Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20140123 : vimarsana.com

KQED PBS NewsHour January 23, 2014

Theres a saying around here you stand behind what you say. Around here, we dont make excuses, we make commitments. And when you cant live up to them, you own up and make it right. Some people think the kind of accountability that thrives on so many streets in this country has gone missing in the places where its needed most. But i know youll still find it, when you know where to look. Supported by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation. Committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. And. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff much of the northeast endured a new cold wave today, on the heels of a winter storm that dumped more than a foot of snow in some places. The aftermath left states from kentucky to maine in cleanup mode. Schools were closed in a number of major cities; airlines canceled another 1,400 flights, on top of 3,000 yesterday and millions of people faced a mess on the roads, trying to get to work. Its been pretty rough out here. The roads are real bad. Its been stacking up and weve got a couple of inches of snow that theyve still got to get out of here. So it hasnt been fun. Woodruff and in the Nations Capital today, thousands of antiabortion activists braved the bitter cold for the annual march for life. They rallied against roe versus wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in 1973. It was rough sledding today at the opening of the syrian peace talks in switzerland. For the first time, the Syrian Government and members of the opposition sat at the same table, along with dozens of diplomats from other countries. But after a day of fierce exchanges, the u. N. Secretary general summed up, saying, no one underestimated the difficulties. We get a full report, right after the news summary. In ukraine, the standoff between protesters and police turned bloody overnight. The clashes in kiev claimed two lives, but crisis talks later produced no resolution. Matt frei, of independent television news, is in kiev. This is the sound of i country divided, bitterly and today tragically. Every one is making a noise. No one is listening. The wolf of kiev is ready for battle. This is not a front line of this crisis, the mood is extremely tense. Just about an hour ago two protectors were killed by the police using rubber bullets, here both sides are ready for a fight. First barrage of rocks from the demonstrators. The answer, a barrage of stun grenades from the riot police. And the guns, shotguns firing. Theyre always heard, sometimes they even kill. The riot police advance like a fall angst of legionnaires shall moving like a millipede an when they catch a demonstrator, the police finally take the entire street in front of parliament but minutes later they walk away. The demonstrators flood back. This time armed with burning tires. The battle lines go back and forth and so do the countrys leader. Stalemate on the streets, paralysis in the palace. They met with leaders this afternoon. In the middle the figure of champion boxer turned politician. But the talks are freak and the government is digging in its heels. Woodruff israel announced today it has stopped an alqaeda plot to attack the u. S. Embassy in tel aviv. The internal Security Agency shin bet said it arrested three palestinians who planned to supply explosives for bombing the embassy. It said they also planned to attack other sites. An apparent hoax has raised new concerns about security at next months Winter Olympics in sochi. A number of European Countries reported received emails and letters in russian threatening terror attacks and warning their delegations to stay home. Later, olympic officials in hungary, said the threats were not serious. The Sochi Organizing Committee actually made their official statement and officially declared after the analysis of the letter that this threat is not real, and this person actually has been sending all kinds of messages to many members of the olympic family. Woodruff officials in austria said someone in israel sent the emails, and has sent others over the last few years. China held a sixhour, criminal trial today for one of its highest profile dissidents. Xu zhiyong is accused of disrupting public order. The legal scholar started the new Citizens Movement to expose government corruption. Xu refused to speak at the trial, in an act of protest. He could get five years in prison. Chinese authorities are also investigating a major internet glitch. Hundreds of millions of chinese were rerouted yesterday to the home page of a u. S. Based company that helps users evade censorship. The company is tied to falun gong, a Spiritual Group banned in china. Theres word today of a virtual epidemic of sexual assaults in american colleges. The White House Council on women and girls reported 20 of all female students say theyve been raped. But, only a fraction ever tell police, because of the fear of stigma, among other factors. President obama called it an affront to basic decency and humanity. It is estimated that one in five women on a College Campus has been sexually assaulted during their time there. One in five. These young women worked so hard just to get into college, often their parents are doing everything they can to help them pay for it so when they finally make it there only to be assaulted, that is not just a nightmare for them and their families its an affront to everything they have worked so hard to achieve. Woodruff the president gave a new task force 90 days to recommend ways of preventing assaults and letting the public know any given schools track record. A separate white house body wants election reform including expanded early voting and a guarantee that no one waits more than 30 minutes to cast a ballot. The president ial commission on Election Administration issued a 112page report today. It was established after voters waited hours in line in november 2012. State and local governments have struggled to find the funds and overcome partisan divisions to expedite the voting process. West virginia demanded more information today from a Company Involved in a Chemical Spill this month. Environmental regulators ordered Freedom Industries to disclose everything that leaked from a storage tank, tainting the water supply for 300,000 people. The Company Initially said a chemical used to clean coal was involved. Yesterday, it reported a second, less toxic chemical leaked as well. Wall street failed to make much headway today. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 41 points to close at 16,373. The nasdaq rose 17 points to close at 4232. Still to come on the newshour. A rocky start for the syria peace talks. The drought emergency in california. A test that could help close americas skills gap. Plus, corruption charges against a former rising star in the g. O. P. Ifill today, for the First Time Since the countrys civil war began in 2011, the Syrian Government and the nations opposition groups sat in the same room. But, as chief Foreign Affairs correspondent Margaret Warner reports, the parties stuck to their battle lines. Reporter lake geneva next to the Montreux Palace Hotel was calm and serene this morning. But inside the hotel, the talks on how to bring peace to syria were anything but. When it came to syrias future and the role of the countrys president Bashar Alassad, secretary of state john kerry didnt back away from washingtons longheld position that the aim of this conference was to carry out the socalled geneva 1 communique of 2012. Bashar assad will not be part of that transition government. There is no way. No way possible in the imagination, that the man who has led the brutal response to his own people could regain the legitimacy to govern. One man and those who have supported him can no longer hold an entire nation and a region hostage. Reporter and the head of the Opposition Syrian National Council insisted all parties must accept that stance, or theres no point in talking. translated any talk of assad staying in power in any form will be a derailment of geneva 1 path, so we insist that we are not in any position to discuss anything in the negotiations before these issues are decided upon within a specific time frame. Reporter the Saudi Arabian foreign minister, whose government funnels money and arms to the rebels, was equally firm. translated it is common sense that Bashar Alassad will have no role in a Transitional Government or any of those whose hands have been stained by blood. Reporter but the rapidfire demands for assad to go were just as quickly quashed by the syrian foreign minister, walid almoualem. translated no one in the world, mr. Kerry, no one in the world, has the right to give or take legitimacy to a president or government or constitution or law or anything in syria, except for the syrians themselves. Reporter the tense atmosphere was highlighted when alone among the 40 ministers assembled al moualem went well past his allotted time, and u. N. Secretary general ban ki moon objected. Ill have to give equal time to the opposition groups. You live in new york, i live in syria. I have the right to give the the syrian version here in this forum. Yes, of course. This is my right. We have to have some constructive and harmonious dialogue. Please refrain. You spoke 25 minutes, at least i need to speak 30 minutes. Reporter outside the meeting, syrias information minister insisted the world isnt being told the truth about events in syria. translated some Foreign Ministers today who spoke are taking part in misleading the world and International Community and they are endorsing this misinformation. A big part of what was said today was either lies, or unjust accusations or lack of data and information. Reporter the Syrian Government also flatly rejected a report of Graphic Photos released yesterday alleging the systematic torture and killing of 11,000 detainees. There were renewed objections to the exclusion of iran from the peace talks from syrias ally russia. Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov echoed the Syrian Government concerns about growing threat of terrorism there. Back in syria, state Television Broadcast the peace conference live, but when opponents of the assad regime had the floor, it showed a split screen with images of death and destruction on one side. The opposition released its own video that showed continued fighting, in aleppo and outside damascus today, even as the montreaux conference opened. The actual negotiations between the Syrian Government and opposition begin on friday at the u. N. Headquarters in geneva. Ifill margaret is in montreux covering the talks. I spoke with her a short time ago. Which saw that today was a pretty recognizey first day. What will the atmospheres behind all of that. Warner definitely, gwen. The hope had been that weve got these two parties facetoface for the very first time and that would begin a dialogue. What you saw, what we saw and heard was a lot of anger, bitterness, confrontation and vitriol directed at one another and that the government and the opposition as you can see laid out their max mallist positions, with the government saying this is all about terrorism. And the opposition saying its all about changing the government and they cant include assad. Now secretary kerry said he wasnt surprised he said opening positions are opening positions but my favorite comment came from the French Foreign minister when one reporter said well, was this a conversation between the deaf and he said on one side was deaf. Ifill i imagine he thought the one side was the syrian foreign minister. Did he end up hijacking the conference that was supposed to be a genteel Diplomatic Exchange . Ness well, he certainly set the agenda. What was interesting about moualem was not some of the accusations but he really attack almost every party in the room. So he called the opposition words like that they were can balances, butchering human hearts. He said that the gulf states were promoting this illegal brand of what habism, and terrorism. He called the western powers colonial powers who a hundred years ago carved up syria. So in that sense, he forced other speakers to respond, certainly on the terrorism charge, that the real problem was terrorism. And also the state department was sending out email reputations of what moualem had to say was that it was aggressive inflammatory rhetoric wont solve the problems going on about the problems on the ground, the horrific conditions can only be changed by a change in the two sides there. So in that sense i would say he did set the agenda to some degree. Ifill so what was the goal of syria at this meeting in sending him to do these things. Was it just to say were not going anywhere . That is really the puzzling question, gwen. Ive spoken, one thing about these conferences is you actually get to speak to people, all the parties. So the syrian delegation which happens to be staying in our hotel, we have had a chance to talk to some of them. They say and some observers from damascus say that the syrians really thought that this terrorism, the specter of terrorism among the fight errs has finally brought the world together because they are so worried it will move on to europe or the u. S. And therefore that they really have expectations that the world will start to put pressure on turkey and jordan not to let theatre rests through their borders. On the gulf states, not to send money and weapons. Maybe cynics say that assad is just trying to buy more time, time for his forces to try to take back more territory from the rebels and most of all let the rebels continue fighting amongst themselves. So its really i say it is a very hard question to answer. Ifill well, meanwhile john kerry said today that, you know, we just have to deal with reality. And you wonder what is his idea, what does he mean when he says reality . Well, the context of that comment which he made a couple of different times was that the reality is under this geneva 1 communique which was 18 months ago and the Security Council signed off on it, it says that this new transition government must be done by mutual consent. And so as kerry said in that speech, that means no one can form a government if the other side objects. And he says so that means of course bash orr assad will to the get the consent of the Syrian People who he has brutallized, he said, for three years. So that is the context. And it is a message to the entire world that he better have a plan b. So. After a day like today, does the u. S. Or the u. N. , do they think that syria may have been emboldened in this process rather than weakened . I dont foe about today, gwen. There is no doubt the administration mind that assad is a considerably stronger position than just last july, i think was, when kerry and foreign minister lavrov really said lets set a dade date for this conference. And so they know he is no longer position. He also gave an interview to the press a couple of days ago where he talked about running for reelection. That the idea of taking in some exiled member of the opposition into government, power sharing was a quote good joke. So it didnt sound like a man who thinks his back is up against the wall. But it was interesting that moualem who was so inflammatory this morning, when he made comments later in the day softened his tone and his own u. N. A ambassador said, well, they were going to go to geneva now for the real facetoface talks. So you know, theres speculations that the russians were leaning on them. But i think there is a lot of back story to this very public conference that we still have yet to learn. Ifill well be waiting to hear it all from you margaret waren our chief Foreign Affairs correspondent in month roe, switzerland tonight. Thank you. Warner thank you,m. Ifill given the lack of progress in switzerland so far, can anything positive come out of talks . If not, what other path exists to end a war that has claimed the lives of more than 115,000 people . Im joined by joshua landis, director of the center for middle east studies at the university of oklahoma. And andrew tabler, a senior fellow in the program on arab politics at the Washington Institute. Andrew tabler, you heard margaret talk about the anger, the bitterness and vitriol, what do you think assad wants out of had . Its very clear. He wants to frame the war in syria, the uprising in syria as a war against terrorism and one that as margaret said the rest of the world can bandwagon behind him. But actually what assad wants to do is force a solution in syria. He does not want this kind of negotiated solution as weve seen here in month roe. Montreux. He wants to held for his reelection for a third seven area term as president. He talked about that in a recent interview leading up to todays talks which actually with the precursor to moualems comments today. Ifill what do you think about that joshua, landis, what is he is up to here. I think assad, you know, the americans want him to step aside. The Syrian Opposition want him to step aside. Hes quite strong on the grouped. Hes got a powerful military with an air force and tanks and artillery. The opposition cannot respond to that. They have taken the north of the country an

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