Democracy Now! Daily Digest: A Daily
Independent Global News Hour with Amy Goodman & Juan González – Monday, 25
November 2013
Stories:
Spooky Business: U.S. Corporations Enlist
Ex-Intelligence Agents to Spy on Nonprofit Groups
A new report details how corporations are
increasingly spying on nonprofit groups they regard as potential threats. The
corporate watchdog organization Essential Information found a diverse groups of
nonprofits have been targeted with espionage, including environmental, antiwar,
public interest, consumer safety, pesticide reform, gun control, social
justice, animal rights and arms control groups. The corporations carrying out
the spying include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Wal-Mart, Monsanto, Bank of
America, Dow Chemical, Kraft, Coca-Cola, Chevron, Burger King, McDonald’s,
Shell, BP, and others. According to the report, these corporations employ
former CIA, National Security Agency and FBI agents to engage in private
surveillance work, which is often illegal in nature but rarely — if ever —
prosecuted. We’re joined by Gary Ruskin, author of the report, "Spooky
Business: Corporate Espionage Against Nonprofit Organizations," and
director of the Center for Corporate Policy, a project of Essential Information.
Click here to watch part 2 of this
interview.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not
be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: As we turn to a new report
detailing how corporations are increasingly spying on nonprofit groups that
they regard as potential threats. The
report’s called, "Spooky Business: Corporate Espionage Against Nonprofit
Organizations." It was released by the corporate watch group Essential
Information. The report found a diverse group of nonprofits have been targeted
with espionage, including environmental, antiwar, public interest, consumer
safety, pesticide reform, gun control, social justice, animal rights, and arms
control groups. The corporations
carrying out the spying include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Wal-Mart,
Monsanto, Bank of America, Dow Chemical, Kraft, Coca-Cola, Chevron, Burger
King, McDonald’s, Shell, BP, and others.
According to the report, these corporations employ former CIA, NSA and
FBI agents to engage in private surveillance work which is often illegal in
nature but rarely, if ever, prosecuted.
For more we go to California where we’re joined by the report’s author,
Gary Ruskin. He is the director of the
Center for Corporate Policy, a project of Essential Information. Gary, Welcome back to Democracy Now! Explain
what you found.
GARY RUSKIN: Thanks for having me on the
show again, Amy. Yeah, we found a tremendous diversity of corporate espionage
being conducted against a wide variety of civic groups across the country and
the U.K., the case in Ecuador and in France as well. So what we found was a
tremendous variety of use of different types of espionage tactics from dumpster
diving to hiring investigators to pose as journalists or volunteers, to
electronic espionage, information warfare, information operations hacking,
electronic surveillance. And so this
appears to be a growing phenomenon both here in the United States and maybe in
other parts of the world as well. But our report is an effort to document
something that’s very hard to know very much about. We aggregated 30 different cases of corporate
espionage to try to talk about them, but really, each of the cases we have very
fragmentary information. And so it’s
hard to say — we have a, we have a part of an iceberg whether it’s the tip of
the iceberg or the tippy tip of the iceberg, we don’t really know.
AMY GOODMAN: Gary, let’s got to — I want
to go to 2010; Greenpeace files a federal lawsuit against Dow Chemical and
Sasol North America for engaging in corporate espionage. The lawsuit alleged
corporate spies stole thousands of confidential documents from Greenpeace,
including campaign plans, employee records; phone records, donor and media
lists. Democracy Now! spoke to Charlie Cray, the senior researcher with
Greenpeace USA at the time. He explained what happened.
CHARLIE CRAY: BBI, the defunct private
investigation firm hired subcontractors including off-duty police officers who
went through Greenpeace’s trash to find useful documents on a regular basis.
Over two years they did this almost twice a week on average. They also used subcontractors who had
colleagues who attempted to infiltrate Greenpeace as volunteers. They cased the
Greenpeace office looking for we don’t know what, but probably doing advanced
scouting for people who would then intrude upon the property. We found a list
of door codes, we found a folder that said "wiretap info," which was
empty. We know this company has sub-contracted with a company called Net Safe,
which is a company that was made of former NSA officials skilled in computer
hacking and things like that. So we
really don’t know the full extent of this, but what we’ve seen is incredibly
shocking. And our goal is to bring this
out into the light of day and to stop it if it’s still going on.”
---
Historic Deal Curbs Iran’s Nuclear
Program While Easing U.S.-Led Devastating Economic Sanctions
Iran and six world powers have clinched a
deal to temporarily limit and roll back the Iranian nuclear program in exchange
for the easing of international sanctions. The United States and Iran described
the agreement as a first step toward a comprehensive deal. The deal was
announced after five days of negotiations in Geneva, but it followed months of
previously undisclosed secret talks between American and Iranian officials. We
speak to Reza Marashi, research director at the National Iranian American
Council, just back from Geneva where he attended the Iran nuclear talks.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not
be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: Iran and six world powers
have clinched a deal to temporarily limit and roll back the Iranian nuclear
program in exchange for the easing of international sanctions. The United
States and Iran described the agreement as a first step toward a comprehensive
deal. The deal was announced after five days of negotiations in Geneva, but had
followed months of previously undisclosed secret talks between American and
Iranian officials. On Sunday, president Obama outlined key parts of the deal.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: For the first time in
nearly a decade, we have halted the progress of the Iranian nuclear program.
And key parts of the program will be rolled back. Iran has committed to holding
certain levels of enrichment and neutralizing part of its stockpiles. Iran
cannot use its next-generation centrifuges, which are used for enriching
uranium. Iran cannot install or start up new centrifuges and its production of
centrifuges will be limited. Iran will halt work at its plutonium reactor. And
new inspections will provide extensive access to Iran’s bigger facilities and
allow the international community to verify whether Iran is keeping its
commitments.
These are substantial limitations which
will help prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon. Simply put, they cut off
Iran’s most likely paths to a bomb. Meanwhile, this first step will create time
and space over the next six months for more negotiations to fully address our
comprehensive concerns about the Iranian program. And because of this
agreement, Iran cannot use negotiations as cover to advance its program.
AMY GOODMAN: Iranian President Hassan
Rouhani said the agreement indicates the world has recognized Iran’s nuclear
rights. [For more on] the deal, we’re joined by Reza Marashi, the Research
Director at the National Iranian American Council. He returned Sunday from
Geneva after attending the talks on Iran’s nuclear program. Welcome to
_Democracy Now! Can you talk about the significance of this agreement, Reza?
REZA MARASHI: What we witnessed over the
past few days in Geneva is really nothing short of historic. You only really
have to juxtapose what we’ve seen over the past few days with three or four
months ago, what a difference an Iranian president can make and what a
difference diplomacy can make when political leaders are willing to take risks
for peace and invest in the process. As a result of that willingness, we have
seen not only roll backs on Iran’s nuclear program, but we’ve also seen a
willingness on the part of Western countries to limit the amount of sanctions
that they’re putting on Iran, adding no new sanctions. Provide sanctions
relief. And I would argue most importantly, finesse the language surrounding
this issue of Iran’s right to enrich uranium. The language that was used in the
agreement allows both sides to walk away with a win/win scenario where the West
can say, we are not acknowledging Iran’s right to enrich, Iran can say they
have acknowledge to our right to enrich, and that is what diplomacy is about at
the end of the day, creating win/win outcomes. So this is nothing short of
positive.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about the six
countries, world powers, involved and why they in particular were involved in
this agreement with Iran?
REZA MARASHI: That is a great question,
let’s unpack that. When the P5+1, as it’s called, the permanent members of the
U.N. Security Council, plus Germany, put this process together, it dates back
to the Bush administration. The Bush administration refused to engage Iran
seriously in diplomacy, so they used our allies in Europe as a political cover
of sorts. To create a process that could engage Iran diplomatically without the
U.S. leading the process or being seen as driving it. The Obama administration
inherited this and has used it in different ways. In an attempt to maintain
unity within the international community, vis-à-vis Iran. But, actually, what
we saw in Geneva was more negotiations between the P5+1 themselves than their
diplomacy directly with Iran because they themselves had to get on the same page
in terms of what they’re going to offer Iran in terms of compromises. So, the
more cooks you have in the kitchen, the harder it becomes to find a spoon.
Fortunately, everybody was able to get on the same page and a historic first up
deal was reached.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you explain why it’s
Iran that the world is focusing around, around this whole issue of nuclear
power and weapons?
REZA MARASHI: Another great question. I
would say there are two reasons why so much focus displaced on Iran. One, we
are talking about the Middle East, which is a region where if you have
international rules of the game as it pertains to foreign policy and national
security, those rules of the game clearly change once you enter this part of
the world because of the oil and gas resources they have there, because Israel
is there, and because the United States has more or less run the security of
this part of the world since the end of World War II. But, I think more
specifically than that, the reason why it is critical is because are talking
about the world’s most dangerous weapons at the end of the day. And there’s
little to no trust between the U.S. and Iran. Fortunately, diplomacy at the
outset does not require trust. Through the diplomatic process, you build trust
that is necessary to reach a final agreement and hopefully, in six months time
from now, we will be able to reach that point.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to turn to the words
of Iranian President Rouhani.
HASSAN ROUHANI: [translated] The outcome
of these negotiations is that the five plus one, or in other words, the world
powers, have recognized Iran’s nuclear rights. The Islamic Republic of Iran
[Indiscernible] enjoys this right. And this right has been granted to all the
signatories of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. For this reason, more than 40
countries in the world carry out enrichment programs with the NPT. On this
basis, the International Atomic Energy Agency monitors the performance of most
countries who produce nuclear fuel.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you explain what Iran
gets out of this, Reza Marashi?
REZA MARASHI: Absolutely, and that is a
critical component. The way that they have set this process up is to
essentially break it into two parts. Step one and step two. In step one, the
Iranian government will receive some relief from sanctions, more specifically
on gold and petrochemicals. They will receive access to Iranian money and
foreign bank accounts. Those assets will be unfrozen and a clean banking
channel has been set up to facilitate that process. They will receive spare
parts to civilian aircraft that have long been sanctioned and put innocent
Iranians in danger as they’ve flown around the country and flown around
internationally. They will also have received wording related to this idea of
their right to enrich uranium on Iranian soil. This is critical because I would
argue that Foreign Minister Zarif and President Rouhani, 10 years ago when they
were negotiating with the Europeans, over this exact issue, reached an agreement
with three European countries. And then it was the Bush administration a
torpedo the process and said Iran is not allowed to enrich uranium on Iranian
soil. So, the reason why, I would argue, we have made progress on the
diplomatic front is because America’s position has shifted from, no Iranian
Uranium enrichment program to no Iranian bomb. That is a huge difference
between those two things.
AMY GOODMAN: And Israeli Benjamin
Netanyahu condemned the nuclear deal reached with Iran saying Israel is not
bound by the agreement.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: The world a much more
dangerous place. I know that many share the concern of Israel, especially in
the region. There is a reason for this. For years the international community
has demanded that Iran cease all uranium enrichment. Now for the first time,
the international community has formally consented that Iran continue its
enrichment of uranium. This is in direct contravention of U.N. Security Council
resolutions.
AMY GOODMAN: That was the Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Reza Marashi, why were they so significant in
these talks given they weren’t a part of them?
REZA MARASHI: The relationship that
Israel has had with the United States is obviously long-standing and doesn’t
need a lot of explanation, but what I think is important here is as a result of
the influence that Israel has in American politics, Israel’s interest has to be
taken into account. And I would argue that the Obama administration over the
past four plus years has been to over backwards to try to understand and
accommodate Israeli concerns and interests. But, at the end of the day, even
allies like the United States and Israeli are not going to have their interests
aligned 100% of the time and this is a perfect example of that.
So, what we have seen over the past
couple of months, especially as diplomacy is picked up and become serious, is a
Prime Minister who has been trying to get — extract as much as he possibly can
from the diplomatic process while at the same time showing his political base
at home that he is strong — at least attempting to show them that he is strong.
We have to remember, he is a right-wing coalition that’s helped him get elected
as the Prime Minister of Israel and all politics is local. So, going forward, I
think the Israelis have now focused their sights on this larger term step-to
process that will be negotiated over the next six months. While we have made
progress on the diplomatic front, I don’t think we have heard or seen the and
of Israeli opposition.
AMY GOODMAN: Let’s go to President Obama
talking about the sanctions regime.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: The United States and
our friends and allies have agreed to provide Iran with modest relief while
continuing to apply our toughest sanctions. We will refrain from imposing new
sanctions and we will allow the Iranian government access to a portion of the
revenue they have been denied through sanctions. But the broader architecture
of sanctions will remain in place and we will continue to enforce them
vigorously. If Iran does not fully meet its commitments during the six-month
phase, we will turn off the relief and ratchet up the pressure.
AMY GOODMAN: Reza Marashi of the National
Iranian American Council, your response to this issue of the easing of the
sanctions?
REZA MARASHI: I would argue that it is a
net positive, because the whole idea behind sanctions is to create leverage for
yourself when you do finally sit down at the negotiating table. The sanctions
can then be bargained away in return for Iranian concessions to create a
win-win outcome that can produce a peaceful solution to the conflict. But,
here’s the thing about sanctions, we have had over three decades of sanctions
on Iran and over the past to three years, some really backbreaking sanctions
that have not only adversely affected the Iranian economy, but the lives of
innocent Iranians inside of Iran. And we should ask ourselves, is this really
the way that we want to solve conflict going forward in the future? Do we want
to destroy economies of countries abroad without really maximizing our
diplomatic resources until the 11th hour when they’re on the precipice of a
military conflict that I think all parties would independently seek to avoid?
So, while we have walked back from the brink, we should ask ourselves what we
have learned from this process going forward. If nothing else, I think we’ve
learned that sanctions, if not used in unison with diplomacy, in equal footing,
are nothing more than a blunt instrument that hurts innocent people.
AMY GOODMAN: Reza Marashi, Ban Ki-moon,
the U.N. Secretary General, just announced this morning that there will be
peace talks in Geneva. For the first time, Syrian government and opposition
have agreed to attend at January 22. Can you talk about how what has happened
with these Iran talks could affect both Syria and also the issue of
Israel-Palestine?
REZA MARASHI: Absolutely. There are
linkages between these issues insofar as Iran over the past three decades has
created a seat for itself at the table when it comes to solving regional
conflicts, as the United States has tried to ensure that Iran does not have a
seat at the table to discuss regional security issues. The nuclear program is
the 8000 pound gorilla in the room. I think the U.S. and Iran and the Europeans
as well have both realized that you can’t really make progress on any other
issue until you make progress on this one overwhelming issue. So, as progress
is made on the nuclear front, it opens up the possibility to broaden the
dialogue, broaden the conversation with the Iranians in an effort to try and
find peaceful solutions to conflict not only in Syria, but also for example
Israel-Palestine, in Lebanon, and throughout the Middle East as a whole. We’re
not going to be able to crack that nut until we are talking to the Iranians
about this issue. I think we’ve made a positive step or two in that direction.
AMY GOODMAN: Saudi Arabia also not happy
like Israel with the talks and the agreement, Reza.
REZA MARASHI: Well, that is certainly
true. We have seen Saudi Arabia voice concerns that a been somewhat similar to
the concerns the Israeli government has raised. I think what we have seen,
though, is Saudi Arabia and Israel viewing this situation as a zero-sum game,
meaning that if the Iranians are winning, they must be losing. But, we don’t
have to look very far into our recent past to see Iranian presidents and the
Iranian government as a whole managing their relationship with the Saudi’s in a
much more effective way through diplomacy. There’s no reason why we can’t revert
back to that paradigm. It’s not going to happen overnight, but Foreign Minister
Zarif and President Rouhani in Iran have emphasized since day one when their
administration came into office that their top priority, even more than the
nuclear program and solving that issue with the U.S. and international
community, has been improving its relations with its regional neighbors. I
think now that we made progress on the nuclear front, they’re going to see the
Iranian government double down on this issue to try to repair relations with
the Saudi’s and other Persian Gulf countries as well.
AMY GOODMAN: Reza Marashi, I want to
thank you for being with us, Research Director at the National Iranian American
Council. He’s just returned last night from Geneva after attending the talks
that have just concluded on Iran’s nuclear program. This is Democracy Now! When
we come back, we go to Honduras, the contested elections there. Stay with us
---
Honduras Presidential Elections in
Dispute as Activists Defy Violence to Back Ousted Leader’s Wife
Both candidates are claiming victory in
Honduras’ disputed presidential election. The race has pitted Xiomara Castro,
wife of ousted President Manuel Zelaya, against right-wing candidate Juan
Orlando Hernández. According to election officials, with more than half of
precincts reporting, Hernández has won 34 percent of the vote, while Castro has
29 percent. Castro’s husband, Manuel Zelaya, was ousted in a U.S.-backed coup
in 2009. The campaign has been marred by violent attacks in a country with the
highest homicide rate in the world. At least 18 members of Castro’s Libre party
were murdered in the runup to the election, more than all other parties
combined. We go to Honduras to speak with Adrienne Pine, an assistant professor
of anthropology of American University, and Edwin Espinal, a community
organizer who has survived harassment and torture by police. "This
election, I think for most Hondurans, represents the possible overturning of
the coup, finally," Pine says. "People, in Xiomara Castro, have seen
a leader … It is impossible to overstate the amount of hope, excitement, and
organization people have been engaged in leading up to these elections."
We also hear from Zelaya and leading Honduran human rights activist Bertha
Cáceres, who has been in hiding for two months.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not
be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We turn to Honduras where
both candidates are claiming victory in the country’s disputed presidential
election. The race has pitted Xiomara Castro, the wife of ousted President Manuel
Zelaya against right wing candidate Juan Orlando Hernandez. According to
election officials with more than half the precincts reporting Hernandez has
won 34% of the vote, Castro 29%. Castro’s husband, Manuel Zelaya, was ousted in
that 2009 coup. She is running on a platform of a new party called Libre. The
campaign has been marred by violent attacks in a country with the highest
per-capita homicide rate in the world. At least five people were killed near a
polling station in the eastern part of the country before voting began Sunday.
According to the group Rights Action, at least 18 members of the Libre Party
were murdered in the run-up to the election, more than all other political
parties combined. On Sunday, Castro said results proved she was the winner.
XIOMARA CASTRO: [translated] Right now
the data that we have received according to the exit polls we have received
from the entire country and also the count of information and ballots that we
have received today, we can clearly tell you that I am the president of
Honduras.
AMY GOODMAN: The final election results
are expected later today, but Castro’s supporters are alleging widespread
electoral fraud. Nearly 30,000 police and army officers were deployed to
oversee polling. President of the National Lawyers Guild was one of about 800
international observers monitoring the vote.
AZADEH SHAHSHAHANI: Despite all of the
documentation that has happened with the human rights violations that are
happening here on a daily basis and leftists getting murdered that the U.S.
government continues to support the military here. I mean, on the way here from
Atlanta we saw scores of military people from Honduras who had just got,
received training at the School of the Americas in Fort Benning and they were
just coming back to Honduras and there is impunity for murder, for all kinds of
human rights violations and it is truly unfortunate that the law is not being
implemented in the U.S.
AMY GOODMAN: Adrienne Pine Assistant
Professor of Anthropology at American University, currently in Honduras where
she is conducting research on a Fulbright scholarship. She is author of,
"Working Hard, Drinking Hard: On Violence and Survival in Honduras."
And we’re joined by Edwin Espinal, a community organizer and resistance movement
activist in Honduras. He has been subjected to repeated harassment and torture
the hands of police. Espinal’s partner, Wendy Díaz, was killed — died as a
result of teargas inhalation outside the Brazilian Embassy in the violent
ouster of a resistance member following the return of President Zelaya to
Honduras in 2009. Adrienne Pine, let’s begin with you. The results are not
fully in yet. At around 53%, 54% of the count, — what Honduras is saying, what
the authorities are saying is the right wing candidate Juan Hernandez has
beaten Xiomara Castro. Your response?
ADRIENNE PINE: Yes, that is the official
story that we’re hearing from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Amy, but it
contrasts with the numbers that are coming out of the polling places
themselves, which show an overwhelming lead for the candidate Xiomara Castro.
So, there is real concern on the streets, there’s real concern over the social
networks and we are expecting that there will probably — that these results
have not been accepted by the Libre Party and we are expecting people will
probably be going out on the streets to them protest today.
AMY GOODMAN: And Edwin Espinal, if you
could talk about the significance of this election, why it matters so much to
you and what happened to your partner.
EDWIN ESPINAL: Good morning. My partner
was killed by teargas in September 23, after President Zelaya came back to the
country to the Brazilian Embassy. She was exposed to teargas for a long period
of time. A couple of days after we were evicted from the Brazilian Embassy she
passed away in a public hospital because of the excess of teargas in her
respiratory system. The thing is that the doctors at the hospital, they were
trying to cover her, the reason she died. Then they tell me she died by the flu
disease and not from teargas. They were trying to hide the real reason that she
passed away. This electoral process is very important to me and my family
because we the social movements and the community organizers, we have been
targeted by the military and the police and the government. But, just like the
[Indiscernible] organizing people in our communities to improve our communities
and educate people in our communities about the political situation in our
country.
AMY GOODMAN: We are talking to Edwin
Espinal, community organizer, and Adrienne Pine of American University, who
lives in Honduras. We’re speaking to them in Tegucigalpa, this day after the
election. I want to turn to a leading Honduran human rights activist, Bertha
Cáceres, talking about the significance of Xiomara Castro new party. Bertha is
a leader of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of
Honduras. She has been in hiding for the past two months.
BERTHA CASERES: [translated] The
population today, those who have been in resistance who are from the Libre
Party are challenging the repressive apparatus. With the absence of
construction of real power from the communities, but now these people are
voting enthusiastically for the Libre Party that we hope will be distinct from
the other political parties. The scenarios playing out in all regions of
Honduras, in Zacate Grande, Garifuna Communities, Campesino Sectors, women,
feminists, artists, journalists and indigenous communities. We all know how
these people have been hard hit, especially the journalists, LGBT community,
and indigenous communities. This is all part of what they’ve done to create a
climate of fear. Here there is a policy of the state to instill terror and
political persecution. This is to punish the Honduran people so that people
don’t opt for the other way and look for changes to the political economic
situation and the militarization.
AMY GOODMAN: Honduran human civil rights
activist, Bertha Caseres, who actually has been in hiding for the last two
months, leader of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of
Honduras. Adrienne, would you put this election in context? I mean, Democracy
Now! in 2009 extensively covered the ouster, the coup against President Zelaya.
Then he returned to the country and we were on that plane when he flew from
Nicaragua to Honduras, but could not run again. His wife, as we were on that
plane — interviewed Xiomara Castro. She right — back then, when they were
returning — was already planning to run for president. Talk about the significance
of this election in that trajectory since 2009 and then who the opponent she’s
running against, Mr. Hernandez, is, and the significance of his possible
election.
ADRIENNE PINE: Sure. This election, for
most — I think most Hondurans, it represents the possible overturning of the
coup finally, because the elections that took place in 2009 were fraudulent,
they were militarized, they were not recognized for two years, in fact, by most
of international community. And they were boycotted by everyone who had opposed
the coup, but candidates and voters. And there’s been, as Bertha Caseres
mentioned, intense repression against all sorts of activists, including Edwin,
in that time and that stems from the impunity that comes out of the coup. So,
people, in Xiomara Castro, have seen a leader who is not just the wife of
Manuel Zelaya, but really has come into her own as a leader, and there has been
— it is impossible to overstate the amount of hope and excitement and
mobilization that people have been engaging in leading up to these elections.
Yesterday, the feeling on the ground was one of exuberance. You could see that
the turnout was higher than ever before in Honduran elections. People were turning
out for the Libre Party.
The other candidate, Juan Orlando
Hernandez, is with the National Party, which is the same party the current
president is from, Porfirio Lobo Sosa. His main platform has been one of
militarization. He has promised to have a soldier on every corner in order to
combat the crime situation, which is quite dire in Honduras, but in his reach
the levels of — the extreme levels where Honduras is now the most dangerous
country in the world, only since the coup itself. That is a direct result of
the impunity that comes from the coup. So, very radically different models of
governance being proposed by the two major candidates. One of which has to do
with greater democratization and the other which has to do with greater
militarization.
AMY GOODMAN: In 2011 after almost two
years in exile, when Former President Zelaya and his family were greeted by
tens of thousands of supporters as they flew in from Nicaragua to Tegucigalpa,
I had a chance to ask the former first lady, now the presidential candidate,
Xiomara Castro, about her likely candidacy, back then.
AMY GOODMAN: President Zelaya cannot run
for president again, is that right?
XIOMARA CASTRO: [translated] No.
AMY GOODMAN: But, Mrs. Zelaya Mrs.Castro
de Zelaya, you could, is that right?
XIOMARA CASTRO: [translated] The law does
not prevent me from doing that. I do not have any obstacle in order to
participate in the process. It is in the electoral process, but at this moment
—
AMY GOODMAN: You could run for president.
XIOMARA CASTRO: [translated] No, what I’m
saying is that I do not have any obstacles. The law does not stop me from doing
it.
AMY GOODMAN: So you could run for
president if you chose.
XIOMARA CASTRO: [translated] Yes. The law
does not stop me. That is very clear. The law does not stop it. The law does
stop Mel from doing that because the process of the same law establishes only
one president can be president for 4 years.
AMY GOODMAN: You’re saying that President
Zelaya did not serve out his full term. Is there any kind of allowance that is
made for that? The same thing happened to President Aristide.
XIOMARA CASTRO: [translated] No, there’s
no established procedure to make that happen.
AMY GOODMAN: To see that journey back
when the Zelayas returned, Manuel Zelaya and Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, returned
to Honduras, you can go to our website at democracynow.org. I wanted to turn
though, now to international observer Baltasar Garzón, the Spanish judge who
was in Honduras saying how important it is to remember the chaos surrounding Zelaya’s
ouster.
BALTASAR GARZON: [translated] Precisely
because of what happened four years ago, this process is so important to ensure
that democracy is consolidated in Honduras and above all, the credibility of
the political representation.
AMY GOODMAN: Adrienne Pine, your
response? That is the famous Spanish judge who held Pinochet, the former
Chilean dictator, to account, calling for his arrest when he was in Britain.
The significance of what he has just said, Adrienne Pine?
ADRIENNE PINE: Well, the international
election observers here have played a crucial role in ensuring that there is an
eye on Honduras. I wouldn’t say ensuring the legitimacy of the process, because
I believe that the process is — right now is — there is fraud that is in the
works. But, international observers, in fact, have been subject to harassment
and intimidation by police here in Honduras in the two days leading up to the
elections. Masked police entered the hotels of several international observers
and demanded to see all their documents and have been basically intimidating
them. These are migration police. And so, I think that their presence is really
important because it is showing the world how the Honduran security forces
treat the Hondurans on a daily basis and the fact there have not been free and
fair conditions for this election and it is really important they’re here to
document that.
AMY GOODMAN: Edwin Espinal, what is at
stake today in the election? What will it mean to you if Hernandez is declared
the winner or Castro?
EDWIN ESPINAL: It would be a complete
disaster for me and my family and all Honduran families because we have already
been on assistance for four years. The violence, the poverty, the misery has
just increased in this country. We cannot just wait until another four years
being in this country with Juan Orlando as a president. Me and my family and
Honduran people in general, we are so scared that the situation will just get
worse and this country. I hope the international community keeps their eyes on
this country and help us to put pressure on the government and at least to be
transparent with Honduran people because — we witnessed yesterday that the
electoral process was not transparent at all.
We are really sad because we had hoped on
the candidates of Xiomara Castro that she will bring big changes for our
country and the reality in our society to make big changes that could change
the way we live our lives. We don’t want to live our neighborhoods with the
violence, with kids on the streets begging for food or stealing from people. We
don’t want to live in the system anymore. We want changes. I hope the
international community keep their eyes and pressure on this government at
least so they can respect Honduran people’s will.
There was, yesterday, an electoral
process, was, Honduran people showed to the to international community what was
their choice. We choose to change the government that are using their
[Indiscernible] to stay in power. I hope the international community and we as
Hondurans take actions to take to the actual government out of power.
AMY GOODMAN: Edwin Espinal and I wanted
to go to ousted president Manuel Zelaya the husband of the current presidential
candidate Xiomara Castro. This is Former President Zelaya talking about these
election results.
MANUEL ZELAYA: [translated] The results
handed down by the electoral court are not a faithful reflection of what is
happening the polls. The facts show that Xiomara won with a 3.5 percent margin.
And yet when the court speaks, it has placed us at seven points below. So
results handed down by the court are totally contradictory to what took place.
There is an important point I want to underscore. Twenty percent of the
registries of votes that they collected have have been hidden from the vote
count under the pretext that they are inconsistent. If an election takes place
with more than three percent margin of error, and here the margin is 20
percent, the election would be nullified from whatever point of view in any
country anywhere in the world.
AMY GOODMAN: That was former Honduran
president Manuel Zelaya speaking to Andrès Conteris for Democracy Now! Adrienne
Pine, the significance of this and also, the fact that you have a whole range
of international observers, among them was the former head of the Republican
National Party in California. I wanted to turn to that clip as well, the former
Republican head of the California Republican Party Ron Nehring.
RON NEHRING: Strong democratic
governments in Central America are very, very important. This is a critical
election for Honduras. Honduras faces very, very significant challenges. There
are issues in the United States which transcend borders that the United States
and Central America impact one another in areas including not only the economy,
but human trafficking, drug trafficking, violence, corruption, other unintended
consequences of the drug trade and so on. This is a very important election for
Honduras and we want to make sure that whoever wins tonight, regardless of who
that person is, is the winner of a legitimately held election.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s Ron Nehring former
head of the California Republican Party, one of some 800 international
observers monitoring the Honduran elections. Adrienne Pine, if you could
respond to both Ron Nehring as well as former president — the ousted President
Zelaya.
ADRIENNE PINE: I would certainly agree
with Ron nehring that what we all hope is the will of the Honduran people is
respected in this election and in terms of what Mel Zelaya said, I share his
concern about the accuracy of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal vote count and I
think a couple of important points are to be made here, that first of all, the
Supreme Electoral Tribunal was illegally appointed in the first place by
Micheletti who was the dictator following the coup, just prior to the coup, in
that they were elected officials and they’re not by the Honduran constitutional
allowed to be appointed to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. So, they were
appointed [Indiscernible] to carry out the coup. They then were the main body
that legitimated and carried out fraud in the 2009 election, and they have now
have been very clearly acting on the side of the national party and also of the
religious leaders of the country who were the strongest backers of the coup.
So, this is a very biased institution. Another point I that think is
frightening is that the U.S. ambassador to Honduras last night made a call to
respect the numbers that were coming out from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal
and they’re not even final numbers yet. But, basically, put her hat in on their
side. We are really worried about the U.S. making declarations this early when
there still aren’t numbers that anybody is agreeing on or trusts from any side
yet. There isn’t a final count. So, the process has not been transparent. There
were irregularities throughout. There were murders as have been mentioned
earlier, intimidation of voters, vote buying. But, I think the most fraud has
happened by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal which has both carried out and
itself is a product of the 2009 coup.
AMY GOODMAN: We want to thank you both
for being with us, Adrienne Pine, of American University, living in Honduras,
currently there conducting research on a Fulbright scholarship. Among her
books, "Working Hard, Drinking Hard: On Violence and Survival in Honduras."
And Edwin Espinal, a community activist who is in Honduras right now, of course
lives there, has been subjected to repeated [harassment] and his partner Wendy
Diaz died as a result of teargas inhalation during the time of the return of
President Zelaya to the country when so many came out to greet him. Special
thanks to Andalusia Knoll and Andrès Conteris.
-------
HEADLINES:
Secret U.S.-Iran Talks in Oman Paved Way
for Nuclear Deal
Iran and six world powers have clinched a
deal to temporarily limit and roll back the Iranian nuclear program in exchange
for the easing of international sanctions. Secretary of State John Kerry and
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif welcomed the agreement as a first
step toward a comprehensive deal.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad
Zarif: "It’s an important achievement, but this is a first step. We need
to work together. Based on the same principles on which we started, principles
of equal footing, mutual respect and common benefit, so that we can put an end
to this unnecessary and rather sad chapter."
Secretary of State John Kerry: "The
fact is that if this step, the first step leads to what is our ultimate goal
which is a comprehensive agreement. That will make the world safer."
The Geneva agreement came out of newly
disclosed secret talks between the United States and Iran. The negotiations
were held in Oman over the past several months. Iran has said the deal
recognizes its self-proclaimed right to enrich uranium, a stance the United
States has dismissed.
---
Warsaw Climate Summit Yields Modest Deal
on Emissions Announcements, Loss and Damage
The U.N. climate summit in Warsaw,
Poland, came to a close over the weekend with a deal that continues to delay
major action on global warming. Countries agreed to a deadline of early 2015
for publishing their targets for cutting emissions by the year 2020. Those
targets will then be used to hammer out a global accord at the end of 2015 when
the U.N. climate summit is held in France. The United Nations’ top climate
official, Christiana Figueres, said unlike the Kyoto Protocol, the next global
climate deal should include emissions cuts from developing countries.
Christiana Figueres "What I think is
very important is to realize that what remains unchanged is the fact that
industrialized countries with a larger historical responsibility must take the
lead. But that doesn’t mean that everybody else is off the hook. The fact is,
that every single country, small or large, every single sector, every single
city, has to contribute because otherwise we’re not going to be able to change
the trajectory of greenhouse gases."
Critics of the current roadmap for 2015
say it will let the world’s biggest polluters set insufficient cuts. Warsaw
also the establishment of a new "loss and damage" mechanism to
deliver aid to countries impacted by climate change. But the world’s biggest
polluters, including the United States, continued to reject demands that such
aid be deemed compensation for their record emissions. Looking ahead to 2015,
the U.S. climate envoy, Todd Stern, said the talks face a continued divide
between developed and developing nations.
Todd Stern: "As countries think
forward about what might happen in Paris, there were some quite clear
differences in the way that different countries conceived the structure of an
agreement. In particular with respect to the classic developed/developing
country divide."
The Warsaw climate summit saw an
unprecedented walkout of both developing countries and dozens of environmental
and civil society groups in protest of rich countries’ alleged inaction. In a
statement, the group Friends of the Earth said: "The only success of the
dirtiest climate conference on record is the fact that civil society walked out
and started a domino effect already reaching our home countries, where ordinary
citizens are joining the struggle for climate justice."
---
Karzai Seeks Delay of U.S. Military Pact
After Council Approval
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is
threatening to delay a security pact with the United States despite its ratification
by a tribal council he convened. A gathering of elders, known as a loya jirga,
approved an agreement Sunday that would keep U.S. military bases and thousands
of troops in Afghanistan beyond the planned 2014 withdrawal. U.S. troops would
also receive immunity under Afghan law. But in his closing remarks to the
meeting, Karzai said he would continue negotiations with the United States, and
demand an end to raids on Afghan homes.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai:
"While we’re ready to give bases for Americans on our soil, we have a
condition concerning security. Security from today onwards meaning from now on
American forces are banned from launching operations on Afghan homes."
In his remarks, Karzai accused U.S.
forces of killing two innocent villagers in a raid last week. The United States
says the victims were militants. In addition to ending home raids, Karzai also
called on the United States to reach a peace deal with the Taliban. While
Karzai has pledged to delay his signature, the Obama administration has
insisted on the deal’s ratification before the end of the year.
---
Thousands Protest U.S. Drone War in
Pakistan
Thousands of people rallied in Pakistan
over the weekend in protest of the U.S. drone war. Speaking at a march in
Karachi, Pakistani political leader Munawwar Hasan said the Pakistani
government should close off NATO supply routes to bring drone strikes to an
end.
Munawwar Hasan: "Drone strikes
should come to an end, and Pakistan has the easiest means of stopping the drone
attacks. America has to pass hundreds of thousands of containers through this
country. More than one hundred thousand soldiers have to pass through Pakistan
on their way out of Afghanistan. Pakistan should step on the tail of the United
States, and stop the NATO supplies. When this pressure increases on them, they
will be willing to accept all our demands."
On Saturday, a crowd of thousands staged
a symbolic blockade of the NATO supply route in Peshawar.
---
Both Sides Claim Victory in Honduras
Presidential Race
In Honduras, both candidates are claiming
victory in Sunday’s presidential election. The race has pitted Xiomara Castro ,
wife of ousted president Manuel Zelaya, against right-wing candidate Juan
Orlando Hernández. With more than half of precincts reporting, Hernández has
won 34 percent of the vote, while Castro has 29 percent. Zelaya was ousted in a
2009 coup.
---
Study: Over 11,000 Children Dead in
Syrian Conflict
A new study says over 11,000 children
have died in Syria’s civil war. According to the Oxford Research Group, seven
in 10 were killed by explosive weapons.
---
Egypt Law Requires Permits for
Demonstrations
Egypt has enacted a new law that will
require government permission for demonstrations. The measure forces protesters
to obtain seven different permits to hold public rallies. Critics say it will
effectively outlaw protest in Egypt.
---
Sea Tribunal Orders Unconditional Release
of Arctic 30
An international tribunal has ordered
Russia to free all members of the Greenpeace "Arctic 30" and allow
their return home. The group of 28 activists and two journalists were jailed
for two months until last week for trying to stop Russian oil drilling in the
Arctic. All but one are now free on bail, but will likely have to remain in
Russia until their trial. On Friday, the International Tribunal for the Law of
the Sea called for the Arctic 30’s unconditional release upon payment of a 3.6
milion euro bond. Greenpeace executive director Kumi Naidoo welcomed the
ruling.
Kumi Naidoo: "We are happy that in
fact the tribunal has ruled in our favor. We have always maintained that our
activists acted peacefully, they acted legally, and that they should never have
been imprisoned in the first place. So essentially, the reality is that 30
people, who took peaceful, courageous action, have already spent two months in
prison for a crime that they did not commit."
Russia has rejected the tribunal’s
ruling, saying it does not have jurisdiction. The Arctic 30 face charges of
"hooliganism" which carry up to seven years in prison.
---
ACLU Lawsuit Challenges NSA Surveillance
A federal court heard arguments Friday in
a case challenging the National Security Agency’s mass collection of U.S. phone
call data. The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit earlier this year
after leaks from Edward Snowden showed Verizon Business was ordered to hand
over the call records of all of its customers. The ACLU says the NSA program goes
far beyond what Congress has authorized under the USA PATRIOT Act.
---
House Bills Loosen Curbs on Fracking
The Republican-controlled House has
approved several bills that would provide a major boon to oil and gas fracking
in the United States. A measure approved Thursday would fast-track the
construction of gas pipelines. That vote came one day after the House passed
legislation that would strip the federal government’s authority to regulate
fracking in states with their own rules. Another provision would impose a
$5,000 fee on anyone filing an official protest against a drilling project. The
measures have little chance of Senate passage and President Obama has already
threatened a veto should they reach his desk. A new study from the group
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington says oil and gas industry
spending on congressional campaigns in fracking states and districts has jumped
231 percent since 2004.
---
Oklahoma Suspends Spousal Benefits for
National Guard to Avoid Anti-Discrimination Rules
Oklahoma has suspended enrollment in
spousal benefits for all members of the State’s national guard rather than
offer those benefits to married same-sex couples. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin
announced the move in defiance of new military policy ending discrimination
against gay and lesbian servicemembers. Fallin’s action forces all national
guard members to enroll for benefits at federal bases rather than at state
ones. That means some will have to travel hundreds of miles just to sign up.
---
Dozens Protest Shooting Death of North
Carolina Teen in Police Custody
Dozens of people marched in Durham, North
Carolina, on Friday to protest the killing of a teenager in police custody. The
family of 17-year-old Jesus Huerta had called police concerned he had run away
to use illegal drugs. Police found Huerta and transported him in a van. The
Durham Police Department says at some point during that trip Huerta suffered a
gunshot wound to the head, but have not released details pending an
investigation.
---
Swiss Voters Reject Bid to Limit CEO Pay
Voters in Switzerland have defeated a
measure that would have limited the pay of top corporate executives. The
"1:12 Initiative for Fair Play" would have capped CEO salaries at no
more than 12 times that of their lowest-paid employees. Sixty-five percent of voters
defeated the measure in Sunday’s referendum. Business groups mounted a major PR
campaign against the proposal in recent weeks after initial polls showed it had
a chance of passage.
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