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Denver Man Sues Secret Service for Arrest After He Criticized
Cheney on Iraq War
Bolivia Delegation Urges U.S. to Notify Ex-President Sanchez
de Lozada of Obligation to Return to Trial for 2003 Massacre
Bolivian Activist Oscar Olivera on Bechtel's Privatization
of Rainwater and Why Evo Morales Should Remember the Ongoing
Struggle Over Water
Afghanistan Inc.: New Report Says "Contractors Making
Big Money for Bad Work"
Denver Man Sues Secret Service for Arrest After He
Criticized Cheney on Iraq War
Steven Howards was arrested in a Denver mall after he approached
Vice President Dick Cheney and denounced the war in Iraq.
Secret Service agents accused him of assault and harassment.
He's suing them now for violating his civil rights. Howards
joins us to speak about his ordeal. [includes rush
transcript]
Yesterday, a federal lawsuit was filed against the U.S government
alleging civil rights violations. The lawsuit was filed by
Steven Howards - an environmental consultant in Colorado -
who was arrested in June after he approached Vice President
Dick Cheney and denounced the war in Iraq. The lawsuit is
the third one that's been filed charging that Secret Service
agents or White House staff members violated the law when
they attempted to keep people with opposing views away from
President Bush or Cheney. In another suit pending in Colorado,
two people say they were kicked out of a public event where
Bush was speaking because of an anti-war bumper sticker. And
in West Virginia the ACLU has filed a lawsuit on behalf of
two people who were arrested at an appearance by Bush because
they were wearing anti-Bush t-shirts.
- Steven Howards, was arrested in June on harassment charges
after he approached Dick Cheney to denounce the Iraq War.
He has filed a federal alleging civil rights violations.
Bolivia Delegation Urges U.S. to Notify Ex-President
Sanchez de Lozada of Obligation to Return to Trial for 2003
Massacre
A Bolivian delegation is in the United States this week
to urge the U.S. government to notify Bolivia's ex-President
Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada and two of his ministers of their
obligation to return to Bolivia for trial in the deaths of
67 people and more than 400 wounded during October 2003. We
speak with Rogelio Mayta, an attorney representing the families
of those killed in the 2003 massacre. [includes rush
transcript]
A Bolivian human rights delegation is visiting the United
States this week to urge the US government to notify Bolivia's
ex-president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada and two of his former
ministers to return to Bolivia immediately to stand trial
in connection with the massacre of scores of protesters three
years ago.
Sanchez de Lozada, Carlos Sanchez Berzain and Jorge Berindoague
have all resided in the US since fleeing Bolivia in 2003 following
a citizen's uprising that removed them from power. The conflict
arose following a decision by the Sanchez de Lozada government
to export Bolivia's natural gas through a port in Chile. When
hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in protest,
government forces responded with soldiers and tanks, killing
67 of the protesters and wounding more than 400.
Rogelio Mayta is an attorney representing the families killed
in the October 2003 massacre. He is in the US this week to
urge government officials to notify the three men of their
obligation to return to Bolivia for trial. The trial cannot
proceed without formal notification. Rogelio Mayta joins us
today in our firehouse studio.
- Rogelio Mayta, an attorney and the Legal Coordinator
of the Committee for a Trial of Responsibilities, which
is pushing for the trial of former Bolivian president Gonzalo
Sanchez de Lozada and his ministers in connection with the
massacre of 67 protesters during the 2003 citizen's uprising
which removed him from power.
Bolivian Activist Oscar Olivera on Bechtel's Privatization
of Rainwater and Why Evo Morales Should Remember the Ongoing
Struggle Over Water
Leading Bolivian activist, Oscar Olivera joins us in our
firehouse studio to talk about the ongoing struggle over water
in Cochabama and the successful fight against the privatization
of water by Bechtel six years ago. Olivera says, "If
that uprising in 2000 had not ended in a popular victory,
Evo Morales today would not be the president." [includes
rush
transcript]
We speak with Oscar Olivera, the executive secretary of
the Bolivian Federation of Factory Workers and spokesperson
for the Committee in the Defense of Water and Life in Cochabamba.
Oscar emerged in 2000 as the leader of the nationwide protest
movement against water privatization in Bolivia. He is in
New York City for a conference at the Cornell Global Labor
Institute where he is meeting with trade union leaders and
labor-based researchers from several countries.
- Oscar Olivera, executive secretary of the Bolivian Federation
of Factory Workers.
Afghanistan Inc.: New Report Says "Contractors
Making Big Money for Bad Work"
As Afghanistan enters its fifth year under foreign occupation,
we take a look at the state of the US-led reconstruction of
the country. We speak with Afghan-American journalist Fariba
Nawa, author of a new report from Corpwatch, "Afghanistan
Inc." [includes rush
transcript]
In Afghanistan, NATO has now taken command of most foreign
troops across the country. The handover of power comes just
days before the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion
of Afghanistan of 2001. The U.S. continues to have more troops
than any other country in Afghanistan. The U.S. will also
retain full control of Bagram Air Force base where the Bush
administration is holding hundreds of prisoners.
- Daan Everts, NATO's senior civilian representative in
Afghanistan.
Earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist admitted
that the war against the Taliban might never be won. He said
there are now too many Taliban fighters and that they have
too much popular support. Frist said backers of the Taliban
should be brought into the Afghan government.
In recent months the Taliban has seized control of entire
regions of the country. The security situation has worsened
as suicide bombings are up 600 percent this year. Opium and
poppy cultivation are at record highs.
Our next guest has closely monitored the U.S. reconstruction
efforts in Afghanistan. She is author of a study published
by Corpwatch called
Afghanistan,
Inc. that examines the reconstruction efforts of companies
like Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root, DynCorp,
Blackwater, The Louis Berger Group and The Rendon Group. Her
name is Fariba Nawa. She is an Afghan-American journalist
who has lived in Afghanistan for most of the past three years.
She was born in Afghanistan and fled the country at the age
of eight. At the time of the Sept. 11 attacks Fariba was living
in New York, soon after she decided to return to her home
country as a journalist. Fariba Nawa joins us from San Francisco.
- Fariba Nawa, Afghan-American journalist who has lived
for most of the past three years in Afghanistan. She was
born in Afghanistan and fled at the age of nine.
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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