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Il Manifesto Founder on Sgrena Shooting: This Was an Attack
on Unembedded Journalism
Hizbollah Warns Against Withdrawal of Syrian Troops From
Lebanon
Trial of Irish Peace Activists Opposed to U.S. Military Use
of Shannon Airport Begins in Dublin
Remembering Bloody Sunday: Thousands Mark 40th Anniversary
of Selma Voting Rights March
Il Manifesto Founder on Sgrena Shooting: This Was
an Attack on Unembedded Journalism
U.S. soldiers in Iraq shot at the car of Italian journalist
- Giuliana Sgrena - killing the Italian intelligence agent
who helped free her and wounding three others. Sgrena had
just been released after a month in captivity by the Iraqi
resistance. We go to Italy to speak with Luciana Castellina,
a leading public intellectual and one the founders of Giuliana
Sgrena's newspaper - Il Manifesto. [includes rush
transcript]
Last Friday, U.S. soldiers in Iraq shot at the car of Italian
journalist - Giuliana Sgrena - killing an Italian intelligence
agent and wounding three others.
Nicola Calipari was killed as he tried to protect Sgrena
from the bullets. Sgrena was wounded in the shoulder in the
attack.
Giuliana Sgrena was kidnapped in Baghdad and been held captive
since February 4th by a group calling themselves - "Mujahedeen
Without Borders." She had just been released and handed
over to three Italian agents on Friday when the car was shot
at as they drove to the Baghdad airport.
In an interview with Sky Italia, Sgrena described talked
about what happened:
- Giuliana Sgrena, speaking on Sky Italia.
The U.S. military said that the car was speeding as it approached
a checkpoint. In a statement - it claimed that soldiers first
tried to warn the driver to stop by "hand and arm signals,
flashing white lights and firing warning shots in front of
the car."
In interview with Italian channel La 7, Giuliana Sgrena disputed
the military's account stating that there was no bright light,
no signal - and that the car was traveling at regular speed.
She also told SKY TG24 that a ransom was paid for her release
and it was possible that she was deliberately targeted by
US forces. She said: "The fact that the Americans don't
want negotiations to free hostages is known. The fact that
they do everything to prevent the adoption of this practice
to save the lives of people held hostages, everybody knows
that. So I don't see why I should rule out that I could have
been a target."
The pentagon has said only that the incident is under investigation.
- Luciana Castellina, one the founder of Giuliana Sgrena's
newspaper - Il Manifesto. She a well-known public intellectual
in Italy. She has directed political reviews and published
many books and articles on social and economic issues. She
was a member of the Communist party and was elected several
times to the Italian Parliament. She was also member of
the European Parliament, where she presided over the Committee
on Culture, Media and International Economic Relations.
She subsequently served as president of Italia-Cinema until
2001. Luciana Castellina is on the steering committee of
the International Network for Cultural Diversity and is
president of the NoWarTV co-operative.
Hizbollah Warns Against Withdrawal of Syrian Troops
From Lebanon
As the the presidents of Syria and Lebanon meet to approve
a withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon, Hizbollah calls
for mass protests and warns of mayhem if Syrian troops leave.
We speak with Lebanese activist Afami Kaddour about the current
situation in Lebanon. [includes rush
transcript]
The presidents of Syria and Lebanon are meeting today to
give formal approval to a two-phase pullback of Syrian troops
stationed on Lebanese territory.
The pullback was announced on Saturday by Syrian leader Bashar
al-Assad after weeks of international pressure and demonstrations
in Lebanon.
The first phase is expected to begin after the meeting, with
troops moving east into the Bekaa Valley. Up to 5,000 of Syria's
14,000 troops in Lebanon are deployed outside the Bekaa.
The U.S. has demanded that all the troops leave Lebanon by
May, in time for elections. But Lebanon's most powerful and
only armed party - Hizbollah - called for peaceful protests
on Tuesday in support of Syria and warned of mayhem if Syrian
troops were to leave.
Hizbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah told a news conference
Sunday -- "The aim of America and Israel is to spread
chaos in Lebanon and -- to find excuses for foreign intervention."
- Afamia Kaddour, an activist and researcher at the University
of Beirut. She also writes for INDYMEDIA Beirut.
Trial of Irish Peace Activists Opposed to U.S. Military
Use of Shannon Airport Begins in Dublin
The trial of five peace activists began Monday in Dublin,
Ireland. The five were arrested on February 3rd, 2003 on charges
stemming from an action at Shannon Airport - a civilian airport
that has been transformed into a pit stop for the U.S military.
They face up to 10 years in prison. We go to Dublin to speak
with Ciaron O'Reilly, one of the activists on trial and Catholic
Bishop Thomas Gumbleton. [includes rush
transcript]
The trial of five peace activists begins today in Dublin,
Ireland. Ciaron O'Reilly, Deirdre Clancy, Damien Moran, Karen
Fallon and Nuin Dunlop - were arrested on February 3rd of
2003. They were arrested and face charges stemming from an
action at Shannon Airport in Clare County. Shannon airport
is a civilian airport that has been transformed into a pit
stop for the U.S military. An average of 13,000 U.S. troops
stop at Shannon Airport each month. On February 3rd - the
activists - known as the "Pit Stop Ploughshares"
- broke into a hangar at the airport, and damaged a US Navy
war plane that was on its way to Iraq. They built a shrine
with rosary and Islamic beads, a Koran a bible and photographs
of Iraqi children. The activists face maximum sentences of
up to 10 years imprisonment.
- Ciaron O'Reilly, Irish peace activist who was at Shannon
airport when Bush arrived. He is a member of the Dublin
catholic worker community and is awaiting trial for disarming
US warplane in Shannon airport in a separate Plowshares
action.
- Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Catholic Bishop in Detroit and
a longtime peace activist. He joins us on the line from
Dublin.
Remembering Bloody Sunday: Thousands Mark 40th Anniversary
of Selma Voting Rights March
Today is the fortieth anniversary of Bloody Sunday - the
historic voting rights march in Selma, Alabama when used billy
clubs, tears gas and cattle prods to stop some 600 black marchers
from reaching Montgomery in a bid for voting rights. We go
to Selma, Alabama to speak with Joanne Bland, of the National
Voting Rights Museum who attended the march 40 years ago.
[includes rush
transcript]
Today is the fortieth anniversary of Bloody Sunday - the
historic voting rights march in Selma, Alabama.
Thousands walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge this past
Sunday to commemorate the anniversary. Among the marchers
were Coretta Scott King - the wife the Rev. Martin Luther
King. She said, "The freedom we won here in Selma and
on the road to Montgomery was purchased with the precious
blood of many."
On March 7, 1965, Alabama State Troopers and Dallas County
Sheriff's deputies used billy clubs, tears gas and cattle
prods to stop some 600 black marchers from reaching Montgomery
in a bid for voting rights.
A second march two weeks later, under the protection of a
federal court order and led by the Rev. Martin Luther King
Jr., went 50 miles from the bridge over the Alabama River
to the steps of the state Capitol in Montgomery.
Among those attending commemoration ceremonies this weekend
were Georgia Congressman John Lewis, singer Harry Belafonte,
the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Lynda Johnson Robb, whose father,
President Lyndon Johnson, signed the Voting Rights Act into
law in 1965.
Speaking on Sunday Lewis said, "President Johnson signed
that act, but it was written by the people of Selma."
- Joanne Bland, Executive Director of National Voting Rights
Museum. She joins us on the line from Selma, Alabama.
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 Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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