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Crisis in Ukraine; Missing Nigerian Girls; Search for Flight 370

Aired May 07, 2014 - 15:00   ET

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

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Pamela Brown, in today for Brooke Baldwin. Great to have you along with us on this Wednesday.

Nigeria is offering a hefty award for information that leads police to hundreds of missing kidnapped schoolgirls there. It's worth more than $300,000 and comes amid reports that the group claiming responsibility for the abductions, Boko Haram, attacked another Nigerian town.

A local lawmaker tells CNN this deadly assault happened Monday in the border town of Gamboru Ngala. At least 150 people were killed. And back here in the U.S., the sense of urgency to find these girls is spreading on Capitol Hill. A day after women Senate leaders condemned the kidnappings and urged the U.S. to get involved, some of their congressional counterparts did the same.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JANICE HAHN (D), CALIFORNIA: The militant terrorist group Boko Haram is now planning to sell these young women into sex slavery for just $12 a girl. We cannot stand idly by while fear and violence oppress the freedom and dreams of women around the world.

REP. FREDERICA WILSON (D), FLORIDA: It will take the efforts of the Nigerian government, the United States government, and the international government to rescue the missing young girls.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And it appears the international support is finally in the works.

CNN's Isha Sesay is in the Nigerian capital of Abuja.

Isha, nice to have you along with us.

Nigeria has now accepted help from the United States and Britain, so what are the next steps?

ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the next step is of course these teams arrive here on the ground, which we are told will arrive here in the next couple of days. We're expecting these teams from the U.S. and the Ukraine to help the Nigerians when it comes to intelligence gathering, when it comes to equipment that will be necessary to monitor and scan these areas, and just critical and skills that are needed to complement the effort here on the ground that has been ongoing for some three weeks now.

That is what is needed. There's no doubt there needs to be a ramping up in the effort to find these girls, because, quite frankly, the government has said, the president said on camera on Sunday they have no idea where these girls are. They need help. There's no doubt about it.

I spoke to a youth leader a short time ago and he said this is not a time for pride. This is not a time for a kind of embarrassment on the part of the government. They need to accept all help wherever it's coming from because they need to bring these girls back home, Pam.

BROWN: Yes. There has been a lot of criticism toward the Nigerian government. Obviously, it's been a few weeks since these girls were -- kidnapping, and a lot of people said that the government was dragging its feet.

And until there was this big movement on social media and elsewhere and the international community come together, that's when they finally started to finally take action, it seemed. What is the sense there among parents and others in Nigeria toward the government and how they have responded?

SESAY: Listen, there is no doubt about it. There is a sense of utter disappointment, outright condemnation in some parts the way the government has handled this.

Listen, we want to be absolutely clear. CNN has been on the story right from the very beginning. We have been speaking to the parents of the children that have gone missing, and they have told us, a number of them, that until quite recently, there was no mass mobilization of troops on the ground in the area where these girls are taken to.

Speaking to this lagging, this lack of urgency on the part of the Nigerian government, that is what we're hearing from the parents affected by all of this. That has obviously fed down throughout the rest of the country and people are angry and they have every right to be. Some 200-plus girls are missing.

The government is saying they are doing everything they can to find them, saying they are following up on every lead, but until recently refusing to provide the operational detail to back up those statements, so a lot of mistrust, a lot of anger and, quite frankly, some would go as far to say a breakdown in trust between the government and some of the people here on the ground in Nigeria -- Pam.

BROWN: Yes. And it just seems like so much valuable time was wasted when those girls were initially kidnapped. And now there is just a question of where they are. It seems that no one knows. Isha Sesay, thank you so much for your reporting.

So, how is the U.S. specifically going to help? The Pentagon has started planning, according to a senior American military official, and several officials say the U.S. will probably be limited to intelligence, mission planning and hostage negotiations. And they say it's unlikely U.S. troops would help in operations there.

Also, Britain is sending a small team of experts to assist the United States.

And our very own correspondent Zain Asher actually grew up in Nigeria and went to school there as a young girl.

Zain, nice to see you.

ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi.

BROWN: I want to bring you into this conversation to get some perspective here.

If you could, just give us a sense of who this terrorist group is. And do you think the Nigerian government is capable of defeating them or will it take something more?

ASHER: Pam, that is honestly the million-dollar question.

But in terms of who Boko Haram are, they are an Islamist extremist group. They have been breeding in Nigeria for pretty much under 15 years. And they are opposed to Westernization. And the reason why education specifically is so offensive to them is that, in their mind, education is the ultimate symbol of Westernization.

So in terms of answering your next question about whether or not the government can do anything to really cripple this group, part of the problem is they have to destroy the funding for Boko Haram. And part of the issue with that is that the way they raise their money is not only through drug trafficking, but it's also through kidnapping innocent people and holding them ransom.

That is one way that they raise their money. I think the Nigerian government needs to invest more in terms of the resources for the Nigerian soldiers, because you have this imbalance now that Boko Haram are almost better armed and better equipped than the Nigerian soldiers themselves.

But one point that I do want to make clear is that when you talk to people in Nigeria on the ground there, there is this fear that if the U.S. sort of comes in and swoops in and either rescues these girls or really kills the leader, Abubakar Shekau, or other leaders of Boko Haram, that people are worried, what are the consequences going to be in terms of revenge killings?

And that is the state that people have to live in constantly, this constant fear in Borno state, in the northeastern region of Nigeria -- Pamela.

BROWN: And, Zain, tell us about your personal experience in Nigeria in light of that.

ASHER: Right.

BROWN: You say the kidnappings are a main source of revenue for the terrorist groups like Boko Haram.

And I just looked at some data. It seems like there has been a spike in kidnappings there in Nigeria in recent years. Were you and your family members affected by situations like kidnappings?

ASHER: Yes, absolutely.

So, my family is from the southern part Nigeria, the southern-eastern part of Nigeria. I'm from a state called Enugu, completely the opposite side of the country from where Boko Haram is based. But, in my region, kidnapping is also a huge issue as well. It's mainly for ransom.

They kidnap people for ransom, as opposed to terrorism reasons. But I did have an uncle three years ago. He was from London. He was coming back to Nigeria. He was driving into the compound of my grandparents' home when kidnappers basically hit him over the head. They took over the vehicle. They drove the vehicle for five hours into the night.

And the only reason why he managed to escape was because the car broke down. The kidnappers panicked and they let him go. But the point of that story is just to illustrate how rife kidnapping is in that country. When he shares that story, honestly, nobody is really surprised, because it happens so frequently.

One of the most dangerous times as a Westerner to visit Nigeria is really during Christmas, because you have a lot of Nigerians who are based abroad who come back for the holidays. And that is a time when kidnappers sort of roll up their sleeves and they really get to work, because that is considered a time of the year when they can kidnap people and hold them for ransom for more money -- Pamela.

BROWN: In light of that, are you ever -- I don't know how often you return to Nigeria, but are you ever fearful to return?

ASHER: If I'm completely honest, sometimes -- sometimes I am.

It's just a situation there where you're told by your parents -- one of the things my parents always tell me is when you go back to Nigeria, don't tell anybody where you're staying, don't announce your arrival to too many people, and any time you stay in any location, make sure it's not for too long, especially when you're traveling over the Christmas holidays.

So, it's just -- the kidnapping situation in Nigeria is out of control. You know, 26 percent of all kidnappings in the world occur in Nigeria. And part of that reason is because there is such a huge population, 171 million people, but also just because there is this general lawlessness. Corruption is so rife. There is a huge gap of wealth between the rich and the poor as well -- Pamela.

BROWN: And just amazing to hear your perspective. Zain Asher, thank you so much.

ASHER: Of course. BROWN: Well, Nigerian kidnappings have stuck a nerve with Pakistani teenage activist Malala Yousafzai. She is the young woman of course who was shot by the Taliban after standing up for her educational rights.

After hearing about what happened to the Nigerian schoolgirls, she sat down in an exclusive interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour and urged Nigeria's leaders to take action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALALA YOUSAFZAI, PALESTINIAN ACTIVIST: When I heard about girls in Nigeria being abducted, I felt very sad.

And I thought that my sisters are in prison now. And I thought that -- I felt that as if I should speak up for them, because I felt a responsibility. I believe that we are being sent to this earth as a community, and it's our responsibility that we take care of each other.

So girls in Nigeria are my sisters. And it's my responsibility that I speak up for my sisters. So, I felt that I should speak up for them and I should raise my voice for their rights.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And what did you think when you saw the leader of Boko Haram laughing and saying, I have your girls, I'm going to sell them at the market, there's a market for human beings, sell them into slavery?

What did you think?

YOUSAFZAI: First of all, Boko Haram is in -- they are extremists. And they don't really understand Islam. They are actually refusing the name of Islam or even abusing the name of Islam.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And no surprise here. Malala says she fully supports the bring back our girls campaign. Her project, the Malala Fund, has launched a Nigerian girls education campaign.

Well, ever get lost in traffic? I certainly have, have to admit. According to the Secret Service, that is the reason a man ended up following a convoy of cars containing Sasha and Malia Obama yesterday. The incident Tuesday sent the White House into lockdown, why officers ultimately locked up the driver, who faces a minor charge.

So, for more on this, let's go to White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski for the full story here.

Michelle, sounds like we should actually kind of feel sorry for this driver. Right?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's what we keep hearing people say. In fact, when we first heard what had actually happened, according to the Secret Service, I just thought, oh, my gosh, I could see that happening to me. You're new in this town, aggressive drivers. You have got traffic circles. And you can get a little bit turned around.

Well, that's exactly what ended up happening, but it was a little bit disturbing when this first happened yesterday. You had the White House and the entire complex here locked down for about an hour. Nobody could leave. There wasn't much information coming out, just these rumors.

At first, it involved a vehicle, not your kind of garden variety fence climber. That was a little unusual. Then it turned out that someone had been following a motorcade, apparently. It involved the Obama daughters.

Well, it wasn't anything malicious, according to the Secret Service. It wasn't even a confused tourist. It was a guy who works for the IRS, a 55-year-old computer worker at the IRS.

And the Treasury Department actually has a building on the other side of the White House. And some thought, well, was he trying to catch a shortcut or what was this guy thinking exactly? But he was around a traffic circle, couldn't quite make his exit. He ends up being confused, make a hard right, because he usually doesn't work here downtown.

And he ended up following traffic in front of him. Well, according to the Secret Service, he had no idea that he was following a motorcade into the grounds of the White House, and immediately he was stopped by a uniformed Secret Service and arrested. He's now charged with a misdemeanor and he's in court this afternoon actually.

And nobody has really talked to him yet. But you can imagine the confusion when you realize that the traffic that you thought you were following actually went over the barriers and into the White House, because here on Pennsylvania Avenue on both sides, it is shut off to automobile traffic, but pedestrians can walk around.

You have these barriers that come up quickly out of the ground and then go back down to let a few cars pass through. So, the obvious security question here is, well, how could the Secret Service let him pass those barriers? But it seems to be a timing issue, from what sources are telling us, that those barriers were down to let the motorcade go through.

He is following closely behind. There was really not time enough to put them up again, or they would have gone up on the bottom of his car. So the Secret Service made the judgment to just kind of pounce on that car as soon as he got through -- Pam.

BROWN: Wow. Michelle Kosinski, thank you.

It's called the Transparent Airfares Act. And if it passes, it will impact everyone who buys a plane ticket online. It's supposed to make buying tickets easier to understand, but critics are slamming the bill. We're going to tell you why right after this first.

But, first, a major announcement by the Russian president. Today, Vladimir Putin said troops are withdrawing from the Ukrainian border, so what is behind the move? That and more after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: So, what is Vladimir Putin up to now?

It's a developing story coming out of Moscow. Putin today is apparently calling on pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine to postpone their referendum on secession. He says putting off the vote could create more room for diplomacy to solve the crisis peacefully and he also said he's pulling back Russian troops from Ukraine's border, some 40,000 to 50,000 fighters in all.

The Pentagon says it has seen no sign of that. Either way, it is an odd choice today. Could Putin be blinking? That is the question.

And with us here to discuss more in Washington, Eli Lake, senior national correspondent for The Daily Beast.

All right. So, Eli, we have checked our sources. They're saying they see no sign of a pullback, as we have seen. Putin is claiming this. What are you hearing?

ELI LAKE, THE DAILY BEAST: And also it should be noted that some of these Russian or pro-Russian separatists have also said that they are not following this particular order yet from Moscow.

But I think our reporter on the ground in Donetsk right now is reporting this as more potentially as a pause. And one of the things that is going on is that there is still a campaign from the Ukrainian military to restore order in the east.

So, in that situation, given that there is still conflict and fighting, it's difficult to have the kind of referendum that they had in Crimea, where pretty much they took over the peninsula and then they were ready for a referendum and there was very little pushback.

Right now in Eastern Ukraine, you are seeing that pushback, and I think that that, you know, the best laid plans always have to deal with the moves of the adversary.

BROWN: All right, so let's pull back the curtain on this, these announcements coming from Putin, the supposed pullback and saying that the votes in Ukraine should be postponed. Some are suggesting that Putin might be blinking here. What are you thoughts on that?

LAKE: Well, until we see some of those troops actually move, I don't think we can call it a blink yet.

I think it's probably safer to say that it's a pause. And there is, I think, not only significant international diplomatic opposition, but the Ukrainian military is trying its best to restore order at this point. And I think that he realizes that you can't just have a referendum in the middle of a conflict like that. And so some of this may be, I think, dictated more by pragmatic reasons, and less of a sense that Putin is kind of coming back from the edge. It seems like he's still very much interested in carving out as much of Ukraine as he desires.

BROWN: It's interesting. I was reading your article in The Daily Beast about how Ukraine can learn from Georgia, saying basically that the Ukraine crisis is not some sort of outlier.

There might be some lessons in there.

LAKE: Yes.

BROWN: Explain, if you would, who you talked to and what lessons could be learned.

LAKE: Well, I was able to interview the Georgian defense minister, who is in Washington this week for meetings with high-level Obama administration officials.

And what he said was that -- he really emphasized the importance of having younger Western-oriented and Western-trained officers in charge of the key posts in the military, and that like Georgia, Ukraine has a number of its senior military officers as well as intelligence officers who have worked closely and been trained by the Russians.

He said, frankly, those people are probably going to be moles. They're probably going to have divided loyalties. And it's better to have a kind of younger generation coming in. And he also said to be very wary of so-called pro-Russian separatist NGOs. And these NGOs crop up.

And he said, a lot of times, they are fronts for Russian intelligence. And it's important to get to that problem early before Russia's saboteurs can spark a wider conflict, giving them a kind of pretext to fully use military force and invade.

BROWN: All right. Eli Lake, thank you.

LAKE: Thank you.

BROWN: And coming up right here on NEWSROOM, an update to the controversy surrounding a historic Beverly Hills hotel, celebrities joining rallies to protest the person who owns the business. And now hotel workers are speaking out, saying they are caught in the middle.

Plus, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN DURANT, NBA PLAYER: You made sure we ate. You went to sleep hungry. You sacrificed for us. You are the real MVP.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: All right. That was NBA player Kevin Durant accepting the MVP award, playing tribute to his mother, so emotional, so powerful. He had so much more to say. And we're going to play that for you and talk to his mother live. You won't want to miss it.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: The city of Beverly Hills has officially joined the protests against the sultan of Brunei. You will hear how in a moment.

But, first, the sultan's property, the storied Beverly Hills Hotel right here, has been target of a big-name boycott. Stars like Jay Leno and Ellen DeGeneres are speaking out against the sultan, because his country has just instituted a severe penalty under Sharia law, which critics say persecutes women and homosexuals.

And one author who wrote this book about her life in a harem says the sultan himself has gone Sharia precepts when his brother gifted her to the sultan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILLIAN LAUREN, AUTHOR, "SOME GIRLS: MY LIFE IN A HAREM": I am a witness to the fact that, you know, the sultan was -- was drinking, was committing adultery, was, you know, not exactly living on the straight and narrow.

It's maybe indicative of the way that a lot of people in power behave, which is, it's one rule for them and another rule for the rest of the people who don't have so much money and don't have so much power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: It's not quite clear if any of this has made an impact on the sultan, but what is certain is that -- is U.S. employees say, if the boycott goes on, they will be the ones who will pay the price.

CNN's Kyung Lah has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Beverly Hills Hotel employees packing a city council meeting, pleading members to not pass a resolution condemning the laws of a country half a world away.

ANNA ROMER, POLO LOUNGE SERVER: It strangles our livelihood. It causes us to be unable to support our children, our families, my sick grandmother in Vietnam.

LAH: But the pleas fail to stop it from passing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With tremendous honor, yes.

LAH: The Beverly Hills City Council resolution targets this man, the sultan of Brunei, a small Southeast Asian country. Brunei recently enacted new law Islamist Sharia Law that punishes adultery, abortions and same-sex relationships with flogging and stoning. The sultan is reportedly worth more than $20 billion and has invested in the hotel chain that owns the storied Beverly Hills Hotel.

JAY LENO, FORMER HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": Maybe people just become aware.

LAH: Celebrities now vowing to boycott the iconic hotel and the entire chain, Richard Branson tweeting "No Virgin employee nor our family will stay at the Dorchester hotel until the sultan abides by basic human rights."

LENO: It's all economic. You know, how big an impact will it have? Let's find out and see.

LAH: The hotel says the boycott has already cost it more than $1 million, but will try to avoid layoffs.

CHRISTOPHER COWDRAY, CEO, THE DORCHESTER COLLECTION: It's going to hurt our employees. And they have -- this has nothing to do with them whatsoever.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody turned out.

LAH: Jay Leno's wife, Mavis, believes that ostracizing the chain is the only potent action capable of getting the ruler to rethink his law.

MAVIS LENO, WIFE OF JAY LENO: As hard as it is perhaps on the hotels that are being shunned, it's a little bit harder to be executed in a public square and stoned to death.

LAH: Kyung Lah, CNN, Beverly Hills, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And ahead this hour, thousands of packages of synthetic drugs seized, more than 100 people arrested in nearly 30 states, so how popular are these drugs, and, more importantly, how dangerous are they? We will find out.

But, first, day 52 in the search for the missing plane now entering phase two -- the next steps in the long, difficult search.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)