VOA News: USA: US Marks Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Assassination

VOA News: USA USA Voice of America

US Marks Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Assassination Apr 4th 2012, 17:57 Wednesday marks 44 years since U.S. civil rights leader Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed.   Americans are honoring the anniversary with a range of events. At the recently-completed Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, the Coalition on Political Assassinations organized a vigil Wednesday morning to call for the release of classified government records on the life and death of the slain activist. Meanwhile, the southern city of Memphis, Tennessee, where King was assassinated, was marking the day by naming a street after him. During the 1950s and 1960s, King led a campaign of non-violent demonstrations aimed at ending discrimination against African Americans. His push for equal rights won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. That same year, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, which outlawed racial segregation in public places.    King died in Memphis on the night of April 4, 1968 after being shot on a motel balcony. He was just 39 years old at the time and had been in the city to lead a march for workers' rights. More than four decades later, King's legacy is celebrated along with signs of racial progress, including the election of Barack Obama as the nation's first African-American president. King is best remembered for his 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech, which united millions of people in the United States and around the world to work for racial justice. Media files: ap_mlk_memorial_anniversary_480_15jan2012.jpg (image/jpeg, 0 MB) ap_mlk_memorial_anniversary_230_15jan2012.jpg

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VOA News: Arts and Entertainment: After Tsunami, Cherry Blossom Signals Japan's Rebirth

VOA News: Arts and Entertainment Arts and Entertainment Voice of America

After Tsunami, Cherry Blossom Signals Japan's Rebirth Apr 4th 2012, 17:21 A new film by British filmmaker Lucy Walker documents the powerful earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Japan's northeastern coast a year ago. "The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom" opens with a powerful image - a single long shot from the top of a hill as a town is swept away in a rolling wave of blackened water. Below, people react to the horror. "It can't be," shouts one. A child cries, "Grandma! Dad, where is Grandma?" Other voice screams, "Get up here quick!" Someone then moans, "They aren't going to make it." Walker films survivors in refugee centers as they sort through the rubble and reflect on their lives. "The film takes you on a journey from the very initial stages of grief and shock and tells the story of how these amazingly courageous people manage to pick themselves up and carry on," Walker says. "What is that process? What is that journey that human beings can go on from being so struck back to being able to clean up and get along and continue on into a future despite having lost so much?" Walker talks to one man who watched his best friend drown right in front of him because he had gone back to move his new car. "He speaks very passionately about how he doesn't want clothes, a house or anything. He just wants his friend back.  He says, 'I have nothing. I have nothing. I have nothing.' And then, by the end, he says, 'No. No. I'm going to revive.'  And you can tell he's digging deeply enough to get the courage and it's very inspiring actually to see how resilient human beings can be." In Japan, that resilience, that capacity for rebirth, is symbolized by the cherry blossom. The cultural icon appears everywhere, adorning holiday events, schools trips and wedding parties. The film shows cherry blossoms in bloom against a rubble-strewn landscape. "In this very brief, very beautiful season, there's a lot of spiritual feeling about it," Walker says. "There's emotional healing power of the cherry blossom, not only is it spring and renewal, although that's wonderful energy, but there's something about how quickly and beautifully they come to life." Walker sees her film as a visual haiku, a kind of Japanese poem about life, death and how to live with tragedy. "And so it is a poem about surviving and how beautiful life is," she says. "Somehow these cherry blossoms are sublimely, exquisitely, kind of uniquely beautiful and fleeting and that has a lot to teach us about life." "The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom" ends with a message of hope. Walker meets a young woman on the same hilltop from which the film's opening sequence. She is taking pictures to document the change she's seen in the year since the disaster.        "Every year that the trees bloom, they will give us courage to keep going," says the young woman. "They blossom as they watch over this town. They saw the tsunami. They see everything. I want to tell the bloom, 'Keep watching us. We'll revive.'" MORE: Interview with Lucy Walker, director of "The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom" <!--AV--> Media files: 6a tumbled house.jpg (image/jpeg, 0.2 MB) TsunamiCherry_BlossomPlatform.mp4 (video/mp4)

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VOA News: Americas: Movement to Eradicate Landmines Unveils Unique Campaign

VOA News: Americas Americas Voice of America

Movement to Eradicate Landmines Unveils Unique Campaign Apr 4th 2012, 14:19 The International Campaign to Ban Landmines is urging people all over the world to roll up their pant leg Wednesday in a show of solidarity for victims of these weapons. The fourth of April, the U.N. International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, marks the culmination of a landmine eradication campaign, which kicked off a month ago. Every year, thousands of people are killed or maimed by mines in more than 60 countries throughout the world. "I stepped on a landmine in Afghanistan in '96 when I was just 14 years old…After the explosion, I realized that I would die very soon," said Firoz Alizada. Alizada did not die.  But he woke up to the horror that his left foot had disappeared. His arms and legs were covered with blood. "It's a miracle that I survived because it took me more than seven hours to reach to the very first aid that could stop the bleeding," he said. "After almost 13 hours, I reached to a hospital where the operation took place." Alizada today is campaign manager for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, or ICBL.  The group and its founding coordinator, Jody Williams, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for efforts to bring about the Mine Ban Treaty. Much progress has been made in ridding the world of landmines and reducing casualties from these weapons since the treaty entered into force on March 1, 1999.  Eighty percent of countries have banned landmines.  Most no longer produce them, and millions of mines have been removed. Nevertheless, landmines and similar devices continue to wreak havoc on peoples' lives and livelihoods, said Alizada. "For example, there is still an average of 12 people who are maimed or killed by mines and explosive remnants of war per day or 4,000 per year, which is a lot, some of whom die on the spot, some of whom die in the hospital or cannot make it. Mines are present and still affect peoples lives in more than 60 countries," he said. The global Lend Your Leg campaign is the brainchild of the Colombian Human Rights NGO Arcageles.  The president and founder of the group, Juan Pablo Salazar, said that Colombia is one of the world's most mine-affected countries. Despite this, people do not pay much attention to the issue because it does not affect them, he said, adding the campaign was started to bring the problem home to them in a concrete way.   "Through this simple action of just rolling up your pant leg, we build conscience," Salazar said. "For me, conscience in itself is the objective.  Just by creating awareness, amazing things start to happen by themselves." To date, 158 countries have joined the Mine Ban Treaty. Major holdouts include the United States, Russia and China.  The Obama administration reviewed U.S. policy and said it will not sign the treaty, saying it would not be able to meet its national defense needs or security commitments to allies. During the past two years, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines says several governments - Burma, Israel, Libya, and probably Syria - have used landmines.  In addition, non-state groups in Afghanistan, Colombia, Burma and Pakistan have used them. ICBL director Kasia Derlicka said in November the group received numerous reports that the Syrian government was laying mines on the border with Lebanon. The information appears to be credible, Derlick said, but cannot be confirmed because of lack of access to the area. "We have been receiving media reports and information from journalists covering the events in Syria that the government is laying landmines on the border with Turkey now with the same aim as previously, to prevent people fleeing the country and to prevent smuggling of weapons into the country," she said. This appears to corroborate a recent report by Human Rights Watch, which claims Syria is placing landmines near its borders with Lebanon and Turkey along routes used by refugees to escape the violence.   Landmine survivors are calling on the international community to eradicate these weapons. They hope the Lend Your Leg for a mine-free world campaign will not end on April 4, but will continue until landmines are gone for good. Media files: Reuters_UN_Landmine_Campaign_04_01_2012_480.jpg (image/jpeg, 0.1 MB) Reuters_UN_Landmine_Campaign_Victims_03_13_2012_300.jpg

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VOA News: Africa: US Physicians Group Offers Evidence of Darfur Atrocities

VOA News: Africa Africa Voice of America

US Physicians Group Offers Evidence of Darfur Atrocities Apr 4th 2012, 14:10 A U.S.-based group of physicians on Tuesday released medical evidence of widespread torture, sexual assault and other human rights violations against civilians in Sudan's conflict-wracked Darfur region. The study was released by the group Physicians for Human Rights in the peer-reviewed Internet medical journal, PLoS Medicine. The report is based on the work of forensic medical experts who reviewed the records of more than 300 Darfuri patients who fled violence from more than 20 rural areas across Darfur. They were examined between 2004 and 2006 at a clinic in Nyala, South Darfur. Despite the passage of time and the narrowness of the study, co-author Alexander Tsai, a physician at Harvard University, says it helps define what has been happening in Darfur. "We do know that people have resisted calling what has been going on by various names, whether you want to call it war crimes or genocide or crimes against humanity," said Tsai. "One of the reasons why this semantic game has been permitted to persist is that we really have not had a whole lot of evidence." Hostilities in the region escalated with the start of a massive rebel insurgency in 2003. The report says the atrocities were committed by Sudan government forces and allied Janjaweed tribal fighters against non-Arab speaking populations. The report says atrocities range from beatings and gunshot wounds to sexual assaults. Nearly half of all of the women reported being sexually assaulted. Half of the sexual assaults were reported to have taken place in close proximity to displacement camps, where victims had sought shelter after fleeing the violence. Sudanese officials repeatedly have denied that large-scale and intentional abuses are being committed against civilian populations. They say security forces are countering attacks by rebel groups and that the number of dead and the reported abuses are exaggerated by those trying to undermine the Khartoum government. Although not in custody, Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, former humanitarian affairs minister Ahmed Mohammed Haroun and Janjaweed militia leader Ali Kushayb face war crimes charges at the International Criminal Court. Alexander Tsai of the Physicians for Human Rights says he hopes the new evidence will reduce what he calls the "wiggle room" for counter-claims and help in the pursuit of justice. "We really need hard facts to be brought to bear on this issue and to stop the violence," said Tsai. "This is the only study so far where forensic analysis has been applied to medical records. We really are hoping that this analysis will be used to bring the bad guys to account for their actions." Despite repeated attempts at peace negotiations, violence similar to what was documented in the study has been ongoing in Darfur as well as in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, where rebels and government forces are also fighting.    Media files: afp_sudan_darfur_eng_480_mar12.jpg (image/jpeg, 0 MB) afp_sudan_darfur_eng_230_mar12.jpg

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VOA News: Africa: Movement to Eradicate Landmines Unveils Unique Campaign

VOA News: Africa Africa Voice of America

Movement to Eradicate Landmines Unveils Unique Campaign Apr 4th 2012, 14:19 The International Campaign to Ban Landmines is urging people all over the world to roll up their pant leg Wednesday in a show of solidarity for victims of these weapons. The fourth of April, the U.N. International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, marks the culmination of a landmine eradication campaign, which kicked off a month ago. Every year, thousands of people are killed or maimed by mines in more than 60 countries throughout the world. "I stepped on a landmine in Afghanistan in '96 when I was just 14 years old…After the explosion, I realized that I would die very soon," said Firoz Alizada. Alizada did not die.  But he woke up to the horror that his left foot had disappeared. His arms and legs were covered with blood. "It's a miracle that I survived because it took me more than seven hours to reach to the very first aid that could stop the bleeding," he said. "After almost 13 hours, I reached to a hospital where the operation took place." Alizada today is campaign manager for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, or ICBL.  The group and its founding coordinator, Jody Williams, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for efforts to bring about the Mine Ban Treaty. Much progress has been made in ridding the world of landmines and reducing casualties from these weapons since the treaty entered into force on March 1, 1999.  Eighty percent of countries have banned landmines.  Most no longer produce them, and millions of mines have been removed. Nevertheless, landmines and similar devices continue to wreak havoc on peoples' lives and livelihoods, said Alizada. "For example, there is still an average of 12 people who are maimed or killed by mines and explosive remnants of war per day or 4,000 per year, which is a lot, some of whom die on the spot, some of whom die in the hospital or cannot make it. Mines are present and still affect peoples lives in more than 60 countries," he said. The global Lend Your Leg campaign is the brainchild of the Colombian Human Rights NGO Arcageles.  The president and founder of the group, Juan Pablo Salazar, said that Colombia is one of the world's most mine-affected countries. Despite this, people do not pay much attention to the issue because it does not affect them, he said, adding the campaign was started to bring the problem home to them in a concrete way.   "Through this simple action of just rolling up your pant leg, we build conscience," Salazar said. "For me, conscience in itself is the objective.  Just by creating awareness, amazing things start to happen by themselves." To date, 158 countries have joined the Mine Ban Treaty. Major holdouts include the United States, Russia and China.  The Obama administration reviewed U.S. policy and said it will not sign the treaty, saying it would not be able to meet its national defense needs or security commitments to allies. During the past two years, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines says several governments - Burma, Israel, Libya, and probably Syria - have used landmines.  In addition, non-state groups in Afghanistan, Colombia, Burma and Pakistan have used them. ICBL director Kasia Derlicka said in November the group received numerous reports that the Syrian government was laying mines on the border with Lebanon. The information appears to be credible, Derlick said, but cannot be confirmed because of lack of access to the area. "We have been receiving media reports and information from journalists covering the events in Syria that the government is laying landmines on the border with Turkey now with the same aim as previously, to prevent people fleeing the country and to prevent smuggling of weapons into the country," she said. This appears to corroborate a recent report by Human Rights Watch, which claims Syria is placing landmines near its borders with Lebanon and Turkey along routes used by refugees to escape the violence.   Landmine survivors are calling on the international community to eradicate these weapons. They hope the Lend Your Leg for a mine-free world campaign will not end on April 4, but will continue until landmines are gone for good. Media files: Reuters_UN_Landmine_Campaign_04_01_2012_480.jpg (image/jpeg, 0.1 MB) Reuters_UN_Landmine_Campaign_Victims_03_13_2012_300.jpg

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VOA News: Asia: North Korean Defector Sees Signs of Chinese Policy Shift

VOA News: Asia Asia Voice of America

North Korean Defector Sees Signs of Chinese Policy Shift Apr 4th 2012, 13:58 A research organization in Seoul says it is hopeful of better treatment for North Korean defectors in China following signs that the Chinese policy of forcing them to return home has eased. Kang Chul Hwan, a founding director of the North Korea Strategy Center in Seoul, spoke Wednesday about media reports that a family of five has been permitted to travel to South Korea after almost three years in a South Korean consulate in Beijing. South Korean government officials contacted by VOA confirmed the accuracy of the reports. Kung, who is himself a defector, said his group is still trying to obtain details about the Chinese action. "Some media have reported about the arrival of the North Korean defectors [in South Korea] but it is not confirmed at the private organization's level. But president Hu Jintao of China reacted positively to [South Korea's] president Lee Myung-bak's worries and requests about the repatriation of North Korean defectors," said Kang. But he noted that Chinese President Hu Jintao hinted at a policy shift during talks with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on the sidelines of last week's nuclear security summit in Seoul. Several reports speculate that China decided to let the defectors travel to the South as a way of signaling its displeasure at North Korea. Pyongyang has announced plans to launch a ballistic rocket later this month, unraveling months of carefully orchestrated diplomacy involving the United States and Beijing. The reports say the family of five, including the daughter and two grandchildren of a deceased South Korean soldier, arrived in Seoul on Sunday. It would be the first time North Koreans have been allowed to travel to the South from a diplomatic mission in China since Lee took office in Seoul five years ago. China normally insists on returning defectors to North Korea despite widespread international criticism of the policy. Human rights groups say the defectors and their families face harsh treatment and even death when they return to the North. Kang says this leads defectors to try to slip through China undetected and make their way to other Asian countries before declaring themselves. "North Korean defectors have gone directly  to [countries in] East Asia, not entering the [South Korean] embassy. Breaking this pattern can be a sign [from now on] that the Chinese government may immediately allow North Korean defectors to leave the country if they enter the South Korean embassy," said Kang. "This would be a serious blow for North Korea." He said if China now begins to permit defectors who enter the South Korean embassy in Beijing to travel to Seoul, that would be a serious blow to North Korea. Media files: Reut_NKoreanDefector_4apr12-300.jpg (image/jpeg, 0.1 MB) Reut_NKoreanDefector_4apr12-3001.jpg

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VOA News: Middle East: Elderly Turkish Coup Leaders Face Trial

VOA News: Middle East Middle East Voice of America

Elderly Turkish Coup Leaders Face Trial Apr 4th 2012, 12:53 Retired Turkish generals Kenan Evren and Thasin Sahinkaya are on trial, more than three decades after leading a coup that led to years of torture, executions and disappearances. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the courthouse in Ankara Wednesday, demanding justice and for more of the coup leaders to be brought to justice. Evren, 94 and Sahinkaya, 87, are both in poor health and did not attend.  They are charged with crimes against the state and could face life in prison if convicted. Some Turks initially saw Evren as a hero following the 1980 coup, crediting him with putting an end to fighting between left-wing and right-wing groups that had threatened to push Turkey into civil war.  But Evren and the other coup leaders soon shut down parliament, suspended the constitution and disbanded political parties. By the time Evren and Sahinkaya returned power to a civilian government three years later, about half-a-million people had been arrested, hundreds of people had been tortured and 50 people had been executed.  Hundreds of other Turks disappeared. Evren later went on to serve as prime minister and is remembered for asking, "Should we feed the terrorists instead of hanging them?" Turkey's parliament is among 350 groups and individuals who have applied to be co-plaintiffs in the trial. Both Evren and Sahinkaya had been given immunity, but that immunity was stripped last year. Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters. Media files: Reuters Turkey trial protesters 4Apr12 480.jpg (image/jpeg, 0.1 MB) Reuters Turkey trial protesters 4Apr12 230.jpg

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VOA News: Africa: Suicide Bomber Kills 6 in Somali Capital

VOA News: Africa Africa Voice of America

Suicide Bomber Kills 6 in Somali Capital Apr 4th 2012, 12:32 Officials say a suicide bombing at Somalia's national theater has killed at least six people, including the president of the country's Olympic committee and the head of its soccer federation. The blast Wednesday in the capital, Mogadishu, came during a ceremony to mark the first anniversary of a national television station. Somalia re-opened the theater last month for the first time in 20 years, despite continuing attacks by the Islamist rebel group al-Shabab. Al-Shabab once controlled most of southern and central Somalia, including most of Mogadishu, but has been pushed out of the capital by African Union and Somali government forces. The al-Qaida-linked group is also facing pressure from Ethiopian troops in central Somalia, and Kenyan troops in the south. The militant group is trying to overthrow the U.N.-backed Somali government and impose a harsh version of Islamic law on the country. Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters. Media files: ap_somalia_attack_480_eng_4apr12.jpg (image/jpeg, 0 MB) ap_somalia_attack_eng_230_4apr12.jpg

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VOA News: Africa: DRC Braces for Worsening Cholera Outbreak

VOA News: Africa Africa Voice of America

DRC Braces for Worsening Cholera Outbreak Apr 4th 2012, 13:02 The number of cholera cases this year in the Democratic Republic of Congo could far surpass the total for 2011. Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by contaminated food or water. U.N. officials are calling for an increase in prevention programs in a country where the disease has become endemic. <!--AV--> U.N. humanitarian spokesman Yvon Edoumou described the cholera situation in the DRC as bleak. "In 2011, we had about 22,000 cases of cholera throughout the country. So far, for the first three months of 2012 we have just about 8,000 cases. So we're looking at already 40 percent of the total caseload that was reported last year. At the current rate that we're going by the end of 2012 we'll be well above the caseload for last year," he said. The cholera problem is especially bad in the Eastern DRC. South Kivu is the most affected province with more than 2,200 cases. "So far the numbers are quite high. Just an example, for the whole of last year in Eastern DRC we had 150 deaths. So far for this year we have 77 deaths. I'm talking about Eastern DRC. So we're already at the 50 percent of the total number of deaths last year," he said. For all of DRC, 120 cholera deaths have been reported from January to March. Getting a step ahead is difficult Edoumou is with the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs or OCHA and is based in the capital Kinshasa. He said it's difficult to stay ahead of the outbreak. "Cholera is linked to water and sanitation and DRC is a country that for many, many years has had a very dysfunctional water and sanitation system in terms of sewage, in terms of draining, in terms of access to clean water. And it is not something that goes away just by snapping your fingers," said Edoumou. The United Nations, the Congolese government, local and international NGOs have joined forces to provide cholera education and prevention programs as well as treatment centers. The World Health Organization said the most important treatment is rehydration. It replaces water and salts lost through severe diarrhea and vomiting. Most patients can be rehydrated quickly by drinking large amounts of oral rehydration salts. However, some may need intravenous fluid. Media files: Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo.jpg De_capua_report_on_DRC_cholera_outbreak.Mp3 (audio/mpeg)

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VOA News: Asia: ASEAN Still Searching for Consensus on South China Sea Dispute

VOA News: Asia Asia Voice of America

ASEAN Still Searching for Consensus on South China Sea Dispute Apr 4th 2012, 12:29 Southeast Asian leaders say they will rush to reach a unified position on resolving competing territorial claims in the South China Sea. During the final day of a key Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders summit in Phnom Penh, negotiators struggled to reach a consensus on how to approach the disputes with China. The maritime dispute has become increasingly heated in the last year. China claims ownership of much of the South China Sea, along with four ASEAN states, including the Philippines. On Wednesday, ASEAN chair Cambodia issued a statement saying that the ten member states have agreed to "intensify efforts" on agreeing to a code of conduct, or CoC, on the dispute. The question that ASEAN leaders sought to answer this week, is whether China would be involved in those discussions before the group had reached a consensus. "It must be resolved peacefully in accordance with a rules-based regime and the new element that we've introduced is that the drafting of the CoC and the inclusion of the major elements should actually made by ASEAN internally before China is invited," stated Albert Del Rosario, the Philippines' secretary of foreign affairs. ASEAN officials said Wednesday's pledge to expedite the process is an attempt to reach that consensus as soon as possible. But the next scheduled meeting on the issue between China and ASEAN is only months away. On Wednesday, other ASEAN leaders said it was important to have a common position in any regional negotiations, but they also left the door open to China's involvement. "This is not necessarily a neat sequential process isn't it. Of course, ASEAN … first and foremost, must have a solid consolidated position," said Marty Natalegawa, Indonesia's foreign affairs minister and a former ASEAN chairman. "But at the same time as we proceed, there will be constant communication through the ASEAN-China framework, so that whatever final position ASEAN comes up with will have benefited from having some kind of communication with China," he said. It has been 10 years since ASEAN members first agreed in principle to reach a consensus on the South China Sea. Yet member nations still have failed in seeking a common approach to govern negotiations with China. The issue has become increasingly heated in the last year, particularly with maritime confrontations between China and the Philippines. Although they failed again to reach a consensus, Natalegawa says this week discussions were a positive step. "The big picture is one that must not be lost … now we have a situation where all are basically rushing to get the CoC off the ground. Which was not the case before. Now we have China wanting to come in and ASEAN wanting to finalize the CoC as soon as possible," said Natalegawa. "This is all good dynamics." The next ASEAN leaders' summit is scheduled for November, also in Cambodia. Media files: AP_Albert_Del_Rosario_4apr12-resizedpx480q100dpi96shp8.jpg (image/jpeg, 0.2 MB) AP_Albert_Del_Rosario_4apr12-300.jpg

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