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Former Guantanamo Prisoner Speaks Out; Actress Daryl Hannah Protests L.A. Farm Evictions
Aired June 13, 2006 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Tony Harris.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, yes, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You have a splash siting.
HARRIS: I do. Let's take you back to Los Angeles and, Kyra, stay with me on this. This is an urban farm, South Central Los Angeles. We have been following the story for the last hour now.
There is an evacuation, eviction order, that's what it is. There is an eviction order in place to get everyone out of this 14 acre site. Daryl Hannah, the actress is up a tree, that tree right there with the American flag.
The sheriff's deputies, the firefighters have moved a ladder into that tree, as you can see and they're trying to talk Daryl Hannah down out of that tree. But it looks like we've seen a couple shots that are closer than this one, but it looks like Hannah has actually tied herself to the walnut tree and is not coming down.
She is in support of the farmers who, obviously, make their living in this urban farm, about 350 or so farmers. And the owner has decided that he wants to take this 14 acre site and turn it into a warehouse complex and this is, there was a lot of local passion for this farm, as you know, Kyra knowing the area as well as you do.
PHILLIPS: Is this the one on 41st and Alameda.
HARRIS: That's it exactly.
PHILLIPS: I know that local gardeners, they have been working there for 12 years plus. So, it looks like, I'm going on a Web site because there's a whole bunch of different Web sites to save this garden and save the gardener's jobs and I never realized that they...
The background, it says the city of Los Angeles acquired this property from its owner Ralph Horowitz through eminent domain and with the condition -- the owner had the first right of refusal if the land was ever to be sold again. I guess there's this whole back and forth going on.
HARRIS: Yes, you're right. Apparently, this is something that is going on for a long time but it's been heating up over the course of the last month or so to the point that we get to today. It's time to act on the eviction order and this is what we get, we get about, oh, more than 50 folks who are out in front of this whole area.
Twenty-five of those people have been arrested and in some cases we've watched video folks being dragged away and then there's drama that is unfolding inside the farm itself with Daryl Hannah up a tree and tied to a walnut tree refusing to come down.
PHILLIPS: The original proposal I'm seeing here was to put a trash recycling facility that was proposed by the Concerned Citizens of South Central L.A. This was at a time when that racial and economic and political tension was going on around the Rodney King incident. The city abandoned that project.
So, they've been able to still have this garden and these farmers have been able to work, so, here we go again.
HARRIS: So, there you are. There have been a couple of instances where Daryl Hannah has been literally working the phone to get this story out. Folks, calling folks, the Associated Press and we've been trying to reach out to her, but I'll tell you that the phone, she's a little busy right now. The phone has rolled over into voice mail and we left numerous messages, but, as you can see, from this picture, her hands are pretty full right now.
PHILLIPS: Tony, thanks so much. You let us know if you make contact with her.
HARRIS: We'll still try.
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: Tropical Storm Alberto has already left some places under water. Reporter Jonathan Petramala of CNN affiliate Bay News 9 is in Crystal River. Tell us what it is like right now.
JONATHAN PETRAMALA, BAY NEWS 9: Actually right now the water level since I've gotten in here ten minutes ago has raised an inch. Before it was about mid-thigh and now it is about the waist level.
Basically, I'm standing in Kings Bay here in Crystal River. It's actually like a spring-fed bay. Basically, this water is crystal clear. Right now I'm standing in somebody's front yard.
As I am walking over to my right, I can look down and see somebody's lawn and a flower bed to my right. Over here you can see just how powerful this storm surge is. These picnic tables started the day about 20 feet to my left. They continue to float in.
Also what keeps coming in is this storm surge. The storm surge continues to move in. The reason is we're coming up on high tide here in Citrus County. Now, what that high tide will bring is another two- foot surge of water. Right now we have about a five to seven foot storm surge.
Emergency operation and officials here expect that to go up to eight to ten feet. Now, what that means basically, the mandatory evacuations that have been since yesterday afternoon here in Citrus County will continue because this water isn't expected to recede any time soon, at least until 11:00 tonight. Let's head it back into you.
PHILLIPS: Now, Jonathan, I'm assuming everybody has evacuated from all those homes in that area.
PETRAMALA: You know, actually, ironically, I'm looking over to my right and there is a woman looking out at me. She's on her cell phone, talking, searching through some things. I talked with the owner. He actually owns a restaurant behind my photographer right now. And, basically, they're just watching -- just looking at the inevitability of this water coming into this apartment complex, ironically called Bay View Apartments. They're getting a little closer view of the bay than they probably want.
PHILLIPS: Isn't that the truth. Hopefully that water won't rise any higher. Thanks so much, Jonathan.
Well, if you're concerned about Alberto, stay with CNN, your hurricane headquarters. You can track Alberto's projected path online at CNN.com/weather.
Detainees killing themselves at Gitmo. Well, a man who spent two years of his life behind bars. Well, he said that was shocked by the news. My interview with him, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, the first suicides at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay are far from the first controversies there. Here's a CNN "Fact Check."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Before three detainees killed themselves at the Guantanamo Prison on Saturday, there were dozens of unsuccessful suicide attempts. According to the U.S. military, since the facility opened in 2002, there were more than 40 suicide attempts by more than 20 detainees.
Some 500 terror suspects are being held at Gitmo. More are said to belong or have links to al Qaeda and the Taliban. Regulations call for guards to check on each inmate every two minutes. Recent signs of growing unrest included an incident last month where at least two detainees attempted suicide and another may have faked a suicide to lure guards into an ambush.
Human rights groups and foreign governments have criticized the indefinite detentions of these prisoners. Last month, a United Nations panel called for the prison to be shut down. U.S. officials say the prisoners are treated humanely. And recently, President Bush said he would like to close the prison, but, first, he wants to wait for the outcome of a Supreme Court ruling on whether detainees will be tried by civilian courts or military commissions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: Are you surprised about the suicides that happened at Gitmo?
SHAFIQ RASUL, FMR. GUANTANAMO DETAINEE: I was shocked. But inevitably it was going to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: For two long years, Shafiq Rasul, a British citizen, was held without charges at the notorious prison at Guantanamo Bay just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I had a chance to speak with him from home and his experience is a story you haven't heard before.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RASUL: They kept accusing us of being part of 9/11, basically.
PHILLIPS: Who accused you of being part of 9/11? U.S. troops?
RASUL: The U.S. interrogators. I'm not too sure if they were FBI or what, because we were never told. We were just interrogated by different groups. And having all these accusations thrown that us, that we are members of al Qaeda, we're senior members of Taliban, and our (INAUDIBLE) were found in caves in Afghanistan. And it was just, like, ridiculous. And we could not prove anything because we had no contact with the lawyers and the outside world.
PHILLIPS: Was this at Gitmo?
RASUL: This was in Afghanistan, in Kandahar Prison, where we spent two and a half weeks. And then after two and half weeks, we were transferred to Guantanamo. And all the time we were there, we just -- I mean, different accusations thrown at us all the time.
PHILLIPS: Did they have any proof, Shafiq? Did they show you anything or put...
RASUL: No. They -- we were never shown anything. We were never given any lawyers. We were never shown any proper evidence that we were linked to any organization. They were -- it was just like things that they were making up just to make us look guilty.
PHILLIPS: Were you physically harassed?
RASUL: Of course. We were taken....
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: We're going to get back to that interview in just a second. But we're just about to hear from Patrick Kennedy. He had a court date this hour. The Democratic Congressman, you may remember, from Rhode Island, pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of prescription drugs. Here it is.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS) REP. PATRICK KENNEDY (D), RHODE ISLAND: ... for my actions. Today in court I did just that. I accepted the consequences of my actions, I've cooperated fully with the Capitol Police and with the attorney general's office. I think they've done a fantastic job in their professional work, and I look forward today to moving on to the next chapter of my life, getting back to work, going to work for my constituents in Rhode Island.
And I want to say, especially, I'm very grateful to have my sponsor, Congressman Jim Ramstad, with me. Jim has been a true friend of mine. We have worked together over the years since my very first election on the cause of mental health parity, and making sure there is equal coverage for mental illness, which includes drug and alcohol treatment. I am very honored that he has not only worked with me on that issue over the years, but, personally, now, he has been so important to me in this very difficult time.
I'm very grateful to be on the road to recovery and I look forward to going back home to Rhode Island after we conclude this week's business. I would like to have Congressman Ramstad to say a few words.
REP. JIM RAMSTAD (R), MINNESOTA: I'm here as a grateful recovering alcoholic of nearly 25 years who had a similar wake-up call on July 31st, 1981. And I'm pleased to be the sponsor for Mr. Kennedy and grateful to see that he is on the road to recovery. He's accepted his addiction and he's going to be just fine one day at a time.
QUESTION: Congressman Kennedy, did being in court really drive the point home to you?
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: Well, one Congressman taking care of another. You just heard straight from Patrick Kennedy's sponsor as the representative came forward and said that he did plead guilty to driving under the influence of prescription drugs. In return, charges of reckless driving and failure to exhibit a driving permit will now be dismissed. This deal comes more than a month after Kennedy had crashed his car near the Capitol in the wee hours of the morning He spent the next few weeks in rehab after admitting that he was addicted to prescription drugs. Kennedy does deny drinking before that accident.
We're going to take a quick break. And more from that Gitmo detainee on the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: For two long years, Shafiq Rasul, a British citizen, was held without charges at the notorious prison at Guantanamo Bay just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I had a chance to speak with Rasul from Birmingham, England. His experience is a story that you haven't heard before.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) RASUL: They kept accusing us of being part of 9/11, basically.
PHILLIPS: Who accused you of being part of 9/11? U.S. troops?
RASUL: The U.S. -- the interrogators. I'm not too sure if they were FBI or what, because we were never told. We were just interrogated by different groups, and having all these accusations thrown at us that we are members of al Qaeda, we are senior members of Taliban, that our files were found in caves in Afghanistan. And it was just, like, ridiculous and we could not prove anything because we had no contact with lawyers and the outside world.
PHILLIPS: Was this at Gitmo?
RASUL: This was in Afghanistan in Kandahar prison, where we spent two-and-a-half weeks. And then after the two-and-a-half weeks we were transferred to Guantanamo, and all the time we were there, we were just having different accusations thrown at us all the time..
PHILLIPS: Did they have any proof, Shafiq? Did they show you anything or put ...
RASUL: No, we were never shown anything. We were never given any lawyers. We were never shown any proper evidence that we were linked to any organization. It was just, like, things they were making up and just to make us look guilty.
PHILLIPS: Were you physically harassed?
RASUL: Of course. We were taken to interrogation. We were shackled to the floor in very stressful positions for hours and hours, and -- to make us say that we were members of al Qaeda, which after, like, going through all that pain and suffering, we admitted to it that we are members of al Qaeda just to stop the pain.
PHILLIPS: So, you did admit to it?
RASUL: Yes, and we admitted to something that -- which was basically a lie, and then after a few months the British -- the British MI5 -- came and said, no, these guys can't be members of al Qaeda and they couldn't have been at this meeting because the dates they were in the U.K.
And it could have easily been confirmed, because I was working, and I was at the university at the time, and they could have easily gotten my work records, gotten my university records to show that during 2001, I was in the U.K.
PHILLIPS: Did you ever contemplate suicide when you were there?
RASUL: In the beginning, yes, lots of times, because we were having all these accusations thrown at us. Our families were being threatened, our own lives were being threatened and we didn't know where we were.
For the first two weeks, I didn't know I was in Cuba, and all this slowly, slowly, just sitting in your cell just starts building up and you start slowly going crazy. And the only thing you really want to do is to end it, and the only way you can end it is by trying to kill yourself.
PHILLIPS: Are you surprised about the suicides that happened at Gitmo?
RASUL: I was shocked but, inevitably, it was going to happen. But I can't understand the fact that this happened because the blocks that we were on, every 30 seconds there would be a soldier walking past and you would be monitored constantly, so how it has happened is surprising.
PHILLIPS: That was what ...
RASUL: I can't still believe it has happened.
PHILLIPS: Shafiq, that is what I had heard from individuals that worked inside Gitmo, that you and other detainees are constantly monitored, that if someone tries to go on a hunger strike, they immediately respond and give them injections.
RASUL: Of course, yes.
PHILLIPS: So the military does try to keep everybody alive.
RASUL: Yes, of course. And how this has happened -- I don't know why it's happened because it might be -- I don't know. It might suicide, it might be they were beaten, because I've seen people get beaten severely in Guantanamo, and I thought they died by the way that they were beaten by soldiers. So I don't know.
PHILLIPS: Do you think that the U.S. military gained anything thus far from the detainees? Do you think it's helped the war on terror in any way?
RASUL: How has it helped the war on terror? It's making America look worse in the eyes of the public, because they've had these people detained for four-and-a-half years, and how long are they going to keep them there before their trial?
In the West, we strive on justice and democracy, and what kind of democracy is there and what kind of justice are these people getting, four-and-half-years and not knowing what is happening with your family, and not knowing on a daily basis what is going to happen to you, if you're ever going to get released, if you're ever going to see your family or are you going to get any kind of justice?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, the compelling story of what happened to Rasul and his friends is told in the new film "Road to Guantanamo." It's being directed by Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross.
Well, the president makes a surprise trip to Iraq, and our John King was along for the top secret ride. We'll hear from him when the next hour of LIVE FROM begins. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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