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Terror in Sri Lanka; Ukraine Election. Aired 12p-1a ET
Aired April 22, 2019 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Sri Lanka is in shock after a series of bombings target churches and hotels, killing nearly 300 people. There may have been signs an attack was coming.
A comedian with no political experience has unseated Ukraine's president and he is calling for a reboot of Russian relations.
Plus as we mark Earth Day, the recycling industry is facing turmoil. How plastic from the U.S. is piling up in Southeast Asia.
Hello, everyone, and thanks for joining us. I am Rosemary Church in Atlanta and CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
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CHURCH: It is 9:30 in the morning in Sri Lanka. The nation is waking up after a day of horrific Easter Sunday bombings. Eight blasts killed at least 290 people. They hit four hotels and three churches.
It is a devastating blow for the island's Christian minority; gruesome images have emerged, including this bloodstained statue of judges. Authorities took drastic measures after the attacks. We know of at least 24 arrests. An overnight curfew was in effect and social media was cut off.
There has been no immediate claim of responsibility but there may have been signs an attack was coming. A police source says an intelligence memo circulated earlier this month said a leader of a Muslim extremist group might be planning a suicide operation. Sri Lanka's prime minister is vowing a response.
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RANIL WICKREMESINGHE, PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We have orders to arrest everyone involved in this incident and have given all powers to authorities in charge. We do not tolerate this kind of behavior and will take action against people involved and also look at the shortcomings from our own side.
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CHURCH: CNN's Will Ripley explains how the attacks unfolded.
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WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bomb after bomb, city after city, a terrifying Easter Sunday across Sri Lanka. The primary targets, four hotels full of foreigners and three churches full of Christians.
One blast rocked Saint Sebastian's Church at the end of Easter mass. A thousand worshippers ran from the horror. Lifeless bodies, blood- stained pews, debris and human remains propelled through the sanctuary into the streets.
MALCOLM RANJITH, ARCHBISHOP OF COLOMBO: This morning, Easter Sunday, in two of my churches, Saint Anthony's Church in Kochchikade and Saint Sebastian's Church in Katuwapitiya, two bombs exploded. It's a very, very sad day for all of us.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Pope Francis expressed sadness and solidarity, calling the attacks cruel violence in his Easter address, offering prayers and a moment of silence for the victims.
POPE FRANCIS, HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND SOVEREIGN OF THE VATICAN CITY STATE (through translator): I learned with great sadness the news of the serious attacks that today on Easter brought mourning and pain.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Police say more than two dozen foreigners are among the dead, many of them killed in hotels in and around Colombo, Sri Lanka's largest city and in recent years a tourist hotspot. Also killed, three police officers raiding a house when two bombs went off inside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): In the explosion, three police officers from the Colombo Crime Investigation Division were killed. The officers, one sub-inspector and two constables were killed when two explosions killed during a raid at a home in Colombo where they were attempting to question the resident.
RIPLEY (voice-over): The targets in timing have the hallmarks of international terror, but Sri Lanka also has active local militias and next month marks a decade since its bloody 26-year civil war came to an end.
MANISHA GUNASEKERA, HIGH COMMISSIONER OF SRI LANKA TO THE U.K.: I would say that this is an attack against the whole of Sri Lanka because Sri Lanka is a very multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi- cultural country and the whole country comes together in celebration of Easter Sunday with the Christian and the Catholic community, so this is an attack against the Sri Lankan-ness and the Sri Lankan identity.
RIPLEY (voice-over): As a growing list of world leaders condemned the bombings, Sri Lanka's president expressed shock and dismay, calling all police officers back from Easter break, imposing an island-wide curfew and closing schools until at least midweek. Sri Lanka's army, navy and air force also held emergency meetings as the small South Asia island nation grappled with familiar questions in this age of terror.
Why here?
Why now?
And what's next? --
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RIPLEY (voice-over): -- Will Ripley, CNN.
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CHURCH: And earlier we spoke with a man who witnessed the immediate aftermath of the hotel attacks in Colombo. He described just how chaotic and frightening the scene was.
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BHANUKA HARISCHANDRA, EYEWITNESS: As I was going into the back entrance of the Shangri-La, we saw that there were people telling us not to go in and then bodies were (INAUDIBLE) out and ambulances covered the entire area.
And that's when I actually saw it and we went through the front entrance, which is (INAUDIBLE) shared with you guys earlier. There you can see the glass is shattered at the hotel. And fortunately I wasn't really a part of the initial attack. However, as I was going back, what I ended up doing was to find a safe place, I got off at the Cinnamon Grand and as I was going to the Cinnamon Grand car park, it was then I heard the second explosion inside the Cinnamon Grand.
And yes, so it was a little bit of a stressful day over here. But there is a lot of tension going on right now, on the streets and everything.
But (INAUDIBLE) are (INAUDIBLE) people and in times like these everyone starts banding together.
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CHURCH: And for more, CNN's Nikhil Kumar is live in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He joins us now.
So it is a new day across Sri Lanka and people in the country are trying to come to terms with what's happened.
What more are you learning about these deadly attacks?
And who might be behind them?
NIKHIL KUMAR, CNN NEW DELHI BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Rosemary, as people here in this tiny island nation are trying to come to terms with this devastating series of attacks, the news that is coming out about what happened and the damage that was done just keeps getting worse.
The death toll is close to 300, that went up this morning after the island-wide curfew was lifted. Schools remain closed and security forces are out in force at street corners.
I am standing just a few meters away from the Cinnamon Grand hotel that was hit in the series of blasts. And part of the process of coming to come to terms is working out who was behind this. You mentioned the 24 people arrested; authorities are scrambling to get to the bottom of who was behind this.
For many people in this country that was wracked and devastated by three decades of civil war, it brings back deep-rooted, tragic memories. In 2009 is when that civil war ended. Before that, bombings were frequent; not like this but there were bombings across the country, terror attacks were common.
People thought that they had left that behind. It has been a decade since. But today, this morning, there are many people waking up with those very deep, dark memories revived all over again. And we are just trying to understand why this happened.
CHURCH: It is simply horrifying and what will be the likely ramifications of this revelation. There was a memo circulated on April 11th, warning of a possible attack and yet no one appears to have responded by increasing security or putting some sort of response plan in place.
And the prime minister said he did not know anything about this.
KUMAR: That is right, Rosemary, that memo has become a major source of controversy over here. People are asking that very question.
Why, if there was a warning, why wasn't action taken?
Why wasn't more done to prevent this massive attack which unfolded across the country?
This was a very sophisticated attack, numerous bombs across numerous locations, hitting tourist targets, hitting churches. So it is a big question which authorities are trying to investigate.
But for many people here, in addition to bringing back memories of that awful civil war, this has angered people here.
They want to know, why wasn't more done?
Why wasn't this prevented?
Already in South Asia, the 2000 Mumbai terror attack, we already have a death toll which is almost twice as high.
CHURCH: Just devastating for the country and all those involved. Thank you so much, Nikhil.
Well, in the wake of the tragic bombings, leaders from all over the world have offered Sri Lanka an outpouring of support.
In neighboring India, prime minister Narendra Modi condemned the attacks, saying in part, "There is no place for such barbarism in our region. My thoughts are with the bereaved families and prayers with the injured."
Pakistan's prime minister, Imran Khan, also condemned the bombings. He tweeted, "My profound condolences go to our Sri Lankan brethren. Pakistan stands in complete solidarity with Sri Lanka in their hour of grief."
And in Europe, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker had a message --
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CHURCH: -- for the people directly affected.
He said, "I offer my heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims who had gathered to worship peacefully or come to visit this beautiful country. We stand ready to support."
Now earlier I spoke with terrorism expert Levi West about the attack in Sri Lanka. And I asked him about the police memo that warned authorities about the attack before it occurred.
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LEVI WEST, CHARLES STURT UNIVERSITY: I think one of the things that is coming up is a substantial investigation into how such specific intelligence disseminated within a national security apparatus of government trying to failed to make its way to the places it needed to make it.
It's a regrettably not unfamiliar story in the aftermath of terror incidents, where there has been pieces of information and pieces of intelligence that haven't necessarily been stitched together the way that they needed to be.
People will remember the conclusions of the 9/11 Commission Report that found similar ideas, that the information was there in disparate locations. There was some way you had the full picture then why did there -- something that could have been done. So I'm confident there will be a substantial investigation into what happened there and what has gone wrong.
CHURCH: Yes, it is just horrendous for the families to learn that there was knowledge of this possible attack and now it has happened.
And also the naming of -- do you have any information about on man, Mohammed Zahran, or the group he leads, National Thowheeth Jama'ath?
WEST: Nothing specific. I think it is important, too, there, not to overplay what has been suggested in those reports is that there was not a suggestion that there was going to be a multilocation coordinated suicide bombing attack like what has happened. And there is a difference between a suggestion that there could be a
suicide operation sometime in the next week or next month but it's highly likely that that would take place. And intelligence that says there's going to be six attacks on these locations at this time.
So I think it is important there will be an investigation to find out what has gone wrong but to suggest that it is necessarily a failure and that they had specific information seems to reduce that down a little.
In regard to the individual and the organization, myself and most of the people I've spoken to over the last 24 hours have little to no information on the individual or on the organization in relation to jihadist terrorism. People in Sri Lanka and Islam in Sri Lanka and things like that, some of them are familiar with it, with him.
But in regard to specifically to operation terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka, no.
CHURCH: Right. And of course we do have to emphasize that was mentioned in the memo; we do not know if that group was actually behind this attack because, again, no one has claimed responsibility.
But let's talk about the target, because Christians only make up about 7 percent of the Sri Lankan population, just over, 7.4 percent.
Why do you think they would be a target in this sort of attack?
WEST: The targets and the timing of the attack can provide a little bit of an indication about the likely nature of the perpetrators of the operation. Targeting Christians is a fairly standard symbolic exercise for a range of different jihadist organizations that operate right across South Asia and the Middle East.
We have seen attacks in Egypt and across the Middle East more broadly on Christian targets, specifically but on non-Islamic and Islamic targets.
So places of worship for a religious (INAUDIBLE) terrorist organizations obviously hold a special symbolic position within their target decisions. And in addition to that, the timing will be partly symbolic in regard to it being Easter but about the fact that, if you're going to attack a church, then you can bank on the fact that, on Easter Sunday, there is going to be an awful lot of people there.
So there's bits and pieces that we can stitch together, from the targeting decisions and the kinds of people that they are seeking to target in the operations. The hotels that's the second dimension, which is where you're likely either Westerners or wealthy individuals and wealthy families.
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CHURCH: That was Levi West, director of terrorism studies at Charles Sturt University in Canberra, Australia, talking to me a little earlier. Paris is paying tribute to the victims of Sri Lanka's attacks. One was a candlelight vigil held by the city's Sri Lankan community. The other came at the stroke of midnight. As you can see, the Eiffel Tower went dark for a few minutes in honor of the hundreds killed in the bombings.
Ukraine's president is probably not laughing after exit polls show he lost Sunday's presidential election to a TV comedian. Details about it when we return.
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CHURCH: And that is the moment Ukrainian comedian Volodymyr Zelensky found out he is going to be his country's next president. Exit polls show that he got about 73 percent of the vote and his opponent, current president Petro Poroshenko received about a quarter of the vote.
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PETRO POROSHENKO, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Dear Ukrainians, next month I will leave the position of the head of state as what a majority of Ukrainians have decided. And I accept this decision. I will leave office but I would like to firmly stress that I'm not leaving politics. I am staying in politics. I will keep fighting for Ukraine.
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CHURCH: Phil Black looks at the challenges the new president faces.
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PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The sitting president has been removed peacefully and democratically in Ukraine. That's historic because the last one was forced out in a violent and hard-fought revolution that left more than 100 people killed. That was only five years ago.
This election is also extraordinary because of who has won, Volodymyr Zelensky, the political novice, the professional comedian and actor, the man who has become famous in this country through pretending to be Ukraine's president on a TV show.
That show, "The Servant of the People," shows Zelensky playing a regular guy who accidentally becomes president and goes on to do battle with corrupt oligarchs and politicians to try to clean up the political system here.
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BLACK (voice-over): Zelensky's campaign was very much modeled on that idea. He made virtue of his ignorance and inexperience, his fresh face. He didn't give many interviews. He didn't appear publicly. He didn't talk a lot about policy detail.
He fought his campaign using online videos, sleek videos, often cheeky, mocking the old political guard in this country, his broad somewhat abstract message that he's going to make it a better place somehow.
It worked. He led the campaign throughout. He easily won the first round of voting and in the run-off exit polls suggests he secured around 73 percent of the vote.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF UKRAINE (through translator): I will never let you down. To all post-Soviet countries, I tell you, look at us. Everything is possible.
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ZELENSKY (through translator): We did it together. Thanks to everyone.
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ZELENSKY (through translator): Now there will be no pathetic speeches. I just want to say thank you.
BLACK: The hard work starts day one of the Zelensky presidency. He inherits a troubled economy and a five-year war against Russian-backed separatists in the east of the country. This professional clown will now be internationally going face-to-face with the vastly experienced president of Russia, Vladimir Putin. All of this matters because Ukraine represents the front line of the west's confrontation with Russia across a wide range of issues.
How Zelensky is going to deal with all of this really isn't known because politically, publicly, he represents essentially a blank piece of paper. But his enthusiasm, his smile and charisma, his sense of honesty, all of this has been enough to convince many Ukrainians to support him or at least help them realize that they simply don't want five more years of the same -- Phil Black, CNN, Kiev.
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CHURCH: So let's get some perspective on the newcomer's landslide victory. We are joined by Michael Bociurkiw, global affairs analyst and former spokesman for the Organization for Security and Cooperation.
MICHAEL BOCIURKIW, GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Good to be with you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: We will get to the topic of Russia in just a moment but we just want to ask you first, how does a former comedian win a presidential election by a landslide, particularly when he rarely explained his position on a range of critical and challenging issues?
BOCIURKIW: Well, clearly nothing short of extraordinary. I think for Poroshenko, it was his to lose. And throughout the campaign you saw a certain tone deafness from Poroshenko. He was on a very patriotic platform, talking about language, faith and army.
But that did not resonate with young Ukrainians nor did it resonate with a lot of Ukrainians, the majority who are going through a very tough economic time.
At least Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to them on a more emotional level. And every second taxi driver and person on the street I talked to here, said, you know what, let's give the guy a chance. It is five years and it is worth a gamble.
CHURCH: Right.
So who will be advising Volodymyr Zelensky, particularly when it comes to dealing with Russia's President Putin, who, as a former KGB agent and experienced politician and leader, will no doubt be eager to test Volodymyr Zelensky's nerve as the new leader apparently plans to reboot relations with Russia?
How is that going to go?
BOCIURKIW: Yes, well, it is going to be very interesting. Indeed drama shall then (ph) Zelensky started (ph) and he surrounds himself with friends, his ex-wife and appoints senate cabinet (ph) posts that are totally inexperienced. And this here, we have seen some good examples of technocrats who know what they're doing, coming into his future cabinet.
I think there are people like Oleksandr Danylyuk, the former finance minister. So at this point on CNN piece (ph), I went on line, we will be able to measure the man by the people that surround him.
Of course as you pointed out and Phil Black in his piece, the conflict with Russia has been simmering for five years and Putin is a master at manipulation.
So it'll be very interesting to see what kind of deals, if you will, Zelensky can do and especially to get -- the last time I talked with weeb (ph), I believe, was when those 24 Ukrainian sailors were seized by Russia.
Will he be able to get those guys out in the next 100 days or so?
CHURCH: Yes, presumably, it is President Putin who's laughing right now as he watches all of this play out.
And how will Zelensky confront economic challenges in his country, problems with separatists?
Did he give any indication in the course of the campaign?
BOCIURKIW: He did; I had a long chat yesterday with one of his senior policy advisers, who said that they're going to go after people power type of policy, for example, stripping an immunity (ph) from prosecution from not only the president but judges and also members of parliament.
Now, just quickly, speaking of --
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BOCIURKIW: -- members of parliament, that's job number one, starting right now, starting today. It's more than near gift (ph) and he has to go to parliament and start building coalitions because nothing happens here without -- or hardly nothing happens without parliament's approval.
It's very fractious; they don't seem to like him and he has no party in place at the moment so that is going to be the really, really tough job.
CHURCH: Yes, there are many tough jobs ahead for him and, of course, during the election campaign, Zelensky hardly ever discussed weighty issues facing the country and even when he thanked everyone, he did not really give much of a speech, did he?
So what's in store for Ukraine under his leadership, five years?
BOCIURKIW: You know what, Rosemary, I think it's fair to say Ukraine is at a pivot point right now. It could go dive into a very bad economic state or it has a strong economy, much stronger than five years ago, a stronger army. It has very strong allies in terms of France, Germany, Canada, United States.
So with that kind of backing, I think Ukraine can do very well as long as Putin does not get up to any more of his tricks.
The other thing quickly is he is going to have to build bridges with the traditional ally, the diasporates (ph). Millions of Ukrainians, Canada, the United States and elsewhere, go after those traditional lobbyists for the Ukraine president, to get measures through congress, the parliament in Ottawa and so that will be very important as well.
CHURCH: All right, we will be watching very closely and I'm sure President Putin will be as well. Michael Bociurkiw, thank you very much for joining us. We appreciate it.
BOCIURKIW: Pleasure. Thank you.
CHURCH: Well, President Trump's lawyer offers a spirited defense of using hacked information. Still to come, Rudy Giuliani's rebuttal on some of the points made in the Mueller report. We will be back in just a moment.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. This is CNN Newsroom, and I'm Rosemary Church. A check of the headlines this hour. At least 24 people have been arrested after a wave of deadly bombings in Sri Lanka. At least 290 people were killed in eight blast across the country. There's been no claim yet of responsibility, but an intelligence memo from earlier this month warned of a potential attack. That is according to a police source.
A comedian turned politician has won the Ukrainian presidential election in a landslide. According to exit polls, Volodymyr Zelenskiy got 73 percent of the vote. Incumbent President Petro Poroshenko received just over 25 percent. Zelenskiy will take office next month.
In Northern Ireland, Sinn Fein Vice President, Michelle O'Neill, is calling on those who brought guns to the streets of Londonderry this week to disband and end their campaign of violence. Journalist Lyra McKee was fatally shot on Thursday as she covered a riot there. Police are blaming the new IRA for her death. O'Neill calls those fueling violence a barrier to Irish unity.
In Paris, hundreds of worshiper gathered at the St Eustache Church for an Easter Sunday mass. This days after a fire tore through Notre Dame Cathedral where mass is usually held. The Mayor of Paris was in attendance. She joined the congregation as they prayed for the restoration of a landmark cathedral and honored the firefighters who saved Notre Dame.
Congressional democrats are not ruling out the possibility of impeaching President Donald Trump. House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, will hold a conference call with party members Monday to discuss it in light of the Mueller report on Russian election meddling. She referred to it as a grave matter. Pelosi has previously stated her opposition to impeachment. The redacted version of the report outline a number of occasions where President Trump tried to thwart the investigation. It stopped short of concluding Mr. Trump obstructed justice, but it did not exonerate him either.
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CHUCH TODD, NBC MEET THE PRESS HOST: You think this is impeachable?
JERRY NADLER, U.S. HOUSE JUDICIARY CMTE. CHAIRMAN: Yes, I do. I do think that this - if proven - if proven, which hasn't been proven yet, some of this - if proven, some of this would be impeachable, yes.
TODD: All right -
NADLER: Obstruction of justice, if proven, would be impeachable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It may be that we undertake an impeachment nonetheless. I think what we're going to have to decided as a caucus is what is the best thing for the country? Is that the best thing for the country to take up an impeachment proceeding because to do otherwise sends a message that this conduct is somehow compatible with office.
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CHRUCH: Boris Sanchez has more on the president's reaction to fallout from the report.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: According to sources, President Trump spent the weekend at Mar-a-Lago fuming over new coverage and details in the Mueller report from former White House officials that depict a White House in chaos. President Trump as an angry and paranoid president and aides who either refuse or ignore many of his orders.
Meantime, the president's attorney, Rudy Giuliani, took to the Sunday morning talk shows. He spoke with Jake Tapper on State of the Union, and Jake pressed him on a question about the behavior of some Trump campaign officials and whether they behaved ethically or morally. Listen to what he said.
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RUDY GIULIANI, ATTORNEY TO PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: No, no. There's nothing - there's nothing wrong with taking information from Russians.
JAKE TAPPER, STATE OF THE UNION HOST: There's nothing wrong with taking information -
GIULIANI: It depends on where it came from. It depends on where it came from. You're assuming that the giving of information of a campaign contribution. You read the report carefully. The report says we can't conclude that because the law is pretty much against that. Do you - people get information from this person, that person.
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SANCHEZ: The strategy being employed here by the White House is one that we've seen before. They're now calling into question the credibility of many of those that were interviewed by the special counsel. We should also point out House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is set to hold a conference call at 5 p.m. on Monday with the Democratic Caucus to discuss the potential for impeaching President Trump. Impeachment was on the president's mind on Sunday evening when he tweeted this.
He writes, quote, "how do you impeach a republican president for a crime that was committed by the democrats? Make America great again." Boris Sanchez, CNN, traveling with the president in Palm Beach, Florida.
CHURCH: Protestors in Sudan say they are suspending dialogue with the military council that took power after the coo earlier this month, and they're calling for intensified protests outside the army headquarters in Khartoum. Our spokesman say they will announce their own transitional government in a few days. Meanwhile, the military counsel chief says they've found millions of dollars in foreign currency in the home of ousted strongman Omar Al-Bashir.
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Well, the second day of voting has wrapped up in Egypt's three-day referendum over controversial changes to the constitution. If voters approve the amendments, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi could stay in office until 2030, extending his current term and allowing him to run for another. He would also gain new powers over the judiciary and legislative branches. Opponents warn of an authoritarian push, but Mr. el-Sisi has strong support.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (though translator): We came today for the referendum, but it should not be any referendum. We need to give our opinion freely. It does not matter if a person agrees or disagrees because it's up to that person whether we are with or against Abdel Fattah el-Sisi because by the end we all vote for Egypt. Most importantly, we need to archive the success of this election whether Abdel Fattah el-Sisi continues with us or not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (though translator): Without Abdel Fattah el-Sisi there would be no Egypt and no dignity for the people of Egypt. el- Sisi came during a big crisis when Muslim brotherhood ruined the country at that time, but el-Sisi came. He started organizing this big house from scratch.
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CHURCH: And results are expected later this week. Well, Malyasia has become the new dumping ground for the world's plastic waste even if you put it in a recycling bin, and it's causing a major environmental crisis there. We'll have the details coming up.
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Royal watchers couldn't help but notice that Prince Harry attended Easter service at St. George's Chapel without his wife. Megan, the Duchess of Sussex, is expected to give birth to the couple's first child in the coming days and is apparently staying out of the public eye. Easter Sunday also marked Queen Elizabeth's 93rd birthday and the couple used the occasion to wish her a happy birthday on their join Instagram account.
Well, as we mark Earth Day, most of us think we're doing something good for the environment when we put our plastic in a recycling bin, but CNN has learned that mountains of this plastic waste are piling up in Malaysia thanks to shipments from the U.S. and other wealthy countries, and this waste is causing a major environmental crisis as Ivan Watson reports.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Did you ever wonder what happens after you put things in a recycling bin. Some of it could end up here at the Ecology Center Recycling Plant in Berkeley, California. This non-profit organization's been engaged in community recycling since 1973.
MARTIN BOURQUE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ECOLOGY CENTER: There's no magical land of recycling with rainbows and unicorns. It's - it's much grittier than that.
WATSON: While the center recycles metal and glass, it now sends much of its plastic to landfills in the U.S.
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That decision after the center used a GPS tracker to discover that some of its plastic believed to be destined for recycling was actually being shipped all the way to Malaysia. In fact, since 2018, Malaysia has seen a surge of imported plastic scrap. That's because until recently China, one of the world's biggest plastic importers, banned most of the trade. The Chinese ban led to a flood of this stuff descending on Malaysia. Last year, residents in the rural town of Jenjarom began complaining about respiratory illnesses due to acrid smoke.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel something wrong with the air, but I didn't know where it come from.
WATSON: Resident's investigated and discovered scores of unlicensed factories like this processing and burning plastic scrap. Most of it appears to be foreign.
This is from Poland Spring Bottled Water and it says here on the label that it is manufactured in Stanford, Connecticut - my home state in the U.S. What's your message to me?
UNDIENTIFIED FEMALE: Please bring home. Bring it home. It's belong to you, not us.
WATSON: You want me to take it back home with me?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes, yes.
WATSON: I used to think I was doing the right thing when I put a plastic bottle in the recycling bin. It's disappointing to say the least to learn that some of that plastic might end up in places like this.
In an ideal world, used plastic bags from U.S. retail giants like Walmart would end up in Malaysian recycling plants like this. Machines like the cyclone take scrap plastic from the around the world and it helps clean and purify the stuff so that it can be sold for reuse. For some entrepreneurs, plastic scrap can be bought, processed, and resold as raw pellets for a considerable profit. And you see that pile of plastic right there. Does that look like trash to you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, no, no, no. Right now, definitely no. That's the gold to me.
WATSON: Money?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Money.
WATSON: The problem is many fly-by-night operators set up shop without following regulations, prompting the Malaysian government to take action. Recently Malaysia's Environment Minister took as on raids of unlicensed recycling plants. Officers rounding up the operators and laborers they claim were working illegal here.
YEO BEE YIN, MALAYSIA ENVIRONMENT MINISTER: It's illegal. It's illegal and it's against the Environmental Quality Act.
WATSON: The minister says she's shut down at least 148 illegal plastic recycling factories in the last nine months. She's also suspended imports of foreign plastic scrap.
YEO: I will take care of my own rubbish. You should take care of your own, right? So it's good -
WATSON: You don't want American garbage anymore?
YEO: Well, I think Malaysia has no capacity to do it.
WATSON: The minister says it's not just about wealthy countries selling their garbage to poorer countries. Society needs to change patters of consumption she says, or else we'll one day drown in all this plastic. Ivan Watson, CNN, Jenajrom, Malaysia.
CHURCH: Fascinating, isn't it? And thank you so much for watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rosemary Chruch. World Sport is coming up next, and I'll be back at the top of the hour with more news from all around the world. You are watching CNN. Do stay with us.
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(WORLD SPORT)
[00:50:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
(COMMERICAL BREAK)
[00:55:00]
(COMMERICAL BREAK)
(WORLD SPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:00:00]
