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> Mon., Nov. 28, 2005
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Saddam Hussein Trial Resumes in Baghdad
Palestinians Gain Control of Gaza/Egypt Border
South Korea Passes Rice Bill Despite Protests from Farmers
Press Repression in Colombia
High Mold Level Affecting Construction Workers in New Orleans
FSRN Headlines
SECRET PRISONS
European Union Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini announced
today that any EU nation found to be hosting a CIA secret
prison may have its voting rights suspended. Meanwhile, the
US is facing charges that it has been running a Guantanamo-like
prison at an American military base in Kosovo. Jackson Allers
reports from Pristina.
In an interview published last Friday in the French paper,
LE MONDE, the Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner,
Alvaro Gil Robles, said the detention center at Camp Bondsteel,
was "a small version of Guantanamo Bay." Gil Robles
visited the Bondsteel detention center in 2002, and came out
publicly last week with his assessment in the wake of rumors
that the Central Intelligence Agency had been operating secret
detention centers in Eastern Europe, hiding and interrogating
some of its most important al-Qaeda operatives in these so-called
"black sites." Three weeks ago, the Council of Europe,
a pan-European body that rules on human rights issues for
its 46 member states, launched a probe into the allegations.
Camp Bondsteel is a base operated exclusively by the US military
and hired security contractors. US military officials deny
Gil Robles' charge, saying no clandestine operations were
being conducted at Bondsteel. LE MONDE alleges that the prisoners
held at the base had no access to a lawyer and did not fall
under any legal jurisdiction. Although Gil Robles told the
French daily he had no evidence of a CIA link to Bondsteel,
he has asked Washington for official clarification. Reporting
from Kosovo, this is Jackson Allers for Free Speech Radio
News.
MENEZES SHOOTING INQUIRY
In Britain, the Independent Police Complaints Commission has
announced it's to investigate the conduct of police chief
Sir Ian Blair over the shooting of an innocent Brazilian man
by the Metropolitan police force in the days following the
London bombings. Naomi Fowler reports from London.
Brazilian electrician Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead
by police in Stockwell Station on July 22nd after they mistook
him for a suicide bomber. His family filed an official complaint
with the Metropolitan police. Aside from a governmental inquiry
into the shooting itself, this will be a separate investigation
into claims that the police chief misinformed the public after
the shooting and tried to stop an independent police investigation
into the matter. In a press conference on the day of the shooting,
police chief Sir Ian Blair claimed that Mr. De Menezes's clothing
and behaviour were suspicious. But according to information
leaked from the Independent Police Complaints Commission,
Mr. De Menezes had not in fact done anything to arouse suspicion,
had not run from officers as was claimed and had not been
wearing a 'suspiciously bulky coat.' The Commission's investigation
is due to be completed by the end of December. This is Naomi
Fowler in London for Free Speech Radio News.
CLIMATE CONFERENCE IN MONTREAL
A United Nations conference on climate change opened today
in Montreal, Canada with thousands of delegates from approximately
190 countries in attendance. The meeting is the first major
summit on climate since the Kyoto Protocol took effect earlier
this year. The focus of the 12-day conference will be on greenhouse
gas emissions. The conference is expected to discuss guidelines
for the reduction of emissions after the Kyoto Protocol expires
in 2012. The United States - the world's biggest polluter
- has not ratified the treaty. Last week, European scientists
published the conclusions of a study of Antarctic ice samples
that revealed that atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide and
methane are higher now than at any other time in the past
650,000 years.
CHINESE CHEMICAL SPILL APPROACHING RUSSIA
In China, a massive benzine spill that poisoned the Songhua
river is now approaching Russia. The toxic spill resulted
from an explosion at a chemical factory in northeastern China
two weeks ago. Running water was cut off for several days
in the city of Harbin as the 50 mile long slick of cancer-causing
benzine passed by on the river. Although the water has been
turned on in Harbin, authorities have advised that it is neither
safe for drinking nor for bathing. Running water has been
shut off in other Chinese villages. Russian towns further
downstream are reportedly stockpiling water and activated
carbon.
RADIO STATION RAIDED IN NEPAL
Nepal's journalistic freedom was again put to test yesterday
when police raided a radio station in the capital. Binu Alex
reports from Ahmedabad.
Nepal's Radio Sagarmatha has been off the air since government
officials raided the station last night. The station was reportedly
closed down just before it was to rebroadcast a BBC interview
with the leader of Nepal's Maoist insurgency. Five of the
station's staff members were arrested in the raid. King Gyanendra
sacked Nepal's elected government in February and seized absolute
power, saying that the constitutional government was ineffective
at combating the ten-year old Maoist insurgency. Since his
palace coup, heavy restrictions have been placed on the domestic
media. Freedom of speech has been curtailed and scores of
journalists have been arrested since February. It is illegal
to broadcast news content on almost all of the radio stations
in Nepal. This is the second radio station in Nepal to face
government action. From Ahmedabad in India, I am Binu Alex
for Free Speech Radio News.
[top]
Saddam Hussein Trial Resumes in Baghdad
(2:39)
The trial of Saddam Hussein resumed today in Baghdad, and
testimony from the case’s first witness was heard. Mitch
Jeserich has the details.
[top]
Palestinians Gain Control of Gaza/Egypt Border
(3:36)
Palestinians gained control of one of their external borders
for the first time this weekend as the border crossing between
Gaza and Egypt opened to traffic, without the presence of
Israeli soldiers. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas promised
that this was the beginning and not the end, and that these
first steps would lead to a Palestinian state. But, as Irris
Makler reports from the Gaza Strip, the political changes
following Israel’s withdrawal are yet to have any impact
on the economic situation of most people in Gaza.
[top]
South Korea Passes Rice Bill Despite Protests from
Farmers (5:01)
The National Assembly of South Korea ratified the rice bill
on Friday, which will further expand its rice market. While
some believe the move was an inevitable decision to avoid
instant tariffs on rice, others claim that the government
is selling out its agriculture for other industrial sector
benefits. Before and after the ratification of the rice bill,
South Korean farmers took to the streets to demonstrate against
the bill. In protest, farmers burned rice grains almost daily
in front of government buildings, saying they would rather
die than be subjected to the bill’s conditions. Two
farmers have already killed themselves and one died from wounds
sustained by riot police, while several farmers remain in
custody police because for protesting. From Seoul, Korea,
FSRN’s Eunji Kang has more.
[top]
Press Repression in Colombia (3:45)
In a recent visit to London, a leading Colombian human rights
journalist raised awareness of press intimidation and censorship
in the South American country, ravaged by four decades of
civil war – and called on the UK government to end its
secretive aid program to the country. Helen Kelly reports
on one man’s struggle against the international powers
of repression.
[top]
High Mold Level Affecting Construction Workers in
New Orleans (3:21)
Dangerously high mold levels in New Orleans pose serious
health risks, according to an environmental advocacy group
who has collected air samples in the area. Despite this, doctors
and aid workers say that many construction workers are not
being adequately protected. FSRN’s Christian Roselund
reports from New Orleans.
[top]
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