>> hello and welcome to the "journal" on dw-tv. >> welcome. >> our headlines this hour, fit for extradition to stand trial for war crimes. leaders promise billions to bolster democratic reforms in the middle east and north africa. >> and a greek tragedy seems to be unfolding in athens. fresh bailout funds are in question after opposition leaders say no to new austerity measures.

>> a serbian court ruled he's fit to stand trial and be extradited to the war crimes tribunal. his family and lawyer are calling for an independent medical examination and say they're going to appeal the court decision on monday. the former bosniane serbia general was arrested after 16 years on the run. >> an investigative judge at belgrade's special bar crimes court ruled he's fit to stand trial. his wife and son visited him in jail on friday. >> he recognized us. but he's got difficulty with speech. his hand is paralyzed and he can't use his fingers. >> he also told reporters his father intends to plead not guilty to genocide charges. the capture of the former bosnian serbia commander is front-page news in serbia.

security forces reportedly surprised him in bed, and he didn't put up resistance. although he was believed to be heavily armed, local newspapers described him as a frail old man suffering from dementia. he's accused of ordering the massacre of around 8,000 men and boys in 1995. many people in bosnia welcomed his arrest. >> it's gratifying for all the victims and their relatives. the families can finally breathe a sigh of relief, although no one can bring back those lost and those who were brutally murdered. >> justice often takes a long time, but it is possible. guilty people should be put on trial. >> his son wants to prevent his father's transfer to the hague and admits he should be admitted to a hospital. on monday a three-judge panel is

set to hear his appeal. >> good evening. i think that severing ready here in the haig. we know the appeal will be filed on monday, but the court in belgrade, the spokesman of the court in belgrade, said the decision can be made immediately so that on monday and most possibly on tuesday we expect vladic until the haig. >> under what conditions will he be here? >> under the usual conditions for all the people who are detained. the cell has a bed, writing table, access to the internet, and a tv.

for them is is a common room, dining room, and places where they can prepare their own food. >> is he likely to have contact with other inmates like the other bosnian serbia who was arrested? >> yes. we know from experience that the former yugoslav inditees made good friends in the jail. there were orthodox christian holidays together. >> thank you very much for that. reports say security forces have fired on antigovernment protesters, killing at least eight people. despite the ongoing military crackdown, thousands turned out for demonstration as cross the country after friday prayers.

the opposition called it a day of anger against the part h party rule. in yemen, a leader of the tribe say tribesmen have been killed. they are the strongest tribal group and have been part of the opposition movement against the ruler. the latest violence comes after a ceasefire was reported. today antigovernment protesters held another demonstration in the capital. >> once again, thousands of people took to the streets. after five days of intense battle, it was time to mourn the dead. >> we wanted a peaceful

revolution. but the loyalists want a war. we will not allow him to turn this into a civil war. >> the situation escalated on monday after the president failed once again to sign a compromise agreement drawn up by the gulf cooperation council. the deal called for his resignation within 30 days of signing. fighting then broke out between security forces and militias loyal to yemen's most powerful tribal confederation. both sides are heavily armed. many residents have fled. now the two sides want to negotiate, urged on by international politicians seek a peaceful resolution to the conflict. there's concern that if yemen gets mired in a civil war, al qaeda could take advantage of the ensuing security vacuum. >> leaders have wrapped up their annual summit pledging support for countries of the middle east and north africa, making a transition to democracy.

the leaders described the uprising as historic with the potential to bring about the transformation which took place in eastern europe after the fall of the berlin wall. they agreed to a financial aid package under a program. >> the world's industrialized nations want to support the reform to the tune of as much as 28 billion euros. part of that has been pledged by the european union. >> it's now foreign get the aid quickly to the people. germany is supporting a program to promote employment and educational training, especially of young people. >> leaders took a tough line with the regimes resisting revolts, warning libya and syria to halt the violent repreparation of their own peoples. tuneesha sees the offer of aid as a sign it's on the right path.

>> in the past months, tuneesha started a transition towards a democratic government. it's certainly not an easy task. but we are proceeding with courage and have shown little fear. >> the partnership is also a signal to other countries in the region. the algerian president, seen here with his french counterpart, nicholas sarkozy, has so farrey sifted calls for reform in his country. the good 8 may hope he'll be moved by his closing statements, emphasizing that democracy is the best path to peace, stability, and prosperity. >> yes, president barack obama has traveled on to poland from that summit, the final leg of his week-long european tour. paid a visit to the warsaw memories where he laid a wreath on honor of polish.

later he was welcomed by his polish counterpart. on saturday obama is zewe to have talks -- due to have talks with political leaders. i asked what the people of poland are expecting from this visit. >> there's one really concrete thing they are expecting. polish people traveling to the u.s. still need a visa, still need to apply for that, pay for that. they want that to be a little simpler. they want to be one of the countries where people only can go there and stay for 90 days without a visa. that's one thing. the other thing is they're looking for investors. poland, in the energy sector, wants to change they heavily depend on coal. and they want some investors in their nuclear energy field, and maybe in gas exploration. this is where the u.s. could come in. on the other hand, politically they want to be not the most

important country on the u.s. agenda, but they want to stay an important country on the u.s. agenda. that's politically spoken. >> right. thank you very much for that. of course, there have been a lot of protests, including in greece. >> in greece. and the opposition politicians there are just creating a humungous mess. they should find some heroes on that winged horse pegasus because they're going to need heroic action. the prime minister failed to win support from opposition party leaders for new austerity measures needed to overcome the country's massive debt crisis. meaning? he will have to enforce unpopular policies all by himself. euro's policymakers warned athens that the provision of fresh funding would be con continucontingent of debt cuttig measures. however in stark contrast to that, opposition leaders are making unrealistic demands that the country's existing e.u.

i.m.f. bailout be completely renegotiated. >> the greek government badly needed the opposition to agree to its austerity plans. even with the country poised on the brink of financial ruin, its politicians failed to find consensus. the support of the opposition was one of the conditions for the next payment of bailout funding from the i.m.f. and the e.u. the government currently only has enough funds to pay obligations such as wages, pensions, and debt service for only a few more weeks. greece is now in a bind. it must impose even more stringent austerity measures in order to secure the funding it desparately needs. but the bloodletting most certainly will deepen the country's recession. even i know greece's once lively business districts are largely empty of shoppers. domestic consumption has plunged and businesses are going under. if the government fails to cut deeper with its austerity measures it would forfeit the bailout funding and would have to default on its debts. no one knows which way greece

will go. >> well, as greece prepares to privatize public assets to help pay off some of its debt, foreign investors are eyeing opportunities. the german airport operator has expressed interest in obtaining a stake in athens airport. currently the greek state owns 55%, but with opportunity, of course, comes risk. and inevitably, tough reform. last year passenger numbers at the airport fell by 5% and profits tumbled by 40%. on to the markets saying european shares rallied. our correspondent sent us this summary from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> worries about greece and the euro debt crisis overshadowed the trading this week. the dax, at the end of the week, the last trading day with a small plus. but when you look at the whole week compared to the last one, there's a minus of about 1.5%. each day it seemed there were no

reports that rolled in that shocked or worried investors. and people can't really recognize how the greeks, for example, can possibly escape this mess and how the situation could improve in other countries as well. one thing's for sure, the traders are seeing that this topic will be, again, in their minds in the following week. they're hoping, of course, for positive news. but where that's coming from is a big question mark. >> and staying for a closer look at friday's numbers. germany's dax closing 2/3 of a percent higher. the euro stoxx 50 falling suit. across the atlantic, in new york, the dow managing to close higher by 31% but finishing lower at 12,441. and the euro trading higher against the dollar. $1.4290. the ratings agency fitch has

joined moody's and stan stan in -- standard & poor's in lower its outlook of japanese sovereign debt from negative to stable. the costs of march's earthquakes, tsunami have put further finance troubles and urges the government to address its long-term financial situation as the country rebuilds. japan's government debt is projected to reach nearly 220% of g.d.p. next year. and in production of japanese carmakers fell sharply in the wake of the cay at that time trophy in march. toyota said its output was cut in april in april with production of all of its japanese plants down by 880%. -- 80%. nissan's production fell by only 20%. the automakers say it will take several months for them to return to normal production. that's your "business update." >> thank you, steve. talks are underway on the future

of the country's antiterrorism laws. they were introduced after the 911 attacks but was seen as a testimony trie measure. the laws are only valid until january next year. the conservatives want to extend the legislation. but critics say many of the measures are unnecessary and should be dropped. >> civil liberty activists areas antiterrorism legislation. they're skeptical that the storage of personal data from every citizen actually helps authorities catch criminals. now germany's interior minister has to agree with his colleagues at the state level on what the country really needs to prevent terrorist attacks. he says vigilance is more necessary than ever before. >> we have no reason to believe that terrorists have given up on their plans to carry out attacks in germany as well.

>> authorities say these three men have just such plans. they were arrested last month after a surveillance operation that included the monitoring of phone calls and air travel. nonetheless, the 16 federal states want to hear a full report from the government to find out which parts of the anti-terror legislation have actually produced results and prevented attacks. >> we need to make a reasoned assessment of the laws. and then a new political assessment of what we actually need. in some instances, that might be more than we have now. in other instances, less. >> civil liberty activists have the support of the free democrats on this issue. and they're part of the national governing coalition. a compromise will be necessary if a deal is to be struck before the summer recess. >> the human rights watch dog amnesty international marks its anniversary on saturday. the german president said his country had a special obligation

to respect human rights. the organization's german chapter presented its sixth human rights award to a mexican activist who's been campaigning since the 1990's for the rights of communities. stay with us.

>> welcome back. amnesty international is celebrating its 50th anniversary this weekend. the organization was set up in london, dedicated to preventing human rights abuses. it's grown from a small group of friends to a global organization that's won the nobel peace prize for its work. most people working for amnesty are volunteers. many people praise the organization for setting the standard for human rights around the world. but amnesty has also been criticized by some countries, including israel, the united states, russia, and china for what they perceive as a bias. here now is a look at amnesty's fight for human rights for half a century.

>> ♪ a political word peace is not welcome at all away from the door put up against the wall ♪ >> amnesty's basic demand is clear and simple -- set free all non-violent people in prison for speaking their minds. this is the man who launched the movement. in 1961, the british lawyer was outraged at the fate of two portuguese students who had been imprisoned because they had raised their glasses in a toast to freedom. portugal was an authoritarian regime back then. he wrote a newspaper article calling on the people of the world to write letters of protest. he triggered an avalanche. >> the basement room overflowed with material. and upstairs we continued to receive letters from all over the world, letters of support and encouragement. >> the huge public response to his appeal prompted berenson to

found amnesty international as a support group for prisoners of conscience. activists wrote letters to detainees, collected signatures, and petitioned governments demanding they respect basic human rights. >> when we say human rights, it means what tangible difference is it making in the lives of people? has it reduced corruption? has it given them a better life chance. it's a real difference for real people. >> the nobel peace prize for 1977. >> in 1977, amnesty international was awarded the nobel peace prize, further boosting its international renown and influence. today the organization has three million members and closely follows movements demanding basic freedom, like the arab spring. >> of course, there's a lot of window dressing which goes on. that's why i say even in the middle east, not africa -- if you take egypt and tunesia.

we have to remove dictatorships. unless there's deep reform of the security sector, of institutions, of laws, you can't say that things have changed. >> amnesty's commitment just to human rights alone, the organization retrains from making partisan political statements. experts say that anything else would do a disservice to human rights which are, themselves, above politics. >> they play a certain role. they have a specific function. you could say that they're the guard dog which barks but does not bite. it's only able to bark. it only needs to bark. and governments have to accept the noise. if they say they're going to compromise. >> democratic states have not been spared amnesty international's criticism. it speaks out regardless of who's in charge. it criticizes the u.s. detention center at guantanamo bay. it also campaigns against the recruitment of child soldiers, as in the democratic republic of congo.

it demanded the rebel leard face justice -- leader face justice when he was arrested in 2009. earlier in 1998, the international community agreed to set up the international criminal court to try suspects accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. amnesty was among the organizations invited to take part in the advisers. a human rights expert appraised amnesty's proposals for the german government in berlin. >> their discussion papers were very high quality. i have to say that amnesty's expertise is clearly superior to that of many delegations sent by small states. >> recent decades have seen the definition of human rights broadened. in 1948, they included individual rights and freedoms. now they include social rights such as the rights to clean water, food, and education. those changes have also altered amnesty international's view of just whom it represents.

>> most people have no choice. and most people who have no voice are poor. we shouldn't be trying to separate them. >> ♪ people have the power >> a candle entwined in barbed wire is amnesty's symbol. earlier this year the group celebrated 50 years of speaking out with a multitude of candles, meant to shine a light on human rights. >> in our next report we take a look at a man who owes his life to amnesty and now works for it. ruben comes from chile. he was in prison and tortured under the regime. after his exile from the country he settled down in the germantowgermantown of rotting . he heads the amnesty international theater group in germany. one of his main goals is to make sure other dozen not suffer as he did. through his work he wants to

pass on what he learned to a new generation of young people in the hope he'll be able to prevent a repeat of the past. >> chileans teaching other chileans. that's what ruben experienced in his home country during the regime of a critical director and felt the wrath of the state. today he's 63 and runs a theater group for amnesty international. he wants to inspire young people to get involved, young people like nicholas, who comes here after his university lectures. >> we have to draw attention to the problems. many people are discriminated against. especially poor people. in our society, too, but it's worse in developing countries. i want to play my small part. >> drawing attention to the fates of people like ruben. he was almost executed but was saved by the appearance of some

children. even so, hearing the soldiers loading their rifles is still clear in his memory. >> everything wells up. your entire life in one minute. >> amnesty international helped ruies to leave chile. that's why he's become an activist. he wants to make sure that others are spared the suffering he endured, prison, torture, having to flee his homeland and leave behind those he loved. >> i missed it all. everything. friends of mine who studied theater with me. my other friends, members of my family. >> now with the theater group he can pass on what he once had to give up. he wants to help young people see that they don't need to accept things as they are. one member of the group is kiara. she didn't think of herself as an activist until she realized

how much there is still to do for human rights. >> i think it's important to have a principle in your life that can you stand up for, so that you can say this is why i'm here and i can do something to help. >> ruis and his theater group explore things dealing with human rights and hope to encourage others to get involved. if that happens, ruben ruis knows his suffering has not been in vain. he also knows that it is worth working for amnesty international, an organization that has given him a new existence. a new life with his theater group, the best present imaginable for an artist. >> and amnesty international was the focus of "in depth" as the organization turns 15.

we leave you now with a look at the latest headlines.