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'Transition is taking its time' in South Africa, de Klerk says
Legacy left in post-apartheid S. Africa
An exclusive interview with former South African President F.W. de Klerk with CNN's Christiane Amanpour.
De Klerk: S. Africa democracy in danger
The man who helped engineer a transition to majority rule says South Africa's constitution and democracy are in danger.
Fighting Hollywood's African stereotypes
Young African men find a new way to take on the Western media stereotypes of Africa.
Highlights:
- F.W. de Klerk is the last leader of white-ruled South Africa
- He says the ANC is too powerful and that is a problem
- There's grinding unemployment in the country, he says
- He says he and Nelson Mandela are "close friends"
By the CNN Wire Staff
(CNN) - The last white president of South Africa said the post-apartheid land is still trekking toward prosperity for all and a better democracy.
"Fact is that in South Africa, transition is taking its time," F.W. de Klerk said in an interview aired Thursday on "Amanpour," hosted by CNN's Christiane Amanpour. "I'm convinced it's a solid democracy and it will remain so, but it's not a healthy democracy."
Two decades ago, de Klerk joined with then-African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela to end the notorious system of racial separation known as apartheid. Their efforts led to a Nobel Peace Prize.
Today, de Klerk said, the ANC - the party in control - is too powerful, its leaders have lost their "moral compass," and it needs to split.
Mohamed Morsy: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood candidate
Part 1: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsy, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood's candidate for president, sits down for an exclusive interview with Christiane Amanpour. Part 2: Palestinian Prisoner Hunger Strike An organized non-violent movement is growing among Palestinians and Israelis.
Part 1: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood candidate
Mohamed Morsi, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood's candidate for president, sits down for an exclusive interview with CNN.
Part 2: Palestinian Prisoner Hunger Strike
An organized non-violent movement is growing among Palestinians and Israelis.
Episode #18: Wednesday, May 9, 2012.
Al Qaeda plot: The story behind the story
by Lucky Gold
As dangerous as you can get
An al Qaeda plot, hatched in Yemen, to blow up a commercial aircraft over United States air space was exposed by the CIA, but many questions remain unanswered.
Ali Soufan, former FBI counter terrorist agent and leading expert on al Qaeda in Yemen, appeared exclusively on Amanpour Tuesday. His unique insights help provide the story behind the story.
It begins with Fahd al-Quso, a Yemeni national and top leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Penninsula, a man with a five million dollar price tag on his head.
“We first identified Fahd al-Quoso,” said Soufan, “as being a member of the (al Qaeda) cell that conducted the USS Cole attack (in 2000). We were able to arrest him and interrogate him and he provided a significant amount of intelligence about his connections to al Qaeda, about al Qaeda’s role in the USS Cole bombing and t he murder of seventeen sailors…and also about his relationship to Osama bin Laden.”
Soufan added, “He also provided us some information about a meeting…that was a planning summit for the 9-11 attack. So he is as dangerous as you can get.”
FULL-LENGTH EDITION: France's austerity showdown
Part 1: France's austerity showdown France's Socialist president-elect Francois Hollande says austerity isn't inevitable but Angela Merkel shoots back. Part 2: An austerity alternative? As France and Greece look to deploy alternative economic policies, what does this mean for Germany? Christiane speaks to Germany's Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle. Part 3: Does the Tzar still rule? President Putin has now held power longer than any Russian leader since Joseph Stalin.
Part 1: France's austerity showdown
France's Socialist president-elect Francois Hollande says austerity isn't inevitable but Angela Merkel shoots back
Part 2: An austerity alternative?
As France and Greece look to deploy alternative economic policies, what does this mean for Germany?
Part 3: Does the Czar still rule?
President Putin has now held power longer than any Russian leader since Joseph Stalin.
Episode #16: Monday, May 7, 2012.
Schism over women’s rights in Israel
by Samuel Burke
Israeli feminist Anat Hoffman has just finished a tour in the U.S., campaigning for support over her arrest in the ongoing struggle between secular and Orthodox Jews in Israel.
Hoffman is the Executive Director of the Israel Religious Action Center and was arrested at the Western Wall in Jerusalem in 2010 for carrying a Torah at the holy site in Jerusalem. She told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, “I was conducting a religious act that offends the feelings of others – and that’s against the law.” While women carrying a Torah in Reform Judaism is common place, it’s not sanctioned by Orthodox Jews, whose customs have become the norm at the Western Wall. Hoffman was never charged with a crime.
Hoffman said that even though women’s rights are a problem only within a very small group inside Orthodoxy, her arrest and the schisms between religious and secular Jews over women’s rights are indicative of the growing power of ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel.
“Secular politicians in Israel make greater and greater concessions to the ultra-Orthodox,” Hoffman said, “because they are a very obedient crowd in a democratic game – they vote in a block, in one way.”
Hoffman is also a member of the so called ‘Freedom Riders,’ reminding Israeli passengers that public buses cannot be involuntary segregated, which the Israeli Supreme court ruled in a case brought by an Israeli woman in 2011.
As a matter of custom, on some Israeli bus lines women sit in the back of the bus, because the ultra-Orthodox avoid mixing of men and women. But in 2011, a woman named Tanya Rosenblit sat in the front of an inter-city bus bound for Jerusalem and was dubbed Israel's 'Rosa Parks' when she refused to give up her seat.
Hoffman and other ‘Freedom Riders’ post sings to remind riders of the Supreme Court’s decision. Hoffman told Amanpour, “We went to court representing a variety of Orthodox women. We won the case and [the sign] is hanging in every Israeli bus, right behind the driver.” The sign reads, “Passengers may sit in any seat of his or her choosing… harassing a passenger regarding his or her seating choice may constitute a crime.”
When asked how the rise of Orthodoxy and its political impact affect any possibility of a peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians, Hoffman said, “I look at Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu – deeply religious people that used religion to mend their country. When you think of South Africa, you see how religion can actually act not as an obstacle – the peace and reconciliation committees are drenched in religious rhetoric. You see religion at its very, very best.”
Olmert: Right-wing U.S. cash killed my peace plan
Highlights
- Ehud Olmert says extreme right-wing elements in the United States helped derail his peace plan
- They poured millions of dollars into efforts to topple him from office, he says
- Olmert, who quit as prime minister amid corruption allegations, does not name the right-wing figures
- His 2008 peace plan proposed a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders
By the CNN Wire Staff
(CNN) - Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said millions of dollars from the "extreme right wing" in the United States helped oust him from government and derailed a peace plan with the Palestinians.
In an exclusive interview aired Friday with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Olmert said his attempts to make peace had been "a killer" for him as prime minister.
In 2008, Olmert sought a "full comprehensive peace between us and the Palestinians" - a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders. But the plan was never realized and Olmert was forced from office accused of corruption, which he denies.
"It was a killer for me, not only because of the opposition in Israel. I think that, by the way, in Israel, the majority of the Israelis would have supported my plan, had it come for elections," Olmert said.
"But I had to fight against superior powers, including millions and millions of dollars that were transferred from this country (the United States) by figures which were from the extreme right wing that were aimed to topple me as prime minister of Israel. There is no question about it."
Pressed to name names, Olmert replied: "Next time."
Friend of Chen: He wants his rights
Flesh and bones
Jerome Cohen, an American lawyer and friend of Chen Guangcheng, appeared on Amanpour today. He has been in contact with the Chinese dissident ever since his escape from house arrest, advising him on how best to secure his freedom and safety with the help of U.S. authorities.
According to Cohen, “Chen’s first choice was to stay in China…to study law, to take part in China’s further legal development, and to have free communication.” Cohen quoted him as saying, “I want simply the rights of every other Chinese citizen.”
At first, it seemed that the Chinese had agreed to let Chen remain in the country. Said Cohen, “We know the bare bones of the agreement. How flesh would be put on those bones remains to be seen.”
Cohen added, “China is evolving. This is the twenty-first century. The political system lags behind the rest of China’s progress. The time is right for legal progress.”
FULL POST
Is America rushing to leave Afghanistan?
Well, look, Christiane, this is Afghanistan
Ryan Crocker, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, appeared on Amanpour today, just hours after President Obama’s surprise visit to Afghanistan and in the immediate aftermath of an insurgent attack on the capital.
Ambassador Crocker responded to reports that a security breach some hours before the President’s plane touched down at Bagram Airfield might have come from inside Afghanistan itself, potentially compromising Mr. Obama’s security.
“The leak, such as it was, was incorrect,” said Ambassador Crocker, “and our collective judgment was that it did not propose a sufficient threat to the president.”
However, he did acknowledge that “there is always a risk.”
In a memorable phrase, he seemed to encapsulate the years of American involvement since 2001: “Well, look, Christiane, this is Afghanistan.”
Ambassador Crocker also addressed the suicide bombing in the heart of Kabul that occurred just after President Obama flew home to Washington. While admitting all the facts aren’t in, he didn’t think the attack was timed with the President’s visit.
“We looked at all aspects of that,” he said. “Everybody was comfortable. It went precisely according to schedule. We regret the loss of innocent Afghan lives. But overall, Kabul is a pretty normal, pretty secure city.” FULL POST
How Amanpour knew where Osama bin Laden was
I don't think I’ve ever sparked more curiosity online, than last year – after a clip surfaced from 2008 when I said Osama bin Laden was most likely living in a villa in Pakistan – not in a remote cave. That was three years before he was killed, indeed in a villa in Pakistan. Watch the back story here.
U.S. won’t disappear in Afghanistan
The U.S. isn’t going to disappear in a year or two
On the one year anniversary of the mission that killed Osama bin Laden, two experts on counter-terrorism appeared on Amanpour – to consider the rise and fall of Al Qaeda and the man who will forever be its enigmatic face.
As if to punctuate the occasion, President Obama had just arrived unannounced at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, on his way to meet with President Karzai.
Peter Bergen, CNN’s national security analyst and author of Manhunt, the Ten Year Search for Bin Laden, said President Obama’s surprise visit should be viewed “in the context of the NATO summit to be held in Chicago on May 20th. “ At that time, Bergen said, the heads of state of NATO will affirm an agreement that will assure a U.S. presence “in some form” in Afghanistan for ten more years.
“A good thing in my view,” said Bergen. “Afghans were worried we’d turn out the lights in 2014; this reassures the Afghans and also helps the hedging strategies of Pakistan and other countries.”
Richard Clarke, former Senior Advisor On Counter Terrorism to Presidents Clinton and Bush, said President Obama’s visit also sends a public message to the Taliban and their supporters “that the U.S. isn’t going to disappear in a year or two.”
Clarke added, “This agreement says U.S. combat forces may go but special forces, intelligence apparatus, and air forces are likely to stay on as long as they are needed.”
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