anchor: hello and welcome to"fokus on europe." one of the stories we arebringing you today takes a close look at the wave of politicalprotest sweeping across romania. the eastern european country'sgovernment has tried to reverse the fight against corruption.in response, tens of thousands of romanians have braved thefreezing cold and taken to te streets. >>it is about the principle.we do not want to be ruled by thieves anymore, says thiswoman. anchor: more on this is comingup later in the program. they lost everything.despite proudly serving and representing their country,several turkish nato officers living in belgium are now hidingfrom their own government.

over 100,000 people have beenpurged from turkey's military, courts, universities, and civilservice in the government crackdown after last july'sfailed coup. failed coup. so fearful are the officers andtheir families of what may happen if they return to turkey,many have applied for asylum in belgium. on strict conditions ofanonymity, a few spoke with or reporter about their plight.reporter: these two women and their families have lostvirtually everything. a few months ago, their husbandswere well-paid, well-respected military officers representingturkey at nato headquarters in brussels.now, they are in hiding from that government, accused ofbeing terrorists. we have to disguise theiridentities because they fer retaliation. >>i never imagined that couldhappen to us. we have even told our childrennot to speak turkish in public anymore.reporter: a couple months after

the failed military coup, theywere ordered to return to turkey, accused of having linksto those who tried to overthrow president recep tayyip erdogan. >>of course, it was shocking.i got angry. at first we wanted to go back toturkey. i wanted to defend myself.but there is no case to defend myself against.and then we learned that the people who did go back werejailed. reporter: we meet them andothers caught up in the purge at an apartment near nato.they are among the tens of thousands of military personnel,teachers and civil servants sacked by president erdogan'sgovernment. one of them is a high-rankingmilitary officer accused of helping to plan the coup fromhis nato post. he tells us he had nothing to dowith it. >>i condemned the coup.i am not afraid to be legally pursued or even tried.if there could be a credible

legal system in turkey, i wouldnever hesitate to go back o my country.but unfortunately, that's not the case.reporter: the officer believes a witch hunt is taking place inturkey. a witch hunt for well-educated,liberal-minded people. >>they tweaked the legislativesystem in turkey and invented new crimes to be able todischarge people from their offices, to imprison people,even to torture people in their custody or in prison.reporter: asked for reaction to these cases, many think tanksand ngo's are reluctant to criticize the turkish governmentin public, worried for their own personnel there.only amnesty international's andrew gardener in istanbul waswilling to talk. he says he has never known atime when criticism of a government has been so mutedwhile its human rights violations are so extreme.andrew: there are photographs from inside police detention.but most importantly for us,

there was testimony from lawyerswho actually met with people in detention and doctors as welland unfortunately, they gave a very disturbing picture ofill-treatment and torture inside police detention in turkey andunfortunately, that's continuing to today.reporter: erdogan has declared that diplomats posted abroadwhose names are on his lists must return home, or he willhunt them down and bring them back forcefully.that is exactly what the families in brussels now fear.their salaries and benefits were cut off months ago.they have changed neighborhoods and schools. >>we don't have anything now --no state, no passport. it is like a prison, onlyoutside. >>it is like a paused life.reporter: you think it's just a it is like a prison, onlypause, not an end? >>we are all alive and with ourfamilies.

we have applied for asylum.we'll start over. reporter: but turkey has alreadywarned nato member states including belgium that they mustsend these officers back. when we asked nato secretarygeneral jens stoltenbeg about the situaton, he defendsturkey's utility as a partner. jens: turkey is also importantfor the migrant and the refugee crisis and a buffer for the restof europe and i think it is very important that the rest ofeurope understands the important role turkey's playing inmanaging the migrant and refugee crisis.reporter: belgian authorities wouldn't respond to questionsabout whether they will grant asylum to the turkish citizens.stakes are high. erdogan has threatened to quithis refugee deal with the eu if it angers him.a foreign policy analyst in brussels dares to speak up.roland freudenstein: he cannt

expect democracies with the ruleof law to deliver these people to turkey in this situation.i think we should play hardball on this one.we must make it clear that we're not going to betray the basicprinciples on which our liberal democracies are founded for arefugee deal. if that is the tradeoff, then,too bad. reporter: the women say they areafraid their asylum requests will be rejected.if so, they will try to go somewhere else. >>it's a big world with a lotof countries. there must be one that will takeus. reporter: meanwhile, the womenare constantly learning of new cases just like theirs.families forced into hiding,

wondering if the lists will everend. anchor: turkey is in turmoil andthese officers may never be able to go home.nicolae aeleni refuses to give up on his country.despite the entrepreneur having to deal with years of corruptionin order to operate hs business, he is determined tofight. in recent weeks, romania hasseen the largest protests since the fall of communism in 1989.he has been among the tens of thousands of romaniansprotesting against a government decree to weaken penalties forcorruption. even after the government backeddown, the protests have continued. >>thieves! you're all thieves!nikulae aelenei is out protesting against romania'ssocialist government, despite the blistering cold.like the previous nights, tens of thousands have turned out inromania's capital bucharest ad

elsewhere in the country to venttheir anger at corrupt politicians. >>listen, the people arecalling them thieves! that's what they are.and they've turned us into thieves, too.reporter: he wants to explain what he means and takes us tothe outskirts of bucharest. this is where his company is --or what's left of it. he invested lots of money intothis building, hoping to transform it into a warehousefor his hygiene products and disinfectants business.but with romanian hospitals his customers, he soon realized thathe wouldn't be getting far without bribes. >>public contracts areadvertised in such a way that it is clear who'll get the job.that is the situation we face today.reporter: most of the hospitals

that niculae supplies arestate-run. and their directors are usuallyfriendly with ruling politicians.this gives them an ideal network, he says, to siphon offfunds. he claims that public contractsto supply state hospitals aren't based on the quality of theproducts but only on the extent of bribes paid.aelenei admits that he has done so himself. >>once i accepted that thingsdepend on bribes, i became part of the corrupt system.but they kept demanding higher and higher bribes.i realized that this system is rotten and stopped playingalong. reporter: this has drasticallyreduced his turnover.

his dream of becoming anentrepreneur has been shattered. but he will not go down withouta fight. for now, aelenei shares a flatwith his wife and both their mothers.romania needs to wake up, argues his mother-in-law.she says people need to stand up to the politicians.niculaes' own mother is pleased to see to so many peoplepolitically active. she says the days of passivityare over. niculae sets off to the nextprotest. on his way there, he encounterssupporters of the socialist government.they believe the government's promises of higher wages andpensions. few of these supporters carethat politicians and civil servants pocket bribes.instead, they claim that niculae and the protestors arepolarizing the country. >>go away! >>the man in the red shirtshouts, all you lot want to do

is provoke us!go protest somewhere else! this makes niculae angry. >>if you keep backing them,we'll get booted out of the european union!reporter: the angry government supporters even turn onpresident klaus yohannis. because the president wants tocombat corruption, too. we're all romanians -- heinsists. you're not romanian, comes backfrom the crowd, referring to yohannis' german roots.just a few kilometers across town, tens of thousands ofprotesters are demanding an ed to government corruption.there are many young romanians among the protestors. >>it's a matter of principle.we won't be ruled by thieves. >>the culprits must facejustice. just as ordinary citizens musttake responsibility for ther mistakes, so must politicians.reporter: night aftr night, the

protesters gather on bucharest'svictory square. a befitting name, reckonsniculae, for their struggle against corruption.anchor: following pressure from public protests, romania'sparliament has now agreed to hold a referendum on fightingofficial corruption. ♪ anchor: today in our series,"europe's mountains, conquering the peaks," we take you tofrance, where we meet naomie and andrew.they are novice climbers. but that has not stopped themfrom attempting to reach the

summit of mont blanc.it is not only one of the tallest mountains in europe, butalso one of the deadliest. many companies advertise montblanc as more of a long walk than a challenging ascent.technically, the mountain might not be difficult to climb, butadverse weather conditions cn be treacherous.reporter: it is 3 in the morning, we're at almost 4000feet elevation. climbers are getting ready toleave the alpine mountain hut to attempt the ascent up montblanc. today there are about 100 climbers from all over theworld. naomie and andrew, from australia, are also geared up tomake the five-hour climb. >>why not?it is the tallest mountain in europe.it is an easy mountain for someone to do by themselveswithout a guide. non-technical. one more. bye-bye, naomie.

>>okay, ready! let's do it!reporter: andrew and naomie have a 1000-meter ascent ahead ofthem. they took a five-day climbingcourse in peru, and they think that will be enough to mastermont blanc. but many underestimate thedifficulty of the climb, whih requires the endurance of amarathon runner. sudden changes in weatherconditions, avalanches, falling rocks and crevasses make montblanc even more treacherous than it already is.over the last decade, several hundred people have died in themont blanc mountain range. >>a russian woman was left upthere by her fellow climbers because she could not make itback down. by the time the rescue crewreached her, she was dead. things like this shouldn'thappen.

reporter: on this morning, notourists will go to the top. it is far too dangerous, withwind gusts of more than 80 kilometers an hour andtemperatures of -25 degrees celsius.at the last alpine hut before the peak, naomie and andrew seekshelter. naomie is chilled to the bone,but they still do not want to give up. >>we really want to make theascent. >>we'll wait a bit and see.reporter: waiting up here at a height of 4400 meters can beextremely dangerous. altitude sickness can causefluid to build up in the lungs and brain.but some tourists even spend several nights in the hut,hoping to finish the climb. >>mont blanc has become acommodity. people come to mont blanc theway they go to the movies, or take a walk in the park.mont blanc has become something

banal, a product sold in travelagencies. it is all about the money, andso we end up with these problems.reporter: he wants to limit the number of tourists allowed onthe mountain, and require them to be accompanied by anexperienced mountain guide. but most everyone else in thevalley rejects the idea of stricter rules -- even the headof the mountain rescue service. >>mont blanc is a legend.people come from all over the world to climb it.should we tell them we will build a cable car to the summit?then we'd see a lot fewer tourists here.reporter: naomie and andrew finally decide to head backdown. they are disappointed not tohave reached the top. >>when we got to the hut, wewere very cold.

and we talked to the other guysand they said it is crazy to continue, because the wind is sostrong and the ridge is so steep. you wouldn't come back. >>all the mountains we'veclimbed have had about -5 to -8. we are not acclimatized to that.>>yeah, we are very australian. >>yeah, we are used to warmweather. reporter: others manage to stickout the night at the alpine hut. the next day, some of theclimbers make it to the summit. later, they will boast of theirexperience and entice even more tourists to make the dangeroustrek. anchor: five years ago, illnesstook away finnish carpenter yooha yervinnen's business andlivelihood. he receives governmentassistance, but whenever he is able to find odd jobs to supporthis family, his meager wages are

deducted from his already smallbenefit. he is trapped in a vicious cycleof poverty, and he is not alone. unemployment is high in finlandand economic growth is stagnant. benefit.but the government is determined to find a solution byintroducing a seemingly illogical and controversialexperiment. reporter: when juha jarvinenopened the unexpected letter, he could hardly believe his luck.he is one of 2000 chosen for the universal basic incomeexperiment. he will be receiving 560 euros amonth for two years. >>as soon as i opened theletter, i knew it was from the social security office.and then, when i read it, i started cheering.reporter: for the past five years, he's barely scraped byworking as a carpenter. an illness forced him to declarebankruptcy for his small

company.now, he's got children to feed and no steady job.long-term employment is hard to find in the region of vaasa, aport town on finland's west coast.juha took odd jobs, but the income was deducted from hisunemployment benefits. with the universal basic income,he can earn as much as he wishes and still keep the 560 euros.the model project is the brainchild of the kela socialinsurance institution. olli kangas and his colleagueswill be observing ther 2000 test subjects for two years.he thinks the basic income might become the norm and permanentjobs more the exceptio. >>should everyone continue tohold steady jobs with good incomes and unemployment remainslow in the future, we wil not need the basic income.but if too many end up living in uncertain job circumstances anddrawing incomes from differet sources, the basic income willbecome very important to may

people in our country.reporter: many finns are living with no income even now.the country's economy is not doing as well as it was.many citizens of the one-time model eu member have beenstruggling for years through a crisis that just will not end.the bread lines, like here n helsinki, are longer than ever.many who thought their jobs were secure now depend on hand-outs.heikki hursti runs ths food bank with donations fromsupermarkets. >>this is a normal day for us.we open twice a week, and about 3000 people come by each time.reporter: hursti supports the idea of a basic income thatwould help people avoid the worst -- even though 560 eurosare nowhere near enough to live

on. >>these are people who havebeen out of work for a long time -- who have been looking forjobs, but still haven't found any. reporter: juha jarvinen isplanning to restart his compay again.with the basic income, he can build up enough of a financialbase for a fresh beginning. >>the basic income ensures thati can feed the kids. i can concentrate on importantmatters and get everything organized to start my owncompany again. reporter: juha jarvinen has nodoubt that most other recipients would act much in the same way.this is one argument that could prompt finland to seriouslyconsider introducing a universal basic income -- if it stands thetest. anchor: myth and mystey surround the origin of thefounding father of

czechoslovakia.tomas mazarick was a fierce opponent of the then-rulingaustro-hungarian empire, and is viewed as a symbol of democracy.but now, a genetic tet may shed light on an explosive claim thathe was in fact an illegitimate offspring of the austrianemperor. reporter: a rose for tomamasaryk. david vondracek is a journalistwho's normally investigating the lives of politicians, trying touncover their secrets. however, the subject of hispresent research died almost 80 years ago.toma masaryk was the first president of czechoslovakia, anda national hero. >>there have been many negativereactions, especially from older people who revere masaryk.that is fully legitimate. but i have also been accused oftrying to profit from a sensationalist, tabloid topic.reporter: yet vondracek just

wants to find out who masaryk'sfather was. is the man who led the czechsand slovaks to independence from austria-hungary after world wari really the son of a coach driver?or could he be the illegitimate son of austria's last emperorfranz josef? for many czechs, that'sunthinkable. lubo velek heads the masarykarchives which manage the former president's estate.it comprises 2500 boxes of material.he does not buy the story that masaryk is the emperor's son. >>i would regard it as rather a>>i would regard it as rather a bad joke, a prank played byhistory, because then the son would have destroyed thefather's monarchy. reporter: so there are stillsome hurdles to finding out the truth.until then, masaryk patiently guards prague castle, theofficial residence of czech presidents.the flag here bears the national motto, truth prevails.so vondracek keeps searching for the truth.he has been conducting research

for czech tv for over a year.he wonders how the son of a maidservant and a coach drivercould attend the best and priciest schools, and haveplenty of money. >>he received 100austro-hungarian gulden a month. composer antonin dvorak, who hadfour children, had a salary f 70 gulden.masaryk grew up carefree -- in some of the richest families invienna. reporter: but that's justcircumstancial evidence. vondracek needs to find realproof, so he visits doctor vanek, an internationallyrecognized geneticist. to provide conclusive evidence,vanek would need genetc material.but masaryk's last direct descendant now lives in the u.s.and isn't interested in vondracek's quest.in fact, she has threatened to sue him.bringing the truth to light will be difficult.and some do not want to know it

at all.radomira jelinkova is a teacher who brings her pupils to themasaryk museum. for her, this is also a piece ofher family's history. her grandfather was thepresident's blacksmith and close friend. >>i am not pleased that someoneis conducting genetic research on masaryk. it is an insult.history is history. we all carry masaryk in ourhearts, and investigating who his father was is immoral.reporter: and it looks like she's telling david vondracekthat again, in no uncertain terms.anchor: the results will likely be announced in the comingmonths. for some, like david vondrachek,it cannot come soon enough. that is all for today.thank you for watching. until next time, goodbye. ♪

- [voiceover] up next it's music city roots, live from the factory. in this episode, updated appalachian music with mipso, bluegrass jazz fusion with the jon stickley trio and blues master jimmy hall, just after this. - [voiceover] national broadcast of music city roots is made possible by acceptance auto insurance, based in nashville, tennessee. acceptance offers personal automobile coverage from coast to coast, more information available at acceptance.com, you, you terms accepted. - [voiceover] franklin, tennessee, inspired music, local flavor, on the edge of nashville. visitfranklin.com. - [voiceover] nissan, proud sponsor of art and culture in our home state of tennessee. nissan, innovation that excites. more information is available at nissanusa.com. - [voiceover] vietti artisan chili, celebrating