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> Thur., May. 15, 2003
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Law Suit Against Gen. Tommy Franks
US Corporation Targeted in Saudi Arabia
California Budget Crisis
Cuban 5 Case
Renewing Peace Process in Guatemala
Law Suit Against Gen. Tommy Franks
Relatives of victims of the war on Iraq are poised to file
a lawsuit alleging war crimes against commander of the US
coalition forces in Iraq, General Tommy Franks. The law suit
will be filed under the Belgian Universal Competence Law which
allows charges to be brought regardless of where the alleged
crimes took place. And as Oula Farawati reports from Amman,
Jordanian family members of those killed by the US war believe
the incidents against civilians should not be allowed to pass
unnoticed.
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US Corporation Targeted in Saudi Arabia
On the heels of this weeks bombings of US interests in the
Saudi capital Riyadh, one of the targets, the Vinnell Corporation,
has come under scrutiny for the role it has played not only
in Saudi Arabia, but worldwide. Vinnell has been active in
Saudi Arabia for nearly 30 years training the Saudi National
Guard, yet, as Investigative Journalist Pratap Chatterjee
tells us, Vinnell has also been linked to the CIA and with
the over-throw attempt of the left-wing government of Grenada
in the 1980’s.
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California Budget Crisis
California’s budget deficit continues to spiral out
of control, growing by billions due to lower than expected
revenue and higher unemployment. Yesterday, Governor Gray
Davis proposed sweeping budget revisions. In a major policy
shift he suggested borrowing 10 billion dollars and paying
it off over five years with a cent increase in the sales taxes.
Left unaddressed by his revisions were concerns about deep
cuts in social services, while the California Department of
Corrections was spared budget scrutiny. Noelle Hanrahan reports
from San Francisco
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Cuban 5 Case
As a bipartisan group of eight senators yesterday presented
a bill that would reverse crucial elements of the crippling
US embargo against Cuba, opening the island up to U.S. tourism
and allowing American citizens to spend their dollars there
freely, Cuba was dealt a blow by the European Commission which
decided to shelve Cuba’s bid to join the so-called Cotonou
Agreement, a trade pact that offers economic assistance to
more than 70 developing nations. The European Commission cited
concerns about the “deterioration of the political situation''.
And on the heels of this week’s expulsion of the Cuban
diplomats from the US, critics charge the US is pressuring
its allies to join their crackdown on Cuba. The Cuban paper
Granma is reporting this week that for the third time, the
United States has denied visas to Adriana Pérez O’Connor
and Olga Salanueva, the wives of two of the so-called Cuban
5 who were convicted by a Miami court of conspiracy to spy.
Our correspondent in Havana Joseph Mutti has the story.
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Renewing Peace Process in Guatemala
More than five years after a peace accord ended Guatemala's
civil war, representatives of governments and international
organizations that support the peace process have concluded
a meeting in Guatemala City with the government. They made
a call yesterday for the whole country to renew its commitment
to what many have called a stagnated peace process. Catherine
Elton has this report from Guatemala City.
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