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Hamas, Fatah Power Struggle Deepens; Iranians Vote; George Clooney and Don Cheadle Campaign to Raise Darfur Awareness

Aired December 15, 2006 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: In Gaza, a massive rally for Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniyeh after he survives a bloody attack on his convoy.
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: After being in the world spotlight, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad faces a national vote. Will it put his recent reforms to the test?

CLANCY: The actor-activist George Clooney takes a Hollywood delegation to Africa to urge action on Darfur. We're going to be talking with him and fellow activist Don Cheadle live.

GORANI: And some pomp and circumstance of the highest order. Britain's Prince William graduates from the elite Sandhurst Military Academy.

CLANCY: Right now it's 6:00 p.m. in London, 7:00 in the evening in Gaza.

Hello and welcome to our report broadcast around the world.

I'm Jim Clancy.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani.

From Tehran to Gaza City, Cairo to New York, wherever you're watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

Gun battles, chaos and a groundswell of support for Hamas cap a tense and violent week in the deepening power struggle between Palestinian factions. Tensions are at the highest level in years after gunmen shot at the convoy of the Palestinian prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh. Hamas accuses rival Fatah of trying to have him assassinated. The prime minister spoke a short while ago at a rally in Gaza.

Atika Shubert is live in Gaza City and brings us more -- Atika.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hala, Palestinian Prime Minister Haniyeh received a hero's welcome today as Hamas supporters turned out on to the streets of Gaza City. Tens of thousands flooded into the Gaza City stadium to support him after he survived an attack on his convoy last night that injured his son and killed one of his bodyguards.

There he -- at the rally he held a speech saying that Hamas was elected into power to become martyrs, not ministers. This is all part of an ongoing power struggle between Hamas and his rival faction, Fatah.

We spoke to a senior Hamas leader today, foreign minister Mahmoud Zahar (ph). He put -- he blamed the current round of violence on Fatah, saying it was their responsibility to keep the street secure. However, he said Hamas forces would be deployed onto the streets to help restore order, and he said they would counter anyone that challenged Hamas' authority -- Hala.

GORANI: All right. Atika Shubert reporting live from Gaza -- Jim.

CLANCY: The Pentagon preparing a farewell ceremony for U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. It is his last day on the job. Monday, Robert Gates is going to be sworn in as Mr. Rumsfeld's replacement.

President George W. Bush, Vice President Cheney and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff taking part in a ceremony at the Pentagon. It's going to begin in about one hour's time -- Hala.

GORANI: The U.S. secretary of state is rejecting a key provision of a high profile U.S. report on Iraq. "The Washington Post" newspaper says Condoleezza Rice does not support engaging Iran or Syria in regional discussions. In an interview with the paper, she said she doesn't want to trade away Lebanese sovereignty to Syria or let Iran develop nuclear weapons as a price for peace in the Middle East.

CLANCY: While Iran's government is trying to flex its muscles on the world stage, it's also facing a political test back at home. Iranians are voting in local elections that are seen as a test of support for President Ahmadinejad since he took power last year.

Aneesh Raman covering all of this from Tehran.

Aneesh, glad to have you with us. We'll get to the election in just a moment, but I'm wondering, is there any reaction at all of Secretary of State Rice saying we don't want talks with Iran or Syria?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no top official, Jim, commenting yet. It's a Friday, which is the beginning of the weekend here. Also, it's an election day, of course, as you can see behind me. But previously, Iranian officials said they would accept no preconditions to talks of any kind with the United States.

Increasingly throughout this year, Iranian officials have felt that they have leverage, that they have been, as you mentioned, flexing their regional power and that they are in no need, whatsoever, to make the first step, to make any sort of concession towards the United States. That dynamic seems to be continuing. And despite the recommendations from the Iraq Study Group, it's unclear how any sort of logistical setup would exist where Iran and the U.S. would talk -- Jim. CLANCY: All right. Back to this election, to you, you're there on the ground. What's interesting when you look at that, and what are some of the controversies perhaps in the races?

RAMAN: Well, this is the first election we've seen since Ahmadinejad took office. He's not on the ballot, but it's emerging as a referendum on what he's done since taking office.

I'll give you a sense of where we are.

This is one of the main polling stations in Tehran. Polls were to have closed an hour and a half ago, but they have extended them.

It is as -- many polling stations are a mosque (ph) -- it is -- every polling station is segregated by gender. To my left is where the men are voting. You see the line still continues to my right. These are where the women are casting their ballots.

What's been interesting talking to Iranian is that very few expect dramatic change to occur as a result of this election. If any change comes, they assume it will be domestic and it will be subtle.

The reason is that Iran really is at a fork in the road. The reformists, who would, perhaps, present an alternative path to Ahmadinejad are largely missing. Many of their candidates barred from taking place in these elections.

Instead, it's a battle between Ahmadinejad's hard-line conservatives and the old-style conservatives who might soften their stance. But again, if there is a win by the middle-ground conservatives, the change will be only domestic.

Foreign policy-wise, Iran likely to remain defiant. And if the hard-liners, Jim, win, Ahmadinejad will only increase in his confidence, increase in his defiance.

CLANCY: All right. Aneesh Raman there reporting to us live from Tehran. We'll hear more from Aneesh in the hours ahead.

GORANI: All right. Let's check some of the other stories making news around the world this hour.

GORANI: And we're going to begin this update with the so-called "Suffolk Strangler: that has struck fear into the English countryside.

Police are hunting a serial killer in eastern England. They confirm the identity now of a fifth victim, a 29-year-old prostitute. The town of Ipswich is offering prostitutes financial help to stay off the streets as detectives try to hunt down the killer.

GORANI: Also in other headlines, the U.S. and China have wrapped up a two-day trade session in Beijing, but without an agreement on ways to solve a currency dispute. Critics in the U.S. say China's yuan is undervalued artificially, giving exporters a trade advantage. China has pledged to work toward greater exchange rate flexibility but did not give a timetable. CLANCY: Well, gamers, take note. Nintendo is recalling more than three million of those very popular wrist straps for the remote control to its Wii computer gave console. Now, apparently, excited gamers are losing their grip on that control and launching it at their TVs.

Nintendo is going to replace the strap. It's going to get a stronger one so that -- well, this guy can play the game without breaking his television.

GORANI: Hey, wasn't that Miles O'Brien?

All right. There's a lot more ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: Up next, European leaders issue an urgent plea for peace in Sudan's troubled Darfur region. The conflict there raging for nearly four years. Actors Don Cheadle and George Clooney are going to be joining Hala and I. They're going to talk about their compare to raise awareness of the suffering in Darfur.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Well, hello, everyone. And welcome back to CNN International.

GORANI: Well, this show is seen live in more than 200 countries across the globe, and this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

You're very welcome.

Time is of the essence for a very dire situation. That's how EU leaders are describing the crisis, the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

CLANCY: That's right, Hala. The EU has been meeting in Brussels. Right there they've been expressing not for the first time deep concern about what's happening in Sudan's volatile western region, literally the size of France.

GORANI: Well, they're strongly urging Sudan, the central government there, to allow U.N. international troops in to support an overwhelmed African Union force.

CLANCY: Now, more than 200,000 are believed to have been killed. No one has the exact numbers, but the violence is up between the rebels and the government-backed militia, the Janjaweed.

GORANI: Now, more than two million people have fled to makeshift camps in Sudan, as well as neighboring Chad.

CNN's Jeff Koinange revisits one such camp.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN AFRICA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): North Darfur. It's been two years since I have been here and it's worse now. A lot worse. A daily nightmare here for the tens of thousands of displaced people living in camps Abu Chute (ph), just outside the town of El Fasher. Lives wrecked by a civil war waging for the better part of three years between government troops and rebel forces for control of the country's rich oil well.

Twenty-five-year-old Mucca Usman (ph) recently became a statistic, one of tens of thousands of women raped by bandits as she ventured out to look for firewood outside this camp. Now she is determined to fight back in the only way she can, building a wall of mud to protect herself and her shack made of sticks and plastic paper.

Being here is like a punishment. Life is a punishment is all she can say. Aid agencies say half these women will be raped while here. Their biggest fear, they tell me, is the Arab militia known locally as the Janjaweed, which has been raping, looting, pillaging and destroying for three years. The government denies it, but human rights groups charge that Sudan sponsored the Janjaweed to maintain its control of the nation's oil money.

(on camera): You are telling, Janjaweed also here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

KOINANGE (voice-over): All the people. You're saying all the people are hungry. The last time these people were given food aid was a month, and the supplies have nearly run out.

The local clinic here can hardly begin to address the growing malnutrition here.

He says, I'm tired. I'm tired. We need more doctors here.

Chris Czerwinski is head of the World Food Program in north Darfur which helps feed more than 2.5 million people here every month.

CHRIS CZERWINSKI, WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: Well, it's as if everything is being taken away from you. You have no more home. You have no more land. You are abandoned here amongst all these other people that are in the same conditions. It's not very clean. It's hot. It's full of sand. And they can't be independent anymore.

KOINANGE: And that is just how Solomon Haroud Muhammad (ph) feels, helpless, hopeless and abandoned. There won't be another food delivery here for several weeks. All his wife can do is pound the last of the grain to feed her family of 11.

The world is suddenly beginning to pay more attention to this tiny corner of Africa's largest nation, but there has been no impact yet. For now, we are just seeing more disease, malnutrition, and death.

Jeff Koinange, CNN, El Fasher in North Darfur.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CLANCY: Actor and activist George Clooney has visited those refugee camps in Darfur, set down, talked with people, taken pictures. We've seen up close the desperate conditions.

GORANI: Well, he's been campaigning for a while to raise awareness. This week, the Oscar-winning star visited China and Egypt to make a personal plea for help.

CLANCY: And fellow actor Don Cheadle, who has also been active on Darfur for some time, as well as many others, athletes and others, joined him on his mission. Today, they went to the United Nations and set down with the secretary-general.

They join us live.

GORANI: All right.

George Clooney and Don Cheadle, thanks very much.

I'm going to start with you, George Clooney.

You met with the outgoing secretary-general of the U.N., Kofi Annan, about the situation in Darfur. What was said in that conversation that struck you?

GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR AND ACTIVIST: Well, he's been a very strong advocate of this for quite some time. We were basically coming back to report what we had learned from our trips both to China and to Egypt. And also to express our concern with the new incoming secretary-general that Sudan stays high on the list of priorities here at the U.N.

CLANCY: Don, you know, a lot of people look at it and they say, why is it that nothing can be done? Why can't Kofi Annan -- why couldn't he fix this problem? Why can't the Security Council just send in troops?

What's the answer?

DON CHEADLE, ACTOR AND ACTIVIST: Well, I think there are many answers. And that's really what we were doing on our trip to Egypt and China, to try and speak to players on the international stage that have great influence with the government of Sudan. And especially with the Olympics coming in 2008. We think China is going to want to appear to the world to be an agent of openness and good, and their slogan is "One world, one dream."

CLANCY: Yes, but you were in China because they've got oil contracts with Sudan and also they've also got a veto on the Security Council.

CHEADLE: That's what I'm saying.

CLANCY: And that's why -- that's why you're not getting any troops moved into Sudan. CHEADLE: Well, we think there are moves that can be taken before moving troops into Sudan that have to be looked at, first of all, because anything that is shoved down the government of Khartoum's throat is going to have a - we believe a very negative effect on the citizenry there. Thought we do have to very clearly, very quickly start speaking about punitive measures.

We think that we want to impress upon them the urgency of the situation, that they're well aware of. But as people who have the spotlight on us, we want them to know that we're going to come back to the United States and speak when we have cameras in front of us and report and keep the story active and open. And while the Olympics are going to be there, they're going to have the world looking at them. And we want them to be people who can support that idea of "One world, one dream."

GORANI: Don Cheadle and George Clooney, you also went to Egyptian. And George Clooney, you spoke with the foreign minister of Egypt.

Were any promises made? And if not promises, at least what was said? How do you follow up talk with action in the situation like Darfur?

CLOONEY: Well, there are two things that we walked away with that I think were pretty extraordinary. One was, Her Excellency, the first lady, Mrs. Mubarrak, pledged the idea that she would hold some sort of a human rights forum for women and talk about the subject, and that she's willing to go to the refugee camps in Chad to bring the attention back home to many of the Arab countries that don't really see what's going on.

And the foreign minister talked to us about supplying Egyptian doctors and humanitarian workers to help partially fill some of the void of the aid workers who are being forced to leave Darfur and Chad.

CLANCY: Gentlemen, you know, both of you are actors. And it's got to be said, too, you're both real people.

Very briefly, why have you decided to cast yourself into this role on Darfur? I mean, why do you pick this issue? Why do you get so active?

CHEADLE: Well, for -- speaking for myself, after doing "Hotel Rwanda," I was sort of drafted into this. I was approached by Congressman Ed Royce out of California, and he said that he believed the film had similar echoes and resonance to what was happening in Darfur. And they had been able to generate any sort of attention in any sort of press about it. And he said, "Perhaps you can come with us in an effort to continue shining a light on the area."

And then once you've gone and once you've seen with your own eyes what's happening, it's very difficult to do anything but what we're doing, continue to advocate for some peace and security for the citizens there.

CLANCY: What do you think -- George, what do you think?

CLOONEY: Well, you know, I was reading the Nicholas Kristof articles in "The New York Times" while I was in New York last year, and I thought it seemed to be getting -- it seemed to be a tremendous amount of information, and it didn't seem to be getting much traction in the United States.

The one thing we've been able to do over the past few years, Don and I, particularly, is have cameras follow us. My father's a journalist, and I thought maybe if he and I went there -- not that we have anything to do with policy, not that we're politicians -- we're citizens, but if cameras are going to follow us, perhaps we can help bring some attention to that.

CLANCY: Gentlemen, I'm going to ask you to stay right there where you are at the U.N. We're going to have to take a short break.

We're going to be back and continue this conversation.

GORANI: We're also going to be asking about the potential impact of what celebrity endorsement or star power can have on solving some of the world's humanitarian crises.

Stay with us. You're with YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: Yes, what you can do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We are the ones who demanded international attention. We are the ones who have led diplomatic efforts. We are the ones who have talked about having an effective military presence.

So, April, we share the frustration of anybody who deals with the region, and we continue to press allies to step up and take moves that are necessary to put an end to the genocide. . (END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOFI ANNAN, SECRETARY-GENERAL, UNITED NATIONS: When I look at the murder, rape, starvation to which the people of Darfur are being subjected, I fear that we have not got far beyond lip service.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: That was the secretary-general, Kofi Annan. His farewell address in Independence, Missouri, talking about one of the biggest disappointments of his tenure as U.N. secretary-general, Darfur, a region he says has undergone -- is undergoing the worst humanitarian crisis gripping this planet.

GORANI: All right. And he said that in the past and it has been described as genocide by some countries and not as a genocide by others.

We've been talking to actor and activist George Clooney, Don Cheadle. They've both been campaigning to raise awareness on this situation.

CLANCY: They're joining us once again live from the United Nations studio in New York.

GORANI: Right.

And I wanted to ask you two, how do you start measuring your own success in this department? In the last few months, the situation has not gotten better in Darfur and for those people who live in that region of Sudan. So how do you as activists measure your own achievement?

CLOONEY: Well, I don't think -- we're not trying to hold a measuring stick to what it is -- what we are doing. You know, a few months ago, I was here speaking to the U.N. and to the National Security Council and, of course, the argument then is that you're just preaching to the converted.

Now we were -- this week, yesterday, the day before yesterday, we were in Beijing and China, who have much more of a friendly ear to Darfur. So we were this time neither preaching, nor were they converted.

We're having -- we're trying to just continually move the ball forward. Are we succeeding? I don't know. We're on television right now talking about it. And I think that's the best step we can make.

GORANI: And Don Cheadle, the issue is also, if you weren't shedding this light, I suppose, it would be even less -- this message would come out even less. And so, therefore, who knows what might happen there in Sudan?

CHEADLE: And that's one of the most grave realities we're looking at is, as more aid workers are expelled and leaving for fear of their own safety, and the press is -- what little press there already is, is going away, we threatened to have a media blackout and information blackout. And obviously once that happens -- if that were to happen -- people who are inflicting the horrible, you know, humanitarian crimes that they are can do it unchecked.

And we have to just make as much noise and -- I mean, quite honestly, when you ask how far we've gotten and how do we measure it, the success will be when it's done and you start thinking, what do we have to do, how dramatic of a movement needs to be undertaken to create and effect change there? And it remains to be seen.

CLANCY: You know, George, somebody's watching this broadcast, they see the horrible pictures, and they say, all right, George, I get it. But what can I do about it?

CLOONEY: Well, it's a good question. There's a lot of things you can do. Obviously, the first thing you can do is in your own -- talk to your own local congressman, talk to your own senator. You can write letters to the president. You can get online, you can get informed, you can become part of it.

The secret to this is each individual -- this is a movement that requires each single person to have the same kind of outrage -- to have -- to have enough of an outrage to make a difference, and then it is a sea of people that will do it. It's across the world, it's not just here.

So what can you do? Don actually has always a good answer to that, which is, what can you do? What are you willing to do? What are you capable of?

Do you have a church group to speak at? Can you do it in business? Can you do it in local politics?

Whatever it is that you can do to continually -- because what we really need is, the governments of a lot of these countries need to have the political capital of their people's will to go in and make change.

CLANCY: Hey, guys, is there a movie in this?

CLOONEY: Let's hope it's not Hotel Darfur.

GORANI: How does it change you when you come back from Darfur, George? How do you see your world differently when you come back from a place like Darfur?

CLOONEY: Well, it's on an individual basis. No one's the same when you come back from there.

The point is that you can't believe the cruelty. And the first thing that you're struck with is that they are completely alone and have nothing and no voice. And you're -- you're kept awake at night with the idea that you have to continue to have a voice.

CLANCY: Don Cheadle, you know, a final question. You know, as you look at the situation, you know, a child's eyes, you know, the lives that are going to be lost here, do you have a sense of satisfaction that you're standing up?

CHEADLE: I'm not satisfied at all. I'm very unsatisfied. And I am really crushed that, you know, someone told us today that the highest level of delegation that has made this sojourn to China and then to Egypt and then back here to attempt to bring some sort of connected tissue to this whole issue, the highest level delegation was Don Cheadle, George Clooney, Joey Cheek and Tegla Loroupe.

It's, like, really? That's the -- that's the highest importance that this thing has held?

So I'm not satisfied. I'm outraged. I'm pissed off. And I want -- you know, I think I want to do something dramatic, and I'm looking for what that is.

So I'm making an appeal to anyone who has looked at these pictures and who is affected, maybe not as largely as we were because we were there and saw it and smelled it and touched it and felt it, but we want people to find however they can become a part of this and impact the situation. Because whether you want to argue if it's a genocide or not, we know that if things go unchecked it will be.

There are 2.5 million people who are displaced and dying, and that is not going to change until people get mad and make something happen.

CLANCY: Gentlemen, we have to leave it there. And we hope it doesn't leave it there.

We thank you for your efforts here with us and throughout as you press the case of the people stranded in Darfur.

GORANI: All right, Don Cheadle, George Clooney, thanks for joining us.

CHEADLE: Thank you.

CLOONEY: Thank you.

CLANCY: We'll have a roundup of the main stories coming up in just a moment.

GORANI: Well, if money is the root of all evil and power corrupts, then what happens when you put them together in huge amounts?

Coming up, the politics of power and money in Russia.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Well, if money is the root of all evil and power corrupts, what happens when you put them together in huge amounts? Coming up, the politics of power and money in Russia.

CLANCY: And marching in his brother's footsteps, Britain's Prince Williams follows Prince Harry into a military career.

This is CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

GORANI: Well, we want to resume our look at our special look all this week at Russia now.

CLANCY: That's right. It's been freezing cold there. We've been bringing you special reports, Hala and I, bravely, while Becky Anderson has to face the cold...

GORANI: Yes, we've been the brave ones, right.

CLANCY: ... near Red Square.

GORANI: Let's go back to Becky who's in the Russian capital.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, guys.

This is the last day of our -- all right. This is the last day of our special coverage. I thank you very much, both of you. Of our week-long special coverage, Putin, power and politics. It's been a fascinating week. Today, we want to take a look at the near future. Where is this country headed? Who will take it there? And what are the changes they face?

Now on that note, a warning today from the head of state security here. He says, and I quote him, "Corruption is growing and it is stifling the business climate here in Russia, scaring off investors." He was quoted today in one of the daily newspapers. Authorities say organized crime is tightening its grip on both of the regional governments here and on business. President Putin calls fighting corruption a priority, though some accuse the Kremlin of encouraging corruption by tightening its grip on power. Cabinet being a major theme of the elections. Both for the parliament, of course, a year from now, and for the presidency, perhaps more importantly, just four months after that.

While that may be some way off, just as in the United States and elsewhere, the race is on. Russia's constitution, of course, doesn't allow President Putin to stand for a third time. So the favorite game of Kremlin-watchers here is who will stand, who will they be, how much power will they have?

So let's give you A little bit of rundown of who those contenders just might be. Who will the heir apparent be for President Putin. Now Russian President Mikhail Fradkov is the current prime minister here in Russia, the same post Mr. Putin held before taking over from Boris Yeltsin, of course. But he's not seen as very ambitious. Look for him to be replaced closer to the time by one of two other possible contenders.

And this is who they are. One is the current deputy prime minister, who is Dmitri Medvedev. He used to be President Putin's chief of staff, and he oversees four of his pet projects. Those are health, education, agriculture and housing.

The other is the deputy prime minister and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov. He's part of the so-called "sivoliki" here. Now those are representatives of the army, of the KGB and law enforcement. They make up most of the Kremlin power structure here. And when I say most of it, I'm talking about 60 percent of the positions of power are owned and held by the sivoliki. Ivanov has accused the West of backing the Color (ph) revolutions of Georgia and Ukraine.

So those are the runners and riders as far as we can tell for the presidential elections in 2008. Now fairly or not, think corruption and many people here will think oligarchs. The fall of the Soviet Union saw their rise, men who quite literally cashed in on the heady days of privatization, back in Boris Yeltsin's time, back in the 1990s.

Well, their fates, of course, since then, a lesson for those who would try to translate unimaginable wealth into political success.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON (voice-over): Perhaps no one personifies that lesson more than Mikhail Khordorkovsky, the former head of gas giant Yukos, with an estimated net worth of $8 billion. He was once Russia's richest man. He's now serving a nine-year jail sentence in Siberia after a Russian court convicted him of tax evasion and embezzlement. His supporters say the case stems from Kremlin resentment of his funding of opposition parties.

ROBERT AMSTERDAM, KHORDORKOVSKY'S LAWYER: This is a government who attempted to throw this man out and this man is staying in jail in order to stay in Russia, and it's a tragedy that any individual has to face jail in order to maintain his commitment to his country.

ANDERSON: Other oligarchs chose to flee rather than fight. Former media magnate Boris Berezovsky was once an adviser to former President Boris Yeltsin and a key aide to Vladimir Putin during Russia's 2000 election. But that year saw him receive asylum in London to evade charges that he defrauded the regional government for millions of dollars, charges Berezovsky also maintains were politically motivated.

BORIS BEREZOVSKY, FMR. MEDIA MAGNATE: The problem is that Putin don't like to have anyone who is real independent. It doesn't matter who is he, politician, or journalist or business, from business community. And for sure, a person who is independent in money sense is maybe the most dangerous for him.

ANDERSON: The Kremlin has denied that the charges were meant to silence critics, but rather to show that none no one is above the law.

Also living in exile since 2000, Vladimir Grazinski (ph). He stands accused of defrauding the Russian government by overstating the assets of his Media Most holding company to win a loan guarantee. He denies any wrongdoing. Grazinski used his media empire to oppose Mr. Putin directly.

For those oligarchs who learned to play the game, they found themselves largely left alone by the Kremlin.

Take Roman Abranovich (ph) this man, worth an estimated $18.2 billion, according to "Forbes" magazine. The owner of English Premier League football club Chelsea also made his wealth in oil, becoming the majority shareholder in Sibneft. Accused of some questionable tax schemes, he settled the outstanding bill to the Kremlin's satisfaction. Abranovich went on to sell Sibneft to Russia's state- controlled gas run (ph). Another Russian tycoon with an interest in English football, Vladimir Patinem (ph). With an estimated fortune of $6.4 billion, he heads industrial and media consortium Interos (ph). The former deputy prime minister of the economy focuses more of his time on charities and politics.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, I'm joined now by Alexander Lebedev. Some may call him an oligarch. He is a member of the Russian parliament and he's the owner of the Russian Natural Reserve Banks. Thank you for joining us.

You were in the 1980s a KGB agent in London. After that, you bought a small little-known bank. You are now worth three and a half billion dollars according to "Forbes." That makes you the 194th richest man in the world. I guess, call me old-fashioned, but I would consider you an oligarch. How have you survived?

ALEXANDER LEBEDEV, RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Well, I did my best to survive. Normally. By the way, quite more often critical of Kremlin's policies in recent years. Sometime -- I was recently comparing actually my criticism to those of Litvinenko, which you might have noticed that I'm okay.

ANDERSON: OK, well we'll talk about Litvinenko shortly. But let's talk about corruption because you are a vocal critic of the corruption here, which is, let's be fair, completely pervasive, isn't it, when it comes to the Russian economy and Russian politic, as it were.

Can you hold your hands up and say that you've never been corrupt. That you're whiter than white in earning the money that you have?

LEBEDEV: No, frankly. But then in the recent years, I was, let's say, not forced to do anything illegal but in the '90s, probably, it was not possible to do without it.

But then corruption is not only noticed by myself. I mean, it was President Putin recently and it was the (INAUDIBLE) saying that this is one of the most common problems. And the explanation is very simple, it is because Russian bureaucracy is beyond any control from the society, from the parliament, from the free press or from let's say political competition between the parties.

ANDERSON: It's increasingly understood here that effectively it is the Kremlin who is behind who gets into positions of -- big positions of politics or business here.

Does President Putin see you as a political threat now that you have made your mark in business? After all, your patron was Mikhail Gorbachev. Do you have aspirations for politics?

LEBEDEV: We're friends with Mikhail Gorbachev. We are shareholders of (INAUDIBLE) which is highly oppositional. But I don't think that there is any serious proof to anybody in Kremlin seeing me as really -- as an enemy.

Because what I'm trying to do is criticize Kremlin on matters of substance. For example, I am sort of trying to separate the (INAUDIBLE) cases from actual criticism of damages done to the political system recently.

ANDERSON: We're talking there about the murder of a journalist who works for an organization that you also owned and let's talk about Litvinenko, those two murders effectively. What do you know what do you think?

LEBEDEV: I think sooner or later, we will find out the truth. I think it would, let's say, be more helpful if we, for the time being, leave it entirely to the law enforcement agencies. I would recommend them to be cooperative if there's any link between the two murders. But I don't think we have any proof as for the time being.

I don't think we should be rushing at conclusions, saying the Kremlin has anything to do with that. Kremlin has quite a lot of things, we really can with substantial proof blame on it. But that mostly -- lack of freedom of press, lack of political competition, distortions, which has been coerced into legislation on the free elections, and things like that.

But as far as the contractual killings are concerned, I don't think we should be rushing at completely. Because it will confuse the picture.

ANDERSON: We're going to have to leave it there, sir. We thank you very much, indeed for joining us. Alexander Lebedev, as I said, some people will call him an oligarch, I won't, but that's because he's standing here and I don't want to feel threatened.

That's it for the time being. I'm Becky Anderson in Moscow with our continuing coverage. Putin, power, and politics. Back to you two.

CLANCY: All right, Becky, thank you so much for that. It's been a fascinating look. Becky still has got some more to come but it is Friday and for our viewers in the United States, a little thanks to Becky for there.

GORANI: Right, but for our international viewers, stay tuned, a lot more ahead from Russia. We're going to take a short break now.

CLANCY: He may be just another face in the crowd of graduates, but he's no ordinary student.

GORANI: Ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY, another British royal joins the ranks of the military. Stay with us.

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CLANCY: Welcome back to CNN International.

GORANI: This is YOUR WORLD TODAY and in your world today, the future King of England has just added another title to his resume and that would be Army officer.

CLANCY: No, he's second in line to the throne. Prince William received his diploma from the elite Sandhurst Military Academy. And he's now been commissioned into the Army.

GORANI: Now Paula Newton reports on this day of pride for the royal family.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As much as Prince William has always said he just wants to be a rank and file soldier, he is anything but.

Amid the precision and grace of this historic military parade, the point was lost on no one. 24-year-old 2nd Lieutenant Wales will one day be King and command all British forces.

This was, though an intensely personal day for the royals. Williams' grandmother Queen Elizabeth beamed as she inspected her grandson, no doubt more confident now that in his hands the monarchy can have a secure future. She didn't mention him by name in her speech, but reminded all the officers here of their duty.

ELIZABETH, QUEEN OF ENGLAND: I'm speaking to every individual one of you when I say you are very special people. In your hands lies the task of maintaining the effectiveness of not just the British Army but also the armies of our friends and allies represented here today in peace and war.

NEWTON: Williams' father, Prince Charles, and his stepmother Camilla looked on, but all eyes were on the lady in red, Kate Middleton, the prince's girlfriend. This is one of the first times she's been invited to a royal occasion and rumors about an engagement are the talk of Britain. This is a milestone, though, for William. His military graduation a turning point for his role not just as a royal, but as an officer.

(on camera): As much as the ceremony is all about tradition and pageantry, Prince William has made it clear he wants to be a working soldier. But the ministry of defense here has not yet said exactly what they will allow him to do.

MAJOR GEN. SEBASTIAN ROBERTS, COMMANDING THE HOUSEHOLD DIVISION: There are a lot of different factors that have to be taken into account. Of course there are special factors with Prince William. But, nothing, I think, should be ruled in or out by anyone. What is absolutely the case is he will join his regiment, take part in all its activities, and judgments will be made at the right time, and place about his actual deployments.

NEWTON: Few believe he will ever set foot on a frontline, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan, even though he said he would be humiliated if he couldn't.

As momentous as this day is for Prince William, it must be bittersweet, too. He has spent the week talking of his mother's memory, poring over the report into her death. His graduation caps a week when William has come of age.

Paula Newton, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Coming up, a spoof newscast had Belgians up in arms recently, and I mean it.

GORANI: Right. It didn't say the Martians were coming. It said the Flemish were going. The story after this.

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