Skip to main content

tv   [untitled]    February 1, 2012 10:48am-11:18am EST

10:48 am
you are claiming in fact change in the country and access to democracy to social justice to economic and political rights and this should not be undermined this this is a powerful and legitimate movement which started peacefully it's been only since a month or a few weeks that it has become militarized which is in fact leading to the internationalization of the conflict but so far it has been in majority a peaceful movement now these movements are claiming change and access to power and the end of the over the country there is another side to the debate which is now the involvement of the international community and in fact the fact that syria is in a web of strategic alliances which is in fact trying to gain the momentum to take advantage of the political instability within syria to try to shape the geopolitical game in the middle east and we have calls made by neo conservative think tanks in america calling for military intervention regime change etc to build on this momentum and this is problematic highly problematic because the movement in syria has been very
10:49 am
powerful and legitimate and has gained momentum inside and in the region if there are calls for military intervention if there are links made to syria's choice of partners in the region or syria stance in the arab israeli conflict that would bring that would deliver demise what has been so far a very powerful movement and a call for liberty and democracy max i tend to agree with that area if we do get a military intervention which i still think is likely. it's the outsiders that will determine the political outcome the eventual outcome on the ground in syria and it may have a whole lot to do with what i mentioned earlier when mentioning and you around. yes. first of all one has to avoid. really be critical about some of the kind of. sorts of simplistic narratives that are recycled continually by the media and this from what i'm hearing now also by experts as well you know about democracy
10:50 am
about human rights the syrian people as a whole rising up because there are thousands in the streets but you know there are millions in the country. and i think the same problem applies to our conception of intervention is being narrowly reduced to direct military intervention you know either invasions or bombings and so forth there has been intervention in syria by the united states and by others but i'm going to focus on the u.s. for several years at least and now even if you knew nothing else what you will see described in the embassy cables that were published by wiki leaks is a pattern of the united states. providing funding to opposition groups that are tied ultimately with the muslim brotherhood in syria and so forth this is not a secret what's also not a secret is that obama spokesman stated very clearly that the united states is
10:51 am
pursuing a range of policy options what is known is special in intelligence circles and other circles as a continuum of force which involves sanctions dissin from ation campaigns psychological pressure attempts to isolate the regime and so forth and this is a kind of measure that's being put forth between put forth in front of the security council right now so there are all sorts of forms of intervention intervention has been happening and it's mean happening since before these protests even began ok if i go back to you david what do you think the outcome will be what. kind of syria i mean i mean everyone i don't think anyone will shed a tear on this program to see the assad family go no one ok it's more about a process what do you think the end game is i mean and i said facetiously you know what kind of jeffersonian democracy what kind of country do you think is going to be there is a going to be hostile to the west it's going to be and will continue
10:52 am
a serious can traditional foreign policy what kind of relationship would have with israel with the around with hezbollah there's a lot of people you know are focused on the here and now but those are the questions going to be asked whatever whenever we get to this endgame. yes i know there's a good questions but nobody knows the answer to those questions. outcome in terms of. syria's foreign policy is a question mark and i don't think actually any of the players involved has much of a clue about that. because you i want you want regime change you're asking for really demanding regime change without understanding what the unintended consequences could be that's interesting yes we are because many thousands of innocent lives are at stake that's the key. anyone who
10:53 am
insists on maintaining the regime is condemning thousands more innocent people in syria to death and that's why what matters is not what the foreign policy of the new syrian government would be but the removal of this vicious dictatorship soon as part of a well ok i want to think that russia's own interests can be preserved in that situation if it is willing to negotiate seriously with the syrians i was pretty sure we all agree that they're talking to them and my well what do you think about that the the law of unintended consequences here is again i can bring up libya when i mean obviously mass and it's getting worse. right but i mean without even comparing i would say the choice of foreign policy would be in the hands of the syrian people and any democratically elected government which will. represent the majority of the syrian population i find it a bit difficult that syria's future foreign policy would be decided externally or
10:54 am
by whoever is not from from syria this will depend on the choice of the people and if the question relating to military intervention is about daming syria and shaping its foreign policy this is highly problematic this is not a one of the rare. but it's very interesting that you have countries like qatar and saudi arabia and other members of the arab league very much wanting to determine outcomes in syria so that they have an interest in it i don't sorry i don't think they're just thinking about the people they're thinking about their geopolitical interests that's what states do there is no there is a geopolitical game which is being played between a broader coalition of the gulf states i would say the u.s. see israel versus what is perceived as the syria hezbollah iran axis and the instability now that is lived within syria is an opportunity for power politics for you know is somehow severity in the links between syria and iran and hezbollah and
10:55 am
weakening this axis and this is highly problematic because the syrian people still despite the fact that we have instability within syria there's been a choice made by the syrian people and there i would like to address the points raised by max there is a powerful movement there is a claim for a change within syria and i think that should not be undermined and that is not fair to the young people who are dying on a daily basis and continue to go to the streets now how would that be instrumental eyes this is the issue it should remain an indulgent us move and it should remain and indulgent as revolution and whatever comes out of the revolution the transition to democracy but. at the same time using this. it's getting internationalize and it absolutely is max if i can go to you again when we look at outcomes here i mean it's saudi arabia qatar qatar united states israel to one degree or another and it's very ambiguous which way it would go for them because they prefer the know the deal with the devil they know but this is a major change in the region no matter what the outcome is because what i think
10:56 am
we'll all agree that assad and his family are not going to be there for much longer . well i want to predict the future. he could very well be there for much longer i'm not certain how things could work out. early on in the. early years of the cuban revolution a lot of people would say that you know constable wouldn't be there much longer and he certainly was so that's not an area in which i'm going to venture. i am kind of put off by the idea that foreign policies and democratic states whatever that means i think a lot of people understand democracy in the west to mean multiple parties and elections i would hope that the idea was a bit more complex and meaningful than that but the idea that in democrat that democratic states established their own foreign policies to reflect the will of the
10:57 am
people as far as i know that's not the case and we could go on we've run out of time we very interesting program many thanks and i guess it in princeton washington and in montreal and thanks to our viewers for watching us here are to see you next time and remember crosstalk. wealthy british style. markets why not scandals. find out what's really happening to the global economy in these kinds of reports.
10:58 am
10:59 am
please. please please. please.
11:00 am
please please please. please . moscow says it wanted to back a weapons embargoed on syria because some countries refused to condemn armed opposition groups operating there a western backed u.n. resolution demands president assad step down we go live to new york shortly to. you kate i call considers the fate of wiki leaks founder julian assange wanted in sweden on allegations of sexual assault case facing accusations of political motivation. and israel's out campaign insults jews based in the u.s. already feeling alienated by their spiritual homes policies the top stories this hour.
11:01 am
international news and comment live from moscow this is. moscow says it will not agree to any embargo on arms supplies to syria while other members of the u.n. security council refused to even acknowledge armed groups are operating there moscow is standing firm on its opposition to any military intervention in syria saying it all vote against any u.n. resolution that could give ate the conflict western states want president to step down but moscow says the u.n. shouldn't be used as a platform to interfere in syria's fors miniport now joins me now. can you explain moscow's position on the arms embargo well bill the first comments coming just a few hours ago from russian envoy to the u.n. to tell each aircon underscoring what russia has been saying for quite awhile that moscow will not agree on any weapons and are to syria categorically
11:02 am
against it now the one of the many reasons given by ambassador churkin is that in the keys of libya there was an arm. arms embargo imposed when the security council allowed for a no fly zone over libya which then subsequently led to a military intervention and a catastrophic situation in that circumstance there was an arms embargo put in place where arms were not allowed to be given to anybody in libya but the west western countries were still supplying opposition groups with weapons and while there was an arms embargo in place ambassador churkin says this is a scenario that could have possibly been a legal according to the the resolution that was put in place and it's a circumstance that he does not want to see repeated in syria he also says that
11:03 am
security council in all the discussions that have been hired on syria in recent days is refusing to acknowledge that opposition groups on the ground in syria are armed with weapons where those weapons are coming from is not clear and at this point russia believes that the arab league observer observers from the mission how recently taking place in syria should come as the u.n. security council. says that russia will veto any resolution that leaves the door open for military intervention in syria once again reaffirming rest russia's position that both sides taking part in the conflict in syria should come together and engage in some type of dialogue that would leave lead to a peaceful resolution. is there any sign of a break the deadlock over a u.n. resolution for syria. quite honestly no not unless the draft of this wreckage
11:04 am
that unless the text of the draft of this resolution changes because a it calls for syrian president bashar al assad to step aside handover of power to the deputy make room for a unity transition government to be formed that is something that is a move that some members of the council consider a regime change secondly it has wording that allows for possible foreign intervention even though west major western powers as well as arab league representatives have for us have underscore the fact that no military intervention or foreign intervention would be allowed into syria a lot of a lot of countries are skeptical because of what took place in libya so unless the text of this draft resolution changes and holds both sides accountable and allows for mediation instead of you know a change in government then i don't see russia supporting this resolution or even
11:05 am
abstaining from it i see russia casting a veto we're going to thanks very much indeed for that live in new york. and. he's director of the center for middle east studies says if syria and the u.n. don't choose donald as a means to resolve the conflict the country will fall into civil war. the position of russia russia then china was very clear and logical because they do believe and it sanctions or a military intervention against syria is out of question and also will increase the problem state of resolve the problem i shall call for the horse both sides in syria the government and the opposition to their log based on the. forum and institution and and democracy and i think within the next two months or three months if the proposition of russia will not succeed and not have dialogue
11:06 am
in order to have it peaceful solution for the rise in syria i think syria will be in very difficult situation no one will know when and maybe syria will go into a civil war. the world's top whistleblower is taking his long legal battle to stay in the u.k. to the country's supreme court songes wanted in sweden on allegations of sexual assault dating back to august two thousand and ten which he denies that wiki leaks founder insists the case is politically motivated and in response to his website publishing secret u.s. cables on wars in afghanistan and iraq what is your smith is at the high court in london. the building that you see behind me the supremes court could literally be last chance saloon for julian our sons at least in this country this is a two day hearing which began this morning is expected to carry on until the end of thursday in which he will present his case to the supreme court to try and have
11:07 am
that request for his extra extradition rescind days if he does spell here he can then take his case the european court of human rights in stroudsburg but that is not a given this legal wranglings been going on for more than a year now arrived at this morning looking fairly relaxed it has to be stats that he stopped on his way into court to shake hands with a couple of his supporters who were here some had been here apparently since five o'clock this morning just showing their support for a thousand that he headed into court but without saying anything to the assembled media which he's taken to doing in the last months it is presenting his case in front of seven judges and they will be looking at a key question which is whether the european arrest warrant that was issued for him by the swedish prosecutor is valid can the swedish prosecutor in fact issue a european arrest warrant and this could in fact call into question the entire system of european arrest warrants that under which of course we know that people
11:08 am
could be extradited within europe having little or no evidence presented against them now of course this case is all relating to sexual assault charges that took place in august two thousand and ten while a soldier was in store and we are not expecting the outcome of this case to be announced in the next couple of days as the plane cool has said that it could take them some weeks to come to a judgment that could mean anything pertaining to two and and ten weeks as far as we know but we also know that one of the things that's all she's been truly worried about through this entire proceeding is that once in sweden he could be extradited straight from that to america and my to my colleague told boston has been to stop to look at the relationship between sweden. and the united states is the face that launched a thousand leaks julian a son does exposure of tens of thousands of secret documents has embarrassed governments the world over but the wiki leaks phenomenon is no longer his most
11:09 am
pressing concern the swedish authorities want to question a songe over allegations of sexual assault dating back to august two thousand and ten prosecutors have been criticized by a son just supporters and international civil libertarians with allegations of a cumbersome contradictory and slow legal process huge arguments have also broken out over the nature of some of sweden's laws on sexual offenses such as those a son faces it's going to be a closed course and leading up to the trial is going to be held. well the trip prosecutor asked for him to be held in solitary confinement it's just bizarre so there are so many bizarre aspects to the why in which the management is being conducted up till now. from our perspective i just can't see how he would get a fair trial others have gone beyond legal arguments saying the storm raised by our sons through wiki leaks has made him
11:10 am
a target for political interference across the atlantic u.s. or thora t's enraged at having their secret documents exposed may seek to have a son extradited there to stand trial but surely sweden's famed neutrality would stop such a thing i would disagree as weather so it in is an out of country sit in at a very clear cut. proximity and collaboration even in military operations with such campaigns initiated by nato you have for instance the so its presence in afghanistan you have a clear cut. it brought nato policy on it by those who didn't and that is not the tragedy with some u.s. politicians branding a sand a cyber terrorist and calling for the death penalty it could get a lot worse for the wiki leaks founder the problem is not that we have too much
11:11 am
wiki leaks we have too little. i think with people ok with. who is a national public polls indicate that very large majorities applaud and support the efforts of wiki leaks the why do worry is that with or without julian a son governments around the world with something to hide will now launch full scale assaults on internet freedom in order to keep their secrets secret but for now the focus is on the man not his website killing our son just connections with sweden have raised many questions about what really happened in august two thousand and ten but now with a son just future as uncertain as ever questions are being leveled at sweden's legal system and its relationship with the united states which could prove crucial to the fate of the world's most notorious whistleblower dumbarton r.t.
11:12 am
stockholm sweden. ati live here in moscow coming up in the next hour here for you israel employs controversial tactics to lure american base jews back to the motherland but critics say it needs to fix the problems that drove them away first . that story still to come but first dozens of people were injured in clashes outside egypt's parliament in cairo on tuesday where protesters gathered to demand an end to military rule that was stopped from reaching the doors of the building by supporters of the muslim brotherhood which holds the majority of seats want to discuss the situation joined by dr use of saddam he's the editor in chief of the weekly christian were tiny newspaper in egypt so you write for a christian used paper how worried are you that the muslim brotherhood a military council could share power together it's a feeling of betrayal that the original cause of the uprising has been hijacked and
11:13 am
christians and other elements of the society of society could be facing an uncertain future. most of the christians. are not comfortable about the outcome of the elections in spite of. many. things that took place. even if they accept a majority. majority by the islamic. can which is mainly consisting of stomach brotherhood political party and the seller first political party yet they are skeptical about what will be the outcome of the parliamentary scene. started in somewhat warring way when. the majority.
11:14 am
express their will to dominate all the parliamentary committees and there was. a sort of a fight. on the membership of these committees and the heading of these committees and it ended in. governing. most of the committees by the islamic green. and it still remains to be seen how the parliamentary scene will go on. you say christians are fearful what actually the point to be that the military government feels threatened by fundamentalists too and that's the reason why it's been dragging its heels on the promise transition to civilian rule. well we are on the road to the transition. yet christians and moderate muslims.
11:15 am
concerned about how the coming months reveal because. as we all know according to the constitutional amendments that took place last march. joint committee will be formed from. both floors in the parliament the shura council and the people's assembly and this committee will be assigned to write a new constitution. bearing in mind the make. majority. of christians and moderate muslims alike skeptical about who will be represented in this committee and what will be the criteria of the coming constitution those concerns are also turning into anger as we're talking now we're showing pictures of very angry protesters there in car and
11:16 am
now of course the military joint hero status at the start of the revolution last year backing the uprising but now they seem to be the target of people's anger we perhaps be seeing more violence or indeed the start of another revolution. well. continuously. demonstrations. and. of course a. similar. measure sit is. still expressing. just very briefly it seems that life is very unsettled in fact even more unsettled than before the fall of mubarak what are your feelings now what are your thoughts on the future just very very briefly. i suppose that. there
11:17 am
should be. a giant to work with. the group and its political wing in order to form a sort of national solidarity to work together we ended up with a very weak minority that cannot afford. to fail. to work against the majority ok i think that the wise thing to do is to work with them dr you succeed on thank you very much for your time editor in chief of the weekly were tiny christian newspaper there in egypt thank you. china has been taken over by gold fever it's believed beijing already the world's fifth largest holder of gold snapped up around five hundred tonnes of the precious metal in two thousand and eleven that's double what it bought in two thousand and ten and could be in the market for movie.

29 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on