The ruthless crushing of peaceful protests in Uzbekistan is further indication of the brutality of President Karimov’s dictatorship. This high quality report investigates his regime.
“This is not a government. It’s a monster against its own people,” laments Prof Mirsaidov. In the name of fighting Islamic terror, Uzbekistan has jailed thousands of members of Hizb-ut-Tahrir. But, so far, Karimov’s close ties with the West have allowed it to avoid censorship. Includes rare footage of American Uzbek bases.
ABC Australia
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Iraq - Shoot the Messenger
- 9 min 45 sec [9 May 2005]
The horrific shooting of an unarmed wounded Iraqi in a mosque shocked the world. But what really happened that day was never publicised. This exclusive report reveals the true story.
“I knew I had filmed something that has been captured on camera very few times in war,” states NBC reporter Kevin Sites. His footage of a marine shooting a wounded combatant was so shocking that most American audiences didn’t even get to see it. NBC released only a single black and white still. But even worse than the shooting, Sites alleges that four other wounded men were also killed in cold blood that day at the mosque. “These men were definitely shot again, freshly shot, after having been wounded the day before.” The killing of the other insurgents was largely ignored by the media at the time. With the war such a hot political issue in America, the press is reluctant to criticise the actions of its own soldiers. In the original NBC report, Sites went to great lengths to justify the marine’s actions. But while the soldier involved was cleared of any wrong doing, Sites himself came under attack for releasing the footage. “I received thousands of hate mails and death threats saying I was a traitor.” The real issue of acceptable rules of combat seems to have been lost in the rush to discredit Sites.
SBS
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Angola - Marburg Virus
- 18 min 12 sec [9 May 2005]
The flesh-eating Marburg virus in Angola is one of the most dangerous and contagious there is. We exclusively follow the doctors in the wards battling the epidemic.
The isolation ward in Uige, Angola, is strictly off limits but our cameras gained exclusive access. It’s here that confirmed Marburg victims are cared for. “This patient has arrived at a very late stage of infection so the prognosis is not good,” states a nurse. But most Marburg victims never make it to hospital. Instead, they’re picked up by WHO doctors trawling the slums. “The problem is that they’re calling us for the bodies. We’re going after the epidemic has struck so we’re not being effective,” explains Dr William Perea. Doctors don’t even know where the virus comes from and are working on tracing its carrier.
MNET
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Germany - The Shame Game
- 17 min 30 sec [6 September 2002]
As the Westphalian elections approach and a new controversial monument is revealed in Berlin, we bring back a report about Germany's internal soul-searching.
The German museum in Berlin ensures that Germans can never forget the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Jews in the name of ethnic purity. Yet, despite decades of national soul-searching, anti-Semitism seems to be on the rise again. Accusations of racism are not just being levelled at right-wing skinheads, however, but also at some of the country’s leading politicians. Jurgen Mollemann, vice-president of the Conservative Free Democrats (FDP), recently attracted attention by condemning Israeli military incursions into the occupied territories. But he went still further, controversially claiming that Ariel Sharon’s actions, as well as the attitude of Germany’s Jewish Council, are stoking the fire of anti-Semitism. Dr. Michel Friedman, leader of the Council, is appalled by these remarks; he believes that Germans should never be allowed to forget their past. But German youngsters disagree, feeling that guilt about the past is being heaped upon their shoulders: “I think they still have to learn about the history at school, but I don’t want to be treated as though I was guilty.” Germany’s past is a burden for both Jews and Germans alike, but should it really be allowed to prevent a sensible debate from taking place?
ABC Australia
(Ref: 1382)
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Kiribati - Lost at Sea
- 13 min 54 sec [9 May 2005]
It’s an incredible story of survival on the high seas. Three young men survived 46 days in a tiny boat at the mercy of sharks and raging seas. To survive, they caught birds and sharks with their bare hands.
Ben Tooki and his two friends became lost at sea after a storm blew them off course. With no water or food on board, they were forced to improvise. “Sometimes there wouldn't be enough rain, so we licked the boat,” states Ben. They also drank shark’s blood and rigged up a tarpaulin to catch rainwater. In their seventh week, a freak wave left them close to death. But then, just as they all faced certain death, a miracle rescue…
Channel 9
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