Archive - Jun 19, 2009

• Ayatollah wants protesters to accept election results
• How effective is USAID to Pakistan? FSRN visits tribal areas
• Thousands kidnapped on Mexican migration route
• Health care reform good for the economy says Obama administration
• Clean energy bill could do more harm than good

• FAO says 1 billion people are hungry
• Peru’s Congress revokes natural resource laws at root of indigenous protests
• More than 700 UK workers fired after holding unofficial strike
• ICE immigration raids “abusive” according to report
• Juneteenth celebrated across US

Iran´s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khameini backed the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today, calling on supporters of opposition candidates to terminate protests over last week's election results.

Khameini rarely speaks in public, but today he addressed a crowd of thousands at Tehran university. He defended last weekend results.  

“Sometimes the difference between two individuals is 100 thousand or 500 thousand votes” he said, “But how can 11 million votes be replaced or changed?”

Iranian authorities declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the winner of last weekend´s election with over 60 per cent of the ballot, claiming he obtained 11 million votes more than reformist candidate Mir Houssein Moussavi.
But opposition leaders say the elections were fraudulent, and they filed more than 600 complaints throughout this week, while their supporters held massive marches in Tehran.

Today,  Ayatollah Khameini urged opposition leaders to handle their concerns through Iran´s legal system and not through public demonstrations.  

Meanwhile in the United States, the House passed a resolution that "condemns the ongoing violence against demonstrators by the Government of Iran and pro-government militias, as well as the ongoing government suppression of independent electronic communication through interference with the Internet and cellphones."
After today's vote, Republican Eric Cantor of Virginia spoke to the press. He echoed GOP views against the Obama Administration's pursuit of diplomacy.

But while many condemn the Iranian government's treatment of protesters, some analysts point out that massive protests since last weekend have been largely peaceful, and they say that for the most part, police have not enforced an official ban on public gatherings.

Pakistani ground forces moved into South Waziristan today, in what is the beginning of another large attack against Taliban militants.  Pakistan´s army is concluding what they say is a successful campaign against Islamic militants in the Swat valley, but the government must now help over two million people who have been displaced by the fighting.

As in many internal conflicts, instability in Pakistan is fueled by poverty and inequality. And Pakistan receives millions of dollars in USAID to build roads and improve  basic services in impoverished areas and in regions where fighting is taking place.  In 2008, the US government provided 750 million dollars for the development of the federally administered tribal areas, a region known for harboring Taliban insurgents.
But does this aid reach those need it the most?

Nathan Moore reads for FSRN´s Gabe Matthews who traveled around the tribal region to bring us this report.

A report published this week by Mexico's Human Rights Commission shows that close to 10,000 migrants were kidnapped for ransom in Mexican territory in a recent 6 month period.  The commission based its statistics on information provided by migrant shelters, migrant testimonies, press accounts, and legal records, while noting that the actual dimensions of the kidnapping epidemic are likely to be much larger. Shannon Young reports from Oaxaca.

In Washington, DC today, a top Obama administration official tried to make her point that health care reform will actually make the economy grow while reducing the government´s deficit. She faced some skeptics on the House Budget Committee. Tanya Snyder reports.

The Waxman-Markey bill, or so-called “clean energy bill” has been a work-in-progress since May, seeking to promote energy independence, reduce global warming, and create green jobs.  However, many are expressing that in its current form, the bill could actually do more harm than good.  Sam Greenspan reports from Washington.