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Voice of America, 99-12-14Voice of America: Selected Articles Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Voice of America <gopher://gopher.voa.gov>CONTENTS
[01] CYPRUS TALKS END (L-ONLY) BY BRECK ARDERY (UNITED NATIONS)DATE=12/14/1999TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-257160 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: United Nations sponsored talks aimed at starting a process for the eventual reunification of Cyprus ended today (Tuesday). V-O-A Correspondent Breck Ardery reports that, although a news blackout on the substance of the talks remains, there may be reason for optimism. TEXT: Diplomats say the reason for optimism is that both the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders have been invited to continue the so-called "proximity" talks early next year. Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash have been meeting separately with U-N Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Alvaro de Soto, Mr. Annan's special advisor on Cyprus. The talks are aimed at laying the groundwork for eventual face-to-face negotiations between the two Cypriot leaders. The proximity talks lasted 12 days and involved 18 meetings, nine with each leader. A strict news blackout on the substance of the talks remains in effect but Mr. de Soto said the talks could be viewed as the beginning of a long process. /// DE SOTO ACT ////// END ACT ///NNNN Source: Voice of America [02] CHECHNYA OPERATIONS BY PETER HEINLEIN (NEAR GROZNY, CHECHNYA)DATE=12/14/1999TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT NUMBER=5-44987 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: Russian ground forces are said to be meeting stiff resistance from rebel fighters as they advance into the Chechen capital, Grozny. Moscow's troops have had Grozny surrounded for weeks, but have held back, saying they want to give civilians a chance to escape. V-O-A's Peter Heinlein has just returned from a trip to the northern edge of Grozny, where he saw Russian soldiers poised to strike. TEXT: /// SFX OF TANK RUMBLING, THEN UNDER TO... ////// SKIBA ACT IN RUSSIAN, THEN FADE TO...////// 1st KAVROV ACT IN RUSSIAN, THEN FADE TO... ////// 2ND KAVROV ACT IN RUSSIAN, THEN FADE TO... ////// MAGOMADOV ACT IN RUSSIAN, THEN FADE TO... ////// Taranova act in Russian, then fade to... ///NEB/PFH/GE/WTW 14-Dec-1999 14:58 PM EDT (14-Dec-1999 1958 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America [03] U-N-H-C-R / CHECHNYA (L-ONLY) BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)DATE=12/14/1999TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-257133 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: The United Nations Refugee Agency, U-N-H- C-R, says few civilians trapped in the Chechen capital, Grozny, appear to be taking up the Russian offer of safe passage out of the city. Lisa Schlein in Geneva reports the U-N agency says the number of Chechens crossing into the neighboring Republic of Ingushetia has slowed to a trickle. TEXT: The United Nations Refugee Agency reports only 14-hundred Chechens crossed into Ingushetia on Monday. This is well below the thousands of people who were, until recently, fleeing Chechnya on an almost daily basis. Since Russia began its military offensive in late September, nearly a quarter of a million people have found refuge in Ingushetia. U-N-H-C-R spokesman, Ron Redmond, says only a few hundred Chechens, so far, have used the Russian- designated safe corridors in Grozny to escape. He says people probably aren't using these routes for a variety of reasons. /// REDMOND ACT ////// END ACT ////// 2nd REDMOND ACT ////// END ACT ///NNNN Source: Voice of America [04] ROMANIA / PRIME MINISTER (L-ONLY) BY STEFAN BOS (BUDAPEST)DATE=12/14/1999TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-257153 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: Romania's prime minister (Radu Vasile) has abandoned his challenge against a dismissal order by the country's president, and says he will step down in favor of an interim government in Bucharest. Despite Tuesday's developments, reporter Stefan Bos says Romania's political crisis appears to be far from over. TEXT: The day ended in Romania as it began -- with high drama. In a surprise move, Prime Minister Radu Vasile anounced he was reversing his position and accepting his dismissal by President Emil Constantinescu. (Speaking on Romania's national television late Tuesday,) Mr. Vasile said he had done his duty, and he was taking into account the national interest of all Romanians. Just a few hours earlier, the 57-year-old Prime Minister was vowing to fight for his job. Shrugging off the order that dismissed him late Monday, Mr. Vasile arrived at government headquarters as if Tuesday was just another working day. Legal experts said Romania's constitution does not give a president the power to dismiss a prime minister. Mr. Vasile said he would await the outcome of a confidence vote in Parliament. President Constantinescu said he was removing Mr. Vasile because the prime minister was unable to carry out his official duties. // OPT //// OPT //NEB/SB/WTW 14-Dec-1999 18:29 PM EDT (14-Dec-1999 2329 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America [05] EDITORIAL: SERBIA SUPPRESSES POETDATE=12/15/1999TYPE=EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-08568 CONTENT= THIS IS THE ONLY EDITORIAL BEING RELEASED
FOR BROADCAST 12/15/99.
Anncr: The Voice of America presents differing
points of view on a wide variety of issues. Next,
an editorial expressing the policies of the United
States Government:
Voice: Anyone still harboring doubts about the
kind of regime Yugoslavia's Slobodan Milosevic
runs ought to consider the case of Flora Brovina
[Bro-VEE-nah].
A pediatrician by profession, Mrs. Brovina is one
of Kosovo's leading poets. She is also a human
rights activist, dedicated to promoting both the
rights of women and reconciliation among the
ethnic groups in Kosovo.
As a doctor, Mrs. Brovina did not favor Albanian
children over Serb children in Kosovo. She was
pleased that her poetry, written in Albanian, was
translated into Serbian, among other languages.
During his rise to power, Slobodan Milosevic
fanned anti-Albanian sentiment, particularly in
Kosovo. But Dr. Brovina insisted that human rights
apply to everyone. It was as an advocate of
democracy, not as a Kosovar separatist, that she
challenged the Milosevic regime.
As a result, she was arrested during the NATO
bombing campaign. This represented a crude attempt
to deprive Kosovo of the kind of intellectual
leadership that democratic societies require.
Milosevic's regime took aim at a person who is
both a poet and a doctor -- someone dedicated to
both spiritual and physical health.
Last week, Dr. Brovina received a sentence of
twelve years in prison. Forced while in detention
to sign a statement linking her to the Kosovo
Liberation Army, she said in court that she did
not even know its contents. But Milosevic's regime
is not interested in law and order but in power
and control through the use of force and terror.
It is impossible to reconcile this verdict with a
lifetime of devotion to children's health and
human rights activities. At age fifty, Flora
Brovina is well known in the region as a peace
activist. The Milosevic regime's attack on her is
an attempt to deprive Kosovo of the kind of civic
leadership the province needs. It will not
succeed.
Anncr: That was an editorial expressing the
policies of the United States Government. If you
have a comment, please write to Editorials, V-O-A,
Washington, D-C, 20547, U-S-A. You may also
comment at www-dot-voa-dot-gov-slash-editorials,
or fax us at (202) 619-1043.
14-Dec-1999 15:29 PM EDT (14-Dec-1999 2029 UTC)
[06] YUGOSLAV WAR CRIMES (L-O) BY LAUREN COMITEAU (THE HAGUE)DATE=12/14/1999TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-257132 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: Judges at the Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal have handed down their harshest sentence - 40-years, to a Bosnian Serb convicted of murdering, beating, and stealing from Muslims in May of 1992. Lauren Comiteau reports from the Hague. TEXT: Thirty-one-year-old Goran Jelisic looked tense
and fidgety before his sentence was read out.
Prosecutors had tried to convict the man who calls
himself the "Serb Adolf" of genocide for the brutal
murders he committed in the northeastern Bosnian town
of Brcko.
But judges threw out that charge earlier this year,
telling the court that prosecutors had failed to prove
beyond a reasonable doubt that Jelisic intended to
wipe out -- in part or in whole -- Brcko's Muslim
community.
The presiding judge said this is not to say there was
no genocide in Brcko in 1992 -- just that prosecutors
had failed to prove it.
Underscoring the importance of the case, chief
prosecutor Carla Del Ponte made her first appearance
in court. She listened as judges sentenced Jelisic to
40-years in prison for the crimes to which he had
pleaded guilty -- 13 murders, four beatings, and
stealing -- crimes the judge said shocked the
conscience of mankind.
The judge went on to describe Jelisic's crimes as
abject and revolting, saying he was a cold-blooded
murderer who executed his victims in the same way --
first he interrogated them, then he shot them twice in
the back of the head or neck with a pistol.
The judges said the organized nature of the crimes in
Brcko -- where in neighborhood by neighborhood non-
Serbs were rounded up and taken prisoner -- could have
been committed only with the enthusiastic support of
people like Goran Jelisic.
In passing the sentence, the trial court said the fact
that Jelisic was only 23-years old at the time and
that he pleaded guilty to most of the charges worked
in his favor. But it also said such mitigating
circumstances were far outweighed by what they called
the repugnant, bestial, and sadistic nature of his
behavior.
A spokesman for the prosecutor called the 40-year
sentence -- good. He said the prosecutor would review
it before deciding whether to appeal. (SIGNED)
NEB/LC/JWH/LTD/RAE
14-Dec-1999 10:02 AM EDT (14-Dec-1999 1502 UTC)
[07] EUROPE ECON (L-ONLY) BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)DATE=12/13/1999TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-257122 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: A United Nations report says the economic outlook is good for the coming year in both western and eastern Europe. Lisa Schlein in Geneva reports the U-N study predicts economic growth in Western Europe will reach three percent in the year 2000, with similar if not higher growth levels in many of the transition economies of eastern and central Europe. TEXT: U-N economists say the fallout in Europe from a series of economic crises was less serious than anticipated. They say Russia's debt crisis did not cause an inflationary explosion, Asia's economic growth recovered, and Japan's recession has somewhat receded. They say the continued strength of the United States economy also has been an important factor in supporting the economies of the rest of the world. The report -- by the U-N's Economic Commission for Europe -- says Western Europe's economy is showing a slight improvement. U-N senior economist Paul Rayment says when Western Europe's economy improves, so do the leading transition economies of eastern and central Europe. /// RAYMENT ACT ONE ////// END ACT ////// RAYMENT ACT TWO ////// END ACT ///NEB/LS/JWH/WTW 13-Dec-1999 19:27 PM EDT (14-Dec-1999 0027 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America [08] FRANCE / BRITAIN BEEF (L-ONLY) BY PAUL MILLER (PARIS)DATE=12/14/1999TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-257138 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: British members of the European Parliament have walked out on French President Jacques Chirac, who was dedicating the parliament's new building in Strasbourg, France. Paul Miller reports from Paris that the demonstration is part of a dispute between France and the rest of the European Union (E-U) over whether British beef still carries the risk of mad cow disease. TEXT: As President Jacques Chirac began his address
inside the lavish new building, about 100 members of
the European Parliament got up and left. Most - but
not all - were British, and all were upset that France
has not lifted its ban on British beef, despite the
European Commission's decision that the beef poses no
health hazard.
Allen Donnally of Britain's Labor Party said they
could not attend a ceremony of lawmakers presided over
by those who justify law breaking. France says it is
just protecting its citizens, who have been alarmed by
previous health scares, and who are not convinced that
British beef carries no risk of mad cow disease. The
French want more extensive testing and tracking
methods. But they are already in violation of
European Commission policy - and the Commission is
sending official notice to France that it has five
days to justify the ban or remove it, or else face
action in the European court of Justice.
French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin met with British
journalists to try to calm the situation, and his
agriculture minister met his British counterpart in
Brussels - but France appears headed for a protracted
legal battle with its partners in European unity.
(Signed)
NEB/PM/GE/LTD/JP
14-Dec-1999 11:57 AM EDT (14-Dec-1999 1657 UTC)
[09] GERMANY NAZI LABOR (L-ONLY) BY JONATHAN BRAUDE (BERLIN)DATE=12/14/1999TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-257134 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: A German government negotiator, Count Otto Lambsdorff, believes a deal can be reached this week on compensation for the hundreds of thousands of victims of the World War Two Nazis slave labor program. Yet in public at least, the gap between German business and the victims' representatives is still very wide. Jonathan Braude reports from Berlin. TEXT: Count Otto Lambsdorff regularly warns of a
possible United States-German trade war and constant
legal harassment of German industry if no agreement
is reached over compensation for people forced to work
in Adolph Hitler's factories during the Second World
War.
Now, however, Count Lambsdorff is expressing optimism.
After months of tough and often bitter negotiations,
he told Germany's Z-D-F television Tuesday that he
believes a deal could be struck in the next few days.
Exactly where the breakthrough is to come from is not
yet clear. The victims' representatives are demanding
a minimum of 5-point-7 billion dollars, although some
hard-line victims' associations still say they want
more.
Reports also say the German side could be ready to
offer as much as 5-point-2 billion dollars of
corporate and government funds to offer belated
reparations to Jewish and East European slave
laborers. That amount is a substantial increase on
the four-point-one billion dollars offered last month.
And newspapers over the weekend suggested United
States companies with German subsidiaries, which
employed slave labor during the war, could be prepared
to donate the rest.
But as far as German industry spokesman Wolfgang
Gibowski is concerned, German firms have no intention
of upping their share. Industry's room for maneuver
was exhausted he told one German radio station. The
German government, too, has repeatedly said it will
not put in more money unless industry does.
If the German negotiators stick to their present hard
line, the talks are virtually certain to fail. Mr.
Gibowski has said the package will fall apart and
government negotiator, Count Lambsdorff, has warned
that German firms cannot expect protection against
further class actions in United States courts unless
they cooperate now.
But analysts say Count Lambsdorff's optimism suggests
the hard-line rhetoric may stop if a deal looks
possible after all. As both Count Lambsdorff and the
U-S Government's chief negotiator, Stuart Eizenstat,
have said, there is too much at stake for the talks to
fail. (Signed)
NEB/JB/GE/LTD/KL
14-Dec-1999 10:19 AM EDT (14-Dec-1999 1519 UTC)
[10] GERMANY NAZI LABOR UPDATE(L-ONLY) BY JONATHAN BRAUDE (BERLIN)DATE=12/14/1999TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-257155 INTERNET=YES CONTENT= VOICED AT: /// Updates 2-257134 with agreement reached ///INTRO: The German and United States governments have clinched a five-point-two billion dollar compensation deal with lawyers representing the victims of the Nazis' World War Two forced labor programs. But only the sum has been agreed upon. The hard work on the detail has yet to be done, as we hear from Jonathan Braude in Berlin. TEXT: After months of ill-tempered negotiations,
threats and recrimination, at least part of a
compensation agreement is now in place. A German
government spokesman confirmed Tuesday that U-S
and German negotiators have agreed upon a sum
with the former slaves' lawyers and the East
European governments involved in the talks.
U-S Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is
expected to address a meeting in Berlin Friday of
all the industry negotiators, Government
representatives, and lawyers of the victims.
But the spokesman stressed there would be no
signing ceremony. He said this would be a
working meeting because there is still plenty to
discuss and consider.
The spokesman refused to comment on the size of
the deal, but he did confirm the government had
agreed to pay the difference between the four-
point-one billion dollars offered last month by
government and industry, and the final sum agreed
upon.
One of the victims' lawyers, Michael Witti,
confirmed agreement had been reached on total
compensation of 10-billion German marks, or about
five-point-two billion dollars.
That's much less than the lawyers had wanted, and
it remains to be seen if, having failed to get
their previous demands from Germany, the lawyers
will now pressure U-S industries with German
subsidiaries to top up the funds.
Adding to the confusion, a German industry
spokesman Tuesday denied earlier reports that U-S
companies had already agreed to make up the
difference. That was always nonsense, he said.
Ford and Opel would take part in the fund as
German companies, not as American owned
corporations.
Among the questions to be settled are how to
differentiate surviving victims of the Nazis
attempts to kill concentration camp victims by
working them to death and those who were drafted
in from Eastern Europe for other forced labor
programs.
The draft compensation law due to be tabled in
the German legislature is also a target of
criticism, because it demands that claimants
submit well-documented evidence. Opponents fear
it will disqualify the majority of former forced
laborers who cannot supply proof on paper.
Yet for all that, the sense of relief is strong.
Germany's chief negotiator, Count Otto
Lambsdorff, welcomed Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder's decision to increase the Government's
contribution because, as he told the Berliner
Zeitung newspaper: the state bears the greatest
burden of guilt for the forced labor policies.
Industry profited, he said, but it was the German
state that made the decisions. (Signed)
NEB/JB/ENE/gm
14-Dec-1999 17:40 PM EDT (14-Dec-1999 2240 UTC)
[11] NY ECON WRAP (S & L) BY ELAINE JOHANSON (NEW YORK)DATE=12/14/1999TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-257152 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: Stock prices in the United States were lower today (Tuesday) as interest rate fears re-emerged on Wall Street. V-O-A correspondent Elaine Johanson has more from New York: TEXT: The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished modestly lower - down 32 points - closing at 11- thousand-160. The Standard and Poor's 500 index dropped 12 points. There was a big sell-off in technology, especially internet stocks. The Nasdaq composite ended its streak of record high closings, shedding over two percent. U-S bond prices fell, driving the yield back up to six-point-three percent. The latest on the U-S economy shows a mixed picture. Consumer prices rose a less-than-expected one-tenth of one percent in November. That is not the problem. The problem is that retail sales surged a stronger- than-expected nine-tenths of one percent, raising fears of central bank action to cool down the economy. Analysts said many investors saw this as a good time to take some money off the table, locking in profits for the end of the year. /// REST OPT ////// STEINBERG ACT ////// END ACT ///NNNN Source: Voice of America [12] TUESDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ANDREW GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)DATE=12/14/1999TYPE=U-S EDITORIAL DIGEST NUMBER=6-11592 TELEPHONE=619-3335 CONTENT= INTRO: The most popular editorial topic in U-S newspapers this Tuesday is the arrest of a Chinese- born U-S nuclear scientist for mishandling state secrets. There is also a good deal of comment on some tough talk by Boris Yeltsin and the European Union's tentative offer of membership to Turkey. Other topics include: the Panama Canal and peace talks between Israel and Syria. Now, here is ____________ with a closer look and an excerpt or two, in today's Editorial Digest. TEXT: The F-B-I's arrest of Los Alamos laboratory scientist Wen Ho Lee draws a good deal of comment. The Boston Globe says it hopes the arrest is not simply a politically motivated attempt to cover up government bungling of the investigation. VOICE: [The F-B-I], after five years of investigation, found no evidence that [Mr.] Lee committed espionage. . The law under which [Mr.] Lee was charged require that the government prove "intent to injure the United States or . intent to secure an advantage to any foreign nation." If [Mr.] Lee was merely careless and had no intent to harm his adopted country . he is not guilty as charged. TEXT: The Honolulu Star-Bulletin worries that: VOICE: The indictment . is likely to place further strain on already shaky Sino-American relations. TEXT: But the paper suggests the decision to finally arrest Mr. Lee may indicate that additional incriminating information has been found. The Akron [Ohio] Beacon Journal laments that, taken together with the most recent revelation of espionage at the State Department, the Lee arrest sends a clear message. VOICE: A Russian bug (listening device) in the State Department? A more formidable Chinese nuclear arsenal? Espionage hasn't eased in the wake of the Cold War. The strategic and financial pressures are different yet still intense. And the impetus remains for effective counterintelligence. TEXT: Some saber rattling by Russian president Boris Yeltsin on a visit to China draws editorial attention from the Wall Street Journal which suggests both Russia and China, " the worlds two anti-status quo powers" as the Journal puts it, want the Western democracies to stay out of so-called internal matters like Chechnya and Tibet. The Journal writes: VOICE: As the joint communique issued Friday put it, "Both sides are against the use of placing human rights higher than state sovereignty and using human rights to interfere or to harm an independent country's sovereignty." . There are obvious limits to the extent that outsiders can influence the decision- making of Russia or China. But those who want Russia to develop into a responsible, democratic power are deluding themselves if they think they are helping by funding the destruction of Chechnya. TEXT: The European Union's offer to Turkey of eventual membership continues to be of interest. The Fort Worth [Texas] Star-Telegram says Europe, the U-S and Turkey all have much to gain from the move. VOICE: Some Turks have continued to believe . their country has been consistently denied full partnership in Europe primarily because it is a predominantly Muslim country. . Turkey still has some significant obstacles to overcome to advance from candidate to member of the European Union, particularly with regard to human rights. Many Turks, however, are said to welcome the outside pressure to force their government to institute long-needed reforms. . [And] Europe and, by extension, the United States need to embrace Turkey more closely to show the rest of the Muslim world the advantages of democratic change and improved relations with the West. TEXT: This is a historic day in Panama, when the United States formally hands over control of the Panama Canal to Panama. But the failure of the Clinton White House to send what the St. Petersburg [Florida] Times says is a proper representative draws sharp criticism from the paper. VOICE: Such an absence is inexcusable and hurts Latin American relations. The president decided not to attend and has yet to give the Panamanians or the American public a reason. /// OPT /// We can only assume that his schedule, jammed as it is with White House photo-ops and campaign fundraising events around the country, would not permit it./// END OPT /// . The Panamanians are understandably angry and offended by what they view as Washington's snub. /// OPT /// Instead of seizing this opportunity at the dawn of the 21st century to signal a new era in U-S relations with Latin America, the White house has reminded the region . it still ranks toward the bottom of Washington's foreign-policy priorities. /// END OPT /// TEXT: The reason Secretary of State Madeleine Albright gives for not attending the canal handover, is the long-awaited resumption of high-level Israeli Syrian peace talks, beginning tomorrow in Washington. Today's Minneapolis, Minnesota Star Tribune is pleased at the resumption, but remains highly suspect of Syria. Voice: A comprehensive peace . would mean resolving not only the Arab-Israeli conflict, but the far more extensive bloodshed within the Islamic world. Having long bullied an Arab neighbor (Lebanon) and aligned itself with fanatics in a non-Arab state (Iran), Syria is in fact poorly positioned for serious diplomatic work of any sort in the Middle East. As for Arab- Israeli peace efforts, they have been moving along for well over two decades without Syria - - or, to be more precise, **in spite** [italics for emphasis] of Syria. TEXT: Domestically, a new report on mental health in the United States, released yesterday by the Surgeon General, is drawing a response from the Washington Post, which calls it "arresting." VOICE: The estimate is that about one in five Americans "experiences a mental disorder" in the course of any year, and that in prosperous nations such as this, mental illness is the second leading cause of disability and premature mortality, after only cardiovascular disease. Yet nearly half of Americans who have even severe mental disorders fail to seek treatment. . The country's ability to identify and treat mental disorders has grown beyond its ability to deliver such treatment. /// OPT ///VOICE: When all is said and done, buying a product online is not some magical mystery tour of electronic impulses. It comes down to this: A guy in a warehouse somewhere plucks an item off a shelf and puts it in a box. Another guy in a brown uniform brings it to your door. . But there is nothing experimental about a business that will take in about six billion dollars this Christmas season. Buying on-line is not experimental for millions of people already. It's a way of life. /// END OPT /// TEXT: Lastly, papers are lamenting the death of American novelist Joseph Heller, author of Catch 22, who died on Long Island yesterday, at 76. As The Oregonian in Portland reminds readers: VOICE: The phrase [Catch 22] was created - - a better term might be "identified" - by Joseph Heller .. In [the] brilliant, hilarious, lunatic account of an American bombing group in Italy in World War Two, it was easy to be sent home from combat for mental unfitness. All you had to do was ask. But if you asked to get out of combat, it was a clear sign that you weren't mentally unfit. "Yossarian . let out a respectful whisper," wrote Heller. "That's some catch, that Catch-22," he observed. "It's the best there is,' Doc Daneeka agreed. And Catch-22 is one of the best books of our time . [a] vision of a world that has been carefully, thoughtfully, reasonably designed for a lunatic outcome, it sounded an eerily recognizable note for the 1960s - - and since. TEXT: And on that note, we conclude this sampling of
comment from Tuesday's editorial pages.
[13] YEARENDER: NATO-KOSOVO BY ANDRE DE NESNERA (WASHINGTON)DATE=12/14/1999TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT NUMBER=5-44986 CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: This past year, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization engaged in its first military offensive ever as carried out an air campaign in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo. In this yearend report, National Security Correspondent Andre de Nesnera looks back on the Kosovo operation and discusses what lessons NATO may have learned from the campaign. TEXT: By all accounts, 1999 was a momentous year for NATO. The western alliance marked its 50th anniversary and elected a new secretary-general: British Defense Secretary George Robertson took NATO's helm, replacing Javier Solana. NATO also expanded eastward, taking in three new members: Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, all former Warsaw Pact nations. The western alliance is now made up of 19 members. But this past year will probably best be remembered for NATO's first ever military operation against a sovereign country - Yugoslavia. For 78 days (from March 24th to June 10th) NATO waged an air campaign, pounding Yugoslav military forces and other strategic targets - many of them located in the predominantly ethnic-Albanian province of Kosovo. NATO's goal was to end what western officials described as Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's ethnic cleansing campaign against the Kosovar Albanians. In a recent V-O-A interview, NATO Secretary George Robertson said the western alliance had to draw the world's attention to what was happening inside Kosovo. /// ROBERTSON ACT ////// END ACT ////// ROBERTSON ACT ////// END ACT ////// BEAVER ACT ////// END ACT ////// PERKOVICH ACT ////// END ACT ///NEB/ADEN/JP 14-Dec-1999 15:07 PM EDT (14-Dec-1999 2007 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America Voice of America: Selected Articles Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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