Democracy Now!
Thur., March 13, 2003
ATTN: ALL STATIONS
From: Democracy Now!
Re: Rundown
Date: 3-13-03
PRSS Channel: A67.7
8:00-8:01 Billboard:
Prime Minister Tony Blair says Britain will deploy troops
with or without UN backing: we talk to a Conservative Party
MP who opposes war and former Labour Party Chair Tony Benn
“Uniting For Peace”: can the UN General Assembly
trump the Security Council by invoking a little-known resolution,
and stop the war?
Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic is assassinated: we’ll
go to Belgrade
8:01-8:06 Headlines
8:06-8:07 One Minute Music Break
8:07-8:20 SERBIAN PRIME MINISTER ZORAN DJINDJIC IS ASSASSINATED:
WE’LL GO TO BELGRADE
Serbia is under a state of emergency today following the
assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic.
Djindjic was gunned down yesterday morning by unknown assailants
in a sniper attack in broad daylight outside a Serbian government
building in Belgrade.
Deputy Prime Minister Zarko Korac told Belgrade’s
B90 radio today that despite a number of arrests overnight
the main suspects behind the assassination of the premier
are still on the run. His comments came after the government
accused a Belgrade-based criminal gang for the murder and
named around 20 of its alleged leaders. Korac said one of
the prime suspects is an associate of the state security service.
Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic was the chief organizer of
the October 2000 democratic revolution that toppled Yugoslav
President Slobodan Milosevic. He became Prime Minister when
the coalition swept to victory in parliamentary elections
in January, 2001.
Djindjic eventually handed over Milosevic to the war crimes
tribunal at the Hague in return for $1.2 billion in economic
aid.
He had many enemies because of his pro-Western, market-oriented
reforms. He pursued a reform program the World Bank called
the most ‘rigorous’ pursued anywhere in post-communist
Europe.
Djindjic was often criticized for seeking too much power
and for “mercilessly” fighting his rivals. His
rivals called him “Little Slobo.”
- Stojan Cerovic, columnist for the Serbian magazine Vreme,
which means “Time” in English.
- Vesna Peric Zimonjic, journalist and reporter for the
Independent in London.
8:20-8:21 One Minute Music Break
8:21-8:40 PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR SAYS BRITAIN WILL DEPLOY
TROOPS WITH OR WITHOUT UN BACKING: WE TALK TO A CONSERVATIVE
PARTY MP WHO OPPOSES WAR AND FORMER LABOUR PARTY CHAIR TONY
BENN
British Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday told Parliament
that British forces will join a US invasion of Iraq even if
a majority of the UN security council does not endorse an
attack. The Guardian of London calls it the biggest political
gamble of his life.
Blair is facing massive public opposition to an invasion
on Iraq within his own Labour Party, opposition parties, and
the public.
On Tuesday, US War Secretary Donald Rumsfeld sparked a furor
when he suggested for the first time that Blair might not
be able to support a US invasion due to British public opinion.
Rumsfeld said he would not count out going to war without
Britain. He said Britain’s role in an invasion is QUOTE
“unclear.”
On Sunday, one of Britain’s most powerful cabinet
ministers dealt a powerful blow to Blair. International Development
Secretary Clare Short called Blair’s behavior reckless
and said she will resign if Blair commits British troops without
U.N backing, in violation of international law.
We’ll talk to Tony Benn, a former Labour MP who served
in Parliament for over half a century, in a minute.
But first, we hear from Conservative Party MP Douglas Hogg.
He was also a foreign minister during the 1991 Gulf War with
responsibility for Middle East policy. He supported the Gulf
War but is speaking out against this one.
Earlier today, our senior producer Kris Abrams asked Hogg
his response to Tony Blair’s announcement that he will
commit British troops with or without UN backing.
- Douglas Hogg, Member of Parliament with the Conservative
Party. He is a former Cabinet Minister under John Major,
and a leading lawyer - a Queen's Counsel, or 'QC'. He was
also a foreign minister during the 1991 Gulf War with responsibility
for Middle East policy. He supported that war but is speaking
out against this one.
- Tony Benn, longest serving Member of Parliament (51 years),
former secretary of state and former chairman of the Labour
Party
Contact: www.tonybenn.com
- Tony Benn interviews Saddam Hussein, February 2003
8:40-8:41 One-Minute Music Break
8:41-8:58 “UNITING FOR PEACE”: CAN THE UN GENERAL
ASSEMBLY TRUMP THE SECURITY COUNCIL BY INVOKING A LITTLE-KNOWN
RESOLUTION, AND STOP THE WAR?
A coalition of lawyers and activists are spearheading an
effort to stop the war by invoking a little-known United Nations
resolution called “United for Peace.”
Under the procedure, the UN General Assembly can demand
an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal.
The Security Council adopted Resolution 377 so the UN can
act even if the Security Council is stalemated.
Resolution 377 states that if there is a QUOTE "threat
to peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression"
and the permanent members of the Security Council can’t
agree on action, the General Assembly can convene and recommend
measures to "maintain or restore international peace
and security."
The "Uniting for Peace" mechanism has been used
ten times. It was most recently invoked by the US.
When Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956, Britain,
France, and Israel invaded Egypt and began advancing on the
Suez Canal. U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower demanded that
the invasion stop. Resolutions in the UN Security Council
called for a cease-fire—but Britain and France vetoed
them. Then the US appealed to the General Assembly and proposed
a resolution calling for a cease-fire and a withdrawal of
forces. The General Assembly held an emergency session and
passed the resolution. Britain and France withdrew from Egypt
within a week.
We’re joined right now by two people who have been
meeting with United Nations delegations about this little-known
resolution.
- Michael Ratner, President, Center for Constitutional Rights
Contact: www.ccr-ny.org
- Stephen Sawyer, Political Adviser for Greenpeace International.
Sawyer has spent the last 25 years working on issues from
climate change to peace and disarmament issues. Yesterday,
he spent the day meeting with governments at the UN to talk
about the Uniting for Peace resolution.
Contact: www.greenpeace.org
8:58-8:59 Outro and Credits
9:00-9:01 Billboard:
Delma Banks lives: U.S. Supreme Court grants emergency stay
15 minutes before Texan man was scheduled to be executed
Elizabeth Smart is found while Alexis Patterson is largely
forgotten: We look at the cases of two girls who were abducted
last year and why one made headlines and the other didn’t
New York says no to war: the City Council joins 140 other
cities and towns opposing a U.S. invasion of Iraq.
And then we will talk to the man Pentagon advisor Richard
Perle says is the closest thing American journalism has to
a terrorist, investigative reporter Sy Hersh.
9:01-9:06 Headlines
9:06-9:07 One Minute Music Break
9:07-20 Delma Banks lives: U.S. Supreme Court grants emergency
stay 15 minutes before Texan man was scheduled to be executed
The U.S. Supreme Court last night granted stay of execution
to death-row inmate Delma Banks 15 minutes before Texan officials
were set to kill him by lethal injection.
The justices said that he should be kept alive in order
for them to consider his request for a full hearing. Banks
has long claimed that his 1980 trial was marred by prosecutorial
misconduct, ineffective defense counsel and racially discriminatory
jury selection.
Banks, an African American, was convicted of killing a white
teenager by an all-white jury.
Former FBI director William Sessions among others have rallied
behind Banks’ case.
- Ellean Banks, mother of Delma Banks
- Delma Bank, death row inmate in Texas whose execution
was stayed by the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday.
- George Kendall, attorney for Delma Banks
9:20-9:21 One-minute music break
9:21-9:35 Elizabeth Smart is found while Alexis Patterson
is largely forgotten: We look at the cases of two girls who
were abducted last year and why one made headlines and the
other didn’t
Yesterday in Salt Lake City, 15-year-old Elizabeth Smart
was reunited with her family, nine months after she was abducted
from her bedroom in the middle of the night.
Police officials said Elizabeth was discovered after they
were led by several tips to a man they identified as Brian
David Mitchell. The man had been a suspect for months. He
once worked in the Smart home as a handyman.
Mitchell and his wife were taken into custody on suspicion
of aggravated kidnapping.
Elizabeth was taken on June 5 of last year. A month earlier
another girl disappeared. Her name was Alexis Patterson. She
was seven years old and lived in Milwaukee. She was black
and she She was last seen in the playground of her elementary
school.
Alexis Patterson’s case has never been solved. Her
name is seldom discussed anymore. She has been missing for
almost 10 months.
Last year journalist Annysa Johnson wrote a story comparing
the two cases. It began:
Two girls are missing.
Missing Children
The national media flocked to Salt Lake City to tell the nation
about Elizabeth Smart. Why haven't the reporters descended
on Milwaukee to tell the nation about Alexis Patterson?
Two cases, two cities, two different stories.
In Milwaukee, a 7-year-old girl disappears on May 3 after
setting off for Hi-Mount Community School on W. Garfield Ave.
in the central city. In Salt Lake City, a 14-year-old is apparently
kidnapped at gunpoint from her family's million-dollar home
on June 5.
Patterson is featured in short snippets on the TV show"America's
Most Wanted," CNN and Fox News. Otherwise the story receives
scant national attention. No stories in The New York Times
or Washington Post.
The Times and Post both send reporters to Salt Lake City
to write about Elizabeth Smart. There are stories about her
in The Boston Globe, Miami Herald and newspapers as far away
as Sydney, Australia. MSNBC provides hourly updates, and the
case is featured on CNN's "Larry King Live" and
the CNBC/MSNBC show,"Hardball with Chris Matthews."
A Nexis search of major newspapers and magazines shows 67
stories about Patterson, almost all of them by The Associated
Press and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. In the last week,
there have been more than 400 stories about Smart.
There is another difference between the two cases that cannot
be ignored. Smart is white; Patterson black.
Tape: Ed Smart, father of Elizabeth Smart, recorded yesterday.
- Beverly Williams, member of the Milwaukee NAACP who attempted
to get the national media to take up the case of Alexis
Patterson
- Annysa Johnson, staff reporter with the Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel. Last June she wrote a piece titled,“2 Missing
Girls’ Cases Show Media Disparity: Alexis Gets Little
Notice; Utah Gets Widely Covered.”
- John Robins Wells, private investigator and president
of Operation L.A.P., which formed after the disappearance
of Alexis Patterson
Link: www.operation-lap.org
9:35-9:40 New York says no to war: the City Council joins
141 other cities and towns opposing a U.S. invasion of Iraq.
New York City yesterday became the 141st city and town in
the country to pass a resolution condemning a war in Iraq.
The nation’s three largest cities, New York, Los Angeles
and Chicago, have now all passed anti-war resolutions.
The 31-17 vote came after months of debate over whether
New York should stake out a position.
"We of all cities must uphold the preciousness and sanctity
of human life," said Councilman Alan Gerson, a Democrat
who voted for the resolution and whose district includes the
World Trade Center site, where over 3,000 people were killed
in the attacks.
Last month, 100,000 to 350,000 people took part in an anti-war
protest near the United Nations.
And recent polls show that 75 percent of New Yorkers oppose
a war without the support of the United Nations.
Since last September, anti-war resolutions have been approved
in many other big cities such as Cleveland, Ohio; Portland,
Maine; Denver, Colorado; Oakland, California; Santa Fe, New
Mexico; St. Paul, Minnesota; Philadelphia and Pittsburg in
Pennsylvania.
* Bill Perkins, member of New York City Council
Link: www.citiesforpeace.org
9:40-9:41 One-minute music break
9:41-9:58: A conversation with the man Pentagon advisor
Richard Pearle calls,“The closest thing American journalism
has to a terrorist”: Reporter Seymour Hersh on how Perle
would profit from war
On Sunday Pentagon advisor Richard Perle called him the
“closest thing American journalism has to a terrorist.”
Earlier this week Perle threatened to sue him in Britain
for libel.
And on Tuesday he was awarded with Harvard University’s
prestigious Goldsmith's Career Award for Excellence in Journalism.
The man is Sy Hersh, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and
investigative reporter in the New Yorker which published his
latest piece, “Lunch with the Chairman: Why was Richard
Perle meeting with Adnan Khashoggi.”
Perle is the chairman of the Defense Policy Board, a Pentagon
advisory board. He has been one of the leading advocates for
war in Iraq. Perle is also the managing partner in a venture-capital
company called Trireme Partners. The firm invests in companies
dealing in technology, goods, and services that are of value
to homeland security and defense.
And now Perle is threatening to sue because Hersh implied
that he may be using his position as a Pentagon adviser to
benefit financially from a war in Iraq.
We contacted Richard Perle last night at his home in Maryland.
He declined to join us this morning. But he did confirm that
he was in discussions with his attorneys about filing a libel
suit in Britain against Seymour Hersh. Perle claimed that
Hersh’s article contained many lies but he refused to
comment on what was libelous in the article.
Hersh said he believes Perle was particularly upset with
a quote that appeared from Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who has
served as the Saudi Ambassador to the United States for twenty
years.
“There is a split personality to Perle,” Bandar
said.“Here he is, on the one hand, trying to make a
hundred-million-dollar deal, and, on the other hand, there
were elements of the appearance of blackmail—‘If
we get in business, he’ll back off on Saudi Arabia’—as
I have been informed by participants in the meeting.”
And on Tuesday, Hersh told an audience at Harvard, “I
have never seen my peers as frightened as they are now…
There is no real standard of integrity because the White House
doesn’t have any.”
- Seymour Hersh, Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter
for the New Yorker. His latest piece is“Lunch with
the Chairman: Why was Richard Perle meeting with Adnan Khashoggi.”
9:58-9:59 Outro and Credits
For a copy of today's program, call 1 (800) 881 2359. Our
website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Kris Abrams, Mike Burke, Angie
Karran, Ana Nogueira and Elizabeth Press. Mike Di Filippo
is our engineer and webmaster.
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