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Rare Interview with North Korean Defectors; Indonesia, Malaysia Agree To Accept Rohingya, Bangladeshi Migrants With Conditions; Burundi President Delays Election a Week; Thai Government Set to Vote for Constitutional Referendum in January; Israeli Prime Minister Cancels Controversial Bus Segregation Program. Aired 8:00-9:00 ET

Aired May 20, 2015 - 8:00   ET

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

[08:01:08] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream.

Now Indonesia and Malaysia say that they will accept migrants arriving by ship for a time, some relief for the thousands of refugees stranded at

sea.

Now they escaped North Korea. And now these defectors tell us why they've returned to the country.

And more violence on the streets of Burundi as protesters continue to fight the president's bid for a third term.

Malaysia and Indonesia are now pledging increased support for migrants just as hundreds more are rescued.

Now fishermen helped two boats reach Indonesia's Aceh Province earlier today. There were more than 530 people on board. And they are just the

latest in a stream of thousands of desperate people fleeing persecution and poverty in the region, mostly ethnic Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and

economic migrants from Bangdladesh.

Now the United Nations refugee agency is praising the latest efforts by Indonesia and Malaysia to address the growing migrant crisis. And

foreign ministers from those nations and Thailand, they wrapped up talks earlier today.

Indonesia and Malaysia say that they will offer migrant shelter on the condition that the international community helps find them new homes within

one year.

Now for more, Saima Mohsin joins me now live from Bangkok, Thailand. And Saima, Indonesia and Malaysia will now reportedly take in the migrants,

but what about Thai government officials? What is their thinking on how to resolve this crisis?

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think, Kristie, the Thai government in today's meeting was conspicuous in its absence,

certainly metaphorically speaking, and a damning statement from Human Rights Watch to that effect just in the last hour saying that it finds it

disturbing that while Indonesia and Malaysia have agreed to take these people in for the time being, which must be stressed, that Thailand wasn't

really present in the meeting or what it -- the way it terms it was missing in action.

The Thai government hasn't taken these people on. It's been operating a pushback policy as has Indonesia and Malaysia up until now.

Now in an exclusive interview with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha of Thailand, he told CNN that Thailand operates nine refugee camps already for

Rohinya refugees, hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas are here already that they are catering to, but he feels that it's the country of origin that

should be dealing with this crisis and that they need to get to the root cause of the problem.

Now, all agencies and countries involved don't deny that. They do say that the problem lies with Myanmar. The problem is, Myanmar says it won't

enter into discussions even if the term Rohingya is involved, and that is because they do not recognize these people, they will not accept them as

citizens. And in a statement by the ministry of foreign affairs, they said Kristie, they consider that if the words Rohingya is even mentioned or that

they are present when it is, they will effectively be accepting them as citizens of their country.

So, a very complicated situation. And that is why as lots of human rights groups have said, these people are being used as human ping pong --

Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, and before that statement from Myanmar, before today's talks, and before today's rescue of hundreds of migrants, you went

out to sea looking for stranded migrant ships. And during that journey out in the Andaman Sea, what did you learn about the refugees and the

conditions they were forced to endure?

[08:05:04] MOHSIN: You know, it is incredibly hot out there. There is a searing heat. The Andaman Sea is not a gentle sea to be in, and they

have been pushed from country to country. And we were just out there for three our four days, Kristie. They have been there for four months, often

without fuel, only refueling when the countries operating their pushback policy refuel them.

And the last we know of any kind of aid getting to them was last week. So they have perhaps been out there without food and water.

And by the way, Kristie, although there were more than 400 rescued today, we believe there could be up to 7,000 to 8,000 who are still at sea.

And what we also learned, Kristie, is that local people really do want to try and help them. They were collecting food and water to pass to the

boats, but they just couldn't get to them, because the patrol boats would get to them first -- Krsitie.

LU STOUT: Saima Mohsin reporting live from Bangkok for us. Many thanks, indeed, for your reporting Saima.

Now the International Organization for Migration is on the front lines helping refugees get the care they need once they arrive on land. And the

group's deputy chief of mission in Indonesia, his name is Steve Hamilton, joins me now on the line from Aceh.

Steve, thank you for joining us here on CNN.

We know earlier today hundreds of refugees rescued off the Indonesian coast. They were saved by fisherman. What were you able to gather about

what happened on the scene? What happened today?

STEVE HAMILTON, INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MIGRATION: I think it's the same thing that's always been happening. The Indonesians are

leading with their heart. I mean, the individual Indonesian is stepping in not worried about what they're seeing on the media from certain government

officials saying there's a pushback policy.

I mean, we had never heard of an official pushback policy. And even meeting the vice president today, he said he was always telling people to

let people in. This is a humanitarian need.

LU STOUT: And Steve, when the rescued migrants made it to land, what was their condition? And how did they react?

HAMILTON: I mean, it's fairly rough condition right now. And it was made worse by confusion about where we can put them. I mean, I think local

sentiment is getting a bit frustrated on finding more accommodation for people. We have districts not wanting to work with other districts that

they don't want to let new people in.

So I think people are wearing down a bit in Aceh. I mean, they had such open hearts and they want to help, but just more people keep coming

and they're not sure where they're going to put them.

LU STOUT: Where are they now?

HAMILTON: Actually, they sat on a bus for five, six hours while people squabbled back and forth about where can they put them. They didn't

want them to cross border into another district wouldn't allow them. I mean, thankfully, the department of social affairs stepped in and said that

they'll put up a tent just to get the people out of the buses and they'll figure it out later.

But we're seeing now that it's just the people keep coming and the initial interest to help is still there, but they're feeling a bit

overwhelmed with the numbers.

LU STOUT: It's terrible to hear that they are now facing this new passage of uncertainty. They were able to finally make it to shore, but

now they're on a bus being shuttled around waiting for someone there to take them in.

And meanwhile, you and your colleagues, have you been able to talk to the rescued migrants? What are they saying?

HAMILTON: I mean, I almost don't have any access -- and the government is still cooperating with everything, it's just -- there's

always this confusion on the ground. I mean, people aren't clear who is responsible. They're picked up in one area, they want to move them to

another, it's just -- there's a certain period of uncertainty right now.

People are obviously happy to be on the ground, but of course they want to get settled and figure out what's going on to them. As you know,

they didn't plan on coming to Indonesia initially.

So for these people, they're going to have to assess what they're going to do in the future now. And they are two distinct groups if we look

at the Bangladeshis and the Rohingya. I mean, the Rohingya is a much more complex decision of what they're going to do, but the Bangladeshis need to

reconsider their futures. And for the most part, they've been asking to go home, the Bangladeshis. I think it was a very difficult journey they'd

ever expected. And I think for them going home is the best option right now.

LU STOUT: Steve Hamilton, you've been on the front lines of this crisis. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences what happened

earlier today with this migrant rescue off the coast of Indonesia and what they're going through now. Steve Hamilton of the IOM in Indonesia joining

me on the line from Aceh. Thank you and take care.

Now we have much more about his humanitarian crisis on our website. And you can learn about the stateless and starving Rohingya who are fleeing

Myanmar. It's all at CNN.com.

Now, the largest recall in automotive history is happening right now in the United States. Now Japanese auto parts supplier Takata doubled its

recall over faulty airbags to include 34 million vehicles. That's nearly one out of seven cars on American roads.

Now CNN's Tom Foreman has been following this massive recall from Washington. He joins us now.

And Tom, this is the largest auto recall in history. Consumers there in America must be taking notice.

[08:10:32] TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I tell you, this is a rush hour this morning here in the United States that had a lot of people

looking around inside their own cars and saying is there a potentially lethal threat right in front of me?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN (voice-over): This is what the trouble is all about: airbags exploding, firing metal shards into passengers with so much force police

say some victims look like they've been shot. That's allegedly what happened to Corey Burdick. His lawyer says when Burdick had a minor

accident in Florida, the airbag should have protected him.

RICH NEWSOME, ATTORNEY FOR COREY BURDICK: But instead the airbag exploded and sent a 3-1/2-inch piece of steel into his face, taking out one

of his eyes.

FOREMAN: Now federal authorities are saying enough, launching a recall of 34 million cars, nearly double the original number thought to be

involved.

FOXX: Airbag inflators, we suspected, did not work correctly. And we believe that they have been responsible for at least five deaths in the

United States.

FOREMAN: The airbag manufacturer is the Japanese company Takata. And for months the company tried to limit the recall, saying the problem was

appearing only in areas with high humidity. The government didn't buy it, pounding Takata with more than $1 million in fines.

FOXX: Up until now, Takata has refused to acknowledge that their airbags are defective. That changes today.

FOREMAN: The most serious accidents have occurred in Hondas, but the recall also involves Fords, Chryslers, Mazdas, BMWs. In all, 11

manufacturers and parts suppliers. And there could be more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long is this going to take? Nobody knows that yet. There is no question it could be some years.

FOREMAN: The manufacturer issued a statement saying it remains committed to consumer safety, but like the government, it does not yet know

why the airbags are exploding. Although Takata has devoted tremendous resources to these efforts with some of the leading researchers, it is

clear that this is a complex issue which takes time to fully evaluate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: It is not clear at this point if replacement parts are even going to be sufficient in number to make all the replacements happen in a

timely fashion. There's some indication it could take a year or more before all the replacements are even in place.

But here's the catch, so many cars are involved that people have no choice but to keep driving them in the meantime, because there are just too

many out there.

And Takata, by the way, one of the biggest suppliers in the world of all of this. Watch for ripples in other places as well.

LU STOUT: Yeah. And Tom, it's also not clear just how big this recall is going to get, because our international viewers certainly taking

notice to this story.

Tom Foreman reporting live from Washington, many thanks indeed for that report.

Now you're watching News Stream. And after the break, a bold claim by the most reclusive country on the planet. North Korea says it has taken a

key step toward placing nuclear weapons on its missiles.

And later in the hour, Iraq pushes even more troops to embattled Ramadi. The latest on the campaign against ISIS straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:15: 18] LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream.

North Korea now claims it has the capability to miniaturize nuclear weapons. And it says it has been able to do so for some time.

Now if true, that means Pyongyang could potentially make nuclear warheads small enough to fit on top of missiles.

Now let's get more from Will Ripley. He joins me now live from Tokyo. And Will, what do you make of this claim? Can North Korean miniaturize

nuclear warheads?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's certainly what the United States believes. The Pentagon speaking about this very issue last

month saying they do believe, Kristie, that North Korea does have the capability to make nuclear weapons that are small enough to fit on the

ballistic missiles, missiles like the one that a high level official told me about just two weeks ago when I was in North Korea saying that that

missile had the capability of reaching the mainland United States.

So, you have North Korea now announcing that they can miniaturize nuclear weapons, place the missiles, fire them at their number one enemy,

the U.S., but also threaten other countries in this region such as Japan where I am, or South Korea, China, India, all of these regional powers are

of course very concerned and watching very closely what the north's next move may be, Kristie, given how unpredictable the regime has been as of

late.

Even abruptly canceling a scheduled visit by Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, to the Kaesong Industrial Complex with almost no notice.

So, further isolation and military escalation by North Korea.

LU STOUT: And separately, Will, you had the rare opportunity to interview a number of young North Korean defectors who were sent back to

Pyongyang from China a couple of years ago. What are their lives like now?

RIPLEY: This is what is so interesting, and the real conundrum when you're talking about North Korea. On one hand you have this country that

continues to escalate and ratchet up the military rhetoric, but then they also seem to be very concerned about what the world thinks of North Korea,

specifically the human rights issue in North Korea. And so these are students who defected, essentially. Many people thought they would be

severely punished, or treated like some of the other defectors that have been appearing in some new North Korean propaganda like this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is Park Song-hak (ph), a lunatic, who is scattering the flames of war on the Korean Peninsula.

RIPLEY: One of the worst crimes in North Korea is leaving.

Government propaganda calls defectors scum of the Earth, and worse criminals fleeing the country, abandoning their families.

Laos authorities captured these North Korean students two years ago trying to sneak into South Korea. Deported to Pyongyang, there were dire

predictions of prison, hard labor, even execution.

But here they are today appearing healthy, relaxed, wearing uniforms worn by every North Korean student. Three government officials also in the

room. They didn't step in and didn't need to, the students said all the right things.

JONG GWANG YONG, RETURNED DEFECTOR (through translator): We are studying at the best schools and universities. We're living happy lives.

RIPLEY: Each student left North Korea separately ending up together living with a missionary in China. That missionary told CNN in 2013 the

students fled North Korea desperately searching for food, badly in need of health care.

MJ, MISSIONARY (through translator): They looked for fish bones and rice to mix together to make porridge. Then they ate toothpaste to help

them digest it.

RIPLEY: How many of you were hungry?

At first, they're reluctant to admit even being a little hungry. The country has suffered famine. It's widely believed millions of North

Koreans today don't have enough to eat.

So four of you, four of you were hungry?

The students say they were poor, not starving, curious about life on the outside, not desperate. They accuse the missionary who housed and fed

them for some two years of tricking them.

JANG GUK HWA, RETURNED DEFECTOR (through translator): The missionary made us think if we went back we'd be killed. We were forced to study God

and to read the Bible.

RIPLEY: CNN contacted the missionary who asked about the students' well-being saying he misses them. While hesitant to say much out of fear

for their safety, he insists the students needed his help after fleeing North Korea.

RYU CHOI RYONG, RETURNED DEFECTOR (through translator): Being back home, I'm happy. I love my life.

RIPLEY: CNN did not see their actual living conditions, but each student insists life is better now than before they defected. North Korea

putting them in front of our cameras as poster children of Pyongyang's benevolence and forgiveness.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Now we get special food on our birthdays and holidays. Before that would have been impossible to

imagine. I feel like I was a pauper who became a prince.

RIPLEY: What would you say to people listening to this who say it sounds like your government is forcing you to say this?

[08:20:03] UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We were never forced to say this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We are not pets.

RIPLEY: They say pets are what they would have been had they made it to South Korea, giving speeches on the horrors of their home country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Joo Song-young (ph) is yet another human scum.

RIPLEY: Just like the defectors their government calls scum.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: So, Kristie, you'll notice the propaganda that we showed in that we showed in that piece is in English. And that is deliberate. It's

part of a North Korean PR push to try to discredit the hundreds of defectors who have given very damaging testimony about the country's human

rights record. And then also you have these students being put in front of our cameras to essentially show to the world an example of how well those

are treated if they come back to North Korea.

Of course there are many defectors who would say that is certainly not the case for most who have left the country and then are sent back --

Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, from your report -- from traitors to poster children, a very, very puzzling situation here. Will Ripley, thank you very much

indeed for deciphering the DPRK for us. Thank you and take care.

Now you're watching News Stream. And coming up after the break, Israel puts a hold on a controversial new program that separates Jewish and

Palestinian bus passengers. A live report from Jerusalem straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now, we are just getting word that ISIS has stormed the city of Tadmour (ph). Now it's in central Syria near the ancient ruins of Palmyra.

Now the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says ISIS fighters have gained control of about one-third of that city. Now nearby

Palmyra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And clashes are said to be ongoing between Syrian regime forces and the militants.

Casualties have been reported on both sides. And we will continue to monitor developments there.

Now in Iraq's Sunni heartland ISIS militants are cementing their hold over Ramadi and pressing east. The Iraqi prime minister responding by

arming Sunni tribesmen and mobilizing more Shiite militiamen.

Arwa Damon has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Officials in Ramadi and the small units of Iraqi security forces that were trying to

fight ISIS there have been warning as far back as November that, without additional reinforcements, the city would fall, and it did. Unable to stand

up against relentless wave after wave of ISIS suicide bombers.

And ISIS now seems to be confident enough in its grip over Ramadi that it is continuing to push farther east, targeting various towns that the

Iraqi government says it has been able to defend so far.

But the government is really crippled by a lack of capable fighting forces within its own ranks, calling on more Shia paramilitary units to

join the battle. The U.S. also forced at this stage to revise its so-called strategy that thus far has comprised of, yes, some airstrikes. None of

which have really stopped the advance of ISIS. And also an attempt to retrain and rearm, restructure the Iraqi security forces.

The U.S. also saying that it is going to be expediting weapons shipments to Iraq. But all of this is really coming too late. The Iraqi

government is going to be bogged down for an extensive period of time in various front lines in al-Anbar Province to try to prevent the terrorist

organization from approaching the capital Baghdad and potentially threatening it.

And not to mention the unfolding humanitarian crisis with waves of refugees trying to flee the violence in Ramadi and other parts of Anbar

Province, many of them finding themselves in towns that are not necessarily safe, these areas also coming under frequent mortar and indirect fire

attack by ISIS.

The UN is saying that it quite simply does not have the money, the funds to able to provide these refugees with what they need to get by on a

day-to-day basis. And whilst the international community may have failed when it comes to trying to prevent the expansion of ISIS when it comes to

the humanitarian crisis, this is something that can be resolved, but the money is needed.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Amman.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:26:47] LU STOUT: And now to Israel where the Prime Minister has suspended a controversial new program that separates Jews and Palestinians

on buses that run from Israel to the West Bank.

Now, let's go to Oren Liebermann for the latest. He joins us now live. And Oren, tell us more about the origin of this bus ban and why it's

been suspended.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, this comes from the ministry of defense and Jewish settlers in the West Bank. The settlers

have said they feel unsafe riding on public transport where they are increasingly outnumbered by Palestinian passengers. The defense ministry's

idea, their plan to fix this was to have segregated buses and to force Palestinian workers to leave and enter -- re-enter the West Bank by the

same checkpoint.

That came into effect, this program or policy, came into effect this morning. It was almost immediately canceled by Prime Minister Benjamin

Netanyahu. His office says he didn't know about it coming in to here. Once he found out about it he canceled it calling it, quote, "unacceptable"

and saying he would freeze it immediately.

Unacceptable is about the kindest word that's been used on this policy already. It's been called both in Israel and the West Bank discriminatory,

racist. It's been called an apartheid policy. It was supposed to go on a three month trial. It has been canceled within hours -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Another big story yet of Israel today involves the Palestinian driver and two officers in Jerusalem. Oren, tell us what

happened.

LIEBERMANN: And that happened earlier this morning in the neighborhood of Atour (ph), which is a Palestinian neighborhood in east

Jerusalem. Police say a Palestinian driver rammed his car into two Israeli border security guards, one man and one woman. They were lightly to

moderately wounded, rushed to the hospital where they are expected to be OK. Meanwhile, a third border security guard saw what was happening,

opened fire on the Palestinian driver and killed him. Kristie, police are calling it a terrorist attack.

LU STOUT: All right. CNN's Oren Liebermann reporting live from Jerusalem for us. Thank you, Oren.

Now violence and unrest gripped the nation of Burundi as protesters clash with police. Thousands of people are fleeing the chaotic situation

there. And we'll have an update when we come back.

Also ahead, Thailand has been under military rule for a year. And now it seems the national election could be delayed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:31:22] LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.

Indonesia and Malaysia have agreed to offer migrants shelter providing they are resettled within a year, that was a result of talks with foreign

ministers from the two countries and Thailand. Now two more boats carrying more than 530 migrants were rescued off the coast of Indonesia in the past

24 hours.

North Korea claims it has the ability to miniaturize nuclear weapons. If true, that would be a key step to fitting them on its missiles. Now the

announcement tallies with some recent assessments from senior U.S. military officials.

The Japanese airbag maker Takata is recalling nearly 34 million vehicles over defective airbags, making this the largest auto-recall in

history. Now some airbags have exploded, sending shrapnel at both the driver and the front seat passenger. At least five deaths have been linked

to the flaw.

Gunshots have been heard in the streets of Burundi's capital as protesters and police clash for yet another day. A journalist on the

ground tells CNN he saw at least one soldier shot and killed by police during the chaos.

And this as the country's president agrees to postpone the parliamentary election by a week.

Now let's bring in CNN's Robyn Kriel now. She joins us from Nairobi, Kenya.

And Robyn, the president has agreed to push back elections by a week, but it seems that has had no impact on the violence on the ground in

Burundi.

ROBYN KRIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, protests getting quite violent, particularly in the neighborhoods of Mousaga (ph) and Yigobigo

(ph), which is one of the -- two of the really the hot spots that have seen some of the fiercest fighting and protests over the last month since

President Nkurunziza's announced his wish to run for a third term in office.

I can tell you, Kristie, that at least one army member was shot, a member of the military was shot today. Protesters and eyewitnesses tell

us, Kristie, that policemen actually shot him.

Now how I believe protests have been occurring the last few weeks is that the army has really served as a neutral sort of peacekeeping force to

try and keep the police and the protesters apart to keep them from clashing. And it has just been recently since the coup attempt that the

army has sort of not been seen as neutral and they've been getting more and more involved in sort of the politics on the ground as opposed to being

seen as peacekeepers.

And what we saw today apparently police and the military were at a standoff. The military telling the police they could not fire live rounds

at the protesters, at the unarmed civilians. The police telling the military to move. There was a standoff and eventually we're told an

eyewitness saw a policeman shoot one bodyguard -- how he was described to us was a bodyguard to the commander of the military unit that was deployed

in Yigobigo (ph). And he was shot dead.

From then on the army then asked if they could open fire on the police. They were told by their commander, no, but then they chased the

police away from the scene. We're not sure of what's happened since then - - Kristie.

LU STOUT: Robyn, these are violent clashes, deadly clashes. And people are angry about the president and his desire to run again despite a

two-term limit.

Is the president showing any sign that he's willing to back down?

KRIEL: No. Not as of yet. And we're hearing increasingly differing language coming from the office of the president.

I can read you a few quotes, Kristie, that I got from one government spokesperson who says that the demonstrations and the coup attempt, which

occurred last Wednesday are definitely linked.

He also said that the pockets of violence where these -- the pockets where these protests are emanating from -- Misaga (ph), those areas I've

mentioned already -- are Tutsi dominated, that's where all of the protests are happening.

And his exact quote was, "why are these protests happening in these areas? Why those areas in 1993, why those areas now?"

1993 was the beginning of the civil war.

He says these areas have an ethnic element. We will not accept that. Democracy has taken root. Democracy will never turn back in this country.

[08:30:46] LU STOUT: Worrying words there. Robyn Kriel reporting for us. Thank you, Robyn.

Now it has been a year since the military seized power in Thailand. And still ahead on News Stream, we'll look at how Thailand has changed and

what is the next step for the country's democratic movement.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream.

Now Britain's Prince Charles is visiting the site where his great- uncle Lord Mountbatten was killed by the IRA. Now the prince marked a milestone in the fragile peace process in Northern Ireland on Tuesday,

shaking hands with Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams.

Now long ago, such a meeting would have been unthinkable. It comes 35 years after the killing of Lord Mountbatten.

In Thailand, the cabinet has paved the way for a constitutional referendum in January. Now that would delay a national election to August

of 2016. Thailand is currently ruled by a military junta. The army imposed martial law a year ago following months of protests against the

government. It was only lifted last month.

Now, critics of the coup leader, now the prime minister, say the former army chief has replaced martial law with an even more draconian

security order and is showing few signs of restoring democracy.

Earlier, I asked historian David Streckfuss for his perspective.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID STRECKFUSS, HISTORIAN: It's been a very grim time in Thailand. And it's like the population is being held as a captive audience to these

pronouncements coming from Bangkok. They can't speak, they can't organize or rally or protest and things go on moving toward nothing clear in the

future. There's a bad constitution there may or may not be a referendum. There may or may not be elections. And in the meantime there are real

democratic aspirations of a large number of Thais which is not being recognized.

LU STOUT: So a Thai general election has been pushed to August of 2016. So it seems that the military junta will be in power for another

year. Do the people of Thailand care about that?

STRECKFUSS: It's hard to say what the average Thai thinks. But if we look back at what the -- those that tried to vote in the 2014 elections,

they really wanted to have a democratically elected government.

What they've done is they've lost their constitution, which replaced even -- or actually very democratic constitution in 1997 and they've been

given an interim constitution and now a draft constitution. That draft constitution has not worked out to be very democratic or acceptable to very

many parties at all.

And as long as there's a delay, there might be a referendum so that the government can try to claim some sort of legitimacy. That referendum

if it doesn't pass what happens? Well, theoretically the government should step down. They had it, their best shot. It's a dictatorship. They

should have been able to put exactly the people they want in. And if people don't want it, then they should accept the results and allow for an

elected constitutional drafting assembly to create a real constitution that actually reflects the aspirations of most of the people here.

That probably won't happen. There probably will be a delay in the elections, another delay. If there's any opposition, that will be a

pretext for even more delays in the election. It seems like the military wants to hang on to power for a long, long time.

[08:41:04] LU STOUT: And the prime minister of Thailand, Prayut Chan- o-cha he seems to be very social media savvy. But what kind of man is he really? And what are his ambitions for long-term power?

STRECKFUSS: I mean the military was very concerned about civilian governments interfering with the military. And that was one of the

contexts -- that was one of the reasons behind the 2006 coup.

And so there's still concern that the military is trying to protect its own interests.

The general himself is not terribly well spoken. I would call him shrewd. I think he thinks he's a people person that's connecting with

people very well. But up here in the northeast where I am where the opposition is or was based people don't think much of this government and

don't think that it's moving in any sort of direction that will bring Thailand back to any sort of democratic system.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: From Thailand, that was historian David Streckfuss speaking to me earlier. And you can hear more from the Thai prime minister on

Thursday. Prayut Chan-o-cha sat down with our Andrew Stevens for a rare interview. Don't miss it.

Now a hunter from Texas killed an endangered rhino in Namibia. He did it legally. And he says that he did it to support conservation, because

the rhino he hunted could harm or kill other rhinos.

Now CNN was invited to follow Corey Nalton (ph). He attracted controversy by paying $350,000 for a permit to hunt a black rhino. And

conservationists are outraged.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY FLOCKEN, INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE: This is 2015. We do not need to kill an animal to save it. It doesn't make sense saying

it. It doesn't make sense doing it.

There are conservation animal protection groups around the world like the International fund for Animal Welfare and many other great groups that

are pouring efforts into working with governments, training law enforcement officers, and trying to reduce demand for endangered species in illegal

markets.

This is not the answer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And that was Jeffrey Flocken of the International Fund for Animal Welfare. He wrote a special commentary with his objections to the

hunt on our website. You can find it at CNN.com.

And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. World Sport is next.

END