Transcripts For LINKTV Democracy 20240628 : comparemela.com

Transcripts For LINKTV Democracy 20240628

Concede and therefore i will not amy kenyan president william ruto says he will not sign a tax bill amidst the youth uprising and Police Crackdown that killed at least 23 people. He called protesters treasonouss and now theyre calling for his rig nation his resignation. Then gaza is the deadliest place on earth for journalists. A new collaborative project investigates the targeting of palestinian journalists. So many have been killed. We joined forces to make sure there is no information blackout. Bombing buildings, direct strikes. Supposed to protect us. Now it harms us. Amy the gaza project. We will speak with one of the lead journalists who worked on the investigation and we will go to gaza to speak with palestinian reporter shrouq aila. Her husband was killed in an israeli airstrike in october. Then an attempted coup in bolivia. It feels us with courage, bravery. Bolivia deserves a democracy. Amy we will go to bolivia to get the latest. All that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Kenyan president william ruto has scrapped an unpopular tax bill following a mass nationwide uprising tuesday when soldiers and police fired live rounds, rubber bullets, tear gas at thousands of protesters who stormed kenyas parliament in nairobi. At least 23 people were killed and dozens more injured. On wednesday, president ruto said he had heard the message of the protesters and had reversed his support for the tax hikes. The country witnessed widespread expression of dissatisfaction. Regrettably, resulting in the loss of life, destruction of property. Amy president ruto called the loss of life very unfortunate and sent condolences to the families of those killed. Earlier today, police and Security Forces fired tear gas and rubbercoated bullets at protesters in nairobi after organizers called for fresh demonstrations to continue to demand rutos resignation. This is lorna dias, a member of kenyas human rights commission, she spoke after president ruto called protesters treasonous. It is not treasonous. It is rutos acts that are treasonous. Theres nothing that justifies the use of life bullets on protesters. But this regime position snipers to shoot and kill unarmed protesters. Amy we will have the latest on the youth uprising in kenya after headlines. Bolivias president said wednesday he had survived an attempted military coup after bolivias former army chief deployed soldiers and tanks to government buildings, including the president ial palace. In a dramatic showdown captured on live television, president luis arce confronted the rogue military commander demanding he stand down and withdraw his forces. After Armored Vehicles pulled back from the president ial palace, arce addressed thousands who rallied against the attempted coup. It fills us with bravery, courage to keep resisting, to keep resisting any coup attempt. Bolivia deserves its democracy, which has been won in the streets and with blood brothers and sisters. The people involved in the coup wanted to surprise as who have reacted also the people have mobilized against this coup attempt. Thank you for the bolivian people. Amy living authorities arrested the general, along with an alleged coconspirator, the navy chief, as he was being arrested zuniga told reporters the apparent coup have been organized by arce himself to boost his approval ratings. We will have more on the attempted coup in bolivia later in the broadcast. Israeli warplanes and artillery fire have pummeled denselypopulated areas of gaza citys sabra and shujaiya neighborhoods in a surprise attack that forced tens of thousands of palestinians to flee their homes while Israeli Ground forces were seen advancing. Al jazeera reports at least eight people were killed with many more missing and believed to be buried under rubble. In southern gaza, there are reports of civilian deaths in khan younis after israels military struck a School Housing displaced people. Meanwhile, reuters reports a palestinian girl died of malnutrition in kamal adwan hospital late wednesday, becoming the fourth documented case of child in gaza dying of starvation or dehydration this week alone. The u. N. Warns nearly all of gazas 2. 3 million residents are going hungry, with a half a million facing catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity. The Israel Prison Service has significantly reduced food rations provided to palestinian prisoners to the point of starvation, with many prisoners reportedly losing dozens of kilograms of body mass. Thats according to the israeli newspaper haaretz, which reports israeli officials actively concealed information about israels failure to adequately feed prisoners as required by international law. In a letter to Israels High Court of justice, farright Israeli National security minister Itamar Bengvir argued in favor of cutting rations to prisoners, calling the policy a deterrence. Meanwhile, israels cabinet has advanced a bill that seeks to permanently ban the Al Jazeera Media Network from operating inside israel. In pakistan, doctors are warning of an epidemic of heat stroke as a searing summer heatwave continues to push temperatures as high as 120 degrees fahrenheit. In karachi, home to some 15 million people, hospitals have treated thousands of heatstroke victims this week, with one charity reporting 450 people have died in the past four days alone. Residents say the heatwave has been made far worse by rolling blackouts as an aging electric grid fails to keep up with demand. This is due to Climate Change that is happening all around the world. They have taken steps to deal with it elsewhere but here the government has not taken any effective measures. We are suffering from Power Outages every day. Amy in the United States, the Supreme Court has rejected a lawsuit alleging the federal government overstepped its authority when it put pressure on social Media Companies to moderate misinformation around covid19 and the 2020 election. On wednesday, justices ruled 63 that the plaintiffs a pair of republican attorneys general and several social media users lacked standing to pursue the case, ruling there was no evidence the biden administrations actions had caused them harm. Meanwhile, bloomberg reports justices are poised to allow abortions in medical emergencies in idaho. Thats according to a draft copy of an opinion that was briefly posted on the Supreme Courts website, apparently by accident. If the 6to3 decision remains unchanged, it will reinstate a lower court order that had ensured idaho hospitals could perform emergency abortions to protect the health of pregnant people. The decision, however, does not resolve the core issues raised in the case. In a concurring opinion, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote todays decision is not a victory for pregnant patients in idaho. It is delay. While this court dawdles and the country waits, pregnant people experiencing emergency medical conditions remain in a precarious position, as their doctors are kept in the dark about what the law requires. The court had a chance to bring clarity and certainty to this tragic situation, and we have squandered it. President biden and former President Donald Trump are set to square off this evening in the first president ial debate of the 2024 election season. The event will be hosted by cnn. No other president ial candidates will be allowed to participate. The debate will feature no audience and each candidates microphone will be muted except when its their turn to speak. Tune in to democracy now friday will we bring you highlights of the debate and analysis. The state of texas has carried out an execution for the second time this year. On wednesday evening, prison officials in huntsville injected 41yearold Ramiro Gonzales with a lethal dose of the drug pentobarbital and pronounced him dead 24 minutes later. Ramiro gonzales had been on death row since his conviction for a 2001 rape and murder he committed when he was just 18 years old. The u. S. Surgeon general has declared gun violence a Public Health crisis. Dr. Vivek murthy made the declaration in a video Statement Released tuesday following years of pressure by gun control activists. Gun violence has now become the leading cause of death among children and teens. That wasnt true a decade ago or two decades ago. I am issuing this advisory because i want people to understand the urgency of addressing gun violence, the importance of seeing it as a Public Health issue. And if we see it in that way, if we apply a Public Health approach to that violence, we can do what we do with cigarettes and car accident related debts, which is ultimately to make people savor, reduce the toll on their health, and ultimately improve peoples wellbeing. Amy the National Institutes of Health Reports that last year, nearly 43,000 people died in the United States from gun related injuries. A u. S. Federal judge has sentenced former honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez to 45 years in prison on Drug Trafficking charges. Prosecutors successfully argued hernandez ruled honduras as a narcostate as he accepted millions of dollars in bribes from cocaine traffickers in exchange for protection. Before his president ial term ended in 2022, hernandez was a longtime u. S. Ally who received unconditional backing during his eightyear rule despite mounting reports of serious Human Rights Violations and accusations of corruption and Drug Trafficking. And brazils Supreme Court has decriminalized the possession of small amounts of cannabis for personal use. Although sales of marijuana remain illegal, advocates say decriminalization could slow the pace of mass incarceration in brazil where more than 200,000 people remain behind bars on drug charges. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now, democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. I am amy goodman. Nermeen and im nermeen sheikh. Welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. We begin todays show in kenya, where police have put up roadblocks and fired tear gas at protesters calling for president william ruto to resign. Demonstrations are contending even after ruto made a dramatic reversal wednesday and said he would not sign a tax bill that had prompted a mass nationwide uprising. This came after at least 23 people were killed and dozens more injured tuesday when police fired live rounds, rubber bullets, and tear gas at protesters who stormed kenyas parliament. Ruto spoke in a televised address wednesday. The country witnessed widespread expression of dissatisfaction with the bill that passed. Regrettably, resulting in the loss of life, destruction of operating, and degradation of constitutional institutions. Nermeen he called protesters. Treasonous. This is a member of kenyas human rights commission. It is not protesters who are treasonous. It is rutos acts that are treasonous. Theres nothing that justifies the use of live bullets on protesters. But this regime position snipers to shoot and kill unarmed protesters. Amy for more, were joined in kenya by a person who has asked for anonymity. I know this is very difficult for you. Can you explain what is happening. We reported yesterday on kenya, more than 22 people dead, then ruto changes his mind and says he will withdraw the tax bill yet the protests are continuing. Talk about the danger you feel. What were seeing today and has been happening for at least lack week is continued abductions, what are considered local organizers. It appears the government is trying to get to the bottom of who was organizing these protests without realizing this was a youthled and peopleled movement and that is why a lot of us are online trying to call for the abductions to stop and for them to be returned. We saw yesterday several high courts order the police to make sure anyone who is arrested and detained cannot be held in communicative under article 49 of the kenyan constitution. That is why we are speaking anonymously for fear of being abducted myself. Nermeen what is happening so far as you know to the activists who have been detained and imprisoned . Is there a way for you to find out, especially after people have set according to article 49 they cant be detained like this . At this time, many are not speaking out about what happened to them. We know this morning and activist who appeared on tv a few days ago was found in a forest drug and apparently taken to hospital for treatment. What were seeing on the streets right now is a heavy police presence. The Kenyan Defense forces have been deemed unconstitutional. The call for the forces to deploy cannot happen without approval of the national assembly. Although we see the president saying in his remarks yesterday adhering to the law and constitution, what were seeing on the ground is much more different. We are expecting a decision from the high court. Sued the government for this decision they made. Nermeen we would also like to bring in a guest from the second and via, lusaka, zambia, mamka anyona, an International Finance and Development Expert from kenya. Welcome back to democracy now if you could talk about the root causes and what exactly kenyas debt situation is . Thank you so much for bringing me to the show. I salute my colleague speaking from the other side and braving which the president declined to sign. This finding steel this finance deal is because the country has been in debt distress for quite a while now. That has required the imf stepping in as there has been went in economy is brought to their knees the level of unemployment is incredibly high. The level of poverty is rising. [indiscernible] it got like a step too far. Especially kenyans who have gone to school and are sitting at home without jobs. Incredibly engaged in the political process because of this particular situation. The debt the government is trying to deal with is a challenge. We have about 80 million worth of debt and the number keeps changing because the currency is quite weak at this time. A lot of the debt we have is denominated in dollars. Amy youre talking 18 billion . 80 billion . About 82 billion, yes. For an economy of about this is almost 100 gdp that we have in debt. Our greatest debt at the moment is the world bank. A lot of what we owe domestic debt that is held by a lot of bondholders. Over the last 15 years, the leadership took out a lot of debt for infrastructure projects. We had a new railway. We had we have had roads, airports have been upgraded. But then we have to say there is a lot of there has been a lot of mismanagement. Such that the infrastructure were getting is not at the cost would expected to be. Theres a lot of what you call budget corruption where the cost of the cost is inflated. There is a lot of mismanagement of funds. Part of the reason why kenyans are on the streets is not just because they dont understand the debt needs to be repaid, a lot of kenyans there was not proper public dissi participati. Their reports about this debt never even made it to the country due to corruption. With a former president on record saying we are losing at least 20 million a day to corruption. The president himself was saying this. The combination of the stress kenyans are feeling, the situation that requires evermore tightening of the belt and then kenyans being aware that public finances being managed and then, obviously, as was stated on the show yesterday, living a very opulent life that does not match the social presentation you would expect from a country suffering so much. It has all ended up creating this tinderbox. Amy i want to ask our guest to his anonymous in nairobi right now, the rutomustgo. Do you think these protests will continue unless the president is out . Can you talk about the allegations against him and his wife, among others . I completely agree with my colleague around the fact theres quite a bit of budgeted corruption. As much as we are talking about the finance bill, there is the appropriations bill which is a new conversation young people are having online which allocates hundreds of millions of shillings to the offices of the wife of the president and vice president. These are unelected and unconstitutional offices that are tax payer money should not be going toward. Young people say our taxes cannot be your wifes allows. Which expresses the frustration around us needing to tighten our belts, meanwhile, we see the wife of the office of the state being awarded millions of shillings in taxpayer money. Rutomustgo initially weve seen in organic move saint it is not just enough to eject the finance bill, which the president does not have the power. The conversation that we are having is there is a bigger issue beyond just the finance bill and there is a big push to not only have fresh elections but also have the parliament dissolved. What we have seen over the last two weeks is we do not have a representative democracy. The members of parliament that we elected have said to us over and over again we hear your voices, we do not care about your voices. We will do what we think is in the best interest of the president. Not ordinary kenyans. The movement to then find the tools to then call for accountability as well as see the president leave office, i dont believe that pressure is going to leave at any point. We have also seen already violence today i are reports of people already shot in various counties across the country. We expect there might be more deaths today as young people are saying, you cannot kill us all. Even though you meet us with violence, were going to insist this country belongs to the people of kenya and especially to the young people. 80 of our population is under the age of 35. If were not going to listen to the was of young people, then we

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