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Haditha Massacre: Was it an Isolated Event and Did the Military
Try to Cover it Up?
East Timor Declares State Of Emergency As Violence Spreads
Earthquake Death Toll Tops 5,400 in Indonesia; 200,000 Left
Homeless
Haditha Massacre: Was it an Isolated Event and Did
the Military Try to Cover it Up?
An internal military investigation has found that U.S. marines
killed as many as 24 Iraqis - including women and children
- in the city of Haditha last November and then tried to cover
it up. We speak with an attorney and researcher at Human Rights
Watch, an independent journalist who spent months unembedded
in Iraq and we go to Baghdad to speak with the bureau chief
for Knight Ridder. [includes rush transcript]
We take a look at the Haditha massacre and the aftermath,
which has continued to rock the military and political establishments.
Last November, a roadside bomb struck a Humvee carrying US
troops in the western Iraqi town of Haditha. The bomb killed
one marine and injured two others. The next day, the Marines
said in a statement that 15 Iraqi civilians died in the initial
blast. They said that after the explosion, gunmen attacked
the US convoy with small arms fire, prompting the Marines
to return fire, killing eight insurgents. But eyewitnesses
contradicted this account. They said the men, women and children
were killed when marines burst into their houses after the
blast and shot them dead in their nightclothes. Early this
year, a videotape of the aftermath of the incident, showing
the bodies of women and children, was obtained by Time magazine.
The video verified the eyewitness accounts and prompted an
investigation by the military. There are now 2 investigations
- one into the encounter itself and another into whether it
was the subject of a cover-up by the military.
Last week, the Pentagon concluded one of its investigations.
Members of Congress who were briefed said that at least some
members of the Marine unit may be charged with murder, which
carries the death penalty.
Abdul Salam Al-Kubaissi, spokesman of the Muslim Clerics
Association spoke at news conference in Baghdad on Sunday:
- Abdul Salam Al-Kubaissi: "The situation has reached
a level when the U.S. soldier becomes a professional killer,
who kills with premeditation and deliberation. This should
be among war crimes and the ones who should be put on trial
are the U.S. commanders and not the U.S. soldier because
the commanders are the ones who instruct those (soldiers)
and justify their acts as it happened in Abu Ghraib's scandal."
One of the reporters who broke the Haditha story, Aparisim
Ghosh, joined us in our firehouse studio in March. He is the
chief international correspondent for Time Magazine. He spoke
about his article titled "One Morning in Haditha."
- Aparisim Ghosh, excerpt of Democracy Now interview, March
21st, 2006. [full
interview]
On Saturday, the Marines released their first official statement
about the Haditha events. It reads in part, All Marines are
trained in the Law of Armed Conflict and our core values of
honor, courage and commitment. We take allegations of wrong-doing
by Marines very seriously and are committed to thoroughly
investigating such allegations. We also pride ourselves on
holding our Marines to the highest levels of accountability
and standards. The Marines in Iraq are focused on their mission.
They are working hard on doing the right thing in a complex
and dangerous environment. It is important to remember that
the vast majority of Marines today perform magnificently on
and off the battlefield. Tens of thousands have served honorably
and with courage in Iraq and Afghanistan."
We invited a representative from the Military to be on the
program but they declined our request.
- Dahr Jamail, independent journalist who was based for
a time in Baghdad. He was one of the only independent, unembedded
journalists in Iraq at the time. Dahr publishes his reports
on a blog called DahrJamailIraq.com.
A few days after the Haditha story broke, the military launched
another investigation into the killing of Iraqi civilians
by American troops. In March, the Knight Ridder news agency
obtained an Iraqi police report accusing U.S forces of of
murdering 11 civilians by rounding them up them up into one
room of a house near the city of Balad and shooting them.
The US military stated that only four civilians were killed
in the raid and that they came under fire while trying to
capture an al-Qaeda suspect.
The reporter who broke the story for Knight Ridder, Matthew
Schofield, was interviewed by Democracy Now.
- Matthew Schofield, excerpt of Democracy Now interview,
March 23rd, 2006. [full
interview]
East Timor Declares State Of Emergency As Violence
Spreads
As President Xanana Gusmao assumes emergency powers we speak
with Jose Luis Guterres, East Timor’s ambassador to
the United States and United Nations, and Charlie Scheiner,
co-founder of East Timor Action Network, both of whom have
just returned from East Timor. [includes rush
transcript]
We turn now to the situation in East Timor. East Timor’s
President Xanana Gusmao assumed emergency powers earlier today
in order to give him control over the army and police.
Gusmao’s order comes as violence in the country has
reached its highest level since Timor gained its independence
in 2002. At least 30 people are reported to have been killed
and tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced.
Several weeks ago Timorese Prime Minister Mari Alkatari fired
more than 600 striking members of the country’s military.
This exacerbated tensions between the country’s military
and police forces in what is Asia"s newest and poorest
state. As rumors of attacks against police units spread through
Timor’s capital of Dili, police fled, leading to a complete
breakdown in security.
Last week, UN and East Timorese officials called for the
deployment of a multinational peace-keeping force composed
of Australian, Malaysian, and Portugese troops. On Monday,
Timor’s President and Prime Minister met in an attempt
to resolve the crisis. As Timorese President Xanana Gusmao
called for an end to the fighting, protesters gathered outside
the meeting, many of them calling for the resignation of the
Prime Minister. The Timorese cabinet has also asked the defense
minister, Rogerio Lobato, to resign.
- Jose Luis Guterres, East Timorese ambassador to the United
States and United Nations.
Earthquake Death Toll Tops 5,400 in Indonesia; 200,000
Left Homeless
The death toll from a weekend earthquake in Indonesia has
topped 5,400. More than 20,000 people were injured in the
disaster and as many as 200,000 people have been left homeless,
many without shelter or food. We go to Java to speak with
an officer with the United Nations Children's Fund. [includes
rush
transcript]
The death toll from a weekend earthquake in Indonesia has
topped 5,400. More than 20,000 people were injured in the
disaster and as many as 200,000 people have been left homeless,
many without shelter or food.
The 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck at dawn on Saturday near
the ancient city of Yogyakarta in central Java. President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono predicted it would take three months
to provide the displaced and injured with basic shelter and
medical equipment and regular food supplies. He has temporarily
moved his office to Yogyakarta.
Emergency aid has begun to trickle in after heavy rain and
a series of aftershocks initially hampered relief operations.
United Nations officials say more than 22 countries have responded
to Indonesia"s call for help with aid or pledges of assistance.
Among the aid pledged from abroad was $2.5 million dollars
from the United States and $3.8 billion dollars from the European
Union.
- Kendartanti Subroto, officer with the United Nations
Children's Fund. She joins us on the line from Java.
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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