US Disappointed Over Failure of Bosnia Reform Talks

By David Gollust Washington 24 May 2007

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Bosnia-Herzegovina

The U.S. State Department is expressing disappointment over the failure by key leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina to make progress on government reforms in three days of U.S.-brokered talks in Washington. U.S. officials say the stalemate is blocking the Balkan country's prospective membership in the European Union and NATO. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Officials here are using unusually blunt terms to express their displeasure over the continuing impasse in U.S.-mediated reform talks between the Bosnian Serb and Muslim leaders.

Haris Silajdzic, leader of the country's Muslim community, and prime minister Milorad Dodik of the country's ethnic-Serb entity the Republika Serbska, spent three days behind closed doors with senior State Department officials in a new U.S. push for constitutional reforms.

The Bush administration had hoped to conclude an agreement to unify the ethnically-separate police forces of the country's two mini-states, one led by Serbs and the other by Muslims and Croats, and to at least make progress on a streamlined central government.

But a written statement issued at the close of the meetings late Thursday by State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey expressed disappointment that the two leaders had failed to reach agreement on the issues.

Casey said by failing to overcome the differences, the sides are making it impossible for Bosnia and Herzegovina to proceed on a path of full integration into Euro-Atlantic structures.

Casey said the leaders must work within the framework of the 1995 Dayton peace accords to resolve their issues, and live up to their obligations to the country's citizens for a stable and prosperous future.

U.S. participants in the talks included Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicolas Burns, Assistant Secretary for Europe and Eurasia Dan Fried, and the U.S. Ambassador in Sarajevo Douglas McElhaney.

In a VOA interview, McElhaney said the United States will not halt its mediation efforts though no new talks are in immediate prospect. He declined to apportion blame, and said both sides need to compromise. "We thought we had a good chance of coming to agreements and I think a lot of people were very optimistic. This doesn't mean however that we're somehow or another going to walk away from the issues involved here. We're going to continue to push this forward, and we're going to have to remind people, as we reminded Mr. Dodik and Mr. Silajdzic, that you can't do anything today in Bosnia and Herzegovina without compromising. And the compromise was not there," he said.

Ambassador McElhaney said it is virtually impossible under the country's current political structure to get anything done on the national level, and he said unifying the police is a fundamental condition for Bosnia reaching a stabilization and association agreement with the EU.

The statement issued here said Undersecretary Burns stressed the importance of halting the nationalist rhetoric that has characterized the Bosnian political environment for the past year.

In an appearance earlier Thursday at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, Silajdzic accused the ethnic-Serb side of wanting to make the divided status-quo a permanent solution, though he said he remained hopeful of an agreement in the near future.

Before leaving for Washington, Mr. Dodik reiterated his party's stand that Bosnia should become a federation of three ethnically-based units, one Serb, one Muslim and the other Croat.

US Senate Rejects Efforts to Derail Immigration Bill

By Deborah Tate Capitol Hill 24 May 2007

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The U.S. Senate has voted down proposals that could have derailed a broad immigration reform bill. The action came after President Bush urged lawmakers to back the legislation. VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

The Senate rejected challenges to the immigration bill from both conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats.

Senators voted 66-29 late Thursday against a measure sponsored by Republican Senator David Vitter of Louisiana to strip the bill of a provision that would grant the estimated 12 million undocumented workers in the United States legal status if they obtain a so-called 'z visa'.

Vitter argued the provision rewards immigrants who crossed U.S. borders illegally.

"The 'z visa' amnesty provision absolutely rewards those who have broken the law," said David Vitter.

Senator Edward Kennedy, 24 May 2007

But Senator Ted Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, argued the plan is not amnesty because undocumented workers can only gain legal status after meeting certain conditions, including paying a fine, learning English and undergoing a background check.

"Legalization is important for our national security, we have to know who is in the United States of America," said Ted Kennedy.

Earlier, the Senate voted 49 to 48 against a Democratic-sponsored proposal to phase out temporary worker provision after five years. Senator Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat was the sponsor:

"Why don't we take a look in five years and see, were the claims that were made for the temporary worker provision, were they claims that turned out to be accurate," he asked.

The guest worker proposal would allow temporary workers to come to the United States on two-year visas and renew them up to three times, but only after they return to the home countries for a year.

Many Democrats are critical of the plan, saying it would depress wages of U.S. workers and would deny temporary workers the opportunity to become American citizens.

It was Dorgan's second unsuccessful challenge to the guest worker program. Earlier this week he proposed stripping the bill of the provision, but that, too, was rejected. A separate Democratic amendment to slash the number of temporary worker visas issued each year from 400,000 to 200,000 was approved on Wednesday.

The guest worker program and the provision that would grant legal status to undocumented workers are seen as the key underpinnings of the immigration reform bill, and supporters warned that removing either one of them would kill the overall legislation.

The Senate action came after President Bush urged lawmakers to approve the legislation, which also includes measures to boost border security.

"If you are serious about securing our borders and bringing millions of illegal immigrants in our country out of the shadows, this bipartisan bill is the best opportunity to move forward," said President Bush.

Senators are expected to vote on the overall legislation when they return from a week-long recess in early June.

The House is scheduled to begin debating the issue later this year.

UN Nuclear Chief: Iran 3-8 Years Away From Bomb

By Sonja Pace London 24 May 2007

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The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog group, the IAEA, says Iran is probably three to eight years away from being able to produce a nuclear bomb and urges negotiations to keep that from happening. But, in Washington, President Bush is calling for tougher sanctions against Tehran. VOA's Sonja Pace reports from London.

Mohamed ElBaradei, 24 May 2007

Speaking at a news conference in Luxembourg, IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said he agrees with U.S. intelligence assessments that if Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons, it is three to eight years away from being able to do so.

He said there is no doubt that Iran is increasing its capacity, but he also urged an easing of the rhetoric and the start of comprehensive negotiations to contain the threat of a nuclear arms race.

"I see a proliferation issue that is deteriorating, that we are heading toward a confrontation," he said. "I wanted to make it clear that people understand they need to assess their strategy to do something about it so that we can contain an emerging threat to a region that is, to say the least, an absolute mess right now."

ElBaradei was in Luxembourg for an international conference on nuclear arms technology.

Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful energy purposes only. But the United States and many other nations say Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

The U.N. Security Council has already imposed sanctions on Iran for refusing to suspend its uranium enrichment program. The U.S. and other nations say such a halt is a prelude to any negotiations. But the most recent IAEA report, issued Wednesday, said Tehran has not halted, but has actually expanded its uranium-enrichment activities.

President George Bush holds a press conference in the Rose Garden at White House, 24 May 07

In Washington, President Bush said Iran knows what it has to do.

"The world has spoken and said: No nuclear weapons programs. And yet they are constantly ignoring the demands," he said. "My view is that we need to strengthen our sanction regime."

Mr. Bush said the U.S. will work with its European partners to develop further sanctions. The president said he will also discuss the issue with the leaders of Russia and China.

"The first thing that these leaders have got to understand is that an Iran with a nuclear weapon would be incredibly destabilizing for the world," he said.

The United States will need the support of Russia and China to get additional sanctions approved in the UN Security Council.

Recently, IAEA chief ElBaradei suggested that Iran should be allowed to keep some elements of its nuclear enrichment program. His comments, made to the media, have angered U.S. officials. On Thursday, a senior U.S. diplomat, speaking in Washington, called ElBaradei's comments "inappropriate" and said a delegation of American and European officials is to meet with the IAEA chief in Vienna.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, center, 21 May 2007

In Tehran, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the threat of sanctions. Speaking to members of the elite Revolutionary Guards, Mr. Ahmadinejad said Iran will not give in to the demands of its enemies, whom he accused of trying to eradicate the roots and principles of the Islamic Republic.

VOASE0524_Economics Report

24 May 2007

US and China Hold High-Level Trade Discussions
The talks in Washington end with an agreement to increase air links, but no word of progress on the deficit issue.

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This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Top officials from the United States and China held two days of trade talks this week in Washington.

Chinese Finance Minister Jin Renquing, Vice Premier Wu Yi and US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson at the US-China Strategic Economic Dialogue

They agreed to increase the number of direct flights between the United States and China. And Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi said the talks cleared the way for other progress. But no progress was reported on the issue of the trade deficit.

It was the second in a series of talks, the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue. The next meeting is later this year in Beijing. Vice Premier Wu says talks are better than threats of what she calls "irresponsible" protectionist measures against China.

Some American lawmakers say China is taking too long to raise the value of the yuan. They say China unfairly keeps its currency weak. They say this fuels the deficit by pushing down the cost of its exports and raising the price of American-made imports.

China eased controls on the yuan this week, but not enough to satisfy many critics. China promises more but says a large increase would hurt its fast-growing economy. Some experts say the yuan would rise fifty percent if permitted to trade freely. Others think it would be much less.

China's huge trade surplus has left it with the world's largest foreign exchange reserves, more than one trillion dollars. Most of that is held in United States government debt. But China took steps this week to change the way it invests its reserves, in order to seek higher returns.

China will invest three billion dollars in the Blackstone Group, a private-equity company based in New York. The deal will take place as Blackstone sells stock to the public for the first time. But China said it did not want any voting rights in the company.

President Bush met Thursday with Vice Premier Wu. He later said the two countries have a complex relationship but the two hundred thirty-three billion dollar trade deficit must be dealt with.

One of the ways, he said, is to get the Chinese people to spend more, to change from savers to consumers. For example, the United States has been trying to get China to open up its beef market.

The negotiators talked about food safety. The United States is importing more and more food products from China. Yet there is growing concern that they are not always very safe.

Still another issue: The United States is pushing China to do more about illegal copying of movies, music, software and books.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

VOASE0524_American Mosaic

24 May 2007

Mason Bates Creates a 'Liquid Interface' Between Electronica and Classical Music
Also: music by classical and popular singer Josh Groban. And a listener in Taiwan asks about the Jim Crow laws that once enforced racial separation in the US.

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HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson. On our show this week:

We answer a question about racial separation laws of the past …

Play music from Josh Groban …

And report about musical composer Mason Bates.

Mason Bates

The worlds of techno music and classical symphonies are usually very separate. But the musical composer Mason Bates is changing this. This thirty-year-old musician from Virginia artfully combines classical music with the sound of electronic beats. Barbara Klein has more.

(MUSIC)

BARBARA KLEIN:

Mason Bates

That was part of a work called "Liquid Interface." Mason Bates performed it for the first time in February with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. He was influenced to write the musical piece while living in Berlin, Germany. He watched the lake near where he lived transform from an ice formation to a warm swimming place.

In “Liquid Interface” you can listen to the many forms water takes and the effects of climate change. You can hear the breaking of large ice glaciers, as well as melting drops of water. Bates also makes a musical reference to New Orleans, Louisiana to show the more destructive side of water.

This work needs a very large orchestra. Musicians played more than forty traditional instruments at the Washington, D.C. performance. They were guided by the orchestra's musical director, Leonard Slatkin. Mason Bates stood on the side with his own instrument, the portable computer. He fluidly worked the electronic sounds and beats into the structured classical music.

But Mason Bates does not only write symphonies. At night, you can find him playing trip-hop and French house techno music in the clubs of San Francisco, California. He is also finishing his doctorate degree at the nearby University of California, Berkeley. Mason Bates’ skill at combining these two very different musical worlds has been recognized. He has won important awards for his music pieces such as the Prix de Rome.

Mason Bates believes that when you listen to music it lives in your imagination and your blood at the same time. He wants his music to be intelligent as well as interesting. To listen to more music by Mason Bates, go to voaspecialenglish.com for a link to his Web site.

Jim Crow Laws

HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week comes from Taiwan. Howlong Wu asks about “Jim Crow laws."

These laws enforced racial separation between black people and white people in the

Jim Crow laws enforced racial separation

American South. The term was taken from a character called Jim Crow in musical shows in the eighteen thirties. In these minstrel shows, white people darkened their faces and performed as if they were black people. These shows were insulting to black people.

Starting in the eighteen eighties, Jim Crow became the name for the laws enacted by Southern cities and states to oppress black people and keep them separate from white people. For example, Jim Crow laws made it illegal for the two races to attend the same schools, eat at the same restaurants or use the same public transportation.

The United States Supreme Court supported Jim Crow laws in some of its decisions. An important one was Plessy versus Ferguson in eighteen ninety-six. The Court ruled that railroads could require white and black passengers to ride in different cars. It said this was legal because the treatment in the two cars was "separate but equal." In another case in eighteen ninety-nine, the Court ruled that no one’s rights were violated by the two races attending separate schools.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People led the long effort to overturn Jim Crow laws through legal action. Finally, in nineteen fifty-four, a Supreme Court ruling overturned the Plessy versus Ferguson decision. The decision was called Brown versus the Board of Education. The Supreme Court ruled that separate schools for blacks and whites were unconstitutional. This ruling required towns and cities across the country to permit blacks and whites to attend the same schools.

The Jim Crow system was finally ended in the nineteen sixties through the efforts of the civil rights movement. These efforts resulted in a series of federal laws including the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act.

Josh Groban

Josh Groban is a young singer who performs classical and popular songs. His record albums have sold millions of copies. Katherine Cole plays some music from Groban's latest album called "Awake."

KATHERINE COLE:

Josh Groban

Josh Groban is twenty-six years old. He is from Los Angeles, California. As a teenager, he sang at the inauguration of former California governor Gray Davis in nineteen ninety-nine. That was when he was discovered by a record company official. He released his first studio album two years later.

Josh Groban's third studio album is called "Awake." Like his other albums, he sings in English, Italian and Spanish. Groban says the music on his latest album sounds like it is coming from his heart and soul as well as his voice. This song, "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)," was also released as a single.

(MUSIC)

Josh Groban plays several instruments, including piano, drums, electric guitar, marimbas, flugelhorn and dulcimer. Groban also helped write some of the songs on his latest album, like this one, called "Machine." The famous jazz musician Herbie Hancock plays piano.

(MUSIC)

Josh Groban has appeared on many American television shows. Now he is in the middle of a seven-month performance tour to seventy cities in the United States, Canada and Europe.

Groban performs two songs on his latest album with the South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Groban first heard this song during a visit to South Africa in two thousand four. We leave you now with the song "Weeping."

(MUSIC)

HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today.

It was written by Dana Demange, Shelley Gollust and Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver was our producer. To read the text of this program and download audio, go to our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com.

Send your questions about American life to mosaic@voanews.com. Please include your full name and mailing address. Or write to American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington, D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven, U.S.A.

Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.

Bush Says Newly Released Intel Discloses al-Qaida Plan Against US

By Paula Wolfson White House 23 May 2007

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President Bush says al-Qaida terrorist leaders tried to turn Iraq into a launch pad for attacks on the United States. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports Mr. Bush outlined details of the plan in a speech Wednesday at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

President Bush speaks about the war on terror as he delivers commencement address at US Coast Guard Academy graduation ceremony in New London, Connecticut, 23 May 2007

The president says there is hard evidence that al-Qaida operatives in Iraq were told in 2005 to start planning for attacks on U.S. targets outside the country.

In a commencement address at the Coast Guard Academy, Mr. Bush spoke of the link between al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and his followers in Iraq. He said newly released U.S. intelligence information shows bin Laden's intent is clear.

"He believes that if al-Qaida can drive us out, they can establish Iraq as a new terror sanctuary," he said.

The president said a number of terrorist plots have been foiled, and several of bin Laden's allies in Iraq have been captured or killed.

"Successes like these are blows to al-Qaida," he said. "They are testaments to the steps we have taken to strengthen our intelligence, work closely with our partners overseas and keep the pressure on the enemy."

Mr. Bush went on to stress that al-Qaida remains extremely dangerous, and determined. He said Osama bin Laden sees a democratic Iraq as a threat to the group's very existence, indicating the al-Qaida chief will do everything possible to undermine the fragile Iraqi government.

"Victory in Iraq is important for Osama bin Laden. And victory in Iraq is vital for the United States of America," said Mr. Bush.

This is not the first time the Bush administration has released previously classified information about al-Qaida to help buttress its case for continued military operations.

Critics charge Mr. Bush is trying to draw attention away from the ongoing bloodshed in Iraq. Former Senator John Edwards, who is seeking the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, says the president refuses to acknowledge his war policy is a failure.

Edwards told a foreign policy group in New York that Mr. Bush is ignoring the message sent by American voters last November when they elected a Democratic congressional majority.

"The president has played political brinksmanship over the war in Iraq, and he has done it over and over and over."

White House Homeland Security Advisor Fran Townsend defended the decision to release the new information at a time of heated debate on the president's Iraq policy. Townsend told reporters the information was released when investigators felt it was safe to do so, and the timing was not politically motivated.

US Says Iran Will Face New Pressure for Defying UN

By David Gollust State Department 23 May 2007

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The United States says Iran will face additional international pressure following release of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report that Tehran has expanded its uranium-enrichment activities. Consultations about further U.N. sanctions against Iran are expected to begin soon. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Officials in Washington are still studying the IAEA report, but say it is clear Iran continues to defy the international community with its nuclear activities and will face additional pressure including tougher sanctions.

The report was issued in Vienna before the Thursday deadline set by the United Nations for Iranian compliance with a sanctions resolution approved March 24, the second such measure since last December.

The report said Iran has neither stopped enriching uranium as demanded by the Security Council, nor has it agreed to any of the transparency measures sought by the U.N. watchdog agency to monitor Iranian nuclear activities.

As such, the IAEA expressed concern about its deteriorating ability to track the Iranian nuclear program that the United States and key allies believe has a secret weapons component.

In a talk with reporters, State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey said the Security Council will have to consider next steps and that in the absence of a sudden policy reversal, Tehran will find itself under increasing pressure from the international community.

Casey said the Bush administration intends to continue a strategy of applying gradually-increasing pressure while leaving open an opportunity for negotiations on the Iranian program.

Casey said while Iranian leaders have been dismissive of the sanctions resolutions to date, they are having a real impact on the country's economy and global standing:

"They are paying the price because of the sanctions that have been imposed, and because of decisions extraneous to that, that banks and individual companies and individual governments are making," he said. "There is heat that is being applied to the Iranian government. We think that they are feeling it and they are going to feel more of it in the coming weeks if they continue to stand opposed to the very basic conditions that the international community has set for them."

U.S. officials had said in advance of the report that the five permanent Security Council member countries and Germany, the so-called P5-plus-1, would begin work on a third, harsher sanctions measure if the Thursday deadline was not met.

Casey said he expects discussions among the six powers to begin shortly at the political directors level.

The nuclear issue is expected to be a key issue for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and foreign minister colleagues late next week at preparatory talks in Berlin for the summit of the G-8 industrial powers opening in Germany June 6.

Iran insists its nuclear program is entirely peaceful and that it is entitled to develop a complete nuclear fuel cycle for an envisaged network of power reactors.

Spokesman Casey said no one in the world community wants to prevent Iran from having a civil nuclear power program, but there must be assurances that the program is not subverted for weapons purposes.

The P5-plus-1 last year offered Iran a variety of economic and political incentives for suspending its enrichment program and returning to nuclear negotiations. The United States said it was prepared for open-ended political talks with Iran on all issues of concern to both sides.

Former Justice Official Testifies on Attorneys Controversy

By Dan Robinson Capitol Hill 23 May 2007

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Monica Goodling, a former Department of Justice official and aide to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, testifies before the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, 23 May 2007

Monica Goodling, a former Department of Justice official and aide to U.S. attorney general Alberto Gonzalez, has testified before Congress in the controversy over the firing of eight U.S. prosecutors. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill, majority Democrats say the testimony prompts many new questions, while Republicans say it failed to reveal any information that would damage the attorney general

Monica Goodling was granted partial immunity in return for her testimony before the House Judiciary Committee after she asserted her constitutional right to avoid self-incrimination.

Goodling said although she had the title of Justice Department White House Liaison, her contacts with the White House were limited, and she was not a decision-maker.

"I did not hold the keys to the kingdom as some have suggested. I was not the primary White House contact for purposes of the development or approval of the U.S. attorney replacement plan. I never attended a meeting of the White House judicial selection committee. The attorney general and [his former chief of staff] Kyle Sampson attended those

meetings. To the best of my recollection I have never had a conversation with Karl Rove or Harriet Meiers while I served at the Department of Justice, and I am certain that I never spoke to either of them about the hiring or firing of any U.S. attorney," he said.

Goodling said she did have discussions with staff members of Rove and Meiers, in her words, "regarding specific aspects of the replacement plan", and acknowledged she attended one meeting after the decision to fire the attorneys was made, at which Rove was present.

But she denies ever recommending that specific prosecutors be added to or removed from a list compiled by Kyle Sampson, and does not recall any recommendations coming from the White House.

In resisting calls for his resignation, from Democrats as well as Republicans, Attorney General Gonzalez has maintained that none of the dismissed U.S. attorneys were removed for political reasons, although he acknowledged the matter was handled badly.

Democratic House judiciary committee chairman John Conyers says Goodling's testimony shows there is much more to be learned about possible White House involvement in the firings.

"We have learned today that trust has been violated, that false statements have been made under oath, not Monica Goodling's, and there is a possible obstruction of justice, as well as perjury," he said.

Conyers was referring to Goodling's testimony that Attorney General Gonzalez appeared to have made false statements to Congress, and that a former deputy attorney general, Paul McNulty, withheld information during an appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

But Congressman Chris Cannon, a Republican on the committee, assessed the testimony this way. "There were no surprises here today. There was nothing of interest even. Nothing to indicate any kind of corruption. And the premise of all of the activity here is corruption, and we just did not see that," he said.

In her testimony Wednesday, Goodling did acknowledge that she "crossed the line" by taking political considerations into account in some hiring decisions at the justice department.

Neither Paul McNulty, the former deputy attorney general mentioned in Goodling's testimony, nor Kyle Sampson, the former chief of staff to the attorney general, have testified before the House Judiciary Committee.

But saying that plenty has gone wrong and contradictions are all over the place, Congressman Conyers is raising the possibility of calling both of those former officials to testify, along with a repeat appearance by the attorney general.

Gonzales also faces possible no-confidence measures, introduced by Democrats in the House and Senate, although these have yet to be acted upon.

Amnesty International Says World Growing More Fearful, Divided And Dangerous

By Sonja Pace London 23 May 2007

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Amnesty International accuses governments and armed groups of fomenting fear to erode human rights and create an increasingly polarized world. The human rights organization launched its annual report in London and other world capitals. VOA's Sonja Pace has this report from the British capital.

Irene Khan holds a copy of Amnesty International Report at a press conference in central London, 23 May 2007

A time of fear is how Amnesty International describes this past year. Amnesty Secretary-General Irene Kahn spoke of an erosion of human rights in an increasingly divided and dangerous world.

"In 2006, short-sighted, fear-mongering policies undermined the rule of law and human rights, fed racism and xenophobia, fueled discrimination, suppressed dissent, intensified conflict and sowed the seeds of more violence," she said.

Speaking to reporters in London, Kahn outlined some of the main points of the report, which documents the human rights situation in 153 countries from January to December 2006.

The U.S.-led war on terror came in for harsh criticism and the report accuses powerful governments of playing on the public's fear to introduce increasingly restrictive laws that erode human rights.

"The U.S. administration is treating the world as one giant battlefield for its war on terror and more evidence surfaced in 2006 to show how suspects were kidnapped, arrested, detained, tortured and transferred from one secret prison to another across the world within impunity and with the complicity of allies," she said.

The report also describes what is says were gross human rights violations across the Middle East, including Iraq.

Iraqi patrol in Baghdad, 21 May 2007

"The Iraqi security forces are inciting rather than stopping sectarian violence. The Iraqi justice system is woefully inadequate and the worst practices of Saddam Hussein's regime - torture, unfair trials, capital punishment and rape with impunity are very much alive today," said Kahn.

Kahn asserts that the war on terror and ongoing violence and turmoil in Iraq have had far reaching effects elsewhere - in that they have diminished U.S. credibility in the world and limited its efforts to stand up for human rights.

Darfur in Sudan is a case in point, says Khan.

A displaced Sudanese woman carries her sons in the Otach Displaced Persons camp in the city of Nyala in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region, (File)

"Darfur is a bleeding wound on the world's conscience," she said. "The U.S. government has been outspoken on the need to protect civilians in Darfur and we welcome that very much. But nothing proves more clearly the loss of U.S. moral authority than its failure to persuade the Sudanese government to accept U.N. peacekeepers."

The Amnesty report says lack of action by the United States and other U.N. Security Council members to stop last year's war in Lebanon [between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group] and to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is adding to sectarian differences and instability. Kahn cites the ongoing violence and chaos in Gaza, in particular.

"With renewed military attacks, widespread violence, a strangled economy and a collapsing Palestinian pre-state, a human rights nightmare is unfolding under our very eyes while the international community remains complacent," she said.

The Amnesty report's list goes on - repression, detentions, violence against women around the globe from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, in stable democracies such as Britain and the United States and in emerging economic powers such as Russia and China.

While the report harshly criticizes the lack of political leadership around the world to uphold human rights, it praises the work of civil society - non-government groups, activists and in some instances the media, in highlighting human rights abuses and holding governments accountable.

Israel Launches Air Strikes on Gaza Amid New Truce Effort

By Robert Berger Jerusalem 23 May 2007

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Israel has launched fresh air strikes in the Gaza Strip, wounding at least seven Palestinians. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, the attacks occurred as Palestinian leaders pushed for a new truce.

Palestinian children walk amid the rubble of a house, destroyed following an Israeli air strike, in the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, 23 May 2007

Israeli aircraft attacked targets of the Islamic militant group Hamas across Gaza including suspected weapons factories and warehouses and other facilities. Now in its second week, the air campaign is aimed at halting Palestinian rocket attacks. More than 150 rockets have fallen on Israel over the past week, leaving the border community of Sderot a virtual ghost town.

The rockets keep falling despite the air strikes, but Israeli spokeswoman Miri Eisen says a major ground assault on Gaza is not on the table.

"The military themselves are very clear on the fact that even a full-scale invasion would not necessarily stop all of the rocket attacks," said Eisen.

In a bid to end the fighting, moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas traveled from the West Bank to Gaza for talks with Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas. They are trying to restore a Gaza cease-fire with Israel that collapsed last week after a five-month lull in violence.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat says the current fighting is not in the interest of either side.

"I don't know to who's interest [is it] to undermine the cease-fire?" asked Erekat. "To who's interest [is it] to push back to the cycle of violence and counter-violence?"

The Palestinians have offered to halt the rocket attacks if Israel would extend the Gaza cease-fire to also include the West Bank. But Israel rejects the proposal on grounds that West Bank raids are necessary to prevent suicide bombings in Israeli cities. Palestinian militants say that leaves them no choice but to keep fighting.

VOASE0523_The Making of a Nation

23 May 2007

Watergate: How a Name, and a Failed Break-In, Became a Symbol of Political Corruption
In August 1974, Richard Nixon became the first US president to resign. In doing so he avoided a trial in Congress on charges that he misused government agencies in an effort to hide wrongdoing.

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VOICE ONE:

This is Rich Kleinfeldt.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Stan Busby with THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a VOA Special English program about the history of the United States.

(MUSIC)

Today, we complete the story of the thirty-seventh president of the United States, Richard Nixon.

VOICE ONE:

Richard Nixon's first term as president ended with hope for complete American withdrawal from the fighting in Vietnam. Yet Americans still were very angry about the war and its effects on life at home. Paying for it was difficult. Inflation was high. Unemployment was high, too. Some political observers thought the president would not be elected to a second term. Nixon, however, was sure the American people would support him.

President Richard Nixon with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in 1972

He did not campaign in the local primary elections before the Republican convention. Instead, in the winter and spring of nineteen seventy-two, he visited China, Canada, Iran, Poland, and the Soviet Union.

VOICE TWO:

On June seventeenth, nineteen seventy-two, something happened in Washington, D.C. It was a small incident. But it would have a huge effect on the United States.

Five men broke into a center of the National Committee of the Democratic Party. The building was called the Watergate. That name would become a symbol of political crime in the nation's highest office.

VOICE ONE:

At the time, the incident did not seem important. Police caught the criminals. Later, however, more was learned. The men had carried papers that linked them to top officials in the administration.

The question was: Did President Nixon know what was going on? He told reporters he was not involved. In time, though, the Watergate case would lead to a congressional investigation of the president.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

For a while, the political conventions of the summer of nineteen seventy-two pushed the story of the Watergate break-in out of the major news of the day.

Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew at the 1972 Republican National Convention after their re-nomination

The Democratic Party met and chose George McGovern as its candidate for president. McGovern was a senator from the state of South Dakota. The choice of the Republican Party was no surprise. Delegates re-nominated Richard Nixon.

McGovern attacked Nixon for his policies about Vietnam. McGovern's anger made many voters see him as an extremist.

Nixon won the election of nineteen seventy-two by a huge popular vote. He would not be able to complete his second term, however. This was because Watergate would not go away.

VOICE ONE:

Early in nineteen seventy-three, reporters found the evidence that linked the Watergate break-in to officials in the White House. The evidence also showed that the officials tried to use government agencies to hide the connection.

Pressure grew for a complete investigation. In April, President Nixon ordered the Justice Department to do this. A special prosecutor was named to lead the government's investigation.

VOICE TWO:

A special Senate committee began its own investigation in May. A former White House lawyer provided the major evidence. By July, it was learned that President Nixon had secretly made tape recordings of some of his discussions and telephone calls. The Senate committee asked him for some of the tapes. Nixon refused. He said the president of the United States has a Constitutional right to keep such records private.

VOICE ONE:

A federal judge ordered the president to surrender the tapes. Lawyers for the president took the case to the nation's highest court. The Supreme Court supported the decision of the lower court.

After that, pressure increased for Nixon to cooperate. In October, he offered to provide written versions of the most important parts of the tape recordings. The special prosecutor rejected the offer. So, Nixon ordered the head of the Justice Department to dismiss him. The Attorney General refused to do this, and resigned.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

President Nixon had another political problem, in addition to Watergate. In late nineteen seventy-three, his vice president, Spiro Agnew, was forced to resign. A court had found Agnew guilty of violating tax laws.

President Nixon asked Gerald Ford to become the new vice president. Ford was a long-time member of Congress from the state of Michigan.

VOICE ONE:

By that time, some members of Congress were talking about removing President Nixon from office. This is possible under American law if Congress finds that a president has done something criminal. Was Richard Nixon covering up important evidence in the case? Was he, in fact, guilty of wrongdoing?

VOICE TWO:

In April nineteen seventy-four, Nixon surrendered some of his White House tape recordings. However, three important discussions on the tapes were missing. The Nixon administration explained. The tape machine had failed to record two of the discussions, it said. The third discussion had been destroyed accidentally. Many Americans did not believe these explanations.

Two months later, the Supreme Court ruled that a president can not hold back evidence in a criminal case. It said there is no presidential right of privacy in such a case.

VOICE ONE:

A committee of the House of Representatives also reached an historic decision in July nineteen seventy-four. It proposed that the full House put the president on trial. If Richard Nixon were found guilty of crimes involved in the Watergate case, he would be removed from office.

Finally, Nixon surrendered the last of the documents. They appeared to provide proof that the president had ordered evidence in the Watergate case to be covered up.

VOICE TWO:

The rights of citizens, as stated in the Constitution, are the basis of American democracy. Every president promises to protect and defend these Constitutional rights. During the congressional investigation of Watergate, lawmakers said that President Nixon had violated these rights.

They said he planned to delay and block the investigation of the Watergate break-in and other unlawful activities. They said he repeatedly misused government agencies in an effort to hide wrongdoing and to punish his critics. And they said he refused repeated orders to surrender papers and other materials as part of the investigation.

VOICE ONE:

Richard Nixon's long struggle to remain in office was over. He spoke to the nation on August eighth.

Richard Nixon waves goodbye from his helicopter as he leaves the White House after resigning on August 9, 1974

RICHARD NIXON: "Throughout the long and difficult period of Watergate, I have felt it was my duty to persevere, to make every possible effort to complete the term of office to which you elected me. In the past few days, however, it has become evident to me that I no longer have a strong enough political base in the Congress to justify continuing that effort. Therefore, I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow."

VOICE TWO:

Never before had a president of the United States resigned. And never before did the United States have a president who had not been elected. Gerald Ford had been appointed to the office of vice president. Now, he would replace Richard Nixon. On August ninth, nineteen seventy-four, he was sworn-in as the nation's thirty-eighth president.

VOICE ONE:

Gerald Ford

Soon after becoming president, Gerald Ford made a surprise announcement. He pardoned Richard Nixon. Many Americans criticized Ford for doing this. But he believed he had good reasons.

Ford wanted to move ahead and deal with the other problems that faced the nation. He did not want Watergate to go on and on. The case did go on, however. Several top officials in the Nixon administration were tried, found guilty, and sent to prison.

VOICE TWO:

The effects of the case went on, too. Watergate influenced government policy and public opinion for years.

For example, laws were passed to prevent an administration from using its power to punish opposition political groups. Intelligence agencies were forced to provide Congress with more information about their activities. And rules were approved to restrict the activities of public officials.

The American public, and especially the press, felt the effects of Watergate. Many citizens and reporters felt less able to believe their government. As one writer said, "Never again will we trust our public officials in quite the same way."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This program of THE MAKING OF A NATION was written by Jeri Watson and produced by Paul Thompson. This is Rich Kleinfeldt.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Stan Busby. Join us again next week for another VOA Special English program about the history of the United States.

VOASE0523_Education Report

23 May 2007

Breaking Into News: Journalism Education in US
A student in Vietnam asks about American J-schools in Part 38 of our Foreign Student Series.

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This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

A student at Vietnam National University has a question for our Foreign Student Series. Phuong Lan wants to earn a master's degree in the United States and would like to know about journalism programs.

One hundred nine programs are recognized by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. Some of the best-known include the ones at the University of Southern California, the University of Missouri and the University of North Carolina. They also include the journalism schools at Columbia University in New York City and Northwestern University in Illinois.

Students at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism

Northwestern, for example, has the Medill School of Journalism. Medill says it provides its graduate students with the chance to study and work in the real world. Local newspapers and television stations carry their reports on government, crime and civic issues in the Chicago area. Other subjects include magazine publishing and Web design. And the Medill News Service offers experience reporting in Washington.

Graduate students at Medill can expect to pay more than fifty-eight thousand dollars this coming school year. That includes a place to live, meals, books and costs like health insurance. Medill also has an undergraduate program.

Medill scholarships or financial aid are not available to international students. Foreign students are advised to seek aid from their home country or groups like the Inter-American Press Association Scholarship Fund. Scholarship winners from Latin America and the Caribbean spend a year at a journalism school in the United States or Canada.

Journalism schools offer professional degrees, and some offer doctorates. Students may be able to earn a joint degree with another program like law or public policy.

It is true that the value of a journalism degree has been a traditional subject of debate among people in the media. But journalism schools offer training in skills like reporting, writing and production. They also teach about legal issues like plagiarism and libel law and freedom of speech. In addition they may offer classes in other areas, including public relations.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. Our Foreign Student Series is online with audio files, transcripts and useful links at voaspecialenglish.com. To send us questions, write to special@voanews.com and please include your name and country. I'm Steve Ember.

Memorial Day Concert Honors Sacrifice

By Mike O'Sullivan Los Angeles 22 May 2007

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Memorial Day (May 28th) is a US holiday that honors members of the armed forces who have died in the service of their country. The three-day Memorial Day weekend also marks the unofficial start of summer, with picnics and family events. But in Washington D.C., a concert Sunday evening will remind the nation of the holiday's meaning. Mike O'Sullivan spoke with actor Joe Mantegna, who will co-host the commemoration.

Joe Mantegna

The concert is a huge event, drawing hundreds of thousands of people to the West Lawn of the Capitol building in the heart of Washington. It will be seen throughout the United States on public television, and around the world on the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.

Joe, a versatile actor known for his work on stage, film and television, was asked six years ago to take part in the ceremony. It was just eight months after a national trauma, the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on September 11th, 2001.

Mantegna says the commemoration that year made clear for him the meaning of Memorial Day.

"I wasn't familiar with the concert," he said. "I hadn't seen it at that point. I go up on the stage. In front of me is the Capitol Building, the United States Capitol, lit beautifully. The American flag is flying on top. In front of me is a live audience of about 300-thousand people."

Mantegna says his job was to read the words of four New York firemen who were in the audience with their wives. All had lost sons on September 11th.

"And I was speaking the words of these four men about what it was like to look for the bodies of their sons in the rubble," he added. "Behind me, the Washington Symphony Orchestra is playing Mozart's Requiem."

That moment brought home to Mantegna the meaning of heroism and sacrifice.

For most American families, Memorial Day weekend is a time for picnics and watching a celebrated auto race, the Indianapolis 500, on television.

Many families also display flags on their homes, and some take time to visit a veterans' cemetery. Since 1990, some have made the annual concert a part of their weekend.

Mantegna says he often encounters fans at charity events, and expects them to talk about roles they have seen him in.

Joe Mantegna (left) and Gary Sinise, actors dedicated to veterans’ causes, will once again co-host the National Memorial Day Concert

"But when they say, 'We just want you to know we watch that Memorial Day concert every year. It's a big part of our life, and we just appreciate so much you being part of it.' And I say, oh no, thank you. You have no reason to thank me. I'm privileged and honored to be part of it, which I am," he said.

The concert has a serious purpose, but it is also a celebration. There is lively entertainment from Broadway hits to jazz and country music.

Mantegna says it brings together people of divergent viewpoints - "red" voters, that is, Republicans, and "blue" voters, or Democrats - in a musical celebration that transcends politics.

"I don't care what a person's political feelings are," he noted. "I have my own, and everyone is entitled to their own. But this is not about that. And it shouldn't be confused in thinking that this is either a red concert or a blue concert. It's a red, white and blue concert."

The concert has a special segment that changes each year. This year's will focus on the many veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who have survived the war, but must now cope with traumatic injuries.

US Calls Iranian Charges Against Washington Academic 'Absurd'

By David Gollust State Department 22 May 2007

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Haleh Esfandiari, Director of the Middle East program at the Woodrow Wilson Center

The U.S. State Department said Tuesday charges from Tehran that an Iranian-American academic has sought to topple Iran's Islamic government are "absolutely absurd." Officials say scholar Haleh Esfandiari had no link with any U.S. government programs on Iran and should be released as soon as possible. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Officials here say it is unclear whether an Iranian government statement Monday accusing Esfandiari of subversion amounts to a formal charge against her, but they say they are operating under the assumption that she is now accused of criminal activity.

The 67-year-old Esfandiari, director of the Middle East program at Washington's Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, has been jailed for two weeks after having been barred from leaving the country since late last year. She had been visiting her ailing mother.

Esfandiari, who holds both U.S. and Iranian citizenship, left Iran after that country's 1979 Islamic revolution but has traveled there frequently to visit her mother, who is 93 years old.

In a statement read on state television Monday, the Iranian Intelligence Ministry said she is accused of setting up a network acting against the sovereignty of Iran and trying to bring about a "soft revolution" in that country, an apparent allusion to activism that brought down autocratic governments in recent years in Ukraine and Georgia.

The Wilson Center has already rejected the charges against Esfandiari. In a talk with reporters, State Department Deputy spokesman Tom Casey said it is "incredible" to think that Esfandiari's work, which involved trying to increase mutual understanding between the two peoples, could pose a threat to the Iranian government.

News reports have suggested that Iran's move against Esfandiari and others may reflect Iranian anger over a $75 million Bush administration program announced late last year to boost Iranian civil society and U.S. broadcasting to that country. Casey said Esfandiari's work was not connected in any way to that initiative.

"Maybe if Ms. Esfandiari had any association with any of those programs, you might be able to make a claim like but," Casey says. "But she doesn't, and I think it's been very clear. And again, she's been back and forth to Iran for many, many years. She's an Iranian-American. She has substantial family ties back there. Go ask the Iranians why they think stuff that she has been doing for years and years and years without any problems, suddenly now represents a threat to their government. It's not something that's understandable in any practical terms to us."

Former Democratic Congressman Lee Hamilton, director of the Wilson Center, said Esfandiari was not involved in activities to undermine any government, and that there is "not one scintilla of evidence" to support what he termed the outrageous claims against her.

Hamilton and former Secretary of State James Baker co-chaired the bipartisan commission which in December recommended greater U.S. engagement with Iran as part of a new strategy on the Iraq war.

Spokesman Casey said the State Department has been in close contact with Esfandiari's family and has raised her case with the Swiss government, which represents U.S. interests in Iran in the absence of diplomatic relations.

There have been similar inquiries in the case of another Iranian-American, Radio Farda journalist Parnaz Azima, who has been barred from leaving Iran since January, and on Robert Levinson, a former U.S. FBI agent who went missing in Iran in March.

Despite the problems, U.S. ambassador to Baghdad, Ryan Crocker, is due to meet Iranian diplomats there May 27 for a discussion of Iraqi security issues. Casey said Tuesday Crocker has not yet been told who the Iranian participants in the dialogue will be.

Paradox of Oil-Rich Nigeria: Little Fuel in a Land of Plenty

By Nico Colombant Port Harcourt 22 May 2007

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Refinery workers in one of the main cities in Nigeria's Niger Delta have started a protest action over the last-minute sell-off of refineries by the outgoing government. Meanwhile, motorists line up for hours to get gasoline, wondering why there is plenty of oil for export from this region, but so little turned into gas for their own cars. VOA's Nico Colombant reports from Port Harcourt.

Motorists line up for hours to get gasoline in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

For some drivers at gas stations like this one in Port Harcourt, the waiting seems endless.

"More than three hours now in the line here," one driver said. "So, we are suffering for the fuel too much. Look at the line here. It is full everywhere. We just want the government to take care of all these things for us, to buy fuel normally, as we are buying before, because we are suffering too much."

Another driver waiting in line, who asks to be called William, says he is already four hours late for work as a safety engineer for an oil company.

"They do not manage what we have properly," he said. "Therefore, most of the fuel we [have] in Nigeria, they export it to other countries, and other things. All the refineries are down. They are not working. Therefore, that is the problem we are having."

Although Nigeria is one of the world's largest oil producers, the country has long suffered from a lack of refining capacity. The government, which has held a controlling stake in the four main oil refineries, admits they are poorly run, inefficient and plagued by maintenance issues. Officials say that privatization of the refineries offers the best hope for an infusion of foreign investment and improved efficiency.

Illegal gas is sold on side of a road in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

On the streets, people are more concerned with where to find enough fuel for their cars, and many are forced to buy on the black market, where the price is nearly double. But buying black market fuel can also bring problems.

These men are checking to see if the gasoline here is good. One buyer says, you have to be very careful.

"Some of those ones on the road, they mix it up," he said. "Instead of the real quality, they add to it, something, on top of it, so it is not exactly the good petrol to buy. If you buy that one on the road, your car may stall."

Refinery workers are also upset by the government's privatization scheme.

Just outside Port Harcourt, refinery workers, wearing red protest outfits, are angry with the outgoing government's decision to sell off plants to private investors.

Last week, the Nigerian Bureau of Public Enterprises sold 51 percent of the federal government's equity in one refinery to a consortium for over $500 million, in an attempt to cut losses and improve performance.

Nigeria's refineries have struggled

Union leaders complain of a lack of transparency in the deal, and fear thousands of job cuts.

Union branch chairman for the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association Adamu Abubakar Umaru says workers were not consulted properly, as promised in an earlier memorandum of understanding.

"If they want to privatize, we have agreed that the process can commence as from June, when we have a new government, said Umaru. "We believe that the government that is transiting should not be interested in selling national assets like the refineries at this time, when they have barely less than 10 days to go."

The government says the sale will get people back to work and ease suffering.

Union leaders are warning of a total shutdown of the refineries on Thursday morning, if new negotiations with the union do not begin.

Umaru says he understands this could cause even more shortages for motorists.

"In any struggle, people must suffer, but at the end of it, the result that will come out of it would be for the betterment of the Nigerian people," he said.

Other unions have called for a stay at home strike to coincide with the May 29 handover of power to new governors and the next president, the ruling party's Musa Yar'Adua, following elections marred by violence and widespread fraud, in Africa's most populous and biggest oil producing country.