Voice of America, 00-04-14

CONTENTS

[01] FRIDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ERIKA EVANS (WASHINGTON)

[02] ELIAN HOUSE SCENE (S) BY NICK SIMEONE (MIAMI)

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

[04] SERBIA'S INDEPENDENT MEDIA (L-ONLY) BY PAMELA TAYLOR (WASHINGTON)

[01] FRIDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ERIKA EVANS (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: As the week comes to a close, America's press remains drawn to the controversy surrounding the young Cuban boy, Elian Gonzalez. U-S editorial writers are still concerned with the legal fight to return the six-year old to his father and a variety of opinions are being presented. Other issues being discussed include a new attempt at peace-making in Korea, as leaders of the North and South plan talks in June, and demonstrations against the International Monetary Fund (I-M-F) and the World Bank now meeting in Washington D-C. Now here is ___________ with a closer look and some excerpts in today's editorial digest.

TEXT: A U-S appeals court has ruled that Cuban boy, Elian Gonzalez must stay in the United States until a decision is made on whether to hear further legal claims from his Miami relatives. The decision comes after the Miami relatives met with Attorney General Janet Reno and ignored a deadline to turn Elian over to his Cuban father, who has been waiting for him outside Washington. The Washington Times says the ruling puts the case back where it belongs -- in the U.S. courts.

VOICE: Tension ran high after U-S Attorney General Janet Reno had set a 2 p.m. deadline for Elian's Miami family to turn the child over to his father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez. Miss Reno shouldn't have made such a demand before a judicial review of his U-S residency status had come to a close. The deadline forced Elian's family into a desperate situation. But a U-S judge has given Elian the opportunity for due process. ... The judge's injunction is a temporary victory for Elian's Miami relatives and a sign that Miss Reno hasn't been following proper procedure in the case. The Justice Department said in a statement in December that Elian's case was a question of custody and should therefore be decided by a family court. ... White House officials should never have become so closely involved in the case to begin with. U-S courts, and not a government agency, should determine Elian's fate.

TEXT: We get another view on the Elian story now from the other side of the nation, the Seattle Times in the state of Washington. The newspaper says Elian's Miami family is using disturbing tactics to keep the boy from returning to Cuba.

VOICE: On one level, the passionate -- borderline fanatical -- anti-Castro feelings of the family and Little Havana are genuine. People torn away from their loved ones and homeland react with intensity. What the Miami latives must acknowledge is that every avenue of appeal, every transparent dodge and stall, has been patiently played out. ... Attorney Geeral Jaet Reo ha chosen her words and administratie actions carefully. She was ignored by Elian's relatives, ho are obviously going to pick and chose the la they intend to respect. ... Defiance of the law. Use of mob intimidation and bully tactics. Bellicose certainty of the rightness of one's cause. These are the ironic choice of weapons used to show contempt for (Cuban leader) Fidel Castro.

TEXT: The Boston Globe is turning its attention to Korea. For the first time, leaders from North and South Korea have agreed to meet fr a June smmit in northern capital, Pyongyang, and the paper has this to say:

VOICE: North Korea's decision to participate in a June summit between the Cmmist regie' lee, ngl,duthK~orea'~s p~resi~ent, KimD~a~e~-j~u~n~g, h~eralds ~a~ sini~f~ic~nt ~   ~s~ucce~ss fo~r~th~e ~"suns~h~in~ep~o~l~i~c~y"~ ofK~im Dae- ~  ~ ~   jung~ and~ for the patient Korean diplomacy of the~        Clinton ~administration.  If the mercurial,        mysterious leadership in Pyongyang does not        abruptly scuttle the meeting, the summit my mark        the end of North Korea's isolation as the hermit       stX]YHHQZn{{{Xw{v~O{r1izaion with other        states could lead to expanded international        assistance for North Korea as well as foreign        investm~ent.  For the ~United States, the prospect   ~     of Pyongyang's assimilation into the        international community signifies, above all,        the possibility of ending a half-century of        military confrontation on the Korean Peninsula        and withdrawing 37-thousand American troops from        the world's most dangerous flash point.  ...        Having witnessed the great cost and social        trauma of German reunification, South Koreans        approach the process that may one day lead to        Korean unification with some trepidation.  TEXT:  That from the Boston Globe.  Lastly, U-S-A  Today, published in suburban Washington, is debating  economic globalization.  With demonstrations taking  place in the U-S capital this week, the newspaper says  protesters are targeting institutions most able to  help the poor.        VOICE:  While (the protesters') concerns are        worth paying attention to, the attacks on        institutions that promote trade and development        are ill-placed.  The answer to anxiety about        globalization isn't to pile on trade        restrictions that deny jobs to Third World        declining industries for jobs in globally        competitive ones.  ... Meanwhile, the answer to        environmental concerns isn't to stop investment        in Third World nations, but~ to enco~urage~ faster~        growth.  ... Which is why this weekend's        demonstrators are off the mark.  The I-M-F acts        as a lender of last resort for nations in        financial distress; the World Bank provides        long-term development loans to reduce poverty.         Both can do better than in the past to encourage        environmentally friendly practices by nations as        they grow.  But they don't need protesters to        tell them that.  In the past several years,        these institutions have been reforming        themselves.  ... The more demonstrators try to        close these institutions down, the more the        world needs to see that they remain open.  TEXT:  And on that note, we end this sampling of  comment from the editorial pages of Friday's U-S  press.  NEB/ENE/JP     14-Apr-2000 14:20 PM EDT (14-Apr-2000 1820 UTC) NNNN ~~~|~~~tTYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-261331
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INTRO: A torrential rainstorm didn't keep protesters who oppose returning Elian Gonzalez to Cuba from rallying outside the home where he has lived since arriving in the United States last November. Correspondent Nick Simeone reports from a rainy street in Miami's "Little Havana" neighborhood.

TEXT: They are chanting in Spanish "Elian isn't going," and keeping their eyes on the home of the boy's great uncle even though the rain has everyone crowded under a makeshift tent. Thunder, lightening and flooded streets brought the daily show of support for Elian down to about 100 people on Friday, considerably less than the several thousand who turned out Thursday when it looked as if government agents might come and take the boy by force. But while smaller in number, the mood of the people here is no less adamant: All firmly believe the U-S government and the majority of Americans who polls say believe the boy should return to Cuba are wrong. Several, like this woman, told me, "You Americans just don't understand what it means to live under communism. "

[02] ELIAN HOUSE SCENE (S) BY NICK SIMEONE (MIAMI)

INTRO: U-S stock prices plunged today (Friday), as new economic data fueled fears of accelerating inflation and higher-than-expected interest rate increases. Analysts call it a carnage to end a very tough week on Wall Street. VOA correspondent Elaine Johanson reports from New York:

TEXT: The three major stock indexes all suffered their biggest one-day point loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 616 points, over five percent, closing at 10-thousand-307. The Industrials are down more than seven percent for the week. The Standard and Poor's 500 index shed almost six percent, closing 84 points down. And the Nasdaq composite plunged nearly 10 percent, over 350 points. The Nasdaq is down more than 25 percent - over one-thousand points - for the week, more than 18 percent for the year. Higher-than-expected inflation numbers traumatized an already-shaken market. U-S consumer prices for March jumped seven-tenths of one percent. Even taking out food and energy costs, the consumer price index showed its biggest increase in more than five years.

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

INTRO: While tens of thousands of opposition supporters rallied in Belgrade today/Friday, representatives of Serbia's independent media sought moral and financial support in Washington. Two leading Belgrade journalists addressed their concerns to U-S policy makers at the Institute of Peace. V-O- A's Pamela Taylor reports:

TEXT: Two journalists from Belgrade say Serbia's independent media outlets are suffering almost daily pressure from the government of President Slobodan Milosevic. Stojan Cerovic, of the independent newsmagazine "Vreme" and a current visiting fellow at the Institute of peace, says this pressure is both overt in the form of huge fines and license denials, and covert "dead of night" intimidation:

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