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Mnangagwa Replaces Mugabe in Zimbabwe; Rohingya Muslims Soon be Back in Myanmar; Migrants Change Political Landscape in U.S. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired November 23, 2017 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
[03:00:00] CYRIL VANIER, HOST, CNN: Robert Mugabe's former vice president returns from hiding to lead Zimbabwe. Emmerson Mnangagwa promises a new democracy.
The butcher of Bosnia more than two decades after the Srebrenica massacre Ratko Mladic is sentenced to life imprison for genocide and crimes against humanity.
And he's a pope known for living a simple life but when it comes to his meals it's only the best farms in table Italy has to offer for the pope.
I'm Cyril Vanier live from the CNN newsroom right here in Atlanta. Thank you for joining us.
After nearly 40 years under the thumb of dictator Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe is about to enter the era of the crocodile. That's one of the nick names for Emmerson Mnangagwa the former vice president. He said to assume the nation's highest office on Friday. Mnangagwa who fled the country early this month after being fired by Mugabe returned home on Wednesday.
CNN's David McKenzie joins us live from Zimbabwe's capital. David, first, can I have you describe the atmosphere in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare on day one after the ousted fall of Robert Mugabe?
DAVID MCKENZIE, INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, Cyril, there's certainly a lot of euphoria still hanging around the air here in Zimbabwe now that the 37-year reign of Robert Mugabe has ended. But also trepidation I think because the man who flew back into the country from hiding who had been in exile during this dramatic turn of events came back into the country and address his supporters on mass right at Zanu PF headquarters.
Now, that's Emmerson Mnangagwa who will be tomorrow sworn in as acting president here in Zimbabwe. He addressed those crowds used some kind of party slogans but also called for all Zimbabweans to work together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMERSON MNANGAGWA, ACTING PRESIDENT OF ZIMBABWE: I appeal to genuine authentic Zimbabweans to come together, we work together. No one is going for the (Inaudible).
(APPLAUSE)
We're all Zimbabweans. We want to grow our economy, we want to distance our country, and we want jobs.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCKENZIE: Cyril, the reason that some are feeling a little anxious is Emmerson Mnangagwa was the right hand man of Robert Mugabe for many years, some of them feel that he's tainted hoping that he doesn't just do more of the same. But he said that there are people waiting in the wings to bring investment to the country and that would certainly allay those fears if can kicks off the struggling economy here.
But it is an extraordinary week or more of this apparent coup. He said he was in contact at all times with the military really indicating that this was all orchestrated both here in Zimbabwe and from behind the scenes. He will be, as I said, inaugurated. And at that inauguration we're expecting to make a very important speech where many hope he will call for unity. Cyril?
VANIER: David, what about the political opposition in Zimbabwe, are they -- we've not -- we're not hearing very much from them. Are they taking advantage of Mugabe's fall at all?
MCKENZIE: Well, certainly they have been drawn out a little bit in the moment of resignation. And in a way the revitalization in the short term of Zanu PF, the ruling party. The opposition has said some of them that they should have some kind of transitional government given the fact that this was effectively a military takeover.
But you sort of get the sense they are waiting to see how Mnangagwa operates in the next few weeks. There needs to be an election before August next year, so the opposition will start to work together to try and contest the election. But I think they are also nervous from a political standpoint because certainly the wave is behind Mnangagwa now because he rightly or wrongly is seen as a man who got rid of Mugabe.
VANIER: All right. David McKenzie, reporting live from Harare. Thank you very much.
Joining us now Geoff Hill joins us from London. He's an Africa correspondent for the Washington Times and the author of "What Happens After Mugabe." So we're starting to get an answer to your question what happens next is Emmerson Mnangagwa. What do you think that means for the country?
GEOFF HILL, AFRICA CORRESPONDENT, WASHINGTON TIMES: Well, of course, Cyril, I am also a Zimbabwe citizen. I'm very concerned about what's going on.
[03:04:58] But if you listen to an interview earlier on a few minutes ago when Emmerson was asking people about peace and unity the greatest cheer was when he said jobs. There was about 90 percent unemployment rate.
And love him or hate him, Mugabe is a former school teacher has had a classical education rolled out right across the country for the past 37 years, kids learn algebra, they learn Shakespeare. It's a highly literate, highly educated population with no jobs. That is -- that's the key thing to bring to the country.
VANIER: But how much of a turning point do you think this really is for Zimbabwe? I ask the question because as our correspondent on the ground reminded us, Emmerson Mnangagwa was the right hand man of Robert Zimbabwe -- of Robert Mugabe. So it's only fair to ask how different would his rule be from that of Mr. Mugabe?
HILL: I've always seen, I've met him before, I've interviewed him. Emmerson is a great pragmatist. So much like Gorbachev or F.W. de Klerk. Understanding the game is up.
And of course you had been watching your pictures and pictures from other news channels of this hundreds of thousands of people on the street. He'd be a very brave politician to tell them to just go back and settle down. I'm not sure you can reverse it.
This was Zimbabwe's Berlin Wall moment but I think he is logical enough. I think he's got enough common sense to understand this is a new game. It's not just a new leader, it's a whole new play.
VANIER: It is a new game, it's a new play. It's certainly a new time moment in history for Zimbabwe as you say but he is not new type of leader. He is of the same from the same mold as Robert Mugabe. He comes from the same fight during the War of Independence.
HILL: Or even worse, Cyril. He was Mugabe's hunch man and fixer during the genocide in Matabeleland left 30,000 people dead. Every election that's been rigged Emmerson has been there at the forefront engineering those things for Mugabe.
So he knows how the system works. If he wants to be a dictator he knows exactly how to do it. I'm just not sure that option is open to him now that the people have discovered that freedom is there and it's theirs for the taking.
VANIER: And I want to ask you the same question that I was asking David a moment ago, because usually when you have a turning point like that and when you have the fall of a dictator who's been running the country for several decades. Usually the opposition has been waiting in the wings. And whether or not they are prepared they tend to be propelled by the popular will. That does not appear to be the case in Zimbabwe.
HILL: No. The opposition doesn't have great leadership at moment. Morgan Tsvangirai, another old friend is terminally is ill or he's ill, that's what they say the term. He's ill with stomach cancer. The opposition is divided and certainly Mugabe has kept them that way by infiltrating with the secret police, by the very feared secret police infiltrating the opposition. It's not unified.
Again, if Emmerson is smart he can make this government into national unity making sure that everybody is brought in, that every voice is at the table so there is nobody outside to start a second revolution against him.
VANIER: As best we can tell what's the time line going forward? Emmerson Mnangagwa gets sworn in on Friday and then he is the transitional leader at least until next year until elections in 2018.
HILL: Indeed. He needs, first of all, to change some of these horrendous laws that allow people's property to be seized without compensation. He needs to change the culture of the police who are used of going around and just beating heads. He needs to change the level of torture in the country which is illegal in Zimbabwe but goes on unabated.
He needs to change those things very quickly for people here to believe there really has been something new come to their country.
VANIER: And Geoff Hill a Zimbabwean himself commenting on the situation there. Thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it.
Now Papua New Guinea police say about 50 people have been peacefully relocated to new camps on Mannes Island. And operation has been underway to remove hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers. The detention center there was shut down recently but about 400 men inside refused to move out, claiming the new facilities aren't safe. They've been surviving on rainwater and food that they've smuggled in.
The U.S. is turning up the heat on Myanmar over its treatment of Rohingya Muslims. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is now calling the situation there ethnic cleansing.
Here is as part of his statements, "No provocation can justified the horrendous atrocities that have ensued these abuses by some among the Burmese military, security forces, and local vigilantes have caused tremendous suffering and forced hundreds of thousands of men, women and children to flee their homes in Burma to seek refuge in Bangladesh. After careful and thorough analysis of available facts it is clear that the situation in northern Rakhine state constitutes ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya."
CNN's Alexandra Field has more from Hong Kong.
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Earlier this month, the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited Myanmar at the time he did not described it as ethnic cleansing. He said it still needed to be determined whether this was a case of ethnic cleansing, though he did talk about the characteristics of crimes against humanity.
[30:10:05] He is now saying unequivocally that this is indeed a case of ethnic cleansing. Some 615,000 Rohingya Muslims, a minority group in Myanmar had fled from Myanmar over border into Bangladesh since the end of August. The crimes against then had been clear. They've talked about their villages set on fire. They've talked about witnessing killings, the rape of women who have now fled in massive numbers to seek safely in Bangladesh.
The decision to say that this is a case of ethnic cleansing doesn't come with any kind of legal action. The State Department officials said that they could however add urgency to resolving the crisis. It could help to expedite the urgency when it comes to talks about repatriation for hundreds of thousands of people who had fled from their homes under horrific conditions of well-documented violence.
Certainly the secretary of state is not all along stretch the first to call this a case of ethnic cleansing. That's how the U.N. rights chief has turned the situation in Myanmar for months now.
Earlier this month the British Prime Minister Theresa may also said that this looks like ethnic cleansing. Later this month, the pope will travel to both Myanmar and Bangladesh. He is also bringing attention to the plight of the Rohingya people and urging accountability.
The military in that country has done their own investigation in Myanmar. They exonerated themselves. Officials in Myanmar say they had not launched a campaign against civilians. They say it's been a campaign to target militants who attacked border posts earlier in August.
In Hong Kong, Alexandra Field, CNN.
VANIER: And this just in from Bangladesh. Television in Bangladesh and Myanmar are expected to sign an agreement to begin returning Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar. The foreign minister of Bangladesh will reportedly hold final talks on the issue Thursday with Myanmar state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi.
The United Nations says it is dismayed and sickened by footage of African migrants being sold as slaves in Libya. It comes after an exclusive CNN report showing a slave auction outside Tripoli. Here it is right now.
Some of these men being sold for as little as $400. The head of the U.N. mission there says, quote, "We cannot be a silent witness to modern-day slavery, rape, forced labor, and killings."
The mission is working with Libya on ways to protect migrants from human rights abuses. The reaction of the atrocities shown in that CNN report have been swift and the condemnation widespread.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NATHALIE LOISEAU, FRENCH MINISTER FOR EUROPEAN AFFAIRS (through translator): It is together, Europe and Africa that we will be able to shape a new destiny for our continent. It is with the same determination that Europeans and Africans will have to eradicate the simply unbearable modern form of slavery and fight all those who participate in it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VANIER: French President Emmanuel Macron called it a crime against humanity. And France called for an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council on this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): It is crucial to anticipate the situation to condemn them, to denounce them through international laws is crucial. To fight and do everything to eradicate traffickers is now our priority but we should try to anticipate the situation because Libya is in a political transition.
There is presently no stable government. We are working actively in the framework of the United Nations mediation so that there can be a durable political solution. But in the meantime, Libya cannot handle such a migratory pressure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VANIER: Several African countries also make their voices heard. Burkina Faso recalled its ambassador to Libya, the African Union has called for an investigation. And in the Ivory Coast were more than 160 migrants returned from Libya Wednesday night.
Here is the reaction from the integration minister.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALI COULIBALY, IVORY COAST MINISTER FOR AFRICAN INTEGRATION (through translator): It is true that several times we have denounced this unacceptable situation that our migrants are living in Libya. But the fact that this TV channel made it public and spoke about it, about the black trade, about the slavery trade it was shocking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VANIER: We're going to take a short break. When we come back, never one to walk away from a fight. The U.S president fires up his feud with a basketball player's father. We'll bring you his latest Twitter tirade.
And why Puerto Rican migration could shape Florida's political landscape for years to come. Stay with CNN.
[03:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VANIER: So it's thanksgiving now in the United States and President Trump began his with an online tirade against sports figures who have angered him.
Jeff Zeleny filed this report from the president's resort in Florida.
JEFF ZELENY, SENIOR White House CORRESPONDENT, CNN: President Trump back at Mar-a-Lago for the first time since April. His Thanksgiving break opening another season that is private club in Palm Beach even though he went to great lengths to suggest he's not on vacation. "We'll be having meetings and working the phones from the winter White House in Florida." The president tweeted just after sunrise. But as republicans measured fall out from his embrace of controversial Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, the president hit the links today following an early-morning burst of tweets starting at 5.25 a.m. He added new fuels to the fight with LaVar Ball, the father of one of the UCLA basketball players jailed in China after allegedly stealing sunglasses.
Ball blasted Trump earlier this week to CNN's Chris Cuomo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAVAR BALL, LIANGELO BALL'S FATHER: Tell Donald Trump to have a great Thanksgiving.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: The president still fuming over not receiving more thanks for securing their release. "It wasn't the White House. It wasn't the State Department. It wasn't father LaVar Ball's so-called people on the ground in China that got his son out of a long-term prison sentence. It was me. Too bad. LaVar is just a poor man's version of Don King but without the hair."
Don King supported President Trump in 2016. The president went on to call Ball an ungrateful fool. In a season of thankfulness it was a blistering response to Ball's refusal to say the words, 'thank you' to President Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BALL: If I was going to thank somebody I probably President Xi.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: The president didn't stop there. Also reviving his beef with the NFL. "The NFL is now thinking about a new idea keeping teams in the locker room during the national anthem next season. That's almost as bad as kneeling."
The tweet storm didn't stop until the president arrived at Trump International Golf Course.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, I'll be golfing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: The messages may have been an attempt to change the subject from his remarks Tuesday at the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Let me just tell you, Roy Moore denies it. That's all I can say you. He denies it. And by the way, he totally denies it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: Even as a majority of Americans say Moore shouldn't serve. Tonight, a new Quinnipiac poll shows 60 percent of American voters say if Moore is elected, the Senate should vote to expel him, 28 percent do not. But in Alabama, Moore's campaign touted the move, sending a copy of Mr. Trump's kind words to supporters.
Florida Congressman Francis Rooney told CNN's Jim Sciutto he was among the republicans who would not be following the president's lead and backing Moore.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANCIS ROONEY, UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE: Well, it's up to the president to decide what he wants to do. But I would rather just seeing no support for Roy Moore myself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: Several other republican members of Congress also said they did not intend to follow the president's lead and endorse Roy Moore. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, who a week ago said Roy Moore is not fit to serve, had nothing to say after the president's embrace of Roy Moore.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.
VANIER: With me now to discuss this is CNN political analyst and White House correspondent for the New York Times, Michael Shear. Michael, Donald Trump's tweets about LaVar Ball strategy or impulse? And I supposed the follow-up to that is, should we see this as politics or just entertainment at the stage?
[03:19:57] MICHAEL SHEAR, POLITICAL ANALYST, CNN: Well, I think the answer to the first question is a little of both. Just about everything that Donald Trump is impulse. I mean, he is a politician unlike any I've ever covered most of what comes out of his mouth is, you know, sort of comes from a gut instinct that he has, something that he's watched on television, something that he's read.
And he's these impulsive and he talks about it or tweets about it. That said, I think there is recognition both in the White House more broadly, but also by the president who really has a good gut instinct about politics that, you know, that some of his rhetoric about African-American ball players challenging -- you know, challenging the father of this UCLA basketball player who was caught in China. You know, that all plays well to his base.
You know, the core of his supporters who, you know, like to see him standing up to people who challenge him, people who defied him, people who sort of question his legitimacy, that all plays well with his base. And so I think there is some strategy there as well.
VANIER: I think for our international audience, many of whom are probably just finding out the last few days who LaVar ball is. There is a distinct aspect of ridiculed to all of this. SHEAR: Right. I mean, I think, look, I think my sense is that LaVar Ball has decided and maybe he's pretty practiced in knowing what buttons to push that get people like us to talk about it and that get that kind of greater sports world to sort of know who he is. I got here at one point said that if, you know, in his prime he could have Michael Jordan, the famous basketball player on one-on-one and beaten him.
You don't say that kind of thing without knowing that that's going to push the button not only of Michael Jordan potentially but also, you know, his millions of fans who think he's the best basketball player that ever lived, myself included.
But you know, he knows what buttons to push. He knows how to, you know, get somebody enraged. And let's face it. President Trump is not somebody who really needs many buttons pushed. This is a guys who is willing to engage with very little provocation and, you know, obviously he's decided to do it.
VANIER: All right. Tell me about Roy Moore quickly. Why did Donald Trump decide to come out in favor of Roy Moore this week so clearly after days of being silent on the issue? Clearly, just evading the question was a possibility because it's something that they had done for days, and now Donald Trump is coming down on the side of Roy Moore as clearly as he's done as anything that he said over the last two weeks for the last 10 days. How does that help him?
SHEAR: So, I think this was a case where they were trying to wait to see how things were going to develop. In the first week or two after this scandal erupted around Roy Moore I think the White House's feeling was - let's see, you know, kind of where things go. Republicans of all stripes all over the country were beginning to pull away from Roy Moore. The Republican National Senatorial Committee which fund raises for republican Senate candidates decided they were going to stop doing that for Roy Moore.
And I think had it looked like Roy Moore was either going to back out himself or that he wasn't going to win, then I think, you know, Donald Trump might well have sort of come along with that tide when it looked like Roy Moore was becoming defiant and was not going to step down.
And in fact, you know, when it looks like, you know, he may well have a good chance of becoming the next United States senator from Alabama, I think the calculation inside the Trump administration was, you know, better probably for our agenda, for tax cuts, and for everything else to get behind the winner. If he is going to be in the Senate we're going to have to work with him and it seems like that's the calculation that he make.
VANIER: All right, Michael Shear, thank you very much for joining us here on the show. Thanks.
SHEAR: Sure, happy to do it. Thanks for having me.
VANIER: It's been his nine weeks now since hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. The massive storm forced thousands of residents from their homes, and many are starting a new life in Florida where they could end up impacting states politics for years to come.
Our Athena Jones reports.
ATHENA JONES, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Linda Gonzales says starting her life over in Florida is like being reborn as an orphan. She was forced to flee Lara, Puerto Rico after hurricane Maria destroyed her home.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
JONES: Gonzales says she lost everything overnight. She and her son joined a wave of evacuees arriving in Orlando three weeks ago. Some 170,000 Puerto Ricans have landed in Florida since October 3ed according to state officials. And while not all of them will put down roots here, many will. Some are comparing it to the 1980 Mariel boatlift from Cuba when 125,000 emigres landed in South Florida reshaping state politics as a powerful voting bloc.
[03:25:06] The tide of Puerto Ricans has already surpassed the boatlift and shows no signs of letting up. And unlike Cubans, Puerto Ricans, the vast majority of whom lean democratic are already citizens. They can vote right away as long as they register.
Florida is a perennial swing state. Trump won here by just over 100,000 votes and Barack Obama won twice, eight years after a flash finish and subsequent recount handed the state to George W. Bush in 2000.
The historic influx of Puerto Ricans could shift the political calculus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL MCDONALD, POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA: That group could be pivotal in a swing state. And so their impact and their effect on statewide elections both for governor, U.S. Senate, and of course, for president could be very dramatic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: But political science professor Michael McDonald says white retirees from the Midwest and the northeast, many of whom lean republican are also pouring into the state, likely keeping statewide elections close for now. President Trump toured the devastation two weeks after the hurricane.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We spend a lot of money in Puerto Rico and that's fine. We save a lot of lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Gonzales says the federal government should have done more after Maria and she is still hurt that the president said the people of Puerto Rico should do more to help themselves. "It hurts, we're human beings." She told me. "He should not have
spoken to us in that way." A trained chef Gonzales plans to stay here in Orlando and rebuild her life. It's the sort of dream many of those arriving from the island share.
As for 2020 and casting a ballot for Trump I asked her would you vote for him to remain in office.
"No." Now I met Linda Gonzales at a nonprofit called Latino Leadership that is already helped some 5,000 Puerto Ricans get settled here in the Orlando area just in the last two months. The executive director told me that most of the family she's come across, especially those with children are planning to stay.
She also said the group has focused on voter registration efforts in the past and is likely to do so again after they help these families meet their immediate needs.
Athena Jones, CNN, Orlando, Florida.
VANIER: And the new leaders had to take the oath of office in Zimbabwe. Just ahead, why some critics say the next president may be no better than the dictator he's replacing.
And justice. A former Bosnian Serb general convicted of genocide and other war crimes dating back more than 20 years ago.
Stay with us.
[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VANIER: Welcome back, everyone. Good to have you with us. I'm Cyril Vanier.
The headlines this hour. Police in Papua New Guinea say about 50 people had been peacefully relocated to new camps on Mannes Island.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:30:00] CYRIL VANIER, CNN SHOW HOST: Welcome back everyone, good to have you with us, this time this is Cyril Vanier, the headline at this hour, police at Papua New Guinea say about 50 people had been peacefully relocated to new camps on Monist Island. Authorities have been trying to remove asylum seekers, from a detention facility, the Australian run center was close last month, but officials say hundreds of men refuse to leave claiming they fear for their safety. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson calls Myanmar actions against Rohingya Muslims ethnic cleansing. Tillerson had refuse to use that term when describing the situation earlier this month, about 615,000 Rohingya had fled to Bangladesh since late August, with stories of mass murder and rape.
U.S. President Trump is extending the feud with the father of the UCLA basketball player. While on his thanksgiving holiday in Florida, he tweeted his anger at LaVar Ball, for not giving him credit for getting the players released from China, they had been arrested there on shoplifting charges.
Zimbabwe is preparing to swear in, first new President in nearly 4 decades. Former second in command to longtime dictator Robert Mugabe is going to take the reign of power on Friday. Emmerson Mnangagwa is promising peace, jobs and economic prosperity, but skeptics say Zimbabwe may swapping out one dictator for another. Here is CNN Robyn Curnow.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is the end of the narrow of Robert Mugabe sets down after 37 years. This man is its next leader. His name is Emmerson Mnangagwa, AKA the crocodile a nickname he had for his tough political game. The 75 year old politician has been for you to be biding his time ready to take over from the world's oldest leader. He is a strong following among the country's elite and was a key strategist for Mugabe in past elections, but earlier this month Mugabe accuses his closest aide of disloyalty and fired him. A move some consider to be a plan for his wife grace to succeed his presidency. Instead it sets a stage for a historical political shake up. The military stepped placing Mugabe in a house arrest. The rulings on the PF Party demand his resignation, calling Mnangagwa to take over. Some say the man poised to take Zimbabwe into its new future is a shrewd reminder of its past. Mnangagwa has been part of Zimbabwe's authoritarian regime for almost 3 decades. He is implicated in the massacre of thousands of Zimbabwe civilians in the mid-1980s and he was described in late 2000 by us diplomat stationed in Harare is a quote wildly feared and politically even more impressive leader than Mugabe. Now a new stage is set.
(END VIDEO)
VANIER: Robyn Curnow reporting there. Russian President Vladimir Putin apparently is opening the door to Syrian peace talks after meeting with the president of Turkey and Iran. Putin said they had agreed to hold the whole congress in order to bring together the warring factions in Syria. They said the congress would lay the groundwork for elections in a new constitution that would include both the government and the opposition.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (TRANSLATOR): We can state with certainty that we can go to a new stage which open a possibility to initiate a real political process of settlement. I believe that our effort should be concentrated on securing long-term normalization in Syria. First in the process of political settlement with finalizing this talks and the framework of the Geneva process and assisting the reconstruction of the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VANIER: The Saudi led coalition fighting the Houthi rebels in Yemen is going to reopen a key port and airport to allow humanitarian aid into the country. Saudi's have blocked aide route after a missile attack on the Saudi capital of Riyadh earlier this month after the closure of the U.N. chief said that the blockade could spark the largest, founding the world has seen in decades. The U.N. will monitor the situation to make sure that aid is indeed getting through.
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced on Wednesday that he is putting his resignation on hold almost 3 weeks ago, he shocked the country, saying that he was stepping down while he was in Saudi Arabia. He said then that he feared his life was in danger. Mr. Hariri denies claims that he was held against his will in Riyadh.
It has been more than two decades since the Bosnian war and now families of the victims of Gen. Ratko Mladic are finally receiving justice, a U.N. criminal court found the former Bosnian Serb commander guilty of genocide and other war crimes and sentenced him to life in prison. Our Christiane Amanpour reports.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: The Judge of the U.N. tribunal hands-down the verdict of guilty of 10 of 11 counts of genocide and crimes against humanity against the former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic.
{03:35:02] But Mladic was not even there that he was there to hear the words he dreaded after giving a thumbs-up at the start of this hearing. He ended up by shouting that the charges were all lies. He was promptly evicted from the proceedings. I first met Mladic in the summer of 1993, a four year into the war. It was on a hilltop above Sarajevo. The city has forces would besieging, bombarding sniping and shelling back then he was a swaggering warlord who thought he was being amusing, talking about his ethnic cleansing campaign against the Muslims.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RATKO MLADIC, BUTCHER OF BOSNIA (TRANSLATOR): We look forward at the Muslims. It is good to have them around. But in a small concentration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: But the slider deserted him in court on the day he faced justice and the sentence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For having committed the crimes the chamber sentences Mr. Ratko Mladic to life imprisonment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: Mladic, his family and his lawyer continue to deny the facts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Justice is replaced with war propaganda.
(END VIDEO CLIP) AMANPOUR: His son says, Mladic would never accept responsibility and
said he insists any atrocities were committed by low-level foot soldiers. His lawyer says Mladic will fight on in court.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That the court will always render a fair judgment applying the appropriate proof to the facts. We believe that was not done in this case, it is certain that we will file the appeal and will be successful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: But also watching this verdict families, the Bosnian women in Srebrenica who wanted to hear the fate of the man who'd given the oldest is stronger than men, old and young in Srebrenica. They have fought hard for this day they have waited, often impatiently for this justice. They say it is finally come. Even though justice will never bring back their loved ones. Christiane Amanpour CNN London.
(END VIDEO)
VANIER: Christiane says the Srebrenica massacre was a defining moment of the Bosnian war. She says she saw the best and worst of people during her reporting there. You can find her account and recollections on our website CNN.com/Amanpour.
Google, twitter and Facebook is blocked in China for years as well as a number of foreign news outlets now skype is running into problems with China's government as well. CNN Sherisse Pham has details.
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SHERISSE PHAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: China is cracking down on skype after pulling the online video and chat app form its app store in China. Telling CNN it received a notification from officials saying number of internet phone apps were in violation of local law and felt they were pulled from the app store. Now the skype app was also unavailable on major third-Party android app stores. For now people who already downloaded skype can still use it in China. What people are complaining on social media that they can't update the app and they can't buy credits to make a call? This crackdown is the only China policing the internet, apps you or I would use on a regular basis, Facebook, twitter, google, they are all blocked in China, skype, and similar product seem to come under fire because messages can be encrypted, making it harder for Chinese regulators to keep track of them.
Beijing also requires accounts to be linked with real name and id which something users have to do on skype. Now apple had been criticized for repeatedly complying with government request to remove certain apps. People accusing apple of potentially helping China's massive censorship efforts. Sherisse Pham CNN Hong Kong.
(END VIDEO) VANIER: South Korea is preparing for winter Olympics in February.
One of the big questions there is North Korea going to participate, we got that story just after the break.
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[03:41:04] VANIER: The argentine navy says it is analyzing a new noise detected last week. The day one of their submarines went missing. This is old footage of the crew 44 people in all. The hope is that sound may offer some clues on where they are. After two different noises detected Monday turned out to be of no help at all. 11 countries are joining in the search for the lost vessel. It disappear last week about 400 km from the coast of Argentina.
Three American sailors are still missing in the Philippine Sea after their plane crashed southeast of the island of Okinawa. The aircraft was carrying 11 people, eight of whom have since been found. It were on a routine transport flight between the base in Japan and the U.S. aircraft carrier. The carrier they were flying to USS Ronald Reagan is leaving search and rescue efforts.
OK. I want to bring you an update now, from CNN's freedom project on a story that was six years in the making. In 2011, we met 8 year-old a Haiti, a shy little girl who wasn't enrolled in school but living in rest of the form of domestic servitude. Now she is receiving an education. Looking forward to the future Michael Holmes reports.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: We first met Edna in October 2011 while building home and dreams CNN freedom project documentary that aim to shed a light of the issue of restavek in Haiti. Local nonprofits say as many as 400,000 children work as domestic servants in Haiti's restavek system. Traditional practice where children sent to live with a relative or friend in the hopes of children will receive an education in exchange for doing household chores, but too often children are exploited. Doing work beyond their years and vulnerable to all manners of abuse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is doing work beyond her typical strength. Beyond her capability. Work that adults should be doing.
HOLMES: Edna was just eight years old living as a domestic servant in her grandfather's house. Like most restavek children, he had never been to school.
Most restavek children, especially the girls do not attend school. For negotiations with every from the nonprofit restavek freedom foundation, Edna's grandfather agreed to let them take her to school the next day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said she would be fine with us and I am going to take her to school tomorrow.
HOLMES: Six years later, the CNN freedom project went back to Haiti to find Edna. Now, 14 years old. She still lives with her grandfather and she is still in school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The big difference in my life that now I can read and write.
HOLMES: Edna says being in school has been life-changing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel really good for all that I've accomplished. I have learned so much all the things I've learned. I am finding in my daily life, and I share them with other children as well.
HOLMES: Samuel john Baptist is Edna's child adequate. She say she has grown from a shy tentative girl, into a confident young woman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is devoted to learn, she is working very hard and I am really happy for her and I hope and I'm sure that she will reach her goal one day and there is very, very soon, because she has motivation for that.
[03:45:08] HOLMES: Edna's grandfather says he is grateful to restavek freedom for the opportunity to send Edna to school and he is optimistic about her future.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really hope that she will become somebody.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think now we work with them, and giving her time to play and giving her time to study things are getting better for this child in her life is improved and see the beautiful, beautiful child.
HOLMES: Edna says she still does chores at home, and she is grateful. She is been allowed to make education the top priority in her life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is important to me, because I go to school. I believe I will become somebody in the future.
HOLMES: Michael Holmes, CNN.
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VANIER: Next the visit to a land of milk and honey with the rear look of the papal farm where the food is grown for god chemistry on earth. Stay with CNN.
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VANIER: North Korea is lashing out after a U.S. decision to call the isolate the nation a state sponsor of terrorism. President Trump has tried to get the country to stop its nuclear program. This week he said the U.S. treasury department would impose more sanction on Pyongyang. The North Korean spokesman denounced that move, saying, quote this is a serious provocation and the violent infringements on our dignified country. The U.S., the king did all kinds of terrorist who cannot even prevent terror in its own territory is acting like an international Judge on terrorism while attaching or removing the label of state-sponsored terrorism on sovereign countries. This is clearly an absurdity and a mockery to the world peace and security.
I was telling you before the break, the 2018 winter Olympics in South Korea just a few months away, but you wouldn't know it. Judging by ticket sales and North Korea's proximity to the big event probably isn't helping. Our Michael Holmes has the details.
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HOLMES: Mystical South Korea magician view (inaudible) live through Seoul with his snow board magically strapped to a bus. Organizers of the 2018 winter Olympics, hope such ads will boost ticket sales for the games. Held at the South Korean alpine resort of Pyeongchang just 80 km from the militarized zone.
Rising tensions between the U.S. and North Korea have cast a shadow over the games. By late October only a third of tickets are being sold at this excitement in South Korea was a games approach, and many here see this as an attempt to calm tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Here is the country's figure skating champion at the U.N. earlier this month.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Be represent perhaps the most inferior efforts to cross frozen border between south and north and to foster a peaceful environment.
[03:5010] HOLMES: Kim Jong-un has not yet committed to his country's participation. In fact, the north miss the deadline to register. In fact organizers are willing to make an exception.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Until the day last, February 9 the last week of January and the beginning of February. We will be waiting for North Korea's application to participated.
HOLMES: As a sports enthusiast and some experts believe this may cause him to finally give in and send it a team to Pyeongchang. Since he came to power North Korea has participated in more international sporting events. Simon organizes frequent tools to the north.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: North Korea has been explicit in promoting sports in the last few years. Opening more sports academy, trying to send more sports teams abroad. Participate in more in international competition.
HOLMES: It was a hero's welcome and banquet with Kim for the North Korean team that won 11 gold medals at the 2014 Asian games. Organizers hope that Kim draws inspiration for such events and go for a shot in an Olympic gold. Sending a message of peace that reverberate well beyond the sporting world. Michael Holmes CNN.
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VANIER: The U.S. state of Michigan, a former doctor for USA gymnastics pleaded guilty on Wednesday the seven counts of first- degree criminal sexual conduct and using his position to sexually abuse underage girls, in all 125 victims, said Larry Nassar assaulted them. Some of those charges were dismissed in the plea agreement, in courts Nassar apologized.
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LARRY NASSAR, FORMER USA GYMNASTIC DOCTOR: We are almost involve in that insult, very sorry that this was the best to turn into a force out of control, and I prayed every day for forgiveness. They want this community heal, I have no animosity towards anyone, I just want, healing.
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VANIER: Nassar was the U.S. team dr. for four Olympic Games in several gold medal winners said that he abused them, the Judge prays all the victims for coming forward. First police complaint came from gymnast Rachael Denhollander, she said Nassar abuse her on five doctor visits.
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RACHAEL DENHOLLANDER, VICTIM: We have yet to hear the truth from NSU and USAD and the USSC. Officials who kept Larry in power for decades. Officials who ignored repeated reports of sexual assaults, officials who rush to victims often unable to tell the difference between a medical exam and sexual violation.
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VANIER: Olympic champion Ellie Reisman, herself a victim tweeted court referring to Larry is Dr. Nassar. I'm disgusted and very disappointed. He does not deserve that. Larry is discussing. Larry is a monster not a doctor.
I had been telling you about this spat between the U.S. President and the father of a college basketball player who was arrested and later freed in China. Donald Trump and LaVar Ball had been trading insults on twitter, so are their supporters. Problem is some comments are going to the wrong LaVar. LaVar Burton on the left is an actor, best known for his roles in Star Trek the next generations. And the children series reading rainbow, LaVar Ball is on the right. Burton recently retweeted someone calling him has been with the fee for a son. He writes that it's one of many slides and having to endure these days. He also retweeted in New York daily news headline on the hate mail and he seemed particularly amused by the photo that shows tweeting. I'm crying put them in the visor, if you're tricky you know that is what Burton starts a war on the TV series and the films.
That is not the Garden of Eden. But the boat does have his own farm. It grows the food he eats and its worth seed given to him as gifts or cultivated. It is not a place of public often gets to see. Our Delia Gallagher got a real tour.
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DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is harvest time at the Pope's farm. Yes, the Pope has a farm in the hills outside of Rome where a basket of fresh produce is prepared for his kitchen every morning and sent down to the Vatican. It includes a few of Francis's favorite things.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He likes Cauliflower and broccoli.
GALLAGHER: Cheese, yogurt and milk made daily from 30 cows raised the (inaudible) formerly the summer residence for Popes. Allesandro Reale is the head farmer here. He says it's the garden where vegetable seeds from the White House gifted to the pope by President Obama in 2014 are planted.
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[03:55:04] ALLESANDRO REALE, HEAD FARMER, POPE'S FARM: The seed are under the earth now, we hope in the springtime with the help of dogs to pick the cucumbers, carrots and zucchini from the Obama's.
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GALLAGHER: The 62 acre property has 1,000 olive trees, more than half of them date back to the year 1200. And the farm produces small number of bottles of olive oils each year for the pope and officials who live in the Vatican. Rigorously cold pressed using granite stone to make sure the oil being extracted and ruined the flavor, a staple of the Italian table, the head of the farm is proud of its high quality.
There are chickens too, who feed on the remnants of communion wafers made by cloistered nuns, who live on the property. With only seven workers. The farm is a family affair said Allessandro Reale, a family with the whole father at its table. Delia Gallagher CNN, Rome.
VANIER: A roast turkey, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie can only be thanksgiving a day for those in the U.S. to be with family and friends and of course fill up on favorite foods.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right guys. Happy thanksgiving everyone. I am so thankful to have you all here today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am thankful that I only burned the turkey a little bit.
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VANIER: Burn or otherwise according to the national turkey federation, because there is such a thing 88 percent of Americans will serve the turkey on Thursday, meaning 44 million birds will be eaten and that includes them, them, a Director in the control room who is going to smoke his turkey. Americans are expected to pack away more than 4000 calories in just one day. There you go. Thank you for joining us. I am Cyril Vanier, the news continues in Anna Von Jones.
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