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British Journalists Face Pressure from Police After Revelations
on Menezes Shooting
Legendary Actor Vanessa Redgrave Calls Cancellation of Rachel
Corrie Play an “Act of Catastrophic Cowardice”
Women's Voices From Africa: A Conversation with Margaret
Busby
British Journalists Face Pressure from Police After
Revelations on Menezes Shooting
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is visiting
Prime Minister Tony Blair on Thursday. The two leaders are
expected to discuss the shooting of Brazilian native Jean
Charles de Menezes in London last summer. Menezes was shot
dead by British police in a London subway station one day
after an attempted bomb attack on the British subway system
in July. We speak with Deborah Turness, editor of British
channel ITV News, about the circumstances surrounding the
shooting and the investigations. [includes rush
transcript]
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is in London
this week for a three-day state visit. Last night he attended
a royal banquet at Buckingham Palace and is scheduled to meet
British Prime Minister Tony Blair for talks at Downing Street
on Thursday. The two leaders are expected to discuss the shooting
of Brazilian native Jean Charles de Menezes in London last
summer. Menezes was shot dead by British police in a London
subway station one day after an attempted bomb attack on the
British subway system in July. At first, British police said
they believed Menezes was a suicide bomber. They claimed he
had run from police and was wearing a bulky jacket. But since
then it has been revealed that he was innocent and that police
lied about the circumstances of his death.
Menezes family have repeatedly demanded the resignation of
the Metropolitan Police commissioner, Sir Ian Blair. They
have requested a meeting with President Lula who has yet to
decide whether to see them during his London visit. Lula’s
visit comes as the Crown Prosecution Service considers whether
to charge police over the shooting.
Earlier today the Association of Chief Police Officers in
England, Wales and Northern Ireland publicly defended their
policy on using lethal force against suspected suicide bombers,
despite the killing of Menezes.
- Deborah Turness, editor of British channel ITV News,
that exposed the first internal police report in the Menezes
case. Democracy Now! caught up with her at a media conference
in Doha, Qatar.
Legendary Actor Vanessa Redgrave Calls Cancellation
of Rachel Corrie Play an “Act of Catastrophic Cowardice”
A New York theater company is coming under criticism for
backing out of an agreement to stage a play based on the life
of U.S. peace activist Rachel Corrie. The play’s producers
are calling the decision censorship. Corrie was killed in
Gaza nearly three years ago when she stood in front of an
Israeli bulldozer set to demolish a Palestinian home. We speak
with actor and activist Vanessa Redgrave. [includes rush
transcript]
Rachel Corrie was 23 years old when she was crushed by the
bulldozer. The play, entitled “My Name is Rachel Corrie”,
is based on her writings before her death. James Nicola, artistic
director of the New York Theater Workshop, said "In our
pre-production planning and our talking around and listening
in our communities in New York, what we heard was that after
Ariel Sharon’s illness and the election of Hamas, we
had a very edgy situation. We found that our plan to present
a work of art would be seen as us taking a stand in a political
conflict, that we didn’t want to take."
Last night we spoke with Oscar award-winning actress and
activist, Vanessa Redgrave.
Vanessa is one of the most famous of the legendary Redgrave
acting dynasty. She started her acting career opposite her
father, Sir Michael Redgrave. Her children are Natasha Richardson
and Jolie Richardson. Her son-in-law is Liam Neeson and heer
brother is the equally outspoken Corin Redgrave. Her sister
is actor Lynne Redgrave.
During her acting career that spanned some 47 years she has
served as UN goodwill ambassador and was a founding member
of International Artists Against Racism.
In 1977, Redgrave funded and narrated a documentary film
on the plight of the Palestinian people. That same year she
starred in the film Julia, about a woman murdered by the Nazi
regime in the years prior to World War II for her anti-Fascist
activism. She won an Oscar for her performance. At the awards
ceremony she spoke out on behalf of Palestinians, an Oscar
acceptance speech that is referred to even to this day.
- Vanessa Redgrave, actor and activist.
Women's Voices From Africa: A Conversation with Margaret
Busby
Today is International Women’s Day. Millions are marking
the day around the world celebrating advances made by women
over the past year, but also calling for greater equality
and an end to war. We speak with Margaret Busby, editor of
“Daughters of Africa,” about women’s voices
that oftentimes go unheard. [includes rush
transcript]
In Chile, the country is days away from the inauguration
of Michele Bachelet, the country’s first female president.
In Africa, 2005 saw the election of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
as president of Liberia – becoming the first elected
female head of state on the continent. In Kuwait, women finally
gained greater political rights including the right to vote
and run for parliament. But the past year has also seen a
series of setbacks for women. In the United States, the governor
of South Dakota has just signed legislation to ban all abortions
in the state, unless they’re performed to save the life
of the woman. And the Supreme Court has shifted to the right
with the confirmation of John Roberts and Samuel Alito both
of whom oppose a woman’s right to choose. In Afghanistan,
women are still suffering widespread abuse including rape,
murder and forced marriage. A new report by the Afghanistan
Independent Human Rights Commission found 38% of women interviewed
have been forced to marry against their will. The country’s
devastated health care system has also resulted in Afghanistan
having one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the
world with one in ten women likely to die giving birth. In
Iraq, the country’s complete security breakdown has
forced many women to stay in their homes for their own safety.
Even female journalists have been targeted in Iraq. Reporters
Without Borders is calling today for the immediate release
of the American Jill Carroll and Iraqi Rim Zeid. Carroll was
abducted on January 7. Zeid was seized three weeks later.
Iraq is also the focus of the “Women Say No To War”
demonstration scheduled for today in Washington D.C. Similar
protests are planned across the United States and globe. The
protest organizer, Code Pink, has said they want revive the
tradition of using March 8th as a day to gather women together
to call for peace, justice and equal rights for all.
While International Women’s Day is a major event in
many parts of the world, it remains barely known in United
States even though the roots of the day date back over a century.
On March 8, 1857, women from clothing and textile factories
in New York staged a protest against the conditions inside
garment factories. On March 8. 1908, fifteen thousand women
marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better
pay and voting rights. In 1910, an international women’s
conference in Copenhagen established the first international
women’s day. Three years later, women across Europe
marked the day with peace rallies on the eve of World War
I. In 1975, the United Nations began sponsoring International
Women’s Day
- Margaret Busby, editor of Daughters of Africa: An international
anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent.
Published in 1994, it is a collection of women’s voices
spanning from ancient Egypt to the present and has been
called " a tribute to all black women." Born in
Ghana, Margaret Busby is a writer, journalist, editor, critic
and broadcaster. She became Britain’s youngest and
first Black woman book publisher when she co-founded the
publishing house Allison & Busby.
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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