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Between The Lines

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Between The Lines Archive
For The Week Ending Aug. 17, 2001

THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM

LISTEN to this week's half-hour program of Between The Lines by clicking on one of the links below.

This week we present Between The Lines' summary
of under-reported news stories and:

Attacks on Haitian Police May be Linked
to Anti-Aristide Political Forces

Interview by Denize Manzari.

On July 27, heavily armed men dressed in the olive green uniforms of the disbanded Haitian Army carried out simultaneous attacks on police facilities in several areas of the country.

The offensive continued until the next day, where five policemen were killed, 14 wounded and weapons and documents reportedly stolen. Thirteen of the wounded were police cadets and three more police officers were taken hostage. According to the Reuters news agency, four former Haitian policemen, who may have been involved in the offensive, had requested political asylum in the Dominican Republic.

The Lavalas family party swept last year's municipal and legislative elections and Jean-Bertrand Aristide was overwhelmingly re-elected to the presidency last November. Although there is widespread confusion over the attackers' motives, the government of Haiti said the recent assaults were an attempt to influence negotiations between Aristide's party and the opposition coalition Democratic Convergence.

Ray LeForest is a labor organizer and co-coordinator of the Haiti Support Network, based in New York City. He spoke with Between The Lines' Denise Manzari about the political tension in Haiti and the forces that may have been behind these latest attacks.

For more information, call the Haiti Support Network at (718) 435-8100 or visit the Haiti Progres newspaper at Web site www.haiti-progres.com

Teamsters Dump Turtles to Pass Bush Energy Plan
Interview by Scott Harris.

Republicans celebrated as environmentalists mourned the passage of the Bush energy plan in the House of Representatives Aug. 2. The bill, which emphasizes energy production over conservation, won by a margin of 240 to 189, with three dozen Democrats joining the GOP majority to support the legislation. Major battles were fought to prevent drilling for oil and gas in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and to increase vehicle fuel efficiency standards, but in the end environmentalists and their allies lost on both counts.

A coalition of powerful interests were responsible for the Republican victory. The auto and oil industries joined forces with the Teamsters union to convince enough conservative Democrats and moderate Republicans to pass the Bush plan virtually intact. Consideration of energy policy now moves over to the U.S. Senate where Democrats hold a narrow majority. John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, widely thought to be a presidential hopeful, has vowed to block any authorization to drill in the environmentally fragile Arctic Wildlife Refuge.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Jason Mark, clean vehicles program director with the Union of Concerned Scientists, discusses the environmental consequences of the Bush energy policy and the labor/industry coalition that lobbied to pass the president's bill.

Contact the Union of Concerned Scientists by calling (617) 547-5552 or visit their Web site at www.ucsusa.org

40-Day Fast Launched to Protest 11 Years of Iraq Sanctions
Interview by Scott Harris.

Aug. 6 marked the 56th anniversary of the U.S. nuclear attack against the Japanese city of Hiroshima, which killed 140,000 people. This same date also marks the 11th anniversary of the imposition of United Nations' economic sanctions against the nation of Iraq, which critics charge has unnecessarily caused untold human suffering. A 1998 UNICEF study estimated that as many as 500,000 Iraqi children under the age of five had died due to the U.S.-driven economic sanctions.

A growing number of people in the U.S. and around the world, horrified by the social and economic cost that the sanctions have taken on Iraq's civilian population, have been working for the last decade to end the embargo. To observe the 11th anniversary of the sanctions, activists led by the group Voices in the Wilderness have gathered in New York City to press their campaign in an action they call, "Breaking Ranks: A Fast to End the Siege of Iraq." Dozens of those opposed to the sanctions have committed to undertake a six-week fast in a vigil located across the street from U.N. headquarters.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with former U.N. Under-Secretary General Denis Halliday, who had been in charge of Iraq's oil for food program until he resigned his post in protest of the sanctions in 1998. Halliday explains why he and others continue to work for an end to the economic sanctions against Iraq.

To get more information on the "Breaking Ranks" campaign, contact Voices in the Wilderness by calling (773) 784-8065 or visit their Web site at www.vitw.org

Related links:

This week's summary of under-reported news
Compiled by Bob Nixon and Rich Fraser

  • More than a million Congolese have died as a result of Congo's civil war, with no human rights investigation or tribunal in sight. (The Guardian, July 31, 2001)
  • Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons' influence with George W. Bush helps in gaining federal approval for a 16,000-acre low-level radioactive waste dump in Andrews, Texas. (Mother Jones, July/August 2001)
  • E-commerce protectionism limits consumer savings. (Consumers Research magazine, April 2001)

Credits:
Senior news editor/writer: Bob Nixon
News writer: Rich Fraser Program narration: Denise Manzari
News reader: Nigel Rees
Segment Producer: Denise Manzari
Distribution: Anna Manzo, Harry Minot, Jeff Yates
Web editor/producer: Anna Manzo
Executive producer: Scott Harris

... MORE ...

Between The Lines' 10th Anniversary CD

American Revolution Feature

An interview with Paul Lussier, author of the book, "The Last Refuge of Scoundrels: A Revolutionary Novel"

Follow up Stories on G8 Summit Protest/Police Brutality, Genoa, Italy

"Police Use of Force in Genoa Raises Outcry Weeks Later," New York Times, Aug. 8, 2001. (Needs NYTimes subscriber password and ID)

"Italy Holding a New Jersey Woman, 21, Snared in the Genoa Fracas," New York Times, Aug. 8, 2001

Protest Organizers in Genoa Blame Police for Violence Between The Lines interview with Vittorio Agnoletto, Genoa Social Forum organizer

Alternet.org's Globalization articles www.alternet.org Collection of articles on the protests in Genoa, Italy

"One dead, 80 injured in Genoa: The violent defense of indefensible policies," by John Nichols, The Online Beat columnist, Nation Magazine, July 20, 2001.

www.indymedia.org

Upcoming Protests

Aug. 10-15, Prison Industrial Complex, Philadelphia

Economic Globalization Resources

ZNet's Global Economic Crisis resource site Excellent source for understanding global economics and trade issues and particularly in preparation for ongoing demonstrations about economic justice

Post Inauguration and Electoral Reform Resources

"Making Every Vote Count", The Nation Magazine, Special Section

"Hailing the Thief," The Nation Special Web Exclusive Report, by Ben Ehrenreich

Multi-Ethnic Public Issues Advocacy

Dr. Earl Ofari Hutchinson's Commentaries, The Hutchinson Report

 


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