tv Democracy Now LINKTV May 15, 2019 4:00pm-5:00pm PDT
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05/15/19 05/15/19 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> what you all want to control our bodies i will never come ever know. and i know that many of you have daughters. amy: lawmamakers passed the most restrictive abortion ban in the country. inin a direct challenge to roe . wade, doctors or perform abortion could face life in
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prison. there is no exception for rape or in says. this means a child raped by her father could be forced to bear his child. we will get the latest. then we look at the s standoff n the venezuelan embassssy in washingtgton as activists post regime change refused to leave the embassy. >> we are not going to leave voluntarily. protectct the embassy. we have been here for 34 days. we will stay longer necessary and hope this results in an agreement between venezuela and the united states to protect his embassy -- protect this embassy. we are here and we are still resisting. amy: and the latest on sudan where mass protests continue calling for civilian rule following last month's military coup. >> the old regime has not fallen yet, therefore we are staying. you have seen with your own eyes the oppression that happened. we have escalated because we rejected t the decisions by the
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transitional military council. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. alabama's legislature has just passed the m most restrictive abortion ban in the country. the law effectively bans all abortions. doctorors could face life in prison for performing the procedure. the law does not make exceptions for rape or in says. the only exception lawmakers voted for is cases in which the pregnant person's health is at serious risk. the bill, which was already approved in the house last month, now heads to the desk of the republican anti-choice governor kay ivey. she has not yet indicated if she will support such drastic legislation. the bill is expected to face multiple legal challenges if signed. supporters of the bill say they hope it will end up at the supreme court and lead to the eventual reversal of roe v.
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wade. democratic state senator vivian by charis, one of four women serving in the chamber, introduced an amendment that would criminalize the vasectomies arguing there are no laws regulating men's bodies. it was defeated. more on the ongoing attack on reproductive rights around the country, later in the broadcast. amy: the state department has ordered all non-emergency personnel to evacuate the u.s. embassy and consulate in iraq. the order is in response to what the white house says is a threat linked to iran though no further details were given. iraqi officials expressed skepticism about and reported threats as did a senior british official who is the deputy commander of the american-led coalition fighting the islamic state. tensions between the u.s. and iran have continued to mount over recent days, despite both parties saying they are not seeking war. the u.s. recently deplployed a carrrriestrike groroup and a bombmber task forcrce to the ren claiaiming a crediblble thre b y iraniaian regime forces.s.
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though not showing any evidence. on tuesday, rebel houthi forces from yemen claimed responsibility for launching an armed drone attack against a saudi oil facility near the saudi capital riyadh. some experts have said this was not the first such attack by houthis against saudi targets and no evidence has yet been revealed to tie iran, which backs the houthis, to the attack. the attack came two days after four oil tankers, including two saudi tankers, were damaged off the coast of the united arab emirates in what saudi arabia described as a sabotage attack. secretary of state mike pompeo met with russian foreign minister sergey lavrov in sochi, russia, tuesday where the two discussed issues including iran, venezuela,a, and the 2020 elections. russia criticized the u.s. decision to withdraw last year from the landmark 2015 iran nuclear deal as tensions between the u.s. and iran are at their highest since trump took office. on venezuela, lavrov again
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warned the u.s. against any attempts to overthrow president nicolas maduro. 2003,remember back in then-president george bush junior, boarded in the crafter, declared democracy established in iraq. 2011, libyann leader muammar qadhafi had been brought down and democracy was established in libya. i believe i do not need to dwell on today's state of democracy in iraq. libya and a number of other places where such a terms of overflowing regimes were made and nothing good came out of it. amy: p pompeo also warned d rusa not to interferere in ththe 2020 u.s. elections, while lavrov denied russia was involved in any 2016 election meddling. pompeo also met with russian president vladimir putin who hailed the m mueller report, saying it "confirmed the absence of any collusion between the u.s. administration and russia."
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cnn has obtained photos showing the dire conditions migrants are being held in at the mcallen, texas, border patrol. the photos show adults and children sleeping outside on the ground -- in some cases, on rocks -- as well as packed into tents and covered with mylar blankets. the photos were supplied by a source who said they were disturbed when they witnessed the conditions at the station over the weekend. responding to the report, an official from the department of homeland security said, "the border security and humanitarian crisis continues to worsen. current facilities and funding are inadequate for migrant flows." in related news, cnn is reporting this morning that the transportation security administration is plplanning on sending hundreds of officials to the southern border to address increased migrant arrivals. pennsylvania has become the latest state to go after purdue pharma for their role in producing and marketing the highly addictive opioid oxycontin.
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for do a allegedly targeted -- purdue allegedly targeted senior citizens and the military when pushing the drug. "even whens state, purdue knew people were addicted and dying, purdue treated patients and their doctors as 'targets' to sell more drugs. tragically, each part of purdue's campaign of deception earned the company more money, and caused more addiction and death." according to reports tuesday, donald trump, jr. has agreed to answer questions from the senate intelligence committee after the republican-led panel subpoenaed him last week to return to capitol hill to testify about his role in matters related to the russia investigation. he will reportedly sit for 2-4 hours of questioning on a number of agreed-upon topics next month. san francisco has become the first major u.s. city to ban the use of facial recognition technology by police and other city agencies. under the new rules, city agencies would need to obtain
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permission from the city's board of supervisors before implementing any new surveillance technologies. the biometric technology can still be employed at san francisco's airport since it's controlled by the federal government. matt cagle, an attorney with the aclu of northern california, hailed the decision and said that such technology "provides government with unprecedented power to track people going about their daily lives. that's incompatible with a healthy democracy." experts have also warned about racial and other kinds of bias. cbs news is reporting members of the american airlines pilot union confronted boeing in late 2018 about features on the 737 max aircrafts that have been implicated in two fatal crashes. audio has been released of an exchange betweenen pilots and boeing executives, recorded in november 2018, lesess than a moh after the indonesia' lion air flight which killed all 189
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610 people on board and just four months before ethiopian airlines flight 302, which killed 157 people. pilots expressed anger that a faulty sensor system on the 737 max was not communicated to them until after the first deadly accident and pushed boeing to work urgently fixing the issue. the max 737 is still grounded and multiple lawsuits and investigations into the crashes are under way. in new york city, a group of climate activists are on the second day of a three-day hunger strike in front of governor andrew cuomo's office ahead of this thursday's permitting deadline for the proposed williams pipeline project, which would carry fracked gas from pennsylvania's shale fields under new york harbor. activists are urging cuomo, who has called for new york's own green new deal, to halt the project which they say will harm new york waters, public health, safety, democracy, and the climate.
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a police officer in baytown, texas, has been put on paid leave after a cell phone video of him fatally shooting a a blak woman went viral on tuesday. in the video, 44-year-old pamela turner can be seen in a verbal altercation with the unidentified officer i in an apartment t complex parking lot. she is heard telling him, "you're actually harassing me," before he tases her and she falls to the groround. momements later, she yells o out "i'm pregnant," which is followed by five gun shots, killing turner. police sayay the officicer opend fire after tnener grabbed ththe taser and used it against him. police also say post-mortem examinations showed pamela turner was not pregnant. family memembers have since told local media she suffered from mental health issues. the aclu is calling for an independent investigation. the national bail out collective
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announced tuesday the third annual "black mama's bail out day" freed over 100 black mothers in over 35 cities, and counting, for mother's day. they also raised over $1 million. the nationwide campaign aims to call attention to the injustice of cash bail, while freeing as many black women from jail as possible. to see our recent interview about the "black mama's bail out day" campaign, go to our website at democracynow.org. and in new york city, protesters rallied outside the marriott marquis hotel in times square tuesday as the brazilian-american chamber of commerce held a black-tie gala dinner honoring brazil's far-right president jair bolsonaro and u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo. bolsonaro was initially scheduled to attend the gala, but canceled those plans earlier this month after he came under heavy protest over his long history of homophobic, racist, and mimisogynistic comments. the awards gala was moved from the american museum of natural history after a campaign by environmentalists pointed to bolsonaro's efforts to open the amazon to deforestation and mining, while violating the rights of indigenous peoples.
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this is natalia de campos of defend democracy in brazil committee. >> we're here in front of the marriott marquis hotel in times square where an event tonight will be held for the person of the year award honoring jair bolsonaro, president of brazil, and mike pompeo. [indiscernible] intervention and latin america -- amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. juan: and i'm juan gonzalez. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. alabamama lawmakers voted to
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effectively ban abortion tuesday, passing the most restrictive anti-choice law in the country in a direct challenge to roe v. wade. the bill approved by the senate tuesday and the alabama house of representatives last month bans abortions at all phases. doctors could face up to 99 years for performing abortions. is grave risktion to the mother's life. the legislation is now heading to the desk of anti-choice republican governor kay ivey,, and many expect she'll sign it. opponents say they'll challenge the bill in court should it become law but this is precisely the point. architects behind the legislation want to use it to challenge roe v. wade, which recognizes the constitutional right to an abortion. amy: just one day before alabama passed the legislation, supreme court justice stephen breyer issued what many considered a dire warning from the bench,
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implying that roe v wade is in danger. he wrote the comments in a dissent for unrelated case in which the court looked to overturn a 40 year-old precedent. justice breyer wrote "today's , decision can only cause one to wonder which cases the court will overrule next." juan: this attack on reproductive rights is playing out in state legislatures across the country. also on tuesday, the republican-led michigan senate passed bills to ban the most common method of second-trimester abortion and criminalize abortion providers. democratic governor gretchen whitmer is expected to veto the legislation. last week, georgia republican governor brian kemp signed one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the u.s., banning abortion when a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which often occurs at around six weeks into pregnancy, before many women even realize they are pregnant. the new law is set to take effect january 1. amy: ohio governor mike dewine
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also signed into law a six-week abortion ban last month. the legislation does not include exceptions for cases of rape or incest. well, for more, we're joined by monica simpson, executive director of sister song, a women of color reproductive justice collective. she's in denver today, but she's based in atlanta, georgia. and we are joined by jessica masonieklo, legal analyst and vice president of law and the courts at rewire. she is the co-author of "crow after roe: how 'separate but equal' has become the new standard in women's health and how we can change that." her forthcoming book is "the end of roe v. wade." we welcome you both to democracy now! jessica, let's begin with you. explain what just happened in alabama. >> lawmakers launched a full frontal attack on legal abortion in the state and across the country with a law designed
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specifically to challenge roe v. wade in the long-term and in the thoseterm sew c chaos for folks in alabama who need access to abortion. juan: could you talk about justice breyer's warning, how that specifically might relate to roe v. wade in terms of his dissent in an unrelated case? >> absolutely. on monday, the supreme court issued five to four decision in the tax case and justice thomas took the lead and that decision and upended 40 years of precedent. absolutely that has nothing to do with abortion rights. but as justice breyer noted, the path the court took in getting to the outcome has absolutely everything to do with abortion rights when we look at the conservative wing of the court looking to enact an agenda that lawmakers at the state haveve volleyed up for them in these anti-choice bills. what justice breyer did was go
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through the concept of stare decisis and precedent the majority in this decision at overturn and suggested how they could do the same thing when it heirs likeer abortion rights and contraception, for example. amy: this is linda, madison speaking at the debate yesterday before alabama voted and almost total abortion ban. >> this bill to me appears to be about control. when the dust settles and the ,ill passes on a rollcall vote you will be telling your wives, your daughters, your granddaughters, and those who support this bill that you don't women,he worth of regardless how educated, how sound of mind, how confident, how knowledgeable -- no matter
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how many degrees they have or how many of the same women you have paid your hard-earned money to educate, that their voice does not matter. you to make a decision that is the most personal and precious decision about your own body. and that includes your offspring. your grandchildren. amy: that is alabama state spepeakingda: madison just before the alabama state senate, follow the example of the alabama house of representatives and voted for the almost complete abortion ban. jessica mason pieklo, go further and explain exactly what it means, you know, putting doctors in prison for life if they
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perform the procedure, 11-year-old kid who is raped by her father forced to bear her from this child. talk about why the no exceptions, what the legislature, what alabama is hoping to do at the supreme court. >> they are hoping quite clearly to upend legal abortion in any way they can with this bill. so by not having any exceptions, for example, they are taking a direct attack on the line of precedent in roe that says states can enact certain measures before viability, for example, but there need to be exceptions maintained for the inlth of the pregnant person their life, for example. what is really happening here, though, that i think is most important to dive into, is that lawmakers have said very specifically that they know this bill is unconstitutional,l, that
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their design is to force a court challenge. and republicans have spent the last two years packing the federal courts with ideologues who have promised if given the opportunity to of been roe v. wade. this is a political campaign that is being waged inin the courts right now because conservatives and republicans really feel they have the advantage here. we are seeing and places were pregnant people are already criminalize percent pregnancy outcomes. the impact of a pending legal abortion is starting and has started in places but what this does is put that on hyperspeed. and says very clear that lawmakers don't care what the law is. they don't care that this is an unconstitutional ban. that is the point of it. the question is whether or not the federal courts are going to do their job and not be ideological in this and apply the law. and should they dodo that, then this ban is dead in the water. juan: monica simpson, you're
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usually based in georgia. could you talk about what has been happening in your state and this whole issue of the political offensive by the anti-choice forces? clearly, there is an effect -- an attempt not only to overturn roe v wade, but also to mobilize the anti-choice movement as we head into the presidential elections next year. >> absolutely. thank you so much for h having e ththis morning. i would say today those of us whwho have been doining this won georgigia and have faced t the e battles are folks in alabama are facing as of yesterday, we are standing in n solidarity withh l of the folks dealing with these issues all across the country. what we see and what we have been able to really come toto gripips with in this country i s that this has been a steady and very stealthy approach that our opposition has taken against us at the state level. what we are seeing in georgia and in alabama is that they're making a very clear message that
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they do not care about ususthey do not care about the ability for us to make decisions about our bodies, about our families, how we want to create family. what we're trying to do now, working collectively is to build our voices against that. we have been saying since 2011, over 400 different measures come through statehouses that of a medically unnecessary and they have in using their political agenda to o really move this vey clear message and d to get us to the popoint that we are now. yes, we are at a poioint where e have to be ready to mount up all of our defenses against this, and that is what we're doing in georgia and will be d doing acrs this country. amy: this is georgia's republican governor brian kemp speaking last t week after signg into law georges six-week abortion ban. simplelife act is very but also very powerful. the declaration that all life has value, that all life matters, and that all life is
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worthy of protection. i understand, like the others have said, that some oppose this legislation. i realize that some a challenge it in the court of law. but our job is to do what is right, not what is easy. we are called to be strong and courageous. and we will not back down. we will always continue to fight for life. amy: that is georgia's republican governor brbrian kemp speaking last week after signing into law a six-week abortion ban. stacey abrams, the democratic politician who narrowly lost to brian kemp who was the secretary instate, the public governor's race, tweeted after the bill was signed into law, "bad policies like the forced pregnancy bill are a direct result of voter suppression. if leaders can silence georgians' voices at the ballot box, they can ignore georgians'
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voices when in office. we will fight back in court and at the voting booth." monica simpson, if you can talk about what happened on the ground in georgia, particularly, how these abortion bans affect women of color. >> absolutely. on the grounund, we e have been working together collectivively. our organizations, we form the georgia coalition for reproductive health rights and justice to be in lockstep, to be in connection with each other as we were fighting on the ground, moving at the grassroots level up to the statehouse house to make sure we were educating our communities, amplifying the voices of the most marginalized in our communities, to really fight back against this. what is interesting whenever i hear kemp's they would to make courageous decisions and we should not make the easy decisions, there are so many things that georgia could be fighting for that would impact the lives of those living in the
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margins. we are a state where we're at the very bottom when it comes to maternal mortality and we see black women are dying at a rate four times higher than white women in childbirth. we are a state that has yet to expand medicaid. toare a state that we need be cleaning economic opportunities for people to survive. instead of focusing on those issues which have been what our folks on the ground have asked for of our elected officials, of the governor of our state, instead we're moving forward on measures that decrease access and put people at risk. when we have things like a six-week abortion ban in place and if that is something that moves board -- which we're going to fight every single day to make sure it doesn't -- when you put those measures in place, we know who gets impacted the most. it is marginalized committees, folks of color, young people. their lives are the most at risk. instead of listening to the needs of the people of georgia, we have folks in office who are
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really focused on moving their political agenda and using our bodies as collateral. we say no o more to that. we'rere working collectively to build up people power to make sure we are fighting this at every level we must possibly can. on the ground we have been working diligently to build that collective power t to make suree have what is this is it for us to fight this at every level. juan: jessica mason pieklo, i'm wondering if you could talk about ohio, a key battleground state in a presidential -- upcoming presidential race and the abortioion law there. ohio try toeen enact his many antiabortion measures as they can, including one of the six-week bands in addition to a ban on later abortion which is tied up in the courts. you mention ohio is a battleground state. i think it is important to bring this back into the idea of disenfranchisement and who is passing this and why.
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we have seen success from the last 40 years of having broader reproductive or r access to reprproductive health services d the ability to plan families and to try and parent as we choose. it is no surprise where in states thosese advances have tan place in rapid form we're seeing such a push back. i appreciate stacey abrams make that connection. i don't think we can say that enough. these are bills designed to keep people out of civic life and out of the political process. ohio is an excellent example of ththis, where there is good support for abortion rights and access on the ground and in its citizenry, but the politicians are using the power they have right now to try and stymie that. it is important because of how -- the federal circuit court of appeals in ohio has been made more conservative things to trump appointees.
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when i talk about this as a political campaign being waged in the court, those are the dots i hope people are starting to connect because they are all connected. amy: do you actually see roe being overturned? >> that is an excellent question. that are two paths conservatives can take. they can continue on in a criminalist approach, which we are seeing them attempting in the state through various types of p procedure bans, travel restrictions that we have talked about previously on this show. or they can go for the brass ring and go for roe altogether. the question will be ultimately what stomach does chief justice john roberts have are overturning precedent here. we've seen early indications he is uncomfortable by some of the political nature of what is happening. however, when it comes to a substantive vote in defense of abortion rights, chief justice
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john roberts has yet to cast one in favor of abortion rights on the merits. i think it is well within our concern to think that roe v. wade could be ovoverturned in te nenext several years. amy: we're going to end with a video that went viral just a few months ago. it is georgia democratic state senator jen jordan speaking against the abortion ban on the georgia state senate floor in march. times of myok is life have occurred in ththe prpresence of an with mymy physician. i have been pregnant 10 times. i have seen what many of you in your have called a heartbeat 10 times. but i've only given birth twice. i have lost seven pregnancies at varying points of times. one after five months. her name was juliet. i have laid on the cold examination table w while the doctor desperately looked for a
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heartbeat. i have been escorted out the back door of my physician's office so as to not upset the other pregnant women in the waiting area. my grief on full display and uncontainable. i have been on my knees time after time in prayer to my god about my losses. i have loved each and every single one of those potential lives, and my husband and i have grieved each passing. but no matatter my fate, my belief, my losses, i have never, ever straight from the basic principle that each woman, each woman must be able to make her decisions in consultation with her god anand her fafamily. it is not for the government or the men of this chamber to insert itself in the most personal, private, and wrenching decisions that make every single day. and that is not some happy statement that has been focus grouped.
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that is the reality of our lives. let me be clear. if you shihirk the most basicic dutieses you have to protect the fundamental rights of women today, then no doubt the women of this state will reclaim their rights after they have claimed your seats. amy: that is hard to state senator jen jordan speaking in march. and that does it for this segment. we want to thank monica simpson executive director of sister , song, the national women of color reproductive justice collective. and jessica mason pieklo, legal analyst and vice president of law & the courts at rewire. she is the co-author of "crow after roe: how 'separate but equal' has become the new standard in women's health and how we can change that." her forthcoming book "the end of roe v. wade: inside the rights plan to destroy legal abortion."
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amy: "rational actor" by nots. this is democracy now!, i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. juan: in washington, d.c., four activists remain in the venezuelan embassy after police raided the building monday night. activists with codepink, answer coalition and popular resistance have been in the building since late april at the invitation of venezuela's government, in order to prevent it being taken over by venezuela's u.s.-backed opposition, led by juan guaido. amy: last week, authorities cut off water and electricity to the venezuelan embassy. as they were on the verge of being raided, activists released a video statement, vowing to continue the fight. >> we're not going to leave voluntarily. we have been here to protect the embassy for 34 days. we will stay longer if nenecessary.
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we hope this results in an agreement between venezuela and the united states are protect his embassy from the states governmement. we are here and we are here and we're still resisting. amy: to find out more, we go now to washington, d.c., to speak to medea benjamin, co-founder of codepink. of the activists living inside one the venezuelan embassy in washington, d.c., demanding the embassy not be turned over to the venezuelan opposition leaders. welcome back to democracy now! explain the standoff right now. >> it is remarkable situation, amy. two days ago, the police came in with a fake eviction notice. it was written on a piece of paper that had no letterhead, no seal, knows it better. we did not know who it came from. the police read this out as -- as if it were an official eviction notice. our lawyer, who has been fantastic, went to speak to the
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people remaining in the embassy. they discussed the situation and said they were not going to leave. the only way they would leave is onon there is an arrangemement bebetween venezuela and the unid states as to what will happen to vote embassies, an arrangement that respects the bn a convention. so the police cut the locks on the door and they read the eviction notice and our brave heroes inside the embassy said they would not leave. we all thought this was the end, that they were going to be carried out. the guaido supporters were cheering. instead, the police turned around, close to the doors come up the lot back on, and left. that is the situation today. nothing happened yesterday. we t thought they would d come k with s some kind of court order. they did not.
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the standoff remaiains. this is quite remararkable chapr in history where very brave billion u.s. citizens, both inside the embassy at the permission of the legal venezuela government and people outside who have been facing harassment, being arrested for trying t to bring food into the embassy, have held onto that embassy now for five weeks and continue to do so. juan:: i want to read from the infection notice the red -- read in part -- "ambassadors vecchio and tarre have requested and directed anyone who is present on this property to depart from it immediately, and to not return without these ambassadors' express authorization. any person who refuses to comply with these requests and orders to depart from this property will be trespassing in violation of federal and district of columbia law and may be arrested and criminally prosecuted." there's only one problem, most anany embassy is in effect
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international territory, so this whole issue of even the d.c. police being involved in this is questionable, to say the least? >> absolutely. ,e have the law on our side invited by the government that is in power, the government that is recognized by the united nations. it is very clear in the vienna conventions and article 45 that even if there is a rupture of relations between the two states, the hosting country has toto respect the integrity of te diplomatic presence -- premises. the u.s. knows this very well. the state department knows thiss very well. and we have been very clear that anybody who illegally enters that embassy to try to evict us is committing an illegal act and will be held accountable. there are people in the u.s. government that also right nice the great precedent that this would eststablish..
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that it would have repepercussis against u.s. embassies around the world. we want to protect not only the venezuelan embassy from takeover by an illegal group, but we want to prevent the majuro government from taking over the u.s. embassy in caracas. and there is a very easy answer to a all of this that has b been used since the 1800s, and that is called the empowering -- it is the protection power agreement that we get an outside country, a third-party, and that party then becomes the one in charge of the building. this has happened in the case of iran, cuba, north korea. the u.s. has often used the country such as swedenen and switzerland to protect its embassssies. in this g good be easily done in the case of the u.s. and venezuela right now. in fact, there are talks would
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for the two countries to do this. and that is why it is so important we hang on i in this embassy until an agreement is reached. and once the prorotecting power agreement is agreed -- reached, then venezuela could potentially talk about other issues asas wel to try to end this crisis that told otherwise lead not only the takeover of this embassysy d a takeovover of the u.s. embassy in caracas, but could lead to a u.s. military intervention, civil war in venezuela that could rage on for decades. so we are doing this to uphold international law and to prevent a war. juan: in terms of this whole issue of the legitimate government of venezuela inviting those protesters into the embassy to protect it, "the washington post" had a very interesting article a couple of days ago supposedly going behind the scenes of the most recent
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failed coup attempt. there have already been three against majuro this year. one thing it mentions is president trump has become increasingly angry, believed to was misled at how easy would be to get rid of majuro, and now angry at his own advisors. i think was just yesterday, one of the key national security people said in colombia at a roeting that he believes madu is totally paranoid and cannot trust anybody and then he can count on one hand the number of people who support maduro. that is pretty much at odds with the reality of the facts on the ground, but i'm wondering your take on these recent developments? president istheir understanding that he was given bad ininformation. the really bad actor in all of this is john bololton, who is itching for an intervention..
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and our has to be a walking back of the u.s. position because the u.s. has now backed us up against the wall, recognizing somebody who does not have the ability to create the kind of uprisingng that trumump was tole did. and so part of our reasoning to be in the embassy is to help facilitate that walking back will stop i also wanant to mentn we have rev. jesse jackson coming to o the embassy today, this afternoon at t 2:30 with a bunch of religious leaders to say we need to get f food andd water into that embassy. and we will also be having a press conference at the u.n. with the venezuelan government today at 4:00 to talk about the violations of their embassy and how the u.s. must respect the vienna convention. amy: talking about trump been frustrated that he was told they could throw out democratic
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elected president of venezuela, whatever people think of him -- do you have a sense that now with -- that now trump is just wereing focus to iran, possibly he thinks, to the shock of many, he could be more successful? the state department just today ordering all nonemergency personnel to evacuate the u.s. of the sea and consulate in iraq in response to what the white house says is a threat linked to iran, though no further details were given. iraqi officials expressing skepticism about any purported threats, as did a senior british official who is the devotee commander of the u.s. led coalition fighting the islamic state. then you have the expose in "the new york times" that the trump administration is ordered the pentagon to drop plans to bring 120,000 troops to the region.
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you just recently returned, medea benjamin, from iran. can you respspond to what is happening right now? >> we are very concerned about what is happening now. the u.s. has taken so many measures just in the last year toward a war with iran, starting with pulling out of the nuclear deal, designating guard as aionary terrorist organization, trying to get the iranian oil exports down to zero, crcreating chaos n the iranian economy. of course, iran is going to prepare ititself for what looks like an attack. and this also can be put on john bolton, who has been calling for an attack on iran since before he ever got into the administration. i think this is a time where we have to build up an antiwar
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movement again. we're seeing a repeat of what happened in iraq q with lies, hs interpretations that only being put out by this administration, but being g echoed by the mainstream media, inincluding "e new york times." wewe have a a mobilization o ofe venezuelan embassy o on saturday in d.c. that we encourage people to come to. from there we are going to o be gogoing to the white housese to protest t this escalation of tensions with iran, and say no to a war with iran. we have to be pushing our members of congress to speak out forcefully against what the trump administration is now doing and to say this is aa totally manufactured crisis and the u.s. people will not stand for another war in the middle east. juan: president trump yesterday after a program the new york times" report came out tonight he issued that order to mobilize 120,000 troops.
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how do you deal with the reality that so many reports that come out about with the trump administration is planning to do then trump himself comes out and says, "no, i did not do that or i did not order that or i'm not doing that"? it is difficult to figure out the policies of this a administration. >> absolutely. in the same breath, he said i did not order but if we're going to do it, we would send more than 120,000 troops. think it is important understand these policies are .eing organized by john bolton john bolton, who is so close to the mek in the case of iran, john bolton who is said before that he wants to bomb iran, john bolton that is so close to the saudis and israel. and donaldld trump himself havig an even closer relationship to the saudis and to israel has made the situation in iran truly dangerous.
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ththe only thing t that is goino counter this is s if we get congress to stand u up to pass legislation that says we wilill not allow any unauthorized attack on either iran or venezuela. if we get all of the presidential candidates to stand up and say no to an attatack on iran. and if we get the america people to be very loud and clear saying we are totally opposed to any attack on iran. and further than that, we should be calling for a lifting of the crippling economic sanctions in venezuela. iran and we should be: : for the u.s. to rejoin the iran nuclear deal. these are positions that we should demand of our members of congress, the administration, and all of the presidential candidates. amy: medea benjamin, thank you for being with us co-founder of , codepink. of the activists living inside one the venezuelan embassy in washington, d.c., demanding the embassy not be turned over to venezuelan opposition leaders. she was in iran earlier r this year.
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amy: "arms like boulders" by the war on drugs. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. juan: we turn now to sudan, where the transitional military council said they reached an agreement about -- with protest leaders on a transitional power structure. demonstrators have been demanding a transfer from military to civilian rule following last month's military coup that ousted longtime leader omar al-bashir. the announcement comes after at least six protesters and a member of security forces were killed when security and paramilitary forces opened fire
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on crowds outside military headquarters in the capital khartoum monday. dozens more were injured. amy: also on monday, deposed president omar al-bashir was charged in the killing of protesters during the popular uprising which led to his overthrow last month. one of the deaths being investigated is that of a doctor who was shot dead while assisting injurered protesters. the central committee of sudan doctors says 90 people were killed during the months-long, and still ongoing, protests. demonstrators have vowed to continue to sit-in and march until the government is transitioned to 100% civilian rule. well, for more, we're joined by marine alneel, a sudanese activist based in new york city. she was just in sudan where she was detained. can you give us an update on what is taking place? the most astounding image in the last weeks of ultimately the protesters forcing out the dictator come the long reigning dictator. but then charging a kind of
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military coup was taking place. talk about what has happened. >> what is hapappened since the ousting of omar al-bashir, the declaration of freedom and change forces have been in negotiation with the so-called transitional military council. the most recent update is that with a press cononference that happened yesterday, they have announced they reached an agreement on a few points. some of them as they will have a transitional period of up to three years, for six-month being peace building. stopping the war. agreed on a legislative counsel that will have 300 members, 67% of which they are going to be appointed by the declaration of freedom and change forces, 33% from other bodies not clearly defined yet. they have also agreed on an investigative committee on the events of the massacre of may 13. they've also agreed on a committee that will be a joint
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committee between the military and the field committees of the declaration of freedom and change forces. which basically means on the ground protesters. this will be for keeping the safety and security. a aat indicicates both transitiononal military councicl and the e declaration of frereem sit-innge forces, they will not be in things and. the one thing they have not agreed upon yet, or at least have not declared to the public, is the sovereign leadership council. that is the most important point. who is going to be in the council? are there going to be in military personnel represented? who are e these personnel and wt is the percentage? this council is mostly nonhierarchical. every member should have equality. but it is effefectively impossie for the civilian people and the
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military representatives in the council to have equal rights. at the end of the day, the military personnel have the army under their command. juan: that is the problem of the popular uprisings that overthrow a long-term dictator, that the opposition is not organized and has its political parties and its organizations in place but the military obviously does. so it is a lot easier for them to attempt to assume control, for example, in egypt and other places we've seen the p popular movements crushed as a result of the fact the opposition was not united. how do you s see this transititn period working itself out, or do you think the military will try to reassert itself and maintain control of the country? >> the protesters have been drawing a lot of parallels with egypt and using as a cautionary tale. reassuring each other we should take it slow to make sure the military does not take over and it remains a revolution of the people.
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another aspect is the military is not so united as it might seem. for example, we have seen in the police there is a movement called lieutenant and under, were you've seen utilization within the police -- unionize asian with the police and people in the army who are refusing the orders of their superiors and fighting with the people. the famous hammond who try to protect the people during the events of april 6 and seven and eight when there were clashes between the army and the rapid support forces. amy: and who was that? >> hammond is a lower ranking officer in the army. he has become famous for fighting with the people. amy: i want to turn to one of the protesters who was wounded on monday in violence that broke out after the political transition deal was made between the mainstream oppositioion d mililitary rulers. this is raed mubarak.
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>> i took a bullet. you shot ebola at meme. he was 20 meters away for me at most. he saw me and meant to shoot me. it was intentional. he did not even shoot of my leg or in the air, he shot at my chest intending to hit my heart. humid to kill me. -- he met to kill me. amy: thahat is a protester. you have the military opening fire on the protesters, killing a number of them. at the same time omar al-bashir is in the very prison that he to,enced so many opposition were so many people were tortured he now is there and just charged with murder. for suppressing protesters and killing protesters. >> the charges that have been percentage for omar al-bashir are not sufficient. if used charged for killing protesters, who has he been ordering? has he been ordering the
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military? than the generals should also be charged. the former director should also be charged and maybe other prominent figures at the national intelligence security services. -- should also be charged. the protesters realize the military council might try to scapegoat omar al-bashir for other generals and other prominent figures to be able to stay in power. juan: what is been a posture of some of the neighboring states that might be affected one where another by the uprising? i am thinking specifically of the appeal be a and egypt. how have they been reacting to the revolution that has been occurring in your country? the protesters have been wary about international intervention. recently we have seen some of
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the freedom and change forces, some of the forces that have signed the declaration have had meetings in the united arab emirates and seen a great backlash by the protesters sang if we are allowing these people to have a say in our evolution, then they will make sure that something's continue with the transitional government such as our involvement in yemen. these are one of the demand man's of the protesters is that we bring back the people who have been fighting i in yemen, a lot of them child soldiers. amy: can you talalk about the re of women in leading the opposition in the street? how large are these protests? has been expanding. initially the sit in was only a front of the military headquarters and now expanding to other major streets where the protesters have been attacked on may 13. the role of the women, you can see it in the number of the women at the sit in and also see it in the leadership roles they are playing on the ground,
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leading some movements on the ground and other initiatives that are not directly towards the transition but such things as the education of the street children who have taken shelter at the sit-in. you see it in a large number of female doctors were helping on the ground. of course, the protesters. amy: what happened to you whehen you were there? >> i was there during december and january. we saw similar violence to may 13 on january 17. shotis when the doctor was and two other people lost their lives that day. people were detained, quitting myself and other friends and family members. we remained detained for six days and were released. we do not know why we were detained and we do not know why we were released. i think that is the case of a
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lot of protesters. you're are planning to return. what are you hoping when you get back there? >> i am not even sure how it will be. i will be arriving to sit in on sunday. i might see a transitional government or i do expect i will see protesters protesting what the declaration of freedom and change forces have agreed upon. if they are allowing to me or specific people from the military to be on the sovereign leadership council, i am hoping to join those protest that will be calling for a more fair representation of civilians and for certain figures such as - -- to not be on the council because there needs to be a due process of accountability. amy: we want to thank you so much, marine alneel, sudanese activist based in new york city. heaeadedback from sudan, back there. that does it for our show. democracy now! is currently accepting applications for paid six-month internships here in our new york city studio. learn more and apply at
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