MAY 2004
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Monday, 31st May,2004
Dateline is Australia's longest-running international current affairs program and has a well-earned reputation for authoritative and incisive reporting.
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Dateline continues to provide a wide range of reports from around the world, focusing on international issues. From economics to conflict, from the environment to technology, from politics to global trends - Dateline offers a window to the world and Australia's place in it. -
Friday, 28th May,2004
Dateline will not be on air this Wednesday due to the live broadcast of the World Track Cycling Championships.
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Dateline will be back on air Wednesday 2nd June at 8.30pm. Next week Matthew Carney will assess the destruction in Rafah after the Israeli incursions. He has been on the frontline and has gained rare access to Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters in Gaza. David O’Shea has been spending some time with Indonesian presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Bali. A former general turned politician, Yudhoyono, was a cabinet minister under the last two presidents. He’s now the election frontrunner. Join us next week at 8.30pm. -
Wednesday, 19th May,2004
CAMP ASHRAF
Despite recent upheavals and assassinations, the US-led coalition in Iraq remains committed to handing over sovereignty at the end of next month. It’s a power transfer that’s making 4,000 Iranian exiles being kept in a camp near Baghdad very nervous. With help from Saddam, they formed an army to fight the mullahs in Iran. Now they’re stranded in Iraq. The Iraqi Governing Council has said it will deport them back to Iran, where they are sure to face persecution. It is believed at least two of those at risk are Australians, as Geoff Parish reports.
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Wednesday, 19th May,2004
DR MAHATHIR MOHAMED INTERVIEW
As Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr Mahathir Mohamed was never short of an opinion on Australia, but he usually avoided any direct interviews with Australian media. Recently retired but still a powerful figure in Malaysia and the Islamic world, Dr Mahatir agreed to a wide-ranging interview with Dateline about Australia, our involvement in the war on Iraq and his treatment of his former deputy Anwar Ibrahim - now languishing in a Malaysian jail. Mark Davis spoke with Dr Mahathir in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur.
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Wednesday, 19th May,2004
ISRAELI WALL
As controversy mounts over its current offensive in the Gaza Strip, Israel is bracing itself for what may be another public relations setback. An imminent ruling from the International Court of Justice will determine whether the massive security barrier being constructed in the West Bank is illegal under international law. The court’s decisions are non-binding, but the Israeli Government is deeply sensitive to international criticism over the barrier, which it says is designed to stop suicide bombers and other terror attacks. In a journey along the security fence, Elizabeth Tadic found it’s dividing much more than just the land itself.
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Wednesday, 19th May,2004
ISRAEL -THE GREAT DIVIDE
On DATELINE, screening on SBS Television on Wednesday, May 19 at 8.30pm, reporter Elizabeth Tadic takes a journey along the controversial Israeli security barrier.
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When completed it will extend 700kms and be twice the height of the Berlin Wall. The Israeli Government says it hopes to protect the nation from suicide bombers. Tadic begins her report in East Jerusalem where a bus blown apart by suicide bombers lies beside the security barrier.
Many Palestinians criticise the barrier for destroying their quality of life and their livelihoods, and claim that in many cases their land is being illegally acquired. The final result of all this, some warn, will in fact be the very reverse of what the wall intends - a level of resentment amongst Palestinians which will guarantee a continuation of suicide bombings.
Also on DATELINE this week we have an exclusive interview with former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. -
Wednesday, 12th May,2004
LASHKAR-E-TAYIBA - BLOW UP OR BEAT UP
Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Tayiba has been branded a terrorist organisation by Australia, the US and Pakistan. It’s been accused of being part of the al-Qa’ida network and of planning attacks in Australia. Guantanamo detainee David Hicks and French terror suspect Willie Brigitte are alleged to have trained with the group in Pakistan. Tonight, the first interview with Lashkar-e-Tayiba spokesman, Yahya Mujihad, since the group was banned in Pakistan over two years ago. The interview was conducted by Pakistani author and journalist, Amir Rana. Melanie Morrison reports.
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Wednesday, 12th May,2004
MARK KIMMITT INTERVIEW
It’s been a tough week for American military commanders in Iraq as the torture scandal grows. Today’s news of the beheading of American hostage Nick Berg has confirmed fears that the abuse of prisoners in Iraq could spark brutal retaliation against any Americans who fall into enemy hands. With US military authority already being challenged throughout Iraq, the coalition is now in danger of losing the moral authority it might once have enjoyed there. This afternoon Mark Davis spoke to the Deputy Director of Coalition Military Operations in Iraq, Brigadier-General Mark Kimmitt.
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Wednesday, 12th May,2004
CHECHNYA - PUTIN’S HIDDEN WAR
The assassination of Chechen President Akhmed Kadyrov last Sunday vividly showed that the war there is far from over, even though it is a largely unseen. A rigid media blackout has kept journalists out of the country for years. Dateline has managed to gain unprecedented access to this brutal and ongoing war. Kim Traill with this report. And a warning, there are scenes that may be distressing to some viewers.
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Wednesday, 12th May,2004
PUTIN\’S HIDDEN WAR
The bomb blast at the Grozny stadium on Sunday that killed the Chechen President Akhmed Kadyrov again highlights the brutal war that is still being fought between Russia and the Chechen separatists. The Russian government insists that the Chechen war is over and that the separatists have been defeated.
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DATELINE on Wednesday, May 12 at 8.30pm exposes that myth. Despite the fact that journalists are effectively banned from Chechnya, DATELINE has probed behind this veil of secrecy to reveal an ongoing war and brutal military occupation. With exclusive pictures and interviews from inside Chechnya, filmed by a human rights activist, reporter Kim Traill reveals a republic destroyed by war and ruled by fear. -
Wednesday, 5th May,2004
TORTURE UPDATE
The scandal surrounding the torture of Iraqi prisoners continues to grow by the day - a horror story threatening to besmirch all of the US Army. But at least it’s a scandal that will be promptly investigated, which is more than can be said for the Australian response to similar allegations. Last year ‘Dateline’ broadcasted a report on how Australia handled accusations of torture and, allegedly, the disappearance of prisoners in the custody of Australian forces in East Timor. Here’s a recap and an update on what has happened since.
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Wednesday, 5th May,2004
LEAH TSEMEL - PUBLIC DEFENDER NUMBER ONE
In Israel, terrorism and the suicide bomb are at the very centre of national debate and Israeli life. This has made Leah Tsemel one of the most controversial figures in the country. She is a lawyer who defends Palestinian terrorists. In Israel it’s not a popular calling but her 30-year campaign for justice has never slowed as Matthew Carney reports.
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Wednesday, 5th May,2004
ALL THE WAY WITH FPJ
Filipinos go to the polls next Monday to elect a president and there’s a lot resting on their choice. At the moment it’s looking like a close race between incumbent Gloria Arroyo, and film star, Fernando Poe Junior, also known as FPJ. The prospect of a Poe presidency has spooked the financial market and even triggered rumours of a military coup, as Ginny Stein reports.
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