By Marcella Sanchez Subscribe to The Post Special to <a href=www.washingtonpost.com>washingtonpost.com Thursday, June 5, 2003; 10:00 PM

After winning an election in which the other candidate simply didn't show up, Nestor C. Kirchner wasted no time last week asserting his new powers as president of Argentina. Barely three days into his term, he forced the resignation of at least half of the military high command by naming loyal but low-ranking generals to head the armed forces.

It was a dramatic and unparalleled action that seemed likely to open old wounds in a country already in need of invasive surgery to repair massive economic and political ills. And it left many here scratching their heads. With an economy that contracted almost 11 percent last year, reining in the military isn't the highest priority, especially considering that the reputation of Argentina's military has been slowly recovering from the abuses and excesses of the past.

While the rationale for Kirchner's decree was unclear, Washington did not lack opinions about its possible consequences.

Human rights groups promptly welcomed it as an essential move to reaffirm military subordination to civilian authority. They hoped too that ultimately it would lead to the end of impunity for officers responsible for the atrocities of the "dirty war,: which led to the deaths or disappearance of nearly 9,000 Argentines during the 1970s and 1980s.

U.S. military officers and experts, on the other hand, feared it would reverse years of efforts to reform Argentina's armed forces. If those replaced were ousted because they were too close to Kirchner's opponents or because they were too interested in influencing judicial decisions against former military abusers, Kirchner has simply traded one kind of politicization for another. He would be sending military officers the message that cozying up to him will protect their jobs.

Both of those views, however, seem caught up in a distant and less relevant past. Kirchner, a little-known provincial governor from the south, was not seeking break from that past or even bring it back. His speeches last week suggest instead a plan to build a new military for the future. He seems to envision a military with civic roles in ways comparable to those of the U.S. National Guard or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Kirchner arguably faces the most daunting reconstruction task of any Latin American leader. He may be joining the ranks of cash-strapped counterparts who have found in the military the only cheap, quick and obedient institution at hand to help implement urgent development priorities. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez already has tried it. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva plans to try it, too.

While the Bush adminstration has remained mostly silent about Kirchner's action, U.S. officials have spoken out in favor of military involvement in non-military activities for more than a decade, particularly encouraging increased roles in fighting drug trafficking.

Even after launching its global war on terrorism, Washington has continued, and in some instances increased funding for, the U.S. Southern Command's participation in joint civic operations with Latin American counterparts to build schools and roads, and provide health care and other services. Locals often view such programs suspiciously, yet some Latin American governments may now integrate them into comprehensive development strategies.

This would reverse a trend of the past decade. The end of dictatorships and internal conflict in several Latin American countries in the 1980s and 1990s led democratic governments to marginalize and strip the ranks and budgets of their militaries. Add to that the current economic woes and present day military leaders would only be too glad to take new orders--even orders not exactly in line with their traditional missions--as a new meal ticket.

Such transitions into traditionally civilian government functions are not without risk. Those who applauded Kirchner's move as progressive, or criticized it for politicizing the armed forces, would probably agree that a plan to call up military support with no clear strategy to call it off would be troublesome. Soldiers trained to kill are not ideal conscripts for civic duties--duties that, by the way, make them more vulnerable to patronage and corruption.

What's more, drafting them for non-military functions could detract from their primary security mission. Some U.S. military analysts say that is already happening in Venezuela where Chavez, a former army colonel, has practically turned the military into an all-purpose institution at the service of his government, while leaving Venezuela's borders susceptible to incursions by Colombian guerrillas and paramilitaries.

In a country with Argentina's history, any proposed change in the role of the military mandates serious public debate, especially at a time when economic woes are likely to make labor unions and private businesses wary of potential jobs and opportunities lost under such an arrangement.

Kirchner has quickly shown that as president, he indeed is commander in chief. But he'll need much more than loyal military leaders to turn his armed forces into an effective, legitimate and progressive tool for his government.

Marcela Sanchez's e-mail address is desdewash(at symbol)washpost.com.

Thu June 5, 2003 11:16 PM ET By Raju Gopalakrishnan

SINGAPORE (<a href=reuters.com>Reuters) - Asian stock markets were mixed on Friday with some investors locking in profits after strong gains this week and others awaiting U.S. payroll data later in the day for more clues on the economic recovery story.

The euro remained firm against the dollar at about $1.1855 after ticking up in the aftermath of Thursday's widely anticipated half-point interest rate cut by the European Central Bank.

Gold prices slipped after surging on Thursday on the strength of the euro, and oil futures nudged higher on more talk of OPEC supply cuts.

After a week of the best gains seen this year, Asian stock markets sobered ahead of the weekend.

Japan's Nikkei average was up a slight 0.19 percent at midday around its best levels since late February. But markets in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan were marginally down or flat. South Korea was closed for a holiday.

"Investors are unwinding long positions ahead of the weekend and given that we've been rising almost unchecked since last week," said Toshihiko Matsuno, senior strategist at SMBC Friend Securities in Tokyo.

"Also, the market is worried about data on the U.S. economy coming out later today. It could be quite grim," he said.

JOBS OUTLOOK CLOUDY

The United States is to announce the May jobs report later on Friday and analysts expect unemployment in the month to have risen to 6.1 percent from April's 6.0 percent.

But sizable statistical revisions and uncertainty about how quickly the recent rebound in confidence will induce firms to begin hiring again have left many in the market not knowing what to expect.

On Thursday, the U.S. government said applicants for initial jobless benefits rose last week to 442,000, the highest level in more than a month.

Economists had forecast 420,000 new jobless claims and the weekly figure raised some anxiety before the monthly report.

To offset the gloom, an upbeat sales forecast by Intel Corp offered cheer to technology companies in Asia. Intel is the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer and its forecasts are widely viewed as an indicator of demand in the PC industry.

In its report issued after Wall Street closed on Thursday, Intel narrowed its revenue forecast but said sales of its microprocessors, chipsets and motherboards, which account for more than 80 percent of total revenue and are included in most personal computers, were "trending to the high end of the normal seasonal patterns."

In the currency markets, the dollar crept lower against the yen, but quickly moved back to about 117.90 by 10:45 p.m. EDT Thursday from 117.30 yen as intervention fears resurfaced.

The Australian dollar broke above 67 U.S. cents for the first time since July 1999 after the Reserve Bank of Australia governor said the local currency's rally had not been excessive.

U.S. Treasuries firmed slightly in Asia after slipping overnight ahead of the jobs report. The benchmark 10-year note was last at 102-18/32 for a yield of 3.32 percent, down from 3.34 percent in late New York trade.

Spot gold was weaker as the euro came off its highs, inching down in Asian trade to about $367.05 per ounce from about $368.75 in late New York.

Front-end NYMEX oil futures were eight cents higher at $30.82 per barrel after gaining 69 cents on Thursday, boosted by news that two key OPEC oil ministers will meet their counterpart from nonaligned Mexico.

The talks between Saudi Arabia's Ali al-Naimi, Venezuela's Rafael Ramirez and Mexico's Ernesto Martens will come ahead of next week's OPEC meeting. The three countries were the architects of drastic oil curbs in 1998 and 1999.

thetowntalk.com Posted on June 6, 2003

Students wanting to learn about a foreign culture this summer can take advantage of a camp approach to education.

The Spanish Summer Camp 2003 will meet in June for those students interested in learning about the Spanish culture and language. The camp will be held at Scott M. Brame Middle School.

"This is a unique program in that we will show the culture through the eyes of those," who are of Spanish descent said Sara O'Neal, a Spanish teacher at Tioga High School.

O'Neal, a native of Lima, Peru, has lived in central Louisiana for more than 20 years. Several Rapides Parish teachers with Spanish ancestry will also teach the camp, O'Neal said.

The two sessions, limited to students between the ages of 6 to 12, will be held June 9-13 and June 6-20.

In the first week, attendants will be introduced to the culture of several Spanish-speaking countries such as Peru, Columbia, Venezuela and Spain.

"We must emphasis Spain, (which) is the mother country," O'Neal said.

The second week, June 16-20, students will concentrate on Spain and study artifacts and the culture.

"This works well with the Heart of Spain on the way," she said.

Attendants have the option to attend half of a day at $150 per week or a full day at $200. Full time registration is due today.

The camp is opened to half-a-day attendants from 8:30 to noon. Full-day attendants will remain at the school until 2 p.m.

There is a $30 non-refundable registration fee.

For more information about the camp, call O'Neal at 449-8700 or visit the camp Web site.

Carita Jordan: 487-6329;

cjordan@thetowntalk.com

Washington, DC, June 6, 2003 (PAHO)—As part of the first Vaccination Week in the Americas, ministers of health and first ladies joined health workers and community leaders at 10 border areas across the region to vaccinate hard-to-reach children. Their efforts demonstrate that cooperation between bordering countries is essential for promoting health equity in the Americas.

The unprecedented effort, launched Sunday and continuing throughout the week, involves 16 countries from South and Central America, plus Mexico, Jamaica and the Bahamas – 19 countries in all. Plans are already under way for an effort to include the whole of the Western Hemisphere in April 2004.

The goal of the Vaccination Week in the Americas is to reach those children who have never been vaccinated or who have not completed their series of vaccines. The campaign seeks to vaccinate some 16 million children against major diseases, plus 2.7 million women of childbearing age against tetanus. In some areas campaign workers are going house to house, and in remote areas they are traveling by boat. Others are working from temporary health posts to reach marginal urban populations.

En Cucuta, on the Colombian-Venezuelan border, Colombia’s minister of social protection, Diego Palacio Betancourt, and the governor of the department of Santander del Norte participated in the June 1 launch of the campaign, along with representatives of Venezuela’s Tachira State health department.

In some parts of Paraguay, vaccination was done door to door.A similar group traveled to the towns of Bolpebra, Iñaparí y Asís on the border of Bolivia, Peru, and Brazil for launching ceremonies that took place in 115-degree heat and marked the first time a minister of state had ever traveled to any of these towns.

On the Ecuador-Peru border, in the towns of Huaquillas y Aguas Verdes, first ladies Ximena Bohórquez y Eliane Karp de Toledo joined their respective ministers of Health to launch the campaign. Similar events were held along the borders of Argentina and Bolivia, Chile and Bolivia, and Argentina and Paraguay, among others.

The historic initiative is aimed at consolidating the interruption of measles transmission in the region (no cases have been reported in the last six months), maintaining polio eradication, and protecting the region’s children from vaccine-preventable diseases. Experts from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) are following the campaign’s progress in the field, and a team from PAHO’s Public Information area is filming and documenting the effort alongside participating health workers.

Vaccination, which is provided free of charge, continues to be a highly cost-effective public health tool for preventing disease. Experts say the eventual goal is to achieve 95 percent vaccination coverage throughout the region.

PAHO was established in 1902 and is the world’s oldest ongoing health organization. PAHO works with all the countries of the Americas to improve health and improve the quality of life of its inhabitants. It serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization.

June 5, 2003, 11:28PM Houston Chronicle-Reuters News Service

NEW YORK -- Oil prices remained above $30 a barrel Thursday as OPEC producers Saudi Arabia and Venezuela prepared to seek assurances from non-member Mexico that it would follow the cartel in any move to tighten supply.

A meeting today in Madrid between Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi and his counterparts, Venezuela's Rafael Ramirez and Mexico's Ernesto Martens, comes just days before next Wednesday's OPEC meeting in Qatar to decide third-quarter cartel production.

The three countries were the architects of drastic oil output curbs in 1998 and 1999 that laid the groundwork for a five-year price boom and are regrouping to prepare the ground for the resumption of Iraq's oil exports.

Iraq earlier on Thursday announced it was tendering to sell 10 million barrels of crude stored at export terminals, its first oil sales since the U.S.-led invasion in mid-March.

Baghdad is aiming for some 1.5 million barrels per day of production by the end of this month, over half of that set for export, although continued looting in the southern region is hampering efforts to restart supplies, an official there said Wednesday.

At the New York Mercantile Exchange, July crude futures rose 69 cents to close at $30.74 a barrel.

July heating oil futures jumped 2.01 cents to 77.23 cents a gallon, while July gasoline futures climbed 2.09 cents to settle at 88.52 cents a gallon.

Natural gas futures finished at their highest closing price in nearly 13 weeks on speculation of warmer U.S. weather in the next two weeks.

Natural gas for July delivery rose 14.6 cents to settle at $6.521 per thousand cubic feet.

In London, July North Sea Brent futures gained 84 cents to $27.65 a barrel.