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> Wed., Apr. 16, 2003
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Attack on Syria?
Iraqi Protestors Killed - EU Expands
Coca-Cola Shareholders Meet in Houston
Israel-Palestine Conflict Continues
AGOA Profits American Business
Attack on Syria? (3:32)
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell today said that Washington
has grave concerns about the policies of Syria and Iran but
he said that as yet there were no plans to launch attacks
against either country. In recent days American officials
have intensified their war rhetoric against Syria accusing
the Baathist dictatorship of Bashar el Assad of sheltering
fleeing Iraqi officials, developing weapons of mass destruction
and harboring Palestinian militants committed to violence
against the state of Israel. Aaron Glantz reports from Amman.
[top]
Iraqi Protestors Killed - EU Expands (4:14)
Witnesses are reporting that at least 10 people were shot
dead and many were wounded in the northern Iraqi town of Mosul
when US troops had opened fire on a crowd after it turned
against an American-installed local governor. According to
eye-witnesses, US marines fired when the crowd noisily interrupted
the governor’s speech, which they thought was pro-US.
AFP meanwhile is reporting that the US has been banning the
media from anti-US protests in Iraq, saying that US forces
yesterday tried to stop the media from covering a third day
of anti-American protests by Iraqis outside Hotel Palestine.
And US troops have been given a deck of playing cards containing
the pictures of Saddam Hussein and his government ministers
in which Saddam appears as the ace of spades and Qusay, his
younger son is the ace of clubs. Every card carries a death
sentence, since frontline troops have been ordered to use
them to identify suspects who must be killed or captured.
Meanwhile a two-day Athens summit of European Union, which
will oversee the expansion of the EU to 25 states, is also
expected to issue a joint statement on Iraq, despite deep
splits between the "coalition" countries - Britain,
Spain and Italy - and the remainder of Europe. Investigative
journalist Greg Palast says the EU expansion is Henry Kissinger's
plan fulfilled.
[top]
Coca-Cola Shareholders Meet in Houston (3:10)
Two weeks ago, a US District Court judge ruled that cases
of human rights abuses against Coca-Colas Columbian bottlers,
Panamco and Bebidas, will be allowed to go forward under the
Alien Tort Claims Act, this as the annual shareholders meeting
for Coke took place in Houston today. Columbian labor leader,
William Mendoza, traveled to the meeting to draw attention
to human rights violations committed by multinational corporations,
and to refute Cokes claim that the lawsuit is "shameless
effort to generate publicity using the name of our Company,"
its trademark and brands. Jackson Allers of Pacifica station,
KPFT, reports from the shareholder meeting.
[top]
Israel-Palestine Conflict Continues (3:21)
Today, the Israeli military completely sealed off the West
Bank and Gaza, saying the closure will stay in effect until
the end of the Passover Holiday, Sunday. The Israeli military
also imposed checkpoints inside the Gaza Strip separating
the territory into three isolated cantons. This as the United
Nations Commission on Human Rights "strongly condemned"
Israel's military occupation as "a flagrant violation
of human rights." The UN resolution also criticized Israeli
settlements, the strict military imposed curfews and the Security
Wall the Israeli military is building around the Occuppied
Territotories. And as Awad Duaibes reports Palestinian Leader
Yassar Arafat rejected the proposed cabinet by newly appointed
Prime Minister Mahmoud Abu Mazen, making many Palestinians
uneasy.
[top]
AGOA Profits American Business (3:35)
At their meetings in Washington DC last weekend, the World
Bank and the International Monetary fund declared that while
progress is being made reducing global poverty, countries
in Africa will increasingly face what they call 'crushing
poverty.' The World Bank calls on rich countries to lower
their trade barriers to boost growth in developing countries
On March 28th, the Gambia was added to the 37 other African
countries who are hoping to benefit from the African Growth
and Opportunities Act, or AGOA. But some analysts are warning
that AGOA is more about American business profits and strategic
interests. From the Gambia, Patrick Beckett has this report.
[top]
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