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> Mon., Feb. 27, 2006
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Today's lead stories:
State Governors Meet with Bush over Funding Reductions
House Democrats Demand Investigation into NSA Spying
Ugandan Opposition Opposes Election Results
Sri Lankan Peace Talk End in Tension
Curfew Lifted In Baghdad after One Week of Sectarian Violence
Public Meeting Addresses Islamaphobia in Australia
Canadian Haitians Demonstrate to Oppose Troops in Haiti
FSRN Headlines
STATE OF EMERGENCY CONTINUES IN THE PHILIPPINES
Philippine police today filed rebellion charges against 16
leftist and opposition personalities suspected of involvement
in an alleged plot to oust President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Four police officers were also detained on the fourth day
of an emergency rule. Girlie Linao reports from Manila.
The widening crackdown was launched as legal experts challenged
the legality of the state of emergency declared by President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo last week. This follows a six-hour
standoff at a military camp in Manila on Sunday, when marines
protested the relief of their commander after he was linked
to the coup plot against Arroyo. While the marines later agreed
to peacefully return to their barracks, the standoff highlighted
the tensions within the military and the continuing threat
to the Arroyo administration. Today, six leftist congressmen
were among 16 people charged with rebellion by police. Two
of them have already been arrested, while the others have
sought refuge in Congress. A former senator who led several
coup attempts in the 1980s, four rebel soldiers, and communist
rebel leaders were also included in the complaint. But lawyer
groups said the crackdown was illegal because Arroyo's emergency
rule violates basic human and civil rights guaranteed by the
constitution. They have asked the Supreme Court to issue a
restraining order on the president's declaration. For Free
Speech Radio News, I'm Girlie Linao in Manila.
EU TO FREE UP FUNDS FOR PA
The European Union said it would release financial aid earmarked
for the Palestinian Authority despite the Hamas electoral
victory last month. Laila El-Haddad has more from Gaza.
The 25-nation bloc said most of the $142 million would bypass
the Palestinian Authority. Instead, about one-third of the
money would go directly to pay off energy bills and roughly
half is set to be channeled through the UN agency for Palestinian
refugees. The rest, about 17.5 million euros, would help pay
government wages; only a fraction of the $80 million needed.
Since Hamas swept to power last month, international pressure
has been mounting with the Israeli government imposing a closure
on Gaza and announcing it would withhold some $50 million
in monthly tax revenues. International envoy, James Wolfenson,
warned that, as a result of the sanctions, the Palestinian
Authority could collapse in as little as two weeks and that
the financial crisis could lead to more violence and chaos
unless a long-term funding plan was developed by the Middle
East quartet of international mediators. For FSRN in Gaza,
this is Laila El-Haddad.
SERBIA ON TRIAL FOR GENOCIDE
The International Court of Justice assembled today in The
Hague, for final hearings on a suit brought against Serbia
by Bosnia. Zoran Culafic reports from Belgrade.
The original lawsuit against Serbia was submitted in March
1993, less than a year after war in Bosnia started. The Bosnians
claim the Serbs intended to wipe out the entire Muslim population
and create a mono-ethnic Greater Serbia which, according to
international law, constitutes the act of genocide. The final
session began today before a 16-judge panel. The case represents
one of the most complex and far-reaching rulings ever sought
from the UN Tribunal. Although some individual Bosnian Serbs
have already been convicted on genocide charges for participating
in the Srebrenica massacre, the ongoing case hinges on whether
the Court is persuaded that the Serbian state (and not just
a group of individuals) had the specific intent to wipe out
the Muslims of eastern Bosnia as a distinct community. The
arguments are scheduled to end by mid-May and the judges could
take up to a year to deliver their verdict. If they rule in
Bosnia's favor, it will be the first genocide verdict ever
against one sovereign country. For Free Speech Radio News,
I'm Zoran Culafic in Belgrade.
SOUTH AFRICAN SHACK DWELLERS MOBILIZE
Organized shack dwellers in Durban, South Africa scored a
legal victory today. Na'eem Jeenah has the story.
WEEKEND OF PROTESTS IN KASHMIR
A two-day shutdown strike crippled life in Indian administered
Kashmir over the weekend. Shahnawaz Khan reports from Srinigar.
While the shutdown strike on Saturday was largely peaceful,
police used tear gas shells to disperse protesting mobs at
many places on Friday. The two-day strike came on the heels
of angry protests after Indian soldiers killed four youths
in Indian-administered Kashmir last Wednesday. Protests continued
through the weekend. The Indian Army says the four were killed
in crossfire between the army and militants, a claim locals
refute alleging the soldiers fired without provocation. The
state government has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the
incident. The shutdown strike coincided with the first ever
round table conference on Kashmir, chaired by the Indian Prime
Minister in New Delhi on Saturday.
[top]
State Governors Meet with Bush over Funding Reductions
(4:03)
State Governors are concerned with proposed reductions in
funding the National Guard and Medicaid - two services the
states rely on the federal government to provide for its residents.
Governors met with the President today seeking answers, but
received few, and as Leigh Ann Caldwell reports from Capitol
Hill, budget analysts say that states should add an additional
worry - cuts to discretionary spending such as education.
[top]
House Democrats Demand Investigation into NSA Spying
In other news from Capitol Hill, 18 House Democrats want
the Bush Administration to appoint a special council to investigate
the domestic spying program, and have sent a letter to President
Bush suggesting that Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez open
an investigation into the wiretapping program conducted by
the National Security Agency. The lawmakers say that they
are dissatisfied with the explanations they have been provided
with thus far, and that an investigation should confirm that
no criminal laws have been broken. White House Spokesperson
Scott McClellan, however, maintains that the surveillance
program is legal and no special counsel will be necessary.
The Senate Judiciary Hearing is expected to hold a hearing
on the program tomorrow.
[top]
Ugandan Opposition Opposes Election Results
(2:13)
The leader of Uganda's opposition, Retired Cornel Dr Kizza
Besigye, is rejecting the results of the presidential elections
that gave incumbent president Yoweri Museveni a 59% victory
against him. Joshua Kyalimpa reports from Kampala.
[top]
Sri Lankan Peace Talk End in Tension (3:36)
Tamil Tiger rebels rejected outright Monday the Sri Lankan
government's claim that the joint communiqué, issued
after the Geneva talks, amounted to an amendment to the original
Ceasefire Agreement between both parties. After returning
home from Geneva, the government delegation told reporters
Sunday that talks with the rebels were successful and the
new obligations mentioned in the Geneva Agreement of February
23, could be construed as amendments to the cease-fire. The
joint statement said the government and the rebels discussed
issues concerning the welfare of children in the north east,
including the recruitment of children by the Tamil Tigers.
But the government delegation pointed out this was not mentioned
in the truce pact made 4 years ago and it is therefore an
amendment. Anton Balasingham, team leader of the rebel delegation,
said the government's interpretation is ridiculous and unacceptable.
Ponniah Manikavasagam has more.
[top]
Curfew Lifted In Baghdad after One Week of Sectarian
Violence (3:14)
A daytime curfew was lifted in Baghdad as Sunni Arab leaders
said they are considering returning to talks to form a new
government, after walking out last week following widespread
sectarian violence in the wake of the destruction of a Shiite
shrine north of Baghdad. The violence that shocked many Iraqis
last week continued today, with at least four people killed
in a mortar attack in a southern Baghdad neighborhood. In
this report produced and narrated by David Enders, Salam Talib
speaks with residents in Baghdad about the violence and fears
of civil war. David Enders narrates and produces.
[top]
Public Meeting Addresses Islamaphobia in Australia
(2:45)
At a public meeting held Monday at the University of Technology
in Sydney, Australian Muslims, and various community groups
weighed in with their thoughts on how to heal the fractured
and culturally diverse Australian society. Recent remarks
by some prominent politicians, referring to Australia’s
“Muslim problem” have done little to soothe public
tensions after December’s race riots in the Sydney beach-side
suburb of Cronulla –just last week, Prime Minister John
Howard stated that he believes there is a fragment of Muslim
Australia that won’t integrate into Australian society.
FSRN’s Cinnamon Nippard has more.
[top]
Canadian Haitians Demonstrate to Oppose Troops in
Haiti (2:27)
As President-elect Rene Garcia Preval takes power in Haiti,
he assumes control over a country that has been ravaged by
violent political repression over the past two years. Foreign
troops remain on the ground- but as FSRN’s Aaron Lakoff
reports from Montreal, activist groups in Canada are demanding
troop removal, and an end to interventions in Haiti.
[top]
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