"democracy now!" [♪] >> from pacifica, this is democracy now!>> proud nation of iran, i congratulate you on your epic presence, you're committed and meaningful involvement on the election, on your fulfillment of your religious and national duty in response to the call of the leader of the revolution. >> in what is being hailed as a

victory for reform, the cleric hassan rouhani has one you brought's presidential election. we will speak to a member of the national iranian american council. then, unrest continues in turkey. >> the prime minister is provoking people servant -- four civil war. but people do not buy this. so he is creating an oppressive regime. >> we will go to instanbul where a general strike is underway, calling and end to the police crackdown on protests. and then to hong kong were hundreds rallied in support of whistleblower edward snowden. >> you can see how long people are speaking to whom and where and who to. this makes it difficult to have that mechanism and democracy. he says he is not a hero, just a regular citizen. we are going to be standing in solidarity with him, hoping the rule of law in hong kong is

upheld. >> we will speak with the protest organizer and with a member of the hong kong legislative council who specializes in internet technology. all of that and more coming up. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman.u.s. intelligence agencies have officially confirm the surveillance programs exposed by whistleblower edward snowden. in a letter to congress released saturday, u.s. officials that the blanket collection of phone records and the spying on foreigners internet usage are covered under section 215 of the patriot act and section 702 and the fisa amendments act. the national security agency also said it investigated less than 300 phone records seized in the broad collection of metadata at last year. the nsa claims monitoring has foiled terror plot in the u.s. and 20 other countries but has not provided any details.

the phone records program has been in effect since two thousand six. according to the washington post, vice the courts have written orders for the bulk election of metadata every three months since may of that year, from companies including at&t and bellsouth. the court orders were prompted by a request from an unspecified telephone provider after war and less surveillance was exposed. the company apparently asked the bush administration to come up with order so it was legally bound to comply. edward snowden is believed to remain in hong kong as he faces an ongoing u.s. investigation. on saturday, a group of demonstrators braved heavy rain in a show of him. >> he is not a hero or a traitor. he is just a regular citizen. we're going to be standing in solidarity with him, hoping that rule rule of law in hong kong is upheld. >> today, many hong kong people are coming out to the event for snowden. because he is exposed the truth,

secrets from the u.s. government, and now he is really our responsibility to come out and defend him. not only his rights but also hours. >> revelations continue to emerge from the nsa files edward snowden disclosed. the guardian of london reports the british government conducted extensive surveillance of foreign diplomats attending the 2009 g 20 summit in london. britain cost nsa counterpart, the gchq, establish fake internet cafés to spy on foreign delegates' computer use. the agency also hacked into officials' blackberries to monitor their e-mails and phone calls. the nsa played a role in the operation by sharing information on the phone calls of russian leader dmitri medvedev. other targets included british government allies such as south africa and turkey. the spying appears to have been spurred by the british government's desire for an advantage in the g20 talks.

an internal briefing paper said the gchq's intent was to provide intelligence relevant to the governments desired outcomes for its presidency of the g20. the news comes just as britain is hosting the g8 summit, which begins today. all g8 members become to the g20, and the latest revelations are likely to fuel tensions. at head of the g8, thousands of people marched in northern ireland near where the two-day summit is being held. >> for every action there is a reaction. you need to listen to the people. the way you are doing it is not working. >> we teach our kids how to protest peacefully against what we see are really fat cats here to take over this small part of the world and all the world. >> on sunday, amnesty international staged a rally for the closure of guantánamo bay outside a belfast venue where president obama is speaking today.

the amnesty spokesperson said guantánamo's continued existence undermines obama's global credibility on critical issues. >> we say to president obama, come here, support peace and the rule of law internationally by closing guantánamo and seizing the breach of his -- the breaches of international law. >> at least 10 syrian soldiers have been killed in a bombing of a military checkpoint in damascus. 10 others were wounded. syria is expected to dominate talks at today's g8 summit in ireland. as world leaders arrived today, russian president vladimir putin criticized the u.s. for last week's decision to arm syrian rebels, saying the aid will go to fighters who needs human flesh. putin was referring to an infamous video that cap -- and that circulated last month of a syrian rebel biting into the organ of a dead syrian soldier. susan rice defended the decision to arm syrian rebels and played down the speculation

that the u.s. will signal impose a zone not syria. likes our intelligence community has high confidence a chemical weapons, including staring, have been used by the government against the opposition on multiple occasions over the course of the last year. ,n the issue of a no-fly zone we have been clear that we are not excluding options. at this stage, no decision has been taken. as my colleagues in washington described yesterday, that option as some downsides and limitations that we are very well aware of home and we will factor that into any decision. >> days after announcing plans to arm syria's, the white house now says u.s. warplanes and antimissile batteries will be stationed in neighboring jordan. the planes and batteries have been deployed in -- have been deployed there for joint military generals but will remain indefinitely. the new u.s. weapons will likely be delivered to the syrian

rebels through the cia's ongoing operations in germ -- in jordan. the egyptian government has announced it is severing all ties to the syrian government and backing the rebels fight seeking to oust bashar al-assad. mohamed morsi said he is closing the syrian embassy in cairo and recalling his government envoy from damascus. >> the syrian people are facing a campaign of extermination and planned ethnic cleansing, fed by regional and international states who do not care for the syrian citizens. the people of egypt support the struggle of the syrian people, materially and morally. in egypt, it is nation, leadership, and army will not abandon the syrian people until it achieves its rights and dignity. >> president morsi also called on the international community to enforce a no-fly zone over syria and urged all has blood members fighting alongside assad's forces to return to

lebanon. in response, the syrian government said morsi has joined "the conspiracy and incitement led by the united states and israel against syria." the u.s. has denied pressuring egypt on syria. one of turkey's leading unions is staging a national strike today, nearly three weeks of protest. more than 800,000 workers are believed to be taking part. this follows a weekend that saw the worst of violence to date at protests appeared on saturday, around 400 people were arrested as police used tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets in istanbul, i'm cara, and other cities. demonstrators were detained. on sunday, the prime minister told a massive crowd of supporters the opposition is attempted minority rule over the majority that he enjoys. >> minorities are trying to rule over the majority. the privilege are trying to

dominate the victims. they are trying to regain privileges. we know what is truly behind the dirty game that they play. trying toose who are undermine the people's will. we know them well. we will not pave the way for those who are in search of certain options other than elections. we will not give them the opportunity. singled outlso foreign news outlets for their reporting on turkey's crisis, accusing them of lighting. more from turkey later. at least 33 people were killed and more than 100 wounded sunday in a wave of attacks across iraq. 12 more died in three separate attacks earlier today. around 2000 iraqis have been killed in sectarian violence since april, making this the country's bloodiest period in five years. iran has elected former nuclear negotiator hassan rouhani as president, replacing ahmadinejad. rouhani is considered a moderate.

he took over half the vote in a national turnout of 72%. rouhani has called for greater engagement with western countries while urging respect for you ron's right for nuclear energy. on sunday, the white house chief of staff called rouhani's election a potentially hopeful sign. we will have more on the iranian elections after headlines. north korea is offering negotiations with the u.s. after months of tensions. on sunday, the north korean regime proposed high-level talks at a date and venue of washington's choice. the proposal reforms -- reaffirms north korea's long- tie any call to reduction of its nuclear arsenal with broader regional denuclearization, including the united states. obama administration is expected to announce today the appointment of a new envoy to head the effort to close guantánamo bay. clifford sloan, a washington lawyer, has been tapped to head

the state department's office of guantánamo closure. the office has been closed since january after the administration effectively abandoned of the effort. more than 100 guantánamo bay prisoners remain on a hunger strike to protest their indefinite imprisonment. the ecuadorian prime minister ricardo patino is in britain for talks on the diplomatic standoff over wikileaks founder julian assange. this week marks one year since assange took refuge inside ecuador half london embassy to avoid extradition to sweden. on sunday, patino and assange met before an audience of supporters. >> this is a bit overwhelming. here has been very difficult.

[inaudible] had seen expected to meet with rigorous foreign secretary william hague to discuss assange's case. federal officials are reportedly infest gating after two blast at louisiana chemical plants on thursday and friday. the second explosion killed one worker and left seven people wounded at a site producing nitrogen. gun violence was rampant in chicago over the weekend with the shootings of at least 36 people, seven were killed. this follows the six-month anniversary of the newtown massacre. the supreme court is in the final two weeks of its current term with a number of of high- profile decision still ahead. the court is expected to first rule on the case of a white taxes student challenging affirmative action in college admissions. a decision is also expected on a challenge to section 5 of the voting rights act, which

requires several states and counties with a history of racial discrimination to clear election-related changes with the federal government. the court will also decide on two landmark cases counseling -- challenging federal and state laws that restrict gay marriage writes. those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman.in what is being hailed as a victory for reform and moderation, the cleric hassan rouhani has one iran's presidential election. 72% of the country's 50 million eligible voters cast ballots to determine who would replace r mahmoudive hard-line ahmadinejad. rouhani secure just over 50% of the vote. rouhani has pledged greater engagement with western powers, but also urged the world to acknowledge the rights of the

wrong. his main campaign promise was to try to tease international sanctions imposed on iran over its nuclear program. prior to running for the presidency, rouhani held several parliamentary posts and served as chief nuclear negotiator. as president, he will run the economy and we'll influence in other spheres, but the supreme leader of the country is ayatollah ali khamenei, who oversees matters of national security. shortly after winning the election, rouhani spoke on state television. -- ofud nation of the ron iran, i congratulate you. you're committed and meaningful involvement on elections, under fulfillment of your religious and national duty to response to the call of the leader of the revolution. without a doubt, the real winner of this election is you, the people, the consciousness, peas -- peace and hope placed your

heart into the hands of an all- knowing and mighty god. you have given trust in religious democracy emma a journey towards respect and national interest, and the governments that six to moderate them a correct, and measure. >> the ron -- he ran's residential campaign found thousands -- saw thousands rallying in favors of reforms. there are mass protests over the disputed reelection of president amit in the jacques, who is leaving power after exhausting exhausting the two- term limit. after rouhani's victory was announced, iranians directed to do street seen in many years. >> rouhani, on behalf of all the young people and those who voted for him, i hope he will fulfill his promises. that is to recover the currency value, resume the national dignity of iran, and pay attention to unemployment rates and other issues.

>> the united states said it respected the vote and is ready to engage directly with you ran over its disputed nuclear program. however, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu said countries should not let up pressure on iran to curb its nuclear efforts. --the you ran lou -- he ran the iran ruler, supreme leader, is in charge of democracy, not the president appeared more pressure on iran, greater chances to bring ann end to the nuclear weapons program. if iran continues to assist on development of the nuclear weapons program, the end result was remain clear, one way or another it will be stopped. >> for more, we go to washington, d.c., where we're joined by reza marashi. he is the research director at the national iranian american council. welcome to the show. respond to the victory of rouhani.

>> thank you for having me. i think that the rouhani big three in the 2013 iranian presidential election was a victory for hope and change. that is what the iranian people into the ballot for. bringing about the kind of of political and economic social changes that they think will be a marathon and not a sprint. they have had a reformist president for many years, a more hard-line, conservative president. they understand the difference between the two. i think what you saw a couple days ago and the election was a manifestation of the green movement, a civil rights movement and the ron -- and iran. >> talk about who he is and how he ended up winning the presidency of iran. >> he was part of the revolutionary movement in 1979 from the out that, a close confidant to ayatollah khomeini.

from that time, he has always been close to the centers of power. he has had a positive working relationship with a former president, a positive relationship with a former president. he has a working relationship , evenhe supreme leader though they might disagree from time to time on certain issues. he has held numerous important positions within the iranian system, for members of parliament to being a senior decision-maker during the iran- iraq war. now they face economic pressure and mismanagement at home. he certainly has a full plate. at the end of the day, he understands, just like the iranian people do, that it will be a marathon and not a sprint to bring about the kind of changes they want to bring about. >> who are his supporters, and did he win because of the many conservative candidates being

split? >> i think that goes a long way to explaining why he might have been able to have such a resounding victory in the first round of the election. over 50% of the vote. there were numerous conservative candidates that ran, and that probably helped split the conservative vote in the recent election. that being said, at the end of the day, reformist and centrists creating an alliance days before the election in an effort to boost mr. rouhani's chances. i think when two former president came out and publicly supported mr. rouhani and encourage the iranian people to go to the polls and vote for moderation come a which mr. rouhani ran his campaign on, that was probably the proverbial straw that broke the camels back and helped catapult into the presidency. >> is really president shimon peres say this may bring change 's nuclear program.

>> i am not sure that it is specified in the policies, but it will be better, i am sure. that is the reason why the people voted for him. it surprised all the expert and all the prophets. why? hidden forces and strengths that were unseen or underestimated at times. that was israeli president shimon peres. what is your response? >> i think he made a very salient point, which is or have folks in the west and other countries surrounding iran in the region, europe as well, did not consider just how important the iranian people are to this trust is an did not consider

the fact that the iranian people would prefer to bring about the kind of changes that they seek without bloodshed. with that being said, this is a positive development as it pertains to the nuclear program. if you do not have somebody saying negative things about israel, it makes a diplomatic process, which is all about details, the little things, far more easier to digest and far more easier to sell at home, whether you are in washington, tel aviv, or brussels. >> what about the effect that sanctions have had? i wanted to play a clip of the u.s. undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, do david cohen, who told al arabiya that sanctions on iran are justified. >> the sanctions are hurting support itsty to malicious activity around the world, hurting their ability to support hezbollah, for instance,

hurting their ability to support hamas, and it is hurting their ability to support the syrian government as well. >> your response? >> i do not think anybody disputes the fact that economic sanctions are hurting the iranian government. more importantly, this is something that he has not acknowledged, at least in that interview or any other interview, is that it is overwhelmingly hurting the iranian people. these are not unintended consequences. people know full well, no matter where they are, that it is always the innocent people that get hit first. it is not rocket science. this is what makes mr. rouhani 's election so important. now it firmly puts the ball back in washington's court. you say you want a moderate voice? here you have a former nuclear negotiator that, by all accounts, is tough but fair, somebody that the west can do business with. now we're going to see. at the end of the day, sanctions are not meant to

punish the iranian people or punish the regime indiscriminately. it is to sharpen the iranian regime's focus at the negotiating table. now is the best time we have had since barack obama entered the white house to use that leverage. >> do you consider this a green victory? >> i do. i think the green movement was instrumental to bringing mr. rouhani into the presidency. it would not have happened without them. there is a lot of mixed opinions about what the green movement is. but something most folks can agree on is that it is a civil rights movement pushing for political, economic, and social changes changes that are long overdue. the iranian people demonstrated that they are fully aware, far more than anybody outside of the country, that they have limited opportunities to hold their government accountable and the push for these peaceful changes without bloodshed. they actively take advantage of this opportunity. that should be respected. >> what about the relationship between theani, t

supreme leader ayatollah al, any? >> that is a good question. they will not agree on everything, but they have had a positive working relationship in the past. it has not been perfect or spotless, but this is somebody he could potentially do business with. this is somebody that the supreme leader knows the west can do business with. i think it goes a long way in showing that iran is believed to have these kinds of conversations. it is not your nt that rouhani or anybody else in the system will sign on the dotted line -- it does not ensure that rouhani or anybody else will sign on the dotted line, but the focus will allow them to series league consider a fair deal, or the right deal, if it is put in front of them. now we will see what happens in washington. >> finally, rouhani's history as a nuclear negotiator, what does

that mean? >> i think it means he has a very firm understanding of the issues. he has a firm understanding of the players at the table. and he will get caught up to speed on the things he may or may not be aware of. he has been a part of the system and the time he left his post as chief nuclear negotiator until now. i think it will make it more digestible in the west, because here you have a moderate eric that is blowing kisses to millions of iranians that just recently elected him. ahead, keep going. >> and i also think that it presents a very unique opportunity as well. >> reza marashi, thank you for being with us, research director at the national iranian director. when we come back, we're going to hong kong. there was a protest over the weekend in support of nsa whistleblower edward snowden. we will also speak with a hong kong legislator who specializes

in information technology. stay with us. [music break] ♪

[♪] >> truth and rights -- this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. the guardian of. london reports that in 2009, the british government conducted in -- extensive surveillance of foreign diplomats who attended the g 20 summit in london. the gchq even established fake internet cafés to spy on the foreign delegates a prostrate computer use. 'se hacked into official blackberries. the nsa played a key role in the operation by sharing

information on the phone calls of russian leader dmitry medvedev. other targets included british government allies such as south africa and turkey. the goal of years i've been to give the british government and advantage in negotiations. over the weekend, u.s. intelligence agencies officially confirmed the surveillance programs exposed by snowed in. in a letter to congress released saturday, u.s. officials that the blanket collection of phone records and the spiting on foreigners internet usage are covered under the patriot act and the fisa amendments act. the national security agency also said it investigated less than 300 phone records seized in the broad collection of metadata last year. the nsa also claims the monitoring has foiled terror plots in the u.s. and 20 other countries but has not provided any details. edward snowden is believed to remain in hong kong as he faces an ongoing investigation. hundreds of protesters braved

heavy rain on saturday in a show of support. a hong kong legislator spoke at the rally. actually said the courts in hong kong and the local people will decide his fate. and we, as hong kong people, oh him at least some response. what he was doing was trying to tell the world that we do have a big brother, the united states of america. it says it is the champion of democracy worldwide. how is it that it has been conducting surveillance on a global scale? is parton and hong kong of that surveillance program. there has been hacking and so

on. ladies and gentlemen, edward snowden is telling us that the big rather government must draw the line. ands about security freedom. >> for more, we go to hong kong where we're joined by charles mok, another legislative counselor who participated in the rally. he represents the information technology functional constituency of hong kong. the hong kongf internet service providers association. cofounder of the internet society hong kong. also in hong kong, we're joined by tom grundy, an activist and blogger who organized saturday's rally. we welcome you both to the show. let's go first to tom. why the rally? -- snowed ined in

snowden came to hong kong because the freedom of speech. we had over 900 people here, six speakers. 27 groups, which is unprecedented for hong kong, especially in the rain. we proceeded to the u.s. consulate where we all blew whistles. we handed a letter to the ambassador to many that the u.s. end surveillance on innocent citizens. and the u.s. citizens may be protected by the fourth amendment, but the 12th article of the u.n. human rights declaration protects the rest of us. we then went to the hong kong government headquarters where we handed in a letter saying that the government protect edward snowden, uphold the rule of law. , can you explain why you are supporting and word ?nowden -- edward snowden

what it means to be the information technology read -- technology representative in your hong kong council -- what he has done is significant to you? , first of all, in the legislature of hong kong, which is the lawmaking body of hong kong, we do have a system that andeturned by legislatures industry bodies. i represent the information technology functional constituency. i think the facts that edward snowden shows hong kong, according to what he has whole -- what he has told the guardian, is that hong kong has a tradition of freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and tolerance of dissent. also, rule of law.

it is this kind of spotlight that we have right now because of this essay are that he is in hong kong. he has been talking to journalists and so on, still hiding. we think, and a lot of people in hong kong believes that he has to get his due process, the rights he is accorded according to hong kong laws. i think the morning post posted a survey over the weekend of a number of people in hong kong. more than half do believe that by hongd be protected kong law as much as possible. according to our system and the due process he should be getting. >> edward snowden did an interview with the south china morning post. he said one target of the nsa hacking was the chinese university of hong kong, which according to the new york times host the city's main hub for

internet connections to the rest of the world. and you talk about the significance of this? , actually, the chinese university hosts what is called the hong kong internet exchange. it is not exactly the hub to the rest of the world, but it is the hub within hong kong. all of the hong kong traffic between internet service providers will pass through this internet exchange in the chinese university. in a way, you would guess that if somebody would want to snoop and want to listen in to as much traffic as possible, then you would choose the biggest intersection point. that would be this. i think that is what conventional wisdom here as been sort of guessing, why that particular place, that university, has been picked up as a target. but, of course, i think in saysen's interview, he

that all over the world there were at least over 60,000 of these sort of intrusions. about 300 or so in hong kong. that means that hong kong is not the only target. that by being in hong kong and talking to a hong kong newspaper, he chose to highlight the situation in hong kong, the attacks happening here. >> the new york times says the global times, nationalistic mainland chinese newspaper under control of the communist party, published an editorial friday calling for china to glean as much information as possible from snowden, saying snowden's is something china never expected. but china is not used to playing this way. the commentary also called for china and hong kong to treat snowden kindly enough so that others with national security secrets would not be discouraged from fleeing to hong kong. he said china should make sure

hong kong is not the last lace where other snowdens want to go. charles mok, talk about what the global times is saying. >> well, i think that they made it pretty blatant, what is in china's mind about snowden being in hong kong. they want to play the card, they might want to get as much information out of this person as possible. please understand that at least we have a one country system between hong kong and the mainland. so our laws are different from the laws in china. we do have a border and so on, different governments. even though as a regional government, we do report to the central government. what we want locally is to make sure that we can protect and make sure that we can live up to our core values and make sure that we treat this person according to all the rights

that he should be getting under hong kong law. this is exactly what i do not want to see, that this sort of political influence to be interfering into the justice process, the judicial process end havingowden may to get in hong kong if, for example, the u.s. starts contacting the hong kong government to try to initiate extradition. and if mr. snowden tries to get asylum or apply for refugee status here in hong kong. if the process comes to that point, he should be getting all the rights. asylum would political mean? i mean, if he were arrested, he would be arrested by hong kong police. but this is a complicated story, because he could be charged more for revealing information to hong kong and china. but then the question would be,

would china be willing to then hand him over? , the process, roughly as i understand it, works like this -- if the u.s. started to initiate a process and say that we want to arrest this person and start an extradition process, then mr. snowden could for refugeeg kong status. then there would be at least two tests. first by the united nations high commission on refugees, the discernment of whether or not he will face torture at home and face political persecution and so on. second, by the hong kong court. he will be accorded rights to appeal all the way up to our highest court in hong kong. assuming that money and financial issues, because you do need to get lawyers and so on

for that, assuming those are not an issue, these processes in the past could have taken quite a bit of time. of course, the issue is at the end, if there is a decision that finally has to be made, if he is not successful and there has to be a final decision to be made about extradition, our chief executive in hong kong, which is pretty much our president, he would have to make the final decision. but because this case very likely will involve foreign relation, he has to consult the central government. means that the process can be a pretty prolonged process. second, beijing will probably come into the equation to make a final decision in the anend. you thinkndy, do that edward snowden was correct in saying that he saw hong kong is a place of freedom of the

press and freedom of expression? >> a lot of the pro-democracy groups have been concerned that there has been a slow erosion of civil liberties in hong kong. particularly in the last year or so, you have seen a lot of suspicion of the mainland, some large protests including last year against a government program of national education which many saw as brainwashing. many of these things seem to affect the turnout. i hope we do not let him down. in 2004, hong kong extradited a libyan dissident. the human rights monitor director said he went on to be tortured. he received millions of pounds in compensation from the uk government. ofwas also at the request the u.s. that he was deported. the reasons we gathered

on saturday is we do not want to end up a end -- like bradley manning. >> charles mok, the issue of cyber warfare, what are china's concerns with cyber warfare? and what did you as an internet specialist, as an expert, what did you find most significant in the information that was released by edward snowden? , i guess cyber warfare is already part of not just allonage but even what these countries are doing. you see all these examples, like north korea getting it to south korea systems and so on. so it is a very big part of foreign relations and even future warfare. you have seen that actually with the discussions only a couple weeks ago between trainees obama and

president xi jinping and said -- and california, they discussed cyber spying. originally, the u.s. was trying to press china to say do not do that against us. there have been a lot of cases of chinese, taxing u.s. companies and so on. so stop doing that. now with this disclosure, china all of the seven feels that it has been vindicated, because it has been saying all along that we are the victims. i think what is most unfortunate about this matter is that governments, you know, they cannot stop themselves putting their hands into the cookie jars, which is to look into all of our lives. it is the same for all these government, just like what was just exposed by the guardian today about the uk government. so there are just lots and lots more that we, the people of the world, do not know.

i think the unfortunate thing is that the people of the world actually are the losers. because right now what i fear the most is that authoritative governments, including china itself, may come out and say that, you know, even the u.s. is doing this, so do not tell us what to do. because we will just be doing the same as what you are doing. of course, there is a difference here, because in the u.s. we are mainly talking about these sort of surveillance that the americans originally thought are not targeting themselves, the americans. but now they found that it is even targeting domestic targets. wow, we're talking about china, which is the place in the world with the heaviest internet censorship era boast of their efforts are actually targeting gay -- most of their efforts are targeting their own citizens. >> interesting that this

happened as chinese and u.s. leaders were meeting in caliph or near -- meeting in california. , this is exactly such a coincidence, which is why i have to say that it is understandable, even though i do not think we have any proof that certain american politicians might be coming out of beingt snowden influenced by china or being used by china. i hope that is not true. even when i was in the rally outside the u.s. consulate, i did say that i hope mr. snowden would not go into the mainland of china. because if he trusts hong kong with our one country, two system, we will try to do whatever we can to protect him. given the rights under our laws, in china, its up

goes against everything that he said. i hope that is not going to happen. >> what power do you have as a legislator in the hong kong council, finally, charles mok? >> well, we do not have a lot of power. as i said, the whole process, and the end, if both sides feels, meaning hong kong and china, feels that our governments feel -- if it does involve foreign-policy matters, then i law we have -- been by law, we have to consult the central government of beijing. when it reaches that point, then there will be a lot of political consideration. first of all, even before we reach that point, i believe mr. snowden should be given his due process in our court. first of all. second, in the end, by the time when this is treated as a

foreign-policy matter and we have to consult beijing, i am sure that possibly, like it or not, diplomacy between the u.s. and china will kick in. >> i want to thank you both for being with us. charles mok thomas city councilmember, member of hong kong half legislative council, former president of hong kong information technology federation. also honorary president of the hong kong information technology federation. also tom grundy, thanks so much for being with us, hong kong based activist who organized the rally on saturday in defense of edward snowden. before break to mow we turned to laura poitras, the person now known as the new york times described her, the pivotal connection between the former government contractor edward snowden, the writers for the guardian, and the washington post, who published his leak documents about government surveillance. laura poitras had a byline on

two of the key articles about the ongoing nsa revelation. she also filmed the guardian interview with edward snowden in hong kong when he went public with his identity on june 6. poitras is an award- winning filmmaker who has been discussing issues of right at the end surveillance long before this. her films include "the oath" and "my country, my country." the oath was about one, no -- was about guantánamo prisoners returning to yemen after being released at the u.s. government. last april, one gonzalez and i spoke to laura and asked her to describe the difficulties she faces with immigration officers here in the united states whenever she travels to the country. >> i have been crossing the borders since 2006 since post- 911. i have lost count on how many

times i have been detained at the border, but i think it is around 40 times. on this particular trip -- lately, they have been sending someone from the department of homeland security to question me in the departing city, so i was questioned in london about what i was doing. i told them i was a journalist and my work was protected and i would not discuss it. on this particular occasion, i .anded at newark airport when i am flying, they do passport control inspections at the gate. so they make everyone show their passport as they get off the plane. >> they do not even wait for immigration. that treatment. >> they make them show passports until they get to you. >> right, and then they take me away. this has been going on -- i have been through this several times and know how it goes. what happened on this particular

,rip, which was very disturbing just a few weeks ago, i was met by two agents at newark. me and i took out my pen and paper to note their names and the times, because i have always taken notes to have a record of how long i am detained for and with the focus of the interrogation is, what they are doing to me. i was ordered to put away my pen. to taket and i continue notes. i was ordered to put away my pen, and i did not. he threatened to handcuff me. at that point, i put away my pen and then walked to immigration. i took out my pen again to take notes. i was ordered again to put away my pen. i was taken to secondary screening. then i explained that i was a journalist and was taking notes. then i was told that i could

not take notes. then i was free to take notes after i was finished being questions. >> the theory that, what, the weapon?a >> that is right, they said it was a dangerous weapon. the agent said that my pen was a threat to them. you have to understand, i am surrounded by the border agents who were all carrying guns. and i am taking out a pen that they find threatening. so this is very upsetting. then i was taken directly into an interrogation room and questions. i took out my pen again. i was ordered by another agent to put it away. this went on for quite some time. i was told airing this interrogation -- i am always asserting my rights as a journalist to not reveal my works, my sources.

>> you did a film on yemen and a film on iraq. >> yes, so this detention started after i finished a first film in 2006 which was about iraq. i was told that i was refusing to cooperate with an investigation. then he said, well, it was not an investigation, it was questioning. but he said i was refusing to cooperate. this went on for quite some time. thatn, it is something has been happening for a while. i have talked about it publicly. but i have also been hesitant to because i do not want to jeopardize the work that i do. >> they have taken your computers -- >> not on this trip, but they have on one occasion. >> they have taken your film? >> on one occasion. it was maybe a week after the computer was taken. >> we contacted the department

of homeland security four nation of why you were detained and interrogated at the airport on april 5 degree received a reply from the public affairs specialist in new york city for u.s. customs and border protection. he e-mailed -- due to privacy laws, we are prohibited from discussing specific cases. themission is to protect country from those that would do us harm. he did not answer our additional questions. >> i guess i should add journalist to that list. >> that was laura poitras, the award-winning journalist and filmmaker who did a byline on two of the key articles in the washington post and the guardian about the ongoing nsa revelations. she also filmed the guardian interview with edward snowden in hong kong when he went public with his identity june 6, shortly after the pieces were published about the information

you provide -- he provided to the nsa. you can watch our full interview with laura poitras along with an nsa whistleblower and computer expert, internet expert. you can go to our website at democracynow.org. when we come back, turkey, the ongoing unrest and the general strike there. stay with us. break] ♪ [♪]

>> turkish activists in taksim square performing have in english, half and turkish. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman.we turn to turkey where a nationwide strike is underway with calls to end the police crackdown on demonstrations. the confederation of public augurs unions and the confederation of progressive trade unions are among those filling the streets. other groups representing doctors, engineers, and to just have joined in the action. they have continued the crackdown on our testers, dispersing the crowds. the antigovernment protest to have slept the country for more than two weeks and were renewed this week and following the forced eviction of protesters from gezi park, which was occupied for 18 days by people protesting against plans for its

redevelopment. the prime minister says he has done his duty as prime minister. for more, we go to an activist and scholar based in instanbul who has joined the taksim square protest. can you describe what is happening now? >> hello. can you hear me? >> yes, we can hear you fine. >> hello to everybody. actually what is happening at therement in instanbul is , declared by the confederation of trade unions and the public workers unions. the people will march in taksim , but the instanbul governorship declared that this is not a legal act and they will not let the people walk. so there is just a few minutes

and this is a general strike so it is all over turkey, in other parts of turkey as well. the civil servants and workers are on strike, and they are walking. the we will see what is going to happen. maybe i could tell you a little bit about what happened last night. last night, instanbul had brutal police attacks. supportedling party -- sticks and knives, trying to attack the demonstrators. yesterday, again, according to associations, at least 400 people were detained.

the problem is there are no real numbers. they only get news by phones and interviewing people. so we do not know the exact numbers. we do not know the names of the people who were detained. that is the situation. >> we just have about 30 seconds. independent journalists speaking to us from instanbul and from express magazine. the significance of where these protest go from here. , what isactually going to happen, the main andlem is the government the political parties are not only the justice and development products are in the process, and the people, i would say.

in instanbul, there are some terrorist. anyway, these are people. just a part of it is from organizations. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]