Check our bulletin board of Hellenic Cultural News 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
Thursday, 28 March 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, 99-09-05

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

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


CONTENTS

  • [01] KOSOVO POLICE BY TIM BELAY (PRISTINA)
  • [02] ALBRIGHT / TURKEY / L BY KYLE KING (ISTANBUL)
  • [03] TURKEY / ALBRIGHT / QUAKE / L-O BY AMBERIN ZAMAN (ANKARA)
  • [04] RUSSIA / DAGESTAN / S-L BY EVE CONANT (MOSCOW)
  • [05] RUSSIA/DAGESTAN EXPLOSION (S&L) BY EVE CONANT (MOSCOW)
  • [06] RUSSIA / DAGESTAN / 2ND UPDATE / S-L BY EVE CONANT (MOSCOW)

  • [01] KOSOVO POLICE BY TIM BELAY (PRISTINA)

    DATE=9/5/1999
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-253478
    CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:

    INTRO: A NEW CONTINGENT OF NEARLY TWO-HUNDRED UNITED NATIONS POLICE VOLUNTEERS HAS ARRIVED IN KOSOVO FROM THE UNITED STATES. TIM BELAY REPORTS FROM PRISTINA THAT THEIR ASSIGNMENT WILL INCLUDE REGULAR POLICE WORK AND THE TRAINING OF A NEW LOCAL POLICE FORCE FOR THE PROVINCE.

    TEXT: THE ONE HUNDRED-AND-EIGHTY-SIX OFFICERS FROM THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES COME AS AN ADDITION TO THE ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIVE AMERICANS WHO ARE ALREADY WORKING WITH THE UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL POLICE HERE. THEIR ARRIVAL IS ESPECIALLY TIMELY AS INCIDENTS OF ETHNIC VIOLENCE HAVE BEEN ON THE INCREASE IN RECENT DAYS IN KOSOVO, FOLLOWING A TWO-WEEK PERIOD OF RELATIVE CALM. MOST RECENTLY, AN EXPLOSION AT AN APARTMENT IN PRISTINA FRIDAY NIGHT KILLED AN ELDERLY SERBIAN MAN. FIVE PEOPLE WERE HURT BY SHATTERED WINDOW GLASS.

    DON GRADY FROM THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO IN THE UNITED STATES IS THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF THE U.S. CONTINGENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL POLICE FORCE. MR. GRADY SAYS HIS GROUP HAS A TWO-PART MISSION.

    //GRADY ACT ONE//

    INITIALLY WE HAVE TO DO LAW ENFORCEMENT WORK SO WE HAVE TO DO THE ACTUAL POLICING SO THESE GUYS WILL ACTUALLY BE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS WITH FULL EXECUTIVE POWERS AND THEY'LL BE DOING COMPLETE POLICING RESPONSIBILITIES. THE SECOND PART OF THE MISSION IS TO HELP REBUILD A KOSOVO POLICE SERVICE.

    //END ACT//

    MR. GRADY SAYS THE AMERICAN POLICE OFFICERS WHO VOLUNTEERED TO WORK IN KOSOVO HAVE A SINCERE DESIRE TO SEE A CLIMATE OF IMPROVED LAW AND ORDER HERE.

    //GRADY ACT TWO//

    POLICING GETS IN THE BLOOD AND IT'S THE KIND OF THING THAT YOU FEEL REALLY CLOSE TO. THESE POLICE OFFICERS WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. THEY WANT TO BE A PART OF SOMETHING THAT'S BIGGER THAN THEY ARE....SO THE IDEA OF ESTABLISHING A DEMOCRATIC POLICING INSTITUTION IN AN AREA WHERE IT WAS SOMETHING LESS THAN DEMOCRACY PREVIOUSLY IS VERY APPEALING TO A LOT OF THESE GUYS.

    //END ACT//

    MR. GRADY SAYS THE OFFICERS RECEIVED SEVEN 12 HOUR DAYS OF INTENSIVE PREPARATION FOR THE KOSOVO MISSION BEFORE LEAVING THE UNITED STATES. HE SAYS THE VOLUNTEERS WERE ABLE TO LEARN A LITTLE ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED RECENTLY IN THE PROVINCE, AND GAIN SOME INSIGHTS INTO THE OVERALL HISTORY OF KOSOVO. TIM BELAY FOR VOA NEWS, PRISTINA.
    NEB/TB/PLM === Tim Belay Tirana 355-42-67545 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com

    TEXT: NEB/WTW/ 05-Sep-1999 08:08 AM EDT (05-Sep-1999 1208 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America


    [02] ALBRIGHT / TURKEY / L BY KYLE KING (ISTANBUL)

    DATE=9/5/1999
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-253480
    CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:

    INTRO: Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has toured the region most devastated by last month's earthquake in Turkey and met with the country's foreign minister to discuss humanitarian aid. From Istanbul, Correspondent Kyle King reports.

    TEXT: The Secretary of State flew to Turkey from Israel and went by helicopter to the epicenter of the quake, which killed more than 14-thousand people when it struck August 17th. In the city of Izmit she toured a tent city being set up by the 26th Marine Expedition Unit. The Marines have erected about 150-tents at the site and are expected to eventually bring in about 500. More than 30-thousand people are still missing and although many buildings in Izmit are still standing, most of the people living in the region are too afraid to return to their homes. After talks with Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, Secretary of State Albright said she had come to express her sympathy for the terrible loss the country had suffered.

    // ALBRIGHT ACT //

    The extent of the destruction is awesome. It will take much time to rebuild and the human loss can never be recovered.

    // END ACT //

    The United States has provided more than 11-million dollars in assistance. Ms. Albright said the Clinton administration would work with Congress to ensure the United States does its share. In addition to caring for the injured and homeless, officials say one of the more difficult tasks still ahead is evaluating the extent of the environmental destruction caused by the quake. Fumes from chemical spills and a massive oil fire at a refinery near Izmit still hover around the site. Officials say it will take months to evaluate the damage. The next stop on Secretary of State Albright's trip will be Vietnam, where she will take part in the official reopening of the U-S Consulate in Ho Chi Min City. (SIGNED)
    NEB/KK/DW/RAE 05-Sep-1999 09:47 AM LOC (05-Sep-1999 1347 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America

    [03] TURKEY / ALBRIGHT / QUAKE / L-O BY AMBERIN ZAMAN (ANKARA)

    DATE=9/5/1999
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-253484
    CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:

    INTRO: Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited Turkey (Sunday) to see areas ravaged by the massive earthquake which tore through the country's northwestern industrial heartland August 17th. Amberin Zaman reports from Ankara. Text: Turkish officials say Ms. Albright's visit, the first in-five years by a Secretary of State, was long overdue. Being a strategic crossroads between the Middle East, the Balkans, and the volatile Caucasus republics of the former Soviet Union, Turkey considers itself one of the United States' most strategic allies. Turkey has been providing bases for the U-S led allied air patrols designed to protect Iraqi Kurds from possible attacks by Iraqi government forces since the end of the 1991 Gulf War. This year Turkey opened its airbases to NATO planes taking part in Allied missions against Serb forces during the NATO campaign in Kosovo. Ms. Albright surveyed the extensive damage caused by last month's deadly earthquake that destroyed tens-of- thousands of homes and left hundreds-of-thousands homeless. Turkish officials say the death toll could exceed 20- thousand when clean-up in the stricken areas is completed. The estimate is much lower than the initial 45-thousand death toll predicted both by U-N and Turkish officials in the early days following the quake. Critics of the government charge many of the dead have gone unreported simply because their bodies are being bulldozed into the sea along with rubble during the massive clearing operation. Meanwhile, aftershocks continue to rock Izmit, the northwestern industrial town where the earthquake measured seven-point-four on the Richter scale. Thousands of residents made homeless by the quake continue to be sheltered in tent cities erected by the Turkish military and international-aid agencies. U-S Marines in the area are helping erect all-weather tents brought to the region by U-S ships. And a 10- member U-S military team of doctors and other medical staff is also working in the Izmit area. (SIGNED)
    NEB/AZ/DW/RAE 05-Sep-1999 11:46 AM LOC (05-Sep-1999 1546 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America


    [04] RUSSIA / DAGESTAN / S-L BY EVE CONANT (MOSCOW)

    DATE=9/4/1999
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-253454
    CONTENT=
    VOICED AT: Re-issuing with correct number

    INTRO: Russia's Defense Ministry has assumed full control from the Interior Ministry over military operations against Islamic militants in Dagestan (in Russia's southern Caucasus region). Moscow correspondent Eve Conant reports military activity has been stepped up as federal forces try to rout the militants from the mountainous area called Karamakhi.

    TEXT: Although there's been a change of command, Russian helicopter gunships and artillery continue to pound several villages in central Dagestan. On Saturday Russia's Defense Ministry was granted full control over the conflict, taking over from Interior Ministry troops who fought the militants in other parts of Dagestan last month. Russian news agencies report Lieutenant-General Gennady Troshev has been appointed as commander of the unified forces. The Defense Ministry says it is taking over the Interior Ministry in order to "increase the effectiveness" of the campaign against the militants, who are well armed and entrenched in strong underground shelters. Previous Russian forces included army ground troops, local police forces, Interior Ministry troops and volunteers with little or no training.

    //REST OPT FOR LONG//

    Dagestani journalist Nabi Abdulayev, who spoke to V-O- A by telephone, says Dagestan's government is also planning to evacuate all women and children from the Karamakhi area where the fighting is taking place. The militants are said to be members of the fundamentalist Wahhabi sect who took control of the villages a year ago and introduced strict Islamic law to the area. In a related incident, an extremist leader known as Commander Khattab has warned that his Islamic extremists will carry out reprisals on Russian territory in response to the offensive against the militants in Dagestan.(Signed)
    NEB/EC/DW/JO 04-Sep-1999 08:29 AM EDT (04-Sep-1999 1229 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America

    [05] RUSSIA/DAGESTAN EXPLOSION (S&L) BY EVE CONANT (MOSCOW)

    DATE=9/5/1999
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-253474
    CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:

    INTRO: An explosion has destroyed a five-story military apartment block in the Dagestani city, Buinaksk -- killing at least nine people and injuring more than 70 others. Initial Russian news reports also say hundreds of gunmen have crossed into Dagestan from Chechnya and occupied several villages. Correspondent Eve Conant follows developments from Moscow.

    TEXT: Russian news agencies report dozens of residents of the five-story military apartment block may still be buried under heaps of rubble. Russian news agencies report the Dagestani government is calling the blast a "terrorist act," but no one has yet claimed responsibility. Rescue teams on the scene say they expect casualty figures to rise and that most of the victims are women and children. The Itar-Tass news agency reports police also discovered and defused a car loaded with 100 kilograms of T-N-T -- timed to explode near a military hospital and another military apartment block in Buinaksk. Russian news agencies also report hundreds of gunmen crossed into Dagestan early Sunday, from neighboring Chechnya, and occupied several villages in the Novolaksky district.

    ///REST FOR LONG///

    The explosion in Buinaksk took place only 50 kilometers away from the Karamakhi area where Russian troops continue to fight Islamic fundamentalists for control over several villages. Islamic fundamentalist leaders have recently threatened to carry out terrorist acts in Russia, as part of their effort to make Dagestan an independent Islamic state. News agencies report rescue teams are working, non- stop, to pull people from the rubble. The Russian Emergencies Ministry has flown additional rescue workers and equipment to the scene. Buinaksk is Dagestan's second-largest city and has been named as a potential target for attack by Islamic militants. The Interfax news agency reports that, several hours before the blast, a rebel leader known as Commander Khattab threatened attacks by militants would continue. Meanwhile, federal forces continued their battle against the rebels, early Sunday, heavily bombing two villages in the Karamakhi region, controlled by militants. (Signed) Neb / wd 05-Sep-1999 02:44 AM LOC (05-Sep-1999 0644 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America

    [06] RUSSIA / DAGESTAN / 2ND UPDATE / S-L BY EVE CONANT (MOSCOW)

    DATE=9/5/1999
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-253485
    CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:

    INTRO: Hundreds of gunmen (some estimates up to two- thousand) have crossed into Dagestan from Chechnya and are fighting for control over four villages. Moscow correspondent Eve Conant reports the incursion came as rescue workers were still pulling bodies from the rubble of a military housing apartment in the city of Buinaksk where an explosion killed at least 17-people and injured up to 100-others.

    TEXT: Gunmen crossed into Dagestan (early Sunday) from neighboring Chechnya, and began fighting with local police for control of villages in the Novolaksky district. A Russian Interior Ministry official addressed the people of Dagestan on local television and asked the men of the republic to assist federal forces in countering the attack. In Buinaksk, rescue workers are sifting through the rubble of a five-story apartment building which collapsed after what was believed to be a car bomb ripped though it late Saturday. The building housed civilians as well as Defense Ministry officials and their families. Dagestani officials are describing the explosion and the new incursion as -- links in the same chain. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast, but local authorities have said they believe it is connected with recent threats by Islamic fundamentalists.

    // REST OPT FOR LONG //

    Leaders of the extremist Wahhabi sect have threatened to carry out terrorist acts in what is believed to be part of an effort to make Dagestan an independent Islamic state. Fighting in the newly seized villages continued throughout Sunday. Casualty figures were difficult to confirm. A Kremlin spokesman told the Interfax news agency that Russian president Boris Yeltsin is "outraged" over the attack. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he would take no military action against Chechnya for sending militants into Dagestan, but that Russia will take all measures necessary to restore peace to the region. Meanwhile, fighting also continues in the Karamakhi area of Dagestan. Russian troops have stepped up air attacks against Islamic fundamentalists in existing positions trying to retain control over several villages. Saturday, Russia's Defense Ministry took control of the conflict from Russia's Interior Ministry.

    /// REST OPT ///

    And in Buinaksk, casualty figures continue to grow as rescue workers clear the area of the apartment blast. Earlier, police discovered and defused a device in a car loaded with 100-kilograms of TNT parked near a military hospital and another military apartment in Buinaksk. The Russian Emergencies Ministry has flown additional rescue workers and equipment to the scene. Rescue workers say many of the victims are women and children. Buinaksk is Dagestan's second-largest city and has been named as a potential target for attack by Islamic militants. The Interfax news agency reports that several hours before the blast a rebel leader known as Commander Khattab warned attacks by militants would continue. (SIGNED) NEB/ec/dw/RAE 05-Sep-1999 13:08 PM LOC (05-Sep-1999 1708 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 Monday, 6 September 1999 - 21:15:11 UTC