APRIL 2002
-
Wednesday, 1st May,2002
BRENDON CHRISTIAN INTERVIEW
The South African Government
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astonished many observers recently
when it reversed its position on the
supply of a vital drug to HIV-positive
pregnant women. Until then, President
Thabo Mbeki had denied access to
nevirapine and other anti-retroviral
drugs on the basis that they were
toxic. But a High Court decision, as
well as pressure from South Africa`s
elder statesman, Nelson Mandela, may
have influenced his turnaround. One of
the many people who have been
agitating for a change in the
government`s position is lawyer
Brendon Christian from South Africa`s
AIDS Legal Network. I spoke with him
on a recent visit to Australia. -
Wednesday, 1st May,2002
FARHAN BOKHARI INTERVIEW
Pakistan`s state-run media is calling
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today`s referendum an emphatic victory
for President Pervez Musharraf.
General Musharraf, who seized power in
a coup 2.5 years ago, went to the
people for an endorsement of his rule.
He asked them for a 5-year extension
of his term to continue his reforms
and establish democracy. But tonight,
despite official accounts of
Pakistanis rushing to the polling
booths, there are claims of a low
voter turnout and charges of
irregularities. I spoke earlier with
Farhan Bokhari, the correspondent for
the UK`s `Financial Times`, in
Islamabad. -
Wednesday, 1st May,2002
ISRAEL - SHARON`S RIGHT HAND MAN
Today, Israel again blocked a UN fact-
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finding team from investigating
allegations of a Palestinian massacre
in the Jenin refugee camp. Israel
agreed to the UN mission in principle
two weeks ago. But its hardline
Security Cabinet has thrown up
objection after objection to the terms
of the probe, prompting outrage from
the Palestinians. Their anger is aimed
at PM Ariel Sharon, but he is not
alone in his campaign to crush
Palestinians dissent. Matthew Carney
reports on the growing power of Effie
Eitam, Sharon`s new right-hand man. -
Wednesday, 1st May,2002
THIS WEEK: SHARON’S RIGHT-HAND MAN
Matthew Carney, DATELINE’s Middle East
correspondent this week won a Logie
for Most Outstanding Special Report in
A Public Affairs Program for his
report on murder and collaboration in
Israel.
This week he returns to Israel to hear
one of Ariel Sharon’s most influential
advisors outline his radically right-
wing vision for the future of Israel.
New minister Effie Eitam wants all
Palestinians to be taken from their
homelands in the West Bank and Gaza
and relocated to Jordan and Egypt. The
West Bank and Gaza would then be
reoccupied and Palestinians offered
some autonomy but not a Palestinian
state or any democratic rights.
Three weeks ago Mr Eitam was elevated
from army general to the security
council of the Israeli Knesset
(Parliament). Mr Eitam’s far right
National Religious Party has just five
members in the Knesset, but wields
enormous power.
Mr Eitam backs Israel’s Messianic
Zionists, a minority sect that
believes the Messiah will only return
when the entire West Bank has been
settled by the Jews. Central to this
belief is that the Jews’ first temple –
Temple Mount (on which stands Islam’s
Al Aqsa Mosque) – must be returned to
Jewish control.
The majority of Israelis see Mr Eitam
as an extremist but in the face of
continuing suicide bombings he is
gaining popularity.
Meanwhile, if the Labour Party finally
decides to abandon the Unity
government, which Mr Eitam is pushing
to the extreme right, any hope of a
negotiated settlement with the
Palestinians will be impossible.
Read more...
That’s Dateline, this Wednesday May
1st at 8.30 pm. -
Wednesday, 24th April,2002
GREECE - AI STRATIS
Until recently, the Greek island of
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Ayos Efstratios had no special claim
to fame. So when an anthropologist
decided to study life on this poorly
developed outcrop in the Aegean Sea,
the last thing he expected was to
discover a treasure. The remarkable
memories of an old man had created an
unparalleled visual history of the
island. Thanks to him, Greeks are
seeing the little island they call Ai
Stratis in a whole new light. -
Wednesday, 24th April,2002
GEORGIA - 60 MINUTES OF DEMOCRACY
First, to `60 Minutes`, the television
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program in the former Soviet Republic
of Georgia. In the last year the
program has brought down a government,
exposed local corruption and revealed
the presence of the al-Qa’ida network
in the Caucasus. Its fearless
investigative approach has both the
United States and Russia sitting up
and taking notice. In fact, the
divergent interests of those two
countries are also grist to the mill
for a crusading TV station, committed
to free speech. Nick Lazaredes begins
this story in Georgia`s capital,
Tbilisi. -
Wednesday, 24th April,2002
THIS WEEK: 60 MINUTES OF DEMOCRACY
A decade after independence from the
USSR, the republic of Georgia faces
problems that threaten to tear the
country apart.
Exposing issues like endemic
institutional corruption have made
powerful enemies for Georgia’s top
rating popular television station,
Rustavi Two. Last year one of the most
popular journalists on the independent
channel was murdered while working on
a story exposing how government
officials were involved in drug
smuggling.
As Nick Lazaredes reports, Rustavi Two
itself then became the target.
Georgian police, intelligence and tax
officials raided Rustavi`s offices in
Tbilisi just as the news was about to
go live to air.
The quick-witted journalists seized
their chance and broadcast the
commotion. Within twenty-four hours,
40,000 people had gathered in an anti-
government demonstration. To defuse
the situation, President Eduard
Shevardnadze was forced to sack the
entire government and pledge his
commitment to freedom of speech.
Rustavi`s current affairs flagship is
a Georgian version of 60 Minutes,
which has been dubbed the "60 Minutes
of Democracy".
Recently it has concentrated on the
Georgian and American alliance against
terrorists, who are believed to be
hiding in the Pankisi Gorge on the
Chechnya. After publicly revealing
the presence of Al Qaeda, the program
has since exposed a corrupt Georgian
army colonel, who was smuggling arms
from Russian military bases to Chechen
rebels waiting in the gorge.
That’s Dateline, this Wednesday April
24 at 8.30pm.
Also this week on Dateline: PICTURES
OF THE PAST
The photographic legacy of Vasilis
Manikakis, who for thirty years
documented every aspect of life on his
Greek island home of Ai Stratis, in
the North Aegean.
His son remembers that Sunday was the
family’s busiest day because people
would be out at festivals, funerals
and cafes. Mr Manikakis would return
home late in the day and develop his
photos, before returning to his farm
work while his son and wife dried and
polished the prints.
The images are of a community changing
over time - its landscape, work,
relationships, politics, celebrations
and rituals. They also trace the
lives of individuals - children
growing up, adults aging and dying.
From 1948 to 1963 Ai Stratis operated
as one of many destinations for
political exiles. People with or
accused of having socialist sympathies
were removed from Greek society to the
isolation of the island. Their arrival
in Ai Stratis tripled the population
and brought innovations and city
culture.
Many exiles still feel Greece`s civil
war, and the mass deportations remain
an unacknowledged part of official
Greek history. Their hope is that the
exhibition and publication of
Manikakis` photos will be part of a
process of national reconciliation.
Read more...
That’s Dateline, this Wednesday April
24th at 8.30pm. -
Wednesday, 17th April,2002
DITA SARI - RUNNING AGAINST REEBOK
Anti-globalisation protests in
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industrial nations have grabbed
headlines around the world. But in
Indonesia, workers are still battling
to get out of their Third World
sweatshops. Leading the charge against
the country`s poor conditions and low
wages is trade union activist Dita
Sari. She has proved unstoppable in
the face of arrest, torture and
imprisonment. Even her nemesis,
international shoe company Reebok, saw
fit to honour her. Bronwyn Adcock
caught up with Dita Sari on a recent
visit to Sydney. -
Wednesday, 17th April,2002
IRAN - REFORMERS ON TOP
The US calls it part of the "axis of
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evil". Israel says it funds the
Hezbollah and sends arms to the
Palestinians. But there is more to
Iran than hardline clerics and
religious fanaticism. In 1997 and
again in 2001 political reformers won
landslide election victories. The
hardline mullahs, however, used their
control of the judiciary and the
security forces to stifle progress.
But now it seems the reformers are
finally gaining the upper hand.
Matthew Carney reports on this little-
known turnaround. -
Wednesday, 17th April,2002
KATHY KELLY INTERVIEW
The search for the truth of what did
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happen in the West Bank town of Jenin
is not likely to be set aside. The
Palestinians claim further
investigation will find proof of a
massacre while the Israelis insist
Jenin was the site of a fierce
military battle with terrorists. Among
those in Jenin at the moment is
American Kathy Kelly from the pro-
Palestinian organisation International
Solidarity. I spoke to her a short
time ago. -
Wednesday, 17th April,2002
YOSSI BEILIN INTERVIEW
As US Secretary of State Colin Powell
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prepares to end his Middle East trip,
the Israeli-Palestinian impasse
appears no closer to resolution.
General Powell travelled to the region
because of international concerns over
Israel`s offensive into Palestinian-
controlled territories on the West
Bank. The stakes rose even higher with
the arrest of Marwan Barghouti, leader
of the so-called Tanzim militia which
is responsible for fierce anti-Israel
resistance. Yossi Beilin was a
minister in Israel`s Barak government,
and he is highly critical of Prime
Minister Sharon`s handling of the
present crisis. I spoke with Yossi
Beilin earlier. -
Wednesday, 17th April,2002
THIS WEEK: IRAN - REFORMERS ON TOP.
The common Western portrayal of Iran
is a country of religious fanatics
that belongs to the “axis of evil”.
Matthew Carney goes beyond this broad
misconception to find one where
elected reformers are fighting to take
control.
In 1997 and again in 2001 nearly 80
per cent of the country voted for
reform when they elected Mohammed
Khatami as president. Reformers also
won a landslide victory in Iran’s
parliamentary elections two years
ago.
Real power in Iran rests not with the
president, however, but with the
Ayatollah Khameini, the Supreme
Leader. The Ayatollah controls the
military, the police and the courts.
The religious establishment used this
control to muzzle the reformist-
dominated parliament.
Last year however, the reformists won
their first significant judicial
victory. Outspoken MP, Hossein
Logmanian, had his conviction for
defending the parliament and media
overturned. Other reformers have also
been released from prison.
At the same time reformist clerics
such as Dr Moshen Kadivar have also
started supporting change and openly
calling for hardline clerics to get
out of politics. Dr Kadivar leads a
new religious school that incorporates
democratic ideals into Islam.
After September 11, Iran’s reformers
found themselves working with the
Americans as part of an unofficial
alliance to oust the Taliban. Iran
was a long-time supporter of the
Northern Alliance and instructed it to
join forces with the Americans.
But President Bush’s speech naming
Iran as part of an “axis of evil”
again froze the thawing relations.
Iran’s hardliners claimed it as proof
that the reformers were misguided and
irresponsible. Iran’s reformers are
now forced to contend with America’s
hardliners as well as their own.
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That’s Dateline, this Wednesday April
17th at 8.30pm. -
Wednesday, 10th April,2002
NO BROADCAST
Due to unforseen circumstances,
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DATELINE was not broadcast this week. -
Wednesday, 3rd April,2002
INDIA - WHO KILLED THE SIKHS
After a rare sitting of both houses of
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parliament last week, the Indian
Government passed draconian anti-
terrorism laws. They allow for up to
three months detention without any
charges being laid. However, many
people in the majority Sikh state of
Punjab say the Indian Government has
already gone far beyond those laws. In
the past two decades, the Sikhs claim
hundreds of people have been detained,
tortured and killed in the name of
anti-terrorism. Tonight, Dateline
reveals a tale of murder and intrigue
that reaches to the heart of India`s
political establishment. This report
from Geoff Parrish. -
Wednesday, 3rd April,2002
FAROUK KADDOUMI INTERVIEW
Palestinians claim that this has been
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one of the worst weeks they have ever
seen in a long history plagued with
violence. On the West Bank, the dead
are being buried in common graves. The
morgues are full, hospitals are
without electricity, the streets too
dangerous for people to step out of
their homes, and the Palestinian
leader now completely surrounded and
under siege. Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon has offered President
Arafat a way out of his besieged
compound - a one-way ticket into
exile. Palestinians say Mr Arafat will
choose death over that option. I spoke
to the Palestinian Foreign Minister
Farouk Kaddoumi a short time ago.
