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Russian TV broadcasts shocking footage of orphanage
November 16, 1997
See video from the orphanage and hear reaction to its broadcast.
Warning: video shows disturbing images
1 min. VXtreme video
Web posted at: 3:03 p.m. EST (2003 GMT)MOSCOW (CNN) -- On the day that U.S. first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan as part of her tour to promote human rights, Russian television showed shocking film footage of an orphanage just outside the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek.
The footage showed children -- reportedly suffering from psychological problems and obviously malnourished and neglected -- living in deplorable conditions.
Reaction to the television broadcast was swift and Naina Yeltsin, the wife of Russian President Boris Yeltsin, immediately appealed to the Russian Red Cross to help the children in the Belovodsk children's home.
The television footage was a major embarrassment to Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev, who said the report "undermines democratic reforms and Kyrgyzstan's authority on the international scene."
The deputy prime minister in charge of social issues was quoted as saying that psychologically ill children throughout the world behave in the same way.
The Russian television report directly linked the suffering to Clinton's visit and asked the question: "Will any of the $2 million Mrs. Clinton brought in humanitarian aid go to these children?"
Correspondent Betsy Aaron contributed to this report.
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