Democracy what brought you to buffalo. Also coming up tonight in spain a National Debate a national divide what to do with the remains and the legacy of a dictator. The protest in the valley of the fallen has drawn fountains who hit on a bit to excite his memory they chant long live spain and frank frank. Look at the market its unacceptable that it is on it in a percentage that was financed with public money. We begin the day with the good news first for the people of zimbabwe today zimbabweans went to the polls observers say this could be the first fair and free elections its the country gained independence almost forty years ago and that has much to do with what or whom is not on the bell for the first time Robert Mugabe is not
is huge. And very very. This is nefesh times would seem i hope you are going to bring a change to our country its a special day because its all face time is a new generation to choose who arent ever since we were born is now its praised our choice everyone is able to put cheese for it freely not being intimidated intimidated by is just free so look everythings going to be just free and fake so after waiting the people are finally allowed to come in here to cast their votes but before that they have to come over here to pick their Ballots Paper where they find a total of twenty three candidates. Neck on neck race is expected on the one side theres a must and i got world of the ruling zanu p. F. Although it has been the heart of the ruling elites minister and Vice President
a reason for concern for the future of zimbabwe the question is how will the Opposition React if the president will win these elections will they accept the results on the other hand how will the powerful Military React who has been interfering in politics in the past will they allow a peaceful transition of power. But i want to go now to our correspondent melanie crystal ball she is in harare the capital of zimbabwe good evening to you melanie the ballot counting we understand is underway right now how did the election itself go were voters able to cast ballots freely and in peace. Brand its been truly amazing to see how significant this day has been here in zimbabwe there was six million voters and people were out queuing to put in their vote to put the cross next to that candidate from the very early hours three hours before the Polling Stations even opened and ive been talking to the people then
it is organized the voting was that some people were waiting in line for hours and hours and some people even left and they werent able to put in their vote so that of course has been a bit upsetting for some zimbabweans we of course have to wait until later this week until there is the official statement out and then well be able to see as well how critical the observers will be how chris how high they will set the bar in order for this to be a truly free and Fair Elections weve been seeing of a lections for example in kenya they didnt really put the highest so maybe it will be different this time and we know this election so much about the future of zimbabwe if we can. Past in the past four decades with the ruler Robert Mugabe we saw today cheering him when he turned up to do some zimbabweans do they missed them. Maybe i think
meeting stiffle to say what we can say is that he has promised to change a lot hes been using big words and big statements saying that of course he will fix the countrys economy which is in a disastrous state at the moment that will be a difficult task to fix hes also been saying that hes going to take care of the infrastructure that hes going to introduce fast speed but the train hes not clearly outlining what hes going to take the money for from that so we dont know if he can actually attain the change that he is promising but if he were to win what we can say is it would be a big change for the country because it would show that there is an alternative to this and p. F. Which has been running the country for almost four decades our correspondent on the grid the ball on the story for us tonight in this in baldwin county. Melody thanks very much. And our coverage continues tonight from harare im joined by doug
a country of of an electorate of only about five million this huge potential swing. Thats the first the second is that the were reports that. A plane an airplane arrives. In the middle of the night about two days ago and and theres the suspicion is that there were a lot ballots on that on that plane as it Didnt Follow Customs Procedures so they are these Major Concerns it is it remains unclear to a lot of people where exactly that rigging might take place but we want to eliminate all of possibilities one of the ways that painting those returns from the Polling Station Results and big let me ask you if mr garner if he were sunup if they win the United States according to the u. S. State department seems unlikely to lift in even sanctions that happens on zimbabwe. That really is
a Disaster Scenario for the country right it would leave the country in almost suspended animation. Certainly it would i think you know ive advocated for for some time that. Sanctions. Need to be lifted against. You know sanctions although they are targeted sanctions against particular individuals rather than against the nation itself. They do have a detrimental effect on on the recovery of zimbabwe and so its really essential i think whats what the u. S. And the e. U. Have said is that is that they want to create theory and. I think the reality in a in a sense is that we already dont have a free and Fair Election and that everything that that has happened in the preliterate Environment Terms of the state media which has been totally biased
towards towards sunapee in terms of the way that sic has conducted the Electoral Commission has conducted themselves in an untransparent man and refusing to release Important Information people having to go to court. Simply to get the most basic things like a voters roll from from sick. And so to that degree the election is already not in compliance with the law or free and the question really is with is with the opposition is able to overcome those those hurdles open on an even Playing Field in order to win the election on the list Human Rights Lawyer joining us tonight from harare doc thank you very much we appreciate your insights tonight. Thanks very much. But tonight at the white house the u. S. President meeting with a leader from europe this one appears to be exactly what donald trump has been
waiting for italys prime minister. Now unlike the french president or the german chancellor who have already stopped by the white house mr conti well he has some important things in common with the u. S. President both men came to power in a surge of populism on both sides of the atlantic and both leaders are on the same page when it comes to migration they say that their policies and laws are broken and they have promised voters a fix wants to build a wall contes government is threatening to shut ports and borders heres part of what the us president said today early. We become friendly over the g. Seven meeting some phone calls and i agree very much what youre doing with respect to migration and illegal immigration and even illegal immigration at least taking a very firm stance on the border. A stance a few countries have taken and frankly youre doing the right thing in my opinion. A lot of other countries in europe should be doing it also. Some to take in that stance a long time ago and theyre doing a lot better so i just want to thank you just for being with us tonight. As the u. S. President their new best friend to washington our correspondent Carsten Phenomenas on the story for us tonight good evening to you. Made it clear that mr conte is his Go To European Leader but you know with the german chancellor when the french president they visited the white house earlier this year they both they receive these welcomes and they these declarations of Best Friends Forever is there any substance to saying that conte is most useful friend in europe. Or the trump is known for saying one thing today and saying the complete opposite tomorrow but i think we have to point out that indeed the political positions of mr concert and his Coalition Government are much closer to donald trump than the
positions of say. Or mccraw donald trump and many of his people including some of the new investments that have been sent to europe have repeatedly criticized what they see as too liberal migration policies in europe and the globalist multilateral instincts of the european establishment and instead they have expressed support for the new right wing movements in europe and the leaders of places like Hungary Poland the Czech Republic austria and now its a leader of course as the fourth Biggest Country in the e. U. Italy is so far the biggest prize if you like for trump if you want to drive a wedge between e. U. Countries when it comes to issues such as. Immigration trades or how to deal with russia. In person we know that the u. S. President to switch gears for
a second he has never stopped his verbal attacks on the Mainstream Media and he recently met with the publisher of the New York Times in that meeting we understand was supposed to be off the record but it didnt stay that way the u. S. President tweeting had a very good and interesting meeting at the white house with a g. Salzberg at the publisher of the New York Times and spent much time talking about the vast amounts of Fake News Being put out by the media to help fake news has morphed into the phrase enemy of the people sad well that prompted a response from mr berger he and im going to highlight a part of his statement he wrote i repeatedly stress that this is particularly true abroad with the president s rhetoric and the enemy of the people. Its being used by some regimes to justify sweeping crackdowns on journalists i warned that it was putting lives at risk that its under money democratic ideals of our nation and that its eroding one of our countrys greatest exports a commitment to free speech and free press of course you know what is your take on. What you experienced as a foreign Journalist Reporting on the us and has that rhetoric from the white house has it made your job more dangerous no i wouldnt go that far i mean there have been incidents when some of our colleagues have been booed at trump rallies for instance as part of the media group covering such events also people you know call you fake news even though they dont really know what kind of media youre working for but we have never been physically threatened of course you never know that person with a gun could of course do terrible things but again there hasnt been a string of attacks on journalists or Media Offices so far at least i think the bigger problem the bigger threat is really what this does to Media Freedom to
democracy worldwide and to americas standing as a supporter of Freedom In The World because any dictator autocrats can say when hes moving against his own media zone journalists critical journalists can always say well you know i have the same problem as the us president i have those fake news my journalists also enemies of the people and so i have to do something about this and this is really on the on the front because what he does is he does what he things suits him and his personal interests and he doesnt care about what this does for Media Freedom or democracy here or elsewhere and what a correspondent in washington her phenomenalist word for is tonight kirsten thank you. Well from creating a political future to remembering a political past it has been four decades since the spanish dictator francisco
franco died now his remains are kept in a Giant Muscle Liam North of madrid which is known as the valley of the fall but the former fascist leader is not the only one buried there it also serves as the tomb of nearly Thirty Four Thousand people fighters who died in the one Nine Hundred Thirty s. On both sides of the Spanish Civil War when el spains new Socialist Government wants to exuma general francos body out of respect to those who died fighting against his dictatorship all reporter Norman Street will travel to the site near madrid to meet spaniards who are in favor and who are against francos in turn he said is this report. Thousands of come to the valley of the fallen to protest the new governments decision day here to honor the dictators memory they chant long live spain and Franco Franco was somewhere carrying the flag of spain under franco
and giving fascist salutes others the more restrained they fear the Digging Up Franco might reopen old wounds it had over the summer would the new government is bringing on grass to our society instead of solving real problems the problems facing people who are out of work or retired just stirring up the dust or whatever that. You. Were in the twenty First Century and all of these things should be forgotten. Just as dr Sylvia Navarro cannot forget for her a visit to the family of the fallen reawakens painful memories the remains of more than Thirty ThousandPeople Killed in the Spanish Civil War buried here in Mass Graves One of them as your great uncle. But i mean really dark in. This whenever i come here i cant sleep the night before. Growth there as i find it very upsetting. Navarros uncle lies in an unmarked grave
while franco is buried in a prominent term inside the Monuments Church but Spain Socialist Party in the moving franco is important for our democratic culture. But for me it would also be important to remove our relatives from here. That after all the history and the origin of this monument is anything but democratic. Then look at the. Dont touch the valley this is the t. Shirt people are good ted as once franco and the others to remain at whats known as the valley of the fallen and a valid franco supporter shes all denies in protests against his ex imation. Now the eye or moment of when the no one has ever built such an enormous monument that also almost the enemy has for me the dead opponents of the london where would you ever find more reconciliation than that. If. The social
anthropologist Francisco Found is served on a commission that explored ways for spain to confront its painful past he backs the plan to move francos remains but i mean this is one of the most important monuments of totalitarian architecture in europe thats exactly how it should be presented its essential to Spanish Society law and will strengthen our democracy going to the market its unacceptable that a dictator is on it in a purcell ok that was financed with public money. And the relatives of the victims like Sylvia Navarro francos removal cant come soon enough only this can give spain a fresh start she says and she believes spain will only find peace when families can reclaim their loved ones remains. Well the day is nearly done but as always the conversation continues online youll find us on twitter either as news or you can write directly to me at golf t. V. And dont forget to use our hash tag the day every member no matter what happens between now and then tomorrow is another day well see that everybody. Camps and living on thanks to a Football Project too little get a few hours of respite at beirut park. Beirut card sitting refuge in football. Because it is sixty minutes and phone d. W. They make a commitment. They find solutions. They conspire. Africa on the move. Stories of both people making a difference shaping their nation. And their continent africa on the move stories about motivational change makers taking their destinies into their own hands. D w multimedia series food for god. D w dot