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> Mon., Aug. 16, 2004
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Recall Vote in Venezuela
US Troops Withdrawn in Europe and Asia
US-Ausi Free Trade Agreement
Anniversary of the Founding of the PKK
FBI Targeting RNC Demonstrators
FSRN Headlines
Around 15-hundred Palestinian political prisoners started
an open-ended hunger strike in four Israeli jails yesterday.
The prisoners say they are subject to unnecessary strip searches,
want more access to family visits and telephones, and improve
overall living conditions.
Today Israeli prison authorities declared psychological war
against the inmates. They threatened to force-feed the prisoners
and began barbequing outside the walls of the prisons.
The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem says half of the 7,000
Palestinians being held in Israeli civilian prisons or military
jails are either being detained without charge or until the
end of criminal proceedings against them.
2400 other political prisoners are planning to join the hunger
strike on Wednesday. This report was prepared by George Rishmawi
with the International Middle East Media Center in occupied
Palestine.
The United Nations Security Council has strongly condemned
the most recent massacre of Tutsi refugees. Haider Rizvi has
more from the U.N.
Amidst slogans and signs calling for the abolition of the
death penalty, a man was hanged in Calcutta this weekend,
the first execution since 1995. Binu Alex reports from Hyderabad.
The Federal Elections Commission must investigate a complaint
against the Commission on Presidential Debates after a federal
judge’s ruling. Darby Hickey reports from WPFW in Washington
DC.
Over the weekend in British Columbia, native and non-native
people protested plans to build a ski slope on a sacred mountain
for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Jim Kent reports.
[top]
Recall Vote in Venezuela
Venezuelans went to polls in record numbers yesterday in
an unprecedented recall referendum on the mandate of an elected
head of state and ratified President Hugo Chavez' term in
office. The referendum, which has been in the works for nearly
one year now, concluded peacefully early this morning with
the opposition calling the vote a fraud and with Chavez supporters
celebrating victory. FSRN'sGreg Wilpert reports on the results
and the reactions from Caracas, Venezuela.
[top]
US Troops Withdrawn in Europe and Asia
Today President Bush announced a 10 year plan to withdraw
tens of thousands of troops who are stationed in Europe and
Asia. Most of these troops will serve back at home, but, the
President adds that they will be prepared to fight in his
war on terror. Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are not a part
of this new deployment plan. Mitch Jeserich reports from Washington
D.C.
[top]
US-Ausi Free Trade Agreement
In Australia, the passage of legislation which will enable
the Free Trade Agreement with the United States to go forward
has been met with both applause and acrimony. While the Australian
government is claiming the deal is a victory worth $6 billion
for the economy, the Labor Opposition is claiming its amendments
are a victory for the people. But as FSRN's Erica Vowles reports,
not everyone is celebrating.
[top]
Anniversary of the Founding of the PKK
The anniversary of the foundation of Kurdish Guerilla organization
PKK/Kongragel was this Sunday. On June 1 of this year, Kongragel
declared that it ended the unilateral ceasefire of five years
with the Turkish armed forces. After the end of ceasefire
the clashes between the guerillas and armed forces increased.
Turkish press reported yesterday that the PKK has attacked
a police station in the eastern city of Tunceli. Free Speech
Radio News Correspondent Ezgi Saritas has more from Turkey.
[top]
FBI Targeting RNC Demonstrators
Local and Federal law enforcement are preparing for the
worst case scenario at the Republican National Convention.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is interviewing protestors
deemed dangerous, and the NYPD distributed a manual to officers
that detail extreme disruption tactics that protestors might
use. FSRN's Leigh Ann Caldwell has more on this story from
WBAI in New York City.
[top]
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