Voice of America, 00-06-07

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

CONTENTS

[01] NATO / HUMAN RIGHTS (L) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (LONDON)

[02] RED CROSS / KOSOVO (L ONLY) BY GORDON MARTIN (GENEVA)

[03] YUGO SHOOTING (L ONLY) BY IRENA GUZELOVA (BELGRADE)

[04] BULGARIA'S COMEBACK BY ED WARNER (WASHINGTON)

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

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

[01] NATO / HUMAN RIGHTS (L) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (LONDON)

INTRO: The human rights group, Amnesty International, is accusing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, of violating international law during its 1999 military campaign against Serb forces in Kosovo. V-O- A Correspondent Laurie Kassman in London reports NATO adamantly denies the charges.

TEXT: The 65-page Amnesty report looks at several NATO attacks on civilian targets during the 1999 Kosovo campaign and concludes they violated international human rights conventions. Amnesty spokesman John Tackaberry describes NATO's bombing of the Serb radio and television headquarters as a war crime. Sixteen civilians were killed in the attack. Amnesty also lists NATO raids on a railroad bridge and on a refugee convoy.

[02] RED CROSS / KOSOVO (L ONLY) BY GORDON MARTIN (GENEVA)

INTRO: The International Committee of the Red Cross (I-C-R-C) says more than three-thousand people are still missing in Kosovo a year after the war ended there. Gordon Martin in Geneva reports the Red Cross has published a book listing the names of the missing people.

TEXT: In the past two years -- before, during, and after the NATO bombing campaign -- the Red Cross was asked by families to trace nearly five-thousand missing relatives, most of them ethnic Albanians. So far, it has determined the fate of nearly one- thousand-600 of them. Most were in Serbian jails. Almost 200 were confirmed dead. But that leaves three-thousand-368 still unaccounted for. The Red Cross says just over two-thousand of those still missing were reportedly arrested by Yugoslav forces or abducted by Serb civilians. The Kosovo Liberation Army or Kosovo Albanians reportedly abducted about 370. But there is no information whatsoever about the remaining 980 or so. The Red Cross operations chief in the region, Andreas Wigger, says there probably are people who know where many of these missing people are.

[03] YUGO SHOOTING (L ONLY) BY IRENA GUZELOVA (BELGRADE)

INTRO: The national security advisor to the president of Montenegro has been shot dead outside his home in the capital, Podgorica. Irena Guzelova reports from Belgrade.

TEXT: The victim, Goran Zugic, was one of the most trusted advisors to Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic. He was killed when an unknown assailant fired two bullets into his head late Wednesday night. Police have not yet found any suspects. The circumstances surrounding the murder are similar to a number of unsolved assassinations of public figures in Belgrade. However, it is the first incident of its kind in Montenegro, the smaller of the two Yugoslav republics. The shooting comes just ten days before crucial local elections, which are being seen as a possible indictor of the republic's shifting political mood. The elections will be held in the coastal town of Herceg Novi and the capital, Podgorica, on June 11th. Montenegrins fear the killing may be an attempt by authorities in Belgrade to spread instability into the small republic. Mr. Zugic was known to have handled sensitive information and was eager to calm tensions between Serbia and Montenegro -- which has taken a series of unilateral moves to distance itself from Belgrade. Earlier in May, Montenegrin police and the Yugoslav army staged joint military exercises to show tensions had eased. In December, there was a tense stand-off between the police and army at Montenegro's main airport. But many Montenegrins fear that authorities in Belgrade may begin to stir-up tensions ahead of the elections. They are concerned that the authorities in Serbia are trying to drive a wedge between Montenegro's south, where the majority support Mr. Djukanovic's pro-Western government, and the republic's north, where Belgrade can count on the support of the pro-Serb party, knows as the S-N-P. The campaign leading up to the local elections has become increasingly bitter. The S-N-P has joined forces with the ruling parties in Serbia. It accuses the Montenegrin police force of recruiting foreign mercenaries. The Montenegrin government accuses the S-N-P of trying to build a greater Serbia and of trying to destabilize the republic. (Signed) NEB/IG/JWH/ENE/KL 07-Jun-2000 13:18 PM EDT (07-Jun-2000 1718 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

[04] BULGARIA'S COMEBACK BY ED WARNER (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: In a meeting with a U-S Senate delegation this week, Bulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov said his country is striving to be a positive model for southeastern Europe. Bulgaria is well on the way to achieving that status, say analysts, who are encouraged by the progress the Balkan nation has made in the last three years. VOA's Ed Warner has this report on the dramatic transformation of a state that was once a subservient client of the Soviet Union.

TEXT: It ranks among the most under-reported stories in Europe, says Janusz Bugajski, director of East European Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. He is referring to the impressive progress he believes Bulgaria has made since a new government took office in April 1997:

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

INTRO: U-S stock prices moved higher today (Wednesday). But the session was overshadowed by concern over the number of investors who are still sitting on the sidelines, thinking -- among other things -- about the impact of higher interest rates. V-O-A correspondent Elaine Johanson reports from New York:

TEXT: The Dow Jones Industrial Average went up 77 points, less than one percent, to 10-thousand-812. The Standard and Poor's 500 index closed 13 points higher -- about one percent. And the Nasdaq composite gained over two percent. Once again, concerns about interest rates hovered over Wall Street. The market was able to move higher. But the volume was light -- a trademark of the U-S stock market lately. Many experts consider high volume -- at least a billion shares traded -- key to a sustained rally.

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

INTRO: Assessments of President Clinton's European trip, especially his two days of meetings in Russia, continue to appear in the nation's editorial columns. Another popular topic is a recent report on terrorism, along with a Supreme Court ruling limiting the rights of grandparents to see grandchildren. Also coming in for a share of attention is the Korean summit meeting, the coup in Fiji, and more calls to reassess relations with Cuba. Now, here with a closer look at those and other editorials, is ___________ and today's Editorial Digest.

TEXT: We go first to the Pacific region, to Hawaii's Honolulu Star Bulletin, which makes the point about the disagreement between the United States and Russia over U-S anti-ballistic missile defense plans:

VOICE: Although good relations are important, Russia is in no position, either economically or legally, to block such proposals by [President] Clinton or his successor. /// OPT /// ... [President] Putin may be looking past [Mr.] Clinton to the next U-S president in considering any amendment to the A-B-M treaty. ... [He] ... may be grasping at any reason to delay the decision, over which Russia has little if any negotiating authority; the 1972 treaty was with the Soviet Union, which no longer exists. Meanwhile, Russia is trying to cope with a wretched economy that will make it dependent on the West for the foreseeable future. /// END OPT

TEXT: Today's Chicago Tribune contrasts the relatively limited accomplishments of the just- concluded meeting between the U-S and Russian presidents with the kind of "heart-stopping" summits of the past.

VOICE: The world no longer holds its collective breath when the leaders of these two nations meet -- and for that we can all be thankful. For most of the last half of the 20th Century, a delicate balance of terror between the U-S and the Soviet Union held the world in the thrall of Mutual Assured Destruction [M-A-D]. Summits were everything. ... Now when Russia and the U-S meet, it is no longer potentially earth shattering. It is business.

TEXT: In a related commentary, today's Milwaukee [Wisconsin] Journal Sentinel cheers the news that Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma is promising to finally shut down the Chernobyl Nuclear power station, site of history's worst nuclear accident, by December of this year.

VOICE: The decision was announced ... while President Clinton was paying a brief visit to the country. To help with the closedown ... [Mr.] Clinton offered 78-million dollars to help pay for a 750-million dollar project to rebuild and stabilize a structure covering the ruined reactor, an unspecified sum to promote economic development in the area and two-million to improve safety at Ukraine's four other nuclear power plants. This aid is an investment in safety. The 1986 Chernobyl disaster spewed 200 times as much radiation as the atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War Two.

TEXT: Although the threat of a global nuclear war may have eased, experts say there is still a terrorist threat, and a newly released assessment of that threat is drawing comment. The Cleveland, Ohio Plain Dealer notes:

VOICE: The United States is not doing enough to guard against terrorism, the bipartisan National Commission on Terrorism has told Congress. Recommendations as to just what should be done take up much of the commission's report. Some of the suggestions can be realized quickly. Others present political dilemmas involving nominal allies. Still others raise valid concerns about individual rights. All carry a hard edge of urgency.

TEXT: The Dallas Morning News says that, while the threat exists, "the tone of some of these [Commission on Terrorism] proposals is highly troubling," adding:

VOICE: The recommendation to expand military authority in the United States to supplant domestic law enforcement agencies is an affront to basic civil liberties. So too is the idea of monitoring foreign students in the United States simply because they are not American born. ... Congress shouldn't ignore the terrorist threat that gave rise to the commission, but it should resist the commission's more sweeping solutions as a bad trade of fundamental civil liberties for a deceptive sense of security.

TEXT: Also in the state of Texas, The Houston Chronicle is noting the threat of what it calls "a self-styled activist" on the Mexican border who has placed a bounty of 10-thousand dollars on any U-S Border Patrol agent. The man, Carlos Ibarra Perez, was angered by the recent killing of an illegal Mexican immigrant by a Border Patrol officer. Says the Chronicle:

VOICE: Mexican officials and activists expressed concern about [Mr.] Ibarra's threats, and investigations apparently have started on both sides of the border. They should be pursued until citizens of the United States and Mexico are satisfied. Neither country can condone any possibility of terror along the border.

TEXT: A Supreme Court decision, giving parents the right to limit their children's visits with grandparents, continues to draw comment. The court struck down a Washington State law that allowed any person, not just relatives, to gain court-ordered visitation rights with children. In Maine, the Portland Press Herald says the decision was: "a measured and reasonable ruling on an extremely emotional issue." The Chicago Tribune says of the Washington State statue that was struck down:

VOICE: ... a textbook example of lawmakers letting unfiltered sentiment override a sound and absolutely fundamental principle: that decisions about a child's contact with outsiders, including relatives, are the sole province of parents.

TEXT: To Asia now, where the two Koreas are about to hold a historic summit meeting for the first time since the armistice ended fighting in 1953,and this comment from The Kansas City [Missouri] Star.

VOICE: Expectations are not high for next week's summit between the leaders of North ... and South Korea. Technically, the two countries remain at war ... Still, the mere fact of the summit is encouraging, given that leaders of north and south have never met since the country was divided a half-century ago. ... /// OPT /// Is North Korea genuinely interested in charting a new course? The South Koreans -- and Washington -- should remain open but skeptical.

TEXT: Moving to the South Pacific region, where hostage-taking and revolts are suddenly in the news. We read a warning in today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that these events, however isolated from developments elsewhere in the world, are serious business.

VOICE: Although it is unfolding in a small, idyllic place far from the United States, the coup being staged in Fiji should not be dismissed /// OPT ///as an isolated comic-opera affair. /// END OPT /// Its cause is distressingly familiar -- racism -- and its poisonous example of violence has now been followed elsewhere ... On the island of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, where U-S Marines once fought valiantly, rebels on Monday seized the prime minister in a coup attempt that was reminiscent of what occurred in Fiji on May 19th. It is not yet clear what the outcome will be. ... /// OPT /// The Fijian rebels are attempting to depose the nation's first ethnic Indian prime minister, Mahendra Chaudhry ... an echo of the ugly bias that once led Idi Amin to expel Indians from Uganda -- threatens both its [Fiji's] reputation and ... prosperity. /// END OPT ///

TEXT: Turning to events in the Western Hemisphere, the Post and Courier of Charleston, South Carolina joins a growing list of newspapers suggesting the lifting of America's almost 40-year economic embargo on Cuba.

VOICE: ... [South Carolina Republican] Representative Mark Sanford's bill to end travel restrictions on Americans who want to visit Cuba and legislation to allow the sale of food and medicines to Cuba would pass if common sense prevailed in Congress. But strong anti-Castro sentiment in Congress, reflecting the viewpoint of the politically powerful Cuban-American community, could doom [it].

TEXT: The Los Angeles Times comments on the ongoing conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea and says there have been "No Winners in This `Victory.'"

VOICE: After two years of brutal fighting, Ethiopia has declared victory in its war with Eritrea, but the Eritreans disagree and the fighting continues, both sides driving civilians from their homes in a hapless conflict in the Horn of Africa. ... What's needed is a cease- fire and a negotiated settlement that clearly demarcates the disputed territory and spells out the obligations of both governments toward a peace.

TEXT: Domestically, Vice President Al Gore continues to draw criticism from conservative newspapers because of allegations that he is a slum landlord. A woman living with her family in a dilapidated house on his Tennessee farm, with backed up toilets and decaying floors, complained to a local television station for help. After the broadcast, Mr. Gore was quick to respond and is repairing the house. However the incident leads the Washington Times to editorialize:

VOICE: There seems to be no limit to Al Gore's compassion when it comes to spending taxpayer's money on the theoretical high-tech needs of poor children in general. But when it comes to real children, he is actually obliged to serve -- by a rental agreement, if not by his high-minded principles -- suddenly he becomes much more stingy. ... Before Mr. Gore presumes to lecture the nation about funding his revolutionary ideals across the country, perhaps he should start living up to them at home.

TEXT: With that comment, we conclude this sampling of comment from Wednesday's U-S press.
NEB/ANG/JP 07-Jun-2000 11:30 AM EDT (07-Jun-2000 1530 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

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