Skip to main content

tv   Democracy Now  LINKTV  November 3, 2022 8:00am-9:00am PDT

8:00 am
11/03/22 11/03/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> in this regard, i have instructed the defense ministry to resume our participation in this work. russia reserves the right to withdraw if these guarantees are breached by ukraine. america seven ships departed from ukrainian ports, day after russia agreed to rejoin the deal brokered by turkey and the united nations.
8:01 am
could this be the beginning of a new diplomatic effort between russia and ukraine? we will speak to the international crisis group and a leading foreign policy analyst and a south africa. plus, we look at a new piece still to end the fighting between ethiopia and forces in tigray. egypt has launched a crackdown on civil society just days before the u.n. climate summit beginsn sharm el-sheikh. hundreseven arrested -- hundreds have been arrested. >> we were expecting as egypt hosting the cop27, and openness was of amy: president biden will attend next week in sharm el-sheikh. within 50 u.s. lawmakers have called on egypt to release alaa abd el-fattah and other political prisoners.
8:02 am
all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. representatives of ethiopia's government have reached a deal to permanently halt hostilities with people in northern tigray region. the peace deal announced wednesday capped a week of african union-mediated talks in south africa aimed at bringing an end to a two-year-old war that's sparked one of the world's worst hunitarian crises. former nigerian president olusegun obasanjo led the peace -- the negotiations. >> [inaudible] >> [indiscernible] amy: all parties to the tigray war have been accused of war crimes. the peace talks did not include
8:03 am
eritrea, whose forces joined ethiopia's assault on tigray. eritrean troops have been accused of massacring hundreds of civilians and other war crimes, including widespread rape, sexual assault, and looting. the united nations says 5.2 million people in tigray are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. by some estimates, up to 800,000 people have died as a result of the war, which erupted exactly two years ago today. we will get theatest later in the broadcast. in ukraine, the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has again lost its connection to the power grid after fighting damaged high-voltage lines. russia was blamed for the bridge said the plan once again has to rely on backup diesel generators to prevent a radiation disaster. well, the u.n. security because has rejected the bid torder an investigation into unsubstantiated claims ukraine and the u.s. or caring that
8:04 am
military biological operations in violation of an international convention. only china sided with russia in approving the resolution with other security council members voting against or abstaining. u.s. secretary of state antony blinken and other top diplomats from the g7 are meeting in germany today to discuss support for ukraine. comes after the pentagon has confirmed active-duty u.s. military are deployed inside ukraine and have resumed on-site inspections to assess weapon stocks. this is air force brigadier general pat ryder. >> my understanding is they would be well far away from any type of frontline actions. we are relying on the ukrainians to do that and other partners to do that. we have been very clear there are no combat forces in ukraine, no u.s. forces conducting combat operations in ukraine. these are personnel assigned to conduct security cooperation and
8:05 am
assistance as part of the defense attaché office. amy: on wednesday, the u.n. said some 14 million people have now been forcibly displaced since the february russian invasion of ukraine, calling it "the fastest and largest displacement witnessed in decades." in washington, d.c., a witness testified wednesday that the head of the far-right oath keepers militia tried to contact then-president trump four days after the january 6 capitol riot to tell him it was not too late to use paramilitary violence to remain in power. military veteran jason alpers told a federal jury he never delivered the message from oath keepers founder stewart rhodes. instead, alpers says he warned the fbi about rhodes' threats of violence. jurors also heard audio of stewart rhodes declaring that on january 6, "we should have brought rifles." rhodes also said he would have killed house speaker nancy pelosi. he is expected to testify today
8:06 am
in the trial. with less than a week to go before midterm elections, president biden warned political violence and lying politicians pose a growing threat to democracy and are putting the united states on a path to chaos. pres. biden: this intimidation, this violence against democrats, republicans, and nonpartisan officials just doing their jobs but the consequence of lies told for power and profit, lies of conspiracy and malice, lies repeated over and over to generate a cycle of anger, hate, and even violence. in this moment, we have to confront those lies with the truth. every feature of our nation -- the very future of our nation depends on it. amy: president biden refused to name donald trump but said the former president's lies about
8:07 am
the 2020 election results led to violce againstlection works and tric events ke the nuary 6 inrrectionnd the attack last week on paul pelosi. according to "the new york times," over 370 republican candidates in the midterm elections have questioned or denied the outcome of the 2020 election. new emails shared with the house committee investigating the insurrection reveal trump's legal team saw supreme court justice clarence thomas as their only chance to help overturn trump's 2020 election loss. the former president's lawyers wanted to orchestrate events so thomas would be in a position to cast doubt on georgia's vote count before congress proceeded to record electoral votes on january 6. meanwhile, trump lawyer john eastman warned against lying about having evidence of voter
8:08 am
fraud in georgia, writing -- "i have no doubt that an aggressive d.a. or u.s. attorney will go after both the president and his lawyers once all the dust settles." in wisconsin, republican gubernatorial candidate tim michaels threatened permanent gop rule if he wins his election. >> republicans will never lose another election in wisconsin if i am elected governor. amy: michaels made the remark during a campaign rally monday, raising fears he would further crack down on voting rights in the swing state which has been heavily gerrymandered to favor republicans and is already ruled -- governed by a republican legislature. conservative wisconsin lawmakers have introduced hundreds of bills this year restricting voting rights. incumbent democratic governor tony evers tweeted in response -- "tim michaels is a danger to our democracy. when you head to the polls on election day, remember that we're fighting to protect our democracy, voting rights, and
8:09 am
free, fair, and secure elections." federal prosecutors have granted immunity to a close associate of former president trump in exchange for his testimony. kash patel will appear before a federal grand jury to answer questions about trump's mishandling of classified documents after the fbi recovered hundreds of records, including many marked "top secret," when agents carried out search otrump's mar-a-go estaten august. patel priously cimed tru declsified t documen when he lefthe whithouse. meanwhil some torepublic sttegists are expecting attorney general merrick garland to pursue an indictment of former president trump within 60 to 90 days after election day. that's according to the newspaper "the hill," which reports an indictment would most likely be for trump's violations of the espionage act in connection with the mar-a-lago documents. the u.s. federal reserve has ordered the sharpest interest rate hikes since the 1980's.
8:10 am
on wednesday, chair jerome powell announced the fed's fourth consecutive 0.75-point increase and warned further hikes may be necessary powell said the fed's overarching goal remains bringing inflation under control even as he acknowledged the rate increases now look likely to trigger a recession. >> my colleagues and i are strongly committed to bringing inflation back down to our 2% goal. we have both the tools we need and resolve it will take to restore price stability on behalf of american families and businesses. amy: the fed's actions have pushed mortgage rates to their highest level in 20 years and threen to end a period of hiorically low unemployment. liz shuler, president of the afl-cio federation of labor unions, said -- "working people should not be the target of lowering inflation -- it should be corporations that are earning record profits." israeli troops have killed two palestinians and separate incidents in the occupied palestinian territories. in the west bank, israeli troops
8:11 am
shot and killed a 42-year-old man as a raided home of a man accused of ramming his car into an israeli soldier. elsewhere, shot and killed a palestinian man who stabbed a police officer they said, lightly wounding him. this comes as benjamin netanyahu is set to reclaim his former role as prime minister after a tally of late results from israel's election showed his far right coalition with the nearly insurmountable lead. former pakistan prime minister imran khan has been shot and injured during a rally in pingel province. his supporters say he escaped an assassination attempt but was struck in the leg. imran khan was 60 days into high profile journey to islamabad to call on the government to hold a snap election after he was removed from power in april. in florida, a judge sentence parkland shooter nikolas cruz to
8:12 am
life in prison without the possibility of parole. cruz killed 17 people in a 2018 mass shooting at marjory stoneman douglas high school. ahead of wednesday's sentencing, survivors and victims' familie'' were given an opportunity to confront cruz directly in the courtroom. this is samantha fuentes, a former classmate of cruz and survivor of the massacre. >> you might have everyone else pulled, but not me. this is personal. racism is not a mental illness. perfectly planned -- amy: samantha fuentes and other survivors of the attack have become prominent gun control advocates. speaking in court yesterday. and a, mississippi, federal and state officials have declared the city's water supply in compliance with the safe drinking water act.
8:13 am
this follows a boil water advisory across jackson that lasted nearly seven weeks after flooding on the pearl river led to a system-wide failure of jackson's water supply in august. on monday, hundreds of jackson residents rallied outside the governor's mansion to hold the state of mississippi accountable for the water crisis. the protest was led by bishop william barber of the poor people's campaign. >> majority black and brown and low income communities are left to suffer the devastating consequences of crumbling outdated water infrastructure. amy: and in michigan, residents of flint have asked a judge to intervene once again in their long-running campaign to replace the lead pipes that led to the mass-poisoning of the city's water supply, as well as a deadly outbreak of legionnaire'' disease. it's the fifth time in six years community groups have asked a court to enforce an agreement requiring the city to take action. melissa mays, organizer with the group flint rising, said -- "the people of flint won't tolerate any more broken promises from the city, which is under a federal court order to
8:14 am
get the lead pipes out of the ground and somehow still can't get the job done." and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman, joined by my co-host nermeen shaikh. hi, nermeen. nermeen: hi, amy. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. amy: we will get that microphone up in a second. egypt has launched a crackdown on civil society just days before the u.n. climate summit gives in sharm el-sheikh. hundreds have been arrested. this is the director of the egyptian commission for rights d freedom. >> what is happening, and interference in the personal lives, breaching their privacy by forcing them to ope up --
8:15 am
[indiscernible] the egyptian government is always ccerned about i image. the best way to improve its image is to prove humanights because the international media will all be focused on egypt during cop27. i rights activists a egyptian authorities publish guidelines limiting protests during cop27 to designated zones and will require 36 hours notice. this week egyptian authorities released indian climate activist ajit rajagopal after detaining him. he described his detention. >> [indiscernible]
8:16 am
amy: this comes as the family of 47-year-old egyptian political prisoner al-salami told he has died after hunnger strike. 15 nobel laureates have signed on to a letter to world leaders attending the summit, asking them to "devote part of your agenda to the many thousands of political prisoners held in egypt's prisons -- most urgently, the egyptian-british writer and philosopher, alaa abd el-fattah, now six months into a hunger strike and at risk of death." the majority of the nobel literature laureates since 1986 signed the letter. alaa abd el-fattah will begin a complete hunger strike, forgoing even water, on the opening day of cop27. he has already been on a hunger strike for more than 200 days. as we broadcast today in new
8:17 am
york, his family is about to hold a news conference on efforts to free him. meanwhile in the latest news, 56 u.s. lawmakers have sent a letter to president biden saying egypt's capacity to address critical climate commands is undercut by its refusal to allow the meaningful participation of environmental and civil society groups, activists, and those most impacted by the climate crisis. this is net price being questioned wednesday. >> on egypt, you have any comment on the death of al-sala mi on hunger strike, the condition of his detention?
8:18 am
>> are closely following the case of -- we followed it throughout his pretrial and conviction and incarceration. we have raised repeated concerns about this case and his conditions and attention with the government of egypt. we have made clear at the highest levels, including the very highest levels, to the egyptian government that progress on protecting human rights and find mental freedom, that will bolster or hopefully strengthen our bilateral elation ship with egypt. a nickel more, 're joined by sharif abdel kouddous, democracy now! correspondent and reporter for mada masr. sisters are about the hold and news conference in london where they have had a sit in for
8:19 am
weeks for stuck can you talk about what is happening and the response of the u.s. government? because president biden will be in sharm el-sheikh at the u.n. climate summit next friday. >> as we are going to air right now, both ofalaa's sisters are about to hold a press conference. last night -- they have been camped out since the 18th of october. last night james cleverly, the british foreign minister did meet with them. he tweeted out that he is working tirelessly to help secure the release of alaa. while this is encouraging while he did meet with both of the sisters after so many days waiting outside his office, we have to remember alla is a british citizen and that is why the british government is being called to intervene. this kind of language has been
8:20 am
used before. boris johnson when he was prime minister spoke to sisi. we still have not seen any kind of change. alaa has not been granted a consular visit by british officials and a prison. the new british prime minister who is attending the climate summit will have -- we will have to see what happens. alaa, in a letter to his family, he was on a partial hunger strike for many months, consuming just 100 calories a day which is like a spoonful of honey and tea and that was helping to sustain his hunger strike. he stopped taking that on tuesday. he is back on a full hunger strike. on sunday, he is going to essentially stop drinking water. the body cannot last very long without water. so sanaa --if it gets to that
8:21 am
point, if he is not released, alaa will do this. sanaa is planning to travel to sharm el-sheikh as an official delegate. she will hold new event on the eighth the secretary-general of human rights watch to help put pressure on the government to release alaa. you mentioned in the lead a prisoner al-salami just died in prison, a new prison. he was on hunger strike for two months. he died due to medical neglect and hunger strike. we have to remember back in early 2020, an american citizen who was imprisoned unjustly for six years in egypt, he was on
8:22 am
hunger strike for many months. he decided to go on a water strike on a friday. he was taken to the hospital when he decided -- refused to take liquids and pronounced dead on monday. this is extremely serious. alaa's sisters said he is not bluffing. he is fueled i hope to be reunited with his family. i think he clearly understands the timing of this and what he is doing. he is organizing from his prison cell. he is using his body, the only thing he has autonomy over, to inject some sense of meaning into this moment, to this climate summit. and spur all into action. i think he is done with prison. he won't serve these five years. he is done with it.
8:23 am
i think he also trying to organize that meaning that impact, if it gets to that, of his death. let me just say, he wrote this letter to his family announcing his plans for the water strike. short translated portion of it says, if one wished for death, then hunger strike would not be a struggle. if one were only holding onto life out of instinct, then what is the point of a strike? if you're postponing death only out of shame of your mother's tears, then you're increasing the chances of victory. i have taken a decision to escalate at a time i see is fitting for my struggle, for my freedom, and the freedom of prisoners of a conflict they have no part in or they're trying to exit from. for the victims of a regime that is unable to handle's crises, unable to reproduce itself except through incarceration. the decision was taken while i am flooded with your love and
8:24 am
longing for your company. much love, until we meet soon ,alaa. nermeen: has anyone been able to visit alaa? he says he is longing for the company so i assume not. is he able to see a lawyer? you said high-level intervention is required to secure his release. has there been any response at all from egyptian authorities? >> alaa, as many prisoners do, gets one visit by one family member once a month for 20 minutes behind a glass barrier. they are not allowed to touch him or hug him. only immediate family members are allowed to visit. the egyptian government has not addressed this publicly. alaa's imprisonment. they point to his conviction in a december for five years over re-sharing a facebook post about
8:25 am
torture in imprison. that is his official charge. so we haven't seen that. you know, it is wearing also come as you mentioned, we are seeing this intensified crackdown in egypt in the run up to the summit when all the world's eyes are on egypt and world leaders are heading there and designates an activists, literally hundreds of people have been arrested over the past week. they have been arrested off the streets, from their homes, their workplaces. at least 150 have been put into pretrial detention on terrorism charges. a massive case dubbed as the climate revolution case. they are being asked about these protests we have seen online calls for, plans to protest on november 11, 11/11. that will be while the summit is underway. massive security presence in
8:26 am
cairo and other cities across the country. police are rain emily stopping people on the street, taking their phones, forcing them to unlock them, looking through facebook and what's happened looking for political content and often detain people if they see anything they don't like. as you mentioned, international activists are not immune to this post of an indian activist who was trying to do solo climate justice march was detained overnight, interrogated for several hours. he called an egyptian lawyer friend to help them. the lawyer was then detained and held overnight. they were both released. a journalist who had written some critical posts on facebook about the government, they came to her home and arrested her. her whereabouts are unknown. all of this is happening in the run-up to the cop and this summit which many of the key
8:27 am
climate activists and environment all allies from egypt will not be able to attend. nermeen: where are these arrests taking place? are people anticipating these will continue even was the summit begins next week, on monday? >> they're taking place across egypt. it is kind of happening everywhere. the redoubled secure depressants on the street, the security apparatus seems to be extremely paranoid about these calls for protests on november 11. it is unclear if we will see protests on that day. clearly, there is the preemptive crackdown to try to prevent anything. yeah, the government clearly is paranoid after it just floated the currency, the egyptian pound is at a record low against the
8:28 am
dollar, inflation is way up, people are poor. this comes -- in the context, the answer to any conflict is incarceration. it is telling -- we're seeing more increasing calls for the release of political prisoners. we had this letter by lawmakers in the u.s., people and it u.k. have come out. multiple organizations call for the release of political prisoners. i saw in "the washington post" today. as was said, this cop is more than just greenwashing -- it is greenwashing a police state. amy: we will end with the words alaa abd el-fattah. you interviewed him and we have interviewed him on democracy now! the very quickly, if you can tell us who he is, why why nobel literature lawyer after another
8:29 am
-- laureate after another has signed on to this letter, senators have demanded that biden call for his release. >> alaa is a technologist, writer and activist and he emerged really in the 2011 revolution as a key thinker and organizer and icon of change. he has been in prison for much of the last nine years, mainly because of his ideas for to versatility of his mind and he stands as a symbol for 2011 and a symbol of change. i think that is why there's been so much campaigning around releasing him because if someone like him can be released -- he is being imprisoned as an example for others, basically. this is what happens when you try and fight for change. i think his release would also
8:30 am
mark a significant step forward for change in egypt. amy: we want to thank you for being with us, sharif abdel kouddous, who will be joining us as we cover the sharm el-sheikh u.n. climate summit the week after next come the second week of the cop. people should tune in for our weeklong coverage. sharif abdel kouddous, democracy now! correspondent and a reporter for mada masr, usually based in cairo, egypt. we're going to turn now to the words of alaa himself. alaa recently published a book, "you have not yet been defeated." he has been jailed for almost all of the last decade, since the 2011 arab spring, tahrir uprising. we spoke to him in 2011. this was after he was first arrested in order jailed by military court and breeze -- briefly release before being
8:31 am
imprisoned again. he described the inhumane conditions he based in prison. >> the first five days i was put in a pretty bad prison. all prisons and of the world are bad, quite tough, but also prisons in egypt are in very poor condition so even if they don't torture you, just been in one night there is already a bit too much. i was in a particularly bad prison and they made sure to put me in a particularly bad cell and to deny me any comfort. for instance, i was in complete darkness for five days. it was very filthy. there were nine of us in a two or three meter cell having no access to toilet or water except
8:32 am
10 minutes a day. basically, they knew they could not torture me because of the solidarity in the media attention, so they just made sure to try to use every other measure to put me at discomfort. her psychological pressure. every other person who was -- were tortured severely and tortured and systematic way stations in prisons but they knew they could not torture me. amy: alaa abd el-fattah speaking to us in 2011, soon after the uprising in tahrir. we will be broadcasting from the u.n. climate summit in egypt and also tune in on november 8 for our three-hour election night special. we will be broadcasting live starting at 9:00 p.m. eastern. coming up, we will look at the
8:33 am
possibility of negotiation and cease-fire between ukraine and russia. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]
8:34 am
amy: "esmaani" by hamza namira. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. secretary state tony blinken is in germany today for a two-day meeting with other g7 foreign ministers. russia's invasion of ukraine is expected to top the agenda. the meeting begins a day after russia agreed to rejoin a deal allowing for grain shipments from ukraine's ports. the ukrainian government said seven ships carrying agricultural products were able to leave ukrainian black sea ports today. the original deal to reopen the ports was brokered by turkey and the united nations. when the grain deal was first reached in august, u.n. secretary general antonio guterres called it "a victory for diplomacy." well, we turn now to look at if other diplomatic steps could be taken to end the war. we are joined now by richard gowan here in new york.
8:35 am
he is the u.n. director of the international crisis group. with these latest developments and the g7 meeting, russia rejoining this grain deal, what you think is a possibility of russia ending this war through negotiations with the world community and ukraine? >> i fear that we are not much closer to a real end to this conflict. it is positive that russia has rejoined the grain deal. i think it only suspended its participation for tactical, diplomatic reasons. but it remains fairly clear that vladimir putin believes he can win this war, or at least do enough damage to ukraine and ukraine's infrastructure to bring them to a table in a much weakened state. i fear, as they say, prolonged conflict despite small diplomatic success. nermeen: in your experience,
8:36 am
monitoring negotiations where the u.n. played a critical role, what kind of role do you foresee for the united nations once the two parties and other involved parties are ready to negotiate? >> well, the secretary-general has been very cautious and his diplomacy over ukraine, but he has actually established a significant diplomatic role. he has brokered humanitarian agreements with moscow and he did play a leading role in brokering the black sea deal. so he is one of the very few diplomats who have shown he can get concession from vladimir putin this year. i think that means if moscow does edge toward peace talks and if ukraine wants peace talks, guterres could play some sort of
8:37 am
fill still attending role either through shuttle diplomacy -- facilitating role, either through shuttle diplomacy or using the u.n.'s mediation services to at least push talks forward. i don't think the u.n. can do this on its own. i think you're going to need other players such as turkey to play a facilitating role in these talks. but guterres doesn't have a tuple medic toehold in this war in a way we did not necessarily expect back in february. we were not sure russia would take the u.n. seriously at all but for the time being, there is a small amount of faith for the organization. nermeen: one of the most contentious issues is the territorial one between russia and ukraine. some say russia has the greatest incentive to hold talks now toward a cease-fire in the hopes it can retain the territory that
8:38 am
it has taken since the invasion began on february 24. when such negotiations take place, it is also common to suspend territorial issues in the interest of obtaining a cease-fire. do you see that happening in this case? >> well, i think the ukrainians are very skeptical about accepting a cease-fire because they fear russia will hold facilities -- hostilities but will pull its troops back from the territories it has ceased since february. there is a risk russia could agree to a cease-fire and then take a few months to improve its military positions, rearm some of the units that have suffered quite badly on the battlefield, and then go back to war. i think kyiv will only accept a cease-fire if it sees that russia is really willing to give
8:39 am
up a lot of the territory that it has grabbed. but this is something which will, i think, be based on what happens on the battlefield. it is not something which the u.n. secretary-general or even the u.n. security council can define. sadly, this is going to be decided through force of arms. amy: last month vladimir putin said the world should reconsider the power structure within the united nations. >> perhaps is worth thinking the structure of the united nations, including its security council, could to a greater extent reflect the variety of the world's regions. it will depend on asia, africa, and latin america. much more than it is thought today. this growth of their influence is undoubtedly positive. america richard gowan, you're the u.n. director of the international crisis group. your response to that. also, you must have been following this kerfuffle where
8:40 am
the u.s. congressional progressive caucus, the largest caucus in congress, wrote a letter to biden's and you can continue the weapon sales but push for negotiation. pramila jayapal, the chair of the caucus then withdrew that. we spoke to one of the members, ro khanna, who said he absolutely supported that letter. if we could get your response? >> firstly on the question of performing the u.n. the irony vladimir putin things the u.s. dominates the u.n., but a lot of american diplomats and european diplomats would say the real problem with the security council is that russia is using its veto to block any action on ukraine, such as russia used its veto repeatedly over syria. actually, everyone agrees that we need some serious reforms to the u.n. biden joe biden said this when he visited the general assembly
8:41 am
in september. right now in new york, there are lots of seminars that are upper diplomatic discussions about the need to revitalize the u.n. system and make it fit for purpose 77 years after the organization was founded. but it is very hard to get to real u.n. reform. the diplomatic obstacles are huge. so i think president biden will talk about u.n. reform, president putin will talk about it, but sadly, we are stuck with the u.n. we've got. as for the kerfuffle as you describe it in congress, i think for a lot of observers outside the u.s., including observers of the u.n., this was a rather petty distraction. i think most leaders in the
8:42 am
non-western world, africa and asia, do feel there should be some sort of peace process and there should be peace talks between russia and ukraine. that is not a controversial position. so this virtual signaling -- virtue signaling this rather obscure political fighting in washington, is seems like a distraction from what a lot of the world wants to see. nermeen: we just have 30 seconds, what about the fear around a nuclear escalation and the fact there aren't sufficient lines of communication between russia and the u.s.? >> this is a concern that u.n. officials have flagged strongly. they take it seriously. i the u.n. views there is some communication going on now between the u.s. and russia on nuclear issues. the u.n. focus is still more on the grain deal and humanitarian
8:43 am
issues. amy: richard gowan, thank you for being with us u.n. director , of the international crisis group. you mentioned africa. coming up, we're going to south africa to look at the war's impact on south africa. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]
8:44 am
amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. as we continue to look at the war in ukraine, we turn now to focus on how the war is impacting the continent of africa. joining us from south africa is adebayo olukoshi. he is distinguished research professor at the vits school of governance in johannesburg. previously served as director for the african social science council and the u.n. african institute for economic development and planning, and
8:45 am
we welcome you to democracy now! , professor. if you can respond to russia's war in ukraine and what you feel needs to happen? what you feel as you follow the debates around the world and look at how the u.s. covers what is happening in russia and ukraine, what your frame is, how different it is. >> thankou very much. i think like most people around the world, our wish would be for the war to stop. you list damage to property -- needless damage to property and life, as well as consequences -- such as issues of food security
8:46 am
and inflation. there is a wish for much more investments in diplomacy. nermeen: professor olukoshi, could you speak specifically about the extent to which many countries in the global south, including in africa, are increasingly dependent, have been increasingly dependent on wheat and gas and grain supply from ukraine and russia and what
8:47 am
the impact has been so far that we have already been witnessing in many parts of the world, including where you are in south africa? >> over a period of time, we have seen most african countries , particularly on the supply of wheat -- activity coming from primarily raine. the destruction the war created compounded in cotries th shortages bread, sharp
8:48 am
increase in prices on all commodities connected to wheat and also a problem with farming communities -- in the context -- agriculture is mainly dependent on the rainy season, therefore, very sensitive to any disruption. [indiscernible] correlation between food and politics on the continent elsewhere around the world -- the chair of the african union commission and the chair --
8:49 am
but president zelenskyy and putin -- for supply lines to be reestablished. nermeen: if you could speak also about the historic role of the soviet union following the end the second world war in supporting anticolonial efforts in much of the global south, formally colonized world, and how that position, if you have seen it alter since the dissolution of the soviet union and how this war is viewed and in that context, the context of decolonization? >> thank you very much.
8:50 am
sometimes it is neglected by many who express shock and surprise, for example, that so many african countries abstain in the general assembly [indiscernible] the truth is, ticolonial struggles in africa began to gather momentum, particularly in 1947. [indiscernible]
8:51 am
training and equipment mostly came from china and rsia --
8:52 am
[indiscernible] in the case of russia --
8:53 am
also included military training. military training has not been have been on the scale essay with russia, india -- amy: professor -- >> [indiscernible] amy: before we end, we want to
8:54 am
get to the new peace deal between ethiopian forces in tigray to end the devastating to your war. the agreement announced on wednesday after a week of african union mediated talks in south africa where you are. the united nations has 5.2 million people and tigray are in urgent need of committed turn assistance, by some estimates, at 800,000 people have died as a result of the war which began two years ago today. your comments on the deal that was reached? >> a big relief and there is hope the two sides will adhere to the agreement. this is a war which has been seen as highly regrettable.
8:55 am
the costs of human life, dage property are seein i hope in the ctext of realation by bh sides, it might the - the kind of potical soluon that wil accommote a pn for all sides. keephe country united and --
8:56 am
amy: and how will it be enforced? >> a lot will depend on the political will on bothides. [indiscernible]
8:57 am
nermeen: professor, you mentioned thing up -- playing a critical role but they were not included in in the negotiations. a fecould expend the significance of that. -- if you could explain the significance of that? >> i imagine the extent to which
8:58 am
-- amy: adebayo olukoshi, thank you for being with us, distinguished research professor at the vits school of governance in johannesburg. previously served as director of the african social science council and the u.n. can institute for economic and element and planning, speaking to us from south africa. tune in on november 8 for our three-hour election night special. we will be broadcasting live starting at 9:00 p.m. eastern.
8:59 am
democracynow.org for more information. democracy now! is currently accepting applications for a video news production fellowship and a people and culture manager. learn more and apply at democracynow.org. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracy
9:00 am
[narrato this is what t future of life off the rth looklike. the moons a fuy deloped commercial hub and way station for traveling deeper into space. anyone who wants a truly out of this world vacation destination, can now look to the stars and back down at earth. the first permanent settlers of mars, arrive to self building habitats that produceir, wate and foo with a n generation destin toe born oalien plets. this is the next step in our evolution as a species. (machine glitching)

77 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on