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> Fri., Apr. 2, 2004
FSRN
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Today's lead stories:
Jobs Statistics Rise, so does Unemployment
US to Attack Turkish Kurd Guerillas?
Guantanamo Human Rights Commission meets in London
Distributors of Free Meals Targeted by Tampa Police
Endemic Sexual Violence Against Women in DRC
FSRN Headlines
Some South Africans are finally receiving the long-time promised
anti-retroviral drugs. Na’eem Jinah reports from Johannesburg.
Public radio and television host Tavis Smiley intended to
give his corporate underwriter a chance to defend themselves,
but the 30-minute program turned into a positive spin opportunity
for Wal-Mart. Ngoc Nguyen reports from Los Angeles.
Local district and federal environmental authorities are
pointing fingers at each other while thousands of residents
cope with lead contaminated water. Meagon Britton reports
from D.C.
The Cyprus reunification plan, drawn up by the United Nations
Secretary-General, will be put to a referendum later this
month, despite its rejection by leaders of the island’s
Greek and Turkish sides. Susan Wood has more from the U.N.
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Jobs Statistics Rise, so does Unemployment
Today the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that employment
rose by over 300,000 jobs, which may be considered good news
for the Bush administration. But at the same time the unemployment
rate slightly rose to 8.4 million people. And that number
does not include the 4.8 million people who stopped looking
for work and the 4.7 million people who found new work but
at a considerable cut in pay from their previous jobs. Mitch
Jeserich has more.
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US to Attack Turkish Kurd Guerillas?
American soldiers could be on the verge of fighting another
war in the Middle East. In Washington for meetings with US
military leaders, the Deputy Chief of the Turkish Army General
Staff demanded the US Army start fighting against approximately
5,000 Turkish Kurdish guerillas holed up in camps in the snow-capped
mountains of Northern Iraq. After a bloody twenty year civil
war and more than 30,000 mostly civilian casualties, the PKK
withdrew from Turkey and called a unilateral cease-fire when
their leader, Abudlla Ocalan, was captured four years ago.
But as Aaron Glantz reports from Baghdad, the Turkish Army
wants American troops to keep fighting.
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Guantanamo Human Rights Commission meets in London
In the aftermath of the release of five British prisoners
from Guantanamo Bay back to Britain, the first public meeting
of the Guantanamo Human Rights Commission took place in London.
On their return, the men were detained for questioning by
the British police, what one lawyer described as window dressing
for the Americans, before being released without any charge.
Naomi Fowler attended the Commission and brings us this report.
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Distributors of Free Meals Targeted by Tampa Police
In Tampa, Florida, it is illegal to distribute food to the
homeless in public parks. In an act of civil disobedience,
a group of young activists with the “Food not Bombs”
organization recently ran into problems with the police as
they attempted to hand out sandwiches and juice in a public
park. Tampa police officers Ltnt Balckum and Ltnt Jill Ramston
took the activists names, arrested one of them, and gave the
rest a warning to not to come back to the park. While many
of the activists chose to take their food to another park
in the area this past weekend, a couple courageously came
back. Farhad Sabet reports from Tampa.
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Endemic Sexual Violence Against Women in DRC
The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced
today that the alleged coup attempt this past weekend will
not disrupt the timetable for holding elections. The elections
will be held amid rising fear in the population, where it’s
estimated that since 1998 more than 3 million people have
lost their lives as a result of Congo’s civil war. A
peace process is in place and leaders of the various rebel
factions share power and hold ministerial posts in the Kinshasa-based
transitional government. But on the ground many Congolese
are exposed to a reality very different to any putative peace.
Massacres take place on an almost daily basis. Militias and
unpaid soldiers roam the forests and roads. And today, Doctor’s
Without Borders is reporting that women and young girls are
particularly vulnerable, with alarming indications of endemic
sexual violence. Tribal fighters and former rebels, the international
medical organization says, have raped thousands of women in
eastern Congo. FSRN correspondent Rupert Cook reports.
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