OCTOBER 2002
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Wednesday, 30th October,2002
ZAMBIA - CAN BEGGARS BE CHOOSERS
International food aid is the lifeline for countries facing starvation and it is usually gratefully received. Today however, in an unprecedented move, one such country has refused that desperately needed food. The Zambian government says it doesn’t want grain donated by the US, because it is genetically modified. The aid was first rejected four months ago, since then Zambia has been under intense pressure to reverse the decision. Today, the government went so far as to demand that the grain be removed from the country. Bronwyn Adcock reports on the events leading up to that decision.
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Wednesday, 30th October,2002
GENERAL MADE PASTIKA INTERVIEW
The Balinese Police General who is joint head of the investigation is under immense domestic and international pressure to solve the case. General Made Pastika comes with a reputation as a tough-minded investigator. He and his team have just released these identikit pictures of three strong suspects. According to the General, the men are Indonesian but not Balinese. Jana Wendt spoke with him earlier about what his investigations have revealed so far.
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Wednesday, 30th October,2002
INDONESIAN POLITICS
Two and a half weeks after the Bali bombing Indonesia is counting the cost of the terrorist attack. The once bustling tourist centre is all but deserted, dozens of victims are still to be identified, and new figures show a significant outflow of investment from Indonesia. There are also questions about President Megawati Sukarnoputri’s ability to deal with the crisis. David O’Shea in Jakarta with this report on the complex challenges facing Megawati and her government.
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Wednesday, 23rd October,2002
WEST PAPUA - SECRETS AND LIES
Made Pastika, the Indonesian police investigator mentioned by Robert Gelbard in our recent interview, is considered one of the best in the country. Until last week, he was focused on another terror attack. Two months ago, three teachers, two of them American, were gunned down in West Papua, Indonesia's easternmost province. The military immediately blamed the attack on the OPM, Papua's independence movement. But since then a murky trail of witnesses and inconsistencies has cast doubt on the military's story. Dateline's Ginny Stein was given rare access to the police investigation for this report.
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Wednesday, 23rd October,2002
ROBERT GELBARD INTERVIEW
For months before two bombs exploded in the tourist haven of Bali, the Indonesian Government had been hearing blunt warnings about possible strikes on its territory. The loudest came from the US Ambassador to Indonesia. By all accounts, President Megawati's government was not especially receptive. Sadly, Indonesia has been hearing warnings about terrorist activity for more than two years. They began when Robert Gelbard was the US's outspoken representative in Jakarta. When he presented the government with information revealing the movement of al-Qa'ida operatives into Indonesia, the then President, Abdurrahman Wahid did not act. Jana Wendt spoke with Robert Gelbard from Washington about the chances of a successful Indonesian investigation of the Bali bombing.
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Wednesday, 23rd October,2002
VENEZUELA - ANATOMY OF A COUP
Overnight, high-ranking military officers who led the April coup in Venezuela have publicly declared themselves again in rebellion. They are demanding the resignation of flamboyant left-wing President, Hugo Chavez, and have called on other members of the armed forces to join them. So far that hasn’t happened. But Chavez has faced a tough week, unions and business staged a 12-hour general strike, the third in three months. And authorities claim they have uncovered two assassination plots against the President in the past three days. The opposition and Chavez have been locked in a power struggle since April, when a general strike boiled over into a coup. Tonight we tell the story of how that coup came unstuck, but first, a reminder of how it all began.
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Wednesday, 16th October,2002
VENEZUELA - ANATOMY OF A COUP
Today, the President of Venezuela faces an ultimatum from his opponents - resign, call elections, or suffer an indefinite general strike. Six months ago it was another general strike that led to a coup d’etat, in which President Hugo Chavez was deposed, only to be rescued and reinstalled two days later. The bungled coup was an object lesson in how not to attempt regime change. With exclusive access to the main players in this drama, and unique behind-the-scenes pictures, Bentley Dean has produced a minute-by-minute account of the coup in progress. Tonight we bring to you the first part in a story that will be continued next week.
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Wednesday, 16th October,2002
MATORI ABDUL DJALIL INTERVIEW
This afternoon the speculation deepened when a former Indonesian air force officer was reported to have confessed to building the bomb. But earlier in the week, Indonesia’s Defence Minister was quick to declare that al-Qa’ida did, in fact, have a foothold in the country. The admission marked a turning point for Indonesia. For the last 18 months, its neighbours, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines have been busy arresting terrorists. Indonesia, on the other hand, denied it even had a problem. But in June, it arrested and extradited to the US, a senior al-Qa’ida figure. Omar al Faruq has since confessed to being the network’s senior representative in South-East Asia. Jana Wendt spoke earlier with Indonesia’s Defence Minister, Matori Abdul Djalil about his government’s apparent change of heart.
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Wednesday, 16th October,2002
BALI BACKGROUNDER
The devastating bomb attack in Bali last weekend was clearly a tragedy for Australia. But the consequences for Indonesia could also be disastrous. Our nearest neighbour now stands accused of being complacent, even negligent, in hunting down terrorists within its borders. And now elements within the Indonesian military are suspected of possible involvement. But can President Megawati Sukarnoputri get to the bottom of these mysterious attacks? She risks her political future if she cracks down on Islamic extremists and international opprobrium if she doesn’t. David O’Shea and Geoff Parish prepared this report.
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Wednesday, 9th October,2002
AHMED RASHID INTERVIEW
Ahmed Rashid is a veteran observer of politics in his own country, Pakistan, as well as a specialist on Afghanistan and Central Asia. He has been monitoring the lead-up to tomorrow’s election and Jana Wendt spoke with him from his home in Lahore.
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Wednesday, 9th October,2002
PAKISTAN BACKGROUNDER
Tomorrow, (Thursday 10 October), 70 million Pakistanis will be eligible to vote for the first time since a military coup three years ago installed General Pervez Musharraf. The General promised not to "perpetuate himself" in power. But his rule so far, would suggest the contrary. However the President’s decision to align Pakistan with the US in its war on terrorism has shifted much attention away from any promised return to democracy. Jana Wendt spoke with Pakistani writer Ahmed Rashid about tomorrow’s election, but first this background report.
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Wednesday, 9th October,2002
ARMENIA - GENOCIDE DENIED
This year an expected 500,000 people will visit the Holocaust Museum in Auschwitz, Poland. Israel, quite rightly, wants the world to remember the attempted extermination of European Jewry. But that wasn’t the first genocide of the 20th century. Though few remember, in 1915 the Ottoman Turkish empire slaughtered its minority Armenian population. But the Turkish Government maintains the Armenian genocide never happened and it dismisses countless eyewitness testimonies as propaganda. Turkey receives endorsement from an unlikely source - it’s Middle Eastern ally - Israel. But now prominent intellectuals in both Turkey and Israel are speaking out against their governments’ policies of denial. Dateline’s Matthew Carney reports.
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Wednesday, 2nd October,2002
VANUATU - SPIES OF THE PACIFIC
A rare insight into the politics of our Pacific neighbour Vanuatu, and disturbing allegations about Australia’s role in that country. Last month Vanuatu’s army, the VMF, sparked a constitutional crisis when it tried to arrest the senior ranks of the police force for mutiny. It was a dangerous standoff since both sides were heavily armed. The army’s action was in turn a response to the arrest by police, of government officials, some weeks before. In the shadows of this turmoil Australian Federal Police advisers in the country, now stand accused of spying and undue meddling in the internal political process. Australia is the superpower in this region, and many Pacific nations resent what they see as Australia’s efforts to control their political agenda. Mark Davis gained extraordinary access to witness Vanuatu’s political process from the inside, during a week of crisis.
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