Transcripts For BBCAMERICA BBC World News 20140304

Anticonstitutional coup. In other news, the pistorius trial resumes day two of the crossexamination of a key witness. Reporter live from pretoria bringing you all the developments from inside the high court where the second witness has just begun giving evidence. Hello. A tense military standoff continues in crimea as the west tries to work out how best to respond to the Russian Military takeover. Now to ben brown in sevastopol. Reporter hello and to bbc world news for me ben brown in crimea where the tension has just ratcheted up another notch because warning shots have been fired by Russian Troops at ukrainian soldiers the a military air base up the road here 15 kilometers from where im standing. Well bring you pictures in just a moment. In the last few minutes we have heard from the russian president Vladimir Putin who is talking about the crisis. He said Viktor Yanukovych is still legitimate president in his view, although he recognizes the parliament in kiev. He said theres no need to send troops to ukraine. He said use of force was the last option. Thats the latest from president putin. Lets bring you up to where we are in this crisis. Ukraines envoy says russian has deployed 16,000 troops here in crimea. Russian said its troops went in on a written request from the ousted president mr. Yanukovych u. S. Secretary of state john kerry is due in kiev later today. They will start consultations on how to shore up ukrainian economy. Lets just show you the pictures from the military air base a few hours ago. There was this shooting incident. What happened was the ukrainian soldiers, unarmed ukrainian soldiers singing the Ukrainian National anthem, carrying the ukrainian flag marched towards where the russian soldiers were. These are Russian Troops who had taken over the military base. The ukrainians had been housed in a section of the base. They never actually left. But they wanted to take over or regain control of the area, the Operational Area where the russians were in control. There was some 300 ukrainians were hearing who marched with that flag and singing those songs. But they were confronted by a dozen russian soldiers who then did fire several volleys of shots in the air and threatened if they came any closer to the ukrainians they would shoot them in the legs. This is exactly the sort of incident that the world has been fearing that it is so tense here. Its like a tinder box. It could take potentially only a spark to ignite a fully fledged confrontation. Our moscow correspondent has been at the airfield witnesses what has gone on there. He has been talking to us about what he saw. Im standing right between the russian front line and the ukrainians who came up the road. The russians are sitting in the personnel carriers, machines guns on top. There are about 30 russians with machine guns pointing directly at the ukrainian soldiers. Some of them standing more at ease. The ukrainians walked up the hill to their normal place of work because they were under orders to try to get to their offices this morning. They are members of the 62nd fighter regimen. This air base is their normal place of work. So they were under orders to come up here. They were carrying the ukrainian flag. After that third warning shot was fired, after that third warning shot was fired, they decided it was getting too risky. When the russians said they would shoot at their legs if they came any closer, they were 20 or 30 meters only from the russian personnel carrier. Im so sorry. We have just lost ben brown, my colleagues in crimea in sevastopol. But i just want to take you over to president putin who is still speaking in moscow. And he has also been saying that anyone considering sanctions against russia should think of the damage they will incur themselves and that the selfdefense forces in crimea, hes also been saying in the last couple of minutes, that russia too no part in training them. He said we are not considering annexing crimea. The latest line from this conference saying we are not considering annexing crimea. He has said that he believes that what happened in ukraine was unlawful, unconstitutional and a coup and not legitimate and that the only legitimate leader is the ousted president Viktor Yanukovych. He said he is hoping to avoid any force in eastern ukraine. President putin has gone on to say russia will not provoke separatists moves in crimea. But he says russia does reserve the right to protect any russians who are under threat within ukraine. So not entirely clear how this is actually going to manifest on the ground. As you can see, a number of journalists with president putin in moscow. Im afraid we have no translation, so we cant bring you this directly. But there are a number of lines coming out. Ill give you more that we are getting from moscow. Local forces of selfdefense and not russian soldiers. You might remember there was some controversy about who the groups were we saw in the last couple of days. President putin saying that he wants to avoid force in the east, but there has been an unconstitutional coup and saying ukraines ousted leader Viktor Yanukovych is still the countrys legitimate leader. And he is also warning that anyone who threatens sanctions against russia. As we have seen the americans and europeans threatening sanctions and imposing some stoppages to some talks already. Hes learning they should look out for that damage they will incur. President putin has said any snipers who shot demonstrators in kiev have been provacateurs. It refers back to the demonstrations we have seen of course in the last few weeks. President putin trying to clear the name of the former leader of ukraine mr. Yanukovych. So this press conference going on in moscow with president putin trying to explain the russian view. This is the first time that weve seen the russian leader putting the russian viewpoint. And he is speaking quite some length there to journalists who seem to be asking him quite a range of questions. And president putin saying russia will not provoke separatists moves in crimea. Thats a very critical line. Russia will not provoke separatist moves in crimea now. What exactly that means, lets find out a little bit more because i have a guest from the Russian Service with me. Many thanks for being with us. Very frustrating not to be able to hear this through translation. We will try and get some. Can you just sum up what we have heard in the last few moments. I think the the key things mr. Putin has said have been of most concern to those in ukraine and around the world. He said very, very clearly, and im quoting, as regards to the introduction of troops and the use of troops so far, there is no need for that. That would be a last resort. He also said quite clearly he thinks the tensions in crimea, in his view, have been defused. Many may well stprae with that. There but that is his view. He maude a few other points, namely, saying that russia regards mr. Yanukovych as the legitimate president of ukraine. He said what happened in kiev was an unconstitutional coup, taken over in an unconstitutional manner. And he did say, and this is a new line, that the Ukrainian Parliament in his view had legitimacy. This is important. You may argue that what follows from that the new government should have some legitimacy. Another line has dropped again saying the sanctions are counter product and i have harmful and accusing the west of supporting this anticonstitutional coup, helping to train armed protesters. The thing is where does this lead us to . President putin says hes not going to provoke separatist action in crimea. Obviously that leaves some space, doesnt it . It does. That will be curious to say what mr. Putin said in moscow and has been saying in moscow and what happens on the ground. I think hes trying really hard to put forward the position of con sillation as regards to the situation in crimea. There are still russian soldiers there patrolling and blocking all those military installations. We are watching live that mr. Yanukovych has no political and i have told this to him. He would have been killed had we not helped him out of humanitarian situation. He told him he has no political future. So what does russia want now . That agreement calls, among other things, a creation for a coalition government, for a president ial election to be december. So i think what russia is trying to say i suppose is around a more inclusive government in moscows view. And i think mr. Putin recognizes that realistically, mr. Yanukovych has little chance of gathering. Hes just been asked about what he will withdraw. The Russian Ambassador from washington saying this would be a last resort and he wouldnt like to see this happen. Its an indication of the fact that obviously he wants to keep diplomacy going. And it looks as though he is stepping back from things. It does look that way. What may have played a role, although that will be clear is all the pressure that he has been put under by the represent. If you look at what happened in the g8 they said they would not continue negotiations about the summit in sochi. It may seem a diplomatic move. But i think to a lot of people in russia, this will be important. They want to be seen as an important player on the world stage. And being treated this way by the west is something that a lot of russians will be happy to accept. President putin has says they reserve the right to use all means to protect russians in ukraine. John kerry, u. S. Secretary of state, is on his way to kiev. He is arriving any minute. Things are still very tense. What does that mean . Given there are tens of thousands of Russian Troops who have been taking part in exercises, those exercises have been pulled back. But still a lot of Russian Troops in the region. I think there are two separate things there. Firstly, on the exercises, this was an exercise which was supposed to end on monday night anyway. And our understanding is that the exertion had been planned in advance. In terms of the Russian Troops there, well, yes. Mr. Putin still has a possibility of using them. He has the legal permission as it were from the russian parliament. And i think thats a very, very big stake he is holding there over the ukrainian authorities. He is trying to put more pressure on them. He wants the current government to step down and appoint a National Unity government that would include, you know, the current regime, which was the opposition, and the prorussian side . Well, that is a very good question. The russians are talking all the time about a National Unity tpoft about their coalition government. What they are not saying is what should happen to the current government. Well, you obviously cant have two administrations. Has there been any indication at all that literally the next political steps. Because what we are reading here and seeing come out of the press conference hasnt come out. I dont think thats clear. We will find out soon enough. They are still saying the government consider it to be legitimate. We are watching pictures of president putin in moscow for the first time speaking at quite some length to journalists about ukraine and what has happened. He said there was no need at the moment to use force in the crimea region in the south of ukraine. But he said russia reserves the right to do so as a last resort and to protect any russians as a last resort. President putin says theres been an unconstitutional coup in ukraine. And he has said two apparently opposing things that yanukovych was the legitimate leader. But he also says he has no political future and he would have been killed in ukraine. Russia only helped to save his life. I think whats important is its been popular to be seen to be taken to the letter of the law. Mr. Yanukovych remains the legitimate president. And whether or not he hosni political future is to many people, moscow included, probably mr. Putin himself, a very separate question. If people are not wondering why we are bringing this live in translation, we are struggling with translation at the moment. As soon as we can get that to you, we will. We are just bringing you the line being monitored out of this News Conference by Vladimir Putin. When he says russia has no intention to fight the ukrainian people, he is not concerned. They will not fight with the ukrainian people. That obviously would be a very politically difficult thing in russia anyway, wouldnt it . Welsh i think partly. Russia is split in this regard, as well as many other regards. A lot of people do not think russia should go to war in ukraine and they should pull back from the crimea. If you go to moscow, st. Petersburg and talk to people in smaller towns, villages then the tone youll hear may well be different and a lot harsher. I want to read you something that is coming to us. President putin has now been asked whether he is concerned they may begin a war the between russia and ukraine. He replied, no, im not concerned because we have no intention to and we will not fight with the ukrainian people. If we take this decision it will be only done for the protection of the ukrainian citizens. So he is saying let any Ukrainian Service shoot their own people. We will be standing behind those people, not in front of them. So he is basically very aware of the potential confrontation. We saw pictures earlier of how easy it is of these tensions on the ground to ratchet it up. Yes, quite. Thats been the fear throughout all these days. All it takes is one bullet. Just one stray shot. With so many troops there this sadly can happen very, very easily. We have heard on the whole question of gas and sanctions saying beware to the west who are thinking of sanctions there. Look what damage you will incur because russia is a huge economically powerful country. And already president putin has now said if ukraine fails to pay in full in february for their gas supplies they will owe russia almost 2 billion. So the gas supplies to europe very much come through ukraine. This is a key concern for everyone in the region. Thats right. But also for a lot of people in europe. And i think the whole issue we have seen it becoming sort of tense and at the International Stage on and off for quite a few years now. It is still one of the nonmilitary weapons which russia can use against ukraine. Theres been a lot on that. The discount it seems will disappear and ukraine will have to pay full market price. Big question mark about whether ukraine can afford this. All president putin said in terms of the russian market some stabilization today, he said that that was a tactical and temporary decision by investors. Well, that is putin. Having said that, the russian markets and economy as a whole lost on monday more than the olympics cost russia. Yes, they have come back. I think this morning it is up 3 , 4 . It is one of the russian economies saying its not all about ukraine. T many of them sitting in russia questioning president putin. You might think this doesnt matter in the skim of whats happening here because its diplomatic. It gives an indication as to the thinking of president putin. He said all threats against russia are harmful but he added russia was ready to post the g8. Hes keeping the door open on that. Ye, he is. Its very important for him and the theme on the International Stage. Russia wants to be respected and russia wants to be reckoned with on the International Stage. The key thing is, the armed grouped who seize powers not russian soldiers and that they are not considering annexing crimea. Well, which then begs the questions around all those we have seen the last few days of russia. All the military trucks and of people dressed in what looks to be the most modern russian uniform there is. He said russia will not recognize the upcoming president ial election in ukraine if the current terror continues. Again, thats another line thats just come out of this News Conference that were watching with president putin saying that elections under the Current Conditions of terror russia would not recognize the results. Again, thats more or less taken to what they said previously. In russias view, the election should have an exit point before december. That is word for word the agreement in this is the first time we are seeing president putin speaking publicly since Viktor Yanukovych fled kiev. He said it is not legitimate. He has not spelled out, as far as i can see, what exactly he wants next. Well, i dont think he has. I think whats important here is to remember that the sort of bulk of what he said was around the use of force and the use of troops. And at least that danger from what he has been saying for now seems to have been diminished. Will people take him at his word . That is a very good question. As you and i discussed a few minutes ago, it is very easy to imagine a scenario where a stray bullet, stray shot ignites tensions and a red line is crossed. There are so many boots on the ground. And if the crimea question emotionally for russians is how important . Can you just sum it up for me. A lot of people will say crimea was part of russia and should be part of russia. In ukraine has always been seen as people in the kremlin would say an area of privileged interest of russia. So, yes, this is perhaps one of the things that are of interest to the russians in it. Many thanks indeed for explaining all these new lines that we have had coming in. Just to repeat to you, president putin has said they will not be recognizing the government in ukraine but also are not looking to force any violence in the ukraine or crimea oren courage a separatist split. This is bbc world news. Were back very soon. Do stay with us if you can. So youre telling me your mom has a mom cave . Hi boys ive made you campbells chunky new england clam chowder. Wow this is incredible i know. And now it has more clams [ male announcer ] campbells chunky soup. What . [ male announcer ] it fills you up right. The new vanilla macchiato from starbucks. Crafted by hand and heart. Activia tummies, happy people when you feel good inside. You live life with a smile. But when you feel bloated, with discomfort, gas, not to mention the rumbling. You feel totally knocked out. Eat activia. Twice a day for four weeks. It could help you get back to feeling like yourself again. Activia may reduce the frequency of minor digestive issues like bloating, gas, discomfort and rumbling. And when your tummy is smiling, it shows. Activia, feeling good starts from the inside. Dannon. Russian president Vladimir Putin says he considers Viktor Yanukovych to be ukraines president but said we are not annexing crimea. Warning shots as unarmed ukrainian troops marched towards the base. In other news, a key witness of the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius has been left in tears following rigorous questioning. Hello and welcome. In the last hour, president putin has been defending the presence of Russian Troops on ukrainian soil. In his first statement since the crisis erupted, he said that moscow was responding to an appeal from the legitimate ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych to restore order. The military standoff continues in crimea. Thousands of troops are surrounding Ukrainian Military bases on the peninsula. Russian troops fired shots toward unarmed ukrainian troops in sevastopol. Ben . Reporter thank you very much indeed. The tension here, the standoff between russian and ukrainian troops extremely tense. And that tension has ratcheted up another notch. Russian troops about 15 kilometers from where i am, they fired warning shots over the air at some ukrainian troops who were trying to take control back of the air base. Well show you those pictures in a little while. But lets just tell you about what russias president Vladimir Putin has been saying. Hes been given his first News Conference since the crisis in ukraine exploded with Viktor Yanukovych. He has been describing it as leading to anarchy. He said russia reserves the rights to use all options if there is lawlessness. The ousted deposed president of ukraine is still the legitimate president of ukraine, although mr. Putin said he doesnt think mr. Yanukovych hosni political future. He said russia had given him shelter to save his life. And he also said that he believes that tension here in crimea is now easing. Translator the tense situation in crimea which may have led to the use of force, the tensions have gone. The only thing we have done is increase security at our own military installations because they have been coming under threat. Reporter now lets go to Richard Galpin who has been listening. Richard, what do you make of it . What is the significance of what he had to say in terms of the standoff here that continues . Ben, the the most significant thing to me, but one which stood out is when he said that russia, if it does decide to use its armed forces more widely in ukraine, it would be legitimate because he claims russia has received a letter from Viktor Yanukovych, the ousted ukrainian president in which he asks russia to send troops to his country to prevent civil war apparently. We were down in the south of russia at the end of last week for a News Conference with mr. Yanukovych after he suddenly popped up in russia, after having been in hiding for several days. Of course Everyone Wants to know for him will you ask for military intervention from the russians . And he flatly denied it. He said, no, i do not want to see a military invasion of my country. Suddenly something has changed. You know, i know there are question marks that have to be question marks about that. Mr. Putin also saying that the use of force in the east of ow crain would be very much a last resort. Is that significant . Do you think hes trying to scale down the tension a little bit by saying that . Yes. I think i do. It does seem like that. The fact that he said it very explicitly as you say, that it would really only be as a last resort. He also said, as we would expect, i suppose, to protect the russian speak people. He described it as a humanitarian mission in the way in which he is putting it. Very much so. He was not saying this is something imminent. It would really only be a last resort. Richard, thank you very much indeed. Richard galpin in moscow. I was telling you about that tense standoff just up the road from here. Lets show you pictures of what happened there. 300 ukrainian soldiers unarmed, i have to say ukrainian soldiers, they have been ousted from the air base. They marched in to try to retake control of it really. There were some russian soldiers who were in control. And they, when they saw the ukrainians coming towards them, ukrainians singing the national anthem, waving the ukrainian flag, the russians then looked pretty nervous and they fired warning shots over the heads of those ukrainian soldiers. So we have talked a lot during this crisis about the possibility, the danger that a single incident could just get out of control and turn this crisis into a major confrontation. So this was the sort of incident that could have gotten out of hand. In the event it didnt because the warning shots were fired. There were then some negotiations apparently between the russian commander and the ukrainian commander. But at one stage they warned if they kept on marching, the russian soldiers would shoot at their legs. A very, very difficult situation at the air base. And our correspondent Daniel Sanford is there for us. Reporter im standing right between the russian front line and the ukrainians who came up the road. The russians are sitting in their armored personnel carrier with machine guns on top. Theres about 30 russian men with guns, some of them machine guns pointing directly at the ukrainian soldiers. Some of them standing more at ease. The ukrainians, who have walked up the hill to their normal place of work, came up here because they were under orders from kiev to try to get to their offices this morning. They are members of what was the 62nd fighter regimen. Now the ukrainian 62nd regimen. This air base is their normal place of work. They, without putting their lives in danger, tried to get to their place of work. But three warning shots were fired. They decided it was getting too risky. The russians said they would shoot at their legs if they came any closer. They stopped. They are now Holding Position 20 or 30 meters from the first Russian Armored personnel carrier. So thats Daniel Sanford, our moscow correspondent, who has been at the military air base while that standoff is continuing. Live pictures from the scene where that standoff has been going on. Very intense indeed. All troops there, military vehicles and so on at the military base. It used to be an international airport. Now its a military base. The russians had taken control of it, along with other bates here in crimea. And the ukrainian soldiers, we gather, had never kphraoefly left the air base. They have been in a accommodation block. And then they try to go back to the area to the base where the russians have taken full operational control. And they try to effectively seize it back. But they were not armed, as you saw in those pictures. They were simply waving the ukrainian flag and singing the Ukrainian National anthem. And then the warning shots were fired. Because the russian soldiers, there were about a dozen of them. And outnumbered by that advancing number of 300 or so ukrainians and were clearly pretty nervous. Very, very tense. There are some 60,000 troops here. Ben brown there. Thanks very much indeed. With me is the head of the Russian Service here at bbc. President putin is saying hes not going to spark any annexation of crimea, but they are there to defend russian and any use of force would be a last resort. How would you read all of that . The tone is slightly more conciliatory than 24 hours ago. There are still boots on the ground, still russian soldiers patrolling a lot of the military installations in crimea. So the message is still there. Perhaps the immediate threat of shots being fired, that is no less acute than 24 hours ago. He said mr. Yanukovych understood the frustration of the ukrainian people. What do you think putin wants to see now . What is the undertone of what we are seeing here . The undertone is that moscow at the end of the day moscow wants to get to a place where theres a new government in the ukraine which is more acceptable to moscow. So moscow wants to put political pressure on the ukrainian authorities to ensure whatever comes to par later on, because this government even the ministers are taking a technical government will be here three, four months. So theres a lot of pressure coming in from moscow to make sure it is more palatable. He also said he has seen Viktor Yanukovych two days ago in russia. He was safe and sound. He dismissed rumors that he died of the heart attack. Thats a rumor which popld up on social media, facebook, twitter, the last 24 hours. That he was in hospital. That did not appear to stand up. Now mr. Putin is also confirming this. We have pictures we saw just a few minutes ago. The fact that there are so many troops on the ground, russian and ukrainian, we have the british secretary flying into kiev. Its extraordinary to see this, isnt it . Thats right. The situation is very, very tense. With so many troops on the ground all it takes is one accident al shot, one stray bullet for the situation to deteriorate completely. And foolhardy to rush up to the russians. Well, perhaps so. Moscow sent signals. Kiev needs to respond by sending signals of its own. So when you send a group of soldiers as big as that, 300 people, with the Ukrainian National flag, singing the ukrainian anthem, that is sending a strong signal of deif i defiance. We will leave it there for now. Thanks very much indeed for your time. We will bring you the continuing lines from that News Conference from Vladimir Putin in moscow. The first words from the russian president as this crisis unfolded and escalated over the weekend. Stay with us here on bbc world news. There is much more to come. Our other top story today. A key witness in the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius has been left in tears after a rigorous crossquestioning. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat . Campbells healthy request soup lets you hear it in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. [ mm. ] great taste. [ tapping ] sounds good. Campbells healthy request. Mm mm good. ® you cant always see them. But its our job to find them. The answers. The solutions. The innovations. All waiting to help us build Something Better. Something more amazing. A safer, cleaner, brighter future. At boeing, thats what building Something Better is all about. This is bbc world news. Im geeta gurumurthy with the latest headlines for you. The russian president Vladimir Putin said power was seized by arms at an anticonstitutional coup but added we are not considering annexing crimea. Meanwhile, a tense standoff continues there. Troops guarding an air base fired warning shots as unarmed ukrainian soldiers advanced towards them carrying a ukrainian flag. Another top story this hour. Because a court in pretoria has been hearing more details about the night that Oscar Pistoriuss girlfriend was shot dead in his apartment. On the second day of the parra olympians trial was reduced to tears when she was questioned about the screams, shouting and gunshots she heard in the middle of the night. Reporter its day two of the Oscar Pistorius trial in a wet and gray pretoria. But this does not deter media interest in this case. As you can see here, there is huge media interest in this story. Not just in newspapers but also on television. Because of that historical judgment that cameras can be allowed for the first time during a trial. People are following this live on radio and television. Everyone has an opinion about the trial. For some members of the public, old stereotypes die hard. Oscar pistorius left his house this morning to listen to his neighbor, who was still in the witness box and under crossexamination. She told the court she heard screams and then gunshots on valentines day last year. The Defense Council wanted to punch holes in her testimony. And i tell you now as a fact, in case theres some misunderstanding, you can scream as loud as you want. We will put the door back to you. At 177 meters you go and tell us that you can hear the scream. As i stated yesterday, theres been quite a bit of construction in the area. So what was last year felt theres now houses, various houses between us which is blocking. So i dont know how we will do that test. The court was adjourned briefly when a picture of the witness appeared on a local tv channel. Ms. Burger specifically requested her face not to be shown. The trial continues. Bbc news, pretoria. Well, karen is live in pretoria outside that court. Its been quite a morning so far, karen. Reporter yeah, it certainly has, geeta. Now that the first witness has finished being crossexamined, the second witness has taken the stand. Another a neighbor of Oscar Pistorius who lives very, very close to the house and shes also giving evidence of what she heard that night and that she said she heard. We are waiting for the court to resume. They have broken for lunch. And we expect them to begin proceedings again in 10 minutess time. With me here is a very well known criminal investigators. Hes been in many high profile cases in south africa. If you were still in charge of this investigation, what would you have been doing in the runup to this trial . It is always difficult. I would go back to the crime scene, get all my facts together and see some more evidence. Interview each and every witness. Thats important. And the ballistic forensics. And i would have started this case. When you talk about the mistakes, how youre viewing the crime scene, you heard the defense mention irregularities with the crime scene. What exactly is the problem with this particular case . Firstly, i would have been on that crime scene. Im in charge. Nobody would have entered unless with my permission. Hilton was in charge of the case. Thats right. He is no longer in charge of the case. Approximate no. It has since been taken over by the man yyou trained. Yeah. How does he make that good . Thats where you can see maybe i can gain more information. Also evidence to assist the state and secure a conviction. You will get all your facts together. So how does that change the work that an investigator does like you . Well, basically, you are being represented by lawyers. But also i would have also gone in a different direction. And also evidence. Specifically forensics. I think forensics, especially ballistics, is going to play a huge role in this case. Im so sorry. We have run out of time. Well hand you right back to london. Thank you. Thanks very much, indeed. Well, the bbcs Aaron Harding is tweeting live as the day unfolds. Other news today, an Egyptian Court banned all activities by hamas and ordered the seizure. It links to egypts muslim brotherhood. An ancient virus was found frozen in the siberian permafrost. They believe that other more deadly strains, including small pox could be locked in permafrost. 8,000 troops trying to keep the peace in the african republic. The African Union and france have been trying to disarm christian militia. But they face an uphill task. Another killing and another family suffering the anarchy. The latest victim of the antichristian militia. He was a policeman but unarmed and many expected to keep peace in this increasingly volatile country. Years of civil strive left an armed population that International Peacekeepers have the difficul disarming. There are those. These are more than 4,000 fighters who have laid down some of their arms. They are predominantly muslim and swept to power two years ago. They are accused of committing atrocities during that time. Translator you have muslims as well as christians. The problem remains. Since december 5th, we have been confined to these camps. Yet you still see looting. Killing going on in every street. Peacekeepers have to make sure they stop the mess. But they blame the muslims. What started as a political problem has now turned religious. Translator i tell them, my brother, we will turn the page soon on what happened. But for now you have to fix things. Tell those among you who did wrong to the people of Central African repub electric to stop. We are ready for reconciliation. Many muslims have decided to leave the capital and surroundings for their safety. As they leave, its clear they wont be missed, at least for now. Hes telling me hes very angry. While everybody is celebrating the departure, he is very angry. Someone killed his family. They are being escorted out of the capital. If he could, he will just grab them off the convoy. Many are stuck and unable to leave. They surrendered their fate to god and the few peacekeepers keeping watch. Just to remind you of our top story. President putin has been speaking in moscow saying theres been an unconstitutional coup in ukraine, armed seizure of power to drag the country into chaos. He said russia would not go to war with the people of ukraine and had no intention to annex crimea but reserved the right to protect russians. All citizens must have an equal right to power in the country. But after a day spent in the caribbean exploring mayan ruins and playing pirates with you in secret coves, she wont exactly be short on memories. Princess cruises. Come back new. [ female announcer ] plan your sevenday cruise from just 549. Call your travel agent or 1800princess. Call your travel agent rich, chewy caramel rolled up in smooth milk chocolate. All aboard. Rolo. Get your smooth on. Grareal ginger. Real taste. E. Real ahhh as a im still not going toall the pmake it to mars,o visit. But thanks to hotwires incredibly low travel prices, i can afford to cross more things off my list. This year alone, we went to the top of the statue of liberty. And still saved enough to go to texas to a real dude ranch hotwire checks the competitions rates every day. So they can guarantee their low prices. So we got our 4star hotels for half price. Next up, Hollywood Hotwire hotwire. Com book with our app for an additional. 25. 00 off your next hotel. Hello. Youre watching gmt on bbc world news. Im david eades. President putin speaks out. He said there was an unconstitutional coup in the ukraine. He denies russia is controlling crimea translator the tensions have gone. Hardly feels like that on the ground, though in crimea itself. Tensions clearly high as