November 19, 2004
Headlines
A Venezuelan prosecutor pressing charges against hundreds of the nation’s richest and most powerful who are allegedly involved in a failed coup attempt has been murdered. An explosion tore apart Danilo Anderson’s truck as he was driving through the capitol of Caracas late last night. Free Speech Radio News Correspondent William Camacaro says Anderson was a strong supporter of leftist president Hugo Chavez and an honest man who may be irreplaceable. (TAPE 0:32) Opposition politicians, lawyers, businessmen and ex-military officers asked for amnesty for any role they may have played in the two day removal of democratically elected President Hugo Chavez. Venezuelan Attorney General Rodriguez said those Anderson was investigating would become suspects.
Thousands of protestors marched in Santiago, Chile today against George W. Bush’s foreign policy and his visit to the South American nation. Security has practically closed down the city of 5 point 5 million and most businesses called a holiday during the Asia Pacific Economic summit. Leaders of 21 foreign nations, including Mr. Bush, and more than 500 corporate elites are scheduled to discuss so-called free trade over the weekend. One eyewitness said that the demonstrators represented a wide variety of organizations, political groups, ages and social classes.
Sudanese government officials and southern rebel leaders pledged yet again to cease hostilities in the 21 year old civil war. Representatives with the United Nations say they are also hopeful this peace negotiation will help ease the fighting in the troubled Darfur region where nearly 2 million people have been displaced and an estimated 70-thousand have been killed.
Officials with the UN refugee agency are pleading for more help in nations in the vicinity of the Ivory Coast. Rupert Cook reports from Sierra Leone.
One Senator is trying to curb the injustice of journalists being sent to prison for refusing to reveal their sources. Mitch Jeserich reports from Capitol Hill.
A campaign called “ReDefeat Bush” took to the streets around the White House. Ed Stevens was there.
Features
Mosque Attacked -5:01
The US is paying close to $5.8 billion per month for the occupation of Iraq, a substantial increase on earlier estimates, according to the website: Antiwar.com. Quoting military generals, the website says that the army alone is spending $4.7 billion per month in Iraq, while the air force is spending some $800 million and the marines close to $300 million. Meanwhile, as the clean up begins in Fallujah, where the US attack reduced many homes to rubble and caused acute housing and food shortages, the US says it will offer the people of Fallujah engineering experts to help rebuild. And fighting in other Iraqi cities continues as FSRN correspondents in Baghdad, Dahr Jamail and Salam Talib report.
Protest Outside White House Over Nov 2 Results -1:57
The group Re-Defeat Bush held a rally in front of the White House today in an effort to keep the November 2nd election on the agenda. Contesting the outcome in Ohio is their main goal. Jenny Johnson reports.
Iran the Next Iraq? -3:33
The Washington Post today accused the U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell of making unsubstantiated allegations about Iran’s nuclear program. The Post said Powell’s intelligence about Iran’s nuclear capabilities was unverified and based on an “unvetted, single source”. One of the biggest foreign policy issues facing the Bush Administration’s second term will be how the United States approaches Iran. In the face of the costly US-led invasion of Iraq, European nations are trying to avoid a military conflict with Iran by crafting a nuclear nonproliferation agreement with the Iran government. Ingrid Drake from Washington, DC reports on efforts by Iranian dissidents to urge the Bush Administration to avoid diplomacy and take a hard-line against the Iranian government.
Investigation of Muslim Deaths in Thailand -3:20
Thailand has rejected a UN request to investigate an incident between demonstrators and police which left more than 85 Thai-Muslims dead on October 25th. Most of the people died of suffocation, after they were arrested and apparently stacked into trucks en route to detention centers. The violence occurred in the Kingdom’s majority Muslim provinces in the deep south, where more than 500 people have been killed this year. Doualy Xaykaothao traveled to the region and has this update.
Annual SOA Protest this Weekend -5:10
This weekend marks the 15th annual demonstration outside the gates of Ft.Benning, Georgia, to protest a US training school for military and police officers from Latin America. Some graduates have been accused of committing rape, torture and murder when they return to their own countries. The facility used to be called the School of the Americas, or SOA, and is now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, or WHINSEC. While the Army denies any causal relationship between enrollment in the school and subsequent abuses committed by some graduates, opponents of the school – including many in Congress – say US taxpayers shouldn’t be footing the bill. Reporter Melinda Tuhus brings us this preview of this weekend’s annual protest by the School of the Americas Watch.
