Dear RN, Aug. 6 In general, I don,t like to just send you "bad news" reports; we can easily get that from the mass media. But the first two messages below, while they paint a very bleak picture of what is happening in Serbia and in the former Soviet Union, provide us with information we are unlikely to find in most of our newspapers. The last message informs us that the feisty little Radio B-92 is back, in a new incarnation: B2-92. all the best, jan *************************************************************** Note: I find this excerpt, when you think about what it means, is very telling about what havoc and hopelessness economic stagnation can bring about. "The transition years [in the former Soviet Union] "have literally been lethal for a great many people," asserts the report. Most strikingly, the biggest single cost has been the loss of lives among young and middle-aged men. ... The causes are multiple and complex including rising suicide rates, declining life expectancy, health care, and an increase in self-destructive behaviour." Date: Fri, 06 Aug 1999 13:38:28 +0600 From: "wendell w. solomons" <•••@••.•••> Subject: Cost of FREE TRADE as subversion Date: Thu, 5 Aug 1999 08:42:26 -0500 Subject: FYI: UN Report on Transition NEW REPORT FROM UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME ANALYZES HUMAN DIMENSION OF TRANSITION New York , 29 July 1999 -- A troubled transition in ex-Soviet countries has meant a rise in poverty, crime, disease and mortality rates, according to a new report released by the UN Development Programme (UNDP). A human crisis of monumental proportions is emerging in the former Soviet Union, says "Transition 1999" a Human Development Report for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Those hardest hit are the men of the region, who are living shorter, more unhealthy lives. The transition years "have literally been lethal for a great many people," asserts the report. Most strikingly, the biggest single cost has been the loss of lives among young and middle-aged men. This is reflected in an abnormally low ratio of men to women in the total population, that is the difference between the number of men one would expect to find if the sex ratio were normal. According to the report there are nearly 5.9 million "missing men" in the Russian Federation alone and another 2.6 million in Ukraine. The total for the transition economies as a whole is nearly 9.7 million. The causes are multiple and complex including rising suicide rates, declining life expectancy, health care, and an increase in self-destructive behaviour. Ten years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the gains in political democracy are significant, but remain vulnerable to reversal. Widespread poverty and a growing gap between rich and poor in the countries of the former Soviet Union threaten human security. "There is an urgent need to focus on the social fallout and inequalities that the transition has brought if we want to see the countries-in-transition turn into a success in the 21st century," says Anton Kruiderink, director of UNDP's Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS region, in a foreword to the report. The process of transition in the region has had huge human development costs, many of which remain unabated. The number of people living on an income of US$4 a day in the region has risen from four per cent in 1988 to 32 per cent in 1994. Recorded drug crimes increased fivefold in Russia between 1991-1996. Many diseases which could be contained by standard immunization programmes are re-emerging as a result of a crisis in the health care systems in most of the countries, among them: tuberculosis, polio and anemia. Corruption has become a customary means of carrying out political and economic transactions, the report asserts. And the black market has become the only source of income for many of the region's unemployed. The "shadow" economy makes up 25 per cent of GNP in Russian and as much as 40 per cent in Yugoslavia, Armenia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Thus, a "shadow" economy is better than no economy, says the report, which is based on experiences from 23 country offices in Eastern Europe and former Soviet countries. The report argues for an urgent shift from private consumption policies to investment in people. "In pursuit of uniform economic policies to achieve more efficient allocation of resources, free market mechanisms are vital, but so are mechanisms concerning social equity," says Mr. Kruiderink. "Reforms to build thriving, sustainable market economies will only succeed if built on successful investments in people," he says. For more information and to obtain copies of "Transition 1999 - Europe and CIS Human Development Report" visit the UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS' website at http://www.undp.org/rbec. *************************************************************** From: "Janet M Eaton" <•••@••.•••> To: •••@••.••• Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 15:21:28 +0000 Subject: Serbia may face bigger humanitarian crisis than Kosovo !!! In an article posted yesterday on mai-not listserv by MichaelP - from the Agence Fracne Presse entitled "Clinton says NATO is ready to fight repression in Europe, Africa" http://www.flora.org/flora.mai-not/12230 and http://asia.yahoo.com/headlines/230699/world/930083820-90622203710.n Clinton, basking in his victory, said - re the NATO air war against Yugoslavia : "We are proud of what we did, because we think it's what America stands for." Proud of what we might ask? Is he proud of ignoring international law, the rules of war, ecological and humanitarian principles ? Is he proud of bombing civilians - innocent men, women and children - into the stone age? Is he proud of traumatizing them in an outrageous and flagrant violation of humanity? Is he proud of laying waste to their ecological and cultural heritage; of destroying the means of livelihood of an entire nation, of contaminating the air, soil and water thereby jeopardizing the health of citizens of the entire region both now and for future generations? Is he proud that he has created a worse humanitarian disaster than existed before the renegade decision to bomb ?? In the following article, which leaves little doubt that there is little to be proud of , the secretary-general of the Australian Red Cross, Mr Jim Carlton is quoted as follows: "The people are still in shock. They did not expect NATO to bomb Yugoslavia and they are seriously traumatised by it. "The destruction I saw in Novi Sad is phenomenal. They face a massive rebuilding task and in the meantime they face high levels of unemployment which will make it difficult for people to cope." "The people face a desperate situation in the next northern winter unless they get help!" All the best, janet eaton ============================== http://www.smh.com.au/news/9906/25/text/world4.html SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, June 25, 1999 DESPERATION IN SERBIA World urged to help 'forgotten people' By GEOFF KITNEY, Herald Correspondent, in Pristina Serbia may be facing a bigger humanitarian crisis than Kosovo, according to a senior Australian Red Cross official who has urged the international community not to turn its back on the "forgotten people" of Serbia because of the political situation there. The secretary-general of the Australian Red Cross, Mr Jim Carlton, who has been travelling in Yugoslavia said he was alarmed by what he saw there, describing the situation as "dramatically awful". "I think it is potentially a very serious situation," Mr Carlton said. "Many places in Serbia have no electricity and no water and much of the population is unemployed because of the damage to their industries." The people face a desperate situation in the next northern winter unless they get help, he said. "It is extremely important that the international community recognise this and worry about the plight of individuals regardless of whether they are Serbs or Montenegrins or Kosovars. Politics should not affect how assistance is given." Mr Carlton has travelled this week to Belgrade and several major cities which were key NATO targets, including Novi Sad and Nis. He spent Wednesday in Kosovo before travelling on to the refugee camps in Albania yesterday. Two Australian Red Cross workers remained in Yugoslavia throughout the NATO bombing, despite fears for their security after the arrest and subsequent jailing of the CARE Australia aid workers Steve Pratt and Peter Wallace. During a brief stopover in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, Mr Carlton said he believed the humanitarian situation in Serbia was a bigger worry than in Kosovo because it was getting less attention. There were already about 500,000 refugees there from other conflicts in the Balkans before the NATO bombing began, he said. The Yugoslav Red Cross was rapidly running out of resources and there was little prospect of the economic situation inside Serbia improving until the country's industrial infrastructure was restored and people were employed again, Mr Carlton said. "The people are still in shock. They did not expect NATO to bomb Yugoslavia and they are seriously traumatised by it. "The destruction I saw in Novi Sad is phenomenal. They face a massive rebuilding task and in the meantime they face high levels of unemployment which will make it difficult for people to cope." *************************************************************** Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 18:57:33 -0700 From: Michael Givel <•••@••.•••> Subject: Belgrade's B92 is Back! News to Belgrade: Station to Return B-92 Radio Was Silenced by Milosevic By William Branigin Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, July 31, 1999; Page A18 BELGRADE, July 30—A popular radio station that had bedeviled Yugoslav authorities before it was seized during the NATO bombing campaign vowed today to resume independent news broadcasting despite a new threat to shut it down. The reemergence of B-92, long a thorn in the side of President Slobodan Milosevic, represented a blow to one of the main pillars of his government: state control of most news media, especially radio and television. It came amid scattered but persistent demonstrations across Serbia, Yugoslavia's dominant republic, in which citizens have been calling on Milosevic to step down and are eager to spread their views. The radio station started trial broadcasts of music Thursday on a new frequency and announced that it would resume news operations Monday. Milosevic loyalists took over the station April 2 and replaced the entire staff, but kept its name and slot on the radio dial for broadcasts of pro-government fare. The original name, B-92, refers to Belgrade and the station's frequency. The new name, B2-92, refers to the station's second incarnation. It also broadcast at www.b92.co.yu over the Internet. The station's former managers said they will continue a court battle to reverse what they called a "completely illegal" takeover of the station, but meanwhile will take up the offer of a studio and a frequency controlled by the political party of opposition figure Vuk Draskovic. At a news conference, managers and editors nevertheless pledged to maintain independence and report developments that they said many Serbs have been unable to follow because of the government's tight grip on information. "Our motto is, 'If it happens, you will hear about it,' " said Dusan Masic, the news editor of B2-92. "Now things are happening and nobody's hearing about them." In the last couple of weeks, established opposition parties such as the Alliance for Change and the Serbian Renewal Movement, as well as ad hoc groups with names like Rally Against the Authorities, have been holding daily demonstrations in Serbian cities, including strongholds of Milosevic's Socialist Party. Disgruntled army reservists have staged hunger strikes and blocked highways to demand back pay for service in Kosovo and city councils have passed resolutions calling for political change and respect for human rights. The government has largely ignored the protests. Police have been instructed to avoid clashes that might provoke a more widespread reaction, diplomats said. But opponents of Milosevic hope to unify their fractured ranks and gradually escalate the demonstrations in Serbian cities and towns before eventually bringing them to the capital. In one of the few protests in Belgrade recently, about 2,000 retirees rallied Thursday to demand payment of their pensions by the cash-strapped government and the removal of officials. "Serbia must not wait for winter to come with the current authorities in power," a spokeswoman for the group said. A key to the political opposition's strategy is spreading word of the rallies outside the capital, so that protesters in various towns get more of a sense of belonging to a larger movement. "Not many Serbs know there is a sort of movement against the regime that is rather wide and rather persistent," said Ljubica Markovic, editor of the Beta news agency, which publishes an independent newsletter here. In their news conference, the Radio B2-92 officials rejected a threat from the manager of their former station to obtain a court injunction and shut them down by noon Monday. "I can only hope this country and government will not lead us into another war in order to close B2-92 as well," Masic said. "If they close us this time, we won't wait four months to be back on the air." The station hopes to obtain funding from the European Union and the United States, as B-92 had before it was seized, and to expand its range from the capital and surrounding suburbs so that it can eventually be heard across Serbia. "We were the National Public Radio of the Balkans," said Masic. "We hope to be that again." © Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company
