August 07, 2002
Colombian President Inaugurated (4:35)
Today, in Bogotá, independent right-wing Alvaro Uribe was inaugurated President of Colombia. His predecessor, Andres Pastrana started his term by initiating peace talks with the guerrillas and conceding a large demilitarized territory to them in Southern Colombia. But the ante in the 38-year conflict was raised when, in February this year, President Pastrana called off the three-year negotiation process with the FARC. Since then, scenes of a full-blown war have increasingly plagued the country. In the midst of President Pastrana’s two failed negotiations with guerrilla groups, increasing illegal drug production and a declining economy, Alvaro Uribe won the elections by a landslide with his offer to improve security, be tough on rebel armies and reorganize the country’s administration and institutions. Nicole Karsin reports.
Logging in Peru Could Cause Genocide (5:34)
Human rights workers in Peru say some of the world’s few remaining isolated indigenous peoples could be wiped out if the Peruvian government doesn’t do something to control illegal mahogany loggers. Some twenty people have been killed in recent confrontations in the Peruvian Amazon, and reports this week suggest the tension between loggers and the tribes is escalating. Human rights workers fear what they’re calling a “genocide” for the indigenous groups, either by guns or by disease. But a U.S. lumber company–which admits it may be funding the illegal logging–says it’s not to blame. Josh Chaffin reports.
Women Protest Chevron in Nigeria (4:52)
Workers protesting outside Chevron’s head office in Lagos, Nigeria, paralyzed business activities yesterday. The workers were demanding that Texaco’s worldwide guidelines for employees not continue to be breached in Nigeria. This protest comes on the heels of weeks of protests by women in Nigeria who shut down five of Chevron-Texaco’s oil installations for ten days this past month. The women left the installations only after meeting a senior executive of Chevron-Texaco’s parent company who promised to meet their demands for the provision of social amenities in their communities. And as Sam Olukoya reports from the Niger Delta, this is the first time in thirty years that a senior Chevron-Texaco official has negotiated with local people.
Minority Retention Rates Falling on College Campuses (5:35)
This week the most elite branch of the US Navy, the Navy Seals, announced they are launching a campaign to recruit more minorities to their ranks. The Seals is historically one of the whitest branches of the Navy, and civil rights groups worry that the push to recruit more young people of color comes as the Bush administration is readying itself for war with Iraq. Recruiting for defense jobs, they say, comes at the expense of education. And as Ngoc Nguyen reports from Pacifica station KPFK, a recent university study reveals as high as a 40 percent dropout rate among students of color on some college campuses.
