03/29/12 03/29/12 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is "democracy now!" >> you are in your home, sleeping at 5:00 in the morning. law enforcement comes on a medical call. you should not have your door broken down and you should not end up dead. >> today, we learn the story of 68-year-old african-american marine veteran kenneth chamberlain. he was fatally shot in november

by police who responded to a false alarm from his medical alert pendant. they broke down his door, tasered him, then shot him dead. we will speak with his son, kenneth chamberlain, jr., and his attorney. then, "the island president." >> it was important to defend to poland because it was a front- line state. it is in part to take care of the maldives now because the maldives and many other small states are in the front line of what is happening to the world, to the climate today. if you cannot defend the maldives today, you will not be able to defend ourselves tomorrow. >> maldives president mohamed nasheed, ousted in a to several months ago, joins us in the studio along with filmmaker jon shenk. the legendary feminist poets adrienne rich dies at the age of 82.

>> there was no simple formula for the relationship of art to justice, but i do know that art, in my case, the art of poetry, means nothing if it simply decorates the dinner table of power which holds its -- hold it hostage. >> all of that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the supreme court has concluded three days of historic hearings on president obama's health care reform law the affordable care act. the court will decide now whether to strike on the key provision requiring most americans to buy health insurance and determine whether the rest of the logins band. on wednesday, justices focused their questioning on the practical consequences of overturning a law. the decision is not expected until june. new the released video from the night of trayvon martin's shooting is further undermining

the claims of martin's shooter, george zimmerman, that he acted in self-defense. surveillance video at the police station where zimmerman was briefly detained after martin was shot dead, shows zimmerman had no blood or bruises on his body. george zimmerman has maintained he shot martin after martin punched him in the nose, knocked into the ground, and slammed his head into the pavement. the trayvon martin case continues to make waves across the united states and stir calls for an end to racial profiling. in washington, democratic congressmember bobby rush of illinois was removed from the house floor after he delivered a speech wearing a hooded sweatshirt as trayvon had worn when he was shot. >> racial profiling has to stop, mr. speaker. just because someone wears a pretty -- a hoodie does not make them a hoodlum. the bible teaches us, mr.

speaker -- >> the member will suspend. the member will suspend -- >> these words. >> the chair must remind the rules. you're out of order. the chair will ask the sergeant at arms to enforce the prohibition on the court. the chair must remind members of clause 5 of rule 7 to prohibit the wearing of hats in the chamber when the house is in session. the chair finds the dawning of a hood is not consistent with this rule. members need to remove their hoods or leave the floor. >> the arab league has given backing to kofi annan for a ceasefire in syria. in baghdad, arab league foreign ministers said they backed the six. proposal that includes the withdrawal of syrian forces from heavily populated areas.

the syrian president bashar al- assad said he accepts the plan, but fighting has continued. u.s. secretary general ban ki- moon said he will work with the arab league to push for a cease- fire. >> now, i am going to meet with key leaders in baghdad and discuss with them how the united nations and the arab states can walk together [unintelligible] to get the six. proposal implemented, as was agreed by president al-assad. >> u.s. attack in yemen have increased dramatically over the past year according to the bureau of investigative journalism. strikes on alleged militants in yemen are now occurring at the same rate as the cia drone program in pakistan. at least 26 u.s. military

strikes have taken place in yemen, most of them since may 2011. the yemen strikes have killed hundreds of people, including at least 54 civilians. the obama administration is suspending food aid to north korea over a satellite launch planned for next month. testifying before a house panel, state department official peter lavoy said north korea had violated a pledge to refrain from missile launches under a deal reached with the u.s. earlier this year. >> it has been very important to us to delink trade assistance, including a nutritional assistance and other kinds of activities such as operational -- recovery operations, from politics and from north korea's provocative behavior. that has been our intent all along. however, when we recently reached this deal, it did prohibit north korean missile launches. >> west african leaders are expected to arrive in miley

today to demand a return to constitutional order after a military coup ousted the president last week. leaders from the economic community of west african states are suspending the membership of mali and nicole the speaker of parliament to become interim president. thousands took to the streets in the capital to show support for the takeover and the new constitution written by coup leaders. clashes have reportedly come to a halt in sudan after three days of heavy fighting in the worst violence since ousted and declared independence last july. the violence broke out just days before a scheduled summit between president of the two nations. the sudanese president cancel the summit, citing the unrest. and a report from human rights watch says women escaping abuse in afghanistan are facing harsh government persecution. hundreds of women have been jailed for fleeing domestic abuse, forced prostitution, and

violent attacks. the human rights watch director criticized courts for targeting women. >> the afghan supreme court has said the crime of running away can be found in shariah. but when we looked around the world, no other government thinks they're running away is and sharia. afghanistan stands alone in that interpretation. this misuse of the made up crime of running away is emblematic of the difficult position the women find themselves in afghanistan today. >> an oklahoma judge has struck down a state law requiring women seeking abortions to undergo an ultrasound, view the ultrasound image, and then have the image described to them in detail. district judge brian dixon said the law was unconstitutional because it applies only to abortion care, not to other forms of medicine.

also in oklahoma, a state house panel approved two abortion bills, including one that critics say could potentially threaten many forms of birth control by making a fertilized egg a legal commanding. the second bill would require abortion providers to offer women a chance to listen to the fetal heartbeat before an abortion. both measures now had to the full house for a vote. the pioneering poet and social critic adrienne rich has died at the age of 82. she drew widespread acclaim for her many volumes of poetry and prose, which brought the oppression of women and lesbians into the public spotlight. she was a key figure in the women's movement and an uncompromising critic of the powerful. she won numerous awards and honors include the national book award for the 1973 collection "diving into the rack." refusing to accept the award alone, she appeared on stage with other poets and they accepted the award on behalf of

all women. in 1997, she famously declined to accept the u.s. government's national medal of arts and a protest against the clinton in ministration, writing that art "means nothing if it is simply decorative the dinner table of power which hold it hostage." here she is reading from her poem "what kinds of times are these." >> our country, moving closer to its own truth and dread, its own ways of making people disappear i won't tell you where the place is, the dark mash of the woods beating the unmarked strip of light, a ghost wooden cross roads -- ghostwritten crossroads. i know already who wants to buy it, sell it, make it disappear. i will not tell you where it is, so why do i tell you anything?

because you still listen. because in times like these, to have to listen at all, it is necessary to talk about trees. >> adrienne rich has died at the age of 82. those are some of the headlines. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. >> welcome to all our listeners and viewers around the country and around the world. as the shooting death of trayvon martin continues to draw national attention, today we look at another controversial shooting of an african-american male that has received far less scrutiny. on the morning of november 19, a 68-year-old for marine named kenneth chamberlain with a heart condition accidentally pressed the button on his medical alert system while sleeping. responding to the alert, police officers from the city of white plains, new york arrived in his apartment in a public housing complex shortly after 5:00 in the morning.

by the time the police left the apartment, kenneth chamberlain was dead. he was shot twice in the chest by a police officer inside his home. police gained entry to his apartment only after they took his front door off the hinges. officers for shot him with a taser, then a beanbag shotgun, and then with live ammunition. >> police have insisted the use of force was warranted. they said kenneth chamberlain was emotionally disturbed and had pulled a knife on the officers. this is david chong, public safety commissioner in white plains. >> the officers burst used in electronic taser, which was discharged, hit the victim, and had no effect. while the officers were retreating, the officers then used a shotgun, a beanbag shotgun. >> relatives of kenneth chamberlain have questioned the police portrayal of events that led to his death -- and they say audio and video recorded the scene back up their case.

according to the family, kenneth chamberlain can be heard on an audio recording of his call to the medical alert system --rator saying the respondede to by calling chamberlain a racial slur while urging him to open the door. the audio recording of the incident has not been made public and remains in the possession of the westchester district attorney's office. and early december, kenneth chamberlain, a retired marine, was buried with military honors. the family posted video of part of the ceremony. ♪ [taps playing] >> several months after his death, the name of the officer

who killed kenneth chamberlain has yet to be released. the da has vowed to convene a grand jury to determine if any of the officers should face charges. we invited the white plains police department and the westchester da's's office on to the program, but they declined to join us or issue a comment. but we are joined by kenneth chamberlain, jr., the son of the victim, kenneth chamberlain senior. and i took the family's attorneys, mayo bartlett, the former chief of the bias crimes unit of the westchester county district attorney's office, and the former chair of the westchester county human rights commission. randy mclaughlin is a longtime civil rights attorney and teaches at pace law school. our condolences to your family, kenneth chamberlain, on the death of your father. tell us what you understand happened early in the morning of november 19. >> it is my understanding, from what i have gathered, that my

father accidentally pushed his medical pendant around his neck. he could have possibly turn over on ashbritt we do not know. >> why did he wear it? >> he is a heart condition and also suffered from seal pd the -- copd. when the pendent was triggered -- >> you are holding it in your hands. >> this is the and it right here. it was triggered and the medical co. -- there is a box inside his home. the medical company asked him if he was all right. they did not get a response. automatically if you do not get a response, they send medical services to your house. they informed the police they are responding to a medical emergency, not a crime. once they arrived at my father's home, my father did tell them he was ok.

but for some reason, they wanted to gain entry into my father's home. i don't know why. in the audio, you hear my father telling them that he is fine. >> this is an important point, there was audio going on throughout this between the firm and your father. >> correct. >> so much of the activity of the police was caught on this audio. >> yes, it was. >> the box on the wall records everything? >> it just sat on his table in his dining room area. it just sat there. it is connected to the phone company. so if he does trigger it, you hear allow beeping noise. in the operator from their central station will come on and say, "mr. chamberlain, are you ok? you triggered your alarm." if they do not get a response, they then contact -- >> you could hear this audio because the da's office allowed

you to hear it? but it has not been released? >> no, it has not. >> continue. you hear your father telling the police he is ok through the door. about 5:00 in the morning? >> yes. he is saying his ok that he did not call for them. but they were very consistent. the were banging on the door and banging on the door and banging on the door. you hear one of the officers say, "well, you triggered your alarm." he said, "that is because i want you to leave me alone." they just kelly -- ted dillingham, "open the door and let us see you are all right." at some point, the door was cracked open because the police officers have a taser that has a camera on it and it also has audio. so you could see were the door was cracked open. so once you have gotten a visual and see my father is ok and he is telling his ok, why would you still insist on getting into the apartment?

which is the question i have. they were not responding to a crime. he was sleeping and accidentally triggered his alarm. >> and the officers then did what? >> ultimately, after easing expletives and racial slurs, they broke down the door. you can see on the video from the tasered that they fired a taser at him. i am assuming -- he stood about 8 to 10 feet away from him with his hands down to his side. at one point, you're one of the officers say, "cut it off." it was at that point they shot and killed my father. >> they shot him with beanbags also? >> we did not see that. so i cannot confirm or deny that. >> did you hear what the police

officers were shouting to him before -- did they take the door off the hinges? >> completely off the hinges. there were no orders given to him once they knock down the door, though, which you would have expected the would've given some type of verbal command and said, "it down on the floor, put your hands up, get against the wall." none of those things were said. >> and the allegations he tried to attack them with a weapon first through the crack of the door and once they got in the house? >> i did not see that. i cannot say it did not happen. but from the video i have seen and what i gathered from the audio, i did not see where my father attacked them. and he was inside his home, so where was the immediate threat? >> what exactly did you hear your father say? he was inside the house as the police were coming inside, and the medical pendent company is recording all of this. >> i have heard several things.

one thing you hear is my father is pleading with them to leave him alone. excuse me. you hear him asking them why they're doing this to him. he says, "i am a 68-year-old man with a heart condition, why are you doing this to me?" " i know you're going to come in here and kill me." you also hear him pleading with the officers again, over and over. at one point, that is when the expletives are used by one of the police officers. give an, "i don't f." ultimately, the bus down the door.

-- they bust down the door. it hurts because it did not have to go to that point. you hear the operators from the life co. call the police station and say that they want to cancel the call that mr. chamberlain is ok. you hear the officer there at the central office say, "we're not canceling anything." they say, "called his son." they say, "we're not contacting anyone. we do not need any mediators." >> mayo bartlett, you're not only an attorney for the family in this case, but also a former prosecutor in westchester county, so you're familiar with police procedures in cases like this. i am struck by the fact the identity of the police officer has not been revealed. that is something pretty routine in cases like this, certainly,

by this time. this event was in november. >> absolutely. i think anybody in the city has to ask themselves whether this individual is working right now. and if so, in what capacity? it is atrocious that name has not been released and the officers involved aren't at least not on desk duty, some kind of modified duty. i look at it as a former prosecutor, whenever you talk about the use of force, you look at use of force continue 1. generally, police to preserve protocols that suggest he should stir --for start out with a verbal command. if that is the least intrusive manner you can address an issue. after that, it generally goes to light his application. then it goes up from there to possibly a baton, pepper spray, possibly a taser. you use deadly force only when necessary to prevent deadly force from being used. in this case, mr. chamberlain

did not have a gun. mr. chamberlain did not have a knife when it was in his apartment, when i saw the video. you see a 68-year-old man with no shirt on and boxer shorts and his hands at his sides. i did not see any weapons in his hands. the other thing that is troubling, that a taser was used at all. you are there for a medical response, not investigating a criminal act. you are there with the understanding there may be a person needs medical assistance. >> for a man with a heart condition, no less critics absolutely. to use a taser, which is going to send significant electricity through the person's body, at best would be reckless. that alone could cause his death. the thing that is troubling to me is, the police were not there to respond to criminal activity. they went to the gentleman's house to give him assistance at 5:00 in the morning. the only reason he and the like a pendant was so his family and

he would be comfortable if something were to occur, he would be able to get assistance. >> i want to read part of the initial news coverage around the killing of kenneth chamberlain, senior. the headline on the news 12 website read "officer fatally shoots hatchet wielding man." the daily white plains website posted an article titled, " police fatally shoot disturbed man caring night." the story begins -- "white plains police say an officer discharged two rounds, fatally shooting an emotionally disturbed white plains man who attempted to bar officers from entering his apartment with a hatchet and then turned towards police with a butcher's knife." >> you have the person is dead, and the police initially put out their spin. that is a spin. that is clearly a spin. the videotape -- there is a

videotape of what happened, and audio tape, a videotape of mr. chamberlain when they come at him with a taser. this is a clear violation of criminal law and constitutional rights. in our country, we have the fourth amendment as says we're supposed to be secure in our own homes. mr. chamberlain was not attacking anyone. he was in his home. this idea he attacked the one with a hatchet is, frankly, a line. it is a cover story to cover up what they have done. we are meeting with the district attorney this afternoon of westchester county to press for full prosecution of the highest crimes in this state. there's a petition on line that mr. chamberlain has put out we're presenting that to her as well. >> given the fact they have the audio and video and hear their own officers using racial epithets would immediately say to the brass of the police department, "we have a problem

here." that will be in court before a grand jury at some point. and i have a responsibility at that point began to in their own investigation. -- they have a responsibility to begin with to do their own investigation. >> his niece was in the hallway. she said, "i am his niece." the pushed for a way critics she lived with him? >> on the fifth floor. they had a head to toe body shield on. rather than secure the situation, let's assume for the sake of this discussion have a right to see him to make sure he was ok. ok, so the door is open. why are you entering his apartment? it is kind of like zimmerman. you provoke the situation then respond to it. "oh, i had to use deadly force to protect myself." no, you provoke the situation. you had no right to cross that man's threshold. >> susie oppenheimer wrote a

letter to westchester county district attorney forcing support for investigation into the killing. she wrote, "i ask you do everything in your power to ensure there is a full and fair investigation of this incident and that all relevant information is presented to the grand jury for its consideration." so far she's been the only state legislator to speak out, correct? >> corrected i want to fall on what randy just said in terms of mr. zimmerman. i'm not comparing the two tragedies. but what i do think is this, mr. zimmerman is a private citizen. these are individuals or acting on the color of law. these are people who are employed by the government to give you assistance. i think that is even more egregious than an individual who may exercise terrible judgment or have bias in their heart. i think it is a travesty that we do not have any reaction from

public officials. and if he simply reversed the roles, it mr. chamberlain had shot at a police officer or harmed a police officer, even without deadly force, if an officer ended up having a bloody nose, and awlaki, 68-year-old -- in all likelihood, the 68-year- old would have been charged with felony assault. we would have heard from all of our elected officials. there probably would have talked about him in disspiriting ways, possibly called him an animal as sometimes people who are alleged to of committed these crimes are preferred to. >> the one to ask about bringing this case to a grand jury in april. this happened in november. we're talking five or six months later. they're just wanting to discuss the facts, but not even charging him. it seems a long way, even for a grand jury. >> it is a good amount of time.

part of it is the investigative process. the biggest problem i have is we do not have an opportunity to present information to a grand jury in new york state. the only person who does that is the district attorney's office. we cannot even determine if there will play the audio tape. and if they do, whether it will be redacted. we're stuck with a good faith offering from the district attorney it will be fully presented. >> kenneth chamberlain, jr., tell us about your father. >> when people ask me about that, i tell people that he was a father like anyone else. he agreed with some things you did and disagreed with others. but my father would never hurt anyone intentionally. he would not go after anyone. he was law enforcement himself.

he was a marine. i'm sure whatever he scene when he served that that was enough violence for him. and for them to look at my father that way without -- with no regard for his life. i think about that every morning, just the circumstances. i guess maybe around 5:00 in the morning attended think about all of this. it disturbs me about the fact it has not been presented yet because i do know, as my attorney said, if the roles have been reversed, this would have already banned -- into a grand jury. >> when did you hear your father had been killed? i found out from a friend of mine as saturday morning. my phone rang. a friend of mine called me and said, you need to get out to white plains right away. i asked him why. he said, "something is going on

with your father. i don't know what it is." i asked him, "what is going on?" as he is getting ready to tell me, he yelled out, "0, my god." i asked him what happened. >> i am really sorry to put you through this again, to make he relived it. >> i apologize. >> you are holding your father's i.d. bracelet. >> yes. i have his marine ring and his

veterans card. my father was -- >> we're talking to kenneth chamberlain, jr., the son of kenneth chamberlain, a senior, who was killed by police on november 19, 2011. he was in his home. his medical alert pendant went off and the company called the police to check on him. >> i am sorry. >> go ahead. it is fine print >> yes, i have his marine ring, his veteran's card. he was proud to be a marine. even on the audio, you hear the

police officers making fun of the fact that he was a marine. >> what do you mean? >> they asked my father to open the door. he refused and said, "i am not opening my door." this is something to the effect it were going to knock it down crude he said, "i will not let you in." he said " semper phi." they said, "you are a marine? hoo-rah. hoorah." my father always said, "once a marine, always a marine." he said if you needed help and could not get anyone else, call on a marine. a lot of those things come back now, things i just thought when in one ear and out the other,

but in light of these things, when you hear the audio, when you look at the video, all of these things come back. in 45 years of meeting on this earth, that was the very first time that ever heard my father where he was pleading and begging for his life. to hear him back for his life, to say this was his sworn testimony on the audio, which the police did not know was being recorded, he said "my name is kenneth chamberlain and this is my sworn testimony. white plains police are going to come in and kill me." >> the amazing thing about this, they were supposed to come there to assist him. there's no indication of any kind of crime.

he would have depended on them for help, and instead this happens. >> we are lawyers and this is what we do, but i think it is important to always remember to look at this case not as a case but as a human being who lost his life over any this situation. and look at the impact this kind of senseless killing has. this man lost his father. he gets a call at 5:00 in the morning. why didn't they call him? he could have been there in five minutes. the lack of professionalism in this department is shocking. the fact that no public official in the city of white plains has come and set to this man, "i am sorry for the loss of your father." mayor bloomberg did that in new york. whether i agree with him of what is done or not, at least he did that. we are prepared to take his case to the fullest extent.

tore waiting a little time give the dhs to do what she has to do. but if they do not do the right thing in white plains, we're coming to manhattan to seek justice in the department of justice with the u.s. attorney's office. >> it is interesting that the very poorest coverage of this comes from the white plains police department. the police department neglects to mention they were there for a medical emergency. they do not say that. they lead you to believe they were there to deal with a person who was out of control, who was a threat to the community, who was somehow out there and required their assistance. i remember watching it as it occurred. i'm sitting down with my friend and his sons who are in high school. it had a picture of the white plains police car and a target on the police pickle, as if the police had been targeted. there was a statement immediately made that it was unjustified shooting.

that statement had to have been made before they were aware there was audio and perhaps some of the video contradicts that. it is very similar to mr. zimmerman suggesting that a bloody nose and i look at the video and it does not appear to be the case. that really makes you question what we're being told sometimes by government. with respect to these types of matters. to any degree that mr. chamberlain was the emotional, it was because he was taunted. they created the system. they -- the created the situation. the escalated this situation. not trained to kill a 68-year old when you have a ballistic shield and a dozen officers and firefighters who simply could have gone in. there was a just a mr. chamberlain left his home and officers were retrieving him read that never occurred. the minute they got inside, they never gave him a command.

they never told him to put his hands up or lay down the bat or any of that. as soon as the door was broken off the hinges, you could see the taser light up. it was charged and you could see going directly toward him. that was 100% unnecessary. we see that video -- which i was was public. i think the grand jury is used as a shield and should not be. it is a shield for people who've committed crimes, in general, a shill for law enforcement read the same videos are made very public when they involve civilians who are charged. i think the shielding provision of the grand jury is to prevent people from being threatened by organized crime figures, not to protect you from your own police department. >> thank you all for being with us. and on a final question to kenneth chamberlain, jr., when you heard of the killing of trayvon martin, your thoughts as you're going through what you're

going through? they're saying that they also come in florida, will be convening a grand jury could apparently, about the same time as the grand jury convened in the case of youthe death of your father that occurred months earlier. >> my heart definitely goes out to that family because i know exactly what it is they are feeling right now. it took me awhile before i released -- listen to the 9-1-1 tapes of that day with that young man. when i finally got up the nerve to listen to it, to hear him in the background yelling for help, and i think it was about three times, then you hear a gunshot and you do not hear him any more, it brought tears to my eyes immediately. of course, it also many think about my own father because i

hear him pleading for his life, too. it is the same thing that happened with this young man. so i would just encourage that family to just keep up the fight and don't give up, the same as i am doing. >> kenneth chamberlain, thank you for being with us. you have a petition online? >> i just took it down. i also have a facebook page that says justice for kenneth chamberlain senior. a lot of people have requested to be a part of it. i just keep people updated about the events that are taking place recently, i posted i was one to be here. before that, i spoke about the fact that no elected officials in white plains have spoken to my family, and why haven't they? they have not commented. you would think they would.

but i guess that is another question for another day. >> we certainly will continue to follow this case. >> thank you >> mayo bartlett, randy mclaughlin, and kenneth chamberlain, jr., a ticket for being here. when we come back, we will be torn by the ousted president of the maldives, mohamed nasheed. stay with us. ♪ [music break] ♪ [music break]

>> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. >> the tiny indian ocean state of maldives remains in a state of political turmoil seven weeks after the country's first democratically elected president, mohamed nasheed, was

ousted in what he is described as a coup at gunpoint. in 2008, mohamed nasheed beat the longtime ruler of maldives, maumoon abdul gayoom, in the country's first free and alopen election. part of the vote, nasheed was the longtime pro-democracy activist who was jailed for six years. he insists the february 7 coup was led by supporters of the former dictator. the coup became news across the globe in part because nasheed had become an internationally recognized leader on climate issues as he urged the world to do more to save small island states from rising sea waters. >> ousted maldives president mohamed nasheed once held a cabinet meeting underwater to highlight the threat of global warming to the maldives. he also pledged to make the maldives the first carbon neutral country and installed solar panels on the roof of his presidential residence. his rise to power and climate activism is the focus of a new

documentary called, "the island president." this is an excerpt. >> if we cannot stop the sea rising, you are actually agreeing to kill us. i have an objective, which is to save the nation. i know it is a huge task. i have been arrested 12 times. i have been tortured twice. i spent 18 months [unintelligible]

there are those that tell us that solving, change is impossible. >> mohamed nasheed, joining us in the studio in new york could also with us, jon shenk, the director of this new documentary called, "the island president." president nasheed, i last saw you at the u.n. summit on climate change. that is where you became famous around the world. the talk about what happened, the date, the time, and what took place in our country in the maldives that led you or your forced departure from the presidency. >> thank you very much and good morning. as you know, in 2008, with the first party elections. i was fortunate to be elected then. we were able to overturn the

power of maumoon abdul gayoom could been in power for 30 years. we're understanding now it is easy to be a dictator, but not so much easier to get him to jump ship. the intricacies, the institutions, and everything the dictatorship has established remains, even after the elections. on february 6 -- rather, february 7, on the night of february 6, i ask the military to restrain 200 riot police who were rebelling. these 200 riot police were established in 2005, specifically, to disrupt the peaceful demonstrations of the to market a party at the time. when we came into government, in essence, we fired them or rather

stopped using them. we have been scattered across the island and other islands as well, because we had no use to you so much force. annoying to me, the opposition, rather, the dictatorship were talking to these people. on the seventh, they staged a rebellion. they were sitting -- the protest in and the public square. i ask the military to restrain them. by 5:00 in the morning the next day, the military still had not done that. so i went to the military headquarters. there i found sections of the military had joined with the rebellion and were refusing to

restrain the police. then early that morning, about 9:00 in the morning, they started asking me to resign and to me if i did not resign, they would resort to using arms. they would use arms on me and also on the people. i had no choice, really, because sections of the military who were in the headquarters were with the rebellious police. i also saw more than 100 other soldiers coming from the other barracks and also another 100 soldiers coming from another barracks nearby. at the end of the day, it was about 500 soldiers and policemen against about 100 or so soldiers who were loyal to the government and constitution. >> and the reaction in your

government, and the one that assumed the presidency? >> the vice president assume the presidency, but the vice president, we understand now, had been talking to them throughout the month before that. they have these understandings that after my forced resignation, the vice president would take over. and in seeing the make it look like the usual resignation and for him to take over. but after i was forced to resign after the announcement of my resignation, again, i was incommunicado for more than 24 hours -- i was only able to get in touch with the british high commissioner roundabout evening at night. it began, -- the high commissioner rang my secretary and wanted to speak to me. i told my secretary that i was surrounded by the police in the

presidential residence. there were ransacking the residents and going through all my personal belongings and so on. i said, "i cannot speak." that was the only message that i was able to bring to the outside. otherwise, i was there in the presidential residence. but later that night, i still had some loyal soldiers who were there. with their help, i was able to slip out from the president's residence and go to my family home. as soon as i went home, i almost fell because i had not slept for two nights by this time. i had been very abuse and pushed around and bruised. so i slept that night. the next morning i spoke to our party members. we decided we should go out on the streets and tell the people

that this is not on an here is a coup in every sense, and we would want reinstatement would want investigations into the coup. >> i want to play with the obama administration was saying in the midst of this coup. within a day of her ouster, the state department here in the u.s. defended the ouster and confirmed the new leadership had been in contact with the obama administration. this is a to permit spokesperson victoria nuland was questioned in february about the u.s. stance and diplomat robert blake's visit .. >> are you taking any suggestions that it may have been a military coup? is blake when a check that out? or do you think that is not a reasonable suggestion? >> we are talking all parties. that is why we're sending our folks down, but that is not the

information we have at the moment secretary blake will have a chance to be there and talk to everyone on saturday. in the interim, we're urging dialogue, urging calm. president what he has confirmed to forming a national unity government. we think that will be an important signal to political factions across the maldives. >> that means the termination was an unconstitutional change and power will wait until after blake's visit? >> our view, as of yesterday and i do not think that has changed, obviously, we will collect more information going forward, was this was cancelleand constituti. >> that was victoria nuland saying the coup was constitutional, already talking about the new president, who was the vice-president waheed.

president nasheed, what is your response? >> it is disturbing the u.s. government instantly recognize the former dictatorship coming back into power again. and we were hoping it would look into the facts and understand what was happening on the ground. and we would still hope they it would look into it. and we urge the dictator -- and would urge the former vice president to resign and therefore, to allow for fresh elections in the maldives. we have to have democracy back on track in the maldives. it is a very young democracy. we were only able to have the first multi-party elections in 2008. it was only three years down the line and suddenly there was a very well-planned coup which he has been installed as if assad. -- waheed has been installed as a facade.

we were shocked at the u.s. so quickly recognizing the new regime disturbing, over the last three years, we worked very closely with american ideals, with democracy. we wanted to have better relations with israel. we wanted to have a more direct [unintelligible] we have been fighting for civil liberties and human rights, fundamental rights of the people. therefore, it is deeply, deeply disturbing your government has not been able to understand what was happening in the maldives. >> even more disturbing, we have seen this script so many times now in recent years, whether it is in haiti with president aristide or honduras with saliva or job is. the government seems to jump in to support the coup plotters rather than the elected

officials. on the one hand i understand your shot, but on the other hand, it is amazing how it keeps happening unknown seems to say anything in this country i want to ask jon shenk, you had an unparalleled access to president nasheed's administration. could you talk about the film and how you managed to get that access? >> as far as i know, the island president is a unique documentary. it is really the first-ever documentary that it's a no holds barred access in this country. and now sitting weeks after this to occur in the maldives, i have to think back on the film as really an example and proof of how president nasheed's pension and desire to have transparency in government. the maldives had a dictatorship for 30 years. the type of press that would come out of that dictatorship

was highly controlled by state- run television. it was the only station in the country with programming, you know, if only blessed by the president himself. as soon as nasheed stepped into office, there are suddenly several independent stations. this film is really just an example of what can happen when there truly is a commitment to transparency. the camera went to places that cameras have not gone before. not only behind-the-scenes sessions in strategy meetings, but bilateral meetings in the international climate debate, which is fascinating and highly dramatic. >> the film played at the film forum last night, going national around the country. is it there this weekend? >> yes, we had a sold-out crowd last night. it opens in san francisco tomorrow, l.a. next week, d.c., etc.

>> we will continue this conversation and post it on democracynow.org. your final comments on the imports of climate change and why you think your ousted? >> climate change is a real issue and it is happening now. it is not happening in the future. in the imbalance to nature will have very huge impact on the low lying maldives islands bridge not just in all the violence, but around the world. i think about one-third of the population of the world lives on coastal areas. they will be seriously challenged if we are unable to do something about climate change in the next few years. we feel they have to advocate, that we have to try to get the message across that there has to be better understanding and

international agreement on reducing carbon emissions. >> president mohamed nasheed and jon shenk, thank you for being with us. tomorrow, we will put the legendary poet adrienne rich. legendary poet adrienne rich.