Return to Transcripts main page
Hala Gorani Tonight
U.S. Declares Genocide By ISIS In Syria And Iraq; President's Appointment Of Lula Fuels Controversy; Aid Worker Dodges Airstrikes To Help Civilians; Source: "Absolute Consensus" On Stopping Trump. Aired 3-3:30p ET
Aired March 17, 2016 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Hala Gorani. We're live at CNN London. A very busy hour today. Thanks for being with
us. This is THE WORLD RIGHT NOW.
Genocide, a powerful word reserved for the most heinous crime, the attempt to wipe out an entire group of people. Now, the State Department today
carefully chose that word to describe the actions of ISIS.
Now, you'll remember, of course, over the last several years, CNN has documented the persecution of Yazidis, among other groups. These dramatic
images are from a Mount Sinjar rescue in 2014.
ISIS has trapped thousands of Yazidis, trying to starve them to death. Men were killed. Women and children were enslaved. But that is not the only
group that ISIS has targeted.
The secretary of state said that without coalition intervention, many more would have died. Listen to John Kerry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We know that in Mosul and elsewhere, Daesh has executed Christians solely because of their faith, that it
executed 49 Coptic and Ethiopian Christians in Libya and has also forced women and girls into sexual slavery.
We know that Daesh massacred hundreds of Shia Turkmen in (inaudible) and Mosul, besieged and starved a Turkmen town of (inaudible) and kidnapped
hundreds of Shia Turkmen, women, raping many in front of their own families.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: The U.S. has not used the label "genocide" in over a decade. The last time was to describe the situation in Darfur in 2004. For more on
what this means for the U.S. and these persecuted groups, Elise Labott joins me now from the State Department in Washington. Nick Paton Walsh is
live in Istanbul.
Elise, first of all, will this change anything in terms of this label?
ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Hala, I don't know if it's going to change anything in terms of the U.S. campaign against ISIS.
You remember that Secretary Kerry opened his remarks by listing the actions that the U.S. took including helping with that rescue in Sinjar Mountain of
the Yazidis, which really sparked the beginning of the U.S.-led campaign against ISIS in 2014.
So I'm not necessarily sure that the U.S. is going to do anything new to step up its bombing campaign because it's not legally required to.
But I do think it will become a more political and moral pressure to act. I also think it's going to give weight to calls here in the United States
to welcome more refugees from Iraq and Syria to the United States, particularly those minorities that have been listed as facing persecution
by ISIS.
GORANI: Right. And we know only a few hundred have been taken in the last eight months or so. Nick Paton Walsh in Istanbul, any reaction in the
region to this? Is it seen as something that will change anything, or as a purely symbolic move?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is an awful lot of pressure from Congress inside of Washington on the Obama
administration. Advocacy groups here have always sought that particular designation.
The question, as Elise pointed out, what does it effectively change on the ground here? It focuses regionally and globally the nature of the crimes
that ISIS are guilty of. That's always been known to some degree.
I think it will also possibly spark a debate, how come the United States has been taking its time potentially, but ready to describe ISIS's crimes
in such stark terms, but reticent perhaps to be equally condemning of the Assad regime's crimes?
There's been a vote by Congress in the past to designate the Syrian government's onslaught against some Sunni-Syrian rebels that particular
ethnic group that forms the majority of the Syrian population, to perhaps consider those war crimes.
Could this ISIS designation increase pressure for the rhetoric to be upped against the Syrian regime? That's unclear. But it puts a sharper focus on
what many considered to be the absence of hard leadership on the U.S.'s side in this crisis in the Middle East -- Hala.
[15:05:10]GORANI: Right. Regarding labeling the Assad regime's actions that doesn't sound like it's in the making. I spoke to the two,
congressman and woman, who sponsored this resolution on Capitol Hill.
Elise, one of things that I asked them was do you think that this resolution is what ended up pressuring the Obama administration and the
State Department to come out with this label.
They said, we're not sure, they really didn't want to commit to answering that question. But is that kind of in Washington what has been discussed
regarding this, that it was that congressional pressure that led to this move?
LABOTT: The timing is kind of interesting, Hala. If you remember, last year Congress imposed this measure on a spending bill, which forced the
United States to make this determination. And the U.S. has been reluctant to do so, it's kind of been dragging its feet on that.
It is a very like long legal bar to set and a very high determination. So they have been deliberating this for many months with the State Department
lawyers and others, and whether it would obligate the U.S. to do anything.
I think you heard, you know, last month the European Parliament declared what's going on with ISIS a genocide against some of the minorities.
You heard last year Pope Francis say that he thought that there were signs of genocide. So there's been mounting international and domestic pressure.
I think definitely that resolution put the administration's feet to the fire.
Today is that deadline that Congress imposed. Originally we thought the administration was going to pass that deadline. But when it started to
come under increasing fire from congress and rights groups, it decided to go ahead today.
I think Secretary Kerry has been leaning towards doing so. Certainly, he's been wanting to effect more action against ISIS in Syria in general. So I
think it does give weight to his calls that more needs to be done.
GORANI: Great. Quickly, Nick, you talked about whether or not this would put pressure on the United States to qualify some of the actions of the
Assad regime perhaps as war crimes or worse.
Put in context for our viewers in terms of the deaths and the attacks against civilian populations, if it's possible to compare ISIS and other
actors in this war such as the government.
WALSH: I think ISIS's crimes have been in match sharper focus because of their sickening use of high definition video to document their atrocities
for public consumption and horror.
But the numbers they're accused of killing, while disgusting in nature, probably don't compare with the numbers which the Syrian regime have been
accused of killing. The numbers were all very indistinct. That's one of the major issues at this five-year conflict.
We simply don't know how many people really have died. There are estimates that say potentially 470,000 may have died. But a lot of those are accused
of being civilians targeted by the Syrian government.
So yes, a huge larger number of that Sunni population dying at the hands of air strikes or shelling, say activists, begun by the Syrian regime, but
ISIS's crimes are much more horrific and so much in more steep focus -- Hala.
GORANI: All right, certainly, from all sides, the Syrian people suffering tremendously with this news today, the U.S. government calling ISIS's
actions as genocide. Elise Labott is at the State Department, and Nick Paton Walsh is in Istanbul, thanks to both of you.
Now to Latin America and breaking news from Brazil, the country's House of Representatives moments ago overwhelmingly voted to form a special
committee to look into impeaching the president.
It comes a political chaos is engulfing Brazil. It's fueled by a corruption scandal, a suspicious presidential appointment, a court ruling,
and massive street protests like today.
Right now it is centering on this man, former Brazilian President Luis Lula da Silva, known as Lula. He faces money laundering and fraud charges.
Here's what angering protesters, Tuesday, the current president, Dilma Rousseff, herself under investigation, appointed Lula to her cabinet. That
this would delay her prosecution. Critics say a secret phone recording proves that the two plotted the whole thing.
(AUDIO CLIP)
GORANI: Hecklers chanted "shame" as Ms. Rousseff swore in Lula this morning. Listen.
(VIDEO CLIP)
[15:10:10]GORANI: And by the way, this ceremony may not even matter. A Brazilian judge has nullified the appointment of Lula to the cabinet of
President Dilma Rousseff.
Let's sort out this political chaos in Brazil and turn now to our senior Latin-American affairs editor, Rafael Romo. First of all, Congress is
saying reforming (inaudible) we are looking into impeaching Dilma Rousseff, what are the chances that this will happen?
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN-AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: It's only the beginning of the process, Hala. This happened this very afternoon. The
Congress met and they selected 65 members of this committee to impeach Dilma.
Now you have to remember that this has been going on for about a year when the protests started asking for her impeachment. Now it is a very
complicated story because you have to remember, Dilma Rousseff was Lula's chief of staff, and now the roles have reversed.
This morning she swore him in as her new chief of staff and what critics are saying is this is an opportunity or an effort to shield him from
prosecution. Two weeks ago, Lula was detained for questioning, and several of his properties were raided by Brazilian federal police, including his
institute, including his son's home, and his very own home in Southern Brazil.
So a lot of complexity in this case. And right now, it's not really determined whether Lula is the chief of staff or not, like the federal
judge said that he is issuing this injunction to stop him from serving -- Hala.
GORANI: OK, so because the judge -- there is at least one court ruling that nullifies this appointment of Lula to the chief of staff position in
Dilma Rousseff's cabinet?
ROMO: That's right.
GORANI: This is Brazil here. There is chaos on the streets. You've got major international events, not least of which are the Olympic Games this
summer.
ROMO: That's right.
GORANI: How is the country going to deal with that in the middle of all this chaos?
ROMO: We're talking about a political crisis and this scandal really inhibits the government from functioning as a democratic government. It's
not known what's going to happen in the next few months.
You have to add to the complexity of this case the fact that not only do they have the Olympics, but also there is a Zika crisis in the north, and
the economy is in really bad shape.
So political crisis, bad economy, Zika crisis, and also the Olympics. It's going to be a rough next few months. And going back to what you were
talking about, the federal judge trying to issue this injunction, the attorney general, Hala, already says they're going to appeal his ruling.
So at this point nobody really knows if Lula is a member of Dilma's cabinet or not.
GORANI: All right. Rafael Romo, our senior Latin-American affairs editor, thanks very much for the latest on Brazil and what's going on there.
You're watching THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. A lot more to come this evening, a move to block the American Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump.
Coming from the right, his own party. Stay with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:15:42]
GORANI: You'll remember the announcement from Moscow that it was withdrawing the bulk of its military from Syria. Well, the Russian
president is saying that he could ramp everything up again at a moment's notice.
And he's urging all sides of the conflict there to respect the ceasefire. Vladimir Putin ordered, as we mentioned, most of his troops to withdraw on
Monday, but he says Moscow is not abandoning its ally, Bashar al-Assad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We have undertaken enormous work to enhance the legal power and statehood of Syria. I said
that in my speech, on the 70th anniversary of the United Nations. We have enhanced its armed forces. Today they are able not only to curb terrorists
but maintain successful offensives against them.
The Syrian Army has gained the strategic initiative and continues to clear its land of terrorist gangs. Most importantly, we have created conditions
for the start of the peace process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: There you have it. Russia saying, you know, whenever they deem it necessary they can go right back to pre-withdrawal levels inside Syria.
CNN's Clarissa Ward has seen firsthand what the conflict has done to the country. She went undercover in rebel-held territory where virtually no
western journalist has gone in over a year.
In this exclusive report, she met up with an aid worker as he dodged air strikes, saying that he wants to help civilians there trapped by the
violence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a Tuesday in Syria. A British aid worker, Talqir Sharif, is making the
dangerous drive to Aleppo.
TALQIR SHARIF, BRITISH AID WORKER: It's really important that we drive with the windows open, because any kind of explosions that land close to
us, the last thing we want is shrapnel of glass and so on and so forth landing in our faces.
WARD: He's traveling to the devastated city to deliver an ambulance. It isn't long before he's diverted. Four airstrikes have hit. Sharif runs
into the wreckage to see what's needed. Remarkably, no one's been injured or killed, but the sound of another jet means it's time to leave.
SHARIF: Everybody out, let's go, let's go! The plane is in the sky, we can hear it. They're saying a tactic that they use is, when ambulances
turn up, they'll hit the same place again. We're just going to try to get to a safer place.
WARD: Sharif is just one of a handful of western aid workers living in Syria.
SHARIF: Most of the big aid organizations, they don't want to go into the line of fire, in a sense. This is something that we have to do. This is
something that is a human response. If we don't do it, then who will?
WARD: In the relative safety of an olive grove near the Turkish border, he told us that religious conviction played a big part in his decision to come
here three years ago.
SHARIF: We need to look at what do the people really want, and if the people are Muslims, this is not me saying it, if the people are Muslims and
they want some form of Islamic governance, it's important that we help them to establish that.
WARD (on camera): Is that what they want?
SHARIF: In my opinion, that's what I believe. You can ask the people what do you want. I don't think the people will settle for anything less,
especially after this bloodshed, the right to self-determination.
WARD (voice-over): For many of the 6.5 million displaced people in Syria, there are perhaps more immediate concerns. Most live in sprawling tent
cities along the border. Conditions in the camps are brutal. There is a lack of food and clean water. They become more crowded every day.
SHARIF: We just recently did a survey of this camp, just this camp here alone, which is a conglomeration of about 40 camps. It's around 80,000
home.
WARD (on camera): It's 80,000 people.
SHARIF: And this is just one on this border. There's another not too far from here, maybe 65,000, 70,000 people.
WARD (voice-over): Sharif's favorite project is this smaller camp that houses roughly 100 widows and their children.
[15:20:03]Syria is now a country full of widows and orphans, some still too young to understand what has happened to their country. Others who have
seen too much. All of them dependent on the mercy of others. Clarissa Ward, CNN, Syria.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Turning now to the presidential race in the United States. Conservatives are apparently plotting against Republican frontrunner,
Donald Trump. A dozen activists and Republican lawmakers met in Washington Thursday to try to find ways, any way they can come up with, from stopping
Trump from getting the nomination. CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONENT (voice-over): Paul Ryan today brushing off the idea that he could be drawn into the presidential race.
REPRESENTATIVE PAUL RYAN (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: It's not going to be me. It should be somebody running for president. People are out there
campaigning.
SERFATY: But the House speaker is not stepping away from the prospect that his party might be heading towards a contested convention.
RYAN: It's more likely to become a more open convention than we thought before. We're getting our minds around the idea that this could very well
become a reality.
SERFATY: This comes as conservatives belonging to the "Stop Trump Movement" are huddling in Washington today. Sources tell CNN there was
absolutely consensus in the closed door meeting on trying to stop Trump from getting the number of delegates needed to clinch the nomination.
But that there was a real division about launching a third party challenge if Trump ultimately becomes the nominee. Trump's team encouraging
Republicans opposed to Trump to rethink their strategy.
BARRY BENNETT, SENIOR ADVISER, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: When we get to Cleveland, he's going to be our nominee. Some of these guys are going to have to
decide how much damage they're willing to do to the party because they don't like that.
SERFATY: The potential for a contested convention is now pushing the GOP candidates into effectively waging two campaigns side by side, still
working to win outright.
SENATOR TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If Donald and I come in and we're neck and neck and neither of us are at 1,237, then it's a battle for
the remaining delegates. That's actually how a convention operates.
SERFATY: But also scrambling to prepare their backup plans, if the nominating fight is still unsettled before the Republicans gather in
Cleveland this July.
JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is unlikely that anybody is going to achieve enough delegates to avoid a convention.
SERFATY: The campaigns making their calibrations from the sobering reality they face when it comes to the math. Candidates need to get to 1,237
delegates to clinch the nomination before the convention.
Based on current delegate counts, Donald Trump would need to win a little more than 50 percent of the remaining delegates to reach that mark. Ted
Cruz would need roughly 80 percent. And for John Kasich, it would be mathematically impossible. He would need about 108 percent.
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham today telling CNN's Dana Bash that he sees Cruz as the best hope for stopping Trump.
LINDSEY GRAHAM, FORMER U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So I think the best alternative to Donald Trump, to stop him from getting to 1,237 is
Ted Cruz. I'm going to help Ted in every way I can.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Lindsey Graham there. Sunlen Serfaty reporting. A lot more on U.S. politics later. But after a quick break, SeaWorld says that society
is changing and it's changing with it. After years of criticism, it's making a major change to its controversial whale shows. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:25:14]
GORANI: SeaWorld is making major waves after announcing that's its ending its controversial killer whale program. The theme park says it will no
longer breed orcas and that the current generation of whales swimming in its parks will be the last.
It has been under tremendous pressure to change its orca program since the release of CNN's documentary "Blackfish" in 2013. The film detailed
SeaWorld's treatment of the killer whales.
CNN's Martin Savidge has covered what's become a publicity nightmare for the company over the last two years. Martin joins us now. Hi, there.
First of all, what happens now? The shows go on, but they just won't breed the next generation, is that right?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. To put it in perspective, this decision by SeaWorld is about as big as the creatures which it covers.
Huge. Orcas have been a real controversy for SeaWorld because of their size, because of their intelligence, and because of the fact that they're
such social creatures.
Many animal advocacy groups have said you can't keep them in cement swimming pools in theme parks. This is finally a decision that SeaWorld
has come to as well. They saw a decline in their stock price. They saw a decline in their attendance.
As a result, they saw a decline in their revenues. So this is as much a business decision as a moral decision. Nonetheless, animal advocacy groups
are celebrating the fact. And what's also unique here is the fact that the Humane Society of the United States is now partnering with SeaWorld.
That would have been unthinkable just weeks ago, because the Humane Society has been one of SeaWorld's most outspoken critics. Talk about the lion
laying down with the lamb. That has happened here.
GORANI: All right, I imagine the lamb is the Humane Society in this analogy. But let me ask you about what happens with the current crop of
orcas. Do they continue to perform?
SAVIDGE: No. They aren't going to perform in the way that you've seen them. SeaWorld says they'll take them out of showbiz. They will keep
them, they have to keep them, and as a result they plan to put them in displays which they figure will be more like their natural environment and
to educate people about the creatures themselves.
But here's the thing. They live for roughly 30 years, possibly more, which means this current group of them, and there are dozens that SeaWorld has,
will live for a long, long time. And this is a decision that goes on for decades.
Caring for them, and how to properly care for them, is still to be resolved. Then also making sure you don't have any more babies, because
that's another problem. So we are talking about, yes, birth control, possibly, for killer whales.
GORANI: A quick last one, because I know many people saw the documentary "Blackfish," but for those who didn't, why was SeaWorld the target of such
criticism for its orca program?
SAVIDGE: SeaWorld in the United States is the biggest user of these killer whales, in performances in theme parks. There has been growing evidence to
suggest that their captivity, despite how well SeaWorld treated them, was having an impact socially on these very social creatures.
There was the death of one trainer in particular in 2010 that shocked many people. "Blackfish," the documentary focused on her death and how the
whale who killed her may have been altered by years of captivity, in other words made into a killer.
That was something accepted in the fringe, but the documentary brought it forefront for almost everyone to see, and it was very troubling to the
general public.
GORANI: All right. Very significant news. Thanks very much, Martin Savidge, joining us with that development.
This is THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. Coming up, the U.S. says Yazidis, Christians, and Shiites are victims of ISIS's genocide. CNN has been covering their
plight for a number of years. We'll remind you of what they have suffered with some extraordinary footage.
And witnesses tell CNN of their horror after gunmen attack a coastal resort on the Ivory Coast. We'll have that story as well. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:31:45]
HALA GORANI, HOST: Welcome back. A look at our top stories, the U.S. has declared that atrocities carried out by ISIS in Iraq and Syria should be
called genocide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: The Secretary of State, John Kerry, said the terrorist group is bent on wiping out Christians, Yazidis, and other religious minorities that
doesn't agree with the group's beliefs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Also among our top stories, Brazilian lawmakers have reportedly voted overwhelmingly to consider impeaching their President, Dilma
Rousseff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: It comes amid an escalating corruption scandal, and hours after she appointed her predecessor to her cabinet. Now, that move could indefinitely
delay his prosecution on corruption charges.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Germany says a possible threat has forced it to close two diplomatic facilities and a school in Turkey.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Now this follows Sunday suicide bombing that killed at least 35 people in Ankara. An offshoot of the PKK rebel group claimed responsibility
for the attack.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Let's return to our top story this hour. America's determination that ISIS is in fact committing genocide in Iraq and Syria against
minorities. CNN has been covering the plight of the Yazidi, Christian, the Shia population for the last couple of years at the hands of ISIS. In 2014,
Ivan Watson took a harrowing helicopter ride to Mount Sinjar in Iraq where thousands of desperate Yazidis were under siege from ISIS fighters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Then the helicopter lands one last time to pick up more passengers.
Here they come.
More desperate people throw themselves at the aircraft. Heaving their children on board. It's first come, first serve. [ shouting ] There were
some who couldn't make it. Aboard the aircraft, shock, exhaustion, fear that eventually gives way to relief.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, three young Yazidi girls who escaped from ISIS sex slavery talked to CNN's Atika Shubert at a refugee camp in Northern Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
He showed me a letter and said, this shows any captured women will become Muslim if 10 ISIS fighters rape her.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Then (Nora) says he raped her. After that he gave her to his friends. She says each one raped her.
How many men did he pass you to?
[ speaking foreign language ]
[16:35:06]
SHUBERT: (Munara) fidgets next to (Nora), she still remembers her father, wearing his name on her arm a homemade tattoo. She used a sewing needle and
a pen while waiting to be sold.
Do you know if they paid for you?
[ speaking foreign language ]
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: So these were reports from a few months and a few years ago here, to remind our viewers, really, of what ISIS is doing to these religious and
ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria.
Now, this all came about, this U.S. government's move to qualify what ISIS is doing as a genocide, after a U.S. House of Representatives move that
unanimously passed a resolution calling these crimes genocide.
Earlier I spoke to the sponsors of that resolution, Jeff Fortenberry, and Anna Eshoo, representatives who go-authored the document. I began by
asking congresswoman Eshoo what she thought would come of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNA ESHOO, U.S. HOUSE DEMONCRAT: Well, first of all, the recognition of it. Without the congress and our country speaking out on an issue of
morality, then it simply would not be recorded by historians. So the recognition of it by our nation and the congress speaking sotto voce, with
one voice on this, is an extraordinary and eloquent statement about a very, very tragic case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: And congressman Fortenberry, what should the U.S's role be here? I mean the U.S. is now officially saying this is a genocide perpetrated
against these religious and ethnic minorities. What is the U.S's responsibility now that it has qualified these acts as such?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF FORTENBERRY, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: I believe that the resolution and declaring genocide not only is one of purpose and clarity and moral
authority, but it also sets the conditions for further considerations of safe havens in Northern Iraq as well as Northern Syria as well as the
preconditions for when there is ultimately some type of security settlement in the Middle East that empowers and reintegrates ancient faith traditions
back into their ancestral homeland.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: But congresswoman, let's talk a little bit about today, not what might happen in the future with safe havens or a peace settlement. Right
now these religious minorities, frankly even the religious majorities in Syria, the Sunnis, are very much at risk, they are fleeing in the millions.
Should the U.S. accept more refugees? So far fewer than a thousand since last fall.
ESHOO: Well, I think our great nation has always been made greater when we act morally. And so yes, I do believe that we can not only absorb but
welcome these refugees. There are many political issues that swim around that. But when I look at countries around the world, yesterday I had the
occasion to meet with the new Ambassador to the United States from Armenia. Armenia has taken in 25,000 refugees.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ESHOO: So -- and of course the new Prime Minister in Canada was here last week at the White House for a state dinner. And he spoke so eloquently
about what the refugees mean to the Canadian people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ESHOO: So I understand that there are political layers around it. But i do believe that our country can.
GORANI: But congressman Fortenberry, I'm still unclear when you use a loaded term such as "genocide," the last time the U.S. used it was to
describe the situation in Darfur in 2004. Doesn't that really imply that this is an emergency that needs to be dealt with right away, not to hope
for in the future safe havens or political settlement that could be years in the making? What is the U.S's responsibility here?
FORTENBERRY: Well I would caution you in terms of characterizing "genocide" as a loaded term. I think it's a statement of fact.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FORTENBERRY: What has happening is factual. People have been killed, beheaded, their lives taken. There is a systematic attempt to exterminate
Christians, Yazidis and other faith traditions there who rightfully belong there as much as anyone else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FORTENBERRY: In 2004 Colin Powell, the then Secretary of State did come to congress and say what is happening in Darfur is a genocide and that
actually helped put an end to that grim reality. So there are multiple levels of issues here. One is the longer term policy considerations of how
we maybe form safe havens in Northern Iraq and Syria. There are implications for migration, prioritization of migration when necessary.
There are also other policy considerations. And again, once the preconditions are set for settlement, security, economic, political, and
cultural settlement, that we include these ancient faith traditions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[16:40:05]
FORTENBERRY: When is the last time anyone has had a conversation about rights of Christians and Yazidis and other religious minorities in the
Middle East?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FORTENBERY: So this is why this is a powerful and impactful moment.
GORANI: All right, the two congress people who co-sponsored that resolution to describe ISIS actions against minorities as being genocide.
Now to the fallout from last Sunday's massacre at a beach resort in Ivory Coast. A military source says the Ivorian government was warned weeks ago
of a possible attack on a coastal resort.
CNN's David Mckenzie has spoken to witnesses of the attack who paint a picture of how the horror unfolded. .
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID McKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: (Celine) is now in morning. But her Sunday began as a happy day at the beach. This is the last
image of (Celine) with her husband (Talfik) before Al Qaeda terrorists struck their hotel in Grand-Bassam.
(Celine) was in their room when the shooting started. "I heard bam, bam, bam," she said. "I stood up and went to the balcony. There were people
running and shooting. They were shooting everyone. I started to panic and think, where is my husband?"
(Talfik) was by the pool. The security cameras show him desperately seeking shelter behind the bar. Celine says he hid in a storeroom. As the attacker
arrives it becomes clear that (Talfik) made a fatal mistake.
Officially the gunmen killed 16 civilians. But witnesses say they murdered many more people who were swimming. Ivorian officials believe the death
toll will rise. Bodies washed away in the strong occurrences.
Everyone we've spoken to says they were surprised the terrorists struck here. But a senior source in the Ivorian military tells us there was prior
intelligence of a possible attack.
The source says the Intel came from Moroccan security services several weeks ago. They warned that Jihadists could strike at beach resorts.
Witnesses like (inaudible) say security forces took hours to arrive and armed gunmen to kill at will. Al Qaeda and the Islamic Maghreb has released
these propaganda photos, calling the killers "knights of the desert."
That's him says (Jean) not is real name because he is too afraid. (Jean) says the so-called knights were in fact barely adults, arriving at his bar
on Sunday morning in a Ford sedan. "They asked me about cigarettes and women," he says. "They argued over which local beer to drink." He says
their faces are still stuck in his head.
(AQIM) says they were retaliating against France and Western crusaders. But these witnesses say they massacred mostly Muslims, just like Celine's
husband (Talfik.)
She says he was the love of her life. "They took me to identify his body," she says. "He was shot three times. They shot his mouth, a bullet was in
his heart and in his leg. I've seen the body of my husband."
David McKenzie, CNN, Grand-Bassam.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: So tragic and so sad.
Coming up in the race for the White House
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: The Kremlin reacts to a video that compares the Russian President with Hillary Clinton. It's a Trump advertisement and in Moscow people
aren't too happy about it. We'll tell you why.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:46:10]
GORANI: More now on the race for the White House. And Kremlin reaction to a video posted online by Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. It pokes fun at
Hillary Clinton and how she would deal with tough global issues. It also features Vladimir Putin. As you might guess, the video is not at all
flattering to Clinton. Take a look. [ barking ]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well Mr. Putin may be laughing in that clip, which of course is used there out of context, but either way the Kremlin is not amused by it.
Our Matthew Chance is in Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In real life the Kremlin are not amused at all. In fact they've issued a relevant stern
statement as a result of this video. The spokesman for Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, saying, look, I don't know whether Vladimir Putin has seen
this, but our attitude toward it is negative.
He said it's an open secret, I'm reading from the statement here, "it's an open secret for us, that demonizing Russia and whatever is linked to Russia
is a mandatory hallmark of America's election campaign. We always sincerely regret this and we wish the electoral process in the United States was
conducted without such references to our country." And so the Kremlin, despite the relatively warm words towards Donald Trump in recent weeks on
state television, is now pretty angry about the way it is being cast yet again by this Republican Presidential hopeful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Matthew Chance in Moscow, thanks very much.
Now Clinton supporters are reacting as well with their own take on the Trump ad. It plays along the lines of analysis appearing in the Economos
that says Trump poses a tough ten risk that could disrupt the world economy and lead to political chaos. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who are you consulting with consistently so that you're ready on myself?
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain, and I've said a lot
of things. [ laughter ]
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right, meanwhile Trump's tough stance on immigration is fueling anger among Latinos. Many are marching in protest even. But as Kyung Lah
reports, some of those already in the U.S. legally are now seeking citizenship just so that they can vote in November.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Number one with Hispanics.
KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Visible and loud. The ubiquitous protestors at Donald Trump's rallies, many of them Latino,
holding, and wearing, their outrage. More subdued but just as powerful, (Edgar Rapaul) protest, a native of Colombia and legal resident for ten
years, is only now (Rapaul) feels the in each to naturalize in time for November. Do you have Donald Trump to thank for bringing you out here?
"If I could become a citizen, I could vote against him," he says. Across the U.S. from Florida to Nevada, to Illinois, to North Carolina, Latinos
once content to carry green cards now seek citizenship. Because when trumped teed off his Presidential candidacy with this --
TRUMP: They're bringing crime. They're rapists.
LAH: And this.
TRUMP: And who is going to pay for the wall?
LAH: The Federal government says naturalization applications jumped 14.5% compared to the same six months last year.
If all of those with green cards become naturalized citizens, what happens politically?
[16:50:10]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want a cliche? It's a game changer.
LAH: The numbers reveal that political power. Swing state Nevada has 73,000 Latinos who are eligible to naturalize. Arizona holding its primary next
week, 146,000. Florida, 637,000. Nationally, the U.S. is home to 4.5 million Latinos eligible to naturalize.
MARIA ELENA SALINAS, UNIVISION ANCHOR: The very same group that he has been attacking is the one that's going to stop him from getting to the White
House.
LAH: There's no love lost between Univision anchor Maria Elena Salinas and Trump. Univision, a powerful media organization owned by a Hillary Clinton
donor, has joined with Grassroots groups to get out the vote in November. The national response, overwhelming.
SALINAS: You feel it. You know that Donald Trump is your enemy. Because he declared war. Because he's the one that declared us enemies.
LAH: That's the main motivator, why Cuban-born (Gizelle Broach) is getting her citizenship after 22 years in the U.S. When we bring up Trump's name,
this reaction.
"I can't stand him. He's like a punch to the gut" she says.
LAH: Donald Trump's unintended consequence, a pathway to their political power. The Trump campaign says his proposed immigration reforms, the
deportation of 11 million undocumented immigrants, the wall, all of this will end up benefiting legal Latino immigrants. No one we spoke with
believes that.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: And don't forget, you can always check out our Facebook page for the latest news and interviews. Facebook.com/halagoranicnn.
Coming up -
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well a simple phishing scheme has flashed nude photos of celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence, all over the internet. We'll tell you
how to avoid becoming a victim yourself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Well you may be surprised to hear that the celebrity photo hacking scandal wasn't about a flaw in the tech cloud. It was just a plain old
scam.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: That's how new court document indicates Ryan Collins stole nude photos of celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton. The FBI
alleges that Collins sent e-mails disguised as emissive from Apple or Google and the celebrities simply sent over their passwords.
CNN Money business correspondent, Samuel Burke is following the story and he joins us now live from New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: So was it that simple, that's how allegedly the suspect accessed these photos?
SAMUEL BURKE, CNN MONEY BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hala, it really was that simple. A lot of times when we think about hacking and Sony, we think about
maybe it was some complex, geeky, very smart engineer got in. But almost always when these cases are closed the way this case appears to be closing
now, you found out it was just a phishing scam.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BURKE: And this happens to everybody, it even happened to my parents. They got a notification from their cellphone company saying, somebody has broken
into your account, you need to reset your password, click this link. Of course it really wasn't from the cellphone company, nobody had broken into
my parent's account until that email they put in their username and password and that's how the hackers got it. And that appears to be how
they got the information of the celebrities and then was able to go in, go through their private e-mail accounts and leak these photos.
[16:55:10]
BURKE: I want to just remind people what Jennifer Lawrence who you're seeing on screen right now said. A year after this hack or this phishing
attack rather took place, she said the following about what had happened to her to Vanity Fair "It is not a scandal. It is a sex crime. It is a sexual
violation, it's disgusting, the law needs to change and we need to change."
Ironically, Hala, though this method that a lot of people sitting at home use to get into people's accounts is actually the same method that a lot of
law enforcement and governments use, using simple information, phishing attacks. Though we have to say that Apple has stepped up some of the
password that's in there too, two-factor authentication so you have to have your phone and a password to get in now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: And so how do you - how can you tell the difference? I mean we all get these emails. I have general -- generally I have a rule, if I'm
asked my password for anything in an e-mail, I don't do it.
BURKE: Exactly.
GORANI: Should we sort of just be that -- should we just apply that rule, that rule -- that blanket rule to all e-mails requesting passwords?
BURKE: 100%. Follow the advice that Hala Gorani just give you. I never click the links of any type of account notification that I receive via e-
mail. If American Express says you need to reset your password, then I go individually to americanexpress.com or call in my own and reset it that
way. If you ever get an e-mail, just don't believe it, find out for yourselves, do not click the links, and you will be much safer.
GORANI: Right, and also you can just look at the sender e-mail address. Oftentimes I think a phishing attack just looks legislate but when you look
at the actual address, it's completely different.
BURKE: Though they've gotten better at that. A lot of times your right though sometimes, even in the case that we're seeing here now with the man
who is pleading guilty to hacking these accounts, the e-mail address kind of looked like it was coming from Apple or Gmail even though it wasn't
really. So even that isn't a foolproof way of doing it sometimes.
GORANI: All right, Samuel Burke, thanks very much.
This has been "The World Right Now," I'm Hala Gorani. I'll see you the same time, same place tomorrow. "Quest Means Business" is next.
END
