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North Korea's Kim Meets with China's President Xi; British PM Welcomes Global Push to Punish Russia; Holocaust Survivor Murdered in Possible Hate Crime; Hundreds of Thousands of Rohingya Flee Violence in Myanmar; Turning Heartbeats into Healing Music. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired March 28, 2018 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:10] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. Ahead this hour.

ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: Mystery no more -- the train that rolled into Beijing had Kim Jong-un on it. What he told President Xi ahead of the planned summit with South Korea and the U.S.

VAUSE: Meantime, President Trump actually like the Commander in Brief -- he's just not talking about the Stormy Daniels saga.

SESAY: Plus, the Myanmar military accused of a brutal ethnic cleansing campaign against its own people marches in the country's capital on Armed Forces Day.

VAUSE: Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. Great to have you with us. I'm John Vause.

SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay. NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.

Well, Kim Jong-un has made his first visit outside North Korea since assuming power. And it was a surprise trip to close ally China.

VAUSE: State media in both countries confirm Kim held talks with China's President Xi Jinping and it appears that Xi will actually be heading to North Korea accepting the invitation to visit that country.

SESAY: Well, Kim Jong-un has now left China but his visit is seen as a clear he's preparing for upcoming summits with South Korea and the U.S.

CNN's Andrew Stevens joins us now from Beijing. So Andrew -- what was the North Korean leader's visit to Beijing meant to achieve ahead of Kim Jong-un's meetings with the leaders of South Korea and the U.S.?

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think it was basically a reset if you -- Isha. As we know relations between North Korea and China have been frosty pretty much since Kim Jong-un assumed power back in 2001. There's been a lot of talk from China about negotiations and dialogue on the Korean Peninsula, which have been basically ignored by Pyongyang.

So Kim Jong un came to China really to reignite, to get the relationship back on track. And if you listen to the words that we've been seeing and hearing, he certainly seems to have achieved that. There have been some very, very warm (ph) words. Even though President Xi actually invited Kim, Kim was saying he came out of the calling for comradeship and responsibility.

He also wrote a letter to Xi Jinping. This is after he had left. And we've got the transcript of that -- Isha. It was on the news wires in North Korea.

Just let me read one paragraph from it. It says -- this is from Kim.

"Our first meeting occurred at a crucial time when the two socialist nations are beginning on a journey for a new improvement. This will be a landmark to move our traditionally close relations between North Korea and China forwards to be more suitable to the demands of a new era."

And the new era they're talking about here, in Kim's own words, once again is "denuclearized" Korean Peninsula. He recommitted to that denuclearization.

Xi, himself, was also very, very positive towards this meeting saying it (AUDIO GAP) -- a traditional relationship -- warm words all around -- Isha.

SESAY: Yes. Certainly the Kumbaya seems to have been a success.

I mean heading to Beijing to meet with Xi Jinping ahead of meeting with President Trump clearly says an important message to the United States. I wonder now whether this means that we're going to see Beijing brought in from the margins, if you will. As we move towards this U.S.-North Korea summit.

Stevens: It's a good point because I think China did feel like it had been sidelines somewhat with such a rapid move in diplomatic developments. Very quickly we had Kim arranging and agreeing to meeting the South Korean leader followed by that big meeting which is scheduled for May -- the meeting with Donald Trump.

This all happened as China said, even though it was saying it supported both these moves, it was being sidelined. With this, China comes back into the frame if you like.

China working with North Korea will strengthen China's hand, obviously. China has a very, very strong interest in the future of the North Korean -- or the Korean peninsula. What China wants at the end of the day is denuclearization, they want peace and stability on the Peninsula and they want North Korea to remain pretty much as is -- stable because they see it as a buffer against U.S. interests in and they don't want U.S. interests right on its border.

So China really coming back into the frame. Perhaps another issue from this meeting would have been a chance for Kim Jong-un to be briefed about how to deal with Donald Trump. The Chinese have been dealing with Donald Trump so that could have been some quite useful information there as well. But definitely this puts China back in the frame. It gives North Korea that support it needs, that ends its isolation if you like, at least from its Major ally which we've seen over the past few years.

[00:05:03] So generally it puts it back going in towards the same sort of goal which, according to the North Koreans, we only have their word for this, is denuclearization for them as well. We've heard that before, obviously. And so far they've blatantly moved the other way towards a much more nuclearized North Korea.

SESAY: They certainly have. They've been quite blatant indeed.

Andrew Stevens joining us there from Beijing. always appreciate you -- Andrew. Thank you.

VAUSE: Joining us now CNN political commentators -- democratic strategist Dave Jacobson and Republican consultant John Thomas.

Ok. So a few hours ago the White House press secretary Sarah Sanders issued a statement. "The Chinese government contacted the White House earlier on Tuesday to brief us on Kim Jong-un's visit to Beijing. The briefing included a personal message from President Xi to President Trump asking about -- which has been conveyed to President Trump.

The United States remains in close contact with our ally South Korea and Japan. We see this development as further evidence that our campaign of maximum pressure is creating the appropriate atmosphere for a dialogue with North Korea.

And so John -- you know, the big read out of this is, this is an indication that, you know, the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is preparing for that summit with Trump. He's taking it seriously.

On the U.S. side, what do we have? We don't have a date. We don't have a time. We don't have a location. We don't have any idea who's actually taking part in that meeting.

JOHN THOMAS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, the stakes are much higher to me, for the U.S. than it was even with neighboring countries. So it's not surprising we don't have a date yet but I fully intend -- I understand that there will be a date locked down.

I think it's a step in the right direction. He's coming out of his shell and starting to address the concerns of his neighbors. This is all-forward momentum. There's still work to be done but I don't see if that takes --

VAUSE: We also don't have a new secretary of state sworn. We don't have a South Korean ambassador.

THOMAS: But I don't North Korea really cares about that --

DAVE JACOBSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: This is all about one man.

VAUSE: Sure but this is all part of preparation on the U.S. side.

THOMAS: Sure. Sure. And that probably is slowing down things.

VAUSE: Yes.

THOMAS: But I think they'll get it together.

JACOBSON: Well here's the other fascinating thing. Axios reported today that there is now a new nuclear reactor in North Korea that was reported. There's new satellite images of this. This is a reactor that fuels nuclear weapons.

And so this is very similar to what we saw in Iran when we were doing the Iran deal Iran. We're going to shut these reactors down. And so North Korea hasn't stop moving forward and building their momentum internally it looks like. And so the question is like what is going -- is this meeting going to happen. If so, when? And I'm like, what is going to come out of it.

THOMAS: Coming at just the right time.

VAUSE: Well then clearly by going to Beijing, Kim Jong-un is showing that China is still a major player in all of this. And you know, China is still their only friend in the world in any major capacity.

How willing is China going to be to help the United States in all this while it sits in the middle of a trade war with the U.S.?

THOMAS: Yes. I mean that's the interesting dynamic here. But China, you know, hasn't exactly been a great ally of the U.S. in putting pressure on North Korea from the outset.

So perhaps there's some trading on the one hand we can do over economic sanctions and this trade war to help us get what we want out of North Korea. I have a feeling it's a multi-pronged game of leverage.

JACOBSON: Well, I think -- yes, I think it's a power play by China. I think they're going to use this as leverage against the United States to try to downplay some of this tariff war that we're -- trade wars that we're seeing.

VAUSE: Yes. And one other point out of this trip to Beijing by Kim Jong-un. Apparently one of the other reasons for this is even the North Koreans were surprised that Donald Trump accepted their offer of direct negotiations, which is why the hurried trip to Beijing to meet with China's Xi Jinping, you know, the leader of their closest ally before they met with the U.S. president.

JACOBSON: I mean it's further evidence of the chaos presidency. Like, we're talking about how promising the potential is for this meeting, but like we're also not looking at the flipside. Like what happens if Donald Trump tweets something or says something that the North Koreans perceive to be some sort of criticism. I mean it could be used against us and perhaps it could backfire.

THOMAS: I'm not sure -- I'm not sure how it could get much worse -- Dave. I mean the fire and fury was -- JACOBSON: Fire and fury is pretty bad.

THOMAS: Right. That is a line there -- Dave.

JACOBSON: This is a line to be sure.

THOMAS: If that didn't do it, I'm not sure what would -- right.

VAUSE: The President, at least at the moment, is holding his thumbs, keeping his thumbs dry. The Twitter account of the President has gone almost silent -- it is eerie. Nobody -- no tweets about the porn star Stormy Daniels since her interview on Sunday with "60 Minutes" when she talked about her affair with the President.

Here is Sarah Sanders, explaining why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You also call him a counter puncher many times. Why has he not punched back on this one?

SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Look, the President -- I didn't say he punches back on every single topic. If he did, he would probably be addressing a lot of the stories that most of write every single minute of every single day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And Dave -- she went on to say that the President has already addressed this issue of Stormy Daniels? When exactly did he address the issue of Stormy Daniels.

JACOBSON: He hasn't. And like he is a counter-puncher. This is a guy who went after his own attorney general, calling him Mr. Magoo. He said "leaking James Comey".

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: That was behind the scenes. It wasn't on Twitter.

JACOBSON: Fine -- ok. But Jeff Flakey --

VAUSE: Right.

JACOBSON: -- I mean crooked Hillary, lying Ted, little Marco -- the list goes on and on and on.

[00:09:59] The fact of the matter is this guy's got thin skin. He's a schoolyard bully and he always counterpunches. So there's something to this -- John, I think the Stormy Daniels or Vladimir Putin are the equivalency of political venom when it comes to this President. And they're putting the squeeze on him. Because clearly -- I mean I'm baffled that he's silent.

VAUSE: Ok. Well, in case you're missing some of the Trump taunts and the name-calling, let's have a little walk down memory lane. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Sleepy eyes Chuck Todd. He's a sleeping son of a bitch.

He's not a war hero.

Hillary Clinton is a joke. And I see her barking like a dog.

Rosie O'Donnell is disgusting. I mean both inside and out. You take a look at her, she's a slob.

Cher is somewhat of a loser. She's lonely, she's unhappy.

I like his acting but, you know, in terms of -- in terms of when I watch him doing interviews and various other things, we're not dealing with Albert Einstein.

I thought Seth Meyers, frankly, his delivery was not good. He's a stutterer.

You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.

Lying Ted, he's no good. I'm telling you. He's a bad guy.

I call him Little Marco, Little Marco.

Crooked Hillary Clinton.

I call her Pocahontas and that's an insult to Pocahontas.

This dopey guy Glenn Beck -- he looks like hell.

She was the winter and, you know, she gained a massive amount of weight, and it was a real problem. We had a real problem.

The poor guy -- you've got to see this guy. I don't know what I said. I don't remember.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And not a mention of Putin or Stormy Daniels in that entire clip.

But seriously I understand that you know, the President basically is too busy running the country to engage in a back and forth with Stormy Daniels or her attorney. Does anyone actually really believe that?

THOMAS: No. if he wanted to, I suppose he could. He could find time but the issue is where do you go with this? I mean she's told it all in her "60 Minutes" interview and there really wasn't much there. They had a one-night affair. Where do you go from there? Were you going --

VAUSE: I guess they could come out and publicly deny the -- THOMAS: But the White House has denied it.

VAUSE: But he hasn't.

THOMAS: But that is -- the White House is Donald Trump. And so now it's up to her lawyers to do the talking --

(CROSSTALK)

THOMAS: If they take legal action against Stormy --

JACOBSON: They are.

THOMAS: -- that's the next step. But having Trump -- what are you -- how are you going to get any lower than with a porn star who looked like she was coked out of her mind with Anderson Cooper.

VAUSE: Oh, come on -- that's harsh.

THOMAS: Well she looked -- her pupils were massively dilated. Doctors have warned that your pupils do not dilate. Look at my pupils. Zoom in on these babies. They are tight.

VAUSE: Dave.

JACOBSON: That can happen from having a glass of wine.

VAUSE: I don't think she was on coke -- ok. I'll just mention it outright -- John.

(CROSSTALK)

JACOBSON: Yes. I think it's a little over the top.

THOMAS: Even for a porn star.

JACOBSON: I mean look, the other thing --

(CROSSTALK)

JACOBSON: -- that could potentially be happening is like it could be like Melania Trump saying I don't want you to weigh in on this. Like that's the other question.

She has not weighed in. She has been dead silent on this issue when it could be the first lady weighing in, saying, you know what I don't want you to weigh in on this.

But I mean a number of outlets have reported that Donald Trump has been making calls to some of his allies outside of the White House asking -- I mean he is like grinding his teeth. He's ready to go.

VAUSE: This is killing him, admit it -- right.

JACOBSON: Yes. Totally, absolutely, like we've never seen this from this President beyond Vladimir Putin. He's the only other person that Donald Trump has never criticized.

VAUSE: Ok. Also at the White House briefing on Monday Sarah Sanders tried to play down reports that the Trump legal team working on the Russia investigation, as opposed to the other legal problems, trying to play down, you know, this perception that the entire team -- the entire team is in disarray.

Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: Look, the President has a highly qualified team with several individuals that have been part of this process. Ty Cobb, Jay Sekulow -- for specific details on any sort of process outside of the White House I would refer you to his outside counsel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Ok. well, good news, because for the President Reuters is reporting that Andrew Ekonomou, 69 years old, a Washington outsider is joining that highly qualified team. Well, not joining -- he's being elevated to a central role. He's from Georgia, a part-time contracted D.A. there.

Here's part of the reporting from Reuters. "A little known former prosecutor with a doctorate at medieval history will play a central role on U.S. President Donald Trump's legal team. As many top tier lawyers shy away from representing him in a probe into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election.

Dave -- that doctorate of medieval history could come in handy at some point as he, what, joins his team of what -- one? Jay Sekulow? Is that it?

JACOBSON: Yes, yes. I think so. I mean it's clear that the Washington insiders, some of the top attorneys in this country who represent high-profile officials are turning down such an honor to represent the President of the United States. A, because they think he's going down potentially and they don't want to be part of it. B, because being associated with Donald Trump is going to tarnish your reputation for the duration of your career.

This guy has the lowest approval ratings that we've seen of any modern day president at this point in their presidency and he's just running a circus of a White House. Nobody wants to be part of.

[00:15:01] VAUSE: Yes. So John to that point -- how difficult is it to get a D.C. lawyer to go work for the most powerful man in the world, you know, the President of the United States? Regardless of party. I mean this has got -- normally this would look great on a CV.

THOMAS: I think it's the same challenge that he has with finding a qualified communications director. Those two -- Legal Counsel and Comms director are all dependent upon the President following your advice. And I think what we've seen is the President does what the President

feels. And if that means tweeting or saying something off the cuff that could undermine their internal legal strategy, any highly- credible seasoned lawyer doesn't want to be part of that because they don't want to take the blame and they have a fiduciary responsibility not to slam their client for disagreeing with their advice.

JACOBSON: I mean the guy undercuts his attorney general, calls him Mr. Magoo. He undercut Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state.

VAUSE: He doesn't even do things on the --

JACOBSON: It's crazy.

Why would anyone want to work for him? Right.

(CROSSTALK)

THOMAS: Yes. Architects. Shoddy work.

VAUSE: Shoddy work -- ok.

David, John -- good to see you.

JACOBSON: Thanks.

VAUSE: Thank you.

Well, Russia is facing more fallout over the poison attack in the U.K. on a former Russian double agent. We'll have the latest retaliation against Moscow, just ahead.

SESAY: And the shocking murder of an elderly woman in Paris -- why police investigating it as a hate crime.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: Hello every one.

NATO is now taking action as part of the unified global response to the poisoning of a former Russian spy in the U.K. NATO is withdrawing accreditation for seven staffers and its Russian mission and suspending application requests for three others. It's also reducing the size of the Russian mission.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: This sends a clear message to Russia that there are costs and consequences for its unacceptable and dangerous (INAUDIBLE) of behavior.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Meanwhile Ireland and Belgium have now joined the growing list of countries that are expelling Russian diplomats. And Russia -- well, they're threatening to retaliate. Our own Phil Black has more reaction from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: AS the number of Russian diplomats and accused spies expelled from countries around the world has steadily grown, the reaction from Russian officials has become more resentful.

Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov says some countries were announcing expulsions while at the same time whispering apologies in Russia's ear, proof he says that their arms are being twisted by the United States. He accused America of colossal pressure and blackmail.

The expulsions have been described here as rude, hostile and in something of an understatement, unfriendly. Russia will retaliate, how strongly it does so will determine if this crisis escalates.

The ultimate decision on which retaliation will be deployed will be made by President Putin. His spokesman says the response will be reciprocal. So in theory one for one or tit for tat. But if Moscow goes significantly further than that, it could inspire Russia's critics to take more action still.

[00:20:03] Russia's repeated public position that it's the victim of a grave injustice unfairly accused without proof of using a chemical weapon is doing (INAUDIBLE) to soften international reaction led by countries that are fed up and have lost patience with Russia's denials and alternative theories.

Phil Black, CNN -- Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Well, British Prime Minister Teresa May is welcoming the support from her allies in response to the nerve agent attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Obviously I welcome the international support that we have garnered. As I've said in the House yesterday, this isn't just a matter of the U.K.'s position and working with the U.K. I think in the national security and threats of the individual countries concerned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well, in all 26 countries are now expelling Russian diplomats in solidarity with the U.K.

VAUSE: And now to a day of mourning in Russia after a fire ripped through a mall in a Siberian city. The blaze killed at least 64 people, 41 of them children including an entire class of 5th graders.

Melissa Bell reports on the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After the grief, the anger. On Tuesday several hundred people gathered in Kemerovo to demand answers after the deadly fire that tore through a shopping mall on Sunday.

Russian authorities say dozens were killed, most of them children. These protesters believe the real figure was much higher. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin was meeting with a civic group assuring it that those responsible would be punished. Earlier he visited the scene of the fire laying flowers as a makeshift memorial to the victims.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): What is happening here? This was not a combat situation, not an unexpected methane outburst in a mine. People came to rest, children. We talk about demographics and lost so many people because of what? Because of criminal negligence and carelessness.

BELL: The fire one of Russia's deadliest in recent years, broke out on Sunday afternoon when the Winter Cherry Shopping Mall was packed with shoppers and cinema goers and many, many children.

ALEXANDER BASTRYKIN, DIRECTOR, INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE OF RUSSIA (through translator): I would like to note that most of the personnel just ran away and abandoned children and their parents. Those people who were supposed to be responsible for safety, for organization of evacuation, they left first. Almost nobody from the shopping mall staff died.

BELL: With the fire exits blocked and the fire alarm turned off according to the investigative committee that's looking into the tragedy, witnesses say the scenes inside were of sheer panic.

Among those at Tuesday's protest, parents of the victims sharing their anger and their grief.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was talking to my daughter on the phone. I asked her where she was. She cried, "I'm here Dad". I told her to lie down on the floor and breathe. Breathe and don't die, I told her. I ran there but they grabbed me by my feet and dragged me back. I cried, "You bastards". I was crying to my daughter. She said "Dad, I love you, I'm suffocating. I'm fainting." Excuse me.

BELL: On Wednesday Russia will hold a day of mourning. But with so many casting doubt from the official death toll there are, for those gathered in Kemerovo many more questions than answers.

Melissa Bell, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Well, two men have been arrested in connection with the murder of an 85 year old Holocaust survivor in Paris; police investigating it as a suspected anti-Semitic attack. Jewish leaders are now calling for protests in her memory.

Jim Bittermann has more from the French capital.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a tragic story but even more so when you realize the context around the victim -- Mireille Knoll, 85-years old. She was just ten years old in Paris in World War II when she managed to just barely escape the Holocaust.

Basically there was a roundup of Jews in one of the most infamous incidents during World War II here in Paris. A roundup of Jews and she and her mother managed to escape Paris just before it took place. Now, 75 years later, she was killed brutally in her apartment, stabbed to death, her apartment set on fire in what the prosecutor is considering an anti-Semitic hate crime.

They've charged two young men with the murder, one 27 years old apparently known to Mrs. Knoll and in fact had served jail time for sexual assault on the daughter of the caregiver of Mrs. Knoll. In any case, as you can imagine, the Jewish community here is very upset about this.

And there's going to be a major march during the day on Wednesday in which they're going to march to her house. Jewish leaders will be there but also political leaders as well.

Jim Bittermann, CNN -- Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[00:25:03] VAUSE: Well, still to come here the U.N. Secretary General says he's shocked by comments from Myanmar's army chief about the Rohingya. We'll hear exactly what he said when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Thank you for joining us. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.

SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay.

The headlines this hour.

North Korea's Kim Jong-un made a surprise visit to China, the first time he's left his country since he took power in 2011. Chinese state media report Kim wanted to personally inform President Xi Jinping about developments on the Korean Peninsula. Kim is expected to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in next month and possibly U.S. President Donald Trump in May.

VAUSE: Significant sanctions are expected for three Australian cricket players who admitted to cheating in a weekend test against South Africa. They conspired to tamper with the ball to change its spin. TV cameras caught fielder Cameron Bancroft red handed.

SESAY: Well, Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie says cheating by leave campaigners may have swayed the Brexit vote. He testified before MPs on Tuesday. Vote leave officials deny the claim. Cambridge Analytic called Wiley's testimony unfound conspiracy theories.

VAUSE: And Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify before the U.S. Congress on data privacy. Lawmakers in the U.S. and the U.K. want answers after the Cambridge Analytica whistleblower said the company improperly accessed the personal information of 50 million Facebook accounts then used it to target voters for the Trump campaign during the 2016 election. Zuckerberg turned down a request to appear before British lawmakers.

SESAY: Well, Myanmar's military might was on display as the country celebrated Armed Forces Day. It faces accusations of genocide from the U.N. for their violent crackdown on Rohingya Muslims. Others call it Ethnic cleansing.

VAUSE: The army chief gave a speech during the ceremony stressing ethical practices in freedom of speech and press. Meantime two Reuters journalists are still in jail for investigating the killing of ten Rohingya men. The government accuses of them possessing secret government papers.

SESAY: Well, Richard Weir joins us now from New York. He's a fellow with the Asia division of Human Rights Watch. Richard -- good to see you.

At that ceremony to mark Armed Forces Day, Myanmar's commander-in chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said that, you know, that Rohingya basically do not have any characteristics or culture in common with the ethnicities of Myanmar. He also went on to say that tensions in Rakhine were fueled because the Bengalis demanded citizenship.

[00:29:57] So Richard -- here we are. All this international condemnation and we still have a senior military official continuing this long standing practice in Myanmar of othering the Rohingya, calling them Bengalis, in effect implying that they're illegal migrants from Bangladesh, saying that they fueled the violence with a bid for citizenship.I mean, is the message here that there's still a green light for persecution of the Rohingya?

RICHARD WEIR, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: Well, absolutely. And I think one of the problems that you see in the rhetoric from the military and from other elements of the government is that really incubates a climate for continued violence and persecution.

And really a broader resolution to the conflict that continues and to -- and it inhibits any possibility for a return that is voluntary, safe and dignified of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims that have fled from northern Rakhine State since August 25th.

SESAY: It's not just the words, it is not just the dreadful rhetoric, it's the fact that when you look at those Amnesty International satellite images, we see these land clearance operations, villages flattened and military bases established.

When you take the actions and you take the rhetoric, it really does make a mockery of more talk of Rohingya repatriation. Has the international community, outside actors effectively just said that this is -- are they standing back from this talk now?

WEIR: So what's critical is that the international community continues to put pressure on the Myanmar government, not just on its rhetoric, which is a positive note from the U.N.'s secretary general condemning the rhetoric of Min Aung Hlaing a week ago.

And in addition to that, putting pressure on them to halt the destruction of evidence in the clearing of these villages. Human Rights Watch has documented 55 villages cleared, where there is evidence of crimes.

The international community really needs to step up and to ensure that the Myanmar government knows and has the very clear message that what they're doing, it is not just wrong but it's a crime.

SESAY: Yes. Let me read part of the statement put out by the U.N. secretary general Antonio Gutierrez.

It reads in part, is he urges all leaders in Myanmar to take a unified stance against incitement to hatred and to promote communal harmony.

The secretary general reiterates importance of addressing the root causes of the violence and the responsibility of the government of Myanmar to provide security and assistance to those in need.

It's not just the halting of the violence, though, Richard. I mean, I would say that, given everything we've heard and the actions on the ground with the -- with the clearances, now more than ever we need accountability.

WEIR: Well, accountability is one of the key elements here because in Myanmar, not just in Rakhine State but all over the country, you have a culture of impunity, which has essentially allowed the military to get away with crimes against humanity for decades.

And so, in addition to accountability, of course what we really need is for the government to take positive steps and substantial measures to address the root causes. And thus far it has really failed to do that and the (INAUDIBLE) has taken in line with the Rakhine advisory commission as the secretary general noted, these are recommendations that need to be taken and actions that need to be taken in line with that.

But the problem is that the Myanmar government hasn't taken any real measures. It hasn't moved to dismantle the structures of oppression in the state. And without them doing that, it doesn't send a clear message to the international community that they're truly committed to resolving this crisis.

SESAY: Yes, 700,000 people having fled to Bangladesh and nothing appears to have changed on the ground there in northern Rakhine State other than all these makeshift camps that they're building to house them should they ever come back. Richard Weir, we appreciate it, Richard Weir with Human Rights Watch, thank you.

WEIR: Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: Well, nothing can really make up for the loss of a loved one. But up next, we will talk to a music therapist who's helping families in grief by composing songs of life from the heartbeats of terminally ill patients.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:35:00]

VAUSE: Can you hear that sound?

That's the beating heart of A.J. Carter, almost four years ago he was born with a profound birth defect. Doctors thought he would not survive more than a few hours but his heart keeps beating.

And for his dad, Artrus (ph), that beating heart is the baseline of hope.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So Artrus (ph) chose to rap to his son's beating heart. For others, like Geraldine Hampton (ph), before she died from cancer...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

VAUSE (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE) heartbeat was recorded and then mixed with the hymn, "I'll Fly Away."

And then there is 15-year-old Kylie Wright (ph) who died from a brain tumor last year. But in the month before her death, she recorded her heartbeat, the heartbeats of her mom, dad and brother, all mixed together as she's singing "The Best Day" by Taylor Swift.

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VAUSE: Nothing can heal the grieving heart of a parent who's lost a child. But it seems there is comfort and solace to hear the once healthy beating heart of that child long after they're gone.

Brian Schreck is a music therapist at the Norton Cancer Institute in Louisville, Kentucky, and Brian is the man behind the very emotional music. Brian, thank you so much for being with us. Just tell us how this all began because I think it began with mother once telling you that she was worried that she would forget the sound of her daughter's voice and her daughter was terminally ill.

BRIAN SCHRECK, MUSIC THERAPIST: Yes, I started recording lots of things so that anything that was working, whether it was a voice or a laugh or anything that we could use that would help create any kind of music with that would be a nice memory for anyone to listen to in the family.

VAUSE: The heart just seems so special, though, and when you look at for parents who have a terminally ill child, it almost seems that these heartbeat recordings are proof of existence, a marker left behind of a life cut short.

SCHRECK: Exactly right. And it's something that is still alive and it's a symbol of love that's always there and it's never ending and it's forever. So I think there's something that is continuous about it, that is -- that is really lovely.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) --

[00:40:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- happy because you need to live until you die.

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SCHRECK: The choice of music is sometimes the most important part of this whole process and, to me, it is a process. It is not exactly a product. So it can be this ongoing thing that we can work on together.

And it's through that therapeutic relationship that I think really can help people.

VAUSE: OK, so you started out with terminally ill children, which must have been very difficult to work with, very emotional. You're now working with older patients. Here's a part of a clip from a movie that you're making.

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SCHRECK: So we're just going to put it -- you can hold it right there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So that's me?

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(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: Just explain the process here, technically how do you actually go about doing what you do?

SCHRECK: So I have two different stethoscopes, one that I created that just uses a natural acoustic stethoscope and then I just put a lavalier microphone inside and then the other one is a really fancy digital stethoscope.

Both of these I plug into my computer. Once I have the cleanest -- because it picks up everything. So once I have cleanest 4-5 or six beat in a row, then I can loop that. And then on top of that, we can create anything.

VAUSE: It must be bittersweet for the families to listen to these heartbeat songs.

SCHRECK: It can be but I really try to figure out ways to make it something that is beautiful and alive and joyful. I want them to want to listen to it. I don't want it to break their heart every time that they pull it out.

VAUSE: And what about the emotions that you experience?

Once the heart song is finished and then that person dies, somebody who you've spent so much time with and then -- and gone through this process, which is very personal and very emotional and then that person is no longer there?

SCHRECK: What I love is that I still have that record as well. So I can visit them whenever I want. And when I'm physically recording over their heartbeat, I'm feeling alive with them. And I feel like it's all about them. I'm in the background. And it's really about them. And I want them to feel the same love that I have for them as well.

VAUSE: Well, is it a beautiful memory, I guess, for so many people to have and it's a beautiful thing to do. So Brian, thank you. Thanks so much for being with us.

SCHRECK: Oh, I'm grateful. Thank you.

SESAY: It's a truly beautiful thing to do.

VAUSE: He's a good man.

SESAY: He really is.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.

VAUSE: I'm John Vause. Stay with us. "WORLD SPORT" is up next. You're watching CNN.