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> Wed., Dec. 28, 2005
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
The National Archives Releases Alito's Service Records
New York City's Transit Workers Union Reach A Deal
Talks Resume Over The Sovereignty Of Kashmir
FSRN Interviews The Kashmir Study Group
Department Of Justice Offers Special Immunity To Corporations
Growing List Of European Countries Cut Aid To Uganda
FSRN Headlines
PRISON UPRISING IN BRAZIL
A prison uprising is now in its third day in the Brazilian
city of Porto Velho . A group of prisoners took control of
the Urso Branco facility on Christmas during visiting hours
and continue to hold approximately 200 hostages, mostly prisoners'
relatives. They are demanding the return of Ednildo Paula
Souza, an inmate who was transferred from the prison last
week, after his recapture following a successful jailbreak
earlier this month. Souza is said to have led a prison riot
in April 2004 that resulted in 14 inmate deaths. The Urso
Branco prison is severely overcrowded, holding around three
times more inmates than it was initially designed to house.
A crisis management team is negotiating for the release of
the hostages, including 11 prison guards.
ESCAPE ATTEMPT FROM IRAQI PRISON
At least nine people are dead after an attempted jailbreak
in Iraq. A prison guard told Reuters that the incident began
when an inmate seized a Kalashnikov rifle from a guard as
a group of prisoners was being escorted to the yard early
this morning. The inmates then took weapons from the prison
armory and freed other detainees within the facility. The
escape attempt ended in a gunfight.
MASS GRAVE IN GUJARAT
A mass grave discovered yesterday in the western Indian state
of Gujarat is believed to be of those who went missing during
of the sectarian violence of 2002. Binu Alex has more from
Ahmedabad.
Relatives of victims of the 2002 Hindu-Muslim violence in
Gujarat claim to have exhumed skeletal remains from a mass
grave in Panchamahals, a district severely affected in the
state where many are still reportedly missing. Though the
exact number of bodies is still unknown after the site was
sealed by the investigating agencies, eye witnesses say it
could be more than twenty. The local administration has threatened
to take legal action against those who dug up the site. The
state police chief claims that the bodies had already been
accounted for, autopsies performed, and that local officials
afterwards buried the cadavers. Teesta Setalvad of Citizens
for Justice and Peace, an NGO working among the riot survivors,
has filed a petition before the Gujarat High court. (Teesta
Setalvad clip 16 secs) "If the police now tells us that
these are the 21 missing persons and we have buried them properly,
our only question is, 'Why didn't you intimate the relatives?
Why didn't you give the bodies to them?' because that is the
real procedure. In any religion, in any culture, performing
the last rites is emotionally very important particularly
when such a dastardly crime takes place."
This week's discovery has brought back memories of the violence
to the survivors, as over 2000 cases are still pending in
the courts. From Ahmedabad in India, I am Binu Alex for Free
Speech Radio News.
"PRE-FAMINE" IN SOMALIA
Famine Early Warning Systems Network has issued an emergency
alert for Southern Somalia. The Food Security Analysis Unit
of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says
that 2 million people in Somalia urgently need humanitarian
assistance to cope with a widespread food shortage resulting
from a severe drought. The ongoing drought has also affected
parts of Ethiopia and northeastern Kenya. The World Food Programme
estimates that 64,000 metric tons of food aid will be needed
over the course of the next 6 months to avoid starvation-related
deaths.
WATER HIKE
Residents in Argentina's central province of Cordoba may soon
face a 200 percent hike in water rates. FSRN's Marie Trigona
has more in Buenos Aires.
Cordoba's mayor passed a bill to increase water utility rates
for users by 200 percent beginning this new year. The increase
was passed as an initiative for the provincial government
to subsidize debt from Suez, the French multinational that
controls Cordoba's water utilities. The provincial government
also renewed Suez's concession or right to manage the local
water company. Suez has controlled Cordoba's water utility
for 8 years and has threatened to pull out of Argentina because
of a freeze on water rates. The provincial government agreed
to forgive the company's 19 million dollar debt so that the
company could make long overdue investments. Instead of performing
maintenance work or expanding water lines, Suez will first
invest in installing 150,000 water meters to control and restrict
the use of water. This has many residents upset. Local organizations,
environmentalists and residents will rally next week against
the 200 percent rate increase and privatization of their water.
Local groups are pushing an alternative initiative to make
water accessible for all residents by lowering rates and building
water lines for many neighborhoods without running water.
For FSRN I'm Marie Trigona in Buenos Aires.
[top]
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES RELEASES ALITO'S SERVICE RECORDS
(4:14)
Today the National Archives released about 300 additional
documents concerning Judge Samuel Alito’s service in
the Justice Department during the Reagan administration. The
press and advocacy groups will undoubtedly spend the next
few days scouring through the pages for new details before
Alito’s confirmation hearing which begins in less than
two weeks. But for many of the largest civil rights groups
in the country, there is already much known about the Supreme
Court nominee that has them opposing Alito’s nomination.
Mitch Jeserich has more from Washington.
[top]
NEW YORK CITY'S TRANSIT WORKERS UNION REACH A DEAL
(3:52)
Striking transit workers in New York City now have a contract
on which to vote. This after the resumption of negotiations
between the Transport Workers Union Local 100 and their employer
the Metropolitan Transit Authority. The contract comes 5 days
after the initial agreement was reached to end a 3 day strike
that crippled New York's commute last week. It was the first
work stoppage by MTA workers in 25 years. In New York, Ian
Forrest has the story.
[top]
TALKS RESUME OVER THE SOVEREIGNTY OF KASHMIR
(4:05)
India and Pakistani officials confirmed this week that the
two countries were discussing proposals for demilitarization
and self rule in Kashmir, a region claimed by both India and
Pakistan. The self governance proposal for Kashmir was originally
mooted by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. The proposal
for self rule has generated a lot of debate in Kashmir. Shahnawaz
Khan reports
[top]
FSRN INTERVIEWS THE KASHMIR STUDY GROUP
(2:16)
Some Kashmiri analysts say that the proposal created by
the US-based Kashmir Study Group is the foundational document
for the "united states of Kashmir" proposal. That's
the current plan that Indian and Pakistani officials will
be going over. Since 1998, Ambassador Terresita Schaffer has
been a member of the kashmir study group, a non-governmental
body made up of mostly U-S academics, foreign policy specialists,
and former congressional members who came together to propose
a peaceful approach to addressing the conflict over Kashmir.
We talked to Ambassador Shaffer about the group's proposals.
[top]
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OFFERS SPECIAL IMMUNITY TO
CORPORATIONS (2:00)
Corporate Crime Reporter released a report today in which
it analyzes the new policy by the Department of Justice to
offer major corporations - including Adelphia, KPMG, Merill
Lynch, MCI and others - special deals that allow prosecutors
to not criminally prosecute corporations accused of wrongdoing.
From DC, Anastasia Gnezditskaia has more on these non prosecution
agreements.
[top]
GROWING LIST OF EUROPEAN COUNTRIES CUT AID TO UGANDA
(4:03)
This week Britain and Sweden cut millions in direct aid
to Uganda saying that they question President Yoweri Museveni's
commitment to democracy. Uganda's opposition parties have
welcomed the suspension of development aid to the African
Nation and are calling on the Bush administration to also
cut funding. Britain will also withhold more than 5 million
pounds until after Uganda's elections in February. Joshua
Kyalimpa reports from the Ugandan capital Kampala.
[top]
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