruption and incompetence in his kingdom. The Washington Post salutes the effort. VOICE: The idea of people being called on the royal carpet [brought before the King for criticism] for common-place annoyances that almost always go unpunished in our actual lives is enough to give monarchy -- what little is left of it on the earth -- a good name. // OPT //TEXT: Several papers are calling on Whitewater special counsel Kenneth Starr, who has been investigating President and Mrs. Clinton for five years now, to speed up the conclusion of his probe. The [New York] Daily News notes with frustration: VOICE: For some reason-perhaps to mark his August 5th fifth anniversary as Independent Persecutor [Eds: sarcastic use of "persecutor" instead of "prosecutor"] - Kenneth Starr went on national TV this week and said that his final report possibly won't be done for another year. It seems our national punishment is not yet over. ... The report has immense historic importance; the American people deserve to see it. That means [Mr.] Starr had better stick to the facts, keep it clean-and hurry up. TEXT: We turn next to the issue of day trading. It is a new kind of stock market dealing, in which both amateurs and professional financiers use high speed computers to buy and sell stocks, sometimes within one minute, in order to capitalize on tiny fluctuations in value. Many under-experienced traders have lost their life savings; a trader in Atlanta killed several people at two brokerage houses recently after suffering big losses. As the practice draws increasing scrutiny from securities law enforcement, The Chicago Tribune has this observation. VOICE: Phineas Taylor Barnum perhaps said it best more than a century ago. "There's a sucker born every minute," opined the great circus impresario. Why quote P.T. Barnum when the topic is the late `90s phenomenon known as day trading? To make the point that schemers and daydreamers have been around forever. Schemers promise the daydreamers that they've got a foolproof method to make money -- and invariably the schemers do -- at the expense of the day- dreamers. ... Yes, customers should be fully informed of the risks of day trading ... But beyond that, it is impossible to regulate or legislate good sense and realistic expectations. TEXT: Back home, it rained in Arkansas yesterday, and normally that would not qualify for editorial comment. But this country is facing one of the worst droughts this century, and so the Arkansas Democrat Gazette in Little Rock exclaims: VOICE: First a splatter, and then, as the big drops started knocking against the skylight atop the third floor of the Democrat-Gazette, claps! cheers! hurrahs! ... Know this, it takes a lot to get a bunch of newspaper people charged up. (Besides free food, of course.) But it hadn't rained in some parts of Little Rock since memory runneth not to the contrary. That shower sounded as harmonious, as revivifying, as Mozart-or maybe the first Hog Call of the season at War Memorial. Anyway, it was sweet. TEXT: That concludes this sampling of comment from the
editorial pages of Wednesday's U-S press.
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