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Your World Today
Violence in Myanmar; Search For Madeleine McCann; Clinton Global Initiative; Fighting Anorexia; Nuri al Maliki Addresses the U.N. General Assembly
Aired September 26, 2007 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JONATHAN MANN, CNN ANCHOR: Crackdown in Myanmar. Police use tear gas and brutal force to break up pro-democracy demonstrations lead by Buddhist monks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who's that girl? A tourist in Morocco snaps a photo of a child that resembles a missing British toddler. Hopes were raised, but only briefly.
MANN: And back to work. A tentative deal breaks a two-day strike at top U.S. automaker General Motors.
It is 10:30 p.m. in Yangon, Myanmar, 12:00 in Detroit. Hello and welcome to our report broadcast around the globe. I'm Jonathan Mann.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Colleen McEdwards.
From New York, to Milan, wherever you're watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
And we begin with monks and activists beaten, arrested, dragged away in trucks, even shot. That violent crackdown in Myanmar on the ninth day of protests that are against the military regime there.
MANN: Thousands of people filling the streets of Yangon yet again defying the government's order to say home.
MCEDWARDS: It is the first public acknowledgment of the violence, really. The military junta told state TV and radio that security forces fired on protesters who ignored warning shots to disburse, saying that one person has been killed.
MANN: Exiled dissidents say as many as five people, in fact, died and hundreds were hauled away in military trucks. CNN cannot independently confirm the numbers.
MCEDWARDS: Now these images come from the opposition group, Democratic Vice of Burma, and they show injured monks. They show more scenes of unrest.
MANN: As the world watches all this unfold, the U.S. security council is to convene in the hours to come to talk about the crackdown.
MCEDWARDS: And, you know, as you can see, we're having to rely on outside sources of information since most western journalists are denied any access to Myanmar. But our Dan Rivers did manage to get across the border from Thailand and he has a firsthand account.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): This injured monk is a potent symbol for the struggle for freedom in Myanmar. Tended to by his fellow protesters after being attacked by riot police.
The feared crackdown has begun in the main city of Yangon. In some areas, the air thick with tear gas as Myanmar's regime tries to regain control.
The monks ignored army orders to stay off the streets. Marching in defiance to the junta. Soldiers reportedly firing shots in the air and charging the crowds with batons.
Most western journalists are banned from entering Myanmar. Photos and footage are being smuggled out by pro-democracy groups, some news agencies and protesters themselves.
But we crossed the border from Thailand as tourists and visited the remote town of Tachilek. We visited a monastery where devout Buddhists were celebrating a holy day, but there was no sign of the defiance so openly on display in Yangon. The monks here seemed subdued.
The abbot was reluctant to talk politics.
REV. PANNA NANDA, BUDDHIST ABBOT: Yes in (INAUDIBLE) we don't have the most freedom. We have gotten economic only.
RIVERS: Do you think the government will change?
NANDA: Impossible.
RIVERS: Impossible?
I met one lady who was a student during the last major protest 19 years ago. Then she took to the streets and watched fellow students being massacred.
One of your friends were killed?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, so many. Over 10.
RIVERS: Ten of your friends?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
RIVERS: I asked her what she thinks will happen now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) I think (INAUDIBLE) you don't win.
RIVERS: You don't think she's going to win?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no.
RIVERS: Why not?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) she is only woman, but the government, they have so much. They have so many people.
RIVERS: Another man summed up life in Myanmar.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have no rights. No rights of media. No right of freedom. No rights. No freedom at all.
RIVERS: And you want that to change?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
RIVERS: As this crisis continues to grip Myanmar, people here are praying that their Buddhist's ideals of peace and non- confrontation will prevail and that there won't be a repeat of the terrible bloodshed that occurred in 1988.
But despite those prayers for peace, the violence seems to be escalating. The army determined that this land of golden pagodas shall not be set free.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCEDWARDS: All right. Well, Dan Rivers is now back in Thailand. He is near the Myanmar border and joins us live.
Dan, incredible, really, that you were able to talk to the people you spoke to there. And the monks especially. I mean they hold such a revered position in Myanmar. Just tell us more about that.
RIVERS: Oh, absolutely. They are one of the key pillars of society, as they are, indeed, in Thailand as well. As you say, they are revered, respected. They do hold influence in towns and villages, like Tachilek, which we visited today.
Almost every place you go to in Myanmar has a monastery and a temple and the Buddhist faith is central to society. So it's key that these monks are at the center of this protest because they hold a lot of influence, a lot of power, and they are a key pillar of society, pitched against that other key pillar of society, the military.
And it's fascinating to see these two rival camps try and vie for power. At the moment, it seems like the military are determined to use whatever force is necessary to get these people off the streets and maintain order once again.
MCEDWARDS: Another hugely influential person, Dan, Aung San Suu Kyi. A famous dissident in Myanmar. She's been under house arrest for years and years. Does anyone know where she is now and whether she's in any increased danger, under any increased scrutiny because of the situation now?
RIVERS: No one knows for sure. We haven't been able to confirm rumors that she had been moved to a maximum security jail a couple of days ago. She has, as you say, for the last few years, been under house arrest at her villa, her lakeside villa in central Rangoon. She may have been moved. The army may want to remove that focal point for these demonstrations.
It was remarkable to see that they -- the protesters -- got to the very gates of her villa before. Normally that road, and I've driven up and down it before, it's heavily policed. There are barbed wire checkpoints at either end. And you're not even allowed to stop a car there in the best of times. Amazing then that thousands of protesters were able to penetrate the very heart of that supposedly secure area.
MCEDWARDS: Dan Rivers for us.
Dan, thanks very much.
Jon.
MANN: The whole world is watching this unfold and reaction is mixed. A short time ago Russia's foreign ministry, for example, released a statement calling today's crackdown an internal matter. But outside nations do want to get involved. Britain's prime minister says the U.N. should send an envoy to the country, also long known as Burma.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORDON BROWN, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The whole world is now watching Burma. And this illegitimate and oppressive regime should know that the whole world is going to hold it to account and that the age of impunity for neglecting and overriding human rights is over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: The U.S. security council is scheduled to meet behind closed doors to discuss Myanmar just a few hours from now. Coming up later this hour, we're going to talk to Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jody Williams about the last time she saw Aung San Suu Kyi and what she thinks needs to be done now.
MCEDWARDS: It's going to be interesting to hear from her.
But let's check some other stories in the news first.
MANN: We begin with a bridge collapse in Vietnam. Rescue crews searching the wreckage of the bridge, which was still under construction. Official say at least 52 people are dead, scores of others still trapped or hurt. The four-lane bridge was being built over the Hau River on a route linking the Mekong Delta and Ho Chi Minh City.
MCEDWARDS: Well, a rare warning from senior Chinese officials. They say the country's Three Gorges Dam could become an environmental catastrophe if the government does not act quickly. The officials say landslides, silting and erosion above the world's largest dam are creating some major environmental and safety hazards.
MANN: A jury has found a polygamist sect leader in the U.S. guilty of two counts of being an accomplice to rape. Warren Jeffs was accused of forcing a 14-year-old girl to marry her older cousin and now faces up to life in prison. His sentencing is set for November.
A story now that we can't let go of. The dramatic twists and turns in the search for a missing British girl. Police experts have been examining the photograph of a girl taken in Morocco by a tourist. A tourist who was sure it was little Madeleine McCann. The hopes, though, have now been dashed after British journalists said they tracked down the girl in the picture and it's not her. The latest now from Emily Chang.
Emily.
EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jon, we learned just moments ago that a British journal working for "The Evening Standard," a newspaper here in London, today traveled from London to Morocco, trekked to that northern town in Morocco where the picture was taken and he believes he found the girl who was in that photograph and that the girl is not her. And indeed tonight on "The Evening Standard" Web site, there is a photograph of that girl. She does resemble Madeleine McCann. But, indeed, it is not her.
Of course today the family spokesperson for the McCanns has said all day long to view this photo with caution. He said that Kate and Gerry McCann, Madeleine's parents, were not getting too excited about it because there have been over 400 sightings of her since she disappeared and all of them, he said, have come to nothing. So again today, another dramatic twist in the search for her and the question still remaining -- what happened to Madeleine?
MANN: Emily, a lot of people will think that they saw her. A lot of people already have. Who's handling all of these accounts, all of these stories? Who's looking at all of these pictures?
CHANG: Well, there are several different agencies that have been involved. As for this photograph in particular, it was given to Interpol. It was also passed on to British police, Portuguese police and Moroccan police. So we can assume that several different forensic experts have been looking at it.
Of course, the Portuguese police are the lead on the investigation. Kate and Gerry McCann have been named as formal suspects in the investigation. And the latest is that Portuguese police have said they will not be questioned any further, at least for now.
MANN: Emily Chang, thanks very much.
The story, twists and turns and still more dead ends.
MCEDWARDS: Absolutely. As Emily said, hundreds of clues just of this nature and none of them, so far, has panned out.
Coming up here on YOUR WORLD TODAY, laying bare the fashion industry's dirty little secret.
MANN: A model, weighing barely more than a child, bears it all in a provocative ad. Some people say the Italian campaign is actually counterproductive.
MCEDWARDS: Yes. Wait until you see these images. Unbelievable.
Also ahead, a strike by U.S. auto workers over, at least for now. Is the struggle to compete with lower cost foreign firms at the heart of this dispute? We'll take a look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MANN: Visitors to Sydney's Bondi Beach got an eye full Wednesday. Sun, sand, surf and, you can spot them, yes, bikinis.
MCEDWARDS: What else? About 1,000 -- 1,010 actually -- Australian women posed in those two-piece swimsuits en masse. They set a new world record. That's what this was all about. The largest bikini gathering in the world. Models and volunteers made up this group.
MANN: And probably one of the most manipulative events ever designed for television news and we went right for it.
MCEDWARDS: Hook, line and sinker.
MANN: Unbelievable. I'm not proud of this. But there was a happy representative of the Guinness Book of World Records on hand and he presented -- the reason we're telling you this is because it's going to be in the Guinness Book, right, so that makes it news. They've even got a certificate to prove it.
MCEDWARDS: Well, good for them.
Well, welcome back to CNN International. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Colleen McEdwards.
MANN: And I'm Jonathan Mann. And this really is all the news you do need to know this hour.
Let's move on to something a little bit more serious, certainly a little more difficult. Relations between the west and Iran. A hot topic at the United Nations these day. During his address before the general assembly, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran took a poke at the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRANIAN PRESIDENT, (through translator): Unfortunately, human rights are being extensively violated by certain powers, especially by those who pretend to be their exclusive advocates. Setting up secret prisons, abducting persons, trials and secret punishments without any regard to due process, extensive tapping of telephone conversations, intercepting private mail and frequent summons to police and security centers have become commonplace and prevalent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: The Iranian leader found himself on the defensive after French President Sarkozy told the world body that allowing Iran to have nuclear weapons is an unacceptable risk. Mr. Ahmadinejad told the U.N. that Tehran will ignore demands to curb its peaceful nuclear programs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AHMADINEJAD: Decisions for us, the decisions by the United States or France, are not important. What matters is that our nuclear activities are based within the legal framework and under the supervision inspection of the IAEA according to the rules and regulations of the IAEA, which is the body responsible for this. And our program will, as such, continue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: It's a few days of global debate between the worlds leaders. Stay with CNN for our live coverage as the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, makes his address to the U.N. general assembly. That's coming up any time now.
MCEDWARDS: Well, solving the world's problems. Thinks like education, climate change and poverty is certainly a tall order, but that is what the Clinton Global Initiative is trying to do by bringing together some of the best minds in politics, science, health and education as well. Our own Hala Gorani join us from the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative that's going on in New York.
Hala.
HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Colleen, it is indeed going on right now. Now it's funny because you turn around and you bump into Shakira, and then you turn around in another direction and you bump into Hamid Karzai. This is really a very eclectic mix of people. Global, political leaders, business leaders as well on the same panel. You had Desmond Tutu, Gloria Mcapa Galaroio (ph) and also the president of Wal-Mart.
Because the goal and this initiative, this conference, these sessions are designed to solve problems or help find solutions for poverty, the world health crisis, as well as other things, from people from all walks of life, academia, scientists, those who own big corporations and have, therefore, the power and the money to do something about it and those, of course, who are in positions of formulating and implementing political policy.
Well, a bit earlier CNN spoke with the founder of CNN and also the philanthropist who donated so much money through a U.N. foundation to the United Nations, Ted Turner, and we asked him what need to be done to help solve some of the world's problems? And this is what he answered.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TED TURNER, CHAIRMAN, UNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION: Equate it to a sports event, a baseball game, I think it's the seventh inning and humanity's down by two runs. Now we've got to score three runs in the next two innings and we've got to hold them right where they are. So it's real tricky. We're in a dangerous spot. But we can pull it out if we really work together and go to work on it and do the smart things and stop doing the dumb things, like bombing third-world countries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right, Ted Turner, not mincing his words as usual.
Well, a little bit later today our own Anderson Cooper is going to be sitting down with the former president, Bill Clinton, and asking him about the Clinton Global Initiative. This is the third year of this set of conferences. And 1,500 people are participating in order to try to exchange ideas and try to find solutions to the world's most pressing problems.
Colleen.
MCEDWARDS: All right. It sounds interesting.
Hala Gorani, thanks very much.
MANN: This is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
MCEDWARDS: Still ahead for us this hour, the wheels once again revving at General Motors' factories across the United States after a short strike. We're going to go live to Michigan for more.
MANN: And, later, is an ad campaign to stop anorexia actually promoting the disease? We'll look at both sides of a troubling issue when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in just a few minute. But, first, a check on the stories making headlines right here in the United States.
We have a developing story to tell you about. It's outside Detroit this hour. A school in Bloomfield Hills, Illinois, is evacuated. Police there say about 40 students were overcome by a mysterious odor. CNN affiliate WDIV reports hazardous material teams are at the scene. Bloomfield fire officials are also inside to help shut down air-conditioning units. Emergency crews are on hand. One local affiliate reports two children were taken to local hospitals but their conditions were not believed to be serious.
If you are waiting for a package from FedEx, well, you better hope it wasn't on this truck. If so, it could be among the hundreds of parcels splattered along I-35 West. That's in Denton County, Texas, about 20 miles north of Ft. Worth. The truck and its two trailers veered off the road and plowed across a floodway before spilling its contents. There's no word on the FedEx driver.
A bizarre story to tell you about out of Florida. Police are looking into a bank robbery. A bank employee was involved. He says he was kidnapped and forced to wear what looked an awful lot like a bomb.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. TONY RODE, HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA, POLICE: We're just at this point now where we have an opportunity to do an extensive interview of the bank employee to see if, in fact, number one, is this legit? Is this all a hoax? Is he truly a victim? Did he somehow, some way participate in this alleged bank robbery that apparently, you know, procured an enormous amount of money?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, police used a robot to remove the device from the man and blow it up. They questioned him and his girlfriend until early this morning, then they released both of them.
Classes are back in session today at the University of Wisconsin, but police still have not found a man who had officers scrambling last night. Police received calls about gunshots and bomb threats. They believed it was all a hoax. A troubled 19-year-old's attempt to provoke a deadly shootout, but officers never found him. Some classes were cancelled last night. Students were told to stay in their rooms. Police don't believe the man they're looking for is on campus today, but, they say, he could still be in the Madison area.
The Bush administration is requesting more money for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will make the request at a Senate hearing this afternoon. He'll ask for almost $190 billion. That's about $42 billion more than the initial request. The additional money is for training, equipment repairs and mine-resistant vehicles. They provide more protection against roadside bombs.
General Motors hoping the worst is in its rear view mirror. The nation's largest automaker has reached a tentative agreement with striking union members. On Monday, UAW members walked off the job in the company's first nationwide strike in 37 years. The contract must be reviewed by local UAW presidents, then it will be voted on by more than 70,000 union members.
Senator Larry Craig looks for a do-over. His attorneys are due in a Minnesota courtroom this afternoon. They're asking a judge to reverse Craig's guilty plea in an airport bathroom sex sting. The Idaho Republican pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge in June, but Craig says he did nothing wrong. Last month he announced plans to leave the Senate September 30th.
Let's check in now to the CNN's weather center, check on the weather.
Hello, Mr. Chad Myers.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LEMON: E. Coli fears fuel another food recall. This time it's grounded beef. Some 330,000 pounds of frozen hamburger patties are being recalled by Topps Food. The New Jersey-based company also markets the meat under the brand names Kohler Foods, Butcher's Best and Sand Castle Fine Meats. All the boxes carry the code Est 9748. Again, Est 9748. The beef was distributed nationwide. At least six people in New York got sick. All are recovering.
Is this photo taken in Morocco of missing five-year-old Madeleine McCann? Well, we'll have the latest on that investigation coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.
And a controversial racial remark or remarks by Fox News' Bill O'Reilly after a visit to Sylvia's Restaurant in Harlem. We'll talk with the man who was with O'Reilly at that dinner. None other than the Reverend Al Sharpton. Does he think O'Reilly's comments were out of line? He could possibly end this all with his comments. That's all ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Meantime, YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after a quick break. I'm Don Lemon. I'll see you at the top of the hour for the CNN NEWSROOM, 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MCEDWARDS: Welcome back to our viewers joining us from more than 200 countries and territories all around the globe, including the United States. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Colleen McEdwards.
MANN: And I'm Jonathan Mann.
Here are some of the top stories we're following this hour. It is not Madeleine. The McCann family's hopes appear to have been dashed again. Police experts have been examining a photograph of a girl taken in Morocco, by a tourist, who was sure it was the missing British girl, Madeleine McCann. U.K. media are now reporting that journalists tracked down the girl in the photo, and she's little Bushra Banhia (ph), the daughter of a local olive farmer.
MCEDWARDS: Myanmar's security forces began a crackdown of anti- government protesters, led by Buddhist monks. Unconfirmed reports are saying that as many as five people have been killed. Media reports say three of the victims were monks. CNN has not yet independently confirmed the death toll. The U.N. Security Council is to tackle this problem during an emergency session.
MANN: That session's expected to happen in just a few hours, to talk about what should be done about the crackdown in Myanmar. Now, China is, obviously, one of the five permanent members of the council and Nobel laureate Jody Williams says that Beijing is actually part of the problem because it's propping up Myanmar's military regime. She joins us now from Washington.
Thanks for being with us. You pushed the world forward on land mines. How do you push Myanmar forward at a time like this?
JODY WILLIAMS, NOBEL PRIZE WINNER: I think part of the problem is connecting the dots between China's relationship with Myanmar -- which we all call Burma, because the name was given to it by the military dictatorship -- and its relationship with, for example, Sudan, which is carrying on the war in Khartoum -- I mean in Darfur.
The world has to begin to pressure China to be accountable for propping up despotic regimes so it can make money and steal their resources essentially.
MANN: Well, the Security Council is going to meet in just the next few hours. What should it do?
WILLIAMS: I just received, actually, an e-mail from a Burmese friend, and she was very disturbed that they were just getting statements after statements after statements. And they were calling for concerted international action to isolate Burma, to force the regime to change.
When I met with Aung San Su Kyi in February of 2003, she was really, really clear that her party was consistently calling for political and economic isolation of Burma, until they engage in meaningful discussions to bring about national reconciliation. That is going to mean, however, that china is actively involved, because it is the biggest economic partner of Burma, as well as supplying it with billions of dollars worth of military aid.
MANN: Well, let me ask you about her. She, of course, has reportedly been moved from house arrest to prison. How worried are you about her right now?
WILLIAMS: We all kind of thought that when they moved her from the house to prison, it was in preparation for the crackdown. I think there were probably very concerned that if monks and other protesters continued trying to get to her house, she would come out in the streets, and actively demonstrate with them. So, they took her out.
I -- I don't think they'd be stupid enough to harm her, other than continue to keep her isolated. I think they're very worried that the connecting of the monks to her was a -- a recognition by them, and all of the demonstrators that she is the face of democracy for Burma.
MANN: President Bush was at the United Nations yesterday. He announced new sanctions against the government of Myanmar/Burma. Is that going to help?
WILLIAMS: I think that if the small step in the right direction, but the U.S. can't do it alone, which is why we have called on China to really take action, you know. It is a special friend of the Burmese military, and it should take action to make the Burmese military go to the negotiating table. It was the public pressure on China that got them to start taking some significant action in Khartoum, vis-a-vis Darfur. We'd like to see the same kind of pressure on China so that they do something about Burma.
I want all the people who are concerned about the problem in Darfur to recognize that if China's propping up Khartoum, China is also propping up Burma, and we need to make all of those connections, so we understand what China is doing globally, not just in one part of the world.
MANN: Jodie Williams, laureate of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, a powerful voice for change. Thanks for this.
WILLIAMS: Always nice to talk to you, Jonathan.
MCEDWARDS: And, you know, the whole issue of Burma, or Myanmar, is coming up a lot at the United Nations General Assembly. In fact, we're just getting a little bit of news in now from the U.N. The U.N. chief making a pretty important announcement on what may come here. Joining us now with more on this, our U.N. Correspondent Richard Roth.
Richard, what have you got?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Well, the U.N. has announced that Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon is sending his envoy who deals with Myanmar, a man by the name of Ibrahim Gambari (ph), sending him back to the region. There is no word yet on whether Myanmar is going to accept a visit from him.
Ban calls on the senior leadership of the country to cooperate fully with this mission in order to take advantage of the willingness of the United Nations to assist in the process of national reconciliation through dialogue.
Again, continuing with this statement just released from the U.N. on Myanmar. Noting the reports of the use of force and of arrests and beatings, again, the secretary-general, again, calls on authorities to exercise utmost restraint for the peaceful demonstrations taking place, as such action can only undermine the prospects for peace, prosperity and stability in Myanmar.
So Secretary-General Ban, obviously in consultation with the Security Council, which will be meeting on Myanmar in a couple of hours is sending his main point person on that Asian country, back to the region, hoping the regime there will meet with him.
Ibrahim Gambari (ph) has visited there several times, and then comes back to brief the Security Council, a body that is still really deadlocked among the major powers, on how firm and tough to crack down on Myanmar.
MCEDWARDS: Right. Another big development we're watching, too, Richard, the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is expected to speak. That's expected to happen any time, I understand. He's certainly been making the rounds ahead of this speech. But what are you watching for? ROTH: Well, Nuri al-Maliki met yesterday with President Bush, among the many visits the two men have on their agendas during the General Assembly week here. He is speaking to a General Assembly that each year witnesses the violence continue in his country. Nuri al- Maliki is not always the representative of Iraq, here over the years. Obviously, he hasn't been in power all that time.
The U.N. wants to be more involved in Iraq, but due to the security concerns, it can't really do that at this time. Other speakers include Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, also a very targeted nation, feeling the heat, but still holding out. Mugabe will be speaking in the afternoon session of the Security Council.
MCEDWARDS: All right, Richard Roth, for us at the United Nations. And, of course, as soon as the Nuri al-Maliki speech gets going, we will bring it to you live right here on CNN -- Jon.
MANN: We have some pictures that are frankly a little hard to look at and we wondered about whether we'd show them to you, but it's all about a provocative campaign in Italy, laying bare a dirty little secret of the fashion industry. A bone-thin model who suffers from anorexia is baring it all to focus awareness on the disease. Some people say the campaign just goes too far. Phil Black reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIP BLACK, CNN INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Twenty- seven years old, weighing just 31 kilograms, or about 65 pounds. This is Isabel Caro. She has become the unlikely face and body of Italian fashion. On bill boards, in publications, her figure is featured next to the words "No Anorexia", and the logo for fashion label, No-l-ita.
Public health campaign or publicity stunt? Perhaps both. It is the work of photographer Oliviero Toscani, who has a reputation for being provocative.
OLIVIERO TOSCANI, PHOTOGRAPHER: I think you can do advertising, not just by doing stupid advertising, by dressing girl, empty girl, but by doing something that could help the discussion about what's going on in the world of fashion.
BLACK: The Italian government and major fashion designers have backed this campaign. It's designed to coincide with Milan's fashion week, where a code of conduct now banned underage and underweight models.
ROSITA MISSONI, DESIGNER, "MISSONI": Anorexia is a huge problem for young people, and on it's not to be hidden. We have to talk about it and try to find a way to fight it.
BLACK: But health experts fear it could be counterproductive. Encouraging eating disorders.
DR. ISABELLA SPINELLI, ANOREXIA SPECIALIST (through translator): This kind of campaign has two sides. On the one side, attracting some people to this sort of phenomena. The other side is leading to serious debate.
BLACK: Cara has suffered anorexia for 15 years and doesn't blame the fashion industry. She's told Italy's, "Vanity Fair" she did this to help others.
"I hid myself and covered myself up for too long. Now I want to show myself without fear, even though I know my body is repugnant."
And illness stripped bare to provoke thought and discussion. So far, it's been successful.
Phil Black, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCEDWARDS: Wow, powerful stuff there.
MANN: And the thing is it's not just models. It's not just women who use their bodies professionally. It is ordinary women for the most part, young women, communities around the world.
MCEDWARDS: That's right, it's a disease that can affect anyone.
We want to change gears here now and go to the United Nations. We told you just a few minutes ago that we were watching the floor there, and watching the speeches going on. Because the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is just getting set here to address the 62nd United Nations General Assembly.
MANN: This man is a survivor. People thought he would be out of his job months ago. His government was paralyzed. His cabinet ministers were walking away, his country is in the middle of a civil war, but there he is representing his people on the world stage.
MCEDWARDS: Let's listen.
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NURI AL-MALIKI, PRIME MINISTER OF IRAQ (through translator): The most compassionate secretary-general and president of the 62nd session, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, I'm honored to address you as the first prime minister of a constitutionally permanent government representing Iraq, its people, and its administrations (ph), in cementing the foundations of democracy, peace, freedom and cooperation with the international community.
I come to you carrying the burdens of the people of the Valley of the Two Rivers, who built the most ancient civilizations, established the first laws, and who today offer humanity a high example in sustaining life, facing challenges, and persistence in protecting our young democratic experience.
The Iraqi people have received (ph) isolation from the world in the shadow of dictatorship for 35 years. There was no freedom of thought or belief. There was no multiparty system, no free elections, no democratic institutions, no communication systems, and no media except those that were controlled by the intelligence agencies, of the government.
During this millions of victims in Iraq suffered throughout this era in ventures, wars with two neighboring countries, Iran and Kuwait. Genocide and mass murders were committed inside Iran, such as what happened during the an Al Anfar (ph) campaign and in Halabja (ph). And in addition were the mass grave, horrific prison cells, the detention camps as well as the immense destruction that claimed the infrastructures of the different governmental institutions.
Today, Iraq -- the new Iraq, there are hundreds of parties that are active within 20 political alliances. There are more than 6,000 civil organizations, hundreds of newspapers and magazines, 40 local and satellite TV stations, as well as the offices of the foreign media, correspondents from all over the world, that work without conditions, without restrictions.
The new Iraq, ladies and gentlemen, is what is targeted today, terrorism kills civilians, terrorism kills journalists, kills actors, thinkers, and professionals. It attacks the universities, attacks the marketplaces and the libraries. It blows up mosques and churches and destroys the infrastructure of the state institutions there.
We consider this terrorism as an extension of the foreign dictatorship, whether it may vary in its outside form, or by the guns that carry it out. This terrorism is aiming at aborting the political process and igniting sectarian dissension as a prelude to hijack Iraq back into the era of tyranny, oppression, and backwardness. Car bombs and explosive vests in public places under the display of the decapitated heads, on TV are all messages of threats that terrorists send to the world community.
The bloody chapters of which were executed in Algeria, in Spain, in England, in Lebanon, Turkey, and here in New York. We are steadfastly determined to exterminate and defeat terrorism in Iraq, so that it does not spread around the countries of the world and repeat the tragedy. Iraq that carries the greater burden in confronting terrorism, calls upon the nations of the world to help and unite its efforts toward fighting this plight of terrorism.
Our battle aims at providing security, stability, and prosperity, as well as protecting our democratic experience. We are determined to be victorious in this battle, which will be, indeed, a victory for humanity. This fierce terrorists attack against Iraq since the fall of the dictatorship regime has not stopped our people through three epic elections from laying the groundwork for a unique, democratic experience in Iraq's history, and individual's history, where the constitution was -- the permanent constitution was voted upon. A prime minister was elected, and the national unity government was established.
The new Iraq that lives a younger, democratic experience is governed by constitution, institutions, where freedom of opinion, belief, and expression are all respected. This Iraq will not retreat from its democratic choice option, for which our people have paid a very high price. It's a position -- a position that necessitates the support of cooperation from the world's nations, so that Iraq build a modern state that guarantees justice, equality, and a respect for religious, sectarian or ethnic pluralism.
Our people how have enjoyed the taste of freedom after years of tyranny and oppression, will continue the road towards building a state of institutions, reinforcing the authority of the law, respecting human rights, and active participation in all areas and disciplines.
The national reconciliation, and our initiatives, that we have lawed (ph) upon assuming our responsibility as the prime minister of national unity government did not come from a void. Its strength emanated from the Iraqi people's civilization and heritage that have made great contributions to mankind. Iraqis have lived in peace, brotherhood and forgiveness and tolerance since the dawn of history. They have religious, sectarian and ethnic diversities where elements of strength reinforcing national unity. We look at the national reconciliation as a life boat, a perpetual project of peace, and a safe harbor for the political process and the democratic experience.
We also believe that the national reconciliation is not the responsibility of the government alone. It is, indeed, the collective responsibility of the whole group held by the political powers, intellectual leaders, religious leaders, the educated, civil organizations, and all the active powers in the arena.
National reconciliation is our strategy, our choice, and option. That has saved our country from slipping into the pit of a sectarian war, a war that was planned by the elements of freedom and democracy after blowing up the Tomb of the Sky (ph) Imams in Samarra.
Ladies and gentlemen, national reconciliation is not a dinner party or a dinner banquet prepared for this -- between the disputed, or even a stick of medicine as some might think. It's a realistic vision that remedies release (ph) the heavy remnants that were left behind by the fallen regime in all areas and disciplines. It lays the foundation for political, social, economic progress and the security that we strive for.
Furthermore, it cements the principles of the new political system. National reconciliation is the olive branch that blossomed in the formation of support, counts in many of our provinces and Iraqi cities. It was also successful in amalgamating about 28,000 cities and for our Iraqis tribes without military efforts to combat terrorism. It resulted in regaining and re-establishing security in our cities and villages. Among them, the Al Anbar Province that was liberated from the Al Qaeda terrorist organizations. The terrorists fled from it to face a defeat, this time in the Anbar Province. Thus, Al Qaeda is losing its safe havens, one after another.
National reconciliation is indeed stronger than the weapons of terrorism. It has succeeded in encompassing more than 14,000 people that were members of the armed groups that splintered from Al Qaeda; those fighters that stood next to our armed forces, and the multinational forces, battling Al Qaeda delivering the devastating blows to the terrorists' organization.
National reconciliation transcends the hatreds and fears of the past. The national unity government, what has been realistically accomplished through the continuous mobilization of the national reconciliation is considered to be an important success in contrast to the great tyrannies that face Iraq and comparison to the experience of people who have suffered from dictatorships, even sectarian. To have (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to you the acts of sectarian violence in Iraq are not among society's components, but rather amongst extremists and fanatics from this group, or that.
We have been successful in containing this problem to a large degree. The average number of sectarian killings have decreased. Security and stability have been restored in many of the hot spots. This has helped the return of thousands of displaced families to their homes. We are determined to fight any and all outlaws irrespective of their sectarian or political affiliations.
Our armed forces have been adamant at establishing law and order as well as in sustaining a sense of respect for the government in many provinces, which have diverse religious, sectarian or ethnic affiliations. Our security and military agencies have experienced an accelerated growth in their skills and capabilities while confronting terrorist organizations, militias, criminal guns, and organized crime.
They have also -- they -- they need more development in order to be quickly able to take over the security responsibility in Iraq's entirety from the multinational forces, having established their ability to handle security in eight of the provinces. We are ready to assume full responsibilities for security in order to defend the democratic gains of our people. And we shall work making that performance of our armed forces will be professional, and that their loyalty will be to the country, and not to their party, not to a sect, or not to an ethnicity.
In addition to these achievements, the national unity government has begun the process of reconstruction. We have voted on the largest budget in Iraq's contemporary history, to the amount we -- the cooperation of the parliament, the investment law has been adopted and approved. This is considered the progressive step to uplift and boost the Iraqi economy, moving from a central-based economy to a market- free enterprise economy, that will assist in meeting the needs of our people for development, prosperity and affluence.
The government has also completed a proposed law for oil and gas, which if approved by the parliament, this law will become oil guarantee the fair distribution of wealth, since oil is considered the property of all Iraqis. The government continues to complete the implementation of other proposed laws in different areas. We have taken practical steps to improve our people's quality of life. Increased -- increased employee retirements and retired salaries, combat unemployment and expand the activities of net (ph) of social welfare.
The government is determined that the upcoming year, and the next year to come, will be earmarked to promote the services sector of Iraq to alleviate the hardships and suffering of the citizens. We understand that this promising steps do not meet our entire aspirations and ambitions, and that we have a long way to achieve our goals for a secure, stable, and prosperous Iraq. It is our hope that the international community will support Iraq and help it achieve these noble goals.
Distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, we believe that security is a progressively integrated system, a secure and a stable Iraq will be in the best interests of the region and the world. We have cautioned all the countries in the region that the continued flow and overflow of weapons, money, suicide bombers, and the spreading of fatahs inciting hatred and murder will only result in disastrous consequences for the peoples of the region and the world.
Since the formation of the national unity government, we took the initiatives to improve Iraq's relationship with neighboring countries. We are careful also to turn our common borders into peaceful and economically prosperous areas and zones. The foreign policy of the new Iraq relies on the permanent constitution, which does not allow Islam to be used against its neighbors. It also refuses any interference in its internal affairs.
Today we feel optimistic that the countries of the region now realize the danger of the terrorists' onslaught against Iraq. And that it's not in their interests for Iraq to be weak. A strong, democratic Iraq will be a guarantee for security and stability in the region, because of its new policies, Iraq has become a meeting point for dialogue among feuding regional and international entities. We will march forward to reinforce this positive role adopting a policy that is based upon clearing the air, defusing crises, incurring the cost of war and conflict in the region.
We believe that a state of tension and instability will, no doubt, overshadow and affect the security conditions, not only in Iraq but in the -- in the more general -- in the region in general and the world. Iraq, which was for the past decades being a center of tension in the region is today qualified, and because of its material and human resources, to become a platform for regional and international economic cooperation that will contribute in establishing an economic system, which will realize development and prosperity for the people and countries of the region.
We also have affirmed our sincere desire to establish the best relationship with the international community. We feel that Iraq needs to open up to all countries developing relationships and benefiting from the experiences of other democracies.
I find it necessary, as I stand today in front of leaders and representatives of the world nations, to demand that the Iraqi people are still paying the price of the reckless politics of the past foreign regime, as well as the consequences of international resolutions, especially those that relate to its weapons program and the invasion of the sister-state of Kuwait. These resolutions which were exploited by the previous regime for political gains has inflicted great harm on the infrastructure, the service sector, education and health system.
Our people look up to the international community to help us, to alleviate and lift the burdens of the destruction, as well as relieve the people from the heavy bills of debt and compensations. The Iraqi people will remember the country that made sacrifices and stood next to them in bringing down the dictatorship regime. They will remember those who helped them during the transition to offer them a democratic, pluralistic federal system. They will always respect and appreciate the countries that support the political process and participate in the process of reconstruction.
Our striving to achieve economic progress and social justice in partnership with the international community was crowned with success upon the signing of the international compact document, and the implementation of its provisions. The document that represents a new stage in the development of balanced relationships between Iraq and the world governments. It's a point of departure towards building a democratic pluralistic federal Iraq whereby all of its citizens are equal, benefiting from a fair distribution of wealth. After overcoming the burden of the debts, of poverty, unemployment and administrative and financial corruption that has spread.
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