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Connect the World
Speakers Make Unsubstantiated Claims Biden Is A Socialist; Survey: Nearly Half Of Spaniards Believe Pandemic Will Get Worse; Belarus Opposition Calls For Negotiations With Government; LNA Backers, UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia Welcomed Ceasefire; Libya's Warring Factions Call For Ceasefire; Tennis Players Reveal Vile Online Abuse. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired August 25, 2020 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is "Connect the World" with Becky Anderson.
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: It is 11:00 am in D.C. 7:00 in evening here in Abu Dhabi, a big 70 days until America's Presidential
Election, just a little over two months. I'm Becky Anderson a very warm welcome to the second part of this show.
U.S. Republicans opened night one of their national convention with a stark warning. A future with Joe Biden as President would be dismal and
dangerous. Well, somber messages coming after President Donald Trump claimed the Republican Convention would have an upbeat, positive tone.
There were a few of those positive moments Monday, shown mostly in prerecorded clips, speakers praising the president's accomplishment in
areas like criminal justice reform and experimental drug policies.
But on the Coronavirus, you could argue they revised history, praising Mr. Trump's response and ignoring his repeated downplaying of the virus and the
more than 177,000 Americans who have died. On a prerecorded video also painted Democrats as the culprits in the early response to the virus. Have
a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From the very beginning, Democrats, the media and the World Health Organization got Coronavirus wrong. The World Health
Organization said authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to- human transmission.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Overall, most people should not be terribly concerned about it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything is fine here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do you want to say to people, come to Chinatown, here we are, come join us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't even think it is going to be as fair as it was in other countries.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go about your lives, go about your business.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One leader took decisive action to save lives, President Donald Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, the pandemic wasn't the only big issue glossed over by Republicans. Racial injustice was brought into focus again this week after
police in Wisconsin shot a black man in the back while his three young children sat in their car.
You may remember Kamala Harris saying last week there is no vaccine for racism. Well, on Monday several Republicans of color offered the
overarching message, the U.S. does not have endemic racism. One of them is Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley who is an Indian American.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIKKI HALEY, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: In much of the Democratic Party, it's now fashionable to say that America is racist. That is a lie.
America is not a racist country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, throughout the night, speakers made repeated unsubstantiated claims that a Biden Presidency would usher in socialist
policies that would fail Americans. Some of the sharpest attacks came from the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., who compared Biden to the Loch Ness
Monster.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP JR., U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP'S SON: He's pledged to repeal the Trump tax cuts which were the biggest in our country. After eight years
of Obama and Biden's slow growth, Trump's policies have been like rocket fuel to the economy and especially to the middle class.
Biden has promised to take that money back out of your pocket and keep it in the swamp. That makes sense, though, considering Joe Biden is basically
the Loch Ness Monster of the swamp.
[11:05:00]
TRUMP JR.: For the past half century, he's been lurking around in there. He sticks his head up every now and then to run for president, and then he
disappears and doesn't do much in between.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: I want to bring in White House Correspondent John Harwood. What do you make of what you heard on night one, John?
JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Becky, what the Republicans are trying to do is gin up the base of their party. The president is
trailing in the polls but he's trying to maximize turnout among his political base, but also give a reason for Republicans who have drifted
away from him to come back.
You know, you've had, especially during 2020, during the COVID crisis, as the economy has gotten much worse, as the pandemic has taken a huge toll on
American life in multiple ways, more than 177,000 deaths, everybody's lives turned upside down, a lot of people have faulted the president for not
doing more.
He went into this convention with just a 31 percent approval and an AP poll on handling Coronavirus, so he's trying to bring those people back,
convince them he hasn't been as bad as he's been portrayed in the media on Coronavirus, that he's not a racist as people have asserted during the
racial justice protests.
And also try to convince Republicans that Democrats are going to be so much worse than whatever they're experiencing right now.
ANDERSON: Look, I guess you could say you wouldn't expect anything other than a campaign rally. You could argue that's exactly what we got out of
the Democrats last week, and this is, of course, a final leg in the race to the White House beginning of November.
Let's listen to a couple other things our viewers perhaps haven't heard, and I thought this was interesting. The evangelist Franklin Graham speaking
to our colleague Don Lemon. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKLIN GRAHAM, PRESIDENT, CEO BILY GRAHAM EVANGELISTIIC ASSOCIATION: I believe he's President of the United States for a reason. I think God put
him there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: What do you make of that?
HARWOOD: Well, look, Becky, evangelical - Christian evangelicals are the strongest single demographic group for the president. It hasn't been a good
week for them. Jerry Falwell, the evangelical leader who had been the President of Florida University was caught up in a sex scandal.
Nevertheless, the president is trying to rally that constituency. He's even going so far as to claim that the Democrats in their convention last week
removed the words "Under God" from their convention proceedings. Now, they weren't uttered in every single setting in the convention, but they were
uttered an awful lot. Take a listen to this collection of sound bites.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One nation, under God.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One nation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One nation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One nation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One nation under God.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One nation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One nation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One nation under God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One nation, under God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARWOOD: Well, what we've seen is that the Republicans led by the president are trying in increasingly blunt ways to persuade those evangelicals that
Democrats are absolutely opposed to it, and the president has said that Joe Biden is against God, he would hurt God.
The problem for the president, of course, and one of the reasons he's trying to make these arguments is that Joe Biden is doing better among
white evangelical Christians than Hillary Clinton was in 2016, and that's one of the reasons why Donald Trump is trailing in the polls.
ANDERSON: Fascinating. All right, John, thank you for that. John Harwood is in Washington for you, and we are full speed ahead into round 2 of this
Republican Convention. CNN's special coverage gets going at 4:00 am Wednesday morning. If you're here in the UAE for you political night owls,
that is 1:00 am in London, 8:00 pm Tuesday in New York.
Well, an alarming new development in the spread of Coronavirus to European patients, one in Belgium and the other in the Netherlands, have been
infected with COVID-19 twice. That's right, they were not protected from re-infection, and there was no lasting immunity, either, for a 33-year-old
Hong Kong man who was re-infected with a different strain of the virus. He showed no symptoms the second time. Well, a doctor studying re-infection
says this sends a sobering message.
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DR. IVAN HUNG, HKU DEPT. OF MEDICINE: Well, I think the most important message is that even though you have recovered from a natural infection, it
doesn't mean that you're immunized for life from that virus. Also, you can see that this virus is very smart because it keeps on new taking.
[11:10:00]
DR. HUNG: That means that even though you have recovered from a natural infection, you still need a vaccination and you still need to wear a mask
and keep your social distancing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Meanwhile, I want to bring in CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen at this point. What does this tell us about re-infection
and our immunity to the virus, Elizabeth?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Becky, this tells us what I think a lot of doctors have long suspected, which is that this is a
Coronavirus. Common colds are also Coronaviruses, and we all know you can get the common cold more than once, so this is not shocking.
I think that we also need to put this into some perspective. We know details, for example, about this Hong Kong man. He was infected in March;
he was infected then again in August. In August he was just caught because he happened to be going through an airport screening. He did not have any
symptoms.
So if his case turns out to be sort of the way that things work, that's actually, in many ways, good news. It tells us that when we get this again
that we - it is a more mild version of the illness. The objective here is not - I mean, it would be great if we could avoid re-infection, that would
be wonderful, but that's not the only objective.
The other objective would be, hey, for people to get infected, but not get so sick. So in a way this is good news for the vaccine. Vaccines usually
mimic what happens naturally, so if what the vaccine does is make it so you don't get terribly ill, you might get infected but you won't get terribly
ill, that would actually be a win.
ANDERSON: Yes, fascinating. We've been discussing this past hour about President Trump wanting to fast-track a UK vaccine before the U.S.
elections, which are, of course, just a little over two months away. What's the implication of doing that?
COHEN: Oh, I can't express enough how terrible that would be. First of all, it would be terrible to put a vaccine out there that hadn't been proven to
be safe and effective. You could hurt people. The second thing is, let's say you put out a vaccine that's, that it's safe but it doesn't do
anything. That's still very, very harmful, and the reason why is that people are going to lose trust in this process and they're going to lose
trust in vaccines.
That's already an issue already in the U.S.; CNN polling shows that 40 percent of Americans don't want to get the Coronavirus vaccine. Once if you
mess up and put one out there that doesn't work or isn't safe, that number is going to get even higher. 50 percent of Americans won't want to get it,
60 percent of Americans, and then a vaccine won't work at all.
Also, as Tony Fauci has pointed out, if you put out a vaccine that doesn't work, you're going to have trouble enrolling people in the next sets of
studies. Remember we're not talking about one vaccine; we're talking at least half dozen companies that are trying to get a vaccine on the market.
You mess up the first one you're not going to get to the next ones.
ANDERSON: Yes. The problem is, I mean, ahead of this pandemic, as I understand it, vaccines can take a decade - decades - to develop. So to
your mind, what would be an appropriate amount of time for a vaccine to be in development before we can assume for it to be safe and effective?
COHEN: Becky, however long it takes. I don't think it's going to take decades. Nobody thinks it's even going to take years. What you want to look
for is when they vaccinate tens of thousands of people or have tens of thousands of people in one of these large phase III trials, how many people
got sick who got the vaccine, and how many people get sick who didn't.
What you're looking for is valid test results, and that may take weeks from now, that may take - I'm sorry, not weeks from now - that will take months
from now at least. You can't rush this process. Science is science, biology is biology. You can't rush the process.
ANDERSON: And we could also add politics is politics there. Elizabeth, thank you. Your analysis is extremely useful. Spain taking new measures to
contain its own surge in Coronavirus cases, earlier the country's Prime Minister said 2,000 military personnel will now be deployed to help with
contact tracing in several hot spots.
And in Madrid, masks will now be mandatory for children six years and older at school. Since Friday the country has reported more than 19,000 new
infections with a total number of cases reaching more than 400,000. That is the highest number now in Europe.
Well, despite safety measures, a new survey shows almost half of Spaniards think the worst of the pandemic is still to come. The government is hoping
it will get a better snapshot of how the virus is spreading through mass testing?
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ANDERSON: Atika Shubert has this report.
ATIKA SHUBERT, JOURNALIST: Temperature checked. Hands cleaned, mouth swabbed, next? This is the new frontline against COVID-19 in the Spanish
Capital. The - neighborhood in Madrid has one of the highest rates of COVID-19 infections anywhere in Spain.
It's now part of a campaign to test as many as 6,000 randomly selected people, along with hundreds more volunteers lining up for free PCR tests.
Madrid's Deputy Health Secretary says he wants to get an epidemiological snapshot of how the virus is spreading?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONIO ZAPATERO, MADRID DEPUTY HEALTH SECRETARY: The main reason for doing this is that these are the ideas in Madrid that had greater incidents of
new cases. We have to know that these incidents are getting in ages between 15 and 14 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHUBERT: The latest data shows COVID-19 cases in Spain are now much younger, at an average age of 38 with as many as 60 percent of cases
exhibiting little or no symptoms. That may be why hospitalizations and deaths are still low despite the rising number of infections. But it's
scary enough that Marco Malaga, the father of three teenagers, came on his own to get tested.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO MALAGA, VOLUNTEERING FOR COVID-19 TEST: As I decided I voluntarily go - quite afraid that I may get COVID. So I don't know - situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHUBERT: Now this testing is moving like clapper fair processing hundreds of people in just a few hours, and when they come out, volunteers will get
this. It's a QR code that they're able to scan, and this is where they'll get their results in 48 hours.
As we film, lab technicians sweep past with another batch of fresh samples bound for analysis at a diagnostic lab. This is what test results across
Spain show so far, an alarming rise in cases similar to the peak of the pandemic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDOUARD MATHIEU, DATA MANAGER, OUR WORLD IN DATA: This is kind of that U shape, which is quite worrying. In some countries are just like at the
beginning of the second part of the U, but for France and Spain that U is almost complete, and that's kind of what worries us, and it's happened
extremely quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHUBERT: Nobody wants a return to this. Hospitals so crowded, patients sleep on the floor. A group of Spanish doctors and epidemiologists have
urged the government to invest more now into detecting cases, tracing contacts and isolating regional outbreaks before it is too late.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANUEL FRANCO, EPIDEMIOLOGIST: We need to have better data than we had before. We need to have the tracing capacity that we haven't had so far,
and we're going to need it for many months, if not years. The sooner we get this in place, the better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHUBERT: Back at the clinic, Marco Malaga is so happy with his experience, he called his entire family over to get tested so they can visit the
grandparents over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANA MANUELA MALAGA, VOLUNTEERING FOR COVID-19 TEST: We want to make sure we don't have the virus and then be symptom free.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHUBERT: Echoing the hopes and fears of many here in Spain. Atika Shubert, Madrid.
ANDERSON: Well, still ahead on "Connect the World" we're going to hear from the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee Chair about the situation
in Belarus, and indeed, in Libya, and the wider Mediterranean plus calls for a cease fire.
Warning political fractions in Libya reach an agreement, but as ever for this conflict the details are convoluted we'll break that down in the most
basic of ways after this.
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[11:20:00]
ANDERSON: Over the past few weeks, Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko has been reiterating his refusal to step down. In a show of holstering
latest round of mass demonstrations on Sunday, he flew over the crowds in a helicopter and was seen afterwards wearing body armor and hopping out of
his chopper while brandishing a rifle. Meanwhile the Belarus opposition continues to push for his ousting.
Well, the European parliament is where the opposition is turning for support. An emergency meeting was held just a few hours ago, and in it
Belarus' exiled opposition leader said, and I quote, "We are not the opposition anymore, we are the majority". A peaceful revolution is taking
place. All this as the protests enter a third week.
Well, joining me now live from European Parliament in Brussels is Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, David McAllister. Well, you have met with
your opposition. What came out of that meeting and what did Europe set out to do?
DAVID MCALLISTER, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Good evening from Brussels. We had an extraordinary Foreign Affairs Committee meeting this morning, and
we heard an impressive statement from Svetlana Tikhanovskaya one of the leading opposition politicians from Belarus.
And the European Parliament with an overwhelming majority of colleague showed solidarity with the people in Belarus and that we support their wish
and their will to have democracy and the rule of law in this country and that they are able to exercise their rights, and we fully support the
demand for free and fair new elections under international observation.
ANDERSON: Which means what, exactly, sir, with respect? Where are the teeth here?
MCALLISTER: Well, the European Union has been very clear that we are with the people in Belarus. This is not a geopolitical conflict, the
demonstrators are not demonstrating in favor of the EU or Russia or even in favor of NATO, but this is about that they are fighting for democracy and
the rule of law and freedom, things we enjoy in the European Union, and we will support the democratic opposition in this necessary change.
And, indeed, hundreds of thousands of citizens are going to the streets weekend after weekend, and this shows how large the support is. The
European Union has already decided to impose sanctions on individuals. We need targeted sanctions against individuals who are responsible for the
electoral fraud and for police brutality and torture.
It's more than just sanctions, we are ready to support civil society in this country, and we are ready where we can to facilitate a dialogue
between the opposition and the ruling government, always with the aim that in the end there are new elections but they have to be free and fair and
match international standards.
ANDERSON: So let's just get a bit more specific here. You talk about sanctions. So who are we talking about here? What level of people will you
target the sanctions? Who, effectively?
MCALLISTER: Well, the European Council decided to impose sanctions. The Foreign Ministers will prepare concrete suggestions, concrete proposals, I
assume that at the Foreign Ministers Council meeting in Berlin on Thursday and Friday where Belarus will be on the agenda, the Foreign Ministers will
then adopt these sanctions.
These are sanctions, concrete targeted sanctions against individuals who are responsible for the rigged elections on the one hand but also for the
brutality of the state against innocent people.
ANDERSON: So are you talking about sanctions against the president, for example? Can we just get a little bit more specific here?
MCALLISTER: We're talking about travel bans, travel restrictions. We're talking about freezing assets.
[11:25:00]
MCALLISTER: There are many, many things the European Union has already done after previous events in Belarus, and we are ready to do this again. We as
a European Parliament would like to see these sanctions being implemented sooner than later, and also it make sense to coordinate our sanctions as a
European Union with the activities of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and other allies and partners.
ANDERSON: You talk about support for civil society, which I know many of our viewers will applaud, but this is a country run by a man who many call
Europe's last dictator. With the greatest of respect, does Europe feel like it really has the physical capacity, aside from sanctions, to really get
involved in Belarusian society and politics to any fruitful degree, as it were, in support of the opposition?
MCALLISTER: The huge majority of people in Belarus are demanding changes, understandably. They want democratic reforms. They are on the streets, and
President Lukashenko doesn't have the majority in his country, and that's why we as A European Union didn't recognize these manipulated, rigged
elections.
Of course, we have to deal with him, he's still in power, but the way forward is we now enter a transition period where the government, the
opposition, civil society come together, and we as a European Union are ready to play a constructive role.
I think the organization best suited for mediating this dialogue and also for observing the next elections which hopefully will then be free and fair
is the OSC, because the OSC is organization. All the EU members are sitting at a table, but also the United States and Canada but also Belarus and
Russia, so we support any activity run by the OSC.
ANDERSON: Clearly with this country sitting right on the door steps of the European Union that's Belarus. I just want to cover a number of other
issues with you while we've got you here, sir, today.
Naval vessels from both Greece and Turkey will be making a show of force in what are contested waters in the east Mediterranean today, Tuesday, as what
appears to be a new race for gas reserves inflames old disputes. Just how concerned are you about the likelihood of direct military confrontation
emerging here?
MCALLISTER: I am concerned. I'm actually very concerned. As I mentioned, the EU Foreign Ministers will meet in Berlin on Thursday and Friday, not
only to discuss the situation in Belarus but the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean.
What we now need is de-escalation. We need to talk to the Turkish government, and we have to make clear as a European Union that we stand
beside our member states, Greece and Cypress, and we call Turkey to immediately end the illegal drilling activities in Greek and Cypriot
territorial waters, and we also demand that Turkey immediately stops violating their territory in the waters and their air space.
But we need to talk. Greece and Turkey are both NATO allies, and this is a very strange situation where you have these tensions between two countries
that are actually in the same defense treaty organization. But the European Union has been very clear, we are showing solidarity with our member
states, Cypress and Greece, and the Turks need to stop their aggressive behavior.
ANDERSON: Let me just get your response on an issue which clearly has been dominating European politics for a couple of years before COVID sort of
stalled the headlines. You are reported to have described the EU's deal on Brexit as a highly attractive and unique offer, so you have clearly seen
that deal. Can you explain to us what is in it and why it is so attractive and unique?
MCALLISTER: Well, in the moment the United Kingdom and the European Union are negotiating their future relationship. The withdrawal agreement has
been passed, and since the 1st of February, the United Kingdom is no longer a member state of the European Union, but in practical terms, nothing much
has changed because the UK is still a member of the single market and the customs union.
[11:30:00]
MCALLISTER: This will change on the 1st January then the UK will be a first state and our offer is that the United Kingdom will keep full access to the
world's largest single markets for goods without any tariffs and without any quotas.
But on the other hand, we expect the UK to continue to accept our level playing field, our standards when it comes to protection of the
environment, labor standards, just to name two examples. But this also applies to state aid and subsidies.
ANDERSON: With that, we're going to leave it there. I have to take a very short break, but we do very much appreciate your time. Sir, thank you very
much indeed for joining us, the Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee in Europe. Thank you.
Well, still to come is Libya, the next Syria of UN acting special representative for Libya slams foreign interference, arguing that Libyans
are losing their voice. We speak with her, up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, gunshots disbursed protestors in the Libyan Capital of Tripoli this weekend, demonstrators voicing their anger over corruption and
poor living standards in over what they are calling "Slow death of the country" when the analyst comes forward on the hills of course for a cease
fire by the country's warring political factions.
We're going to get more into the details of that announcement in a moment. First though, let's get you back to basics. After all, Libya is a multi-led
and extremely convoluted conflict admired in a decade of unrest the civil war now a powder keg of foreign powers mercenaries, militants and Islamist
groups achieving a lasting deal, one that has proved elusive for years will require cooperation from numerous state and sub-state adversaries. How did
we get here? CNN's Arwa Damon explains.
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was but a short- lived moment of hope, and then Libyan saw their dream of a better, more prosperous democratic future dissolve. As the patchwork of factions that
brought down Libya's strong man Muammar Gaddafi turned on each other.
Initially fighting for power locally, but then more or less coalescing into two major groups. Out of Tripoli in the west, you have the GNA, the U.N.
recognized government. In the east, a huge swath of territory controlled by renegade General Khalifa Haftar and his forces known as the LNA.
[11:35:00]
DAMON: And as is so often the case, especially in the Middle East, and when natural resources are at stake, you also have bigger games at play. The LNA
is backed to varying degrees by Saudi, the UAE, Egypt, France and Russia.
The GNA by Qatar at times some EU state, including Italy and Turkey, which earlier this year deployed troops on the ground and sent an air support,
forcing about an end to Haftar's battlefield momentum that nearly cost the capital to fall.
The battle lines are currently more or less stable, with both sides claiming infractions by the other, and the UN is trying to broker a more
permanent cease fire. But this is not just about Libya or what Libyans want for themselves and their nation. It's about the competing interests of each
country that has extended its tentacles into Libya, each with its own strategic goals and aims. Arwa Damon, CNN, Istanbul.
ANDERSON: Well, the UN is of course leading peace efforts in Libya. Joining me now is the Acting UN Special Representative for Libya, Stephanie
Williams. She has a long diplomatic carrier when it comes to Libya and joining me today from Bordeaux in France. The Libya file is littered with
failed initiatives and cease fires.
So why should any Libyan or any observer believe that these calls for a cease fire might work this time?
STEPHANIE WILLIAMS, ACTING U.N. SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR LIBYA: Hi, Becky, and thanks. Look, the Secretary General, when he addressed the
Security Council last month said that time is not on our side.
And we have this buildup of forces and mobilization around Serbs, and we have this very dire economic and humanitarian situation in the country
where conflict is colluding with COVID. And you have an oil blockade and a deterioration of provision of services, electricity shortages that go sort
of now 20 hours a day.
So, clearly, the situation is not sustainable. And what we saw last week was that these two gentlemen, Mr. Siraj and Mr. Agiula, representing really
two opposing camps, came together. And there was a convergence on some key points, including the need to reach a ceasefire, including the need to
resume oil production, and a call for a return to a comprehensive political dialogue.
And so, what we really see this is an opportunity to build a Libyan constituency for change. And why I believe that this is different, why we
are so encouraged not only by the tremendous international welcome of this call, these declarations by the two gentlemen from President ICC warm
embrace including a welcome from Turkey and other main international actors.
The response that the mission has received from Libyans themselves has been extremely positive. And so, we do believe that we have something that we
can now build upon.
ANDERSON: And, clearly, as you rightly suggest, the situation is not sustainable. You just namesake a couple of countries, and this is what's
really important here, isn't it, because the UN has accused all sides of this conflict, including foreign powers, for violation of an arms embargo
in Libya.
For example, last month you told the FT, and I quote you here, "There's complete international impunity, which is matched by impunity on the
ground. The risk of this turning into a pure proxy war is very serious, indeed. Foreign powers officially back the U.N.'s process but also shipping
arms to their allies". Does that action undercut your diplomatic efforts? And if so, do you genuinely believe you can get these foreign powers on
your side?
WILLIAMS: Look, it's clear that the sanctions committee has a tall order. They need to hold the countries and the entities that are violating the
arms embargo accountable. And, of course, when you have this international impunity, it translates into impunity on the ground.
And we've seen an alarming increase in human rights violations. And of course there was discovery of the mass graves, terrible discovery in
Tathuna (ph), the lane of land mines and IAGs in Southern Tripoli.
[11:40:00]
WILLIAMS: And so, we were also heartened to see the response by the ICC as well as the standing up of the tact-finding mission from the Human Rights
Council.
ANDERSON: You have said there is a real risk of a huge miscalculation from foreign rivals in Libya resulting in direct conflict. Just how close we are
to the cliff edge for that scenario should nothing changing at this point?
WILLIAMS: Well, look, I'm very worried about the situation in and around Sirte. Here is a city which has literally been set by crisis and conflict
one after the other from 2011 to the campaign to remove Darsh (ph) from the city, and now they're at the center of this mobilization of forces in and
around the city.
There are 130,000 civilians in that city. If they have to start moving and they will add to the 400,000 internally displaced persons who the UN
humanitarian agencies are already reaching. But this will be - this is going to be very difficult, and so, we need, the international community
needs to come behind this call for a ceasefire and work first and foremost to spare those civilians from this direct conflict.
ANDERSON: Are you confident that foreign powers will support the removal of all foreign mercenaries as call for in this ceasefire? The country is
littered with foreign mercenaries at this point.
WILLIAMS: Well, I was very struck that in the two declarations, Mr. Suraj and Mr. Gaylor (ph) they both called for the departure of forces and
mercenaries from the country. Look, the Libyan voice has become somewhat lost, which is why now these internal calls are so important.
This needs to become a Libyan story, and then that can hopefully provide the moral imperative for the international actors to do the needful. I
would also mention that in the context of the ongoing 5 plus 5 military talks between the two sides under the umbrella of the Berlin process, there
has already been agreement on the need for foreign forces and mercenaries to depart the country within 90 days of signing a ceasefire. This would of
course, all be monitored by the United Nations.
ANDERSON: This is a powder keg on the doorstep of Europe, which if Europe needs an incentive to sort out Libya, and of course other European
countries have been part of the problem, not part of the solution now for a decade.
But you can understand why Europeans look to Libya and say we need to sort this mess out. Why not the U.S.? You were formally the charged affair of
the United States Embassy in Tripoli. The U.S. has very much stayed out of the conflict. Why?
WILLIAMS: Well, I will say that the U.S. Embassy, which is located in Tunis which works with Libyans and certainly they're very active. And region has
been extraordinarily helpful. The Ambassador has been running shuttle diplomacy between Cairo and Ankara.
Look, for all of these countries in major member states, Libya needs to move up the list of priorities. And I think the minimal investment of
leverage, particularly on the regional spoilers, can really pay off. And Libyans are counting on these major member states to at least look after
their interests.
ANDERSON: A man absent from our conversation today, of course, General Haftar. We will continue watch his moves and his efforts on the ground in
Libya.
And interesting that you just talked about shuttle diplomacy being run between Cairo and Ankara, just really flushing out the proxy war that is
Libya today, that Cairo and Ankara are two capitals, Egypt and Turkey, two capitals between which any peace deal would need to be agreed, as much as
for Libyans on the ground. Stephanie, it's a pleasure having you on.
Thank you very much, indeed, for working us through the very latest in Libya today. Thank you. We're taking a very short break back after.
[11:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Rage and frustration playing out in the streets of Kenosha in Wisconsin in the states after another unarmed black man is shot by police.
Right now there is still no real answer or explanation over why Jacob Blake was shot multiple times in the back while his young kids reportedly looked
on.
But Wisconsin's Lieutenant Governor says it was "no accident". Blake is still in hospital. His father says he is paralyzed from the waist down.
Meanwhile the National Guard is being called into the city as it prepares for more unrest.
Monday night demonstrations turned violent with angry protesters setting buildings and cars on fire. CNN's Sara Sidner joining us from Kenosha in
Wisconsin with more, what are you seeing and hearing on the ground, Sara?
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Becky, it is very quiet right now. Last night was a different story. There was tear gas and fireworks exchanged
between the police who had a line in front of this courthouse here, and then behind them the National Guard had arrived.
And protesters on the other side who were at times yelling and speaking their mind but also firing fireworks towards the officers as they responded
with tear gas for a bit of the night. And then we saw destruction when it comes to fires.
There were several buildings that were set on fire. All of this after seeing or witnessing in person the shooting of Jacob Blake at the hands of
a police officer shot seven times the family obviously distraught. Many people cannot believe that he was able to survive that.
We were able to speak with one of the people who took that video that went viral and who talks a little about what happened before that you don't see
on video and what he says he saw that you, the public, have not seen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAYSEAN WHITE, FILMED SHOOTING OF JACOB BLAKE: And I've seen the police wrestling Jacob. He had him in a headlock and was punching him in the ribs.
The other had him in a headlock on the other side of him and was pulling his arm.
After they proceeded punching him in the ribs, the female officer takes him and Jacob kind of leaned on the car. They proceed to wrestle him towards
the back of the car, and he went to the other side of the car, and when he went to other side of the car I just happened to pick up my camera and
record.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER: And so, you heard there that although you don't see it, there was some sort of altercation, a tussle there between according to the
witnesses, Jacob and police. And we will maybe never see exactly what happened, because here the Kenosha Police Department does not have body-
worn cameras.
[11:50:00]
SIDNER: We also know from the other side of things that the attorney for the family is saying that this was an unjustified shooting and that there
was no reason at the point in time when Jacob Blake was shot that he should have been treated that way.
We have also heard from his uncle who came to town for the family to try and sass out what was happening to check on his condition. And he told us
that this has been such an incredibly difficult time for this family, even though their child is alive, to have to go through even getting that phone
call that no family member ever wants to get.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN BLAKE, JACOB BLAKE'S UNCLE: This is like all the black parents talk about, is that phone call you don't want to get. And we got it. So you have
to sort of be strong for each other, let your faith lead the way. And so, after talking to his mother, she and my brother are asking people in
Kenosha and around this nation to protest, but protest nonviolently.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER: So you heard there the uncle speaking on behalf of the family, on behalf of Jacob's mother and father, that they are fully aware and happy to
see protests in their son's name. What they do not want to see is any further violence or any violence at all. Becky?
ANDERSON: Sara Sidner reporting. Well, the first Tennis Major since the Coronavirus lockdown begins next week, but the pandemic just one of the
obstacles that players have to overcome. We reveal some shocking online abuse and a possible answer on how to stop it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Tennis' U.S. Open begins next week, in New York with many top players deciding not to participate due to COVID-19, but there is another
virus in the game, and that of online abuse. For more, we are joined by my colleague Don Riddell. Don?
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Hi, Becky, thank you. Tennis players will tell you that their sport is one of the toughest, if not the toughest. It's
uncompromising it can be very cruel and lonely at times.
You don't just have to be a top athlete with incredibly skill, but you have to be mentally robust. There is nobody to help you out on the court. And
now with the advent of social media, this generation of players also has to deal with degrading and demoralizing abuse online.
And as the U.S. Open approaches in New York City, they know it's going to get ugly again. Two of those players have been telling our Christina
McFarland why they think it happens.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAYLOR TOWNSEND, AMERICAN TENNIS PLAYER: You're such a piece of --, it's not even funny. Are you - serious? You get braked on every serve; you're a
Serena Williams who want nothing in life because the physical sides are the same. People attack all points, I mean, anything you're - come for that you
think is a weakness body image, my race, my skin color.
BENJAMIN HASSAN, GERMAN TENNIS PLAYER: They're calling me a - Muslim terrorist. My whole family - I'll see you in your next tournament, I'm
going to kill you - you will die on cancer. I hope you die - an accident.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINA MCFARLAND, CNN WORLD SPORT: This is tennis today, unseen abuse poisoning the game at every level. The players unable to make it stop.
Taylor Townsend and Benjamin Hassan are among many top tennis players who get abused online every time they play.
[11:55:00]
MCFARLAND: Most of it, they say from strangers fueled by online betting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOWNSEND: It's definitely the worse at the slams or the bigger events, like the masters. I would probably say 99 percent is betting because it's
something on the line.
HASSAN: Heavy loss. That confidence is just broken after such a match, and you're just afraid to play just afraid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCFARLAND: But the years of torment they've endured maybe coming to an end because of help from an unlikely source, a betting and sports data company.
Sportradar provide live tennis schools and statistics for book makers, but recently they've been using their technology to investigate in unmasked
trolls. 44 from twelve different countries sending abused players a tournament in the U.S. and Germany. Already six of those trolls' identities
have been handed over to police.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREAS KRANNICH, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SPORTRADAR INTEGRITY SERVICES: Our intelligence investigation service can locate other social media accounts
which belong to the same individual. We aim to discover the users' real names, their location, and if possible, their telephone number to stand up
for the - or the sport organization to decide, okay, do we want to take this further?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCFARLAND: They may seem unusual regulators given they facilitate the betting players say fuels this abuse. But Sportradar say their data
insights give them a unique advantage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRANNICH: Without this specific information at insight into the world of sports betting, we would never, ever be able to provide this detailed
service.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCFARLAND: If the tools now exist, do sports governing bodies have the will to stamp this out? The international tennis federation told us, we've not
yet worked with Sportradar's social media service specifically, but effective measures to combat online social abuse will be welcomed by the
ITF and the players. For now Townsend and his son are relieved someone is paying attention.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOWNSEND: I just feel as though it's important for people to kind of, like, have this topic and have this conversation because it's not talked about a
lot. And I think that this is one that is a part of sport that we do need to kind of address, because if it's not addressed and people don't talk
about it, then nobody really knows.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCFARLAND: Christina McFarland, CNN, London.
RIDDELL: Our thanks to Christina for that report. And Becky, as I hand it back to you, we have just learned that the eight-time Olympics Sprint
Champion Usain Bolt has tested positive for COVID-19. That's a story we've been following over the last 24 hours. Of course this coming just days
after he celebrated his 34th birthday party with lots of people and what looked like not much social distancing or mask wearing, back to you.
ANDERSON: Yes, more on that as we get it, of course. Thank you, Don. That is it for today's show. On tomorrow's show, though, we'll be joined by once
presidential hopeful Andrew Yang and Former Governor of Ohio, John Kasich.
Plus, in this part of the world, Iraq's Deputy Health Minister joins me to talk about Coronavirus picking up pace there across his country. Thank you
for joining us. See you tomorrow. Do stay safe and stay well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
