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Voice of America, 00-01-18

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

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


CONTENTS

  • [01] KOSOVO CRIME - L BY JIM RANDLE (PENTAGON)
  • [02] Q&A - ALBANIAN GIRL (CQ) BY TIM BELAY / FRANK WHITEIS (TIRANA / WASHINGTON)
  • [03] RUSSIA / CHECHNYA (L) BY EVE CONANT (MOSCOW)
  • [04] UNHCR / CHECHNYA (L ONLY) BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)
  • [05] GERMANY POL (L ONLY) BY JONATHAN BRAUDE (BERLIN)
  • [06] GERMANY POL (L UPDATE) BY JONATHAN BRAUDE (BERLIN)
  • [07] NY ECON WRAP (S&L) BY ELAINE JOHANSON (NEW YORK)
  • [08] TUESDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ANDREW GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)
  • [09] BOSNIAN SERB WARLORD "ARKAN" KILLED BY ANDREW GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)
  • [10] BRITAIN / PINOCHET (L-O UPDATE) BY LOURDES NAVARRO (LONDON)

  • [01] KOSOVO CRIME - L BY JIM RANDLE (PENTAGON)

    DATE=1/18/2000
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-258186
    CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:

    INTRO: U-S Army officials say they are still looking into allegations of murder and sexual misconduct against an American Staff Sergeant in Kosovo. V-O-A's Jim Randle reports,the accused is jailed in Germany while investigators, lawyers, and others move toward a trial.

    TEXT: U-S Army paratrooper Frank Ronghi is accused of `indecent acts' (sexual misconduct) with an eleven year old girl and killing her. Staff Sergeant Ronghi is one of the 50-thousand members of the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo. He is the only peackeeper to be charged with such a serious crime. U-S Army investigators are collecting information that will be used to decide if there is enough evidence to court martial (hold a military trial of) Sergeant Ronghi. Meantime, Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon calls the incident `extremely regrettable.'

    /// Bacon act ///

    The soldier's commander has written a note to the girl's father, expressing his personal regrets and his personal sense of loss as a father speaking to a father. I think without saying that compromises the suspects rights, it's just regrettable that this happened and we will just have to let the military justice system run its course.

    /// end act ///

    Army officials say it could take weeks to finish the investigation and make a decision. If a court martial takes place, it could be held in Kosovo, but is more likely to take place at a major U- S base in Germany or at the accused's home base in the United States (in North Carolina). If the trial takes place outside of Kosovo, an Army legal expert says the service will fly witnesses and investigators to the trial and pay their expenses during it. In at least one past case, the U-S paid expenses so family members of people accidentally killed by a U-S airplane could attend the pilot's trial in the United States. Officials say it is still very early in the legal process and no decision has been made to help family members attend this trial. (Signed).
    NEB/JR/ENE/PT 18-Jan-2000 16:05 PM EDT (18-Jan-2000 2105 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America

    [02] Q&A - ALBANIAN GIRL (CQ) BY TIM BELAY / FRANK WHITEIS (TIRANA / WASHINGTON)

    DATE=1/18/2000
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-258182
    INTERNET=YES CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:

    /// RE-ISSUING TO FIX WORDS IN LAST PARA (OUTRO) ///

    INTRO: A U-S Army staff sergeant is in a military prison in (Mannheim) Germany, charged with the murder of an 11-year-old Albanian girl in Kosovo. The accused man, 35-year-old Frank Ronji [pron: `RON-gee] is under investigation for sexually abusing and killing the child. Reporter Tim Belay, in Tirana, Albania, has been following the story. He talks with V-O-A News Now's Frank Whiteis: BELAY: Officials are being fairly quiet about whether or not there is a conclusion drawn here [in the investigation of the child's death]. I will add as well, that they were very quick to make the arrest of Staff Sergeant Frank Ronji. WHITEIS: Has there been any evidence released ... that you know about yet? BELAY: No information about evidence. It sounds as if, you know, again they were very quick to go to him. So perhaps, and I'm just speculating here, but perhaps there were some witnesses or somebody saw something happen and they're calling in an investigator from the U-S military to conduct a complete look at what may or may not have happened here. WHITEIS: What has been the reaction of the populace there? BELAY: There were some complaints about the general conduct of U-S military in the area but the father of the victim said he did not hold anything against the U-S military in general. Now keep in mind that U-S forces are very well thought of in Kosovo province. There is a certain amount of division, in terms of how highly other nations' soldiers are held ... but it seems the U-S reputation -- the adoration of U-S forces -- has always been high. WHITEIS: Have there been any public demonstrations? BELAY: Not that I'm aware of. Again, there were some discussions... Where this happened was the town of Vitina, a town of around 15-thousand people. There were some complaints and there was plenty of shock as well, but there were some complaints about the general behavior of U-S troops. Now that's all that reports have indicated, so there hasn't been as much detail about what those complaints were. But there have been no reports so far of any large-scale demonstrations of anti-U-S sentiment. Euphoria was really the word to use when the K-FOR [Kosovo peacekeeping force] troops arrived in Kosovo. [That] is not really existent at this time, but they're still given a warm reception, and ethnic Albanians see, especially, American troops as a guarantee against the return of Serb forces. OUTRO: Reporter Tim Belay in Tirana, Albania. He says the top U-S military commander in Kosovo has expressed his sympathy to the murdered girl's family. The military also is promising an official investigation of the case.
    NEB/TB-FW/ENE-T/WTW 18-Jan-2000 14:42 PM EDT (18-Jan-2000 1942 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America


    [03] RUSSIA / CHECHNYA (L) BY EVE CONANT (MOSCOW)

    DATE=1/18/2000
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-258172
    CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:

    INTRO: Russian military officials say federal troops have broken through rebel lines into the center of the Chechen capital, Grozny. Moscow Correspondent Eve Conant reports federal forces are also attacking targets in Chechnya's southern mountains.

    TEXT: Russia's military says its troops have reached the center of the rebel-held capital, Grozny. Military commanders say troops were expanding their zone of control following heavy air and artillery attacks. A Defense Ministry spokesman said federal forces were approaching the center from two directions and that, in his words -- the decisive phase of the liberation of Grozny has started. Russian military press spokesman Valentin Astafayev says the military is working to avoid casualties.

    /// ACT ASTAFAYEV, RUSSIAN IN FULL AND FADE UNDER ///

    He says our troops are moving forward in Grozny and are isolating rebel groups from one another. But we are not storming the capital and there are no specific time limits. He says troops could take Grozny much faster, but such actions would result in higher Russian casualties. Russian news agencies quoted some federal commanders as saying Grozny would be taken within days. A Chechen presidential spokesman says Russian troops were storming the capital from all sides and federal soldiers had seized a strategically important bridge. But a Chechen commander dismissed reports rebels had been given orders to abandon Grozny. Russia's military says it is also striking targets in Chechnya's southern mountains, attacking the town of Vedeno and what officials say are rebel bases in the Argun gorge. A delegation from the Council of Europe is visiting the North Caucasus on a fact-finding mission. Delegation leader David Russell-Johnston has called for Moscow to start negotiations and call an immediate cease-fire. The team is expected to visit areas in Russian-occupied Chechnya. In the neighboring republic of Ingushetia, a powerful explosion ripped through the regional capital's Supreme Court building in Nazran. No one was hurt. Tens-of-thousands of Chechen refugees have sought shelter in Ingushetia since the beginning of Moscow's military campaign. (SIGNED) NEB/EC/GE/ENE/RAE 18-Jan-2000 10:32 AM EDT (18-Jan-2000 1532 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America

    [04] UNHCR / CHECHNYA (L ONLY) BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)

    DATE=1/18/2000
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-258171
    CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:

    INTRO: The United Nations refugee agency, U-N-H-C-R, has expressed alarm at Russia's intensified bombing of the Chechen capital, Grozny. Lisa Schlein in Geneva reports the agency says it is worried about the fate of the city's civilian population.

    TEXT: The U-N refugee agency says almost no one is leaving Grozny. U-N-H-C-R spokesman Kris Janowski says all escape routes out of the city have been cut off. He says the refugee agency is extremely concerned about the fate of the city's civilian population, which he describes as very grim. The Russian news agency, Itar-Tass, reports that Russian troops have broken through rebel lines and reached the center of Grozny. The city has been under heavy, sustained artillery and aerial bombardment for the past day and night. Mr. Janowski says no one knows how many civilians remain in Grozny. Official Russian figures put their numbers at 12-thousand. But other sources say as many as 40-thousand civilians are trapped in cold, dank cellars with little or no food. Mr. Janowski says there is little humanitarian aid agencies can do to help these people. He says the U-N cannot send its workers into Grozny because it is a battlefield.

    /// JANOWSKI ACT ///

    We think that the situation in Grozny must by now be quite tragic and quite dramatic. But in a humanitarian way, we are powerless in terms of helping the Chechens who are trapped inside of Grozny. It's one of the situations where humanitarian agencies are basically incapable of helping these people. So they are stuck there without any humanitarian aid and we don't even know what's happening with them.

    /// END ACT ///

    Mr. Janowski says relatively few people are crossing the border between Chechnya and the neighboring Republic of Ingushetia. He says approximately three- hundred people a day are crossing in both directions. This is down from a high last week of more than 15- hundred crossings a day. He attributes the slowdown to intensified fighting in Chechnya and also to confusion at the border resulting from a Russian retreat on a policy it issued last week. At that time, the Russian military said boys and men between the ages of 10 and 60 would not be allowed to leave or enter Chechnya. Under international pressure, Russia rescinded that policy. However, Mr. Janowski says Russian border guards are conducting thorough body searches of all boys and men. (Signed) NEB/LS/JWH/ENE/JP 18-Jan-2000 10:27 AM EDT (18-Jan-2000 1527 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America

    [05] GERMANY POL (L ONLY) BY JONATHAN BRAUDE (BERLIN)

    DATE=1/18/2000
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-258179
    CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:

    INTRO: German opposition leader Wolfgang Schaeuble has survived -- for now -- an attempt to remove him from office over the Christian Democratic Party's financial scandal. But as Jonathan Braude reports from Berlin, former Interior Minister Manfred Kanther has been forced to resign from parliament and there is pressure on former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl to do the same.

    TEXT: For the moment, at least, Germany's main opposition party, the Christian Democratic Union -- or C-D-U -- has expressed confidence in its leader, Wolfgang Schaeuble, despite his revelation this month that he accepted campaign funds from an arms dealer. Emerging tense and tired from a crisis meeting of the party top officials Tuesday, Mr. Schaeuble said he would remain at the head of the party. But he said the leadership had called on his predecessor, former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, to step down as the party's honorary chairman unless he names the donors of the million dollars' worth of funds he kept secret from the public during his last years in office. Mr. Kohl has admitted he ran secret bank accounts to manage the campaign funds, in contravention of German law. But he will not name the donors, because he says the cash was given to him in confidence. Mr. Schaeuble, who was Mr. Kohl's deputy at the time, insists he knew nothing of the secret accounts. And Mr. Kohl agrees he kept the accounts secret from his deputy. But Mr. Schaeuble has now admitted he accepted almost 50-thousand dollars from the arms dealer whose revelations blew Mr. Kohl's cover in the first place. Unfortunately for the C-D-U -- which has plummeted in public opinion polls since the scandal first broke late last year -- the financial manipulation did not stop at the top. Last Friday, the party leadership in the state of Hesse -- which, unlike the federal government, is run by the C-D-U -- admitted it falsified party accounts and hid money in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. As the C-D-U tries to pull itself out of the crisis, the first person to lose his job has been the former chief minister of Hesse and former federal interior minister, Manfred Kanther. He resigned his parliamentary seat early Tuesday to take responsibility. But party sources say it is not likely he will be the last to go. (Signed) NEB/JB/JWH/gm 18-Jan-2000 12:55 PM EDT (18-Jan-2000 1755 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America


    [06] GERMANY POL (L UPDATE) BY JONATHAN BRAUDE (BERLIN)

    DATE=1/18/2000
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-258183
    CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:
    /// EDS: THIS REPOPRT UPDATES AND MUST SUB CR 2- 258179 ///

    INTRO: Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl has resigned as the honorary chairman of the opposition Christian Democratic Union (C-D-U), amid a scandal over his handling of secret accounts during his final years in office. Jonathan Braude reports from Berlin.

    TEXT: Helmut Kohl's decision was a shock to the party, but was almost inevitable after the leadership called on him Tuesday to resign as honorary chairman or reveal the names of the donors of party funds he has kept secret. The party leadership expressed its confidence in the current chairman, Wolfgang Schaeuble, despite his belated admission he had accepted almost 50-thousand dollars from an arms dealer he had previously claimed to know only slightly. But in confirming Mr. Schaeuble, the German opposition party turned on Mr. Kohl. He should resign, it said, if he was not prepared to make his contribution to overcoming the crisis in the party and clearing up past mistakes. That was a barely disguised call for him to reveal exactly who it was who had donated the approximately one-million dollars he had filtered through secret accounts he had not even disclosed to Mr. Schaeuble -- who was his deputy at the time. Shortly after the crisis meeting where the party made the call, Mr. Kohl said he had no choice -- he would not reveal the names. He did not see himself in a position, he said, to break the promise he made to certain personalities who had supported his work in the C-D-U. This is the apparent end to the career of a man who led the party for 25 years, spent 16 years in office as Chancellor, and has long been regarded as the driving force behind German reunification after the fall of the Berlin Wall ten years ago. But the resignation may do much to heal the party. It has been torn apart by the revelations and scandals of the past few months, and has seen its popularity plummet since it won a series of state elections in the second half of last year.

    /// BEGIN OPT ///

    Whether it is enough to restore public confidence in the party has yet to be seen. Unfortunately for the C-D-U, the financial manipulation did not stop at the top. Last Friday, the party leadership in the German State of Hesse -- which, unlike the federal government, is run by the C-D-U -- admitted it falsified party accounts and hid money in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. As the party tries to pull itself out of the crisis, Helmut Kohl was not the first to go. The first person to lose his job was the former chief minister of Hesse and former federal interior minister Manfred Kanther. He resigned his parliamentary seat early Tuesday to take responsibility for what happened at the state level.

    /// END OPT ///

    Now the pressure is on Mr. Kohl to resign his parliamentary seat as well as the honorary chairmanship and leave the Bundestag for good. (Signed) NEB/JB/JWH/ENE/gm 18-Jan-2000 14:10 PM EDT (18-Jan-2000 1910 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America

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

    DATE=1/18/2000
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-258187
    CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:

    INTRO: Stock prices in the United States were mixed today (Tuesday) as profit-taking and rising market interest rates hurt the blue-chip (largest) companies. V-O-A correspondent Elaine Johanson reports from New York:

    TEXT: The Dow Jones industrial Average dropped 162 points, or one-point-three percent, closing at 11- thousand-560. The Standard and Poor's 500 index fell nine points. The technology-weighted Nasdaq composite resisted the downward pressure and gained over one and one-half percent. Analysts say the stock market is being pulled in different directions - a battle between good corporate earnings reports and higher interest rates. The yield on the 30-year government bond rose to its highest level in two and one-half years.

    /// BEGIN OPT ///

    Stuart Freeman, chief strategist for the A-G Edwards investment firm, says the stock market is fluid. He predicts continuing volatility:

    /// FREEMAN ACT ///

    I think we're still going through a rotation period right here, where I think we're going to continue to see volatility in some of the hot sectors from late last year, maybe a little more profit-taking, certainly volatility anyway in the technology area. At the same time - some broadening out in the market. And some of the bigger-market-cap (capitalization) stocks may still lose a little bit of their strength.

    /// END ACT ///

    /// END OPT ///

    Citigroup, the biggest U-S financial services company, and J-P Morgan - the fifth-largest U-S bank - reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings. Meanwhile, Citigroup has agreed to buy the investment banking operations of Schroder's of Britain to strengthen its foothold in Europe.

    /// REST OPT ///

    Number two U-S drugmaker Pfizer reported a 34-percent increase in quarterly profits - beating Wall Street expectations. Sales of the anti-impotency drug Viagra apparently are still booming. Pfizer is negotiating a merger with Warner-Lambert. Investors appear to be taking a second look at the proposed mergers in the pharmaceutical sector. Pfizer stock traded lower. Shares of SmithKline-Beecham and Glaxo-Wellcome of Britain also were down in London and New York following the announcement of their merger plans, which would create the world's largest drug company. Airlines are beset by higher fuel costs, as crude oil prices continue to go up. Delta, Continental and Southwest Airlines said their profits fell in the last quarter of last year. Fewer people were traveling in December because of Y-2-K concerns. That also contributed to lower earnings for the airlines. (Signed) NEB/NY/EJ/LSF/gm 18-Jan-2000 16:43 PM EDT (18-Jan-2000 2143 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America

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

    DATE=1/18/2000
    TYPE=U-S EDITORIAL DIGEST
    NUMBER=6-11638
    EDITOR=ASSIGNMENTS
    TELEPHONE=619-3335
    CONTENT=

    INTRO: A growing domestic controversy over anti- illicit drug messages inserted into popular U-S dramatic television programs at the urging of the White House is the day's most popular editorial topic. Internationally, several papers are commenting on the murder of an alleged Bosnian Serb warlord, personally responsible for hundreds of deaths during the war. Other topics include; Russia's deteriorating army; the now postponed Israeli-Syrian peace talks; and a new, improved rice. Now, here is ___________ with a closer look, including some excerpts, in today's Editorial Digest.

    TEXT: It has been disclosed that the White House office of drug policy, which tries to talk children and adults out of using illegal drugs, has encouraged some of the most popular U-S television programs to incorporate anti-drug sentiments in their plots. When they did, the networks got credit for running regular, anti-drug public service announcements which the government pays for, but which the networks did not want to run. The practice has caused an uproar in many newspapers, including Boston's "Christian Science Monitor", whose headline reads: "TV Viewers, Beware."

    VOICE: In effect, to win federal dollars, networks altered many scripts. The shows - and sometimes the scripts - were shown to the White House, whose criterion was that a show include such concepts as "peer refusal skills" or "parent efficacy." It is a practice with a noble purpose and no official censorship. But it undermines the creative independence of a major commercial media and violates a trust with TV viewers.

    TEXT: "The New York Times" calls the plan "Television's Risky Relationship," and sums up its discontent this way:

    VOICE: ///OPT /// The networks and the White House deny that content was changed or creativity dampened in the process. But according to the article ... in this week's Salon Internet magazine ... examples of how segments were revised to send their message are "as subtle as a brick through a window." /// END OPT /// ...In allowing government to shape or even to be consulted on content in return for financial rewards, the networks are crossing a dangerous line they should not cross... [toward] state-sponsored propaganda.

    /// OPT ///

    TEXT: The "Milwaukee [Wisconsin] Journal" tries to see both sides of the issue, despite its reservations.

    VOICE: Initial reaction to this secret arrangement has been mixed. Some have attached the word "propaganda" to the practice; the drug office says the practice is lawful and does not interfere with the creative process. Still others suggest that at the very least, programmers, in the name of full disclosure, should have told viewers what they were doing... That might have eased some of the pain for First Amendment purists, though never could it fully dispel the discomfort the practice causes.

    /// END OPT ///

    TEXT: Turning to international affairs, there is reaction to the gangland style killing of a notorious Bosnian-Serb warlord, and indicted war criminal best known as Arkan, from today's "Tulsa [Oklahoma] World".

    VOICE: Did Zeljkl Raznatovic deserve to be killed? Many Croats and non-Serbs who lost family members or who were tortured at the hands of his Serb paramilitary troops say yes. But his gangland-style killing Saturday has left many questions unanswered and sparked new ones. ...No doubt if Arkan, 47, had been brought to trial in The Hague international court where he was indicted for war crimes, his testimony could have been very damaging to [Yugoslavian President Slobodan] Milosevic. ... So ... it would have been nice if he had lived long enough to take [President] Milosevic and some other war criminals with him.

    TEXT: The nation's chief financial daily, "The Wall Street Journal" goes further, and warns not to celebrate Arkan's death, no matter how tempting.

    VOICE: ... whatever the mysteries that surround his death, one thing is certain: Arkan was not killed because of the crimes he . committed. ... he was killed in all likelihood as part of what now appears to be an increasingly systematic effort by Slobodan Milosevic to silence those who might implicate him directly ...the real architect of the Yugoslav catastrophe...

    /// OPT ///

    TEXT: Still in the Balkans, Denver's "Rocky Mountain News" chief foreign affairs columnist Holger Jensen is in Greece. He comments on the nervousness there about the still-unsettled Balkans.

    VOICE: Located on the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula, Greece borders Albania, Bulgaria, and Macedonia. Belgrade, the capital of ... what is left of Yugoslavia, is only an hour's flying time from Athens. Greece accounts for more than half the productivity of an otherwise poor and unstable region. It is the biggest investor in countries to the north, which buy 12-percent of Greek exports and return the favor by sending a flood of unwanted migrants southward. ... As if that were not enough, Greece also has to contend with a hostile Turkey across the Aegean Sea. Most Americans are blithely unaware of the fact that the two NATO allies routinely scramble jets - often hundreds of times a year - to counter real or imagined threats from each other. ..."It is in our best interests to have peaceful relations and economic interchange with all our neighbors," [says Konstantin Gerokostopoulos, director for Greek-Turkish relations in the Foreign Ministry] "But it will take a long time. And Americans should understand that this is a rough neighborhood.

    /// END OPT ///

    TEXT: Today's "New York Times" is expressing concern at the on-going deterioration of the Russian army, as exposed by its problems in defeating the Chechen rebels.

    VOICE: Moscow's recent setbacks in Chechnya suggest that the decade-long deterioration of Russia's conventional military forces has not yet been checked. The Chechnya operations have been characterized by command failures, over reliance on crude and obsolete weaponry, and sparing use of regular Russian ground forces whose combat readiness is uncertain and morale unsteady. ... Russia needs to repair its armed forces. But it should do so through rational downsizing and modernization, not by a futile attempt to rebuild along cold-war lines.

    TEXT: The postponment of Syrian - Israeli peace talks that are to resume in West Virginia has not disappointed the "The Philadelphia Inquirer":

    VOICE: It is not surprising that Israel and Syria yesterday [1/17] postponed a third round of negotiations scheduled for this week. They have advanced to the verge of an historic peace settlement. The two sides are not hassling over preliminaries ... Rather, they are tackling the core issues of boundaries; security and water. ... both sides have invested too much in these talks for them to stop here. With U-S coaxing, a new date for the next round will undoubtedly be set.

    TEXT: Because of a genetically engineered strain of rice there is a promise to save the sight of thousands of Southeast Asian children who go blind each year. Nebraska's "Omaha-Herald" is elated.

    VOICE: Even the most die-hard critics of the bioengineering of food grains may find it difficult to criticize one of the latest uses of the technology. Swiss researchers have succeeded in adding genes to rice that will cause it to provide beta-carotene, which becomes Vitamin-A in the body. A quarter-million Southeast Asia children go blind every year because they do not get enough Vitamin-A. ...after further testing to make sure that rice with the genes is safe and as nutritious as other types of rice, [it] will be easy for farmers worldwide to get.

    TEXT: Still in the region, the arrest of a Chinese- born U-S college librarian and researchers on a visit back to China to study Chairman Mao's cultural revolution, is incensing "The New York Times".

    VOICE: In a country where freedom of information is not respected, possession of any kind of information can be prosecuted by the government. China has demonstrated this by arresting Yongyi Song ... a librarian at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania ... Mr. Song has permanent resident status in the United States and was scheduled to become an American citizen in September. He is not only a scholar of the Cultural Revolution, but also one of its victims, having been imprisoned for five- years in the early 1970's as a "counterrevolutionary". ... China clearly wishes to enforce a blindness to its own history since 1949. Nothing could better illustrate [that] ... than the arrest of a scholar engaged in historical research.

    TEXT: And lastly, a welcome into the United Nations for the world body's newest member, the state of Tuvalu, from Jacksonville's Florida Times-Union. And the question of why Taiwan still lacks renewed membership too.

    VOICE: ... With Tuvalu, there will be 189-members. Tuvalu abides by all U-N principles, so there is no reason to keep it out. ... But that which qualifies Tuvalu for membership also applies to Taiwan. ... Taiwan is a democracy - the oldest one in Asia, where a spirited three-way presidential campaign is under way. ... And Taiwan is a peace-loving nation that has never threatened a neighbor. ... Article Four of the U-N Charter states: Membership ... is open to all peace-loving states which accept the obligations contained in the present Charter and, in the judgment of the organization, are able and willing to carry out these obligations." If that fits Tuvalu, it fits Taiwan equally well.

    TEXT: With that opinion, we conclude this sampling of comment from the editorial pages of Tuesday's U-S press.
    NEB/ANG/RAE 18-Jan-2000 12:03 PM EDT (18-Jan-2000 1703 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America


    [09] BOSNIAN SERB WARLORD "ARKAN" KILLED BY ANDREW GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)

    DATE=1/18/2000
    TYPE=U-S OPINION ROUNDUP
    NUMBER=6-11638
    EDITOR=ASSIGNMENTS
    TELEPHONE=619-3335
    CONTENT=

    INTRO: Arkan, One of the most feared militia leaders in the Balkans has been killed. Over the weekend, two men walked into the lobby of a Belgrade, Yugoslavia hotel and fired automatic weapons at Arkan, wounding him fatally. Now, the U-S press is commenting on Arkan's life and possible reasons for his death. We get a sampling now from ___________ in today's U-S Opinion Roundup.

    TEXT: His real name was Zeljko Raznatovic and before the Balkans fell apart into various civil wars with the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, he ran an ice cream parlor. But during the Croatian and Bosnian conflicts, Arkan headed the "Tigers" militia, one of the most feared, of the various private armies that stand accused of the brutal deaths of hundreds, if not thousands of non-combatants. /// OPT /// He was especially remembered for the three-month siege of the Croatian city of Vukovar in 1991, and later helped the Bosnian Serb army overrun northern and eastern Bosnia. His militiamen would often follow regular army troops into villages, reportedly raping the women and looting and killing the people in what has been described as an orchestrated campaign of terror against both the Croatian and Muslim populations. /// END OPT /// Many people had a grudge against Arkan, but some U-S newspapers are speculating that the person with the greatest motive for his death is Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. According to this theory, Arkan had enough information about Mr. Milosevic's role in the wars, that he could have been a very damaging witness against the Yugoslav leader at the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. Specifically, the speculation was that Arkan would trade his testimony against Mr. Milosevic in return for leniency in his own war crimes case. In Oklahoma, the Tulsa World wonders:

    VOICE: Did Zeljko Raznatovic deserve to be killed? Many Croats and non-Serbs who lost family members or who were tortured at the hands of his Serb paramilitary troops say yes. But his gangland style killing Saturday has left many questions unanswered and sparked new ones. ...No doubt if Arkan, 47, had been brought to trial in The Hague international court where he was indicted for war crimes, his testimony could have been very damaging to [Mr.] Milosevic. ... So ... it would have been nice if he had lived long enough to take [President] Milosevic and some other war criminals with him.

    TEXT: Turning to the national daily, U-S-A Today, published in a Washington, D-C suburb, there is a lament that Arkan died before standing trial for his war crimes charges, and testifying what he knew about others.

    VOICE: Secretary of State Madeleine Albright greeted the news by saying she took no satisfaction in his murder and would have preferred he stand trial in The Hague, Netherlands for his crimes. [Ms.] Albright's chilly epitaph for [Mr.] Raznatovic, known as "Arkan," hits the mark. The militia leader, suspected of mass murder in Croatia and Bosnia dating back to 1991, was indicted by the war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in 1997. Yet, he slinked around Belgrade freely, becoming a symbol of justice denied in the Balkans - one of many. Fewer than half of the 92 men publicly indicted for Balkans war crimes have been brought into custody in The Hague. On the other side of the world, in Indonesia, war criminals are faring even better. Indonesia's foreign minister this week will lobby United Nations diplomats to prevent a new report on military-sponsored atrocities in East Timor from triggering a tribunal. His chances are good because the Timorese no longer make headlines. If a permanent court were in place to prosecute such crimes as ethnic slaughter and forced migration, justice would come more swiftly. Such a court, replacing today's temporary tribunals and freed from geopolitical pressure, might even deter criminals.

    /// OPT ///

    Adolf Hitler offers a horrid reminder of denied justice's grievous price. He mused to his commanders, as he plotted his genocide, that he'd get away with it because no one remembered, by 1939, the genocide of Armenians by Turkey in 1915. The time for not remembering is well behind us. /// END OPT ///

    TEXT: The nation's chief financial daily, The Wall Street Journal, goes further, and warns not to celebrate Arkan's death, no matter how tempting it might be.

    VOICE: ... whatever the mysteries that surround his death, one thing is certain: Arkan was not killed because of the crimes he . committed. ... he was killed, in all likelihood, as part of what now appears to be an increasingly systematic effort by Slobodan Milosevic to silence those who might implicate him directly ... the real architect of the Yugoslav catastrophe ...

    TEXT: Those suspicions of the Wall Street Journal are echoed by Boston's Christian Science Monitor, in a repot from its Balkan correspondent Michael Jordan:

    VOICE: [Mr.] Raznatovic was the most notorious Serb [paramilitary] leader during the wars in Croatia and Bosnia from 1991-95. His Serbian National Guard, known as the Tigers, was notorious for its "ethnic cleansing" campaigns in both countries, but especially for one in Vukovar, Croatia, in which 250 Croats were removed from a hospital and murdered. If he had stood trial, observers say he may have pointed the finger at Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic as the mastermind behind the Serb "ethnic cleansing' that left some 200-thousand dead and two million [people] displaced. "We certainly regret there will not be the opportunity for Arkan to stand trial," says Paul Risley, a spokesman for the court. "But certainly, there were others who worked for him, and whose orders he carried out. So the investigation into his activities will continue. As for Mr. Milosevic, who some analysts suspect of having Arkan killed, the Yugoslav leader is far from off the hook [Editors: far from "being absolved of all guilt."

    TEXT: On that note, we conclude this sampling of U-S press comment on the weekend murder of Serbian militia leader Zeljko Raznatovic, also known as "Arkan."
    NEB/AG/JP 18-Jan-2000 13:58 PM EDT (18-Jan-2000 1858 UTC)
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    Source: Voice of America


    [10] BRITAIN / PINOCHET (L-O UPDATE) BY LOURDES NAVARRO (LONDON)

    DATE=1/18/2000
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-258180
    CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:

    ///// UPDATES INTRO, DEADLINE PASSED. /////

    INTRO: Opponents of former Chilean leader Augusto Pinochet have appealed to stop Britain from freeing the general. He is being held on Spanish human-rights charges. Spain, human rights organizations, and other interested parties had their last chance to present arguments Tuesday. Lourdes Navarro reports from London.

    TEXT: The deadline comes one-week after British Home Secretary Jack Straw announced that he is inclined to let former Chilean leader Augusto Pinochet return home, because he is too ill to stand trial. Mr. Straw said last week that he had received a report from an independent team of doctors, which showed the general is medically unfit. But he gave interested parties seven-days to submit appeals to his decision, saying he is still open-minded about the case. General Pinochet was arrested in London in October 1998 on a Spanish warrant charging him with torture and human-rights abuses during his 17-year military rule in Chile. Anti-Pinochet activists and human rights organizations worked furiously to complete submissions in time for Tuesday's deadline. Amnesty International, a key player in the case against the general, is backing an appeal by the Spanish judge on whose extradition order General Pinochet was arrested in Britain. Their appeal centers on the fact General Pinochet's medical tests have not been made public and they argue they cannot contest evidence they have not seen.

    /// OPT ///

    Lawyers in France and Belgium have also said they will try to extradite the former Chilean leader to their countries. /// END OPT /// Mr. Straw is not expected to make an immediate decision, and a spokesman says he will need to review the submissions made to him. Official figures show that more than three-thousand people died or disappeared during General Pinochet's rule from 1973 to 1990.

    /// REST OPT ///

    If the General does return to Chile, he may find his troubles far from over. won Sunday's election. During his victory speech Sunday, Chile's President-elect, Socialist Ricardo Lagos, faced cries from a crowd of about 60-thousand people who chanted "Put Pinochet on trial." (SIGNED) NEB/LN/JWH/rae 18-Jan-2000 13:23 PM EDT (18-Jan-2000 1823 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America
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