Voice of America, 99-09-29

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

CONTENTS

[01] KOSOVO UNREST (L-ONLY) BY TIM BELAY (PRISTINA)

[02] KOSOVO CONDITIONS (L ONLY) BY LARRY FREUND (NEW YORK)

[03] KOSOVO CORPS REGISTRATION (L ONLY) BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)

[04] YUGO DEMO L-ONLY BY PHILIP SMUCKER (BELGRADE)

[05] TURKEY / KURDS (L ONLY) BY AMBERIN ZAMAN (ANKARA)

[06] EMBASSY / GERMANY (L-ONLY) BY JONATHAN BRAUDE (BERLIN)

[07] GERMAN POLITICS BY RON PEMSTEIN (BERLIN)

[08] N-Y ECON WRAP (S&L) BY BRECK ARDERY (NEW YORK)

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

[01] KOSOVO UNREST (L-ONLY) BY TIM BELAY (PRISTINA)

INTRO: United Nations civilian police are investigating a grenade attack that killed two ethnic Serbs and injured 45 in Kosovo Tuesday Tim Belay reports from Pristina that the assault comes as ethnic violence in the Yugoslav province appears to be increasing.

TEXT: The attack came when someone threw two hand grenades into a crowded market place Tuesday. All of the victims are ethnic Serbs. The incident happened in a region just outside of Pristina, which is heavily populated by Serbs. There have been skirmishes between ethnic Albanians and Kosovar Serbs there for the past few days. Daniela Rozgovona, of the United Nations mission in Kosovo, says peace in the province is ultimately in the hands of the people who live there.

[02] KOSOVO CONDITIONS (L ONLY) BY LARRY FREUND (NEW YORK)

INTRO: A senior United Nations official, Dennis McNamara, says more than 100-thousand Serbs and several thousand Roma or gypsies have left Kosovo in recent months. At the same time, Mr. McNamara expects a very tough winter for many Kosovars who remain in the Yugoslav province. More from correspondent Larry Freund in New York.

TEXT: In an assessment for reporters, Mr. McNamara said violent attacks continue in Kosovo on a regular basis against Serbs and Roma, resulting in what he described as an exodus from Kosovo of some of them. Mr. McNamara, in charge of humanitarian affairs for the U-N mission in Kosovo, said there has been progress in recent weeks by the U-N mission. But he added that the political situation remains fragile within Kosovo and with respect to Belgrade. Mr. McNamara said the main challenge in the humanitarian area is to get the 800-thousand returnees to Kosovo through what he predicted will be another very difficult winter. Kits for temporary repairs to housing for 350-thousand Kosovars are being provided. But he emphasized that these will be only temporary repairs.

[03] KOSOVO CORPS REGISTRATION (L ONLY) BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)

INTRO: The International Organization for Migration, I-O-M, says many former rebel fighters from the Kosovo Liberation Army, K-L-A, have expressed interest in joining the Kosovo Protection Corps -- a civilian group being formed to help rebuild the Serbian province. Lisa Schlein reports the Geneva-based I-O-M is in charge of registering and assisting all former K-L-A combatants rejoin civilian life after fighting earlier this year.

TEXT: I-O-M says its offices throughout Kosovo have been swamped with former K-L-A combatants since the registration process began early last week. It says they have come to learn if they can get into the Kosovo Protection Corps or whether they can benefit from one of several programs aimed at helping them get work and resume their civilian lives. I-O-M spokesman Jean-Philippe Chauzy says the organization has registered more than three-thousand former K-L-A and has interviewed more than half of them.

[04] YUGO DEMO L-ONLY BY PHILIP SMUCKER (BELGRADE)

INTRO: Serbian police clashed with some 25,000 demonstrators who tried to march to the home of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic late Wednesday. When crowds swamped two central streets in Belgrade near a bombed-out military headquarters, police moved in and started beating those who could not run fast enough. Philip Smucker was in the crowd and has this report.

TEXT:

[05] TURKEY / KURDS (L ONLY) BY AMBERIN ZAMAN (ANKARA)

TEXT: Members of a pro-Turkish Kurdish militia and an Iraqi Kurdish faction allied with Ankara are taking part in the offensive, which is concentrated near Haftanin and Metina along Turkey's border with northern Iraq. The troops were sent to help Turkish forces already in the region. Turkey maintains a year round military presence in the Kurdish-controlled enclave in northern Iraq in an attempt to stop P-K-K guerrillas from launching cross-border attacks against Turkish targets. Turkish officials describe the offensive as "routine." It comes as the P-K-K's imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan warned that unless Turkey responded to his recent peace proposals, violence in the largely Kurdish southeast provinces could -- in his words -- spin out of control. Ocalan has made a series of conciliatory gestures since a Turkish court sentenced him to death on treason charges last June. Critics of his movement say the gestures are aimed at persuading Turkish authorities to spare his life. But Ocalan insists his only aim is to secure a lasting peace between Turks and Kurds. He has called on his followers to abandon their armed struggle for Kurdish self-rule and to withdraw from Turkish territory. Last week, Ocalan appealed to a group of his followers to surrender to Turkish authorities. But the Turkish military says it will keep up its campaign against the P-K-K until what it describes as "every last terrorist" is neutralized. Turkish officials say the P-K-K's peace overtures are designed to hide what they term its near total defeat at the hands of the powerful Turkish army. Against this background, analysts say, hopes are dwindling for an early end to the 15-year insurgency, which has claimed more than 30-thousand lives. In a statement carried Wednesday by the German-based Kurdish news agency, D-E-M, the P-K-K declared it would never surrender and accused the Turkish military of pursuing a policy of "war over peace, surrender over freedom, and oppression over democracy." (Signed) NEB/AZ/JWH/ENE/JP 29-Sep-1999 12:47 PM EDT (29-Sep-1999 1647 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

[06] EMBASSY / GERMANY (L-ONLY) BY JONATHAN BRAUDE (BERLIN)

INTRO: The United States may lose its chance to build a new embassy in front of Berlin's best known landmark, the Brandenburg Gate, unless a compromise can be reached over measures to protect the building from possible terrorist attack. Jonathan Braude reports from the German capital.

TEXT: U-S and German officials have been negotiating for months over security measures at a new U-S Embassy building near the Brandenburg Gate. The German Senate voted to allow Washington to build its embassy on the city's most prestigious site shortly after national parliament decided to leave Bonn to return to Berlin. The United States got the right to build on the site largely out of gratitude for Washington's leading role in protecting West Berlin from the communist East during the Cold War. The new embassy complex will also be closer to the Brandenburg Gate than those of the other allied powers, Britain and France. But Washington's new security regulations, put in effect after bombing attacks on the U-S embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, has strained relations with Berlin's city leaders lately. If Washington gets its way, there will be a security zone of 30 meters round the embassy. That would mean diverting streets leading into Berlin's famous Tiergarten park and through the site set aside for a new Holocaust memorial. U-S officials argue that the security zone and its surroundings would not be as unsightly as the city government claims and, so far, have been unwilling to compromise. But Berlin authorities also seem unwilling to compromise. Peter Strieder, senator for planning and environment, says he cannot rebuild Berlin's historic center solely to meet the security needs of the Americans. This uncompromising approach has won widespread backing. But a recent visit to Washington by city planners appears to have produced some willingness to reach a settlement. A joint press statement issued after the visit said both sides had agreed that U-S security requirements for the embassy site were reasonable. It said they hoped an agreement could soon be reached to begin construction. But now, new comments from Mr. Strieder's office suggest the United States should either rethink its position or accept a different embassy site. The U-S embassy says it is standing by the joint U-S-German statement issued in Washington. One compromise being talked about in Berlin just might allow both sides to save face. It would mean redesigning the embassy building, making it taller and narrower and allowing the wider security zone without disrupting nearly roadways. (SIGNED)
NEB/JB/GE/JP 29-Sep-1999 13:47 PM EDT (29-Sep-1999 1747 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

[07] GERMAN POLITICS BY RON PEMSTEIN (BERLIN)

INTRO: Germany's ruling Social Democrats face their last test of the year in elections on October 10th in the capital, Berlin. V-O-A Correspondent Ron Pemstein examines why the government of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has caused so much disappointment just one year after taking office.

TEXT: The Karl Liebnecht House, headquarters for Germany's Communist Party from 1926 to 1933, today houses the party's heir - the Party of Democratic Socialism. And it is there that P-D-S member Wolfgang Meyer analyzes reaction to Chancellor Schroeder and his ruling Social Democrats. Mr. Meyer says it is clear why voters, particularly those in eastern Germany, are punishing the Social Democrats.

[08] N-Y ECON WRAP (S&L) BY BRECK ARDERY (NEW YORK)

INTRO: Stock prices in the United States were down today (Wednesday) as concerns about interest rates, inflation and corporate profits continued. V-O-A Business Correspondent Breck Ardery reports from New York.

TEXT: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 10- thousand-213, down 62 points. The Standard and Poor's 500 index closed at 12-hundred-68, down 13 points. The NASDAQ index lost almost one percent. Stocks traded in a narrow range until the last hour, when selling pressure accelerated. Analysts say traders continued to worry about whether the U-S central bank will raise interest rates, whether inflationary pressures are building and whether U-S corporate profits will live up to expectations. Oil prices rose above 25 dollars a barrel on the New York market for the first time in two-and-one-half years. Some analysts say oil prices could approach 30 dollars a barrel within the next six weeks.

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

INTRO: The U-S presidential election is more than a year away, but the campaign is already generating a flood of editorials. Other commentaries this Wednesday dwell on the Russian attacks on Chechnya; this week's 50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China; a surprising result of Turkey's earthquake; warnings that a new virus is infecting the United States; and a new turn in German politics. Now here is ______________ with some excerpts and a closer look in today's Editorial Digest.

TEXT: One more candidate has dropped out of the race for president, another is officially in, and a third, television commentator Pat Buchanan, is causing a huge controversy with his views on World War Two from his latest book. All of this comes in for attention in Wednesday's Detroit News which headlines its remarks: "(Too) Early Returns."

VOICE: The presidential derby continues: Bill Bradley moves up, John McCain moves in, Dan Quayle moves out, Pat Buchanan shows signs of moving over. The odds still favor Vice- President Al Gore to be the Democratic nominee and Texas Governor George W. Bush to be the Republican nominee, but both are likely to face a fight. It might be more of a fight if campaign finance and primary rules were not so heavily stacked in favor of front-runners. . The winnowing process has traditionally been a strength of American democracy, giving voters a chance to see how candidates bear up under the considerable rigors of the campaign trail. Now, in the name of "reform," there is a danger we may be returning to the era of smoke-filled rooms, hand-picked candidates - and media coverage that may not always be accurate of fair.

TEXT: Calling former Vice President Dan Quayle's departure from the republican field "hardly a surprise," Hawaii's Honolulu Star-Bulletin writes:

VOICE: Most candidates remaining in the race seem ideologically committed to running in defiance of any realistic chance of winning, but it is too early to anoint [Texas Governor George W.] Bush.

TEXT: Florida's Times-Union in Jacksonville says former candidate Dan Quayle was unfairly treated by what it calls the liberal press.

VOICE: Another liberal media target also deserves better than he has gotten. Former vice president . Quayle's run for the White detoured to the sidelines Monday when he dropped from the race. . [Mr.] Quayle articulated well on such issues as tax cuts, the need to reduce big government and what is needed to upgrade the nation's moral climate, but could never shake [Editors: get rid of] his media-blown image as a flake [Editors: a person who is conspicuously eccentric, foolish, crazy, or unpredictable] . While [Mr.] Quayle was routinely roasted in the media, current Vice President Al Gore seems to have largely gotten a free pass from the media for bizarre gaffes that surpass [Mr.] Quayle's.

TEXT: Also drawing comment: the renewed attacks by Russia on Chechnya, in retaliation for a series of terrorist bombings. Newsday on New York's Long Island sums up its view in this editorial headline: "Bombing of Chechnya is Revenge, Not Strategy," while The Washington Post comments under an editorial headline reading: "Russia's Dirty War, Again."

VOICE: . at first glance it appears that Russia is doing no more in Chechnya than NATO did not long ago in Kosovo: fighting to pursue a valid national policy. .. But things are not so simple in the renewal of a regional war in which Chechen guerrillas humiliated the Russian army and won Chechnya effective independence in 1994- 96. . Victory over the guerrillas apparently has become not just a military goal but an obsession among a Russian command still smarting from earlier defeat. /// OPT /// . There is no good solution to this conflict, but some solutions are better than others, and Moscow does not yet appear to be heading toward them.

TEXT: Regarding the 50th anniversary celebrations of the communist revolution in China, Boston's Christian Science Monitor ponders the nation's past and future.

VOICE: Much of the world may be forgiven if it fails to notice that China celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Communist takeover on October first. The sad truth is that Mao Zedong's disastrous rule and his successors' halting moves to a market economy have left China's impact on the world as more potential than portentous, more promise than promising. In short, the red dragon is stuck in a Communist cave. . Fifty years after the "revolution," let's stop finding excuses for this troubled giant and its authoritarian rulers. Let's see China for what it has been, what it is . and what it can be.

TEXT: The Washington Times has found what might be one positive result from Turkey's disastrous earthquake last month.

VOICE: . Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit is discovering [that] the earthquake which rocked Turkey August 17 moved more than his country's landmass closer to the rest of Europe. The aftermath of the Turkish and Greek earthquakes found the traditionally hostile countries offering one another humanitarian assistance and now the United States and the E-U are showing unusual goodwill toward Turkish partnership as well. /// OPT /// . With European membership now much closer, Turkey will have greater incentive to improve its human rights record. And with the support of the United States, Turkey has a chance to help resolve the Cyprus conflict and expand its own economic future. It's a great opportunity, and U-S and World Bank officials meeting with Ecevit today should work to help Turkey take advantage of it. /// END OPT ///

TEXT: The unexpected arrival in New York City recently of what scientists now think is The West Nile encephalitis virus has produced this worrying comment in the national daily USA Today. The paper says this should be a warning of worse foreign diseases to come, as more people travel around the world, and travel more quickly.

VOICE: . the public health community remains poorly prepared for new disease outbreaks. Which is in large part why past outbreaks from Ebola to the Hong Kong chicken flu have whipped the public into a frenzy. . Everyone agrees that deadly diseases someday will emerge. And the C-D-C [U-S Government's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] for years has warned that it lacks the resources to protect adequately against potential new threats.

TEXT: From The Los Angeles Times: comes more pressure on Congress to pay its long-overdue United Nations dues.

VOICE: Washington began withholding dues and assessment funds from the United Nations 13 years ago in an effort to force internal financial reforms. The pressure achieved its purpose. In recent years the United Nations has cut its spending by 100-million dollars, identified an additional 80-million in possible cuts and eliminated more than one-thousand jobs. Congress plans to adjourn by the end of October. It would be inexcusable for it to leave Washington without dealing honorably and cleanly with the debt issue, with no crippling conditions attached.

TEXT: Lastly, The New York Times has some thoughts on the economic reforms being pursued in Germany by Gerhard Schroeder's year-old government, after what the paper says were 12 months of "waffling."

VOICE: . Chancellor . Schroeder has now embraced economic reality and proposed some mild modifications in Germany's welfare state. But his proposals have been attacked by virtually every other political party in Germany as well as by the traditional wing of his own Social Democrats. . Germany's social benefits now add 40 percent to the cost of each worker - a killer in an economy where creating jobs must be the top priority. In addition, one-quarter of Germany's budget is now spent on debt. This cannot be sustained. . Mr. Schroeder has settled on a wise course, and he must not waver.

TEXT: On that note, we conclude this sampling of editorial comment from Wednesday's U-S press.
NEB/ANG/BK 29-Sep-1999 12:28 PM EDT (29-Sep-1999 1628 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

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