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> Wed., Mar. 5, 2003
FSRN
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Today's lead stories:
Demonstrations in Baghdad
Islamic Conference Divided
Philippines Bomb Blast
Halt the Death Penalty - PA?
Mumia Abu Jamal: When a Child Dies
Communal Tensions in India
Demonstrations in Baghdad (1:16)
Members of Iraq's security forces held large demonstrations
today in Baghdad, this comes as Iraq has begun increasing
the military and police presence on the streets of the capital
city. From Baghdad, Jeremy Scahill reports.
[top]
Islamic Conference Divided (2:47)
The gathering of the 57-member Organization of the Islamic
Conference was the third high-level gathering in the Middle
East this week aimed at trying to prevent a war and the second
to be marred by bitter, insulting exchanges. Arab and Islamic
nations are divided on whether war can be averted while Saddam
Hussein remains in power. Raphael Krafft reports from Amman,
Jordan.
[top]
Philippines Bomb Blast (3:55)
After yesterday's deadly bomb blast at a crowded Philippines
airport killed 17 and injured over 150, so far no one has
claimed responsibility. The military has blamed Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) rebels. Yesterdays attack comes as
resentment among Filipinos is growing after the US announcement
last month to send US troops to the Philippines to disrupt
and defeat Abu Sayyaf, a rebel group the US alleges is linked
to Al-Qaeda. Filipinos accuse the US, their former colonial
rulers, of snatching any intelligence reports as conclusive
evidence to prove that there is a link between these groups,
Al-Qaeda and now even Iraq. Binu Alex reports from Philippines.
[top]
Halt the Death Penalty - PA? (3:41)
The Supreme Court today upheld long sentences meted out
under the tough 3 strikes offender law which allows for prison
terms of up to 25 years to be granted to a small-time thief
on the third offense which may have been as simple as shoplifting
golf clubs. The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that this did not
constitute cruel and unusual punishment. This as yesterday
afternoon a 550 page report released by the Committee on Racial
and Gender Bias in the Criminal Justice system, a study commissioned
by the Pennsylvania state supreme court, advised democratic
Governor Ed. Rendell and the Legislature to halt all executions
until the state can administer the death sentence fairly.
Governor Rendell opposes a moratorium on the death penalty
and is a former prosecutor known for his work against Mumia
Abu Jamal. Dante Toza reports from Philadelphia.
[top]
Mumia Abu Jamal: When a Child Dies (3:16)
And as the state of Pennsylvania awaits a decision from
Governor Rendell to halt all executions until issues of racism
and capital punishment are fully investigated, we go to our
own commentator on death row in Philadelphia, Mumia Abu Jamal,
whose own arrest, trial and conviction smacks of racism, as
he reminds of the ever present police brutality faced by African
Americans in the US.
[top]
Communal Tensions in India (3:43)
A court in India today ordered the excavation of a holy
site disputed between Hindus and Muslims. The site, in the
northern Indian city of Ayodhya, houses the remains of a 16th
Century mosque destroyed by a Hindu mob 10 years ago. This
decision comes in a crucial election year, where several states
are either at the polls or are headed there and India’s
Hindu extremist lobby seems determined to ratchet up communal
tensions. Tomorrow, India's Supreme Court is to rule whether
religious activities can take place around the disputed site.
It had earlier banned such activity to avoid raising tensions
between Hindus and Muslims. The destruction by Hindu zealots
ten years ago of a centuries old mosque in Ayodhya, on the
grounds that it was built on the ruins of a temple, led to
widespread unrest and left hundreds dead. Tensions are rising
on other fronts as well as the opposition accuses the BJP
led government of fomenting divisive communal forces. The
government decision to include a portrait of the infamous
V.D.Savarkar,a founding member of the Hindu extreme right
and one of the accused in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi,
in the hall of fame for independence heroes, has also triggered
vociferous protests. Sputnik Kilambi reports.
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