05/09/23 05/09/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> today's civilization is at a crucial turning point. a real war has been unleashed against our homeland. amy: russian president vladimir putin accuses the west of unleashing a war against russia during a victory day celebration in moscow marking the soviet defeat of the nazis. as russia launches waves of drone strikes against ukraine

and kyiv prepares for a major counteroffensive, the biden administration is sending another $1.2 billion of weapons to ukraine. should the u.s. be pushing for peace talks? we will speak to phyllis bennis of the institute for policy studies. then to sudan, where the humanitarian crisis is worsening as fighting between rival military factions enters its 25th day. >> essentially, both of them are in a battle to the death. there is a zero-sum game. the population throughout the country is held to the political and economic ambitions of these two generals. amy: and protests are continuing over the death of jordan neely, a longtime new york street performer who was choked to death by a former marine on a subway car moments after neely screamed out that he was hungry and thirsty. the medical examiner has ruled his death a homicide but no charges have been filed. we will speak an activist with

the group vocal-new york and another street performer who knew jordan from his time when he worked as a michael jackson impersonator. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. at least 13 people were killed in the gaza strip overnight as israeli forces targeted a residential apartment building in gaza city. al jazeera reports three members of the palestinian islamic jihad were among the dead, along with their wives and children. this is a gaza resident. >> people have not been able to sleep since 4:00 in the morning. the children walk up to the sound of explosions and were terrified. children, women, elderly people. this is not normal. amy: israel's latest attack comes just a week after israeli airstrikes rained down on the besieged gaza strip following

rocket launches from gaza in response to the death of palestinian hunger striker khader adnan while in an israeli prison. russian president vladimir putin has lashed out against the u.s. and other western powers over their support for ukraine, saying that a real war is underway against russia. putin made the remarks during a brief victory day speech in moscow's red square, commemorating the 78th anniversary of the soviet defeat of nazi germany. >> today civilization is that are crucial turning point. a real war has been unleashed against our homeland. we have fought back against international terrorism. amy: overnight, air raid sirens sounded across two-thirds of ukraine as russia launched more than a dozen missile attacks on kyiv and other cities. ukraine's government says at least four people were killed on monday. the latest attacks came as european commission president ursula von der leyen arrived in kyiv for talks with ukrainian

-- with the ukrainian president. meanwhile, the biden administration is announcing an additional $1.2 billion in military aid to ukraine today for air-defense systems and drones. we will speak with phyllis bennis of the institute for policy studies. in sudan, fighting continues to rage in khartoum as representatives for the national military and the paramilitary rapid support forces continue to hold talks in saudi arabia. on monday, sudan's military ruler general abdel fattah al-burhan ruled out any peace settlement unless both warring parties agree to a lasting ceasefire. at least 700 people have been killed, while over 100,000 people have fled sudan since fighting broke out three weeks ago. we will go to sudan later in the broadcast. in pakistan, former prime minister imran khan was arrested in the capital islamabad during a court appearance on a series -- where he faces corrupt charges. security forces dragged khan out of court and into a police vehicle. allies have denounced his arrest

as an abduction. khan was removed from office by parliament in april of last year. in recent months, hundreds of his supporters blocked repeated attempts by pakistani authorities to take khan into custody. he's denied the charges against him. in serbia, tens of thousands of people joined protests against gun violence in the capital belgrade monday demanding that top government officials resign in the wake of two mass shootings last week. 17 people were killed in the two attacks, including eight schoolchildren. this is protester slobodan sekulic. >> it is tragic so many kids killed by their peers were buried in such a short time. this is a low point. we are used to what happened in texas, but their weapons are openly purchased. here, where do they get the firearms? it is a disaster. amy: in texas, public anger is growing over the lack of information being shared by investigators as they piece

together details about the 33-year-old gunman who killed eight people and wounded seven others during a mass shooting in the dallas suburb of allen on saturday. in social media posts, the gunman revealed he had a swastika and an ss symbol tattooed on his body. he frequently espoused racist views, including praise for adolf hitler and other mass killers. in 2008, the gunman joined the u.s. army but was terminated three months later for unspecified mental health issues. despite that, the gunman never faced a background check before legally purchasing firearms from private sellers in texas, including the ar-15-style rifle used in the attack. on monday, more victims of the massacre were identified. they include daniela and sofia mendoza, two elementary school-age sisters whose mother was shot and remains in critical condition, and kyu song cho and cindy cho, a korean-american couple who were killed along with their three-year-old son james. their six-year-old son william

in the hospital. according to the gun violence archive, there have already been 202 mass shootings in the united states this year. on average, more than one mass shooting per day. elsewhere in texas, authorities have charged the driver of an suv who rammed into a crowd of migrants outside a shelter in the border city of brownsville on sunday, killing eight people and wounding 10 others. most of the victims were venezuelan asylum-seekers who had spent the night at the shelter and were waiting to board a bus. this is brownsville police chief felix sauceda. >> investigation reveals the driver of the vehicle, later identified as george alvarez, november 9, 1988, had attempted to flee the scene after impact but was held down by several on scene. he has been formally charged in a raid with eight counts of manslaughter, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. amy: police say alvarez has a long history of violent crimes, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

they're investigating eyewitness accounts that he shouted anti-immigrant insults at his victims during sunday's assault. venezuela's government has called for an investigation to determine if the attack was motivated by hate. in related news, texas republican governor greg abbott has deployed another 450 national guard soldiers to the southern border with mexico as the biden administration prepares to lift the trump-era title 42 pandemic policy on thursday. abbott said the new units targeting asylum seekers will be stationed in the borderlands of el paso and the rio grande valley. >> the textile national guard -- the texas national guard is deploying specially trained national guard men. they will be deployed to hotspots along the border to intercept, repel, and to turn back migrants who are trying to

enter texas illegally. amy: meanwhile, in california, dozens of asylum seekers have been stranded at the southern border near san diego as many hope to be allowed into the united states after the lifting of title 42, which for three years has been used to expel almost migrants at the border 3 million without due process. humanitarian aid volunteers brought food and water as asylum seekers had not eaten for days. >> we have been dealing with people who have been here almost seven days. there is a very young baby here. there are a number of young children. they are being provided with minimal water, insufficient water. they have not been given food today and very little food yesterday. amy: here in new york, jurors have begun deliberation in donald trump's rape and defamation civil trial brought by writer e. jean carroll. during closing arguments monday, carroll's attorney described trump as a habitual liar and sex abuser who ruined carroll's reputation after she accused him of raping her in a department

store dressing room in the 1990's. 11 witnesses testified for the plaintiff, including two other women who said trump also sexually assaulted them. trump had promised to disprove carroll's allegations in court but decided not to attend the trial. a new report finds south carolina democratic congress member jim clyburn secretly worked with republicans during the 2020 redistricting process on a plan that diluted black voting strength and harmed democrats' chances of gaining seats in congress. that's according to propublica, which reports clyburn made the deal in exchange for a redrawn map of south carolina's 6th congressional district that ensured he could easily win reelection. a spokesperson denied the report that clyburn facilitated republican gerrymandering. until january, clyburn served as house majority whip, the third-ranking house democrat. his opposition to bernie

sanders' candidacy helped propel joe biden's victory in the 2020 presidential primary. in new york, jordan neely was killed lasted by another passenger post of jordan neely was crying out that he was hungry when he was fatally attacked on the train by a 24 year former marine named daniel penny. he was interviewed by police detectives but was released, not arrested. sunday nights protest follows a similar demonstration saturday when police arrested 13 people at sit in protesting, demanding penny face charges. they were on the subway tracks. we will have more on the story later in the broadcast. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. russian president vladimir putin has accused the west of unleashing a war against russia during a victory day celebration in moscow marking the soviet

defeat of the nazis 78 years ago. putin's remarks came over 14 months after russia invaded ukraine. in recent days, russia has stepped up attacks on ukraine, launching waves of drone and missile attacks targeting kyiv and other areas. putin spoke in moscow's red square earlier today. >> today civilization is once again had a crucial turning point. the real work has been unleashed against our homeland. we have fought back against international terrorism. we will also protect the people of donbas and ensure our security. for us, russia, there are no unfriendly hostile nations. either the west or the ease. as of the absent majority of people on the planet, wants to see the future stable. we believe in a doozy all -- ideology --

the western global elites are pitting people against each other and dividing society, provoking bloody conflicts and coups, selling hatred news, destroying family values that make people people. amy: ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy has also marked the anniversary of the surrender of nazi germany in world war ii. on monday, zelenskyy compared putin's russia to nazi germany. >> unfortunately, evil has returned. evil killed our people then, so it does now. although now the aggressor is different. the goal is the same. enslavement or destruction. just like in the second world war, you're not alone against evil. we fight with the entire free

world come the people who created a joint victory at that time. we fought then and we fight now so that no one ever again enslaves other peoples and destroys other countries. evil that modern russia respect just as naziism is defeated. amy: ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy's remarks come as ukraine is preparing to launch a major counteroffensive, which has forced moscow to order evacuation order for thousands of residents in some areas occupied by russian forces. meanwhile, the biden administration is announcing today a new $1.2 billion military aid package for ukraine. to talk more about the war in ukraine, we are joined by phyllis bennis, a fellow at the institute for policy studies. welcome back to democracy now! let's start there. as this counteroffensive begins by ukraine and russia rains down strikes on ukraine, the u.s. is

announcing today another $1.2 billion in military aid to ukraine. where do you see this going? >> good morning, amy. i'm afraid what we're looking at is already collapsed into a war of attrition. the analogies to world war ii are dangerous on a number of levels, but one of the levels is that this is not a war that is going to end like world war ii with the surrender of one side or another. i think there is widespread understanding this is not a war that is going to be won militarily. the question is, how many more ukrainian civilians and also russian soldiers that have been forced into the military are going to be killed? how much more ukrainian territory is going to be destroyed? how much more of a global set of consequences, including the

environmental consequences, the economic crisis, and the famine that is attacking large parts of the global south because of the consequences of this war? all of that and the potential threat of an escalation to a nuclear exchange, the most dangerous and the most deadly possibility that could come from this. so all of that is possible. and i think looking at the question of the new looming ukrainian offensive -- there's been talk of a russian offensive in the spring, although that is not as clear as the possibility of a ukrainian offensive. the real issue is, for how long is this war going to end and what should be the position of our movement, movements of progressives, antiwar forces, anti-empire forces, those who support ukraine's right of self-determination and yet see the consequences of this war

going forward? if our goal, as i think i should become is to end the war and not extended indefinitely as long as it takes, as president biden describes it, by providing all the weapons that ukraine might ask for, all of the weapons of any sort between the u.s. and this ally, it is going to make things worse and not better. it will extend the war and not lead toward a way of ending the war, which i think has to be our goal. amy: what nations do you believe could play a role in negotiations? >> i think first there has to be a coming together of a number of nations to call for a cease-fire. a cease-fire is the immediate demand. it won't lead to justice by itself, but if the end of the shooting can happen, the end of bombing, if people are no longer being killed, there's a much better chance that serious negotiations could get underway. i think there are number of countries that could play a role

in a positive way. the chinese 12 point program that was submitted some time ago, i think by itself is not sufficient. it did not say the russian troops must be withdrawn. it did not acknowledge the illegality of the russian invasion. but it did include a number of components which even the ukrainian leadership has said they could accept. at the level of who is moving around the world trying to put forward a new call for an negotiation, the initiative takes by love is one of the most important. partner with the south african president, and they together would be a very formative team. they both have relations with both russia and ukraine. they both are part of the brics alliance. they are not fighting or providing weapons to provide --

trying to provide weapons to both sides. there any useful position in terms of being able to negotiate, being able to engage with both sides, jacked as an interlocutory. we have not heard there is 18 information between lula and rama post i but i believe present lula in particular has been very visible and moving around the world calling for this. he is someone with a long history of engagement on international issues, beyond results own borders. south africa has made clear both their opposition to the russian invasion but refusing to accept u.s. led calls for sanctions and other punishments that are known to not work to end wars. i think there's a great potential for those two leaders to play a major role. amy: would ukraine accept south africa, has not condemned

russia's invasion of ukraine, as it is conducting naval exercises with russian and chinese navies in the indian ocean, and with a except brazil, which claimed the u.s. is stimulating the fighting and would you agree with that? and say that both ukraine and russia had decided to go to war? >> i think there's no question u.s. provision of arms, tanks, support of all kinds and u.s. allies providing the rest, potentially even including long-range missiles, something u.s. has refused to do but now britain is talking about that as a possibility -- there's no question that has extended the war. i think there is an mistaking -- a mistaken view out there that says south africa has never condemned the war.

there's been a criticism of the war. what south africa has not been able to do is vote for the condemnations in the security council that came along with calls for specific sanctions, etc., against russia which they were not prepared to do. i think there is a good chance the ukrainian leadership would accept almost any serious negotiations at this point. one of the issues is will there key military backers, particularly the united states, pull back from their earlier positions of telling the ukrainians essentially we don't want a cease fire yet, we're not pushing you to negotiate. there was a period last april when there were negotiations that seemed to be pending. there were discussions about talks, talks about talks, if you will. at that point, with u.s.

involvement, the then prime minister of the u.k. borst johnson went to kyiv to meet with president zelenskyy and all reports indicated his message was, don't start negotiating yet. we will provide you with whatever you need, keep the fight going. and that was indeed what the ukrainians chose to do. that has not made it better in terms of the potential for future negotiations. of course, we are also facing a serious challenge with our movements in the differences between those who support one set of legitimate rights of ukraine as the most important aspects and others who support other rights of ukraine and the world as the more important. there's been such tension within that movement that it is been almost impossible to build a unified effort to end this war. we are facing a challenging

moment when the urgency for a cease fire, the urgency from moving toward negotiations is crucial and yet there are problems of a stall in our movement level, a stall in diplomatic level. the only thing that is not being stalled is sending more weapons. i think that is a very serious problem. because what we're looking at, amy, one of the challenges we face is this enormous contradiction of this period of history where it is not only complicated because this is no longer the cold war where there was u.s. imperialism attacking countries undermining the self-determination of countries around the world, and much of the rest of the world mobilized against that. political movements mobilized in the same side. not necessarily agreeing with what the soviet union at that time was doing or saying or china was doing at that time or sing, but clear in opposition to what u.s. was doing around the world.

what we are seeing now is illegitimate actions, illegal actions, violations of international law are coming not only from the u.s. -- in this case they're coming from russia as well -- we also have to understand i think that there are two separate wars being waged in ukraine. one led by the u.s. and nato is a geopolitical war in the post cold war era with the collapse of the soviet union, including things like the movement of nato into countries much closer to russia despite promises not to do so. it includes the positioning of weapons across europe, including strategic weapons and even nuclear weapons in parts of europe. all of that has been one kind of geopolitical war. as of last year and beginning in

some was in 2014 with the russian invasion and occupation of crimea, you had a russian-led war on the ground. it is that ground war right now does so urgently needs to be stopped because that is where we are the deaths of just too many people, too many ukrainian civilians, elders and children and babies, everyone at risk of being killed or injured in this war. there's a desperate urgent to stop that war, but we can't put aside the fact there's been this other geopolitical war led by the united states and nato, which is still going on. so we can't simply wish that away and say by concentrating on the ground war, which i believe needs to be our priority, a war in which russia was clearly the aggressor, we need to focus on that but keeping in mind the other part of this very complicated set of wars that are underway. i think the call for an

immediate cease-fire and the call for serious negotiations that first will lead to a peace with justice in the medium and long-term after an immediate cease-fire. we can't afford, i'm afraid, to say we can put off a cease fire until a fully realized peace with justice is on the way. amy: what do you say, fellas come to those who say a cease fire serves russia because they get to keep their land that they have occupied from donbas to crimea? >> a cease fire is only step one. a cease fire is only a prelude to negotiation, which should lead to russian troops being pulled out. that is a goal. but in almost every case -- there are exceptions in history. u.s. negotiated with vietnam for five years, one of the worst fighting continued between 1968 in 1973. but that is a rarity in history. in almost every situation, sears

negotiations don't take place until there is a cease fire. were not talking about russia's being able to keep territory it has claimed, that is a clear violation of international law in a whole host of ways. but it is a step, necessary step -- we cannot leave out that it is only step one. the next step has to be moving toward serious negotiation. there also needs to be separate negotiation in which the united states, first of all, has no right to tell the ukrainians what they should do in the negotiation stuff but as its main supplier of arms, of money, of all kinds of support, it has not only the right but the obligation to push ukraine towards negotiations as at the same time the world is pushing the russians toward negotiation. amy: on the issue of debate within countries, you travel around the world.

how is that debate in europe -- do you see it more robust and open then in the united states? you work with many congress members. the issue of cease fire is really publicly raised here unless -- is rarely publicly raised here unless we're talking up protesters on the ground getting arrested. >> i think it is a complicated russian. i have not been traveling around since covid, although that is about to change. but mi talked by -- but in my talks on the phone and skype, there is debate in discussions but i think the levels of support for arming ukraine in an almost unlimited way is as great or greater across europe than it is here. there is an active and vibrant peace mobilization in europe and yet the public polls indicate great support for further arming, further weapons being

sent come the expansion of nato. finland and sweden with the populations for decades prided themselves on their nonalignment with war-making forces around the world, including the united states, in that context, we are seeing a complete reversal where the government decisions to join nato in both finland and sweden, which is now in process, has enormously high levels of public support. i think we're in a similar situation here where there is a great deal of support for ukraine, level of support i think is appropriate in terms of supporting a population that has been attacked and occupied by an outside aggressive force -- dubbing russia -- but at the same time, we are seeing as we are not seeing the same level of support for sending the amount of money -- over $66 billion just on the military side so far

and about to be $67 billion. another $50 billion in economic aid. there's a lot of opposition to that in this country. i think we have to be willing to challenge those who are saying somehow a permanent provision of a weapons pipeline is not going to end this war. we have to be clear of the danger. this war threatens the possibility of a nuclear escalation in a way that no war, no situation since the cuban missile crisis threatened -- amy: fellas. >> it is a threat here and for that reason, the global consequences and the regional consequences of militarization and famine and the environmental cost -- all of that, the top of that pyramid of costs is the nuclear threat. and that is why we need to end this war as rapidly as possible.

amy: and gaza, israel targeted three commanders of the islamic jihad assassinated in their homes, killing a total of 13 people, including the wives and children of the commanders. the israeli attack broke a cease fire that having reached last week after a spike and violence following the death of the palestinian prisonera adnan who had been on hunger strike for 87 days. in this last minute, can you comment on what has been happening? >> this is a horrific example once again of israel in a long history, not only since this new extraordinarily far, for extremist right-wing government has taken power, this has been the case before in the willingness to attack gaza, to attack civilians. this was an attack on of residential apartment building. it was no surprise in the middle of the night children were among the dead, that people were killed in their beds. the factory are alleged to than

commanders of the islamic jihad organization does not give israel the right to carry out this kind of extrajudicial killing come this kind of assault, this kind of murder by bombs when there is knowledge there will be civilian casualties. there is a desperate need to go back first of all to the cease fire --israel's militia was clear and unequivocal. this was a violation of international law, international human rights law and international humanitarian law. as the occupying power, israel has the obligation to protect his billion population. that is across-the-board. it does not matter what forces are negotiated with it, whether there are negotiations underway or not. that is israel's obligation as the occupying power. instead, we are seeing the expansion of and a part-time regime, as one which is prepared to use violence at extraordinary

levels without a moments hesitation. complete violation and it should -- u.s. should stop its military support as a result. amy: amy: phyllis bennis, thank you for being with us, author and fellow at the institute for policy studies. next up, sudan wasn't fighting between the rival military factions enters its 25th day. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we turn now to sudan where fighting continues to rage in khartoum funding continues for 25th days. represented for the national military and the paramilitary rapid support forces have been holding talks in saudi arabia. at least 700 people having killed, over 100,000 people have fled sudan since fighting broke

out. this is a khartoum resident that spoke to reporters from the border town. >> i need to take my insulin. today is that there day i did not take insulin. i've no money to buy insulin. i left all my money and job in khartoum. i came here. i don't own anything here. there was nothing there that made me stay or wait. as soon as the attacks happened, i left everything behind. amy: this is another khartoum resident who fled the city. >> we would wake up every morning to the sounds of bullets and missiles. we would walk by corpses in the streets. streets were closed, hospitals were close. everything was closed. there were electricity and water cuts. amy: we're joined now by two guests. khalid mustafa medani is an associate professor of political science and islamic studies, and chair of the african studies program at mcgill university.

he is from sudan. and joining us from khartoum is sudanese activist marine alneel. we hope to go to marie in khartoum first, but we are trouble with her line. there's so much trouble with power and electricity in this war-torn nation right now. professor, let's begin with you. talk about what is happening right now. you have negotiations going on in saudi arabia yet the forces on the ground, 100,000 people have fled the country, 700 are dead at least? >> absolutely. first of all, thank you for having me on your show. the crisis is incredibly severe and has increased over the course of the last four weeks or so. not only about food insecurity the moment, but famine potentially in the capital khartoum.

in the addition to the absence of electricity and clean drinking water come the lack of access to food, there is an unbelievable amount of looting, of stores, people's homes, the looting of food factories. the city is particularly destroyed. that is one of the biggest aspects of the humanitarian crisis which is really a big problem. in addition to that, those volunteers, and youth activist we will talk about in a little bit, are being threatened by both the paramilitary forces and the national army. those young people and networks, they're trying to volunteer to provide medicine and food and supplies utilizing social media and charitable works so to speak are the very people who are being detained and intimidated and threatened. the sudanese doctors union, which is doing all they can to provide medicine and health care

and services in the context of 70% of the hospitals in khartoum that have been bombed have also been threatened. there's a political aspect, crisis, to about the humanitarian crisis is not only deep, it has expanded throughout the country. the main interviewed in the north is one of hundreds of thousands who are stuck at the border. it is not just about being stuck at the border but the lack of access to food, medicine. even if you have the finances, which most residents in khartoum for example do not, the prices have quadrupled over the last week's. the humanitarian crisis is problematic. the absence of the -- the refugee agencies, is stark. there are some supplies coming from the world food program by the absence and lack of presence of the united nations agency in the context of the complex humanitarian emergency is

extremely disappointing. amy: professor, let me go to marine alneel. we just got marine alneel back on and while we are able to speak with her, marine, i'm so glad we could get in touch with you. i have been worried since we last spoke to you, not able to reach you. this is been going on now the 25th day. can you describe what you are seeing on the ground and the level of threat to civilians? if you see any possibility of these warring commanders stopping the fighting? >> the humanitarian situation in khartoum has only gotten worse since we last spoke. we're still suffering from shortages in food supply, power, we have some areas of khartoum that have had no electricity for over a week now. water cuts. it is still very difficult and not safe to move around, which means many people are not able to go to hospitals or other centers that are providing

medical care. as has been said, 70% of medical services are down currently. although the numbers are reporting over 100,000 have fled to neighboring countries and 300,000 have been intended to stay, we have to remember these are numbers that are only small percentages and many have remained -- only those who can afford which is a small percentage of people have left khartoum. the people who are here have not been able to leave for financial reasons or other reasons. they are the people who have less access to even the internet or access to journalists or being able to get the story out there, basically. this is turning khartoum into another war, similar to the ones raised by the sudanese government on its people before. it is becoming another ignorable

war. when you have all of the middle-class and upper-middle-class and foreigners have left khartoum, this is what the khartoum residents are now facing, this fear we're not -- we're going to be forgotten in the situation. amy: how do you think people can be most helped by other african nations? talk about what is happening on the borders and also by the entire international community. talk about the warring commanders, what they are demanding and where the civilians fit into this picture. >> both parties do not seem to be genuine about their efforts to negotiate. one has sent to the media outlets, a peaceful solution is the only way to end the crisis and has said in a statement by

the sudanese armed forces that they are not willing to consider any temporary cease-fire, which implies there looking for a victory for the sudanese armed forces. i feel like both parties are not serious about their interest in facing a temporary cease-fire or maybe even safe passages so that the livelihoods and the well-being of the people who are in these complex areas can be taking care of while the conflict continues. it does not seem to be a priority for both parties. i think the main effort that can be helpful to the residents of sudan right now is to support the civilian effort that having providing aid for people in khartoum and other affected areas. only poplar efforts that have made an impact on the ground. not ngo's, national or

international, have not been able to reach victims for the lack of safety. people -- provide ambulances and makeift hospitals and even getting food supplies and life-saving medication from one place to another. during these trips, for example, only a few days ago, members of a group that were running an ambulance were arrested by the sudanese armed forces. we are having to face risks just to be able to provide basic -- amy: let me ask khalid mustafa medani, the question of whether this is becoming a kind of proxy war? you have the reports the wagner group has been providing missiles and "the washington post coastal reporting merhdi

has close ties with russia, supports his gold-mining interest while others are backed by egypt? professor? >> absolutely. i think quite frankly the reason the united states and saudi arabia, one of the main reasons there holding what they call pre-negotiation talks is number one to feel at the two generals on the executive order that president biden implement it in terms of the threat of sanctions or sanctioning these generals. but another had to do as you stated -- as he stated himself, the spillover effect and the fact actors are going to use different domestic groups, in particular these two generals. widely acknowledge the wagner group has an interest in gold. russia has long had an interest in finding or establishing a

base in the port of sudan. united narrative -- united arab emirates has historically been supportive financially and -- import aspects of why these negotiations are taking place. note russian that there's a great possibility of greater interference. the recognition that they will intervene and complicate the situation and having a spillover effect throughout the region, which i think is extremely important. i do think, if you don't mind me saying, there is a central problem with the negotiations. number one, it is supposed to provide for humanitarian corridors after cease-fire but civil society and those that are doing the humanitarian work are completely excluded from these negotiations. the danger here is to return to

the previous history where you basically have a compromise between two generals that basically reestablishes very kind of tenuous balance of power they had in the past. and importantly, the repeated mistake, i cannot emphasize this enough, of these negotiations to exclude civil society actors including environmental and as asians and the trade you -- organizations and the trade unions, the very people who would be able to secure the implementation not only of a cease-fire in terms of delivery but also to make potential negotiation doable in the future. my opinion is betting on committee and behind with respect to the international actors the sources of stability is incorrect. they're proven they are not able to administer this country. the only solution -- many

analyst have insisted upon in the case of sudan, the only path toward stability is the establishment of civilian democracy. that is not on the table. saudi arabia and the united states have yet to put that on the table, including and also adding more stakeholders, more violence into these negotiations. once again, the same mistakes are being replayed and this is what i think we need to emphasize at this moment. amy: khalid mustafa medani is an associate professor of political science and islamic studies, and chair of the african studies program at mcgill university. congratulations on getting your mother out to safety. marine alneel, the very best to you, sudanese activist she remains in khartoum as 70 others do. we thank you for having with us. protest continue after the death of jordan neely, longtime subway performer who had become unhoused and was choked to death

by former marine and a subway car last week. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: lorenzo laroc performing in new york. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. 11 people were arrested at a protest monday nine to manning justice for jordan neely, 30-year-old unhoused black man who was choked to death on a subway car last week by another passenger. jordan neely was crying out that he was hungry and thirsty when he was fatally attacked on the train by 24-year-old former marine named daniel penny. penny was interviewed by police detectives but was released. he has not been arrested. monday nights protest follows a similar demonstration saturday when police arrested 13 people at a protest where they went on to the subway tracks and demanded penny face charges. this is an independent

journalist who was in the subway car and filmed the fatal chokehold. he is speaking to nbc news. >> a man got on the subway car and began to say a somewhat aggressive speech saying he was hungry, thirsty, and he did not care about anything. he did not care about going to jump us to he did not care that he gets a big life sentence and doesn't matter if he dies. if there was fear, the people who were bluish, who were there, moved from the place. i stayed sitting in my place because i was a little further away. honestly, those moments, well, when fears he may be armed. amy: the law firm representing daniel penny released a statement friday -- "mr. neely had a documented history of violent and erratic behavior, the apparent result of ongoing and untreated mental illness. when mr. neely began aggressively threatening daniel penny and the other passengers,

daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived. daniel never intended to harm mr. neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death." representatives for jordan neely's family responded monday calling the statement "not an apology nor an expression of regret, it is a character assassination." "the truth is, he knew nothing about jordan's history when he intentionally wrapped his arms around jordan's neck and squeezed and kept squeezing. he never attempted to help him at all. in short, his actions on the train and now his words show why he needs to be in prison." the killing of jordan neely comes as new york is facing a growing population of unhoused people who lack support they need with many facing mental health crises. officials say jordan neely have been arrested more than 40 times, including for multiple assaults, was on a list of unhoused people identified as aid workers as having dire

needs. for he fell on hard times, jordan was well known to new yorkers and tourists as a talented michael jackson impersonator who made a living in times square and on new york subway's. for more we're joined by two guests. jawanza williams is the director of organizing at vocal-new york. lorenzo laroc knew jordan neely for 20 years when they were both buskers in the new york city subway system. this is him playing his custom made five-string plexiglass electric violin/viola. ♪ amy: we welcome you both to democracy now! lorenzo, that was you playing the violin. you knew jordan for 20 years as a fellow busker. talk about him, as many new yorkers and tourists knew him for years, this michael jackson

impersonator, member of the community of artists that we so often see in subways. >> i worked with jordan over a period -- i played down in the subways for 30 years. i have worked with jordan for about 20. what we did was he would do the noon to 3:00 shift, i would get around 2:00 for my 3:00 to 6:00 shift. i spent years watching this man who was definitely a professional artist. he had a mastery of how he could work a crowd. if you could stop traffic in new york city with your talents, your doing something positive. he was the most passive, beautifully -- a gentleman. this is consistent. i had never seen him aggressive. i had never seen him have a problem with the public. what jordan did, he gave freely

to the city of new york and brought nothing but joy to this town for decades. a misconception of street performers, we are out there giving it away. it is free. if you want to donate, that is fine. we're doing our civic duty keeping the peace. we keep the peace better than cops in the sense that in the 20 years i have been out there and jordan doing his thing, there was never any problem. music calms the savage beast, it also calms down new york city commuters. jordan, god, how can i put it? not only the consummate professional, but he was -- he was michael jackson. people can't see michael in times square. he is an iconic figure. a jordan embodied that persona. amy: when you saw the video which went viral of daniel peary

choking him to death mother also to other passengers holding him down. when people tried to help, they push them away. your response? >> i was witnessing a murder. that is what i said. it was painful and crushing. here was a great artist being murdered in front of my eyes. this gentleman is just walking the streets. it is a tragedy. amy: jawanza williams, many people have been arrested demanding the arrest of penny, the ex-marine who put him in a chokehold until he died. he has not been arrested. many others have. can you respond to the video, what you understand happen and what you're calling for now? >> thank you for having me. i appreciate it. as lorenzo was saying, and thinking about the humanity of black people and what we are expressing -- experiencing

across this racist united states. what happened is a catastrophe. we should honor the demands of the neely family and have this man arrested but i want to talk about for black people to avoid the videos that create psychic farm for all of us most of these things affect our bodies. i've avoided watching the video because i don't need to see another black person lynched again in this country. i can't speak to that video specifically but i can say what has happened to jordan neely is -- reminds us it is not -- his story is not unique. 2022, over eight hundred 15 people experiencing homelessness in new york have died in public places. this is a structural phenomenon. we have to hold not just the murderer accountable, we have to hold the mayor and the governor accountable for the continued hyper conservative fearmongering politics about -- the fact they

flooded our subways with police to respond to people experiencing homelessness in the subway and yet the same police officers were nowhere to be found when it was time to protect jordan neely from the violence of a white man, former marine, strangling him to death. we need to see not a mobilization of violence but care in our subways. we have been calling for that for multiple years. i think the state needs to do what it needs to do, what it always does, and use this carceral system to bring some kind of justice to this family. i don't believe in the carceral system so i have to say we what to build a loving and caring infrastructure in our city so that means mayor adams in these negotiations these to put our billions of dollars where they need to be in support of housing, wraparound services, safe haven beds. we need to see people housed in to secure housing. there are so many things that need to happen. i think the governor just passed

a state budget that did not pass daniel's law that would have automatically created mental health teams throughout the state that they could respond to people who are actually in my job crisis. i'm not saying jordan neely was because everyone has deputize themselves to be like police in public but they also have deputized themselves as psychologists. they are not. their other commuters and they don't have the right to diagnose anybody in the subway. leave that to the professionals. those professionals are not police officers. amy: i want to thank you both for being with us and ask you to stay with us to do a post-show interview that we will post online at democracynow.org. jawanza williams is the director of organizing at vocal-new york. and lorenzo laroc who knew jordan neely for 20 years. you can go to democracynow.org for part two as well as the part two of the conversation with the

anti-death penalty activist sister helen prejean, talking about the case of richard glossip and so much more. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]

. hello, and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in new york. a jury in new york has found former u.s. president donald trump liable for sexual abuse. the members say he battered and defamed magazine writer jean carroll. they awarded her $5 million in damages. carroll accused trump of raping her in the