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> Mon., Apr. 18, 2005
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
IMF And World Bank Still Lack Proposal for Debt Relief
Neo-Conservative’s Plans For Iran
Diplomatic Tensions Between South Korea and Japan On The Rise
Road To Peace Between India And Pakistan Hopeful
Bus Service In Disputed Kashmir Starts After Nearly 60 Years
FSRN Headlines
A California peace activist was killed by a car bomb in Iraq
over the weekend. Marla Ruzicka founded the organization CIVIC,
Campaign for Innocent Victims of Conflict. The 28 year old
went into war zones, befriended journalists, military officials,
aid workers, and government officials in what those who knew
her called Ruzicka’s “politically pragmatic”
and “opportunistic” approach to conflict resolution.
Ferdous Al-Abadi, a spokesperson for the Iraqi Red Crescent
Society, says everyday life in Iraq is impossible since the
U.S. invasion. Credit goes to the ICRC for that interview.
Religious leaders in Mexico are calling on the government
to end a wave of violence that has killed hundreds in the
north, including another journalist over the weekend. Shannon
Young reports from Oaxaca.
Protest supporting the National Day of Struggle for Land
Reform in Brazil took place yesterday in remembrance of a
1996 massacre. Natalia Viana reports from Sao Paolo.
Officials with the Florida agency tasked with protecting
children signed a 75-million dollar contract that may become
the largest child welfare privatization project in the nation.
WMNF’s Mitch Perry has more from Tampa.
Ecuadorians hit the streets of Quito for the fifth day in
a row calling for President Lucio Gutiérrez to resign.
Yesterday, Gutiérrez told reporters that he refuses
to resign over his order to disband the nation’s supreme
court. In December of 2004, the President fired then replaced
the nation’s supreme court that was investigating charges
of corruption against his allies. The newly appointed court
stopped the investigations and tossed out all charges against
the President’s supporters. Shortly after Congress disbanded
that court on Friday, massive protests broke out in the streets.
A state of emergency was immediately declared; however, it
was rescinded on Saturday. The Congress has since voted to
select a commission that will decide how to replace the court.
Both sides accuse each other of politicizing the process for
their own advantage. Leaders of indigenous groups said they
would be blocking roads throughout the country beginning today.
[top]
IMF AND WORLD BANK STILL LACK PROPOSAL FOR DEBT RELIEF
The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the
G-7 emerged this weekend from their semi-annual meeting without
a proposal for debt relief for the world's poorest nations.
While the world's richest Finance Ministers reaffirmed their
commitment to erasing the debt of many countries, global social
justice activists worry that groups have taken a step backwards
in reaching an agreement. Mitch Jeserich reports.
[top]
NEO-CONSERVATIVE’S PLANS FOR IRAN
When the Senate Foreign Relations Committee votes on John
Bolton's appointment as ambassador to the United Nations Tuesday,
they will do so having never asked him about his support for
an organization called the Mujahadeen Khalq, an Iranian dissident
group that has a place on the State Department’s list
of terrorist organizations. In comments to Congress a year
ago, Bolton said he would not have "any inhibition"
about working with the group in an effort to gather intelligence
on Iran. Bolton is not alone in his sentiments. As Aaron Glantz
reports from Washington, Congressmen and prominent neo-conservatives
are pushing for the US government to re-arm the group.
[top]
DIPLOMATIC TENSIONS BETWEEN SOUTH KOREA AND JAPAN
ON THE RISE
Tensions between China and Japan as well as Korea and Japan
have been growing since Japan approved a new set of history
books which down-play war crimes on the part of Japan during
World War II. Protests in China and South Korea, demanding
that Japan correct the texts to more clearly reflect the events
that occurred are on-going. In South Korea, a dispute over
the ownership of islands, called Dokdo in Korean or Takeshima
in Japanese, have already caused conflicts, now the issue
of textbooks might lead to not only a historical- but territorial
dispute. Eunji Kang has more on issue from Seoul.
[top]
ROAD TO PEACE BETWEEN INDIA AND PAKISTAN HOPEFUL
The game of cricket may just be an excuse, but the real
agenda behind Pakistani President Parvez Musharaff’s
visit to India last weekend is thought to be pushing forward
the peace talks. Now, the road to peace for the two nuclear
rivals seems hopeful. FSRN correspondent Binu Alex has more.
[top]
BUS SERVICE IN DISPUTED KASHMIR STARTS AFTER NEARLY
60 YEARS
Bus service- one of the major confidence building measures
between India and Pakistan, was initiated this month between
Srinagar in Indian administered Kashmir and Muzafarrabad in
Pakistan administered Kashmir for the first time since 1947.
Passengers from both sides of Kashmir crossed over the line
of control on April 7 to visit their relatives after decades.
Free Speech Radio News Correspondent Shahnawaz Khan talked
to some of the passengers of the first bus.
[top]
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