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CNN Live Today

Fake Guns; Crisis in Darfur

Aired May 08, 2006 - 11:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: In Denver, a quick and deadly decision. Three police officers shot and killed a suspected car thief. They say he pulled a gun on them. As it turns out, authorities say the gun was fake. And the officers are on leave as the case is investigated. But Denver's police chief said the officers did exactly the right thing. They had to make a quick decision to protect themselves.
Fake guns are a real concern about the country. In Massachusetts, toy handguns and pretend assault weapons are hot sellers. Police are spreading a message: Fake guns can lead to tragic accidents.

Here's CNN's Dan Lothian.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): At this police department west of Boston, Lieutenant Paul Shastany not only worries about real weapon.

LT. PAUL SHASTANY, FRAMINGHAM POLICE: This is a real Rouger 9mm semi-automatic handgun.

LOTHIAN: But also toys, like the airsoft pellet gun that have become very popular with teens and even some adults.

SHASTANY: This is a replica beretta airsoft gun.

LOTHIAN: Everything from handguns to assault weapons.

SHASTANY: If you're going to let children use these, make sure that they're adequately prepared to handle these that they're supervised when they use them.

LOTHIAN: Police fear more deadly accidents, like what happened to a Florida eighth grader. The boy was shot and killed in January by police who thought he was pointing a real weapon.

SHASTANY: And the consequences for a police officer shooting a youth with a plastic airsoft gun can be awful, devastating to the police officer, to the family, and we do not want to see that happen.

LOTHIAN: The problem is, these toys look extremely real, right down to the clip that holds the plastic pellets. So here's the test. Which gun is real? Which one isn't? If you don't know the answer, don't feel bad because even police officer who know so much about so many different weapons would have a tough time answering that question unless they had a chance to inspect the gun up close.

SHASTANY: And at that point then you can determine what it is. But a police officer on the street at 2:00 in the morning from four feet away can't determine the difference.

LOTHIAN: But what makes these guns potentially dangerous is also what appeals to teens, like Tom Woodward, a high school senior and police department intern.

TOM WOODWARD, POLICE DEPARTMENT INTERN: Kids want to have guns that look real. It's a new way to play cops and robbers.

LOTHIAN: Federal law requires that the tip of these toy guns be painted bright orange, but sometimes, like this weapon seized by Framingham police, they are repainted black. One of the biggest retailers of the guns warns on its website "mistaken identification of an airsoft gun may result in the accidental death of the user." And that it "must never be taken to a area in which a police officer or another person may interpret the airsoft as a real gun." Woodward says he follows those rules.

WOODWARD: We play in my backyard. We can play back there without people seeing.

LOTHIAN: That's exactly what police want to hear as they try to make sure the use of fake guns doesn't lead to real accidents.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Framingham, Massachusetts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

KAGAN: We're also standing by, president Bush supposed to come out any minute at the White House and speak about the situation in Sudan. You'll see that live here on CNN.

Also ahead, victims snap back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The women who've done it just said that it's taken the power out of the street harassers hands and put it into their hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: The weapon, a cell phone camera. Flashers find justice served up with a smile, on CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Keep driving, keep driving! (END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Take a look at these incredible pictures out of Sudan. That's our Nic Robertson and our CNN crew there in Sudan. The translator they were using, apparently word spread that the crowd thought he was some kind of spy, went to attack him. They jumped in the car, did everyting they could do to get out and make it to safety. But we are being told everyone is OK and they did make it to safety.

Speaking of Sudan, President Bush expected to come in front of cameras at the White House any minute now and talk about the situation in Darfur.

There's a live picture from within the White House.

This comes after news of a treaty that was signed last week -- there's President Bush -- by the government and the main rebel group to end the crisis which has killed or displaced thousands. Let's listen in.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to thank the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, for joining me. And I also want to thank Deputy Secretary of State Bob Zoellick. He has just briefed me on his trip to Abuja, where he has played a very important role in setting up a peace agreement between the government of Sudan and a major rebel group in the Darfur region.

Congratulations on a job well done, Bob. Thank you.

Last week, we saw the beginnings of hope for the people of Darfur. The government of Sudan and the largest rebel group signed an agreement and took a step toward peace.

Many people worked hard for this achievement. Particularly grateful for the leadership of President Obasanjo of Nigeria and President Sassou-Nguesso of Congo. Deputy Secretary Zoellick told me of their really fine work, and I had the honor of calling both of them to thank them over the phone the other day. Their personal, hands-on involvement was vital.

We're still far away from our ultimate goal, which is the return of millions of displaced people to their homes so they can have a life without fear. But we can now see a way forward.

Sudan is one of the most diverse nations in Africa and one of the most troubled countries in the world. A 22-year-old civil war between north and south took more than 2 million lives before a peace agreement was made that the United States helped to broker.

About the same time another conflict was raging in the west, and that's in Sudan's vast Darfur region. Darfur rebel groups had attacked government outposts. To fight that rebellion, Sudan's regime armed and unleashed a horse-mounted militia called the Janjaweed, which targeted not only the rebels, but the tribes thought to be supporting them. The Janjaweed murdered men and they raped women and they beat children to death. They burned homes and farms and poisoned wells. They stole land to graze their own herds.

Hundreds of villages were destroyed, leaving a burnt and barren landscape. About 200,000 people have died from conflict, famine and disease, and more than 2 million were forced into camps inside and outside their country, unable to plant crops or rebuild their villages.

I've called this massive violence an act of genocide, because no other word captures the extent of this tragedy.

A cease-fire was declared in this conflict in April 2004, but it has been routinely violated by all sides. The Janjaweed continued to attack the camps and rape women who ventured outside the fences for food and firewood.

The government took no effective action to disarm the militias, and the rebels sometimes attacked food convoys and aid workers.

An African Union force of about 7,200 from the region has done all it can to keep order. But they're patrolling an area nearly the size of Texas and they have reached the limits of their capabilities.

With the peace agreement signed on Friday, Darfur has a chance to begin anew.

Sudan's government has promised to disarm the Janjaweed by mid- October and punish all those who violate the cease-fire. The main rebel group has agreed to withdraw into specified areas. Its forces will eventually be disarmed as well, and some of its units will be integrated into the national army and police.

The African Union will meet a week from today. I urge its members to help implement this new agreement.

Our goal in Darfur is this: We want civilians to return safely to their villages and rebuild their lives. That work has begun and completing it will require even greater effort by many nations.

First, America and other nations must act to prevent a humanitarian emergency and then help rebuild that country.

America is the leading provider of humanitarian aid. And this year alone, we account for more than 85 percent of the food distributed by the World Food Programme in Sudan. But the situation remains dire.

But the situation remains dire.

The world food program has issued an appeal for funds necessary to feed six million people over the next several months. The United States has met our commitment. But other major donors have not come through. As a result, this month, the world food program was forced to cut rations by half. So I propose, in the emergency supplemental before Congress, to increase food aid to Sudan by another $225 million.

I hope Congress will act swiftly on this true emergency. To get food to Darfur quickly, I have directed USAID to ship emergency food stockpiles. I've directed five ships and ordered them to be loaded with food and proceed immediately to Port Sudan.

I've ordered the emergency purchase of another 40,000 metric tons of food for rapid shipment to Sudan. These actions will allow the world food program to restore full food rations to the people of Darfur this summer.

Americans who wish to contribute money to help deliver relief to the people of Darfur can find information about how to do so by going to the USAID Web site at www.usaid.gov and clicking on the section marked "Helping the Sudanese People."

Moving forward, we cannot keep people healthy and fed without other countries standing up and doing their part as well.

The European Union and nations like Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan have taken leadership on other humanitarian issues. And the people of Darfur urgently need more of their help now.

In addition, the government of Sudan must allow all U.N. agencies to do their work without hindrance. They should remove the visa and travel restrictions that complicate relief efforts. And all sides must cease attacks on relief workers.

And, finally, the United States will be an active participant in the Dutch-led reconstruction and development conference. And it's an important conference that'll take place within the next couple of months to help the people get back on their feet, so they can live normal lives in Darfur.

Second, America and other nations must work quickly to increase security on the ground in Darfur. In the short term, the African Union forces in Darfur need better capabilities. So America's working with our NATO allies to get those forces immediate assistance in the form of planning logistics, intelligence support and other help. And I urge members of the alliance to contribute to this effort.

In the longer term, the African Union troops must be the core of a larger military force that is more mobile and more capable, which generates better intelligence and is given a clear mandate to protect the civilians from harm.

So I'm dispatching Secretary Rice to address the U.N. Security Council tomorrow. She's going to request a resolution that will accelerate the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers into Darfur.

We're now working with the U.N. to identify countries that contribute those troops so the peacekeeping effort will be robust. I've called on -- I just called President Bashir of Sudan, both to commend him on his work for this agreement and to urge the government to express clear support for a U.N. force.

The vulnerable people of Darfur deserve more than sympathy.

They deserve the active protection that U.N. peacekeepers can provide.

In recent weeks we've seen drastically different responses to the suffering in Darfur.

In a recent audiotape, Osama bin Laden attacked American efforts in Sudan and urged his followers to kill international peacekeepers in Darfur.

Once again, the terrorists are attempting to exploit the misery of fellow Muslims, and encourage more death.

Once again, America and other responsible nations are fighting misery and helping a desperate region come back to life.

And, once again, the contrast cannot be more clear.

In late 2004 in Darfur, the Janjaweed attacked the village of a woman named Zahara (ph). They raped her, murdered her husband, and set fire to their home.

One of the attackers told her, "This year, there's no god except us. We are your god now."

But you and I know that at all times, in all places, there is a just God who sides with the suffering, and calls us to do the same.

America will not turn away from this tragedy. We will call genocide by its rightful name. And we will stand up for the innocent until the peace of Darfur is secured.

Thank you.

KAGAN: And we're listening in to President Bush as he had Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and also Deputy Secretary Robert Zoellick by his side. The deputy secretary just back from Darfur last week, where he helped broker this peace deal between the key rebel group and the government. Even with this peace agreement, President Bush saying there still is much to be done. The goal, he said, to get civilians back to the villages. And he has ordered a number of emergency food shipments from the United States to -- into Darfur to help with food rationing and get the people there fed. Also calling on other governments in the world, especially in Europe, to help out with the dire situation in Sudan, as well.

Much more ahead on our international hour, which is coming up in just a bit. I'm Daryn Kagan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAGAN: The last American survivor old enough to remember the sinking of the Titanic has now died. Lillian Asplund was 99. She passed away at her home in Massachusetts Saturday. Asplund was just five years old when the ship went down in 1912. At least two other Titanic survivors are alive, but they were babies when the ship sank and have no memory of the tragedy.

Meanwhile, nobody offered up enough money in an auction for this chair. It reportedly was grabbed from the Titanic as a souvenir before the ship left on its ill-fated journey. The top bid, $62,000, less than the seller wanted.

Yes, the sweet sounds of Jazz Fest. The 37th annual celebration in New Orleans wrapped up Sunday. Many performers said the event was a way to come together and be part of rebuilding. The festival usually draws about a half million. The city declined to reveal this year's attendance. The festival was held at the city's fairgrounds race course. When Hurricane Katrina hit, that spot was under five feet of water. The scheduled headliner, by the way, for the closing, Fats Domino, wasn't able to perform due to health reasons. But he took the stage for a moment to greet fans.

I'm Daryn Kagan. International news coming up next. Stay tuned for YOUR WORLD TODAY and then I'll be right back here with the latest headlines from the U.S. in about 20 minutes.

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