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Thousands of Protesters, Journalists, Lawyers Arrested in
Nepal as Mass Pro-Democracy Demonstrations Continue Against
King
Part II: The End of the Internet? Net Neutrality Threatened
by Cable, Telecom Interests
Iraqi CBS Cameraman Released After 1 Year Imprisonment by
U.S. Forces
Thousands of Protesters, Journalists, Lawyers Arrested
in Nepal as Mass Pro-Democracy Demonstrations Continue Against
King
For the past week, tens of thousands of protesters have
filled the streets of Nepal. King Gyanendra has placed severe
restrictions on civil liberties since consolidating power
in February of 2005. We go to Kathmandu to speak with a Nepali
journalist who was beaten by police and we speak with two
activists who have been following the latest developments.
[includes rush
transcript]
For the past week, tens of thousands of protesters have
filled the streets of the Nepal's capital Kathmandu. Nepalese
Maoist rebels have united with the seven major parliamentary
opposition parties to call for the ouster of King Gyanendra
and the restoration of democracy.
Gyanendra has placed severe restrictions on civil liberties
since consolidating power in February of 2005. This week's
protests were held despite a government-imposed day-time curfew
and shoot-on-sight orders.
On Thursday, senior UN human rights commissioner Louise Arbour,
said she was "shocked by the excessive use of force by
security forces in Nepal, as well as the extensive use of
arbitrary detention."
On Wednesday, phone service was cut off throughout the country.
Vast repression and abuse have been reported, and thousands
of Nepalese have fled in fear of further instability.
On Thursday, police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at
70 lawyers who rallied outside the Supreme Court building.
UNICEF has cited concerns that children are being injured
during protests, many of them at the hands of police. Overall,
thousands of demonstrators, have been arrested, including
more than two dozen reporters who were detained Wednesday.
Many of the journalists arrested have reported severe beatings
by military and police.
On Thursday, we reached one of these journalists. Akhliesh
Tripathi is the editor of E-Kantipur, an online news service
in Nepal. Tripathi began by describing what happened to him
a few days ago.
- Akhliesh Tripathi, editor of E-Kantipur
, an online news service in Nepal.
For more on the latest in Nepal we are joined by two guests:
- Ashok Gurung, originally from Nepal, Ashok has returned
to the country frequently as an NGO consultant. He is currently
the Director of the India
China Institute at New School University in New York
and specializes in international development management.
- Mary Des Chenes, an anthropologist and human rights activist
who has worked in Nepal over the past 20 years. She is editor
of the Kathmandu-based journal "Studies in Nepali History
and Society."
Part II: The End of the Internet? Net Neutrality
Threatened by Cable, Telecom Interests
Both Congress and the FCC are currently considering a number
of proposals that will have far-reaching implications on the
way the Internet works and the vital concept of net neutrality
- universal and non-discriminatory to the Internet - is at
risk. We speak with Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital
Democracy.
We continue with Part II of our look at the future of the
Internet. Both Congress and the FCC are currently considering
a number of proposals that will have far-reaching implications
on the way the Internet works.
The vital issue at stake is something called "net neutrality"
- it is the concept that that everyone, everywhere, should
have free, universal and non-discriminatory access to all
the Internet has to offer.
But last week the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications
rejected an amendment to a telecommunications overhaul bill
that would have strengthened provisions for net neutrality.
The amendment was defeated by a vote of 28 to 8. The six Democrats
who voted against it were Eliot Engel, Bart Stupak, Ed Towns,
Al Wynn, Charlie Gonzales and Bobby Rush.
The principle of net neutrality has come under attack from
cable and telephone companies which provide over 90 percent
of all high-speed Internet service in the United States.
Phone and cable lobbyists are calling on the federal government
to permit them to operate Internet and other digital communications
services as private networks, free of policy safeguards or
governmental oversight. They have poured millions of dollars
into ad campaigns to promote their cause. Here's one example:
- Advertisement by the United States Telecom Association.
With these so-called "updated" laws, broadband
providers are looking to use new networking technologies to
charge fees for almost every online transaction. Some companies
have already announced plans to to impose fees on a sliding
scale,
For example, America Online is adopting a new system called
"CertifiedEmail," where giant emailers could pay
AOL a fee for preferential service, effectively creating a
two-tiered Internet . This so-called "email-tax"
would guarantee that messages from affluent customers would
bypass spam filters and go directly to AOL members" inboxes.
Those who did not pay the fee could increasingly be left behind
with unreliable service.
The effects of preferential control over the Internet may
already be coming to bear. According to the Electronic
Frontier Foundation, America Online has blocked
delivery to its customers of all emails that include a
link to a website called DearAOL.com,
which is critical of its CertifiedEmail system.
Iraqi CBS Cameraman Released After 1 Year Imprisonment
by U.S. Forces
We look at the case of Iraqi CBS cameraman Abdul Ameer Younis
Hussein. He was shot by U.S. forces while working in Mosul
then detained for a year in Abu Ghraib without due process.
We speak with Scott Horton, a New York attorney who flew to
Baghdad to help defend Abdul Ameer. [includes rush
transcript]
We turn now to Iraq. Violence and kidnappings continue to
wrack the country and the dangers posed towards reporters
covering the war are greater than ever. When Western journalists
like Jill Carroll are taken hostage by Iraqi insurgents they
appropriately receive international media attention, condemnation
from across the globe and worldwide calls for their release.
But when Iraqi journalists are detained by US forces the
story is a very different one.
Just consider the case of CBS cameraman Abdul Ameer Younis
Hussein. In April 2005, he was shot in the hip by an American
sniper while filming the wreckage of a car bomb in Mosul.
US troops then detained him, claiming he had tested positive
for explosive residue and that images in his camera linked
him to the insurgents.
He was imprisoned in Abu Ghraib for more than a year without
due process.
Abdul Ameer was released just last week after an Iraqi criminal
court acquitted him of collaborating with insurgents, citing
a lack of evidence. No charges were made public until the
trial itself.
The case is not an isolated one. The Committee to Protect
Journalists documented seven cases in 2005 alone in which
U.S. forces detained Iraqi journalists for many weeks or months
without charge or due process.
- Scott Horton, a New York attorney who recently returned
from Baghdad where he was working on Abdul Ameer's case.
Horton is Chairman of the International Law Committee at
the New York Bar Association.
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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