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> Tues., May. 4, 2004
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Detainee Abuse Is More Widespread Than Previously Known
US Military to Extend Occupation As Violence Rises In Iraq
Iraqi’s Tend To Fallujah’s Dead
Farm-Workers Call for Rights in May Day March
Mexican Official Is Implicated In Narcotrafficking Scheme
FSRN Headlines
Yesterday, the Georgia Supreme Court overturned the aggravated
child molestation conviction and the 10-year prison sentence
of the 18-year-old student, Marcus Dixon for having consensual
sex with a younger classmate. The court ruled that Dixon should
have been prosecuted with the lesser charge of misdemeanor
rape than aggravated child molestation. Dixon had planned
to attend university on a football scholarship, but the funds
were revoked after his arrest.
This week, The US military filed criminal charges against
six of its soldiers accused of abusing Iraqi prisoners. In
the wake of these reported abuses, - U.S. officials today
ordered a halt to using hoods to blindfold Iraqi prisoners.
MEANWHILE, the British government TODAY launched an inquiry
into the publication of pictures that allegedly show UK troops
abusing an Iraqi by the national paper ‘The Daily Mirror’.
Some military personnel have questioned the authenticity of
the pictures; the newspaper insists they are genuine.
British Armed Forces Minister, Adam Ingram told parliament
the details of the investigation:
The so-called ‘quartet of Middle East diplomats met
at the United Nations today, hoping to revive their dormant
peace plan. Susan Wood reports from the UN.
Today, former US diplomats are criticizing what they call
"the Bush administration’s endorsement of Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral plan to reject the
rights of three million Palestinians’. Sogomon Tarontsi
has more:
At the midway point in the Indian elections, exit poll results
indicate that the ruling National Democratic Alliance may
end up losing their position. Biju Mathew reports:
A new medical report shows that those exposed to the air
at ground zero - including rescue workers and expectant mothers
- may have long term health consequences. Gail Walker has
more
[top]
Detainee Abuse Is More Widespread Than Previously
Known
After a closed hearing on Capitol Hill today with Pentagon
officials, lawmakers indicated that abuses to Iraqi detainees
may go beyond the recent revelations in Abu Ghraib prison
and into other facilities throughout Iraq and Afghanistan.
Human rights groups say there are clear indications that the
abuses are systemic and can be traced to President Bush's
policies of denying basic rights to detainees that began with
his war on terrorism. Mitch Jeserich reports from the Capitol.
[top]
US Military to Extend Occupation As Violence Rises
In Iraq
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced today that
U.S. military commanders in Iraq have decided they need to
keep an expanded force in Iraq beyond June which totals some
47,000 GI’s. Rumsfeld also said the US will send an
extra 10,000 active-duty Army and Marine Corps troops for
one-year tours. Meanwhile in Iraq, Reuters is reporting that
Iraqi Shi'ite political leaders called on Moqtada al-Sadr
to disarm. But as Aaron Glantz reports, tensions are rising
following the killing and detentions of Sadr followers during
a meeting in a human rights office in Hilla by the US army.
[top]
Iraqi’s Tend To Fallujah’s Dead
Meanwhile, the refugee camp that was set up in Baghdad last
month to house refugees from Fallujah has been dismantled
as it appears that US Marines are allowing almost all of the
city’s residents to return to their homes. But there
is still the task of unearthing bodies buried in homes and
buildings by the US army’s bombardment there last week.
David Enders reports from Fallujah.
[top]
Farm-Workers Call for Rights in May Day March
There are more than three million migrant and seasonal farmers
in the US, whose work supports a 28 billion dollar fruit and
vegetable industry. Many of them work seven days a week, sometimes
for 12 hours a day, and the majority aren't protected by labor
laws. In New York, farm workers used the May Day holiday to
begin a 200 mile march to the state capital. Catherine Komp
files this report.
[top]
Mexican Official Is Implicated In Narcotrafficking
Scheme
In Mexico, the two top police chiefs of the state of Morelos
have been arrested for trafficking cocaine and providing protection
for the notorious Juarez drug cartel. The scandal threatens
to bring down the governor of the state of Morelos, a member
of President Vicente Fox's National Action Party. Although
President Fox claims to have drug-traffickers on the run,
the case has reminded Mexicans that organized crime cartels
are still a threat to the nation's democracy. Today, Morelos
state parliament is deliberating whether or not to pursue
the impeachment of the Governor Estrada. Adam Saytanides has
more.
[top]
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