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Burqa becomes focus of tense debate in Europe
By Tom Evans; Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.
As France moves closer to a partial ban on the burqa, a leading European lawmaker declared Wednesday that the full Muslim veil is a symbol of political Islam and has no place in Europe.
"The majority (of Europeans) don't want the political Islam and the symbols of political Islam. And the burqa is part of the political Islam that the majority rejects," Naser Khader, a Syrian-born Conservative member of the Danish Parliament, told CNN's Christiane Amanpour.
But he insisted that opposing political Islam is not the same as being "Islamophobic."
"Wearing the burqa and niqab is oppressive of women. And many Muslims are against the burqa and niqab," he said, referring to Islamic women's clothing that covers from head to toe.
// Khader said the majority of the estimated 20 million Muslims living in the European Union are well-integrated, law-abiding and loyal citizens.
"The burqa and niqab have no place in Western Europe", he added.
Former Mexican official urges legalizing marijuana
(CNN) – The United States and Mexico should both legalize marijuana in an attempt to break the power of the Mexican drug cartels and end the spiraling violence south of the border, Mexico’s former Foreign Minister said Tuesday.
Jorge Castaneda, in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, said, “It should be legalized in both countries”. He stated it was ridiculous for Mexico to try to stop marijuana from entering the U.S. when it’s legally sold for medical purposes in Los Angeles.
“The Drug Enforcement Administration says that 60 percent of the Mexican (drug) cartels’ profits come from marijuana. If we start with that, it’s a big chunk”, he added.
“We can’t do everything overnight.. and we can’t do it in Mexico if the U.S. doesn’t do it at the same time.”
Castaneda strongly criticized Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon for declaring war against the drug cartels, a war that has cost as many as 17,000 lives since he took office in December 2006.
On my way home from Haiti
By Vladimir Duthiers
I am on my way home now.
As I prepare to leave Haiti, my mind drifts to the people I've met:
Bea, the young girl pulled from the rubble hours after my arrival. Monley, the five year-old boy rescued after eight days trapped under his home with his dead father at his side. The overworked and haggard but inspired doctors and nurses who worked on him long after his release.
The hundreds of international volunteers and rescue teams led by heroes like Pat Rohaley of the LA County Fire Department. I think of the things I have experienced, seen, heard and felt. Hope when I heard a cry and a faint banging in a collapsed daycare, and helplessness after telling a young mother that the search for her child was being called off even as she looked to her faith for deliverance. I've seen homes pancaked and bodies by the hundreds, and I've seen Haitian men, women and children pitch in with whatever meager tools they have to dig out neighbors and strangers alike.
I've heard the screams of terror and the pitiful cries to God in the wake of bone rattling aftershocks and I've heard joyful singing and jubilant bongos in praise of Him. And it was in those moments that the tragedy of the earthquake became visceral.
The defiance of Haitian people in the wake of unspeakable tragedy, the shaking of their fists in the face of suffering. Their homes destroyed, their families decimated, they still rage against the dying of the light.
This country, born of the blood of slaves against the superpower of the 19th century, and tempered by years of turmoil and political upheaval, will go on. Not because they are resilient but because they must.
Winston Churchill once said, "We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival." Haitians have known that since 1804. They are survivors and they will survive together. After all, it's an ideal emblazoned on their flag: "le union fait la force."
Tom's Take
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/16/christianetom.jpg caption caption="Sr. Writer for Amanpour, Tom Evans, works on scripts with Christiane"]
On AMANPOUR. today, we look at the aftermath of the massacre of at least 16 students at a birthday party in Juarez in Mexico this past weekend. The attack comes just weeks after Mexican President Felipe Calderon sent 2,000 U.S.-trained federal police officers to help restore order in this border city. The drug war in Mexico has claimed an estimated 17,000 lives in the past three years. Christiane looks at the effectiveness of Calderon’s military-style campaign against the narco-traffickers. Is militarization the price Mexican society must pay to win back the country? And in the process will the very fabric of Mexican democracy be torn apart? There are also other important stories to tell you about today. Here are some perspectives on some other headlines.
Tom Evans
Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.
CHINA/U.S. – Will new tensions between U.S. and China worsen already strained relationship?
– China warns U.S. that any meeting between President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama would harm bilateral relations between the two countries
– White House has not set a date for a meeting, but Dalai Lamai – Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader – will be in U.S. in late February and in May
– Row over Tibet comes amid diplomatic tensions over Google’s charges of censorship and hacking by China, and dispute over U.S. plan to sell “defensive” weapons to Taiwan
QUESTION: Who has the stronger hand in the diplomatic maneuvering between the U.S. and China – Washington or Beijing?
Is now the time to negotiate with the Taliban?
By Tom Evans
Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.
(CNN) - The Taliban may have reached the peak of their military achievements in the War in Afghanistan, one of the world's top authorities on the Taliban said Monday.
And that position of relative strength might make them more amenable to talks, Pakistani journalist and author Ahmed Rashid said in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour.
""They can't go much further than where they are now," Rashid said. "They're across the country. They're having shadow governors and shadow government in all the major provinces, but they can't take the cities because of NATO firepower. They can't create a populist movement against the Americans. They tried and failed to do that."
"So in a way," Rashid added, "the Taliban are in a very strong position, which actually might make them more amenable for talks right now."
His comments came as Afghan President Hamid Karzai steps up his efforts to reconcile with Taliban fighters and reintegrate them with Afghan society. In Kabul on Sunday, Karzai said, "The Taliban are welcome to return to their own country and work for peace in order for us to be able then to have the U.S. and other forces have the freedom to go back home."
And now your feedback
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/17/feedback.jpg caption="Christiane – all ears for the feedback."]
Amanpour. viewers debated over the possibility that Britain's conservative party leader, David Cameron, could defeat Gordon Brown in this year's election. Britain’s role in rebuilding Haiti was a topic viewers also discussed. While part of the audience compared the U.S. leaders, President Barack Obama and Senator John McCain’s past election run to Cameron and Brown, others centered their discussion on Britain’s candidates and their Haiti good deeds. Most felt the Britain leaders did not show a proactive approach toward helping Haiti and expressed disappointment.
What are your thoughts? Please share your thoughts with us! If you missed the show go to http://amanpour.com
Below, you will see some opinions from viewers like yourself. We would love to hear what you think.
Email comments
Why hasn't anybody started to split the population and keep the women and kids in a separate area, with protection?
As for the line-ups, why has noone again organized lines for women, away from the centre with those selfish bullies, and add special line-ups for girls and younger boys, let's say up to 6 or 7, then line-ups for boys only maybe 8 to 12?
Who's the smart one giving food vouchers for women... only to have them walk away in the middle of the fury and the grabbing? Are they really going to find themselves WITH THAT FOOD, by the time they arrive at destination?? And if they do, how long will it last, until those same bullies steal it from them?
Can we have a few women organise this with intelligence? groups have to be separated. What is the need to have them all regrouped, with women holding babies, as we have seen, being shoved and smashed in the middle of the lines? Why did that happen even 2 weeks on in the disaster?
Mich
Marijuana replacing poppy
In Helmand province, CNN's Atia Abawi visits a field where marijuana plants are grown instead of poppies. One farmer says he's growing the drugs out of economic desperation – he says he would grow grapes if they would pay enough.
Tom's Take
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/16/christianetom.jpg caption caption="Sr. Writer for Amanpour, Tom Evans, works on scripts with Christiane"]
On AMANPOUR. today, we examine President Karzai’s plan for reconciliation with the Taliban. It focuses on the reintegration of low-level Taliban fighters with Afghan society. The goal is to persuade them to lay down their arms and disavow their allegiance to Taliban leaders in exchange for jobs and security. What are the realities on the ground that suddenly make including the Taliban in Afghanistan’s political process necessary? Is this capitulation or the only way forward? That’s only one of the top stories this morning. Here are some perspectives on some of today’s other headlines.
Tom Evans
Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.
HAITI – Is the latest international aid plan for earthquake victims finally going to end the logjam?
– aid agencies begin massive two-week food distribution effort aimed at reaching two million people in Port-au-Prince
– plan for aid to be distributed from 16 sites across Port-au-Prince, but on Sunday people at only nine sites were able to collect food, water and other supplies, because of security concerns and need for more preparation
– pickup points are being guarded by troops from U.S. and other countries because of fears of disorder
QUESTION: As the international aid effort gains momentum, what more is the Haitian government itself doing to step up its efforts to help needy people?
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