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Prism

Family of Accused Bombing Suspect Speaks Out; Violence in Iran

Aired December 28, 2009 - 12:00   ET

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

HALA GORANI, HOST, PRISM (voice over): The family of the suspect accused in the airline terror attack is speaking out. The investigation is going global. We are live in London and Abuja with new developments.

Israel's war in Gaza, one year later, from Gaza and a southern Israel town targeted by Hamas rockets, what is life like there today?

And in our "Prism Segment" tonight the movie (ph) "Spirited Away"? If you haven't seen or even heard of these movies, you are not alone. We are looking back at the most under-rated films of the decade.

Welcome to PRISM, we take a story on this program, put it under the prism and look at it from multiple perspectives. I'm Hala Gorani, Stan Grant is off this week.

Friday's spoiled terrorist plot began with the sound of firecrackers. Now it has brought on a global investigation. Around the world authorities are piecing together the puzzle and imposing restrictions to stop the next potential plot.

We are tracking the investigation from Detroit to Lagos. Christian Purefoy is covering events in the Nigerian capital. But we begin with Phil Black in London, where the suspect Abdulmutallab, spent many years.

What more do we know, Phil, this hour?

PHIL BLACK, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, police continue their investigation into those three years that Abdulmutallab spent in this city, as a student studying engineering. And the British government has confirmed today that having left the United Kingdom in June of last year Abdulmutallab tried to return. He, again, applied for a study visa for six months or so. That application however was rejected because the college that he claimed that he wanted to study at was a fake.

But the consequences of that visa application mean that from that time the British government says he has been on a watch list. He has not been allowed to enter this country since. And that information, the British government says, should have been shared with U.S. agencies as well, Hala.

GORANI: What do we know about the time he actually spent in the U.K.? Of course, since 2005, in the U.K. there is this fear that some institutions, mosques, religious organizations are brainwashing some people to actually carry out these attacks. What do we know about that angle?

BLACK: The British government says that is very much a focus of their -what is now a three-day-old investigation. They are looking to piece together his life here to determine a couple of key facts. To what extent he was radicalized here? To what extent he may have come in contact with extremists members of the British Muslim community. And the very possibility that perhaps the plot to bring down that aircraft on Christmas Day could have its origins in this city and there may still be accomplices living here as well. These are what the investigation, the police, the security forces here, are trying to determine, Hala.

GORANI: Phil Black, live in London.

While the suspect's Nigerian family distances themselves from the plot, they are also making it clear that they warned authorities ahead of time about this young man. Christian Purefoy is following that angle from Abuja.

What are the family saying in Nigeria?

CHRISTIAN PUREFOY, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Hala, well we have spoken to two of the sons today. In fact, the family is gathered here in the city of Abuja. And they have put out a press statement today saying they were as shocked as the rest of the world when they woke up to find their son, their family member had tried to blow up an airplane.

They are shocked and they are saying that they did not support him in any way. But they are also saying that they were very surprised at the rate, if you like, at which he became radicalized. The father said, he contacted Nigerian security services about two months ago, fearing that his son was becoming radicalized. And then after that, he contacted international agencies about a month an a half ago. Before that he said his son was - well, just his son, Hala.

GORANI: Where do they say this radicalization happened?

PUREFOY: Well, investigations are ongoing in Nigeria. The Nigerian secret services, their reports they are searching some of the family's houses. The family is certainly collaborating with Nigerian and international security agencies. It is a lot of soul searching going on in Nigeria as well as to why this happened, because Nigeria is sort of split between a Christian south and a Muslim north. And in the Muslim north there are sympathies with sentiments like Farouk had. However, having said that, no one is ever taken it to this level, of getting on an airplane in America and trying to blow it up.

Normally what happens in Nigeria, it is localized violence, terrible violence, hundreds dead, but it has to do with local politics and rarely international problems, Hala.

GORANI: All right. It will be interesting to see if it indeed pans out that this young man was responsible for trying to bring down that plane, where he spent the last few years. And who he met with, Christian Purefoy is in Abuja.

U.S. officials insist the failed attack is not part of a wider plot, but they are not taking any chances, the number of air marshals has increased since Friday and new restrictions are in place for U.S. bound international flights. Earlier the U.S. Homeland Security chief acknowledged that security in place before Friday had failed. The man, the suspect, did get on that plane.

One day after - now we move on from this story, on to another one, in Iran. One day after violent street demonstrations in Iran, the government is cracking down on opposition protestors. Several web sites are reporting the arrest of at least seven prominent activists. Reza Sayah is monitoring developments from the Iran Desk.

And he joins us now, live with more, first off, Reza, on the changing shape and nature of these protests in Iran.

REZA SAYAH, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: No question about it Hala, these protests are getting more intense and we are going to show you a dramatic piece of video just into CNN earlier today that shows you how intense things are getting. Take a look at this piece of video that shows protestors surrounding uniformed security forces in Tehran, the security forces cowering down. One of the security personnel telling the protestors, we're sorry. We hearing in Farsi, in the video, one of the protestors pointing at the security officers, demanding for them to say, "Ayatollah Khamenei Iran's Supreme Leader is a bastard."

So this really illustrates how venomous, how bitter, this conflict is becoming. Let's go to another piece of dramatic video that shows protestors charging a vehicle, a van belonging to security officials. There you see protestors kicking this vehicle. Eventually they will start rocking it and turning it over. This violent reaction by protestors comes after security forces went out on Sunday, during these protests, and delivered a harsh crackdown on protestors based on what we are seeing on these videotapes and witness accounts.

The security forces were out on a mission to deliver a harsh crackdown - we are going to show another piece of video after we see this van tip over. There we go. Let's got to this next piece of video that shows a protestor with a really awful head wound. And that is indicative of what witnesses were telling us throughout Sunday that security forces were out smashing protestors in the head and that is perhaps why, in many of these videos, we saw a lot of head injuries, Hala. So, really tensions escalating yesterday, remarkable events taking place over the past couple of days in Iran. Could be another turning point in the post-election turmoil.

GORANI: And we are talking about the changing shape of the protests and also the response of the security forces with these reports of protestors killed in the last few days. Do we have -can we get an accurate number of the number of people who lost their lives?

SAYAH: Right now, based on what Iran's own state-run news agencies are telling us, there have been eight people killed. Sunday turned out to be one of the deadliest days post-the June 12 election. Among the dead, and we'll show you a picture, is Mir Hussein Mousavi's nephew, Ali Mousavi. Mir Hussein Mousavi, of course, the opposition leader, the former presidential candidate in June. There you see him, pictured on the left, his nephew is on the right.

Let's go to video what is purportedly Ali Mousavi killed on Sunday afternoon, around noon time, in Iran. There you see the video. Now, Iran's state-run news agency confirms that Ali Mousavi has been killed but they are saying, the eight people who were killed were not killed at the hands of security forces. They are citing police and saying all of these deaths were staged. But again based on what we are seeing with these pictures they tell a very different story.

And I can't stress enough how significant it is, Hala, that all of this activity is falling on the religious holiday of Ashura, when Iranians and Shias commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hossein. On this day violence is blasphemous. So the fact that you have people dead, look for the opposition movement to use this day and these deaths as another rallying cry, Hala.

GORANI: All right. Thank you very much Reza Sayah, at our Iran Desk.

Let's turn our attention to Pakistan now. There were at least two deadly attacks in that country in less than 24 hours. And Reza was mentioning Ashura, well, as Muslim pilgrims honored that event, a suicide bomber in Karachi detonated explosives killing at least 30 people less than a day after another suicide bombing in Pakistan controlled Kashmir. Arwa Damon is at our bureau in Islamabad. And joins us more with both these developing stories and the violence throughout the country - Arwa.

ARWA DAMON, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Hala.

Let's start first with that suicide bombing in Kashmir. What happened was that -sorry in Karachi. What happened was that the suicide bomber exploded at a refreshment stand, as you were mentioning. They are a part of the commemorations that Shia Muslims around the world are taking part in right now, Ashura, as we heard mentioned earlier, by Reza. This individual, the suicide bomber, was amongst the millions, the many worshipers that were there before detonating. And it really caused widespread devastation and chaos. And in fact, the Pakistani government to a certain degree, in anticipation of this type of an attack had put tens of thousands of security officials on high alert. And so what we saw in the aftermath was that many of the people that were partaking were enraged and they turned on the security officials there, throwing stones at them, and also setting cars on fire.

I'm also just hearing now that we do have close circuit video that does show this detonation. That does perhaps shed further light on exactly how this suicide bomber was able to get past the Pakistani security. Because officials are saying that they did have multiple checkpoints. And this has come at a time of heightened tensions in Pakistan because of the multitude of bombing and explosions that we have seen. And many Pakistanis that we have been talking to really are just saying how shocked and outraged they are at the state that their country is in, Hala.

GORANI: All right. Arwa Damon, live there in Pakistan. Thanks very much.

You are watching PRISM. Just ahead we look at how people around the world are marking the one-year anniversary of the Gaza incursion.

And in our "Prism Segment" have you seen "Spirited Away"? Not to worry, many people haven't. We'll tell you what other movies are on a list of the most under rated films of the decade when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN MOVIE CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, you are not in Kansas anymore. You are on Pandora.

(END MOVIE CLIP)

GORANI: Well, we may be in a recession but it was a record-breaking weekend at the box office. American movie goers spent an estimated $278 million on tickets. Leading the way, James Cameron's 3D epic, "Avatar". It took in $75 million, in it its second week. Then there was "Sherlock Holmes" that opened Christmas Day, and took second with $65 million; "Alvin & the Chipmunks, The Squeakquel", came in third with $50 million.

Well, it has been a banner year for Hollywood. You know when things aren't looking good, economically speaking, people just want to dream. They go to the movies. Box office revenues up 8.6 percent in the U.S. and Canada; and overall ticket sales topped $10 billion U.S. dollars. That is an all-time record. Box office receipts are also up in the U.K., Japan, Germany, Australia, Mexico and Brazil.

The top grossing movie, worldwide, this year is "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", which took in more than -this is an unbelievable number - it is almost $1 billion.

So, we know what the biggest box office hit is this year, but in our "Prism Segment" today we want to look at the most under-rated films of the decade. We are closing out the 0s,t he 2000s. Here is one popular with both film critics and fans.

(BEGIN MOVIE CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hang on, almost there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Master Aku! Where have you been?!

(GIGGLING)

GORANI: "Spirited Away" is a anime favorite in Japan. But the 2001 movie was missed by a larger worldwide audience. "The Guardian" newspaper calls it one of their 10 most under rated films of the decade.

Also, on that "Guardian" list, "Morvern Callar" a British drama from 2002. The apocalyptic tale "Time of the Wolf" the 2003 co-production from France and Germany, Sweden's "Songs from the Second Floor". Those are a few of the films among that to 10 most under rated film list.

In our "Prism Segment" we look at a topic from a variety of angles and "New York Times" movie critic A.O. Scott is the perfect person to talk to right now, and he gets to see all these films, and write about them. And give his opinion about them. From the blockbusters, Tony, to smaller art house gems, he joins us from New York.

A.O. SCOTT, CHIEF MOVIE CRITIC, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Nice to be here.

GORANI: You heard me mention some of these under-rated films that probably a wider audience hasn't heard of. What did you make of that list?

SCOTT: Well, I think those are some good ones. I think "Spirited Away" is just a wonderful movie. Hayao Miyazaki, the director, the Japanese animator, really one of the great filmmakers in the world. He had a lot of other good films that came out this decade, too. Most recently, "Ponyo," which was released in the United States this past summer, which was also a wonderful movie. And I think that sometimes, you know, parents who like to take their kids to the latest PIXAR or DreamWorks, our you know, "Shrek" animated movie might overlook some of the wonderful stuff that comes out of Japan.

But "Spirited Away," is one of his best. And definitely, you know, one of the more overlooked, not so much by critics, but by audiences, movies of the decade.

It is hard to sort out. I mean, more than 5,000 movies were released in the United States and reviewed by my colleagues and me at "The New York Times" this decade.

GORANI: And I found interesting, Tony, among the movies that you singled out in the last decades are kind of big-budget movies, "Letters from Iwo Jima," Clint Eastwood's film.

SCOTT: Yes.

GORANI: "A.I." Stephen Spielberg, these are big Hollywood blockbusters.

SCOTT: Well, "A.I." is one that I've been insisting has been under- rated and misunderstood, I think, since the day it opened.

GORANI: Why do you think?

SCOTT: Well, I think that you know, it - because it is a Spielberg movie a lot of people take it as more sentimental than it really is. But I think it is a very dark, intriguing view of the future. And I think it holds up on repeated viewings. I don't think that it gave audiences the kind of thrill that they were expecting, or the kind of even happy ending that they were wanted. I think it was overlooked in favor of Spielberg's movies like "Minority Report" or "War of the Worlds", which were kind of more successful, maybe more satisfying to audiences. But I think, "A.I. is kind of his, his sleeper. One of his, his -

GORANI: One that will hold up the test of time.

SCOTT: I think so.

GORANI: And you also mention, "Punch Drunk Love". I personally loved "Punch Drunk Love". And it is true that it was a more kind of confidential, film, in terms of the wider audience.

SCOTT: Yes, well, it has a big, big star in Adam Sandler, and it is by far his smallest movie and Paul Thomas Anderson, who directed it went to direct "There Will Be Blood," which was, you know, won an Oscar for Daniel Day Lewis. And he was at the top of many critics list of the best movies of the decade. "Punch Drunk Love" is just such an odd, eccentric, off-beat romantic comedy.

So, beautifully directed; the use of sound and music, the way that Sandler kinds of plays off his usual persona. It definitely -it polarizes people. I mean, there are people like me, and like you, I guess, who really love it. There are other people who just can't stand it. I remember when I saw it first at the press screening at the Cannes Film Festival, it really divided critics right down the middle.

GORANI: And those are the most interesting films usually.

SCOTT: Always.

GORANI: Those that divide, with those passionately pro, and those passionately con. We only have time for one more here. You also singled out "Michael Clayton", which I didn't love, by the way. I know you did. Tell us more about why you think this deserves to be in the decade list?

SCOTT: Well, I think that this was a great role for George Clooney. And I think it is one of these movies, it was a little bit of a throwback, back to the kind of movies of the `30s and `40s, about anti-hero who discovers his conscience and does the right thing. I think, also in a decade that saw a lot of corporate malfeasance, a lot of mistrust of what was going on, you know, in the corridors of power, that this was a very relevant and topical movie, that almost came out a little too early. This is in a way, a movie about a guy's bubble bursting. And I think, is worth, in the wake of various bubbles having burst is worth going and looking back at again. And I think that, that clearly -

GORANI: I might give it another shot.

SCOTT: OK, well, by all means.

GORANI: I saw it in the theater. I don't know, sometimes it is true, you do have reservations about a movie when you see it the first time, and then it kind of grows on you. Movies do that sometimes.

SCOTT: I think that happens. I mean, that is why it is interesting for me, having been a professional film critic now, for exactly 10 years.

GORANI: Uh-huh.

SCOTT: To look back and see the ones that maybe I didn't -wasn't as impressed or blown away with when I first saw them, that are still hanging around that I'm still thinking about; that I want to go back and see again, and tell people about.

GORANI: All right. Ten years, you still have another 40 ahead of you, or so. Thank you, A.O. Scott, "The New York Times" film critic, for joining us on CNN International.

SCOTT: Nice to talk to you, Hala.

GORANI: All right. Well, I just wanted to also mention to all of our friends who are watching and say, international films. And on that "Guardian" list we had, "Harry He is There to Help", which is a French movie, which I recommend, which is great. "Songs from the Second Floor", which is a Swedish movie. And we are hearing from you on Twitter. As you can imagine we are getting some widely varying opinions.

EricCeleste says, "Wonder Boys" and "Serenity" are two of the decades most under-rated movies.

Mike Dawson calls "The Ice Harvest" one of the most under-rated Christmas movies.

The Mike Cook, I guess that is his Twitter name, asks if anyone has seen "Proof of Life" and "The Road to Perdition", two of his under-rated favorites.

Yes and yes.

And BrendonJoshua takes it a step further, he calls "Panic Room" one of the most under-rated movies of all time.

OK. And you can hear what I have to say on Twitter, if you would like. Tell me what you think about these films and Tweet me at HalaGorani, one word.

Now, the world remembers a grim anniversary, but a year after the Israeli offensive into Gaza, the region still lives under a cloud of fear, and grief. We have that after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: The announcement comes on the anniversary of Israel's military incursion into Gaza. The operation was aimed at ending the rain of rockets launched by Hamas into Israel. But as Paula Hancocks reports, few rockets are being launched these days. The people of Israel, though, say they are still living under a cloud.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Children play without a care in the world. This is not a regular scene in the Israeli town of Sderot, bordering Gaza, it has over the years become ground zero for rocket attacks by Palestinian militants, but this playground is rocket proof.

SHAHAR HERMELIN, JEWISH NATIONAL FUND: This is our answer to terror. We have hundreds of visitors in this playground every week. And parents being able to hear the laughter of their kids like anywhere else in the world, it is something they couldn't have imagined until we built this place.

HANCOCKS: Rocket attacks have dropped some 90 percent from a year ago, when Israel launched its operation in Gaza to stop the rockets.

But that means little to seven-year-old Lior, she suffered shrapnel wounds when a rocket hit her neighbor's house, where she was playing. The physical scars have healed. Her mother says the mental ones have not.

She tells me, "Lior sees the world as a dangerous and scary place. She is afraid of being in touch with other children because she doesn't want to come in contact with pain." And Ben-Shimon does not believe the lull in rocket attacks will last. In fact, few people you meet in Sderot believe this is the end of the violence. Shimon Bastila is employing some dark humor to entice customers to his hair dressing salon, with a rocket- shaped hairdo in the window.

He says, "The Israeli operations was good, but they stopped too soon. It would have been better if it had continue," he says.

The man in charge of protecting civilians in southern Israel disagrees.

MAJ. GEN. YAIR GOLAN, CMDR., IDF HOMEFRONT COMMAND: In every sense it was a success. It was a success strategically, because since the operation there is almost no shooting on civilians on the Israeli side.

HANCOCKS: But even during a lull, experts say the residents of Sderot would still suffer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People with chronic PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, will continue to experience their symptoms. They will be avoiding places. They have learned that to avoid helps minimize their symptoms. The problem is it takes them out of their life.

HANCOCKS: Sderot today does look different from Sderot a year ago, house prices are going up and people are on the streets again. But new bomb shelters are also being built as Israel prepares for the expected next round. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Sderot, Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, around the world people have gathered to remember the anniversary. In fact, I remember, yesterday it was one of those trending topics on Twitter. People are marking the occasion. Dozens gathered at a rally at the Place of Nations in Geneva. Activists also marked the occasion at the human rights monument in Ottawa, Canada. And in Paris, demonstrators carried a giant Palestinian flag, you see it there, to commemorate the first anniversary of the Israeli assault on Gaza.

That is for me, Hala Gorani. Our special half-hour look back at the Tsunami that struck South Asia five years ago, is up next, after an update of the headlines. Stay with us.

END