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Iranian insider: 'Don't ask for diamonds in return for peanuts'
By Lucky Gold, CNN
As meetings took place in Baghdad in hopes of ensuring that Iran isn’t producing a nuclear weapon, and thereby heading off an Israeli strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, two insiders with knowledge of the negotiations appeared Wednesday on Amanpour.
Ambassador Hossein Mousavian, a former spokesman for Iran’s nuclear negotiating team, put the onus on the P5Plus 1 countries (U.S., Britain, Russia, China, France and Germany): “I’m afraid the P5Plus 1, they ask too much from Iran. They ask Iran to give diamonds in return for peanuts.”
The diamond in question, he said, is Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. “The issue is political, not technical. For the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) Iran would have no problem to cooperate to all questions. But…asking Iran to stop twenty percent (uranium enrichment), to implement additional protocols, to give access beyond additional protocols – this is practically the diamonds the P5 Plus 1 wants.”
He added, “And if they are going to propose Iran spare parts for airplanes (in exchange), these would be the peanuts.”
FULL POST
Egyptian General: Military might hand over power sooner than planned
By Samuel Burke
(CNN) - Even as Egyptians head to the polls for a second day Thursday, there are still very real questions about whether the military – which has been running the country since the revolution – will easily give up power. The military has massive wealth, and deep institutional control. Tuesday, retired General Sameh Seif Elyazal, a key Egyptian military figure, told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that the military is ready to handover authority to a civilian power and maybe even sooner than planned, but with caveats.
“There is no hesitation. They will do it on June 30,” Elyazal said. The general, who is a close adviser to Egypt's de facto ruler, General Hussein Tantawi, said that the military might even let go of the reins sooner if the new president is elected in the first round. “They will give up [power] immediately after that and they will not even wait until June 30,” he said. “I have no doubt whatsoever that they will hand over power to the new president at the right time.”
When Amanpour pressed him on whether the military would attach strings to its handover of power, he said, “I don’t think they want be involved directly or indirectly with political life,” but he added that the military does want certain conditions to be met.
FULL POST
Terzi: Europe is a great project
By Lucky Gold
Italy’s Foreign Minister, Guilio Terzi, fresh off the NATO summit in Chicago, was Tuesday’s guest on Amanpour.
And he suggested, for the first time, that NATO’s patience in Syria is finite and that a clock is ticking for the ceasefire: “I don’t know when the negotiations would be arrived at,” he said, “But over the next four or five weeks that would be possible. At least starting in that direction.”
This was an unexpected statement, as many believe the Annan Plan is now in place indefinitely, since it appears to be the only alternative.
Minister Terzi disagreed: “As Kofi Annan said in the Security Council, the plan is not open-ended. The plan must be given a certain time to work and be fully supported, and that is what we are doing. But there is also follow-up. If the Syrian regime continues in this behavior, we have to measure and follow-up.”
FULL POST
Barroso: It’s not a lack of support to Greece
By Samuel Burke
(CNN) - The big question for world leaders at the NATO summit in Chicago – is there a way to keep Greece in the eurozone? Among those leaders is Jose Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission. He is insisting that Greece must not renege on its austerity promise – a promise of financial reform and deep cuts.
In an exclusive interview with Christiane Amanpour Monday, Barroso said, “This is our firm commitment, and of course it's important that now Greece respects its commitment. And just coming from the G8 summit in Camp David, it was a clear statement that all the members of G8 – not only the European Union – believe that it is in our interest that Greece stays in the euro zone.”
But just last week Alexis Tsipras, the leader of Greek’s left-wing party Syriza, told Amanpour that if he’s elected Prime Minister he would destroy many of the agreements Barroso says Greece must respect. “We will cancel the memorandum, and then we will go to renegotiate at the European level about a common way to go out to get out of this crisis.”
FULL POST
Haqqani: Pakistan just wants to blame its neighbors
By Lucky Gold, CNN
Haunted by the remnants
Pakistan President Asif Al Zardari is scheduled to attend a U.N. summit on Afghanistan in Chicago this weekend. However, his meeting with President Obama may depend on whether Pakistan will open the critical NATO supply route into Afghanistan. That route was closed after a NATO air strike killed twenty four Pakistani soldiers and the U.S. refused to apologize.
In this atmosphere of distrust and dysfunction, Husain Haqqani, former Pakistani ambassador to the United States, and now residing in America, appeared Thursday on Amanpour.
“We must understand that there are two parallel narratives here,” said Haqqani, speaking from Washington. “Pakistanis think that the Untied States is an untrustworthy ally; the Americans think that Pakistani’s don’t always fulfill their end of the bargain, especially when it comes to terrorism.”
But how to end the deadlock and distrust? Haqqani realizes it won’t be easy: “Christiane, remember we need to crack down on these extremists for Pakistan’s sake. More Pakistanis have been killed by them than they have killed Americans…. America will leave Afghanistan someday. But we will still be haunted by the remnants.”
Among the things that “haunt” his country, he said, is the refusal to allow for honest debate and accountability: “Look, I am, as a Pakistani, very concerned about the direction of my own country. I am among those who feel that there are elements in Pakistani society who don’t allow us to have an honest and realistic debate about foreign policy.”
“We just want to blame our neighbors, our enemies,” said Haqqani, “we don’t want to take account of what’s wrong at home.”
Talk to any Pakistani for five minutes
However, he did not minimize his country’s legitimate concerns: “We are concerned about the future of Afghanistan. We don’t want India to create a kind of presence in Afghanistan that the U.S. wouldn’t have tolerated if the Soviets had created it in Mexico during the Cold War.”
But hampering any honest discussion between Pakistan and the U.S., he said, is “a small group of people ideologically motivated and seeking essentially the domination of an Islamist ideology within Pakistan, but unable to get votes.”
“Talk to any Pakistani for five minutes,” he said, “and by the fifth minute he will be getting angry about America far more than he would about whoever hid Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. Now there’s been a year that’s gone and we haven’t yet prosecuted anyone for hiding and protecting Osama bin Laden there. So my point is, as Pakistanis, we need to take some responsibility.”
At the same time, “Pakistan demanded an apology for the Salala incident (the lethal air strike) when Pakistan’s troops were killed. America disregarded that request.”
We were left with the baby
He was speaking of reciprocity: “Look, we helped the Americans fight the Soviets in the ‘80’s and what was the result? Civil war in Afghanistan, the Americans left, we were left with the baby and we paid the price for the civil war. Then 9-11 came, we became partners with the Americans again, and this time when the Americans leave, we will still be picking up the pieces.”
“Pakistanis have to wake up to the fact that whatever advantages they have as the ground line of communication provider, that advantage is not going to last forever. As the Americans withdraw, yes, they need Pakistan to withdraw their heavy equipment. But in a worst case scenario, they can say ‘Blow up the equipment, let’s get out of here through other means.’”
However, he cautions that America has its own inflammatory political climate and that, too, hampers any honest discussion between the two nations: “Your domestic politics and our domestic politics often come in the form of a clash, and when they clash nothing good comes out of it.”
I got punched by both sides
Haqqani said that he was not alone among Pakistanis advocating relations between their country and the United States. However, he admitted they are “not always understood there.”
“Well, look, you know Christiane, that I did not come to a very good end as ambassador. I ended up being accused of all sorts of things because I was trying to explain to people in Pakistan that the sentiment in America was now turning against our country. And I kept telling people in America that they need to be a little more understanding of what’s going on in Pakistan. So the proverbial middleman, I got punched by both sides.”
He risks more than punches if he were to return to his homeland. “I will not go back to Pakistan for the moment,” he said. “Purely because there are elements there who have been threatening my life…So until such time as the ideologically motivated hateful rhetoric against me is ending, it’s better for me to stay out.”
But that doesn’t mean he intends to stay out of the argument. “Pakistan has to decide,” he said, “Do we want to embrace a future that will make Pakistan a future South Korea, or do we want to embrace a future that will make us like Iran and Somalia? And I think we should opt for an optimistic future, not a hateful future.”
CNN’s Claire Calzonetti produced this piece for television.
The cozy relationship between press and power
By Lucky Gold, CNN
Frankly putrid
That’s how Alastair Campbell, Director of Communications for former Prime Minister Tony Blair, described certain elements of the British press when he testified on Monday before the Leveson Inquiry in London, looking into the hacking scandal.
Campbell didn’t back away from those words today, as he appeared on Amanpour, shortly after Rebekah Brooks, former editor of the now defunct Rupert Murdoch tabloid, The News of the World, was charged with perverting the course of justice.
He was asked about the cozy relationship between Britain’s powerful and the press, as revealed by the Inquiry.
“It’s not just about Rupert Murdoch,” said Campbell. “Britain, as you know from having lived here, has got a very diverse and aggressive media….We have a lot of newspapers in a geographically fairly small country…And I think any political leader has to take account of the role they play in the political debate.”
Campbell didn’t minimize the potential for conflict of interest: “Now what I hope will come out of this inquiry is a changing of that relationship…I’ve been arguing for some years is that it’s got itself into a very, very bad place and I hope it can lead to change.”
That need for change was highlighted by Rebekah Brooks’ testimony before the Inquiry, in which her many messages and meetings, even her yachting, with current Prime Minister David Cameron were detailed.
Said Campbell, “I think David Cameron is on the record as saying that he got too close and he says that all politicians at times got too close.”
Bahrani doctor: ‘We became automatic witnesses’
By Lucky Gold, CNN
We can’t rush into things
As the Middle East becomes ever more polarized and violent, a rare conversation took place Monday on Amanpour - between an authoritarian government and one of its most prominent and articulate victims.
The subject was the unrest in Bahrain and the guests were Dr. Nabeel Hameed, a Bahraini physician who was arrested and brutalized for the alleged crime of treating injured protesters; and Sheikh Abdul-Aziz bin Mubarak al-Khalifa, a royal family member who speaks for the Bahraini government.
The tone was calm, even civil, but the import of their long-distance discussion was far-reaching.
Sheikh al-Khalifa, speaking from Bahrain, admitted that his government is moving slowly, when it comes to addressing reform and righting wrongs, and thereby risks allowing violent forces to fill the vacuum: “Yes, I mean, we think that at the pace that some people think we’re moving, which is slow, will further radicalize the polarized society that we have.”
Still, he defended current policy: “We can’t rush into things and we intend to move at a quicker pace and to achieve the goals that we have for a better future in Bahrain.”
That future will include bringing Dr. Hameed to trial when he returns to Bahrain next week. Dr. Hameed is one of several doctors and nurses who were targeted by the Bahraini government during last year’s protests.
'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.
De Klerk: 'No animosity' with Mandela
By Lucky Gold, CNN
Editor's Note: F.W. de Klerk, the last leader of white South Africa, who joined with Nelson Mandela to bring an end to apartheid and shared a Nobel Peace Prize for their achievement, was recently interviewed at a summit of Nobel Laureates in Chicago and appeared on Thursday’s Amanpour.
So I’m a Convert
It was noted that Mandela had once called de Klerk “a man of integrity” but had taken it back, regretting that de Klerk had never renounced the principle of apartheid.
De Klerk responded: “Well, let me first say I’m not aware that Mr. Mandela says I’ve never renounced apartheid.” He then said, “I have made the most profound apology in front of the Truth Commission and on other occasions about the injustices which were wrought by apartheid.”
But then he added: “What I haven’t apologized for is the original concept of seeking to bring justice to all South Africans through the concept of nation states (essentially creating two separate states, one black and one white).”
“But in South Africa it failed,” he said. “And by the end of the ‘70’s, we had to realize, and accept and admit to ourselves that it had failed. And that is when fundamental reform started.”
He was then asked if apartheid failed because it was unworkable, or because it was simply morally repugnant.
“There are three reasons it (apartheid) failed,” he said. “It failed because the whites wanted to keep too much land for themselves. It failed because we (whites and blacks) became economically integrated, and it failed because the majority of blacks said that is not how we want our rights.”
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood candidate
by Lucky Gold, CNN
There is no such thing called an Islamic democracy
Mohamed Morsi, one of three leading candidates for the presidency of Egypt, appeared on Amanpour on Wednesday. The American-educated engineer leads The Freedom and Justice Party, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood.
As Egypt’s most powerful political movement, controlling half of parliament, winning the presidency would give the Muslim Brotherhood – and Mr. Morsi - sweeping power to control Egypt’s future.
But what would that future look like? He was asked if a Morsi government would tilt toward a fundamentalist theocracy, reflecting the Muslim Brotherhood slogan - “Islam is the solution.”
Morsi answered in Arabic with an English translator: “The Egyptian people are freely making their choice now… We want to transform from a president of the institution to an institution of the presidency. To an executive branch that represents the people’s true will and implements their public interest.”
He was asked if Morsi’s (and the Muslim Brotherhood’s) Egypt be more like secular Turkey or fundamentalist Iran?
“There is no such thing called an Islamic democracy,” said Morsi. “There is democracy only…The people are the source of authority...that’s democracy. And that agrees with consultation called for in Islam.”
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