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Voice of America, 99-08-22

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

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] KOSOVO / PEACEKEEPERS BY TIM BELAY (PRISTINA)
  • [02] TURKEY/EARTHQUAKE ONITER (S/L) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (ISTANBUL)
  • [03] TURKEY RESCUE (L) CQ BY LAURIE KASSMAN (GOLCUK)
  • [04] TURKEY/EARTHQUAKE SITREP (L-O) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (IZMIT)
  • [05] UNICEF-TURKEY (L-O) BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)
  • [06] CLINTON - TURKEY AID (L-ONLY) BY DEBORAH TATE (MARTHA'S VINEYARD, MASSACHUSETTS)
  • [07] RUSSIA-DAGESTAN (S-L) BY DAVID MCGUFFIN (MOSCOW)
  • [08] RUSSIA-DAGESTAN UPDATE (L ONLY) BY PETER HEINLEIN (MOSCOW)

    • [01] KOSOVO / PEACEKEEPERS BY TIM BELAY (PRISTINA)

    DATE=8/22/1999
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-252998
    INTERNET=YES CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:

    INTRO: Peacekeepers in Kosovo are threatening to sharply intensify weapons searches in some parts of the province. Tim Belay reports from Pristina, the move comes amid a backdrop of growing local political tension.

    TEXT: NATO-led troops in southern Kosovo say they are prepared to carry out house-to-house searches to secure a region which will soon be under the control of Russian troops. It is an effort to disarm residents of a Serbian neighborhood, 60 kilometers south of Pristina. To complicate matters, the majority-Albanian population in Kosovo does not trust the Russian military. Dutch soldiers have been stationed in the region for several weeks, but are preparing to hand over control of the area to Russian peacekeepers. There are also signs of growing tension among Albanian leaders here. Hashim Thatci -- the political leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army -- did not attend a meeting Saturday of the group which is working with the United Nations to create a new local government in Kosovo. (Signed) NEB / dj-t / wd 22-Aug-1999 07:28 AM LOC (22-Aug-1999 1128 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America

    [02] TURKEY/EARTHQUAKE ONITER (S/L) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (ISTANBUL)

    DATE=8/22/1999
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-253009
    CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:

    INTRO: As the death toll mounts in Turkey from Tuesday's devastating earthquake the country is starting to clean up the rubble. High temperatures have increased the fear of a health disaster and now rain in the forecast could complicate efforts to provide shelter. V-O-A Correspondent Laurie Kassman reports from Istanbul on the relief operations underway.

    TEXT: Clean-up squads are out on the streets trying to clear away the rubble and disinfect the areas to reduce the health hazards for survivors. Tent villages are being set up to provide temporary shelter but sturdier housing will be needed when the cold of winter sets in. More immediately though, rain in the forecast only makes the situation worse for the tens of thousands camped outside. United Nations field officers are assessing the short and long term needs for survivors. As the shock of Tuesday's earthquake starts to wear off, frustration and anger are mounting. Newspapers and ordinary citizens criticize what they see as the government's inadequate response to the crisis. The military is not exempt from criticism either. Editorials call the military response sluggish at best. Soldiers were not plentiful in the early hours after the earthquake but now are seen helping in clean-up work and traffic control.

    ///rest opt for long ///

    And volunteers are streaming in from other parts of the country spared by the earthquake's devastation. Ads in Istanbul newspapers, for one, have been calling for anyone with language skills to head for the disaster area to help foreign aid workers who have poured into the country. Others have come to do whatever they can to help the survivors. Some have also volunteered to help dig mass graves for the thousands of bodies being pulled from the wreckage. (SIGNED)
    NEB/PT 22-Aug-1999 17:06 PM LOC (22-Aug-1999 2106 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America

    [03] TURKEY RESCUE (L) CQ BY LAURIE KASSMAN (GOLCUK)

    DATE=8/22/1999
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-253008
    INTERNET=YES CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:

    /////

    RESTORES "DECEASED" TO LAST ACT OF CR 2-252997. /////

    INTRO: At least 70 rescue teams from around the world are feverishly searching for more survivors from Tuesday's devastating earthquake. And crews are already starting to clear away the rubble. Correspondent Lori Kassman reports from Golcuk, one of the hardest-hit areas.

    TEXT: The real extent of the earthquake's death and destruction probably will not be known for months. U- N Field Officer Warwick Kidd, of Australia, says he has never seen anything like it.

    /// KIDD ACTUALITY ///

    In Izmit, 750 buildings (are) totally collapsed. Of the ones that are still standing, probably 50 percent will have to be demolished. There was a body count of five-thousand from Izmit, alone, and the number continues to rise.

    /// END ACTUALITY ///

    The earthquake devastated five-thousand square kilometers of Turkey's industrial heartland, burying tens-of-thousands in the wreckage. Mr. Kidd says rescue teams are moving into many of the remote villages that have been without help for five days. He considers the rescue operation now underway one of the largest in the world.

    ///KIDD ACTUALITY///

    We have two-thousand rescuers in the field covering approximately 70 to 80 international teams. Some of these teams come from as far away as Belgium, the United States, Iceland, Canada, Japan, Ukraine, Yugoslavia, Poland, British, African-Algerian. You name it, they are here. The team sizes range from four. We have a Taiwanese team here, with four people, doing the best that they can, working unbelievably; right up to the Israeli contingent which is 200 strong.

    ///END ACTUALITY///

    Mr. Kidd refuses to put a deadline on the search and rescue operation, even though the chances are slim many more survivors will be found in the rubble. Dutch and British teams are already packing up and others may do the same in the coming days. But Saturday, seven more were pulled from the wreckage alive, but such stories now are fewer.

    ///KIDD ACTUALITY///

    Here in Golcuk, a deceased couple were pulled out the other day. Hugging just finished hugging. Heartbreaking things. It is very hard for professional emergency services workers to deal with it let alone civilians.

    ///END ACTUALITY///

    Still, rescue teams continue their last-ditch efforts, as the tedious clean-up operations begin. They will take months to complete. (SIGNED) NEB / lk / dwj-t / wd 22-Aug-1999 14:06 PM EDT (22-Aug-1999 1806 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America

    [04] TURKEY/EARTHQUAKE SITREP (L-O) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (IZMIT)

    DATE=8/21/1999
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-253007
    CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:

    INTRO: In Turkey, a 45-year-old woman was pulled from the wreckage five-days after a massive earthquake devastated western regions and claimed more than 12- thousand victims (UPDATE FIGURES AS WARRANTED). But rescue teams say the chances are slim of finding many more alive. Some teams are already packing up to leave. Correspondent Laurie Kassman reports from Izmit the focus now is on sheltering and feeding tens- of-thousands left homeless by the quake.

    TEXT: Search and rescue teams have fanned out into the countryside to help villagers in remote areas search for survivors. But the success stories are fewer now, five-days after the earthquake hit. The Swiss team was one of the first to arrive Tuesday. They have managed to pull out 12 survivors, but they are now packing up. Dutch, British, and a U-S crew are leaving too. Swiss team leader Urs Amiet says time is running out.

    ///AMIET ACT///

    There are about 80-hours after the earthquake when there is hope of finding people alive and after this time we are staying here the hope is still there, but the possibility to find somebody is very small.

    ///END ACT///

    More than two-thousand international rescue workers from around the world are in Turkey for the search and rescue operations. But the rescue missions are expected to wind down by Tuesday. The clean-up crews are already beginning to clear away the rubble. U-N field officer Warwick Kidd says the clean-up and recovery effort will be bigger than the rescue operations and will take months to complete.

    ///KIDD ACT///

    You have millions-upon-millions of tons of rubble. Some of it contaminated with body waste. The problem is, it needs to go somewhere. In a country like Turkey it will go somewhere to be left to settle -- a landfill. The rubble that is within it, possessions within it, on a scale like this it is impossible to maintain, impossible to sift through.

    ///END ACT///

    Mr Kidd says half the buildings still standing are damaged and unfit to enter, and will have to be torn down. People are carefully removing what possessions they can before the buildings are marked for demolition. Clean-up crews are also spraying disinfectant on the streets to try to limit the health hazards. Medical workers are worried about the spread of disease from contaminated water and unsanitary conditions. Other teams are feverishly working to restore power and water supplies too. Tent cities are being set up to provide shelter for tens-of-thousands left homeless by the quake. But Turkish authorities and international relief agencies also have to figure out how to shelter them in the coming cold months of winter. Reconstruction of western Turkey will take years. The earthquake devastated about five-thousand square kilometers of the country's industrial heartland -- an area about the size of Switzerland. (SIGNED)
    NEB/LMK/RAE 22-Aug-1999 13:54 PM EDT (22-Aug-1999 1754 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America

    [05] UNICEF-TURKEY (L-O) BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)

    DATE=8/22/1999
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-253005
    CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:

    INTRO: UNICEF, the United Nations children's fund, is speeding up aid to child victims of Turkey's devastating earthquake. Lisa Schlein reports from Geneva that a team of UNICEF specialists is headed for the Turkey's capital, Ankara, to begin a follow-up assessment of the needs of children and women following the disaster.

    TEXT: As hopes fade of finding more victims alive, aid agencies are turning their attention to the needs of the living. UNICEF Information Officer Hans Olsen says specialists will spend the next week assessing the health, nutrition, and sanitation needs of women and children in the stricken area.

    // OLSEN ACT //

    .and also the social and psychological issues related to and its traumatic experience involving many children. Because beyond the massive emergency needs, UNICEF is concerned about the psychological well-being of children in the hardest-hit areas.

    // END ACT //

    UNICEF counselors say children quickly overcome their initial fears, often giving the impression they are not deeply affected by their trauma. But the counselors say nothing could be further from the truth; even if children do not show it they are deeply affected, especially by their parents' traumatic reaction. It could cost the children their basic sense of security. UNICEF is planning a long-term program for helping the thousands of child victims in Turkey to cope with their emotional trauma. Of more immediate use to the stricken areas is the emergency 27-ton shipment of relief supplies already sent off by UNICEF. The shipment includes 100 medical packs for use by hospitals and clinics, each pack sufficient to meet the emergency needs of 10-thousand people for three-months. Other supplies in the shipment include water purification tablets and portable water tanks. (SIGNED) Neb/ls/dw/RAE 22-Aug-1999 12:32 PM EDT (22-Aug-1999 1632 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America

    [06] CLINTON - TURKEY AID (L-ONLY) BY DEBORAH TATE (MARTHA'S VINEYARD, MASSACHUSETTS)

    DATE=8/21/1999
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-252991
    CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:

    INTRO: President Clinton is urging Americans to assist the victims of Tuesday's devastating earthquake in Turkey by contributing to relief organizations. The quake killed at least 12-thousand people and wounded tens of thousands of others. Correspondent Deborah Tate reports on the President's appeal from Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, where he is vacationing.

    TEXT: Calling Turkey a long-time U.S. ally and the Turkish people friends of the United States, Mr. Clinton said America must do all it can to help those struggling in the aftermath of the earthquake. In a written statement, the President underscores the challenge facing relief workers: The task ahead is immense, he says. He notes that approximately one million Turks are sleeping outdoors, that clean water is scarce, and that the risk of disease is rapidly increasing. Mr. Clinton appeals to Americans to - in his words - give generously to responsible charitable organizations that are supporting relief efforts. In his statement, the President also highlights the U.S. government's efforts to assist in the recovery effort and provide medical and humanitarian aid. The U.S. Agency for International Development has deployed two search and rescue teams to help recover earthquake survivors. A 22-member U.S. military crisis response unit is providing medical assistance in Izmit, while three military ships are to arrive in Turkey shortly, bringing 22-hundred marines and 22 helicopters to help in the relief effort. One of the ships, the U.S.S. Kearsarge is equipped with six operating rooms. Meanwhile, a U.S.-chartered plane has delivered blankets, plastic sheeting for shelter, and medicine. A second airlift will be carrying water purification equipment, and is to arrive in the coming days. In addition, a U.S. team is working with the United Nations to coordinate overall international relief efforts, and U.S. experts are assisting Turkish officials in assessing emergency health, water, and sanitation needs. (Signed) Neb/dat/gm 21-Aug-1999 20:05 PM EDT (22-Aug-1999 0005 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America

    [07] RUSSIA-DAGESTAN (S-L) BY DAVID MCGUFFIN (MOSCOW)

    DATE=8/22/1999
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-252999
    CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:

    INTRO: The latest round of fighting between Russian troops and Islamic rebels in the southern Russian Republic of Dagestan has both sides saying they have won ground. David McGuffin has this report from Moscow.

    TEXT: The two warring sides in Dagestan agree the fighting has focused on the key rebel-held village of Tando. The Russian military says it now partially controls the village that is the main base for Muslim militants who are trying to turn Dagestan into an independent Islamic state. The Russians also say they have won control of an important mountain pass used to supply heavy weaponry to rebel strongholds. But a spokesman for the rebels says the Russian's claims of success are not true. The rebels say they continue to hold all of Tando and have taken two more villages. They add that the mountain pass captured by the Russians is not vital and their fundamentalist fighters have many more supply routes still open into Chechnya.

    //OPT FOR LONG//

    Moscow's troops have been fighting separatists led by warlords from the neighboring breakaway Russian republic of Chechnya. The separatists hold several villages in the mountainous region bordering Chechnya. The two-weeks of fighting have left scores of casualties, especially on the rebel side where the number of dead is estimated in the hundreds. Russian troops have been massing by the thousands in Dagestan -- which borders Chechnya and the Caspian Sea. Their strategy relies heavily on air and artillery bombardments. The Kremlin's actions appear to have general support in Russia -- even among liberal politicians and Russian Muslim leaders. But Moscow's promise of a quick end to the insurrection remains elusive, leaving some analysts saying infantry attacks and ground fighting will soon be necessary if victory is to be achieved. (SIGNED)
    NEB/DM/DW/RAE 22-Aug-1999 09:46 AM EDT (22-Aug-1999 1346 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America

    [08] RUSSIA-DAGESTAN UPDATE (L ONLY) BY PETER HEINLEIN (MOSCOW)

    DATE=8/22/1999
    TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
    NUMBER=2-253010
    INTERNET=YES CONTENT=
    VOICED AT:

    INTRO: Russia's Prime minister has summoned security chiefs for an urgent meeting as the conflict in the southern republic of Dagestan rages for a third week. VOA's Correspondent Peter Heinlein in Moscow reports both government troops and Muslim rebels are claiming gains in the latest fighting.

    TEXT: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called a rare Sunday meeting his defense and interior ministers, the army chief of staff and the head of the domestic intelligence service. News agencies say the discussions focused on specific military operations aimed at wiping out Muslim insurgents who control several villages in the mountains of Dagestan, along the border with breakaway Chechnya.

    ///opt///

    Just days after he was named prime minister this month, Mr. Putin predicted the rebels would be wiped out within two weeks. With that deadline looming, however, the rebels appear to be well-entrenched, and military leaders admit the conflict is likely to drag on for months.

    ///end opt///

    As the security chiefs met, Russian jets and artillery pounded the rebel held region, while Ground forces mounted a ferocious offensive Sunday against a rebel base at the strategic mountain village of Tando. The two sides made widely conflicting claims about the outcome of the battle. Russian sources say they seized part of Tando during the day. The insurgents, however, posted a note on the internet saying rebel fighters had counter attacked and smashed a Russian paratroop unit.

    ///opt///

    Government forces also claimed to have taken control of the Kharami Pass on the main road linking Chechnya and Dagestan. But a rebel spokesman called the government claim "meaningless", saying his fighters use other routes through the mountains, and had not been in control of the Kharami Pass. ///end opt./// There were also sharply differing accounts of casualties, with each side claiming to have inflicted heavy losses on the other. But there was no independent confirmation. Western journalists have been strongly discouraged from visiting the region because of the danger of kidnappings. In the past, however, both the rebels and the government have been known to exaggerate enemy casualty figures, while minimizing their own.///rest opt/// Commanders on the ground say at this point, their main goal is to keep the insurgents bottled up in a few mountain villages while Moscow builds up its troops and equipment in the area for an expected major offensive. The fighting in Dagestan is the worst in Russia since the separatist war in Chechnya in the mid-nineties. That war ended when government troops withdrew in defeat from the breakaway Muslim region after 21 months of fighting. Since then, Chechnya has ruled itself, although Moscow says it is still part of Russia. (signed)
    NEB/PT 22-Aug-1999 17:30 PM LOC (22-Aug-1999 2130 UTC)
    NNNN
    Source: Voice of America
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