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Mass Indigenous-led Rebellion Forces Bolivian President to
Resign
Supreme Court Rules Against Medical Marijuana Use
Another U.S. War Resister Flees to Canada To Avoid Fighting
in Iraq Via The New 'Underground Railroad'
Mass Indigenous-led Rebellion Forces Bolivian President
to Resign
For weeks, tens of thousands of indigenous Bolivians have
led an uprising against the government, demanding the nationalization
of the country's energy resources and an overhaul of the constitution.
Last night, President Carlos Mesa went on national television
and announced he was stepping down. We go to Cochabamba, Bolivia
to speak with Jim Shultz of The Democracy Center. [includes
rush
transcript]
The indigenous-led rebellion in Latin America"s poorest
country, Bolivia, has taken a dramatic turn. After weeks of
massive protest that have crippled large sections of the country,
President Carlos Mesa appeared on national television and
told the country he was stepping down. As he spoke, tens of
thousands of protesters remained in the streets of the capital
la Paz.
- Bolivian President Carlos Mesa
Bolivian President Carlos Mesa, speaking last night on national
television. This is not the first time that Mesa has offered
to resign. In early May, as the protests against his government
intensified, Mesa submitted his resignation to the Congress
but it was refused in what many saw as a public show. This
time, analysts say, that is not the case.
Earlier in the day, Mesa had to be evacuated from the presidential
compound after the crowds in the streets swelled so large
that there was a real threat the demonstrators could storm
the building. A few hours later, Mesa returned to the building
under heavy military escort and prepared to deliver his address
to the country.
While much of the news reporting on Bolivia has interpreted
the massive demonstrations as protests calling for the nationalization
of the country's natural gas resources, that is just one part
of the much bigger picture. The country is more than 2/3 indigenous.
These communities are calling for what they call a "nationalization
of the government," a total overhaul of Bolivia's system
and true representation of the communities that constitute
a majority of the country.
Late last night, one of the best-known Bolivian opposition
figures, the socialist Congressmember Evo Morales held a news
conference.
- Congressmember Evo Morales
Among the demands Morales laid out were for Carlos Mesa's
presidency to be immediately ended. He also called on the
leaders of the Bolivian Senate and House to waive their rights
to succeed Mesa. Morales, instead, called on the President
of Bolivia"s Supreme Court to organize elections. Morales
said it was the only way out of the crisis.
We go now to Cochabamba, where we are joined on the line
by longtime Bolivia activist Jim Shultz. He runs an organization
called the Democracy Center and writes a blog that can be
found at DemocracyCtr.org. He is also author of a new book
called "Deadly Consequences: The International Monetary
Fund and Bolivia"s Black February."
- *Jim Shultz, Executive Director of the Democracy Center
in Cochabama, Bolivia. He writes a blog on the situation
in Bolivia that can be found at DemocracyCtr.org.
Supreme Court Rules Against Medical Marijuana Use
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that the federal government
can prosecute the sick for the medical use of marijuana, even
in states where it is legal. In a 6-3 ruling, the court agreed
with the Bush administration that the regulation of controlled
substances, including marijuana, is the province of Congress
without exception. [includes rush
transcript]
Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for the majority "If
there is any conflict between federal and state law, federal
law shall prevail."
The ruling does not strike down laws in 11 states that allow
medicinal use of marijuana. The court was not asked to declare
such statutes illegal. But the decision does mean that those
laws will not protect anyone using medical marijuana from
federal prosecution should a U.S. attorney or the Justice
Department decide to bring charges.
The latest ruling stems from a lawsuit brought in 2002 by
two women -- Diana Monson and Angel Raich -- who have used
marijuana to gain relief from excruciating pain under recommendation
from their doctors. After DEA agents raided Monson"s
home, they sued the government to stop further raids.
Monday's Supreme Court ruling reverses a decision of a San
Francisco appeals court. Raich spoke to reporters shortly
after the decision was announced.
Shortly after the Supreme Court ruling yesterday, we spoke
with medical marijuana rights activist, Ed Rosenthal. He is
a leading authority on cannabis and has served as an expert
witness on marijuana cultivation in federal and state trials.
He was arrested by federal agents in 2002 has since been convicted
on three marijuana cultivation felonies. I began by asking
him about his arrest.
Another U.S. War Resister Flees to Canada To Avoid
Fighting in Iraq Via The New 'Underground Railroad'
Earlier this week Ryan Johnson and his wife crossed into
Canada to escape serving in the military. Over the past month
they have traveled across the United States and then into
Canada with help from a new underground railroad that has
formed to help war resisters. During a stop in New York, Johnson
joined us in our studio to explain why he is heading to Canada.
[includes rush
transcript]
Last month, 80 US soldiers were killed in Iraq, making it
the deadliest month for the US military since January. The
number of American soldiers killed since the launch of the
invasion has topped sixteen hundred.
As the brutal US occupation of Iraq continues, an increasing
number of American soldiers are saying no to war. Military
recruitment goals have been down for months, and the Army
in particular is facing it’s biggest challenge to date
in signing new recruits.
A growing number of US soldiers are crossing the border into
Canada to seek asylum. Some say this is the first echo of
the tens of thousands of war resisters who went north more
than 30 years ago to escape the Vietnam War.
Today, in a Democracy Now exclusive, we speak with US war
resister Ryan Johnson. He recently came to our studios with
his wife Jennifer just before heading to the Canadian border.
I began by asking him the reasons for his decision.
- Ryan and Jennifer Johnson, speaking recently in our Democracy
Now! studios in New York
We go now to Toronto to speak Ryan Johnson. We are also joined
on the line by Rob Shearer of the Toronto Catholic Worker.
He is part of a network that is helping Ryan and soldiers
like him to seek asylum in canada.
- Ryan Johnson, speaking from Toronto
- Rob Shearer, member of the Toronto Catholic Worker which
is part of a network that is helping Ryan and soldiers like
him to seek asylum in canada.
Related Links:
- Photojournalist Andrew Stern and Rick Rowley of Big Noise
films are both working on documentary projects about Ryan
and the new underground railroad that is helping war resisters
to leave the military. They can be reached on their websites,
AndrewStern.net
and bignoisefilms.com
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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