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> Mon., Mar. 13, 2006
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Censuring the President
Milosovic Dies
CPT Tom Fox Found Dead
Colombians Vote
Largest Rally in Chicago for Immigrant Rights
Juvenile Boot Camp Death
French Universities Erupt
FSRN Headlines
BRITAIN TO REDUCE TROOPS IN IRAQ
The British government has indicated it may pull ten percent
of its troops out of southern Iraq and hand over tactical
responsibility to Iraqi forces. Helen Kelly reports from London.
Up to 800 British troops could be taken out of Iraq by May,
Defence Secretary John Reid told the House of Commons today.
The reduction leaves 7,000 troops stationed within Iraq –
mostly across four southern provinces. At its peak, Britain
had 10,000 troops serving in the country. Mr. Reid said the
move was part of a plan to develop the Iraqi forces and was
not prompted by a rise in violence or part of a wider handover
of responsibility. The defence secretary maintained a total
commitment to the Iraqi people and said troops will remain
in the country as long as they are needed. The UK government
has always insisted there is no strict timetable for British
troops to quit Iraq and that withdrawal depends entirely on
the ability of Iraqi troops. However, the cutbacks sparked
fears of an escalation of violence in the nascent democracy
- and some question whether the Iraqi army is in any condition
to take over. Helen Kelly, reporting from London for Free
Speech Radio News.
JAPANESE CITY REJECTS EXPANSION OF U.S. MILITARY BASE
Voters in the Japanese city of Iwakuni decided overwhelmingly
yesterday to reject plans to expand the US military presence
in their community. Although the referendum's vote is non-binding,
it does indicate a gap between public opinion and government
policy regarding the US military presence in Japan. According
to the results of yesterday's referendum, Iwakuni's voters
reject the planned expansion by a margin of nearly 9 to 1.
Japan's Prime Minister said today that there are no plans
to change the unpopular policy.
NIGERIAN LAWYERS BOYCOTT COURTS FOR TWO DAYS
Lawyers in Nigeria have started a two day boycott of the courts
to protest persistent disobedience of court orders by the
Nigerian government. Sam Olukoya reports from Lagos.
Courtrooms all over Nigeria were empty today as lawyers heeded
a call by their national body, the Nigerian Bar Association,
that they should boycott court proceedings for two days. The
Nigerian Bar Association calls the court boycott a national
sacrifice by lawyers to save democracy and preserve the rule
of law. The association says the government's disobedience
of court orders is similar to what the country saw during
the days of brutal military dictatorship, when the military
refused to recognize the authority of the courts. Many Nigerians
have questioned why - after seven years in power - an elected
government continues to behave like its military predecessors.
The implication of the government's disobedience of court
orders is that Nigerians can not seek justice against the
government in court when there is an infringement on their
rights. For Free Speech Radio News, this is Sam Olukoya in
Lagos.
MASSIVE OIL SPILL IN ALASKA
A corroded pipe in northern Alaska has spilled an estimated
267,000 gallons of crude oil onto the surrounding tundra.
The leak is the largest on record in the North Slope. According
to the Anchorage Daily News, the state of Alaska had ordered
BP to install an accurate leak-detection system on the pipeline
network nearly 4 years ago. Clean up efforts are underway,
but moving slowly due to harsh weather.
U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS BODY SUSPENDS ANNUAL MEETING
The United Nations Human Rights Commission has suspended its
62nd session due to disagreement over plans to replace it
with the proposed Human Rights Council. Haider Rizvi reports
from the UN.
The Geneva-based Commission meets every year in March to
evaluate the worldwide situation of human rights, but this
year it has postponed its meeting for a week because the United
States and the rest of the 190 members of the United Nations
have failed to reach a compromise over how the Council members
should be elected. The creation of Human Rights Council is
part of the overall UN reforms. The US wanted the new council
to be elected by a two-third majority of the General Assembly
members, so that countries like Cuba, Sudan, and Belarus were
not able to be part it. The US considers these nations as
abusers of human rights. However, a vast majority of countries
has rejected the US position by supporting the view that membership
should be open to any one who obtains more than 50 percent
votes. Earlier, the European Union had sided with the US,
but now it agrees with the developing countries that members
can be elected by simple majority. Despite this, the US continues
to insist that if changes are not made in the final proposal,
it will vote against the formation of the Council. However,
the US opposition cannot affect the outcome because it does
not have the veto power in the General Assembly. For FSRN,
I'm Haider Rizvi at the United Nations.
[top]
Censuring the President (3:55)
Democratic Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin introduced
legislation to censure the President. While someprogressive
groups hope this will build momentum for impeachment, Democratic
party support for SenatorFeingold's measure is mixed. Leigh
Ann Caldwell has more from Captiol Hill.
[top]
Milosovic Dies (3:00)
A Dutch toxicologist is raising new questions over the death
of Slobodon Milosovic. While full blood test results are not
yet known, a medical expert says he found traces of drugs
in Milosovic's blood before his death that may have neutralized
treatment for his heart condition. Russia says it does not
trust the autopsy report and wants its own doctors to examine
the body. Reportedly, Milosovic told Russia that he thought
he was being poisoned. The ex-Yugoslav leader was found dead
on Saturday in his cell at the UN Tribunal in the Hague. Doctors
have said he died of a heart attack. Milosovic's trial was
nearing its end. He was charged with war crimes and crimes
against humanity for his role in the wars in Bosnia, Croatia
and Kosovo. He also faced genocide charges over the Bosnian
war, in which 100,000 people died. At a press conference over
the weekend, the UN Special Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte says
Milosovic's death makes it even more important to prosecute
and find other higher ups in his regime. To talk about Milosovic's
death and its effect on the region, we're joined on the phone
from Belgrade by freelance journalist Zoran Culafic.
[top]
CPT Tom Fox Found Dead (1:53)
Hundreds of people gathered at the Capitol today to call
for end of violence in Iraq. The crowd mourned for Tom Fox,
a Christian peace activist who was found dead in Iraq on Thursday.
Fox was one of four members from the CPT who were kidnapped
in Iraq last november. The CPT went to Baghdad to investigate
allegations of prisoner abuse. Yanmei Shia has more from Washington.
[top]
Colombians Vote (3:16)
Colombians went to the polls over the weekend in what was
a relatively calm election day. It came however after weeks
of violence and assassinations by the country's largest rebel
group in an effort to obstruct the vote. From Bogotá,
Nicole Karsin has more:
[top]
Largest Rally in Chicago for Immigrant Rights (1:54)
According to police estimates, one hundred thousand people
marched through the streets of Chicago last Friday in favor
of immigrant rights. The march was the largest in Chicago
history, and came in response to House Bill 4437, which will
turn immigration violations into a criminal offense. Shannon
Heffernan and Lora Gordon have more.
[top]
Juvenile Boot Camp Death (3:10)
On January, 14 year old African American, Martin Lee Anderson
was brought by his mother to a boot camp operated by the Florida
department of Juvenile Justice, because he had taken a joyride
in his grandmothers car. 2 hours after arriving, Anderson
had been beaten, kneed and kicked unconscious by several guards
at the camp, an incident that was captured on tape. The next
day Anderson died. After the autopsy, which was performed
by a controversial medical examiner with an expired license,
it was ruled Andersons death was not due to the beating but
to Sickle Cell trait. Calls for the closure of boot camps
are now being joined by accusations that the county and state
are covering up a pattern of racism and abuse in a boot camp
system that needs to be shut down. From WMNF in Tampa, Andrew
Stelzer has more.
[top]
French Universities Erupt (2:48)
French riot police evacuated occupying students from Paris's
historic Sorbonne University this weekend and Prime Minister
Dominique de Villepin appeared on television Sunday evening
in an attempt to stop a rising tide of protest against the
government's new youth employment scheme. But students' unions
claim that over half of the country's universities are on
strike and workers' unions plan demonstrations on Thursday
and Saturday. Tony Cross reports from Paris.
[top]
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